Line #15 VideoGame/HadeanLands


1	[[quoteright:246:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/hadean_lands.png]]
2	->''You smell copal incense, machine oil, rosemary, alcohol, and blood. Creaking, bending steel beams... no, that's not an odor. Why did you think the bulkheads were crumpling in on you? What would that even smell like? \
3	You're pretty sure it's not your own blood, anyway.''
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5	''Hadean Lands'' is a 2014 InteractiveFiction adventure by Creator/AndrewPlotkin. You're the second assistant alchemist on His Majesty's Marcher ''The Unanswerable Retort'', which is stuck in a bizarre fracture of time and space. You're the only one who can save her, as the rest of the crew appear to be disabled, dead, or missing.
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7	Unfortunately, you'll need to master everything your superior officers can do to survive. Don't worry. If at first you don't succeed...
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9	''Hadean Lands'' is one of the very few pieces of [[TextParser parser-based]] interactive fiction to be commercially sold since the death of Creator/{{Infocom}}. It was originally made available only for [=iOS=] except for a special cross-platform version for the Website/{{Kickstarter}} backers, but versions for Platform/MicrosoftWindows, Platform/MacOS, and anything else that can run Inform games are now also available on Platform/{{Steam}}, [[Creator/HumbleBundle Humble Store]], and itch.io.
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11	Links to all versions are at [[https://hadeanlands.com/ the game's website]].
12	----
13	!!''Hadean Lands'' provides examples of:
14	* AlchemyIsMagic: Alchemy is depicted as being able to perform magical effects but is approached very scientifically.
15	* AntiFrustrationFeatures:
16	** The game remembers what you've done and what you've seen, and will repeat things you've done before upon request. This includes going to any particular item or location that you've seen, unlocking any doors along the way and creating any resources required to open them.[[note]]It will perform tasks in the way you did them most recently; while this is usually what you want, there are cases where it isn't. In these cases, you can reset and perform substeps individually.[[/note]] This is essential given the GroundhogDayLoop nature of the game.
17	** After you've made some progress, a reset will automatically start you off past some of the initial barriers.
18	* ArtificialGravity: Provided by Baros. A couple areas have gravity issues due to the damage, either too much or too erratic to trust.
19	* CoolStarship: The ''Retort'' is a Marcher, which seems to be an alchemical starship.
20	* ElementalPowers: Pure elemental versions of the classic four (air, earth, fire, and water) are just some of the things you will need to obtain. The four of them together are essential to the Great Marriage ritual.
21	* ElementNumberFive: In addition to the classical four, you can find elemental wood.
22	* EnsignNewbie: Ensign Forsyth is clearly quite new and low on the totem pole, but is the only person left that's able to save the marcher.
23	* FeaturelessProtagonist: Other than a name (Ensign Forsyth) and a position, little is known of the protagonist, although the MultipleChoicePast may involve them in the backstory drama.
24	* GogglesDoSomethingUnusual: The oculus and planetary lens can be looked through to show alchemical and celestial associations, respectively. The oculus also shows sparks that frequently provide critical information.
25	* GroundhogDayLoop: A fundamental element of gameplay. You can restart a loop at any point with 'RESET', or by entering one of the dark doorways that are available around the map. Many puzzles require this - to do X you need information that you can only obtain by doing something that prevents you from doing X (due to finite resources, for example).
26	** [[spoiler:Later subverted, as some things change permanently once you perform the Great Marriage. However, even then you can still reset to the most recent permanent change.]]
27	* InventoryManagementPuzzle: Averted. You can carry as much as you need. However, after a few resets, you generally stop carrying everything around with you, instead only getting the things you need for your current puzzle.
28	* LockedDoor: All over the place, although none of them can be simply forced open. They may need to be unlocked by creating alchemical keys, finding physical keys, finding the right planetary associations, cleaned alchemically, made impermeable with an alchemically-prepared chime...
29	* MagicMusic: Downplayed. Some magical effects are performed by ringing an alchemically-prepared chime and using it for some effect.
30	* TheMaze: The Paper Maze and Confusing Cracks. You cannot solve them in any traditional way; [[spoiler:the center of the Paper Maze can be reached with the Lodestone of Centrality, and both of them become un-maze-like once Aistheta is repaired.]]
31	* MultipleChoicePast: The interactions between the crew members you can find vary depending on [[spoiler:which dragon you repair with the homonculus]]. Whichever crew member is associated with the [[spoiler:dragon]] was generally performing their misdeeds with Ensign Forsyth, while the rest of the crew are associated with the first crew member.
32	* {{Orichalcum}}: The orichalcum rod is one of the most useful items in the game, essential for multiple puzzles. Unfortunately, you can only find one.
33	* PunnyName: The ''Unanswerable Retort''. A retort is both a verbal response (which could be unanswerable) and a container for alchemical work.
34	* SecondPersonNarration: As is typical for the genre.
35	* SuperNotDrowningSkills: Invoked by the Breath-Holding Synthesis. When it wears off, you suddenly realize that you haven't breathed in ten minutes.
36	* UnwinnableByDesign: Strongly averted. Because of the GroundhogDayLoop, the game is rated 'Merciful' - it is impossible to get it into an unwinnable state.

Context VideoGame / HadeanLands