History Main / PersonalSpaceInvader

[[IThoughtItMeant This trope is not about]] [[PetMonstrosity ownership of]] [[AllBlueEntry a]] [[VideoGame/SpaceInvaders Space Invader]]

** Valkyr Shadowguards in phase 3 of the Lich King encounter in Icecrown Citadel fly to their target players, pick them up, and ''drop them over the side'' of the Frozen Throne platform, for a guaranteed death if they aren't killed first.

* {{Nethack}} monsters that do this are some of the most dangerous in the game. If a kraken or giant eel grabs you, then no matter how big and strong you are, you have at most one round to get free before it [[OneHitKill drowns you]].

* In BattleTech, this is one of the main methods of attacking that infantry and [[PoweredArmor Battle Armor]] have. Unlike other units in the game, they're capable of making attacks with their weapons while they're in the same space as their target, which means that at range 0 they can freely attack a mech or tank without it being able to shoot back. Most types of infantry and Battle Armor also have the ability to make special attacks against a mech's legs [[ArmorPiercingAttack for reduced damage but an extra chance of crippling it]], or to make a [[DeathOrGloryAttack risky but potentially powerful]] Swarm attack where they climb onto a mech or vehicle and focus their weapons onto a specific location ForMassiveDamage.

-->--'''Sugar Ray''', ''[[TropeNamer Personal Space Invader]]''

* Fiends and Spawns in {{Quake I}} don't latch onto you, but their specialty is lunging at you from across the room and trying to corner you. Once they do this, Fiends can rip you to shreds with an absurdly powerful melee attack, and Spawns explode with the force of a rocket when killed.

* The Hell Hands - [[DemonicPossession demon-possessed]] crawling hands which choke you - from ''VideoGame/{{Blood}}''.

* In BattleTech, this is one of the main methods of attacking that infantry and [[PoweredArmor Battle Armor]] have. Unlike other units in the game, they're capable of making attacks with their weapons while they're in the same space as their target, which means that at range 0 they can freely attack a mech or tank without it being able to shoot back. Most types of infantry and Battle Armor also have the ability to make special attacks against a mech's legs [[ArmorPiercingAttack for reduced damage but an extra chance of crippling it]], or to make a risky but potentially powerful Swarm attack where they climb onto a mech or vehicle and focus their weapons onto a specific location ForMassiveDamage.

** Witches and Tanks, by contrast, love to get in your personal space to ''mess you up''. And they will. A ''lot''. Ironically, Witches are usually provoked if you get too close to them.

** In fact every infected minus the Spitter is a personal space invader since they lack any sort of long range weaponry and insist on beating you to death with their fists ([[GoodBadBugs or lack thereof]]). The Charger will stalk and eventually slam himself straight through a group of survivors, carrying the first he hits (and scatters the others) several yards and continuously slam them into the ground, ceiling and walls until he or his victim are killed.

two steps back, you're in my space''\\
--'''Sugar Ray''', ''[[TropeNamer Personal Space Invader]]''

* DungeonsAndDragons has three major types.

* In the ''KingdomHearts'' series, Ansem/Xehanort's Heartless guardian is prone to doing this. In the first game, it can possess Sora, and will occasionally replace the Attack command with one that causes it to emerge and hold him in place. In ''BirthBySleep'', it'll erupt out of the ground to try to grab you and perform a piledriver, and will also dash forward and try to hold you in place so his master can get some free hits in on you. In the same game, Xehanort himself isn't exempt from it, as he'll occasionally teleport up to Terra and try to grab him by the face to unleash a Blizzaga spell at point blank range, though you can escape before you get frozen.

* ''VikingBattleForAsgard'': The Assassins will leap onto you and start stabbing away at you.

** Several ''tanks'' can become personal space invaders, as well. The Chevalier and [[HoverTank Harasser]] scout tanks are both very compact, allowing them to hump the legs of [[MightyGlacier Assault Mechs]] with impunity - the mech usually cannot fire back, because the tanks are below the mech's minimum firing arc.

* The Hell Hands - [[DemonicPossession demon-possessed]] crawling hands which choke you - from ''{{Blood}}''.

* Bone Leeches, Thieves and Hands in {{Blood}}. Pretty hard to get off once they latch on to you, and that would just put them back in the exact same point where they were the moment before they jumped at you, so they'd just jump back in the fracture of a second, prompting you to shoot in every direction like a maniac and probably run out of ammo in the process. Not helped by the fact that while you're doing this, the entire HUD (and most of the screen) is obscured by those REALLY ugly critters. The best solution is really to save the moment you hear them coming than, blast everything with napalm.

* The Walkers in ''DeadIsland''. They will frequently be laying on the ground, visually indistinguishable from a corpse. If you walk over them, they will spring up and grapple you. Safest thing to do when not actively fighting zombies is to kick every corpse you pass to make sure its a corpse and not a walker. Keep in mind that Walkers are the ''least'' dangerous of the various zombies. God help you if you get grappled like this while Infected are coming.

** Fortunately, Mr. Friendly was cut from VideoGame/{{Half-Life 1}}, but he would have been this.

* Fiends and Spawns in {{Quake 1}} don't latch onto you, but their specialty is lunging at you from across the room and trying to corner you. Once they do this, Fiends can rip you to shreds with an absurdly powerful melee attack, and Spawns explode with the force of a rocket when killed.

* Fiends and Spawns in Quake1 don't latch onto you, but their specialty is lunging at you from across the room and trying to corner you. Once they do this, Fiends can rip you to shreds with an absurdly powerful melee attack, and Spawns explode with the force of a rocket when killed.

Some versions deliver a FaceFullOfAlienWingWong or an OrificeInvasion. May be combined with FullFrontalAssault.

* In VideoGame/MassEffect3, [[OurZombiesAreDifferent Husks]] gain this ability. They can grab the player, forcing you to mash buttons in order to escape their grip.

* ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' gives us The Banshee, the warped Reaper version of an Asari. If she's not blasting you from afar, she's right in your face, preparing to plunge her claws into your chest.

* The eponymous monsters in the ''VideoGame/{{Metroid}}'' series. You get a [[NightmareFuel really good look]] at their undercarriage when they latch onto you in the ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' games.

* ''Anime/{{Daimos}}'': In episode 9, a [[{{Robeast}} BattleRobot]] loaded with nukes latches in the titular HumongousMecha to blow it up.