Aside from weapons and enemy attacks, traps are another form of damage. They serve as obstacles in certain arenas. Some traps can inflict a minor portion of damage whereas others can lead to instant death.
Types of Traps[]
Falls[]
- Some arenas contain pitfalls or cliffs. Combatants can drive or be thrown into these, resulting in instant death [up until Twisted Metal: Head-On] or heavy damage.
Lava[]
- Areas, of some arenas, are covered in lava, which can set a vehicle ablaze and cause constant damage.
Fans[]
- Rotating blades can cause damage, if not outright kill, a vehicle who makes contact with them.
Machines[]
- Machines, or similar technology, can harm vehicles in certain ways. Some machines can be controlled by the player.
In game traps[]
Twisted Metal (1995)[]
- Rooftop Combat
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the roof to their death.
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the roof to their death.
Twisted Metal 2[]
- Amazonia
- Lava Pits: Combatants can be set ablaze if they drive into these.
- New York
- Falls: Combatants can fall to their death from the rooftops.
- Antarctica
- Falls: Combatants can fall to their death from a cliff. A combatant doesn't necessarily have to drive off or be pushed. The cliffs, in this arena, randomly fall into the ocean. Anyone who is still on a cliff when it falls, will die.
- Hong Kong
- Falls: Combatants can drive off the pier and into the water, resulting in instant death.
- Falls: Combatants can drive off the pier and into the water, resulting in instant death.
Twisted Metal III[]
- Tokyo
- Fans: Combatants can be instantly killed by falling down a fan pit.
- Lava Pits: Combatants can fall off the arena, forcing them to find a teleporter back to the top while taking damage from the lava around the bottom of the stage.
- Calypso's Blimp
- Falls: Combatants can fall into an opening on the ground, resulting in instant death.
- Falls: Combatants can fall into an opening on the ground, resulting in instant death.
Twisted Metal 4[]
Note: Twisted Metal 4 has the Hyperspace move which can teleport a vehicle mid-fall. The description of the Falls traps assume that the vehicle does not have enough energy to activate this move.
- Construction Yard
- Flamethrowers: The stage has a constantly moving Conveyer belt which has a series of flamethrowers which will ignite the player attached to the end of it.
- Flammable pits: There are a number of green pits scattered around the arena. If a combatant uses Napalm, the pits will ignite and send out a ring of fire that ignites anyone in the pit.
- Neon City
- Hover Train: A hover train is constantly circling the stadium at high speed. Collision with it will deal immense damage if not outright kill anyone it hits.
- The Oil Rig
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death.
- Flammable pits: A number of Oil pits are on scattered around the arena. If a combatant uses Napalm, the pits will ignite and send out a ring of fire that ignites anyone in the pit.
- Minion's Maze
- Flammable pits: There are a number of green pits scattered around the arena. If a combatant uses Napalm, the pits will ignite and send out a ring of fire that ignites anyone in the pit.
- The Carnival
- Roller Coaster: A roller coaster is constantly moving around the top edges of the arena and can do great damage or even kill anyone it collides with.
- The Pits
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the edge of the stage resulting in an instant death. There are 6 red square in the middle of the arena that can be destroyed that will also result in instant death if one falls into the hole left behind.
- Nowhere to Hide
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death
- Octa-Gone
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death. There are 4 yellow octagons around the arena that can bounce opponents off the stage.
- Flammable pits: There is one large green pit in the middle of the arena. If a combatant uses Napalm, the pit will ignite and send out a ring of fire that ignites anyone in the pit.
- King of the Kill
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death
- Tic-Tac-Toast
- Falls: The ground underneath contestants is destructible, resulting in an instant death for those on a platform that is destroyed.
- The Islands
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death
- Son of a Ditch
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death. There is a red square at the bottom of the arena that can be destroyed to reveal an instant death pit. There are also several yellow objects around the arena that can bounce combatants off the stage.
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the stage resulting in an instant death. There is a red square at the bottom of the arena that can be destroyed to reveal an instant death pit. There are also several yellow objects around the arena that can bounce combatants off the stage.
Twisted Metal: Black[]
- Junkyard
- Car Crushers: Two car crushers exist on the stage that will cause minor damage and briefly immobilize any opponent caught inside
- Jet: A jet circling around the arena can be brought down on opponents causing instant death and earning a "Jet Fatality Bonus".
- Suburbs
- Ferris Wheel: A Ferris Wheel can be brought down on opponents, causing moderate damage with each collision.
- Snowy Roads
- Falls: Cliffs surround the stage that will lead to an instant death by any vehicle unfortunate enough to drive or be pushed off them.
- Abandoned Skyscrapers
- Fans: Near the church there are a series of fan shafts that combatants can fall down and will result in an instant death.
- Wrecking Ball: On the bridge connecting two rooftops, a wrecking ball periodically swings back and forth. Any combatant unfortunate enough to be hit by the ball will receive a small amount of damage and knocked back.
- Falls: The stage is set on a series of rooftops with numerous gaps that combatants can fall down which will result in an instant death.
- Warhawk's Rooftop
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the rooftop to their death.
- Falls: Combatants can be knocked off the rooftop to their death.
Twisted Metal: Small Brawl[]
- Playground Peril
- Carn-O Maul
- Saw: There is a giant Buzzsaw guarding a health pickup. Colliding with this saw will do damage and launch combatants into the air.
- Axe: A swinging axe guards a ramp that leads to the upper area of the arena. Touching it will deal damage and send combatants into the air.
- Skeleton: A skull with hands will patrol the arena occasionally. Combatants will take damage from this skull if they collide with it.
- Easy Death Oven
- Oven: The ovens will heat up, turning red and causing fire damage to anyone who drives over them.
- Can Opener: If a combatant shoots the can opener, it will activate and suck in anyone who drives near it, dealing damage.
- Microwave: Shooting the microwave causes it to close and do damage to anyone trapped inside.
- Minigolf Mayhem
- Giant Spears: There are giant spears that have pickups under them. These spears will do damage if a combatant collides with them.
- Giant Spider: There is a giant spider that swings around to guard a pickup. This spider does damage if a combatant collides with it. It can be shot to disable the trap temporarily and to drop a random pickup.
- Car Crusher: There is a crusher near the Giant Spears that will do great damage if a vehicle is underneath it when it comes down.
- Meat Your Maker
- Car Crusher: There is a meat tenderizer that functions like a traditional car crusher. Using an environmental pickup will increase the speed of the crusher.
- Grinder: There is a grinder at the end of a conveyor belt that guards a health pickup. Touching this grinder will result in massive damage (if not death). Using an environmental pickup will turn on the conveyor belt, causing any vehicles on the conveyor to be pulled towards the grinder.
- Gridiron Gore
- Lawnmower: There is a man on a lawnmower roaming around the arena. Anyone who collides with this lawnmower will take damage. An environmental pickup can be used to make the lawnmower target an enemy vehicle.
- Tree Top Rumble
- Falls: Falling off the edges of the arena will result in instant death
- Lawnmower: There is a lawnmower that can be activated by shooting it. When activated, it will drive around the arena, dealing damage to any who collide with it, until returning to its original position.
- Shock Therapy
- Acid: There are dripping vials of acid that will damage anyone who drives under them.
- Burners: There are burners attached to the wall that, when shot, will activate and ignite anyone who drives through them. They deactivate after a short time.
- Falling Jars: Shooting the bookshelves causes glass jars to fall down and damage any vehicle hit by them.
Twisted Metal: Head-On[]
- Los Angeles
- Transylvania
- Car Crusher: There is a crusher in one of the entrances to the castle in the center of the stage that does massive damage to anyone caught in it.
- Tokyo Rooftops
- Falls: Combatants can fall from the stage. Unlike earlier titles, the player will take damage instead of instant death.
- Falls: Combatants can fall from the stage. Unlike earlier titles, the player will take damage instead of instant death.
Twisted Metal (2012)[]
- Blackrock Stadium
- Car Crusher: At the center of the stage exists a room with numerous weapons and a ceiling lined with spikes. Periodically the roof will come down on any combatant and crush them leading to an instant death. Warning sirens will blare to warn combatants of the descending ceiling.
- Lava Pits: Located to the right side of the stage, combatants that drive through these will suffer continuous minor damage which can prove fatal if not exited quickly. While in the pit, the combatants tires are also popped. This is purely visual however and the tires will inflate when the vehicle exits the pit.
- Los Angeles Skyline
- Fall: Combatants can be knocked off of the roof. Unlike previous game entries, combatants will not be instantly killed, and instead receive a large amount of damage instead.
- Adventure Park