Emotional Wreck. ( Spoilers)

[twistedcompositions]

Ok now that I have spent the last few days dealing with my thoughts and emotion's related to the end of this game. I think I can finally talk about it a little. Let me start by saying playing this game for me in general was a traumatic experience but helpful in its way. I dunno in a way I guess I saw a lot of myself in Chloe at least in my younger years. My family life was trash and I lashed out a lot at pretty much everything. I lost my first love when I was 17 in a car wreck and she I guess she was my Max or Rachel depending on how you look at it, she saved me. I would not be the person I am now if it wasn't for her.

However I have never dealt with it well. Emotionally I just kind of shut everyone out even when I did fall for someone .. I never told her until it was too late and now I get to sit here everyday and watch her be happy with someone else. That kills me inside too but its something I have to deal with its my own damn fault. I invested a lot of my emotion's in Chloe I wanted so badly to help her because I could feel so much of her pain. In my way I was just kind of being forced to sort out a lot of my own emotions through her story and the things she went through. When we finally found Rachel I cried almost to the point I thought I was going to stop breathing. I kept hoping so much that Chloe wouldn't lose this person she cared for so much.

I shipped Max and Chloe even hoping over time their relationship would evolve and Chloe would heal. I guess I put my own desire to feel better to overcome my grief on her and into the story. I grew a massive emotional attachment and a vested interest in the outcome of the story.

That's why even now I can't accept the sacrifice Chloe ending. I know so many people are saying its selfish but when you have spent nearly a decade reliving the same day over and over again.. Hearing the same voice in your head, questioning your action's and crying sometimes without being able to stop it. Yeah you can understand pretty well how someone could sacrifice a whole town for one person.

I finally played the sacrifice Chloe ending and I am still destroyed even though in my head the second one is my ending, even if it was lack luster. The sacrifice ending drew out in me so many emotion's, so much pain. Took me back to something I never wanted to relive again. I keep thinking about Max and how shes probably going to go through something similar to what I went through in that ending and I just can't even look at it. I am just kind of numb and keep looking at these threads unable to let go of the story because it feels unfinished to me like there was no real closure.

I think that is why there are so many different views of the endings because of the different emotions people attached to the characters. That's one issue with a game with an in depth story, book authors have to deal with this all the time and find an ending that isn't completely going to destroy their readership. LIS is breaking new ground and I don't think there is a lot of experience with these kinds of stories in games. I think it will get better as the genre gets more attention. I can only imagine the creators wanted badly to give us more but the budget stopped them. That being said it's still likely has jilted a lot of people who formed emotional attachments to these characters. The issue wasn't the cliche ending it was the lack of any detail in it. The lack of understanding what the characters are going through, of actually knowing who died and who didn't, of in general knowing any of things we wanted to know They just didn't have enough time to give it to us and its kind of left an open wound.

The entire game is so emotionally charged and aside from the scene at the light house .. .We were expecting an equal emotional pay off in the end and many people didn't get it and that's why they are angry as for me while I know the flaws of the ending I prefer ( The Save Chloe one) I am unimaginably wrecked by the sacrifice Chloe ending, and forced to look at the depths of how bad I myself am hurt. With the second ending its the realization that its pretty possible standing in those shoes id let the town go down the toilet, to have back what I lost .. Hell not even that just to let her live even if I never got to see her again.

That's kind of my lonely take on things and I don't have all of my thoughts together but I still understand how people feel. Now I just have to deal with all the pain I have dredged up inside myself. Thanks to the creators for all the time they put into this game though even if I don't like one of the ending's I am grateful for the experience.

[GarbageCollector]

Best of luck. I'm sure you're covered, but just in case, you do know that the game's website actually has links for more help.

[twistedcompositions]

Originally posted by smokytehbear:

Best of luck. I'm sure you're covered, but just in case, you do know that the game's website actually has links for more help.

Thanks for that it just feels good to write about it and maybe me doing so will help someone else along.

[e.kohl282]

For me it kinda reflects how "its not so fun Anymore is it?" Max and Chloe tried so to find their moments of carefree fun and teenage innocence, yet things would always pull them out of that youth they were trying to preserve.

Finally when they found Rachel there was no going back to that.

[twistedcompositions]

That is definitely a way to look at it too and maybe that's part of what is rubbing people sour in some cases maybe they wanted their endless summer so to speak they lost or are losing the innocence of their youth to the world and wanted Max and Chloe to have their dream's and life without doing so.

[e.kohl282]

Yeah...Max finally meets up with Chloe and they try to have mindless fun together like they used to whether it be old childish games or trying to create new experiences to make up for lost time.

It was an underlying theme that I wish was expanded a little more upon, because I personally disliked how the feel of the game completely changed in the last two episodes. A better transition would have fixed this

[e.kohl282]

Anyways, I have no complaints. That's just how it is, life slapped them in the face just like it does to all of us. We all want the loss of innocence to turn out differently

[twistedcompositions]

I have a slightly different take on the life slapping us all part but the game definitely was riding this huge wave of emotion and nostalgia and it kind of let it fall flat at the end as for me I was already so beat up by it I don't think I really was able to see it from a gamer's prospective until the day after and honesty I am still not i am still trying to work through my emotion's

[e.kohl282]

Yeah I hear ya. I still feel good about choosing to save Chloe....I mean, for the first time I didn't explore my surroundings when I rushed to find Warren for the picture in the storm, ignoring those who needed help

[e.kohl282]

So I kinda learned then what I was willing to sacrifice

[twistedcompositions]

Yeah its kind of surreal lesson isn't it? A hellish road trip into your own psyche I did the same thing I even electrocuted the poor fishermen when it was obvious how to save him and get through cause I was in a hurry to get back to Chloe.

[e.kohl282]

Yupp. What would have been an easy choice in episode 1 turned into a, "I can't afford to waste time" which is strange because if she fails to go back and save Chloe then they'll be left dead.

Pretty sure the whole being nearly killed in the dark room just made everything much more dire, and with the storm ever second could mean ur death

[twistedcompositions]

I will say the one pay off was watching David beat the ♥♥♥♥ out of Jefferson though. I am a veteran myself and I kept having to defend the guy telling people they were misunderstanding him and he was probably going through some crazy ♥♥♥♥ so at that part I was like .. yeah beat the hell out of the bastard lol so it was nice he got a moment to shine. I will say though part of that sense of panic was wanting to get to the end and prove the story wasn't about to jump the shark like I was afraid it was.. should of taken my time lol.

[e.kohl282]

And damn David can take orders and respond fast when u shout out help! Either way, this experience with LIS did a great job at capturing Young Adult turmoil in a supernatural story

[twistedcompositions]

"Yes Sir" lol yeah I definitely have to give them that.

[e.kohl282]

Didn't Jefferson say something about trying to capture the transition from innocense to something else? Could be a parallell and i see what the devs were trying to do, but they tried squeezing too much in the last episode. They needed at least one more to make it all cleaner and not feel rushed