History VideoGame / AzraelsTear

%%* AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:The Prieuré]].

* AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:The Prieuré]].

* LastSecondEndingChoice: At least three paths, each leading to different endings. Though to be sure, [[spoiler:there is only one True Ending, complete with an epilogue; the others are pretty much just slightly extended {{GameOver}}s.]]
* MayanDoomsday: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that the story [[spoiler:''begins'' in December 2012 with the world in bad shape, but then ''ends'' several years later, with the world in even worse shape but definitely not ended. Then again, the future is left uncertain.]] It's also an unusual example: while—as one would expect—most instances appeared in works published in the handful of years preceding the date, this one was all the way back in ''1996'', 16 years before.
* OmniscientCouncilOfVagueness: [[spoiler:The Prieuré]]. Somewhat less omniscient than most, but quite powerful.

* ThePlan: [[spoiler:There is a "chosen" Thief, but the Prieuré knows there is no guarantee he'll succeed. So they've manipulated things so no matter who gets the Grail, it will fall into their hands. If the chosen one succeeds, he may either escape or lose it to Tobias or to Edward and Lurka. Or one of the other Raptors may get the Grail, with the same possible outcomes. Or possibly none of the Raptors succeeds, in which case one of those schemers may somehow get a hold of it. But no matter who emerges with the Grail, the Prieuré is waiting to take it and use it for their own purposes]].

* TheKnightsTemplar

* [[spoiler:EpilogueLetter: Well, journal entry, really. Written by Cesar de Treece, brother of Tobias.]]

* [[spoiler:FactionSpecificEndings: Depending on a LastSecondEndingChoice. However, the True Ending, and the only one reasonably good for the protagonist, requires making a right decision a little earlier.]]

* [[spoiler:LastSecondEndingChoice: At least three paths, each leading to different endings. Though to be sure, there is only one True Ending, complete with an epilogue; the others are pretty much just slightly extended {{GameOver}}s.]]

* [[spoiler:ThePlan: There is a "chosen" Thief, but the Prieuré knows there is no guarantee he'll succeed. So they've manipulated things so no matter who gets the Grail, it will fall into their hands. If the chosen one succeeds, he may either escape or lose it to Tobias or to Edward and Lurka. Or one of the other Raptors may get the Grail, with the same possible outcomes. Or possibly none of the Raptors succeeds, in which case one of those schemers may somehow get a hold of it. But no matter who emerges with the Grail, the Prieuré is waiting to take it and use it for their own purposes]].
* [[spoiler:YearOutsideHourInside: One of the strangest phenomena in Aeternis is that time is warped such that a day or two inside is actually weeks or even years in the outside world, and the effect is stronger the deeper one goes. In fact, despite spending (from his perspective) only a few hours or days inside, the protagonist does not leave until December 2015, just over three years after entering. It's not clear whether this is caused by grailstone or some Byzantine device.]]

** 12 tracks in the BGM.[[note]]Unfortunately, the last one is never heard in-game, quite likely due to the terribly buggy drivers.[[/note]]

* MayanDoomsday: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]] in that the story [[spoiler:''begins'' in December 2012 with the world in bad shape, but then ''ends'' several years later, with the world in even worse shape but definitely not ended. Then again, the future is left uncertain.]]

* WhoWantsToLiveForever: Short-term exposure to grailstone is quite beneficial. It heals virtually all injuries, cures all sickness, and generally makes one healthy. Long-term exposure... [[BodyHorror not so]] [[AndIMustScream much]].
* [[spoiler:XanatosGambit: There is a "chosen" Thief, but the Prieuré knows there is no guarantee he'll succeed. So they've manipulated things so no matter who gets the Grail, it will fall into their hands. If the chosen one succeeds, he may either escape or lose it to Tobias or to Edward and Lurka. Or one of the other Raptors may get the Grail, with the same possible outcomes. Or possibly none of the Raptors succeeds, in which case one of those schemers may somehow get a hold of it. But no matter who emerges with the Grail, the Prieuré is waiting to take it and use it for their own purposes]].
* [[spoiler:YearOutsideHourInside: One of the strangest phenomena in Aeternis is that time is warped such that a day or two inside is actually weeks or even years in the outside world, and the effect is stronger the deeper one goes. In fact, despite spending (from his perspective) only a few hours or days inside, the protagonist does not leave until December 2015, just over three years after entering. It's not clear whether this is a real distortion of time or just a modified perception of it, nor whether it's caused by grailstone or some Byzantine device.]]

An early 3D AdventureGame with elements of action from Intelligent Games and published by Mindscape. The protagonist is a sort of high-tech professional tomb robber called a Raptor who gets a letter from one of his rivals one day, saying that he thinks he's located the [[PublicDomainArtifact Holy Grail]] in northeast Scotland, but may have gotten in too deep. The letter was to be delivered in the event of his disappearance, so something must have gone wrong.

Despite having an intriguing and well-written story with an ending that makes you seriously think, it was a [[AcclaimedFlop commercial failure]] (no doubt being released alongside the wildly popular VideoGame/{{Quake}} did not help one bit) and is not too well known today.

Despite having an intriguing and well-written story with an ending that makes you seriously think, it was a [[AcclaimedFlop commercial failure]] (no doubt thanks to being released alongside the) and is not too well known today.