History MindScrew / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/SDSnatcher'' is probably the closest to examining the innards of Creator/HideoKojima's brain most people would like to come. The plot's perfectly straightforward (if a bit odd) until about halfway through, where it begins a slow downwards slide -- starting from Gillian being forced to pretend to be [[Franchise/MetalGear Solid Snake]] in order to clear his name after [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption killing a priest]] and ending with Snatchers in fursuits and clown suits colonising a ripoff of Disneyland (hidden behind a painting) because it looks like the Kremlin. Actually, no, it's probably when the master Snatcher manifests out of a pool of liquid skin.

However, this doesn't mean video games can't be [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible incomprehensible]] even to those who actually play them. [[MindScrew Read and be confused.]]

*** The ''Re:Mind'' DLC and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory'' add another layer to this particular madness cake. [[spoiler:In the DLC's secret episode, Sora fights Yozora in his world. Said world, Quadratum, exists on the "other side" of reality, said to be a [[TheWorldAsMyth fictional world]] by Ansem the Wise in ''Melody of Memory''. ''Melody of Memory'' also reveals that the Nameless Star, who Sora met in the Final World, is somehow from there as well.Which makes it more confusing because this implies that the Final World is reality and unreality. The fact that before their battle, Yozora recognizes Sora's name without believing that he is in fact Sora suggests the possibility of the two even being MutuallyFictional.]]

* ''VideoGame/BlazBlue''. The plot is a tangle of alternate timelines that actually happen successively thanks to continuous cosmic resets. At least one character perpetually exists one loop behind all the others, several are aware of the time loops, and others end up in loops that haven't happened yet and take information back to their current loop. All this means that ''every one'' of the mutually-exclusive Story and Arcade mode endings have actually happened, the difficulty is in figuring out which ones are [[TrueEnding "canon"]]. Put it this way: Noel should never exist in the original, "Phase 0" timeline, but after inheriting the Eye of the master unit, whatever timeline she perceives ''is'' the "real" timeline, and this paradox actually ''simplifies'' the story.

*** Akatosh is the Aedric Divine [[DragonsAreDivine Draconic]] God of Time, and TopGod of the Imperial [[SaintlyChurch Nine Divines]] pantheon. Akatosh willed linear time into being at the end of the [[TimeOfMyths Dawn Era]], and, as most often done by mortals wielding divine implements, [[HijackingCthulhu tampered with]] to cause {{Time Crash}}es and {{Cosmic Retcon}}s (see below). Further, like most of the Aedra, Akatosh is recognized by different cultures under different names and with different traits. To the Aldmer, he is Auri-El, a [[NobleBirdOfPrey noble golden eagle god]]. To the Nords, he is Alduin, the draconic BeastOfTheApocalypse (and Alduin is also his ''first-born son'', while Alduin himself denies also being Akatosh...). To other cultures, he is Alkosh, Aka-Tusk, and even possibly Tosh'Raka and shares many similarities with the Yokudan deity Ruptga. All of these beings are thought to exist independently of one another while, for the most part, also [[LogicBomb not being distinguishable from one other]].

*** In a similar vein are the Dunmeri Tribunal, a trio of {{Physical God}}s who tapped into the divine power of the aforementioned [[CosmicKeystone Heart of Lorkhan]]. In particular is Vivec, who may have originally been a low-born, [[TheStarscream devious general]] of [[LongDeadBadass Nerevar]]'s but, similar to the above example of Talos, might have made his fantastic origin story as a demigod WarriorPoet true [[CosmicRetcon retroactively with his acquired divine power]]. Further, in Obscure Texts written by Michael Kirkbride, Vivec claims to have even achieved CHIM (see below).

** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' plays this for the laughs, with many symbolic elements that wouldn't make sense in other games but do in this one because it's part of its overall presentation. In comparison, the plot of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', while still containing [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory plentiful symbolism]] and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment odd incidences]], is a measurably more sane story about the CycleOfRevenge. The side game ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'' is slightly odder with its plot of being trapped in video games, but it mostly makes sense as long as the in-game [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental material]] is read. ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII'', on the other hand, plunges into the deep end yet again, with such elements as plot developments that happened entirely off-screen prior to the start, and one scene that actually expects the player to be confused if they didn't at least play ''VideoGame/TheSilverCase'' (as elaborated below). It gets so trippy to the point that even ''the protagonist himself'' is baffled by the apparent ending of his story.

** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' plays this for the laughs, with many symbolic elements that wouldn't make sense in other games but do in this one because it's part of its overall presentation. In comparison, the plot of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', while still containing [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory plentiful symbolism]] and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment odd incidences]], is a measurably more sane story about the CycleOfRevenge. The side game ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'' is slightly odder with its plot of being trapped in video games, but it mostly makes sense as long as the in-game [[AllThereInTheManual supplemental material]] is read. ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroesIII'', on the other hand, plunges into the deep end yet again, to the point that even ''the protagonist himself'' is baffled by the apparent ending of his story.

** ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' plays this for the laughs, with many symbolic elements that wouldn't make sense in other games but do in this one because it's part of its overall presentation. In comparison, the plot of ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', while still containing [[EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory plentiful symbolism]] and [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment odd incidences]], is a measurably more sane story about the CycleOfRevenge.

* ''[[VideoGame/SpongeBobSquarePantsCreatureFromTheKrustyKrab SpongeBob SquarePants: Creature from the Krusty Krab]]'': Considering the game is all about dreams, it make sense. The game's BigBad is a sentient Krabby Patty and TheAmbiguousEnding doesn't help matters.

*** The ''Re:Mind'' DLC and ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsMelodyOfMemory'' add another layer to this particular madness cake. [[spoiler:In the DLC's secret episode, Sora fights Yozora in his world. Said world, Quadratum, exists on the "other side" of reality, said to be a [[TheWorldAsMyth fictional world]] by Ansem the Wise in ''Melody of Memory''. ''Melody of Memory'' also reveals that the Nameless Star, who Sora met in the Final World, is somehow from there as well. The fact that before their battle, Yozora recognizes Sora's name without believing that he is in fact Sora suggests the possibility of the two even being MutuallyFictional.]]

** Even the main characters left wondering what happened. But after a few minutes considering the implications, they decide that the whole thing's way over their heads and leave it be. Or to paraphrase: "Screw it. We're still here, right? Let's call it a win and go home."

** Even the main characters left wondering what happened. But after a few minutes considering the implications, they decide that the whole thing's way over their heads and leave it be. Or to paraphrase: "Screw it, we're still here and the universe is still ticking; let's call it a win and go home."

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreed'' ended with [[spoiler:the player character somehow having manifested his ancestor's "[[AuraVision Eagle Vision]]" and seeing [[RoomFullOfCrazy the floor and walls covered in symbols written in blood]]]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'': A number of odd occurrences happen throughout Ness' journey, and while some are just jokes, there's also the possessed street signs, a glowing neon DarkWorld of backwards talking shadows, an afterlife that looks like a Grateful Dead album cover, and the final boss (whom you, the player, not the characters you are playing as, have to fight). The plot itself is vaguely explained and dives into cosmic horror at the end. [[VideoGame/{{MOTHER1}} Its predecessor]] had you entering someone else's mental world, by... touching a seashell and reading a diary? And then came ''VideoGame/{{Mother 3}}'', which is even stranger, with a highly symbolic and artistic tone, especially at [[GainaxEnding the end]]. And of course, [[spoiler:"What did Porky do?"]]

** ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedIII'' DLC, ''The Tyranny of King Washington''. If the title isn't enough, here is a brief summary; [[spoiler:Connor finds himself in an alternative universe where his mom is still alive, there a magic tree which corrupts everyone who drinks its tea in exchange for [[CastFromHitPoints life-draining powers]] via MushroomSamba, there are fragments of the real world rendered in [=PS1=] graphics everywhere, and the American Revolution apparently never properly happened.]] Not to mention the excessive Mason symbolism, that EverythingIsTryingToKillYou, and whoever the hell that royalty supporter was at the end.

* ''VideoGame/DeathStranding'' has this in spades. For example, there is a lot of fetal imagery in the game, not to mention Sam falling into the ocean early on and then waking up as if nothing had happened.

* ''VideoGame/EYEDivineCybermancy'' starts off in a trippy dream world full of pillars and a gate of light, then you go through it and wake up in a cavern with no memory of anything. You fight your way through monsters and a civil war until the time comes to kill your evil boss Rimanah, after which another gate appears where Rimanah, Your Mentor, and Mysterious Person all deliver peculiar lines of dialog before sending you back to the start. Characters scattered around deliver dialog relating to other events that don't seem relevant until [[spoiler: you get all three endings, go back to the tutorial again and find a gateway leading to a labyrinth. If you fight your way to the end of it you get to talk to a woman in white then step through a final gateway leading to a bizarre place where you earn the achievement Rimanah's Dark Secret. The game pretty much leaves it up to you from there to figure out what the hell just happened and how much was real.]]

* TheStinger of ''Bubble Symphony'' aka ''VideoGame/BubbleBobble II'' can act as a kind of MindScrew. [[spoiler: Were the four children (or original protagonists and girlfriends, whatever) ''[[AllJustADream just pretending]]'' to be [[BalefulPolymorph transformed]] into bubble dragons and go on that quest, or [[OrWasItADream did it]] ''[[RealAfterAll really happen]]'' and they all managed to make or receive suits of their bubble dragon forms and toys of the items, [[PlotCoupon Plot Coupons]] and cute baddies, and play around with them afterwards? Why don't you [[http://www.vazcomics.org/mamend/png/bubl0140.png take a look and suggest something?]]]] [[spoiler: The alternate {{Downer Ending}}s (specifically the OrWasItADream ones) do ''not'' have any relation.]]

* ''VideoGame/TrioThePunch'' is a game that tries to be SoBadItsGood but ends up being so absurd and nonsensical that it ends up originating the "''kusoge''" genre, literally "shit game" in Japanese. The technical problems are their own bucket of worms (you could accidentally clip yourself out of bounds by using your LimitBreak, for starters) but the plot deserves special mention, if only because it has to be read while sitting down. A street punk, a ninja, and a ripoff of ''VideoGame/GoldenAxe'''s Ax Battler fight an army of tiny ''VideoGame/{{Karnov}}'' knockoffs, [[DemBones skeleton warriors]], cyber-ninjas, and slime aliens. To do this, they are equipped with grill lighters, shurikens, and yelling "Oof" so loudly the onomatopoeia damges the enemy. Notable bosses include an evil Karnov statue, a giant disembodied hand, a giant disembodied foot, and [[CaptainErsatz a knockoff]] of [[UsefulNotes/KentuckyFriedChicken Colonel Sanders]] being [[MobileSuitHuman piloted by a dodo bird]]. At one point, you defeat a fluffy pink sheep boss and are [[BalefulPolymorph cursed to turn into a fluffy pink sheep yourself]]. [[LethalJokeCharacter This fluffy pink sheep is the most powerful character in the game]]. This game defies explanation.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4puhzOiQW8 The opening of]] ''Pokémon Crystal''. It might just be the biggest MindScrew in the franchise before [[UpToEleven the Arceus event in the remakes]]. The LastNoteNightmare, dramatically setting up TheReveal [[TheUnreveal that never happens...]][[note]]To be more specific, the relationship between Unown and Suicune is never explained.[[/note]] well, everything in the intro. And given there's still no MindScrewdriver to date despite the remakes of Gold and Silver, it's unlikely there will ever be one.

* ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'', like the whole thing. It starts off as a standard plot about an AmnesiacHero getting caught in a war between two nations using LostTechnology, then it gets a little weird when the story gets into the hidden groups pulling the nation's strings behind the scenes, then it gets really weird with TheReveal of who is pulling the strings of the previously mentioned string pullers. Long story short: [[spoiler: a DoomsdayDevice powered by {{God}} created humanity so it would have the building materials to rebuild itself with the aid of several immortals, and {{God}} tried to stop the device's plans using the power of reincarnation, and one human went along with the device's plan in an attempt to unmake humanity and end human suffering.]] ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' ramps the Mind Screwing UpToEleven. And there are hints that all ''Xeno'' games (including ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' and onward) are connected somehow.

** Warping to the main lobby from the pause menu will actually land the player on a ''version'' of it in cycling order, which can be identified by the numbers marked on the doors. This references the concept of an [[HauntedTechnology haunted A.I.]] editing ''Super Mario 64'' on the fly. Similarly, dying or clearing levels will warp the player to certain rooms instead of their entrance to make them lose their sense of direction. ​

* ''VideoGame/{{Pikmin}} 2'': Most of the creatures encountered in the series are based on anthropods or other animals, and generally like one would expect non-magic fictional animals to act. Then there's the Waterwraith, a humanoid being made out of a transparent liquid of sorts that goes around in stone rollers. The Waterwraith is also normally invincible, and for some reason being hit with Purple Pikmin turns it purple, freezes it, and makes it vulnerable. The Hocotate ship reports having difficulty detecting it (being able to "see" the Waterwraith but otherwise not sense it) and Olimar's notes implies that the thing is a hallucination, yet it's somehow "real" enough to wipe out an entire Pikmin army. It lacks the "ghost" that usually appears when an enemy is killed, suggesting that it was not killed or was technically never alive to begin with. Overall, it's easily the most supernatural being in a game that otherwise avoids concepts like other dimensions and hostile spirits, [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane and it's never made completely clear if the thing even exists or not.]] [[spoiler:The final boss of ''Pikmin 3'' is a similar-looking being that ''also'' has "Wraith" in its name, but with a slightly different body-type made of gold and a fixation on Olimar. What connection the two have is anyone's guess.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheHalloweenHack'': Varik is the main character of the story. He is joined by Jeff, Paula and Poo -- but not Ness. Where is he? The game often draws strange parallels between the two, as if they're the same or Varik has replaced him in more than a story role...

* ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' series' lore (cosmology, deities, even history) is generally [[{{Understatement}} not clear-cut]]. Reasons for this range from [[UnreliableNarrator biased]] in-universe sources intentionally only giving you only one side of a story, to sources [[CriticalResearchFailure lacking critical information]] or working from [[BlatantLies false information]], to the implication that AllMythsAreTrue, despite the contradictions and paradoxes, or that at least all myths are MetaphoricallyTrue. [[WordOfGod Out-of-game developer supplemental texts]] (frequently referred to as "Obscure Texts" by the lore community) are more trustworthy (particularly those of Michael Kirkbride), but are frequently left [[LooseCanon unofficial]] and sometimes later contradicted. Because of this, it is entirely possible for two (or more) contradictory statements in the below examples to ''both'' be true. (And due to frequent events in-universe that [[TimeCrash alter the timeline]], both may ''literally'' be true in-universe.) To note:

* The obscure British point-and-click adventure game ''Drowned God: Conspiracy of the Ages'' somehow manages to take just about every major conspiracy theory you can think of from Stonehenge to the Philadelphia Experiment and combine them into one giant conspiracy that the creator of the game probably believed was true at least partially, and the characters (including both real and mythological figures) speak exclusively in riddles.

*** The saga's EvilGenius antagonist is [[spoiler: actually no more than an incompetent puppet, part of a scheme centuries or millenia in the making.]]
*** The Foretellers, who were also killed in the keyblade war centuries or millenia ago [[spoiler: actually survived and appear in the present day.]]