History Main / ControllableHelplessness

* In ''{{Metroid Super Metroid''}, you are helpless for a brief period during the final boss fight. If you mash the buttons, you can ''almost'' stand.

* ''{{God of War}} 2'' has two examples of this: The first is after you beat the intro boss and face off against [[spoiler:Zeus]]. At this point Kratos has both been drained of his godly powers and been slammed under several tons of hand-shaped bronze while his adversary is wielding a {{BFS}} as well as being a [[spoiler:god]], so it's no wonder that all you can do is take strained steps, flail your weapon around weakly and be unable to jump at all. After your foe finishes you off and the game gives you an [[ActionCommands Action Command]] prompt, you can mash Circle to struggle against being stabbed with the said {{BFS}}, but doing so only delays it for a second or 2. The second example is when Kratos initially faces against [[spoiler:Kraken]]. After a plot event destroys what little trust he had left in the gods, Kratos refuses to fight the tentacled monstrosity and instead stomps around angrily and yells at the skies when you press any buttons until he's grabbed by one of the tentacles.

* A somewhat unique example occurs in ''CaveStory'' - after defeating a certain boss, the only exit from the room closes and the room fills with water. All the player can do is jump around until the character drowns [[spoiler:and his [[FissionMailed fission mails]]]].

* The Jockey in ''Left4Dead2''. Once it grabs you, it will force you to move where it wants to go. You can resist it by trying to move in the opposite direction of its movement, but all it does is slow it down.

* Possibly the first example of this ever is the classic {{Atari}} 800 game ''MountainKing''. If you fall all the way down to the lowest part of the mountain, a GiantSpider may chase after you and wrap you full of web. Once you're all wrapped up, you can push left or right to struggle in that direction, but you're pretty much screwed. Some time later, the spider comes back and eats you and the web. Really [[NightmareFuel leaves an impression]] when you are 6 years old. This makes this trope OlderThanTheNES.
** You can free yourself if you wiggle the joystick fast enough, though, so I'm not sure this one counts.
* Another example, seen above, is ''{{Rule of Rose}}''. Twice in that game, Jennifer is tied to a pole. The first time, she has no choice but to listen to the taunts and threats of her captors, until she is finally freed. During that time, you can use the control stick to wriggle around in the ropes. The second time, you have to free yourself by calling for your dog three times by pushing the normal "call dog" button, and he'll chew through the ropes.
* Technically, the beginning of ''{{Mass Effect}} 2.'' Your ship gets attacked and heavily damaged, and you have to make your way through it, unarmed, running through explosions, and then walking through an eerie segment where the entire ROOF has been blown away and the sound becomes muffled.
** Similarly, a sequence later in the game where the Normandy SR-2 gets [[spoiler: attacked and you play as Joker, limping through the ship, watching helplessly as your crew get captured.]]
* This could be considered a mainstay in the ''{{Call of Duty}}: ModernWarfare'' series. In order:
** In ''ModernWarfare'', during the mission "The Coup", you're tied up and thrown into the backseat of a car. The only control you actually have over your character is the ability to look around. [[spoiler:The twist? You're playing the ''President'' of Unspecifiedstan, on his way to his execution. And you ''do'' get executed by one of the {{Big Bad}}s, sparking the events of the rest of the game.]]
*** In the mission [[spoiler:"Aftermath", in which all you can do is limp across a burned-out wasteland until Sgt. Jackson dies horribly from radiation poisoning and/or internal injuries.]]
*** In ''Game Over'', [[spoiler:after a tanker truck blows up and you're lying on the ground helpless, you see the BigBad walking towards you, and executing your teammates one by one. Subverted in that, while they're distracted after their Hind is destroyed by another helicopter, Captain Price slides you his pistol, and you use it to blow Zakhaev's brains out. Easily a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.]]
** In ''ModernWarfare2'', [[spoiler:during the final part of "Endgame", you get to control Soap [=MacTavish=] as he lies on the ground, incapacitated by a knife sticking out of his chest. The game gives you control at three points, when Soap is on the ground looking up at Shepherd, when you're crawling to the gun, and when you have to pull the knife out of your chest and aim it at Shepherd]].
*** Earlier on, the mission "Second Sun" [[spoiler:puts you in the shoes of James Ramirez, an Army Ranger who is trapped in a downed Black Hawk helicopter. Although you can't move, you ''can'' fire your weapon, although you only have two clips. After a flash of light from the sky, you get to control [=Sat1=], an astronaut on the International Space Station who is watching a nuclear device launch from Russia. After you turn your head to see the nuke detonate over Washington, the shockwave destroys the station and sends you spiraling helplessly out of control while a mirror from the station careens towards you.]]
*** Black Ops takes this BeyondTheImpossible, as you spend the TITLE SCREEN in this state, [[spoiler: Unless you do a certain Easter Egg....]]And you wind up being subjected to this virtually every mission.
* The various ''MetalGearSolid'' games have ''lots'' of scenes where you're somehow restrained or incapacitated, but can still look around from a first-person perspective.
* In Armored Core: Nexus, the game ends with a sort of superweapon being deployed and you fight it in swarms as the screen fades to black. You are able to control your mech and fight them off, but the implication is that you are unable to prevent the drones from overwhelming you.
* At the beginning of ''EscapeFromMonkeyIsland'', you start the game tied to the mast and have to use your limited mobility to free yourself.
** From the original ''SecretOfMonkeyIsland'', there's one part where you are attached to a weight underwater. If you fail to free yourself within the generous timespan of 10 minutes, you will drown, and be given options such as "float", "decompose" and "order hint book." Oh, and reload.
** There's another variant in ''MonkeyIsland 2'', where Guybrush and Wally end up suspended next to each other over a pit of acid, and Guybrush has five minutes to sabotage the DeathTrap that will drop them into the acid before it goes off.
** This puzzle shows up yet again in ''TalesOfMonkeyIsland: Launch of the Screaming Narwahl'', where Guybrush has to escape the clutches of a MadDoctor while strapped to a table.

* ''{{Fable}}'' has a version of this. After having been captured in a failed attempt to rescue the main character's mother, the hero is locked in a jail cell with no ability to use his powers and no items. All he can do is walk around the cage till he's sent off to the races [[spoiler:literally]].
* In ''DeadRising'', later in the game, [[spoiler:the government sends a task force to the mall to capture and interrogate or kill anyone who is or isn't a zombie. If they find you (and drain your life bar), you will be sent to a minigame of you stripped half naked and strapped to the inside of a chopper. You can attempt to wiggle free, but if the guards catch you trying (they walk in a set pattern) the guard [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown beats the crap out of you]] and the game's clock skips ahead about six or eight hours.]]
** [[spoiler:If you manage to free yourself from your bonds, you can walk away scot free, but remember, [[ContinuingIsPainful your entire inventory was confiscated by the government]], meaning you'll have to recollect every item you've lost.]]
** On the other hand, [[spoiler:if you fail to release yourself by the time your chopper is supposed to pick you up, [[ItsAWonderfulFailure the government will leave with you inside the chopper]], netting you [[MultipleEndings Ending D.]]]]
*** Also, once you start a new game, [[spoiler:Frank will still be in his boxer shorts.]]
* In ''FinalFantasyVII'', just before that part, Cloud is mind-controlled by [[BigBad Sephiroth]] and made to try to chop Aeris in half. As the mind control takes hold, Cloud's movements are restricted more and more until pressing the d-pad causes him to awkwardly struggle his hips in that direction and pressing the other buttons makes him shake or grab his head. The only way out of the sequence is to press the circle button, which causes him to come at her with his sword. Thankfully, your comrades stop you before Cloud lets his sword drop. [[ItWasHisSled Of course]], this doesn't stop ''Sephiroth'' from [[IncrediblyLamePun getting the drop on her]]...
** Another similar situation arises just after clearing the Temple of the Ancients, when Sephiroth mind controls Cloud into giving away the Black Materia that destroys everything, you get to control what seems to be Cloud's inner consciousness who can run around helplessly while Cloud's body slowly walks to Sephiroth and hands over the Black Materia.
** There's a third part that tries to imitate this trope, where Tifa is being held in an execution chamber. You can move her body parts around in a seemingly hopeless struggle...However, the right combination of movements will allow you to fetch a dropped key and use it to free yourself.
** The main characters of FFVII break into the Shinra HQ and end up locked in a bunch of jail cells. The only thing they can do is to talk to each other through the walls.
** Speaking of FFVII, the prequel ''CrisisCore'' has what is quite possibly the cruelest example of this trope. We all know how it's gonna end, but rather than making it a cutscene, the game makes you play through the [[BolivianArmyEnding fateful showdown with the Shinra army]], and it goes so far to ''show Zack's life flashing before your eyes!''
*** Which still remains awesome, even regardless of the helplessness - something that few examples on this page can claim to be true. Yes, by the end of the day, Shinra is going to win. That doesn't mean you can't make it hell on them.
* In ''FinalFantasyVIII'', there's a scene in which you're trying to escape a missile base before it explodes. You can run around all you like, but, as you and your characters will eventually realise, the exit is blocked by the boss you just fought.
* Also in ''StarWars: RepublicCommando'', you can move your hands around while an infant in a [[PeopleJars People Jar]].
* In ''JetForceGemini'' for the N64, you could press the A button to twitch after dying.
* In the [[NoExportForYou Japan-only]] SNES game ''Game/ClockTower'' (not to be confused with the PSX ''Game/ClockTower'', which is actually its sequel), Jennifer could pass out and wake up locked in a cell. You can move around inside the cell and talk to your fellow prisoner. Depending on your actions and if you have a certain item or not, you may end up being unable to escape the cell and end up killed by your fellow prisoner.
** Specifically, [[ImAHumanitarian eaten]]. And this was just one of many, many, ''many'' NightmareFuel moments.
* The console version of ''[[HarryPotter Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban]]'' has a form of this. Dementors enter the train shortly after the fight with Malfoy and Harry's health slowly depletes and his movement becomes restricted and slow. There is absolutely nothing you can do to stop it from happening, so you must wait until his health empties.
* In ''DisasterReport'', if you mess up in one segment, you end up tied up, and have to struggle to escape in face of the constant earthquakes.

* At the climax of ''Game/AnotherWorld'' [=/=] ''[[Game/AnotherWorld Out of this World]]'' [[spoiler:your back is broken by an alien]] and your controls are reduced to 'crawl forward (agonisingly)' and 'reach'. It's a bad time to be alone...

* ''{{Half-Life 2}}'' and its subsequent Episodes do this a lot--most notably in the Citadel, where you're first stripped of your weapons in an airlock-like chamber (you can move, but extremely slowly, and look around as your weapons are disintegrated) and later enter a suspended cage...cocoon...''thing'' where the only thing you can do is move your head around.
** Somewhat of a wallbanger, as you do this TWICE. Because the first time ended so well...
** [[EleventhHourSuperpower What happens immediately after the weapon stripper sequence, however...]]
** In ''Episode Two'' you are able to move only very slowly and move your head after a Hunter brings a building down on you. This is distressing: your companion Alyx is being mauled by a Hunter and you cannot help. At two points later in the game you are held helpless by the psionic power of an Advisor, the first time while it prepares to insert a probe in your brain, the second time at the end of the game [[spoiler:when you are forced to watch while it kills Eli Vance.]]

* In ''{{Gears of War}}'', a player who is incapacitated by gunfire can only press the fire button to raise an arm and call out for help while awaiting it, or just death. In the sequel, you could at least crawl around to aid your chances of survival.
* In ''{{Kirby}} Air Ride'', you can flop around after dying in a multiplayer match.
* Early on in ''ChronoTrigger'', the player is tossed in jail after a kangaroo trial, and you have to sit in your cell for three in-game days before your friend busts you out. However, you can escape before that, but the method isn't very obvious to many first time players, who might not assume that the guards would be [[IdiotBall stupid enough not to have frisked you]]...
** A better example is when Robo is getting trashed by his fellow brethren. You have full control over Chrono but the robots simply swat him away. Your partner just sits there and protests. Finally they finish wrecking Robo and throw him away and ''now'' you can fight them.
* In ''Legend of Zelda: TwilightPrincess'', your first moments with Link as a wolf are when Link wakes up in a jail cell, with one leg chained to the floor early on. You can move around for a bit before Midna appears to rescue you, but it makes no difference what you do in the meantime before she shows up.
* In ''FireEmblem: The Sacred Stones'' if you decide to take Ephraim's path, in the first level that you play as him. You can control Tana, the princess of Frelia, while she is imprisoned in a cell awaiting execution by Grado.
** This is also present in ''The Sword of Seals''. Somewhat early in the game (8th chapter), Lilina is imprisoned in a room inside Castle Ostia, with an enemy archer nearby ready to kill her. You can move her around said room, and this is necessary to keep her alive, as she is needed to unlock a side chapter.
* ''[=~Assassin's Creed~=]'' does this when you're not travelling through time with help from your DNA. [[spoiler:In fact the game ends like that, leaving you in a room with no way to get out just bizarre markings.]]
** There is also a version of this in the semi-cutscenes in which you're being spoken to by {{NPC}}s or obtaining information about a target; you can move Altaïr, but you can't move more than a few steps nor do any [[LeParkour high-profile actions]] until the conversation/scene ends. [[SelectiveObliviousness No one ever seems insulted when Altaïr stares at a wall while they're speaking to him]], although this might be due to the fact that, initially, [[JerkAss Altaïr not bothering to pay attention is sort of par for the course]].
* A somewhat unique example occurs in ''CaveStory'' - after defeating a certain boss, the only exit from the room closes and the room fills with water. All the player can do is jump around until the character drowns [[spoiler:and his [[FissionMailed fission mails]]]].
* Most definitely happens in ''QuakeIV''. [[spoiler: After being incapacitated by the Makron, Matthew Kane wakes up on a Strogg assembly line and can only move his head and struggle futilely as the Strogg dismember him alive and turn him into one of them. Fortunately, he is rescued by his squadmates before he can the mind-control chip in his head activated, so he escapes with both his new Strogg abilities and his free will.]] The scene can be viewed [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3clVvh5gbGE&feature=related here.]]
** Also happens when you are in a drop pod as part of the attacking wave. You can only look around as other pods explode, catch fire, crash or go off course, sometime all four. Do those things ever hit their intended targets?
* In ''TheElderScrolls: {{Oblivion}}'', if you have insufficient gold to pay your fines, the guards will throw you in jail if you surrender. There are several methods of getting out and escaping either by being stealthy (or by SaveScumming) but if such methods fail, you're left with little choice but to hang around in your cell until you "serve your sentence", by sleeping in the bed provided.
* Happens multiple times in ''{{Fallout 3}}''. The very first scene is your birth, where the only thing you can do is press the "Action" button to cry. Later on when you get captured and immobilized, you can look around but not interact until you're released.
* ''GoldenEye 007''. Straight [[JamesBond from the movies]], you are captured and taunted with your own gun. You can grab it and kill the guards, usually taking damage in the process. Then more guards pour in.
* ''DukeNukem''3D End of Level 2 gets you captured, and in Level 3 you're being executed in the electric chair. Thankfully they forgot to tie you down...
* Once the nuclear missiles are launched in ''ShinMegamiTenseiI'', a 30-second countdown is displayed on-screen. You retain full control, so you can run around like crazy, maybe, for fun, see if you can get out of the building fast enough (or just cast Traesto, if you want to ruin the fun), but, of course, there's nothing you can do to stop the impact.

* In ''SuperMetroid'', [[spoiler: when Mother Brain zaps you with her Hyper Beam you're brought to your knees, panting. If you don't do anything, Samus stays like that, and Mother Brain zaps her again and again until the baby metroid comes along. However, you can press the D-pad to get up on your feet after the first few zaps; the last time you try that, though, Samus is far too weak to stand and she collapses immediately.]]
** [[spoiler:The game actually runs a check against Samus' health and the power of Mother Brain's Hyper Beam. If Samus can still survive a hit from the unavoidable Hyper Beam, she is allowed to stand. If not, she stays down while Mother Brain whittles away the rest. The metroid flies in and rescue you when your health is down to your last energy tank. It is possible to trick this system, however, as the game does not take Reserve Tanks into account. After being stunned, you can unequip both the Varia and Gravity suit upgrades, which combined reduces damage by a staggering 75%. The game now triggers the Metroid event, but the player can now put on the Varia and Gravity Suit again and refill their energy with the Reserve Tanks. This allows Samus to stand up and move during the scene even if she's meant to stay in one place.]]
** Speaking of the baby, after witnessing a Sidehopper being drained ''completely'' and being reduced to a brittle husk, it goes after her for its next meal, and will not stop until the CriticalAnnoyance alarm sets in to remind it of who it's feeding off of. Not Bombs, not the Screw Attack, nothing you can do will stop this from starting, much less from bringing you all the way down. And Samus will be slowed from the weight of the baby, so there's no running to an exit door, either.
*** In Metroid Fusion, [[spoiler: The last boss, Omega Metroid takes one swipe at you and you're knocked into the corner with 1 life left, and the big O starts inching towards you slowly. While this is happening, you can button mash to make Samus struggle to get up faster, and she might almost go into a standing position before dropping down, but she'll never actually manage to stand up in time. If you press Up, Samus can look up at the Big O, coming ever so closer, adding more dramatic effect. Before O-Man can get to you, the SA-X saves you by attacking him, and he does the same to the SA-X. The SA-X is reduced to nothing but a Core X without a shell, beggin you to pick it up. Samus finally stands and takes the power up to fight the boss, and if the boss slashes at you again, only 1 energy tank is taken away and button mashing actually gets you to stand up.]]
* Running into a cobweb in ''GliderPRO'' will trap you, and kill you after a few seconds of struggling in vain to break free. Using [[NitroBoost batteries]] or [[RecoilBoost rubber bands]], however, can propel you out of a cobweb.
* In the first ''{{Way of the Samurai}}'', this happens if you wind up [[spoiler: [[ChainedToARailway tied up on the railroad tracks]]. You're given ''one'' chance to free yourself, but it's not through struggling: a member of one of the clans walks by and offers to save your life in exchange for your loyalty. [[TooDumbToLive Refuse]], and he walks off, and [[NonStandardGameOver the train comes thundering along...]]]]
* In the beginning of ''RedSteel 2,'' the protagonist is tied to the back of a motorcycle and dragged through the desert at high speed. The only action you can do while watching the scenery go by... is to move your camera and look at ''other'' scenery go by.
** Or so they lead you to believe when showing off the demos for the game: in the actual game, the segment is a cutscene with prerecorded footage made with the game's engine.
* In ''YggdraUnion'', at a certain point [[spoiler: Princess Yggdra is ambushed by some villains, and, while surrounded by them, is just waiting to be beat up and captured]]. You have the control over other units on this part (not over Yggdra), but the bridge connecting your units to the enemy is broken. So you can advance a little, but only watch as [[spoiler:she is beaten up and kidnapped]].
* In the ''TalesSeries'', player characters get themselves thrown into jail or capture under player control fairly often - this has happened in ''[[TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]'', ''[[TalesOfInnocence Innocence]]'', ''[[TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]'', and ''[[TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]''. Generally you're expected to wait and/or pace until either release or escape ensues.

* In ''{{Hammer and Sickle}}'', if you get arrested, you can run around in the cell forever, but there's no way to escape and it's effectively game over.
* ''SilentHillHomecoming'' treats the protagonist to this on two occasions - first in the very beginning, and then towards the end of the game where you struggle against restraints ''while an antagonist [[ColdBloodedTorture mutilates you]] with a power drill.''
** There's also a part of the game where you wake up trapped in a prison cell until one of your dad's friends comes along and questions you about the events of the game up to that point. He seems to think you're involved.
* Happens in one of the most brilliant parts of ''[[BatmanArkhamAsylum Batman: Arkham Asylum]]''. [[spoiler:During one of the scarecrow parts you get to play as strapped down Batman, only able to move your head, as Joker pulls out a gun and shoots your face. Naturally the game over screen gives you the (un)helpful tip: [[FissionMailed Move the middle analog stick to avoid Joker's gunshots]]]].
* Happens briefly in ''DeusEx'' after J.C. gets captured by Majestic 12. After about ten seconds of walking around your cell, Daedalus opens the door for you.

* ''TossTheTurtle'' has you shoot the titular turtle, who can't refuse to follow the resulting trajectory and [[HilarityEnsues ensuing hilarity]]. However, he can slightly move with the [=WASD=] keys, to get some cash and kill some goombas.
* At the start of ''[[Halo3ODST Halo 3: ODST]]'', the player is being dropped from a ship in orbit in a drop pod and can only look around.
* In installments of ''DanceDanceRevolution'' where the [[BonusBoss Extra Stage]] or [[TrueFinalBoss One More Extra Stage]] forces you to select a specific boss song on Heavy/Expert difficulty, the game will still go to the song select menu, but attempting to change the song will result in the song selection wheel twitching in that direction before being helplessly bounced back, and attempting to change the difficulty level will result in a buzzer.
* In Hugo 3: Jungle of Doom, Hugo gets locked up in a giant cage inside the Witch Doctor's hut. If you didn't get all the proper items before going in the cage, then it's impossible to escape.
* In the video game adaptation of ''Bladerunner'', your character ends up tied in a chair. All you can do is bounce around in the chair until you find the right place to free yourself.
* KingsQuest V: Graham can get captured by thieves. If you didn't do the right sequence of events beforehand, all you can do is wait for the HaveANiceDeath message.
* Shooting anything other than a target during one of ''America's Army'''s tutorials (like, say, your drill sergeant) will land you in a prison cell where you are absolutely unable to do anything, save for restarting the game.
* In ''SplinterCell Conviction'', during [[spoiler: the {{Flash Forward}}s to the next-to-end part in the White House]] and later [[spoiler: the White House proper]], you see Sam being held at gunpoint by [[spoiler: Grim]]. At these points, you can either advance without being prompted, or try to stall for time by looking around, shortly after which your captor will make you advance anyway.

* In ''Starcraft 2'', there is a mission where you look into the future as Protoss, and are set upon by Hybrids. There is no way to win, just survive for a set amount of time. Even if you have the strongest army possible, the game will spawn more units than you can kill. You will die.

[[AC:Other]]

* In the [[DungeonsAndDragons Advanced Dungeons & Dragons]] mega module ''Scourge of the Slavelords'' this happens to the players at at least one point in the game, where they're [[spoiler:chained up and forced to watch a pirate captain who's captured them dump their precious magic items over the side of the ship,]] unable to do much about it... except threaten to lynch the DM...

<<|FakeDifficulty|>>

** In ''ModernWarfare'', during the mission "The Coup", you're tied up and thrown into the backseat of a car. The only control you actually have over your character is the ability to look around. [[spoiler: The twist? You're playing the ''President'' of Unspecifiedstan, on his way to his execution. And you ''do'' get executed by one of the {{Big Bad}}s, sparking the events of the rest of the game.]]

*** In ''Game Over'', [[spoiler:after a tanker truck blows up and you're lying on the floor helpless, you see the BigBad walking towards you, and executing your teammates. Subverted in that Captain Price slides you his pistol, and you use it to blow Zachaev's brains out. Easily a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.]]

* In the ''TalesSeries'', player characters get themselves thrown into jail or capture under player control fairly often - this has happened in ''[[TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]'', ''[[TalesOfInnocence Innocence]]'', [[TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]], and ''[[TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]''. Generally you're expected to wait and/or pace until either release or escape ensues.

* In the ''TalesSeries'', player characters get themselves thrown into jail or capture under player control fairly often - this has happened in ''[[TalesOfPhantasia Phantasia]]'', ''[[TalesOfInnocence Innocence]]'', and ''[[TalesOfVesperia Vesperia]]''. Generally you're expected to wait and/or pace until either release or escape ensues.

'''Examples:'''

* ''DukeNukem'' again for the 64. End of Level One gets you captured, and in Level 2 you're being executed in the electric chair. Thankfully they forgot to tie you down... (in the PC version, it's from Level 2 to Level 3)

** There's another variant in ''MonkeyIsland 2'', where while talking to Wally, hanging by his wrists in a dungeon, you can tell him to stop swaying back and forth, because it's making you dizzy--and he does, apologizing.

* ''{{Fable}}'' has a version of this. After having been captured in a failed attempt to rescue the main characters mother, the hero is locked in a jail cell with no ability to use his powers and no items. All he can do is walk around the cage till he's sent off to the races [[spoiler:literally]].

* Technically, the beginning of ''{{MassEffect}} 2.'' Your ship gets attacked and heavily damaged, and you have to make your way through it, unarmed, running through explosions, and then walking through an eerie segment where the entire ROOF has been blown away and the sound becomes muffled.

* Possibly the first example of this ever is the classic {{Atari}} 800 game ''MountainKing''. If you fall all the way down to the lowest part of the mountain, a GiantSpider may chase after you and wrap you full of web. Once you're all wrapped up, you can push left or right to struggle in that direction, but you're pretty much screwed. Some time later, the spider comes back and eats you and the web. Really [[NightmareFuel leaves an impression]] when you are 6 years old. This makes this trope OlderThanTheNES

* Possibly the first example of this ever is the classic {{Atari}} 800 game ''MountainKing''. If you fall all the way down to the lowest part of the mountain, a GiantSpider may chase after you and wrap you full of web. Once you're all wrapped up, you can push left or right to struggle in that direction, but you're pretty much screwed. Some time later, the spider comes back and eats you and the web. Really [[NightmareFuel leaves an impression]] when you are 6 years old.

* Examples of this trope, in both the 'until you're rescued' and 'until the game over' forms, occur in text-based InteractiveFiction, too. One of the most obvious examples occurs in {{Infocom}}'s ''{{Planetfall}}''. The beginning of the game has you stuck on a spaceship until a disaster occurs, requiring you to reach an escape pod before the ship explodes. However, if you do something wrong and get your overzealous superior officer mad enough at you, he'll throw you in the Brig -- which you cannot escape from (typing 'escape' tells you that 'Houdini himself would be stumped by this cell'), and you'll be stuck there unable to reach the escape pod. Since ''Planetfall'' was released in 1983, that makes this trope OlderThanTheNES.
** ''AMindForeverVoyaging'', by the same author, SteveMeretzky, also has jail-themed examples, this time of both sorts. The PC gets to visit several increasingly grim simulations of a dystopian future world. In the less grim simulations, breaking the law results in spending several turns in jail until you're released. In a later, extremely bleak, simulation, you're stuck there until executed. Fortunately, since it's a simulation, getting killed merely returns you to the non-simulation world.
** Steve Meretzky might very well be the king of this trope at {{Infocom}}. In ''Game/{{Sorcerer}}'' (also written by Meretzky), one has to leave the Guild Hall before the end of the day, or else the BigBad will show up and send the PC to the Chamber of Living Death. There, the PC will be horribly torn apart and devoured by hideous parasites, only to not die but regenerate, over and over again, being unable to do anything about it because 'Your agony is too great to concentrate on such an action'. The only way out is to restart or restore, and then avoid ever being sent to that place in the first place. Of course, in the game's endgame, the player has to choose which door to open, and the wrong door being opened could also send the player to that chamber.
** Another {{Infocom}} example: DouglasAdams' game adaptation of ''[[{{Game/ptitleu8eyxc8k}} The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'' includes sequences where the player character has passed out and stuck in a dark void, and getting out of said void is part of a puzzle. The trick is to see if you can sense anything at all, and then figure out which sense you can actually use to regain consciousness.
*** There are also quite a few 'game over' variants of this trope at work in the ''[=H2G2=]'' game. Giving Ford his towel back leaves you with nothing to do but wait for the Vogons to destroy the world. Likewise, being struck by a stray brick leaves you helpless in the back of an ambulance, with any attempted action politely reminding you that you're dead and suggesting you start building up a healthy rigor mortis (Seriously.), until again the Vogons destroy the world. The third and most disturbing occurs later, where you can teleport into your own brain. You have scant few turns to do anything about it before your head explodes.

*** More examples include [[spoiler: the controversial terrorist mission, where no matter where you are when Makarov shoots, the bullet will always hit and kill you.]] There's also [[spoiler: the mission "Loose Ends" where you play as Roach, as you get to watch Shepherd shoot you in the gut with a magnum, shoot Ghost in the head, throw you and Ghost's corpse into a pit, watch as you get covered in gasoline and lit on fire by Shepherd's lit cigar.]]