The 10 hardest mobile games

Let's make one thing clear; you will die. Very. No matter how good you think you are, you will die. Play as a failed alchemical experiment, explore a massive castle on a spooky island, and discover how everything became so dilapidated in this rogue-lite action platformer. Fight various enemies such as zombies, strange-looking bats, golems and even giant worms. They will attack everyone quickly, so you better think fast.

You can dodge or attack with weapons, skills and amulets. From swords to whips and even musical instruments, there's no shortage of ways to mow down your enemies. However, this also means there is no shortage of ways to die. You have to be constantly moving, otherwise you'll be staring at the end of a crossbow, or worse. The gameplay will be challenging to master, but play enough times and you'll get the hang of it. It's still clearly one of the hardest mobile games out there right now!

Available on Google Play and App Store for $8.99.

Experience two different adventures in one game, each with challenging logic puzzles. In Zero-G, the science fiction adventure, a global disaster has occurred that has caused the Earth to lose gravity. Some time ago, a scientist discovered how to reverse this situation. Play as that scientist's grandson to finally restore Earth's gravity. In the fantasy adventure Eclipse, evil creatures called Kikimora kidnap a prince, intending to turn him into one of their own.

Play as a warrior who must save the prince before the full moon. There are over 100 rooms and 50 levels to explore, with at least 25 hours of gameplay. While there are clues and hints to help you, most puzzle solving involves tapping to see what happens. Thankfully, the scenery is beautifully animated and beautiful to look at.

Available on Google Play

One of my favorite roguelikes, if not my absolute favorite: FTL. Since I'm not a huge fan of the genre, since I don't like doing things over and over again, this says a lot about its quality. To go deeper, it is a space simulation where you will travel with the spaceship trying to save the universe. Not much at stake at all! At the start there is only one ship that you can upgrade and set up as you see fit. Once you complete the game, you will unlock another one. There's an entire guide on how to unlock every ship in FTL, so you can check it out.

There are two modes, one is wandering through space nodes or points where the role-playing and simulation parts take place. After starting an encounter, the view switches to the top-down camera of your ships where you have to carefully manage everything that happens: put out fires, repair damaged things or manage enemy soldiers who have been teleported on your ship, trying to take control of it. The thing is…one wrong decision and you could miss the ship and start all over again. This is where FTL's difficulty lies, and it's masterful, honestly.

Available on the App Store for $9.99.

To say this game is weird would be an understatement. You play as a boy in a pot who must climb a mountain using only a giant hammer. Yes, you read that right. It's apparently an homage to a game made in 2002 called Sexy Hiking, with essentially the same story and mechanics. While it's a little frustrating trying to get the hammer to stick to the rock or tree you want, at least you won't suffer this quest in silence.

The game's creator, Foddy, talks as you play about topics he considers philosophical. His soft, gentle voice adds a strange, soothing tone to an otherwise punishing game. He said the game could be completed in at least five hours, though I suppose it depends on what kind of gamer you are.

Available on Google Play and App Store for $4.99.

You don't say it's impossible without a good reason. Tap the screen to help your orange square avoid dangers and get to the end of the levels. This is one of those games where if the square hits an obstacle, you have to start over from the beginning. Considering the game's fast and unrelenting pace, you'll find yourself trying again and again. There's a catchy soundtrack synced with the gameplay, an attempt to help your square know when to jump.

Miraculously, this crazy arcade game has a practice mode, so you're not just up a stream without a paddle. Unlock different types of medals as you play, including one for completing practice mode and making 500 attempts. You won't find many mobile games harder than this one.

Available on Google Play and App Store for $0.99.

Geometry Dash is one of the legendary hardcore games for mobile devices. It has become extremely popular since the first day of its release. The reason for this could be the simplicity and easy understanding of the basics. All you have to do in Geometry Dash is move a square from left to right, jump over obstacles, and collect stars.

Does this look like a typical arcade game on the App Store and Google Play? Well, try to advance at least a few levels and you will find that you have to memorize each obstacle to complete the level. Geometry Dash is really complicated and will impress even an avid hardcore gamer. Plus, you'll find more than 20,000 custom levels created by the community, meaning you can play Geometry Dash for as long as you want.

Available on Google Play for free and on the App Store for $1.99.

This game is something of a contradiction; you have to survive and keep calm. Maneuver two differently colored balls through eight chapters of obstacles while listening to a soft voice tell you to stop looking for an exit. Think GLaDOS from Portal but cuter. If one ball hits an obstacle, both return to the start.

Tap either side of the screen to move them left and right. The obstacles will move randomly, so try to be careful. As you play, listen to nine different melodic tracks by Melbourne composer Tim Shiel. The music really adds a deep sense of immersion to this game.

Available on Google Play for free and on the App Store for $2.99.

We recommend playing this game just for the chance to say “what obstacles?” The goal is to smash through anything that tries to get in your way. In a surreal, futuristic dimension, play through 50 rooms and experiment with 11 graphics types as you unleash your army of silver orbs into all that breakable glass.

Don't be fooled into thinking this game is easy; you will have to stay focused and concentrate to move those balls as far as possible. A fun feature of this game is that the music and even sound effects change in each room and the obstacles move in time with them. The game will not follow the same pace twice, so be careful.

Available on Google Play and App Store.

Who likes math, honestly? If by some miracle you succeed, this is the game for you. Combine four different numbers to reach the target number using only addition and multiplication. All numbers must be used and can only be used once. An example question might get 22 from 2, 2, 3 and 5, the answer will be (2 x 3 + 5) x 2. You are awarded stars after completing each solution; one star for simply finishing, two for solving it in less than a minute, and three for less than 20 seconds.

The levels get harder as you progress, even adding subtraction and division at some point. Additionally, you will have seven mathematicians accompanying you on your journey, such as Albert Einstein and Pythagoras. The more stars you earn means you will unlock interesting stories about them. Will you follow in their footsteps?

Available on Google Play.

Darkest Dungeon is one of the hardest games on mobile devices and other platforms. You begin by receiving a call from your ancestor, who has unearthed something unspeakable beneath his estate. It's up to you to clean up its mess and go through various dungeons, until you unlock the final, darkest one.

In your mission you will lead a team of four companions, but you will have to have good reserve because your companions will die very often. It's easy to pick it up and start playing, but it gets harder and harder as you progress. And the RNG will sometimes kill your companions even if you do everything correctly. This can lead to the real ending where you have to start all over again because you have no one else to send to the dungeons and you will have to start over.

Available on the App Store.

We hope you find what you like in our list of the hardest mobile games! Leave a comment below with some of your favorite titles and help other players, because we couldn't fit them all!

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