History VideoGame / HiddenCity

** "The Antique Dealer's Curse" case is led the Capuchin couple as they investigate a (possibly) haunted antique store, which they plan to use as a venue for their upcoming movie.

* TheDictatorship: The Upper City is a rare, benevolent version of a military/law enforcement dictactorship. Mr. Black, the Head of the Security Service, seems to hold all the regulatory power without having to answer to anyone. As the de facto leader of Upper City, Mr. Black imposes a harsh curfew on the area (a policy known as the Law of Black) and keeps most of the city's anti-fog crystal supplies in the possession of the Security Services, thus allowing him to to control who will be granted its protection. He had also forcibly evicted people and sealed off entire areas he suspects to be affected by the fog, and keeps close tabs on all the citizens. Of course, many people aren't happy with his rule and some have even formed a Resistance to overthrow him. However, Black is GoodIsNotNice, and he does genuinely want to keep the people in his city safe (even if his decisions aren't always effective and he's too proud and stubborn to listen to others), and the game is mostly on his side when threats to his power arise.

* LifeDrinker: Talisa the Blizzard Witch is obssessed with staying beautiful forever, and she maintains her youth by manipulating young boys and girls who wish to grow up and steal their years through a magic mirror.
* LivingLegend: The mysterious Order of the Five, of which the Collector and the Architect is a member, seems to have an almost mythical status among the citizens of the City of Shadows, as their creations have {{reality warp|er}}ing capacity. The Architect is particularly revered in the Upper City, as she had single-handedly rebuilt the region from destruction several years ago. Rayden and, especially, Alicia idolize her very much.

* RealNameAsAnAlias: Mr. Black instructs the player to call him by his actual first name, Ivor, when he goes to the Foggy Oasis so that he can be more discreet when investigating their connection to the ongoing sleep epidemic in "Dreamweaver". However, since the folks at the Oasis already know who he is, this alias never gets used.

** At one point, Mr. Black is stalked by a strange ceature that has bladed wings, steel scales and flower-like maw. It turns out to be a physical manifestation of a drawing he once made in his childhood to scare his classmates.

** The Traveling Circus first appeared in the September 2021 event, but apparently had been performing for long enough for Carlos to be familiar with all the performers, having took his children to watch their shows many time before.
** Ali Vazir and his Moroccan Cafe first appeared in the February 2022 event, but the Cafe is apparently a well-known establishment and has been for quite some time. Kira is surprised that the Player doesn't know about them when she mentions them.

** One side quest involves the Mistress of the Manor tampering with Dream Magic that causes everone's dreams (and nightmares) to manifest in the real world. Many people are afraid to go to sleep as a result, and the player's task is to help the citizens assemble a device that will nullify the Mistress's magic.

''Hidden City: Hidden Object Adventure'' (previously known as ''Hidden City: Mystery of Shadows'') is a HiddenObjectGame published by G5 Entertainment in 2016.

* MultiColoredHair: Lady Peacock's brown tresses has rainbow-colored streaks running through it to make it reflect the peacock's feathers.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: There's currently about 100 characters introduced in the game. Granted, a lot of them are event-only characters that's only around for one case before disappearing, but they still have unique designs, personalities, story arc, and history with the other, recurring cast.

* WeCanRuleTogether: Subverted. While Kira, Carlos and the player are fiddling around Violet's board game to save Mr. Black and Rayden, Violet herself arrives to add more challenges to the game to make the rescue mission even more difficult. She then shows admiration for their skills and expresses disappointment that they are wasting their talents serving under Black. Despite this, she doesn't make any offer for them to defect to the Octopus Division.

* AllThereInTheManual: Many characters' profile can be read from the game's official Facebook page, but a lot of these information don't actually get mentioned in the game itself.

** Nora Dunn mentions that her marriage to Douglas was arranged by her parents for money. It is later revealed that the wedding between her daughter Mirel and Abner Old was similarly arraged by Douglas. [[spoiler:She attempts to poison Old to save her daughter from sharing her miserable fate, although it failed when she accidentally poisoned her husband instead.]]

* TheInfiltration: It's offscreen, but in one case, Mr. Black goes to infiltrate the Shadow Cult's meeting to confirm that his former assistant Violet had indeed joined the Cult.

** In one of the Movie Theater side quests, Lewis Capuchin gets sucked into the film he's editing, while a character from the movie escapes to take his place.

* BeCarefulOfWhatYouWishFor: In "Last Dance of the Blizzard", a 10-year-old boy named Milad wrote to Santa wishing to grow up faster so that his parents would stop treating him as a kid. He ends up falling victim to Talisa's manipulation, who used her magic to drain his youth and turned him into an old man.

* SteamPunk: Compared to the Main City, the Upper City seems to have a more dated technology, with the prominence of candle lights, oil lamps and typewriters used for day-to-day activities, and steam pipes can be seen in many of the locations. The residents' outfits also have a distinctly Victorian Era-esque flair compared to the more modern gear that the people living in the main City areas wear. Also, unlike the Main City, the Upper City lacks the more blatantly fantastical elements, such as monsters, anomalies, etc.

* YearOutsideHourInside: Stone's antiques store was briefly affected by a time anomaly that makes time flow slower inside the building. In one of the post-case quests, he complains about the citizens turning his shop into a sightseeing "haunted" location when he's only been gone for a week, but in reality, he had gone missing for much longer.

* TheDandy: Fabien Delamode is a foppish fashion designer who takes great pride in his glamorous creations, and is suitably groomed for the part.

* ADogNamedCat: Violet's dog is named Alligator. According WordOfGod, she also considered naming her pet Scorpio, Dragon or Cerberus before settling on the current name.
* DressingToDie: In the final part of the "Petrified Mystery" case, [[spoiler:Olivia realises that the only way to restore Sophia from her petrification is to use a reverse lens on the Gorgon Camera--but this will turn her into a statue instead.]] She is more than willing to pay this price (partly to [[DeathEqualsRedemption redeem herself]] for [[spoiler:petrifying her friend in the first place, and partly because she cannot stand living after having lost her talents]]), but to prepare for this, she asks the player's character to help her find her most beautiful dress and accessories, so that she will become a beautiful masterpiece at her petrification.

* EveryoneLovesBlondes: Sophia Haze is one of the few blondes among the game's LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters and is the most prominent one in the Upper City. She's also a very famous and popular Jazz Singer whom many men wants to date. Even the aloof Mr. Black used to be attracted to her, and it is implied that he's still holding the torch for her even after giving up on her.

* GeniusSlob: Olivia the sculptress is widely recognized as a genius artist who always leaves her workshop in a mess.
--> '''Mr. Black:''' She worked all the time, and rarely cleaned. Apparently, geniuses have no time for such things.

* StageMagician: Friedrich Diggs, the director of the traveling circus, also serves as the performers' illutionist. His appearance fits all of the stereotypes associated with the archetype, complete with the top hat, brightly coloured waistcoat and suit, white gloves and magic wand. When he becomes the prime suspect of a seemingly impossible crime, he reveals all his tricks (which includes pulling objects out of his top hat, making birds appear from a secret cache, etc.) to Mr. Black to convince the Head of the Security Service that he doesn't have a genuine supernatural talent that is required to pull off the crime.

** Helen '''Star''' is the daughter of an astronomer.

* AloofLeaderAffableSubordinate: Mr. Black, the Head of the Security Services, is suspicious, unfriendly and often hostile towards others. By contrast, his subordinates, Kira Woodville and Rayden Storke, are a lot friendlier, more trusting and openly sentimental. Rayden, in particular, is more willing to listen to (and believe) the suspects' excuses and usually defends them from Mr. Black whenever the latter goes too arrest-happy. Mr. Black calls Rayden a horrible judge of character because of this.

* NiceMeanAndInBetween: The Security Service crew--Rayden Storke, Mr. Black and Kira Woodville. Rayden (Nice) is the NaiveNewcomer of the group; he's generally nice and friendly, if a bit gullible, and tends to be sympathetic towards the suspects he's meant to interrogate. Mr. Black (Mean) is the complete opposite--being suspicious and hostile towards most people, and assumes everyone is a liar unless they can provide solid evidence for their claims. Kira (In-Between) is explicitly described by Carlos as kind but strict; she's much more willing to chase down and punish criminals than Rayden, but is not as confrontational towards other people as Mr. Black.

* CannotTellALie: Angelique the doll is designed by the Puppeteer to have very high morals and as a result can only speak the truth.

* IJustWantToBeSpecial: Alicia the False Architect. As a child, she had always desired to achieve greatness, and dreamt of becoming a Defender so that she can be a hero. Unfortunately, by the time she is able to pursue her dream, the Defenders had already banished all the monsters from the Upper City and were disbanded. Since then, Alicia had sought out the legendary Architect, hoping to be as admired and famous as she is. When the Architect suddenly disappeared, Alicia decided to don on the Architect's costume and mask to pretend to be her.

* LegendaryImpostor: Alicia is first introduced while posing as the Architect and quickly being ousted as a fake after being interrogated. While she does enjoy the fame and recognition she receives while impersonating her idol, Alicia's main motivation of pretending to be the missing Architect is to study her inventions to banish the fog from the Upper City and hopefully reunite the citizens with their loved ones who had gone missing in the fog (which includes her [[DisappearedDad father]]).

* MysticalWaif: Lucas Light is a sickly teenage boy who seems to have some sort of mysterious powers that makes him a target to the Shadow Cult. He has a strange affinity with the legendary ghostly deer, and is able to materialize objects from the fog (including a body double of himself). Dr. Barry trying to study his powers inadvertantly causes a sleep plague in the City.
* NervousWreck: Seamstress Anna flies into a panic when the Security Service wants to question her and Fabien about the theft of the anti-fog crystals, and Rayden has to give her smelling salts just to help her calm down enough to speak coherently. She then blabs about pocketing a strange coin dropped by Fabien's mysterious guest and is convinced that she'll be arrested for theft because of this, which is why she's so afraid of being interrogated.

* PromotionToParent: Vera has to act as her brother Lucas's caretaker after the two of them were separated from their father when their house was engulfed by the fog.

* ReplacementGoldfish: Implied with Angelique. In one of the Atelier side quests, she finds a photo in her creator's belongings that depicts a young girl who looks exactly like herself. It is possible that the Puppeteer made her to replace a deceased loved one, although too little is known of him to confirm the fact.

* SelfMadeMan: Fabien Delamode was once a simple tailor who sews doll clothes for the Puppeteer, but thanks to a combination ambition, hard-work and skills, he is now the owner of the most luxurious fashion store in the city that caters to the most elite and influential patrons.

* DarkSkinnedBlonde: Violet has tanned skin and white hair, and fits the "arrogant villain" archetype. Her appearance also contrasts Mr. Black's, who has light skin dan black hair.

* OutrankingYourJob: Mr. Black is the head of the Security Service (an equivalent to the law enforcement department) but he often gets more involved in the investigations than his own subordinates. Civilians like Carlos, Fabien and Angelique report directly to him when they notice suspicious activities, and he would personally visit the crime scenes, examine clues, chase down suspects and make arrests--sometimes without Rayden and Kira's (his main subordinates) involvement at all. He'd occasionally delegate tasks to his subordinates (usually to question witnesses) and receives reports from them, but he'd follow-up everything on his own.

* PinkGirlBlueBoy: Rayden and Kira -- who represents the Upper City during their mission to find the Mystery Solver -- wear navy and magenta uniforms respectively.

* RaisedByGrandparents: Rayden was raised by his grandmother, Clarissa, after his parents died when he was very young.

* RedOniBlueOni: Kira and Rayden. Between the pair, Kira is the more HotBlooded, quicker to action and is the better fighter. By contrast, Rayden is more easygoing, diplomatic and friendly.

* RightHandAttackDog: Violet is almost always accompanied by her dog, Alligator, whom she uses to guard her office and/or threaten her opponents. When she traps Mr. Black and Rayden inside a board game, she also has a fiery version of the hound to hunt them.

* WellDoneSonGuy: Sophia Haze. She's a famous jazz singer whose greatest wish is to be praised by her father--a church minister who did not approve of her dream to become an entertainer. She confides to Carlos that all the awards and accolades she's won throughout her illustrious career had not satisfied her need to gain her father's favour.

* WhiteHairBlackHeart: Violet has white hair -- which stands out among the Upper City residents' more down-to-earth designs -- and is one of the very few unambiguously evil characters in the game (other antagonists, such as the Dancer and even the Mistress of the Manor have sympathetic motives for their actions). Ambitious and arrogant, she betrays the Security Service by joining the Shadow Cult and used threats, manipulation and torture to appoint herself as the Head of the Security Service. She is also the one who sent the Dark Hunter after Lucas and tormented Mr. Black and Rayden by trapping them inside a deadly board game after luring them by the false pretenses of "peace talks".

* ArsenalAttire: Kira had practiced self-defense her whole life, but from where she's from, women aren't allowed to carry weapons, so she has her weapons hidden in various accessories, such as her brooch, earrings, necklace, etc.

* ConsummateProfessional: Mr. Black is dedicated to ensure justice, law and order in the Upper City and has little patience for trivial sentimentalities. He gets especially annoyed when Rayden is too quick to trust a suspect's word without evidence simply because he knows them well, and is not happy when his subordinate Kira decides to busy herself with a piece of puzzle left to her by her beloved father with because it will distract from her duties.

* GoodIsNotNice: Mr. Black is a well-intentioned leader who does everything he can to ensure that the citizens are kept safe from the fog, but he's also a stubborn and austere man who is quick to assume guilt in others and will relentlessly push his accusations on them if he has reasons to connect them to a crime. While he can be harsh in his pursuit of justice, however, he is willing to listen to his suspects' explanation for their behaviour/actions before making an arrest and let them go if they can provide enough evidence of their innocence.

* HiddenDepths: After finding a sketch book in his drawer, Mr. Black unexpectedly reveals that he used to like drawing, and had wanted to become an artist at some point in his youth--which is surprising for a man who only believes in cold, hard facts. He seems to find this old hobby embarrassing and tells the player not to blab about this fact to anyone else.

* LastNameBasis: Mr. Black's full name is Ivor Black, which he reveals while introducing himself to the False Architect in the "Answers to All Questions" case. Everyone else, even the game itself, refers to him as Black. This reinforces his characterization as a stern ConsummateProfessional with no strong personal bonds with anyone else.

* LoveIsAWeakness: Implied with Mr. Black, who was once (and probably still is) in love with Sophia and even used to court her, but he eventually decided that such feelings are "irrational and useless" and stopped.

* NonActionGuy: Rayden is a subversion. He is first introduced as a pilot with Kira serving as a body guard. The next time they work together in "Guests from the Past", she once again volunteers to accompany him for protection when he goes to investigate an attempted robbery on his grandmother's house. However, "Playing to Live" shows that he's not completely without self-defense abilities, as he is the one to defeat the Dark Hunter (using the tools sent by the player and their other friends) that had been pursuing him and Mr. Black.

* SkunkStripe: Kira Woodville has dark brown hair and two prominent white streaks on each side of her head. She is also a secret agent who is playing a double game -- serving as a prominent member of a Security Services, while helping out the Resistance that works against it.

* TomboyWithAGirlyStreak: Kira may be a trained fighter who will not hesitate to use her combat skills against threats. This doesn't stop her from being interested in beauty and fashion: she conceals many of her {{hidden weapon}}s in various feminine trinkets such as earrings and necklace, carries around make-up with her, and her clothes look more fashionably girly than the outfit worn by other {{action girl}}s such as the Huntress and Violet.

* ADogNamedCat: Violet's dog is named Alligator. This actually reflects ''Violet's'' own aggressive and manipulative personality better than her pet's.

* HeelRealization: [[TheGhost Douglass Dunn]], the bride's father in "Crime at the Wedding" is described as a greedy and callous man who practically [[spoiler:sells his own daughter to marry the rich Abner Old, so that he can inherit the latter's wealth through her.]] After [[spoiler:almost dying by his wife's hands]], he realizes that money means nothing compared to a happy family, and promises to do better.