Tutorials are supposed to help players get comfortable before the real game starts. These games made players struggle right from the opening minutes.

Some barely explained anything, while others threw difficult mechanics and punishing sections at players before they even had time to settle in.

Driver (1999)

Released in 1999, Driver has one of the hardest video game tutorials in history. The game throws players directly into action, asking them to pull off intricate maneuvers and driving skills that were not only difficult to execute, but also confusing because many players did not know what terms like Slalom and Reverse 180 meant in driving.

The Garage sequence remains the toughest part, with players being asked to complete nine complex maneuvers in under 60 seconds while receiving no guidance on how to perform them.

To add to it, the tutorial could not be skipped, meaning many players could not even experience the actual game, which was far less taxing, because they either could not get through the tutorial or grew tired of attempting it repeatedly.

Dark Souls II (2014)

The Dark Souls series is already known for being challenging. However, players often find themselves overwhelmed by the amount of action thrown at them almost immediately in Dark Souls II.

Dark Souls II teaches some of in-game basics, but fails to educate the traps that lie ahead. The tutorial is also restrictive, with even a slight deviation could lead to encounters with high-level Ogres or worse, elimination.

The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)

The best part of The Witcher 2's tutorial is that it can be skipped. Coming to this game after playing the first installment can be a shock, and the tutorial does little to help.

The original prologue provided a balanced introduction before the later update increased the complexity, which proved difficult even for people already familiar with The Witcher's world.

NieR: Automata (2017)

NieR: Automata also utilizes its prologue as a teaching tool, giving its players the option to change the difficulty during the tutorial itself. While this is good for new players, those using higher difficulty settings will find the tutorial much harder, as it adapts to the selected difficulty.

The hardest part, though, is easily the duration of the tutorial and the lack of checkpoints or save options. So, when players get eliminated at any point during the long tutorial sequence, they must start again from the very beginning.

Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege (2015)

While Rainbow Six Siege is already difficult to master, the tutorial includes certain elements that create an entry barrier for new players. Yellow chemical gas reduces visibility throughout the map during the tutorial, and the bomb defusal scenario offers no respawns.

So, if players get eliminated during the scenario, the entire sequence must be replayed. To add to it, the final sequence pits players against waves of enemies in a toxic zone, something that proves incredibly difficult for beginners to handle.

My Summer Car (2016)

While this 2016 game's tutorial is not as difficult as Driver's, My Summer Car does itself no favors with the opening sequence. Players spawn in front of a pile of loose car parts with no manual to help them understand what is happening.

To add to it, the opening sequence is so unforgiving that players can be eliminated from dehydration, hunger, or fatigue before even completing their first task of tightening a bolt, since the game provides no warning about those possibilities.

Jet Set Radio (2000)

One of the longest tutorials in gaming, Jet Set Radio features a total of 22 lessons that teach players the basics of skating and graffiti across the streets of Tokyo.

But the length is not the only problem. The tutorials require players to master trick combinations that must be performed quickly and precisely. One lesson asks players to perform 50 tricks in a precise and orderly manner.

Another frustrating aspect is that if players cannot match the AI's rhythm, they are locked out of the main game entirely, making the lessons unskippable.

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Written by

Abhisek Bajaj

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav