The REAL Good Ending(Spoilers Ahead)

[Narry]

Spoilers, obviously, if you haven't beaten the game yet:




I just got the Iconoclast ending, which in my perspective, is the only actual good ending.

Let's break down the others:
1.) In the "Good" ending, Tasi nabs some vitae jars, powers the portal, and goes to Paris with her baby. Alls well that ends well, right?
Well wait, let's look at that real quick.
It has already been well established that Tasi and Amari are both afflicted with different maladies. Tasi is becoming a Ghul slowly, and will eventually kill her child and go on to harm and murder others. Amari has a wasting disease that is only held at bay by Vitae, of which neither has a supply of.
In short, they will both die slowly, and the Empress is left to her own devices, to continue torturing others and prolonging her corrupt reign, whilst still kidnapping humans, meaning the whole situation with Tasi can start again with another woman who has far less plot armor.

2.) The bad ending sees Tasi giving in to the Empress' will, returning the child to her crib and letting the Empress hasten her transformation into a Ghul. Tasi loses all semblance of her humanity, even her memory of the events in the game and her daughter, tossing her journal aside as she descends into inhumanity. The Empress win, keeps Amari, and the status quo of agony and death continues.

And now for the secret ending:
3.) The Iconoclast ending, to me at least, is the best option, given the circumstances in the game and what we know is going on with Tasi and Amari. Both will die, the Empress will keep her throne, and nothing changes. But in the third ending, you are given the option of sacrificing yourself, even Amari, in order to destroy the Empress once and for all, shattering her twisted reign dealing a death knell to her kingdom.

Considering what would have happened to Tasi and Amari eventually, even if they escaped, I'd consider this the best, morally right ending.

Care to discuss?

[Neptune Towers]

I agree, given the options. We're not entirely sure how point 1) actually pans out in the grand scheme of things, but it's safe to assume things would turn for the worse. I think that all endings could have carried a lot more weight both in terms of emotional and moral implications, but it is what it is. I think that the game fails to meaningfully convey the gravity of the situation on the otherworld because too much focus is put on Tasi personally and distracts the player from assessing the world as a whole and becoming engaged with what is going on.

[Narry]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

I agree, given the options. We're not entirely sure how point 1) actually pans out in the grand scheme of things, but it's safe to assume things would turn for the worse. I think that all endings could have carried a lot more weight both in terms of emotional and moral implications, but it is what it is. I think that the game fails to meaningfully convey the gravity of the situation on the otherworld because too much focus is put on Tasi personally and distracts the player from assessing the world as a whole and becoming engaged with what is going on.

That might actually be the point, as you are just one individual and can't be everywhere at once. Your view of that world is limited to what you can see and read of it, therefore your experiences of it will be more limited.
Earlier in the game it is established that something other than the Shadow came out of a portal and ruined their world... I would love to know more about this entity.

[Neptune Towers]

Originally posted by Narry:

That might actually be the point, as you are just one individual and can't be everywhere at once. Your view of that world is limited to what you can see and read of it, therefore your experiences of it will be more limited.
Earlier in the game it is established that something other than the Shadow came out of a portal and ruined their world... I would love to know more about this entity.

I think it's a design choice. To put it simply and as a basic example, you're walking down a corridor, but instead of being left alone with your thoughts to process what is going on, you are drawn into a one-sided conversation with "the little one". Such a family theme was present as well in a game like A Machine for Pigs, but over there it didn't constantly get in your way as you tried to make sense of things, though it was also very important as you approached the game's conclusion. What you are saying here is technically correct, but I think it works against the game if implemented in that way. You need to have a connection between the characters and the world if you want the player to ultimately care about them.

[Narry]

Originally posted by .xXx.W4R10KK.xXx.:

Originally posted by Narry:

That might actually be the point, as you are just one individual and can't be everywhere at once. Your view of that world is limited to what you can see and read of it, therefore your experiences of it will be more limited.
Earlier in the game it is established that something other than the Shadow came out of a portal and ruined their world... I would love to know more about this entity.

I think it's a design choice. To put it simply and as a basic example, you're walking down a corridor, but instead of being left alone with your thoughts to process what is going on, you are drawn into a one-sided conversation with "the little one". Such a family theme was present as well in a game like A Machine for Pigs, but over there it didn't constantly get in your way as you tried to make sense of things, though it was also very important as you approached the game's conclusion. What you are saying here is technically correct, but I think it works against the game if implemented in that way. You need to have a connection between the characters and the world if you want the player to ultimately care about them.

I actually had a big connection with Tasi and her struggle to find and keep her child, it's one of the reasons I actually prefer this over Dark Descent, though I did love that game too.

[El Fuerte]

+1

[Wirdjos]

The only thing that stops me from considering Iconoclast the 'good ending' is how Tasi gives up after tainting the vitae lines. That almost seemed out of character after how she responded to the Empress' 'you can't save your child, but I can' taunts. I know the situation is hopeless once the Shadow starts taking over, but I would have loved the chance to at least try to escape with Amari. Because that seemed to be the moral of Rebirth's story: the situation may seem impossible, but you have try. And it's undermined in Iconoclast.

[Roler42]

Originally posted by Wirdjos:

The only thing that stops me from considering Iconoclast the 'good ending' is how Tasi gives up after tainting the vitae lines. That almost seemed out of character after how she responded to the Empress' 'you can't save your child, but I can' taunts. I know the situation is hopeless once the Shadow starts taking over, but I would have loved the chance to at least try to escape with Amari. Because that seemed to be the moral of Rebirth's story: the situation may seem impossible, but you have try. And it's undermined in Iconoclast.

There was no way for her to escape without a Vitae battery, and if you look closely at that ending, Tasi's feet get stuck in place by the shadow, she does make an effor to unstuck herself, but it's later made clear it won't let her go at all.

Even if she gets unstuck she still would have had to make a run for a vitae battery then get to the portal, but given how volatile the shadow injections are, there's a good chance they wouldn't have made it in time.

I do like the iconoclast ending though, it fits very well with the Lovecraftian themes of the game, it's a constant that Lovecraftian protagonists either die, or go insane by the end of their journey, Tasi suffers the latter in the Harvester ending.

Even the good ending has implications that not all is well, Amari has a big chance of suffering the same fate Alys did, but even if they do survive, they're not going to enjoy much peace as World War 2 is just around the corner (game taking place in 1938), Tasi escapes one hell, to land into the German occupation of France.

[Wirdjos]

Originally posted by Roler42:

There was no way for her to escape without a Vitae battery, and if you look closely at that ending, Tasi's feet get stuck in place by the shadow, she does make an effor to unstuck herself, but it's later made clear it won't let her go at all.

Even if she gets unstuck she still would have had to make a run for a vitae battery then get to the portal, but given how volatile the shadow injections are, there's a good chance they wouldn't have made it in time.

I totally missed that she was physically stuck in place and not just mentally so! That changes everything!

I’d still like an end that leaves Amari with a chance even if it’s an awfully slim one. But otherwise, I now agree, Iconoclast is the best ending.

[ZeppMan217]

Originally posted by WolvesCreek:

Or kill a world by letting an evil parasite from hell finish it off...oh happy days! Basically not only killing off the rest of a planet (at peace) but killing yourself and child.

I'd argue the child DID have a chance to live I suppose if given up where in the other two endings she dies?

So I suppose if its a question of putting the child first - than really the best ending IS giving it up to the goddess?

Overall I just felt all the endings were well told but not good at all.

I guess thats the horror of it?

The alien world is just the empress and her lifeless servants, along with a supply of humans from our world to be turned into vitae to keep the empress alive.

Leaving the child with the empress means leaving her to the empress' fate: immortality in exchange for damnation and solitude.

Ending the alien world using the meat breaks the cycle of suffering, putting a stop to alien incursions into our world, forever.

The game should've had a bittersweet ending, with Tasi being able to kill the empress and escape back to Paris with her child, knowing full well that Tasi herself would succumb to the monster within, while her child would eventually die, just like Alys.

[Dan Niton]

Originally posted by Narry:

Let's break down the others:
1.) In the "Good" ending, Tasi nabs some vitae jars, powers the portal, and goes to Paris with her baby. Alls well that ends well, right?
Well wait, let's look at that real quick.
It has already been well established that Tasi and Amari are both afflicted with different maladies. Tasi is becoming a Ghul slowly, and will eventually kill her child and go on to harm and murder others. Amari has a wasting disease that is only held at bay by Vitae, of which neither has a supply of.
In short, they will both die slowly, and the Empress is left to her own devices, to continue torturing others and prolonging her corrupt reign, whilst still kidnapping humans, meaning the whole situation with Tasi can start again with another woman who has far less plot armor.

Actually, we still don't know if Amari really had a disease and even if the baby does have it, we don't know if her life expectancy will be short. For all we know, the empress could be lying about Amari not able to survive without vitae since her main goal is to have a child to care for.

[ZeppMan217]

Originally posted by Dan Niton:

Actually, we still don't know if Amari really had a disease and even if the baby does have it, we don't know if her life expectancy will be short. For all we know, the empress could be lying about Amari not able to survive without vitae since her main goal is to have a child to care for.

In the Paris ending, you can see black smoke coming off Amari and mister monkey in the final slide, just as it did in slides with Alys. Her death is inevitable.

[Narry]

Thanks for all the replies, everyone! Glad I could get some discussions started.

[Nihil]

Totally agree with you OP.
Leaving the place would have only cause more death and terror even in Paris. Tarsi would have achive nothing in the end.

Iconoclast ending was a sad ending but the objectively best one.

[Ser Pounce]

The iconoclast ending is the one that makes best sense to me both morally and thematically. Tasi doomed herself and her companions in order to keep her baby but after learning the horrible truth about the Vitae, she sacrifices herself and her child in order to destroy the torture industry. (Caveat: I strongly suspect Tihana would have tricked Tasi and her companions into drinking from the fountain anyway if she had chosen to stay, so Tasi's choice might not actually have mattered here.)

I just wish there had been more of a silver lining to that ending. It leaves a bitter aftertaste to an otherwise amazing game experience to see Tasi having suffered so much only to end up with that fate. Especially in contrast with the ridiculously upbeat endings of ADD where Daniel can let the Shadow eat Alexander without any harm to himself. Meh!

[Roler42]

If you think about the iconoclast ending from a certain perspective, it's bittersweet, she and Amari may die to the shadow, but it also means they get to reunite with Salim and Alys in the afterlife... Together in death... Wich seriously fits because Tasi really didn't have much else to live for, carrying Amari through became her only motivation to move forward.