Best Mini Games Trapped Inside Video Games

Mini Games are a bit silly when you really think about it. A game trapped inside of another game; it’s enough to give those playing serious Inception vibes. All you’d need to complete the scene is Leonardo DiCaprio in the corner of the screen, twirling his spinning top as Hans Zimmer blasts out the speakers.

Yet sometimes, when they’re done well, they are a great way to add real depth to a game world. Or, even as an added bonus that breathes new life into a completed game that otherwise would just be gathering dust on the shelf. Here, then, are some of the best mini games that are trapped inside video games.

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat is a series that was birthed in 1992 and is still going strong today. That is an insanely impressive lifespan, and shows that gamers are still hooked on beating each other senseless with all the weird and wonderful characters.

So, it’s not a game that screams out as needing an extra dimension to it, but in 2006’s Mortal Kombat: Armageddon that is exactly what happened. The well-received addition to the franchise had a mini game called Mortal Kombat, which was for all intents and purposes a Mario Kart rip off. However, this didn’t mean that the mini game wasn’t a massive slice of crazed fun.

Ten characters from the main game were included and each of them had their own customized go-kart. Plus, true to form, each of them had their own special moves to cause chaos on the racing tracks. The art style is cartoonish, with a whimsical element that really drives home the feeling of crazed lunacy as you race around tracks that are based on arenas from the main games.

It was a great mini game that had players and a bunch of their friends taking a break from trying to kill each other, instead trying to be the first one across the line.

Poker Facing the Wild West

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that is filled to the brim with content. Nearly every interaction in the beautifully realised world feels like some sort of mini game. Whether it’s doing the minimal task of taking a bath, going shopping for a new gun, or being a great mate to your fellow rustle of cowboys and cooking them all a meal at camp, there are many ways to stay occupied.

However, the one that keeps players coming back for more, time after time, is pulling up at a table in a saloon and playing poker. With the intense realism and incredible detail on show in Red Dead Redemption 2, you can find yourself whiling away many hours sat at the poker table. In fact, it’s such a realistic sim, that brushing up on your strategy is recommended. If you want to be the ace at the virtual table, then you are going to want to be in the know about your showdown rules.

Fishing in Hyrule

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time on Nintendo 64 is a game that burnt a bright light for many a young gamer, and still has people bowing down to the greatness over twenty years on. The pioneering open world of Hyrule had players captivated by the intense sense of scale that had not been witnessed in a video game before. However, as the game came out in 1998, technological limitations obviously meant the world wasn’t quite as interactive as modern games are.

One section of the game that added a whole another dimension to Link’s adventuring in the magical kingdom is when he picks up a fishing rod and starts angling. The goal of the fishing mini game was to catch the biggest fish possible, which would then reward the player with an elusive heart piece. Sounds simple enough, right? But it actually took a lot of patience and skill to net the winning prize. Plus, in true Nintendo style, the action of fishing was so simple and beautiful that it was easy to forget you should really be trying to rescue a princess.