History VideoGame / CodeNameSteam

* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Princess Ozma is in awe when S.T.E.A.M. not only challenges the Spawn of Cthulhu that holds her captive, but ''wins.''

* MissingBackblast: Califia can fire her Rhino Bomber with her back against the wall and show no signs of injury as a result.

* EarlyGameHell: The first chapter has only Henry Fleming and John Henry against three maps of enemies that vastly outnumber them, with no sub weapons, let alone healing weapons. In fact you start out with no sub weapons whatsoever, meaning John Henry can't even over watch. 2, which gives you more team members and access to healing, feels like a breather by comparison.

* HistoricalDomainCharacter: Abraham Lincoln, UsefulNotes/QueenVictoria, and John Milton Hay. [[UsefulNotes/UlyssesSGrant General Grant]] also appears in a cutscene.

** Also subverted, since [[spoiler:Stovepipe and]] the ''VideoGame/FireEmblem'' character have their own steam packs.

** Hounds are Hounds of Tindalos (of course).

** After completing each mission, the highest possible score (even after challenge multipliers) is 9,999.

* DegradedBoss: The Dreadnought is first introduced in the final map of level 12 as a boss, [[FlunkyBoss with the ability to summon enemy units to help it out]]. After that you start encountering it in pairs, making it more of an example of an EliteMook.

* DualBoss: The Twin Generators.

* FallingChandelierOfDoom: Chandeliers and ceiling fans (among other things) will fall once shot. Bad news for whoever -- or whatever -- is standing beneath them.

* HealerSignsOnEarly: Zig-zagged with Tiger Lily. She's the fourth playable member of S.T.E.A.M, but by the standards of the trope, she actually joins fairly late: you have to go through the prologue two and a half full chapters (seven maps in total) before she joins, and the mission she joins in is a WakeUpCallBoss. Played straight with the Medi-Carbine being the first sub-weapon you get.

* MonsterCompendium: Every alien gets an entry in the library menu after you encounter them. Once Randolph joins they each get a separate entry connecting them with specific figures from the Franchise/CthulhuMythos.

* NeverBringAKnifeToAGunfight: Overwatch, a system by which you can save steam and attack enemies on their own turn makes it extremely difficult to approach a gun user for melee, or even short-range gun, combat. Thankfully, the only character who's restricted to melee weapons, Marth, has an ability that makes him NoSell overwatch attacks.

** Since Crashers have pitifully low health, they will ''always'' fall victim to this.

* OneSteveLimit: Played with Henry, which is the first name of Henry Fleming and the last name of John Henry. Also referred to with John Milton Hay, who is called "Milton" -- according to him, Lincoln said that there were too many "Johns" in his life.

* TeleFrag: Averted. You can position a member of S.T.E.A.M. on the very square that an enemy usually spawns from with no ill effect; either the enemy creature spawns one space away or, in rare cases, won't spawn until that space is unoccupied.

** John and Califia's Break ability also works here, since breaking objects in their paths will take less steam than it would to go around them.

* CherryTapping: Possible with the Stun Mortar, which has one of the lowest damage-per-ammo ratios in the game.

** The ''Fire Emblem'' characters are based on their appearances in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros for [=3DS/Wii U=]'', and take moveset cues both from ''Smash'' and from their canon appearances. For example, Ike's secondary weapon is Urvan, his father's axe that he inherits in Radiant Dawn after promoting to his vanguard class which can now use axes, and Lucina's secondary weapon is the legendary bow Nidhogg, as a reference both to the fact that she, like her father, can reclass to archer, and the Monster Hunter Frontier G crossover promotion where that bow and Falchion were added to the game along with costumes resembling Chrom and Lucina.

** It's even worse if playing on the extra challenge modes. If any member is KO'ed during the battle, they're gone until either completing the map or until the whole team is defeated.
* CriticalHit: Shooting the glowing pink body part results in increased damage -- especially if Dr. Carter is on the active team. As an added bonus, if that critical hit is the one that kills an alien, the enemy's corpse leaves bonus medals behind!
* {{Cyclops}}: Nettlers, though unlike the mythological beast they are very tiny.

* ImmuneToBullets: Another Devastator trait [[spoiler: until a Gatling gun [[{{BFG}} large enough]] to injure one [[DefiedTrope is built]]]].

* InfinityMinusOneSword: [[spoiler: The Lincoln Superpack. It boosts defense and offense by 30 points, but only has a recharge rate of 8.]]

* {{Knockback}}: If a ranged attack is powerful enough, enemies and heroes can be shot backward a couple spaces. Getting hit by a Ripper guarantees this happening.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: The aliens' eyes are green when passive, yellow when looking for targets and will turn red whenever they feel threatened. Most noticeable with the Eyestalkers; one giant eyeball is more easily noticed than several smaller ones on most of the other enemy species.

* ShootTheMedicFirst: Scourges should be treated as high-priority targets due to their ability to heal their own kind.

* StationaryBoss: The Generators.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Queens defend themselves by stunning your agents with roars, as do generators.

* WindIsGreen: Not ''all'' wind, but Tiger Lilly's healing wind is green, and the "door" to Oz is a green tornado.

* BewareMyStingerTail: How Slashers slash. How Hounds and Shrikes shoot. The entire tail of a Nettler is almost all stinger.

* DeathFromAbove: The potential result of being spotted by a Gunner or one of its Eyestalkers.

* MakeMeWannaShout: Queens defend themselves by stunning your agents with roars.

* StationaryBoss: The Generator.

* LovecraftLite: Sure, you're fighting {{Eldritch Abomination}}s(their spawn and servants at first)... but you can also ''win'' against them(though it is suggested it will take a miracle if Shugguth gets involved).

* CombatTentacles: These aliens are taken from Lovecraft HP's books, so you'd expect at least one of them to have these, which Devastators and Abominations do.

* HitPoints: All S.T.E.A.M. agents and the aliens that can be defeated have a health bar, though "boss" aliens have a [[ReadingsAreOffTheScale question mark]] in place of the numbers everything else has to indicate how full they are shots that hit them still show numbers being subtracted as it empties.

* BewareMyStingerTail: How Slashers slash, and how Hounds shoot. The entire tail of a Nettler is almost all stinger.

* CantCatchUp: Averted - characters in this game do not level up, meaning that a character you benched a few maps ago will still be as useful as they were when you stopped using him/her.

** Making physical contact any Crasher causes this, as do the walls in 16-1 if not shot beforehand.

* EarlyGameHell: The first chapter has only Henry Fleming and John Henry against three maps of enemies that vastly outnumber them, with no sub weapons, let alone healing weapons. In fact you start out wit no sub weapons whatsoever, meaning John Henry can't even over watch. 2, which gives you more team members and access to healing, feels like a breather by comparison.

* ImmuneToBullets: Another Devastator trait

* LovecraftLite: Sure, you're fighting {{Eldritch Abomination}}s(their spawn and servants at first)... but you can also ''win'' against them.

* OverlyLongTongue: A Devastator trait, it presumably has some practical purpose for them to risk waving about with their circular inward pointing toothy maw.

* AdvancingBossOfDoom: The Abomination in Chapter 11 is a gigantic explosive alien virtually immune to most weapons. The aim of the mission is to [[HoldTheLine keep it from reaching the Liberty for 10 turns.]]

* AnimalMotif: All S.T.E.A.M. agents have one by carrying an animal-themed weapon. The exception is Scarecrow, whose theme is a pumpkin instead.

* ArtificialBrilliance: The AI does ''not'' screw around with you. There is a reason that you should take advantage of the fact that the game will tell you if [[RedEyesTakeWarning an enemy has spotted you]] - because they know how to flank, focus fire, and that grenades will knock targets back. Sometimes, they will even choose to act in a particular order so that a grenade will throw you into range of another enemy.

* ArtificialStupidity: That said, the AI can still be cheesed into killing their own allies since they ''also'' have FriendlyFire. [[InvokedTrope Invoked]] with [[TheBerserker Berserkers]], who have intentionally poor AI to emphasise their [[DumbMuscle stupidity]]. They'll even go so far as running up to and attacking ExplodingBarrels.

* EarlyGameHell: The first chapter has only Henry Fleming and John Henry against three maps of enemies that vastly outnumber them, with no healing weapons. Chapter 2, which gives you more team members and access to healing, feels like a breather by comparison.

* OneSizeFitsAll: [[spoiler: The Lincoln Superpack, which requires finding all 96 gears, is the only steam pack that all heroes can wear.]]

* SortingAlgorithmOfEvil: {{ZigZagged|Trope}}: The first alien Henry Fleming encounters is so though it shrugs off direct fire from a gunship and takes {{The Big Good}}'s [[SuperWeaponSurprise secret weapon]] to stop, although the first aliens he attempts to fight are thought by Milton to be the weakest of the invading forces they prove to be fairly dangerous later in the game when making use of advantageous terrain. Fleming's [[KnowWhenToFoldEm early retreats]], the player's EarlyGameHell and the consistently NintendoHard missions illustrate why this trope is usually played straight.

* HitPoints

* SplashDamage: Results from explosions and the [[PsychoElectricEel Stun Mortar]], of all things.
* StatusLine: Visible for all S.T.E.A.M. members and all aliens on all modes except when replaying missions in Blind Eye mode.
* {{Steampunk}}: The game's setting takes place in an era of steampunk technology, although things such as wireless communicators exist and are said to be relatively new.

* TurnBasedCombat: But chess it's not, as it is not automated combat. Combatants still have to aim, can miss and take shots during the opposition's turn.

* AirborneMook: Nettlers will teach you to look up in a hurry.

* BewareMyStingerTail: How Slashers slash, and how Hounds shoot.

* CollisionDamage: Making physical contact any Crasher causes this, as do the walls in 16-1 if not shot beforehand.

* ContinuingIsPainful: The only way to revive fallen allies is to use the "Save and Restore All" option at a save point, which costs a ''huge'' amount of Medals and can heavily hurt your end-of-chapter ranking. Save Points are also limited, so if any team members fall after using up your last save point, you can kiss that act's Full Squad bonus goodbye.

* DamageDiscrimination: '''[[PunctuatedForEmphasis A... VER... TED!]]''' This game doesn't play any favorites as to who can injure whom.
** The Rippers serve as an excellent example: They're completely blind and have to rely on sound in order to approach a target. What often results is that a Ripper will plow through its own allies -- sometimes more than once each -- in order to attack the heroes. If there's a wall in their way, they're just going to run parallel to it.

* LovecraftLite: Sure, you're fighting {{Eldritch Abomination}}s(mostly their spawn and servants at first)... but you can also ''win'' against them.

* SavePoint [=/=] SaveScumming: With numerous save-points put around the mission, especially ones where you are able to restore the health of a character or an entire squad, it seems Intelligent Systems knew of this tactic and incorporated it.

* TurnBasedCombat

* LovecraftLite: Sure, you're fighting {{Eldritch Abomination}}s... but you can also ''win'' against them.

* AdvancingBossOfDoom: The Abomination in Chapter 11 is a gigantic explosive alien virually immune to most weapons. The aim of the mission is to [[HoldTheLine keep it from reaching the Liberty for 10 turns.]]

** When pulling out after the first four crew member mission, the agents can be seen shooting at the pursuing aliens from the Liberty, and [[MarkedBullet written on one of the bullets]] is "[[FilmETTheExtraterrestrial ET]] [[Film/MostersVsAliens GO HOME]]".