History VideoGame / Poacher

* YouDidntAsk: [[spoiler:The reason why Rebecca doesn't give Derek the ability to breathe underwater from the get go. She needs to be reminded that humans need air.]]

* GoddamnedBats: Literal, as well as in the form of annoying birds.

* BonusBoss: [[spoiler:The Judge. With [[CaveStory Ballos]] levels of difficulty. ''Good luck.'']]

* EyeScream: The weak point of the Bargest. [[spoiler:Also the weak point of the first form of The Judge - you shoot out his eyes with the shotgun, and he spends the rest of the fight bleeding from his eye sockets.]]

* Marathon Boss: The BonusBoss.

* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard: Only in ''one'' boss fight, mostly because otherwise it wouldn't be much of a challenge: [[spoiler:Gamey and Magnus use two abilities you can buy in the shop, abilities that the player can't use simultaneously. Plus, an attack that Derek and Rebecca can't use at all.]]

* [[spoiler: BonusBoss]]: [[spoiler:The Judge. With [[CaveStory Ballos]] levels of difficulty. ''Good luck.'']]

* HairRaisingHare: The Barghests, rabbits taller than Derek.

* MacGuffin: The Blemineg artifacts. Refreshingly, they can be acquired in any order. [[spoiler:They don't actually do anything - Derek and Rebecca are powering up by themselves for the most part. This is even lampshaded by the fact that they're ''kettles''.]]

''Poacher'' is a 2D side-scrolling, {{Metroidvania}} made by [[BenCroshaw Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw. In a depature from his previous titles, it is his first game not to use the AGS engine.

''Poacher'' is a freeware GameMaker game made by [[BenCroshaw Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]], of the ZeroPunctuation fame. This is Yahtzee's first platforming game that doesn't use the AGS engine, mainly due to the fact that he's admitted it's better to get the right tools for the right job rather than fiddle with your existing tools to get a desired result. This is his attempt at creating what he considers the right balance of gameplay and storytelling in a video game.

The game begins as Derek Badger, an [[UnfazedEveryman unflappable]] [[OopNorth Yorkshireman]] who poaches game for a living, is out doing his thing at night by killing white rabbits (or just going for a midnight stroll with his shotgun), and is confronted by the local gamekeeper, Archibald, his [[VitriolicBestBuds best friend and archnemesis]], who Derek calls "Gamey". When Gamey accidentally falls into a large hole while trying to arrest him, Derek goes down to help him out, only to discover the Underworld, inhabited by flesh-eating rabbits, and he rescues a spirit, Rebecca, from the "Dark Ones". Rebecca combines her power with Derek in order for the both of them to get her back home, but it quickly becomes apparent that the pair have gotten themselves into a much bigger mess than they realized.

The game is a 2D sidescrolling {{Metroidvania}}. Derek has the ability to jump, fire his shotgun in four cardinal directions, and over time, he acquires more abilities with the help of Rebecca, allowing him to travel to various parts of the underworld, defeat enemies and bosses, and ultimately complete his quest.

Can be downloaded [[http://fullyramblomatic-yahtzee.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/get-poachin.html here.]]

* Badass: Derek. Dear God, Derek. An unflappable Yorkshireman with a shotgun, he starts off badass before he even compacts with Rebecca. Speaking of whom, Rebecca [[TookALevelInBadass certainly developed her badassery]] by tagging along with Derek, and together, they're virtually unstoppable.

* [[spoiler: Bonus Boss]]: [[spoiler:The Judge. With [[CaveStory Ballos]] levels of difficulty. ''Good luck.'']]

* KillerRabbit: And ''how''.

* HairRaisingHare: The Barghests, rabbits twice as tall as Derek.

* [[DevilButNoGod / GodIsEvil]]: Depending on your interpretation of [[spoiler:The Judge]].

* MultipleEndings: Mainly depending on a few factors. [[spoiler:You need to hear the whole backstory in order to get the Good ending - the player will be outright alerted that facing the Dark Lord without doing so may be a bad idea. There is also a secret ending that is acquired by defeating The Judge.]]

* BroughtDownToBadass: After being [[spoiler:separated from Rebecca in the Abyss.]]

* [[spoiler: BroughtDownToNormal / BroughtDownToBadass: Derek, after being separated from Rebecca in the Abyss.]]

* NotYourProblem: [[spoiler:The Judge tries to dissuade Derek from going after Rebecca in the Abyss, since she's the one being judged, not him. Derek, being the good-natured sort who genuinely cares about her, disagrees.]]

* VitriolicBestBuds: Derek and Gamey, by far. Half the time they're enemies, the other half of the time they're very good mates.

* ImmuneToBullets: A couple of enemies can't be hurt with bullets, but can be destroyed with spirit grenades. The hostile flowers can't be destroyed, but they can be disabled for a short time.

The game begins as Derek Badger, an [[TheStoic unflappable]] [[OopNorth Yorkshireman]] who poaches game for a living, is out doing his thing at night by killing white rabbits (or just going for a midnight stroll with his shotgun), and is confronted by the local gamekeeper, Archibald, his [[VitriolicBestBuds best friend and archnemesis]], who Derek calls "Gamey". When Gamey accidentally falls into a large hole while trying to arrest him, Derek goes down to help him out, only to discover the Underworld, inhabited by flesh-eating rabbits, and he rescues a spirit, Rebecca, from the "Dark Ones". Rebecca combines her power with Derek in order for the both of them to get her back home, but it quickly becomes apparent that the pair have gotten themselves into a much bigger mess than they realized.

The game begins with Derek Badger, an [[TheStoic unflappable]] [[OopNorth Yorkshireman]] who poaches game for a living, is out doing his thing at night by killing white rabbits (or just going for a midnight stroll with his shotgun), and is confronted by the local gamekeeper, Archibald, his [[VitriolicBestBuds best friend and archnemesis]], who Derek calls "Gamey". When Gamey accidentally falls into a large hole while trying to arrest him, Derek goes down to help him out, only to discover the Underworld, inhabited by flesh-eating rabbits, and he rescues a spirit, Rebecca, from the "Dark Ones". Rebecca combines her power with Derek in order for the both of them to get her back home, but it quickly becomes apparent that the pair have gotten themselves into a much bigger mess than they realized.

The game begins with Derek Badger, an unflappable Yorkshireman who poaches game for a living, is out doing his thing at night by killing white rabbits (or just going for a midnight stroll with his shotgun), and is confronted by the local gamekeeper, Archibald, his [[VitriolicBestBuds best friend and archnemesis]], who Derek calls "Gamey". When Gamey accidentally falls into a large hole while trying to arrest him, Derek goes down to help him out, only to discover the Underworld, inhabited by flesh-eating rabbits, and he rescues a spirit, Rebecca, from the "Dark Ones". Rebecca combines her power with Derek in order for the both of them to get her back home, but it quickly becomes apparent that the pair have gotten themselves into a much bigger mess than they realized.

* YouCantFightFate: Seems to be an ongoing theme in Yahtzee's works. [[spoiler:The Judge is ''not'' amused when he realizes that a prophecy that results in ''his death'' is coming to pass, and attempts to kill Derek personally... But instead, [[SelfFulfillingProphecy he ends up getting killed instead.]] This directly contrasts him with [[ChzoMythos a certain other powerful entity...]]]]