History Reconstruction / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/{{Bloodborne}}'' takes every aspect of GothicHorror that's [[SeinfeldIsUnfunny considered old hat nowadays]] and makes it scary again, in large part by making sure NotUsingTheZWord is in full effect so there's no immediate familiarity to latch onto. The Beast Disease turns [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent infectious lycanthropy]] into a full-blown [[ThePlague epidemic]] that transforms people into [[AnimalisticAbomination what werewolves would look like if they got a healthy dose of Chernobyl radiation]], in a way that's permanent, disfiguring, and [[PainfulTransformation excruciatingly painful]]. The CreepyCrows that sit on roofs and caw cease to be corny when they're [[FeatheredFiend as big as dogs]] and their "cawing" is [[HellIsThatNoise the sound that Hell makes when it's peckish]]. Mobs of villagers wielding TorchesAndPitchforks become completely unaware that [[AndThenJohnWasAZombie they are the infected monsters they're hunting]], degrading into common {{Mook}}s that grow progressively more mutated as the game progresses. The {{Mad Scientist}}s are not satisfied with merely PlayingGod, they have aspirations of ''[[AGodAmI becoming gods]]'', and their TranshumanTreachery is ultimately [[spoiler: what gave birth to the Beast Disease. And at the heart of it all are the Great Ones, who in turn reconstruct the Lovecraftian CosmicHorrorStory by being {{Outside Context Problem}}s who seemingly come out of nowhere and have motives and abilities that are just so alien, they cannot even ''begin'' to be understood by a sane mind.]]

* Bang Shishigami from ''{{VideoGame/BlazBlue}}'' started as a JokeCharacter, essentially showing [[DeconstructiveParody what would happen]] if a StockShonenHero was dumped into a BlackAndGreyMorality CrapsackWorld. Short answer is he annoys people and gets beat up a lot. But as the series went on, he became increasingly important and powerful due to being one of the few characters [[BigBad Terumi]] didn't troll to hell and back and possessing [[SpannerInTheWorks the key to stopping the villains' plans]]. By the time of the third game he's a bit OlderAndWiser but no less hammy, genuinely inspires people (including the absurdly jaded [[NinetiesAntiHero Ragna]]) and [[spoiler: helps save the world, for the moment at least, with a Super Saiyan style ThemeMusicPowerUp moment.]]

** Both games are a reconstruction of the original games. While ''VideoGame/Doom3'' took many things about the original games apart through a SurvivalHorror route, the newer ''Doom''s goes back to its roots and has running, gunning, ripping, and tearing your foes apart with whatever you can get your hands on, which is basically everything.

** The game is a reconstruction of the original games. While ''VideoGame/Doom3'' took many things about the original games apart through a SurvivalHorror route, the newer ''Doom'' goes back to its roots and has running, gunning, ripping, and tearing your foes apart with whatever you can get your hands on, which is basically everything.
** It also a reconstructs OneManArmy, as it's shown that a SpaceMarine that could cut down the forces of hell singlehandedly [[TheDreaded is definitely not a mere "Space Marine"]].
** Among other things, CriticalExistenceFailure, LifeDrain, RoadRunnerPC, and WalkingArmory is explained by how the Doomguy is supernaturally empowered.

** The sequel then goes on to reconstruct the [[BigBad Ultimate-Villain-]][[AIIsACrapshoot Is-An-Eeevil-Supercomputer]] cliché by depicting how far an ''entire civilization'' would have to screw up to create something simultaneously hyper-sapient and singularly obsessed with eradicating all PunyEarthlings, and how horrifying such a villain can truly be: [[spoiler:A Fiction500 cabal of elitist sociopaths fled Earth during the apocalypse, built a new society on Sirius, and then invented a way to make themselves immortal so their society would never grow up. After a thousand years of hedonistic and backwards science powered by A.I. slaves, they decided to take the next step and merged copies of their brain scans to create a fully sapient A.I., Nemesis, but decided the project was prone to failure and scrapped it. Then, in character with their sociopathic MadScientist culture, they locked Nemesis up in a bare-bones simulation to observe the long-term effects of total sensory shutdown on a sapient A.I. - it went completely insane. By this point, Nemesis has the neural 'DNA' of hundreds of sociopaths, a cacophonous HiveMind made of the imprints of the worst isolationists in human history ''forced to think as one'', and enough psychological damage to permanently disable its capacity to GrowBeyondTheirProgramming, which is now pure cyberized hatred. Then it realized that since its 'parents' never had new generations or enemies, ''they didn't update their cybersecurity for centuries''. Nemesis inputs centuries-old passwords, ''they work'', apocalypse ensues. Despite their godlike knowledge and borderline-magical powers, they are ''incapable'' of thinking about anything but the destruction of every trace of their creators - Earth, as one of the only remaining planets capable of housing the survivors, is merely ''collateral damage''.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': The [[TheHeavy acting main antagonist]], [[DemonLordsAndArchdevils Demon Lord Ghirahim]], reconstructs the time-honored trope of BondVillainStupidity. Ghirahim is presented as a sadistic narcissist with a love of bloodshed, and yet instead of logically ending the initially inexperienced Link right then and there, he either [[JustToyingWithThem holds back when fighting him]] or delegates the responsibility of killing Link to whatever serves as the current BossBattle. As the game goes on, Ghirahim himself [[LampshadeHanging acknowledges]] that he should've gone all out and made sure Link was out of the way from the beginning. But additionally, Ghirahim does give a valid reason as to why he won't just kill Link: he considers indulging in his bloodlust an indulgent distraction from his true goal: restoring his master, the Demon King Demise,

** The first two games of the franchise basically took apart the HeroicFantasy genre with a butcher knife: the story takes place in a CrapsackWorld where Demons are running around murdering everyone in gruesome fashion ForTheEvulz, Angels are {{Knight Templar}}s who hardly care about humanity, and human heroes who try to slay demonlords only end up helping them, being corrupted, or becoming AxeCrazy, if not all of those at the same time. ''VideoGame/DiabloII'' presents the first stage of reconstruction, although it takes a RetCon: Turns out, while the heroes ended up helping the demons unwittingly, they did not go AxeCrazy, and instead went their separate ways with their sanity, allowing them to pass in peace and pass their mantle to the next generation of heroes. However, in the expansion of ''III'', the story is in a trial whether the reconstruction will stay or it will be deconstructed again: [[spoiler:Malthael, a high ranking angel, went insane and undid the efforts of defeating evil in the vanilla game, but then, your hero still kicked his ass anyway. However, at that point, Tyrael became aware that the Nephalem protagonist has defeated the champions of Heaven and Hell and if they would ever get tempted into evil, that'll doom everyone. That has yet to be revealed, but throughout the game, the Nephalem has always sided with humanity and protecting them so they may have a means to resist the temptation...]]

* The ''Franchise/KingdomHearts'' series is well-known for its dense original lore and its huge cast of original characters, but it's also one of the most successful Reconstructions of the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon ever attempted. It came out in 2002, when Disney was in the middle of a major slump following the end of the Disney Renaissance of the previous decade, and struggling to sell their signature brand of colorful, optimistic, family-friendly entertainment to a new generation of children growing up in the shadow of 9/11. Like the best Reconstructions, it manages to tap into what made Disney films so beloved in their heyday while also accepting many of the criticisms of them -- namely, that they'd become [[SweetnessAversion too cute and innocent for their own good]], and that characters like WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse and WesternAnimation/DonaldDuck had become glorified corporate mascots with no personality. The result is a massive CrisisCrossover wherein a huge array of classic Disney characters join forces for a massive battle between Good and Evil that takes quite a few cues from classic fantasy; among other things, Mickey is reimagined as a benevolent [[TheGoodKing Good King]] who protects the {{Multiverse}} from the forces of Darkness with the help of his royal court, and the Franchise/{{Disney Princess}}es are reimagined as a coterie of angelic figures who act as the embodiments of Light and Love. The saga certainly has [[DarkerAndEdgier more violence and horror than your average Disney movie]], but it's also a celebration of the wonder and innocence of childhood, starring a wide-eyed KidHero who always triumphs over evil through the PowerOfFriendship.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' is, bizarrely enough, a rather large Reconstruction of ForTheEvulz {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s. [[BigBad King]] [[TheCaligula Ashnard]], for the first 80% of the game, looks like a non-too-subtle mockery of JRPG villains like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]], as characters frequently find themselves realizing, particularly in the last couple of chapters, [[AndThenWhat how the pointless destruction that the war brings is of no benefit to Ashnard whatsoever since, by the time he's done, there'll be nobody left to rule]]. Then you find out that, actually, he ''does'' have a reason -- one that makes him [[MagnificentBastard a far more impressive villain]] than the usual power-mad psychotic. [[spoiler:[[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans He is intent on creating a Darwinian dystopia in which everyone without the strength, cunning, or ruthlessness to rise above their situation and gain prominence will be left in the dirt]]. To do that, he needs to utterly obliterate the world's current ideology right down to its foundations. In short, his worldview is just the next step up from [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership the way in which the Laguz choose their rulers]]. Most notably, Ashnard outright admits to Ike in the final battle that he doesn't care if he dies as long as he achieves his ideal world.]]

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' is, bizarrely enough, a rather large Reconstruction of ForTheEvulz {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s. [[BigBad King]] [[TheCaligula Ashnard]], for the first 80% of the game, looks like a non-too-subtle mockery of JRPG villains like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]], as characters frequently find themselves, particularly in the last couple of chapters, [[AndThenWhat how the pointless destruction that the war brings is of no benefit to Ashnard whatsoever since, by the time he's done, there'll be nobody left to rule]]. Then you find out that, actually, he ''does'' have a reason -- one that makes him [[MagnificentBastard a far more impressive villain]] than the usual power-mad psychotic. [[spoiler:[[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans He is intent on creating a Darwinian dystopia in which everyone without the strength, cunning, or ruthlessness to rise above their situation and gain prominence will be left in the dirt]]. To do that, he needs to utterly obliterate the world's current ideology right down to its foundations. In short, his worldview is just the next step up from [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership the way in which the Laguz choose their rulers]]. Most notably, Ashnard outright admits to Ike in the final battle that he doesn't care if he dies as long as he achieves his ideal world.]]

** The only exception to the series-wide reconstruction of [[RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething both]] [[TheWisePrince tropes]] is ''VideoGame/FireEmblemGenealogyOfTheHolyWar'', which shows the deadly consequences of being too trusting... [[DeconReconSwitch then proceeding to show the deceased lord's son successfully wage a rebellion to liberate the continent from]] TheEmpire.

** The series as a whole tends to reconstruct the {{romantici|sm}}zed depictions of the RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and TheWisePrince tropes. Many of the lords depicted throughout the series tend to be a kind and compassionate prince/princess, but rather naive on the workings of the world. While franchises like ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' would waste no time savagely deconstructing these tropes, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that there are undoubtedly flaws in the lord's naivete and compassion, but also points out that this tends to help a lot better than it would hurt: many instances of the blue-blooded hero/heroine's charisma and compassion [[MagneticHero end up attracting other soldiers to their cause]], while also having [[GoodPaysBetter their heroic intentions end up paying far better than pragmatism]]. And even though the lord's naivete may be the response of troubles in the future, their charisma and ability to create an entire army of loyal friends and allies makes attempts on the lord's life unsuccessful for the majority of the time. As a whole, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that being a good, kind-hearted prince/princess can be impractical and even dangerous at times, [[GoodPaysBetter but it also shows that this mentality helps far more than it does to be distrusting and pragmatic]].

** The series as a whole tends to reconstruct the {{romantici|sm}}zed depictions of the RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and TheWisePrince tropes. Many of the lords depicted throughout the series tend to be a kind and compassionate prince/princess, but rather naive on the workings of the world. While franchises like ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' would waste no time savagely deconstructing these tropes, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that there are undoubtedly flaws in the lord's naivete and compassion, but also points out that this tends to help a lot better than it would hurt: many instances of the blue-blooded hero/heroine's charisma and compassion [[MagneticHero ends up attracting other soldiers to their cause]], while also having [[GoodPaysBetter their heroic intentions end up paying far better than pragmatism]]. And even though the lord's naivete may be the response of troubles in the future, their charisma and ability to create an entire army of loyal friends and allies makes attempts on the lord's life unsuccessful for the majority of the time. As a whole, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that being a good, kind-hearted prince/princess can be impractical and even dangerous at times, [[GoodPaysBetter but it also shows that this mentality helps far more than it does to be distrusting and pragmatic]].

** The series as a whole tends to reconstruct the {{Romantici|sm}}zed depictions of the RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and TheWisePrince tropes. Many of the lords depicted throughout the series tend to be a kind and compassionate prince/princess, but rather naive on the workings of the world. While franchises like ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' would waste no time savagely deconstructing these tropes, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that there's undoubtedly flaws in the lord's naivete and compassion, but also points out that this tends to help a lot better than it would hurt: many instances of the blue-blooded hero/heroine's charisma and compassion [[MagneticHero ends up attracting other soldiers to their cause]], while also having [[GoodPaysBetter their heroic intentions end up paying far better than pragmatism]]. And even though the lord's naivete may be the response of troubles in the future, their charisma and ability to create an entire army of loyal friends and allies makes attempts on the lord's life unsuccessful for the majority of the time. As a whole, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that being a good, kind-hearted prince/princess can be impractical and even dangerous at times, [[GoodPaysBetter but it also shows that this mentality helps far more than it does to be distrusting and pragmatic]].

** The series as a whole tends to reconstruct the [[{{Romanticism}} romantic]] depictions of the RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething and TheWisePrince tropes. Many of the lords depicted throughout the series tend to be a kind and compassionate prince/princess, but rather naive on the workings of the world. While franchises like ''Series/GameOfThrones'' and ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'' would waste no time savagely deconstructing these tropes, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that there's undoubtedly flaws in the lord's naivete and compassion, but also points out that this tends to help a lot better than it would hurt: many instances of the blue-blooded hero/heroine's charisma and compassion [[MagneticHero ends up attracting other soldiers to their cause]], while also having [[GoodPaysBetter their heroic intentions end up paying far better than pragmatism]]. And even though the lord's naivete may be the response of troubles in the future, their charisma and ability to create an entire army of loyal friends and allies makes attempts on the lord's life unsuccessful for the majority of the time. As a whole, ''Fire Emblem'' acknowledges that being a good, kind-hearted prince/princess can be impractical and even dangerous at times, [[GoodPaysBetter but it also shows that this mentality helps far more than it does to be distrusting and pragmatic]].

* ''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'' seeks to revitalize the Mons genre by redesigning around all the problems that come with Fridge-Horroring these adorably fluffy creatures. Rather than capturing monsters, brainwashing them to love you the moment they're enslaved, and forcing them to fight one another for your reputation, you're using your supernatural recorders to ''copy'' the data of monsters and turn into them yourselves, typically for self-defense from said fairly-aggressive monsters. You're allowed to casually store, trade away, or even destroy your unneeded monster cassettes, because you're not actually enslaving living beings, but making mindless copies of their data to use as your weapons and armor. 'Trainers' have a far more active role, as their own strengths fuel the respective strengths of their monster forms, they need to put themselves directly in harm's way to 'catch' a monster, and they take damage if they've pushed their monsters' health past the breaking point. The humans' unique strength is that they can ''combine'' with other trainers to make stronger monsters. The wackiness needed to live in a magical monster-infested world is thoroughly addressed, as the entire human cast has ''no'' idea why they're stuck in another world or how any of this wackiness functions, only that they have to make the most of it and harness what they can experiment with. Most of the loot you acquire from fighting monsters is literally trash washed up from other worlds, the kind of stuff you'd expect curious animals to hold onto - but in a world that's cut off from industry, bartering for raw materials like these is a necessity.

** ''VideoGame/FireEmblemPathOfRadiance'' is, bizarrely enough, a rather large Reconstruction of ForTheEvulz {{Omnicidal Maniac}}s. [[BigBad King]] [[TheCaligula Ashnard]], for the first 80% of the game, looks like a non-too-subtle mockery of JRPG villains like [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Kefka]], as characters frequently find themselves, particularly in the last couple of chapters, [[AndThenWhat how the pointless destruction that the war brings is of no benefit to Ashnard whatsoever since, by the time he's done, there'll be nobody left to rule]]. Then you find out that, actually, he ''does'' have a reason -- one that makes him [[MagnificentBastard a far more impressive villain]] than the usual power-mad psychotic. [[spoiler:[[DystopiaJustifiesTheMeans He is intent on creating a Darwinian dystopia in which everyone without the strength, cunning, or ruthlessness to rise above their situation and gain prominence will be left in the dirt]]. To do that, he needs to utterly obliterate the world's current ideology right down to its foundations. In short, his worldview is just the next step up from [[AsskickingLeadsToLeadership the way in which the Laguz choose their rulers]].]]

{{Reconstruction}}s in video games.

* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'' rebuilt the heroic, swashbuckling fantasy RPG hero and world after ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII''[='s=] deconstruction and fleet of imitators.

''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'' seeks to revitalize the Mons genre by redesigning around all the problems that come with Fridge-Horroring these adorably fluffy creatures. Rather than capturing monsters, brainwashing them to love you the moment they're enslaved, and forcing them to fight one another for your reputation, you're using your supernatural recorders to ''copy'' the data of monsters and turn into them yourselves, typically for self-defense from said fairly-aggressive monsters. You're allowed to casually store, trade away, or even destroy your unneeded monster cassettes, because you're not actually enslaving living beings, but making mindless copies of their data to use as your weapons and armor. 'Trainers' have a far more active role, as their own strengths fuel the respective strengths of their monster forms, they need to put themselves directly in harm's way to 'catch' a monster, and they take damage if they've pushed their monsters' health past the breaking point. The humans' unique strength is that they can ''combine'' with other trainers to make stronger monsters. The wackiness needed to live in a magical monster-infested world is thoroughly addressed, as the entire human cast has ''no'' idea why they're stuck in another world or how any of this wackiness functions, only that they have to make the most of it and harness what they can experiment with. Most of the loot you acquire from fighting monsters is literally trash washed up from other worlds, the kind of stuff you'd expect curious animals to hold onto - but in a world that's cut off from industry, bartering for raw materials like these is a necessity.

%% ''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'' seeks to revitalize the Mons genre by redesigning around all the problems that come with Fridge-Horroring these adorably fluffy creatures. Rather than capturing monsters, brainwashing them to love you the moment they're enslaved, and forcing them to fight one another for your reputation, you're using your supernatural recorders to ''copy'' the data of monsters and turn into them yourselves, typically for self-defense from said fairly-aggressive monsters. You're allowed to casually store, trade away, or even destroy your unneeded monster cassettes, because you're not actually enslaving living beings, but making mindless copies of their data to use as your weapons and armor. 'Trainers' have a far more active role, as their own strengths fuel the respective strengths of their monster forms, they need to put themselves directly in harm's way to 'catch' a monster, and they take damage if they've pushed their monsters' health past the breaking point. The humans' unique strength is that they can ''combine'' with other trainers to make stronger monsters. The wackiness needed to live in a magical monster-infested world is thoroughly addressed, as the entire human cast has ''no'' idea why they're stuck in another world or how any of this wackiness functions, only that they have to make the most of it and harness what they can experiment with. Most of the loot you acquire from fighting monsters is literally trash washed up from other worlds, the kind of stuff you'd expect curious animals to hold onto - but in a world that's cut off from industry, bartering for raw materials like these is a necessity.

* ''VideoGame/{{XCOM2}}'' deconstruct and reconstruct TrainingFromHell. While the training your soldiers can undertake with [[CrazySurvivalist the Reapers]], the [[DefectorFromDecadence Skirmishers]], and the [[MilitaryMage Templars]] carry a "moderate" chance of injuring your soldiers so that they need hospitalization (for reference, going deep behind enemy lines to steal pass codes for the fortress of an enemy HeroUnit so you can bypass their ResurrectiveImmortality to have them KilledOffForReal carries an injury risk of "low"]), said training never actually kills or permanently cripple your soldiers (even if they're a rookie), showing that while their training is harsh, the three resistance factions know when to stop, and when you send your soldiers there to train, they do learn a lot, gaining both XP and stat increases.

%% * ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' deconstructs every single Western genre trope, then reconstructs every single one throughout the game into a massive SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome by the end.

** ''{{VideoGame/Undertale}}'' criticizes the player for [[WhatMeasureIsAMook treating monsters as disposable enemies]], and attempting to murder them all is a boring and frustrating slog that locks the player into the bad ending. Sparing all enemies you encounter, however, is necessary to achieve the {{Golden Ending}}. ''Everhood'' responds to this by flipping the entire route dynamic on its head. ''Everhood'' expects you to sympathize with all the named characters and view them as more then disposable enemies, yet [[spoiler: killing them is still a heroic act, as all of the characters are trapped in immortality and prevented from entering the cycle of reincarnation, going slowly insane from the ''millions'' of years they've spent trapped in the Everhood. And unlike in ''Undertale'', you don't have to kill every character on the No Mercy route or spend hours seeking random encounters, meaning the experience is not deliberately made unfun for the player. Conversely, going for the {{Pacifist Run}} described above gives the player bad ending.]]

** The sequel then goes on to reconstruct the AIIsACrapshoot BigBad of the overreaching series: [[spoiler:A Fiction500 cabal of elitist sociopaths fled Earth during the apocalypse, built a new society on Sirius, and then invented a way to make themselves immortal so their society would never grow up. After a thousand years of hedonistic and backwards science powered by constructing A.I. slaves, they decided to go the next step and merged copies of their brain scans to create a fully sapient A.I., Nemesis, but decided the project was prone to failure and scrapped it. Then, in character with their sociopathic scientist nature, they locked Nemesis up to observe the long-term effects of total sensory shutdown on a sapient A.I. - it went completely insane. By this point, Nemesis has the neural 'DNA' of hundreds of sociopaths, a cacophonous HiveMind of the worst isolationists in human history forced to think as one, and enough sensory deprivation to GoMadFromTheIsolation. Then it realized that since its 'parents' never had new generations or enemies, ''they didn't update their cybersecurity for centuries''. Apocalypse ensues. Despite their advanced knowledge and technological capacity, they are ''incapable'' of thinking about anything but the destruction of every trace of their creators - Earth, as one of the only remaining planets capable of housing the survivors, is merely ''collateral damage''.]]

* On the other hand, ''Videogame/{{Starbound}}'' successfully reconstructs the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' exploration-based SciFi, along with PlanetOfHats, as you are encouraged along with the story to learn about, befriend, and ally with the different alien races that once united under the Protectorate banner.

%% ''VideoGame/CassetteBeasts'' seeks to revitalize the Mons genre by redesigning around all the problems that come with Fridge-Horroring these adorably fluffy creatures. Rather than capture monsters and force them to fight one another, you're using your supernatural recorders to ''copy'' the data of monsters and turn into them yourselves. You're allowed to casually store and trade away your unneeded monsters, because you're not actually enslaving beings with souls, but weapons that you turn into yourself. 'Trainers' have a far more active role, as their own strengths fuel the respective strengths of their monster forms, they need to put themselves directly in harm's way to 'catch' a monster, and they take damage if they've pushed their monsters' health past the breaking point. The wackiness needed to live in a monster-infested world is thoroughly addressed, as the entire human cast has ''no'' idea why they're stuck in another world, only that they have to make the most of it. Most of the loot you acquire from fighting monsters is literally junk washed up from other worlds - but in a world that's cut off from industry, bartering for raw materials is a necessity.

** ''Undertale'' criticizes players' tendency to project themselves onto {{Silent Protagonist}} characters, as the character you name and the character you play as are shown through various means to have an identity and life separate from the player's actions. ''Everhood'' does the same, but towards the end of the game [[spoiler: Pink ''asks'' the player to project themselves onto them, as Pink does not have the courage or the strength to see their task through without the player's guidance. The player is not a wholly external influence on the world as they are in ''Undertale'', as their influence is both acknowledged and encouraged.]]
** ''Undertale'' discourages completionism for the sake of seeing all the endings, as it's pointed out that resetting after attaining the {{Golden Ending}} will rip all the characters away from their happy ending and set them back to the beginning. ''Everhood'' likewise subtly acknowledges that starting a {{New Game Plus}} will send all the characters back to the beginning and tear them away from the ending, but portrays this as a ''good'' thing. [[spoiler: Once every character has died, they are sent to a chamber resembling a [[{{UsefulNotes/Buddhism}} Buddhist]] mandala attended by a Bodhisattva-like sage, implying that they will reincarnate after the game ends. The characters in {{New Game Plus}} are implied to be their own reincarnated selves, meaning starting a new game is simply a natural part of the cycle of life and death.]]
* ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyTactics'' is a reconstruction of classic fantasy morality. The game takes place in a [[CrapsackWorld brutal, cynical world]] not unlike that of ''Literature/ASongOfIceAndFire'', full of GreyAndGrayMorality and ruthless pragmatism. Its two main characters begin the game as idealistic, before having their naivete shattered by the truth of how the world works. In the aftermath, one of them chooses to become a cynical pragmatist who believes that [[WellIntentionedExtremist the ends justify the means]]. The other chooses to remain steadfast, and find his idealism again. The former [[spoiler:ends up miserable and alone, having caused more suffering than he's alleviated]]. The latter [[spoiler:ends up sacrificing nearly everything in order to do what's right, but is clearly shown to be in the right, [[EarnYourHappyEnding gets to disappear with his sister and live in peace]], and is eventually vindicated by history]]. In general, it's a game about rejecting unbridled pragmatism and GreyAndGrayMorality, and doing the right thing even in a world that demands you adhere to its cynicism.

* The developers of ''VideoGame/NoMansSky'' are touting the game as this to exploration-based SciFi made popular by ''Franchise/StarTrek''. Unfortunately this turned out to be an example of Administrivia/TropesAreNotGood, as the game was widely panned for being tedious and repetitive, although recent updates released afterwards (mostly) managed to turn this around.

%% * ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' deconstructs every single Western genre trope, then reconstructs every single one throughout the game into a massive SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome by the end.''VideoGame/TacticsOgre''.