History VideoGame / RUINER

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Don't expect clear-cut good guys in a gritty Cyberpunk setting, especially in Rengkok. The central antagonist is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive morally-bankrupt]] MegaCorp known as [=HEAVEN=], whose leader is responsible for making Rengkok a WretchedHive so they can make profit with their VirtualReality products known as Virtuality, and the corporation isn't above using HumanResources to power their machines, such as [[spoiler: the [=MOTHER=] and [=ANGEL=] units, with the latter containing [[AndIMustScream trapped yet fully-aware humans]] enslaved by the former]]. The only people who oppose [=HEAVEN=] are a bloodthirsty SociopathicHero and a mysterious woman called [=HER=], who wants to free Rengkok's people from [=HEAVEN=] [[WellIntentionedExtremist by any means]], even if it includes blackmailing and killing hundreds of people. Then again, the people our protagonists kill had it coming anyways. To drive the point home, the shady morality setting is reflected through the game's [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red, black, and gray color scheme]].
* BoringButPractical: {{Downplayed}} on the "boring" part with the [=RUINER=] submachine-gun. It's not the flashiest gun in the game and has a small magazine, but it also has good damage, good accuracy, a quick reload speed, and it's the only ranged weapon with [[BottomlessMagazines infinite ammo]], making this gun ''very lethal''. Thanks to its versatile nature and the ability to be upgraded, you'll be using this gun for a pretty long time.

* CyberneticsEatYourSoul: Notably for the Cyberpunk genre, averted. The closest they come is in the Virtuality Farm, but the insanity of the hosts is probably more to do with the constant sensational feedback than the technology itself.
** Big Dog is actually the ''least'' cybernetic person in the game; [[spoiler:since he's been farming you for spare organic parts, you're the one with the robot bits and hackable brain.]]

* KubrickStare: Her gives one whenever she hacks into someone's brain.

* ALoadOfBull: The Heavy Cyborgs have mechanical bull-like heads and one of their main attacks is to [[BullfightBoss charge at you]].

** HEAVEN's top ominous cyber-mooks are named "ANGELS", and their weak spot is a red, spherical core. Every Angel possesses a distinct personality and attack patterns ([[spoiler:since they're merged with a human host]]). [[{{Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion}} Ringing any bells?]]
** On a broader scale, the game's visual style pays homage to many cyberpunk anime series. It's easy, while playing, to be reminded of the likes of ''{{Manga/Ghost In The Shell}}'', ''{{Manga/Akira}}'' or ''{{Manga/Appleseed}}''.

* VideoGameFlamethrowersSuck: {{Averted}}. The [=SCR-1 Hellfire=] has a relatively fast ammo consumption rate and limited range, but it has wide spread, good ammo capacity, and massive damage-per-second to compensate, making it effective against large enemy crowds or tough enemies that fight up-close.

Later on Reikon made a free update named "Savage Update" which adds NewGamePlus, 9 New Weapons, 7 New Outfits, Finishers and more. Watch the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4YOuLQY6JI here.]]

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Don't expect clear-cut good guys in a gritty Cyberpunk setting, especially in Rengkok. The central antagonist is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive morally-bankrupt]] MegaCorp known as [=HEAVEN=], who is responsible for making Rengkok a WretchedHive so they can make profit with their VirtualReality products known as Virtuality, and the corporation isn't above using HumanResources to power their machines, such as [[spoiler: the [=MOTHER=] and [=ANGEL=] units, with the latter containing [[AndIMustScream trapped yet fully-aware humans]] enslaved by the former]]. The only people who oppose [=HEAVEN=] are a bloodthirsty SociopathicHero and a mysterious woman called [=HER=], who wants to free Rengkok's people from [=HEAVEN=] [[WellIntentionedExtremist by any means]], even if it includes blackmailing and killing hundreds of people. Then again, the people our protagonists kill had it coming anyways. To drive the point home, the shady morality setting is reflected through the game's [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red, black, and gray color scheme]].

''RUINER'' is a hardcore, [[TopDownView top-down]] twin-stick shooter made by the Polish indie studio Reikon Games and published by Devolver Digital, released on September 26 2017 for PC, {{UsefulNotes/PS4}} and {{UsefulNotes/Xbox One}}.

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Don't expect clear-cut good guys in a gritty Cyberpunk setting, especially if the bad guys are ''far worse''. The central antagonist is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive morally-bankrupt]] MegaCorp known as [=HEAVEN=], which is responsible for making Rengkok a {{Dystopia}} so they make profit with their VirtualReality products, and the corporation isn't above using HumanResources to power their machines, such as [[spoiler: the [=MOTHER=] and [=ANGEL=] units]]. The only ones who oppose [=HEAVEN=] are a bloodthirsty SociopathicHero and a mysterious woman named [=HER=], who wants to free Rengkok's people from [=HEAVEN=] [[WellIntentionedExtremist by any means]], even if it includes blackmailing and killing hundreds of people. Then again, the people our protagonists kill had it coming anyways. Even the game's setting is mainly colored in [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red, black, and gray]], reflecting the game's shady morality setting.
* BoringButPractical: {{Downplayed}} on the "boring" part with the [=RUINER=] pistol. It's not the flashiest gun in the game and has a small magazine, but it has good damage, good accuracy, a quick reload speed, and it's the only ranged weapon with [[BottomlessMagazines infinite ammo]], making this gun ''very lethal''. Thanks to its versatile nature, you'll be using this gun for a pretty long time.

* ALoadOfBull: The heavy cyborgs have mechanical bull-like heads and one of their main attacks is to [[BullfightBoss charge at you]].

* RecurringBoss: The [=MOTHER=] and [=ANGEL=] units are fought repeatedly throughout the game; ditto with the Heavy Cyborgs, where one is fought in the final battle, [[spoiler: and Trafficking uses a souped-up cyborg body for his rematch]].

* WaveMotionGun: The [=XAAR=] is a portable laser cannon that cuts through enemies like butter. The [=MOTHER=] Unit fires a massive sweeping laser as her main attack, [[spoiler: and this attack is shared by the Sick Sisters]].

* WolverineClaws: The heavy cyborgs have six razor-sharp blades on their hands (three on each hand), giving them a savage and animalistic appearance. [[spoiler: The rebuilt Trafficking sports a pair too, since he's grafted on a Heavy Cyborg body.]]

* BlackAndGrayMorality: Don't expect clear-cut good guys in a gritty Cyberpunk setting, especially if the bad guys are ''far worse''. The central antagonist is the [[CorruptCorporateExecutive morally-bankrupt]] MegaCorp known as [=HEAVEN=], which is responsible for making Rengkok a {{Dystopia}} so they can profit off of their VirtualReality products, and the corporation isn't above using HumanResources to power their machines, such as [[spoiler: the [=MOTHER=] and [=ANGEL=] units]]. The only ones who oppose [=HEAVEN=] are a bloodthirsty SociopathicHero and a mysterious woman named [=HER=], who wants to free Rengkok's people from [=HEAVEN=] [[WellIntentionedExtremist by any means]], even if it includes blackmailing and killing hundreds of people. Then again, the people our protagonists kill had it coming anyways. Even the game's setting is mainly colored in [[RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver red, black, and gray]], reflecting the game's grim morality.

* WolverineClaws: The heavy cyborgs have six razor-sharp blades on their hands(three on each), giving them a savage and animalistic appearance. [[spoiler: The rebuilt Trafficking sports a pair too, since he's grafted on a heavy cyborg body.]]

* RedAndBlackAndEvilAllOver: The Game. Rengkok is a dark and shadowy urban hellhole lit primarily by glaring red neon and hazard lights, with the occasional lonely island of white, green, or blue. It's also filled with people who are on the darker side of morally ambiguous ''at best''.

The year is 2091. Technology may have advanced, but the human soul has not changed -- or if it has, [[HumansAreBastards it has been for the worse]]. In the (fictional) city of Rengkok, a dirty, [[NeonCity neon-lit]] {{Cyberpunk}} dystopia, where cybernetically-enhanced crime runs rampant and a gun ([[StarterEquipment or even just a sturdy steel pipe]]) is the only thing keeping you alive, a huge, shiny building towers over the darkness of the maze-like streets below: the HQ of [[MegaCorp HEAVEN]], an incredibly powerful corporation specialized in virtual reality, a nest of horrific secrets and shadowy corruption, a place where average people's lives are nothing more than amusing playthings.

** While regular currency apparently does exist, nobody really uses it anymore except the Iching Oracle.

** Virtuality works like this. The hosts feel emotions and sensations, their brains feed the data back through the computer which simulates them for the user.

* BrainComputerInterface: ''RUINER'' starts with a brain hack that sends you on to perform a corporate hit; the tutorial ends with Her hijacking it ''back''.

* TheFaceless: The protagonist, whose face is constantly hidden behind a mask that projects digitally what he's thinking. [[spoiler: Also counts for "Big Dog", the boss of HEAVEN, who wears an identical mask. Given that he's the protagonist's older brother, it must run in the family, although unlike the protagonist he ''does'' speak.]]

* TriadsAndTheTongs: The Triads have reorganized themselves from crime syndicate to spec-ops mercenary force, relying on invisibility and acrobatics.

* WierdCurrency: Karma, which acts as experience points for you, acts as currency for everyone else. It seems to be a sort of measurement of your personal life, similar to China's "Social Credit" system, and determines things like where you can live and what you can buy.

''RUINER'' is a hardcore, [[TopDownView top-down]] twin-stick shooter made by the Polish indie studio Reikon Games and published by Devolver Digital, released on September 26 2017 for {{UsefulNotes/PC}}, {{UsefulNotes/PS4}} and {{UsefulNotes/Xbox One}}.

Later on Reikon made a free update named "Savage Update" which adds NewGame+, 9 New Weapons, 7 New Outfits, Finishers and more. Watch the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4YOuLQY6JI here.]]

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: The hacker Her, quite literally.

Later on Devolver made a free update named "Savage Update" which adds NewGame+, 9 New Weapons, 7 New Outfits, Finishers and more. Watch the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4YOuLQY6JI here.]]

* AwesomenessMeter: At the end of every fight, you get a letter grade depending on how you do, ranging from "A" as the highest and "E" for the lowest. Her will also react to your performance, being overjoyed if you do well and mocking and disappointed if you're mediocre.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: "Big Dog" is finally killed, meaning that HEAVEN will take heavy damage that it will unlikely recover from, which will allow many to enjoy some sort of freedom. On the other hand, the protagonist was the younger brother tricked by Her, and an UnwittingPawn that ultimately has nowhere to go other than maybe the Creeps hideout. The latter view is inforced in the ending cutscene, as it cuts with the protagonist driving away in a motorcycle right after Big Dog's death.]]

[[caption-width-right:326:''[[ArcWords Good Boy!]]'']]

->''"In the year 2091 pervasive enhancements in technology and computerization haven't changed human nature. Playing with people's lives has never been more fun."''

The year is 2091. Technology may have advanced, but the human soul has not changed -- or if it has, [[HumansAreBastards it has been for the worse]]. In the (fictional) city of Rengkok, a dirty, neon-lit {{Cyberpunk}} dystopia, where cybernetically-enhanced crime runs rampant and a gun ([[StarterEquipment or even just a sturdy steel pipe]]) is the only thing keeping you alive, a huge, shiny building towers over the darkness of the maze-like streets below: the HQ of [[MegaCorp HEAVEN]], an incredibly powerful corporation specialized in virtual reality, a nest of horrific secrets and shadowy corruption, a place where average people's lives are nothing more than amusing playthings.

* {{Cyberpunk}}: A stand-out example, both in terms of aesthetic (cybered-up thugs in leather and denim enacting violence on each other in a neon-lit, rain-drenched industrial dystopia) and in terms of theme (advancements in technology have not reduced people's tendency to be horrible to each other, and if anything have made it worse).

** Overall, it's probably safe to say that Reikon Games are [[OneOfUs huge, huge nerds.]]

** The recurring "KILL YOU" image that appears in the Protagonists Helmet might be a reference to the first episode of ''Anime/CyberCityOedo808''. Take a [[https://items.gog.com/Ruiner_Killyou.jpg look]] for [[http://data.tumblr.com/21059a9a46772feb76725af0ceeaa4db/tumblr_o303ctLrah1uqrdeoo1_raw.gif yourself.]]

* CoolGuns: A few recognizable here and there, give a Cyberpunk twist.

-->''In the year 2091 pervasive enhancements in technology and computerization haven't changed human nature. Playing with people's lives has never been more fun.''

* LongLostRelative: [[spoiler: In the end, turns out you ''never'' had a kidnapped younger brother, like Her made you believe... but nonetheless, you '''do''' have a brother: Big Dog, none other than HEAVEN's CEO. Yes, the same guy you were trying to kill in the prologue. And he's a pretty shitty one at that too, as he (by his own words) views you as nothing more than "spare parts," given that you're biologically compatible]].

** Another one of the pins has a pill on it that looks like the one on the back of [[Manga/Akira Kaneda's]] Jacket.