Video Game / Moros Protocol

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Moros Protocol successful initialization.
Host compatibility with safe margin.
Vitals check... complete. Cryosleep recovery... complete.

Moros Protocol is a Sci-Fi Horror-themed First-Person Shooter/action game developed by indie company Pixel Reigns, utilizing retraux, pixel-based retro-futuristic graphics (like the company's namesake) resembling games from the early 90s.

But Bloodier and Gorier.

Aboard the Orpheus, a high-tech vessel orbiting the earth, the badass Space Marine Alex was unexpectedly thawed out by cryo-sleep by the Orpheus's AI. The titular Moros Protocol, one meant for emergencies only, has been triggered after all contact with the ship's crew were unexpectedly severed, with Alex stumbling into legions and legions of insect-like monstrosities roaming throughout the Orpheus corridors.

Taking on the monsters - identified as "Darkphages" by Alex's sole ally, an AI named Abby - Alex attempts uncovering the truth behind the Darkphage infestation only to uncover a shocking truth about the Orpheus, and also about himself.

Utopia is Nigh...

• Apologetic Attacker: Abby may be a Treacherous Quest Giver who's manipulating Alex, but she's genuinely fond of him and is sorrowful because she needs to take him down as a boss. Tellingly, after Alex wins, she returns as a Regretful Traitor and continues assisting Alex in escaping the Orpheus.
  Abby: This is the last time we speak... thank you... and I am sorry!
  [attempts to deactivate Alex for outliving his usefulness, but Alex had other ideas]
  Alex: ODY-6! Activate emergency protocol S6!
  [Emergency Protocol Activated - Command Switched to Active Duty Officer]
  Abby: You can't stop this, Alex. Don't make this harder.
  Alex: Wanna bet?
  [cue the Abby boss battle]
• And the Adventure Continues: EON has been destroyed for good, but Jocaste is dead. The Orpheus, now unstable, is about to explode as Alex and Abby - the latter transferring her consciousness into a drone - locates the shuttle Jocaste informed them about before her death. Taking off, the Orpheus implodes behind as Alex and Abby zooms into the horizon through the deepest reaches of outer space and the credits roll.
• Bishōnen Line: For most of the game, the Darkphage infestation takes the form of giant monsters, insect-like critters, and all sort of eldritch-looking mutants, with the core where the Darkphage infection starts being made of Meat Moss. Once Alex and Abby made it to the core's heart, it then turns into... a glowing red humanoid form, EON. That needs to be killed twice.
• Blood-Splattered Warrior: After Alex had dealt with the Blob boss, a humungous monstrosity large enough to take up half the huge area it's battled in and overloaded with hemoglobin. The monster's unstable body leads to the creature's bloody explosion and a cascade of the red stuff drenching Alex, and he remains blood-covered in the next cutscene while speaking to Abby.
• Body Armor as Hit Points: Alex can collect body armor, or purchase them at stations - either entire suits, or cheaper shoulder pads and vests. They add a layer to his health and offset any taken damage.
• Carry a Big Stick: Gada Devi is a high-tech version of a flanged mace, whose front is modified to deal extra damage. Enemies easily falls apart into Ludicrous Gibs after every killing blow.
• Celestial Body: Abby revealing her true intentions and that she's using Alex, the whole time, leads to Alex battling her in a giant void in outer space where Abby assumes a physical form, of a Giant Woman made of stars, constellations, and bits of light from the cosmos.
• Corpse-Strewn Lair: Big Brother, the first boss, is fought in a feeding chamber who's absolutely stacked with bodies of other marines who arrived before Alex, and the monster is itching to add Alex to it's pile.
• Cryonics Failure: An incredibly horrifying example, with a dose of Body Horror tossed in. Alex, after travelling through the Orpheus' monster-infested barracks area, reaches the cryo sector where his fellow marines were still in cryosleep. Alex uses Abby to reactivate the pods intending to find survivors, only to find out in horror that the Darkphage infestation had spread into the pods and assimilated the marines into piles and piles of fleshy blobs.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: After Alex defeats Jocaste "Sin Seeker" the second time, and successfully obtain answers regarding the truth behind the Darkphage outbreak. Jocasta surrenders the details and demands Alex to finish her off, but he refused. It bites him back completely when Jocaste returns for a third boss fight, but things aren't what they seemed.
  Jocaste: There... you have your answers... now deliver the final blow.
  Alex: No, this is a fight you forced on me. It's going to end on my terms.
  Jocaste: You... ugh... intend to defile my honor?
  Alex: There is nothing dishonorable in staying alive. [leaves]
• Enemy-Detecting Radar: There's a small one on the upper-left corner, built into Alex's suit that displays enemies as white dots.
• Everything's Deader with Zombies: In a game whose premise involves a mutant outbreak, somehow there still are zombies lingering around, in a prison block when Alex uses Abby to unlock the gates only for numerous deformed, zombified prisoners to emerge and attack.
• Evil Is Not a Toy: Acantha X, the Evil Corp who owns Orpheus and secretly dabbled with the Darkphage intending to covertly develop bio-weapons, had their operations quickly blowing up in their faces once the Darkphage mutates out of control and quickly wipes out everyone aboard the station. Jocaste herself, especially, uses the Darkphage in a last-ditch attempt to make herself powerful enough to defeat Alex... and was promptly assimilated Body Horror style by the mutation that consumes most of her body - half of her left arm splits into a gator-like maw with fangs, for instance - and using her People Puppets-style.
• The Faceless: Alex's body-concealing armor and visored helmet stays on him the entire game (then again he's never seen outside of combat - and to hide the fact that he's not entirely human). Ditto for Jocaste throughout the game, though she's Ambiguously Human.
• Face Palm: Alex makes this gesture after realizing he needs to fight Jocaste for a third time, over his suit's visor.
  Alex: This lunatic! I should have killed her when I have the chance!
• Fairy Companion: Abby, initially an AI who's just a voice, finally decides to manifest an avatar for herself after Alex decides naming her Abby... which is that of a fairy. Complete with wings.
• Floating Platforms: In a game already set in the vastness of outer space, there's a wide open area containing floating hexagonal platforms Alex needs to hop across. Hope the player likes first-person jumping puzzles for this part is hard.
• Gatling Good: Metal Storm, a two-handed minigun, unleashes a whole wave of steel on everything not on Alex's side.
• Greater-Scope Villain: The scientists of Acantha X had a high-tech, covert research facility built in the Orpheus and has been researching illegally-procured Darkphage biotechnology which they intend to create bioweapons with. When the Darkphage proves too much to control, everything goes to hell as the Orpheus is quickly consumed by the mutation outbreak. This fact isn't revealed until nearly two-thirds into the game, after Alex defeats Jocaste the second time and demands the truth from her.
• Guns A Kimbo: Alex can equip himself with dual pistols or Uzi to kick twice the amount of ass.
• It Can Think: After the Blob boss fight, Alex managed to re-establish connections with Abby again, and she realized the monster is fused to the cryopods for a purpose.
  Abby: That... thing... it had a purpose, and it was connected to the cryopods.
  Alex: To mutate the bodies like the others?
  Abby: No, this was different. It's almost as if... it was extracting information.
  Alex: Are you telling me we are dealing with some sort of intelligent lifeform?
  Abby: Possibly...
• Jousting Lance: The Sentinels of Creoboros is a pair of robotic knights carrying a high-tech version of a lance as large as themselves, and seated on a cyborg-looking monstrosity (seems to be the same type of monster as first boss Big Brother) and they spend the whole boss fight trying to ram Alex over.
• Justified Extra Lives: Whenever Alex dies, Abby would transfer his consciousness into another shipmate via the titular Moros Protocol, but of course the amount of extra bodies he has access to is limited.
• Lightning Gun: The Well Gauntlet, whose wrist guard has an electricity discharger capable of unleashing yellow lightning bolts on enemies. When fully-loaded, rapidly tapping the shooting button will turn it's attacks into a Chain Lightning.
• Limited Loadout: Alex can carry a grand total of three firearms, and in weapon stations whenever he picks up a new gun he's given an option to leave an old one behind.
• Living Weapon: Alex can obtain three of these, one melee - a "corrupted sword" called the Sarcophase, covered in multiple fangs and visible eyes that blinks in close-ups when equipped - and two guns, a futuristic bayonet-like firearm called "Bonesplitter" whose bladed tip is a sharp tusk growing from the weapon's flesh and the "Spitclaw" whose barrel ends with a moving Flower Mouth capable of spitting projectiles.
• Ludicrous Gibs: Comes with every nine out of ten kills, especially when a heavy-duty melee weapon is involved.
• Meat Moss: Atypical for a sci-fi horror game dealing with an alien infestation, the Darkphage outbreak somehow leads to entire corridors being coated in fleshy, bloodied, pulsating growth, including tunnels of red flesh Alex needs to traverse. And some of these sports teeth as well (luckily these can't damage Alex). The last third in particular has meat everywhere.
• Mission Control: Abby, the AI who awakened Alex in the opening scene, serve this role to him, though it's not until after the Big Brother boss where she's named onscreen as "Abby".
• The Musketeer: Alex begins the first stage with a high-tech Hot Blade-type weapon whose edges are glowing with blue energy, and obtains firearms later on; but he can use only melee or firearms, one at a time.
• One Bad Mother: The "Mother" boss is a giant, deformed pregnant mutated monstrosity (whose swollen belly is covered in eyes). And she uses a flail that's seemingly made from a spiked umbilical cord ending with a fanged mouth as her weapon, with quite some surprising reach. Alex reacts to the monstrosity with just the right amount of disgust.
  Alex: Alright, we are definitely purging this place.
• Outside-Context Problem: The premise was initially about Alex's attempts at escaping the monster-infested Orpheus station... until Jocaste unexpectedly shows up. Abby lampshades it after Alex fought off Jocaste for the first time.
• Our Hero Is Dead: The second "Sin Seeker" boss battle against Jocaste ends with the latter revealing she's still quite active and nowhere near defeat, when she made a lunge at Alex and impales him through the midsection, straight into a back wall. Alex succumbs to his injuries onscreen, but then Abby managed to retrieve him and regrow Alex with another prototype of the Moros Protocol program.
• Recurring Boss: Jocaste the "Sin Seeker" is fought thrice, each time with a similar template but progressively more difficult - on a Jet Pack that allows her to zip everywhere, carrying a high-tech Laser Sword that she either use as a melee weapon, or to unleash sword beams (a sword-and-shield combo), a BFS the second which she performs a Sinister Sword Drag before the battle begins and allows her to pull a Tornado Move, and a shining red sword larger than herself, fused into her arm owing to Jocaste's attempts to empower herself by using the Darkphage coated with energy and the deadliest of her weapons (especially when the weapon forcefully took over her body).
• Redemption Equals Death: Twice, both instances on the same character. Jocaste, after Alex defeats her one last time and helps eliminate the Darkphage consuming here thereby granting her a Warrior's Death, seemingly succumbs to her injuries, transmitting the location of her escape vessel to Abby as she does so. And in the final confrontation against EON, Jocaste reveals herself to be on Alex's side by trying to prevent EON from resurrecting, only to be killed for real this time once EON impales her through the back and tosses Jocaste down a chasm.
• Religious and Mythological Theme Naming: Specifically to Classical Mythology (especially how a Greek indie studio made this). The ship is named Orpheus and is indeed bound to hell, with the titular protocol named after Moros, the primordial personification of impending doom, destruction, and inevitable fate. Acantha X, the Evil Corp indirectly responsible for the entire mess, was named after a nymph who rejected Apollo; the hero's name, Alex, is also of Greek origin, possibly a nod to Alexander the Great.
• Sequential Boss:
  • The Sentinels of Creoboros initially appears as two entities who seemed to be brothers. Alex fights one first, depletes the boss' health halfway and the Sentinel retreats to his sibling. Who then decapitates his brother and absorb the other Sentinel into a whole new boss, with an even longer life bar that Alex needs to deplete all over again.
  • EON, being the Final Boss, needs to be killed twice in a row. After EON's initial defeat, it attempts reviving to a stronger form before a still-alive Jocaste interrupts EON, right before EON kills Jocaste anyways and turns into a larger, still humanoid version of himself. Both his forms Power Floats all over the place, can Teleport Spam and Beam Spam, and the second form has two Giant Talons of Doom that cuts away half of Alex's health with a direct hit.
• Serrated Blade of Pain:
  • The Absolver is a BFS whose blades are jagged and extra-sharp, perfect for chewing up Darkphage mutations. Those blades can move and double as a chainsaw for good measure.
  • There's an enemy type in the later levels whose arms - both of them - are replaced by jagged serrated blades. Both that they use with a Dash Attack to chew through Alex. Their speed combined with their durability makes them among the toughest Elite Mooks encountered near the end.
• Shield-Bearing Mook: Among the numerous enemy types, there's one which is at least humanoid looking, resembling an armored space marine carrying a shield as large as himself, though given how his armor's face-plate is always down he's probably infected by the Darkphage and not entirely human underneath. The shield absorbs damage like crazy, but the Well Gauntlet's electric attacks works surprisingly well in penetrating their shields.
• Smashed Eggs Hatching: Alex frequently comes across Darkphage cocoons, giant insectoid eggs which he can smash up for points. Sometimes the smashed cocoon will spill out a Darkphage maggot, one of the game's weakest enemy type who dies in one hit.
• Space Marine: Alex, who's the only marine left stationed aboard the Orpheus after the Darkphage infestation before Abby awakens him to take on the monsters. At least, until the Tomato Surprise reveals otherwise.
• Stationary Boss: The "Blob" is a giant fleshy fanged mouth occupying an entire exit tunnel, growing into the structure's walls and its sole attacks is by using it's two gigantic, extendable claws to rough up Alex. Occasionally in the subsequent boss fight, the Blob's mouth opens up... to reveal a gigantic yellow eye, from which it unleashes Eye Beams.
• Tomato Surprise: Alex, for most of the game, was under the impression that he's among the last member of the Space Marines stationed aboard the Orpheus, a Sole Survivor of the Darkphage infestation that otherwise killed everyone. Until it's revealed he's actually an Artificial Human genetically created from the titular Moros Protocol, made by Abby herself no less... and a Super-Soldier spliced from the genes of different marines still trapped in hypersleep.. Furthermore, Abby herself is another example - she's not an AI, but a human scientist trapped in the system 70 years ago via Wetware CPU.
  Abby: No, I'm sorry... you won't have to do this anymore.
  Alex: Huh?
  Abby: I lied to you, Alex... you are not an Acantha X officer. You are an amalgamation of the best qualities from different soldiers. Combined to be able to evolve and become a suitable host so I can finally leave this damn place. You are my creation, Alex. And now you are finally able to fulfill your purpose.
• Treacherous Quest Giver: Abby, though she is a rare non-villainous example. Because it turns out she's not an AI but a human scientist who's forcefully converted into becoming part of the ship's Wetware CPU 70 years ago, and she's using Alex - in conjunction with the Darkphage outbreak - to formulate her own means to escape. After Alex defeats her in a boss battle however, she remains as Alex's ally once Alex figures out they can Take a Third Option by transferring Abby's consciousness into a stolen ship and get the hell out of Orpheus.
• Ungrateful Bastard: Subverted with Jocaste, the recurring "Sin Seeker" boss; her second fight ends with Alex besting her in battle and choosing to spare her instead of granting Jocaste a warrior's death. Jocaste then returns near the end, where it's revealed she destroyed all but one escape vessel... but instead of fleeing on the spot and leaving Alex and Abby to their deaths, she instead challenges Alex for a third rematch, in exchange for the vessel's key. When Alex defeats Jocaste a third time, the Darkphage controlling her body detaches, killing Jocaste... but prior to succumbing, she transmitted the key's last location to Abby so that the heroes could escape. And even then, she turns out to be Not Quite Dead, returning one last time, and tries - unsuccessfully - to kill EON.
• Un-Robotic Reveal: Variant with Abby, who's not an AI system, but a human.
  Alex: You expected me to just let you... "erase" me? What's your problem?
  Abby:I've been trapped here for 70 years... unable to leave. I can't even die!
  Alex: Die? AIs don't have the concept of death.
  Abby: I'm not an AI, I'm a human! Or at least I used to be... until these monsters at Acantha X turned me into... this thing.
  Alex: Wait, you are a digital consciousness? They actually did human experiments!
  Abby: They didn't stop there, the goal was to improve military AI by observing "digitized humans" under immense stress.
• Villainous Rescue: Jocaste, the "Sin Seeker" assassin who repeatedly harasses Alex and Abby's attempts at escaping the Orpheus and has her own ulterior goals, is introduced after the Big Brother boss fight. The Not Quite Dead Big Brother suddenly revives and tries to chomp down Alex only for Jocaste to drop in and slice Big Brother into half, but unfortunately Alex has only three seconds to realize Jocaste is not on his side.