History YMMV / PBGHardcore

** Overlaps a bit with Harsher in Hindsight, but in ''Terraria #3'', [[spoiler:it's pretty funny that PBG's username is "Dum Dum Peebs", considering the stupidity of his death.]]

** Dean has a tendency to address his teammates as “my boy” or “my beautiful boy”, for instance calling [=McJones=] that when choosing him for his team in ''Terraria #3''.

** In Episode 4 of ''Minecraft #2'', [[spoiler:there's a joke about "Forever Alone Barry" that takes on a whole new light when he ends up being the last survivor in the finale.]] It even applies to the last episode of Minecraft #1. [[spoiler:Barry won his and Jon's duel at the end, meaning he was the sole survivor of that season too.]] This gets absurd in ''[=MineZ=] #1'', [[spoiler:where he is ''again'' the last survivor of the series.]]

** One of the strangest meta examples the Hardcore seasons have seen yet: [[spoiler: between ''Minecraft #4'' and ''#5,'' PBG filled the interim with a new show guest starring [=SpaceHamster=] called PB & Jeff. Coincidentally, they end up becoming the final two survivors in season 5. Jeff even alludes to this.]]

*** And in ''Terraria #3'', [[spoiler:this situation has inverted, as Jeff and [=PBG=] ended up dying back to back as the second and third deaths respectively.]]
** Throughout the early seasons of Hardcore, Dean would make references to Creator/AchievementHunter. When former Hunter Ray joined the cast in ''Minecraft #5'', he and Dean immediately hit it off because of their shared attachment to the series. [[spoiler:Alas, while in the Nether, Ray accidentally mined a pocket of lava that killed Dean.]]
** Jon's description on every ''Terraria #3'' video seems ''much'' harsher now that [[spoiler: what was described to be his style of play led to his demise.]]
--->[=ProtonJon=]: Jon’s known far and wide for his ability to play a massive variety of games, and he brings that competence to Hardcore as well. No stranger to self-proficiency, Jon’s keen to travel solo, quietly finding ways to achieve on his own what would elsewise take many.
** In Episode 11 of ''Minecraft HC #6'', [[spoiler:Dodger is revived after her death, and during a joking interrogation where the others accuse her of being an evil clone, she solemnly remarks "Maybe I should have stayed dead". Then came the fandom reaction, and... let's just say the comments weren't kind in agreeing with that sentiment. In addition, she gets her wish just three episodes later, when she's killed off for the second and final time of the season.]]

* GrowingTheBeard: Although Hardcore has always been popular, when it started off it was mostly just a collection of friends playing the game and having fun. Beginning with ''[=MineZ=]'', many people noticed how the group was taking the mission more seriously this time around, with the dominating presence of then-new editor [[WebVideo/SpaceHamster SpaceHamster]], more dangerous enemies, better pacing and cliffhangers, a more focused cast, and the issue of zombie infection in particular adding significant emotion and suspense to the series. Every season since then has taken itself more seriously, with the overall production quality having improved greatly.

** In Episode 4 of ''Minecraft #2'', [[spoiler:there's a joke about "Forever Alone Barry" that takes on a whole new light when he ends up being the last survivor in the finale.]] It even applies to the last episode of Minecraft #1. [[spoiler:Barry won his and Jon's duel at the end, meaning he was the sole survivor of that season too.]]
** This gets absurd in [[spoiler:[=MineZ=], where he is ''again'' the last survivor of the series.]]
** [=McJones=] shouting "You trapped me in!" in the intro for ''Minecraft #3'' gets a lot darker when you realize [[spoiler:it's what he says when Shane inadvertently traps him in a room filling with lava, leading to his death. Downplayed slightly in that [=McJones=] would probably have still died even if Shane hadn't trapped him.]]
** The description for the first season of ''Terraria'' reads, ''"The guys venture forth in the strange land of Terraria. Will they conquer all the bosses? Or will they all fall one by one to the dangers of zombies, blobs, and the ever treacherous falling damage? ...Only time will tell"''. [[spoiler:Fall damage doesn't end up being a problem in that season]], but in ''Terraria #2'', [[spoiler:''three people'' die from falling too far and a fourth (Dean) ''almost'' dies from it. Twice! Not to mention that as of ''Terraria #3'', Jeff has also [[IncrediblyLamePun fallen]].]]
** In ''[=MineZ=]'', [=McJones=] and PBG talk about the awful luck that occurred with [[spoiler: Dean, as he was poisoned twice. Unbeknownst to them, Dean was actually poisoned a ''THIRD'' time!]]

* FanonDiscontinuity: A weird case. [[spoiler:The "real" ending of ''Terraria #3'', where [=Lucahjin=], Yungtown, and [=McJones=] get massacred by a Goblin army right after warping home from their victory over the final boss, is generally discounted by the fandom in favor of the "fake" ending where the three return home in peace to celebrate their victory. This is usually due to classing it as akin to the "battle royales" held at the end of ''Minecraft #1'' and ''#4'', and thusly, not counting any of these as actual "deaths".]] On the other hand, [[spoiler:given how death-prevalent the other series were, some prefer the real end to the fake one]].

** It also certainly didn't help that this forced perspective [[spoiler:ended up being one of the major causes behind Dean's death. The second group starts mining into the Netherrack, [[HistoryRepeats a tactic that has not worked for them in the past]]. Since the groups were separated, PBG and [=McJones=] weren't able to warn them that it was a terrible idea. Even worse, they were still in relatively close proximity to each other, even in comparison to earlier episodes like the one where PBG was stranded by himself in the woods at night when they ''didn't'' use this method, and they saw Dean's death message pop up anyways, so it's not like they could have replicated a HeDidntMakeIt scenario.]]
** In ''Terraria #3'', people initially felt that the videos were relying a bit too much on clickbait titles that turned out to refer to innocuous parts of the video. For example, "BETRAYED!" ended up just referring to the group splitting into teams and PBG feeling betrayed because no one picked him for their team, "SPIDERS AND DEATH!" referred to the fact that Dean, [=McJones=], and Lucah found a big den of spiders... which they never entered and in fact just spent the entire episode tediously digging around and trying to flood it for fun, and "LEFT BEHIND!" referred to [=McJones=] accidentally warping away from Lucah in a cave, stranding her, only to then immediately run back down to get her with neither of them ever in any real danger. But for everyone who complained about this, at least one other person would defend PBG and the group, saying the titles are ''supposed'' to intrigue you. Regardless, the complaints almost completely stopped appearing by the latter half of the season. Especially since the episode, [[spoiler:"THE JINX", had another title that seemed to follow the click baiting trends, only to wind up with Jon dying.]]

** [=ProtonJon=]. [[spoiler:After his unexpectedly prominent showing and impressively long life in ''Terraria #2'', he is the first to die in ''Terraria #3'', being rather anti-climatically crushed by a boulder. Although this would only go on to highlight the other [[NewMeat new guests of the season, Lucahjin and Yungtown]], [[HistoryRepeats much like how Jon originally came to shine]] in ''Terraria #2'', [[DwindlingParty through the deaths of everyone else]].]]

** Jeff, who suffers from a case of decay between games. He is the last man standing in [[spoiler:''Minecraft #5'', the sole member of the team to reach the Ender Dragon in that season, and one of the final survivors in almost every other Hardcore season. Yet, he generally struggles more in the ''Terraria'' hardcores. The majority of his deaths in ''Terraria'' have occurred as a result of [[EpicFail stupidity-induced fall damage]], of all things, with ''Terraria #3'' being the nadir of his mistakes when he somehow kills himself ''inside the team's own base,'' free from enemy mobs or traps of any sort, early on in the season. This even translates over to his death in ''Starbound HC'', in which he also dies from fall damage. Poor guy can't watch his footing when it comes to 2D survival games, it seems.]]

** But there's way more disagreement with which Hardcore was the worst, whether it was due to length (''Terraria #1'' and ''[=DayZ=]''), behind-the-scenes drama (''[=MineZ=] #2'' and ''Minecraft #6''), unfamiliarity (''[=DayZ=]'', ''Diablo II'', and ''Starbound''), or lack of entertainment (''Minecraft #3'' and ''#4'', ''Starbound'', ''Diablo II'' and ''Terraria #1'').

* SignatureScene: Any death. Oftentimes the first death in a season is the signature scene for that season due to marking when the lighthearted mood starts to shift.
* SpoiledByTheFormat:

** Barry. In Hardcore's early days, he had almost God-like memetic status as the master of Minecraft, and developed himself a reputation as the player with the best survival rate, something that was even acknowledged within the show itself in Episode 6 of ''Diablo II''. Sadly, his good luck wore off, to the point that he went from being [[spoiler:the longest-lasting survivor in the first two ''Minecraft'' seasons to being the first to die in ''Minecraft #4'' and ''#5'']]. Much like Jeff listed below, Barry also tends to fare less well [[spoiler:in in the 2D survival series, being the first casualty in ''Terraria #1'' and the second in both ''Terraria #2'' and ''Starbound'']]. Ironically, Dean, [[spoiler:the person who died first in ''Minecraft #2'' and ''#3'', takes Barry's role as the final survivor in season 4]].

** Barry quickly became this amongst fans thanks to a combination of his laid-back personality, his popularity and fame with WebVideo/GameGrumps, and his tendency to be the SoleSurvivor.

*** It also certainly didn't help that this forced perspective [[spoiler:ended up being one of the major causes behind Dean's death. The second group starts mining into the Netherrack, [[HistoryRepeats a tactic that has not worked for them in the past]]. Since the groups were separated, PBG and [=McJones=] weren't able to warn them that it was a terrible idea. Even worse, they were still in relatively close proximity to each other, even in comparison to earlier episodes like the one where PBG was stranded by himself in the woods at night when they ''didn't'' use this method, and they saw Dean's death message pop up anyways, so it's not like they could have replicated a HeDidntMakeIt scenario.]]

** The choice of [[spoiler:reviving either [=McJones=] or Dodger]] in ''Minecraft #6'' spurred much controversy throughout the comments. [[spoiler:Arguably, both players had reasonable defenses towards their revival - [=McJones=] is the {{Smart Guy}} veteran, more than capable of holding his own as evidence by previous seasons and only died because of a minor misstep early on, whereas Dodger is one of the guest stars, ergo by default she gets less screen time on the show in comparison to [=McJones=], a series mainstay, and without her input, the group wouldn't have even ''found'' the revival totem in the first place. Inevitably, the group decided to bring Dodger back, further riling up the pro-[=McJones=] fans who saw her relative inexperience and reckless nature as a detriment, with many declaring the group's failure as imminent. This got even worse when she died again, for the second and final time, just three episodes after being revived, due to a case of PoorCommunicationKills being combined with her relative inexperience with the game meaning that she didn't know that the Nether portal wouldn't teleport her instantly, which proved fatal when she accidentally ran through the portal instead of being teleported and fell to her death instead. Needless to say, this caused yet another split in an already fractured community, this time over whether or not [=McJones=] would have made the same mistake if he had been revived instead.]]

* HarsherInHindsight: In Episode 4 of ''Minecraft #2'', [[spoiler:there's a joke about "Forever Alone Barry" that takes on a whole new light when he ends up being the last survivor in the finale.]] It even applies to the last episode of Minecraft #1. [[spoiler:Barry won his and Jon's duel at the end, meaning he was the sole survivor of that season too.]]

** In episode 11 of ''Minecraft HC #6'', [[spoiler:Dodger is revived after her death, and during a joking interrogation where the others accuse her of being an evil clone, she solemnly remarks "Maybe I should have stayed dead". Then came the fandom reaction, and... let's just say the comments weren't kind in agreeing with that sentiment. In addition, she gets her wish just three episodes later, when she's killed off for the second and final time of the season.]]

* MemeticBadass: Barry quickly became this amongst fans thanks to a combination of his laid-back personality, his popularity and fame with WebVideo/GameGrumps, and his tendency to be the SoleSurvivor.

* SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome: [[spoiler:Against all odds, the disease-ridden [=McJones=] and PBG successfully escape from the cave]] in Episode 13 of ''[=MineZ=]''.

* ParanoiaFuel: Arguably, any time the group enters the Nether in ''Minecraft HC'', but some seasons amp this up with nerve-wracking sections of the group building precarious cobblestone bridges over large drop-offs into lakes of lava, all the while at the risk of bombardment from Ghasts they cannot see. Special mention to ''Minecraft #6'', when the portal [[spoiler:has ''no solid ground under it at all,'' suspended over a ''sea of lava''. Jared slowly building a cobblestone bridge to safety from scratch with Ghasts floating in the distance]] is one of the most dangerous and stressful scenes to watch in recent Hardcore history.

* HoYay: "[[ItMakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext Team One likes touching themselves]]"

** Jeff, who suffers from a case of delay between games. He is the last man standing in [[spoiler:''Minecraft #5'', the sole member of the team to reach the Ender Dragon in that season, and one of the final survivors in almost every other Hardcore season. Yet, he generally struggles more in the ''Terraria'' hardcores. The majority of his deaths in ''Terraria'' have occurred as a result of [[EpicFail stupidity-induced fall damage]], of all things, with ''Terraria #3'' being the nadir of his mistakes when he somehow kills himself ''inside the team's own base,'' free from enemy mobs or traps of any sort, early on in the season. This even translates over to his death in ''Starbound HC'', in which he also dies from fall damage. Poor guy can't watch his footing when it comes to 2D survival games, it seems.]]

** [=ProtonJon=]. [[spoiler:After his unexpectedly prominent showing in ''Terraria #2'' and impressively long life, he is the first to die in ''Terraria #3'', being rather anti-climatically crushed by a boulder. Although this would only go on to highlight the other [[NewMeat new guests of the season, Lucahjin and Yungtown]], [[HistoryRepeats much like how Jon originally came to shine]] in ''Terraria #2'', [[DwindlingParty through the deaths of everyone else]].]]

** [[spoiler:Barry]] goes from being [[spoiler:the longest-lasting survivor in the first two ''Minecraft'' seasons]] to being [[spoiler:the first to die in ''Minecraft #4'' and ''#5'',]] and much like [[spoiler:Jeff listed below, he tends to fare less well in the 2D survival series, being the first casualty in ''Terraria #1'' and the second in both ''Terraria #2'' and ''Starbound''.]] Ironically, [[spoiler:Dean, (the person who died first in ''Minecraft #2'' and ''#3'') takes Barry's role as the final survivor in season 4.]]
** In a case of decay between different games, [[spoiler: Jeff, the last man standing in ''Minecraft #5'', sole member of the team to reach the Ender Dragon in that season and one of the final survivors in almost every other Hardcore season, generally seems to struggle more in the ''Terraria'' hardcores. The majority of his deaths in these series occurred as a result of [[EpicFail stupidity-induced fall damage]], of all things, with ''Terraria #3'' being the nadir of his mistakes when he somehow kills himself ''inside the team's own base,'' free from enemy mobs or traps of any sort, early on in the season.]] This even translates over to [[spoiler: his death in Starbound HC, in which he also dies from fall damage - poor guy can't watch his footing when it comes to 2D survival games, it seems.]]
** [[spoiler:[=ProtonJon=], after his unexpectedly prominent showing in ''Terraria #2'', is indistinctly crushed by a boulder in ''Terraria #3'', as the first casualty ([[TropesAreTools although this would only go on to highlight the]] ''[[NewMeat other]]'' [[NewMeat new guests of the season, Lucahjin and Yungtown]], [[HistoryRepeats much like how he originally came to shine]] in ''Terraria #2'', [[DwindlingParty through the deaths of everyone else]]).]]
** [[spoiler:[=McJones=] is consistently the group's most knowledgeable member, and usually survives a long time. In ''Minecraft #6'', he dies in the second episode - the earliest anyone has ever died in a ''Minecraft'' (including ''[=MineZ=]'') or even ''Terraria Hardcore'' ever since Jirard's AFK and Soah's death back in the first and second episodes of the very first one. And the cause of death was just him walking off a ledge into lava because he FailedASpotCheck.]]

** Dean was very much this in Hardcore's early days, due to his lack of experience and overconfidence often dragging the group into danger, as well as his tendencies to try and make obscure references. Many of the comments on each episode would likely mourn his passing, while many others would be glad to see him gone. Over time, however, he gradually became more popular, and has grown to be much more widely accepted as a member. Of special note is his banter with some of the guests, specifically Yungtown, Lucahjin, and Ray.

* BaseBreaker: Dean was very much this in Hardcore's early days, due to his lack of experience and overconfidence often dragging the group into danger, as well as his tendencies to try and make obscure references. Many of the comments on each episode would likely mourn his passing, while many others would be glad to see him gone.

--> Dean Elazab: A raucous adventurer with a knack for pushing his luck- and he knows it. Another word for Dean would be: polarizing; you either love him or hate him. Love him for his ridiculous (and dangerous) antics or hate him for endangering the team.
** He's been more popular as of late. In fact, since ''Minecraft #4'', [[CharacterizationMarchesOn he's been quite the opposite of what his aforementioned description would suggest]]: his playstyle is anything but risky these days; some would even say ''too'' cautious for his own good (although being the ButtMonkey of ''[=MineZ=]'' [[CharacterDevelopment would probably do a number on anyone's character]]). Personality wise, he's definitely the same old Dean and still has his detractors, but overall, he is much more widely accepted as a member. Of special note is his banter between some of the more recent guests, specifically Yungtown, Lucahjin, and Ray.

*** It also certainly didn't help that this forced perspective [[spoiler:ended up being one of the major causes behind Dean's death. The second group starts mining into the Netherrack, [[HistoryRepeats a tactic that]] [[UnderStatement hasn't necessarily gone over well with them]] in the past. Since the groups were separated, PBG and [=McJones=] weren't able to warn them that it was a terrible idea. Even worse, they were still in relatively close proximity to each other, even in comparison to earlier episodes like the one where PBG was stranded by himself in the woods at night when they ''didn't'' use this method, and they saw Dean's death message pop up anyways, so it's not like they could have replicated a HeDidntMakeIt scenario.]]

* AwesomeMusic: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVT_gO3FPR4 On Ahead (16-Bit)]]. The usage of both the ''VideoGame/StarFox1'' instruments and even the same drummline from that game makes for an adventurous track.

** [[spoiler:Barry]] goes from being [[spoiler:the longest-lasting survivor in the first two seasons]] to being [[spoiler:the first to die in ''Minecraft #4'' and ''#5'',]] and much like [[spoiler:Jeff listed below, he tends to fare less well in the 2D survival series, being the first casualty in ''Terraria #1'' and the second in both ''Terraria #2'' and ''Starbound''.]] Ironically, [[spoiler:Dean, (the person who died first in ''Minecraft #2'' and ''#3'') takes Barry's role as the final survivor in season 4.]]
** In a case of decay between different games, [[spoiler: Jeff, the last man standing in ''Minecraft #5'', sole member of the team to reach the Ender Dragon in that season and one of the final survivors in almost every other Hardcore season, generally seems to struggle more in the ''Terraria'' hardcores. The majority of his deaths in these series occurred as a result of [[EpicFail stupidity-induced fall damage]], of all things, with ''Terraria #3'' being the nadir of his mistakes when he somehow kills himself ''inside the team's own base,'' free from enemy mobs or traps of any sort, early on in the season.]] This even translates over to [[spoiler: his death in Starbound HC, in which he also dies from fall damage - poor guy can't seem to watch his footing when it comes to 2D survival games, it seems.]]

** [[spoiler:[=McJones=] is consistently the group's most knowledgeable member, and usually survives a long time. In ''Minecraft #6'', he dies in the second episode - the earliest anyone has ever died in a ''Minecraft'' (including ''[=MineZ=]'') or even ''Terraria'' hardcore ever since Jirard's AFK and Soah's death back in the first and second episodes of the very first one. And the cause of death was just him walking off a ledge into lava because he FailedASpotCheck.]]

** [[spoiler:Barry]] goes from being [[spoiler:the longest-lasting survivor in the first two seasons]] to being [[spoiler:the first to die in ''Minecraft #4'', abruptly dying to a baby Zombie Pigman.]] Ironically, [[spoiler:Dean, (the person who died first in ''Minecraft #2'' and ''#3'') takes Barry's role as the final survivor in season 4.]]
** This trend seems to continue in ''Minecraft #5'', as [[spoiler: Barry is once again the first one to die. Granted, his death had much more flair this time around, as you get to watch him go down swinging.]]

** In a case of decay between different games, [[spoiler: Jeff, the last man standing in ''Minecraft #5'', sole member of the team to reach the Ender Dragon in that season and one of the final survivors in almost every other Hardcore season, generally seems to struggle more in the ''Terraria'' hardcores. The majority of his deaths in these series occurred as a result of [[EpicFail stupidity-induced fall damage]], of all things, with ''Terraria #3'' being the nadir of his mistakes when he somehow kills himself ''inside the team's own base,'' free from enemy mobs or traps of any sort, early on in the season.]]

* BrokenBase: Very mildly. Fans tend to disagree on which Hardcore series was the best.

** In the opening of ''Minecraft HC #6'' episode 11, [[spoiler:Dodger's face isn't grayed out despite her dying the previous episode while [=McJones=] still has his grayed out]], making it pretty clear to viewers that [[spoiler:Dodger would be the one who gets revived. Todd later stated in a tweet that this was an editing error, but it's a pretty convenient one at that.]]

** [[spoiler:ProtonJon, after his unexpectedly prominent showing in ''Terraria #2'', is indistinctly crushed by a boulder in ''Terraria #3'', as the first casualty ([[TropesAreTools although this would only go on to highlight the]] ''[[NewMeat other]]'' [[NewMeat new guests of the season, Lucahjin and Yungtown]], [[HistoryRepeats much like how he originally came to shine]] in ''Terraria #2'', [[DwindlingParty through the deaths of everyone else]]).]]

** ProtonJon debuted in ''Terraria #2'' and quickly became one of the show's most popular guest stars. He especially had a chance to shine in the second half of the season once [[spoiler:the party was reduced to just him, Jeff, and [=McJones=], where the three of them formed a fantastic dynamic with each other. [=ProtonJon=] also went on to last an impressively long time.]] When it was announced that the upcoming ''Terraria #3'' would feature a returning guest star, many hoped it would be [=ProtonJon=], which became a reality. [[spoiler: And of course, many lamented the loss of Jon when his triumphant return was cut off.]]

--->ProtonJon: Jon’s known far and wide for his ability to play a massive variety of games, and he brings that competence to Hardcore as well. No stranger to self-proficiency, Jon’s keen to travel solo, quietly finding ways to achieve on his own what would elsewise take many.

** A deliberate case during ''Terraria #3''. Some savvy users were able to access the achievement lists of all of the Hardcore participants on their Steam profiles, [[spoiler:noting that neither ProtonJon nor Jeff had obtained the achievement for defeating the Brain of Cthulhu (which they hadn't fought in the previous season, either, that being the Eater of Worlds instead), while everyone else had, spoiling their early deaths far before Team New Kids and Team Blood had even reunited. Similarly, those users also noted that PBG did not have the achievement for killing the Queen Bee boss.]] The actual players caught on to that detail, and promptly made their achievement lists private to avoid further spoilers, but by then, the damage was already done. [[spoiler:Fortunately, they had done it in time to avoid spoiling the outcome of the final battle.]]

** Speaking of the [[spoiler: revival, many commenters were torn on the twist itself in Minecraft #6. A good chunk of the fanbase hated the twist. Some hated it because of the roleplaying element introduced with the twist, others hated it because the aforementioned point where the group had to choose between Dodger and [=McJones=], more hated it because it lead to several uneventful episodes of the adventuring wandering semi-aimlessly when there could have been progress towards the main goal, and even more hated it because its impact was overall negligible. But most of all, many hated it because the twist ultimately undermined the tagline of Hardcore: "If you die, you're dead for good."]] Otherwise, [[spoiler: other members of the fanbase liked the ideas behind the twist, and though it wasn't executed perfectly, they were overall happy with the end result of the twist and are wanting to see it continued on, though some do wish for it to be something else aside from a resurrection.]]