Line #23 VideoGame/Dark


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/dark_kalypso_2013.jpg]]
2	''Dark'' is a stealth action role-playing video game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media, released on July 9, 2013. It was officially announced on May 4, 2012. A playable version of the game was presented at the 2012 Role Play Convention in Cologne, Germany and the E3 2012.
3
4	The game follows the story of Eric Bane, a newly turned vampire suffering from amnesia. He learns that his transformation is not complete and that, if he does not drink the blood of his sire, he will mutate into a mindless ghoul. In order to avoid being such a foul creature, he receives missions to drink ancient vampires' blood. However, an angel in Eric's view appears to guide him to the righteous path, and ease intolerable pain that comes from not drinking appropriate blood as it disappears. With a question of this vision, he tries to recover his deleted memories and his true-self 'vampire.'
5
6	The gameplay of ''Dark'' is based on stealth combat. Eric has many supernatural vampiric 'skills' at his disposal; he can use Shadow Leap to quickly teleport to different areas and to perform stealth finishers, make himself temporarily invisible, see in the dark and slow down time. His abilities are linked to a certain amount of 'blood points' which are used up each time Eric uses a skill. He can drink blood from his enemies to restore his health and blood points.
7
8	Not to be confused with the Netflix original ''Series/Dark2017''.
9
10	----
11	!! Tropes present in ''Dark'':
12	* ArtificialStupidity: Enemies cannot see Eric if ''anything'' blocks their line of sight, including ''glass''.
13	* AssholeVictim: Blooming, Vlad, Steiner, and [[spoiler: M17]] are all assholes.
14	* BenevolentBoss: Rose is beloved by all of her employees despite all of them being vampires.
15	* CoolestClubEver: The Sanctuary. It is a converted Gothic church, has classical statuary, and is run by vampires. Too bad about the one song always playing.
16	* DarkActionGirl: Rose, a technophile and nightclub owner. She can still hold her own, though, because, well, vampire.
17	* DirtyCoward: Blooming runs away from you as soon as you deal with his guards despite being a much older vampire.
18	* DoesNotLikeGuns: You can't use any weapons or equipment whatsoever in this game. The closest you can get to a "gun" power is either the leap or Darth Vader choke ability that kills something distant from you.
19	* DullSurprise: The characters have no facial expressions or line deliveries other than this.
20	* ExcusePlot: You are to track down and murder other vampires in order to become a full vampire and not degenerate into a ghoul. [[spoiler: Until M17 reveals itself.]]
21	* {{Foreshadowing}}: Before going into Steiner's club, the game's dialogue emphasizes the upcoming sunrise (referencing how vampires are WeakenedByTheLight), and mentions how older vampires are particularly vulnerable to it. [[spoiler: Immediately after this line of dialogue, we see Steiner in his office, looking at the ''glass dome'' of his office. Now why would Steiner, one of the oldest vampires, who the game has just stated would be extremely affected by daylight, have something that lets his biggest weakness into his private abode? It's almost as if [[RemovedAchillesHeel he doesn't need to worry about it]]...]]
22	* FriendlyNeighborhoodVampire: The Sanctuary vampires seem to just want to make money with their club, play music, and not hurt anyone. Averted with Eric Bane himself as he has a wholly self motivation (don't become a mindless ghoul) and murders a whole army of guards to get to the vampires he intends to devour. Played straight when he shows the willingness to rescue the Sanctuary vampires from [[spoiler: M17]].
23	* GirlOnGirlIsHot: Eric Bane can get ''distracted'' by a statue of lesbians making love in a fountain (of red wine).
24	* IDrankWhat: Eric's reaction to getting a Bloody Mary... House Style.
25	* MookHorrorShow: The game is all about stealthfully murdering your way through guards until you reach your target.
26	* PerkyGoth: The vampires of the Sanctuary are all unusually friendly, cheerful, and happy with their lot.
27	* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: It doesn't matter who the guards are working for, Eric will devour them. Mind you, the guards' ambient dialogue suggests they're perfectly aware they work for vampires and turn a blind eye to them killing the innocent.
28	* ShowDontTell: Averted, sadly. The game's tutorial tips are painfully transparent substitutes for showing the player what to do.
29	* TakeThat: The game's manual includes a paragraph ripping apart vampire-focused media at the time, primarily that of ''Literature/TheTwilightSaga''.
30	* TakeThatCritics: In the basement of the Sanctuary, you can find a WantedPoster for someone wanted for "Severe case of games journalism". The bottom of the poster includes a notice stating "If you see this criminal, Lethal force is authorised. Shoot on sight." This notice is placed between two Realmforge Studios logos.
31	* ThatMakesMeFeelAngry: Eric's internal monologue tells us what he feels instead of letting the game show us.
32	* UrbanFantasy: You are a vampire living in the modern era, so it comes with the territory. There's no sign of anything non-vampire related supernatural-wise, though.
33	* VampiresAreRich: Played with. The ones at the Sanctuary are all working class stiffs except for Rose. Played straight with Blooming, Vlad, and Steiner.
34	* VampiresOwnNightClubs: The Sanctuary is owned by Rose.
35	* VanHelsingHateCrimes: [[spoiler: M17 is a massively well funded vampire hunting organization that creates Eric Bane as a weapon against Steiner, a vampire who is too powerful for them to defeat alone. They immediately go after the Sanctuary vampires afterward, despite the fact they're completely harmless.]]
36	* VoiceWithAnInternetConnection: Rose is a computer genius with powers related to hacking. She coaches Bane through his various missions.
37	* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The game explains that since Eric's blood was drained by a vampire and he then died, he's a half-vampire and needs to drink the blood of the vampire that killed him. [[spoiler: While the game later explains that Eric was specially created by M-17 and no longer needs to try to find the vampire that bit him]], Eric drank blood from and killed an unknown number of people in order to fuel his vampire powers. Will those guys become vampires too? Are they going to turn into ghouls?
38	* YouKillItYouBoughtIt: Eric Bane is seeking other vampire's blood to steal their power.

Context VideoGame / Dark