History WhatDoYouMeanItsNotForKids / Videogames

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' is still subject to this, even though all the games after the third have been rated M. The ones made by Treyarch ramp it up with more gore, cursing, and horrific imagery. And yet, it's extremely common to find 4-12 year old children playing online.
* In the same vein as ''Call of Duty'' is ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', which has a bit of that ''Franchise/StarWars''-ish look to it, what with big heroic guys in green space armor gracing the cover. Needless to say, any bit of knowledge of the game makes it clear that it is most definitely ''not'' for children. Of course, being a massive big-name game, children are sure to hear of it and make their parents well aware of that fact, hence you will always - ALWAYS - find at least one 5-year-old playing on Xbox Live with you. ''Halo 5 Guardians'' is eventually rated T with the space opera feeling highly toned compared to the previous games though.

* [[VideoGame/OpenBOR [=OpenBOR=]]], just like ''M.U.G.E.N'', can have very inappropriate content too. Many players new to the engine and its mods can be horrified by the sheer amounts of mature content that can be put in a BeatEmUp engine (and keep it in mind that there were comparatively less violent (read: BloodierAndGorier) games, with some exceptions like ''VideoGame/NightSlashers'' and ''VideoGame/ThePunisherCapcom''). Although there's comparatively less sexuality and/or obscenity than ''M.U.G.E.N''...for now.

* ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' has a T-rating, and is marketed as a fighting game to general audiences, one that anyone can enjoy. It's also filled with [[{{Fanservice}} so much sexualization]] that the M-rated, BestKnownForTheFanservice ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series can even look tame by comparison. How much? Ivy wears razor-thin {{dominatrix}} gear as her main costume and fully acts the part. Taki wears [[FormFittingWardrobe tighter-than-skin]] SensualSpandex that highlights her voluptuous figure so much her ''nipples'' are visible while her backside is very well-defined. Sophitia is a PurityPersonified character who just happens to be wearing a MinidressOfPower with a short skirt and AbsoluteCleavage. Seong Mi-na rocks a {{Stripperiffic}} two-piece ensemble that amounts to tiny clothes over a pink swimsuit, with {{Underboobs}} and BareYourMidriff, while MaleGaze greatly admires her rear. Those are just ''four examples'' in a game that's absolutely full of it, and even the youngest characters [[AgeInappropriateDress are played no less for fanservice]] than the older ones. In fact, its two {{Guest Fighter}}s are [[VideoGame/TheWitcher Geralt]] and [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], both from M-rated, sexual, kid-''un''friendly games themselves, which might indicate that it was never meant for kids to begin with. Even disregarding the abundant sexuality, the game is still ''far'' from kid-friendly with coarse language, violence, mass deaths featured in story mode, and morally complex themes. Might be best to not play this in front of your kids, to say the least.

** Believe it or not, this was actually averted early in production. Rare decided to turn it into an adult game after the previews were criticized because they were [[TastesLikeDiabetes too cute]] and similar to Rare's [[VideoGame/DonkeyKong64 earlier]] [[VideoGame/BanjoKazooie platformers]].

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'': Aww, look, a game about taking over the world with an army of cute cats! Hey...why is that one drinking a bottle of wine? And that one makes a reference to [[FullFrontalAssault flashing people]] for its attack! And those ones aren't even cats, they're [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furries]] who are almost naked? [[EldritchAbomination SWEET JESUS, WHAT IS THAT ONE?!]] [[MobilePhoneGame This game is for mobile phones]]?!

* ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has an art style similar to Digimon series and features a teenage cast. However the game contains extremely dark subject matter such as PoliceBrutality, religious themes, suicide, anarchy, the government trying to kill citizens, and so on.

''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' series and ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' series features cute characters design that won't be out of place in children's cartoons. But the story is complex and certainly not exactly child-friendly, and those scary monsters are actually the least of their worries. That is of course if the [[NintendoHard difficulty don't throw them off]] in the first place.

* This [[http://kotaku.com/5753506/kids-shouldnt-play-games-about-jerking-off story]] about Kotaku columnist Luke Plunkett discovering ''Stroker'' for the Commodore 64 as a young child only re-enforces this trope.
* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'': an RPG with pixies and Jack Frosts... where the USA falls under the control of a fanatic Christian cult ruled by supernatural beings which use the US nuclear arsenal to rebuild civilization around a fascist theocracy, and God '''[[GodIsEvil really approves]]''' of what they are doing--and he's ''still'' [[BlackAndGrayMorality the closest thing to a good guy in the story]]. There's a reason this is a game where the OmnicidalNeutral path is generally agreed on as the ''most moral''.)
** Any game from ''Franchise/ShinMegamiTensei''[=/=]Creator/{{Atlus}}. For something that kids can buy, ''VideoGame/DevilSurvivor'' has to be one of the most fucked up games ever (and it's only rated T!). Proving once again that parents should read the back of the box before letting kids buy video games.
* ''Shin Megami Tensei''[='=]s spinoff series, ''Franchise/{{Persona}}'', gets it just as bad:
** The original ''VideoGame/Persona1'' was rated ''E''. This is a series with Mara, an [[EldritchAbomination Eldritch]] '''GagPenis'''. What in YHVH's name was the ESRB thinking!? Later games in the series are generally rated M[[note]] Except for ''VideoGame/Persona2'', in which both ''Innocent Sin'' (the [=PSP=] remake) and ''Eternal Punishment'' were rated T. The [=PSP=] remake of the original game bumped the rating up to T as well.[[/note]] (including ''Nocturne'' where in Japan is rated all-ages, in Europe is rated 12+), so at least they noticed eventually.
** ''VideoGame/Persona3''. The main characters regularly shoot themselves in the head with handguns. And one of them is a fourth-grader. But the visuals in the beta version made the handguns look much more realistic. These were changed as Adults Only rated games are not permitted on console games. By the way, PEGI rated versions that don't have ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' 12[[note]]in ESRB terms, that's on the high end of E10+ or on the low end of T[[/note]] (''[[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'' is rated 16[[note]]the high end of T or the low end of M[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' were both given that rating from the beginning). Two questions: 1) how is ''The Answer'' any different content-wise from ''The Journey'', and 2) who in their right mind would give ''any'' version of this game to a 12-year-old?
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is a colorful spectacle about a transfer student that moves in with his uncle, a respectable policeman, and makes lots of friends! Not to mention the first proper dungeon is set in a fairytale castle, so it must be kid-friendly right? Wrong. There are more sexual themes you can shake a stick at (of which the strip club dungeon is the icing on the cake), [[spoiler: your adorable 7-year-old cousin is kidnapped and dies in the hospital (though she may return under conditions), and a policeman tries to rape two women.]]
** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a talking cat as the game's {{Deuteragonist}} so naturally people thought that game was for kids. Keep in mind that this is a game that has policemen brutally torturing the protagonist, characters tearing off masks which [[TearOffYourFace pulls off part of their own face]], a SadistTeacher that physically abuses male students while raping the female students, and a student that [[spoiler:attempted to commit suicide]] ''all before you officially started the first dungeon in the game''. It doesn't help that one of its characters [[DemographicDissonantCrossover is playable in the E10+-rated]] ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate''.
** ''VideoGame/PersonaQShadowOfTheLabyrinth'' added onto it, with the [[spoiler: entire plot centered around the death of a teenage girl and purgatory]], along with the [[spoiler: imminent ''erasure'' of all the characters you love from Persona 3 and 4 implied if you fail.]] All encompassed in a cutesy art style to rival even the best anime!
* Most Creator/{{Atlus}} games are like this. Like the ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' series and ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' series features cute characters design that won't be out of place in children's cartoons. But the story is complex and certainly not exactly child-friendly, and those scary monsters are actually the least of their worries. That is of course if the [[NintendoHard difficulty don't throw them off]] in the first place.

* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' is still subject to this, even though all the games after the third have been rated M. The ones made by Treyarch turn this UpToEleven with more gore, cursing, and horrific imagery. And yet, it's extremely common to find 4-12 year old children playing online.

* In the same vein as ''Call of Duty'' is ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', which has a bit of that ''Franchise/StarWars''-ish look to it, what with big heroic guys in green space armor gracing the cover. Needless to say, any bit of knowledge of the game makes it clear that it is most definitely ''not'' for children. Of course, being a massive big-name game, children are sure to hear of it and make their parents well aware of that fact, hence you will always - ALWAYS - find at least one 5-year-old playing on Xbox Live with you. Halo 5 Guardians is eventually rated T with the space opera feeling highly toned compared to the previous games though.

* The English download site for the pigeon-dating game ''VisualNovel/HatofulBoyfriend'' gives it a G-rating, and it is officially rated E10+ by the ESRB. Keep in mind that this game has an ending where [[spoiler:you get ''decapitated'' by a murderous doctor who promises to "examine your insides most... intimately",]] even outside of [[ALoveToDismember that route]] [[spoiler:said doctor regularly kills his bird patients and turns them into quill pens and turkey dinners]], and the lengthy Bad Boys Love route ''starts'' with [[spoiler:the bird characters finding the human protagonist's ''chopped-up remains'' all over the school]] and gets progressively more fucked up from there on. Even the free version has the aforementioned [[spoiler: decapitation by DeadlyDoctor]] ending, which should tell you how kid-friendly this game ''ain't''.

* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion pack Mists of Pandaria received this response in spades from a lot of fans, just because the Pandaren and the titular continent of Pandaria look too 'childish' or 'goofy' for, what was considered 'normal' [=WoW=] storylines like the Lich King and Deathwing. "We were fighting demons, undead, and giants dragons, and now... pandas." Was a common response to the expansion. In reality, however, it is one of the darker expansions of the franchise (Maybe out darked by Wrath of the Lich King). After all, sure the Pandaren are pretty cute. But they also get drunk often, enjoy getting in bar fights, and have an entire martial art centered around fighting while drunk and setting your enemy on fire after you've doused them in the flammable brew. But awww, he's got spots around his eyes! Also, the entire expansion has a B plot of "War is hell for those dragged in" as it displays what the fighting between the Alliance and the Horde is doing to the other races on Azeroth by dragging the fight to Pandaria, whose people don't care about either side. This also hands the horde [=NPCs=] the villain ball as unlike the Alliance, the Horde continues to make things worse in the name of conquest. Also, Garrosh messes around with magic he doesn't understand, the live science experiments in the Throne of Thunder,[[spoiler: and the teenage Anduin Wrynn gets mortally wounded]]. The end result is the final boss of the expansion being Garrosh Hellscream, the Orc and overall Horde leader. This ends with both factions (The horde being represented by "rebels" consisting of all non-Orc forces (plus player orcs and a few [=NPCs=] led by Varok Saurfang) laying siege to the Orcish capital. Because a bloody siege is totally for kids... A bloody siege in which one character ''threatens to rip the souls out of'' another character's dead soldiers: and ''they'' are supposedly allies.

* ''VideoGame/EdnaAndHarveyTheBreakout'' got a "No age limit"-rating in Germany on its first release. Never mind it deals with several murders (one committed and one facilitated by the main character), the death penalty, and psychology above the head of most children. The maker was so annoyed that he said "Fuck!" a lot during the commentaries for the extended version. He got the "12+"-label he had wanted.

* ''VideoGame/{{Vexx}}'' is one of those games that was released during the height in popularity of 3D-platformers, so everyone who saw it assumed it was for kids. It features some gory-imagery, genocide and slavery. Suddenly, it becomes painfully obvious why the game got a T-rating.
* There's a disturbing amount of small children who have played ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' and its sequels. Granted, the games aren't as bad in terms of gore, as most of the worst stuff is either hidden in shadow, shown in 8-bit format, or simply [[TakeOurWordForIt described by Phone Guy]]. That said, the games use [[JumpScare jumpscares]] as a core mechanic. The story for the games features such lovely, child-friendly things as SuckECheeses animatronics coming to life to murder the player character, someone getting serious brain damage by one of the animatronics biting them, a SerialKiller luring children to the backroom to murder them, followed by their bodies being stuffed into the animatronics so that the spirits could take revenge, the killer experiencing a KarmicDeath at the hands of his victims and becoming the third game's antagonist, and childhood [[KidsAreCruel bullying]] and [[ParentalNeglect neglect]] resulting in [[spoiler:an even earlier bite]], among many others.

* ''VideoGame/TheBattleCats'': Aww, look, a game bout taking over the world with an army of cute cats! Hey...why is that one drinking a bottle of wine? And that one makes a reference to [[FullFrontalAssault flashing people]] for its attack! And those ones aren't even cats, they're [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom furries]] who are almost naked? [[EldritchAbomination SWEET JESUS, WHAT IS THAT ONE?!]] [[MobilePhoneGame This game is for mobile phones]]?!

* Holy shit, where to begin with ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}''? There is a chance whenever you go into Youtube that has Turok videos: you will find the occasional comment that has them explain that when their parents or grandparents bought them this game (despite the cover featuring the protagonist fighting a dinosaur with BLOOD), they thought it was appropriate for them. To put it very mildly, it was never intended to get into the hands of kids. Want some examples? Exhibit A, the [[YourHeadAsplode Cerebral Bore,]] and exhibit B, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath the heroes slicing off necks, making holes in chests]] and flat out making them DeaderThanDead! These games gave a lot of kids who got their hands on them nightmares, and for a damn good reason. The first game alone brought many frights and unsettling moments, with the sequels adding more gore and bloodshed along the way.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wynncraft}}'': As the name suggests, it takes place in Minecraft. The game's most prominent MMORPG server, its blocky, pixelated graphics would generally suggest a childish experience. And while it's often comical or lighthearted, don't let that lure you into a false sense of security--a number of quests get pretty dark, especially in the higher level ranges. Special mentions go to [[spoiler: finding out the iron golems all around Wynn and Gavel are made from [[AndIMustScream trapped villagers]]]], and [[spoiler: the Silent Expanse, the creepy endgame area where [[FacelessEye the trees have eyes]], [[EyelessFace and the citizens of Lutho don't]].]] Oh, and let's not forget [[spoiler:the ancient genocide of the Doguns, [[FantasticRacism and subsequent centuries of propaganda to make the dwarves believe it was justified]].]]

* ''VideoGame/LifeIsStrange'' is often confused as a SliceOfLife interactive game dealing with teen drama and the coming of age story about a young girl growing up, but it also features ''loads of dark themes''. While our main protagonist Max does gain superpowers, the story is basically a murder-mystery about teenage girls discovering how a missing girl was abducted, drugged, raped and possibly killed right on a high school campus. Along the way, the player frequently sees gruesome violence, underage teenagers casually talking about sex, attempted suicide, the loss of faith, swear words utilized as half the dialogue, a SadisticChoice once an episode, and the BigBad is revealed to be a pedophile SerialKiller [[AdultFear hiding in Max's high school.]]

** ''VideoGame/Persona5'' has a talking cat as the game's {{Deuteragonist}} so naturally people thought that game was for kids. Keep in mind that this is a game that has policemen brutally torturing the protagonist, characters tearing off masks which [[TearOffYourFace pulls off part of their own face]], a SadistTeacher that physically abuses male students while raping the female students, and a student that [[spoiler:attempted to commit suicide]] ''all before you officially started the first dungeon in the game''.

* You can't always trust a RhythmGame either. Case and point, ''VideoGame/FridayNightFunkin''. It may seem like a pretty enjoyable web game at first, with a cartoony art style and a ''VideoGame/DanceDanceRevolution''-style note chart...but allow us to tell you that there are swears in this game, a couple of the rivals, including Pico (from [[VideoGame/{{Pico}} his titular series]]), can wield guns, the main protagonist (Boyfriend) gets blue-balled whenever you fail a song, and Week 7 features some graphic violence in the form of [[spoiler:Pico shooting down some tankmen in the final song of the week]]. Heck, Week 7 was even made DarkerAndEdgier so the game would appeal less to kids.[[note]]And if that wasn't enough to stop kids from playing, the soon-to-be-releasing full version of the game is literally titled ''The Full-Ass Game''.[[/note]]Yet that hasn't stopped the game from getting a young fanbase, or even having a fan-made, extremely [[{{Bowdlerise}} bowdierized]] port on ''VideoGame/{{Roblox}}''.

* ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' has a T-rating, and is marketed as a fighting game to general audiences, one that anyone can enjoy. It's also filled with [[{{Fanservice}} so much sexualization]] that the M-rated, BestKnownForTheFanservice ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series can even look tame by comparison. How much? Ivy wears razor-thin {{dominatrix}} gear as her main costume and fully acts the part. Taki wears [[FormFittingWardrobe tighter-than-skin]] SensualSpandex that highlights her voluptuous figure so much her ''nipples'' are visible while her backside is very well-defined. Sophitia is a PurityPersonified character who just happens to be wearing a MinidressOfPower with a DangerouslyShortSkirt and AbsoluteCleavage. Seong Mi-na rocks a {{Stripperiffic}} two-piece ensemble that amounts to tiny clothes over a pink swimsuit, with {{Underboobs}} and BareYourMidriff, while MaleGaze greatly admires her rear. Those are just ''four examples'' in a game that's absolutely full of it, and even the youngest characters [[AgeInappropriateDress are played no less for fanservice]] than the older ones. In fact, its two {{Guest Fighter}}s are [[VideoGame/TheWitcher Geralt]] and [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], both from M-rated, sexual, kid-''un''friendly games themselves, which might indicate that it was never meant for kids to begin with. Even disregarding the abundant sexuality, the game is still ''far'' from kid-friendly with coarse language, violence, mass deaths featured in story mode, and morally complex themes. Might be best to not play this in front of your kids, to say the least.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wynncraft}}'': As the name suggests, it takes place in Minecraft. The game's most prominent MMORPG server, its blocky, pixelated graphics would generally suggest a childish experience. And while it's often comical or lighthearted, don't let that lure you into a false sense of security--a number of quests get pretty dark, especially in the higher level ranges. Special mentions go to [[spoiler: finding out the iron golems all around Wynn and Gavel are made from [[AndIMustScream trapped villagers]]]], and [[spoiler: the Silent Expanse, the creepy endgame area where [[EyeScream the trees have eyes--and the citizens of Lutho don't.]]]] Oh, and let's not forget [[spoiler: the ancient genocide of the Doguns, and subsequent centuries of propaganda to make the dwarves believe it was justified.]]

* Holy shit, where to begin with ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}''? There is a chance whenever you go into Youtube that has Turok videos: you will find the occasional comment that has them explain that when their parents or grandparents bought them this game [[WhatAnIdiot (despite the cover featuring the protagonist fighting a dinosaur with BLOOD)]], they thought it was appropriate for them. To put it very mildly, it was never intended to get into the hands of kids. Want some examples? Exhibit A, the [[YourHeadAsplode Cerebral Bore,]] and exhibit B, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath the heroes slicing off necks, making holes in chests]] and flat out making them DeaderThanDead! These games gave a lot of kids who got their hands on them nightmares, and for a damn good reason. The first game alone brought many frights and unsettling moments, with the sequels adding more gore and bloodshed along the way.

* Do not let your kids play ''VideoGame/{{Eversion}}'' at all despite [[CrapsaccharineWorld its family-friendly looks]]. Why, even [[http://zarat.us/tra/eversion/ its website]] warns you not to let them play!

* ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'': Creator/TimBurton-esque art style? Check. Ten-year-old protagonist? Check. Takes place in a summer camp? Tons of cartoony, well-written humor? Check. Relatively clean dialogue, barring a few AvoidTheDreadedGRating moments? Check. Creator/RichardStevenHorvitz voicing the protagonist? Check and check. Sounds like a great game for your kid, right? Sure, if you're fine exposing them to excessively mature topics like FamilyUnfriendlyDeath, suicide, child abuse, and psychological illnesses like paranoid schizophrenia and depression, not to mention a lot of BlackComedy with numerous references to sex, drugs, and alcohol, and a final level that will forever haunt their nightmares.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. At first glance, it looks like an innocent game due to its Pixar-esque art style... but then comes the cartoony, yet big amounts of blood and gore, moderate language, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick jars of urine]]. The supplementary materials contain their own share of child-unfriendly content--including even more graphic violence ([[spoiler:the Spy's head graphically exploding]] in "Meet the Spy"), sexual references and suggestive imagery ("Meet the Spy", "Expiration Date"), and plain old NightmareFuel ("Meet the Pyro"). However, just like with any FPS, you will find many 10-year-old kids playing the game online. [[note]]Although there aren't as many kids playing it as there are in ''Call of Duty'' and ''Halo''. Some of them have said it looks 'kiddy' [[YouMakeMeSic (sic)]].[[/note]]

** One of the highlights of the past was in 2004 when an 85-year-old New York grandmother that became upset that she bought ''Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas'' for her 14-year-old grandson (she did have the game taken away from him) and launched a lawsuit against Take-Two over it.
* ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'' is still subject to this, even though all the games after the third have been rated M. The ones made by Treyarch turn this UpToEleven with more gore, cursing, and horrific imagery. And yet, it's extremely common to find 4-12 year-old children playing online.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' may use chibi sprites for the characters, but the themes and settings are as dark as they can be that no child would understand or should ever see. War, betrayals, manipulation, lots of murder, and even implied rape are all in the game, even the graphical details don't show it. The sequels heavily dial back the dark themes and appear more approachable for children to play, though there are some darker themes that can pop up every now and then.

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it, all is a much darker game; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, an existential crisis among certain characters, and similar themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game.

* The unquestionable king of this trope would have to be ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' and its sequel games. Literally since the game first came out on arcade systems, the game was horribly mistaken to be a child-appropriate video game (the fact that one of the early advertising posters featured kids amazed with the photorealistic graphics didn't help). The Senate even held hearings that featured older people who thought of video games as solely the province of young children clutching their pearls over the game. The series may be an adventure series about magical ninjas, have beautiful artwork, awesome character designs, visually-appealing graphics, and a well-built fighting control system, but it is also made brutally clear that this game was ''not'' devised for younger players. The series is well-known for its [[NintendoHard bloody difficulty]], [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath full-blown blood and gore]], deeply complex character arcs, AxCrazy antagonists who're [[HeroKiller not afraid to personally murder characters onscreen]], [[{{Fanservice}} heavily sexualized characters]], and the game actually ''encourages'' you to [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown finish]] your opponents off. Yet, to this very day you'll still find a child who has played one of the titles.
* ''Videogame/{{Fallout}}'' features a cute, adorable boy as the mascot. In any of the game barring ''Videogame/FalloutShelter'' and the Fallout Board Game, dismemberment is a common occurrence.
* Although the ''Transformers'' have always been the subject of the [[WhatDoYouMeanItsForKids other trope]], the game ''Videogame/TransformersWarForCybertron'' is definitely ''not family friendly''. The game clearly establish that WarIsHell, is packed with references for older fans of the franchise, contains a lot of robot blood, and is full of brutal death. To drive the point across players, [[BigBad Megatron]] is an obvious {{Expy}} of ''Adolf Hitler''.

* ''VideoGame/AmericanMcGeesAlice'': As if the cover art and big M-letter on the box weren't sign enough that this game (with violence comparable to what you'd find in ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'') was far removed from the Disney film...

* ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. It is pretty gory, full of NauseaFuel and also takes a rather... shall we say, artistic license with the Biblical account of the actual binding of Isaac, which some may find offensive. It was reportedly rated ''M'' and for this reason.

* [[http://videogames.yahoo.com/feature/watchdog-group-nintendo-no-longer-quot-family-friendly-quot-/1295531 The National Institute on Media and the Family]] has taken Nintendo to task for releasing ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' on their "family friendly" UsefulNotes/{{Wii}} (never mind the fact that it was actually Creator/{{Sega}} that published the game). Apparently they didn't notice ''VideoGame/RedSteel'', ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes,'' ''VideoGame/HouseOfTheDead'', ''VideoGame/TheGodfather'', ''VideoGame/DeadRising'', ''VideoGame/DeadlyCreatures'', ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'', and ''VideoGame/{{Manhunt}}'' (not that those were released by Nintendo either, but they're still on the Wii) and thus, they became one more laughing-stock on the Internet. Nintendo countered to [[FunWithAcronyms NIMF's]] claim about the Wii being "for the entire family" by saying that the Wii is indeed for everyone...and when saying "everyone", they throw in hardcore gamers in the equation.
* ''Stupid Invaders'', the game based on the French cartoon ''WesternAnimation/SpaceGoofs'' (which is actually aimed for children), looks cute thanks to the character design but quickly reveals its unsubtle [[ToiletHumour scatological]] and sexual humour as a result of AudienceShift.

* ''VideoGame/ShinMegamiTenseiI'': an RPG with pixies and Jack Frosts... where the USA falls under the control of a fanatic Christian cult ruled by supernatural beings which uses the US nuclear arsenal to rebuild civilization around a fascist theocracy, and God '''[[GodIsEvil really approves]]''' of what they are doing--and he's ''still'' [[BlackAndGrayMorality the closest thing to a good guy in the story]]. There's a reason this is a game where the OmnicidalNeutral path is generally agreed on as the ''most moral''.)

** ''VideoGame/Persona3''. The main characters regularly shoot themselves in the head with handguns. And one of them is a fourth grader. But the visuals in the beta version made the handguns look much more realistic. These were changed as Adults Only rated games are not permitted on console games. By the way, PEGI rated versions that don't have ''[[PlayableEpilogue The Answer]]'' 12[[note]]in ESRB terms, that's on the high end of E10+ or on the low end of T[[/note]] (''[[UpdatedRerelease FES]]'' is rated 16[[note]]the high end of T or the low end of M[[/note]], and ''VideoGame/Persona4'' and ''VideoGame/Persona5'' were both given that rating from the beginning). Two questions: 1) how is ''The Answer'' any different content-wise from ''The Journey'', and 2) who in their right-mind would give ''any'' version of this game to a 12-year-old?
** ''VideoGame/Persona4'' is a colorful spectacle about a transfer student that moves in with his uncle, a respectable policeman and makes lots of friends! Not to mention the first proper dungeon is set in a fairytale castle, so it must be kid-friendly right? Wrong. There's more sexual themes you can shake a stick at (of which the strip club dungeon is the icing on the cake), [[spoiler: your adorable 7 year old cousin is kidnapped and dies in the hospital (though she may return under conditions), and a policeman tries to rape two women.]]

* Most Creator/{{Atlus}} games are like this. Like the ''VideoGame/LuminousArc'' series and ''VideoGame/EtrianOdyssey'' series features cute character design that won't be out of place in children's cartoons. But the story are complex and certainly not exactly child-friendly, and those scary monsters are actually the least of their worries. That is of course if the [[NintendoHard difficulty don't throw them off]] in the first place.

* ''VideoGame/LittleKingsStory'' is rated T due to alcohol references, polygamy, religion and, sometimes genocide. Yet it's all presented in a delightful storybook style with vibrant colors and cutesy graphics. Well, the Wii game, anyway. The Vita sequel uses a generic anime artstyle because everyone mistook the Wii game for a children's game.
* The ''Franchise/FireEmblem'' series may be high fantasy with bright, colorful graphics, but it's also filled with war, murder, racism, genocide, and incest, ''especially'' the Jugdral series. The only reason that these games have never been rated higher than T is that it's never shown, just spoken about and implied. There's a reason the first few games didn't [[NoExportForYou make it out of Japan]]. Even ''Blazing Sword'', the very first ''Fire Emblem'' game released internationally and which was rated E in its original release, has direct references to mass murder, human trafficking, and suicide before you've even left the tutorial chapters.

* ''VideoGame/HeartOfDarkness''. Rated E for Everyone, despite the painful looking -- though [[BloodlessCarnage not actually gory]] -- death animations, not to mention the abhorrent scenery. Remember kids, shadows are very dangerous things. However, the game got an 11+ in the UK, a more fitting rating.

* In the same vein as ''Call of Duty'' is ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', which has a bit of that ''Franchise/StarWars''-ish look to it, what with big heroic guys in green space armor gracing the cover. Needless to say, any bit of knowledge of the game makes it clear that it is most definitely ''not'' for children. Of course, being a massive big-name game, children are sure to hear of it and make their parents well aware of that fact, hence you will always - ALWAYS - find at least one 5-year-old playing on Xbox Live with you. Halo 5 Guardians is eventually rated T with the space opera feel highly toned compared to the previous games though.
* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2''. At first glance, it looks like an innocent game due to its Pixar-esque artstyle... but then comes the cartoony, yet big amounts of blood and gore , moderage language and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick jars of urine]]. The supplementary materials contain their own share of child-unfriendly content--including even more graphic violence ([[spoiler:the Spy's head graphically exploding]] in "Meet the Spy"), sexual references and suggestive imagery ("Meet the Spy", "Expiration Date"), and plain old NightmareFuel ("Meet the Pyro"). However, just like with any FPS, you will find many 10-year-old kids playing the game online. [[note]]Although there aren't as many kids playing it as there are in ''Call of Duty'' and ''Halo''. Some of them have said it looks 'kiddy' [[YouMakeMeSic (sic)]].[[/note]]

* The [[ShoddyKnockoffProduct pirate original]] Famicom game ''VideoGame/TheLionKing5'' seems like a perfectly kid friendly game at first, that is until you get a GameOver and find [[spoiler: the character committing suicide. Yes, really.]]
* The ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' expansion pack Mists of Pandaria received this response in spades from a lot of fans, just because the Pandaren and the titular continent of Pandaria look too 'childish' or 'goofy' for, what was considered 'normal' [=WoW=] storylines like the Lich King and Deathwing. "We were fighting demons, undead, and giants dragons, and now... pandas." Was a common response to the expansion. In reality, however, it is one of the darker expansions of the franchise (Maybe out darked by Wrath of the Lich King). After all, sure the Pandaren are pretty cute. But they also get drunk often, enjoy getting in bar fights, and have an entire martial art centered around fighting while drunk and setting your enemy on fire after you've doused them in flammable brew. But awww, he's got spots around his eyes! Also the entire expansion has a B plot of "War is hell for those dragged in" as it displays what the fighting between the Alliance and the Horde is doing to the other races on Azeroth by dragging the fight to Pandaria, whose people don't care about either side. This also hands the horde [=NPCs=] the villain ball as unlike the Alliance, the Horde continues to make things worse in the name of conquest. Also Garrosh messes around with magic he doesn't understand, the live science experiments in the Throne of Thunder,[[spoiler: and the teenage Anduin Wrynn gets mortally wounded]]. The end result is the final boss of the expansion being Garrosh Hellscream, the Orc and overall Horde leader. This ends with both factions (The horde being represented by "rebels" consisting all non Orc forces (plus player orcs and a few [=NPCs=] led by Varok Saurfang) laying siege to the Orcish capital. Because a bloody siege is totally for kids... A bloody siege in which one character ''threatens to rip the souls out of'' another character's dead soldiers: and ''they''are supposedly allies.
** Actually the game in general. It has cartoonish graphics and FunnyAnimals, and plenty of humor: but it deals with mature themes like war crimes, racism, rape, mind-control, religion, the nature of good and evil etc. Also, skeletons are everywhere, you can even play as one. Many of the bosses are pure NightmareFuel, and some of the armor sets are very much {{Squick}}. Much of the humor is also very dark and/or sexual, and some of it goes into DudeNotFunny territory. oh right, and there's an ''actual concentration camp''. As the game is available worldwide, it has serious problems with ValuesDissonance: to the point of having a Chinese client, because dead bodies are a very sensitive topic in China.
* ''VideoGame/EdnaAndHarveyTheBreakout'' got a "No age limit"-rating in Germany on its first release. Never mind it deals with several murders (one committed and one facilitated by the main character), death penalty and psychology above the head of most children. The maker was so annoyed that he said "Fuck!" a lot during the commentaries for the extended version. He got the "12+"-label he had wanted.
* The first two ''VideoGame/DukeNukem'' games are [[EarlyInstallmentWeirdness relatively family friendly side scrollers, where Duke mainly shoots robots]]. ''VideoGame/DukeNukem3D'' and its follow-ups on the other hand...
* ''VisualNovel/VirtuesLastReward'' falls into the category of being a game that would likely be passed off by parents as being a cartoon and for their kids. Just a few moments of playing said game and seeing the heavy cussing, violent situations and heavy use of sex jokes, should show anyone that that it's not for kids. Heck, just looking at the rating the game got, M for Mature [16+ in the UK], would tell parents it's not for kids.
** And before that, there's ''VisualNovel/NineHoursNinePersonsNineDoors''. Oh look at the fun, anime characters making pipe jokes and giving out four-leafed clovers for good luck, isn't it cute? Yeah, if you consider strangers being forced into playing a sadistic game where they can be blown up by a bomb that's been placed in their gut, on a sinking ship cute. Not to mention that [[spoiler:there are two men who actually DO get blown up...in VERY descriptive and grisly detail. And to add salt into the already deepening wound, most of the bad endings in the game end with a huge massacre of the main cast, and the game has swearing. LOTS of swearing]]. One has to wonder how a parent could even make this mistake when A SINGLE SECOND of research on the game, or even looking at the back of the game box, would indicate to them that the basic concept of the game is about a sadistic psychopath's game.

* One of the early 3D M-Rated games called ''VideoGame/ShadowMan''. This game would go as far as to slap into your face with [[http://img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20091023051929/vsrecommendedgames/images/9/98/Shadow-man-n64.jpg its cover art]] that it is not intended for kids, for good reasons. It is a gory action-adventure game that was filled to the brim with references to life, death and murder and the game itself used Voodoo Mythology for its setting, which meant it was filled with very intense NightmareFuel. The problem is that it was action-adventure, so people thought it would just be as dark as ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'', which is dark enough for a kid's game.

* ''VideoGame/TheWolfAmongUs'' has gained quite a bit of interest from younger gamers due to the story being about classic fairy tale characters moving into New York City and having an awesome picture of an [[TheBigBadWolf epic looking wolfman]] on the cover. But in short, the game is ''not'' targeted at younger gamers. The game features gritty violence, explicit nudity, an overall depressing theme, economic social commentary, corrupt politics, serious detective case work, poverty themes, mafia symbolism, and shows how our favorite fairy tale characters [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome did not gain a happily ever after ending]] as was assumed in their stories.

* The initial media-driven complaints over ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'' and its very, very tame sex scenes (which would be considered utterly unremarkable on network television in prime-time) demonstrates the utter absurdity of this trope. Listening to the complaints, you'd think that if the love scene had been left out, the rest of the game, with its genocide, murder, prostitution, drug use, slavery, PTSD, racial bigotry, torture, psychological torment, and the horrific deaths of people who are impaled while alive and turned into HumanoidAbomination cyber-zombies ''in the very first mission'', would be A-OK for the kiddies.

* ''VisualNovel/DokiDokiLiteratureClub'' is a cute dating sim that has 4 beautiful girls to date, so it must be okay for kids, or at least pre-teens, right? Sure it is, at least until [[spoiler: one of the main girls hangs herself. After that the game becomes a PsychologicalHorror and shows terrifying imagery, graphic self harm, and ''more''. It doesn't have an M rating for nothing!]]
* ''VideoGame/GleanerHeights'' is inspired by the family-friendly ''VideoGame/StoryOfSeasons'' and ''VideoGame/StardewValley'' games. It has cute, brightly coloured {{retraux}} sprites. It's a kids game, right? Nope. On its surface it looks friendly but go deeper and you'll encounter murder, suicide, abuse, infidelity, and other themes not seen in similar games.
* Since the company that makes the ''Xenoblade'' series is owned by Nintendo, it is technically a first party Nintendo game. Despite that and the fairly cartoony graphics, the gameplay and storyline is incredibly deep and complex. [[VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1 The first game]] alone features giant killer robots [[spoiler:that are actually cyborgs created by converting humanoids who their creator has captured]], the main character watching his girlfriend get killed right in front of him (and it is graphic), a religious extremist group's FantasticRacism-fueled assassination plot, and the BigBad [[spoiler:is a MadScientist who destroyed his universe to create the world the game takes place in simply because he had a God Complex]]. The other games are not as dark, but ''VideoGame/XenobladeChroniclesX'' features a group of religious extremists as the BigBad with all the humans being the last survivors of Earth after it was destroyed, and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles2'' features people swearing without SymbolSwearing or a sound effect to cover it, prominent WarIsHell themes, several highly sexualized female characters, and [[spoiler:once again one of the villains is the corrupt leader of a religious movement]].

* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' might appear to be cutesy and sometimes silly with the colorful cast of characters with their quirky designs and personalities, but underneath it all is a much darker game; the game will not hold back showing scenes of murder, war, genocide, existential crisis among certain characters, and similar themes. The game is rated T for teen, but it's not unheard of for parents to have bought the game for their children thinking it was another cute game.

* [[VideoGame/OpenBOR [=OpenBOR=]]], just like ''M.U.G.E.N'', can have very inappropiate content too. Many players new to the engine and its mods can be horrified by the sheer amounts of mature content that can be put in a BeatEmUp engine (and keep it in mind that there were comparatively less violent (read: BloodierAndGorier) games, with some exceptions like ''VideoGame/NightSlashers'' and ''VideoGame/ThePunisherCapcom''). Although there's comparatively less sexuality and/or obscenity than ''M.U.G.E.N''...for now.
* ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburVI'' has a T-rating, and marketed as a fighting game to general audiences, one that anyone can enjoy. It's also filled with [[{{Fanservice}} so much sexualization]] that the M-rated, BestKnownForTheFanservice ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series can even look tame by comparison. How much? Ivy wears razor-thin {{dominatrix}} gear as her main costume and fully acts the part. Taki wears [[FormFittingWardrobe tighter-than-skin]] SensualSpandex that highlights her voluptuous figure so much her ''nipples'' are visible while her backside is very well-defined. Sophitia is a PurityPersonified character who just happens to be wearing a MinidressOfPower with a DangerouslyShortSkirt and AbsoluteCleavage. Seong Mi-na rocks a {{Stripperiffic}} two-piece ensemble that amounts to tiny clothes over a pink swimsuit, with {{Underboobs}} and BareYourMidriff, while MaleGaze greatly admires her rear. Those are just ''four examples'' in a game that's absolutely full of it, and even the youngest characters [[AgeInappropriateDress are played no less for fanservice]] than the older ones. In fact, its two {{Guest Fighter}}s are [[VideoGame/TheWitcher Geralt]] and [[VideoGame/NierAutomata 2B]], both from M-rated, sexual, kid-''un''friendly games themselves, which might indicate that it was never meant for kids to begin with. Even disregarding the abundant sexuality, the game is still ''far'' from kid-friendly with coarse language, violence, mass deaths featured in story mode, and morally complex themes. Might be best to not play this in front of your kids, to say the least.

* ''VideoGame/{{Wadanohara}}'' is a nice, relaxing RPG with a easygoing story and cute character designs, and remains that way for about 2/3s of the whole game. The last third? [[spoiler:The game goes full SurpriseCreepy with {{Gorn}} and BodyHorror]], and the less said about [[spoiler:[[RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil what Sal does to Wadnohara]]]] the better.
* ''VideoGame/SchemingThroughTheZombieApocalypse'' is an adventure episodic game that takes place within a WorldOfFunnyAnimals and has a bright cartoon art style akin to a children's comic book. For starters, it also takes place in a ZombieApocalypse with BlackComedy and BloodyHilarious throughout, as well as strong profanity and drug use, giving it an un-kidfriendly M-rating.

* ''VideoGame/Wynncraft'': As the name suggests, it takes place in Minecraft. The game's most prominent MMORPG server, its blocky, pixelated graphics generally suggest a childish experience. And while it's often comical or lighthearted, don't let that lure you into a false sense of security--a number of quests get pretty dark, especially in the higher level ranges. Special mentions go to [[spoiler: finding out the iron golems all around Wynn and Gavel are made from [[AndIMustScream trapped villagers]]]], and [[spoiler: the Silent Expanse, the creepy endgame area where [[EyeScream the trees have eyes--and the citizens of Lutho don't.]]]] Oh, and let's not forget [[spoiler: the ancient genocide of the Doguns, and subsequent centuries of propaganda to make the dwarves believe it was justified.]]

* [[VideoGame/OpenBOR [=OpenBOR=]]], just like ''M.U.G.E.N'', can have very inappropiate content too. Many players new to the engine and its mods can be horrified by the sheer amounts of mature content that can be put in a BeatEmUp engine (and keep it in mind that there were comparatively less violent (read: BloodierAndGorier) games, with the some exceptions like ''VideoGame/NightSlashers'' and ''VideoGame/ThePunisherCapcom''). Although there's comparatively less sexuality and/or obscenity than ''M.U.G.E.N''...for now.

* Holy shit, where to begin with ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}''? There is a chance whenever you go into Youtube that has Turok videos: you will find the occasional comment that has them explain that when their parents or grandparents bought them this game [[WhatAnIdiot (despite the cover featuring the protagonist fighting a dinosaur with BLOOD)]], they thought it was appropriate for them. To put it very mildly, it was never intended to get into the hands of kids. Want some examples? Exhibit A, the [[YourHeadAsplode Cerebral Bore,]] and exhibit B, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath the heroes slicing off necks, making holes in chests]] and flat out making them DeaderThanDead! These games gave a lot of kids nightmares, and for a damn good reason. The first game alone brought many frights and unsettling moments, with the sequels adding more gore and bloodshed along the way.

* Oh boy, where to begin with ''VideoGame/{{Turok}}''? There is a chance whenever you go into Youtube that has Turok videos: you will find the occasional comment that has them explain that when their parents or grandparents bought them this game [[WhatAnIdiot (despite the cover featuring the protagonist fighting a dinosaur with BLOOD)]], they thought it was appropriate for them. To put it very mildly, it was never intended to get into the hands of kids. Want some examples? Exhibit A, the [[YourHeadAsplode Cerebral Bore,]] and exhibit B, [[FamilyUnfriendlyDeath the heroes slicing off necks, making holes in chests]] and flat out making them DeaderThanDead! These games gave a lot of kids nightmares, and for a damn good reason.

* It's easy to mistake ''VideoGame/TinkerQuarry'' for a kid's game, with the colorful cast of Living Toys and all. But the game has some dark themes that make it very unsuitable for children. The protagonist has a tragic backstory apparently involving abusive, alcoholic parents, the Dollhouse is a CrapsaccharineWorld where many toys live in fear of being violently attacked at any moment, blood is shown onscreen (from Adeline and some of the rats)... don't let your kids play it