Line #49 NightmareFuel/Homeworld


1	[[foldercontrol]]
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4	[[folder:In the original game]]
5	While Homeworld 1 isn't a scary game overall, there are some pretty unsettling FridgeHorror moments during the story.
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7	* [[AssholeVictim Subject]] [[FridgeHorror did]] [[DissonantSerenity not]] [[JackBauerInterrogationTechnique survive]] [[ColdBloodedTorture interrogation]].
8	** It's probably justified PayEvilUntoEvil because the captain of the captured ship had taken part in the destruction of Kharak and was slaughtering the last of your people, but it can still be pretty unnerving to hear that casually from Fleet Intelligence.
9	** Not to mention... what happens to the enemy crews of all those ships you keep capturing?
10	** A galaxy-spanning evil empire you've ''never heard before'' decided to kaboom ''your entire civilization'' to oblivion just because [[DisproportionateRetribution your kind set foot into space...]] Shocking is too mild a word.
11	* What [[BigBad the Emperor]] does to [[MessianicArchetype Karan]] at the start of the last level. Being unexplained only makes it more disturbing.
12	-->'''Riesstiu:''' Karan. You've taken one step too close to me.
13	* The GhostShip in ''Sea of Lost Souls'', or more specifically its ability to take control of any capital ship entering its range.
14	** You gain control of all lost ships once you disable it, but you've got to wonder how those crews felt [[AndIMustScream watching their guns turn against their friends and kiith.]]
15	* Similarily, albeit borderline, the [[AlmightyJanitor Junkyard]] [[FluffyTheTerrible "Dawg"]] at Karos Graveyard, which is capable of grabbing a capital vessel of any size (excluding TheMothership) and carrying it into a slipgate, ostensibly never to be seen again. If you wait around (which you might not, as the ships stolen are hard to replace) you find out that the ship has merely been moved to a different part of the level from whence it can be recaptured with Salvage Corvettes... but what happened to the crew to make that necessary?
16	* The Kadeshi in ''The Gardens of Kadesh'' and ''The Cathedral of Kadesh'' are an absolutely fearsome enemy, having spent generations stalking and preying upon any and all intruders who dared to desecrate the nebula they view as sacred. What they lack in armor and sophistication, they make up for in sheer numbers, literally swarming their prey like locusts as they mercilessly strafe them to death. So great was their zeal that the ''Taiidan themselves dared not approach said nebula''.
17	** The Bentusi's cryptic warning against travel through the nebula says it all:
18	--->'''Bentusi:''' [[ItsQuietTooQuiet We hear nothing there.]] Even the Taiidan fear the Great Nebula. ''No one returns''.
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20	** Finally, the Kadeshi's cryptic foretelling of your destruction upon the Kushan's decline to join them is made all the more chilling by how casually and matter-of-factly they declare your extermination:
21	--->''If you will not join, then '''die'''. There is no withdrawal from the Garden.''
22	* The ominous reveal of the Headshot Asteroid in ''Chapel Perilous'' may very well make your heart skip a beat the moment you realize that this monolithic monstrosity is on a deliberate collision course with your mothership and that you have to destroy it. ''Fast''.
23	* Also there is the [[SarcasmMode pleasant]] moment that occurs if you elect to [[TooDumbToLive fire upon the Bentusi]] during your fist contact with this group of otherwise peaceful spacefaring traders. Turns out that attacking these otherwise friendly nomads is a '''very''' bad idea, and if you do not heed their warnings to stop firing their tradeship will unleash a beam attack that utterly decimates everything you throw at them. They then focus their fire on the Mothership, ''destroying it in a 36 seconds''. [[FridgeHorror That's right; your greatest allies possess the power to do in less than a minute what an entire Taiidan strike fleet cannot]], effectively wiping the last of your kind out of existence if you should seek war rather than peace.
24	-->'''Bentusi Trader''': The Bentusi wish only to trade and make contact. Your attack is unwarranted and ill-advised. [[DontMakeMeDestroyYou Stop now. ]]
25	--> '''Fleet Intelligence''': [[LastSecondChance Recommend immediate cease fire.]]
26	-->'''Bentusi Trader''': You insist on conflict. [[PreMortemOneLiner This is most unfortunate.]]
27	** Definitely counts as HarsherInHindsight once you learn about the ultimate fall of the ancient Hiigaran Empire, and about who was instrumental in bringing about its downfall.
28	[[/folder]]
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30	[[folder:In Cataclysm]]
31	The game's subtitle of Cataclysm is rightfully earned via it's main antagonist, who is flat-out ''terrifying''. Giving a space battle-focused RealTimeStrategy game, horror elements unlike any other.
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33	* The booklet that came with the game to flesh out the world and what happened between games includes the note that the people who didn't die with Kharak had either been in the fleet or colonists specifically chosen to have a limited range of ages - meaning no children or elders made it. In fact many colonists had signed up in the certainty that their kin would be safe and secure and would benefit from their efforts, and many committed suicide after reaching the homeworld.
34	* Let's just say that the Beast IS NightmareFuel and CosmicHorrorStory in a convenient package.
35	** Firsthand, your introduction to the Beast. The screams. They will stay in your memory. It's also loaded with FridgeHorror because you don't see what the Beast did to the interior (and the workers of) your lower deck. But the audio is enough. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDcELUCroDs Watch it, if you dare]]. (If you are not even slightly unnerved, you truly have nerves of steel!).
36	--->'''We live....'''
37	** Then you learn what the Beast [[BodyHorror does]] [[TheVirus to]] [[PainfulTransformation normal lifeforms]].
38	** "It's gotten into the ores!" Which is also something of a tearjerk.
39	** What the Beast '''[[AndIMustScream does]]''' to the Bentusi - or any [[WetwareCPU Unbound]], in fact. Ugh.
40	--->'''Bentusi:''' To understand our fear, you must know our nature. We are one with our vessels, as was your S'jet persona. We are Unbound. The solar winds blow across our skin. Hyperspace sings in our ears... The universe unfolds around our thoughts. The Devourer does not kill us when it tries to take our ships. It leaves us in place, but ''corrupts'' our being. We die, but we're not dead. We would be trapped, slaves within our own bodies. Eternally.
41	** Speaking of the Bentusi, when you are sent to aid one in the middle of being attacked by a Beast convoy, you arrive basically too late. Once an infected Heavy Cruiser attacks the Tradeship, the Bentusi is scared shitless of it, especially when it fires its Infection Beam and corrupts his ship.
42	--->'''Bentusi''': There is [[BrownNote something wrong here]]. A presence... we sense [[HorrorHunger its hunger]]. Not infant race. Not [[WetwareCPU Unbound]]. Something [[StarfishAliens other]]. Something [[TimeAbyss older]]... Something from [[EldritchAbomination Outside]]!
43	*** That's to say nothing of their final death cry:
44	---->'''Bentusi''': It tears at us! Rewriting song, devouring memory, Turning our body against us, [[AndIMustScream Binding]] [[OhCrap us]]!! Ghh... ThisCannotBe! We will NOT. BE. '''BOUNNND!!!'''
45	** Needless to say, after that incident, the Bentusi become so terrified of the Beast (or "The Devourer" as they call it) that they deem the galaxy a lost cause and try to escape it. When the Somtaaw try to stop them from leaving (As they need their help to repair the Siege Cannon), the panicked Bentusi tell a chilling threat to them before launching their own Acolytes (The only known Bentusi combat ship that they still use) to stop them.
46	--->'''Bentusi:''' Do ''not'' attempt to stop our translocation. Cease your attacks or be destroyed! Do you not understand what has happened?! We will NOT be Bound!
47	** Once their Hyperspace gate is destroyed, the Bentusi go ''berserk'' and attempt to destroy the Kuun-Lan and their fleet. Only the ship's Fleet Commander calling them out on their SanitySlippage stops them from killing them all.
48	--->'''Bentusi:''' You are mad! It will take irrecoverable time to repair the slipgate! The Devourer will find us by then. Each of us that is consumed takes the story of a thousand Bound worlds with them! The creature will devour ''all'' our songs! ''All'' knowledge will serve its hunger!
49	--->'''Kuun-Lan Fleet Command:''' Listen to us. We need your help. We're not here to harm you but if you leave, the Beast will win. You helped us to win our homeworld! You cannot run away now.
50	--->'''Bentusi:''' We aided the S'jet persona who was newly Unbound. You are ''not'' S'jet. Your Bound bodies and flicker-lives make you blind to reality and now we will ''all'' pay for your blindness!
51	** The credits show the nature of how the beast infects regular victims through concept art. It literally strips all flesh and tissue from the body, leaving nothing but the skeleton of the victims if there is nothing mechanical to attach itself to. Though it would make much sense since when you board a disabled vessel of the beast, there are no bodies present.
52	*** Though it is worth noting that those who board the vessel are oddly fascinated by the complexity of the technology that was once their friends and loved ones.
53	** Every single time the Beast uses its infection beam, if you are close enough to the ships being converted, you ''will'' hear the screams of your people getting consumed alive by the Beast. You will soon feel a GenreShift from RealTimeStrategy to SurvivalHorror, most especially on the harder difficulties. What's worse, due to the nature of the infection beam you're guaranteed to see one at the absolute minimum of your ships be subjected to this fate no matter how well you play. Something as simple as letting a ship drift ''ever slightly too close'' can result in its crew dying horribly.
54	*** Along these lines, whenever a ship is hit by the infection beam you hear the screams as the ship begins to drift... and then both abruptly stop. The ship rights itself, [[HiveMind now driven by a new and malevolent intelligence]].
55	** The seventh mission : the convoy escort mission. Protect utterly defenseless (and ''terrified'', judging from the distress call they make) convoys against Beast infection warheads. If you do decide to focus on saving some ships at the expense of others, and they destroy the infected ships, it's an easy mission. (You will still hear the screams though) If you want to save all the ships, and are on a higher difficulty challenge, good luck !
56	*** "We have hull breaches across all decks. Something's come aboard! Please, HELP US! '''[[http://youtu.be/I5YgLvju_2A?t=13m10s HELP UUUUUUS!!!]]'''." This said when too late.
57	*** Even worse is that the refugees on board are then converted into more warheads to use against the other ships. That is GrievousHarmWithABody done in an absolutely ''horrifying'' manner.
58	*** Worst of all, the Imperialist Taiidan designed those warheads, and decided to test-fire them on refugees. ''Taiidan'' refuges. They used them against ''their own people''.
59	** The voice of the Beast is pretty unnerving.
60	** The [[LightningBruiser Naggarok]], which [[CannibalismSuperpower eats]] your ships to regain health. It tends to take a lot of time, much more than Beast infection. It is absolutely unstoppable unless you manage to destroy the Naggarok while it is feeding. Now think about the crew inside. CruelAndUnusualDeath anyone?
61	*** Hell, the [[BigBad Nagga]][[MonsterProgenitor rok]] itself. It's the source of the Beast, having launched the infected pod that the Kuun-Lan found. It's also far more intelligent than its "children"; while the [[TheDragon Beast Mothership]] can only speak in [[YouNoTakeCandle broken Hiigaran]], the Naggarok can hold a conversation in VoiceOfTheLegion. Oh, and it struck a deal with the Taiidani Imperialists to repair its engines.
62	*** If only it was the source... Naggarok ''contracted'' the Beast virus while traversing Hyperspace. No specifics of its infection or the true origin of the Beast are revealed, so as far as you know, this is just something that can happen to a starship. Apparently, some precautions are implemented in the wake of the incident, but there's no way to know for sure or if they cover everyone. That's some TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 -level ParanoiaFuel.
63	*** Something that needs to be emphasized about the Naggarok is how frighteningly '''''[[LightningBruiser fast]]''''' it actually is, thanks to having a inertialess drive onboard, it is able to move in a way ''no other spaceship'' in the entire setting has shown by being able to pivot on a dime and zoom across the map to attack unsuspecting ships before they realize they have an EldritchAbomination bearing down on them. Part of trying to finally put it down for good in the final mission is simply being able to figure out a way to [[GetBackHereBoss actually catch it]].
64	** The [[TheRemnant Taiidan Empire]] is so desperate to reclaim their old empire that they're willingly working with [[TheVirus The Beast]], despite the very real possibility that [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness they'll get screwed over in the end]]. Their justification for this is chilling, and says a lot about the [[RevengeBeforeReason Imperial]] [[OmnicidalManiac Taiidani]] [[TheRemnant remnants]]:
65	--->''What choice do we have, Hiigaran? Your mad quest shattered our imperial sphere. You took the life of our immortal emperor. Whatever we have been driven to now is your fault.''
66	** The worst part is that, in a twisted way, ''they are right.'' The Taiidan Empire's collapse happened because the Hiigarans took back their homeworld, which had been rebuilt into their empire's capital. Hell, the Taiidan Empire in the state it was before Riesstiu IV The Second burned Kharak to the ground was because the Hiigarans used to be their [[ArchEnemy Arch-enemies]] and did the same thing to ''their'' homeworld, which drove the future Emperor Riesstiu I, at the time an admiral, into a RoaringRampageOfRevenge that led to most of the Hiigarans being wiped out by them. A brutal CycleOfRevenge that has left nothing but a trail of blood and death across the galaxy.
67	* When the Beast drops the pretense of supporting the Imperials in the last mission.
68	-->'''Naggarok''': ''You are what '''all''' life is to us! FOOD!!''
69	* As WebVideo/MandaloreGaming put it, the overall tone of the game drastically shifts the feeling of space itself. In the first title, it was vast, explorative, and perhaps conflict-driven but ever omnipresent in your journey. Here, the knowledge that the Beast is out there, that something far worse than one could ever imagine just ''existing'', turns that expanse into a dreadful void. Cosmic storms in the distance, ever-growing tension as the difficulty rises up, the dreadful silence of all but your dying units and the Beast's victims, and an emptiness of an incalculable span where nowhere is safe.
70	* Mission 10's absolutely ''heartless'' HopeSpot when the CAAL-SHTO emerges out of hyperspace to back up the KUUN-LAN, but unfortunately for the KUUN-LAN something is very, very wrong.
71	-->'''CAAL-SHTO:''' (oddly stilted) Attention KUUN-LAN. This is the CAAL-SHTO. We have arrived with reinforcements from Hiigara. Come to us.
72	-->'''KUUN-LAN Fleet Intelligence:''' Good to see you again CAAL-SHTO! We need your help, but that pirate attack wing has changed course to intercept you. Be careful.
73	-->'''CAAL-SHTO:''' (suddenly distorted and deep) They come. ''Good.''
74	** Sure enough, when the enemy ships reach the CAAL-SHTO, it's revealed to be infected by The Beast. What's worse, it's accompanied by the jettisoned lower deck of the KUUN-LAN, which has integrated enough new material to become a full on ''mothership.''
75	--->'''Beast CAAL-SHTO:''' [[WhamLine FEED SOON.]]
76	** Extra horror comes from the realization that the Beast isn't just a mindless virus, but a thinking entity that can use trickery and scheming to get what it wants. ''More food.''
77	** Usually when an entire mission is based around getting in optimal range to fire a superweapon, that mission ends in success. Except this time, the Siege Cannon fails to do ''anything'' significant to the Beast Mothership and the KUUN-LAN has to make an immediate Hyperspace jump to avoid getting caught, likely abandoning a good number of ships to their doom in the process.
78	[[/folder]]
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80	[[folder:In Homeworld 2]]
81	In general, Homeworld 2 is a more straightforward action story than the previous two, but there are some moments that stand out in their own way.
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83	* The progenitor Keeper. You can't kill it, you don't have anything that can stand up to it, it has that god damned ''screaming face,'' its mouth spits out fighters that can go toe to toe with most of your fleet on their own, and ''THIS'' is how it says hello:
84	-->The Keeper is aware.\
85	The Keeper understands.\
86	[[OhCrap The Keeper has seen the enemy.]]
87	* Present in the first game as well, but far more prevalent in the second. Consider, for a moment, just what kind of beings had the power to make those structures you're seeing in Tanis and the Karos Graveyard. [[CosmicHorrorStory If these are the tombstones of the gods, it begs the question: Just what was it that killed them?]]
88	* A major one happens to the Hiigarans at the end of the game, when the Vaygr unleash their final trump card, the 3 T-Mat Planet Killers. Other than looking completely different than anything else the Hiigarans have ever encountered, they are also NighInvulnerable to anything except the WaveMotionGun of the ''Sajuuk''. Their sole method of attack is firing [[AtmosphereAbuse Low-Orbit Atmosphere Deprivation Weapons]], [[HistoryRepeats the same weapon the Taiidans used to kill everyone on Kharak]], which must've certainly sent shivers down Karan's spine.
89	[[/folder]]

Context NightmareFuel / Homeworld