Line #9 PlayingWith/PacifistRun


1	'''Basic Trope''': A video game that allows and likely expects violence can also be beaten without any bloodshed.
2	* '''Straight''': ''Stealth Agent'' has plenty of ways to kill and brutalize guards, but the player can also just sneak around the lot of them.
3	* '''Exaggerated''': A peaceful run is ''required'' for ''Stealth Agent''[='s=] GoldenEnding.
4	* '''Downplayed''':
5	** ''Stealth Agent'' can be beaten without ''killing'' anyone, [[MartialPacifist but some fighting will be called for]].
6	** ''Stealth Agent'' can be beaten without killing any sapient beings. The {{Mecha Mook}}s are legitimately dumb machines that can't be reasoned with, and the player isn't penalized for breaking them.
7	** ''Stealth Agent'' is about an assassin with a job to do, but it's quite possible to go through the entire game without killing anyone but the designated targets.
8	* '''Justified''':
9	** The main character of ''Stealth Agent'' and his organization recognize their enemies are {{Punch Clock Villain}}s at worst, and see no reason to hurt them.
10	** The main character is a professional who prides themselves on getting in, getting the job done, and getting out with no extraneous violence.
11	* '''Inverted''': A viciously creative player turns a normally peaceful game into a bloodbath.
12	* '''Subverted''': In the first level, the player can reach [[StarterVillain Sgt. Viper]] without harming any of his guards, and are given the option to spare him. If they take it, [[TheFarmerAndTheViper Viper kills the player character]] for a NonStandardGameOver.
13	* '''Double Subverted''': ...unless the player took time to discover Viper's FreudianExcuse and uses the knowledge to talk him down.
14	* '''Parodied''': The player character begins to look more and more like a [[NewAgeRetroHippie stereotypical hippie]] as they progress through the levels without any bloodshed.
15	* '''Zig Zagged''': While the game does give options for "[[NonLethalKO non-lethal takedowns]]" that can be used with impunity while getting a "Pacifist Run" achievement, [[RecklessPacifist it strains credulity that every guard could survive them]], so players looking for a "true" pacifist run avoid even those.
16	* '''Averted''':
17	** It really is kill or be killed -- you'll at least have to kill enemies with keys that can't be obtained any other way and bosses.
18	** There's no violent options to refrain from, period.
19	* '''Enforced''': The game designer realizes that massive bloodshed is actually a terrible thing and/or [[PragmaticVillainy unprofessionally messy]], and so gives the player a satisfying way to avoid it and still enjoy the game.
20	* '''Lampshaded''': EnemyChatter eventually notes the player's style: "we've been shooting at this guy every time we see him, but he's never hurt one of us... what if, [[HeelRealization maybe we're on the wrong side]]?"
21	* '''Invoked''': The lowly {{Mook}}s do their best to remind the unseen player that they're human beings to convince them to not kill them.
22	* '''Exploited''': Emperor Evulz starts doing his best to force the player to choose between foiling his plans and avoiding collateral damage by refusing to evacuate mooks and stationing them just to serve as human shields.
23	* '''Defied''': The crazed Sgt. Viper commits SuicideByCop by the player's hand just to prove "[[StrikeMeDownWithAllOfYourHatred you're a killer like the rest of us]]!"
24	* '''Discussed''': ???
25	* '''Conversed''': "Why aren't you shooting back at those guys?" "Got an achievement to unlock."
26	%%* '''Implied''': The trope isn't shown, but the audience is indirectly led to believe that it happened off-screen.
27	* '''Deconstructed''': The player can go through ''Stealth Agent'' without personally killing anyone, but some of the characters [[ViolenceReallyIsTheAnswer really do need a bullet through the brain]]; letting them live gets the player PacifismBackfire.
28	* '''Reconstructed''': If the player ''just'' avoids killing in ''Stealth Agent'', they'll suffer PacifismBackfire. The player can, however, ''fix'' the problems that made the WellIntentionedExtremist villains start in the first place; this, along with a PacifistRun, is the only way to get the GoldenEnding.
29	%%* '''Played For Laughs''': The trope is played straight in a comedic way.
30	%%* '''Played For Drama''': The trope is played in a melodramatic or serious way.
31	%%* '''Untwisted''': The trope is expected to be subverted, but isn't.
32	%%* '''Unparodied''': The trope is expected to be parodied, but isn't.
33	----
34	You can earn more points and a special achievement if you can make it back to PacifistRun without killing anyone.

Context PlayingWith / PacifistRun