The writters have done it what other games couldnt (spoiler)

[Observer]

Every one who finished the game knows that the main story is about "dealing with grief"
And how to make it clearer or perceptible? To make the player deal with grief. As you see, in the forums some people are mourning for the dead in the game. And how do people deal with it? Well just read the forums. Some can and some cant

If no one has realised it yet, I ve told you know. The writers ve made you part of the game. HOw to deal with grief. When an opus makes people feel it becomes the magnum.

[Ratsplat]

Yep, been thinking for a while now that everything is a bit meta. Maelle didn't want to leave, and now many people don't want to leave nor play other games. All we want is Clair Obscur, DLC, Expansions, Sequels for eternity.

[Shin Happens]

This may be true, you could be really on to something here... I argue that some kind of meta ending still did not stick the landing though, the game STILL entirely drops any and all Lumière stories, completely sidelines characters you were made to care about for 90% of the game. You don't do that, even in some kind of meta ending.

These endings may work in something like Monty Python and The Holy Grail where King Arthur and co get arrested by cops. :-D Not so much here, if you ask me.

But Maelle in the game is more or less an avatar for the gamer. In many ways. Like her we know two realities and both ultimately feel real to us. I get it... it's still emotionally unsatisfying though. And that's the main criticism many have.

[Cypherous]

Lots of games have made the player deal with grief and loss, this isn't original

[ADMC]

The writting is good until it gets jrpg sappy. a lot of people like that but it wasn't for me.
Sometimes the tone of the game gives me whip lash ; mountain of bodies to light and whimsical is seconds

[Observer]

Originally posted by Cypherous:

Lots of games have made the player deal with grief and loss, this isn't original

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

[Summoner]

Originally posted by Observer:

Originally posted by Cypherous:

Lots of games have made the player deal with grief and loss, this isn't original

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

Suikoden I&II

[Observer]

Originally posted by Summoner:

Originally posted by Observer:

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

Suikoden I&II

Nah, it's more about politics. Dont feel the grief in the game

[IwanttohavtheDamBurger]

Originally posted by Observer:

Every one who finished the game knows that the main story is about "dealing with grief"
And how to make it clearer or perceptible? To make the player deal with grief. As you see, in the forums some people are mourning for the dead in the game. And how do people deal with it? Well just read the forums. Some can and some cant

If no one has realised it yet, I ve told you know. The writers ve made you part of the game. HOw to deal with grief. When an opus makes people feel it becomes the magnum.

what the hell are you talking about?

[IwanttohavtheDamBurger]

Originally posted by Observer:

Originally posted by Cypherous:

Lots of games have made the player deal with grief and loss, this isn't original

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

Inmost, gris, hellblade, returnal, vampyr, outer wilds, god of war

[Theo]

Imo no amount of greed justifies genocide. For me there was no weight in the final choice. She should have gommage Verso though. He's been through enough

[nesoukefka]

Originally posted by Theo:

Imo no amount of greed justifies genocide. For me there was no weight in the final choice. She should have gommage Verso though. He's been through enough

What genocide in the end the canvas is a fictionnal world, they are not the reality, and Maelle's ending is basically her forcing the soul of her dead brother to paint to keep up this fictionnal world instead of letting him rest in peace, and her using her power to make it a fake paradise for her to escape from the pain of reality, essentially making everyone in the canvas her puppets without them knowing, not mentionning that she is basically doing a slow suicide since she is gonna die by staying in the canvas, IMO her ending is just ♥♥♥♥ up on so many level and is actually a perfect representation of a self-destructing way to deal with grief by running away from reality and lock yourself in a dream/fictionnal world and letting yourself die.

The Verso ending as hard as it is has the better message, in the end what's important is the reality not the fiction as sweet as it is, and you will not deal with grief by simply running way, one way or another you have to come back to reality and start recovering and rebuilding your life again, and in the case of the Dessendre family destroying the canvas was a necessary step as long as it remain their son couldn't rest in peace (and btw even the real Verso, the child hint that he want to stop painting in his dialogue but can't do so on his own), and they could never start rebuilding their family and they were leaning toward self destruction, because some of them couldn't let go.

[C1REX]

Originally posted by Observer:

Originally posted by Cypherous:

Lots of games have made the player deal with grief and loss, this isn't original

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

Lost Odyssey has a lot of that. The pain of being immortal and seeing loved ones dying for many hundreds of years. The longer you live the more grief you accumulate. Great game.

Final Fantasy 13-3 is a lot about that but it's not the best game.

But this game done it best. Everything is about grief and feelings around it: suicide, anger, escapism, blame, rejection, giving up, trying to think about something else. Tons of characters in the game who deal with grief differently. And almost every single character lost someone close and is dealing with their pain in their own way. It was a bold move to kill the main characters to make players feel that pain.

[IwanttohavtheDamBurger]

Originally posted by IwanttohavtheDamBurger:

Originally posted by Observer:

Ok name one, that hadnles it as main story and makes you a part of it

Inmost, gris, hellblade, returnal, vampyr, outer wilds, god of war

legacy of kain sould reaver 2

[Exophase]

I don't like the popular "Maelle is forcing Verso's soul to paint" narrative. It isn't well supported by the game at all.

Verso (painted) reaches out his hand to Verso's soul and says "It's time to stop painting." That's not an offer or a question but a command.

Then after Maelle beats him he says "Alicia, I beg you, stop him from painting." Not let him stop but MAKE him stop. Then he quickly pivots to asking Maelle to erase him.

There are signs that Verso's soul is tired and uncertain about painting. The messaging is pretty mixed and vague. But there's nothing whatsoever to suggest he doesn't have agency or is painting only because he's being forced to.

To me it seems pretty blatant that painted Verso is projecting his own feelings and desires about his own life onto the soul.

I also think it's interesting how the people who find Verso's ending satisfying seem to simultaneously regard the canvas's people as "fake" or "fictional" and not the sentient beings they're clearly built up to be, but at the same time seem to give primacy to painted Verso's desires and agencies despite him being no less of a creation than any of the rest of them. And I think that's in part because they're conflating painted Verso with the real Verso even though the game makes it abundantly clear that they're not the same.

[Jester]

Pretty accurate the community can put their selves on Maelle's shoes. A Selfish gaslighting brat