Line #28 VideoGame/DesperadosIII


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/desperados_iii.png]]
2	''Desperados III'' is a RealTimeStrategy StealthBasedGame, developed by Mimimi Games (of ''VideoGame/ShadowTacticsBladesOfTheShogun'' fame) and published by Creator/THQNordic, released on June 16th, 2020. It is the second NumberedSequel to ''VideoGame/{{Desperados}}'', and the fourth entry following ''Helldorado''.
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4	Set in 1875, the game is a prequel to ''VideoGame/DesperadosWantedDeadOrAlive'', once again following the gunslinger John Cooper, with some old and some new faces joining his would-be gang of bounty hunters. The Quick-Action feature returns under the name Showdown Mode, optionally pausing the game in order to chain multiple commands, allowing them to play out at the same time.
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6	On September 2020, Mimimi developed a three-part DLC, ''Money for the Vultures''. Taking place three months after the base game, Baton Rouge’s sheriff’s wife, Rosie, hires Cooper and the gang to retrieve Vincent [=DeVitt's=] wealth.
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8	[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9D5VLe6XCk Reveal Trailer]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hd8DOlEf0t8 Gameplay demo]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WshQo48iu2E E3 Trailer]]
9	----
10	!!The game provides examples of:
11	* AddressingThePlayer: Ordinarily, the “Mission Failed” screen spells out just how the player managed to get a game over. However, during the Las Piedras mission, [[spoiler:interrupting Isabelle as she’s healing Cooper’s leg by knocking her out]] will result in a “Mission Failed” screen where Isabelle directly chastises the player. You even get an achievement for it.
12	* TheAlcoholic: One of the targets in the second mission, Wild Marge, has a knack for whiskey, constantly ordering more as soon as she's finished. This can be used against her by poisoning the supply barrel.
13	* AllMenArePerverts: Except for the Long Coats, all the men can be distracted by Kate. Although the extent varies: while Ponchos generally can be seduced by Kate's wiles, they are far too professional to move from their posts. It doesn't work if Kate tries to lure away a man who is talking with a woman and/or a Poncho; they will hold their friend back. She also cannot tempt a man away if he is part of a patrol.
14	* AnachronismStew:
15	** Kate, Isabelle, and enemy guardswomen can all be seen wearing pants/jeans – in the United States, it wasn't until 1923 that women were allowed to wear these in public.
16	** [=McCoy=] uses a Colt Buntline Special. While the Buntline was first manufactured in 1873, the “Special” suffix refers to the second generation of Buntlines that was manufactured in the 1950s following the unprecedented success of ''The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp'' television series.
17	** Characters tend to pepper their speech with modern and semi-modern slang e.g. [=McCoy=] can speak about giving someone a ‘shot’ (an injection) if you select him. The earliest usage of this word dates back to 1889.
18	* AndNowForSomeoneCompletelyDifferent: One of Baron’s Challenge levels lets you play as [[spoiler:Isabelle’s cat, Stella, as she sets out to rescue Doc]].
19	* AngryGuardDog: Guard Dogs appear as occasional mooks that function differently from human guards. Though they only have one small, primary view cone, they are able to detect characters through bushes, walls, and other forms of cover even when crouching and are quick to attack if they spot you. While being detected by one doesn't raise the alarm by itself, their barks will draw human enemies to the area to investigate, making it harder to remain hidden. Also, they attack viciously fast and can see through Kate's disguises.
20	* AntiFrustrationFeatures: The game somewhat bends its own rules to guarantee the most hassle-free experience.
21	** None of your characters create sound while moving (except for when they have to move a body or wade through water), even while running, which lets them avoid detection by slithering past the guards inches away from them. What is more, quite literally ''bumping'' into them in itself will not raise the alarm; as long as your character vacates their vision cone as the guard turns around, they’ll simply go “huh?” and go about their duties.
22	** All of your characters have a ‘winding’ animation to their skills e.g. unholstering their firearm. These are purely cosmetic and as long as the skill of your choosing is off cooldown, you can use it instantaneously.
23	** Your characters, if knocked unconscious for whichever reason, will come to far faster than any guard.
24	*** That said, despite the unconscious state having a timer, picking anyone up -- friend or foe -- will ‘extend’ the timer indefinitely. In plain English, they won’t regain consciousness if you hold onto them.
25	** Party banter will continue to play even if you pause the game via Showdown Mode. This is handy if you want to listen to what your characters have to say when the alarm is about to be sounded (which cuts the banter off).
26	** Animals that can be aggravated by Cooper’s coin will also be provoked by Kate’s perfume.
27	** Guard Dogs will be lured by [=McCoy’s=] bag just like any other human guard. They’ll also, somehow, manage to open it and will be similarly blinded.
28	* AntiHero: All the playable characters are this to varying extents. While they are fighting an evil corrupt company, all of them are ready to kill without hesitation as shown during cutscenes. Depending on the player's actions they will either be [[Analysis/AntiHero Pragmatic Anti-Heroes]] (if the player tries to minimize the casualties among the mooks) or [[Analysis/AntiHero Unscrupulous Heroes]] (if they do not). Under the control of a merciless player who even kills civilians, they become straight {{Nominal Hero}}es.
29	* ArmedAltruism: {{Defied}}. Marshal Wayne, upon his rescue, attempts to {{invoke\|d}} this trope by asking [=McCoy=] to lend him his Buntline to which [=McCoy=] replies that that’ll occur only if “he takes a bullet to the head.”
30	* ArtificialStupidity: In the Las Piedras mission, the guards will sometimes stop on the tracks while inspecting a body or searching for their friends, only to get themselves run over by the train. Then another guard may notice the dead body -- which is counted as an accidental death and therefore doesn't trigger an alert. They will go investigate themselves and also get run over by the train. Their stupidity actually can even make your life harder if you're aiming for the No Casualties badge but can save you time if you want the Kill Five Enemies with the Train badge.
31	* ArtisticLicenseMedicine: In the finale of Chapter 2, [[spoiler:Hector is shot in the shoulder by Cooper, and Cooper himself is wounded in the upper right thigh by Frank. While Hector is shown to have endured the ride to New Mexico mines in fairly good condition – both Doc and Isabelle patched him up – Cooper, by the looks of it, didn’t receive an ounce of medical care in approximately a week’s time he was caged in the mines. And even if he did, in that time, he would’ve realistically developed gangrene severe enough to kill him]].
32	* ArtisticLicenseReligion: Isabelle explicitly practices the Louisiana branch of Voodoo (her debut mission is called that), but her backstory, her appreciation for BloodMagic, her offering the souls of her slain enemies up to the Ghede nation/family of loa, said loa existing in the universe of ''Desperados'', and the fact the loa were incorporated into some revivalist forms of Louisiana Voodoo only in the 20th century, indicates that she’s practicing Haitian UsefulNotes/{{Voudoun}} instead.
33	* AscendedExtra: Rosie, a minor character [[spoiler:and antagonist]] of the Baton Rouge mission, becomes the QuestGiver of the DLC missions and is more prominently featured as Hector’s would-be lady friend.
34	* BadassLongcoat:
35	** Cooper has gotten himself a longer coat and is as much of a fast gunslinger as he's previously been.
36	** Doc returns with his signature black coat from the previous games, though this time it’s trimmed with purple instead of burgundy-red and he can't use it as a distraction.
37	** Long Coats are this game’s EliteMook. They can't be distracted, see through disguises, are resistant to gunfire (taking three shots to kill), and only Hector can kill one in melee unless they're stunned by a gunshot, Doc’s gas vial, or Isabelle’s ''Connect'' first.
38	* BalanceBuff: The abilities of the five playable characters have been somewhat reshuffled compared to their ''VideoGame/ShadowTacticsBladesOfTheShogun'' counterparts, some to a greater extent than others.
39	** Cooper effectively plays almost exactly like Hayato with the major change being given [[GunsAkimbo a second gun]].
40	** Doc is given melee options and his bag as a distraction and as a medical kit to rectify the CripplingOverspecialization that Takuma and snipers in the Stealth RTT genre, in general, suffer from.
41	** Hector, as the equivalent to Mugen, is given the BearTrap and whistle ability from Yuki as well as a whiskey flask that heals only him. His shotgun is the nearest equivalent to Sword Wind, but targets in a cone as opposed to a circle and is limited by Hector's ammo supply.
42	** Kate plays almost exactly like Aiko only with pickpocketing skills and the inability to kill or bind mooks with her melee.
43	** Isabelle's skillset is the furthest departure with her blood magic making up the bulk of her abilities along with an animal to distract enemies.
44	** Guns in general are much more useful due to greater diversity in firearm types and availability of ammo.
45	** Shadow Mode's equivalent, Showdown Mode stops time entirely, as opposed to slowing it down, unless you're playing on the hardest difficulty.
46	* BearTrap: Hector has a giant trap with huge, sharp teeth in his arsenal. The teeth cause trapped enemies to bleed out after some time, making it more of a lethal tool than a conventional immobilizing trap.
47	* BigBad: Vincent [=DeVitt=], the boss of the [=DeVitt=] Company, is behind all of Cooper and Co.'s woes. He's a NonActionBigBad though, relying on Frank and his cronies to do his dirty work.
48	* BigGood: Marshall Wayne who has been investigating [=DeVitt=] for a while. Rescuing him is Isabelle's main motivation for much of the plot, and when you do, he gives you your penultimate mission of bringing [=DeVitt=] in alive.
49	* BlackTieInfiltration: The Casa [=DeVitt=] mission for half of your team and where Cooper and Kate impersonate guests of [=DeVitt=]'s party.
50	* BoisterousBruiser:
51	** Hector is a big, strong, and loud brawler who lives for a good fight and a good whiskey.
52	** Kate's uncle is cut from the same cloth.
53	* BoundAndGagged: One of the core game mechanics for those aiming for non-lethal runs. All of the playable characters can knock out their enemies, but the unconscious mooks will wake up after a while. However, the characters (sans Kate) have the ability to tie up unconscious [=NPCs=] to prevent them from moving after they were knocked out (while presumably gagging them as well, even though the game doesn't say it, given the sound clips that play during the animation). There's actually even a gameplay reward for doing so: tied-up enemies can be used to lure other mooks, as they will come to free the prisoner if they see them ''before'' raising the alarm, which can be used to set up an ambush. It even works on Long Coats and Ponchos who are otherwise immune to most of the other tactics to make them leave their post.
54	* BreatherEpisode: The Baton Rouge mission is a lot more lighthearted than all of the previous ones. First, there is its premise: the gang got plastered the previous night and creatively ransacked the entire town during the night. You never witness the actual event, only its aftermath which includes dressing up a scarecrow in a dress, a bull somehow getting onto the roof of a saloon, Hector sleeping with the sheriff’s wife, and [=McCoy=] getting horse-kicked across the face. The mission itself is peppered with humorous touches, mostly coming from the comments made by the not-so-bright citizens out for your heads, with most of them believing that the swamp witches or Satan himself had come to their town. You're even actively encouraged not to kill anyone since the game leaves you with no lethal weapon.
55	* BulletTime: The game slows down when your character is in an enemy’s plain sight, giving the player precious moments to react — unless you’re playing on the Desperado difficulty where detection is nigh-instant.
56	* CallForward:
57	** In the first mission, [=McCoy=] pulls off a ISurrenderSuckers stunt that was commonplace in ''[=WDoA=]'' and can bullrush the survivor should Cooper eliminate only one of the two guards holding him at gunpoint.
58	** At one point, [=McCoy=] mentions discovering his knock-out gas in a swamp near a small town called Jennings. Come ''[=WDoA=]'', and the people of Jennings try to hang him.
59	** In Baton Rouge, Kate notes that a poker tournament will be happening there soon and ponders the possibility of participating. When John laughs her off, Kate fires back, saying that she’d already beaten him once. Kate does indeed compete in a tournament some six years later.
60	*** Kate is shown to be pretty new to poker, but in the first DLC mission, she says that she's been improving her skills greatly. By the time of the original game, she's become a professional gambler and cardsharp.
61	** During the first DLC mission, Kate explains that Cooper is late because he was working on a bank job with Samuel Williams. When Doc notes that he's never heard of this Sam, Kate responds that John will -- eventually -- introduce Sam to him. The two first meet in ''[=WDoA=]''.
62	** The entire third DLC mission takes place in Pablo Sanchez’s fortress of Eagle’s Nest -- only without Sanchez himself, naturally. Hector even references Diego, Pablo’s father, who’s been sizing up the fort for his son.
63	* ChangedMyMindKid: [[spoiler:[=McCoy=] leaves the group after Cooper screws everything up by trying to challenge Frank alone and getting the gang captured and sent to the Company's gold mines. The next two missions are done without him. However, he chooses to come back and arrives to save them from [=DeVitt=] after the latter manages to wrestle Hector's sawed-off from him and was about to kill them all. It’s later confirmed that Doc knew where to look for the gang as he’d consulted Marshal Wayne beforehand.]]
64	* ChineseLaunderer: In Baton Rouge, there is Sam Wong's Laundry, fitting to the game's TheWildWest setting.
65	* ClownCarBase: Barracks can send waves of reinforcements from a relatively small building. These are limited in number and can be viewed by hovering the cursor over the building's alarm bell.
66	* ColdSniper: Just like in all other ''Desperados'' games, [=McCoy=] is the sniper of the group and by far the most emotionally distant and the most businesslike; for most of the game he is OnlyInItForTheMoney.
67	* ColorCodedCharacters: Much like ''VideoGame/ShadowTacticsBladesOfTheShogun'', characters are strongly identified with a color to make their actions easier to identify in the heat of action. Cooper is teal, [=McCoy=] is purple, Hector is orange-brown, Kate is peach, and Isabelle is green. This extends to the objects they are interacting with. Enemies tend to be associated with red, civilians with pale yellow, and friendly [=NPCs=] with bright green.
68	* CompensatingForSomething:
69	** Cooper, with some set-up from Hector, cracks this joke in regards to [=DeVitt’s=] too-opulent mansion in the penultimate mission.
70	** In the final DLC mission, the Long Coat that stands guard over [=McCoy=] can be heard contemplating the sheer length of the Buntline’s barrel. [=McCoy=], understandably, doesn’t dignify the Long Coat with an answer.
71	* ConflictBall: Cooper firmly grabs hold of it at the end of Chapter II. [[spoiler:Having finally cornered Frank, Cooper wants to challenge him to a duel alone. Kate and Hector both wisely protest, and Cooper responds by ''shooting Hector in the shoulder'', crippling him for the remainder of the mission and forcing Kate to look after him. Cooper then heads in, loses to Frank, and gets himself and his friends captured.]] Justified in that he’s been [[spoiler:obsessed with Frank for the better part of a decade and has been cheated of revenge several times already]].
72	* CorruptPolitician: Flagstone’s Mayor Higgins is on the [=DeVitt=] Company's payroll and sold Kate's ranch to them behind her back. Kate is murderously displeased.
73	* CosmeticAward: Completing a stage once will reveal a number of badges that can be earned. Difficulty ranges from fairly easy (e.g. “open all the cages” in the bayou mission) to completely and clearly insane (e.g. “do not save” or “do not use a character’s entire kit” in that character vs. seven enemies scenario), but there are no gameplay rewards attached to them.
74	* CutenessProximity: Isabelle's cat, Stella, can be used as a distraction. Normal guards can't resist petting her when she’s near them.
75	* DarkestHour: The end of the second chapter of the game [[spoiler:when all five characters are captured and shipped off to be worked to death in the [=DeVitt=] gold mines. The ensuing Las Piedras mission also qualifies as [=McCoy’s=] departure had punched a hole in the gang’s morale and Kate very nearly follows in his footsteps]].
76	* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:Hector used to be part of Frank's gang. He quit after Frank asked him to kill a teenager, a young Cooper.]]
77	* DevelopersForesight:
78	** If the player manages to trigger the alarm while your gang’s bantering between themselves, they will immediately fall silent and continue their conversation from the point where they left off once the coast is clear.
79	** In Isabelle's intro mission, if you try to rescue Doc using a goon mind-controlled by Isabelle, he'll kill them, and Isabelle will comment that he in all likelihood needs to see a friendly face rather than an enemy. A puppet can still save all other characters.
80	** Long Coats shot by a mind-controlled mook will remember the person who did it and shoot that individual when encountered.
81	** Isabelle can put characters that are already under the player’s control under ''her'' Mind Control to entertaining results as all of the characters -- Doc and Hector in particular -- will have distinct reactions to it.
82	** Isabelle's ''Connect'' has a ton of secret synergies that a clever player can utilize. For instance, the game states that Hector's personal healing item (a flask of whiskey called "the Good Stuff") is too strong for anyone else to use. If you connect Hector to a guard and have him take a swig, the connected guard instantly passes out. Another example includes using ''Connect'' on one live mook and one tied-up one, then chucking the latter into a body of water which will drown the other mook even if they're on land. This even plays a special drowning animation.
83	** In the O'Hara Ranch mission, Hector and Doc bet on who will get the most kills. They'll keep track of their progress by counting each one out loud and they'll keep counting up to a hundred which basically involves assigning the killing duty, together with triggering as many alarms as possible to spawn additional guards, to just one of them. When either gets to a hundred, they'll stop and, depending on who won, will have a unique exchange.
84	---> '''Hector:''' ''(if he got to a hundred first)'' Hah! One-hundred. How many you got, Doc?\
85	'''[=McCoy=]:''' I think we're done counting. You've made your point.\
86	'''Hector:''' Come now, Doc. I'm always here for a rematch.
87
88	---> '''[=McCoy=]:''' ''(if he got to a hundred first)'' That makes a hundred. What's your tally?\
89	'''Hector:''' Uh...think I lost count. Let's say it's a draw.\
90	'''[=McCoy=]:''' That sounds more like capitulating, Mr. Hector.
91	* DifficultyLevels: Beginner, Normal, Hard, and [[HarderThanHard Desperado]]. Raising the difficulty also changes the enemy mob types and setups in the level. Desperado also disables the pause feature of the Showdown Mode.
92	* TheDogWasTheMastermind: In one of the Baron’s Challenge maps, you are tasked with taking out four gang leaders. One is a chicken called El Pollo Mateo. The chicken's description says, "The chicken is behind it all. Put an end to its schemes."
93	* TheDragon: Frank is [=DeVitt=]'s top enforcer, and the one carrying his orders on the field.
94	* DragonTheirFeet: [[spoiler:Frank quits [=DeVitt=]'s employ just before the heroes carry out their plan to capture the latter. Therefore, after [=DeVitt=] is subdued and shipped off, there's a final mission in which the heroes go to confront Frank who has returned to his old hideout in Mexico.]]
95	* EasyLevelTrick:
96	** The New Orleans mission where the gang looks for Marshall Wayne involves going over three different locations with a fine-tooth comb for evidence. Any of the three informants can hold the incriminating letter and the game randomly determines it every time you play it. Every informant is surrounded by hordes of bodyguards and civilians who will call for the guards if they witness you using any of your skills, so ordinarily, you’re required to slowly and methodically chip away at the guards before you can approach the informant. Or you can simply get [=McCoy=] into position, get him to snipe the informant, then waltz in with the disguised Kate, and pluck the letter off the guy’s still-warm body. [[spoiler:And the fact a chunk of the second part of this mission where the gang makes their way to [=DeVitt’s=] storage yard can be skipped by taking a shortcut near Café Chez Manu is sure make one’s life much easier.]]
97	** Casa [=DeVitt=], the penultimate mission, has our heroes infiltrate [=DeVitt=]'s well-guarded villa during a gala full of people to try and kidnap him. The initial plan was for the group to cause a distraction, either using fireworks or a fancy contraption in the backyard to distract people away from the main plaza, leaving [=DeVitt=] alone with a few guards. This requires elaborate cooperation between the four characters to systematically eliminate [=DeVitt=]'s men stealthily until they can proceed with the plan. [[spoiler:Or you can just eliminate a few guards on the balcony and get Isabelle up there then have her mind control [=DeVitt=] once he wanders into range, getting him out of the guards' views, knocking him out, and carrying him to the extraction wagon, finishing the mission. Kate and Cooper don't even have to do anything at all besides reuniting with the others. In fact, there are even two badges that can be earned by not using any of Kate and Cooper's skills and having Isabelle Mind Control [=DeVitt=].]]
98	* EliteMooks: The Long Coats are the only enemies that can't be killed in one hit (except by Hector in melee). They can't be distracted by conventional means and also see through Kate's disguise.
99	* EnemyChatter: Enemies close to each other will have a chat if the camera pans to them. These conversations will occasionally provide hints and/or deepen the lore.
100	* EqualOpportunityEvil: The [=DeVitt=] Company has no problem hiring women and black people as their muscle.
101	* EvenEvilHasStandards: [=DeVitt=] smuggles slaves and while many goons under his employ will enthusiastically “look after” them, the player will just as often encounter mooks that express their discomfort at the notion.
102	* EveryoneHasStandards: The heroes don't always distinguish themselves by their moral sense, but their idle comments during the bayou mission make it clear that they all loathe slavery.
103	* EvilInc: In the public eye, the [=DeVitt=] Company is a respectable if a tad ruthless railroad company. Behind the scenes, however, the company dabbles in slavery by using legal loopholes to bypass its ban, kidnaps people and works them to death in the gold mines, and uses violence to take the lands it wants.
104	* FireForgedFriends: How Cooper meets and grows close to all of his companions. He bails Doc out during a train robbery; Doc saves him right back. He runs into Kate during a wedding heist. Isabelle saves him during a shootout. And Hector [[spoiler:spared his life as a kid after Frank ordered his execution.]]
105	* {{Foreshadowing}}: The citizens of Baton Rouge mention several times 'swamp witches' and 'swamp witchcraft'. The next mission introduces Isabelle who can use voodoo.
106	* FreudianExcuse: Implied with [=DeVitt=] if he is telling the truth during his ramblings to his guards after his party is ruined. Apparently, as soon as he was old enough, his father threw him out of the house in the streets with only his clothes and a dime, and let him fend for himself.
107	* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: The [=DeVitt=] Company doesn’t exactly provide its hirelings with the best armaments or equipment, [=McCoy=] notes at one point, which explains why your enemies have a tendency to miss your characters during a shootout -- especially at longer distances.
108	* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In the third mission, Cooper's and Hector's objective is to kill the local head representatives of the [=DeVitt=] Company. However, due to how the engine works, the game will also count them 'dead' even if they were only knocked out, trussed up, and hidden somewhere (for instance in one of the closets of the brothel for Wild Marge).
109	* GenderIsNoObject: The [=DeVitt=] Company employs plenty of gunwomen in addition to gunmen. This isn't purely cosmetic either; female mooks are immune to Kate's wiles and will also dissuade their male colleagues if Kate tries to lure them away if they're nearby.
110	* GoodIsNotNice: The protagonists face off against bandits and the corrupt [=DeVitt=] Company, but they are also jaded people who are not above using lethal means of ridding the world of their foes. They will also rough up civilians if they can't avoid it, such as knocking out someone so that Kate can steal her clothes to disguise herself.
111	* GuideDangIt: A DamnYouMuscleMemory instance. [[spoiler:In the finale of the main campaign, Cooper ‘leaves’ the team – i.e. his icon is pulled from the HUD and you cannot control him – as he challenges Frank to a duel. The game also automatically schedules a Showdown Mode action from him: a shot from his Colt aimed at Frank. What it does not attempt to communicate is that Cooper, despite being outside your control, will still respond to your Showdown Mode inputs: the “Execute All” command will also execute Cooper’s shot. So, if you didn’t schedule all the actions needed to eliminate all of Frank’s goons and then hit “Execute All”, Cooper will fire, die, and you’ll get a game over alongside a quip from Frank]].
112	* GunsAkimbo: Cooper carries two revolvers which let him take down two enemies at once. Interestingly, he carries two different models: his signature Colt 1851 Navy from previous games and a Remington New Model Army.
113	* HealThyself: Hector carries a flask of high-proof whiskey, a swig of which will completely restore his HP. The tooltip says it's too strong for everyone else indicating that he cannot heal anyone else, unlike [=McCoy=] and Isabelle who both can use their medical skills on anyone, themselves included.
114	* HeelFaceTurn: [[spoiler:Hector, in the backstory, used to work for Frank. He switched sides when Frank asked him to kill Cooper who was just a child at the time]].
115	* HeroMustSurvive: Losing any of your characters in any non-scripted sequence is a mission failure.
116	* HopelessBossFight: [[spoiler:When Cooper confronts Frank in the New Orleans docks, the player is given control to allow for one action only: drawing Cooper's Colt Navy revolver. Unfortunately, Frank is quicker on the draw and shoots Cooper in the leg which puts him out of action for a while]].
117	* HypocriticalHumor:
118	** Hector chastises Cooper for resorting to poisoning a vat with whiskey, arguing that a killer should look their victim in the eye. This is coming from a man frequently using a giant bear trap (which he named) to kill others as Cooper points out.
119	-->'''Hector:''' I don't know, amigo. You kill a man you look him in the eye.\
120	'''Cooper:''' Like when you use that giant bear trap of yours?\
121	'''Hector:''' Hey, leave Bianca out of this!
122	** One of the enemy thugs delivering a brief eulogy to another deceased mook in the same mission.
123	-->'''Gunman:''' Bill was a good man. Never hurt a fly. Beat his wife like there was no tomorrow, but who doesn't, eh? You rest in peace there, Bill.
124	* ICallHerVera:
125	** Hector refers to his giant bear trap as Bianca. Even the tooltips get in on this; in a mission where Bianca is replaced with a rake, the tooltip refers to it as "Not-Bianca".
126	** Cooper refers to his revolvers as "The Old" (Colt Navy) and "The New" (Remington New Army).
127	* InstantDeathStab: Cooper uses a Bowie knife to quietly take out targets. Seeing as this is a stealth game, the targets die fast with minimal noise.
128	* InterfaceSpoiler: Right from the first mission in the game when you hit the Showdown Mode button and see the control scheme, you can already see locators for the controls to execute your stored actions with [=McCoy=], Hector, Kate, and Isabelle, well before any of them have debuted in the story.
129	* ItsPersonalWithTheDragon: Vincent [=DeVitt=] is the main antagonistic force, but Cooper's true beef is with his top enforcer, Frank, [[spoiler:a retired outlaw responsible for the death of his father]].
130	* JustifiedTutorial: The prologue features a fourteen-year-old John assisting his father, James, in tracking down a bounty. James instructs him in all the tricks and tools of the trade and, by extension, the player regarding basic gameplay mechanics.
131	* JustYouAndMeAndMyGuards: [[spoiler:In the final fight, John Cooper, the main protagonist, prepares for a [[ShowdownAtHighNoon climatic duel]] with Frank, the BigBad. The moment they face off against each other, a group of guards come out of hiding and encircle them. The task of the rest of the team is to sneak in undetected and prepare for a move that takes down all the guards at once. The area also has some {{mooks}} who can be killed beforehand, but if you are being detected at any time, it's game over]].
132	* LastLousyPoint: There's an achievement for killing or incapacitating all 31 of the [=NPCs=] named after Mimimi developers. Made worse by the lack of in-game progress tracking specifying which ones you've already eliminated, as well as some [=NPCs=] having names but not being considered part of the achievement.
133	* LeaveNoWitnesses: One of the Baron's challenges and a few mission badges ask you to murder absolutely everyone on a map (excluding civilians and guards residing in their barracks).
134	* LittleUselessGun: Kate's Derringer is an aversion. While it has the shortest range of all other guns at your disposal, it's still just as lethal as other guns and is a lot quieter than Cooper's revolvers or Hector’s sawed-off.
135	* LosingTheTeamSpirit: [[spoiler:[=McCoy’s=] departure at the start of Chapter 3 does a number on the gang’s morale and very nearly splits them further]].
136	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Environmental kills won't cause surviving enemies to sound the alarm. While they will scour the area in a panic, they won't call reinforcements or fail any “remain undetected” objectives. Bizarrely, this even applies to accidental deaths copied using Isabelle's ''Connect'', meaning that a guard who suddenly gets crushed to death by ''nothing'' in the middle of an open field will still be treated as an accident by anyone who sees it happen.
137	* MasterOfUnlocking: [=McCoy=], as always. He even boasts about being able to crack open Vincent [=DeVitt’s=] safe despite not even looking at what kind of lock he’ll be facing.
138	* MuggedForDisguise: Kate can disguise herself as a civilian and walk in her enemies’ plain sight, with only the Long Coats and the dogs being able to recognize her as an impostor, but it almost always involves stealing the clothes of another woman after knocking her out.
139	* NGOSuperpower: Officially, the [=DeVitt=] Company is a railroad company. However, its massive wealth stemming from its gold mine and slave trade allows it to maintain a small private army and to have several gangs of criminals working for it. It's powerful enough to control a city such as Flagstone and to put New Orleans on at least partial lockdown.
140	* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: Hector is basically a sanguine [[Creator/BudSpencer Bud Spencer]], who dropped his curmudgeonly nature.
141	* NoGearLevel: Baton Rouge, somewhat. Your characters have no weapons but retain their distraction skills. [[spoiler: [=DeVitt=] Goldmine]] can also be played this way for a badge. Several of the Baron’s Challenge levels also take away every method of harming or incapacitating enemies directly. Downplayed in Casa [=DeVitt=]. Cooper has to do without his revolvers but retains all his other abilities, including his knife.
142	* NonActionBigBad: Due to being, in Cooper's words, a "rich asshole", Vincent [=DeVitt=] relies on Frank and all his guards to do the fighting for him. [[spoiler:Though he's not as weak as he appears, as he was able to get the drop on Hector and steal his weapon, and knows how to use a shotgun]].
143	* NoSell:
144	** Female mooks are immune to Kate's charms and Long Coats will spot and identify her at a moment's notice.
145	** Using Kate to try and distract [=DeVitt=] himself during his gala party will result in Vincent recognizing her and sounding the alarm.
146	** Downplayed with Long Coats and [=McCoy’s=] gas flasks. Normally, the gas knocks everyone, including your party members, out cold. Long Coats are immune because of the bandanas covering their mouths and noses, but the gas will still weaken them, allowing any one of your characters to melee them.
147	* OnlyAFleshWound:
148	** One of Cooper's lines when being damaged is "just a scratch," which includes getting shot.
149	** Averted with Kate's uncle who gets hit in the shoulder by a Gatling gun bullet but claims ‘it looks worse than it is.’ He quickly collapses and dies from the blood loss.
150	* PacifistRun: Aside from the tutorial, most missions can be completed just using distractions and non-lethal takedowns; if a mission asks you to eliminate a target, tying them up and hiding their body will be enough to complete the objective. Some missions (such as New Orleans) give a medal for finishing them without killing anyone. There's no explicit encouragement or acknowledgment for playing this way more generally, however, and characters will still kill during cutscenes.
151	* PurelyAestheticGender: Subverted. At first, it seems like female mooks are just there for the sake of it, but there's actually a gameplay mechanic behind it: Kate's distraction techniques won't work on them.
152	* RakeTake: On the level where all your equipment is replaced by non-lethal versions, Hector's bear trap is replaced by a rake that invokes these for a non-lethal KO.
153	* RealTimeWithPause: Showdown Mode pauses the game (except on the highest difficulty) to allow the player to line up actions from several characters at once. [[spoiler:The game's final confrontation cannot be won without it]].
154	* ReplayValue: Some of the game badges are mutually exclusive (e.g. in “Until Death Do Us Part” one badge is earned by ''not'' using the Gatling gun and another is earned by killing at least 15 enemies with it), making it mandatory to replay the mission if the player wishes to collect all the badges. Even when badges theoretically aren't exclusive, it's often way too impractical if not impossible to actually earn them all on a single gameplay; for example, the speedrun badge is all but unobtainable unless the player forgoes the badges earned by ''not'' using a certain skill (as they limit considerably the strategic possibilities) or by doing a non-essential action that requires a detour from the main quest.
155	* SacrificialLion: Kate's uncle, a boisterous Irishman capable of holding off an entire squad of goons with only Cooper and his niece by his side during the shootout at the O'Hara Ranch, dies of blood loss after getting hit by a Gatling gun bullet. His death motivates Kate all the way.
156	* SaveScumming: Expected and encouraged by the game to the point that you are reminded if you haven't saved in a while. The mechanic is so prominent, in fact, it’s ''the'' main highlight of ''Desperados III'' announcement trailer.
157	* ShipTease:
158	** Between Cooper and Kate who are shown to take a liking to each other during their adventures. [[spoiler:She {{Big Damn Kiss}}es him just before the beginning of his climactic duel with Frank]]. But seeing as these two are an OfficialCouple in all other ''Desperados'' games, this might come across as ForegoneConclusion.
159	** Between [=McCoy=] and Isabelle, though it's more of a BelligerentSexualTension flavor. The two of them constantly bicker (both on-screen and off-screen), but [=McCoy=] keeps coming up with reasons to stick by her which she subtly teases him for, and [[spoiler:when he temporarily leaves the team, Isabelle explicitly comments that she misses him]]… before calling him an idiot. Kate is very much aware of what’s happening between these two, and the “belligerent” part gets seemingly downplayed in the DLC -- mostly due to Doc being OutOfFocus for its duration.
160	* ShortRangeShotgun: Downplayed with Hector's shotgun. One can't deal damage outside the range cone highlighted when equipping the weapon, though it has a decent range along with the spread allowing you to hit multiple enemies.
161	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: Hector's shotgun fires in a cone-shaped arc, but anyone inside that cone is dead, allowing Hector to take out [[OneHitPolykill swathes of mooks]] with a single blast.
162	* ShoutOut:
163	** Between his name, his status as a retired outlaw working for a railroad company owner, and all the dialogues centered around him ultimately missing the good old days of the Far West before the railroad brought modernity to these lands, it's pretty clear that Frank is a huge loving homage to, well, [[Film/OnceUponATimeInTheWest another Frank]]. Especially when you see Cooper's backstory and learn that [[spoiler:like the other Frank, this one forced the protagonist into a position where they were responsible for the death of a relative.]]
164	** One of Kate's select lines refers to [[Series/{{Westworld}} a certain other western-themed series]]:
165	-->'''Kate:''' These violent delights...
166	** Isabelle is a WitchDoctor using voodoo, so obviously she has [[WesternAnimation/ThePrincessAndTheFrog her own references]]:
167	-->'''Isabelle:''' I've got friends on the other side.
168	** Kate will occasionally say "[[VideoGame/{{Commandos}} Guten tag]]" when distracting an enemy.
169	** Cooper sometimes quips "Film/TheQuickAndTheDead" when readying his revolvers.
170	*** Cooper’s backstory of, [[spoiler:as a child, being coerced by the villain into shooting something/someone to save their parent]], is also taken from that movie.
171	** The final showdown with Frank takes place [[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly on a cobbled circle in the middle of a cemetery]]. The briefing for the Baron's Challenge "[[Film/ForAFewDollarsMore For A Few Bullets More]]" also paraphrases Blondie's famous line about there being two kinds of people in the world.
172	** Just like in all other ''Desperados'' games, [=McCoy=] is still a Creator/LeeVanCleef expy, taking vastly after both [[Film/ForAFewDollarsMore Colonel Douglas Mortimer]] and [[Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly Angel Eyes]].
173	* ShowdownAtHighNoon: Frank loves these, to the point of setting them up intentionally even when he could just shoot his enemy instead; at one point [=DeVitt=] [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim even complains about it]].
174	** In particular, [[spoiler:there's one when Cooper finally catches up to him for the first time, although the results are scripted]].
175	** And later, [[spoiler:the final encounter of the game consists of one of these, although you control everyone ''except'' Cooper in order to eliminate Frank's men at the same instant when Cooper and Frank fire]].
176	* SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil: The [=DeVitt=] Company uses slaves which it “procures” with the help of criminal gangs on its payroll, and this specific action is shown to particularly disgust the main characters.
177	* StabTheScorpion: When Cooper and [=McCoy=] first meet, Cooper saves [=McCoy=] from a pair of thugs. [=McCoy=] returns the favor by aiming his gun at Cooper, prompting Cooper to respond with an annoyed "really?" only for [=McCoy=] to fire and shoot the third thug creeping up behind John.
178	* StarterVillain: Big Ann, the leader of the gang attacking the train that Cooper is using to go to Flagstone, is the first antagonist of the game and isn't mentioned after her gang is defeated. She's also a LoneWolfBoss as she doesn't have ties with the [=DeVitt=] company; in fact, her actions even indirectly oppose the company as she's robbing one of their trains.
179	* StealthBasedGame: To an extent. While sneaking around is the most effective way to pick off enemies, even on higher difficulties a gunfight can be a sound plan, as long as it's started on your terms.
180	* StopPokingMe: All five playable characters will have a [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou violently visceral]] reaction if you repeatedly click on them.
181	** Cooper will tell you a story about an overly inquisitive fellow who lost his finger and, among other things, call you a jackass.
182	** [=McCoy=] will "do inventory" i.e. detail just how many different quick-acting and extremely deadly poisons he has in his bag before inviting you to choose one.
183	** Kate will recite a little verse about her past suitors and how awful all of them were before directly comparing you to one.
184	** Hector will first laugh at being tickled, then start flirting with you (and assuming you’re Bianca) before reassuring you that, no, he wouldn’t dare look at other women.
185	** Isabelle will use her Mind Control on you and compel you to wipe all of your save data.
186	* SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute: Since this is a prequel, Sanchez and Mia (who the group met for the first time in ''VideoGame/DesperadosWantedDeadOrAlive'') can't appear. Hector and Isabelle take their places as the illiterate, hard-drinking BigGuy with a shotgun and SixthRanger with the TeamPet and darts that can make enemies attack each other, respectively.
187	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: Enemy AI is extremely predictable and easy to manipulate. Administrivia/TropesAreTools and this is to the game's favor as exploiting this is a gameplay cornerstone. That said, the guards actually avert the worst aspects of this trope -- they'll notice if their buddies have disappeared and spend some time looking for them, for instance. New players to the game or genre may also be surprised at just how far the guards can see and what they will react to.
188	* TheRoleplayingGame: Pegasus Games [[https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/316116/Desperados-A-Pen-and-Paper-Roleplaying-Game?src=cab_col released a pen-and-pencil tabletop game]] based on the game.
189	* TheyCallMeMrTibbs: [=McCoy=] is quick to correct everyone that his correct title is “Doctor” whenever someone calls him “Mister.”
190	* ThisIsSomethingHesGotToDoHimself: Cooper insists on this [[spoiler:when he catches up to Frank for the first time, to the point of shooting Hector to make him stay away.]] It doesn't end well.
191	* ThrowingYourSwordAlwaysWorks: Cooper carries a knife, which he can throw for ranged kills, and something he expresses great pride in when equipping it. However, the tutorial shows that this wasn't always the case, as Cooper is made to practice throwing a knife from fifteen paces, which results in the knife repeatedly bouncing off its tree.
192	* TooDumbToLive:
193	** Mayor Higgins still tries to marry Kate after having already sold the deed of her family's ranch behind her back. Somehow, he expects that this will have no repercussions for him. Frank rightfully points out that this was a stupid decision during their meeting.
194	** Magnus [=DeVitt=], the brother of Vincent [=DeVitt=] and antagonist of the second DLC mission, definitively is. It's one thing to gloat in a message that you hid your brother's money while revealing your identity. It's another to keep acting like a SmugSnake and to belittle the armed people who cornered you alone on the roof of your mansion in order to ask you about said money, after having probably neutralized and potentially killed a good chunk of your guards. [[spoiler:Killing him actually even gives a badge.]]
195	* TruceZone: Sort of. You can freely move in the streets of Flagstone, New Orleans, and the public-allowed parts of the [[spoiler:[=DeVitt=] Mansion (though only with Cooper and Kate who are posing as guests)]] without getting shot at, as long you are not caught doing anything suspicious. This also allows Kate to use her usually disguise-dependent abilities without said disguise.
196	* UnintentionallyUnwinnable: In Baton Rouge, [=McCoy=] is unconscious and needs to be carried to a boat at the end of the level. Hector can throw bodies he's carrying, with no requirement that he (or anyone else for that matter) be able to reach that location by any other means. The boat has an unreachable roof, but throwing [=McCoy=] on there doesn't count as bringing him to the boat, and the game only tells you this when you've completed all the other objectives in the level. Hope you didn't quicksave in the meantime.
197	* VideogameCaringPotential: The game allows for non-lethal attack options, but there's actually no penalty for killing enemies. And since the lethal actions are slightly more efficient and convenient as they don't need the characters to spend time tying up the enemies, players opting to defeat non-lethally as many enemies as possible only do it because they want to be merciful. Some of the mooks have dialogues that slightly humanize them or genuinely funny lines, making some people willing to incapacitate them non-lethally. It's even possible to finish some maps without killing a single soul, and there's actually a reward for doing it in the New Orleans, Las Piedras, and the final Devil's Canyon missions.[[note]]Though in that last case, the player has to kill Frank and you can kill his posse without losing the achievement. While it's possible to incapacitate most of them non-lethally by using [=McCoy=]'s gas and Isabelle's link ability, but it's hard to incapacitate all of them in one go without using Hector's shotgun.[[/note]]
198	* VideogameCrueltyPotential: On the other hand, the game also allows you to be creatively mean with the unlucky mooks and [=NPC=]s you come across.
199	** You can knock out an already unconscious goon as many times as you want as long as they're not tied up.
200	** You can kill a goon while they're already tied up and defenseless. There's even a reason you might want to do so since you can use them to kill another NPC remotely using Isabelle's ''Connect''.
201	** The mission in Baton Rouge only gives you non-lethal weapons which means that killing requires more effort than non-lethally taking them out. You can still find ways to do it, and there's even a badge for killing enough of them. It's worth noting that this time you're not up against the [=DeVitt=] Company or a criminal gang, but against Baton Rouge's citizens who think you ransacked their town and robbed the bank. And while shooting on sight is DisproportionateRetribution, they have legitimate grievances against the gang. Also, they seem to be acting more on misinformed stupidity than true malice.
202	** Some of their idle dialogues can be surprisingly good at humanizing the mooks. Some of them will invite another to play cards or to have a drink after their shift as part of their stock lines during a conversation. There are even instances of more elaborate dialogues humanizing them. For instance, in the Casa [=DeVitt=] Mission, it's painfully obvious that one of the Long Coats, named Bill by the other characters, has a crush on one of the gunwomen of the estate and tries to ask her out every time he passes near her during his round, but CannotSpitItOut. You can still kill them if you want.
203	** Unlike previous games in the series, killing an innocent civilian is no longer an automatic mission failure by default (or even penalized in any way, outside of the game keeping track).[[note]]The only exception is the Casa [=DeVitt=] mission, during which killing a civilian is an instant game over.[[/note]]
204	** Isabelle can Mind Control enemies into killing their allies, including people who are clearly close friends they were just having a conversation with.
205	* VisualInnuendo:
206	** In the finale of the main campaign, one can find [[https://64.media.tumblr.com/d8538e94fe4b07ffb209aed229421cec/778a1adff333d657-fb/s500x750/e5b2b6fec856f56c365ccadc7471762a35aae9f9.pnj two round shrubs and a set of vines ‘protruding’ out of said shrubs]] in an incredibly phallic manner.
207	** [=McCoy=] spends nearly the entirety of the introductory cinematic to the “Bridge at Eagle Falls” mission shining his (already [[PhallicWeapon exceptionally phallic-appearing]]) gun while also holding it precariously close to his crotch area.
208	* WeaponBasedCharacterization: Each of the main cast has a variety of weapons and tools at their disposal:
209	** Cooper, as a classic cowboy, carries a pair of revolvers that allow him to dispatch two enemies at once. He also uses a Bowie Knife for both close-quarters and ranged kills.
210	** Doc, the ConsummateProfessional, uses a Colt Buntline Special using a custom stock and rounds for long-ranged, nigh-silent kills. He also has an array of medical equipment, such as a syringe with poison, chloroform, and swamp gas bombs that give him greater versatility than other snipers in the real-time stealth tactical genre.
211	** Hector, as TheBigGuy, prefers larger, noisier weapons, such as his axe, sawed-off shotgun, and Bianca.
212	** Kate prefers to use stealth and her feminine wiles, and her weapon is a Derringer, which is quieter than other firearms.
213	** Isabelle focuses on manipulation and trickery; her blow gun can't kill anyone directly, but it's what she uses to deliver the puppet and link abilities, making this a case of AbnormalAmmo. For melee kills, she uses a small sickle, an unusual weapon that emphasizes her supernatural nature.
214	* WeirdWest: Downplayed. To the naked eye, the game’s setting might appear firmly rooted in all the classic tropes of the Old West. However, Isabelle’s abilities, in addition to the information offered in ''Desperados: A Pen & Paper Roleplaying Game'' make it apparent that this universe features a handful of supernatural elements.
215	* WhatDidIDoLastNight: The Baton Rouge mission starts in the morning after a night involving things like a bull somehow getting onto the roof of a local saloon, improbable cannon fire ricochet aiming, local militia mistaking [=McCoy=] for Satan and suspicion of swamp witchcraft. On top of that, Hector slept with the sheriff's wife, and that alone motivates the gang to get out of dodge.
216	* WhatMeasureIsAMook:
217	** In general, the characters never give a second thought to the mooks they kill, even during situations in which it's very unlikely that all these people (or even a majority of them) are criminals: for instance, the guards of Higgins Estate or the citizens of Baton Rouge.
218	** The Casa [=DeVitt=]'s mission objectively forbids you to kill Vincent [=DeVitt=], as the Marshall wants him alive to be judged or to kill any of the guests. The lives of the many guards of the estate are free game, however. While most of them are implied to be criminals part of Frank's gang and other gangs of outlaws, Vincent [=DeVitt=] is arguably a much more evil human being than them. It's even possible that some of them are mere guards doing their jobs, with no ties to the Company.
219	* WhatTheHellHero: The rest of the party reacts this way to [[spoiler:Cooper insisting on confronting Frank alone, shooting Hector, and getting everyone captured in the New Orleans Docks mission. Hector and Isabelle forgive him fairly quickly, but Doc quits on the spot (albeit not permanently), and Kate very nearly does the same -- Hector convinces her to give Cooper another chance.]]
220	* TheWildWest: The setting of the game, and it includes many of the Wild West tropes.
221	* WouldHitAGirl: None of the heroes have any compunction attacking or even killing female opponents. [[VideogameCrueltyPotential Or female civilians, for that matter, should the player feel merciless.]]
222	* WouldHurtAChild: Enemy mooks are willing to kill the fourteen-year-old Cooper during flashbacks.
223	* YouKilledMyFather: [[spoiler:Cooper wants to kill Frank because the latter is responsible of the death of his father.]]

Context VideoGame / DesperadosIII