History VideoGame / TheHex

''The Hex'' is a 2018 PC game made by Creator/DanielMullins. There is absolutely NoFourthWall like his last release, but it's a much more serious affair than ''Pony Island'', having characters go through identity and existential crises. The game changes genre the longer it goes on, with a central point-and-click structure for the Six Pint Inn segments, and each flashback switching to a different genre of game for each of the different characters, managing to use a unified WASD and left click control scheme for every different style of play.

''The Hex'' is a 2018 PC game made by Daniel Mullins, the developer of ''VideoGame/PonyIsland''. There is absolutely NoFourthWall like his last release, but it's a much more serious affair than ''Pony Island'', having characters go through identity and existential crises. The game changes genre the longer it goes on, with a central point-and-click structure for the Six Pint Inn segments, and each flashback switching to a different genre of game for each of the different characters, managing to use a unified WASD and left click control scheme for every different style of play.

'''It is recommended that you play the game first, as there are major spoilers below, you've been warned.'''

* StealthSequel: [[spoiler:Satan from VideoGame/PonyIsland may be involved, as Carla had a pentagram on her wall as she was designing Sado.]] Not to mention [[spoiler:the document Lionel signs to sell his characters to [=GameFuna=] shows that that corporation's CEO is named [[LouCypher Lou]] [[SdrawkcabName Natas]]. There's also a heavy amount of reused sound and visual effects from Pony Island, and on top of that, the most obvious link between the two games comes in ''Wasteland'', where Louie himself makes an appearance- and if you have the Old Ticket item, a clear reference to the Tickets you'd gather in Pony Island, he allows you to change the graphics of the wasteland tactics game to something a bit more 'friendly'. It should be noted that ''Wasteland's'' overworld works almost identically to the Adventure Mode section of Pony Island...]]

** Rust is clearly the most suspicious character, what with the knife he carries around. [[spoiler:He is definitely not in on the deal until after his segment.]]

* {{Sequelitis}}: InUniverse example. The original ''Super Weasel Kid'' is an extemely successful and popular game getting a near universal praise. ''Super Weasel Kid 2: Radical Road'' did get some criticism for it's art direction and fighting mecahnics it was still positively recived. ''Super Weasel Kid '09: Super Redux'' on the other hand was pretty much hated by everyone for being an unplayable buggy mess.

* OutsideContextProblem: The Crypton aliens in ''Waste World'', all enemies added by modders that Rust nor his son Rocky recognize or understand.

* RainbowText: Since the game is about living video game characters, green text is used when a character is speaking InUniverse programmed dialogue, and black text is used when they are speaking from their own minds. Also, red text is used to emphasize things like SymbolSwearing or the Vurm's NoIndoorVoice.

* TheDogBitesBack: Bryce tries this against Irving... and it doesn't go well. [[spoiler:Lazarus succeeds. Clara also succeeds in getting back at Lionel through Sado, her actions possibly creating the situation Rootbeer Reggie needed to make his plan succeed.]]

''The Hex'' is a 2018 [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] game made by Daniel Mullins, the developer of ''VideoGame/PonyIsland''. There is absolutely NoFourthWall like his last release, but it's a much more serious affair than ''Pony Island'', having characters go through identity and existential crises. The game changes genre the longer it goes on, with a central point-and-click structure for the Six Pint Inn segments, and each flashback switching to a different genre of game for each of the different characters, managing to use a unified WASD and left click control scheme for every different style of play.

One dark and stormy night, the bartender at the Six Pint Inn gets a phone call that one of the patrons is planning a murder. He announces this discovery to his six guests, and then the mystery begins as we spend time with each of the six guests, learn more about them, and try to piece together who's planning to kill who and why. The six suspects also all happen to be video game characters, each from a different genre, including platforming, fighting, RPG, and others- and each of their respective franchises have crashed and burned in some way. This may be some sort of game world, but the truth behind it may be far more complicated than that would imply.

* AlternateRealityGame: Many of the game's secrets can only be found by first getting hints in it, and then exploring the net outside it. [[spoiler:Finding the locket and getting it translated will eventually lead you to a completely different game with a hidden file, for example]].
* AmazingTechnicolorPopulation: Rebecha is a mechanic from a fantasy video game and has dark green skin. Rocky is some sort of irradiated mutant from a post-apocalypse world and as such is green from head to toe. Irving [[spoiler:is an advanced AI and]] has blue skin. Lazarus has greenish skin [[spoiler:after he gets turned from a knight to a space marine.]]
* AnimatedActors: All video game characters, down to even the basic mooks, are portrayed as fully sapient beings working as actors for Gameworks

* ArcNumber: Six. The Six Pint Inn. Six guests. Six game segments. Six sides and six angles on a hexagon. And in some instances, [[spoiler:Sado as a spider has six legs instead of eight.]]

* AudienceAlienatingEnding: InUniverse example: [[spoiler: Chandrelle deliberately sabotages her own game to ensure it never gets a sequel. Instead of the intended ending where she defeats the BigBad Vallamir and saves the world, she teams up with him and causes the apocalypse.]]

* TheCameo: [[spoiler:Crashing the game in ''Secrets of Legendaria'' shows [[VideoGame/PonyIsland ASMODEUS.EXE]]'s full form for a few frames]].

** In the finale of Bryce's story, [[spoiler:Irving will attack Bryce, and hitting back will cause Bryce to unintentionally strike and possibly kill his own grandmother]]- but even if you know what will happen, you have to take the action anyway to progress the plot.

** At the very end of ''Waste World'', you [[spoiler:are given control of Sado]] and are prompted to shoot [[spoiler:Rust]]- you must do so or the section will not end.
** Downplayed in ''Vicious Galaxy''- at one point, Lazarus and Moji Jr. will come across some surrendering enemies. You are given the order to kill them anyway- you can choose not to, but Junior will gun them down himself and call you a pussy. Either way, they die.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Super Weasel Kid: Radical Road'', as a nod to ''Franchise/SonicTheHedgehog'''s own dark and edgy period. The first entry in the franchise was light and cheery. In ''Radical Road'' there's combat mechanics, the color palette is gritter and there's a TotallyRadical undertone to the whole thing.

* DeconstructionGame: Well, it was made by the people behind ''VideoGame/PonyIsland''. Here, the topic is [[spoiler:the old {{Creepypasta}} idea of game characters who become sentient and murderous towards their creators; it examines exactly how a game character might become lethally mutinous and what kind of [[AssholeVictim jackass]] a programmer would need to be to make his creations essentially want to KillTheGod, making them all out to be {{Sympathetic Murderer}}s.]]

** In the ''Walk'' section, you can learn of [[spoiler:a built-in ClassicCheatCode in ''Wasteland'', that allows you to [[HavingABlast cover the field in mines]], [[DoppelgangerAttack clone friendly characters,]] and [[OneHitKill instantly kill enemy characters.]] These new cheats are always available, even during the Hardcore Mod section where you don't have access to your [[UsefulNotes/GameGenie normal cheats]], and they're meant to be used to obtain the achievement for crashing ''Wasteland''.]]
** [[spoiler:If you use the cheats to make a clone of Rocky in the first fight against Sado, the second Rocky will express confusion when the first one dies. However, Rust himself will remain oblivious to the fact that he has at least one other Rocky still left- after all, we do need to keep the plot going.]]

* TheDogBitesBack: Bryce tries this against Irving...and it doesn't go well. [[spoiler:Lazarus succeeds]]. [[spoiler:Clara also succeeds in getting back at Lionel through Sado, her actions possibly creating the situation Rootbeer Reggie needed to make his plan succeed.]]

** One example: You can fish up a bottle in ''Secrets of Legendaria'' that has a line of code in it which, when entered into your save file, [[spoiler:launches a brief DatingSim parody called ''Fantasy Island''.]]
** Also in ''Secrets of Legendaria'', if you complete the ankh quest without cheating (which is quite time consuming), the quest giver is so impressed that they reward you [[spoiler:with a new skill]], and later [[spoiler:a boss fight against them]] is skipped. Funnily enough, the game doesn't check the locations of the actual ankhs, but instead checks how many you have- if you have exactly the requested number, it thinks they're legit. This can lead to hilarious instances where the door says they're all legit, [[spoiler:Lazarus]] comments on how it took forever to get them, and all the while, there's an uncollected ankh right at the player's feet that should be a smoking gun.
* TheEndingChangesEverything: The game's ending reveals [[spoiler:that everyone (except Rust) was in on the ritual to kill Lionel Snill from the beginning, and that pretty much everything that happened in the Six Pint Inn was orchestrated to manipulate the player into participating in the ritual.]]

** Chef Bryce is a nod to fighting game characters and seems to be specifically styled off of ''Franchise/StreetFighter''. He was originally from a game called ''Cooking Granny,'' a pretty clear BlandNameProduct for ''VideoGame/CookingMama.''
** Chandrelle is somewhere between a gender flipped version of Link from ''Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda'' and Cloud Strife from ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVII.''

** ??? is the faceless non-character of a walking simulator, specifically ''VideoGame/TheBeginnersGuide.'' ???'s section also features a segment of gameplay reminiscent of ''VideoGame/QuakeII.''
* FateWorseThanDeath: Inflicted on Chandrelle and Lazarus for their actions during the course of ''Secrets of Legendaria.'' Both expected to be destroyed. Instead, Lazarus [[ReassignedToAntarctica was sent to]] ''Vicious Galaxy,'' while Chandrelle [[spoiler:became possessed by Vallamir]].

** Some of Weasel Kid's early dialogue. [[spoiler:He recognizes Lazarus, and he seems to recognize a crashed ship in the basement as belonging to someone named Jeremiah we haven't met yet. It makes far more sense during ''Vicious Galaxy'']].
** The order you play the characters is the same order as their games were made. [[spoiler:You control Reginald briefly at the very beginning before switching to Weasel Kid]].

** ''Secrets of Legendaria'' is a full blown RolePlayingGame with a Franchise/TheLegendOfZelda set-up.
** ''Waste World'' is set in a VideoGame/{{Fallout}} or VideoGame/{{Wasteland}} style setting, though it's not a normal WesternRPG and instead a turn based StrategyGame.

* ContestedSequel: [[invoked]] InUniverse, ''Super Weasel Kid 2: Radical Road'' was disliked by some fans of the original for the slightly DarkerAndEdgier atmosphere, the addition of a punching mechanic, and generally [[TotallyRadical trying too hard to be hip and cool]]. Others either like or don't mind the changes and feel that the game still has some charm of the original. By contrast, the third game, ''Super Weasel Kid '09: The Revival'', was a buggy ObviousBeta that almost everyone hated.

** ''Super Weasel Kid '09: Super Redux'' is a reference to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', and not a very positive one. It's an ObviousBeta riddled with bugs, and is referred to by the date it came out. It's largely meant to draw connections to Weasel Kid and the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise.

** The original ''Super Weasel Kid'' and ''Radical Road'' are at least well-programmed and liked in-universe. ''Super Weasel Kid '09: The Revival'', however, is a big reference to ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2006'', and just like that game is an ObviousBeta with glitches everywhere.