10 Video Games That Punish You For Being Smart
6. Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice Goes On Forever If You're Skilled Enough
Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice was a great game, but also one that was undeniably rough around the edges. Its combat in particular became deeply repetitive as the game wore on, but still packed enough of a visceral punch to remain somewhat enjoyable.
However, the absolute nadir of this at-times-frustrating combat system came in the title's final level, whereby hero Senua faces off against a literally endless amount of enemies. In a last ditch effort, the player is forced to battle wave after wave of demons, with seemingly no objective other than to win.
Unbeknownst to them though, this sequence actually requires you to be defeated. The only issue is, at this point smart players will no doubt be well attuned to Hellblade's combat system, and so could comfortably continue to defeat enemies long after the encounter is supposed to have ended.
On paper it's a neat idea: thematically, the ending is about how Senua needs to stop fighting and find peace another way. This realisation isn't conveyed mechanically in the moment however, and instead you have players fighting for an hour nonstop wondering what they're getting wrong.