History VideoGame / AlwaysSometimesMonsters

** The stranger can turn out to be one of two individuals depending on you choices at the wedding. [[spoiler:They can either be the protagonist or Sam, whichever one doesn't end up with the love interest.]]

* RealityEnsues: As part of their book deal, your protag was supposed to deliver a book on the publisher's schedule. They didn't deliver, and so their contract is falling apart.

* NotSoDifferent: Depending on your actions, your protag can do some seriously questionable or outright ''horrid'' things to get to San Verdano in time. During the climax, you can learn that [[spoiler:your old friend]]'s done some terrible things to get ahead in life too.

* MoralDilemma: Many of the choices you're faced with come down to this. [[IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim And yes, that includes potentially ''killing'' people who might stand between you and your ex.]]

* StaticRoleInterchangableCharacter:

* DramaticUnmask: At the end of the game, the stranger finally unmasks themselves to reveal [[spoiler:either the protagonist or Sam, whoever didn't get the girl/guy]].

* ButThouMust: During the prerelease's opening sequence, your choices are to run away, listen to the MysteriousStranger, or shoot them. Only one lets you continue the game.

* ADateWithRosiePalms: You can opt for this while taking a shower.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: For all that he complains about his wife, Larry really does love Belinda. Enough that he's choosing to stay with her despite [[spoiler:their growing financial difficulties]].
** However, it's also {{Deconstructed}}: Larry's determination to stay with Belinda meant that he deliberately [[LockedOutOfTheLoop didn't let her]] ''[[LockedOutOfTheLoop know]]'' [[LockedOutOfTheLoop about said problems]] until it was absolutely impossible to avoid telling her. Needless to say, she wasn't happy, and [[spoiler:has been wanting a divorce ever since, which he refuses to give her]]. In some endings, [[spoiler:he finally grants her request]].

* CantGetAwayWithNuthin: No matter how decent you try to be, Casey will still call you out for the bad things you write about doing, even if the game doesn't give you the option to refuse, or if the option exists, but ''might literally kill you''. For instance, you might get called out for taking the janitor job at the strip club rather than going to church, but there's no mention of the fact that there are ''no'' opportunities for making money in Salt City except that one, and as kind and generous as Mark is, he doesn't give you ''food'', and dumpster-diving for your dinner depends on your luck. If you didn't have the foresight to get the fishing rod and get a good sized stock of fish to carry with you (as there are no fishing spots in Salt City), taking that job can easily be the difference between finishing the game and starving to death.
** Not to mention that most people wouldn't really consider "getting a job" to be morally inferior to "going to Mass in the middle of the week". It might be different if the job was to actually perform as a dancer, but you're going there as a ''janitor''. Is working in a strip club really so immoral that it makes ''doing basic chores'' a sin? It makes [[{{Jerkass}} Casey seem like a a judgmental prat]], especially considering that scene only happens because they were snooping through your stuff.

* DidNotGetTheGirl: [[spoiler:Either Sam or the protagonist is put in this position by the end (depending on your choices). Or both of them should you opt to have Sam killed for being unable to pay their gambling debt. Whoever is placed in this position becomes the MysteriousStranger]].
* DrJerk: Doctor Bearenstein takes the attitude that people who can't pay for their treatment aren't worth saving anyway. He hasn't found success by working for free.

* EndingTropes:
** MultipleEndings: Based off of your actions, most prominently [[spoiler:how you handle the situation with Sam at the casino and whether or not you successfully object at the wedding.]]
** DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Whether you did your best to avoid hurting others or willingly screwed over everyone who crossed your path, ultimately you're just another monster who gets what you deserve.]]
*** BittersweetEnding: [[spoiler:Arguably, the ending in which you manage to pay off Sam's debt directly but don't get your ex back - while the protagonist loses their ex, they still get the credit (and success) for the manuscript, and things might get better for them in the future.]]
** GainaxEnding: [[spoiler:After the DownerEnding sequence, even if you were shot, either you or Sam (depending on who got credit for the journal at the end) appears alive and well at a book signing where you get your book optioned as a video game for a million dollars by the developers. And then you go back to Casey's house and find a game system and a weird server room in his garden shed, no matter what ending you get.]]
*** Based on what your ex says [[spoiler:in the ending where Sam dies,]] it's implied that [[spoiler:either the sequence at Casey's house is a flashback, or the FramingDevice wasn't actually true.]]
** EarnYourHappyEnding [=\=] GoldenEnding: If the protagonist manages to [[spoiler:[[TakeAThirdOption pay off Sam's gambling debt]] with $10,000, then they're able to keep the journal and the credit for their work]]. Follow this up by [[spoiler:successfully objecting at the wedding]], and congratulations! [[spoiler:You get your love interest ''and'' a successful book deal, while [[FalseFriend Sam]] is either shot by Chekhov or left to live out the rest of their miserable existence as a hobo]].
** NonStandardGameOver: If you go to sleep on an empty stomach, you run the risk of dying in your sleep due to starvation.

* EstablishingSeriesMoment: The very first exchange in prerelease builds of the game is between a man who appears to be a hitman and the woman who hired him, who's having second thoughts. The man bluntly informs her that she already made her choice the moment she paid him and can't go back now.

* HelloInsertNameHere: Here, it's presented as you and your significant other signing a gift card.
** It's worth noting that all of the possible protagonists and at least three quarters of the potential love interests have default names, but you can only learn a protag/LI's name by talking to them ''after'' you've already picked someone else, or by running into them again later in the game.

*** Larry does a lot of this. [[spoiler:He constantly blames the protagonist for not yielding a book and ruining both their reputations, but he's the one who cut Sam out of the publishing deal, knowing they wrote as a team.]] In one ending, he complains that the protagonist is nothing but a selfish, lazy asshole, but the warehouse job proves that the protagonist ''did'' produce at least one book, but for some reason, it didn't count.

* ImportantHaircut: Belinda considers getting one during a round of RetailTherapy, and may ask for your input on how to change it.
** GagHaircut[=/=]TraumaticHaircut: If she doesn't like it, she reacts accordingly, and harasses the hairdresser and her boss to [[HairReboot fix it]].

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler:The protagonist can play this straight at the wedding if Sam doesn't die at the casino by choosing to remain silent when given the option to object.]]

* LimitedWardrobe: {{Lampshaded}} when the protag gets asked if they're really planning on wearing their usual clothes to the wedding.

* MoralDilemma: Many of the choices you're faced with come down to this.
** FriendOrIdolDecision: Including situations where you can screw over somebody who's trying to help you in exchange for getting money or something else that might help you reach San Verdano faster.
** IfYouKillHimYouWillBeJustLikeHim: And yes, that includes potentially ''killing'' people who might stand between you and your ex.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: A few here and there; the mayor of Beaton, Bob Hoard, bears a resemblance to Toronto Mayor Rob Ford, and the theater press conference includes representatives from Polyhedron Online (Polygon), Escapism Quarterly (The Escapist), and Joys n' Stiqs dot com (Joystiq).
** Escapism Quarterly's representative is a clear stand in for [[TheJimquisition Jim Sterling]].

* NoSympathy: Larry can come off as particularly insensitive to your plight, due to how he refuses to acknowledge the role he played in it. For instance, he doesn't care how you might be hurt that the job opportunity he's got in mind for you is [[spoiler:disposing of materials that might be related to your former book deal]]. It also adds a layer of hypocrisy to his attitude. [[spoiler: You wouldn't be disposing of your failed books if you hadn't produced any; it implies that the protagonist ''did'' get at least one book published, it just didn't sell as well as the publishers wanted. Considering it's only been ''one year'' since signing the contract, there's been a ''lot'' of pressure on the protagonist.]]

* RealityEnsues:
** As part of their book deal, your protag was supposed to deliver a book on the publisher's schedule. They didn't deliver, and so their contract is falling apart.

* SadisticChoice: As you'd expect, given the CentralTheme.
** A particularly nasty one crops up during the climax. Do you [[spoiler:give Sam your journal]], knowing what you're sacrificing in the process...? Or do you refuse, and [[spoiler:watch your old friend get executed right in front of you]]?

* TakeAThirdOption: In Beaton you can support the incumbent Republican or up and coming Democrat for mayor. [[spoiler:The greatest reward comes from exposing them both as being in cahoots in a conspiracy.]]
** [[spoiler: In the casino, you can choose to simply pay off Sam's debt instead of making the SadisticChoice, provided you have the ten thousand dollars]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Directed at [[spoiler: Parker]] in the end, but could just as easily be [[ThisLoserIsYou directed at the player]], accusing them of living in a fantasy by using other people to do your bidding without ever needing to step up and make those risky choices yourself.
* ThisLoserIsYou: If you manage to somehow not make it to San Verdano before the 30 days are up [[spoiler: the gunman and the casino owner have no idea who you are, and demand to know why the hell you're telling them the story of some moron dicking around for a month.]]

* VideogameCaringPotential: You can reach out to others, befriend a lonely old woman, help people get their lives together...
* VideogameCrueltyPotential: ...or screw them over for your own personal gain. Lie, cheat, steal, blackmail, betray, drive them to suicide... or worse. It all depends on your actions.

* [[DidNotGetTheGirl Did Not Get The Love Interest]]: [[spoiler:Either Sam or the protagonist is put in this position by the end (depending on your choices). Or both of them should you opt to have Sam killed for being unable to pay their gambling debt. Whoever is placed in this position becomes the MysteriousStranger]].

-->'''Darkeff:''' We're opposite ends of a see-saw and if one doesn't go down then the other can never go up. Today she pays, and tomorrow I will because that's the way it goes.

''Always Sometimes Monsters'' was made available on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} May 21st, 2014. It can also be purchased [[http://www.alwayssometimesmonsters.com/ over here]].

A sequel entitled ''Sometimes Always Monsters'' is currently in development, and has been announced to be released on April 2nd, 2020.

A sequel entitled ''Sometimes Always Monsters'' is currently in development, and has been announced to be released on April 4th, 2020.

A sequel entitled ''Sometimes Always Monsters'' is currently in development.

* DrinkOrder: During Larry's party, each of the potentially playable guests offers him a different type of drink. For instance, one average-looking guy wants to share a beer, while others offer [[WineIsClassy white or red wine]] or gin.

** Not to mention that most people wouldn't really consider "getting a job" to be morally inferior to "going to Mass in the middle of the week". It might be different if the job was to actually perform as a dancer, but you're going there as a ''janitor''. Is working in a strip club really so immoral that it makes ''doing basic chores'' a sin? It makes [[AlternativeCharacterInterpretation Casey seem like a a judgmental prat]], especially considering that scene only happens because they were snooping through your stuff.

** MultipleEndings: Based off of your actions, most prominently [[spoiler:how you handle the situation with Sam at the casino and whether or not you successfully object at the wedding.]]

** EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption If the protagonist pays off Sam's gambling debt with $10,000]] then the protagonist keeps the journal and gets the credit for it, also, the protagonist can win the love interest back by objecting at the wedding. This gives the protagonist either an ending they've truly earned by being a good person. Or this can make the protagonist into a KarmaHoudini if they've been a bad person. Also, if you didn't like Sam (see FalseFriend, UsefulNotes/{{Plagiarism}}, ItsAllAboutMe, DrivenByEnvy, and IrrationalHatred) then Sam becomes the MysteriousStranger and is either [[MercyKill shot]] [[KarmicDeath by Checkhov]] or [[CruelMercy left to live out the rest of their miserable existence as a hobo]].]]

* {{Foil}}: Sam, to the protagonist, of the "exactly alike but for one crucial difference" variety. [[spoiler: The major difference is that where the protagonist is forced into no-win situations by others and then blamed for getting themselves into trouble, Sam consciously throws the protagonist under the bus to get ahead, and it blows up in his/her face.]]

* GoldenEnding: For you, anyway...[[spoiler: If you pay off Sam's gambling debt and successfully win back your ex, you become a famous writer and get your relationship back. Sam ends up as a hobo, though.]]

* HoistByHisOwnPetard: Many of the bad things you can do ''will'' come back to haunt you in exactly the right way to ruin your progress.[[spoiler: This is also most of what happens to Sam, pretty much from the get-go, especially if s/he loses the love interest at the wedding or dies. All the bad things that happen to them are a direct consequence of them trying to humiliate or take advantage of the protagonist in some way. Even the big date with the love interest would have gone on un-interrupted if s/he didn't plagiarize the protagonist's work.]]

*** Larry does a lot of this. [[spoiler: He constantly blames the protagonist for not yielding a book and ruining both their reputations, but he's the one who cut Sam out of the publishing deal, knowing they wrote as a team.]] In one ending, he complains that the protagonist is nothing but a selfish, lazy asshole, but the warehouse job proves that the protagonist ''did'' produce at least one book, but for some reason, it didn't count.

** The Ex gets a little of this, too. [[spoiler: If you ask them for their opinion about the writing contract, they advise you to sign it because your only responsibility is to yourself knowing that Sam is getting screwed on the deal, and if asked about Sam in the flashbacks, they'll say he or she is [[StalkerWithACrush creepy]]...and then they end up getting engaged to Sam less than a year after breaking up with the protagonist.]]
* IrrationalHatred: [[spoiler: Sam]] hates the protagonist for being greedy and self-absorbed... because the protagonist "stole" their opportunities by being more talented and more attractive.

* InformedAttribute: Your Ex is perfect, a real one-in-a-million catch! Everyone says so! But depending on how you play it, they may have broken up with the Protagonist for pretty cruel reasons (one of them being that the protagonist's self esteem is too low) and no matter what ending you get, [[spoiler: the Ex is just as happy with either the Protagonist or Sam, despite being aware of their history.]]

* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: [[spoiler: The protagonist can play this straight at the wedding if Sam doesn't die at the casino by choosing to remain silent when given the option to object.]]
** The lack of usage of this trope from [[spoiler: Sam, shows just what kind of person they are. To be more specific, they chose not to back off when the love interest showed interest in the protagonist instead of them, and, when the love interest tells Sam not to send a wedding invitation to the protagonist because it would be awkward, Sam does it anyways, just to rub it in the protagonist's face.]] [[spoiler: Lastly, at the wedding should the protagonist object and win back their ex, Sam is a SoreLoser about it.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: At the end of the game this trope can be played straight or subverted with Sam or the protagonist depending on your choices. If you played the protagonist with making evil choices throughout the game then this trope can be played straight if the protagonist lets Sam live, objects at the wedding, and wins the love interest back. This can be subverted if Sam dies or if the protagonist fails to win the love interest back. Also, Sam doesn't prove themselves to be the greatest person ever, (see FalseFriend, Plagiarism, DrivenbyEnvy, IrrationalHatred, and ItsAllAboutMe.) so allowing them to have the happy ending by giving them the journal and letting them marry the love interest will play this trope straight for them.]]
** If you choose to [[spoiler: cut Stan's brakes, which ends up killing him in front of his children]], you feel guilty but never actually face any consequences.
* LadyMacbeth: One possible interpretation of your Ex, albeit slightly more benevolent than more traditional examples. [[spoiler: Depending on how the breakup plays out, the Ex eagerly encourages their significant other to be successful even if that means screwing their friend (who is also their own ex-lover) over, whether that friend is you or Sam.]]

* [[DidNotGetTheGirl Did Not Get The Love Interest]]: [[spoiler:Either Sam or the protagonist is put in this position by the end (depending on your choices). Or both of them should you opt to have Sam killed for being unable to pay her gambling debt. Whoever is placed in this position becomes the MysteriousStranger]].

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: At the end of the game this trope can be played straight or subverted with Sam or the protagonist depending on your choices. If you played the protagonist with making evil choices throughout the game then this trope can be played straight if the protagonist lets Sam live, objects at the wedding, and wins the love interest back. This can be subverted if Sam dies or if the protagonist fails to win the love interest back. Also, Sam doesn't prove themselves to be the greatest person ever, (see FalseFriend, Plagiarism, DrivenbyEnvy, IrrationalHatred, and It'sAllAboutMe.) so allowing them to have the happy ending by giving them the journal and letting them marry the love interest will play this trope straight for them.]]

*** Almost everyone who meets the protagonist ''will'' find a way to make the situation his/her fault, no matter what it is. Special mention goes to [[spoiler: the back-alley rapist who charges sexual favors for a safe place to sleep and won't let you back out once you agree.]] The only choice you get is whether to close your eyes, but [[UsefulNotes/VictimBlaming it's still your fault for letting yourself become so desperate.]]

* NoGoodDeedGoesUnpunished: Zig-zagged. In gameplay terms doing good deeds can drain you of limited cash but often provides alternative, possibly better rewards such as rare items or a place to sleep. But - [[spoiler:selflessly bailing out Sam with your manuscript ends with him/her gloating in your face]].
** Not necessarily. What [[spoiler:Sam]] does depends on your choices. [[spoiler:Saying you helped Sam for his/her sake and demanding nothing in return ends up with him/her being genuinely grateful.]]

** No matter what choices you make, Casey will always find something to disapprove of. For example, he calls you out for blackmailing the doctor into giving Viper the operation she needs...but he'll also call you out if you leave town without securing treatment for Viper in some way, and the only other way to get treatment for her is to let Darkeff smash up his car, an action which hinders your opportunity for a free ride out of town. You also get called out for taking the warehouse job in Beaton and undermining the worker's strike in progress, but you ALSO get called out for walking out on the job without doing any work.

* AssholeVictim: PlayedWith; you can potentially screw over some real {{Jerkass}}es, but circumstances are rarely black and white. Not to mention ''YOU'' can be this in somebody else's eyes.

''Always Sometimes Monsters'' is on UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} on May 21st, 2014. It can also be purchased [[http://www.alwayssometimesmonsters.com/ over here]].

*** Almost everyone who meets the protagonist ''will'' find a way to make the situation his/her fault, no matter what it is. Special mention goes to [[spoiler: the back-alley rapist who charges sexual favors for a safe place to sleep and won't let you back out once you agree.]] The only choice you get is whether to close your eyes, but [[VictimBlaming it's still your fault for letting yourself become so desperate.]]

* KarmaHoudini: [[spoiler: At the end of the game this trope can be played straight or subverted with Sam or the protagonist depending on your choices. If you played the protagonist with making evil choices throughout the game then this trope can be played straight if the protagonist let's Sam live, objects at the wedding, and wins the love interest back. This can be subverted if Sam dies or if the protagonist fails to win the love interest back. Also, Sam doesn't prove themselves to be the greatest person ever, (see FalseFriend, Plagiarism, DrivenbyEnvy, IrrationalHatred, and It'sAllAboutMe.) so allowing them to have the happy ending by giving them the journal and letting them marry the love interest will play this trope straight for them.]]

** EarnYourHappyEnding: [[spoiler: [[TakeAThirdOption If the protagonist pays off Sam's gambling debt with $10,000]] then the protagonist keeps the journal and gets the credit for it, also, the protagonist can win the love interest back by objecting at the wedding. This gives the protagonist either an ending they've truly earned by being a good person. Or this can make the protagonist into a KarmaHoudini if they've been a bad person. Also, if you didn't like Sam (see FalseFriend, {{Plagiarism}}, ItsAllAboutMe, DrivenByEnvy, and IrrationalHatred) then Sam becomes the MysteriousStranger and is either [[MercyKill shot]] [[KarmicDeath by Checkhov]] or [[CruelMercy left to live out the rest of their miserable existence as a hobo]].]]

* {{Plagiarism}}: [[spoiler:Sam's entire career is so based on stealing your work, something that's hinted at in most playthroughs, that his/her first instinct when s/he needs a manuscript is to rummage through the protagonist's luggage.]]

* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Directed at [[spoiler: Parker]] in the end, but could just as easily be [[ThisLoserIsYou directed at''the player'']], accusing him of living in a fantasy by using other people to do your bidding without ever needing to step up and make those risky choices yourself.