Fan theories are a ton of fun. They can be whacky or make a game ten times better. Most fan theories are meant to help fill in the blanks or fix loopholes that the creators forgot to cover. Some theories actually end up being spot on, but most never really get confirmed. That doesn’t stop the gamers from thinking and speculating about their favorite games. Yet, there are times when these theories go too far. Some video game theories completely tear apart their games to the point where you will never look at them the same way again.
One of the most damaging fan theories of all time was the rumor that you could fix your Nintendo cartridge if you just blew on the bottom a little. In reality, blowing on the bottom of the cartridge is actually harmful and could ruin your game. Thankfully, these theories aren’t that bad. They just conceptually destroy your favorite games instead of physically damaging them.
Based on popular demand, I present you with twenty more horrifying fan theories that absolutely ruin your favorite games. These contain everything from evil monkeys, undead characters, and drinking menstrual blood. There are a few spoilers ahead, so tread with caution.
20 Propaganda (Donkey Kong Country)
Most who know Donkey Kong Country see a fun Rare title from the classic platforming era of the Super Nintendo. MatPat from The Game Theorists makes an astute comparison to the Banana Wars from across the pond. As odd and off-putting as this might seem, hear me out.
The Banana Wars were a series of conquests from 1898 to 1934. Essentially, the United States decided to take a piece out of the English playbook and set its sights on the Caribbean. The United Fruit Company (now Chiquita Brands International), played a major role during the wars. They would illegally take over banana distribution centers and had such a powerful presence that they essentially became the corporate overlords of several nations. If any of the governments did something the company didn’t like, they called in the United States Marines Corps to help enforce their rule.
In Donkey Kong Country, King K. Rool represents the United States. He doesn’t even like bananas, but he wants DK’s stash in order to starve the monkeys off the island. Several of the enemies are depicted in variations of the U.S. military uniforms. One of the levels for the game takes place inside of a giant factory, like the United Fruit Company factories. Finally, the United Fruit Company was known for creating and then destroying railways. The broken rails are one of the most classic levels in Donkey Kong Country.
19 Quit Their Day Jobs (Assassin’s Creed)
The Assassins in Assassin’s Creed are an ancient organization who brought about serious social and political change through their covert assassinations of powerful and evil people. You spend every game navigating the complexities of the order and time periods. We are lead to believe that they are not only the good guys, but some of the best assassins in the world. Of course, in reality, they are probably really bad at their jobs. You can murder just about anyone you want in the games. It doesn’t matter if they are your target, some poor guard doing his job, or a random stranger on the street unlucky enough to bump into you. On top of all that, for a super-secret organization, a lot of people know about them.
18 Abducting Cults (Animal Crossing: City Folk)
What could possibly be horrifying about the sweet and simple Animal Crossing games? They are so saccharine they’d rot your teeth. That is, until you start looking a little deeper. Animal Crossing: City Folk starts off fairly ominous. You wake up in a dark room with only a single lamp that gives off just enough light to see Rover. According to Brett Elston, there’s no way you got there on your own. Someone knocked you out and dragged you there. Then, out of the blue, Rover insists that you both have to catch a bus immediately, at night, alone. After you’re smuggled into the town by an overenthusiastic cat, you meet the Mayor who tells you outright that he plans to watch your every move. From there, you’re thrown into massive debt by Tom Nook. He gives you a rundown, barely livable house for a ridiculous price. Once you pay off your debt, he just upgrades your house and instantly throws you back into debt again. Plenty of the residents are unhappy and trapped just like yourself. Sabel works 24-hour shifts. Brewster has an unknown, tortured past. Everywhere you look there’s misery.
17 Death And The Stages of Grief (Majora’s Mask)
Majora’s Mask is undoubtedly the creepiest of all The Legend of Zelda titles. The Moon and Masked Salesman are enough to give children nightmares on their own. So, it’s understandable when creepypasta’s and unsettling theories pop up around the game. One of the most prominent theories is that Link died in the beginning of the game. He never survived the fall. Termina acts as a kind of Limbo as he comes to terms with his death. Each location represents one of the five stages of grief. Clock Tower is denial. Woodfall represents anger. Snowhead is for bargaining. Great Bay depicts depression. Finally, acceptance comes in Ikana Valley. Variations of this theory involve the five stages as a stand-in for coming to terms with the end of the world or the loss of Navi who acted as Link’s best friend and guide in Ocarina of Time.
16 Peach Propaganda (Mario Franchise)
Most of the Mario games are pretty formulaic. Bowser appears, kidnaps Princess Peach, and you have to tromp through eight or so castles to get her back. However, one reddit user pointed out that all of the Mario games are through Princess Peach’s and Mario’s perspectives. We never get to see Bowser’s side of the story. He could legitimately think Peach is in love with him. There is a possibility they had a relationship in the past. Heck, Bowser Jr. straight up calls Peach his mom in Super Mario Sunshine and she doesn’t correct him. I will say that none of this excuses the kidnapping. However, another theory is that the kingdom actually belongs to Bowser and Peach usurped the throne. The happy go-lucky toads are actually parasites. Bowser is just trying to get rid of the parasitic menace.
15 The Hero’s Shade (Legend Of Zelda series)
This next one, while not officially confirmed, might as well be. Any Zelda fan worth their salt knows about the official timeline. After the time traveling shenanigans of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, the timeline split three ways. In the Child Era timeline, Link is sent back in time to experience his missed childhood. He and Zelda stop Ganondorf before anything horrible happens. Unfortunately for Link, Navi decides to up and leave him, leading to the events of Majora’s Mask. From there, Link’s life just gets more depressing. None of the friends he made on his journey remember him. No one knows what he did to save Hyrule. He ends up dying bitter and alone. However, this is the last we see of the Hero of Time. He shows up in Twilight Princess as the Hero’s Shade. The Hyrule History outright confirms that the Shade is Link from Ocarina of Time and claims that his spirit remains because he “lamented the fact that he was not remembered as a hero.”
14 Monkey Murder (Donkey Kong Jr.)
Most fans of the Donkey Kong series accept that the DK from the very first game is Cranky Kong in from the Donkey Kong Country games. That would make the DK we know and love Donkey Kong Jr. Additionally, we learn that Mario and Luigi are the same age as Jr. thanks to Yoshi’s Island where everyone appears as babies. So, knowing all this, it only stands to reason that the Mario in the original Donkey Kong is not the same Mario we grew up with in the Super Mario Bros. series. It’s a good thing too, since Donkey Kong likely killed Mario and Luigi’s father in Donkey Kong Jr. At the end of Donkey Kong Jr. you free your father. Both he and Jumpman fall. While Jr. catches his dad, Jumpman is not so lucky.
13 The CORE’s Power Source (Undertale)
Souls play a big role in Undertale. Most of the fights force you to dodge direct attacks to your soul. King Asgore’s goal is to take your soul in order to unlock the underground. Heck, souls even play a major role in the final boss fights. However, there is one lingering question that Undertale doesn’t directly answer. What happened to Chara’s soul? It wasn’t destroyed. We know that much from the Genocide/No Mercy route. Underlab argues that Chara’s soul in the True Lab. If you travel deep into the True Lab, you’ll find a console with a red heart on it. The only other human we know of who has a red soul is Chara. Since determination is so powerful in Undertale, it’s likely that this generator is the power source that runs the CORE. No wonder Chara is so messed up. I’d be mad too if I was forced to play the role of a battery.
12 In the Telephone Room, With a Rope (Luigi’s Mansion)
The Mario franchise is no stranger to dark and twisted theories. All you have to do is take one look at The Game Theorist’s youtube channel to see how Mario might be a vicious murder or some other strange fan leaps in logic. So it’s no surprise that Luigi’s Mansion has its own horrific theory. Especially since the entire game is about trying to combat ghosts. At one point, a blackout cuts the power to the mansion. If you head to the telephone room, one of the phones will ring despite the lack of power. If you answer it, Toad is on the other line. As you talk, lightning flashes several times. Luigi’s shadow appears hanging on the wall. The shadow’s hands are at his side and his feet aren’t touching the ground. Fans believe this means that Luigi ended his life by hanging himself. The mansion is actually Luigi’s personal purgatory.
11 Shiver Earth (Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards)
Kirby 64 will always have a special place in my heart. It is one of my two favorite Kirby games. You hop from one world to the next, sidescrolling your way through the worlds. You can suck up various enemies to get a variety of different powers and even combine two types of power ups to get different effects. One of the planets, The Shiver Star, seems to be your stereotypical ice planet. However, if you look at the Shiver Star carefully, you might realize it looks a little familiar. Shiver Star looks exactly like a frozen Earth, complete with the same continents and a single moon. Something devastating happened to the Earth in the Kirby universe. It might have something to do with the robots found in the factory on level 4. Another possibility is that humans were the ones to bring about the end to our beloved planet.
10 Drinking The Monthly Blood (Bloodborne)
I’ll let everyone in on a secret, Bloodborne is all about blood. Shocking I know. Just about everything revolves around the stuff. You start the game off with a blood transfusion. As a hunter, it’s your job to stop the blood plague at its source. Just about everything in the game has the word blood in it somewhere. Heck, you even have to drink blood in order to heal! However, the blood vials that you consume might not just be any run of the mill blood. Lucatiel Knight proposed that the blood vials are actually filled with menstrual blood. The vials come from women, specially chosen women who are trained to be Blood Saints. Once Ariana becomes pregnant, she stops giving you vials. Additionally, the elderly lady you meet won’t give you blood vials either. On top of all that, the Blood Stone Shards bear a striking resemblance to used tampons. The game has an odd fixation with monthly cycles.
9 It’s A Beautiful Day In The Satanic Neighborhood (Hello Neighbor)
Hello Neighbor is an interesting case. Although the game isn’t set to release until December, the alpha build of the game took the internet by storm. It’s a little horror indie darling where you take the role of someone who just moved into a new neighborhood. However, your neighbor harbors a little secret. They’ve locked something in the basement. So, in the traditions of nosey neighbors, your goal is to break in and try to unlock the secrets hidden in the massive house. MatPat theorized that the neighbor is actually a satanic clown. Admittedly, the clown bit is a something of a stretch, even if the house does have carnival games. However, there are various references scattered throughout the game and promotional material. The neighbor reads Faust, the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil. The bottom of the neighbor’s shoes even has the letters 666.
8 Dead Weight (Portal)
The Weighted Companion Cube is an iconic piece of Aperture Science equipment from Portal. Although, why exactly this cube is so beloved by fans is a little bit of a mystery. The cube itself doesn’t seem all that notable at first glance. Throughout the game, you use these cubes to help solve various puzzles. Other than that, the only thing that makes it stand out is the little heart design on the cubes. Oh, and that time GLaDOS told you to incinerate the cubes. For some reason, it’s actually a gut-wrenching moment. Some fans think they know why. According to this fan theory, the cubes contain the bodies of dead test subjects. Although, some of Rattmann’s scribbles about talking Companion Cubes suggest that maybe the people inside have a little life left in them.
7 The Real Monster (Mario Series)
If you listen to MatPat over on the Game Theorists channel, the real monster of the Mario is none other than the titular character Mario. Of course, it would seem as if Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door had other ideas on the subject. There, it is Luigi who is the real psycho. If you speak to Luigi, he complains that in his adventures he’s the hero. However, everyone around him vehemently disagrees. They’ll tell you about all the destruction he’s caused. Additionally, the Star Gate in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time tells you that there is something dark and questionable inside of Luigi. The only thing that keeps Luigi in check is Mario. Without his brother, Luigi goes way beyond the mild-mannered guy we are used to seeing and becomes something to be feared.
6 Saying Good-Bye (Undertale)
Alphys is one of the sweeter, if loonier, characters in Undertale. Like any nerd, she’s socially awkward has a tendency to ramble when she’s excited. She doesn’t really have any social skills. All she really wants is a friend and to express her love to Undyne. It’s also entirely possible that Alphys is horribly depressed and suicidal. Undyne tells you that she first met Alphys in the dump. Alphys was staring at and contemplating the abyss. In the True Lab, Alphys also mentions that she “might not come back.” She said she was afraid she’d do run away and do something “cowardly.” Finally, during the neutral runs, Alphys is the only character you can’t directly kill. However, she does disappear. Her disappearance is likely due to her finally taking the plunge and committing suicide. It’s a heart wrenching ending for a tragic character.
5 Mercy And Death (Overwatch)
Apparently, some Overwatch fans think that the life of a healer in a team shooter just isn’t difficult enough. One theory circulating Blizzard’s third person, team shooter is that Mercy is actually dead. That’s right, the beautiful angelic nurse that can make all of your hurt go away is an undead monstrosity. The only thing that keeps Mercy going is the same technology that she uses to heal her teammates. One of Mercy’s emotes even shows her checking her own pulse and then laughing. Probably because she doesn’t actually have one. Additionally, she’ll tell Mei that she hasn’t aged in years. It would also help to explain why her big motif is angels. After all, Mercy is a walking talking member of the afterlife. So, next time you see her in game, make sure you aim for the head.
4 Based On A True Story (FNAF)
Tell me if you’ve heard this one before. A guy sneaks into a family restaurant with iconic animatronics and murders five people. He tries to get away, but is quickly caught thanks to the security cameras. Five Nights at Freddy’s fans know the story well. After all, the games center around the souls of the murdered children trying to murder you via giant, metallic furry. However, it turns out that the game might be based on a series of real murders.
One night in December of 1993, five employees at a Chuck E. Cheese were forced to stay late after a birthday party ran too long. However, a sixth person was hiding in the women’s bathroom. He exited the bathroom and proceeded to shoot all five employees before stealing what he could and escaping out the back. He was quickly caught thanks to the security cameras. Additionally, the testimony of one of the victims who managed to survive the attack ensured the murderer went to jail. Articles and news about the murders resurfaced around the time FNAF was first released. There are a lot more parallels between the real murders and the game, too many to list here. However, the parallels are just too strong to ignore.
3 Mother And Daughter (Portal And Portal 2)
This theory started with the release of Portal. Fans speculated that there was more to Chell’s backstory than what we were told. Many believed that Chell was the daughter of an Aperture employee. This theory only gained steam when Portal 2 came out. One of the Bring Your Daughter to Work Day exhibits has Chell’s name on it. On top of all of that, it’s possible that GLaDOS might actually be Chell’s mother. GLaDOS is the computerized version of Caroline. It’s clear from the Cave Johnson’s recorded dialogue that he really cared about Caroline. They were a married couple and their daughter, Cell, is the soul survivor. As you finally escape the lab, GLaDOS has the turrets serenade you with a beautiful song. If the latin lyrics are translated, they tell the story of a mother saying goodbye to her daughter.
2 Revenge Of The Creation (P.T.)
There are a lot of fan theories circulating around P.T. the playable trailer for the now-defunct Silent Hills game. The horrifying (and shot) game left players with a lot of questions. Fans of the series came up with wildly different ideas about the meaning behind the clues scattered throughout the game. One fan thought the clues pointed directly to the disturbing talking monstrosity in the sink as the mastermind behind the whole nightmare. They claimed that the wife got a part-time job and decided to climb the corporate ladder by sleeping her way to the top. Unfortunately, she got pregnant with her boss’s child. Her husband flew into a rage and setting off the awful events of the game. Everything that happens to you in P.T. is the abandoned child getting back at you.
1 A Silly Way To Cheat Death (Bendy And The Ink Machine)
There is still a lot we don’t know about Bendy and the Ink Machine. The third chapter just released. Things are only getting more convoluted and complicated with each new installment. However, there are a few bits and pieces that fans have picked up on. One big theory is that Bendy, the horrible monstrosity that haunts wants to murder your face, is actually Joey Drew. In one recording, you hear him say that belief is everything. Belief can accomplish anything. In fact, with enough belief you can conquer death. Now, Joey goes on to say that the idea is a silly though. However, his cartoon company is called Silly Vision. On top of all of that, we see Bendy smiling at a human shadow at the end of the Tombstone Picnic short. It’s probably the moment when Joey fused with his creation in order to escape death itself.
