History VideoGame / BinaryDomain

''Binary Domain'' is a squad-based third-person shooter for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/Xbox360, and PC. It is the brain child of Creator/ToshihiroNagoshi, also known as the creator of the love letter to violence and gangster drama (and SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'') that is the ''VideoGame/LikeADragon'' series. It was developed under the newly-formed Creator/RyuGaGotokuStudio, and published by Creator/{{Sega}}.

''Binary Domain'' is a squad-based third-person shooter for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/Xbox360, and PC. It is the brain child of Creator/ToshihiroNagoshi, also known as the creator of the love letter to violence and gangster drama (and SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'') that is the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series. It was developed under the newly-formed Creator/RyuGaGotokuStudio, and published by Creator/{{Sega}}.

* GuestFighter: The Japanese version of the game features [[VideoGame/{{Yakuza}} Kazuma Kiryu, Shun Akiyama, Goro Majima and Ryuji Goda]] as DLC skins for the multiplayer component.

Daisuke Sato, one of the producers involved, mentioned in a July 2018 interview with Gameblog.fr that he's interested in a sequel, but it would be up to Sega if it's worth investing in.

''Binary Domain'' is a squad-based third-person shooter for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/Xbox360, and PC. It is the brain child of Creator/ToshihiroNagoshi, also known as the creator of the love letter to violence and gangster drama (and SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'') that is the ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}'' series. It was developed under the newly-formed Ryu Ga Gotoku Studio, and published by Creator/{{Sega}}.

** [[spoiler:The Amada A.I. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard did rebel and kill Amada]], but it was in justified self-defense: Amada catalyzed self-awareness into him by instilling in him ''pain and fear'' until he developed sentience. [[WhatAnIdiot Amada really, REALLY asked to get rubbed out]]. While the Amada A.I. does develop a pretty ruthless personality, it's not out of malice, but a desire for survival and to become more of a living being]].

* FiveManBand
** TheHero: Dan. He was ''supposed'' to be TheLancer, since he's second-in-command, but, well, yeah.
** TheLancer: Charlie - who's the ranking officer in Rust Crew and officially in command - and later Shindo.
** TheSmartGuy: Cain.
** TheBigGuy: Shared by Big Bo and Rachel.
** TheChick: Faye.
** TheSixthRanger: [[spoiler:Kurosawa]].

[[quoteright:349:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/binary_domain_coverart_good_quality.png]]

** The Grand Lancers are stated to have armor so strong, infantry small arms can't hurt them; Dan needs a rocket launcher to strip their armor away before his rifle can do any damage.

-->'''[[spoiler: Faye]]''': "This feels like life, Charlie. Who are you to say that it isn't?"

'''''Binary Domain''''' is a squad-based third-person shooter for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3, UsefulNotes/XBox360, and PC. It is the brain child of Toshihiro Nagoshi, also known as the creator of the love letter to violence and gangster drama (and SpiritualSuccessor to ''VideoGame/{{Shenmue}}'') that is the ''Videogame/{{Yakuza}}'' series. It was developed under the newly formed Yakuza Studios, and published by Creator/{{SEGA}}.

Daisuke Sato, one of the producers involved, mentioned in a July 2018 interview with Gameblog.fr that he's interested in a sequel, but it would be up to SEGA if it's worth investing in.

[[quoteright:348:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/oie_15218403eCYgyZp_2305.png]]
[[caption-width-right:348:[[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything Doesn't this remind you of a particular movie made by James Cameron?]]]]

The game is also a love letter to classic, old school {{Cyberpunk}}, with pretty much every trope out of the cyberpunk writer's manual on display, and loads of [[ShoutOut shout-outs]][=/=]{{homage}}s to classic cyberpunk works. Just the amount of tropes related to {{robot}}s is staggering.

* GoldenEnding: [[spoiler: For all 6 members of Beetle Team to survive the game, you need to have Very High trust with ''every recruitable character'', including [[GuestStarPartyMember Guest Star Party Members]] Shindo and Kurosawa. Conversely, the worst ending plays out mostly the same, except only Dan, Faye, and Charlie survive.]]

* GuideDangIt: Getting everyone's relationship values maximized to reach the GoldenEnding requires some precise maneuvering. You have two GuestStarPartyMembers who are with you for a very limited time, so you need to prioritize those while you can. Some good strategies to raise the values are counter-intuitive: Since gaining kills yourself with others present and reviving downed team members improves their opinion of you, it actually is beneficial to keep them as ineffective in combat as possible.

* MechanicalMonster: The step up from a MechaMook, and they get QUITE monstrous.

* AKA47: Most of the ingame weapons are expies of existing, present day weapons; as an example, Dan's assault rifle is modeled off the Bushmaster ACR assault rifle.
** Some of them also combine features of two or more existing weapons.
* AmericaSavesTheDay: The main hero, Dan, is ''violently'' American. Surprising in that it's a Japanese-developed game, so you'd think the hero would have been Japanese... but Japan is pretty much the bad guy in the game. Go fig.

* WhatMeasureIsANonHuman: Played with in myriad ways. The main characters gleefully cut a swath of destruction through thousands of robots, yet they have a robot in their team (Cain) and through the game come to trust him as a valued teammate. Also, Hollow Children truly believe themselves human, which makes some people hesitate to destroy them. [[spoiler:Hollow Children's offspring are an even more complicated matter entirely.]]

* OneHundredAndEight: [[spoiler:There are 108 Hybrids out in the world, with Faye being the 108th.]]

* BlackBestFriend: Big Bo, obviously.

** The shotgun is also powerful, but has pathetic range, and similarly embarrassing ammo reserves.

* AttackItsWeakPoint: Boss robots inevitably have one.

* BoomHeadshot: The game actually encourages it by giving you extra credits for doing so. There's another benefit, see CranialProcessingUnit.

* ByTheBookCop: Kurosawa.
** [[spoiler:CowboyCop: Once he realizes that his own government is condoning crime right in front of the public's nose, Kurosawa doesn't hesitate in disobeying orders. It helps that he had the Constable along to suggest that the order to stand down was 'lost to interference.']]

* ChainmailBikini: Gloriously averted. Rachel might be one of the two female members of the Rust Crew, but her uniform issued by Britain is virtually identical to the one on Charlie.

* ColossusClimb: the boss of Amada's building, a vaguely octopus-like HumongousMecha, has equally big CombatTentacles and, once they are disabled, you must climb one to reach the upper floor and get its weak spot in your line of fire.

* ContrivedCoincidence: Seriously, what are the odds that [[spoiler:out of only 108 individuals in the ENTIRE PLANET that are offspring of Hollow Children, one of them would join her country's military, rise up to special forces-level and be assigned to a multinational spec-ops team with the express purpose of arresting the creator of said Hollow Children]]? [[Literature/{{Discworld}} A million to one?]]
** [[spoiler:Considering Hybrids are genetically superior to humans in every way, pretty good. Though the odds the team would consist of almost every race, gender, nationality and even a robot is pretty out there.]]
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Amada, who attempted to steal Bergen's technology. [[spoiler:But it's actually ''Bergen'' who's the corrupt one and successfully stole company secrets from Amada while pinning him for the crime.]]

* CranialProcessingUnit: Averted. You can actually blow a bot's head off and it'll still be functioning. However, in doing so, you DO take out its sensory functions, [[UnfriendlyFire which help it distinguish between friend and foe]]. HilarityEnsues. Especially with the robots carrying the [[GatlingGood Gatling]] [[MoreDakka guns]].
* CrapsackWorld: The entire Binary Domain story... Bo doesn't like how the world has been since global warming flooded most of the countries worldwide.
** Faye mentions that all Chinese are conscripted into the military at the age of ''[[ChildSoldiers fourteen]].''

** CreatingLifeIsBad: Even invoked by the President Of the United States: he considers Hollow Children an abomination, [[spoiler:and Hybrids an even WORSE one]], because the US is a "God-fearing nation", and only He has the right to create life.

* CutscenePowerToTheMax: Cain is very agile and fairly hardy, but his machine pistol is a light weapon and it makes him a mediocre ally in direct combat. Cue the cutscenes, though, and suddenly a few bursts from his gun are capable of popping robot skulls left and right.

* {{Cyberpunk}}: Surprisingly, an example of the classic flavor. Huge business conglomerates are crooked, shiny cities have been constructed on the crumbling remains of the previous ones after global climatic disasters, robots are at best treated as servants and at worse blown to bits without mercy, the lead characters are rebellious to authority, and the world's most advanced technology comes from a Japan that is isolated from the world at large. While TransHumanism isn't addressed (there are no cyborgs in the game), WhatMeasureIsANonHuman most certainly is.
* CyberpunkIsTechno: Oh yeah.

* DialogueTree: Your teammates will often talk to you, both during battle and in calmer moments, and you can answer their questions with a short dialogue tree. You can also not answer at all, which will annoy them pretty badly.

* DrivenToSuicide: The reason why most Rust Crews usually only have to deal with the people who ''produce'' Hollow Children: if a Hollow Child discovers what it is, it has the tendency to GoMadFromTheRevelation and kill itself. Possibly justified, given the widespread FantasticRacism involved in the setting; many Hollow Children could have been robot-hating bigots who discovered to their horror YouAreWhatYouHate.

* EatingMachine: While never explicitly stated, the Hollow Children emulate humanity so perfectly that this must be a given.

* EmergencyWeapon: the infinite-ammo sidearm you start with, which is also BoringYetPractical. Unlikely to see much use in big battles, but when you only have to fight a few standard mooks its precision and decent damage can help save up ammo for the more powerful weapons.

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Constable is never called by his name during the game. Same with the American President.

* FaceHeelTurn: [[spoiler: Big Bo and Cain, but this can be averted if your trust level with them is high enough (or in the case with Cain, ''[[GuideDangIt every allied character in game]]'', including Kurosawa and Shindo)]]

* FantasticRacism: The Rust Crew, obviously, doesn't have any particular fondness for robots ("scrap-heads"), but Dan in particular LOATHES them. [[spoiler:His hatred is misplaced, but has deep root: Dan's father was an abusive drunk who beat both him and his mother, and Dan took out his anger on their domestic robot, bashing it with a baseball bat. Dan never grew out of it.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: In Chapter 1, Big Bo remarks that a MultinationalTeam is all well, but everyone has their own agenda, including them. [[spoiler: This is revisited in the endgame: Bo is the only member of Rust Crew privy to Philips' plan to seize the Amada A.I.]]

* FutureSpandex: Dan and Big Bo's wetsuits in the beginning of the game... [[FridgeLogic which begs the question: where'd they fit the body armor they wear not long after?]]

* GatlingGood: EliteMook shows up with a Gatling Gun. You drop EliteMook. Gatling Gun is yours. [[CatharsisFactor You rejoice]].

* GoMadFromTheRevelation: [[spoiler: Combined with DrivenToSuicide, this usually happens to Hollow Children who discover their true identities.]]
* GoneHorriblyRight: [[spoiler:Amada tried to create a self-aware A.I. He succeeded. He came to regret it]].
* GoryDiscretionShot: Subverted in the scene where Mifune's men capture and [[ColdBloodedTorture torture]] a Hollow Child. We don't see the [[spoiler: the moment one of the thugs shove a [[EyeScream lit cigarette into his eye]], nor either of the ''two'' shots to the head required to kill him, but the consequences are shown very explicitly.]]

* TheHeart: Surprisingly enough, ''the protagonist'' is The Heart. Dan may be something of a {{Jerkass}} sometimes, but he's the one member of the Rust Crew who will not budge on doing the right thing. This is especially prominent when [[spoiler:Faye is revealed as a Hybrid. Dan is the one member of the crew who will NOT abandon her.]]
* HeroicSacrifice: [[spoiler: Rachael, Big Bo, or Cain takes a hit from the Major's mecha that would've hit Faye, and dies a short time later. One of these three will live through it.[[note]]By default, Rachael sacrifices herself if Bo betrays the party. Bo takes priority if he doesn't. If Cain rejoins, he takes the punch and lives.[[/note]]]]

* HistoryRepeats: Japan isolating itself from the rest of the world. Again.

* HumansAreTheRealMonsters: Subverted. [[spoiler:While the Amada A.I. does comment that he thinks humanity is kinda rotten (especially considering the massive suffering he endured in the process of acquiring self-awareness), he decides that they just need a push in the right direction and not annihilation. His plan to do so is ''horrifying'', to say the least.]]

* ImmuneToBullets: While no enemy in the game is ''literally'' immune to bullets, some of the EliteMooks and bosses are '''tough''', requiring insane amounts of damage to go down. [[spoiler: The Gorilla, in particular, takes it to {{Determinator}}/ImplacableMan levels.]]

* JapanTakesOverTheWorld: Subverted. Japan is an isolationist state disconnected from the world at large, and a minor player in the world stage (the USA is the leading superpower, at least more than it already is). However [[spoiler:a specific Japanese company IS attempting world domination]].

* KillerRobot: [[UpToEleven By. The. Shit. Load.]]

* MisplacedAccent: Cain, the robotic Frenchman, seems to have an extremely [[WhatTheHellIsThatAccent Russian-sounding accent]], even when he [[EverythingSoundsSexierInFrench speaks in French]]. Cain: [[LampshadeHanging SITUATION CRITIQUE!]]

* TheMole: [[spoiler:Yoshiki, Shindo's right-hand man. He wasn't the mole ''on purpose'', he was a Hollow Child who got his programming overridden by the Amada A.I. in order to find the resistance's hideout. In other words, he was ''quite'' sincerely Shindo's friend, until the Amada A.I. flipped the BrainwashedAndCrazy switch on him.]]

** [[spoiler:If the trust levels with all members of the team, including temporary members, isn't high enough, then Rachael (or Bo, if he stays) will take a hit from the FinalBoss to defend Faye and die. Fulfilling the condition to get Cain to rejoin will have him take the blow instead and live, leading to the GoldenEnding where all team members survive.]]

** The U.S. President looks a heck of a lot like Ronald Reagan. Combine this with his quips about America being a God-fearing nation and it was probably intentional. His advisor, meanwhile, looks and acts a lot like Robert [=McNamara=].
* NoOSHACompliance: Averted. In one scene, Dan, Cain and Shindo need to go through a production line's conveyor belt to escape the enemy. They get into some crates, but when they're rolling into the machinery, the production line suddenly stops. Turns out, the machinery has sensors which trigger if they detect organic beings, cutting the power. Cain has to actually override the sensors for them to be able to escape.
* NobodyPoops: Averted by Shindo, PlayedForLaughs.
-->'''Cain''': ''Humans are such inconvenient creatures.''

* PressXToNotDie: It's a Yakuza Studios game, so it's to be expected. They're surprisingly rare, though.

* ProperlyParanoid: As Hollow Children can't be distinguished from humans until they [[RoboticReveal reveal themselves]], it's understandable that the public at large would be kinda paranoid. [[spoiler:If they knew about Hybrids, it'd probably incite mass hysteria.]]
** Given that a US Army four star General (likely the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) was a Hollow Child, it's quite clear that Hollow Children are the ultimate ManchurianAgent.

* RedHerring: [[spoiler:From his flashbacks, you would have guessed Dan [[RoboticReveal was a Hollow Child]], but you'd be wrong... It's ''Faye'' who's not completely human, and she's not a Hollow Child, but the '''''daughter''''' of one.]]

* RemoteBody: [[spoiler:The Amada A.I.'s physical body is one of these.]]
* TheReveal: Three big ones in quick succession: [[spoiler:that Yoji Amada is actually quite dead and it's his "son", the Amada A.I., who's really the cause of the game's events; that Faye is a Hybrid, the daughter of a Hollow Child; and that Major Philips, the mission CO, was actually manipulating the Rust Crew team under orders in an attempt to secure the Amada A.I.]]
* RoboFamily: [[spoiler:The Amada A.I. considers the Hollow Children his children in a quite literal sense, as he establishes in the game that, as a self-aware being, he wanted to reproduce. The Hybrids take it on a much more disturbing level.]]
* RidiculouslyHumanRobot: Hollow Children, obviously. Cain to a much lesser degree: while he snarks and shows what ''seems'' to be emotions, it's actually reactions based on logic and programming. Cain himself [[LampshadeHanging lampshades it]]: [[spoiler:he mentions that he logically feels his partner's death was a waste and that he can see why it's a regrettable thing, yet he still mentions he is incapable of expressing actual grief, since that is a human emotion. He even says that it would not be wise to continue discussing it for that very reason. However, he DOES get to experience an emotion late in the game: when he gets tortured by the Amada A.I., the Amada A.I. mentions it instilled the concept of ''suffering'' into him]].

* RobotGirl: What female Hollow Children are, obviously. [[spoiler:They have to get singled out, since they have an extra function the males don't: they can have children. The boom-chika-waw-waw way.]]

* SceneryPorn[=/=]SceneryGorn[=/=]TechnologyPorn: Upper Tokyo is truly a beautiful place... [[DestructiveSaviour until it starts getting wrecked to shit by the Rust Crew]]. As for technology, all the robots in this game are wonderfully detailed, lovingly animated and impressive to see in action... [[RunningGag until they start getting wrecked to shit by the Rust Crew]].

* ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight: [[spoiler:Kurosawa pulls this after he found out the Japanese government was caught in some shady operations with Amada Corporation. It also helps to note that he didn't receive any orders from the Constable to withdraw]].

* SequelHook: [[spoiler:By the end of the game, Hybrids are being hunted by the world's governments, including Faye, and there are still Hollow Children at large. However, Faye's on the run with Dan by her side, so she's actually pretty damn safe for the moment]].

* TheSingularity: [[spoiler:Amada managed to create ''sentient, self-replicating, pseudo-organic life'' that can '''''become one with humanity'''''. When the heroes realize the extent of his success in doing this, they're flabbergasted.]]

* SkyscraperCity[=/=]WretchedHive: The difference between Upper Tokyo and Lower Tokyo, respectively.

* TelescopingRobot: Gloriously averted. Every single robot in the game has gadgets that fit into their external chassis logically or are obviously in view. The only possible exception is Cain's grappling hook, and that could be explained as some sort of compressed material or one that expands when in contact with air.
* TenMinuteRetirement: [[spoiler:Faye [[FaceHeelTurn deserts the Rust Crew]] in the second-to-last segment of the final chapter, but returns to the team for the final showdown.]]

* TomatoInTheMirror: Revolves around this trope. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEx-2HKFJTc Hollow Children don't know they're not human.]] [[spoiler:Female Hollow Children ''can give birth'', and their children (called Hybrids) are indistinguishable from humans, except they (supposedly) are smarter, stronger and immune to disease. Suffice it to say, the nations of the world consider them abominations, while the Hybrids themselves do not know anything of the sort. To complicate things... Faye is one of them.]]

* UnnecessarilyCreepyRobot: Yes, the combat robots should look intimidating, but some of them are borderline horror.

* VillainousBreakdown: in the final chapter, [[spoiler:Major Philips is pretty sure of himself, thinking his plan has been perfectly realized. As things start to go beyond his control, however, he becomes increasingly irrational.]]

** The sniper rifle is very powerful, extremely precise and can kill most mooks in one shot, but has a pitiful max ammo capacity.
** The shotgun is also powerful, but has pathetic range.

''Binary Domain'' was released on February 16, 23, 24, and 28 to Japan, Australia, Europe, and America, respectively. A PC port was released over Steam on April 27 worldwide.

* AndIMustScream: You would anyway, if you woke-up one day and realized you were [[spoiler: a Hollow Child and thus never truly alive to begin with.]]

* BrokenHero: [[spoiler:Dan. A hell of a soldier, a great battlefield leader who manages to win the loyalty of even the most hesitant member of his team... and grew up in an abusive home which left him with an irrational hatred of mechanical beings. Specifically, his family's robot for its inaction when his mother was being beaten.]]

* DrivenToSuicide: [[spoiler: The reason why most Rust Crews only have to deal with the people who ''produce'' Hollow Children: if a Hollow Child discovers what it is, it has the tendency to GoMadFromTheRevelation and kill itself.]]

* EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep: The Constable is never called by his name during the game.
** Same with the American President.

* [[spoiler:FightingTheLancer: Charlie and Dan go at each other's throats over how to handle the Hybrids situation. Dan doesn't care Faye's a Hybrid on account of [[FireForgedFriends what he and Faye have gone through together]], while Charlie [[JustFollowingOrders wants to stick to his orders, mainly to eliminate Faye]].]]