38 Examples of Video Game Logic That Just Don’t Make Sense

John Summers • Contributor

Sep 2, 2024 11:00 PM EDT

One of my favorite expressions in the world is "ludonarrative dissonance," which sounds very fancy and complicated but actually refers to the conflict between the plot of a video game and the actual actions the player performs during the game. For example, Link has to save Hyrule from Lord Ganon, who is about to destroy the entire kingdom at any moment, but on his way to save everyone, he stops to collect 900 Korok Seeds. Or consider Red Dead Redemption 2, where every mission is about Arthur Morgan trying to get enough money to secure the gang's future, while the player has amassed tens of thousands of dollars doing side quests and finding treasures.

Pretty much every game, especially those that allow a high degree of freedom, suffers from some sort of ludonarrative dissonance, but we tend to forgive them and kind of blame ourselves for it. It's me who enjoys running people over in GTA, not Niko Bellic.