10 Video Game Platforming Sections Harder Than Any Boss Fight

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When it comes to difficulty in video games, most people will fervently point to the boss fight that caused them the most trauma, completely forgetting about that platforming sequence that almost made them quit playing video games forever.

Since bosses are more visible and recognizable barriers, they’re often remembered more regularly when they’re challenging, but I get the impression that players often don’t realize there are even worse jumping and running sections.

Platforming has become one of the quintessential secondary genres, so I’ve noticed that games of all kinds use it to vary their mechanics, which can be devastating if they’re oriented toward difficulty.

From run-and-gun games to pure platformers, I’ve had the pleasure (or misfortune) of experiencing hellish sections I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, as I summarize in this list of ten video game platforming sections harder than any boss fight.

10 Ори и воля огоньков

Sandworm Escape

Ori and the Will of the Wisps is one of those balanced Metroidvanias that places as much emphasis on traditional boss fights as on boss escape sequences, with the Sandworm Escape being the most iconic.

Since it’s the section that makes the most use of the wonderful ability to move underground, it’s memorable primarily for its mechanics, though also for how precision-demanding it is at absolutely every turn.

The reflexes and precision required to aim and execute each jump, as well as to make the appropriate changes of direction when the environment forces you to, are completely unusual even for the game itself, so I died several times before fully familiarizing myself with the area.

Of all the sequences of this style, the Sandworm Escape reminds us the most why Ori and the Will of the Wisps is among the best cinematic platformers, but also why it can be among the most difficult when it sets its mind to it.

9 Бионический залив

Криостатический

Бионический залив has been one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had the opportunity to experience in 2025, so much so that I easily consider it part of the year’s most underrated titles.

Its physics-based platforming with a puzzle-solving approach is truly sensational, especially when the game goes a step further and presents you with precisely calculated challenges like those seen in the Cryostatic level.

Here, the main mechanic is freezing objects in midair so they can be used as platforms, but achieving this requires not only considerable care in the movement mechanics but also in the position in which we choose to place them, as there is no specific way to do it.

The result is dozens and dozens of attempts to find the right combinations for each gap between platforms, which can be long and complex but, I must admit, immensely satisfying.

Бионический залив is a pure platformer that demonstrates why it’s among the longest-running and most timeless genres out there, and one I want to highly recommend because it’s a true marvel.

8 Unlinked Mask

Kaizoblock

Speaking of pure platformers, Несвязанная маска is an ode to the genre’s Game Boy-era games, fully influenced by Небесный, and it’s an absurdly incredible combination.

This brings with it a distinct aesthetic whose color and pixel palette are unforgettable, but also a series of challenges that, let me tell you, are on par with those found in Madeleine’s adventure.

However, the most difficult of all is the Kaizoblock level, where you not only need precision in your jumps but also timing, as the platforms change position every second, and you have to complete absurdly long sequences in one sitting to find the next checkpoint.

В результате you must master each screen as if your life depended on it, until you can finally manage to do everything in a quick sequence without overthinking, simply letting yourself be guided by instinct and reflex.

The game lasts three hours and is packed with challenges of this kind, so I strongly encourage everyone to play Несвязанная маска if you liked Небесный or if you want to find a reason to break your keyboard.

7. Шиноби: Искусство мести

Oboro Village’s Ankou Rift

Completely beating Шиноби: Искусство мести is among the most satisfying things I’ve accomplished recently, considering Oboro Village’s Ankou Rift«s demanding existence.

This is part of a series of secondary challenges in both platforming and combat, but the one at the center of this entry in particular took me the most attempts to complete (which I’d like to specify, but I lost count).

At this point in the game, you don’t yet have all the movement tools and are mostly relying on the basics, requiring pixel-like precision to pull off every jump and evade every enemy and spike.

I feel like it’s probably not a common experience because I’ve seen players struggle more with other Rifts, yet the combination of limited mechanics and absolute precision was my kryptonite for a couple of hours.

I’m not lying when I say Oboro Village’s Ankou Rift took me more attempts than all the game’s bosses combined because, while the combat is absolutely perfected, Шиноби: Искусство мести‘s platforming has moments of technical weakness where you have to overcompensate with skill.

6 Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound

Back in the Caves (S-4)

Just before finishing Shinobi in its entirety, I decided to do the same with Ниндзя Гайден: Ограничение ярости, with which it shares many similarities, including the presence of a platforming sequence that drove me crazy.

In this sense, the game features a mechanic in which you switch from Kenji to Kumori to advance through the demonic dimension, which results in a few minutes of absolute pain in the secret Back in the Caves level.

Although the reward was only a golden scarab, this sequence toward the map’s rightmost part is marked by an absurdly low time limit that can only be extended with blue orbs, only accessible after defeating the annoying flying skulls that rush at you.

The precision of pogo jumps and kunai throwing you need to defeat enemies, avoid falling, and increase your time is so insane that I divided the section into 10 mental chunks and wouldn’t move on to the next until I’d completely perfected the previous one.

The unusual tactic paid off, but considering the underwhelming reward at the end and how long it took me to reach it, it was probably my biggest disappointment with the magnificent Ниндзя Гайден: Ограничение ярости.

5 Кубок

Опасные пирсы

Cuphead is filled with boss fights that made me question whether video games are truly a hobby I’ve dedicated more than 20 years of my life to, because they broke me in ways I thought impossible.

However, with a couple of exceptions, what truly challenged my ability as a player was the Опасные пирсы run-and-gun level, which made me quit the game twice over the course of several months until I finally beat it.

I don’t know if it’s the lobster chasing you around the map, having to keep an eye on both the platforms and the hundreds of enemies, avoiding the thousands of projectiles thrown at you, or that I lack the motor skills to do everything simultaneously, but it’s the point in Cuphead where I racked up the most deaths.

I always knew what I was getting into when I decided to start the game, and being able to finish it and its DLC gives me great satisfaction, although I never thought it would require so much patience. No matter what charms or weapons I used, I could never find a definite pattern to follow to overcome it until the planets aligned, when I finished it and never looked back again.

4 Супер Братья Марио.

Мир 8-3

No matter how many difficult modern games I’ve completed, I can’t lie about my negative relationship with Супер Марио, which has caused me to feel completely indescribable frustrations.

Несмотря на, the most painful of all is with World 8-3, where the abysmal number of Братья Хаммер destroys my existence even if I arrive with an infinite number of lives.

Honestly, that’s my entire problem with that level. Jumping between isolated blocks in the air or finding mushrooms hidden in awkward squares are things I can handle without an issue, but every time I see those hammers flying, I panic.

The only way I can consistently get through the level is if I have the ability to throw fireballs. Otherwise, I’m left to rely on luck because, based on skill, I’m sure I won’t pass.

Overall, I have a lot of trouble with older titles, although few are on Супер Марио« level. Still, I value it profoundly, and it’s an important part of my personal history as a player, so I can let it go.

3 Вечная Ночь

Космос

Mentioning an entire Metroidvania map for this list seems unusual, but Вечная ночь‘ Cosmos truly deserves it.

Not only do you have countless planets with different gravitational centers that force you to jump from every angle and in every direction conceived by the laws of physics, but you must do so while dodging flying enemies and more spikes than the global porcupine population.

Much of the gameplay revolves around a throwable projectile you can teleport to, which gives it a unique and cool feel but also significantly increases the platforming sequences’ difficulty, especially when you add the above to the mix.

I’m incredibly fond of Вечная ночь because it’s a passion project with tons of content, though every time I look back on my time in the Cosmos, it feels both like a traumatic event and a demonstration that I can truly accomplish crazy things when I put my mind to it.

2 Полый Рыцарь

Путь боли

As one of the last decade’s defining games, it was impossible not to include Hollow Knight on this list, much less considering Путь боли‘s gruesome existence.

This completely hidden, secondary, and unproductive content is among the most iconic platforming challenges in video game history, and it makes perfect sense as it takes full advantage of the movement mechanics of a game polished to the bone.

This same obstacle course would be impossible if not for the tight and perfect controls of Team Cherry’s work, who left its greatest platforming challenge concealed and rewarded the skilled ones with the most significant piece of lore in the entire campaign.

Millimeter-precise jumps, consecutive pogos, precise fall calculations, monk-like patience… The number of motor and mental skills that Path of Pain demands for completion is numerous and difficult to achieve, so much so that it doesn’t even count toward the game’s completion percentage.

By now, many have completed the challenge, but don’t be fooled: it’s not because it’s accessible, but because Hollow Knight fans are some of the most masochistic in the interactive industry, and the name of this platforming section fits them perfectly.

1 Селеста

Прощание

Although all the previous entries deservedly earned their place on this list, even adding up the difficulty of all of them doesn’t quite match the level of НебесныйDLC, Прощание.

The entire expansion is a constant string of platforming challenges as creative as they are unprecedented, capable of inducing a frustration only surpassed by the divine quality of the game’s controls and the tools it gives you to overcome them.

Однако the real reason for Farewell’s first place lies in its legendary final screen, which can take up to three minutes of consecutive jumps, glides, dashes, wall grabs, bounces, and wave dashes, for which any less than perfect execution is simply not enough and without any second to breathe.

Of the 10,000 deaths it took me to complete the DLC, that sequence took 1,000 of them, being the most difficult challenge I’ve completed in my life. Platforming or not, I’ve never faced such a huge mountain in a video game, and I doubt I’ll ever face anything similar.

Даже если Небесный‘s design is flawless, and every death is always the player’s fault, it’s undeniable: what I consider the best platformer in history also presents the most unforgiving and inhuman challenge ever conceived. And I love it with all my heart.