In the third millennium, a catastrophic war known as the Untergang has devastated the world, killing off and/or mutating nearly all life on earth. Years after the Untergang, the survivors have begun to form somewhat-primitive settlements throughout the ravaged world. One of these settlements, located in what was once Sweden, is the eponymous Krater. An infinitely deep cavern formed by one of the nukes dropping during the Untergang, and filled with ancient treasures of the old world.
You play as a rag tag team of mercenaries come to make their fortune in the Krater. Along the way, however, you stumble upon a plot by the notorious bandit leader Bloodscalp and his mysterious benefactor...
Krater contains examples of
- After the End: Its actually a rather optimistic look at a post nuclear apocalypse world.
- Apocalypse How: The Untergang. Not much is known about it, but it apparently involved nukes, bioweapons, and nanomachines.
- Bilingual Bonus: Untergang is German for "doom" or "downfall". In addition, many Swedish places still have the same names after one thousand years.
- The Faceless: Your squad members and every NPC all wear gas masks, presumably because there's a ton of radiation still left over from the Untergang.
- Glass Cannon: Slayers have the highest damage output, but laughable defense.
- Improvised Weapon: Most of the weapons you can use are weaponized versions of "old world" items. For example, weapons for Bruisers include rebar clubs and stop signs, while Slayers have gloves with sharp instruments ranging from knives to sawblades haphazardly taped on. Medikuses and Regulator guns, by contrast, tend to be more futuristic and well made.
- Mad Scientist: Dr Cerebro, a pre order-DLC recruitable character who has lost much of his sanity due to prolonged time in prison, has replaced his head with a Brain in a Jar, and constantly spouts off science related gibberish. He also happens to be one of the best healers in the game.
- Mighty Glacier: Bruisers. While they have slightly less raw attack power than Slayers, they possess the highest defense and stamina of the classes, making them excellent tanks.
- Permadeath: Let a squadmember get enough Wounds, and he's gone for good.
- Shop Fodder: Possible items in this category are tufts of dog hair, pinecones and very small rocks.
- Shout-Out: Oh Zaida, don't get me started! There are easily hundreds of references to everything between children's songs from 1895 to The Hangover, which the tutorial is named after.
- What Did I Do Last Night?: The tutorial. Basically, once your team reached the Krater, they celebrated by having a drunken party that trashed the town you were staying at.
