The Xbox 360 revolutionized gaming in many ways, but perhaps its most influential aspect was the Achievement system. These added additional challenges and tasks into games that players could choose to complete to add to a total Gamer Score that is displayed for all to see as a sort of badge of honor. Achievement hunting quickly became an addictive pursuit for many, but these challenges weren’t all easy. Now players had to do more than just beat the hardest game, but also go the extra mile and do things like unlock secret endings or beat secret bosses. A bad Achievement list can turn some people off even the best Xbox Series X game, but these go far beyond that. These are the hardest Xbox Achievements of all time.
Note: We will not be including multiplayer Achievements or any other that is or might eventually become impossible to get.
5. Mr. Perfect – Megaman 10
As a platformer, Megaman 10 is tough but not impossible. It is the second game to return to the pixel art style of the NES games and is generally considered to be a great title. The format is just as familiar as the art style, with Megaman fighting through Wily’s robot masters, collecting their powers, and using them to defeat the next boss. There are some tricky stages, but beating the game can be done with a little practice. The Mr. Perfect Achievement asks you to be, well, perfect. You will need to beat the entire game not without dying, but without even taking damage. Take one hit from a stray shot or an enemy colliding with you from off-screen and you need to start the entire game over.
4. 7 Day Survivor – Dead Rising
The earliest Achievements tended to either be way too easy or way too hard. Dead Rising was a launch title, so it had no other games to look for in terms of deciding what was too difficult for an Achievement. The 7 Day Survivor Achievement isn’t just hard from a skill perspective, but grueling in how much dedication is required. We all know Dead Rising runs on a timer, but this Achievement isn’t just about surviving for 7 days since the game doesn’t normally last that long. You need to do this in the Infinity Mode, which has the unfortunate stipulation of disabling your ability to save. That means you need to play the game non-stop, without dying, for roughly 14 hours straight. You can’t just find a safe place and leave your console, either, since Frank needs to eat and drink to survive.
3. LASO Master – Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Every Halo game has included a set of Easter egg skulls you could collect in the campaign. Besides being fun collectibles, they also unlocked gameplay modifiers to make the game even harder, such as making your gun and reticle invisible, making enemies throw a ton of grenades, and forcing you to melee an enemy to get your shields back. LASO was originally a community-made challenge that stands for Legendary, all skulls on, but The Master Chief Collection made this an official Achievement. To earn it, you need to play and beat all four main Halo games with all the skulls enabled. Thankfully, you are allowed to die, but the Iron skull in Halo 2 will restart the entire level if you’re playing solo.
2. Lowest of the Low – Crypt of the Necrodancer
Often considered the most difficult Achievement ever made, and with only a handful of people who have earned it, Lowest of the Low might actually hold that title. This is from the indie roguelike hit Crypt of the Necrodancer where you explore randomly generated dungeons but have to move and fight on the beat of the music. It’s a clever and fun take on the genre but it also has plenty of randomness that makes a winning run a bit of a roll of the dice. Unlocking this Achievement, however, is more like shooting a target while blindfolded and riding a horse. And your target is another bullet fired from a different gun. You need to beat the entire game with all 9 characters in one continuous run without picking up a single item power-up. Get unlucky once, or even accidentally move over an item and pick it up, and you’re back to the start. Even just mastering this game isn’t enough; you need to be a master and incredibly lucky.
1. Mein laben – Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus
While others might be a bit harder, Mein laben is another infamous Achievement we couldn’t leave off the list. Odds are you know this one already, but we’ll explain it just in case. This Achievement is rewarded for beating Wolfenstein 2 on its hardest difficulty level called “Mein laben.” Besides making enemies more deadly, aggressive, and harder to kill, you only get one life and cannot save. That means if you catch a stray bullet and drop dead on the last level, your progress is wiped and you need to play the entire game over. Nothing is more demoralizing than losing a run hours in and having nothing to show for it. What might be the ultimate kick in the teeth is that this Achievement is only worth 30 points.
Honorable mention: Super Go Outside – The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe
This is just an honorable mention because it is somewhat of a meme Achievement, but also because it is so easy to cheese. The Stanley Parable is already an experimental and fourth-wall-breaking game, so it makes sense that the Achievements would be meta as well. The original release had the regular Go Outside Achievement, which was rewarded for not playing the game for 5 years straight, and the Ultra Deluxe edition ups that to an insane 10 years. Now, it wasn’t until 2018 that the first Go Outside was legitimately achievable, and it won’t be until 2032 that Super Go Outside can be earned naturally. However, a simple switch to your console’s clock can spoof this in no time. But if you wanted to get it without cheating, you’ve got a 10 year journey on your hands.