| 1 | [[quoteright:128:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/gglogo_9166.png]] |
| 2 | |
| 3 | ''[[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ Gaming Garbage]]'' was the name of Website/SomethingAwful founder Richard "Lowtax" Kyanka's Website/YouTube channel which, beginning in the Spring of 2013, became primarily a LetsPlay channel in which both he and WebAnimation/TheFlashTub co-founder Dave "Shmorky" Kelly searched the internet for the bottomest of the very bottom of VideoGame barrels to find crudely designed homebrew {{freeware}} games, often programmed in entry-level template software programs such as GameMaker and UsefulNotes/{{Unity}}. The videos involved Lowtax (usually) attempting to play through [[ObviousBeta barely (if at all) playable]] digital cacophonies of primitive and unprofessional one-man graphic and sound design, often relying on stolen assets in order to give the illusion of something that wasn't made by a delusional child, while both he and Shmorky provided [[HilarityEnsues appropriate]] commentary. |
| 4 | |
| 5 | The channel initially was a dumping ground of either personal or Website/SomethingAwful related videos under Lowtax's "lowtaxico" account until he decided to do a Let's Play of the SurvivalHorror ''VideoGame/CryOfFear''. Despite Lowtax's lack of experience with the medium, the videos garnered massive praise from the Something Awful community for his [[DeadpanSnarker dry, sarcastic]] and [[CausticCritic highly critical]] commentary as well as his honest criticism of concentrated {{Narm}} and flaws in game design. When Shmorky took to the microphone in the fourth installment, [[GrowingTheBeard a chemistry was established]] (along with a much-beloved BreakoutCharacter) and the two ran with it. During the ''Cry of Fear'' run, the two took much-needed breaks (up to six months in length) to LP other games, beginning with an obtuse Survival Horror game named "Slenderman.exe", followed by a handful of homebrewed ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' clones. Finally, the two branched out into any messed up game of any kind they could find on the [=YoYo=] Games website (and later, Website/GameJolt for their increasing Unity-engine fixes, and Steam Greenlight) to expose in all their {{Bile Fascinat|ion}}ing glory. |
| 6 | |
| 7 | The first official title that was used for the channel was Interactive Gaming Television Online Video Entertainment, or IGTOVE. It proved to be short-lived, replaced by the more appropriate Video Game Abomination Broadcasting (VGA), and the name stuck for the remainder of 2013 before eventually being changed to Gaming Garbage in late Winter of 2014. |
| 8 | |
| 9 | In September of 2014, Lowtax [[WordOfGod announced]] via Website/{{Twitter}} that he would [[https://twitter.com/lowtax/status/507920997538729984 no]] [[https://twitter.com/lowtax/status/508465407402213376 longer]] be doing videos for the Gaming Garbage channel "in the foreseeable future". In 2015, the channel became more active as Lowtax started livestreaming new content (either alone or with his then-wife and daughter), and it was essentially reborn in 2017 as Lowtax recruited his friend Jonathan as the new official co-host, and the Shmorky era was regarded as a bit of an OldShame for the channel. |
| 10 | |
| 11 | After Google suspended Lowtax's monetization efforts, he and Jonathan slowed down on the comparatively labor-intensive work of Let's Plays in favor of a Gaming Garbage podcast, "Murder the Internet". However, by late 2019 the podcasts had stopped and gaming content made a return, usually in the form of livestreams with Jonathan, until Jonathan got a job elsewhere. After that, just like in the [[BookEnds beginning]], the channel served as Lowtax's solo effort consisting mostly of livestreams while still retaining the Gaming Garbage title. |
| 12 | |
| 13 | In November 2021, Lowtax committed suicide after being overwhelmed by debts, putting an end to the channel. |
| 14 | |
| 15 | ---- |
| 16 | !!Do you want to read a complect of tropes?: |
| 17 | * HundredPercentCompletion: ''The Chair at the End of the Corridor'' is played through three times to check for NewGamePlus (in just over six minutes). |
| 18 | * AbandonedArea: All kinds. |
| 19 | %%* AbandonedHospital: ''Codename: Horror'' |
| 20 | %%* AbandonedLaboratory: ''Stalked @ Home'' |
| 21 | %%* AbandonedMine: ''Fabricant'' |
| 22 | %%* AbandonedPlayground: ''Grand Theft Normo V'' |
| 23 | %%* AbandonedWarehouse: ''Halls'' |
| 24 | * AbortedArc: "Let's Watch: ''The Story of London''" had a "Part 1" uploaded June 20, 2014, and to date has had no follow-up. [[{{Cancelled}} And there probably never will be.]] |
| 25 | * ACappella: |
| 26 | ** When a bug in ''Catland Pounland Wars 4'' causes the player's [[SuperDrowningSkills falling death]] to loop repeatedly, Lowtax improvises an electronic beat over it before he and Shmorky sing the [[GratuitousEnglish grammatically bizarre]] GameOver message. |
| 27 | ** Shmorky and Lowtax provide music and sound effects respectively to replace the licensed track in ''[[{{Mockbuster}} Far Cry 3]]''. |
| 28 | ** The ending to ''[[https://youtu.be/XQUXhbdmSPo#t=9m39s The Forgotten Project of the Damned]]''. |
| 29 | * ActuallyPrettyFunny: |
| 30 | ** The creator of ''The Endless Stairwell'' not only admitted that [[https://youtu.be/lA8x_0hHVTE a video on his game]] was funny, but also became a big fan of the channel ever since. |
| 31 | --->'''Zykov_Eddy:''' I'm so glad I've discovered Gaming Garbage two months ago, it quickly became one of my favorite channels on youtube. I've never had so much fun watching someone playing horrible indie games. It's a comedy goldmine. |
| 32 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/XR-fxVdZ71o Clash of Aggression]]'' was much more coherent and playable than the channel's usual fare, to the point where Lowtax actually enjoyed playing it. |
| 33 | * AllMenArePerverts: The premise behind the ''[[https://youtu.be/NYOyOAxA_AQ Lady Moon Rider]]'' commentary. |
| 34 | * AlternateCharacterInterpretation: InUniverse. Lowtax likes to do this to a lot of the characters in the games they play. The monster in ''Halls'', for example, is just a real estate agent who can only communicate in screams and circling her customers rapidly. Batman is a KleptomaniacHero who keeps stealing things to add to his giant collection in the Batcave. VideoGame/PacMan[[labelnote:*]]specifically, his ''VideoGame/PacManAndTheGhostlyAdventures'' incarnation[[/labelnote]] is a selfish, egotistical, megalomanic and sociopathic {{Jerkass}} that [[DesignatedHero just so happens to be the main protagonist for whatever reason]]. |
| 35 | * AnachronismStew: ''Clash of Aggression'' has modern day soldiers and medieval fantasy warriors fighting against zombies, aliens and {{kaiju}} in the streets of Akihabara. |
| 36 | -->'''Lowtax:''' Oh, our tank has shown up. With the archers and the Amazon women. So this is actually happening. |
| 37 | * AnimatedAdaptation: Some of the best moments from the series are animated by Shmorky in Let's Play CARTOONS. [[http://www.somethingawful.com/series/lets-play-cartoons Here are all the cartoons so far.]] |
| 38 | * AnnoyingVideoGameHelper: [[invoked]] InUniverse, the fact that ''Smarty Lab Counterattack'' really, ''really'' wants the player to know which keyboard key is used for opening doors becomes a RunningGag. |
| 39 | |
| 40 | * BaitAndSwitch: Part 13 of "Let's Play: ''Cry of Fear''" is actually [[spoiler:a live-action parody of the game shot in the Something Awful offices.]] |
| 41 | * BattleCry ([[MemeticMutation Of Fear]]): The [[Film/FirstBlood Rambo]]-style scream from ''Prevention 1'' leans more towards "cry" than "battle". |
| 42 | * BearsAreBadNews: One of the prime factors in the [[NintendoHard brutal difficulty]] of ''Sherlock Holmes vs. Dr. Frankenstein'', as well as Lowtax's unsurprising rage quit. (see DemonicSpiders) |
| 43 | * BerserkButton: [[Franchise/TheSlenderManMythos Slender Man]] is this to Shmorky. The [[https://youtu.be/HHcHQrsJ07E?t=36 mere mention of him]] or anything similar in terms of character or game mechanics (collecting papers or 8 of anything) is enough to send them into a screaming, [[ClusterFBomb swearing]] tirade. |
| 44 | ** Shmorky feels this way about anything related to SCP as well, though to a lesser extent. |
| 45 | * BlackComedy: Particularly during the old ones: |
| 46 | -->"Dontrel, the dolphin with Downs!"\ |
| 47 | "Who knew 9/11 could be so much fun?" followed by a ":)" caption.\ |
| 48 | "You know what I feel like doing today? Killing myself. I just wanna slit my wrists. I just wanna die." "Oh, that's cute!" |
| 49 | * BlindIdiotTranslation: Any time a game is of non-native English origin, you ''know'' this is going to happen. |
| 50 | -->'''Lowtax:''' ''"IN A LAND WHERE ANY THING CAN HAPPEND. WHERE YOU CAN DO ANY THING. OUT COME A NEW KIND OF HERO''\ |
| 51 | ''A HERO WHO MUST FIGHT ALL THE EVIL THAT IS STILL HERE. AND MOST STOP THE TIME DESTRORYER BEFORE PAST AND NOW BECOME NO MORE.''\ |
| 52 | ''CRYSTAL THE G OF LIGHT IS HERE TO PUT A STOP TO ALL EVIL."''\ |
| 53 | What did I just say?! |
| 54 | * ByNoIMeanYes: In the ''Nine-Eleven'' LP: "Everybody escaped, but not everybody." |
| 55 | * CallBack: There are callbacks to many videos throughout the channel's run. ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' and ''The Groundskeeper'' are two popular sources. |
| 56 | ** When Lowtax makes a prison smuggling joke involving the TARDIS, Shmorky shows they haven't learned the ''Doctor Who'' theme. |
| 57 | * {{Cancelled}}: Twice! |
| 58 | ** As mentioned in the above summary, in 2014 Lowtax announced on [[https://twitter.com/lowtax his Twitter]] that he will providing no more Gaming Garbage content (or at least [[LetsPlay Let's Plays]]). |
| 59 | ** In 2017, after few months of new Gaming Garbage content (and attempts to increase revenue for the channel), Lowtax and Jonathan ceased making new Gaming Garbage content and switched to making their own podcast titled ''Murder the Internet'' instead. |
| 60 | * CaptainObvious: The protagonist of ''[[https://youtu.be/iHj40D0O6Ss Nine-Eleven]]'', a game revolving around a character escaping the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks. The end of the game has him simply proclaiming "What a disaster." |
| 61 | -->''"The time was September 11, 2001 when 9/11 had begun..."'' |
| 62 | * CaptionHumor: Usually in {{Deadpan Snark|er}} mode. |
| 63 | * {{Catchphrase}}: Lowtax has many catchphrases. |
| 64 | ** "(Because) I'm (really) good at video games." |
| 65 | ** "I've/I'm/(S)He's got/playing with all the right moves." |
| 66 | ** "God bless this mess." |
| 67 | ** "It's the oldest trick in the book!" |
| 68 | ** "He died doing what he loved: [[ShapedLikeItself dying]]." |
| 69 | ** MadLibsCatchPhrase: "(Well,) (you know,) ''[x]'' is nature's ''[y]''." |
| 70 | *** Shel Silverstein's... |
| 71 | ** "Wads", "Orbs" and sometimes "mounds". |
| 72 | * CensoredForComedy: |
| 73 | -->[[https://youtu.be/mtIUfI5lMVs "Let's Play: 'Nightmare!' *WARNING: SCARIEST GAME EVER! I FRE*K DA F*K !OUT!! OMG I FLIP MY L*D!!!!!"]] |
| 74 | ** That's the video title. Here's the video description: |
| 75 | --->"THIS IS THE SCARIEST S*HT EVER!!! NEVER WANNA PLAY THIS "NIGHTMARE" GAME EVER AGAIN, I S*EAR TO *OD!!! ITS SOOO* F*N SCR*Y!!! OMG OMG OMG IM ALL LIKE W*F*OOP T** A!!!!!!!!!!!*** H@LP@@ S* F*N S*RED!!!@#" |
| 76 | * {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Shmorky! There's a reason fans prefer to think of them one of the non-human cartoon entities they draw. |
| 77 | ** Lowtax himself becomes one ''big time'' while playing ''The Last House 2''. |
| 78 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: Being new to the Let's Play medium, Lowtax was more hesitant and low-key in his dialogue and delivery, but within only a couple months became the ultra-snarky LargeHam we all know and love. Shmorky's voice and personality started out as that of a laid back, [[NerdyNasalness nasally accented voice]], before evolving into a exuberant {{Keet}} and then descending into a quivery ShrinkingViolet, all while [[SerialEscalation becoming higher and higher in pitch with every video]]. |
| 79 | * ColdBloodedTorture: ''[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Torture.]]'' |
| 80 | * CoolAndUnusualPunishment: It's been theorized that the horrible things that Lowtax makes his daughters witness for the channel are this. |
| 81 | * CopyAndPasteEnvironments: A common side effect of template-based design software falling into the wrong hands. Stock assets are overwhelmingly recycled, and titles such as ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}}'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' have their graphics and sounds blatantly borrowed wholesale. |
| 82 | ** ''Crimelife: Somertun'' takes this up to eleven by consisting entirely of the ''Adventures'' game template with absolutely no changes. ''It is literally the exact same game''. |
| 83 | * CozyCatastrophe: ''Nine-Eleven''. Despite being in the World Trade Center during the 9/11 attacks and trying to escape, not only is everything eerily silent and calm, but the protagonist doesn't feel the need to move any faster than a casual stroll. |
| 84 | * {{Cliffhanger}}: A few of the ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' [=LPs=] end on this sort. |
| 85 | * ClusterFBomb: Shmorky becomes reduced to these on occasion, [[BerserkButton especially]] in Slenderman-inspired games. |
| 86 | ** Though he usually sticks to [[PrecisionFStrike precision strikes]], Lowtax engages in a particularly memorable one at the end of "Let's Play: ''Smarty Labs Counterattack''". |
| 87 | --->"God damn this! This motherfucking stupid-ass game! With the fuckin' [[WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce meatwads]], the fuckin' trains, fuckin' white man, fucking globules... all this shit, fuck it! Fuck it! Fuck it! Fuck this, fuck Pounland, I'm not even playing any more of these games again, ever! Never again! 50 fucking minutes of this shit!" |
| 88 | * CreatorCameo: In ''Freak Out 2'', the teenage designer puts his own picture in the game. |
| 89 | -->'''Shmorky:''' Now I just feel bad.\ |
| 90 | '''Lowtax:''' Yeah, I don't. Like, he could've Photoshopped the acne out. |
| 91 | * DarkerAndEdgier: ''Nintendo Nightmare'' [[note]]the video is titled ''Super Mario 64'' based on the title screen and [[TrollingCreator Lowtax making a practical joke]][[/note]] is a crossover of many video game franchises, none of which had this much blood and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking use of "What the crap?!"]] |
| 92 | %%* DeadpanSnarker: Lowtax (most of the time, anyway.) |
| 93 | * DrivenToSuicide: |
| 94 | ** In the opening to "Let's Play: ''Flapper Racers''", Lowtax tells Shmorky he feels like killing himself. After playing the game, he closes the video saying that he is going to "blow [his] brains out". The fact that Lowtax has [[WordOfGod gone on the record]] as to consider ''Flapper Racers'' the worst game he's ever played makes this [[HarsherInHindsight particularly more stark]]. |
| 95 | ** Shmorky [[MemeticMutation gets themselves dead]] with a pistol after losing a bet and going completely nuts in "Let's Play: ''Horse Racing''". |
| 96 | ** During ''Horse Storm Escape'', Shmorky eats a CyanidePill hidden in their tooth to escape being tied to a chair. |
| 97 | * DownerEnding: |
| 98 | ** Lowtax giving up at the second boss of ''Mega Lord'' after [[TooDumbToLive getting himself killed]] over and over by a boss that really isn't that hard at all. |
| 99 | ** ''Earth Defiance'' crashing to Windows 8 right when Lowtax was starting to actually enjoy it. |
| 100 | ** Stowaway ends with the protagonist falling off the wing of the plane and landing in a confined area next to a thirty foot high block which says "WELCOME TO PRISON". |
| 101 | ** Neither of the two ever figure out how to "Trigger dump load" in ''Burglar Simulator 1.5''. |
| 102 | ** "Let's Play: ''VideoGame/SecretOfTheMagicCrystal''" ends with a CrazyPrepared Lowtax still losing the race, likely to him [[TooDumbToLive not checking his horse's stamina first]]. |
| 103 | ** Creator/TotalBiscuit and Lowtax [[RageQuit breaking down and quitting]] the NintendoHard ''Nightmare on Elm Street Blood Days'' after approximately half an hour of dying to [[Film/{{Hellraiser}} Pinhead]]. |
| 104 | * DudeNotFunny: |
| 105 | ** The end of the ''Nine-Eleven'' LP has Shmorky [[OOCIsSeriousBusiness get serious]] to proclaim that the entire concept of the game is actually pretty horrible. |
| 106 | ** During the standard FPS Creator menu in ''Night Terrors'', Shmorky comments on the stock ambient background track: |
| 107 | -->'''Shmorky:''' I just hear... I just hear a constant drone. Is this [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama Obama]]'s game?\ |
| 108 | ''[[{{Beat}} [long silence]]]''\ |
| 109 | '''Lowtax:''' Speaking of night terrors—''[clears throat]''—and not speaking of what he just said... |
| 110 | * EarlyBirdCameo: Shmorky can be heard talking to Lowtax at a few points in the background of the very first Cry of Fear video. |
| 111 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: If you want to have a Gaming Garbage marathon, you'll have to watch home videos of Lowtax hanging around with Chinese people first. |
| 112 | ** Shmorky doesn't appear until ''Cry of Fear'' Part 4. And even then their trademark {{Keet}} voice had yet to be developed; rather it resembled more of a stereotypical "nasal nerd" style. |
| 113 | * EleventyZillion: Sometimes the video captions will exaggerate things such as time passages for comedic effect. |
| 114 | * EndingFatigue: [[invoked]] Any video that goes on for more than 30 minutes will leave Shmorky and Lowtax bored and looking for a way out. ''Slenderman.exe'', ''Batman'', and ''Nintendo World 2 EX'' are some of the more memorable examples. |
| 115 | * ExplodingBarrels: And that's just the tip of the Game Maker community's ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}}'' fetish iceberg... |
| 116 | * {{Expy}}: |
| 117 | ** The ''Terminations'' FPS series. |
| 118 | --->'''Lowtax:''' This is the guy who always makes the fucking stupid ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' rip-offs! |
| 119 | ** ''Mega Lord'', a game based on ''Mega Man''. At least you can [[DenialOfDiagonalAttack aim up]]. |
| 120 | * EyeScream: Ends up being one of ''Torture'''s biggest draws, [[NightmareFetishist unsurprisingly]]. |
| 121 | * FakeDifficulty: A given, really, since the developers' disregard for programming effort is more than likely to carry over to mechanics and difficulty balance. |
| 122 | * {{Fanart}}: Lowtax stumbles upon ''Crimelife 2's'' creator's Website/DeviantART gallery in an in-game museum. |
| 123 | ** The show itself gets some from various viewers, usually posted in the Something Awful forums, sometimes [[Website/{{Twitter}} tweeted]] by Shmorky. |
| 124 | * FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: In ''Dernhald: Reveng'' [sic], Wingham gets a nasty cut with one press of the enter key. |
| 125 | * FantasticRacism / UnfortunateImplications: One of the pink Bob-ombs in ''Super Mario 64'' tells the player to "go kill the black guys". ItMakesSenseInContext, but Lowtax will have none of it. |
| 126 | -->"What does this remind me of? Oh yeah, racism." |
| 127 | * FauxHorrific: One of Lowtax's [[SugarWiki/FunnyMoments Crowning Moments of Funny]] is [[https://youtu.be/F9II_cq01hY "Let's Play: Death Unknown"]], where he parodies the overblown "scarecam" style popularized by WebVideo/PewDiePie and WebVideo/{{Markiplier}} by playing a horror game almost completely devoid of any readily identifiable horror elements and [[ScreamingAtSquick acting comically horrified at]] ''everything''. This was also done in an earlier video: "Let's Play: ''Nightmare!''", though without the camera and was done with Shmorky, rather than a solo run. |
| 128 | ** Taken up to eleven in "[[https://youtu.be/LQQCDxfv1SY Let's Play: ''Real Life'']]" where Lowtax takes footage of a typical workday and scarecams the hell out of it. |
| 129 | * FelonyMisdemeanor: |
| 130 | ** The school administration in ''Prom Protector'' is apparently so fed up with the senior class that they've decided that if even one student acts up, prom will be cancelled. This ranges from students smoking and cutting class to throwing paper airplanes and running back and forth in the hallways. |
| 131 | ** Lowtax hates Batman because his parents died and [[DeusAngstMachina "that's just stupid"]]. Also because he fell down a well. |
| 132 | * {{Filler}}: Old episodes of Shmorky's web cartoon, ''WebAnimation/TheFlashTub'', were uploaded from time to time. |
| 133 | * FirstPersonShooter: A playlist of every first-person shooter LP can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdzBCg8nf5ug4WmqoUrvQ6ACDlYX97Y_Q here]]. |
| 134 | * FlatWhat: Lowtax's response during ''[[https://youtu.be/SG3n8FsO0bY?t=2297 Cry of Fear]]'' when he is told that after reaching the subway train past the gateway that required [[FetchQuest three scattered fuses to unlock]], he now has to go back to the gateway panel and bring the fuses to the train. |
| 135 | * FollowTheLeader: Numerous ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}}'', ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'', ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', ''VideoGame/{{Amnesia|TheDarkDescent}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'' clones end up on the show. |
| 136 | * {{Flanderization}}: Both Lowtax's LargeHam and Shmorky's {{Cloudcuckoolander}} {{Keet}} personas become more and more pronounced with each successive video. The late 2013-2014 videos showcase Shmorky adopting a highly frail and effeminate "cracking voice" affect. |
| 137 | * FunnyBackgroundEvent: |
| 138 | ** During several episodes, a folder named "PHOTOS OF NUDE BUTTS" is seen. One of the games they play ("GAME.exe") is actually shown inside of it. |
| 139 | ** ''Contre Mafia 2'' is in a folder named "THE WORST FUCKING GAME IN THE WORLD". |
| 140 | ** Lowtax's desktop displays a link to "dontrel.jpg", as well as games that unsurprisingly are played in future videos, in "Let's Play: ''Real Life Minecraft''". |
| 141 | * FunWithAcronyms: '''V'''ideo '''G'''ame '''A'''bominations will likely remind viewers within a decade or so of Lowtax's age bracket of a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vga rather significant landmark PC graphics technology]]. |
| 142 | * GameBreakingBug: Most of them leave Lowtax [[RageQuit jaded enough to end the video]]. It helps that they usually come in the form of crashes that make the decision of whether or not to quit the game a bit easier. |
| 143 | * GangBangers / UnfortunateImplications: In all ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' clones, the only African-American NPC's are these. |
| 144 | * GenericGraffiti: "Stay out of Studworth" from [[https://youtu.be/HzJSWJKIxoc?t=1271 ''The Groundskeeper'']]. |
| 145 | %%* GhostCity: ''Crisis City'' |
| 146 | %%* GhostTown: ''Exploration Nation'' |
| 147 | %%* GhostPlanet: ''SAVE CAPTAIN KIRK!'' |
| 148 | %%* GhostShip: ''Lumber Island'' |
| 149 | * GiantSpaceFleaFromNowhere: |
| 150 | ** "''Franchise/{{Batman}}''" features lots and lots of fights with Batman villains with no rhyme or reason, seemingly just so there can be a fight with that particular villain. |
| 151 | ** In ''Prevention 1'' you are told to hunt down and kill "the General", yet the sole boss you face is a giant, floating head with its mouth permanently agape. Which turns out to not be the General the game keeps preparing you for. |
| 152 | * GratuitousRape: When WebVideo/PewDiePie is brought up on the show, you can count on Lowtax suddenly [[TakeThat replacing the humor in his commentary with rape references]]. |
| 153 | * TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: ''Franchise/{{Batman}}'' features stealth segments in which guards can inexplicably only see about a foot in front of them and have to be subdued with special "Stealth Batarangs". |
| 154 | %%* HauntedCastle: ''The Groundskeeper'' |
| 155 | %%* HauntedHouse: ''Fear House'' |
| 156 | * HeelRealization: In ''Nightmare: Creepy Factory'', Lowtax finally goes too far. |
| 157 | -->'''Lowtax:''' This game will get scarier, folks! ... I feel bad for saying that. |
| 158 | * HellholePrison: The ''Rotten Prison'' is made worse by the audio - the game was supposed to play slowed-down baby cries that sound like demonic roars. Except they didn't slow down. |
| 159 | -->'''Shmorky:''' '''Somebody shut that baby up!''' |
| 160 | * HighPressureBlood: The wildlife in ''[[https://youtu.be/4wZ0L1_MS8Y 1.exe]]''. |
| 161 | * HilariouslyAbusiveChildhood: ''VideoGame/SlenderTheArrival'' was at least arguably SoOkayItsAverage enough to put a child through, but when it was followed by an abysmal SCP "game" consisting of nothing more than a stairway and comical JumpScare, as well as the [[https://youtu.be/xDHuRQbnTo4&list=UUPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ video game]] ''and'' [[https://youtu.be/gF6uEvwyTeg&list=UUPoSHO-OOTb0rqZr6bJlMkQ musical]] [[MindRape works]] of infamous ''Beestmeel'' creator [[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} Steward HK Lar Lover]], viewers actively started to become worried about Lowtax's parenting. |
| 162 | * IDontLikeTheSoundOfThatPlace: |
| 163 | ** ''Luigi's Forgotten Mansion'' |
| 164 | ** ''Fear House'' |
| 165 | ** ''Nightmare Dungeon'' |
| 166 | ** ''Dark World'' |
| 167 | ** ''The HORROR of HELL HOUSE'' |
| 168 | ** ''Caves of Hell'' |
| 169 | * InexplicablyPreservedDungeonMeat: ''Slenderman Must DIE'' has the player restore health by drinking cartons of milk and eating whole pizzas that are found just lying around an abandoned sanatorium. [[LampshadeHanging Shmorky is quick to point out how disgusting this is.]] |
| 170 | * InsistentTerminology: Often games will be referred to by the name of their executable file rather than the official name itself. For instance, ''Behind You'' is called ''Behind You Windows'' in both the commentary and the official video title. This is especially common if there is no title shown in the folder ("GAME.exe") or the game itself ("1.exe"). This also goes for spelling and grammar mistakes, such as Lowtax always pronouncing "theif" as "the-if" in "Let's Play: ''Burglar Simulator: A House Theif''", though sometimes he lets it slide a bit, such as during "Let's Play: ''Sonic for Begginers''". |
| 171 | * {{Jerkass}}: Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen in "Let's Play: ''Jay's Mod''", playing off his InternetJerk persona and [[VitriolicBestBuds relationship]] with Lowtax. |
| 172 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Lowtax likes to screw with Shmorky's emotions (especially in the beginning of most of the videos), but also has his ways of inevitably appealing to their best interests. |
| 173 | * JumpScare: Almost a guarantee if they're playing a SurvivalHorror game. They usually only react with either annoyance or amusement. |
| 174 | ** ''Nightmare Dungeon'' easily cranked this up to eleven by including near-constant jump scares, until one was happening every 2-3 seconds and Lowtax was just trying to kill himself as fast as possible so they'd stop. |
| 175 | ** ''The Chair at the End of the Corrider'' actually ''warns the player'' about its Jump Scare at the title screen, thus ruining the whole point of its existence. |
| 176 | * {{Keet}}: A common description of Shmorky's voice and demeanor is that of a living cartoon character. |
| 177 | * KleptomaniacHero: After seeing Batman's strange collection of trophies in his Batcave during during the aforementioned ''Batman'' game, Lowtax starts making jokes about Batman stealing random things from his various cases (including heroin, an entire ferris wheel, and eventually all of Gotham City itself) to display them in the Batcave as well. |
| 178 | %%* LargeHam: Lowtax becomes this quite frequently [[CharacterizationMarchesOn after the first few LPs]]. |
| 179 | %%* LargeHamAnnouncer: The ''Greenlight Eye'' videos. |
| 180 | * LeaveTheCameraRunning: In [[https://youtu.be/doz3Z1LnZlQ Let's Play: "Sonic Under Fire"]], Sonic simply runs and jumps into the water. The rest of the video proceeds to focus on moving the camera around, and even Shmorky and Lowtax attempting to close the game with Task Manager. |
| 181 | ** A Website/YouTube comment jokes "He was under fire so he jumped into water to put it out." |
| 182 | %%* LetsPlay: A deconstruction. |
| 183 | * LoserProtagonist: Josh, the video game addict who made the school project ''Josh.exe.'' |
| 184 | -->'''Lowtax:''' You suck! "I'm not addicted to normal addictive things, I'm addicted to a non-addictive thing!". |
| 185 | * MadnessMantra: [[VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG!]] SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! SHADOW THE HEDGEHOG! |
| 186 | * TheMafia: Possibly averted in ''Contre Mafia 2'', given that that it's impossible to tell what it is in the first place. |
| 187 | * MaleGaze: Lowtax shows immense delight upon encountering a woman bending over. |
| 188 | -->'''Lowtax:''' Gasp! Oh, I see a bu-utt! |
| 189 | * ManOfAThousandVoices: For a man who relied on text for most of his career, Lowtax has [[HiddenDepths a surprising talent]] for impressions. To say nothing of Shmorky, who already built a superb reputation for this with the Flash Tub. |
| 190 | * MegaCorp: LG in ''Crime Line'' runs fast food and gun clubs around town. |
| 191 | -->'''Lowtax:''' LG's burgers are people! |
| 192 | * {{Mockbuster}}: ''Sonic Unleashed'', ''Dead Space'' and ''Metroid Prime'' are extreme [[VideoGameDemake demakes]] of their respective sources in the form of [[{{Unwinnable}} severely broken]] [=MSPaint=]-drawn platformers. ''Far Cry 3'' takes it even further by being a half-baked ''VideoGame/DoomII'' WAD with ''VideoGame/Wolfenstein3D'' map design whose only connection to any actual ''Franchise/FarCry'' game is a basic fractal generated wall tile meant to resemble greenery of some sort. |
| 193 | * {{Motif}}: The horror and sci-fi B-movie clips at the beginnings and ends of the newer videos. |
| 194 | * MindScrew: Unsurprising when one combines an outsider artist's publishing wet dream ([=YoYo=] Games) and a website highly versed in mining out said outsider art (Something Awful). |
| 195 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/42Pe-JzlMxE Potato Pushur]]'' is undeniably this trope concentrate. It turns potatos into one big {{motif}} and combines it with DerangedAnimation, {{Gorn}}, BodyHorror, EpilepticFlashingLights and whoTF knows what else, all within a narrative too twisted to make up. |
| 196 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/zsCF-mz6Y6A&t=499s Dontrel]] [[https://youtu.be/oOOUHiYo788&t=608s Dolphin]]'' is the ultimate example of a Mascot Platformer gone horribly wrong. From the concept to the execution, the whole thing literally looks ([[SoundtrackDissonance and sounds]]) like a disturbed child's {{nightmare|fuel}}. After a while, it becomes hard to tell what ''anything'' is supposed to be. |
| 197 | --->'''Lowtax:''' If I had to ask one question about one thing in this game, I'd be like, what is it? |
| 198 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/IbEL2YthHak Erned Laser]]''. You shoot crudely drawn "aliens" with a crudelier drawn gun that has a perpetually offset crosshair in a small, square map with textures made up of random, UsefulNotes/MSPaint-drawn patterns while you search for the crudliest drawn floating potato, where you can walk straight off the map into a black void where sprites representing basic rectangles pop out from underneath the floor. All of this while a seemingly random arrangement of sound effects comprise the "background music". |
| 199 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/3iCFQNkm-S8 Space Blaster]]'' does this [[InvokedTrope intentionally]], taking a relatively normal [[ShootEmUp space shooter]] game and then playing with the visuals and mechanics, all while [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou making obtuse statements towards the player]] regarding their interaction with the game itself and other mysterious topics. |
| 200 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/j_UupXuV-Nk Survival Horror]]'' is not, in fact, a SurvivalHorror game in the traditional sense, but rather a {{maze|Game}} with solid magenta walls and a floor that consists of a snapshot of a villainous-looking {{Bishonen}} and randomly scattered [[VideoGame/MegaManX Zero]] sprites while the [[EarRape "music"]] from ''VideoGame/CrazyBus'' plays. |
| 201 | ** "Let's Play ''[=Doland8=]''". Shmorky and Lowtax walk the player through an indecipherable FreeToPlay GameMaker MMO using creepy animated avatars while {{Jump Cut}}ting to obscure pre-2000s computer games and making up lots of non-sequiter shit. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpoGIV_XMD8 It's better if you see for yourself.]] |
| 202 | ** The artsy games attempt this but just end up getting heckled. |
| 203 | ** ''Beestmeel'' might be by far the biggest Mind Screw of them all. The video title has "ABSOLUTELY INSANE" in brackets, and the video even begins with a ''personal health warning telling the viewer to stop the video''. [[https://youtu.be/zVUjVqKKmoI See for yourself.]] |
| 204 | * MotherFBomb: Lowtax lets loose more than one of these during ''[[https://youtu.be/mYY7jltAm6c Caves of Hell]]''. [[NintendoHard It's quite understandable.]] |
| 205 | * MotorMouth: The ''Greenlight Eye'' videos, though the digital timeshifting effects on Lowtax's voice are very obvious. |
| 206 | ** Lowtax reading off the tag list for ''[[https://youtu.be/Il_VqSa9z-o?t=40 Grand Theft Normo V]]''. |
| 207 | * MundaneMadeAwesome: |
| 208 | ** "Let's Play: ''Real Life''" consists of home movie footage of Lowtax at work and at home, to which he applies [[ComicalOverreacting comically]] [[FauxHorrific terrified]] scarecam reactions to ''everything'' over the music from ''VideoGame/GunstarHeroes''. |
| 209 | ** Lowtax and Shmorky reacting to and rationalizing cookie-cutter ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}'' knockoff ''[[https://youtu.be/6OAltOZUdVQ Goldrush in the Forest]]'' as the GREATEST GAME EVER. |
| 210 | ** After Lowtax invariably makes a [[ToiletHumor fart joke]] in "[[https://youtu.be/dODptgTDZPs Let's Play: ''Urban Streets'']]", the footage suddenly pauses with a posterization filter over it and "FART JOKE" in huge, stylized letters at the bottom of the screen while the fanfare music from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyI'' plays. |
| 211 | *** Escaping the game is also cause for celebration. |
| 212 | * {{Narm}}: In-universe. Absolutely unavoidable throughout the amateur SurvivalHorror games. |
| 213 | ** The game ''[[https://youtu.be/F0aQsYsAdQE Torture]]'' - where your character tortures a helpless victim - was especially notable for this (fortunately so, as it would be a rather disturbing theme for a game otherwise) |
| 214 | *** Immediately after choosing a torture action, the victim cries out for the torturer to stop. However, he cries out based on the ''specific action'' the player chose for the torturer, even before the victim sees what it is ("Don't punch me in the right eye!") |
| 215 | *** After cutting the victim's right leg off with a chainsaw, Lowtax gives the command "stitch right leg", and watches as the torturer walks straight past the victim offscreen [[GoodBadBugs looking for the now missing right leg.]] |
| 216 | ** The mixture of custom 2D animation with 3D Unity assets in ''Viral Compiracy''[[labelnote:*]]Viral Conspiracy[[/labelnote]] is a sight to behold, and neither Jonathan or Lowtax [[https://youtu.be/me4SQCTBXwY#t=1m55s can keep themselves together]] during scenes where the [[https://youtu.be/me4SQCTBXwY#t=5m49s custom animations are featured]]. |
| 217 | * TheNicknamer: Lowtax will give nicknames to pretty much anyone, even if they have an official name. One of the most memorable is the "Poopy Bloody Baby" from ''SCP Containment Breach''. |
| 218 | * NintendoHard: See FakeDifficulty above. Luckily most of the developers are too lazy to [[ItsEasySoItSucks even bother with creating a challenge in the first place]], and when they do, you can bet it will be a disaster. |
| 219 | ** TOT Comics' entries—''[[https://youtu.be/FyFBaiD-O4Q Catland Pounland Wars]]'' and the ''[[https://youtu.be/aQLZEA3hkAA Smarty Lab]]'' games—are littered with [[LightningBruiser fast-moving and bullet sponging]] enemies that deliver [[ThatOneAttack rapid-fire]] CollisionDamage from [[HitBoxDissonance across the room]]. ''[[https://youtu.be/BVsG6rVfFys Smarty Labs Counterattack]]'' is the worst of the lot, combining these inconveniences with [[MalevolentArchitecture tight corridors]] and big ambushes. Lowtax's [[ClusterFBomb foul-mouthed]] RageQuit is ''gentlemanly'' in terms of the game's inevitable reactions. |
| 220 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/lpEsK7GWqts Mega]] [[https://youtu.be/OaI71wjmjfk Lord]]'' can be described as the {{Platform|Game}} equivalent of BulletHell, made worse by [[FakeDifficulty finicky controls and rampant physics bugs]] that put the player in frequent moments of helplessness. |
| 221 | ** Bladevampirek's ''Franchise/ANightmareOnElmStreet'' games ''Blood Craze [[https://youtu.be/i2u1k_j-Ddo 1]] & [[https://youtu.be/GDlPbxHAWUE 2]]'' and ''[[https://youtu.be/h6NvGRdkqX8 Blood Days]]'', {{Boss Game}}s where every other boss you fight is ThatOneBoss. You're a OneHitPointWonder that has to dodge massive enemy sprites that [[HitBoxDissonance kill you with a single pixel of the rectangle that contains their respective sprite]] which ''also'' happen to move significantly faster than your character ''and'' [[DamageSpongeBoss require dozens upon dozens of hits]] by your [[DenialOfDiagonalAttack one-way projectiles]] to kill ''and'' have unpredictable moving patterns. As bad as the ''Blood Craze'' games are about it, ''Blood Days'' takes it up to eleven by facing you against a boss that adds similarly killbox-sized BeamSpam to the mix, and a fight against [[Franchise/{{Hellraiser}} Pinhead]] which requires you to punch a well-guarded box about a hundred or so times as he shifts erratically all over the screen. The first two games were miraculously completed by Lowtax and Shmory, while the third put Lowtax and professional e-sports athlete [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]] through an hour before collapsing in disillusionment. |
| 222 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/g3z9jWfHFHc Earth Defiance]]'', possibly due to a [[DifficultyByAcceleration timing]] [[FakeDifficulty bug]], pits you against [[BeamSpam projectile-spewing]] aliens armed with DeflectorShields while you [[OneHitPointWonder die in one hit]] in a situation where everything moves far too quickly to properly react. It takes Lowtax approximately [[EleventyZillion 1,000,000,000 minutes]] to complete the first encounter. |
| 223 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/XxpzJIuUkPg Escape 4 Beta]]'' combines a lack of {{Knockback}} with a lack of MercyInvincibility and a [[HitboxDissonance limited attack hitbox]] to create instant death situation where enemies run right past your fists and CollisionDamage your character to death from the center of its sprite. |
| 224 | ** ''Caves of Hell'', a FirstPersonShooter where you face armies of {{Demonic|Spiders}} [[DemBones Skeletons]] with ImprobableAimingSkills and unpredictable strafe patterns that habitually spawn in inconvenient places, as well as jumping puzzles where the player is [[ScrappyMechanic forced to work around a bug that cripples the usual sprint-jump mechanic]]. |
| 225 | * NoIndoorVoice: Lowtax and Shmorky will read certain things in ALL CAPS at the top of their lungs. This includes games such as ''The Endless Stairwell'' where the use of capitalization is stylistic. |
| 226 | * NoJustNoReaction: |
| 227 | ** Upon seeing "[[AC:INSPIRANO NO GAME]] '''VideoGame/{{CRY OF FEAR}}'''" in ''[[https://youtu.be/72Cv0QF5ZFw?t=11 Insanidade's]]'' opening credits. |
| 228 | ** The video description for "Let's Play: ''Dontrel the Dolphin 3''": |
| 229 | --->Ugh. No. NO. NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! NO!!! |
| 230 | * NoPeriodsPeriod: |
| 231 | ** {{Defied|Trope}} when Lowtax discovers the toilet in ''Terminations 4'' to possess some conspicuous red pixels. |
| 232 | --->'''Lowtax:''' I don't want to make a 'that time of the month' joke, but... |
| 233 | ** Defied again in ''[[https://youtu.be/-X9E5M4tvtg Mario-The Lost Chapter]]'', this time by Shmorky in reference to the creator's decision to just put blood on trees, rocks, and pretty much everything else. |
| 234 | * NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer: "[[https://youtu.be/dd-Z-_wn2fk Let's Play: ''Slender Lost'']]" has not one, but ''two'' messages stating that the gratuitous MotionBlur sequence is in fact generated by the game itself and not the video, both before and during. |
| 235 | %%* ObviousBeta: Almost every single game they play (hell, they're ''lucky'' if it's beta-quality, or even ''pre-prototype'' quality.) |
| 236 | %%* OldSchoolBuilding: ''Elementary Memories'' |
| 237 | * OnceDoneNeverForgotten: The scene in ''[[https://youtu.be/EEvT5zx-I8g?t=633 Terminations 4]]'' where [[VideoGame/HalfLife2 Alyx]] {{expy}} October tells the player to "Go into the toilet and stay there." Suffice to say, it's a moment from the game neither Lowtax or Shmorky will ever forget. |
| 238 | -->'''Lowtax:''' Okay, you cannot beat that line. |
| 239 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: Every now and then Lowtax and/or Shmorky will completely lose their cool and actually bash on the game/creator for all its awfulness. |
| 240 | * OriginalCharacter: Shmorky and Lowtax declare that the titular character in ''[[https://youtu.be/UO_jneJGrpQ Clyde the Hedgehog]]'' is probably the laziest example of this trope that they have ever seen. |
| 241 | * OverlyLongGag: The list of VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog games in the ''[[https://youtu.be/6dLFD-304fk Sonic Yoyo]]'' intro. |
| 242 | -->• ''Sonic the Hedgehog''\ |
| 243 | • ''Sonic the Hedgehog 2''\ |
| 244 | • ''Sonic the Hedgehog 3''\ |
| 245 | • ''Sonic & Knuckles''\ |
| 246 | • ''Sonic & Tails & Knuckles''\ |
| 247 | • ''Sonic & Floyd''\ |
| 248 | • ''Sonic Adventure''\ |
| 249 | • ''Sonic Vegas Vacation''\ |
| 250 | • ''Sonic Teaches Typing''\ |
| 251 | • ''Sonic: Nazi Warhunter''\ |
| 252 | • ''[[Franchise/AlienVsPredator Sonic vs Alien vs Predator]]''\ |
| 253 | • ''[[Series/DoctorWho Sonic Screwdriver]]''\ |
| 254 | • ''Sonic & Mario Just Hang Out''\ |
| 255 | • ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Sonic: Modern Warfare]]''\ |
| 256 | • ''Sonic's Night Out''\ |
| 257 | • ''[[Film/MyBigFatGreekWedding Sonic's Big Fat Greek Wedding]]'' |
| 258 | ** The list of tags on the ''Grand Theft Normo V'' download page, which includes (but is definitely not limited to) ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'', the 4th of July, ''WesternAnimation/RegularShow'', fedoras, ''Literature/{{Percy Jackson|and the Olympians}}'' and DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment. |
| 259 | ** The comments for "Let's Play: ''Horrific Horror''" mentioning that its music was taken from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. |
| 260 | * PerfectlyCromulentWord: "Ploishing," named for what is probably a typo of "polishing" in the readme for ''Bravo 2'', refers to [[BottomlessPit falling off/through the game world into the endless abyss beyond]]. |
| 261 | * PhallicWeapon: The rather unusual idle animation for the axe in ''Night Terrors''. |
| 262 | -->'''Shmorky:''' [[https://youtu.be/TH7CxxwlLtk?t=82 Stone, don't do that, no! Stop making love to your axe!]]\ |
| 263 | '''Lowtax:''' Oooooooooooohhhh, [[DoubleEntendre I'm having night terrors]]... |
| 264 | * PilotEpisode: "Let's Play: ''VideoGame/CryOfFear''" was essentially this. |
| 265 | * PissTakeRap: Lowtax performs one at the end of ''[[https://youtu.be/3LLCkOjBL6Q?t=442 The Last Guy]]''. |
| 266 | * PrecisionFStrike: Lowtax has quite a thing for this, in contrast to Shmorky who tends to [[ClusterFBomb bottle them up]]. |
| 267 | * PrinciplesZealot: The music and gun sounds in ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' only play if the game is installed to a specific file path. Lowtax proceeded to play it in such a broken state as part of showing off the game's inexcusable design flaws and out of resistance to the developers' laziness. |
| 268 | * PungeonMaster: Shmorky loves to pass them out like candy, with Lowtax falling not far behind. |
| 269 | %%* RapidFireNo: See NoJustNoReaction entry above. |
| 270 | * RageQuit: Lowtax will typically quit out of most games before completing them after something makes him bored or frustrated enough. ''Smarty Labs Counterattack'' is one of the few times where he actually ragequit after legitimately trying to beat it. |
| 271 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: His dialogue in "[[https://youtu.be/OsNmZnyEtMc?t=797 Let's Play: ''Crimelife: Somertun'']]" is almost entirely one of these, getting increasingly personal and intense as it progresses. |
| 272 | %%* RedOniBlueOni: Shmorky and Lowtax, respectively |
| 273 | * ReferenceOverdosed: Every video contains at least one pop culture reference within the rambling. |
| 274 | -->'''Shmorky:''' Oh okay, you were above it for a minute but then you were below it.\ |
| 275 | '''Lowtax:''' Uh huh, I was up above it, now I'm [[Music/NineInchNails down in it]]. |
| 276 | * RougeAnglesOfSatin: Unsurprisingly, hilarious typos abound within the verbal content of such titles. One of the more memorable moments is ''Nightmare: Creepy Factory's'' spectacular AWinnerIsYou ending: a blank screen that reads [[https://youtu.be/V0Mc4Tpa2lw?t=720 "Thaks for playing!"]] |
| 277 | * RuleOfCute: The SuperDeformed graphics of ''Earth Defiance'' play a major part in Lowtax's [[SoBadItsGood strange appreciation]] for the game. |
| 278 | * RunningGag: |
| 279 | ** fern.png |
| 280 | ** Hoping that there isn't a twist ending involving Slender Man. |
| 281 | ** "Get fucked!" in the livestreams. |
| 282 | ** Singing certain things to the tune of the ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' theme song, usually if they involve houses and/or ghosts. |
| 283 | ** Lowtax bragging about how good he is (supposedly) at VideoGames. |
| 284 | ** Asking or stating whether or not something is "the real ''Minecraft''", a {{meme}} originating in the comments on "Let's Play: ''Minecraft 3D''" left by LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} subscribers. |
| 285 | ** Lowtax following any utterance of "here I/we am/are" with "Miss America". |
| 286 | ** Lowtax referring to indiscernible objects as wads[[note]]possibly a habit stemming from his days of reviewing terrible ''VideoGame/{{DOOM}}'' maps back in TheNineties[[/note]], mounds or globules. |
| 287 | ** The toilet in ''Terminations 4''. |
| 288 | ** [[UsefulNotes/BarackObama "Obama's America"]] and some variation thereof. |
| 289 | ** Lowtax commenting that a character has "all the rights moves." (see: {{Catchphrase}} entry) |
| 290 | ** Shmorky yawning into the mic and then being chastised by Lowtax. |
| 291 | ** Lowtax complaining about art-based games and calling them pointless. |
| 292 | ** Claiming to know all about a work of popular culture and then making up fake characters that are not actually a part of said work (Batman, Pokemon, My Little Pony, etc.). |
| 293 | ** Saying corporate slogans. |
| 294 | ** "_________________ was my nickname in college/high school." |
| 295 | * SarcasmMode: Lowtax is in this at least half the time. |
| 296 | ** "Let's Play: ''Goldrush in the Forest''" takes this up to eleven. (See Mundane Made Awesome above) |
| 297 | * SanitySlippage: ''Dontrel Dolphin'' 2 and 3 have a tendency to cause this in Lowtax and Shmorky. Shmorky goes insane, starting to speak to Dontrel, and eventually [[spoiler:starts peeling the flesh off their leg]] in 2, while Lowtax starts doing a deranged Dontrel impression in 3. |
| 298 | * SelectiveObliviousness: Lowtax himself frequently skips or otherwise ignores instructions and documentation, then proceeds with frantic ButtonMashing, typically breaking the game in the process. |
| 299 | -->'''Shmorky:''' There's ... only jump? You can't ... like, move out of the way of the bullets?\ |
| 300 | '''Lowtax:''' I don't know! I purposely didn't read the instructions! |
| 301 | * SelfDeprecation: In ''[[https://youtu.be/oaw3uBGQ3PE Elementary Memories]]'': |
| 302 | -->'''Shmorky:''' And here comes WebVideo/{{Markiplier}}!\ |
| 303 | '''Lowtax:''' Oh God! Run away, it's one of the few people less funny than us! |
| 304 | * SensitiveGuyAndManlyMan: Shmorky and Lowtax, respectively. ''Especially'' so in the 2014 videos. |
| 305 | * SensoryAbuse: Intentional or no, it happens with a lot with the games they play, with lots of bad MS Paint graphics and ear-bleeding music. |
| 306 | %%* SerialEscalation: The pitch and harshness of Shmorky's voice. |
| 307 | * SeriousBusiness: When the protagonist of ''VideoGame/{{Phantasmagoria}}''[='=]s [[DemonicPossession possessed]] {{Jerkass}} husband becomes absolutely furious over the lack of '''[[{{Narm}} DRAIN CLEANER!!!]]''', Lowtax and Slowbeef spend the rest of the LP series making it a major RunningGag. |
| 308 | * ShapedLikeItself: ''Horrific Horror'' |
| 309 | * ShortRangeShotgun: {{Exaggerated|Trope}} in ''Crime Line'', where every type of gun has either borderline melee range or totally unorthodox shot trajectory. |
| 310 | * ShrinkingViolet: Shmorky's voice starts resembling this in the late 2013 and especially 2014 videos, adopting an extremely timid "breaking voice" tone. |
| 311 | %%* SinisterSubway: ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' |
| 312 | * SlasherSmile: The titular character in the ''Dontrel Dolphin 2'' title screen. It fits the [[NightmareFuel rest of the game]] surprisingly well. |
| 313 | -->'''Shmorky:''' Thumbs up... ''your corpse!'' |
| 314 | * SongParody: |
| 315 | ** Lowtax improvises one once ''Crime City 2'' launches and the game itself is shown. |
| 316 | --->'''Lowtax:''' ''[to the tune of [[Music/GunsNRoses "Paradise City"]]]'' Take me down to the [[TitleDrop Crime City]] where the textures are terrible and everything's shitty. |
| 317 | ** Also breaks out a theme for ''[=HouseGhost=]'' to the tune of the WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987 theme song. "[=HouseGhost=], woo-ooh! Dun duh-da-da, every ghost is getting houses..." This becomes a RunningGag in later videos. |
| 318 | ** From the beginning of "Let's Play: ''Timore''": |
| 319 | --->'''Lowtax:''' When the moon hits your game / and it turns out really lame / that's ''Timore'' |
| 320 | * SophisticatedAsHell: [[https://youtu.be/pNzYxVHovTM This video]] proves you to can be this when upgrading to an Platform/XboxOne. |
| 321 | -->"Dear sir, if I may, please allow me to notify you and the public in general of my opinion of your play style. I find it [[{{Scrub}} trite and shallow, to be generally lacking in skill]] as evident in your selection of weaponry. May I suggest you find solace in a [[UsefulNotes/WiiU completely different video game entertainment system]], one with [[CasualGame titles that suit your strengths accordingly]]. Once this has been accomplished, please [[SuicideDare entertain the option of altering your life state to that of which directly opposes the one you currently inhabit]]. Sincerely, [[TheStoner Weed420]][[Franchise/DragonBall Goku]][[AllMenArePerverts XXX]]." |
| 322 | * SoundtrackDissonance: The background music during the entire duration of should-be Mascot Platformer ''Dontrel Dolphin 2'' is ''literally'' a piece of horror movie score. |
| 323 | * SpecialGuest: Creator/MikeNelson of Podcast/RiffTrax and Series/MysteryScienceTheater3000 appears in place of Shmorky for a few games. |
| 324 | ** Lowtax challenges [[Creator/TheCynicalBrit TotalBiscuit]] to a [[AbortedArc speedrun]] of [[https://youtu.be/h6NvGRdkqX8 A Nightmare on Elm Street: Blood Days]]. |
| 325 | ** Also parodied during their playthrough of "Rainbow Wizard," which features Mark Levin (Lowtax) and Robin Williams (Shmorky). |
| 326 | ** Fellow Something Awful co-founder Kevin "Fragmaster" Bowen joins ([[{{Jerkass}} and heckles]]) Lowtax as he plays ''Jay's Mod'' (a clone of ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'' that succeeds about as well as you'd think) and ''Belly of the Beast'' (a borderline unplayable SurvivalHorror game). |
| 327 | ** Lowtax's 8-year-old daughter Lauren gives her thoughts, along with her father's, on the inexplicably popular ''VideoGame/SlenderTheArrival'', ''Minecraft'' Adventure mod/''Endless Stairwell'' clone ''Cube SCP-087'' and ''Beestmeel'' follow-up ''Prep Froth Time Travel 2''. |
| 328 | * TheStinger: Most of the newer videos end with a clip from an unrelated 70s/80s b-movie. |
| 329 | * StupidCrooks: In ''Burglar Simulator: A House Theif'' you play as a criminal hired to steal ketchup bottles and fire extinguishers. And Lowtax doesn't even get away with '''that'''. |
| 330 | * SurvivalHorror: A frequent target. Especially ones that require the player to walk around a map and collect papers ala ''VideoGame/{{Slender}}''. A playlist of every survival horror LP can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdzBCg8nf5uj3Ulkx6Jvl4Yk1b9bdwAZO here]]. |
| 331 | * TakeThat: |
| 332 | ** WebVideo/PewDiePie and WebVideo/{{Markiplier}} are common targets. In fact, the original ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' LP was made solely as a takedown against [=PewDiePie=] and [=PewDiePie=]-style "LP recording over-exaggerated reactions during gameplay" LetsPlays - lowtax would link to random ones he'd find in the original thread, ask the goons how the hell they would be considered funny, and let the goons go to town. |
| 333 | ** ''VideoGame/CryOfFear'' itself is torn apart as being a dimly-lit, badly-designed game, especially ripping into the voice acting and teenager angst. Lowtax and the goons held special contempt for the {{Jump Scare}}s, calling them cheap. |
| 334 | ** The commentary in "Let's Play: ''Evicted''" is a Take That against Website/{{Google}}[=/=]Website/YouTube, who had been causing Lowtax grief with his account at the time. |
| 335 | ** ''Greenlight Eye'' is a TakeThat against Steam Greenlight and its lack of quality control. |
| 336 | ** Lowtax makes fun of Men's Rights Activists when mocking the [[DemonicPossession possessed]] [[DomesticAbuse abusive husband]] in ''Phantasmagoria''. |
| 337 | ** Every now and then, former co-host Shmorky can also take a beating at the hands of Lowtax, with Lauren gladly joining in. |
| 338 | ** TakeThatAudience: The compilations of dim LetsPlay/{{Yogscast}} fans questioning if they know they're playing a fake clone of ''Minecraft''. |
| 339 | * TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: [[invoked]] ''Slenderman Must DIE''. [[InUniverse Lowtax himself laments]] that as appealing as a game based around killing one of the prime inspirations for terrible indie games and overused memes is, it doesn't make up for the fact that game itself is, well, terrible. |
| 340 | * TimedMission: |
| 341 | ** The second stage of ''Mega Lord'' contains a series of segments that you must complete before an off-screen bomb explodes while the invincibility music from ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog3'' plays. |
| 342 | ** ''Hunt or be Hunted'' gives you only a few minutes to find and kill a {{sociopath}}ic bystander in a large maps with no clues as to his location. |
| 343 | * ToiletHumor: |
| 344 | ** The '''[[MundaneMadeAwesome FART JOKE]]''' in "Let's Play: ''Urban Streets''" |
| 345 | ** ''Terminations 4'''s infamous "Go into the toilet and stay there" line singlehandedly invokes this. |
| 346 | * TookALevelInKindness: Both Lowtax and Shmorky are noticeably more forgiving to the channel's usual fare than they are towards ''Cry of Fear'', despite the vast majority of them showing noticeably less competence. Probably because they only have to play them for a minute fraction of the time. |
| 347 | * TranslationTrainwreck: This gem from ''[[https://youtu.be/I5L0e6TzndA Restaurant Rush]]'': ''"C'mon man! Is this takes that much time, uh?! I [[WantonCrueltyToTheCommonComma dont]] think [[NoPunctuationPeriod so]] [[AllLowercaseLetters i]] get back here to drink a goddamn beer!"'' |
| 348 | -->'''Lowtax:''' He's drunk and I didn't even serve him a beer! |
| 349 | * TrialAndErrorGameplay: |
| 350 | ** ''[[https://youtu.be/AfXBGW8quwI Library Save]]'', a guessing game (the uploader's own words) where you choose between clicking blue and red books. With random PlatformGame backgrounds for [[MindScrew no discernable reason]]. |
| 351 | ** The "placards" in the ''Beestmeel'' games. |
| 352 | * VitriolicBestBuds: We get to see Fragmaster and Lowtax's unusual relationship in [[https://youtu.be/x8FyU5tHGP4 "Let's Play: ''Jay's Mod''"]] and [[https://youtu.be/fsHI4T9Xyt4 "Let's Play: ''Belly of the Beast''"]]. |
| 353 | * VocalEvolution: During the ''Cry of Fear''/GTA clone videos, Lowtax's delivery was dryer and less [[LargeHam hammy]]. Shmorky started out speaking in a relatively deeper, flatter tone resembling a stereotypical nerd voice before adopting a more whimsical, emotive style, and becoming increasingly higher pitched. Starting in late 2013/early 2014, Shmorky's voice started becoming very frail, dainty and timid, often breaking and constantly squeaky in tone. They later some of his confidence back, but their tone still remains rather shrill and harsh in the latest videos. A more broad summation of their voice and overall inflection would be going from an "uh" sound (IGTOVE-era) to an "ah" sound (VGA-era) to an "ee" sound (GG-era). |
| 354 | ** Shmorky's pitch shift is given as the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TLV5ECmLlgY primary reason they were let go]]. |
| 355 | * WallOfText: |
| 356 | ** The dialogue in ''[[https://youtu.be/3c50T89W0xY Nintendo World 2 EX]]'' is ungodly drawn out [[LargeHam ham]] and [[{{Narm}} melodrama]] that serves no purpose given the otherwise simplistic subject matter. Lowtax naturally skips through the vast majority of it as quickly as possible. |
| 357 | ** "Killer Jeff" ends with [[https://youtu.be/N_pzzYiJKFw?t=123 a literal example]] that thnaks [''sic''] the player and refers them to game's creepypasta source material. |
| 358 | ** "Space Survivors Shooter" starts with a hangar that is just long enough for [[https://youtu.be/efAln53G5N0?t=109 every paragraph of the instructions]] to fit on a single line. |
| 359 | * WideOpenSandbox: A playlist of every wide-open sandbox LP can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLdzBCg8nf5uiQk_f5Fs3D-Oog8fKp3eqi here]]. |
| 360 | %%* AWinnerIsYou: Given the quality effort put into every ''other'' aspect of the titles... |
| 361 | * WordPureeTitle / InherentlyFunnyWords: [[https://youtu.be/AfXBGW8quwI DEBOB!]] [[https://youtu.be/3m1OBIIZWlM Manganoochatrelacanootratreladeb!]] |
| 362 | * WorkOffTheDebt: [[invoked]] An improvised IdiotPlot comes up in the ''Crimelife 2'' free-roam where Lowtax plays so much of the bowling minigame that he becomes indebted to the bowling alley and needs to pay them off through crime. |
| 363 | -->'''Lowtax:''' ''[as the bowling alley manager]'' You're going to have perform some tasks for us. You may find them unpleasant. |
| 364 | * WorldOfFunnyAnimals: In ''[[https://youtu.be/ZnVn-oES5T0 Miami Traffic 3]]'', an AnthropomorphicAnimalAdaptation of ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCity''. |
| 365 | ---- |
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