Silverfall is a 2007 Hack and Slash Role-Playing Game developed by Monte Cristo, in partnership with the Ukrainian studio Kyiv Games. The main unique feature the game offers is the conflict between nature and technology, with the player getting to pick a side. Doing so influences everything from the rebuilding process of Silverfall to what equipment and skills the player has access to.
An expansion, Silverfall: Earth Awakening, was released in 2008, adding new playable races and crafting mechanics.
Tropes in the game and expansion include:
- All Trolls Are Different: Trolls are one of the four playable races. Like goblins, they also prefer technology over nature, though not to the same extent.
- Cel Shading: The game's graphics.
- Continuing is Painful: Downplayed. Upon death, you respawn in the closest city practically naked, and are supposed to loot your previous equipment from the tombstone where you died. However, none of your gold is lost (and you'll invariably loot a lot of gold), so you can often just buy similar, if not better stuff right where you respawned.
- Dem Bones: Skeletons are a common enemy type.
- Doomed Hometown: Silverfall is one for the archmage you play through in the opening. Subverted in that the rest of the game makes you play as an outsider who'll be rebuilding that very city.
- Fantasy Gun Control: Averted, due to the premise of the setting. In fact, goblins and trolls here are big technology fans and avid firearm users!
- Fishing for Mooks: Most areas place enemies a strictly determined distance away from each other, and will only start attacking once you approach them a certain distance, with no regard for nearby enemies already fighting. Thus, carefully approaching a large group of enemies will only allow you to trigger 2-3 at a time.
- Healing Potion: Present, like in most such games.
- Heal Thyself: Healing spells are essential for mage players.
- The Magic Versus Technology War: Averted, the conflict is instead between Technology versus Nature. Both competing ideologies incorporate magic, one is a steampunk technomancy while the other is fantasy druidry. Also there's general magic (like throwing a fireball at someone) that both factions can freely use.
- Mana Meter: Exists, though it's obviously less important for those who emphasize technology over nature.
- Money Spider: Pretty much every enemy drops a lot of gold upon death, even if it's clearly animal creatures with no pockets on them. You'll get far more money in this manner than from selling any looted equipment.
- No Points for Neutrality: Since many items have a technology or nature affinity requirement, not strongly siding with either side means you can't use most (if not all) of them, on top of not having full access to either the nature or technology skill trees.
- Our Elves Are Different: Here, elves strongly emphasize nature side of the world, in contrast to the strictly technophile goblins, tech-leaning orcs, and largely neutral humans.
- Our Goblins Are Different: Here, they are one of the most technologically advanced factions. Firearms are universal amongst their troops, and they can produce robots as well - from relatively simple wind-up dolls, to mechanical dragons. Oh, and you can also play as one.
- Our Minotaurs Are Different: Minotaurs are one of the recurring enemy types.
- Playing with Fire: Like in most fantasy games, fireballs are one of the easiest spells to get.
- Respawning Enemies: The monsters in all of the locations will respawn in full the next time you visit them. Moreover, they'll gain levels to match your own.
- Set Bonus: There are multiple kinds of armor sets.
- Sexy Packaging: The cover of the retail box has a female elf with a large bust and lots of cleavage.
- Shock and Awe: Lightning spell can be obtained pretty early on, and yet is powerful enough for some reviews to call it a
Game-Breaker. - Skill Point Reset: It costs a fair sum of gold, but it'll let you completely rebuild your specialization, morphing a deadly archer into warrior or mage in a blink of an eye.
- Squishy Wizard: Averted, as there are no class-based caps on the primary caps. Thus, a mage player who invests all level-up points into HP will end up with a highly durable spellcaster, who'll also be able to heal themselves.
- Steampunk: The technologically advanced factions have shades of this. One of the visual changes accompanying Silverfall if you rebuild it as a marvel of technology is the appearance of large boilers everywhere, where a nature-oriented rebuilding would have massive oaks instead.
- A Taste of Power: The opening section of the game places you in the shoes of an archmage trying to escape the burning Silverfall. He is obviously far more powerful than the level 1 character you create, and stick with, for the rest of the game.
- Thick-Line Animation: Black borders around all objects are an option you can turn on and off in the menu.
- Weaponized Offspring: Dragontrees can create smaller versions of themselves during the battle.
