History VideoGame / Receiver2

** [[BigStormEpisode Sleepwalker]]: Lightning occasionally illuminates the environment, and thunder suddenly follows.

* ShortRangeGuyLongRangeGuy: Drones might electrocute you almost instantly if it notices you very close to it. Turrets are more dangerous to be detected by at a distance, yet grounded turrets can be leaped over in a pinch.

* NintendoHard: As you progress through the game, you are expected to die and rank down almost as often as you rank up, due to killdrones becoming stronger and more numerous, as well as ammunition becoming scarcer. And this is with [[DeconstructionGame the realistic gun simulation]] notwithstanding.

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: This game is surprisingly idealistic for a DeconstructionGame. It (and its [[VideoGame/{{Receiver}} predecessor]]) is a DeconReconSwitch of GunPorn and society's relationship with firearms. It places center stage how deceptively complex and dangerous guns can be by forcing you to manually perform every action of re-loading a gun. If you've never handled a firearm in your life (which you probably haven't if you don't live in the US or served in a military/police force), the game will show you right to your face how hard guns can be to handle as you fumble rounds into your magazine, eject perfectly good rounds like an idiot, [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace shoot yourself in the leg]], or make other such mistakes. However, the game also makes its best effort to teach you the proper and safe way to handle the guns so that you can learn to actually use them to their greatest effectiveness. Also, the cassette tapes that you can find illustrate how HumansAreSpecial and that YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre.

*** Glancing shots to shock drones can break off their bumpers, allowing an agile Receiver to lead them into walls and blow out the rotors. They're still capable of electrocuting you on the ground, unless your shot took out their taser.

*** The CPU of turrets, the small component sticking out the top of the main gun, delays their firing if destroyed, while sleeping turrets never wake up if it's shot off.
*** Turrets that see you at least once will chamber a round from their magazine. Shooting the magazine before they spot you means they will never fire, but shooting it 'after' they see you means they still have a chance to kill you.

* EmbeddedPrecursor: The Compound's secret apartment includes a working arcade cabinet for the original ''Receiver'' that allows the player to play "Classic Mode", basically the original game's levels with the sequel's Killdrones, firearms, and player movement. Hacking, stoppages, negligent discharges, and aim fatigue are disabled and turrets spawn with a round already chambered, emulating the feel of the original game.
* FallingDamage: Your character only has the knees of a real human. Dropping a couple yards will have you limping and barely able to move for a bit, and anything more than that will kill you outright. However, if a fall is at all survivable, then it remains ''consistently'' so, no matter how many times you break your ankles. It's also the only way to progress through certain paths or reach hidden collectibles. There's even a Receiver calling herself "the Mongoose" who leaves tips on "crazy drops" that are difficult but survivable.

* BlingBlingBang: Completing enough Compound challenges will unlock golden magazines and guns for you to use there.

* ConcealmentEqualsCover: Averted. Turrets can shoot you through wooden planks, glass, and other objects that can't sufficiently stop bullets, but so can you.

* {{Cult}}: The Receivers sure seem like this on a surface level — doing yoga, having secret messages to one another through tapes, training obsessively with firearms and distrusting the media. But deep down they actually do want to help people and have turned around the lives of many once-suicidal folk, making them a subversion of traditionally cult-y behavior.

The game features the same guns that were present in the original (Colt [=M1911A1=], Smith & Wesson Model 10, and Glock 17 with FSS-G Fire Select), but also adds 6 new ones: the Colt Detective Special, SIG Sauer P226, Beretta 92FS, Desert Eagle, Hi-Point C-9, and Colt Single Action Army.

* DeconstructionGame: Even more so than the first game, ''Receiver 2'' is a clear TakeThat against GunPorn and firearms-focused media, as well as tackling the relationship modern society has with guns. In media, guns are portrayed as easy-to-use death machines that operate on a point-and-shoot basis. In ''Receiver 2'', guns are irritating and fussy pieces of equipment that require training, hand-eye coordination, and muscle memory to effectively use, and even then there are factors like ricochets and accidental discharges that make using them dangerous, ''just like how guns are in real life.'' The game also lampoons the fascination society has with guns, treating them more like status symbols and toys rather than the deadly weapons they really are. The entries on the [[HandCannon Desert Eagle]] point out how the iconic gun is [[AwesomeButImpractical cool yet dangerous and expensive]], while the Glock's lack of a safety and full-auto feature turns what would be a useful weapon into a [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace hazard for your health.]] At the same time, the game does {{reconstruct|ion}} these tropes — guns are ''weapons'', after all, and treating them with respect brings out their real effectiveness.

** It is entirely possible to play a "magazineless" run using automatics by manually chambering each round. You can do this by ejecting a magazine, dropping it or placing it in your inventory, and then pulling back the slide on your automatic and clicking in the slide lock. You can then press Z by default to load a round in the chamber and can fire it after closing the slide. This will not work with the Hi-Point C9, however, which both has a mag safety, preventing the gun from firing with an empty magwell, and can't be breech-loaded except when the slide is locked open by an empty magazine (due to a bug).

*** Glancing shots to shock drones can break off their bumpers, allowing a skilled Receiver to lead them into walls and blow out the rotors. They're still capable of electrocuting you on the ground, unless your shot took out their taser.

** [[spoiler:Undamaged drones can be hacked. Doing so is risky and requires you to lure each drone to where you can reach it from behind with no other dangers present, but it will save you many a bullet that drones don't give back to you, and it is especially useful in a pinch where you don't have any ammo at all.]]

* EmbeddedPrecursor: The Compound's secret room includes a working arcade cabinet for the original ''Receiver'' that allows the player to play "classic mode", basically the original game's levels with the sequel's Killdrones and guns. Hacking, stoppages, and negligent discharges are still absent in classic mode, though.

** Prior to version 2.0.6, you can have your Colt SAA's hammer resting on a loaded chamber (or fully loading the gun) with no repercussions whatsoever, [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace something one of the SAA tapes warns against due to the gun lacking a drop safety]]. The update makes the Colt SAA discharge when holstered if the hammer is down on a live round and you bump it by taking any fall.

* HubLevel: The Compound is a mixture of this and a tutorial level, allowing players to practice freely, as DeathIsASlapOnTheWrist. The Compound also includes a lot of secrets, and to unlock every single shooting range/challenge dome challenge they basically have to find and gain entry to every section of the Compound to find the floppy discs. The player can also unlock guns in the Compound long before they unlock them in the main game by getting high scores on challenges.

* VideoGameSettings: The game uses a few different level types, some of which are universal, but the themes are unique to each rank.

** [[BigStormEpisode Sleepwalker]]: Lightning occasionally illuminates tge environment, and thunder suddenly follows.

** [[CueTheSun Awake]]: The sun is rising as [[spoiler:you are starting to tear at the fabric of the Dreaming]].

--> "The moral high ground does not provide effective cover against small arms fire."
--> "There are times in explanations, no matter how reasonable, just don't seem to help."
--> "Sometimes our best isn't [[EarnYourHappyEnding good enough]], and that's okay."

** Prior to version 2.0.6, you can have your Colt SAA's hammer resting on a loaded chamber (or fully loading the gun) with no repercussions whatsoever, [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace something one of the SAA tapes warns against due to the gun lacking a drop safety]]. The update makes the Colt SAA discharge when holstered if the hammer is down on a live round and you bump it by taking too big of a fall.

* FallingDamage: Your character seemingly has the knees of an arthritic 90-year-old, as dropping even a couple feet will have you limping and barely able to move for a bit, and anything more than that will kill you outright. However, if a fall is at all survivable, then it remains ''consistently'' so, no matter how many times you break your ankles. It's also the only way to progress through certain paths or reach hidden collectibles. There's even a Receiver calling herself "the Mongoose" who leaves tips on "crazy drops" that are difficult but survivable.

* FallingDamage: Your character seemingly has the knees of an arthritic 90-year-old, as dropping even a couple feet will have you limping and barely able to move for a bit, and anything more than that will kill you outright. However, if a fall is at all survivable, then it remains ''consistently'' so, no matter how many times you break your ankles. It's also the only way to progress through certain paths or reach hidden collectibles. There's even a Receiver calling herself "Mongoose" who leaves tips on "crazy drops" that are difficult but survivable.

* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: While the first game paid lip service to this idea with its "fictional context" tape (which is also present here), this game takes it a step further. [[spoiler:The Receivers discover that the "fictional context" they speculated about means that you are in [[RealLife Reality C]], and that you have been experiencing Reality B as if it was a game. The final set of tapes explains that the Threat is real, and reaching into Reality C to target you directly. However, this is also inverted, because by collecting the final tape, and becoming an awake Receiver, you are ready to take the fight to the Threat – in RealLife. The fourth wall will not protect you from the Threat, but at the same time, the fourth wall will not protect the Threat from you.]]

* ShortRangeGuyLongRangeGuy: Drones might electrocute you almost instantly if it notices you very close to it. Turrets are more dangerous to be detected by at a distance, though.

** There are two pause menu tips that act as this trope:
--> "There is no normal life that is free of pain."
--> "Sometimes our best isn't [[EarnYourHappyEnding good enough]], and that's okay."

* ShortRangeGuyLongeRangeGuy: Drones might electrocute you almost instantly if it notices you very close to it. Turrets are more dangerous to be detected by at a distance, though.

* EmbeddedPrecursor: The Compound's secret room includes a working arcade cabinet for the original ''Receiver'' that allows the player to play "classic mode", basically the original game's levels with the sequel's mechanical changes.

** [[BlackoutBasement Asleep]]: Most of the lights are out. You will need the flashlight you are likely to start with. You'll be in some trouble if you don't have one.
** [[BigStormEpisode Sleepwalker]]: There's a storm that lights up the environment on occasion.
** [[LethalLavaLand Liminal]]: Several of the buildings visible in the distance are on fire.
** [[CueTheSun Awake]]: The sun is rising as [[spoiler:you are starting to tear at the fabric of the dreaming]].

** The rare [[spoiler:Stalker]] enemy will only appear when certain conditions are met, there are only subtle signs that it has appeared, [[spoiler:it will use TeleportSpam to try and avoid being spotted,]] and when it's [[spoiler:fully appeared it will freeze the player in place and strike ''fast'', teleporting in front of them and inflicting a OneHitKill if it strikes. However, a single shot to the chassis with any gun will destroy it instantly, and the player has an opportunity to hack it, stopping it from acting until the player either successfully hacks it or fails and dies.]]

* FragileSpeedster: The rare [[spoiler:Stalker]] enemy will only appear when certain conditions are met, there are only subtle signs that it has appeared, [[spoiler:it will use TeleportSpam to try and avoid being spotted,]] and when it's [[spoiler:fully appeared it will freeze the player in place and strike ''fast'', teleporting in front of them and inflicting a OneHitKill if it strikes. However, a single shot to the chassis with any gun will destroy it instantly, and the player has an opportunity to hack it, stopping it from acting until the player either successfully hacks it or fails and dies.]]

* SlidingScaleOfIdealismVersusCynicism: This game is surprisingly idealistic for a DeconstructionGame. It (and its [[VideoGame/{{Receiver}} predecessor]]) is a DeconReconSwitch of GunPorn and society's relationship with firearms. It places center stage how deceptively complex and dangerous guns can be by forcing you to manually perform every action of re-loading a gun. If you've never handled a firearm in your life (which you probably haven't if you don't live in the US or served in a military/police force), the game will show you right to your face how hard guns can be to handle as you fumble rounds into your magazine, eject perfectly good rounds like an idiot, [[IJustShotMarvinInTheFace shoot yourself in the leg]], or make other such mistakes. However, the game also makes its best effort to teach you the proper and safe way to handle the guns so that you can learn to actually use them to their greatest effectiveness. Also, the cassette tapes that you can find illustrate how HumansAreSpecial and that YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre

* BoringButPractical: Safety Discipline. Things like engaging the safety of your gun (if it has one) or simply slow holstering your gun whenever you don't need it aren't going to help you fight killdrones. However, practicing these extensively will ensure that you don't waste ammo or shoot yourself by accident.

* DifficultButAwesome: The Colt Single Action Army is very slow to reload, requires manually cocking the hammer for every shot, has the standard 6 round capacity of revolvers, ''and'' decocking the hammer over a live round will make it fire in the holster the next time you fall a little too hard. However, its .45 Long Colt bullets hit almost as hard as .50 Action Express, meaning that if you take careful aim, one shot will almost always be enough to take down a killdrone. The fact that a half-cocked hammer acts as a makeshift safety (preventing [[IjustShotMarvinInTheFace Glocklegging]]) doesn't hurt either. And of course, [[CoolGuns it's the Colt Single Action Army]]. With it you can channel your inner Creator/ClintEastwood or [[VideoGame/MetalGearSolid Revolver Ocelot]].