Across a wide variety of video game genres and titles, a common fail state in games is your character losing a life. It is so common, in fact, that the more inventive or embarrassing ways to die in video games tend to stick out. With that in mind, here are some of the most embarrassing video game deaths.
Time-Out – Sonic CD
Sonic CD has a bizarre defeat condition. If a player needs to be away from the controller for a few minutes, they had better remember to pause. If Sonic doesn’t move around for a few minutes, he’ll jump off the screen with a cheerful “I’m outta here.”
Romancing Morinth – Mass Effect 2
The Asari are a species of blue-skinned, psychic alien women known for their beauty and grace. Unfortunately, some of the Asari possess a rare genetic condition known as Ardat-Yakshi that results in them accidentally boiling the brains of their partner when they get frisky. If Commander Shepard attempts to romance the Ardat-Yakshi, Morinth, he/she immediately falls victim to the condition, resulting in a “Mission Failed” screen.
Care Package Suicides – Call of Duty
Death in Call of Duty multiplayer is a given. Backstabbing a certainty. Mines, grenades, and miraculous shots are all things Call of Duty players learn to deal with. But nothing is more embarrassing than getting killed by your own care package. Seeing yourself die by your own hand in your kill-cam replay is the utter humiliation.
Standing in Fire – World of Warcraft
Probably one of the stupidest ways to die here is standing in fire in World of Warcraft. In dungeons and raids, bosses occasionally spray the area with fire, slime, or acid. Usually, your rapidly draining health is your cue to get out of the way and move to safety. And yet, every once in a while players forget, or try to get in just one last burst of damage before moving, which proves to be their downfall.
Death by Chicken – The Legend of Zelda
The chicken-like cuccos in the Legend of Zelda games are Link’s deadliest enemies. Beware of attacking one of the cuccos. If you do, the entire flock will attack. So remember the pecking orderand don’t get out of line with these feathered foes.
Overcooking Grenades – Any FPS
Anybody who has played a first-person shooter for any length of time will understand this one. Usually, you ready a grenade, and wait for the perfect moment to throw it to deal maximum damage to your enemies. Sometimes it takes just a tad too long to line up a good throw and — BOOM! — you end up blowing yourself up.
Rocket Jumps – Team Fortress 2
Despite being more attack-oriented than most of the other Team Fortress 2 classes, the Soldier has an indispensable skill: rocket jumping. If you know how to pull it off, a well-placed rocket blast can send you clear across the map. The downside is that what goes up must come down, and if you mess up and fall too far, you’ll be dead on impact.
Hit and Run – Grand Theft Auto V
Grand Theft Auto V is full of embarrassing ways to die around every corner. The most embarrassing death is not via firearms or explosions but other drivers. Cross the street at the wrong time and one of the countless bad drivers in San Andreas will happily run you over without a second thought.
Water Slides – Tomb Raider
The 2013 Tomb Raider reboot showed a young Lara Croft trying to survive her first adventure on Yamatai Island. The game became infamous for some of the more gruesome ways it depicted Lara dying, many of which could make this list. For instance, she could be swept away by raging rivers. If not steered properly, she would end up impaled.