Video game moments that took players by surprise

Video games are like little pockets of consistency that the bored and lonely can curl up in for a few hours at a time and disappear from the strangeness of reality. When you plug in Super Mario Bros., you can expect a succession of progressively harder levels until you reach the end, and at no point will you be expected to help Mario pay his taxes or deal with migraines. Not every game follows the same predictable formula, however, and a game will occasionally have a segment that's so out of left field that it just boggles the mind. Here are just a few levels that will leave you scratching your head.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) - Bombing the Hudson

The hugely popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the NES is a game that every '90s kid has played and loved…until the end of level two. That's when pure hatred sets in. During the game's painful underwater level, you're forced to defuse bombs strapped to a dam, and all bets are off. It's a swimming level in the middle of a standard platformer, where countless obstacles can cause quick death, and you only have about two minutes to save New York. Since when does the Hudson have pink, electrified seaweed? Sorry, New Yorkers: you're just going to have to learn to swim to work.

X-Men (Sega Genesis) - Mojo's Reset

Mojo's level in X-Men for the Genesis wasn't all that nontraditional itself, but its conclusion breaks just about every expectation you've ever held about video games. After defeating Mojo, you're told to "reset the computer," which seems to imply that you should find some kind of hidden button that you need to hit with some mutant projectile…except there's no button. Instead, gamers are expected to actually tap the reset button on their Genesis console; only then would the game restart on the next level. It's some insane fourth-wall thinking that few games have ever replicated.

Far Cry Primal (PS4, Xbox) - Urki

There are three segments in Far Cry Primal that simply don't fit into the serious, life-or-death caveman warrior aesthetic, and they all involve a weird caveman named Urki. As you traverse the land of Oros, rescuing your prehistoric pals and murdering rival tribes with trained wolves, you encounter a genuine redneck caveman. Even though all of the game's dialogue is spoken in an imaginary primitive dialect, Urki has an unmistakable Southern drawl, and the ridiculous antics to accompany the stereotype. It's completely incongruous with the prehistoric theme—and absolutely hilarious.