History Main / CatharsisFactor

* ''{{Bayonetta}}'' is so over-the-top and ridiculous, that it's just beautiful. It also has probably the deepest and most satisfying combat ever in a 3D Hack-n-slash though [[YourMileageMayVary YMMV]]. The character Bayonetta, is also [[FanService nice to look at]].

* In the original ''{{Unreal}} Tournament'' there were a lot of ways to blow off steam by blowing off heads, but the best by far were:

** Unreal Tournament 2004 + Conduit + Vampire + Super Berserk + Slow Motion Corpses = Your very own [[TheMatrix Matrix]]/[[ThreeHundred 300]] cutscene.

** In ''MassEffect2'' shooting some guy wearing armor in the head with a sniper round makes a ''plink'' sound and it is so satisfying.

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<<|SubjectiveTropes|>>
<<|VideoGameTropes|>>

* The ''ValkyrieProfile'' series, with its ability to let you beat the enemies with a ridiculous amount of overkill. It is ''extremely'' satisfying to finish off a boss, or even a mook, with a [[ComboAttack chain of]] four [[LimitBreak Soul Crushes]]. ''ValkyrieProfileCovenantOfThePlume'' actually encourages you to beat already-dead enemies relentlessly to get better items.

* ''[[TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction]]'' is sometimes called ''{{Prototype}}''s predecessor. There is nothing quite as satisfying as cruising around the city on a skateboard you made out of a bus, or the fact you can use a lamppost to work on your golf swing, using people as the balls! Sadly, if you advance the story enough, the game starts to punish you with DemonicSpiders for your wanton destruction.

* ''{{Bioshock}}''. Fort Frolic. [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Waltz of the Flowers.]]
[[CrowningMomentOfAwesome You know what I mean!]]

* "Starcraft". Loading up a game online against one of your noob friends or an easy computer and utterly demolishing them with a "Zerg Rush". Good times.
* Dominions 3. Effortlessly crushing AI enemies despite crippling cheater advantages because you know the magic system and they don't never gets old.

* DROD, the most action packed puzzle game in existence. Slaughtering hordes of overgrown roaches, hunting down goblin after goblin, or meticulously cutting apart a gelatinous monster, all while outsmarting the room layout. Blood, guts, and the satisfaction of hard earned victory.

* Ratchet&Clank, but Up Your Arsenal and the Tools of Destruction trilogy in particular. Eswpecially with New Game Plus.

* ''Flatout2'', Simcade (Sim-arcade?) which provides a number of highly satisfying ways to run into other cars (or make them run into pre-rendered or ungodly heavy scenery crap). Available modes are Race (heavily-themed courses with a large amount of scenery to demolish at very high speed), Event (smaller track, usually designed for extra speed or with a calculated chance for collisions), Demolition Derby {{ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin}}, or Stunt (use a jetcar to get up to speed and then launch the driver through the windshield for things like High Jump, Darts, etc). When in a suitable mood for completely wanton devastation, the {{WreakingHavok}} that this game provides is highly enjoyable.

->"Now the first ModernWarfare by the same token, appeared to have been made with more than just a slightest nod in the direction of the Military-FPS genre's "angreyier fans." Particuarlly the ones who felt the constant focus on boring old WWII, ment there weren't enough ''desert-dwelling brown'' people to shoot, thus making it that much harder for them to use the game as their personal 9-11 revenge simulators."

* ''[[TheIncredibleHulkUltimateDestruction The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction]]'' is sometimes called ''{{Prototype}}''s predecessor. There is nothing quite as relaxing as cruising around the city on a skateboard you made out of a bus, or the fact you can use a lamppost and work on your golf swing, using people as the balls! Sadly, if you advance the story enough, the game starts to punish you with DemonicSpiders for your wanton destruction.

* ''{{Postal}} 2''. [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential So very much]]. Especially with the [[LudicrousGibs AWP mod]]. And ''ESPECIALLY'' with [[BeyondTheImpossible AWP and the extra weapon mods]].

** Where's the imagination in that? Use the create-a-wrestler feature to make pretty much anyone you can't stand, give them a pathetically wimpy moveset, and go to town on them by unloading finisher after finisher, letting go of pinfalls just before the 3 count, and holding submissions locks until just before the tapout until you feel all better. Wrestling games can be teriffic stress relievers.

* ''{{Bioshock}}''. Fort Frolic. [[CrowningMusicOfAwesome Waltz of the Flowers.]] [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome You know what I mean!]]

* ''AssassinsCreed II'', especially during the Carneval in Venice. Randomly shoot your gun off in the middle of a crowded square, poison a passing soldier and toss coins at his feet and watch as the poisoned guard starts swinging his sword around tossing guards and civilians alike into the canal, use people as fall cushions after a nice session of LeParkour and punch the shit out of those f*** ing bards. SoYeah, there's a lot to do in Renaissance Italy.

This trope is [[SubjectiveTrope subjective]]. Stress relief for one gamer can be frustration for another. And even on things that people agree are calming, a 6 on one scale (1 - 10, 10 being the highest) can rate 37 on someone else's.

The existence of this effect, with both videogames and other media, is sometimes cited by opponents of banning pornography and violent video games.

* Nobody's mentioned MortalKombat and its [[FinishingMove Fatalities]], yet? Reducing a particularly hatable character into small, bloody chunks can be quite cathartic after a long day.
** Same sorta thing for SamuraiShodown and GuiltyGear with their finishers. Hell, the former has a Rage System, just perfect for letting off steam.
** Especially great in MK: Armageddon in which the player gets to improvise a fatality, and is therefore allowed to commit [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential all sorts of atrocities]] on their enemy before finishing them off. It allowed me to fulfill the very long fantasy of mine of ripping Goro's arms off and bludgeoning him to death with them.