8 Genius Ways Video Games Don't Let You Escape
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00:00 Now in the vast majority of video games, when you try to leave the open world or go outside
00:04 the area that developers have created, one of two things can happen. Either you hit an
00:09 invisible wall, or you die instantly. But you know what? That doesn't always have to
00:13 be the case. Because today we're looking at some really inspired examples of how designers
00:18 kept you in the box.
00:19 So let's take a look at them as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 8 Genius
00:23 Ways Video Games Don't Let You Escape.
00:26 8. A Mime - Family Guy Video Game
00:29 During the early 2000s, in the PlayStation 2 era of video games, an abundance of licensed
00:34 games overflowed the industry. Whether it was a movie, cartoon, or anime, all major
00:38 IPs were getting a rather mediocre game or two, and among them was Family Guy Video Game.
00:44 This game is just what you expect it to be. It is nothing more or less. The combat is
00:49 generic, the stealth missions are, well, utterly broken, and while some of the jokes are funny,
00:53 most of them fail to capture the cartoon's humour. With all of this said, while most
00:57 of the game lacks quality, it does have a pretty clever way of keeping you in it. If
01:01 you try to exit the game's central area during its beat-em-up section, you'll hit
01:04 an invisible wall. But not just any wall, one that is created by a mime. When you reach
01:09 this point, Peter Griffin performs one of his iconic quips, and you can't help but
01:13 laugh at the sheer cleverness and humour that this game has implemented. A phony in this
01:17 one example. Family Guy Video Game may not be anything special, but the developers were
01:21 able to genuinely capture the cartoon's humour at this moment.
01:25 7. Zombie Dog Attack - Resident Evil
01:29 There are few openings in classic video games as iconic as the first cutscene from the original
01:34 Resident Evil. The atmosphere is intense, the FMV cutscenes look surprisingly polished,
01:39 but also B-movie, it's very weird, and the whole thing perfectly amps you up for what's
01:43 to come. After you experience this, you might be so terrified of the zombies, dark corridors,
01:48 and inevitable jump scares found in the mansion, that you might try to exit through the front
01:52 door and pretend that nothing has happened. But this is a big mistake. If you're unlucky
01:56 enough to try this, you'll quickly find yourself bombarded by one of the zombie dogs
02:00 that drove you into the mansion. Not only is this jump scare absolutely terrifying - I
02:04 mean look at that CGI, woof, that has not aged well - but you then have to fight and
02:08 kill the canine consuming precious ammo and resources in the process. And if you do this
02:13 again, the same thing will happen. It's a brilliant way of keeping you inside the game,
02:17 and punishing you for trying to escape the horror that's within the mansion. You need
02:21 to delve deeper into this horrible place, and there won't be an easy way to get out
02:25 of it.
02:26 6. Shark Attack - Crysis
02:29 There are many games that you see on this list that will find creative ways of killing
02:32 you instantly for trying to leave the open world, but Crysis was one of the first to
02:36 implement this way of keeping you in. If you take a boat and try to explore the outer region
02:41 of the classic first-person shooter, you might see a little fin come out of the water, reminiscent
02:46 of a 70s Spielberg movie. I think it's called E.T.? At first you pay it no mind, but then
02:51 you see it again, and this time, it's definitely coming for you. You try and run away to see
02:55 if maybe you can make it back into the game's world, but it's already over as the shark
02:59 has destroyed your ship, and now there is no escape. Once the shark reaches you, it
03:04 will kill you instantly as expected, and leave you in a highly dire state that will likely
03:08 make sure you never try to do this again.
03:10 Now, there's definitely other games since Crysis with more terrifying and creative monsters
03:14 to keep you inside, but this is the first one to do it, and so is the most memorable
03:18 in all of gaming, arguably.
03:20 5. Infinity - Minecraft
03:22 Have you ever heard of inflation theory in cosmology? It's a scientific theory that
03:27 states that the atoms that comprise our universe multiply amongst themselves infinitely, making
03:31 sure that our world technically never ends. This means that no matter what we do, we'll
03:35 never be able to escape our universe, just like we'll never be able to escape Minecraft.
03:39 When you start playing the iconic indie game and explore its intricate and fascinatingly
03:43 randomly generated worlds, you might ask yourself just how far you can go. How much of this
03:48 world can you influence, and for how long? The answer is, not much, or at least it was
03:52 in the older console versions of the game, as the planet you were on eventually hits
03:56 an invisible wall that prevents you from going further. However, in the modern versions of
04:00 Minecraft, the game will go on forever.
04:03 Compared to other games, the developers didn't bother to create an illusion of a beyond or
04:07 some outside world. Instead, they just made sure to keep you in it by making it impossible
04:11 to ever leave it.
04:13 4. The Great Plateau - The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild
04:17 When you start Breath of the Wild for the first time, you'll be greeted with one of
04:20 the most breathtaking openings in a video game. Exiting your slumber as you witness
04:24 the vastness of Hyrule for the first time. However, you won't be getting out of here
04:28 any time soon. At first, a simple cliff preventing you from exploring the central area of the
04:33 game seems basic and not that especially clever, but there's more going on than you might
04:37 realise.
04:38 By presenting this seemingly impossible way to get out, players will start to come up
04:42 with whatever way possible to reach the other side without attaining the paraglider. Introducing
04:47 experimentation and outside-the-box thinking, which is what Zelda is all about. Clever speedrunners
04:52 and Zelda players have even discovered ways to make it past this point by using a variety
04:56 of tricks and techniques learned over the years to get over that cliff. Only, they then
05:00 hit a trigger that takes them back to where they were. It might be disappointing that
05:04 you can't skip the Great Plateau entirely, but this genius move blocking you from the
05:08 rest of the world encouraged players to keep playing more than anything else.
05:12 3. Slender Man - Slender The Arrival
05:15 Slender Man is not exactly somebody you want to encounter. He's tall, terrifying, and
05:19 will quickly kill you in a jump scare, especially if you're playing his games. Instead of
05:23 searching for the eight pages you need to beat the game, though, you might have this
05:26 great idea of just simply leaving and letting Slender figure things out himself, only to
05:30 find a variety of fences blocking your way. However, if you're good at platforming,
05:35 you might be able to jump through and make it to the other side to reach an area that
05:38 the developers didn't intend for you to find. Afterwards, you can explore to your
05:41 heart's content, knowing that Slender Man can't get to you here, right? Well, that
05:46 is until an ominous message appears on the screen, saying that not even a bug in the
05:50 game can save you from him. Slender Man will then kill you before sending you to the Game
05:55 Over screen. Like some of the best indie horrors around, Slender Man proves that there's
05:59 no natural way to escape, and all you can do is knuckle down and confront him.
06:03 2. Blood Red Sea - Sea of Thieves
06:06 There are many terrifying monsters that developers have put in games to kill you the moment you
06:11 reach the world border, but Sea of Thieves has a more subtle way of doing things. If
06:15 you try to explore beyond what the developers created, you'll see that the earth and sea
06:19 will slowly turn blood red. You have more than enough time to turn back if you so wish,
06:23 but if you for some reason continue to move forward, your ship will start to sink, and
06:28 you along with it, and it won't take long after that for you to drown as well.
06:31 When going through the experience, at all times, you'll be expecting a monster or
06:35 some creature to appear to deal the finishing blow, letting your imagination run wild as
06:39 you try to figure out what to do, only for nothing to happen, and you die in a rather
06:42 anticlimactic manner. However, this subtle aspect makes the Blood Red Sea more terrifying
06:47 than it would be otherwise, keeping you inside the game, while also ensuring you'll never
06:51 want to explore outside ever again.
06:54 1. Ghost Leviathan - Subnautica
06:57 When you crash land on the alien planet that makes up the world of Subnautica, you'll
07:01 quickly realise that exploring the deep sea is, well, utterly terrifying. You'll have
07:05 no idea what you'll find down there. There might be some innocent aquatic life just trying
07:10 to get through the day, but at the same time you might find a giant monster that definitely
07:13 wants to kill you. Regardless, if you're brave enough to journey the ocean and start
07:17 exploring outside the world the developers created, prepare to meet something that definitely
07:21 doesn't want you to live.
07:23 As everything gets darker, the computer will ask you if travelling further is worth it.
07:27 Of course, you can ignore this and continue, to then find a massive creature called the
07:31 Ghost Leviathan. This thing is pure nightmare fuel, but also, it is immortal, meaning that
07:36 if you encounter it, there's not much you can do other than await your rather certain
07:40 death. We've seen how monsters kill you the moment you go out of bounds before in
07:44 games, but none are as terrifying as this.
07:46 And there we go, my friends, those were 8 genius ways video games didn't let you escape.
07:50 I hope you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
07:53 comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter
07:56 @RetroJay with a zero, or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice, where I do all of my
08:00 streaming and tabletop gaming outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there,
08:04 my friends.
08:05 But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Instead of trying to keep you inside the box
08:08 today, I'm going to try and make you bust out of your shell and realise that you are
08:12 a big ledge that deserves all of the best things in life, alright? I'm going to pump
08:15 you full of positivity so that you can go out there and absolutely smash your life goals
08:18 today. And that is by remembering that you deserve love, happiness, and success, and
08:22 don't let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise, alright? You are a massive, massive
08:27 ledge. Now go out there and smash it.
08:30 As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
08:33 to you soon. Bye.