What’s a story without some subverted expectations? Probably a J.J. Abrams Star Wars movie. But when it comes to video games, it helps to have something catch you off-guard to keep you engaged, and it can even serve a helpful use.

For example, have you evergotten a game over screenin a game that just punches you with the heavy stuff out of nowhere? That’s certainly a surefire way to discourage you from getting more game overs. So what are some games that have used this particular tonal shift to their advantage?

Perhaps one of the earliest examples of an unexpectedly dark game over is in Zelda 2: The Adventure of Link. This experimental NES follow-up apparently took theMetal Gear Solidapproach and inspired a lovely “wait, what” reaction from those expecting a straightforward sequel.

Aside from the wildly different game design and style, Zelda 2 also slammed players with a lovely lingering nightmare in its game over screen. The screen flashes as Link loses his last life, ending in a shadowy silhouette of Ganon, who can only be resurrected with Link’s blood. His scary laugh and the abrupt nature of the screen ensure you’ll probably be way more careful going forward.

To be fair, Dragon Age: Inquisition can get pretty dark pretty regularly. It literally begins with an explosion that kills dozens of people. Also, you’re able to decide who to leave to die between your main character from the last game and your perfect himbo boyfriend from the first game. Real fun stuff.

But during an early story mission, depending on your choices, you might find yourself fighting a super powerful Envy Demon. If you die at certain points, the special game over screens depict, among other things, the honorable Templar you’ve been helping being executed and the demon taking your form to dominate the world as the new head of the Inquisition.

Look, you probably didn’texpect anything super wholesomefrom Conker’s Bad Fur Day to start with. This game revels in adult-ish humor, down to the game beginning with Conker drunkenly leaving a bar.

But even then, you might find yourself wincing during one of the game’s several Game Over scenes. The plot involves the Panther King trying to capture Conker to use as a table leg so his milk doesn’t spill (you’ve seen weirder). The various bad ends depict this and a variety of other ominous and downright gruesome fates for the sloshy squirrel.

Donkey Kong 64

King K. Rool has been a long-time villain in the Donkey Kong series, and his usual goal of destroying Donkey Kong and his friends is about as complex of a motive as should be expected when previous games' plots revolved around throwing barrels.

In Donkey Kong 64, Rool is back on his business again. This time, he’s got a whole island-sized ship geared up to vaporize DK Isle, and if you lose your lives in this fun and colorful adventure, you might be surprised to see a scene actually depicting everything up to the moment this happens. Oddly, not seeing the laser fire somehow makes it all the more tense.

The Katamari series areincredibly weird gamesat the simplest of times, but that’s ok because they’re incredibly fun and satisfying. You just roll stuff up into balls that turn into stars, stuff that usually includes animals and whole people. Don’t think about it too hard.

But if you fail to make one big enough, your father, the King of All Cosmos, won’t be pleased. In Katamari Damacy, this is conveyed by the King shouting down at you in a shower of rain and thunder, which really hits in contrast to the happy and peppy nature of the entire rest of the game.

As you’ll no doubt gather, developer Rare really wants to make you feel it when you get a game over. In Banjo-Kazooie, many players felt a number of things when they lost all their lives. The plot involves the evil witch Gruntilda kidnapping Banjo’s adorable little sister Tooty to steal her beauty.

Die enough times and you’ll see it happen in rather unexpected detail. In contrast to the funny and cartoony world you’ve spent the game in, Gruntilda emerges from her transformation pod looking shockingly human in a way that left tons of young players realizing something new about themselves. You also see Tooty having lost her “beauty” threatening Banjo for failing to save her.

2Yoshi’s Story

Hey look, it’s Yoshi! What afun and friendly characterliving in his fun and friendly world. You remember his last adventure. Sure, the crying baby threatened to ruin things, as crying babies are wont to do, but other than that, these are just some fun and colorful platformers.

Oh wait, Yoshi’s down. And wait, what are those goggle-eyed red dudes doing? Turns out, if you get a game over in Yoshi’s Story, you get carried off to a gothic castle devoid of color to an unknown fate. After a full game of Yoshi going all yahoo all over the place, a kidnapping to a dark and foreboding place is a great incentive to not do that again.

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy Kong’s Quest

Rare really wants you to feel it when you lose your lives, because it’s not enough that you just enjoy their games. You must be punished for not enjoying them correctly. In this case, correctly means not dying.

Losing your lives in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest results in a frankly kind of bittersweet tune playing, making you think you’re just in for a standard game over screen. Except then, an image fades in of Diddy and Dixie trapped in a dark and dingy jail cell, clashing with the music in a way that makes you feel just uncomfortable enough.