void stranger and "some things are never explained"
i have a theory about void stranger that the flaws and unexplained parts of its lore and how it relates to its prequel are actually part of the artistic statement of the game.
spoilers for all of void stranger AND for its narrative connection to zeroranger. basically spoilers for everything.
i have a friend whose vs playthrough i was vicariously enjoying and who just beat the true ending and kind of complained that a lot of the parts of the lore don't super make sense, and while they're willing to accept when a narrative is sloppy if it's like called out explicitly in game as some sort of authorial intent, if there's no evidence to distinguish that truth from "the authors were just sloppy" then they default to dismissing it as the authors were just sloppy.
now, this friend jumped to that conclusion without playing zeroranger, so doesn't know anything about despair, or erasure, or reincarnation, or timelines, and even in game didn't figure out stuff like "gray is add" or "cif can't see B000 because of the seals". but even if you ignore those things i think it's missing the point.
and to be clear, what i'm about to say is entirely my interpretation of the art, i have no evidence that it's what the authors intended or what anyone else things, but that's kind of the point, because:
"some things are never explained and you have to make your own meaning" IS THE POINT of void stranger.
to be more specific, each of the following things:
some things are clearly explained
some things are explained later only through great effort
some things are never explained and you have to make your own meaning
is true in different ways for each of the three protagonists AND for the player.
the player, in relation to the game's puzzle mechanics.
clearly explained: you're playing sokoban, stair go down, ok do it again without infinite lives.
explained through great effort: the void contains secret information - brands and ui manipulation - that allows you to bend these halls to your will and unlock the true ending.
never explained: the karma mechanic (determines whether the Failures show up or unlocks certain credits text). i always wondered about this, it creates this sense of mystery while you're playing the game that there's still puzzles you don't understand even after you think you know all the game mechanics there are. of course, karma also ties into the game's samsara theme, but it has this ludonarrative harmony as well.
gray
clearly explained: you're going into the void to save lily.
explained through great effort: who are these void lords and why have they taken the only thing you've ever been devoted to in your life? (they made a deal with johann and they'll allow you to make a deal with them too.) what does it mean to be a mother? (limitless devotion, choosing lillie over lily on the crazy hope that it will eventually save them both and escape the sophie's choice, having a turbulent relationship with your child, eventually trying to have your own life again in the real world.)
never explained: who are you? why can't you remember your own past? (because you're add who intentionally stripped themself of their memories.) (at least, in the lillie storyline where gray doesn't go herself to dis.)
lillie
clearly explained: gray is your mother, gray isn't your mother, you're in this void now whether you like it or not.
explained through great effort: what are you doing in this void? (saving lily.) what are you doing in life? (coming to terms with your relationship with gray.)
never explained: why is the void so tied up in your family history? (because gray is add.) why did cif bring you back to the void? (because cif wants to see out the end of your story to better understand humans.)
cif
clearly explained: you're a void lord, these floors B197-B224 are your domain, carve statues and supervise your sisters.
explained through great effort: who, or what, is DIS? (erasure finally tells them.) why are we still here? (to defend it from any human or traitorous void lords who'd try to reactivate it.)
never explained: what does it mean to yearn? what makes add's creations unable to burn as brightly as the humans? (this post basically.)
the player, once again, in relation to the game's lore.
clearly explained: the void lords' war, lev's betrayal, add's reincarnation, who or what is DIS.
explained through great effort (aka playing zeroranger): what's going on in the carcass ending, or in the shmup segment? (memories of and/or time travel to the distant past.) why does DIS accept lily? (because she's despair's reincarnation.)
never explained: who is add originally? why did dis create the void? why do the void lords fade from existence as if they've been erased from the timeline at the end of the true ending? (note: i'm not actually super clear on the boundary of what's explained and what's fanlore and what's still a mystery so please, by all means correct me or provide more examples here.)
the lore of void stranger and its relationship to its prequel is intricate and messy and some of the mess may not even be intentional on the part of the authors and yet. if it all perfectly explained itself within its own boundaries it would defeat the point. the imperfections invite the player in.
I want to finish zeroranger so I can start voidstranger but the final section keeps kicking my ass and deleting my save and I’m too determined to beat it the intended way to keep a backup 😫
Mido and Dori use some of their off-time to visit their usual cafe when Dori suggests they switch it up a little.
The streets aren't so busy anymore. When satellite telescopes first identified Green Orange and confirmed its trajectory there was no panic, centuries of warfare made our cities and the people of Daikon resilient and adaptable. Buildings that retract seamlessly into the ground to shelter the inhabitants from artillery fire and bombing leaving a flat expanse of bunker doors and empty streets one hopes to never see anyone on.
Dori looks up to the orange sky and strains her vision in the direction of Green-Orange, but all she sees is that void of sky for now. She sighs and lets her gaze fall toward the pavement. A sudden wind makes her green button-down blouse flutter. Past her distressed jeans and beneath her boots the pavement's pock-marks seem like the remains of a battlefield soon to come.
The contemplation is broken by Mido grasping Dori's shoulders from behind which startles her, leaning in she giggles "Told you I'd catch up!"
She turns to look at Mido. Her knee-length, white with orange coloured orange-blossom pattern spaghetti strap dress flows in the gentle breeze. On her feet are orange crocs with charms of Decker and Rybb
Dori smiles and chides "You wouldn't have to catch up if you could just get changed quicker."
Mido pouts at this "Hey! It's not my fault! My pilot suit is too small…"
"File a request for a bigger one," she lifts the strap of her dress slightly "The last thing we need is you complaining about chafing while we're tying to do our job." She lets the strap snap and Mido yelps.
"Eeep! You're such a meanie!" She slaps her on the shoulder and they smile to each-other "Fine I'll talk to the quartermaster after our day-out. We're still going to that cafe right?"
Dori nods "Yeah, it isn't far now."
"What are you gonna get, Dori?"
She shrugs "Probably a Long Black."
Mido scrunches her face and sticks her tongue out in disgust "BLECH! How can you drink that. It's so bitter!"
"It really isn't, it's less bitter than a regular espresso."
Mido shakes her head "That's not much better, less bitter than super bitter is still bitter!"
Dori smiles patiently "Well I happen to like bitter things. Even the sweetest treat…"
Mido completes the sentence "…gets a little bitter with each bite." She rests her eyes a minute, the pipes up "What did Erasure mean by that anyways?"
"Who knows. Sometimes I think we barely understand what Erasure is. Sometimes when I finish a simulation I feel lightheaded, in more ways than one."
Mido pats her on the back and tries to assuage her fears "Erasure is really hard on us! You're probably just feeling some jet lag from coming back to reality!" She crosses her arms "Seriously though, she's worse than my mom. At least my mom doesn't make me fight a giant crab! Even though it feels like that sometimes hehe."
"Ha. Ya." She pauses. "What were you going to get?"
"Iced vanilla extra cream extra dextra sugar!" she winks and makes a peace sign.
"Why am I not suprised." Dori wraps her arm around Mido's shoulder as they walk "Why don't we pick each-other's drinks today?"
Mido raises an eyebrow "You're not going to make me drink anything gross right? Like a straight espresso or that long johnson you were talking about?"
"Long Black, and no. I was thinking you'd enjoy a comforting choccochino."
Her eyes light up "That sounds delicious! I love chocolate!"
"So what are you getting me?"
"Ummm…"
When Mido and Dori arrived at the Cafe, Dori got Mido the choccochino and Mido ended up ordering her usual vanilla with everything in it for Dori. Mido loved the choccochino, and the second one, and the third, and the fourth.
Meanwhile Dori's blood sugar had never been so sickeningly, dizzyingly high. When they returned to the base at the end of the day Mido went to sleep six hours late that night due to overcaffination from drinking eight choccochinos.
She raved "They're just too small! But they're so yummy! How can something so bitter be so yummy still!?" among other such exclamations.
Dori enjoyed her sugar coma and woke early utterly refreshed to find Mido still asleep in her bunk untucked. Dori tucked her back in and walked over to Erasure for her morning sim-session, who tells her about Mido's all-nighter trying to beat Dori's score.
"Well how did she do?"
"Have a look for yourself."
Dori no longer appeared on the score-board.
Dori's fist clenches and a vein pops out on her head "…"
A question mark appears on Erasure's screen "What is it? You do not seem pleased."
She smiles a tight smile "Serves me right for caffinating her." she crosses her arms tightly, feet shoulder length apart "Prepare the simulation, Erasure. Looks like I still have some room to grow too."
Lights flash around Erasure's terminal rapidly "Of course, from the top?"
"Is there any other way?"
"I suppose not. Good luck, Dori."
A flash of blinding light and the world breifly became void before a deep green glow grew filling the absence with flawless fidelity increasing to a perfect simulacrum.
Dori's eyes narrowed, hands relaxed on the controls. "Mission, START!"
