9 Clever Video Games That Punish You For Misbehaving
"Stop, stop... they're already dead!"
The best thing about video games is the freedom they give players to forge their own experience. It's entirely possible to try and inhabit the mind of whatever character you're controlling, playing carefully and with the sole intent of completing whatever task the narrative demands.
At the same time, it can also be fun to play completely erratically, throwing aside "morals" and making whatever random, chaotic decision will lead to the most fun. After all, not every game is concerned with a strict narrative or a defined sense of character.
But that doesn't mean that video game developers don't have their own intentions for players. In fact, there are a bunch of way developers like to try and prohibit bad behaviour, even if they aren't particularly serious.
From lighthearted wrist slaps to actually locking out content, here are nine clever video games that punish you for misbehaving.
9. Cuccos In The Legend Of Zelda Don't Take Kindly To Being Attacked
When it comes to video game punishments, this is one of the most famous and well-loved. It teaches players a simple yet important message: animals don't take too kindly to being attacked.
The detail first appeared in the SNES Zelda title A Link To The Past. In the game, if Link attacks the chickens (or "Cuccos" as they're known in-game) too many times they'll gang up and attack him right back, swarming the screen in a frantic cloud of feathery rage and destruction.
The "Cucco's Revenge Squad" has several variations. In the Oracle games, for example, an enormous Cucco is summoned to dispatch Link, while in Phantom Hourglass only red Cuccos become enraged. Regardless, animal cruelty organisations the world over must surely rejoice at such justice.