History Videogame / DarkTales

* TakeYourTime: No matter what the games say about you needing to hurry up, there's no penalty for taking your sweet time in any situation. This is perhaps most egregious in the bonus chapter of ''Masque of the Red Death;'' first you must escape from [[AdvancingWallOfDoom a burning room]], but the fire never actually gets any closer. Later, you have to run around to find medical supplies to [[spoiler:save Dupin's life after he gets shot]], without any ill effects no matter how long it takes. Similarly, you must assemble ingredients and concoct an antidote when [[spoiler:you yourself are poisoned]] in the bonus chapter of ''The Raven'', and again in the main game of ''Lenore''; but no matter how long it takes, nothing bad happens. This is also the case in ''Pendulum'' and ''Ligeia'' when various characters are in danger, and in ''Bells'' when you need to get inside of a specific building before the ninth chime of a bell.
* {{Transplant}}: Anna Fleurs, who properly debuted in ''Nightfall'', is shown in the bonus chapter of ''Morella'' to have been the player character of ''The Raven'', thus officially moving her into the main series.

** Although Dupin and the player have been invited to the Metzengerstein estate to help with the situation in the ninth game, they do lapse into this when they visiting the neighboring property belonging to their longtime rivals. However, since it's understood that the entire family is dead, there's no one to object to their presence.

** DisappearedDad: Eric's father is not in the game (justified, as Eric is a CanonForeigner), and the fact that he exists at all adds questions which are never answered. Of note: his mother is identified as ''Mademoiselle'', which is used for a woman who has never been married.

* ArtisticLicenseAnimalCare: Replacing a cat's missing eye with a ruby is a bad idea. For starters, getting it in would be almost impossible, as many cats would squirm or fight before they'd let ''anyone'' do something like that, even a beloved owner. The cut gem can still cut or irritate the eye socket, leading the cat to dig or scratch it out; the eye socket could also become infected or gangrenous. Modern veterinarians will sew the top and bottom eyelids together instead.
* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Mark Davies. He abused his wife and Pluto. He knows his wife is dead but reports her missing instead. When Dupin and the player arrive at his house, he is initially hostile and defensive. When confronted with the crime, he's still hostile and very unapologetic. The bonus chapter reveals that Mark isn't really like this and was actually being possessed by an evil painting, but it's still hard to feel sorry for the guy.]]

* TogetherInDeath: [[spoiler:Sarah and Pluto were buried together inside the wall. At the beginning of the game eyewitnesses claim to have seen Sarah with Pluto, and Dupin and the player initially see Sarah with Pluto from outside the house. Throughout the course of the game, the two are frequently shown together. In the bonus chapter, Sarah and Pluto walk into the light together.]]

* AssholeVictim: Renelle Fore. [[spoiler:His deceased wife kills him and he does deserve it, but the reason ''why'' she kills him is because the cemetery caretaker has made sure that [[KarmaHoudini any ghostly revenge enacted by Renelle's deceased wives will fall on Fore instead of him]]. The caretaker is the one that masterminded the plan in the first place, and he even did research to help him avoid Louise's vengeance; Fore may have never thought of murdering rich women himself otherwise. It's impossible to feel sorry for Fore, though, as he did kill his wives willingly. He also takes sadistic glee in realizing - and telling you - that he's taking the secret of Victorine's location with him into death.]]

* {{Greed}}: [[spoiler:What motivates Fore to kill the women he marries. Presumably it's the caretaker's motivation as well, but there's no evidence of Fore sharing the wealth with him; you only find trophy items in the caretaker's hut but no large amounts of money. The caretaker may have kept it elsewhere or even buried it, however.]]

* LonelyFuneral: An unusual variant. Julien reaches out to Dupin for help resolving the matter of Victorine's funeral, because her husband had it hushed up to the point that he didn't even allow her own relatives to attend - it was exclusively himself and the cemetery caretaker. Not only that, but nobody knows ''where'' she's buried, so they can't even go to pay their respects at her grave. [[spoiler:That, of course, is so nobody can figure out she's alive in the crypt.]]

* {{Foreshadowing}}: There's a dress in one of the hotel rooms. [[spoiler:No, it's not in the veiled woman's room, it's in the concierge's room. Neither Dupin nor the player character comment on it; the concierge later admits to being the veiled woman.]]

* TimmyInAWell: Arthur is a little bit too intelligent for a dog. While dogs can smell better than humans, [[spoiler:when the detectives find the veil, Arthur makes a beeline to a hidden cache in the woman's room. However, the woman's scent would have been all over the room. Not even justified when it's revealed the villain was also the veiled woman, as the veil should have attracted Arthur towards the concierge's room instead; the source of the scent would have been far stronger in there. Modern-day cadaver dogs can sniff scents through cement and rubble, so Arthur should have easily smelled the scent through wood walls.]] Arthur also uses a lamp to find fireflies; the lamp hasn't been used in at least a hundred years or so, and was most likely only used with candles or oil. Any insect scents would have long worn off. Arthur's unerring accuracy is also unrealistic, since while dogs are used to scent out people or items all the time, they do give false positives. Furthermore, Newfoundlands are not known for their scent detecting abilities and were never used as hunting dogs; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_%28dog%29 their natural ability is in water rescue and they were used to pull fish nets and haul carts in the 1800s]].

** Happens again in the junk seller's shop and on the island. You have to unlock the main door yourself; but when you enter, [=LeGrand=] is already inside. This is justified because the junk shop actually does have a back door, but the way [=LeGrand=] accessed it isn't possible for the detectives and the path he took is never accessible. At the island, no one can pass to get to the tree before an obstacle is removed. Not only does [=LeGrand=] get there before you, but he's already figured out where the treasure is buried. (In the original story, actually finding the treasure at the treasure site takes at least several hours.)

* HorribleJudgeOfCharacter: [[spoiler:Rene Durand. He actually states in a note in the bonus chapter that he thinks Morro would be a better choice for town mayor; this is his motivation for making a deal with Morro and helping him fake his death in the main game. What he doesn't seem to know is that Morro overstepped his authority when he ordered executions; he was only authorized to make arrests by Prospero. Morro's own mother also left her son's home when she got fed up by his lust for power; Rene doesn't seem to have ever talked to her about Morro.]]

* MeaningfulName: Lumineaux, the setting for the game, is French for [[LightIsNotGood 'Light']].

* ProperlyParanoid: When you knock on Mayor Prospero's office door and then open it, you find him pointing a gun at you. While he is justified because the Red Masque is targeting government officials for death, it's highly doubtful an assassin would announce himself by knocking on the door first.

* GadgeteerGenius: A newspaper article seen very early in the game mentions that Otto Heller has invented what basically amount to NightVisionGoggles. Later in the game, it's revealed that he's also invented a pneumatic pipe system for delivering mail and [[spoiler:an InvisibilityCloak]].

* ParentalMarriageVeto: Lars Heller, of the Morden council of elders, disapproves strongly of his son Otto marrying Anna Wheeler. [[spoiler:Strongly enough to kill, in fact.]]

* {{Retcon}}:
** The town where the game takes place was called Moren in the original beta test; the full release changed the name to Morden.
** Simon Loyalle was promoted to commissioner as of the time of ''Speaking With the Dead''. Here, he's once again a constable. [[spoiler:And since he dies in this game, it has to be later in the timeline.]]

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:George Wheeler]], shortly before TheReveal at the end of the first act.

* {{Retcon}}: The town where the game takes place was called Moren in the original beta test; the full release changed the name to Morden.

* WidowWoman: Nora Benner, one of the members of the Morden council of elders, was widowed by the murderer. Oddly, a list you see of the council members' names indicates that she should be called Marta.

* CorruptPolitician: [[spoiler:Lars Heller]] eventually turns out to be this, complete with having control of the Morden police department.

* DullSurprise: No matter what happens in the game, Anna never expresses very much emotion in her speech.

* RedHerring: No matter who you think might be responsible for the murders, you are almost certainly wrong. The game's first act deliberately leads you in a few different directions, none of which lead to the correct person.
* RetCon: The town where the game takes place was called Moren in the original beta test; the full release changed the name to Morden.

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The games are usually set in France; however, this one takes place in a community called Morden. There is no Morden in France, but there is one in England; it's the name of a district in southern London. To further muddle things, Lars Heller's son Otto speaks with an accent that seems almost Dutch, and the names Lars and Otto are also Scandinavian.

* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler:George Wheeler]], shortly before TheReveal.

* GadgeteerGenius: A newspaper article seen very early in the game mentions that Otto Heller has invented what basically amount to NightVisionGoggles.

* RedHerring: No matter who you think might be responsible for the murders, you are almost certainly wrong. The game deliberately leads you in a few different directions, none of which lead to the correct person.

* The eighteenth game, ''[[https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/15402/dark-tales-edgar-allan-poes-devil-belfry-ce/?pc The Devil in the Belfry]],'' takes the detectives to a town called Moren, where a cloaked figure has been committing murders when the town clock strikes thirteen. Dupin and his friend are called to the case because Simon Loyalle (from ''Tell-Tale Heart'') was investigating the matter and disappeared. They've no time to spare if they want to rescue Simon from becoming the next victim, while also uncovering the truth behind the murders.

* ClosedCircle: Due to the recent horror, the council of elders have blocked the exits to Moren and enforced a curfew, not letting people enter or leave the community (except when summoned, as you were) in order to keep the killer from escaping.

* ParentalMarriageVeto: Lars Heller, of the Moren council of elders, disapproves strongly of his son Otto marrying Anna Wheeler. [[spoiler:Strongly enough to kill, in fact.]]

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The games are usually set in France; however, this one takes place in a community called Moren. There is no Moren in France, but there is one in England. To further muddle things, Lars Heller's son Otto speaks with an accent that seems almost Dutch.
* WidowWoman: Nora Benner, one of the members of the Moren council of elders, was widowed by the murderer. Oddly, a list you see of the council members' names indicates that she should be called Marta.

* The eighteenth game, ''The Devil in the Belfry,'' is currently in beta. In a town called Moren, a cloaked figure has been committing murders when the town clock strikes thirteen. Dupin and his friend are called to the case because Simon Loyalle (from ''Tell-Tale Heart'') was investigating the matter and disappeared. They've no time to spare if they want to rescue Simon from becoming the next victim, while also uncovering the truth behind the murders.

* DestinationDefenestration: Dupin falls victim to this. It's all the more horrifying since [[spoiler:you are the one who shoves him through the window, due to the possession.]]

C. Auguste Dupin appears in the series ''Worlds Align,'' an IntercontinuityCrossover between a few of AMAX Interactive's game properties. Dupin functions as a guide for the player, interacting with them directly as they are brought into the game worlds to SetRightWhatOnceWentWrong. The first game, ''[[https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/15235/worlds-align-beginning-ce/?pc Beginning]]'', was released in October 2019, and the sequel is in development.

* TheLostLenore: Literally. Losing his beloved Lenore is what is believed to have driven Alan Dillinger to kill himself. [[spoiler:However, Lenore is actually still alive, and Alan was murdered.]]

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The BigBad wants to avenge himself on both Dupin and Zula. According to his collectible card, Dupin was the one who sent him to prison years earlier; it's implied that he's after Zula because she assisted in the capture.

** Subverted by [[spoiler:Dupin]]. At first, it looks like he's turned on you, but you later learn that [[spoiler:he's been hypnotized by the BigBad]].

* NeverTheObviousSuspect: When you examine Zula's body at the beginning of the game, all the clues point to Jacob being the killer; she had to be killed by someone who knew how her illusion worked, she's clutching Jacob's invitation in her hand, and Jacob flees the scene when you try to question him. Naturally, you later learn that it was all a setup, courtesy of [[spoiler:Zula and Jacob himself, in order to distract the BigBad and lure Dupin away so Jacob can {{Deprogaram}} him]].

* CassandraTruth: "You're on the wrong side this time, Detective!" [[spoiler:That's actually true. Jacob ''seems'' like he's kidnapping Dupin, but he's really trying to protect him from the real killer.]]

* InNameOnly: Possibly the only example more egregious than ''Tell-Tale Heart'' - with the exception of the presence of a massive swinging pendulum-axe, this game has absolutely ''nothing'' to do with the original Poe story.

* RoaringRampageOfRevenge: The BigBad wants to avenge himself on both Dupin and Zula. According to his collectible card, Dupin was the one who sent him to prison years earlier; his reasons for wanting to kill Zula are less clear.

* The seventeenth game, ''[[https://www.bigfishgames.com/games/15364/dark-tales-edgar-allan-poes-bells-ce/?pc The Bells]]'', brings the detectives to the brink of the 20th century. Famous author and alleged prophet Albert [=McClain=] has disappeared during an event to promote his latest book. Dupin and his friend are summoned to the home of Jeffrey Lehman, Albert's literary agent, to try to find out what happened - and why the entire town is in danger.

* CutAndPasteEnvironments: A few are seen in the bonus chapter at the psychiatric hospital.
** The formal waiting room of the psychiatric hospital is identical to the main sitting room of the Metzengerstein estate in ''Metzengerstein''.
** The room behind the bird puzzle (where [[spoiler:Martha is being "treated"]]) is the same as one of the rooms in Pendulum House in ''The Pit and the Pendulum''.

* TakeYourTime: You must get to the town hall before the ninth chime of the bell. Don't panic, because no matter how long it takes you to figure out how to get in there, the ninth chime won't happen until just after you do.
** At the end of the game, you have to solve the final puzzle before the sixth chime. Same situation.

* MythologyGag: The poster for Wheeler's Theater of Illusions in Lars Heller's office is the log-in screen from Amax Interactive's ''Puppetshow'' series. In particular, it comes from ''Destiny Undone''.

* TheUnreveal: [[spoiler:The ending of the main game is left very ambiguous, as it's totally unclear whether Felix actually committed the murders or if Paul simply convinced himself that he did. The bonus chapter does nothing to clarify it. On the contrary, it actually makes this ''worse''; see TheUnsolvedMystery, below.]]

* GoodBadTranslation: Possibly responsible for one newspaper headline at the end of the bonus chapter, which declares that "The young detective was awarded the courage!"

* WhereTheHellIsSpringfield: The newspapers at the end of the main game indicate that the whole thing took place in a location called Riverside, but we have no clue as to where this is. The only hint we have is from the beginning of the game, where we're told it takes the detectives about fifteen minutes to get to their first destination; presuming Dupin to still be headquartered in Paris, it must be somewhere relatively nearby.

* IntrepidReporter: Martha Smith seems to be something like this. She's a newspaper reporter and she's definitely involved in the situation.

* SweetTooth: The player character can snack on sweets.

* WhereAreTheyNowEpilogue: After the final puzzle is completed, a series of newspapers (complete with voiceover narration) reveals the fates of the four major [=NPCs=].

* ExtendedGameplay: Found in the collector's edition of each game. The extra gameplay of ''Rue Morgue'' is merely a miniature adventure in Poe's own home, and has nothing to do with the main story. But starting with ''The Black Cat'', each game has a PlayableEpilogue - a continuation of (or {{prequel}} to) the main story, revealing additional details.
** ''House of Usher'' adds ''further'' extended gameplay in the form of a completely unrelated case which Dupin wants the player character to solve, requiring the acquisition of various equipment.

* CardShark: According to a remark Dupin makes late in the game, the player character is this; Dupin notes that "I remember how you always won when we played at cards. (The card game you actually play is similar to the children's game ''Memory''.)

* DeadToBeginWith: Annabelle [=McClain=], the wife of the author, and also Beatrice Carpenter, a young woman whose tragic death is mentioned in a news article.

* [[spoiler:TaxonomicTermConfusion: The gorilla is referred to as a monkey in-game. However, there are people that would argue that gorillas are apes, not monkeys. See the trope page for the full argument.]]

* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened To The Evidence?]]: [[spoiler:The pipette that you give to the doctor in Madame L'Espanaye's house that's filled with blood. You never get the doctor's test results back, so you never learn whose blood it was, or why it was important to the case.]] Possibly a RedHerring.

* AssholeVictim: [[spoiler:Mark Davies. He abused his wife and Pluto. He knows his wife is dead but reports her missing instead. When Dupin and the player arrive at his house, he is initially hostile and defensive. When confronted with the crime, he's still hostile and very unapologetic. The bonus chapter reveals that Mark isn't really like this and was being possessed by an evil painting, but it's still hard to feel sorry for the guy.]]

* [[KickTheDog Kick The Cat]]: Pluto's missing eye is the result of Mark Davies' animal abuse; a letter in the lake gazebo that was written by Sarah notes that Mark had been abusing their pets. [[spoiler:Mark may have even buried Pluto alive in the wall where he put his wife's corpse; when Pluto is shown atop her corpse, he is practically skin and bones (a marked contrast to his appearance throughout the rest of the game), indicating he starved to death while in the wall.]]

* [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse What Happened To The Illusionist and Mark Davies?]]: [[spoiler:The illusionist in-game is said to have just disappeared; there is no explanation as to whether he is still alive or dead. The painting at the end is shown to release the figures of Mark and Sarah Davies and the illusionist; Sarah obviously moved on to the next life, but the illusionist isn't seen. Mark is still alive, so what effect did releasing him from the painting have?]]

* DarkIsNotEvil: [[spoiler:Louise Fore, the ghost that appears at the beginning of the game, has black hair and wears a dress that is mostly black. She causes the carriage to crash in the opening cinematic when she scares the horses, but nobody seems to be injured by it; she seems to have done this mainly to get the detectives' attention and not because she was out to harm them. Even though she's quite angry, she never threatens the detectives; her anger is rightfully directed towards the person that killed her. Unfortunately, killing Fore makes Victorine's rescue more difficult, as he dies before revealing where Victorine was buried; Louise has no way of knowing this because being dead doesn't make you psychic, and Fore probably wouldn't have said anything anyway, but rather would have had the detectives arrested for trespassing. In the bonus chapter, it's hinted that your presence is what made Louise manifest in the first place, so she has no reason to want to harm you.]]

* TheDogWasTheMastermind: [[spoiler:The caretaker. He's the one who came up with the whole scheme to bury cataleptic women alive in the first place. Suspicion never falls on him in the main game at all, and it's not until the bonus chapter that he's revealed. [[FridgeBrilliance The fact that, as the caretaker of the graveyard, he's the one that would have been one of the first to notice that Renelle was burying his wives very quickly and quietly, that he'd buried three of them this way, and that the caretaker had never mentioned this to anyone or tipped off the police]] are all early signs that he was in on it from the beginning. You get more specific proof of his guilt in the bonus chapter.]]

* UnableToSupportAWife: Julien is an artist and a poor man. This is most likely the reason why Victorine's family refused to allow him to marry her. [[spoiler:Still in play by the ending, but Victorine doesn't care and apparently her family can't stop her any longer; she says she'll support both of them with her inheritance instead. With her horrible husband dead, she has not only her own wealth but also what she'll inherit from him, so she certainly has enough money to make good on the promise.]]

* LighterAndSofter: ''The Gold Bug'' is arguably lighter than the other ''Dark Tales''. Justified in that it's based on a treasure hunt rather than one of Poe's horror stories (''The Black Cat'', ''Masque of the Red Death'' and ''House of Usher''), parodies (''Premature Burial''), or mysteries (''Murders in the Rue Morgue'').

* TimmyInAWell: Arthur is a little bit too intelligent for a dog. While dogs can smell better than humans, [[spoiler:when the detectives find the veil, Arthur makes a beeline to a hidden cache in the woman's room. However, the woman's scent would have been all over the room. Not even justified when it's revealed the villain was also the veiled woman, as the veil should have attracted Arthur towards the concierge's room instead; the source of the scent would have been far stronger in there. Modern-day cadaver dogs can sniff scents through cement and rubble, so Arthur should have easily smelled the scent through wood walls.]] Arthur also uses a lamp to find fireflies; the lamp hasn't been used in at least a hundred years or so, and was most likely only used with candles or oil. Any insect scents would have long worn off. Arthur's unerring accuracy is also unrealistic, since while dogs are used to scent out people or items all the time, they do give false positives. Furthermore, Newfoundlands are not known for their scent detecting abilities and were never used as hunting dogs; [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Newfoundland_%28dog%29 their natural ability is in water rescue and they were used to pull fish nets and haul carts in the 1800's]].

** Happens again in the junk seller's shop and on the island. You have to unlock the main door yourself; when you enter, [=LeGrand=] is already inside. This is justified because the junk shop actually does have a back door, but the way [=LeGrand=] accessed it isn't possible for the detectives and the path he took is never accessible. At the island, no one can pass to get to the tree before an obstacle is removed. Not only does [=LeGrand=] get there before you, but he's already figured out where the treasure is buried. (In the original story, actually finding the treasure at the treasure site takes at least several hours.)

** [[spoiler:Jacques Morro]] has a sweet little daughter who loves him very much. [[spoiler: It makes him being the BiggerBad in the bonus chapter all the more unsettling.]]

** Very much averted when it comes to Dupin's sprites in-game, for the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh games. He got a whole new sprite set for each game for the first three games, but after ''Premature Burial'' no large sprite changes have been made, although on occasion a new sprite has been created when necessary [[spoiler:such as when Dupin gets shot in ''Masque of the Red Death'']]. Dupin's sprites from ''The Gold Bug'' on is a combination of the sprites from the second and third games. The second game's sprite has black hair and no textures (though one was added later to make it more consistent), the third game's sprite has brown hair and a texture on the jacket that is subtle but fairly noticeable. Since Dupin's dialogue has been cut a great deal in the fourth through sixth games, his sprites show up less often and mainly in cut scenes, so it can be difficult to spot; the second game sprites are the ones where he faces you directly, and the third game ones usually are quarter view or three-quarters view.

* GottaCatchEmAll: Starting with ''Usher'', the games have collection sidequests.

** However, unimportant or unusable objects sometimes have the same glow. In ''The Black Cat'', there's a chicken that has a glowing light above it; clicking on it results in a cut scene with the chicken, but it's not important to the story; the chicken just ends up back in the same place after the cutscene is over, and the chicken doesn't prevent the player from accessing the hidden object scene in the same area. In ''The Premature Burial'', the hook in the ceiling of Julien's room glints with the same light, but there's no way to use the hook for anything. Similarly, a church window in ''Lenore'' has the glint, but the player character observes that it's a RedHerring since they don't need anything from inside the church.

* TakeYourTime: No matter what the games say about you needing to hurry up, there's no penalty for taking your sweet time in any situation. This is perhaps most egregious in the bonus chapter of ''Masque of the Red Death;'' first you must escape from [[AdvancingWallOfDoom a burning room]], but the fire never actually gets any closer. Later, you have to run around to find medical supplies to [[spoiler:save Dupin's life after he gets shot]], without any ill effects no matter how long it takes. Similarly, you must assemble ingredients and concoct an antidote when [[spoiler:you yourself are poisoned]] in the bonus chapter of ''The Raven'', and again in the main game of ''Lenore''; but no matter how long it takes, nothing bad happens. This is also the case in ''Pendulum'' when various characters are in danger.

* WomanInWhite: The White Crow from the previous game makes a return, and the voice and figure confirm that she is female. However, it's a different person this time, at least as far as we can tell.

* WomanInWhite: Ligeia wears white dresses in every appearance, even as a child. She was also buried in one.

* WomanInWhite: The White Crow is garbed all in white, with a creepy mask of a crow's skull with three burning eyes.