Saving is one of the most important parts of a game, allowing players to avoid losing their progress, so they can rest easy knowing they will not have to repeat sections of the game over again. This is especially comforting after players finish difficult stages or boss fights that took them a few attempts to complete.

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8 Video Games That Subvert The Save Option

These games all made the bold decision to subvert one of the most fundamental features in gaming: the save option.

Not all games are made equal, though, and there are a few titles that will purposefully undo a player's hard work by deleting their precious save file, forcing them to restart the game from scratch or at the very least an earlier save file, losing progress either way.

7 Banjo-Kazooie

Using Cheat Codes

This classic N64 platformer threatens to delete players' save files at one point in the game, with the NPC Bottles commenting he will do just that should players lie to him about learning all the basic moves needed to play the game. This turns out to be false, as players can beg for mercy and Bottles will renege on his threat. Players might be inclined to believe Grunthilda is also not entirely serious about her threat to do the same, but here they would be mistaken.

Cheat codes are quite common among the gaming community, inputting certain button prompts to reward the player by allowing them to exploit the game's mechanics. Grunthilda hates cheaters, and should players use two codes in the Treasure Trove Cove's sandcastle, she will issue a warning that, if unheeded, will indeed delete their save file.

6 Undertale

Flowey/Chara Deletes the Data

Most will be able to fondly remember Undertale's renaissance back in 2015, as it took the gaming world by storm with its colorful cast of characters, original fantasy world, and intriguing morality system that allowed players to spare or kill any monsters in their path, which had a drastic effect on the story. They will also certainly remember a specific character named Flowey, who seemed like a helpful new friend at first, only to later betray the player and try to kill everyone.

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On the pacifist route, Flowey will claim he deleted the player's save file upon defeating Asgore, though whether this threat is true is unknown, as Flowey restores it upon completing his boss fight. Conversely, the genocide route ends in a blank screen where players cannot do anything until Chara appears, bargaining the player's soul for the return of the world, which results in reverting all the progress the player made by returning them to the beginning of the game.

5 Ori and the Blind Forest: Definitive Edition

One Life Mode

Ori and the Blind Forest is a cutesy and unique platformer that garnered a lot of love from players and critics with its smooth controls, enchanting visuals, and heartfelt story that would pull at the strings of even the most stoic players. As expected of such a highly successful game, it received a Definitive Edition that made minor changes and improvements to the original, one of which was the inclusion of One Life Mode.

As the name of this game mode suggests, players have a single life only to make it through the entirety of the game. The game creates a single save file that cannot be duplicated, and should they die at any point, this file and all the players' progress will be deleted, returning them to the very start of the game. This mode is only for fans who are confident that their Ori skills will see them through to the end.

4 Furi

Files Deleted Upon Completion

Furi is a fast-paced hack-and-slash game in a similar vein to other titles such as Cuphead, named after the character players control and centering around tough bosses the players must kill or be killed by. The tough gameplay means players need to be precise in their movements and timing should they hope to reach the end, but at least players have a save file they can make use of to avoid losing their progress.

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However, this is only true until players finally reach the end of the game, as Furi will then consequently delete their save file. This prevents players from playing a New Game+ run, which would make it easier for players to experience the different endings on offer, forcing them to start with a fresh save file.

3 Lose/Lose

Each Kill Deletes a File

Lose/Lose is a game everyone should avoid at all costs, which is not a warning to be taken lightly. Though it seems like a simple 2D PC shooter game, it is so much more nefarious than it looks, hiding a very dark secret behind its simplistic graphics and gameplay.

Every time the player shoots and kills an enemy, they are actually deleting a save file from their PC. The save file in question could be anything--a program, an image, a song, or even a system essential to keep the PC running. And if players manage to make it to the end without their PC dying, or should an enemy kill the player, the game will delete itself from the hard drive, leaving players scrambling to see what other files they lost.

2 Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem

Low Sanity

This classic GameCube horror game was one of if not the earliest game to have a functioning sanity meter, which has become a staple of more modern horror titles such as the Amnesia series. Eternal Darkness did more than just distort players' vision, however, as it would manipulate the game system to a frightening degree, leaving many players to question their own sanity.

If Alexandra's sanity runs too low, strange events will occur beyond the game itself. If a player tries to save while sanity is running low, the game will pop up with a message asking the player if they really want to delete the save, leaving two options: Yes, or Continue Without Saving. Regardless of the option pressed, the game will state that it is deleting the save. Of course, this was all just a trick, but every player was fooled by the game's antics at least once.

1 NieR: Automata

Ending E

NieR: Automata is a game that holds a large number of endings, as players can experience numerous, often amusing endings throughout the game, such as self-destructing at the Bunker or eating mackerel to sate Jackass's curiosity. The final ending is known as ending E, which is also perhaps the most emotionally devastating one.

Normally, when most games end, players can watch the credits roll by or skip them entirely, but NieR: Automata takes things a step further by having the credits be one final boss battle, a bullet hell against the names of the game's developers themselves. It is impossibly difficult, and messages will pop up chastising the player or trying to encourage them to give up, until one, two, and then a flood of messages left by past players tell them to keep going. And then, they will be surrounded by the lives of other players, which was made possible by those players sacrificing their save data. At the end, the player will be given the same option; sacrifice their data to help a future player or keep it. Though it is presented as a choice, after that experience, it is almost impossible to choose not to selflessly help another player.

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