Can we talk about the ending?

[BMBL #GLF]

So I just finished the game and yeah... what the hell just happened?
Was the hero really insane all along, or was it just some kind of cruel and ironic joke made by Cthulthu in the end?

Like "Yeah good luck explaining that one to people, you technically did murder all those people" or something like that.

[Alchemist]

I quite like the latter theory, a lovely parting gift from Cthulhu where you're the one who's perceived as mad despite knowing the truth and being innocent. However, it's heavily implied in the game that both the available characters have been consumed by madness.

I will focus here on the priest.

At the very start of the game there's a news article about an assailant named the Beast of Pestisville who attacks people and cattle so lots of people have gone missing, including mayor Mahoney. This beast is the priest (there are also his notes in some later levels how to skin animals for example and evidence of animal trophies). In the hospital section when you reach those padded cells, you'll find two docs, one referring to Wes Murphy and the other one to Samantha Morgan which would be the "priest" and the "journalist" respectively. Considering what kind of treatment they got it comes to no surprise that things ended tragically.

Bit by bit, the name Murphy keeps popping up and it seems that he was a WWI Navy vet as indicated by the order for services in the ship level which would also explain some enemy designs. Later he became a part of the Blue Squid crew where he worked as a navigator. Then he ended up as a mental patient. When he starts talking incoherent nonsense doctor Sullivan calls for his cousin to help him with understanding old Murphy.

Someone else posted a much more elaborate and better explanation of the story in the discussions:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1590910/discussions/0/3418810183139811648/#c3418810907938325147

but I admit that I didn't catch the part that his wife was cheating on him with his cousin. I thought it was PTSD combined with his vivid imagination and subsequently the hospital treatment that finally made him lose the last ounce of sanity he had. Also, it doesn't make sense to me that both characters share the same cousin. And I still haven't figured out what the deal is with Sarah (what did she find out?) and Aiden MacDonald (who was running against Mahoney and went missing) and the locker that's mentioned in the mountains level. The only thing that's apparent is that his cousin realized Murphy was behind those attacks after he escaped the hospital and alerted everyone including Anne to leave the town. Murphy finds and kills Dr. Sullivan after he gives up where the rest of the townsfolk went into hiding. And then the massacre enfolds including the murder of his cousin.

I could also be wrong on some accounts so hopefully others can contribute to the discussion. There's a lot of focus on the Blue Squid cargo and with all the letters about mutiny and ship being caught in storm and poor working conditions, it probably took a heavy toll on the already deteriorated Murphy's psyche but I also get a feeling I'm missing something important.

[BMBL #GLF]

Originally posted by Lone Emissary:

I quite like the latter theory, a lovely parting gift from Cthulhu where you're the one who's perceived as mad despite knowing the truth and being innocent. However, it's heavily implied in the game that both the available characters have been consumed by madness.

I will focus here on the priest.

At the very start of the game there's a news article about an assailant named the Beast of Pestisville who attacks people and cattle so lots of people have gone missing, including mayor Mahoney. This beast is the priest (there are also his notes in some later levels how to skin animals for example and evidence of animal trophies). In the hospital section when you reach those padded cells, you'll find two docs, one referring to Wes Murphy and the other one to Samantha Morgan which would be the "priest" and the "journalist" respectively. Considering what kind of treatment they got it comes to no surprise that things ended tragically.

Bit by bit, the name Murphy keeps popping up and it seems that he was a WWI Navy vet as indicated by the order for services in the ship level which would also explain some enemy designs. Later he became a part of the Blue Squid crew where he worked as a navigator. Then he ended up as a mental patient. When he starts talking incoherent nonsense doctor Sullivan calls for his cousin to help him with understanding old Murphy.

Someone else posted a much more elaborate and better explanation of the story in the discussions:
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1590910/discussions/0/3418810183139811648/#c3418810907938325147

but I admit that I didn't catch the part that his wife was cheating on him with his cousin. I thought it was PTSD combined with his vivid imagination and subsequently the hospital treatment that finally made him lose the last ounce of sanity he had. Also, it doesn't make sense to me that both characters share the same cousin. And I still haven't figured out what the deal is with Sarah (what did she find out?) and Aiden MacDonald (who was running against Mahoney and went missing) and the locker that's mentioned in the mountains level. The only thing that's apparent is that his cousin realized Murphy was behind those attacks after he escaped the hospital and alerted everyone including Anne to leave the town. Murphy finds and kills Dr. Sullivan after he gives up where the rest of the townsfolk went into hiding. And then the massacre enfolds including the murder of his cousin.

I could also be wrong on some accounts so hopefully others can contribute to the discussion. There's a lot of focus on the Blue Squid cargo and with all the letters about mutiny and ship being caught in storm and poor working conditions, it probably took a heavy toll on the already deteriorated Murphy's psyche but I also get a feeling I'm missing something important.

Man that's way more complex than I expected.
But still, thanks.

[Alchemist]

Originally posted by BMBL #GLF:

Man that's way more complex than I expected.
But still, thanks.

Yeah, sorry about the wall of text, haha. It is certain that they're clinically insane but aside from that I might have misinterpreted a few things so take it as an amusing theory.

[Chrishuahua]

Last boss was pretty easy than any other