Summary
One of the most important aspects of any title is arguably its controls, as they are how players interact with the game itself, and if that interaction isn’t fun or interesting, it can be a lot harder to enjoy a game.
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However, some games have controls that are intentionally difficult or made challenging by their complexity and inaccessibility. Some games simply have bad controls that aren’t fun to learn or use but have gameplay that is good enough to make up for it.
8Armored Core 6: Fires Of Rubicon
Although FromSoftware is known primarily fortheirDark Soulsgamesand the more recentElden Ring,Armored Corewas one of their biggest IPs for a while, with an extensive cult following. However, FromSoftware’s popularity and player trust built upon their success withElden Ringhas allowed them to bring plenty of newcomers to the franchise with its action-packed, fast-paced gameplay.
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However, the biggest hurdle for newcomers totheArmored Corefranchise, especially this latest game, is its difficult controls. This is primarily due to the amount that players have to juggle during the game. Players have to worry about controlling multiple weapons, strafing, boosting, and also thinking about where they’re moving and who they’re targeting. Overall,Armored Core 6can be an overwhelming experience at first, but once players get used to the controls, the game becomes a lot more enjoyable.
7Resident Evil
Although the remastered HD version ofResident Evilcomes with an alternate control scheme that makes the game a lot easier, largely due to the fact thatResident Evilwasdesigned for tank controls(where a character’s movement is relative to their position/rotation and not the camera perspective), the game’s original controls are the way the game was arguably intended to be played, and they make the game a lot more difficult.
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Resident Evilis a slow and methodical survival horror game where being trapped in a hallway with two, or even just one zombie can be intense and often lethal. This is largely because it’s hard to avoid zombies, especially in close range while usingthe game’s tank controls. For some, they won’t be able to stand the game’s original controls, but for those that stick with it,Resident Evil’soriginal gameplay is both intense and rewarding.
This short physics-based comedy game turns the simple process of movement into a difficult task. The game isdesigned to be comedicand awkward to control, so players who want a more serious and complex experience are unlikely to enjoyOctodad.
Octodad: Dadliest Catchtasks players with completing a series of simple objectives (such as obtaining a can of soda), made interesting and difficult by the game’s physics-based movement controls that have players controlling their limbs separately, with separate buttons for one of Octodad’s arms, his legs, and directional control.
5Surgeon Simulator
This over-the-top, less-than-accurate simulation game has players attempting to successfully do surgery while combating the game’s intentionally difficult controls. InSurgeon Simulator, players have to control each finger of their character’s hand with a different keyboard button, making even the simplest movements much harder than they need to be.
This horrendously difficult control scheme might be tedious for some, but because the game was designed around these controls, it arguably elevates the relatively basic gameplay and concept into something that’s fun for a much wider audience than a standard, precise simulation game would be.
4I Am Bread
I Am Breadis a comedy game with physics-based movement and intentionally awkward controls that are extremely difficult to use successfully. The game tasks players with maneuvering a piece of bread across various levels and getting it into the toaster. This sounds easy but is made much harder than it would regularly be through the game’s controls.
To control the bread, players use numbers 1-4 on the keyboard to control the movement of each corner of the bread, with Q, W, E, and R being used to grip those corners to specific surfaces. This, combined with the fact that touching the ground at any time causes the player to damage, makesI Am Breadone of the hardest games to control, but for fans of physics-based movement and comedy games, it can be rewarding.
3The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword
The Legend Of Zelda: Skyward Sword’s controls were a point of contention on its release, and remained an element of the game that ruined the experience for many, and generally made the game less fun. The complaints aroundSkyward Sword’scontrols were centered on its motion controls, designedfor the Nintendo Wii, which had the player physically swinging their sword throughout the game.
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While this may sound like fun at first, the controls could be both inaccurate and downright tedious, detracting from the overall experience. Although a more recent, HD version ofSkyward Swordon the Nintendo Switch was released with alternate joystick controls, the game is still surprisingly awkward to manage at first, though it’s a lot more enjoyable and accessible than motion controls generally are.
2Arma 3
The third entry in the revered military simulation series is just as complex as the rest of them both in its gameplay and its controls.Arma 3is difficult to control mostly due to the sheer number of inputs that are available to the player.
Not only are there a lot of controls inArma 3, but a lot of them are necessary to learn, especially the game’s movement and positioning controls that allow the player to position their character precisely, allowing for tactical peeks and aiming without exposing too much of the player’s body.
1System Shock (1994)
Despite being an FPS immersive-sim, the originalSystem Shockreleased in 1994 is almost entirely mouse-controlled, making the game difficult to learn and play, and even more inaccessible to modern players. Although the Enhanced Edition of the game offers easier controls, there’s a certain kind of fun and fluidity to be found in masteringSystem Shock’s dated mouse controls.
Despite the complexity ofSystem Shock’scontrols, its nature as an immersive sim works well with its specificity and precision. However, for players who want a more streamlined and easier alternative to this sci-fi classic,the recent remake does a great job of modernizing the game.
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