History Main / BorderPatrol

* ''VideoGame/SphinxAndTheCursedMummy'': The water around Abydos is filled with electric eels.

* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'': The world of Subnautica canonically takes place entirely within a volcanic crater. Leaving the crater and entering the Crater Edge-biome that surrounds the game's world will spawn up to three adult Ghost Leviathans, the second-largest hostile creature in the game. They have a different AI than the baby-Ghost Leviathans encountered in the natural course of the game, will home in on the player regardless of [[spoiler:your radiated noise level]], and will immediately lose interest once you've crossed back into the play area.

The Border Patrol is a monster or other hazard introduced specifically to provide an in-universe reason for why the player isn't allowed to wander too far off the game map without resorting to an immersion-breaking InvisibleWall[[note]]There probably is an invisible wall, it's just too far out to reach before the Border Patrol stops you[[/note]]. This often takes the form of an InvincibleMinorMinion that you have to run away from, or an obvious environmental hazard that you can't survive. Sometimes this will be an InstakillMook. Sometimes the Border Patrol monster can actually be killed, though it's just as likely to [[RespawningEnemies respawn]] if the game designers [[LordBritishPostulate anticipated your violent yearning to be free.]] When done well, the player is deterred by the dangerous thing and returns to the field of play. When done badly, the player character is unavoidably killed by the whatever, with no explanation as to what they did wrong or why they were just killed.

See also BeefGate and BrokenBridge where you are expected to be able to bypass the monster or obstacle, but not right away. Compare {{Boundareefs}}, where the monster is replaced by an impenetrable line of rocks. Related to DropInNemesis.

* Each of the ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'' games featured one: a lurker shark (pictured above), a perimeter defense robot, and a purple tentacle, respectively. The perimeter defense robot from ''II'' [[GoodBadBugs can be destroyed]] by a well timed Dark Bomb. However any attempts to explore further from the land will be halted by a fall into a {{Bottomless Pit}}.

* Similar to the examples above, ''VideoGame/{{Gothic}} II'' has a friendly sea monster come a-calling when the hero tries to swim too far from the island chain he starts on. And if the player survives this somehow and keeps going forward, the game will also throw piranhas at them for good measure.

* Speaking of dragons, there's ''VideoGame/WithinADeepForest'', which has a Sky Dragon that will eat you if you try to cross islands, and a cat that will eat you for your powers. [[spoiler: You can eventually avoid both. The Dragon is gone in the cold, bleak future, and the cat won't eat you if you get the ball that has NO power.]]

* The old ''VideoGame/MotocrossMadness'' games for the PC had some kind of invisible BorderPatrol, and they came packing some [[{{BFG}} serious heat]]. Maps were usually cordoned off within Insurmountable Valleys...except, for a [[{{Determinator}} determined]] player, they ''were'' surmountable. If you managed to climb up and ride more than a few feet into the vast flat wastelands outside the valley, you would get [[BlownAcrossTheRoom blasted away]] by an invisible cannon, and then comically plummet back to the stage to a [[BombWhistle stock "bomb dropping" sound effect]]. Arguably an instance of highly aggressive {{Invisible Wall}}s.
** ''VideoGame/ATVOffroadFury'' also used this method of BorderPatrol, as well as all of the other games in the Unleashed saga and beyond.

* A temporary BorderPatrol can be found in the Lothlórien area in ''VideoGame/TheLordOfTheRingsOnline''. You first have to gain the elves' trust to enter their forest. If you choose to ignore the guard's warning, you get pincushioned by arrows raining from the treetops the moment you try to cross the small river.

** The first game, ''VideoGame/Borderlands1'', had a BorderPatrol consisting of a warning by the Crimson Lance, warning you that if you go any further, you WILL be bombarded. Going any further results in [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist you losing some money and being transported to the nearest New-U Station.]] Many areas have impassable cliffs (up or down) to keep you in. Some also have high-powered looking turrets with double laser sights that lock on to you if you approach the edge.

* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands}}'' had a BorderPatrol consisting of a warning by the Crimson Lance, warning you that if you go any further, you WILL be bombarded. Going any further results in [[DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist you losing some money and being transported to the nearest New-U Station.]] Many areas have impassable cliffs (up or down) to keep you in. Some also have high-powered looking turrets with double laser sights that lock on to you if you approach the edge.
* ''VideoGame/{{Borderlands 2}}'' also has the Turrets Of Doom in the same way as its predecessor.
** It also played with the trope a bit, with several quests which require you to grab an item placed just out-of-bounds. So you need to quickly grab it and retreat inbounds before you are instantly killed by the border turret.

* Zelda-like ''Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy'' featured the water-surrounded city of Abydos. Since Sphinx can swim, however, they filled the water surrounding him with [[PsychoElectricEel electric eels]] that made the water [[SuperDrowningSkills an insta-kill.]] Oddly, the HubLevel is ''also'' water-surrounded, but ''doesn't'' do anything about it--you just hit an InvisibleWall.

* ''VideoGame/{{Subnautica}}'': The Void that surrounds the game's world will spawn up to three adult Ghost Leviathans, the second-largest hostile creature in the game, should the player attempt to venture out there. They have a different AI than the ones encountered in the natural course of the game, will home in on the player regardless of [[spoiler:your radiated noise level]], and will immediately lose interest once you've crossed back into the play area.

* ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'', like the later ''Grand Theft Auto'' games, sets your Wanted Level to Maximum when entering restricted zones, resulting in lawmen shooting at you on sight. If you manage to evade the law and make it further into forbidden territory, an invisible sniper will OneHitKill you.

* Non-Videogame Example: In ''Manga/OnePiece'', the two halves of the Grand Line are separated from the four Blues (East Blue, West Blue, North Blue, South Blue) by the windless "Calm Belts". These Calm Belts are nesting grounds of Sea Kings, monsters that will mercilessly destroy any ship daring to cross the Calm Belt. [[spoiler:However, there are ways around this BorderPatrol: The Marines use ships with hulls lined with Kairoseki/Sea-Prism Stone (which protects the ships from being detected by the Sea Kings), while the Kuja Pirates (the [[AmazonBrigade warriors]] of [[LadyLand Amazon Lily]]) have their ship pulled by two Yuda, which are giant, ferocious, venomous snakes which even Sea Kings do not dare attack.]]

The Border Patrol is a monster or other hazard introduced specifically to provide an in-universe reason for why the player isn't allowed to wander too far off the game map without resorting to an immersion-breaking InvisibleWall[[note]]There probably is an invisible wall, it's just too far out to reach before the Border Patrol stops you[[/note]]. This often takes the form of an InvincibleMinorMinion that you have to run away from, or an obvious environmental hazard that you can't survive. Sometimes the Border Patrol monster can actually be killed, though it's just as likely to [[RespawningEnemies respawn]] if the game designers [[LordBritishPostulate anticipated your violent yearning to be free.]] When done well, the player is deterred by the dangerous thing and returns to the field of play. When done badly, the player character is unavoidably killed by the whatever, with no explanation as to what they did wrong or why they were just killed.

See also BeefGate and BrokenBridge where you are expected to be able to bypass the monster or obstacle, but not right away. Compare {{Boundareefs]], where the monster is replaced by an impenetrable line of rocks. Related to DropInNemesis.

See also BeefGate and BrokenBridge where you are expected to be able to bypass the monster or obstacle, but not right away. Related to DropInNemesis.

* ''Videogame/SunlessSea'': Trying to go too far in any of the four cardinal directions will trigger a horribly damaging event that will sent you straight back to one of the nearest available ports. However, all four events have heavy ties with the story, and the "badges" you get (which are more like marks on your being) are necessary for the GoldenEnding.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' series has had some form of this through out the series. Leaving the boundaries of the map (minus in games which on one side would let the air craft Return to base) logically result in the player abandoning the mission, with mission control asking what's wrong (resulting in Mission Failed). Almost all of them have a mission requiring the player stay below the top edges of a Canyon or Altitude limit, otherwise they'll be targeted by highly accurate, and powerful Surface to Air Missiles, or Super Weapon that will take them out in one hit (The latter of which, is often part of a mid-mission update).
** Another one, featured more recently in the series, is the addition of that particular game's residential [[TheRival Rival Ace Squadron]] chasing after you until you successfully egress from the mission area, essentially acting as an AdvancingWallOfDoom. To help ''encourage'' the player to retreat, the enemies A.I. is tuned to max, fly aircraft that typically far outperform your own, (and they often are in a SuperPrototype or at least a real world 4th+ Generation or higher, or have ECM jamming), and perform maneuvers you only wish you could pull off to shake off any lock on weapons, and infinite HP should you manage to hit them with some other weapon, such as your aircraft's Machine Gun, or if New Game+ play through, your own Super Prototype with access to special weapons such as instant hit Lasers or Rail Guns. The correct response, is to immediately point your nose in the direction to escape the battlefield, and hit the afterburners until you reach safety. And they tend to all, focus on you specifically, meaning attempting to engage them, you will be constantly bombarded with Incoming Missile Alerts, and forced on the defensive if you suddenly don't want to get hit by a half-dozen missiles at once (which will destroy any aircraft on anything but the easiest settings.)
** Another, more realistic mission type seen more recently, is stealth based in which the player's aircraft must avoid an enemy early warning radar network to either launch a surprise attack, or perform recon for a future mission. The higher you fly, the more area area the radars cover. But flying lower let's you slip below, and between the radars coverage. Detection means game over.

* In the second ''RealmsOfArkania'' game, ''Star Trail'', you come to a large city besieged by orcs. At first, they let you approach, but will then insist on confiscating your equipment before letting you in. If you resist and choose auto-battle, the game will chastise you for thinking your small party could defeat an entire army of orcs and kill you. If you try manual combat, you'll face a huge force of wave after wave of orcs, but even if you somehow win (such as by cheating), the game will ''still'' state that you're overwhelmed and your only option is to comply or be killed.