In many ways, video games just get better and better. Evolving technology gives developers the power to create worlds that look, sound, and feel just like the one outside your window – or, in the case of such gems as snowy Skyrim, spacey Mass Effect, and piratey Assassin’s Creed IV, even better.
Still, while video games are more gorgeous to look at than ever before, they’re far from perfect. Glitches are inevitable, and even the most polished game is likely to mess up now and then.
Some glitches go beyond this, though. Some break the game entirely, forcing you to reset your console, unsaved progress be damned – we all know the terror of the never-ending load screen or crash as you’re about to reach a save point.
On the other hand, others cause unexpected and often hilarious moments, becoming legendary among gamers – just like the absolute beauties on this list.
5: Don’t Lose your Head in Skyrim!
Ah, Skyrim. A stunning, exciting, deep, rewarding, spellbinding game that pulls you in and keeps you hooked for months (if not years). Dragons, giants, bards, mages – there’s so much to love in this little beauty, picking up on the parts that don’t work so well seems unfair.
Still, there are glitches, and then there are glitches.
When playing a video game, especially one as visually-appealing as Skyrim, it really helps to see your character’s head. However, due to one technical error or another, you’ll occasionally find that your hero or heroine has misplaced their noggin.
This tends to happen when wearing one of the several enchanted masks: you slip it on, exit your ‘attire’ menu … and see not a mask, but an empty space where it should be.
If it were just a case of the mask itself refusing to show, leaving your character’s exposed face, that would be one thing, but that the entire head exits the game is particularly impressive.
Donning the archmage’s robe with the mask appears to trigger the glitch. Give it a try!
4: Weird, Mutated Babies in The Sims 4
The Sims is a hugely popular series giving players the chance to live life in a digital form, filled with all the fun, chores, and responsibilities of everyday life: getting a job, finding a mate, and raising kids (if that’s the sort of thing appeals to you!).
However, The Sims series has its fair share of technical gaffs, just like any other. The fourth main game in the series, while beloved by many, did experience a problem in which babies just … well, just didn’t come out quite right.
In the real world, not all babies are beautiful – some have frankly odd faces and features that only their parents could love. The developers took this natural trend and ran with it, though, even if they had no idea they were actually doing it!
Eyes, fingers, hair, foreheads, and more all became messed-up, leaving kids resembling some bizarre genetic experiment right out of a nightmare.
3: Honey, I Shrunk the Linebacker
American football is a serious game for serious, big, strong men. Unlike soccer, which practically anyone can enjoy, the armoured stars of the NFL are usually absolute powerhouses, clearly built for war rather than sport.
This all helps to make the famous Madden 15 glitch pictured below all the more hilarious.
That’s right, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: that really does look like a Borrower on the field. This inexplicable glitch was capable of taking a muscular pro-footballer and shrinking them down into a tiny format.
While this isn’t a game-breaker, it’s definitely weird. Not to mention brilliant.
Luckily, though, the good folks over at EA had a sense of humour about the whole affair: they released a statement inviting gamers to play against the “Tiny Titan” (referring to the Tennessee Titans Solo Challenge, in which the glitch had presented itself).
2: Floating in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
While the Tony Hawk’s Skater series continued for years after this first sequel, this is still one of the coolest, most challenging, most addictive skateboarding games ever – and it also features one of the most ridiculous glitches this side of Skyrim’s vanishing head.
Falling off of your skateboard was a common occurrence in Pro Skater 2. Mistime a jump, push a trick too far, or just hurl yourself head-first towards an obstacle, and chances are, you’d be on your front within seconds. Usually, when this happened, your character would automatically get up, and you’d return to your board. No big deal.
Once or twice, though, you might get lucky and witness the emergence of the little known full-body skareboarding sport. For some reason, this glitch caused your character to continue moving throughout the level – only levitating a few inches above the ground, until your timer ran out.
Strange, but true!
1: Spinning Characters in GoldenEye
GoldenEye did plenty of things right. In fact, the game is so good, even its glitches are absolute gold.
Take the spinning characters, for example. Activated simply by tilting the game cartridge, any figures on screen would start to inexplicably spin around and around, as if some evil giant had tied string to their legs and fashioned them into a human yo-yo.
Watching Natalya or a random guard start twirling is a real treat, and only helps to make this classic even better.
This is also powerful enough to affect other parts of the game – just watch what happens when you try it during the cut-scene showing Bond’s escape by plane early on.
If you’ve never seen this glitch in action, what better reason to dust off your beloved old N64?
That’s it for now – thanks for reading, and we’ll catch you next time!
What are your favourite video game glitches? Which ones have we missed? Let us know!
