8 Recent Video Game Moments That Literally Blew Your Mind

Now if we're being honest, Elden Ring very firmly stomped our brains into the mud from the moment it revealed its grand setting and scale, as this might well be the title's trump card. Letting players explore and approach new vistas and locations as they see fit gives an unprecedented feeling of excitement to the point where it can feel overwhelming at times.

Yet even when Elden Ring is dialing down the scope and size of its settings, it's still more than capable of blowing your brain to absolute pieces. Take for example the Leyndell Catacombs, which one can find while exploring the Subterranean Shunning-Grounds, which is a dungeon that may, at first, appear like your regular run-of-the-mill puzzles and pain-in-the-ass enemy combo that Elden Ring so loves.

However, there's a subtle twist to this area that once it hits you will leave you reeling for hours afterward.

After exploring the Catacombs you may be confused to find that you've somehow, against all logic, ended up back at the starting area, except to your horror you now find that the entrance to the area has been completely blocked off. So you once again trudge the hallways looking for answers.

Except all you'll find here are echoes. Echoes of enemies you've already beaten, echoes of chests already looted, and yet something is different. Some entrances have shifted, some enemy placements have changed, and it all adds up to an experience that is just so slightly "off" enough that it ends up being absolutely maddening when you come to realize you're stuck inside a loop.

It's a brilliant and never again repeated mechanic, yet seeing how much damage this did to players mentally, that's definitely a good thing.