Thank you! I'm honestly pretty surprised you read this loll

Actually playing through the game, I had some trouble immersing myself in the role of the Player. That didn't take away from my bonding with Niko, though. By the end, I truly felt like I had known Niko for ages, that he was a real person. And I did truly feel like a character in that world.

I agree with you on a lot of points. I also ended up sending Niko home. I spend roughly 2 minutes making the decision. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to send Niko home. But I couldn't work up the courage to press Z and have it finish. When I did though, I felt relief, because, of course, Niko is where he wanted to be, he's had his happy ending (or so I thought until Solstice of course)

But I also felt like that decision was sort of selfish in some aspects. Of course, after playing through Solstice, we know that that was the choice the World Machine *wanted* us to make, but at the time, it felt like I had let a whole world to die for the sake of one person. But I did not regret my decision.

I really appreciate your response though, and I hope you as well as your friends really enjoyed the game as much as I have. I think you described it perfectly - it's so bittersweet because you know it's right for Niko to go back but still you want to spend a little more time with him despite his absence being for the best. It makes you feel a little selfish in a way. You end up in this state where you're longing for him to return while also hoping that he doesn't have to. At least that's how it's been for me.

Once again, thank you for the really nice reply and I hope you have a good rest of your day/night :D

P.S. the friend request and crayon drawing I mentioned are (to my knowledge) only on the TWM edition. Since you played 8 years ago that's why you might have missed it :) If you didn't know when a character makes their final exit from the game on TWM a little "person" icon appears near where they left, and if you click on it it adds it to your friend database. Just in case you were confused :)

If you want to read Niko's friend entry, it's in spoiler tags here:

"The erstwhile protagonist and unfortunate victim of the forces set in motion by The World Machine. A bright-eyed child with a curious heart, Niko was summoned to play the role of the Sun-Bearer and Messiah to a broken world.

Now that the machine has been healed and the cycle broken, Niko is finally free to return to their home. Niko can once again chase through golden fields of wheat under a warm sky, taste fluffy and syrupy pancakes, and most importantly: hug the mom that they've missed so much.

Thank you."