For the casual gamer, gaming is simply a way to unwind after a stressful day. For those trying to complete these incredibly difficult video game achievements, however, gaming contributes to their stressful days.
The Mile High Club – Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
This achievement requires players to complete the mission of the same name—one of the game’s most difficult missions—in under 60 seconds. The mission requires the player to storm a terrorist-occupied plane, rescuing hostages while simultaneously warding off waves of heavily armed enemies, then escape the aircraft via parachute: a lot to do in just a minute.
For those who don’t mind using alternative methods to unlock the achievement, players have discovered a glitch that makes unlocking the achievement worlds easier.
Hard to the Core – Dead Space 2
This achievement requires players to beat Dead Space 2 on its hardest difficulty—hardcore mode—while only saving up to three times.
Beating Dead Space 2 on hardcore mode is a challenge in and of itself; the difficulty level forces players to conserve ammo, health, and other resources. And without the ability to save and reset as one pleases, players must preserve their character’s life, or they will have to replay huge chunks of the game to get where they were before.
To unlock Hard to the Core, players must be strategic, planning which points in the game that they will use their limited number of saves.
Universal Explorer – World of Warcraft
To unlock the Universal Explorer achievement, players must traverse every zone in World of Warcraft (expansion packs included) and discover every location within those zones, including hidden areas that are not visible on the world map.
The sheer size of WoW’s map makes unlocking this achievement arduous. Earning it is a true testament to a player’s dedication to WoW.
7 Day Survivor – Dead Rising
In order to achieve 7 Day Survivor, players must survive swarms of zombies for seven in-game days (a whopping fourteen hours in real time) without dying or saving the game. The sheer length of time it takes to unlock this achievement, coupled with the fact that the game’s difficulty ramps up as time passes, make it nearly impossible for most players.
Seriously 3.0 – Gears of War 3
One of the most convoluted video game achievements of all time, Seriously 3.0 requires players to complete a plethora of tasks, all of which are strenuous and time-consuming.
To unlock Seriously 3.0, players must reach level 100, complete all campaign chapters on the game’s hardest difficulty (Insane), master every weapon, and earn every Onyx medal, a type of metal that can only be earned by completing difficult challenges (i.e. killing X amount of enemies with Y weapon).
Bladder of Steel – Rock Band 2
This achievement is unlocked by playing every song in Rock Band 2 back-to-back without missing a single note. Keep in mind that there are over 80 songs in the game, and pausing just once will result in your not unlocking the achievement.
The achievement’s name is fitting, as you will not only need incredible skill, but a huge amount of undivided time and attention to unlock Bladder of Steel.
I Can See for Miles – Surgeon Simulator
Surgeon Simulator is exactly what it sounds like: a game in which the player takes the role of a surgeon, performing complex procedures under pressure. The I Can See for Miles achievement requires players to perform one of the most difficult operations in the game–an eye surgery–in under two minutes.
Factor in the fact that the surgery must be performed in a moving ambulance, which makes the games controls janky, and this is not only one of the hardest achievements in Surgeon Simulator, but in gaming in general.
If nothing else, the difficulty of Surgeon Simulator really gives one a new appreciation for the precision it takes to be a real-life surgeon.
Mr. Perfect – Mega Man 10
Unlocking Mr. Perfect requires players to complete the entirety of Mega Man 10 without taking any damage or using any special abilities (i.e. boss weapons). Keep in mind that the game itself is already quite challenging, clearly made for a target audience of adults who grew up playing the classic Mega Man games.
Reign of Terror – Diablo III
To unlock Reign of Terror, players must defeat Diablo—by far hardest boss in Diablo III—on the game’s highest difficulty level, Torment XVI, all while not using any set items, forcing one to rely solely on skill and strategy. To even be able to play on such a high difficulty, players must already have a deep understanding of the game’s convoluted mechanics, something that would realistically require hundreds of hours of gameplay to attain.
And it gets even harder: Layered atop the Torment XVI requirement, players must also defeat Diablo in hardcore mode, a mode in which death is permanent; this means if the player’s character dies, that character is lost forever.
What video game achievements were the most difficult for you to unlock? Let us know in the comments!
