Retrobot presents: Hardcore games

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Think you're hardcore? Then you should have beaten all these

Zone of the Enders
Also known as "the disc that shipped with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo," Zone of the Enders is about as inaccessible to casuals as games can get. Very Japanese in its stylings, it draws heavily on inspiration from manga greats such as Neon Genesis Evangelion, seeing a child thrust into control of a living mech after the death of his family.

Combat with other mechs is beautiful, with plenty of collateral damage to "ooh" and "aah" over. If only the game had a little more variety (and accessibility), it could have achieved star status. Instead, it will sit forever on the hardcore gamer's shelf, remembered fondly by those in the know as an icon of early PS2 gaming and the possibilities of the then next-generation of consoles.

Justin Towell
Justin Towell

Justin was a GamesRadar staffer for 10 years but is now a freelancer, musician and videographer. He's big on retro, Sega and racing games (especially retro Sega racing games) and currently also writes for Play Magazine, Traxion.gg, PC Gamer and TopTenReviews, as well as running his own YouTube channel. Having learned to love all platforms equally after Sega left the hardware industry (sniff), his favourite games include Christmas NiGHTS into Dreams, Zelda BotW, Sea of Thieves, Sega Rally Championship and Treasure Island Dizzy.

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