Shrouded in Sanity is the first installment, released in 2016 as an Isometric Hack and Slash game. It was later separated into the proper Skautfold version, and the Freebirth one. As its title suggests, the latter is free, but lacks some bonus features of Skautfold, though the overall story is the same in both. It begins in 1897, when the unnatural fog had enveloped Berelai Manor. The player character, Eleanore, is contacted to discover and eliminate its source - a task made more difficult by the former inhabitants of the manor having clearly gone violently insane.
Usurper is a 2017 Metroidvania, set a year after the first game. There, an otherworldly Citadel whose presence was only hinted at in Shrouded in Sanity had finally revealed itself, and immediately began to flood London with eldritch abominations. Waltham, the mysterious benefactor of Eleanore in the first game, is nearly killed attempting to seize the Citadel for himself, and is forced to merge with the nearly-dead Saragat, the Fourth Knight, to rebuild their strength and save London from the Citadel.
Into the Fray entered Steam Early Access in 2018. There, on the Isle of Portland, has seen a rebellion against the now-Empress Eleanore occur, led by the Sons of Washington group. Lillian, the daughter of King Guilford from the first game, has also reappeared, and in a complete coincidence, there's again the spreading fog and the monsters lurking in it. You now play as Yamabe no Akahito, (Hito the Third Knight from Shrouded in Sanity) who is tasked with liberating the isle and apprehending the princess. Since he is an entirely gun-wielding character, this is now done in an isometric shooter style.
Moonless Knight entered Early Access in 2019. This time players assume the role of Gray, the Second Knight, as he travels to Japan to seek the aid of the Dawn Empire.
Tropes present in the entire series:
- Alternate History: Britain is the Angelic Empire of Britannia. Washington's rebellion was crushed, but his sacrifice continues to inspire Sons of Washington (or S.o.W.) group. Japan in turn been ruled by the Oda Shogunate for centuries as the Dawn Empire, and has long-since conquered China and Korea. Religion (or at least Christianity) has also been banned, due to the Roman Catholic Church having been a secret supporter of the American Revolution.
- A World Half Full: In spite of the bleak alternate world the game is set in in addition to the two hostile eldritch forces present, the protagonists all are wholly invested in saving the world.
- Bloodstained Glass Windows: Gray, the Second Knight is fought within the West Church of Berelai Manor. Usurper also features a battle inside a church with Seraph, an Eldritch Abomination that has two sets of angelic wings and little else.
- Cutting Off the Branches: Saragat the Fourth Knight and Hito the Third Knight are two of the bosses in Shrouded in Sanity, who can either be killed or spared after their defeat. During the events of Usurper, all of the Knights appear or at least are mentioned though, confirming their survival.
- First-Episode Resurrection: A tradition of the series. Your first choice is to accept external aid in order to survive, and escalate the protagonist to becoming an Empowered Badass Normal
- God Save Us from the Queen!: Although it's only been discussed and never shown, prior to her resurrection, Eleanore was apparently a utterly tyrannical queen.
- The Grim Reaper: The signature attack of Len, The First Knight in Shrouded in Sanity is to have an apparition of one appear right above your character, before it sweeps its scythe. This obviously an insta-kill, unless you have managed to roll in time.
- These then appear as enemies in Usurper.
- Justified Save Point: In Shrouded in Sanity, you can only save at the location of your patron, Waltham. This is referred to as "syncing watch to realign time."
- In Usurper, this function is fulfilled by Seats of the Navigator.
Shrouded in Sanity contains examples of the following tropes:
- Blackout Basement: Many of the areas of the game are very dark, with only circles of light around your own lantern, or any other light sources. Disturbingly, the corpses of the enemies also act as light sources for some reason.
- Crosshair Aware: A very dark sniper-rifle style cross-hair, with a large dark zone around it, appears every time Hiro, The Third Knight, is about to shoot you from offscreen.
- Dark Action Girl: Len, the First Knight is clearly one.
- Doppelgänger Attack: These are created by Saragat, The Fourth Knight.
- Equipment Upgrade: The Butcher can upgrade your weapons in exchange for the rare Yth stones found within the fog.
- Go Mad from the Revelation: Game's description states that the main thing which drove the manor's inhabitants mad was the "deeper understanding of their cosmic insignificance."
- Justified Save Point: You can only save at the location of your patron, Waltham. This is referred to as "syncing watch to realign time."
- Luke, I Am Your Father: The name of the Final Boss changes from "Guilford, the Broken King" to "Guilford My Elder Brother" if your character manages to recall this much.
- Molotov Cocktail: These are thrown by Guilford, The Broken King, of all people.
- Multiple Endings: Choosing to kill or spare Guilford, The Broken King/elder brother makes the largest change to the ending cutscene: Waltham will congratulate you if you do, and welcome you to the throne. Sparing him instead has him berate your weakness and state that he'll finish him off anyway.. Killing or sparing the other knights also leads to minor dialogue differences.
- Optional Boss: Herald of the Citadel, which can only be found if your sanity is fully depleted.
- Pacifist Run: It is possible to run past all the enemies, and spare all the bosses after subduing them. However, your servant will kill the Final Boss anyway, and berate your weakness.
- Playing with Fire: Gray, the Second Knight leaves trails of black flame when he charges after you.
- Power Floats: Len, The First Knight, is always floating slightly off the ground, and can briefly float much higher for the sake of a powerful dive.
- Revolvers Are Just Better: Waltham A9 is the revolver you use. Hito, the Third Knight also attacks with a revolver, which he shoots in bursts of three.
- Sanity Slippage: Hinted at by the title. Killing people, dying yourself and taking blessings from the corrupt priest are some of the things that cause it to go down.
- Shock and Awe: Gray, the Second Knight can call down black lightning.
- Sinister Scythe: Wielded by Len, The First Knight, and by The Grim Reaper apparitions she summons.
- Spin Attack: The maids spin around in an attempt to get you with their cleavers.
- Sprint Meter: There's stamina, which is consumed with every attack or roll; until you become exhausted. It is even possible for it to briefly stay in the negative values. However, it recovers quickly as well, and its main purpose is to prevent you from spamming attacks.
- Sword and Gun: The protagonist always carries these in both hands.
- Teleport Spam: Herald of the Citadel constantly does this throughout its battle.
- Unnecessary Combat Roll: The main way to dodge, and it is entirely necessary to avoiding some attacks.
- Weird Currency: Vitae (from Latin for life) is one.
- Worth It: Right before you face Final Boss Guilford, The Broken King / My Elder Brother, the only thing he has to say is "I have no regrets. No price is too high for what I got."
Tropes present in Usurper:
- Adaptational Decay: Of sorts. Nightgaunts in typical Lovecraft mythos abduct people and tickle them during the trip back to their lairs. Here, no such thing happens and they're simply a flying enemy like any other.
- Amnesiac Dissonance: Though she is alive and well once more, Eleanore lacks any memory of her life prior to her resurrection. This is a good thing though, as previously she'd been insane monarch whom Guilford had overthrown with the support of the Knights.
- Chest Monster: Here, the Mimics prefer to steal your currency, rather than fight you outright.
- Inexplicable Treasure Chests: Present around the Citadel.
- Religion of Evil: Friars of the Fog are the enemies representing one.
- Spikes of Doom: One of the traps present within the Citadel.
Tropes present in Into The Fray:
- Airborne Mook: There are black winged demons, who swing reverse crosses at you.
- Daddy's Little Villain: Lillian, Guilford's daughter who seeks revenge on the crown for what happened to her father.
- More Teeth than the Osmond Family: The floating eye monsters wait to get close before opening up halfway to reveal their enormous toothy mouths.
- Shotguns Are Just Better: One of the weapons is a triple-barrelled shotgun.
- Short-Range Shotgun: However, they are all quite short-ranged, whether wielded by the rebels, or yourself.
- Tank Goodness: One boss is a Monolith-powered tank immune to all damage aside from explosives and the roof collapsing down on it. You get to pilot it during the final normal stage.
- Videogame Flamethrowers Suck: Subverted as much as possible. Between high damage, high rate of fire, excellent range, a high ammunition cap and large amounts recovered from pickups, the Gaslighter flamethrower is one of the most valuable assets you have.
- Wham Episode: While the previous two games were not lacking in terms of horror and unsettling revelations, the ending areas of Into the Fray bring things full circle with the revelation that the Moon is an Eldritch Abomination and that all life on Earth has only a few years left.
Tropes present in Moonless Knight:
- An Arm and a Leg: Gray's first battle with the Lunatics ends with him getting an arm cut off.
