History CerebusSyndrome / VideoGames

** The main series has also been going in a darker direction ever since ''VideoGame/PokemonDiamondAndPearl'', continuing through ''VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite'', ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'', ''VideoGame/PokemonXAndY'', ''VideoGame/PokemonSunAndMoon'', and ''VideoGame/PokemonUltraSunAndUltraMoon''. Common recurring elements include more intimidating Pokémon, crazier villains with more destructive goals, and some seriously messed-up Pokédex entries.

** The cherry on top of this nightmare cake is ''[[VideoGame/MegaManLegends MegaMan Legends]]'' where we find that at some point in the several thousand years between ''ZX'' and ''Legends'' (at least according to fan-made timelines) the world flooded, leaving behind only a few islands. This or some other disaster killed all humans and reploids, destroyed everything that the previous heroes gave their lives for, and left the survivors [[spoiler:(A race of human-imitating machines called Carbons)]] completely dependent on the remnants of past technology to survive. The worst part is that there's no sign of people managing or every trying to get around this, meaning that unless something unexpected happens they're eventually going to go the same way as Neo Arcadia.

* ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' started off as a very early entry into the realm of 3D arcade style flying shoot-em-ups for the original UsefulNotes/PlayStation; though it was still at least somewhat more complicated than other competing titles and most of the gameplay elements that would define the series were already there, it didn't have much in the way of plot and was more or less a fairly straightforward game. By the time of Ace Combat 3[[note]]Well, the Japanese version. The rest of the world got a heavily butchered localization to the point you aren't even playing the same game.[[/note]], however, the flying and fighting aspects were framed by a deep and very well-developed story, which by the next title were often at best tangential in their impact on the player's actual missions and prone to focusing on the enemy just as much or more as on the player's side, as well as an increasing frequency in anti-war messages ([[{{Anvilicious}} odd in a game entirely about war, needless to say]]). The gameplay became more complex as well, introducing additional subtle realism tweaks such as more realistic aircraft momentum, and by the most recent title has had [[NintendoHard a corresponding effect on gameplay]]. The intro of the following game, which probably tries a bit too hard when it comes to conveying the impact of war, embodies this trope and was duly featured on ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}''.

* The ''VideoGame/{{Zookeeper}}'' puzzle game's apparent ExcusePlot is about a zoo keeper who has to keep order in a zoo in which the animals are rebelling against the strict, evil zoo curator, who tends to comically mock the keeper in the game over screen. If you play well enough, you learn the backstory: [[spoiler:the curator and his wife once wished to create the greatest zoo in the world, but then she died in an accident, which he [[ItsAllMyFault felt terribly guilty for]]. In his grief, he began to hate the zoo, until the zoo keeper's (his ''son'') hard work makes him see the error of his ways.]]