History VideoGame / RyseSonOfRome

* TheQueensLatin: Every Roman character has a very British accent. The Britons, for their part, tend to sound slightly more Scottish or Irish.

* IAmSpartacus: [[spoiler: In the second phase of the Commodus boss battle, he has five other pretenders dressed up in identical armor to throw at you.]]

** Commodus' golden armor bears a [[SnakesAreSinister viper]] encircling his neck with bared fangs on the chest and is, unlike that of the two professional soldiers' (who both wear the famed ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorica_segmentata Lorica segmentata]]'', embodiment of [[UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome the Roman Empire]]), a set of ''scale'' armor.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: Crytek themselves admitted they weren't aiming for historical accuracy. Hence why Nero is an old man with two grown sons[[note]]he historically died childless at the age of 31[[/note]], why Commodus (best known as the bad guy from ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'') is Nero's son[[note]]he was emperor one century after Nero, and doesn't even hail from the same dynasty[[/note]], why the Colosseum already exists[[note]]it was not built for over a decade after Nero's reign and its original name was the Flavian Amphitheatre, named for the Flavian Dynasty that followed Nero's reign[[/note]], and why UsefulNotes/{{Boudica}} sacks Rome with WarElephants[[note]]among other inaccuracies regarding her, Boudica never left England and never had access to elephants of any variety[[/note]].

* AncientGrome: While the game has a Roman setting, there are a few distinctly Greek elements and references.
* AncientRome: The setting.

** Marius's is a stylised ''Aquila'' (Roman eagle) that is emblazoned high on the front and back of his chest armour, arm and shin guards, and the individual bands are bordered golden to remind of the feathers of a golden eagle.
** Vitallion's beast of choice is a ''lion'', found relief-hammered in the same places as on Marius with the exception of his back, as well as on the attachment points for his ''sagum'' (cloak).

** AncientGrome: Not to mention using Greek mythological figures instead of Roman ones. Damocles was a hypothetical character from a Greek moral tale, and Nemesis is a Greek goddess (although she ''does'' appear on Imperial coinage, such as her variant "Pax-Nemesis" [placated vengeance] shortly after Claudius become emperor.) And when observing the wickerman in Scotland, Vitallion makes reference to a "gateway to Hades" when he should really be saying Pluto.
*** Vitallion using a Greek term is not unlikely: most private teachers for the noble families were Greek AND Romans worshipped her as Nemesis themselves. Also, while Pluto is the Roman god of the underworld, "Hades" specifically is the name of the underworld itself (it was originally also the Greek deity, with the alternate name Pluto''n'').

* BarbarianTribe: The Britannians fit this to a tee, complete with their WeaponOfChoice being [[AnAxeToGrind axes]] and being covered in copious amounts of tattoos and piercings.

* DamnYouMuscleMemory: On the PC version, the "counter" and "bash" buttons are reversed from what they are in the ''Batman: Arkam'' and ''Assassin's Creed'' series (not to mention pretty much every game based on that combat system, including ''Shadow of Mordor''), leading you to frequently attempt to bash (and get smashed in the face with a barbarian axe) when you meant to counter if you're used to those games. To make it worse, the game doesn't allow for rebinding keys (you're limited to choosing from between either 2 default WASD or 1 default arrow keys configuration).

** Not to mention the use of Hwachas in Coliseum mode – a '''Korean''' artillery weapon developed in the ''[[AnachronismStew 16th century]]'' that launches [[ArrowsOnFire ''Rocket'' Arrows]].

%%* TheCaligula:
%%** The ruler of Rome in game Nero, and his two sons.
%%** Special mention should go to his son Commodus, who's based off the same historical emperor as he was in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' and ''Fall Of The Roman Empire.'' He even fights the main hero in a rigged gladiatorial match as in both films.

* [[spoiler: CosmicChessGame: What Marius' quest for vengeance (along with the various deaths along the way) was part of - Summer vs. the North Wind regarding the fate of Rome]].

* DeusExMachina: [[spoiler:subverted. After Marius takes mortal wounds killing Nero, Summer, the goddess who has been shepherding him the entire game, shows up to do... nothing, except let him expire on the spot.]]

* '''{{Gorn}}''': Fountains of blood and lopped off limbs are everywhere. The sheer amount of gorn was actually [[RatedMForMoney the major draw of]] [[RatedMForManly the advertising.]]

* [[spoiler:TheHeroDies]]: The Oracle predicted that [[spoiler:Damocles and Marius would slay each other]]. Her prediction comes to pass when [[spoiler:Marius sustains mortals wounds while pursuing Nero before flinging himself and Nero over a railing. Nero is impaled on the sword of his own statue while Marius crashes on the ground far below. The goddess appears one last time and stays by Marius' side as he breathes his last.]]

* ShieldBearingMook: The portly men with the BraidsOfBarbarism and [[{{Squick}} nipple piercings.]] The Praetorians and some of the beastmen also use shields.
* ShownTheirWork: some players have wondered why Marius can't retrieve his thrown spears from enemy corpses. The answer is that, originally, the barbarians had the exact same question, and figured out quickly that the answer was, "[[HoistByHisOwnPetard no reason at all]]," much to [[RealityEnsues Roman dismay]]. Thus the development of the ''pilum'', a spear made deliberately to bend and deform on impact, so that it can only be thrown once. AndNowYouKnow.

* {{Demythtification}}: While the supernatural is definitely present, the "minotaurs" in northern Britannia are actually merely wild men who wear bull skulls as helmets.

** Commodus is easily one of the most despicable characters in the game. He is an EvilRuler and a DirtyCoward whose corrupt and tyrannical leadership in Britannia leads to Oswald revolting against the Romans. After finding him when Glott has been killed and Vitallion has been saved, Commodus spews insults at the soldiers, angrily demands his release and doesn't even tell them thanks. This happens again when he [[spoiler: murders Oswald right after he pledges fealty to Rome, even though Oswald was ready to accept peace.]] This leads to York being attacked by the Britons and the fall of the city while Commodus runs for his life and leaves everyone behind to save himself. In the Colosseum, Commodus claims the deeds of the XIV Legion as his own, glorifying himself as the greatest general in Roman history. While Marius ,[[spoiler: disguised as Damocles]], fights in the arena, Commodus talks down to the other gladiators and insults them for trying to emulate him for deeds he did not accomplish. During his duel with [[spoiler: Damocles]], Commodus constantly boasts about his superiority, yet resorts to dirty and underhanded tricks to gain the upper hand. [[spoiler: His death at Marius's hands was definitely satisfying to say the least.]]

-->'''Marius''': [[spoiler: "You had my family murdered. You have left Rome in ruins. Everything that has happened - all this needless death - your jealousy, your vanity and your arrogance has caused it all."

** Commodus is easily one of the most despicable characters in the game. He is an evil ruler, whose corrupt leadership in Britannia leads to Oswald revolting against the Romans. After finding him when Glott has been killed and Vitallion has been saved, Commodus spews insults at the soldiers, angrily demands his release and doesn't even tell them thanks. This happens again when he [[spoiler: murders Oswald right after he pledges fealty to Rome simply for wounding his pride.]] This leads to York being attacked by the Britons and the fall of the city while Commodus runs for his life and leaves everyone behind to save himself. In the Colosseum, Commodus claims the deeds of the XIV Legion as his own, glorifying himself as the greatest general in Roman history. [[spoiler: His death at Marius's hands was definitely satisfying to say the least.]]
** Nero falls on this list too. His negligent rule of Rome has led to it falling into ruin and weakening the Empire while he enjoys a life of luxury and allowed his sons responsibilities that led to Rome falling apart. When Leontius insisted on returning the power of Rome to the people, Nero had him murdered so he could hold onto his power. When Rome is attacked by the Barbarian army, he doesn't care about them nor the fact that they're destroying his city; all he cares about is that Damocles is out to kill him. In the words of Marius Titus, his jealousy, vanity and arrogance caused so much needless death.

[[quoteright:180:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/256px-ryse_box_art_2802.jpg]]
[-[[caption-width-right:180:[[TitleDrop Rise up, son of Rome.]]]]-]

* BadassGrandpa: Leontius may not be a grandfather (Marius did not seem to have a wife or children, and we know nothing about Marius' sister), but he's in his early-to-mid-sixties, and can still kick all kinds of ass with his trusty gladius.

* TheCaligula:
** The ruler of Rome in game Nero, and his two sons.
** Special mention should go to his son Commodus, who's based off the same historical emperor as he was in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' and ''Fall Of The Roman Empire.'' He even fights the main hero in a rigged gladiatorial match as in both films.

* HookersAndBlow: After the war in Britannia, Basilius spends most of his time partying it up at a nightclub with copious amounts of wine and plenty of strippers.

* GrimUpNorth: Britannia is at the very northern reaches of the Roman empire, and it is definitely grim up there. Taken UpToEleven with the northern lands that are beyond Hadrian's Wall, which is a DeathWorld where savage beastmen abduct travelers in order to sacrifice them by [[KillItWithFire burning them alive.]]
** [[spoiler: Plus the BiggerBad of the game turns out to be the god of the '''north''' wind.]]

** Commodus' golden armor bears a viper encircling his neck with bared fangs on the chest and is, unlike that of the two professional soldiers' (who both wear the famed ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorica_segmentata Lorica segmentata]]'', embodiment of [[UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome the Roman Empire]]), a set of ''scale'' armor.

* AloneWithThePsycho: While [[spoiler:Marius himself isn't a psycho,]] it becomes increasingly clear to Nero as the game reaches its climax that [[spoiler:he's trapped himself in the room with the very man that has sworn to kill him.]]
* ArrowsOnFire: Every arrow fired at you in the game during testudo formation movement is on fire.
** Likely done for gameplay, as it allows seeing them when moving in a testudo. When Marius is moving alone, there's a 50/50 chance they're not on fire; instead, an "incoming" warning is displayed to either deflect or evade them.

* AnimalMotif: Marius, Vitallion and Commodus wear customised suits of armor which are decorated in with a certain animal.

* AnimalMotif: Marius, Vitallion and Commodus wear customised suits of armor which are decorated in with a certain animal. Marius's is a stylised ''Aquila'' (Roman eagle) that is emblazoned high on the front and back of his chest armor, arm and shin guards, and the individual bands are bordered golden to remind of the feathers of a golden eagle; Vitallion's beast of choice is a ''lion'', found relief-hammered in the same places as on Marius with the exception of his back, as well as on the attachment points for his ''sagum'' (cloak); Commodus' golden armor bears a viper encircling his neck with bared fangs on the chest and is, unlike that of the two professional soldiers' (who both wear the famed ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorica_segmentata Lorica segmentata]]'', embodiment of [[UsefulNotes/TheGloryThatWasRome the Roman Empire]]), a set of ''scale'' armor.

* OffWithHisHead:
** What happens to [[spoiler:Commodus]], thanks to Marius [[spoiler:disguised as the vengeful spirit of Damocles]].
** Also happens to [[spoiler:Boudica]].

* TheCaligula:
** The ruler of Rome in game Nero, and his two sons.
** Special mention should go to his son Commodus, who's based off the same historical emperor as he was in ''Film/{{Gladiator}}'' and ''Fall Of The Roman Empire.'' He even fights the main hero in a rigged gladiatorial match as in both films.
* TheGloryThatWasRome

** Oddly inverted with Boudica, who is often depicted in media as a buxom barbarian beauty. Here, she's a not-at-all buxom, gangly and somewhat homely waif-like teenager.

* MsFanservice: The goddess' dress don't cover much of her chest.
** In Chapter 7, the night house is full with half naked girls.