History SerialEscalation / VideoGames

* Let's look at ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. How many different {{final boss}}es can we have? Before the Halloween Update, three. After, four. As of Wrath of the Lamb, a total of six, with a temporary bugged seventh. As of ''Rebirth'', there are a total of eight final bosses. Mom, Mom's Heart, It Lives, Satan, Isaac, ???, The Lamb, and Mega Satan. Then ''Afterbirth'' adds Ultra Greed to the mix. And [[spoiler:Hush]] isn't technically a final boss, but it way more difficult than the previous bosses, so it might as well be one. ''Afterbirth+'' then adds Ultra Greedier and [[spoiler:Delirium]] who is now the final boss faced after [[spoiler:Hush]] but has a chance to be fought after every other final boss including Mega Satan. Since ''Repentence'' is the final planned official expansion,'''[[spoiler: The Witness]]''' from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth'' will officially be part of the final count, adding the number to at least '''[[spoiler:THIRTEEN]]'''. [[spoiler: The Witness - now renamed Mother is the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''Repentance'', while the TrueFinalBoss is '''DOGMA''' and '''THE BEAST''']].

* ''VideoGame/{{Stellaris}}'' expansions keep introducing bigger and more impressive capital ships for player-controlled civilizations. On release, battleships were the biggest ships a player could build. Later, players were given the ability to build their own Titans, super-heavy artillery ships previously reserved for [[VestigialEmpire Fallen]] [[HighTechSpecies Empires]]. After that came Collossi, weapons of mass destruction whose options include shattering worlds or encasing them in an impenetrable shield. After this came Juggernauts, [[TheBattlestar city-sized, heavily-armed carriers]] with their own ''shipyards'' capable of building ships up to and including battleships. And then Star-Eaters, whose names [[StarKilling describe them precisely]].

** However no game in the franchise got a bigger escalation than ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsX''. The final missions shows [[WesternAnimation/WreckItRalph King Candy/Turbo]] is the strongest villain in Disney history as he got the ridiculous number of 55 '''million''' bars of health. Yeah, that's not a joke. You literally need to deplet 55 million bars to defeat him. Those 10 bars from the main games look ridiculously small now, don't they? Thankfully your medals can also make ridiculous damage so if you have the right setup and really know what you're doing, you can actually [[UpToEleven beat him in one turn]].

** How much more [[ThatOneBoss sadistic]] can the [[BulletHell spell cards]] get? How many more [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters characters]] can be crammed into one FantasyKitchenSink? What kind of EldritchAbomination will our BadassNormal heroines [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu blast out of the sky?]] Can [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the themes]] actually become [[SerialEscalation more awesome?]] And just how many more [[Memes/TouhouProject memes]] can be spawned before the internet utterly consumes itself?! How many more bullets can ZUN stuff into the screen before the game breaks? How many more crack pairings can be made? How much more of image sites like Danbooru can be overrun with Touhou images?

** The final boss of the first Kingdom Hearts was [[spoiler: a magical spaceship.]] With [[spoiler:a giant shirtless man attached to it by tentacles.]]

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' could fill up an entire page all on its own, but it is possible to condense it into a short summary: over 70 characters ''at launch'' (culminating to be 89, filled with over ''a dozen third-party characters''), many of which being long-awaited inclusions (most notably [[Franchise/DonkeyKong King K. Rool]] and [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]], with VideoGame/BanjoKazooie and [[VideoGame/{{Minecraft}} Steve]] as [=DLC=], with none other than [[VideoGame/KingdomHearts Sora]] being the GrandFinale), 100+ stages, a new Adventure Mode, over ''a thousand'' Spirits (which are a composite of Event Matches and Trophies), a much more in-depth Stage Builder, and even more Mii costumes (including the infamous [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans the Skeleton]]).

** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' could fill up an entire page all on its own, but it is possible to condense it into a short summary: over 70 characters ''at launch'' (presumably culminating to be 85, filled with over ''a dozen third-party characters''), many of which being long-awaited inclusions (most notably [[Franchise/DonkeyKong King K. Rool]] and [[Franchise/{{Metroid}} Ridley]], with VideoGame/BanjoKazooie as [=DLC=]), 100+ stages, a new Adventure Mode, over ''a thousand'' Spirits (which are a composite of Event Matches and Trophies), a much more in-depth Stage Builder, and even more Mii costumes (including the infamous [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans the Skeleton]]).
* The Fusions in ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou''. Sure, transversing dimensions is fine, but summoning ''the moon''?
* ''VideoGame/TheSims'' had 7 [[ExpansionPack expansion packs]]. Then ''Sims 2'' came out and got 8 expansions, plus 9 stuff packs. ''Sims 3'' got 11 expansions, 9 stuff packs, and a ton of downloadable content ranging from the mundane (hair and clothing) to the useful (a tablet computer which helps you learn any skill you wish) to the bizarre (a door where you can plead with the Grim Reaper to ressurect a dead family member). ''VideoGame/TheSims4'' is set to top this trope to the point that many gamers are calling EA out on this. How? One stuff or game pack ''every month'', unless there's also an expansion pack release on the month, and so far an expansion pack every 7 months. So far it has had 8 stuff packs[[note]]Life of the Party, Up All Night, Awesome Animal Hats, Holiday Celebration, Luxury Party, Perfect Patio, Cool Kitchen and Spooky)[[/note]], two game packs[[note]]Outdoor Retreat and Spa Day[[/note]] and one expansion pack [[note]]Get to Work[[/note]](with another[[note]]Get Together[[/note]] due in November). And the game has only been out for a little over a year and the packs are still coming strong.

** What kind of death will Bison Survive this time? Getting his soul Obliterated by Akuma for starters. And how awful will his next villainous deed be?

** How much more manly can Zangief get? Pile drive a bear into a tornado? Break a sword with a tiny flex of his muscles perhaps?

** How many updates will Capcom make this time? How will they piss of the fanbase this time?

* ''VideoGame/GeometryDash'': After the original seven official levels, the new levels just kept getting harder and harder until the difficulty of some levels had to be changed and the demon difficulty was introduced. Then the community-made levels came up: Ice Carbon Diablo X, which was once the hardest level in the game, is now considered one of the easiest Extreme Demons (not that there are many levels harder than it, though). Bloodbath, which was also one of the hardest levels in the game, isn't even in the top ten anymore. Sonic Wave, which was considered the hardest level in the game for over a year, got topped by Yatagarasu in 2016 (although Yatagarasu eventually moved to #2) and again by Erebus in 2017. And Erebus is only 1 minute long. Fast forward to 2020...and hoo boy, talk about [[DifficultySpike these sadistic level creators and their list demon children]]. Ice Carbon Diablo X has been all but gone, Bloodbath is no longer one of the 100 hardest demons (and on the verge of dropping out from the 150), and both Sonic Wave and Yatagarasu got kicked out of the 25 hardest demons club. And Erebus? That 1 minute long level which debuted at the top in 2017? It's ''easier'' than Yatagarasu now, and there are two ''harder and just as short'' levels than it; Kowareta was added to the list in August 2019, as the ''5th hardest'', and is just '''48 seconds long.''' Cognition is a bit longer at a minute and 4 seconds, but debuted as the ''3rd hardest'', and has yet to fall out of the top ten as of September 2020. And more new Extreme Demons are vying for the top, such as the 1.9-styled former '''impossible''' level Tartarus, and the insanely oppressive El Dorado remake, The Golden, both of which punched Zodiac, the near-4-minute beast of a Top 1 level, to ''3rd.'' Not to mention many other wannabe demon makers out for blood and that top spot, making ridiculously hard and absolutely crazy levels like Firework, Eternal Night, Spectre, and such, as well as level already in the ''verification'' process, like a ''Sonic Wave remake'' called Sonic Wave '''Infinity'''. Don't believe me? [[https://pointercrate.com/demonlist/ This here is the demonlist.]] Good luck beating [[HarderThanHard anything on that list]].

** ''Investigations 2''[='=]s final boss is an absolute SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome. [[spoiler:The one who's been pulling the strings behind the game? ''The animal-taming clown at the local circus who you defended earlier.'' The location of the final battle? ''The circus itself.'' Oh, and the VillainousBreakdown? '''SAID ANIMAL-TAMING CLOWN AT THE CIRCUS GOES INTO A CALM {{MOTIVE RANT}}, AND THEN HIS ANIMAL FRIENDS TURN ON HIM AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM. HE GETS PUNCHED BY A FREAKING BEAR/LION/THING.''' That's not even mentioning the ''other'' {{Villainous Breakdown}}s...]]

** ''VideOGame/GodOfWarIII'' goes even ''further''. The first boss fight is frikken '''Poseidon''' who takes the form of a massive water/horse/''thing'' while you are riding ''Gaia''. After cracking open the chest of Poseidon you are thrown ''into'' it and come out the other side with a human sized Poseidon and then you get to beat the shit out of him from '''his perspective'''. And when he finally dies a ''tsunami'' erupts from his corpse and drowns everything but Olympus.

*** X had a whole arena of [[BonusBoss bonus bosses]], many with HP totals higher than Omega Weapon, but the strongest was Nemesis, who had ten million HP but even he was weaker then non-arena superboss Penance who had '''twelve million HP''' a well as '''independantly acting arms each with half a million'''. XII was even worse with Yiazmat who has over '''fifty million HP''', can '''trick you into restoring all of it,''' doubles its stats and halves the damage cap of damage dealt to it when it nears death, and can combo for over a hundred thousand HP. XIII was seemingly a step back, with the superboss having 15 million HP, but considering the damage cap being higher, they had to raise it's strength ''[[UpToEleven through the roof.]]''

* ''VideoGame/{{Paraworld}}'' has one one of the most awesome weapons of all time. It's an Anklyosaurus, with a catapult strapped to its back, that fires ''[[AbnormalAmmo Velociraptors]]''.

* VideoGame/DukeNukemForever:
** How much longer can we delay the game?
** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XsnH_994Jo How far]] will the developers take RefugeInAudacity?
** How much longer can the [[LoadsAndLoadsOfLoading load times]] get?
* How insane can we make the Shadow bosses of ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}}''? In order of appearance, Yosuke's is a frog-thing with a ninja grafted onto it's back, Chie's is a dominatrix banana-head that sits on top of a tower of schoolgirls, Yukiko's is a firy bird that can summon an evil price doll, the less said about Kanji's shadow the better, Rise's is a satellite-faced swirly-colored stripper, Teddie's is just downright frightening, and Mitsuo's is a floating baby with an eight-bit character for a shield.
* What ridiculous plan are the minions of darkness going to concoct to bring [[Franchise/{{Castlevania}} Dracula]] BackFromTheDead this time? How much hammier can the voice acting get? How much bigger can the weapons get? What new attacking system can we add this time? How much better can the soundtrack get?

* ''VideoGame/KillerInstinct'' has this as a ''gameplay mechanic''. Any combo starting from the meager 3-hit Triple Combo gets a more badass sounding name and an [[LargeHam equally enthusiastic performance]] from the announcer, until he goes absolutely ballistic when you pull an '''ULTRAAAAAAAA COMBOOOOOOOO!!'''. The Ultra Combos themselves are subjects to this: they can go anywhere from some 20 hits up to ''80 hits''! [[ShockingMoments Shocking Moment]] barely describes it.

* ''VideoGame/TotalAnnihilation'' and it's [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Successors]]. ''Total Annihilation'' featured massive battles in large but still cramp maps where [[{{BFG}} giant artillery guns]] and [[SlapOnTheWristNuke nukes]] can pummel hordes of enemies from clear across the map. Then came ''VideoGame/SupremeCommander'', which featured '''MILES WIDE''' maps where even more impressive and chaotic battles between even larger armies are fought in. And now the upcoming game, ''VideoGame/PlanetaryAnnihilation'', tops this by having said battles taken on a '''[[InSpace GALATIC SCALE]]''', where battles are now fought between dozens of planets in real time! Its safe to say that future [[SpiritualSuccessor Spiritual Successors]] will undoubtedly top this by having the battles fought between ''universes'', or ''even dimensions''!

** What kind of death will Bison Survive this time? Getting his soul Obliterated by Akuma for starters. Also how will he cross the moral event horizon this time?

** How many updates will Capcom make this time? How will they piss of the fanbase this time?
** What kind of overpowered foe will Ryu take down today and yet still not be satisfied? A demon? A planet eater? An actual god like entity?

* ''VideoGame/DragonQuest'': Downplayed. ''VideoGame/DragonQuestII'''s game world was often touted as being "four times as large" as ''VideoGame/DragonQuestI'' and as including the all of the first map as a mere "part" of the bigger overworld... but this was achieved by shrinking Alefgard's landmass and removing most of its content. Only Tantegel, Charlock, and the South Rimuldar Temple can be visited[[note]]well, okay, you ''can'' also visit the Rimuldar Tunnel, but it's the saddest, most pointless little cave in the whole game[[/note]], and the Alefgard landmass itself is less than half the size it used to be. In real terms, the game ''is'' bigger than ''[=DQI=]'', but not four times - it's not even twice the size, and is still one of the shorter ''DQ'' games.

* ''VisualNovel/UminekoWhenTheyCry''. How badass can Battler get? [[spoiler: Badass enough to solve the mystery of Rokkenjima and then totally bring Erika to tears by rubbing it in her face and completely tearing apart her pro-mystery solution.]] How cruelly can Beatrice kill people? [[spoiler: Try slicing open their bodies and stuffing candy into their stomachs, then arranging them around a Halloween feast. And let the innards ooze onto the carpet and mix with the jam that also spilled out of their stomach.]] How many new magical characters will get introduced to make Battler reconsider his anti-fantasy approach? [[spoiler: He hasn't yet. But there's a whole lot of them, take my word for it.]] How convoluted can the mystery get? How bizarre can the magic scenes become? How ''awesome'' can the music be?

* ''StarWars: VideoGame/TheForceUnleashed'': How much more EXTREME can the uses of the Force get? How much more [[VideogameCrueltyPotential severely]] can you [[ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill overkill]] the next enemy? How much more severely can you kill the next group of enemies? What's the largest group of enemies you can overkill severely before you feel even an iota of remorse? Oh, but it is further in the sequel novelisation. HE TELEKINETICALLY BLOWS UP A CRUISER.

* ''Franchise/DeadRising'' is a series that strives for a bigger arsenal of weapons each game. In [[VideoGame/DeadRising the first game]], you could use nearly everything found in the mall (including [[JokeItem useless objects that are only good for a laugh]]) as an ImprovisedWeapon. ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'' allows you to combine objects (even the more useless ones) and turn them into lethal combo weapons. ''2'' also has a slightly bigger map than the first game. ''[[VideoGame/DeadRising3 3]]'' adds more combo weapons (some being upgraded versions of pre-existing ones) and introduces destructive combo ''vehicles'', which are a neccesity for traversing the ''huge'' map. ''VideoGame/DeadRising4'' dials back on the amount of combo weapons and map size, but makes up for it by introducing PoweredArmor that can be equipped with different loadouts.

* Let's look at ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. How many different {{final boss}}es can we have? Before the Halloween Update, three. After, four. As of Wrath of the Lamb, a total of six, with a temporary bugged seventh. As of ''Rebirth'', there are a total of eight final bosses. Mom, Mom's Heart, It Lives, Satan, Isaac, ???, The Lamb, and Mega Satan.
** Then ''Afterbirth'' adds Ultra Greed to the mix. And [[spoiler:Hush]] isn't technically a final boss, but it way more difficult than the previous bosses, so it might as well be one.
** ''Afterbirth+'' then adds Ultra Greedier and [[spoiler:Delirium]] who is now the final boss faced after [[spoiler:Hush]] but has a chance to be fought after every other final boss including Mega Satan.
** Since ''Repentence'' will be the final planned official expansion,'''[[spoiler: The Witness]]''' from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth'' will officially be part of the final count, adding the number to at least '''[[spoiler:THIRTEEN]]'''. [[spoiler: The Witness - now renamed Mother is the DiscOneFinalBoss of ''Repentance'', while the TrueFinalBoss is '''DOGMA''' and '''THE BEAST''']].

Note: have in mind these should refer to plot or theme elements. For Gameplay mechanics which outdates the old ones see PowerCreep.

** ''Investigations 2''[='=]s final boss is CrazyAwesome. [[spoiler:The one who's been pulling the strings behind the game? ''The animal-taming clown at the local circus who you defended earlier.'' The location of the final battle? ''The circus itself.'' Oh, and the VillainousBreakdown? '''SAID ANIMAL-TAMING CLOWN AT THE CIRCUS GOES INTO A CALM {{MOTIVE RANT}}, AND THEN HIS ANIMAL FRIENDS TURN ON HIM AND BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF HIM. HE GETS PUNCHED BY A FREAKING BEAR/LION/THING.''' That's not even mentioning the ''other'' {{Villainous Breakdown}}s...]]

* The only thing that matches the [[CrazyAwesome cunning]] of ''VideoGame/DwarfFortress'' players is their [[{{Pride}} hubris]]. Defeating the [[TheLegionsOfHell unspeakable demons]] spawned from glowing pits in previous released had become mundane, and the most ruthless and terrifying entity in VideoGame/DwarfFortress [[VideoGameCrueltyPotential were its players]]. So the [=DF2010=] release decided to up the ante. [[spoiler:If you [[DugTooDeep dig too deep]], you will arrive in ''[[PhysicalHell Hell itself]]''. Then you will be {{Zerg Rush}}ed by ''hordes'' of demons, who are more than a match for an ordinary army of dwarves ''individually'', and do not suffer from ConservationOfNinjutsu; in fact, since a lot of them [[BlobMonster have no organs]] they can only die by being [[HalfTheManHeUsedToBe snapped in half]] and some have a single-part body and are evidently ''functionally immortal''.]] After several months, [[LordBritishPostulate this challenge has proven insufficient]]; several enterprising players have conquered it and ''claimed [[spoiler:Hell itself]] as their new home'', eagerly awaiting the next iteration of "Hidden Fun Stuff".

* ''VideoGame/{{Prototype}}'' takes itself [[CrazyAwesome so over the top]] that it never so much as ''considers'' stopping at UpToEleven. The plot is as follows: [[PersonOfMassDestruction Alex]] [[ImAHumanitarian Mercer]] is sent into an UnstoppableRage over being infected with [[TheVirus a virus]], causing him to go on a RoaringRampageOfRevenge against an [[SemperFi entire fucking army]] that's backed by ''another'' [[ArmiesAreEvil entire fucking army]] (this one comprised entirely of [[PsychoForHire psychos for hire]]), plus a goddamned ZombieApocalypse and a BigBad [[spoiler:that goes OneWingedAngel on him]], and he ''[[OneManArmy kicks the shit out of them all]]''. ''By himself''.''The whole game'' is a SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome.

* ''[[VideoGame/CommandAndConquer Red Alert]]'' series, of course. How [[AllTheoriesAreTrue implausible]] [[AlienSpaceBats and convoluted]] can AlternateHistory get? How [[CrazyAwesome utterly]] [[SchizoTech batshit insane]] can SovietSuperscience get? How more [[LargeHam over-the-top]] can acting get before [[RealityBreakingParadox collapsing into some sort of Ham Singularity]]? ''[[ShockAndAwe Just]] [[TeleportersAndTransporters how]] [[FlyingSaucer much]] [[MindControl more]] [[BearsAreBadNews ridiculous]] [[MilitaryMashupMachine can]] [[HumongousMecha units]] [[IfItSwimsItFlies get]]?!''

* ''VideoGame/SplitSecond'': How many more things can you blow up in a single race? How big can the objects involved be? Jumbo jets? Cruise ships? Nuclear reactor cooling towers? ''An entire dam''? How fast can you drive while dodging a helicopter's missiles? How close behind the truck dropping ExplodingBarrels can you drive?

* Creator/Crytek keeps doing this with their games' graphics. First came ''VideoGame/FarCry'', which could only be maxed out by a perfectly top-of-the-line rig, and even now is beyond many stock computers. Then ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}'', which was designed so that it couldn't be run on max on any existing computer. It literally couldn't be run on anything that existed. Currently, it can be done, but it needs seriously powerful components. Surprisingly, Crysis 2 was actually pretty reasonable on launch due to being [[UsefulNotes/PCVsConsole optimised for Consoles]]. Then they released the [=DX11=] & Hi-Rez Texture Pack for the PC version and unless you've got at least a ''pair'' of cutting edge graphics cards, you'll be playing a slideshow.

* Let's look at ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaac''. How many different {{final boss}}es can we have? Before the Halloween Update, three. After, four. As of Wrath of the Lamb, a total of six, with a temporary bugged seventh. As of ''Rebirth'', there are a total of eight final bosses. Mom, Mom's Heart, It Lives, Satan, Isaac, ???, The Lamb, and Mega Satan.
** Then ''Afterbirth'' adds Ultra Greed to the mix. And [[spoiler:Hush]] isn't technically a final boss, but it way more difficult than the previous bosses, so it might as well be one.
** ''Afterbirth+'' then adds Ultra Greedier and [[spoiler:Delirium]] who is now the final boss faced after [[spoiler:Hush]] but has a chance to be fought after every other final boss including Mega Satan.
** Since ''Repentence'' will be the final planned official expansion,'''[[spoiler: The Witness]]''' from ''VideoGame/TheBindingOfIsaacAntibirth'' will officially be part of the final count, adding the number to at least '''[[spoiler:THIRTEEN]]'''.

** The plots have gotten a lot bigger. You've gone from taking down a mafia to saving the entire universe... then ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon'' have you saving MULTIPLE universes.

* ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' is already an offbeat game, featuring an OccidentalOtaku with a [[LaserBlade Beam Katana]] fighting a wide range of colorful assassins, including (but not limited to) a private detective with a revolver, an African-American school girl with a [[KatanasAreJustBetter katana]], a homicidal HenshinHero, and a cranky old lady with a WaveMotionGun concealed in a shopping cart. The sequel, ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes2DesperateStruggle'', outdoes itself with more assassins to fight that are even more outlandish, such as a rapper whose boombox turns into armored gauntlets, a college football star piloting a HumongousMecha (which you fight with a mecha of your own), a slasher villain with a combination axe[=/=]flamethrower, and a Russian cosmonaut with a KillSat. The spin-off ''VideoGame/TravisStrikesAgainNoMoreHeroes'' introduces the zany premise of [[TrappedInTVLand fighting your way through video games]], allowing for even more outrages boss fights, while ''No More Heroes III'' cranks the weirdness UpToEleven by having the player fight not assassins, but ''[[NinjaPirateZombieRobot fugitive alien superheroes]]''!

* ''VideoGame/{{Touhou}}'':
** How much more [[ThatOneBoss sadistic]] can the [[BulletHell spell cards]] get? How many more [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters characters]] can be crammed into one FantasyKitchenSink? What kind of EldritchAbomination will our BadassNormal heroines [[DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu blast out of the sky?]] Can [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic the themes]] actually become [[SerialEscalation more awesome?]] And just how many more [[Memes/{{Touhou}} memes]] can be spawned before the internet utterly consumes itself?! How many more bullets can ZUN stuff into the screen before the game breaks? How many more crack pairings can be made? How much more of image sites like Danbooru can be overrun with Touhou images?