"I'm sorry, Apollo. Poor Apollo. Doomed to being controlled by me."
— Will
Diminish is a series of YouTube videos chronicling the gameplay of the narrator, Will, as he explores a special video game that was created for him. The series can be viewed here
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The game itself features a wolfman-type character, Apollo, who is working with the player to explore a strange and desolate land. Together, they will negotiate deadly traps, bizarre characters and lots and lots of water.
Will, and the game itself, compare the game's style to platform hell games like Celeste and I Wanna Be The Guy.
While tinged with some horror elements and a very tense atmosphere, the series is a study of loss, grief, depression, anxiety, fame, responsibility and many other challenges.
Diminish shows examples of the following tropes:
- Addressing the Player: As the game was made for Will, it will directly talk to him at times. The protagonist, Apollo, also communicates with him.
- Angsty Surviving Twin: Will. And, as becomes apparent over the course of Act 2, Apollo.
- Cheat Code: Will finds one that makes the first act of the game easier to play, but he soon turns it off as it has some unpleasant consequences.
- Cursed with Awesome: Teddy's incredible swimming talent makes it difficult for her to establish herself as anything other than a great athlete. She's also worried about the impact her skill has on her brother's life and the opinions of others.
- The Determinator: A lot is made of the hardship Apollo suffers during his journey, enduring countless deaths and hours upon hours of physical labour. The same can be said for Will, although his pain is more psychological.
- Easter Egg: Will finds out in episode 8 that dying before activating a checkpoint shows an extended scene of Apollo being Impaled with Extreme Prejudice, letting out a bloodcurdling scream, and dying once a second for a straight minute while the player experiences Controllable Helplessness. He then goes into an extended monologue about overcoming pain and activates a One-Winged Angel form.
- Fictional Video Game: The titular Diminish is a PC game made for Will by his sister Teddy. It appears to be a fully functional video game, but it is unknown whether it is actually playable or just an animation.
- Formula-Breaking Episode: Will will occasionally release a video of his speed-running attempts at Super Mario Maker levels based on Diminish.
- Let's Play: The series is structured as one, with Will experiencing the game as we do. It turns out that he promised his sister that he would do this after she had died.
- No Fourth Wall: The game talks to the player and the audience.
- Tempting Fate: Given it's a Let's Play of a (fictional) Platform Hell game, it's bound to happen.
- Wham Shot:
- Act 1, episode 14. Will finds a cheat code that helps him navigate the level. This also unlocks a series of troubling images that flash up on the screen as Will plays, hinting at the darkness Teddy was feeling.
- Act 2, episode 6. Will spends twenty minutes swimming through water while verbally beating himself up for missing something. It is only in the final seconds when something actually happens; after months of being stranded in the water, Apollo finds land.
