History VideoGame / TheyHunger

''They Hunger'', created by Black Widow Games, is a action horror / survival horror modification for ''VideoGame/HalfLife1''. In this three chapter adventure, you must fight your way through hordes of you guessed it, the undead, and try to uncover the mysteries underlying in the crisis of a small county town. It's one of the better known [=GoldSrc=] mods, alongside ''VideoGame/CounterStrike'', ''VideoGame/TheHidden'', ''VideoGame/SvenCoop,'' ''VideoGame/GunmanChronicles'', ''Redemption,'' ''The Specialists'', and so on.

* AbandonedHospitalAwakening: Episode 3 begins this way, though you have no clue until you find the nurse [[spoiler:who turns around to show off her mutilated back, and during the meantime before the player got there, was eating a baby.]]

* AllJustADream - Subverted. At the very end of the second episode you hear a voice saying "Wake up, honey, you're having a nightmare." Turns out it was a nurse who said that. [[spoiler: Who later on becomes undead.]]

* AmericaSavesTheDay: [[spoiler: Subverted. Another survivor says he helped a dying Army officer out... only to find that the Pentagon is trying to destroy the whole place. Not to mention the military is being overrun.]]
* ApocalypticLog: You find several recordings left behind by the scientist [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]], [[spoiler: sheriff Chester Rockwood]], and various police and asylum personnel, detailing the backstory.
* ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin survives death a second time, and comes back as a boss at the end of the Asylum in the third episode]].
* ArtifactMook: The [[spoiler: electricity-shooting skeletons. The first one is encountered in a laboratory where it is brought to life by being electrocuted, which does much to explain why it attacks by zapping you with bolts of lightning. But then you continue to encounter electric skeletons for the rest of the game, all over the place]].
* AuthorStandIn: The Programmer Einar Saukas has his own office in [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's]] asylum. Some of the mod creators cameo as [[spoiler: floating heads in his laboratory]] or as part of [[spoiler: a meat-cooking machine in the final episode]].
* BackFromTheDead: All the zombies, obviously. [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin however, survives death a second time and becomes a cyborg.]]

* BigBadDuumvirate: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester Rockwood]] and [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]]. They were friends before they became infected, and they still are friends.

** The first real introduction of the military has them "rescuing" you from semi-intelligent zombies about to ritually slaughter you. However, [[spoiler: they're trying to kill you as well. As time goes on, it becomes obvious that their job wasn't to save people]], and a great number of them have also become infected.
** Played straight with a random deputy with a rocket launcher equipped jeep who saves you in the second episode.

* CavalryBetrayal: See above. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] as the military wouldn't be able to tell the difference between a normal human, or a smart infected zombie pretending to be a human, as [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] shows.
* ClimaxBoss: The final boss fight is against [[spoiler: sheriff Chester Rockwood]], and to escalate things, [[spoiler: both of you are in two separate helicopters trying to take each other down.]]
* ClusterFBomb: This is sheriff Rockwood's most defining trait as he drops these even while casually talking to Dr. Franklin. Then there's his line when he goes after you in a helicopter.

* CollapsingLair: The player eventually destroys [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's laboratory]] and burns down his asylum in episode two.
* ContinueYourMissionDammit: [[spoiler: Jerry Hoobs]] constantly nags the player during the final battle with [[spoiler: Chester]] with the words "Come on! Shoot that bastard!" Even if the player dies he won't stop! As long as the player doesn't load an earlier save and remain in the POVCam, [[spoiler: Chester]] flies around the player indefinitely with [[spoiler: Jerry's]] voice in the background.
* ConvectionSchmonvection: As long as the player isn't actually touching the hot areas around Devil's Rift or [[spoiler: what remains of the Asylum]], they're perfectly fine.
* ConveyorBeltODoom: In the third episode. By the push of a button the player can send the creators of They Hunger and Alfred to their death. Don't get too distracted watching their demise, as a zombie walks into the room when it hears the noises of the machinery.
* CorruptHick: Subverted and played straight with [[spoiler: Chester]]. It appears he was a good man until he became infected.

* CrypticBackgroundReference: Alfred explains to the player that [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin originally discovered something in the waters of Rockwell which could bring anyone to a state of [[ShoutOut half-life]], and Franklin's tampering with it led to the outbreak. But even though the Doctor performed his experiments, neither he or anyone else know exactly what that "something" is or how it functions.]]
* CueTheSun: At the end of the third episode, [[spoiler: after the final fight in the air is over, the helicopter with the deputy and the player flies off into the sunrise.]]
* DamageSpongeBoss: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester.]] An official mod was eventually released that halved his health and he ''still'' took forever to kill.
* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: In the Hospital, a baby is heard crying, until it abruptly stops. The player cannot get to the nursery immediately, and when he does... there is a pile of bibs in the beds for newborns. Later in the mountains, the player has to kill a resurrected family, including three baby sized skeletons.]]
* DemBones: [[spoiler: Resurrected skeletons that can talk. And shoot lightning bolts]].

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: Episode 1 is fairly serious and more grounded compared to the BMovie-esque Sci-Fi in Episodes 2 and 3, especially the last one's boss fight with a [[spoiler: [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot zombie cyborg mad scientist]].]]

* EnemyChatter: The Zombies, with their standard desire for brains and flesh. [[spoiler: The more intelligent ones with weapons,]] however, are quiet. As you hear moans such as "''Why do we hunger...?''", "Freeesh meattt..." "''Who goes there...?''" "''Flesh creatures...''" and "''JOIN US!''" It's worse in the third episode, where you wander through [[spoiler:the ruins of the Asylum]] and hear "Flesh creatures!" with no enemies around.
* EpisodicGame: They Hunger was distributed by Magazine/PCGamer in three installments from 1999 to 2001 from ''They Hunger'', to ''They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces'' and then finally the final episode ''They Hunger 3: Rude Awakening''.
* ExploringTheEvilLair: The player wanders through the Asylum, and down into [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's underground laboratory]].
* {{Expy}}: With [[ClusterFBomb all of his casual swearing]] sheriff Rockwood is definitely inspired by [[WesternAnimation/{{Southpark}} Eric Cartman]].
* FaceRevealingTurn: Invoked in the first [[spoiler:Armed Infected Cop]] encounter, as the first one encountered is facing away from the player looking the same as it's non-infected counterpart, only to turn and attack at the last second.
* FateWorseThanDeath: Some of [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's experiments in his laboratory]]:
** The [[spoiler: decapitated heads held alive in an aquarium]].
** There is also [[spoiler: a man impaled on a meathook, like a worm, in the freezer just behind said aquarium. He should be dead but somehow isn't, and is screaming and endlessly trying to get off; who knows ''how'' long he's been there. You can thankfully put him out of his misery, though]].
* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] is assisted by a policeman using a mounted machinegun, while [[spoiler: Chester has infected soldiers dropping from a helicopter early in the final battle.]]
* FromBadToWorse: Each episode. The infection is [[spoiler: not limited to humans]], so there was a larger variety of enemies in the later episodes.

** The [[spoiler: giant Bullsquid. You encounter it at the bottom of a lake in episode 3 while traveling through the countryside, and you don't have to kill it, nor is there any explanation or prior warning that it's there. Another one also briefly appeared in episode 2 in the sewers, still with no explanation or warning.]]

* HelpingHands: A lot of them in the [[spoiler: Hospital]] and the [[spoiler: Laboratory]], and they do actually help each other, by trying to kill you.

* HopeSpot: You finally get to the police station [[spoiler: but then it turns out that all of the police are infected, too.]]
** When you're in the Hospital in episode 3, it seems to be leading to the idea that the previous events of the last two episodes [[AllJustADream were just nightmares.]] [[spoiler: Then you find out that isn't the case as the nurses turn out to be infected.]]
* HorrorHunger: The last recorded message by [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] has him mentioning that he is infected, and the symptoms slowly getting worse. The final tape even has him shouting that he can "feel their hunger".

* JustInTime: The first episode ends with the player [[spoiler: captured at the police station, and with a zombie opening the cell door to eat him. The second episode starts only a few seconds afterwards with the zombie already in the cell, not yet focusing on the player. However, a non-infected police officer shoots a rocket at the station from the outside, which creates a hole in the wall allowing the player to escape.]]
* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: The few people you ''do'' meet end up dying by the third episode, with the exception of you and Jerry Hoobs.]]

* LargeAndInCharge: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester]]. No other police officer is as overweight as him, and this was before Otis was first introduced.
* LethalLavaLand: Devil's Rift is an active Volcano that the player must navigate while dodging lava, fire, and using steam vents to reach inaccessible areas.
* LightningCanDoAnything: [[spoiler: It is used to resurrect dead, create new life, and also used in a attempt to kill the player, in an obvious ShoutOut to Frankenstein]].

* MadScientist: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin.]] He had a huge interest in [[spoiler: re-animating the dead]] a long time before the first games events. However, his alive and uninfected assistant says that he was a good man until he got infected.
* MadScientistLaboratory: [[spoiler: Underground, conveniently below Dr. Franklin's Asylum]].

* MiniMook: [[spoiler: The undead baby skeletons, found at a burial ground in the mountains, are smaller and speak in high-pitched voices]].

* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The Devil's Rift. It's an active volcano/canyon filled with zombies. Also, [[BedlamHouse Rivendale Asylum for the Criminally Insane]], [[spoiler: where the source of the infection came from.]]
* {{Nerf}}: The [[VideoGame/HalfLife Itcthyosaur]] appears in a certain part early in the game. While the latter can still mow you down in few seconds, [[GlassCannon his health has been vastly reduced]] in which you can finally [[FakeDifficulty kill it with the silenced pistol in no time]].
** [[spoiler: The Sheriff's helicopter]] received this in the patched version of the mod after several complaints on the said boss for having way [[MadeOfIron too much health]], rendering him [[UnwinnableByDesign nearly unbeatable without cheats]].

* NightOfTheLivingMooks: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin and the Sheriff]] are the only zombified men with personalities.

* NothingIsScarier: The first areas of the Asylum [[spoiler: of Dr. Franklin]]. There are no enemies there, of all places, and it builds tension the deeper you go.
* NotUsingTheZWord: Only [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's]] assistant Alfred and the military call them "zombies".
* OrnamentalWeapon: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester]] has a revolver he never uses. [[spoiler: It is possible it became this trope when he got infected, seeing as he became their ally and all]].
* OurZombiesAreDifferent - Most zombies are of the B-movieish type, but [[spoiler: people who have only recently been infected can still use their firearms and their knowledge they had prior. For instance, you learn that they can fly helicopters.]]

* PyroManiac: One is encountered in the Asylum. Before he gives out, he rants that the whole place should burn down as in his own words, there is "no salvation". [[spoiler: At the hands of the player, it indeed burns down]].
* RaisingTheSteaks: [[spoiler: Rabid dogs roam throughout the first two episodes, and the third episode had the player visit a farm with zombie chickens and zombie bulls.]]
* RevenantZombie: Though it doesn't apply to all of them. The leaders of the horde, Rockwood and Franklin, retain most of their human selves. Zombie cops, guards and soldiers use their respective weaponry and behave identically to their human counter-parts.

* RightBehindMe: Near the end of the game the player walks up to a window and listen in on a conversation between the [[spoiler: Sheriff and the resurrected cyborg Dr.Franklin]] where both of them complain about how your progress has setback their plans greatly and how difficult it has been to locate you. [[spoiler: Then Franklin sees you in the window right behind Rockwood.]] Cue [[OhCrap shocked reaction]] and alarm and a demand to [[VillainousBreakdown bring him the head of the guard who let you in]].
* RousingSpeech: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester]] gives one to the zombies while the player is captured in the third episode.

** The hands are an ambiguous one to VideoGame/{{Blood}} which also featured walking hands eager to invade your personal space.
** The two chatting zombie scientist in the cattle (and human) processing plant mention Sheriff's ''[[UsefulNotes/TheHolocaust final solution]]'' to the civilian question. Yikes!!

* SpookyPainting: There are many paintings of Vladimir the Impaler in the mod. [[spoiler: One in episode 1 has a Headcrab break out of it.]]

* StockNessMonster: There is [[spoiler: a giant Bullsquid]] living in one of the lakes in Rockwell. Its unknown if its existence and size has something to do with the undead infection going around.
%%* SunglassesAtNight: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester]].
* TakeOverTheWorld: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] and [[spoiler: sheriff Chester]] decide to spread their hunger to the masses.
* TheGrotesque: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]]. He had his half-face deformation a long time before his zombification, he was considered crazy by other scientists, and his only friend was [[spoiler: the sheriff, Chester Rockwood]].

* TeleportingKeycardSquad - Pretty JustForFun/{{egregious}} here, where zombies appear in mazes after you made sure they weren't there (and if you're quick enough, you can see them appear out of thin air).
* TheyCalledMeMad: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] says this word for word, replacing "mad" with "crazy".
* TwoFaced: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]]. He had the deformity before the infection, however.

* UndeadChild: [[spoiler: The baby-sized skeletons encountered in Episode 3]].
* UnusableEnemyEquipment: The weapon [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] uses against the player is a modified Hivehand.

* WhereItAllBegan - You visit the asylum where [[spoiler: Doctor Franklin first worked and began his experiments (eventually turning it into a zombie stronghold), and the dig site where Franklin was first infected]].
* WelcomeToCorneria: [[spoiler: Jerry Hoobs]] really want you to "shoot that bastard!" during the last boss fight.
%%* WeWillMeetAgain: The player gets one in an nightmare.
%%** [[spoiler: '''Dr. Franklin''']]: "''You ruined my plan! But I'll be back; you cannot kill me!''"

* ZombieApocalypse: Ultimately Averted thanks to the location and the player's own actions, while the Zombies were very effective at taking over the area and they were even able to defeat and turn most of the police and military sent to contain them, an overheard conversation in the third game reveals that the zombie forces were starting to suffer losses from their own forces literally falling apart, and thanks to the player's efforts in destroying most if not all of the intelligent zombies whatever plans they had were ruined.
* ZombieInfectee - The sheriff and his sub-ordinates. Oh, and Doctor Franklin.
* ZombieGait: Actually subverted as [[spoiler: a minor scare in the first episode - cops who are only barely infected don't have the distinct zombie animation and can only be identified by the wounds on their textures]].

%%* ZombieApocalypse: Well, duh.

* ClusterFBomb: This is sheriff Rockwood's most definig trait as he drops these even while casually talking to Dr. Franklin. Then there's his line when he goes after you in a helicopter.

* ContinueYourMissionDammit: [[spoiler: Jerry Hoobs]] constantly naggs the player during the final battle with [[spoiler: Chester]] with the words "Come on! Shoot that bastard!" Even if the player dies he won´t stop! As long as the player doesn´t load an earlier save and remain in the POVCam, [[spoiler: Chester]] flies around the player indefinitely with [[spoiler: Jerry's]] voice in the background.

* ConveyorBeltODoom: In the third episode. By the push of a button the player can send the creators of They Hunger and Alfred to their death. Don´t get too distracted watching their demise, as a zombie walks into the room when it hears the noises of the machinery.

* DeathOfAChild: [[spoiler: In the Hospital, a baby is heard crying, until it abruptly stops. The player cannot get to the nursery immediately, and when he does... there is a pile of gibs in the beds for newborns. Later in the mountains, the player has to kill a resurrected family, including three baby sized skeletons.]]

* VideogameFlamethrowersSuck: Subverted; hilariously, the flamethrower can´t set ''anything'' on fire, but it can deal a good amount of damage.

* LethalLavaLand: Devil's Rift is an active Volcano that the player must go through.

* EpisodicGame: They Hunger was commissioned by Magazine/PCGamer in three installments from ''They Hunger'', to ''They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces'' and then finally the final episode ''They Hunger 3: Rude Awakening''.

* EasterEgg: There is a Magazine/PCGamer magazine in the radio station. All the episodes were bundled as one in a PC Gamer issue.

* EpisodicGame: They Hunger was commissioned by PCgamer in three installments from ''They Hunger'', to ''They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces'' and then finally the final episode ''They Hunger 3: Rude Awakening''.

%%* EpisodicGame: ''They Hunger'', ''They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces'' and ''They Hunger 3: Rude Awakening''.

%%* FaceRevealingTurn: The first encounter with [[spoiler:Armed Infected Cops]] occurs in this manner.

%%* LethalLavaLand: Devil's Rift.

* BugBuzz: There are a lot of crickets and frogs heard in the countryside.

* Expy: With [[ClusterFBomb all of his casual swearing]] sheriff Rockwood is definitely inspired by [[WesternAnimation/Southpark Eric Cartman]].

%%* HeroicMime: The writer you play as.

* ClimaxBoss: The final boss fight is against [[spoiler: Chester]], and to escalate things, [[spoiler: both of you are in two separate helicopters trying to take each other down.]]

* BigDamnHeroes: The first real introduction of the military has them "rescuing" you from semi-intelligent zombies about to ritually slaughter you. However, [[spoiler: they're trying to kill you as well. As time goes on, it becomes obvious that their job wasn't to save people]], and a great number of them have also become infected.

* BloodyHandprint: Everywhere.

* CorruptHick - Subverted and played straight with [[spoiler: Chester]]. It appears he was a good man until he became infected.

* EpisodicGame: ''They Hunger'', ''They Hunger 2: Rest in Pieces'' and ''They Hunger 3: Rude Awakening''.

* FaceRevealingTurn: The first encounter with [[spoiler:Armed Infected Cops]] occurs in this manner.

* HeroicMime: The writer you play as.

* LethalLavaLand: Devil's Rift.

* MeaningfulEcho: ''"The secret of life and death!"''

* NightmareDreams: The main character has two of them when he lies unconscious in the hospital.

* PapaWolf - The sheriff loves his zombie "children".

* StandardFPSGuns

* SunglassesAtNight: [[spoiler: Sheriff Chester]].

* WeWillMeetAgain: The player gets one in an nightmare.
** [[spoiler: '''Dr. Franklin''']]: "''You ruined my plan! But I'll be back; you cannot kill me!''"

* ZombieApocalypse: Well, duh.

** "Who goes there?~"

* DramaticGunCock: When switching to the Taurus [=PT145=] pistol.

* ExplodingBarrels: Another leftover from this mod's parent game.

* IncurableCoughOfDeath: Happens twice, in both Episode 1 and 2.
* InfantImmortality: Averted several times. [[spoiler: In the Hospital, a baby is heard crying, until it abruptly stops. The player cannot get to the nursery immediately, and when he does... there is a pile of gibs in the beds for newborns. Later in the mountains, the player has to kill a resurrected family, including three baby sized skeletons.]]

* {{Earworm}}: The end credits song, "You Are What I Eat". ''"I smell you around the corner..."''

* LudicrousGibs: [[CaptainObvious Explosive weapons cause them, of course.]] Running over the zombies with a car in the town also instantly turn them into gibs.

* {{Nerf}}: The [[VideoGame/HalfLife Itcthyosaur]] appears in a certain part early in the game. While the latter can still mow you down in few seconds, but [[GlassCannon his health has been vastly reduced]] in which you can finally [[FakeDifficulty kill it with the silenced pistol in no time]].
** [[spoiler: The Sheriff's helicopter]] recieved this in the patched version of the mod after several complainments of the said boss for having way [[MadeOfIron too much health]], rendering him [[UnwinnableByDesign nearly unbeatable without cheats]].

* ParasolOfPain: The first weapon picked up is a umbrella, taking the place of the crowbar.

** The [[spoiler: decapitated heads held alive in a aquarium]].

* FlunkyBoss: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] is assisted by a policeman using a mounted machinegun, while [[spoiler: Chester has infected soldiers dropping from an helicopter early in the final battle.]]

* HelpingHands: A lot of them in the [[spoiler: Hospital]] and the [[spoiler: Laboratory]], and they do actually help... atleast eachother, by trying to kill you.

* ContinueYourMissionDammit: [[spoiler: Jerry Hoobs]] constantly naggs the player during the final battle with [[spoiler: Chester]] with the words "Come on! Shoot that bastard!" Even if the player dies he won´t stop! As long as the player doesn´t load a earlier save and remain in the POVCam, [[spoiler: Chester]] flies around the player indefinitely with [[spoiler: Jerry's]] voice in the background.

* AuthorStandIn: The Programmer Einar Saukas has his own office in [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's]] asylum. Some other of the creators of the mod cameo as [[spoiler: floating heads in his laboratory]] or as part of [[spoiler: a meat-cooking machine in the final episode]].

* BadassBookworm: The main character is a writer surviving the zombie apocalypse. He could certainly make a awesome autobiography out of it.

-->''"This is BMRF radio; [[WeInterruptThisProgram we interrupt this program to bring you a special news report!]] Unknown atmospheric phenomena have been reported throughout the area. Meteorologists have been unable to identify the source of the strange electrical displays, but we will keep you informed of any developments. We return you now to our regular programming."''

* TeleportingKeycardSquad - Pretty {{egregious}} here, where zombies appear in mazes after you made sure they weren't there (and if you're quick enough, you can see them appear out of thin air).

** [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] recieved this in the patched version of the mod after several complainments of the said boss for having way [[MadeOfIron too much health]], rendering him [[UnwinnableByDesign nearly unbeatable without cheats]].

* MadScientistLaboratory: [[Underground, conveniently below Dr. Franklin's Asylum]].

* ArtifactMook: The electricity-shooting skeletons. The first one is encountered in a laboratory where it is brought to life by being electrocuted, which does much to explain why it attacks by zapping you with bolts of lightning. But then you continue to encounter electric skeletons for the rest of the game, all over the place.
* AuthorStandIn: The Programmer Einar Saukas has his own office in Dr. Franklin's asylum. Some other of the creators of the mod cameo as floating heads in his laboratory or as part of a meat-mauling machine in the final episode.

* DemBones: Resurrected skeletons that can talk. And shoot lightning bolts.

* HyperspaceArsenal

* LargeAndInCharge: The Sheriff. No other police officer is as overweight as him, and this was before Otis was first introduced.

* MadScientist: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin.]] He had a huge interest in re-animating the dead a long time before the first games events. However, his alive and uninfected assistant says that he was a good man until he got infected.
* MadScientistLaboratory: Underground, conveniently below [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin's]] Asylum.

* MiniMook: The undead baby skeletons, found in the burial ground in the mountains, are smaller and speak in high-pitched voices.

* OrnamentalWeapon: Sheriff Chester has a Revolver he never uses. [[spoiler: It is possible it became this trope when he got infected, seeing as he became their ally and all]].

* PyroManiac: One is encountered in the Asylum. Before he gives out, he rants that the whole place should burn down as in his own words, there is "no salvation". [[spoiler: Burn down, it does, at the hands of the player]].

* UndeadChild: The baby skeletons encounter in Episode 3.

* ArtificialLimbs: [[spoiler: Dr. Franklin]] survives death a second time, and comes back as a boss at the end of the Asylum in the third episode.

* NothingIsScarier: The first areas of the Asylum of [[spoiler Dr. Franklin]]. There are no enemies there, of all places, and it builds tension the deeper you go.