Help me not be unhappy about the ending

[Mako Heero]

The Journey was amazing.
But that ending where you die by your helmet cracking after jumping into the big blue orb hovering over the campfire, and everyone still dies made it all feel like I've been had...

Did I just waste my time?

Please help me appreciate whatever just happened.

[Quillithe]

“I tell you what, this has been really fun. And I got to help make something pretty cool, so I’ve got no complaints. I mean, not me, exactly, but close enough. It’s the kind of thing that makes you glad you stopped and smelled the pine trees along the way, you know?”

“I learned a lot, by the end of everything. The past is past, now, but that’s… you know, that’s okay! It’s never really gone completely. The future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it. Still, it’s um, time for something new, now.”

EDIT: Yeah, guess I didn't need to spoiler this. I just lean towards over spoilering.

[Fear Ghoul]

It seems to suggest that if you hadn't made it to the Eye and been there to observe what happens, that it would have really been the end of everything, but thanks to the efforts of the Nomai and the Hearthians following their lead, you were able to make it there and ensure a new galaxy would be born, so it's like you won over entropy, even if you yourself weren't there to see what would come next. I also get the feeling that your individual character might have even had some influence on how this new galaxy formed based on your experiences.

[adaenis]

I won't bother spoiling text, because you can't view the replies without entering the thread--and, if you enter a thread about the ending, and expect not to be spoiled, I don't know how to help you.

Sometimes a game, or a story, isn't about being the protagonist or the hero. And sometimes, even when it is, it isn't about winning--about saving the world. Sometimes it's about moving on. Making something new.

And that probably goes doubly so when the antagonist of your game, hinted at throughout the game via logs from aliens who've been dead for 200,000 years, is entropy--the natural heat death of not only your star, but the whole of the universe--you can't really win. Based on the ending you described though, you got to be part of something better--you and your friends, sitting around a campfire, spinning a tale together that will become a new universe. One which life can continue in, albeit in a new form all together.

[Colcheeky]

I interpret it strongly on the theory of the big bang/big crunch. The Eye being an entity that's existed for longer than the current universe. You play as a species on the brink of the end of the universe; and all stars die. But when you make it to the Eye, you assist in restarting the universe; all matter compresses into a highly dense mass, before exploding outwards. The Eye is the trigger for this, and I suppose you could call it a God. It displays some kind of consciousness, and exists on a quantum level. So my takeaway, was that this game takes the approach of this theory of the universe (The Big Bang, followed by the Big Crunch, repeat). I imagined the people at the campfire to be representations that the Eye projects, to get you to help repeat the process... Or maybe the Eye was just a passive observer, that's essentially infinite, due to it's quantum properties, and the signal it sent out was an invitation for people to watch a new universe be born.

Of course, as others have given their interpretations of the ending, it could also have other meanings, such as the idea that you should enjoy the journey, not the destination, and that you have to move on from the past. Also, it could be a representation of entropy and how people react to it.

[Paper]

Your efforts helped nudge the next universe into a new direction.

Depending on how you look at it, the universe that you are a part of is/was going to die; but you were chosen (either accidentally or on purpose) to find out more about the world around you and become attached to it.

In a way, these feelings that you have now is part of the process of experiencing the story of Outer Wilds. Along with reaching out to better understand your part of the bigger story, look inwards and explore these feelings and think about the grief that you are a part of. It's a process, take some time to think.

I'm glad you enjoyed the journey along with the rest of us. Have you played the DLC yet?

[SMJSMOK]

It's a bittersweet ending. Sure, you (and all the others) die, but through your actions something new is born and existence continues. Don't only focus on the bitter part, there's the sweet part as well :)

Also, as someone mentioned, be sure to play the DLC. It puts the ending into even more context and adds to it.

[ContraMuffin]

The game was never about saving the world. It gives you the hope that you could, but then gives you a hammer to the face starting about halfway through the game when you realize that, no, saving the world was never possible. The whole game is about acceptance, that it's ok if you can't save the world. In the end, just being alive was fun, and that's really all that mattered.
And besides, you made a new universe, so it's not really like your efforts were truly wasted. Only that you yourself won't be the one to experience that new universe.

[Quillithe]

Originally posted by ContraMuffin:

The game was never about saving the world. It gives you the hope that you could, but then gives you a hammer to the face starting about halfway through the game when you realize that, no, saving the world was never possible. The whole game is about acceptance, that it's ok if you can't save the world. In the end, just being alive was fun, and that's really all that mattered.

I love the way they pull that twist - obviously the sun station's causing the supernova. You even learn the Nomai were planning it!

And then you get to the sun station...

[Sammun Mak]

I thought the ending was perfect.

The whole time you're thinking "Okay, the sun is exploding, how do I stop that?" You learn about the sun station which had an explicit job of exploding the sun. Your investigation goes along the idea of saving everyone.

But then you learn the sad truth... this isn't a disaster caused by science gone crazy, it's the inevitable, natural end of the universe. One force than no one can possibility fight. Suddenly, there's a sense of defeat and hopelessness. What is there to fight for? what was the point of this struggle to understand this disaster that ends up being unchangeable?

But then, in the end, it turns out that your actions did "save everyone" -- just in a way no one expected. Your consciousness is the seed for the next universe. Everything was worth it, even though it seemed hopeless.

[Lizard]

I felt the same way and sometimes I still do. When I finished the game I was so emotional and sad you wouldn`t believe it. But the truth is: You couldn`t save the universe for yourself or your friends or the hearthians or the anglerfish : ) - but you saved it for all the others that will be born after this. There would have been nothing ever again if the nomai and you hadn`t been and done what you did. Sad still, I know. Feel hugged !

[ReverendTed]

It's worth noting as well that you're told "I'm glad you remembered me" by one of your companions around the campfire.
Then, you can see how the "14.7 Billion Years Later" screen after the credits changes based on your actions - specifically, who you remembered.
As others have said, by reaching the Eye you were able to reset a Universe that was about to go completely cold, and what you brought with you influenced the Universe that was born when you "collapsed the innumerable possibilities."

If you want, it's a metaphor for life. None of us live forever. We each have to end, eventually, but we are able to influence the world we leave behind.

[Cloudy]

Denial: The universe is ending? That can't be right, this is a video game and I'm the hero!
Anger: The universe is dying and it isn't fair! I'm going to solve the puzzles and save the world!
Bargaining: Maybe if I can get the warp core to the Vessel I can "do something" at The Eye to prevent the supernovas.
Depression: YOU ARE HERE. I worked so hard to try to save the day, but in the end, it made no difference. It's not my fault. I'm not alone.
Acceptance: The death and rebirth of the universe is a necessary part of the natural cycle. And with new beginnings, I, too, can start the game again, and let it live on in my memory and subsequent playthroughs.

That'll be $1200, please ;)

[SMJSMOK]

Originally posted by Cloudy:

Denial: The universe is ending? That can't be right, this is a video game and I'm the hero!
Anger: The universe is dying and it isn't fair! I'm going to solve the puzzles and save the world!
Bargaining: Maybe if I can get the warp core to the Vessel I can "do something" at The Eye to prevent the supernovas.
Depression: YOU ARE HERE. I worked so hard to try to save the day, but in the end, it made no difference. It's not my fault. I'm not alone.
Acceptance: The death and rebirth of the universe is a necessary part of the natural cycle. And with new beginnings, I, too, can start the game again, and let it live on in my memory and subsequent playthroughs.

That'll be $1200, please ;)

You deserve those 1200...Steam points...

[N'wah]

Originally posted by adaenis:

I won't bother spoiling text, because you can't view the replies without entering the thread--and, if you enter a thread about the ending, and expect not to be spoiled, I don't know how to help you.

Sometimes a game, or a story, isn't about being the protagonist or the hero. And sometimes, even when it is, it isn't about winning--about saving the world. Sometimes it's about moving on. Making something new.

And that probably goes doubly so when the antagonist of your game, hinted at throughout the game via logs from aliens who've been dead for 200,000 years, is entropy--the natural heat death of not only your star, but the whole of the universe--you can't really win. Based on the ending you described though, you got to be part of something better--you and your friends, sitting around a campfire, spinning a tale together that will become a new universe. One which life can continue in, albeit in a new form all together.

This is such defeatist attitude, some people like these endings, good for them but I find these abhorrent, in face of impossible odds you try again and again to win even if you fail because that's the last thing that you could actually do, even if nature itself threatens your very existence you stand tall and fight against it, as our species did for all of its lifetime. The you saved future species through your sacrifice is extremely disgusting to me, if anyone here played ME3's campaign this is akin to giving in to the reapers, or the more popular End Game's Thanos idea of wiping out half the galaxy for the sake of the future galaxy, not only ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ but also evil.

[Fear Ghoul]

I think you're going a little overboard. The game is about how everything is ending, there will be nothing left, but through the efforts of the Nomai and Hearthians, someone reached the Eye of the Universe and ensured life would go on. I don't see what's so bad about the idea of being content knowing you won't last forever, but you can make a future for those who will come after, and how self sacrifice for something greater than yourself is somehow evil.