History VideoGame / TooHuman

''Too Human'' was supposed to be the first game in a planned trilogy developed by Creator/SiliconKnights (''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', ''Blood Omen: VideoGame/LegacyOfKain''). Originally planned as a four-disc UsefulNotes/PlayStation epic, it shifted consoles to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 when an exclusive partnership was formed between Silicon Knights and Creator/{{Nintendo}}. That didn't happen either, and plans to release it for [=GameCube=] were similarly set aside when the development house began work on ''Eternal Darkness''. After nearly a decade stuck in DevelopmentHell, the game was finally released on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in 2008 to unreasonable expectations and largely mediocre reviews and sales.

Much like a few [[VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho other]] [[VideoGame/AdventRising games]] originally [[StillbornFranchise planned as part of a trilogy]], its poor reception in addition to the fact that Silicon Knights has gone belly-up, has made a ''Too Human'' sequel's likelihood [[Creator/NathanRabin range from "Nonexistent" to "Are you fucking kidding me?"]] -- not the least big because thanks to legal issues, [[KillItWithFire all copies of the game were ordered destroyed and the game purged from all online stores.]] Unfortunate, as it leaves off with many things unresolved. Nevertheless, in June 2019, ''Too Human'' surprisingly became one of the last Xbox 360 titles made backwards compatible for the UsefulNotes/XboxOne, being re-released on the Xbox Games Store for free.

* FrickinLaserBeams: One of the ammo types. Averts several problems, as they hit instantly and have no recoil. When using Laser ammo, guns "heat up" to full damage - the longer held on an enemy, the more damage (up to a cap) they do. Watching the damage ramp up on the scrolling damage meter is often very satisfying.

Interestingly, [[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee]] considers this the worst game he's ever reviewed. Take that as you will.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Heavy on the Bitter bordering on just being a downer ending. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir far less than they already did before and the Aesir's forces are weakened after the Helheim invasion. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a Foregone Conclusion]].

--> '''Wolf:''' Who knows? We might come across something uglier than a berserker.
--> '''Bjorn:''' Don't count on it Wolf! Monsters tell stories of ME to frighten their children.

* FunWithAcronyms: ODIN (Organically Distributed Intelligence Network) and the [=NORNs=] (Non Organic Rational Nanosystems).

''Too Human'' was supposed to be the first game in a planned trilogy developed by Creator/SiliconKnights (''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', ''Blood Omen: VideoGame/LegacyOfKain''). Originally planned as a four-disc UsefulNotes/PlayStation epic, it shifted consoles to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 when an exclusive partnership was formed between Silicon Knights and Creator/{{Nintendo}}. That didn't happen either, and plans to release it for Gamecube were similarly set aside when the development house began work on ''Eternal Darkness''. After nearly a decade stuck in DevelopmentHell, the game was finally released on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in 2008 to unreasonable expectations and largely mediocre reviews and sales.

Much like a few [[VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho other]] [[VideoGame/AdventRising games]] originally [[StillbornFranchise planned as part of a trilogy]], its poor reception in addition to the fact that Silicon Knights has gone belly-up, has made a ''Too Human'' sequel's likelihood [[Creator/NathanRabin range from "Nonexistent" to "Are you fucking kidding me?"]] -- not the least big because thanks to legal issues, [[KillItWithFire all copies of the game were ordered destroyed and the game purged from all online stores.]] Unfortunate, as it leaves off with many things unresolved.

* AfterTheEnd -- The current frozen state of the world is stated to be the result of a 3000 year nuclear winter caused by a war between the still functioning machines of a long dead warring nation and the rest of the world and antimatter weaponry.
* AGodAmI -- All the Aesir, though they're a rather benevolent lot.
* AmmunitionBackpack -- Robotic example: some of the 'Troll' class enemies use heavy {{Grenade Launcher}}s, and wear huge, cylindrical ammo-canisters on their back to supply them. These are somewhat problematic, since their presence prevents you from doing your 'jump up on their shoulders and stab them in the neck' insta-kill, and they're hard to destroy since the Trolls always turn to face you ... hence, the grenade-launching Trolls winds up being much more dangerous than their [[DropTheHammer hammer-wielding]] brothers, but not because of their attack-range...
* AntiVillain -- Hod. He may have killed Baldur and gone rogue while killing any of the Aesir's forces that went to capture him, but he had been manipulated the whole time and had been trying to kill Loki but was tricked into only seeing Loki through his bionic eye piece. He was actually a quite loyal member of the Aesir who believed the Aesir should be the humans' protectors, but was tricked by Loki into killing Baldur and had only killed anyone else because he was under the delusion the forces that came after him were serving Loki.
* ArbitraryGunPower -- It ''is'' an [[RolePlayingGame RPG]], after all.
* AwesomenessMeter -- The combo meter. It fills as the player dispatches enemies using varying techniques. The more complex the action, the more combo earned. Combo can then be spent on room-nuking attacks or spells that act as buffs (increasing attack speed, bullet damage, etc.). So the game magic is fueled by RuleOfCool.
* BadassBoast -- Half of Thor's dialogue consists of this. Some of what Balder remarks to his enemies would count if they weren't more likely promises rather than exaggeration. See ToThePain below.

* BackFromTheDead -- [[spoiler:Baldur]].
* {{BFS}} -- Several of Baldur's two-handed swords are about his height.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter bordering on just being a downer ending. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir far less than they already did before and the Aesir's forces are weakened after the Helheim invasion. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a Foregone Conclusion]].
* BlownAcrossTheRoom -- Goblins and other small enemies tend to fly away in random directions when killed with ballistics. What makes this odd is the complete ''lack'' of reaction from every bullet except the last one - the killing bullet will cause the enemy to go cartwheeling across the room, often bouncing into walls. Thank you, [[WreakingHavok Havok]].

* CharacterCustomization -- Through the ClassAndLevelSystem and PointBuildSystem, as well as cutomizable armor pieces.
* TheChessmaster -- Loki.
* ClassAndLevelSystem -- Combined with a PointBuildSystem. Baldur can be one of five classes, each of which has a skill tree. As the player gains levels points can be spent to traverse the trees, providing several benefits. Additionally, the player can also choose an alignment that provides another tree with more (but different) upgrades.
* ColossusClimb -- Taking down Trolls requires either wearing down their shoulders, arms, and legs individually; or climbing up their back and plunging a blade into the beast's head.

* ContinuingIsPainful ''and'' DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist -- When you die, after the death animation you're dumped right back into the fight with no loss of progress, but on the other hand, your equipment is damaged and your combo meter is reset to zero, meaning if you're in a bad situation, you have fewer resources to deal with it than before you died. Also, the cutscene is completely unskippable. This in and of itself can also be considered a punishment of sorts.
* CoupDeGraceCutscene -- On [[spoiler:Hod and Hel]]. Separately, of course.
* CrateExpectations -- Various containers are scattered through the levels, conferring money or health. Very rarely they can also drop epic (read: very ''very'' rare) items.
* CutAndPasteEnvironments -- The last two levels suffer from some of this, as they just drag on and on.
* CyberPunk -- Midgard is essentially a CyberPunk world ruled by a MegaCorp, cybernetic augmentation and artificial intelligence are significant technologies.
* {{Cyborg}} -- Almost everyone.
* DisneyDeath -- [[spoiler:Thor]] kinda pulls one off. [[spoiler:But it was all just a lie, as it happened when Baldur got into cyberspace, and "got out" of it when in reality he was in a simulation of the real world during his time in cyberspace. Notably, Mimir also goes crazy during this fake reality segment]].
* DynamicLoading -- Loading is done behind cutscenes between levels and dynamically during levels. You'll only see loading screens by skipping cutscenes or jumping right to levels in online multiplayer.
* EmpathicWeapon -- Baldur's sword Fenrir.

* ExpositionBreak -- Between levels, and (irritatingly, to some) ''during'' levels. There's a reason the story is excised in online multiplayer.
* FanDisservice -- Hel.
* FrickinLaserBeams -- One of the ammo types. Averts several problems, as they hit instantly and have no recoil. When using Laser ammo, guns "heat up" to full damage - the longer held on an enemy, the more damage (up to a cap) they do. Watching the damage ramp up on the scrolling damage meter is often very satisfying.
* FunWithAcronyms -- ODIN (Organically Distributed Intelligence Network) and the [=NORNs=] (Non Organic Rational Nanosystems).
* GhostShip -- The World Serpent.
* TheHecateSisters -- The [=NORNs=].
* HeWhoFightsMonsters -- The Nietzsche quote for this trope is directly stated in one trailer. From a work separate from the LiteraryAllusionTitle, however. However, the story does propose the issue of whether a cybernetic human can still retain their humanity in its war against machines and whether humanity can still be retained in the wake of becoming more like the enemy.
* HotBlooded -- Baldur. Thor is at LeeroyJenkins levels to the point he nearly tried to get himself and Baldur killed to destroy a dangerous ship despite the fact that Baldur clearly mentioned their deaths would weaken the Aesir's forces
* HotScientist -- Idunn.
* Instant180DegreeTurn -- Not all of Baldur's animations are smooth, especially this one. Jumping while moving the stick in circles as quickly as possible makes Baldur [[HilarityEnsues pirouette several times]] in ''midair''.
* InvoluntaryGroupSplit -- After [[spoiler:Thor's DisneyDeath. Though, he gets better.]]
* ItsPersonal -- Baldur's pursuit of Hod.

* LevelGrinding -- And How! 5 Character Classes, 50 Levels each. Have Fun!
* LevelUpFillUp -- Played straight. It's saved many a life mid-battle.
* LiteraryAllusionTitle -- To Creator/FriedrichNietzsche's ''Human, All Too Human''.
* LosingYourHead -- Mimir, like in the myth.
* MegaCorp -- [=Æ=]sir Corporation, although it's a rather benevolent MegaCorp.

* MonstersEverywhere -- Absolutely '''''everywhere'''''. Except cyberspace and Asgard.
* MoreDakka -- A slug rifle in the hands of a Human Commando, with rate of fire and ricochet maxed and additional Metalstorm charms, can fire and kill entire rooms faster than the game can ''render the bullets''. Add in another player in co-op, and well... [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill yeah]].

* OneHitPolykill -- Each alignment gets a different skill for this, and the effects can be given to anyone via Charms.

* OneManArmy -- You are supported by human soldiers, but all they seem to do is talk in the background and get killed. Occasionally shooting something.
* OurMonstersAreDifferent -- Goblins, trolls, elves - all robots.

* RandomlyDrops -- And they're drawn to the player magnetically. Auto-looting at its finest.

* RPGsEqualCombat -- The only way to gain [=EXP=] is to fight. And fight you will.
* RuleOfCool -- Played to the hilt, for example with Baldur able to "juggle" enemies in midair with the stream of bullets from his gun. These kinds of moves also charge a combo meter that can be used to activate special abilities, making those abilities literally ''powered by cool''.
* RunDontWalk -- Baldur runs by default, and slowing his down a walk via the control stick makes him walk '''''incredibly''''' slowly.

* SidetrackBonus -- One of the best ways to get epic loot is to go off the beaten path. A few places mid-level, but the World Tree is one giant sidetrack with several loot-dropping obelisks in it.
* SmugSnake -- Loki.
* SuicidalOverconfidence -- The machines never stop attacking. Though... they sometimes do win.

* UnbreakableWeapons -- Interesting mix with BreakableWeapons: weapons and armor do not degrade with use, but instead lose durability at death. When durability reaches zero, weapon strikes only do damage based on Baldur's strength, and armor pieces no longer offer any protection. Both can be repaired at shops. Given that gear typically has enough durability for at least 15+ deaths, it's obvious the designers knew the player would die many, ''many'', times.
* UnwittingPawn -- Hod.
* TheWarSequence -- The whole freaking game.
* WeCanRebuildHim -- Part of Baldur's backstory, also the Valiant Warriors/Einherjar made from the soldiers fallen in battle and retrieved by the Valkyries. In addition Hel reanimates corpses as technological zombies.

Much like a few [[VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho other]] [[VideoGame/AdventRising games]] originally [[StillbornFranchise planned as part of a trilogy]], its poor reception in addition to the fact that Silicon Knights has gone belly-up, has made a ''Too Human'' sequel's likelihood [[Creator/NathanRabin range from "Nonexistent" to "Are you fucking kidding me?"]] -- not the least big because thanks to legal issues, [[KillItWithFire all copies of the game were ordered destroyed and the game purged from all online stores.]] unfortunate, as it leaves off with many things unresolved.

''Too Human'' is the first game in a planned trilogy developed by Creator/SiliconKnights (''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', ''Blood Omen: VideoGame/LegacyOfKain''). Originally planned as a four-disc UsefulNotes/PlayStation epic, it shifted consoles to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 when an exclusive partnership was formed between Silicon Knights and Creator/{{Nintendo}}. That didn't happen either, and plans to release it for Gamecube were similarly set aside when the development house began work on ''Eternal Darkness''. After nearly a decade stuck in DevelopmentHell, the game was finally released on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in 2008 to unreasonable expectations and largely mediocre reviews and sales.

Much like a few [[VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho other]] [[VideoGame/AdventRising games]] originally [[StillbornFranchise planned as part of a trilogy]], its poor reception in addition to the fact that Silicon Knights has gone belly-up, has made a ''Too Human'' sequel's likelihood [[Creator/NathanRabin range from "Nonexistent" to "Are you fucking kidding me?"]] -- unfortunate, as it leaves off with many things unresolved.

* AwesomenessMeter -- The combo meter.
** To expand: the combo meter fills as the player dispatches enemies using varying techniques. The more complex the action, the more combo earned. Combo can then be spent on room-nuking attacks or spells that act as buffs (increasing attack speed, bullet damage, etc.). So the game magic is fueled by RuleOfCool.

* ContinuingIsPainful ''and'' DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist -- When you die, after the death animation you're dumped right back into the fight with no loss of progress, but on the other hand, your equipment is damaged and your combo meter is reset to zero, meaning if you're in a bad situation, you have fewer resources to deal with it than before you died.
** Also, the cutscene is completely unskippable. This in and of itself can also be considered a punishment of sorts.

* EvilEmpire: YMIR would be this as the long dead BiggerBad responsible for all the suffering that led to the current events of the story. It was once a cruel and bloodthirsty foremost leading nation of humans hungering for planetary domination that originally created the machines to instigate a cruel and unnecessary war against other nations to take over the planet. As such, it instigated a machine war by creating complex humanoid killing machines to fight their war of domination versus the other nations. YMIR lost the war and after its defeat, the children of the YMIR, the machines, continued to fight the war against humanity, creating a never ending winter of war when antimatter weapons used during the war caused an artificial global snowstorm.

''Too Human'' is the first game in a planned trilogy developed by Creator/SiliconKnights (''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', ''Blood Omen: VideoGame/LegacyOfKain''). Originally planned as a four-disc UsefulNotes/PlayStation epic, it shifted consoles to the UsefulNotes/Nintendo64 when an exclusive partnership was formed between Silicon Knights and Creator/{{Nintendo}}. That didn't happen either, and plans to release it for Gamecube were similarly set aside when the development house began work on ''Eternal Darkness''. After nearly a decade stuck in DevelopmentHell, the game was finally released on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in 2008 to unreasonable expectations and largely mediocre reviews and sales -- perhaps due in part to retroactive HypeBacklash (though finicky targeting controls and an unskippable death animation certainly contributed).

* EmpireOfEvil: YMIR would be this as the long dead BiggerBad responsible for all the suffering that led to the current events of the story. It was once a cruel and bloodthirsty foremost leading nation of humans hungering for planetary domination that originally created the machines to instigate a cruel and unnecessary war against other nations to take over the planet. As such, it instigated a machine war by creating complex humanoid killing machines to fight their war of domination versus the other nations. YMIR lost the war and after its defeat, the children of the YMIR, the machines, continued to fight the war against humanity, creating a never ending winter of war when antimatter weapons used during the war caused an artificial global snowstorm.

* AfterTheEnd -- The current frozen state of the world is stated to be the result of a 3000 year nuclear winter caused by a war between the still functioning machines of long dead warring nation and the rest of the world and antimatter weaponry.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter bordering on just being a downer ending. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir far less than the already did before. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a Foregone Conclusion]].

* HotBlooded -- Baldur. Thor is this too LeeroyJenkins levels to the point he nearly tried to get himself and Baldur kill to destroy a dangerous ship despite the fact that Baldur clearly mentioned their deaths would weaken the Aesir's forces

''Too Human'' is the first game in a planned trilogy developed by Creator/SiliconKnights (''VideoGame/EternalDarkness'', ''Blood Omen: VideoGame/LegacyOfKain''). Originally planned as a four-disc UsefulNotes/PlayStation epic, it shifted consoles to the {{Nintendo 64}} when an exclusive partnership was formed between Silicon Knights and Creator/{{Nintendo}}. That didn't happen either, and plans to release it for Gamecube were similarly set aside when the development house began work on ''Eternal Darkness''. After nearly a decade stuck in DevelopmentHell, the game was finally released on UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}} in 2008 to unreasonable expectations and largely mediocre reviews and sales -- perhaps due in part to retroactive HypeBacklash (though finicky targeting controls and an unskippable death animation certainly contributed).

* AntiVillain -- Hod.

* CyberPunk -- Midgard is essentially a CyberPunk world ruled by a MegaCorp, cybernetic augmentation and artificial intelligences are significant technologies.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir far less than the already did before. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a Foregone Conclusion]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir less than the already did before. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a Foregone Conclusion]].

* CondescendingCompassion: Despite having benevolent intentions towards the rest of humanity, the Aesir often come off as considerably haughty and condescending towards the humans they are protecting. They are often shown describing the people under their protection as weak, defenseless, and purposeless masses that are only given structure and purpose by the Aesirs' guidance. This behavior is what causes many human soldiers to join [[BigBad Loki]] in rebellion.

* HotBlooded -- Baldur.

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir less than the already did before. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a ForgoneConclusion]].

* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler: Heavy on the Bitter. The game ends with Hel and Helheim being destroyed causing the deceased from battles to now roam the Earth as ravenous zombies. Balder has avenged his wife's death but now is facing doubts due to being an undead being and the fact the theft of his body from Helheim started the conflict to begin with. Loki is free and has escaped to lead the army of machines and giants against the Aesir. The humans now trust the Aesir less than the already did before. The game was supposed to be one part of trilogy, but due to legal complications the story ends with a ForgoneConclusion.]]

* MistreatmentInducedBetrayal: Listening to Loki's dialogue, one uncovers that Loki chose to betray the Aesir because they never gave him an ounce of respect, turned him into an "anathematic child of Giant and Aesir Technology", defamed his character and reputation, constantly attacked his ideas, and destroyed his dreams.

* AfterTheEnd -- The current frozen state of the world is strongly implied to be the result of a nuclear winter.

* HeWhoFightsMonsters -- The Nietzsche quote for this trope is directly stated in one trailer. From a work separate from the LiteraryAllusionTitle, however.

* ScrewedByTheLawyers[=/=]WhatAnIdiot -- 'Tis what happens when you steal GameEngine code from the people who made ''GearsOfWar''. Will soon be very hard to find, as the results of a lawsuit are forcing the company to destroy any unsold copies of the game in 2013.
** Not really, seeing as Silicon Knights did not have the power to recall all unsold copies(they were down to a skeleton crew before disolving), and given that both used and new copies are still very cheap and plentiful online.

->'''Frey:''' [[TheEndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt The end is coming]], Heimdall.
->'''Heimdall:''' [[DarkestHour Then let it come]]! We shall meet it with weapons in hand and joy in our hearts! Our lives belong to ODIN!