Line #54 ZeroPunctuation/TropesEToH


1	[[WebAnimation/ZeroPunctuation Main page]] \| [[ZeroPunctuation/TropesAToD Tropes A-D]] \| '''Tropes E-H''' \| [[ZeroPunctuation/TropesIToL Tropes I-L]] \| [[ZeroPunctuation/TropesMToP Tropes M-P]] \| [[ZeroPunctuation/TropesQToT Tropes Q-T]] \| [[ZeroPunctuation/TropesUToZ Tropes U-Z]] \| \| [[ZeroPunctuation/ReviewedGames List of reviewed games]]
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3	* {{Eagleland}}: In his reviews, Yahtzee portrays Americans as Flavor #2, and [[AuthorTract covered all aspects of that flavor]] in the span of two reviews (''VideoGame/MedalOfHonorAirborne'' and ''VideoGame/{{Call of Duty 4\|ModernWarfare}}''). He's had a long history of this view, though, as seen in his writings on ''Fully Ramblomatic.''
4	** [[HatesEveryoneEqually Not that he treats any other country with any level of courtesy]], but there ya go.
5	** Ironically, Yahtzee moved to the United States in 2016 and as of 2019 he currently resides in San Francisco.
6	* EasternEuropeanAnimation: Yahtzee claims to have grown up watching Russian cartoons ''à la'' [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Worker and Parasite]] rather than ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', which he states is the reason that he has no particular nostalgia for the series.
7	* EdibleAmmunition: A joke in ''VideoGame/StarField'' singles out potatoes as the absolute top-tier of ammo available.
8	* EndingFatigue:
9	** Discussed in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2714-A-Shadows-Tale review]] of ''VideoGame/AShadowsTale'' ([[InsistentTerminology NOT Lost in Shadow!]]) [[invoked]]
10	--->''Oh, you're going to make me ''backtrack'' aren't you, you little'' bastard!
11	** Also discussed in the review of ''VideoGame/SpiritFarer''. He noted that he [[VideoGameCaringPotential felt emotionally invested]] in the quests up until a certain [[TheReveal big reveal]] that formed an emotional climax, but after that he just hurried through the last few ones to get to the ending.
12	* EnemyWithout: As Yahtzee plods through ''Duke Nukem Forever'' while trying to like it, the part of him which "takes an almost sexual joy in [[ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof ruining other peoples' fun]]" emerges from its thought bubble and holds a gun to his head.
13	-->''Yahtzee, you and I both know you have pushed games off of subway platforms for less problems than this.''
14	* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: In-universe, he's said this of several games in his time, including two of his favourite games ever, ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. His description of ''Silent Hill 2'' even provides the page quote.
15	* EnvironmentalNarrativeGame: He's not a fan of the genre. He gave negative reviews to ''VideoGame/EverybodysGoneToTheRapture'' and ''VideoGame/LayersOfFear'' and a mixed review to ''VideoGame/{{Firewatch}}'' and expanded upon why he didn't like the genre very much in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/14547-Yahtzee-On-Everybodys-Gone-To-The-Rapture-and-Gone-Home this Extra Punctuation column]] (although he did say that he enjoyed ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' quite a lot).
16	* EnsembleDarkHorse: InUniverse. Yahtzee sometimes talks about how minor/secondary characters can have enough charm to make them eclipse the heroes or at least endear themselves to him.
17	** In his review of ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory'', he notes that he's always preferred Luigi to Mario, since he at the least isn't Peach's personal gopher. He also wonders why Tails gets so much more hate than Sonic despite the fact that he's basically Sonic with flight.
18	** Also states in his ''VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' review that part of the appeal he has of playing as Luigi over Mario is that Luigi expresses more emotion and is more relatable as a result.
19	** In Batman related properties he admits to being a fan of the Scarecrow and finds the villain's scenes in ''Film/BatmanBegins'' and ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' to be his favorite. Though he was disappointed at Arkham Knight's portrayal of the character he still enjoyed playing as him in ''VideoGame/Injustice2'' in-spite of the fact that he feels the game is mediocre.
20	** He was very fond of the Emperor in ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'', due to both being voiced by Creator/PatrickStewart and his apparently-GenreSavvy nature.
21	* EpicFail: This was Yahtzee's conclusion about ''Ride to Hell'', when all was said and done. When Yahtzee cautiously commands the game to "lie down and don't move", the floor gives way underneath it. In his Top 5 of 2013, he spoke with wonderment about how the developers could have swapped out the DVD for an empty sleeve and ''still'' achieved a higher score than the actual game did.
22	** Indeed, he thought ''Ride to Hell'' was so bad that it didn't even place on his bottom 5 for that year: he considered it such a failure that it barely even qualified as a game, and hence gave it a special award for "Total Abhorrence", which it would hold until an even worse game comes along (as of 2022 it has not been supplanted yet).
23	** He also claimed that the only acceptable sequel to Kane and Lynch 2, his worst game of 2010, would be "an apology letter and some chocolates".
24	** In the credits of "The Most Significant Games of the 2010's" ''Ride to Hell'' is once again missing from the Top 10 Retrospectively Worst Games of the 2010's, instead appearing at the very end, the game shown drinking a bottle of Jack Daniel's with naught but a ? above its head.
25	* EpilepticTrees:[[invoked]] He jokes that 50 Cent's game is a prequel to ''Call Of Duty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' showing how the West destabilised the Middle East.
26	* EscalatingPunchline: He uses these frequently. To give just one example, this line from his ''Resident Evil 5'' review, [[ArtificialStupidity in regards to his partner AI]]:
27	--> It's like watching someone beat their fists against a wall before running off to hospital only to come back and do it some more. And they used ''my'' medical insurance. ''And it's my wall''!
28	* EvenEvilHasStandards: From his review of ''VideoGame/TheMissingJJMacfieldAndTheIslandOfMemories'', where Yahtzee stops himself before he finishes a joke that's [[DudeNotFunny too gross even for him]].
29	--> '''Yahtzee:''' But in that case, what's all the tearing-all-your-arms-and-legs-off business about? Is that a metaphor for scissoring during that time of the mo-- That was the new worst thing I've ever written.
30	* EveryoneHasStandards: While Yahtzee isn't too keen on kids, he mentioned in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9246-Extra-Punctuation-What-Is-the-Matter-with-You-People this article]] that he was disturbed by a comment on his ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3'' review by someone expressing a desire for the BigBad to torture children "Holocaust style," as an "ironic statement". (He was unimpressed by a child dying in the game proper, but it was because the game was clearly just doing it for the sake of having a Big Sad Moment and he found it artificial.)
31	-->'''Yahtzee:''' Er... thanks for your input, Mr. Poster Man, but I wasn't talking it down for not being extreme enough. Or "ironic" enough. I doubt emptying an entire lorry full of toddlers into the woodchipper would have improved my opinion any.
32	** By the same token, he was rather perturbed at how quickly people are to create mods for games like ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' which allow players to kill children.
33	** While Yahtzee has admitted in interviews that he doesn't necessarily consider himself to be a "bleeding-heart progressive," he's still quick to critique a video game's (or really ''any'' artwork's) questionable ethics, especially if they're very blatant and/or offensive to him in particular. For example, he was completely disgusted by the blatant sexism in ''Metroid: Other M'', and has a clear hatred of ''Ctrl Alt Delete'' and its infamous miscarriage plot, referring to doing art of it happening as one of the sicker things he's done. Furthermore, he was utterly revolted by the heavy {{Attempted Rape}} overtones shown in the ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' trailer, found the [[BigLippedAlligatorMoment sexy ninja assassination attempt]] from the ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution'' trailer to be bizarrely sexist, and felt the [[ColdBloodedTorture forced cyber-augmentation sequence]] from ''VideoGame/TheSurge'' to be pointlessly exploitative against people with disabilities.
34	** He's also aggresively condemnatory of the increasing number of accounts of workplace abuse in the video game industry, particularly employees being forced to crunch obscene work hours to finish games that have far too much extraneous bullshit in them that doesn't really even need to be there in the first place. His go-to example is your horse "going plop-plops" in ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemptionII'', but he ''really'' let ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPartII'' have both barrels (especially since, unlike ''[=RDR2=]'', he didn't even like that game at all in the first place):
35	--->And corporate game dev being what it is, when I think of the developers almost certainly being ''exploited and overworked'' to make this ''miserable'' game so ''unnecessarily long'', I ''wince'', viewer. I ''wince'' at the pointless suffering. 'Cos you could strip four or five hours of gameplay out of ''Last of Us 2'' and lose ''nothing''.
36	* EvilBrit: Understands why people use this trope, but takes offense to the [[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} Helgast]] all being these since Britain fought ''against'' the Nazis (and also because while upperclass British accents sound good for that kind of villain, the Helgast have Cockney accents).
37	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Referred to by name in his ''[=LEGO=] Indiana Jones'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/123-LEGO-Indy review]].
38	* ExactWords: At the end of his review of ''VideoGame/SilentHillOrigins'' he said that, to him at least, the series was over and if the upcoming ''VideoGame/SilentHillHomecoming'' was able to convince him otherwise then he'd [[CoolAndUnusualPunishment "remove three of my own vertebrae, curl my spine back, and]] ''[[CoolAndUnusualPunishment eat my own arse."]]'' This received a brief CallBack at the start of his ''Homecoming'' review, followed by Yahtzee stating that, despite ''Homecoming'' not being a ''terrible'' game, he wasn't going to be doing any arse-eating because the requirement was that the game convince him that the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series wasn't over, and ''Homecoming'' didn't feel like a proper successor to games 1-4.
39	* ExpospeakGag: Near the end of his review of ''VideoGame/{{Observation}}'' he complains that the game "sometimes descends into linear instruction-following", providing an on-screen list of directions as they might be parsed to a computer:
40	-->OBJECTIVES:\
41	1. Locate teabag\
42	2. Orient teabag inside hydrothermic facility\
43	3. Incorporate bovine lactation
44	* FacePalm: Doesn't do this very often (as his characters have free-floating circles for hands) but he did prominently do it once in response to the simply ''embarrassingly'' transparent story hoops ''VideoGame/HomefrontTheRevolution'' was jumping through to make North Korea a plausible opponent for the US, instead of someone more controversial.
45	-->'''Yahtzee:''' Guys, if you want the villains to be China, ''just make the villains China!''
46	** He also did it during his review of ''[[VideoGame/SpiderManPS4 Marvel's Spider-Man]]'' when the topic of forced stealth sections with characters other than Spider-Man came up:
47	--->'''Yahtzee:''' ''<facepalming>'' [[LetMeGetThisStraight So let me see if I've got this straight]], ''Insomniac Games' Disney's Spider-Man:'' You're going to interrupt your high-octane, big-balls, web-swinging, free-roam superhero power fantasy for the sake of some mandatory forced stealth sections playing as a mundane fuck going on a chest-high wall inspection tour? And you're doing this so that we ''don't'' get bored?
48	** He also does it in his review of ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption2'':
49	--->'''Yahtzee:''' All right, Rockstar, I know your sandbox games tend to have somewhat sprawling plots, but just give us a quick summary of ''[=RDR2=]'', and don't be too confusing.\
50	'''Rockstar:''' Well, ''[=RDR2=]'' takes place before ''[=RDR1=]''--\
51	'''Yahtzee:''' ''[facepalms]'' Oh, you fucked it up already, Rockstar! "2" doesn't come before "1"! Always had a blind spot for numbers, haven't you? That's probably why the ninth[[note]](actually eleventh)[[/note]] ''VideoGame/{{G\|randTheftAuto}}TA'' game was titled "''[[VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV GTA IV]]''".
52	** And again at the beginning of his review of ''VideoGame/MortalShell'':
53	--->'''Games Industry:''' Oh, Yahtzee~! Have we got a surprise for you!\
54	'''Yahtzee:''' A surprise, games industry? Is it... a PC release of ''VideoGame/InFamous2''?\
55	'''Games Industry:''' Nope!\
56	'''Yahtzee:''' Is it... ''Franchise/SilentHill'' entering the public domain?\
57	'''Games Industry:''' Nope!\
58	'''Yahtzee:''' Ooh, did the entire management team at [[Creator/ElectronicArts EA]] [[BreadEggsMilkSquick contract cholera from giving each other rusty trombones]]?\
59	'''Games Industry:''' N-- I don't even know what that is... No, the surprise is... a game that's an awful lot like ''VideoGame/DarkSouls''!\
60	'''Yahtzee:''' ''(his avatar Face Palms)'' Oh, ''Jesus fucking Christ!''
61	* FailureGambit: Suggests that ''VideoGame/SonicForces'' was so terrible because Sonic Team realized [[VideoGame/SonicMania a decent Sonic game]] had come out, and this might mean that the franchise would be held to actual standards from now on - and worse, it might lead to a life extension on the notoriously creepy Sonic fandom.
62	* FairForItsDay: [[invoked]]In his ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' review he notes that despite Juliet's design and position as a cheerleader she's always in control of the situation, she has a stable family life and is treated as a distinct and flawed character who's often played for comedy, and the game never calls on the player to defend her from rapists.
63	-->'''Yahtzee:''' [[TakeThat Seriously,]] ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 that's pretty fucked]].''
64	* FakeDifficulty:
65	** Part of the reason he despises motion controls. As he put it, "Motion controls are a system wherein a game can fail you for something that completely wasn't your fault."
66	** He noted in his review of the first three ''VideoGame/CrashBandicoot'' games that most of the games' difficulty has nothing to do with skill and everything to do with the bad design accompanying the VideoGame3DLeap: CameraScrew, awkward perspectives, misleading hitboxes etc.
67	* FanOfTheUnderdog: In his review of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', which actually delves more into Nintendo's current situation, he admits that he's on Nintendo's side at this point as he feels that the Xbox One and [=PS4=] are simply becoming inferior [=PC=]s with their large focus on online gaming ([[MisanthropeSupreme something he's never been fond of]]) and believes that Nintendo's sales could improve if they focused less on hardware and more on making unique yet enjoyable games that he feels they haven't been doing since ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''.
68	* FanDislikedExplanation:[[invoked]] Discussed in the review of ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot''.
69	* FanonDiscontinuity: [[invoked]] When reviewing ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' and praising it as a worthy sequel to [[VideoGame/BioShock1 the original]], a fan [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext on a leash he's pulling]] asks him this:
70	--> "Don't you mean ''[[VideoGame/BioShock2 second]]'' sequel, Yahtzee?\
71	''{{beat}}''\
72	'''Yahtzee:''' [in an unusually raspy voice] '''Get out.'''
73	* FantasticFantasyIsMundane: A semi-running gag in the late New Tens is orcs playing at being humans, with a D&D campaign set at an office and an otherkin who wants to be called "Allan."
74	* FauxToGuide: Concerning the creation of ''GamingWebcomics''.
75	* FinalExamBoss: Has repeatedly stated that every boss should fit this trope - that is, a test of all the skills the player has learned thus far in the game, with the FinalBoss testing all of the abilities the player has learnt throughout the game.
76	* FishEyes: [[invoked]] Used very, ''very'' often to depict the many, ''many'' moments of stupidity of both VideoGame characters and RealLife people. Expect said "Down's Syndrome" eyes to be the first thing you see whenever a game's [[ArtificialStupidity "AI"]] or IdiotPlot is brought up.
77	* FiveManBand: Parodied as he notes the main parts of the cast of recent ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games (Using ''VII, VIII, IX, X'' and ''XIII'' as examples), giving them names similar to the Music/SpiceGirls.
78	** Specifically, "Angsty Spice"[[note]]Cloud, Squall and Hope[[/note]], "Serious Spice" [[note]]Quistis, Auron and Lightning[[/note]], "Manly Spice"[[note]]Zell, Zidane and Snow[[/note]], "Ethnic Spice"[[note]]Barrett, Amarant, and Sazh[[/note]] and "the inevitable 'Kooky Spice'"[[note]]Yuffie, Rikku and Vanille[[/note]].
79	* {{Flanderization}}: Believe it or not he's actually gotten louder and faster over time. Compare his earlier reviews (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2-Psychonauts Psychonauts]]) with with his more recent ones (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6445-Dishonored Dishonored]]).
80	** He also seems to be getting more and more jaded about the game industry, and caustic in his reviews, nitpicking about a lot of a game's flaws like a checklist. Might be just Yahtzee himself being genuinely bitter about the direction gaming has taken over the years though.
81	* FlashStep: His avatar does this against a boss in ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' to stick a chainsaw into its back.
82	* FlatWhat: A visual example is used by his AuthorAvatar in his ''VideoGame/Condemned2Bloodshot'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/34-Condemned-2-Bloodshot review]], when he describes the unusual means by which you defeat the final boss: [[spoiler: shouting at it.]]
83	** And another visual example in the ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7785-Ride-to-Hell-Retribution?hq=1 review]], showing the reaction of the stunned marketing researchers if everyone actually bought the game.
84	* FlippingTheBird: Does this in his ''VideoGame/{{Spiritfarer}}'' review after admitting that he ending up crying over Alice's death.
85	* FloatingLimbs: People in the webcomic have these. When he reviews ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'', he insists this to be the reason Rayman has been out of the spotlight, [[HypocriticalHumor while giving his own avatar limbs for just that part of the review]].
86	* ForcedMeme: Yahtzee coined the term "Spectacle Fighter" to describe games like ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' or ''VideoGame/GodHand'', and once joked that he was determined to "shoehorn it into common parlance". It didn't really work (something he loudly complained about in his review of ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' when the industry instead decided to give the genre the insipid name "character action games"), although plenty of other terms he's used have since achieved memetic status (as [[PressXToNotDie various tropes]] on this very wiki illustrate). However "Spectacle Fighter" has seen ''some'' use; for example, Creator/HumbleBundle use it as a genre tag (called a "trait") on their store page to categorise such stylish action games as the ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' series, and it's similarly used as a tag on Platform/{{Steam}}, something he lampshades at the start of his review of ''VideoGame/GothamKnights2022''.
87	* ForgetsToEat: Mentioned in his ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' review.
88	* FormulaBreakingEpisode:
89	** His first review of ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', which came out when the game was still VaporWare and consequently was completely made up, as well as the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'' review which was, except for the introduction, entirely in limerick form, including the tag-ending text. Also his review of ''[[VideoGame/FIFASoccer FIFA 13]]'' where, owing to him not actually giving a toss about soccer games, he decided to [[InsaneTrollLogic review it without actually playing (or even buying) it]], leading to him repeatedly getting sidetracked and doing short reviews of three other games instead (''VideoGame/MarkOfTheNinja, VideoGame/{{Anna}}'' and ''VideoGame/TokyoJungle'').
90	** His ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyModernWarfare2019'' review is ''actually'' a review of ''VideoGame/DiscoElysium'', a game he found much more creative and artistic, and a perfect antidote for the ''Call of Duty'' games that he considers intellectually and morally bankrupt.
91	** Similarly, he finds ''VideoGame/GhostReconWildlands'' to be so boring and generic that it doesn't even warrant a full review, and instead spends the last minute-and-a-half of the video reviewing ''VideoGame/NightInTheWoods'' instead.
92	* FranchiseOriginalSin: Invoked frequently in his retro reviews, where he often explains how elements of a genuinely good game would be inflated into something more grievous by later games in their series or genre.
93	** The original ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' and ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' were some of the first games in their genre to push away from the over-the-top tone of their predecessors - ''Quake'' for its dark atmosphere and RealIsBrown aesthetic, ''Half-Life'' for its realistic environment design and narrative focus. However, he contends that they hold up because they didn't compromise the core shooter experience in the name of their pursuit of realism, as opposed to modern realistic shooters which ditch half the mechanics that made the old ones fun.
94	--->''The thing about ''Half-Life'' is that most shooters at the time still had guns that floated 3' off the ground and gently spun like a barber's pole and nothing else ever felt so absorbingly real. So we can indirectly blame it for every monstrous thing done in the name of realism ever since, starting with its own multiplayer mod, ''VideoGame/CounterStrike,'' game of choice for the first generation of realistic military shooter gutter cunts, whose hate-filled whims now dictate half the fucking industry.''
95	** His ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' review contends that the game finally gave the series a decisive identity - a campy but surprisingly creepy action-horror series - but did so in part by deemphasizing the horror in favor of action. However, it was still scary, because the action was frenetic, deadly, and tense, as opposed to the following games, which had a much more standard feel. He also contends that ''4'''s action-y tone worked better when it had a DenserAndWackier plot that deliberately had very little to do with the increasingly nonsense metaplot, while the later games dove back into the metaplot and in the process removed a lot of the campy fun.
96	** In a genre-wide case, he concludes that the emphasis on story with incredibly perfunctory and obtuse gameplay elements in classic adventure games was a forecast for EnvironmentalNarrativeGames with no real gameplay whatsoever outside of "walk to a place." However, he suggests it worked in those games because even though it was just a token degree of challenge, it was still a degree of challenge, which was enough to make it an actual narrative where the player and protagonist face and overcome adversity, and one that required the player to be invested in the game to figure out how to beat it. By contrast, "walking simulators" tend to feature no challenging elements whatsoever and therefore no real incentive to get invested, and as a result become incredibly uninteresting as narratives (since the protagonist is never really challenged) and even less interesting as games (since the player isn't, either).
97	* FreezeFrameBonus:
98	** His review of ''VideoGame/FiftyCentBloodOnTheSand'' flashes a picture of Yahtzee (standing next to a black man) with the words NOT RACIST several times.
99	** His ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'' review features [[http://imgur.com/AXtizLM this image]] flash onscreen for about three frames around three and a half minutes in. Possibly a production error.
100	* FreudianExcuse[=/=]StartOfDarkness: His ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'' review pins all his negativity on bad experiences playing the original ''VideoGame/RedFaction'' when he was younger.
101	* FreudianSlip: His ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1420-Bayonetta review]] is full of these.
102	* FridgeBrilliance:[[invoked]] Sometimes denoted with the expression "HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT THAT".
103	%%Please put the Fridge tropes on the appropriate page.%%
104	* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In his ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/11-Super-Paper-Mario review]], he shows the Dictionary.com definition of "game", with another tab open titled "Super Huge Tits".
105	* FunWithAcronyms: In his pre-credits note for his attendance at EGLX[[note]]Enthusiast Gaming Live Expo[[/note]], he says that "Everyone's Gotta Look [=eXcited=]", and that there will be "Entertainment, [[HaveAGayOldTime Gaiety]], Laughter, and [[BreadEggsMilkSquick Xenophobia]]".
106	** His review of ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds'' featured several statements that fit the acronym of PUBG without even sounding forced.
107	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: One of his favorite discussion topics. By his account, gameplay and story should inform one another and the gameplay should in some way reinforce the story's themes while the story should in some way provide motivation for the gameplay. Games that fail to do so, whether by ideas established in cutscenes that are ignored in gameplay and vice versa (VideoGame/{{Knack}}'s [[CutscenePowerToTheMax indestructibility]] or [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII Hope's]] [[CutsceneIncompetence reluctance]] vanishing in combat), massive tonal inconsistencies between the gameplay and the story (''VideoGame/MaxPayne3'''s kinetic gameplay versus its maudlin narrative), or keeping the story and gameplay completely separate to the point that they might as well be unrelated (the plot of ''VideoGame/{{Braid}}'' being told entirely in vague text dumps), tend to receive a fair bit of mockery.
108	* GameplayRoulette: [[DiscussedTrope A frequent talking point for Yahtzee]], one where his opinion will shift depending on how a specific game implements it. Yahtzee is a fan of innovation and taking creative risks, but the key for him is ''necessity'': if a game [[MasterOfNone has loads of different forms of gameplay but doesn't focus on any of them well enough]], he's going to come down hard on the game for it, and even if he does find a diamond of a gameplay concept in the rough, he'll still going to criticize the rest of the game for its lack of focus. He's especially cynical of AAA games that indulge in this (especially "Jiminy Cockthroat" games with meandering [[WideOpenSandbox open world]] action, stealth, [[ItemCrafting crafting]], and collectibles), which he derides as tacking various popular ideas with little rhyme or reason in a hollow attempt to appeal to the widest possible markets. However, Yahtzee is much more impressed if a game has ''earned'' its gameplay roulette, where the gameplay loops actually contribute to and advance each other, thus producing more than the sum of their parts and streamlining the game into an experience where everything actually matters, rather than existing for the sake of existing.
109	* GatewaySeries: [[invoked]] ''VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'' got him interested in air combat games, and, much to his horror, ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' got him interested in tactical turn-based games (specifically, ''VideoGame/{{XCOM}}'').
110	* GayOption: In his ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' review he mentioned having hooked up with Anders, more or less because Snarky!Hawke annoyed him and came off as gay to him anyway, though he later detailed that roleplaying played a major part of it and ultimately did [[VideoGameCaringPotential develop a genuine fondness for Anders]], even [[spoiler:forgiving him for blowing up the Chantry]] and naming his [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Tepig]] after him.
111	* GrammarNazi: He employs this during the "Mailbag Showdown" video by correcting the emails in red as he reads them.
112	* GratuitousGerman: Yahtzee apparently studied German and he frequently points it out when games uses it incorrectly.
113	* GenreSavvy: Seeing an enemy with a bull's head in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', he correctly anticipates it to be a BullfightBoss. He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1883-Singularity claims]] "powers of clairvoyance" that mean he predict how the opening {{cutscene}} of ''VideoGame/{{Singularity}}'' will play out.
114	** At the end of the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6104-The-Amazing-Spider-Man review]] of ''VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan'', having made a comment on Spider-Man having a different costume: "I don't actually know if anyone disliked the new Spider-Man costume, [[invoked]][[TheyChangedItNowItSucks but I have been on the Internet long enough to make an educated guess]]."
115	* GetOut: In the ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' video, complete with [[EvilSoundsDeep evil voice]].
116	* GiantMook: Bosses in games are sometimes portrayed by giant imps.
117	* GiantSpider: These show up in the visuals occasionally. Usually they represent something being either unexpected, very difficult, or both.
118	** Arachnophobic prospective viewers should take warning that they're usually taken from photos of actual tarantulas.
119	* GoKartingWithBowser: He lampshades this trope in his VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/19-Super-Mario-Galaxy review]].
120	-->'''Yahtzee''': For me, the interesting relationship is the one between Mario and Bowser. I mean on some days they fight to the death in fiery climatic showdowns while other days they go Go-Karting, play tennis, or even team up in some of the RPG's.
121	* AGodAmI: Slogging through ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' imbued him super-gaming prowess, to the point where he [[PowerFloats hovers]] over his couch and shoots [[EyeBeams optic blasts]]. He lamented that he would have to self-impose-challenge his way through mainstream games in the future -- possibly by attaching lobster claws to his scrotum.
122	* GoodBadBugs:[[invoked]] Depicted in ''Arkham Origins'' as a ladybug Yahtzee gleefully rides on top off of. (The aforementioned "good" bug is bat-toting enemies who freeze in mid swing.) Then there's the {{Game Breaking Bug}}s that manifest as a cockroach firing a bazooka at his set, and the "common bugs", a cricket wearing a cockney cap.
123	* AGoodNameForARockBand:
124	** In the credits for his review of ''VideoGame/SuperPaperMario'', he remarks that "Dullness and Slog" (the two words he used earlier to summarize the tropes of [=JRPGs=]) would be a good name for a band.
125	** In the end credits for his ''VideoGame/AWayOut'' review, he says, "Check out my new band 'Yahtzee and the Principal Bumblecunts'."
126	** In the end credits for his review of ''VideoGame/MetalHellsinger'' he says ""Rampant Bloodstained Titties" was incidentally the title of my second album".
127	* GoneHorriblyRight: He doesn't like ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' specifically because, in his words, it does its job of terrifying the player ''far too well'', to the point that he considers it less of a game and more of an exercise in horrific masochism to entertain one's Platform/{{YouTube}} subscribers.
128	* GoshDangItToHeck: Whenever he swears in the narration, the animation will replace it with something far more innocuous.
129	** Sometimes inverted--he'll say something (relatively) tactful in the narration, and the animation will unleash what he REALLY thinks.
130	** For instance, in his ''Assassin's Creed'' review, he remarks, "This video review was created by a not particularly multi-cultural person, but who really loves religious extremists a big huggy bunch," where the text displayed reads "''...not particularly multi-cultural person who invites religious extremists to suck out his farts and die.''"
131	** On the flip side in his ''Halo Wars'' review when the units he runs out of time for the mission he was on (And thus the units he was escorting magically disappear when they were right at his front door) he cries out "Bull! Fucking! Shit!" which is displayed on screen by "What arbitrary silliness."
132	** At one point in his ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' review, he calls it "Ride to Heck". Rather odd, given that he generally screws up the names of games he reviews to sound ''more'' profane.
133	* GrammarNazi: In his "Mailbag Showdown" video, while reading out some of the more obnoxious examples of hate mail he received, he corrected them onscreen in the manner of a primary school teacher, coupled with letter grades, giant question marks and "SEE ME" at the bottom. Also, his "Split [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Stroke]] Second Colon Velocity" and "R'''I'''se: [[VideoGame/RyseSonOfRome Son of Rome]]" reviews.
134	* GrandfatherClause: Yahtzee and his reviewing style in ''Zero Punctuation'' are some of the last remnants of the mid-late 2000s internet critic trend of shorter reviews consisting of rapid-fire insults and [[ToiletHumor vulgar comedy]]. Many of the other reviewers who popularized the trend have since moved on or expanded their brand, while the new generation of games critics have gone for a more introspective long-form take. Yahtzee's videos themselves still remain quite popular, with new ones quickly racking in hundreds of thousands of views, even if his style of review itself has largely fallen out of favor.
135	* GuiltyPleasure:
136	** Considering how critical he is of "serious" games, easily calling much of them banal, asinine, or insipid, he loves ''VideoGame/CookingMama'' and ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''. He says that despite all the criticism he gave to ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', he can't stop playing it.
137	** In his Saints Row 4 review, he refers to "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Music/{{Aerosmith}} as "that one Aerosmith song from the ''Film/Armageddon1998'' soundtrack that everyone seems faintly embarrassed to admit is kinda alright."
138	** He also loves to reference Jason Voorhees, stating in his ''VideoGame/UntilDawn'' review that the ''Franchise/FridayThe13th'' films are objectively bad but lots of fun to watch.
139	* [[SugarWiki/GushingAboutShowsYouLike Gushing About Games You Like]]: [[invoked]] He's frequently held up ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' as the gold standard of gaming.
140	-->"If I were Batman, ''Silent Hill 2'' would be my murdered parents if you get what I'm saying."
141	** [=SH2=] is also the game which affected him most personally, as articulated [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-expo/6294-My-Favorite-Game here]] during the ''Escapist'' Expo.
142	--->'''Jim Sterling:''' (Totally needed online multiplayer, though.)\
143	'''Yahtzee:''' Oh, '''fuck you.'''
144	** Sometimes this obsession is double-edged: For his Top 5 of 2012, he compared the difficulty of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' with a 3 A.M. drug-induced fever dream -- which for Yahtzee usually involves an apparition of Dizzy hovering over his bed shrieking, 'YOU KILLED MEEEEE'.
145	** Reared its head again in ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTriad'', along with Yahtzee's apparent [[HeroesLoveDogs dog fancy]].
146	* HaHaHaNo: In the "Hot Coffee" episode, Take 2's reaction to the MoralGuardians demands (which includes never releasing ''VideoGame/{{Bully}}'', refunding all ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAuto'' games, and so on.)
147	** Also in his review of ''VideoGame/{{Vanquish}}'':
148	--->'''Yahtzee:''' ''(after the release of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' on Platform/{{Steam}})'' Why don't you bring out a Steam version of that shooter you made? The one that became a bit of a cult hit and that's now also hard to find?
149	--->'''Creator/PlatinumGames:''' [[ComicallyMissingThePoint What, you mean]] ''VideoGame/AnarchyReigns?''
150	--->'''Yahtzee:''' ''Ha ha ha ha ha ha!'' '''No.'''
151	* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Shows up in the ''VideoGame/DemonsSouls'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1321-Demons-Souls review]] to show that a character loses half its health when dead.
152	* HanlonsRazor: His excuse for the apparent racism on display in ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'':
153	-->"But one really shouldn't worry about this sort of thing unless there's genuine hatred behind it, and I don't get that impression. Capcom aren't bad people, they're just ''idiots!"''
154	* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Yahtzee plays with this trope on several occasions, most notably his ''[[VideoGame/GuitarHero Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/17-Guitar-Hero-III review]], where he very specifically lists several homosexual acts (and one heterosexual act) which he is [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial most certainly not doing]].
155	-->"On the whole though it's just not as good as tonguing another man's balls. I mean... as it used to be. [{{Beat}}] ''I'm not gay''."
156	* HeavyMetalUmlaut: He specifically [[GratuitousGerman pronounces the extraneous umlaut]] in ''VideoGame/BrutalLegend''.
157	-->"I studied German, alright? I refuse to let an umlaut go unpronounced."
158	* HellIsThatNoise: Invoked during his review of ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'':
159	-->"You're gazing up at a big complex state of affairs funneled down and glimpsed through the filter of your tiny little world of passport numbers and hairy ball sacks, the effect of which being that admitting someone that seemed legit and hearing the sound of the obnoxious printer giving me a citation seized my heart more than any number of dead mums."
160	* HelloInsertNameHere: Yahtzee loves to abuse this whenever possible, with such examples as "[[Franchise/MassEffect Titty Shepard]]" to "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Fagballs]]", "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Fuck Me]]", "[[VideoGame/NieR Twattycakes]]" or "[[VideoGame/TabulaRasa Gareth Gobulcoque]]".
161	** Tried "Tiddles" in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' but was slapped down by the game's system of using "JC Denton" as a [[HandWave codename]].
162	--->''"The moment you put in your own name it goes '''"Wrong!''' Your name is JC Denton."''
163	** Also named his Mii "Senor Koqueonfaes" (lampshading the bizarre-looking facial customization options) in the 3DS review.
164	** His review of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask'' brought up that he named Link "Useless" as a quick joke, but it turned out to be an unexpectedly good match with the game's portrayal of Link as an [[FailureHero unlucky, flawed, and put-upon figure]] facing a far greater threat than himself, [[TheGreatestStoryNeverTold whose deeds will never be remembered.]]
165	* HeroesLoveDogs: More likely to praise a game that has dogs in it, or to feel let down when having to play as the humans again. (''Dead to Rights: Retribution, Rise of the Triad, [=CoD=]: Ghosts'')
166	-->'''Developer:''' And we've still got the power-up that turns you into a dog.\
167	'''Yahtzee:''' ''([[{{Squee}} GAAAAASP]])'' With the little doggie nose at the bottom of the screen?♥\
168	'''Developer:''' Yup!\
169	'''Yahtzee:''' And the adorable little paw that comes up when you press buttons?♥\
170	'''Developer:''' Uh, no, we forgot about that.\
171	'''Yahtzee:''' ...........'''[[FelonyMisdemeanor ONE STAR.]]'''
172	* HeroicBSOD: After Yahtzee reviewed ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', it was brought up several times more after that in following ''Zero Punctuation'' videos and Yahtzee's Extra Punctuation column, and the actual review of the game has Yahtzee sounding depressed during it.
173	* HistoryRepeats: Yahtzee tends to be pretty observant on the nature of certain cycling trends throughout games and the gaming industry, for better and for worse.
174	** Yahtzee has noted on more than a few occasions that trends by publishers devoted specifically towards [[RevenueEnhancingDevices maximizing profits and exploiting consumers]] tend to ebb and wane drastically, with capitalist demands for infinite growth always reaching a logical breaking point and crash when audiences cannot keep up and end up rejecting the trends for products they deem actually worth their time. Yahtzee observed this as what caused the MediaNotes/TheGreatVideoGameCrashOf1983 (an oversaturation of mediocre, hashed-out games by countless developers, far more than what audiences wanted anything to do with), the flash of PC multiplayer shooters in the 90's (games like ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament'' and ''VideoGame/QuakeIIIArena'' trying to establish the genre's ubiquity and convincing consumers there was no future in single-player games, only for the late-90's to 2000's to be a goldmine for such experiences), and the glut of [[MassivelyMultiplayerOnlineRolePlayingGame MMOs]] of the 2000's-early 10's (made in an attempt to [[FollowTheLeader replicate the successful format]][[invoked]] of ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'', only to be crushed out of the market). By the early 2020's, Yahtzee also dubbed the "live service" model a dying/dead trend for the same reasons of oversaturation and increased audience antipathy, and that in general, the only games that withstand the tests of time are those that are well-made and reasonably-priced.
175	** He views the whole ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' franchise as representative of a cycle that Creator/{{Capcom}} is stuck in and has looped around a few times now: create a popular landmark title before degenerating into [[{{Sequelitis}} increasingly mediocre sequels]] reliant on [[SequelEscalation "dull-witted escalationism"]] of [[StrictlyFormula the same formula]][[invoked]] ("SurvivalHorror adventure in enclosed, monster-filled environment, find a secret lab and defeat the main baddie after they turn into a giant monster") before resulting in [[SurprisinglyImprovedSequel an unexpected reinvention]] that salvages the series, [[AesopAmnesia only to go back to chasing its own trends]] and [[KudzuPlot overly-bloated mythos]]. Even as he gave praise to ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil7Biohazard'', he already anticipated in his review that Capcom was rapidly going to descend back into its old habits (which he seemingly verified with ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilVillage'', which he found significantly less focused than its immediate predecessor).
176	* HollywoodBoardGames: Creator/BenCroshaw [[ConversedTrope complains]] that having an ActionBasedMission in the climax of a puzzle-solving game like ''VideoGame/LANoire'' is akin to defeating Hitler by beating him at ''Pictionary''. It's just that absurd and that much of a MoodWhiplash.
177	* HostileShowTakeover: In his review of ''VideoGame/HaloWars''... twice.
178	* HumansAreBastards: Yahtzee says he doesn't ordinarily like multiplayer because "...human beings are grabby, entitled, selfish, ugly, stupid, evil cockstoppers..." in his review of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood''.
179	* HumansAreCthulhu: The credits gag for ''VideoGame/HollowKnight''/''VideoGame/DeadCells'' has a cockroach epicly fighting a stag beetle. Then Yatzee uncaringly steps on both of them on his way home from the kebab stand. He only realizes because the roach's nail sword sticks in his shoe.
180	* HumanResources: Thinks the cardboard HumongousMecha in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' are made out of the paper Toads he's been rescuing over the course of the game.
181	* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: Yahtzee makes a concerted effort to get through his review of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' without referencing a certain part of the female anatomy. He ''almost'' makes it.
182	-->"Bosoms, melons, milk factories, busts, funbags, knockers, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 ballistics]], boobies, jugs, nipples, jubblies, ''stonking great tits!"''
183	* HypocrisyNod: Yahtzee has noted his use of HypocriticalHumor more than once in his reviews.
184	** The one time it wasn't used as a joke, in ''[[VideoGame/ZackAndWiki Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure]]'', he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/31-Zack-Wiki acknowledged]] his complaints about lousy adventure games that involved [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos carrying around a ton of items to use in one spot]].
185	** His ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' review has him noting ''Hades'' escapes a few faults inherent to the roguelike genre. The graphics promptly note [[VideoGame/TheConsumingShadow his latest game is one.]]
186	** In his review of ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheBunker'' he lambasts the developers for still using the extremely aged HPL Engine to make their series, before acknowledging in the next sentence that he's been criticizing the AAA industry for their ever-increasing focus on ridiculous graphical quality.
187	* HypocriticalHumor:
188	-->"Fans are clingy complaining dipshits who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. Incidentally, why not buy a ''Zero Punctuation'' t-shirt?"
189	** For a while before the 100th Episode special, ''The Escapist'' used this little stinger at the end of '''all''' ''Zero Punctuation'' shorts to, guess what, advertise ''Zero Punctuation''-related merchandise.
190	** In his ''Duke Nukem Forever'' review he rants about how people should be sacked for not doing their jobs, and the picture shows him being dragged out of his office with a sign saying "job: review actual games that exist" (''Duke Nukem Forever'' had been cancelled at the time the review was made, and would not be rescued from its development hell for over a year).
191	** In his ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' review, he calls out Americans for being uninformed about current events in countries outside the US, only to turn around and say he wasn't aware of the flooding in his own city of Brisbane because he doesn't keep up with current events.
192	** From the end credits for his ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/459-Left-4-Dead review]]: "There is a special circle in Hell 4 people who replace numbers for letters".
193	** He accuses the protagonist of ''Fable 3'' of bestiality due to the weird way he interacts with his dog, when in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2 review]] of ''Fable II'' he complains that if the game was truly open-ended he should be able to marry any NPC he wants, including his dog.
194	** On ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'': "Honestly, who can like a character [[FloatingLimbs whose hands and feet have no visible connection to their torso?]]" Of course, the irony is that Yahtzee's drawing style involves disconnected hands and feet. What makes this even better is how Yahtzee's avatar is then shown walking away from Rayman with [[StylisticSuck crudely drawn lines connecting his hands and feet to his body.]]
195	** From the ''VideoGame/SouthParkTheFracturedButWhole'' review, he mocks the ''South Park'' team for being a bunch of middle-aged people who haven't matured beyond jokes about poop, before snidely remarking that applies to himself.
196	--->"My goodness, my glass house is sparkling delightfully in the morning sun. What a nice day to indulge in my favorite hobby of projectile minerology."
197	** ''Mafia II'''s ending seems to come too soon:
198	---> "The game just sort of cuts out halfway through resolving everyth"-[END CREDITS]

Context ZeroPunctuation / TropesEToH