Back to the Dawn is a prison break RPG developed by Metal Head Games and published by Spiral Up Games.
You play as Thomas, a fox journalist who's been framed for a crime he didn't commit. After arriving at the maximum-security Boulderton Prison, Thomas is given two tasks: to survive in the new, hostile environment, and to find a way out. He only has twenty-one days to escape from Boulderton, if he wants to get revenge on the people who put him there...
Back to the Dawn was initially released on November 2, 2023. It is currently in Early Access: though its campaign is fully beatable, more features and playable characters are planned in future updates.
This game provides examples of:
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: The player can tunnel down into the sewer once they've unscrewed their cell's toilet from the wall. It's big, enough so that Thomas can't safely leap from one side to the other. This is especially weird considering this part of it only services the prison.
- Anti-Frustration Features:
- Certain puzzles give the player the option to skip them after multiple failed attempts. However, Thomas must have at least 6 Intelligence and enough stamina for him to think of a solution.
- When crafting items from the desk in the player's cell, both items in storage and items in one's inventory can be used.
- And Now for Someone Completely Different: The player takes control of Reed when he's recounting the story of him looking for Iris in the Fallen Angels club to Thomas during visitation.
- All for Nothing: If Thomas takes Iris' advice to wait out the rest of his sentence for a better time to expose the mayor's corrupt dealings, it will result in the "Death" ending where Angelo's henchmen assassinates him and Reed at his apartment three years later. A similar result happens if Thomas defeats Kong and/or Angelo at the TV Station but chooses not to expose the mayor, leaving him a free man in a world without Reed.
- Bedsheet Ladder: One craftable item is a rope ladder made of Cloth, and the easiest way to get Cloth is to tear up a bedsheet.
- Bottomless Bladder: Unlike in most games, this is averted. Every time Thomas eats, he gains "satiety", which is converted into "digestion". If he fails to go to the bathroom before his digestion stat reaches 20, something bad might happen...
- Boring, but Practical:
- The "Iron Throne" skill in the Agility section (acquired by using the toilet and gaining the "Comfort" status buff 5 times) simply halves the time it takes for Thomas to finish going to the bathroom. In a game where time is a limited resource, it's an invaluable asset.
- The "Gustatory Imagination" skill (acquired by drinking hot water when hungry) will fill up Thomas' satiety by one when he has hunger. It's one of the few ways to get satiety without spending money next to stealing from inmates and looting containers.
- Breakable Weapons: Each weapon and piece of equipment has a certain durability, which decreases by 1 every time Thomas uses them. Once they're broken, they either need to be replaced or repaired.
- Bittersweet Ending: The "Emperor" ending, which is achieved by escaping prison and choosing not to expose the mayor after defeating Kong and/or Angelo. Thomas is pardoned for his "crime" and escape attempt, but Reed dies from blood loss after getting hit with a crossbow bolt during his and Selina's visit to Iris' safehouse. Thomas and Selina visits his grave one month later, where a crestfallen Thomas asks Selina if he had done the right thing.
- Commonplace Rare: As the game is set in a prison, certain mundane items (like a hammer, or a pair of scissors) are especially hard to come by. The player generally needs to look in very specific places, or to be especially chummy with the few prisoners who have them.
- Crystal Dragon Jesus: Many of the animals worship a deity known as the "Father of the Forest", and a chapel dedicated to him is freely available to prisoners during their recreation period. The religion is analogous to modern-day Christianity, with priests and bishops, confessionals, a Bible-like text, and a familiar chapel structure.
- Downer Ending: If the player fails to escape the prison and fails to expose the mayor's wrongdoings, they earn the "Death" ending, where Thomas is released from prison after a three-year sentence — only for him and Reed to be assassinated by Angelo's cronies as soon as they reach Thomas' apartment.
- Fight Clubbing: A room on the second floor of the main building is used by the Big Foot Gang to organize fights. Prisoners (including Thomas) can either compete to win money and prestige, or bet on who'll win. It's the only place in the prison where people can fight without risk of punishment, since the guards turn a blind eye to it.
- Four Is Death: If one befriends Wilbur, they gain the skill "Chaos Rebirth". Upon falling to 0 Health in combat, a die is rolled. If the result is anything but a four, they can continue fighting with a few hitpoints (equal to the player's Intelligence).
- Great Escape: The endgoal of the game is to escape from prison before the mayoral election — preferably while finding a way to expose the mayor's dirty secrets. There are several different routes the player can take in doing so, with even more being planned for future updates.
- Guide Dang It!: A few quests fall into this category:
- The Sharp Tooth Gang's quest, "Prisoner, Cook, Artist, Spy", can be this. Thomas is tasked to venture into the kitchen's cellar, survey it, and then make a drawing of his surroundings to give to Alex. The only issue is one of the chefs, Bricks, who will quickly get suspicious of Thomas' snooping and stop him from looking at 2 out of 7 objects needed to complete the second objective. The only known way to finish surveying the cellar without Bricks' supervision is to use the toilet in the kitchen, have access to the Gambling Club during lunch and recreation, talk to Bricks, make up an excuse to go to the bathroom (which is a Charisma check), and open the anti-theft lock gate with a lockpick or snap gun in the inventory. Failing this quest will lock the player out of an escape route.
- Homage: The "Hermit" ending (achieved if Thomas escapes the prison but fails to find evidence against the mayor) is a visual homage to Papers, Please, showing Thomas crossing the border into war-torn Aslovia.
- Identical Twin Mistake: Thomas initially mixes up kitchen guard Shibata with chapel guard Rob, as both are identical twins.
- Luck Manipulation Mechanic: Whenever Thomas fails a dice roll, the player can choose to expend a Focus Point to reroll it. They can only do this once per attempt.
- Miscarriage of Justice: Thomas is arrested after the mayor's henchman, Angelo, plants drugs in his car. Despite his innocence, he is swiftly found guilty of possession and sentenced to a stay in a maximum-security prison. It's implied that the mayor had the courts in his pocket.
- Mob Debt: The Black Claw gang offers loans to other prisoners, and those who don't pay it back on time are in serious trouble. One of their quests tasks Thomas with shaking down a couple of their debtors. Thomas can also go into debt if he fails to repay any loans he takes from them.
- Permanently Missable Content: Most side quests are on a timer: if you let them expire before completing them, they won't reappear.
- Policeman Dog: Every member of Boulderton Prison's security staff is some species of dog. Captain Bruce is a mastiff, Deputy Billy is a bull terrier, and other guards include huskies, golden retrievers, and Shiba Inus. This also applies to the police officers seen at the beginning of the game.
- Prison Riot: On Day 17, the Big Foot Gang and the Black Claw Gang will start an all-out war in the cafeteria, causing a bloody and chaotic riot. Thomas can choose to help one of the gangs, to help his cellmate Sam survive, or to save his own skin. The riot is ultimately broken up by the guards, potentially leading to Captain Bruce's demotion depending on the player's previous actions.
- Screw the Money, I Have Rules!: At the beginning of the game, Thomas turns down a bribe to stop investigating the mayor's shady connections. This doesn't end well for him.
- Screw the Rules, I Have Money!: The city's corrupt mayor gets his way through bribery and extortion. This also applies to his "campaign manager" Angelo, who uses his money and influence to make sure Thomas is convicted (and even threatens to have his sentence extended).
- Seven Deadly Sins: The nightmares Thomas has (and the effects associated with them) are each themed after the seven deadly sins. For example, the "wrath" effect increases Thomas' damage in exchange for preventing him from dodging, the "greed" effect decreases Thomas' mind when he spends money, etc. The player has a small chance of turning each nightmare into a "good dream", which gives him a positive effect based on one of the Seven Heavenly Virtues.
- Shout-Out:
- Many of the prisoners' names and backstories reference other works, including:
- Hakuna the warthog.
- Caesar the chimpanzee.
- Alex the lion.
- Perry the platypus.
- Rudolph the reindeer.
- Bill the buffalo.
- Walter, a drug-dealing skunk who used to be a chemistry teacher.
- John, an ex-mercenary tiger famous for killing several men with a pencil.
- Kong, Angelo's gorilla sidekick.
- Joseph the Kangaroo, when upgrading his character-specific Skill, mentions to Thomas that he has a grandfather named Jonathan who taught him a special breathing technique to enhance the power of his boxing punches.
- Wilbur the Goat and Pickman the Iguana are references to two of H.P Lovecraft's works, with the former being a cultist and the latter being a disturbed artist respectively.
- Two of Angelo's henchmen are named Bulk and Skull.
- The library includes titles like Game of Kings and The Awakening of Cthulor.
- The sitcom that prisoners watch throughout the week is called "North Park".
- Movies available to watch in the prison include "Andy's Redemption", "Stellar Wars", and "Strange Things".
- The icon for the Strength skill, Furious Counter (obtained by choosing to lash out at Angelo during his unexpected visit), resembles the "Will Smith Slapping Chris Rock" pose.
- Many of the prisoners' names and backstories reference other works, including:
- The Snack Is More Interesting: During the riot in the cafeteria on Day 17, as nearly everyone begins to fight, John continues to eat his meal, even as Crunchy is preparing to attack him.
- Tarot Motifs: Each of the game's achievements is named after a different tarot card.
- Timed Mission: There are only twenty-one days until the local elections, placing a limit on how long Thomas has to break the scoop on the corrupt mayor. Unfortunately for him, finding evidence is pretty tough while he's in prison...
- Token Human: At the finale of the game, both the mayor and his councilman were shown as humans instead of anthropomorphized creatures.
- Trial-and-Error Gameplay: Applies to gift-giving. While there are plenty of hints about which prisoners "love" which gifts (e.g. John's smoking foreshadows that he loves cigarettes, and Henry often complains about wanting pizza), it takes repeated attempts to know which prisoners like, dislike, or feel neutral about receiving certain items. The exception is jewel scarabs, which are loved by everyone (except for Beth, who hates them).
- Turn-Based Combat: Combat is a turn-based back-and-forth between the player character and whoever they're fighting. Generally, whoever has the highest Agility score gets to go first. Most actions (like attacking, resting, and special moves) end your turn, and combat always continues until somebody's knocked down.
- Unwinnable by Design:
- The entire game is on a twenty-one day timer, and many obstacles are impossible to solve in a single day. If you wait too long to complete objectives relevant to your escape route, you may find yourself out of luck. Hope you've made a save early enough to fix your mistakes, or else you won't be escaping the prison on time.
- Neglecting the main story (exposing the mayor's wrongdoing) until too late in the game will make it impossible to complete on time, locking you out of the Golden Ending.
- We Need to Get Proof: One of the major ways of solving the quests centering around taking down various corrupt authority figures, such as Captain Bruce and the mayor himself, is by finding irrefutable evidence of their dirty dealings.
- World of Funny Animals: All of the characters in Back to the Dawn are different species of anthropomorphic animals. Except for the mayor, who's a human.
