History LighterAndSofter / VideoGames

* ''VideoGame/ToyStory3'': This game is much more light-hearted than the film it is based off of. The Toy Box mode is pretty much all just fun and games, and the story mode has hints of some of the movie's intense moments but nowhere near the same level, and no hint of the more emotional scenes either.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Compared to some other stories of the game which involve instances of murder, betrayal and revenge, Tressa's story is significantly more lighthearted than the others. She's the only character with living biological parents, and her story involves her going out to see the world and make friends/money along the way. She hasn't suffered any major personal tragedies in her past. This heavily contrasts with Primrose's story, which is possibly the darkest one of all, containing implications of sexual content, swearing that goes beyond the relatively mild words of "damn" and "hell", human trafficking and her quest being driven by the desire to kill the men who murdered her father.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Compared to some other stories of the game which involve instances of murder, betrayal and revenge, Tressa's story is significantly more lighthearted than the others. She's the only character with living biological parents, and her story involves her going out to see the world and make friends/money along the way. She hasn't suffered any major personal tragedies in her past. This heavily contrasts with Primrose's story, which is possibly the darkest one of all, containing implications of sexual content, swearing that goes beyond the relatively mild words of "damn" and "hell" and her quest being driven by the desire to kill the men who murdered her father.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Compared to some other stories of the game which involve instances of murder, betrayal and revenge, Tressa's story is significantly more lighthearted than the others. She's the only character with living biological parents, and her story involves her going out to see the world and make friends/money along the way. She hasn't suffered any major personal tragedies in her past. This heavily contrasts with Primrose's story, which is possibly the darkest one of all, containing implications of sexual content, swearing and her quest being driven by the desire to kill the men who murdered her father.

* ''VideoGame/OctopathTraveler'': Compared to some other stories of the game which involve instances of elements of murder, betrayal and revenge, Tressa's story is significantly more lighthearted than the others. She's the only character with living biological parents, and her story involves her going out to see the world and make friends/money along the way. She hasn't suffered any major personal tragedies in her past. This heavily contrasts with Primrose's story, which is possibly the darkest one of all, containing implications of sexual content, swearing and her quest being driven by the desire to kill the men who murdered her father.

** Zigzagged with ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaLinksAwakening''. The game, especially the remake, is a lot more cartoony, colorful, humor and slapstick-heavy and has wackier character designs than most of the other games in the series, but the story is among the darkest in the series.
** After the unexpectedly dark ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', the following 3D installment (''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker The Wind Waker]]'') took a lighter tone with a colourful, cel-shaded look and humorous characters and dialogue (though it still has some noticeably dark aspects of its own).

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is in the middle between the darker styles of its predecessor ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and successor ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaBreathOfTheWild Breath of the Wild]]'' and the lighter style of ''The Wind Waker'', which is evident by both the visual style and the storyline.

** ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2''. The overall theme is quite colourful and funny, and the ways in which the Boss carries out his (or her) various murders are so over the top it's impossible to take any of it seriously. You get to be a cop and break up domestic disputes [[spoiler: with a chainsaw]], or a bodyguard who removes annoying paparazzi [[spoiler: by stuffing them into a jet engine]]. It seems every single named character is in on the joke and lives only to see wanton ultraviolence, except the few sympathetic characters that get shot to pieces in short order.
%% ** Turned UpToEleven and combined with DenserAndWackier in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird''. zero context example
** In ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV'', even the intro says that the Saints decided to become puckish rogues instead of deranged sociopaths, so they set a course for "more fun and less mercy killing"... which somehow landed [[PlayerCharacter the Boss]] in the presidency of the United States just before aliens invade.

* The ''VideoGame/IkariWarriors'', moved in this direction regarding games that featured ol' Ralf and Clark. Their first game was essentially the [[Franchise/{{Rambo}} First Blood series]] as a video game and then their second game might as well be VideoGame/{{Contra}} with a bird's eye point of view - you know things are getting grimdark when your hero starts off with a flamethrower {{BFG}} just to survive. Then things start lightening up, the third game had them kung-fu fighting to save the President's kid and their franchise ends shortly after this. But now they show up in other game franchises where they really get lighter and softer. Ralf and Clark are no longer John Rambo clones and now have distinct characters and looks, they go [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters chilling at martial art tournaments]] while making a ton of new friends and then they're also showing up in cartoony run and gun games involving cutesy tanks and ThoseWackyNazis of the StupidJetpackHitler type.

* ''VideoGame/DonkeyKongCountry3DixieKongsDoubleTrouble'' has Donkey Kong being captured (again), while Diddy Kong has also been kidnapped. Despite this, however, ''[=DKC2=]'' was still the more aesthetically and audibly serious game of the three. Here, the levels are more colorful and based on nature like the first and K. Rool is a complete joke of a villain (well... even moreso than usual), and the secret ending borderlines on a GainaxEnding.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' is in the middle between the darker style of its predecessor ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and the lighter style of ''The Wind Waker'', which is evident by both the visual style and the storyline.

* ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', as compared to its progenitor ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'' and other realistic first person shooters such as ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty'', ''Franchise/MedalOfHonor'', or ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}''. Other such games and even prior installments in the ''Team Fortress'' series skew towards the serious and grim, without much in the way of intentional humor. On the other hand, ''Team Fortress 2'' plays like a deranged Creator/{{Pixar}} cartoon, and is designed to be both highly stylized and DenserAndWackier than what came before it. In spite of what critics might claim, it's [[AnimationAgeGhetto no child's game]]--it's still surprisingly [[LudicrousGibs graphically gory]] and there's [[NeverSayDie no pretense]] that people aren't dying horribly--but the tone isn't as heavy or serious as other competitors in its genre. This air of lighthearted frivolity makes it easier to dismiss the absurdity of what's going on as just par for the course. While many realistic games have storylines just shy of RippedFromTheHeadlines, the backstory for ''Team Fortress 2'' involves a war being fought over ''driveway gravel'' of all things.

* The ''Xeno'' series. The original ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' is probably the darkest game in the series, with ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' being progressively lighter in tone. Both games are not lighthearted at all when they get serious, but they are in comparison to ''Xenogears'', which was basically ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion: The RPG]]''.

** ''VideoGame/MegaManStarForce'' can't decide if it wants to be this or DarkerAndEdgier than its predecessor, ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork''. This is especially bad in {{the anime|OfTheGame}}, which adds disturbing scenes not in the game ([[spoiler:the plot arc suggesting Mega murdered Geo's father, the [=FMians=]' deaths]] ) but also adds typical overly-light-hearted anime {{filler}}.

* A well-received mod for the sombre [[WorldWarIII nuclear war]] simulator ''VideoGame/{{DEFCON}}'' exchanges Mutually Assured Destruction for Christmas and Santa Claus: the silos become Christmas trees, the [=ICBMs=] are presents, the bombers are reindeer-pulled sleighs, and the megadeath casualties become millions of happy children.

** The port of ''VideoGame/{{Mortal Kombat|1}}'' to the UsefulNotes/SuperNES fell victim to this trope, what with [[Bowdlerise/VideoGames removing the blood and some of the more graphic fatalities]]. Unsurprisingly, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks this displeased many fans of the arcade version]].

* ''VideoGame/SkiesOfArcadia'', compared to [=RPGs=] ''in general'' at the time of its release (originally in 2000 on the Dreamcast, then [[UpdatedRerelease ported in 2003]] for the UsefulNotes/NintendoGameCube), is lighter and softer in its impossibly optimistic and clean-cut protagonist [[{{Determinator}} Vyse]] (as opposed to the cynical brooding heroes such as [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII Cloud Strife]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIII Squall Leonhart]] who were more popular at the time), a fairly simple plot (it has its dark moments, but even so), and easy-to-learn battle system. Because of the amounts of darkness and cynicism that were beginning to dominate, however, this was well-received. Taken somewhat further in the U.S Dreamcast release, when situations involving drunkenness and a particular near-rape scene involving one of the female protagonists was edited out.

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Mists of Pandaria'' received the ''VideoGame/DiabloIII'' treatment, with fanboy screams of "''Franchise/CareBears''", and the series being ruined forever. After [[DarkerAndEdgier Cataclysm's]] [[EldritchAbomination Old God]]-corrupted dragon attempting an [[EarthShatteringKaboom Azeroth Shattering Kaboom]], it's a little hard to not come off as lighter and soft
* The ''Xeno'' series. The original ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' is probably the darkest game in the series, with ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''VideoGame/XenobladeChronicles1'' being progressively lighter in tone. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools That's not to say it's bad in any way]]; both games are not lighthearted at all when they get serious, but they are in comparison to ''Xenogears'', which was basically ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion: The RPG]]''.

* Season Three of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'', while still overall a very dark game what with being about a ZombieApocalypse and all, tones it down considerably [[AuthorsSavingThrow in response]] to fans finding Season Two so unbelievably dark and bleak that they just [[DarknessInducedAudienceApathy stopped caring about the survivors]]. Season Three focuses on a more functional survivor group going up against antagonists that, while a serious threat, at least have some sympathetic qualities and [[TokenGoodTeammate good members of their group]].

** ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIX'' is accused of this, but it only really applies to the visual style, especially as the plot focuses heavily on themes such as genocide.

** ''VideoGame/FarCry2'' and ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' are depressing shooters that savagely dehumanize the main character and show the futility of the world. ''VideoGame/FarCry3BloodDragon'' is a direct nod back to ''VideoGame/FarCry'' with Neon Mohawk action.

* ''VideoGame/FarCry'':

* Creator/{{Suda 51}}'s major releases tend to [[ZigZaggedTrope zig-zag between darker and lighter games]]. ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}'', his first game released in the US, is seen as one of his darkest works, followed by the lighter ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' and the darker sequel ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle''. ''VideoGame/ShadowsOfTheDamned'' is harder to pin down, being a comedic horror game, but ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' is definitely lighter, followed by the darker ''VideoGame/KillerIsDead''. In regards to the ''[[VideoGame/TheSilverCase Silver Case]]'' series, the much breezier ''VideoGame/FlowerSunAndRain'' is sandwiched in-between the darker first game and even darker follow-up ''VideoGame/TheTwentyFifthWard''.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 2}}'' zigzags this. Compared to the rest of the Fallout games, it's full of humor and pop culture references, and the main villains are [[CartoonishSupervillainy cartoonly evil]] rather than the anti-villains the last game had. However, ''Fallout 2'' is also thematically much darker than its predecessor, letting things like drug wars, slavery (economic and sexual), cannibalism and deliberate genocide (which had previously only been alluded to) take place on center stage.

** ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 4}}''. Compared to the utter carpet bombing the aptly-named [[VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}} Capital Wasteland]] got, Boston was targeted by only a single nuke... which missed and landed far south. Consequently, the historic city and the surrounding area are nowhere near as damaged or irradiated, people are (mostly) friendlier and more idealistic, and settlements are much closer and more numerous. The game is also less dark in its themes and stories with slavers and slavery being ''heavily'' toned down and any mention of sex or rape is just implied by select characters, and unlike ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'', sexism towards a female protagonist has been removed with the gender of the protagonist never affecting the story or interactions with characters.

* ''Franchise/MetalGear'':
** The NES version of ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' is lighter than the MSX version by the simple expedient of using brighter colours in the graphics and using a cheery, poppy soundtrack rather than the original's chiptune-Creator/JohnCarpenter [[InTheStyleOf pastiche]] proto-{{UsefulNotes/Synthwave}}. It also changes some levels around to give the impression that Outer Heaven is a military base in the jungle (similar to the campy 80s action movie setpieces of the day), when in the original it's clearly based on a prison camp.

** Oddly enough, it also manages to be DarkerAndEdgier when compared to ''{{Videogame/Minecraft}}'' itself, with such concepts as [[spoiler:the Wither Storm, which when compared to the already EnemyToAllLivingThings version in-game is [[UpToEleven upgraded]] to a PersonOfMassDestruction, acting like a living natural disaster and destroying entire cities merely by being present. As an extension of that, this game's version of Wither Sickness is an IncurableCoughOfDeath that literally causes a person to rot away to nothing.]]

* Compared to the first one, ''{{VideoGame/Prototype 2}}'' is this. [[BlackAndWhiteMorality The shades of good and bad are more clear-cut,]] making it so that Heller is more of a SuperHero than Mercer. [[TrailersAlwaysLie Despite the saddest trailer since]] VideoGame/DeadIsland, [[AngstWhatAngst Heller seems to embrace his power without being hung up on his past]] and [[CursedWithAwesome have fun with it to the point where it looks like he's legitimately enjoying it]]. And finally, the game [[spoiler: ends on a very triumphant note, and also ends with a touching reunion with his [[NeverFoundTheBody not-dead daughter.]] ]]

* ''Videogame/SidMeiersAlphaCentauri'''s is an extremely dark game showing the last [[RacialRemnant remnants of humanity]] trying to survive on a hostile world after Earth nukes itself into oblivion. Technologies and ethics get grimmer the further you go on, such as the infamous [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwqN3Ur-wP0 Self Aware Colony]] which [[AllCrimesAreEqual vaporizes dissidents for vandalism]], and the leaders of the expeditions eventually becoming little more than [[BrainInAJar brains in jars]]. ''Videogame/CivilizationBeyondEarth'', on the other hand, while still sad, is largely upbeat - Earth's civilizations banded together to launch dozens of colony ships to the stars, and the Earth still survives in some form, as the [[NoTranshumanismAllowed Purity's]] "Promised Land" victory has them warping refugees in from Earth to colonize the new planet - while [[TransHuman Supremacy]]'s "Emancipation" victory has them conquer Earth.

* ''VideoGame/SuperRobotWarsV''

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' has a somewhat odd relationship with this trope. Early on, every game was lighter than the last: ''Embodiment of Scarlet Devil'' has a cast composed of people-eaters and serial killers[[note]]though this fact has been largely retconned away[[/note]], and the threat to the land is fairly serious. Two games later, only the weakest bosses have anything against humans, and the threat turns out not to be a big deal, though there's still an obsession with death and somewhat disturbing backstories. This culminates in ''Mountain of Faith'', in which nothing is (discovered to be) at stake and everyone you meet is friendly. This is immediately followed by ''Subterranean Animism'', where the fact that your character ends up averting the extinction of humanity is one of less worrying things to come up. Since then, things have kind of gotten lighter, with actual threats being rare, but there's more emphasis on FantasticRacism, ''reasons'' for said racism, unhappy backstories, and [[InherentInTheSystem messed up metaphysics]]. And, of course, there's genuinely lighter entries like ''Hisoutensoku'' and ''Fairy Wars''. As a whole, ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'' gives a lighter and softer version of various elements in Japanese mythology and folklore. And on top of that, everyone is a cute girl.
* Bizarrely for a FirstPersonShooter, the AlternateContinuity of ''[[{{VideoGame/TronTwoPointOh}} Tron 2.0]]'' is ''much'' softer and upbeat in tone than the canon built around {{Film/TronLegacy}}. This despite Flynn going MIA in both timelines, Lora Baines-Bradley being StuffedIntoTheFridge, and swapping AIIsACrapshoot for HumansAreTheRealMonsters. Killing civilian Programs instantly nets you a NonstandardGameOver, the Programs who are ''not'' actively shooting at Jet tend to be very friendly and helpful (and one of the factions who ''do'' shoot at Jet call it off when they realize he's on their side after all). Contrast with ''Legacy'', where ''every'' Program is trying to get Sam killed in a messy and painful way, or ''WesternAnimation/TronUprising'' where the protagonist is [[HeroWithBadPublicity openly hated]] by most of the citizens. [[spoiler: Furthermore, Jet is able to rescue his father and save {{cyberspace}} from the Datawraith mercenaries and viral threat. Of the ''Legacy'' canon, Anon stops Abraxas and dies horribly. Sam has to watch his father die in front of him, and Beck's DoomedByCanon.]]

* ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft: Mists of Pandaria'' received the ''Videogame/DiabloIII'' treatment, with fanboy screams of "''Franchise/CareBears''", and the series being ruined forever. After [[DarkerAndEdgier Cataclysm's]] [[EldritchAbomination Old God]]-corrupted dragon attempting an [[EarthShatteringKaboom Azeroth Shattering Kaboom]], it's a little hard to not come off as lighter and soft
* The ''Xeno'' series. The original ''VideoGame/{{Xenogears}}'' is probably the darkest game in the series, with ''VideoGame/{{Xenosaga}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Xenoblade}}'' being progressively lighter in tone. [[Administrivia/TropesAreTools That's not to say it's bad in any way]]; both games are not lighthearted at all when they get serious, but they are in comparison to ''Xenogears'', which was basically ''[[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion Evangelion: The RPG]]''.

* Creator/ElectronicArts' FirstPersonShooter games are the softer version of the UsefulNotes/Xbox360 generation of shooters. ''VideoGame/{{Mercenaries}}'', ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'', ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' all have comparatively "lighter and fluffier" storylines and endings. No DownerEnding to create a SequelHook for instance. [[DarkerAndEdgier And then came the sequels...]] (though not so much ''Mercenaries 2'')

* Creator/ElectronicArts' FirstPersonShooter games are the softer version of the ''UsefulNotes/XBOX360'' generation of shooters. ''Mercenaries'', ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'', ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany'' all have comparatively "lighter and fluffier" storylines and endings. No DownerEnding to create a SequelHook for instance. [[DarkerAndEdgier And then came the sequels...]] (though not so much ''Mercenaries 2'')

* ''VideoGame/PocketMortys'' is this to ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty''. The show's signature humor is still there, but it's toned down to a PG level, with there being no adult content other than some minor swears and some GettingCrapPastTheRadar lines. Some lines from the show are even {{Bowdlerized}}.

** The ''VideoGame/MegaManZX'' series compared to the previous series, ''VideoGame/MegaManZero'', which is '''''the''''' darkest chapter in the series. It doesn't mean that ''ZX'' is ''light'', exactly, just that ''Zero'' is Dark with a capital D.

** In an overall [[VideoGame/MegaManX dark series]], ''Mega Man X1'' and ''Mega Man X8'' stand out as unusually cheerful and laid-back entries.

* The fourth ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' game skews more colorful and cartoonish than the three before it, which grew increasingly dingier per installment.