History VideoGame / Miasmata

''Miasmata'' is a 2012 first-person adventure[=/=]exploration[=/=]SurvivalHorror game, notable for being one of the first full releases from the UsefulNotes/{{Steam}} Greenlight service.

* ObviousBeta: The game had a ''very'' rough launch, between incredibly glaring bugs and abysmal performance on even the most powerful of machines. A post-release patch ironed out lots of these issues.

* ShoutOut: The first memo you are likely to pick up from the research team is addressed as from [[Series/GarthMarenghisDarkplace Professor Dagless to Doctor Sanchez]].

* CombinatorialExplosion: [[AvertedTrope Averted.]] While there are twenty-something plants on the island, including ones needed for the cure, and the ability to try synthesizing medicine with one or two plants, simply using a research station on a plant will tell you what it can be used for.
* DaylightHorror: Since daylight is when you'll most likely be on the move, it's also when you'll most likely encounter the creature. [[DarknessEqualsDeath Not that venturing out at night keeps you safe from it either.]]
* DoNotDropYourWeapon: Averted. Falling down a hill or off a short cliff will cause Robert to fall over and roll along the ground, losing hold of any plants or items in his hand in the process. You can pick your items up again, assuming you can find them.

* FirstEpisodeTwist: The presence of the creature on the island, which would otherwise be a genuinely shocking and terrifying reveal the first time you encounter it after an hour or so of relaxing solitary gameplay, is given away by the game's description and title art on Steam.
** Also, if you happen to synthesize a mental stimulant before meeting it, the drug's journal entry states that it "temporarily allows you to sense the creature's presence."

* HollywoodDarkness: Very much averted. Nights in ''Miasmata'' are ''dark''. While this can be briefly relieved if you find a torch or bundle of sticks, it's so dark that it's actually quite dangerous to travel at night, because it's very easy to get lost, and getting lost means not being able to find shelter before you die of fever.

* MagnetHands: [[AvertedTrope Nope.]] Robert's grip might as well be made of butter. Drowning, or losing your balance, will cause Robert to drop whatever he is holding. If the item falls nearby, he can pick it back up.

** As an extension of the above possibilities, the creature becomes much more aggressive and violent [[spoiler: the closer Robert is to curing himself of the Plague]]. Is it simply more territorial about the regions in which [[spoiler: the Cure ingredients]] are found? [[spoiler: Or because it is indeed just a symptom of Robert's mental state]]?

** As an extension of the above possibilities, the creature becomes much more aggressive and violent [[spoiler: the closer Robert is to curing himself of the Plague]]. Is it simply more territorial about the regions in which [[spoiler: the Cure ingredients]] are found? [[spoiler: Or because it is indeed just a symptom of Robert's mental state]].

** As an extension of the above possibilities, the creature becomes much more aggressive and violent [[spoiler: the closer Robert is to curing himself of the Plague]]. Is it simply more territorial about the regions in which [[the Cure ingredients]] are found? [[spoiler: Or because it is indeed just a symptom of Robert's mental state]].

** On the one hand, its realistically predatory behavior, the fact that other animals flee from its presence, and the fact that one of the members of the previous expedition painted pictures of it suggests that it may just be an animal native to the island.

* {{Speedrun}}: There's an achievement for completing the game in under 3 days. Based on the Steam achievement statistics, it's the most difficult achievement to get. You have to beeline straight for the cure ingredients, traveling both day and night with no map. [[spoiler:On the plus side, the creature doesn't show up for the first 2 days.]]

* FirstEpisodeSpoiler: The presence of the creature on the island, which would otherwise be a genuinely shocking and terrifying reveal the first time you encounter it after an hour or so of relaxing solitary gameplay, is given away by the game's description and title art on Steam.