History WebAnimation / ZeroPunctuation

Do not confuse with NoPunctuationPeriod or NoPeriodsPeriod[[spoiler:, or No Punctual Periods, or No Punctured Periods (image very censored) or [[OverlyLongGag alright I'll stop now.]]]] Also, do not confuse with NoPunctuationIsFunnier, although this is [[Funny/ZeroPunctuation somewhat more understandable]][[spoiler: okay seriously this time, I'll stop]].

Do not confuse with NoPunctuationPeriod or NoPeriodsPeriod[[spoiler:, or No Punctual Periods, or No Punctured Periods (image very censored) or [[OverlyLongGag alright I'll stop now.]]]]

Yahtzee. Has. Started. Doing. A. Weekly. Follow-up. Column. Called. "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation Extra Punctuation]]." In. Order. To. Explain. His. Views. And. Opinions. On. The. Game. Of. The. Week. In. Greater. Detail. [[OverlyLongGag And. Bring. Up. Points. He. Could. Not. Turn. Into. Jokes.]]

Do not confuse with NoPunctuationPeriod or NoPeriodsPeriod [[spoiler:, or No Punctual Periods, or No Punctured Periods (image very censored) or [[OverlyLongGag alright I'll stop now.]]]]

Do not confuse with NoPunctuationPeriod or NoPeriodsPeriod.

[[Creator/BenCroshaw Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]], critic and amateur game developer, decided one day to conduct an experiment. He was faced with a demo of ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' he wished to review for his website and wanted to try something new, so he took Photoshop, Windows Movie Maker, a headset mic, and his sense of humour, and turned them into a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA YouTube video]]. He then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4 turned]] ''[[VideoGame/FableI Fable: The Lost Chapters]]''.

Less than a month later he was hired by ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com The Escapist]]'' an online magazine with a big boat made of money (see the page quote) to release one of these video reviews a week. And so began ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation Zero Punctuation]]''. The combination of [[AccentuateTheNegative caustic]] [[BlackComedy humour]], [[MotorMouth rapid-fire delivery]], and [[VisualPun visual gags]] made ''Zero Punctuation'' an instant success.

[[Creator/BenCroshaw Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]], critic and amateur game developer, decided one day to conduct an experiment he was faced with: a demo of ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' [[SelfDemonstratingArticle he wished to review for his website. He wanted to try something new, so he took Photoshop, Windows Movie Maker, a headset mic, and his sense of humour, and turned them into a]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA YouTube video]] that he then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4 turned]] into ''[[VideoGame/FableI Fable: The Lost Chapters]]''.

-->-- '''Creator/BenCroshaw''' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZOBTN67K0Zw announces]] ''Zero Punctuation''

->''"Releasing videos on Website/YouTube is kind of like throwing messages in bottles out into a churning sea made up entirely of messages in bottles: the chance of your message getting noticed and someone being sent out to rescue you is punishingly slim. But every once in a blue moon, someone who owns a big boat made of money finds your message and agrees to let you ride on his big boat made of money if you keep making messages for him. Then the two of you go on adventures with a smart mouthed talking dog and travel to the land of the gumdrop king and [[{{Metaphorgotten}} I've sort of forgotten where I was going with this.]]"''

In February 2011, he also started a column called "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extraconsideration Extra Consideration]]" with Bob "MovieBob" Chipman and James Portnow of ''WebVideo/ExtraCredits'' (though Portnow was replaced by Jim Sterling of ''The WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}}'' and Destructoid fame after he left the Escapist). The column sadly petered out by early September, but its entire run can still be found [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/articles/Extra%20Consideration here]]. However, in April 2013, Yahtzee and Jim started up again with the segment ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jim-yahtzees-rhymedown-spectacular Jim & Yahtzee's Rhymedown Spectacular]]'' where they recite slam poetry about the game topic at hand.

[[PunctuatedForEmphasis Yahtzee. Has. Started. Doing. A. Weekly. Follow-up. Column. Called.]] "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation Extra Punctuation]]." In. Order. To. Explain. His. Views. And. Opinions. On. The. Game. Of. The. Week. In. Greater. Detail. [[OverlyLongGag And. Bring. Up. Points. He. Could. Not. Turn. Into. Jokes.]]

[[Creator/BenCroshaw Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw]], critic and amateur game developer, decided one day to conduct an experiment he was faced with: a demo of ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' [[SelfDemonstratingArticle he wished to review for his website. He wanted to try something new, so he took Photoshop, Windows Movie Maker, a headset mic, and his sense of humour, and turned them into a]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA YouTube video]] he then [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jYQLR7dE5k4 turned]] into ''[[VideoGame/FableI Fable: The Lost Chapters]]''.

Less than a month later he was hired by ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com The Escapist]]'' an online magazine with a big boat made of money (see the page quote) to release one of these video reviews a week. That explains the origin of ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation Zero Punctuation]]''. To add onto this, the combination of [[AccentuateTheNegative caustic]] [[BlackComedy humour]], [[MotorMouth rapid-fire delivery]], and [[VisualPun visual gags]] made ''Zero Punctuation'' an instant success.

Starting in February 2011 he also did a column called "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extraconsideration Extra Consideration]]" with Bob "MovieBob" Chipman and James Portnow of ''WebVideo/ExtraCredits'' (though Portnow was replaced by Jim Sterling of ''The WebVideo/{{Jimquisition}}'' and Destructoid fame after he left the Escapist) the column petered out by early September sadly, but its entire run can still be found [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/profiles/articles/Extra%20Consideration here]] however in April 2013, Yahtzee and Jim started up again with the segment ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jim-yahtzees-rhymedown-spectacular Jim & Yahtzee's Rhymedown Spectacular]]'' koji where they recite slam poetry about the game topic at hand.

As well in 2015 the Escapist released an official casual game based on the series, {{Videogame/Hatfall}} combining quick-fire gameplay with Yahtzee's usual brand of humor it can be played [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/141474-Play-Zero-Punctuations-Hatfall-Now-Live Here.]]

Less than a month later he was hired by ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com The Escapist]]'' an online magazine with a big boat made of money (see the page quote) to release one of these video reviews a week that explains the origin of ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation Zero Punctuation]]'' in the driest possible way but not the popularity of it the combination of [[AccentuateTheNegative caustic]] [[BlackComedy humour]] [[MotorMouth rapid-fire delivery]] and [[VisualPun visual gags]] made Zero Punctuation an instant success.

!''Zero Punctuation'' contains examples of:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder:Tropes A-D]]

* AccentuateTheNegative: Yahtzee's style, to the point where he'll occasionally rattle off a four-minute list of a game's flaws and then sum up by saying how much he enjoyed it. ("But having now whinged myself inside-out, I have to say that I find ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky]]'' weirdly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/271-S-T-A-L-K-E-R-Clear-Sky compelling]].") Presumably this means there are ''some'' positive qualities, but listing them isn't his department and has claimed "people don't like me being nice to a game".
** He begins his ''VideoGame/{{Mindjack}}'' review expressing disbelief that people have trouble telling whether he recommends a game or not, but acknowledges this trope (along with the mesmerizing fat folds of a close relative) as the cause.
--> Yes, I exaggerate every slightish negative feature regardless of overall quality, but how else would developers learn? It's like Chinese parenting, but less nightmarish.
** Lampshaded in his reviews, where he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5394-Darkness-2 describes his job]] as "ruining the developer's retirement plans." His standard operating procedure after playing a game, according to animation, is to toss aside the controller and boast, "And now to tell the world it sucks".
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/37-Mailbag-Showdown response]] to a fan letter saying if he doesn't like a game he points out everything that's wrong with it. "Hands up, you've got me there. I do point out everything that's wrong with a game, but then again, I'm a critic; it'd be weird if I didn't."
** He stated in his ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/767-inFamous review]] that he views his job as tearing the bad and the mediocre games to shreds so that the rare game that could be called great can shine all the brighter.
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/926-Batman-Arkham-Asylum review]] for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' Yahtzee says that he's more of a QA man and that anything he doesn't mention in his review is a good part of the game.
** As he put it in the same review: "You don't call a sewer technician to redecorate your bathroom, and you don't come to me to hear about how a game is good."
** Played with during his review of ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'', where he attempts to appeal to a fan who'd left when Yahtzee's constant railing on the Wii upset him by sarcastically portraying the game's negatives as positives. He notably skips over two sports that work too well to criticize.
** "In fact, I might go so far as to say that ''Creator/TomClancy's {{HAWX}}'' has sold me on air combat games. But that's not funny, so let's find more things to rip on."
** From the ''[[Creator/ValveSoftware Orange Box]]'' review: "If I did have to criticize it -- and I do..." [Cue Escapist logo holding up a contract.]
** ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': "I can't think of any criticism for it." [Cue Escapist logo holding up a contract, and Yahtzee's avatar apologizing] and "Absolutely sublime from start to finish and I will jam forks into my eyes if I ever have to use those words to describe anything else, ever again."
** From the ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho'' review: "I could go on listing the stupid design decisions...so I will."
** Even going back to his ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4-BioShock review]]: "If my ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2-Psychonauts review]] taught me anything it's that no one likes it when I'm being nice to a game..."
** Inverted: when he finally got the chance to play ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3581-Duke-Nukem-Forever-for-real-this-time Yahtzee]] was actively trying to like it and ignore the faults, but eventually had to relent because he'd been harsh to games for far lesser reasons.
** Spoofed in his ''GearsOfWar 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/525-Gears-of-War-2 review]], where he tries as much as he can to hate it, but lists off some of the stuff it does well that prevents him from hating it. It ends with, "There aren't even any quick-time events! Oh, wait, there is ''one''. A little one. I guess that means I have to hate it."
** Retroactively played straight again; he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4763-Gears-of-War-3 bashed]] the entire ''Gears'' series with the release of ''GearsOfWar 3''.
* ActionAdventure: He once observed that this genre is little more than a catch-all term for any game that's difficulty to classify, under which one can comfortably lump together everything from ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' to ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}''.
* ActionBasedMission: Provides the page quote.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of the things which have just ''slightly'' less screen time than the devils and someone being violently assaulted onscreen. In particular:
** At the start of his ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' review, he says that Master Chief spent his four years of absence masturbating to Cortana.
** At the start of his ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' review: "...at this point there’s only one thing I can do: masturba- I mean retro review!" He apparently uses a toy giraffe while doing it.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: His opinion on E3, taken from the E3 2014 video:
--> End this execrable endurance event entailing eager editors endlessly entreating eminent entertainment egotists for efficacious endowments of effluence!
** The review for ''VideoGame/{{D4}}: Dark Dreams Don't Die'' takes this trope and [[UpToEleven runs a marathon with it]].
--> Delighting as it is that the drought is dying down, doing Destiny drained your debonair delegate. Dominant developers delay for a dog’s age, then deliver a desperately draft discharge and dare to describe it as the due destination for depictions of destruction. Dammit, I don’t desire the designate devotion to drudges as dull as ditchwater, so I’m declaring a downloadables day, derived directly from discovering VideoGame/{{D4}}: Dark Dreams Don’t Die!
** To a lesser extent, it persists for his next two videos. In the review of ''Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor'', he says he's trying to break the habit.
* AdventureGame: When he first started playing games these were his favourite genre, and he's made several of them himself, though he admitted in an Extra Punctuation column that he's grown to strongly dislike the genre more recently, and noted that he's always liked adventure games [[EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame in spite of their gameplay rather than because of it]].
* AlasPoorScrappy:[[invoked]] Yahtzee said during his "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/748-Duke-Nukem-Forever review]]" for ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' that the cancellation of the game wasn't the end of the world since it had been overshadowed by other franchises, most notably ''VideoGame/HalfLife''. However, in his Extra Punctuation article, while reflecting on the plans of bringing it out in 2011, Yahtzee admitted that too many FPS have taken the cover-based combat route and he'd like a return to the basics with one guy facing armies all at once.
* AllMenArePerverts: He jokes about being an example himself, but he still expresses dismay at how widespread this trope is in real life, lamenting that all a crappy game has to do to become wildly successful is [[{{Fanservice}} stick a picture of a busty scantily-clad woman]] on the cover.
* AllWomenAreLustful: Brings this up in ''TheWitcher'', but takes it as a sign of the game including {{fanservice}} in attempt to come off as mature.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[invoked]] [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee loves that trope.]]
* AluminiumChristmasTrees: He did acknowledge that "warfighter" is an actual term used by the military which rather justifies its usage as a subtitle, but didn't think this made the title of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'' any less ridiculous.
* AnalogyBackfire:
** His [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4863-Kinect reason]] for suspending judgment on the Kinect. "Pope Urban VIII probably thought ''he'' was very clever when he condemned Galileo, but who got the last laugh there? ...Well, ''he'' did when Galileo died in poverty and dishonour but what I'm saying is [[AnswersToTheNameOfGod I'm basically like the Pope]]."
** Then there's this example, about the characteristion in ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'':
-->''...it's as if men are all directionless tidal waves and women are all dikes built in the path of their raging floods. [[LampshadeHanging Blimey, what a badly worded metaphor]].''
-->'''[[QuoteMine "WOMEN ARE ALL DYKES"]]''' ''[[CreditsGag ~Yahtzee Croshaw]]''
* AndIMustScream: Starts ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing: New Leaf'' off describing a hypothetical situation in which a person's mind is locked out of his body, but is still fully concious as his body proceeds to move around on its own... only doing utterly mundane and insignificant things.
--> The higher part of your brain can see how utterly asinine the experience is but it's just getting dragged along for the ride, like a bunch of helium balloons tied to a wonky supermarket trolley. "Sure, lower part of the brain, a blue-tiled roof probably would solve all our constantly crushing sense of emptiness-- OH GOD, STOOOP!"
* AndThatLittleBoyWasMe: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'' review.
* AnnoyingArrows: Averted and Lampshaded in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6964-Crysis-3 review]] of ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 3'' where the guy exclaims to Prophet that the Bow and Arrow is 12 times more powerful than any gun for some reason.
** Played straight with shoddily made RPG's where you can spend all day peppering enemies with arrows and they stand there gormlessly "wondering why they keep suddenly growing very narrow wooden extra limbs".
* AnticlimaxBoss: [[invoked]] One of his {{Pet Peeve|Trope}}s.
* ApocalypseWow: Yahtzee states that if ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' was combined with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Branston Pickle]] that the world would end. And it would be [[RuleOfCool AWESOME.]]
* AprilFools:
** In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/645-Halo-Wars 2009]], the hosts of ''{{Unskippable}}'' pretended to stage a HostileShowTakeover and reviewed ''VideoGame/XBlades'' before Yahtzee seized the show back to review ''VideoGame/HaloWars''. Yahtzee also guest-commentated on ''{{Unskippable}}''.
** In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1591-April-Fools 2010]], the usually MotorMouth Yahtzee recited ''Ode to Melancholy'' in a very slow, ponderous manner.
* ArbitraryMissionRestriction: Yahtzee sardonically refers to this trope as the "sandbox paradox", referring to WideOpenSandbox games in which the player is given complete freedom to do what they like outside of missions, but within missions must precisely follow a linear series of instructions.
* ArchEnemy:
** [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp Lee Drummond]], apparently a bully in His childhood.
** Michael Atkinson, Australian politician and chief MoralGuardian against the evil of video games.
** [[PressXToNotDie Quicktime events]].
** Creator/{{Nintendo}}, specifically post-''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' for "[[ItsTheSameSoItSucks lack of innovation]]" and "[[{{Waggle}} poorly implemented control gimmicks]]".
*** No longer seems to be the case as of the 8th console generation, he calls the Wii U the best and most respectable of the new consoles, holding contempt for the PS4 and Xbox One for being consumer-unfriendly devices that have abandoned the last of their remaining advantages that consoles traditionally had over PC gaming.
** The new console generation, specifically the big two PS4 and Xbox One.
** EA games.
** Ubisoft
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: A few blink-and-you'll-miss-it examples. (As a rule, a list of things - such as skills to buff in [=RPGs=] - will get silly at the end, or all the way through.)
** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'':
---> "I could talk about how the combat flows, and how the atmosphere is solid, and how the highlights for me were the Scarecrow sections where Batman's perceptions of reality are skewed in favor of a nightmarish introspective delusional glimpse into the darkest recesses of his soul and how jumping on people is cool."
** On a signpost in the ''Witcher'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/22-The-Witcher review]]:
--->SHAME\\
FAILURE\\
IGNOMINY\\
SWINDON
** The list of things George Lucas will never do: [[FranchiseZombie Definitely end popular moneyspinning franchise]], refuse a second helping of pancakes, admit failure, survive in vacuum, shave.
** In his ''Resistance 3'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4728-Resistance-3 review]], he accuses the game of copying ''Half-Life 2''. Amongst his accusations are identical mechanics, a straight Expy of the Ravenholm level, and as the final straw, "the scientist has a beard." Because, you know, Gordon Freeman and Dr. Breen have beards.
** From his ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/23-Resident-Evil-Umbrella-Chronicles review]]: "Umbrella Chronicles is a heavily cut down retread of three of the major ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games, starring WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo, a prostitute, an idiot, a mullet, a 9 year old boy, a brick shit-house, and [[AndZoidberg Carlos]]."
** In his review of ''[[VideoGame/ShovelKnight Shovel Knight]]'' (posted on July 16, 2014), he talks about the July games drought (which for Australia takes place during the winter) and his efforts to alleviate the boredom caused by it:
---> "It's bad enough that we have to huddle in our homes trapped by the cruel blast of one degree below ideal surfing weather without AAA releases drying up and forcing us to pass the time with games like 'Guess how many kicks to the bollocks it takes to draw blood' or Frozen Grandparent Tetris, or for those who are truly lost, Boggle."
** While reviewing ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'', there's a claim that ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' lets you specialise in "combat, hacking, or playing the cello".
* ArousedByTheirVoice: His [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/530-Little-Big-Planet opinion]] on Creator/StephenFry in ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' as well as [[InteractiveNarrator Rucks]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}''; he's a fan of famous voices in general, and feels that having them as {{One Scene Wonder}}s is a waste of potential.
* TheArtifact: Feels that the Vigors, the stand-ins for the plasmids in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', are this since they're kept around for the sake of retaining a gameplay element for the earlier games, [[PetTheDog an element that he feels is fun to keep around]], but lack the significance to the story the plasmids had.
* AskAStupidQuestion: In "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jim-yahtzees-rhymedown-spectacular/8320-Lament-of-a-Murderer Where I Get My Ideas]]", Yahtzee ascribes his writing process to listening to [[EdgarAllanPoe talking ravens]], aliens and leprechauns. We can surmise he gets asked about this a lot.
* AssPull: [[invoked]]After playing ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' he accuses the writer of pulling the Dracula plot twist out of his "biggest and sweatiest ass".
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6387-FIFA-13 review]] of F.I.F.A. 13, he keeps getting distracted by downloadable games.
* AttentionWhore: From what we see of the Mario Bros. back in the old days, fixing toilets in Brooklyn, Mario was already a giant egomaniac who shouts "ITSA MEEEE" at any provocation. (''Luigi's Mansion 2'')
* AuthorAppeal: He notes some of this in ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' with his Creator/StudioGhibli [[http://i.imgur.com/SaqJFwS.png bingo card]].
* AuthorFilibuster: Occasionally.
* AwesomenessIsVolatile: Yahtzee implied this would happen if ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' were combined with Branston Pickle.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: The little Fairy refers to Yahtzee as "Benjamin Yahtzee Sebastian Godzilla Croshaw" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/93-Haze review]] of ''Haze''.
* AxCrazy: Yahtzee (or at least his avatar) tends to kill people from [[DisproportionateRetribution slight provocation]], like setting a ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan on fire for refusing to tell him what the game was like until he tried it.
* BaitAndSwitch: His review of ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'', the quote at the start of the page.
** He opens his review of ''Franchise/FatalFrame: Maiden of Black Water,'' his last video before Christmas 2015, with one:
-->Well it's [[ChristmasTropes that time of year]] again: the stockings have gone up, and [[StockingFiller the owner of the stockings]] has been [[TheOldestProfession paid $20 and left my hotel room.]]
* {{Bathos}}: On occasion, sometimes overlapping with MoodWhiplash.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: A surprising amount of people write in with requests and then get offended when he rips into the game.
* BerserkButton: As someone who is professionally angry, Yahtzee has quite a few. While many are specific to a game (and thus too numerous to list) some recur:
** In the ''[[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1951-Transformers-War-for-Cybertron review]], the mention of Creator/ShiaLaBeouf sent him into a barely-restrained seething rage.
** Creator/NolanNorth's presence in a game tends to be a sour point for him (especially if he voices the [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed main]] [[VideoGame/{{Uncharted}} character]]). However, he's stated that it's nothing against the man himself, though even cases of PlayingAgainstType will make him hate the character as long as he knows it's him. He did, however, give a glowing [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6021-Spec-Ops-The-Line review]] to ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', in which North plays the protagonist, perhaps because the game is in part a [[PlayingWithCharacterType deconstruction]] of North's usual character type.
** Quick Time Events.
** He seems to developing one over reboots/sequels that [[RecycledTitle share identical names with their predecessors]], such as ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/916-Wolfenstein Wolfenstein]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3250-Mortal-Kombat Mortal Kombat]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5531-Twisted-Metal Twisted Metal]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1516-Aliens-vs-Predator Aliens vs Predator]]'' and ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7025-Tomb-Raider Tomb Raider]]'', saying it's needlessly confusing to have two identically titled games in the same series separated by nothing but time, even if that time in some cases is a few decades.
** He got really ''pissed'' with viewer accusations that he named ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare3'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' as joint "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5207-Top-5-of-2011 Worst Games of 2011]]" just because he "doesn't like shooters" as shooters are actually one of his favorite genres.
-->'''Yahtzee:''' Oh, you ignorant little ''bastards''. Stick your balls up your arse and clench yourself castrated! I was into shooters when you were still sucking on Wiimotes, you cover-loving, health-regenerating, murderer-come-latelies!
** He tries to be fair about it, but he really doesn't like multiplayer in general (because he feels it brings in factors beyond the game's control and thus affect the review), so when he faces a game with executive-mandated shoehorned-in multiplayer (like ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6891-Dead-Space-3 Dead Space 3]]'') he'll get particularly steamed. However, due to DarkSouls and ''VideoGame/TitanFall'', he's getting a bit more kinder for multiplayer.
** Croshaw has an absolute dislike of games that shoehorn in gimmicks. Since most games made for recent Nintendo systems make excessive use of either motion controls (for the Wii), the secondary screen (WiiU) or 3D graphics (3DS) he'll usually go off on Nintendo as a whole for this. His issue isn't so much that gimmicks exist as it is that they tend to handicap the game more than enhance it. However, he doesn't hold them as much as he does the others due to various things, Nintendo being more focused on games and fun being a major part.
** Games-as-art products that forget the "game" part. While he doesn't dislike artistic games and indeed is a strong proponent of games being an artform he hates when a game lets being artsy get in the way of being something enjoyable to play. Something of which he praised ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' for - the trailer only showed gameplay.
** He also seems to dislike kids.
** Resurrection of the dead, as seen in both ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''.
** And who could not forget from his VideoGame/HaloWars review:
--> "We lost contact!" went the character... [[PunctuatedForEmphasis BULL. FUCKING. SHIT.]] (the words "[[GoshDangitToHeck WHAT. ARBITRARY. SILLINESS.]]" appear in synchrony with his swearing). All possible threats were dead! We didn't lose contact - I was looking at them - They were RIGHT. FUCKING. THERE! They were so close we could communicate by '''waggling our eyebrows at each other'''! What the fuck happened when the stupid arbitrary time limit ran out!? Did their ''Film/BattleRoyale'' collars explode!? Did they lose honor and disembowel themselves? '''WHAT'''?!\\
And just to put the cherry on it, you know who they were? ''Absolutely bloody no one!'' Generic faceless ''pricks'' of the sort I'd vat-grown about ''fifty of'' that day alone! But we didn't make it in time, so they were going to make me do the '''''whole fucking mission again!'''''\\
As the exasperated Chinese zookeeper said to the last male panda in the world, '''FUCK! THAT!'''
** In one of his Extra Punctuation columns he noted that he extremely disliked Creator/RhiannaPratchett's writing style, having observed many recurring problems in ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'', ''VideoGame/{{Thief2014}}'', ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' and ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider''.
* BeYourself: He is strongly against ReviewsAreTheGospel, even regarding his own.
* BitingTheHandHumor: "I made this chart to see how many people visit ''The Escapist'' on days besides Wednesday..."
* BiasSteamroller: Occasionally a topic of jokes.
* BigBad: Creator/ElectronicArts, whose abhorrent business practices and representing of all that is wrong with the video game industry he has a habit of going into [[AuthorFilibuster Author Filibusters]] about.
* BigEater: Several references have been made to Yahtzee eating (or at least wanting to eat) some absurdly huge quantity of food in one sitting. For example:
** In his review for VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple, Yahtzee's avatar can be seen lying on his back next to a conveyor belt rolling an ''entire cake'' towards his open mouth.
** In his VideoGame/TheBureauXCOMDeclassified review, he talks about wanting to call Domino's to ask if they'll make "...a sandwich with pizzas instead of bread. And ''nine pizzas'' instead of filling."
* BigFirstChoice: Not a fan of it, although he wrote a lengthy Extra Punctuation column about it and argued that ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'''s use of it was probably the best implementation he'd seen.
* BigNo: The ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/218-Spore review]]. Twice. But with a [[DeadpanSnarker twist]].
--> "So can his new game, Spore, possibly live up to that legacy? In short: no. In long: nooooo...." (for 15 seconds without taking a breath)
* BilingualBonus: When Yahtzee "quotes" a ZP fan extolling ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' '':Blood Curse'' to him, said fan starts spouting off about Yahtzee's love of Japanese horror, eventually devolving into random Japanese words: "Watashi wa baka gaijin," which translates to "I'm a stupid foreigner."
** In his ''Sniper Elite V2'' review: "I love Russians! Worked with a Russian girl as an office temp and I imagine we would've gotten along great if I'd understood a word she was saying." And what is she saying? [[StealthInsult "I hate you"]].
** In his review for Yakuza 4, when he notes that the game is set in a particularly peculiar japanese-style sandbox, one of the little black imps has the Kanji character for Oni (demonic ogre-like creatures) on it's body.
* BioAugmentation: Burly characters are accused of implanting steaks into their biceps to give them more muscles (when they're not accused of being overweight that is).
* BlackBestFriend: He invokes this in his ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' review, suggesting that the main characters only cared about [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Alex's death]] because [[SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX they couldn't claim to have a black person on their side any more]].
* BlackComedyRape: When remembering the time he lost his virginity to an obese black woman in his review of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'', you can see an image of said obese black woman dragging him away by his leg as he is obviously horrified by her. Complete with claw marks on the ground by his fingernails.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Describes [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Lara Croft]]'s support team as "a small team of ethnically-diverse archaeologists who all seem to be wearing digital clocks on their heads counting down to the point at which they are [[StuffedIntoTheFridge unwillingly made part of someone else's character development]]". The black woman's readout is nearly at zero.
** Mentioned in many of his reviews, particularly ones about modern military shooters (or [[MemeticMutation spunkgargleweewee]].)
* BlandNameProduct: In order to avoid mentioning any real gaming webcomics in his review of the genre, he used ''[[PennyArcade Benny Barcade]]'' and ''[[CtrlAltDel Bontrol Bolt Belete]]'' as names instead. This was a ShoutOut to ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', with its [[ThoseWackyNazis National Bocialist Party]] and their boncentration bamps.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Used frequently to show strong emotion.
* BlatantLies: In his VideoGame/HeavyRain review, Yahtzee claims that Scott Shelby is a "fat private investigator, not interesting enough to dwell on", which is only true if you overlook the fact that [[spoiler: Scott is the Origami Killer, and thus arguably the most important character in the game]].
* BoobsAndButtPose: Makes reference to this at the end of his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5394-Darkness-2 review]] for ''VideoGame/TheDarkness 2''
-->'''Yahtzee:''' Darkness 2 is more like an attempt to recreate the comics...[a]nd I've never liked [the] sort of comic...[that features] women proportioned like ice lollies balanced on two chicken drumsticks standing around like God gave them a vicious Chinese burn around their waists.
* BookEnds: Before reviewing ''VideoGame/FableII'', Yahtzee notes that all he needs to do now is review ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA second time]] then be "[[{{Squick}} sucked into a grown woman's vagina]]" and his life will have been more-or-less symmetrical.
** The [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1815-Prince-of-Persia-The-Forgotten-Sands review]] of ''Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands'' ([[BlatantLies which totally wasn't made to cash in on a movie]]) starts with a TakeThat against Creator/RogerEbert's (then-recent) remark that video games couldn't be art. He then ignores it for the rest of the review until the very end when he yells at Ebert again.
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Yahtzee's description of the three types of levels that typically come up in a random pull in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'':
-->'''Yahtzee:''' A level with ten million of something, the kind of obnoxious difficulty a Creator/RoaldDahl villain would come up with, or ten million of something being obnoxiously difficult.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick[=/=]FreudianSlipperySlope: The end of the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5-Tomb-Raider-Anniversary review]] of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary''.
* BringMyBrownPants: Standard procedure for ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'' and ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''.
** Taken UpToEleven for ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'', where the force of such ''blew a hole through his chair''.
* BRollRebus: Nearly all of the visuals that aren't meant to represent gameplay. His Wikiquote entry even {{Pot Hole}}s some of them for lack of images.
* BrainBleach: It's a favorite reaction by Croshaw.
* BrickJoke:
** The ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review opens with the Stranglers song of the same name. However, the song's [[RecordNeedleScratch abruptly cut off]]: "No, no, that's a bit too obvious." This isn't mentioned throughout the entire review. Finally, in [[CreditsGag the credits]], the songs used in the video are listed as normal, except that "No More Heroes" has been thoroughly scribbled out.
** Another one consisted of a spoiler warning in mid-episode, where Yahtzee told spoiler-sensitive viewers to plug their ears and wait for the credits. The credits mini-comic consisted of a series of famous spoilers from other works. ([[spoiler:[[Film/CitizenKane It was his sled]], [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Keyser Soze = Kevin Spacey]], etc.]])
** The [[GroinAttack sausage-slicing machine]] in the ''[[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} Killzone 3]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2915-Killzone-3 review]].
** In his ''QuantumConundrum'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5998-Quantum-Conundrum review]], he makes a reference to his contract with the Escapist, which is represented by a piece of paper with "say [[CountryMatters cunt]] a lot" on it. At the end of the review, naturally, he launches into a [[ClusterFBomb Cluster C Bomb]].
** In the ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5239-Super-Mario-3D-Land-Rayman-Origins review]], he contemplates how a [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/marktronics/843124797/ more faithful depiction of Tanooki]] would work, "in which case it's the [[SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom Thwomps]] [[TacticalSuicideBoss I feel sorry for]]." Later, in the ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' review, he mentions as one of the smugglers' moves being "[[GroinAttack crafty knees to the bollocks]], which [[ForgotHeWasARobot for some reason also works on robots]]. Perhaps they're wearing Tanooki suits."
** A subtle one, in his ''Franchise/MassEffect'' review he explains how he named his character Titty Shepard. Several years later when ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' came out, he refers to Shepard as Titty with no prior mention of the earlier review. It should also be noted that it isn't mentioned in his ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' review, at all.
*** Also, throughout the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' review, Shepard is wearing the pink armour that Yahtzee had dressed him in the first review.
** In ''EpicMickey'' Yahtzee talks about his fear of Theme Park Mascots. In Hitman he mentions how he has killed many Theme Park Mascots.
** The "Whipped Cream Genocide Brouhaha" from his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1404-Darksiders review]] of ''{{Darksiders}}'' reappears at the bottom of the list of "build-your-own combos" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7542-Remember-Me review]] of ''VideoGame/RememberMe''.
** His review of VideoGame/HaloWars has one with a shorter setup than most. While talking about the unit selection issues in the game:
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Lacking click-and-drag, all you can do is select one prick, select one prick and all his prick friends standing within a fixed diameter, select all the pricks on the current screen, or call a great big all-map prick hoedown. So if you just want to, say, select all your flying pricks for a strategic insertion than you’re going to have a bit of prick trouble beyond the might of any soothing cream."
** In his ''Alien Isolation'' review:
*** ''At the beginning:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Welcome back to the second week of our excursion to opposite-land, where the carpets go on the ceilings, people eat feces and poo out breakfast cereal and somehow the best games going are AAA movie franchise tie-ins"
*** ''In the middle:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "When the alien finally does show up, uncoiling and plopping down from the ceiling in front of you like a big drippy shit into the cereal bowl that is your life"
*** ''At the end:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Sure, I could go alone into hostile territory yet again to fetch your key card. But how about instead, ''you'' eat the contents of this cereal bowl."
* BrokenRecord: "You couldn't get away with releasing a buggy game in the cartridge and cassette days; you'd be trampled under the company Brontosaurus. But I'll tell you the worst part- worst part- worst part- worst part- [[WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties *system error*]] [[OrphanedPunchline ...and whistled for a baboon!]]
* BrokeTheRatingScale: ''Ride to Hell: Retribution'' "won" the #0 spot on Top Worst of 2013. This was being charitable, as Yahtzee's reasoning was that "it's [[InsultToRocks not a game]]; it's congealed failure."
** It wasn't just for worst game of 2013 either. It was a reward for worst game that he had ever reviewed and a title that he said that it would hold until an even WORSE game came around.
* BrutalHonesty: Yahtzee definitely doesn't sugarcoat anything when reviewing games. ''Especially'' critically acclaimed games.
* BuffySpeak: His metaphors descend into this while reviewing ''VideooGame/LittleBigPlanet.'' {{Lampshaded}} in the same review -- it was very hot that week and he couldn't think of anything better.
* BulletDancing: Why do developers shun the Wii U? Because, Yahtzee explains, Nintendo has a somewhat strained relationship with developers who don't wish to incorporate their horrible hardware gimmicks into the games. We then cut to the Nintendo logo firing a six-shooter at [[ElectronicArts EA]] while barking, "'''DANCE'''". (''A Link Between Worlds'')
* ButtMonkey:
** Yahtzee's avatar gets hurt in a variety of ways throughout his reviews.
** The black imp also seems to get a fair amount of pain dealt to him. Especially when he gets a Nazi helmet, at which point Yahtzee will do things like pulling his toenails out with pliers.
* ButtonMashing: In his review of ''Videogame/DmCDevilMayCry'', he notes that he always ends up doing this reflexively in action games so moves that require him to pause in the middle of a combo are extremely difficult for him to pull off.
* CallBack: As far as the eye can see.
** "[[HelloInsertNameHere Senor Koquonfaes and Gareth Gobelcoque]] are [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3112-Nintendo-3DS cousins by marriage]]."
*** It turns out that Gareth is a [[ContinuityNod long-forgotten comrade]] of [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 Titty Shepard]].
** Plot summary for ''DeadToRights'':
--> "Bang! Punch! Bang! Punch! Bang! Punch! Woof!"
** And [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4694-Dead-Island for]] ''DeadIsland'':
--> "Grr! Kick! Grr! Kick! Grr! Kick! Splat!"
** The phrase "triple-cunted hooker" makes a number of appearances.
** In the ''VideoGame/HardReset'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4784-Hard-Reset review]], Yahtzee compares the game to ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'' by dint of the fact that many who worked on the former were also among the crew of the latter. While praising ''Painkiller'' for its array of creative death distribution implements, the avatar onscreen wields a shotgun that has tits and is on fire -- precisely the phrasing Yahtzee used in his review of ''Painkiller''.
** In the ''SuperMarioBrosWii'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1191-Left-4-Dead-2-New-Super-Mario-Bros-Wii review]] the credits state that Yahtzee only has two friends. Later in the ''VideoGame/NieR'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1703-Nier review]] we find out that this was referring to the imp and the extremely bored looking man respectively, hence why they are the only recurring characters in his videos.
** The "paddling pool full of disembodied breasts" analogy in the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/312-Saints-Row-2 review]] returns in an exaggerated form in the ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5056-Saints-Row-The-Third review]].
** In his ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3443-The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings review]], he refers to Geralt as "Gerald", which continues a RunningGag that began in his review of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher first game]] and carried on in his review of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt third]].
** In ''VideoGame/DeadToRights Retribution'' he imagines that [[SociopathicHero Jack Slate]] worships "some mad ocelot god only he can see". Years later, in ''[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Payne 3]]'', another tortured ex-cop murder spree game, the head of an ocelot appears on screen when Yahtzee says the phrase "the face of God".
** In the ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6586-Hitman-Absolution review]], the ocelot returns to urge Yahtzee to take therapy for his (fictional) habit of killing theme park mascots.
** [=SpunkGargleWeeWee=] seems to have become this anytime he talks about an FPS he doesn't believe should be classified as a Shooter.
** He [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6723-Black-Knight-Sword-Hotline-Miami mocks]] the WordSaladTitle ''Black Knight Sword'' by calling it "Purple Monkey Dishwasher," which is what he called ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' in a previous review. It doubles as a ShoutOut to ''TheSimpsons.''
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6695-Paper-Mario-Sticker-Star review]] of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' he calls out the habit of recent Mario games to always have a world order of "[[GreenHillZone grasslands]], [[ShiftingSandLand desert]], [[TheLostWoods forest]], [[JungleJapes jungle]], [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice world]], [[LethalLavaLand fire world]], boss (nn-ch-nn-ch-nn-ch-nn)." This surfaces again in his review of ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' in a completely ''non''-Mario context.
** His review of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkIllumination'' has him comment on how the game is behind the times by having the game portrayed as saying, "Boy, I'm looking forward to [[{{Film/Watchmen}} the Watchmen movie]]", referencing Yahtzee's video on E3 2008 when he finished the video by doing exactly that.
* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: How he describes Nintendo in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' review:
-->''Yahtzee'': A world without Nintendo would be a far bleaker one than this, and yet there's [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks something]] about them I find incredibly infuriating.
* CaptainMorganPose: Used to deify certain characters in a game, ranging from (most frequently) Yahtzee [[HolyHalo wearing a halo]], to Andrew Ryan in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', to a nutter survivalist in ''{{VideoGame/Rust}}'' who shoots Yahtzee in self-defense after spotting a rock in his hand.
-->"How fortunate this community must be to have a watchman so dedicated to rigidly enforcing the laws against [[FelonyMisdemeanor unlicensed rocks."]]
* CargoShip:[[invoked]] In his ''RedFaction Guerrilla'' review, Yahtzee admitted he pretty much proposed to ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' in his review of it -- complete with picture of him and the game in bride and groom attire, respectively.
** In his ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/878-Silent-Hill-2 retro review]], he lampshades his fondness for "dropping to my knees and wrapping my lips around old titles from time to time", and another review shows him humping the ''Silent Hill 2'' box art.
** He made a [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/203-Braid similar comment]] about the ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' series, saying "If I suck that particular dick any harder, it's going to [[{{Squick}} drop off]]."
** The Yahtzee/''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' CargoShip returns in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5595-Silent-Hill-Downpour review]] of ''SilentHill: Downpour'', when he and the game are shown wearing a bridal veil and groom's tuxedo respectively, and he admits that "Yes, [[WhyDontYouMarryIt maybe I]] ''[[WhyDontYouMarryIt will]]'' [[WhyDontYouMarryIt marry]] VideoGame/SilentHill2, shut up!"
* CausticCritic: The {{YKTTW}} for CausticCritic was named "Parent Genre of Zero Punctuation".
* ChainedToARailway: Used as a metaphor for why Andrew Ryan is a sympathetic villain. A DastardlyWhiplash character advises the girl to "maybe not stand there", apropos railroad tracks.
** Also done to Jill Valentine in the credits of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles''.
* ChallengeGamer: Sometimes Yahtzee will like a game ''because'' it's murderously hard, as with ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6276-DayZ DayZ]]'' and the hardcore mode in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.
* ChaoticNeutral: Yahtzee claims to be this alignment in his ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/584-Spiderman-Web-of-Shadows review]] and encourages his fans to argue on the forum as to whether he is or not. [[invoked]]
* ChewBubblegum: A [[ItMakesSenseInContext zombie Duke Nukem]] says "Time to kick ass and chew brains" in the ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1546-Battlefield-Bad-Company-2 review]].
* ChildHater: Every so often, he's made it ''very'' clear that he finds children annoying. He's even said that he'd rather commit suicide than to have kids of his own. Granted, this is ''[[CausticCritic Yahtzee]]'' we're talking here, so how much of it is true is up for debate.
* CliffHanger: Strongly dislikes them, especially in cases where a brand new IP ends on one under the creators' mistaken assumption that the game is destined to become the first entry in a franchise (which turns out [[StillbornFranchise not to be the case]], thereby leaving the game's story permanently unresolved). In an ''Extra Punctuation'' column he went so far as to argue that a game with an unresolved story is effectively an incomplete product, and hence selling it is tantamount to fraud.
* ClipShow: The [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2589-Holiday-2010 Holiday 2010 episode]], after Yahtzee mocks the viewer for showing up when they should know that he gets that week off.
* ClusterFBomb: At least once per episode. One of his most infamous clusters was delivered in the opening to his ''MindJack'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2793-MindJack review]]:
--> So in the name of keeping things nice and clear for you touchy sods, let me as unambiguous as possible in this critique: ''MindJack'' is ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING]] [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible BAD BAD BAD BAD.]] DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T PLAY IT!''
* ClusterBleepBomb: Seen in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1732-Monster-Hunter-Tri review]] of ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterTri'', in relation to [[HGame '"Japanese Sex Games"]]:
--> I waggled my (CENSORED) at her (CENSORED) until her (CENSORED)ed at her (CENSORED) until it started emitting a sorrowful howl.
* TheCoconutEffect: Discussed in his ''Extra Punctuation'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/7726-Boss-Fights column]] on {{Boss Battle}}s.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Referred to by the exact name during his ''VideoGame/OverlordII'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/822-Overlord-2 review]].
* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch:[[invoked]] He has accused the ''Zelda'' series of being [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks incredibly formulaic]]. However, he also admits to being very unfamiliar with the franchise. To wit; he's used ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' (some argue [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks took the opposite extreme]]) as proof of his point.
* ComplainingAboutThingsYouHaventPaidFor: In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8031-Extra-Punctuation-Dont-Use-the-Word-Gamer.2 this]] Extra Punctuation blog, Yahtzee announces that there will not be an update next week, and informs anyone who has a problem with this, "Now, you only have a right to complain about this if you are actually paying money to watch and read this stuff. And even then, only because someone appears to be pulling a fast one on you."
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: He observes that ''Beyond: Two Souls'' stealth mechanics come into play only once, "which by [[NeverTrustATrailer staggering coincidence]] happens to be the bit that was in the gameplay trailers." Developer David Cage then creeps behind the sofa wearing one of these disguises while Yahtzee admonishes him.
* ContinuityNod: In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' review, Yahtzee's Shepard dons hot pink armor in memory of Gareth [[MeaningfulName Gobulcoque]], his character from ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa''.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/624-Resident-Evil-5 Apparently]] whoever designed the inventory system for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' should be sent to a special Hell where he has to pack shopping for old ladies... or just get punched in the stomach.
** Also says that any developer that holds back stuff for DLC should have their hands cut off, and then put back on after paying 1200 Microsoft points.
* CosmicDeadline: Yahtzee has accused several games of falling prey to this, including ''[[VideoGame/DarkVoid Dark]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1433-Dark-Void Void]]'', ''[[VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}} Splatter]][[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2544-Splatterhouse house]]'', and of course ''[[VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}} Indigo Prophecy]]'' aka "[[FanNickname Baron von Teapot's Fucking Ludicrous Adventures]]."
* CoughSnarkCough: In his ''LollipopChainsaw'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5977-Lollipop-Chainsaw review]]:
--> "But there are certainly games with worse combat, and games with more offensive depictions of women, [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud cough]] ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' unconvincing-cough."
* CrackPairing: [[invoked]] His ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'' opens with Yahtzee remarking on the best potential husband for Lara Croft - [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]].
--> "They've got so much in common! They both have an [[{{Sequelitis}} embarrassing amount of adventures]] that all follow an [[StrictlyFormula extremely specific formula]][[note]]Jason's is "Teenagers + [[DeathBySex having sex]] = [[{{Gorn}} death slice bleed wahey]]", Lara's is "[[AxeCrazy Anything + doing anything = death slice bleed wahey]]"[[/note]], they both have an irresistible compulsion to [[AxeCrazy murder God's creatures]], they both spend lots of time underground, and most importantly neither of them will ever ''just fucking '''die!'''''"
* CreatorBacklash: In-universe, he noted that 99% of artists claim to loathe everything they made more than five years ago and the remaining 1% are liars.
* CreatorThumbprint:
** Platformers and games that don't use bloom and [[RealIsBrown brown gritty graphics]] earn a somewhat higher note in his book.
** "SurvivalHorror is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/696-Siren-Blood-Curse what I call a pet genre]]. A pet I keep in a tool shed and feed with broken glass."
** ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' is one of the few games that pleased him, resulting in a review that sounded like, in his own words, "an overlong wedding proposal" due to the fact that it entertainingly combines RuleOfFun and VideoGameCrueltyPotential.
** He also has a great love for anything that does things differently like ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''; he complimented ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' for trying something new even after tearing the actual gameplay apart, and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' got [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/16-Assassins-Creed praise]] for being original even though it was let down by highly repetitive gameplay. Similarly, he praised ''DarkVoid'' for being an ambitious failure, and as such, better than "committee-designed sludge". He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1651-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories liked]] ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'', despite hating ''Franchise/SilentHill'' spinoffs and saying that the monsters and chase scenes weren't scary and the psych test gimmicks weren't enough, for trying something new. He raves about ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' for [[TropeMaker creating]], [[TropeNamer naming]] and [[TropeCodifier codifying]] the ColossusClimb, and ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'' got a love note from him for making him ''[[VideoGameCaringPotential care]]'' about a CuteMute LoveInterest.
** He also has a taste for SceneryPorn, although he has said in his reviews that while he loves a good beautiful skybox as much as the next person, he much prefers ''exploring'' said beautiful skybox.
** [[CuteKitten Cats]] seem to pop up a lot in his reviews (which [[CatsAreMean sort of]] [[CausticCritic makes sense]]), as do [[PreciousPuppies dogs]]. In fact, he said that one of his three wishes would be a puppy.
** A warped sense of humor is also a big plus for him, as in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series and the aforementioned ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
** Good writing impresses him as well; the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series has led him to give BioWare a dirt-cheap [[DealWithTheDevil offer of his soul]].
--->"When the bottom falls out of the game criticism market and I have to start prostituting myself to developers, BioWare will be one of my first ports of call, because there are few enough developers in the world who treat writing as an integral part of the game rather than an optional set of colorful tassels to put on the handlebars."
*** In his review for the second game he spends almost the whole review talking about the changes in gameplay, then mentions casually how the writing and characters have gotten better, but because it's BioWare they don't get any points for it.
** Considering his positive mentions of ''[[VideoGame/SeriousSam Serious]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5184-Serious-Sam-3-BFE Sam 3]]'' and his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/57-Painkiller love]] of ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', along with his positive [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2176-Dead-Rising-2 review]] of ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'', Yahtzee also seems to like games that pit the player against large hordes and give them the freedom to just go wild.
** The worse you can act towards Nazis, the better, by his books. Bonus points if it's [[CruelAndUnusualDeath spectacular or amusing.]]
** He mentioned a particular fondness for Shaun of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series, partly because he reminds him of himself and partly because he often insults [[NolanNorth Desmond]] [[TheScrappy Miles]].
** He has fondness for games that actively embrace VideoGameCrueltyPotential and particularly creative ways of TheJoysOfTorturingMooks.
** He has a thing for large open environments with interesting ways to traverse the world, such as LeParkour or flight.
** His [[{{Eagleland}} distaste of America]] which puts them as overly decadent whiners who try to make a world empire.
*** Quite literally TheEmpire in his review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter'', as one scene involves you controlling a robot against people armed with rocks, reminiscent of [[ReturnOfTheJedi the Empire vs. the Ewoks]].
** He's also a fan of first person games that allow a bit of freedom and reward exploration such as ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', ''VIdeoGame/{{Thief}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SystemShock System Shock 2]]'', and ''VideoGame/DeusEx''.
** Also, [[RuleOfFunny for whatever reason]], he likes to somehow include or feature ''Marmite'' and ''Branston Pickle'' in his reviews, preferably at the most unfitting times. He must be really fond of ''Marmite'' and ''Branston Pickle''.
*** That's the British ''Marmite'' made by Unilever which is sold in Australia as ''Our Mate'', not the New Zealand ''Marmite'' made by the Sanatarium which is sold in Australia as ''Marmite''.
* CreditsGag: The text next to his name at the end. Also, the opening and closing credits each had a clip from a song whose name and/or content was a pun on the content of the review. For example, ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'', about drug-fueled mercenary super-soldiers, used Afroman's "Because I Got High". This stopped after a while, for fear of lawsuits.
** Music used interestingly in his ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review, as mentioned above for BrickJoke.
** Also, the credits themselves have a little minicomic going on, acted out by the little figures he uses in the reviews. The one for ''{{Spore}}'' had a flying saucer alien abducting Batman, who then beat it up and stole the flying saucer. Additionally, there is generally a caption referring to something earlier in the video.
* CrossOver: With ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}''. Yahtzee [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/unskippable/644-Star-Ocean-The-Last-Hope appeared]] in their ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' riff and [[LoadingReadyRun Graham Stark]] of ''Unskippable'' appeared in the first section of the ''Franchise/{{Halo}} Wars'' review to review ''X-Blades'' before running out of things to say and getting kicked out by Yahtzee.
** A throwaway gag, mere seconds into the aforementioned ''Halo Wars'' review, poked fun at ''Eternal Sonata'', which was ''Unskippable'''s premiere episode.
** Furthermore, in the review of both ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', the Credit Sequence features a short mix-type {{crossover}} of the two reviewed games.
* CrossPlayer: Yahtzee [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/138-Age-of-Conan becomes one]] for ''[[VideoGame/AgeOfConan Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures]]''.
* CryingIndian: The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/420-Fallout-3 review]] featured a deer crying over the landscape being littered with rubble.
* CurseCutShort: He spends the entirety of his 50 Cent reviews carefully wording his criticisms so that nothing can be misconstrued as racist, then ends the episode on an inspiring speech, saying people of all creeds and colors should try to put aside their differences and work together to build a better world for everyone, but then punctuates that speech with this sentence:
-->"Not that they'd know anything about work, the lazy nig-" [END CREDITS]
** From his VideoGame/HalfLife1 review, after bemoaning the lack of any new games to review before Christmas: "at this point there's only one thing I can do, [[ADateWithRosiePalms MASTURBA]]- I mean RETRO-REVIEW!"
* CursedWithAwesome: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5443-NeverDead review]] of [[VideoGame/NeverDead NeverDead]]:
-->"Bryce is also immortal, capable of regenerating from any injury, having been cursed by the king of the demons 500 years ago, when the king of the demons wasn't entirely sure what the word 'curse' means."
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4137-Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution Wonders aloud]] if ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'''s ending is ''intentionally'' bad, so players will purchase the DLC.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: This trope, and the infrequency with which it is played straight, is discussed in his ''VideoGame/MafiaII'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1988-Mafia-II review]].
* DamnedByFaintPraise: In the ''Killzone: Shadow Fall'' review, Yahtzee mentions that ''Knack'' "looked pretty spectacular after I fired it out of my clay pigeon launching machine."
* DareToBeBadass: Well, at least "dare to be different", in his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1871-Super-Mario-Galaxy-2 review]]. In spite of his bashing of it he does admit in the end it ''is'' fun and if people want to play the same games he can't really do anything to stop them, but he does request that those people go out and do one thing they never have before.
* DarkerAndEdgier: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/759-Bionic-Commando Once a simple story]], "the new ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' has taken the dark and edgy route", illustrated with said commando [[EmoTeen slashing his wrist]] and singing "[[LinkinPark CRAAAWLING IIIIN MY SKIIIN]]".
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy:[[invoked]] A big irk for Yahtzee is games where protagonists are just as (if not more) unlikable than the antagonist, citing ''{{WET}}'', ''KaneAndLynch: Dog Days'' and the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' sequels as major examples.
** He also stated that he found VideoGame/MaxPayne's constant self-loathing and pessimism in ''Max Payne 3'' to be tiring and off-putting.
* DeadpanSnarker: Of course.
** However, most Deadpan Snarkers in games tend to annoy him, notably Nathan Drake of ''Uncharted'' and the Snarky dialogue options of ''Dragon Age II''.
*** Though for some reason, he likes Shaun Hastings from ''Assassin's Creed''.
* DearNegativeReader: Most notably in his video on [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/108-Webcomics webcomics]] and the grandly titled "Mailbag Showdown", though Yahtzee more often than not turns his gun barrel back on himself.
* DeathSeeker: More of a SuicideAsComedy, but noticeable in this line for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''.
-->"If you are like me: handsome, talented, and secretly longing for death..."
** While fielding questions about ''Mogworld'', he mentioned someone recommending a webcomic with a resemblance to his own novel. Yahtzee feigned indifference, but his hand kept spasming upward to point a pistol at his head.
* DeepImmersionGaming
* DelayedRippleEffect: Or, to give his own name for it from his ''[[VideoGame/DarkestOfDays Darkest of Days]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/957-Darkest-of-Days review]], "The ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' rules of Time Travel", where one can change things, "but the timeline is rather easygoing about it".
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment:
** "So you've looked at ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' seen the massive amount of money, prestige, and money those guys get for nine panels a week, and decided you want in on that." The visuals go a step further: when he says "money", "prestige", and "money" again, ever-increasing piles of cash and swanky clothes appear on the two people meant to represent Gabe and Tycho... and even when he gets to the word "decided" ''another'' layer of largesse is added.
** [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Clive Barker's]] ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/14-Clive-Barkers-Jericho Clive Barker's Jericho]]'' by Clive Barker.
** ''[[VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry Devil May Cry Colon Devil May Cry]]''
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/689-Tom-Clancys-H-A-W-X And]] Creator/TomClancy's ''[[VideoGame/{{HAWX}} H.A.W.X.]]'' by [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Tom Clancy]].
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1044-Brutal-Legend And]] ''[[BrutalLegend Brew-tal Legend]]'', a game about Creator/JackBlack playing Jack Black starring Jack Black made with [[TimSchafer a guy who looks like Jack Black]].
** From ''Darksiders'', describing the first few games he will review starting in 2010: "[[{{Darksiders}} God of War ripoff]], [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} God Of War ripoff]] (though when he reviews it he admits it's more like ''Franchise/DevilMayCry''), [[VideoGame/DantesInferno God Of War ripoff]], and God of War... well, ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''."
** "Have I mentioned that I wrote a novel and you can preorder it from Amazon and Amazon.co.uk? Well, I wrote a novel and you can preorder it from Amazon and Amazon.co.uk."
** "''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2435-Fallout-New-Vegas really]] just an expansion pack for ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', and I said everything I need to say about ''Fallout 3'' in my ''Fallout 3'' review of ''Fallout 3''."
** "I've got a second novel coming out. It's called 'Jam' and you can preorder it from Amazon and tfaw.com. It's about an apocalypse, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with jam in it]]."
** "[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite Father Comstock]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7105-BioShock-Infinite marks out DeWitt]] as the guy who's going to fuck everyone up, so he's forced to fuck everyone up after they all turn on him for being the guy who's going to fuck everyone up."
* DesignatedHero:[[invoked]] In his ''Extra Punctuation'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6793-Uncharted-2 article]] of ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', Yahtzee portrays Nathan Drake as one, accusing him of massive MoralDissonance.
** The ''ZP'' review of ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' also suggests this: we only have the plot's say-so that the police chasing you are the bad guys, and as far as we know, the packages could be bombs to blow up someone's grandma.
** He has this reaction to the ISA of ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'', suggesting that the entire series is basically them being horrible to the Helghast and the Helghast being treated as evil for retaliating.
*** He also believes this about most spunkgargleweewee protagonists, noting "We've got killdroids, they've got rocks!" in his review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter''. In one column, he suggests that this is because they tend to treat a threat to America as self-evidently evil, which he doesn't get, not being an American.
* DespairEventHorizon: Yahtzee's review of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' is barely humorous, with Yahtzee apologizing for the lack of humor and with a downright depressing wrap-up.
-->'''Yahtzee''': *weary sigh* Remember when shooters were about [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} killing demons from hell?]] Those were good days. Perhaps this is an inevitable part of gaming growing up as our childish fantasies are torn from us, and we are forced to confront consequences in an unfair, uncaring and unavoidable world of ''hatred, misery, and '''death'''''. *[[MoodWhiplash Farting noises.]]*
* DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck: [[invoked]] It's rare that he experiences any of these, but there have been specific moments in a few games (such as [[{{Mindjack}} a boss too poorly-coded to be defeatable]], [[VideoGame/{{AMY}} a bad AI forcing him to restart a level he was just about to clear]], [[{{Mercenaries}} if not making it outright unwinnable]]) that made him give up on a game outright.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Discussed in his ''AlphaProtocol'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1801-Alpha-Protocol review]]. He also devoted a column to discussing games that have done it well, singling out ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' for particular praise.
* DidntSeeThatComing: At the end of his ''Prototype'' vs. ''Infamous'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/789-Prototype review]] he declared both games to be equally good and couldn't decide which one was better. So he jokingly suggested the two developers (Radical Entertainment and Sucker Punch Productions respectively) to send him a picture of the opposing main character wearing a bra, and whoever made the better one would win. [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6228-Yahtzees-Prototype-vs-InFamous-Challenge They went with it]]. At the end it was narrow, but Sucker Punch Productions and ''Infamous'' won.
* DiscretionShot: The statement that a premise has been "stretched wider than a catamite's rectum" is accompanied by a black screen with the text "'''IMAGE VERY CENSORED'''".
** The captions in censor boxes are a RunningGag:
---> "Think of something wholesome."
---> "OH DEAR GOD"
---> "Look it up"
---> "Thanks Website/DeviantART!"
---> "NEIN!"
---> "BELIEVE IN CHRIST"
---> "THE BABY IS FINE THE BABY IS OKAY"
** Conversely, he decided to show a fairly, uh, ''graphic'' rendition of [[ConvenientMiscarriage a certain controversial strip]] from a [[CtrlAltDel certain webcomic which shall remain unnamed]] followed immediately by the caption '''THIS IS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER DONE AND I HATE MYSELF FOR DOING IT.'''
* DisposableVagrant: Yahtzee keeps a spare vagrant chained in his basement -- in case he needs to review a co-op game.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Comes up often. In his ''Bionic Commando'' review, for example, he's on the fence about whether or not it's a bad game, but ultimately decides that it is because of all the ProductPlacement for Pepsi, which he doesn't like.
-->"Yes, I ''can'' be petty."
* {{Dissimile}}
* DoesNotLikeWomen: A NonSequitur toward the end of the ''[[VideoGame/TheSims The Sims 3]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/800-The-Sims-3 review]]. Yahtzee later explained that the bit was the result of a minor CreatorBreakdown as he had just broken up with his then-girlfriend.
** After Rebecca Mayes' love/hate song that called him out on this he claimed he ''does'' hate women, but only because he HatesEveryoneEqually.
** From the CreditsGag for the ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' review: "I'm not a misogynist, I only hate the bitchy ones".
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?: Subverted/Lampshaded in the video where Yahtzee takes a tour of Washington, D.C. He makes a few mentions that certain buildings or monuments remind him of something, but goes on to mention something mundane and non-sexual. He then double subverts it while looking at the Washington Monument:
--> '''Yahtzee''': It's really long and tall, has those trees at the bottom from this angle. Kinda like, uh... [[CaptainObvious a big cock and balls.]]
* DolledUpInstallment: Lampshaded in his "Best of 2012" video, noting that neither ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' nor ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' are [[InNameOnly related in any meaningful way]] with their respective franchises.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Apparently he hates being called Ben by people on the internet. In one podcast, Yug and Matt of Australian Gamer (his best buds) stated that they don't even call him that in real life. Matt says everyone except his ''parents'' calls him Yahtzee. Summed up best during one of his ''Let's Drown Out'' videos on youtube
--> '''Gabriel:''' His name is Benjamin. Call him Benjamin.
--> '''Yahtzee:''' '''''Don't''''' call me that.
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: In his ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Airborne'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/12-MOH-Airborne review]], he refers to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower German flak tower]] as a "doom fortress".
* DopeSlap: Yahtzee's been known to do this to viewers for [[TheAggressiveDrugDealer continuing to buy sequels]] ("Sonic doesn't need another game; he needs help!").
** He also headslapped anyone who chooses to play as [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Alliance.]]
** For retrogressing back into a plain villain again, Bowser earned a slap with a rolled-up newspaper.
* DoubleSubversion: In commenting on how out-of-place the swearing in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}''.
-->I like my swearing, but in the wrong place it brings down the whole [[GoshDarnItToHeck gosh darn]] tone. You [[CountryMatters cunt]].
* DumbAndDrummer: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/GuitarHero World Tour'' review in response to some of the songs having non-English lyrics.
--> '''Yahtzee:''' If you don't speak Spanish, singing them is like if the guitarist was required to play wearing mittens. Or if the drummer were required to think.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes E-H]]
* {{Eagleland}}: In his reviews, Yahtzee portrays Americans as Flavor #2, and [[AuthorTract covered all aspects of that flavor]] in the span of two reviews (''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Airborne'' and ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]''). He's had a long history of this view, though, as seen in his writings on ''Fully Ramblomatic.''
** [[HatesEveryoneEqually Not that he treats his own country of origin any nicer]], but there ya go.
* EasternEuropeanAnimation: Yahtzee claims to have grown up watching Russian cartoons ala [[TheSimpsons Worker and Parasite]] rather than ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', which he states is the reason that he has no particular nostalgia for the series.
* EndingFatigue: Discussed in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2714-A-Shadows-Tale review]] of ''AShadowsTale'' ([[InsistentTerminology NOT Lost in Shadow!]]) [[invoked]]
* EnemyWithout: As Yahtzee plods through ''Duke Nukem Forever'' while trying to like it, the part of him which "takes an almost sexual joy in [[ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof ruining other peoples' fun]]" emerges from its thought bubble and holds a gun to his head.
-->''Yahtzee, you and I both know you have pushed games off of subway platforms for less problems than this.''
* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: In-universe, he's said this of several games in his time, including two of his favourite games ever, ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. His description of ''Silent Hill 2'' even provides the page quote.
* EnvironmentalNarrativeGame: He's not a fan of the genre. He gave a negative review to ''VideoGame/EverybodysGoneToTheRapture'' and expanded upon why he didn't like the genre very much in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/14547-Yahtzee-On-Everybodys-Gone-To-The-Rapture-and-Gone-Home this Extra Punctuation column]] (although he did say that he enjoyed ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' quite a lot).
* EnsembleDarkHorse:[[invoked]] In his review of ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', he notes that he's always preferred Luigi to Mario, since he at the least isn't Peach's personal gopher. He also wonders why Tails gets so much more hate than Sonic despite the fact that he's basically Sonic with flight.
** Also states in his ''LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' review that part of the appeal he has of playing as Luigi over Mario is that Luigi expresses more emotion and is more relatable as a result.
* EpicFail: This was Yahtzee's conclusion about ''Ride to Hell'', when all was said and done. When Yahtzee cautiously commands the game to "lie down and don't move", the floor gives way underneath it. In his Top 5 of 2013, he spoke with wonderment about how the developers could have [[ShockingSwerve swapped out the DVD for an empty sleeve]] and ''still'' achieved a higher score than the actual game did.
** Indeed, he thought ''Ride to Hell'' was so bad that it didn't even place on his bottom 5 for that year: he considered it such a failure that it barely even qualified as a game, and hence gave it a special award for "Total Abhorrence", which it would hold until an even worse game comes along. He also claimed that the only acceptable sequel to the game, should one ever be devised, would be "an apology letter and some chocolates".
* EpilepticTrees:[[invoked]] He jokes that 50 Cent's game is a prequel to ''Call Of Duty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' showing how the West destabilised the Middle East.
* EscalatingPunchline
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Yahtzee isn't too keen on kids, he mentioned in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9246-Extra-Punctuation-What-Is-the-Matter-with-You-People this article]] that he was disturbed by a comment on his ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3'' review by someone expressing a desire for the BigBad to torture children "Holocaust style". As an "ironic statement".
--> Er... thanks for your input, Mr. Poster Man, but I wasn't talking it down for not being extreme enough. Or 'ironic' enough. I doubt emptying an entire lorry full of toddlers into the woodchipper would have improved my opinion any.
** By the same token, he was rather perturbed at how quickly people are to create mods for games like ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' which allow players to kill children.
** He's also been disgusted at the sexism in ''Metroid Other M'', and has a clear hatred of ''Ctrl Alt Delete'' and its infamous miscarriage plot, referring to doing art of it happening as one of the sicker things he's done.
* EverythingsBetterWithPlushies: The Escapist is now selling [[http://www.splitreason.com/productdetail.php?id=789 Imp plushies]].
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Referred to by name in his ''[=LEGO=] Indiana Jones'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/123-LEGO-Indy review]].
* EvilBrit: Understands why people use this trope, but takes offense to the [[SpaceNazi Helgast]] all being it since Britain fought against the Nazis.
* FairForItsDay: [[invoked]]In his ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' review he notes that despite Juliet's design and position as a cheerleader she's always in control of the situation, has a stable family life and that the game never calls on the player to defend her from rapists.
--> "Seriously, ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 that's pretty fucked.]]''"
* FakeDifficulty: Part of the reason he despises motion controls. As he put it, "Motion controls are a system wherein a game can fail you for something that completely wasn't your fault."
* FanOfTheUnderdog: In his review of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', which actually delves more into Nintendo's current situation, he admits that he's on Nintendo's side at this point as he feels that the Xbox One and PS4 are simply becoming inferior [=PC=]s with their large focus on online gaming ([[MisanthropeSupreme something he's never been fond of]]) and believes that Nintendo's sales could improve if they focused less on hardware and more on making unique yet enjoyable games that he feels they haven't been doing since ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''.
* FanonDiscontinuity: [[invoked]] When reviewing ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' and praising it as a worthy sequel to [[VideoGame/BioShock1 the original]], a fan [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext on a leash he's pulling]] asks him this:
--> "Don't you mean ''[[VideoGame/BioShock2 second]]'' sequel, Yahtzee?\\
''{{beat}}''\\
'''Yahtzee:''' [in an [[BerserkButton unusually raspy voice]]] '''[[GetOut Get out.]]'''
* FauxToGuide: Concerning the creation of ''GamingWebcomics''.
* FinalExamBoss: Has repeatedly stated that every boss should fit this trope - that is, a test of all the skills the player has learned thus far in the game, with the FinalBoss testing all of the abilities the player has learnt throughout the game.
* FiveManBand: Notes the main parts of the cast of recent ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games (Using ''VII'', ''X'' and ''XIII'' as examples), giving them names similar to the Music/SpiceGirls.
** Specifically, "Angsty Spice"[[note]]Cloud, Squall and Hope[[/note]], "Serious Spice" [[note]]Quistis, Auron and Lightning[[/note]], "Manly Spice"[[note]]Zell, Zidane and Snow[[/note]], "Ethnic Spice"[[note]]Barrett, Amarant, and Sazh[[/note]] and "the inevitable 'Kooky Spice'"[[note]]Yuffie, Rikku and Vanille[[/note]].
* FishEyes: Used very, ''very'' often to depict the many, ''many'' moments of stupidity of both VideoGame characters and RealLife people. Expect said "Down's Syndrome" eyes to be the first thing you see whenever a game's [[ArtificialStupidity "AI"]] or IdiotPlot is brought up.
* {{Flanderization}}: Believe it or not he's actually gotten louder and faster over time. Compare his earlier reviews (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2-Psychonauts Psychonauts]]) with with his more recent ones (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6445-Dishonored Dishonored]]).
** He also seems to be getting more and more jaded about the game industry, and caustic in his reviews, nitpicking about a lot of a game's flaws like a checklist. Might be just Yahtzee himself being genuinely bitter about the direction gaming has taken over the years though.
* FlashStep: His avatar does this against a boss in ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' to stick a chainsaw into its back.
* FlatWhat: A visual example is used by his AuthorAvatar in his ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/34-Condemned-2-Bloodshot review]], when he describes the unusual means by which you defeat the final boss: [[spoiler: shouting at it.]]
** And another visual example in the ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7785-Ride-to-Hell-Retribution?hq=1 review]], showing the reaction of the marketing researchers if everyone bought the game.
* ForcedMeme: Yahtzee coined the term "Spectacle Fighter" to describe games like ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' or ''VideoGame/GodHand'', and once joked that he was determined to "shoehorn it into common parlance".
* ForgetsToEat: Mentioned in his ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' review.
* FreezeFrameBonus:
** His review of ''VideoGame/FiftyCentBloodOnTheSand'' flashes a picture of Yahtzee (standing next to a black man) with the words NOT RACIST several times. Bonus points for using an inversion of the BlackBestFriend meme.
** His ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'' review features [[http://imgur.com/AXtizLM this image]] flash onscreen for about three frames around three and a half minutes in. Possibly a production error.
* FreudianExcuse[=/=]StartOfDarkness: His ''RedFaction Guerrilla'' review pins all his negativity on bad experiences playing the original ''RedFaction'' when he was younger.
* FreudianSlip: His ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1420-Bayonetta review]] is full of these.
* FreudWasRight:[[invoked]] Subverted in the ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' review.
-->"Pyramid head: An über-masculine powerhouse who is repeatedly seen plunging his massive, throbbing knife into the other monsters' moist, quivering bodies, which obviously symbolizes... neo-conservative imperialism."
* FridgeBrilliance:[[invoked]] Sometimes denoted with the expression "HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT THAT".
%%Please put the Fridge tropes on the appropriate page.%%
* FromClonesToGenre: Mentioned in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/231-Mercenaries-2 review]] of ''{{Mercenaries}} 2''.
** The series itself has started to become one of these. At first it was a simple case of FollowTheLeader as imitators sprang up on Website/YouTube, but now that [[WebVideo/ExtraCredits three]] [[MovieBob series]] on the ''Escapist'' itself have followed suit, two of which are not review shows, it's safe to say this is a legit genre now.
** He defended his continued use of the expression "Like ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' but..." by arguing that a) ''God of War'' was already part of an existing genre (namely the hack and slash) and b) the games he'd described as such had not done enough to distinguish themselves from the game they were imitating, rendering them inferior clones.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In his ''SuperPaperMario'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/11-Super-Paper-Mario review]], he shows the Dictionary.com definition of "game", with another tab open titled "Super Huge Tits".
* GatewaySeries: [[invoked]] ''{{HAWX}}'' got him interested in air combat games, and, much to his horror, ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' got him interested in tactical turn-based games (specifically, ''VideoGame/{{X-Com}}'').
* GayOption: In his ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' review he mentioned having hooked up with Anders, more or less because Snarky!Hawke annoyed him and came off as gay to him anyway, though he later detailed that roleplaying played a major part of it and ultimately did [[VideoGameCaringPotential develop a genuine fondness for Anders]], even [[spoiler:forgiving him for blowing up the Chantry]] and naming his [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Tepig]] after him.
* GratuitousGerman: Yahtzee apparently studied German and he frequently points it out when games uses it incorrectly.
* GenreSavvy: Seeing an enemy with a bull's head in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', he correctly anticipates it to be a BullfightBoss. He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1883-Singularity claims]] "powers of clairvoyance" that mean he predict how the opening {{cutscene}} of ''{{Singularity}}'' will play out.
** He referenced it on his Twitter, so he at least knows of its existence.
** At the end of the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6104-The-Amazing-Spider-Man review]] of ''[[VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', having made a comment on Spider-Man having a different costume: "I don't actually know if anyone disliked the new Spider-Man costume, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks but I have been on the Internet long enough to make an educated guess]]."
* GetOut: In the ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' video, complete with [[EvilSoundsDeep evil voice]].
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: His ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' character, Gareth Gobulcoque, was so named to test the game's name filter. It passed. Likewise the penis-faced Mii named "Senor Koquonfaes" from the 3DS review.
* GiantMook: Bosses in games are sometimes portrayed by giant imps.
* GiantSpider: These show up in the visuals occasionally. Usually they represent something being either unexpected, very difficult, or both.
** Arachnophobic prospective viewers should take warning that they're usually taken from photos of actual tarantulas.
* {{GIFT}}: Yahtzee actually cites the [[PennyArcade original formula]] then alters it by subtracting 'Anonymity' and 'Audience'. Or in other words, [[HumansAreBastards Normal Person = Total Fuckwad.]]
* GoKartingWithBowser: He lampshades this trope in his SuperMarioGalaxy [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/19-Super-Mario-Galaxy review]].
-->'''Yahtzee''': For me, the interesting relationship is the one between Mario and Bowser. I mean on some days they fight to the death in fiery climatic showdowns while other days they go Go-Karting, play tennis, or even team up in some of the RPG's.
* AGodAmI: Slogging through ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' imbued him super-gaming prowess, to the point where he [[PowerFloats hovers]] over his couch and shoots [[EyeBeams optic blasts]]. He lamented that he would have to SelfImposedChallenge his way through mainstream games in the future -- possibly by attaching lobster claws to his scrotum.
* GoodBadBugs:[[invoked]] Depicted in ''Arkham Origins'' as a ladybug Yahtzee gleefully rides on top off of. (The aforementioned "good" bug is bat-toting enemies who freeze in mid swing.) Then there's the {{Game Breaking Bug}}s that manifest as a cockroach firing a bazooka at his set, and the "common bugs", a cricket wearing a cockney cap.
* AGoodNameForARockBand: In the credits for his review of ''SuperPaperMario'', he remarks that "Dullness and Slog" (the two words he used earlier to summarize the tropes of [=JRPGs=]) would be a good name for a band.
* GoneHorriblyRight: He doesn't like VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys specifically because, in his words, it does its job of terrifying the player ''far too well'', to the point that he considers it less of a game and more of an exercise in horrific masochism to entertain one's {{Youtube}} subscribers.
* GoshDarnItToHeck: Whenever he swears in the narration, the animation will replace it with something far more innocuous.
** Sometimes inverted--he'll say something (relatively) tactful in the narration, and the animation will unleash what he REALLY thinks.
** For instance, in his ''Assassin's Creed'' review, he remarks; "This video review was created by a not particularly multi-cultural person, but who really loves religious extremists a big huggy bunch," where the text displayed reads "''...not particularly multi-cultural person who invites religious extremists to suck out his farts and die.''"
** On the flip side in his ''Halo Wars'' review when the units he runs out of time for the mission he was on (And thus the units he was escorting magically disappear when they were right at his front door) he cries out "Bull! Fucking! Shit!" which is displayed on screen by "What arbitrary silliness."
** At one point in his ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' review, he calls it "Ride to Heck". Rather odd, given that he generally screws up the names of games he reviews to sound ''more'' profane.
* GrammarNazi: In his "Mailbag Showdown" video, while reading out some of the more obnoxious examples of hate mail he received, he corrected them onscreen in the manner of a primary school teacher, coupled with letter grades, giant question marks and "SEE ME" at the bottom. Also, his "Split [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Stroke]] Second Colon Velocity" and "R'''I'''se: [[RyseSonOfRome Son of Rome]]" reviews.
* GrandfatherClause: He's not a fan of games using outdated video game conventions for no better reason than tradition, such as the "lives" systems that persist in ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' titles or even in modern titles such as ''VideoGame/IAmAlive''.
* GuiltyPleasure: Considering how critical he is of "serious" games, easily calling much of them banal, asinine, or insipid, he loves ''VideoGame/CookingMama'' and ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''. He says that despite all the criticism he gave to ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', he can't stop playing it.
** In his Saints Row 4 review, he refers to "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Music/{{Aerosmith}} as "that one Aerosmith song from the 'Film/{{Armageddon}}'' soundtrack that everyone seems faintly embarrassed to admit is kinda alright"
* [[GushingAboutShowsYouLike Gushing About Games You Like]]: [[invoked]] He's frequently held up ''SilentHill2'' as the gold standard of gaming.
-->"If I were Batman, ''Silent Hill 2'' would be my murdered parents if you get what I'm saying."
** [=SH2=] is also the game which affected him most personally, as articulated [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-expo/6294-My-Favorite-Game here]] during the ''Escapist'' Expo.
--->'''Jim Sterling:''' (Totally needed online multiplayer, though.)\\
'''Yahtzee:''' Oh, '''[[BerserkButton fuck you.]]'''
** Sometimes this obsession is double-edged: For his Top 5 of 2012, he compared the difficulty of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' with a 3 A.M. drug-induced fever dream -- which for Yahtzee usually involves an apparition of Dizzy hovering over his bed shrieking, 'YOU KILLED MEEEEE'.
** Reared its head again in ''RiseOfTheTriad'', along with Yahtzee's apparent [[HeroesLoveDogs dog fancy]].
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Shows up in the ''DemonsSouls'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1321-Demons-Souls review]] to show that a character loses half its health when dead.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Yahtzee plays with this trope on several occasions, most notably his ''[[Franchise/GuitarHero Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/17-Guitar-Hero-III review]], where he very specifically lists several homosexual acts (and one heterosexual act) which he is [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial most certainly not doing]].
-->"On the whole though it's just not as good as tonguing another man's balls. I mean... as it used to be. [{{Beat}}] ''I'm not gay''."
* [[HeavyMetalUmlaut Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut]]: He specifically [[GratuitousGerman pronounces the extraneous umlaut]] in ''[[BrutalLegend Brütal Legend]]''.
-->"I studied German, alright? I refuse to let an umlaut go unpronounced."
* HelloInsertNameHere: Yahtzee loves to abuse this whenever possible, with such examples as "[[Franchise/MassEffect Titty Shepard]]" to "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Fagballs]]", "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Fuck Me]]", "[[VideoGame/NieR Twattycakes]]" or "[[VideoGame/TabulaRasa Gareth Gobulcoque]]".
** Tried "Tiddles" in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' but was slapped down by the game's system of using "JC Denton" as a [[HandWave codename]].
--->''"The moment you put in your own name it goes '''"Wrong!''' Your name is JC Denton."''
** Also named his Mii "Senor Koqueonfaes" (lampshading the bizarre-looking facial customization options) in the 3DS review.
* HeroesLoveDogs: More likely to praise a game that has dogs in it, or to feel let down when having to play as the humans again. (''Dead to Rights: Retribution, Rise of the Triad, [=CoD=]: Ghosts'')
-->'''Developer:''' And we've still got the power-up that turns you into a dog.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' ''([[{{squee}} GAAAAASP]])'' With the little doggie nose at the bottom of the screen?♥\\
'''Developer:''' Yup!\\
'''Yahtzee:''' And the adorable little paw that comes up when you press buttons?♥\\
'''Developer:''' Uh, no, we forgot about that.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' ...........'''[[FelonyMisdemeanor ONE STAR.]]'''
* HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath: After Yahtzee reviewed ''SpecOpsTheLine'', it was brought up several times more after that in following ''Zero Punctuation'' videos and Yahtzee's Extra Punctuation column, and the actual review of the game has Yahtzee sounding depressed during it.
* HighConcept: Has come up with a few for Suda51's more recent games. Most notably, "[[{{VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw}} Cheerleader Fights Zombies]]". Which is then followed by, "[[ClicheStorm Dead Horse]]". He in fact thinks that this is the main problem with his later games, in that he found his earlier games much more interesting when they were bizarre, surreal and hence hard to describe.
* HostileShowTakeover: In his review of ''VideoGame/HaloWars''... twice.
* HumansAreBastards: Yahtzee says he doesn't ordinarily like multiplayer because "...human beings are grabby, entitled, selfish, ugly, stupid, evil cockstoppers..." in his review of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood''.
* HumanResources: Thinks the cardboard HumongousMecha in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' are made out of the paper Toads he's been rescuing over the course of the game.
* HilariousInHindsight: Yatzhee made a joke in the ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta2}}'' review that he would like to see her in a Smash Brothers game just to see Mother explain to their children what she is doing in there. A couple of years after the fact and she becomes a [[DownloadableContent downloadable character]] for the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros WiiU/3DS installment]] of the series.
* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: Yahtzee makes a concerted effort to get through his review of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' without referencing a certain part of the female anatomy. He ''almost'' makes it.
-->"Bosoms, melons, milk factories, busts, funbags, knockers, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 ballistics]], boobies, jugs, nipples, jubblies, ''[[MemeticMutation stonking great tits!]]"''
* HypocrisyNod: Yahtzee has noted his use of HypocriticalHumor more than once in his reviews.
** The one time it wasn't used as a joke, in ''[[ZackAndWiki Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure]]'', he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/31-Zack-Wiki acknowledged]] his complaints about lousy adventure games that involved [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos carrying around a ton of items to use in one spot]].
* HypocriticalHumor:
-->"Fans are clingy complaining dipshits who will [[UnpleasableFanbase never ever be grateful for any concession you make]]. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. Incidentally, why not buy a ''Zero Punctuation'' [[TheMerch t-shirt]]?"
** For a while before the 100th Episode special, ''The Escapist'' used this little stinger at the end of ''all'' ''Zero Punctuation'' shorts to, guess what, advertise ''Zero Punctuation''-related merchandise.
** In his ''Duke Nukem Forever'' review he rants about how people should be sacked for not doing their jobs, and the picture shows him being dragged out of his office with a sign saying "job: review actual games that exist" (''Duke Nukem Forever'' had been cancelled at the time the review was made, and would not be SavedFromDevelopmentHell for over a year).
** In his ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' review, he calls out Americans for being uninformed about current events in countries outside the US, only to turn around and say he wasn't aware of the flooding in his own city because he doesn't keep up with current events.
** End Credits for his ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/459-Left-4-Dead review]]: "There is a special circle in Hell 4 people who replace numbers for letters".
** He accuses the protagonist of ''Fable 3'' of bestiality due to the weird way he interacts with his dog, when in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2 review]] of ''Fable II'' he complains that if the game was truly open-ended he should be able to marry any NPC he wants, including his dog.
** On ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'': "Honestly, who can like a character [[FloatingLimbs Limbs whose hands and feet have no visible connection to their torso?]]"
** ''Mafia II'''s ending seems to come too soon:
--> "The game just sort of cuts out halfway through resolving everyth"-[END CREDITS]
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes I-L]]
* IdiotHero: [[VideoGame/RedFactionArmageddon Darius Mason]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3942-Red-Faction-Armageddon pissed him off]] to no end:
-->"Not to dampen your sense of victory, Darius, mate, but why didn't you [fix the terraforming machine] three years ago ''right after it broke?'' You '''''DUMB''''' [{{dopeslap}}] '''''BALD''''' [dopeslap] '''''TWAT.'''''
* IdiotPlot: Invoked by name when discussing ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', noting that the plot only works because more than half the fights are based on the characters being too stupid to realize they're not enemies.
* IKnewIt: [[invoked]] Subverted and Inverted in the case of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': He states after playing two episodes that it will surely end with either the evil military coming, or a few characters going to live on an island. The main characters ''do'' start looking for a boat in Episode 4...[[spoiler:But it gets stolen in Episode 5]]. Yahtzee also laughed at the idea of anyone trying to invent a cure, or rebuild humanity. [[spoiler:Rebuilding is essentially exactly what the people in Wellington began attempting in Season 2.]]
* ILoveNuclearPower:
-->"''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} Ess-Tee-Ay-Ell-Kay-Ee-Ar: Clear Sky]]'' is set in the area surrounding an alternative post-disaster Chernobyl, where presumably the station ran on fairy dust before the meltdown and released a cloud of ''magic'' instead of boring old radiation..."
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon:
-->"All you really need to know is that there is a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning. I wish I could make something like that up. It shoots shurikens and lightning! It could only possibly more awesome if it had tits and was ''[[IncendiaryExponent on fire]]!''"
* [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe I'm Taking Him Home With Me]]: In his ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}: Dead Souls'' review Yahtzee says "I just want to take [Akiyama] home and mount him to my kitchen wall so my kids will have an appropriate role model to look at over their Honey Nut Cheerios every morning".
* IncrediblyLamePun: On occasion, not just of the [[VisualPun visual variety:]]
--> "You only get to see like one second of bare arse anyway so it's hardly going to make your [[Franchise/MassEffect mass erect]]" ... immediately followed in the credits with: [[LampshadeHanging "Yeah, this whole review]] was [[OverlyPrepreparedGag leading up]] to [[LampshadeHanging that horrible pun at the end."]]
** In the ''RedFaction: Guerilla'' review, he says in the end that game could have went pretty well if it really was based off sneaky guerilla warfare, as opposed to its focus on [[StuffBlowingUp smashing stuff]] "... which is less guerilla and more chimpanzee." Followed by the credits gag "Spent ten years thinking up that last pun."
** [[BaldursGate "...Balder's Gait."]] (''TooHuman'')
** "''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', that is!"
** The ''[[VideoGame/JustCause Just Cause 2]]'' review starts by lampshading this to allow him to make "Why? Just 'cause!" jokes "ironically".
** "Bits of it were so boring that I almost had a ''VideoGame/NieR''-death experience! Boosh!"
** "I [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3652-Alice-Madness-Returns don't see]] ''[[VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns Alice: Madness Returns]]'' making mad returns, [[{{Pun}} meheh myeh]]."
** In his review of ''Monster Hunter Tri'' "You play an adventurer-type showing up at the prerequisite village of immobile retards in a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth to try to be a hunter of monsters. A Monster Hunter Try, if you will."
** Not to mention his credits pun in ''VideoGame/AlienVsPredator'': "Alias vs Editor".
** "You like numbers? How about FOUR, as in '''FOUR-K YOU'''!"
** In the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5323-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic credits]] of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': "I'm so force sensitive I clean my swimming pool with midichlorine."
** In ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'' he calls it at one point Sniper Elite Wee Poo, then chuckles at it.
** Inevitably scattered everywhere in his review of ''VideoGame/Risen3TitanLords'', but the crowning came in his closing joke:
--> It's too dull to get irate about. Or should I say '''P'''-irate. Ha haha haha, hahahaha!
** His ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' review has "Still I th-'''ink''' there'll be an '''ink'''-rease in the number of Wii U sales with this '''ink'''-redible new title! God know why it keeps making ink puns, though, when everyone's very clearly throwing paint around, but that's hardly a complaint. Com-'''paint.'''"
* IndecisiveDeconstruction: He considers ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'''s label of "dark fantasy" to be laughable, naming the difference between it and any other piece of Tolkienesque fantasy to be one of degrees. Sure, [[BloodierAndGorier it's bloody]] and [[HotterAndSexier there's sex in it]] and [[RealIsBrown the palette's all brown]], but you're still living in a MedievalStasis world, you still choose between [[OurElvesAreBetter an agile pointy-eared elf]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame a stout bearded dwarf]], and [[HumansAreBastards an asshole human]], your classes are still the warrior/rogue/mage combo that's been around since ''OD&D'', and you still run around with an adventuring party, doing odd jobs and fighting AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters.
* IndecisiveParody: One of his biggest problems with ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'' was that its parody seemed to consist mostly of BetterThanABareBulb.
* InferredHolocaust: [[invoked]] States the one of these most happened during ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' where America launched a genocide against everyone that isn't a "burly white dude'' noting that the campaign only has three who you don't have to kill, all of the whom die, and that people make more of a fuss over their dog dying in the game than the African American's death.
* InherentlyFunnyWords: Warfighter ([[RunningGag pa ha ha ha]]). In this case it's not so much that the word is funny in and of itself but rather that it's such a ludicrously silly example of DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment.
* InnocentBigot[=/=]HanlonsRazor: How he viewed the controversy surrounding ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'':
-->''...one really shouldn't worry about this sort of thing unless there's genuine hatred behind it, and I don't get that impression. Capcom aren't bad people, they're just idiots.''
* InsistentTerminology: "Jaaaaaaames" Sunderland of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' fame.
** Also, "Call of ''[[FunetikAksent Hwa-rez]]!''".
*** Also from that review, there's "Wee'um"[[labelnote:*]]William[[/labelnote]].
** And [[HeavyMetalUmlaut Brew]]-[[VideoGame/BrutalLegend tal Legend]].
** "Demon's-S-S-S-Souls", as a take on his difficulty in saying the name properly.
** "[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} Ess-Tee-Ay-Ell-Kay-Ee-Ar: Clear Sky]]".
** "[[{{MMORPG}} Mumorpuger]]" and "[[XboxLiveArcade Ka-splah]]" get a lot of use.
** "[[VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalur Kingdoms of Uhrrpadurr]]"
** "[[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Kid Icarus]]: Upskirting"
** "Split [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Stroke]] Second Colon Velocity"
** "[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Complayne]]."
** "[[Film/ISpitOnYourGrave I Spit On Your]] [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb]]"
** The game is called ''"VideoGame/AShadowsTale"'', not ''"Lost In Shadow"''.
** "[[VideoGame/{{Dishonored}} Dish On A Red]]"
** "[[Videogame/BeyondTwoSouls The Ellen Page David Cage Rage Gauge]]"
** "[[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Donkey Island]]" and "[[DayOfTheTentacle Day of the Testicle"]]
** "[[{{VideoGame/Battlefield}} Twattlefield]]" and "[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Modern Borefare]]"
** And, of course, "[[VideoGame/CallOfDuty Spunk]][[VideoGame/{{Battlefield}} Gargle]][[VideoGame/MedalOfHonor WeeWee]]."
** "Cod Blops" for ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps".
** The "[[XboxOne XBone]]" and the "[[PlayStation4 PsPoor]]"
** "[[{{VideoGame/Flashback}} Flashback: Quest For Mediocrity]]": An LP of the maligned [[VideoGameRemake 3-D remake]].
** "[[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII Shite-ning and Hope-On-A-Rope.]]" ''(cue picture of Hope [[TheScrappy being lynched]])''
** "[[VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight Faster Than Light]] [[ColonCancer Colon]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Faster Than Light]]"
** "[[VideoGame/WatchDogs Watch Underscore Dogs]]"
** "[[VideoGame/BowsersInsideStory Irritable Bowser Syndrome]]"
** Middle Earth: Shadow of '''MORRRR-DORRR'''
* InvincibleHero: He mentioned in his ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' review that Batman's status as this tends to undermine whatever threat the enemies what have and whatever horror the game is trying to evoke.
-->''Batman is always the least interesting character in anything he's in.''
* IsometricProjection: He's not a fan of it, primarily because of the inevitable DepthPerplexion.
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Joked about. [[invoked]]
--> One should always support the independents, at least until they start making money, the ''soulless sellout fucks.''
** Admittedly, averted by his ''GearsOfWar 2'' review, in which he admits that things are often mainstream because they're good. (Or because WillSmith is in it.)
* ItsEasySoItSucks: [[invoked]] Too many examples to count.
** ItsHardSoItSucks: Also brings this up with games like ''VideoGame/DemonSouls'', ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', and ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''.
* ItsShortSoItSucks: [[invoked]] Inverted with ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''
--> OK, it's only two to three hours long, but that's a good length for it, it means that it doesn't outstay its welcome
* ItsTheSameSoItSucks:[[invoked]] He tends to be particularly critical of sequels that don't add much or differ from what the original was. Examples including ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', and, to a smaller point, ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''.
** Frequently brings this up with ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''. For the record, he actually thought that the original ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' was a good game, he only hates the games that came after it. As of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'', he's lumped that in with the ''VideoGame/FIFASoccer'' and ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' series as a yearly sequel that doesn't actually alter much.
** With ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' Yahtzee states that by finally playing on it, it only soured his opinion more on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword.]]''
* ItsUpToYou: He notes that early missions in ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky]]'' have a tendency to solve themselves, which is a good attempt to avert this, but a bit bizarre to play.
* ItWasHisSled: [[invoked]] {{Lampshaded}}; before pointing out the flaws of the plot of ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'', he says to stop paying attention until the "generic rock music" of the credits if you want to avoid spoilers. In the credits his avatar and a single imp hand out a series of this type of spoilers (they even start with [[Film/CitizenKane THAT sled]]).
** Generally speaking, he'll take care to avoid spoilers if he'll recommend the game, while games that earn his scorn he will ''gleefully'' invoke this trope with.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Pretty much the premise of his reviews; he accurately points out problems in games while tearing into the developers who produced them and the consumers who continue to buy and defend them.
* JokeExhaustion: At the end of the review of ''Franchise/TombRaider'', Yahtzee had vowed not to make any boob jokes, ends with him rambling on about them at very high speed, getting all the jokes that had been building up out of his system.
* JumpedTheShark: [[invoked]] {{Lampshade}}d in the end credits of his ''LEGO Indy'' review, the first time the new, original opening and closing song was used, rather than two licensed songs:
--> "Now this is all looking a lot more professional, isn't it, although I'm certain some of you pricks are already putting this down as my shark jumping moment."
* JustOneMoreLevel: ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' (and other PopCapGames) are [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7-Peggle described]] as "the gaming equivalent of premium crack cocaine."
--> "I started playing ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' in the afternoon, and emerged some time later to find the authorities had declared me legally dead."
** After flooding prevented him from leaving his apartment and thus getting a new game to review:
--> First thought: "Oh, cock! All the nearest game retailers are in the CBD[[note]]Central Business District[[/note]] because some retarded pile of cartilage on the town planning department thought it'd be a great idea to put thirty EB Games shops within the same ten square yards." Second thought: "Oh, balls! With humanitarian aid selfishly obstructing the delivery services, I won't be seeing any of my imports any time soon, either!" Third thought: "Oh, goody! That means I can go back inside and keep playing ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''!"
** "A good [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox]] is one where you can mess about for hours after making the hollow promise to yourself that you'll stop any minute now, and ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'' certainly has that."
*** He also states that ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' is the prince of jumping around time wasting. Claiming that even the mere act of getting around the city is surprisingly addicting.
** ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' certainly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6468-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown qualifies]]:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "I was just going to play a bit of the next mission but I ended up playing the whole thing and then the next two"
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' despite all the flaws he points out he says the game is very addicting and requires a lot of committed time and he will probably resume playing the game after his review is done.
*** However, Yahtzee seems to have abandoned this opinion since playing VideoGame/SaintsRow2.
-->'''Yahtzee:''' [I] was spending most of my time in a blurry haze in which I mistook the slightest mental stimulation for actual fun. It wasn't until recently when Saints Row 2 came along that I remembered what a fun sandbox game is and isn't.
* KickTheDog: In his ''VideoGame/{{Fable|I}}'' review:
--> No puppies were harmed in the making of this video, [[NoExceptYes except for one who genuinely deserved it.]]
* KillAndReplace: Accused [[VideoGame/{{Resistance}} Insomniac Games]] of murdering Creator/{{Valve|Software}} and making a [[FollowTheLeader skin suit]] out of it.
* LampshadedTheObscureReference: Yahtzee describes the disembodied voices of ''VideoGame/EverybodysGoneToTheRapture'' as like "''Radio/TheArchers'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''[[{{Franchise/Quatermass}} Quatermass and the Pit]]''. Blimey, no one's going to fucking get that one."
* LampshadeHanging: The end tag on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' review, regarding the art style.
-->"Did no-one else think it was weird for the character in image 110 to be wearing a sling when he only has free-floating circular hands?"
** The entire opening of ''[[VideoGame/JustCause Just Cause 2]]'' was one giant, lovingly crafted {{lampshade}} about the IncrediblyLamePun that the name ''VideoGame/JustCause'' offers -- in the format "Why X?" "VideoGame/JustCause!". He then subverts it -- see RuleOfThree.
* LandDownUnder: Yahtzee was born in Britain but moved to Australia, and often makes jokes about it.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: ''Deus Ex: Human Revolution'' has breathtaking visuals, the impish appeal of stealth, rewarding exploration, but most importantly, you can pick up every vending machine in the building and pack them in the office of your least favorite co-worker.
** "...''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', a Japanese game centrally about the difficulties of relationships, such as unexpected pregnancy, the impetus of commitment, and being chased up an infinite staircase by a giant, monstrous girlfriend trying to eat you with her butt. [[WidgetSeries Did I mention it's Japanese?]]"
* FanDislikedExplanation:[[invoked]] Discussed in the review of ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2''.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: The cross-dressing contest between [[VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}} Cole]] and [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} Alex]].
** Same could be said regarding RTS games. After his experience with ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', Yahtzee has apparently decided to never touch the genre again.
** Explained further in "On RTS", in which he explains he's not good at RTS ''and'' he doesn't like the impersonal disconnect one gets between story characters and units and the player.
* LimitedSocialCircle: "I asked everyone I know and neither of them had heard of it either." (''VideoGame/NieR'')
* LonersAreFreaks: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in his column on "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9967-Hating-Multiplayer-Creep Hating Multiplayer Creep]]". It is unsurprisingly a PetPeeveTrope of his.
* LoopholeAbuse: Traditionally, Yahtzee's annual Top/Bottom 5 lists only consist of games he's personally reviewed. For 2015, because he hadn't formally reviewed it yet, he shoves in a 10-second review of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' at the beginning of the "Top 5 of 2015" video in order to qualify it for the list.
** (Intro plays) [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' [[ToMakeALongStoryShort is a good game.]]]] (Outro)
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes M-P]]
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Brought up in the ''VideoGame/SimCity'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7053-SimCity review]], with reference to the trope's poster girl:
--> Listen to me, EA! Not every introvert is longing for the day that [[Creator/ZooeyDeschanel Zooey fucking Deschanel]] kicks their door down and forcibly drags them to a roller rink!
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: Has teamed up with {{Moviebob}} and [[WebVideo/ExtraCredits James Portnow]] to form [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extraconsideration Extra Consideration]], a panel in which all three discuss the state of the gaming scene.
** Jim Sterling of the Jimquisition has now joined the panel.
* TheMeanBrit: Though currently living in Australia.
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Debatable. Some who claim to have met Yahtzee IRL report that he is capable of being quite unpleasant towards others. The same persons, however, also noted that this is mitigated by the fact that he is also fairly shy and quiet. He claims he's only a jackass when provoked... [[MisanthropeSupreme which is often]].
** Tycho of ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' speculates that Yahtzee is quiet in person in order to save up all his hate and rage to bellow it out really quickly in his weekly reviews.
* MeatMoss: He calls it "jam" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2092-Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent review]] of ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''.
-->"Oh pissing BLIMEY there's JAM coming out of the walls!"
** And this was years before Yahtzee's [[ThereAreNoCoincidences novel about a jam-based apocalypse]] came out.
* MedalOfDishonor: The ''Zero Punctuation Lifetime Achievement Award For Total Abhorrence'' went to ''Ride to Hell: Retribution''. Notably it did not win for 2013, but for infinity -- unless an even worse game happens to come along.
-->"That should roughly be around the time apes have retaken the Earth."
** The "Turd in a Turd" Award for Unsurprising Poor Quality went to ''SonicUnleashed'', his reasoning being that SonicTeam is deliberately trying to be awful and hitting the mark perfectly.
* MenDontCry: Parodied in his ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3611-Infamous-2 review]].
-->"I'm not to proud to admit that I was welling up at ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'''s good ending, a little bit. Well, not much at all really. It was more like stoically nodding my head while doing squat-thrusts and grunting."
* MercyKill: What he says must be done with ''SonicTheHedgehog''.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Frequently.
-->"It's like wrestling an excitable dog in a paddling pool full of disembodied breasts. *{{beat}}* Don't think too much about that simile, I certainly didn't."
** Especially when it's a hot summer day and his AC isn't working. "Really good like... something... [[BuffySpeak good]] that's... made out of chocolate..."
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8892-Extra-Punctuation-Action-Is-Not-Finisher-Porn This]] ''Extra Punctuation'' takes the metaphor of "TooManyCooks spoil the broth" and keeps stretching it until he reckons "I think this is already the best metaphor I've ever written."
** To illustrate the importance of keeping D-list villains ''out'' of a Batman game, he explains how his greatest villains all reflect an aspect of the caped crusader.
-->"Two-Face reflects his duality, Scarecrow his use of fear and psychological tactics, Poison Ivy his-- er, shapely buttocks.(?)"
* MetaTwist: Discussed - he feels that the "shocking" moment in the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' games has become so token that by the end of the third game, it'd be more shocking if there wasn't one.
* MilestoneCelebration: Spoofed with his 100th episode, where he decides to review... exactly the same game he would've reviewed otherwise (''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezBoundInBlood'').
** Further spoofed in his ''Silent Hill 2'' review, a retro review that actually would be special:
-->"But what could be more special than my one-hundred and second video?"
* MonsterCloset: His lambasting of the trope in ''Dead Space 2'' provides the page quote.
* MoodWhiplash: Feels that the cutscenes in ''TwistedMetal'' causes this, with the incredible silliness of VehicularCombat contrasting with a VERY dark story that he admits is a bit frightening.
* {{Mordor}}: Nintendo's Corporate HQ in ''Bowser's Inside Story''.
* MoralGuardian: In his [=3DS=] review he states how he's trying his best to not sound like one of these while criticizing the potentially malicious acts people can do with the "Street Pass" feature.
* MoreDakka: His review of ''{{Spore}}'' shows the civilization stage as imps strafing other imps' cities from the air, with the caption "Dakka Dakka" under the war planes.
* MotorMouth: "Zero Punctuation" comes from how he has a tendency to ramble on and on so quickly that his speech has almost no pauses, and thus there is ''zero punctuation''. More or less.
** He has said he edits out the pauses, but definitely does not speed up his voice.
** He was strangely slow in his delivery of the review of ''Lego City Undercover''; this may be ascribed to the post-''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' melancholy he claims to be suffering from.
** This is taken a bit further than usual in the end of his ''FIFA 13'' review, after getting distracted from reviewing it by several other downloadable games:
--> "How much time do I have left? [[OhCrap 8 SECONDS? FUCK!!]] Uh, FIFA 13 is a game in which you and your burly friends help a small leather sphere realize its dream of being in a net, and I think we can all agree that that's basically a positive thing. Nighty night."
* MuggingTheMonster: In his ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' review, he mentions that it occurred to him that it might be a good idea to stop stealing things. After getting attacked by bandits and taking their stuff, he mentions it is not stealing because they attacked him, which makes it his by the international law of "Go Fuck Yourselves."
* MundaneMadeAwesome: When talking about the wet clothing feature in ''Uncharted'', he talks a bit too much about it, considering it means absolutely nothing in terms of plot or gameplay. He realizes this, of course, stating at the end of his praise "Well, ''I'' think it's interesting!".
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Despite being a MisanthropeSupreme in general, he seems to have some sympathy for non-whites, particularly those in the developing world. One of his common complaints with the "Spunkgargleweewee" genre is often being forced to kill dark-skinned foreigners for no apparent reason other than America being xenophobic. He also ridicules the idea that whites can really be victims of racism, like crying about mildly racist jokes from a race they once enslaved.
* MythologyGag: During his ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' review, Yahtzee separates each hour he played the game with a brief break showing a black screen with the unit of time and then which unit he's on (Hour 1, Hour 2, Hour 3, etc.). He used a similar mechanism with three of the games in the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos''.
* {{Nerdgasm}}: Has made a few references to getting erections at really good games.
* NerdsAreVirgins: Has made quite a few jokes about that. Especially notable on his review for ''{{VideoGame/Catherine}}'':
-->(Increasingly amused) "... there's a moral choice aspect where you answer questions based on your own substantial experience with relationships *stifled laughter* " (accompanying visual is of a fat glasses-wearing guy sitting next to a blow-up doll.)
* NewlyPopularUpdating: Expect any game he reviews to have a new quote entry at the top of its page by the end of the day, appropriate or otherwise.
* NiceHat: "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and gamer with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." The hat originally appeared in [[MythologyGag his own games]], ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'', worn by the character of Trilby. The hat itself is known as a Trilby hat, and it tends to get him [[CreatorWorship more attention]] [[http://twitter.com/YahtzeeCroshaw/status/11013246821 than he really wants]].
** NeverBareheaded: In his Top 10 of 2010, he wears a snooty "indie game" French beret ''on top'' of his trilby hat.
** In his CreditsGag for Call of Duty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2, he claims that despite what one might say about the Russians, they have sweet hats.
* NightmareFuel:[[invoked]] The ''Kinectimals''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kinectimals.jpg box art]] is "the most terrifying thing I've seen all year. It looks like what would happen if [[MonsterClown John Wayne Gacy]] went to Disneyland."
** Also makes this comment about the cutscenes in ''TwistedMetal'', feeling they seem better suited for a horror film that an over the top VehicularCombat game.
* NightmareRetardant:[[invoked]] He states that ''AliceMadnessReturns'' made {{Creepy Doll}}s not creepy just by the fact that the game uses it constantly to the point where players just get used to it.
** In a similar vein, once the player "attuned to TheCaligula mindset", Splatterhouse is surprisingly boring.
* NintendoHard: Yahtzee prides himself on as having been playing video games since early childhood and frequently recalls how hard they were back then. He routinely mocks prospective critics who complain about the difficulty level in games these days ([[{{Hypocrite}} even though he does it himself]]), as well as people who accuse him of [[ItsHardSoItSucks not liking a game because he finds it too hard]]. That said, games with [[SonicUnleashed ridiculously impossible sequences]], he blasts with both barrels.
** He felt that ''[[VideoGame/DemonsSouls Demon's Souls]]'' offered too much of a challenge without a sufficient reward, and gave up after trying to get across the Red Dragon-guarded bridge leading to the Tower Knight.
*** Surprisingly averted with its [[VideoGame/DarkSouls spiritual successor]], which he actually turned out to quite like.
** However he did enjoy ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', though he states that no person, unless it's for charity should ever try [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Impossible difficulty]].
*** This trope is why he quit playing ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2'' - and to be fair, he played it when enemies could knock Geralt down mid-swing (and [[CycleOfHurting KEEP knocking him down]]), and ''before'' a tutorial was added to acclimitize players to the controls.
* NoFourthWall: Technically doesn't qualify as there's no suspension of disbelief, but a review still pushed back the boundaries when Yahtzee addressed the viewer as "Adrian", and noted that while that's not particularly likely to be any given viewer's name, "it was worth it to freak out all the Adrians in the world."
-->"If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that all these games are sequels. And if you haven't... *claps twice* OI!"
-->"Stop watching my reviews, Dad!"
** The ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' review has the distinction of genuinely breaking the fourth wall, as Yahtzee suggest pausing the video, while his avatar points to the pause button on the video player.
-->"I shouldn't have to talk about the core gameplay, I consider that an insult to you and me. My review of ''Mario Galaxy 1'' hasn't gone anywhere, why not pause this video, pour yourself a glass of wine and go and enjoy that. I'll just wait here slapping myself in the face until you return. *cut to black, slapping sounds and Yahtzee groaning, then cut back, Yahtzee now with a bruised face* Finished? Right, well, ''Mario Galaxy 2'' is more of that."
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: At the end of most reviews, there's a couple of still shots during the credits and theme-music with a little joke about the game. In the case of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', there was no punchline, just Yahtzee beating and shooting Vanille to pieces in increasingly elaborate ways.
* NoJustNoReaction: How the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/869-The-Conduit review]] of ''TheConduit'' began.
* NoodleImplements: The ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' review: ''...and whistled for a baboon.''
* NoodleIncident: The end of the ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' video says "I hope the war in Las Vegas destroyed that ice machine I threw up in".
** "Now I've never invaded Europe, except for that one time..."
** "I know I can't speak for everyone, at least not until ''the device'' is completed, but..."
* NostalgiaFilter: Yahtzee often derides fans who wear nostalgia goggles, although he caught himself falling into the same trap when he was reviewing ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever''.
** Admits to be have suffered from it himself in his review of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' when he not only admits to have ignored flaws in the game, though he still enjoyed it, but also that it represents aspects of retro-shooters he hate like platforming sections, which he states whenever a game has it, that he feels that platforming from a first person perspective is a terrible concept. Conversely when he did a retro review of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' he found that it didn't hold up quite as well as he'd remembered.
* NotHimself: Wait, what's this? ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 3'' has no regenerating health? A sum of weapons greater than 2? No chest-high walls? "...erm... Creator/{{Sony}}?... Are you feeling all right?"
* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer:
** Describing the ending of ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2'', and says "I ''wish'' I was fucking kidding!"
** And revealing the final boss of ''[=Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days=]''
** In his review of ''EpicMickey'', he brings up a Mickey Mouse comic where he ''[[http://ridz.sg/blog/2008/04/mickey-mouse-loses-minnie-attempts-suicide/ tries to kill himself]]'' after Minnie breaks up with him.
** Uses this in ''Painkiller'' when describing a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning. This is a rare positive example, as he states that "the only way this weapon could be more awesome would be if it had tits and was on fire!"
** After mentioning a particularly [[invoked]] {{narm}}ful line spoken by ''VideoGame/RememberMe'''s protagonist, he then states that, yes, it really is in the game as displayed verbatim.
** In his review of MetalGearSolid: Revengence, as he's talking about Raiden's robotic dog companion, on the screen are, in big letters, "NO REALLY" and "A THING THAT HAPPENS"
* NotSoDifferent: ''TheWitcher 2'' review makes this observation of [[UsefulNotes/PCVSConsole console & PC gamers]]. [[HatesEveryoneEqually You both suck equally]]!
* ObservationOnOriginality: Numerous reviews allude to this concept. His running metaphor about Branston Pickle (to describe something so original and distinctive that it must be appreciated in spite of its flaws) more or less amounts to this trope.
* OhCrap: In his ''FIFA 13'' review, after he's been distracted from reviewing the game throughout the video:
--> "How much time do I have left? 8 SECONDS? FUCK!! Uh, [[MotorMouth FIFA 13 is a game in which you and your burly friends help a small leather sphere realize its dream of being in a net, and I think we can all agree that that's basically a positive thing. Nighty night.]]"
* OldShame: Yahtzee has admitted at least twice he used to watch Pokemon when he was a kid. While some people might not consider this shameful, he certainly does.
* OnceAnEpisode: Tends to draw characters skipping hand-in-hand, WizardOfOz-style frequently
* OneHundredPercentCompletion: DefiedTrope, he couldn't care less
--> "Striving for 100% completion is for unemployed psychotics and Koreans."
* OneOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: In his ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' review: "I could go on about how the combat flows, or how the atmosphere is solid, [[OverlyLongGag and how the highlights for me were the Scarecrow sections where Batman's perceptions of reality are skewed in favour of a nightmarish and delusional glimpse into the darkest recesses of Batman's soul]], and how jumping on people is cool..."
* OneWayVisor: Points out in his ''VideoGame/{{Fuse}} review that the enemy PMC's Mooks shouldn't be able to see out of this kind of helmet.
* OnlyOneFemaleMold: Criticizes both ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' for this.
-->"...universally identical bodies that leave Hawke's elderly mother with the same massive, curvaceous bosoms as a table dancer, [[FreudWasRight Freud Freud]]."
-->"...the male orcs, trolls, and undead are all hunched, twisted monstrosities while the females are basically just discolored human hotties with bad dentistry."
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: In-universe, he has taken this attitude with regards to several franchises, most notably the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series, for which he criticized every Western-developed entry in the series for missing the mark or failing to live up to the standard of the original four Japanese games (with ''Silent Hill 2'' in particular being one of his favourite games of all time). This became particularly ironic when he named ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' his game of the year for 2012, despite it being an entry in an established franchise which none of the original creators had any involvement in.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' depressed him so much that he actually took a huge ''pause'' near the end of the review and sighed wearily before wrapping up. The game went on to be his pick for Best Game of 2012.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Happens a fair deal with his ridiculous Irish accent in the ''Tales of VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' episode.
** Also the ''{{Farcry}} 2'' episode, where he switches back and forth from his normal English accent and a horrible South African accent.
* OrphanedPunchline: "...and whistled for a baboon!"
* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: Parodied.
-->The problem is that this isn't a ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' game. It looks like one, it wears the skin of one, but that doesn't make it one! I am not a fat woman, even though I've- I've just been advised not to finish this sentence. (with the accompanied image of him [[BlackComedy wearing the bloody skin of a fat woman]].)
* OutOfTheFryingPan: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/739-Velvet-Assassin review]] of ''Videogame/VelvetAssassin'', he notes that the CaffeineBulletTime mechanic in the stealth sections is--unless used under precise circumstances--liable to backfire and leave the player worse off than before.
-->...then the "f**kup remedy" has instead resulted in what we experts call "boomerang f**kup".
* OverlyLongGag: See BigNo.
* ParrotExposition: A parody of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'''s famous tendency for this:
--> '''Otacon:''' Metal Gear\\
'''Snake:''' Metal Gear?\\
'''Otacon:''' Metal Gear!\\
'''Snake:''' Bugger me!
* PetPeeveTrope: [[invoked]]
** {{Anticlimax Boss}}es
** ArtificialStupidity: See FishEyes; the fact that they're used whenever the topic of a game's AI is discussed should tell you something.
** {{Doorstopper}}: He tends to rag on games that are heavy on dialogue and cutscenes, like ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series and especially ''MetalGearSolid4'', which he describes as suffering from "verbal diarrhea."
** ItsEasySoItSucks: [[invoked]] Initially {{averted|trope}} when he calls out fans of the NintendoHard ''BionicCommandoRearmed'' for taking this stance, then plays it straight the rest of his career...
** FakeDifficulty: ...except when [[SomeDexterityRequired the controls suck]], [[ArtificialStupidity the AI sucks]] and TheComputerIsACheatingBastard.
** KarmaMeter: He argues that usually "you need to be all the way good or all the way evil to unlock the best toys" which eliminates choice and forces an evil player to do some really ridiculous things to maintain their evilness. He also argues that such meters are "just forcing us to play the game twice to see all the content."
** NinetiesAntiHero: A core gripe of his when reviewing games like ''{{Darksiders}}'' and ''{{WET}}''.
** PressXToNotDie: He has clarified that he doesn't mind QuicktimeEvents when they're part of the core gameplay (as in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain''), but objects when they are unexpectedly thrown into the middle of a cutscene, as in this trope.
** RealIsBrown
** RegeneratingHealth: He prefers health meters and medkits (this goes hand in hand with his hating cover-based combat; see below).
** RummageSaleReject: He often criticizes [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] for their eccentric costume designs.
** {{Sequelitis}}: [[invoked]] His biggest issue with the current games industry.
** StealthBasedMission: He likes the stealth genre, but a "forced stealth section" in the middle of a non-stealth game is one of his pet peeves.
** TakeCover: One of his main beefs with current-generation shooters. In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1976-Kane-Lynch-2-Dog-Days review]] of ''VideoGame/KaneAndLynch 2: Dog Days'', he observed that he doesn't mind this trope as long as it's not the ''only'' thing the player is expected to care about. In his words, "you can still have it, in all its pop-up shooting gallery tedium, but you've got to have something else!" Such as stealth gameplay for ''Deus Ex: Human Revolution'', BulletTime for ''Max Payne 3'', or an amazing story for ''Spec Ops: the Line''.
** UpdatedRerelease: Especially when Creator/{{Nintendo}} do it.
** VideoGameLives: Believes the trope to be long obsolete.
** {{Waggle}}: [[invoked]] One of his key issues with Nintendo consoles, because how shoehorned-in it seems.
* PetTheDog: In an ''Extra Punctuation'', although he couldn't sympathize with gamers who cried at Aerith's death in ''FFVII'', he said that the emotions they felt were real and no one could call them fake or wrong.
** In his review of [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8789-The-Legend-of-Zelda-A-Link-Between-Worlds The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds,]] he reveals that despite all the vitriol he's given Nintendo over the years, he's actually on their side in the next generation if only because they're the only ones who "released a game console, not an inferior gaming PC for people who dream of being the sub in an unhealthy techno-masochistic fantasy."
** A number of reviews, even he bashes the game, he will sometimes give it credit for doing something well, like in his review of SuperPaperMario, he admits that [[BestLevelEver Chapter 3]] was hilarious.
* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Does this quite a lot in-universe, praising a game's gameplay but criticizing its storyline. Examples of this include ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' and ''VideoGame/JustCause2'', both of which he named his game of the year for the year in question.
** Notably he praised the "classic" mode of FreedomPlanet as he hated the story despite liking the gameplay and art design.
* {{Portmanteau}}
-->"Essflawcondodgeckindesimudstorliketersockity."
* PowerTrio: With Bob Chipman and James Portnow. Yahtzee is the Id, Bob is the Superego and James is the Ego.
** In his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' review he considers Mario, Peach, and Bowser a FreudianTrio. Bowser is the Id, Peach the Superego, and Mario the Ego.
* PrepareToDie: Used as a CreditsGag.
* PressXToNotDie: [[TropeNamer Named it]], see RunningGag.
** Since ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' had none of these, Yahtzee instead used "Press X to '''KICK ASS'''."
** ''Creator/TomClancy VideoGame/HAWX'': "Press X To Make The World Safe For Democracy."
** "Press X to Put Off Going to the Gym" (''Luigi's Mansion 2'')
** Ah, [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld Mario can turn into a cat]] now. Press X to Curl Up And Lick Your Own Balls. (''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7595-E3-2013 E3 2013]]'')
** ''SilentHill Origins'': "Press X to Nurby Durby Durr" (This particular "Press X" gag is repeated in other videos)
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'': "Press X to exaggerate financial standings" (In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/48-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV reference]] to the game's over-reliance on realism -- "What next, the Write-a-letter-to-your-mum mini game?")
*** The hilarious thing is, at one point you do have the option of having Niko write an email to his mother.
** ''50 Cent: Blood On The Sand'': "The prerequisite quick-time experiences..." [caption: "Press X To Brutalise This Poor Fellow"] "... are thankfully not mandatory." ["Or Don't, Whatever's Cool."]
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1461-Mass-Effect-2 Press X To Not Care]]" ("You can't just spend the whole game knocking back Singapore Slings on a beach all day")
** ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb Raider]]'': "Press X to I'm Not Even Going to Fucking Touch This One" (describing the use of a quick-time event in an "attempted rape" scene)
** He actually explains a couple of the reasons why licensed games tend to do poorly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1815-Prince-of-Persia-The-Forgotten-Sands while reviewing]] ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', released to promote the ''[[Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime Sands of Time]]'' movie, citing that most of them put too much focus on the story or license (as opposed to gameplay) or get rushed enough to where notable issues don't get fixed (both of which, he says, are evidently the case with the 2010 Prince of Persia games). He still finds the game enjoyable despite having the look and feel of a licensed game.
** At the start of one video, when he mentions the game he's reviewing being a good basis for his psych profile after he starts his inevitable serial murder spree, a forensics team is shown investigating a crime scene with a dead body on the ground and the trope name scrawled on the wall in the victim's blood.
* PretentiousLatinMotto: The CreditsGag for ''VideoGame/RyseSonOfRome'' suggests that Yahtzee's should be "Audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret"; this is a Francis Bacon quote meaning "[[CausticCritic Slander boldly, something always sticks]]".
* ProductPlacement: Branston Pickle or '''GAME TRADERS ROBINA'''.
--> "Your one stop shop for games and the trading thereof...''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment in Robina]]''."
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Regarding Darius of RedFaction; "Not to dampen your sense of victory, Darius, mate, but why didn't you [fix the terraforming machine] three years ago right after it broke? You DUMB [dopeslap] BALD [dopeslap] TWAT."
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes Q-T]]
* QueerPeopleAreFunny: Quite a lot. His ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/32-Army-of-Two review]] even opened with him [[DiscussedTrope discussing]] his own over-reliance on gay jokes and how he'd been trying to cut down on them but the game he was reviewing that week was just [[HoYay such an obvious target]] for them.
* QuickSandBox: He encounters this problem in ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'', saying "When told I have everything I just can't think of anything."
* RagingStiffie: Mentions the trope by name when describing his [[CargoShip nostalgic feelings]] for ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.
** Apparently, his strategy for survival in ''VideoGame/DayZ'' devolved into slowly crawling about using his "raging adrenaline stiffie."
* RapidFireComedy: One of its defining features, helped by Yahtzee's MotorMouth and the blink-and-you-miss-it speed at which many visual gags flash by.
* ARareSentence: Wanna hear something crazy? "Titty-fuck labrador swimming up The Nile." [-...Oh yeah, and he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4181-Driver-San-Francisco liked]] ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco''.-]
** "But once I'd mentally adjusted for Batman's underpants..." is captioned with "I bet no one's ever said this before."
** Yahtzee says this about describing ''VideoGame/DayZ'' as "at best, unreasonably cruel".
* FloatingLimbs: People in the webcomic have these. When he reviews ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'', [[HypocriticalHumor he insists this to be the reason Rayman has been out of the spotlight, giving his avatar limbs for just that part of the review]].
* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: States this the reason he didn't bring up ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' on his worst games of 2013. He considers the game to be so horrible, it barely even qualifies as a video game.
* RealIsBrown: A particular dislike of Yahtzee's. Mentioned quite a few times, like in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' review.
* RealMenWearPink: He mentions dressing up his ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' avatar and Shepard from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' in bright pink.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The {{Webcomics}} is very critical of ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'''s "Loss" arc.
** A quick one aimed at elitist hardcore gamers on ''VideoGame/QuantumConundrum''.
** One towards people who've only played modern shooters in the VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter/Doom 3 BFG Edition when they say Yahtzee doesn't like shooters.
* RebusBubble: According to Yahtzee, the formula for the cutest thing ever is sum of teddy bear and [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Powerpuff Girl]] divided by [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] equals [[VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet Sackboy]].
* RecordNeedleScratch: In the ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review, as previously mentioned.
* RedHeadedStepchild: Said this of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' when ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' was released and referred to the ''Arkham'' games as a "trilogy", the creators thereby officially declaring ''Arkham Origins'' CanonDiscontinuity.
* RetGone: The final product of ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' was apparently such a transcendental work of awesomeness that it collapsed reality and ended up being cancelled before completion in the new timeline. Now the new version sadly fails to live up to the "original".
* RevenueEnhancingDevices: Yahtzee is very critical of publishers who put critical aspects of their games on DLC and has snarked at [=MMORPGs=] that [[FakeLongevity pad out their runtime]] in order to wring more money out of their userbase.
* RhymingList: In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' review, he mentions that in ''MetroidPrime'', scans would result in "The name of the monster (Fish [=McTarse=]), a hint on how to kill it (blast his arse), and its favorite song from DavidBowie's ''Hunky Dory'' album ("Life on Mars")."
** Also appears in the review of ''Medal of Honor: Airborne'', where every subsequent use of "fucking bastard" is replaced with a visual rhyme, like so:
--> Fucking bastard
--> Flocking [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bustard bustard]]
--> Sock in mustard
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The Imp.
* RidiculousFutureSequelisation: Yahtzee invokes it in his ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' review:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "Once your budget hits seven digits you're supposed to make Gun Battle Slap Fight Thirty-Seven for the Playstation Twelve...!
* RightWayWrongWayPair: Terry and Gonad from the ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2008'' review, with Terry presenting interesting gaming concepts while Gonad finds ways to make those concepts either inconvenient or downright unusable.
* RockBeatsLaser: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'' review, in which he points out that the soldiers in the game have a massive technological advantage against the supposed villains. Upon describing the assault drone sequences, in which the player remotely controls a heavily-armed robot to mow down enemy guerrillas, whose only means of defeating it is to bash it with a rock.
-->"[[HeelRealization We've got killdroids, they've got rocks]]. [[ReturnOfTheJedi We are Imperial Stormtroopers massacring the Ewoks!]]"
* RocksFallEveryoneDies: Mentioned in his ''Driver: San Francisco'' review by name.
* TheRoleplayer: Yahtzee states that he does roleplay when playing [=RPGs=] because it's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the entire point of the genre]]. This ranges from deciding that Hawke should be gay after primarily taking the sarcastic dialog options to not making his Skyrim character a KleptomaniacHero by saying that the character has a hatred of success.
* RPGElements: Interestingly, he actually defined what he considers to be the difference between this trope and a fully-fledged RPG game (or hybrid action-RPG). A game with RPG elements, in Yahtzee's view, merely allows the player to marginally improve skills or weapons that they essentially already know how to use (e.g. improving the reload time on a shotgun they can already aim and fire accurately) and will not force the player to specialize in a particular area (so they can be equally competent at an assortment of different skillsets). A fully-fledged RPG, by contrast, will render the player largely incompetent at any skill they haven't invested experience points in, and will force the player to specialize in particular skills.
* RuleOfThree: [[spoiler: Subverted]] in the ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' review, with regards to the obvious puns.
** His main complaint of ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'' is the fact you always need to find 3 of something to get past every dungeon.
* RuleThirtyFour: "I checked and yep, there's already erotic fanart of the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII FF13]] characters."
** Also, his character from his ''Age of Conan'' review ("Thinderella, the Necromantic Naturist") got hit, which he even acknowledged in a later review.
* RunningGag:
** {{PRESS X TO NOT DIE}} is Guaranteed to show up in a review of a game with quick time events.
** Also the caption "Oh no everyone can see my bum."
** Nose-picking is mentioned frequently when talking about [[ArtificialAtmosphericActions mundane actions]] on the part of either the player or {{NPC}}s.
** Yahtzee references making a {{supervillain}} [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox game]] called "Mankind Has Yet To Recognize My Genius, The Game" at least twice.
** Also, the image of that red-haired guy. For those who don't know, he's one of Thomas Ruff's "Expressionless Faces" found in one of Yahtzee's Google Image searches.
** The phrase "Triple-Cunted Hooker".
** Every time Hitler makes an appearance he's accompanied by a caption saying ACH.
** "People always say to me: Yahtzee, you (description indicating manliness...)"
** Ending sentences (and reviews) with: "[[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday ...not gay!]]"
** Whenever a character is praised for having "personality", this is indicated by a [[NiceHat funny hat]] and one-liner of some sort. Bowser wears a top hat and [[HighClassGlass monocle]] while quoting Shakespearean verse; in ''Driver: San Francisco'', it was a musketeer who crashes into a loaf of bread and deadpans, "Looks like I'm ''bread'' for success"; In ''[=CoD: Ghosts=]'', the dog puts on a bowler, sunglasses, and chomps on cigars like a stand-up comic.
** In his review of ''Driver: San Francisco'', ''SERVE AND PROTECT'' is used sarcastically on the cop protagonist's ability to possess drivers to crash into one another.
** Rattling off a list of numbered sequels and turning it into a football score, i.e., (''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', ''[[VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge Thief 2]]'', ''{{Spiderman}} 2'', ''Arsenal: 3'').
*** The best example comes from his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/10-The-Orange-Box review]] of ''The Orange Box'':
---->"...Half Life 2, Episode 2, Manchester United nil. Now then, Team Fortress 2... Liverpool 3. Sorry, I'll stop this now."
** Within the ''VideoGame/DeadToRights: Retribution'' Dead to Rights: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1717-Dead-to-Rights-Retribution review]], the Dead To Rights: recurring joke of Yahtzee [[OverlyLongGag Dead To Rights: replacing]] every RE- word with the game's title, but the RE- word in place of Retribution. Likewise a similar gag was done for ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'''s WordSaladTitle.
** In a similar fashion, Yahtzee took ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and complained that the game is neither red nor dead. He then went to call the game throughout the review by several alternate names, namely [[RealIsBrown Brown Alive Redemption]], Blue Poo Atonement, Green Spleen Submarine, and then [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Purple Monkey Dishwasher]].
** Yahtzee also used ''Videogame/FTLFasterThanLight'' in a similar manner. Faster than Light: Whiter than White, Faster than Light: Piggies in Shite, Faster than Light: Shit's Getting Tight, and Faster than Light: Riddled with Spite.
** Similar to the ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' example above, Yahtzee kept changing the title of ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' for things like ''Return of the Madness'', ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', ''[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Return of Jafar]]'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns''.
** A character bending over and asking to be, er, taken advantage of will always be saying "In mah butt".
** Various sound effects, such as "THRRRP" or "WURRGH".
** Pulling out his "Like ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' [[SerialNumbersFiledOff but]]" stamp.
** "Hungry Hungry Hippos" seems to becoming one of these as well.
** His evident dislike of Glasgow.
** He uses the term "Eating all the pies" to mean taking up space at least twice.
** Floating {{Hallucinations}} commanding people to '''"KILL THE WHORES"'''
** "CHAERG"
** Ferreo Rochers may be becoming one, with occasional visits from Magner's cider and Branston pickle.
** Monsters go "abloogy woogy woo".
** Dancers go "hootah hoo".
** Calling cookie-cutter modern military cover-based regenerating-health FPS games (such as VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}, VideoGame/CallOfDuty, VideoGame/MedalOfHonor, etc.) by the term, [=SpunkGargleWeeWee=], as he refuses to classify them as typical shooters. As of E3 2013, he's redefined the term slightly to replace "modern" with a NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom, specifically one in which the player is dragged along a linear procession of pre-determined, barely-interactive setpieces, through overcrowded war scenes that are so noisy and chaotic they become totally meaningless, with so many [=NPC=]s that any contribution you're making is negligible at best, and which have no context for who you are or who you're slaughtering, except that you are obviously the aggressor and considerably better-equipped than the enemy.
** Calling any example of generic zombie-based media (games or movies) "Dem Cunts Be Dead".
** Yahtzee makes a mentioning of Drake's hair behaving "like it's held in place with polymer cement." The subsequent reviews of the other Uncharted game shows bullets bouncing off Drake's hair, and when Yahtzee muses that with all the damage Drake takes, he will probably end up as "a big pile of giblets and teeth", said pile is shown with Drake's hair-do proudly sitting completely unharmed on top of it.
** Any time Yahtzee calls a game "absorbing", it's seen literally absorbing him with a "SHLORP" sound effect.
** Yahtzee getting distracted while saying something risque and going "sorry, lost my train of thought".
** Referring to many subgenres of games (namely of the WideOpenSandbox variety) as X-'em-ups. ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' is a mindfuck-tiger-'em-up, ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' is a petty-crim-footstool-vehicle-related-inner-thighs-'em-up, etc.
** Whenever the splicers from ''VideoGame/BioShock'' come up, he refers to them as sploicers, as a jab at Atlas's overly thick Irish accent.
** Yahtzee replaces the colon (:) in certain videogame titles with a dry heave sound, starting with his video on ''Lichdom HEURGH Battlemage'', out of bitterness for first installments of franchises that pretentiously colon-ize their titles with subtitles.
** Cadbury's Creme eggs tend to pop up everywhere, especially when Yahtzee finds himself in need of an analogy for something positive.
** Most moral choices are represented by having to decide between Coke and Pepsi, and TakingTheThirdOption by choosing Dr. Pepper.
** Yahtzee's implied [[BestialityIsDepraved sea mammal fetish.]]
** Deplorable people taking a big bloody bite out of a baby's head.
** Going out for kebabs.
* SandInMyEyes: "I'm not too proud to admit that I was welling up a bit at ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'''s good ending. ..A lil' bit... Well, not much at all really. It was more like just [[BritishStuffiness stoically nodding my head]] while [[RealMenHateAffection doing some pelvic thrusts and grunting]]."
* SarcasmMode: The entire ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/748-Duke-Nukem-Forever review]]. Let's start from the fact that he's reviewing a game that (at the time) was canceled and work from there. The part that qualifies this as this trope is the bit at the end where he points out (because the lawyers made him) that there is no actual game.
* [[SchrodingersCat Schrödinger's Cat]]: In his "Console Rundown", he compares his Xbox360 to a Schrodinger's Console, constantly swinging between a broken and unbroken state.
* ScreamerTrailer: The ending of the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' review, as an obvious homage to J-horror movies such as ''Film/TheRing'' and ''Film/TheGrudge''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** What he believed the plan to DC Universe to be, claiming if there were enough crazies in the world the Aliens would just go away rather than get involved.
** He takes the course after just a few minutes of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys''.
* SelfDeprecation: While his ''Zero Punctuation'' persona is obviously an arrogant CausticCritic, Yahtzee is known for making blunt, humourous digs at himself from time to time.
** A subtle one is that in his ''Extra Punctuation'' on ''VideoGame/TomodachiLife'', he says that it is very arrogant and behind the times for Nintendo to not allow gay marriage. There isn't anything wrong with that statement, except the country he lives in, Australia, doesn't not allow gay marriage, although his birth country, Britain, does. Could be him being a {{Hypocrite}}, but it can also be a jab to his own country.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' review notes that if people didn't try to kill [=DeWitt=] for being the guy who would kill everyone and fuck everything up, [=DeWitt=] wouldn't be killing everyone and fucking everything up.
* {{Sequelphobic}}: Yahtzee isn't ''inherently'' against the idea of sequels, but he's extremely critical of most due to their alleged lack of innovation. Franchises that go in new directions are preferred, and several of his liked games (''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', ''[[VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge Thief 2]]'', ''{{Spiderman}} 2'', [[RunningGag Arsenal: 3]]) are either sequels or otherwise part of an existing franchise (as in the ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' trilogy). In point of fact, every single game he has named his game of the year (''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', ''VideoGame/JustCause 2'', ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' and ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'') has been part of an existing franchise (if not necessarily a direct sequel).
* SerialNumbersFiledOff:[[invoked]] Has accused many games of being this, most notably ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'' to ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''.
* ShootTheTV: Halfway into playing ''Medal of Honor: Warfighter'', he put the controller down. Not content with shutting off the console, Yahtzee puts it in terms the game can understand: Blasting the set to smithereens with a revolver.
* ShowDontTell: An advocate of this. One of the few negative criticisms he made of ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'' was that it relies too heavily on telling over showing, given that most of the narrative is conveyed via disconnected text screens after each chapter.
** Conversely, he praised ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' for being based on this, but criticized that it perhaps showed a bit too much and told too little; he felt as though the developers thought the target audience would already be familiar with Tolkien's more obscure stories.
* SincerestFormOfFlattery: In his ''[[VideoGame/{{Resistance}} Resistance 3]]'' review, Yahtzee grows more and more suspicious of the game's marked (if well-executed) similarities to ''Half-Life 2''.
* SirSwearsALot: To the point that he [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] in his review of ''{{WET}}'', where he claims Rubi considers swearing to be wit, yelling out, "[[HypocriticalHumor That's my thing!]]"
* SitchSexuality: Yahtzee's utter adoration of Creator/StephenFry's [[ArousedByTheirVoice voice]] in the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' review.
** He starts his review of ''BrutalLegend'' by professing his adoration for TimSchafer, including stating that if he had a doomsday machine he'd reduce the entire population of the world to himself, Schafer, and one woman if she promised to wear a Schafer mask.
** It's clear from his review of ''Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon'' that he's got some deep sexual feelings for...Luigi. Something about the mustache apparently does it for him.
** Starting in his review of ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon Luigi's Mansion 2]]'', Yahtzee starts showing deep sexual feelings for Luigi (a RunningGag throughout the first review that briefly returns in the ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' review when recounting the Cat Suit - ''not'' Luigi in a SpyCatsuit).
* ShoehornedFirstLetter: "''[[VideoGame/SeriousSam BFE]]'' stands for ''Before First Encounter'' - not, as I had first believed, ''Big Fucking Egun''..."
* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ZeroPunctuation Lots.]]
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: The review of ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' has a random protagonist quoting {{Theatre/Hamlet}}.
* SoBadItsGood: In-universe. His opinion on ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'', in which he called it the video game equivalent of ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.
--> ''It's bad. It's explosively apocalyptically bad and you should totally buy it. I'm serious, you have to see this shit!''
* DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible: In-universe, this is his opinion of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''. He even uses the same line graph as Webcomic/{{xkcd}}.
* SoLongSuckers: Warned EA against this in his ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7417-Next-Gen-Buyers-Guide Next Gen Buyer's Guide]]'' episode. With Sony and Microsoft's futures uncertain, now is not the time to burn your bridges with Nintendo.
--> ''If you're going to burn a bridge you might want to wait first to make sure the other two bridges don't spontaneously combust.''
* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: At the end of his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' review.
--> [[LampshadeHanging Some of his best friends are Italian]]\\
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.
** Later, he remarks that the protagonists of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' are only mildly annoyed by [[BlackDudeDiesFirst their sole black member dying]], mostly because they can't use this argument on the internet anymore.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' review, which of course was all made up, as well as the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'' review which was, except for the introduction, entirely in limerick form, including the tag-ending text.
** His trip to Washington, D.C.
** His FauxToGuide on webcomics and the "Post-Brawl Mailbag Showdown" might count as well, particularly the former.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Many examples over the years.
* SpiritualAdaptation: A lot of comparisons are drawn between ''LAConfidential'' and ''VideoGame/LANoire''. [[invoked]]
** He referred to VideoGame/{{Painkiller}} as "The unofficial [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Doom 3]]".
* SpoofAesop: The lesson of ''Catherine'' seems to be "men are all directionless tidal waves, and [[AccidentalInnuendo women are all dikes]] built in the path of their raging floods."
-->"...Blimey, [[ThatCameOutWrong what a badly-worded metaphor.]]"''
* SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords: The review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Warfighter]]'' opens with Yahtzee stating that normally, he makes fun of a game by increasingly altering the title through the review until it gradually becomes ridiculous. In this case, he says that he can't do that, because there's nothing more silly than simply using its actual name. He maintained that the title was absolutely ridiculous even after learning that "warfighter" is in fact a term used by the American military.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Complains about this in AliensVsPredator where despite the title, the [[SpaceMarine Colonial Marine]] campaign is by far the longest of the three, and it's just a generic FPS game.
* StarbucksSkinScale: A ButNotTooBlack character is dismissed as "dipped in tea".
* StealthInsult: His ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' review features "Killing in the Name" (which contains the [[LoopedLyrics repeated line]] "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me") by Rage Against the Machine playing over the end credits, which becomes hilarious when you consider that he has spent most of the review telling people who suggest things to him to get fucked.
* StealthPun: a corker in his ''HyruleWarriors'' review: "Greasy baps are Team Ninja's bread and butter..."
** But it only remains a StealthPun for about a second before he lampshades it: "...if you see what I did there."
* StorybookOpening: ''RedFaction Guerrilla''.
* StoryToGameplayRatio: Yahtzee's a bit hard to pin down on this one, but the important things are that the amount of story must fit the game and that StoryAndGameplaySegregation must not intrude. ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' is his definitive example of getting the balance right. He observed in a column once that he once thought AdventureGames were intellectually superior to FirstPersonShooters before realizing that the two genres were effectively two sides of the same coin - one all story at the expense of gameplay, the other all gameplay at the expense of story. Over time he became more interested in combining gameplay and story in interesting ways.
* StoutStrength: An odd example, he refers to any large muscular character as fat even if they have an impossibly fit and overmuscled build.
* StupidSexyFlanders: He naturally identifies more with Luigi than his brother, Mario. Yahtzee being Yahtzee, this later became a repressed crush on the character.
-->"So, the new feature is [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld Cat Suits]]. Meaning suits made to look like cats, not Luigi running around in [[SpyCatsuit skintight]] -- sorry, lost my train of thought."
* SturgeonsLaw: Applied frequently, with an even more negative twist: "Everything is shit until proven otherwise", a.k.a. "the Guantanamo Bay approach".
* StylisticSuck: An [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/108-Webcomics example]] of a [[Webcomic/CtrlAltDel nameless, professional webcomic]] reacting to one of his critiques: a crude stick figure wearing a hat.
-->''Blah blah blah look at me i'm a [[BigStupidDooDooHead big foreign dipshit]] who isn't funny anymore\\
Also my hat is stupid and there are too many ads at the ends of my videos\\
Balls go in my mouth now''
* SubliminalSeduction: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/616-50-Cent-Blood-on-the-Sand 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand review]], [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yzblackfriend.jpg this]] ImageMacro quickly pops up several times during the video.
* SuicideAsComedy: A RunningGag where he will try to kill himself.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: See HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday.
** In the review for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', Bruce Wayne is represented with a man wearing a t-shirt saying "[[PaperThinDisguise Not Batman]]".
* SweepingAshes: Following hours of arduous work in ''{{VideoGame/Starbound}}'', building a "distress beacon" as instructed, his house gets obliterated by UFO -- which immediately turns its sights on Yahtzee himself, reducing him to a skid mark wearing a hat.
-->'''Game:''' Guess you'd better build ''another'' Distress Beacon, then.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' I've got a better idea, ''Starbound''. Why don't you see if you can find one [[StuffedIntoATrashcan at the bottom of this bin?]]
* [[TakeAThirdOption Take a Fourth Option]]: Invoked at the end of the "Next Gen Buyer's Guide" to answer the overarching question "Should I go with the Wii U, [=PS4=], or Xbox One?"
-->So to summarize this buyer's guide to next gen consoles, ''DON'T''.
* TakeThat: Many targets, many times.
** "I do point out every little thing there's bad about a game. But then again, I'm a critic! It would be weird if I didn't. If I put people's balls in my mouth for a living, I'd be a prostitute, or possibly a [=GameSpot=] employee."
* TalksLikeASimile: For humorous effect, given the nature of the similes. As an example, one of them involved the voice acting in a game being comparable to being raped in the ear by a man wearing a sandpaper condom. Though technically it wasn't ''him'' who said it, it was his roommate. And "Not in those exact words, of course."
** Matt maintains he actually described it as like driving a corkscrew into his ears.
--> "I wonder if the Geneva Convention covers torturing metaphors?"
* TankGoodness: In ''Franchise/{{Halo}} Wars''.
-->"There's no reason to build any troops, really. Tanks don't move any slower, they just take longer to build and, well, ''they're fucking tanks!''"
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: The female imps have red bows on their heads.
* TestosteronePoisoning: A common topic of jokes, but he doesn't like seeing it played straight.
* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: After ''[=RE6=]'' netted the 5th Worst of 2012 spot, Yahtzee realized that the franchise's title is apropos.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Says this happened when playing the ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', that Drake is now coming after him.
* TheWikiRule: [[http://zeropunctuation.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Right here.]] It contains transcripts of all his reviews, which can be helpful on those occasions when he talks too fast for you to understand every word.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In-universe, he complained about how the only thing that drew him to ''VideoGame/DarkestOfDays'' was its interesting premise, which he thought was completely mishandled.
* ThisIsGoingToSuck: At the start of his ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' review, he mentions having this reaction after responses to his ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' began coming in.
-->"When the game started to lose me, I wasn't sitting there, rubbing my fingerless-gloved hands in glee. No, I was sitting there thinking, 'Ugh, I am ''definitely'' getting some fucking stimulating e-mails after this one."
* ThisLoserIsYou: Yahtzee's hatred for this trope is made plain in his ''TransformersWarForCybertron'' review, where he derides Shia [=LeBeouf=]'s various characters in ways like, "Indiana Jones is over thirty? No one can relate to that!"
** Suggested in his ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' review:
-->"This 'Hope' guy has been established from the start as a [[OverlyLongGag whiney, weak, inept, cowardly, socially-retarded, mummy’s boy]], so presumably he’s the character most of the audience is meant to project onto."
* TickleTorture: The way he illustrates the mentioned the initial torture sesions of ''Black Ops''.
* TitleConfusion: Comments that ''LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' should be called "Luigi's Mansions" since Luigi goes through multiple mansions in the game.
* ToMakeALongStoryShort: Joked about on the ''Spore'' review
* TooAwesomeToUse: Brought up in his ''Mercenaries 2'' video, with him calling it the "But I might need it later" thought.
* TooManyCooksSpoilTheSoup: He brings this up frequently about the large-name corporations running the big-budget titles, and even brings up how such lack of discipline ruined ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2''.
** He takes this metaphor to [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8892-Extra-Punctuation-Action-Is-Not-Finisher-Porn extraordinary lengths]] in ''Extra Punctuation''.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Branston Pickle, Cadbury's Creme eggs, cornettos and pies. In later seasons, he develops a liking for kebabs and jaffa (chocolate-covered orange jam) cakes. The imps like Pedigree dog food.
* TranquilFury: Yahtzee uses it in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on his VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter and Doom 3 BFG Edition review, where he calls out people who claim he doesn't like shooters.
* {{Troll}}: Yahtzee once reflects that he's seen as a "professional troll," which he imagines as a hulking creature lurking under a bridge, handing out business cards.
* TropeNamer for:
** PressXToNotDie: Lampshaded in his ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' review, when he {{imagine|spot}}s a [[OurFounder monument to himself]] with this engraved on its pedestal.
*** In ''Thief: The Dark Project'' he snaps and [[CouldntFindAPen writes this in blood]] on the wall above a dead body.
*** In a fit of pique he complained that botching ''Ryse: Son of Rome's'' quicktime events ''doesn't'' result in failure. ("Wait, ''[[DoubleTake what?]]''")
** SpectacleFighter
* {{Troperiffic}}: Many of the entrance quotes of the Trope pages are from him.
* TwentyBearAsses: One of his reasons for hating {{MMORPG}}s is because most quests are variants of this. A sight gag from his ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' video is him running from a cougar holding a pile of [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian otter noses]] while the caption "7/8 OTTER NOSES" floats over him.
[[/folder]]

[[folder:Tropes U-Z]]
* UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective: Provides the page quote.
* UncannyValley: [[invoked]]
** [[invoked]] Has alluded to the concept several times, usually in reference to particular poor animation and/or mocap.
** [[invoked]] He also used the concept to illustrate the problems inherent in creating and criticizing art, arguing that, in much the same way that the closer something comes to realism the more obvious its deficiencies become, the closer a work of art comes to "perfection" the more glaringly obvious its flaws become.
* {{Understatement}}: He describes [[spoiler:Walker accidentally burning almost fifty civilians alive with white phosphorus]] in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' as a moment where "Walker and the player unwittingly do a bad thing".
* TheUnintelligible: The Imp, during his extremely short-lived HostileShowTakeover.
* UnpleasableFanbase: [[invoked]] "Fans are clingy, complaining dipshits who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. Incidentally, [[HypocriticalHumor why not buy a Zero Punctuation t-shirt?"]]
* UnreliableNarrator: A quick one where Yahtzee shows on a chart ranking games by violence, which claims that ''{{Franchise/Barbie}} Horseback Racing'' is slightly more violent than the war game ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 3''.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** Used as a BrickJoke in his review of ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'':
--->'''Yahtzee''': I thought my rowboat was about to be made seaworthy...
** He also now believes that "Cake" is Princess Peach's code word for a booty call.
** In his review of ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'', he mentions stabbing a Nazi soldier "right up the ''lebensraum''."
* VanityLicensePlate: The one on Mario's {{faceship}} reads, "[[AC: 1TSA M3]]"
* VerbalBackspace: RunningGag in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' review.
** Also, from his ''ArmyOfTwo'' review, when he starts slipping into gay jokes again though he was trying to cut down on them: "No! Bad Yahtzee!"
* VictoryCake: A few times, such as this ''VideoGame/GodOfWar III'' review:
--> The actual challenge of the fight is basically 'Go here, then here, then QuickTimeEvent then win. Then cake.'
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Every once in a while even he admits to liking the characters that he plays or the {{NPC}}s he gets saddled with.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: He's a really big fan of this trope.
--> If you give [Gamers] guns, they will shoot old ladies. If you give them cars, they will run over old ladies. If you give them aircraft, they will ascend to the highest possible height and hurl themselves out [[RuleOfThree onto an old lady]].
* VideoGameSetpiece: Not a big fan of them. He often uses the term "sightseeing tour syndrome" to refer to games which attempt to lead the player by the nose from one largely uninteractive setpiece to the next without attempting to really engage them on any level of gameplay or story.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: In Yahtzee's review of ''Deathspank'', how many people got that he picked the town name of Northampton for a visual gag about a mystical place because it's very close to the real life English town of [[VideoGame/KingsQuest Daventry?]]
* VindicatedByHistory: In-universe, ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} 3''. For everything it dropped from the previous games in favor of ripping off ''System Shock 2'', it was still a GAME that was driven by the actions of the player, which was more than Yahtzee could say for ''Medal of Honor: Warfighter'' ([[RunningGag HA! Ha ha ha ha ha!]])
* VisualPun: Many of the BRollRebus visuals.
* VorpalPillow: Yahtzee suggests doing this to the ''Paper Mario'' series after ''SuperPaperMario'' (which he actually thought was OK, if inferior to the previous titles).
--> It's an enjoyable installment, but the developers don't seem into it anymore, so perhaps it's time to put this particular franchise to bed. ''Then smother it to death.''
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Joked about. He once claimed to see no difference between True Love and brain damage.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Briefly discusses this in one Extra Punctuation about his concept for a stealth game with no killing in it.
* WhatTheHellHero: Rebecca Mayes' love song to him, calling him out on the lowest-common-denominator parts of his humour then asking him out for a drink... [[{{Yandere}} and threatening to stab him with a screwdriver]].
* {{Whoring}}: Yahtzee both hates the very existence of and abuses the hell out of moves that can be used for extreme versions of this, including but not limited to [[RedSteel2 a parry that automatically stuns the opponent]], [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} a tentacle attack with way too long a reach]], [[VideoGame/SoulSeries tossing his helpless AI opponent around like a ragdoll]], [[VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw a flipping attack that carves up anything in the same room with you]], and [[VideoGame/GodOfWar the "fuck you" button]].
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: In the EpicMickey [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2575-Epic-Mickey review]], Yahtzee says he had a fear of Theme Park Mascots as a Child.
** This same irrational fear is taken UpToEleven in his review of ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution''.
** Mentioned again in his Videogame/FiveNightsAtFreddys review.
* WithLyrics: Deus Ex theme with lyrics.
--> ''[[BadassLongcoat Put on a trenchcoat]]...''
--> ''...and fight some [[AncientConspiracy conspiracies]].''
--> ''Get experience...''
--> ''...and level up abilities.''
--> ''Will you pick [[ImprobableAimingSkills rifles]], or [[HollywoodHacking computers]]?''
--> ''[[DumpStat Don't pick swimming because it's fairly useless]].''
--> ''It's a shooter...''
--> ''...and a role-playing game.''
--> ''The levels are ugly...''
--> ''...and everybody looks the same.''
--> ''We're not the same Ion Storm that made Daikatana.''
--> ''Our games are good and they stay on schedule.''
--> ''We made [[ContestedSequel a sequel]] [[FanonDiscontinuity that no one liked]]...''
--> ''cause we dumbed it down too much, cause we're thick.''
* [[WritersCannotDoMath Developers Cannot Do Math]]: From the VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV review:
--> '''Yahtzee''': So [=GTA5=] then. The fifth Franchise/GrandTheftAuto after 1, 2, 3, Vice City, San Andreas, 4, Chinatown Wars and ''all the other ones''. Adding up not being one of Rockstar's strong points.
* XDaysSince: Parodied in the ''ArmyOfTwo'' review as "X Hours Since the Last Gay Joke".
* YaoiFangirl: One of these makes a brief cameo in the ''MetalGearSolid4'' review when Yahtzee points out that [[HeterosexualLifePartners Snake and Otacon's]] relationship is a goldmine of HoYay.
* YouBastard: Yahtzee actually suggests this exact trope as an alternate name for ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Monster Hunter Tri]]'' when his first suggestion (he got as far as ''[[OverlyLongGag Hunter/Gatherer Of Innocent Young Dinosaurs Pathetically Mewling Their Last As The Memory Of Their Mother's Warmth Drifts Away To Be Replaced By The Unforgiving Coldness Of...]]'' before giving up) didn't really work.
** He states in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' that despite the fact the game developers tried to focus more on the fact that James is more sympathetic than Alex, they're still both controlled by a player who would still slaughter everyone for fun.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: During the Mailbag Showdown:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' I think you should look up the word "objective", because I don't think it means what you think it means.
** {{Lampshaded}} by Yahtzee himself in one column, where he mentions that he's caught himself using certain words so many times that he's had to step back and wonder what the hell he's actually talking about. Helpfully, he put together a handy little glossary of some of his favorites.
* YouKilledMyFather: Used as a CreditsGag.
* YouMakeMeSic: He employs this during the "Mailbag Showdown" video by correcting the emails in red as he reads them.
* YouMustBeThisTallToRide: The couch gag at the end of the review of ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' shows the little mascot character strapping a disembodied head on top of its own head to get past a "You Must Be This Tall To Ride" sign.
* YourMom: She turns up a lot in ''Zero Punctuation'', and Yahtzee usually either hits on her or tries to have sex with her.
** Or in one case as shown in his ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' review, kicking some ass.
** Quite thoroughly subverted in the ''{{VideoGame/Transistor}}'' review, though:
--> '''Yahtzee''': Lately though, I've been banging on about how game releases are drier than your mum after I cheated on her with ''your dad''.
[[/folder]]

* ArousedByTheirVoice: His [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/530-Little-Big-Planet opinion]] on Creator/StephenFry in ''LittleBigPlanet'' as well as [[InteractiveNarrator Rucks]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}''; he's a fan of famous voices in general, and feels that having them as {{One Scene Wonder}}s is a waste of potential.

* BuffySpeak: His metaphors descend into this while reviewing ''LittleBigPlanet.'' {{Lampshaded}} in the same review -- it was very hot that week and he couldn't think of anything better.

Do not confuse with NoPeriodsPeriod or NoPunctuationPeriod.

** Yahtzee also used ''Videogame/FTLFasterThanLight'' in a similar manner. Faster than Light: Whiter than White, Faster than Light: Piggies and Shits, Faster than Light: Shit's Getting Tight, and Faster than Light: Riddled with Spite.

** Most moral choices are represented by having to decide between Coke and Pepsi.

!!''Zero Punctuation'' is the TropeNamer for:
* PressXToNotDie: Lampshaded in his ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' review, when he {{imagine|spot}}s a [[OurFounder monument to himself]] with this engraved on its pedestal.
** In ''Thief: The Dark Project'' he snaps and [[CouldntFindAPen writes this in blood]] on the wall above a dead body.
** In a fit of pique he complained that botching ''Ryse: Son of Rome's'' quicktime events ''doesn't'' result in failure. ("Wait, ''[[DoubleTake what?]]''")
* SpectacleFighter

* ForcedMeme: Yahtzee coined the term "spectacle fighter" to describe games like ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' or ''VideoGame/GodHand'', and once joked that he was determined to "shoehorn it into common parlance". It didn't really work, although plenty of other terms he's used have since achieved memetic status (as [[PressXToNotDie various tropes]] on this very wiki illustrate).

** PressXToNotDie: Trope namer, as noted above. He has clarified that he doesn't mind QuicktimeEvents when they're part of the core gameplay (as in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain''), but objects when they are unexpectedly thrown into the middle of a cutscene, as in this trope.

* RunningGag: {{PRESS X TO NOT DIE}} is Guaranteed to show up in a review of a game with quick time events.

----

----
!!Tropes which ''Zero Punctuation'' provides an example of:
[[index]]
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesAToD
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesEToH
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesIToL
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesMToP
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesQToT
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesUToZ
[[/index]]
----

----
* AccentuateTheNegative: Yahtzee's style, to the point where he'll occasionally rattle off a four-minute list of a game's flaws and then sum up by saying how much he enjoyed it. ("But having now whinged myself inside-out, I have to say that I find ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky]]'' weirdly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/271-S-T-A-L-K-E-R-Clear-Sky compelling]].") Presumably this means there are ''some'' positive qualities, but listing them isn't his department and has claimed "people don't like me being nice to a game".
** He begins his ''VideoGame/{{Mindjack}}'' review expressing disbelief that people have trouble telling whether he recommends a game or not, but acknowledges this trope (along with the mesmerizing fat folds of a close relative) as the cause.
--> Yes, I exaggerate every slightish negative feature regardless of overall quality, but how else would developers learn? It's like Chinese parenting, but less nightmarish.
** Lampshaded in his reviews, where he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5394-Darkness-2 describes his job]] as "ruining the developer's retirement plans." His standard operating procedure after playing a game, according to animation, is to toss aside the controller and boast, "And now to tell the world it sucks".
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/37-Mailbag-Showdown response]] to a fan letter saying if he doesn't like a game he points out everything that's wrong with it. "Hands up, you've got me there. I do point out everything that's wrong with a game, but then again, I'm a critic; it'd be weird if I didn't."
** He stated in his ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/767-inFamous review]] that he views his job as tearing the bad and the mediocre games to shreds so that the rare game that could be called great can shine all the brighter.
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/926-Batman-Arkham-Asylum review]] for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' Yahtzee says that he's more of a QA man and that anything he doesn't mention in his review is a good part of the game.
** As he put it in the same review: "You don't call a sewer technician to redecorate your bathroom, and you don't come to me to hear about how a game is good."
** Played with during his review of ''VideoGame/WiiSportsResort'', where he attempts to appeal to a fan who'd left when Yahtzee's constant railing on the Wii upset him by sarcastically portraying the game's negatives as positives. He notably skips over two sports that work too well to criticize.
** "In fact, I might go so far as to say that ''Creator/TomClancy's {{HAWX}}'' has sold me on air combat games. But that's not funny, so let's find more things to rip on."
** From the ''[[Creator/ValveSoftware Orange Box]]'' review: "If I did have to criticize it -- and I do..." [Cue Escapist logo holding up a contract.]
** ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'': "I can't think of any criticism for it." [Cue Escapist logo holding up a contract, and Yahtzee's avatar apologizing] and "Absolutely sublime from start to finish and I will jam forks into my eyes if I ever have to use those words to describe anything else, ever again."
** From the ''VideoGame/CliveBarkersJericho'' review: "I could go on listing the stupid design decisions...so I will."
** Even going back to his ''VideoGame/BioShock1'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4-BioShock review]]: "If my ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2-Psychonauts review]] taught me anything it's that no one likes it when I'm being nice to a game..."
** Inverted: when he finally got the chance to play ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'', [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3581-Duke-Nukem-Forever-for-real-this-time Yahtzee]] was actively trying to like it and ignore the faults, but eventually had to relent because he'd been harsh to games for far lesser reasons.
** Spoofed in his ''GearsOfWar 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/525-Gears-of-War-2 review]], where he tries as much as he can to hate it, but lists off some of the stuff it does well that prevents him from hating it. It ends with, "There aren't even any quick-time events! Oh, wait, there is ''one''. A little one. I guess that means I have to hate it."
** Retroactively played straight again; he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4763-Gears-of-War-3 bashed]] the entire ''Gears'' series with the release of ''GearsOfWar 3''.
* ActionAdventure: He once observed that this genre is little more than a catch-all term for any game that's difficulty to classify, under which one can comfortably lump together everything from ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' to ''VideoGame/{{Killer7}}''.
* ActionBasedMission: Provides the page quote.
* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of the things which have just ''slightly'' less screen time than the devils and someone being violently assaulted onscreen. In particular:
** At the start of his ''VideoGame/{{Halo 4}}'' review, he says that Master Chief spent his four years of absence masturbating to Cortana.
** At the start of his ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' review: "...at this point there’s only one thing I can do: masturba- I mean retro review!" He apparently uses a toy giraffe while doing it.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: His opinion on E3, taken from the E3 2014 video:
--> End this execrable endurance event entailing eager editors endlessly entreating eminent entertainment egotists for efficacious endowments of effluence!
** The review for ''VideoGame/{{D4}}: Dark Dreams Don't Die'' takes this trope and [[UpToEleven runs a marathon with it]].
--> Delighting as it is that the drought is dying down, doing Destiny drained your debonair delegate. Dominant developers delay for a dog’s age, then deliver a desperately draft discharge and dare to describe it as the due destination for depictions of destruction. Dammit, I don’t desire the designate devotion to drudges as dull as ditchwater, so I’m declaring a downloadables day, derived directly from discovering VideoGame/{{D4}}: Dark Dreams Don’t Die!
** To a lesser extent, it persists for his next two videos. In the review of ''Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor'', he says he's trying to break the habit.
* AdventureGame: When he first started playing games these were his favourite genre, and he's made several of them himself, though he admitted in an Extra Punctuation column that he's grown to strongly dislike the genre more recently, and noted that he's always liked adventure games [[EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame in spite of their gameplay rather than because of it]].
* AlasPoorScrappy:[[invoked]] Yahtzee said during his "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/748-Duke-Nukem-Forever review]]" for ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' that the cancellation of the game wasn't the end of the world since it had been overshadowed by other franchises, most notably ''VideoGame/HalfLife''. However, in his Extra Punctuation article, while reflecting on the plans of bringing it out in 2011, Yahtzee admitted that too many FPS have taken the cover-based combat route and he'd like a return to the basics with one guy facing armies all at once.
* AllMenArePerverts: He jokes about being an example himself, but he still expresses dismay at how widespread this trope is in real life, lamenting that all a crappy game has to do to become wildly successful is [[{{Fanservice}} stick a picture of a busty scantily-clad woman]] on the cover.
* AllWomenAreLustful: Brings this up in ''TheWitcher'', but takes it as a sign of the game including {{fanservice}} in attempt to come off as mature.
* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: [[invoked]] [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation/ZeroPunctuation Yahtzee loves that trope.]]
* AluminiumChristmasTrees: He did acknowledge that "warfighter" is an actual term used by the military which rather justifies its usage as a subtitle, but didn't think this made the title of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'' any less ridiculous.
* AnalogyBackfire:
** His [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4863-Kinect reason]] for suspending judgment on the Kinect. "Pope Urban VIII probably thought ''he'' was very clever when he condemned Galileo, but who got the last laugh there? ...Well, ''he'' did when Galileo died in poverty and dishonour but what I'm saying is [[AnswersToTheNameOfGod I'm basically like the Pope]]."
** Then there's this example, about the characteristion in ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'':
-->''...it's as if men are all directionless tidal waves and women are all dikes built in the path of their raging floods. [[LampshadeHanging Blimey, what a badly worded metaphor]].''
-->'''[[QuoteMine "WOMEN ARE ALL DYKES"]]''' ''[[CreditsGag ~Yahtzee Croshaw]]''
* AndIMustScream: Starts ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing: New Leaf'' off describing a hypothetical situation in which a person's mind is locked out of his body, but is still fully concious as his body proceeds to move around on its own... only doing utterly mundane and insignificant things.
--> The higher part of your brain can see how utterly asinine the experience is but it's just getting dragged along for the ride, like a bunch of helium balloons tied to a wonky supermarket trolley. "Sure, lower part of the brain, a blue-tiled roof probably would solve all our constantly crushing sense of emptiness-- OH GOD, STOOOP!"
* AndThatLittleBoyWasMe: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/RedFactionGuerrilla'' review.
* AnnoyingArrows: Averted and Lampshaded in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6964-Crysis-3 review]] of ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}} 3'' where the guy exclaims to Prophet that the Bow and Arrow is 12 times more powerful than any gun for some reason.
* AnticlimaxBoss: [[invoked]] One of his {{Pet Peeve|Trope}}s.
* ApocalypseWow: Yahtzee states that if ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' was combined with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Branston Pickle]] that the world would end. And it would be [[RuleOfCool AWESOME.]]
* AprilFools:
** In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/645-Halo-Wars 2009]], the hosts of ''{{Unskippable}}'' pretended to stage a HostileShowTakeover and reviewed ''VideoGame/XBlades'' before Yahtzee seized the show back to review ''VideoGame/HaloWars''. Yahtzee also guest-commentated on ''{{Unskippable}}''.
** In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1591-April-Fools 2010]], the usually MotorMouth Yahtzee recited ''Ode to Melancholy'' in a very slow, ponderous manner.
* ArbitraryMissionRestriction: Yahtzee sardonically refers to this trope as the "sandbox paradox", referring to WideOpenSandbox games in which the player is given complete freedom to do what they like outside of missions, but within missions must precisely follow a linear series of instructions.
* ArchEnemy:
** [[SchoolyardBullyAllGrownUp Lee Drummond]], apparently a bully in His childhood.
** Michael Atkinson, Australian politician and chief MoralGuardian against the evil of video games.
** [[PressXToNotDie Quicktime events]].
** Creator/{{Nintendo}}, specifically post-''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' for "[[ItsTheSameSoItSucks lack of innovation]]" and "[[{{Waggle}} poorly implemented control gimmicks]]".
*** No longer seems to be the case as of the 8th console generation, he calls the Wii U the best and most respectable of the new consoles, holding contempt for the PS4 and Xbox One for being consumer-unfriendly devices that have abandoned the last of their remaining advantages that consoles traditionally had over PC gaming.
** The new console generation, specifically the big two PS4 and Xbox One.
** EA games.
** Ubisoft
* ArsonMurderAndJaywalking: A few blink-and-you'll-miss-it examples. (As a rule, a list of things - such as skills to buff in [=RPGs=] - will get silly at the end, or all the way through.)
** In ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'':
---> "I could talk about how the combat flows, and how the atmosphere is solid, and how the highlights for me were the Scarecrow sections where Batman's perceptions of reality are skewed in favor of a nightmarish introspective delusional glimpse into the darkest recesses of his soul and how jumping on people is cool."
** On a signpost in the ''Witcher'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/22-The-Witcher review]]:
--->SHAME\\
FAILURE\\
IGNOMINY\\
SWINDON
** The list of things George Lucas will never do: [[FranchiseZombie Definitely end popular moneyspinning franchise]], refuse a second helping of pancakes, admit failure, survive in vacuum, shave.
** In his ''Resistance 3'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4728-Resistance-3 review]], he accuses the game of copying ''Half-Life 2''. Amongst his accusations are identical mechanics, a straight Expy of the Ravenholm level, and as the final straw, "the scientist has a beard." Because, you know, Gordon Freeman and Dr. Breen have beards.
** From his ''[[VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles Resident Evil: The Umbrella Chronicles]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/23-Resident-Evil-Umbrella-Chronicles review]]: "Umbrella Chronicles is a heavily cut down retread of three of the major ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' games, starring WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo, a prostitute, an idiot, a mullet, a 9 year old boy, a brick shit-house, and [[AndZoidberg Carlos]]."
** In his review of ''[[VideoGame/ShovelKnight Shovel Knight]]'' (posted on July 16, 2014), he talks about the July games drought (which for Australia takes place during the winter) and his efforts to alleviate the boredom caused by it:
---> "It's bad enough that we have to huddle in our homes trapped by the cruel blast of one degree below ideal surfing weather without AAA releases drying up and forcing us to pass the time with games like 'Guess how many kicks to the bollocks it takes to draw blood' or Frozen Grandparent Tetris, or for those who are truly lost, Boggle."
** While reviewing ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'', there's a claim that ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' lets you specialise in "combat, hacking, or playing the cello".
* ArousedByTheirVoice: His [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/530-Little-Big-Planet opinion]] on Creator/StephenFry in ''LittleBigPlanet'' as well as [[InteractiveNarrator Rucks]] in ''VideoGame/{{Bastion}}''; he's a fan of famous voices in general, and feels that having them as {{One Scene Wonder}}s is a waste of potential.
* TheArtifact: Feels that the Vigors, the stand-ins for the plasmids in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', are this since they're kept around for the sake of retaining a gameplay element for the earlier games, [[PetTheDog an element that he feels is fun to keep around]], but lack the significance to the story the plasmids had.
* AskAStupidQuestion: In "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/jim-yahtzees-rhymedown-spectacular/8320-Lament-of-a-Murderer Where I Get My Ideas]]", Yahtzee ascribes his writing process to listening to [[EdgarAllanPoe talking ravens]], aliens and leprechauns. We can surmise he gets asked about this a lot.
* AssPull: [[invoked]]After playing ''VideoGame/CastlevaniaLordsOfShadow'' he accuses the writer of pulling the Dracula plot twist out of his "biggest and sweatiest ass".
* AttentionDeficitOohShiny: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6387-FIFA-13 review]] of F.I.F.A. 13, he keeps getting distracted by downloadable games.
* AttentionWhore: From what we see of the Mario Bros. back in the old days, fixing toilets in Brooklyn, Mario was already a giant egomaniac who shouts "ITSA MEEEE" at any provocation. (''Luigi's Mansion 2'')
* AuthorAppeal: He notes some of this in ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' with his Creator/StudioGhibli [[http://i.imgur.com/SaqJFwS.png bingo card]].
* AuthorFilibuster: Occasionally.
* AwesomenessIsVolatile: Yahtzee implied this would happen if ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' were combined with Branston Pickle.
* AwesomeMcCoolName: The little Fairy refers to Yahtzee as "Benjamin Yahtzee Sebastian Godzilla Croshaw" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/93-Haze review]] of ''Haze''.
* AxCrazy: Yahtzee (or at least his avatar) tends to kill people from [[DisproportionateRetribution slight provocation]], like setting a ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' fan on fire for refusing to tell him what the game was like until he tried it.
* BaitAndSwitch: His review of ''VideoGame/TheWitcher'', the quote at the start of the page.
** He opens his review of ''Franchise/FatalFrame: Maiden of Black Water,'' his last video before Christmas 2015, with one:
-->Well it's [[ChristmasTropes that time of year]] again: the stockings have gone up, and [[StockingFiller the owner of the stockings]] has been [[TheOldestProfession paid $20 and left my hotel room.]]
* {{Bathos}}: On occasion, sometimes overlapping with MoodWhiplash.
* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: A surprising amount of people write in with requests and then get offended when he rips into the game.
* BerserkButton: As someone who is professionally angry, Yahtzee has quite a few. While many are specific to a game (and thus too numerous to list) some recur:
** In the ''[[VideoGame/TransformersWarForCybertron Transformers: War for Cybertron]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1951-Transformers-War-for-Cybertron review]], the mention of Creator/ShiaLaBeouf sent him into a barely-restrained seething rage.
** Creator/NolanNorth's presence in a game tends to be a sour point for him (especially if he voices the [[Franchise/AssassinsCreed main]] [[VideoGame/{{Uncharted}} character]]). However, he's stated that it's nothing against the man himself, though even cases of PlayingAgainstType will make him hate the character as long as he knows it's him. He did, however, give a glowing [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6021-Spec-Ops-The-Line review]] to ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', in which North plays the protagonist, perhaps because the game is in part a [[PlayingWithCharacterType deconstruction]] of North's usual character type.
** Quick Time Events.
** He seems to developing one over reboots/sequels that [[RecycledTitle share identical names with their predecessors]], such as ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/916-Wolfenstein Wolfenstein]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3250-Mortal-Kombat Mortal Kombat]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5531-Twisted-Metal Twisted Metal]]'', ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1516-Aliens-vs-Predator Aliens vs Predator]]'' and ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7025-Tomb-Raider Tomb Raider]]'', saying it's needlessly confusing to have two identically titled games in the same series separated by nothing but time, even if that time in some cases is a few decades.
** He got really ''pissed'' with viewer accusations that he named ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare3'' and ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield 3}}'' as joint "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5207-Top-5-of-2011 Worst Games of 2011]]" just because he "doesn't like shooters" as shooters are actually one of his favorite genres.
-->'''Yahtzee:''' Oh, you ignorant little ''bastards''. Stick your balls up your arse and clench yourself castrated! I was into shooters when you were still sucking on Wiimotes, you cover-loving, health-regenerating, murderer-come-latelies!
** He tries to be fair about it, but he really doesn't like multiplayer in general (because he feels it brings in factors beyond the game's control and thus affect the review), so when he faces a game with executive-mandated shoehorned-in multiplayer (like ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6891-Dead-Space-3 Dead Space 3]]'') he'll get particularly steamed. However, due to DarkSouls and ''VideoGame/TitanFall'', he's getting a bit more kinder for multiplayer.
** Croshaw has an absolute dislike of games that shoehorn in gimmicks. Since most games made for recent Nintendo systems make excessive use of either motion controls (for the Wii), the secondary screen (WiiU) or 3D graphics (3DS) he'll usually go off on Nintendo as a whole for this. His issue isn't so much that gimmicks exist as it is that they tend to handicap the game more than enhance it. However, he doesn't hold them as much as he does the others due to various things, Nintendo being more focused on games and fun being a major part.
** Games-as-art products that forget the "game" part. While he doesn't dislike artistic games and indeed is a strong proponent of games being an artform he hates when a game lets being artsy get in the way of being something enjoyable to play. Something of which he praised ''VideoGame/WatchDogs'' for - the trailer only showed gameplay.
** He also seems to dislike kids.
** Resurrection of the dead, as seen in both ''VideoGame/OriAndTheBlindForest'' and ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX''.
** And who could not forget from his VideoGame/HaloWars review:
--> "We lost contact!" went the character... [[PunctuatedForEmphasis BULL. FUCKING. SHIT.]] (the words "[[GoshDangitToHeck WHAT. ARBITRARY. SILLINESS.]]" appear in synchrony with his swearing). All possible threats were dead! We didn't lose contact - I was looking at them - They were RIGHT. FUCKING. THERE! They were so close we could communicate by '''waggling our eyebrows at each other'''! What the fuck happened when the stupid arbitrary time limit ran out!? Did their ''Film/BattleRoyale'' collars explode!? Did they lose honor and disembowel themselves? '''WHAT'''?!\\
And just to put the cherry on it, you know who they were? ''Absolutely bloody no one!'' Generic faceless ''pricks'' of the sort I'd vat-grown about ''fifty of'' that day alone! But we didn't make it in time, so they were going to make me do the '''''whole fucking mission again!'''''\\
As the exasperated Chinese zookeeper said to the last male panda in the world, '''FUCK! THAT!'''
** In one of his Extra Punctuation columns he noted that he extremely disliked Creator/RhiannaPratchett's writing style, having observed many recurring problems in ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'', ''VideoGame/{{Thief2014}}'', ''VideoGame/TombRaider2013'' and ''VideoGame/RiseOfTheTombRaider''.
* BeYourself: He is strongly against ReviewsAreTheGospel, even regarding his own.
* BitingTheHandHumor: "I made this chart to see how many people visit ''The Escapist'' on days besides Wednesday..."
* BiasSteamroller: Occasionally a topic of jokes.
* BigBad: Creator/ElectronicArts, whose abhorrent business practices and representing of all that is wrong with the video game industry he has a habit of going into [[AuthorFilibuster Author Filibusters]] about.
* BigEater: Several references have been made to Yahtzee eating (or at least wanting to eat) some absurdly huge quantity of food in one sitting. For example:
** In his review for VideoGame/TheTalosPrinciple, Yahtzee's avatar can be seen lying on his back next to a conveyor belt rolling an ''entire cake'' towards his open mouth.
** In his VideoGame/TheBureauXCOMDeclassified review, he talks about wanting to call Domino's to ask if they'll make "...a sandwich with pizzas instead of bread. And ''nine pizzas'' instead of filling."
* BigFirstChoice: Not a fan of it, although he wrote a lengthy Extra Punctuation column about it and argued that ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'''s use of it was probably the best implementation he'd seen.
* BigNo: The ''VideoGame/{{Spore}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/218-Spore review]]. Twice. But with a [[DeadpanSnarker twist]].
--> "So can his new game, Spore, possibly live up to that legacy? In short: no. In long: nooooo...." (for 15 seconds without taking a breath)
* BilingualBonus: When Yahtzee "quotes" a ZP fan extolling ''VideoGame/{{Siren}}'' '':Blood Curse'' to him, said fan starts spouting off about Yahtzee's love of Japanese horror, eventually devolving into random Japanese words: "Watashi wa baka gaijin," which translates to "I'm a stupid foreigner."
** In his ''Sniper Elite V2'' review: "I love Russians! Worked with a Russian girl as an office temp and I imagine we would've gotten along great if I'd understood a word she was saying." And what is she saying? [[StealthInsult "I hate you"]].
** In his review for Yakuza 4, when he notes that the game is set in a particularly peculiar japanese-style sandbox, one of the little black imps has the Kanji character for Oni (demonic ogre-like creatures) on it's body.
* BlackBestFriend: He invokes this in his ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' review, suggesting that the main characters only cared about [[BlackDudeDiesFirst Alex's death]] because [[SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX they couldn't claim to have a black person on their side any more]].
* BlackComedyRape: When remembering the time he lost his virginity to an obese black woman in his review of ''VideoGame/DragonsDogma'', you can see an image of said obese black woman dragging him away by his leg as he is obviously horrified by her. Complete with claw marks on the ground by his fingernails.
* BlackDudeDiesFirst: Describes [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Lara Croft]]'s support team as "a small team of ethnically-diverse archaeologists who all seem to be wearing digital clocks on their heads counting down to the point at which they are [[StuffedIntoTheFridge unwillingly made part of someone else's character development]]". The black woman's readout is nearly at zero.
** Mentioned in many of his reviews, particularly ones about modern military shooters (or [[MemeticMutation spunkgargleweewee]].)
* BlandNameProduct: In order to avoid mentioning any real gaming webcomics in his review of the genre, he used ''[[PennyArcade Benny Barcade]]'' and ''[[CtrlAltDel Bontrol Bolt Belete]]'' as names instead. This was a ShoutOut to ''Series/MontyPythonsFlyingCircus'', with its [[ThoseWackyNazis National Bocialist Party]] and their boncentration bamps.
* BlankWhiteEyes: Used frequently to show strong emotion.
* BlatantLies: In his VideoGame/HeavyRain review, Yahtzee claims that Scott Shelby is a "fat private investigator, not interesting enough to dwell on", which is only true if you overlook the fact that [[spoiler: Scott is the Origami Killer, and thus arguably the most important character in the game]].
* BoobsAndButtPose: Makes reference to this at the end of his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5394-Darkness-2 review]] for ''VideoGame/TheDarkness 2''
-->'''Yahtzee:''' Darkness 2 is more like an attempt to recreate the comics...[a]nd I've never liked [the] sort of comic...[that features] women proportioned like ice lollies balanced on two chicken drumsticks standing around like God gave them a vicious Chinese burn around their waists.
* BookEnds: Before reviewing ''VideoGame/FableII'', Yahtzee notes that all he needs to do now is review ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWS9_nrKOPA second time]] then be "[[{{Squick}} sucked into a grown woman's vagina]]" and his life will have been more-or-less symmetrical.
** The [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1815-Prince-of-Persia-The-Forgotten-Sands review]] of ''Prince of Persia: Forgotten Sands'' ([[BlatantLies which totally wasn't made to cash in on a movie]]) starts with a TakeThat against Creator/RogerEbert's (then-recent) remark that video games couldn't be art. He then ignores it for the rest of the review until the very end when he yells at Ebert again.
* BreadEggsBreadedEggs: Yahtzee's description of the three types of levels that typically come up in a random pull in ''VideoGame/SuperMarioMaker'':
-->'''Yahtzee:''' A level with ten million of something, the kind of obnoxious difficulty a Creator/RoaldDahl villain would come up with, or ten million of something being obnoxiously difficult.
* BreadEggsMilkSquick[=/=]FreudianSlipperySlope: The end of the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5-Tomb-Raider-Anniversary review]] of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary''.
* BringMyBrownPants: Standard procedure for ''VideoGame/{{Penumbra}}'' and ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''.
** Taken UpToEleven for ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'', where the force of such ''blew a hole through his chair''.
* BRollRebus: Nearly all of the visuals that aren't meant to represent gameplay. His Wikiquote entry even {{Pot Hole}}s some of them for lack of images.
* BrainBleach: It's a favorite reaction by Croshaw.
* BrickJoke:
** The ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review opens with the Stranglers song of the same name. However, the song's [[RecordNeedleScratch abruptly cut off]]: "No, no, that's a bit too obvious." This isn't mentioned throughout the entire review. Finally, in [[CreditsGag the credits]], the songs used in the video are listed as normal, except that "No More Heroes" has been thoroughly scribbled out.
** Another one consisted of a spoiler warning in mid-episode, where Yahtzee told spoiler-sensitive viewers to plug their ears and wait for the credits. The credits mini-comic consisted of a series of famous spoilers from other works. ([[spoiler:[[Film/CitizenKane It was his sled]], [[Film/TheUsualSuspects Keyser Soze = Kevin Spacey]], etc.]])
** The [[GroinAttack sausage-slicing machine]] in the ''[[VideoGame/{{Killzone}} Killzone 3]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2915-Killzone-3 review]].
** In his ''QuantumConundrum'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5998-Quantum-Conundrum review]], he makes a reference to his contract with the Escapist, which is represented by a piece of paper with "say [[CountryMatters cunt]] a lot" on it. At the end of the review, naturally, he launches into a [[ClusterFBomb Cluster C Bomb]].
** In the ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DLand'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5239-Super-Mario-3D-Land-Rayman-Origins review]], he contemplates how a [[http://www.flickr.com/photos/marktronics/843124797/ more faithful depiction of Tanooki]] would work, "in which case it's the [[SmashingHallwayTrapsOfDoom Thwomps]] [[TacticalSuicideBoss I feel sorry for]]." Later, in the ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'' review, he mentions as one of the smugglers' moves being "[[GroinAttack crafty knees to the bollocks]], which [[ForgotHeWasARobot for some reason also works on robots]]. Perhaps they're wearing Tanooki suits."
** A subtle one, in his ''Franchise/MassEffect'' review he explains how he named his character Titty Shepard. Several years later when ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' came out, he refers to Shepard as Titty with no prior mention of the earlier review. It should also be noted that it isn't mentioned in his ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' review, at all.
*** Also, throughout the ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' review, Shepard is wearing the pink armour that Yahtzee had dressed him in the first review.
** In ''EpicMickey'' Yahtzee talks about his fear of Theme Park Mascots. In Hitman he mentions how he has killed many Theme Park Mascots.
** The "Whipped Cream Genocide Brouhaha" from his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1404-Darksiders review]] of ''{{Darksiders}}'' reappears at the bottom of the list of "build-your-own combos" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7542-Remember-Me review]] of ''VideoGame/RememberMe''.
** His review of VideoGame/HaloWars has one with a shorter setup than most. While talking about the unit selection issues in the game:
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Lacking click-and-drag, all you can do is select one prick, select one prick and all his prick friends standing within a fixed diameter, select all the pricks on the current screen, or call a great big all-map prick hoedown. So if you just want to, say, select all your flying pricks for a strategic insertion than you’re going to have a bit of prick trouble beyond the might of any soothing cream."
** In his ''Alien Isolation'' review:
*** ''At the beginning:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Welcome back to the second week of our excursion to opposite-land, where the carpets go on the ceilings, people eat feces and poo out breakfast cereal and somehow the best games going are AAA movie franchise tie-ins"
*** ''In the middle:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "When the alien finally does show up, uncoiling and plopping down from the ceiling in front of you like a big drippy shit into the cereal bowl that is your life"
*** ''At the end:''
---> '''Yahtzee:''' "Sure, I could go alone into hostile territory yet again to fetch your key card. But how about instead, ''you'' eat the contents of this cereal bowl."
* BrokenRecord: "You couldn't get away with releasing a buggy game in the cartridge and cassette days; you'd be trampled under the company Brontosaurus. But I'll tell you the worst part- worst part- worst part- worst part- [[WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties *system error*]] [[OrphanedPunchline ...and whistled for a baboon!]]
* BrokeTheRatingScale: ''Ride to Hell: Retribution'' "won" the #0 spot on Top Worst of 2013. This was being charitable, as Yahtzee's reasoning was that "it's [[InsultToRocks not a game]]; it's congealed failure."
** It wasn't just for worst game of 2013 either. It was a reward for worst game that he had ever reviewed and a title that he said that it would hold until an even WORSE game came around.
* BrutalHonesty: Yahtzee definitely doesn't sugarcoat anything when reviewing games. ''Especially'' critically acclaimed games.
* BuffySpeak: His metaphors descend into this while reviewing ''LittleBigPlanet.'' {{Lampshaded}} in the same review -- it was very hot that week and he couldn't think of anything better.
* BulletDancing: Why do developers shun the Wii U? Because, Yahtzee explains, Nintendo has a somewhat strained relationship with developers who don't wish to incorporate their horrible hardware gimmicks into the games. We then cut to the Nintendo logo firing a six-shooter at [[ElectronicArts EA]] while barking, "'''DANCE'''". (''A Link Between Worlds'')
* ButtMonkey:
** Yahtzee's avatar gets hurt in a variety of ways throughout his reviews.
** The black imp also seems to get a fair amount of pain dealt to him. Especially when he gets a Nazi helmet, at which point Yahtzee will do things like pulling his toenails out with pliers.
* ButtonMashing: In his review of ''Videogame/DmCDevilMayCry'', he notes that he always ends up doing this reflexively in action games so moves that require him to pause in the middle of a combo are extremely difficult for him to pull off.
* CallBack: As far as the eye can see.
** "[[HelloInsertNameHere Senor Koquonfaes and Gareth Gobelcoque]] are [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3112-Nintendo-3DS cousins by marriage]]."
*** It turns out that Gareth is a [[ContinuityNod long-forgotten comrade]] of [[VideoGame/MassEffect2 Titty Shepard]].
** Plot summary for ''DeadToRights'':
--> "Bang! Punch! Bang! Punch! Bang! Punch! Woof!"
** And [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4694-Dead-Island for]] ''DeadIsland'':
--> "Grr! Kick! Grr! Kick! Grr! Kick! Splat!"
** The phrase "triple-cunted hooker" makes a number of appearances.
** In the ''VideoGame/HardReset'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4784-Hard-Reset review]], Yahtzee compares the game to ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'' by dint of the fact that many who worked on the former were also among the crew of the latter. While praising ''Painkiller'' for its array of creative death distribution implements, the avatar onscreen wields a shotgun that has tits and is on fire -- precisely the phrasing Yahtzee used in his review of ''Painkiller''.
** In the ''SuperMarioBrosWii'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1191-Left-4-Dead-2-New-Super-Mario-Bros-Wii review]] the credits state that Yahtzee only has two friends. Later in the ''VideoGame/NieR'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1703-Nier review]] we find out that this was referring to the imp and the extremely bored looking man respectively, hence why they are the only recurring characters in his videos.
** The "paddling pool full of disembodied breasts" analogy in the ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/312-Saints-Row-2 review]] returns in an exaggerated form in the ''VideoGame/SaintsRowTheThird'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5056-Saints-Row-The-Third review]].
** In his ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2AssassinsOfKings'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3443-The-Witcher-2-Assassins-of-Kings review]], he refers to Geralt as "Gerald", which continues a RunningGag that began in his review of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher first game]] and carried on in his review of the [[VideoGame/TheWitcher3WildHunt third]].
** In ''VideoGame/DeadToRights Retribution'' he imagines that [[SociopathicHero Jack Slate]] worships "some mad ocelot god only he can see". Years later, in ''[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Payne 3]]'', another tortured ex-cop murder spree game, the head of an ocelot appears on screen when Yahtzee says the phrase "the face of God".
** In the ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6586-Hitman-Absolution review]], the ocelot returns to urge Yahtzee to take therapy for his (fictional) habit of killing theme park mascots.
** [=SpunkGargleWeeWee=] seems to have become this anytime he talks about an FPS he doesn't believe should be classified as a Shooter.
** He [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6723-Black-Knight-Sword-Hotline-Miami mocks]] the WordSaladTitle ''Black Knight Sword'' by calling it "Purple Monkey Dishwasher," which is what he called ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' in a previous review. It doubles as a ShoutOut to ''TheSimpsons.''
** In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6695-Paper-Mario-Sticker-Star review]] of ''VideoGame/PaperMarioStickerStar'' he calls out the habit of recent Mario games to always have a world order of "[[GreenHillZone grasslands]], [[ShiftingSandLand desert]], [[TheLostWoods forest]], [[JungleJapes jungle]], [[SlippySlideyIceWorld ice world]], [[LethalLavaLand fire world]], boss (nn-ch-nn-ch-nn-ch-nn)." This surfaces again in his review of ''VideoGame/NiNoKuni'' in a completely ''non''-Mario context.
** His review of ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDarkIllumination'' has him comment on how the game is behind the times by having the game portrayed as saying, "Boy, I'm looking forward to [[{{Film/Watchmen}} the Watchmen movie]]", referencing Yahtzee's video on E3 2008 when he finished the video by doing exactly that.
* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: How he describes Nintendo in ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass'' review:
-->''Yahtzee'': A world without Nintendo would be a far bleaker one than this, and yet there's [[ItsTheSameSoItSucks something]] about them I find incredibly infuriating.
* CaptainMorganPose: Used to deify certain characters in a game, ranging from (most frequently) Yahtzee [[HolyHalo wearing a halo]], to Andrew Ryan in ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'', to a nutter survivalist in ''{{VideoGame/Rust}}'' who shoots Yahtzee in self-defense after spotting a rock in his hand.
-->"How fortunate this community must be to have a watchman so dedicated to rigidly enforcing the laws against [[FelonyMisdemeanor unlicensed rocks."]]
* CargoShip:[[invoked]] In his ''RedFaction Guerrilla'' review, Yahtzee admitted he pretty much proposed to ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' in his review of it -- complete with picture of him and the game in bride and groom attire, respectively.
** In his ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/878-Silent-Hill-2 retro review]], he lampshades his fondness for "dropping to my knees and wrapping my lips around old titles from time to time", and another review shows him humping the ''Silent Hill 2'' box art.
** He made a [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/203-Braid similar comment]] about the ''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' series, saying "If I suck that particular dick any harder, it's going to [[{{Squick}} drop off]]."
** The Yahtzee/''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' CargoShip returns in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5595-Silent-Hill-Downpour review]] of ''SilentHill: Downpour'', when he and the game are shown wearing a bridal veil and groom's tuxedo respectively, and he admits that "Yes, [[WhyDontYouMarryIt maybe I]] ''[[WhyDontYouMarryIt will]]'' [[WhyDontYouMarryIt marry]] VideoGame/SilentHill2, shut up!"
* CausticCritic: The {{YKTTW}} for CausticCritic was named "Parent Genre of Zero Punctuation".
* ChainedToARailway: Used as a metaphor for why Andrew Ryan is a sympathetic villain. A DastardlyWhiplash character advises the girl to "maybe not stand there", apropos railroad tracks.
** Also done to Jill Valentine in the credits of ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilTheUmbrellaChronicles''.
* ChallengeGamer: Sometimes Yahtzee will like a game ''because'' it's murderously hard, as with ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6276-DayZ DayZ]]'' and the hardcore mode in ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''.
* ChaoticNeutral: Yahtzee claims to be this alignment in his ''VideoGame/SpiderManWebOfShadows'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/584-Spiderman-Web-of-Shadows review]] and encourages his fans to argue on the forum as to whether he is or not. [[invoked]]
* ChewBubblegum: A [[ItMakesSenseInContext zombie Duke Nukem]] says "Time to kick ass and chew brains" in the ''VideoGame/BattlefieldBadCompany 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1546-Battlefield-Bad-Company-2 review]].
* ChildHater: Every so often, he's made it ''very'' clear that he finds children annoying. He's even said that he'd rather commit suicide than to have kids of his own. Granted, this is ''[[CausticCritic Yahtzee]]'' we're talking here, so how much of it is true is up for debate.
* CliffHanger: Strongly dislikes them, especially in cases where a brand new IP ends on one under the creators' mistaken assumption that the game is destined to become the first entry in a franchise (which turns out [[StillbornFranchise not to be the case]], thereby leaving the game's story permanently unresolved). In an ''Extra Punctuation'' column he went so far as to argue that a game with an unresolved story is effectively an incomplete product, and hence selling it is tantamount to fraud.
* ClipShow: The [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2589-Holiday-2010 Holiday 2010 episode]], after Yahtzee mocks the viewer for showing up when they should know that he gets that week off.
* ClusterFBomb: At least once per episode. One of his most infamous clusters was delivered in the opening to his ''MindJack'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2793-MindJack review]]:
--> So in the name of keeping things nice and clear for you touchy sods, let me as unambiguous as possible in this critique: ''MindJack'' is ''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING FUCKING]] [[DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible BAD BAD BAD BAD.]] DON'T DON'T DON'T DON'T PLAY IT!''
* ClusterBleepBomb: Seen in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1732-Monster-Hunter-Tri review]] of ''VideoGame/MonsterHunterTri'', in relation to [[HGame '"Japanese Sex Games"]]:
--> I waggled my (CENSORED) at her (CENSORED) until her (CENSORED)ed at her (CENSORED) until it started emitting a sorrowful howl.
* TheCoconutEffect: Discussed in his ''Extra Punctuation'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/7726-Boss-Fights column]] on {{Boss Battle}}s.
* ColorCodedForYourConvenience: Referred to by the exact name during his ''VideoGame/OverlordII'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/822-Overlord-2 review]].
* ComplainingAboutShowsYouDontWatch:[[invoked]] He has accused the ''Zelda'' series of being [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks incredibly formulaic]]. However, he also admits to being very unfamiliar with the franchise. To wit; he's used ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaMajorasMask Majora's Mask]]'', ''VideoGame/ZeldaIITheAdventureOfLink'', and ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaFourSwordsAdventures'' (some argue [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks took the opposite extreme]]) as proof of his point.
* ComplainingAboutThingsYouHaventPaidFor: In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8031-Extra-Punctuation-Dont-Use-the-Word-Gamer.2 this]] Extra Punctuation blog, Yahtzee announces that there will not be an update next week, and informs anyone who has a problem with this, "Now, you only have a right to complain about this if you are actually paying money to watch and read this stuff. And even then, only because someone appears to be pulling a fast one on you."
* ConspicuousTrenchcoat: He observes that ''Beyond: Two Souls'' stealth mechanics come into play only once, "which by [[NeverTrustATrailer staggering coincidence]] happens to be the bit that was in the gameplay trailers." Developer David Cage then creeps behind the sofa wearing one of these disguises while Yahtzee admonishes him.
* ContinuityNod: In the ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' review, Yahtzee's Shepard dons hot pink armor in memory of Gareth [[MeaningfulName Gobulcoque]], his character from ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa''.
* CoolAndUnusualPunishment: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/624-Resident-Evil-5 Apparently]] whoever designed the inventory system for ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'' should be sent to a special Hell where he has to pack shopping for old ladies... or just get punched in the stomach.
** Also says that any developer that holds back stuff for DLC should have their hands cut off, and then put back on after paying 1200 Microsoft points.
* CosmicDeadline: Yahtzee has accused several games of falling prey to this, including ''[[VideoGame/DarkVoid Dark]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1433-Dark-Void Void]]'', ''[[VideoGame/{{Splatterhouse}} Splatter]][[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2544-Splatterhouse house]]'', and of course ''[[VideoGame/{{Fahrenheit}} Indigo Prophecy]]'' aka "[[FanNickname Baron von Teapot's Fucking Ludicrous Adventures]]."
* CoughSnarkCough: In his ''LollipopChainsaw'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5977-Lollipop-Chainsaw review]]:
--> "But there are certainly games with worse combat, and games with more offensive depictions of women, [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud cough]] ''VideoGame/MetroidOtherM'' unconvincing-cough."
* CrackPairing: [[invoked]] His ''VideoGame/TombRaiderUnderworld'' opens with Yahtzee remarking on the best potential husband for Lara Croft - [[Franchise/FridayThe13th Jason Voorhees]].
--> "They've got so much in common! They both have an [[{{Sequelitis}} embarrassing amount of adventures]] that all follow an [[StrictlyFormula extremely specific formula]][[note]]Jason's is "Teenagers + [[DeathBySex having sex]] = [[{{Gorn}} death slice bleed wahey]]", Lara's is "[[AxeCrazy Anything + doing anything = death slice bleed wahey]]"[[/note]], they both have an irresistible compulsion to [[AxeCrazy murder God's creatures]], they both spend lots of time underground, and most importantly neither of them will ever ''just fucking '''die!'''''"
* CreatorBacklash: In-universe, he noted that 99% of artists claim to loathe everything they made more than five years ago and the remaining 1% are liars.
* CreatorThumbprint:
** Platformers and games that don't use bloom and [[RealIsBrown brown gritty graphics]] earn a somewhat higher note in his book.
** "SurvivalHorror is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/696-Siren-Blood-Curse what I call a pet genre]]. A pet I keep in a tool shed and feed with broken glass."
** ''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'' is one of the few games that pleased him, resulting in a review that sounded like, in his own words, "an overlong wedding proposal" due to the fact that it entertainingly combines RuleOfFun and VideoGameCrueltyPotential.
** He also has a great love for anything that does things differently like ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes''; he complimented ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' for trying something new even after tearing the actual gameplay apart, and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' got [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/16-Assassins-Creed praise]] for being original even though it was let down by highly repetitive gameplay. Similarly, he praised ''DarkVoid'' for being an ambitious failure, and as such, better than "committee-designed sludge". He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1651-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories liked]] ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'', despite hating ''Franchise/SilentHill'' spinoffs and saying that the monsters and chase scenes weren't scary and the psych test gimmicks weren't enough, for trying something new. He raves about ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' for [[TropeMaker creating]], [[TropeNamer naming]] and [[TropeCodifier codifying]] the ColossusClimb, and ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'' got a love note from him for making him ''[[VideoGameCaringPotential care]]'' about a CuteMute LoveInterest.
** He also has a taste for SceneryPorn, although he has said in his reviews that while he loves a good beautiful skybox as much as the next person, he much prefers ''exploring'' said beautiful skybox.
** [[CuteKitten Cats]] seem to pop up a lot in his reviews (which [[CatsAreMean sort of]] [[CausticCritic makes sense]]), as do [[PreciousPuppies dogs]]. In fact, he said that one of his three wishes would be a puppy.
** A warped sense of humor is also a big plus for him, as in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}'', the ''VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' series and the aforementioned ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''.
** Good writing impresses him as well; the ''Franchise/MassEffect'' series has led him to give BioWare a dirt-cheap [[DealWithTheDevil offer of his soul]].
--->"When the bottom falls out of the game criticism market and I have to start prostituting myself to developers, BioWare will be one of my first ports of call, because there are few enough developers in the world who treat writing as an integral part of the game rather than an optional set of colorful tassels to put on the handlebars."
*** In his review for the second game he spends almost the whole review talking about the changes in gameplay, then mentions casually how the writing and characters have gotten better, but because it's BioWare they don't get any points for it.
** Considering his positive mentions of ''[[VideoGame/SeriousSam Serious]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5184-Serious-Sam-3-BFE Sam 3]]'' and his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/57-Painkiller love]] of ''VideoGame/{{Painkiller}}'', along with his positive [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2176-Dead-Rising-2 review]] of ''VideoGame/DeadRising2'', Yahtzee also seems to like games that pit the player against large hordes and give them the freedom to just go wild.
** The worse you can act towards Nazis, the better, by his books. Bonus points if it's [[CruelAndUnusualDeath spectacular or amusing.]]
** He mentioned a particular fondness for Shaun of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series, partly because he reminds him of himself and partly because he often insults [[NolanNorth Desmond]] [[TheScrappy Miles]].
** He has fondness for games that actively embrace VideoGameCrueltyPotential and particularly creative ways of TheJoysOfTorturingMooks.
** He has a thing for large open environments with interesting ways to traverse the world, such as LeParkour or flight.
** His [[{{Eagleland}} distaste of America]] which puts them as overly decadent whiners who try to make a world empire.
*** Quite literally TheEmpire in his review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter'', as one scene involves you controlling a robot against people armed with rocks, reminiscent of [[ReturnOfTheJedi the Empire vs. the Ewoks]].
** He's also a fan of first person games that allow a bit of freedom and reward exploration such as ''VideoGame/HalfLife'', ''VIdeoGame/{{Thief}}'', ''[[VideoGame/SystemShock System Shock 2]]'', and ''VideoGame/DeusEx''.
** Also, [[RuleOfFunny for whatever reason]], he likes to somehow include or feature ''Marmite'' and ''Branston Pickle'' in his reviews, preferably at the most unfitting times. He must be really fond of ''Marmite'' and ''Branston Pickle''.
*** That's the British ''Marmite'' made by Unilever which is sold in Australia as ''Our Mate'', not the New Zealand ''Marmite'' made by the Sanatarium which is sold in Australia as ''Marmite''.
* CreditsGag: The text next to his name at the end. Also, the opening and closing credits each had a clip from a song whose name and/or content was a pun on the content of the review. For example, ''VideoGame/{{Haze}}'', about drug-fueled mercenary super-soldiers, used Afroman's "Because I Got High". This stopped after a while, for fear of lawsuits.
** Music used interestingly in his ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review, as mentioned above for BrickJoke.
** Also, the credits themselves have a little minicomic going on, acted out by the little figures he uses in the reviews. The one for ''{{Spore}}'' had a flying saucer alien abducting Batman, who then beat it up and stole the flying saucer. Additionally, there is generally a caption referring to something earlier in the video.
* CrossOver: With ''WebVideo/{{Unskippable}}''. Yahtzee [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/unskippable/644-Star-Ocean-The-Last-Hope appeared]] in their ''VideoGame/StarOceanTheLastHope'' riff and [[LoadingReadyRun Graham Stark]] of ''Unskippable'' appeared in the first section of the ''Franchise/{{Halo}} Wars'' review to review ''X-Blades'' before running out of things to say and getting kicked out by Yahtzee.
** A throwaway gag, mere seconds into the aforementioned ''Halo Wars'' review, poked fun at ''Eternal Sonata'', which was ''Unskippable'''s premiere episode.
** Furthermore, in the review of both ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2'' and ''VideoGame/NewSuperMarioBrosWii'', the Credit Sequence features a short mix-type {{crossover}} of the two reviewed games.
* CrossPlayer: Yahtzee [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/138-Age-of-Conan becomes one]] for ''[[VideoGame/AgeOfConan Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures]]''.
* CryingIndian: The ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/420-Fallout-3 review]] featured a deer crying over the landscape being littered with rubble.
* CurseCutShort: He spends the entirety of his 50 Cent reviews carefully wording his criticisms so that nothing can be misconstrued as racist, then ends the episode on an inspiring speech, saying people of all creeds and colors should try to put aside their differences and work together to build a better world for everyone, but then punctuates that speech with this sentence:
-->"Not that they'd know anything about work, the lazy nig-" [END CREDITS]
** From his VideoGame/HalfLife1 review, after bemoaning the lack of any new games to review before Christmas: "at this point there's only one thing I can do, [[ADateWithRosiePalms MASTURBA]]- I mean RETRO-REVIEW!"
* CursedWithAwesome: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5443-NeverDead review]] of [[VideoGame/NeverDead NeverDead]]:
-->"Bryce is also immortal, capable of regenerating from any injury, having been cursed by the king of the demons 500 years ago, when the king of the demons wasn't entirely sure what the word 'curse' means."
* CutHisHeartOutWithASpoon: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4137-Deus-Ex-Human-Revolution Wonders aloud]] if ''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'''s ending is ''intentionally'' bad, so players will purchase the DLC.
* DamnItFeelsGoodToBeAGangster: This trope, and the infrequency with which it is played straight, is discussed in his ''VideoGame/MafiaII'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1988-Mafia-II review]].
* DamnedByFaintPraise: In the ''Killzone: Shadow Fall'' review, Yahtzee mentions that ''Knack'' "looked pretty spectacular after I fired it out of my clay pigeon launching machine."
* DareToBeBadass: Well, at least "dare to be different", in his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1871-Super-Mario-Galaxy-2 review]]. In spite of his bashing of it he does admit in the end it ''is'' fun and if people want to play the same games he can't really do anything to stop them, but he does request that those people go out and do one thing they never have before.
* DarkerAndEdgier: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/759-Bionic-Commando Once a simple story]], "the new ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' has taken the dark and edgy route", illustrated with said commando [[EmoTeen slashing his wrist]] and singing "[[LinkinPark CRAAAWLING IIIIN MY SKIIIN]]".
* DarknessInducedAudienceApathy:[[invoked]] A big irk for Yahtzee is games where protagonists are just as (if not more) unlikable than the antagonist, citing ''{{WET}}'', ''KaneAndLynch: Dog Days'' and the ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' sequels as major examples.
** He also stated that he found VideoGame/MaxPayne's constant self-loathing and pessimism in ''Max Payne 3'' to be tiring and off-putting.
* DeadpanSnarker: Of course.
** However, most Deadpan Snarkers in games tend to annoy him, notably Nathan Drake of ''Uncharted'' and the Snarky dialogue options of ''Dragon Age II''.
*** Though for some reason, he likes Shaun Hastings from ''Assassin's Creed''.
* DearNegativeReader: Most notably in his video on [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/108-Webcomics webcomics]] and the grandly titled "Mailbag Showdown", though Yahtzee more often than not turns his gun barrel back on himself.
* DeathSeeker: More of a SuicideAsComedy, but noticeable in this line for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity''.
-->"If you are like me: handsome, talented, and secretly longing for death..."
** While fielding questions about ''Mogworld'', he mentioned someone recommending a webcomic with a resemblance to his own novel. Yahtzee feigned indifference, but his hand kept spasming upward to point a pistol at his head.
* DeepImmersionGaming
* DelayedRippleEffect: Or, to give his own name for it from his ''[[VideoGame/DarkestOfDays Darkest of Days]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/957-Darkest-of-Days review]], "The ''Franchise/BackToTheFuture'' rules of Time Travel", where one can change things, "but the timeline is rather easygoing about it".
* DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment:
** "So you've looked at ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' seen the massive amount of money, prestige, and money those guys get for nine panels a week, and decided you want in on that." The visuals go a step further: when he says "money", "prestige", and "money" again, ever-increasing piles of cash and swanky clothes appear on the two people meant to represent Gabe and Tycho... and even when he gets to the word "decided" ''another'' layer of largesse is added.
** [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Clive Barker's]] ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/14-Clive-Barkers-Jericho Clive Barker's Jericho]]'' by Clive Barker.
** ''[[VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry Devil May Cry Colon Devil May Cry]]''
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/689-Tom-Clancys-H-A-W-X And]] Creator/TomClancy's ''[[VideoGame/{{HAWX}} H.A.W.X.]]'' by [[InCaseYouForgotWhoWroteIt Tom Clancy]].
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1044-Brutal-Legend And]] ''[[BrutalLegend Brew-tal Legend]]'', a game about Creator/JackBlack playing Jack Black starring Jack Black made with [[TimSchafer a guy who looks like Jack Black]].
** From ''Darksiders'', describing the first few games he will review starting in 2010: "[[{{Darksiders}} God of War ripoff]], [[VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}} God Of War ripoff]] (though when he reviews it he admits it's more like ''Franchise/DevilMayCry''), [[VideoGame/DantesInferno God Of War ripoff]], and God of War... well, ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''."
** "Have I mentioned that I wrote a novel and you can preorder it from Amazon and Amazon.co.uk? Well, I wrote a novel and you can preorder it from Amazon and Amazon.co.uk."
** "''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' is [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2435-Fallout-New-Vegas really]] just an expansion pack for ''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', and I said everything I need to say about ''Fallout 3'' in my ''Fallout 3'' review of ''Fallout 3''."
** "I've got a second novel coming out. It's called 'Jam' and you can preorder it from Amazon and tfaw.com. It's about an apocalypse, [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin with jam in it]]."
** "[[VideoGame/BioShockInfinite Father Comstock]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7105-BioShock-Infinite marks out DeWitt]] as the guy who's going to fuck everyone up, so he's forced to fuck everyone up after they all turn on him for being the guy who's going to fuck everyone up."
* DesignatedHero:[[invoked]] In his ''Extra Punctuation'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6793-Uncharted-2 article]] of ''VideoGame/Uncharted2AmongThieves'', Yahtzee portrays Nathan Drake as one, accusing him of massive MoralDissonance.
** The ''ZP'' review of ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' also suggests this: we only have the plot's say-so that the police chasing you are the bad guys, and as far as we know, the packages could be bombs to blow up someone's grandma.
** He has this reaction to the ISA of ''VideoGame/{{Killzone}}'', suggesting that the entire series is basically them being horrible to the Helghast and the Helghast being treated as evil for retaliating.
*** He also believes this about most spunkgargleweewee protagonists, noting "We've got killdroids, they've got rocks!" in his review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter''. In one column, he suggests that this is because they tend to treat a threat to America as self-evidently evil, which he doesn't get, not being an American.
* DespairEventHorizon: Yahtzee's review of ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' is barely humorous, with Yahtzee apologizing for the lack of humor and with a downright depressing wrap-up.
-->'''Yahtzee''': *weary sigh* Remember when shooters were about [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} killing demons from hell?]] Those were good days. Perhaps this is an inevitable part of gaming growing up as our childish fantasies are torn from us, and we are forced to confront consequences in an unfair, uncaring and unavoidable world of ''hatred, misery, and '''death'''''. *[[MoodWhiplash Farting noises.]]*
* DarthWiki/DethroningMomentOfSuck: [[invoked]] It's rare that he experiences any of these, but there have been specific moments in a few games (such as [[{{Mindjack}} a boss too poorly-coded to be defeatable]], [[VideoGame/{{AMY}} a bad AI forcing him to restart a level he was just about to clear]], [[{{Mercenaries}} if not making it outright unwinnable]]) that made him give up on a game outright.
* TheDevTeamThinksOfEverything: Discussed in his ''AlphaProtocol'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1801-Alpha-Protocol review]]. He also devoted a column to discussing games that have done it well, singling out ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' for particular praise.
* DidntSeeThatComing: At the end of his ''Prototype'' vs. ''Infamous'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/789-Prototype review]] he declared both games to be equally good and couldn't decide which one was better. So he jokingly suggested the two developers (Radical Entertainment and Sucker Punch Productions respectively) to send him a picture of the opposing main character wearing a bra, and whoever made the better one would win. [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/6228-Yahtzees-Prototype-vs-InFamous-Challenge They went with it]]. At the end it was narrow, but Sucker Punch Productions and ''Infamous'' won.
* DiscretionShot: The statement that a premise has been "stretched wider than a catamite's rectum" is accompanied by a black screen with the text "'''IMAGE VERY CENSORED'''".
** The captions in censor boxes are a RunningGag:
---> "Think of something wholesome."
---> "OH DEAR GOD"
---> "Look it up"
---> "Thanks Website/DeviantART!"
---> "NEIN!"
---> "BELIEVE IN CHRIST"
---> "THE BABY IS FINE THE BABY IS OKAY"
** Conversely, he decided to show a fairly, uh, ''graphic'' rendition of [[ConvenientMiscarriage a certain controversial strip]] from a [[CtrlAltDel certain webcomic which shall remain unnamed]] followed immediately by the caption '''THIS IS THE WORST THING I HAVE EVER DONE AND I HATE MYSELF FOR DOING IT.'''
* DisposableVagrant: Yahtzee keeps a spare vagrant chained in his basement -- in case he needs to review a co-op game.
* DisproportionateRetribution: Comes up often. In his ''Bionic Commando'' review, for example, he's on the fence about whether or not it's a bad game, but ultimately decides that it is because of all the ProductPlacement for Pepsi, which he doesn't like.
-->"Yes, I ''can'' be petty."
* {{Dissimile}}
* DoesNotLikeWomen: A NonSequitur toward the end of the ''[[VideoGame/TheSims The Sims 3]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/800-The-Sims-3 review]]. Yahtzee later explained that the bit was the result of a minor CreatorBreakdown as he had just broken up with his then-girlfriend.
** After Rebecca Mayes' love/hate song that called him out on this he claimed he ''does'' hate women, but only because he HatesEveryoneEqually.
** From the CreditsGag for the ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' review: "I'm not a misogynist, I only hate the bitchy ones".
* DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything?: Subverted/Lampshaded in the video where Yahtzee takes a tour of Washington, D.C. He makes a few mentions that certain buildings or monuments remind him of something, but goes on to mention something mundane and non-sexual. He then double subverts it while looking at the Washington Monument:
--> '''Yahtzee''': It's really long and tall, has those trees at the bottom from this angle. Kinda like, uh... [[CaptainObvious a big cock and balls.]]
* DolledUpInstallment: Lampshaded in his "Best of 2012" video, noting that neither ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' nor ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' are [[InNameOnly related in any meaningful way]] with their respective franchises.
* DoNotCallMePaul: Apparently he hates being called Ben by people on the internet. In one podcast, Yug and Matt of Australian Gamer (his best buds) stated that they don't even call him that in real life. Matt says everyone except his ''parents'' calls him Yahtzee. Summed up best during one of his ''Let's Drown Out'' videos on youtube
--> '''Gabriel:''' His name is Benjamin. Call him Benjamin.
--> '''Yahtzee:''' '''''Don't''''' call me that.
* DoomyDoomsOfDoom: In his ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Airborne'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/12-MOH-Airborne review]], he refers to the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flak_tower German flak tower]] as a "doom fortress".
* DopeSlap: Yahtzee's been known to do this to viewers for [[TheAggressiveDrugDealer continuing to buy sequels]] ("Sonic doesn't need another game; he needs help!").
** He also headslapped anyone who chooses to play as [[VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft the Alliance.]]
** For retrogressing back into a plain villain again, Bowser earned a slap with a rolled-up newspaper.
* DoubleSubversion: In commenting on how out-of-place the swearing in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta 2}}''.
-->I like my swearing, but in the wrong place it brings down the whole [[GoshDarnItToHeck gosh darn]] tone. You [[CountryMatters cunt]].
* DumbAndDrummer: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/GuitarHero World Tour'' review in response to some of the songs having non-English lyrics.
--> '''Yahtzee:''' If you don't speak Spanish, singing them is like if the guitarist was required to play wearing mittens. Or if the drummer were required to think.


* {{Eagleland}}: In his reviews, Yahtzee portrays Americans as Flavor #2, and [[AuthorTract covered all aspects of that flavor]] in the span of two reviews (''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Airborne'' and ''[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Call of Duty 4]]''). He's had a long history of this view, though, as seen in his writings on ''Fully Ramblomatic.''
** [[HatesEveryoneEqually Not that he treats his own country of origin any nicer]], but there ya go.
* EasternEuropeanAnimation: Yahtzee claims to have grown up watching Russian cartoons ala [[TheSimpsons Worker and Parasite]] rather than ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'', which he states is the reason that he has no particular nostalgia for the series.
* EndingFatigue: Discussed in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2714-A-Shadows-Tale review]] of ''AShadowsTale'' ([[InsistentTerminology NOT Lost in Shadow!]]) [[invoked]]
* EnemyWithout: As Yahtzee plods through ''Duke Nukem Forever'' while trying to like it, the part of him which "takes an almost sexual joy in [[ThrewMyBikeOnTheRoof ruining other peoples' fun]]" emerges from its thought bubble and holds a gun to his head.
-->''Yahtzee, you and I both know you have pushed games off of subway platforms for less problems than this.''
* EnjoyTheStorySkipTheGame: In-universe, he's said this of several games in his time, including two of his favourite games ever, ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' and ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine''. His description of ''Silent Hill 2'' even provides the page quote.
* EnvironmentalNarrativeGame: He's not a fan of the genre. He gave a negative review to ''VideoGame/EverybodysGoneToTheRapture'' and expanded upon why he didn't like the genre very much in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/columns/extra-punctuation/14547-Yahtzee-On-Everybodys-Gone-To-The-Rapture-and-Gone-Home this Extra Punctuation column]] (although he did say that he enjoyed ''VideoGame/TheStanleyParable'' quite a lot).
* EnsembleDarkHorse:[[invoked]] In his review of ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiBowsersInsideStory Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story]]'', he notes that he's always preferred Luigi to Mario, since he at the least isn't Peach's personal gopher. He also wonders why Tails gets so much more hate than Sonic despite the fact that he's basically Sonic with flight.
** Also states in his ''LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' review that part of the appeal he has of playing as Luigi over Mario is that Luigi expresses more emotion and is more relatable as a result.
* EpicFail: This was Yahtzee's conclusion about ''Ride to Hell'', when all was said and done. When Yahtzee cautiously commands the game to "lie down and don't move", the floor gives way underneath it. In his Top 5 of 2013, he spoke with wonderment about how the developers could have [[ShockingSwerve swapped out the DVD for an empty sleeve]] and ''still'' achieved a higher score than the actual game did.
** Indeed, he thought ''Ride to Hell'' was so bad that it didn't even place on his bottom 5 for that year: he considered it such a failure that it barely even qualified as a game, and hence gave it a special award for "Total Abhorrence", which it would hold until an even worse game comes along. He also claimed that the only acceptable sequel to the game, should one ever be devised, would be "an apology letter and some chocolates".
* EpilepticTrees:[[invoked]] He jokes that 50 Cent's game is a prequel to ''Call Of Duty 4: VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' showing how the West destabilised the Middle East.
* EscalatingPunchline
* EvenEvilHasStandards: While Yahtzee isn't too keen on kids, he mentioned in [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9246-Extra-Punctuation-What-Is-the-Matter-with-You-People this article]] that he was disturbed by a comment on his ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare 3'' review by someone expressing a desire for the BigBad to torture children "Holocaust style". As an "ironic statement".
--> Er... thanks for your input, Mr. Poster Man, but I wasn't talking it down for not being extreme enough. Or 'ironic' enough. I doubt emptying an entire lorry full of toddlers into the woodchipper would have improved my opinion any.
** By the same token, he was rather perturbed at how quickly people are to create mods for games like ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIVOblivion'' which allow players to kill children.
** He's also been disgusted at the sexism in ''Metroid Other M'', and has a clear hatred of ''Ctrl Alt Delete'' and its infamous miscarriage plot, referring to doing art of it happening as one of the sicker things he's done.
* EverythingsBetterWithPlushies: The Escapist is now selling [[http://www.splitreason.com/productdetail.php?id=789 Imp plushies]].
* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: Referred to by name in his ''[=LEGO=] Indiana Jones'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/123-LEGO-Indy review]].
* EvilBrit: Understands why people use this trope, but takes offense to the [[SpaceNazi Helgast]] all being it since Britain fought against the Nazis.
* FairForItsDay: [[invoked]]In his ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' review he notes that despite Juliet's design and position as a cheerleader she's always in control of the situation, has a stable family life and that the game never calls on the player to defend her from rapists.
--> "Seriously, ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 that's pretty fucked.]]''"
* FakeDifficulty: Part of the reason he despises motion controls. As he put it, "Motion controls are a system wherein a game can fail you for something that completely wasn't your fault."
* FanOfTheUnderdog: In his review of ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaALinkBetweenWorlds'', which actually delves more into Nintendo's current situation, he admits that he's on Nintendo's side at this point as he feels that the Xbox One and PS4 are simply becoming inferior [=PC=]s with their large focus on online gaming ([[MisanthropeSupreme something he's never been fond of]]) and believes that Nintendo's sales could improve if they focused less on hardware and more on making unique yet enjoyable games that he feels they haven't been doing since ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy''.
* FanonDiscontinuity: [[invoked]] When reviewing ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' and praising it as a worthy sequel to [[VideoGame/BioShock1 the original]], a fan [[MakesJustAsMuchSenseInContext on a leash he's pulling]] asks him this:
--> "Don't you mean ''[[VideoGame/BioShock2 second]]'' sequel, Yahtzee?\\
''{{beat}}''\\
'''Yahtzee:''' [in an [[BerserkButton unusually raspy voice]]] '''[[GetOut Get out.]]'''
* FauxToGuide: Concerning the creation of ''GamingWebcomics''.
* FinalExamBoss: Has repeatedly stated that every boss should fit this trope - that is, a test of all the skills the player has learned thus far in the game, with the FinalBoss testing all of the abilities the player has learnt throughout the game.
* FiveManBand: Notes the main parts of the cast of recent ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' games (Using ''VII'', ''X'' and ''XIII'' as examples), giving them names similar to the Music/SpiceGirls.
** Specifically, "Angsty Spice"[[note]]Cloud, Squall and Hope[[/note]], "Serious Spice" [[note]]Quistis, Auron and Lightning[[/note]], "Manly Spice"[[note]]Zell, Zidane and Snow[[/note]], "Ethnic Spice"[[note]]Barrett, Amarant, and Sazh[[/note]] and "the inevitable 'Kooky Spice'"[[note]]Yuffie, Rikku and Vanille[[/note]].
* FishEyes: Used very, ''very'' often to depict the many, ''many'' moments of stupidity of both VideoGame characters and RealLife people. Expect said "Down's Syndrome" eyes to be the first thing you see whenever a game's [[ArtificialStupidity "AI"]] or IdiotPlot is brought up.
* {{Flanderization}}: Believe it or not he's actually gotten louder and faster over time. Compare his earlier reviews (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2-Psychonauts Psychonauts]]) with with his more recent ones (for instance, [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6445-Dishonored Dishonored]]).
** He also seems to be getting more and more jaded about the game industry, and caustic in his reviews, nitpicking about a lot of a game's flaws like a checklist. Might be just Yahtzee himself being genuinely bitter about the direction gaming has taken over the years though.
* FlashStep: His avatar does this against a boss in ''VideoGame/MadWorld'' to stick a chainsaw into its back.
* FlatWhat: A visual example is used by his AuthorAvatar in his ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/34-Condemned-2-Bloodshot review]], when he describes the unusual means by which you defeat the final boss: [[spoiler: shouting at it.]]
** And another visual example in the ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7785-Ride-to-Hell-Retribution?hq=1 review]], showing the reaction of the marketing researchers if everyone bought the game.
* ForcedMeme: Yahtzee coined the term "spectacle fighter" to describe games like ''VideoGame/ViewtifulJoe'' or ''VideoGame/GodHand'', and once joked that he was determined to "shoehorn it into common parlance". It didn't really work, although plenty of other terms he's used have since achieved memetic status (as [[PressXToNotDie various tropes]] on this very wiki illustrate).
* ForgetsToEat: Mentioned in his ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty 4'' review.
* FreezeFrameBonus:
** His review of ''VideoGame/FiftyCentBloodOnTheSand'' flashes a picture of Yahtzee (standing next to a black man) with the words NOT RACIST several times. Bonus points for using an inversion of the BlackBestFriend meme.
** His ''VideoGame/AmnesiaAMachineForPigs'' review features [[http://imgur.com/AXtizLM this image]] flash onscreen for about three frames around three and a half minutes in. Possibly a production error.
* FreudianExcuse[=/=]StartOfDarkness: His ''RedFaction Guerrilla'' review pins all his negativity on bad experiences playing the original ''RedFaction'' when he was younger.
* FreudianSlip: His ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1420-Bayonetta review]] is full of these.
* FreudWasRight:[[invoked]] Subverted in the ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' review.
-->"Pyramid head: An über-masculine powerhouse who is repeatedly seen plunging his massive, throbbing knife into the other monsters' moist, quivering bodies, which obviously symbolizes... neo-conservative imperialism."
* FridgeBrilliance:[[invoked]] Sometimes denoted with the expression "HOLY SHIT I JUST GOT THAT".
%%Please put the Fridge tropes on the appropriate page.%%
* FromClonesToGenre: Mentioned in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/231-Mercenaries-2 review]] of ''{{Mercenaries}} 2''.
** The series itself has started to become one of these. At first it was a simple case of FollowTheLeader as imitators sprang up on Website/YouTube, but now that [[WebVideo/ExtraCredits three]] [[MovieBob series]] on the ''Escapist'' itself have followed suit, two of which are not review shows, it's safe to say this is a legit genre now.
** He defended his continued use of the expression "Like ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' but..." by arguing that a) ''God of War'' was already part of an existing genre (namely the hack and slash) and b) the games he'd described as such had not done enough to distinguish themselves from the game they were imitating, rendering them inferior clones.
* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In his ''SuperPaperMario'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/11-Super-Paper-Mario review]], he shows the Dictionary.com definition of "game", with another tab open titled "Super Huge Tits".
* GatewaySeries: [[invoked]] ''{{HAWX}}'' got him interested in air combat games, and, much to his horror, ''VideoGame/ValkyriaChronicles'' got him interested in tactical turn-based games (specifically, ''VideoGame/{{X-Com}}'').
* GayOption: In his ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' review he mentioned having hooked up with Anders, more or less because Snarky!Hawke annoyed him and came off as gay to him anyway, though he later detailed that roleplaying played a major part of it and ultimately did [[VideoGameCaringPotential develop a genuine fondness for Anders]], even [[spoiler:forgiving him for blowing up the Chantry]] and naming his [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Tepig]] after him.
* GratuitousGerman: Yahtzee apparently studied German and he frequently points it out when games uses it incorrectly.
* GenreSavvy: Seeing an enemy with a bull's head in ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', he correctly anticipates it to be a BullfightBoss. He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1883-Singularity claims]] "powers of clairvoyance" that mean he predict how the opening {{cutscene}} of ''{{Singularity}}'' will play out.
** He referenced it on his Twitter, so he at least knows of its existence.
** At the end of the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6104-The-Amazing-Spider-Man review]] of ''[[VideoGame/TheAmazingSpiderMan The Amazing Spider-Man]]'', having made a comment on Spider-Man having a different costume: "I don't actually know if anyone disliked the new Spider-Man costume, [[TheyChangedItNowItSucks but I have been on the Internet long enough to make an educated guess]]."
* GetOut: In the ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' video, complete with [[EvilSoundsDeep evil voice]].
* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: His ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' character, Gareth Gobulcoque, was so named to test the game's name filter. It passed. Likewise the penis-faced Mii named "Senor Koquonfaes" from the 3DS review.
* GiantMook: Bosses in games are sometimes portrayed by giant imps.
* GiantSpider: These show up in the visuals occasionally. Usually they represent something being either unexpected, very difficult, or both.
** Arachnophobic prospective viewers should take warning that they're usually taken from photos of actual tarantulas.
* {{GIFT}}: Yahtzee actually cites the [[PennyArcade original formula]] then alters it by subtracting 'Anonymity' and 'Audience'. Or in other words, [[HumansAreBastards Normal Person = Total Fuckwad.]]
* GoKartingWithBowser: He lampshades this trope in his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/19-Super-Mario-Galaxy review]].
-->'''Yahtzee''': For me, the interesting relationship is the one between Mario and Bowser. I mean on some days they fight to the death in fiery climatic showdowns while other days they go Go-Karting, play tennis, or even team up in some of the RPG's.
* AGodAmI: Slogging through ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' imbued him super-gaming prowess, to the point where he [[PowerFloats hovers]] over his couch and shoots [[EyeBeams optic blasts]]. He lamented that he would have to SelfImposedChallenge his way through mainstream games in the future -- possibly by attaching lobster claws to his scrotum.
* GoodBadBugs:[[invoked]] Depicted in ''Arkham Origins'' as a ladybug Yahtzee gleefully rides on top off of. (The aforementioned "good" bug is bat-toting enemies who freeze in mid swing.) Then there's the {{Game Breaking Bug}}s that manifest as a cockroach firing a bazooka at his set, and the "common bugs", a cricket wearing a cockney cap.
* AGoodNameForARockBand: In the credits for his review of ''SuperPaperMario'', he remarks that "Dullness and Slog" (the two words he used earlier to summarize the tropes of [=JRPGs=]) would be a good name for a band.
* GoneHorriblyRight: He doesn't like VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys specifically because, in his words, it does its job of terrifying the player ''far too well'', to the point that he considers it less of a game and more of an exercise in horrific masochism to entertain one's {{Youtube}} subscribers.
* GoshDarnItToHeck: Whenever he swears in the narration, the animation will replace it with something far more innocuous.
** Sometimes inverted--he'll say something (relatively) tactful in the narration, and the animation will unleash what he REALLY thinks.
** For instance, in his ''Assassin's Creed'' review, he remarks; "This video review was created by a not particularly multi-cultural person, but who really loves religious extremists a big huggy bunch," where the text displayed reads "''...not particularly multi-cultural person who invites religious extremists to suck out his farts and die.''"
** On the flip side in his ''Halo Wars'' review when the units he runs out of time for the mission he was on (And thus the units he was escorting magically disappear when they were right at his front door) he cries out "Bull! Fucking! Shit!" which is displayed on screen by "What arbitrary silliness."
** At one point in his ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' review, he calls it "Ride to Heck". Rather odd, given that he generally screws up the names of games he reviews to sound ''more'' profane.
* GrammarNazi: In his "Mailbag Showdown" video, while reading out some of the more obnoxious examples of hate mail he received, he corrected them onscreen in the manner of a primary school teacher, coupled with letter grades, giant question marks and "SEE ME" at the bottom. Also, his "Split [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Stroke]] Second Colon Velocity" and "R'''I'''se: [[RyseSonOfRome Son of Rome]]" reviews.
* GrandfatherClause: He's not a fan of games using outdated video game conventions for no better reason than tradition, such as the "lives" systems that persist in ''Franchise/SuperMarioBros'' titles or even in modern titles such as ''VideoGame/IAmAlive''.
* GuiltyPleasure: Considering how critical he is of "serious" games, easily calling much of them banal, asinine, or insipid, he loves ''VideoGame/CookingMama'' and ''VideoGame/AnimalCrossing''. He says that despite all the criticism he gave to ''Animal Crossing: New Leaf'', he can't stop playing it.
** In his Saints Row 4 review, he refers to "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing" by Music/{{Aerosmith}} as "that one Aerosmith song from the 'Film/{{Armageddon}}'' soundtrack that everyone seems faintly embarrassed to admit is kinda alright"
* [[GushingAboutShowsYouLike Gushing About Games You Like]]: [[invoked]] He's frequently held up ''SilentHill2'' as the gold standard of gaming.
-->"If I were Batman, ''Silent Hill 2'' would be my murdered parents if you get what I'm saying."
** [=SH2=] is also the game which affected him most personally, as articulated [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escapist-expo/6294-My-Favorite-Game here]] during the ''Escapist'' Expo.
--->'''Jim Sterling:''' (Totally needed online multiplayer, though.)\\
'''Yahtzee:''' Oh, '''[[BerserkButton fuck you.]]'''
** Sometimes this obsession is double-edged: For his Top 5 of 2012, he compared the difficulty of ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' with a 3 A.M. drug-induced fever dream -- which for Yahtzee usually involves an apparition of Dizzy hovering over his bed shrieking, 'YOU KILLED MEEEEE'.
** Reared its head again in ''RiseOfTheTriad'', along with Yahtzee's apparent [[HeroesLoveDogs dog fancy]].
* HalfTheManHeUsedToBe: Shows up in the ''DemonsSouls'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1321-Demons-Souls review]] to show that a character loses half its health when dead.
* HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday: Yahtzee plays with this trope on several occasions, most notably his ''[[Franchise/GuitarHero Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock]]'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/17-Guitar-Hero-III review]], where he very specifically lists several homosexual acts (and one heterosexual act) which he is [[SuspiciouslySpecificDenial most certainly not doing]].
-->"On the whole though it's just not as good as tonguing another man's balls. I mean... as it used to be. [{{Beat}}] ''I'm not gay''."
* [[HeavyMetalUmlaut Heävy Mëtal Ümlaut]]: He specifically [[GratuitousGerman pronounces the extraneous umlaut]] in ''[[BrutalLegend Brütal Legend]]''.
-->"I studied German, alright? I refuse to let an umlaut go unpronounced."
* HelloInsertNameHere: Yahtzee loves to abuse this whenever possible, with such examples as "[[Franchise/MassEffect Titty Shepard]]" to "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaPhantomHourglass Fagballs]]", "[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Fuck Me]]", "[[VideoGame/NieR Twattycakes]]" or "[[VideoGame/TabulaRasa Gareth Gobulcoque]]".
** Tried "Tiddles" in ''VideoGame/DeusEx'' but was slapped down by the game's system of using "JC Denton" as a [[HandWave codename]].
--->''"The moment you put in your own name it goes '''"Wrong!''' Your name is JC Denton."''
** Also named his Mii "Senor Koqueonfaes" (lampshading the bizarre-looking facial customization options) in the 3DS review.
* HeroesLoveDogs: More likely to praise a game that has dogs in it, or to feel let down when having to play as the humans again. (''Dead to Rights: Retribution, Rise of the Triad, [=CoD=]: Ghosts'')
-->'''Developer:''' And we've still got the power-up that turns you into a dog.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' ''([[{{squee}} GAAAAASP]])'' With the little doggie nose at the bottom of the screen?♥\\
'''Developer:''' Yup!\\
'''Yahtzee:''' And the adorable little paw that comes up when you press buttons?♥\\
'''Developer:''' Uh, no, we forgot about that.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' ...........'''[[FelonyMisdemeanor ONE STAR.]]'''
* HeroicBlueScreenOfDeath: After Yahtzee reviewed ''SpecOpsTheLine'', it was brought up several times more after that in following ''Zero Punctuation'' videos and Yahtzee's Extra Punctuation column, and the actual review of the game has Yahtzee sounding depressed during it.
* HighConcept: Has come up with a few for Suda51's more recent games. Most notably, "[[{{VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw}} Cheerleader Fights Zombies]]". Which is then followed by, "[[ClicheStorm Dead Horse]]". He in fact thinks that this is the main problem with his later games, in that he found his earlier games much more interesting when they were bizarre, surreal and hence hard to describe.
* HostileShowTakeover: In his review of ''VideoGame/HaloWars''... twice.
* HumansAreBastards: Yahtzee says he doesn't ordinarily like multiplayer because "...human beings are grabby, entitled, selfish, ugly, stupid, evil cockstoppers..." in his review of ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedBrotherhood''.
* HumanResources: Thinks the cardboard HumongousMecha in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'' are made out of the paper Toads he's been rescuing over the course of the game.
* HilariousInHindsight: Yatzhee made a joke in the ''{{VideoGame/Bayonetta2}}'' review that he would like to see her in a Smash Brothers game just to see Mother explain to their children what she is doing in there. A couple of years after the fact and she becomes a [[DownloadableContent downloadable character]] for the [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros WiiU/3DS installment]] of the series.
* HurricaneOfEuphemisms: Yahtzee makes a concerted effort to get through his review of ''VideoGame/TombRaiderAnniversary'' without referencing a certain part of the female anatomy. He ''almost'' makes it.
-->"Bosoms, melons, milk factories, busts, funbags, knockers, [[VideoGame/ResidentEvil4 ballistics]], boobies, jugs, nipples, jubblies, ''[[MemeticMutation stonking great tits!]]"''
* HypocrisyNod: Yahtzee has noted his use of HypocriticalHumor more than once in his reviews.
** The one time it wasn't used as a joke, in ''[[ZackAndWiki Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure]]'', he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/31-Zack-Wiki acknowledged]] his complaints about lousy adventure games that involved [[VideoGame/ChzoMythos carrying around a ton of items to use in one spot]].
* HypocriticalHumor:
-->"Fans are clingy complaining dipshits who will [[UnpleasableFanbase never ever be grateful for any concession you make]]. The moment you shut out their shrill, tremulous voices the happier you will be for it. Incidentally, why not buy a ''Zero Punctuation'' [[TheMerch t-shirt]]?"
** For a while before the 100th Episode special, ''The Escapist'' used this little stinger at the end of ''all'' ''Zero Punctuation'' shorts to, guess what, advertise ''Zero Punctuation''-related merchandise.
** In his ''Duke Nukem Forever'' review he rants about how people should be sacked for not doing their jobs, and the picture shows him being dragged out of his office with a sign saying "job: review actual games that exist" (''Duke Nukem Forever'' had been cancelled at the time the review was made, and would not be SavedFromDevelopmentHell for over a year).
** In his ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}'' review, he calls out Americans for being uninformed about current events in countries outside the US, only to turn around and say he wasn't aware of the flooding in his own city because he doesn't keep up with current events.
** End Credits for his ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/459-Left-4-Dead review]]: "There is a special circle in Hell 4 people who replace numbers for letters".
** He accuses the protagonist of ''Fable 3'' of bestiality due to the weird way he interacts with his dog, when in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/346-Fable-2 review]] of ''Fable II'' he complains that if the game was truly open-ended he should be able to marry any NPC he wants, including his dog.
** On ''VideoGame/{{Rayman}}'': "Honestly, who can like a character [[FloatingLimbs Limbs whose hands and feet have no visible connection to their torso?]]"
** ''Mafia II'''s ending seems to come too soon:
--> "The game just sort of cuts out halfway through resolving everyth"-[END CREDITS]


* IdiotHero: [[VideoGame/RedFactionArmageddon Darius Mason]] [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3942-Red-Faction-Armageddon pissed him off]] to no end:
-->"Not to dampen your sense of victory, Darius, mate, but why didn't you [fix the terraforming machine] three years ago ''right after it broke?'' You '''''DUMB''''' [{{dopeslap}}] '''''BALD''''' [dopeslap] '''''TWAT.'''''
* IdiotPlot: Invoked by name when discussing ''VideoGame/MortalKombatX'', noting that the plot only works because more than half the fights are based on the characters being too stupid to realize they're not enemies.
* IKnewIt: [[invoked]] Subverted and Inverted in the case of ''VideoGame/TheWalkingDead'': He states after playing two episodes that it will surely end with either the evil military coming, or a few characters going to live on an island. The main characters ''do'' start looking for a boat in Episode 4...[[spoiler:But it gets stolen in Episode 5]]. Yahtzee also laughed at the idea of anyone trying to invent a cure, or rebuild humanity. [[spoiler:Rebuilding is essentially exactly what the people in Wellington began attempting in Season 2.]]
* ILoveNuclearPower:
-->"''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} Ess-Tee-Ay-Ell-Kay-Ee-Ar: Clear Sky]]'' is set in the area surrounding an alternative post-disaster Chernobyl, where presumably the station ran on fairy dust before the meltdown and released a cloud of ''magic'' instead of boring old radiation..."
* ImpossiblyCoolWeapon:
-->"All you really need to know is that there is a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning. I wish I could make something like that up. It shoots shurikens and lightning! It could only possibly more awesome if it had tits and was ''[[IncendiaryExponent on fire]]!''"
* [[ImTakingHerHomeWithMe I'm Taking Him Home With Me]]: In his ''VideoGame/{{Yakuza}}: Dead Souls'' review Yahtzee says "I just want to take [Akiyama] home and mount him to my kitchen wall so my kids will have an appropriate role model to look at over their Honey Nut Cheerios every morning".
* IncrediblyLamePun: On occasion, not just of the [[VisualPun visual variety:]]
--> "You only get to see like one second of bare arse anyway so it's hardly going to make your [[Franchise/MassEffect mass erect]]" ... immediately followed in the credits with: [[LampshadeHanging "Yeah, this whole review]] was [[OverlyPrepreparedGag leading up]] to [[LampshadeHanging that horrible pun at the end."]]
** In the ''RedFaction: Guerilla'' review, he says in the end that game could have went pretty well if it really was based off sneaky guerilla warfare, as opposed to its focus on [[StuffBlowingUp smashing stuff]] "... which is less guerilla and more chimpanzee." Followed by the credits gag "Spent ten years thinking up that last pun."
** [[BaldursGate "...Balder's Gait."]] (''TooHuman'')
** "''VideoGame/{{Fallout 3}}'', that is!"
** The ''[[VideoGame/JustCause Just Cause 2]]'' review starts by lampshading this to allow him to make "Why? Just 'cause!" jokes "ironically".
** "Bits of it were so boring that I almost had a ''VideoGame/NieR''-death experience! Boosh!"
** "I [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3652-Alice-Madness-Returns don't see]] ''[[VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns Alice: Madness Returns]]'' making mad returns, [[{{Pun}} meheh myeh]]."
** In his review of ''Monster Hunter Tri'' "You play an adventurer-type showing up at the prerequisite village of immobile retards in a time when dinosaurs ruled the earth to try to be a hunter of monsters. A Monster Hunter Try, if you will."
** Not to mention his credits pun in ''VideoGame/AlienVsPredator'': "Alias vs Editor".
** "You like numbers? How about FOUR, as in '''FOUR-K YOU'''!"
** In the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/5323-Star-Wars-The-Old-Republic credits]] of ''VideoGame/StarWarsTheOldRepublic'': "I'm so force sensitive I clean my swimming pool with midichlorine."
** In ''VideoGame/SniperEliteV2'' he calls it at one point Sniper Elite Wee Poo, then chuckles at it.
** Inevitably scattered everywhere in his review of ''VideoGame/Risen3TitanLords'', but the crowning came in his closing joke:
--> It's too dull to get irate about. Or should I say '''P'''-irate. Ha haha haha, hahahaha!
** His ''VideoGame/{{Splatoon}}'' review has "Still I th-'''ink''' there'll be an '''ink'''-rease in the number of Wii U sales with this '''ink'''-redible new title! God know why it keeps making ink puns, though, when everyone's very clearly throwing paint around, but that's hardly a complaint. Com-'''paint.'''"
* IndecisiveDeconstruction: He considers ''VideoGame/DragonAgeOrigins'''s label of "dark fantasy" to be laughable, naming the difference between it and any other piece of Tolkienesque fantasy to be one of degrees. Sure, [[BloodierAndGorier it's bloody]] and [[HotterAndSexier there's sex in it]] and [[RealIsBrown the palette's all brown]], but you're still living in a MedievalStasis world, you still choose between [[OurElvesAreBetter an agile pointy-eared elf]], [[OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame a stout bearded dwarf]], and [[HumansAreBastards an asshole human]], your classes are still the warrior/rogue/mage combo that's been around since ''OD&D'', and you still run around with an adventuring party, doing odd jobs and fighting AlwaysChaoticEvil monsters.
* IndecisiveParody: One of his biggest problems with ''VideoGame/{{Bulletstorm}}'' was that its parody seemed to consist mostly of BetterThanABareBulb.
* InferredHolocaust: [[invoked]] States the one of these most happened during ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' where America launched a genocide against everyone that isn't a "burly white dude'' noting that the campaign only has three who you don't have to kill, all of the whom die, and that people make more of a fuss over their dog dying in the game than the African American's death.
* InherentlyFunnyWords: Warfighter ([[RunningGag pa ha ha ha]]). In this case it's not so much that the word is funny in and of itself but rather that it's such a ludicrously silly example of DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment.
* InnocentBigot[=/=]HanlonsRazor: How he viewed the controversy surrounding ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil5'':
-->''...one really shouldn't worry about this sort of thing unless there's genuine hatred behind it, and I don't get that impression. Capcom aren't bad people, they're just idiots.''
* InsistentTerminology: "Jaaaaaaames" Sunderland of ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' fame.
** Also, "Call of ''[[FunetikAksent Hwa-rez]]!''".
*** Also from that review, there's "Wee'um"[[labelnote:*]]William[[/labelnote]].
** And [[HeavyMetalUmlaut Brew]]-[[VideoGame/BrutalLegend tal Legend]].
** "Demon's-S-S-S-Souls", as a take on his difficulty in saying the name properly.
** "[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} Ess-Tee-Ay-Ell-Kay-Ee-Ar: Clear Sky]]".
** "[[{{MMORPG}} Mumorpuger]]" and "[[XboxLiveArcade Ka-splah]]" get a lot of use.
** "[[VideoGame/KingdomsOfAmalur Kingdoms of Uhrrpadurr]]"
** "[[VideoGame/KidIcarusUprising Kid Icarus]]: Upskirting"
** "Split [[UsefulNotes/BritishEnglish Stroke]] Second Colon Velocity"
** "[[VideoGame/MaxPayne Max Complayne]]."
** "[[Film/ISpitOnYourGrave I Spit On Your]] [[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb]]"
** The game is called ''"VideoGame/AShadowsTale"'', not ''"Lost In Shadow"''.
** "[[VideoGame/{{Dishonored}} Dish On A Red]]"
** "[[Videogame/BeyondTwoSouls The Ellen Page David Cage Rage Gauge]]"
** "[[VideoGame/MonkeyIsland Donkey Island]]" and "[[DayOfTheTentacle Day of the Testicle"]]
** "[[{{VideoGame/Battlefield}} Twattlefield]]" and "[[VideoGame/ModernWarfare Modern Borefare]]"
** And, of course, "[[VideoGame/CallOfDuty Spunk]][[VideoGame/{{Battlefield}} Gargle]][[VideoGame/MedalOfHonor WeeWee]]."
** "Cod Blops" for ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOps".
** The "[[XboxOne XBone]]" and the "[[PlayStation4 PsPoor]]"
** "[[{{VideoGame/Flashback}} Flashback: Quest For Mediocrity]]": An LP of the maligned [[VideoGameRemake 3-D remake]].
** "[[VideoGame/LightningReturnsFinalFantasyXIII Shite-ning and Hope-On-A-Rope.]]" ''(cue picture of Hope [[TheScrappy being lynched]])''
** "[[VideoGame/FTLFasterThanLight Faster Than Light]] [[ColonCancer Colon]] [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Faster Than Light]]"
** "[[VideoGame/WatchDogs Watch Underscore Dogs]]"
** "[[VideoGame/BowsersInsideStory Irritable Bowser Syndrome]]"
** Middle Earth: Shadow of '''MORRRR-DORRR'''
* InvincibleHero: He mentioned in his ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' review that Batman's status as this tends to undermine whatever threat the enemies what have and whatever horror the game is trying to evoke.
-->''Batman is always the least interesting character in anything he's in.''
* IsometricProjection: He's not a fan of it, primarily because of the inevitable DepthPerplexion.
* ItsPopularNowItSucks: Joked about. [[invoked]]
--> One should always support the independents, at least until they start making money, the ''soulless sellout fucks.''
** Admittedly, averted by his ''GearsOfWar 2'' review, in which he admits that things are often mainstream because they're good. (Or because WillSmith is in it.)
* ItsEasySoItSucks: [[invoked]] Too many examples to count.
** ItsHardSoItSucks: Also brings this up with games like ''VideoGame/DemonSouls'', ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'', and ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}''.
* ItsShortSoItSucks: [[invoked]] Inverted with ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}''
--> OK, it's only two to three hours long, but that's a good length for it, it means that it doesn't outstay its welcome
* ItsTheSameSoItSucks:[[invoked]] He tends to be particularly critical of sequels that don't add much or differ from what the original was. Examples including ''VideoGame/BioShock2'', ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'', and, to a smaller point, ''VideoGame/Left4Dead2''.
** Frequently brings this up with ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty''. For the record, he actually thought that the original ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' was a good game, he only hates the games that came after it. As of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyAdvancedWarfare'', he's lumped that in with the ''VideoGame/FIFASoccer'' and ''VideoGame/MaddenNFL'' series as a yearly sequel that doesn't actually alter much.
** With ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime'' Yahtzee states that by finally playing on it, it only soured his opinion more on ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaTwilightPrincess Twilight Princess]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword Skyward Sword.]]''
* ItsUpToYou: He notes that early missions in ''[[VideoGame/{{STALKER}} S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky]]'' have a tendency to solve themselves, which is a good attempt to avert this, but a bit bizarre to play.
* ItWasHisSled: [[invoked]] {{Lampshaded}}; before pointing out the flaws of the plot of ''Creator/TomClancy's VideoGame/{{HAWX}}'', he says to stop paying attention until the "generic rock music" of the credits if you want to avoid spoilers. In the credits his avatar and a single imp hand out a series of this type of spoilers (they even start with [[Film/CitizenKane THAT sled]]).
** Generally speaking, he'll take care to avoid spoilers if he'll recommend the game, while games that earn his scorn he will ''gleefully'' invoke this trope with.
* JerkassHasAPoint: Pretty much the premise of his reviews; he accurately points out problems in games while tearing into the developers who produced them and the consumers who continue to buy and defend them.
* JokeExhaustion: At the end of the review of ''Franchise/TombRaider'', Yahtzee had vowed not to make any boob jokes, ends with him rambling on about them at very high speed, getting all the jokes that had been building up out of his system.
* JumpedTheShark: [[invoked]] {{Lampshade}}d in the end credits of his ''LEGO Indy'' review, the first time the new, original opening and closing song was used, rather than two licensed songs:
--> "Now this is all looking a lot more professional, isn't it, although I'm certain some of you pricks are already putting this down as my shark jumping moment."
* JustOneMoreLevel: ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' (and other PopCapGames) are [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7-Peggle described]] as "the gaming equivalent of premium crack cocaine."
--> "I started playing ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' in the afternoon, and emerged some time later to find the authorities had declared me legally dead."
** After flooding prevented him from leaving his apartment and thus getting a new game to review:
--> First thought: "Oh, cock! All the nearest game retailers are in the CBD[[note]]Central Business District[[/note]] because some retarded pile of cartilage on the town planning department thought it'd be a great idea to put thirty EB Games shops within the same ten square yards." Second thought: "Oh, balls! With humanitarian aid selfishly obstructing the delivery services, I won't be seeing any of my imports any time soon, either!" Third thought: "Oh, goody! That means I can go back inside and keep playing ''VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}''!"
** "A good [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox]] is one where you can mess about for hours after making the hollow promise to yourself that you'll stop any minute now, and ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'' certainly has that."
*** He also states that ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' is the prince of jumping around time wasting. Claiming that even the mere act of getting around the city is surprisingly addicting.
** ''VideoGame/XCOMEnemyUnknown'' certainly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/6468-XCOM-Enemy-Unknown qualifies]]:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "I was just going to play a bit of the next mission but I ended up playing the whole thing and then the next two"
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' despite all the flaws he points out he says the game is very addicting and requires a lot of committed time and he will probably resume playing the game after his review is done.
*** However, Yahtzee seems to have abandoned this opinion since playing VideoGame/SaintsRow2.
-->'''Yahtzee:''' [I] was spending most of my time in a blurry haze in which I mistook the slightest mental stimulation for actual fun. It wasn't until recently when Saints Row 2 came along that I remembered what a fun sandbox game is and isn't.
* KickTheDog: In his ''VideoGame/{{Fable|I}}'' review:
--> No puppies were harmed in the making of this video, [[NoExceptYes except for one who genuinely deserved it.]]
* KillAndReplace: Accused [[VideoGame/{{Resistance}} Insomniac Games]] of murdering Creator/{{Valve|Software}} and making a [[FollowTheLeader skin suit]] out of it.
* LampshadedTheObscureReference: Yahtzee describes the disembodied voices of ''VideoGame/EverybodysGoneToTheRapture'' as like "''Radio/TheArchers'' [[XMeetsY meets]] ''[[{{Franchise/Quatermass}} Quatermass and the Pit]]''. Blimey, no one's going to fucking get that one."
* LampshadeHanging: The end tag on the ''VideoGame/GuitarHero III'' review, regarding the art style.
-->"Did no-one else think it was weird for the character in image 110 to be wearing a sling when he only has free-floating circular hands?"
** The entire opening of ''[[VideoGame/JustCause Just Cause 2]]'' was one giant, lovingly crafted {{lampshade}} about the IncrediblyLamePun that the name ''VideoGame/JustCause'' offers -- in the format "Why X?" "VideoGame/JustCause!". He then subverts it -- see RuleOfThree.
* LandDownUnder: Yahtzee was born in Britain but moved to Australia, and often makes jokes about it.
* TheLastOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: ''Deus Ex: Human Revolution'' has breathtaking visuals, the impish appeal of stealth, rewarding exploration, but most importantly, you can pick up every vending machine in the building and pack them in the office of your least favorite co-worker.
** "...''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'', a Japanese game centrally about the difficulties of relationships, such as unexpected pregnancy, the impetus of commitment, and being chased up an infinite staircase by a giant, monstrous girlfriend trying to eat you with her butt. [[WidgetSeries Did I mention it's Japanese?]]"
* FanDislikedExplanation:[[invoked]] Discussed in the review of ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2''.
* LetUsNeverSpeakOfThisAgain: The cross-dressing contest between [[VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS}} Cole]] and [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} Alex]].
** Same could be said regarding RTS games. After his experience with ''VideoGame/HaloWars'', Yahtzee has apparently decided to never touch the genre again.
** Explained further in "On RTS", in which he explains he's not good at RTS ''and'' he doesn't like the impersonal disconnect one gets between story characters and units and the player.
* LimitedSocialCircle: "I asked everyone I know and neither of them had heard of it either." (''VideoGame/NieR'')
* LonersAreFreaks: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in his column on "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/9967-Hating-Multiplayer-Creep Hating Multiplayer Creep]]". It is unsurprisingly a PetPeeveTrope of his.
* LoopholeAbuse: Traditionally, Yahtzee's annual Top/Bottom 5 lists only consist of games he's personally reviewed. For 2015, because he hadn't formally reviewed it yet, he shoves in a 10-second review of ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' at the beginning of the "Top 5 of 2015" video in order to qualify it for the list.
** (Intro plays) [[spoiler: ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' [[ToMakeALongStoryShort is a good game.]]]] (Outro)


* ManicPixieDreamGirl: Brought up in the ''VideoGame/SimCity'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7053-SimCity review]], with reference to the trope's poster girl:
--> Listen to me, EA! Not every introvert is longing for the day that [[Creator/ZooeyDeschanel Zooey fucking Deschanel]] kicks their door down and forcibly drags them to a roller rink!
* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: Has teamed up with {{Moviebob}} and [[WebVideo/ExtraCredits James Portnow]] to form [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extraconsideration Extra Consideration]], a panel in which all three discuss the state of the gaming scene.
** Jim Sterling of the Jimquisition has now joined the panel.
* TheMeanBrit: Though currently living in Australia.
* MeanCharacterNiceActor: Debatable. Some who claim to have met Yahtzee IRL report that he is capable of being quite unpleasant towards others. The same persons, however, also noted that this is mitigated by the fact that he is also fairly shy and quiet. He claims he's only a jackass when provoked... [[MisanthropeSupreme which is often]].
** Tycho of ''Webcomic/PennyArcade'' speculates that Yahtzee is quiet in person in order to save up all his hate and rage to bellow it out really quickly in his weekly reviews.
* MeatMoss: He calls it "jam" in his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2092-Amnesia-The-Dark-Descent review]] of ''VideoGame/AmnesiaTheDarkDescent''.
-->"Oh pissing BLIMEY there's JAM coming out of the walls!"
** And this was years before Yahtzee's [[ThereAreNoCoincidences novel about a jam-based apocalypse]] came out.
* MedalOfDishonor: The ''Zero Punctuation Lifetime Achievement Award For Total Abhorrence'' went to ''Ride to Hell: Retribution''. Notably it did not win for 2013, but for infinity -- unless an even worse game happens to come along.
-->"That should roughly be around the time apes have retaken the Earth."
** The "Turd in a Turd" Award for Unsurprising Poor Quality went to ''SonicUnleashed'', his reasoning being that SonicTeam is deliberately trying to be awful and hitting the mark perfectly.
* MenDontCry: Parodied in his ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/3611-Infamous-2 review]].
-->"I'm not to proud to admit that I was welling up at ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'''s good ending, a little bit. Well, not much at all really. It was more like stoically nodding my head while doing squat-thrusts and grunting."
* MercyKill: What he says must be done with ''SonicTheHedgehog''.
* {{Metaphorgotten}}: Frequently.
-->"It's like wrestling an excitable dog in a paddling pool full of disembodied breasts. *{{beat}}* Don't think too much about that simile, I certainly didn't."
** Especially when it's a hot summer day and his AC isn't working. "Really good like... something... [[BuffySpeak good]] that's... made out of chocolate..."
** [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8892-Extra-Punctuation-Action-Is-Not-Finisher-Porn This]] ''Extra Punctuation'' takes the metaphor of "TooManyCooks spoil the broth" and keeps stretching it until he reckons "I think this is already the best metaphor I've ever written."
** To illustrate the importance of keeping D-list villains ''out'' of a Batman game, he explains how his greatest villains all reflect an aspect of the caped crusader.
-->"Two-Face reflects his duality, Scarecrow his use of fear and psychological tactics, Poison Ivy his-- er, shapely buttocks.(?)"
* MetaTwist: Discussed - he feels that the "shocking" moment in the ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' games has become so token that by the end of the third game, it'd be more shocking if there wasn't one.
* MilestoneCelebration: Spoofed with his 100th episode, where he decides to review... exactly the same game he would've reviewed otherwise (''VideoGame/CallOfJuarezBoundInBlood'').
** Further spoofed in his ''Silent Hill 2'' review, a retro review that actually would be special:
-->"But what could be more special than my one-hundred and second video?"
* MonsterCloset: His lambasting of the trope in ''Dead Space 2'' provides the page quote.
* MoodWhiplash: Feels that the cutscenes in ''TwistedMetal'' causes this, with the incredible silliness of VehicularCombat contrasting with a VERY dark story that he admits is a bit frightening.
* {{Mordor}}: Nintendo's Corporate HQ in ''Bowser's Inside Story''.
* MoralGuardian: In his [=3DS=] review he states how he's trying his best to not sound like one of these while criticizing the potentially malicious acts people can do with the "Street Pass" feature.
* MoreDakka: His review of ''{{Spore}}'' shows the civilization stage as imps strafing other imps' cities from the air, with the caption "Dakka Dakka" under the war planes.
* MotorMouth: "Zero Punctuation" comes from how he has a tendency to ramble on and on so quickly that his speech has almost no pauses, and thus there is ''zero punctuation''. More or less.
** He has said he edits out the pauses, but definitely does not speed up his voice.
** He was strangely slow in his delivery of the review of ''Lego City Undercover''; this may be ascribed to the post-''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' melancholy he claims to be suffering from.
** This is taken a bit further than usual in the end of his ''FIFA 13'' review, after getting distracted from reviewing it by several other downloadable games:
--> "How much time do I have left? [[OhCrap 8 SECONDS? FUCK!!]] Uh, FIFA 13 is a game in which you and your burly friends help a small leather sphere realize its dream of being in a net, and I think we can all agree that that's basically a positive thing. Nighty night."
* MuggingTheMonster: In his ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' review, he mentions that it occurred to him that it might be a good idea to stop stealing things. After getting attacked by bandits and taking their stuff, he mentions it is not stealing because they attacked him, which makes it his by the international law of "Go Fuck Yourselves."
* MundaneMadeAwesome: When talking about the wet clothing feature in ''Uncharted'', he talks a bit too much about it, considering it means absolutely nothing in terms of plot or gameplay. He realizes this, of course, stating at the end of his praise "Well, ''I'' think it's interesting!".
* MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch: Despite being a MisanthropeSupreme in general, he seems to have some sympathy for non-whites, particularly those in the developing world. One of his common complaints with the "Spunkgargleweewee" genre is often being forced to kill dark-skinned foreigners for no apparent reason other than America being xenophobic. He also ridicules the idea that whites can really be victims of racism, like crying about mildly racist jokes from a race they once enslaved.
* MythologyGag: During his ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' review, Yahtzee separates each hour he played the game with a brief break showing a black screen with the unit of time and then which unit he's on (Hour 1, Hour 2, Hour 3, etc.). He used a similar mechanism with three of the games in the ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos''.
* {{Nerdgasm}}: Has made a few references to getting erections at really good games.
* NerdsAreVirgins: Has made quite a few jokes about that. Especially notable on his review for ''{{VideoGame/Catherine}}'':
-->(Increasingly amused) "... there's a moral choice aspect where you answer questions based on your own substantial experience with relationships *stifled laughter* " (accompanying visual is of a fat glasses-wearing guy sitting next to a blow-up doll.)
* NewlyPopularUpdating: Expect any game he reviews to have a new quote entry at the top of its page by the end of the day, appropriate or otherwise.
* NiceHat: "Yahtzee is a British-born, currently Australian-based writer and gamer with a sweet hat and a chip on his shoulder." The hat originally appeared in [[MythologyGag his own games]], ''VideoGame/ChzoMythos'', worn by the character of Trilby. The hat itself is known as a Trilby hat, and it tends to get him [[CreatorWorship more attention]] [[http://twitter.com/YahtzeeCroshaw/status/11013246821 than he really wants]].
** NeverBareheaded: In his Top 10 of 2010, he wears a snooty "indie game" French beret ''on top'' of his trilby hat.
** In his CreditsGag for Call of Duty: VideoGame/ModernWarfare 2, he claims that despite what one might say about the Russians, they have sweet hats.
* NightmareFuel:[[invoked]] The ''Kinectimals''' [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Kinectimals.jpg box art]] is "the most terrifying thing I've seen all year. It looks like what would happen if [[MonsterClown John Wayne Gacy]] went to Disneyland."
** Also makes this comment about the cutscenes in ''TwistedMetal'', feeling they seem better suited for a horror film that an over the top VehicularCombat game.
* NightmareRetardant:[[invoked]] He states that ''AliceMadnessReturns'' made {{Creepy Doll}}s not creepy just by the fact that the game uses it constantly to the point where players just get used to it.
** In a similar vein, once the player "attuned to TheCaligula mindset", Splatterhouse is surprisingly boring.
* NintendoHard: Yahtzee prides himself on as having been playing video games since early childhood and frequently recalls how hard they were back then. He routinely mocks prospective critics who complain about the difficulty level in games these days ([[{{Hypocrite}} even though he does it himself]]), as well as people who accuse him of [[ItsHardSoItSucks not liking a game because he finds it too hard]]. That said, games with [[SonicUnleashed ridiculously impossible sequences]], he blasts with both barrels.
** He felt that ''[[VideoGame/DemonsSouls Demon's Souls]]'' offered too much of a challenge without a sufficient reward, and gave up after trying to get across the Red Dragon-guarded bridge leading to the Tower Knight.
*** Surprisingly averted with its [[VideoGame/DarkSouls spiritual successor]], which he actually turned out to quite like.
** However he did enjoy ''VideoGame/IWannaBeTheGuy'', though he states that no person, unless it's for charity should ever try [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Impossible difficulty]].
*** This trope is why he quit playing ''VideoGame/TheWitcher2'' - and to be fair, he played it when enemies could knock Geralt down mid-swing (and [[CycleOfHurting KEEP knocking him down]]), and ''before'' a tutorial was added to acclimitize players to the controls.
* NoFourthWall: Technically doesn't qualify as there's no suspension of disbelief, but a review still pushed back the boundaries when Yahtzee addressed the viewer as "Adrian", and noted that while that's not particularly likely to be any given viewer's name, "it was worth it to freak out all the Adrians in the world."
-->"If you've been paying attention, you'll notice that all these games are sequels. And if you haven't... *claps twice* OI!"
-->"Stop watching my reviews, Dad!"
** The ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' review has the distinction of genuinely breaking the fourth wall, as Yahtzee suggest pausing the video, while his avatar points to the pause button on the video player.
-->"I shouldn't have to talk about the core gameplay, I consider that an insult to you and me. My review of ''Mario Galaxy 1'' hasn't gone anywhere, why not pause this video, pour yourself a glass of wine and go and enjoy that. I'll just wait here slapping myself in the face until you return. *cut to black, slapping sounds and Yahtzee groaning, then cut back, Yahtzee now with a bruised face* Finished? Right, well, ''Mario Galaxy 2'' is more of that."
* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: At the end of most reviews, there's a couple of still shots during the credits and theme-music with a little joke about the game. In the case of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'', there was no punchline, just Yahtzee beating and shooting Vanille to pieces in increasingly elaborate ways.
* NoJustNoReaction: How the [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/869-The-Conduit review]] of ''TheConduit'' began.
* NoodleImplements: The ''VideoGame/{{STALKER}}'' review: ''...and whistled for a baboon.''
* NoodleIncident: The end of the ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' video says "I hope the war in Las Vegas destroyed that ice machine I threw up in".
** "Now I've never invaded Europe, except for that one time..."
** "I know I can't speak for everyone, at least not until ''the device'' is completed, but..."
* NostalgiaFilter: Yahtzee often derides fans who wear nostalgia goggles, although he caught himself falling into the same trap when he was reviewing ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever''.
** Admits to be have suffered from it himself in his review of ''VideoGame/HalfLife1'' when he not only admits to have ignored flaws in the game, though he still enjoyed it, but also that it represents aspects of retro-shooters he hate like platforming sections, which he states whenever a game has it, that he feels that platforming from a first person perspective is a terrible concept. Conversely when he did a retro review of ''VideoGame/HalfLife2'' he found that it didn't hold up quite as well as he'd remembered.
* NotHimself: Wait, what's this? ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 3'' has no regenerating health? A sum of weapons greater than 2? No chest-high walls? "...erm... Creator/{{Sony}}?... Are you feeling all right?"
* NotMakingThisUpDisclaimer:
** Describing the ending of ''VideoGame/{{Condemned}} 2'', and says "I ''wish'' I was fucking kidding!"
** And revealing the final boss of ''[=Kane and Lynch 2: Dog Days=]''
** In his review of ''EpicMickey'', he brings up a Mickey Mouse comic where he ''[[http://ridz.sg/blog/2008/04/mickey-mouse-loses-minnie-attempts-suicide/ tries to kill himself]]'' after Minnie breaks up with him.
** Uses this in ''Painkiller'' when describing a gun that shoots shurikens and lightning. This is a rare positive example, as he states that "the only way this weapon could be more awesome would be if it had tits and was on fire!"
** After mentioning a particularly [[invoked]] {{narm}}ful line spoken by ''VideoGame/RememberMe'''s protagonist, he then states that, yes, it really is in the game as displayed verbatim.
** In his review of MetalGearSolid: Revengence, as he's talking about Raiden's robotic dog companion, on the screen are, in big letters, "NO REALLY" and "A THING THAT HAPPENS"
* NotSoDifferent: ''TheWitcher 2'' review makes this observation of [[UsefulNotes/PCVSConsole console & PC gamers]]. [[HatesEveryoneEqually You both suck equally]]!
* ObservationOnOriginality: Numerous reviews allude to this concept. His running metaphor about Branston Pickle (to describe something so original and distinctive that it must be appreciated in spite of its flaws) more or less amounts to this trope.
* OhCrap: In his ''FIFA 13'' review, after he's been distracted from reviewing the game throughout the video:
--> "How much time do I have left? 8 SECONDS? FUCK!! Uh, [[MotorMouth FIFA 13 is a game in which you and your burly friends help a small leather sphere realize its dream of being in a net, and I think we can all agree that that's basically a positive thing. Nighty night.]]"
* OldShame: Yahtzee has admitted at least twice he used to watch Pokemon when he was a kid. While some people might not consider this shameful, he certainly does.
* OnceAnEpisode: Tends to draw characters skipping hand-in-hand, WizardOfOz-style frequently
* OneHundredPercentCompletion: DefiedTrope, he couldn't care less
--> "Striving for 100% completion is for unemployed psychotics and Koreans."
* OneOfTheseIsNotLikeTheOthers: In his ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' review: "I could go on about how the combat flows, or how the atmosphere is solid, [[OverlyLongGag and how the highlights for me were the Scarecrow sections where Batman's perceptions of reality are skewed in favour of a nightmarish and delusional glimpse into the darkest recesses of Batman's soul]], and how jumping on people is cool..."
* OnlyOneFemaleMold: Criticizes both ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' and ''VideoGame/DragonAgeII'' for this.
-->"...universally identical bodies that leave Hawke's elderly mother with the same massive, curvaceous bosoms as a table dancer, [[FreudWasRight Freud Freud]]."
-->"...the male orcs, trolls, and undead are all hunched, twisted monstrosities while the females are basically just discolored human hotties with bad dentistry."
* OnlyTheCreatorDoesItRight: In-universe, he has taken this attitude with regards to several franchises, most notably the ''Franchise/SilentHill'' series, for which he criticized every Western-developed entry in the series for missing the mark or failing to live up to the standard of the original four Japanese games (with ''Silent Hill 2'' in particular being one of his favourite games of all time). This became particularly ironic when he named ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' his game of the year for 2012, despite it being an entry in an established franchise which none of the original creators had any involvement in.
* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' depressed him so much that he actually took a huge ''pause'' near the end of the review and sighed wearily before wrapping up. The game went on to be his pick for Best Game of 2012.
* OohMeAccentsSlipping: Happens a fair deal with his ridiculous Irish accent in the ''Tales of VideoGame/MonkeyIsland'' episode.
** Also the ''{{Farcry}} 2'' episode, where he switches back and forth from his normal English accent and a horrible South African accent.
* OrphanedPunchline: "...and whistled for a baboon!"
* OurLawyersAdvisedThisTrope: Parodied.
-->The problem is that this isn't a ''VideoGame/PaperMario'' game. It looks like one, it wears the skin of one, but that doesn't make it one! I am not a fat woman, even though I've- I've just been advised not to finish this sentence. (with the accompanied image of him [[BlackComedy wearing the bloody skin of a fat woman]].)
* OutOfTheFryingPan: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/739-Velvet-Assassin review]] of ''Videogame/VelvetAssassin'', he notes that the CaffeineBulletTime mechanic in the stealth sections is--unless used under precise circumstances--liable to backfire and leave the player worse off than before.
-->...then the "f**kup remedy" has instead resulted in what we experts call "boomerang f**kup".
* OverlyLongGag: See BigNo.
* ParrotExposition: A parody of ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'''s famous tendency for this:
--> '''Otacon:''' Metal Gear\\
'''Snake:''' Metal Gear?\\
'''Otacon:''' Metal Gear!\\
'''Snake:''' Bugger me!
* PetPeeveTrope: [[invoked]]
** {{Anticlimax Boss}}es
** ArtificialStupidity: See FishEyes; the fact that they're used whenever the topic of a game's AI is discussed should tell you something.
** {{Doorstopper}}: He tends to rag on games that are heavy on dialogue and cutscenes, like ''Franchise/MassEffect'', the ''Franchise/FinalFantasy'' series and especially ''MetalGearSolid4'', which he describes as suffering from "verbal diarrhea."
** ItsEasySoItSucks: [[invoked]] Initially {{averted|trope}} when he calls out fans of the NintendoHard ''BionicCommandoRearmed'' for taking this stance, then plays it straight the rest of his career...
** FakeDifficulty: ...except when [[SomeDexterityRequired the controls suck]], [[ArtificialStupidity the AI sucks]] and TheComputerIsACheatingBastard.
** KarmaMeter: He argues that usually "you need to be all the way good or all the way evil to unlock the best toys" which eliminates choice and forces an evil player to do some really ridiculous things to maintain their evilness. He also argues that such meters are "just forcing us to play the game twice to see all the content."
** NinetiesAntiHero: A core gripe of his when reviewing games like ''{{Darksiders}}'' and ''{{WET}}''.
** PressXToNotDie: Trope namer, as noted above. He has clarified that he doesn't mind QuicktimeEvents when they're part of the core gameplay (as in ''VideoGame/HeavyRain''), but objects when they are unexpectedly thrown into the middle of a cutscene, as in this trope.
** RealIsBrown
** RegeneratingHealth: He prefers health meters and medkits (this goes hand in hand with his hating cover-based combat; see below).
** RummageSaleReject: He often criticizes [[EasternRPG JRPGs]] for their eccentric costume designs.
** {{Sequelitis}}: [[invoked]] His biggest issue with the current games industry.
** StealthBasedMission: He likes the stealth genre, but a "forced stealth section" in the middle of a non-stealth game is one of his pet peeves.
** TakeCover: One of his main beefs with current-generation shooters. In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1976-Kane-Lynch-2-Dog-Days review]] of ''VideoGame/KaneAndLynch 2: Dog Days'', he observed that he doesn't mind this trope as long as it's not the ''only'' thing the player is expected to care about. In his words, "you can still have it, in all its pop-up shooting gallery tedium, but you've got to have something else!" Such as stealth gameplay for ''Deus Ex: Human Revolution'', BulletTime for ''Max Payne 3'', or an amazing story for ''Spec Ops: the Line''.
** UpdatedRerelease: Especially when Creator/{{Nintendo}} do it.
** VideoGameLives: Believes the trope to be long obsolete.
** {{Waggle}}: [[invoked]] One of his key issues with Nintendo consoles, because how shoehorned-in it seems.
* PetTheDog: In an ''Extra Punctuation'', although he couldn't sympathize with gamers who cried at Aerith's death in ''FFVII'', he said that the emotions they felt were real and no one could call them fake or wrong.
** In his review of [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/8789-The-Legend-of-Zelda-A-Link-Between-Worlds The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds,]] he reveals that despite all the vitriol he's given Nintendo over the years, he's actually on their side in the next generation if only because they're the only ones who "released a game console, not an inferior gaming PC for people who dream of being the sub in an unhealthy techno-masochistic fantasy."
** A number of reviews, even he bashes the game, he will sometimes give it credit for doing something well, like in his review of SuperPaperMario, he admits that [[BestLevelEver Chapter 3]] was hilarious.
* PlayTheGameSkipTheStory: Does this quite a lot in-universe, praising a game's gameplay but criticizing its storyline. Examples of this include ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' and ''VideoGame/JustCause2'', both of which he named his game of the year for the year in question.
** Notably he praised the "classic" mode of FreedomPlanet as he hated the story despite liking the gameplay and art design.
* {{Portmanteau}}
-->"Essflawcondodgeckindesimudstorliketersockity."
* PowerTrio: With Bob Chipman and James Portnow. Yahtzee is the Id, Bob is the Superego and James is the Ego.
** In his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy2'' review he considers Mario, Peach, and Bowser a FreudianTrio. Bowser is the Id, Peach the Superego, and Mario the Ego.
* PrepareToDie: Used as a CreditsGag.
* PressXToNotDie: [[TropeNamer Named it]], see RunningGag.
** Since ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'' had none of these, Yahtzee instead used "Press X to '''KICK ASS'''."
** ''Creator/TomClancy VideoGame/HAWX'': "Press X To Make The World Safe For Democracy."
** "Press X to Put Off Going to the Gym" (''Luigi's Mansion 2'')
** Ah, [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld Mario can turn into a cat]] now. Press X to Curl Up And Lick Your Own Balls. (''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7595-E3-2013 E3 2013]]'')
** ''SilentHill Origins'': "Press X to Nurby Durby Durr" (This particular "Press X" gag is repeated in other videos)
** ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'': "Press X to exaggerate financial standings" (In [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/48-Grand-Theft-Auto-IV reference]] to the game's over-reliance on realism -- "What next, the Write-a-letter-to-your-mum mini game?")
*** The hilarious thing is, at one point you do have the option of having Niko write an email to his mother.
** ''50 Cent: Blood On The Sand'': "The prerequisite quick-time experiences..." [caption: "Press X To Brutalise This Poor Fellow"] "... are thankfully not mandatory." ["Or Don't, Whatever's Cool."]
** ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'': "[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1461-Mass-Effect-2 Press X To Not Care]]" ("You can't just spend the whole game knocking back Singapore Slings on a beach all day")
** ''[[VideoGame/TombRaider2013 Tomb Raider]]'': "Press X to I'm Not Even Going to Fucking Touch This One" (describing the use of a quick-time event in an "attempted rape" scene)
** He actually explains a couple of the reasons why licensed games tend to do poorly [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1815-Prince-of-Persia-The-Forgotten-Sands while reviewing]] ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheForgottenSands'', released to promote the ''[[Film/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime Sands of Time]]'' movie, citing that most of them put too much focus on the story or license (as opposed to gameplay) or get rushed enough to where notable issues don't get fixed (both of which, he says, are evidently the case with the 2010 Prince of Persia games). He still finds the game enjoyable despite having the look and feel of a licensed game.
** At the start of one video, when he mentions the game he's reviewing being a good basis for his psych profile after he starts his inevitable serial murder spree, a forensics team is shown investigating a crime scene with a dead body on the ground and the trope name scrawled on the wall in the victim's blood.
* PretentiousLatinMotto: The CreditsGag for ''VideoGame/RyseSonOfRome'' suggests that Yahtzee's should be "Audacter calumniare, semper aliquid haeret"; this is a Francis Bacon quote meaning "[[CausticCritic Slander boldly, something always sticks]]".
* ProductPlacement: Branston Pickle or '''GAME TRADERS ROBINA'''.
--> "Your one stop shop for games and the trading thereof...''[[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment in Robina]]''."
* PunctuatedForEmphasis: Regarding Darius of RedFaction; "Not to dampen your sense of victory, Darius, mate, but why didn't you [fix the terraforming machine] three years ago right after it broke? You DUMB [dopeslap] BALD [dopeslap] TWAT."


* QueerPeopleAreFunny: Quite a lot. His ''VideoGame/ArmyOfTwo'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/32-Army-of-Two review]] even opened with him [[DiscussedTrope discussing]] his own over-reliance on gay jokes and how he'd been trying to cut down on them but the game he was reviewing that week was just [[HoYay such an obvious target]] for them.
* QuickSandBox: He encounters this problem in ''VideoGame/{{Scribblenauts}}'', saying "When told I have everything I just can't think of anything."
* RagingStiffie: Mentions the trope by name when describing his [[CargoShip nostalgic feelings]] for ''VideoGame/SilentHill2''.
** Apparently, his strategy for survival in ''VideoGame/DayZ'' devolved into slowly crawling about using his "raging adrenaline stiffie."
* RapidFireComedy: One of its defining features, helped by Yahtzee's MotorMouth and the blink-and-you-miss-it speed at which many visual gags flash by.
* ARareSentence: Wanna hear something crazy? "Titty-fuck labrador swimming up The Nile." [-...Oh yeah, and he [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/4181-Driver-San-Francisco liked]] ''VideoGame/DriverSanFrancisco''.-]
** "But once I'd mentally adjusted for Batman's underpants..." is captioned with "I bet no one's ever said this before."
** Yahtzee says this about describing ''VideoGame/DayZ'' as "at best, unreasonably cruel".
* FloatingLimbs: People in the webcomic have these. When he reviews ''VideoGame/RaymanOrigins'', [[HypocriticalHumor he insists this to be the reason Rayman has been out of the spotlight, giving his avatar limbs for just that part of the review]].
* ReadingsAreOffTheScale: States this the reason he didn't bring up ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' on his worst games of 2013. He considers the game to be so horrible, it barely even qualifies as a video game.
* RealIsBrown: A particular dislike of Yahtzee's. Mentioned quite a few times, like in the ''VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoIV'' review.
* RealMenWearPink: He mentions dressing up his ''VideoGame/TabulaRasa'' avatar and Shepard from ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' in bright pink.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The {{Webcomics}} is very critical of ''Webcomic/CtrlAltDel'''s "Loss" arc.
** A quick one aimed at elitist hardcore gamers on ''VideoGame/QuantumConundrum''.
** One towards people who've only played modern shooters in the VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter/Doom 3 BFG Edition when they say Yahtzee doesn't like shooters.
* RebusBubble: According to Yahtzee, the formula for the cutest thing ever is sum of teddy bear and [[WesternAnimation/ThePowerpuffGirls Powerpuff Girl]] divided by [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Pikachu]] equals [[VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet Sackboy]].
* RecordNeedleScratch: In the ''VideoGame/NoMoreHeroes'' review, as previously mentioned.
* RedHeadedStepchild: Said this of ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamOrigins'' when ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamKnight'' was released and referred to the ''Arkham'' games as a "trilogy", the creators thereby officially declaring ''Arkham Origins'' CanonDiscontinuity.
* RetGone: The final product of ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' was apparently such a transcendental work of awesomeness that it collapsed reality and ended up being cancelled before completion in the new timeline. Now the new version sadly fails to live up to the "original".
* RevenueEnhancingDevices: Yahtzee is very critical of publishers who put critical aspects of their games on DLC and has snarked at [=MMORPGs=] that [[FakeLongevity pad out their runtime]] in order to wring more money out of their userbase.
* RhymingList: In the ''VideoGame/ResidentEvilRevelations'' review, he mentions that in ''MetroidPrime'', scans would result in "The name of the monster (Fish [=McTarse=]), a hint on how to kill it (blast his arse), and its favorite song from DavidBowie's ''Hunky Dory'' album ("Life on Mars")."
** Also appears in the review of ''Medal of Honor: Airborne'', where every subsequent use of "fucking bastard" is replaced with a visual rhyme, like so:
--> Fucking bastard
--> Flocking [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bustard bustard]]
--> Sock in mustard
* RidiculouslyCuteCritter: The Imp.
* RidiculousFutureSequelisation: Yahtzee invokes it in his ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' review:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' "Once your budget hits seven digits you're supposed to make Gun Battle Slap Fight Thirty-Seven for the Playstation Twelve...!
* RightWayWrongWayPair: Terry and Gonad from the ''VideoGame/AloneInTheDark2008'' review, with Terry presenting interesting gaming concepts while Gonad finds ways to make those concepts either inconvenient or downright unusable.
* RockBeatsLaser: Invoked in his ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor Warfighter'' review, in which he points out that the soldiers in the game have a massive technological advantage against the supposed villains. Upon describing the assault drone sequences, in which the player remotely controls a heavily-armed robot to mow down enemy guerrillas, whose only means of defeating it is to bash it with a rock.
-->"[[HeelRealization We've got killdroids, they've got rocks]]. [[ReturnOfTheJedi We are Imperial Stormtroopers massacring the Ewoks!]]"
* RocksFallEveryoneDies: "It's probably for the best to lay down the [[AllJustADream It's All A Dream]] card right at the start, because as ending twists go it's on the same level as [[RosksFallEveryoneDies Rocks Fall And Everyone Dies]]."
* TheRoleplayer: Yahtzee states that he does roleplay when playing [=RPGs=] because it's [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the entire point of the genre]]. This ranges from deciding that Hawke should be gay after primarily taking the sarcastic dialog options to not making his Skyrim character a KleptomaniacHero by saying that the character has a hatred of success.
* RPGElements: Interestingly, he actually defined what he considers to be the difference between this trope and a fully-fledged RPG game (or hybrid action-RPG). A game with RPG elements, in Yahtzee's view, merely allows the player to marginally improve skills or weapons that they essentially already know how to use (e.g. improving the reload time on a shotgun they can already aim and fire accurately) and will not force the player to specialize in a particular area (so they can be equally competent at an assortment of different skillsets). A fully-fledged RPG, by contrast, will render the player largely incompetent at any skill they haven't invested experience points in, and will force the player to specialize in particular skills.
* RuleOfThree: [[spoiler: Subverted]] in the ''VideoGame/JustCause2'' review, with regards to the obvious puns.
** His main complaint of ''VideoGame/DarksidersII'' is the fact you always need to find 3 of something to get past every dungeon.
* RuleThirtyFour: "I checked and yep, there's already erotic fanart of the [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII FF13]] characters."
** Also, his character from his ''Age of Conan'' review ("Thinderella, the Necromantic Naturist") got hit, which he even acknowledged in a later review.
* RunningGag: {{PRESS X TO NOT DIE}} is Guaranteed to show up in a review of a game with quick time events.
** Also the caption "Oh no everyone can see my bum."
** Nose-picking is mentioned frequently when talking about [[ArtificialAtmosphericActions mundane actions]] on the part of either the player or {{NPC}}s.
** Yahtzee references making a {{supervillain}} [[WideOpenSandbox sandbox game]] called "Mankind Has Yet To Recognize My Genius, The Game" at least twice.
** Also, the image of that red-haired guy. For those who don't know, he's one of Thomas Ruff's "Expressionless Faces" found in one of Yahtzee's Google Image searches.
** The phrase "Triple-Cunted Hooker".
** Every time Hitler makes an appearance he's accompanied by a caption saying ACH.
** "People always say to me: Yahtzee, you (description indicating manliness...)"
** Ending sentences (and reviews) with: "[[HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday ...not gay!]]"
** Whenever a character is praised for having "personality", this is indicated by a [[NiceHat funny hat]] and one-liner of some sort. Bowser wears a top hat and [[HighClassGlass monocle]] while quoting Shakespearean verse; in ''Driver: San Francisco'', it was a musketeer who crashes into a loaf of bread and deadpans, "Looks like I'm ''bread'' for success"; In ''[=CoD: Ghosts=]'', the dog puts on a bowler, sunglasses, and chomps on cigars like a stand-up comic.
** In his review of ''Driver: San Francisco'', ''SERVE AND PROTECT'' is used sarcastically on the cop protagonist's ability to possess drivers to crash into one another.
** Rattling off a list of numbered sequels and turning it into a football score, i.e., (''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', ''[[VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge Thief 2]]'', ''{{Spiderman}} 2'', ''Arsenal: 3'').
*** The best example comes from his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/10-The-Orange-Box review]] of ''The Orange Box'':
---->"...Half Life 2, Episode 2, Manchester United nil. Now then, Team Fortress 2... Liverpool 3. Sorry, I'll stop this now."
** Within the ''VideoGame/DeadToRights: Retribution'' Dead to Rights: [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1717-Dead-to-Rights-Retribution review]], the Dead To Rights: recurring joke of Yahtzee [[OverlyLongGag Dead To Rights: replacing]] every RE- word with the game's title, but the RE- word in place of Retribution. Likewise a similar gag was done for ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'''s WordSaladTitle.
** In a similar fashion, Yahtzee took ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' and complained that the game is neither red nor dead. He then went to call the game throughout the review by several alternate names, namely [[RealIsBrown Brown Alive Redemption]], Blue Poo Atonement, Green Spleen Submarine, and then [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Purple Monkey Dishwasher]].
** Yahtzee also used ''Videogame/FTLFasterThanLight'' in a similar manner. Faster than Light: Whiter than White, Faster than Light: Piggies and Shits, Faster than Light: Shit's Getting Tight, and Faster than Light: Riddled with Spite.
** Similar to the ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' example above, Yahtzee kept changing the title of ''VideoGame/AliceMadnessReturns'' for things like ''Return of the Madness'', ''Film/ReturnOfTheJedi'', ''[[Disney/{{Aladdin}} Return of Jafar]]'' and ''Film/BatmanReturns''.
** A character bending over and asking to be, er, taken advantage of will always be saying "In mah butt".
** Various sound effects, such as "THRRRP" or "WURRGH".
** Pulling out his "Like ''VideoGame/GodOfWar'' [[SerialNumbersFiledOff but]]" stamp.
** "Hungry Hungry Hippos" seems to becoming one of these as well.
** His evident dislike of Glasgow.
** He uses the term "Eating all the pies" to mean taking up space at least twice.
** Floating {{Hallucinations}} commanding people to '''"KILL THE WHORES"'''
** "CHAERG"
** Ferreo Rochers may be becoming one, with occasional visits from Magner's cider and Branston pickle.
** Monsters go "abloogy woogy woo".
** Dancers go "hootah hoo".
** Calling cookie-cutter modern military cover-based regenerating-health FPS games (such as VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}, VideoGame/CallOfDuty, VideoGame/MedalOfHonor, etc.) by the term, [=SpunkGargleWeeWee=], as he refuses to classify them as typical shooters. As of E3 2013, he's redefined the term slightly to replace "modern" with a NoSidepathsNoExplorationNoFreedom, specifically one in which the player is dragged along a linear procession of pre-determined, barely-interactive setpieces, through overcrowded war scenes that are so noisy and chaotic they become totally meaningless, with so many [=NPC=]s that any contribution you're making is negligible at best, and which have no context for who you are or who you're slaughtering, except that you are obviously the aggressor and considerably better-equipped than the enemy.
** Calling any example of generic zombie-based media (games or movies) "Dem Cunts Be Dead".
** Yahtzee makes a mentioning of Drake's hair behaving "like it's held in place with polymer cement." The subsequent reviews of the other Uncharted game shows bullets bouncing off Drake's hair, and when Yahtzee muses that with all the damage Drake takes, he will probably end up as "a big pile of giblets and teeth", said pile is shown with Drake's hair-do proudly sitting completely unharmed on top of it.
** Any time Yahtzee calls a game "absorbing", it's seen literally absorbing him with a "SHLORP" sound effect.
** Yahtzee getting distracted while saying something risque and going "sorry, lost my train of thought".
** Referring to many subgenres of games (namely of the WideOpenSandbox variety) as X-'em-ups. ''VideoGame/FarCry3'' is a mindfuck-tiger-'em-up, ''VideoGame/SleepingDogs'' is a petty-crim-footstool-vehicle-related-inner-thighs-'em-up, etc.
** Whenever the splicers from ''VideoGame/BioShock'' come up, he refers to them as sploicers, as a jab at Atlas's overly thick Irish accent.
** Yahtzee replaces the colon (:) in certain videogame titles with a dry heave sound, starting with his video on ''Lichdom HEURGH Battlemage'', out of bitterness for first installments of franchises that pretentiously colon-ize their titles with subtitles.
** Cadbury's Creme eggs tend to pop up everywhere, especially when Yahtzee finds himself in need of an analogy for something positive.
** Most moral choices are represented by having to decide between Coke and Pepsi.
** Yahtzee's implied [[BestialityIsDepraved sea mammal fetish.]]
* SandInMyEyes: "I'm not too proud to admit that I was welling up a bit at ''VideoGame/{{inFAMOUS 2}}'''s good ending. ..A lil' bit... Well, not much at all really. It was more like just [[BritishStuffiness stoically nodding my head]] while [[RealMenHateAffection doing some pelvic thrusts and grunting]]."
* SarcasmMode: The entire ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/748-Duke-Nukem-Forever review]]. Let's start from the fact that he's reviewing a game that (at the time) was canceled and work from there. The part that qualifies this as this trope is the bit at the end where he points out (because the lawyers made him) that there is no actual game.
* [[SchrodingersCat Schrödinger's Cat]]: In his "Console Rundown", he compares his Xbox360 to a Schrodinger's Console, constantly swinging between a broken and unbroken state.
* ScreamerTrailer: The ending of the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' review, as an obvious homage to J-horror movies such as ''Film/TheRing'' and ''Film/TheGrudge''.
* ScrewThisImOuttaHere:
** What he believed the plan to DC Universe to be, claiming if there were enough crazies in the world the Aliens would just go away rather than get involved.
** He takes the course after just a few minutes of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys''.
* SelfDeprecation: While his ''Zero Punctuation'' persona is obviously an arrogant CausticCritic, Yahtzee is known for making blunt, humourous digs at himself from time to time.
** A subtle one is that in his ''Extra Punctuation'' on ''VideoGame/TomodachiLife'', he says that it is very arrogant and behind the times for Nintendo to not allow gay marriage. There isn't anything wrong with that statement, except the country he lives in, Australia, doesn't not allow gay marriage, although his birth country, Britain, does. Could be him being a {{Hypocrite}}, but it can also be a jab to his own country.
* SelfFulfillingProphecy: The ''VideoGame/BioshockInfinite'' review notes that if people didn't try to kill [=DeWitt=] for being the guy who would kill everyone and fuck everything up, [=DeWitt=] wouldn't be killing everyone and fucking everything up.
* {{Sequelphobic}}: Yahtzee isn't ''inherently'' against the idea of sequels, but he's extremely critical of most due to their alleged lack of innovation. Franchises that go in new directions are preferred, and several of his liked games (''VideoGame/HalfLife2'', ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'', ''[[VideoGame/ThiefIITheMetalAge Thief 2]]'', ''{{Spiderman}} 2'', [[RunningGag Arsenal: 3]]) are either sequels or otherwise part of an existing franchise (as in the ''VideoGame/PrinceOfPersiaTheSandsOfTime'' trilogy). In point of fact, every single game he has named his game of the year (''VideoGame/SaintsRow2'', ''VideoGame/{{Portal 2}}'', ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamAsylum'', ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'', ''VideoGame/JustCause 2'', ''VideoGame/BioShockInfinite'' and ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'') has been part of an existing franchise (if not necessarily a direct sequel).
* SerialNumbersFiledOff:[[invoked]] Has accused many games of being this, most notably ''VideoGame/DantesInferno'' to ''VideoGame/GodOfWar''.
* ShootTheTV: Halfway into playing ''Medal of Honor: Warfighter'', he put the controller down. Not content with shutting off the console, Yahtzee puts it in terms the game can understand: Blasting the set to smithereens with a revolver.
* ShowDontTell: An advocate of this. One of the few negative criticisms he made of ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'' was that it relies too heavily on telling over showing, given that most of the narrative is conveyed via disconnected text screens after each chapter.
** Conversely, he praised ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' for being based on this, but criticized that it perhaps showed a bit too much and told too little; he felt as though the developers thought the target audience would already be familiar with Tolkien's more obscure stories.
* SincerestFormOfFlattery: In his ''[[VideoGame/{{Resistance}} Resistance 3]]'' review, Yahtzee grows more and more suspicious of the game's marked (if well-executed) similarities to ''Half-Life 2''.
* SirSwearsALot: To the point that he [[LampshadeHanging Lampshades]] in his review of ''{{WET}}'', where he claims Rubi considers swearing to be wit, yelling out, "[[HypocriticalHumor That's my thing!]]"
* SitchSexuality: Yahtzee's utter adoration of Creator/StephenFry's [[ArousedByTheirVoice voice]] in the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' review.
** He starts his review of ''BrutalLegend'' by professing his adoration for TimSchafer, including stating that if he had a doomsday machine he'd reduce the entire population of the world to himself, Schafer, and one woman if she promised to wear a Schafer mask.
** It's clear from his review of ''Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon'' that he's got some deep sexual feelings for...Luigi. Something about the mustache apparently does it for him.
** Starting in his review of ''[[VideoGame/LuigisMansionDarkMoon Luigi's Mansion 2]]'', Yahtzee starts showing deep sexual feelings for Luigi (a RunningGag throughout the first review that briefly returns in the ''VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld'' review when recounting the Cat Suit - ''not'' Luigi in a SpyCatsuit).
* ShoehornedFirstLetter: "''[[VideoGame/SeriousSam BFE]]'' stands for ''Before First Encounter'' - not, as I had first believed, ''Big Fucking Egun''..."
* ShoutOut: [[ShoutOut/ZeroPunctuation Lots.]]
* ShoutOutToShakespeare: The review of ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' has a random protagonist quoting {{Theatre/Hamlet}}.
* SoBadItsGood: In-universe. His opinion on ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'', in which he called it the video game equivalent of ''Film/Plan9FromOuterSpace''.
--> ''It's bad. It's explosively apocalyptically bad and you should totally buy it. I'm serious, you have to see this shit!''
* DarthWiki/SoBadItsHorrible: In-universe, this is his opinion of ''VideoGame/SonicUnleashed''. He even uses the same line graph as Webcomic/{{xkcd}}.
* SoLongSuckers: Warned EA against this in his ''[[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/7417-Next-Gen-Buyers-Guide Next Gen Buyer's Guide]]'' episode. With Sony and Microsoft's futures uncertain, now is not the time to burn your bridges with Nintendo.
--> ''If you're going to burn a bridge you might want to wait first to make sure the other two bridges don't spontaneously combust.''
* SomeOfMyBestFriendsAreX: At the end of his ''VideoGame/SuperMarioGalaxy'' review.
--> [[LampshadeHanging Some of his best friends are Italian]]\\
Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.
** Later, he remarks that the protagonists of ''VideoGame/CallOfDutyGhosts'' are only mildly annoyed by [[BlackDudeDiesFirst their sole black member dying]], mostly because they can't use this argument on the internet anymore.
* SomethingCompletelyDifferent: The ''VideoGame/DukeNukemForever'' review, which of course was all made up, as well as the ''VideoGame/{{Wolfenstein 2009}}'' review which was, except for the introduction, entirely in limerick form, including the tag-ending text.
** His trip to Washington, D.C.
** His FauxToGuide on webcomics and the "Post-Brawl Mailbag Showdown" might count as well, particularly the former.
* SophisticatedAsHell: Many examples over the years.
* SpiritualAdaptation: A lot of comparisons are drawn between ''LAConfidential'' and ''VideoGame/LANoire''. [[invoked]]
** He referred to VideoGame/{{Painkiller}} as "The unofficial [[VideoGame/{{Doom}} Doom 3]]".
* SpoofAesop: The lesson of ''Catherine'' seems to be "men are all directionless tidal waves, and [[AccidentalInnuendo women are all dikes]] built in the path of their raging floods."
-->"...Blimey, [[ThatCameOutWrong what a badly-worded metaphor.]]"''
* SpoofedWithTheirOwnWords: The review of ''VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Warfighter]]'' opens with Yahtzee stating that normally, he makes fun of a game by increasingly altering the title through the review until it gradually becomes ridiculous. In this case, he says that he can't do that, because there's nothing more silly than simply using its actual name. He maintained that the title was absolutely ridiculous even after learning that "warfighter" is in fact a term used by the American military.
* SpotlightStealingSquad: Complains about this in AliensVsPredator where despite the title, the [[SpaceMarine Colonial Marine]] campaign is by far the longest of the three, and it's just a generic FPS game.
* StarbucksSkinScale: A ButNotTooBlack character is dismissed as "dipped in tea".
* StealthInsult: His ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' review features "Killing in the Name" (which contains the [[LoopedLyrics repeated line]] "fuck you, I won't do what you tell me") by Rage Against the Machine playing over the end credits, which becomes hilarious when you consider that he has spent most of the review telling people who suggest things to him to get fucked.
* StealthPun: a corker in his ''HyruleWarriors'' review: "Greasy baps are Team Ninja's bread and butter..."
** But it only remains a StealthPun for about a second before he lampshades it: "...if you see what I did there."
* StorybookOpening: ''RedFaction Guerrilla''.
* StoryToGameplayRatio: Yahtzee's a bit hard to pin down on this one, but the important things are that the amount of story must fit the game and that StoryAndGameplaySegregation must not intrude. ''VideoGame/SilentHill2'' is his definitive example of getting the balance right. He observed in a column once that he once thought AdventureGames were intellectually superior to FirstPersonShooters before realizing that the two genres were effectively two sides of the same coin - one all story at the expense of gameplay, the other all gameplay at the expense of story. Over time he became more interested in combining gameplay and story in interesting ways.
* StoutStrength: An odd example, he refers to any large muscular character as fat even if they have an impossibly fit and overmuscled build.
* StupidSexyFlanders: He naturally identifies more with Luigi than his brother, Mario. Yahtzee being Yahtzee, this later became a repressed crush on the character.
-->"So, the new feature is [[VideoGame/SuperMario3DWorld Cat Suits]]. Meaning suits made to look like cats, not Luigi running around in [[SpyCatsuit skintight]] -- sorry, lost my train of thought."
* SturgeonsLaw: Applied frequently, with an even more negative twist: "Everything is shit until proven otherwise", a.k.a. "the Guantanamo Bay approach".
* StylisticSuck: An [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/108-Webcomics example]] of a [[Webcomic/CtrlAltDel nameless, professional webcomic]] reacting to one of his critiques: a crude stick figure wearing a hat.
-->''Blah blah blah look at me i'm a [[BigStupidDooDooHead big foreign dipshit]] who isn't funny anymore\\
Also my hat is stupid and there are too many ads at the ends of my videos\\
Balls go in my mouth now''
* SubliminalSeduction: In his [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/616-50-Cent-Blood-on-the-Sand 50 Cent: Blood on the Sand review]], [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/yzblackfriend.jpg this]] ImageMacro quickly pops up several times during the video.
* SuicideAsComedy: A RunningGag where he will try to kill himself.
* SuspiciouslySpecificDenial: See HaveIMentionedIAmHeterosexualToday.
** In the review for ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamCity'', Bruce Wayne is represented with a man wearing a t-shirt saying "[[PaperThinDisguise Not Batman]]".
* SweepingAshes: Following hours of arduous work in ''{{VideoGame/Starbound}}'', building a "distress beacon" as instructed, his house gets obliterated by UFO -- which immediately turns its sights on Yahtzee himself, reducing him to a skid mark wearing a hat.
-->'''Game:''' Guess you'd better build ''another'' Distress Beacon, then.\\
'''Yahtzee:''' I've got a better idea, ''Starbound''. Why don't you see if you can find one [[StuffedIntoATrashcan at the bottom of this bin?]]
* [[TakeAThirdOption Take a Fourth Option]]: Invoked at the end of the "Next Gen Buyer's Guide" to answer the overarching question "Should I go with the Wii U, [=PS4=], or Xbox One?"
-->So to summarize this buyer's guide to next gen consoles, ''DON'T''.
* TakeThat: Many targets, many times.
** "I do point out every little thing there's bad about a game. But then again, I'm a critic! It would be weird if I didn't. If I put people's balls in my mouth for a living, I'd be a prostitute, or possibly a [=GameSpot=] employee."
* TalksLikeASimile: For humorous effect, given the nature of the similes. As an example, one of them involved the voice acting in a game being comparable to being raped in the ear by a man wearing a sandpaper condom. Though technically it wasn't ''him'' who said it, it was his roommate. And "Not in those exact words, of course."
** Matt maintains he actually described it as like driving a corkscrew into his ears.
--> "I wonder if the Geneva Convention covers torturing metaphors?"
* TankGoodness: In ''Franchise/{{Halo}} Wars''.
-->"There's no reason to build any troops, really. Tanks don't move any slower, they just take longer to build and, well, ''they're fucking tanks!''"
* TertiarySexualCharacteristics: The female imps have red bows on their heads.
* TestosteronePoisoning: A common topic of jokes, but he doesn't like seeing it played straight.
* TheThingThatWouldNotLeave: After ''[=RE6=]'' netted the 5th Worst of 2012 spot, Yahtzee realized that the franchise's title is apropos.
* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Says this happened when playing the ''VideoGame/Uncharted3DrakesDeception'', that Drake is now coming after him.
* TheWikiRule: [[http://zeropunctuation.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page Right here.]] It contains transcripts of all his reviews, which can be helpful on those occasions when he talks too fast for you to understand every word.
* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: In-universe, he complained about how the only thing that drew him to ''VideoGame/DarkestOfDays'' was its interesting premise, which he thought was completely mishandled.
* ThisIsGoingToSuck: At the start of his ''VideoGame/RideToHellRetribution'' review, he mentions having this reaction after responses to his ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs'' began coming in.
-->"When the game started to lose me, I wasn't sitting there, rubbing my fingerless-gloved hands in glee. No, I was sitting there thinking, 'Ugh, I am ''definitely'' getting some fucking stimulating e-mails after this one."
* ThisLoserIsYou: Yahtzee's hatred for this trope is made plain in his ''TransformersWarForCybertron'' review, where he derides Shia [=LeBeouf=]'s various characters in ways like, "Indiana Jones is over thirty? No one can relate to that!"
** Suggested in his ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyXIII'' review:
-->"This 'Hope' guy has been established from the start as a [[OverlyLongGag whiney, weak, inept, cowardly, socially-retarded, mummy’s boy]], so presumably he’s the character most of the audience is meant to project onto."
* TickleTorture: The way he illustrates the mentioned the initial torture sesions of ''Black Ops''.
* TitleConfusion: Comments that ''LuigisMansionDarkMoon'' should be called "Luigi's Mansions" since Luigi goes through multiple mansions in the game.
* ToMakeALongStoryShort: Joked about on the ''Spore'' review
* TooAwesomeToUse: Brought up in his ''Mercenaries 2'' video, with him calling it the "But I might need it later" thought.
* TooManyCooksSpoilTheSoup: He brings this up frequently about the large-name corporations running the big-budget titles, and even brings up how such lack of discipline ruined ''VideoGame/DeadSpace2''.
** He takes this metaphor to [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/extra-punctuation/8892-Extra-Punctuation-Action-Is-Not-Finisher-Porn extraordinary lengths]] in ''Extra Punctuation''.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood: Branston Pickle, Cadbury's Creme eggs, cornettos and pies. In later seasons, he develops a liking for kebabs and jaffa (chocolate-covered orange jam) cakes. The imps like Pedigree dog food.
* TranquilFury: Yahtzee uses it in his TheReasonYouSuckSpeech on his VideoGame/MedalOfHonor: Warfighter and Doom 3 BFG Edition review, where he calls out people who claim he doesn't like shooters.
* {{Troll}}: Yahtzee once reflects that he's seen as a "professional troll," which he imagines as a hulking creature lurking under a bridge, handing out business cards.
* {{Troperiffic}}: Many of the entrance quotes of the Trope pages are from him.
* TwentyBearAsses: One of his reasons for hating {{MMORPG}}s is because most quests are variants of this. A sight gag from his ''VideoGame/RedDeadRedemption'' video is him running from a cougar holding a pile of [[Film/MontyPythonsLifeOfBrian otter noses]] while the caption "7/8 OTTER NOSES" floats over him.


* UnbrokenFirstPersonPerspective: Provides the page quote.
* UncannyValley: [[invoked]]
** [[invoked]] Has alluded to the concept several times, usually in reference to particular poor animation and/or mocap.
** [[invoked]] He also used the concept to illustrate the problems inherent in creating and criticizing art, arguing that, in much the same way that the closer something comes to realism the more obvious its deficiencies become, the closer a work of art comes to "perfection" the more glaringly obvious its flaws become.
* {{Understatement}}: He describes [[spoiler:Walker accidentally burning almost fifty civilians alive with white phosphorus]] in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'' as a moment where "Walker and the player unwittingly do a bad thing".
* TheUnintelligible: The Imp, during his extremely short-lived HostileShowTakeover.
* UnpleasableFanbase: [[invoked]] "Fans are clingy, complaining dipshits who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make. Incidentally, [[HypocriticalHumor why not buy a Zero Punctuation t-shirt?"]]
* UnreliableNarrator: A quick one where Yahtzee shows on a chart ranking games by violence, which claims that ''{{Franchise/Barbie}} Horseback Racing'' is slightly more violent than the war game ''VideoGame/{{Resistance}} 3''.
* UnusualEuphemism:
** Used as a BrickJoke in his review of ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'':
--->'''Yahtzee''': I thought my rowboat was about to be made seaworthy...
** He also now believes that "Cake" is Princess Peach's code word for a booty call.
** In his review of ''VideoGame/WolfensteinTheNewOrder'', he mentions stabbing a Nazi soldier "right up the ''lebensraum''."
* VanityLicensePlate: The one on Mario's {{faceship}} reads, "[[AC: 1TSA M3]]"
* VerbalBackspace: RunningGag in ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'' review.
** Also, from his ''ArmyOfTwo'' review, when he starts slipping into gay jokes again though he was trying to cut down on them: "No! Bad Yahtzee!"
* VictoryCake: A few times, such as this ''VideoGame/GodOfWar III'' review:
--> The actual challenge of the fight is basically 'Go here, then here, then QuickTimeEvent then win. Then cake.'
* VideoGameCaringPotential: Every once in a while even he admits to liking the characters that he plays or the {{NPC}}s he gets saddled with.
* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: He's a really big fan of this trope.
--> If you give [Gamers] guns, they will shoot old ladies. If you give them cars, they will run over old ladies. If you give them aircraft, they will ascend to the highest possible height and hurl themselves out [[RuleOfThree onto an old lady]].
* VideoGameSetpiece: Not a big fan of them. He often uses the term "sightseeing tour syndrome" to refer to games which attempt to lead the player by the nose from one largely uninteractive setpiece to the next without attempting to really engage them on any level of gameplay or story.
* ViewersAreGeniuses: In Yahtzee's review of ''Deathspank'', how many people got that he picked the town name of Northampton for a visual gag about a mystical place because it's very close to the real life English town of [[VideoGame/KingsQuest Daventry?]]
* VindicatedByHistory: In-universe, ''VideoGame/{{Doom}} 3''. For everything it dropped from the previous games in favor of ripping off ''System Shock 2'', it was still a GAME that was driven by the actions of the player, which was more than Yahtzee could say for ''Medal of Honor: Warfighter'' ([[RunningGag HA! Ha ha ha ha ha!]])
* VisualPun: Many of the BRollRebus visuals.
* VorpalPillow: Yahtzee suggests doing this to the ''Paper Mario'' series after ''SuperPaperMario'' (which he actually thought was OK, if inferior to the previous titles).
--> It's an enjoyable installment, but the developers don't seem into it anymore, so perhaps it's time to put this particular franchise to bed. ''Then smother it to death.''
* WhatIsThisThingYouCallLove: Joked about. He once claimed to see no difference between True Love and brain damage.
* WhatMeasureIsAMook: Briefly discusses this in one Extra Punctuation about his concept for a stealth game with no killing in it.
* WhatTheHellHero: Rebecca Mayes' love song to him, calling him out on the lowest-common-denominator parts of his humour then asking him out for a drink... [[{{Yandere}} and threatening to stab him with a screwdriver]].
* {{Whoring}}: Yahtzee both hates the very existence of and abuses the hell out of moves that can be used for extreme versions of this, including but not limited to [[RedSteel2 a parry that automatically stuns the opponent]], [[VideoGame/{{Prototype}} a tentacle attack with way too long a reach]], [[VideoGame/SoulSeries tossing his helpless AI opponent around like a ragdoll]], [[VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw a flipping attack that carves up anything in the same room with you]], and [[VideoGame/GodOfWar the "fuck you" button]].
* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: In the EpicMickey [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/2575-Epic-Mickey review]], Yahtzee says he had a fear of Theme Park Mascots as a Child.
** This same irrational fear is taken UpToEleven in his review of ''VideoGame/HitmanAbsolution''.
** Mentioned again in his Videogame/FiveNightsAtFreddys review.
* WithLyrics: Deus Ex theme with lyrics.
--> ''[[BadassLongcoat Put on a trenchcoat]]...''
--> ''...and fight some [[AncientConspiracy conspiracies]].''
--> ''Get experience...''
--> ''...and level up abilities.''
--> ''Will you pick [[ImprobableAimingSkills rifles]], or [[HollywoodHacking computers]]?''
--> ''[[DumpStat Don't pick swimming because it's fairly useless]].''
--> ''It's a shooter...''
--> ''...and a role-playing game.''
--> ''The levels are ugly...''
--> ''...and everybody looks the same.''
--> ''We're not the same Ion Storm that made Daikatana.''
--> ''Our games are good and they stay on schedule.''
--> ''We made [[ContestedSequel a sequel]] [[FanonDiscontinuity that no one liked]]...''
--> ''cause we dumbed it down too much, cause we're thick.''
* [[WritersCannotDoMath Developers Cannot Do Math]]: From the VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoV review:
--> '''Yahtzee''': So [=GTA5=] then. The fifth Franchise/GrandTheftAuto after 1, 2, 3, Vice City, San Andreas, 4, Chinatown Wars and ''all the other ones''. Adding up not being one of Rockstar's strong points.
* XDaysSince: Parodied in the ''ArmyOfTwo'' review as "X Hours Since the Last Gay Joke".
* YaoiFangirl: One of these makes a brief cameo in the ''MetalGearSolid4'' review when Yahtzee points out that [[HeterosexualLifePartners Snake and Otacon's]] relationship is a goldmine of HoYay.
* YouBastard: Yahtzee actually suggests this exact trope as an alternate name for ''[[VideoGame/MonsterHunter Monster Hunter Tri]]'' when his first suggestion (he got as far as ''[[OverlyLongGag Hunter/Gatherer Of Innocent Young Dinosaurs Pathetically Mewling Their Last As The Memory Of Their Mother's Warmth Drifts Away To Be Replaced By The Unforgiving Coldness Of...]]'' before giving up) didn't really work.
** He states in ''VideoGame/{{Prototype 2}}'' that despite the fact the game developers tried to focus more on the fact that James is more sympathetic than Alex, they're still both controlled by a player who would still slaughter everyone for fun.
* YouKeepUsingThatWord: During the Mailbag Showdown:
-->'''Yahtzee:''' I think you should look up the word "objective", because I don't think it means what you think it means.
** {{Lampshaded}} by Yahtzee himself in one column, where he mentions that he's caught himself using certain words so many times that he's had to step back and wonder what the hell he's actually talking about. Helpfully, he put together a handy little glossary of some of his favorites.
* YouKilledMyFather: Used as a CreditsGag.
* YouMakeMeSic: He employs this during the "Mailbag Showdown" video by correcting the emails in red as he reads them.
* YouMustBeThisTallToRide: The couch gag at the end of the review of ''VideoGame/LollipopChainsaw'' shows the little mascot character strapping a disembodied head on top of its own head to get past a "You Must Be This Tall To Ride" sign.
* YourMom: She turns up a lot in ''Zero Punctuation'', and Yahtzee usually either hits on her or tries to have sex with her.
** Or in one case as shown in his ''VideoGame/BionicCommando'' review, kicking some ass.
** Quite thoroughly subverted in the ''{{VideoGame/Transistor}}'' review, though:
--> '''Yahtzee''': Lately though, I've been banging on about how game releases are drier than your mum after I cheated on her with ''your dad''.

* ApocalypseWow: Yahtzee states that if ''NoMoreHeroes'' was combined with [[TrademarkFavoriteFood Branston Pickle]] that the world would end. And it would be [[RuleOfCool AWESOME.]]

* AwesomenessIsVolatile: Yahtzee implied this would happen if ''NoMoreHeroes'' were combined with Branston Pickle.

** The ''NoMoreHeroes'' review opens with the Stranglers song of the same name. However, the song's [[RecordNeedleScratch abruptly cut off]]: "No, no, that's a bit too obvious." This isn't mentioned throughout the entire review. Finally, in [[CreditsGag the credits]], the songs used in the video are listed as normal, except that "No More Heroes" has been thoroughly scribbled out.

** He also has a great love for anything that does things differently like ''VideoGame/{{Portal}}'' and ''NoMoreHeroes''; he complimented ''VideoGame/MirrorsEdge'' for trying something new even after tearing the actual gameplay apart, and ''VideoGame/AssassinsCreedI'' got [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/16-Assassins-Creed praise]] for being original even though it was let down by highly repetitive gameplay. Similarly, he praised ''DarkVoid'' for being an ambitious failure, and as such, better than "committee-designed sludge". He also [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/1651-Silent-Hill-Shattered-Memories liked]] ''VideoGame/SilentHillShatteredMemories'', despite hating ''Franchise/SilentHill'' spinoffs and saying that the monsters and chase scenes weren't scary and the psych test gimmicks weren't enough, for trying something new. He raves about ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' for [[TropeMaker creating]], [[TropeNamer naming]] and [[TropeCodifier codifying]] the ColossusClimb, and ''VideoGame/{{Ico}}'' got a love note from him for making him ''[[VideoGameCaringPotential care]]'' about a CuteMute LoveInterest.

** Music used interestingly in his ''NoMoreHeroes'' review, as mentioned above for BrickJoke.

* GoKartingWithBowser: He lampshades this trope in his SuperMarioGalaxy [[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/19-Super-Mario-Galaxy review]].

** In his ''SuperMarioGalaxy2'' review he considers Mario, Peach, and Bowser a FreudianTrio. Bowser is the Id, Peach the Superego, and Mario the Ego.

[[index]]

[[/index]]

* RocksFallEveryoneDies: Mentioned in his ''Driver: San Francisco'' review by name.

* ZeroPunctuation/TropesAToD
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesEToH
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesIToL
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesMToP
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesQToT
* ZeroPunctuation/TropesUToZ