Disturbing Moments In E-Rated Games

Since its foundation in 1994, the Entertainment Software Ratings Board has made it their mission to properly categorize games based on their content and propriety for different age groups. An E rating (which stands for "Everyone") is meant to be a signal for gamers and parents alike that the title they've purchased is suitable for all ages. 

Sometimes, though, a game can squeak by with an E that might as well stand for "Egad, how is this for 'Everyone?'" This doesn't always have to be due to violence, either. Sometimes, it's less about what is shown on the screen and more about the game's implications. Other times, a game can just be unsettling or weird enough to make you wonder how they managed to get such an all-inclusive rating.

In the list that follows, we have compiled some of the creepiest, oddest, and darkest moments that made it past the Ratings Board and into E-rated games.

Even in the screenshot, poor Ecco's all like, "Are you kidding me with this?"

While the later games in the series would go in for a more overtly science-fiction tone, most of the levels in the Sega Genesis classic Ecco the Dolphin game were fairly normal aquatic settings. Players guided Ecco through reefs and gorgeously-rendered undersea caves, mostly fighting against jellyfish and sharks and the like.

The final two stages, however, are a biomechanical nightmare right out of H.R. Geiger's sketchbooks. Deformed creatures come out from around every corner at top speed as Ecco tries to navigate through a sickly green structure referred to only as "The Machine." The real shocker is the final boss, the Vortex Queen, which somewhat resembles a Xenomorph from the Alien series. 

"Somewhat," because the only visible part of the Queen in the final chamber of the Machine is her head, giving the impression that she's an impossibly massive Lovecraftian nightmare. The queen spews out her larvae at Ecco and attempts to bite the heroic dolphin in half! After around 20 levels of undersea exploration and earthly enemies, the last act of the game is certainly an unnerving surprise.

Rayman Origins features some kooky villains and the dark animated look that has become a staple of the series, but the final level stands in stark contrast to the rest of the game's more playful platforming stages. Originally featured as a location in 2003's Rayman 3, "The Land of the Livid Dead" is the final level of Rayman Origins and has received a significant facelift in the years since. Gone are the green fields and partly cloudy skies, now replaced with gothic terrain that would make the Corpse Bride blush. Rayman must make his way through crypts and bridges made from giant coffins, battling zombies and occasionally riding on the back of a skeletal snake that resembles a disembodied spinal column.

That's not to mention that "The Land of the Livid Dead" is an optional stage only accessible by unlocking areas containing treasure chests, opening said chests to retrieve the Skull Teeth gem inside, and then delivering those to the actual Grim Reaper. It's almost like the game is trying to hide this creepiness from the more sensitive gaming souls among us.

Stardew Valley is a farming simulator similar to the beloved Harvest Moon series, complete with bright settings and adorable fantasy character sprites. Over time, you are tasked with turning your simple plot of land into a fruitful farm, making friends and participating in fun recreational activities along the way. Sounds harmless, right?

Players were surprised to find a much darker lore lurking around the edges of this seemingly benign farming game. NPC dialogue contains occasional references to a war happening outside the town. In fact, one of your fellow villagers, a man named Kent, is a veteran from that war. He will occasionally reference how difficult it is for him to be back home and not on the front lines, while certain player actions may trigger him to reference his time spent in a prison camp. A frank discussion of PTSD isn't exactly what players expect while they're just trying to plant cauliflower in their cute little farm.

The Super Smash Bros. franchise isn't exactly known for its strong story elements (and it arguably still isn't). However, with 2018's entry to the series, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, players were treated to the addition of the Adventure Mode, which gave the game a bit more of a narrative than the usual "beat up everyone" mission of the previous games.

Nobody expected the opening cinematic of Ultimate to be such a jaw-dropping downer, though. Seemingly taking its cues from that year's apocalyptic Avengers: Infinity War, this mode of play opens with an impressively animated cutscene of all of our heroes working together to stand up to a coming invasion. The sky tears open and thousands of Master Hands descend like a horde of grabby demons. The heroes prepare for battle, but then the Hands transform into stream after stream of energy, coming straight at the heroes and ... they are completely disintegrated. One after another, each hero is utterly destroyed, with only Kirby escaping the carnage.

This is later followed by a sequence showing Mario and the rest being cloned by the villains, leaving players with a chilling shot of dozens of red-eyed copies of our favorite Smash characters glaring into the camera. There's no way anyone saw the normally good-natured Smash Bros. series taking such a dramatic turn.

Take your pick as to what disturbs you in this one. Majora's Mask opens with Link being transformed into an eerie-looking creature known as a Deku Scrub by the mysterious Skull Kid, and the plot follows Link's attempts to keep the moon (which has a terrifying scowl on its face) from crashing into the earth and killing everyone.

Majora's Mask features the most Gothic design elements and oppressive feel of the entire Legend of Zelda franchise. Even the music is more solemn and minimalist in some areas than usual. The whole game is built upon the concept of time running out for Link and the land of Termina, so that adds a sense of hopelessness which runs throughout the game. If Link runs over his three-day time limit, you're treated to a cinematic of the end of all life.

Add onto that sequences dealing with alien abductions and a groaning, zombified father who bursts from a closet and lurches toward his own child, and you have a recipe for maybe the most oddly upsetting game to ever bear an E rating.