They Can See You
Video games help us escape reality—they’re not supposed to step into it. Some developers just love messing with players, introducing us to NPCs who know our names or enemies who control our game files. Some condemn our choices while others outright whisper our names. You never know when your favorite pastime will blur the line between reality and fantasy, but we’re here to share a few examples.
1. Metal Gear Solid
What better way to get into the minds of your players than by getting into their files? Psycho Mantis knows where you’re going. He knows what you’re planning. He controls the game—right down to the vibrations on your controller. The only way to skirt around him is to plug yourself into player 2!
Antonio Fucito from Terni, Italia on Wikimedia
2. FAITH: The Unholy Trinity
For a simple 8-bit game by one guy, you wouldn’t assume Faith is a masterpiece. But all that hard work brought us one of the best horror games ever. In one particularly horrifying moment, you find a simple letter before your controller begins to shake. Suddenly, John melts into a spider-like figure that turns the narrative on its head. Don’t worry, you’ll go back to normal…eventually.
3. Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem
When the character loses their mind, the player should, too. At least, that’s what Eternal Darkness believes. The lower your sanity meter is, the worse it gets for you. Bugs crawl across your screen. The game controls its own volume. Sometimes, it fakes game crashes. While the game doesn’t talk directly to you, it’ll still play with your head.
4. Doki Doki Literature Club
Can’t we just go back to reading our poems? No, no—Monika has far too much in store for you. She can see you. She knows when you’re recording. She’ll even address you by name. Oh, and don’t believe her about the lack of jumpscares.
5. Silent Hill 3
Who would stick their hand in a filthy toilet, hm? Certainly not you, the very player Heather stares down as you force her to jam her hand in the bowl. She knows exactly what you’re doing, and you know what, she doesn’t appreciate it.
Darwin Yamamoto from New York, USA on Wikimedia
6. IMSCARED
We’re scared, too. Try not to let its age bump you—IMSCARED still delivers plenty of creepy elements. Heck, you can’t even make it to the tutorial before your first warning: the game asks you to acknowledge its psychological trickery and then apologizes. It’s all downhill from there.
7. Pony Island
This game didn’t have any adorable ponies at all. It did, however, have a demonic entity fiddling with your game files and sending creepy Steam messages. You’ll also experience a bunch of glitching and personal attacks.
8. Spec Ops: The Line
Interestingly, this game doesn’t rely on dialogue or jump scares. They say the devil’s in the details, and Spec Ops took that to heart. After a series of gut-wrenching missions, the loading screens address you directly. They’ll get into your head. They’ll taunt you. And they’ll remind you that you can’t go home.
Nikita Kachanovsky on Unsplash
9. Undertale
Flowey’s watching you. He knows every choice you make—even across multiple playthroughs—and he’ll remember what you did before reloading. He also looks right at you and even has some commentary about your in-game choices. So, that’s comforting.
CERO, Nintendo, 8-4, Ltd, Temmie Chang and Toby Fox on Wikimedia
10. The Stanley Parable
The Stanley Parable is all about messing with our minds. What seemed like a simple game turned into a fantastic adventure where the narrator anticipates your every move. At one point, the characters even acknowledge that they’re characters.
11. Black & White 2
Heaven forbid you play this game into the night. Now, this mostly happens between 10:00 p.m. and midnight, but that only makes it worse. Either way, a bunch of us were subjected to that creepy whispering voice that hissed our names. How are we supposed to sleep now?
12. P.T.
At this point, we’d love it if we could forget about Lisa and her twitching face. But this was the demo that keeps on giving, and even ten years later, players continue to find new horrors. We already knew we were in for a terrifying treat when the game asked, “Are you sure the only you is you?” But then the radio told us to look behind us. And now, the pause menu isn’t even safe anymore.
Konami Digital Entertainment on Wikimedia
13. Detroit: Become Human
Don’t mind us—we’re just settling in for another long night of important moral decisions. But wait! Chloe’s telling us that our game files are corrupted! (Her half-hearted “oops” didn’t help either.) Luckily, before we could fly into a blind rage, she had the audacity to tell us she was just kidding. Maybe we won’t save her.
KniBaron from Bangkok, Thailand on Wikimedia
14. Inscryption
No one’s safe in Inscryption. The NPCs want out, aware of their existence in a video game. The game itself holds your most important files hostage. Basically, you’re in for a serious ride, and what were we expecting from the same mind that brought us Pony Island?
15. Alan Wake 2
Alan Wake 2 is already a massive trip, but things reach a head during Alex Casey’s incredible monologue. While he doesn’t speak directly to the player, he does have one of the hardest lines in all of recent gaming: “I didn’t know where to look to break the fourth wall.”
16. Baldur’s Gate 3
Thankfully, not every fourth wall break sends us to the bathroom. Sometimes, we just like to spam click our party members to see what happens. Yeah, they don’t like that. Gale spouts some nerdy nonsense, but Karlach flat-out warns you to stop.
Miguel Discart & Kiri Karma on Wikimedia
17. Destroy All Humans!
There were a ton of fourth-wall breaks in this franchise, though we’re really only fans of the second installment. What made the gameplay even more enjoyable was knowing that things weren’t too ridiculous—just clever ways to address the player before things went downhill in the franchise.
18. Madison
“You.” Wait, who? “You.” Do they mean the character? “You.” Oh god, they’re talking about us. That was pretty much our thought process as we rode in the elevator. There’s nothing worse than knowing a horror game recognizes…yes, you.
19. Dead Space 2
It’s bad enough when a game recognizes you or calls out your mistakes. But there’s something particularly jarring about a random NPC screaming at you to stop watching them. Not only that, but players were also treated to the slightest camera movement as well.
Sergey Galyonkin from Raleigh, USA on Wikimedia
20. Cooking Companions
Sadly, this one isn’t like Overcooked! No, this one’s a horror game inspired by Doki Doki, so you know you’re in for some psychological tricks. Sure enough, our entire world shattered by the end of it in one of the craziest breaks in gaming.
