Dave.EXE
is a 2020 stealth action horror game by
Dave Microwaves Games. The plot revolves around Dave, depicted as a human with a microwave for a head, under the employ of Berry, a large pink bear, to save the universe. This is achieved by traveling through timelines and collecting soda, while avoiding monsters. The game's main antagonist is Edgy Dave, a black-and-red demonic version of Dave. It should be noted the game is still in development and being actively updated.
This game includes examples of:
- Abandoned Laboratory:
- This is the central theme of the Doom Facility level from the Bear County world, a laboratory testing human dreams that served as Elisabeth's prison for quite a while.
- This is also revealed to be the Craft Box once Dave reaches the upper levels. A place where Dr. Gerbert studied the effects of molten edge, though it was abandoned when his test subjectnote Your Friend broke loose and killed everyone but Gerbert.
- Affectionate Parody: This game serves as one to Dead by Daylight, largely due to Dave's love-hate relationship with said game. One of the
Working Titles was "Dave By Daylight", which was rejected for being too on the nose. Humourously, Dave's encyclopedia page claims he dislikes Dead By Daylight. - Anti-Frustration Features:
- The Troll Toll event requires you to pay 100 schmeckles to unlock the exit. Thankfully, the event also raises the number of naturally spawning schmeckles to 100 as well.
- When being chased by Slumbus, the Box of Eternal Silence will gain a glowing green x-ray, allowing the player to easily find it.
- When Hanako wakes up, her apple will gain a bright green X-ray, allowing the player to easily find it. Upon picking it up, the shrine the apple goes to gains this same effect.
- Anti-Rage Quitting: If you quit a round from the pause menu, 100 schmeckles will be subtracted from your total.
- Brainwashed and Crazy: Beans is only a killer because he wears a edge helmet that forces him into aggression. He'll even plea for Dave to run away before losing control of himself.
- Collector of the Strange: Besides the coloured Berry schmeckles, the main objective in every level is to collect cans of soda from vending machines.
- The Computer Is a Lying Bastard:
- Ol' Grizzlelips's encyclopedia contains more than a few tidbits of incorrect information, such as saying Dave can't hide from Grubblernote You can only not hide during him finding you, but hiding is what you need to do once he has or that the way to avoid Lumi's wrath is to stay quietnote While noise can provoke her, Lumi isn't blind.
- Upon grabbing the Boxy, you'll be instructed to escape. Despite this, you still can't leave if you don't have all the soda.
- Gatekeeper Berry's introduction has him say he'll charge you a revival fee if you die, even though said feature has been removed and Death Is a Slap on the Wrist.
- Concealment Equals Cover: Mr. Tea is the only projectile-firing character to avert this, while Dave can hide behind walls, rubbish bins, and tables for everyone else to block their bullets.
- Detect Evil: When Edgy Dave spawns after taking too long on a level, you'll be alerted with a text box at the top that says "EDGINESS DETECTED" and an alarm audio cue.
- Developer's Foresight:
- Evil Doppelgänger: Edgy Dave, a red and demonic version of regular Dave, serves as the game's Big Bad.
- Evil vs. Evil: Implied to have happened offscreen. Principal of the Thing cares very much about the schoolhouse and wouldn't let it be overtaken, and when you arrive you'll find that the Principal is dead and Edgy Dave has completely conquered said school.
- Gameplay and Story Segregation:
- Plenty of killers aren't allied with Edgy Dave and are said to just kill whoever they see. None of them attack Gatekeeper Berry, Edgy Dave, or any other killers that show up in the Double Trouble event.
- These killers also have Edgy variants as well, despite Edgy clones being direct minions of Edgy Dave only.
- Despite Beans being Brainwashed and Crazy, Edgy Beans exists, and inexplicably acts identically to his regular counterpart.
- Lumi chases Dave while crawling on the floor. Despite this, she can't use crawl spaces and needs to go around the wall if Dave uses one.
- Government Agency of Fiction: One of the killers is a member of the YFA (You're Fucked Agency), a government branch of mercenaries that hunt down tax evaders.
- Hero Antagonist: The YFA (You're Fucked Agency) member is one of the game's killers, though they're not villains so much as incredibly disproportionate cops.
- Hilariously Abusive Childhood: One of the game's side characters is Momma Bear, who tasks you to save her baby, Baby Bear, from a level and return him to her. When you collect the kid, you CAN return him to his mother, but you can also take him to the crafting station and craft it into resources. You'll even hear the baby screaming if you press yes to confirm your choice.
- Hit Points: You can take a single hit to spare, with the next attack killing you. If you want, you may buy a temporary third health point.
- Intercontinuity Crossover: There is a map and killer based on Baldi's Basics.
- Interface Screw: If CockEye hits you once, your screen changes. All fog and light disappears, everything turns black, and everything is rimmed with green. This can be both a blessing in farther vision, and a curse in that you can no longer use their glow to find vending machines.
- The Mall: The central theme of the Fall Mall level from the Bear County world, a two-floored shopping mall with glowing lights and several stores to duck into.
- Man on Fire: One of Edgy Dave's abilities has him deploy a flamethrower. Getting hit by it will result in Dave dying if he doesn't put it out in time.
- Metropolis Level: The Winky Wonky City world has the theme of a neon cityscape. All four maps take place within its grounds, with a removed map having taken place on its rooftops.
- Mind-Control Device: In the Baldi's Schoolhouse update, the map was added, with Edgy Dave having installed mind control collars on everyone, and put a special mind controlling bulb helmet on Beans.
- My Little Panzer: One of the items you can get is the Frenzy Fidget, a fidget spinner with knives attached. Dave uses it like a shuriken.
- The Multiverse: Almost all the killers come from vastly different worlds.
- Bunky is a member of the Unky species, originating from Dave.
- Beans is from Baldi's Basics, by Mystman.
- The platypuses are all reminiscent of Perry/Agent P.
- Randy is a character by Padre Snowmizzle.
- Lanky Lonky and Lonky Lanky are both characters originating from MicroHorrorArcade.
- CockEye is a sentient computer virus of sorts that also comes from Dave's previous works.
- Mythology Gag: The Cursed Crew's speeds perfectly mirror the speeds of the player characters from previous game Around the Clock at Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob/Bucko is the fastest, Squidward/Squood is the second fastest, and Patrick/Paddy is the slowest.
- Our Clones Are Identical: There are thousands of Daves, all identical in body and mind. Edgy Dave has murdered hundreds of them.
- Percussive Maintenance: Dave will bang on red vending machines when they malfunction.
- Port Town: The Fish Guts Village map from the Splintered Islands follows this trend, being a small group of homes atop a dock in the middle of the sea. Fishing and boating equipment litter every corner of the boardwalk.
- Random Event: At the start of a round or during quests, some random events may activate. These include but are not limited to:
- Auto Edge: Edgy Dave will spawn immediately.
- Double Trouble: Two killers will spawn instead of one. It might even spawn two of the same killer.
- Zombie Apocalypse: A handful of Zombie Daves will appear as minor threats. They have no special gimmick but are large in number.
- Recycled Soundtrack: Beans's nearby theme is a pitched down version of his chase theme, which itself is a remix of a Spontaneous Bootay's boss theme from South Park: The Fractured but Whole.
- Saving the World: The main objective of the game.
- Self-Deprecation: Dave's encyclopedia page claims he dislikes Around the Clock at Bikini Bottom, an actual game Dave made and ended up growing a very unsoft spot for.
- Self-Insert: Dave is the main protagonist and player character in the game.
- Shout-Out:
- Slippy-Slidey Ice World: The Moonlit Mountains world has the theme of a dark, snowy environment. All four maps are either snowy forests or winter lodges.
- Stalked by the Bell: Taking too long on any level will cause Edgy Dave to come and try to kill you himself.
- Storming the Castle: One of the Winky Wonky City maps is Edgy Dave's Penthouse, an elaborate studio apartment complete with modern fixtures, two stories, and a balcony with a pool. Strangely, it's treated as any other map despite being the home base of the Big Bad.
- Suspiciously Specific Denial:
- Upon being asked who he is, Gatekeeper Berry stammers out repeatedly that he's just a generic Berry and that there's nothing special about him.
- In one of his propaganda lines, Edgy Dave promotes his Chicken Eggy food product. He repeatedly denies that consuming it will give you rashes.
- Talking Animal: Berry is a large anthropomorphic pink bear. He's your main ally in the game.
- Time Bomb: The "Oh Nuts, A Bomb!" will cause Dave to spawn with an active time bomb strapped to his head. Failure to reach the wire cutters in time results in death.
- Timed Mission: The Brink of Ruin event causes a giant Edgy Dave head to slowly fall to the earth, prompting a game over if you're too slow.
- Video Game Settings: Each world in the game follows a basic theme. Platypus Pines is The Lost Woods, the Fork Factory is the Urban Ruins, Winky Wonky City is the Metropolis Level, Super Schoolhouse is the School Setting Simulation, Dracula's Castle is the Haunted Castle, and Moonlit Mountains is the Slippy-Slidey Ice World.
- The Western: One of the challenge rounds features three killers at once; Cowboy-hatted Randy, YFA, and Duck. These Western counterparts play much the same as their ordinary counterparts, but move faster and have slightly different dialogue.
- You No Take Candle: If you die to Dave's Demotivation, the Game Over screen will say you "raged quit".
- Zombie Apocalypse: One of the random events has a handful of Zombie Daves spawn as hostile enemies.
