History VideoGame / Poacher

* AllThereInTheScript: Gamey's full name (Archibald Stodgeley) and most of the creatures' names are revealed in the good ending. Parodied in the GoldenEnding,[[spoiler: as read by Derek himself.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeature: The map, accessible after a fight with Magnus and Gamey [[spoiler:(or at the start, with the Zero Suit Derek picked)]], makes OneHundredPercentCompletion much more accessible.

** Completing the game unlocks the "[[Franchise/Metroid Zero Suit Derek]]" costume.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: An in-universe example with Derek, due to interactions with [[spoiler:the Judge.]] Derek/the player's early game behaviour is brought up near the end, with his behaviour regarding [[spoiler:the white rabbits, zombie Blemineg, and fighting Gamey the first time]] being commented on. [[spoiler: This also lets Derek's comment about just wanting to walk around with his twelve-gauge at the beginning of the game be either Blatant Lies or the truth.]]

* GoofyPrintUnderwear: Part of the "Zero Suit Derek" costume.

* AliensSpeakingEnglish: It's been millennia since anyone in the Underworld interacted with the surface world - certainly longer than any form of English has existed - but everyone down there who can speak (except ''maybe'' the Dark Ones) is fluent in some form of English.

* AliensOfLondon: It's been millennia since anyone in the Underworld interacted with the surface world - certainly longer than any form of English has existed - but everyone down there (except ''maybe'' the Dark Ones) is fluent in some form of English. PlayedForLaughs with the Blemineg, who have exactly the same accent as Derek, forcing Rebecca to use his brain as a translator.

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: An in-universe example with Derek, due to interactions with [[spoiler:the Judge.]] Derek/the player's early game behaviour is brought up near the end, with his behaviour regarding [[spoiler:the white rabbits, zombie Bleminegs, and fighting Gamey the first time]] being commented on. [[spoiler: This also lets Derek's comment about just wanting to walk around with his twelve-gauge at the beginning of the game be either Blatant Lies or the truth.]]

* GoldenEnding: WordOfGod says it's only for the "pure of heart." [[spoiler:In other words, people who don't shoot the innocent - i.e., white rabbits, zombie Bleminegs, or pre-Compact Gamey. The Judge tries to judge Derek, but can't; recalling a prophecy in which he dies at the hands of someone who cannot be judged, he falls into a Villainous Breakdown, tries to kill Derek, and is killed ''by'' Derek in the process. When Derek leaves the Abyss with Rebecca, Magnus tells them that the Dark Ones suddenly died all at once, and Gamey claims that all negativity in the world has suddenly ceased. With no further problems possible (literally) for any of them, they all head to the pub, and Derek replaces the narrator/Judge for the end credits/enemy list.]]

* 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 never shooting white rabbits, zombie Bleminegs, or Gamey before his Compact.]]

* OopNorth: Derek and Gamey are Yorkshiremen. For some reason, the Bleminegs share their accent.

** PacifistRun: Sort of. Killing any of the [[spoiler:Zombie Bleminegs]] or [[spoiler:shooting Gamey at the Lidenbrock Sea]] locks you out of the GoldenEnding.

* PlatformBattle: The second and third forms of [[spoiler:The Judge]].

* BossArenaRecovery: There is a pipe in Krakomedusae's arena that dispenses spirit charges at regular intervals. It's there because the fight would be unwinnable to players who hadn't defeated Theridius first otherwise (as the regular shotgun doesn't work underwater), but, as the boss can't reach it, using the Spirit of Peace in combination with it makes the fight ridiculously easy.

* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler:Gamey and Magnus]], with an added dose of TheComputerIsACheatingBastard.

* GoForTheEye: The weak points of the Bargest and the first form of [[spoiler:the Judge]] - shooting either of them results in plenty of EyeScream, and [[spoiler:the Judge]] spends the rest of the fight after [[spoiler:his]] first form [[UpToEleven bleeding from his newly mangled eye sockets]].

* EvilPoacher: Averted. Derek doesn't hunt any endangered species, as far as the player is aware, and he only does it to get by. In fact, he's a very nice and rather empathetic bloke who is more than willing to lend a hand to others in need. [[spoiler:The Judge attempts to accuse him of being one of these, but depending on if you killed the white rabbits in the beginning or not, this backfires.]]

* GoForTheEye: 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 [[EyeScream bleeding from his eye sockets]].]]

* HardLevelsEasyBosses: Most of the bosses. [[spoiler: Averted by the Judge.]]

* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: If, at any point in [[spoiler:the Abyss]], Derek is accused of something he didn't do, he simply brushes it off, frustrating [[spoiler:the Judge and canceling the appropriate judgment]]. [[spoiler:Making this happen with all three accusations unlocks the secret ending.]]

* AdvancingBossOfDoom: The second form of [[spoiler:The Judge]] turns into this periodically when it tires of attacking you from afar.

* 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... which just gets him killed, as prophesied.]] This is in direct contrast with [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos a certain powerful entity...]]

* 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... which just gets him killed, as prophesied.]] This is in direct contrast with [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos a certain other powerful entity...]]

* AlternateCharacterInterpretation: An in-universe example with Derek, due to interactions with [[spoiler:The Judge.]] Derek/the player's early game behaviour is brought up near the end, with his behaviour regarding [[spoiler: the white rabbits, zombie Bleminegs, and fighting Gamey the first time]] being commented by him. [[spoiler: This also lets Derek's comment about just wanting to walk around with his twelve-gauge at the beginning of the game be either BlatantLies or the truth.]]
* AttackItsWeakPoint: The second form of [[spoiler:The Judge]] is essentially a giant mouth. One of its teeth is suspiciously a different colour, and it's what you have to hit to damage it.
* BackgroundBoss: The second form of [[spoiler:The Judge]], though it will periodically try to attack you directly.

* BadassBoast: An awesome one provided by [[spoiler:The Judge]] before you fight him.

* BigBad: The Dark Ones, lead by the Dark Lord. [[spoiler:You kill the latter in all three endings. In the bad ending, this only gives the Dark Ones an excuse to wage all-out war. In the Good ending, killing the Dark Lord is entirely justified, because they were never planning to hold their end of the bargain in the first place, and attacked the surface world. In the Judgment ending, killing the Judge ends all evil and suffering; as the Dark Ones - including the Dark Lord - are beings of evil energy, they all die as a result.]]

* BodyHorror: The ''things'' in the Crystal Tombs. Yahtzee once again proves that while he isn't the most amazing pixel artist, he can still pull off some very creepy things with pixels.

* DecapitatedArmy: Subverted in the bad ending. [[spoiler:The Dark Ones are not a hive mind -- attempting to decapitate them by killing the Dark Lord only gives them a martyr and an excuse to wage another war.]] Played straight in the good ending, however. The Judgment ending turns it UpToEleven: [[spoiler:killing the Judge eradicates all forces of evil and negativity in the world, including the Dark Ones.]]
* DevilButNoGod / GodIsEvil: Depending on your interpretation of [[spoiler:The Judge]].
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Well, the Dark Ones count, for starters... [[spoiler:And then you have The Judge, who is effectively the closest known thing to a ''god'' in this game. He's even the closest thing there is to a ''narrator'' for most of the game.]]

* EldritchAbomination: The Dark Ones have practically become a whole race of these by this point. [[spoiler:The Judge outright states that humans have tried and failed to comprehend him, though unlike most beings of his ilk, he can communicate on an equal level with lesser beings, and is even capable of things such as anger and pride. Turns out killing him gets rid of all the negativity in the world.]]

* [[spoiler:HostileShowTakeover: Subverted in the good ending; played straight in the secret ending. The "narrator" (the one who explains new power-ups to you, etc.) is actually the Judge, a deity who rules the Abyss. In both endings, Derek openly defies his narration, but in the good one he just escapes the Abyss with Rebecca and leaves the Judge to present the end credits. In the secret ending, Derek ''[[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu kills]]'' [[BonusBoss the Judge]] and (hilariously) presents the end credits himself.]]
* GagSub: In the [[spoiler:secret ending, Derek does the credits, mainly because, well, ''you killed the closest thing this game has to a narrator''.]] As a result, the new credits are ''hilarious''.
* GoForTheEye: 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 [[EyeScream bleeding from his eye sockets]].]]
* HardLevelsEasyBosses: Most of the bosses. [[spoiler: Averted by the Judge.]]

* JumpPhysics: Like many platformers of its ilk, though Derek does start off with a rather realistic jumping height.

* KaizoTrap: At least some bosses can injure/kill you during their death animations.

* MirrorMatch: [[spoiler:Gamey and Magnus, with an added dose of TheComputerIsACheatingBastard.]]
* [[spoiler:MissionControlIsOffItsMeds: In the Abyss, the narrator is revealed to be the Judge, the god of the afterlife and the source of all negativity, who judges both Derek and Rebecca. Derek begins defying the Judge's narration when it directs him to leave the Abyss without Rebecca, but whether he [[BonusBoss kills the Judge]] or simply rescues Rebecca and escapes depends on whether you've unlocked the GoldenEnding.]]

* 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.]]

** Most of the fight with [[spoiler:The Judge]] has him mostly covered in darkness, only certain parts of his body lit up at a time. All you can tell is that his head is somewhat humanoid in shape, and he has two yellow eyes... [[EyeScream That don't last very long.]]

* OneHitKill: [[CollisionDamage Colliding]] with the [[spoiler:wall of father illusions in the Abyss]] or the second form of [[spoiler:The Judge]] has this effect. So does falling off the arena, for that matter.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: The ending of the game (GoldenEnding, to be precise) states that Derek's wife is Gamey's sister.]]

* SequentialBoss: The BonusBoss.

* ShoutOut: The last part of [[spoiler: The Judge's third form's background music]] sounds like ''WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation''[='=]s theme tune.

** The second form of [[spoiler:The Judge]] cannot be harmed unless he decides to attack you directly, which he will ''always do'', even when he's in critical health and could easily whittle you down with ranged attacks instead. (In fairness, however, it is a ''[[OneHitKill very]]'' effective attack.)
* TrueFinalBoss: [[spoiler:The Judge. With [[VideoGame/CaveStory Ballos]] levels of difficulty. ''Good luck.'']]

* WhatTheHellHero: Played straight and subverted. [[spoiler:Rebecca eventually realizes that the entire conflict is her fault, because she entered a Compact with Derek, which her brother and the King call her out on. If you kill the Dark Lord without getting the whole story, the King will call her out on it and banish her. The Judge also attempts this on Derek, but depending on your actions, it blows up in his face, so to speak, and even causes a VillainousBreakdown.]]

* 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 [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos a certain other powerful entity...]]]]
* YouDidntAsk: 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.

* DecapitatedArmy: Deconstructed in the bad ending. [[spoiler:The Dark Ones are not a hive mind -- attempting to decapitate them by killing the Dark Lord only gives them a martyr and an excuse to wage another war.]] Played straight in the good ending, however. The Judgment ending turns it UpToEleven: [[spoiler:killing the Judge eradicates all forces of evil and negativity in the world, including the Dark Ones.]]

* DingDongTheWitchIsDead: Deconstructed. [[spoiler:The Dark Ones are not a hive mind -- attempting to decapitate them by killing the Dark Lord only gives them a martyr and an excuse to wage another war. Played straight in the good ending, however.]]

-->[[spoiler:'''The Judge''']]: You had the audacity to ask me who I am. [[spoiler:The Egyptians called me 'Anubis'. The Greeks, 'Minos'. They thought naming me would help them comprehend me. I am the Judge. The Judge Of All The Earth. I have performed my function for a million generations. '''''[[ScrewDestiny And I will NOT be made a mere PAWN of PROPHECY!]]''''']]

* SelfFulfillingProphecy : [[spoiler:The Judge]] is prophesied to be killed by Derek. However, [[spoiler:Instead of simply letting him and Rebecca escape like in the Good ending]], he tries to kill Derek personally... Except this gets him killed, as prophesied. ''Whoops.''