10 Video Games That Punish You For Trying To Be Cool

Echo came and went in the blink of an eye in 2017, but this indie stealth game sure had one hell of a hook. The game takes place in a gigantic palace which creates copies of the player character, En, for her to fend off.

Though you're technically free to do whatever you want, movement-wise, the game actively discourages - nay, punishes, even - those who strut their stuff without a care in the world.

That's because the copies of En, called Echoes, are periodically uploaded with the player's own actions, which the palace records throughout gameplay.

So, if En runs, shoots her gun, vaults over walls, opens doors, and so on, the Echoes will be able to perform these actions in the next round, ensuring that the more diverse and dynamic your actions, the more you'll also be facing off against in the next phase.

It's a frankly ingenious concept which forced players to think long and hard about every move they made. And yet, Echo was sadly a commercial failure despite decent reviews, causing developer Ultra Ultra to close their doors in 2019.