[Puzzler]

This is a fun question to answer: what is the most difficult adventure game you have beaten without using a walk through or any out-of-game hints? Answer honestly!

I decided to ask this question while playing Secret Files 2. I tried not to cheat but one of the puzzles in that game just didn't make any sense, even after looking at the solution I still don't get it. If you beat that game without cheating, congratulations! You are a master at solving difficult, almost entirely illogical puzzles! But I feel bad when I cheat, like I just failed the whole game.

My answer: Dracula Origins. If I remember right I beat that without using a walk through it was pretty difficult.

[Stonez]

For me and the wife, we did Barrow Hill together over a weekend. Plenty of wine was consumed...

[Oscar]

Probably one of the RHEM ones. But I can't tell you which one was the hardest. It either comes to you, or it doesn't.

There were a few games in 7th Guest and 11th Hour which were really hard and I had to play dozens of times to win. Safecracker too.

[tsampikos]

Very hard to beat without walkthrough is Lost in Time. But I was glad to make it.

[Veovis]

Probably RHEM 2, with Riven as close second.

[erodola]

Dark Seed. I'm so proud of this one! (see my avatar)
Even though, for one of the car radio messages, admittedly I had to look up "to turn yourself in" in the dictionary since I'm not a native English speaker

[Dan_Dan_91_07]

Broken Sword - including its goat puzzle.

I did MI 1-3 without cheating too, plus some others but MI 1/2 has some pretty tough parts. As I grew older however I always seem to use a guide/hint at least once, you know, out of impatience. It's a really bad habit as I loved how I used to feel when I wouldn't use guides and managed to tackle everything myself.

I got pretty far into the first Discworld as well! I can't remember what stopped me in my tracks for a few years till I had access to a guide but yeah, I got pretty far so damn, I was patient back then! lol

[ozzie]

Deponia must be the hardest adventure game I finished without any help, probably because of the very satisfying puzzle design. I skipped one of the mini games though, and solved another merely by accident.

[SpeedBo]

Most definitely Riven
And all the other Myst games

[cuchulain]

Riven. I never felt so smart as when I solved the final puzzle in that one with no help.

[Agustin]

It was probably Zak McKracken for me. It took me about two months to complete and I wasn't playing anything else at the time.

This was long before I even knew about the existence of walkthroughs...

[Dara100]

Yep, Riven without a doubt.

Props to erodola for Darkseed. That was one tricky game and I needed a walkthrough just to be sure I remembered to do everything for the day. I can't remember how many times I had to start over!

[HandsFree]

I finished very few games without at least one look in a walkthrough.
Hardest was probably King's Quest 5 and a few easier ones like Broken Sword 1 and Dark Fall 1. I didn't understand Riven even using a walkthrough for just about every puzzle (I got very close though with the first Myst and Reah with only one lookup each).

[TimovieMan]

Christ, I think Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis is probably the ONLY adventure game I've ever played where I didn't consult a walkthrough or the UHS or had a friend help me...
Patience, not my virtue...

[TerminusEst]

DotT. Is DotT hard? It's long at least... It is hard for me to judge if a game is difficult when I've managed to beat it on my own. I also don't like/play Myst-likes, which tend to be the hardest.

How about Sherlock Holmes: The Case of the Serrated Scalpel? A friend was complaining that he found it hard. Was that hard?

More generally, which 3rd-person games are considered to be real hard? The Feeble Files. Hollywood Monsters is also fresh in my memory... What about Sierra's output?

[Adventurere No.1]

Riven without cheating for sure but because that was before the Internet i can say i was saved instead at somepoint near end with a copy of Gaming magazine that i was able to peek through in one shop without even the need to pay for or buying it afterall ......

yeah!... that copy was open and didnt had a that plastic covering ..
...Saved!

[Jelena]

Barrow Hill is the only game I've played without having checked a w/t or having to check a hint in the UHS.

EDIT: Come to think of it, I might have managed Blackwell Deception all by myself. I can't remember anything I got stuck on. Not completely sure though...

[rtrooney]

I think Shivers1. Although, I was part of a discussion group on TEG, (The Electronic Gamers Forum,) back in CompuServe days. So, I might have picked up a hint or two there. But never used a walkthrough, and the game had no integral hints. Don't know whether that copunts or not.

[thejobloshow]

Alright, let me be the first one to say it... None.

If I am able to finish a game without looking at a walkthrough then I don't consider it difficult enough to mention in this thread.

I couldn't imagine finishing Riven without peeking at uhs-hints.com once or twice. You guys have better self control than I.

[erodola]

Originally Posted by Dara100

Yep, Riven without a doubt.

Props to erodola for Darkseed. That was one tricky game and I needed a walkthrough just to be sure I remembered to do everything for the day. I can't remember how many times I had to start over!

Thanks! That was a two-day full immersion where I started over and over like one hundred times. The toughest part for me was to get to the neighbor's garden DAMN I hated him.

But really enjoyed it nonetheless, not like Operation Stealth which I played the day before and was IMPOSSIBLE to complete without looking at the walkthrough at least once (elastic band anybody?)