We all think we know best when it comes to TV, movies, and especially video games. It’s fun to think you know what’s really going on in a game, despite the developers telling and showing you otherwise.
We’ve all been victim to it, as creating theories of our own can make mundane stories seem grandiose and allow our imagination to run wild.
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A lot of the time, the theories are ridiculous and far-fetched. But every once in a while, some of these theories are so plausible that they end up being considered fact.
These are the best of the bunch in the long line of video game fan theories.
10Majora’s Mask is a Hallucination
The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask
This theory aboutThe Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Maskrevolves around the idea that nothing happening in the game is real but rather a hallucination made up in Link’s headas he slowly dies in the forest.
It’s pretty dark, to say the least, but it’s supported by a healthy heaping of evidence, including the areas of the game reflecting the stages of grief and the fact that the Hero’s Shade, who trains you, looks remarkably like Link but is clearly dead. And cruelly, you are also forced to witness theend of the world over and over again.
The overall tone of Majora’s Mask is much different from that of other Zelda games. The game has a creepiness and off-putting feel that lends credibility to theories such as these.
The most damning evidence is definitely the Hero’s Shade, as the fate of Link is theorized that he becomes a Stalfos in the forest without his Fairy to protect him.
The Hero’s Shade is left-handed, just like Link, and happens to look exactly like a Stalfos, so this theory may be far more true than people were initially willing to believe.
9Don’t Check the Trunk
Silent Hill 2
Silent Hill 2 Remakeis the fun surprise of this spooky season and among the game’s constant creepiness and mystery lies one of the most dark twists in all gaming.
On a mission to find his missing wife, the player takes control of James Sunderland.
Throughout the journey, you’ll find all manner of terrifying creatures and stunning revelations, but the biggest revelation is the one that is never told directly to you.
As you arrive in Silent Hill, James will leave his car behind for his search for Mary, his wife. This dark theory that has been confirmed at this point, suggests thatMary is in the trunk of his car.
Upon finishing the game, thistheory becomes very plausibleand makes the opening moments of the game incredibly chilling in retrospect.
8Shinra’s Origin Story
Final Fantasy X-2
Final Fantasy is ripe withgreat theories, and there is one that is less theoretical and more or less factual at this point in time.
InFinal Fantasy X-2, you meet a character named Shinra, who seems to be quite ambitious, looking into energy sources and space travel. Does that sound familiar to fans ofFinal Fantasy VII?
It should, because Shinra is the name of the company that’s responsible for slowly draining the world of its energy sources, among other atrocities.
The theoryis supported by the scenario designer for both of the games, Kazushige Nojima, who intentionally named the character as a nod to the future corporation that would run the world ofFinal Fantasy VII.
He didn’t expect fans to take it that seriously, but he underestimated them clearly, as Shinra’s references to talking about traveling to other worlds and harnessing power in the Farplane all point to this young man becoming the founder ofone of the most dangerous corporations in video game history.
The developers clearly know what they’re doing here, as they also included a picture of the founders of Shinra in Final Fantasy VII: Remake, where one character is wearing a mask suspiciously familiar to the one Shinra wears.
7The End of the World
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Skyrimhas endless secrets to discover in themassive world we’ve all been exploring for over a decade, but most of those secrets have solutions.
This one, however, does not.The theory revolves around the bug jars in the game. There are various bug jars throughout the game you’ll find, and inside of them are mysterious runes.
This is important because the runes were translated. On the map, these runes form a pentagram, but what lies in the middle of it is the most unsettling.
The Shrine of Talos is at the center of this, leading many to believe this is a hint towards a ritual that could possibly cause the end of the world or summon the devil.
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For years, this has been the biggest unsolved mystery in the game and countless players have spent hours trying to decipher possible reasons for its inclusion, and although developers say it’s part of a canceled quest, it’s not a sufficient answer, especially when considering why the Shrine of Talos is in the center.
It’s an exciting theory and possibly could be something Bethesda may follow up upon if they ever manage to release the next entry in The Elder Scrolls series.
6The Naughty Dog Multiverse
The Last of Us/ Uncharted
This theory involves the adventures of Nathan Drake, which take place in the modern era, being the prequel to the events that happen inThe Last of Us.
There is actually quite a bit of support for this theory, and it seems the developers knew parallels might be formed and fed into the theory with each subsequent game.
Let’s ignore for a second that Troy Baker and Nolan North voice different characters in each game and check out the evidence. First, inUncharted 3, you can find a newspaper that talks about a deadly fungus. What makes this interesting is thatUncharted 3: Drake’s Deception wasreleased in 2011, whileThe Last of Uscame out in 2013.
That means that Naughty Dog already had designs on connecting these two worlds and left an easter egg for fans to find in the future. Going further down the rabbit hole, there is a Firefly pendant inUncharted 4and also a pharmacy called Weston that is a part ofThe Last of Usgames as well.
Could Nathan Drake be alive inThe Last of Us?Imagine that crossover? It wouldn’t be too outlandish, but would probably require some suspension of belief from the players.
5Squall Is Dead
Final Fantasy VIII
Final Fantasyis aseries ripe with theories, but the Belle of the Ball is most certainly the legendarySquall is Dead theory.
It revolves around the idea that when Edea impales Squall with multiple icicles after her assassination attempt goes wrong, Squall is actually dying, or dead, and everything that takes place after is something that happens strictly inside Squall’s mind.
It’s a troubling theory, but one that has some evidence to support it. The second half of the game features many bizarre happenings, with everything from strange creatures to actual aliens appearing.
Not everything feels for lack of a better word “real”. The plot goes completely off the rails with a futuristic city appearing, space travel happening and, of course, the coup de grâce that helps cement this theory as an actual thing.
In the finale of the game, there is a truly bizarre sequence after you beat Ultimecia where Squall essentially loses himself, literally.
He’s wandering lost on what seems like a dead world and his memories begin to fade into each other, and then comesthe most haunting image in the history of Final Fantasy.
Squall’s face, with a giant hole in the middle of where his face should be. It’s chilling, and it speaks to the idea that Squall is no more, and this was a fantasy of his final moments that ended in him being the hero. His Final Fantasy.
4Mr. Blue Eyes
Cyberpunk 2077
Cyberpunk 2077has so much content it’s easy to find yourself dreaming about what mysteries may be taking place behind closed doors in this dark place.
One of those mysteries is the identity of themysterious Mr. Blue Eyes. Who is he? There are several trains of thought here.
Some think he might be the Gaunter O’Dimm of the Cyberpunk world, essentially the devil who chooses V to carry out various schemes for unseen ends.
Another suggests that he is the legendary Morgan Blackhand, a character that used to work with Johnny before he was turned into a Cyberghost.
His appearances throughout the game are as follows.
First, he appears during the Dream On questline following a strange phone call from an unidentified person who claims to know about V’s true goals.
you may find him overlooking you on the terrace across from the building you’re in during this time. Then, you find him in Phantom Liberty at the NCX Spaceport as you’re trying to get Songbird to the moon.
Songbird mentions an unknown proxy has funded her pricey trip and then Mr. Blue Eyes appears.
Finally, you get offered the opportunity of a lifetime by him after the Path of Glory ending where you assault Arasaka tower. He involves V in a casino heist in space that we never see the conclusion of.
He seems to appear at rather pivotal points of the story, but sticks to the background to not draw too much attention until the very end of the game. It seems what he’s after goes far beyond money.
So who is he? The devil? An innocent observer? Or is there something more mysterious to the man’s motives? We’re willing to bet we see more of this fascinating character in the sequel toCyberpunk 2077.
3It’s That Time Of The Month
Bloodborne
Bloodbornehas aton of interesting theoriesbehind it, but this is the one that helps wrap them all into one. The theory is that the story ofBloodborneisone dark take on the process of Ovulation. It may initially sound farfetched, but let’s look at the evidence.
Blood is the key to everything going on in the game, and it is specifically only given by the female characters in the game. Then, there’s the queen, who is shown to have a bloodied stomach when you find her crying.
Then we have Mergo’s Wet Nurse, who clearly has gone mad and is theorized to have ripped Mergo out of the womb, which is all but confirmed when the queen bows to you upon Mergo’s Wet Nurse’s defeat.
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If that’s not enough, there is much more, including the need to gather umbilical cords and the entire area of The Nightmare of Mensis. Mensis is a word that sounds exactly like Menses, which in Greek means menstruate.
This is to say that we, as Hunters, are the sperm trying to fuse with the egg (The Moon Presence) to become… The Great One.
It’s a captivating theory with an enormous amount of evidence, and FromSoftware is just crazy enough to make it work. The name of the game tells you that this theory is probably correct.
2The Merchants are Mad
Elden Ring
Elden Ringis the king of obscurity when it comes to its story, which, of course, leaves the door open fortons of fan theories.
One of the favoritesis that the merchants are actually followers of the Frenzied Flame. This theory is fascinating and, for those that have explored the game thoroughly, it is pretty much confirmed.
If you find the area with the option to take on the Frenzied Flame, you will find countless merchant bodies, seemingly killed and rounded up in piles throughout the area.
In the merchant’s set of armor, the description says that they were accused of heretical beliefs and rounded up and buried alive for it. In response, they summoned the Frenzied Flame.
This theory casts doubt on the Great Will of the game, which is pushing you forth the whole time. The merchants seem to be the friendliest of all the people in the game, and despite their glowing eyes, it is clear they are the ones who are the clear-headed.
With that knowledge, is the Frenzied Flame the terror that your maiden claims it to be?Perhaps it was the right route all along.
1The Indoctrination Theory
Mass Effect 3
The biggest and best theory of all is theIndoctrination Theory. The theory is that Commander Shepard is indoctrinated by The Reapers throughout the course of the trilogy, leading to the final test in the finale of the game taking place inside his mind.
This is highly plausible, due to The Reapers employing the process of indoctrination on many characters throughout the series, from the Rachni Queen to The Collectors, to The Illusive Man himself.
In the first game, The Rachni Queen mentions that indoctrination feels like “Songs of oil shadows in their mind.” It’s a highly distinct description.
InMass Effect 3, Shepard begins having vivid dreams and they progressively creepier and more unsettling until the final dream where black tendrils slowly consume the sides of the screen while a nightmare takes place.
With this theory in mind, the finale of confronting the Star Child suddenly becomes more plausible. This was not an embodiment of The Reapers AI, but a trick in Shepard’s mind, meant to fool him into universe-wide assimilation of human and synthetic beings.
This is further supported by the choices you’re given and the colors they have behind them. Green is fusion of all life in the galaxy. Blue is control of The Reapers and red is destroy The Reapers.
If you choose red, the Star Child’s voice changes to that of Harbinger, signifying the illusion has shattered. This makes red the only real choice, with the others being false realities, installed into Shepard’s mind as a real possibility.
This is further shown because the choices represent the options taken by the villains of the first two games, with Saren choosing fusion of all life and The Illusive Man with control.
That leaves you as Shepard, with one choice unfulfilled. The only choice to make. Destroy. And when you choose destroy, Sheppard wakes up under rubble clearly on Earth. He never made it to the Citadel.
The Reapers failed. They tried to break the leader of human civilization, and he won. Whatever happened after didn’t matter, because The Reapers would no longer have a puppet race to carry out their next extinction event with.
The developers have refuted this theory, and have stuck by the somewhat atrocious endingMass Effect 3actually has, which while disappointing, doesn’t stop players fromputting puzzle pieces together that were clearly meant to connect.
