10 Amazing Video Game Items (That Actually Curse You)

The quest for the next piece of loot is a cornerstone of gaming. A more powerful sword. Better armour. A bigger tank. A six-barrel shotgun to replace your boring old two-barrel shotgun. It's a wonderful loop of get something, use it to earn something better, start using the better item. Repeat.

Game designers know this, and take advantage of the fact that humans love this eternal hunt for the next big thing. They love to tease gamers by dangling a shiny new toy in front of us.

On the other side of that chasm. Or after some ridiculous platforming. Or as the prize for a series of brutal boss fights.

Then, after a few hours of tough gaming, you claim your new item by equipping, wearing, or climbing into it. You feel a wave of power wash over you...

Only for your tongue to fall off. Or your allies all turn on you. Or your health is permanently drained to one hit point.

Surprise! Your awesome new bauble is cursed!

Cursed items are a trope as old as literature itself, so it's really no surprise that the concept moved into an area as full of story-telling as gaming. Gamers accept this as part of the fun, and are willing to roll the dice that the benefits of any new toy outweigh the potential damage.

The thing is, gambling often doesn't go your way, which is absolutely true with these incredible gaming items that curse their users.

Not every cursed item is actually an item. Sometimes, curses can be part of the player character, something they must learn to live with.

DMC anti-hero Nero's demonic arm, Devil Bringer, fits this description. Although it has never been explained exactly how Nero got his cursed right arm, at the beginning of DMC 4 it is clearly something that he takes great pains to conceal, not pleased to be sporting a large, blue and red glowing hand that reflects aspects of Nero's character that even he seems not to understand. Most people would certainly feel that they had been dealt a bad hand (pun absolutely intended) by being subjected to this deformity.

The tradeoff is that Devil Bringer is an incredibly durable and powerful tool, allowing Nero to summon a ghostly blue arm that can lift, throw and pull objects much larger than Nero himself, a very useful skill when fighting your way through a world of demons. The Devil Bringer also can absorb powers from other magical items found during gameplay, creating an extremely versatile and valuable weapon by the end of the game.

Unfortunately, Devil Bringer is ripped off at the beginning of DMC 5 by a cloaked figure who ends up being Dante's father. This family drama eventually results in Nero becoming fully demonic and re-growing Devil Bringer in the form of 2 arm-like wings.

Call this whole thing a mixed blessing.