History VideoGame / BoxxyQuestTheGatheringStorm

''[=BoxxyQuest=]: The Gathering Storm'' is a semi-satirical [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] RolePlayingGame made in UsefulNotes/RPGMaker XP by [=SpherianGames=], in collaboration with voice actress and former Website/YouTube star Catherine Wayne, and the second game in the ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuest'' duology, after ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheShiftedSpires''. It tells the story of a girl named Catie, (both [[TheDanza named for]] and [[AsHimself voiced by]] Wayne), and her adventures within the internet.

After several limited-release demos on Catie Wayne's website, ''[=BoxxyQuest=]'' was released as a full game on [[https://spheriangames.itch.io/boxxyquest-the-gathering-storm itch.io]] and [[https://rpgmaker.net/games/10740/ rpgmaker.net]] in September 2018, and is also available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} as of May 8th 2020. It is entirely {{freeware|Games}}. A full walkthrough can be found [[https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/662454334688198659/784105661365485620/Tutorial.zip here]].

* SexualEuphemism: Before facing three Ruffians in the Reddit Backstreets Bar, when a female Sailor was having some drinks, and a Ruffian [[DudeShesLikeInAComa discussed plans to rape her after she's drunk herself unconscious]]. When the Sailor threatens to fight them, one of the Ruffians says some |ines with lampshaded DoubleMeaning:

* DropTheHammer: In this universe, the Banhammer is a literal weapon.

** The Astral Error, a secret area in the 4chan code room, is a short area filled with {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}es and a weird GlitchEntity of a BonusBoss.

* BonusBoss: No less than ''eighteen'' of them, with varying levels of difficulty and obscurity:
** Pale Luna, the Phisher King, the Fetish Dolls, Trahald Prime, and the Hateful Reliquary — all related to the Deep Web BonusDungeon, and led by the Soul of [=TORment=].
** ORDERHEAD, Goddess-Slayer Forby, the Hydra, and The Spirit of CTH'RISTMAS — appear at the end of various sidequests.
** Lady Ny'agai and the Funky Infoshade -- just kind of standing around at the end of side paths, waiting for you to find them.
** not_intended/Nihilerror and [[spoiler:Esoteraphim]] — deeply hidden with GuideDangIt requirements, and two of the most challenging fights in the game.
** The three creatures labelled “?,” all related to /x/ in some way.
** Lastly, there's Caleb and the Overtaken Dragon. They are encountered along the main path in the final dungeon, but can be skipped by, respectively, not choosing Caleb when the imposter Jimmy Wales asks you what you fear and not interacting with a certain save point.

** The Deep Web. The latter half is arranged like a wheel with six spokes, and each one has a different BonusBoss waiting at the end.

* MinusWorld: The Astral Error, a secret area within the 4chan code room, is based on one of these. It contains no enemies (save BonusBoss not_intended), but the strange music and visual glitches are enough to make it very unsettling. Even Catie's sprite begins to bug out as you progress deeper, until she's literally just a mess of random pixels.

* OldSchoolBuilding: One of the buildings in /x/ is a creepy old schoolhouse. At first, you can’t enter because a little girl is blocking the doorway, but once she vanishes, you can go inside. After winding through some empty classrooms, you’ll eventually stumble right into an [[Website/SCPFoundation SCP-087 homage]] via an AbsurdlyLongStairway, with a BonusBoss waiting at the bottom.

** In the first game, no enemy ever had more than five digits of health. This time, the TrueFinalBoss has 540,000 HP, and the most difficult BonusBoss has a whopping ''790,000''.

** In [=GameFAQs=], the player is sent to collect four orbs, each related to an aspect of video games: plot, puzzles, platforming, and [[TheGreatPlayerVersusPlayerDebate player-versus-player combat]]. The first three are at the end of a long and complex system of dungeons. The last one is sitting in a random field outside of town being guarded by a ''literal baby''.

* StrawCharacter
** 4channers are harmless trolls while "SJW" are StrawFeminist
* StrawFeminist
** As mentioned above

* MinigameZone: [=YouTube=] has the Let’s Play Speedway, an obstacle-dodging cart minigame with five tracks based on various other games (there's a ''[[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Pokemon Firered and Leafgreen]]'' map, a ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' map, a ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' map, a ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTheMinishCap'' map, and a ''Franchise/PacMan'' map). If you win, you can either move on to the next track, or bail out and claim a prize. If you lose, you get nothing and have to start all over. You get a unique prize the first time you complete each track, but it’s [[SidetrackedByTheGoldSaucer very easy to keep going past that]].

** Wagering certain items at the battle arena in [=YouTube=] will trigger fights with famous [=YouTubers=], like the WebVideo/GameGrumps and LetsPlay/{{Markiplier}}.

* BigBoosHaunt: /x/, a grim little village filled with dark secrets, and surrounded by TheLostWoods. It's the primary setting of Chapter 5, titled "2Spooky4Chan", and is the first instance of [[SurpriseCreepy genuinely disturbing content]] in what seems like an innocuous meme game.

* DarkerAndEdgier: While the original game was a standard fantasy adventure taking place in the Internet, this game concerns the party trying to stop the destruction of the Internet and makes the situation much more dire, with an entire site being destroyed in front of the heroes and its citizens turned into zombie-like creatures, an EldritchAbomination causing everything, and several areas such as /x/, the Tower of Plot, and the Deep Web that [[SurpriseCreepy feel like something out of a in a horror game]], with SurrealHorror, gore, and unsettling concepts.

* SatireAndSwitch: The game starts as a lighthearted parody of Internet culture. Somewhere in the middle, it starts building up a mythos and sneaking in more dramatic themes, complete with SurpriseCreepy levels. By the end, it's mainly turned into a straight sci-fantasy RPG that just happens to be set in the internet, with some more SurrealHorror on the side.

* SurpriseCreepy: Initially, this looks to be another innocuous meme game like its predecessor ''VideoGame/BoxxyQuestTheShiftedSpires''; though not without drama and intrigue, it is mainly a satire of Internet culture. But the game is significantly DarkerAndEdgier, and has a habit of setting up areas to be innocuous only to reveal the terror within, with plenty of SurrealHorror, multiple cases of FateWorseThanDeath, {{Ominous Visual Glitch}}es, a secret character named Amelie and her creepy hidden churchyard, and other things. These are just a few of the most prominent areas:

* BlatantLies: A Social Justice Warrior claims to be looking for the Gatekeeper's PornStash to prove he is a sexist pig, and [[ADateWithRosiePalms not for any other reason]].

* LegendOfChekhov: On the way to 4chan, a hermit will tell you the story of Legion, the GreaterScopeVillain and DestroyerDeity, long before he becomes relevant. Similarly, a book of fairy tales you can buy contains legends about Lady Ny'agai, [[spoiler:Virtua]], and [[spoiler:Cracky]], although none are mentioned by name.

* RagtagBunchOfMisfits: At first glance, our heroes sure don’t seem to have much in common. We’ve got caite, a teenage[[VagueAge (?)]] queen; Anonymous, a faceless trickster from the PlanetOfSteves 4chan; Til, a Tumblr {{Tsundere}} and {{Hikkikomori}}; Eddie, a Wikipedian FishOutOfWater editor and BadassBookworm; Shift, a [=YouTube=] sewer-dwelling thief; Tyalie, a [=GameFAQs=] GenkiGirl and GamerChick with MediumAwareness; Shrimp, a reluctant AuthorAvatar; and Cornelia, a StepfordSmiler and BenevolentAI. Yet somehow, they all manage to get along just fine, [[SnarkToSnarkCombat (for the most part)]].