History VideoGame / Crimsonland

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** Special mention goes to the Splitter gun, which is available [[NintendoHard after beating every single level on Hardcore mode]]. When the bullet strikes a mook, the bullet splits in two, then those bullets can split again and again and again by striking additional mooks. The drawback is that the bullets from this Splitter can hurt your character, and with swarms of monsters in Survival mode, the game becomes a literal BulletHell. This gun is really useful, though, when picked mid-to-late-game, coupled with powerups and invincibility, it can take care even of those MadeOfDiamond mooks.

* HPToOne: Some of the Perks will give you a massive bonus... at the cost of removing 99% of your current HP, putting you in dire straits once your shield from the level-up expires. Make sure you have a shield, freeze powerup or a health pickup nearby, or have the RegeneratingHealth perk.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: While weapons are dropped randomly, the first enemy that you kill is guaranteed to drop a weapon, meaning you won't have to rely on the pistol for too long.

** Both ranks of the RegeneratingHealth perk replenish your health at slow but steady rates, which helps keep you in the game for longer. They can also offset the effects of the Infernal Contract and Breathing Room perks, both of which have an HPToOne drawback, as well as Thick Skinned, which reduces the player's health by 33%.
** Anything that increases your clip size or decreases your reload speed can help you spend more time firing, and thus give you a better chance at keeping the hordes of enemies at bay.

* MetaPowerup: One of the perks gives you a wider selection of perks at levelup.

** The Ion Cannon does a lot of damage, and has the largest chain range of all the Ion family of weapons, making it very effective against clumps of enemies. However, it has the same drawbacks a the Plasma Cannon.

* EndlessGame: Survival Mode and Rush Mode both go on forever until The Reaper Gets You.

** Running over a weapon that doesn't suit your perks can cause this. Between the ability to pick up stuff by pointing at it (yes, it's a perk) and the hordes of monsters, it's sometimes very easy to grab that Pistol by accident. There's a perk to keep this from happening, though- My Favorite Weapon increases the clip size to your current gun.

* DeadlyUpgrade: You can activate the Death Clock perk which gives you 30-second invincibility..after which you die.

** Fatal Lottery is a perk that lets you gamble a bit: 50% chance you get 10k XP, which is almost guaranteed to get you at least one (if not several) level up. What happens if you don't get that? You die.
** In survival, there are a few perks that are at least... a bit strange. There's the one where you die, but you get 18% more score (It's used to end the game with a higher score than if you got killed). Or the one where you get a nuke that blows up when you die. ''You will get your revenge, I promise...''

* SchmuckBait: The game will sometimes offer you Grim Deal and/or Death Clock on your first level up. Naturally, both of them are rather terrible choices, since any semi-competent player will be able to use the other perks more effectively.

** The Lifeline 50-50 perk, which removes half the monsters on the screen, is a reference to ''Series/WheelOfFortune'', in which the 50-50 Lifeline removed two of the answers, giving stumped contestants a 50-50 shot at guessing the right one.

* SmartBomb: There's a perk that kills everything on the screen. It costs 2/3 of your health to take it, and it only works once. The disease from the "Plaguebearer" perk can act this way, too, if the screen is crowded.

* HPToOne: Some of the Perks will give you a massive bonus... at the cost of removing 99% of your current HP, putting you in dire straits once your shield from the level-up expires. Make sure you have a shield or a health pickup nearby!

* SchmuckBait: The game will sometimes offer you Grim Deal and/or Death Clock on your first level up. Naturally, both of them are rather terrible choices, since any semi-competent player will be able to use the other perks more effectively.

* AwesomeButImpractical: Many guns are powerful but have ridiculous reload times. There are perks to help with this. Good examples are the Plasma Shotgun and the Mean Minigun. The Minigun has the additional disadvantage of making you slower in a game where running is a primary means of survival.

* BoringButPractical: Powerups and perks that increase running speed aren't terribly flashy, but they can help you get away from monsters and pick up powerups if you don't have the Telekinesis perk (another rather practical perk). In Nukefism mode, the speed powerup is especially useful, since it helps you collect the powerups that are the only way to defeat monsters, and chaining speed powerups will help increase your survivability.

* HPToOne: Some of the Perks will give you a massive bonus... at the cost of removing 99% of your current HP. Make sure you have a shield on or a health pickup nearby!

* MookMaker: Those stationary spawner-things.

* NotCompletelyUseless: Even the Blowtorch has its uses. Try it on things that can't move. It also gets a bit more useful if you take the Pyromaniac perk, which significantly increases its range.

** Running over a weapon that doesn't suit your perks can cause this. Between the ability to pick up stuff by pointing at it (yes, it's a perk) and the hordes of monsters, it's sometimes very easy to grab that Pistol by accident. There's a perk to keep this from happening, though.

** There's a perk that lets you gamble a bit: 50% chance you get 10k XP, which is almost guaranteed to get you at least one (if not several) level up. What happens if you don't get that? You die.

* [[StandardFPSGuns Standard Shooter Guns]]: You start with a pistol. Your first few weapons are shotguns, an SMG, an assault rifle, and a rocket launcher. The Cannons fill the "big gun" role. Guns like the ion minigun and gauss shotgun are a little more unique, and once you have everything unlocked there's no real weapon progression to speak of.

* Anti-ClimaxBoss: The last level of Chapter Seven, Final Showdown is this compared to the last level of the Chapter Six, The Gathering. While The Gathering is basically taking every single DemonicSpider in the game from [[AsteroidsMonster Asteroids Monsters]] to BulletHell projectile spewing enemies to [[MookMaker Mook Makers]] that will fill the screen with bad guys to [[NintendoHard projectile spewing enemies that only stop shooting to become invincible instead]] and sicking them on you to the point where just getting a weapon and your first level is an accomplishment, Final Showdown is limited to all melee enemies and none of them are especially hard to kill making easy to collect both powers and levels.

* JokeItem: The Blowtorch. It's a flamethrower with a range about as long as your nose. It's actually fairly strong, but the range is so short that it's nearly impossible to use well.

* MiniGame: [[spoiler:[=AlienZooKeeper=]]].

* NotCompletelyUseless: Even the Blowtorch has its uses. Try it on things that can't move.

The initial version of the game was a strictly [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] shareware game, and it came out on all the way in 2003. However, an significantly updated, commercial version of the game was eventually released more than a decade later, and was ported to all the major platforms since then: UsefulNotes/Playstation4, UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita and [[UsefulNotes/IOSGames mobile]] [[AndroidGames platforms]] in 2014, UsefulNotes/Playstation3 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne in 2015, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2017.

The initial version of the game was a strictly [[UsefulNotes/IBMPersonalComputer PC]] shareware game, and it came out on all the way in 2003. However, an significantly updated, commercial version of the game was eventually released more than a decade later, and was ported to all the major platforms since then: UsefulNotes/Playstation4, UsefulNotes/PlaystationVita and [[IOSGames mobile]] [[AndroidGames platforms]] in 2014, UsefulNotes/Playstation3 and UsefulNotes/XboxOne in 2015, and UsefulNotes/NintendoSwitch in 2017.

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/crimsonland.png]]

* Anti-ClimaxBoss: The last level of Chapter Seven, Final Showdown is this compared to the last level of the Chapter Six, The Gathering. While The Gathering is basically taking every single DemonicSpider in the game from [[AsteroidsMonster Asteroids Monsters]] to BulletHell projectile spewing enemies to [[MookMaker MookMaker]] that will fill the screen with bad guys to [[NintendoHard projectile spewing enemies that only stop shooting to become invincible instead]] and sicking them on you to the point where just getting a weapon and your first level is an accomplishment, Final Showdown is limited to all melee enemies and none of them are especially hard to kill making easy to collect both powers and levels.

Crimsonland is a top-down action game. You maneuver around a featureless plain killing aliens, zombies and other nasty things as they wander onto or teleport into the screen. Your goal is to survive. To help you, powerups occasionally spawn from slain enemies: they either give you some kind of bonus (slow motion, freeze, and so on) or a new weapon (shotgun, plasma minigun, ion rifle, etc). As you kill monsters, gain XP, and level up, you are granted "perks" that may be beneficial, or may involve some kind of tradeoff for a benefit. "Long Distance Runner," for instance, lets you run faster if you keep moving. "Death Clock" makes you invincible, but you drop dead in 30 seconds.

There are four game modes, one of which is a secret end-game mode.

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* EmergencyEnergyTank: The Bandage. Pick this perk and you regain full HP (contradicting its own description). Once.

** In survival, there are a few perks that are at least... a bit strange. There's the one where you die, but you get 18% more score. Or the one where you get a nuke that blows up when you die. ''You will get your revenge, I promise...''

'''Crimsonland is awash in:'''

* [[CastFromHitPoints Shoot From Hit Points]]: One perk turns your HP into ammo when you are reloading, so that you can keep firing at the cost of some HP. One other perk does this [[CastFromExperiencePoints with your *XP*]].

* [[CastFromHitPoints Shoot From Hit Points]]: One perk turns your HP into ammo when you are reloading, so that you can keep firing at the cost of some HP. One other perk does this with your ''XP''.

** Special mention goes to the Splitter gun, which is available [[NintendoHard after beating every single level on Hardcore mode]]. When the bullet strikes a mook, the bullet splits in two, then those bullets can split again and again and again by striking additional mooks. The drawback is that the bullets from this Splitter can hurt your character, and with swarms of monsters in Survival mode, the game becomes a literal BulletHell. This gun is really useful, though, when picked mid-to-late-game, coupled with powerups and invincibility, it can take care even of those MadeOfDiamond mooks.
* AwesomeButPractical: The most generally useful guns, like the Ion Cannon, are also kinda badass.

* BFG: Anything with "cannon" in the name. The miniguns probably count, too, and some of the special shotguns are close.