Line #36 VideoGame/DuckSeason


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dogandduck_screenshot.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:That darn dog...]]
3
4	It's TheEighties, and you're just a normal boy who is home after school. Then, your mother comes home with a rental copy of the newest hit game for your Gammon Kingbit Game System ([[BlatantLies totally not a trademark-friendly copy of the NES]]) - ''Duck Season''! Finally, that light gun you've got is good for something. But your mom has to take it back tomorrow, so you'll have to make the most of your time. The game is immersive, fun, and you get to shoot that stupid dog in his stupid grinning face. However, as you play and the hours go by, ''weird things'' start happening... [[TheDogBitesBack especially with the dog in the game.]]
5
6	Yep, it's one of ''[[DisguisedHorrorStory those]]'' [[SurrealHorror games]].
7
8	''Duck Season'' is a VR game made by Stress Level Zero, a game studio headed by Brandon Laatsch, who's good friends with people from WebVideo/CorridorDigital and Creator/FreddieWong. Though it's a throwback to classic '80s video games, especially a homage of ''VideoGame/DuckHunt'', it's also somewhat more than that - primarily a horror game, taking cues from the likes of ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'', but rather than relying on paranoia and jumpscares, this game prefers suspense, atmosphere and a lot of MindScrew. As well, there are [[MultipleEndings a grand total of seven endings depending on what you do.]]
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10	In June 17, 2019, a "regular" PC version, which doesn't need VR to play, was released.
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12	Not to be confused with DuckSeasonRabbitSeason.
13	----
14	!!This game has examples of:
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16	* AbsenceOfEvidence: There's a large bag of dog food in the kitchen, even though the family doesn't seem to own a dog.
17	* AdaptationalVillainy: The dog in the original game was at worst a jerk who laughed at you. This version is a murderous psychopath who WouldHurtAChild.
18	* AmbiguouslyHuman: The Dog himself. While he and the game itself display all the tendencies of a demonic EldritchAbomination, he looks like a guy in a costume, can be seen smoking before every round and [[spoiler:is rather easily killed by the police in the "Best Man" Ending, complete with copious amounts of blood]]. This, along with the events of a few endings, suggests he may be a human [[AndIMustScream trapped in the game and made to carry out its bidding]]. It goes even further when some fans theorize that the man trapped in the game is David's father. [[spoiler:Ultimately subverted, since the dog is not even a human, but a cryptid; see SharedUniverse below for more details.]]
19	* AndIMustScream: The 'Stuck Forever' ending, where [[spoiler:the dog escapes and traps you in the game world, forever]].
20	* BittersweetEnding: The "Canon Ending". If you successfully [[spoiler:defeat the dog and avoid getting killed, but your mother is killed anyway]], you end up having to [[spoiler:bury her, and then run away from home, since the police will probably never believe your story of 'video game character coming to life and attempting to kill you' with your mom already dead and may make you the suspect.]]
21	* BlackComedy: When the kid [[spoiler:buries his mother]] in the canon ending he doesn't do a very good job.
22	* BreakTheCutie: The boy in the Canon Ending. After [[spoiler:dealing with the dog]], he starts to call [[spoiler:911 but hangs up]]. He [[spoiler:buries his mother in the backyard and runs away from home]].
23	* BreakingTheFourthWall: The game might as well not have a fourth wall.
24	** In most of the endings, the dog, in some way, is wandering about where he shouldn't be.
25	** Look behind you when in the GameWithinAGame. Stare upon the fourth wall! Oh yes, and ignore the [[spoiler:completely inappropriate exit door...]]
26	** With the [[spoiler:"Stuck Forever Ending"]], the Dog [[spoiler:smashes the literal fourth wall within the game, which reforms, [[AndIMustScream trapping the player in Duck Season]]]].
27	** In the "Dead Ending", you get a rather creepy version of this as [[spoiler:the dog looks up at you, abruptly trapped in an area out of bounds, while he's standing over the kid's body, and waves]].
28	* CreatorCameo: Sam Gorski shows up playing the hunter in the VHS instruction tape, and other WebVideo/CorridorDigital clips turn up as VHS tapes. The Kazoo Kid video showing up unmodified in the game is made by Mike Diva, who is friends with Corridor Digital and also contributed to the game.
29	* {{Creepypasta}}: Several common tropes of Creepypasta stories are ticked off as you play more and more of the GameWithinAGame, [[spoiler: culminating in the dog turning into an EldritchAbomination that first tries to trap the boy in the game, then outright kill him.]]
30	* DisappearedDad: The Boy's father isn't seen or mentioned in the game. Several secrets seem to hint that [[spoiler:his disappearance was out of the ordinary. Some fans have even speculated that the dog is actually David's dad, trapped in the game, either dressed as or turned into said dog that tries to kill you. Key evidence suggesting this is the fact that your Mom has marriage-and-divorce-related magazines lying around, the "It's Me!" tape resting on the dog bed beside the TV, the fact that David's father worked in a major league baseball team whose mascot was a giant dog, and other tidbits.]]
31	* TheDogBitesBack: Literally. Indulge in the temptation to shoot the dog, and things go downhill ''quickly''. In particular, if you [[spoiler:didn't call the cops, he'll kill your mom and, in the worst ending, ''you'']]. It's implied he's been doing this to everyone in every household where someone playing the game has shot him in-game, as ''not'' shooting him will get you the "Fiesta" ending.
32	* DownerEnding: Two of the endings are basically game over screens. Specifically, the "[[AndIMustScream Stuck Forever]]" and "[[DeathOfAChild Dead]]" endings. The [[spoiler:"Nuke" ending is a weirder version of this]]. Heck, on top of that, the Canon ending really teeters the line between this, and BittersweetEnding, since there's not much sweetness in [[spoiler:the kid becoming a runaway after his mom was murdered]].
33	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Halfway through the game, your mom will wonder where one of her kitchen knives has gone. [[spoiler:The dog stole it, and he uses it to kill her, and go after you in the real world.]]
34	* GainaxEnding: A bunch of them.
35	* {{Gaslighting}}: The more rounds of ''Duck Season'' you play, the more things start to shift around the room, sometimes in subtle ways. At first it can be written off as your mom leaving snacks for you or cleaning up a bit, but then you hear your mom mention that [[spoiler:one of the kitchen knives has gone missing...]]
36	* GoldenEnding: The "Best Men Ending". [[spoiler:Call 911 after either stage 6 or 7]], and a lot of terrible things are avoided. [[spoiler:The dog gets the business end of a helicopter's machine gun, [[PoliceBrutality courtesy of the cops]], preventing further killings and avenging the deaths of many other innocent people murdered. The fact that it happens both on live TV and right outside of your living room's window [[CatharsisFactor is the crown's jewel of this moment]]!]]
37	** "Fiesta" also counts, since all you have to do is [[spoiler:''not shoot the dog even once'']]. Your reward after finishing level 8 is [[spoiler:a fiesta-based game and music, and some maracas]].
38	* LifeMeter: When you have to fight the dog after he kills your mom, there are two life meters visible on a sign to your right; one for the dog, and one for the television screen that the dog is trying to break.
39	* MakeMyMonsterGrow: When fighting the dog in-game, after fighting the player at his normal size, he eventually turns into a huge version of himself that can shoot EyeBeams.
40	* MediumBlending: In the "Best Men" ending, the human characters on the television are live-action.
41	* MindScrew: A truckload of it. [[spoiler: A major source of it being anything that interacts with the Kid Wizard book.]]
42	* TheMostDangerousVideoGame: It's like a "haunted gaming" creepypasta. Game starts acting weird? Check. It starts to affect the world around you? Check. The character enters the real world and tries to kill you? ''Check''.
43	* MultipleEndings: Seven, in fact.
44	** "[[BittersweetEnding Canon]]" Ending: Shoot the dog, defeat him in-game, and defeat the dog in the real world when [[spoiler:he comes after you with a knife]]. David [[spoiler:buries his dead mother, and runs away from home.]]
45	** "[[AndIMustScream Stuck Forever]]" Ending: Shoot the dog, but fail to prevent him from [[spoiler:breaking the screen in-game]]. The dog comes up behind David while he's sleeping and, presumably, kills him afterwards. Then he [[spoiler:turns off the TV, trapping the player in the game forever]].
46	** "[[DeathOfAChild Dead]]" Ending: Shoot the dog, defeat him in-game, but fail to kill him before [[spoiler:you get stabbed]]. The player is then presented with an above-view look at [[spoiler:the dog standing over the murdered David]]. The dog picks up [[spoiler:the light gun, waves to the player, and then zaps himself back into the TV]].
47	** "[[GoldenEnding Best Men]]" Ending: Shoot the dog, and [[spoiler:call the police]] after Level 6. The dog ends up getting chased down by [[spoiler:the police and gunned down with extreme prejudice]].
48	** "[[GainaxEnding Nuke]]" Ending: Shoot the sun with a golden shell loaded in your shotgun's chamber. The game world [[spoiler:is obliterated, David is somehow trapped in a white void and starts crying, and the last thing seen is the dog coming up behind him...unless you tilt the camera, in which you can see what appears to be him embracing David.]]
49	** "[[AWinnerIsYou Fiesta]]" Ending: Don't shoot the dog. Simple as that. The dog will give you a rather traditional ending screen.
50	** "[[SurrealHorror Dog]]" Ending: Acquired after getting to the end after getting all other endings. It's an ''even weirder version'' of [[spoiler:''VideoGame/SilentHill2's'' ending of the same name.]]
51	* NoNameGiven: Neither the Boy nor his Mom are named in-game. The only way to learn anything is to use the Kid Wizard book to discover hidden secrets, including a picture from the Boy's missing father to him, [[spoiler:which lists his name as "David."]]
52	* PoliceBrutality: The "[[GoldenEnding Best Men Ending]]" basically involves the dog getting chased and [[NoKillLikeOverKill gunned down by the cops with an excessive amount of firepower]] before he can kill either you or your mom. Sorta-justified in that the dog was [[spoiler:the prime suspect in the recent murders and he was armed and dangerous]].
53	* PoliceAreUseless: Averted in the "Best Men" ending. Due to [[spoiler:a series of recent disappearances]], the cops are actually asking for help from citizens who see anything suspicious. If you call the police when the phone is available to you, they [[spoiler:successfully gun down the dog before he kills anyone else]].
54	* RandomSmokingScene: Every time you start a level of Duck Season, if you immediately turn to look at the dog, you'll notice he's casually smoking a cigarette with his back to you. He'll soon notice you, hastily put it out, and then he'll begin doing his usual happy dance.
55	* SchmuckBait: Go ahead. Shoot the dog.
56	* SharedUniverse: The events of this game and the events of the ''VideoGame/{{Boneworks}}'' take place within the same universe. [[spoiler:It's also revealed via multiple {{Easter Egg}}s that the Dog from the game is actually a "[[OurDemonsAreDifferent digital cryptid]]", a malicious entity that came from [[EldritchLocation the Void]] and seeks to break free into our world.]]
57	* ShoutOut:
58	** The GameWithinAGame is a blatant high-definition remake of VideoGame/DuckHunt, right down to the obnoxious hunting dog.
59	** The game's title is a likely shout-out to the Looney Tunes cartoon "WesternAnimation/RabbitFire"; the origin of the infamous DuckSeasonRabbitSeason exchange.
60	** One of the games you can 'play' on the console is a game named Final Fiesta II, which is a equally blatant send-up of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI's'' US release.
61	** The "Dog Ending" is one big shout-out to both ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys'' ([[spoiler:the tape with "It's me!" written on it]]) and ''Franchise/SilentHill'' ([[spoiler:it's basically a homage to the Dog Ending in ''Silent Hill 2'']]).
62	** The "Best Men" ending has a shout-out to ''Film/ApocalypseNow'', [[spoiler:when the helicopter pilot starts singing "Ride of the Valkyries" (poorly) while flying away after shooting the dog to death.]]
63	* SoreLoser: When the dog goads you to "come face me" after [[spoiler:he kills your mom]], you can [[spoiler:fight him in the game]], but [[spoiler:defeating him there]] just makes him [[spoiler:''go after you in the real world instead'', though this leaves him vulnerable to getting killed by the light gun]].
64	* TargetedToHurtTheHero: If the dog decides to get violent and the cops haven't been called, he [[spoiler:kills your mom with a knife, and blood is all over the kitchen]], then uses this to taunt you to "come face me" in the game.
65	* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: In the "Best Man" ending, [[spoiler:the dog is shot multiple times by trigger-happy police officers armed with machine-guns. Even when the dog is already riddled with bullets, the gunner onboard the chopper still continues to pump lead into him for good measure.]]
66	* UnexpectedlyRealisticGameplay: Happens to The Dog in the Best Men Ending. Go on a DisproportionateRetribution spree against multiple families? Expect [[spoiler:the cops to be on high alert, and to greet you with MoreDakka [=if/when=] they catch you in the act]].
67	* VideoGameCaringPotential: Play the game as it's supposed to be played, and everything goes as smooth as you should expect. ''[[SchmuckBait Do not]]'', and, well... [[spoiler:[[VideoGameCrueltyPotential The game earns its ESRB rating]].]]
68	* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: ''[[InvokedTrope Invoked]]''. Shooting the Dog is what kicks off the entire plot.

Context VideoGame / DuckSeason