Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade is an episodic, point-and-click adventure game created by the Russian game studio Lostwood Games. The first episode was released in 2013, with the next four episodes being released over the course of the following two years. While originally released in Russian, the game has been fully translated into English, and a German translation exists for the first four episodes.
The land of Leviathan is ruled over by five noble families, all under a creature known only as the "Plague King". The people of Leviathan are divided into two classes: the pureblooded nobility, and the mudblooded commoners. At any time, the Plague King may bring a deadly pandemic known as the Decade down on Leviathan, which only infects commoners. As the name suggests, the Decade lasts for exactly ten years, and during that time the lower class of Leviathan is all but wiped out while the purebloods remain untouched.
The story of Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade follows Oliver Vertran, the son of a noble house. On the day the Decade begins, Oliver is convinced by his friend Kael to summon a vargoille demon, which becomes Oliver's companion after successfully binding it to him. Later that day, Oliver finds his mother murdered by a demonic creature called a Shadow. Over the next few years, Oliver is adopted by a wealthy nobleman, whom Oliver immediately recognises as the man who summoned the Shadow that killed his mother. As the Decade nears its end, Oliver begins tracking down clues that he hopes will lead to the arrest of his adoptive father. But he must decide what matters more to him - vengeance? Or the life of the man closest to him?
The five episodes of the game are as follows:
- Episode I – The First Day of the Decade
- Episode II – Clues From the Past
- Episode III - Being a Killer
- Episode IV - The Gift
- Episode V - The Last Day of the Decade
Leviathan: The Last Day of the Decade contains examples of:
- Betty and Veronica: Darina and Julia fill these roles for Oliver.
- Chrome Dome Psi: It's revealed in episode 5 that Darina's hair never grew back, and she's been permanently bald since the beginning, wearing wigs to cover up her baldness. It wasn't shaved off, but rather it fell out when Darina's genetic Psychic Powers activated.
- Dark Fantasy: The setting is described as such by the developers. Humans came to Leviathan long ago, only to find the Plague King already there. Any attempts to slay the Plague King were met with total ruin and massive casualties. Five noblemen came to the Plague King bearing gifts, causing him to retreat to the tower, where he dwells to this day. The people of Leviathan settled around the tower, living entirely at the mercy of the Plague King, who can call down a ten year-long pandemic whenever he chooses. The commoners are treated like filth by the upper class, and left to live in squalid conditions - and that's if the Decade doesn't kill them outright. Demonology is a forbidden practice, but seems to happen quite often in the shadows.
- Dirty Old Man: The man who guards the Kroistham Archives can be bribed into letting Oliver into the archives by giving him sexy pictures (in particular, naked pictures of Kael), which it's implied he masturbates over offscreen.
- Disappeared Dad: Oliver's father is never seen in the game, and, in fact, killed himself before the game even started, due to the Council's refusal of financial support - his family was neck-deep in money debts.
- Dogged Nice Guy: Kael, to Oliver. Until episode 5, after Kael ends up imprisoned largely because of Oliver. When they meet again, Kael has finally given up on his old friend, and hurls abuse at him until he leaves.
- Eye Colour Change: When Julia's eyes change colors - along with her dropping the Obfuscating Stupidity - then you know that you need to watch your tongue.
- Fluffy the Terrible: Oliver's demon companion was named Edna in her previous life, before her murder and subsequent "resurrection". She still goes by that name after becoming a demon.
- Gay Best Friend: Kael, to Oliver, although his sexuality is rarely discussed.
- Incompatible Orientation: When Oliver is given the opportunity to read Kael's thoughts, he discovers that Kael is in love with him. Oliver laments that he can never feel the same way about his friend.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Julia, who is secretly a Bureau investigator working undercover to solve her brother's murder, with Oliver being her prime suspect. Her innocent and ditzy persona is a front she puts up initially to get closer to Oliver, but she starts letting it drop more and more often as she gets closer to the truth.
- Pet Monstrosity: Edna is this to you, although she's more of a demon servant.
- Time Skip: Between episodes 1 and 2, which lasts just short of ten years - taking the story from the very start of the Decade to the final week.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Kael gives a speech to this effect to Oliver in episode 5.
- Preemptively said by Kristian, after he catches you during the investigation. Granted, he did kill Oliver's mother, but he deeply regrets doing so.
