Lack of exposition driving me crazy

[Adam__86]

First thing is I like the game a lot. That said the lack of explanation is frustrating me. Now I have no issue in discovering the plot through progress, however I do prefer to have an understanding of the world around me, be it basic. Unfortunately I am immediately flung into a world where the rain is deadly and invisible monsters exist, however my biggest issue is dialogue where characters use words and terminology I have no context on thus leaving myself trying to decipher gibberish.

After 90 minutes I did manage to piece bits together such as:

-Something happened to the world causing dead bodies to go nuclear unless they're cremated
-Something in the rain causes rapid aging/decay
-BTs are created from the dead
-DOOMS prevents permanent death
-BBs allow people to see/sense BT's

However so much I still don't understand such as the relevance of beaches and whales. Why Sam is seemingly a prisoner and had his name changed to occupation and company. WTF BBs are. Why Sam didn't know his 'mother' was the President. What was the black ♥♥♥♥ inside her. Why is Die-Hardman wearing a skull mask. Why does Deadman have stiches. Why is the USA now the UCA. Why is connecting to the people important when the world is pretty much over, finding a solution to the problem seems more important.

Obviously this is all subjective and some people will enjoy the ambiguity but personally I am finding it frustrating like I am reading book 3 of a trilogy without knowledge of book 1 and 2

[Dadpool]

Hideo Kojima

[ImHelping]

The back half of the game goes very heavy "Oh ♥♥♥♥, here is all the plot details you have either figured out on your own by now or didn't" exposition.

A big part of the "Why even the ♥♥♥♥ is the world like this?" is part of that late in stuff. Including why Sam specifically is extra zesty when it comes to people with post apocalyptic traits.

So yeah. The majority of things are explained, for once, when it comes to "Wow so eldritch I guess" settings. But you are in for a wait with a lot of people calling you to go "why even the ♥♥♥♥? we just found more things that made us go what the ♥♥♥♥ even harder?" first.

[Adam__86]

Originally posted by Ëlaevydd:

Hideo Kojima

I didn't get that feeling with MGS, MGS 2 or MGS3 though

[Capulse]

The game does kind of drop you in the deep end but does explain and evolve as you progress. You also learn some of these things with the main characters for the first time. I felt they catch the player up to the characters knowledge pretty quick and then its the roleplay of your making these connections and figuring out whats going on along with everyone else.

[WarnerCK]

The idea is that for a lot of things the characters don't know the answers, either, and they guess a bunch throughout the game.

Lack of exposition driving me crazy

Unfortunately you'll be driven crazy for the exact opposite reason at other points in the game.

It is what it is.

[Marchand]

Wait till you find out why die hardman is named as such.

[deltahazer]

Originally posted by Adam__86:

Originally posted by Ëlaevydd:

Hideo Kojima

I didn't get that feeling with MGS, MGS 2 or MGS3 though

His storytelling wasn't as nuanced or as convoluted back then, although even in the first MGS he did like to hide a few little surprises.. You can see it happening more in MGSV and MGR:R.

It just seems to have peaked with this game. ;p

[ConMan]

I found the mystery of it all to be a compelling motivator. Gives you something to think about on all those long deliveries. I totally get why it'd be frustrating though.

I love that the invisible monsters are given an acronym for a name but the game doesn't tell you what BT stands for (until later I assume). Top tier "fear of the unknown" writing, which almost forces you to fill in the gaps with your own personal fears.

I'm also getting some serious "we were (accidentally) the baddies all along" vibes, which is another great flavor of horror.

That being said, one of my favorite books is Sphere which deals with similar themes and also has a supernatural mystery at the center of it that prompts the characters to speculate wildly about the nature of said supernatural occurrence. I guess I have a type. Hope you like it too.

[Adam__86]

Originally posted by ConMan:

I found the mystery of it all to be a compelling motivator. Gives you something to think about on all those long deliveries. I totally get why it'd be frustrating though.

I love that the invisible monsters are given an acronym for a name but the game doesn't tell you what BT stands for (until later I assume). Top tier "fear of the unknown" writing, which almost forces you to fill in the gaps with your own personal fears.

I'm also getting some serious "we were (accidentally) the baddies all along" vibes, which is another great flavor of horror.

That being said, one of my favorite books is Sphere which deals with similar themes and also has a supernatural mystery at the center of it that prompts the characters to speculate wildly about the nature of said supernatural occurrence. I guess I have a type. Hope you like it too.

I don't mind not knowing what the character doesn't know but my issue was mostly terminology never been explained meaning I didn't understand the conversation because I don't know what DOOMs is etc

[WarnerCK]

FWIW, DOOMs is never explained. It's just a MacGuffin. Sam comes back from the dead because he's a "repatriate," which means "someone who comes back from the dead." It isn't established that anyone else can, even though they have a word for it.

[deltahazer]

Originally posted by ConMan:

That being said, one of my favorite books is Sphere...

Good lord, that book. Took me two days to de-pretzel my brain after that one. But yeah, it's a heckuva story.

[deltahazer]

Originally posted by WarnerCK:

FWIW, DOOMs is never explained. It's just a MacGuffin. Sam comes back from the dead because he's a "repatriate," which means "someone who comes back from the dead." It isn't established that anyone else can, even though they have a word for it.

Pretty sure that Heartman is one, all things considered.

And since Fragile and Higgs both have a higher DOOMS rating than Sam, I would not be at all surprised if one or both of them was capable.

And once you've got enough bits and pieces to put together from conversations and some of the interviews you collect, it seems pretty obvious that there are/have been a number of other repatriates. We just don't meet them or get their names during the game.

[Mord]

That is part of it, with the networks down, that information has been lost across society. Part of the reconnecting is discovering that lore - which does explain things as you discover them.