I love when games can surprise us. Whether the surprise is a twist, a bizarre moment, a hilarious glitch, or just an odd game in and of itself, I love them all. Certain moments stand out in my gaming history, and here are just a few of my favorites.

I’ve made no secret of the fact that I love Brick from the first Borderlands. My favorite journey through Pandora was when my partner and I went through the game on our zillionth playthrough, he as Brick, and I as Mordecai.

Now I wish I had a screenshot of what I’m about to describe, but, as it was played on the PS3, screenshots weren’t available.

You see that vehicle in the background? That’s a Light Runner. Imagine, if you will, that my Mordecai was driving, and Brick was wedged into the gunner seat. And when I say wedged, I mean he was crammed in there. At one point, the game glitched out while my partner was shooting the machine gun, and it showed both of Brick’s arms thrust into the air in a triumphant Rocky victory pose. They stayed that way until we got out of the vehicle.

I can not convey how thoroughly hilarious I found that moment. It should also be said that he could rotate in the seat, and his arms would stay in the air; you could admire his glory from every angle.

It was maybe my favorite moment in all my history with the Borderlands franchise.

Far Cry 3 had several gonzo moments, but none were as over the top as the “Kick the Hornet’s Nest” mission.

Within the game, you had to go to a marijuana field to burn it down. You had to be careful though, because if you got too close to the plants while you were burning them, you would suffer the “effect” of the burning plants.

Add to that that the field was fully guarded, and that a song (so out of the blue based on everything else you’d heard in the game to that point) entirely on point for the experience came on, and I was SOLD. It was so over the top and chaotic and bizarre that I would be remiss not to mention it.

When I started playing GTA V, I was at the stage where you begin playing as Michael. I was still getting the hang of the controls of the game and, as I was trying to get inside his house, I hit the wrong button and did this ungainly leap through a door and stumbled into his kitchen.

I have to tell you here that I’m actually laughing as I type this. I took a video of it but, as I don’t know how to edit videos, I can’t attach it here. Please trust me that it looked hilarious.

Hatoful Boyfriend is a game I tried out because I was so mystified by its premise. I had originally thought it said “Hateful Boyfriend” and wondered why anyone would play a game called Hateful Boyfriend. When I found out it was a pigeon dating simulator, I was even more confounded.

I wrote about the experience, but the weirdest part (of potentially the weirdest game I’ve ever played) was when I was abruptly killed in my bed and saw the above screen. I apparently died with those things in my possession.

I am still profoundly confused by Hatoful Boyfriend.

P.T. ranks as the most tense a game has ever made me. It was maddeningly (and beautifully) simplistic, and entirely unnerving. Some of the events of the “Playable Teaser” still make me wonder exactly what I saw.

And heard.

I have rarely tried to audibly convince a character I am playing as to not do something.

The above moment in The Witcher 3 was one of those times.

So as not to be indelicate, I wrote about the experience here, but, basically, I thought I had chosen a seemingly innocent chain of dialogue options, but what ended up happening (against my will), was that I ruined my eunuch run.

I was mortified. It was an incredibly strange and cringey moment in a game that I nearly universally loved.

While looking back at these bonkers experiences, I fall in love with video games all over again. There are so many experiences to be had out there, and these are but a few I’m glad to have partaken in.

Partook of. Having partooked of.

Some words are funny. Tenses are funny, too.

I hope you have a weekend full of memorable experiences in both the digital, as well as the actual, realm. Cheers, friends.