History DarthWiki / DreamlessDrifter

* EldritchAbomination: The Dreaming Drifter. [[spoiler: It's Ellen's crystal and real name, created out of esper magic. Its purpose? [[KillEmAll Complete and utter annihilation of all organic life]] where it's activated. She and her twin brother actually ESCAPED from the EvilEmpire long before the events of the story to prevent themselves from being used as weapons for planetary colonization ''again'', and have been living a FateWorseThanDeath on Earth, being recreated over and over again each time they die.]]

* MultipleEndings (Four for each character. Finn and Alvin's endings [[KillEmAll run]] [[ShootTheShaggyDog the]] [[BittersweetEnding whole]] [[EverybodyLives gamut]], but there's a limit to how bad things can get for [[ShootTheShaggyDog Terry]] and [[BittersweetEnding Jack]].)

** Nice job stabbing Jack, [[spoiler: Erin. He was only trying to protect you [[PoisonousFriend the only way he thinks he could]], and now [[SuperpoweredEvilSide half of him feels nothing but misery and hate]]. Maybe it's for the better, though, as that's the thing keeping him from becoming a full-blown Wraith, but it was the stabbing that drove Jack to become one in the first place. Hoo boy.]]

* NoGearLevel: Finn and Jack are forced into this against their [[TrueFinalBoss true final boss fights]] thanks to the BagOfSpilling. Not so bad for Finn, since his [[InfinityPlusOneSword brand new machete]] kills everything (even EliteMooks) in one swing, but Jack's [[KnifeNut shiv]]...not so much.

* NecessaryEvil: Jack. [[spoiler: The real one, that is. He was keeping the various criminal organizations in check with regards to distribution of the virulently popular [[FantasticDrug designer drugs]] as well as making their distribution more efficient. When [[NiceJobBreakingItHero Terry kills him in a car crash]], after a very short while their greed goes unchecked and flares up wars between the crime syndicates.]]

* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: Kyle calls this out on the real Jack due to his culpability for the widespread use of Bluelit. While Jack argues that it was a NecessaryEvil to prevent a mob war from conflagrating, Kyle points out that what it ended up being used for wasn't [[HarmfulToMinors much]] [[ChildSoldiers better.]] ]]

* {{Squick}}: [[spoiler: The BigBad plans to revive the esper race out of Erin and Ellen. The only problem? They're twins.]]

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: [[spoiler: In his descent into madness, Kyle gets this from a number of past friends (both dead (hallucinating) and alive) in the period of time he is unplayable in the better iterations of the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon. It doesn't work, so [[IKnowYouAreInThereSomewhereFight Alvin or the real Jack have to take the second approach.]]]]

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* BuryYourGays: [[InvertedTrope Inverted.]] In the [[BittersweetEnding good-but-not-perfect]] ending, all significant heterosexual characters in a relationship have died or driven mad by the end of the story, and all of the homosexual characters are more or less intact in both body and mind (except for Jack or Erin, depending on how you handle things in the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon.)

* ShoutOut: Erin and Ellen are [[{{Expy}} expies]] of the Vocaloid twins Len and Rin, respectively. Even have their voices in [[FlowerSunAndRain garblespeak]]!

* {{Shotacon}}: Not played for laughs. Jack is in a relationship with Erin and hates himself all the while ''because'' he himself is attracted to young boys and knows it's wrong.

* CriticalHit: A perk allows Finn, Terry, and Jack to land these based on the amount of time they've been exposed to combat, and after a certain amount of time in combat (without extended periods of time out of it) they start dealing [[ForMassiveDamage ridiculous amounts of damage.]] This gives the player incentive to play offensively. A perk for Alvin is the inverse of this, taking even less damage the longer he stays in combat.

** [[NoMoreHeroes Terry Touchdown]]

* MagikarpPower: Being able to take Redac and Bluelit. The former gives you a resistance to pain and a flat 10% health bonus, the latter clears all poisons, wounds, and injuries, but both drive you further into the CuckoosNest. Later in the game, this doesn't turn out to be as bad a thing [[spoiler: because Jack later is able to see [[CompleteMonster people that should be killed mercilessly]] [[DetectEvil as glowing white]] while in the CuckoosNest. Just don't make a habit out of it]].

* DynamicDifficulty: Your Mission Score is directly proportional to how aggressively [[RacistVillain racists]]/[[OurZombiesAreDifferent feral wraiths]]/[[CorruptCorporateExecutive corporate goons]]/[[CuckoosNest your own mind]] tries to kill you. If you're playing Ranked or Special, it is also directly proportional to how much damage you take as well. Jack taking more damage the longer he stays out of the CuckoosNest is also a mild example.

** [[DemonicSpiders Feral Wraiths]] are, in gameplay and aesthetics, identical to the Witch in [[Left4Dead Left 4 Dead]].

* CosmicHorror: The Dreaming Drifter. [[spoiler: It's Ellen's crystal and real name, created out of esper magic. Its purpose? [[KillEmAll Complete and utter annihilation of all organic life]] where it's activated. She and her twin brother actually ESCAPED from the EvilEmpire long before the events of the story to prevent themselves from being used as weapons for planetary colonization ''again'', and have been living a FateWorseThanDeath on Earth, being recreated over and over again each time they die.]]

* {{Nakama}}: One that falls apart. Spectacularly.

** [[spoiler: In the version of the VeryDefinitelyFinalDungeon leading to the GoldenEnding (which requires you to perform said MercyKill), though, [[IGotBetter he gets better]] much to the bewilderment of Alvin and Jack. He also pulls off a BigDamnHeroes moment when Jack and Erin attempt to escape.]]

* CuteShotaroBoy: Erin!

* PsychoSerum: The plant which Redac is made from. Which has a very [[ShoutOut familiar]] [[CaveStory appearance]]...

* WarringWithoutWeapons: Finn and Jack are forced into this against their [[TrueFinalBoss true final boss fights]] thanks to the BagOfSpilling. Not so bad for Finn, since his [[InfinityPlusOneSword brand new machete]] kills everything (even EliteMooks) in one swing, but Jack's [[KnifeNut shiv]]...not so much.

** [[DeusEx Jack C. Denton]]

* TheRevolutionWillNotBeCivilized: Combine with PowderKegCrowd for [[{{Understatement}} massive carnage]]!

* ResuscitateTheDog: [[spoiler: Erin tries this over the entirety of the time period after stabbing Jack out of fear and creating [[SuperpoweredEvilSide something else entirely]]. It doesn't work.]]