::: spoiler spoiler
It was a strange ending all right. The text made it read like it was Sudhir who comes into the room at night but having it be Padmini is just way more nasty and feels more shocking for some reason.
There's even a horror/unnerving element to it when we realize that Padmini is the reason why Sudhir locked his room ever night and called it a "force of habit". Padmini sounds sexually repressed as hell, she doesn't even see who's in bed and starts humping them, I think her childlike behaviour and her marriage meant that she was probably raped every night without understanding what was happening to her and thought to herself that this is just one of her duties.
It's not a duty she likes so she gets sullen and distanced when Sudhir who (I think correctly) Nidhi thinks reminds her of her husband.
Sudhir probably likes girls who are smart but not too smart, he is clearly annoyed by Nidhi and there's also the fact that he talks to her about sleeping in his room after bedtime. He doesn't mention in during the day or at dinner in front of other people and they just makes him look sus.
There's the thing with her aunt being so jolly all the time that it feels like there's something wrong going on there as well.
Anyway, yeah I don't know exactly what happened but I love that the ending leaves you so many things to figure out.
:::
Okay guy status report: I finished the game yesterday, wrote this review and kept thinking about what to play next and also worrying about finding a job; fell asleep early because of all the brainload.
Woke up this morning and I think I get it, Henry went to Shoshone to get away from real life and find an adventure and the fact that the game lies to you internally and externally just hit me today. Internally, Henry never gets his life changing experience and even though he meets Delilah it's pretty much confirmed by the ending dialogue that he will go back, live his life and eventually forget about this one person he met on a two month job. Externally, the game feels like it's an escape from mundanity and is an adventure but then it turns out to mostly be an on-rails walking simulator where you as a don't even get to chop a tree yourself because all the animations are automated and the game doesn't even let you fish!
It's an exercise in deliberate expectation subversion and makes me feel sad about the whole experience. I think much of my criticism about the gameplay still stands but I get the storytelling a bit more now and would like to bump up the rating to a 7/10
TL;DR: I just realized I'm like Henry trying to escape life.
I think I just had overblown expectations for it and I agree that I might have been harsh to the game by talking mostly about the gameplay. Mostly just wanted to get across what I experienced as I was playing it. The small annoyances, frustrations and even delights like the opening sequence that might not seem like a cohesive whole of this game but are still worth mentioning
Maybe one day I'll replay it and be better situated to appreciate it more
Not really, the only other walking sim I have played also came out in 2016 and it's called "The Town of Light." I enjoyed that one
It's about a girl going through her experiences in a mental asylum in Italy and has a very realistic grounded setting (based on a real hospital). I have a review on it in this sub
There was another game I played which I can't remember the name of, it's more liminal space puzzle solving than walking sim but it uses it's setting to tell the blossoming and downfall of a relationship really well. Would love to play that one again
Jokes aside, I have been hearing about Wild Cards ever since I visited GRRM's blog the first time to see if he posted about The Winds of Winter. Would love to give it a try now, atleast the first book
There's a whole picture guide at the end of the book to show who's who and I frankly didn't even know the core members other than Batman and Superman had kids, first time hearing of Aqua-Lad xD
Occlude! I'm a fan of pantaloon and would love to try something they published
I'm reading this little book called A Short Stay in Hell and it's about a guy who is stuck in a hell full of books and to get out he has to find a book that contains the story of his life. It's a pretty fun concept
::: spoiler spoiler It was a strange ending all right. The text made it read like it was Sudhir who comes into the room at night but having it be Padmini is just way more nasty and feels more shocking for some reason.
There's even a horror/unnerving element to it when we realize that Padmini is the reason why Sudhir locked his room ever night and called it a "force of habit". Padmini sounds sexually repressed as hell, she doesn't even see who's in bed and starts humping them, I think her childlike behaviour and her marriage meant that she was probably raped every night without understanding what was happening to her and thought to herself that this is just one of her duties.
It's not a duty she likes so she gets sullen and distanced when Sudhir who (I think correctly) Nidhi thinks reminds her of her husband.
Sudhir probably likes girls who are smart but not too smart, he is clearly annoyed by Nidhi and there's also the fact that he talks to her about sleeping in his room after bedtime. He doesn't mention in during the day or at dinner in front of other people and they just makes him look sus.
There's the thing with her aunt being so jolly all the time that it feels like there's something wrong going on there as well.
Anyway, yeah I don't know exactly what happened but I love that the ending leaves you so many things to figure out. :::
I wasn't aware of that community but I'm gonna look into it now
Well it came out in the 90s haha
Thanks for the giveaway!
Yeah, I'm glad you caught on it buddy. :3
Okay guy status report: I finished the game yesterday, wrote this review and kept thinking about what to play next and also worrying about finding a job; fell asleep early because of all the brainload.
Woke up this morning and I think I get it, Henry went to Shoshone to get away from real life and find an adventure and the fact that the game lies to you internally and externally just hit me today. Internally, Henry never gets his life changing experience and even though he meets Delilah it's pretty much confirmed by the ending dialogue that he will go back, live his life and eventually forget about this one person he met on a two month job. Externally, the game feels like it's an escape from mundanity and is an adventure but then it turns out to mostly be an on-rails walking simulator where you as a don't even get to chop a tree yourself because all the animations are automated and the game doesn't even let you fish!
It's an exercise in deliberate expectation subversion and makes me feel sad about the whole experience. I think much of my criticism about the gameplay still stands but I get the storytelling a bit more now and would like to bump up the rating to a 7/10
TL;DR: I just realized I'm like Henry trying to escape life.
I think I just had overblown expectations for it and I agree that I might have been harsh to the game by talking mostly about the gameplay. Mostly just wanted to get across what I experienced as I was playing it. The small annoyances, frustrations and even delights like the opening sequence that might not seem like a cohesive whole of this game but are still worth mentioning
Maybe one day I'll replay it and be better situated to appreciate it more
Not really, the only other walking sim I have played also came out in 2016 and it's called "The Town of Light." I enjoyed that one
It's about a girl going through her experiences in a mental asylum in Italy and has a very realistic grounded setting (based on a real hospital). I have a review on it in this sub
There was another game I played which I can't remember the name of, it's more liminal space puzzle solving than walking sim but it uses it's setting to tell the blossoming and downfall of a relationship really well. Would love to play that one again
12"2" Doesn't look like anyone picked 2 yet!
Already have it but thanks!
I was going to start Watchmen next, I'll see if commit to that or read Ruins first
Jokes aside, I have been hearing about Wild Cards ever since I visited GRRM's blog the first time to see if he posted about The Winds of Winter. Would love to give it a try now, atleast the first book
Sounds interesting, so I should expect something bleak?
I hope this new Balatro book gets a live-action adaptation
You guys are singlehandedly shaping my comic book taste xD
Only read Umbrella Academy Vol. 1 as a kid and now I have read two big comics already.
I'll bite, what is Ruins about and is it DC or Marvel?
Very late update but I'll give Marvels a try
There's a whole picture guide at the end of the book to show who's who and I frankly didn't even know the core members other than Batman and Superman had kids, first time hearing of Aqua-Lad xD
I have those already but thanks for the giveaway!
Coromon, thanks!
Started listening to Moby Dick again :)
Occlude! I'm a fan of pantaloon and would love to try something they published
I'm reading this little book called A Short Stay in Hell and it's about a guy who is stuck in a hell full of books and to get out he has to find a book that contains the story of his life. It's a pretty fun concept