The Nintendo Switch 2 is right around the corner, and after eight years on the market, its hard to call the first Nintendo Switch anything else but a massive success. Sure, it might lack the horsepower of a new Xbox or PlayStation, but the hybrid functionality, innovative feedback of the Joy-Con controllers, and massive library of Nintendo classics and third-party ports has made it the preferred console for millions of people around the world.Theres a little something for everyone in the Nintendo Switch library, especially if youre looking for a challenge. Between new games with cranked up difficulty, and old favorites known for their high difficulty that have been ported to the system, these are the 15 hardest Nintendo Switch games.15. IkarugaOriginally released for arcades in 2001, time has not made Ikaruga any easier, and the Switch port doesnt include any modern additions to reduce the difficulty. This is pure bullet hell with a still-innovative polarity system. At any time, you can change the polarity of your ship to white or black and absorb bullets of that color to power up a special attack. But get hit by a bullet of the wrong color, and youll lose a ship.It sounds like a simple concept, but when the bullets start flying, Ikaruga can be frustratingly difficult until you learn all of its patterns. Beating its five stages is still an impressive accomplishment for any gamer, especially if you can do it without losing a life.14. Super Mario Maker 2There are really two games in Super Mario Maker 2. The first is story mode, a challenging, but not terribly difficult collection of levels developed by Nintendo that most Mario veterans will be able to beat after a few days with a fairbut not terribly excessivenumber of deaths.Then theres the online mode where sadists have gone out of their way to create the most ridiculously difficult platforming levels ever devised, and that less than one percent of players can actually beat in some cases. May God have mercy on your soul if you decide to venture into this mode and actually try to complete some of these levels.13. HadesLike any roguelike, difficulty in Hades largely comes down to a combination of practice and luck, but Hades also introduces some quirks that make it one of the more difficult titles in the genre. First, to truly beat the game and see the credits, youll have to defeat the final boss not once, not twice, but a whopping 10 times, a feat that will take most players dozens of hours.But after defeating Hades the first time, you can manually increase the difficulty for extra rewards. Some of these modifiers increase the number of enemies or how bosses attack to the point that initially the developers thought the hardest difficulty was impossible to beat until one player finally managed to pull it off and posted it online.12. Dark Souls: RemasteredWhere would a list about hard games be without an appearance from Dark Souls? The Switch version isnt drastically different from any of the other versions released since 2011, except you can now die a lot while on the go. This is essentially the same game weve been playing since the PS3 era, with all of its sometimes cheap enemies and occasionally confusing level design meant to beat you down.The only reason Dark Souls ranks low on the list is that by now there are also plenty of guides online that will tell you how to cheese it to power up early and easily beat the most difficult bosses. But if you go into it blind, this is still one of the most difficult games around.11. Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne HD RemasterLongtime Shin Megami Tensei players will tell you that the games actually arent that difficult. The problem is, that view really only comes from experience. If you go into Shin Megami Tensei III blind, you will almost definitely die a lot, even on normal difficulty.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!Kind of like Dark Souls, theres just a lot here the game doesnt tell you about fusing demons and shoring up your partys weaknesses. Once you get a grasp on the games mechanics and are able to properly prepare for battles, its not too bad, but most gamers will tell you their first encounter with the series was anything but easy.Another beloved roguelike, Dead Cells took a lot of cues from Dark Souls, but just moved the action to 2D. With that kind of inspiration, you have a pretty good idea of what the difficulty is going to be like. While its an overall fantastic game, what gets frustrating about Dead Cells is just how random and downright unfair it can be.Youll get a good run going, and some strong equipment so you can start dominating everything in your path. Then the game will randomly throw out a brand new boss youve never seen before who crushes you in about 10 seconds, promptly ending your run.9. Darkest DungeonYou know how we said above that Shin Megami Tensei III can at least be beaten with proper planning? Darkest Dungeon takes that one advantage away with its procedurally-generated dungeons. You might think your party is ready for whats ahead, but if the game throws something way overpowered at you, youre going to be dead, or maybe worse, insane.Darkest Dungeons most unique feature is its stress level. If your party is stressed by too much darkness, lack of food, or blights from enemies, theyll stop listening to you, or they might even have a heart attack. Having to deal with the effects of stress makes Darkest Dungeon much more difficult than the typical RPG.8. ThumperThe developers of Thumper describe it as a rhythm violence game. A few minutes of gameplay make it clear what exactly that means. You play as a space beetle flying along a track, trying to keep rhythm with the music, while also dodging obstacles and defeating enemies.Like many great rhythm games, Thumpers difficulty starts out reasonably paced, but each level number corresponds with a time signature, and the later levels get so extreme that even the most seasoned veterans of other rhythm titles will have trouble keeping up.7. Baba is YouBaba is You remains a wholly unique puzzle game that will make you question your intelligence over the course of more than 400 levels. In each one screen stage, youre confronted with several word tiles you need to arrange in order to reach the goal. That can start off as simple as arranging the term flag is win, but the difficulty quickly spirals.Once you dive further into the game, its easy to fall into terms that will quickly break a level by changing the nature of your character, or the world itself. And the purpose of words in later levels gets much vaguer, resulting in an experience that can be more frustrating than fun.6. Donkey Kong Country Returns HDDonkey Kong Country Returns HD is technically the newest release to make it onto the list since it just came out in January of this year, but its also a port of a 2010 Wii game, making it one of the older games on this list. The difficulty also depends quite a bit on which mode you choose to play. Modern mode allows for Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong to share six hearts between them, and there are plenty of power ups available, making it a challenging, but not impossible game to get through.But if you play in classic mode, youre in for a rough time. With only four hearts between the Kongs, and fewer power ups, Donkey Kong Country Returns numerous mine cart and barrel levels will test all of your platforming skills, and not everyone will make it to the credits.5. Metroid DreadWhile Metroid Dread received an update with an easier difficulty mode after release, it initially shipped with only a normal and hard difficulty selectable, and even normal difficulty was pretty damn hard. Much of the challenge comes from the changes to the classic Metroid formula. In tense stealth sections, Samus faces the new EMMI robot enemies, initially with no way of defeating them, and only a brief window to escape when they catch her. Those parts of the game, which sometimes involve complex control combinations, can be tough, even when you acquire a weapon to take down these deadly enemies.Then there are the tricky boss fights, which forced many gamers to give up before the final cutscene. In particular, the final boss, a demanding three-stage fight that requires almost perfect timing to overcome, may be the most difficult in the entire franchise.4. Super Meat BoySuper Meat Boy is another title that was originally released elsewhere long before its Switch debut, but that still hasnt been watered down for casual tastes. Super Meat Boy has some of the tightest platforming controls around, but that doesnt do anything to ease the difficulty.In each of its more than 300 levels, there are just so many obstacles that need to be so precisely evaded, it takes real skills to see the game through to the end. While the game gets really freaking hard in the later levels, its just addicting enough that youll likely do everything you can to see the finale.3. CelesteCeleste is another ultra-difficult platform in the same vein as Super Meat Boy. The game requires absolute mastery of its jumping, dashing, and climbing mechanics if you plan to see it to the end, but dont expect that to be a quick journey. Its not uncommon to see posts on forums about players dying hundreds of times on a single level.Celeste does feature a highly customizable assist mode that can provide you with lowered game speed, unlimited dashes, or even invincibility, but without that its a real chore to get through the challenging B-side and C-side levels, or gather all the games collectibles.2. Hollow KnightHollow Knight has a wonderfully weird graphical style illustrating its subterranean insectoid world that no doubt lured many unsuspecting gamers in. While a traditional Metroidvania at its core, every part of this games difficulty is cranked up to the max. The dozens of tough bosses can end you quickly, and even a tough run in with a group of regular enemies might take you out.The most frustrating thing about Hollow Knight (though admittedly this feature has its fans as well) is that theres so little direction about where to go next, its very easy to go down a path youre not yet equipped to handle, and have all of your progress wiped out in an instant.First off, let us just say that we absolutely love Cupheads aesthetic. The game is a beautifully animated love letter to cartoons of the 1930s, with a jazz soundtrack youll be humming well after youve put the controller down. The run-and-gun gameplay is solid, too. Its just so damn hard.There are no real shortcuts to get past the numerous difficult bosses of Cuphead. You just need to learn their patterns, but then on top of that, develop the muscle memory to perfectly time parries and attacks. Theres a great feeling of accomplishment here if you actually do manage to beat the Devil, but not every gamer will be willing to put in the time to get there.