History VideoGame / Awesomenauts

''Awesomenauts'' is a Free to Play 2D {{MOBA}} video game, released on UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam, from Ronimo Games (The guys who brought you ''SwordsAndSoldiers'').

* AliensAndMonsters: A good portion of the playable cast, which consists of the following:
** A genetically-engineered [[{{Cowboy}} space cowboy]][[note]][[Anime/CowboyBebop No, not THAT kind!]][[/note]]
** A one-armed French chameleon[[note]]The other arm is a sword[[/note]]
** A breakdancing ex-gangster frog
** An angry robot with a tendency to self-destruct
** A Soviet lab-monkey on an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI]]-JetPack[[note]]Specifically, a space monkey the Russians launched in the 1960s during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar[[/note]]
** A German BrainInAJar with a small army of flying robots
** A psionic alien [[SurferDude surfer]] [[GreenSkinnedSpaceBabe chick]]
** A [[TheDitz dim-witted]] alien on an AI-driven secretary desk
** [[HordeOfAlienLocusts An alien locust]] with acid spit
** An overweight [[HornyVikings space viking]]
** A mercenary with a {{BFG}} [[ColdSniper sniper rifle]]
** A criminal plankton riding a three-eyed pufferfish
** A religious yet gluttonous caterpillar
** A CuteAndPsycho little girl with psionic powers
** An interstellar sea captain who literally IS [[EverythingsSquishierWithCephalopods a squid]]
** A SpaceMarine who lacks pants for some reason
** A [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom fox]] ActionGirl with a [[PowerFist robotic gauntlet]]
** An [[MasterOfDisguise infiltrator]] KillerRobot
** A Rasta techno-shaman
** A [[BlobMonster gelatinous]] KnightInShiningArmor
** A [[GenkiGirl hyperactive]] and [[BigEater hungry]] dragon
** A grizzled ex-cop [[BirdPeople bird man]] with a laserbow
** A hairdresser-turned-assassin wearing a VR headset
** A {{Time Travel}}ing AbsentMindedProfessor
** A bucktoothed, hoverbike-driving BountyHunter
** A baby piloting a MiniMecha
** A NatureSpirit environmentalist made of crystal
** An IntrepidReporter robot drone
** A [[ALoadOfBull cow-man]] bodybuilder
** A [[SassyBlackWoman Sassy Black Frog-Woman]] with a hip-hop career
** An AwesomeAussie crocodile with a flamethrower arm
** A miniature rocketeer who's the leader of a mercenary force
** A deadly mantis FemmeFatale

* SpeciesSurname: Zig-zagged. Played straight for most of the PettingZooPeople in the game. Unknown if Genji, Vinnie, and Smiles follow it, and it's completely averted by Swiggins and Deadlift.
** Played with in Leon's case, as while his last name is Chameleon, his species is actually a Kremzon.
* SpringsSpringsEverywhere: All the maps contain spring-pads in certain places, allowing for a one-way, brief burst of speed.

-->'''Game intro's OpeningNarration'''

** An AwesomeAussie crocodile with a flamethrower arm

** Balance - Lonestar, Skølldir, Raelynn, Admiral Swiggins, Skree, Scoop, Ix, Max Focus

* SpeciesSurname: Zig-zagged. Played straight for most of the PettingZooPeople in the game. Unknown if Genji and Vinnie follow it, and it's completely averted by Swiggins and Deadlift.

** Combat - Froggy G, Leon, Clunk, Coco Nebulon, Derpl Zork, Vinnie & Spike, Ayla, Ted [=McPain=], Penny Fox, Nibbs, Rocco, Ksenia, Chucho Krokk, Jimmy and the [=LUX5000=]
** Balance - Lonestar, Skølldir, Raelynn, Admiral Swiggins, Skree, Scoop, Max Focus
** Support - Voltar, Yuri, Gnaw, Genji, Sentry X-58, Professor Yoolip, Ix, Deadlift

* TwoGirlsToATeam: As of now, there are only 8 female characters to 25 male characters. 10 if you count Derpl's AI secretary, and 11 if you count Amy.

** For the girls, Raelynn plays this straight. Coco (her main attack is close range, but her most damaging special is a long-range lightning ball) and Ksenia (melee attack with one stealth skill and one ammo restricted ranged attack) are borderline. Slightly inverted with Ayla (a melee basic attack, an Area of Effect skill that damages enemies that get too close to her, even her projectile nuke skill is mid-range), Penny Fox (starts out subverting it but has a few upgrades that give her ranged capability) and Nibbs (built more for teleporting into and out of fights to deal damage at close range). Entirely subverted with Amy, Jimmy's DistaffCounterpart that replaces him on blue team.

* TwoGirlsToATeam: As of now, there are only 6 female characters to 23 male characters. 7 if you count Derpl's AI secretary, and 8 if you count Amy.

''Awesomenauts'' is a 2D {{MOBA}} video game, released on UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam, from Ronimo Games (The guys who brought you ''SwordsAndSoldiers'').

There have been rumors about a sequel to the game on the horizon, but it is not fully confirmed.

* ThemeMusicPowerup: When you're doing really well (getting a killing spree at 3, 6, and 9 kills in a row), the {{leitmotif}} for the 'Naut you're playing overrides the normal background music.

-->''"The year 3587. Conflict spans the stars. Huge armies are locked into an enduring stalemate. Only one force can help them now: the Awesomenauts!"''

* AWinnerIsYou: See the [[MostWonderfulSound bottom of this page]]

[[caption-width-right:350:Use your powers, show your might![[note]]Counter-clockwise: Lonestar, Voltar, Leon, Clunk, Froggy G, Yuri.[[/note]]]]

** Papa Gnaw (Kickstarter only)
** Voltar (Kickstarter only)
** SUSI
** Coco Nebulon
** Wildlife Narrator
** Wraithlord Scoop
** The Scrolls of Xi-Pang
** Ghosthouse
** Rockstar
** The Mind Collection
** Skree
** [=SlowWolf=] (Referral bonus)

** Support - Voltar, Yuri, Gnaw, Genji, Sentry X-58, Professor Yoolip, Ix
* CripplingOverspecialization: Voltar, a floating brain in a jar who focuses mainly upon healing, is this. Unable to purposefully do any damage at all to the enemy without upgrades (at least, until version 2.10, which gave his healing beam damaging properties against enemies), he instead relies upon AI drones that follow him around to inflict damage.
** Gnaw's reliance on Damage over Time leaves him very ineffective against healers and passive regeneration upgrades like Med-i-Can.

* CriticalExistenceFailure: You die instantly when your health bar reaches zero.

** Mostly averted with the 'Nauts, but all of them experience a slight slowing effect while firing and moving simultaneously, and activating most skills causes a momentary cessation of movement. Played straight with Raelynn, who remains completely still during the charge-up of her 'Snipe' skill, as well as Yuri, who cannot move at all while firing his laser.
** Played somewhat straight with Coco, Chucho (while on his bike), and Ted [=McPain=], who can't walk backwards while firing. None of the 'Nauts can move backwards while shooting, but in their case, their basic attacks fire so rapidly that there's no time for them to move before another shot is fired.
** Fully averted with Max's regular attack with an upgrade that removes the movement penalties while firing.

** The guys who play this straight are Leon, Skølldir, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop, Professor Yoolip, and Jimmy and the [=LUX5000=] (and arguably Froggy G, and Clunk, as their normal attacks are ranged but their specials are melee/close range, as well as Ix who has ranged specials and a ranged normal attack, but doesn't do much damage outside of melee). The rest subvert it.

* JetPack: Lonestar uses this to DoubleJump while Derpl, Clunk, Jimmy, and [=McPain=] use them to hover upward. Yuri can freely fly around with his.

** A [[TheDitz dim-witted]] alien on a secretary desk
** [[HordeOfAlienLocusts An alien locust]] with acid breath

** A grizzled ex-cop with a laserbow
** A hairdresser-turned-assassin on a VR screen

** ''Support'': The oddball class. They provide CC effects, healing, shields, or other powerful bonuses, but rely on their teammates to back them up.

* BloodlessCarnage: Subverted. While the characters do not bleed when hit, blood splats ''do'' appear on the screen if you take heavy damage in one go.

** The guys who play this straight are Leon, Skølldir, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop, Professor Yoolip, and Jimmy and the [=LUX5000=] (and arguably Froggy G, and Clunk, as their normal attacks are ranged but their specials are melee/close range, as well as Ix who has ranged specials and a ranged AA, but doesn't do much damage outside of melee). The rest subvert it.
** For the girls, Raelynn plays this straight. Coco (her main attack is close range, but her most damaging special is a long-range lightning ball) and Ksenia (melee attack with one stealth skill and one ammo restricted ranged attack) are borderline. Slightly inverted with Ayla (a melee basic attack, an AOE skill that damages enemies that get too close to her, even her projectile nuke skill is mid-range), Penny Fox (starts out subverting it but has a few upgrades that give her ranged capability) and Nibbs (built more for teleporting into and out of fights to deal damage at close range). Entirely subverted with Amy, Jimmy's DistaffCounterpart that replaces him on blue team.

** A one-armed French-speaking space chameleon[[note]]The other arm is a sword[[/note]]

** An armored BrainInAJar with a small army of flying robots

** A [[TheDitz dim-witted]] alien on a nuclear-powered[[note]]Literally![[/note]] secretary desk

** A religious yet gluttonous giant caterpillar
** A CuteAndPsycho little alien girl with psionic powers

** A grizzled, ex-cop bird with a laserbow
** A hairdresser-turned-assassin

** The Scrolls of Xi Pang

* SpeciesSurname: Zig-zagged. Played straight for most of the PettingZooPeople in the game. Unknown if Genji and Vinnie follow it, and it's completely averted by Swiggins.

* TwoGirlsToATeam: As of now, there are only 6 female characters to 21 male characters. 7 if you count Derpl's AI secretary, and 8 if you count Amy.

[[ExcusePlot Right, with the plot out of the way]], the game is what takes centre stage from here. Think of the structure of a typical {{MOBA}} game (lanes with creeps going down them, turrets at periodic moments, and a base you have to destroy at the end), but recontextualised as a 2D platformer. This naturally opens up some slightly different skill sets to what you'd expect from something like ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'', ''DefenseOfTheAncientsAllStars'' and the like.

** Mind Collection

** Balance - Lonestar, Skølldir, Raelynn, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop, Max Focus

** The guys who play this straight are Leon, Skølldir, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop, Professor Yoolip, and Jimmy and the [=LUX5000=] (and arguably Froggy G, and Clunk, as their normal attacks are ranged but their specials are melee/close range, as well as Ix, who has ranged specials AND a ranged AA, but doesn't do much damage outside of melee). The rest subvert it.

** A rapping ex-gangster frog
** An angry robot with the tendency to self-destruct
** A Soviet lab-monkey on a [[AIIsACrapshoot crapshoot AI]]-JetPack[[note]]Specifically, a space monkey the Russians launched in the 1960s during the UsefulNotes/ColdWar[[/note]]

** [[HordeOfAlienLocusts An alien locust]]

** A religious yet gluttonous humanoid caterpillar

** An alien techno-shaman

** A grizzled, ex-cop bird-man with a laserbow

** Balance - Lonestar, Skølldir, Raelynn, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop

* VideoGameFlight: Vinnie and Spike have a Franchise/{{Kirby}}-esque floating ability; however, most maps are claustrophobic and he has a ranged attack. Yuri, Ayla, and Chucho can fly freely, but Ayla can only fly when using Rage and Chucho can only fly while riding his hoverbike.

* EvilOverlooker: [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gj6ejHuBe5E Used for the picture used in this video]].

* FloatingPlatforms

* InASingleBound: All of the characters in the game excluding Clunk, Voltar, Vinnie & Spike, Derpl, Jimmy, and Ted [=McPain=], have super-human jumps which are essential for making getaways, Leon and Froggy G more so than the rest.
** And even then, Clunk, Derpl, Jimmy, and [=McPain=] have jet-packs, Voltar can hover, and Yuri and Spike can fly (Vinnie rides on Spike's back).

* KingMook: The Solar Bosses are this to the neutral creeps on the Ribbit IV map. They're very tough, have a powerful attack, and quickly regenerate health when left alone. However, they drop a lot of solar when killed and instantly heal whoever lands the killing blow.

* MiniMecha: Derpl's AI-driven secretary desk also acts as a combat walker and a weapons platform.

* [[NPCRoadblock PC Roadblock]]: Enemy players can't pass through each other. If you find yourself stopping in place while you're holding a directional button, there's probably an invisible Leon trying to slink past.

* ShowsDamage: Turrets begin to spark and smoke whenever they're damaged noticeably.
* SingleBiomePlanet: Ribbit IV is entirely a swamp and Sorona is a desert.

* ShoutOut: By the truckload. Some achievement names reference cartoons from the '80s. The characters' quotes and upgrade descriptions are also full of various references.
** [[Franchise/{{Transformers}} Awesomenauts, roll out!]]
** [[WesternAnimation/BionicSix Bionic family.]]
** [[WesternAnimation/{{Bravestarr}} Hawk, wolf, puma, and bear.]]
** [[WesternAnimation/PolePosition In pole position.]]
** [[WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanetAndThePlaneteers Let our powers combine!]]
** [[Franchise/MastersOfTheUniverse Master of the Universe!]]
** [[WesternAnimation/{{Centurions}} Party at Sky Vault.]]
** [[WesternAnimation/TheRealGhostbusters Slimer's evil twin.]]
** [[Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles T-U-R-R-E-T powah!]]
** [[WesternAnimation/ThunderCats Thunder, thunder, thunder!]]
** [[WesternAnimation/SilverHawks On wings of silver.]]
** [[Franchise/GIJoe Yoooo JOE!]]
** Clunk can't seem to go three lines without referencing a rock song (or sometimes, other famous robots).
--> ''"[[AC: Clunk; [[Music/CheapTrick All wound up and ready to go.]]"'' ]]
--> ''"[[AC: [[Music/TenaciousD You cannot kill the metal.]]"'' ]]
--> ''"[[AC: [[{{WesternAnimation/Futurama}} Bite Clunk's shiny metal.]]"'' ]]
** [[Music/JamesBrown "Daddy's got a brand new bag!"]]
** [[Franchise/StarTrek "Resistance is futile."]]
** [[WesternAnimation/SouthPark "Screw you guys, I'm goin' home!"]]
** [[LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} "See you later, Shiplords!"]]
** Penny Fox quotes multiple lines from VideoGame/StarFox64.
** The hidden EasterEgg game "Roflnauts" is a {{Retraux}}-style ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Smash Bros.]]'' game. It gives the characters silly names, such as "[[VideoGame/MegaManClassic Megoman]]" for Clunk and "[[Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog Honic]]" for Leon.

[[caption-width-right:350:Use your powers, show your might!]]

* AprilFools: On April 1st, 2016, Awesomenauts got a retro update; complete with chiptunes and a pixel filter. The pixelation could be switched on and off by pressing ctrl+P.
* AreaOfEffect: Examples include Clunk's self-destruct, Lonestar's dynamite, Yuri's time bubble, Derpl's nuke, Voltar's healbot, and Coco's lightning ball. Furthermore, Lonestar's Bull can be upgraded to explode on any nearby targets once it expires and Voltar's drones can be manually self-destructed to deal damage. In fact, the only 'Naut who ''doesn't'' have some kind of AOE move is Ksenia.

* CharacterCustomization: Each character has their own set of skills, but their loadout of skills and subsequent builds can be customised.

* ColourCodedMultiplayer: Every 'Naut can fight against an opposing identical 'Naut, the only difference being a red or blue-themed colour scheme and sometimes a costume change.

** Any character that uses large amounts of crowd control have their effectiveness halved by [[WeaksauceWeakness Baby Kuri Mammoth]], a utility item available to almost every character. If they built too heavy into [=CC=], most of their power is gone.

* DropInDropOutMultiplayer

** The guys who play this straight are Leon, Skølldir, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop, Professor Yoolip, and Jimmy and the [=LUX5000=] (and arguably Froggy G and Clunk, as their normal attacks are ranged but their specials are melee/close range). The rest subvert it.

* HomingBoulders: Clunk's rockets (with an upgrade), Gnaw's Weedling shots, Derpl's missiles (an upgrade for his turret), and Chucho's turret shots.

* InASingleBound: All of the characters in the game excluding Clunk, Voltar, Vinnie & Spike, Derpl, Jimmy, and Ted [=McPain=], have super-human jumps which are essential for making getaways, Leon and Froggy G. moreso than the rest.

* InterfaceScrew: Some skills can be upgraded to blind players, which temporarily darkens the edges of their screen.
** As of version 2.3, being blinded whites out most of the screen instead.

* JetPack: Lonestar and Skølldir use these to DoubleJump while Derpl, Clunk, Jimmy, and [=McPain=] use them to hover upward.

** Played straight as of patch 2.12, which overhauled the game to include an XP System. Every Awesomenaut has scaling damage and health based on their team level.

* PokemonSpeak: At least, if the below SpeaksInBinary example is true.

** A one-armed french-speaking alien chameleon [note] the other arm is a sword [[/note]].
** A rapping ex-gangster alien frog

** A dim-witted alien on a nuclear-powered[[note]]Literally![[/note]] walking secretary desk

** A criminally sadistic little alien girl with psionic powers
** An interstellar sea captain who literally IS a squid

** A grizzled, ex-cop bird-man archer

** A crystal NatureSpirit fighting against mining companies

* AprilFools: On April 1st, 2016, Awesomenauts got a retro update; complete with chiptunes and a pixel filter. The pixellation can be switched on and off by pressing ctrl+P.

** With the "Overdrive" expansion, the earlier nauts will be redesigned with more detail and animation to match the newer nauts. [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/awesomenauts_overdrive_sheriff_lonestar_graphical_update.jpg Here's comparision between old Lonestar and new Lonestar]].

** Balance - Lonestar, Gnaw, Skølldir, Raelynn, Admiral Swiggins, Scoop
** Support - Voltar, Yuri, Genji, Sentry X-58, Professor Yoolip, Ix

* ContextSensitiveButton: Depending on the platform, there is one button that does naught but open the shop screen, and only while you are at the shop.

** A one-armed french-speaking alien chameleon

** Penny Fox quotes multiple lines from StarFox64.

* ColourCodedMultiplayer: Every 'Naut can fight against an opposing identical 'Naut, the only difference being a red or blue-themed colour scheme.

** [[JamesBrown "Daddy's got a brand new bag!"]]

** A criminal plankton riding a three-eyed PufferFish

There have been rumors about a sequel to the game on the horizon, But it is not fully confirmed.

* AirborneMook: AI Stations 404 and 205 have one spawner on each side that spawn up to three bird droids for the corresponding team. These drones will fly, and are thus immune to getting attacked by ground droids.

** A genetically-engineered [[{{Cowboy}} Space cowboy]][[note]][[Anime/CowboyBebop No, not THAT kind!]][[/note]]

** A dim-writted alien on a nuclear-powered[[note]]Literally![[/note]] walking secretary desk

** A [[UsefulNotes/FurryFandom fox]] ActionGirl with a robotic claw

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: Most of the cast, excluding Yuri, who is an ordinary monkey, and Derpl, who might be too dim-witted to speak coherently. Both characters double-subvert this trope by having on-board computers translate for them.[[note]]Arguably, others aren't quite sure if it's Yuri or the computer that is truly in control.[[/note]]

* CombatAndSupport: As with all MOBA games, there is a division of certain roles, as suited to different characters. Sheriff Lonestar is extremely adept at pushing a lane, Clunk can dish out and take a lot of damage, and Voltar serves as the team's medic and possesses very little offensive skills at all. Of course, these roles are not rigidly defined, but generally the characters would fall into the categories below;

* HomingBoulders: Clunk's rockets (with an upgrade), Gnaw's Weedling shots and Chucho's turret shots.

* InASingleBound: All of the characters in the game excluding Clunk, Voltar, Vinnie & Spike, Derpl, Jimmy, and Ted [=McPain=], have super-human jumps which are essential to make getaways, Leon and Froggy G. moreso than the rest.
** And even then, Clunk, Derpl, Jimmy, and [=McPain=] have jet-packs, Voltar can hover, and Yuri and Spike can fly (Vinnie rides on his back).

''Awesomenauts'' is a 2D {{MOBA}} video game, released on PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, and Steam, from Ronimo Games (The guys who brought you ''SwordsAndSoldiers'').

** A {{Time Travel}}ing AbsentMindedProfessor who summons holographic dino-bots

** A crystal alien fighting against mining companies.

** Support - Voltar, Yuri, Genji, Sentry X-58, Professor Yoolip

* DoubleJump: Some characters perform this by using a JetPack. Other characters have the traditional type as well.