Line #106 VideoGame/Everhood


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4	''Everhood: An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of Truth'' is a surreal RPG with [[MusicalGameplay Music Game]] elements released in March 2021 and developed by Foreign Gnomes, a two person team of Chris Nordgren and Jordi Roca.
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6	After making an agreement with a [[TheVoice mysterious voice]], the game puts you in control of the wooden puppet Red, whose arm was just stolen by Blue Thief under orders from the greedy [[BigBad Gold Pig]]. Teaming up with Blue Thief after Gold Pig steals their legs, Red travels across the bizarre and disconnected realm of Everhood, encountering a cast of colorful characters and engaging in musical battles in their journey to reach Gold Pig's lair and take their arm back.
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8	Gameplay is split between RPG-style exploration and the rhythm combat system. Unlike rhythm games, where you have to hit each note that appears on a chart, ''Everhood'' requires you to ''avoid'' the notes flying at your character.
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10	A sequel by the name of ''Everhood 2: A Lost Soul Disorder'' was announced during IGN's 2023 Summer of Gaming event. You can view the trailer [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MBuAt3HTfR4 here.]]
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12	%% Note to new editors, while Everhood is inspired by Undertale, it is not entirely derivative of it either, and extensive references to Undertale should be pared back.
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14	Not to be confused with ''VideoGame/TheNeverhood''.
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16	!!Tropes present in ''Everhood'':
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18	* AbandonedArea: In [[spoiler:the second half of the game, pretty much every area that was once populated will turn into this when you kill every last soul in Everhood]].
19	* AcronymConfusion: PlayedForLaughs with the ATM and the V.I.P card. ATM stands for Automated ''Terror'' Machine[[note]]albeit it was known as the Automatic Telling Machine in the vertical slice[[/note]], and according to the item flavor text for the V.I.P card, V.I.P stands for Ventriloquist Improvisor Puppeteer's Club. The C is silent.
20	* AfterlifeAntechamber: In [[spoiler:the Normal ending, it's revealed that this odd looking dimension called the Waiting Room is where the slain characters end up in. After killing the universe, Pink ends up here too, reconciling with those who were killed]].
21	* AfterTheEnd: [[spoiler: The Everhood seen in the game is implied to only be the last remnant of something that was once much larger and grander. There were once millions of residents in Everhood, but after uncountable eons of people escaping via the incinerator or otherwise having run-ins with any of a succession of red puppets, there are fewer than 30 people left at the start of the game.]]
22	* AlwaysAccurateAttack: The [[spoiler:[[HopelssBossFight second incinerator]], accessible only in the NewGamePlus after beating the Cat God, will repeatedly spam one in its second pattern. There's no way to avoid the walls of flame closing in, and you ''will'' die to it, which is needed to access the "Yellow Doll" and "Alone" endings.]]
23	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: If you aren't able to defeat the Spirit of Light before the song ends (or face it before [[spoiler:you get your arm back]], it will warp away but can be found in the movie theater to be faced again.
24	** [[spoiler: All of the differences in NewGamePlus come after getting Red's arm back, which also happens to be soon after the save points start recommending using more than one save slot "in case something happens".]]
25	* ArcNumber: 8, the upturned infinity. It appears in numerous circumstances throughout the game, such as the EndlessCorridor having 888 rooms, the Magic 8 Ball, and other locations.
26	* ArcWords: two phrases pop up repeatedly, "''Why Wont You Die''" and "''There will be reconciliation''"
27	* ArtisticLicensePhysics: [[spoiler: One of the final stages of the game, where you have to kill the sun, has a temperature scale on the right-hand side showing the temperature. When you kill it, first it drops to -72656.66 C, before the star's explosion sets it to -88888.88 C, even though -273 degrees Celcius is absolute zero.]]
28	* AuthorAvatar: The Dev Gnomes are these for Chris Nordgren and Jordi Roca. [[spoiler:Cazok and Lewmoth have in-game avatars as well, both appearing in a New Game + save file.]]
29	* BaitAndSwitch: During Green Mage's [[TabletopRPG Medallion]] campaign, an imposing dark knight stands in your way. After a few seconds of an imposing fight song [[spoiler:the knight throws its sword away and instead fights you to a jazzy tune while dancing.]]
30	** This happens plenty of times with Knight Lost-a-lot.
31	* BewareTheNiceOnes:
32	** Frog, the first NPC, gives you the combat tutorial and sets you on your path. [[spoiler:If sufficiently angered, they becomes the hardest boss in the game, trading out their gentle acoustic attack music for apocalyptic shredding on ''twelve electric guitars.'']]
33	** Rasta Beast is one of the friendliest and most noble [=NPCs=] despite their tough looks. Their sparring session is relatively easy, but when [[spoiler:their life's on the line, they put up a ''very'' brutal fight]].
34	** Flan and Muck are two goofy {{Blob Monster}}s who are friendly to Red and even give them a diploma for handling planks. When [[spoiler:Muck gets killed by you, Flan becomes ''[[RoaringRampageOfRevenge absolutely enraged]]'' and [[OneWingedAngel turns into a giant blob]] with a ''very fierce'' attack pattern]].
35	* BigBad: Gold Pig, the leader of the Mages who rule Everhood, steals Red's arm and Blue Thief's legs, sparking their quest to get them back. Gold Pig is also responsible for a lot of the suffering of the citizens, and [[spoiler:does everything in their power to stop Red from [[MercyKill releasing them]] from being their [[WhoWantsToLiveForever immortal slaves]] once Red gets their arm back]].
36	* BigDamnHeroes: The FinalBoss fight of Green Mage's [[TabletopRPG Medallion]] campaign [[spoiler:ends at the hands of Rasta Beast if Red takes too long to kill the Evil Wizard]].
37	* BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:The best interpretation from the game's GainaxEnding is that Pink, through the player, frees everyone in Everhood by killing them, and then destroys the Cube that represents Everhood itself, before finding themselves in [[AfterlifeAntechamber the Waiting Room]] and has one last rhythm battle to allow everyone to depart and begin a new life, with Pink thanking the player for everything.]]
38	* BossGame: The songs that the gameplay revolves around all take place in combat against another character. Only a couple minigames, the incinerator and an obstacle course do not involve a boss.
39	* ButThouMust: Used when the player declines the offer the Voice gives them to enter Everhood at the start of the game, although the Voice very politely tells you that it will wait until you are ready. Averted with the [[ProverbialWisdom Absolute Truths]], which have no bearing on the plot whether or not you choose to learn them, and in either case the Voice will treat your choice with respect.
40	* ChekhovsSkill: There are two segments in the first half of the game that teach you how to use the deflect mechanic, the Super Racket minigame and the Medallion tabletop campaign. [[spoiler: After retrieving Red's arm, that mechanic is revealed to be necessary for carrying out the task of killing everyone.]]
41	* ClassicCheatCode: You input the Konami Code to [[spoiler: gain control of Pink after Reconciliation]], replacing Space, Enter and Escape for B, A and Start.
42	* ColorfulThemeNaming: Almost all of the major characters have colors as part of their names. You have Red, Blue Thief, Gold Pig, Purple Mage, Green Mage, Professor Orange [[spoiler: and Pink and Yellow]]
43	* CrypticConversation: Any encounter with the [[TheVoice Voice]] qualifies, but especially so for when it offers to tell you the [[ProverbialWisdom Absolute Truths]], which the voice cautions that learning might [[YouWillKnowWhatToDo help]] or [[YouAreNotReady hurt]] you.
44	* DespairEventHorizon: [[spoiler:Frog after their OptionalBoss fight, either by being beaten or giving up outright, realizes they can't convince Red to kill and decides to leave Everhood when given the chance, even if they can never return and save the rest of their friends.]]
45	* DifficultyLevels: There's six in total: [[EasierThanEasy Story mode]], Easy, Normal, Hard, [[HarderThanHard Expert, and Insane]]; with Hard being the difficulty the game was mostly designed around. Insane Mode can only be played after getting New Game +.
46	* DismantledMacGuffin: The Blue Door that leads the way to Gold Pig's hideout, where your arm is, has been broken into three pieces and scattered across Everhood. One is in the Cursed Castle, the second is in Professor Orange's lab in the Mushroom Forest, and the last is in Green Mage's house in Midnight Town.
47	* EarnYourBadEnding: The [[spoiler:"Alone" ending requires you to first kill Professor Orange and their assistant, then fight the {{Optional Boss}}es Cat God and Sam, which will unlock a new area including a doorway. Said doorway leads to the second Incinerator, and this one is a truly HopelessBossFight. Dying to it will result in an ending where Pink refuses to be controlled by the player to kill others anymore, and decides to remain alone in there for the rest of eternity.]]
48	* EndlessCorridor: There's one in Green Mage's cellar, though as they cheerfully point out, it's not really endless, just very, very long. How long? [[spoiler:Navigating it at a full sprint will take the player approximately ''three hours.'']]
49	* EveryoneDiesEnding: [[spoiler:The main point of the second part of the game involves Red killing every''thing''. Even things like save points, doors to the different areas, and your hand cursor are not spared, either. Unlike ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'', whose genocide route was considered evil, it's actually a good thing, as everyone is trapped by their immortality and have long since lost all direction and meaning in their lives over the eons.]]
50	* EverythingTryingToKillYou: Your first proper opponent in the game after Frog is a killer ATM Machine. Later on the things that can attack you include a garbage can, a jump rope, a mine tunnel [[spoiler:(which is actually haunted by a ghost that does the attacking), ''the hand cursor itself'']], and [[spoiler:the sun]].
51	* {{Expy}}: Numerous, some more obvious than others.
52	** The main character is basically a palette-swapped Geno from VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG.
53	** The appearance of the Lost Spirits is based off of [[Anime/SpiritedAway No-Face]] and [[VideoGame/YumeNikki Uboa]].
54	** The vampire boy encountered under various different names, who tends to say [[VerbalTic "Hi! Ho! Ha!"]], may be a nod to [[VideoGame/RaidouKuzunohaVsKingAbaddon Raiho]].
55	** The "Automated Terror Machine" flashes a few expressions that are clearly inspired by [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Flowey]].
56	** Likewise, Professor Orange is a more antagonistic take on [[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Papyrus]], with a similar laugh and fixation on setting traps for the player.
57	** Frog, with their musical inclinations and affable personality, is an obvious shout-out to [[Franchise/TheMuppets Kermit]], particularly from the opening of ''Film/TheMuppetMovie''. Otherwise, they play the part of [[spoiler:[[VideoGame/{{Undertale}} Sans]], as the ''brutally difficult'' FinalBoss for the bad ending path. Unlike Sans, Frog fights only if you choose the path of pacifism instead of genocide.]]
58	** [[spoiler: Pink, a glowing humanoid with a pink outline, bears a striking resemblance to [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI Terra in her esper form]], especially when curled in a fetal position.]]
59	* ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: During the [[TabletopRPG Medallion]] campaign, Red is given a CoolSword with the power to deflect red attacks, known as... The Sword That Deflects Red Attacks.
60	-->'''Zigg:''' Really? That's a really dumb name!\
61	'''Rasta Beast:''' I find it quite descriptive.
62	* FakeOutFadeOut: Picking up your arm triggers the credits to start, before [[LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand running down]] and cutting back to the kaleidoscope screen and another confrontation with Frog.
63	* FiveSecondForeshadowing: During the walk to Gold Pig's treasury and the Reconciliation battle, [[spoiler:all of the characters you have killed show up as visions. This includes '''Red''', showing that they are indeed DeadAllAlong, but not '''Pink''', who turns out to be whom the player had been directly controlling since the first Incinerator fight.]]
64	** [[spoiler:Sam, who is a New Game +-exclusive character]] can also be seen among the other dead souls.
65	* {{Foreshadowing}}:
66	** If you keep your game window open on the title screen for a bit, you'll see the [[SinisterSilhouettes silhouette]] of Cat God peering at you from behind the game's logo.
67	*** Similarly, early in the game Frog will tell you to avoid cats as "they are all trouble".
68	** If you look carefully during the Post-Mortem and the [[spoiler:first]] Gold Pig fight, you can spot that [[spoiler: Pink is missing an arm, hinting at [[TomatoInTheMirror their connection to Red]].]]
69	*** When Red gets their arm back, [[spoiler:Pink can be seen again, this time getting ''their'' arm back as well.]]
70	** The first Absolute Truth speaks of [[spoiler: the dead [[AfterlifeAntechamber waiting in a place outside time]] to reunite with you, and of hard choices being justified and reconciliation happening as part of that. All of these things come into play during the Lost Spirit's Revenge fight.]]
71	** Green Mage's [[TabletopRPG Medallion]] campaign heavily foreshadows multiple elements of the second half of the game.
72	*** Green Mage, playing the role of the campaign's BigBad, [[spoiler: is not only [[ColorCodedForYourConvenience dressed in red]] but insists they are NotEvilJustMisunderstood and boasts of being "[[PlayerAndProtagonistIntegration the one who hears god]]".]]
73	*** During Medallion you gain the use of a sword that can [[CatchAndReturn deflect attacks]], [[spoiler: a combat mechanic that is a crucial part of the game's second half.]]
74	* ForcedEuthanasia: The first act of the game involves Red -- the PlayerCharacter -- on a quest to retrieve their stolen arm. Once that goal is accomplished, however, Frog reveals to Red their true mission and purpose for coming to the titular Everhood: [[spoiler:euthanizing every single member of the remaining population, who are prevented from entering the cycle of reincarnation and have been [[WhoWantsToLiveForever slowly driven mad by the millions of years spent living with immortality]], but are too afraid of death to end their suffering via suicide.]]
75	* GainaxEnding: The Normal ending gets ''very'' confusing [[spoiler: due to introducing Pink at the end of the game, questioning their relationship to Red and the Player, and then the player making Pink drown themself and fighting [[TrueFinalBoss the Cube]] that represents the Everhood itself, or mortality, or the concept of enlightenment? Even Pink themself is confused when they reach the [[AfterlifeAntechamber Waiting Room]]. Afterwards, they have one last rhythm battle with everyone from Everhood before everyone leaves, with Pink thanking the player for helping them. It ends with one last message from the Voice giving them a lesson before The Cat God invites the player [[NewGamePlus to come back sometime]].]]
76	* HopelessBossFight: Technically averted with the incinerator, which, while incredibly difficult, is possible to survive. [[spoiler: Played straight with the second incinerator in New Game+. Even if you dodge its first pattern, it will keep repeating the [[AlwaysAccurateAttack unavoidable]] second pattern until you die.]]
77	* ImmortalityImmorality: Having nothing better to do with their time, several of Everhood's residents have turned to less-than-savory means to keep themselves occupied, such as Professor Orange and their MadScience. [[spoiler:A late-game note states that several of Everhood's original residents became insanely debauched and sadistic after eons without proper stimulation, which might have led to Pink leaving their group.]]
78	* InterfaceScrew: Doesn't happen in every fight, but several fights lean into this very hard. The game pulls every dirty trick somewhere along its runtime, including: Rotating the screen, visually stretching the play field, changing colors, reversing your controls, blacking out the screen for a second, attacks that wave between lanes, and static distortions.
79	* ItMayHelpYouOnYourQuest: One of the Lost Spirits will hand you a Magic 8-Ball, which for the first half of the game has no apparent use. In the second half of the game after Red's arm is retrieved, the Magic 8-Ball [[spoiler: will keep count of [[GottaKillThemAll how many characters you have left to kill]] and when shook will provide descriptions of the characters have not been killed yet]]
80	** Also in the second half of the game, if you ask the Lost Spirits for help one of them will give you a lantern that [[spoiler: will cause a trail of paw prints to appear that will [[DetectivesFollowFootprints lead you towards]] characters whose deaths are necessary for the Normal ending.]]
81	* LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand:
82	** Triggering a battle starts with this happening to whatever music was playing, accompanied by a generic "[=BOOOOooooop=]" sound in case there wasn't any music, and everything on screen turning grayscale.
83	** [[spoiler: Happens to the fake credits after you get your arm and the game pretends to be over.]]
84	* LongSongShortScene: Subverted with the music that plays during the battle with The Masterpiece. While the Masterpiece [[spoiler:expires within 12 seconds (and cuts the music with a LettingTheAirOutOfTheBand sound effect), this music is reused with the Cat God, where it plays out in full]].
85	* MacGuffin: The quest start with your arm being stolen by Gold Pig before you "wake up", and recovering it is the main plot [[spoiler:for the first half of the game.]] Along with your arm, there's also the Blue Door, which has been broken up and must be fixed so that you can enter Gold Pig's hideout and recover your arm.
86	* MercyKill: What [[spoiler:the second half of the game has you doing to the residents of Everhood. It turns out that they're all trapped in their immortality for eons, which has done bad things to their minds and your goal is to free them.]]
87	* MultipleEndings:
88	** Normal: [[spoiler:After killing everyone in Everhood, including its Sun, the Mages ([[MyFriendsAndZoidberg and Rasta Beast)]] attack Red for killing them, only for Pink to burst out of Red and tell them that Red was trying to save them, and they shouldn't be afraid of death. However, it is soon revealed that "Red" was in fact Pink all along, and that the doll was destroyed back in the incinerator, with the true killer being Pink. When Pink asks for guidance, the player will summon the last remains of Red to take control of Pink once more and guide them into the core of universe itself, the Cube. After slaying it, Pink finds themselves in the Waiting Room along with everyone else, and after one last song, everyone departs for a new life.]]
89	** Refusal/Destiny Breaker: [[spoiler:After refusing to kill anyone and ignoring the Lost Souls, a new door appears, going into it and climbing a fancy rainbow staircase, you meet Frog again, who is upset that you are choosing pacifism and fights you with the express purpose of making you change your mind. After Frog loses and falls into despair, the voice from the game's opening tells them that they did well and lets them leave Everhood, presumably killing them in Red's place. The voice then tells you that it cannot provide an ending because the player themself is the ending, before making Red fall apart and telling you that you can come back any time. When you reopen the save file and exit the door you came in through, it disappears behind you.]]
90	** Maker/Meet your Makers: [[spoiler:Gather all three stones from the Brown Slim Mushroom, Light Being, and Jump Rope, and then place them on the Cat God statue summons the Makers, the Dev Gnomes, for another fight. Killing them ends with R.I.P. on top of the game developers Chris Nordgren and Jordi Roca.]]
91	** Yellow Doll: [[spoiler:Only achievable on NewGamePlus after beating both Cat God and Sam, and falling into [[HopelessBossFight the second incinerator]], which ends with Red being destroyed and Pink refusing to be controlled by the player to kill anyone. Just then, Professor Orange shows up and offers Pink a new body to inhabit, which Pink accepts.]]
92	*** Alone: [[spoiler:A variation of the "Yellow Doll" ending, but first you have to kill Professor Orange and Gundall. After Red is destroyed, Pink refuses to be controlled by the player to kill anyone else, and decides just to stay in the incinerator forever so as not to hurt anyone ever again.]]
93	** Corridor: [[spoiler:Reach the end of Green Mage's EndlessCorridor, where you find a "good place to rest" and prompted to stop killing. Accept it, and Red will fall apart and the game will end.]]
94	* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: Professor Orange is initially presented as a goofy ineffective IneffectualSympatheticVillain. Once you get into the lab itself, the Save Point refuses to say anything about what it has witnessed in its time there, and a test subject can be found in a side room who rambles about about being tormented by ''something'' and begs to "make it stop".
95	* MurderByCremation: Gold Pig attempts to do this to Red by dropping them into the incinerator. [[spoiler: It is later revealed that it's the only way to "die" in Everhood other than being [[GrimReaper killed by Red]], and many of Everhood's residents have willingly [[DrivenToSuicide thrown themselves in]] to escape immortality.]]
96	* NewGamePlus: The game offers you a chance to start a new save file at the end, allowing you to fight one of the game's {{Optional Boss}}es, Cat God. While not directly stated, it's implied that the New Game+ run [[spoiler: takes place in a new iteration of the Everhood, after everyone has been reincarnated to start their lives anew.]]
97	* NothingLeftToDoButDie: Invoked. [[spoiler: The denizens of the Everhood have gone mad from an eternity of boredom and have seen everything life has to offer. The problem is that their fear of death heavily outweighs their hatred of life, and they are simply too scared to die to save themselves. Red/Pink's job is to MercyKill the remaining population of the world, so that they can reincarnate and be happy again]].
98	* NotSoHarmless: Many residents of Everhood are capable of defending themselves, and some are surprisingly good at it, [[spoiler:especially when their lives are on the line]]. Special mention goes to [[spoiler:the Shopkeeper, whose battle utilizes a highly irregular beat and InterfaceScrew, and Rasta Beast, who is easily beatable in the first half of the game but later attacks with a furious heavy-metal track that can kill the player in seconds. And then there's [[BewareTheNiceOnes Frog...]]]]
99	* OminousTelevision: The only thing anyone seems to watch on TV - or in the ''movie theater'' - is static - a clue to the fact that something is seriously wrong in the Everhood.
100	* OneHitPointWonder:
101	** Red normally isn't this, but during the part where they have to traverse through Professor Orange's trap-filled laboratory [[spoiler:in order to kill them]], getting hit by a trap will immediately send you back to the start of the sequence.
102	** [[HarderThanHard Insane Difficulty]] not only makes Red have a maximum of 1HP at all times, but there are also no checkpoints in battle for them to restart from.
103	* OurGnomesAreWeirder: The Gnomes in Everhood are either [[GreatGazoo mischievous reality-warpers]] with a fondness for creating DisneyAcidSequence visuals and palling around with Everhood's gods... Or they're [[AuthorAvatar the game devs themselves]].
104	* OverlyGenerousTimeLimit: Vampire Boy promises you a reward if you beat the universal record for their obstacle course, but as the universal record is 34.5 seconds, it's actually quite easy to beat without running the obstacle course as efficiently as possible.
105	* PacifistRun: [[spoiler:Refusing to kill anyone after Red gets their arm back gives you a different ending. Specifically, the ''bad'' ending.]]
106	* {{Reconstruction}}: ''Everhood'' wears its ''VideoGame/{{Undertale}}'' influence on its sleeve, but where the influence shines most is in how it re-examines the same video game tropes ''Undertale'' examines, and redefines them to make them work in a different context. To wit:
107	** ''Undertale'' directly calls out the player for [[WhatMeasureIsAMook treating monsters as disposable enemies]], and attempting a [[EveryoneDiesEnding Genocide Run]] is a boring and frustrating slog that [[EarnYourBadEnding locks the player into the bad ending]]. Sparing all enemies you encounter, however, is necessary to achieve the GoldenEnding. ''Everhood'' responds to this by [[spoiler: flipping the entire route dynamic on its head.]] ''Everhood'' expects you to sympathize with all the named characters and view them as more than disposable enemies, yet [[spoiler: killing them is still a heroic act, as all of the characters are trapped in immortality and prevented from entering the cycle of reincarnation, going slowly insane from the ''millions'' of years they've spent trapped in the Everhood. And unlike in ''Undertale'', you don't have to kill ''every'' character or spend hours seeking random encounters, meaning the experience is not deliberately made unfun for the player. Conversely, going for the PacifistRun described above gives the player the bad ending.]]
108	** ''Undertale'' deconstructs players' tendency to project themselves onto SilentProtagonist characters, as the character you name and the character you play as are shown through various means to have an identity and life separate from the player's actions. ''Everhood'' does the same, but towards the end of the game [[spoiler: Pink ''asks'' the player to project themselves onto them, as Pink does not have the courage or the strength to see their task through without the player's guidance. The player is not a wholly external influence on the world as they are in ''Undertale'', as their influence is both acknowledged and encouraged.]]
109	** ''Undertale'' deconstructs completionism for the sake of seeing all the endings, as it's pointed out that resetting after attaining the GoldenEnding will rip all the characters away from their happy ending and set them back to the beginning. ''Everhood'' likewise subtly acknowledges that starting a NewGamePlus will send all the characters back to the beginning and tear them away from the ending, but portrays this as an unambiguously ''good'' thing. [[spoiler: Once every character has died, they are sent to a chamber resembling a [[UsefulNotes/{{Buddhism}} Buddhist]] mandala attended by a Bodhisattva-like sage, implying that they will reincarnate after the game ends. The characters in NewGamePlus are implied to be their own reincarnated selves, meaning starting a new game is simply a natural part of cycle of life and death.]]
110	* ShadowedFaceGlowingEyes: The gnomes and the mages all have this trait, although Green Mage's face gives more of an impression of a Shadowed FacelessEye.
111	** Subverted with [[spoiler:Sam]].
112	* ShoutOut:
113	** The game's HubLevel is a dark space containing colorful doors that lead to other areas of the world, in reference to the nexus in ''VideoGame/YumeNikki''.
114	** The game's subtitle ''An Ineffable Tale of the Inexpressible Divine Moments of Truth'' is an extended shoutout to the music of [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shpongle Schpongle]], in specific the albums ''Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland'' and ''Tales of the Inexpressible'' as well as the EP ''Divine Moments of Truth''.
115	*** The first two [[ProverbialWisdom Absolute Truths]] are also in reference to Schpongle, specifically [[spoiler: the title/lyrics of the songs ''...But Nothing Is Lost'' and ''I Am You''.]]
116	** The fight against Flan in their mech is followed with the song "Happy Happy Christmas" by Drax, best known for its connection to the [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/it-is-a-mystery "It Is a Mystery"]] meme.
117	** [[spoiler: If you kill the Red Dead Mushroom, it will say [[https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/you-cannot-kill-me-in-a-way-that-matters "You can't kill me in a way that matters."]]]]
118	** The tabletop RPG that Green Mage plays, Medallion, is one to the tabletop RPG/board game {{TabletopGame/Talisman}}; the board is a dead giveaway, with its three concentric, increasingly forbidding regions.
119	* StockSoundEffect: A couple characters make the "frantic running-in-place" sound made famous by ''Franchise/ScoobyDoo'' before running off.
120	* TabletopRPG: The "Medallion" tabletop campaign that Green Mage runs is an in-game example of this.
121	* TacticalSuicideBoss: [[spoiler:Red's sole attack ability requires him to absorb enemy attacks, which means ''every single character'' could avoid their fate by simply ''not attacking''.]]
122	* ThroughTheEyesOfMadness: After regaining Red's arm, the [[spoiler: neon signs in the Cart Carnival that say "POWER" "LOVE❤" and "MONEY" change to say "KILL" [= "KiLL❤" =] and "KILL?"]]
123	* TimeAbyss: Everhood's undying residents. [[spoiler:If Green Mage's playhouse is any indication, they've been alive for millions, maybe billions of years.]]
124	* TimeLimitBoss:
125	** You must defeat Light Being before their song ends, or else they'll take the emerald and leave. They have a 50/50 chance after this point to appear in the movie theater at the Cart Carnival, but unless you know to look there you'd otherwise assume you have to reload before that fight to get another chance at beating it.
126	** Most of the bosses in the second half of the game are this, as [[spoiler:you need to deplete their health bar before the music ends, otherwise they survive your attempt to kill them]].
127	* ToiletHumor: Brown Mage's FetchQuest starts with them asking you to bring them toilet paper, saying [[PottyEmergency it's an emergency]]. This is revealed as a BaitAndSwitch joke when you bring it to them, as they reveal they needed it to wipe off their table. This later becomes a BrickJoke when you bring them batteries and they reveal they needed those to power their toilet, which is present in the room when you finally enter their keep.
128	** The toilet paper itself comes from a being living inside a trash can who describes it as "half-used", and tries to back out of the deal after being given the item they wanted to trade it for, claiming they need it for their own use.
129	* TokenHuman: Reese, Professor Orange, and Harrowed Haley are the only characters in ''Everhood'' who appear human. Sir Lost-A-Lot ''might'' be one, as they have a human body, but their face never being revealed from under their helmet leaves this unconfirmed.
130	* TomatoInTheMirror: [[spoiler:The Normal ending reveals that Pink was the one killing everyone, not Red. Having the body destroyed in the incinerator, Pink just created an illusion of Red's body to cope with the loss and to continue to deflect any blame for killing everyone.]]
131	* UnexpectedGameplayChange:
132	** If you accept Noseferachu's offer to play [[GameWithinAGame Super Racket]] with them, you'll enter a version of the combat screen that's retooled as a tennis minigame, complete with a costume change into tennis outfits for both Red and Noseferachu.
133	** Vampire Boy's obstacle course is, well... an [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin obstacle course]] which requires you to navigate Red through tight turns and use the running mechanic to jump hurdles.
134	** Entering the [[WackyRacing kart race]] will retool the combat screen into a racetrack. Instead of being locked to the lanes during the race you can freely move across them (and even outside the track itself), but you also need to contend with navigating both the twists and turns of the track and the obstacles in it.
135	** To gain one of the [[DismantledMacGuffin pieces of the Blue Door]], you have to join in on Green Mage's [[TabletopRPG Medallion]] campaign along with several of the characters you've previously met, temporarily [[RPGEpisode changing the setting]] into that of a traditional fantasy RPG.
136	* VideogameCrueltyPotential:
137	** If you wait somewhere over nine minutes in the V.I.P room without picking Blue Thief up, they will start to slowly crawl along the pathway through the room in an attempt to leave on their own.
138	** If you enter Midnight Town in the second half of the game [[spoiler: and have not killed anyone, you can spare Rasta Beast when they fight you, leading them to decide you are not a threat. You can then meet then again at the Cart Carnival, where they will talk about being glad they misjudged your intent, but if you have killed someone since then or kill someone in front of them, they will angrily ask if you like playing with people's emotions.]]
139	* WarmUpBoss: The Automated Terror Machine is the first proper battle after the tutorial, and its attacks are easily telegraphed and rather sparse compared to later opponents.
140	* WakeUpCallBoss: The gnome battle after the incinerator. This is the first battle to wield the InterfaceScrew against you, and it has ''no mercy'' in doing so. It will likely take multiple tries and memorization of the attack patterns before you get through it.
141	* WhamEpisode:
142	** The end of the game's first stage, where Red is dropped into an incinerator by Gold Pig. Up until now the game has been weird, but then it enters DisneyAcidSequence territory, with a lengthy battle against a skeleton man with a dragon for an arm, a strange pink spirit, mysterious gnomes who use their own heads as projectiles followed by a conversation with what may or may not be God.
143	** The moment where [[spoiler:Red reclaims their arm and the game's second act and true objective begins.]]
144	* WhamLine:
145	** Frog delivers this after [[spoiler:the fake credits that reveal the second act's main purpose;]]
146	-->'''Frog:''' [[spoiler:To end this world.]]
147	** [[spoiler: A lot of Frog's post-arm speech is laden with [[DeadlyEuphemism deadly euphemisms]], but if there was any doubt as to what your objective is, the first time you interact with someone after receiving your arm makes it clear.;]]
148	-->'''[[spoiler:[[MultipleEndings What would you like to do?]]]]\
149	'''[[spoiler:[[PacifistRun Inte]][[HonorBeforeReason ract]]]]\
150	[[spoiler:[[EverybodyDiesEnding Ki]][[MercyKill ll]]]]
151	** After Lost Spirit's Revenge, [[spoiler:something major is clarified about Pink and Red;]]
152	-->'''Green Mage:''' What are you talking about? [[spoiler:You were the one who killed us!]]\
153	[[spoiler:'''Pink:''']] [[spoiler:[[GollumMadeMeDoIt What? No it was the doll!]]]]\
154	'''Gold Pig:''' [[spoiler:[[DeadAllAlong That doll body was burned up in the incinerator, Pink]].]]\
155	'''Purple Mage:''' [[spoiler:[[EternalRecurrence But as always]], [[DemonicPossession the main problem was what was inside]].]]\
156	'''Professor Orange:''' [[spoiler:To cope with the losing of your body you created an illusion.]]\
157	'''Rasta Beast:''' [[spoiler:...After everything [[TomatoInTheMirror you were still the killer.]]]]
158	** One is given if you manage to survive both stages of the incinerator, as the camera pans to reveal how [[spoiler: many of the burned bodies outside of the incinerator resemble Red:]]
159	--> [[spoiler: ''Pink has been here [[ICannotSelfTerminate many times]].'']]
160	* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The entire population of Everhood is immortal. Some have dealt with it better than others, but all of them are a little off-kilter, and there's quite a few who are eager for the chance to die outright.
161
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Context VideoGame / Everhood