10 Secret Ways Video Games Make You Feel Like A Badass

2. Secret Low HP Buff

Crash bandicoot
Irrational Games

The fight has raged on for longer than you had expected it would. You’re exhausted. You’re down to your last health point. Coming out of this alive seems impossible, especially since the enemy accuracy seemed so perfect up until now.

You dive out of cover, blast your foes to oblivion, and get back to your feet.

How the hell did I manage that? I only had 1HP!”

Well - a wee secret to reveal to you here - you... kinda didn’t only have 1HP.

Most games nowadays have some form of hidden “low health invisible reserve”, which basically means that, when you have super-low health, you probably have much more than you assumed, or that the counter signifies.

One game series famous for this is Bioshock, which gave the player “about one third of their health” at the 10HP mark, giving the player the last-gasp incentive to fight through to the end despite being in a better state than they thought.

Hey, I’m not saying you don’t really play better when you’re at low health, mate, I’m just saying that... you had a wee bit extra help...th.

Healthp.

Nah, that one doesn’t work, forget that last line.

Contributor
Contributor

Hiya, you lot! I'm Tommy, a 39-year-old game developer from Scotland - I live on the East coast in an adorable beachside village. I've worked on Need for Speed, Cake Bash, Tom Clancy's The Division, Driver San Francisco, Viva Pinata: Trouble in Paradise, Kameo 2 and much more. I enjoy a pun and, of course, suffer fools gladly! Join me on Twitter at @TotoMimoTweets for more opinion diarrhoea.