10 Genius Ways Video Games Punished You For Killing

8. Insanity - The Sinking City (And More)

The Sinking City
Frogwares

The Sinking City isn't the first game to have an insanity meter. From Eternal Darkness to Amnesia, horror titles often put the playable character's sanity at the forefront of the experience, with encounters with monsters and the supernatural taking their toll on the hero's mental wellbeing.

However, nothing in The Sinking City depletes that meter quite like killing an innocent human being. As an open world game, you spend a lot of time exploring this Lovecraftian environment and interacting with people who aren't monsters out for your blood (they might just be your regular ol' nice monsters). Whipping out a gun and shooting these people (or battering them with your shovel, whatever you fancy), will cause a temporary madness.

Not only does this impact gameplay by shaking the screen and making the visuals blurry, it also increases the chance of spawning in creatures that, unlike the poor civilians you've just offed, will fight back.

Contributor

Josh has over 11 years of experience as a published writer, having worked full time as a content producer at WhatCulture for nine years. In that time he has created hundreds of articles, videos and podcast episodes for multiple channels, specialising in subjects such as gaming, horror and film & TV. He now primarily works as a senior content producer and presenter on WhatCulture Gaming where he co-hosts the WhatCulture Gaming Podcast, a top 3 most listened to gaming podcast in the UK that he co-created in 2018. Over the years he has reviewed several high-profile gaming releases, covered industry events with on-site reporting, covered breaking news, and even kicked off his interviewing career by chatting to childhood hero, Tommy Wiseau.