"You are an employee at the mega conglomerate TransCorp, and it's your job to stamp papers and file files! Unfortunately for you, TransCorp is an expert in the business of manufacturing cost-cutting robots, and now you are about to be fired."
— Game Description
Budget Cuts is a VR stealth game for PC headsets and PSVR, developed and published by Neat Corporation released in June 2018, and arguably one of the first truly notable made from the ground up VR games to establish the potential of the medium beyond what were basically tech demos or ports at the time. You play an office worker 20 Minutes into the Future, where robots are part of the workforce. You overhear a conversation from your robot colleagues that human employees are being taken to Human Resources, never to be seen again, and then you get a pager from a scientist named Winta, who informs you that you're next, and you need to escape, with the aid of a portal translocation device and some sharp, pointy objects as you try to avoid the "Supervisors", who are armed and will shoot on sight...
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency was released in mid-December, 2019. Featuring new locations, items and weapons, the sequel takes the player away from the TransCorp offices on a journey to stop a conspiracy to replace humanity entirely with robots...
One of the most notable mechanics the games provide is the use of a portal device, an in-universe use of the VR teleport mechanic, but with a couple of twists - firstly, the teleportation gun projectile can bounce until it hits a viable floor, and secondly, the player doesn't immediately teleport to that location, instead providing a "preview" of the location of their destination. This allows the player to scout out their next intended destination and abort if they consider it too risky to move to, but also makes it so the player can't easily teleport-spam away from danger, encouraging smarter use of stealth and planning ahead.
Tropes common to both games:
- Alone with the Psycho: The Human Resources level in Budget Cuts and the Fabrications level in Budget Cuts 2 has you stuck with the murderous ADAM with no other NPCs at all.
- As of Budget Cuts 2's Halloween update, EVERY level becomes this with the ADAM Isolation mutator enabled!
- Ambiguous Time Period: This is a world with advanced AI robots around, but also the computers are from the 90s/early 2000s, and the offices still use pagers and fax machines.
- Cheat Code: Some of the Mutators might as well be this. You can do stuff like having infinite stabby crystals to use, homing knives, and even be able to take and use guns from the Supervisors, which have infinite ammunition, which can make plowing through the games significantly easier. But on the flipside, achievements/trophies are disabled with certain mutator options are not on the default setting.
- Breakable Weapons: Knives and other bladed weapons will break immediately when they hit an NPC by default. This was averted in the first game, but changed when said first game was ported over to the second game's engine as part of a "director's cut" revamp of the original game's difficulty. You can switch this off by turning off the "fragile knives" mutator.
- Cyber Cyclops: The Supervisors and ADAM both have a head with a giant single optic, giving them more inhuman appearance. In the sequel, ADAM's optic becomes red to indicate how furious he is at you escaping.
- Difficult, but Awesome: Knives (and anything else that's suitably sharp and pointy) are your primary weapon for dealing with hostile robots, and your only weapon in the first game, though it is more often than not not a one-hit-kill, especially on higher difficulty settings.
- Hammerspace: Presumably where all the objects in your inventory are stored.
- Have a Nice Death: "Your contract has been terminated. Press any button to re-apply".
- After the release of Budget Cuts 2, this was changed to "Your existence has been Optimised. Press any button to try again."
- Improvised Weapon: From letter openers, to scissors, to darts and crystals, you'll be making use of lots of unusual weaponry.
- Teleport Gun: As per tradition in VR games, you use one of these extensively to move around.
- The Blade Always Lands Pointy End In: This is true regardless of how you throw a bladed weapon, though this is an Anti-Frustration Feature.
Budget Cuts contains examples of the following tropes:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: ADAM, the AI which has since taken control of the facility, behaves quite similarly to a horror game antagonist.
- Bad Boss: Rex Crane III doesn't seem to have a high opinion of his employees, humans or robot alike. Then again, considering it's ADAM using pre-recorded voice clips and impersonating him, this may not always have been true.
- Big Bad: Rex Crane III, who has been quietly "firing" your colleagues. Except not really, Rex is already dead, and he is being impersonated by ADAM, who has been killing the human employees systematically.
- Boss Banter: ADAM really, really likes the sound of his own voice. He will not shut up, even when he doesn't know you're nearby.
- Cutscene Power to the Max: The credits sequence is entirely a cutscene, and it involves the player slaughtering entire waves of Supervisors with knives they somehow acquired out of nowhere. That being said, this is more excusable as a reward for beating the game.
- Final Boss: ADAM, though he is an unkillable Puzzle Boss. Instead, you have to grab the key to the boss' office without him noticing, or, failing that, lock him in the light switch room.
- Homage: The end credits theme is clearly an Affectionate Parody of James Bond movie themes. And considering it's a stealth game, possibly one to Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater as well.
- This is a darkly humorous game about hostile AI trying to kill you in your own workplace while you use a portal device to get around and avoid danger. Now, where have we heard that one before?
- Mission Control: Winta periodically calls you through the fax machines to provide you with instructions and hints throughout the game. She never openly betrays you, but hints in Rex's office imply she might not be entirely honest about her intentions or how much knowledge about the situation she actually possesses.
- Obviously Not Fine: Despite the intent that the robots don't need to eat, sleep or even stop working ever, and their chipper behavior, it's implied that the regular working robots at TransCorp have questionable levels of mental health.
- Puzzle Boss: ADAM cannot be killed due to a checkpoint taking away your weapons (even glitching a gun through the checkpoint or having the infinite stabby crystals mutation on doesn't work), so you have to either grab the key to Rex's office entirely without being seen, or, failing that, lock him in the power room with the control panel in the vents.
- The Scottish Trope: Both Winta and ADAM only refer to the Cost Optimizer as "it".
- Unexpectedly Dark Episode: In the Human Resources department, the game suddenly loses a lot of its more comedic tone and becomes significantly more creepy. There's a reason why it's suggested by the devs that younger children do not play this game. ADAM is basically a horror game invincible enemy who must be circumvented.
Budget Cuts 2: Mission Insolvency contains examples of the following tropes:
- Actionized Sequel: There's a heavier element of action in the sequel, with more options for disposing of enemies, and the sequence at the end where you must hold off an incoming wave of robots.
- Big Bad: The Cost Optimizer.
- Demoted to Dragon: ADAM is still a big threat, but the Cost Optimizer takes center stage as the game's main antagonist.
- Elite Mook: This game introduces Prosecutors, an upgraded version of Supervisors with shields and explosive bullets.
- Hold the Line: The final "boss" has you protecting Winta from armies of airdropped Prosecutors as she uploads the empathy program to the Cost Optimizer. By the end of the fight, expect to have around 15 Prosecutors present at once.
- Homage: The Fabrications level is essentially a playable recreation of The Terminator's climax.
- It's Personal: ADAM is back, and he's pretty pissed about how you got away the first time around, leading to a confrontation where you eventually kill him.
- Monster Delay: The game loves teasing you with the prospect of dealing with ADAM again, with various mentions and near-misses of him until you eccounter him in the penultimate level.
- Nothing Is Scarier: ADAM Isolation mode, added in the Halloween update, removes EVERY living NPC expect for ADAM. This even applies to the post-credits room, making much more eerie than intended. Admit it, you were expecting ADAM to show up there as well...
- Strawman News Media: TransCorp "News", which can be found playing on various TVs in the game.
- The Stinger: A small room with various objects from the game to mess around with, and one last "News" report.
