History VideoGame / NightTrap

The game is mostly known for the undue controversy that it caused upon release. It is no exaggeration to call it the reason games have age classifications and content ratings; It and ''VideoGame/MortalKombat'' are the primary games that inspired the creation of the ESRB. It has also made several "Worst Games Ever" lists (which is funny in hindsight, considering upon its release it received a fair amount of critical acclaim for its use of full-motion video and multiple-playthrough approach to gameplay). Due to this controversy, then-Creator/{{Nintendo}} of America Chairman declared that ''Night Trap'' would ''never'' appear on any Nintendo system; [[CueTheFlyingPigs however]], in April 2018 it was announced that the game would be coming to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in similar fashion to the [=PS4=] release.

* BareYourMidriff: In Disc 1, you can see Kelly and Cindy taking off their shirts and baring their midriffs after a party. In fact, they will remain in this way for the rest of the game. (Actually, Kelly and all the girls sans Lisa are baring their midriffs throughout the game.)

* KillEmAll: In the official ReCut, [[spoiler: every named character ends up dead or trapped by the end, with the only exceptions being Victor and [[UncertainDoom possibly]] Simms and Deke]].

* ReCut: The physical release of the ''20th Anniversary Edition'' came with a VHS that edited the game's cutscenes into a film. It [[PragmaticAdaptation removes]] most of the interactive elements and, befitting the game's cheesy horror film tone, [[spoiler: nearly everyone who can die in the game [[KillEmAll does]] and TheBadGuyWins]].

The game is mostly known for the undue controversy that it caused upon release: it is no exaggeration to call it the reason games have age classifications and content ratings. It has also made several "Worst Games Ever" lists (which is funny in hindsight, considering upon its release it received a fair amount of critical acclaim for its use of full-motion video and multiple-playthrough approach to gameplay). Due to this controversy, then-Creator/{{Nintendo}} of America Chairman declared that ''Night Trap'' would ''never'' appear on any Nintendo system; [[CueTheFlyingPigs however]], in April 2018 it was announced that the game would be coming to the UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in similar fashion to the [=PS4=] release.

An undercover S.C.A.T. agent named Kelly Medd (played by Dana Plato) has managed to infiltrate the house by arranging a sleepover with the Martins' teenage daughter and four other friends. Furthermore, you have hacked into the security system and gained control over the house's cameras and traps. When the house is suddenly invaded by a band of black-clothed stalkers, it falls to you to use the traps and protect the girls while investigating the secret of the Martin household.

* GuideDangIt: The split-second room changes the game requires from you are [[UpToEleven nearly impossible without playing the game multiple times or having a comprehensive walk-through]]. Even veterans who have played the 1992 game or its other 1990s console versions before while playing the 2017 edition (and going for a perfect run) will suddenly get treated to a Game Over scene of Danny getting captured and drained of blood in the downstairs hallway ([[DeletedScene which wasn't there in the previous console versions before]]) and realize that they missed an extra Auger to trap! Guide Dang It, indeed.

** The official ReCut included with the UpdatedRerelease takes it UpToEleven, as even though all three of the Martins are trapped, [[spoiler: Victor is revealed to [[NotQuiteDead still be alive]] and [[TheBadGuyWins drains Kelly anyway]]]].

* DwindlingParty: The number of NPC Girls that you have to rescue from the Augers start to go down one by one after you save each one, there are four normal girls and Kelly at the beginning of the game, but then after you rescue each girl from the Augers, they leave the house and you don’t see them again for the rest of the game. Eventually Kelly is the only one left.
* “EverybodyDiesEnding”: Provided that you play perfectly and trap all of the bad guys and the Martin Family without trapping any of the good guys, if for some reason you decide to trap Kelly, this is the likely ending since it seems the Martin Family killed the SCAT team and by trapping the Martins and Kelly, no one is alive at the end of the game.

* DwindlingParty: The NPC Girls that you have to rescue from the Augers start to go down one by one after you save each one, there are four normal girls and Kelly at the beginning of the game, but then after you rescue each girl from the Augers, they leave the house and you don’t see them again for the rest of the game. Eventually Kelly is the only one left.

* DwindlingParty: The NPC Girls that you have to rescue from the Augers start to go down one by one after you save each one, there are four normal girls and Kelly at the beginning of the game, but then after you rescue each girl from the Augers, they leave the house and you don’t see them again for the the game. Eventually Kelly is the only one left.

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler: If you let Jeff strangle Swanson before Kelly escapes, he will try to go through the secret passageway by the bookcase door... only to discover too late that he has opened the ''wrong'' side of the door and gets captured by his [[HoistByHisOwnPetard own trap]].

-->'''Simms''': What were you ''thinking?!'' You were hired to protect these girls and you just let Ashley die! You're ''fired!'' Breaking contact.

-->'''Simms''': What were you ''thinking?!'' You were hired to protect these girls and you just let Ashley die! ''[sigh]'' Well. Go back to playing video games, kid.[[note]]"You're ''fired!''" in newer versions.[[/note]] Breaking contact.

* AWinnerIsYou: All you get for winning the game is Kelly congratulating you on your success. However, if you get a perfect game (all bad guys captured, all innocents saved), [[spoiler:you can trap her right afterward.

-->'''Simms''': What were you ''thinking?!'' You were hired to protect these girls and you just let Ashley die! ''[sigh]'' Well. Go back to playing video games, kid. Breaking contact.

* AWinnerIsYou: All you get for winning the game is Kelly congratulating you on your success. However, if you get a perfect game (all bad guys captured, all innocents saved), [[spoiler:you can trap her right afterward

** A few times in scenes where the good guys are grappling with the augers or Martins, they'll struggle into range of a trap, which you'll be permitted to trigger; doing so results in this. [[spoiler:Trapping Kelly at the end of a perfect run also counts.]]

** After [[spoiler:Kelly dies, in four ways]], Simms is beyond furious with the player for murdering her, especially since he's known Kelly '''forever'''.
-->'''Simms:''' What was ''that''? You were doing so well and you just let one of our best undercover agents die! I should have trusted you. [pause] Well. Remind me to never hire someone like you again. [covers the camera with his hand]

* AWinnerIsYou: All you get for winning the game is Kelly congratulating you on your success. However, if you get a perfect game (all bad guys captured, all innocents saved), [[spoiler:you can trap her right afterward, leading to Simms being furious with you]]. If you don't [[spoiler:trap Kelly]], then Simms will congratulate you afterward.
-->'''Simms:''' I can't believe you did it. S.C.A.T team owes it all to you. You saved the girls, those blood suckers are gone, and the vampire family is no more. You've shown great bravery, kid. You're welcome to come back and help out at anytime. Till' next time, this is Commander Simms saluting you and signing off. Breaking contact. [winks at the player and disconnects]

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:If you let Jeff strangle Swanson before Kelly escapes, he will try to go through the secret passageway by the bookcase door... only to discover too late that he has opened the ''wrong'' side of the door and gets captured by his [[HoistByHisOwnPetard own trap]].

* TranshumanTreachery: [[spoiler:Cindy, if you let Jeff bite her. She actually seems quite happy to be part of the walking undead. If you let Tony capture Kelly, it's implied this happens as well, as Tony learns of the override form her.]]

* UncertainDoom: It's left ambiguous if [[spoiler: Lt. Simms survives the climax]]. Since you do not [[spoiler:get a perfect ending if you trap him]], it's very possible he was simply knocked out like Swanson (provided you stop her from being strangled). It's also unclear whether [[spoiler:Deke]] survives. He is [[spoiler:thrown through a window by Victor, but it's unclear if this killed him or merely left him incapacitated]].

* WowingCthulhu: [[spoiler:The girls think that Sarah wants them to have a party, so Megan turns on the radio, rocks out (and lip-synchs) to the theme tune, and manages to apparently impress Sarah, unaware that she and her family are a family of vampires.]]
* YouExclamation: In the Bedroom, during the time when [[spoiler:Tony warns Ashley to leave the house while he exposes his vampiric image, she screams, and Kelly bursts in with a pistol pointed at him]]:

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: [[spoiler:During the Martins' {{Denouement}} with SCAT in the living room, when Victor and Sheila discuss about how the Augers are essentially toothless vampires, SCAT member Collins becomes confused and says, "Vampires?! You've gotta be jivin' me!"]]

* YourLittleDismissiveDiminutive: [[spoiler:When Kelly threatens to shoot Tony for bullying Ashley in the bedroom, he teleports himself out of harm's way, then grabs her gun and says, "Did you really think that this stupid little toy could protect you?!", {{foreshadowing}} the fact that vampires like the Martins are immune to bullets.]]

* MeaningfulName: The creatures are called "augers"; an auger is a hollow drill used to take core samples of any surface. The augers use a trocar device which drills through a person's neck and suck out the blood.

-->'''Simms''': What were you ''thinking?!'' You were hired to protect these girls and you just let Ashley die! Go back to playing video games, kid. Breaking contact.

-->'''Kelly:''' Control, I can't believe you did this after everything we went through. [falls through trap]

* TheEighties: While the game was released in 1992, the video was filmed in 1987 and it shows. Oh, and 80's hair.

* HappilyMarried: Besides one small disagreement towards the beginning of the game, Sheila and Victor Martin act nothing but lovey-dovey, to the point where they even [[spoiler: put off answering Simms’s questions in favor of complimenting each other.]]

* HappilyMarried: Besides one small disagreement towards the beginning of the game, Sheila and Victor Martin act nothing but lovey-dovey, to the point that they [[spoiler: put off answering Simms’s questions in favor of complimenting each other.]]

* HappilyMarried: Besides one small disagreement towards the beginning of the game, Sheila and Victor Martin are nothing but lovey-dovey, to the point that they [[spoiler: put off answering the S.C.A.T. Team’s questions in favor of complimenting each other.]]

* IAteWhat: In the kitchen, you can see one of the two girls (Cindy) try to take a bite out of a popsicle before doing a SpitTake in disgust and saying that it's blood. [[spoiler:They eventually discover [[ImAHumanitarian who the blood in the "popsicle" actually belongs to]]...]]

* TheBadGuyWins: In the official ReCut, [[spoiler:the Augers kill all of the teens and Victor drains Kelly, meaning that SCAT's efforts were AllForNothing and that the murders will almost certainly continue]]. The only drawback to the Martins is that [[spoiler:the rest of the family is dead, but based off of Victor's attitude, he isn't that upset about it]].

* DistressedDude: In the never-before-seen extra footage added to the [=PS4=]/Xbox One remaster, you have to save Danny from being drained by the augers in the downstairs hallway, or else it's Game Over.

* DressingAsTheEnemy: [[spoiler:Secret S.C.A.T. member "Weird Eddie" dresses up like an Auger in order to infiltrate the mansion and make sure Kelly and her friends are doing alright. Be careful that you don't trap him, though...]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: If you play the game right, [[spoiler: the Martin family will be caught by their own traps and meet the same fate as the teenagers they've been murdering.]]

* KillEmAll: In the official ReCut, [[spoiler: every named character ends up dead by the end, with the only exceptions being Victor and [[UncertainDoom possibly]] Simms and Deke]].

* MalevolentArchitecture: The Martins' house was built full of traps and hidden cameras in order to [[spoiler:contain and kill helpless kids]]. S.C.A.T. hacks the system and takes control of it to save the kids and kill the Martins and their auger minions.

* NotQuiteDead: In the official ReCut, even though all three of the Martins are trapped, [[spoiler: Victor is revealed to still be alive and drains Kelly anyway]].

* TooDumbToLive: [[spoiler:If you let Jeff strangle Swanson before Kelly escapes, he will try to go through the secret passageway by the bookcase door... only to discover too late that he has opened the ''wrong'' side of the door and gets [[BurnBabyBurn incinerated]] [[KarmicDeath by the Martins]]' [[HoistByHisOwnPetard own trap]]. Even the [[EveryoneHasStandards other Martins]] realize this, and don't seem sorry to see him die.]]

** If you [[spoiler:trap Kelly]] she will be furious with you before she dies.
-->'''Kelly:''' Control, I can't believe you did this after everything we went through. [falls through trap and dies]

* AWinnerIsYou: All you get for winning the game is Kelly congratulating you on your success. However, if you get a perfect game (all bad guys captured, all innocents saved), [[spoiler:you can trap her right afterward, leading to Simms being furious with you for killing her]]. If you don't [[spoiler:trap Kelly]], then Simms will congratulate you afterward.

* WowingCthulhu: [[spoiler:The girls think that Sarah wants them to have a party, so Megan turns on the radio, rocks out (and lip-synchs) to the theme tune, and manages to impress Sarah, unaware that she and her family are a family of vampires.]]

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: [[spoiler:During the Martins' {{Denouement}} with SCAT in the living room, when Victor and Sheila discuss about how the Augers are not yet vampires, SCAT member Collins becomes confused and says, "Vampires?! You've gotta be jivin' me!"]]
* YoureInsane: [[spoiler:When Tony tells Kelly that she leaves him no other choice but to kill her because she ignored his warnings not to investigate any further, Kelly says she doesn't understand, then tells you, "This is crazy!"; he talks back to her, saying that you wouldn't stand in his way, before turning toward you and taunting you with, "[[TemptingFate Would you?]]", then proceeds to kill her.]]