What adventure games had you stumped the most? Which ones had you reading the walkthrus time and time again?

I noticed that adventure games in the 90s were harder than those in the 00s. Games like Syberia, The Longest Journey posed very little challenge. But Gabriel Knights 1, Day of the Tentacles, The Dagger of Amon Ra really kicked my ass. I got stumped over 10 times each in those games.

I'm ashamed to say that I used a walkthrough at least one time for most old adventure games I played. So, a lot of them kicked my ass one time or another.

The problem is that sometimes the puzzles don't make much sense, or involve finding a specific hotspot/hidden item that is barely noticeable.

The worst "puzzle" I ever saw was one in The Dig where you had to use a stick to keep a switch pressed. I'm pretty sure anyone who beated The Dig will know about the puzzle I'm talking about.

When I was younger I had an adventure game based on Wayne's World. Near the end of the game there is a maze (sewers) and I got completely lost in it.

Police Quest. Any adventure game with a parser, really.

lots of them did(and more will in future,i guess)but at the moment I'm stuck Broken Sword 3 damn dogs and guards and no place to go thingy

I'm still stuck in the same place in Beneath A Steel Sky that I have been since 1997.

Still resistin' the urge to use a walkthrough.

Didn't apply to my experience with that fucking goat in Broken Sword 1 though. I did eventually use a walkthrough for that and my reaction was "WTF?" Talk about illogical.

Above all others, Discworld. That game was just plain ridiculous.

Also, Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge - kicked my ass even on my second playthrough (with some years between)!

I've stayed away from most of the classic "hard as nails" Sierra game series - only played & beat SQ3, SQ6, KQ5, and QFG4, and do not recall how much I'd depended on walkthroughs as that was such a long time ago.

Riven: The Sequel to Myst

Playing this at the moment and it seems that this will be the first ever adventure game that I won't complete because of the difficulty.

I played through realMyst recently and liked it a lot, so it seemed natural to try out Riven. At first it seemed like an even better game, but damn, this game is HARD. I first to tried to brave it without a walkthrough and managed to did some progress, but being stuck for days on end just to solve one puzzle and get stuck again gets frustrating fast. On the other hand, playing with a walkthrough doesn't quite work, because the whole point of the game is to figure out the game world for yourself and piece all the pieces slowly together.

Such a shame. I've really enjoyed Riven otherwise, but the difficulty is just too much for me. At the moment playing it feels more like work than fun.

Anyone had similar experiences? Did you manage to make it to the end?

try playing the Atlantis series games , even with a guide its hard , pixel hunting , puzzles..

http://www.gog.com/gamecard/atlantis_the_lost_tales
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/atlantis_3_the_new_world
http://www.gog.com/gamecard/atlantis_2_beyond_atlantis

I hate the illogical puzzles. There were tons in Syberia.

"I have to push this switch on the other side of this desk, but I just can't reach it and there's no way I could possibly just hop over the desk. I know! I need to build a bridge using my toothpicks and gum I found at the diner" crap just annoys me.

But most of the games I've loved were fairly logical and difficult. The King's Quest games (admittedly, I haven't played half of them) were only a little illogical. Usually you just had to think of a creative way to use your equipment.

The best for me was Quest for Glory. I played part 1 with the updated graphics. Everything seemed quite logical. And breaking into houses was just awesome. I never did get far in the other ones, though.

Yeah, but aren't those generally regarded as being crap? The most maddening aspect of Riven is that there's some great stuff in it, but I just can't enjoy it because of the devilish puzzles. Atlantis games... I can safely ignore. :)

the plot is ok but the game is so complex that people even dont bother about it :D , even the option screen is hard to navigate has some symbols and stuff

One of my favorites is Toonstruck. Great game, great visuals, great voiceacting, great acting by Christopher Lloyd, really fun story, great jokes.
I have the old retail version. Great classic, but two puzzles are painful on DOSbox because it runs them too fast and they rely on reflex.

The Adventures of Hyper Man. I didn't even know what language they spoke in the game back then (English), so I didn't get very far. Didn't have walkthrough access either, and I probably won't ever try it again, so it'll remain unbeaten forever.