History Main / ImpassableDesert

* ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' has exhaustion zones on Tatooine, if you get too far away from a civilized area, you'll start to rapidly die of heat exhaustion. Something similair happens with hypothermia on Hoth.

* In ''VideoGame/KingdomOfLoathing'', visiting The Arid, Extra-Dry Desert does nothing but produce negative status effects if you go there without first visiting The Oasis to get the Ultrahydrated effect. (Notable in that the desert used to show up ''first'', requiring you to pick up some nasty effects before The Oasis becomes available.)

* ''StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' has exhaustion zones on Tatooine, if you get too far away from a civilized area, you'll start to rapidly die of heat exhaustion. Something similair happens with hypothermia on Hoth.
* ''{{Terranigma}}'' has the Taklama desert which can only be crossed if you get directions from some nomads. It acts as a broken bridge because you can only do so after you finish the zombie town.
* In the MMO ''KingdomOfLoathing'', visiting The Arid, Extra-Dry Desert does nothing but produce negative status effects if you go there without first visiting The Oasis to get the Ultrahydrated effect. (Notable in that the desert used to show up ''first'', requiring you to pick up some nasty effects before The Oasis becomes available.)

* In TheChroniclesOfNarnia, the [[TheEmpire Calormene Empire]] believes it is impossible to conquer Narnia, despite outnumbering them many times over, due to the desert between them being impassable to large armies. Rabadash, in a moment of rare cleverness, thinks of a way: send a small army of experienced survivors to launch a surprise attack to conquer and hold Archenland (the smaller kingdom that separates the desert from Narnia), and then the Empire can send its forces over in small groups until the garrison is strong enough to launch an all-out invasion. [[spoiler: It might have worked, if the Narnians and Archenlanders hadn't been warned in advance and defeated the initial invasion.]]

* In the MMO ''KingdomOfLoathing'', visiting The Arid, Extra-Dry Desert does nothing but produce negative status effects if you go there without first visiting The Oasis to get the Ultrahydrated effect. (Notable in that the desert shows up ''first'', requiring you to pick up some nasty effects before The Oasis becomes available.)

* In TheChroniclesOfNarnia, the [[TheEmpire Calormene Empire]] believes it is impossible to conquer Narnia, despite outnumbering them many times over, due to the desert between them being impassable to large armies. Rabadash, in a moment of rare cleverness, thinks of a way; send a small army of experienced survivors to launch a surprise attack to conquer and hold Archenland, (the smaller kingdom that separates the desert from Narnia,) and then the Empire can send its forces over in small groups until the garrison is strong enough to launch an all-out invasion. [[spoiler: It might have worked, if the Narnians and Archenlanders hadn't been warned in advance and defeated the initial invasion.]]

** Even ''[[VideoGame/PokemonColosseum Pokemon XD]]'', a game where CrossingTheDesert is basically all you do (since Orre is a giant desert), has an example. The sand in a certain part of Orre is a different consistency from the kind that's everywhere else, so your scooter just gets stuck unless you get it fitted with hover jets.

* ''VideoGame/TotalWarNapoleon'' features attrition if you're currently in a desert, this will reduce the number of your men in your army; not impassible but highly ill-advised to attempt to cross the desert to attack lone cities. You can however recruit camel units that suffer no such attrition.

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIV'': The desert is surrounded by a mountain range, leaving an inn as a choke point. You can't cross until you obtain a wagon.

* You can't cross the snow plains in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyII'' until you recruit Josef and acquire his snowmobile. Not a desert, but the same principle.

* The [[MeaningfulName Desert of Shifting Sands]] in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyV'' can't be passed until the party learns of and defeats the sandworm in the area (which somehow makes linear paths through the moving sand).

* ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIII'' has the aptly-named 'Desert of Death'. It's made even more annoying by a translation error in the directions for crossing it. There's also one in ''VideoGame/BreathOfFireIV'', but it's not quite as irritating.

* In ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII'', Gwydion cannot enter the desert without defeating Medusa, which requires using the right item.

* In ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', one of the three areas of the Dune Sea on Tatooine requires a map to enter, presumably to avoid getting lost. However, once you enter the area, [[FridgeLogic it has the same boundary-marker posts as the other two areas...]]

* FinalFantasyXII has the unending sandstorm in the Westersand which blocks passage to the North until the player defeats the monster which is creating it (but first they have to get a special item to not get lost in the storm in order to ''find'' the boss).
* FinalFantasyVII has the desert surrounding the Gold Saucer. You can't enter it without the Buggy or a Chocobo. Not much of a problem since you can just go around it, but it ''does'' contain an enemy from which you can learn the DiscOneNuke, Aqualung.

* ''{{Terranigma}}'' has the Taklama desert which can only be crossed if you get directions from some nomads. It acts as a broken bridge because you can only do so after you finish the zombie town.

* ''VideoGame/Terranigma'' has the Taklama desert which can only be crossed if you get directions from some nomads. It acts as a broken bridge because you can only do so after you finish the zombie town.

* ''Terranigma'' has the Taklama desert which can only be crossed if you get directions from some nomads. It acts as a broken bridge because you can only do so after you finish the zombie town.

* ''VideoGame/Terranigma'' has the Taklama desert which can only be crossed if you get directions from some nomads. It acts as a broken bridge because you can only do so after you finish the zombie town.

* {{Patapon}}: You can't cross the desert without the rain juju, because just walking on the ground hurts your patapons.

* In ''QuestForGloryII'', you were heavily advised to purchase a Saurus before entering the desert, because you could command the Saurus to "go home" and it would return you to the city. You could still traverse the desert alone if you wanted, but with no map to chart your location with it was up to ''you'' to remember where the town was; forget, and you could become permanently lost as the desert extended infinitely with no landmarks to guide you. If you stubbornly refuse to buy the Saurus when the saurus salesman shows up, the game [[DroppedABridgeOnHim drops a bridge on you]].

** Even ''VideoGame/PokemonXD'', a game where CrossingTheDesert is basically all you do (since Orre is a giant desert), has an example. The sand in a certain part of Orre is a different consistency from the kind that's everywhere else, so your scooter just gets stuck unless you get it fitted with hover jets.

* ''{{Dune}}'' features an entire planet that's an impassable desert. People are forced to inhabit only a few cities and crossing the desert without stillsuits and thumpers (to confuse the ginormous sandworms) will be certain death. Even the Fremen can't cross without stillsuits though they've learned to manage without thumpers.

** Even ''PokemonXD'', a game where CrossingTheDesert is basically all you do (since Orre is a giant desert), has an example. The sand in a certain part of Orre is a different consistency from the kind that's everywhere else, so your scooter just gets stuck unless you get it fitted with hover jets.

* In ''KingsQuestIII'', Gwydion cannot enter the desert without defeating Medusa, which requires using the right item.