The symbol of "return" is associated with The Consuming Shadow
- Anticlimax Boss: The Ancient does not know how to deal with the Wizard. As she has unlimited runes in the final battle, knocking the weakened Ancient back to its own dimension is a trivial undertaking. Though this is very justified in-game because the Wizard has to survive without the ability to pistol whip up to this point, and a Wizard that is out of bullets against the Ancient cannot get any ending higher than C if this weren't the case.
- Regardless of character, The Ancient is pretty easy to defeat provided you understand the fight, and show up with at least a modest amount of supplies.
- Broken Base:
- The visuals. Some people are just fine with it and/or playing the game for the story, some of them find them off-putting, especially given that it's 10 bucks. For what it's worth, Yahtzee himself has expressed interest in eventually remaking the game with improved graphics, and when Starstruck Vagabond was listed on Steam, The Consuming Shadow's price was permanently dropped to 99 cents.
- There is also the debate about the commercial release, as the game was free during Beta. Some think the mechanics, atmosphere, and writing have enough for it to be worth the price. While others think the lacking visuals, repetitive combat, and low production values make the game feel amateurish, thus hindering it further and making it not worth the money. Again, the permanent price drop assuaged whatever complaints remained at that point.
- Game-Breaker: If properly prepared (with illegal drugs to top up your sanity meter, and the pentagram necklace to reduce sanity expense), the Rejuvenate spell will let you walk all over Stonehenge. Casually throwing around magic is normally a bad idea, but this doesn't matter at Stonehenge with a topped-up Sanity Meter. As Rejuvenate cures all injuries and restores your Health to full, this combination lets you win at Stonehenge through sheer force.
- Heartwarming Moments: The sanity-restoring messages are this by design:(From the Ministry): You're a lot stronger than you think you are. A lesser person would be gibbering in a padded cell by now. -T (gained sanity)(From a family number): I know what you're doing is important. Please do whatever it is you have to do so you can get back home safely to us. (gained sanity)
- Nightmare Retardant:
- The files for the Puker enemy speculate that - in the eldritch dimension - these may actually be artificially-created lifeforms designed to act as a food dispenser or a shower. While this does paint a disturbing picture of that dimension, it also means that the enemy is essentially a rampaging sink, which dulls the menace of it somewhat.
- If you manage to survive four suicide attempts - which get harder to survive each time and are a product of low sanity - seeing the popup for the achievement "Make your bloody mind up" can be just the thing you need to defuse the panic and tension.
- Scrappy Mechanic: Having to spend Birth Stars in order to access challenges. The amount of experience needed to gain additional stars goes up exponentially, so spending stars to access the harder challenges becomes a bigger and bigger ask.
- That One Boss: Those huge columns of pulsating orbs. You'll walk into the room and see a giant thing making a weird noise, and if you don't shoot each bulb immediately before it bursts, you're going to find yourself up to your neck in buzzers. As if that wasn't enough, you'll almost always find one in the ritual chamber, so unless you have enough sanity to cast Mass Death and still carry out the ritual after that, you're gonna have a hard time groping around in your spellbook once you hear the fast pulsing noises and realize you've found the room you were looking for.
- Big Birthers take a lot of bullets or innumerable pistol whippings to kill, and they constantly shoot Scuttlers at you.
