History NightmareFuel / HyperLightDrifter

* The eastern area. At first glance it's a beautiful city on the water, and easily the most brightly lit local in the game. Then you find the native otter people have been completely slaughtered by invading frogs. First we see them throwing a fresh corpse on a pile, right next to several of their pelts that have been strung up. The three only survivors are all horribly injured, with the only concious one explaining how he escaped just as the frogs started to flay the otters. Bodies litter the water in some parts, and the area outside the boss room even has freshly skinned bodies on display. And then the boss's intro is biting an otter in half...

* The Western area is a dense neon forest covered in strange crystal growths, that quickly grow back if you hack them apart, sometimes rapidly enough to entirely encase the Drifter. As you head further in, you begin finding [[LiterallyShatteredLives the bodies of those who suffered a similer fate]] with growing frequency, culminating in an entire battlefield frozen in time where every combatant was encased in solid crystals as they fought and died. Closer inspection reveals that some victims were encased even while fleeing in terror, indicating just how blindingly fast the initial spread must have been, and how lucky you were not to have been there at the time.

* While the northern area is beautiful and majestic, the further you range into the avian's territory the more apparent their psychopathy becomes. Crude, stained altars choke the nooks and crannies, bodies are nailed to walls in deliberate and symbolic ways, and according to the one non-hostile native you encounter, they ''burned their own eggs in ritual sacrifice'' before you arrived.

* Whenever Drifter starts coughing up blood at random. One second, they're simply walking through one of the game's areas, and suddenly they're walking at a slow pace, leaving blood puddles behind while the screen is covered in glitches.

* The southern area may seem tame compared to the others, being a large open desert with barely any threats or landmarks across the surface and almost everything of note being below the ground. Yet the hidden monoliths claim that this was once the most advanced, populated, and vibrant region throughout the world; [note] The impressive subterranean facilities are indeed a stark contrast to the wasteland above, even after years of neglect.[/note] Then you learn that this was the region where [[CivilizationDestroyer all four Titans]] began their rampage. [[FridgeHorror The most densely populated area on the planet was so thoroughly annihilated that nothing above the ground survived]].

* The southern area may seem tame compared to the others, being a large open desert with barely any threats or landmarks across the surface, with almost everything of note being below the ground. Yet the monoliths claim that this was once the most advanced, populated, and vibrant region throughout the world... and also where all four Titans began their rampage. People, buildings, flora and fauna... all gone. [[FridgeHorror The most densely populated area on the planet was so thoroughly annihilated that nothing above the ground survived]].
** And the forces responsible for that atrocity aren't even finished. As you traverse the depths, you stumble across a massive, beating heart a dozen times larger than you are... and deep in the chasm below is its owner; the fourth and final Titan, in the process of being repaired.

* The southern area may seem tame compared to the others, being a large open desert with barely any threats or landmarks across the surface, with almost everything of note being below the ground. Yet the monoliths claim that this was once the most advanced, populated, and vibrant region throughout the world... and also where all four Titans began their rampage. People, buildings, flora and fauna... all gone. [[FridgeHorror: The most densely populated area on the planet was so thoroughly annihilated that nothing above the ground survived]].
** And the forces that did this aren't even finished. As you traverse the depths, you stumble across the fourth and final Titan... and it's heart is still beating. Furthermore, it looks like the machines you have been fighting are in the process of repairing it...

* [[BigBad Judgement]]. A shadowy, [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable]] ''[[EldritchAbomination thing]]'' that hounds the Drifter in their dreams and is seemingly the source of their illness. Whenever enough Modules are collected, the Drifter suddenly collapses as they have a vision of Judgement killing them in increasingly brutal ways, with no way of stopping it. It's full power is on display in the FinalBattle as the monster is a terrifying LightningBruiser that is just as unrelenting as it was in the dreams. Even then, it's implied that not only are multiple people aware of it, it appears differently to each one. The worst part? [[spoiler: [[AllJustADream It might not even be]] ''[[AllJustADream real]]'', only a mental manifestation of the Immortal Cell's corruption. As the text unlocked after activating the 16 monoliths said "HARNESSING A GREAT WELLSPRING, A PERFECT, IMMORTAL CELL WAS CRAFTED TO BE IMBUED WITHIN ALL SENTIENT LIFE. A NOBLE GOAL, THOUGH SUCH A POWER TERRIFIED OTHERS, AND BROUGHT RUIN AS ITS PURPOSE WAS TRANSMOGRIFIED. THE ABHORRENT CELL STILL FESTERS, DEEP IN THE CHAMBERS OF THIS WORLD"]].

* [[BigBad Judgement]]. A shadowy, [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable]] ''[[EldritchAbomination thing]]'' that hounds the Drifter in their dreams and is seemingly the source of their illness. Whenever enough Modules are collected, the Drifter suddenly collapses as they have a vision of Judgement killing them in increasingly brutal ways, with no way of stopping it. It's full power is on display in the FinalBattle as the monster is a terrifying LightningBruiser that is just as unrelenting as it was in the dreams. Even then, it's implied that not only are multiple people aware of it, it appears differently to each one. The worst part? [[spoiler: [[AllJustADream It might not even be]] ''[[AllJustADream real]]'', only a mental manifestation of the Immortal Cell's corruption. As the text unlocked after activating the 16 monoliths said "HARNESSING A GREAT WELLSPRING, A PERFECT IMMORTAL CELL WAS CRAFTED TO BE IMBUED WITHIN ALL SENTIENT LIFE A NOBLE GOAL, THOUGH SUCH A POWER TERRIFIED OTHERS, AND BROUGHT RUIN AS ITS PURPOSE WAS TRANSMOGRIFIED THE ABHORRENT CELL STILL FESTERS DEEP IN THE CHAMBERS OF THIS WORLD"]].

* [[BigBad Judgement]]. A shadowy, [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable]] ''[[EldritchAbomination thing]]'' that hounds the Drifter in their dreams and is seemingly the source of their illness. Whenever enough Modules are collected, the Drifter suddenly collapses as they have a vision of Judgement killing them in increasingly brutal ways, with no way of stopping it. It's full power is on display in the FinalBattle as the monster is a terrifying LightningBruiser that is just as unrelenting as it was in the dreams. Even then, it's implied that not only are multiple people aware of it, it appears differently to each one. The worst part? [[spoiler: [[AllJustADream It might not even be]] ''[[AllJustADream real]]'', only a mental manifestation of the Immortal Cell's corruption]].

* The Western area is a dense neon forest covered in strange crystal growths, that grow back rapidly if you hack them apart. Sometimes rapidly enough to entirely encase the Drifter. As you head further in, you begin finding the bodies of those who suffered a similer fate growing frequency, until culminating in an entire battlefield frozen in time where every combatant was encased in solid crystals even as they fought and died. Closer inspection reveals that some victims were even frozen while fleeing in terror, indicating just how blindingly fast the initial spread must have been, and how lucky you were to not be there at the time.

* [[EldritchAbomination Judgement]]. A shadowy, [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable]] ''thing'' that hounds the Drifter from the very beginning in their dreams and is seemingly the source of their illness. Whenever it appears in a vision, the Drifter can do nothing but get horribly killed in increasingly brutal ways. During the FinalBattle, Judgement is a LightningBruiser to the extreme as it dishes out pain at terrifying speeds. [[spoiler: Then there are the hints that Judgement, as a possible manifestation of the Immortal Cell's corruption, appears differently to every person afflicted by the disease]].

* Collecting four Modules in a given area will prompt a vision of the Drifter being attacked by the shadow creature from the intro, and brutally killed by an escalatingly powerful attacks before waking up, surrounded by strange, crow-like creatures that vanish like graphical glitches as they fly away.

* Things get off to a lovely start in the intro, as the Drifter is seemingly hunted by an invincible, shadowy creature. Then when the Drifter seemingly escapes, they see three towering giants with gaping maws and glowing white eyes which let out a horrible scream before graphically disintegrating.

* The beginning of the game, after the explosion that the Drifter survives, shows us a devastated horizon that a river is running through. As the camera pans down, we see that the river is ''red from blood, and filled with dead bodies.''

* The eastern area. At first glance it's a beautiful city on the water, and easily the most brightly lit local in the game. Then you find the native otter people have been completely slaughtered by invading frogs. First we see them throwing a fresh corpse on a pile, right next to several of their pelts that have been strung up. Bodies litter the water in some parts, and the area outside the boss room even has freshly skinned bodies on display. And then the boss's intro is biting an otter in half...

* The eastern area. At first glance it's a beautiful city on the water, and easily the most brightly lit local in the game. Then you find the native otter people have been completely slaughtered by invading frogs. First we see them throwing a fresh corpse on a pile, right next to several of their pelts that have been strung up. Bodies litter the water in some parts, and the area outside the boss room even has freshly skinned bodies on display. And then the boss itself's on screen act is biting an otter in half...

* [[EldritchAbomination Judgement]]. A shadowy, [[TheJuggernaut nigh-unstoppable]] ''thing'' that hounds the Drifter from the very beginning in their dreams and is seemingly the source of their illness. Whenever it appears in a vision, the Drifter can do nothing but get horribly killed in increasingly brutal ways. During the FinalBattle, Judgement is a LightningBruiser to the extreme as it dishes out pain at terrifying speeds. [[spoilers: Then there are the hints that Judgement, as a possible manifestation of the Immortal Cell's corruption, appears differently to every person afflicted by the disease]].

* Things get off to a lovely start in the intro, as the Drifter is seemingly hunted by an invincible, shadowy creature. Then when he seemingly escapes, he sees three towering giants with gaping maws and glowing white eyes which let out a horrible scream before graphically disintegrating.

* Whenever Drifter starts coughing up blood at random. One second, he's simply walking through one of the game's areas, and suddenly he's walking at a slow pace, leaving blood puddles behind while the screen is covered in glitches.

* The beginning of the game, after the explosion that the Drifter survives, shows us a devastated horizon that a river is running through. As the camera pans down, we see that the river is ''red from blood, and filled with dead bodies.''

* Collecting four Modules in a given area will prompt a vision of the Drifter being attacked by the shadow creature from the intro, and brutally killed by an escalatingly powerful attacks before waking up, surrounded by strange, crow-like creatures that vanish like graphical glitches as they fly away.