10 Video Games That Made Us Look Like Idiots
These games gave us a digital dunce hat.
What are video games supposed to be above all else? Fun, of course - the highest level of escapist entertainment where players can be transported to far-flung worlds and play a more active role in proceedings than in any other media form.
And while it's a pretty basic, general rule of business not to make your customers ever feel like they're stupid, these 10 video games all dared to do just that, for better or worse.
Rather than keeping the pleasurable dopamine hits coming as expected, these games had the gumption to go in the other direction entirely and make players feel like they boasted a mere double-digit IQ.
Whether a small facet of gameplay or a more prevailing component, in each case players were left exasperated, frustrated, and perhaps occasionally amused that the game dared to question their intellect quite so blatantly.
These games all left players reflecting on how smart they really were (or not) after all, having been shamed, hoodwinked, and otherwise humiliated by games that, more often than not, were otherwise pretty damn great...
10. "Try Jumping Off" - Dark Souls
To the untrained observer, Dark Souls players already look plenty foolish, flinging themselves headlong into the same tough encounter over and over again in what's surely the gaming equivalent of slamming your head into a brick wall.
But there's another aspect of the series which harbours an altogether more infuriating potential, to get the better of players just as they let their guard down.
The franchise allows players to leave notes for others to read, and because this involves the Internet, some of course use the system to troll others.
We've all fallen - quite literally - for at least a note or two left on a cliff edge which says something like "Try jumping off" or "Treasure below." Curiosity has a habit of getting the better of us, and we quickly realise we've made a fatal mistake - trusting an anonymous person online.
That leap of faith leads to a swift death as you find nothing but pavement below, leading to immediate anger at both the offending troll and oneself, that you dared take their digital word for it.
At least in the bleak, unforgiving world of Dark Souls, it's a rather appropriate payoff to somebody supposedly offering a helping hand.