Best Difficult games from the 1990s

Best Difficult games from the 1990s [Discovery Queue]

Games like Half-Life, Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game, and The Ultimate Doom, ranked by the GamesGraph community.
Last updated: October 15, 2026

1

1

Half-Life

1998November 1998 by Valve

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

7.54 Excellent- 3,244 ratings
2

2

Fallout: A Post Nuclear Role Playing Game

1997October 1997 by Interplay Entertainment

RPG, Science fiction, Survival

RPG, Science fiction, Survival

6.85 Good+ 808 ratings
3

3

The Ultimate Doom

1995April 1995 by id Software

Shooter, Science fiction, Horror

Shooter, Science fiction, Horror

6.77 Good 167 ratings
4

4

Commandos: Behind Enemy Lines

1998July 1998 by Pyro Studios

Puzzle, Strategy, Tactical

Puzzle, Strategy, Tactical

6.61 Good 235 ratings
5

5

X-COM: UFO Defense

1994March 1994 by Mythos Games

Strategy, Turn-Based, Tactical

Strategy, Turn-Based, Tactical

6.51 Good- 151 ratings
6

6

Quake III Arena

1999December 1999 by id Software

Shooter, Science fiction, First person

Shooter, Science fiction, First person

6.47 Good- 451 ratings
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7

7

Oddworld: Abe's Exoddus

1998November 1998 by Oddworld Inhabitants

Platform, Puzzle, Adventure

Platform, Puzzle, Adventure

6.42 Good- 138 ratings
8

8

Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee

1997September 1997 by Oddworld Inhabitants

Platform, Puzzle, Adventure

Platform, Puzzle, Adventure

6.34 Good- 275 ratings
9

9

Sonic the Hedgehog

1991June 1991 by Sonic Team

Platform, Fantasy, Science fiction

Platform, Fantasy, Science fiction

6.32 Good-- 646 ratings
10

10

Riven: The Sequel to Myst

1997October 1997 by Cyan Worlds

Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure

Point-and-click, Puzzle, Adventure

6.31 Good-- <100 ratings
11

11

Knights and Merchants: The Shattered Kingdom

1998September 1998 by Joymania Entertainment

Real Time Strategy, Simulator, Strategy

Real Time Strategy, Simulator, Strategy

6.26 Good-- <100 ratings
12

12

Commandos: Beyond the Call of Duty

1999July 1999 by Pyro Studios

Strategy, Tactical, Stealth

Strategy, Tactical, Stealth

6.09 Okay++ 107 ratings
13

13

Tomb Raider II

1997November 1997 by Core Design

Shooter, Platform, Puzzle

Shooter, Platform, Puzzle

6.04 Okay++ 339 ratings
14

14

Kid Chameleon

1992May 1992 by Sega Technical Institute

Platform, Fantasy, Science fiction

Platform, Fantasy, Science fiction

5.94 Okay++ <100 ratings
15

15

Wolfenstein 3D

1992May 1992 by id Software

Shooter, Fantasy, Science fiction

Shooter, Fantasy, Science fiction

5.76 Okay+ <100 ratings
16

16

Metal Slug X

1999March 1999 by SNK

Shooter, Platform, Adventure

Shooter, Platform, Adventure

5.72 Okay+ 153 ratings
17

17

Star Wars: Dark Forces

1995February 1995 by LucasArts

Shooter, Science fiction, First person

Shooter, Science fiction, First person

5.71 Okay+ 188 ratings
18

18

UnReal World

1992June 1992 by Sami Maaranen

RPG, Simulator, Strategy

RPG, Simulator, Strategy

5.69 Okay+ <100 ratings
19

19

X-COM: Terror From the Deep

1995January 1995 by MicroProse Software, Inc.

Strategy, Turn-Based, Tactical

Strategy, Turn-Based, Tactical

5.63 Okay <100 ratings
20

20

King of Dragon Pass

1999October 1999 by A Sharp, LLC

RPG, Simulator, Strategy

RPG, Simulator, Strategy

5.61 Okay <100 ratings
21

21

Tomb Raider III: Adventures of Lara Croft

1998November 1998 by Core Design

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

Shooter, Puzzle, Adventure

5.60 Okay 198 ratings
22

22

Putt-Putt and Fatty Bear's Activity Pack

1994March 1994 by Humongous Entertainment

Educational, Difficult

Educational, Difficult

5.53 Okay <100 ratings
23

23

Lingo

1999December 1999

Quiz/Trivia, Difficult, Exploration

Quiz/Trivia, Difficult, Exploration

5.53 Okay <100 ratings
24

24

ADOM: Ancient Domains of Mystery

1994December 1994 by Thomas Biskup

RPG, Adventure, Fantasy

RPG, Adventure, Fantasy

5.48 Okay <100 ratings
25

25

Putt-Putt and Pep's Balloon-O-Rama

1996October 1996 by Humongous Entertainment

Point-and-click, Adventure, Third person

Point-and-click, Adventure, Third person

5.46 Okay <100 ratings
26

26

Alien Soldier

1995February 1995 by Treasure

Shooter, Platform, Arcade

Shooter, Platform, Arcade

5.43 Okay- <100 ratings
27

27

Descent

1995March 1995 by Parallax Software

Shooter, Simulator, Science fiction

Shooter, Simulator, Science fiction

5.39 Okay- <100 ratings
28

28

Vangers

1998June 1998 by K-D Lab

Racing, Adventure, Open world

Racing, Adventure, Open world

5.38 Okay- <100 ratings
29

29

Umihara Kawase

1994December 1994 by TNN

Platform, Puzzle, Side view

Platform, Puzzle, Side view

5.38 Okay- <100 ratings
30

30

Pulstar

1995August 1995 by Aicom

Shooter, Arcade, Science fiction

Shooter, Arcade, Science fiction

5.35 Okay- <100 ratings
31

31

Comix Zone

1995August 1995 by Sega Technical Institute

Puzzle, Hack and Slash, Arcade

Puzzle, Hack and Slash, Arcade

5.35 Okay- 143 ratings
32

32

Ecco the Dolphin

1992December 1992 by Novotrade

Adventure, Science fiction, Side view

Adventure, Science fiction, Side view

5.29 Okay- <100 ratings
33

33

Chip's Challenge

1990December 1990 by Epyx

Puzzle, Strategy, Science fiction

Puzzle, Strategy, Science fiction

5.28 Okay- <100 ratings
34

34

Romancing SaGa 2

1993December 1993 by Square

RPG, Fantasy, Third person

RPG, Fantasy, Third person

5.26 Okay- <100 ratings
35

35

Super Noah's Ark 3D

1994December 1994 by Wisdom Tree

Shooter, Quiz/Trivia, Fantasy

Shooter, Quiz/Trivia, Fantasy

5.25 Okay- <100 ratings
36

36

Hexen II

1997September 1997 by Raven Software

Shooter, RPG, Adventure

Shooter, RPG, Adventure

5.19 Okay-- <100 ratings
37

37

Knuckles' Chaotix

1995April 1995 by Sonic Team

Platform, Side view, Difficult

Platform, Side view, Difficult

5.08 Okay-- <100 ratings
38

38

Deathtrap Dungeon

1998March 1998 by Asylum Studios

Adventure, Fantasy, Third person

Adventure, Fantasy, Third person

5.05 Okay-- <100 ratings
39

39

Sonic the Hedgehog: Spinball

1993November 1993 by Sega Technical Institute

Platform, Puzzle, Side view

Platform, Puzzle, Side view

4.86 Mediocre++ <100 ratings
40

40

Postal

1997September 1997 by Running With Scissors

Shooter, Horror, Isometric

Shooter, Horror, Isometric

4.72 Mediocre+ <100 ratings
41

41

Big Thinkers 1st Grade

1997October 1997 by Humongous Entertainment

Point-and-click, Music, Quiz/Trivia

Point-and-click, Music, Quiz/Trivia

Needs more reviews