History VideoGame / Overload

''Overload'' is a 3D [[FirstPersonShooter First-Person Shooter]] (alternatively, 6DOF shooter, for "six degrees of freedom"), and a spiritual successor to the classic ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' games. In fact, the studio that developed it—Revival Productions—comprises many of the original developers of ''Descent'', including Parallax Software founders Matt Toschlog and Mike Kulas.

* BadBoss: Kantor puts his teams on very demanding projects, demanding extremely tight deadlines, demotes colleagues who disagree with him or slight him in the least, and threatens them with ''death'' if he gets a hint that they are leaking any classified information. [[spoiler:He ultimately admits planning to kill them all after their work was finished.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Alex Warden]] admired Kantor very much for his scientific brilliance and visionary ideas. After TheReveal, not so much.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Kantor is the CEO of Juno Offworld Automation, but while he is an ambitious and brilliant scientist, he is also a BadBoss towards the workers of the Cronus Frontier project.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Kantor]] planned to kill most of the people who contributed to the Cronus Frontier project to keep all of his research and findings a secret. The auto-ops do much of the job for him and without his expressed orders, however; [[spoiler:this leads to a subversion as Kantor would later reveal that, even though he had indeed silently programmed the auto-ops to turn into human killing machines at his command, the execution protocol triggered ''without'' his input.]]
* HumanPopsicle: The survivors of the facilities are stored in cryotubes.

It is 2118. Various outposts deep within UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfSaturn, built as part of [[MegaCorp Juno Offworld Automation's]] "Cronus Frontier" project, have sent out distress calls regarding worker robots, known as "autnomous operators" or "auto-ops", that have suddenly and mysteriously gone rogue, attacking and killing most personnel present. Juno Offworld [[SendInTheSearchTeam dispatches]] the MPSV ''[[CoolStarship Iberia]]'', containing a ''[[MiniMecha Kodachi]]'' gunship, with you as a combat-qualified ''Kodachi'' pilot, to the nearest outpost to the asteroid belt, Ymir, to eliminate all hostile operators and rescue any survivors. As the ''Iberia'' travels between the outposts and towards Titan, where the administrative center of Cronus Frontier is located, it is revealed that Gabriel Kantor, CEO of Juno Offworld and leader of the Cronus Frontier project, has [[FaceHeelTurn gone rogue]], attempting to break Cronus Frontier away from the mega-corp. In response, Juno Offworld [[KnowWhenToFoldEm cancels the Cronus Frontier project]] and orders for the remaining outposts to be cleared of hostile operators by [[ReactorBoss destroying the reactors in each one.]]

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/overload.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:Safety protocols be damned.]]

''Overload'' is a 3D [[FirstPersonShooter First-Person Shooter]] (alternatively, 6DOF shooter, for "six degrees of freedom"), and a spiritual successor to the classic ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' games. In fact, the studio that developed it—Revival Productions—comprises many of the original developers of Descent, including Parallax Software founders Matt Toschlog and Mike Kulas.

It is 2118. Various mining outposts deep within [[UsefulNotes/TheMoonsOfSaturn Saturn's moons]] have sent out distress calls regarding autonomous mining operators (''"auto-ops"'') that have suddenly and mysteriously gone rogue, attacking any personnel present. You have been tasked with clearing the outposts of hostile operators and rescuing any survivors. Your tools: your wits, and a highly versatile gunship called the ''Kodachi'', which is capable of equipping any weapons you find in the field.

* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: The Crusher is a spaceship-sized shotgun. With the right upgrades, you can reduce the reload time and increase its firing rate.

* SpiritualSuccessor: To ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}''. Many of the people behind that game also worked on ''Overload''.
* ThemeNaming: Most of the names of the autos-ops were lifted from high-fantasy universes, like goblin, ogre, harpy, goliath, and golem.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Using the smash attack to damage or destroy enemies will give you a small armor boost.

** Holding the "Fire Flare" button fires a Sticky Flare. Unlike the regular Flare, which bounces around and burns out after about a minute, the Sticky Flair sticks to any wall you fire it into and continues burning for two hours, giving you another handy way to mark a location.
** You do not need to be perfectly aligned to an auto-op to Smash Attack it. If you're facing the auto-op's general direction and the auto-op is within Smash Attack range, the ''Kodachi'' will try to auto-align to it when it executes the attack. This also works against cloaked auto-ops.

* GameBreakingBug: The first release version tended to have doors that would get stuck, especially when saving or loading or when trying to make it to the exit of the level [[spoiler:in level 11 (Tethys Lab), where the wide door in particular caused problems]].

* MoreDakka: Weapon upgrades essentially feel this role, by adding more damage or increase your firepower.

** Your ship has a ''smash attack'' that can be used to attack enemies by ramming them. It is even stronger when you are invincible.

* LoadBearingBoss: The bosses cause a countdown much like the reactor. A rare justified example, as the Goliath (first boss) is said in the data logs to require so much power they just took the base's reactor and put it inside the boss. The Taurus (second boss) is probably the same deal. [[spoiler:The only exception is the last of the three bosses.]]

->''"Autonomous operators are hostile. Repeat: Auto-ops are hostile."''

* BullfightBoss: One of the bosses is basically a giant buzzsaw with Drillers and Creeper launchers that periodically tries to charge at you.

* FlashOfPain: Auto-ops will flash red when they take damage, and their lights will blink and flicker in response. Reactors, power cores, and other destructible objects flash yellow when hit.

* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Quite a few, both inherited from ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' and new to ''Overload''.

** You do not have to be perfectly aligned with an auto-op to Smash Attack it; if the auto-op is in front of you and within range of the attack, the ''Kodachi'' will "snap" to it when it executes the attack. This also works against cloaked auto-ops.

** You do not have to be perfectly aligned with an auto-op to Smash Attack it; if the auto-op is in front of you and within range of the attack, the ''Kodachi'' will auto-align to it.

* ApocalypticLog: There are audio logs that can be found throughout the levels, acting as diaries for the human workers on the facility before the auto-ops turned hostile and attacked them. A great deal are from [[DeadManWriting personnel who you can't find in the Cyropods]].

* LoadBearingBoss: The bosses cause a countdown much like the reactor. [[spoiler:The only exception is the last of the three bosses.]]

Overload is a 3D [[FirstPersonShooter First-Person Shooter]] (alternatively, 6DOF shooter, for "six degrees of freedom"), and a spiritual successor to the classic ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'' games. In fact, the studio that developed it—''Revival Productions''—comprises many of the original developers of Descent, including Parallax Software founders Matt Toschlog and Mike Kulas.

* MacrossMissileMassacre: You Missile Pod can fire multiple small unguided missiles simultaneously. Upgrade them to give them tracking capability or fire even more missiles.

* AssimilationPlot: Towards the end, it turns out that [[spoiler:Kantor's paranoia and desire to declare an empty frontier independent of his superiors]] was influence from [[[[spoiler:a crashed alien AI.]] Once he went through [[spoiler:the teleportation gate he's constructed, Kantor]] is subsumed bit by bit, until he becomes [[spoiler:the AI itself - and the AI is part of three, who crush and absorb every race and civilization they come across; by the time they've found humanity, they claim the number is in the trillions.]] They try to drain the player's morale by [[spoiler:claiming they've already assimilated the Solar System,]] but in reality, they've only gotten to [[spoiler:Ymir, and can be stopped there.]]

** [[spoiler:The overall villains are three AI entities that have deemed the universe theirs to command, and do so by destroying and assimilating every civilization and race they come across - and humanity is next.]]

* AssimilationPlot: Towards the end, [[spoiler:it turns out Kantor's paranoia and desire to declare an empty frontier independent of his superiors was influence from a crashed alien AI.]] Once through [[spoiler:the teleportation gate he's constructed, Kantor is subsumed bit by bit, until he becomes the AI itself - and the AI is part of three, who crush and absorb every race and civilization they come across - by the time they've found humanity, they claim the number is in the trillions. They try to drain the player's morale by claiming they've already assimilated the Solar System - in reality, they've only gotten to Ymir, and can be stopped there.]]
* BadBoss: [[spoiler:Gabriel Kantor put his teams on unforgivable deadlines and threaten them with punishments if they don't comply. After his paranoia reach its peak, he plans to kill them all after their work is finished.]]
* BeamSpam: [[spoiler:The alien auto-ops will make you dance in every directions with their rapidly-fired beams.]]

* BrokenPedestal: [[spoiler:Alex Warden admired Gabriel Kantor very much for his scientific brilliance and visionary ideas. After TheReveal, not so much.]]

* BulletTime: The game has [[spoiler:the Time Bomb, a bomb that ''slows down time'' temporarily... except in multiplayer.]]

* ChargedAttack: Thunderbolt is a weapon that features charging as an essential mechanic.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: [[spoiler:Gabriel Kantor is not only the CEO of ''Juno Offworld'', he's also an ambitious and brilliant scientist who mistreat his workers.]]
* CriticalExistenceFailure: Downplayed. An additional "low armor" message will appear if the player ship's armor drops below 50, but it otherwise performs as per normal until all its armor is depleted, at which point, you explode.

* ExactlyWhatIAimedAt: The Nova missile is basically the Smart Missile from ''Descent'', releasing several homing plasma blobs when destroyed.
* {{Expy}}: Kantor is basically like Dravis from ''VideoGame/{{Descent}}'', only less motivated by greed and more like a religious zealot with [[spoiler: the Sovereigns]] as his god.

* HeKnowsTooMuch: [[spoiler:Kantor killed most of his people to keep all of his research a secret. The auto-ops do much of the job for him and without his expressed orders however.]]
* HumanPopsicle: Survivors of the facilities are stored in cryotubes.

* InvisibleMonsters: [[spoiler:Phantom, the (mostly) invisible version of the Scorpion that attacks you by clawing on your ship.]]

* MacrossMissileMassacre: You missile pod can fire multiple small unguided missiles simultaneously. Upgrade them to give them tracking capability or fire even more missiles.
* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: [[spoiler:Kantor killed the construction crew and disguise their death as a shuttle accident as an accident to keep the discovery of an alien crash site secret.]]

* MegaCorp: Juno Offworld Automation.

* MookMaker: The auto-op fabricators, which create an endless amount of additional auto-ops until destroyed... if they don't happen to be protected by a shield.

** Some of the audio logs mention PTMC, the [[MegaCorp mega corporation]] of ''Descent'', by name.

* PurpleIsPowerful: The Thunderbolt and the Lancer have purple-colored bolts and beams. They are the two most powerful weapons in your arsenal. [[spoiler:The alien auto-ops are all purple and are the most difficult opponents you'll face.]]

** Averted at one point when [[spoiler: after you go through the alien portal]] Kantor tells you you're in a DysonSphere, which he claims harnesses. the power output of a star, which he lists as "500 trillion trillion watts". Our sun has an output of about 380 trillion trillion (or septillion) watts, meaning such a figure is not at all unreasonable, as the sun is only about medium size as stars go.

* SendInTheSearchTeam: Plot begins by you entering the Ymir base to figure out the cause of the distress signal you received.
* ShotgunsAreJustBetter: The Crusher is a spaceship-sized shotgun. With the right upgrades, you can reduce the reload time and increase its firing rate shotgun.

* SniperRifle: The Driller is a weird, full-auto variant - it makes highly accurate hitscan shots. In a game that lacks zoom-in, it's the closest thing to a sniper rifle - save the Lancer.

* ThemeNaming: Most of the names of the autos-ops were lifted from High-Fantasy universes like goblin, ogre, harpy, goliath, golem, etc.
* TheReveal: [[spoiler: You, the PC, is Alex Warden as mentioned in the audio logs. You're also Gabriel Kantor right-hand man.]]

* WhereItAllBegan: [[spoiler:The first and last levels are Ymir Station, before and after an alien infestation.]]
* WakeUpCallBoss: The first boss [[spoiler:has two phases, unlike the rest of the bosses that have just one, and even has Devastator missiles for weaponry, even if they're fired only rarely.]]
* YouAreTooLate: [[spoiler:Kantor/Juno tries demoralize you by invoking this trope.]]

* ReassignedToAntarctica: When one of Kantor's men raised some concerned about safety, Kantor has him reassigned to the Outer Moons on much less prestigious job.

* AssimilationPlot: Towards the end, [[spoiler:it turns out Kantor's paranoia and desire to declare an empty frontier independent of his superiors was influence from an alien AI, which has been slowly influencing him.]] Once through [[spoiler:the teleportation gate he's constructed, Kantor is subsumed bit by bit, until he becomes the AI itself - and the AI is part of three, who crush and absorb every race and civilization they come across - by the time they've found humanity, they claim the number is in the trillions. They try to drain the player's morale by claiming they've already assimilated the Solar System - in reality, they've only gotten to Ymir.]]

* BossWarningSiren: Before every single one of the bosses, accompanied by a not-at-all encouraging ''MASSIVE INCOMING THREAT!'' message.

** Averted at one point when Kantor claims that [[spoiler: the Sovereigns]] can produce the power output of a star, which he lists as "500 trillion trillion watts". Our sun has an output of about 380 trillion trillion (or septillion) watts, meaning such a figure is not at all unreasonable, as the sun is only about medium size as stars go.

* TheReveal: [[spoiler: You, the PC, is Alex Warden as mentioned in the audio logs.]]