A flash adventure game released on Newgrounds, Perdition follows the story of Eve, an android who gains sentience in an apocalyptic world where androids are mindless slaves ruled by a cruel A.I. overlord named Gomadi, while his nemesis, Tanas, whom he banished to the underground, plots to seduce them away from the mechanical god. Eve, now a slave to Gomadi, is tasked by him to defeat Tanas, whom he sees as creating chaos; meanwhile, Tanas sees Gomadi as a tyrant, and he believes that Eve should exercise her own will. As Gomadi and Tanas wage their war on her mind, Eve must decide which of them to trust.
It can be found here
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Perdition provides examples of the following tropes:
- A.I. Is a Crapshoot: Gomadi and Tanas, the Big Bad Ensemble, are two AIs that fight for control of the ruined world and have no care for their android subjects, although Tanas is nicer about it. Should you climb the tower to confront Gomadi, he will tell you the story of how the androids went insane due to a glitch in their circuitry, nearly wiping out the world.
- And I Must Scream: The fate of Eve in the Complete Submission ending. Gomadi provides her with his halo, making her undetectable by his executioners, but also strips her free will from her, thus she can't even end her misery.
- Anti-Villain: Tanas is always very polite and refers to the protagonist as his sweetie, in contrast to the openly sadistic Gomadi. Even after being betrayed and killed, his dying words are to simply ask Eve to kill Gomadi as well.
- Assimilation Plot: Tanas' goal is to fuse the free androids, including Eve, to himself to eventually take on Gomadi.
- As Long as There Is Evil: In the Golden Ending, Gomadi vows that "the next time war rises from the ashes, [he] will return".
- Awesome, but Impractical: The laser cannon deals fully twice as much damage as the sword, but you can only fire one shot at a time, you have to stand still, and there's a significant delay between pulling the trigger and the weapon actually firing.
- Ax-Crazy: Eve, in one of the Downer Endings, begins slaughtering every android left with free will.
- Bad Boss: Gomadi repeatedly orders Eve to kill herself, and even orders her to kill her fellow androids at one point, because it entertains him.
- BFG: Eve eventually acquires a hefty laser cannon, courtesy of Tanas.
- Big Bad Ensemble: Gomadi and Tanas are two enemy AI beings who are the rulers of the decaying world, and both seek to enslave the androids, including the Player Character Eve. However, Gomadi comes across as the eviler of the two, since he started the whole mess and is overtly cruel to Eve, while Tanas comes across as Affably Evil and only wants to defeat Gomadi, whom he split off from.
- Big Creepy-Crawlies: The second type of executioner you encounter is a thin, spidery creature that patrols back and forth, attacking Eve if she gets in its way.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Tanas, to a certain extent. He acts like he's being self-sacrificing in raising Eve and others like her to sapience, and plays the part of a creepy-but-well-meaning friend while Gomadi bosses Eve around, or at least tries to. He even claims to be the kinder, gentler parts of Gomadi that he severed from himself. If you aren't careful, though, he'll dominate Eve the same as Gomadi, and use her as a battery to become stronger- albeit, with the goal of overthrowing Gomadi.
- Bittersweet Ending: The Golden Ending. If Eve makes it through the game without killing
any of the neutral androids—who are the only source of extra hit points— Gomadi is ousted from his position of power... but much of the world remains blasted and ruined, with the androids once under Gomadi's thrall now completely aimless while the self-aware ones continue to hide out of fear. The last scene, however, has Eve approaching a group of androids amid a tranquil forest, expressing her goals of teaching them how to live with free will. - Crucified Hero Shot: Eve, in the 'Seduced... but Betrayed' ending as her mind is assimilated into Tanas.
- Blade Below the Shoulder: Tanas gives one to Eve on her second visit to the underground. He then claims that the blade was always hers, and that Gomadi stole it from her.
- Crapsack World: Most of the surrounding landscape is a wasteland of rusted scrap metal, with the only inhabitants being mindless androids who are ruled over by the cruel AI Gomadi and mercilessly slaughtered by Gomadi's Executioners. And free will is frowned upon by Gomadi.
- Cutscene Boss: If you reach the top of Gomadi's tower, he will either use a laser beam to flick you off or surrender, depending on your earlier actions.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Tanas certainly seems sinister—his words are flickery and crimson, distorting the screen when they appear, and he only speaks to Eve when she's in the darker areas of the game. Most notably, he is the local Satanic Archetype. But at the same time, he seems to be responsible for Eve’s rise to sapience, arms her and makes her able to fight back against her enemies, and while he endorses harvesting the mindless drones for their power, he generally comes across as a kinder, more reasonable power, while Gomadi bluntly orders her to commit suicide repeatedly to gain his favor. Ultimately subverted. He's just as, or only somewhat less, bad—he's just luring flies with honey rather than vinegar. In the “Seduced...but Betrayed” ending he dominates the mind of Eve and forces her to join his Human Resources.
- Death Is a Slap on the Wrist: Eve has unlimited lives, and checkpoints are everywhere. Even though she loses her halo/gun when you respawn, there's often a replacement within reach.
- Downer Ending: All but one of the Multiple Endings qualify as this.
- One, if Eve isn't wearing a Halo when she makes your way to Tanas, features her being hooked up to his circuitry as part of his Matrix-style battery network. The game describes this as a double-edged sword: the androids connected to Tanas have free will, but must exist as part of the fallen AI.
- If Eve kills one or more androids and ascends to Gomadi, he'll smite her and knock her from his tower, driving her insane and forcing her to kill every android with free will that she comes across.
- Should Eve choose to be obedient to Gomadi, he'll strip her free will away, leaving her just as blind as the other androids.
- Dressing as the Enemy: Wearing Gomadi's Halo will make enemies non-hostile.
- Even Evil Has Standards: If Eve goes rogue and start slaughtering her own brethren, Tanas — who had previously encouraged her to murder blind androids and plans on absorbing her to become part of his battery network — will express concern about her allegiance.
- Evil Cannot Comprehend Good :
- In the Golden Ending, Gomadi will express shock and disbelief that Eve refused to kill anyone during her quest, not even to defend herself against his executioners.
- Similarly, Tanas will be surprised if Eve spares him even when she had his life in her hands.
Tanas: Is this pacifism ... or cruelty? - The Evils of Free Will: Gomadi has this philosophy, claiming that any androids who maintain autonomy are abominations. In the endgame, it's revealed that he believes this due to androids going insane in the past.
- God and Satan Are Both Jerks: Gomadi is the one ruling over the surface world, and is a tyrant who tortured his android slaves for fun. The rebellious Tanas, on the other hand, actively encourages Eve to murder defenseless androids for health pickups. His ultimate goal is to create a giant battery network with all of the 'free' androids, including Eve, in the hopes of ultimately being strong enough to take on Gomadi.
- God Is Evil: Gomadi. His executioners all wear glowing red halos above their heads, his lair is far above the rusted landscape, and he tortures and mutilates his slaves for amusement. Even his name is a Significant Anagram for “I Am God”.
- Happiness in Slavery: The 'Complete Submission' ending, in which Eve submits to Gomadi and becomes his eternal slave.
- Hearing Voices: Gomadi and Tanas will both speak to Eve throughout the game.
- Heroic Willpower: Eve can demonstrate this while dealing with Tanas. If she is carrying neither the halo nor the gun, she can still fall under his spell, but if the player puts in enough commands to move and/or attack, she shakes it off on her own and can proceed to kill him if she has the knife, or spare him as she sees fit.
- Hoist by Their Own Petard: Subverted. Confronting Tanas while carrying the gun renders you not only subject to his mind control, but unable to fight it off. Gomadi's halo can't be used against him, but donning it before you ascend to confront him locks you into the Complete Submission ending. The knife is the only weapon that's 100% safe to use and carry at all times, but then again—if you believe Tanas—it was always Eve's to begin with.
- Holy Halo: Gomadi's executioners all have spiked, glowing red halos, and you can acquire one for yourself by obeying his commands.
- Louis Cypher: Gomadi and Tanas both. Rearrange the letters in their names, and you get 'IAmGod' and 'Satan', respectively.
- Meaningful Name: Aside from Gomadi and Tanas, the main player character is called Eve, as in the woman from the Garden of Eden.
- Mechanical Abomination: Both Gomadi and Tanas fall under this. They're powerful AIs with godlike power, seemingly omniscient.
- Mercy Kill: One justification for killing the brain-dead slave androids. In fact, Tanas more or less encourages Eve to do so.
- Multiple Endings: Based on your actions and what side you take in the conflict.
- You can side with Tanas, in which case you're mentally dominated and merged into his mental network.
- You can alternately side with Gomadi, which means that after you leave the area after killing Tanas, you surrender your free will and become one of the mindless drones.
- There is, of course, the third option, where you challenge Gomadi after taking down Tanas. This has two outcomes:
- If you've killed non-aggressive androids—the drones or sapient models like yourself—then Gomadi strikes you down from the heavens, and when you rise you immediately begin killing others again.
- If you did not, Gomadi breaks down at the impossibility of an android resisting her programming. He swears to return when war arises again, but in the meantime crumbles out of the sky. The world is still in ruins—the awakened androids remain in hiding, while the non-awakened ones sit around listlessly—but Eve resolves to teach her lesser brethren to think for themselves.
- One-Hit-Point Wonder: Eve, but she can gain two extra hitpoints if she kills androids and collects their essence.
- Pacifist Run: There's an achievement for this, and it also gets you the Golden Ending.
- Power at a Price: Lampshaded in one ending. If Eve submits to Tanas's will, she reflects that those like her also realize that their free will does not come for free.
- Rage Against the Heavens: Depending on your path, Eve can ascend the tower to confront Gomadi himself.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: If you earn the "Monster" ending, Gomadi's exposition on how the world came to be ruined becomes this. He'll sneer at you for killing your own kind before smiting you and turning you into a murderous shell of yourself.
- Red Eyes, Take Warning: Zig-zagged, since everyone has red eyes, enemy and normal NPC.
- If Eve falls under Tanas' or Gomadi's mind control, the screen will flicker with the distorted image of a humanoid head with glaring red eyes.
- Sheathe Your Sword: It's up to you to decide whether you want to kill helpless slave androids or not. In addition, when you confront Tanas, you can stand in front of him for several moments instead of walking into the red light of his hand. Wait long enough, and it'll count as sparing his life.
- Shoot the Dog: The only way to regain health is to kill the harmless slave androids and collect their essence.
- Sympathy for the Devil: You have the option to spare Tanas, possibly given his sympathetic backstory.
- Title Drop: You can get two of them, though they're both optional.
- First is if you kill Tanas, he'll ask you to "bring an end to Gomadi's reign. Bring an end to this perdition."
- Second is in the Golden Ending, said by Eve herself.
Eve: Days go by, and though our overlord has fallen, our perdition does not end. - Turned Against Their Masters: The androids, in the backstory, rebelled against their creators.
- These Hands Have Killed: if you obey Tanas when he orders you to kill a slave android, there's a brief cutscene where Eve undergoes a Heroic BSoD for a few moments.
- This Cannot Be!: Two of 'em. Tanas will express alarm if you're wearing the Halo when you approach him, and Gomadi will be similarly shocked if you haven't killed anyone by the time that you confront him.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Tanas will encourage you to kill the helpless slave androids in order to heal yourself with their essence. And shortly after you gain weapons, Gomadi will demand that you kill the other free androids. But that doesn't mean that you ''have'' to, in either case. You'll get the Golden Ending if you don't kill anyone.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Tanas wants to destroy the tyrannical Gomadi, which would make existence easier for the androids, and they'd possibly have their free will returned. He plans on assimilating the androids with free will and absorbing their energy so that he may become strong enough to fulfill his goal.
- Zero-Effort Boss:
- Tanas is this. Just walk up to him and Eve will either kill him or be absorbed into his battery network. If Eve isn't carrying the halo or the gun, she can shake herself free by using input commands like when she fell into the wiring earlier. If she's free of his control, she can even just stand in front of him without doing anything. He'll surrender to her.
- Gomadi is as well in both endings where you face him, which depending on your earlier actions, he'll either smite you off his tower or surrender and crumble.
