Perfectionists’ Nightmare | The 5 hardest video games to achieve 100% completion

Many gamers aim to unlock all possible trophies and achievements in video games, achieving 100% completion. However, some titles present such a challenge that only a few gamers manage to reach this lofty goal.

Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy

• Platforms: PC, Mobile
• Release year: 2017
• Time to complete 100%: 30.5 hours (hereinafter according to howlongtobeat.com)

There are difficult games, then there are those that seem insurmountable, and among them is Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy.

Players control a man in a cauldron wielding a sledgehammer, tasked with ascending a colossal, odd structure that stretches to the atmosphere’s upper limits.

The most daunting aspect is that a fall (which is inevitable) can send you plummeting back to the game’s start, erasing all your hard-earned progress.

The gamefeatures just three achievements, which might suggest that completing it is a straightforward task. Yet, the toughest achievement, “So Over It,” is awarded to players who manage to finish the game not just once or twice, but an astonishing 50 times.

Understandably, only a handful of players possess the tenacity and perseverance required to meet such a formidable challenge, with merely 2.5% of “Getting Over It” players on Steam having earned this achievement.

Crusader Kings III

• Platforms: PC, PS5, Xbox Series X/S
• Release year: 2020
• Time to complete 100%: 586 hours

Exercise caution when downloading Crusader Kings III, as Paradox’s grand strategy game can captivate you for countless hours.

Provided you have an heir to continue your dynasty, Crusader Kings permits nearly any action, from engaging in cannibalism to establishing a new religion, up until the game’s chronological conclusion.

To fully complete this masterpiece and achieve 100%, you will need to pursue various achievements, including:

• Survive the Bubonic Plague (0.1% of players on Steam)
• Get the face of a saint (0.5% of players on Steam)
• Seduce 10 characters as 1 ruler (2.9% of players on Steam)

Altogether, the game features 138 achievements, which certainly cannot be earned in just one or even ten playthroughs.

Hollow Knight

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS4, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
• Release year: 2017
• Time to complete 100%: 63.5 hours

One of the industry’s finest Metroidvania games does not guarantee an easy journey for those aiming to achieve 100% completion.

For instance, the achievements “Steel Soul” and “Steel Heart,” earned by 4% and 3.3% of players on Steam respectively, are unlocked only after completing the game once.

The “Steel Heart” achievement, in particular, demands near-genius level mastery as it involves fully clearing the map in “Steel Soul” mode, where the character’s save is erased upon death, necessitating the entire game be completed in a single life.

Wolfenstein II | The New Colossus

• Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
• Release year: 2017
• Time to complete 100%: 33 hours

Wolfenstein II | The New Colossus is generally not seen as a particularly challenging game. Often, players can effortlessly eliminate hordes of Nazis single-handedly, with significant challenges only arising at the highest difficulty settings.

This ease of play assumes, of course, that the player has the ability to die and respawn indefinitely.

Indeed, the game’s toughest achievement, “Mein leben,” is unlocked after the initial playthrough and necessitates completing the game on the highest difficulty setting without dying. Additionally, it prohibits the player from saving. It’s no wonder that merely 1% of the game’s owners on Steam have managed to earn this achievement.

Caves Of Qud

• Platforms: PC
• Release year: 2015
• Time to complete 100%: N/A

Caves Of Qud presents a steep challenge primarily due to its high entry barrier, necessitating dozens of hours to fully grasp the complexities and mechanics of the roguelike genre.

The game’s post-apocalyptic, semi-procedural world brims with unique features, including concealed locations, quest NPCs, and an array of 100 peculiar achievements.

Engaging in actions from intentionally acquiring dreadful diseases to causing one’s character to fall in love with themselves, players aiming to completely “finish” Caves Of Qud must undertake the extraordinary. Remarkably, less than 1% of players have managed to secure 25 achievements simultaneously.

Certainly, this list does not encompass all the games worthy of mention. Anticipate a continuation in due course.