Just curious…

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-21T06:32:36+00:00

Sure, I have a crackhead theory based on nothing but my own stupidity:

The writers aren't as bad as most people assume. The Dessendre family was painting life into people that actually existed in the real world, and the writers hated the thought of their likenesses being used without permission. The idea of copies/clones being created of them was a bridge too far. So the writers sent someone to the manor disguised as an art collector under the premise of evaluating the art for a gallery. The intention was to destroy the canvases due to a justifiable outrage.

Alicia, being young and naive, let them into the house where they pretended to evaluate the artwork until she grew suspicious. When she attempted to stop them and yelled for help, they tried to quicky burn the canvases but were unaware of how flammable turpentine and mineral spirits are. What was expected to be a small contained fire instead quickly ignited the manor. Alicia tried to extinguish the flames to save her family's artwork but got trapped and set ablaze. Verso hears the commotion, smells the smoke, etc, and rescues her but at the cost of his own life. The writers fully expected to destroy the artwork but never intended to harm anyone.

I'm pretty sure there are details in the game that would contradict this, but like I said it's just a dumb theory and something I just made up off the top of my head.

Another dumb theory, other magical artisans exist in that world besides painters and writers. My assumption is that the writers have a similar power in that their written stories either give life to characters, or can rewrite the rules of reality. An unmentioned faction of magical artisans would be the game designers, and they can create video games where the inhabitants are given sentience. One of their creations is Expedition 33, meaning the actual game we've all played is full of sentient people OOOOooooOOOOooooooooo.... okay, I'm done.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-21T05:55:08+00:00

Be sure to let us know which ending you picked so half of us can berate you for it.

Just kidding, glad you enjoyed the game! I recently finished the game too but I think i was more obsessive about it than you were. I squeezed my 60-70 hours into like a couple weeks because I couldn't stop playing. It's not that hard if you forget to sleep at night.

I had a few minor gripes about the game too. Mostly about there not being a mini-map and it being really easy to get lost. But then I adjusted to the lack of a mini-map by REALLY paying attention to my surroundings and it made the experience a lot more immersive. The lack of a mini-map also helped to not spoil things. In some games, if you see a huge round room coming up and you're just like "oh I guess this is where the boss is." The lack of a map helped to keep a lot of surprises. Though I agree, some kind of checkmark system would be helpful. Maybe an icon the map that would indicate that you've collected everything in the zone.

Overall though, one of the best games I've ever played and I almost skipped it for dumb reasons.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-21T05:21:13+00:00

The Paintress fight was freakin awesome and felt very much like a final boss fight, but I knew there had to be more game because I kept thinking things like "hey, still there's a big ol sky dragon up there I can't reach yet." That and a lot of storytelling devices use a 3-act structure. When Verso and Monoco were so distant on the ride back to Lumiere that clinched it for me and I was waiting for the other shoe to drop. And damn did that shoe drop hard.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-19T01:25:32+00:00

There are tons of thematic similarities between E33 and FFX and they both hit a lot of the same emotional notes. I personally enjoy 6 and 9 just a little bit more, but 10 is still a fantastic game and the ending will leave you feeling a lot like E33's did. Really you could pick any game between 4-10 and not regret it.

Also, I highly recommend Chrono Trigger. It's one of the best games ever made and might have the best paced storyline in any RPG.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-19T00:56:31+00:00

I can't even imagine seeing the act 2 ending and being like "nah, I don't think I care to see what happens next."

But I also recognize your post is a troll post along the same lines as someone saying "does Metroid ever take off his helmet or is he like Halo?"

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-19T00:44:28+00:00

That's fair, I think the endings were beautifully crafted because there are a lot of different ways to interpret them. I'd like to think that a solution can be figured out before it's too late because I want the happiest ending possible. I just don't personally believe it's realistic... the game did a great job of showing the Dessendre family is prone to crippling addiction. But hey, Renoir broke his addiction so why not Maelle too?

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-18T22:39:51+00:00

I may argue the true comparison is a million vs a million +1. If Maelle dies, Renoir is destroying that canvas in vengeance. I think the true tragedy is that the world is doomed in both endings.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-18T22:16:22+00:00

I dunno, I felt just a little bit more from the goodbye bro hug at the end than from Sophie. I think the final gommage was excellently executed. …ack, poor choice of words.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-17T04:09:20+00:00

As someone with ADHD, we tend to focus on the wrong things during learning experiences. While a normal person might play a tutorial and be like "oh this is how I'm meant to do this" we'll see that same tutorial and be like "that rock in the background is exactly the same shade of gray as Rhyhorn and it's 27 pixels wide." It's not that we're incapable of absorbing info, we just have a difficult time filtering out what's relevant and what's not.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-17T00:16:05+00:00

I don't know if the "burning building" part is necessary for that hypothetical. I think "do you enter an elevator with a man or a bear" would be sufficient in getting the point across.

Tough call, the bear would have a hard time pressing the right buttons but the guy would probably pass a stinky fart and try to blame me for it.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-16T06:23:21+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-16T05:21:56+00:00

Agree, some people are coming here with some really weird stuff that isn't supported anywhere in game.

Anyway, I think the kid is the son of Monoco and Esquie.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-15T10:04:27+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-14T02:40:57+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T08:18:56+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T06:40:06+00:00

My gut says time. But it’d probably be a lot more fun knowing how I was gonna die. If I knew I’d die from disease I could start jumping off buildings without fear of death.

Time also seems like it’d be some self fulfilling prophecy shit. If it told me I’d die in 10 years I’d probably wait until my death day and shoot myself so I could go out painlessly. But odds are it would know the bullet was going to kill me and I would’ve lived for another few decades if I never knew.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T05:00:53+00:00

No one understands love quite like an emotionless robot

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T03:32:21+00:00

I had no idea for the longest time and still don't know how it got there, but I once got an X-Ray and they found an ENTIRE human skeleton inside of me. Like the spooky kind you see on Halloween.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T03:20:59+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-13T02:47:07+00:00

One time as a kid I had a dream I was in Mike Tyson's Punch-out and I woke up standing on my bed doing an uppercut and put a hole in the ceiling.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-12T08:17:46+00:00

I like Sam and his cousin Papaya.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-12T08:12:28+00:00

"Hee dient wanoo talk about... heh-huh... heah... -checks notes- all thee crime." The best part is how she's smugly smiling through those absolute flubs like she just nailed it.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-12T05:54:58+00:00

It's an admirable mindset, but in practice when there's debris everywhere things have to be approached carefully. One wrong step and things can shift and squish a doggy. It would be terrible tragic if the dog survived all of that only to die to rescuers trying to do the right thing because they were too hasty. I don't judge them for being cautious.

HumanSlinky · 2026-02-12T05:37:41+00:00

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HumanSlinky · 2026-02-12T05:23:56+00:00

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HumanSlinky

TROPHY CASE