History Main / FakeTrap

* You'll meet ''tons'' of these in ''{{Karoshi}}''. The universe just wants to keep you alive that badly.

* A number of the traps in ''ChocobosDungeon'' will heal or buff Chocobo. Some of them can be picked out beforehand, while others are indistinguishable from real traps or invisible.

* In ''WesternAnimation/StevenUniverse'', the Gems build an obstacle course for Steven filled to the brim with illusions of pitfalls, a musical puzzle that is impossible to get wrong, and traps rigged to always stop short of hitting Steven. Steven is unamused when he realizes how fake the whole thing is, but upon overhearing the insecurities of the Gems, he decides to play along.

* [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Agent Washington]] assumes that [[spoiler:Epsilon-Church being left in the middle of a canyon]] is a classic [[SuperSoldier Freelancer]] trap set by [[spoiler:Epsilon-Tex]], and refuses to fall for it in Season 8. [[TheMedic Doc]] states that [[KansasCityShuffle it's possible that the trap was really not one, and that the real trap was where they were]]. Washington [[YouWereTryingTooHard says Doc is overthinking it]]. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight He wasn't.]]

** Played straight in some of the early video games like ''Reshef of Destruction'', however, where Fake Trap is just a trap card that does nothing.

See also LeapOfFaith. Contrast with KaizoTrap. The inverse is a ChestMonster, where something is made to look like a reward, (such as a treasure chest) but is in reality another enemy.

* The first ''{{Metroid}}'' game had many pools of acid and lava that greatly harmed Samus, but some were actually fake, thus you fell through. Naturally, you had to make that blind LeapOfFaith and hoped that killer pool was a fake in order to proceed. (Hint: don't try this in a room that scrolls horizontally.)
** ''Super {{Metroid}}'' had fewer traps and the fake ones were spikes that were not animated compared to real spikes. The X-Ray Scope also pointed this out.

* Marble Garden Zone in ''[[VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles Sonic the Hedgehog 3]]'' has enemies that disguise themselves as spikes. The spikes are made of rubber, so they function like springs. The enemies aren't completely harmless, as they shoot at you, but you have to wonder why Dr. Robotnik decided on rubber spikes during the design phase.

* Played with in ''VideoGame/Sonic3AndKnuckles''[='=]s Marble Garden Zone, which is full of enemies that look like spike traps. However, these enemies' spikes don't do any damage if you jump onto the tips; in fact, they serve as weak springboards. On the other hand, they do shoot at you and they are, ironically enough, harmful to touch from the ''side''. Hint: Spindash from the side; if the spikes get destroyed then it was one of those fake-spike enemies.

* The first area of ''VideoGame/LaMulana'' has a "spike pit" full of objects that look identical to real spikes but are actually part of the background and have no effect on Lemeza whatsoever.

* The first area of ''VideoGame/{{La-Mulana}}'' has a "spike pit" full of objects that look identical to real spikes but are actually part of the background and have no effect on Lemeza whatsoever.

* The voice that guides you in ''{{Depict1}}'' warns you that spikes will kill you instantly. Given that [[MissionControlIsOffItsMeds the voice almost always lies]]... [[spoiler:You can pick the spikes up and throw them.]]

* ''Everything'' that should logically kill you in ''Default Dan'' is actually this: spikes bounce you up and BottomessPits drop you from the top of the screen unharmed, while everything that should logically be helpful like coins and platforms make you [[YourHeadAsplode abruptly explode]].

* The frightening things that threaten you in ''{{Shivers}}'' include pits of bubbling tar, skeletons that fall on you, a hallway with foot-long spikes covering the walls, an electric chair, a guillotine, and a shadow of something just outside your vision. But none of these can hurt you; only the Ixupi can do that.

* The ''Franchise/YuGiOh'' card actually named "Fake Trap" is a subversion since it is actually a decoy that protects the player's real spell and trap cards. If the opponent tries to destroy a spell or trap card belonging to the player, the player can sacrifice this card in its stead.

%% The ''{{Yu-Gi-Oh}}'' card Fake Trap is not an example of this. It is actually a decoy that protects the player's real spell and trap cards. If the opponent tries to destroy a spell or trap card belonging to the player, the player can sacrifice this card in its stead.

* In Level 8-2 of ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros3'', there is a sand trap that looks like ''almost'' every other one in the game. However, if you're patient and let it take Mario (or Luigi) down, it leads to two alternate pathways with extra lives or power-ups, either of which (clearly) beats the overworld you would traverse instead.
** There are a few other sand traps like this throughout the game, most of them in world 2.

See also LeapOfFaith. Contrast with KaizoTrap.

* [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Agent Washington]] assumes that [[spoiler:Epsilon-Church being left in the middle of a canyon]] is a classic [[SuperSoldier Freelancer]] trap set by [[spoiler:Epsilon-Tex]], and refuses to fall for it in Season 8. [[TheMedic Doc]] states that [[KansasCityShuffle it's possible that the trap was really not one, and that the real trap was where they were]]. Washington [[YouWereTryingTooHard says Doc is overthinking it]].
[[TheCuckoolanderWasRight He wasn't.]]

* [[Machinima/RedVsBlueTheRecollection Agent Washington]] assumes that [[spoiler:Epsilon-Church being left in the middle of a canyon]] is a classic [[SuperSoldier Freelancer]] trap set by [[spoiler:Epsilon-Tex]], and refuses to fall for it in Season 8. [[TheMedic Doc]] states that [[KansasCityShuffle it's possible that the trap was really not one, and that the real trap was where they were]]. Washington [[YouWereTryingTooHard says Doc is overthinking it]]. [[TheCuckoolanderWasRight He wasn't.]]

* Getting one gem in ''VideoGame/{{Jumper}} Two'' requires passing through a fake fireball. ''Jumper Two [[LevelEditor Editor]]'' enables this with a "fake modifier", which can be put on top of any object to make it fake. [[SturgeonsLaw No points in quessing where this is going.]]