I think the reason amanda the adventurer works so much better for me than something like.. poppy playtime is because the game takes its time showing you both sides of the "mascot" or main spectacle rather than just one. and humanizes it's characters to both make them scary and sympathetic.
like with amanda, the game never presents her as the typical aftermath of a bad faith companies greed until you see the entity. the game gives tidbits that she might be a threat or a malicious force, but when you look at it overall you piece together that amandas actions are out of frustration and anger.
she's not an animal hunting for food or a blinded mutation immediately assuming that the player is a past employee who must have wronged her. in fact, her immediate response, again, is to call for help, or at least purposefully give a sign that something is wrong.
it's only when the message is not acknowledged or declined that the frustration and anger boils to a front, and causes the entity to attack riley.
mind you, again, we are never once shown amanda herself being downright monstrous in her violence or anger toward the player, riley. ( i dont think her attacking wooly both times was as monstrous as it was barbaric ) it's always executed through a separate being as a result of unchecked power in the hands of a child who barely knows what anger is.
the horror of amandas character outside of the entire theme of exploitation, which is mostly a separate topic. is not that she is some big scary monster coming to hunt you down for food. it's that she's a child with 20+ years of boiling frustration and rage and grief, and your life ( as well as woolys ) is in HER hands, and dependent on HER mood.
.. and also vice versa. as riley is probably the only truly empathetic connection she's had in years.
which ... is also kind of incredibly sad for amanda, because she probably also knows this, seeing as when she lashes out during a genuine call for help and has the clarity to continue speaking ( in the everything rots tape when you refuse to answer her question and she makes wooly disappear, i cannot be bothered to find the clip. ) her immediate response is to soften her tone, her expression, her mannerisms. and almost.. beg.. to not be seen as a monster. to be seen as a friend, or someone worthy of that, despite all of it.
even without the clarity of that, during the "wont you help the lonely kitten" scene she's still begging. she shows her frustration mildly, but ultimately breaks down rather than lashing out in anger. all throughout the transformation in the petting zoo tape, she's not screaming and crying out of rage or fury but complete and utter despair. and all through it she's not cursing riley or actively trying to scare them into doing what she wants. she's begging, and the emotional weight of denial causes her to snap.
even when literally floating possessed style, her stance isn't threatening or purposeful. it's bent and lame. defeated, even.
this was a whole big fat yap fest, but i thought it might fuel the fire while we wait for the 3rd game
vaporwave
dailybridgerton
yousharknotpass
annaxmalina
romaincrisis
