TOP 10 bad levels that have become legends: racing from Mafia, helicopter from GTA: Vice City, asteroids from Dead Space and others

Probably, in almost every game that you have played through more than once, there is that very level, when loading it, the thought immediately appears in your head: «I wish it would end faster!» Surprisingly, just one mistake by a game designer can ruin all the fun from a good project. We decided to share our pain with you and have prepared a selection of the most, in our opinion, unsuccessful levels in good games.

Well, what selection of bad levels in games can do without that very legendary race from the first Mafia? After all, it was the cause of the destruction of hundreds of computer keyboards and the death of millions of human nerve cells.

When you look at the root of why this mission is so terrible, it becomes clear that the road to hell was paved with good intentions. The developers focused on the realism of what was happening, and therefore driving a racing car of the 1930s on the screen is almost as difficult as it was in life. Sand, grass and opponents also add to the difficulties, thanks to whose prayers the player now and then finds himself outside the track. In such conditions it is really difficult to take and maintain the championship for five laps. What a blessing that with the patch that came out later, it became possible to simply skip the race!

Note that in Mafia: Definitive Edition the developers decided to make the task easier for players and even on «classic» difficulty made the race less nerve-wracking. However, this rather caused indignation among the players, because some dreamed of facing the old challenge in a new shell, while others simply considered this «implementation» to be a deception.

Some call this stage of the already hardcore Battletoads the reason that their psyche was crippled in early childhood. And no wonder, because the racing level requires literally lightning-fast reflexes from the player.

The fate of a toad on a hover bike is in your hands, with obstacles and jumps along the way. And it looks easy until the moment you realize that the speed of the toad's movement increases over time, and therefore objects in front of it begin to appear more often. By the end of the location, you will have to press the buttons without a break so as not to lose precious lives. And if after half an hour of trying this doesn't make a few hairs on your head turn grey, then what will?

The famous «helicopter mission from GTA» at one time caused no less hatred than the same notorious race from «Mafia». And here, unlike previous examples, the point is not in deliberate hardcore or excesses with realism, but simply in the peculiarities of the engine.

According to the plot, the main character, using a toy helicopter, must mine a skyscraper under construction in four places. The helicopter's carrying capacity does not allow it to take more than one charge at a time, and therefore the toy must be returned three times to take the remaining bombs and install them one by one. At the same time, of course, you cannot crash into anything or allow builders and security guards to knock down the toy.

If you play Vice City on hardware that is more powerful or weaker than the PlayStation 2, then the mission becomes many times more difficult than the creators intended. The reason is the number of frames per second, which for the curling iron version is fixed at 30 FPS. This is optimal for completing a level without hating the whole rotorcraft for the rest of your days. If your PC outputs more, then light touches on particularly dense air clots will be enough for the helicopter to detonate earlier than necessary. If it's less, it will move so slowly that it will be simply impossible to complete the task in the seven minutes allotted for completion.

Dead Space has long been recognized as a classic, and it's unlikely that anyone would dare say that it's bad. But even an old woman can have a bad time, and in this case it's a fragment of the fourth chapter, where Isaac needs to hide from meteorites in outer space.

The task, at first glance, is quite simple: to get from point A to point B without colliding with cosmic boulders. To do this, you can hide behind covers, but you still need to run from one to the other. But even if you have time, this still does not guarantee anything: the slightest contact with a passing pebble leads to instant death. Therefore, if you considered yourself a big trickster, then Dead Space dares to disappoint you. How it has already disappointed thousands of those who had to pause their playthrough to stop seeing meteor showers in their nightmares.

Resident Evil 7 made a splash among fans of the survival horror genre, as it returned to the roots of the series, from which the fifth and sixth numbered parts left. The main character again solves riddles, saves ammo and tries to cram the impossible to fit into a tiny inventory. In addition, he sees a real threat in each of the enemies he meets on the way — be it ordinary «moulds» or someone from the Baker family.

With that being said, the big shooter section at the end of the game was bound to be a disappointment. Starting from the mission on the ship, the game is no longer saturated with an atmosphere of fear and anxiety — rather, alertness and readiness to put a bullet in the forehead of any creature. The writers clearly understood this, and therefore tried to create a depressing atmosphere through narrative. But what kind of atmosphere is there when all the worst things are shown in cut scenes, and the player can easily get rid of everything else with a couple of shots?

Yes, Katana Zero is very different in scale and budget from other games in this collection. However, whatever one may say, this is one of the best indie projects of recent years. Therefore, we cannot ignore the level that seems to be an unnecessary appendix in a healthy body.

We are talking about the only mission where we control not the killer Zero, but his «colleague» nicknamed the Snake. And it is bad for two reasons. Firstly, the Snake has a different fighting style, which takes a long time to adapt to. This is indecently long for a mission that is ultimately completed in five minutes, after which this experience will not be useful to us anywhere else. And secondly, when you finally get used to a new character, it becomes clear how cheating he is. Unlike Zero, who needs to deal with each of the enemies separately, the Snake can clear an entire room with one blow and calmly run on.

It's unclear why the Serpent level wasn't just shown as a video cutscene. You simply don't have time to get used to and warm to a new character in just a few minutes. But, returning to Zero, you experience real pain from how many extra body movements he needs to make in order to win.

Canada from «South Park» has long become the talk of the town and a meme in its own right. However, in this game we are not interested in Canada itself, which is done quite well, but in its peculiar «anteroom» — the forest through which the heroes need to go to get to the border with it.

The worst thing about it is that it is infested with wolves, from which it is almost impossible to escape. And therefore, every now and then, you have to get involved in fights with them. Fights that never end.

The problem with wolves in South Park: The Stick of Truth is that they know how to call on their relatives for help if you don't manage to deal with them quickly enough. Therefore, before the player has time to neutralize a couple of predators, the same number will come running to replace them. And then more. And further.

In the end, if you manage to get out of this mess, the forest will remain a location that you will avoid until the very end of the passage.

Taking into account her sad fate, it is very shameful to blame Emma Emmerich for the fact that after completing the second part of MGS mixed feelings remain. However, this is so, and the girl, who causes almost more problems than Ashley in Resident Evil 4, is also the reason for this.

Not only does Emma need to be led past enemy soldiers while simultaneously holding her hand, but in flooded sections of the location she constantly has to slow down and surface, because the girl's oxygen runs out before her savior's. It's clear that no one requires her to have CIA-level training, but she slows down the pace of the game too much. After all, Emma is a computer genius who could come in handy during the escape if some interesting mechanics were invented for it. But no, they didn't come up with it. And therefore it turns into annoying ballast.

Another escort mission in our selection is part of the 13th chapter of The Evil Within 2, where the main character must accompany psychologist Yukiko Hoffman to the stronghold of the antagonist Father Theodore. The girl carries in her hands a device that allows her to pass through the fiery wall with which the sectarian has surrounded his abode. Well, Sebastian's task is to prevent the zombies from eating her before they reach their goal.

Like most escort missions in games, this one is completely unbalanced. Because the player has to be responsible not only for the main character, but also for a lady more fragile than a set of royal crystal.

Yukiko constantly stops to repair an unstable unit, and at this time she and Sebastian are surrounded by fire monsters, which posed a big problem even in larger arenas. And on a spot two meters away, their «sweet» hugs are almost impossible to avoid.

In the end, it turns out that both characters are absolutely helpless in the face of circumstances. All the player can do is run in a narrow circle from enemies and hope that the game will throw in a box or two of ammo out of pity.

Having recently left early access and managed to gain popularity among the public in just a few months, Hades certainly deserves its laurels. And although the developers tried to make an isometric souls-like metrovidvania, in some places it is inappropriately hardcore, which is why sometimes it even looks dishonest.

In particular, the feeling that the game is playing with you, pardon the pun, not according to the rules, does not go away in the Asphodel location. Because in a project where the gameplay is based on dodging and dynamic battles with a huge number of enemies, it is simply impossible to create so many zones in which the hero receives damage.

Prince Zagreus, like, in general, any of us, cannot stand on volcanic lava for long. However, due to its abundance in Asphodel, it seems that it is lava that makes up most of the local locations. While small islands of land on which you need to fight dozens of opponents are nothing more than a mockery. This is especially painful given the fact that the player observes appropriate and varied traps in other locations, made according to the precepts of good game design. Why was this necessary? Mystery.

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Well, as you can see, even good projects often have bad episodes. Do you remember any levels that made you quit your favorite games? Share in the comments!