History Videogame / Submachine

* UpdatedRerelease: The first two games were eventually given updated forms. The first game in particular has had four versions.

* SequelDifficultySpike: Each game can be described to be more challenging than the last, but as a result of ''10'' being bigger than the first nine games combined, paired with extremely complicated puzzles and more disorienting navigation, it is much harder than any of the previous games.

** The notes in the bonus section of ''Submachine 7'' says the idea of the layers comes from the Twilight in ''Literature/NightWatch''.

* AlienSky: [[spoiler:The final scene of ''The Exit'' and ''Universe'' features a night sky with two moon/planets.]] It is not known whether this suggests the series takes place on an alien planet or on an alternate-layer version of Earth

* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: If you had played the original Submachine without any knowledge of later episodes, you'd have probably guessed that the series would just be another set of escape-the-room series that happened to have a suitably creepy atmosphere. Then they introduced the stuff about teleportation, alternate dimensions, relics from forgotten civilizations, strange futuristic technology of an unknown source, etc., and the first game just seems sparse in comparison. Then again, [[spoiler: the first game is just being played on an arcade machine by the player in ''The Lighthouse'' ...except not. ''The Exit'' confirms that ''The Basement'' actually happened, and the player was made to think it was an arcade game.]]

* OrwellianRetcon: The current version of The Basement is the fifth incarnation. The original notably lacks Wisdom Gems, which only became a thing with The Lighthouse. The most recent change replaces the realistically rendered Euro coin with an "ancient coin" (which resembles an ancient Greek drachma), removing what would seem to be a fairly direct (unlike, for example, the vague references to the "lands of Kent", which don't seem to be any of the real Kents) tie to the real world. Ironically though, modern Greek 1 Euro coins contain a depiction of said "ancient coin".

* TreacherousAdvisor: [[spoiler:Subverted. ''Submachine 6'' reveals that Murtaugh was ultimately using you to invade the subnet, though Submachine 9's bonus content implies that Murtaugh's messages may have been automated and not actually him.]]

All of the games are point-and-click style puzzles and (excepting the four AU games) follow a continuous storyline. The general objective of each game is to escape from an enclosed (and usually submerged) location that houses a mysterious machine. As the story progresses, the player finds more and more about the history of the "submachines" through clues left behind by a mysterious figure named Murtaugh. One of the well-known characteristics of the game is [[BeautifulVoid a complete and total lack of any other living being, even animals]] [[spoiler:until the 10th game]].

** Possibly subverted by the ''Sub 9'' bonus material. [[spoiler: "Murtaugh never said it was about revenge. But by then he was used to not being understood."]]
%%* ScareChord: In ''Submachine 9'', when [[spoiler:you find the entrances to Murtaugh and Elizabeth's tombs]].

%%** In ''Submachine Universe'', [[Series/{{Lost}} type in 815]].

All of the games are point-and-click style puzzles and (excepting the four AU games) follow a continuous storyline. The general object of each game is to escape from an enclosed (and usually submerged) location that houses a mysterious machine. As the story progresses, the player finds more and more about the history of the "submachines" through clues left behind by a mysterious figure named Murtaugh. One of the well-known characteristics of the game is [[BeautifulVoid a complete and total lack of any other living being, even animals]]. This often leads to the games being filed under NightmareFuel.

** Several of the rooms in ''Subnet'' are warped in weird ways -- one is Escher-like, one is a MobileMaze, one takes you to a random room every time you go through a door...

* AlienSky: [[spoiler:The final scene of ''The Exit'' and ''Universe'' features a night sky with two moon/planets.]] It is unknown if the series takes place on an alien planet or on an alternate-layer version of our Earth.

* DoingInTheWizard: Downplayed. All those notes that mention the Hindu god Shiva actually refer to [[spoiler: a supercomputer system called S.H.I.V.A., heavily implied to be the submachine itself.]]
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: If you had played the original Submachine without any knowledge of later episodes, you'd have probably guessed that the series would just be another set of escape-the-room series that happened to have a suitably creepy atmosphere. Then they introduced the stuff about teleportation, alternate dimensions, relics from forgotten civilizations, strange futuristic technology of an unknown source, etc., and the first game just seems sparse in comparison. Then again, [[spoiler: the first game is just being played on an arcade machine by the player in ''The Lighthouse'' ...not. ''The Exit'' confirms that ''The Basement'' actually happened, and the player was made to think it was an arcade game.]]

** The "extras" in ''Submachine 8'' reveal [[spoiler:that Murtagh is so focused on what he does that he can't even see the other Submachine explorers, except Liz. Raising the question: is the Subnet empty when the player gets there, or is the player just as focused? However, ''Submachine 9'' reveals that this was because of Murtaugh's inability to focus on only a single layer.]] In ''Submachine 10'' [[spoiler: Mur explains that there are an infinite number of sublayers in each layer, and everyone exploring the machine is on a different one.]]

** Possibly subverted by the ''Sub 9'' bonus material: [[spoiler: "Murtaugh never said it was about revenge. But by then he was used to not being understood."]]

** [[spoiler: The same comes out with the ending of ''Submachine 1'' when you use a Karma Portal in ''Submachine 10'' to return to it.]]

* SequelEscalation: ''Submachine 10'' is '''huge'''. It's larger than all of the previous games ''combined''.

* DoingInTheWizard: Downplayed. All those notes that mention the Hindu god Shiva actually refer to a supercomputer system called S.H.I.V.A., heavily implied to be the submachine itself.]]

* [[invoked]][[https://mateuszskutnik.itch.io/submachine-universe Submachine Universe]] (an open-ended "Massively Singleplayer Online" -- [[WordOfGod Word Of Skutnik]] is that it is not a game -- dotted with theories from the Submachine message boards)

** Subverted in the case of [[spoiler: Shiva- it's revealed in ''The Exit'' that the ending of ''The Temple'' was actually referring to S.H.I.V.A., the sentient computer at the heart of the Subnet.]]

* BambooTechnology: One area of ''Submachine 8'' is made of bamboo, and has a bamboo technology version of the recurring valve puzzle.

** There's always a feeling that you are being watched by some unknown entity, especially after game #3. The floating security cameras at Location [[spoiler:317]] in ''[=SubNet=] Exploration Project'' imply this even more heavily.
** In the ''Subnet'', one portal code takes you to the exterior of ''Submachine 0''... and the blue sky from the earlier game turns out to be [[TrumanShowPlot a backdrop against the black void]] of ''Submachine 5''.

** ''Subnet'' lets you revisit ''every'' previous room. At one point in ''Submachine 4'', you have to shut off the water in a pipe and bash it open. When you revisit the area in ''Subnet'', it's flooded because somebody broke the switch in another room after placing their transmitter.

*** There's a point in ''The Exit'' where you go through the end of ''Sub 1''/beginning of ''Sub 2'' transition ''backwards''. [[spoiler: The game machine in the lighthouse turns out to be a portal which takes you to the fake ending of Sub 1, and you then take the elevator to (a version of) the basement.]]

* DeadAllAlong: Subverted. In ''Submachine 9,'' [[spoiler:the catacombs of the eponymous temple contain the tombs of Murtaugh and Elizabeth. It's not clear how long they've been there, but the information in the secrets suggests that the computer messages you were receiving from Mur may have been automated. It turns out that while those are their tombs, they haven't died. Yet.]]
* DeusEstMachina: In ''Submachine 8,'' it is revealed that [[spoiler:they built a computer and asked it why we exist. They weren't expecting it to have an answer.]] ''Submachine 10'' reveals [[spoiler:said computer was the Submachine itself]].
* DisabilitySuperpower: Mur's diary entry in the first game mentions the loss of his arm on vacation, and later gaining a "karma arm."
* DoesNotLikeShoes: When you finally meet [[spoiler:Murtaugh and Elizabeth]] in the last game, the latter is barefoot.
* DoingInTheWizard: Downplayed. All those notes that mention the Hindu god Shiva? [[spoiler: They actually refer to a computer system called S.H.I.V.A., heavily implied to be the submachine itself.]]

** The "Hell" room in ''Submachine Universe'' (Location [[spoiler:666]]) can be this, given that all the scary stuff in the room is only suggested or ambient. Visually it's a small room, dimly lit with red light, with a ladder that you cannot climb to the top of because it leads into absolute darkness... and the audio is loud, intense distortion noises, some of which sound like growling and shrieking.

* PermanentlyMissableContent: In ''Submachine 9'', it's possible for two secrets to be lost. [[spoiler:One requires you to use a ladder rung as a lever. If you attempt to use it as a ladder rung, it's stuck. The other requires a balance you pick up just before the endgame, and if you enter the endgame before getting it, you can't go back. And you can't even pick it up in the NewGamePlus, because that route is now blocked.]]

* DoesNotLikeShoes: When you finally meet [[spoiler:Murtaugh and Elizabeth]] in the last game, the latter is barefoot.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: When you finally meet Murtaugh and Elizabeth, the latter is barefoot.

*** There's a point in ''The Exit'' where you go through the end of ''Sub 1''/beginning of ''Sub 2'' transition ''backwards''. [[spoiler: The game machine in the lighthouse turns out to be a portal which takes you to the fake ending of Sub 1, and you then take the elevator to (a version of) the basement.]]\\

** ''The Exit'' reprises ''a lot'' of previous rooms, like the entirety of ''The Basement'', the dungeon [[spoiler: and top floor]] of ''The Lighthouse'', an unknown floor of ''The Loop'', the roof of ''The Lab'', the citric acid room from ''The Root'', the cliffsides surrounding ''The Edge'', the interior of the Winter Palace from ''The Core'', the first layer of ''The Plan'', and the bottom of ''The Temple''. However, instead of simply including them as a nod to the previous games, new areas that couldn't be reached before are included.\\
** There's a point in ''The Exit'' where you go through the end of ''Sub 1''/beginning of ''Sub 2'' transition ''backwards''. [[spoiler: The game machine in the lighthouse turns out to be a portal which takes you to the fake ending of Sub 1, and you then take the elevator to (a version of) the basement.]]\\
** If you touch the lamp [[spoiler: in the lighthouse while it's still active, it sends you back to the Loop, since that's what it did at the end of ''Sub 2'']].

** In the ''Subnet'', one portal code takes you to the exterior of ''Submachine 0''... and the blue sky from the earlier game turns out to be a backdrop against the black void of ''Submachine 5''.

* AlienSky: [[spoiler:The final scene of ''The Exit'' features a night sky with two moons.]]

* DeusEstMachina: In ''Submachine 8,'' it's revealed that [[spoiler:they built a computer and asked it why we exist. They weren't expecting it to have an answer.]] ''Submachine 10'' reveals [[spoiler:said computer was the Submachine itself]].

** Possibly subverted by the ''Sub 9'' bonus material: [[spoiler: "Murtagh never said it was about revenge. But by then he was used to not being understood."]]

** The cake room from ''Universe'' provides many references from [[VideoGame/{{Portal}} Portal]].
** The text from the opening of ''Submachine 3'' references ''Film/TheMatrix'' with the phrase "There is no spoon", but is also internally consistent, as there is a spoon in game 1.

* BookEnds: [[spoiler:''Submachine 2'' begins begins with you escaping the lighthouse. In ''Submachine 10,'' you ultimately escape the subnet by escaping through the lighthouse. While this event doesn't take place at the exact beginning, this repeated gesture still provides the same sense of closure as the trope normally provides.]]

There's a point in ''The Exit'' where you go through the end of ''Sub 1''/beginning of ''Sub 2'' transition ''backwards''. [[spoiler: The game machine in the lighthouse turns out to be a portal which takes you to the fake ending of Sub 1, and you then take the elevator to (a version of) the basement.]]\\
If you touch the lamp [[spoiler: in the lighthouse while it's still active, it sends you back to the Loop, since that's what it did at the end of ''Sub 2'']].