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00:00Now, in the vast majority of video games, when you try to leave the open world or go
00:04outside the area that developers have created, one of two things can happen. Either you hit
00:09an invisible wall, or you die instantly. But you know what? That doesn't always have
00:13to be the case. Because today, we're looking at some really inspired examples of how designers
00:18kept you in the box.
00:20So let's take a look at them, as I'm Jules, this is WhatCulture.com, and these are 8 Genius
00:23Ways Video Games Don't Let You Escape.
00:268. A Mime – Family Guy Video Game
00:29During the early 2000s, in the PlayStation 2 era of video games, an abundance of licensed
00:34games overflowed the industry. Whether it was a movie, cartoon, or anime, all major
00:39IPs were getting a rather mediocre game or two, and among them was Family Guy Video Game.
00:44This game is just what you expect it to be. It is nothing more or less. The combat is
00:49generic, the stealth missions are, well, utterly broken, and while some of the jokes are funny,
00:53most of them fail to capture the cartoon's humour. With all of this said, while most
00:57of the game lacks quality, it does have a pretty clever way of keeping you in it. If
01:01you try to exit the game's central area during its beat-em-up section, you'll hit
01:05an invisible wall. But not just any wall, one that is created by a mime. When you reach
01:10this point, Peter Griffin performs one of his iconic quips, and you can't help but
01:13laugh at the sheer cleverness and humour that this game has implemented. If only in this
01:17one example.
01:18Family Guy Video Game may not be anything special, but the developers were able to genuinely
01:23capture the cartoon's humour at this moment.
01:267. Zombie Dog Attack – Resident Evil
01:29There are few openings in classic video games as iconic as the first cutscene from the original
01:34Resident Evil. The atmosphere is intense, the FMV cutscenes look surprisingly polished,
01:39but also B-movie, it's very weird, and the whole thing perfectly amps you up for what's
01:43to come. After you experience this, you might be so terrified of the zombies, dark corridors,
01:48and inevitable jump scares found in the mansion, that you might try to exit through the front
01:52door and pretend that nothing has happened. But this is a big mistake.
01:56If you're unlucky enough to try this, you'll quickly find yourself bombarded by one of
02:00the zombie dogs that drove you into the mansion. Not only is this jump scare absolutely terrifying
02:04– look at that CGI, woof, that has not aged well – but you then have to fight and kill
02:08the canine consuming precious ammo and resources in the process. And if you do this again,
02:14the same thing will happen. It's a brilliant way of keeping you inside the game, and punishing
02:18you for trying to escape the horror that's within the mansion.
02:21You need to delve deeper into this horrible place, and there won't be an easy way to
02:25get out of it.
02:266. Shark Attack – Crysis
02:29There are many games that you see on this list that will find creative ways of killing
02:33you instantly for trying to leave the open world, but Crysis was one of the first to
02:36implement this way of keeping you in. If you take a boat and try to explore the outer region
02:41of the classic first-person shooter, you might see a little fin come out of the water, reminiscent
02:46of a 70s Spielberg movie. I think it's called E.T.? At first you pay it no mind, but then
02:51you see it again, and this time, it's definitely coming for you. You try and run away to see
02:56if maybe you can make it back into the game's world, but it's already over as the shark
03:00has destroyed your ship, and now there is no escape. Once the shark reaches you, it
03:04will kill you instantly as expected, and leave you in a highly dire state that will likely
03:09make sure you never try to do this again.
03:10Now, there's definitely other games since Crysis with more terrifying and creative monsters
03:14to keep you inside, but this is the first one to do it, and so is the most memorable
03:18in all of gaming, arguably.
03:205. Infinity – Minecraft
03:23Have you ever heard of inflation theory in cosmology? It's a scientific theory that
03:27states that the atoms that comprise our universe multiply amongst themselves infinitely, making
03:31sure that our world technically never ends. This means that no matter what we do, we'll
03:35never be able to escape our universe, just like we'll never be able to escape Minecraft.
03:39When you start playing the iconic indie game and explore its intricate and fascinatingly
03:43randomly generated worlds, you might ask yourself just how far you can go. How much of this
03:48world can you influence, and for how long? The answer is, not much, or at least it was
03:53in the older console versions of the game, as the planet you were on eventually hits
03:56an invisible wall that prevents you from going further. However, in the modern versions of
04:00Minecraft, the game will go on forever.
04:03Compared to other games, the developers didn't bother to create an illusion of a beyond or
04:07some outside world. Instead, they just made sure to keep you in it by making it impossible
04:12to ever leave it.
04:134. The Great Plateau – The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild
04:17When you start Breath of the Wild for the first time, you'll be greeted with one of
04:20the most breathtaking openings in a video game. Exiting your slumber as you witness
04:25the vastness of Hyrule for the first time. However, you won't be getting out of here
04:29any time soon. At first, a simple cliff preventing you from exploring the central area of the
04:33game seems basic and not that especially clever, but there's more going on than you might
04:38realise.
04:39By presenting this seemingly impossible way to get out, players will start to come up
04:42with whatever way possible to reach the other side without attaining the paraglider. Introducing
04:48experimentation and outside-the-box thinking, which is what Zelda is all about. Clever speedrunners
04:52and Zelda players have even discovered ways to make it past this point by using a variety
04:57of tricks and techniques learned over the years to get over that cliff. Only, they then
05:01hit a trigger that takes them back to where they were.
05:03It might be disappointing that you can't skip the Great Plateau entirely, but this
05:07genius move blocking you from the rest of the world encouraged players to keep playing
05:11more than anything else.
05:123. Slender Man – Slender The Arrival – The Legend of Zelda – Breath of the Wild
05:16Slender Man is not exactly somebody you want to encounter. He's tall, terrifying, and
05:19will quickly kill you in a jump scare, especially if you're playing his games. Instead of
05:23searching for the eight pages you need to beat the game, though, you might have this
05:26great idea of just simply leaving and letting Slender figure things out himself, only to
05:30find a variety of fences blocking your way. However, if you're good at platforming,
05:35you might be able to jump through and make it to the other side to reach an area that
05:38the developers didn't intend for you to find. Afterwards, you can explore to your
05:42heart's content, knowing that Slender Man can't get to you here, right? Well, that
05:46is until an ominous message appears on the screen, saying that not even a bug in the
05:51game can save you from him. Slender Man will then kill you before sending you to the Game
05:55Over screen. Like some of the best indie horrors around, Slender Man proves that there's
05:59no natural way to escape, and all you can do is knuckle down and confront him.
06:032. Blood Red Sea – Sea of Thieves There are many terrifying monsters that developers
06:09have put in games to kill you the moment you reach the world border, but Sea of Thieves
06:13has a more subtle way of doing things. If you try to explore beyond what the developers
06:17created, you'll see that the earth and sea will slowly turn blood red. You have more
06:21than enough time to turn back if you so wish, but if you for some reason continue to move
06:26forward, your ship will start to sink, and you along with it, and it won't take long
06:29after that for you to drown as well. When going through the experience, at all times,
06:33you'll be expecting a monster or some creature to appear to deal the finishing blow, letting
06:38your imagination run wild as you try to figure out what to do, only for nothing to happen,
06:42and you die in a rather anticlimactic manner. However, this subtle aspect makes the Blood
06:46Red Sea more terrifying than it would be otherwise, keeping you inside the game, while also ensuring
06:51you'll never want to explore outside ever again.
06:541. Ghost Leviathan – Subnautica When you crash land on the alien planet that
06:59makes up the world of Subnautica, you'll quickly realise that exploring the deep sea
07:03is, well, utterly terrifying. You'll have no idea what you'll find down there. There
07:08might be some innocent aquatic life just trying to get through the day, but at the same time,
07:11you might find a giant monster that definitely wants to kill you. Regardless, if you're
07:16brave enough to journey the ocean and start exploring outside the world the developers
07:19created, prepare to meet something that definitely doesn't want you to live.
07:23As everything gets darker, the computer will ask you if travelling further is worth it.
07:27Of course, you can ignore this and continue, to then find a massive creature called the
07:31Ghost Leviathan. This thing is pure nightmare fuel, but also, it is immortal, meaning that
07:36if you encounter it, there's not much you can do other than await your rather certain
07:40death. We've seen how monsters kill you the moment you go out of bounds before in
07:44games, but none are as terrifying as this.
07:46And there we go, my friends. Those were 8 genius ways video games didn't let you escape.
07:50I hope you enjoyed that, and please let me know what you thought about it down in the
07:53comments section below. As always, I've been Jules, you can go follow me over on Twitter
07:56at RetroJ with a zero, or you can swing by Liv and Let's Dice, where I do all of my
08:01streaming and tabletop gaming outside of work, and it'd be great to see you over there,
08:04my friends.
08:05But before I go, I just want to say one thing. Instead of trying to keep you inside the box
08:09today, I'm going to try and make you bust out of your shell and realise that you are
08:12a big ledge that deserves all of the best things in life, alright? I'm going to pump
08:15you full of positivity so that you can go out there and absolutely smash your life goals
08:18today. And that is by remembering that you deserve love, happiness, and success, and
08:23don't let anything or anyone else tell you otherwise, alright? You are a massive, massive
08:27ledge. Now go out there and smash it.
08:30As always, I've been Jules, you have been awesome, never forget that, and I'll speak
08:34to you soon. Bye.