Fate/stay night

About Fate/stay night

Fate/Stay Night is a dark fantasy visual novel game that requires minimal interaction from players, as most of the game's duration is spent reading the text that appears, which is either the inner thoughts of the protagonist, narration, or dialogue. Players come to a decision point where they are given a chance to choose from options displayed on the screen, typically two to three at a time. The time between these decision points is variable. During these times, gameplay pauses until a choice is made that furthers the plot in a specific direction. There are three main plot lines that the player will have the chance to experience, one for each of the heroines in the story. To view all three plot lines, the player must replay the game multiple times and choose different choices during the decision points to progress the plot in an alternate direction. Finishing one route will unlock the next one. When interacting with the heroines in each route, an "affection meter" is created, which is raised by giving them an answer that pleases them. A "True Ending" can be unlocked depending on the player's affection.

There are multiple ways in which players can lose the game, including Shirou's death or a decision that causes the heroine to be murdered. Should this happen, the player is taken to an area called the Tiger Dojo (タイガー道場, Taigā Dōjō) where Taiga Fujimura and Illyasviel von Einzbern give the players hints about what they should do to survive in the next attempt to complete the game.

The story follows Shirou Emiya, a hardworking and honest teenager who unknowingly enters a to-the-death tournament between mages known as the Fifth Holy Grail War. Combatants fight with magecraft and Heroes from throughout history for a chance to have their wishes granted by the eponymous Holy Grail. Orphaned and the sole survivor of a massive fire in Fuyuki City as a child, Shirou was taken in by a retired mage named Kiritsugu Emiya who had died a few years ago. His perceived responsibility to those who died and his salvation through his father formed a strong desire for justice and peace in him. Thus, he earnestly trains his body and minuscule ability with magecraft to someday greatly help others, even if people often abuse his generosity at his stage.

One evening, after seeing two devastatingly powerful beings trading blows at his school with swords and spears, he is attacked, as witnesses of the supernatural are generally supposed to be eliminated. Chased to his home by the spear-wielding warrior Lancer and barely able to avoid his attacks, Shirou is about to be killed when he is saved by Saber. Saber, the personification of a renowned figure in history, was created to aid participants in the War. In her supposedly accidental summoning and the appearance of the marks on Shirou's hand, his entry as a Master into the Holy Grail War is formalized.

The first of the three heroines, Saber, is a mighty warrior who keeps her identity secret, hence her substitute name after her role as a member of the Saber class. She also serves as the route's servant protagonist. She was the victor of the Fourth Holy Grail War with another Master and claimed to be the strongest out of all Servants in the Saber Class. However, Shirou is against Saber's constant aim for conflicts with other servants and instead seeks to ally with Rin. Shirou drops his pacifism when he discovers that his former friend, Shinji Matou, is a Master with the Servant Rider, aiming to sacrifice all students from their school to increase the Rider's powers.