History DisproportionateRetribution / Videogames

** Throughout the series, the various CityGuards have a tendency to '''''aggressively''''' seek you out if you commit a crime, whether it's mass murder or [[ShopliftAndDie stealing a piece]] of VendorTrash worth a single gold. With the exception of ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsArena Arena]]'', it is {{Downplayed}} in that they will at least attempt to arrest you first (unless your bounty is exceptionally high, generally 5000+, at which point you'll be marked as "kill on sight"). In ''[[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIDaggerfall Daggerfall]]'', it can be averted. You always get a trial in which you can defend yourself, or have the ThievesGuild or [[MurderInc Dark Brotherhood]] intimidate the judge into letting you go if you belong to those factions.

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth dead and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that may or may not have inspired von Karma to coerce the false confession that Gregory exposed ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he was deceived about it by someone higher up in the prosecutorial food chain.]]

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that may or may not have inspired von Karma to coerce the false confession that Gregory exposed ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he was deceived about it by someone higher up in the prosecutorial food chain.]]

* ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''[='=]s Brotherhood missions, full stop. Worse, it's pure tit-for-tat DisproportionateRetribution. From peace talks where Maero, the Brotherhood leader, offers [[FanNickname Boss]] a 20/80 split out of respect for his accomplishments (as well as a realistic appraisal of the situation in light of Boss' fall from grace [[note]]It's realistic if the player goes after the Brotherhood missions first. If they've already completed the Ronin and/or Sons of Samedi missions, it's an insultingly small offer to a gang that's larger and more powerful than the Brotherhood is[[/note]]), Boss spits in his face and declares war over the implied insult. Boss opens by injecting Maero's tattoo ink with radioactive waste, Maero escalates by dragging Boss' second-in-command to death behind his gang's trucks, Boss then ruins Maero's rocker friend's career by burning his hand with a pyrotechnics display ''and'' locking Maero's girl in the trunk of her own car, then putting it last in a line of cars Maero would later crush with his monster truck. He even stays to gloat, tossing Maero the keys to the car just as the ganglord recognizes it. [[ViciousCycle And all of this only comprises about half of the Brotherhood missions.]]

** In the ''Hearts of Stone'' expansion [[HumanoidAbomination Gaunter O'Dimm]] kills a drunk who interrupts a conversation with Geralt by freezing time and then [[EyeScream inserting a wooden spoon into his eye handle-first]]. When he unfreezes time again the poor man is dead before he even hits the floor.

* In ''VisualNovel/DoubleHomework'', Dennis leaks major information on the protagonist (that the protagonist is a video game addict) because the protagonist interfered with his date with Tamara (which she clearly wasn't enjoying anyway.

*** It is played a little more straight in the endgame of this game after [[spoiler:Anders blows up the Chantry]]. In response to a ''single'' mage who wasn't even part of the local circle's actions, Meredith orders [[spoiler:the Right of Annulment: the death of every mage in Kirkwall, and without sanction from higher-ups, either]]. [[LampshadeHanging Sebastian even asks why it's necessary when the real criminal is right there.]] The irrational reaction is justified though, as [[spoiler:Meredith had been driven to madness and paranoia by the red Lyrium artifact.]] It can even be said that [[spoiler:Anders]] intentionally [[InvokedTrope invoked]] this. [[spoiler:Anders knew exactly [[BatmanGambit how Meredith would react]] to the Chantry's destruction and Elthina's death, and there was no way his plan to get the Circles to rebel would have worked without it.]]

* A comedic example occurs in ''VideoGame/Persona4'' when Yosuke signs the girls up for the school BeautyContest, and they retaliate by signing the boys up for the school crossdressing contest which as Yosuke points out, is far worse since they'd have the entire school laughing at them instead of fawning over them.
** Events like this are a RunningGag, as the male team members ([[ChivalrousPervert particularly Yosuke]]) are often the victims of violent UnprovokedPervertPayback at the girls' hands between missions.

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that may or may not have inspired von Karma to coerce the false confession that Gregory exposed ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he was deceived about it by someone higher up in the prosecutorial food chain.]][[spoiler:During the trial itself, Von Karma also attacks Phoenix Wright with his 50,000 volt taser to ensure Wright has no access to any of the evidence from Edgeworth's murder trial.]]

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that may or may not have inspired von Karma to coerce the false confession that Gregory exposed ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he was deceived about it by someone higher up in the prosecutorial food chain.]]

* Karma really is a bitch in the Dark Side ending of ''VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed''. [[spoiler:Instead of helping Kota, Galen gives into his desire for revenge against Vader and after winning, still tries to help Kota, so really, he's not even evil, he just had a moment of weakness. The result? Palpatine kills everyone except Galen, whom he ''crushes'' with his own ship and then rebuilds into his apprentice, promising to discard him the moment he [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness outlives his usefulness]].]] Considering how you get away scot-free in other morality ''StarWars'' games such as ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'', it does seem like Starkiller is something of the universe's ButtMonkey.

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that may or may not have inspired von Karma to coerce the false confession that Gregory exposed ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he was deceived about it by someone higher up in the prosecutorial food chain.

** In the fourth case of ''VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney'', [[spoiler:Manfred von Karma shoots Gregory Edgeworth and then adopts his son Miles in order to raise him to become the exact kind of AmoralAttorney Gregory despised. And to top it off, 15 years later, he tries to have Edgeworth convicted for murdering his own father! All because Gregory exposed von Karma's shady practices which resulted in him getting his first ever court penalty, [[ThePerfectionist ruining his perfect record]]. Ironically, ''Investigations 2'' reveals that the forged autopsy report that got von Karma his penalty actually ''wasn't'' his doing [[NotMeThisTime for once]], and he didn't even know about it. While it's understandable he'd be pissed at getting punished for something he didn't even do, it doesn't make his response any less disproportionate]].

--> '''Luso:''' You knifed nearly thirty guys over a spilled drink?! You're a threat to society!

* PlayedForLaughs in ''VideoGame/JurassicParkTheGame'' with Jessica, who was sent to the park to be with her dad because she was caught stealing. She sarcastically remarks on how her "punishment" for petty theft was to be trapped in a crumbling AmusementParkOfDoom that's overrun with dinosaurs who are killing people left and right if you pick the dialogue option fittingly titled "This totally isn't fair":

* In ''VideoGame/WaxWorks'', a witch tried to steal a chicken from one of your ancestors. She gets her hand chopped off for her trouble. In retribution, she cast a curse on your family bloodline in which whenever twins would be born, one would be forced into evilness and have to serve Beelzebub forever.

** In Tales From the Borderlands, Loaderbot can activate "Disproportionate Response Protocol" which is basically firing his weapons in all directions at basically everything. Ironically considering they were being beset by an army of psycho bandits armed with everything from assault rifles to rocket launchers, it's actually pretty proportionate.

* In one of the endings of {{VideoGame/DLIRIUM}}, [[spoiler:Ada murders her friends when they don't believe her story of being transported into a DarkWorld.]] May be justified, as it's implied that she was corrupted by [[ArtefactOfDoom the Casket]] and by Abel's manipulations.