This Streamer Learned The Harsh Truth About Retro Games

Streamer Storymodebae was in for a rude awakening when she decided to revisit one of the most punishing games of the 1990s: The Lion King. Storymodebae played the game on her PS5 using the remastered version released on PS4, but that didn't stop the game from kicking her butt as it had so many gamers before her.

After starting the first level, "Pridelands," Storymodebae said in shock, "So I don't get a tutorial, okay, that's ... first thing's first." She quickly discovered that almost everything in The Lion King damages young Simba, from porcupines to lizards. Storymodebae then met her first untimely death when she encountered a bug occupying most of the space on a platform.

After falling off of a giraffe and into the water one too many times in the second level, Storymodebae saw the "Game Over" screen and yelled, "Game over?! What do you mean game over?!" She then concluded the stream, incredulous at how punishing 1990s games could be. "Why, if I already did this level, and I went to the second ... it doesn't autosave?" Storymodebae questioned. "Of course it doesn't, it's the '90s!"

Commenters were quick to tell Storymodebae that she had stumbled onto one of the most difficult games of all time. One player said, "This brought back so much trauma," while another mused, "Lion King: The original Dark Souls." Storymodebae shared her gratitude towards her fans on Twitter, commenting that her phone received so many notifications in the night that the battery was drained first thing in the morning. 

This viral hit came after years of Storymodebae building her brand on Twitch and various social media platforms. In an interview with The Verge, she said, "My goal with streaming, if nothing else — I really want to inspire. I want to inspire people that look like me, specifically women that, you know, they can do this too. And there's room for them as well." 

It seems Storymodebae inspired people on multiple fronts with her The Lion King video, both to follow her channels and pick up a controller to explore the punishing Disney games of the 1990s. Though she mentioned trying Aladdin next, Storymodebae might be disheartened to find that it's just as brutal as The Lion King.

For fans who want to brave Disney's classic 1990s titles, both The Lion King and Aladdin were ported to consoles in 2019 and are still available now.