Lad struck by lightning while playing a video game about cat stuck in thunderstorm

Contrary to popular belief, video games will not rot your brain, but they may very well near-kill you.

One lad experienced the unfortunate and incredibly rare incident of being struck by lightning while inside on his couch and playing video games.

They say the chances of being struck by lightning are one in a million, but surely being struck while in the comfort of your home is even more ridiculously high.

The Metro reports that Aidan Rowan, 33, was on his PlayStation when he heard a loud crack followed by an intense sensation throughout his body.

After beginning to feel searing heat in his right arm and his partner hinting at a burning smell (yikes), they decided he needed to get to the emergency room.

Ironically, Aidan was playing the game Stray at the time, a game centred around attempting to save a cat from vicious thunderstorms, among many other desolate scenarios.

In attempting to traverse through the in-game city and out of the lightning strikes and heavy rain, art imitated life as he found himself in a fiery predicament of his own. 

Could save the cat but couldn’t save himself. 

Rowan told the Metro: “I was on the sofa playing a game where you play as a stray cat and it was thundering outside.

“There was a very loud crack of thunder and I sort of felt a very heavy sensation all over and then a searing heat in my right arm where there are now burns.

“It took about a minute to come back to my senses, I felt very, very confused. I went upstairs and asked my husband for a wet towel as I didn’t know what had happened but my arm was burning.

“He asked what that smell was and it was me burning. He then called his parents to take me to the hospital. He said he could see my arm blistering as he watched.

Rowan revealed that upon making it to the emergency room, he was seen by nine doctors, all from different departments.

Thankfully, he was okay and was left with just a series of scars on his left arm and a ‘starburst’-shaped burn on his right hand.

Doctors believed the lightning had bounced off the water on the window and into the room.

He’ll perhaps avoid picking up the controller and popping on Stray for a while now to avoid the post-incident trauma.