History Main / EmptyRoomPsych

* ''VideoGame/OriAndTheWillOfTheWisps'' has several empty alcoves scattered throughout the map, but most nagging is a secret area in the lower right corner Windswept Wastes with a wooden elevator and blue moss wheel that never activate, with the only pickup being a Spirit Light Container. This was supposedly the entrance to a MinecartMadness mini-dungeon that featured prominently in the E3 2018 gameplay trailer, but was scrapped in the final product.

* Perhaps the oldest example of this is the UsefulNotes/Atari2600 game ''VideoGame/{{Adventure}}''. There is a dead-end section of three rooms where no items appear.

** The very first revision of ''TLR'' (only available on [=PS1=] and off the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork) was missing a few items from the earlier levels. One egregious example was the fifth secret; the player would climb a ladder and flip a switch to open a door down below, and enter to find...nothing. In later revisions, this area contains ammo for the shotgun.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', you have the Ruins of Alph. There was [[UrbanLegendOfZelda quite a story about those caves]], a whole special type of Pokémon & Pokédex associated to it (Unown and [=UnownDex=]), and even an odd radio signal playing. Yet, the players who spent their time exploring it and capturing all Unown would eventually discover they had been wasting their time, since there is nothing special about it. This was changed in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Crystal]]'', and even further in ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]''. There are also the blocked staircases in Silph Co.[[note]]''[=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]'' changed this, replacing it with a broken elevator that has its functionality restored if you bring a Rotom into the building; it takes you to a room with various appliances with which you can change Rotom's forme[[/note]] and the Kanto Radio Tower, and the reference to hidden rooms in the Soul House/House of Memories, a building which can have weird effects on your Pokémon in Generation IV.

** There is an area that appears in both Hoenn and the Sevii Islands called Altering Cave. The only Pokémon you'll find here is [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]]. There was plans for Mystery Gift to change what Pokémon you could catch here, mostly to add several Generation II Pokémon that were unavailable in ''Ruby'' and ''Sapphire'', however all of the Pokémon (Mareep, Pineco, Aipom, Smeargle, Stantler, Houndour, Shuckle, and Teddiursa) can be caught elsewhere (either in ''VideoGame/PokemonColosseum'' or the Safari Zone added to ''Emearld'') and traded over to ''FR/LG''. Many of the areas in the Sevii Islands don't really serve any purpose. The ending areas usually hold a somewhat rare item or move tutor at best. The only exception is Mt. Ember, which Moltres was moved to from its original spot in Victory Road.

** Most players have been searching the answer to the following question, ever since ''VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue'' versions came out: "What the hell IS in the inaccessible grass next to Pallet Town?!" The wildest theories have found their way to the Internet, from wild Celebi (a Pokémon that didn't even exist in that game) over rare items to near-invincible Pokémon on level 100... however, if you use a hacking device to cross the barrier in front of the grass, you'll find that inside there is just one thing: Once you set foot in the grass, your game crashes.

** In ''VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver'', you have the Ruins of Alph. There was [[UrbanLegendOfZelda quite a story about those caves]], a whole special type of Pokémon & Pokédex associated to it (Unown and [=UnownDex=]), and even an odd radio signal playing. Yet, the players who spent their time exploring it and capturing all Unown would eventually discover they had been wasting their time, since there is nothing special about it. This was changed in ''[[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Pokémon Crystal]]'', and even further in ''Pokémon [=HeartGold=]'' and ''[=SoulSilver=]''. There are also the blocked staircases in Silph Co. and the Kanto Radio Tower, and the reference to hidden rooms in the Soul House/House of Memories, a building which can have weird effects on your Pokémon in Generation IV.

** There were many [[UrbanLegendOfZelda weird theories]] about Dark Caves and what happens if you walk through them without using Flash. As with many similar {{imageboard|s}} {{creepypasta}}s, they were made up from start to finish.
** There is an area that appears in both Hoenn and the Sevii Islands called Altering Cave. The only Pokémon you'll find here is [[GoddamnedBats Zubat]]. There was plans for Mystery Gift to change what Pokémon you could catch here, however in ''Emerald'', all of the Pokémon (Mareep, Pineco, Aipom, Smeargle, Stantler, Houndour, Shuckle, and Teddiursa) can be caught elsewhere in Emerald and can be traded over to ''FR/LG''. Many of the areas in the Sevii Islands don't really serve any purpose. The ending areas usually hold a somewhat rare item or move tutor at best. The only exception is Mt. Ember which has Moltres.

->"'''''Never''''' ''provide a dungeon without treasure. The longer they search and find nothing, the more your players will be ''convinced'' that the treasure is bountiful and exceptionally well-hidden. If left unchecked, they will eventually dismantle and excavate the entire site in their search for loot."''

->'''''"Never''''' ''provide a dungeon without treasure. The longer they search and find nothing, the more your players will be ''convinced'' that the treasure is bountiful and exceptionally well-hidden. If left unchecked, they will eventually dismantle and excavate the entire site in their search for loot."''

* ''[[VideoGame/MightAndMagic Might and Magic IX]]'' was loaded with these, albeit [[ObviousBeta somewhat unintentionally]].

** In the ''Super Mario World'' [[GameMod ROM Hack]] Vanilla Level Design Contest 2015, the level that placed last place (out of 86) is literally this, impossible to lose.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Monopoly}}'' has the infamous "Free Parking" square. This is the only square in the game in which ''nothing'' happens[[note]]the "[=Jail/Just Visiting=]" square does nothing either, but it still serves a purpose in which it is a square you land on when you leave jail[[/note]] -- it is, per the rules, "just a free resting space". Yet because everyone thinks each square needs to do ''something'', many [[HouseRules house rules]] have that square give some sort of bonus, like extra money, collected taxes, or the like.

** ''VideoGame/SilentHill3'' has many rooms exclusively filled with monsters and featuring no health, ammo, plot points, nothing. Many players will remember [[ThatOneLevel that one room]] with the decapitated mannequin[[note]]though at least this one has some loot in it[[/note]], or the one with the mirror in Brookhaven Hospital where you die if you spend too long searching in vain.

* ''VideoGame/BloodstainedRitualOfTheNight'' has several of them. The biggest example by far is Celeste's Room, a special room inside the Livre ex Machina. It requires a key to open it in exactly the same way as the BonusBoss rooms. Inside there's a lot of cool stuff: a painting to look at, several music boxes to listen to, and a pair of chairs that the player can sit in, which causes a ghostly figure to appear in the opposite chair after a few seconds. The room doesn't do anything else, however. Many, many players spent a lot of time in frustration trying to figure out the non-existent puzzle.

[[folder:Action Adventure]]

** The original ''VideoGame/{{Castlevania|I}}'' had a very odd, if not unique, version of the empty room psych: the manual itself told you to be on the lookout for hidden doors to...well, it didn't say what kind of rooms specifically, but it doesn't matter, because in twenty-four years no one has ''ever'' found any such secret doors, because they aren't there. It's still a mystery why the manual even ''said'' they were there. So you could say this was a ''nonexistent'' room psych. The MSX version does have a level with MagicalMysteryDoors.

* ''[[VideoGame/OneThousandAndOneSpikes 1001 Spikes]]'' follows one certain, extremely difficult level with a level called "Too Easy", which is absolutely devoid of enemies or traps. Only falling in the lava at the bottom can kill you, a nearly impossible prospect considering the ease of the platforming in this level. The only reason for it's existence is pure ParanoiaFuel.

** One of the World 7 fortresses consists of a few very large, empty rooms (though there is a boss at the end). There is, however, a time limit--and no obvious way out. And one room in this fortress is styled like a large hall full of white platforms for Stretches, the circular blocks that Roto-discs usually orbit, and the candle props for Hot Foots... [[NothingIsScarier even though none of these respective enemies are actually there]].

Now if you wander into an ''exceptionally large'' empty room, especially one [[SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity with a nearby]] SavePoint, this usually means one thing and one thing only: [[BossRoom Incoming]] BossBattle!

Not to be be confused with the psychological study of [[GoMadFromTheIsolation being left alone in an empty room]]. When played for terror, see NothingIsScarier. See CowTools for a non-video game sister trope. Compare MissingSecret. Contrast SidetrackBonus.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ok2hDKIhf2w The music]] in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil3'''s empty rooms [[NothingIsScarier is one of the creepiest]].

** The Top Floor in ''[[VideoGame/CastlevaniaChroniclesOfSorrow Aria of Sorrow]]'' includes a room off to the side of the tower with a candle, but absolutely nothing else of value. No monsters, no treasure or other items, nothing.

* In ''VideoGame/SuperMarioSunshine'', one of the early secret levels is a humongous wooden slide floating in the sky. It’s filled with holes, most of which will drop Mario into the void, but there’s exactly one - the first hole on the left - that instead leads to a hidden ledge/alcove underneath the slide. There’s absolutely nothing down there, not even a Blue Coin, although it’s possible that one was hidden there earlier in development.

** There's also two ''incredibly'' hard to access rooms that don't give you anything (possibly something was intended to be there; DummiedOut?) First, there's the prison level. You're given a code that will open the door of the guy you're trying to rescue. However, there's a cell that opens with a code that isn't written ''anywhere.'' Should you stumble onto it by trying different combinations, the door will open, giving you... nothing! Later, on Jabba's ship, there's a chute you drop through with a switch on the wall. With inhuman split-second timing, you can trigger a door to open... in the lower area you end up in if you fall into a hole in a certain part of the room (it's filled Gamorrean guards, the [[PigMan pig guys]] from ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi.'' In this game, they're big-time DemonicSpiders material, very durable and their [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] deal a lot of damage. Close quarters with a zillion of them? YOU WILL DIE.) Fight your way through what was intended to be ''certain death'' for the player, and you can get to a room... that has nothing.

* In ''VideoGame/TombRaider'':

** The City of Vilcabamba has a spacious room with 4 decorative serpents. It contains ''nothing'' aside from a secret door, that can't be opened from that room anyways.

** The very first revision of TRLR (only available on [=PS1=] and off the UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork) was missing a few items from the earlier levels. One egregious example was the 5th secret; the player would climb a ladder and flip a switch to open a door down below, and enter to find...nothing. In later revisions, this area contains ammo for the shotgun.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Monopoly}}'' has the infamous "Free Parking" square. This is the only square in the game in which ''nothing'' happens[[note]]the "[=Jail/Just Visiting=]" square does nothing either, but it still serves a purpose in which it is a square you land on when you leave jail[[/note]] -- it is, per the rules, "just a free resting space". Yet because everyone thinks each square needs to do ''something'', many [[HouseRules house rules]] have that square give some sort of bonus, like extra money, collected taxes, or the like. But once again, the official rules state that the square does nothing at all. This was probably invoked intentionally: Monopoly was originally designed to be pointless, as a critique of capitalism. Parker Bros bought and marketed it in order to prove that capitalism was greater than its critics, although the critique has come full circle now that most players have agreed the product as bought is near-worthless- greatly enriching Parker Bros in the process, which only deepened the problem originally being criticized by prompting an endless stream of new licensed versions.

* ''{{TabletopGame/Monopoly}}'' has the infamous "Free Parking" square. This is the only square in the game in which ''nothing'' happens[[note]]the "[=Jail/Just Visiting=]" square does nothing either, but it still serves a purpose in which it is a square you land on when you leave jail[[/note]] -- it is, per the rules, "just a free resting space". Yet because everyone thinks each square needs to do ''something'', many [[HouseRules house rules]] have that square give some sort of bonus, like extra money, collected taxes, or the like. But once again, the official rules state that the square does nothing at all.

* The "Adventure Fields" in ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' were absolutely rife with these; one particularly strange example is aboard the crashed [[CoolAirship Egg Carrier]] as Knuckles, it's possible to gain access to an area often referred to as "Eggman's Fun Room", a strange room of bright colors, a bed, and what appeared to be toys. The place served no purpose and wasn't even accessible to most characters, and was quite perplexing to some players. In the GCN remake, one of the bonus Emblems is hidden here.