8 Ingenious Villain Foreshadowings In Video Games
2. Nashandra's Cursed Portrait - Dark Souls II
The Dark Souls series' minimalist storytelling formula demands players to actively go looking for answers to their questions, rather than give them out freely in cutscenes and the like. If you haven't kept up with the lore, you may think that Dark Souls II's final boss, Queen Nashandra, comes out of nowhere with no prior buildup.
In fact, without even delving deep into the item descriptions, players can stumble upon what is unquestionably one of the most unique and thought-provoking forms of foreshadowing the genre has ever seen.
The queen herself sits on her throne in the upper levels of Drangleic Castle, but on the floor below that is a room-length portrait of her that may just suggest she's not all that she appears to be.
Approaching this painting will inflict the Curse status on your character, which you'll probably assume to just be an unusual quirk at the time. Only when you descend to the Throne of Want and face the Child of the Abyss in her horrific true form, do you realise that the cursed painting was really a huge hint from the outset.