• Red Dead Redemption 2 receives 36,540 monthly searches from gamers looking for tips and tricks in order to complete it

• In second place is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild; 32,370 searches are made each month from people searching for shortcuts

• Gamers in the USA find the original Halo the hardest to complete, with 19,750 people making searches each month

• Gamers in Canada need the most assistance with Grand Theft Auto V (4,570 monthly searches)

Many games hold well-deserved reputations for being difficult, but which ones do players need the most assistance with?

Gamblingdeals.com sought to find out by scouring the internet to discover which games are the hardest and most time consuming to complete. Using SEMrush they analysed search volumes for terms such as ‘[game] final boss’ and ‘[game] solution’ to uncover which one gamers find the hardest to complete. *

Which Games Are Hardest to Complete?

After analysing data from Germany, Canada, France, USA and UK, Gamblingdeals.com can reveal that Red Dead Redemption 2 is the game that players need the most assistance with.

It receives 36,540 online searches each month from gamers trying to discover how to complete, beat and understand the ending. On average, completionists of this game spend 164 hours trying to finish the main story and extras!

In second place is The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild! Each month there are 32,370 searches from gamers trying to figure out how to complete the game and beat Calamity Ganon, the final boss.

Breath of the Wild takes an estimated 186 hours to finish, and although it was released in 2017, it appears that many are still struggling to reach the end.

Ranking as the third hardest game to complete is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, receiving 31,870 searches per month from gamers who wish to reach the end and bring Alduin to his demise. In total, taking an estimated 229 hours to complete the game, so there’s no surprise it ranks highly!

Following in fourth, fifth and sixth are Halo (26,300 monthly searches), Grand Theft Auto V (20,630 monthly searches) and Dark Souls III (19,850 monthly searches).

To complete the top 10, other games which players need help with include:

7. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas receives 18,430 monthly searches and takes 84 hours to fully complete.

8. Grand Theft Auto IV receives 10,200 monthly searches and takes 77.5 hours to fully complete.

9. The Legend of Zelda receives 9,360 monthly searches and takes 10.5 hours to fully complete.

10. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City receives 7,410 monthly searches and takes 91.5 hours to fully complete (including Vice City Stories).

Which Games Are Hardest for Each Country?

Gamblingdeals.com analysed monthly search volume data across North America and Europe countries to discover which countries from these countries generate the most gaming revenue and can reveal the games they find hardest to complete!

USA ($36,921M): Halo (19,750 searches), Red Dead Redemption 2 (13,170 searches) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (11,630 searches).

Germany ($5,965M): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (11,070 searches), Red Dead Redemption 2 (8,480 searches) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (7,250 searches).

UK ($5,511M): Red Dead Redemption 2 (5,450 searches), Grand Theft Auto V (4,520 searches) and The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (3,650 searches).

France ($3,987M): The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (10,100 searches), Red Dead Redemption 2 (5,550 searches), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (5,400 searches).

Canada ($3,051M): Grand Theft Auto V (4,570 searches), The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (3,940 searches), and Red Dead Redemption 2 (3,890 searches).

*Methodology:

1. GamblingDeals.com analysed 41 different games which have been compiled from previous articles that state they are among the ‘hardest’ or take the ‘longest’ to complete. 

2. Using search analytics tool SEMrush, they looked at the number of searches made from gamers looking for shortcuts or tips on how to complete the game. To do this they looked at the search volumes for each game alongside different words. The words they included are as follows: final boss, complete, ending, beat, final mission, final level, and solution*. For example, one search analysed includes ‘Skyrim final boss’. 

3. When analysing search volumes for non-English speaking countries, the English and translated word were both analysed. For example, the search volumes for ‘Red Dead Redemption lösung’ and ‘Red Dead Redemption solution’ were added together to get the final number for Germany. 

4. They looked at the number of searches made from the UK, USA, Germany, Canada and France as these are the top five North American and European countries that generate the highest gaming revenue, according to https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-10-countries-by-game-revenues/. 

5. GamblingDeals used https://howlongtobeat.com to find out how long each game takes for full completion.