Ah, video games, is there any better way to while away an afternoon? I say, no. Providing they're not outright deceiving me, that is. Wait, what? That's correct, your beloved video games frequently mislead you without you even realizing it. From meaningless stats to undisclosed features developers don't want you to discover, here are some of the most unbelievable ways video games trick you! Craving More Speed. Every video game ever made features what we call mechanics. Whether they're as simple as reloading a weapon or as intricate as constructing a base, all of these elements are mechanics. Sometimes, however, games present us with a mechanic that serves no purpose whatsoever and you're completely unaware of it! Take speed boosts, for instance. In certain games, like the original Mass Effect, sprinting accomplishes, well, absolutely nothing. If you're in combat, sure, it functions just fine. But if you're exploring the world? Pressing the sprint button doesn't affect your speed at all! It merely brings the camera closer and alters your character's animation to create the illusion that you're moving faster. In reality, there's no disparity in the speed between these two scenarios. This peculiar decision was likely due to technical limitations. The hardware the game debuted on back in 2007 was far less potent than today's, so the developers had to enforce slow movement to allow the game time to load. However, this fake mechanic isn't exclusive to third-person shooters. Many racing games feature a boost or nitro button, which is meant to provide your car with a substantial speed increase to help overtake your competitors. Nonetheless, in titles like Need for Speed, the boost scarcely enhances your speed at all! There's a plethora of dramatic visual effects, and the field of view zooms in closer to the car, creating the illusion that you're moving at lightning speed. But, you guessed it, in actuality, the change is minimal to practically non-existent. It's all just smoke and mirrors. Mind Games. Some games, particularly psychological horror titles, excel at playing mind games with players. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem thrives on it. This 2002 GameCube horror game follows several characters across different time periods as they confront ancient Lovecraftian evils. So far, so conventional. But where the game truly distinguishes itself is with its sanity mechanic. The more your character is harmed by enemies, the more their sanity meter will deteriorate, resulting in increasingly bizarre and unsettling occurrences, including the game outright deceiving you to mess with your mind. Like triggering a fabricated blue screen error message to appear, yikes! And if you think that sounds anxiety-inducing, it gets worse. If you're performing particularly poorly, the game will simulate deleting all your saved data right before your eyes, oh man! That's the genuine horror right there. Imagine not realizing this was part of the game. Some players actually went as far as unplugging their consoles before their data could be erased! And the deceit doesn't end there. The cunning developers behind Eternal Darkness also integrated features where the game pretends to decrease the volume on your TV, switch inputs, or even turn off the screen altogether! With all of this happening, it would be difficult not to feel at least a little unsettled. After all, there's nothing worse than feeling like the horror is extending beyond your device and into your home. At least, Just Made It! Is there anything more terrifying than a red health bar? No, there isn't. But there's no better feeling than surviving a heart-pounding encounter with just a sliver of health remaining, right? This is something game developers understand, which is why they deceive you about it, what? Yes, a lot of the time, developers make the final fraction of a health bar worth more HP than the rest of it. So when you think you've only got 10% of your health remaining, it might actually be around 40%! Games like Doom Eternal and Assassin's Creed: Origins do this specifically to heighten the tension and provide you with more nail-biting moments, that's kinda cool, I suppose, but it makes me question every level I've ever completed. Similarly, other games like 1994's System Shock give the final bullet in your magazine double damage. This increases the likelihood of getting a crucial kill just in the nick of time, intensifying the drama. And its 2007 spiritual successor, BioShock, essentially makes you invincible for a couple of seconds when your health drops low enough. Wait, um, am I terrible at video games after all? I need to take a break. Timer Trouble. I don't fare well under pressure. If a timer's ticking away, I start to sweat, especially when that timer appears to be progressing suspiciously quickly. Ever notice that when you play Mario,the countdown timer seems to drop from 90 to 30 in what feels like half the time
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Nice