That's probably why I liked the Nightmare's reveal before: it made the Narrator realize that what he was doing was completely wrong. As much as he wants to save the world, neither the deathless, change-less world he wants nor the endless cycle of suffering revealed through the Nightmare is worth it.
@@sebastienbusque2312 yes it really shows that the narrator only wants what he thinks is best. If he was like one of the voices and reset with us and remembered everything I think the story would be completely different
I think that was more what she yearned to experience vs what she was currently experiencing now. He did say "death" a lot during that speech and in his perfect world, death wouldn't exist. It did still seem to strike a nerve with him though.
But the Nightmare's scene is exactly what Narrator has feared. At first we are shown how we can change other person by small actions, how experience leading to death is horrifying. He can't keep going after because He gets to experience what He puts us through in this construct. We are bound to die and be reborn again and again and again. And we see what Nightmare fears to see if we abandon her in the basement. She becomes as scared as the Spectre.
@@Rezpin Yeah, that's not what happens. He's not experiencing his own construction, he's witnessing the opposite. He's seeing the one thing he hates the most and the one thing he wants to get rid of - death. Many deaths. And Nightmare isn't Spectre, they're completely different, especially in terms of loneliness and how they deal with it. Nightmare is always afraid, depressed and lonely, she just masks it. And if you try to leave or stay, she doesn't get more scared, just angry you're making the same decision. Meanwhile Spectre isn't scared at all, unless you try to leave; she just feels like she's missing something and longs to find whatever it is. And she's not afraid of sharing that with us since she's more understanding and pragmatic.
@@reubensalter8125Yeah, I agree with it being more of the opposite. It's more fitting as well. This is _Nightmare_ after all. We aren't going to see the thing he wants turn bad. Instead, we're shown his greatest fear first hand. It makes lots of sense since MoC is like being trapped in your worst nightmare and stuff. I'd talk more but my brain is half-asleep lol
The saddest part here that Narrator comes to realisation that he did a terrible mistake... And can do nothing about it. He is no longer a person... Just an Echo. And even if one changed his tune, others will not and source of it no longer there. The biggest tragedy - These two will suffer again and again because YOU made a mistake. And you cannot change it or help them. Only wait to expire.
Do you mean he made a mistake or us, as the player? Because regardless of what we do it always ends the same way. But there is something this echo gave us - his experience so we can use it against the one in the mirror.
That is sad but it forces us to find a solution in a terrible scenario. And the fact that you can't save the narrator makes you kinda appreciate him and realize he's not a bad person he just made a shitty decision that he thought was for the good of everyone.
And the even sadder part is that at the end of the game when you come face to face with the narrator you can tell him about this echo and he just calls it "delusional " and that it was a anamoly among all the other narrators. and he doesn't not understand that he IS in fact the delusional one and that this echo from this ending is in the right and you have no way of showing him that.
I think its because it knows it IS an echo and powerless compared to you it needs to convince you, and itself that is is not else the entire reasoning that led to it becoming an echo, a broken mirror thzt connected to you, would be truly useless
Yeah none of them are delusional, but none of them are in the right either. It's all just different perspectives. Also he seemed to stutter over this, like he did have some form of doubt but didn't want to admit it. Still perspective though.
Yeah, that's the part that really resonated. For all his posturing about delusion, he didn't realize that the narrator we were talking about is identical to him. They're carbon copies of each other, they would react the same way if you plucked one and put them into another. If one of them could be convinced, all of them can get convinced. It's a crying shame he didn't get to see that in his final iteration.
@@justjoking5252 Actually they are all different and he was no exception. Even if the mirror seemed to have doubts that were quickly brushed aside, it doesn't change the fact that they are still different even if they are the same
Different even if they are the same? What the hell are you on about. They're echos. They are all the same person and will react the exact same if put in the same circumstances.@@reubensalter8125
You can change your mind about doing this, and when you leave the cabin together there'll be even more interesting dialogue than if you left without considering slaying her at all
This route just made the Smitter so much better, he was already one of my favorites, but this was too good. Despite of being just a voice, he managed to give them a world where everyone could be happy forever through SHEER WILL/LOVE ALONE. And after a while he realized that an eternity like that wasnt what her beloved wanted, they werent happy, so he just left and let them free. That development from the Smitten was awesome, despite him being so goofy, he did all that and at the end he took the most mature choice, he really loved her. 10/10
She didn’t even try to run or *anything.* She just wanted it to be over. *Anything* to make the living hell of pure misery and emptiness finally end. Sometimes the spirit dies before the flesh.
@MrSpartan993, you're not alone there tbh. It actually takes a lot for a game to cause me to completely break the way this chapter did. Something in it dredged up some rather unpleasant memories and feelings.
This is brilliant. I haven't even done this route, but I've heard about it and seeing this, the Narrator is seeing what happens when you remove change. When things stay the same. The Pristine Cut is the second perfect game since The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe in terms of comedy and commentary. I'll give both games The Look any day of the week.
What really gets me, is how the meta layer, the slow, update-tied growth to MORE complexity and/or maturity and/or introspective works with letting people think MORE about the game as it gets MORE content released, not all at once. There's certainly a level of additional beauty that makes even learning about this game gradually different from learning about it in an instantce. Actually, I dont think that this experience would be not achievable through other means, example given, sequenting chapters or some other structure set up for players to navigate. But the lack of this structure, of any handholding, is unique.
Obviously it's not quite as devastating as the Narrator realizing the mistake he's made, or the Princess being confronted with the antithesis of her nature, but I like what this route does with the Smitten and Opportunist (If you get him). Smitten being presented with the fact that his love alone isn't enough to keep the Princess happy (and potentially accepting it?), and the Opportunist realizing that means and status isn't enough on its own.
@@RasmusVJS But Oppy realises that during Wild too, and sooner. He even says "What's the point of being king of the hill if there's no one to be better than? We'd just be sitting on a hill." Then he boasts about how all of us have the power when we choose to free her. If anything the only real difference is that Oppy, while united with us against Smitten is actually enjoying being at the bottom, not because he's easily charmed by everything but because he likes playing along with it. He might be a schemer but he knows how to have fun with it, especially if it helps us.
How do you get this route? Every time I replay through the game I somehow managed to get new routes I've never seen before and I don't know what I'm doing different each time
@rainesorrow1986 the heart is on the left side, not dead center. A dead center stab wound would directly impact the sternum and be deflected at an odd angle, causing little damage unless you get lucky and hit directly on an artery.
@@lojika1majik I would have no clue as I don't play the game, but if a creature doesn't connect the upper ribs of its ribcage with some sort of center bone like a sternum, all it takes is a bad fall or chest punch and a rib will get dislocated and likely puncture a vital organ.
You have to take damsel to the top of the stairs, and when given the option, choose to ask “What if we stayed here?” Or something like that, as it will give you the Opportunist instead of the Paranoid
I dont quite understand this path.. Were they unhappy because they were forced to live a life they dont want to live? Or that this life was only an illusion? Can anyone explain?
I think its because that they're were stuck there for ever like it would never end. I think its trying to show us that we can't stay stuck in life and remain in the same place even if we are scared or we get hurt its worth it because we are experiencing something new and something we can't plan. In the cabin they were stuck. Yes at first it may be fun but doing the same thing over and over again becomes stale. As humans we can't keep ourselves locked up we always look to gain and experience more
From my perspective, this ending is essentially showing us what life is like without the Shifting Mound. Without death. Without change. The "floating blissfully" world the narrator seems to think he wants... This is it. Keeping the Princess here forever is an answer. It's effectively no different than slaying her. The only difference is we get to live to realize our mistake. Life in Happily Ever After is... Hollow. Vapid. Hero even points it out, you're just filling time. There's no purpose, no value in it. No one has what they want, they're just... Miserable. Living this life that someone else wants. A life that that someone never had to suffer through.
I did the spare option for this route. Where you both escape. It's such a devastating route that it shocked me to tears. Especially when she asked if you still cared about her. A route of an overindulgence of passion where it hurts the person who cared. And she still asks if you still do. Such a heartbreaking game.
That's not a spare option, it's just an option worth taking. The actual spare option is worse imo, because it cancels out the dance. Plus _everyone_ is hurting in this route, not just her. It's everyone working together to figure out the truth but also keeping the flames lit out of fear of what might happen. The narrator too. And you're not escaping, you're just leaving. There's nothing to escape from. Not anymore.
@@weebalert2613 it's called the happily ever after. In October the game got a big update so they have a bunch of new endings. I made a entire playthrough showing most of the new paths
I agree but it's so painful when you get to the end of the game and you tell him that one version of him actually admitted he was wrong but he's still in deniel. Like no matter what we can never truly change the narrator's perspective.
@frostymat45 the premise of this story is so stupid and ridiculous it's insane and here you got a character talking to himself about how "oh wow she just let you do that that's crazy bro" how can you take this shit seriously
I mean the characters are developed really well and it's not supposed to be completely realistic it's a video game. You have to let the story guide you and immerse yourself
I don't think it's stupid nor ridiculous at all. It's never meant to be a realistic game. Rather, it's a deep and philosophical game that explores human emotions
That's probably why I liked the Nightmare's reveal before: it made the Narrator realize that what he was doing was completely wrong. As much as he wants to save the world, neither the deathless, change-less world he wants nor the endless cycle of suffering revealed through the Nightmare is worth it.
@@sebastienbusque2312 yes it really shows that the narrator only wants what he thinks is best. If he was like one of the voices and reset with us and remembered everything I think the story would be completely different
I think that was more what she yearned to experience vs what she was currently experiencing now. He did say "death" a lot during that speech and in his perfect world, death wouldn't exist. It did still seem to strike a nerve with him though.
But the Nightmare's scene is exactly what Narrator has feared. At first we are shown how we can change other person by small actions, how experience leading to death is horrifying. He can't keep going after because He gets to experience what He puts us through in this construct. We are bound to die and be reborn again and again and again. And we see what Nightmare fears to see if we abandon her in the basement. She becomes as scared as the Spectre.
@@Rezpin Yeah, that's not what happens. He's not experiencing his own construction, he's witnessing the opposite. He's seeing the one thing he hates the most and the one thing he wants to get rid of - death. Many deaths.
And Nightmare isn't Spectre, they're completely different, especially in terms of loneliness and how they deal with it. Nightmare is always afraid, depressed and lonely, she just masks it. And if you try to leave or stay, she doesn't get more scared, just angry you're making the same decision.
Meanwhile Spectre isn't scared at all, unless you try to leave; she just feels like she's missing something and longs to find whatever it is. And she's not afraid of sharing that with us since she's more understanding and pragmatic.
@@reubensalter8125Yeah, I agree with it being more of the opposite. It's more fitting as well. This is _Nightmare_ after all. We aren't going to see the thing he wants turn bad. Instead, we're shown his greatest fear first hand. It makes lots of sense since MoC is like being trapped in your worst nightmare and stuff. I'd talk more but my brain is half-asleep lol
What a heart wrenching route that even hit the Narrator hard.
I think that's what made it so emotional that you actually get to see the narrator struggle
What the name of this route?
@@hardestever2797 the happily ever after
The saddest part here that Narrator comes to realisation that he did a terrible mistake...
And can do nothing about it.
He is no longer a person... Just an Echo. And even if one changed his tune, others will not and source of it no longer there.
The biggest tragedy - These two will suffer again and again because YOU made a mistake. And you cannot change it or help them. Only wait to expire.
Do you mean he made a mistake or us, as the player? Because regardless of what we do it always ends the same way.
But there is something this echo gave us - his experience so we can use it against the one in the mirror.
@reubensalter8125 Obviously Narrator did.
@@Ghostel3591 At least we can give the mirror one something to get scared of.
I like how you said it. Even if we can't change anything what we learned is still valuable
That is sad but it forces us to find a solution in a terrible scenario. And the fact that you can't save the narrator makes you kinda appreciate him and realize he's not a bad person he just made a shitty decision that he thought was for the good of everyone.
And the even sadder part is that at the end of the game when you come face to face with the narrator you can tell him about this echo and he just calls it "delusional " and that it was a anamoly among all the other narrators. and he doesn't not understand that he IS in fact the delusional one and that this echo from this ending is in the right and you have no way of showing him that.
I think its because it knows it IS an echo and powerless compared to you it needs to convince you, and itself that is is not else the entire reasoning that led to it becoming an echo, a broken mirror thzt connected to you, would be truly useless
Yeah none of them are delusional, but none of them are in the right either. It's all just different perspectives.
Also he seemed to stutter over this, like he did have some form of doubt but didn't want to admit it. Still perspective though.
Yeah, that's the part that really resonated.
For all his posturing about delusion, he didn't realize that the narrator we were talking about is identical to him. They're carbon copies of each other, they would react the same way if you plucked one and put them into another.
If one of them could be convinced, all of them can get convinced. It's a crying shame he didn't get to see that in his final iteration.
@@justjoking5252 Actually they are all different and he was no exception. Even if the mirror seemed to have doubts that were quickly brushed aside, it doesn't change the fact that they are still different even if they are the same
Different even if they are the same? What the hell are you on about. They're echos. They are all the same person and will react the exact same if put in the same circumstances.@@reubensalter8125
You can change your mind about doing this, and when you leave the cabin together there'll be even more interesting dialogue than if you left without considering slaying her at all
Very cool ya first time I played this I did not try to kill her. A part of me doesn't even want to get all the endings some are so sad
@@frostymat45 Bro i cant do the route where you betray the princess in the The princess and the Dragon it just feels too bad
@@pierluigiruotolo6548 It's not as bad if you're doing it to be one with her again. Plus it's better she fights back.
I was so shocked when he said this.
Same! The pristine cut honestly added so much more depth to the narrator I love it!
@@frostymat45 And Voice of the Broken.
@@xmarkovicx yes so true! The way he changes after the tower depending on what you pick is really cool
@@frostymat45 And if you get Fury after Adversary, he's very cool there.
Il definitely check that out thank you!
This route just made the Smitter so much better, he was already one of my favorites, but this was too good.
Despite of being just a voice, he managed to give them a world where everyone could be happy forever through SHEER WILL/LOVE ALONE. And after a while he realized that an eternity like that wasnt what her beloved wanted, they werent happy, so he just left and let them free. That development from the Smitten was awesome, despite him being so goofy, he did all that and at the end he took the most mature choice, he really loved her. 10/10
"you're, uhh... sending us some real mixed signals, boss"
-voice of the opportunist
She didn’t even try to run or *anything.* She just wanted it to be over. *Anything* to make the living hell of pure misery and emptiness finally end.
Sometimes the spirit dies before the flesh.
It's so sad I genuinely needed a break from the game after lol
@@frostymat45 I did too actually. I’ll say it here it’s the only time in the game I actually cried. I don’t cry easily. This dragged it out of me.
@MrSpartan993, you're not alone there tbh. It actually takes a lot for a game to cause me to completely break the way this chapter did. Something in it dredged up some rather unpleasant memories and feelings.
now i have seen smithen 2 achievement. make narrator narrate the love of his live and make narrator felt guilty.
This is brilliant. I haven't even done this route, but I've heard about it and seeing this, the Narrator is seeing what happens when you remove change. When things stay the same.
The Pristine Cut is the second perfect game since The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe in terms of comedy and commentary. I'll give both games The Look any day of the week.
0:48 the WHAT narrator?
The [BIG SHOT] [Number 1 Rated Salesman 1997] NARRATOR!
*distant [BIG SHOT] playing in the background... it's getting louder.*
NOWS YOUR CHANCE TO BE A [Princess] [DOOM-SLAYER]
that line from Opportunist, "I didn't think they actually meant it" abt being lonely at the top is something i hadn't seen yet and Ow
He can be taught!
I read that in the genies voice from Aladdin and I did NOT appreciate the tonal whiplash.
@@MrSpartan993 Thank you, that means a lot to me.
@@MrSpartan993 "THAT'S RIGHT, he can be taught! GENIE. OF. THE. LAYAAAAAAMP."
What really gets me, is how the meta layer, the slow, update-tied growth to MORE complexity and/or maturity and/or introspective works with letting people think MORE about the game as it gets MORE content released, not all at once. There's certainly a level of additional beauty that makes even learning about this game gradually different from learning about it in an instantce.
Actually, I dont think that this experience would be not achievable through other means, example given, sequenting chapters or some other structure set up for players to navigate. But the lack of this structure, of any handholding, is unique.
Obviously it's not quite as devastating as the Narrator realizing the mistake he's made, or the Princess being confronted with the antithesis of her nature, but I like what this route does with the Smitten and Opportunist (If you get him). Smitten being presented with the fact that his love alone isn't enough to keep the Princess happy (and potentially accepting it?), and the Opportunist realizing that means and status isn't enough on its own.
@@RasmusVJS But Oppy realises that during Wild too, and sooner. He even says "What's the point of being king of the hill if there's no one to be better than? We'd just be sitting on a hill." Then he boasts about how all of us have the power when we choose to free her.
If anything the only real difference is that Oppy, while united with us against Smitten is actually enjoying being at the bottom, not because he's easily charmed by everything but because he likes playing along with it. He might be a schemer but he knows how to have fun with it, especially if it helps us.
This is the best route of this game. change my mind
How do you get this route? Every time I replay through the game I somehow managed to get new routes I've never seen before and I don't know what I'm doing different each time
You need to first get the damsel and force her to stay at the cabin
@@frostymat45 the Damsel is the one where on your first loop you don't take the knife and then resist the narrator trying to make you slay her right?
@@thehuckleberry8349 yes
i haven’t seen this route yet, but in my opinion the best route is the thorns one
It’s so sweet
"Into her heart"
*shows the blade in dead center of her chest*
Where the heart is located?
@rainesorrow1986 the heart is on the left side, not dead center. A dead center stab wound would directly impact the sternum and be deflected at an odd angle, causing little damage unless you get lucky and hit directly on an artery.
Consider, she isn’t entirely human is she
@@lojika1majik I would have no clue as I don't play the game, but if a creature doesn't connect the upper ribs of its ribcage with some sort of center bone like a sternum, all it takes is a bad fall or chest punch and a rib will get dislocated and likely puncture a vital organ.
@@lemongaming152 nor do I. I think she had chainsaw hands at one point though, so… uh
Then them arms be like *NUM NUM NUM*
Huh. Well, that's a route I've not come across before
This is my new favorite route
Which one is this- i haven't played pristine cut yet
my heart DX ive been trying to do all the choices for this part but its so gut wrenching that ive been avoiding it.
Hey how did you manage to get the opportunist voice in here as well?
You have to take damsel to the top of the stairs, and when given the option, choose to ask “What if we stayed here?” Or something like that, as it will give you the Opportunist instead of the Paranoid
Thank you for explaining honestly I had no idea what I did to get him
@@LatteCappucinoCamellia Got it thanks!!
@@LatteCappucinoCamellia Wait how do you get Paranoid ??
@TalhaOyunda-sb6fy another comment said it but you need to keep asking the princess what she wants to do until she becomes distorted
I dont quite understand this path.. Were they unhappy because they were forced to live a life they dont want to live? Or that this life was only an illusion?
Can anyone explain?
I think its because that they're were stuck there for ever like it would never end. I think its trying to show us that we can't stay stuck in life and remain in the same place even if we are scared or we get hurt its worth it because we are experiencing something new and something we can't plan. In the cabin they were stuck. Yes at first it may be fun but doing the same thing over and over again becomes stale. As humans we can't keep ourselves locked up we always look to gain and experience more
@frostymat45 That's.. a very nice perspective. And the most plausible, thanks!
From my perspective, this ending is essentially showing us what life is like without the Shifting Mound. Without death. Without change. The "floating blissfully" world the narrator seems to think he wants... This is it. Keeping the Princess here forever is an answer. It's effectively no different than slaying her. The only difference is we get to live to realize our mistake.
Life in Happily Ever After is... Hollow. Vapid. Hero even points it out, you're just filling time. There's no purpose, no value in it. No one has what they want, they're just... Miserable. Living this life that someone else wants. A life that that someone never had to suffer through.
I did the spare option for this route. Where you both escape. It's such a devastating route that it shocked me to tears. Especially when she asked if you still cared about her. A route of an overindulgence of passion where it hurts the person who cared. And she still asks if you still do. Such a heartbreaking game.
That's not a spare option, it's just an option worth taking. The actual spare option is worse imo, because it cancels out the dance. Plus _everyone_ is hurting in this route, not just her. It's everyone working together to figure out the truth but also keeping the flames lit out of fear of what might happen. The narrator too.
And you're not escaping, you're just leaving. There's nothing to escape from. Not anymore.
bro this game fucked me up ive only ever done one playthrough cause of it T-T
An unchanged world is far worse than a forever changing one..
An unchanged world is bad,but an nothing,an infinite emptyness of an night sky with no stars is far worse.
2:00
Mahitos domain lmao
Omg it does look like that🤣
Woah I haven't found this, how do we get here? I think I'm missing four or five vessels now.
Ok, I found how to get here, and now I'm crying.
Haha yes it is sad. But it is also really sweet and so well done
@@frostymat45 Yes, I loved it. I adore this game.
Going to play this game now :3
1:02
What ending is this- istg ive never seen this before
@@weebalert2613 it's called the happily ever after. In October the game got a big update so they have a bunch of new endings. I made a entire playthrough showing most of the new paths
Was this a new ending added to the game? I havent seen this route
Yes there were a couple of new endings added like a month ago
Finally realized what you were doing, huh old pal?
How do you get the voice of the oppertunist in this route?
When you get the damsel out of the basement you need to make the princess stay at the cabin
is this a new dlc?
No it's just a free update it adds a lot to the game
had to watch cuz i just couldnt bring myself to do it.
I don't blame you there are some endings I don't even want to get
The Narrator’s always so bossy and condescending - it’s refreshing to see him admit that he might be wrong
I agree but it's so painful when you get to the end of the game and you tell him that one version of him actually admitted he was wrong but he's still in deniel. Like no matter what we can never truly change the narrator's perspective.
this is an expansion new route right?
Yes
(SPOILERS)
Y'know,for a man in the mirror, this is the only time he saw his reflection.
How do you get this?
You need to first get the damsel and force her to stay at the cabin
what ending is this one called?
@@rogaldornthefortified6404 the happily ever after
Yeah can’t do it, I rather we dance…
But what is the title?!
This one is called the happily ever after
what game is this?
@@sparkybythepark slay the princess it's on steam
I'd say it's worth it it's really good
@@frostymat45what route is this?
@@Randomperson-yr3gp it's called the happily ever after you can get it after the damsel
How did you get the opportunist?
One of the other comments explained it honestly I had no idea
If you go to the top of the stairs with the damsel you get opportunist
If you turn the damsel into an anime cardboard cutout you get paranoid
Thank you! I didn't even know how to get the paranoid
What’s this route called?
Happily ever after. You can get it after the damsel
I laughed at this (lol)
That's crazy
@frostymat45 the premise of this story is so stupid and ridiculous it's insane and here you got a character talking to himself about how "oh wow she just let you do that that's crazy bro" how can you take this shit seriously
@@awesomeman8955 slay the princess
I mean the characters are developed really well and it's not supposed to be completely realistic it's a video game. You have to let the story guide you and immerse yourself
I don't think it's stupid nor ridiculous at all. It's never meant to be a realistic game. Rather, it's a deep and philosophical game that explores human emotions
First
How do you reach this interaction?
Like what path do i need to take?
You need to first get the damsel and either force her to stay at the cabin or keep asking her what she wants to do
@@frostymat45 got it, thanks
:)