History VideoGame / TheForgottenCity

''The Forgotten City'' refers to both a quest mod for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim'' that was released in October 2015, and a remake of the mod as [[DivorcedInstallment standalone game]] that was released in July 2021. Both games have a similar premise; a woman asks you to investigate the ruins of an ancient city in order to find another explorer who ventured into the area but didn't return. You quickly find their remains inside, but visibly aged, and with a cryptic suicide note advising that they spent a lifetime trying to fix things, but without success.

* HonestyIsTheBestPolicy: Averted. Being completely truthful about your intentions in the city will inevitably ruin things for everyone, through either accidentally triggering the Golden Rule or pissing someone off enough for ''them'' to trigger it. That said, lying all the time will also ruin things for everyone.

* AnAesop: Fitting for a story invoking Greek, Roman, [[spoiler: Egyptian, and Sumerian]] myth, there are two big morals to the story: first, it is better to follow the spirit of the law rather than its exact wording. While order is nice and keeps things stable, it can quickly be turned into a powerful weapon against innocent people. Secondly, [[spoiler: utopia might be impossible due to human nature, but that isn't a bad thing. It's pointed out that though the God of the Underworld's city is ''technically'' a paradise thanks to the nominal existence of no crime, it's also a terrifying place to live where the innocent are abused by the powerful. People need things like violence and lying to protect themselves when things go poorly, else you end up with situations like Iulia and Ulpius's debt bondage scam, or Sentius's kidnapping of his own daughter. Thus, a true utopia scenario of pure peace is impossible, but doing so prevents people from exploiting the system.]]

* ArcWords: The Golden Rule. Other than describing how the inhabitants of the city are killed once they break it (being turned into gold statues via the already existing ones), it also describes [[spoiler:the base of how the God of the Underworld mettles out what is a sin or not; as he explains, the multiple cities that had come been here always had a saying that correlated to 'do on to others as they would do onto you', yet could never be able to follow it.]]
* ArtisticLicenseReligion: The game takes it as granted that Christians at this time[[note]][[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Fire_of_Rome The Great Fire of Rome]] is repeatedly stated to have happened the previous year, which would put the date at 65 AD[[/note]] would consider suicide to be forbidden by their faith. In reality, well, it is unknown. However, what we do know is that even centuries later there was theological debate on the topic in which it was pointed out nowhere in the Bible is it explicitly stated as forbidden, and there are several instances in the Old Testament of people committing suicide without a single word of condemnation.

* GameplayAndStoryIntegration: Characters are referred to as "Stranger" in the subtitles until you learn their names. If you get an idea of who they are without knowing their actual name, they're given a fitting epithet instead; the man you can find beneath the city is called the Hermit Philosopher.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation:
** While the game is generally very good at conserving details between time loops, Sentius, [[spoiler: who is supposedly able to remember every loop, there was a bug that meant he was still reset like everyone else and offered his normal dialogue options. Since this has been fixed, he is now the only character in the game who will outright refuse to talk to you after confronting him once.]]
** A conversation you have with Galerius at the beginning suggests that a form of TranslationConvention is involved, where you're speaking English while the characters are speaking Latin, which explains why there's a NarrativeProfanityFilter with swears untranslated. An option for your backstory, however, is to be an archeologist, which allows you to understand the Latin text written around the city, which should logically allow you to also understand the swears.

* GoldenEnding: The "Canon" ending which requires finding all four tablets and returning them to the obelisk and [[spoiler: successfully talking down the God of the Underworld to give up on the Golden Rule]]. There is an addition to this, as you can do so either with or without solving the problems in the city, though solving them makes sure the maximum people have been saved.

* HeroicSacrifice: In ending 3, [[spoiler:Ulpius and Galerius fall to the golden statues while trying to rescue Duli, leaving only Sentilla, Octavia, Horatius, and Equitia to escape]].

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: So, did you complete the complex quest chain to set poor Duli free from his wrongful imprisonment? [[spoiler:Not a minute later, he spots a shiny ornament belonging to Desius, innocently takes it and triggers the Golden Rule.]][[note]]You can avoid this by not speaking with Duli after he is freed - he is only scripted to [[spoiler:break the Golden Rule]] after finishing a conversation with you. Just be sure to [[spoiler:grab the Greek plaque in his cell as soon as the door is unlocked]] and make a run for it before he finishes speaking with Galerius.[[/note]]

** [[spoiler: Freeing Sentilla will result in everyone in the city dying after she kills Sentius in revenge. Alerting Galerius to prepare an evacuation beforehand will somewhat improve things but the vast majority will still die.]]
** [[spoiler: Getting Galerius elected magistrate. While preventing the evil Sentius and Malleous from gaining the office, his decision to release Duli will cause the rule to broken quickly afterwards when Duli innocently takes one of Decius' items.]]

* PsychoLesbian: [[spoiler: Naevia, who after falling in love with a female golden statue, decides to commit ''nightmarish'' experiments in an attempt to restore her.]]

* ResetButton: The time loop can end up acting as this. Can't afford Desius' high prices? Picking up the same coins over the course of several loops can solve this problem...or alternatively, the player can [[spoiler:just steal the desired item and restart the loop]].
* RippleEffectProofMemory: In a WhamLine, [[spoiler:Sentius reveals that he remembers everything. It's alluded that this is a form of RequiredSecondaryPowers of the ritual of Proserpina GroundhogDayLoop, who gave the instructions to Senius in the hopes he could save the city from the fate of being turned into gold.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Fabia [[spoiler:and the Assassin]] entering a clearly unstable ruin [[CantYouReadTheSign with a sign outside warning it could collapse at any moment]].

** A conversation you have with Galerius at the beginning suggests that a form of TranslationConvention is involved, where you're speaking English while the characters are speaking Latin, which explains why there's a NarrativeProfanityFilter with swears untranslated. An option for your backstory, however, is to be an archeologist, which allows you to understand the Latin text written around the city, which should logically allow you to also understand the swears.\\
This turns up again in the GoldenEnding: you chat with one of the characters who mentions they're learning English, while having a flawless conversation in English.

* HaveWeMetYet: "Uh...salve, friend. I'm Galerius."

* InsaneTrollLogic: [[spoiler:The Assassin]] is full of this. No matter what you say to him, he's convinced that [[spoiler:he's uncovered a group of cultists and that you're indoctrinated beyond reasoning]].
* InSpiteOfANail: [[spoiler:Even if you don't break the Golden Rule yourself and try to change the course of the day for the better, it will still be broken by at least one of the city's inhabitants shortly after the election is called.]]

* KilledOffscreen: [[spoiler:Domitius, in the canon ending.]]
* KillItWithFire: [[spoiler:This is what happens to Sentius in Endings 2 and 3, courtesy of Sentilla.]]

* AnAesop: Fitting for a story invoking Greek, Roman, [[spoiler: Egyptian, and Sumerian]] myth, there are two big morals to the story: first, it is better to follow the spirit of the law rather than it's exact wording. While order is nice and keeps things stable, it can quickly be turned into a powerful weapon against innocent people. Secondly, [[spoiler: utopia might be impossible due to human nature, but that isn't a bad thing. It's pointed out that though the God of the Underworld's city is ''technically'' a paradise thanks to the nominal existence of no crime, it's also a terrifying place to live where the innocent are abused by the powerful. People need things like violence and lying to protect themselves when things go poorly, else you end up with situations like Iluia and Ulpius's debt bondage scam, or Sentius's kidnapping of his own daughter. Thus, a true utopia scenario of pure peace is impossible, but doing so prevents people from exploiting the system.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: While violence and theft are outlawed under the Dwarves' Law, other negative behaviours such as gossip, intimidation, taking drugs, swindling, and [[spoiler:necromancy]] are fair game. Fortunately in the latter case, [[spoiler:defending yourself against the undead]] doesn't count as breaking the law. In addition, [[spoiler:if the dwarves' heads don't spot you, you can break all the laws you want.]]

* AmbiguousGender: [[spoiler:Karen/Charon/Kharon/Kherty thanks to having been different genders to different people and cultures unlike the other SufficientlyAdvancedAliens. Even at the end they only appears as an ambiguous floating robe figure. For what it's worth, Pluto and Proserpina refer to Kharon as "she" but it might only be for the convenience of the player character having appeared as "Karen" first. See:PronounTrouble]]

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: While the game is generally very good at conserving details between time loops, Sentius, [[spoiler: who is supposedly able to remember every loop, there was a bug that meant he was still reset like everyone else and offered his normal dialogue options. Since this has been fixed, he is now the only character in the game who will outright refuse to talk to you after confronting him once.]]

* PronounTrouble: Equitia has trouble sticking to a single pronoun for [[spoiler:Charon/Kharon]] as they have [[spoiler:appeared to different individuals and cultures as different genders.]]

* RippleEffectProofMemory: In a WhamLine, [[spoiler:Sentius reveals that he remembers everything. He chalks it up to something to do with his casting of the ritual of Proserpina.]]

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: While you can certainly [[spoiler:kill Sentius at the first opportunity and trigger the paradox that sends you back]], the game will ''immediately'' call you out on it. Even the tip scripts get in on the ass-chewing.

* CharacterClassSystem: The first dialogue the player character engages in allows them four choices to define their past, and in turn any useful skills they have. The options are Archaeologist (allows for translation of all ancient languages seen throughout the city, as well as some unique dialogue options), Soldier (gives you a gun and 10 bullets), Fugitive (25% faster when sprinting) or Amnesiac (50% damage resistance).

* LaserGuidedKarma: All of the more unpleasant citizens will experience this in the canon ending. [[spoiler:Malleolus ends up in a psych ward, Claudia is a broken alcoholic, Aurelia falls for a FourOneNineScam, Domitius is killed offscreen, Sentius ends up as the last golden statue in the Underworld and you get the option to suggest some terrible investment choices to Desius that are guaranteed to ruin him.]] [[spoiler:Pluto]] also shares this fate; [[spoiler:after being responsible for numerous genocides and imprisoning the woman he loves against her will, he is forced to return to Elysium in disgrace and without her.]]

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: While the game is generally very good at conserving details between time loops, Sentius, [[spoiler: who is supposedly able to remember every loop, can still be reset like everyone else so players can’t be locked out of dialogue options. It's possible he's simply playing along to keep you searching.]]

* ShoutOut: May or may not be intentional on the part of the devs, but consider: the hero of the story is a time traveler who doesn't belong in the city from antiquity they land in; there's a localized crisis they're there to solve; violence won't solve the problem, and so it requires clever thinking (and occasionally running); the narrative poses questions about morality and the inherent goodness or evil of humanity; [[Characters/DoctorWhoWeepingAngels there are deadly, indestructible statues that move, but only when you're not looking at them]]; the people in the city speak Latin and your character speaks English, but [[TranslationConvention they can understand each other]]; there is a character who [[spoiler: wants to live forever, and may end up [[Recap/DoctorWhoS29E9TheFamilyOfBlood getting exactly what he wanted in the worst way possible]] ]]; and last but not least, [[spoiler: what appears to be magic or divine powers turns out to be SufficientlyAdvancedAliens meddling with humanity for their own gain.]] [[Series/DoctorWho So yeah.]]

* AndIMustScream: [[spoiler:All those people who were turned to gold statues are still alive in there and have been for hundreds, even thousands of years. Depending on your choices, Sentius can meet the same fate.]]
** To make it worse, [[spoiler:they still feel pain if their bodies are damaged, as Naevia unknowingly discovered.]]

* TakeYourTime: Zigzagged. Characters like Iulia and Ulpius can only be saved in your first interaction with them, but can be left hanging until then. Likewise, Fabia will crouch on the stairs indefinitely and the assassin will not come through the bathhouse until you [[spoiler:or Galerius]] walk in to meet him. There is still an in-game clock, however, as the sun slowly passes over the hole above the city and eventually moves behind the stone ceiling of the cavern, with the election being called toward the end of the day, with [[spoiler:Malleolus ordering Domitius to execute Sentius, win or lose[[/spoiler]], breaking the Golden Rule if it hasn't happened already and forcing you to start the loop over.

** Tip: [[spoiler:How many might have survived if you hadn't killed Sentius in cold blood?]]

* WarmupBoss: [[PlayedWithTrope Of a different sort,]] since the game is light on combat and has no real boss battles. You engage the the friendly Hermit Philosopher in a classic discussion of morals and existentialism, simply for his entertainment. Later on, the player will have to use philosophical arguments to resolve life-or-death encounters.

* YouCantFightFate: The crux of the time loop: no matter what happens, the Golden Rule is broken and the entire city is condemned to death, with Magistrate Sentius rushing to the Shrine of Proserpina in the hopes of buying the city another chance. The inevitability of it drove Al Worth to suicide after several years trying to break the cycle. [[spoiler:Barring any changes the player makes themselves, the event which breaks the Rule is Malleolus, upon winning the election and becoming new magistrate, immediately abusing his power to have Sentius executed. He does the same if you change the outcome such that Sentius wins. If you manage to get Galerius elected magistrate, Malleolus stays his hand -- but Duli steals an item from the market within moments of his release, [[JerkassHasAPoint just as Sentius feared he would]].]]

* TakeYourTime: Zigzagged. Characters like Iulia and Ulpius can only be saved in your first interaction with them, but can be left hanging until then. Likewise, Fabia will crouch on the stairs indefinitely and the assassin will not come through the bathhouse until you [[spoiler:or Galerius]] walk in to meet him. There is still an in-game clock, however, as the sun slowly passes over the hole above the city and eventually moves behind the stone ceiling of the cavern, with the election being called toward the end of the day, breaking the Golden Rule if it hasn't happened already and forcing you to start the loop over.

* TooDumbToLive: Fabia [[spoiler:and the Assassin]] entering a clearly unstable ruin with a sign outside warning it might collapse.

* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: While you can certainly [[spoiler: kill Sentius at the first opportunity and trigger the paradox that sends you back]], the game will ''immediately'' call you out on it. Even the tip scripts get in on the ass-chewing.

* TakeYourTime: Zigzagged. Characters like Iulia and Ulpius can only be saved in your first interaction with them, but can be left hanging until then. Fabia can be left waiting indefinitely and the assassin will not come through the bathhouse until you [[spoiler:or Galerius]] walk in to meet him. There is still an in-game clock, however, as the sun slowly passes over hole above the city and eventually moves behind the stone ceiling of the cavern, with the election being called toward the end of the day, breaking the Golden Rule if it hasn't happened already and forcing you to start the loop over.
* TimeLoopFatigue: Al Worth committed suicide as a result of this. He gets better in the endings, though.

* RippleEffectProofMemory: [[spoiler:Sentius.]]

* TakeYourTime: Notable for a time-loop game is that there is no timer nor in-game clock. The loop only ends when you break the Golden Rule directly, or you indirectly cause another character to break it. The election only happens when you ask Equitia to call it early, which always ends with rule being broken regardless of the outcome. Iulia and Ulpius can only be saved in your first interaction with them, but can be left hanging until then.