Line #118 VideoGame/Ziggurat


1	[[quoteright:460:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/27e11e9ee2cdd692c7bc124fd37c073f.jpg]]
2
3	''Ziggurat'' is a video game first released on Steam on the 23rd of October 2014. It blends a high fantasy setting with old-school FirstPersonShooter gameplay in the vein of ''VideoGame/{{Heretic}}'', with a side of {{Roguelike}}, featuring randomized levels and equipment drops as well as final death.
4
5	Its plot puts you in the shoes of a student in the Greyhorn citadel, studying magic with aspirations of ultimately joining the brotherhood of Daedolon, the ancient protectors of the lands. Every ten winters a ceremony is held in which worthy students enter the legendary [[EldritchLocation Ziggurat]] filled with dangerous monsters and traps, to test their abilities. Only those that make it through alive are granted membership in the order.
6
7	Will you be one of those that make it through? Or will you be yet another casualty of the Ziggurat?
8
9	Enter!
10
11	It [[https://youtu.be/1_iUAA8N6kU was followed in October, 2021]] by the sequel, ''Ziggurat 2''.
12	----
13
14	!!Tropes:
15
16	* OneHundredPercentCompletion: Exploring all, or nearly all, of the rooms during a run of the normal game (minus secret rooms) gets you [[spoiler:the GoldenEnding]].
17	* ActionBomb: The Yellow Chili enemy explodes upon death.
18	* AlchemyIsMagic: Present as one of the 4 available weapon types.
19	* AbandonedMine: The Emberstone Quarry level has this aesthetic with railway tracks with mine carts on them to be found in certain rooms.
20	* AfterBossRecovery: Bosses always drop a lot of health potions and mana gems when defeated. Whether it's enough to restore you fully is a different matter altogether.
21	* AutomaticCrossbows: The Frostbow repeat-fires bolts that can [[StatusEffects freeze]] enemies, and [[AvertedTrope avert]] NoArcInArchery.
22	* AsteroidsMonster: Green slimes which split into yellow slimes. Blue golems split into red as well.
23	* {{Atlantis}}: Explicity exists in this setting, and represented by the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Atlantean]] Spear, a staff weapon. It's mentioned to be a typical service weapon of their people, [[MedievalStasis its design unchanged for millennia.]]
24	* BattleCry: Referenced with the War Cry perk, which causes you to recover a small amount of health at the beginning of a fight.
25	* BloodMagic: Referenced in the perk "Blood Rites".
26	* BossBattle: At the end of each floor of the Ziggurat and the second game's random dungeons. Which boss that appears is random on each floor save the fifth (on Normal difficulty) and final one of the Ziggurat.
27	* BossRoom: The end of every floor is one of these, to which you need to bring the boss key, defeat the boss and then proceed through the created portal to progress to the next floor.
28	* BossSubtitles: Present, giving a feel as to what kind of challenge the boss is supposed to represent. (They also ensure you'll recognize the final boss immediately, if there was ever any doubt.)
29	* BreathWeapon: Referenced by the Dragon Bile spell, the primary fire of which is a spray of poisonus vapor in the manner of a dragon's breath. There's also the Lich's Breath spell, but despite the name its shots are [[EnergyBall Energy Balls instead.]]
30	* CharacterLevel: With each level up your maximum health and mana go up and you get to choose one of two random perks, or three if you have the Bookworm perk.
31	* ClassicalMovieVampire: Corvus the Vampire certainly looks the part.
32	* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: Champions, which are green (Faster), blue (Tougher), red (Hit harder) and invisible (Invisible).
33	* ContractualBossImmunity: Bosses cannot be stunned or frozen. (Poison does still work, as do fields of fire, wind or more exotic forces -- of course, if you can last long enough to kill a boss that way, you've earned your victory.)
34	* ConvectionSchmonvection: Lots of lava around. Only hurts you if you step into it.
35	* CreepyCathedral: The Cursed Cathedral floor.
36	%%* {{Curse}}: Referenced by the perk "Curse".
37	%%* CursedWithAwesome: This particular perk, if applied to the normally BlessedWithSuck character Simon counters the worst of his issues. (While it does lower his maximum health still further, bringing his healing back to the normal level usually has far more of an impact.)
38	* DamageReduction: What the perk "Thick Skin" does.
39	* DeadlyTrainingArea: One of the supposed purposes of the Ziggurat.
40	* DealWithTheDevil: Simon the Sorcerer made one of these to obtain his powers, trading away half his life (and half his future healing) for great enhancements to his ability to gather and channel mana.
41	* DefenceMechanismSuperpower: With abilities that increase your speed when hit or give you temporary invincibility.
42	* DemBones: Bone Rangers, Bone Sentries, Bone Shieldmen, and Bone Summoners.
43	* DevelopersRoom: A version of it. Secret rooms can appear in the levels and are found behind breakable walls. These contain a random perk as well as a stained glass window featuring an image showing one of the developers' past games. When approached they give you some trivia on the game in question.
44	* DiscardAndDraw: One of the favors from elder gods, which might be a blessing or a curse, depending on how much you like your current equipment. There's also a perk called Shuffle does the same thing, but it also increases your new weapons' fire rate in the bargain.
45	* DistaffCounterpart: Carina the Apprentice, added in an update, is otherwise identical to Argo apart from her gender.
46	* DungeonCrawling
47	* EldritchLocation: The Ziggurat. A structure that, despite being entered from an underground location and despite having multiple floors, still has rooms on each floor that are capable of displaying an open sky. Its randomized layout with each playthrough is also a product of this property in the lore.
48	* ElementalPowers: Present in many weapons and amulets.
49	* EliteMook: Champion enemies.
50	* EnemySummoner: Shamans, who summon Carrots. Bone Summoners call a skeletal entourage. Most of the bosses have summoning spells as well.
51	* EnergyAbsorption: An ability the player might acquire.
52	* EnergyBall: The shape of most your attacks, in one way or another.
53	* EveryoneHasASpecialMove: Everyone has a unique wand which functions in unique ways and fires different patterns and powers of projectiles. They act as your [[EmergencyWeapon backup weapon]] and always regenerate their ammunition.
54	** The sequel gives each character a unique active ability, and wands are no longer character-specific.
55	* EquivalentExchange: Usually what Divine Indifferences entail; losing something to get something else. Whether these are actually of equal value is debatable, however.
56	* ExperienceBooster: What the "Scholar" perk does.
57	* ExperiencePoints: Acquired from knowledge gems dropped by enemies. They disappear after a set time, penalizing players who play too defensively by losing the experience they could gain from them.
58	* EyeOfNewt: How alchemy supposedly functions. Amusingly, potatoes are referred to as a core component of many healing mixtures.
59	* FantasyCharacterClasses: Quite a lot of them, with the twist that they are all also wizards.
60	* FantasyMetals: Referenced by the description of the Magnus Rifle in the sequel, which says it uses a "[[{{Unobtanium}} forgotten metal]]" to achieve "impossible speeds."
61	* FinalBoss: The boss of the Augur Fortress serves as this.
62	* FireBalls: Primarily featured with alchemic weapons. The projectile isn't necessarily supernatural in nature, however, but made from some sort of abstract alchemic mixture.
63	* FireIceLightning: All present and accounted for in the weapons and some of the amulets. The sequel adds three new wands that can each do one of these: the Incinerator, the Icicle, and the Thunderspark.
64	* FirstPersonShooter: But replaces guns with magic -- excepting some of the alchemy weapons, which are [[{{Magitek}} both.]]
65	* FlechetteStorm: The Porcupine Bomb alchemy weapon has the player lob a spiky, [[SicklyGreenGlow glowing green]] orb. It explodes on impact, releasing spikes in several directions that will [[StatusEffects poison]] enemies on contact. AlternateFire has you lob three of them at once. The Polar Blast does something similar -- only it [[StatusEffects freezes]] enemies instead.
66	* FloatingPlatforms: Appear in a few places. One possible Portal Key room has these, as does one kind of Challenge Room, complete with lava beneath.
67	* FlunkyBoss: ''Every'' boss is this, but special mention goes to Poloko the Master Shaman, who spawns lesser Shamans, which in turn spawn Carrots.
68	* FlyingFace: The [[ShoutOut Lost Souls,]] flying skull enemies and their KingMook variant, Sir Arthur. You can launch flying skulls of your own as explosive projectiles with the Skull of Xanatos spell.
69	* GlassCannon: Simon the Sorcerer and Osuna the Bard. Jules the Harlequin and Cid the Seer can also count, but don't start with inherent offensive bonuses.
70	* GreenRocks: Mana gems which come in blue, green, and orange, corresponding to spell, staff, and alchemy weapons, respectively.
71	* HellFire: The Hellish Ember spell can be nothing but.
72	* TheHeretic: The impetus of the second game's plot was the appearance of many of these in the Daedelon order, whose use of dark magics led to a schism, civil war, and eventual destruction of the order and [[SealedEvilInACan the Ziggurat itself]]- letting loose its imprisoned monsters upon the world.
73	* {{Hitscan}}: [[AvertedTrope Completely averted]] in the first game, unsurprising given the game's [[GenreThrowback design sensibilities.]] The Doombringer alchemy weapon in the sequel uniquely plays this straight however, with full-auto primary fire.
74	* HollywoodAcid: The Green Pepper enemies leave a pool of this behind on death, and the Basilisks can spit it. Can also be found in barrels.
75	* HolyHandGrenade: The Divine Wrath staff. It's a scepter with a cross-shaped head, a glowing cross on the grip, and fires cross-shaped, high damage projectiles at either high speeds or with a guaranteed [[StatusEffects stun.]]
76	* HomingProjectile: The Eagle Staff/Eagle Claw and the Skull of Xanatos, Wraith Rings, and Bloodlust Needles spells all fire seeking projectiles of various types. The sequel adds wands that can do this, the Thunderspark and Windleaf, and another spell, Spectral Bolt.
77	* InterfaceScrew: Some special room conditions cause this, which includes effects like hiding parts of your HUD, causing you to jump uncontrollably, and making your vision pixelated.
78	* {{Invisibility}}: One of the properties of champion enemies as well as a possible room modifier which makes all enemies invisible.
79	* KingMook: The Blob King of Slimes comes complete with a crown, but all the bosses are in some way a natural extension of a regular enemy type.
80	* KillItWithFire: There are several fire weapons, but only the Flameweaver/Fireweaver Bomb leaves behind lingering flames at the point of detonation. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Careful not to step in them yourself!]]
81	* LightningGun: Present in both single-target focused or multiple-target chained staff versions.
82	* {{Macrogame}}: Completing at least one floor unlocks new weapons, perks, and amulets that can appear in subsequent runs.
83	* MageMarksman: Pretty much everyone, with magic artifacts instead of guns for the most part. Actual guns are present among the Alchemists' weapons, however.
84	* MagicalAccessory: Magical Amulets.
85	* MagicAIsMagicA: As far as gameplay is concerned. You need a specific weapon to cast a spell and only that weapon can cast that spell.
86	** There's a bit of GameplayAndStorySegregation here. It's possible to convert a weapon producing a magical effect into a new wand (with reduced power), and the gods can likewise convert weapon types into each other. But new weapon models and animations to reflect their new nature don't exist, so things look the same.
87	* MagicalGesture: Part of how spells are launched.
88	* MagicalIncantation: The use of magical spells. You need to have the spell book as reference, however (which is to say, you equip the spell book).
89	* MagicalSociety: The Wizards of the Greyhorn citadel, the Brotherhood of Daedolon.
90	* MagicMirror: Present as a perk, which reveals the entire map of all floors on your current run.
91	* MagicMissile: Referenced by name in one of the perks and also featured in nearly every weapon you have at your disposal.
92	* MagicMissileStorm: Spells tend to be these. The Freezing Hail and Hellish Ember spells combine it with BeamSpam, with SecondaryFire launching a rapid stream of projectiles.
93	* MagicMushroom: Particularly evil ones present as enemies to fight.
94	* MagicStaff: Present as one of the 4 available magical weapon types.
95	* MagicWand: Your infinite ammunition backup weapon.
96	* MagikarpPower: With sufficient Wand Boosts, your MagicWand can do much more single-hit damage than most other weapons. Get lucky enough in a regular run, and the FinalBoss will fall from your wand spray in ''seconds''.
97	* {{Magitek}}: Alchemic weapons seems to incorporate mechanical components yet still use mana (perhaps solely for the sake of simplicity). How much they do so varies by description, but doesn't affect gameplay.
98	** As an example, the Retribution is stated to be an overall blend of magic and tech, while the Doombringer is explicitly an ordinary firearm, but loaded with magical ammo.
99	* {{Mana}}: The name of the magical energy in use, with 4 differently coloured flavours for wands, spell books, staves, and alchemical items.
100	* MagmaMan: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Magma Rifle]] and its big brother, the [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Magma Blaster.]]
101	* MalevolentArchitecture: The Ziggurat's hazard rooms are most certainly this.
102	* ManaDrain: A negative property of some rooms as well as an ability the player can acquire.
103	* ManaPotion: Well, gems, but works the same.
104	* MeditationPowerup: The perk "Meditation" that refills your mana reserves.
105	* MoneySpider: Doesn't matter what you killed, it can still drop a golden goblet, health potion, or magic gem.
106	* MookMaker: Obelisks, which continuously spawn enemies in a room until destroyed.
107	* MoreDakka: The Eye of Twilight staff weapon behaves like a machine gun, firing a rapid stream of projectiles. Its SecondaryFire spews them even faster [[ATeamFiring at greatly reduced accuracy.]]
108	* MultipleEndings: Determined by how many (if any) rooms you skip clearing, or [[NoFairCheating if you cheat]]. There are 3 endings in total.
109	* NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast: The ''Anguish Cannon.'' Yeesh. It fires lightning orbs that deal high damage and [[OneHitPolykill penetrate enemies.]] There's also the Catapult [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom of Doom]].
110	** The sequel gets in on the action with the [[DoomyDoomsOfDoom Doombringer]], an assault rifle with cursed ammunition.
111	* NoFairCheating: Entering any cheat in the regular game prevents the player from getting the GoldenEnding, and any kills made while cheating do not count towards unlocking new characters and items until the next non-cheat run is completed. Some cheat codes also have negative effects (see ShoutOut).
112	* NoSell: The "Ignore Wounds" perk gives you a percentage chance to simply not feel any given attack. (The normal rate of incoming fire tends to subvert this trope's effect, but it can be played pretty straight against things like Storm Beasts.)
113	* OneHitPolykill: Both games are very fond of this trope, with more weapons having penetrating attacks then in most FPS games.
114	** The Archangel's Embrace spell fires a vertical spread of pink projectiles that pierce enemies.
115	** The Lich Breath and Dragon Bile spells in the sequel can do this with primary fire, as can the Rotten Orb with SecondaryFire.
116	** The Magnus Rifle, also of the sequel and also with primary fire. It takes the MightyGlacier aspect of Alchemy weapons up to eleven.
117	** The Solar Staff and its successor, the Solar Guardian.
118	* OurDwarvesAreAllTheSame: [[ImpliedTrope Vaguely implied.]] It's hard to be certain as they are merely referenced by the sequel's Dwarven Blunderbuss weapon, but its appearance and description are suitably dwarfy.
119	* OrderReborn: What the apprentices Argo and Carina hope to bring about in the sequel.
120	* {{Permadeath}}: If you die, you lose everything and have to start a new game from Floor 1.
121	* PinballProjectile: The Scarab Beetle staff fires clusters of red projectiles that ricochet off solid surfaces, making it lethal in tight quarters.
122	* PlotCoupon: The portal key you must find in order to fight the boss and progress to the next floor. A lesser form can be found in "Scavenge" rooms, where you must collect glowing purple crystals to turn off enemy respawning.
123	* PowerAtAPrice: Several of the perks, which includes ones like decreasing your maximum health for greater potion effects or more perks right then, or increased mana in exchange for lesser potion effects.
124	* PowerEchoes: In one of the endings.
125	* PowerFloats: Same as above.
126	* PowerGlows: Same as above. Although one could argue that all the magic featured in the game glowing qualifies as this.
127	* ThePowerOfLove: Presumably what the Power of Heart staff runs on.
128	* ThePowerOfTheSun: The Solar Staff weapon. It acts as a kind of SniperRifle, firing high-damage, fast-moving bolts that can [[OneHitPolykill penetrate enemies]], but with a slow fire rate and high mana cost. It also has a good chance to [[StatusEffects stun.]] In the sequel it appears as the "Solar Guardian", where it instead sets things on fire and the AlternateFire creates slow-moving projectiles that [[HomingProjectile seek out additional targets]] if they hit an enemy, while retaining the primary fire of the original.
129	* PowerOfTheVoid: The Dark Cannon creates miniature black holes that continuously damage enemies that come into contact with them. It doesn't act like WeaponsThatSuck, contrary to most "black hole guns".
130	* PowersDoTheFighting: There is not a single attack in the player's arsenal that doesn't involve magic of some sort.
131	%%* ProjectileSpell: Almost all of them.
132	%%* PureEnergy: Referenced in one of the endings.
133	* RandomDrop: What weapons and amulets you find in the levels are entirely randomized. Their properties, however, remain consistent.
134	%%* RandomlyGeneratedLevels: Obviously.
135	%%* RegeneratingMana: One of the perks you can acquire.
136	* ReligionIsMagic: The nature of the shaman's powers, which are fueled by their spiritual beliefs.
137	* RecursiveAmmo: The sequel's Energy Blaster can do this with its SecondaryFire, shooting a single shot that splits into a cone of projectiles. The Firestorm Grenade can also function as a cluster grenade. The SecondaryFire of the Magnus Rifle combines this with PinballProjectile, specifcally targeting other nearby enemies with the RecursiveAmmo.
138	* RespawningEnemies: If there are obelisks in the room, enemies will continuously respawn until those are destroyed. Also happens in "Scavenge" rooms until you collect enough crystals.
139	* RewardingVandalism: Barrels and stacks of books can occasionally contain health potions and mana crystals. There is also a perk called Wrecking Ball that allows you to recover health from destroying any level object, even blowing out candles!
140	* {{Roguelike}}: Incorporates many elements of it.
141	* SealedEvilInACan: A lore page offers this theory of what the Ziggurat is, and that those that perish within it act as sacrifices to keep the can shut.
142	* SecondaryFire: Every weapon, including your humble wand, has one. The second attack is usually something slower and higher-damage, the same as the primary fire but with more projectiles, or inflicts StatusEffects.
143	* SentryGun: The Lidless Eye spell creates one in the form of a floating, glowing eyeball that shoots at nearby enemies.
144	%%* SpidersAreScary:
145	* ShockAndAwe: The Arcane Storm spell can zap targeted enemies with bolts from above, or from the caster. The latter always [[StatusEffects stuns the target.]]
146	* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: The sequel adds a Dwarven Blunderbuss, a high damage Alchemy weapon that can fire a larger and more damaging blast as an AlternateFire.
147	* ShoutOut [[note]]Character specific shout-outs are under the characters tab[[/note]]
148	** ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' -- Lost Souls, the helmet-adorned flying skulls, which use the exact same attack and movement patterns as their namesakes. Also, the achievement for dying 50 times is titled "Hurt Me Plenty", after the difficulty level of the same name. The sequel adds Nightmares, flying demons that strongly resemble Cacodemons.
149	** The Serpent Staff is based upon its namesake weapon from ''VideoGame/{{Hexen}}.'' Also, Daedolon was the name of the playable Mage in that game. The staff was renamed the "Twin Fang" in the sequel, but still functions the same way.
150	** The Power of Heart "staff" is a [[Franchise/SailorMoon pretty identifiable]] magical girl wand.
151	** Certain [[ClassicCheatCode Classic Cheat Codes]] from ''Doom'' and ''VideoGame/{{Heretic}}'' can be used, [[SchmuckBait but will have disastrous effects.]] [[GodMode IDDQD]], for example, will kill you instantly, just as it did in ''VideoGame/{{Heretic}}''! Using any of them will award the "Cheat Like It's 1994" [[CosmeticAward achievement]].
152	* ShortRangeShotgun: The Hellish Ember spell's SecondaryFire is a large clump of fireballs that disperse widely beyond a short distance. The sequel adds the Chill Splinters spell, which fires a wide spread of said splinters at one time as its SecondaryFire.
153	* SimplifiedSpellcasting: Have the appropriate wand/staff/book/tool? Congratulations, you can now cast their respective spells.
154	* SpellBook: Present as one of the 4 available magical weapon types.
155	* SpidersAreScary: Surprisingly there don't seem to be any [[GiantSpider Giant Spiders]] around, but the sequel's Arachnid Rime staff seems to be intended to invoke this InUniverse, being modeled on a species of spider that ''freezes'' prey for later consumption. Eek.
156	* SpikesOfDoom: One of the possible hazards you might face.
157	* SpreadShot: The Undead Scepter staff fires a horizontal spread of projectiles, five with primary, or ''ten'' with SecondaryFire. The Viper Fang and the Archangel's Embrace spells also count, as does the Serpent Staff/Twin Fang.
158	** In the sequel, the Arachnid Rime staff does this, with the SecondaryFire in particular firing a sweeping burst that oscillates back and forth. It also adds a wand, the Soulcutter, that can fire three or seven shots in an arc.
159	* StandardFPSGuns: All present in the guise of magical wands, spellbooks, staves or alchemic implements.
160	* StatusEffects: A number of weapons can inflict Stun, Freeze, Poison, On Fire, to name a few, however what the game terms "Stun" is in fact Slow, affecting enemy movement, and attack speed.
161	** The sequel adds a "Curse" status, which inflicts a DamageIncreasingDebuff. The Undead Scepter can now do this, along with the new Lich's Breath spell and the Doombringer's SecondaryFire. Inversely, some banshee and zombie variants can now do this to ''you'', as well as ''raddishes,'' a new spin on the carrot enemy.
162	* SummonMagic: Enemy Shamans and Bone Summoners. Some of the weapons also allegedly function by summoning spirits or other supernatural beings, but these generally only take the form of some sort of homing projectile.
163	* SummonToHand: Several perks and divine favors summon a weapon or amulet directly to your hands.
164	* StuffBlowingUp: Aside from the exploding chili enemies, the sequel adds the "Retribution", an alchemic rocket launcher that can fire one rocket at a time or a burst of three.
165	* TechnicolorMagic: The supernatural comes in all kinds of colours, but your wand always uses purple mana and usually produces purple projectiles. (Carina's cosmetically changed hers to blue, and wands producing status effects may be color-coded as well.)
166	* ThemeNaming: The active skills in Ziggurat 2 all have names starting with an "S".
167	* TheRedMage: Argo and Carina the Apprentices yet again, as befitting their JackOfAllStats role.
168	* TheVeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon: The Augur Fortress. Even titled the final floor.
169	* [[TomeOfEldritchLore Scroll of Eldritch Lore]]: What you bring back to signify your success.
170	* TornadoMove: The [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Whirlwind]] of Ulthar spell generates magical tornadoes that travel straightforward and damage any enemies they contact.
171	* TrainingTheGiftOfMagic: What you have been doing in preparation for entering the Ziggurat.
172	* UndergroundMonkey: Blue and Green slimes.
173	* UnequalRites: Implied that the older mages look down upon the abilities of shamans, but still show them respect. (Shamans treat magic -- the exact same magic other mages use -- as though it came from various deities and spirits; there's no in-world evidence one way or the other, but shamans clearly have [[ReligionIsMagic The Power Of Faith]].)
174	* UnfinishedBusiness: [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]] in the description of the Ghost enemy in the sequel, where the idea that ghosts exist because of this is probably a hoax.
175	* UniversalPoison: Excepting Obelisks (which aren't alive or animate), poison works on ''everything''. Poison-producing weapons typically have the lowest base damage but are the most mana-efficient ways to kill, and if you can survive well enough to employ them work well against swarms.
176	* VideoGameDashing: The sequel gives every character a dash move with a short cooldown. Useful for evading those pesky carrots. Certain perks and blessings can affect it, such as giving you a brief period of increased fire rate after dashing.
177	* WhenTreesAttack: Carrots, Rotten Stems, and Audrey -- Mother Nature Incarnate.
178	* WizardingSchool: What you, the player, have been attending. The Ziggurat is your final exam.

Context VideoGame / Ziggurat