History VideoGame / TwoWorlds

%%* LeftJustifiedFantasyMap
%%** Averted in TW 2.

* MakingASplash: Water magic exists as a school, but it's actually just [[AnIcePerson ice magic]].

* FinalBossPreview: In the cutscene intro, the final boss kidnaps your hero, and in the early part of the main quest, he tries to gain your favor by being a member of an underground society. However, his early in-game appearance will backfire because he can be provoked into attacking, and one of his attacks inflicts splash damage that can anger invulnerable civilians, and therefore allowing the game to be completed within a few minutes.

''Two Worlds'' doest be a RolePlayingGame released for PC and Xbox 360 in 2006.

The game came with various gameplay and graphical problems upon release (particularly on the 360 version), and was noted as having clichéd writing, as well as cheesy dialogue and [[LargeHam hammy]] voice acting (at least in the English version), which lead to some claiming it to be SoBadItsGood. The PC release generally got decent press reviews and fan response, and subsequent bug fixes greatly improved its level of playability. The Xbox 360 release, on the other hand, mostly received poor to average reviews and is generally considered to be one of the biggest [[PortingDisaster porting disasters]] on the system.

Contrary to popular belief, the game was not developed by Southpeak, but by the Polish studio Reality Pump.

The sequel released in 2010, ''Two Worlds II'', is an entirely different animal. While opinions on the first game tend to greatly vary, the followup is generally accepted as being [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel much improved]] in almost every way. Besides a greatly expanded world with much fewer bugs and more animations, it notably featured a completely separate co-op/multiplayer campaign, multiplayer duels, a widely praised magic system, dialogue that was sometimes actually clever, and even a village simulator.

!!This series provides examples of:

* AlwaysChaoticEvil: Orcs (subverted in the second game), groms and other humanoid mooks.

%% AutomatonHorses: Averted within the limits of the game mechanics in both parts.

* CallASmeerpARabbit: The "scorpions" are quadrapedal and have humanoid torsos.
%% ConstructedWorld

* DishingOutDirt: One of the schools of magic.

* DualWielding: The character can train to wield two weapons in combat.

* LeftJustifiedFantasyMap
** Averted in TW 2.
* LostTechnology: The elven PortalNetwork.

* {{Necromancy}}

* OurDragonsAreDifferent: These are Western Dragons, played very straight.

* OurElvesAreDifferent: They are the {{Precursors}}.

* PlayingWithFire: One of the schools of magic.

* {{Precursors}}: The elves.

* SealedEvilInACan: Aziraal
* SelfDeprecation: Sordahan's Journey, a developer-produced machinima.
* ShouldersOfDoom: Even on lowly leather armor.

** The first game features the city of Ashos, which has a clear East Asian influence. It's located near a bamboo forest, has Japanese inspired architecture, and a lot of its population has East Asian looks and Japanese-sounding names. Its guards also wield katanas and wear samurai-inspired armor.

** As noted in DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist, non-Hard difficulties just have the player teleport to the nearest shrine upon death with no penalty, and the shrines are quite plentiful across the world.

* ArmorIsUseless: Each piece of armor provides a different amount of protection against slashing, piercing, and bludgeoning damage. The Protect from Physical Damage enchantment provides protection against ALL THREE damage types. By constantly revisiting the magic vendor until he's selling some decent rings, robes, or even quivers with this enchantment, you can end up with a character that can wear mage's robes or even run around naked, and still have equal or better protection as a similarly leveled piece of armor, without all the armor's weight weighing down your inventory.

* DragonWithAnAgenda: Gandohar in the first game. [[spoiler: subverted when it turns out he was really the Master of the apparent BigBad all along.]]

* FinalBossPreview: In the cutscene intro, he kidnaps your hero, and in the early part of the main quest, he tries to gain your favor by being a member of an underground society. However, his early in-game appearance will backfire because he can be provoked into attacking, and one of his attacks inflicts splash damage that can anger invulenrable civilians, and therefore allowing the game to be completed within a few minutes.
* FourPointScale: Played straight with the usual big-name sites and publications, who gave it a 7 out of 10, but averted with pretty much everyone else, who gave it a 2.
* KatanasAreJustBetter: Katanas and other Eastern-style swords are among the most powerful 2-handed swords in the game. You don't start finding them until you're near endgame character levels (about 35-40+).

* OnlyAFleshWound: In those almost exact words. Quoth ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}'': "This is no time to quote [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Monty Python]]!"

** ''II'' seems to suffer heavily from this. The story goes on nicely until [[spoiler:you finally make it out of the [[SwampsAreEvil Goddamn Swamp]], then you have to head out for the Big Bad's fortress only to end up being handed a TwistEnding the size of the castle you're infiltrating]]. It seems the game was originally planned to be significantly larger but the developers had to shorten it due to time and money constraints.

* ActionGirl: Dar Pha and Reesa in Part Two.
* AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Gandohar turns out to be one]] in the Part Two.

* BossCorridor: The FinalBoss of the game, with [[SuspiciousVideogameGenerosity lots and lots of potions]] along the walls.
* BribingYourWayToVictory: Patched in ''seven years'' after release. You can buy skill books and other consumable items. You know, if you're still playing it after all this time.
* CardCarryingVillain: [[spoiler:Gandohar]] in the second game has been taking multiples levels in this, as opposed to how he was almost AffablyEvil in the first game.
* ContinuityLockout: There is little to no in-game information about who's who and who stands for what in the Part Two. Even the manual provides only a very brief and vague synopsis. On the other hand, the vast overwhelming conflict of Orcs versus Humans is pretty much shoved to the background as the story explains it
* DarkerAndEdgier: The plot of the second is somewhat darker than the first, which was fairly lighthearted by contrast.

* GuideDangIt: The labyrinths. They all look identical, with the same 2-3 wall/floor/ceiling textures repeating everywhere, with no unique markings to get your bearings, no map to slowly uncover the fog of war from like other caves/dungeons, and you no way to mark your own path. They're also pitch black aprt from the final rooms and the entrances. The first few are simple enough that you could charge blindly and still reach your destination. But they get bigger and more complex with each one, and by the end of the quest chain you'll find yourself in a [[https://guides.gamepressure.com/twoworldsii/gfx/word/-668174875.jpg MASSIVE labyrinth]] filled with dead ends and so many split paths that the "hug one side" trick will end up leading you in circles.

* InvisibleWall: in spite of being a WideOpenSandbox, ''II'' has its fair share of them. Sometimes it's justified by the plot, but most of the times you'll be just teleported back if you manage to set foot in a location you weren't meant to (i.e. the entire island of Elkronas outside of two areas, since the rest of the island is devoted to multiplayer adventures).

** [[Film/{{Ghostbusters 1984}} "Are you a God?" "No." "Then DIE."]] [[DeadpanSnarker "I'd like to change my answer."]]
** There's an entire questline that is a shoutout/homage to Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade, complete with the holy grail being your reward.
*** And during the quest, you also meet the [[Film/MontyPythonAndTheHolyGrail Black Knight]], who speaks, word for word, the same lines that he did to King Arthur. This ends with the protagonist saying "Dear God, I hope this doesn't mean a lawsuit."
** There's another sidequest that involves getting rid of the ghosts of some annoying imperial toll collectors...who happen to be medieval [[{{Expy}} Expies]] of the [[Creator/MarxBrothers Marx Bros.]] It also contains mild Ghostbuster references - the Groucho Expy says "If you don't pay the toll, you can't cross the stream" (to which your character replies "''What'' stream?" - the area you're in is almost bone dry), and when you talk to them before enacting your plan to exorcise them (trick them into following you into a nearby room with a mirror so that they look into it, realize they're dead and pass on), they refer to themselves as the Scoleri brothers, after the ghostly gangster brothers from ''Film/GhostbustersII''.
*** And upon going back to Scythe to complete the quest, she gives you a special dagger, and says the exact same line (in the same tone) Venkman said to Egon when he gave him a candy bar.

** [[Film/TheShining All work and no play makes Gorlag a dull boy.]]

* StabTheScorpion: [[spoiler: After fighting your way through seemingly never-ending undead in the swamp of Chapter III, you face a cutscene where you are surrounded by undead as an obvious lich emerges ahead of you, hands crackling with forbidding magic. Once the spell is cast, the "lich" walks up and asks in a woman's voice if you're lost. ''Protecting'' the swamps has taken it's toll on her.]]
* SwampsAreEvil: The entirety of Chapter III in the second game.

* UnresolvedSexualTension:
** Between the main character and Dar Pha, [[spoiler:though it doesn't really come to any resolution]].
** Also between the main character and Reesa, who flirts with him more as he becomes involved in her storyline in Hatmandor.
* WellIntentionedExtremist: [[spoiler:Gandohar turns out to be one]] in the Part Two.

* WhereItAllBegan: The final chapter of the second game.

* EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs: Instead of the Asian-themed monsters you might expect, the second game's {{Wutai}} island inexplicably has velociraptors roaming the forests.

* MsFanservice: Kyra, which is [[{{Squick}} really weird because she is your character's sister.]] The second game adds [[HalfHumanHybrid Dar Fa]], the very {{Stripperiffic}} Cassara, and the (purposefully) seductive Reesa.

* UnwinnableByMistake: Many spawn points are located just outside towns. It's very easy for the soldiers - at the start of the game, strong enough to pretty much OneHitKO you - to chase you until they're standing over the spawn point, and simply kill you over and over and over again.

* EpicFail: The BigBad Gandohar makes an EarlyBirdCameo in the ''starting village.'' And he's ''already killable.'' Not by ''you,'' mind you; he'll OneHitKill you if you go toe to toe with him. However, he can be kited into a group of NPCs in a nearby village, who he won't attack. They will eventually kill him, which will [[OffTheRails trigger the game's ending cutscene]].

* EpicFail: The BigBad Gandahar makes an EarlyBirdCameo in the ''starting village.'' And he's ''already killable.'' Not by ''you,'' mind you; he'll OneHitKill you if you go toe to toe with him. However, he can be kited into a group of NPCs in a nearby village, who he won't attack. They will eventually kill him, which will [[OffTheRails trigger the game's ending cutscene]].

* DummiedOut:
** In the first game's instruction book there are pictures which suggest there was going to be more equipment. Also with using cheat codes, you can find things in the game engine not in the final game.
** Also in the first game: An entire city that is shown on the map but is inaccessible due to the massive gate between it and the rest of the world.
** In the second game, a keen explorer will find many tucked-away corners of the WideOpenSandbox to be empty or conspicuously locked. For example, in an out-of-the-way cave on New Ashos, there are no enemies and only minor potions to loot, while there is an entire island nearby New Ashos accessible by sailing and containing empty cages guarded by enemies. The Site of Fire in Erimos is a location still in the game despite only being accessible to those who own the Royal Edition, and similarly it seems some locations are cut of content unless the Pirate DLC is installed.

* OurElvesAreBetter: They are the {{Precursors}}.

->''"[[LargeHam Say 'Hello' to DEATH!]]"''

* LordBritishPostulate: It's possible, by exploiting certain aspects of the combat engine (or, in the unpatched version of the game, simply not starting the main quest until you've grinded your way to reaching endgame character level), to actually kill Gandohar at the beginning of the main quest (this is akin to starting off the Lord of the Rings by having Frodo kill Gandalf right off the bat). In fact, "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3njDh5_UPc speed runs]]" of the game exploit the fact that A) your character respawns, even if he is one-shot killed by the obvious final boss and B) [[DeathByAThousandCuts that villagers can mob and kill said final boss]]. The game treats this as though you've beaten the final boss normally, even giving you the achievement for it.

!!This series provides general examples of:

----
!!The first game provides examples of:

----
!!The second game provides examples of:

Contrary to popular belief the game was not developed by Southpeak but by the Polish studio Reality Pump.

* AutomatonHorses: Averted within the limits of the game mechanics in both parts.

* BlowYouAway: Air magic is used in the game and is combined with lightning magic, i.e. ShockAndAwe

* LampshadeHanging: There's no way to sleep in TW 2; this is lampshaded when someone, giving you a quest involving bedsore cream, adds, "...but who sleeps anymore?"

* PinballSpinoff: There is a "Two Worlds" table included in the ''Dream Pinball 3D'' collection.

* [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evil in a Tomb]]: Aziraal

* WideOpenSandbox: Especially in game two. There are freakin' oceans you can cross by boat. The sequel really makes you feel that you're in a vast world, rather than just a small part of it. For better or worse, however, certain areas are barred off or completely empty as part of the Royal Edition, Pirates DLC, or the multiplayer sections.

** ''[=TW2=]'' seems to suffer heavily from this. The story goes on nicely until [[spoiler:you finally make it out of the [[SwampsAreEvil Goddamn Swamp]], then you have to head out for the Big Bad's fortress only to end up being handed a TwistEnding the size of the castle you're infiltrating]]. It seems the game was originally planned to be significantly larger but the developers had to shorten it due to time and money constraints.
** The first chapter is about recruiting a rebellion and building a massive army using the same mysterious Verita that Gandohar uses. [[spoiler:This army is never heard from again, except in the form of a hidden quest wherein you slaughter the ''very same'' golems in the Verita Caves to apparently save the miners. This has no effect on the plot, is not hinted at unless you re-enter the caves sometime after the reveal of the golems]]. In gameplay terms, [[spoiler:the golems are even overpowered compared to the rest of the enemies in the game and the weapons they drop require a staggering level 56 to wield when the game is completed at around level 46, hinting that they were slipped in as an afterthought or that they were originally intended as content for late-game arcs that were cut for time]].

* InvisibleWall: in spite of being a WideOpenSandbox, TW 2 has its fair share of them. Sometimes it's justified by the plot, but most of the times you'll be just teleported back if you manage to set foot in a location you weren't meant to (i.e. the entire island of Elkronas outside of two areas, since the rest of the island is devoted to multiplayer adventures).
* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: The second game allows you to learn a skill that enables you to kick your opponents in the face, then stab them in the gut them while they're splayed helpleslly on their back.

* OneWingedAngel: The FinalBoss of ''[=TW2=]'' transforms into a [[spoiler:[[ScaledUp dragon]]]] before the final fight begins.

* PlayableEpilogue: After the credits. Really more of a pass to explore the open world than an epilogue despite being titled as such, as the player is able free-roam and complete any remaining quests.

* SaveGameLimits: You can save at any time in ''[=TW2=]''... except during the final boss battle.

* TurnsRed: The final battle of ''[=TW2=]'' starts with easy to dodge fireballs and proceeds to attacks that instakill you if you don't know how to dodge them. Which you don't [[TrialAndErrorGameplay on your first attempt]].

* WellIntentionedExtremist / AntiVillain: [[spoiler: Gandohar turns out to be one]] in the Part Two.