History ZeroPunctuation / TropesAToD

* ClumsyCopyrightCensorship: The 2009 compilation of reviews replace Quincy Jones' "Soul Bossa Nova" (aka the ''Film/AustinPowersInternationalManOfMystery'' theme) with a generic tune seen during the ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'' review.

** Yahtzee also seems to be a big fan of the MagicalRealism genre, loving stories that juxtapose the mundane against the supernatural in interesting ways. While he has given negative reviews to ''all'' of the games developed by Creator/Swery65, his criticisms have been more aimed at each game being poorly-designed {{Obvious Beta}}s[[invoked]] and he has praised each of them for their {{Mind Screw}}y UrbanFantasy plots. Similarly, Croshaw is a '''huge''' fan of both ''VideoGame/Earthbound1994'' and the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' franchise in large parts due to how well each game juxtaposes their mundane SliceOfLife plots against a CosmicHorrorStory for the former and epic pseudo-HighFantasy for the latter. He also gave both ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Unavowed}}'' props for executing their NewWeird storylines in compelling manners (though he lamented that the combat for the former was very derivative and frustrating, and he also felt the latter was a bit too close to ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' for his comfort), and his favorite parts of ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' was him being able to wade into the MundaneAfterlife and family drama-focused interludes found in the House of Hades following each of Zagreus' deaths.

** 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.

** ''VideoGame/ResidentEvil4'' disguised itself with this and ahead-obscuring hat to try and convince Yahtzee that ''VideoGame/TheEvilWithin'' was actually a subtle, tense stealth-based horror game, rather than an in-you-face explosive survival horror/action one. Yahtzee was quite hurt when the truth came to light.

* 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.

** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oynuVwE9EJM As detailed during his plug for his book "Existentially Challenged":]]
---> "No, I don't still wear this hat in real life."
** 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.

* CatchPhrase: "But I digress."

** Yahtzee's opinion of Creator/Swery65 could be described as [[SoBadItsGood a more affectionate version of this]][[invoked]]. In all of his reviews of Swery's games, Yahtzee highlights that Swery has a chronically very clunky approach to writing and game design, but has avoided his bad side in large part due to how earnestly eccentric he is as an auteur, being confusing and atonal in a way Yahtzee sees as someone [[HighHopesZeroTalent overstepping their creative ability and ambition]] more than anything cynical. Even when he does get genuinely negative about his games (such as ''VideoGame/DeadlyPremonition2'', which ended up making number 5 of his "Worst of 2020" list), Yahtzee reiterates that Swery is a likeable creator whose complete disregard for norms and fundamentals in game design is both his biggest strength ''and'' weakness.

* CameraScrew: One of his most persistent complaints, to the point of providing the page quote.

* AutobotsRockOut: Briefly discussed in his ''[[VideoGame/GearsOfWar Gears 5]]'' review, where he discusses an encounter in the game where a battle against a monster in a theatre [[{{Bathos}} suddenly turns into an extended parody]] of ''Theatre/{{Hamilton}}'', with spotlights turning on [[SoundtrackDissonance and jazzy music starting up as you fight it]]. Yahtzee describes this kind of moment "when the game starts singing at you" as usually being a highlight, such as with the Ashtray Maze in ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' or The Joker's musical number in ''VideoGame/BatmanArkhamNight'', but for ''Gears 5'', he felt it just abruptly stops to move onto another generic setpiece, highlighting just how meandering and lifeless the game feels.

* AwesomeButImpractical: In any video game involving some kind of supersoldier or genetic engineering program [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke (which is a lot of them)]], you can count on him to point out that the millions of dollars spent engineering a super-strong warrior or a zombie plague could probably just be spent on conventional weapons that are just as good at killing people but don't have a habit of being TurnedAgainstTheirMasters.

* CrackIsCheaper: {{Discussed|Trope}} as a big reason for why he doesn't believe VR gaming is going to really take off as a mainstream phenomenon. While Yahtzee ultimately has high hopes for the medium and its potential for innovative game design, he thinks that the expense and complexity of VR will kneecap its ability to gain more than a niche fanbase, especially when combined with its inherent design working against the ability to be more social or casual than other forms of media.

** 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!"

* ADateWithRosiePalms: One of the things which have just ''slightly'' less screen time than the imps 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.
** The ''VideoGame/MortalShell'' review has him taking several breaks to masturbate to the thought of Creator/JennyAgutter.

** [[EvolvingTrope This criticism would later evolve]] for games with [[AllianceMeter faction alliance mechanics]], usually based on conflicts of OrderVersusChaos. While Yahtzee does consider this a relative step up from "do good vs. do evil", [[DamnedByFaintPraise that's not saying much]] -- in his Extra Punctuation "What If I Don’t Want to Be an Authoritarian or a Hippy?", Yahtzee feels the trend has rapidly [[{{Flanderization}} flanderized]] into "fascists vs. nutters", usually trying to convey [[GreyAndGrayMorality both sides as having their pros and cons]], but ultimately lacking in nuance as there's still one side that's more narratively satisfying than the other, and it's almost always the pro-chaos rebellious side. [[HistoryRepeats This falls into the same trap]] as playing for authoritarian-style order tends to resist any form of narrative pushback and thus makes things unengaging and boring, while it's also unflattering to be playing a form of "chaos" that pins the group as [[StupidGood stupid or naïve]].

* 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]].

** 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.

* 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.

--->'''Yahtzee:''' They say that [[BeamMeUpScotty money is the root of all evil]][[note]]It's actually "The love of money is the root of all evils."[[/note]], but somehow I doubt Mrs. Hitler was being impregnated by a roll of Deutsche Marks. The saying works better if you replace "money" with "rich businessmen in tight suits who won't even put twenty cents in a gumball machine if they can't expect a return of investment" and "evil" with "bland, samey action-adventure clones kneeling on the bed of a dried-up watering hole licking the dirt for moisture." (And "is" with "are," if we want to be grammatically correct.)

--->If you can imagine VideoGame/TheLostVikings [[JustForFun/XMeetsY knocking up]] VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet, then [[TheInternetIsForPorn the internet has clearly desensitized you to]] [[CargoShip retarded sexualization]].

--->'''Yahtzee:''' Mmm, no. It's [[TooBleakStoppedCaring really fucking miserable and depressing, and I would've enjoyed my weekend more had I spent it teasing out my bum hairs with pliers.]]

** Before reviewing ''VideoGame/FableII'', Yahtzee notes that all he needs to do now is review ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'' a [[https://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.

* {{Bowdlerise}}: In the video for the review on ''Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons'' and ''Papers, Please'', he originally commented on the single-player co-op mode in the former game, which was just like saying, "I'm not gay, I only suck off pre-op UsefulNotes/{{trans|gender}}sexuals." [[WordOfGod According to Yahtzee]], it was supposed to be a joke about cognitive dissonance; but [[https://www.escapistmagazine.com/bureaucracy-em-up/ once he discovered his mistake on a poor choice of words]] because some people who identify as female also have their manhood, he had to change the line in the video review, which now says, "I'm not gay, I only suck off ''pantomime dames''" (which is a British term for "DragQueen").

** Recently, his review of ''VideoGame/IonFury'' and ''VideoGame/VoidBastards'' was demonetized by Website/YouTube for swearing and adult content. Yahtzee explains the reasons in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGF8uORxWz4 this YouTube video]]:

** He describes ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' as "a Japanese game centrally about the difficulties of relationships, such as unexpected pregnancy, the impetus of commitment, and being chased up a infinite staircase by a giant, monstrous girlfriend trying to eat you with her butt. [[QuirkyWork Did I mention it's Japanese?]]"

''[[CrossesTheLineTwice Crunch, crunch, crunch go the bones of the old people not getting out of the waaaaaaaay!]]''"

* 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 [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks something]] about them I find incredibly infuriating.

** 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 ''VideoGame/SilentHillDownpour'', when he and the game are shown wearing a bridal veil and groom's tuxedo respectively, and he admits that "Yes, [[WhyDontYouMarryIt maybe I]] ''{{w|hyDontYouMarryIt}}ill'' [[WhyDontYouMarryIt marry]] VideoGame/SilentHill2, shut up!"

* 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.
** ''And then...'' [[HilariousInHindsight Kess let slip that she had "pregnancy brain"]] during a livestream.
** Yahtzee finally [[SubvertedTrope addressed and updated this perception]] at the start of his review of ''VideoGame/APlagueTaleRequiem'', explaining that since becoming a father himself he'd come to love children, to the point that he can't even enjoy DeadBabyComedy any more because it makes him fear for his own babies... solely to lend context to the fact that he ''still'' absolutely loathes the main character's little brother and wants him to die.
* 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.

** He 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 ''VideoGame/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 actually being a decent remake, and removing what didn't work the first time. He raves about ''VideoGame/ShadowOfTheColossus'' for [[TropeMakers creating]], [[TropeNamers 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 mentioned a particular fondness for Shaun of the ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed'' series, partly because he reminds him of himself and partly because he often insults [[Creator/NolanNorth Desmond]] [[VanillaProtagonist Miles]].

** Yahtzee also seems to be a big fan of the MagicalRealism genre, loving stories that juxtapose the mundane against the supernatural in interesting ways. While he has given negative reviews to ''all'' of the games developed by Creator/Swery65, his criticisms have been more aimed at each game being poorly-designed {{Obvious Beta}}s and he has praised each of them for their {{Mind Screw}}y UrbanFantasy plots. Similarly, Croshaw is a '''huge''' fan of both ''VideoGame/Earthbound1994'' and the ''VideoGame/{{Persona}}'' franchise in large parts due to how well each game juxtaposes their mundane SliceOfLife plots against a CosmicHorrorStory for the former and epic pseudo-HighFantasy for the latter. He also gave both ''VideoGame/{{Control}}'' and ''VideoGame/{{Unavowed}}'' props for executing their NewWeird storylines in compelling manners (though he lamented that the combat for the former was very derivative and frustrating, and he also felt the latter was a bit too close to ''Literature/TheDresdenFiles'' for his comfort), and his favorite parts of ''VideoGame/{{Hades}}'' was him being able to wade into the MundaneAfterlife and family drama-focused interludes found in the House of Hades following each of Zagreus' deaths.

* CueTheFlyingPigs: Any time Yahtzee [[CausticCritic unambiguously praises a game]] (or even ambiguously praises a game in a genre he normally despises, such as when he liked ''VideoGame/Persona5'' despite his usual stance on [=JRPGs=]) you can expect the comments to fill up with people wondering if the sky is about to start falling (and often swearing to go out and buy the game in question, since if ''Yahtzee'' likes it then it ''must'' be good). As mentioned under CausticCritic, however, Yahtzee himself ''[[DefiedTrope hates]]'' this perception- when he says a game is "fine", he ''[[SincerityMode actually means]]'' it's [[SoOkayItsAverage FINE]], not the Second Coming of Christ.

--->'''Yahtzee:''' The only reason I wanted to talk about (''Hunt Down The Freeman'') was because of the depressing indictment of modern gaming it creates; not by itself, but by Creator/{{Valve}}'s [[CreatorsApathy apparent indifference]] to this waterfall of piss trickling down either side of its legacy's nose. Twenty years ago, ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' was a focal point in gaming's ongoing development as an artistic narrative medium. The next few years saw a slew of titles that combined triple-A game design with genuine emotional storytelling. ''[[SuddenlyShouting But what happened between then and now!?]]'' Why are the games routinely rewarded with triple-A status and income exclusively [[RevenueEnhancingDevices lootbox-infested live service bullshit]] -- games designed not to inspire or stimulate our emotions, but to ''numb'' them and hypnotize us into lab rats mindlessly pawing the button that makes the treats come out -- while the games created with love and artistic integrity [[SturgeonsLaw drown beneath waves of bottom-feeders]] like ''Hunt Down The Freeman'' that tear chunks of rotten flesh from the corpses of Valve's children, as Valve itself -- [[BrokenPedestal once habitual founders of new ages of narrative gaming]] -- merely waves them on, [[MoneyDearBoy barely glancing up from their tax paperwork?]] [[WhatTheHellHero What happened to you?]] What happened to ''us?!'' To the people we were supposed to become? ...[[MoodWhiplash I don't know, but it's probably safe to blame]] Creator/JohnRomero.

** He describes ''VideoGame/{{Catherine}}'' as "a Japanese game centrally about the difficulties of relationships, such as unexpected pregnancy, the impetus of commitment, and being chased up a infinite staircase by a giant, monstrous girlfriend trying to eat you with her butt. [[WidgetSeries Did I mention it's Japanese?]]"

* {{Doorstopper}}: Excessive length is one of Yahtzee's [[PetPeeveTrope pet peeves]], as an extremely long game almost always outstays its welcome and is a sign of unnecessary padding ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking it's also mentioned to be hell on Yahtzee for the show's weekly deadlines]]). This a recurring criticism he has for games by Creator/HideoKojima, finding both his writing and approach to gameplay overthought and excessive even without [[StoryToGameplayRatio his infamously lopsided bias towards the former]], that they falter from having ''too much'' going on. He also came down hard on ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUsPart2'' for this in conjunction to [[TooBleakStoppedCaring its incredibly bleak and unlikeable plot]] ''and'' [[TroubledProduction the behind-the-scenes horror stories of developers forced into crunch to make it]][[invoked]], which he felt was [[StupidSacrifice a complete waste of time and money for everyone]].

* {{Doorstopper}}: Excessive length is one of Yahtzee's [[PetPeeveTrope pet peeves]], as an extremely long game almost always outstays its welcome and is a sign of excessive padding ([[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking it's also mentioned to be hell on Yahtzee for the show's weekly deadlines]]). This a recurring criticism he has for games by Creator/HideoKojima, finding both his writing and approach to gameplay overthought and excessive even without [[StoryToGameplayRatio his infamously lopsided bias towards the former]], that they falter from having ''too much'' going on.

-->"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 "[[AxCrazy Anything + doing anything = death slice bleed wahey]]"[[/note]], they both have an irresistible compulsion to [[AxCrazy murder God's creatures]], they both spend lots of time underground, and most importantly neither of them will ever ''just fucking '''die!'''''"

** Yahtzee's opinion of Creator/Swery65 could be described as [[SoBadItsGood a more affectionate version of this]][[invoked]]. In all of his reviews of Swery's games, Yahtzee reiterates that Swery has a chronically very clunky approach to writing and game design, but has avoided his bad side in large part due to how earnestly inventive he is as an auteur, being confusing and atonal in a way Yahtzee sees as someone [[HighHopesZeroTalent overstepping their creative ability and ambition]] more than anything cynical.

** Yahtzee's opinion of Creator/Swery65 could be described as [[SoBadItsGood a more affectionate version of this]][[invoked]]. In all of his reviews of Swery's games, Yahtzee reiterates that Swery has a chronically very clunky approach to writing and game design, but has avoided his bad side in large part [[TookTheBadFilmSeriously due to how earnest he is as an auteur]], being confusing and atonal in a way Yahtzee sees as someone [[GiftedlyBad overstepping their creative ambition]] more than anything cynical.
--->'''Yahtzee''': It's fun being inside your head, SWERY! But every time I'm in here, I wonder why the wallpaper's so badly-hung, and why there's no furniture besides a TV and a piss bucket.