Top 10 Video Game Glitches That Gave Us Nightmares
#10: Bodies on the Floor
“Rocky” (2002) Sylvester Stallone’s character Rocky is the underdog, not just in his movies, but in his games as well. In the 2002 game based on the popular movies, you could have facial deformities, audio repeating endlessly, and fighters falling through the floor. But perhaps the most terrifying of the bunch is when Rocky devolves into separate body parts, lying lifeless in the ring. Not only do the bodies distort into unreasonably weird shapes, but it renders the game unplayable. Plus, the idea of just suddenly being ripped apart and collapsing is just going to create a new phobia for whoever plays this!
#9: Macbook Demons
“Mafia II” (2010) I didn’t know Leatherface was in this game! If you’re a part of the Apple crowd, you might be aware of the startling lack of video games available to you, and this could probably be the reason why! You’ll be in the middle of a car chase and clip right through the floor before you can say an Italian stereotype. Porting a game to the Mac is more difficult than it sounds, and can cause some disturbing results, as we can see here. While this glitch was only present for a short while before it was patched, this is something you will never unsee.
#8: Demon Babies
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“The Sims 3” (2009) You turn your back for one second and your child has transformed into something from your worst nightmares. While you may think it’s interesting and are probably willing to support the weirdly contorted simulated child, let me stop you and say this isn’t on purpose. In early, unpatched versions of the game, certain clothes, makeup, and accessories would cause the model to freak out in all sorts of ways. While characters like “Death” do inhabit the game, it was nothing compared to this thing! It can still happen if you install custom content, so it’s up to you if you want to continue with this frightening glitchy mess.
#7: Sky Face
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“Mount & Blade: Warband” (2010) As you ride around on horseback, commanding your troops and swinging your sword, your eyes would bear mostly on the battlefield. What you didn’t expect when looked upwards to observe the sky was a giant, curved, expressionless face staring back at you. Was this the face of God? Judging you for your sins? No, nothing as grand. It turned out this was just a texture mismatch with an NPC face, stretched to fit the entire world above you. While this was only a bug, it definitely made you a little more uncomfortable playing with someone constantly watching you.
#6: Ghost Animals
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“Zoo Tycoon 2” (2004) Zoo Tycoon 2 is a fun business simulator, allowing players to build their own park and host many exotic creatures. As you walk through your successful animal enclosures, you spot something out of the ordinary, ghostly figures of animals past haunt the area. As these transparent beasts did generate many ghastly rumors, the implication that they were animals who had passed on was entirely false. It turns out that it was just a graphical glitch making some of the models see-through. But we doubt that would be the first conclusion that a younger player comes to.
#5: Melting Faces
“The Witcher” Series (2007-) The Witcher 3 was applauded for its incredible story and graphics that still hold up today. But this facial malfunction turned this fantasy realm into dark horror. This glitch first appeared in 2007 in “The Witcher”, in which Geralt and NPCs' faces would droop and contort into disgusting shapes, while the rest of the game was still fully playable. This isn’t something you can ignore as well, because the game is very dialogue-heavy. If our main character wasn’t scaring people off with his magic, he definitely would be with the unintentional makeover. The result is nightmare fuel, even topping some of the horrible monsters that are supposed to be terrifying in the game!
#4: Ghost Cars of the Forest
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“Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas” (2004) There are many myths in the Grand Theft Auto lore, some intentional by developers while many remain unproven. This myth, like the NPC photographer who walks into water, is 100% legitimate. To give the feeling of being populated, San Andreas would only spawn cars and civilians within your general area. They also populated the forest with one or two abandoned cars, but this glitch brought them to life and sometimes made them attack the player. Game developers RockStar are aware of this glitch, but that hasn’t stopped driverless cars from popping up even in Grand Theft Auto 5.
#3: Worm Glitch
“Battlefield 3” (2011) There’s a reason why Play-testing is a job in this industry, otherwise, you end up with players online growing to the size of Godzilla. But sometimes, it can end up funny and a little disturbing. As in most First-Person Shooters, going prone is an important tactic to defeating the enemy. But in the Battlefield 3 Beta, laying down turned into a way to intimidate rather than outmaneuver your opponents. Get down on the ground and your body will distort into all manner of shapes which some fans have dubbed the “Worm Glitch”. It’s definitely funny in retrospect, but seeing this thing charging at you in a firefight is incredibly frightening.
#2: Land Sharks
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“Crysis” (2007) In games with larger maps, game developers tend to implement invisible borders when they don’t want you to go too far. Sometimes these are invisible walls, locked doors, or insta-kill threats. In 2007’s Crysis, one of these countermeasures was sharks. Venture too far out into the sea and you’ll get bit! You better get back to shore, as surely the land is safe right? Not if you encountered this glitch, where the sharks emerge out of the water flying and continue to attack you! The worst part is the game still thinks you’re near an invisible border, so if you kill one, another will spawn in its place! So it’s not just a shark attack, it’s an infinite shark barrage. Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions. Alma Glitch, “F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin” (2009) This Freaky Child Won’t Leave You Poolside Dead NPCs Talking, “Call of Duty 2” (2005) Killing These Soldiers Won’t Stop Them Yammering Rotating Heads, “Fallout: New Vegas” (2010) NPCs Spinning Right Round, Baby, Right Round
#1: Faceless People
“Assassin's Creed Unity” (2014) The Assassins strike fear into their targets, but little did we know all they needed to do was remove their skin. While playing this major installment in Ubisoft’s franchise, you might have been petrified to learn that, mid-mission, your character was suddenly missing their face. This notorious glitch quickly circulated online, with fans laughing to hide the nightmares this malfunction would bring. Why is it just the eyes and teeth! The company announced that this issue was only with specific PC Graphics cards, and was quickly patched thereafter. While it may no longer be an issue, it doesn’t heal the mental scars that were left behind.
