History VideoGame / Beholder

A {{D|ownloadableContent}}LC {{Prequel}}, ''[[https://store.steampowered.com/app/616950/Beholder__Blissful_Sleep/ Blissful Sleep]]'', was released for Steam on May 18, 2017 (in which the player takes control of Hector Medina), and came bundled up with the game in the ''Complete Edition'', which was released for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in December 2018.

Beholder is best described as a mix between a building management simulator, ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'', and ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine''. As expected of a game than draws heavily from ''Papers, Please'', it features many more complications, bills, and deadlines than can be met with good and honest gameplay, requiring Carl to engage in theft, blackmail, and potentially even the planting of evidence and subsequent arrest of tenants in order to make ends meet.

** Manishek's Asshole Victim-ry gets [[TurnedUpToEleven turned up to eleven]] when you play the ''Blissful Sleep'' DLC. In the DLC, you learn that [[spoiler: Jacob was a chemistry teacher for gifted students, and had a wife and son. He lost them both when the Schimmers' daughter was hit by a car, and she was revealed to be the Manisheks' long-lost daughter Zlata, who they were told died at birth so the Schimmers could adopt her and have a child of their own. Zlata needs a bone marrow transplant from a blood relative, and so Jacob's wife Louisa volunteers. Jacob forbids it, saying that Zlata isn't really their kid, and why should they help the Schimmers? As the landlord, you can help Louisa by reporting Jacob and having him arrested, allowing Louisa to go to the hospital and save her daughter. Louisa learns that she has the "traitor gene", and so does Zlata and her son, Marcus. Louisa flees the country with Zlata and Marcus, leaving Jacob without so much as a goodbye. Jacob returns from his false imprisonment to find that he's been fired from his job, and that his wife has left with his children. He is understandably completely shattered by this, and it leads him to becoming the man we see in the main game.]]

* WouldHurtAChild: Jacob Manishek pushes your daughter Martha down the stairs.

* BewareTheNiceOnes: Fulfledel is friendly enough and will tell you the silly story behind his name for reputation points, but the broken bottles in his appartment hint at a violent nature. He's also an active revolutionary and if you [[spoiler: choose to lure Ariel Johnson to the street corner to be assassinated, Fulfledel stabs him brutally and licks his blood off of the knife.]]

** Beholder 2 reveals the canon ending of the game, [[spoiler: and it isn't pretty. Canonically,as the state and Great Leader still exist, it is persumed that New Tomorrow was unsuccessful. Carl and his family did not flee the country,(although whether or not they attempted to do so is left unclear). Additionally, Carl didn't/wasn't able to get medicine for Martha, leading to her death. He was also unable to pay Patrick's university fees, leading him to drop out of university and subsequently become a miner. Patrick's girlfriend and her family are shot whilst they attempt to cross the border, and Patrick himself dies when the mine he's working at collapses. Carl's wife Anna dies after being shot 8 times, whilst Carl himself is taken by the Ministry and kept in stasis to be used as the genetic template for the mass production of Carl clones.]]

* AdultFear: Carl's 6 year old daughter Martha falls victim to a deadly illness very early into the game. Carl and Anna are afraid they won't be able to pull together the money for her extremely expensive treatment and care. To add additional pressure, it's quite close to another large expense to prevent your son from being expelled and both expenses are an order of magnitude greater than what you normally deal with. This makes it a difficult task to complete on the first playthrough.

A third game, ''Beholder 3'', was announced on April 7, 2021, with an ETA of Q1 2022, and is currently being playtested. In it, players control a former ministry officer who was set up into losing his job, and now has to spy and survey in order to repay favors owed and conspire his way back to the top.

* OffOnATechnicaliy: Profiles, reports and blackmail letters all require the player to fill in a number of fields and ensure they are 100% correct otherwise they will face a fine - in the case of a blackmail letter, the tenant will ignore it at no penalty. Unlike the typical example, the player is free to try again unless the evidence is consumed.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Its very possible to play for your daughter’s treatment, blackmail your doctor afterwards, and have him commit suicide before your daughter begins treatment.

* FailedASpotCheck: Profiles, reports and blackmail letters all require the player to fill in a number of fields and ensure they are 100% correct otherwise they will face a fine - in the case of a blackmail letter, the tenant will ignore it at no penalty.

* WeBuyAnything: The guy in the top hat will fence any illegal items you get from the tenants, or even the bulk level 1 surveillance cameras for influence to money conversion. In-game, most of the items remain in his inventory.

* WeBuyAnything: The guy in the top hat will fence any illegal items you get from the tenants, or even the bulk level
1 surveillance cameras for influence to money conversion. In-game, most of the items remain in his inventory.

* AdamSmithHatesYourGuts: Adam Smith is totally AxCrazy.

* PowerPerversionPotential: Averted. Although you can place cameras observing every area of your tenants' rooms, Carl can never see them getting changed, washing, or engaging in bedtime activites.

* AdultFear: Carl's 6 year old daughter Martha falls victim to a deadly illness very early into the game. Carl and Anna are afraid they won't be able to pull together the money for her extremely expensive treatment and care. ''And it's entirely possible you won't.''

A {{D|ownloadableContent}}LC {{Prequel}}, ''[[https://store.steampowered.com/app/616950/Beholder__Blissful_Sleep/ Blissful Sleep]]'', was released for Steam on May 18, 2017, and came bundled up with the game in the ''Complete Edition'', which was released for UsefulNotes/PlayStation4, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in December 2018.

''VideoGame/Beholder2'' was released in December 2018 with players controlling a department officer within the Ministry itself.

* WhereAreTheyNowEnding: In the GoldenEnding, the final sequence describes the Stein's new life, and what happens to them after they cross the border.

Beholder is best described as a mix between a building management simulator, ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'', and ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine''. As expected of a game than draws heavily from ''Papers, Please'', Beholder features many more complications, bills, and deadlines than can be met with good and honest gameplay, requiring Carl to engage in theft, blackmail, and potentially even the planting of evidence and subsequent arrest of tenants in order to make ends meet.

Beholder is best described as a mix between a building management simulator, ''VideoGame/PapersPlease'', and ''VideoGame/ThisWarOfMine''. As expected of a game than draws heavily from Papers, Please, Beholder features many more complications, bills, and deadlines than can be met with good and honest gameplay, requiring Carl to engage in theft, blackmail, and potentially even the planting of evidence and subsequent arrest of tenants in order to make ends meet.

Needs some [[NeedsWikiMagicLove Wiki Magic Love]].