Endings Discussion (Heavy Spoilers Ahead)

[Sir Milot]

So I was wondering what endings you all got and what you think about them.

It seems quite hard to steer towards an ending with the game not allowing saving (which I kind of understand) and not providing an overview of how I am doing except the achievments for how many insanity points I got. (Or did I miss something?) That's why I wanted to hear about the other endings.

I tried to get everyone to green cause im kind of a completionist that way, didn't care about my sanity and wanted to know as much about the patients as possible, and I tried to believe them although I cannot promise that I acted the same towards all the patients.

In my ending Nathan was the killer. Is he always the killer? Because I didn't really suspect him too much (he was number 3 on my list of suspects, Jaya being #1 and Claire #2). In the end, alderby shows up and telly me I am a patient and I made all the patients up. (Kind of unsatisfying, like an "And it was all a dream" ending.)

As for the other patients (IDK whether that changes):
- Claire went to prison for murder (or so it seems, a bit unclear) without being declared insane, even tough I told her I'd declare her insane.
- Bryce became an art critic.
- Elin is looking for a new job after Teri became head nurse.
- I have no idea about Marianna, that part was confusing to me.
- Nathan isn't mentioned.
- Jaya says something about being glad that I stay as a doctor I think?
(Granted my memory is a bit hazy.)

So how for you guys? what parts of the games can change, where did you go different?

[heleanthia]

beccafc eredeti hozzászólása:

in my ending I think Jaya was the killer but i'm really unsure, it took me all tries and Jaya was last. For me
-Bryce was screaming No
-Marianna was talking about delusions
-Elin was upset about Teri being her boss
Nathan- was upset that Marianna had admitted to killing people
Claire- Didn't go to prison and David seemed to be alive
Jaya- was mentioned in the end cutscene with Alderby that apparently Dekker isn't dead. They do not know where the body is and discussed what innocent person was in the coffin.

wow..yours is really different...
love that there are so many possible endings....

[Tim]

I got the ending where Jaya stabbed me with a paper spike after the murder.

Also, Claire was the killer? Or rather, she DIDN'T REANIMATE Dekker. So, not really a killer...

I found this ending super unsatisfying. I don't feel like anything in the previous Acts led up to it at all. Also, there was no narrative payoff for Claire; she didn't show up in the epilogue, arrested or otherwise.

Marianna was fine, Nathan got a dog, Bryce learned to appreciate art, and Elin was moving to the children's ward. Yay?

What is with this game?

[loppantorkel]

What the hell..? So many different endings! I had no idea.
In my playthrough that I just ended - Elin was the killer, even though I blamed Nathan first (I thought it was an elaborate scheme by dr dekker who hypnotised Nathan only to be raised by Claire). Claire got jail, Bryce art critic, Marianna delusional, Nathan found happiness in a puppy. I got a vacation. Didn't see any insanity points.

[bdunlap]

Nathan was my killer

Marianna is convinced that she never hurt anyone (at least, she hopes this is true), and was being drawn into Dekker's fantasies (yay, she's effectlively cured)

Elin has a new positive outlook on life, and is leaving her job, since Teri's now her boss

Claire gets sent to prison (Pretty sure she was making her entire storyline up, so good riddance)

Jaya is happy with my work

Bryce was screaming "No" before he disappeared. I wasn't able to save him from the hooded pursuer.

Alderby and Jaya had a panicked discussion, where they realized that I was actually Dekker, only with all of the powers from his patients, and that they had cremated an innocent person.

[unholy]

Just finished my first playthrough today! Jaya was the killer, and I got it first try - I'd been suspicious of how much she seemed to by trying to lead me to thinking it was Marianna give that the load had been transferred to Claire, but it was her dropping the bottle that sealed it for me. She ordered me to take a vacation at the end (I'm telling myself that happened before the po-po arrived to keep things working in my mind).

Bryce seemed a bit better, although possibly not entirely from the wink/nudge emphasis he put of going to the gallery "late at night".

Claire was convicted, I assume - she mentioned an unhelpfu; jury and having a lot of time to work on her issue.

Marianna had come to the "mutually assured delusions" conclusion, though as others have mentioned she still felt the need to add a "did I?" to the assertion that she hadn't hurt anyone.

Elin was moving to the children's ward after Teri got promoted - it's interesting to me to see how many people believe she was killing her patients, as I dismissed that thought fairly early. Might be because I know quite a few relentlessly negative people and find them tiring, so her sunniness made me want to give her a pass.

Nathan adopted his rescue dog and said he hadn't looked back - the most explicitly "happy" ending I got, which was nice.

On that subject, I'm really impressed with how different it seems things can be? I bought this because I watched someone's let's play of it, and in their videos I couldn't stand Nathan. I decided to take a gentler approach in my playthrough, and I admit I didn't pay quite enough attention to determine whether his responses were actually different or whether it was just my own "give them the benefit of the doubt" mindset making me perceive it differently, but I ended up really liking him and being delighted at his positive outcome. Either way. I was super impressed with it and I felt like it really added to my experience and made me feel like the way I chose to play gave me a lot of control over things.

[flux.faraday]

Second playthrough. Youthulhu and mostly green. Marianna was the murderer. The bit that was different than anything I've seen in this thread is the doctor's ending. I was laying on a couch. Elin gave me a pill. I physically recoiled IRL at this. Elin told me that Dr Dekker was coming and that I shouldn't run because the orderlies love to pin people who run and I shouldn't give them the satisfaction. CREEPY!

[Azraella]

Only played it once. I have a degree in Psychology, so I tried to play the game as close to how I'd actually counsel people.

Outcome: Elin was the murderess. She believed that Dekker was trying to stop her powers and she only wanted to use them to help people. (I guessed her on the first try because she admitted to lying about her date ending with Max & how she took the prescription pad).

Claire: Declared innocent by way of insanity. Still has to come to me for therapy. Never reanimated David. She admits she was just imagining things.

Bryce: Gets better. Realizes he loves art. Decides to visit art galleries more.

Nathan: Get a rescue dog. Gets better.

Marianna: Realizes Dekker was implanting ideas into her head and that she was delusional (shared delusions). She's better.

Jaya: Surprised the killer wasn't Marianna. Glad she doesn't have to hire a new doctor.

Final Ending: Alderby on the phone, telling someone he can help them get an insanity plea defense.

Nothing happens to me at the end. I'm not a patient. I don't die. I'm not Dekker. Jaya never tells me to go on a vacation. Nothing.

Am assuming I got a "good" ending.

Weird things...I never met Lacey? Know nothing about Agnes? Who is Jesse? Dodger? I DID get a freak named Glyn who showed up randomly (literally) and who had really nothing to do with the story at all? Jaya pays Ben off because Ben says he saw a monster/creature come out of Dekker's mouth after he was dead? Never mentioned that again? Never met the little girl from the intro. Bryce saves Iris from Dekker in my game, too.

My insanity was still pretty low. I never got anyone to green (but I wasn't trying). I only encouraged them to do healthy things. I discouraged illegal activity. Tried to help all my patients. Even Elin, when I accused her of murdering Dekker, was upset...she couldn't believe I was accusing her because she had been so sure that I liked her and she had liked me.

I plan to play it again later and deliberately be as much of a Cthulhu cultist as I can be. Hopefully, I'll get a more interesting (less "realistic"/sane) ending. :D

[viper1806]

I had a similar ending to everyone it seems.

Bryce was my killer. Which was strange to me a little, because he never gave off that vibe to me. I got him on the third guess, I thought Claire 1 and Jaya 2. I chose Bryce next because the other three patients had alibis that matched.

So with me it was.

Bryce - The Killer. He says that Dekker had to die and that he was always being too close. Teleports away at the end.

Claire - Seems like the Jury judged her insane, because she comes back and say "We'll be seeing a lot of each other now"

Elin - Has become head nurse because Teri is in Intensive Care. I get the feeling Elin probably poisoned her.

Marianna - Seems pretty cured, doesn't think she hurt anyone, but isn't sure she hurt anyone

Nathan - Has moved on. Gotten a dog, seems perfectly fine

Jaya - Is happy that she doesn't have to find another doctor

Me - Got the Alderby ending where I apparantly get stabbed in a copycat killing. Probably by Claire. Although I suppose it could be Bryce too. But Claire and I never got along. Probably because I was convinced she was the killer.

[ficwriter79]

Youthulhu on my very first try! I'm so INSANELY proud of myself!

I wound up in the psychiatric ward, and Elin gave me a pill to make me feel better.

Bryce was my killer. Elin threw me off, though, because she'd stolen Dekker's prescription pad.

Elin was upset that Teri was now her boss, but otherwise things were going well for her.

Jaya welcomed a new doctor to the office, telling him he MUST READ her all-time favorite book.

Marianna became an insane priestess of Cthulhu. (No wonder she was my favorite patient.)

Nathan still keeps reliving the same day over and over, but doesn't want to dump Marianna.

Claire went to prison due to an "unfriendly jury." Her husband David died when she stabbed him.

[Feen]

I just finished this game yesterday and woke up sad that I didn't have still more to play. I had the ending that Jaya was the killer, but she said was it me..?? Bryce became normal, Nathan got a dog, Claire got self defense, and Elin stayed at her job while Teri was sick. Then I got the movie at the end about how I was in some sort of ward so I guess I went crazy?

I was so into the game that I wrote down all my theories, that Nathan was younger Dekker, Glyn was older Dekker to visit his grandpa in the paradox, kill him to end the Paradox, and Bryce was Nathan when Dekker said saturn and all the rest was personalities of Dekker. Claire was the little girl who was with her father in the car, the little girl across the lake, Marianna was the evil swallowing up everybody. With this theory I didnt know how Elin fit in, maybe that she was just the angel of death? Then after the whole game was over nothing explained really how the characters tied in to eachother except that they were patients?? I suppose I got what I wanted except for the fact that Nathan SHOULD have been the killer, to stop the grandfather paradox going on and Claire should have went to jail because she was just cold and evil. Through and through though, I LOVED this game and was entertained the whole way through.

[AHA-Lambda]

Quite lttp of course at this point but who is Ashby?

I got an insanity clip where Alderby is on the phone to someone called Ashby?

[Feen]

I think Ashby was the head of the Psychology department or the insane asylum?? He gets questioned earlier or is seen watching a video talking to dekker.

[Taerdin]

I was enjoying this game a lot and some of the character's insane stories were becoming quite convincing... especially through the lens of a video game where cthulhu could actually be real.

But the endings were very confusing and kind of ruined the whole experience for me... I really wanted the game to come together in a more satisfying way, even if that meant not much being explained. Instead the game basically told me 'none of their stories were real you big dumb idiot, BTW you were the insane one the whole time'.

Pretty lame. Also accusing Nathan as guilty for the murder when he was in a trance and had no control over his actions also feels bad...

Overall I enjoyed the acting and stories very much, but would have much preferred a set path that was written very well than the randomized stuff that came together in a dissatisfying way.

[Seven Pidgey Army]

Definitely an interesting game. Even more interesting to see everyone’s thoughts and different perceptions of the patients. Here is my ending and thoughts.

Nathan was the killer: I was convinced from Act 1. I don’t know if I found an ENORMOUS tell or if I got really lucky. It would be cool if someone could verify for me. Almost from the beginning he tells you that he can’t move forward a day without a tragic event and that Dr. Dekker’s death moved him forward. A few questions later he says he has to see the tragic event to move forward. Hearing about it doesn’t work, reading about it doesn’t work. He has to see it. So, he saw Dr. Dekker die/dead or else the doctor’s death wouldn’t move him forward. I tried to point out what he said but there was no option.

So that put him in the room right away. I started a new play through to see if he would say it again. He did. So, he’s either the killer in my second playthrough too (haven’t finished), or other scenarios make him a witness, or it’s an oversight. I don’t know. It must be hard to weave narratives like this and create different stories without inconsistencies. Regardless, he was (supposedly) hypnotized by Dekker as part of a plan to have Nathan kill Dekker so Claire can resurrect Dekker. For reasons I haven’t figured out, Dekker chose to have a hypnotized Nathan kill him, but wanted it to look like a suicide. (When you pin Nathan, he claims there was a suicide note next to Dekker’s body that he will only show the police, but not you.)

Is he lying? Who knows. If Claire was telling the truth that she was supposed to show up immediately after and resurrect Dekker, Dekker would have had no need for a suicide note. He would have had no need for a murderer unless he was scared of committing suicide. Maybe there was no hypnosis, Nathan straight up murdered Dekker because of his belief Dekker “cursed” him, and Claire’s story was a convenient red herring delusion. That’s the beauty of story telling when every character, including the narrator, is unreliable. The person experiencing the narrative can literally come up with anything they want to glue the story together in a way that make sense. (If they want to.) It’s a device that’s used well here. Also, interesting note. The trigger word for the hypnosis is Saturn. Saturn is the Roman’s version of the Greek god Cronus. God of time.

Skip to the end for chronology’s sake. Got the ending where Alderby is telling me I’m insane, I think I’ve taken on all the patients’ powers, and I think Alderby is my patient when I am his. But he coyly suggests he’s pulling the strings. Which he might be because…

Jaya: Greets a new doctor. This time she hands the new doctor the book she talked about through my entire playthrough. (Forget the name.) Reiterates that it’s a “must read” like it’s a command. Not sure if this is sinister (she wants to perpetuate the cycle) or sincere (she feels that my doctor didn’t heed her warnings about the dangers of encouraging psychokinetic behavior and hopes the book will help the new doctor.) I think every characters’ motives change depending on playthrough. See Elin. One other significant thing I noticed but haven’t pieced together. She made a point of chiding my doctor for being late. She praises the new doctor’s punctuality. The significance of this is lost on me.

I think the rest of the patients are talking to the new doctor, about me? Not sure.

Marianna: Convinced she was sharing a delusion perpetuated by the old doctor. (Me or Dekker?) Seems happy to know it was all in her head and that she didn’t hurt anyone. But then she seems to question herself, implying she might have hurt someone during the delusion, or that she still isn’t sure and hasn’t fully recovered.

Claire: Her lawyer got her off on self-defense. But she still thinks her husband is alive, despite having (in her mind) killed him twice. There seems to be a lot of hate for this character, but she actually evoked my sympathy. You could come up with a hundred different interpretations to this ending. I always saw her cold, aloof demeanor as a front. Especially considering her crime was an act of passion. I walked away thinking she did a terrible thing, felt terrible for it, got off the hook, and now punishes herself with delusions since she faced no repercussions for her actions. She believes it. She got off on self defense so there’s no reason to pretend to be insane anymore.

Elin: Poor Elin. The most heavy-handed trope in the game. Devs definitely play on the “is too nice creepy?” conundrum. Is she an angel of death or a misunderstood soul too kind for this world? Both. In my game she was the latter and you’ll never convince me otherwise. The nurse she hates becomes her boss, she decides to move on to a children’s hospital. I think she ends on that line to put dread in the people who think she’s sinister. But I think she is completely innocent in my playthrough so I took it as a sign she’s moving away from the “shapeshifting”. It did occur to me though that she could be completely well meaning, and still deadly. She could be killing people unwittingly through her herbalism and not realizing it. Maybe those children are in trouble and maybe I won’t eat those cookies…

Bryce: A lot of hate for this guy too, and I felt really sympathetic toward him. He found a love of art, goes to the art exhibit, and seems to acknowledge that everything was all in his head. Probably my favorite because he feels like the only character I actually helped, and the most well intentioned. I don’t think he ever did any of the things he said he did, because he never had any gift. In his warped world, the act of having impure and wicked thoughts (which everyone does) was the same to him as committing impure and wicked acts. He’s transfixed by the visual spectrum of the world. He can stare at paintings for hours. It makes his imaginings of taking pictures of naked people a little less creepy in that it might not be sexual. (Though still creepily non-consensual). But he’s so ridden with guilt for even having these thoughts (born out of social ineptness) that he creates a scenario where he’s acted on those thoughts and facing the punishment of an unknown judge. When you urge him to find the good in himself, and show him that he knows wrong from right, he does. The final scene is the only one where he’s not trembling. He seems to be heavily inspired by the movie Cashback.
Okay, I typed a lot. I hope I didn’t abuse the point of this thread. I didn’t know I was going to say this much until I did.

For those interested, I did an all green playthrough, but I tried to make the kinder choices which is probably why I didn’t get the full-on crazy ending. I also typed I Love You backwards when Marianna makes you say it. It showed up in my journal as uoY evoL I so I typed it. It worked, but I have no idea if it did anything.

[ren00dle]

It's nice to see everyone's responses! I just finished my first playthrough, very good stuff. Didn't go for full green until the last 2 acts, and I only got about 250 insanity points because I got attached to the characters and genuinely wanted to help lmao

Jaya was the killer, guessed on the first try - as much as I liked her, girl was mad sus. I got the feeling that she felt she was a better than Dekker, especially when she tried pulling the "and how does that make you feel" ♥♥♥♥ on me. I thought I'd gotten it wrong initially, she told to me to choose my next words very carefully, because the position of doctor was much more replaceable than her's as assistant. Then she mentioned she's selected the past few doctors all on her own and that if she killed Dekker it was for the good of everyone else. But I got it right!

Nathan seemed happy, he has a dog named Ginger and doesn't have repeat days

Elin was doing well, though Teri was rushed into intensive care out of nowhere...sus... I feel like she might be the killer on my next run

Mariana said something about how she was playing into Dekker's fantasies to receive treatment, and she's glad she didn't actually hurt anyone (or did she??)

Bryce seemed much happier, he's started spending more time at Providence gallery and doesn't feel haunted by his hour anymore

Claire said that she had used self-defense against stabbing David, but then ended on saying that her husband was alive again - I -did- encourage her a bit in the beginning, so I guess I didn't really help her there

My doctor died in a copycat murder (thanks Jaya), revealed by Alderby reading the papers and scolding Jaya for unprofessionalism. Gonna try for full green next time and more insanity!