10 Hardest Turn-Based RPGs Of All Time

Published Jul 24, 2026, 10:00 AM EDT Jared is a writer, editor, and Communications Studies graduate who loves popular nerd culture (almost anything to do with Marvel, DC, Star Wars, or The Lord of the Rings) and the interactive storytelling medium. Jared's first console was the PS1, wherein he fell for Spider-Man, Spyro the Dragon, and Crash Bandicoot. Not everyone plays games for a soul-crushing and brutally challenging experience that will have you gritting your teeth and putting yourself on the market for a new keyboard after you’ve obliterated yours, but anyone who does can often find their wishes granted playing turn-based RPGs. Indeed, some of the hardest video games ever are turn-based RPGs, where players are punished by things they’re in control of, such as resource management and meticulous, strategic actions, as well as things they’re not in control of, such as RNG. In hard turn-based RPGs like Battle Brothers, for example, every choice becomes paramount. Gamers can obviously derive a ton of satisfaction from tough turn-based RPGs, but they wouldn’t necessarily be prescribed to anyone who prefers leisurely, consequence-free gameplay, and it’s easy to see why. Between the tactical exploitation of enemy weaknesses, mindful planning and buildcrafting, and the inevitable urge to ragequit, the following games will test your sanity. In no particular order: 10 Fear & Hunger Fear & Hunger is one of the most unforgiving games ever, but it’s also a survival horror game, rather than your run-of-the-mill turn-based RPG. With this mindset, players may be able to tackle it a little bit differently than they might a standard, tried-and-true turn-based RPG, yet that makes it no less difficult. All-in-all, Fear & Hunger’s gameplay is a war of attrition. Meta-gaming it and not going in blind will result in players potentially not making as many early mistakes, but that also defeats the purpose of the challenge of survival in a game like Fear & Hunger. On the one hand, how players engage with any game is up to them. On the other hand, Fear & Hunger and many other turn-based RPGs, survival horror or not, could actually benefit by players having some meta-knowledge and lore downloaded before diving in. XCOM 2 eclipses its predecessor when it comes to difficulty, and it isn’t particularly close, either. For a lot of players, this boils down to the unyielding stress of pesky mission timers, demanding that players are aggressive and always on the move. This would obviously be an enormous learning curve to have to adapt to for anyone who plays XCOM: Enemy Unknown and XCOM 2 back to back, as they require different playstyles. It also isn’t wholly surprising that the sequel to a hard tactics game would strive to be even harder. 8 Age Of Decadence Age of Decadence actively works against the player in terms of overall jankiness being a big source of the turn-based RPG’s difficulty. Save scumming is essentially a core gameplay feature if you’re trying to get the most out of Age of Decadence, and there’s a lot of friction in general. Infuriating at times as it is, and as irritating as it may be to simply avoid combat at any available opportunity in order to not perish, many fans appreciate Age of Decadence for its storytelling and worldbuilding (with some fans even agreeing that it would have been a better visual novel than a turn-based RPG). 7 Darkest Dungeon Darkest Dungeon is a tremendously popular dark fantasy RPG that invites a ton of stress. Unlike its sequel, which leans far more toward being a traditional roguelike experience, the first Darkest Dungeon game retains a rich uniqueness and stews in a bleak dread that is rivaled only by how beautiful its art style is. Is it the most difficult game ever made? Perhaps not. Ignoring how trite it may be, players will find the game to be less hard once they have a greater understanding of its features and mechanics, which is as true of Darkest Dungeon as it is of every other tough turn-based RPG. 6 Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest has fairly stiff competition, as it can usually be found as the first, second, or third choice in lists of Fire Emblem games that fans think are the hardest. This makes sense, however, as Fire Emblem Fates: Conquest was apparently literally designed to foster difficulty that could give a sufficient challenge to franchise veterans and fans who thought previous games were too easy. 5 Pathfinder: Kingmaker Pathfinder: Kingmaker is often criticized for not actually teaching players anything. Thus, Pathfinder: Kingmaker is ultimately obtuse. Not only do players need to have mastered the intricacies of turn-based RPGS/CRPGs, but they also seemingly need expert-level TTRPG knowledge (a trait that was inherited by Larian’s Baldur’s Gate 3, but without being nearly as difficult as any Baldur’s Gate or Pathfinder game). As such, it can be highly gratifying for anyone who can wield that knowledge, though even then it’s an incredibly steep incline. On harder difficulties, you’ll believe the DM is out to get you for some horrible way you happened to wrong them. 4 Battle Brothers Battle Brothers is simple on paper yet unmistakably grueling. It’s basically a mercenary outfit simulator, only with an agonizing amount of debt and fatigue as players try to keep their heads above water. Knowing how to best utilize or sell loot is crucial in Battle Brothers’ economy micromanaging gameplay. Likewise, a lot of Battle Brothers’ innate difficulty comes from the early game when players are struggling to get their bearings, and losing a recruit you’ve had for a long while can be devastating. Battle Brothers’ permadeath makes for an experience that players won’t take lightly, and, if players are inclined to increase their suffering tenfold, there’s even an option to forbid save scumming. 3 UnderRail UnderRail is considered by many to stretch the definition of “difficulty,” regarding how difficult any turn-based RPG/CRPG should be on Normal mode and above. This is always an intriguing topic, no matter the genre, as it calls into question how difficult the game was designed to be in the first place, and gives players insight into the developer’s design philosophy. UnderRail’s Normal mode nudging players to the brink over the years, then, makes the idea of its two harder difficulties, Expert and Dominating, even more anxiety-inducing. That said, it’s rewarding for fans to play on Dominating mode once they’ve mustered the courage—and game knowledge from playing easier difficulties—due to there being bosses that players won’t get to encounter on easier difficulties, and that can give players a tough yet fun challenge to look forward to as they learn UnderRail’s ins and outs better. 2 Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne, like many other turn-based RPGs (and virtually any game of any genre ever), is only as hard as players make it. The Normal mode difficulty is advertised by fans as being completely manageable, while Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne’s Hard mode is hailed as one of the hardest turn-based RPG experiences the Shin Megami Tensei franchise can offer. If nothing else, fans can approach Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne like a ‘challenge run’ to work their way up toward by first playing through the Persona games and other Shin Megami Tensei games, though there is debate in the Shin Megami Tensei community about which one is actually the hardest. Many answers for multiple different installments (some even believe Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne on Hard mode is laughably easy in comparison, and with so many entries, that’s understandable). This demonstrates how tricky the whole turn-based RPG series can be, concerning various difficulty spikes and unforgiving cheese. 1 Wizardry Wizardry feels unfair to even include in a list of this magnitude because few games here or anywhere will compare to its sheer cruelty and depravity, let alone its 45-year tenure (meant complimentarily, sort of). The storied Wizardry series was a major influence on challenging turn-based RPG franchises that would follow it, though the adversity it inflicts on players is obviously a bit antiquated in terms of what modern game design would even conceive of for the sake of difficulty—a forefather of brutality, in many ways.