10 Video Games That REWARDED You For Being An Idiot
When losing was the only way to win.
Generally, most games try and make you feel like you're not a complete gooseberry fool. Unless it's playful mockery, nobody likes to be called dumb, even when you make a decision that, in retrospect, was totally dumb.
Usually, video games try to lessen the impact of your death, by having short loading screens after your demise, and negligible punishments for dying (if any at all). Some, however, go the total opposite direction, and actively reward you for inane, surreal, or downright idiotic manoeuvres.
It's perfectly, really, because these actions lead to a positive result despite how ill-advised they seem. Not only does this create a beautiful surprise if you manage to accidentally do one, it also softens the blow of what would otherwise often be considered a mistake.
Getting eaten by a pterodactyl is the move of an idiot - but getting eaten by a pterodactyl who then reveals a secret area to you is the move of someone so smart, they just sometimes look like an idiot.
Good things can come from stupid ideas - both in life, and in the ever-surprising world of video games.
10. Pressing A Button Labelled "Don't Push" - Luigi's Mansion
A substantial part of the plot of Luigi's Mansion is kickstarted by you doing something that is so dumb that anyone would call it out were it to be in a horror film. As Luigi, you remove a poster helpfully labelled "DANGER", look at a button labelled "Don't Push", and then naturally decide to press it.
This frees countless ghosts, not to mention King Boo, who is surprisingly intimidating here for a cartoon ghost. While it should be totally obvious that pressing this button is a dumb move, it's one that you will be severely punished for not doing - as you literally cannot complete an integral portion of the game unless you suck it up and become that one dumb horror movie protagonist.
And thus, you dive headfirst into stupidity, and into busting a whole lot more ghosts. It's unclear if this decision is supposed to be all Luigi - proving him to be the well-meaning but perhaps not ingenious one of the brothers - or if you instead are piloting him towards a terrible fate that he desperately doesn't want. Sorry for the trauma, Luigi.