Hideo Kojima is known for pushing the boundaries of video games, but during the development of Snatcher he almost took things into a whole new dimension — smell.
Kojima wanted the game’s floppy disks coated in a special chemical that, when heated by the computer, would release the scent of blood. His vision? To fill the room with the “stench of a murder scene” during key moments in the game. Imagine playing a cyberpunk murder mystery and literally smelling the aftermath of a crime.
Of course, this idea never made it past the planning stage, probably for the best given how unsettling it might have been. Still, it’s one of those fascinating “what could have been” moments that shows just how far Kojima was willing to go to immerse players in his worlds.
Would you have played Snatcher with the murder-scene smell feature turned on?