In the far distant future, humankind made contact with an advanced alien civilization known as the Xenoids. Their intentions were far from friendly however and soon the people of the Nautilus galaxy were thrust into an era of martial law where security became the top priority; often at the cost of individual liberty. Facing this growing oppression, many left their home world of Gaia and the now totalitarian empire of the Enforcers.
These pioneers were the Freerunners, those who sought freedom and a new life at the edges of human controlled space. They were forced to defend themselves from the pursuit of the Enforcers and the looming presence of the genocidal Xenoids in a tripartite civil war that continues to this day. As a pilot for the Freerunners you have enlisted to defend your settlements against threats both human and alien in nature.
Zigfrak is a space-based Action RPG, released on December 13, 2013 for PC. It features missions, exploration, and crafting, with an emphasis on loot and over-the-top items. Enemy ships explode like loot piñatas, spewing forth useful pickups.
The game employs subtle humor to poke light at a dark situation — a human civil war on a galactic scale, complicated by the invasion of technologically superior aliens. During the campaign, players encounter clues and artifacts which could reveal ancient secrets of humanity.
Zigfrak provides examples of:
- Alien Invasion: The game's premise includes the Xenoids, an advanced alien civilization who are engaged in an ongoing attempt to conquer the people of the Nautilus galaxy. You play as a pilot for the Freerunners, defending against both human (the totalitarian Enforcers) and alien (Xenoids) threats.
- Alien Sky: Many areas utilize colorful nebulae or bright stars in the background. Justified as this serves to provide contrast to the dark void of space in which the game takes place.
- Asteroid Miners: The player character is given a mining laser and can often use nearby asteroids to mine for low level loot and materials.
- Better than a Bare Bulb: The loading screens alone are a gold mine of lampshade hangings to various sci-fi tropes and cliches.
- Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?:
- There is a creature called L.G.O.D., the Lord God of Death. It is a violent sentient wormhole that is worshipped by space cultists. It is one of the game bosses you can fight.
- Combat with the Lost Guardian is essentially a stand against an entity that has successfully destroyed human civilization on at least three occasions. It isn't possible to actually begin taking out its shields effectively until you also craft a Lost Superweapon in the form of the Echelon Engine.
- Eldritch Abomination: There is a creature called L.G.O.D., the Lord God of Death. It is a violent sentient wormhole that is worshipped by the fanatics faction.
- Elemental Armor: Based on the five main damage types respectively: Kinetic, Thermal, Electro, Nuclear, and Strange.
- Elemental Weapon: There are five main types of elemental damage:
- Kinetic damage is for standard ballistic projectiles.
- Thermal damage is heat based, burning away ablative shielding and delivering damage over time.
- Electro is based on electromagnetic weapons that drains target's shields.
- Nuclear delivers additional radiation damage that fades out with a half-life.
- Strange is based on the physics of exotic particles and siphons enemy life directly to the dealer.
- Knight of Cerebus: The appearance of any of the Guardians is usually a sign that the story has become more serious in tone.
- Life Drain: This effect is a welcome byproduct of attacks with the strange damage type. Welcome, that is, as long as you are not on the receiving end!
- One-Word Title
- Photoprotoneutron Torpedo:
- The engine cell upgrades go from high level fusion cells, to protium cells, then deuterium cells, and finally the legendary tier fuel of "Liquid Swarzenegger".
- In the Back Story for "Hawk", his family was wiped out in a "proton bombing".
- Starfish Aliens: Xenoids reproduce within the singularities of black holes and hold a culture that is poorly understood if not utterly incomprehensible to humankind.
- Sufficiently Advanced Alien: The Xenoids make use of technology derived from the physics of black holes, exotic matter, and strange particles.
- Tractor Beam: The player's ship has an electromagnetic tractor beam for the purpose of collecting loot and materials in space.
Consulting Pineal Gland...
