(ENDING SPOILERS)The ending is probably not as bad as you think it is.

[Darthzz]

I've seen some people who have beaten rain world who have either said the ending was anticlimactic or stupid, or even that it's just lazy. I don't think this is true. People who think this way take the ending a bit too literally, as in "oh you just dive into a deep sea of worms and apparently your family is there for some reason and you ascend", while also acting disappointed at the ending for changing the tone of the game drastically. Some on the other hand, see the ending a completely different way. The ending is intentionally meant to be mysterious and open to intepretation and not some lazy copout.

There are many speculations on what the ending actually is. No one is certain if you actually ascend or not, and it's heavily speculated that you never actually meet your family. I went through the ending on my first playthrough understanding the hidden lore in this game that you're meant to peice together, almost expecting the ending to be weird. However, the area where the ending takes place, the void sea, hardly has any explanation. The only mentions of it are people having disturbing dreams of "millions of glowing stars move menacingly in the distance", and that some unknown force in the void sea breaks the filtration pipes.

I find it to be a quite interesting, mysterious, and spooky ending open to a lot of speculation and I wasn't disappointed by it at all. It is by no means lazy, as there are connections, just not a lot to go off of. Just keep that in mind if you didn't really like the ending. Though not everyone likes these kinds of stories, which I can understand, as not everyone would want to go through hours and hours of speculating and theorizing, though I just find it fun and interesting to do.

[The Moth]

My theories:

- When you reach the void sea and start to swim deeper and deeper, it's destroying you just like everything else. Have you ever wondered why you don't drown? Well, it's either because A. You're already dead, and the rest of the trip including the void worms is just an illusion, or B. You've been breathing it in.

If we pay attention to A, then it could be thought that from the start to our first time seeing anything other than void, our vitals have been dissolved and the rest of the trip going downwards is your trip to slug cat-y afterlife. It would explain why there were so many other slug cats, all swimming towards a light. The void worm that brings you to the others could even be seen as 'death', guiding lost souls in the void sea to their final resting place. It makes me wonder if there could be slug cats in the void sea, swimming forever, lost in the abyss.

If we look over at B, then the void worms could simply be figments of our deteriorating imagination and eyes, as breathing in void fluid probably isn't good for you. when we see other slug cats, that's probably also deteriorating brain/eye tricks. Swimming towards the light can probably also be seen as, well, 'heading towards the light'.

- I forgot the other 3 theories I had while typing the first one, so I'll just say this: Yes, I do know that some have bathed in void fluid or something for ascension, but I feel like taking a dip in your backyard pool would be at least a little different than diving into the middle of the atlantic ocean through a cave enterance.

[Darthzz]

Originally posted by Luna Tenebris-Flos:

My theories:

- When you reach the void sea and start to swim deeper and deeper, it's destroying you just like everything else. Have you ever wondered why you don't drown? Well, it's either because A. You're already dead, and the rest of the trip including the void worms is just an illusion, or B. You've been breathing it in.

If we pay attention to A, then it could be thought that from the start to our first time seeing anything other than void, our vitals have been dissolved and the rest of the trip going downwards is your trip to slug cat-y afterlife. It would explain why there were so many other slug cats, all swimming towards a light. The void worm that brings you to the others could even be seen as 'death', guiding lost souls in the void sea to their final resting place. It makes me wonder if there could be slug cats in the void sea, swimming forever, lost in the abyss.

If we look over at B, then the void worms could simply be figments of our deteriorating imagination and eyes, as breathing in void fluid probably isn't good for you. when we see other slug cats, that's probably also deteriorating brain/eye tricks. Swimming towards the light can probably also be seen as, well, 'heading towards the light'.

- I forgot the other 3 theories I had while typing the first one, so I'll just say this: Yes, I do know that some have bathed in void fluid or something for ascension, but I feel like taking a dip in your backyard pool would be at least a little different than diving into the middle of the atlantic ocean through a cave enterance.

The problem with the void worms being an illusion is that it's mentioned in the pearls that a mysterious strong force ripped away filtration pipes a few times, pretty much confirming void worms exist. I think the void sea works in a way where it can't drown you, just dissolves you the deeper you go. I really don't like the "it was all part of your imagination!" or dream theories, as they pretty much invalidate everything and can be applied to literally anything. I'm pretty certain Void Worms are real creatures under the void fluid, but no one would ever know about them until they're facing them and it's too late, as once you're in the void there's no getting out, which is why the ancients never knew of them.

One of my (silly) ideas is that once the void worm drags you down, your physical form is converted into a more gasious form, more specifically, into those weird yellow ghosts that you see in bubbles that fly down towards the void sea, which are only seen after eating neurons. These ghosts could possibly grow up into void worms once they reach the void sea, considering how they look very similar to them. It could be the way void worms breed, luring victims down towards it with consistant dreams about them, and then dragging them down till their body is no longer what it used to be. I call this idea silly because it's a bit far fetched, though I feel for the most part makes some sense.

I don't want to sound bashful, I do like hearing many theories about the ending, I'm just trying to make real sense out of it while also keeping the ideas fun. There's certainly no confirmation for the ending, but I like to find ways to make the most sense out of it and not going too over the top.

[🍚Maxter🍜]

i'm curious if they will make a sequel for this game from that nice ending. it might be interesting (i hope)

[Darthzz]

Originally posted by YamatoSOA:

i'm curious if they will make a sequel for this game from that nice ending. it might be interesting (i hope)

I don't think they're going to make a sequel. They are however, probably going to release more updates, like the slugcat pups, as well as some fixes that need to happen, like how killing vultures after holding a grub breaks their respawns. (from the looks of it)

[Darthzz]

On another note, I can explain the tree at the ending and why you don't see it as the other slugcats. Part of it being that the artist left the team before the endings could be complete. I feel you only saw that as the survivor because that's what he was constantly focused on. For the other slugcats, they had different focuses. Say if you were the Monk and the artist was still around, you would most likely see the Survivor floating there, as that's what the Monk was focused on the whole time. As for the Hunter, they seemed mostly focused on saving Moon. Who knows what they would have seen there, but if you've completed their goal, they probably have nothing to worry about.

[Dairadh]

I see the ending as a "spiritual end" of your travel.

The void fluid, as I see it, doesn't just "destroy" or "dissolve", it gradually "transforms" things into a spirituel state, and this whole process of transformation is akin to a spiritual path or initiatory quest.
That is the whole point of "ascending" in this game, you leave your mortel flesh, you leave the samsara (circle of death and rebirth), and you cease to exist as a slugcat.

I'm depply moved by this ending each time I think about it. Our little slugcat just wants to survive and find his family, but he ends up finding a mysterious and hidden secret which changes his whole existence on a metaphysical level.

[Spark7979]

Originally posted by Dairadh:

I see the ending as a "spiritual end" of your travel.

The void fluid, as I see it, doesn't just "destroy" or "dissolve", it gradually "transforms" things into a spirituel state, and this whole process of transformation is akin to a spiritual path or initiatory quest.
That is the whole point of "ascending" in this game, you leave your mortel flesh, you leave the samsara (circle of death and rebirth), and you cease to exist as a slugcat.

I'm depply moved by this ending each time I think about it. Our little slugcat just wants to survive and find his family, but he ends up finding a mysterious and hidden secret which changes his whole existence on a metaphysical level.

Yes, this. Couldn't have put it better myself. You're not disolving or being killed, the void worm is helping you to leave your body, to "ascend" into a higher state. The void worm just helps you to reach the point in the void sea where this process can occur.

[Dead by Devil]

I would just like to add something of note, while you are hibrenating you have a chance of coming across a screenshot of the slugcat standing on some bars with 3 slugcat ghosts behind it. Looking at the number of "ghosts" behind the slugcat leads me to believe that the slugcats family did ascend, though getting the X mark from the god squids for all three of them, then them going down through the subtarrainium would have been extremely difficult.

There's a lot in this game that's mysterious (and I'm thinking of posting a new discusion with as many questions as I can think of), though I'm sure people familiar with buddhism might get quite a few of the references.

[Darthzz]

Originally posted by DragonGirl408:

I would just like to add something of note, while you are hibrenating you have a chance of coming across this screenshot. Looking at the number of "ghosts" behind the slugcat leads me to believe that the slugcats family did ascend, though getting the X mark from the god squids for all three of them, then them going down through the subtarrainium would have been extremely difficult.

http://store.steampowered.com

There's a lot in this game that's mysterious (and I'm thinking of posting a new discusion with as many questions as I can think of), though I'm sure people familiar with buddhism might get quite a few of the references.

That image link didn't work.

[Dead by Devil]

Originally posted by miao:

Originally posted by DragonGirl408:

I would just like to add something of note, while you are hibrenating you have a chance of coming across this screenshot. Looking at the number of "ghosts" behind the slugcat leads me to believe that the slugcats family did ascend, though getting the X mark from the god squids for all three of them, then them going down through the subtarrainium would have been extremely difficult.

http://store.steampowered.com

There's a lot in this game that's mysterious (and I'm thinking of posting a new discusion with as many questions as I can think of), though I'm sure people familiar with buddhism might get quite a few of the references.

That image link didn't work.

Yeah I know, I don't really know how to post screenshots on the fourms so I've described the image instead.

[Smkn-G1]

I didn't like the ending though I have come to accept it. I did all that to reunite with my slugcat family... i care nothing for the spiritual junk. In the end I didn't complete the quest I was on and it seems as though at some point slugcat just abandoned that goal, even though i never personally did.

In my mind i pictured myself walking across the grounds, bloodied spear in confident hands, towards the family tree. A gleeful, if silent, reunion awaited... instead, I abandoned my family to pursue a vague gamble beyond understanding to disappear from their lives forever.

The heros journey isn't always a happy one... but if what we experience in game is anything to go on... there was never anyway to survive the rains outside of a shelter, so we never survived the initial rain that seperated us in the first place. Reunion was never possible, we were already dead the whole time.

The journey of spirit through the land of death... who can say what the destination is? Perhaps there is no destination and it was always about the journey. Perhaps the journey itself is what brought about our ascension and the so called void had nothing to do with it.

[Darthzz]

Originally posted by SmokeMcCloud:

I didn't like the ending though I have come to accept it. I did all that to reunite with my slugcat family... i care nothing for the spiritual junk. In the end I didn't complete the quest I was on and it seems as though at some point slugcat just abandoned that goal, even though i never personally did.

In my mind i pictured myself walking across the grounds, bloodied spear in confident hands, towards the family tree. A gleeful, if silent, reunion awaited... instead, I abandoned my family to pursue a vague gamble beyond understanding to disappear from their lives forever.

The heros journey isn't always a happy one... but if what we experience in game is anything to go on... there was never anyway to survive the rains outside of a shelter, so we never survived the initial rain that seperated us in the first place. Reunion was never possible, we were already dead the whole time.

The journey of spirit through the land of death... who can say what the destination is? Perhaps there is no destination and it was always about the journey. Perhaps the journey itself is what brought about our ascension and the so called void had nothing to do with it.

I don't really see it as that spiritual considering how bathing in void fluid was seen only as an option if there were no more options left, and also considering that it's literally described by the iterators as "crossing yourself out". When you look at the dreams, one of them shows the slugcat with ghosts in the background, this image is called "acceptance" in the files, so for what we know, the slugcat accepts thinking his family is dead and goes through the option of "leaving" the world. The reason the slugcat saw all those slugcats in the end was probably because that was what he was focused on. If the artist were still in the dev team, the Monk would have seen a vision of the Survivor, and who knows what the Hunter would have seen.

I don't really see it as a happy ending, as it seems to be mostly about acceptance and not knowing any other sollution.