History ChestMonster / VideoGames

* In ''VideoGame/{{Warframe}}'', The Sacrifice quest introduces a type of Sentient called Mimics that disguise themselves as stationary objects, [[GlamourFailure but are easily given away by their shimmery appearances]].

** In ''Videogame/KingdomHeartsCoded'' you can encounter Block Spiders, basically a block that got legs and attacks you. At one specific point of game where you have to recover your strength, you can encounter a variant -- Prize Block Spider -- that is very easy to defeat, looks like a Prize Block (a local variant of respawnable chest) and drops a power points to restore your strength.

* ''VideoGame/{{Commando}}'': Some of the secret bunkers in the NES port contain {{death trap}}s such as [[WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes snake pits]] or {{gas chamber}}s.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has Mimicuties, Underworld mooks disguised as treasure chests that sprout (surprisingly shapely) legs and start [[KickChick kicking the mess outta you]] when you try to open them. They hit incredibly hard, move very quickly, and take more hits to defeat than nearly any other enemy in the game, making them [[DemonicSpiders extremely troublesome to deal with]]. Mimicuties make a return in the [=3DS=] version of the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU fourth installment of Super Smash Bros.]], where they appear in Smash Run. Like in Uprising, they mimic chests that you can open to get stat boosts. Also like Uprising, [[DemonicSpiders they're a pain in the ass]]. One also appears as a Spirit in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'', battling you if you open a chest in the Temple of Light, though luckily, it's a rather easy battle.

** Noknoks are teal door-shaped enemies in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBrosWonder'' who mimic the appearance of actual doors in an attempt to lure you close so that they can attack. They are still functional doors, though, and can be defeated and used by jumping on them to stun them and then opening them.

* ''VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising'' has Mimicuties, Underworld mooks disguised as treasure chests that sprout (surprisingly shapely) legs and start [[KickChick kicking the mess outta you]] when you try to open them. They hit incredibly hard, move very quickly, and take more hits to defeat than nearly any other enemy in the game, making them [[DemonicSpiders extremely troublesome to deal with]]. Mimicuties make a return in the [=3DS=] version of the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosForNintendo3DSAndWiiU fourth installment of Super Smash Bros.]], where they appear in Smash Run. Like in Uprising, they mimic chests that you can open to get stat boosts. Also like Uprising, [[DemonicSpiders they're a pain in the ass]].

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'' has Klobbers, which disguise themselves as regular barrels. The most common type are green Klobbers that just knock you around, but a rarer [[PaletteSwap yellow]] [[UndergroundMonkey variant]] will steal banana bunches from you if they bump into you. Rarer still, and thankfully so, are the grey ones with [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]] who will steal ''extra lives'' from you if they bump into you.

** Fooly Flowers in ''VideoGame/YoshisIsland'' resemble the collectible Flowers, but have fangs and an evil smile. When Yoshi gets near them, they fall down and roll towards him. There are also balloons labeled "1UP" which indeed grant Yoshi a OneUp if he eats them quickly, but if the player takes too long they explode to reveal a [[AirborneMook Fly Guy]], hurting Yoshi.

*** There are several enemies in the game that are actually item chests, and attack you when you open them. They are significantly harder than regular enemies, basically making them minibosses. They have high attack, defense, magic attack, can sometimes heal or summon, and are immune to just about all spells, except for Mario's jump.

* ''Franchise/BaldursGate'' has a single mimic in the entire series. It showed up in the sequel with confusing attacks. The ExpansionPack ''VideoGame/BaldursGateIIThroneOfBhaal'' added the nastier Killer Mimics in the BonusDungeon.

* ''VideoGame/BeyondOasis'' features these. They're fortunately easy to detect due to them loudly snapping their mouths all the time.

** ''Cave Story'' also has unused data for a literal Chest Monster, as well as animate versions of jars and Save Points.

** ''VideoGame/KingdomHearts358DaysOver2'' has the Cymbal Monkey and its stronger form, the Tricky Monkey, which hide in fake treasure chests where one would normally find items.

* ''VideoGame/{{Bug}}'': Some "mystery" balls will contain enemies or hazards instead of {{Power Up}}s.

* ''VideoGame/JitsuSquad'' have monsters disguised as treasure chests, which reveals their teeth and legs after being checked upon. These monsters also have [[EyesDoNotBelongThere eyes growing in their throats]], for some reason.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' and ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'': Item Boxes are square in shape, so Genius Sonority knew they couldn't use the old Fake Item Ball trick from the games. They still included their own brand of ParanoiaFuel with ceiling-mounted Cipher Peons, which are placed in otherwise empty hallways and love to drop in your path when you desperately need to get to the healing machine that they're most likely guarding.
** ''VideoGame/PokemonSuperMysteryDungeon'' has Dittos. In previous ''VideoGame/PokemonMysteryDungeon'' games, they were simply disgused as other Pokémon, but in this game, they are disguised as items until you pick them up. They will then transform into the currently controlled Pokémon and confuse the rest of the party. Unsurprisingly, they are DemonicSpiders.

** ''VideoGame/MarioKart'' features Fake Item Boxes as a recurring item. They differ from regular item boxes only in that their signature "?" insignia is upside down. However, in the DS version, they also show up clearly different on the minimap, and after ''Mario Kart 64'' are colored red.

** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'': Even though they are a GuideDangIt because nothing hints about them, certain butterflies turn into 1UP mushrooms if you let them approach you and land on your head. Knowing this, you're tempted to do this on every single butterfly you come across. However, some of them are actually bombs that slowly chase you when revealed. In the same game, Moneybags disguise themselves as coins before morphing into their true selves. The Mad Piano in BigBoosHaunt can give the unsuspecting player a heart attack, as it suddenly becomes '''extremely loud''' when it wakes up. And a Red Coin is right behind it!

*** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' has Zombie Shrooms, which resemble normal restorative items, but come to life and attack the player after a brief delay.

** In the overworld, players can pick up items lying on the ground, which are marked by ball icons similar to Pokéballs. Occasionally, these turn out to be the Pokéball-like {{mons}} Voltorb and Electrode, which have a nasty tendency to explode before you can KO them. This completely stopped making sense in Generation III. Prior to that, the sprite for item balls and the Voltorb/Electrode were just balls with red and white hemispheres. From Gen. III onwards, the sprite is very clearly a Poké Ball shape with a button in the center, which both Voltorb and Electrode lack.

** ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'' gives us Galarian Stunfisk, which has steel fins resembling the teeth of a bear trap and a mouth that looks like a Poké Ball. Its ''Shield'' Pokedex entry even mentions that Stunfisk uses its lips as a lure to draw in prey. In the actual game, however, they don't actually try to pretend to be an actual item ball due of how small they are and their lips are more of an indicator where they are laying.

* In ''VideoGame/Prey2017'', the [[TheGoomba most common enemy]], the Mimic (scientific name ''Typhon cacoplasmus''), is capable of transforming itself into a copy of a nearby item or prop ( in order to ambush you when you get close. In addition to doing this dynamically, there are also a few notable scripted Mimic encounters:

* ''Videogame/DragonQuest'':
** It started the idea of always being a chest. There's usually at least two variants, the Cannibox and the Mimic. To the bane of players, they both have astoundingly high damage, very high critical hit rates, and the Mimic can cast Beat/Whack and Defeat/Thwack, which can instantly kill one or all of your party members, respectively. The Cannibox is even the main page image.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendaryStarfy'': The Jaw Boxes are disguised as green treasure chests, looking identical to the other ones found in the S.S. Logwater. But star-spinning into them have them reveal their sharp teeth and chase after Starfy.

* ''VideoGame/Prey2017'':
** The [[TheGoomba most common enemy]], the Mimic (scientific name ''Typhon cacoplasmus''), is capable of transforming itself into a copy of a nearby item in order to ambush you when you get close. In addition to doing this dynamically, there are also a few notable scripted Mimic encounters:
** Your first encounter with [[StandardFPSGuns an actual gun]], the silenced pistol, is one you see lying next to a dead security guard on the other side of a door. The gun you can actually see, however, is a Mimic -- the real one is out of sight behind the door frame.
** A Fabricator in the Psychotronics director's office has a useful item apparently jammed in it. It's a Mimic.
** In one of the larger Psychotronics labs, nearly every item has a note reading "Not a Mimic" on it. The rest, of course, are Mimics.

* ''VideoGame/Pikmin3'': Flukeweeds are plants scattered around the game world that can be uprooted by Winged Pikmin to reveal a variety of goodies hidden among their roots, which can include nectar eggs, pellets, a number of collectible items, and on one occasion the Blue Pikmin's Onion. However, a number of Flukeweeds instead hide swarms of sheargrubs instead. This is downplayed by the female sheargrubs, which will only run around in terror and yield some easy corpses to make more Pikmin with, but male sheargrubs will quickly start devouring your Pikmin once they're pulled out of the ground.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', as you would expect, has Mimics hiding throughout the world. If you try to open a Mimic, it'll pull you inside its mouth and chew on you, most likely killing you in the process. You can tell them apart from regular chests by either the position of the chain on the right side (in the first and third games) or whether they have visible locks or not (in the second). You could also just smack every chance you see, just to be safe, but in the second game it is possible to destroy wooden chests along with the item inside, so this is inadvisable (though they usually won't break if you only hit them once, and metal chests can't break at all). Attacking a Mimic will cause it to abandon all pretense and actively come after you. An active Mimic is extremely silly looking, running around on its long, skinny legs and making some of the goofiest noises you'll hear in a ''Souls'' game. However, [[BewareTheSillyOnes they are nonetheless very deadly foes]] and those legs can easily football-kick your head clean off in one hit. They also have a very fast flying kick attack they will use at a distance, and staying up close puts you in range of their grab attack where they, again, shove you inside their mouth and eat you. Fortunately, there is a way to get the items they contain without killing them [[GuideDangIt that the games never tell you about]]. If you hit a Mimic with a Lloyd's Talisman/Undead Hunter Charm, it will put it to sleep and you can safely grab its item without it ever noticing.

** ''VideoGame/SonicStorybookSeries'': ''Sonic and the Black Knight'' features actual chests that can come alive and attack you.

* ''[[Website/GaiaOnline zOMG!!]]'': The Flying Giftbox monster looks identical to the Magical Giftboxes that have randomly rewarded Gaians with rare items for years. But get too close and they'll attempt to eat you. Flying Giftboxes can talk, and tend to travel in groups. The real threat comes from the Ring Box, which is the MetalSlime version of the Giftbox. It also looks identical to a Magical Giftbox, but travels alone and does not speak, making it easier to mistake for an actual giftbox if you aren't familiar with their weaker cousins. (Ironically, there actually are Chests, Baskets, and Boxes in the game, and they all are Animated as well, but the only hostile thing they do is refuse to open until all of other the Animated on the screen are dispatched. However, there are certain chests that have Animated pop out of them; you get the reward after they're defeated). With a later update to the game, in Deadman's Shadow there are Animated chests that can and will attack players.

** ''VideoGame/UltimaIII'' had killer floors in Exodus' castle, which looked exactly the same as the regular floor, and so couldn't be distinguished from the background either before or after they engaged you in combat. They, fortunately, weren't very strong, and could easily be defeated after you'd already killed one batch of them, by standing on the treasure chest the defeated floors left. All ''Ultima III'' combat when you're standing on a treasure chest, regardless of what's meant to be under the chest, has the standard "woodland" map. Against which things that look like castle floor are somewhat conspicuous. [[WebVideo/TheSpoonyExperiment Spoony]] had some fun with this, depicting Exodus' ''lawn'' as the most powerful force in the game.