History Main / CorridorCubbyholeRun

See also ByWallThatIsHoley.

* ''VideoGame/MegaManX5''. Burn Dinorex's stage (a volcano) has a corridor like this, complete with rock barricades. Stray too far from them during the periodic lava flows, and you get instantly fried.

* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has several corridors with falling boulders, [[LaserHallway insta-kill lasers]], or SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom that you have to dodge by ducking into cubbyholes or waiting between them. The Forlorn Ruins EscapeSequence has you running from one tree to the next for shelter from [[BigBad Kuro]]'s OneHitKill attacks.
[[VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps The sequel]] likewise invokes this trope to avoid being [[DarknessEqualsDeath killed in/by the darkness]] in Mouldwood Depths, and evade [[BigBad Shriek]] in the Feeding Grounds.

* Creator/MatthewReilly's ''the Six Sacred Stones'' contains a rare Shaft Cubbyhole Climb (a Corridor Cubbyhole Run, but vertical). It regularly drops giant boulders down the shaft, and also has to be [[{{speedrun}} speedran]] in both directions.

* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'' has a giant dinosaur foot that will [[HPToOne knock you to one HP]] if you have more than that, and kill you if you don't. You can hide in a series of footprint-shaped holes, forcing you to play this when getting across with solo Kazooie (as a pair, you can just activate [[InvincibilityPowerup Wonderwing]], and a solo Banjo has to get creative with Snooze Pack to get across.)

* The Speed Buster battle in ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''. Travis has to smash his way into abandoned, ruined houses on either side of a street to avoid blasts from the bag lady/witch's WaveMotionGun.
** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'''s battle against [[spoiler:the returned, EmergencyTransformation form of Letz Shake]] is a variation; it is a circular area rather than a corridor, but the rest of the criteria is there. His main attack is sending a massive shockwave through the entire arena, and if you haven't made it to one of the few stable chunks of ground in the area when that happens, say bye-bye to half your health.

* ''VideoGame/{{Runescape}}'' has one in the quest Icthlarin's Little Helper, where the corridor is two spaces wide and traps that take up one space each litter the corridor. [[HaveANiceDeath Have fun trying to make it past the trapdoors without a guide.]]

* Subverted in Dresden Files: Like the Thundercats example, the last bit is timed differently.

* The [[WallMaster Wall Snatcher]] escalator in ''VideoGame/SilentHill4''. Later, you have to escort Eileen through it.

** ''[[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Half-Life 2 Episode 2]]'': The sequence where Gordon must evade the Antlion Guardian by ducking into a series of antlion hatcheries. [[FromBadToWorse And then]], the last tunnel (a mineshaft access rather than more antlion tunnels) is barred, and you have to break through before the Guardian catches you... That's when you're happy to still have a SMG grenade.

* The level "Escape from Trondheim" in ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Allied Assault'' features a long corridor with RespawningEnemies at the end, thus you must run from alcove to alcove while advancing and fighting them off.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' has a unique example in the first battle with Jade Face. He plants himself at the other end of a long corridor and will continually snipe at your party with a long-range laser. Using Shulk's [[CombatClairvoyance visions]] to warn you of the incoming attacks, you have to avoid them by hiding behind walls (or using Monado Shield) while also dealing with the enemies scattered along the path.

%% Image removed per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1313253189089504400
%% Please start a new thread if you'd like to suggest an image.

%% Please keep this page's examples section alphabetized. Thanks.

* ''Hostages'' (a.k.a. ''Hostage: Rescue Mission''): The snipers of your team need to avoid the search lights from the terrorist embassy as they walk along the street. Almost like there's no back to the buildings they take cover in - and you also need to cross all three sides of the embassy before continuing with storming the embassy.

* ''[[VideoGame/BlasterMaster Blaster Master Zero]]'' has one [[spoiler:in Area 9, where the player has to dodge Acceleration Blast volleys by Invem Sophia until they can break the amplifier at the end]].
* ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' has a couple of these, featuring corridors where spears shoot through the floor in repeating patterns, requiring the player to spot the pattern and move to the safe spots to make it through unscathed.

* This is a large portion of gameplay in ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime2Echoes'' during visits to [[DarkWorld Dark Aether]]. [[DeathWorld The atmosphere is severely caustic]], forcing you to run between safe zones set up during [[LateToTheTragedy the war in the backstory]]. The Dark Suit lessens the damage you take, and the Light Suit negates it.

* Lots of these in ''Franchise/TombRaider'' - usually swinging blades, SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom, poison darts, or [[SpikesOfDoom spikes that pop up from the floor]].
* The second intro level in ''VideoGame/TheMatrixPathOfNeo''. You have to avoid being seen by the security and Agents as you try to get to the bottom of the building. At the beginning of the level you have to duck into cubicles to avoid being seen. If you get seen by security you can shove them off as they try to hold you. However, if an Agent sees you, you're caught and fail the mission - though you still continue to the next mission because that's how it happened in the movie.
* The GBC version of ''VideoGame/{{Daikatana}}'' has an area where you have to run into cubbyholes to avoid rolling boulders. It's notable for being the sole hazard in the entire game that [[OneHitKill kills you instantly]] rather than deducting a small amount of HP.

* The UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo game of the ''Series/MightyMorphinPowerRangers'' has a WaveMotionGun hallway in the second level, which forces the player to duck down repeatedly. At the end of the hallway the Power Ranger has to physically destroy the weapon as well, in order to progress.
* In ''VideoGame/NinjaGaiden (Arcade)'''s second stage, Ryu has to dodge through several lanes of highway traffic.

* The ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' series features these often - Kratos needs to make his way down corridors with hazards including an endless supply of spherical boulders, a fire-breathing statue, a Hydra...

* ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros''
** Some of the fortresses in ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'' feature spiked, rotating pillars that stab upward/downward/sideways at regular intervals. Naturally, there's always a safe place to stand, but getting there can be a challenge.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'' had some of this action in the very first fortress: a crushing ceiling that's slightly higher in a few places.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' had similar spiked columns.
** ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBros'' had the same thing with the spiked pillars, and ''VideoGame/SuperMarioWorld'' did this as well, except you'd also have giant screen filling wooden logs smashing down with Mario having to duck in an indent in the floor, and in the areas with the spiked pillars there would be chainsaws going along a line in the points between them.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMario64'' has this in a pyramid in ShiftingSandLand, and an easier version in Bob-Omb's Battlefield while climbing the hill.
** ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' features a pair of areas in the [[TempleOfDoom Clockwork Ruins Galaxy]] in which enormous stone wheels roll down a hill Mario must traverse. There is one alcove in the first hill to take shelter in, and the wheels themselves have [[ByWallThatIsHoley Mario-sized cutouts]] to aim for.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManX6'' - ThatOneLevel, Metal Shark Player's stage - the ground is a conveyor belt, there are instant-death spikes in addition to the crushing danger, and various Nightmare effects can add super-slippery or nigh-invulnerable crates or metal blocks that are in the way.
* ''VideoGame/CastleOfIllusion'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis had several of these, of the "dodge large rolling obstruction by jumping into a hole" variety. One involves a narrow passageway with a periodically rising and falling torrent of water that doesn't kill Mickey if he gets caught in it but sweeps him back some distance.

* "Tidal Terror" in VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountryReturns: Large tidal waves crash into the level at regular intervals, and ''anything'' (including enemies and items) that isn't behind cover gets washed out of the level.
* ''VideoGame/DistortedTravesty'' has this in the final level, in the form of the Spinning Color Wheels of Death. At regular intervals (that vary from room to room), wheels in the background would flash a certain color several times. When this happened, you have until the end of the third flash to get to a safe zone of that color, or else suffer massive amounts of unblockable damage. Several rooms are designed such that you have to progress at a specific pace or you will not be able to find the proper safe zone.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Jetpack}}'', the fifth level has a variant of this: a pair of missiles fly back and forth across the length of each platform, and the short ladders connecting them are the player's only refuge.
* In ''VideoGame/TheAngryVideoGameNerdAdventures'', periodically appearing and disappearing Death Blocks are used for this purpose.
* ''VideoGame/BanjoTooie'' has a giant dinosaur foot that will [[HPToOne knock you to one HP]] if you have more than that, and kill you if you don't. You can hide in a series of footprint-shaped holes, forcing you to play this when getting across with solo Kazooie (as a pair, you can just activate [[InvincibilityPowerup Wonderwing]], and a solo Banjo has to get creative with Snooze Pack to get across.)
* One of the [[ShiftingSandLand Sand Canyon]] levels in ''VideoGame/KirbyMassAttack'' has a very dense wind periodically occurring and cover must be taken from it. There's also a miniboss fought this way, but underwater.
* ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' has a section in World 3 where a wall slowly rises, eventually slamming Kirby into the screen if he doesn't get into one of the holes in the wall in time. This causes heavy damage, as well as causing your Copy Ability to be lost permanently (the wall smashes it, too).
* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' has several corridors with falling boulders, [[LaserHallway insta-kill lasers]], or SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom that you have to dodge by ducking into cubbyholes or waiting between them. The Forlorn Ruins EscapeSequence has you running from one tree to the next for shelter from [[BigBad Kuro]]'s OneHitKill attacks.
* ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot1996'' had this in Toxic Waste: most barrels are yellow and bounce on the catwalk, while others are brown and roll along the floor. It gets to ThatOneLevel material when going for the Gem, which has to be done without losing a life whilst trying to judge where the barrels will land. [[VideoGame/CrashBandicootNSaneTrilogy The remake]] fixed this by having visibly damaged spots on the catwalk so you can tell where the barrels will land.

* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'' has two - the first is a path in Mt. Dramatica’s cave system littered with rolling boulders, while the second is a gauntlet of fireballs on the Wayback Machine.

* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsII'' has this in the Executioner's Chariot bossfight, taking place on a "track" of sorts that the chariot circles endlessly. Thanks to spikes on its wheels, the Chariot itself is so wide that you'll need to hide in the indents in the walls to avoid being trampled, which is almost always instant death. You have to dip in and out of the indents to reach a switch that causes the Chariot to crash. In true Souls fashion, this one ups the difficulty, as skeletons will mob you as you wait for the chariot to pass, which can't even be permanently killed until you defeat the necromancers, and neither enemies are pushovers.
* ''VideoGame/DarkSoulsIII'' welcomes you to the Ringed City proper in its final DLC by presenting you with an open corridor where a small army of ghost archers will, at intervals, spawn into existence, fire a few volleys, and disappear. The intervals are quite short, and the volleys can very effectively stunlock you to death, leaving sprinting between small "boxes" of gravestones your only option; naturally, there are small holes in the gravestones, so you can still take some damage while doing this, you just won't ''instantly die'' like you would if you were caught out in the open. If you can get to the side corridor you can go up and kill the giant who's summoning the ghost archers, at least.

* ''VideoGame/SoulBlazer'' uses these a couple times, one of them being corridors in the fire-themed dungeon.
* ''VideoGame/TalesOfLegendia'' has a couple.

* In ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', when approaching Nellis Air Force Base, you have to use the ruined houses as shelter from the [[MadBomber Boomers]]' artillery barrages. In parts of the ''Dead Money'' DLC, you will find yourself doing this to avoid the [[InvincibleMinorMinion invincible]] [[PatrollingMook patrolling holograms]] and speakers that set off your [[ExplosiveLeash bomb collar]] if you linger near them too long.

* Stage 1 of ''VideoGame/{{Granada}}'' has two giant rollers plowing the length of one avenue, with a few small cul-de-sacs of refuge.
* The final boss of ''VideoGame/SteelEmpire'' is fought in space with asteroids periodically traversing the screen. Its DesperationAttack has it fire out massive waves of fire that can only be avoided by staying directly behind one of the asteroids (or just use your SmartBomb for invincibility and massive damage).
* In ''VideoGame/{{Gradius}} V'', the [[SpiderTank spider mech]] in Stage 3 periodically fires a rotating WaveMotionGun that can only be avoided by taking cover behind one of the blocks. The Blaster Cannon Core in Stage 5 periodically fires BulletHell at you, and the only shelter is the shower of asteroids it pulls toward itself. Between those, it fires multiple {{Wave Motion Gun}}s, so you have to duck into the core's "gate" area to avoid both those and the asteroids.
* ''VideoGame/RType III''. Stage 4 has two variations- the first is the compactor system that crushes you (stand in the green crosshair to evade it) and the second is the maze where molten metal periodically flows through at intervals.

* The arena where you fight Loewenzahn in ''VideoGame/PN03'' has divots in the floor you need to duck into to avoid its [[ShockAndAwe electrified]] {{spin attack}}.

* ''Film/JudgeDredd'' has Sylvester Stallone and the comic sidekick trying to sneak back into town by evading an incinerator tube that activates like a flamethrower for 5 seconds once every 30 seconds, so all they have to do is get through the tube in 25 seconds from when one of the fire blasts stops.

* ''Anime/DragonBall'' features one in a pirate cave. The floor is covered in marked pressure plates that fire arrows out of the walls when stepped on. Goku and Krillin bypass them by jumping, and then get Bulma across by extending and retracting his Power Pole with her hanging on. General Blue finds out that the real way was to find a hidden button on the wall.

* ''VideoGame/CastleOfIllusion'' on the UsefulNotes/SegaGenesis had several of these, of the "dodge large rolling obstruction by jumping into a hole" variety.

* ''[[VideoGame/DawnOfWar Dawn Of War: Winter Assault,]]'' the approach to the Imperial Guard's HQ is guarded by a big frickin' laser that can instantly destroy anything that it hits. One strategy is to cross the firing trench at intervals, fighting through legions of enemies on either side; the other strategy is to destroy the cannon's energy source, which you reach before you're in firing range of the cannon itself.

* The NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' has you dodging {{Advancing|WallOfDoom}} [[SpikesOfDoom Spiked Walls of Doom]] in at least one level.

* ''VideoGame/GoldenSun'' springs a couple of of these on the player in Jupiter Lighthouse, plus one in Mars Lighthouse.

* Played mostly straight in, oddly enough, an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats''. A drugged Panthro has been dropped down a chasm to die, and survives. The chasm ejects lethal energies at regular intervals, but there are crannies he can fit in that are mostly safe. Panthro thinks, "Got to time them, move between blasts. Thirty-four seconds, I can do this." When he reaches the top, a blast fires early, driving him to remark, "Twenty-eight seconds? That's foul play!"

* Arguably, any cover-based shooter (especially LightGun games) features a more organic version of this trope: the hazard is the enemies shooting at you.

* In ''Hostages: Rescue Mission'', known as ''Rescue: The Embassy Mission'' on the NES, each member of the sniper team must evade the terrorists' searchlights by hiding in alcoves and behind walls as they advance to their sniping position.

* ''VideoGame/CaveStory'' sort of has this in the Egg Corridor, whose bottom level is occupied by an InvincibleMinorMinion which runs back and forth very fast and causes instantly lethal CollisionDamage. There are a few cubbyholes (some empty, some obligatory, one with a HeartContainer) which can only be accessed by jumping from the bottom of the corridor.

* ''[[VideoGame/{{Descent}} Descent 3]]'' had an [[ThatOneLevel infuriating sequence]] where you had to fly your Pyro-GL through [[SinisterSubway subway tunnels]] that periodically had trains going through them. It was made worse by the fact that the trains came at you head-on and the timing was extremely strict, making the sequence so [[NintendoHard maddeningly difficult]] that many players gave up then and there.

** And lampshaded in ''Machinima/FreemansMind''.
--->'''Gordon Freeman:''' Whoa. You can feel that passing. That'll knock your head off [[BuffySpeak like one of those little tee ball sticks.]] That's snap, crackle, and pop all in one package.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Thief}}'' series, due to its emphasis on stealth over fighting, is replete with guards patrolling specific areas at regular intervals, who will raise an alarm if the player doesn't take some kind of cover (shadows, etc.) to avoid being spotted ... ''or heard''.

[[folder:Non-Video-Game Examples]]
[[AC:{{Film}}]]
* ''Film/GuestHouseParadiso'' has the two main characters try to avoid a hallway of projectile vomiting hotel guests. ...ItMakesSenseInContext.
* ''Film/TheRock'' has Sean Connery and Nicholas Cage trying to get ''into'' Alcatraz by sneaking past a hazardous zone which if they don't get past it on a certain time sequence, it will kill them. Not mentioned why a prison has the equivalent of a [[NoOshaCompliance smoke and fire factory]] or why a prison that has been shutdown for over 20 years would have one still running, but...
* ''Film/JudgeDredd'' has Sylvester Stallone and the comic sidekick trying to sneak back into town by evading an incinerator tube that activates like a flamethrower for 5 seconds once every 30 seconds, so all they have to do is get through the tube in 25 seconds from when one of the fire blasts stops.
* While fighting Darth Maul in ''Franchise/StarWars Episode I: Film/ThePhantomMenace'', Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon have to navigate a gauntlet of force fields that periodically turn on and off.

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]
* Creator/MatthewReilly's ''the Six Sacred Stones'' contains a rare Shaft Cubbyhole Climb (a Corridor Cubbyhole Run, but vertical). It regularly drops giant boulders down the shaft, and also has to be [[{{speedrun}} speedran]] in both directions.
* Subverted in Dresden Files: Like the Thundercats example, the last bit is timed differently.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]
* A live action GameShow variant: ''Series/TakeshisCastle'' (and it's GagDub ''[[Series/MostExtremeEliminationChallenge MXC]]'') featured a game where one must run up a hill-based corridor while giant foam boulders come rolling down on them, with little crevices their only way of avoiding the boulders. Slightly altered in that the crevices were occupied by guards who would try to push the contestants out in front of the boulders.

[[AC:TabletopGames]]
* It's relatively simple for the DM to build a trap like this in ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' with the use of fire-spell based traps. Obstacle courses for rogues with high dexterity and Uncanny Dodge ability. The "Door opens and you find an arrow heading towards you" kind of obstacle courses.

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* EvilOverlordList:
--> 63. Bulk trash will be disposed of in incinerators, not compactors. And they will be kept hot, with none of that nonsense about flames going through accessible tunnels at predictable intervals.

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* Played mostly straight in, oddly enough, an episode of the ''WesternAnimation/ThunderCats''. A drugged Panthro has been dropped down a chasm to die, and survives. The chasm ejects lethal energies at regular intervals, but there are crannies he can fit in that are mostly safe. Panthro thinks, "Got to time them, move between blasts. Thirty-four seconds, I can do this." When he reaches the top, a blast fires early, driving him to remark, "Twenty-eight seconds? That's foul play!"

[[AC:RealLife]]
* Railroad tunnels and bridges often have alcoves at regular intervals so that maintenance and inspection teams can get out of the way of approaching trains.
[[/folder]]

* The NES version of ''VideoGame/{{Strider}}'' has you dodging [[AdvancingWallOfDoom Advancing]] [[SpikesOfDoom Spiked Walls of Doom]] in at least one level.

* Many games with a stealth element include a long straight with a guard patrolling back and forth, just managing to miss the many alcoves in his line of sight.

* The UsefulNotes/SuperNintendo game of the MightyMorphinPowerRangers has a WaveMotionGun hallway in the second level, which forces the player to duck down repeatedly. At the end of the hallway the Power Ranger has to physically destroy the weapon as well, in order to progress.

* The Particle Beam stage in ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 4'' requires you to move towards a giant laser cannon that fires every several seconds. There are gaps above and below the blast area you can hide in.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 4'' had a stage where you entered a solar-powered WaveMotionGun through the barrel. Better hide when it fired...

** Also in the Serpent Shrine level, there is a section where you must travel along a passage where a fiery serpent passes through at intervals, except the cubbyholes in this case are in the ceiling and you must grab a winch to pulled up to safety.

* [[VideoGame/RatchetAndClank Secret Agent Clank]] features a couple of levels where, at predictable intervals, the enemies will look in Clank's direction. Dotted along these levels (or level segments) there will be hiding places.

* At the end of the fourth chapter of ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'', Faith dodges several subway trains this way, then avoids obstacles while riding on the roof of one of said trains.