10 Video Games That Punished You For Saving

We're all familiar with no-win scenarios. In chess, it's called zugzwang. In Star Trek, it's known as the Kobayashi Maru simulation. And in the world of gaming, it's referred to as softlocking. If you save in a game after skipping required actions or items, you might find yourself trapped in an area, without the means to escape.

Although this issue has occurred in many games, one of the worst offenders is the GameCube title, Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. After finding the Echo Visor in Sanctuary Fortress, you'll gain the ability to detect sonic devices. After you blast the three sonic interfaces nearby, the central door will deactivate, allowing you to leave.

At least, that's the idea. If you blast one or two of the sonic locks, leave the room to save, and then return, the remaining lock(s) will not appear, meaning the exit door will stay shut. Although you can perform the Kip Dash or the Roll Ball Jump to escape, these techniques are so hard to pull off, most players don't bother.

Thankfully, this glitch was remedied when Echoes was ported for the Wii. But if this happened to you while playing the GameCube version, you had no choice but to start all over again.