History SchmuckBait / VIDEOGAMES

* The original ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' sets you up rather evilly around halfway through. SHODAN plans to wipe out all life on Earth with a massive barrage of laser fire from an orbital station, and naturally it's your job to stop her. Unfortunately, you stumble across an inadequately labelled laser-control switch. Play with it, and... well. SHODAN will be ver pleased, to say the least.

* The original ''VideoGame/SystemShock'' sets you up rather evilly around halfway through. SHODAN plans to wipe out life on Earth with a massive barrage of laser fire from an orbital station, and naturally it's your job to stop her. Unfortunately, you stumble across an inadequately labelled laser-control switch. Play with it, and... well. SHODAN will be pleased, at least.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': In one of the rooms there is a neatly-mounted Shotgun on the wall of a an otherwise plain room, taking it [[spoiler: and '''not''' replacing it with the Broken Shotgun you can find in the other areas of the mansion]] results in the previous empty square room seperating the room you're currently in from the hallway locking '''both doors''' after you pass through the exit of the room containing the shotgun, then a slow-but-inevitable [[spoiler: {Unless you're Jill and Barry saves you in an iconic cutscene)]] DescendingCeiling crushes you.

* ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil'': In one of the rooms there is a neatly-mounted Shotgun on the wall of a an otherwise plain room, taking it [[spoiler: and '''not''' replacing it with the Broken Shotgun you can find in the other areas of the mansion]] results in the previous empty square room seperating the room you're currently in from the hallway locking '''both doors''' after you pass through them, then a slow-but-inevitable [[spoiler: {Unless you're Jill and Barry saves you in an iconic cutscene)]] DescendingCeiling crushes you.

*** After bringing Hooktail, the first chapter boss, down to 0 HP, she will beg for mercy and offer to give you 1000 coins, a rare badge, and the opportunity to smell her feet (ew). Saying no to all of these will lead to Hooktail eating the audience and reviving half of her HP, but saying yes will lead to not only that, but also getting in a quick cheap shot for plenty of damage. The fact that many characters warn you of this tactic should be proof enough that it's a dumb idea.

* In ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', beware of any enemy that is weak to all physical attack types. Most of these enemies have some way to capitalize upon this, such as inflicting the Curse status ailment so that whoever attacks them takes as much damage as they inflicted, which will certainly be a OneHitKill for the attacker in addition to their target in this case, or using some sort of LastDitchMove to debilitate your entire party with status ailments.

* In ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'', beware of any enemy that is weak to all physical attack types. Most of these enemies have some way to capitalize upon this, such as inflicting the Curse status ailment so that whoever attacks them takes as much damage as they inflicted (which will certainly be a OneHitKill in this case) or using some sort of LastDitchMove to debilitate your entire party with status ailments.

* In the ''VideoGame/NeverwinterNights'' mod ''VideoGame/ADanceWithRogues'', one mission involves pretending to be a stripper so you can infiltrate the mayor's mansion and steal a statue, which you are warned in no unambiguous terms not to tamper with. If you use the item's "unique power", it summons a succubus (a demon, which is rather more powerful than you should be at that point).

* In several places in ''{{VideoGame/Bloodborne}}'', a path ends with a pit or a ledge that, if the player has been taking notice of where secrets are often hidden, may look like the leap of faith one would normally go down to find an item or an NPC; instead, they just lead to death by fall damage. It's common practice for players to leave notes either warning players away or [[{{Griefer}} egging them on]].

*** Played straight in the Museum "credits" level of ''Modern Warfare 2''. After browsing the lifelike dioramas re-enacting scenes from the game, the player will invariably notice a large button, to which the onscreen prompt responds "Do Not Press (whatever the action button is for your platform)". [[PressXToDie Pressing the action button]] results in [[spoiler:all the figures coming to life and bloodily ending the unprepared player. If you're prepared, though, it's not all that hard to survive as long as you get out of the room fast enough.]]

*** On his own, [[DemonicPossession Royal Sorcerer Navlaan]] is imprisoned in a laboratory, alternating between a scared young mage and an ObviouslyEvil dark wizard who bribes you to kill innocent {{NonPlayerCharacter}}s. The SchmuckBait comes into play with the nearby lever, which is preceded by a hallway full of signs warning you to not touch it and leave. Pulling the lever releases Navlaan, who will invade you multiple times throughout the game, but if you leave him in his cell and do his hits (or make him ''think'' you did), then he will become a merchant that sells some items you can't get anywhere else.

* [[http://jayisgames.com/tag/detarou Detarou]]'s escape-the-room games almost always have at least one schmuck ending. Sure, go ahead and press that BigRedButton on a conspicuously darkened wall. Why, of ''course'' approaching that Finish Line is the way to finish the game, even though half of your inventory is still full. And you should ''definitely'' go in the direction that [[BearsAreBadNews nice-looking panda]] is pointing in or pull that rope he really, really wants you to pull. You ''totally'' won't fall into a trapdoor and get a Bad Ending screen with Evil Panda laughing over your stupidity!

*** You are explicitly told (before you have an opportunity to do so) that if you [[spoiler:read "Sinclair's Notes" on the terminal in the Sierra Madre Vault]] you will become permanently trapped. If you do so, you'll get a NonstandardGameOver where you starve to death. [[spoiler:That said, just because ''you'' know about the trap doesn't mean you can't spring it on someone else...]]
*** The gold bars in the Sierra Madre vault are immensely valuable. You really don't want to leave without them... but picking up more than just a few will break your carrying capacity, slowing you to a crawl and ensuring that you won't get out of the vault before your bomb collar goes off [[note]] It is still possible to escape with ''all'' the gold bars if you manage to sneak past a particular character (which requires a lot of patience and luck) and then going into a door that leads you back to the beginning of the area[[/note]]. DeathByMaterialism is a ''major'' theme of this add-on.

** Many ghosts in the series will just stand or sit there, doing nothing, and never disappear. But get close to them or take a picture of them and they'll re-appear right in your face.[[note]]The Hair-Brushing Woman does this to Kei in ''VideoGame/FatalFrameIII''[[/note]].

* ''VideoGame/FreddyFazbearsPizzeriaSimulator'': It's possible to buy Lefty before it can be salvaged, but 1) it only costs $5 while everything else from the same store costs several ten thousand dollars, and 2) its danger level is a full 9. If you buy it early, not only are you robbing yourself of the potential cash you'd get from a successful salvage, but you'll have one big DemonicSpider that might force you to restart the game due to its sheer difficulty.

*** Go to [[PaedoHunt www.littlelacysurprisepageant.com]] on the in-game internet and COOL THINGS happen! [[note]]Not really. You just get an instant five-star wanted level.[[/note]]

** There is also the level ''[[http://nifflas.lpchip.nl/index.php?topic=5156.0 Do Not Pick Up The Key]]'', in which everything tells you not to pick up the key at the end. {{NPC}}s, signs, hieroglyphs, computer screens, snowmen, ''everything''. There are dozens of message boxes throughout the level telling you not to pick it up. What happens if you pick it up? [[spoiler:First of all, the bridge leading to the GoldenEnding will disappear if you try to cross it. Below it is a teleporter with a rather ominous custom effect. If you step into that teleporter, a cutscene appears with the words "YOU LOSER!" on a red background, surrounded by a wall of text [[WhatTheHellPlayer calling you out for picking up the key you were explicitly told not to pick up]]. As a punishment, the game then sends you to the "Room of Doom", a rather difficult challenge area with [[HopeSpot non-functioning levers placed there to tease you]].]]

** Rather than the tradition click-and-buy shop hubs, the shops in ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening Link's Awakening]]'' have you pick up the item and bring it to the cash register to pay for it. If you try to shoplift, the shopkeeper will yell at you, and you won't be able to leave without putting it back or paying. However, some fancy maneuvering makes it possible to slip past his line of sight and get it for free. If you do this, all NPC's will call you "THIEF" instead of your chosen name, and the shopkeeper will kill you if you ever go back in [[note]]In the DX version, stealing from the shop to get a photo is required to obtain legal 100% completion; however, it's not required to actually beat the game[[/note]].

* In ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood'', the only way to die partway through the game and get the "Game Over" screen is to [[BottomlessPit jump into a pit]], which is clearly labelled with signs that say ''not'' to jump there...

* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'': The Whispering Eggs found near abandoned buildings look like any other rare treasure. However, attempting to harvest one [[spoiler:spawns a wave of ferocious Biological Horrors that can overwhelm a careless explorer in seconds.]]

** There are fireflies that give hints if you stand still and chant for a while. One of those hints is: "Watch...out...for...that...bat" — whereupon the GoddamnBats swoop down on you and kill you.

** Early in the game, you receive a hefty 1000 credit bribe. [[spoiler:Accepting it will cause you to be ratted out by neighbors, thus costing you the money you took plus your savings. If you burn the 1000 credit bribe, but accept the second bribe which is double that amount, you get a NonstandardGameOver. Accepting the first bribe is fine if you need cash to get through the day, just so long as you let an EZIC agent in the next day to clear your name.]]
** Late in the game, [[spoiler:the rebels ask you to assassinate a key target while one of them provides a distraction. Regardless of whether you use the non-lethal tranquilizer rifle or the deadly sniper rifle, shooting the target will result in your arrest. Worse still, the rebels will send you a note revealing that your replacement isn't cooperating with them and they will have to stop their plans for a while.]]

* When you reach [[BigBad Mr. X]] in the final stage of ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRage'', he'll ask if you want to join his crime syndicate. Saying yes has him open up a trapdoor beneath you, dumping you back to stage six.

*** ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'':

* The [[MacGuffin plot-driving]] Ankaran Sarcophagus in ''VideoGame/VampireTheMasqueradeBloodlines'', though not for the reason the character is led to believe. You just ''know'' there has to be something bad in there, given the ArcWords are "Don't open it!", every even remotely trustworthy character in the game cautions you against it, and it is ''heavily'' implied to contain an immensely powerful vampire capable of bringing about the end of the world. [[spoiler:In the end, the player gets to decide whether or not to open it. Its contents are a massive bomb and a mocking note from [[HeKnowsAboutTimedHits Jack, the tutorial man]].]]

** ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'' has quite a few examples. To wit:

** There's a screen that replicates the "It's dangerous to go alone! Take this..." cave from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda''. Touching the sword kills you. And mocks you for jumping into a sword.

*** After bringing Hooktail, the first chapter boss, down to 0 HP, it will beg for mercy and offer to give you 1000 coins, a rare badge, and the opportunity to smell its feet (ew). Saying no to all of these will lead to Hooktail eating the audience and reviving half of its HP, but saying yes will lead to not only that, but also getting in a quick cheap shot for plenty of damage. The fact that many characters warn you of this tactic should be proof enough that it's a dumb idea.

** When fighting the Boobeam Trap (one of the Wily stage bosses) in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', the boss consists of five wall-mounted turrets which periodically shoot at you. Getting to them is made difficult by a complicated room arrangement, including five walls which can be destroyed by your Crash Bombs to make it easier to move around the chamber. Two of those destructible walls directly block one of the turrets each, and must be destroyed, but the remaining three are this trope. See, the Crash Bombs are the only weapon that can hurt the turrets, and you have exactly seven shots-- one each for the two necessary walls and the five turrets. If you destroy any of the "optional" walls, you won't have enough weapon energy to finish the fight. (Technically there's two ways to avoid this: the first is to place one of the Crash Bombs so it destroys one of the turrets and one of the required walls simultaneously, which is a tricky shot, but leaves you with one bomb to spare if you pull it off. The second is that the walls don't regenerate if you die, so if you're not on your last life (or trying for a no-death run) you can blow up all the walls, die, refill your Crash Bombs on the way back to the boss chamber, and have plenty of ammo *and* no walls to obstruct you.)

** When fighting the Boobeam Trap (one of the Wily stage bosses) in ''VideoGame/MegaMan2'', the boss consists of five wall-mounted turrets which periodically shoot at you. Getting to them is made difficult by a complicated room arrangement, including five walls which can be destroyed by your Crash Bombs to make it easier to move around the chamber. Two of those destructible walls directly block one of the turrets each, and must be destroyed, but the remaining three are this trope. See, the Crash Bombs are the only weapon that can hurt the turrets, and you have exactly seven shots-- one each for the two necessary walls and the five turrets. If you destroy any of the "optional" walls, you won't have enough weapon energy to finish the fight. (Technically there's two ways to avoid this: the first is to place one of the Crash Bombs so it destroys two of the turrets at once, which is a tricky shot, but leaves you with one bomb to spare if you pull it off. The second is that the walls don't regenerate if you die, so if you're not on your last life (or trying for a no-death run) you can blow up all the walls, die, refill your Crash Bombs on the way back to the boss chamber, and have plenty of ammo *and* no walls to obstruct you.)

* ''VideoGame/CultistSimulator'': You can romance Saliba, whose lovers "are a little less" each time he takes his pleasures from them. He outright quips that "this will end badly" if you start trying to romance him. In the epilogue, you, too, are eventually reduced to nothing.

* ''[[Videogame/AIWarFleetCommand AI War 2]]:'' Any number of undesirable minor factions can be allowed into the galaxy if you do the wrong thing. Destroy the engine disruptor keeping the [[SpacePirates Marauders]] off the galaxy? Call over [[TheJuggernaut an ancient, near-indestructible giant vessel that destroys everything it finds, eats it, and moves on]]? Destroy the only thing keeping [[GrayGoo the Nanocaust]] from infesting everything it finds and turning things into a three-way war? Go right ahead. [[CrazyEnoughToWork It might even help if you're that desperate]]. Destroying the AI Communicator Nodes tends to count; you'd think having multiple [=AIs=] [[EnemyCivilWar attacking each other more than you]] would help, right until you see they don't hold ''anything'' back when fighting against an equal enemy, and [[LetsGetDangerous bring in the big, big stuff that can casually kill you on the way to their real enemy]].

** Upon first meeting [[MagnificentBastard Ocelot]] in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid3SnakeEater'', Snake knocks him out. Once control is restored to the player, many players take their knife to him, causing a Time Paradox. This nets an achievement in the HD version.

*** The reverse can also happen to the owner of the care package. If a person with the Hacker Pro perk kills the owner before he/she can get the package, the hacker can booby trap the crate and leave an unpleasant surprise waiting for their victim or any of their victim's teammates that happen upon the trap. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-UoWOASSEU&t=54s Let the multi-kills]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HRFCXvN5Ciw ensue]].

*** You are explicitly told (before you have an opportunity to do so) that if you [[spoiler:read "Sinclair's Notes" on the terminal in the Sierra Madre Vault]] you will become permanently trapped. If you do so, you'll get a NonstandardGameOver where you starve to death. [[spoiler:That said, just because ''you'' know about the trap doesn't mean you can't spring it on someone else...]]
*** The gold bars in the Sierra Madre vault are immensely valuable. You really don't want to leave without them... but picking up more than just a few will break your carrying capacity, slowing you to a crawl and ensuring that you won't get out of the vault before your bomb collar goes off [[note]] It is still possible to escape with ''all'' the gold bars if you manage to sneak past a particular character (which requires a lot of patience and luck) and then going into a door that leads you back to the beginning of the area[[/note]]. DeathByMaterialism is a ''major'' theme of this add-on.

** [[ArrogantKungFuGuy Kai Leng]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' deals you your only mandatory defeat in the game by using CutscenePowerToTheMax, which gets under Shepard's skin and likely pisses off the player. The thing is, immediately after, your comm specialist is able to track Kai to his final hideout and Kai sends you an e-mail specifically to taunt you about your loss. This can cause you to want to forego any further asset-building missions, starting the endgame battle sequences with fewer war assets than you would have if you were patient and leading to a more costly victory, or even a defeat.

---> '''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCDL-6jflGg&feature=player_detailpage#t=127 GeminiLaser]]:''' ''DEATH! There's nothing on the other side but [[SpikesOfDoom DEATH!]]''

** At least one hack pulled a move that makes the infamous KaizoTrap seem easy. At the start of a certain level, there was a message block saying not to hit the midway point. A little later, you see a seemingly inaccessible 3up moon with no way out. And then you see the midway point. If you hit the midway point and died later in that level, you'd spawn next to where the 3up moon was, and the message block there chastised you for not following directions.

*** Midway through the sixth chapter, you encounter a ghost on a train who would like to help you on your quest, but, before he does, insists you help him first. Turns out he left his diary somewhere in the baggage car and has been tormented for years with the knowledge that someone might find it and read it, preventing him from passing on to his next existence. He agrees to help you if you get the book, but he very sternly warns you that under no circumstances are you to open and read it. The game deliberately berates this point, meaning that if you are even mildly curious, you will have your interest piqued. It even goes so far as to put a message on the game's bulletin board after the chapter saying, "Good thing you didn't read my diary!" Once you find the book in question, you can select it from your inventory and try to open it. The game will make you go through several confirmation screens before the diary finally opens. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vb9i2GoqtoY Your reward]] for your curiosity? [[spoiler:[[NonstandardGameOver An instant game over.]]]]
*** After bringing Hooktail, the first chapter boss, down to 0 HP, it will beg for mercy and offer to give you 1000 coins, a rare badge, and the opportunity to smell its feet (ew). Saying no to all of these will lead to Hooktail eating the audience and reviving half of its HP, but saying yes will lead to not only that, but also getting in a quick cheap shot for plenty of damage. The fact that many characters warn you of this tactic should be proof enough that it's a dumb idea.
*** Legend states that beyond the Thousand-Year Door beneath Rogueport lies untold treasures. However, that was a myth forged by [[spoiler:Beldam]]. Grodus and the X-Nauts know the truth, which is that the door is the prison of [[spoiler:the Shadow Queen]] and that the seven crystal stars are the locks on the door.
*** Subverted with the four demons locked inside black treasure chests that trick you into letting them out, and then "curse" you... by giving you extremely useful abilities that are necessary to beat the game. [[spoiler:This is because these demons used to be the four legendary heroes who ended up in their current state because they were cursed by the BigBad, and are using LoopholeAbuse to help you.]]

*** The game keeps the tradition alive by Tippi warning Mario about going into outer space without a helmet. Oddly enough, you ''can'' refuse to put on the helmet — and if you do so enough times, you go into space and die.
*** Also, several rooms in one chapter feature mushrooms just ''tantalizingly'' out of reach. They move away if you attempt to approach them. If you chase them, various nasty things will happen to you — such as getting dropped into a pit. You actually collect the mushroom in all but one case, so you can easily exit a trap with [[WorthIt more health than you went in with]].

*** You get some of these in ''VideoGame/LuigisMansion''.

--->'''Mimiron:''' Now [[NiceJobBreakingItHero why would you go and do something like that]]? [[CantYouReadTheSign Didn't you see the sign]] that said "DO NOT PUSH THIS BUTTON!"? How will we finish testing with [[SelfDestructMechanism the self-destruct mechanism]] active?

*** Players in Battlegrounds will often set up some schmuck bait with the following "/e has reported you AFK. Type /afk to clear this status." Typing /afk marks you as "Away from Keyboard", and if you're in a Battleground, it removes you. The results of this with {{Munchkins}} are [[HilarityEnsues predictable]].

* ''VideoGame/ShadowrunReturns'': [[spoiler:The PC honestly believes that their old, alcoholic, junkie friend Sam Watts could afford a 100,000-nuyen life insurance policy?]]
* ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'':
** There are plenty of times the player character sees obvious traps and calls them for what they are. They're willing to play along and "stumble into them", since they're powerful enough to blow through whatever comes along.
** Invoked by Urzael in Reaper of Souls. There just happens to be an unguarded chest, sitting in a garden? When the lid flips open, the gates slam shut and enemies spawn in. He even leaves a note inside, calling you greedy.
* In the ''VideoGame/PoolOfRadiance'' series by SSI, when fighting the final boss of the game series, a powerful demon, when you win out over his first wave of attackers, he tries to tempt you with the power of the stone he has and runs a command word by [[UnreadablyFastText too quickly to read]]. If you used tricks like [[FreezeFrameBonus pausing the computer at the right time to read the code]] and input it, you complete the demon's plan, causing Elminster to rise up from the pool, crying out in horror, before swiftly dying, along with the entire party.
* ''VideoGame/{{Wick}}'' has an in-game version of itself where the player is blindfolded and led into a forest with nothing but candles and matches and must survive until 6 am. Cue the ghost children.
* ''VideoGame/DragonFinSoup'' allows you to attempt to eat or drink anything in your inventory as a standard action. Should you try doing this with an item that isn't meant for human consumption (like, say, [[AteHisGun a shotgun]]), you're likely to lose a ton of HP in the process, possibly even killing you.
* In ''VideoGame/TownOfSalem'':
** The Veteran can "alert" and kill anyone who visits them that night. One common tactic is "vet baiting", in which the Veteran tries to get peoples' attention during the day in the hopes of luring the bad guys in. Visiting a baiting Veteran is falling victim to SchmuckBait, because anyone means ''anyone'', even those who usually ''can't'' be killed at night. Of course, the Veteran can also kill their allies...
** TheJester. If the Jester is lynched, they win and kill one person that voted guilty on them that night. Voting guilty on a suspected Jester is therefore SchmuckBait. Yes, vote for the guy refusing to give a role and generally being obnoxious. [[SarcasmMode It totally won't get you killed.]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'', a sci-fi 4X Grand Strategy Game, has a quest where you are able to reach into a psychic realm, and one option you can get is to make a pact with an entity who promises you vast power, in the form of a long-term amount of huge bonuses to your empire. At a price. The game tooltip says in bright red letters "DO NOT DO THIS". [[spoiler:After the 50 years of bonuses are up, the entity annihilates your entire empire's population, destroys any ring worlds & orbital habitats you have built, and renders every planet uninhabitable, except for one planet with a handful of people on it. It also spawns a near-invincible avatar of destruction to devour the entire galaxy. [[ControllableHelplessness The player's pitiful exile colony is left for last.]]]] It is widely ([[UrbanLegendOfZelda but incorrectly]]) assumed that Alexis Kennedy, one of the main writers for both ''Fallen London'' and ''Sunless Sea'' above, as well as the [[CosmicHorrorStory Horizon Signal]] event chain in ''Stellaris'', was involved in this particular option. He wasn't, but his influence was clear.
** New players might encounter in their expansion inexplicably uninhabited Gaia worlds that feature a ton of resources and can be colonised by any life regardless of their usual homeworld preferences, and have unique names like "Pristine Jewel". Not believing their luck, these players eagerly establish colonies on the world without realising that these world are the Holy worlds of a Fallen Empire, an ancient civilisation with technology centuries ahead of the players'. The aliens will contact you and ''very angrily'' demand you vacate the unspoiled planet immediately, or face their wrath. [[AwakeningTheSleepingGiant And if you are so stupid as to blow said holy planet to bits with a Colossus...]]
* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'':
** One of the possible title messages says: Press alt-f4. (Alt-f4 is used in Windows to close a window.)
** Occasionally while traveling underground, you can find a large ore vein with a PlungerDetonator which will set off Explosives that will mine all the surrounding ore...and also blow up anyone unknowing enough to have activated it.
** While going underground you may encounter a Lost Girl which looks and acts as the characters you can rescue to invite them to your town...until you approach her and she turns into a Nymph which can rip you to shreds.
* ''VideoGame/StreetsOfRogue'' has a cyanide pill item, which has a predictable result if you use it on yourself. The description even reads "Maybe don't eat this. Seriously." (It does have uses, since you can use it to poison air supplies, poison drinks, or fill a water pistol with instant-death spray.)
* In the second level of ''VideoGame/DangerousDave'', you can see gems floating above fire and water. Does the game allow you to jump down and claim them? Why, yes... if you don't mind losing a life for trying.
* ''VideoGame/PapersPlease''
** Throughout the game, your job as a border inspector is to keep out anyone who is not allowed in your country or turn people away if their papers are not in order. At a few points, you're given papers by a rebel group aiming to overthrow your government and they walk away after giving you their messages. Later on, the head inspector visits you and tells you about the rebels while also requesting that if you have any information about them, you should tell him ASAP. Most players playing for the first time would very likely give the rebels' papers to the man, thinking they are doing the right thing. Nope! Giving your boss those papers will have him suspect you of being an affiliate with the rebels and [[NonStandardGameOver you're arrested for being associated with terrorists]]. Even the achievement for this mocks you for being too honest.
** At one point, the rebel group will give you a little envelope with poisonous powder inside, which you are to apply to the passport of a person the rebels want out of the picture. The envelop has "DO NOT TOUCH POWDER" written inside. Three guesses as to what happens if you touch the powder, [[PressXToDie and the]] [[NonstandardGameOver first two]] [[TooDumbToLive don't count]].
** Early in the game, you receive a hefty 1000 credit bribe. [[spoiler:Accepting it will cause you to be ratted out by neighbors, thus costing you the money you took plus your savings. If you burn the 1000 credit bribe, but accept the second bribe which is double that amount, you get a NonstandardGameOver. Accepting the first bribe is fine if you need cash to get through the day, just so long as you let an EZIC agent in the next day to clear your name.]]
** Late in the game, [[spoiler:the rebels ask you to assassinate a key target while one of them provides a distraction. Regardless of whether you use the non-lethal tranquilizer rifle or the deadly sniper rifle, shooting the target will result in your arrest. Worse still, the rebels will send you a note revealing that your replacement isn’t cooperating with them and they will have to stop their plans for a while.]]
* From the ''VideoGame/FatalFrame'' series:
** Many ghosts in the series would just stand, or sit there, doing nothing, and never disappear. But get close to them or take a picture of them and they'll re-appear right in your face.[[note]]The Hair Brushing Woman does this to Kei in III[[/note]].
** If it is a shiny blue object, then it is a valuable item that is ready for pick-up. But in IV, Deep Crimson Butterfly, and V, [[FloatingLimbs some pale hand]] may grab your arm as you grab the item.
* In ''VideoGame/LayersOfFear'', there's a moment where an ominous message warns you not to look behind you and you'll hear the sound of a woman sobbing. If you ignore it and turn around anyway, you'll get a JumpScare.
* ''VideoGame/HearthstoneHeroesOfWarcraft'' uses this with Secrets. Sometimes, though, it combines this with TrapIsTheOnlyOption as there is almost no way to make progress towards victory without tripping that one Secret, at which point the objective becomes minimizing the impact of triggering it. Knowing what Secrets are available, how each possible Secret can trigger, and under what context a possible Secret could be used is vital to playing around them.
* It is very, ''very'' obvious that something is not right with Dr. Shuu Iwamine in ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend''. It is so obvious that something is wrong about him that many players will decide that his weird behaviour being a RedHerring is too obvious, and that his route is a double-bluff. [[spoiler:They're right. ''Shuu has no good ending.'' Unfortunately, you need one of his bad endings to get the true ending, and both of them if you want the epilogue.]]
* In ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossingPocketCamp'', there is a memory that you can unlock involving Filbert and Kid Cat. Filbert and Kid Cat are conversing about the rocket when Kid Cat invites the player into the conversation. Filbert is interested in the giant launch button, but Kid Cat and the player suspect it to be real. Filbert gets talked out of pressing the button at first, but Filbert's temptation kicks in and presses it, thinking nothing will happen. When Kid Cat and the player finally realize, in horror, that Filbert pressed the launch button, he and the player panic, and Kid Cat decides to board said rocket and go to space. Kid Cat makes it back safely.
* In ''VideoGame/SimCity 2000'' every branch of the city's municipal services can be funded or de-funded with a slider. If you move the Transit Authority funding any lower than 100%, however, your advisor [[BerserkButton doesn't take it well]]: "YOU CAN'T CUT BACK ON FUNDING! [[MemeticMutation YOU WILL REGRET THIS!]]" He's not wrong: while reducing funding to other departments is often a safe, good idea, de-funding transit will cause infrastructure to disintegrate and is not a good idea. The game lets you do it anyway, though.
* ''VideoGame/GodOfWarII'': Hold R1 to drain your godly power into one easily-stolen sword. Since ''[[BigBad Zeus]]'' is the one who tells you to do this, only the most unsavvy players would think this won't end badly. ButThouMust...
* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarPS4'', Kratos can use the branches of Yggdrasil to [[WarpWhistle fast-travel]]. He is repeatedly warned that jumping off the branches will kill him, but there is nothing stopping the player from doing it. [[spoiler:That being said, there's a hidden area near Jötunheim's portal that requires you to jump off the branch while wearing a special protective rune.]]
-->'''Brok''': And whatever do you, never, never, [[PunctuatedForEmphasis EVER]], never, ever, [[OverlyLongGag ever, ever, ever]] throw yourself over the edge of the path... lest you want death.
* ''VideoGame/DiveKick'' has tips from Uncle Sensei in the loading screen, and more often than not, they fall into this territory. One of his suggestions is to delete your operating system to free up hard disk space.
* ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'': The Whispering Eggs found near abandoned buildings look like any other rare treasure. However, attempting to harvest one [[spoiler:spawns a wave of ferocious Biological Horrors that can overwhelm a careless explorer in seconds.]]
* At the end of ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry2DiddysKongQuest'' level Glimmer's Galleon, there are a few puffer fish enemies, which usually swell up and move around or explode into shrapnel. There is also one that isn't swollen and doesn't seem to react to you, and right above it is a Banana Coin. If you go for the coin, the fish will immediately swell up and float upward, causing you to take a hit.
* ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' will sometimes have open rooms full of treasure in Adventure mode. These rooms are often either trapped or belong to someone.
** Schmuck bait can be used against [=NPCs=] by exploiting their programming. A popular trap is the 'goblin grinder'; an invader enters through one side of an open hallway that leads into the fortress, activates a pressure plate that blocks their exit, and makes it to the end of the hall... only to activate another pressure plate that blocks ''this'' exit, and opens the first one. Invaders will run back and forth in the hallway trying to get out. And of course the floor is covered in SpikesOfDoom.
** Your dwarves may attempt to retrieve corpses or the belongings of corpses with absolutely no thought into how they became corpses. This may lead to them getting killed the exact same way, only for ''another'' dwarf to try and retrieve ''their'' corpse.
* In ''VideoGame/ArxFatalis'' a literal trail of gold coins leads to a treasure chest, and when walking up to it you can hear goblins talking about ambushing the human. By this point in the game you can probably take on a few goblins without breaking a sweat, but the chest is empty anyway.
** A quest to find the merchant's daughter can lead you to [[spoiler:a cult that plans on sacrificing her to summon a demon. After killing the cultists, instead of freeing her from the altar (and so long as she's still alive), you can use a [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential sacrificial blade nearby to kill her...]] completing the ritual and summoning the demon, who immediately attacks you.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'', there used to be a "Bad Baby!" achievement, which you could only get if a creation of yours was banned from the servers. Naturally, everyone and their mother started deliberately uploading offensive creations in order to get this achievement. It got so bad that the achievement was eventually ''removed from the game''.
* In the ''VideoGame/DontEscape'' series of games, the object is to, well, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin not escape]]. The third game is set on a spaceship, which has a clearly marked escape pod which the player is perfectly free to use. It is obviously ''not'' a good idea to use it, but ''why'' you wouldn't want to is not immediately clear.
* In ''VideoGame/ElroyGoesBugzerk'', Elroy is instructed to not chase the chickens. Until you find an egg, a chicken will appear on most screens to taunt Elroy. [[spoiler: Chasing it leads to a GameOver]].
* ''Videogame/CrashBandicoot'' games contain the piles of boxes. Some of them hide a TNT or Nitro box inside, so if you try to spin them, you'll get promply blown into kingdom come.
* ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm'':
** At one point in the tutorial dungeon, there’s a large pile of gold surrounded by many bloodstains. This is your introduction to the local flavor of ChestMonster, Karma Chameleons, who lie in wait to ambush greedy travelers.
** In the final “battle” with [[spoiler:Boxxyfan’s]] breath mask, you might notice that you have the option of running away instead of just smashing the mask, tempting you into thinking there may be a pacifist solution. Nope, you just end up getting [[NonStandardGameOver brutally]] [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice backstabbed]] for your efforts.
* ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'':
** While exploring the asylum, Mike can find a severed arm attached to a mechanism that is waving it, with a tag of some kind attached. If you go to take a look at the tag, [[spoiler:you find the hard way that it's attached to a bear trap, which ensnares two of Mike's fingers]].
** The ultimate Schmuck Bait, however, comes in the mines. You know how one of the most commonly-cited rules of a horror movie is that you ''never'' [[LetsSplitUpGang go alone]] to [[CuriosityKilledTheCast investigate a strange noise]]? Well, a surprising number of players forgot that rule when they sent Ashley to split from the rest of the group when they heard what sounded like Jessica's voice down another path. Ignoring the fact that Jessica is missing and presumed dead at this point (and, if you screwed up while playing as Mike trying to save her earlier, she may well be dead), [[spoiler:it's actually a wendigo imitating Jessica, who proceeds to rip Ashley's head off if she (i.e. the player) falls for one of the most obvious horror movie traps ever]]. LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}'s [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yytMqOjNixk reaction]] when he fell for it was absolutely priceless.
* Early on in ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'', Cartman's hideout has a Cube of Ultimate Destruction with a sign warning you to not touch it. Touching it or smacking it has Cartman yelling at you to cut it out. Do it enough times and the cube breaks, [[NonStandardGameOver causing the entire universe to be completely wiped out.]]