Line #28 VideoGame/Skautfold


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/shrouded_in_sanity.png]]
2	''Skautfold'' is the name given to a series of games created by Steve Gal. They are done in different genres, yet all are set in [[TheVerse the same universe]], where 19th century Britain has put down Washington's rebellion for good and is instead known as [[AlternateHistory the Angelic Empire of Brittania]], whose peace is now upset by the emergence of Lovecraftian horrors...
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4	''Shrouded in Sanity'' is the first installment, released in 2016 as an [[IsometricProjection Isometric]] HackAndSlash game. It was later separated into the proper ''Skautfold'' version, and the ''Freebirth'' one. As its title suggests, the latter is free, but lacks some bonus features of ''Skautfold'', though the overall story is the same in both. It begins in 1897, when the unnatural fog had enveloped Berelai Manor. The player character, Eleanore, is contacted to discover and eliminate its source - a task made more difficult by the former inhabitants of the manor having clearly gone violently insane.
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6	''Usurper'' is a 2017 {{Metroidvania}}, set a year after the first game. There, an otherworldly Citadel whose presence was only hinted at in ''Shrouded in Sanity'' had finally revealed itself, and immediately began to flood London with [[EldritchAbomination eldritch abominations]]. Waltham, the mysterious benefactor of Eleanore in the first game, is nearly killed attempting to seize the Citadel for himself, and is forced to merge with the nearly-dead Saragat, the Fourth Knight, to rebuild their strength and save London from the Citadel.
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8	''Into the Fray'' entered Platform/{{Steam}} Early Access in 2018. There, on the Isle of Portland, has seen a rebellion against the now-Empress Eleanore occur, led by the Sons of Washington group. Lillian, the daughter of King Guilford from the first game, has also reappeared, and ''[[SarcasmMode in a complete coincidence]]'', there's again the spreading fog and the monsters lurking in it. You now play as Yamabe no Akahito, (Hito the Third Knight from Shrouded in Sanity) who is tasked with liberating the isle and apprehending the princess. Since he is an entirely gun-wielding character, this is now done in an isometric shooter style.
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10	''Moonless Knight'' entered Early Access in 2019. This time players assume the role of Gray, the Second Knight, as he travels to Japan to seek the aid of the Dawn Empire.
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12	!! Tropes present in the entire series:
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14	* AlternateHistory: Britain is the Angelic Empire of Britannia. Washington's rebellion was crushed, but his sacrifice continues to inspire Sons of Washington (or S.o.W.) group. Japan in turn been ruled by the Oda Shogunate for centuries as the Dawn Empire, and has long-since conquered China and Korea. Religion (or at least Christianity) has also been banned, due to the Roman Catholic Church having been a secret supporter of the American Revolution.
15	* AWorldHalfFull: In spite of the bleak alternate world the game is set in in addition to the two hostile eldritch forces present, the protagonists all are wholly invested in saving the world.
16	* BloodstainedGlassWindows: Gray, the Second Knight is fought within the West Church of Berelai Manor. Usurper also features a battle inside a church with Seraph, an EldritchAbomination that has two sets of angelic wings and little else.
17	* CuttingOffTheBranches: Saragat the Fourth Knight and Hito the Third Knight are two of the bosses in ''Shrouded in Sanity'', who can either be killed or spared after their defeat. During the events of ''Usurper'', all of the Knights appear or at least are mentioned though, confirming their survival.
18	* FirstEpisodeResurrection: A tradition of the series. Your first choice is to accept external aid in order to survive, and escalate the protagonist to becoming an EmpoweredBadassNormal
19	* GodSaveUsFromTheQueen: Although it's only been discussed and never shown, prior to her resurrection, Eleanore was apparently a utterly tyrannical queen.
20	* TheGrimReaper: The signature attack of Len, The First Knight in ''Shrouded in Sanity'' is to have an apparition of one appear right above your character, before it sweeps its scythe. This obviously an insta-kill, unless you have managed to roll in time.
21	** These then appear as enemies in ''Usurper''.
22	* JustifiedSavePoint: In ''Shrouded in Sanity'', you can only save at the location of your patron, Waltham. This is referred to as "syncing watch to realign time."
23	** In ''Usurper'', this function is fulfilled by Seats of the Navigator.
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25	!! Shrouded in Sanity contains examples of the following tropes:
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27	* BlackoutBasement: Many of the areas of the game are very dark, with only circles of light around your own lantern, or any other light sources. Disturbingly, the corpses of the enemies also act as light sources for some reason.
28	* CrosshairAware: A very dark sniper-rifle style cross-hair, with a large dark zone around it, appears every time Hiro, The Third Knight, is about to shoot you from offscreen.
29	* DarkActionGirl: Len, the First Knight is clearly one.
30	* DoppelgangerAttack: These are created by Saragat, The Fourth Knight.
31	* EquipmentUpgrade: The Butcher can upgrade your weapons in exchange for the rare Yth stones found within the fog.
32	* GoMadFromTheRevelation: Game's description states that the main thing which drove the manor's inhabitants mad was the "deeper understanding of their cosmic insignificance."
33	* JustifiedSavePoint: You can only save at the location of your patron, Waltham. This is referred to as "syncing watch to realign time."
34	* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: The name of the FinalBoss changes from "Guilford, the Broken King" to "Guilford My Elder Brother" if your character manages to recall this much.]]
35	* MolotovCocktail: These are thrown by Guilford, The Broken King, of all people.
36	* MultipleEndings: Choosing to kill or spare [[spoiler: Guilford, The Broken King/elder brother]] makes the largest change to the ending cutscene: [[spoiler: Waltham will congratulate you if you do, and welcome you to the throne. Sparing him instead has him berate your weakness and state that he'll finish him off anyway.]]. Killing or sparing the other knights also leads to minor dialogue differences.
37	* OptionalBoss: [[spoiler: Herald of the Citadel]], which can only be found if your sanity is fully depleted.
38	* PacifistRun: It is possible to run past all the enemies, and spare all the bosses after subduing them. However, [[spoiler: your servant will kill the FinalBoss anyway, and berate your weakness.]]
39	* PlayingWithFire: Gray, the Second Knight leaves trails of black flame when he charges after you.
40	* PowerFloats: Len, The First Knight, is always floating slightly off the ground, and can briefly float much higher for the sake of a powerful dive.
41	* RevolversAreJustBetter: Waltham A9 is the revolver you use. Hito, the Third Knight also attacks with a revolver, which he shoots in bursts of three.
42	* SanitySlippage: Hinted at by the title. Killing people, dying yourself and taking blessings from the corrupt priest are some of the things that cause it to go down.
43	* ShockAndAwe: Gray, the Second Knight can call down black lightning.
44	* SinisterScythe: Wielded by Len, The First Knight, and by TheGrimReaper apparitions she summons.
45	* SpinAttack: The maids spin around in an attempt to get you with their cleavers.
46	* SprintMeter: There's stamina, which is consumed with every attack or roll; until you become exhausted. It is even possible for it to briefly stay in the negative values. However, it recovers quickly as well, and its main purpose is to prevent you from spamming attacks.
47	* SwordAndGun: The protagonist always carries these in both hands.
48	* TeleportSpam: [[spoiler: Herald of the Citadel]] constantly does this throughout its battle.
49	* UnnecessaryCombatRoll: The main way to dodge, and it is entirely necessary to avoiding some attacks.
50	* WeirdCurrency: Vitae (from Latin for life) is one.
51	* WorthIt: Right before you face FinalBoss [[spoiler: Guilford, The Broken King / My Elder Brother]], the only thing he has to say is "I have no regrets. No price is too high for what I got."
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54	!! Tropes present in Usurper:
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56	* AdaptationalDecay: Of sorts. Nightgaunts in typical Lovecraft mythos abduct people and tickle them during the trip back to their lairs. Here, no such thing happens and they're simply a flying enemy like any other.
57	* AmnesiacDissonance: Though she is alive and well once more, Eleanore lacks any memory of her life prior to her resurrection. This is a ''good'' thing though, as previously she'd been [[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen insane monarch]] whom Guilford had overthrown with the support of the Knights.
58	* ChestMonster: Here, the Mimics prefer to steal your currency, rather than fight you outright.
59	* InexplicableTreasureChests: Present around the Citadel.
60	* ReligionOfEvil: Friars of the Fog are the enemies representing one.
61	* SpikesOfDoom: One of the traps present within the Citadel.
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65	!! Tropes present in Into The Fray:
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67	* AirborneMook: There are black winged demons, who swing reverse crosses at you.
68	* DaddysLittleVillain: Lillian, Guilford's daughter who seeks revenge on the crown for what happened to her father.
69	%% * DegradedBoss: The Monoliths
70	* MoreTeethThanTheOsmondFamily: The floating eye monsters wait to get close before opening up halfway to reveal their enormous toothy mouths.
71	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: One of the weapons is a triple-barrelled shotgun.
72	* ShortRangeShotgun: However, they are all quite short-ranged, whether wielded by the rebels, or yourself.
73	* TankGoodness: One boss is a Monolith-powered tank immune to all damage aside from explosives and the roof collapsing down on it. [[spoiler: You get to pilot it during the final normal stage.]]
74	* VideogameFlamethrowersSuck: Subverted as much as possible. Between high damage, high rate of fire, excellent range, a high ammunition cap and large amounts recovered from pickups, the Gaslighter flamethrower is one of the most valuable assets you have.
75	* WhamEpisode: While the previous two games were not lacking in terms of horror and unsettling revelations, the ending areas of Into the Fray bring things full circle with the revelation that [[spoiler: the Moon is an EldritchAbomination]] and that all life on Earth has only a few years left.
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79	!! Tropes present in Moonless Knight:
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81	* AnArmAndALeg: Gray's first battle with the Lunatics ends with him getting an arm cut off.

Context VideoGame / Skautfold