10 Times Video Games Used Reverse Psychology (And It Totally Worked)

Hideo Kojima loves toying with players and ensuring they're kept off an even keel throughout his games, and he's never done that more masterfully than in the final stages of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty.

In one pivotal moment, when you're running around Arsenal Gear's bowels in the nude, you'll receive yet another concerning codec call from "Colonel Campbell," who will urge the player to "turn the game console off right now" and "cut the power right now."

It might seem stupid to players in 2021, but 20 years ago it didn't seem inconceivable that Kojima was actually being serious, and that the game somehow needed to register your PS2 console being shut down in order for progress to continue.

After the insanity of the Psycho Mantis controller trick in the first game, all bets were off. As a result, anyone who played MGS2 at the time will likely know at least a few people who complied with Campbell and literally turned their console off.

There are still message boards today littered with people confessing that they did.

Of course, what the game really wants is for you to keep playing, as this is nothing more than a fake-out intended to throw players off and keep them on their toes. It sure as hell worked.