10 Gaming Moments Everyone Wishes They Could Unsee
3. The White Phosphorus Attack - Spec-Ops: The Line
Spec Ops: The Line is a far more interesting and ambitious game than its bland marketing as a me-too military shooter suggested, delving deep into both the physical and psychological cost of war on all sides.
Mid-way through the game, protagonist Walker and his team deploys a white phosphorus attack on an enemy position, with the player even carrying out the battery themselves from a drone.
You then head to the site of the assault, where it's revealed that you didn't just melt a cavalcade of armed enemy soldiers, but also 47 innocent civilians who were simply seeking refuge in the area.
To rub salt in the wound, Walker stumbles upon the charred remains of the civilians, their flesh having melted from the bone.
And worst of all, the game zooms in on the remnants of a mother cradling her child, their bodies both grotesquely disfigured by the white phosphorus.
Needless to say, you won't want to read any further on what white phosphorus can do to the human body for the sake of your sanity, but Spec-Ops: The Line gave players a pretty damn good idea in supremely feel-bad fashion.
Even over a decade on, the shot of the mother and child is seared into the mind of anyone who's ever plated the game.