Get ready for an existential crisis on the go
Comments like this are what are keeping me off the game. I’ve heard so much good about it and I think I’d really enjoy the gameplay (I loved Obra Dinn), but I really don’t think I’m in a good mental state to deal with existential dread. I have a hard enough time with that as it is.
It might also be a good thing for you, because despite the existential dread it left me incredibly hopeful and put things into a new perspective. Maybe others could chime in but for me it was an emotionally rewarding experience.
That’s the kind of catharsis I experienced at the end of Disco Elysium, so it’s definitely possible. I’m just wary of a more cosmic scale perspective since that’s the kind of dread I have a harder time dealing with. If it leans more heavily into the futility of existence, ultimate meaninglessness of being, final end of all things (heat death of the universe type beat) then that’s not the type of concepts I cope well with. Hell, just typing that out is putting more emphasis on those thoughts than I’m typically comfortable with.
I definitely sobbed at the end. Andrew Prahlow deserves huge credit for his musical score, I can’t even listen to Travelers on its own without somebody cutting onions.
All the conversations at the very end of the game hit me right in the gut every time I read them.
spoiler
This song is new to me, but I am honored to be a part of it.
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The past is past, now, but that’s… you know, that’s okay! It’s never really gone completely. The future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it.
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When my kind found the Eye and realized what it was capable of, they were terrified. It was too difficult a truth. Like a light too bright to look upon directly, it burned them. What they could not unlearn was hidden away in darkness — obfuscated, then lost. They did not want to see their story end. My kind weren’t always like this. We weren’t always so afraid. I did what I could to set things right, yet I am still of my kind, and you know now what they did. I cannot promise our fear won’t stain your mind.
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…How beautiful. It’s different than I’d envisioned. Whatever happens next, I do not think it is to be feared.
I have been waiting for this for a long time. Been compulsively checking the release every few months ever since my brother showed me the game on his PS. I mainly game on switch these days (rarely steam) so I am pumped!
One of the best games ever made. Not sure if Switch is going to be the best way to experience it, but as long as it works properly and runs well enough it’s a must-play in my books.
I wanna love this game so much. Have tried multiple times. But every time I am stopped by my horrendous Thalassophobia on Giant’s Deep and Dark Bramble. And honestly just everywhere. such a shame, it seems so good.
I know there’s a mod that can get rid of basically everything scary for the dark bramble. There’s possibly one that modifies giants deep too.
Also if you don’t mind a minor spoiler for the content of giants deep:
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There isn’t anything that can actually harm you under the water. The only creatures I remember are jellyfish and they don’t really acknowledge you (no leviathans or anything alla Subnautica)
I mean, fair play. I don’t even experience thalassophobia and those two sections were absolutely terrifying.
Maybe look up a lets play and skip through those parts so you can experience the rest of the game, because God damn it is something.
Absolute gem that’s worth every penny.
You don’t want to spoil any of it since it’s truly ever experienced only once.
I only wish I could play it fresh again.
People said this over and over so I picked up the game a year ago on sale. I can’t say I like the “twist”. It just filled me with dread and anxiety, >!especially the sun changing color and getting bigger,!< without explaining anything.
I stopped after 4 hours and haven’t gone back.
So, yeah… As other comments have pointed out, figuring out why that is happening is the point of the game.
But also, yes, there’s going to be a lot more dread and anxiety. This is a much darker and more serious game than the art style implies. It contains some of the most effective moments of pure horror I’ve ever seen in a game. The ending, especially, is profoundly sad, and beautifully hopeful; an absolute rollercoaster of emotions.
If that’s more intensity of feels than you’re looking for from your entertainment, it’s probably not your thing.
If you don’t mind spoiling yourself and want to see what the fuss is about, this video is a pretty powerful summary of why people care about this game so much - https://youtu.be/Hr6WGu3omUI?si=qag5GchJp11Qk6Q3 (cw: frank discussion of a family member dying of cancer).
Edit: This video - https://youtu.be/Ga-oMRAcWCY?si=sHDjzJJhHyTqqwS6 - is a more direct summary of the game if you just want a compressed play through.
Here is an alternative Piped link(s):
https://piped.video/Hr6WGu3omUI?si=qag5GchJp11Qk6Q3
Piped is a privacy-respecting open-source alternative frontend to YouTube.
I’m open-source; check me out at GitHub.
!the sun changing color and getting bigger, without explaining anything!<
Well, a big part of the game is figuring out why that’s happening, by exploring the system and piecing together its past. The game certainly doesn’t hold your hand in that, but it’s fair in letting you discover it on your own. I get that this kind of mystery might just not be for everyone, though.
!Haven’t played the DLC, but the game doesn’t explain why it’s happening, does it?!<
I knew nothing about it going in and that first time >!going into orbit, then realising I could go to the other planets!< absolutely blew my mind, and that was just the beginning.
I am genuinely envious of every person who is about to get to experience that game for the first time.
I’ve come close to watching play through. And, thankfully, I don’t think Daryl has covered it completely (with spoilers) on Psych of Play, otherwise it might have been spoiled. Looking forward to experiencing for myself.
Watching a play through would be kind of terrible to be honest. It would really spoil the game (more so than pretty much any other), and I just don’t think it would be fun to watch a play through of at all.
Hope you have a good time with it! It’s pretty cool and it’s probably one of the games that I have thought about the most after playing it. There’s a lot of really interesting sci-fi concepts in it. That said I will warn you that while I think this game is very good and very worth your time (especially since it’s a fairly unique experience), I do think that the game is really hyped up by people… and I’m on the fence about whether it deserves it. It’s a little rough around the edges and clunky in ways that detract from the experience a bit in my opinion. If you go in understanding that it’s going to be a little clunky and awkward I think you’ll have a better time — it’s not a perfectly polished masterpiece, but it is an interesting piece of work that’s something you won’t really find elsewhere.