Thoughts on Darq's ending [SPOILERS]

[Candy]

Small heads up here: I have not yet collected all 6 dream journal pages and beaten the game a second time yet. I don't know how getting the Enlighten Achievement affects the ending, but I'm planning on getting it ASAP to see what happens.

That being said, I just finished my first run of Darq and wanted to toss out what I think both the ending and the game as a whole represent, as well as hear what others thought of it.

To start off, I think the game seems to be about processing and overcoming trauma, as well as reincarnation. You play as a young child navigating this lucid dreamscape, and you're pursued by these creepy looking monsters that pretty much all want to hurt you.

During the final sequence you have to avoid the lamp-headed monsters shooting at you while a creepy old woman in a wheelchair chases you. All while the floor is falling out from underneath you, and at one point you can even get crushed by a falling building if you're not careful. The immediate gist I got from it was that Lloyd, the child we play as, was fleeing an active war zone, with the gunfire and everything falling apart around him.

To me the old woman seemed to represent a grandparent who was possibly abusive towards him? Hence the reason her entire purpose seems to be hunting you down during the game.

So my current running theory is that Lloyd lost his parents, went to live with his grandmother who was abusive towards him, and then eventually tried to escape from her and ran into an active war zone, where he was either killed in the crossfire or crushed by falling rubble.

The game itself takes place in a sort of purgatory-like place where Lloyd relives his past memories and has to overcome his fears, for which he can receive the gift of coming into the world again as a completely new person. He can finally leave all of his trauma and fear behind and start anew.

I like this theory because dreams are the brain's way of processing information and experiences, hence the reason the world Lloyd seems to be trapped in is very dream-like and full of things that don't always make perfect sense. He's likely trying to process and understand what happened to him, even if he doesn't have the words to fully describe it.

The biggest thing I'm not entirely sure about is how the bag-headed child fits into all of this. They might be a sibling, or just someone Lloyd knew when he was alive possibly. Maybe the reason they have a bag over their head is because Lloyd can't remember what they look like, but still knows they are significant in some way.

Once again I haven't beaten the game after collecting all 6 pages yet, so I may return to this theory and revise it once I do. But these were my immediate thoughts that came to mind after I finished the game, and I wanted to toss them out while they were still fresh in my head. Thank you for the fantastic game! I loved every moment of it and I cannot wait to see what other project you guys have in mind!

[Unfold Games]

Thank you for sharing your theory, and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the game! I’m always super excited to hear what people think of the game’s meaning & ending. Needless to say, I can’t confirm nor deny theories. Something exciting is coming up though, for those who are looking to delve deeper into the story - I’ll keep you all posted :)

[Candy]

Originally posted by Unfold Games:

Thank you for sharing your theory, and I’m happy to hear you enjoyed the game! I’m always super excited to hear what people think of the game’s meaning & ending. Needless to say, I can’t confirm nor deny theories. Something exciting is coming up though, for those who are looking to delve deeper into the story - I’ll keep you all posted :)

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it! I'm obviously just sort of tossing ideas around and wanting to share what I took away from the game, and I'm super excited to see where you and the team go forward from here!

[Mutant Overlord]

Hmmm, I thought it was about kid trying to run away from doing his homework and being scared of night.
The final door opening was representing window light shinning at him to wake him up.
And then baby scream happen because....I don't know, thats his brother/sister :D