I don’t consider myself a particularly masochistic person, but I admit there’s a hidden charm in games that basically force you to lose over and over again.
Of course, this largely depends on whether the gameplay is fun enough to avoid the frustration of having to retry a level, a case in which having to push yourself is extremely rewarding.
Souls-like games, roguelikes, stealth titles, and, in general, any experience with high difficulty or replayability in mind tend to fit this idea perfectly, so it’s no surprise these genres are among my favorites.
Therefore, in the spirit of celebrating those games that make us embrace our mistakes and improve as players—sometimes almost as people—I present to you this list of the ten best games where failure is fun.
10
BALL X PIT | An Addictive Cycle
2025 | Kenny Sun and Friends | PS5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
I’m a freelancer working for multiple media outlets, I recently earned my second degree, and I teach at the university level, and yet I’ve still managed to find at least two hours a day for the past three weeks to play Ball X Pit.
It’s difficult to explain how absurdly addictive this block-breaker with roguelite elements is, because it’s surprising how easily its gameplay loop of breaking blocks, unlocking characters, and upgrading your village can draw you in before you even realize it.
That said, the game is challenging and has a noticeable difficulty curve, where it takes time to reach the point where you can win consistently, especially since some characters are much more powerful than others, but you have to complete the game with several of them to progress.
The result is that you have to be good at playing even with the weakest characters, which is a great design decision because it encourages you to try new things. Sometimes it will frustrate you, but believe me when I say Ball X Pit never stops being fun, even after you’ve gone 17 games in a row without a win.
9
Inscryption | More Than Just a Roguelike
2021 | Daniel Mullins Games | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Speaking of roguelites capable of captivating you in a truly colossal way, Inscryption is a completely atypical and unique case where its procedural generation has an endpoint that doesn’t coincide with the campaign’s conclusion, making it feel rather obtuse to the player at first.
On average, you’ll finish the game with far more losses than wins because the sense of defeat and futility is integral to the atmosphere, making you feel like your chances of survival are nil and that you’re trapped for the rest of your days.
Since the ending isn’t really the end, the game goes to extremes, only allowing you to find your first victory after you’ve already spent many hours trying, which is a break from the genre that feels quite phenomenal.
However, you won’t mind. Inscryption is a masterclass in worldbuilding and ensuring failure never feels frustrating, because each new attempt brings with it invaluable learning about the mechanics and its world.
It’s not for nothing that it’s the best game of 2021, no matter how much the award ceremonies try to say otherwise.
8
Loop Hero | Automatic but Demanding
2021 | Four Quarters | Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Whenever I talk about Loop Hero, I emphasize it has to be among the most deceptive games ever made, because it’s tough to see at first glance and imagine it could be as addictive as it truly is.
Ultimately, it’s a game that plays itself, where you don’t fight, aim, dodge, or anything like that. You simply watch your character’s pixels move through a closed circuit while you modify the environment with cards… And it’s breathtaking.
I’ve rarely encountered a roguelite that makes it so challenging to defeat each boss, especially the final one, because it’s unusual for a game to force you to max out everything before you even have a chance to overcome all challenges.
Also Read
Despite this, like any good entry in the genre, the journey is just as important as the destination. Getting to know each character, leveling up your village buildings, understanding item synergies, and grasping the good and bad card combinations is simply a glorious system that works wonderfully.
7
Outer Wilds | The Thrill of Discovery
2019 | Mobius Digital | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Certainly, games don’t have to be procedurally generated to make failing fun, and the magnificent Outer Wilds perfectly confirms this.
Since it’s a game where information is king, every new foray into its cosmos is another step towards understanding all the phenomena that surround us, preparing us for a climax that is among the best in video game history.
As you discover more planets, laws of physics, secrets, and characters, you become increasingly motivated to die so you can start over and search every nook and cranny for any information that might help you in your mission to prevent the destruction of the universe.
Without skill trees, upgrades, bosses, or anything of the sort, Outer Wilds exploits the innate human desire to explore and understand, ensuring no failure is worth having to put on your suit and continue wandering the galaxy.
6
Sifu | Training for Revenge
2022 | Sloclap | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Continuing with the trend of non-procedural games, Sloclap completely mastered martial arts mechanics with Sifu, which forces you to become a master, no matter what.
It’s one of those unforgiving experiences where you won’t even make it halfway through the campaign if you haven’t conquered its systems to the fullest, but it’s so meticulously and spectacularly crafted that you won’t mind training for it as if this were Karate Kid.
The basic enemies are difficult, as are the bosses, the controls, the combos, and getting used to the perfect yet demanding structure of dealing with everything at once, plus the necessary use of the environment to overcome adverse situations.
Before you know it, you’ll be able to beat the game almost without dying, aging, or even taking damage, because you enter a flow state virtually unparalleled in the video game industry. Sifu has one of the best combat systems in history, so anything that extends your enjoyment, like failing, will make you feel happier.
5
Hollow Knight: Silksong | A Permanently Enchanting Challenge
2025 | Team Cherry | PS5, PS4, Xbox Series X/S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Speaking of challenges whose level of polish and dedication makes you want to move from real life into the game itself, Hollow Knight: Silksong is a perfect example of how to use frustration to your advantage.
Drawing on the lessons learned from FromSoftware over the past decade, its ability to create a well-rounded combat system where even movement feels phenomenal is the mainstay of a game where progression and bosses are simply perfect.
Beating the game for the first time without dying hundreds of times is virtually impossible, though so is beating it without feeling like you’re enjoying the best Metroidvania ever made, whose enemies and attack patterns, platforms, secrets, and synergies make each hour better than the last.
I know it can be infuriating to the point of wanting to quit (I’m looking at you, Bilewater), but I think we can all agree its quality far outweighs any frustration. Hollow Knight: Silksong makes failing satisfying because you can continue to revel in its world, which is almost impossible to achieve.
4
Dishonored | The Game of a Thousand Paths
2012 | Arkane Studios | PS4, PS3, Xbox One, Xbox 360, and PC
As a perfectionist when it comes to stealth games, I think I’ve rarely felt as motivated to achieve my maximum performance as when I first played Dishonored.
Since I hate facing these kinds of titles and having to deal with the consequences of my mistakes, I’m one of those people who, for better or worse, reloads saves until everything goes as planned, but I’ve only ever done this with Arkane Studios’ masterpiece.
In other cases, the incentives to go through the same thing again aren’t enough, so I simply decide to accept that blemish on my record and either escape or take them down head-on. However, Dunwall is different.
With all its paths, possibilities, abilities, and mysteries, I won’t lie, sometimes I reloaded saves just to explore more. I didn’t care about being discovered because it was a new opportunity to prepare for my next attempt, which led me to play through it almost ten times in a row.
The guards’ positioning and their patterns, the level design, and Corvo’s powers are all gloriously in sync, so failing doesn’t matter. In fact, failing is a positive part of the process because it teaches you everything you need to know to pull off that more than satisfying ghost run.
3
Hades 2 | Master’s Degree in Procedural Gameplay
2025 | Supergiant Games | Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC
I’m sorry to return to a roguelite to continue the list, but it was literally impossible to write this article without including one of the standout games of 2025: Hades 2.
I still vividly remember how incredible it was to play through the first one and see how, unlike the rest of the genre, the world evolved with each run, instead of simply getting stuck in a loop until I could reach the final resolution that would unleash everything.
In this sense, Hades 2 improves upon the outstanding foundation of its predecessor and makes death a gift, because there’s no other way to describe the possibility of returning to The Crossroads to enjoy the wonderful dialogues with the remarkable cast of supporting characters and experience Melinoe’s innovative progression and evolution.
Losing means being able to play again, making different choices, and just a few games, both within and outside the genre, are able to make each run so unique. You can spend more than 50 hours, going through the game dozens of times, and still want to keep watching more, because that’s how masterful Supergiant’s work is.
2
Celeste | Ten Thousand Deaths of Pure Entertainment
2018 | Maddy Makes Games | Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, and PC
Speaking of enjoying dying, I don’t think I’m exaggerating when I say that if I combined all the times I’ve died in the more than 20 years I’ve been playing video games, I wouldn’t reach the total number of deaths I’ve racked up with Celeste and its DLC.
I’m literally talking about thousands of deaths on some levels, with hours and hours dedicated to perfecting a jump, a dash, or a nearly impossible sequence of movements that only the most agile fingers and the sharpest reflexes can handle.
And yet, Celeste is made with such a degree of detail and precision, allowing you to revive immediately to try again, that you don’t realize you’ve been on the same platform for 178 minutes and have barely progressed a couple of pixels, and yet you still feel fantastic.
Many times you’ll have to stop playing, go outside for some fresh air, and put ointment on your fingers, but all the pain you endure will be worth it to be able to finish what is, without a doubt, the best platformer in history in my eyes.
1
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice | One With the Katana
2019 | FromSoftware | PS4, Xbox One, and PC
Regardless of all the above, and even though I don’t think the gap is that wide, I’m certain Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is the game that best transforms failure and frustration into fuel for entertainment.
It helps immensely that it has what I consider the best combat system in the history of video games, but the Wolf’s adventure is more than just superb attack patterns and superhuman reflexes; it’s a deliberate combination of systems.
The progression of passive powers, the prosthetic tools, the use of stealth, the availability of genuinely useful consumables, the verticality, the speed of movement, the special powers… When we talk about Sekiro, we often focus on how impressive the clashing of swords is, but it’s an entire structure of pure harmony.
As a result, you don’t care if Father Owl destroys you more times than you can count or if you hear “Hesitation is defeat” more times than you’ve heard your own thoughts, because everything is so perfectly designed that you know you’re capable and that you’re always getting a little closer to glory.
Every step is progress, and no other game teaches you to grow and improve like Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, which is especially relevant considering that, like many other FromSoftware games, we’re talking about one of the most demanding experiences of this century.
