10 Cringeworthy Video Game Scenes That Made You Feel Dirty

By Michael Downie /

9. Peeking On Meryl In Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid is, quite rightly, revered as one of the defining games of the original incarnation of the Playstation. It had everything, a huge and complex story, memorable boss fights, freedom in how you approached nearly every situation and a lead character with a voice so gravelly you'd think he gargled bricks every morning. Then there was Meryl, the strong, powerful heroine of the game who's survival was dependent on how fast you could hammer the Circle button in one particular scene midway through the game. When you first encounter Meryl, quite early on, she's locked up in a holding cell doing what we would expect all mercenary soldiers to be doing, working out. You find her by climbing in a vent as you're looking for the DARPA chief who is held in another cell. As you crawl through the vent, you spot her below you, just working out by herself, which in itself is innocent enough. However, if you meet a certain set of conditions, when you crawl through the vent she'll be doing the exercises without her pants on, just in her underwear. What makes this creepy is that to trigger it, you really have to want to see it, because it involves climbing in and out of the vent a number of times to trigger the change.