SPOILERS! After Game Thoughts

[TheDragoonGamer]

So, I just finished the game, and wanted to mention something that I noticed about what Quincy said near the end of the game.

Quincy says, in reference to Faye, "who's even to say that her's is truly the ultimate end of the stack?", implying that it's possible that Faye's reality (or rather, Neil and Eva's) isn't the true source.

Now, I've never been one to support the whole "all of the To the Moon series takes place in one of the main character's memories" theory. It's not that I don't think it's plausible, it's just that... Kan Gao is Kan Gao. He's fully willing to tease those theories, even if they aren't true. Take one look at the teaser trailers for this game and you'll get what I mean. I'm sure Kan is fully aware of this theory, and as such, any "evidence" we find to support it could just be Kan leaving red herrings for us. After all, his twists will work best when we're distracted with theories.

I'm not saying that this line refers to this theory; I'm focused on something else.

Faye's (Neil and Eva's) reality definitively ISN'T the base reality; OURS comes first. It's obvious when you think of it, but I DIDN'T think about it for a while.

And, I think this really supports the major theme introduced at the end of this game; that which reality is the "true" reality doesn't matter as long as it's real to you. It's why Lynri cares about the data-Quincy, and why data-Quincy feels so creeped out about the prospect of having to see murdered bodies of Doctors, despite knowing that they aren't real. It's why Faye and Neil care about giving the data Lynri and Quincy a happy life. And it's why we play the game, and forget for a moment that, yes, the reality we're looking at isn't the "true" reality. It may not be real, but it's real to all of us, and that's what matters.

This theme was first introduced in To the Moon, and is the central theme of the series; the entire concept of granting people's wishes through memory manipulation, but it was first really brought up by the characters (outside of side conversations) in Finding Paradise, during Neil's "the fiction we tell ourselves" moment. However, I think that THIS MOMENT HERE, where Quincy says that Faye's reality may not even be the "true" reality, is where it hits the players the hardest. Because we are more inclined to think about how this line is saying that there's a possibility that all of these games are just a simulation, a wish being granted, in one of the character's heads, rather than thinking how this is true because these are just simulations (games) that we've been playing a layer below Neil and Eva's. Because, these games are the fiction that we tell ourselves. They may not be real, but they're real enough to us.

That's why we keep playing them, and why we care and get so emotional over these simulated, fictional characters in a world that isn't even totally based off of ours. It's why we cry when these characters die, why we smile during their happy moments. It's why we're invested in Neil and Eva, and why an old man's imaginary friend is a fan favorite character. So, maybe we should accept that Quincy has the right idea; we shouldn't be so worried about what reality is real or not, and should be more focused on what's real, and what matters, to US.