Though it may not be the first gaming trope fans think of, the ‘Back from the brink’ trope is actually present in a vast number of games. While it’s mostly prevalent in real-time strategy titles, the trope can be found across gaming, from beloved Sci-Fi first-person shooters, to iconic fantasy adventure games. Once fans start noticing the ‘Back from the brink’ trope, they won’t be able to stop seeing it.
RELATED: The ‘Elaborate Equals Effective’ Gaming Trope Explained
How the ‘Back From the Brink’ Trope Works
The ‘Back from the brink’ trope is used in just about every video game in which the player’s team or faction begins the game by losing in a significant way. This can take a variety of forms, but the main example is the player’s faction losing a major battle in a war, and being forced to retreat. These major losses are then used to signify just how hopeless the conflict is, and how the player’s faction will undoubtedly lose.
Beginning the game with this major loss sets the stakes incredibly high from the get-go, and makes way for the ‘Back from the brink’ trope to take full effect. With death or loss an otherwise certainty, the player is forced to step up and become the faction’s savior. Throughout the game, the player will make a series of significant victories, eventually culminating in the player’s faction winning the day against all odds.
The ‘Back from the brink’ gaming trope is often associated with the ‘It’s up to you’ trope, as the player is almost always the only character able to save the day. Occasionally, the player is assisted by a companion or two, often an AI like Cortana that’s only able to give a tactical rundown on the enemy’s army. But even if the player is assisted, their allies are usually working for them, and have less power to control the outcome of the conflict.
RELATED: The ‘Elites Are More Glamorous’ Gaming Trope Explained
The Best Examples of the ‘Back From the Brink’ Trope in Gaming
The ‘Back from the brink’ gaming trope is incredibly popular in the Sci-Fi gaming landscape, and one of the best examples of its use is the Halo franchise. Since the series’ main antagonist, the Covenant, is a much greater force than the UNSC, every Halo title features the ‘Back from the brink’ gaming trope. In the first Halo, the game begins with the Master Chief being woken up from cryosleep, only to find out that Reach has fallen, and the Covenant have chased the crew of the Pillar of Autumn through Slipspace. It’s then up to the Master Chief, and the Master Chief alone, to save as much of the crew as possible and escape the Halo ring.
Halo 2 opens up with the Covenant coming to Earth, and beginning an invasion. Though the UNSC have orbital MAC cannons to help push back the invading force, it still forces the player’s faction into the corner. Halo 3 takes place just a few months later and upon arriving on Earth, the Master Chief learns that the Covenant have begun a full-scale invasion and the UNSC’s chances aren’t high. The prequel, Halo Reach, subverts the ‘Back from the brink’ gaming trope, with the UNSC actually being a dominant force on the titular planet until the Covenant arrives. As opposed to beginning the game with nothing and working their way up, the player-character in Halo Reach has the opposite journey, beginning the game with a full squad of competent allies, and ending the game desperate and alone.
Another green-super-soldier-led franchise, Doom, also uses the ‘Back from the brink’ gaming trope. 2016’s Doom begins with the Doom Slayer waking up alone in the UAC facility on Mars, where he immediately discovers that the facility and planet have been overrun with demonic invaders, and it’s up to him to push them all back. Doom Eternal ups the stakes even more, taking the demonic invasion to Earth, and tasking the Doom Slayer to once again repel the demonic hordes.
The ‘Back from the brink’ trope is also very popular in the Sci-Fi RPG landscape. Mass Effect 3 is probably the best example of the trope being used in a Sci-Fi RPG, with the game opening on the Reaper invasion of Earth. The rest of the game sees Commander Shepard attempting to rally together an army big enough to defeat the Reapers, a seemingly impossible task.
Real-time strategy games use the ‘Back from the brink’ trope more than any other genre, and once again, Sci-Fi titles are the most prevalent examples. The Homeworld series’ very premise uses this trope, with the rest of humanity being forced aboard a Homeworld ship to attempt to find a new planet suitable for colonizing. The Command & Conquer series uses this trope frequently, with Red Alert 2 forcing the player’s faction to go back in time to save the planet from the brink of enslavement, and Red Alert 3 sees this trope occur throughout, with player’s bases being destroyed at the start of a mission, and players frequently needing to repel overwhelming enemy forces.
MORE: The ‘Taste of Power’ Gaming Trope Explained
