SIGNAL>INTRUDERS is a non-existent 2D stealth-platformer set in an alternate 2000s-era Earth.
When two lovers come across a mysterious broadcast, they soon find themselves wrapped up in a quest to expose injustices and illegal experimentation while evading the forces seeking to suppress this information.
Tropes possible for SIGNAL>INTRUDERS include:
- Alternate History: The Earth seen in this game is pretty clearly not analogous to our own, given smartphones exist in 2004 and entirely new countries exist in place of familiar ones.
- Ancient Conspiracy: Near the end of the first act, allusions to a group called Thoreau are made, with members of large corporations and governments being in its ranks, and they become a more active player in the game starting from the second act onward.
- And the Adventure Continues: The ending sees Dawsen, Nikolai, and Antipath getting another message from EVE about raiding a government agency.
- Badass Longcoat: Local Player Character Dawsen wears a classic brown detective trenchcoat and wears it well. His ally Nikolai also sports a "shitty 80s cyberpunk" longcoat.
- Benevolent Conspiracy: Thoreau borders on being this, being a sect that sought to manipulate societal infrastructure to promote greater individual freedoms and quality of life. Unfortunately, they had some not-so benevolent members, one of which hijacked the organization.
- Big Damn Kiss: Dawsen and Nikolai have one after defeating the Final Boss.
- Big Fun: Kenny Struger, chairman and spokesperson of Struger Corporation, presents himself as such. Though he's really a lot more bastardly.
- Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: At one point, the storyline of an area gets hijacked by two incomprehensible deities who... proceed to use the protagonists and Antipath as proxies in their battles. She's just as confused as the protagonists.
- Eyes Always Shut: If his eyes aren't being obscured by his hat's brim, Dawsen has this unless surprised or sufficiently emotional.
- Gameplay and Story Integration: The health bar being labeled "ENDURANCE" isn't just for show, as several points have Dawsen pass out and the ENDURANCE bar emptying accordingly.
- Hacking Minigame: Hacking puzzles are a common element of the game that evolves in complexity as the game proceeds, and one boss battle expands them into a full player-versus-AI challenge.
- Heel–Face Turn: EVE did this in the past, and Antipath does this near the end of the game.
- Hidden Depths: Despite Antipath's brutality, she genuinely believes Thoreau was fighting for good. Seeing their fall from grace breaks her and leads to her Heel–Face Turn.
- Laughably Evil: Despite her intimidating nature, Antipath is actually quite ludicrous herself. Same goes for Mr. Struger.
- Magic Tool: Dawsen's main gadget is a multitool that can sustain wireless connections, knock out guards, fire a grappling hook, and provide a midair boost among other things.
- MegaCorp: Garrod Robotics, SigmaDynamics, Struger Corporation. Quite a few of these get broken into over the course of the game.
- Mission Control: The voice behind the broadcasts, EVE, directs Dawsen and Nikolai and advises them on their operations. Niko himself also fulfills this role, preferring to hang back and handle ICE-breaking.
- One-Hit Kill: Until he acquires the Armored Coat, one shot from a firearm will send Dawsen to the reload save prompt. Not only that, but his ENDURANCE bar shatters, indicating he's dead dead and not just unconscious.
- Post-Victory Collapse: Usually happens after a section where the Power Limiter is shut off. Dawsen defies this after defeating Struger and catches himself before he collapses.
- Power Limiter: Dawsen gets one of these alongside his first cybernetic implants, and it gets released during a few segments. He usually tends to pass out immediately after these segments.
- Racing Minigame: One boss battle sees Dawsen and Antipath racing to Outrun the Fireball when their way out can only take one person. The latter has Joker Immunity. Dawsen does not.
- Recurring Boss: Aside from the Big Bad and EVE, Antipath serves as most of the game's bosses.
- Red Herring: Initially the player is led to believe Struger Corporation will be the main antagonist, but Thoreau enters the picture and muddies the waters. Then it turns out that not only is Mr. Struger ex-Thoreau, he killed all its members and seized its resources for himself.
- Robotic Psychopath: Antipath isn't exactly the most stable given her track record for violence.
- Robotic Reveal: EVE does this at the end of the first act, taking the heroes to see its very mainframe.
- Turned Against Their Masters: EVE did this to the government and Thoreau by extension when they attempted to militarize it (and assassinated the lead behind the EVE project).
- Unexpected Gameplay Change: The only "normal" boss battles are the first Antipath fight, EVE's challenge, and the Final Boss. Every other boss battle does something unusual.
- Video Game Dashing: One of the first augments Dawsen receives are boots that let him dash at the cost of energy.
