ANDREW RYAN’S OFFICE – BioShock
BioShock toyed with our minds when it was initially released in 2007, and then it happened all over again when it was re-released with the HD collection last year. In a game that prides itself on great gameplay mixed with deep philosophical questions, we should have guessed that the ending would cause players to question everything that came before.
The end goal of Bioshock is to kill Andrew Ryan. In a jaw-dropping reveal, Atlas, a mysterious figure who we thought was helping us, has actually brainwashed our hero into doing his evil bidding. When you meet Andrew Ryan, he explains that we have been under Atlas’ control, and he decides to prove that to you in the most disturbing of ways.
In a power shift, Andrew Ryan strips the power from the player in his reveal that you are nothing but a slave to Atlas. Every time Ryan shouts the word, “Obey,” the player must beat him with a golf club. The scene is downright haunting. There is nothing players can do to stop it. The game forces you to push that button, repeatedly hitting him, if you want to progress any further. Up to this point, players had killed numerous enemies, but this time casts a dark feeling over the situation as well as all of your previous actions.
This caused many questions to float through players’ minds. How much of the game was by your doing or his command? In a game with stunning art direction and a rich storyline, this plot twist was the cherry on top.
This post was originally authored by Brandt Prescott.
SCARECROW GLITCH – Batman: Arkham Asylum
Batman: Arkham Asylum brought a new kind of Batman game to consoles, featuring a story that delved deep into the darkest minds of some of comics’ scariest villains. Scarecrow is known for being able to cause hallucinations. In Arkham Asylum, however, this extends beyond just Batman and the world he lives in, but to the players at home.
The Scarecrow glitch breaks the fourth wall by making it seem as though the game has just crashed, losing all of that precious progress. The glitch is extra scary for those playing on an Xbox, as it has a similar effect to the “Red Ring of Death” that the Xbox gets when it has actually conked out.
After players nearly have a heart attack over what just happened, the black screen resets and we learn that we just fell victim to one of Scarecrow’s scare tactics. What a relief!
PYSCHO MANTIS – Metal Gear Solid
Psycho Mantis was one of the more mind-bending boss fights in Metal Gear Solid, and it came at a time when breaking the fourth wall wasn’t nearly as common as it is now.
Psycho Mantis tells Solid Snake, “I can read your every thought.” He extends this power by actually reading the player’s memory card and even tells you what Konami-based games you have played in the past. If you had played Castlevania, Psycho Mantis would actually say, “So you like Castlevania.” It was an innovative moment that made Psycho Mantis seem all the more powerful.
So how do you beat a villain who can read your mind? In another mind-blowing moment, you physically have to unplug your controller and plug it into the port 2 slot. Psycho Mantis can only read your mind if your controller is plugged into port 1. How’s that for player interaction?
NOT FOR KIDS – Frog Fractions
Frog Fractions was thought to be a cutesy educational game starring a frog who taught players how to solve fractions. As it turns out, the developers were just trolling players.
The real goal of the game is for players to become president. Along the way, you’ll ride dragons through asteroid fields, conquer Bug Mars, fight a robot squid and even listen to a narrated history about how boxing was created. Frog Fractions ended up being a way to lampoon video games in general. So where do the fractions come into play? This is how your score is tallied. The game never once teaches fractions.
Originally, the browser game was a means for developer Jim Crawford to make his friends laugh. His friends began sharing the game with more friends and the experience began catching on with larger crowds.
The surreal and nonsensical experience in turn makes the game the joke and not the player, unlike the rest of the games on this list. Because of this, Frog Fractions gained a cult following and received a sequel, showing that this was one of those times when people were happy to be trolled.
HALLUCINATIONS – Eternal Darkness
Eternal Darkness is quite possibly the ultimate game that toyed with players. Released on the GameCube, Eternal Darkness was a psychological horror game containing a “sanity meter” that depleted when the protagonist was seen by any monsters. These hallucinations would be seen by the character, but occasionally, they would extend beyond the game and to the player’s mind. That’s when things get really interesting.
It came as a major shock when the volume bar on the TV showed up and actually turned the game volume down. Just as you’re anxiously searching your room for that TV remote, the volume would return and you would find yourself being attacked by a monster. Sneaky.
In another instance, the game would crash and then reboot with the save files missing. This caused many players to think something was wrong with their game copy, only to find out that this was purely a mind game from the developers. Call it frustrating or inventive, these hallucinations were a brilliant way to make the player feel more immersed in the terrifying experience.
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