10 Biggest WTF Moments In Recent Video Games

It's a palpable feeling when a gamer conquers a particular tricky level, triumphs over a nightmarishly tough boss, or unlocks a powerful new skill.

However, it's the moments that catch players off-guard that leave that resonate most. Aerith's death in Final Fantasy VII was devastating, because it was completely unexpected. Facing Psycho Mantis in Metal Gear Solid threw everyone off, since he could read the controls. Because Doki Doki Literature Club started off innocently, no one was prepared when the narrative took a dark turn.

To keep the industry fresh, modern developers are always looking for ways to make titles more subversive. If a story is set up to go in one direction, nobody is ready when things venture down a different path. Players are startled when they think they've defeated the final boss, only to learn they're barely at the halfway point. If a game freaks us out with a good-old fashioned jump-scare, it's burned in our memories forever.

Even though the entries on the list range between funny, terrifying, heart-breaking, and irritating, they all share one thing in common - not a single soul saw these WTF moments coming.

Hades opens with demi-god, Zagreus, attempting to leave his father's domain, hoping to find his mother, Persephone, in Greece.

Since Zag literally lives in the bowels of Hell, his quest is easier said than done. To escape Hades' gargantuan maze, the prince of the underworld has to contend with countless demons, a myriad of booby traps, health-sapping enemies, furies, a minotaur, and a skeletal hydra. After Zagreus reaches the gates to the mortal realm, he'll have to duke it out with the God of the Dead himself.

Just to make things more unfair, Zag goes back to the start every time he bites the dust. Because of this roguelike title's ghastly difficulty curve, Zag will perish umpteen times, battle thousands of enemies, and traverse through hundreds of chambers before finally triumphing over his dastardly dad. As a result, it's deeply satisfying when our plucky protagonist reaches the surface and locates Persephone.

But to Zagreus' horror, he learns he cannot survive in the human world. Mere moments after meeting his dear mother, Hades' rebellious son is cast back home.

Somehow, it gets worse. For Zagreus to truly reunite with his mom, he'll need to navigate through the labyrinthine prison all over again and defeat Hades... six more times.

It goes without saying that there wasn't a single person who wasn't sideswiped by this revelation. Just before meeting Persephone, players were under the impression they were moments away from victory. In reality, they had only completed 15% of their main campaign.