VN Talk: Steam Prison - Part 2: Eltcreed

I entered Steam Prison much like I do other otome. For my first playthrough I role play it out with the idea that I'll choose a love interest based on whoever strikes my fancy, which may or may not be who I thought it would be based on reviews or promotional material.

That did not happen quite as expected this time around because of how the game is structured, with routes being based around whether Cyrus goes to the sanctuary district (possible to avoid on later playthroughs once Yune and Fin are unlocked), and then what she does once she's there (further dividing player choice between Eltcreed and Ulrik on one route and Adage and Ines on another). Given Cyrus's determination to find work after arriving in the sanctuary district, I took the first opportunity given, which locked me into the bodyguard route and limited me to Eltcreed and Ulrik, neither of whom I initially liked.

But between the both of them, Eltcreed is the closest to being the poster boy, so I decided to do his route first.

Given his character design I expected him to be an arrogant bastard, and his first scene did little to dissuade me of that, but he ended up being more of a confident playboy instead. Normally I don't like those kinds of characters because their flirtiness feels so overbearing, and I definitely did not like that his first kiss is without Cyrus's consent, but after she gets curious about it I found I didn't mind as much because she is as dumb as a brick when it comes to romance. Anything other than being overbearingly flirty wouldn't even register as affection, as shown by the fact Fin was clearly devoted to her but she never thought there was anything romantic behind it. (Being raised in the Heights has nothing to do with it. Fin obviously fell in love and Heights people have been thrown into the Depths for falling in love with a non-approved partner.)

It helps that Eltcreed has a strong compassionate streak and wants to help the people of his district as much as possible. I was skeptical when I saw his character trait was Charity in the opening movie, but his life really does revolve around how best to look after the people of his district, and he does it by being the biggest voice in the room.

I suspect his desire to make people happy is why he keeps talking about giving love to people who ask, and why he sleeps with so many partners he can't keep their names straight when he wakes up. He's the most eligible bachelor around given his position as administrator of his district and the head of his family's bank. He's socially savvy, and he's physically attractive.

Which leads to one of the more annoying things on his route. While he doesn't have a fan club per se, his admirers essentially function as one and I dislike the digs Cyrus gets when attending social functions with him as anything other than an obvious bodyguard. It's not a major part of the story, but something I hadn't expected outside of a contemporary setting.

Eltcreed is the one who offers the job that spirits Cyrus out of the sanctuary district and into the Depths where the people who have naturally been born on the ground are. Being impressed with her sword skills, he hires her as a bodyguard, but being that the Depths are more technologically advanced, this is mostly for show as any serious combat will be done with guns. Eltcreed is a big Heights buff since his mother was born there and is completely in love with the idea of Cyrus being his pure and shining knight. This results in him putting her up on a pedestal, convincing himself not to bed her as quickly as he would other women, but notably doesn't stop him from being extremely forward with her.

I don't mind that Eltcreed finds her different from previous women he's been with, because obviously that's a factor when someone has dated a lot and found someone new who interests them, but I didn't like the focus on her purity. It's something Fin also does when he returns in Eltcreed's route.

While I don't think they mean her virginity specifically, by raising her up so high it feels like an impossible standard to reach (especially in Fin's case since he's in two bad endings on Eltcreed's route).

Fortunately, Eltcreed stops bringing it up later in his route as Cyrus begins sorting out her feelings and I like that she later initiates a kiss with him instead of always waiting. She never gets to the point where she can comfortably say she loves him aloud, but she's clearly adapting and has figured out what he means to her; so much so that even if she gets the opportunity to return to the Heights (which may or may not happen depending on player choice) she realizes that the Depths have become her home.

Unfortunately Fin proves incapable of moving forward, and his feelings for her have turned into an obsession due the torturous conditioning he went through with his new employment in the HOUNDS. While I disliked discovering Cyrus's sweet partner on the police force turned yandere, it actually became entertaining once I realized that Fin's insanity is the reason the route escalates into a climax at all (instead of being day to day Cyrus following Eltcreed around to various engagements while being flirted with).

First, after Fin discovers Cyrus is alive he kills a fellow HOUND to prevent his boss from learning where Cyrus disappeared to, and when the man's body is discovered the HOUNDS blame the people of the Depths. Then Fin attacks Eltcreed in a fit of jealousy, giving the people of the Depths reason to demand retribution against the HOUNDs.

Obviously neither side is interested in taking blame for something they did not do (it was all Fin!), but the Heights take issue with Eltcreed capturing a chunk of the HOUNDS and taking over the sanctuary district, so they issue an "invitation" for a representative of the Depths to come to the island to negotiate. Eltcreed agrees to go, since it's his district that's closest and he was the one who riled them up.

What Eltcreed knows, but does not tell Cyrus (at least not right away), is that he's certain the representative will be killed as an example to the Depths, but the other district admins feel that this is an opportunity for the Depths as well. If he dies taking out as many of the people of the Heights with him as possible (as a suicide bomber), then he'll become a martyr and inspire the Depths to go to war.

Given Steam Prison's predilection for branching, I shouldn't have been surprised that Eltcreed would have several different endings depending on Cyrus's affection level with him, but the degree of difference was really what startled me. Aside from bad endings (which tend to be brief and can happen at any time in a route), there are four different ways his story can end.

The good ending (the one with the most elaborate ending sequence) is the most different, since it's the only one where he doesn't go to the Heights. Basically, Cyrus sees through his death wish and as his bodyguard she decides the best way to protect his life is to ensure that he never goes, which, good for her! I like that she challenges him to a duel, and being the fighter she is, Eltcreed obviously loses and has to figure out another plan.

But my enthusiasm for this ending isn't particularly great because it ends up ignoring the demand from the Heights for the rest of the story. It chooses to focus on the fallout with the other districts, which withdraw their support in the form of trade while fomenting unrest. Though it's nice that Eltcreed ends up freeing the HOUNDS from imprisonment and forging an alliance with them and therefore the sanctuary district, I wanted to see the Heights issue addressed since the HOUNDS work for the Heights and I'm sure Sachsen would turn around and say no go to any trade the instant he got word.

My preference is what would probably be called the "normal" route. He and Cyrus go to the Heights and she refuses to leave his side even though he'll probably die. She reiterates the knightly promise she made to him when she first entered his service and it's a great callback. We also learn more about what makes Eltcreed tick, from the story of his family to why he likes knights so much.

Their impending deaths are spared by the deus ex machina appearance of Yune, who is the one person everyone in the Heights have to listen to, which disappointed me (I wanted to see how they'd get out of it), but Eltcreed's dialogue with Yune provides a potential win-win situation for both parties and wraps up the conflict between the two sides.

Eltcreed goes bomber on the remaining two endings based on affection. It's just whether Cyrus is with him or not.

While I enjoyed playing his route while I was in the middle of it, the more I think about it, the less I feel it holds up. The early parts were slow given that everything is just going day-by-day, and there wasn't much of a plot. While I know realistically Cyrus had no chance of returning to the Heights on her own, I was disappointed that investigating her parents' murder and clearing her name ended up being dropped from this route entirely.

This was especially egregious since Sachen shows up later in the route (in the incident that leads to the HOUNDS' imprisonment) and tells his men to capture her alive if possible so he can deliver her to "him." Who this person is, never comes up. He could have just called for her capture without saying anything more and it would have been fine because it was already established in the common route that Sachen likes tormenting her.

Because Ulrik is on the same bodyguard story branch as Eltcreed, his route will be next!