History Main / TooBleakStoppedCaring

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' is a DarkFantasy and GothicHorror setting for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Its incarnation for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' explicitly invokes and defies the trope similarly to ''TabletopGame/GrimHollow'', with the core campaign {{sourcebook}} declaring that even though the world is an artificial creation ruled over by enigmatic and eldritch beings of unknown intent, it's not a realm of total darkness and suffering -- that joy, love, happiness and friendship exist here, that most people live normal lives, and it's a world worth fighting for. Quoted is just one of the relevant passages. Its ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition'' incarnation, on the other hand, tends to evoke this reaction from fans; it doubles down on the "Weekend in Hell" playstyle, amplifying the the artificiality of the Domains, to the point each one now exists as simply a bubble of reality floating in a sea of ethereal mists with no semblance of presenting a coherent world, and explicitly operating on "nightmare logic". This is then combined with the lore carried over from ''TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd'' about how the efforts of the players are ultimately meaningless and nothing they do matters in the long run.

* ''TabletopGame/UnhallowedMetropolis'' is set in a world where a ZombieApocalypse has warped most of the earth, resulting in barely-surviving societies which are surrounded by blighted, polluted, unholy hellscapes. The default setting, Victorian-esque England, takes inequality to such extremes that for every [[AristocratsAreEvil stuffy noble using the blood of the poor to stay young while enjoying macabre orgies,]] there are thousands who die for want of a gas mask. Speaking of gas masks, the air is so polluted that one is essential for survival. What few leaders remain are all invariably corrupt and decadent to a level that cannot be exaggerated, while bomb-throwing anarchists and worse are ready to dismantle the system. Anarchy would only lead to a failure of the few systems stopping the ghouls, vampires, mad-scientists, and other evils from visiting horrors on the populous. Nation states have fallen - there is no world system, and all the people of this new society know of other peoples is that France is even worse off. Even the heroes are inherently corrupt, and draw power by accepting further corruption. Finally, all the undeath of this setting is hinted to be a symptom of the world being fundamentally wrong on a far, far more terrible level, as observed through the unspeakable behavior of its human inhabitants.

Darkness-induced audience apathy occurs when a conflict exists that simply lacks any reason for the audience to care about how it is resolved. The quote "Too Bleak, Stopped Caring," a common permutation of the EightDeadlyWords, tends to crop up when the setting is extremely but meaninglessly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]], or [[EvilVersusEvil all sides in the conflict are evil]] (or at least far enough gone that the [[DistinctionWithoutADifference difference is negligible]]). Even if the heroes are not only heroic because [[DesignatedHero the authors say they are]], stories with sympathetic heroes can still suffer from this trope because [[YouCantFightFate the characters lack any agency]]--if anything good happens to them, [[DiabolusExMachina it'll be jerked away]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog regardless]]. Makes it ''even'' worse when only sympathetic characters/characters with [[ALighterShadeOfGrey lighter grey]]/[[ALighterShadeOfBlack lighter black]] morality are killed off for no reason.

This reaction is often the result of writers believing that TrueArtIsAngsty, and going overboard with it. Keep in mind, however, that a work doesn't necessarily ''have'' to be angsty to qualify for this trope. There are plenty of comedies, typically [[BlackComedy black]] or [[KafkaKomedy Kafka comedies]], that tend to be so dark or mean-spirited that audiences will struggle to find anything funny about it. Tends to happen when there are too many [[NarrativeBeats negative resolutions]].

[[noreallife]]

* A number of the infamous "[[YouAreGrounded X Gets Grounded]]" videos made in ''Website/GoAnimate'', for those who don't find the videos to be SoBadItsGood. All of the kids are constantly making everyone miserable ForTheEvulz, and the good guys often [[DisproportionateRetribution go above and beyond what anyone would deem necessary to teach them their lesson]], either by absurdly long grounding times at best, torture-laden or even fatal "[[HumiliationConga Punishment Days]]" at worst. Additionally, there's almost nothing the troublesome kids can do that will ''not'' end with them grounded [[ThrowTheDogABone outside of the rarest occasions]], not even if they do something nice or even heroic like prevent a disaster or crime. A lot of times the [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished good deed will just be outright overridden or ignored]], often for [[AssPull some random contrived reason]], just so the kids can get grounded. All the "good guys" have the potential to be [[{{Jerkass}} very mean]] to the troublemakers (sometimes even without justification) and some of them are just terrible people in general, but are [[DesignatedHero treated as heroes]] for putting the troublemakers in their place. "Baby show" characters like WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} that exist in the [[CrapsackWorld world that the videos take place in]] are [[FantasticRacism universally hated by the world]] simply for being baby show characters, and nothing they can do can change that. With everyone in the videos having some negative qualities about them, it's almost not worth rooting for anyone except Caillou and Dora, who at least manage to be [[JerkassWoobie Jerkass Woobies]] at best.
* The Tokusatsu parody ''Gun Caliber'' written and directed by the Website/YouTube channel [[https://www.youtube.com/user/garageprotv/ Garage Hero]] takes place in an alternate Japan where [[spoiler: Superheroes have gone the way of celebrities and have become so insufferably corrupt that the government now regulates them using a ratings system. Heroes are now treated as [[AllOftheOtherReindeer national pariahs]] because of this and [[HeroWithBadPublicity are all but underground]]]]. The story attempts to hammer home the fact that the protagonist is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, but at no point does he display any of the positive qualities that make up a hero; instead coming off as a insufferable HeroicComedicSociopath who despite having a DarkAndTroubledPast that [[FreudianExcuse explains their lethargy]], does utterly nothing but masturbate and [[HatesEveryoneEqually hate everything and everybody else around him the rest of the time]]. What doesn't help is that ''eight of the thirteen episodes'' of this series are dedicated not to world-building (though it is there), but to how unrepentant this [[NominalHero supposed hero]] and his setting is.[[note]]Episode 5 has him and three Sentai Expies [[DisproportionateRetribution haze a high-schooler that calls him and his cohorts out for ranting drunkenly in a public study area]]. Other feats include him interrupting a reporter while drunk and tricking a DamselInDistress into giving him a blowjob.[[/note]] By the time Gun Caliber displays any redeeming qualities, the miniseries is almost over and it's too little too late. What doesn't help is that the setting is a CrapsackWorld inhabited by {{Jerkass}}es, [[EverybodyHasLotsOfSex overly-horny fools]], or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs variations of both]]; and the two sole exceptions to this rule have a combined total of eight lines, tops. The show's attempts to send a ScrewDestiny message end up lost amid the sex jokes, stereotypes, unwavering cynicism, and utter lack of conflict. It seems like it's trying its best to be a ''Franchise/KamenRider'' parody in the same vein that ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'' is to ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', but instead of actually parodying the source material, it puts way too much focus on the "mature" alcoholic sex humor. As a result, ''Gun Caliber'' comes off as a miserable, bleak, depressing mess with a few [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking amazingly-shot combat segments and nice cinematography]].

* A number of the infamous "[[YouAreGrounded X Gets Grounded]]" videos made in Website/GoAnimate, for those who don't find the videos to be SoBadItsGood. All of the kids are constantly making everyone miserable ForTheEvulz, and the good guys often [[DisproportionateRetribution go above and beyond what anyone would deem necessary to teach them their lesson]], either by absurdly long grounding times at best, torture-laden or even fatal "[[HumiliationConga Punishment Days]]" at worst. Additionally, there's almost nothing the troublesome kids can do that will ''not'' end with them grounded [[ThrowTheDogABone outside of the rarest occasions]], not even if they do something nice or even heroic like prevent a disaster or crime. A lot of times the [[NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished good deed will just be outright overridden or ignored]], often for [[AssPull some random contrived reason]], just so the kids can get grounded. All the "good guys" have the potential to be [[{{Jerkass}} very mean]] to the troublemakers (sometimes even without justification) and some of them are just terrible people in general, but are [[DesignatedHero treated as heroes]] for putting the troublemakers in their place. "Baby show" characters like WesternAnimation/{{Caillou}} that exist in the [[CrapsackWorld world that the videos take place in]] are [[FantasticRacism universally hated by the world]] simply for being baby show characters, and nothing they can do can change that. With everyone in the videos having some negative qualities about them, it's almost not worth rooting for anyone except Caillou and Dora, who at least manage to be [[JerkassWoobie Jerkass Woobies]] at best.
* The Tokusatsu parody ''Gun Caliber'' written and directed by the Website/YouTube channel [[https://www.youtube.com/user/garageprotv/ Garage Hero]] takes place in an alternate Japan where [[spoiler: Superheroes have gone the way of celebrities and have become so insufferably corrupt that the government now regulates them using a ratings system. Heroes are now treated as [[AllOftheOtherReindeer national pariahs]] because of this and [[HeroWithBadPublicity are all but underground]]]]. The story attempts to hammer home the fact that the protagonist is a JerkWithAHeartOfGold, but at no point does he display any of the positive qualities that make up a hero; instead coming off as a insufferable HeroicComedicSociopath who despite having a DarkAndTroubledPast that [[FreudianExcuse explains their lethargy]], does utterly nothing but masturbate and [[HatesEveryoneEqually hate everything and everybody else around him the rest of the time]]. What doesn't help is that ''eight of the thirteen episodes'' of this series are dedicated not to world-building (though it is there), but to how unrepentant this [[NominalHero supposed hero]] and his setting is.[[note]] Episode 5 has him and three Sentai Expies [[DisproportionateRetribution haze a high-schooler that calls him and his cohorts out for ranting drunkenly in a public study area]]. Other feats include him interrupting a reporter while drunk and tricking a DamselInDistress into giving him a blowjob.[[/note]] By the time Gun Caliber displays any redeeming qualities, the miniseries is almost over and it's too little too late. What doesn't help is that the setting is a CrapsackWorld inhabited by [[JerkAss Jerkasses]], [[EverybodyHasLotsofSex Overly-horny fools]], or [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs variations of both]]; and the two sole exceptions to this rule have a combined total of eight lines, tops. The show's attempts to send a ScrewDestiny message end up lost amid the sex jokes, stereotypes, unwavering cynicism, and utter lack of conflict. It seems like it's trying its best to be a ''Franchise/KamenRider'' parody in the same vein that ''Series/HikoninSentaiAkibaranger'' is to ''Franchise/SuperSentai'', but instead of actually parodying the source material, it puts way too much focus on the "mature" alcoholic sex humor. As a result, ''Gun Caliber'' comes off as a miserable, bleak, depressing mess with a few [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking amazingly-shot combat segments and nice cinematography]].
* ''Blog/HamstersParadise'' has multiple dark parts, ''especially'' the sapient, sadistic Harmsters. But the original sketches got much darker, as ''every single sapient species'', not just the Harmsters, [[InYourNatureToDestroyYourselves all meet ignoble ends or die by their own hands.]] The final species of sophonts, the Mousey Micks, go the furthest, as they not only cause their own extinction via out-of-control industrialisation, but irreversibly damage the atmosphere of the planet itself, leading to unstoppable GlobalWarming that eventually kills even the simplest life forms on the planet, [[DownerEnding leaving just a baked, lifeless rock]]. Even Tribbetherium (creator of both the sketches and the current main project) has regretted the pessimistic tone of the sketches, and has promised to rework it.
* The ''{{Franchise/Halo}}'' AlternateRealityGame ''ARG/HuntTheTruth'' ends with a big DownerEnding during its first season, where [[spoiler:Ben Giraud falls for ONI's trap and his whistleblowing is discredited in public]], but it adds a [[RayOfHopeEnding note of hope]] by having his colleague Petra take up his cause. The second season, however, has no such hopeful note, ending with [[spoiler:Ben going insane in prison, Petra arrested offscreen, Maya murdered by her best friend, Bostwick JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope, Mshak fleeing to never return, and the Office of Naval Intelligence no weaker than ever. Not that it matters because humanity's also got a front row seat to watching the ancient Guardians arise and kill everybody]].
* Brought up in ''WebVideo/ImAMarvelAndImADC: After Hours'' by [[ComicBook/NormanOsborn the Green Goblin]], in which he states that ComicBook/TheJoker's plan to make all the superheroes DarkerAndEdgier {{Nineties Antihero}}es is just plain stupid since without LighterAndSofter heroes for contrast, not only will comics get boring since all the heroes are the same, comics will just get so depressing that the audience might as well just [[DrivenToSuicide kill themselves]].

* It can be legitimately hard to get invested in the ''WebVideo/DreamSMP''. The setting takes place in a CrapsackWorld where nearly everyone has some form of PTSD and are more than likely to get [[YankTheDogsChain worse]] [[FromBadToWorse and]] ''[[HappyEndingOverride worse]]'' as the series progresses. This is all while people like [[BigBad Dream]][[note]]This refers to one of the ''Dream SMP'' characters who share their name with the content creator who plays them, and not the real-life Dream.[[/note]] [[KarmaHoudini can get away scot-free]] with various acts that nobody on the server would be able to tolerate like [[NukeEm ending an entire country]] or beating a teenager to death [[DyingAlone in a prison cell]] while said teenager was trying to achieve closure with him. Even when Dream does get his comeuppance, it's ''other people'' who pay the price.

* It can be legitimately hard to get invested in the ''LetsPlay/DreamSMP''. The setting takes place in a CrapsackWorld where nearly everyone has some form of PTSD and are more than likely to get [[YankTheDogsChain worse]] [[FromBadToWorse and]] ''[[HappyEndingOverride worse]]'' as the series progresses. This is all while people like [[BigBad Dream]][[note]]This refers to one of the ''Dream SMP'' characters who share their name with the content creator who plays them, and not the real-life Dream.[[/note]] [[KarmaHoudini can get away scot-free]] with various acts that nobody on the server would be able to tolerate like [[NukeEm ending an entire country]] or beating a teenager to death [[DyingAlone in a prison cell]] while said teenager was trying to achieve closure with him. Even when Dream does get his comeuppance, it's ''other people'' who pay the price.

* ''Webcomic/{{Homestuck}}'' has lots of well-loved characters and plenty of jokes even in the story's darker turns, but ''Literature/TheHomestuckEpilogues'' are generally considered to be relentlessly downbeat to the point where even people who do like them have difficulty forcing themselves through some parts. Friendships break up, characters are DrivenToSuicide or die, Jane in one timeline becomes a fascist dictator and a rapist, Dirk in the other becomes a transphobic asshole who spends his time manipulating his friends' minds, and so on. Notably, in something of an AuthorsSavingThrow, ''Webcomic/Homestuck2'' has a quick synopsis of the Epilogues accessible from every page so that people don't have to actually slog through the real thing to get up to date.

Darkness induced audience apathy occurs when a conflict exists that simply lacks any reason for the audience to care about how it is resolved. The quote "Too Bleak, Stopped Caring," a common permutation of the EightDeadlyWords, tends to crop up when the setting is extremely but meaninglessly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]], or [[EvilVersusEvil all sides in the conflict are evil]] (or at least far enough gone that the [[DistinctionWithoutADifference difference is negligible]]). Even if the heroes are not only heroic because [[DesignatedHero the authors say they are]], stories with sympathetic heroes can still suffer from this trope because [[YouCantFightFate the characters lack any agency]]--if anything good happens to them, [[DiabolusExMachina it'll be jerked away]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog regardless]]. Makes it ''even'' worse when only sympathetic characters/characters with [[ALighterShadeOfGrey lighter grey]]/[[ALighterShadeOfBlack lighter black]] morality are killed off for no reason.

* While ''VideoGame/EternalFighterZero'''s other source visual novels, ''VisualNovel/{{Air}'', ''VisualNovel/{{Kanon}}'', and ''VisualNovel/OneKagayakuKisetsuE'' all have anime adaptations, ''MOON'' does not. The reason being that ''MOON'' has a plot of a hentai and is so dark, disgusting, and graphic that no studio will ever risk making an anime adaptation.

[[folder:Western Animation]]
* ''WesternAnimation/AllenGregory''[='s=] overwhelmingly cynical attitude led to it getting cancelled after just seven episodes. The main character (a pretentious, whiny 7-year-old who falls in love with his elderly principal [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and doesn't even]] [[VocalDissonance sound like a 7-year-old]]) and his father (a gay man who forces a straight man to leave his family and have a relationship with him) are both completely unsympathetic. Nearly every character in general is tremendously hard to like, and even those one can sympathize with have unfortunate baggage.
* WordOfGod is that ''WesternAnimation/Ben10Omniverse'' being LighterAndSofter is partly due to executives viewing ''WesternAnimation/Ben10UltimateAlien'' as too dark: The basic problems are with the first arc, which features the protagonists being unable to do ''anything'' to defeat Aggregor until his last appearance... at which point he is replaced by an AxCrazy mutated Kevin, which results in the characters running into the exact same problems as earlier, but Ben decides, [[ConflictBall for whatever reason]], to ''kill'' Kevin. The second season has a little less of this, but many, many subplots and arcs end without resolution (due to the [[DiedDuringProduction unfortunate passing]] of Creator/DwayneMcDuffie), which results in some characters being worse off than before. The show also starts to push the limits on just what you can get away with via a GoryDiscretionShot. Human-on-human outright murder, MindRape-loving {{Eldritch Abomination}}s... even grittier cartoons like, say, ''[[WesternAnimation/YoungJusticeRevivalSeries Young Justice: Outsiders]]'' tell a joke now and again and show the bonds between the characters, but these two seasons of a show that, remember, started out being about the hijinks of a ten-year-old learning to be a better hero, can get ''unrelentingly'' dark for long periods of time. It's at its darkest during the Ultimate Kevin arc (all this, ''and'' the hero TookALevelInCynic).
* A frequent criticism of ''WesternAnimation/{{Brickleberry}}'' is that the show tries too hard to be as outrageous and offensive as humanly possible, and as a result quickly desensitizes the viewer to its brand of humor unless they were already a fan of it. Besides that, everyone of the characters are either malicious and[=/=]or self-centered {{jerkass}}es, punching bags, or [[EthnicScrappy racial stereotypes]]. (Or all three at once.)
* Season 3 of ''WesternAnimation/Castlevania2017'' drifted into this in the season finale in particular. By the end of the season, [[spoiler: Trevor and Sypha have their failure to save even a single person on their consciences, their only ally is revealed to be a child-targeting SerialKiller, Alucard is in mental shambles after killing two people he genuinely came to care for because they betrayed and tried to kill him, Hector has been made a slave to Carmilla's sister after she seduced him into falling in love with her, and Isaac has enough corpses to build an army of Night Creatures without any opposition.]] Even for a show with an already bleak and gritty tone, a lot of fans felt like the season finale went a bit too far with the DarkestHour, making them unsure if the heroes could turn things around in season 4. Thankfully, the creators listened and season 4 course corrected drastically towards a more hopeful "things are bad, but they can get better if we try" tone, ultimately ending with every character with sympathetic motives [[EarnYourHappyEnding getting a happy ending]].
* ''WesternAnimation/TheCrampTwins'' was largely seen as off-putting via its generally cruel nature and obnoxious cast of characters. TheBadGuyWins is in play too often, with Lucien, our protagonist not really being any better than his brother Wayne at times. So you don't really have anyone to root for most of the time.
* ''WesternAnimation/FamilyDog'' flopped, among other reasons, because it was too bleak and cynical. In the series, the Binsfords constantly disregard the well-being of their dog to the point that it borders on BlackComedyAnimalCruelty.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheGroovenians'': In a very bizarre way. Jet, and Glindy come across as a pair of unlikeable, selfish bums while the "antagonists" such as the parents and Norman are exaggerated and unrealistic caricatures of human behavior, it's hard to find anybody who is genuinely likable.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'''s setting is [[CrapsackWorld dark]] even by AnimatedShockComedy standards. The world, by default, is ruled by the whims of Dethklok, a single DeathMetal band, with legions of {{Loony Fan}}s, along with the band's literal army of bodyguards who double as StateSec, who are willing to kill and die in the thousands for them. The Death Metal band members in question are a bunch of [[UpperClassTwit ludicrously affluent]] {{Psychopathic Manchild}}ren who (even on their [[CharacterDevelopment best days]]) don't know or care that their many concerts and vanity projects kill and impoverish millions. The only people [[HeroAntagonist opposing them]] (at first) is an AncientConspiracy who just want to kill/control the band to TakeOverTheWorld for themselves. The show satirizes the self-seriousness of Metalhead culture, but it has the same problem of being overwhelmingly bleak.
* ''WesternAnimation/MrPickles'': Everyone is a complete moron, there's blood and gore everywhere, and the "satire" doesn't have enough subtlety to justify any of it. And to top it off, the show doesn't put much effort into make it humorous.
* ''WesternAnimation/RenAndStimpyAdultPartyCartoon'' was canceled after only six episodes because it was simply impossible for any viewer to relate to the characters. Most people can agree that their personalities were exaggerated to the point that they became unpleasant. That, and the significantly higher amounts of ComedicSociopathy, BlackComedy, KafkaKomedy, and [[SadistShow sadism]]. This show was so shocking and poorly received that many people, including co-creator Bob Camp, thought it tainted the series' legacy to the point that Creator/{{Nickelodeon}} would forever refuse to make a {{revival}}. (Creator/JohnKricfalusi's own issues temporarily got the entire franchise {{Unperson}}ed, and even when plans for a continuation without any involvement from Kricfalusi whatsoever were made public in 2020, Creator/ComedyCentral [[ChannelHop took over hosting duties]].)
* One of the biggest criticisms of ''WesternAnimation/SantaInc'' is that nearly every character is completely unlikable and selfish that it's hard to root for any of them, with the main character Candy herself being regarded as the [[DesignatedHero worst of them.]] And the only character that people rooted for is portrayed as the [[DesignatedVillain villain]]. As some reviewers put it, "it's a Christmas series made by people who hate Christmas."
* ''WesternAnimation/SheepInTheBigCity'': While it wasn't without its fans when it was airing, part of the reason the show didn't take off was because the amount of abuse and misfortune that Sheep endures every episode was considered off-putting by some (considering Sheep is barely anthropomorphic).
* ''WesternAnimation/TomGoesToTheMayor'' flopped as hard as it did because of its oppressively cynical atmosphere. Seeing Tom constantly suffer at the hands of every other character is fairly amusing the first few times, but after several episodes of it non-stop it can get incredibly tiring.
* Much of the backlash against ''WesternAnimation/{{Velma}}'' stems from the complete lack of likable characters and the show's overall mean-spirited tone. The eponymous Velma is a borderline misanthrope who is judgmental of everybody around her, Daphne is an AlphaBitch with no regards for the feelings of anybody but herself, while Fred is a spoiled ManChild who is openly racist and misogynistic. Norville is the only character even remotely likeable, but comes across as too much of a pitiable loser to find all too endearing.
* ''WesternAnimation/TheXs'': While the idea of a spy family was interesting, some think the show executed it very poorly. With the family's [[IdiotBall ridiculous actions, and lack of skill when it comes to fighting crime.]], and their JerkAss personalities. Not to mention their ungratefulness towards [[OnlySaneMan Homebase]] and treating him like garbage.
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Too Bleak, Stopped Caring occurs when a conflict exists that simply lacks any reason for the audience to care about how it is resolved. This permutation of the EightDeadlyWords tends to crop up when the setting is extremely but meaninglessly [[DarkerAndEdgier dark and edgy]], or [[EvilVersusEvil all sides in the conflict are evil]] (or at least far enough gone that the [[DistinctionWithoutADifference difference is negligible]]). Even if the heroes are not only heroic because [[DesignatedHero the authors say they are]], stories with sympathetic heroes can still suffer from this trope because [[YouCantFightFate the characters lack any agency]]--if anything good happens to them, [[DiabolusExMachina it'll be jerked away]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog regardless]]. Makes it ''even'' worse when only sympathetic characters/characters with [[ALighterShadeOfGrey lighter grey]]/[[ALighterShadeOfBlack lighter black]] morality are killed off for no reason.

* ''I6: Ravenloft'' (and by extension it's remake TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd) is an adventure module for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' that is rather infamous for its bleak nature. With not a lot of likable characters or actual allies, the players are often forced to fend for themselves in an incredibly hostile and increasingly unforgiving setting. The players' achievements and successes are quickly either overwritten or undone by some unforeseen event, with their allies or boon never lasting for long.[[note]]Take a drink every time it turns out a character was EvilAllAlong and/or working for Strahd (or ''is'' Strahd in disguise). You'll likely be completely sloshed before the session ends.[[/note]] Combine with some ''brutal'' encounters that make a TotalPartyKill frightfully common and it can be a very hard module to push through. Even most of the endings to the campaign, where the [=PCs=] successfully beat Strahd, are usually {{Bittersweet Ending}}s at ''best'', to say nothing of how the module flat out states that even if Strahd falls, he cannot be permanently destroyed, as the Dark Powers will simply revive him to resume ruling over a benighted Barovia once again.

* ''TabletopGame/{{Ravenloft}}'' is a DarkFantasy and GothicHorror setting for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons''. Its incarnation for ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsThirdEdition'' explicitly invokes and defies the trope similarly to ''TabletopGame/GrimHollow'', with the core campaign {{sourcebook}} declaring that even though the world is an artificial creation ruled over by enigmatic and eldritch beings of unknown intent, it's not a realm of total darkness and suffering -- that joy, love, happiness and friendship exist here, that most people live normal lives, and it's world worth fighting for. Quoted is just one of the relevant passages. Its ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragonsFifthEdition'' incarnation, on the other hand, tends to evoke this reaction from fans; it doubles down on the "Weekend in Hell" playstyle, amplifying the the artificiality of the Domains, to the point each one now exists as simply a bubble of reality floating in a sea of ethereal mists with no semblance of presenting a coherent world, and explicitly operating on "nightmare logic". This is then combined with the lore carried over from ''TabletopGame/CurseOfStrahd'' about how the efforts of the players are ultimately meaningless and nothing they do matters in the long run.

This reaction is often the result of writers believing that TrueArtIsAngsty, and going overboard with it. Keep in mind, however, that a work doesn't necessarily ''have'' to be angsty to qualify for this trope. There are plenty of comedies, typically [[BlackComedy black]] or [[KafkaKomedy Kafka comedies]], that tend to be so dark or mean-spirited that audiences will struggle to find anything funny about it.

* ''Webcomic/BetweenFailures'': Well the comic is called Between Failures after all, but nevertheless the comic’s overall cynical tone and the cast being nothing but snarkers has made the comic a bit of a chore to read for some.

* ''Webanimation/GenLock'' might've been a mature MilitaryScienceFiction {{Mecha}} cartoon, but was still fairly lighthearted and full of fun character moments. But then the show [[ChannelHop left]] Creator/RoosterTeeth and went to Creator/HBOMax, and Season 2 went on a really DarkerAndEdgier route that started alienating old fans. The world building made clear the setting is a CrapsackWorld wrecked by destructive GlobalWarming, where the opposition to the protagonists, the Union, is a brutal theocracy spreading widespread death by nanomachines in its crusade for planetary conversion, but their side, the Polity, has plenty of skeletons on their closets (namely having struck first in the war, or how they sell to the populace a lie about having colonies on UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}). And there was also [[TookALevelInJerkass characters becoming unpleasant]], increased [[BloodierAndGorier visceral violence]], and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremonious deaths for prominent cast members]], one of which ends up becoming a [[FamilyUnfriendlyAesop pro-suicide message]].

* ''Webanimation/GenLock'' might've been a mature MilitaryScienceFiction {{Mecha}} cartoon, but was still fairly lighthearted and full of fun character moments. But then the show [[ChannelHop left]] Creator/RoosterTeeth and went to Creator/HBOMax, and Season 2 went on a really DarkerAndEdgier route that started alienating old fans. The world building made clear the setting is a CrapsackWorld wrecked by destructive GlobalWarming, where the opposition to the protagonists, the Union, is a brutal theocracy spreading widespread death by nanomachines in its crusade for planetary conversion, but their side, the Polity, has plenty of skeletons on their closets (namely having struck first in the war, or how they sell to the populace a lie about having colonies on UsefulNotes/{{Mars}}). And there was also [[TookALevelInJerkass characters becoming unpleasant]], increased [[BloodierAndGorier visceral violence]], and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim unceremonious deaths for prominent cast members]].