5 Most Embarrassing Ways to Die in Video Games

Falling to Your Death

Deaths in video games are there to teach the player what not to do. It’s important to learn from mistakes and move on. Stuck on a tough boss? Study the boss’ movements and attack when the opportunity presents itself. Having trouble getting through a tough platforming section? Keep calm and focus your attention on timing your jumps and landing on the correct platform. However, sometimes video game deaths are downright embarrassing, and there is nothing to learn from these deaths. These video game deaths are the equivalent of accidentally choking and coughing when drinking a glass of water. The brain knows to close the valve between the esophagus and trachea to keep water out, but every once in a while it happens to all of us. These are five embarrassing video game deaths that happened to all of us, at least once.

Surging through the game, cutting down all those who oppose you with your mighty sword. You use deadly precision, perfectly timed evasions, and quick thinking to get through your enemies, nothing can stop you now. The next checkpoint is straight ahead, just beyond a simple jump. You ramp up speed and go for the jump, but something awful occurs. The character either jumps over the platform or just barely misses it, it doesn’t matter, you fall down toward your death.

Some video games implement an invisible wall to prevent the player from simply walking off a cliff, or the character grapples the edge of a platform to avoid fall damage, but some games are more than happy to allow players to walk off a ledge to their deaths. The most frustrating thing about falling to your death is that it occurs at the most inopportune times. It always seems to happen right before a checkpoint or just by accidentally nudging the analog stick just a bit too much for the character to walk off the platform (looking at you, Dark Souls). Some platformers or action games implement difficult jumps to test the skill of the player, dying during these sections are not embarrassing, it’s a core part of the game. The real frustration crops up on a death that was very easily avoidable, a mistimed jump, running too fast near the edge, or not looking at the screen as the character simply walks off the platform. These video game deaths can lead to a loss of progress and force the player to go through a challenging area again. There are more unsatisfying ways to die in video games, but this is one of the lamest.

This post was originally written by Jose Aranda.

Blowing Yourself Up With an Explosive

Cooking a grenade takes skill and great anticipation, throwing a perfectly timed grenade that blows up as soon as it gets near an enemy is one of the most satisfying ways to kill an opponent, especially during online play. One of the most unsatisfying and embarrassing ways to die is cooking a grenade for too long and having it blow up in your hands. It’s one of the least honorable ways to die on the battlefield.

Instead of ensuring progress toward the next area, you die by your own hand. These ridiculous video game deaths are not just for bad grenades throws; they can occur with poorly aimed RPG’s, poorly timed C4 bombs, or shooting a red barrel that is next to you. What adds to the frustration sometimes is the fact that you sometimes have a chance to run, but your brain is so upset with you, that it keeps you from moving away from the blast radius and makes you pay for your mistake.

Running Out of Stamina

Trapped inside an old, decrepit house; the only source of light is a dimly lit old-fashioned oil lamp. There are loud, inhuman sounds coming from the basement, you make your way to the front of the house to escape this madness when suddenly, a large eldrich monstrosity emerges from the cellar. It is time to run. You make a break for the door and run outside, the monster giving chase. The car parked outside is the only thing that can save you, all you have to do is reach it before it is too late. As you keep running, breathing becomes difficult, legs start to cramp up, and you begin to slow down. The car is not far away, but slowing down has allowed the creature to catch up, it impales you with one of its strange and sharp appendages.

It’s odd how in horror games, there is an abundance of video game deaths that are quite satisfying or cool looking, but one of the most common ones is also one of the weakest. Running out of stamina when getting chased by something that is trying to kill you removes a bit of the immersion from playing a video game. It seems like all playable characters are serious chain smokers who have asthma and have never done cardio at the gym once in their lives. Even the most out of shape person in the world would be able to run at his or her top speed for more than six seconds, but Sebastian Castellanos can only do it for five. You would imagine that adrenaline would kick in at some point.

This type of death isn’t exclusive to the horror genre. Imagine being invaded in Dark souls and mismanaging your stamina with ill-advised rolls and lousy attacks, only to be killed due to being unable to block or dodge in time. Or climbing a mountain to get a great view in Breath of the Wild only to see Link tumble all the way down in what appears to be a long and painful death. These video game deaths are straight embarrassing for anyone that has run on a treadmill at least once. 

Controller Dying or Getting Unplugged

The enemy team is only a few points ahead, but time is running out. The match is nearly over, but there’s enough time to turn the tide and come out of this multiplayer match with a victory. You decide to flank the enemy team to get behind them, and it works. The match is almost over, and this is your last chance. You are ready to drop a grenade or gun them down for the victory; you press the button, and nothing happens. A message appears on the screen, “Dualshock 4 disconnected, charge the battery.” You scramble toward the charger; the enemies haven’t noticed you yet. The charger is plugged in, but by the time the controller is connected, it is too late. You are shot dead. Your team lost the match.

These video game deaths are the easiest to avoid, but always seem to happen every once in a while. It is easy to forget to charge the controller, or sometimes the controller comes unplugged while gaming on a PC. There are times when this occurs where the consequences are insignificant, but then there are times when this takes place at the most inopportune moments. Playing a racing game where there is only one major turn left before victory, only to lose control of your car at the end due to the controller turning off is one of the most infuriating ways to lose an online match.

Glitches

Nothing makes a video game death more unsatisfying and frustrating than dying to a glitch. These video game deaths are the most discouraging since they are not at all the fault of the player. The feeling of helplessness and vulnerability detracts from what was a fun experience just a few moments ago. It’s worst when it happens during online play. Imagine having a great game of Fortnite or PUBG, only to fall under the map and have that be the end of it. It can be even more humiliating if other people see you in a glitch. Being found stuck in a wall and having them taunt you right before killing you can leave a sour taste in anyone’s mouth. There is nothing that could have been done to avoid such an embarrassing fate. These deaths do happen, and the only thing to do is load up the last save point.

These are only some of the most embarrassing video game deaths that every gamer has experience at least once. These type of deaths do sometimes allow for some funny stories to be shared with some friends but with everything considered, it’s best that these deaths are avoided as much as possible.