"It's Saturday night, 198X. It's time for a pizza run."
—Opening Narration, One Night at the Steeze
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One Night at the Steeze is a Role-Playing Horror Video Game that was released on July 25, 2016. It was developed and published by oates for the PC. It would eventually be followed by a sequel titled No Delivery.
The Kid loves pizza. Even better, he loves eating pizza at the Steeze Pizzeria. Which is why he decides to make a run to that very place on a Saturday night. What will he find there?
If you would like to see a playthrough of One Night at the Steeze on YouTube, please see the following videos:
- Affably Evil: The Employee is rather friendly and polite towards the Kid. However, the minute that she finds out that he has seen the body of the Manager, she tries to kill him, because he knows too much.
- Air Vent Passageway: The Kid can punch a hole in the vents and then go through the air ducts. It seems that they are so big that the Kid can walk through them standing up.
- Ambiguous Innocence: The Kid. He causes destruction of property and does not seem to be particularly upset by the discovery of the skeletal remains of two kids and the corpse of the Manager. Then again, it might be because he is innocent that he does not realize that these are bad things.
- Ambiguously Brown: The Kid. He has noticeably darker skin than the other characters. His hair looks like a dark brown afro. He also says "Deuces," which is African-American Vernacular slang for "Peace" or "Goodbye." He might be African-American, but the game never really says one way or the other.
- Animate Inanimate Object:
- The Trashcans. They can talk and they will give the Kid one Fake Voucher in exchange for 10 Pieces of Trash or one Firecracker in exchange for five Pieces of Trash.
- The Old-school Boiler. It reveals to the Kid that inanimate objects have been given false life. It refers to this as a curse, and says that someone is not only perpetuating it, but is also familiar with it. That someone turns out to be none other than the Employee.
- Anti-Grinding: While you could kill lots of enemies to get 50 Tokens, which will allow you to go up one Pizza Club Rank, you do not have to do so. You could just collect as many Pieces of Trash as possible and get Fake Vouchers from the trashcans in exchange. You could also just get lots of Pop Rocks and Firecrackers and use those to defeat bosses. It is up to you how you want to play this game.
- Apocalyptic Log:
- The Kid will find boards on the walls of the pizzeria with notes written by the Manager. The board in the Steeze Arcade says that the technician is charging the remainder of the employees' pay checks to fix the cabinets, so employees have to fix any machines that break down on their watch and that they should exercise caution while reaching inside the cabinet since they cannot afford rubber gloves during this quarter.
- The board in the Stage area says that the stage animatronics have been playing inappropriate audio recordings, so the Manager intends to find and punish the person tampering with them. Not only that, but the animatronic replicas outside have some illicit tapes inside them. Naturally, the Manager is upset, because such things are unsavory for a family restaurant.
- One board in the Cracked Clown Statue room reveals that the restaurant has been losing money during this quarter to the point that the Manager had to let the part-timers go to keep the place running. However, the part-timers were only too happy to leave, because the place gave them the chills. There were also complaints about the old mascot that they keep out back. It seems that it likes to play its laugh track certain times at night. Naturally, the Manager has to look into that.
- The other board in the Cracked Clown Statue room reveals that the Manager found one of the employees throwing out a dead cat. He decides that they need to go over proper disposal procedures for dead animals that are not on the pizza.
- One board in the room with the Manager's corpse reveals that they are discontinuing the sock puppet toys for merchandising on the grounds that the costs during this quarter have to be cut down and that the face on them has to go.
- The other board in the room with the Manager's corpse reveals that it is always good to have an employee willingly staying to work overtime. He even gave her the keys to lock up the pizzeria. He was also considering leaving the night shift to her.
- Armor Is Useless: Averted. The Novelty T-Shirt has +5 ATK, +10 DEF and +3 AGI.
- Bad Liar: The Kid. If he tries to say "No," when the Employee asks if she saw the body of the Manager, she will comment on how bad he is at lying. She then reveals that kids keep lying about putting gum under the table and forcing her to work overtime most nights. She is insulted that he somehow thought that he was any different.
- Batter Up: The Kid can buy the Soft Bat from the Employee. The Soft Bat has +12 ATK and comes with the skill Fearful Strike.
- Berserk Button:
- The Employee really does not like it when kids tell obvious lies to her face. It even causes her to stop smiling.
- The Rustled Chef will fly into a murderous when he sees the Rusty Spatula. He claims that it is not his spatula, but it turns out that it actually is his spatula.
- Big Bad: The Pizzeria Employee. While she might not have been responsible for the Steeze losing money, she did not hesitate to use the situation to her advantage. She gained the trust of the Manager and then murdered him. She performed rituals to put human souls into objects, such as animatronics. These rituals entailed killing a cat. It is even implied that she has no qualms about molesting children. In short, many of the bad things in the game can be traced back to her.
- Blatant Lies: The Kid can try to invoke this by saying "No," when the Employee asks if he saw the body of the Manager. Not only will she see right through it, but she will also be angry that he would try to blatantly lie about that.
- Bonus Boss:
- The Rustled Chef. He hangs around in the kitchen, and the Kid must equip the Rusty Spatula and talk to him in order to fight him. He will drop 120 Tokens and the Chef's Apron (+10 ATK, +15 DEF, +5 LUK, +skill Poison).
- The Restrained Mascot. It is restrained to a chair in an isolated area, and the Kid must equip the Cracked Clown Statue and talk to it in order to fight it. It will drop 120 Tokens and the Clown Wig (+15 ATK, +15 DEF, +20 MAT, +5 AGI, +5 LUK, +skill Pearly Whites).
- Brown Bag Mask: The Rustled Chef wears a plain paper grocery bag over his head.
- Cap: The Kid's level is capped at 5. In a twist, the game refers to his levels as Pizza Club Rank. The number may be small, but the Kid will be able to crush anything at that level.
- Child-Hater: The Employee reveals herself to be this. She hates how children are such bad liars. She knows that they are the reason why there is gum under the tables. She knows that they are the reason why she has to work overtime most nights. After all, she has to clean up the messes that they swear that they did not make. Frankly, it offends her that the Kid has the gall to think that he could tell a good lie.
- Computer Virus: When the Kid plays an arcade game in the Steeze Arcade, he will fight two of these. Oddly enough, they are even called Computer Viruses.
- Damage Reduction: Rustled Chef has a move in which he will shake his hips seductively and he wants to know if the Kid likes what he sees. This move will decrease the Kid's ATK stat. Oh, and he can use the move more than once and stack the decreases in the Kid's ATK stat.
- Deadpan Snarker: The Kid can read one sign in the Steeze Arcade reminding people not to forget to dump their junk. He simply notes, "It clearly did not reach its intended audience."
- Dem Bones: The Kid will find the skeletal remains of two kids who got lost in the plastic tunnels and never came out. One of them has a Candy Bar and the other one has a Show Ticket. However, once the Kid loots them, the remains will chase after him. If he touches them, they will disappear and he will lose 100 HP each.
- Does This Remind You of Anything?: The stage animatronics, Suzy and the Steeze, first call the Kid "Bubble Butt." They ask the Kid if he wants to find out if he can satisfy the Steeze, and Suzy asks him not to forget about her. They also tell him not to bother sitting down because they want him on his knees. It seems that whoever programmed these animatronics is a pervert or, more accurately, a molester.
- Evil Redhead: The Employee. She has red hair, and she has done things such as killing a cat and murdering the Manager.
- Foreshadowing: Before the Kid enters the plastic tunnels, he can find two pairs of shoes in the rack. He will find the skeletal remains of two kids who got lost in the plastic tunnels and never came out.
- Gasshole: Fart. The Kid will learn this at level three. It can hit multiple enemies and has a chance of poisoning them.
- Gotta Catch Them All: The Kid is encouraged to pick up Pieces of Trash and put it in the trashcans. For every 10 Pieces of Trash, he will get one Fake Voucher. He will also get one Firecracker for every five Pieces of Trash.
- Graceful Loser: The Employee certainly takes her defeat at the Kid's hands remarkably well. In fact, she even advises him not to kill any cats that he sees.
- Haunted Technology: This is not stated outright, but the Employee has been performing rituals to put human souls inside objects, such as animatronics.
- He Knows Too Much: If the Employee asks the Kid if he saw the body of the Manager and he says "Yes," she will try to kill him because of this trope. It is possible that she killed the Manager because of this, but it is also possible that she wanted his job and decided to remove an obstacle to that goal.
- Heroic Mime: The Kid does not talk. With that said, clicking on people, items and things will give you a good idea as to what he thinks or feels about something.
- Horrible Judge of Character: The Manager. He was glad that the Employee was willing to work overtime and even gave her the keys to lock up the pizzeria. He was also considering leaving the night shift to her. The fact that she murdered him (and that the note talking about how much he trusts her is in the same room with his corpse) proves that he was dead wrong on that score.
- Hyperactive Metabolism: The Kid can heal himself by eating Candy Bars (60 HP and PP), Heavenly Slices (1,000 HP), Mini Candy Bite (30 HP and PP), Pizza Slices (300 HP) and Soda Pop (50 MP). Oh, and there are pizza boxes scattered around the pizzeria that will fully restore his HP and PP.
- Level Grinding: Played with. Killing enemies gives the Kid Tokens instead of experience points. The Tokens are used to buy his way up the levels. The Kid must use Fake Vouchers or give the Employee 50 Tokens to go up a level, which is called a Pizza Club Rank.
- Jail Bait: If the Jailbait Ending is any indication, the Employee molests the Kid. It is important to keep in mind that she is an adult and he is a kid who is nowhere near the age of consent.
- Kid Hero: Well, the protagonist is named Kid, and he is the hero of the story.
- Kill It with Fire: In the Normal Ending, the Old-school Boiler snuffs itself out in peace. That is to say, it set the entire Steeze Pizzeria on fire and burned it to the ground.
- Mercy Kill: The Freshly Transposed Puppet found next to the Manager's corpse will never attack the Kid. That is because it is too busy trying to talk, flail around and move its legs. Considering that the Employee likely put the Manager's soul inside the puppet, killing the puppet is arguably this.
- Monster Clown: The Restrained Mascot. This clown animatronic is so dangerous that they had to tie it to a chair. When the Kid equips the Cracked Clown Statue and talks to it, he has to kill it before it breaks out of its restraints.
- Multiple Endings: There are two endings, which are the Normal Ending and the Jailbait Ending. When the Employee asks the Kid if he had seen the body of the Manager, he must either say "Yes" or "No." Saying "Yes" will lead to the Kid fighting the Employee, and the Steeze Pizzeria will burn to the ground, resulting in the Normal Ending. Saying "No" will lead to the screen going black due to the Employee molesting the Kid, resulting in the Jailbait Ending.
- Nightmare Fuel Station Attendant: The Rustled Chef. If the Kid talks to him, he will tell you about the industrial microwave whose magnetron pumps out more than 3 GHz worth of microwave radiation. According to him, it would take a block of ice and turn it into a pizza, and he asks the Kid if he would like to see if the same thing would happen if he put a cat in it. How oddly specific and creepy.
- No Indoor Voice: If the Kid equips the Rusty Spatula and talks to the Rustled Chef, the Rustled Chef will say, "THAT'S NOT MY SPATULA!"
- No Name Given: Kid, Employee and Manager are not given names. Instead, they given job titles or descriptions.
- Opaque Nerd Glasses: The Kid wears glasses that are so thick that you cannot see his eyes.
- Out-of-Character is Serious Business: The Employee is always smiling, no? Well, if she asks the Kid if she saw the body of the Manager and he says "No," she will actually stop smiling. It seems that she really hates it when kids blatantly lie to her.
- Paedo Hunt: If the Jailbait Ending is any indication, the Employee has no qualms about molesting the Kid.
- Posthumous Character: The Manager is dead, and the Kid can find his body behind the stage. It turns out that the Employee murdered him so that she could take over his position.
- Real Song Theme Tune: The game features music by Queen. More specifically, the song used in fights is "Don't Stop Me Now" and the song used when walking around the pizzeria is "Somebody to Love." The game also includes stock music called "American 50s Ballad" in the credits.
- Respawning Enemies: Upset Balloons, Happy Balloons and Frisky Balloons will respawn every time that the Kid re-enters the Steeze Arcade. The Disembodied Puppet will respawn every time that the Kid re-enters the air ducts through the vent in the Steeze Playground. The Ball Pit Monster and the Wibbly Ball Pit Monster hide in the ball pit, so it will randomly attack the Kid as he walks through it.
- Reverse Psychology: One sign at the beginning encourages the Kid to politely ask an employee to move any signs that are in his way and not to use the A key. Obviously, the Kid should use the A key to smash those signs to pieces.
- Save Point: The Employee at the counter acts as this. You can save your game, level up, buy stuff or just say "Deuces" (i.e. "Goodbye").
- Status Buff: The Rustled Chef has a move in which he will think of ways to cook the Kid and then find the perfect recipe. This move will increase Rustled Chef's ATK stat. Oh, and he can use the move more than once and stack the increases in his ATK stat.
- Stepford Smiler: You may have noticed that the Employee never seems to stop smiling. Well, if she asks the Kid if he has seen the body of the Manager and he says "No," she will stop smiling and reveal that kids lie all the time. Considering that she killed a cat and murdered the Manager, it is likely that she is Type C.
- Stout Strength: The Kid is pretty chubby, probably because of all the pizza that he eats. However, he can punch open vents, smash signs to pieces and beat up adults.
- Suck E. Cheese's: The Steeze Pizzeria has the hallmarks: a combination pizza restaurant and "family fun" center, arcade games, ball pits, pizza, and costumed and animatronic characters are loaded with uncanny valley. If the Jailbait Ending is any indication, it even has an employee who is willing to molest a child.
- That's All, Folks!: In the endings, you will get the message "THANK YOU FOR PLAYING!!!"
- The Goomba: Upset Balloon. Its only attack is to float in place and bob slightly, which will do no damage whatsoever to the Kid. He can destroy Upset Balloon with three Bashes at level one without any items equipped.
- Toilet Humor: The game has instances of this. One good example is the fact that "PP" is used instead of "MP." (In case you do not get it, here is a hint: "pee-pee.")
- Upgrade Artifact: Fake Vouchers. They increase the Kid's Pizza Club Rank by one level. At level two, he will get a boost in his stats and learn Double Hit. At level three, he will get a boost in his stats and learn Fart. At level four, he will only get a boost in his stats. At the fifth and final level, he will get a boost in his stats and learn Confident Strike.
- Violation of Common Sense: The Kid wants a Candy Bar from the vending machine, but he has no real money. So how does solve the problem? By punching the machine! Hilariously enough, the developer has commented that this would never work in real life.
- Would Hurt a Child: The Employee. She will try to kill the Kid in the Normal Ending. In the Jailbait Ending, she will molest the Kid.
- X Meets Y: One Night at the Steeze is Five Nights at Freddy's meets EarthBound.
???: Legend goes that the reason the Steeze Pizzeria burned down was because an employee was playing with matches near the boiler. Do you really believe that's how it happened?
Kid: …'Depends.
???: On what?
Kid: You gonna finish that pizza?