History VideoGame / Cryostasis

''Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason'' is a first-person SurvivalHorror game, released originally in December 2008, developed by Ukraine based studio Creator/ActionForms. It follows the experiences of HeroicMime Alexander Nesterov as he investigates the shipwrecked nuclear icebreaker ''North Wind.'' The ''North Wind'' wrecked over a decade prior and has only recently been found. Nesterov is sent alone to investigate, only to get trapped inside and forced to seek shelter from the Antarctic cold.

* RiseToTheChallenge: The first mental echo has the player try to escape rising water, as the ship floods with cold water. As a mental echo, there's multiple attempts.
* RegeneratingHealth: Present but limited, interacting with a heat source to warm yourself up will recharge it fast, while merely standing around in a warm environment will also cause your heat to very slowly recharge up to the external temperature.

''Cryostasis: Sleep of Reason'' is a first-person SurvivalHorror game, released originally in December 2008, developed by Ukraine based studio Creator/ActionForms. It follows the experiences of HeroicMime Alexander Nesterov as he investigates the shipwrecked nuclear icebreaker ''North Wind.'' The game starts off rather similar to most games of the genre, as Alexander is lost and confused within an unknown and hostile environment. As the aforementioned ship wrecked near the North Pole, ice and searching for heat are key motifs throughout the game. Freezing to death is a very real possibility. Also, the crew of the ''North Wind'' have gone mad and are intent on killing Alexander. Mild inconvenience.

* IdiotBall: [[spoiler:The First Officer and Security Chief are both guilty of this when they were forced to take command - while aborting the ramming was a reasonable idea, ''ordering the ship to make a full reverse after colliding with the ice'' is not. Their decision caused the ship's nuclear reactor to destabilize, condemning everyone to slowly die from radiation poisoning]].

** The game's subtitle is "Sleep of Reason," alluding to the Francisco de Goya Painting [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sleep_of_Reason_Produces_Monsters "The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters."]] It fits the game well.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: [[spoiler:While the captain did make a tone of mistakes, this trope is in effect during the ''North Winds''' attempted escape from the ice - he wanted to try ramming the ice to break the ship free, but when he was injured, the First Officer and Chief of Security instead order the ship to make a full reverse. Not only did this destabilize the reactor, which eventually killed everyone through radiation poisoning, but if the ship had stayed its course as shown if Nesterov used his mental echo powers to convince the Chief of Security to help the captain, the ramming attempt would've worked]].

* RammingAlwaysWorks: After the ''North Wind'' became trapped in the ice, the captain ordered the crew to ram into the ice in an effort to break free. [[spoiler:As a ''Mental Echo'' shows, ''this would've worked'' [[ForWantOfTheNail if the crew hadn't backed out at the last minute]]]].

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

Cryostasis rapidly morphs into more MindScrew than almost any video game ever conceived. Interspersed with Alexander's conflict with the demonic presence on the ship is the heavily metaphorical tale of Danko, whose actions and flaws parallel those of the ''North Wind's'' Captain. The monsters you fight begin to morph into disturbing personifications of the crew's shortcomings. Despite the bleak setting, all of the action leads up to a rather heartwarming ending drenched in symbolic meaning.

A major showcase for Nvidia's [=PhysX=] graphical engine, Cryostasis is a very beautiful game too, rivaling even ''VideoGame/{{Crysis}}''. However, the game does not utilize more than one core in current-day CPU's, meaning the game stutters even on high-end [=PCs=]. It is also quite buggy in parts, which when combined with the slow storytelling and (some would say) repetitive level design can frustrate and bore some players. However the game is welcomed as, at the very least, an interesting experience.

->--'''Vladimir Solovyov''', quoted at the very end of the game.

[[quoteright:340:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/image_10_9207.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:340:"This is the North Pole's welcome. No marching band, no flags, no speeches."]]

A major showcase for Nvidia's [=PhysX=] graphical engine, Cryostasis is a very beautiful game too, rivaling even VideoGame/{{Crysis}}. However, the game does not utilize more than one core in current-day CPU's, meaning the game stutters even on high-end [=PCs=]. It is also quite buggy in parts, which when combined with the slow storytelling and (some would say) repetitive level design can frustrate and bore some players. However the game is welcomed as, at the very least, an interesting experience.

* AnachronismStew: Some of the early trailers and ingame documents state that the ''North Wind'' was lost in 1968, though statements about the age of the ship and the appearance of vehicles such as the Kamov helicopter imply that the game takes place in the early 1980s. A theory, supported by the ending of the game, is that there are two timelines in the game: in the original proper timeline the ''North Wind'' never crashed and Alexander is due to be picked up by it, as the radiogram in the game indicates. This timeline is restored by the end of the game. However, in the divergent timeline, the ''North Wind'' crashes in 1968 and Alexander enters its parallel reality when he boards the ship, where the sins and flaws of the crewmembers are personified into monsters. [[spoiler: At the ending of the game, by proving your worth to the God of Time Khronos, you successfully avert the ship's impact with an iceberg by taking possession of a central character within the story who influences the captain's decision. By doing this, you not only save yourself from the deadly fall you experience at the beginning, but also the entire crew of the ship.]]

* CallAHitPointASmeerp: The health meter is described as internal body temperature. You warm yourself up by being near sources of heat, and it dissipates by being in cold areas. You also lose health when attacked by an axe-wielding enemy, but recover said injuries by going back to a heat source.

* ShakyPOVCam