You know exactly what we’re talking about. The lovable games that start fun, then break you to shreads.
You boot up a game. It’s smooth. It’s fun. You’re laughing, you’re winning, you’re feeling yourself. Then — out of nowhere — the game just decides you’ve had enough joy and proceeds to dismantle you piece by piece.
No warning. No mercy. Just suffering.
BB and Minarum sat down and went through the games that pulled this exact move on them. The ones that started as a good time and slowly turned into a psychological endurance test. Some of these are classics. Some of them still sting. All of them earned their spot on this list.
Which Game Would Break You?
Four questions. One brutal verdict. No mercy. — The ESE Files
Let’s get into it.
Table of Contents
The Rhythm Games That Made Your Fingers Quit on You
(Guitar Hero / Rock Band / Dance Dance Revolution)
“We went hard on these games for years.”
If you grew up in the PS2/PS3 era, you already know. Rhythm games were the ultimate party starter. A couple of easy songs, everyone’s laughing, someone’s doing the worm between arrows — it’s a great time.
And then you crank up the difficulty.
That’s where the friendship ends.
BB still has the old DDR pads. Used to play Heavy mode without breaking a sweat. Tried it recently. Had to drop to Light mode. His words: “I can’t do it. It’s ridiculous.”
That’s the rhythm game trap. They make you feel like an athlete for about 20 minutes, and then the game reminds you that you are, in fact, a regular person with regular human fingers and feet that give up.
Rock Band was the peak of this era. When they added drums, vocals, guitar, and bass all together? That was something special. BB and Minarum used to set up shop in the living room — instruments never moved because they were playing that often. Friends coming over, playing all night, full band energy. If you want more of that same energy, check out our list of the 5 best co-op games to play with friends — because some games are just built better with a squad.
Minarum still does Rock Band nights every other month. 800+ songs loaded. The setup never left.
But expert mode? That’s a different conversation. BB went from expert guitar down to hard. Minarum’s somewhere in the medium range and not ashamed of it. The difficulty jump from hard to expert in these games is genuinely unreasonable. It’s not a curve — it’s a wall.
Quick side note: They sold a brand new Rock Band 4 in the box — picked up for $50 on Woot — for $1,200. That’s not gaming. That’s investing.
Prince of Persia — Wall Running Looks Easy Until It Isn’t
The original PS2 trilogy. Cinematic, smooth, cool as hell. You’re flipping off walls, rewinding time, feeling like the most athletic person alive.
Then the puzzles get harder. The timing gets tighter. And suddenly you’re rage-quitting a game that started as a vibe.
BB’s take: the first time he hit R1 and watched the Prince run up a wall, he was genuinely amazed. That feeling of “OH, THAT WAS AWESOME” is real. The series earns your trust early. It’s only later that it starts demanding absolute precision from every single jump.
But here’s the story that tells you everything you need to know about how much this game got into people’s heads.
BB — back when he was, in his words, “slim and athletic” — decided he could do a wall run. Like the Prince. In real life. In front of CK’s house.
He got a running start. Hit the wall. Got four feet up. Came sliding down immediately.
CK’s face: “Did you just do what I think you did?”
BB: “Yes. Yes I did.”
Second attempt. He ate it. Full hip slam into the ground. Just lying there. That’s what the Prince of Persia does to you — it makes you believe you’re capable of things you absolutely are not.
BB’s recommendation: If you haven’t played Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown, fix that. It’s a Metroidvania-style return to roots, the combat is tight, the puzzles are fun, and BB platinumed it — which means something because he’s not a trophy chaser. He genuinely loved it. You can usually find it for around $10 on sale. PC players can grab these gems through Green Man Gaming where they regularly goes on discount.
Cuphead — Neither of Us Have Played It and We’re Keeping It That Way
Look. Neither BB nor Minarum have touched Cuphead. And after everything they’ve heard, they’re at peace with that decision.
The art style is genuinely cool — it’s paying homage to those old 1940s Fleischer Studios cartoons, Steamboat Willie energy, black and white animation brought to life. Looking at it now, BB admits it’s actually kind of beautiful in a nostalgic way.
But the reputation? One of the hardest games ever made. Boss battles that are described as “insane” by everyone who’s survived them.
Minarum’s position: “I don’t like putting myself through pain.”
Honestly the smartest move might be to rent it first. Try it, see how long you last, and if you rage quit in the first hour you have lost nothing. Gamefly has a 30-day free trial — rent Cuphead, play it, find out what kind of person you are, and send it back. No shame in that.
The compromise they landed on: live stream it. Get the rage reactions on camera. Let the community watch them suffer in real time. Honestly? That might be the best possible use of Cuphead for the ESE Files.
Demon Souls — The Game That Invented Suffering as a Feature
Here’s where things get serious.
Minarum has played Demon Souls. He platinumed it. He knows exactly what it is and what it does to people.
The PS3 version was unlike anything that had come out in a long time. Unforgiving. Brutal. Painful. But also — and this is important — genuinely enjoyable in a way that’s hard to explain unless you’ve been there.
Killing a boss after 30 attempts. Leveling up your character. Figuring out a weapon combo that actually works. There’s something deeply satisfying about progress in a game that refuses to hand it to you.
The problem with the PS3 version specifically? The controls.
Minarum puts it plainly: “You can master areas left and right, know exactly when to attack — and then you try to dodge and roll off a cliff and die.”
He died falling off cliffs so many times it stopped being funny. The controls were clunky in a way that worked against the precision the game demanded. It ran at around 25-30 frames per second, which by modern standards is borderline unplayable. The PS5 remake reportedly fixed most of this, but Minarum hasn’t touched that version yet.
BB watched a friend spend a full hour on one boss — hiding behind a pillar, dodging dragon fire, dying over and over. When the friend finally beat it, the satisfaction on his face said everything. That’s the Souls loop. That’s why people keep coming back.
Neither of them are rushing to replay it. But they both respect what it started.
Ninja Gaiden — The Game That Doesn’t Care How Good You Think You Are
Minarum rage quit this game.
That’s the headline. He doesn’t rage quit games. He rage quit Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2.
The game is gorgeous. The combat is tight and fun. Every time they’ve remade it, it’s looked even better. There’s a reason they keep remaking it — it’s a legitimately great game.
But every single enemy — your regular foot soldier — fights like a boss battle. You cannot let your guard down for one second. One moment of distraction and you’re dead. Not “oops, lost some health” dead. Just dead.
And then the actual boss battles? Look at them. Ridiculous. Genuinely ridiculous.
BB played through the story on what he thinks was normal difficulty. Finished it. Immediately said no to the platinum. Because to platinum Ninja Gaiden, you have to beat the game multiple times — each completion unlocking a harder difficulty — until you reach Master Ninja mode on what might be your seventh playthrough.
Minarum started on the hardest available difficulty to skip a playthrough. Got to level two or three. Died 20-30 times. Took the disc out of the PlayStation and never put it back in.
If you want to find out the hard way yourself, Ninja Gaiden Black and the Master Collection are both available on Green Man Gaming — PC players can usually grab them at a discount. Just do not say we did not warn you.
Minarum’s exact words: “I’m really good at these games and I was getting destroyed. I’m not toning this down for seven playthroughs. I’ll go play Hannah Montana.”
(Yes, he has a Hannah Montana platinum. That’s a real thing that happened.)
Why These Games That Start Fun Then Break You Hit Different
Here’s the thing about all of these games — they don’t start hard. That’s the whole point.
They earn your trust first.
The rhythm games give you easy songs. Prince of Persia gives you cool wall runs. Demon Souls gives you a tutorial. Ninja Gaiden gives you smooth combat. And then, once you’re comfortable, once you think you’ve got it figured out — they flip the switch.
That’s what makes them memorable. If they were hard from the start, you’d just put them down. But because they let you feel good first, you’re already invested. You care. And that’s exactly when they decide to humble you.
It’s almost personal.
What Games Broke You?
That’s the real question here.
BB and Minarum have their list. But every gamer has their own version of this — the game that started as a good time and turned into a months-long grudge match. The one you still think about. The one you almost threw a controller over.
Drop it in the comments. What game lured you in and then completely wrecked you? Did you push through or did you tap out? Were you ever dumb enough to try a wall run in real life?
The ESE Files community wants to know. Let’s talk about it.
This is BB signing out. And Minarum signing out. Catch you on the next one.