Has anyone figured out the story behind this game?

[P_R_A_E_T_O_R_I_A_N]

Originally i considered it to be centered around a grieving parent
who's self image is distorted beyond recognition and further burdened by an abusive lover and a possible pregnancy.

However, the deeper i got, the more the story branched in different directions
introducing character and scenarios that didn't seem to line up with the almost symbolic feel
of the first few levels?

Any ideas? Maybe this is the result of the shift in writing? Am I wrong and you're going to devout a small section of your time to enlighten me?

[DiasFer]

the actual story is the protagonist has that self-image distortion that influences into a depression and also has some phobias so he/she does Vivo exposure therapy and their therapist has told them to confront their fears, something the protagonist has highly avoided. Depression is the reason the protagonist has Dani, for therapy

[Crusta]

My theory goes a bit beyond the protagonist. This is a love letter by Kira to all of us horror fans. It has everything:

Slasher horror (Maniac in the sewers)
Survival horror (Pistol + Shotgun formula)
Psychological horror (Suicidal girl, Bullimic)
Drama horror ("I'm not sick")
Creature horror (Mimic in the cave)
Lab experiment horror (Rats, Sortiris)
Cabin in the woods horror (Tape #3) and what else.

This is literally an almagamation of all things that scare people and we're in a therapy to fight through it all. It barely needs a story.

And the fact that this was all developed by one person and a handful of sound designers makes it all the more brilliant and shocking. Considering the ammount of triple A companies these days that fail to give us something unique and instead makes us deal with the same zomboid over and over again for 50 hours.

[DiasFer]

That's about the game itself and not the story :/

[Crusta]

Originally posted by DiasFer:

That's about the game itself and not the story :/

the game has no actual story.

[DiasFer]

Read my comment

[comadoze]

Originally posted by Red:

Originally posted by DiasFer:

That's about the game itself and not the story :/

the game has no actual story.

?????????????????????????????

[P_R_A_E_T_O_R_I_A_N]

I believe he meant to say that there isn't an overarching story.
Each segment can be considered to be a self-contained little story.

[DiasFer]

Some parts in the reply mention the tapes which actually aren't canon except for the first one. The game has a story but it isn't THAT complex and long

[Danny Exist]

So here's what I was able to gather

Main Story: You're going through a threapy session to confront your fears while also looking for your service dog in the sewers

Story that's also happening in the background: As you dwell deep into the sewers, you come across the lab and you find out people were messing around with something they shouldn't had messed with hence why the monsters are lurking around. There's like a cosmic horror-esque situation that you're in and which could explain the notes, graffiti and ♥♥♥♥ you encountered in the underground. Let's not forget to mention that spooky tree you come across if you chose to complete it's ritual

[DiasFer]

Originally posted by DannyDX:

So here's what I was able to gather

Main Story: You're going through a threapy session to confront your fears while also looking for your service dog in the sewers

Story that's also happening in the background: As you dwell deep into the sewers, you come across the lab and you find out people were messing around with something they shouldn't had messed with hence why the monsters are lurking around. There's like a cosmic horror-esque situation that you're in and which could explain the notes, graffiti and ♥♥♥♥ you encountered in the underground. Let's not forget to mention that spooky tree you come across if you chose to complete it's ritual

You know that mess wasn't Nezumi Testing's fault, right? Also the spooky tree you mentioned is an overlord, not just a creature

[hip]

Originally posted by DiasFer:

Some parts in the reply mention the tapes which actually aren't canon except for the first one. The game has a story but it isn't THAT complex and long

He never even implied the tapes are "canon" since he doesn't even believe the game has an actual canonicity or story in the first place.

The theory is very solid: the game is an amalgam of all horror genres developed to make all players face their specific fear.

[DiasFer]

i'm trying to talk about the story and you're trying to talk about meta stuff. The lost tapes are just random tapes lost in the underground, each telling their own little story. The game has a story, you're just too stupid to understand. The story is as it follows: YOUR THERAPY DOG FELL IN A SEWER DRAIN. That's everything canon to the present. The dog is both used to help with your phobias and your depression. That's it. Just because the game uses a lot of horror elements doesn't mean it's just a Frankenstein.

[hip]

Originally posted by DiasFer:

The game has a story, you're just too stupid to understand. The story is as it follows: YOUR THERAPY DOG FELL IN A SEWER DRAIN. That's everything canon to the present. Thats it.

or maybe you're just so stupid you can't even realise that "YOUR THERAPY DOG FELL IN A SEWER DRAIN, GO GET IT" is not even a story. Just a gameplay device. And now you're just jealous that someone managed to see the big picture while you couldn't.

My 6 years old nephew can write an actual story compared to "YOUR THERAPY DOG FELL IN A SEWER DRAIN GO GET IT". So instead of feeling proud of yourself for understanding that as the story of the game, you should really feel ashamed of yourself for even calling that "a story".

Go play the game again and pay more attention to what is actually happening onscreen.

[P_R_A_E_T_O_R_I_A_N]

Now now kids
This is a civil thread now isn't it?

[DiasFer]

Well guess not