Early in the game in the Overgrown Ruins Selena talks about her ship Helios, but refers to it as he/him Thought that was strange at the time and was the first sign I noticed something wasn't right... besides the alien planet and death loop
I'm pretty sure Helios was Selene's brother, who died in a car accident caused by Theia, who was pregnant with Selene at the time. Theia made the decision to save one of her children, instead of losing both, and the accident also left her wheelchair-bound, which prevented her from becoming an Astronaut. ( the alien at the end represents this ). She pushed her guilt onto Selene, who watched as her mother began falling into addictions and becoming abusive, due to her father also leaving from the death of Helios. Theia was pushing Selene to become the Astronaut she never could be. Telling her it was her fault the accident happened and that it was her fault Helios drowned. Selene has simply absorbed her own mother's guilt and had convinced herself she killed her brother, and because of that, she fell into a depression and gained psychosis episodes from something she never had any control over. Selene also grew to resent her father for leaving her alone with her mother, and he used to sing the theme Hyperion plays - which that boss is supposed to be a representation of her father. The reason why Selene keeps saying she wants to silence the song is because she doesn't want to anything to do with her father. I THINK that's what was trying to be told.
@@xxreyoxx And the fact that her mother kept blaming Selene for the death of Helios is because her mother had to make a choice; lose both her children, or save at least one. The easy option being the one she was still able to carry without the use of her arms which would be Selene still in the womb.
In greek mythology Hyperion and Theia are the parents of Helios and Selene. The child that died in the car crash is Helios. Theia was pregnant with Selene when they crashed (you can see that the alien creature in the wheelchair is pregnant in the secret ending). Theia might have tried to commit suicide and take her children with her due to rejection from Astra. Selene grows up afraid of her wheelchair-bound mother because of what she did to her older brother, and the pressure she put on her to become an Astronaut (since Theia failed to accomplish this herself). Theia was an addict, abusive, filled with resentment... and this caused Selene to grow up despising her. Even if Selene did achieve this goal and became an astronaut herself, possibly even to spite her mother, she's now forced to atone for the sins of her mother which is a reference to this saying: "Sins of the father are visited upon the children." The saying means that children often suffer for the bad things their parents do. Selene crashes on a planet that embodies this concept and forces her to come to terms with everything that happened, and to repeat her journey over and over until everything is resolved. Through conquering this planet, she ascends to some higher power... becomes a God... and almost has paradoxical powers that allow her to control the endless loop being both the cause and affect of everything. Ultimately through this power, she is able to cause her mother to crash, claiming that she deserved it, that they were both broken. Now she's just as complicit in the death of her brother Helios as the person she perceives to be a monster, her mother. One of the final achievements reveals this larger theme, called "Sins of the Mother".
That's intense. Awesome. Thanks. Pretty sure of your analysis, like spragels was =) ? Great vid cool guy, by the way. Thank you too. Every aspects of this game is great imo, refined, precise. Amazing experience. Captivating story. Put a damn spell on me =). So interesting to read these different interpretations, ideas
There's a moment in the game, Selene is talking to Helios about dinner (Honey I left you a dinner in a fridge... etc. etc.). Unless this is the deliberatively false info thrown into the game by creators, Helios and Selene were having opportunity to meet :) cheers guys. Great video btw.
Just as a heads up Helios is a boy not sure if it's Selenes son or brother but when u go to her house and play as the child you can see in the shadow he has short hair so it's a boy and the door to the room he starts in says Helios on it
Loved the video! 1) I believe the white shadow might be the moon reflecting on the surface of the water as she swims toward it in the final “cutscene”of the secret ending! 2) The surface fragments could represent her father, the organ boss, referred to as “hyperion” god of the sun!
You know something, you're really onto it. I've been digging into it after reaching the final ending last night, and you're onto it, yeah. I'll even support your point by adding that Helios, the onboard system, looked away right before Celine opened the car door. I disagreed with you initially because the first visit to the house featured a news report that said the daughter survived the car accident unscathed and the mother got a broken back but survived, but now that I think about it, that's referring to a different event (especially since I now realize that Helios is a boy). It might be a reason for the abusive (I think it was abusive) relationship between Celine and the mother (forgot her name). Well done! One more thing. The final "quest" was to "Reignite the Sun." Very much fits with the theme you laid out there, no? :-)
So I've been stuck on this not being able to sleep but I think I understand the plot and I absolutely think it's all being played out in Selene's head. My mother is in a wheelchair and that takes up a massive part of my life, I have to look after her and the child and all of this restricts me from becoming an astronaut and therefore Astra doesn't approve my application. As I am driving home from that I go to fix my radio and swerve off the road into a lake with my child Helios in the back seat (I tell myself that there was a person in an astronaut suit to make myself feel like it wasn't my fault) As I am at the bottom of the lake I manage to free myself but reach back to get Helios and bring us both to safety but I am unable to reach him / her. I have to choose to die at the bottom of the lake with my child or save myself. I choose to save myself. The entire game is a representation of the grief of this and is all being played out in the head of Selene. So for example, the spaceship that crash landed is called Helios, every single time you wake up and repeat a day it says "abandoning Helios" which I thought was just leaving the starting area but is actually a metaphor. Another one is the fact that the biomes and bosses are representative. So the first biome is a dense and dark forest like one (driving through a forest when the car crashed), the second is a desert representing the road, and the final one is underwater. Other scenes like seeing yourself from a different life shooting down Helios the spaceship and causing you to be stuck on the planet also give this theory meaning too because in a way Selene is the cause of her own grief that she cannot escape. She caused the crash in both the real world and the one playing out in her head. The final boss specifically (unsure about the other ones) is also representative of her mother as she tries to pin the blame on her throughout the game (the final boss under water looks the same as Selene's mother in the wheelchair scene) and you have to beat that boss twice before you finally get that cut scene of Selene swimming away (rather than being dragged away by some unknown entity) from the crashed car and helios at the bottom of the lake. It is there where she accepts responsibility and the game actually ends.
Only part that confuses me is the news broadcast that shows the area of the crash then says Thea was the driver who got out with back injuries and her daughter remarkably survived. I would say it’s just something to throw us off but then during the final cut scene Selene says both of us are broken before it shows the image of her mom to be in a wheel chair like someone would if they had back injuries. Were there two separate crashes or what?
I saw a theory saying that yes there was 2 separate crashes and it's adding to the fact that selene has always been part of this cycle as her mother crashed w her brother Helios in the car and she was pregnant w Selene so she chose to save herself and selene over losing both her children then because of the guilt Selenes mother put on her she became depressed and also crashed w her daughter in the car killing her daughter showing the cycle of the accident and loss of a child
I love the symbolism of the whole 'cycle' also manifesting itself in the REAL world, not just in the fictional 'Atropos'. The notion that her mother's failed accomplishments is also passed down to her child, who also becomes a failed astronaut. The whole story gets your mind in loops discovering these cycles everywhere, and could probably spiral you to into the brink of madness if you dissect enough of it for too long lol. Anyway, fantastic game, and thank you for the wonderful analysis.
I like the theory but i feel like theres some stuff that was missed i wanna say theirs some lovecraftian stuff going on as well i remember reading a story about one of the eldergods who fed on peoples sanity and they make a pretty big deal about the octopus which is usually a lovecraftian trope maybe the reason we see so much of it as greek is because thats the way seleane understands it she mentions the planet is messing with her memories and durring the first act we see alot of stuff refrencing a war between this hive mind and the severed i just wish everything in the game wasnt so cryptic its like darksouls lore but even more vauge lol
I would have stuck around for the whole movie but you tend to get unfocused like really easily. So I'm going to hop over to someone else that doesn't get distracted when they're trying to make a point
I would have much preferred that the meaning not be so vague (who is the driver, was Selene born yet during the crash, if she wasn't, why does she care about the time or the song - or was her relationship with her mother so bad that she imagined and created a narrative, etc.). I'll gladly buy a DLC or a sequel to find out more, though. The gameplay kept me very engrossed.
Theia = pregnant mother carrying Selene, becomes wheelchair bound, resents Selene for not becoming an astronaut Selene = abused by and resents mother, protagonist looking for closure amid the stages of grief Hyperion = (Alex) father, plays organ at funeral (Don't fear the reaper) and boss, abandons family Helios = unborn child Astronaut = mother's dream that cannot be reached, haunts you throughout game. Any questions?
Perhaps the sun fragments refer to making peace with what happened with Helios? Since every piece she collected she kept referring to the sun with each piece. My original theory was she had to save the ship/aka their child (I thought it was a girl the whole game to, but apparently it’s her son?) but that didn’t seem to happen.
I personally subscribe to the idea that this is not just all in her mind but as well as that she is in Hell. Not the kind found in cartoons or storybooks Hell not as a punishment in the conventional sense but as a state of existence. Existence shaped by her regret; her own personal Hell earned from the natural result of her decision This is her mind both equally punishing her and trying to forgive her This is her mind grieving and accepting. This is her Returning Eternal Hell
@@spragels There was a log inside the ship(or maybe it was a paper letter) that mentions her heterochromia was aresult of trauma, not something she was born with. So my guess it was from the car accident. I could be wrong about what triggered it, but I for sure remember reading it wasn't something she was born with.
Great video! Just finished Returnal. About 60 deaths but so worth it. Loved it. Story confusing AF, I enjoyed the entertainment of someone who knew about as much as I did! hehe
From what i got: selene always lived in stress for not beying acepted in the space program coz of taking care of her fragile mother, she resented her mother coz of that and she always had that thought in her head so much that one day wile driving with her daughter in the car she saw the astronaut in the road and turn the car not to hit him and fell in the river, so her daughter died and she survived... the astronaut that she saw in the road was her self (what she wanted to become) there was no astronaut in the road but yes in her head, she crash the car becose of stress and that lead to her seeying things that are not there, all the jorney is about grief of not beying able to see your daughter again and resent your mother, so you will eternaly fight for something not recoverable. now the thing i hate and dont make sense is that selene must have a fking huge imagination to make up a planet, types of aliens, ruins, weapons, armor tech and all of that, instead of trying to be an astronaut maybe she should have focus on making movies or game with that kinda imagination you r rich. my other theory is that bouth selene and her daughter died and selene is just in hell for her lack of responsability, in a fight to save her self and maybe her daughter (the ship) but never getting anywhere.
At 5:03 can we just take a moment to look at his health?!! Jesus! I’m on my second play and never got close to that much health and yes I know it’s in the final area so it makes sense lol
I just beat the game with this health. Its easy first you need to take all health items on your road until 6biome and before that buy two times the extra 25% .
Imo You should focus more on a car accident. This is culminative moment. There is a reason they call them a bad and good endings. Bad is when she gets crippled or dies. Good is when she swimms up. Basically she is fighting with herself (ophion) and she wins in the good ending. Of course this story is left for interpretation so we are all right. Keep up the fight. ps It is also fun to think that it is all in Helioss mind as he is a ship that brings her there. Cool story.
In a ‘cut scene’ in the house, there’s a news bulletin. At the end it says the woman in the car crash had a spinal injury and the child miraculously survives. I think this contradicts your explanation.
there were two separate crashes. that is referring to the first crash, with theia (selenes mother) broke her spine and caused the relationship with selene to sour, and then the cut scene is selene driving, with her son helios
My Interpretation: Selene is discovering the virtual Planet full evil and enemies. As an Astronaut, she wants to Help the world, but every time she abandones Helios. She Has a busy Mind and couldnt save the child. mother Theia is the Driver of selenes Life, she wants to Help Selene to save helios
Great video. I absolutely loved this game. I sucked at it but it was just so addicting I kept on going. I do wish maybe a year from now they create different modes so more people can enjoy this.
play more and You will learn how to to beat it. Most important is defence You need to focus on not to get hit in first place than learn how to get damage. And what is easy mode is electro pylon gun unlock it and You will finish game in one run
In my opinion, the developers were freely inspired by Philip K. Dick's novel "A Maze of Death". Selene's mind is inside a virtual reality simulator created specifically to train astronauts in the event of a crash landing on an exoplanet, but Selene's psychological trauma and guilt are somehow interfering with the simulation, making her live a distressing experience.
This video came on auto-play when I was falling asleep. So I was having a very jarring dream about Brianne of Tarth who looked like Dolph Lundgren. Rememeber he was like "I must break you" *stare*. Ivan Drago sounds like Drogo when British... talk... happens and my youtube addled brain hears it. And... and greek space ships. I woke up to find my arm asleep. So thanks for that. So there's that.. Pft pft pft... And I didn't want to get up, because laziness. But I had my phone, so remoted in and paused it. But then I had to pee and was going to have to get up anyway, but then, dun-dun-dun-dun gatorade bottle to the rescue. Phone cant do that yet. Or can they? Update: they cannot.
Thanks for this. Very thorough and cogent. I wonder what you think about a couple of things. 1. Why did Theia look pregnant? 2. What’s behind all the tension in that car ride? Helios looks sad and worried about her mom. Selene looks dejected
Late but theia just looks like a parasite/old and a bit fat from the belly imo or maybe she was preggers idk and 2. Selene just got rejected from her dream of becoming an astronaut
"Here's returnal explained -by a self proclaimed idiot -by someone who doesn't know what anything means -its probably wrong because I don't know.' Yeah. I'm the wrong place.
Objectively I can see how these stories are good, but I hate them, I prefer stories that build new worlds and explain them without “gotcha it was all in your head 🤪”
I really don't like that this game is essentially a dream sequence. And I mean I reeeeeally don't fuckin' like that. It's weak writing. And it was seemed so strong before the story became clear.
I don't mind it because I still feel like it tells a super interesting story. It's not like they just cop out and say none of it matters like some things do with dreams or metaphorical stuff.
@@spragels OK I just noticed something else about the car scene: don't fear the reaper is playing. A '70's song. Also, the model of the car. I feel like those two things along with the eyes not being the same imply to me that we are watching Selene get in a car accident when she was young. OR, that that accident did not actually happen and we are seeing a combination of different feelings manifested in a mother and child, representing both Selene & Theia and Selene and Helios. Further, the rejection letter does not say who it's addressed to. It could be Theia's. If we interpret Selene's situation literally, or somewhat literally I guess would be more fitting, many of these things still work: she abandoned her child to explore space; she abandoned her mother who needed care; that she "ran" from her problems in general. Last thing...If we look at this entirely as allegory, one big thing doesn't work: Selene seemed to escape the time loop and lived on the rest of her life to her death and then was sent back into the time loop. So, how could she possibly still be battling with her grief and guilt after her death? Half of the game takes place after she dies back on earth.
@@spragels Shit forgot one more revelation this morning...in Greek Mythology, Theia is the mother of both Selene and Helios...also, this is Selene's childhood home, so Helios could have definitely been her brother. Perhaps she saved her mother during a car accident, but was unable to save her brother?
@@isansimpson2056 woah I love a lot of this. Yeah maybe it is her brother that she didn’t save. Her mother always hated her for it and Selene decided to leave the family and pursue space, something that was originally her mother’s dream.
I would've taken more imaginary, stages of grief and symbolic bosses, but when I die I'm gonna make my Damn collectable xenoglyphs way easier to find. Wait. No ones gonna play my lame. Suck and whackoff imagine game. Ok mission accomplished. Comment as vague and weird as the game. 😬 What about the news on the tv saying that the mother breaks her spine and the daughter miraculously survives. Was there another accident when selene was a child?
You should count how many times you said car, and radio before the halfway mark. Was looking for answers…………and you just went on and on. Blah. Gonna look for someone else to explain it. Good luck going forward. You might need to go back to beginning making future videos dude.😮
It would make a lot more sense there being two accidents. In 1, Theia had spinal issues and Selene survived unharmed. The other being Helios dying, but at same time, did both have two accidents on the same bridge and fall into the same lake? Story tellers couldn’t do better than that?
Also in one of the house scenes when you play as child, you look back at the door of your own room and see ‘Helios’ on door, meaning Helios survived the crash? It’s just so confusing. No matter what theory you make, there will be one thing that doesn’t add up.
![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
After looking back the child is a boy. I thought it was a girl for some reason but other than that everything is still the same
I thought the same thing the entire game lol
How are you concluding that the child is a boy? I played the whole game also thinking the child was a girl. Is there evidence to the contrary?
His MoCap actor is a boy
i noticed the game never specifies he or she. just "they"
Early in the game in the Overgrown Ruins Selena talks about her ship Helios, but refers to it as he/him
Thought that was strange at the time and was the first sign I noticed something wasn't right... besides the alien planet and death loop
I'm pretty sure Helios was Selene's brother, who died in a car accident caused by Theia, who was pregnant with Selene at the time.
Theia made the decision to save one of her children, instead of losing both, and the accident also left her wheelchair-bound, which prevented her from becoming an Astronaut. ( the alien at the end represents this ).
She pushed her guilt onto Selene, who watched as her mother began falling into addictions and becoming abusive, due to her father also leaving from the death of Helios.
Theia was pushing Selene to become the Astronaut she never could be. Telling her it was her fault the accident happened and that it was her fault Helios drowned.
Selene has simply absorbed her own mother's guilt and had convinced herself she killed her brother, and because of that, she fell into a depression and gained psychosis episodes from something she never had any control over.
Selene also grew to resent her father for leaving her alone with her mother, and he used to sing the theme Hyperion plays - which that boss is supposed to be a representation of her father. The reason why Selene keeps saying she wants to silence the song is because she doesn't want to anything to do with her father.
I THINK that's what was trying to be told.
I think you're on the mark! I have thought it roughly this way too.
@@xxreyoxx And the fact that her mother kept blaming Selene for the death of Helios is because her mother had to make a choice; lose both her children, or save at least one. The easy option being the one she was still able to carry without the use of her arms which would be Selene still in the womb.
In greek mythology Hyperion and Theia are the parents of Helios and Selene. The child that died in the car crash is Helios. Theia was pregnant with Selene when they crashed (you can see that the alien creature in the wheelchair is pregnant in the secret ending). Theia might have tried to commit suicide and take her children with her due to rejection from Astra. Selene grows up afraid of her wheelchair-bound mother because of what she did to her older brother, and the pressure she put on her to become an Astronaut (since Theia failed to accomplish this herself). Theia was an addict, abusive, filled with resentment... and this caused Selene to grow up despising her. Even if Selene did achieve this goal and became an astronaut herself, possibly even to spite her mother, she's now forced to atone for the sins of her mother which is a reference to this saying: "Sins of the father are visited upon the children." The saying means that children often suffer for the bad things their parents do. Selene crashes on a planet that embodies this concept and forces her to come to terms with everything that happened, and to repeat her journey over and over until everything is resolved. Through conquering this planet, she ascends to some higher power... becomes a God... and almost has paradoxical powers that allow her to control the endless loop being both the cause and affect of everything. Ultimately through this power, she is able to cause her mother to crash, claiming that she deserved it, that they were both broken. Now she's just as complicit in the death of her brother Helios as the person she perceives to be a monster, her mother. One of the final achievements reveals this larger theme, called "Sins of the Mother".
Woah thats pretty nuts. Love it.
That's intense. Awesome. Thanks. Pretty sure of your analysis, like spragels was =) ? Great vid cool guy, by the way. Thank you too. Every aspects of this game is great imo, refined, precise. Amazing experience. Captivating story. Put a damn spell on me =). So interesting to read these different interpretations, ideas
There's a moment in the game, Selene is talking to Helios about dinner (Honey I left you a dinner in a fridge... etc. etc.). Unless this is the deliberatively false info thrown into the game by creators, Helios and Selene were having opportunity to meet :) cheers guys. Great video btw.
exactly! Helios is Selene's brother!
Just as a heads up Helios is a boy not sure if it's Selenes son or brother but when u go to her house and play as the child you can see in the shadow he has short hair so it's a boy and the door to the room he starts in says Helios on it
remember how every time you start a run and leave the starting area it says "Helios abandoned"? yeah...
Yup
Loved the video!
1) I believe the white shadow might be the moon reflecting on the surface of the water as she swims toward it in the final “cutscene”of the secret ending!
2) The surface fragments could represent her father, the organ boss, referred to as “hyperion” god of the sun!
Yes, she even mentions that she never learned to play the piano like her father, no matter the efforts she put into it
The information the game presents you with combined with everyone's theorys in the comments is part of why the game was soo good. Great video
You know something, you're really onto it. I've been digging into it after reaching the final ending last night, and you're onto it, yeah. I'll even support your point by adding that Helios, the onboard system, looked away right before Celine opened the car door. I disagreed with you initially because the first visit to the house featured a news report that said the daughter survived the car accident unscathed and the mother got a broken back but survived, but now that I think about it, that's referring to a different event (especially since I now realize that Helios is a boy). It might be a reason for the abusive (I think it was abusive) relationship between Celine and the mother (forgot her name). Well done! One more thing. The final "quest" was to "Reignite the Sun." Very much fits with the theme you laid out there, no? :-)
Man, thank you!
I loved this game as well and I love the story. So, thanks for the explanation. You rock
So I've been stuck on this not being able to sleep but I think I understand the plot and I absolutely think it's all being played out in Selene's head.
My mother is in a wheelchair and that takes up a massive part of my life, I have to look after her and the child and all of this restricts me from becoming an astronaut and therefore Astra doesn't approve my application. As I am driving home from that I go to fix my radio and swerve off the road into a lake with my child Helios in the back seat (I tell myself that there was a person in an astronaut suit to make myself feel like it wasn't my fault)
As I am at the bottom of the lake I manage to free myself but reach back to get Helios and bring us both to safety but I am unable to reach him / her. I have to choose to die at the bottom of the lake with my child or save myself. I choose to save myself.
The entire game is a representation of the grief of this and is all being played out in the head of Selene. So for example, the spaceship that crash landed is called Helios, every single time you wake up and repeat a day it says "abandoning Helios" which I thought was just leaving the starting area but is actually a metaphor.
Another one is the fact that the biomes and bosses are representative. So the first biome is a dense and dark forest like one (driving through a forest when the car crashed), the second is a desert representing the road, and the final one is underwater.
Other scenes like seeing yourself from a different life shooting down Helios the spaceship and causing you to be stuck on the planet also give this theory meaning too because in a way Selene is the cause of her own grief that she cannot escape. She caused the crash in both the real world and the one playing out in her head.
The final boss specifically (unsure about the other ones) is also representative of her mother as she tries to pin the blame on her throughout the game (the final boss under water looks the same as Selene's mother in the wheelchair scene) and you have to beat that boss twice before you finally get that cut scene of Selene swimming away (rather than being dragged away by some unknown entity) from the crashed car and helios at the bottom of the lake. It is there where she accepts responsibility and the game actually ends.
Yeah that all sounds about right
Only part that confuses me is the news broadcast that shows the area of the crash then says Thea was the driver who got out with back injuries and her daughter remarkably survived.
I would say it’s just something to throw us off but then during the final cut scene Selene says both of us are broken before it shows the image of her mom to be in a wheel chair like someone would if they had back injuries.
Were there two separate crashes or what?
This is a good point…i’m also vexed!
I saw a theory saying that yes there was 2 separate crashes and it's adding to the fact that selene has always been part of this cycle as her mother crashed w her brother Helios in the car and she was pregnant w Selene so she chose to save herself and selene over losing both her children then because of the guilt Selenes mother put on her she became depressed and also crashed w her daughter in the car killing her daughter showing the cycle of the accident and loss of a child
I love the symbolism of the whole 'cycle' also manifesting itself in the REAL world, not just in the fictional 'Atropos'. The notion that her mother's failed accomplishments is also passed down to her child, who also becomes a failed astronaut. The whole story gets your mind in loops discovering these cycles everywhere, and could probably spiral you to into the brink of madness if you dissect enough of it for too long lol.
Anyway, fantastic game, and thank you for the wonderful analysis.
Loved this!! Very well narrated!
Thank you!!
I like the theory but i feel like theres some stuff that was missed i wanna say theirs some lovecraftian stuff going on as well i remember reading a story about one of the eldergods who fed on peoples sanity and they make a pretty big deal about the octopus which is usually a lovecraftian trope maybe the reason we see so much of it as greek is because thats the way seleane understands it she mentions the planet is messing with her memories and durring the first act we see alot of stuff refrencing a war between this hive mind and the severed i just wish everything in the game wasnt so cryptic its like darksouls lore but even more vauge lol
3:06 My experience with Returnal from start to finish lol. This video is hilarious btw!!
I respect the tangent as a man who does the same. I enjoyed the video and lore explation, thanks bro. Happy holidays
I would have stuck around for the whole movie but you tend to get unfocused like really easily. So I'm going to hop over to someone else that doesn't get distracted when they're trying to make a point
I would have much preferred that the meaning not be so vague (who is the driver, was Selene born yet during the crash, if she wasn't, why does she care about the time or the song - or was her relationship with her mother so bad that she imagined and created a narrative, etc.). I'll gladly buy a DLC or a sequel to find out more, though. The gameplay kept me very engrossed.
Theia = pregnant mother carrying Selene, becomes wheelchair bound, resents Selene for not becoming an astronaut
Selene = abused by and resents mother, protagonist looking for closure amid the stages of grief
Hyperion = (Alex) father, plays organ at funeral (Don't fear the reaper) and boss, abandons family
Helios = unborn child
Astronaut = mother's dream that cannot be reached, haunts you throughout game.
Any questions?
I think the sun fragments have something to do with repairing your guilt over your daughter. Helios = God of Sun.
Yeah that makes sense. Something with the stages of grief perhaps.
Perhaps the sun fragments refer to making peace with what happened with Helios? Since every piece she collected she kept referring to the sun with each piece. My original theory was she had to save the ship/aka their child (I thought it was a girl the whole game to, but apparently it’s her son?) but that didn’t seem to happen.
I personally subscribe to the idea that this is not just all in her mind but as well as that she is in Hell. Not the kind found in cartoons or storybooks
Hell not as a punishment in the conventional sense but as a state of existence. Existence shaped by her regret; her own personal Hell earned from the natural result of her decision
This is her mind both equally punishing her and trying to forgive her
This is her mind grieving and accepting. This is her Returning Eternal Hell
Best explanation of returnals story with a sense of humor i can appreciate
in the scene of the car wreck, the driver doesn't have different colored irises though...I've been wondering what the significance of that is
Yeah I'm not sure. That is weird.
@@spragels There was a log inside the ship(or maybe it was a paper letter) that mentions her heterochromia was aresult of trauma, not something she was born with. So my guess it was from the car accident. I could be wrong about what triggered it, but I for sure remember reading it wasn't something she was born with.
Selene doesn’t exist. It’s a combination of the mother and the child.
The child has blue eyes and the mother brown. Selene has one of each color.
Oh wow that is a cool idea
Boooooooommmmm
Great video! Just finished Returnal. About 60 deaths but so worth it. Loved it. Story confusing AF, I enjoyed the entertainment of someone who knew about as much as I did! hehe
Just ran Returnal, Jake you helped me with Master Rank in Unite and now helped explained Retunral! 👏 🤠
From what i got: selene always lived in stress for not beying acepted in the space program coz of taking care of her fragile mother, she resented her mother coz of that and she always had that thought in her head so much that one day wile driving with her daughter in the car she saw the astronaut in the road and turn the car not to hit him and fell in the river, so her daughter died and she survived... the astronaut that she saw in the road was her self (what she wanted to become) there was no astronaut in the road but yes in her head, she crash the car becose of stress and that lead to her seeying things that are not there, all the jorney is about grief of not beying able to see your daughter again and resent your mother, so you will eternaly fight for something not recoverable. now the thing i hate and dont make sense is that selene must have a fking huge imagination to make up a planet, types of aliens, ruins, weapons, armor tech and all of that, instead of trying to be an astronaut maybe she should have focus on making movies or game with that kinda imagination you r rich. my other theory is that bouth selene and her daughter died and selene is just in hell for her lack of responsability, in a fight to save her self and maybe her daughter (the ship) but never getting anywhere.
At 5:03 can we just take a moment to look at his health?!! Jesus! I’m on my second play and never got close to that much health and yes I know it’s in the final area so it makes sense lol
I just beat the game with this health.
Its easy first you need to take all health items on your road until 6biome and before that buy two times the extra 25% .
But in one of the house sequences when the news was on, it said that Theia was the driver and that her daughter was in the car too and survived.
Ahh yes good call
The PS5 joke and couldn't have happened in the worst place cracked me up really funny. Great game soundtrack is great.
Imo You should focus more on a car accident. This is culminative moment. There is a reason they call them a bad and good endings. Bad is when she gets crippled or dies. Good is when she swimms up. Basically she is fighting with herself (ophion) and she wins in the good ending. Of course this story is left for interpretation so we are all right. Keep up the fight. ps It is also fun to think that it is all in Helioss mind as he is a ship that brings her there. Cool story.
Oh yeah I like the idea that it's in helios' mind
In a ‘cut scene’ in the house, there’s a news bulletin. At the end it says the woman in the car crash had a spinal injury and the child miraculously survives. I think this contradicts your explanation.
It could just be a false memory to ease the suffering
there were two separate crashes. that is referring to the first crash, with theia (selenes mother) broke her spine and caused the relationship with selene to sour, and then the cut scene is selene driving, with her son helios
Why does Helios ask if Selene can see the white shadow tho?
I care not how factual the information is here. I laughed a lot.
haha thank you
Helios related to Selene and Thea in Greek mythology. It’s basically a family name.
"The whole wheelchair situation we have in the garage".
LMFAO That one got me.
Kid playing PS5 in Returnal seems like the same nod Naughty Dog did with Crash on PS1 in Uncharted 4.
Yeah almost the same but it's the world you are in
This is the only video that I could find that successfully communicates what this story is about. Bravo.
Thank you!!
Helios was the Greek God of the Sun, this is likely the reason that the sun-blocks are so important.
Can someone explain why Selene is referred as the creator/destroyer on Atropos?
My Interpretation: Selene is discovering the virtual Planet full evil and enemies. As an Astronaut, she wants to Help the world, but every time she abandones Helios. She Has a busy Mind and couldnt save the child. mother Theia is the Driver of selenes Life, she wants to Help Selene to save helios
Who is Brain of Tart that you keep mentioning?
Great video. I absolutely loved this game. I sucked at it but it was just so addicting I kept on going. I do wish maybe a year from now they create different modes so more people can enjoy this.
play more and You will learn how to to beat it. Most important is defence You need to focus on not to get hit in first place than learn how to get damage. And what is easy mode is electro pylon gun unlock it and You will finish game in one run
@@mightylordkuba on, I beat it. I loved it
Jus finished the game....thought it was dope. You think they would make a sequel (Re2urnal) ❓❓
I think they are for sure going to make DLC for it
If you were right, that the game was just in her head. Then it will be like the hellblade game, if you any of you play it.
Do I know what happened in this game now? Not really.
Did i have fun? For sure
haha well I think that is pretty good then
It's like grandpa Simpson recalling a story...
you missed that selene is in fact also dead, the game is jacob's ladder.
I like your theory. It pretty much aligns with what I thought, except I thought Helios was a boy.
Oh really the kid was a boy? I didn’t catch that.
@@spragels sorry but no point watching the video after this, lol
lol I guess so. I really thought that kid was a girl
@@emile5921 haha after going back and looking it's clearly a boy. Don't know why I thought it was a girl
In my opinion, the developers were freely inspired by Philip K. Dick's novel "A Maze of Death".
Selene's mind is inside a virtual reality simulator created specifically to train astronauts in the event of a crash landing on an exoplanet, but Selene's psychological trauma and guilt are somehow interfering with the simulation, making her live a distressing experience.
This video came on auto-play when I was falling asleep. So I was having a very jarring dream about Brianne of Tarth who looked like Dolph Lundgren. Rememeber he was like "I must break you" *stare*. Ivan Drago sounds like Drogo when British... talk... happens and my youtube addled brain hears it. And... and greek space ships. I woke up to find my arm asleep. So thanks for that. So there's that.. Pft pft pft... And I didn't want to get up, because laziness. But I had my phone, so remoted in and paused it. But then I had to pee and was going to have to get up anyway, but then, dun-dun-dun-dun gatorade bottle to the rescue. Phone cant do that yet. Or can they?
Update: they cannot.
This game is hard af, I can’t get past phrite😭😭
Is she just in a coma nightmare, then? Atropos and all the monsters and ancients and sentients are a figment of her imagination?
So what about the severed and the hive mind ?
funny stuff . well done
thank you!
Thanks for this. Very thorough and cogent. I wonder what you think about a couple of things. 1. Why did Theia look pregnant? 2. What’s behind all the tension in that car ride? Helios looks sad and worried about her mom. Selene looks dejected
Late but theia just looks like a parasite/old and a bit fat from the belly imo or maybe she was preggers idk and 2. Selene just got rejected from her dream of becoming an astronaut
You forgot that the last stage was inspired by masked wolf
Why so many dislikes? Nice video
"Here's returnal explained
-by a self proclaimed idiot
-by someone who doesn't know what anything means
-its probably wrong because I don't know.'
Yeah.
I'm the wrong place.
Brenne of Tarth!!!
I really thought it was her in the previews
I’m glad you made this because I would have never beat it.
man it would be so much cooler if game isn't her imagination.
Objectively I can see how these stories are good, but I hate them, I prefer stories that build new worlds and explain them without “gotcha it was all in your head 🤪”
I really don't like that this game is essentially a dream sequence. And I mean I reeeeeally don't fuckin' like that. It's weak writing. And it was seemed so strong before the story became clear.
I don't mind it because I still feel like it tells a super interesting story. It's not like they just cop out and say none of it matters like some things do with dreams or metaphorical stuff.
@@spragels yeah that's definitely true
@@spragels OK I just noticed something else about the car scene: don't fear the reaper is playing. A '70's song. Also, the model of the car. I feel like those two things along with the eyes not being the same imply to me that we are watching Selene get in a car accident when she was young. OR, that that accident did not actually happen and we are seeing a combination of different feelings manifested in a mother and child, representing both Selene & Theia and Selene and Helios. Further, the rejection letter does not say who it's addressed to. It could be Theia's. If we interpret Selene's situation literally, or somewhat literally I guess would be more fitting, many of these things still work: she abandoned her child to explore space; she abandoned her mother who needed care; that she "ran" from her problems in general. Last thing...If we look at this entirely as allegory, one big thing doesn't work: Selene seemed to escape the time loop and lived on the rest of her life to her death and then was sent back into the time loop. So, how could she possibly still be battling with her grief and guilt after her death? Half of the game takes place after she dies back on earth.
@@spragels Shit forgot one more revelation this morning...in Greek Mythology, Theia is the mother of both Selene and Helios...also, this is Selene's childhood home, so Helios could have definitely been her brother. Perhaps she saved her mother during a car accident, but was unable to save her brother?
@@isansimpson2056 woah I love a lot of this. Yeah maybe it is her brother that she didn’t save. Her mother always hated her for it and Selene decided to leave the family and pursue space, something that was originally her mother’s dream.
Thank you, you perfectly explained it for me!
Don't wanna brag, but back when the PS5 was coming out, I was able to secure 3 of them. One for me, my brother, and a buddy of mine.
Dang that’s fooe
Lol I meant to say dope
Great vid....thx....subbd!
Thank you!
Your explanation of the game is probably the best one 👏
Who is the father of Helios? Jaime Lannister?
So did she try to commit suicide? What do you think?
A strong female character who’s blonde? Brienne of Tarth. Apparently. Eyeroll.
Otherwise, enjoyed the analysis.
I honestly thought it was that actress at first
This was funnier than expected
Sub for Armor For Sleep reference of one of my favorite of their songs.
Man the dislike number going away sucks
The astronaut is celene. The child is also her. And the driver is her mother. Helios was her nickname?
Helios was the unborn child who didn't make it.
I would've taken more imaginary, stages of grief and symbolic bosses, but when I die I'm gonna make my Damn collectable xenoglyphs way easier to find. Wait. No ones gonna play my lame. Suck and whackoff imagine game. Ok mission accomplished. Comment as vague and weird as the game. 😬
What about the news on the tv saying that the mother breaks her spine and the daughter miraculously survives. Was there another accident when selene was a child?
Yes all this is good.
The game of thrones references are literal cringe
You should count how many times you said car, and radio before the halfway mark.
Was looking for answers…………and you just went on and on. Blah. Gonna look for someone else to explain it.
Good luck going forward. You might need to go back to beginning making future videos dude.😮
This video is a little bit - lazy. Why aren't you showing the scenes you talk about and instead some random gameplay?
What a god Damm disappointment. "It was all a dream". The authors version of cowards way out.
Dude you are more confusing than story of the game
thinking of her as brienne of tarth re-engaged me in the game
You take this video so unseriously it just ends up being boring
there have 2 car accidents theia + selene and selene and her son "helius"
Oh interesting! I did not realize there were two accidents. Both on the bridge?
@@spragels yes.
@@shintake3521 hmm maybe that’s why I thought the child was a girl lol.
It would make a lot more sense there being two accidents. In 1, Theia had spinal issues and Selene survived unharmed. The other being Helios dying, but at same time, did both have two accidents on the same bridge and fall into the same lake? Story tellers couldn’t do better than that?
Also in one of the house scenes when you play as child, you look back at the door of your own room and see ‘Helios’ on door, meaning Helios survived the crash? It’s just so confusing. No matter what theory you make, there will be one thing that doesn’t add up.
Brianna tarth hahaha ok I'll upvote that
Lmao this is legit one of the worst explanation about the story ive seen about the game
Hey guys go check our track "HELIOS ABANDONED" wich is based on Returnal's awesome story.
🔥 ua-cam.com/video/ROiTjvliCRk/v-deo.html 🔥