Outer Wilds: Echoes of the Eye - Meeting the Prisoner

[@pancakes8670]

Imagine after over 200,000 years of isolation, you find out your single 5 minute decision altered the course of 2 entire civilizations.

[@DodgeThatAttack]

Pressing that switch got a group of nomai killed, the rest eventually also dying from that solar system, and also getting 2 hearthians trapped inside a time loop as a result.
_WOOO I DID IT_
Perhaps he knows that while the hearthian died to see him, he also knows they are in a time loop and can finish what he started in another loop.
So he won't remember, but he knows he won and there's nothing left to see, so he jumps into the river, content with this version of himself

[@fungus1005]

@@DodgeThatAttack the prisoner knows nothing of the time loop though, the hatchling didnt tell him because there was no reason to, all they did was show them was their act that got them trapped there for that long wasnt in vain, and that someone (you) will find the eye. Also the nomai got killed because Escall's recklessness, not telling any other nomai clans to not waste time that they're leaving, ultimately though, it was the right choice.

[@ZackL.R.]

This is the first contact of an alien form for the guy. Right on the middle of a simulation, that he was stuck on since he died. To tell him that his choice had a impact, and do not regret what you did. Damn the feels. You found a friend.

[@XIIIMPC]

This is why this exchange having no dialogue helps it immeasurably. The Prisoner's howl after the vision tells you everything and nothing. It's ambiguous and can mean anything you want it to, but you know that whatever emotion (or emotions) he's trying to convey, it's strong.

[@PloverTechOfficial]

The prisoner has officially discovered “the butterfly effect”

[@RevengeRaptorREAL]

When he let out that howl, I almost cried. It transcends language, its beyond joy, and him deciding he could die peacefully after knowing he'd successfully made a difference thousands of thousands of years later is emotional to see. I love this game so much

[@joshuahancock2079]

Bro same. It was this beautiful melancholy moment where you gave him hope. Felt like we were crying together. Honestly, this moment is my favorite part in the whole game.

[@unsweetenedfruit]

I really appreciated seeing this perspective from people because I initially read it as a cry of intense emotion and pain over the deaths of everyone he knew. I like the joyous view better.

[@unijade]

Congratulations, you did better than I did. I cried buckets.

[@unsweetenedfruit]

@@unijade the scene where you show him your memories broke me entirely.

[@unijade]

@@unsweetenedfruit IKR it was so bittersweet. I haven't completed the base game yet, but have reached the interior of the interloper. And I have come to really love the Nomai. So just watching how they died from unforeseen circumstances after getting so close to the truth was heartbreaking.

[@Mister2463]

I adore the fact that you can hear Feldspar's harmonica when the Vessel gets trapped in Dark Bramble during the Hatchling's vision.

[@cacojo15]

Oh nice I didn't noticed !
I just noticed however, there is the quantum moon sound during the nomai building their houses scene.

[@xEplosivecake]

@@cacojo15 i actually think thats the sound that plays when youre memories are sent backwards

[@HirosamaNadasaki]

@@xEplosivecake It's the distress signal sound that plays when aiming the signalscope at a nomai escape shuttle.

[@raccoonsgrace2232]

@@HirosamaNadasaki all three of you are incorrect, though I can’t blame you for thinking that one of those pieces might be the correct one. Each of them sound similar and may contain some sort of choral music (though pitched up incredibly). However, the actual music used in the background is “Castaways”

[@dr.snailracer1912]

same with hearing riebecks guitar more when the nomai are on brittle hollow

[@Sm0k3turt]

The small detail of him placing his vision stick in the sand and walking into the lake and dying, kills me.

[@IamStempie]

When I saw it I walked in the lake and it killed me

[@Cappuccino_Rabbit]

He just wanted to be free

[@japaroads]

I think the prisoner is actually still alive. My theory is that his people died because of ghost matter, not due to old age or whatever. I mean, how could they just allow themselves to die in VR like that? It wouldn't make sense. But the prisoner's body was underwater in the bell when the interloper blew, so the ghost matter didn't get to him. He's alive and he'll stay alive when the sun goes supernova. Who knows how much longer that'll last after then, though.

[@Cappuccino_Rabbit]

@@japaroads uhm...no? First off, yes they're all (including the prisoner) "dead" physically
They died from old age like mummies (and their skin look alike so, unlike the nomai skeletons), that happened much much before the nomai even found the ghost matter which by that point they were already dead
And second, the strangers (aka elk people) DID in fact choose to trap themselves in a simulation AND it makes sense in their point of view. they were scared about the fact the eye of the universe would kill them all and all of their worship/effort was for nothing, which also explains why they imprisoned the prisoner since he turned off the device that blocked the eye signal
To add to my argument, you can actually visit the prisoner (If you manage to open the vault with only the codes, yes there's vault codes in the game files) once you leave the simulation and visit the prisoner in IRL, you'll see he'll stay the same (dead) except with his lighter erased
So, sadly, no. He's dead for real sorry, unless you remember him when you get into the eye of the universe and start a new organism

[@japaroads]

@@Cappuccino_Rabbit I get that they were scared of the eye, but I don’t get why they would allow their physical bodies to die. It seems unnecessary.
If the ghost matter fully dissolved tissue, as you’re implying, why would the strangers retain their mummified flesh when the ghost matter hits them post-mortem?
The bit at the end is convincing though. If it is possible to free the stranger without dying, and you find his body once you leave the simulation, then yes. He’s definitely dead lol.

[@TheBBCSlurpee]

2:20 this whole section absolutely insane with the music and how the slideshow matches the beat, might be my favorite video game moment of all time, I am so glad that I was born in the same time period as this

[@radscorpion8]

the whole thing makes me cry lol

[@eve7232]

My favourite piece of music ever

[@misterfister5810]

He honestly looks very adorable looking, his entire species do

[@DiosBabilonia]

They can look friendly and creepy depending on the circumstances.

[@ZackL.R.]

Once i got their origin i was pitying them.

[@misterfister5810]

@@DiosBabilonia ahh yes, I played this myself in the process, despite their appearance, they are a pretty saddening species as well

[@Deathworm-eg5lt]

They look nice, but their eyes glowing in the dark is the stuff of nightmares

[@samdrow8268]

​@@Deathworm-eg5ltI find their glowing eyes more like a cat’s when they are excited ::)

[@HyperWraithMM]

When I first did this I thought that he was gonna leave me trapped in the room forever, but good thing I was wrong!

[@the_jimnasium]

same! I was like, oh no. I'm the prisoner now.

[@sipscones]

When he closed the door to the elevator I just assumed it was the ending for the dlc, so I just decided to sit in his chair and wait for the screen fade to black... thank goodness I was wrong

[@fortuys7754]

It really was a spur of the moment decision of boundless trust, he could have just as well left you in there for millenia, but in mere minutes a deep connection was built.
Though I'm sure he was sad to have discovered the tragic nature of his decision and the fate of his species, deep down he was happy that his choice left a mark in the world for others to understand his, and their, history.
His actions had meaning, and he was freed from his burden in the end, that's something to be thankful for.

[@Beardieboi173]

Yea I thought that too and I did not know he went up the elevator so when it came back down I thought he had tried to squish himself

[@weinereater-wm6qm]

SAME DUDE LMAO

[@skwittles778]

His howl… Seeing him happy like that was just amazing. One of the best feelings ever.

[@tamamonomae7465]

He was screaming in pain because his entire species is dead and his small choice rippled through eons of history

[@123wahooguy]

@@tamamonomae7465 it can be understood either way. i thought it was a sadness scream, many think it was happy howl.

[@Klar]

Dafuq you mean it broke my heart. I thought it was sad.

[@dr.snailracer1912]

It's a scream of relief, but also fear. In the ending when you talk to him he said he never dreamed of anyone hearing the signal for however little he let it out; after seeing the nomai be drawn to the eye and sacrifice everything for it just like him and his species did it breaks him to realise what he has done

[@Extracredittttt]

​@@tamamonomae7465No I don't think it is a big reveal that his people are dead - that was always the plan. To die in the real world and stay iortal in the simulation
The thing he learns from the traveler isn't about the death of his species but about the impact his choice made. He suffered so much for it, but it mattered. It mattered a lot
And now, as the only Owlk who was prepared to die before being imprisoned, he gets to let go.

[@Raptor747]

I just realized that you're not just conveying information to the Prisoner, you're conveying MUSIC. Remember how in his vision to you, you hear his music--the theremin. And that kind of music is the only kind he and his people have ever known.
But then you show him your vision and show him a whole slew of new music, complete with instruments, that he's never heard before, helping to hammer home that he isn't and never was truly alone, and that an entire people and culture from long after his people died out in body have emerged and had found him. And now, as the universe dies out, the Hatching is telling him that there is hope, that a new universe will be born with the Eye of the Universe, with new worlds and peoples and stories and music. It's the ultimate vindication of his hopes, efforts, suffering, and sacrifice.
The Nomai, like him, also sought out the Eye of the Universe even after losing their home. And when the Hearthians found the Nomai long dead in their pursuit of the Eye of the Universe, they were not discouraged in the slightest, instead taking up their mission and putting aside any fear or disillusionment.

[@Beardieboi173]

And then at the end when you see the vision Torch near the lake they are both playing together

[@cakewithbeans245]

I love how at first the Prisoner is like "WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY SWAMP" but quickly realizes this smol artefacts-holding biped isn't one of his kind, so they immediately chill the f out 🤣

[@Rhino-Prime]

IM GOING TO wait hold up u ain't one of my people

[@theuntitledproget2648]

I always thought he was just sleeping and we accidentally woke him up and he was just yawning

[@DodgeThatAttack]

@@theuntitledproget2648 its looks pretty malicious to me
I think he was ready to beat the crap out of someone lmao
Until he realised this person was freeing him

[@theuntitledproget2648]

@@DodgeThatAttack well he doesn't have his coffee

[@mlu42]

@@theuntitledproget2648 I also thought he was yawning but the devs made it look malicious in order to scare you a bit until you realize he was just yawning lmao

[@squibbles_]

Fun fact: I was watching my friend play the DLC last night, and he was playing on a save with almost none of the ship log filled out. (He accidentally started a new game right before uncovering the ATP.) Turns out, if certain parts of the ship log aren't filled out, then certain parts of the vision you give the Prisoner will actually be missing!
Specifically, if you never find out that the Nomai came to the solar system because they received the eye's signal, then it skips straight from the eye's signal travelling out to the escape pod crash landing. And if you never went to the Interloper to find out how the Nomai died, then it skips the part of the vision where the Interloper flies overhead, simply having the Nomai inexplicably drop dead

[@dazza2350]

The hearthian's vision was an awesome moment
I wish they included extra stuff like if you actually found the eye (although I understand that it would be impossible for you to remember that) or at least the quantum moon

[@cheddarmage2035]

Yeah, I really wish that it'd show the plan that you have in order to reach the Eye if you've completed the ship log entirely. I feel like it would've made the Prisoner even happier

[@henryzelman4541]

@@cheddarmage2035 maybe they could’ve shown the ash twin project, sun station, and orbital probe cannon and how the nomai built it yet we were the ones to be able to actually use it

[@nevinmyers1245]

I think this stuff is best represented in fan fiction and the like. The game can't just show you how to find the Eye by having the hatchling show the plans to the Prisoner , and showing all the Nomai's projects would make it feel too bogged down. The brevity of this interaction makes it all the more bitter-sweet.

[@kylehallman8183]

You dont not remember the Eye. It hasn't happened yet. Going to the Eye is the end of the story. We can continue because of a gameplay mechanic so we dont lose the ability to finish the log. Once you remove the core from the ATP going to the eye, dying or whatever is the functional end of the story. There is nothing after it other than the next life to follow. The Loop is done and you've brought intelligent life into the next universe.
But yea it would have been nice for there to be a mention of the Quantum Moon.
As @nevin myers said. The simplicity of this interaction is what makes it special.

[@Conman0093]

It would be cool no doubt, but I think the whole point of this vision is the hatchling trying to get across to the prisoner that their seemingly pointless act of selflessness was not in vain, and set a motion of events that would allow another the chance to discover the Eye. Revealing anything more would just add too much fluff to the story the hatchling is already trying to tell.

[@misterfister5810]

I absolutely love how in the prisoner’s vision, you can hear a theremin (the instrument he plays), as well as many other alien-like synths that make his species even more mysterious ,and in the hatchlings vision, it has a banjo, guitar, and other melodic instruments playing. And in that last vision with the hatchling and he prisoner in it, a literal duet is playing in harmony, sounding more happier and peaceful
Gosh I love this game, even though I barely even know what I’m even doing from time to time

[@epiceaston197]

That is an absolutely beautiful observation I read this a few months ago or weeks I forgot and this gave that vision a whole new meaning to me it makes me cry every single time

[@tonecarrascodestruidor888]

After some updates, now after the last vision there are footprints of the prisoner into the water, if you jump in where the footprint ends the music keeps playing while a title written "Echoes of the Eye" appears for some seconds, after that the loops restarts, this just gets me crying every time

[@NoxofShadow]

The footprints man...
They added this (close to the last projector outside the vault) and, i didn't undestood at first, but i was in denial...
And when i did a second time the ending i realized...

[@RevolutionaryLoser]

"Oh! and by the way the Sun is going supernova in about ten min--aaaand he's gone."

[@MidanMagistrate]

This ending is the closest I got to crying in Outer Wilds, the entire story, the retelling with the Vision Staff, his howl, The Sound of Water playing before the discover the staff on the shore before realizing he decided to walk into the water it just... It's so damn sad

[@etaoin-shrdlu]

It brought me to tears. The fate of the Stranger, its inhabitants and the Prisoner is easily one of the saddest things in modern gaming history.

[@ZackL.R.]

I love the details of the eye for after before and after the flashback. Like he was cured of the fury that blinded their people before that. They stopped glowing, and he was able to move on.

[@Kyfow]

Beautiful moment

[@cheddarmage2035]

Literally the most touching moment in the entire game.

[@MithoThoup]

Imma be real with you guys, the second I saw him grab his artifact I jumped into the elevator and went back up, only to realize that I was not in any real danger

[@Tallzom]

Same

[@mapotofu3282]

Lmao same

[@The_Petrichor]

I cried so hard at this part. This brave soul, that howling scream is unburdening the load of needles suffering and guilt and persecution for something he never stopped believing in, but was still being beaten down for.... that he can unload now, say be was right, and die in peace

[@AsymptoteInverse]

4:30 breaks my heart in the way few other things can.

[@Gorfinhofin]

I love how the extra frame on the timeline is all cobbled together, like anything Hearthian-made.

[@simonredforce]

There will be nothing like Outer Wilds ever again.

[@crish2200]

Besides the howl... when he bows to you. That means a lot. Especially after that when this hopeful music starts meaning he is finally free to go

[@SolusDarkcoat]

Anyone else do a 180° and run away? After having been chased all over, I grew paranoid, and didn't wait for him to even step into the light.

[@leavesofthebranch5938]

same. I ran the moment I saw their hand then very cautiously came back down to see them standing there, presumably more than a little confused

[@sungvin]

I’ve anticipated someone at the end of the tunnel (like in case of meeting Solanum), but when I saw a hand reaching to me, I’ve physically flinched and stepped back a little

[@islanduntomyself]

How masterpiece this game is.

[@parknplay8328]

Think about how he must feel after seeing what you show him. He did what he thought was the right thing and it cost him everything and he was imprisoned in an eternity of isolation, and the worst part is he had no way of knowing if anyone picked up the signal, and if they did he had no way of knowing they'd be able to find it. He must've been positive that his small contribution must've meant nothing in the end. And yet we know that because of that sacrifice the Nomai found their way to the solar system the Eye was in, and created the technology we used to find it. If not for his sacrifice all the stars would've gone out and without a conscious observer to witness The Eye the universe never would've been born again and that would've been the end of everything, forever. The prisoner is one of the greatest heroes in fiction.
I love Outer Wilds for how it conveys the idea of the unstoppable force of scientific progress. And how no matter what there will always be someone to build on the backs of those who came before them to get closer to true understanding. It's one of the most inspirational stories when it comes to touting the merits of what I guess we would call "humanity", even though it's not about humans at all.

[@Murmarine]

Strangely, one of the most human stories has exactly zero humans in it.

[@Gna-rn7zx]

Truly a Nomai born as an Owlk

[@PennTankerGuy]

I like how the prisoner was about to blow out the fire until he realized the player isn't one of their kind. There's that brief moment of, "Oh, what are *you?*"
Phenomenal storytelling.

[@KingAir90Pilot]

Imagine not seeing anyone for hundreds of thousands of years and then some random alien wanders in.

[@Tabby3456]

"Hes going to eat me! Hes going to eat me!"
"phooo ...."
*wakes up*
oh....
"Hes going to pull me out of the matrix! hes gonna-...oh"

[@MasonJuarez]

Okay so we know that our ships computer can send data back through loops since its a nomai compiter and our ships log survives, and the Prisoner is technically data, so it shoukd theroetically be possible to download the prisioner to our ship and have him survuve loops 🤔

[@GreatFernicus]

Honestly at first the idea of uploading the Prisoner into your ship log sounded hilarious but after giving it a bit of thought, honestly I think it would make them really happy to see all the wonders of the solar system and the marvels the Nomai constructed, as concrete proof that what they did mattered

[@mchamburgerslice2870]

This genuinely one of the most emotionally impactful scenes I’ve ever seen in a game, or anything for that matter

[@thewelcomer5698]

This is the most beautiful and succinct story I've ever seen in any game but one thing I wish they could've done different story-wise was switch out the sun for the eye in the last vision. Having the prisoner leave you right after meeting them does feel kinda saddening because while the story was beautiful you kinda went all that way for nothing. The real payoff I think is at the end of the game when you find the prisoner and make the decision (hopefully) to include him in the campfire song showing that you've learned from the Owlks mistake and are not afraid. I think having the eye in the last vision would convey that the real ending is getting to the eye after freeing the prisoner and having them join you.

[@tenchimuyo69]

I hypothesized that because he was not expecting an unknown species to wander in, he was going to eliminate whatever came into his cell but only stopped when he saw that the player was not one of the captors.

[@benjaminhill01]

3:18 best part of the song

[@benjaminhill01]

Yep! So good!

[@oliverlarosa8046]

Was watching a Blind playthrough of Outer Wilds and was reminded of this scene. I'm glad I was.

[@weinereater-wm6qm]

Honestly at first i thought that the prisoner just ditched me to be in the prison myself before i realized the elevator was coming back down LMAO

[@misterninja7580]

im not crying youre crying

[@seagull5976]

3:52 i really like the start of the hearthian theme with a guitar

[@Remmie77]

Something I noticed about the vision, when the Vessel is warping, its warping into a white hole and exited in the Dark Bramble through a Black Hole. Idk if its an animation error or intentional but we all know that it should be vice versa. (Is that why they got caught in Dark Bramble?)

[@devinchandrapala3321]

Hey yeah I didn't notice that either. I'd think it should be black hole -> white hole too. As for why they got caught in Dark Bramble, people say its because of DB's interdimensional properties that tend to mess up signals and such. Like how you get a scout signal error when firing it in some places. The Eye Signal appeared to apparently come from a coordinate within DB, when in reality it was absolutely way off.

[@Conman0093]

I wonder if the music that plays during the visions is actually what they hear. It would be an interesting way to express emotion in these reels, through audio and visual.

[@desmondtheotter7613]

i would think so, since when we share our vision it plays music we know of like banjo and so on, and also the sound he hear in the slides at well when playing specific panels for greater feeling, but its a game, its easy to think that its just for show, in a way it is but i think they can hear it

[@GreatFernicus]

I have a hard time believing that they couldn’t hear it, considering the huge emphasis on music as identity throughout the whole game
Even without any words and across an entire solar system, everyone’s instruments are their way of saying “this is me, you aren’t alone even in the vastness of everything”
A lot of people have rightfully pointed out that music is a near-universal language, and in Outer Wilds it can do things as small as providing some company in the coldness of space or as large as creating a new universe

[@DoomyDoom21]

With all the theming in OW (and particularly EotE) of overcoming your fears, the game forcing you to walk right up to a species you've spent hours running away from and flinching at the sight of is a great capstone to that. It kind of acts as the gameplay conclusion to that theme while the Prisoner's story is the narrative conclusion.

[@DoomyDoom21]

Ugh and this game is all about knowledge, it's the only marker of progression, and the final thing most players will do in the game is give all of the knowledge they've gathered to somebody else. God this game is so good

[@whiskey-4208]

Notice how in the “off into the sunset” vision our player character has his space equipment… Equipped
But if you look down at yourself you’ll notice that we don’t have our equipment and are in fact just in our normal clothes.
A small inconsistency in an otherwise Beautifully well crafted Extension to an already Magnificent experience

[@amandalindgren3683]

I thought so too until I realized the Prisoner saw the player characters space-suit in the vision they showed it

[@whiskey-4208]

@@amandalindgren3683 Damn it I thought I spotted something

[@amandalindgren3683]

@@whiskey-4208 this game is too perfect ig:)

[@thewelcomer5698]

What about the Nomai warping? I think they put the white hole initiating the teleportation and the black hole at the end destination by mistake.
Although this was likely done so that the black hole would create a contrast to Dark Bramble's white background and the white hole would create a contrast to space. Maybe they had it the right way to start, but they switched it around so it would look better.

[@DodgeThatAttack]

Yea but I think that vision is implied to be not in the dreamulation, and instead in the real world where the hatchling would have his space suit on

[@radioactivehalfrhyme]

The Prisoner’s howl reminds me a lot of Jesus’s last words on the cross: “It is finished!” It isn’t straightforwardly happy or sad. It’s a cry of fulfillment and relief after a terrible burden.

[@redact7577]

The saddest thing about this is that, if you haven’t discovered anything about the nomai yet, when the prisoner sees your vision and realises that his entire race died and he thinks that his efforts were in vain, he lets out a deep wail of despair.

[@shibainu2528]

I don't think this is the case, because there is still the eye's symbol on the museum artifact about the Nomai's spiral language and the translation tool's tutorial, meaning that the prisoner could probably put the pieces together and assume that the signal he managed to send out brought the Nomai to the solar system, then the Nomai wrote something about the eye and its symbol, then the player comes along and gets inspired to go to space one day from the artifacts that were recovered.

[@EvanG529]

6:31 Looks like what we see when the new universe begins at the game's ending (I assume this is intentional)

[@finleymorris04]

Dammit

[@shibainu2528]

I just realised how sad this ending really is, because there is no way to make this version of the loop "stick". Either the universe dies because Gabbro wouldn't get up from his hammock and take the vessel to the Eye himself, or you get sent back in time anyways and therefore haven't truely set the prisoner's weight off his shoulders...
... I think I'm just going to go with the "Dream world somehow doesn't loop" mentality and assume they reset everything themselves while you are back in Timber Hearth, meaning the prisoner technically did get your message by the time you get to the Eye.

[@eatingtrees9077]

I totally agree. Because you have to be dead in order to fully solve the puzzle, right? So the bells don't wake you and prevent you from getting to the Prisoner. I remember in my playthrough, I was trying to find him after his little message, thinking I need to use the raft tog o where he was going. But I accidentally fell in the water, ending my time in the dream, and ultimately killing me. I was totally crushed. Because it made me realize that none if it was real, in a sense. Maybe its a bit silly, but the way that happened made me cry. Got worried I screwed up and lost track of my new friend.

[@shibainu2528]

@@eatingtrees9077 Lets just agree there are two timelines, the in-game canon timeline where everything happens the way it did before the DLC, and in the DLC timeline, the protagonist got someone else to take their place while they save the prisoner in the new content.

[@squibbles_]

I thought that way at first too, and while it is still a bittersweet ending, you saving the Prisoner wasn't for nothing. Even if there were a way to free the Prisoner _and_ end the loop, it wouldn't be long until the eventual death of the universe anyways. But by at least meeting the Prisoner, restarting the loop, and witnessing the birth of a new universe, you can take your memories of the Prisoner and include it in the next universe, (same thing you do with Solanum,) making sure that their presence would at least be felt for billions of years to come.

[@AlmightySammich]

I mean, either way it doesn't matter to the Golden Ending. The Prisoner that you find at The Eye is The Prisoner or your memory of The Prisoner that you told all this to, and the universe ends shortly after regardless.
Take solace in the fact that, in some fashion, you met The Prisoner and some semblance of them joined you at The Eye, just like with Solanum.

[@pedrogomezid]

the Prisoner appears in the quantum glade if you’ve rescued him. So his consciousness moves on with yours.

[@thib4897]

Someone know the song at 0:10 ? I mean this version, i can't find it..

[@fragilebean1314]

What's the music at 4:52? I can't find it in the ost

[@TheBBCSlurpee]

The sound of water

[@CygnusLaboratorys2056]

odd, the vessel entered a *white hole* and exited out of a *black hole* inside dark bramble

[@kamgigari9921]

In a technical standpoint, it was probably due to the fact that those colors would just stand out better in contrast to the background, but perhaps the Nomai were so excited to receive the signal that they momentarily defied hole logic LOL

[@Pharry_]

it bothers me that the animation of the Vessel warping is backwards. it should enter the black hole and exit the white hole, like it does in game and like how all warp stuff happens in game.

[@Pharry_]

it doesn’t actually bother me enough to distract from the absolute beauty of this scene and the rest of the game, though.

[@hectormunhoz5766]

they actually fixed that in a patch!

[@user-pg1qr9kz9j]

what was that howling means?

[@PhantomDog-td9pu]

Relief

[@HermanFalckHow]

@@PhantomDog-td9pu My guess is sadness that both him and his entire species is long dead.

[@potatocripp]

@@HermanFalckHow I think he's pretty well aware after spending hundreds of thousands of years trapped in the simulation that his species is dead-- I agree with Phantom's guess, honestly. I think the Prisoner didn't focus on the death and destruction the Eye caused in the vision it brought like the rest of his kind did before they cloaked it; he focused on the grass growing after. He knew that they eye had to be putting out that signal for a reason. That the Eye knew this universe was fated to fade away, and for a new one to take its place in the ashes.
So, in an act of defiance, he turned off the device and let the Eye's signal free, even if for a brief moment. He never saw the results of his actions, all he could do was lie in wait for billions of years, and eventually give up all hope that what he did (that kept him trapped as a prisoner for those hundreds of thousands of years) had any effect.
And then here comes the Hearthian, stepping into his prison, to the Prisoner's surprise. So he shows him his vision to show the Hearthian exactly what he did to put him in there, and obliges him to do the same, only to find out that his small, insignificant act of defiance was the cause of hundreds of thousands of years of exploration, research, discovery, leading up to one brave pilot tying it all together, hunting down the Eye... and eventually setting him free. Just from him flipping a switch.
So yeah-- Relief, melancholy, happiness, excitement, pride... Hell, you can even see in the Prisoner's body language that he's overwhelmed with emotion after seeing the vision.
God, I love this game.

[@ashb712]

@@HermanFalckHow The worst part? By this point in the game the other ghosts in the simulation had their flames snuffed out when the dam broke and flooded everything, which kicked them out of the simulation, effectively killing them since their minds cannot return to their long dead corpses. The Prisoner is still "alive" only because his body was sealed in a vault and thus his flame cannot be snuffed out by the flood. He has been trapped, unable to escape his virtual prison or return to his real world body, and now by this point he is literally the only one still in the simulation. Because of this i think its safe to assume he killed himself after leaving the prison. His staff is left there, with a final message, and he did not take the raft. He snuffed out his own flame to join the rest of his people.
Imagine being a lonely ghost trapped in a hidden room on an empty server that you cannot leave. Forever. Everything in the game happens in real time, so the flood happens even if you don't touch the dlc. Scary to think that if you don't bother finding him, he is destined for eternal solitude and inescapable loneliness.

[@miguelangel58516]

@@ashb712 Well, for the time you finish the game, the Prisoner won't even know who you are, because of the loop. They're not like Solanum, a quantum being, but at least you could remember them at the end, and I think that's the way to finally free them.