Sanity: Aiken's Artifact

Sanity: Aiken's Artifact is an obscure game for the PC. You play the role of Cain, an agent within the Department of National Psyonic Control who was recently taken off duty due to psychic stability problems. He is soon reinstated after the installation of an aggression inhibitor, and is placed on an assignment to apprehend another psychic terrorist leader.

Although the plot initially appears to be a straight action comic book tale, the game gets progressively more surreal and slapstick as the story progresses, until it becomes clear that it has its tongue firmly in cheek.


 * Block Puzzle: Quite frequent.
 * Bottomless Pits
 * Cain and Abel: Cain is the hero, and Abel is the bad guy.
 * Calling Your Attacks: Using an ability causes the name to appear next to the caster. Near the end-game, the meat monster uses one called "Meat Monster Smash".
 * Collectible Card Game: The developers designed the game to support something similar in multiplayer. They intended to release an ability every week, which could be added to the deck of psychic abilities.
 * Deadly Game: In the second chapter, you need to complete "Trivia Insanity", where "One Wrong Answer, and You're Dead!" Of the four contestants, two are held against their will (including the main character), the third was willing contestant planning to win the contest. The fourth was the magician whom the main character meets after the show, and given trivially easy questions. While the questions are claimed to be general knowledge questions, they're really based on context. Since Cain won, the host left a voicemail message asking for him for a second episode.
 * Dangerous Terrain: Used in the beginning of Chapter 2. Both Cain and Abel try using push attacks against each other to knock them into the electric fence. At the beginning of Chapter 6, the child super-psychic, Toby, has to push Abel onto some steam vents.
 * Do Not Run with a Gun: Psychic abilities, and shooting, require you to stand still.
 * Eldritch Abomination:
 * Emergency Weapon: The pistol, which does less damage than Cain's fireball attack. Even so, the fireball is a better emergency weapon because you always regenerate to a basic amount of sanity to launch a few shots.
 * Friendly Fireproof: Enemies are immune to each other attacks (specifically their own element), as long as they are part of the same psychic totem. However, Golgathem send waves at you throughout the game, but you can exploit friendly fire to damage them because they are cross-totem.
 * Government Conspiracy: A mysterious government agent calls Cain, asking him to assassinate the leader of the Eyes of Ra, instead of following his direct orders to apprehend her. You receive more calls from him later.
 * The Guards Must Be Crazy: The security guards are competent (one bodyguard doesn't even submit when threatened). However, some receptionists don't realize that they're in a high-security zone, and that random civilians shouldn't have gotten that far.
 * Immune to Bullets: Early in the game, Abel walks past a few guards without taking damage from attacks. He isn't using a shield to block them.
 * Lethal Lava Land: Chapter 4. The poor lighting makes the lava look like blood, which causes the trope to look like Super Drowning Skills.
 * Morality Chip: To ensure that Cain remains stable, his superiors install an aggression inhibitor. It can't tell the difference between accidental and intentional attacks, and takes Cain out whenever a non-hostile civilian is injured.
 * No Fourth Wall: If you use the Mind-reading talent on some NPCs, they're aware they're in a game.
 * No OSHA Compliance: Lampshaded in a Chapter 6 Death Course.
 * One-Winged Angel: When he's first defeated in combat, it turns out he's just a projection.
 * Power Nullifier: The PSI Suppressant. Cain has a firearm to get around this, but only Psi-attacks are allowed in multiplayer.
 * Puzzle Boss: Some bosses can't be damaged until you perform a certain action.
 * Ring Out Boss: Your first encounter with Abel, where only push-based attacks are used. If you run low on sanity when playing the game on hard, it becomes a Marathon Boss since he advances just as quickly as you regenerate power.
 * Stealth-Based Mission: In Chapter 3, you need to sneak past guards to infiltrate the facility. On initial failures, you'll be returned to the tour group if you get caught. Once you get past a certain point, getting spotted by guards is an instant Game Over.