History VideoGame / BackToTheDawn

*** [[WesternAnimation/{{Madagascar}} Alex]] the lion.

You play as Thomas, a foxy journalist who's been framed for a crime he didn't commit. After arriving at the maximum-security Boulderton Prison, Thomas is given two tasks: to survive in the new, hostile environment, and to find a way out. He only has twenty-one days to escape from Boulderton, if he wants to get revenge on the people who put him there...

* TokenHuman: [[spoiler: At the finale of the game, both the mayor and his councilman were shown as humans instead of anthromorphisized creatures.]]

*** Two of Angelo's henchmen are named [[Series/MightyMorphin'PowerRangers Bulk]] and [[Series/MightyMorphin'PowerRangers Skull]].

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:If Thomas takes Iris' advice to wait out the rest of his sentence for a better time to expose the mayor's corrupt dealings, it will result in Angelo and co. assassinating him and Reed at his apartment three years later. A similar result happens if Thomas defeats Kong and/or Angelo at the TV Station but chooses not to expose the mayor, leaving him no choice but to flee to Aslovia to begin a new life.]]

* DownerEnding: If the player fails to escape the prison and fails to expose the mayor's wrongdoings, [[spoiler:they earn the "Death" ending, where Thomas is released from prison after a three-year sentence -- only for him and Reed to be assassinated by Angelo as soon as they reach Thomas' apartment.]]

** The Sharp Tooth Gang's quest, "Prisoner, Artist, Cook, Spy", can be this. [[spoiler: Thomas is tasked to venture into the kitchen's cellar, survey it, and make a drawing of his surroundings. The only issue is one of the chefs, Bricks, who will quickly get suspicious of Thomas' snooping and stop him from looking at 2 out of 7 objects needed to complete the first objective. The only known way to snoop around the cellar without Bricks' supervision is to use the toilet in the kitchen, have access to the Gambling Club during lunch and recreation, talk to Bricks, and make up an excuse to go to the bathroom with a lockpick or snap gun in the inventory.]] [[spoiler: Failing this quest will lock the player out of an escape route.]]

* AllForNothing: [[spoiler:If Thomas takes Iris' advice to wait out the rest of his sentence for a better time to expose the mayor's corrupt dealings, it will result in Angelo and co. assassinating him and Reed at his apartment. A similar result happens if Thomas defeats Kong and/or Angelo at the TV Station but chose not to expose the mayor, leaving him no choice but to flee to Aslovia to begin a new life.]]
* BedsheetLadder: One craftable item is a rope ladder made of cloth bandages, and the easiest way to get bandages is to tear up a bedsheet.

** The "Iron Throne" skill in the Agility section (acquired by using the toilet and gaining the "Comfort" status buff 5 times) simply halves the time it takes for Thomas to finish going to the bathroom. In a game where time is a limited resource, it's an invaluable asset in almost all builds.

* PrisonRiot: [[spoiler:On Day 17, the Big Foot Gang and the Black Claw Gang will start an all-out war in the cafeteria, causing a bloody and chaotic riot. Thomas can choose to help one of the gangs, to help his cellmate survive, or to save his own skin. The riot is ultimately broken up by the guards, potentially leading to Captain Bruce's demotion depending on the player's previous actions.]]

* SevenDeadlySins: The nightmares Thomas has (and the effects associated with them) are eached themed after the seven deadly sins. For example, the "wrath" effect increases Thomas' damage in exchange for preventing him from dodging, the "greed" effect decreases Thomas' mind when he spends money, etc. The player has a small chance of turning each nightmare into a "good dream", which gives him a positive effect based on one of the SevenHeavenlyVirtues.

* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: [[spoiler:The player takes control of Reed when he's recounting the story of him looking for Iris in the Fallen Angels club to Thomas during visitation.]

** [[Literature/TheDunwichHorror Wilbur]] the Goat and [[Literature/PickmansModel Pickman]] the Iguana are references to two of H.P Lovecraft's works, with the former being a cultist and the latter being a disturbed artist respectively.

*** [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Joseph]] the Kangaroo, when upgrading his character-specific Skill, mentions to Thomas that he has a grandfather named Jonathan who taught him special breathing technique to enhance the power of his punches.

* CompletelyDifferentTitle: The game's original Chinese title is ''动物迷城'', which translates roughly to "Animal Prison".

** Certain puzzles give the player the option to skip them after multiple failed attempts.

* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: All of the characters in ''Back to the Dawn'' are different species of anthropomorphic animals. [[spoiler:Except for the mayor, who's a human.]]

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Certain puzzles give the player the option to skip them after multiple failed attempts.

* CampGay: Ray is very flamboyantly gay, and is often seen flirting with other male prisoners.

* DirtyCop: Chief guard Bruce is corrupt, monetizing large parts of the prison and often encouraging prisoners to do him "favors" for perks and benefits. He's also [[spoiler:secretly allied with the prison's Big Foot gang]]. Bruce will be brought to justice if [[spoiler:the player works with Caesar to give him a fake, incriminating ledger, which will later cause the warden to demote him.]]
* DirtyOldMonk: [[spoiler:Father Anderson, the chaplain servicing Boulderton Prison, turns out to be a frequent customer of the Fallen Angels brothel. He's also embezzling money from the church to fund his bad habits, and it's heavily implied that the "donation" money given to the church goes straight to him.]]

* PolicemanDog: Every member of Boulderton Prison's security staff is some species of dog. Chief Bruce is a mastiff, Deputy Billy is a bull terrier, and other guards include huskies, golden retrievers, and Shiba Inus. This also applies to the police officers seen at the beginning of the game.
* {{Ponzi}}: ConMan Perry swindles other prisoners by promising them large returns on a too-good-to-be-true gold mining investment. In classic Ponzi fashion, he uses the funds earned from new marks to pay back the investments of older ones. [[spoiler:It turns out that he's using the money earned to fund a liver transplant for his dying father.]]
* PrisonRiot: [[spoiler:On Day 17, the Big Foot Gang and the Black Claw Gang will start an all-out war in the cafeteria, causing a bloody and chaotic riot. Thomas can choose to help one of the gangs, to help his cellmate survive, or to save his own skin. The riot is ultimately broken up by the guards, potentially leading to Chief Bruce's demotion depending on the player's previous actions.]]

* TunnelKing: Lin the pangolin is naturally good at digging (and might be able to more easily escape), but chooses to stay in prison out of fear of what's waiting for him outside.

* WardensAreEvil: Averted. Warden Clark has positioned himself as a lenient, benevolent figure who focuses on rehabilitation more than corruption, which explains some of the prison's more lax protocols. Unfortunately, Chief Bruce is usually the one overseeing things, and he's a lot less nice.
* WiseOldTurtle: William the turtle is exceptionally old, and claims to know a lot about the prison and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, he speaks so slowly that Thomas doesn't like to talk to him much.

* TheSnackIsMoreInteresting: During [[the riot in the cafeteria on Day 17, as nearly everyone begins to fight, John continues to eat his meal, even as Crunchy is preparing to attack him]].

* WorldOfFunnyAnimals: All of the characters in ''Back to the Dawn'' are different species of anthropomorphic animals.

* AbsurdlySpaciousSewer: [[spoiler:The player can tunnel down into the sewer once they've unscrewed their toilet from the wall. It's ''big'', enough so that Thomas can't safely leap from one side to the other. This is especially weird considering this part of it only services the prison.]]

* CrystalDragonJesus: Many of the animals worship a deity known as the "Father of the Forest", and a chapel dedicated to him is freely available to prisoners during their recreation period. The religion is analogous to modern-day Christianity, with priests and bishops, confessionals, and a familiar chapel structure.
* DirtyCop: Chief guard Bruce is corrupt, monetizing large parts of the prison and often encouraging prisoners to do him "favors" for perks and benefits. He's also [[spoiler:secretly allied with the Big Foot gang.]] Bruce will be brought to justice if [[spoiler:the player works with Caesar to give him a fake, incriminating ledger, which will later cause the warden to demote him.]]
* {{Homage}}: The "Hermit" ending (achieved if [[spoiler:Thomas escapes the prison but fails to find evidence against the mayor]]) is a homage to [[spoiler:VideoGame/PapersPlease, showing Thomas crossing the border into war-torn Aslovia]].
* IdenticalTwinMistake: Thomas initially mixes up kitchen guard Shibata with chapel guard Rob, as both are identical twin Shiba Inus.

* PolicemanDog: Every member of Boulderton Prison's security staff is some species of dog. This also applies to the police officers seen at the beginning of the game.

* TimedMission: There are only twenty-one days until the mayoral elections, placing a limit on how long Thomas has to break the scoop on the corrupt mayor. Unfortunately for him, finding evidence is pretty tough when he's in prison...
* TurnBasedCombat: Combat is a turn-based back-and-forth between the player character and whoever they're fighting. Generally, whoever has the highest Agility score gets to go first. Most actions (like attacking, resting, and special moves) end your turn, and combat always continues until somebody's knocked down.
* TunnelKing: The pangolin prisoner is naturally good at digging (and might be able to more easily escape), but chooses to stay in prison out of fear of what's waiting for him outside.

* SevenDeadlySins: The nightmares Thomas has (and the debuffs associated with them) are themed after the seven deadly sins.

* {{Ponzi}}: ConMan Perry swindles other prisoners by promising them large returns on a too-good-to-be-true gold mining investment. In classic Ponzi fashion, he uses the funds earned from new marks to pay back the investments of older ones.

* ScrewTheRulesIHaveMoney: The city's corrupt mayor gets his way through bribery and extortion. The polluting chemical plant which kicks off the game's story is able to operate unpunished because it is owned by a relative of the mayor, who makes sure that City Council and other authorities do nothing about it.

You play as Thomas, a foxy journalist who's been framed for a crime he didn't commit. After arriving at the maximum-security Boulderton Prison, Thomas is given two tasks: to survive in the new, hostile environment, and to find a way out. He only has twenty days to escape from Boulderton, if he wants to get revenge on the people who put him there...

* DirtyCop: While the guards are strict, some of them are willing to let things slip in exchange for money or favors. For example, Bruce will let you skip the long visitation waitlist in exchange for snitching on one of the gangs.

* TimedMission: There are only twenty days until the mayoral elections, placing a limit on how long Thomas has to break the scoop on the corrupt mayor. Unfortunately for him, finding evidence is pretty tough when he's in prison...

** One of the available movies (also set inside a prison) is called "[[Film/TheShawshankRedemption Andy's Redemption]]".

* ShoutOut: Many of the prisoners' names and backstories reference other works, including:
** [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing1994 Hakuna]] the warthog.
** [[Franchise/PlanetOfTheApes Caesar]] the chimpanzee.
** [[WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb Perry]] the platypus.
** [[Literature/RudolphTheRedNosedReindeer Rudolph]] the reindeer.
** [[Series/BreakingBad Walter]], a drug-dealing skunk who used to be a chemistry teacher.

* WiseOldTurtle: William the turtle is exceptionally old, and claims to know a lot about the prison and its inhabitants. Unfortunately, he speaks so slowly that Thomas doesn't like to talk to him much.

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** [[WesternAnimation/TheLionKing Hakuna]] the warthog.