Liberté ("Liberty" or "Freedom" in French) is a deck-builder Roguelike inspired by The French Revolution and Cosmic Horror, developed by indie studio Superstatic.
Set in an alternate 18th Century France, you play an ordinary Parisian named Rene. The King is dead, and just as his son, Prince Phillip, is about to be coronated, an otherworldly being had made manifest, inadvertently plunging the city into chaos. Amidst the turmoil and the brewing undercurrent of revolution, the entity calling herself Lady Bliss has chosen you as her "petal", tasked with finding to finding a worthy queen or king to lead mankind under the Bliss' embrace.
How to go about it, and which side to align with, is all up to you. But as you do the creature's bidding and navigate the ensuing turmoil of rebellion, you'll eventually uncover the mystery of who Lady Bliss is...and may not like what you'll find.
Originally on Steam's Early Access, the game was officially released on May 23, 2023.
Not to be confused with the 2019 film Liberté.
Tropes:
- Alternate History: The game takes place in an alternate version of 18th Century France on the cusp of its own French Revolution. In addition to having a different monarch and heir compared to real life, events are also mentioned in passing that suggest that the timeline diverged even before the Bliss' arrival, such as an ongoing war with the British.
- Body Horror: Excessive exposure to the Bliss can result in grotesque mutations that can make victims almost unrecognizable as ever being human.
- Cassandra Truth: The Tribe insists that its people had nothing to do with the crisis and, while preferring to be left alone, are also one of the only factions initially interested in actually stopping the Bliss.
- Church Militant: The Church, which is actively seeking to destroy the Bliss and blames the Tribe for bringing it about. As the story progresses, however, the Church leadership begins suspecting that the Tribe isn't at fault.
- Deckbuilding Game: Abilities and weapons are acquired and swapped about through cards found throughout the game world.
- Grey-and-Gray Morality: The four factions vying for power are all rather morally ambiguous and have sympathetic motives.
- Hollywood Voodoo: The Tribe is comprised of shamans and migrants from the colonies, who the Church brands as heretics and blamed for the Bliss. According to the Tribe, however, they have no quarrel with anyone and just want to be left alone.
- Internal Reformist: Prince Phillip claims to be such, believing that the best way forward for France is changing the system from within and that toppling the monarchy will only bring more suffering.
- Jeanne d'Archétype: Ana acts as a rallying figure for the Revolutionaries and isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. While it's eventually revealed, however, that she also hails from the nobility and may be biting off more than she could chew, she is genuine about her convictions.
- Let No Crisis Go to Waste: The Revolutionaries, at first, consider the arrival of the Bliss simply as an opportunity to launch their revolt.
- Man Behind the Man: Professor Max, a good friend of Ana, is heavily implied to be the one actually coordinating the Revolutionaries.
- Not in This for Your Revolution: Rene doesn't really care about which side he picks as his allegiance is with Lady Bliss. This can be subverted, however, as the plot progresses and he discovers more about what the Bliss is.
- The Remnant: The Royal Army, despite the chaos, remains loyal to Prince Phillip and is a force to be reckoned with.
- The Revolution Will Not Be Vilified: Subverted. The Revolutionaries' cause may be just, but that doesn't mean that individual rebels won't resort to unsavory means or harm innocents if it means achieving their goals.
- Womb Level: The gardens of the Bliss are a Cronenbergian netherworld that only you can access, being comprised of fleshy entrails intertwined with warped fragments of the Parisian catacombs.
