>>716531054
The couch scene for me is a game-changer. No, not in the way you’re thinking.

It’s about how this game fascinates me with the interaction between characters and you as the player, how it breaks the fourth wall from the player’s perspective, and how it shifts your view on the game mechanics you’ve been using since the start when you apply them to interact with a character.

It’s a very intriguing concept, and I hope the game dives deeper into it and explores it from different angles. For now, though, it’s only touched on in a weird route, unfortunately.

>>529064189
She liked it though...

>>713492640
Nah.
Normal Route - (You) save the world, and everything turns out fine for everyone; they all live happily. Kris goes on a journey/to study, and Noelle lives with Susie.

Weird Route - They save the world and kill (you), but everything turns out fine for everyone; they all live happily. Kris goes on a journey/to study, and Noelle lives with Susie.

(You) are not really needed in this story. Moreover, THEY know it. Kris is already hiding their skills from (you) and the fact that they carry a knife. (You) are either a tool to achieve their goals or their enemy. In the first case, (you) will be tossed out like a used condom after they’re done with (you); in the second, you (will) be destroyed. (Your) fate is unenviable either way. Alas.

Let's be honest, a weird route is just a poorly disguised evil/bad/negative route from other RPGs. Something like embracing Durge in BG3, Swarm-That-Walks in WOTR, or necron worship in RT.

These paths don’t have good endings. They all end badly. They’re designed solely to embody everything bad. And that means everything in this path will only get worse for everyone. Everyone will suffer. Because that’s the point of this path—absolute evil.

And bad guys only get bad endings. There are no good endings in the snowgrave route for you.

Guys, let's finally put an end to the foolish talk about Youelle. It’s not happening. I get that (you) really wanted it, I truly do. But it’s not happening. Both Susie and Kris have a chance. But not (you).

All attempts to twist reality and push (your) fanfic idea that she actually likes (you), not Kris, are pure wishful thinking. Nothing more. There’s literally no evidence for it, but there’s plenty showing she’s horrified by (you), that (you)’ve seriously traumatized her, and that (you) cause pain to everyone close to her (Kris). This suggests she’ll likely hate (you) with all her soul and might even be the one to destroy (you). (You)’re crafting a weapon against (yourself). It’s a classic story of abuse and the victim rising against the abuser.

So stop with (your) coping and face the truth as it is—in the weird route, everyone will hate (you), (you)’re doing this with (your) own hands, and no one will ever love (you) if (you) keep going.

Am I the only one worried about where the story is heading for us as players? It feels like both routes are setting us up for no happy ending. At best, a bittersweet conclusion in the normal route, and a terrible one in the strange route.

In the normal route, everything points to us fulfilling the prophecy in our own way, saving the world, and making the game’s characters happy, but we’ll be forced to cease existing and leave this world forever, with our existence forgotten.

In the strange route, we become an outright villain, but this makes the characters stronger—strong enough to defeat us and save the world on their own, without our help. They gain freedom from us. But we still cease to exist, though our villainy won’t be forgotten.

I’m afraid that, as players, we’re nothing more than a pitiful tool in this story. The whole moral of the narrative design seems to be about making the player realize they’re a player in a game and start respecting the characters, rather than treating them like puppets.

The endings for the player in DR will strongly resemble Aoen’s endings in Pathfinder WOTR. Everyone gets a happy ending except our in-game avatar. If you like those kinds of endings, you’ll probably enjoy it. But personally, I’m not a fan, and I’m worried I’ll end up deeply disappointed.

>>528348365
But this is my game... I'm in charge here... I want to do what I want without consequences, because it's a game!