what a stupid ending [spoilers, obviously]

[𓂀𓂏𓂀]

So humanity is extinguished, and nobody has anything they wanted? It just leaves it there on a thread and leaves. Extremely disappointed in this game.

[VertVentus]

They fought for their own preservation under an irrational setting and are the only 8 humans left alive, is that not an accomplishment?
It doesn't work to try framing it as hero vs. villain since it's an antagonistic force, Man vs. Setting/Nature/Society, with a contemporary allegory: lesbians in a heteronormative world.
https://kastelpls.substack.com/p/crymachina-an-antihumanist-plea-for

Eden's goal was to revive an already extinct human race in a simulated world by the help of their robot creations.
The reason for humanity's extinction in the first place can be guessed at. Poor decision making from world leaders eroded at humanity's will to live/Soul > Centrifugal Syndrome literally broke down their bodies > humanity rushes to find a cure, creating hyperintelligent but monstrous Designer Babies to fix it > one such DB named Eve leads the Eden project to revive humanity by developing Deus Ex Machina > one of her human collaborators feared Eve and sought to destroy her with his DEM > another DEM was deployed to fight back, and the result made Earth inhabitable > humanity dies from pollution and Centrifugal Syndrome but manages to successfully launch Eden into space.

Goodwill did get ruined by racial infighting to explain how the apocalypse came to be, but there's no mustache twirling bad guy who delights at having successfully eradicated humanity. Evil won? Had the last laugh? What imaginary villain do you think exists in this game you haven't played?

Initially the goal was to become a Real Human, but the system defining humans was faulty. One of Eden's other lead developers placed a virus that prioritized his daughter Lilly's resurrection as the first Real Human, granting her authority over all the machines. She then decided to prioritize resurrecting her sister Eve, so the 7 humans that followed suit (Mikoto, Ami, Vida, Hyatt, Can, Hayim, Leben) were all candidates with similar family backgrounds who could be molded into her. They're their own people, so much so Leben and Ami get rejection responses from the attempted conversion therapy, and they don't need this definition of humanity that was trying to change who they are.
Casualties of most DEM were had in the fight with Lilly, and the final bosses wanted to reset Eden to either bring them back (Noein) or redefine humanity again (Eve), which would kill the protagonists in the process. The protagonists do prevail though.

If you only focused on how the setting ended, I guess you could dislike that? Earth is still inhabitable while the progenitors are still decreased, but that was background dressing and not the focus in CRYMACHINA compared to its characters.
Leben's group doesn't have to fight for their lives anymore. They have each other to enjoy for the rest of their days, with yuri romances to boot. They ended up more humane via their compassion to each other than the "Real Humans" (Lilly, Eve) who tried to change or kill them for being different. Enoa's happier being herself than conforming to expectations. Ami got her family that reciprocates her. Leben was able to protect the machines she loves.
It ended fine, unless you wanted the lesbians to seppuku so humanity can restore itself.

[Amber Alert]

"Nobody has anything they wanted?"
The main four only ever really desire each other, and they sure as ♥♥♥♥ have that. Real Humanity was only a means to an end, they say it themselves. Humans are dead, but EVEs still exist as basically their successors. At least some Cherubim have some sort of sentience, too.
How much of a future the ark has with most of the Dei dead is under-addressed, though.

[alliancecrusader]

I played the demo of the game seems like an interesting story, but what happened to the first deus machina?

[okme]

Origineel geplaatst door alliancecrusader:

I played the demo of the game seems like an interesting story, but what happened to the first deus machina?

It will be a big spoiler for you because everything about Him is related to main story. I recommend you to play/watch through the story so that you can enjoy/experience it and find the answer by yourself

[Kinxil]

Disagreed, I found it to be exceptional. Big spoilers below, you're been warned. And as you would guess, it's my personal interpretation, for what it worth.

The ending is the logical and mature conclusion of Eden, and Humanity, journey. The whole premise was to rebirth humanity. But the project has been created from human premises, and therefore include both the best and the worst about it. And if you put aside all the manichean aspects, you understand that all parties involved were ultimately defective, as humans are (this is clearly the main message here). Enoa, Leben, Ami and Mikoto condemned last humanity hope at the peak of their sentience, because they couldn't depart from love and fear of losing everything. It's fair to say from a certain perspective that the quatuor has technically been the villain of the story, from the very beginning to the very end, especially when you realize that Enoa got tricked and decided to double down for her own interests.

But that would be glossing over others Deus Ex. Anthropos has based all his work on a couple of human records and took it at the absolute law. Letheia observed and broke through fear. Zoe has worked in her own interest out of narcissim. Noein abused her overseer capability to enact her own conclusion onto others.

And it's an important symbol that the Deus Ex which ♥♥♥♥♥♥ up the least, Logos, was devoid of humanity.

The message here is that against the wall, humans resolve to the worst, and therefore machinas acquiring sentience did the same, resulting in Eden project failing for good.

The remaining beings loved each others forever, eternally walking on the cinders of the humanity they failed, and which failed them as their last resort.

This is certainly not an ending for everyone, but needless to say it spokes to me. Because it is innerly VERY human and in sync with the current world and where it is currently leading.

[アンバー三十八]

I can't help but feel that the true ending is obtained way too easily, and there must be something more to it.

1. The characters did say they were looking for the fragments of Enoa through all the server farms, but why we, the player, weren't involved in this? The developers had mercy on players who hate grind? Why including the Cardinal Sect and other side stuff then?
2. Enoa's being in some dark place in the main menu that speaks about being lonely, about simulations, about Leben. What was that even about? Why did Enoa cry upon "consuming" personal data? Again, why the game is called "simulation" in the first place? Was the whole story even real, or it all was just Enoa's "dream"? And where did they find a flower field in Eden?
3. Time travelling implications at the beginning of the game (if I remember correctly) really feel as if they relate to the plot somehow. A loose end or...?

update: I feel so stupid now that I know that the whole game was about Enoa sitting inside of her box while the rest of the party were searching for and "feeding" her pieces of what was happening the whole time. That explains the menu screen, and why Enoa cries every time she decrypts new data. Well, I guess my questions aren't relevant anymore except for the flower field. Seriously, where did they find one? I would presume it's just a simulation, but didn't Enoa wish to go there with Leben "alive" aka in a synthetic frame?

[yuri1]

Origineel geplaatst door アンバー三十八:

I can't help but feel that the true ending is obtained way too easily, and there must be something more to it.

1. The characters did say they were looking for the fragments of Enoa through all the server farms, but why we, the player, weren't involved in this? The developers had mercy on players who hate grind? Why including the Cardinal Sect and other side stuff then?
2. Enoa's being in some dark place in the main menu that speaks about being lonely, about simulations, about Leben. What was that even about? Why did Enoa cry upon "consuming" personal data? Again, why the game is called "simulation" in the first place? Was the whole story even real, or it all was just Enoa's "dream"? And where did they find a flower field in Eden?
3. Time travelling implications at the beginning of the game (if I remember correctly) really feel as if they relate to the plot somehow. A loose end or...?

update: I feel so stupid now that I know that the whole game was about Enoa sitting inside of her box while the rest of the party were searching for and "feeding" her pieces of what was happening the whole time. That explains the menu screen, and why Enoa cries every time she decrypts new data. Well, I guess my questions aren't relevant anymore except for the flower field. Seriously, where did they find one? I would presume it's just a simulation, but didn't Enoa wish to go there with Leben "alive" aka in a synthetic frame?

Didn't Zoe promise to give them synthetic frames? Therefore the flower field is probably real, I thought it was a simulation initially as well.

[Kinxil]

Origineel geplaatst door アンバー三十八:

Well, I guess my questions aren't relevant anymore except for the flower field. Seriously, where did they find one? I would presume it's just a simulation, but didn't Enoa wish to go there with Leben "alive" aka in a synthetic frame?

Zoe explicitly said that she can create an artificial one similarly to synthetic frames. There is no interpretation here. However what is open to interpretation is if it is fully artificial or biologically recreated. But it's heavily suggesting the former since synthetic frame look very artificial and because at no point of the story Zoe is mentioned as capable to biologically reproduce humans or cats (the whole dramatic end would fall flat if she could). So she's likely no capable to create biological flowers, only "mechanical" ones.

[FaillenOtaku]

The ending credits show that everyone got what they wanted though? Leben and Enoa get a field of flowers, Mikoto and Ami get married, Even Lilith gets raised right and Ecclesial gets his whales back.