15 ways to tell you’re in deadly peril in a video game

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Moustaches. Puddles. Piles of leaves! And 12 more sure-fire signs of impending digital death

Any moment where your character isn%26rsquo;t totally miserable in a survival horror


Above: Wow, cracking a smile? You’re so screwed, Sheva

You befriend/trust anyone with facial hair


If you take nothing else away from this feature, learn this: any NPC you meet with even a hint of face fuzz will invariably betray and try to murder you horribly at some point. Remember kids, only trust clean-shaven characters. OK, at a push you can befriend someone if they’ve got a really awesome handlebar moustache. Sure, they’ll probably try to kill you. But being murdered is a small price to pay for the privilege of bathing in the presence of such a magnificent soup-strainer. God, we’re hot for Captain Price.


Above: Man, that's some straight up evil face fur

A door slams shut behind you of its own freewill


Any door, gate or fancy electronic barrier you walk through that then shuts on its own accord is doing so because it wants you out of the union. If you encounter one of these sentient sociopathic doorways: beware. You’re almost certainly about to find yourself trapped inside a massive, cavernous arena, where a boss character is motivating itself for your murder by imagining you mugging its mum.

David Meikleham
David Meikleham
Google AMP Stories Editor

David has worked for Future under many guises, including for GamesRadar+ and the Official Xbox Magazine. He is currently the Google Stories Editor for GamesRadar and PC Gamer, which sees him making daily video Stories content for both websites. David also regularly writes features, guides, and reviews for both brands too.