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When you first start up the game.
Virago: Herstory is a 2D platformer game that's centered around a little girl named "Willow", who runs away from home to escape her abusive mother and the divorce of her parents but, as Willow finds out, things don't go well from there.
Tropes used in Virago: Herstory include:
- Abusive Parents: Willow's Mom, is, from what's shown, emotionally and verbally abusive. Earlier in the game, she tells Willow, "I made a mistake having a child". Sure enough, she doesn't go looking for Willow when the latter runs away.
- Adults Are Useless: Played with. There are designated strangers that will intervene on Willow's behalf and some of them do give her useful items. This gets downplayed in the sequel, as there are more helpful adults.
- All Men Are Perverts: Well, not all of them but, when the Tall Woman walks Willow home, she comes some guys who toss catcalls at the former. In the sequel, we still get perverted guys, who act more like overt creeps to Willow, like sniffing her hair, taking pictures of her, touching her when she doesn't want to be touched, or, in some of the game play, helping her only for selfish reasons.
- Animal Motifs: In the second game, the kidnappers have a more fox or raccoon like appearance.
- Children are Innocent: Willow, particularly in the first game.
- Cute Mute: Willow, according to her mother, can't talk. She actually can but is probably too shy or scared to talk. The sequel, Virago 2, has her speaking.
- Disappeared Dad: Willow's father, as the game's summary says. Slightly justified because Willow's parents are divorced.
- Flashback: The game opens with one, showing the details of Willow's parents' marriage.
- Girlish Pigtails: Willow's Mother, according to a backwards view, wears these.
- Grow a Spine: Some of the sequel has Willow more apt to stand up to her attackers.
- Happily Adopted: Willow by Victoria in the Virago: Herstory 2.
- No Name Given: The only character that's named is "Willow". Other characters are called in accordance to the chapter they appear in (i.e the "Old Lady", "Tall Woman", etc). According to the game's Instagram, the "Tall Woman" is named "Victoria". [1]
- Nothing Is Scarier: Towards the end of the game between "Trauma and "The End", we see that the Stalker is still in Willow's house and, at one point, there's a scene of him in her bedroom before a cut to black, which adds some Fridge Horror.
- The Runaway: Willow is the abused type
- Splash of Color: The game is black, white and gray and the only recurring bit of color is Willow's bow. This changes in the in the sequel and the shorts.
- Streetwalker: The Tall Woman, Victoria, from what's implied, is one, and, if she is, she's also a Hooker with a Heart of Gold.
- Strong Family Resemblance: We know Willow's mom is her mom because she also wears bows.
- Vague Age: Most of what we know is that Willow is a little girl. She is older in the sequel, however, it's not clear how old she is, though, we get that she's probably teenaged.
- Would Hurt a Child: In the first game, the strangers that Willow meets, though, this is played with, as they don't anything to directly hurt her but some of the comments ("Stop dressing grown!") don't do wonders for Willow's emotional and psychological well-being. As far as her enemies go, she can get kidnapped if she doesn't make it to "safe" strangers. From what's implied in Virago 2, some of those enemies gave her PTSD.