8 Most Stressful QTE's In Video Game History
6. The Barber - Shenmue II
A moment so infamous, it systematically divided the fandom of Shenmue right down the middle, as if a razor-sharp switchblade had cleaved them in two.
Some hold this aloft as one of the few examples of a Quick-Time Event done right, and others decry this as the moment that sent their blood pressure through the roof.
In Shenmue II, our loveable doltish hero is out looking for answers (because when is he not?) and finds himself in the literal hot seat of a Barber who claims that his quest for vengeance is one that needs to be tempered with patience. As he proceeds to tell you that calmness begets the peace of mind needed for the job at hand, you can feel something begin to shift in the atmosphere.
Then suddenly! A QTE! You hammer the button... and... fail?!
What's going on here?!
Turns out that you need to listen to the barber rather than react and resist your urges to hammer every prompt presented to you in order to show calmness in the face of danger. Only then will you succeed.
Still, it's a horribly tense moment to sit through and easily one of the most stressful QTE's ever made.