History VideoGame / Penumbra

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler:Said word-for-word in the last lines of Philip's email, including coordinates to the mine.]]

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}}: Tom Redwood, a.k.a. [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "Red"]]. He constantly insults, amuses and helps you in ''Overture''. All ''[[MissionControlISOffItsMeds at the same time]]''. He's both an unusual guide and a very memorable character, to say the least. When you finally manage to reach him, you have to [[spoiler:unwillingly partake in [[DrivenToSuicide a rather gruesome]] TwistEnding]]. After that you finally discover the secrets of Red's past and explore the isolated and squalid living spaces he had to occupy ''[[spoiler:[[TheAloner for thirty extremely lonely years]] ]]''. Cue TearJerker. No wonder the poor sap [[SanitySlippage went gradually insane.]]

* FetchQuest: Done throughout (they ''are'' Adventure games, after all), and lampshaded in Black Plague.
-->'''Clarence:''' "Christ! Go here, go there, fetch this, run me a bath... typical broad, atypical circumstances."
-->'''Red:''' "Really, the hunger is becoming... rather uncomfortable here... How far away are you? You cannot be far. I am held captive by a wall of stone in the northeast of the mine. As in any drama, there are many roles to be played. You must act the scientist in mixing potions, act the renegade in plots of destruction..."

* FightingFromTheInside: [[spoiler:Each person who contracts TheVirus goes through a BattleInTheCenterOfTheMind, and almost everyone loses and becomes one of the Infected. Red, a CloudCuckooLander miner in ''Overture'', managed to win and retain partial self-control. In the second game, you go through such a fight yourself, with a win meaning you just have to put up with Clarence. Howard apparently managed it as well, but he was DrivenToSuicide.]] Dr. Eminess seemed to have won, but once you give him a saw, that's clearly not true.

* HiveMind: [[spoiler:The Tuurngait.]]

* HopeSpot: on the ''Surface Station'' level of ''Requiem'', there's a helipad that Philip thinks is his ticket to escape. But when he gets the satellite dish running, the transmission he can send only calls in an air supply drop of items that can get him to the next level.

* MalevolentArchitecture: Why did that electrified cord have to land in that puddle of water? That's just one of the many questions you'll be asking.

* MindScrew: ''Requiem'' in particular.
** Not to mention [[spoiler:Clarence from ''Black Plague'' -- he ''can'' make you hallucinate, after all -- not to mention his attempts to "make more space" in his new home]].

* NeverTrustATrailer: Both the Steam promotion for Penumbra: Overture and on the official website there's a screenshot where the player is attacked by one of the spider enemies (with more coming out of a hole in the roof). Spiders [[spoiler:are enemies in the hole from the screenshot]], but there aren't any spiders in the room shown. There's also a screenshot from one of the Rockworm chases, but the button is in the wrong place.

** The ''VideoGame/DonkeyKong'' like area in Requiem, where flaming barrels roll down several vertically adjacent slopes while music that sounds suspiciously familiar.

* StealthBasedGame: You ''can'' try to fight anything you come across, but considering that you only have a pickaxe, do you ''want'' to? Not to mention that you're utterly weaponless in the two sequels (if you don't count object-throwing).
** Philip even lampshades the need for stealth in one of the earliest levels of ''Overture'' (where things start looking really serious).

-> "By popular demand, the server no longer requires the latest version of [[UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows Windows]] to function correctly."

--> '''Red:''' Thank you, my friend. This...is going to hurt. (Incinerator starts)

* WhereItAllBegan:
** Philip returns to the fishing boat from ''Overture'' in his out-of-body-experience, and again in one ending of ''Requiem''.

* ViolationOfCommonSense: Well, it fits the theme, but one puzzle requires you to [[spoiler:set yourself on fire so a trap will malfunction and someone else can get through it safely]]. Incidentally, [[StupidityIsTheOnlyOption stupidity is not the only option]]--it's just the only moral one (as well as the only one that allows you to go on with the game).

* WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer

* HeKnowsAboutTimedHits: Philip uses InnerMonologue at some points to explain game mechanics like grabbing objects and stealth.

Spanning two games and an expansion pack,[[note]]''Overture'', ''Black Plague'' and ''Requiem'' respectively[[/note]] ''Penumbra'' is a SurvivalHorror series that follows [[NonActionGuy physics professor]] Philip [=Buchanon=], who, after attending to his mother's funeral, receives a letter from his long dead father Howard instructing him to [[SchmuckBait destroy a breadcrumb trail of mysterious documents without reading them]]. Phillip, suffering from severe GenreBlindness, instead follows the trail to a forgotten old mine somewhere in [[MysteriousAntarctica northern Greenland]], where he promptly finds himself trapped and [[ParanoiaFuel (seemingly)]] alone during a blizzard.

Spanning two games and an expansion pack,[[note]]''Overture'', ''Black Plague'' and ''Requiem'' respectively[[/note]] ''Penumbra'' is a SurvivalHorror series that follows [[NonActionGuy physics professor]] Philip [=LaFresque=], who, after attending to his mother's funeral, receives a letter from his long dead father Howard instructing him to [[SchmuckBait destroy a breadcrumb trail of mysterious documents without reading them]]. Phillip, suffering from severe GenreBlindness, instead follows the trail to a forgotten old mine somewhere in [[MysteriousAntarctica northern Greenland]], where he promptly finds himself trapped and [[ParanoiaFuel (seemingly)]] alone during a blizzard.

* AncientTradition / AncientConspiracy: [[spoiler:The Archaic, a secret society attempting to research the Tuurngait and mainly getting itself slaughtered. They're extremely corrupt, and willing to sacrifice the lives of lower-ranking members to protect the upper echelons.]]

* BizarreAlienBiology / StarfishAliens: [[spoiler:The Tuurngait are apparently some sort of sentient semi-parasitic virus from an unknown world. They also have the traditional HiveMind element to them and are capable of altering the genetic structure and nervous system of other living beings.]]

** Individuality vs. Community. Is one more moral than the other? Furthermore, is one significantly more selfish and thus, less deserving of life than the other? Philip and especially Clarence both show signs of being {{Jerkass}} characters, the former with his lying to the Tuurngait about being willing to protect them and sending the message to [[KillThemAll destroy them entirely]], but the Tuurngait don't seem like saints themselves given they slaughtered all of Archaic, claiming "self-defense" and almost praising their [[HiveMind community]] over individuals, believing them insignificant compared to the whole.

* {{Cloudcuckoolander}} / TalkativeLoon: Tom Redwood, a.k.a. [[EveryoneCallsHimBarkeep "Red"]]. He constantly insults, amuses and helps you in ''Overture''. All ''[[MissionControlISOffItsMeds at the same time]]''. He's both an unusual guide and a very memorable character, to say the least. When you finally manage to reach him, you have to [[spoiler:unwillingly partake in [[DrivenToSuicide a rather gruesome]] TwistEnding]]. After that you finally discover the secrets of Red's past and explore the isolated and squalid living spaces he had to occupy ''[[spoiler:[[TheAloner for thirty extremely lonely years]] ]]''. Cue TearJerker. No wonder the poor sap [[SanitySlippage went gradually insane.]]

* FauxDeath / FakingTheDead: Gets you into the Archaic's [[HumanPopsicle cryogenics facility]] so you can steal one of the heads and [[BorrowedBiometricBypass use it to pass a retinal scanner]].

* MacGyvering / MrFixit: A lot of the puzzles and threat-elimination are based on this. Some are a little more complicated, but it's [[JustifiedTrope pretty much justified]], since Philip is a professional physicist.

* ShoutOut / {{Homage}}: Lots. For instance, Howard's and Philip's names hint at Creator/HPLovecraft himself, and the Archaic's library contains copies of ''The Necronomicon'' and ''De Vermiis Mysteries''.

* OpenSaysMe: Most doors need a key, but there are some that opens by force. For example, ''Requiem''[='=]s ''Residential'' stage has a fuse box that can be bashed open by throwing a rock (or a book) at it.

* OpenSaysMe: Most doors need a key, but there are some that opens by force. For example, ''Requiem'''s ''Residential'' stage has a fuse box that can be bashed open by throwing a rock (or a book) at it.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: See PlayerPunch.

* NothingIsScarier / ParanoiaFuel: The Kennels in'' Black Plague''. You ''never'' see the monster, presumably [[spoiler:an insane, mutated version of Overseer Frisk, who has an aversion to light]].

* AfterlifeAntechamber: [[spoiler: ''Requiem'' seems to be this. Logs from Eloff Carpenter and Dr. Eminess indicate they both showed up in the labyrinth right after ''you know'' they died and they have no idea how they got there.]]

** Either that, or it's the bad ending, as [[spoiler: the Tuurngait trap Philip's mind in an eternal loop of his adventure, [[AndIMustScream which he must suffer through forever, unable to die.]]]]

* AnArmAndALeg: When you meet him, Dr. Eminess willingly offers to sever one of his hands and give it to you for the library scanner, but once you bring him a saw, [[spoiler: his infection kicks in before he can do so, forcing you to instead lock Eminess in a server room, and search elsewhere for the hand.]]
* AncientAstronauts: [[spoiler:One possible explanation on how the Tuurngait came to Earth millions of years ago - ''"before man was even upright"''.]]

* ApocalypticLog: Over and over - this is a horror game, after all. First with Dr. Roberts' (the spider hater) insane diary, then with Eloff Carpenter (who recorded on cassette his horrifying final moments) and at last, [[spoiler: with Philip himself]].

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: A rather hard to find (and [[DoorStopper Door Stopping]]) note in the UV light room talks of a scientist from the Shelter who read research papers on the Rock Worms.
** [[spoiler: At the end, it says that he tied a noose. "Those monsters may feed on my corpse, but they won't take my life."]]

* BodyHorror: There's a reason why everyone in the [[spoiler:Archaic]] has a CyanidePill - in case it would come in handy... [[spoiler:The infected has their skin take on a nasty color, it looks like part of their intestines were ripped out and attached to their genitalia, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking they go bald among other things.]]]]

* ChekhovsSkill: Clarence's ability to [[spoiler: make the player hallucinate]] comes back in a ''big'' way during one extended sequence near the end of the game.

* CoolGate: Portals serve as gateways between levels in ''Requiem'', and another at the end of ''Necrologue'' [[spoiler: leads to the Tuurngait world from ''Black Plague''.]]

* DissonantSerenity: Early on in ''Overture,'' you'll find the logs of a man who made a habit of studying and devouring the local spiders. You'll find an equally cheerful log not much later about how he had [[spoiler: [[BodyHorror to remove his own tongue after he realized it absorbed too many spider toxins]].]]

* FindTheCure: Justified for once - [[spoiler:The Tuurngait [[YouWillBeAssimilated doesn't just want you dead]].]]

* GameWithinAGame: A program on Amabel's computer labeled "schmup.exe" [[spoiler: happens to be a fully operational space shooter minigame]]. But to open it, you have to have ''[[GuideDangIt collected every document and artifact]]'' in ''Black Plague'' to see the password.

* GiantSpider: In any other game, they'd be GoddamnBats. In ''Overture'', they're still weaker than everything else you encounter. Thankfully, they're not actually gigantic - just a bit overgrown.

* GreyAndGrayMorality: The final choice Philip is presented with in ''Black Plague''. If he had [[spoiler:done as the Tuurngait wanted and asked the reader to remove all evidence of the Shelter, the Tuurngait, who seem a little too eager to assimilate the "invaders", would stay alive, likely indefinitely, and the Shelter would become a second tomb for the Tuurngait]]. When he [[spoiler: asks the reader to have the Tuurngait destroyed, he is killing off an ancient and wise being older than man that sowed pieces of its knowledge into our species]].
* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: An Infected isolated [[spoiler: from the rest of the Tuurngait]] is generally not very bright.

* HearingVoices: Philip hears voices whispering unintelligible words at various points in ''Overture'' and ''Black Plague''. [[spoiler: It's implied that these are the early stages of the Tuurngait virus.]]

* HumansAreBastards: [[spoiler:That's what the Tuurngait thinks, anyways. If you [[OnlyTheWorthyMayPass pass its moral tests]], it declares you an example of MySpeciesDothProtestTooMuch - then you write in the email that it was wrong and give the coordinates to the mine, with the instructions "kill them all."]]

** In ''Black Plague'', statistics at the end tell you how many artifacts and documents you collected, and collecting them all rewards you with [[spoiler: a code both to an encrypted development folder in the game files, and a hidden minigame on Amabel's computer]].
** ''Requiem'' just has artifacts, but they actually serve a purpose - collect them all, and you unlock the GoldenEnding.

* InterfaceScrew: The mere ''existence'' of [[spoiler: Clarence]] ''is this trope''.

* KillEmAll: [[spoiler: Said word-for-word in the last lines of Philip's email, including coordinates to the mine.]]

** ''Requiem'' is more of a hallucinatory type. Malfunctioning blue lasers in one area, while harmless to Philip, cause the ball required in a puzzle to teleport back to the start. Another level has a ring of red lasers that disintegrate anything on contact - even resistant to any object held towards it.

** Not to mention [[spoiler: Clarence from ''Black Plague'' - he ''can'' make you hallucinate, after all - not to mention his attempts to "make more space" in his new home.]]

* MysteriousAntarctica: Not set in Antarctica, but still a great VideoGame example of the "arctic wastes horror" genre. The whole series takes place in an unspecified location somewhere in the far north of Greenland. The atmosphere is captured brilliantly - from the very arrival aboard a chartered fishing boat to the discovery of [[spoiler:the secret base's well-hidden entrance.]]
* NeverTrustATrailer: Both the Steam promotion for Penumbra: Overture and on the official website there's a screenshot where the player is attacked by one of the spider enemies (with more coming out of a hole in the roof). [[spoiler: Spiders are enemies in the hole from the screenshot,]] but there aren't any spiders in the room shown. There's also a screenshot from one of the Rockworm chases, but the button is in the wrong place.

-->[[spoiler:'''Clarence:''' Oh, one thing, before you get too overwhelmed with glee - I know murder can be a lot of fun, but... didn't you quite like that broad? [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown Hey, I think that's a piece of her skull on your shoe.]] Wait, don't tell me you really thought... [[BlatantLies I thought you knew I was pulling your leg!]] Oh my, best laid plans, and all that... this, this is just ''[[SarcasmMode terrible]]''. Oh, you silly billy... Come on [[FantasticRacism monkey]]... [[EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor take a joke.]]]]

* PuzzleBoss: [[spoiler:Amabel. You need to turn a wheel to raise a crate, then drop it on her head. The real problem isn't figuring out what to do, but doing it while she keeps rushing you.]]
** The rockworms, [[spoiler: Dr. Eminiss and Clarence (in his materialised form) are other obvious examples.]]

* SavePoint: Voluntary savepoints are done in an interesting fasion: They're ancient cylindrical lantern-like artifacts [[spoiler: apparently brought to Earth by the Tuurngait and later rediscovered when the mine and underground base were built in the 20th century. Unfortunately, these strange objects help the Tuurngait see into your mind and secretly infest it.]]

* TronLines: Twice in ''Requiem'', a heavy metal ball engraved with this - complete with the signature "T" on one side - has to be rolled around and used as a power source for a couple of puzzles.

* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: [[spoiler: In ''Black Plague'' you can set a Tuurngait on fire at one point. Then it turns out there's a door right behind it that only a zombie would be strong enough to tear down.]]

* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Subverted in ''Overture'' - Red can only contact you via walkie talkie, has no idea where you are or whether you're still alive, but he's so lonely he keeps talking. Played straight with Amabel Swanson in ''Black Plague'', and sort of bent in ''Requiem'' as Red, Dr. Eminiss, and the bland voice on the intercom all counsel and taunt you.

* BackFromTheDead: The game starts by Philip finding that [[spoiler: Amabel isn't as dead as previously believed, enforced when you go back to her lab, revealing that the infected that you killed never was Amabel to begin with. Clarence also makes a return visit (not that he enjoys it), given that the events of ''Requiem'' had more than likely been Philip's re-infection.]]

* TheCameo: [[spoiler: Eloff Carpenter]] turns up in an infirmary halfway through the game, and Clarence warns Philip not to touch him, implying that he's in an out-of-body experience.

* DisappearedDad: Literal example. [[spoiler: Looking around the library again reveals Howard's corpse as missing, and the finale reveals him having teleported to the Tuurngait world.]]
* DoomMagnet: Clarence mocks Philip with this, [[spoiler: after a rock worm kills Jayla Kwon just as he gets close to her.]]
* TheGreys: [[spoiler: A statue within the innermost portions of the Tuurngait tomb implies that said creatures used to be this.]]

* MultipleEndings: [[spoiler: You can either follow Howard as he jumps off the tower and leave the Tuurngait be, or [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere run back down]] and destroy it once and for all.]]

* SendInTheSearchTeam: Jayla Kwon, in charge of a rescue team who received your email, and sent in to scrape out survivors from the Shelter. [[spoiler: Subverted if you listen to her last message, which reveals that she was actually hired by the Archaic [[TreacheryCoverUp to cover up]] the entire accident.]]

* WelcomeBackTraitor: [[spoiler: Upon your returning to the Tuurngait world, it notices your presence, and is ''not happy over your betrayal of them'' in ''Black Plague''.]]
* WhereItAllBegan: A turning point in the game weaves the whole trilogy together; starting with the Residential level of ''Requiem'', connected to a fan-made set of rooms that link the ending corridor of ''Overture'' with the beginning of ''Black Plague'', making it clear that Philip has been GoingInCircles the whole time. You can even see ''Overture's'' ending [[CallBack eerily replay itself]] if you go far enough.

* NothingIsScarier / ParanoiaFuel: The Kennels in'' Black Plague''. You ''never'' see the monster, presumably[[spoiler: an insane, mutated version of Overseer Frisk, who has an aversion to light.]]

* DownerEnding: ''Black Plague'' ends with Phillip giving into the human desire for revenge on the Tuurngait and sending a message to close friend, instructing them to come to the mine and "kill them all", ultimately perpetuating the cycle started by his father, which brought him to the mine in the first place. ''Requiem'' isn't much better. Either Philip dies in the room, or he's forced to undergo a GroundhogDayLoop, doomed to repeat the events of the series.

** The crowbar from Overture, needed for solving a puzzle, was previously owned by some long-dead arctic explorer [[VideoGame/HalfLife named Freeman]].
*** In ''Black Plague'' the Infected have a blood goatee, BlackEyesOfEvil (which resemble glasses from far away), and some wield crowbars.

** ''Overture'' ends with lights in a hallway clicking out one by one before Philip gets kidnapped. Revisiting this area ''Necrologue'' also re-enacts this.

* SpringLoadedCorpse: The second game's final enemy.

* DummiedOut: A creature from the tech demo, known as "The Hunter", didn't appear in the series. ''Necrologue'' brings it back as a functional enemy, and it is ''terrifying''.

[[quoteright:335:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Penumbra01140507.jpg]][[caption-width-right:330:[[GenreBlindness You know, he really should consider looking]] [[EnemyRisingBehind behind him]]...]]

** Several food cans are labelled Uncle Cthullhu's Squid Soup".

[[quoteright:335:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Penumbra01140507.jpg]][[caption-width-right:330:[[GenreBlindness You know, he really should consider looking]] [[EnemyRisingBehind behind his back]]...]]

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: One of the intercom announcments: "Viruses can spread quickly. Avoid any unnecessary bodily fluid exchange."

* ExplodingBarrels: ''Overture'' does a slightly more realistic take than most. When faced with a cave-in early on, Philip has to use a barrel of TNT and make a fuse to set it off. Though propane canisters in later areas play this straight when hit with weapons.

* ElectronicSpeechImpediment: The announcement voice, on the CD-ROM briefing in ''Black Plague'', and in some of the surreal parts ''Requiem''.

* DoorToBefore: The chemical labs have an emergency door, which you can open by sabotaging the flow of chemicals in the lab itself, but only after you get past cameras, enemies, and security puzzles. And then there's the matter of going through the hallway the door leads to...

* PotionBrewingMechanic: In ''Black Plague'', you have to find several chemicals in the lab which you then pour in a machine (in the correct order, of course) to produces the antidote to TheVirus.

* HearingVoices: Philip hears voices whispering unintelligible words at various points in the game. [[spoiler: It's implied that these are the early stages of the Tuurngait virus.]]