Games with unexpected tone changes?

[The Blackangel]

I would say RDR2. In the beginning of the game, everyone is tighter than blood. But when you reach Chapter 4, everything starts falling apart. Everyone is turning on each other, and betrayals start to happen. Not to mention several gang members abandoning the gang and running away to save their own lives. What was once a family, completely dissolves, and those you previously loved and trusted, end up being the ones you're running from as they're now trying to kill you.

[Kane99]

On 8/12/2022 at 4:56 AM, Clasher said:

That part actually did feel like a tone change, getting to play as another character other than the one you started with.

I think mass effect 3 did have a tone change towards the end as well.

For me it did, because here's this kid who had someone there protecting them, and all of a sudden, you lose that, so it shifts to you controlling that child. So in a way that tone shift results in you having to take control of a character that is scared and sad. 

On 8/12/2022 at 8:17 AM, Heatman said:

I think that's very common with plot development in most games. They all start in one way and progress to something ominous later. Although, there are some that just start out right being with ominous tone from the beginning to the end. 

Sometimes sure. With the Walking Dead, it was always dreadful and ominous. But as you play the game, you end up liking most of the characters, and then to lose some of them just sucks. But near the end, when you lose someone more important, it weighs on you more. And then to have to control a kid for the rest of the series, makes you feel more vulnerable in a way. 

 

[Clasher]

8 hours ago, Kane99 said:

For me it did, because here's this kid who had someone there protecting them, and all of a sudden, you lose that, so it shifts to you controlling that child. So in a way that tone shift results in you having to take control of a character that is scared and sad. 

I think those times in God of war where you have to slow down a bit and crack a few puzzle like devices so you could unlock the next Chambers and face the boss can also be classified as a tone change.

God of war is a violent game so the developers intentionally placed such missions in-between the game play so you could take a break from all the incessant killings of demons.

[ForwardSlashDownPoke]

On 7/29/2022 at 4:31 PM, StaceyPowers said:

What are some games that feature wildly unexpected tone changes? In which games do they work well, and in which do you think they just make the games feel uneven?

 

The Kingdom Hearts franchise as a whole goes through some fairly unexpected changes. I have a theory that some games, books, media, tv shows or movies can start out with one type of direction or intent and then be covertly purchased to push the said content in a subtle but entirely different direction.

 

Kingdom Hearts 1, for example, had a very pure first game. Then the series got all weird and involved alot of evil and very unnecessary plot twists.

[ForwardSlashDownPoke]

On 8/16/2022 at 2:12 PM, Heatman said:

I believe that there's also something similar to what's done in Metal Gear Solid where the character's gamers are supposed to play was all based on lies till the end of the game when you get to find out. That definitely changes the tone of the game in terms of how the gamer felt about being lied to. 

Yes, there always seems to be a very large plot twist at the end of Metal Gear games starting with the original MSX game.

[Heatman]

On 8/17/2022 at 12:13 AM, Kane99 said:

Sometimes sure. With the Walking Dead, it was always dreadful and ominous. But as you play the game, you end up liking most of the characters, and then to lose some of them just sucks. But near the end, when you lose someone more important, it weighs on you more. And then to have to control a kid for the rest of the series, makes you feel more vulnerable in a way. 

Yeah, that's how it affected me playing Walking Dead. It's a game that's designed in a way to influence your emotions because after you must have fought so hard to survive but you still end up losing one very close to you, it impacts on the game's tone. 

[Justin11]

On 8/18/2022 at 4:01 AM, ForwardSlashDownPoke said:

The Kingdom Hearts franchise as a whole goes through some fairly unexpected changes. I have a theory that some games, books, media, tv shows or movies can start out with one type of direction or intent and then be covertly purchased to push the said content in a subtle but entirely different direction.

 

Kingdom Hearts 1, for example, had a very pure first game. Then the series got all weird and involved alot of evil and very unnecessary plot twists.

I have played a kingdom hearts coded when it was released in 2008 and there wasn't much of a tone Change in the Game.

Did you play kingdom hearts coded as well and what would you say the game is like in general and in terms of tone change.

[Scorpion]

Spec Ops: The Line and Night in the Woods handle tone shifts effectively, blending humor with darkness, while Borderlands often feels uneven.