Trials 2: Second Edition (2008)
There are plenty of other bastard-hard indie games we could have identified here - the whole strata of retro-visual 2D platform games like N+ and Super Meat Boy, for example - but we felt like going with Trials because, well, we love it the most. RedLynx's 2D trials bike game is about climbing over obstacle courses on a motorcycle, using the gas and brakes as economically as possible to give you the friction and momentum you need without unseating your rider. The whole thing seems to take place in a dark warehouse, too, which gives it a really grungey feel, and when your rider falls off and tumbles around in physically horrendous fashion, you half wonder if anyone will ever find him.
This version preceded the much more successful Xbox Live Arcade version, Trials HD, and its many successful follow-ups, including the particularly brilliant Trials Evolution, but it already had many of the series staples, including global leaderboards, the ability to instantly reset yourself to the last checkpoint or the start of the track at the touch of a button, and absolutely fiendish track design in the latter stages. Back in the 90s we used to talk about "one more go" games, and Trials 2: Second Edition not only epitomized that kind of gameplay, but arguably re-popularized it as well.
