In a lot of video games, the plots are like the plots in porn -- needlessly complicated, filled with cheesy dialogue, and the ones from Japan sometimes involve overzealous tentacle abominations. But some games take great pride in their storytelling capabilities. Specifically, how well they can copy The Usual Suspects, sprinkling details which hint at the big plot twist throughout the game and seeing if players are clever enough to spot them. For example ...
The most recent Wolfenstein games take place in a alternate post-WWII universe wherein the Nazis have taken control (that's right, an alternate universe). Throughout the game, whenever you're not hanging out with Jimi Hendrix, you can find various newspapers clippings that teach you about the state of the world under these Nazis, with one of the tidbits being that there was a serial killer on the loose in Poland. Unfortunately, all the Nazis are a bit too busy to solve this cold case, since they're being brutally slaughtered by you.
BethesdaThey have bigger fish to fry.
If only those kraut detectives had access to the personal diaries of the Malowies Killer -- like you do. Throughout the game, your lover and kickass Nazi killer Anya will read to you from her dead cousin Ramona's diary. In the last chapters, it's revealed that Ramona was the one who strangled, sabotaged, and poisoned her way through Poland. Case solved, right? Except there's a twist: Ramona doesn't exist. The Malowies Killer is still alive, and she's calling from inside the hidden resistance bunker!
That's right, the serial killer was sweet and nurturing Anya all along. But you don't have to wait to the end of the game to find this out. You could just check the collectibles screen -- oh, and speak Polish. In the tab that collects all of the diary entries, there's a generic-looking photo of Anya narrating the pameitnik (Polish for "diary") like she's working on a new season of Serial ...
Bethesda"Dear Diary: Killed a Nazi, also Germans love sausage."
But if you squint hard enough, you can make out three words on the back of the book: "Nazely Do Anya"
BethesdaPamietnik? That's right, Anya is writing The Notebook.
Despite sounding like how this alternate Nazi history version of Ned Flanders would say hello, "nazely do" translates to "property of." So, the cover says "Diary, property of Anya." And what's easier to believe: That stone-cold Nazi killer Anya has always been a stone-cold Nazi killer, or that she put her name all over a teenage serial killer's diary and lived to tell the tale?
In honor of the world's greatest (non-British) detective, the Batman games love to sprinkle clues throughout their levels for only the most dedicated sleuths to find. So like Batman: Arkham Asylum with its secret sequel room and Batman: Arkham City constantly hinting at the Joker's true identity, Batman: Arkham Knight had a few clues up its Bat-sleeve.
Somewhat disappointingly, the game starts with the Joker being dead. Luckily, new big bad Scarecrow knows he's too lacking in the charm department to be a good villain, so he doses Batman with a gas that makes him hallucinate his biggest fear, which conveniently turns out to be the Joker. That must've been a really awkward realization for a man who built his entire life around the assumption that bats are the scariest thing in the world.
Warner Bros EntertainmentThe Riddler is on the loose again! Better raise the Joker Signal and call Jokerman.
Throughout the game, the Joker is mainly used as comic relief, making Metal Gear references and pondering if Two Faces's dick is also half-and-half. But the ghost formerly known as the Clown Prince of Crime can do more than quip -- he can spoil the plot too. When Batman finds out that the Scarecrow has kidnapped Barbara Gordon -- Commissioner Gordon's daughter and Batman's resident tech guru -- he rushes over to save her, only to find her heavily dosed with Scarecrow fear gas and holding a gun. Realizing she can't kill Batman, Barbara does the only rational thing you can when a scary brute in a bat costume is trying to grab you: She blows her own brains out instead.
Except that that didn't happen. As it turns out, Barb didn't die. In fact, she was never even there. The entire scene was all in Batman's head. Many hours later in the game, it's revealed Barbara is perfectly fine. Well, she's being held at gunpoint by Scarecrow and gets thrown off a rooftop, but that's an average Tuesday for anyone who's friends with Bats. The real tragedy is that Batman could've spared himself a lot of grieving if he had been a better detective. Here's why:
Warner Bros EntertainmentAlso note how Joker is swinging his legs back and forth to mock a paralyzed woman. Bruce's psyche is a dick to Barbara.
See how Joker suggestively slides the gun towards Barbara? How can he do that with a physical object, seeing as he's a figment of Batman's imagination? The only logical explanation is that the gun and Barbara (who you can see and pick up the gun) are both as made up as the teleporting purple killer clown in the corner. Of course, it's hard to pay attention to details when we're scared we're about to see a fan-favorite character take her own life.
Taking a welcome break from the franchise's focus on getting radiation poisoning and shooting mutants in the nads, the main quest in Fallout 4 revolves around androids who are trying to pass off as people. But while the game tells us to be on the lookout for robots dressed as humans, it tries to sneak in a greater threat: humans dressed as other humans.
About a third of the way through the main plot, you meet one of the games big factions: the Railroad, an organization mirroring the old Underground Railroad, but saving runaway "synths" instead of slaves. But even after you follow their clues to their secret underground base and guess their super secret password, RAILROAD (seriously), the faction still doesn't trust you enough to let you in. That's until Deacon, resident master of disguise and wearer of cool sunglasses, vouches for you by casually listing all the accomplishments you've achieved in the game so far.
BethesdaIf the guy who dresses like a post-apocalyptic Fonzie says someone's cool, we're inclined to believe him.
So how did he find out about your exploits? Firsthand, it turns out, as Deacon has been spying on you throughout the game. Deacon's job in the Railroad is to use his uncanny talent for disguises to pose as other wastelands inhabitants. When you helped a journalist get into the city, does that bald guy look familiar? That's Deacon:
BethesdaTo blend in as an authentic Fenway Park visitor, his only dialogue is dated Budweiser commercial references.
Want to do some trading at a trading post? This bald man will be happy to help you:
Bethesda
And in a city where the ghoul mayor is rallying the masses against the Institute, who's this handsome bald drifter in the crowd?
BethesdaPlaying the role of Drifter, the drifter.
And the bald gentleman hooked up to one of the memory machines as you go into the mind of your spouse's killer? Also Deacon. His machine isn't even turned on, flashing a "Please Stand By" screen if you check it out.
BethesdaUnless the memory he's reliving IS the time he watched a broken broadcast.
Basically, if you ever spot a nondescript bald man chilling in the background in a Fallout game going forward, odds are it's Deacon keeping tabs on you. One day he'll find a pre-war cache of decent wigs and become the greatest spy to ever live.
What Remains Of Edith Finch is the rarest of games: a walking simulator that's actually good. The premise is that the titular Finch family is cursed, making it so everyone dies an untimely death and only one person in each generation lives long enough to have kids of their own. If that's not depressing enough, it also has the best representation of being stuck in a dead-end job in any video game to date.
Annapurna InteractiveIt also has roly-poly sharks, though. Whee.
The game starts with the last Finch scion, Edith, returning to the old family home to investigate this so-called curse. As the player progresses, a slight fear starts to creep up that this rickety, derelict house is where Edith will meet her own premature death. But then the game reveals its twist: Edith is 22 weeks pregnant, and she's there to figure out if she has doomed her future child to an early grave. Of course, the player could've known this all along, just by looking down.
The game is told in a first-person perspective, and you are able to make Edith look around at whatever you choose. One such option is to look directly down at her feet -- something you'd probably never do unless you're one of those people. But if you do, you'll be unable to see Edith's feet, as her belly is in the way.
Annapurna Interactive
Annapurna InteractiveAt least one person has noclipped through to see if there's a fetus in there.
That belly isn't just there to show that Edith is the first ever video game protagonist with more than 5 percent body fat; it's a baby bump. It's a clever comment on how in first-person games, we tend to overlook the character's body almost like we do our own noses.
But despite being so clever, What Remains Of Edith Finch is by no means the first game that uses a woman's POV to reveal something about her. That honor goes to Jurassic Park Trespasser, which also paid special attention to its female character's oversized curves.
Electronic ArtsGaming's come a long way.
The ending of Dragon Age: Inquisition, the fantasy RPG with surprisingly few witch burnings, has a gigantic twist. As it turns out, your affably polite and genteel Elven butler Solas is in truth an ancient Elven god who not only gave the big bad his powers, but also only joined your party to correct his mistake and betray you when the time came, setting him up to be the reluctant villain in Dragon Age 4: Baldness Rising
What an unexpected turn of events! Except, of course, for those of us with a keen eye for art.
Electronic ArtsAh, of course, Leonardo DiCaprio's classic painting, The Count Of Monte Cristo.
That cozy scene of the Inquisitor surrounded by his most trusted allies shows up in the final moments of the game's first gameplay trailer. Everyone's here: scary scar lady, dwarven poet, and sexy Minotaur man. The image is also very reminiscent of one of the greatest "let's all hang out on the same side of the table" artworks, Leonardo Da Vinci's The Last Supper:
Leonardo da VinciThe only difference from the Bioware one is that in this fantasy, they don't believe in minotaurs or homosexuals.
In Leo's composition, the second person to the left of Jesus is Judas Iscariot, noted betrayer and silver enthusiast, here seen being rudely shoved aside by Peter trying to get the waiter's attention.
Leonardo da Vinci"God, get the fuck out of the way, Judas."
"More like Judas Iscidiot, amirite?"
"Ha! Good one, Jesus."
And wouldn't you know it? In the trailer shot, it's Solas' shiny bald head in the exact same spot to the Inquisitor's left.
Electronic ArtsAnd if you analyze the shape that the other people's arms make with each other under a black light, you will discover that you're wasting your time.
Pretty subtle, huh? Of course, there's also a mission in which a demon straight up tells you Solas is a betrayer, only he does it in High Elvish:
So the only people who possibly could've guessed this were hardcore gamers who also happened to be fine arts majors or Tolkien geeks? Clearly, Bioware wanted this clue found as quickly as nerdily as possible.
It's just kinda sad that none of these games are on the Nintendo Switch.
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Ed Stevens
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