We all have had our fair share of difficult video game levels or missions. From seemingly impossible bosses to insane time limits, some games really test our limits. This list is not about those levels. Today we look at Irritating Levels in video games.

These levels are not designed to kill you. They don’t really push you to your limits. Heck, some of them aren’t even compulsory. Instead, they aim to frustrate you. Like an unreachable itch. Or a popcorn kernel stuck at the back of your teeth. You get the idea.

Here is our (unfortunate) list of 5 Irritating levels in video games:

1. Grand Theft Auto Series – Driving Levels

There is just something about these missions that I can never put my finger around. Fans are equally divided on these missions, with some arguing that they are too easy, and others arguing that they’re too difficult. Weird huh.

People in the first group usually compare the racing to actual racing games like Forza or Grand Turismo. Of course, the world of Los Santos is probably not the most conducive place to hold a race. Some players complain that enemy cars end up running into other vehicles along the course of the race, making things too easy.

On the other hand, if you’re like me and absolutely suck at racing games, these racing challenges are tough. Not only do you have to beat the other car, you have to avoid traffic as well. I end up being the car that runs into every other obstacle. The feeling can be really frustrating, especially when it is a mission that is part of the main storyline. There is simply no escaping the hellhole of racing in Grand Theft Auto.

2. Pokémon Red and Green – Lt. Surge’s Gym

Everyone loves talking about how tough Misty’s Starmie is. In the same vein, Whitney’s Miltank is also extremely difficult to beat. You have to put in a few additional hours of grinding to ensure that your Pokémon are strong enough to take their gym on. We understand. It’s part of the game. You lose, you grind, you win. It feels good.

Besides the tough battle that waits at the end, you need to go through puzzles. Every gym has a pseudo-puzzle that players need to beat to reach the gym leader. Some requires you to solve math equations, others to walk on movement mats. Not in Vermilion City’s gym though.

The leader, Lt. Surge, wants you to wade through his trash to find two “switches”. You open the gate if you can successfully find the two switches. What the hell. Seriously Surge? Your trashcans? Do you not have any idea how weird this is?

If you find the first one and stumble on the second, it resets and you have to start from the beginning.

To make things worse, Lt. Surge is literally sitting behind the fence watching you pick through his dustbins. Oh my god. How big of an ass does one have to be to design such a puzzle for a gym?

3. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – A Daedra’s Best Friend

Generally speaking, all escort missions are a pain to complete, for a few reasons.

First, the companions you have to escort are ridiculously slow. They run ahead for a short while, realise you are behind, pause, and then continue running. This happens for the whole journey until you reach said destination.

Secondly, they don’t tell you where you are headed. This means no fast travel to circumvent this irritating escorting. Nope, you have to accompany your companion along the whole journey. You have to endure the tedious treks through the roads of Skyrim. Yeah the scenery is great and all, but after a few of these escort missions, it can get tiring.

Third, they get into unwanted battles. It won’t really mean a thing if you own a high leveled character. But if you start a battle as a character with low level equipment, you might get into fights you cannot win. If you’re lucky, your escort can pack a punch. If they are useless in battle, then you’re in for a wild ride, because you’re both probably going to get your asses handed to you.

A Daedra’s Best Friend is probably one of the best examples of this. You start out on a long journey to find the dog, and when you find the dog, you have to escort this slow moving daedra to find his master. Yeah, it’s a sweet story. I’m not saying it’s not. But running around the forest looking for a cave following the stupid dog is not fun.

Then we have to go through an entire dungeon to help find his master – who wouldn’t mind him dead? Seriously Barbas? That is your master? The heartless Daedric Lord? Have better taste bro. Learn from Dogmeat.

4. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles on NES – Water Level

The community is united on this one. Regardless of how good a gamer you are, playing this level would have left you with sweaty palms and tired eyes. A few people have mentioned online that they threw their copy of the game after being unable to complete the level.

As you can see, the level is not impossible. But the sheer combination of having to maintain where you are, seaweed you can’t touch, and a timer is frustrating. You know it can be done. Defusing bombs is not impossible for you. It’s not even too complicated. The issue is that there are so many elements compounding to make life tough. That’s when it gets irritating.

It does not help when coming into contact with the seaweed causes your screen to flash uncontrollably.

The level is not unplayable, but given the circumstances, you’ll wish you could skip it. Unfortunately you can’t. You are stuck staring at the stupid turtle in this stupid dam of water, as you try and defuse all the bombs for the fifteenth time.

They say games today are tough, but they haven’t had a taste of the Ninja Turtles.

5. Dragon Age: Origins – The Fade

The Fade is part of the main storyline which you have to complete. You and your companions are stuck in a dreamlike world that you need to get out of. Unfortunately, this is one big dream world. There is so much to do in a single quest that this is almost not worth it at all.

The Fade mission was so tedious that people actually developed a mod solely just to skip this part of the game. With 175,000 downloads on Nexusmods, we can be sure that not many are a fan of this portion of the game. Let that sink in for a moment.

It is unfortunately a very long drawn out series of quests that is very tedious for the player to complete. Navigating in the Fade is a pain. Because you need your different forms to navigate through the entire section of the Fade, you will need to backtrack. And trust me, there is a heck load of backtracking involved.

Special Mention: Maplestory – Jumping Quests

Hahaha okay this one definitely deserves a honorary mention. How do I even begin to describe how frustrated I am with these kind of quests? They were so freaking impossible @#^@$.

It’s not about how difficult they get. The truth is, they seem really easy. Yeah, make one jump from a small platform to another. No sweat. You make five jumps. Ten jumps now and everything looks good. Suddenly, on the eleventh jump you fall, back down to the bottom.

No amount of experience grinding or training can help you with these quests. It is a matter of pure patience and salt management. You need to make sure that you are mentally strong – mentally ready for the pain when your character free falls from the top of the map to the bottom

There’s only so many times a person can attempt a jumping quest before succumbing to the reality that they have wasted the last few hours repeating something without achieving anything. It is at this juncture of realisation that is absolutely horrid. You could have been farming for that Pot Lid. Or perhaps you could have used the time to push for your third job. Instead, all you have are sore fingers and an overused spacebar.

Try again next time.

This concludes our list of 5 most repetitive and irritating levels in video games. Do you agree with us? Felt that there were other games that were just as, if not more, irritating? Let us know in the comments section!

Source for images: Wikia, Youtube,GIF footage taken from Youtube Video

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