History VideoGame / Hiveswap

* AchievementMockery: The Steam version has achievements that involve pressing the hint button multiple times, and [[EarnyourBadEnding doing things that]] [[SchmuckBait result in a Game Over]] (with one achievement involving you having to get into every possible scenario where what happens on a single playthrough). It's even lampshaded with an achievement called "Achievement Hunter, which is acquired by [[spoiler:constantly pressing the hint button right before the final step of the game until the achievement is triggered]].

* InfantImmortality: Once again averted, Alternia is still a CrapsackWorld populated by children who are culled and cull each other on a regular basis. Joey can also die from being swallowed whole by monsters in a rare bad ending.

** The Gold and Olive car is at the very least cleaner, though clearly not as fancy. Here Trolls aren't crowded together like sardines and each have their own seat, it looks ''much'' cleaner than the preceding car, and the car's bathroom looking not like an outhouse toilet.

* {{Synchronization}}: A side effect of the [[SingleMindedTwins Soleil Twins]] being literally one mind in two body, as explained by the Friendsim. This comes to be a ''major'' kick to the ass when [[spoiler: Baizli dies via falling onto a spike and getting decapitated. Resulting in Barzum screaming in agony as she both felt her twin's demise and their connection suddenly being severed.]]

** You can get a Game Over during the trial in the Jade/Teal car by presenting irrelevant evidence three times.

* TheUnreveal: It's not directly revealed who actually stole and ruined the book in the Jade/Teal car. Tyzias knows, but she refuses to tell you. [[spoiler: It was Lanque, but accusing him leads to a Game Over]].

* AliensAndMonsters: Trolls and whatever those black things at Joey and Jude’s house were.

* UrbanSegregation: Alternia is separated along blood color. The lower castes live in much smaller houses than the upper-castes. Xefros’ neighbourhood, Outglut, is largely populated by lowbloods.

** Joey and Xefros are riding off on Dammek's lusus to another member of the resistance. They've escaped the destruction of Xefros' neighborhood and seemed to have earned each other's friendship, to which Joey happily decides to take a photo of the two of them to commemorate. [[spoiler:Hey, what's that battleship in the background?]]

* AllForNothing: Joey and Xefros undergo multiple trials and tribulations throughout the game: having the first station blown up right in front of them, searching for ways to blend in with the Trolls, traversing through the dangerous Alternian wilderness, puzzling and fighting their way through multiple train cars filled with highbloods and violence, until they finally reach their goal to reroute the tracks to get there faster. [[spoiler:And then the train gets attacked by a monster and the tracks collapse into the ocean while Xefros and Joey are in between cars.]]
* AmbidextrousSprite: While this applies to the whole game, it's more obvious in Act 2 as there are more characters with asymmetrical aspects in their designs, such as mismatched horns and/or eyes. It's hard to tell which direction is coorect for them, because this is even shown in cutscenes (although it is easier to tell if their signs are not symmetrical).

* {{Cliffhanger}}: After finally hijacking the train to make it to Jeevik Week early, [[spoiler: the act ends with the train destroyed by a winged monster attacking the rustblood car. It ends with a shot of the now destroyed train, everyone's fates unknown.]]

* FrameUp: Performed by [[spoiler:Wanshi]] of all people, when [[spoiler:she stole Lynera's diary and forged new entries into it to try and make it look like she committed the crime.]]

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: While in the Jade/Teal car, the game becomes a reference to ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Ace Attorney]]'' as you try and figure out who destroyed a book. [[spoiler:Unlike ''Ace Attorney'', their are multiple endings]].

* TheUnreveal: It's not directly revealed who actually stole and ruined the book in the Jade/Teal car. Tyzias knows, but she refuses to tell you. [[spoiler: It's hinted that it was Lanque, but accusing him leads to a Game Over. It's also hinted that Bronya might have had a part in it]].

* DeadlyGame: While in the purple car, to make it to the engine room, Marvus forces Joey to play a game where she has to kill random trolls on the train based on the chosen blood caste. It goes GOLD, Teal, [[spoiler:and then Purple. She manages to avoid killing the first two trolls Marvus rolls. But when she needs to kill a Purpleblood, Baizli tries to kill her first, only for Xefros to push Baizli off the train and onto the spikes below. It counts and Marvus lets them pass.]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: At least in comparison to the first act of the game, half of which was Joey and Jude, two human children growing up in the 90s, doing largely nonviolent acts while trying to evade death by monster, with the worst being said was calling a pigeon a "son of a bitch" in flavortext, and the most potentially destructive act being committed by a protagonist was Jude accidentally setting a leaf pile on fire with a flare gun. Come Act 2, we've got our protagonists engaging in actual physical fights, having teenaged characters cuss each other out like sailors, make multiple dirty jokes and innuendos, and [[spoiler: have one of our protagonists murder another character by pushing them off a moving train.]] This game goes to show just how much higher the stakes are on Alternia.
* DeadlyGame: While in the purple car, to make it to the engine room, Marvus forces Joey to play a game where she has to kill random trolls on the train based on bloodcaste. It goes yellow, teal, [[spoiler:and then purple. She manages to avoid killing the first two trolls Marvus rolls. But when she needs to kill a purpleblood, Baizli tries to kill her first, only for Xefros to push Baizli off the train and onto the spikes below. It counts and Marvus lets them pass.]]

* TheUnreveal: It's not directly revealed who actually stole and ruined the book in the Jade/Teal car. [[spoiler: It's hinted that it was Lanque, but accusing him leads to a Game Over. It's also hinted that Bronya might have had a part in it]].

* BloodierAndGorier: More blood is shown in this act than in Act 1, [[spoiler: and we also get to see baizli's dead body after he gets impaled one some spikes]].

* EarnYourBadEnding: There are more moments where you can end up getting a Game Over than in Act 1, and some are harder than others. There's even achievements for them, as well as an achievement for getting every possible game over in a single playthrough.

* GoshDarnItToHeck: Despite being surrounded by Trolls who throw around words like "cunt" and "slut" like "hellos" and "goodbyes", Joey herself is fairly averse to any cursing herself. To the point that when quoting other characters, she usually replaces the curse words to more G rated verbage, such as saying "poop" instead of "shit".

* [[Synchronization]]

* EarnYourBadEnding: There are more moments where you can end up getting a Game Over than in Act 1, and some are harder than others. There's even achievements for them, as well as an achievement for getting ever possible game over in a single playthrough.

* RuleOfThree: When visiting the Purpleblood car, Joey is told to kill a troll from a randomly-chosen blood caste three times. [[spoiler: the third time actually does result in a troll getting killed]].

** The Cerulean and Indigo car is ''much'' more spacious than any car before it, with the car itself having ''two floors'' connected by an elevator, one for Ceruleans at the bottom and one for Indigos at the top. With the lower floor looking like a nice restaurant and apparently having a lot of nice food available to them. And the upper floor having a full on living area with a fireplace, shelves of books, and fine art on the walls. With both floors even having ''private bedrooms'' for all of its occupants.

* {{Cliffhanger}}: After finally hijacking the train to make it to Jeevik Week early, [[spoiler: the act ends with the train destroyed by a winged monster attacking the rustblood car. It ends with a shot of the now destroyed train, everyones fates unknown.]]

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: While in the Jade/Teal car, the game becomes ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Ace Attorney]]'' as you try and figure out who destroyed a book. [[spoiler:Unlike ''Ace Attorney'', their are multiple endings and you can conv

** The "fight" against Nihkee is a cutscenes that ends in her victory. She punches Joey once and she goes down. She still lets them pass as she was throughly amused.
* DeadlyGame: While in the purple car, to make it to the engine room, Marvus forces Joey to play a game where she has to kill random trolls on the train based on bloodcaste. It goes yellow, teal, [[spoiler:and then purple. She manages to avoid killing the first two trolls Marvus rolls. But when she needs to kill a purple-blood, Baizli tries to kill her first, only for Xefros to push Baizli out of the train. It counts and Marvus lets them pass.]]

* SchmuckBait: Ardata keeps trying to invite Joey and Xefros into her train cabin. Should they accept it, she does... ''[[NothingIsScarier something]]'' that results in a Game Over. [[spoiler:Once you’re looking for a costume for Nihkee’s request, however, Elwurd will step in and keep you from going in.]]

* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler:The ending has the train attacked and destroyed by a winged monster. At the very least, everyone in the rust/bronze and gold/olive cars are dead, with their cars destroyed and sunk in the water.]]

* AccidentalMurder: [[spoiler:Xefros pushes Baizli off the train before he can harm Joey, and admits that it was his first time killing someone. This ultimately counts for Marvus's game, and he lets Xefros and Joey pass through the Violet/Purple cart.]]
* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent: While in the Jade/Teal cart, the game becomes ''[[VisualNovel/PhoenixWrightAceAttorney Ace Attorney]]'' as you try and figure out who destroyed a precious book.
* {{Cliffhanger}}: After finally hijacking the train, [[spoiler: the act ends with the train destroyed by a winged monster attacking the rustblood cart. It ends with a shot of the now destroyed train, everyones fates unknown.]]
* ConvictedByPublicOpinion: During the trial, [[spoiler:Lynera]] can be found guilty by acting the most guilty despite there being no real evidence pointing to them. They end up being dragged away to Marvus's cart, with the rest of the Jadebloods waving goodbye.

* CurbStompBattle: At least the second half of it. After failing to so much as make [[spoiler:Azdaja]] flinch with any of his hits or attempts at using psychic powers, Xefros [[spoiler: tanks Azdaja's next attack and utterly '''trounces''' Azdaja into the floor after the latter lands a hit that knocks Joey to the ground.]]
* DeadlyGame: While in the Violet/Purple cart, to make it to the engine room, Marvus forces Joey to play a game where she has to kill random trolls on the train based on bloodcaste. It goes yellow, teal, [[spoiler:and then purple. She manages to avoid killing the first two trolls Marvus rolls. But when she needs to kill a purple-blood, Baizli tries to kill her first, only for Xefros to push Baizli out of the train. It counts and Marvus lets them pass.]]
* DeclarationOfProtection: Xefros declares that he'll protect Joey from harm when [[spoiler: Azdaja challenges her to a duel.]]
* ExplainExplainOhCrap: Xefros comes to the realization that Dammek is a pretty shitty moirail after passing the Jade/Teal cart.
* ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice: The fate of [[spoiler: Baizli when he attempts to murder Joey.]]