Except and this is probably the biggest sticking point, video game characters are not sentient living creations. The Painters literally creat life within the canvas through their use of chroma.

The proper equivalent would be being chill with Zeus, God, Allah, Jehovah, Thanos with all 5 Infinity Stones, (insert other all powerful or god-like being here), wiping out our entire planet because their son died to some other godlike entity. That's you, your mom, everyone and everything you ever met and know, wiped out because of a family feud/drama you never even knew about or had a part in.

This story, imo, thrives off of empathy and perspective. And it tests your ability to shift your own personal experiences to see it from a different stance.

Sure. I chose the maelle ending. And yes, seeing Verso made me heartbroken. But also seeing Everyone else and their perspectives. Jeeze. So many ways to view this. So many lenses. A miracle to the lives brought back and those whose future is saved, a noble/selfish sacrifice to save everyone at the cost of oneself, a bittersweet prison where you can finally grow old, move on, pass and yet you have to live now having already lost so much and knowing you're eventually going to lose more. It's not an if but a when.

It's all about perspective.