8 Video Games That Punished You For Being Good

One of the most distinguishing features of Silent Hill that sets it apart from the likes of other survival horror titles, is that they are, at their core, tales of morality.

They speak of the pains of the human condition and what one would be prepared to put themselves through when confronted by guilt and regret, and as such a lot of the titles actually operate on a pseudo-morality system when it comes to determining which ending the player gets.

If you refuse to kill creatures or spend time comforting other NPC's then the game tracks this, and inversely if the player ignores their own low health or attacks wantonly then this too will play into the endings. Silent Hill 3 however features one moment that actively punishes you for doing what is on every conceivable level a good thing.

Partway through the game, Heather encounters a woman who is weeping and alone in a confessional booth. As you sit and listen to the tale of how her child was murdered and so she took vengeance on the murderer and killed them, she then asks Heather for forgiveness.

At this point your empathy bone is probably close to breaking as of course, you want to offer her support and forgiveness for a crime she committed out of grief and a misaligned sense of justice. Yet doing this nets you negative Karma! You're actively punished for trying to help someone! Is it because we've not been ordained? or is the game, and this is very likely, trying to tell you that only God can forgive.

Which if this is the case is brilliant in the context of the main game, but utterly harsh to the player!