YMMV / The Hex

• Accidental Innuendo: The scene where Irving cripples Reggie by stomping on his legs is genuinely horrifying, but at a first glance it sort of looks like Irving is stomping Reggie's crotch.
• Alternative Character Interpretation: The Twist Ending and the events preceding it leave the motivations of almost every character in the game suspect, at the least.
  • Weasel Kid. Was his more egotistic personality a result of his game's success? Or was it programmed into him as Lionel grew more smug about his work?
  • Chandrelle is annoyed with the repetitive railroading of the Secrets of Legendaria franchise and is eager to find an escape. Except it's only the first game in the franchise, and her attempt to escape the game results in the damnation of herself, Lazarus, and every NPC around her without the hope of surviving in any other form. Was she justified in ending Lionel's success before it began, or did her own selfishness screw over herself and the other developers that worked on the game?
  • It's debatable how fully aware Rust is of the general situation around him and the other characters find him unsettling and untrustworthy. Did he actually agree to help with the Hex? Or did the others manipulate his ignorance to get their own revenge? His only comment during the Hex itself is trying to confirm that the Hex will bring Rocky back.
  • Lazarus' section can play him as a cold killer who slaughters his enemies even if they were simply guards doing their job.
  • ??? is such a Featureless Protagonist it's also unclear how self-aware he even is. Did he join the Hex out of resentment for being built with so few features? Or being forced to listen to Lionel's ravings?
  • Lionel. A complete tool and utter manchild? Almost certainly. Was his angry ravings against gamers a fair response from years of likely harassment, or just his own deluded ego? Did he deserve his punishment? What actions against his characters did he callously approve and what did Irving inflict on his own? Did his Heel Realization come too late?
  • Carla. What did Lionel do to earn her ire? How did she create a virus like Sado? Why did she agree to put Lionel's final message in her own game, after all his abuse?
• Catharsis Factor: After seeing how directly involved Irving was in causing the misery and misfortune of the various player characters within the game, it's undeniably satisfying to see Lazarus- who suffered some of the worst trauma at his hands- put a bullet in his chest.
• Magnificent Bastard: Reginald, the bartender, is actually Rootbeer Reggie, the star of Lionel Snill's first game and the mastermind behind the events of the story. Plotting revenge against Lionel for abandoning him, Reggie gathers six protagonists from Lionel's other games together at his bar for his plans, while also coordinating an assault on Gameworks HQ with Lazarus and Weasel Kid to obtain a special artifact. Aware of the player's existence and needing them for his plans, Reggie lies about one of the characters secretly plotting a murder, and sends the player on a goose chase to figure out who it is to keep them invested in the story until the time comes where they're needed. Ultimately, with the protagonists and the player together, Reggie uses the artifact to open the Hex, a portal to the real world that he uses to kill Lionel and secure his revenge.
• Nightmare Fuel: Sado. Everything about Sado. The fact she just shows up out of nowhere in each game world you encounter her in, the eerie atmosphere of every encounter you have with her, how she just breaks all the rules of whatever games she's entered, her nature as a virus made by Carla, and how, at the end of the game, you've just set her free.
• Sophomore Slump: While not a terrible game by any means, it's by far the least popular of the Daniel Mullins trilogy.
• Tear Jerker:
  • The flashback of Irving telling an in denial Reggie that Lionel wants to bury his game and not let it dampen his reputation. Then Irving literally crippling Reggie.
  • Lionel's apology to Reginald, how he was based on his grandfather and how he didn’t have the heart to personally do away with him.
  • The friendship of Lionel and Carla breaking due to Lionel’s ego getting out of hand and blaming her for his failures. Especially if you see her reviews of the Super Weasel Kid games made when they were children; giving high praise to Lionel on the first one and reassuring him on the mixed reception of Radical Road.
  • Getting Mr. Shrewd's glasses during the Waste World part has Mr. Squarrel reveal the reason he's so grumpy all the time is that Mr. Shrewd was his lover who died, and it sent him into a depression.
    Mr. Squarrel: Worst part is, people think I killed 'im. Truth is... He just got old. So I try to sleep as much as possible. 'Cause sometimes he's in my dreams.
• Viewer Gender Confusion: Sado is often mistaken for a man, thanks to her tough build and occasional deep text speech. Her gender is confirmed when Lionel notes that she and Chandrelle were created as token girls for Combat Arena X.
• Vindicated by History: When it released, it was a relative unknown within the gaming community, being generally overshadowed by the much more straightforward Pony Island. After the release of Inscryption, many people went back to play The Hex because of its status as a Stealth Sequel.

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