What does the title mean?

[tahgtahv]

Taking a guess to try and answer my own question, I think it simply means Papo & I. I never really got this from the game, but guessing from the last track of the OST, that Papo is the monster, considering the track is titled - Liberation (The death of Papo)

EDIT
On second thought, I'm really not sure,as the monster seems to just be named "Monster"

[Deny]

The whole game is a methaphor. Every part of it. :-) You`re right Papo is the Monster, but what makes him that? (Monster is not always a monster you know, hes nice sometimes and even takes care of Chico)

[Calisto]

I thought of it like Papa y Yo, meaning father and I. The monster is a metaphor for his father. His father is abusive, but someone who Chico needs none the less.

[Alexa Reizla]

Originally posted by Calisto:

I thought of it like Papa y Yo, meaning father and I.

With the being South-African, I was thinking the same.

[Pirateguybrush]

It means father and I, and monster is called monster - though he represents father.

[Clover904]

In a behind-the-scenes video the director said that the monster represented his father. He loved his father deeply, but he was also afraid of the monster his father would become when he drinked.

[Minority Media]

This is an interesting discussion. Carry on. ;)

[louis.john.is.not]

I really like how this game tries to be so humane. I looked into the meaning of the premise and that, besides the artistic style, convinced me to buy this game. It's a subtle feeling you get after a while of playing the game; you start to feel sorry for the 'monster' somehow, he seems like a kind monkey who is victim to himself. I'd like to see more games like this. The only kind of disappointment I have is the low replayability incentive, but then again, maybe this serves to give more focus to what's going on inside the main character's head.

[Minority Media]

We really enjoy reading discussions such as this one, where players trade their perspectives on the game and examine the metaphors, the meanings, the art and, most importantly, the internal journey that the game takes them on. In so doing, you are treating this game like art, which is what we aim to make: art with meaning. Thank you! :)

[FourMore]

SPOLER: I did not understand the "night" cutscenes with the car. They are eerie, but what is with the guy on the ground in the second one?

[louis.john.is.not]

I have some spoilers of my own, so if you haven't finished the game, do that first :P

The game is a metaphor to abuse and addiction. I think starting from the first few stages the main character starts to depart from the reality he's living in and progressively starts living more inside his imaginary world. The game in fact starts in the real world, where everything is gray. After the first and second level, some of those gray memories of reality come back as the cutscenes you mention.

I would guess, the first one suggests the feeling of discouragement of returning home at night in a household you fear. The second cutscene maybe is to reveal who the monster actually represents. The guy standing and the one on the floor are maybe the same person. There's monster's shadow between them. It's a bit metaphorical, I know, it's just my interpretation.
It's the last part of the game I don't quite know how to interpret. Is it about accepting that no matter what you do, the monster will stay trapped in his addiction until it destroys him, so that you have to forget about him and carry on with your life? This seemed like a cruel conclusion to me, however I guess it is what most psychologists would try to help you understand. Then I thought it could be that you have to let go of the memory and trauma, but maybe is there something else?

[ShenasaurusRex]

Originally posted by SzFeri82:

SPOLER: I did not understand the "night" cutscenes with the car. They are eerie, but what is with the guy on the ground in the second one?

I thought that scene--because of the way the car is parked, what we know about the father's drinking problem, and the victim--to be depicting the results of "monster's" drunk driving. I could be way off though.

[NyessaGaming]

Originally posted by ShenasaurusRex:

I thought that scene--because of the way the car is parked, what we know about the father's drinking problem, and the victim--to be depicting the results of "monster's" drunk driving.

That was my interpretation, too. I wonder if it serves as a sort of "point of no return" for Monster in his addiction, leading to the conclusion that he has already destroyed himself and cannot be saved.

[Minority Media]

SzFeri82, louis.john.is.not, ShenasaurusRex, Nyessaxx, reading your exchange has been edifying and it's encouraging to see that Papo & Yo has achieved another goal: that of encouraging stimulating interpretations and exchanges among players. More often, we witness this kind of conversation around novels, poetry and some films, so it's amazing to watch you trade thoughts about our game!

That said, we'd rather not spoil the conversation and imaginations by giving a clear answer about who that man on the floor is...instead leaving you with one more question: how far can we hope to go in order to save someone who does not want to be saved?

[louis.john.is.not]

Sometimes we are victims to our own vices, sometimes we just want those vices in our lives and no matter what people say or do, we will not change because we don't want to change. Attempting to change people is futile because the change comes from within.

There is little we can do but to show the way. As a common saying goes, you can take the horse to the water but you can't force it to drink. If our efforts do not work, it may be reasonable to accept that we have to let go and move on. Probably this is the hardest part if there is some emotional attachment involved.

[AsobuLab]

(Spoiler Warning) At the end of the game, Papo (the monster) eats Adriana, the girl who has drawn all of the fantastical contraptions that Quico activates throught the game. I think this is a metaphor for Quico's imagination crashing down, veritably being eaten by his father-figure. This is further explored in the final puzzle of the game, where Adriana appears again... but in a very lifeless form and an object of the game rather than the creative force behind his imagination. He "lets go" of Lula, Adriana... and finally Papo. When I heard the developer of this game wanted to create a world based around Pedro Páramo, the book that built a literary movement called Magical Realism, it only took a few minutes to see he had hit the ball out of the park in a way games can only do. Magical Realism is defined by the intertwining of the physical world and the vernacular traditions, be it magic or shamanism. A melding between the fantastic and the ordinary. This game, I think, is the journey of Quico coming to terms with his abusive, alcoholic father... Loosing his innocence and piece of his child-like wonder in the process.