10 Times Video Games "Helped" (And Made Everything Worse)
Hope you have a spare million dollars.
Much like life, there will often come a time in a video game where you could do with a little help. This is the exact reason Dark Souls - a series infamous for being as difficult as making a snowman in June - still had a multiplayer aspect where you could recruit a pal to help you beat bosses.
Because even the hardest of games will try to help you out in little ways. There's no fun in you getting stuck in one area forever, after all.
But, for some franchises, their attempts at aid come with such big drawbacks that it could easily be seen as no help at all.
Similarly, there are plenty of games that know you expect aid in some form, and use this to sabotage you on purpose. Life isn't fair, and as it turns out, neither are plenty of video games.
Whether the road was paved with good or ill intentions, though, there's one thing fair to say; you'll usually never see it coming. And while being blindsided by a surprise negative outcome is never exactly a treat, it's at worst a funny story to tell down the line - so long as you remember to save frequently.
10. Data Drain - .hack
When you first get to use the Data Drain skill, you basically feel like you've developed the coolest superpower of all time. Using the ability against an enemy either levels them down and gives you a valuable virus core, or otherwise provides you with some useful items and even weapons.
However, it also comes at a pretty high cost, which is worth remembering when you're running around dunking enemies like an applicant for the Harlem Globetrotters.
Each time you use Data Drain, you're infected with a bit of the very virus you just targeted, which slowly provides worse and worse side effects.
It starts out by reducing stats, which isn't the end of the world if you've been levelling like a good RPG player. Then, it starts to cast harmful spells on you and your party, which is notably worse.
Finally, it begins to get rid of your experience points, which should raise a large neon red flag telling you you're in danger. Continue to use Data Drain, and you'll get an immediate game over for testing the limits of your gaming overlords.