Which Video Games Do Gamers Struggle to Complete?

Video gamers spend an average of six hours, 20 minutes each week playing games, according to a new report, but which games take the longest and are the hardest to complete?

Intrigued to find out, we analysed Google searches for 41 different games to identify the most common games we search for shortcuts or tips to complete. From this, we were able to determine the top 10 games people seek help with the most.

The top 10 games people seek help with the most

According to our analysis, we can reveal that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been crowned the video game that players need the most help with. Each month, 36,540 gamers search Google to discover how to complete, beat and understand the ending of the game, which is unsurprising when the game takes 164 hours to complete – including the main story and extras.

Gamers in the USA are most perplexed by this game, contributing 13,170 searches per month to the overall total (36%). The remaining 23,370 searches come from Germany (8,480), France (5,550), the United Kingdom (5,450), and Canada (3,890).

Second place goes to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, with gamers asking Google how to complete the 186-hour game and beat Calamity Ganon, the final boss, 32,370 times every month in total, suggesting that many gamers struggle to reach the end and complete it.

Gamers in Germany find The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild the hardest to complete, as our analysis found that 11,070 people search for shortcuts on Google when playing this game every month – 34% of the total. Following shortly behind is France with 10,100 searches per month, then the USA (6,690), Canada (2,800) and the UK with the least (1,710).

Ranking as the third hardest game to complete is The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, with the game receiving 31,870 searches per month from gamers who wish to reach the end and bring Alduin to his demise. This game, in total, takes gamers an estimated 229 hours to finish – equivalent to nine and a half days – so it’s unsurprising that some gamers are looking for shortcuts to complete this game.

One third of these searches come from the USA, with 11,630 queries for Skyrim shortcuts throughout the 50 US states every month. Following behind the USA are Germany with 7,250 searches, France with 5,400 searches, Canada with 3,940 searches, and the United Kingdom with the least: 3,650.

Following in fourth is the original Halo (Combat Evolved), which also takes gamers an average of 229 hours to complete. With the game taking more than three days to finish, it’s no wonder that there is a combined total of 26,300 monthly searches on Google from gamers across the USA, Canada, France, Germany and the UK asking for shortcuts and tips to defeat the Covenant.

Three-quarters of searches for shortcuts come from the USA, with our analysis finding that 19,750 Americans search for solutions and how to finish the game. The remaining 6,550 searches come from the United Kingdom (2,100), Canada (1,840), Germany (1,530) and France (1,070).

Grand Theft Auto V is the fifth hardest game for gamers to complete, taking 79 hours, on average, to finish the game – just over three days. The over-18 video game has more than 20,000 searches, across all five countries, asking Google how to finish the game.

The USA have the lowest number of Google searches asking how to complete this game, with just 790 searches per month across the whole of America, with the most searches coming from Germany, with 5,780. The remaining three countries are as follows:

France: 4,970 searches per month
Canada: 4,570 searches per month
United Kingdom: 4,520 searches per month

The sixth hardest game is Dark Souls 3, which takes gamers an average of 92 hours to complete from start to finish. With just shy of 20,000 searches across all five countries asking how to end the game and complete one of the four different endings, it’s no wonder this game ranks in the top 10.

According to our analysis, the USA has the most searches, accumulating 8,150 across all 50 states – 41% of all searches. Germany comes next with 5,670 searches, followed by the UK (2,610), Canada (2,170) and France (1,250).

Seventh goes to another game from the Grand Theft Auto franchise: San Andreas. With this video game taking 84 hours for gamers to finish, on average – equating to three and a half days – is there any surprise that gamers are looking for shortcuts or solutions to complete it?

According to our analysis, the game receives a total of 10,200 searches every month. Taking a whopping 40% of the combined search total is the USA, with gamers asking for shortcuts and tips 7,510 times per month. France follows behind with a total of 4,170 searches per month, and the remaining three countries have similar search volumes:

United Kingdom: 2,230 per month
Canada: 2,240 per month
Germany: 2,280 per month

The eighth hardest game to finish is Grand Theft Auto IV – the third of the GTA franchise in the top 10 – which takes an average of 77 and a half hours for gamers to complete. Our analysis found that the number of searches for shortcuts and tips are similar across all five countries, suggesting that each nation finds this game just as difficult to finish.

France tops the list, with 2,410 searches for tips and tricks to finish this game, with the least number of searches coming from Canada with 1,680. The country with the second highest number of Google searches is the USA (2,190), followed by the UK (2,180) and Germany (1,740).

The Legend of Zelda comes in ninth, accumulating just over 9,000 searches per month from across the five biggest gaming nations. With the game taking just under half a day (10 and a half hours) to complete, on average, and despite it being the fastest game in the top 10 and one of the fastest games of the 41 analysed, it suggests this game is particularly puzzling for gamers if they are googling for shortcuts and tips to complete it.

Shortcuts and tips are most Googled among gamers in Germany, according to our research, with 4,710 searches per month – half of the total number of searches across all five countries. Following Germany are the following countries:

USA: 1,630 per month
France: 1,520 per month
United Kingdom: 920 per month
Canada: 580 per month

Finally, taking the tenth spot, is Grand Theft Auto: Vice City – the fourth game from the GTA franchise on the list, proving that this video games series is one of the hardest games to complete on the market. Despite only taking 44 hours to complete, which is the shortest of the GTA games in the top 10, 7,410 gamers search Google to discover how to complete, beat and understand the ending of the game every month.

Almost a third of the searches asking for shortcuts come from the USA, with 2250 searches each month for GTA Vice City final boss, complete, ending, beat, final mission, final level, and solution, combined. France comes in second with 1730 searches, and following behind are Germany with 1270 searches, the United Kingdom with 1170 searches, and finally Canada with 990 searches every month.

The top 5 hardest games per country:

USA:

Halo – 19,750 monthly searches
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 13,170 monthly searches
Skyrim – 11,630 monthly searches
Dark Souls 3 – 8,150 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 7,510 monthly searches

United Kingdom:

Red Dead Redemption 2 – 5,450 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto V – 4,520 monthly searches
Skyrim – 3,650 monthly searches
Dark Souls 3 – 2,610 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 2,230 monthly searches

Germany:

Breath of the Wild – 11,070 monthly searches
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 8,480 monthly searches
Skyrim – 7,250 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto V – 5,780 monthly searches
Dark Souls 3 – 5,670 monthly searches

Canada:

Grand Theft Auto V – 4,570 monthly searches
Skyrim – 3,940 monthly searches
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 3,890 monthly searches
Breath of the Wild – 2,800 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 2,240 monthly searches

France:

Breath of the Wild – 10,100 monthly searches
Red Dead Redemption 2 – 5,550 monthly searches
Skyrim – 5,400 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto V – 4,970 monthly searches
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas – 4,170 monthly searches

Methodology:

GamblingDeals.com analysed 41 different games which have been compiled from previous articles that state they are among the ‘hardest’ or ‘longest’ to complete.
Using search analytics tool SEMrush, we looked at the number of searches made from gamers looking for shortcuts or tips on how to complete the game. To do this we looked at the search volumes for each game alongside the words: final boss, complete, ending, beat, final mission, final level, and solution. For example, one search analysed includes ‘Skyrim final boss’.
When analysing search volumes for non-English speaking countries, the English and translated word were both analysed. For example, the search volumes ‘Red Dead Redemption lösung’ and ‘Red Dead Redemption solution’ were added together to get the final number for Germany.
We looked at the number of searches made from 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 Newzoo.
To find out how long, on average, each game takes to complete, we used HowLongToBeat.com.