Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
-Just a) or b) no matter whatever you decided before? Hella lame!
-max could have just not been there at all, and the "Chloe dies" ending would be been the same.
I took the "Chloe lives" ending for many reasons. The game kept telling you that using that power was wrong, so I thought "who promises that sacrificing Chloe actually ends the Storm? Maybe not using the power again is what ends the Storm?"
Turns out that the obvious ending choice was the one they went with and it was totally disappointing. Saving Arcadia Bay means that the power did not have a purpose at all. The only one that remembers anything happened for Chloe at all in this ending is max. And I get what she was trying to say , "no one can take that away", but the thing is... They can. That is the whole point of Max' power, undoing things.
If we go by "every alternative reality exists" then nothing means anything at all because just as well there are infinite realities where Chloe and Jefferson lived happily ever after in bizarro world, and the only difference is that max has seen a few of the alternate realities.
What wave form finally collapsed is what counts for Chloe.
Long story short.. A great story, but the ending left me unsatisfied. It was way too easy and cliché
done the Romance better. If either Chloe or Max were male, no one would doubt for a second that this could be a love story. I also think the choice would have been much easier for most people if there was a clear love story path
Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
what if the game had 4 outcomes? Save Chloe or Save Arcadia Bay, but how you played before decided which one ended the Storm and which one didn't. I would've liked that so so much better
Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
Etc, etc.
yes except smooches
Are high-fives not an integral part of making out?
Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
Etc, etc.
yes except smooches
Are high-fives not an integral part of making out?
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
This really bothered me more then you. It felt like them going "You can have confirmed representation that the character you are playing and this character you love are gay but one is going to die because of course, or you can have them both live but we'll leave it ambiguous enough so that everyone can deny it."
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
This really bothered me more then you. It felt like them going "You can have confirmed representation that the character you are playing and this character you love are gay but one is going to die because of course, or you can have them both live but we'll leave it ambiguous enough so that everyone can deny it."
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
This really bothered me more then you. It felt like them going "You can have confirmed representation that the character you are playing and this character you love are gay but one is going to die because of course, or you can have them both live but we'll leave it ambiguous enough so that everyone can deny it."
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
what if the game had 4 outcomes? Save Chloe or Save Arcadia Bay, but how you played before decided which one ended the Storm and which one didn't. I would've liked that so so much better
That would have made a difference, yeah. Give all those little gameplay choices some actual in-game meaning. If you went out of your way to help people whenever possible, saving Chloe is the obvious endgame and consistent with your motivations. If you didn't make an effort to help people (or tried but really sucked at it), sacrificing Chloe to basically undo everything is the most noble option, because you clearly are not able to use this power of yours to help people (okay that's a bit of a stretch, but it kind of works).
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
And maybe it's just a perceptional thing on my part, but I feel like the game gives you every opportunity to get close to Warren right up to the end, no matter how hard you try to shut him down.
I do find it funny that when I watched replays later I found out it was possible to kiss Warren.
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
This really bothered me more then you. It felt like them going "You can have confirmed representation that the character you are playing and this character you love are gay but one is going to die because of course, or you can have them both live but we'll leave it ambiguous enough so that everyone can deny it."
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
This really bothered me more then you. It felt like them going "You can have confirmed representation that the character you are playing and this character you love are gay but one is going to die because of course, or you can have them both live but we'll leave it ambiguous enough so that everyone can deny it."
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
The ending plays into that and it sucks.
...Wow patrick, really dude?
I mean, not that this is an excuse, but that is what most popular media trains us to think. Signs of affection between girls is just a friends thing and doesn't mean anything else and even if they maybe kiss that one time, it's just "experimenting" and is a stop on their way to finding their eventual husband. And, I mean, sometimes that's true, sometimes friends are really touchy-feely and there's nothing romantic involved (but it happens with guys, too, Hollywood). But the overwhelming message people who don't go looking for representative media receive is "There's no subtext here. Stop reading into it so much."
Patrick seems like a pretty smart guy--hopefully at some point he'll realize this and open his mind more.
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firewaterwordSatchitanandaPais Vasco to San FranciscoRegistered Userregular
There should have been an ending where
Max and Chloe lead the tornado on a zany scooby-doo type chase across the nation.
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
And maybe it's just a perceptional thing on my part, but I feel like the game gives you every opportunity to get close to Warren right up to the end, no matter how hard you try to shut him down.
I do find it funny that when I watched replays later I found out it was possible to kiss Warren.
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
Is that the last bit in Episode 5? I know the Best Friends got a "Hug Warren" prompt, which I suppose is a "Kiss Warren" prompt under other circumstances. But not when Liam is involved.
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
And maybe it's just a perceptional thing on my part, but I feel like the game gives you every opportunity to get close to Warren right up to the end, no matter how hard you try to shut him down.
I do find it funny that when I watched replays later I found out it was possible to kiss Warren.
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
Is that the last bit in Episode 5? I know the Best Friends got a "Hug Warren" prompt, which I suppose is a "Kiss Warren" prompt under other circumstances. But not when Liam is involved.
At the Hug Warren/Leave choice if you make certain choices (I think mostly the drive in) there will be a third option to kiss him.
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
And maybe it's just a perceptional thing on my part, but I feel like the game gives you every opportunity to get close to Warren right up to the end, no matter how hard you try to shut him down.
I do find it funny that when I watched replays later I found out it was possible to kiss Warren.
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
Is that the last bit in Episode 5? I know the Best Friends got a "Hug Warren" prompt, which I suppose is a "Kiss Warren" prompt under other circumstances. But not when Liam is involved.
At the Hug Warren/Leave choice if you make certain choices (I think mostly the drive in) there will be a third option to kiss him.
I think I snubbed him at most opportunities - no drive in, no cute note on the board, et cetera - and I got the kiss prompt in the diner.
Boy got a friendly hug and should have been grateful for that.
A small complaint compared to everything else but still bugs me:
max and Chloe only kiss in the ending where she dies, even if you choose every 'romantic' option up to that point.
That's...bothersome
And maybe it's just a perceptional thing on my part, but I feel like the game gives you every opportunity to get close to Warren right up to the end, no matter how hard you try to shut him down.
I do find it funny that when I watched replays later I found out it was possible to kiss Warren.
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
Is that the last bit in Episode 5? I know the Best Friends got a "Hug Warren" prompt, which I suppose is a "Kiss Warren" prompt under other circumstances. But not when Liam is involved.
At the Hug Warren/Leave choice if you make certain choices (I think mostly the drive in) there will be a third option to kiss him.
I think I snubbed him at most opportunities - no drive in, no cute note on the board, et cetera - and I got the kiss prompt in the diner.
Boy got a friendly hug and should have been grateful for that.
Like Bagel said, they give you every opportunity to get with Warren no matter what.
I ended up giving him a hug because while I wasn't into him he's still a good friend I might be seeing for the last time so yeah, give him a hug but not too long.
Matt and Liam wanted the other option to be "Deny Hug" where he goes in for one and you shut it down. Which is hilarious, but if it was me, I'd have hugged him because he is a nice boy and (in retrospect) probably about to die.
Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
Etc, etc.
yes except smooches
That comes first! Then the freeze frame high five! Come on man get with the program
Max and Chloe kiss and the power of their sweet makeouts defeats the storm.
Credits roll to Huey Lewis' Power of Love
Looks like you didn't even need me to help with this
I wrote it as a joke but I actually think I'd kind of love that
Oh yeah, make it cinematic as hell, starting in with a close-up on them, then widening the shot to show the storm breaking up in the background, then just linger on that setpiece, the two of them embracing on the cliffside, silhouetted against the now-clear-skied sunset--it'd be amazing.
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
Etc, etc.
yes except smooches
That comes first! Then the freeze frame high five! Come on man get with the program
Yknow
I have, on occasion, high fived my lady friend after particularly good activities
For me, the message wasn't "you are powerless to fight destiny and you shouldn't even try," but "you have limited time in this life and you need to make the most of it, because you don't really have rewind powers". Chloe ended up in that bathroom with Nathan in large part because Max cut Chloe out of her life when she moved away. If Max had made any effort to talk to Chloe, she would've realized how fucking hard her dad's death hit her, how Chloe's relationship with her mom was deteriorating, how isolated she felt after Rachel vanished, and how badly she needed her best friend's support.
Max was back in Arcadia Bay for over a month before Nathan shot Chloe. If she had reached out to Chloe even a week before, it might've been enough to nudge her in the right direction. By the time Nathan drew his gun on Chloe, it was already too late. Chloe didn't need a superhero to rewind time five seconds before her death- she needed a friend to care about her in the five years her life was unraveling. Someone to talk to and make her life seem a little less desperate. Just an everyday hero.
For me, the message wasn't "you are powerless to fight destiny and you shouldn't even try," but "you have limited time in this life and you need to make the most of it, because you don't really have rewind powers". Chloe ended up in that bathroom with Nathan in large part because Max cut Chloe out of her life when she moved away. If Max had made any effort to talk to Chloe, she would've realized how fucking hard her dad's death hit her, how Chloe's relationship with her mom was deteriorating, how isolated she felt after Rachel vanished, and how badly she needed her best friend's support.
Max was back in Arcadia Bay for over a month before Nathan shot Chloe. If she had reached out to Chloe even a week before, it might've been enough to nudge her in the right direction. By the time Nathan drew his gun on Chloe, it was already too late. Chloe didn't need a superhero to rewind time five seconds before her death- she needed a friend to care about her in the five years her life was unraveling. Someone to talk to and make her life seem a little less desperate. Just an everyday hero.
Okay so in this reading a lesson is learned but the damage is irreversible, as it were
Still doesn't really make me feel good about this
For me, the message wasn't "you are powerless to fight destiny and you shouldn't even try," but "you have limited time in this life and you need to make the most of it, because you don't really have rewind powers". Chloe ended up in that bathroom with Nathan in large part because Max cut Chloe out of her life when she moved away. If Max had made any effort to talk to Chloe, she would've realized how fucking hard her dad's death hit her, how Chloe's relationship with her mom was deteriorating, how isolated she felt after Rachel vanished, and how badly she needed her best friend's support.
Max was back in Arcadia Bay for over a month before Nathan shot Chloe. If she had reached out to Chloe even a week before, it might've been enough to nudge her in the right direction. By the time Nathan drew his gun on Chloe, it was already too late. Chloe didn't need a superhero to rewind time five seconds before her death- she needed a friend to care about her in the five years her life was unraveling. Someone to talk to and make her life seem a little less desperate. Just an everyday hero.
Here's the thing
the rewind powers are a metaphor for gaining agency as you get older, but how you still can't fix all your mistakes or control everything, thats fine
the problem is that what they do with that metaphor completely fails because you have time control powers
They specifically show that Max CAN change EVERYTHING. The only thing that prevents her from doing so is a LITERAL deus ex machina that says "I have judged this to be morally wrong, despite that everything you have done was to help others, and therefore you must not do it
inability to change your mistakes is a time honored tradition in time travel sci fi but they fucked it up so so bad
Artbook would be kind of neat too. It's really obvious that they put a ton of work into the character and environmental designs. So many little touches with graffiti and photos and random objects.
the rewind powers are a metaphor for gaining agency as you get older, but how you still can't fix all your mistakes or control everything, thats fine
the problem is that what they do with that metaphor completely fails because you have time control powers
They specifically show that Max CAN change EVERYTHING. The only thing that prevents her from doing so is a LITERAL deus ex machina that says "I have judged this to be morally wrong, despite that everything you have done was to help others, and therefore you must not do it
inability to change your mistakes is a time honored tradition in time travel sci fi but they fucked it up so so bad
Are they, though? The rewind powers don't come about by any personal growth, life experience or hard work. They just magically show up when she needs them to save Chloe. They let her teleport, see the future, charm people without spending any time getting to know them, ace tests without studying, and snoop through other people's personal belongings without leaving any evidence. They basically allow her to do whatever she wants, free of consequences. That's not the type of agency that comes with age, that's a power fantasy.
I don't believe the tornado is linked to saving Chloe (or her dad) by any logical sequence of cause and effect, but I don't think it's a moral judgement on the use of her powers, either. I think the tornado is the price of a Faustian bargain- the blood sacrifice of thousands of innocents in exchange for immense personal power. Without that price tag, the rewind powers are just a super early deus ex machina- they appear without any explanation and allow her to solve almost any problem with no strings attached, other than the occasional nosebleed.
The twist is that she gets to test drive the powers for a few days before sealing the deal. She gets to save her friend's life (repeatedly) and repair a relationship damaged by 5 years of neglect in only a few days, solve a missing person case, thwart a serial photographer, find love, become a hero to Kate Marsh and probably half the town, and fly out to San Francisco with dreamy Principal Wells to be feted by the art world. Giving all that up makes the offer a lot harder to resist.
Maybe they could've made the source of Max's powers and their link to the tornado a bit clearer (I think the answer in both cases is Rachel Amber), but it's not necessary for a satisfying conclusion. The rewind powers fluctuate throughout the course of the entire game, without a whole lot of rhyme or reason. I don't think it's unfair or even all that unexpected for the terrible price of the awesome powers to be revealed at the very end.
the rewind powers are a metaphor for gaining agency as you get older, but how you still can't fix all your mistakes or control everything, thats fine
the problem is that what they do with that metaphor completely fails because you have time control powers
They specifically show that Max CAN change EVERYTHING. The only thing that prevents her from doing so is a LITERAL deus ex machina that says "I have judged this to be morally wrong, despite that everything you have done was to help others, and therefore you must not do it
inability to change your mistakes is a time honored tradition in time travel sci fi but they fucked it up so so bad
Are they, though? The rewind powers don't come about by any personal growth, life experience or hard work. They just magically show up when she needs them to save Chloe. They let her teleport, see the future, charm people without spending any time getting to know them, ace tests without studying, and snoop through other people's personal belongings without leaving any evidence. They basically allow her to do whatever she wants, free of consequences. That's not the type of agency that comes with age, that's a power fantasy.
I don't believe the tornado is linked to saving Chloe (or her dad) by any logical sequence of cause and effect, but I don't think it's a moral judgement on the use of her powers, either. I think the tornado is the price of a Faustian bargain- the blood sacrifice of thousands of innocents in exchange for immense personal power. Without that price tag, the rewind powers are just a super early deus ex machina- they appear without any explanation and allow her to solve almost any problem with no strings attached, other than the occasional nosebleed.
The twist is that she gets to test drive the powers for a few days before sealing the deal. She gets to save her friend's life (repeatedly) and repair a relationship damaged by 5 years of neglect in only a few days, solve a missing person case, thwart a serial photographer, find love, become a hero to Kate Marsh and probably half the town, and fly out to San Francisco with dreamy Principal Wells to be feted by the art world. Giving all that up makes the offer a lot harder to resist.
Maybe they could've made the source of Max's powers and their link to the tornado a bit clearer (I think the answer in both cases is Rachel Amber), but it's not necessary for a satisfying conclusion. The rewind powers fluctuate throughout the course of the entire game, without a whole lot of rhyme or reason. I don't think it's unfair or even all that unexpected for the terrible price of the awesome powers to be revealed at the very end.
Of course the rewind powers don't come about by any personal growth. That's not the point of the rewind powers. They are what help enable her personal growth. Her regret over Chloe dying is what triggers the very first rewind, and from that moment on Max opens up to other people, makes an effort to connect to her old friend, empathizes with others and searches for ways to help them. The rewind powers help her do that, yes, but they aren't what motivate her to do the things she does in the game. The desire to be a better person--and a better friend--is what propels her. As we see when she talks down Kate Marsh, she doesn't simply give up after losing her powers. She still does her very best to be a hero, because she wants to. The powers simply let her fix mistakes and obtain a "perfect" outcome for her and the people she cares about. You're acting like her rewind powers somehow act as a replacement for her character growth, but in every single episode she goes through a whole shitload of pain and hardship just to do what she feels is the right thing. Max's actions sure as hell aren't free of consequences, as episode 4 makes abundantly clear.
And the problem with comparing it to a Faustian bargain is that there was no bargain. There was nothing around at the beginning to offer her a way to fix things at a price. She just randomly gets the powers and is never told what their scope is, where they came from, and what the consequences of using them are (beyond the typical stuff a genre-savvy teen would know about time travel). She has to figure out absolutely everything on her own. Chloe's death prompts her to be a better person, she becomes a better person, and then the arbitrary consequences of time travel that were never explained come back to punish her for that.
Like, what in the world is supposed to be the message of the Sacrifice Chloe ending? "Fuck you for doing exactly what any decent human being would do in that scenario?"
the idea that she was abusing the power just isn't true. She at all times uses the power to help people. The idea of her doing it to make people like her is dubious at best. She saves friendships, lives... I dont know what more she could do to prove good intentions
And in episode 3 when she changes too much she literally, out loud says "I shouldn't abuse my power". The lesson the spirits or whatever are trying to teach has already been learned and the bad motivation ascribed to max simply aren't accurate.
Posts
And then they high-five
Freeze frame
BA-DA
dundundundundun
BA-DA
dundundundundundun
THE POWER OF LOOOOOOVE
IS A CURIOUS THING
Etc, etc.
-max could have just not been there at all, and the "Chloe dies" ending would be been the same.
I took the "Chloe lives" ending for many reasons. The game kept telling you that using that power was wrong, so I thought "who promises that sacrificing Chloe actually ends the Storm? Maybe not using the power again is what ends the Storm?"
Turns out that the obvious ending choice was the one they went with and it was totally disappointing. Saving Arcadia Bay means that the power did not have a purpose at all. The only one that remembers anything happened for Chloe at all in this ending is max. And I get what she was trying to say , "no one can take that away", but the thing is... They can. That is the whole point of Max' power, undoing things.
If we go by "every alternative reality exists" then nothing means anything at all because just as well there are infinite realities where Chloe and Jefferson lived happily ever after in bizarro world, and the only difference is that max has seen a few of the alternate realities.
What wave form finally collapsed is what counts for Chloe.
Long story short.. A great story, but the ending left me unsatisfied. It was way too easy and cliché
yes except smooches
Are high-fives not an integral part of making out?
I'm really asking here.
Oh no they definitely are, you're right, sorry
don't forget to high five while kissing
It feeds into a larger problem I had with the reaction to the game which is the fact that even though it was obvious to me and seemingly a lot of other people everyone is quick to write them off as friends when in fact their love story is the entire emotional crux of the game. I got into a discussion with Patrick Klepek on twitter after he said in an article that he hoped Chloe and Max didn't kiss. I asked him why and he said because there was no lead up to it. I asked him if the hand holding and kiss weren't enough of a lead up and his response was "Oh that's just what friends do."
The ending plays into that and it sucks.
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
...Wow patrick, really dude?
Nope I was so gay that straightness was no longer a possibility.
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
I mean, not that this is an excuse, but that is what most popular media trains us to think. Signs of affection between girls is just a friends thing and doesn't mean anything else and even if they maybe kiss that one time, it's just "experimenting" and is a stop on their way to finding their eventual husband. And, I mean, sometimes that's true, sometimes friends are really touchy-feely and there's nothing romantic involved (but it happens with guys, too, Hollywood). But the overwhelming message people who don't go looking for representative media receive is "There's no subtext here. Stop reading into it so much."
Patrick seems like a pretty smart guy--hopefully at some point he'll realize this and open his mind more.
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
Boy got a friendly hug and should have been grateful for that.
thanks for letting me rant, thread
again, none of this would bug me if the game hadn't affected me so deeply
I ended up giving him a hug because while I wasn't into him he's still a good friend I might be seeing for the last time so yeah, give him a hug but not too long.
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
Hug of death maybe
That comes first! Then the freeze frame high five! Come on man get with the program
Yknow
I have, on occasion, high fived my lady friend after particularly good activities
it is oddly satisfying
Max was back in Arcadia Bay for over a month before Nathan shot Chloe. If she had reached out to Chloe even a week before, it might've been enough to nudge her in the right direction. By the time Nathan drew his gun on Chloe, it was already too late. Chloe didn't need a superhero to rewind time five seconds before her death- she needed a friend to care about her in the five years her life was unraveling. Someone to talk to and make her life seem a little less desperate. Just an everyday hero.
Okay so in this reading a lesson is learned but the damage is irreversible, as it were
Still doesn't really make me feel good about this
Here's the thing
the rewind powers are a metaphor for gaining agency as you get older, but how you still can't fix all your mistakes or control everything, thats fine
the problem is that what they do with that metaphor completely fails because you have time control powers
inability to change your mistakes is a time honored tradition in time travel sci fi but they fucked it up so so bad
Commentary would be really interesting
God damn it.
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
Tumblr | Twitter PSN: misterdapper Av by Satellite_09
Steam Switch FC: 2799-7909-4852
There were about 12 seconds between me seeing that tweet posted and ordering a PS4 version.
For how much I liked this game, it sure left a sour taste in my mouth.
I didn't know you hadn't finished it!
We talked about it at length on the Tuesday recording, glad you missed that one so you could see it
But yes, it gave me a sour taste
I think back though and there are so many great moments in going to remember for way way longer than most games
I don't believe the tornado is linked to saving Chloe (or her dad) by any logical sequence of cause and effect, but I don't think it's a moral judgement on the use of her powers, either. I think the tornado is the price of a Faustian bargain- the blood sacrifice of thousands of innocents in exchange for immense personal power. Without that price tag, the rewind powers are just a super early deus ex machina- they appear without any explanation and allow her to solve almost any problem with no strings attached, other than the occasional nosebleed.
The twist is that she gets to test drive the powers for a few days before sealing the deal. She gets to save her friend's life (repeatedly) and repair a relationship damaged by 5 years of neglect in only a few days, solve a missing person case, thwart a serial photographer, find love, become a hero to Kate Marsh and probably half the town, and fly out to San Francisco with dreamy Principal Wells to be feted by the art world. Giving all that up makes the offer a lot harder to resist.
Maybe they could've made the source of Max's powers and their link to the tornado a bit clearer (I think the answer in both cases is Rachel Amber), but it's not necessary for a satisfying conclusion. The rewind powers fluctuate throughout the course of the entire game, without a whole lot of rhyme or reason. I don't think it's unfair or even all that unexpected for the terrible price of the awesome powers to be revealed at the very end.
And the problem with comparing it to a Faustian bargain is that there was no bargain. There was nothing around at the beginning to offer her a way to fix things at a price. She just randomly gets the powers and is never told what their scope is, where they came from, and what the consequences of using them are (beyond the typical stuff a genre-savvy teen would know about time travel). She has to figure out absolutely everything on her own. Chloe's death prompts her to be a better person, she becomes a better person, and then the arbitrary consequences of time travel that were never explained come back to punish her for that.
Like, what in the world is supposed to be the message of the Sacrifice Chloe ending? "Fuck you for doing exactly what any decent human being would do in that scenario?"
And in episode 3 when she changes too much she literally, out loud says "I shouldn't abuse my power". The lesson the spirits or whatever are trying to teach has already been learned and the bad motivation ascribed to max simply aren't accurate.