BackStab is a Hack and Slash action game made by Gameloft for the Android, and a rather blatant Assassin's Creed clone when it comes to gameplay.
Set in The Golden Age of Piracy, the lawful English Captain Henry Blake, alongside his commanding officer Edmund Kane was tasked with battling Spanish forces invading their under-defended town. But Henry was betrayed by Edmund, who's working with the invaders in an attempted takeover, being the commander who diverts most of the army away in the first place; when Henry discovers Edmund's treachery, Edmund promptly had him framed for treason.
Sentenced to be shot, Henry was unexpectedly rescued by a pirate raid, meeting one of their leaders, the pirate girl Lisette Lavolier in the process. After escaping, Henry joins forces with the pirates - revealed to be part of a resistance opposing Edmund Kane's tyranny after Kane took over most of the surrounding territories - and embarks on a quest for revenge.
Well Ain't Life a Beach...
- Armor Is Useless: Conquistadore enemies have visible armored plates over their torso, but their health stats is no different from British redcoats. And Henry can perform his F Inishing Move by stabbing them through the chest, armor be damned.
- Bad Boss: Edmund Kane, the game's main villain. Discounting his betrayal of his former loyal subordinate Henry, the opening stage also have him ordering Henry to sink several Spanish ships – later revealed to be his own allies – as a distraction while he runs off to rendezvous with another group of Conquistadores. Edmund's dialogue in the scene doesn’t help either.Edmund: Sink them! Let them taste British Iron! Die Spaniards!
- Big Bad: Admiral Edmund Kane, the hero Henry's ex-commanding officer who betrayed him and started a takeover.
- Barefoot Captives: Henry lose his coat, hat and boots after the first level; in the following escape stage as Lisette breaks him free and Henry gets his hand on a sword, he spends the entire stage kicking ass shoeless.
- Bears Are Bad News: Bears can only be encountered in a set of stables within the jungle stage. Expectedly, they're hostile and tries ripping Henry to shreds on sight.
- Breather Episode: "New Life", a stage devoid of enemies after escaping execution, where Henry integrates himself with the village community where the resistance's family lives. Instead of killing soldiers he's hunting rabbits and chickens, instead of blowing up ships and buildings he's assisting in chores around Lisette's farms. And then Edmund Kane's army attacks the resistance hideout, and it's back to killing and shooting.
- Can't Kill You, Still Need You: After Henry gets captured alive by the Conquistadores and Edmund Kane reveals his true allegiance:Conquistadore Captain: Let me guess… this (Henry) is the man you had in mind?
Edward: Yes. So don’t kill him – there'll be time for that later. - Combat Pragmatist:
- At least one cutscene have Henry confronting enemy swordsmen, only for him to suddenly draw his gun and fire away.
- How the final battle between Henry and Edmund plays out. Henry managed to defeat Edmund, his ex-commander in a Sword Fight. Having disarmed Edmund, suddenly the villain pulls out a hidden pistol.
- Conveniently Timed Attack from Behind: How Edmund Kane, the game's main antagonist, is taken out, by Henry's ally Sofia shooting Edmund before Edmund can shoot Henry.
- Falling Chandelier of Doom: There's one in Edmund's office, which predictably falls as Henry takes on Edmund's soldiers. It quickly ignites the carpets and turns the subsequent battle between Henry and Edmund into a Battle Amongst the Flames.
- Falling Damage: Tends to happen if Henry misses a jump and lands too hard, notably in the port town and jungle ruins.
- Flynning: Owing to the setting, animation for Henry and most of the major characters have their moves based on classical swashbuckler-style flynning moves.
- Frame-Up: The very premise of the game, with the protagonist, Henry being framed for working in cahoots with the invading Spaniards by his commanding officer, Edmund Kane and subsequently arrested. His escape leads to the game's main storyline.
- Hanging by the Fingers: A gameplay trait lifted from Assassin's Creed (since this is a blatant clone and all that) where Henry can scale walls and exteriors of fortresses by clinging to corners to infiltrate buildings from their sides.
- Historical Hero Upgrade: Captain Blackbeard is one of the resistance members and heroes opposing Edward Kane's tyranny, who serves as Henry's backup in a few stages. He even provides transportation between levels.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: One of the methods Edmund Kane deals with executed prisoners, by skewering them on spikes and left outside his bases as a Dead Guy on Display. "Cold Day In Hell" have an area in the background full of impaled corpses.
- Mood Whiplash: The level in Lisette's farm. It's peaceful for a while as the recently-rescued Henry recovers from his betrayal and tries starting a new life with the locals, but then Edmund's soldiers attacks the village in order to flush out the resistance.
- Mook Lieutenant: The sergeants of Edmune's army could be differentiated from the common redcoats or blue-clad riflemen from their navy overcoats. When there's a group of enemies around the sergeant is often the one shouting orders around.
- No Range Like Point-Blank Range: One of Henry's finishing moves have him stunning an enemy enough to shove his flintlock pistol into their temple and pulling the trigger up close.
- Off with His Head!: Henry can pull this off when sneaking behind enemies, where a well-timed cutlass swing on unwary opponents relives them of the craniums.
- Pirate: Befitting the setting, pirates do appear in this game, but they're members of the La Résistance against Edmund Kane's tyranny. Blackbeard himself even shows up as one of the resistance leaders!
- Pirate Girl: Lisette Lavolier, who saves Henry from execution and helps out as a capable Assist Character during gameplay. There's also Blackbeard's daughter, Sofia.
- Rape, Pillage, and Burn: The first level ends with the Spanish Inquisition raiding a coastal village, which Henry and Edmund have to lead their defenders to fend off until the latter is revealed to be working for the Spanish. Also, what Edmund and his army of cutthroats did to various coastal cities to enforce his power throughout.
- Ribcage Ridge: In the first area of "Fire of the Revolution", where Henry fights off a number of Conquistadores on a beach beneath a small corridor made of whale-bones.
- Roofhopping: The port town stage have Henry infiltrating the town by hopping over rooftops to avoid sentries, in order to enter the town square. Miss a jump and he risks getting spotted by guards, leading to an inevitable battle.
- Sand Necktie: The Snow variant pops up in "Cold Day in Hell" when Henry and his men buries one of Edmund's soldiers to the waist in snow to interrogate him.
- Shot at Dawn: The original, intended fate of Henry after his arrest in the Siege level, with his former commander Edmund giving out the orders. The following stage opens with a cutscene of a few other captives getting lined up and shot, with Henry being next in turn, but Lisette and the resistance comes to the rescue.
- The Siege: The game opens with a Spanish raid on the city, where the player protagonist, Henry, with his commanding officer Edmund Kane leads their redcoats in fending off an invasion force. But then Edmund backstabs Henry towards the end of the level.
- Slashed Throat: One of the execution moves Henry can pull off after scoring enough hits to stun an enemy, where he'll automatically run his cutlass through his opponent's jugular.
- Sword Fight: Most of the game's action scenes are sword-battles between Henry and sword-wielding enemy soldiers. And of course the Final Boss battle against Edmund Kane.
- You Can't Thwart Stage One: The introduction stage will end with the protagonist Henry discovering he's been betrayed by his commanding officer, Edmund Kane, who's in league with the Conquistadores, and his subsequent arrest, regardless of the player's performance.
