History VideoGame / BlackCloset

''Black Closet'' is a UsefulNotes/RenPy-based detective game released by Creator/HanakoGames in 2015.

* YouLoseAtZeroTrust: There are two "life bars", which are essentially the reputation of the student council and the school. As is explained in the tutorial, if you lose too much of either one, they'll restore their reputation by blaming everything on you and kicking you out.
* YourWorstNightmare: One variant of the [[spoiler: steam tunnels]] case involves hints of an eldritch force causing this. Spend too long solving it and [[spoiler: noises from beneath the school start giving students nightmares, your minions may be forced to take days off after losing sleep from their nightmares,]] and if you fail to solve it in time [[spoiler: Elsa has a nightmare of her own about the steam tunnels and smashes her bathroom mirror while sleepwalking, getting her kicked off the student council and ending your game.]]

** The Red Mask Society is a much more concrete secret society within St. Claudine's Academy; at one point, you need to infiltrate their ranks and accept a certain number of tasks from them... and failing to complete your work for them on time will result in them [[spoiler: poisoning your Queen]].

* DifficultySpike: After the Harvest Festival, the more complex cases such as gambling rings, drug usage and secret societies start popping up. When you get to the [[spoiler: steam tunnels]] case, it happens again, forcing you to deal with the constant barrage of cases while also working on the hardest case in the game save for potentially the {{Final Boss}}, with your game ending immediately if you fail to solve it in time.

* SchoolgirlLesbians: Kind of inevitable in a game set at a one gender school with absolutely no males to be seen in the entire game. It's lampshaded by Mallory, who frustratedly says that you can't ''all'' be gay.

* AdultsAreUseless: Miss Talmage refuses to just tell you where the steam tunnels are. Regulations, you know. You're supposed to find them despite this being totally against the rules. [[spoiler: She's worse than useless, she's actively causing most of the trouble at St. Claudine's.]]

* EasterEgg: The HolidayMode variant. If you play the game on [[AprilFools April 1st]] or [[UsefulNotes/AllHallowsEve October 31st]], there will be a special variant of the goth case and the drug case. In the goth case[[spoiler: the goth is actually a vampire.]] For the drug case [[spoiler: the girls are taking part in an experiment that is changing them into insects.]]

* FinalBoss: Yes really. [[spoiler: It's Miss Talmage in a long SocialFu battle.]] It's actually possible to complete the game without facing said boss, although Elsa won't be left particularly happy in the epilogue.

* LastSecondEndingChoice: {{Downplayed}}. Elsa's decision of what to do [[spoiler: after defeating Talmage or not confronting her at all]] will determine what she does after graduating in the ModularEpilogue. However, the epilogue will vary depending on your relationship with your queen, if and which minion was expelled, and how you deal with [[spoiler:the Red Mask]]

* JailBait: Thaïs and Mallory, which is the reason Elsa can't become romantically involved with either. [[spoiler: Though you can end up with a kiss from Thaïs and be hug buddies with Mallory.]]

* YouLoseAtZeroTrust: There are two "life bars", which are essentially the reputation of the student council and the school. As is explained in the tutorial, if you lose too much of either one, they'll restore their reputation by blaming everything on you and kicking you out.

* BadDreams: One variant of the [[spoiler: steam tunnels]] case involves this. Spend too long solving it and [[spoiler: noises from beneath the school start giving students nightmares, your minions may be forced to take days off after losing sleep from their nightmares,]] and if you fail to solve it in time [[spoiler: Elsa has a nightmare of her own about the steam tunnels and smashes her bathroom mirror while sleepwalking, getting her kicked off the student council and ending your game.]]

** If Althea is the traitor, [[spoiler:it's nothing personal, she just wanted to see what she could get away with, and what she could accomplish if she tried. She compares it to seeing a house of cards and being tempted to give it a push.]]

* EasterEgg: The HolidayMode variant. If you play the game on [[AprilFools April 1st]] or [[AllHallowsEve October 31st]], there will be a special variant of the goth case and the drug case. In the goth case[[spoiler: the goth is actually a vampire.]] For the drug case [[spoiler: the girls are taking part in an experiment that is changing them into insects.]]

** TurnsRed: After the first stage of the fight, the card image changes, including a more-red background, and attacks do more damage.

* AlwaysSomeoneBetter: Thaïs feels this way about Althea, since even girls being jealous of her is due to her being Althea's sister. [[spoiler: If she's the traitor, she'll ask Elsa to use Althea as a scapegoat in exchange for her loyalty when she confesses.]]

** If Althea is the traitor, [[spoiler:it's nothing personal, she just wanted to see what she could get away with and what she could accomplish if she tried. She compares it to seeing a house of cards and being tempted to give it a push.]]

** Rowan is incredibly taciturn and has less than half the dialogue of any other girl, and is often overlooked by others. She also has the highest Stealth out of all your minions and is tied for the highest Observation, but has the lowest Social and is tied for the lowest Intimidation.
** Vonne is Elsa's {{Hypercompetent Sidekick}} and the only one to notice Rowan in the room when the student council first meets. Stat-wise, she's a {{Jack Of All Trades}} save for her Observation, which is tied for the highest with Rowan.
** Althea is personable, [[EvenTheGirlsWantHer flirtatious, popular]] and is a former bully with a reputation for violence. Her Social stat is tied for the highest with Mallory and her Intimidation is only slightly lower than Thaïs's, but she has the lowest Stealth out of all your minions.
** Thaïs is prone to anger and is exceptionally self-confident to the point of arrogance, as well as an aspiring fashion designer. Her Intimidation is the highest of all your minions and her Observation second-highest, but her Social is second-lowest only to [[ShrinkingViolet Rowan]].
** Mallory is a {{Nice Girl}} and very popular despite being the {{New Transfer Student}}, but seems somewhat airheaded sometimes. Her Social is tied for the highest with Althea, but her Observation is tied for lowest with Althea and her Intimidation with Rowan.
* [[GentlemanAndAScholar Gentlewoman And A Scholar]]/{{Wicked Cultured}}: Elsa can be a kind, friendly, romantic girl or a cruel and unfeeling commander depending on player choices, but will always be able to recognize Thaïs's performance at the coffeehouse's Open Night as 'crypto-gothic third-wavism.'

* ILoveYouBecauseICantControlYou: Althea is used to dating timid freshmen who follow her lead; picking the more assertive conversation options is the best way to impress her. [[spoiler: It's also the easiest way to get her best romance ending, in which you continue dating after high school and go on a cruise together.]]

* MultipleChoicePast: You get to pick everything that Elsa says, and this gives you the chance to define how certain past events went. Examples include getting to choose [[spoiler: why the teachers forced you and Vonne to stop being friends as children.]]

* ScaryShinyGlasses: Elsa does this when she first sits at her desk at the end of the tutorial, along with {{Finger Tenting}}. Potentially [[SubvertedTrope subverted]], since she can be a very kind and caring girl if played as such.

* {{Ingenue}}: Subverted. For all her friendly, cookie-distributing ways, Mallory isn't quite as innocent as she appears. You can even point this out to Vonne.