Half-Rats: A Fever Dream is a Half-life game mod that was released for halloween, 2015.
Somewhere in America, a mere decade before The Gay '90s. Half-Rats, a alcoholic, poor man, is woken up by his landlord and some loud noise coming from outside. After getting his revolver and a sword he and his landlord quickly learns that Hell, figuratively and literally, is on earth.
This game mod demonstrates the following tropes:
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Impressive, for being in the 1880s.
- The Alcoholic: Half-Rats himself. The name itself is even a victorian slang for somebody being drunk.
- All Just a Dream: Half-Rats wakes up in his own bed after the final bossfight, and promises to never drink again.
- All There in the Manual: A lot of trivia, such as the names of the enemies and their statistics and major spoilers, can be found in the Bestiary on the mod's webpage.
- Body Armor as Hit Points: The drunkenness meter, which soaks up some of the damage that's dealt to you and is refilled with licuor.
- Berserk Board Barricade: Half-Rats gathers some timber to barricade the store, which done in a microsecond.
- Bloody Bowels of Hell: Mr.Trask's entire store is one
- Bloody Horror
- Body Horror
- Damage-Sponge Boss: Both The Behemoth and Hellmouth have to be blasted multiple times with the canon while the player avoid their attacks.
- Down the Drain
- Driven to Suicide: Half-Rats encounters one of few people still alive, who is trying to hang himself.
- Dreadful Musician: A monster in the manson plays the piano by randomly slammin the keys. It is so loud that it is heard from the outside, and both Half-Rats and Barnaby find it revolting.
- Drunken Master: As alcohol fill up the drunkenness Meter, which takes away damage done, having a high number makes melee combat a whole lot easier.
- Call to Adventure: After the store has been barricaded, Mr. Trask asks Half-Rats to go and search for help. Mr. Rats is happy to do so.
- Chase Scene: Satan summons a giant invulnerable hell-being to go after Half-Rats.
- Cliffhanger: The game ends with Half-Rats learning about all of Mr.Trask's doings and deals with the Devil and passing out, with the last thing heard being "Tired, Mister Rats?"
- Corrupt Church: The one in the countryside that has a giant upside-down crucifix and is the summoning place for The Behemoth.
- Creepy Long Fingers: The teddymen.
- Escort Mission: Once Half-Rats meets up with Mr.Trask and Barnaby they need to get to the train station. Fortunetly, it is only difficult during the times Mr Trask or Barnaby get stuck in the terrain for a bit.
- Final Boss: The Hellmouth.
- Hedge Maze: Outside of the Dwyer Residence.
- Hell Is That Noise: All of the hell beings moan and scream incompherensebly, whether they have spotted the player or not.
- Hold the Line
- Hyperactive Metabolism: Meatpies restore health instantly, and drinking alcohol makes the player take less damage.
- Hyperspace Arsenal: Averted. Half-Rats only brandishes the revolver and the sword, with the reason being that he wouldn't be able to carry any more on his person. The sequel does away with this by having him carrying a backpack.
- Interrupted Suicide: Subverted. While Half-Rats do manage to prevent a man from dying by hanging himself, he falls through the floor and dies upon landing anyhow.
- Lava Pit
- Left Hanging: The creator has stated that there won't be a direct sequel to the mod, leaving it unresolved. True to his word, his second mod "Half-Rats: Parasomnia" doesn't continue the story and instead has its own.
- Locked Door: Several. Some are unlocked by keys and others can only be opened by the companions.
- Meat Moss
- Not-So-Abandoned Building: The Dwyer residence was rumored to have been abandoned and empty for a entire year. However, Half-Rats and Barnaby discover fresh meat and ice in the basement, proving otherwise.
- No OSHA Compliance: The Dwyer Stove Works which, among other things, forces the player to jump over molten lava. Justified in that it's almoast a hundred years before OSHA was implemented.
- Old, Dark House: The Dwyer mansion.
- Protection Mission: Near the end of the game, Mr. Rats and Barnaby must fight of monsters while Mr. Trask is trying to get the train going.
- Rousing Speech: When Barnaby suffers a breakdown, Half-Rats gives him one that puts his moral to a hundred.
- Senseless Sacrifice: Barnaby rushes into the The Behemoth, trying to slow it down. It crushes him into bits quickly.
- Shoot the Rope: All ropes in the mod can either be cut with the sword or preferably shot.
- Super-Persistent Predator: The Behemoth spends a good chunk of the game chasing Half-Rats and must be avoided at all costs.
- The Undead: The teddymen and the Children of Hell.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot
- Wham Line: Mr. Rats, that mark upon Barnaby was merely our way of cataloging their numbers. Tell me you noticed he wasn't the only Barnaby in our midst?
Tired, Mr.Rats?
