Metaphobia is an independant Point-and-Click Game, developped by Digital Mosaic Games and released in 2019. It is available on Steam, or on the studio's website
. Following the developpers' wish, the game is entirely free.
The game is made in the style of 80ies/90ies Adventure Game, and its plot takes a lot from conspiracy theories.
You play as Richard Elmstat, a lonely artist living in New-York and the son of a local politician. In the recent days, Richard's father was elected mayor of the city, only to get promptly assassinated. The police made a quick work of filing it as burglary and assault, and arrested a convenient culprit.
Unsatisfied with the process, Richard decides to investigate on his own. But what looked at first as a political assassination will uncover an older, darker secret about the world's inner workings.
Metaphobia contains examples of:
- Aborted Arc: A recurring topic among the characters is a moment of Richard's life when he lost control of himself, and became estranged from his loved ones (it was the moment he broke up with Judy). Given the game's theme, Richard may have suffered from Mind Manipulation, but in the end we know nothing more about it.
- Abusive Precursors: The Reptilians spare no effort to fit the trope. They claim to have created humanity, yet they keep it a Slave Race for millenia, mostly through Mind Control. They may also resort to Assassination Attempt to prevent any (non-hybrids) human from becoming too much a hindrance.
- All for Nothing: In the end, Richard never gets who murdered his father. Instead, he discovers the Reptilians' conspiracy, finally confronts the Big Bad to save his loved ones... To be quickly subdued and turned into a Reptilian himself, while everyone who helped him is either dead or brainwashed to forget everything, if they were not The Mole to begin with.
- Amicable Exes: Judy is Richard's ex-girlfriend. Though she seems a bit bitter at first, once Richards gives his apologies, she becomes friendly and cooperative, and gets him anything he needs for his investigation.
- The Big Rotten Apple: Often referred to as "the city", it's clearly said that most of the game takes place in New-York, and Richard is not pleased to live there.
- The Conspiracy: The story is built around some of them, to be specific a Reptilian Conspiracy. They pull the strings on humanity. Most of them are Half-Human Hybrids, and look like the trope, though they can shape-shift into humans. Their overlord, though, looks like a biblical demon, or it may be a form he takes to impress puny mortals. Which leads us to the character trope:
- Conspiracy Theorist: The more Richard digs for clues of a secret society behind his father's death, the more people around him (Judy, in fact) see him as one.
- Later in the game, you meet an actual one. You may show him what you found, which impresses him, but he does not look too upset about it.
- Demoted to Extra: The first scene after the prologue introduces us to Patricia, Richard's teenage daughter. The two have a small chat, then she puts her luggage in a corner, lies in the bed and begins to look at her phone. She will do nothing else for the entire game. Partly justified in that Richard voluntarily keeps her Locked Out of the Loop to protect her. Then she gets kidnapped anyway, never to be seen again.
- Downer Ending: Eventually, Richard gets turned into another Reptilian, and now happily helps The Conspiracy. Worse: every people who met and helped him are dead, The Mole or had Laser-Guided Amnesia.
- Eiffel Tower Effect: The very first image of the game shows us the Empire State Building, while off-screen Richard talks about his life in "this city".
- Global Currency Exception: Your US dollars won't get you far in Iran. And there's not even a single bank to be found in the whole district.
- Half-Human Hybrid: At one point, Richard gets blood and skin samples as possible implication of this trope. When other characters learn about their true nature, they either act in disbelief or purely freak out. The samples are another proof of the Reptilians' existence.
- Hearing Voices: In a prison institute, you meet a former assassin who turned insane, and now suffers from this. He's not hallucinating.
- This is what the titular "Metaphobia" is all about, and is usually falsely diagnosticized as schizophrenia.
- Hypercompetent Sidekick: Judy, Richard's ex and former police investigator. She always stays at her office, but she can get almost anything for Richard. Compare her to Richard himself, who has no internet connection at his home, and only a retro cell-phone with only two numbers recorded.
The first part of the game can basically be boiled down to "talk to Judy to advance". - Immune to Mind Control: Richard seems to be this. Or so the conspiracy wants him to believe.
- Landmark of Lore: The ruins of Persepolis are featured on the game's cover, and Richard gets there to find some clues about an Ancient Conspiracy.
- Mind-Control Conspiracy: Several characters, including a stereotypical New-Age Retro Hippie who is a Conspiracy Theorist, will claim one is at work. He's right.
- Mind Manipulation: The titular "Metaphobia" is claimed to be a symptom of this, while it is falsely diagnosticized as schizophrenia.
- Mind Screw: In the end, the Big Bad gives his Wham Line in which he tells how Richard followed every step of the Reptilians' plan, but he never tells exactly who and what was part of the plan, making you question
anything you have found and anyone you have talked to. - Non-Action Guy: Richard never fights, and often refrains from doing anything that would get him in trouble.
Even when he is mugged, he gets away... by giving his assaillants what they want (not for their own health, though). - Omnidisciplinary Scientist: Professor Blake is a biologist, and gives courses on the subject, but he is also very competent in psychology, having identified a mental condition he calls "metaphobia". Then, he conveniently happens to also know a good deal in sumerian cuneiform writings, and has published a book on the subject, which is the initial reason Richard comes to see him. By the end of the game, not only does he appears to be not so nice, but many elements point towards him being a Reptilian, who posed as a help for Richard to bring him into the conspiracy.
- Only Friend: At the beginning of the game, Richard has only two numbers recorded on his phone: his daughter's, and his ex'.
- It may be a form of Arbitrary Headcount Limit: the game won't show you all of Richard's friends or business partners, because they are not necessary for the investigation.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: To avoid getting recognized as Elmstat's son, Richard makes himself an improvised Porn-Stachenote . And it works! The person who checks him in even confuses him for Salvador Dalí.
- Phoneaholic Teenager: Patricia. From the point she puts down her luggage, she does nothing for the whole game, except lying on her bed and typing on here phone. Until she gets kidnappped. She even lampshades it at her arrival: "Do you think I was staring at the window? It's the 21st century, dad! I have my phone!"
- Porn Stache: In one of the funniest moment of the game, Richard dons a self-made fake one to conceal his identity. He's not too proud of it.
- Reforged into a Minion: The Bad Guy Wins; the Reptilians's plan all along was to do this to Richard, and he followed it by every step. The whole plot seemingly is just their unorthodox way of getting him in the know before they convert him, or a Secret Test of Character to see if he was fit to join them.
- Starving Artist: Richard depicts himself in these exact words at the beginning. He's a painter and doesn't "make much". A good chunk of his appartment is taken by his works and tools.
- Voice with an Internet Connection: Judy fits the role, though to get most of what you need from her, you have to go see her in person.
- Wham Line: In the end of the game, the Big Bad reveals to Richard that the mysterious ally who helped him get to the Reptilians not only was one of them, but also was his father's murderer, whom Richard is looking for since the beginning of the game. And from here, the creature tells him that the whole investigation was planted by the Reptilians. Richard played the Reptilians' plan all along.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: In the end, Patricia and Judy are said to have Laser-Guided Amnesia to forget everything that happened, but their real fate is unknown. Not that Richard would bother, now.
- Your Head Asplode: This is how Professor Blake supposedly dies. Supposedly, because nor Richard nor the player will see any part of it, so we Never Found the Body. The end of the game makes very apparent Blake was The Mole, so his death was probably faked.
