Elden Ring leads a list of video games that have the most Google search volume for guides, according to a study by THESPIKE, proclaiming the game as “the most difficult video game of all time.” Geometry Dash closely follows it, whilst the list is also filled with other Soulslikes.

The study ranked games based on the volume of Google searches appearing with the game title alongside guides, which is, according to THESPIKE, indicative of the game's difficulty. Thus, the most difficult games are the ones that have the most people searching for guides about the game.

Elden Ring leads this list with 1.7 million searches, closely followed by Geometry Dash with 1.6 million searches. Surprisingly, the next top result is Bloodborne. The surprise isn't that Bloodborne is at #3, as the game is indeed difficult, but that it only had a volume of 437k searches. The real surprise is that it is closely followed by Flappy Bird, a game that hasn't been around for well over a decade.

Here are the top eight “most difficult games” according to THESPIKE:

  1. Elden Ring – 1.7 million searches
  2. Geometry Dash – 1.6 million searches
  3. Bloodborne – 437k searches
  4. Flappy Bird – 430k searches
  5. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice – 341k searches
  6. Dark Souls – 254k searches
  7. Super Meat Boy – 27k searches
  8. Ninja Gaiden – 14k searches

In our book, though, the volume of searches of guides isn't indicative of difficulty. Searching for guides might just mean the game stumps players a lot, blocking progress, which isn't always tied to difficulty. The study is also probably biased towards newer titles, as there will always be recency bias for anything that cites Google search results.

What is actually the hardest video game?

Difficulty is subjective, but some games truly challenge more people than others, and there are challenges that feel more insurmountable than others. According to a recent article by Dexerto, these ten games are actually the hardest games and franchises of all time:

  1. Contra
  2. Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
  3. Souls Games (Elden Ring, Dark Souls, Demon Souls, Bloodborne)
  4. Super Meat Boy
  5. Ghosts n' Goblins
  6. Cuphead
  7. Sifu
  8. Ninja Gaiden
  9. Returnal
  10. Flappy Bird
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There are some overlaps between the two lists, so definitely Google search volume can be one criterion to determine what is a hard game. But people who find dexterity-based games like Ghosts n' Goblins and Cuphead don't look for guides to help them surmount the game's challenges, so they won't get captured in lists like the one prior.

Ghosts n' Goblins and Contra are also really old games that not a lot of people search for anymore, so no matter how difficult they are, there won't be a lot of searches about them anymore. Still, they can be considered among the world's most difficult games.

That's still not to mention obscure but overly difficult games, flash games, and indie titles that not a lot of people talk about. What I'm getting at is, difficult games will probably elicit searches for guides on Google, but not all challenging games require guides to overcome.

THESPIKE is a London-based website that focuses on coverage for VALORANT – the game and its esports scene. If you're looking for VALORANT guides, you can stick with us here in ClutchPoints Gaming for the latest VALORANT guides, including this new one we have for the latest addition to the game's roster, the new agent Clove.