GO PLAY THIS GAME AND DONT READ IF YOURE INTERESTED IN THIS CUTE ASS GAME
You can hug the NPCs with some gorgeous animations, what more do you want.
ATUL
ATULLLLLL!!!!!
ATULLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!
HE JUST UP AND LEFT IM NOT OKAY
I THOUGHT- I THOUGHT ID GET TO THE END OF HIS QUEST, AND HE'D BE LIKE "I think I'm ready" CAUSE HE GOT TO SPEND A LITTLE MORE TIME WITH FAMILY, AND ID JUST NEVER TAKE HIM, BUT HE JUST DID IT HIMSELF!!!! IM NOT OKAY!!!!!!!!
I was yapping to my girlfriend how he was my favorite, and I love having him on my boat, how I don't wanna let him go.
And I really just liked progressing his quests and appealing to him, so I was just doing progress as normal-
I did have a feeling the party would be the last quest of his- BUT,, I DIDNT THINK HE'D DISSAPEAR IN THE NIGHT,,, I THOUGHT ID BE ABLE TO TAKE HIM TO THE EVERDOOR,,,,
I genuinely went through the 5 stages of grief man.
Stage 0: Doubt. After I made him his chicken I was getting emotional over how much I like having this guy around. And sometime around the dinner, before it or after I can't tell for sure, I was thinking "What if he just dissappear. What if I don't get to see him again or hug him" LITTLE DID I KNOW-
Stage 1: Denial. Astrid was the one who broke the news to me. I saw the spirit flower icon pop up, and I genuinely just thought the game was fucking with me. I went in his room and my heart sank. Picked up his flower cause I was still thinking "No way the game let's me pick this up, no way this is actually for real"
Stage 2: Bargaining. I went outside, tried to talk with the other Spirits, none of them mentioned anything. I was at a bus stop, and because Alex is my goat, I've kept the music on- but in a last ditch attempt to maybe help me feel better- I asked him to turn it off. It didn't work.
Stage 3: Anger. I went into a group chat with my besties, and I started just screaming about how insane this was and my devastation, the vigor was a lot.
Stage 4: Depression. In the following hours it was all I could think about and it slowly wore of its energy, but not the sadness with it.
Stage 5: Acceptance. The next day on my way to work and back, I'd just listen to Thunder Harvest, and it would come with such a bittersweet feeling. I'd just think about his little flute playing dance and my heart would warm.
This silly fuckin Frog Guy caused me to go through genuine grief, what did they put into this game-
Stella didn't get to say goodbye either,,, oughhhh...
I read that Atul was based after one of the Dev's uncles, who also suddenly dissapeared. Maybe that's why it feels so genuine.
At least Atul got to feel like he was amongst family...
It really got to me that this cheerful sweet guy, someone who brings others up and is filled with so much love is someone who went the way he did.
There's so many interpretations to his disappearance. I've seen people interprate it as him leaving himself to the Everdoor, to spare you the trip (WHICH HURTS ME GREATLY... CAUSE IMAGINE HES SO FILLED WITH LOVE, BUT DIDNT WANT TO SHOW THIS VULNERABLE SIDE OR HIM... AND JUST... SPARED STELLA THE HARD WORK-)
But I've also seen people read it as him finally being at peace with his life and regrets. And that's what someone needs in order to pass on. And I find that sweet... I hope that's the case. He deserves to be at peace with his life and choices and where he is. I can only hope he was happy in his last moments.
While the grief hit me hard- I am just floored with the great execution of this idea. This is the first time a game mechanic not being what it's supposed to got to me to such a deep level.
It allowed me to expirience such a visceral human emotion that simply would not work if I sent him to the Everdoor. The unability to say goodbye is so heartbreaking and something I think is important to expirience.
Recently I played Spiritfarer, a game about building a boat. It split me open like a meteor and grafted itself to my bones. This is my attempt to draw those feelings out.
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