History BoomHeadshot / VideoGames

* The ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series are notable for their explicit aversion of the trope. All but the weakest [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Necromorphs]] will shrug off headshots - [[AnArmAndALeg dismemberment]] is necessary to take them down.

* The ''Franchise/DeadSpace'' series are notable for their explicit aversion of the trope. Oh sure, feel free to ''ignore'' the ''multiple'' warnings of "Cut off their limbs" written in blood across the walls of the ghost ship Ishimura; watch as your delight turns to horror as the now ''headless'' space zombie ''continues'' charging at you to claw you into iddy biddy pieces. The only way to kill Necromorphs is to sever their limbs... the head is utterly useless to them. The [[ChurchOfHappyology Unitologist]] soldiers from the [[VideoGame/DeadSpace3 third game]], on the other hand, are ordinary humans and therefore quite vulnerable to headshots.

* In ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' and its [[VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII sequel]], headshots are preferred seeing as how they are a OneHitKill against human enemies and early stages of the infected (Runners and Stalkers). Headshots also provide additional damage to the later stages of the infected (Clickers and Bloaters) while human enemies wearing helmets require you to either shoot the helmet off or use a firearm with more piercing power.

* In ''VideoGame/GHOSTSquad'', hitting an enemy on the head results in a "Good Shot" bonus, but like in ''Virtua Cop'', also by Sega-[=AM2=], headshots cannot be followed up with extra shots. There is a special but very difficult to achieve bonus known as "2 Body 1 Head", which is done by doing a Mozambique Drill on an enemy, plugging 2 shots into the torso and then 1 shot into the head.

* ''Interstate 76'' centered on armed cars doing battle with each other. In addition to the usual complement of machine guns, rockets, and the like, the player carried a handgun that could shoot at a ninety-degree angle to the direction of travel. Kills with the handgun were preferable because they not only killed the opponent instantly but left the opponent's vehicle intact to be scavenged at the end of the mission.

* ''Videogame/{{MORDHAU}}'' is full of melee examples, with some ranged ones. Since the hitboxes for head, chest, and legs are neatly separate, you can aim for one or the other (it pays to aim for what's least armored if someone skimped on leg armor for example). And strikes to the head are ''very'' damaging, to the point some weapons (like [[DropTheHammer the maul]]) can kill you no matter how thick your helmet is. However, having a helmet still pays off enormously, because even relatively small arming swords can cleave your skull open or just straight-up remove it from your neck if you're going without head protection for whatever reason.

* ''VideoGame/{{Fallout}}'':
** In the original ''VideoGame/{{Fallout|1}}'' creatures have a location map for called shots; critical hit effects depend on specific location, and head shots tend to be severe. But it's far from "always instant kill" and usually the head is the second hardest to hit location after the target's ''[[GoForTheEye eyes]]''. Other times it's more beneficial to aim for a different location even if it doesn't bring the enemy down as fast - you'll want to cripple that [[LightningBruiser Deathclaw's]] legs so you can survive long enough to try for a headshot.

** This trope is parodied in ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' with the quest "You Gotta Shoot 'Em in the Head". A ghoul hires you to kill a bunch of humans who considers ghouls to be just like mindless zombies, and specifically requests that you shoot them in the head or else you're paid less. The game also features Mirelurks, [[GiantEnemyCrab bipedal mutant crab people]] with a heavily-armored carapace. Shooting them in the head is the quickest way to bring them down, but said soft target is deeply recessed in their torso and often hidden when they're attacking, making pulling this off easier said than done.

*** The "Dead Money" DLC for ''Fallout New Vegas'' features "ghosts", which recover from being killed unless they're ''over''killed to the extent of being decapitated or otherwise dismembered. The easiest way to do this is to cause enough damage to knock them down, then pull a Boom, Headshot on them.

** ''Fallout 4'' has one of the most unintentionally ludicrous examples of this trope. The companion perk ''Killshot'' was supposed to increase the VATS accuracy of a headshot by 20%. However, due to a typo, it was increased by '''2000%''', making it almost impossible to ''not'' get a headshot, and essentially turning the player into Film/JohnWick.

* ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest SWAT'' (the FMV one) lets you practice the Failure drill on the weapons range.

* ''Franchise/MortalKombat:

* In ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', headshots are still as gruesome as ever-scoring a hit with a shotgun or explosive bullets will cause the head to ''explode''. In Chapter 3, Sean [=MacGuire=] is KilledMidSentence by a surprise gunshot to the head by the Gray family. A little later, Arthur Morgan writes in his journal that Lenny Summers was killed by a gunshot to the head during the failed Saint Denis bank heist. And at the end of Chapter 6, if Arthur helps John Marston escape with [[KarmaMeter low honor, Micah Bell shoots Arthur in the face]] [[DefiantToTheEnd as he calls Micah a fool]].

** In his ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'' DLC, ComicBook/Nightwing is equipped with wrist darts that stun his targets, but a headshot is an instant takedown. Unfortunately, Nightwing's aim constantly sways, which is aggravated if you zoom in for a better shot.

* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'': Marth and Lucina will both deal 15% extra damage with their Neutral Special if they strike their target directly in the head. This is made easier by the ability to angle the attack up or down.