What if the Oscars Fail happened in a video game instead?

If you were watching the Oscars or saw the headlines this morning, you’ll know that a major fail occurred when La La Land was announced as Best Picture…when the actual winner was Moonlight. The La La Land producers were in the midst of their acceptance speeches when the faux pas came to light and they had to insist that this wasn’t a joke.

That. Sucks. 

Though handled graciously, we got to thinking. How would the #Oscarsfail be handled in different gaming universes? We had way more fun with this than we should have. 

Dark Souls

There are some crazy bosses in the Dark Souls universe and that little red envelope in Warren Beatty’s hand should have been identified as a Mimic Chest. You can tell that something’s wrong or different, yet you move forward anyway. The fact that Emma Stone name was on the card was indication enough that something was amiss. Now, you and the entire La La Land team got chomped on during primetime tv. In one of the most difficult games known to gamers, there is no room for error. Should have known. Red envelopes never bode well. 

No Man’s Sky

So the planet you’re on (you know, the one where you made some colossal mistake and you leave in hope of getting rid of the red, hot coals of embarrassment as millions of people judge you) isn’t working out. The answer? Hop in your spacecraft and find something new…except it’s just different iterations of the same, damn thing. 

With its procedural generated worlds, we’re pretty sure that the new winner would be just as awkward a mashup as some of these No Man’s Sky creatures. An aspiring young actress with big dreams meets a Miami man struggling with his sexuality. He rules the streets with choreographed musical numbers and she sings her way into managing a lucrative drug empire. Will they be happy in the La La Land they’ve constructed, or will it come crashing down around them? La La Moonlight anyone? MoonLaLa? 

Undertale

The beady eyes of hundreds of celebrities and the added weight of millions of viewers are on you as you stand on the stage, red envelope in hand — a new type of bullet hell. Your options? “Fight” – and pronounce that what is written is wrong. Use an “Item” (though you’ve already used your delay buff.) Show “Mercy” – in your unsure state, ask someone if this is right before you announce anything. Or “Act” You choose the latter and hand the envelope to Faye Dunaway. 

Thought you made it through unscathed? Guess again. Reading the wrong winner and doing better after may seem minor, but that mistake would come back to haunt you right in the feels by the end of the show. Particulary when the Oscars announcement is snatched out of your hand and you’re shoved aside. You should have chose Mercy, Warren. 

Call of Duty

This scenario is all too familiar in CoD. You’re king of the mountain, Oscar in hand, two out of three acceptance speeches out of the way. Your posse is kicking butt and taking names in all their tuxedoed and bejeweled splendor. Then, the tables turn. The guy in the headset appears on stage like an unexpected grenade and your world goes to shit. You scramble to recover but it’s too late. Your acceptance speech is less than 10 seconds long before you see the replay of the mix-up that murked you. Boom, headshot. 

Mortal Kombat

In some ways, the Oscars is the final round of a fight to the death for movies that made the final cut. Celebrities and producers square off, all smiles and pleasantries, while secretly hoping that they’ll be the last one standing alongside that golden statue. You know that moment in Mortal Kombat when you think you’ve cinched a tie-breaking match, but then your health bar decides to go on vacation? The panic and confusion on the stage was palpable, the desperate hope found in button-mashing — hoping it’s a joke. Only to find out that it isn’t. Just like when two players fight each other using the same character, Horowitz was forced to deliver the fatal finishing blow, to himself. That was one nasty and heartbreaking fatality. 

Animal Crossing 

Don’t care. Gone fishing. 

We want to hear your #Oscarsfail scenarios in a gaming universe. Leave it in the comments or tweet us @gameskinny!