History VideoGame / TheSinkingCity

%%** Mr. Van Rer Berg is wearing a distinct yellow suit which hints at his true identity.

%%* SanityMeter: Due to a traumatic event that happened to Charles, he has a tendency to hallucinate whenever he sees something that disturbs him. This is used as a mechanic in his SherlockScan, allowing him to see past events and focus on clues.
%%* ShellShockedVeteran: Reed served in the U.S. Navy during the Great War and was the SoleSurvivor of the USS ''Cyclops'' when it sank. The experience left him haunted with visions that eventually drew him to Oakmont.

%%
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: when you die you respawn with all your weapons, healing items, and scrap. Thus you won’t need to search for supplies.
** Another small one is the ability to walk between areas and the supplies return to where and what quantity they were. So some hard to find items will replenish if you simply walk into two houses.

* BodyHorror: Ever enemy was once human. Each contorted into a nest of flesh and teeth while screaming in a rage.

* Cult: There is cult that operates within the city and covers up some quests. In addition Charles can wear a cultist costume in the game.

* DriventoSuicide: a given considering who is driving the city crazy. A great deal of people can be found in their homes with ropes and bullet wounds.

* TheIncident: The entire town won’t bring up Innsmouth unless really pushed. It makes sense in context since in the book the entire town was wiped out thanks to Robert Olmsted.

** Several references can be found on the map.
*** C. Smith AVE is a reference to Clark Ashton Smith, who was a close friend of Lovecrafts.
*** Yellow King AVE is clearly a reference to Hastur.
*** Marsh AVE is named after Obed Marsh, the man who started Innsmouth’s worship to Dagon.

%%* AntiFrustrationFeatures: when you die you respawn with all your weapons, healing items, and scrap. Thus you won’t need to search for supplies.

%%* BeastMan: The demo shows that Throckmorton family have distinct Gorilla - like creatures which Mr. Throckmorton claims is due to becoming related to some "royal family" a few generations ago. %%There's also the Blackwood family who are related with the Marsh family of Innsmouth and have been taking in refugees after that incident with the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the FBI some time ago.

** In the E3 Gameplay teaser, there are multiple Mythos gags. At the start, the player is seen going past flooded stores bearing the signs "Whatley's Household Chemistry" (referencing the Yog-sothoth cultist family from ''Literature/TheDunwichHorror'') and "West M.D" (a reference to ''Literature/HerbertWestReanimator''). Later, when first showing off Charles' post-cognition ability, he sees a seance in which two men utter an invocation calling upon the Great Old One Hastur.

** [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth The Devil's Reef Inn]] and [[Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu the statue of Cthulhu]] in the Cinematic Trailer clues us in that this is set in Lovecraft's universe.

%%* RealityIsOutToLunch: If the cinematic trailer is to be believed (an ocean in the sky, [[RecursiveReality Charles being killed at the same time he wakes up in the same area]]), then things will not be making sense any time soon.

%%* BeastMan: The demo shows that Throckmorton family have distinct Gorilla - like creatures which Mr. Throckmorton claims is due to becoming related to some "royal family" a few generations ago. %%There's also the Blackwood family who are related with the Marsh family of Innsmouth and have been taking in refugees after that incident with the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the FBI some time ago.
* ButThouMust: When Charles is asked in the demo to search for a woman's missing husband, his only options are to accept the job and take her golden engagement ring as a payment, or to agree to work for free out of sympathy, while outright rejecting the offer is impossible.
%%* CaptainErsatz: The giant tentacle that attacked Charles looks exactly like the one in ''Film/TheMist''.
* CityOfCanals: The demo shows how many of Oakmont's streets have been flooded to the point of being only traversible by boat. There are also nightmarish creatures swimming in its waters, and Reed's boat gets attacked by a giant tentacle pretty early on.
* DialogueTree: The demo simply has short summaries of your potential responses appear in mid-air, with no other stylistic elements.
%%* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler:It is implied that Granny Weaver is more than just an urban legend, having killed Joy's dog and neighbors and compelled her not tell anyone about her, with notes claiming that she is the spirit of a witch that fled Salem.]]

* {{Irony}}: In the demo, we see that Joy the Librarian has her [[MouthStitchedShut lips sown shut]] to keep her from talking.
* LovecraftCountry: The Oakwood we see in the demo is flooded, haunted and populated either by half-mad residents or incomprehensible monsters. It helps that it is set in the same world of Lovecraft's universe.

* PowerBornOfMadness: In the demo, Charles can sometimes look into the recent past to see phantoms of the people acting out what they did a little while earlier, which suits him well as a detective. Unfortunately it's also from his mental state not being the healthiest.

* {{Expy}}: Oakmont is one for Arkham, Massachusetts, including having its own versions of Arkham Asylum and Miskatonic University.

* ShellShockedVeteran: Reed served in the U.S. Navy during the Great War and was the SoleSurvivor of the USS ''Cyclops'' when it sank. The experience left him haunted with visions that eventually drew him to Oakmont.

* BeastMan: The demo shows that Throckmorton family have distinct Gorilla - like creatures which Mr. Throckmorton claims is due to becoming related to some "royal family" a few generations ago. There's also the Blackwood family who are related with the Marsh family of Innsmouth and have been taking in refugees after that incident with the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the FBI some time ago.

%%* BeastMan: The Throckmorton family have distinct Gorilla - like creatures which Mr. Throckmorton claims is due to becoming related to some "royal family" a few generations ago. There's also the Blackwood family who are related with the Marsh family of Innsmouth and have been taking in refugees after that incident with the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the FBI some time ago.

%%* CityOfCanals: The flood turned Oakmont into this, along with various nightmarish creatures swimming in its waters.

%%* {{Irony}}: Joy the Librarian has her [[MouthStitchedShut lips sown shut]] to keep her from talking.
%%* LovecraftCountry: Oakwood is flooded, haunted and populated either by half-mad residents or incomprehensible monsters. It helps that it is set in the same world of Lovecraft's universe.

%%* PowerBornOfMadness: Charles can sometimes look into the past, a pretty useful power for a detective. Unfortunately it's also from his mental state not being the healthiest.

%%NOTE: This is an unreleased work that is currently not available to the public. If you would like to add a trope based on promotional materials, please come discuss it in this thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=15514631230A64268600

* BeastMan: The Throckmorton family have distinct Gorilla - like creatures which Mr. Throckmorton claims is due to becoming related to some "royal family" a few generations ago. There's also the Blackwood family who are related with the Marsh family of Innsmouth and have been taking in refugees after that incident with the Esoteric Order of Dagon and the FBI some time ago.
* CaptainErsatz: The giant tentacle that attacked Charles looks exactly like the one in ''Film/TheMist''.
* CityOfCanals: The flood turned Oakmont into this, along with various nightmarish creatures swimming in its waters.
* HumanoidAbomination: [[spoiler:It is implied that Granny Weaver is more than just an urban legend, having killed Joy's dog and neighbors and compelled her not tell anyone about her, with notes claiming that she is the spirit of a witch that fled Salem.]]
** Mr. Van Rer Berg is wearing a distinct yellow suit which hints at his true identity.
* HeWasRightThereAllAlong: [[spoiler:During a fight in the basement, Granny Weaver's silhouette can be seen at the top of the stairs. After Charles looks away for a split second, the figure vanishes.]]
* {{Irony}}: Joy the Librarian has her [[MouthStitchedShut lips sown shut]] to keep her from talking.
* LovecraftCountry: Oakwood is flooded, haunted and populated either by half-mad residents or incomprehensible monsters. It helps that it is set in the same world of Lovecraft's universe.
* MouthStitchedShut: Joy talks to Charles with her mouth sown shut. Considering Charles does not react to it, [[SeenItAll it probably is not the strangest thing he has seen in Oakmount]]. [[spoiler:This is implied to be the calling card of Granny Weaver.]]

* PowerBornOfMadness: Charles can sometimes look into the past, a pretty useful power for a detective. Unfortunately it's also from his mental state not being the healthiest.
* RealityIsOutToLunch: If the cinematic trailer is to be believed (an ocean in the sky, [[RecursiveReality Charles being killed at the same time he wakes up in the same area]]), then things will not be making sense any time soon.
* SanityMeter: Due to a traumatic event that happened to Charles, he has a tendency to hallucinate whenever he sees something that disturbs him. This is used as a mechanic in his SherlockScan, allowing him to see past events and focus on clues.
* SherlockScan: His fragile mental-state allows Charles to look into the past to see events as they happened. He is also able to go into "concentration mode", allowing him to notice points of interest in his surroundings.
* ShootTheDog: [[spoiler:Joy's neighbor Granny Weaver went insane, killed Joy's dog and turned it into a teddy-bear.]] Whether or not she is human or something else is yet to be revealed.

* MythologyGag: [[Literature/TheShadowOverInnsmouth The Devil's Reef Inn]] and [[Literature/TheCallOfCthulhu the statue of Cthulhu]] in the Cinematic Trailer clues us in that this is set in Lovecraft's universe.

* PowerBornofMadness: Charles can sometimes look into the past, a pretty useful power for a detective. Unfortunately it's also from his mental state not being the healthiest.

* GeniusBonus: The motor boat the player character is using is called [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Cyclops_(AC-4) Cyclops II]]

* SanityMeter: Due to a traumatic even that happened to Charles, he has a tendency to hallucinate whenever he sees something that disturbs him. This is used as a mechanic in his SherlockScan, allowing him to see past events and focus on clues.

[[caption-width-right:350:Toto, I don't think we'e in Innsmouth anymore...]]