History Main / RewardingVandalism

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'': There's one point where burning a sapling in one time period will result in the owner charging you. however, burning the same sapling in the other time period will result in the owner ''giving'' you rupees.

* ''GhostbustersTheVideoGame'' has the achievement "The Destructor," which is rewarded to the player upon completing the game with over $3,000,000 in property damage.

Like LevelGrinding, nobody but the heroes actually takes advantage of this.

* The 1991 Atari driving game ''Road Riot 4WD'' rewards drivers for running over things, as evidenced by the recurring phrase "Hazard pay for Red/Blue!"

* Parodied in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureToolsOfDestruction''. At one point in Apogee Station, breaking a pile of boxes causes one of the crotchety war bots trying to keep Ratchet out to complain "I just stacked those, you vandal!"
* Inverted in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankFutureACrackInTime'', where you can ''repair'' things by using Clank's chronostaff to reverse the flow of time. [[RewardFromNowhere And yes, you do get bolts by doing this.]]
* ''VideoGame/SlaveZero'' rewards the player for destroying certain buildings with health, ammo, and pieces of said buildings that can be grabbed and used as clubs.
* VideoGame/SlyCooper can get health and cash from smashing up random bits of furniture and other objects.
* One of the best ways to crank up your Tequila Bomb meter in the John Woo game ''VideoGame/{{Stranglehold}}'' is to shoot up the environment in ways that take out bad guys in the process. To facilitate this, everything you come by in the game can be destroyed.
* In the VideoGame/MetalSlug games, destroying background objects will usually yield useful items such as weapons or grenades.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/{{Overlord}}''. The major point of the game is to lead your army of goblins, plundering and looting your merry way across the land. The game doesn't quite explain who exactly you pay with the gold when you spend it. [[RuleofFun But who cares? It's loads of fun!]]
* The ''VideoGame/HarryPotter'' games involve, peripherally to the story, smashing up vases, cauldrons, suits of armor, and so on, for a cascade of Bertie Bott's beans, cauldron cakes, pumpkins. The ''[[VideoGame/HarryPotterAndTheOrderOfThePhoenix Order of the Phoenix]]'' game is weird about this - [[InvertedTrope it rewards you for tidying up Hogwarts]], but you also get to [[TyrantTakesTheHelm rebel against]] [[Characters/HarryPotter Umbridge]] by vandalizing the school.
* Aside from the typical goodies-in-containers, ''VideoGame/{{Outcast}}'' lampshades this with a pottery merchant that rewards the player for having destroyed so much pottery and encourages him to do so in the future as well. After all, people always have to buy new ones to replace the broken ones...
* A ''Bard's Tale'' has a barrel merchant who pays you one silver for every barrel you break besides his. The catch is that [[spoiler:The town he's in, the very first one, is completely destroyed by undead about 3/4s of the way through the game. By the time most people think to go back and collect on the obscene amount of money, it's usually too late. Of course, by that time you never need to worry about money anyway, whether or not you have the Treasure Hunter talent.]]

* ''VideoGame/TheWarriors'' gave you points for simply smashing anything that could be broken. Trash cans and the like always dropped more weapons like bottles when broken.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', where upon destroying a vase, Mario is forced into indentured servitude to pay for it.
* ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'': Mario gets major complaints for hitting ? blocks, mostly because the person in question is a large sentient block himself whose major problem with Mario's power-up gaining antics is the fact that hitting them decreases their value, which he doesn't approve of because he collects them.
* ''VideoGame/{{Paperboy}}'': Judging from the points gathered by smashing stuff that belongs to people who didn't subscribe to the newspaper, it makes one think the gameplay is less "give the newspapers to the subscribers" and more "annoy non-subscribers enough that they'll subscribe just to avoid your vandalism". However, vandalizing a subscriber's property results in them cancelling their subscription, so be careful who you vandalize.
* ''VideoGame/{{Rampage}}'', the granddaddy of all RewardingVandalism games. Punch out windows, steal the valuables inside, and eat innocent bystanders, all while mutated into a giant lizard or ape = win.
* The Mayhem Missions in ''[[VideoGame/CityOfHeroes City of Villains]]'', where you not only rob a bank and beat up the hero who tries to stop you but also gain extra time and achievement badges for beating up cops, destroying cars, robbing pawn shops and diamond stores, burning down buildings, and generally smashing everything in the area than can be destroyed.
* Somewhat justified in the game adaptations of ''VideoGame/BuffyTheVampireSlayer''. After all, if Buffy is in quick need of a [[WoodenStake vamp-dusting stake]], what quicker way to improvise one than by smashing a nearby box or barrel for the wood?
* You can find rewards in pretty much anything in ''VideoGame/{{Okami}}'', but things grow back, no matter how many times you destroy them.

* ''VideoGame/LittleBigAdventure'': Averted. In both games, you just have to stop and jump in front of objects - trash cans, wardrobes, bushes, etc - to get money, energy points or vital itens. And if you'll return to a scenery after a while, same objects will give you stuff again.

* In ''VideoGame/ShadowTheHedgehog'', if you fire rapidly at everything you see, you'll smash an awful lot of scenery and charge up your Chaos Blast gauge - which, by using, smashes more scenery and charges up your gauge a bit more. Incidentally, by the time you come back they've fixed it all - so you can do it again.
* The ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'' series started out with power-ups contained in monitors. You then broke those monitors to get the good stuff. Subverted to an extent in the case of the Robotnik/Eggman monitors, which, when destroyed, damaged you as if you were hit by an enemy or spikes.
* ''VideoGame/TheStretchers'' gives you bonus points on rescue missions for destroying various structures while driving back to the nearest medical center to cure the Dizzies you rescued. You can even get stickers for destroying a set number of certain types of structures (fences, billboards, stalks of wheat...).
* Pretty much the premise of ''VideoGame/{{Elebits}}'', which involves throwing furniture around to find the eponymous tiny hidden electrical sprites. Some stages force you to not smash too many breakables or make too much noise, but generally you can be as chaotic as you like. Eventually you can start throwing cars and entire houses around too. Then the Black Elebits come for making too big a mess, and [[NightmareFuel they are more than willing to break you]]...
* Christmas involves unwrapping presents in boxes, right? Well, when ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXI'' had its 2008 YouMeanXmas event, they decided to let the players get such action by... er, beating up giant crates until they exploded, sometimes dropping sweets or event items.
* ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' uses this straightforwardly - any objects you need to maneuver around Black Mesa's ElaborateUndergroundBase are indestructible, so smash away! The sequel, however, occasionally forces you to use destructible items to move forward, so you need to be more careful where and how you swing your crowbar.
* In ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' (and the episodes) you just ignore the larger crates most of the time and destroy the smaller "supply" crates (a couple whacks with the crowbar or a short toss into the ground/wall with the gravity gun will do it).
* ''VideoGame/JazzJackrabbit'' scores lots of points for razing the structures of Devan Shell's turtle army.
* ''VideoGame/{{Gungrave}}'' encourages you to shoot any objects in the environment, which keeps your Beats going. This allows you to gain enough power for Demolition Shots and gives you a good score at the end. Objects even go through several states of breakage before they are destroyed completely. One early stage in the second game has you [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IEL_jFud8M& wreaking major havoc in a ''supermarket...'']]
* In ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga'', bombing allows you to destroy tons of background objects including but not limited to train tracks, bridges, water towers, enemy spawners, and [[GameplayAndStorySegregation houses of the oppressed villagers you're supposed to be fighting for]], all of which harbor [[EveryTenThousandPoints score medals needed to get extra lives]] and powerups. This applies just as well to its three sequels ''Armed Police Batrider'', ''Battle Bakraid'', and ''Ibara''.
* Most of the battlefields in ''VideoGame/DissidiaFinalFantasy'' have elements that can be destroyed in the heat of battle ranging from statues to walls to roofs to whole cliffsides. Certain items can only be obtained by actively destroying the surrounding environment.
* ''VideoGame/ZombiesAteMyNeighbors'' grants you a "Massive Destruction" bonus if you blow holes in enough stuff pre stage.

* Vandalism is actually required in the final boss fight of ''[[VideoGame/HarryPotter Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone]]''. Harry has to cast magic spells at the decorative pillars in the room to make them fall on Voldemort.
* Any good that results from destroying a LoadBearingBoss could be considered an extreme example of this.
* Any inanimate object (and plenty of the animate ones) which can be destroyed in ''VideoGame/TeamBuddies'' will grant you ammo, health, or frequently both. One of the few games in which the enemies take advantage of this as well.
* ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla''. And how. In addition to providing salvage, the closest thing the game has to money, destroying certain buildings or objects can raise morale or lower EDF control -- both essential to success. Additionally, since nearly ''everything'' short of the actual terrain is destructible, it's also rewarded in [[StealthPun less concrete]] ways, such as being able to knock down a wall for an ambush or quick escape or break fences or pipes to find alternate entrance to a secure area.
* Although the actual example of this trope does not occur in this game, ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' take this to a literal example. During the yearly Midsummer Fire Festival, you are given a chance to vandalize the opposing side's bonfires and gain a large amount of experience from doing so.
* In the 2008 ''VideoGame/{{Ghostbusters|TheVideoGame}}'' game, you can blow stuff up with the Proton Stream. As an added bonus, the Xbox 360 version gives you an achievement just for blowing up every single thing in a room, while the [=PS3=] version gives you a trophy for causing enough property damage in the game.
* In the ''VideoGame/DynastyWarriors'' games, you can pick up things like health boosts, extra arrows, and temporary buffs by smashing crates and urns found around the battlefield. Somewhat justified in this case, as it's not entirely implausible for the various armies to keep supplies like this on hand. Also, only about one in every three or four smashable objects holds an item.
* ''VideoGame/LostPlanet'' rewards vandalism with thermal energy. Destroy cars, trucks, and even Akrid eggs to find more energy.
* ''VideoGame/JakAndDaxter'': [[VideoGame/JakAndDaxterThePrecursorLegacy the first game]] rewards you with health for randomly smashing barrels and crates everywhere. [[VideoGame/JakIIRenegade The second game]] has health and ammo in specific Krimzon Guard crates, and in [[VideoGame/Jak3Wastelander the third]], breaking pots reveal hidden Precursor orbs and Metal Head skull gems.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Spelunky}}'', there is often gold or gems locked away in pots and in the walls. By destroying these objects, you can get more money. In the City of Gold level, all the walls are made of gold, so destroying them is extremely profitable if you don't mind destroying the archaeological dig of the millennium. Be careful though as pots sometimes contain enemies. If you are too close when breaking one you will take damage. You also generally don't want to throw pots to break them, as a spider coming from one can be a real nuisance. It's a mistake you won't make many times.
* Played straight in ''VideoGame/FableI'', where breaking barrels and pots would get you gold and/or basic items. Lampshaded and averted in the sequel, where a loading screen says something along the lines of "You didn't think you'd get anything out of those random barrels, did you?"
* Played straight as an arrow in ''VideoGame/DungeonsAndDragonsOnline'' where a "breakables" [[MetaPowerup bonus]] is given at the end of [[TheQuest quests]]. It has three different tiers: Mischief, Vandalism, Ransack, reached at different levels of destruction (or in some cases not possible at all) depending on the dungeon. Breakables even have a random chance of dropping a small amount of cash, gems, or - more rarely - a random loot item.
* In ''VideoGame/TheGodfather: The Game'', breaking stuff in a shop allows you to put extortion pressure on their owners. You can also gain a bit of cash from the cash register. You can destroy certain objects to deny enemies their use as cover. Some crates in certain missions also hide extra moneybags.
* ''VideoGame/QuestForGloryIV'' downplays this trope, as you don't get any physical rewards for burning down the CreepyCathedral devoted to an EldritchAbomination. On the other hand, what you do get is a bonus to your KarmaMeter.
* In VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles and VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheDarksideChronicles, you need to shoot stuff in order to reveal and grab files. In Umbrella Chronicles, "Items Destroyed" even goes towards your end-of-level score; the better your score, the more stars you earn to upgrade your weapons with.
* The ''VideoGame/MetroidPrime'' games have crates, pots, Stationary-non violent Ing, etc... that provide ammo and health scattered everywhere, often with reasons why (and in one case, why you sometimes don't get an item)
* Destroying large chunks of terrain in the LightGunGame ''VideoGame/RazingStorm'' will cause them to fall on top of multiple enemy terrorists, killing them at one go and saving time (for more points). Destroying parts of terrain may also net dog tags which will allow you to take extra hits during the SpiderTank's TakingYouWithMe [[MacrossMissileMassacre missile assault]] (failing to survive nets you the NonStandardGameOver DownerEnding).
* In ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'', secrets can be found by smashing various pots and things in the ruins around the world.
* ''VideoGame/KingsKnight'' had power-ups hidden among the environment, which you had to shoot in order to uncover. The four spell tokens required to complete the last level are also hidden this way and need to be collected by all four characters in order to be used at all.
* ''VideoGame/Portal1'' has an achievement for dislodging a certain amount (20?) of Aperture Science Surveillance Cameras from the walls.
* ''VideoGame/Portal2'' has a similar achievement for destroying Test Chamber Monitors in the second half of the game. Some of them are pretty tricky to destroy; if the achievement isn't enough to tempt you, the increasingly annoyed responses from [[spoiler: Wheatley]] are hilarious.
* In ''Franchise/SpyroTheDragon'' games, most things Spyro absolutely ''needs'', i.e. quest objects and treasure, are free-standing or found in things you can reasonably expect to be allowed to open, destroy or otherwise mess with. But in the third game, ''Year of the Dragon'', there were Skill Points, extra lives you got for doing something particularly "skillful" or unexpected. A few rewarded vandalism, such as "smash all Piranha signs" in a swamp level where there were many warning signs telling you the water contained piranha.
* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'' games since III has pots, drawers, dressers, etc. in people's houses and dungeons containing items and money. Nobody seems to mind you breaking into their houses opening their drawers if anything value inside. With the "nose for treasure" ability, you can find how many treasures left unopened. In IX, items can appear again in the same pots and drawers previously searched if you wait for a while.

* In ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', from ExplodingBarrels, to trash cans, from pallets to pots - if it can be destroyed, it spawns coins.
* Averted in the original ''VideoGame/CastleWolfenstein''; blowing up a chest with a grenade causes everything within to be Lost Forever. Blowing up a chest with ammunition results in a NonstandardGameOver.
* Parodied in College Humor's "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kedjhnguKhc RPG Heroes Are Jerks"]].
* Parodied/deconstructed by ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' in [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/01/27 this strip]].
* In ''VideoGame/{{Purple}}'', you can destroy [=TVs=] (which are everywhere) to get food and hearts.
* Played straight ''and'' averted in ''VideoGame/TheSimpsonsHitAndRun''. You get coins from blowing up cars, and some missions actually ''require'' destruction-- but do it too much, and the police come after you and potentially take coins/destroy your car.

* ''VideoGame/EpicMickey'' plays this trope literally, as you can (and are encouraged to) literally erase parts of Wasteland to find pins, E-tickets, etc. [[ForTheEvulz Or if you just want to be a jerk to]] [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential your former co-workers...]] Of course, [[spoiler:you can just wait for the [[EldritchAbomination Blotacles]] to do that for you.]]
* ''VideoGame/JadeEmpire'' gives you money and gems for smashing earthenware vases. And tombstones, which is odd, given that the PlayerCharacter is a {{Psychopomp}} who's meant to be ''helping'' the dead.
* In ''VideoGame/TargetTerror'', destroying sufficient objects and windows earns you medals such as "Duke of Destruction" and "Window Wrecker".
* A Flash web game called ''Minotaur China Shop'' has you playing as a minotaur, staffing a shop in a mall that sells glass- and earthenware to various other mythological creatures. Normally, knocking over display items on the shelves on the way to getting them for the customers takes money away from your score. But [[CrossesTheLineTwice break enough things, and the store gets to collect on its insurance policy]], netting even more money than just filling orders. Though, once you reach that point, you have to fend off mall security, sent in to stop your rampage...
* ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' feature breakables that give teeth(currency) and roses(health).
* ''VideoGame/{{Darksiders}}'': Apparently parking meters have souls...
* ''VideoGame/DungeonsOfDredmor'' has statues of Dredmor littered about. Smashing one gives you EXP in accordance with the floor you are on, every floor they are worth 50 EXP more than the previous. You also get a cheer of "Heroic vandalism!" each and every time by [[AnnouncerChatter the announcer]].
* Averted in ''VideoGame/{{Bioshock|1}}''. Smashing up the stores in Fort Frolic immediately sets off an alarm, security bots promptly fly in to shoot you and a public service announcement will chime in to inform you that only parasites commit vandalism. The problem comes from anyone/thing breaking the glass, meaning ''you'' can get in trouble for a stray shot that a Splicer didn't hit you with.
* In ''VideoGame/RockOfAges'', rolling your boulder into your opponent's soldiers and structures (except for cows and elephants) gives you gold.
* Hiding powerup crates in buildings is a longstanding ''VideoGame/CommandAndConquer'' tradition. Usually, these feature most heavily in commando-style missions, where you have no base and must carefully manage a few units, and a bonus health or veterancy crate can make or break the mission. A particularly bizarre example occurs in ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquerRedAlert3 Red Alert 3]]'' when invading Santa Monica -- a section of otherwise-perfectly-normal houses on the beach yield money crates when blown up despite being a traditional base-building mission. Presumably, this represents looting the Scrooge [=McDuck=]-style money caches in all the stars' homes.
* ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' has Mayhem and [[TankGoodness Tank Mayhem]] missions whose purpose is to destroy as much as possible to reach a property damage value goal. Mayhem missions are on foot with temporarily infinitely-stocked explosive weapons, the tank version is the same thing with a tank. If you happen to have a tank handy, you can turn one into the other. ''VideoGame/SaintsRow4'' brings in [[MiniMecha Mech]] [[PoweredArmor Suit]] Mayhem which lets you wreck shit inside your robot/power armor/mech, UFO Mayhem which lets you wreck shit in a Zin Void, and [[MindOverMatter TK]] Mayhem which lets you throw shit with your mind to wreck shit. In the non-vehicle Mayhem missions you ''can'' use the whirlwind upgrade to [[SuperSpeed Super Sprint]] but it's a lot easier [[PowerUpLetDown without it]] as you can just as easily use explosives while not being hit by the cars you sucked up behind you that are now suddenly flying in your direction.
* {{Justified|Trope}} in ''VideoGame/TheSaboteur'' as the player character is... well... a saboteur working for the [[LaResistance French Resistance]] and is rewarded for destroying Nazi lookout posts, turrets, tanks, refuel depots, checkpoints, loudspeakers, and other such installations.
* Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/{{Drakensang}}'': the first game played this trope straight, with breakable barrels, crates, and jars containing useful materials and sometimes even gold. In the second game, useful stuff is mostly found inside normal chests and barrels, with gold available only in large chests. Breakable containers are usually filled with trash, though the jars in certain ruins will have ancient coins (worth a lot) inside.
* In ''VideoGame/DawnOfMana'', there's destructible terrain and throwing things at enemies panic them and cause them to drop more stat-boosting items. Mana spirits (needed to cast spells) also reside in things like bonfires, so you have the incentive to destroy everything.
* The remake of ''VideoGame/TrialsOfMana'' features large easily-broken vases all over the map. Breaking a green one restores some HP for your whole party, blue ones restore your CS gauge, purple ones MP, and brown ones will sometimes contain items that aren't tracked by Li'l Cactus's treasure-finding bonuses (he only tracks actual treasure chests).
* In ''VideoGame/StarFox64'', the Star Fox team is written a check based on the score you got, which went higher the more things that got destroyed. Now, most of the time you are vandalizing the enemy, not the people who paid you, but I'm sure the Cornerian citizens are probably at least a little unhappy that their tax money went to paying a bunch of mercenaries who blew up just as many buildings, if not more, than the invaders.
* Certain statues in ''VideoGame/NetHack'' have a chance of containing a spellbook which can be retrieved by smashing the statue with a pickaxe.
* An element so prominent in ''VideoGame/JustCause'', that it becomes a mandatory action in order to progress through the story in its sequel. Mostly justified in ''2'', in that the BigBad has spread around tons and tons of propaganda items, and smashing them lowers enemy morale.
* In ''[[VideoGame/WithFriends Stampede Run]]'', breaking police barricades, barrels, traffic cones, boxes, and hay bales in your path will earn you stars. In many cases, you'll earn more stars by breaking stuff than by simply running through the tracks of stars.
* A {{Pinball}} example appears in Creator/{{Gottlieb}}'s ''Pinball/StreetFighterII''. The "Car Crunch" MiniGame drops the ball into an embedded playfield, then gives the player eight seconds to smash a red sports car for points.
* ''VideoGame/BloodRayne2'''s Carnage meter filled a small amount with any environmental destruction, more for destroying things with flung bodies, and even more if the impact is what kills them. A filled Carnage meter awards Rayne higher maximum Health and Rage, making her and usage of her powers last longer.
* ''VideoGame/PotOfLegend'' is built around smashing pots for money, which you use to upgrade to richer pots and stronger weapons for your army to destroy them with.
* In ''VideoGame/TheAdventuresOfLomax'', destroying pots sometimes causes an additional coin to fall out.
* In ''VideoGame/{{Gruntz}}'', destroying rocks, candies, bricks, dices, and sugarcubes with the steel gauntlets is not just rewarding, it's very often essential to your progress. But beware of the hidden bombs...
* ''VideoGame/RaptorCallOfTheShadows'' gives you money for every building you destroy in a level. Justified as you're a mercenary who's been hired to destroy all the competitors of your employer, MegaCorp.
* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'': lots of environmental objects are breakable in most areas and will usually give a bit of ShopFodder. Because objects repair after you leave the area, you can return to break everything all over again, effectively giving you an unlimited source of cash if you're patient. Money, however, is pretty easy to come by already.
* In ''VideoGame/AirfixDogfighter'', you are free to smash every single breakable thing in the house to bits, and there are always some collectibles hidden in them.
* Appears in ''VideoGame/PathOfExile'' in the same sense as the Diablo series. Crates, barrels, jars, and so forth all have a chance to drop items when smashed. Since containers typically show up in clusters of 3 or more the most common tactic is to blow them up with fireballs or other area skills.
* In the Xbox Live version of ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'', you earn an achievement for destroying Carrington's wine collection.

* ''VideoGame/WarcraftIII'': Only some crates and terrain elements are destructible, the important goods are presumably kept in the invulnerable boxes. On one level, vandalism is a good strategy: skeletons are hiding in crates, destroying the crates one by one allows you to take them out more easily rather than falling into an ambush.
* ''VideoGame/DirtyHarry'': Much of the game aside from beating up mooks consists of breaking into rooms to find useful items inside closets and nightstands. Hilariously, many items are crowbars and bombs so you can break into more rooms and steal more crowbars and bombs.
* In ''VideoGame/RogueLegacy'', strewn throughout the castle are various pieces of furniture that you can break to get {{h|yperactiveMetabolism}}ealth-restoring roasted chickens or {{mana potion}}s.
* Destroying tables and potted plants in ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheWoolBall'' sometimes yields bonus items.
* The online mode of VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV features "Criminal Damage", a periodic free-mode event to earn in-game prize money for players who cause the most expensive damage in the space of 5 minutes. In many missions, [[DieChairDie smashing]] or [[StuffBlowingUp blowing]] up the target is pretty much the objective. Other than that, running down lamp posts, traffic lights and plate glass doesn't attract police attention. Smashing or blowing up cars does, though.
* ''VideoGame/KaoTheKangaroo'': In the first game, you can destroy many of the scenery elements, and they sometimes contain collectibles and secrets. In the second game, there's lots of crates, barrels, and pots that contain coins.
* In the ''VideoGame/{{Runabout}}'' series of driving games, the player is rewarded money for crashing into things. The car also takes damage for running into things, and the physics could lead to a damaged object spectacularly destroying your car (especially in the subway tunnels of ''Super Runabout: San Francisco Edition'', where subway trains are some of the most costly objects to destroy).
* ''VideoGame/Maplestory2'' has a variety of Trophies and Exploration Goals related to destroying the environment, both of which can award prizes of varying degrees of utility.
* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', inside the Palaces, there are decorations that net you ShopFodder when destroyed. Justified in that the main characters are thieves, and the stolen objects [[ItMakesSenseInContext don't actually exist in reality, only in the Palace owner's mind]]. One of [[MissionControl Futaba]]'s ability is to randomly restore the decorations, allowing you to destroy them for loot again.
* ''VideoGame/FightingForce'' Gives you points for breaking things such as vending machines and control panels.
* One of the ''largest'' examples is in ''VideoGame/IntoTheBreach'', where the game actively discourages you from taking out ''buildings''...but mountains are fair game, and destroying them will net you not only more movement space in the map, but a chance to unlock certain pilots, [[spoiler:namely a Mantis, a Rockman and a Zoltan from ''VideoGame/{{FTL}}'']].
* ''VideoGame/SamuraiRevenge'': You can gets coins by breaking crates and vases.
* ''VideoGame/TrickOrTreatBeat'': You can get candy by smashing garbage cans.
* ''VideoGame/UphillRush'': Later games would reward you with money for breaking things.
* ''VideoGame/WallachiaReignOfDracula'': You can get items for smashing objects, such as barrels.
* ''VideoGame/WarDogsRedsReturn'': [[PlayerCharacter Red]] can get items from crates he destroys.
* ''Pinball/WeirdAlsMuseumOfNaturalHilarity'' provides a {{pinball}} example. This Week in Pinball's "deep dive" on the game states that the player can smash various objects in the museum by hitting the side targets. Doing this 27 times lights Hardware Store Multiball.
* ''VideoGame/SydneyHunterAndTheCurseOfTheMayan'': There are plenty of vases scattered throughout the various temples that [[PlayerCharacter Sydney Hunter]] can break open for gems and coins.
* ''VideoGame/BillyBladeAndTheTempleOfTime'': [[PlayerCharacter Billy]] can break open objects to get things that can charge up his weapons.
* Justified in ''VideoGame/LilGatorGame'', where everything breakable is actually made of cardboard and placed there specifically for you to break.
* ''VideoGame/Valkie64'': Like [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime the game that inspired it]], this one has items hidden in tall grass and jars, and you have to cut the grass and smash the jars to get them.
* ''VideoGame/PrimalLight'': Smashing torchlights, vases, and barrels can yield coins for [[PlayerCharacter Krog]] to collect.

-->-- ''[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbUqEPUZ-ds The Legend of Link's Distractions]]''

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' explains that there are [[MouseWorld tiny little people]] called the Minish who hide money under plants and other objects for heroes to find. [[HandWave This is a weak justification at best]]; the entire series is renowned for extensive use of this trope. Hey, in ''The Minish Cap'', you must knock down huge trees, smash the mayor's valuable mask collection, and of course, break into houses and open chests to steal rupees and Kinstones, and nobody says a thing.

* The ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'' series started out with power-ups contained in monitors. You then broke those monitors to get the good stuff. Subverted to an extent in the case of the Robotnik/Eggman monitors, which, when destroyed, damaged you as if you were hit by an enemy or spikes.

** Sora from ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsII'' gained power-ups from smashing fireworks in [[WesternAnimation/{{Mulan}} the Land of Dragons]]. He also got those power-ups by smashing suits of armor in [[WesternAnimation/BeautyAndTheBeast Beast's Castle]].

* In ''VideoGame/RogueLegacy'', strewn throughout the castle are various pieces of furniture that you can break to get {{h|yperactiveMetabolism}}ealth-restoring roasted chickens or {{mana potion}}s. If your character has SuperOCD, they can even regain their mana by doing so.

* In ''VideoGame/SpyroTheDragon'' games, most things Spyro absolutely ''needs'', i.e. quest objects and treasure, are free-standing or found in things you can reasonably expect to be allowed to open, destroy or otherwise mess with. But in the third game, ''Year of the Dragon'', there were Skill Points, extra lives you got for doing something particularly "skillful" or unexpected. A few rewarded vandalism, such as "smash all Piranha signs" in a swamp level where there were many warning signs telling you the water contained piranha.

** It's Zigzagged in ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5''. Ordinary background objects never have orbs in them so cutting them up results in no rewards (you only get orbs by breaking orb caches or just finding them lying around, aside from beating up enemies). However, there are several bonus rewards at the end of missions for destroying objects, including specific ones like the balloons in the first level, or coffins which not only give these bonuses but also have red orbs in them.

* ''VideoGames/WarDogsRedsReturn'': [[PlayerCharacter Red]] can get items from crates he destroys.

** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' explains that there are [[MouseWorld tiny little people]] called the Minish who hide money under plants and other objects for heroes to find. [[HandWave This is a weak justification at best]]; the entire series is renowned for extensive use of this trope. Hey, in ''The Minish Cap'', you must knock down huge trees, smash the mayor's valuable mask collection, and of course, break into houses and open chests to steal rupees and Kinstones, and nobody says a thing.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess''
*** The game lampshades the tendency for players to smash jars to find what's inside by having one shopkeeper note that some people like to smash jars. If you bump into the walls to try to get the jars on her shelf to fall, [[spoiler:she'll kick you out and won't let you back in until you apologize.]]
*** There is also an old man who will berate you if you smash a pumpkin near him.
*** The game has a minor tweak on the DieChairDie pattern: a few barrels, usually located around goblins, are marked with a big white X and apparently contain gunpowder (they explode when disturbed, which causes damage if you're standing too close).
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheWindWaker''
*** A guy ''charges'' you if you break his things. (The trick is to do it when you're broke.)
*** A number of underground grottoes contain pillars and Darknuts. Using the Darknuts' swords to smash the pillars tends to release large amounts of Rupees. You could also use the Skull Hammer.

*** a room off the drawbridge to Castle Town contains NOTHING BUT several dozen jars and boxes... and a bored guard who is happy to let you smash them to let off some steam. It only appears when you're a kid, though.
*** In ''Ocarina of Time'' during the final battle (and during the [[TheOgre Iron Knuckle]] fights in the Spirit Temple), you can even trick the boss into smashing some rubble for powerups. Similarly, part of the final stretch of battles in Twilight Princess has the boss running around smashing pillars in the room that also leave behind power-ups.
** In ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZelda'' and again in the ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'', it was possible to burn some bushes/saplings. Some of them had old men who would yell at you for burning down/destroying the "door" to their hiding place and would take some of your money to have it repaired. This is justified by the fact, that most of these people were probably hiding from all the monsters roaming the overworld: with their door gone, they are completely exposed. There were also Moblins who, if you found them, would bribe you not to give away their hiding place, accompanied by the words "It's a secret to everybody."
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkToThePast'': there are thieves who, if you use a bomb to destroy a wall and reveal their hiding place, will give you 500 rupees and the words, "Let's keep this between us, okay?"
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOracleGames'': there's one point where burning a sapling in one time period will result in the owner charging you. however, burning the same sapling in the other time period will result in the owner ''giving'' you rupees.
** ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'': breaking the chandelier in the Lumpy Pumpkin earns you a heart piece... [[{{Subversion}} And a job to]] [[WorkOffTheDebt pay off the damages you've just incurred.]] Eventually double-subverted, since completing all the (rather trivial) jobs given by the owner of the Pumpkin earns you ''another'' heart piece, and you can't get either one without breaking the original chandelier.

* ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheStickOfTruth'': lots of environmental objects are breakable in most areas and will usually give a bit of VendorTrash. Because objects repair after you leave the area, you can return to break everything all over again, effectively giving you an unlimited source of cash if you're patient. Money, however, is pretty easy to come by already.

* In ''VideoGame/Persona5'', inside the Palaces, there are decorations that net you VendorTrash when destroyed. Justified in that the main characters are thieves, and the stolen objects [[ItMakesSenseInContext don't actually exist in reality, only in the Palace owner's mind]]. One of [[MissionControl Futaba]]'s ability is to randomly restore the decorations, allowing you to destroy them for loot again.

* In ''VideoGame/BattleGaregga'', bombing allows you to destroy tons of background objects including but not limited to train tracks, bridges, water towers, enemy spawners, and [[MoralDissonance houses of the oppressed villagers you're supposed to be fighting for]], all of which harbor [[EveryTenThousandPoints score medals needed to get extra lives]] and powerups. This applies just as well to its three sequels ''Armed Police Batrider'', ''Battle Bakraid'', and ''Ibara''.

* In the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' games, Dante, Nero, and Vergil receives various colored orbs, used for power-ups, for smashing up the scenery.

* The ''VideoGame/HarryPotter'' games involve, peripherally to the story, smashing up vases, cauldrons, suits of armor, and so on, for a cascade of Bertie Bott's beans, cauldron cakes, pumpkins. The ''Order of the Phoenix'' game is weird about this - it rewards you for tidying up Hogwarts, but you also get to [[TyrantTakesTheHelm rebel against]] [[Characters/HarryPotter Umbridge]] by vandalizing the school.