Hi! Just letting you know that NEW Returnal videos will be coming in the following month thanks to the release of the new free DLC. It will take some time because I'm in the middle of Elden Ring AND Horizon Forbidden West, but be sure to subscribe and click the bell so you don't miss any of the new content! Thanks for watching!
One more bit of Greek Mythology present in Returnal: Obolite, the mineral used as currency in-game, is named after the coin traditionally used in ancient Greek burial rites. An obol was placed in the mouth of the recently deceased so they could pay Charon, the ferryman of the afterlife, to take them across the river Styx and into the kingdom of Hades.
Thank you so much for sharing this video! Your videos have been some of the only writing I've been able to find that have dived deep on the in-world lore and symbolism.
you know what.... your comment about helios talking to "octo" and telling it to take care of Selene, comparing that to Chaos which brought Selene to atropos, I'm wondering if the point isn't to punish Selene for abandoning Helios, but - since time is strange and repeating throughout this story - if these tall take place in the moments between Selene reaching for Helios and swimming for the surface. If we can say a whole story takes place in a character's dying moment, why not set them in a near-death moment? Selene is drowning, dying trying to reach Helios, but in order to live she needs to swim to the surface. Helios is lost, and wants his mother to live, and Selene trying to reach him when she is already out of air, possibly injured, and with helios still belted in and out of her grasp - they would both drown. Chaos pulls her out of the car in the first cutscene, and in the second, she finally swims for the white shadow to be free OR, well, that's one interpretation I'm thinking about. I don't think it's the only one, and it's fun to see all the many different meanings this combines to be, but I think it might be an interesting angle to examine that from. ALSO re: Atropos, well, if you just go by her description of the 'inevitable', inescapable, that certainly describes the planet well given that Selene returns there after 'escaping' in the first act, and continues to return there no matter how often she dies. It's not destiny, it's inevitability!
Ha ,lol 😂😂 , I doubt that if the details of their everyday lives aren't in it , you certainly don't have a clue , neither does he , when they were children to the elders to their own mother/father , this is half ass , this is like someone's family legacy , so they have abilities , 😉😉 and these things called elites now want to be them , wow often inmatated never duplicated
Some of the stuff you theorized is confirmed in data entries in the game. There is an employee record available on the data terminal on Helios that details some info on Selene. The record cites "heterochromia -trauma induced" under medical conditions, which would suggest her son actually perished before she shipped out with Astra. Xaos is also mentioned on ship logs, though only a few times. Of particular note is the final entry you unlock in the act 2 version of the ship. The last entry has several strings of code and warnings and one of them is, "Xaos is watching" which reenforces the idea that Xaos is the one sustaining the time loop. I believe Xaos is also mentioned on one of the scout logs, but I could be mistaken.
Epa man, recién termine Returnal y tus vídeos están super geniales. You just earned a new subscriber. Amazing job!!! Try to use some extra footage of more things and screen explanations, will help the overa viewership
Hey Turt! I have another video where I explain the Hivemind's history. Be sure to check it out! ua-cam.com/video/zAMp4wmtj-E/v-deo.html There will be 1 more video for Returnal explaining the endings of the game, probably coming in the next weeks.
Do y’all think that the entire game takes place in Selene’s head? Or do you think she actually was an astronaut explorer? Perhaps the entire thing takes place in her head _in that moment_ that she was underwater during the crash?? I’m really curious to know what you guys think - is everything on Atropos just in Selene’s head? There were some data logs that hinted at her being delusional.
There are a lot of theories circulating around each I’ve seen I get more a more convinced. I’m not really a fan of it’s all in her head I like the one where she is being integrated into a hive mind and the entity responsible is basically messing with her memories and trying to get her to ascend. The audio logs in this theory are each time she returned home and trying to process the trauma or even take place before the mission. I like love craft horror essentially where if someone saw a godlike entity their sanity would degrade and you definitely hear and see that in Selene in the audio logs and voice lines as you get deeper into the story
thats the crazy part of this game. it doenst tell you what to think, it lets you interpret it by yourself. i wrote my theory in another video of this channel. Long story short: its all in hear head, fighting trauma and starts to understand more and more the closer she gets to chaos. chaos represents the end of her old life and the start of her new where she overcame the trauma and got answers.
It also reminds me of "Solaris" The brain planet that goes in peoples mind to bring back to life their most tortured memory. And this gue at the end remind me quite well of it. Also it create the flash that bring her the memory. I think it's just a referances of course. but Whatever.
Great job on this vid. It's good to know I'm not the only one obsessing over this. Not sure where you are going with the third part, but there is a glaring inconsistency in the story that would have to be resolved for me before I could go with any of the more "literal" interpretations. Selene specifically says that her mother would have been an Apollo era astronaut. The house, which she refers to as her childhood home, is labeled in the game as a, and I quote, "20th century house". Everything in the house, including appliances, are consistent with that. However all the tech we see Selene with (the infinitely wearable "scout suite" with a built in flux capacitor, her hologram scanner thingy, the tie fighter she crashed, the fact she's flying around in deep space to begin with, etc...) would place her well into our future. I haven't found any in-game lore that can reasonably resolve this. It's a clear and apparent anachronism that I think we are intended to take note of.
Thanks man! And by the way, great observation on the inconsistency. The third part will be analyzing the different theories of the game's ending that I have right now. I think I have 3 solid ones, just need to right them down, and I may be able to fit that thing you mention into one of those probably. I'll start working on it probably next week after posting a video on Ghost of Tsushima here on the channel!
Hi! Just letting you know that NEW Returnal videos will be coming in the following month thanks to the release of the new free DLC.
It will take some time because I'm in the middle of Elden Ring AND Horizon Forbidden West, but be sure to subscribe and click the bell so you don't miss any of the new content!
Thanks for watching!
One more bit of Greek Mythology present in Returnal: Obolite, the mineral used as currency in-game, is named after the coin traditionally used in ancient Greek burial rites. An obol was placed in the mouth of the recently deceased so they could pay Charon, the ferryman of the afterlife, to take them across the river Styx and into the kingdom of Hades.
You definitely have the best Returnal videos out there, keep up the great work!
Thank you so much! Glad you liked it! 🙏🏼
Thank you so much for sharing this video!
Your videos have been some of the only writing I've been able to find that have dived deep on the in-world lore and symbolism.
I love this game so much, it was a real treat to do these!
This channel has the best videos on this game easily. Good work!
Thank you Miller! :D
you know what.... your comment about helios talking to "octo" and telling it to take care of Selene, comparing that to Chaos which brought Selene to atropos, I'm wondering if the point isn't to punish Selene for abandoning Helios, but - since time is strange and repeating throughout this story - if these tall take place in the moments between Selene reaching for Helios and swimming for the surface. If we can say a whole story takes place in a character's dying moment, why not set them in a near-death moment? Selene is drowning, dying trying to reach Helios, but in order to live she needs to swim to the surface. Helios is lost, and wants his mother to live, and Selene trying to reach him when she is already out of air, possibly injured, and with helios still belted in and out of her grasp - they would both drown. Chaos pulls her out of the car in the first cutscene, and in the second, she finally swims for the white shadow to be free
OR, well, that's one interpretation I'm thinking about. I don't think it's the only one, and it's fun to see all the many different meanings this combines to be, but I think it might be an interesting angle to examine that from.
ALSO re: Atropos, well, if you just go by her description of the 'inevitable', inescapable, that certainly describes the planet well given that Selene returns there after 'escaping' in the first act, and continues to return there no matter how often she dies. It's not destiny, it's inevitability!
Loved this. Thanks for all the research and hard work. Understanding the mythology behind the story telling really helps to bring the pieces together.
Glad you liked it! Yes! It really makes a difference!
Ha ,lol 😂😂 , I doubt that if the details of their everyday lives aren't in it , you certainly don't have a clue , neither does he , when they were children to the elders to their own mother/father , this is half ass , this is like someone's family legacy , so they have abilities , 😉😉 and these things called elites now want to be them , wow often inmatated never duplicated
Beautiful voice and really interesting video, thank you for your work!
I had no idea you could change Selene's outfit!
Yes! It's a nice detail!
I don't remember quite well if these were pre-order bonuses.
Some of the stuff you theorized is confirmed in data entries in the game. There is an employee record available on the data terminal on Helios that details some info on Selene. The record cites "heterochromia -trauma induced" under medical conditions, which would suggest her son actually perished before she shipped out with Astra.
Xaos is also mentioned on ship logs, though only a few times. Of particular note is the final entry you unlock in the act 2 version of the ship. The last entry has several strings of code and warnings and one of them is, "Xaos is watching" which reenforces the idea that Xaos is the one sustaining the time loop. I believe Xaos is also mentioned on one of the scout logs, but I could be mistaken.
Epa man, recién termine Returnal y tus vídeos están super geniales. You just earned a new subscriber. Amazing job!!! Try to use some extra footage of more things and screen explanations, will help the overa viewership
Thanks for the feedback and subscribing! Glad you enjoy them! More videos coming soon!
Glad to see someone doing an in depth analysis of this game.Looking forward to future returnal videos from you.
Returnal Lore Vaati in the making.
Hey Turt! I have another video where I explain the Hivemind's history. Be sure to check it out!
ua-cam.com/video/zAMp4wmtj-E/v-deo.html
There will be 1 more video for Returnal explaining the endings of the game, probably coming in the next weeks.
@@thev-side1331 already watched it and liked it also subscribed so I don’t miss the next video. Keep it up 👍🏽
Thanks for subscribing and watching! :)
Nice deep dive bro I love it
Glad you liked it! Thanks for watching!
Awesome video! I got one more aun fragment to obtain before I watch the 4 theories video.
Thank you for watching! :D
Hope you like that one too!
Do y’all think that the entire game takes place in Selene’s head? Or do you think she actually was an astronaut explorer? Perhaps the entire thing takes place in her head _in that moment_ that she was underwater during the crash?? I’m really curious to know what you guys think - is everything on Atropos just in Selene’s head? There were some data logs that hinted at her being delusional.
There are a lot of theories circulating around each I’ve seen I get more a more convinced. I’m not really a fan of it’s all in her head I like the one where she is being integrated into a hive mind and the entity responsible is basically messing with her memories and trying to get her to ascend. The audio logs in this theory are each time she returned home and trying to process the trauma or even take place before the mission. I like love craft horror essentially where if someone saw a godlike entity their sanity would degrade and you definitely hear and see that in Selene in the audio logs and voice lines as you get deeper into the story
@@insertjokehere1485 nice, I like it!
thats the crazy part of this game. it doenst tell you what to think, it lets you interpret it by yourself. i wrote my theory in another video of this channel. Long story short: its all in hear head, fighting trauma and starts to understand more and more the closer she gets to chaos. chaos represents the end of her old life and the start of her new where she overcame the trauma and got answers.
Awesome video! You earned yourself a sub!
Thank you very much Seth! Welcome to the channel!
Great job man. Loved the video. Keep it up
Thanks :D!! Glad you liked it!
It also reminds me of "Solaris" The brain planet that goes in peoples mind to bring back to life their most tortured memory. And this gue at the end remind me quite well of it. Also it create the flash that bring her the memory. I think it's just a referances of course. but Whatever.
Great job on this vid. It's good to know I'm not the only one obsessing over this.
Not sure where you are going with the third part, but there is a glaring inconsistency in the story that would have to be resolved for me before I could go with any of the more "literal" interpretations.
Selene specifically says that her mother would have been an Apollo era astronaut. The house, which she refers to as her childhood home, is labeled in the game as a, and I quote, "20th century house". Everything in the house, including appliances, are consistent with that.
However all the tech we see Selene with (the infinitely wearable "scout suite" with a built in flux capacitor, her hologram scanner thingy, the tie fighter she crashed, the fact she's flying around in deep space to begin with, etc...) would place her well into our future.
I haven't found any in-game lore that can reasonably resolve this. It's a clear and apparent anachronism that I think we are intended to take note of.
Thanks man! And by the way, great observation on the inconsistency.
The third part will be analyzing the different theories of the game's ending that I have right now. I think I have 3 solid ones, just need to right them down, and I may be able to fit that thing you mention into one of those probably. I'll start working on it probably next week after posting a video on Ghost of Tsushima here on the channel!
@@thev-side1331 That's going to be a huge challenge man. I honestly can't think of a more difficult game to try and parse. Look forward to seeing it!
Hmm maybe she's Helio's sister and she caused the crash and was rescued by her mother and couldn't save her brother.