There was some stealth game I was trying out that did this. Before you start the game, it’s mandatory to set the brightness level so one logo is barely visible. I figure since it’s a stealth game I might as well just so I can see what areas are supposed to be light and what areas are supposed to be dark. Get into the game, soon find some guards and a nearby alcove in total darkness so naturally I dash over to hide before they notice me. The guards walk by and immediately see through the dark to spot me as if they had night vision goggles.

I stopped playing the game not long after because there were a lot of things about the game I really didn’t like, but those first few minutes were a tone setter for me. To this day I still wonder why the devs felt it was so important to make sure some things were dark enough to not be visible to the player if everything was going to be visible to the NPCs.