8 Ingenious Villain Foreshadowings In Video Games
Half-Life's G-Man was keeping an eye on you from the beginning.
No story would be complete without a good villain or ten lurking around the corner.
A lot of the time, these guys choose to hide themselves away until the very end (or at least until they're ready to swoop in and give our heroes the old left-right-goodnight).
And when this happens, the story will often drop some pretty damn subtle hints along the way that give you some prior warning that someone - or something - will eventually be out for your blood.
When it comes to video games, in which you're given a lot more agency over the pace and direction of the story, foreshadowing usually requires you to look out for hints at all times, even going out of your way to get an intriguing glimpse of what's to come.
So, whether these things are stuffed away in a secret room somewhere, or right in front of your nose the whole time, the fact remains that the following are some of the most fascinating instances of villain foreshadowing gaming has ever known.
8. Metroid Husks - Metroid II: Return Of Samus
After being hassled by the eponymous life-sucking creatures countless times before, Samus Aran finally takes the fight to the Metroids themselves in Metroid II: Return of Samus. Landing on planet SR388, her mission this time is pretty simple: Kill every single blasted Metroid in existence.
There are 47 of them scattered throughout the map, and the series' classic Metroidvania formula opens up new pathways and areas after defeating specific numbers of them. Without a minimap or waypoints, either, there's no way of knowing where they are, aside from exploring every nook and cranny the old-fashioned way.
What the game does to aid you on this quest, however, is give you frequent early sightings of Metroids' discarded husks, indicating that one is nearby (and, by extension, that you're going the right way).
Not only is this a useful gameplay mechanic but it also gives you that unique feeling of dread every time you come across one of these cracked shells. Just around the corner is an enemy that will potentially tear you a new one, so while the foreshadowing here is pretty short notice, somehow that just makes it all the more impactful.