I love how they ended the rots story, at the beginning its this all mighty infection. It seems you cant defeat it no matter what, especially as rivulet. Five pebbles is morphed in the rots image. But at the end of the world, end of five pebbles, when he is barly alive. And the rot reflects that, being once a mighty infection, now just a few proto BLLs and just two mobile brother long legs. If five pebbles is alive, so is the rot. Because it reflects him, his rage. Now dying.
I promised myself to not just climb the wall up to Pebbles playing Saint, as I did with every other slugcat. I totally forgot about it once I got to play Saint though, especially since he spawns so close to the Wall connection. I’m so, so glad I forgot. I can’t remember the last time a game, or anything really, made my heart genuinely *drop.* I just stood there in silence, my mouth actually open in shock. I don’t even remember whether or not I paused the game to register it. And the *sound* that plays? Videocult knew what they were doing. I think it was made just that bit more impactful was the fact I had SB camera scroll. As I walked forward, there was the slow reveal of… nothing. Not a sudden cut to the empty screen, which I still think is plenty impactful on itself, but walking forwards, getting confused because ‘hey wait, where’s the rest of the bridge?’ before going further and realizing no, the distance hasn’t just changed or something, it’s *gone.* I have ADHD, and think (though I may be wrong) that’s why I get so, so attached to stories. Even in games where there is none, my experience will always make one. Even in games where your player character is just an empty shell, not intended to be anything, I’ll get so immersed, making a character out of nearly nothing. And I’ll be honest, while I loved rainworlds story, it wasn’t something I was fully hyperfixated on. I was hyperfixated on the game itself, yes, but not the grand scheme of the story, but I still absolutely loved it. Through downpour that changed of course, while playing gourmand through Spearmaster I definitely grew more attached to the story. But it wasn’t until Saint, that first opening second, that I started to play the game in a way I haven’t in what’s probably a long, long time. As myself. I was captivated by the scenery. The world was beautiful and overwhelming, yet the world was dying. Throughout the whole, genuinely the whole playthrough, I could feel nothing but absolute wonder, accompanied by the feeling of melancholy an empty, snowy landscape holds… and classic RW anger, but still. When I got to rubicon and realized it was an amalgamation of the world I’ve come to know and love, the world that barely even exists anymore, I was… scared. In a way, at least. I knew something grand was coming, but what? Why show me the places I’ve lived 7 lifetimes in, on the 8th where it was gone? Would there be answers? Any, at all? Would there be freedom, for Saint, for Moon, for Pebbles? For me, the player? For anyone? Gonna cut this comment off here, didn’t mean to go rambling, hell I even got a bit emotional writing that last part lmao. But… yeah, *tl;dr:* I love Rainworld a normal amount
This video is about my experiences, emotional responses, and interpretations of Saint's campaign and is not meant to be taken as a lore or plot summary. So don't think too hard about it, just sit back and enjoy. Also, I like comments :)
Love when a video game goes so deep into philosophy that it enables a perception of the line between life and video games/realities that originated from concept. I believe the iterators described it best, that the realities intersect through that spiral, even if for short times or in distinct ways thought about in the dialogue/video. The influence one may have between these lines in ways through battles of control against will makes me realize these lines. These interactions, of course, could not be possible, outside of being figments of imagination, but these can influence the real world as thoughts, depending how deep you go. I should probably stop before I go insane. Hi btw, I like the vid. I haven't beaten survivor, but I've gone too deep to stop spoiling the game for myself, so here I am. Sorry for yapping nonsense, especially if this annoys anyone or if I'm too wrong/self-righteous/spiraling down the wrong hole as a whole.
yea one of the best videos i have seen lol not quite GD10 (geometry dash 10 year aniversary video) beacuse this doesnt make me THAT MUCH nostalgic but still, the video is so good, it makes me feel things you know
Saint's ending was totally heartbreaking. After that ending sequence, I was just so dejected for days on end, feverishly trying to interpret what the hell even. One thing I love about going after the worm is that you don't really know what Saint is thinking. You don't know why. You also don't know what the worm's reaction really means. Does your karma break as a punishment, or simple cause and effect ? If you're punished, what for exactly ? Offense ? Desecration ? Going against nature ? As a thematic inversion of the usual slugcat void sea narrative where the worm helps you ? That moment is so inscrutable, and that's great. For a moment Saint becomes this monstrously unknowable entity and you're left full of questions, and the Downpour devs are like "Hahah !" But anyway, Moon. Moon always struck me as someone who loves being alive, and that's one trait of hers that I really appreciate, because she's so wholesome. Even as she's stuck on her little island, barely clinging to sentience, she's still chipper, and happy. She gracefully accepts things as they are when she has to, but she's quietly overjoyed to exist, I think. You can see it the way she desperately tries to stop you eating her neurons, and in how appreciative she is of...almost everything, really, even really small things. I ascended her anyway, because I figured, life is nice for a while, but maybe not forever. I wondered when she'd next get a chance to escape, too. I also would rather not think Saint's whole campaign was a dream, because that would be...crushingly sad ! But thank you, great video though
@@laff__8821 as much as I love that interpretation, the devs said outright that challenge 70 isn't cannon. you can still believe what you want of course (saint being the triple affirmative just makes so much sense) but it absolutely is not hard cannon
@@kattaplez721 as far as I know, the fight isn't canon. Sliver of straw really died in the end communicating she found the triple affermative, and we know Iterators are basically impossible to kill. Other than that, Saint has three small points on his head, which further confirms everything.
@@kattaplez721i think it's hilarious that by declaring Challenge 70 as "non-canon" the Downpour team effectively created Sliverist and anti-Sliverist groups in real life.
It's poetic how the only remaining pearls are both about earthly experiences. One about some good fucking beverage, another containing a hymn Pebbles was fond of. As the ages passed and the pearls faded, the Ancients weren't remembered for their zealous rejection of the cycle. The last records of their presence are ones of joy and life. Halcyon Memories time chose to spare.
@@stger44 Ascension is not death! Ascension is transcending/rebirthing onto a "higher"" plane of existence Theres actually a lore pearl fully dedicated to a benefactors life, and it seems they did actually enjoy their lives. It was only when they decided they lived life to it's fullest, that they ascended
Wow, really appreciate this video. The presentation, editing, and flow here is phenomenal. Saint's whole campaign is meant to serve as an epilogue to everything else, and I'm glad about the emphasis you put on how the story being told here is really focused on the world itself. I love a lot of the interpretations in this video; your ideas presented about Rubicon, the cycles, and Saint's ending are quite different from the usual theories I see people present about it... but the ideas here totally work, and are a very interesting way to look at it! Watching this video made me feel emotional. Telling a story through a game can be difficult, especially in a game like Rain World that's light on dialogue, has tons of emergent behavior, and gives the player a lot of freedom of choice. When I watch people's playthroughs, or especially see everything summarized like this, it's such a good feeling when the presentation of the story "worked as intended", and I see that the story completely resonated with the player and gave them something to think about. It's easy for me to get caught up in the nitty-gritty and chaos of game development, but when I see stuff like this, it helps me take a step back and really feel proud of what we managed to create here.
This type of stuff is my favourite type of content. Especially with Rain World, I love hearing people describe their experiences from THEIR OWN perspective, instead of solely theorizing on what the devs meant or other streamers/youtubers experiences. This is eloquent and very well written, and I feel most every point being made was explained in depth without being circular or drawn out. You spent an adequate amount of time explaining and exploring concepts, emotions, setting. It’s lovely to watch :)
One thing I really liked about rain world downpour is they didn’t just put all the story in saint, spearmaster gives lore for the past events and rivulet fills a gap in between saint and the other slugcats. Both spearmaster and rivulet also give more dialogue and character to moon and pebbles, both are really good but I personally like rivulet the most. It makes the game way more enjoyable than if they just said “hey here’s some basic campaigns like the original 3 and a really good one.” Also just a funny thing is the karma 2 symbol is related to sexual desire/instincts hence why it is called karma sex by lots of people which begs the question, why the heck does saint start at karma 2?
it'll go underappreciated because it's *stupendously annoying to do* but having arti gather pearl for pebbles gives him so much extra characterization he wouldn't otherwise get. especially effective if you play arti right before rivulet, as is the default order. gourmand's the only campaign that doesn't really add anything in the way of iterator lore but as more of a "welcome back" campaign for returning players than anything else i think that's fitting
on saint starting at karma two, my headcanon is that his cap physically cannot drop as low as karma one. Because he's a pacifist. Arti is locked there because she is hyperviolent and hellbent on revenge, but Saint is a pacifist. So when he rejects ascension and forgos his attunement to the cycle he drops as low as possible, which is one above the violence karma, and just so happens to be procreation even tho saint is completely ambivalent to it
The reason saint starts on the first 2 symbols meaning violence, the other meaning lust or reproduction, which may be a representation of the cycle, death and life. The reason they start on karma 2 is because well... they are alive right?
ur use of goodbye to a world with it gradually building up while you talked and being in time with the game and major moments during that section genuinely made me teary, incredible use of that song !! so fitting for saint :D
32:00 “There’s no need to pity that. Instead, lets move on and see the beauty they spoke of” *Goodbye to a World by Porter Robinson starts playing* JESUS CHRIST I STARTED BAWLINGGG YOU CANT JUST DO THAT TO SOMEONE 😭😭😭😭
It literally hit me so hard when it started. The buildup, the anticipation of the music. And then max karma shows up and the lyrics start. The icon moving to the centipede and just merges with the music. THAT WAS AMAZING!
@@devilshelby Not to mention the perfect timing of Moon's ascension matching up with the end of the lyrics fading into the machine turning off as Moon turns off for the final time.
Saint was already my favourite character and campaign, but this video only made me love them more. The idea of the very game itself fighting the will of the player is a crazy concept, and it just makes me love the effort and time put into the game all the more. Thank you for making this video, I’m sincerely glad I was able to watch this.
I’ve tried to type this so many times, but I always get to the same conclusion: this video is amazing. This is the perfect video to describe the games Lore. Just as good as “affairs of passing Gods” and the Ancient video( I forgot the name of) You managed to put this story not only through words, but through gameplay and music. You gave rainworld the description it needs and deserves.
it wasn't really intentional but i do like that there's big long vids about the ancients, the iterators, and now the world itself like some kind of accidental trilogy (those other two vids are really good too btw, if you are a person reading this comment who hasn't seen them go check them out)
i don't believe anybody is ever free of the cycle, ascended or not. ascension is just moving on to another world, ever evolving. and while saint is busy catching up, when he finally arrives at the end of this new world he starts ending it all
The solution to the great problem... the lines Moon and Peebles say in rubicon kinda hint to the issue in itself being the biases of the Ancients and the formulation of the great problem, their frame of reference, that which they looked for, indishtinguishable, for the answer was never within the parameters of what they were supposedly looking for. They were looking for an end, even thou and end was never what could be acomplished.
As someone who’s watched practically every video on your channel, the point from the That Song segment til the end is some of your best writing ever. If you can get /me/ to be moved by the game’s content, having never previously felt any strong emotion toward anything similar, the world is completely your oyster. And you hold the pearl…? Idk, I’m learning.
The reveal that Shoreline leads directly to underhang as Saint absolutely blew me away. I sat there for a good minute in shock while my friend who i was in a call with asked me what went wrong. Just describing the emotional impact of rain world really can't do it justice, it's that good.
This video is a masterpiece. The editing, the choice of music, the thought put into all the interpretations... just so good! Saint story's interpretation is just so interesting! It's amazing how many different but still compelling interpretations of the same campaign can exist
Wow, I have to say, as someone who has never played Rain World before, this was an extremely well-written video. Well done on this, honestly one of your best videos ever.
This was an excellent documentary. Lots of interesting insights. I am so glad that the Devs didn't make every ending clear, left endings or beginnings with mystery. Not just because of immersion, but because of the allowance to think. To believe in your own version of its truth. Thank you.
This comment might be a little long but I have a lot to say! Firstly, thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with us. The editing and music, everything you put into this movie of a video is absolutely stunning. You perfectly wrapped up the Saint Experience, and the experience of the final breath of the dying world we all became a part of. I've always loved seeing how others consume and process games like this. They have a story to tell with so little words, and I think it's unique playing from the perspective of a species that everything, even the gods consider insignificant beasts. I have very little regrets when it comes to Rain World, but one main one is how much I spoiled myself on the content once it started getting popular. If I could wipe my memory of the game and experience it all over again with new eyes I absolutely would. This video gives me the experience of witnessing the world of Rain all over again! I just wish I could play it with my own hands, you know? Perhaps, with the modding community, I'll be able to experience something familiar again as we go further. And who knows! Maybe, in the future, we'll have more official slugcats to learn about and more of the world to explore. Wouldn't that be cool? Imagine a slugcat from the time of the ancients directly, an older, more feral beast than the ones we know many cycles into the future we know as our Rain World. Even though Saint is like a finale to the world, even they have to go through the cycles. What's to say we can't cycle back or further on to see what new or old this world and its iterators have to offer? Well, I could say much more but I'll leave it at this for now. Thank again for the wonderful video, I'm gonna finish it now and then take a fat nap ❤ Edit: ACTUALLY I have more to add!!!! GOD I love the way you interpret this story, like Saint is merely being pulled along by our will as the player, and as a creature and being we will never truly understand what they really wanted. Was it only a dream? Is it their reality? We don't know! No one will ever know unless we're given a hard answer. We get to move on and wait, but meanwhile, Saint will be waiting too. Where it always has been in the snow. Bravo, bravo!!
You make a good point, the increase in popularity is sort of a two sided thing. Personally i played the game back in 2017, seeing that it was on sale, and i noticed it was published by Adult Swim Games, which i found highly curious. I went into it completely blind, and loved the hell out of it (i still do). The community stayed small for a pretty long time, but there was a massive surge in popularity when videos by youtubers like Curious Archive were made. I originally thought this was a blessing, i thought it was insane that this game got any attention from anything mainstream, I mean I can actually mention the name of the game to someone in real life, and they might know what im talking about. Thing is, most of these people play the game because they hear about the ecosystem aspect, not because they find the idea of the gameplay fun. Plus most of these players have basically been spoiled on every single creature in the game after watching these videos.
This is madly underrated. I love your script and your narration, and the way you tell it in such a soothing yet passionate matter. Definitely deserves way more views
Thank you for sharing your experience with this video. It seems that even though I have watched a lot of Rain World videos there is yet more to think about. Rain World is a really unique game that I will never truly forget.
this is actually, genuinely my favourite rainworld video. the writing is incredible, especially in conjunction with the journey you take us all on, your own experience and thoughts of saint’s campaign as *you* went through it. i almost cried several times from how poignant it is. you make an already emotional story even more compelling and yes, painful. saint can never escape the cycle that they have tied themselves to
it's beautiful. So beautiful. This world, this story, everything. It made me cry again and again. It made me attached to this world, to the iterators, to the slugcats, to *everything*. I want to relive it again and again because it is beautiful. I wish I could forget and replay this game again and again. Experience it again and again and cry out of sheer emotion it brings me. Even the biggest, deepest sadness evolves into a feeling of being alive. But unlike this world, we are not stuck in a loop. We can't be stuck in a loop. We can't forget and relive it again because our days are limited. This makes me realize just how valuable life is. How valuable these happy moments are. And I will relive these moments for as long as I will live. I will be happy for as long as I can. I haven't felt like that for a long time due to depression and Rain World has given me a second chance in seeing and realizing that what seemed to be impossible just a day ago is actually possible. It's actually doable. I love this game 😭
OK I COMMENTED ALREADY BUT i also love the way you incorporated goodbye to a world by porter robinson. the timing is perfect and it adds so much to the atmosphere aughghh!!!!
I really love this interpretation of saints campaign it makes a lot of sense for rubicon being something that the player wants. Saint doesn’t really desire ascension they turn it down to instead help others ascend so them going to the void sea doesn’t make much sense. It’s really cool that the last thing that the player does in rain world is something that only they themselves desire with every thing else being something that we do because we get into the scugs general mindset.
the choice to use goodbye to a world by Porter Robinson was such an amazingly perfect choice, it fit the feeling of saints story of picking up the legacy of the ancients search for the triple affirmative and wiping the world clean for whatever comes next after the cycles just so well. timing the ascensions to the beat gave me shivers
This hit me in the gut. I played through all of rainworld not because of story or humbling gameplay, but the challenge. The satisfaction of finishing something difficult. I was so focused on perservering that I never felt anything that you talked about. The fimiliarity wasn't there, only anger and rest. Basic survival. The very things that tied all the creatures to the cycle. I even ruined the discovery of rainworld because I had learned about most the creatures before I had shelled out the 15 dollars. I was so amazed by the lore saint brought with his ending, the satisfaction of leaving the world behind, it didn't click to me that saint was defying me until this video. He was never a stupid animal or a defiant rebel of the worms. He was a slugcat with dreams and ambitions, like all the others. He was just the first to defy the random god on the other side of the screen.
a very interesting interpretation of Rubicon/Saint's end! I very much like the idea of Saint, at the last moment, being like "NO I don't want to ascend and I will prevent it at all costs, even if it means I have to go against your control and try to ascend a void worm. Even if it means I will lose all of my karma and be sent back to the beginning of my story, that would be better than ascending." small note- if you open a new saint campaign after (ascending? I don't know anymore) as saint, you keep your stomach item from the last campaign, which means a lot of things for the lore probably, but seeing as you're a lore hunter I'll mention you can get a fire egg back from Rubicon this way, and it has some very neat Moon dialogue :D
Saint’s campaign is absolutely beautiful a bittersweet campaign, the reality of it all, the progression of the slugcats, it’s so beautiful it genuinely makes me cry ❤
Huh, I never thought of saint’s campaign in that way I always though he was to good for the world and getting the highest level of ascension was his goal, but your video changed how I look at saint. As well as making me have a tiny existential life crisis for a moment :,)
Why are there no echoes of previous civilizations? Don't you think that the further the story develops, the more developed and intelligent appear? Maybe one day there will be those who will consciously give up the gift of emptiness and find their own way on their own?
Yeah, like rodrigonoffs said, the Echoes are attached to places or things, as soon as those places or things get destroyed or rendered totally unrecognizable they lose their last attachment and get freed. For example: you can't find Four Needles under Plentiful Leaves (the shaded citadel echo) in Saint's campaign because their memory box was destroyed when Pebbles fell down, so without that to attach to they presumably have finally ascended.
Well, as the UA-camr said, there is one echo which is attached to life and experiences yet to be had, so they shouldn't have ascended after some time. And yet maybe during the time between civilizations would it ascend as there is nothing to experience? Nothing to see live and thrive?
I once read a theory that void worms are past civilizations' echoes. Where each worm is the combined echo of an entire civilization. And that saint will keep doing their journey until all civilizations past and present are erased. But this theory contradicts the echoes being tied to locations theory. Unless if when a location is destroyed that echo is transferred to that society's void worm
damn, i had shivers while watching this and even cried a little. its very well made video and also i like other approach to saint than " he's tripple affirmative and he can't ascend itself"
I fear that the echoes we can't reach may not be gone, but stuck with something worse. At least for a time. We've already seen echoes in niche spots, like the subterranean echo in a little aside cave... What would happen to him if say, the entrance collapsed? He would be in there all the same, but locked away. Its even more tragic to imagine an echo buried deep underneath the ruins of pebbles and shaded, suffocating but unable to asphyxiate. We'll never truly know their fate, but maybe some aren't able to move, or maybe the concepts binding some echoes are dynamic enough to support movement when one manifestation of that concept fades. The echoes are incredible storytelling, their circumstances and fate are beautifully tragic. This was incredible by the way, it really captures the energy and feeling moving through this story. The journey was breathtaking, amazing, heart wrenching. It was extremely emotional and you've managed to share not only what happens, but how it feels. Something like the first time at the edge of the wall or old shaded, the first time you hit karma 10, the ease of ascending pebbles (or refusal out of spite for some lol) followed by the torn feeling to do the same to moon, having already left her without her friend and the feeling you'd be undoing or nullifying multiple campaigns you yourself played, stories you worked for... Music is important. Knowing when to let it settle, when to move through it, when to wait so it can do its thing before you proceed. The game does a good job but its obvious extra care went into the audio design and it works magic hammering in the emotions of the moments you created for us. I love these types of videos for rain world in general, it's probably my favorite game of all time. Maybe media in general story wise. But some stand above the rest, and I'm grateful youtube let me find this.
I finished saint a couple weeks ago, and haven't been able to touch the game since then (outside of one expedition with a mate). Saint's campaign was something that really got me invested in the world rather than the structures built on it, and the ending got me questioning so much about the cycles and saint themselves. Perfectly constructed, just like this video of yours. Well done!
To me rain world is a game about being a witness. A witness to the passage of time, to what happened of the past and to the world. Saint is the final view before decision is made to sever all ties to the world and let it be born anew
I cannot believe you've opened my eyes upon this world's 4th wall existance, where we are part of it. Incredibly well written and made. Definitely another amazing rain world video! Thank you for creating this beauty. ❤
Hey, I really liked the way you presented the struggle of the ancients! I understand why a lot of people in the community resonate with the echo who just wanted to live, but I feel many simply dismiss the ancients as evil creatures hyperfixated on killing themselves just because, ignoring the struggle of possibly being stuck in endless loops of suffering. BTW, my interpretation wasn't that the echo who wanted to live was physically forced to ascend or anything, but that they were super young and just went with the flow and did what everyone else was doing (peer pressure could've played a role too).
"Nine: I love you guys. Ten: Love you too. Juice: love y'all too Nine: I need to make a partition in my data storage. This is the end, right? The end of this story? Ten: We were always at the end. It's a free play, buddy. Clock's all zeros. It's after the end of the world." - 17776, What Football Will Look Like In The Future
five pebbles collapse reminds me of 'whalefalls' events where a dead whale sinks to the ocean floor and its corpse acts as a food source and home for life forms for dozens of years
My favorite thing while watching my friend play through saint on discord was insisting on using the new area names and pretending not to remember the old ones Downpour's story is about the player and, as bad as rubiccon is, that's never truer than when this familiar reality the saint never got to see breaks apart before our eyes, the ending is the end of your own little cycle as a rain world player
this is very interesting take, very positive one. for some reason i was kinda heartbroken after saint's story, thinking its kinda over, and i completely missed out how around me on my journey nature was flourishing, changing to new wold, breathing with new life. i guess saint is kinda like death in a way - it arrived to end the rule of "old gods" and allow them to rest, allowing new world to fully take over. its still sad, but beautiful in a way. thank you for sharing your perspective, it was very well done
When I first saw that Saint was becoming an echo... I felt I knew why. Because I love this world, and it shall forever bind me. Now lore-wise it's a horrible answer. Yet... it sticks with me. Saint's campaign, story, is so open to interpetation. So, who's to say my answer is any more wrong than the others?
What an insightful, interesting, brilliant presentation and analysis of Saint's campaign. Top quality video, absolute pleasure to watch. Thanks for making it!
36:37 Well damn, hearing it like that does sound similar to us doesn't it? Didnt really think of it like that before. What a change in perspective can do.
This was a fascinating take on the story. Most lore breakdowns and interpretations I've seen - my own included - were all very self contained in the game, treating the story of rain world as independent from the player, saint's very much included. This is a fresh take, and probably the more appropriate interpretation for a campaign whose strongest performance is in the player seeing how the world has changed.
Honestly it's really sad that Hunter is the only one that arguably has their canon ending be a bad end like even arti who will forever suffer with the weight of revenge and sadness has a slightly better end since even though it's extremely unlikely she could've eventually found a reason to be happy again via other slugpups and I have nothing to say about saints ending I'm still trying to come to terms what even happened
Honestly it’s just a testament to how good rain world is that saints campaign still managed to hit me so hard even though I had been spoiled on the fact 5P was dead and saint turning into an echo. Also I really like the blue clean water. Also the swim to the echo at the leg was so damn tense, silent construct as a whole just, hit me. Despite all the world changes in downpour like garbage wastes and shoreline past seeing moon intact was crazy. But seeing 5P collapsed was really, sad. It just always felt like 5P was gonna be there no matter what, even though the rot was killing him. The depths being gone was a surprise as well. Also am pretty sure things like disease and old age means the being will be reincarnated.
These deep lore videos never fail to bring a tear to my eye, this game is something special in my heart and it will remain forever. Even though i love the game I probably won;t ever go back to it as I broke away from the cycle, my story moved on.... and yet I come back every now and then to remember how great of an impact it left on me. What started with haha cute slugcat and ended with deep thoughts about life itself. Videocult truly created a masterpiece that unfortunetaly won't be appreciated by many
usually after I play a really good game to the end I am kind of become attracted to it wanting more. that’s what lead me to this video, after watching this video though I kind of feel like that craving for more had ended. This video was perfect, how you did the lore probably had some unanswered questions but in my opinion this is the most fulfilling answer to the question what is happening in saints campaign. I also love how did the song it’s been forever since I heard it and the way it’s used made me cry.
if i had one wish to come true, it would be replaying rain world for the first time. Amazing video, and rain world is an amazing game that still deserves its attention!
Honestly, this is the type of art that doesn’t come more than a couple times a century. I’m planning on writing a book and this game helped me figure out how to write it, and it gave me a story that has a strong base but is extremely malleable and can happen in a lot of ways
Rain World's main storyline may be done and the dealings of Looks to The Moon and Five Pebbles fully explored, but there are stories that could still be told about the decaying world, both before Spearmaster and after Saint, or between them, but far away from the Local Iterator Group. Not many - perhaps half a dozen - but it would be sad to see the game saying its official farewells without giving a try to some of the perfectly, lovely made and canon compatible regions and slugcats. Base Rain World is barely an epilogue, and More Slugcats is where the lore unfolds enough to give us the equivalent of a movie. A long one, for sure, but nowhere near enough to count for two. Rain World 2 may be unnecessary and even detrimental, but a second community-built expansion needs to happen; The modding community and game interest are at their peaks, even more than right before Downpour came to light.
Rain World is an Art masterpiece, fully using the immersiveness that comes with video games, to present you a new experience, the experience of a different world with different rules in a different body, and it makes you feel there, in that body in that world, attached to it even as you traverse and get to know it. I'm going to get onto playing on my second save (which I think I've already unlocked Saint). my first ever save I kind of "preserved" let it on the state it was after finishing every campaign, showing how much that I took in every campaign and how many cycles, and were I ended up. I also keep coming back to Rain World because it was a changing experience and also something that kept me going after terrible things happened to me, the game means so much in a emotional level, taken out of this world into another one with different but primal struggles, that the mind can much more comprehend, since we are after all just smarter apes with our biology made to live exactly like scavengers or slugcats. thats why I love it, being on another existence, being the slugcat, even if I had to die over and over again, that how the slugcats universe worked. I bought Rain world more than a year ago, about half into 2022 because it looked so beautiful and unique, I've always loved and been fascinated by alien worlds and seeing a game that pretty much encapsulated what I wanted to experience, I HAD TO BUY IT, I was between buying it or hollow knight, thankfully bought rain world(for me its such a better game, hollow knight isn't a unique experience for me). I was absolutely lost and refused to use wikis or look up what you have to do, Happy I did. for another couple months I didn't touch the game, I didn't even get to finish it (I had about 60 hours of mindlessly exploring) actually just finished the game about 4-6 months later when downpour got released, I got back into the game, finished the survivor campaign, it was amazing getting into the void sea, I had left the game while I was descending the wall I think, even remember were I stopped at before going to the depths (those tunnels with water before filtration system). couple days later bought downpour and wow, since then, since I picked the survivor campaign to finish it, my love for Rain World has been a constant. Right after picking Rain world up in january, my mother(someone I deeply loved) died, and having a escape from the pain, being on another world (thats how much immersive rain world can be to me) were life and death are different, were things were simpler, helped me.
Okay I'm convinced. Saint is the best campaign in Rain World. I still prefer to play as Rivulet because _speeed_ and I can actually fight creatures but Saint's campaign has just better buildups and a better worldstate and... Everything you covered! Also playing Goodbye to a World when you ascended Pebbles and Moon and saying "and letting entropy reclaim it" when reclaiming entropy plays is genius. Thanks for making this superb video essay, it is now 1 am and I'm going to miss school tomorrow because I couldn't sleep. (Trust me I tried to for an hour and a half before giving up and watching this vid)
Awesome video Id argue though that the collapse of pebbles was inevitable, the rot would eventually eat him whole, if anything you changed the fate of moon...a change that amounted to nothing at the end but still
Because we know from the final cutscene showing that there are many other iterator structures falling into ruin, i think Saint not only has possibly already ascended himself multiple times, but also possibly a majority of the iterators as well.
I really like your interpretation of Saint taking control of it’s own narrative by going back or looping back in time to recontinue the purpose Saint was seemingly made for, erasing what the player forced Saint’s story to be by going into the ‘dream’ that is Rubicon and instead fulfilling it’s purpose; ascend every living thing until none remain. I don’t know, something about the idea of Saint having agency in this sense is so cool to me and I’d like to see it that way :D
I love this game so much, heck i have 130 hours in it, but i hate how sad the story makes me. I literally have to gaslight myself about the story in order to play without getting sad
I have to say, even though i disagree with almost all of your interpretation of Saint, this was still one of the most captivating videos I've ever watched. Its really just such an amazing tribute to rainworld and the incredible spiritual depth this game has. Especially the discussion of the undergrowth echo--freakin love that guy, and its kinda horrifying to think that they were forced to ascend against their will, despite their love of all life.
this has to be the best campaign of all time. there is so much story and depth behind this, something that most other slugcats lack, their stories being belittled and seemingly small and meaningless compared to saints story
when I finished the game I didin't think at first of what I've interpreted of the history or created my own personal theories, but I think that In a way, that's appreciation, too. I don't rushed the history, enjoyed every last moment the game had to offer me, I was sad for ascending the iterators but happy seeing them toguether one last time. I was also emotional for saying goodbye to a world that seemed so vivid whitin my memories, and this, this Is trully feeling yourself emerged on the history, this is why I love rainworld.
![Pliocene [ COMPLETE RAIN WORLD MAP]](/img/n.gif)
The most horrifying POV character of all time is a cute little slug cat huh
welp yeah, nothing like the point of view of being at the bottom AND at the top of the food chain at the same time
What a special game. It might be a long time before we get something like Rain World - and then specifically Saint - again.
It makes me so sad cause I wish there were more games like this
We'll never get something as phenomenal as this again. Nothing can compare.
Now we need to wait for rain world upsuck
This truly was a rain world... Until the snow fell.
@@iraitzmm2571you might be waiting for a while
I love how they ended the rots story, at the beginning its this all mighty infection. It seems you cant defeat it no matter what, especially as rivulet. Five pebbles is morphed in the rots image. But at the end of the world, end of five pebbles, when he is barly alive. And the rot reflects that, being once a mighty infection, now just a few proto BLLs and just two mobile brother long legs. If five pebbles is alive, so is the rot. Because it reflects him, his rage. Now dying.
I can’t believe I never connected the two before. This is really cool.
I promised myself to not just climb the wall up to Pebbles playing Saint, as I did with every other slugcat. I totally forgot about it once I got to play Saint though, especially since he spawns so close to the Wall connection.
I’m so, so glad I forgot.
I can’t remember the last time a game, or anything really, made my heart genuinely *drop.* I just stood there in silence, my mouth actually open in shock. I don’t even remember whether or not I paused the game to register it. And the *sound* that plays? Videocult knew what they were doing. I think it was made just that bit more impactful was the fact I had SB camera scroll.
As I walked forward, there was the slow reveal of… nothing. Not a sudden cut to the empty screen, which I still think is plenty impactful on itself, but walking forwards, getting confused because ‘hey wait, where’s the rest of the bridge?’ before going further and realizing no, the distance hasn’t just changed or something, it’s *gone.*
I have ADHD, and think (though I may be wrong) that’s why I get so, so attached to stories. Even in games where there is none, my experience will always make one. Even in games where your player character is just an empty shell, not intended to be anything, I’ll get so immersed, making a character out of nearly nothing.
And I’ll be honest, while I loved rainworlds story, it wasn’t something I was fully hyperfixated on. I was hyperfixated on the game itself, yes, but not the grand scheme of the story, but I still absolutely loved it. Through downpour that changed of course, while playing gourmand through Spearmaster I definitely grew more attached to the story. But it wasn’t until Saint, that first opening second, that I started to play the game in a way I haven’t in what’s probably a long, long time.
As myself.
I was captivated by the scenery. The world was beautiful and overwhelming, yet the world was dying. Throughout the whole, genuinely the whole playthrough, I could feel nothing but absolute wonder, accompanied by the feeling of melancholy an empty, snowy landscape holds… and classic RW anger, but still.
When I got to rubicon and realized it was an amalgamation of the world I’ve come to know and love, the world that barely even exists anymore, I was… scared. In a way, at least. I knew something grand was coming, but what? Why show me the places I’ve lived 7 lifetimes in, on the 8th where it was gone? Would there be answers? Any, at all? Would there be freedom, for Saint, for Moon, for Pebbles? For me, the player? For anyone?
Gonna cut this comment off here, didn’t mean to go rambling, hell I even got a bit emotional writing that last part lmao. But… yeah, *tl;dr:* I love Rainworld a normal amount
Insanely good comment
This video is about my experiences, emotional responses, and interpretations of Saint's campaign and is not meant to be taken as a lore or plot summary. So don't think too hard about it, just sit back and enjoy.
Also, I like comments :)
Where are the replies 😵💫
Love when a video game goes so deep into philosophy that it enables a perception of the line between life and video games/realities that originated from concept. I believe the iterators described it best, that the realities intersect through that spiral, even if for short times or in distinct ways thought about in the dialogue/video. The influence one may have between these lines in ways through battles of control against will makes me realize these lines. These interactions, of course, could not be possible, outside of being figments of imagination, but these can influence the real world as thoughts, depending how deep you go. I should probably stop before I go insane.
Hi btw, I like the vid.
I haven't beaten survivor, but I've gone too deep to stop spoiling the game for myself, so here I am.
Sorry for yapping nonsense, especially if this annoys anyone or if I'm too wrong/self-righteous/spiraling down the wrong hole as a whole.
yea one of the best videos i have seen lol
not quite GD10 (geometry dash 10 year aniversary video) beacuse this doesnt make me THAT MUCH nostalgic
but still, the video is so good, it makes me feel things you know
What was that song you used for saints ascension
Saint's ending was totally heartbreaking. After that ending sequence, I was just so dejected for days on end, feverishly trying to interpret what the hell even.
One thing I love about going after the worm is that you don't really know what Saint is thinking. You don't know why. You also don't know what the worm's reaction really means. Does your karma break as a punishment, or simple cause and effect ? If you're punished, what for exactly ? Offense ? Desecration ? Going against nature ? As a thematic inversion of the usual slugcat void sea narrative where the worm helps you ? That moment is so inscrutable, and that's great. For a moment Saint becomes this monstrously unknowable entity and you're left full of questions, and the Downpour devs are like "Hahah !"
But anyway, Moon. Moon always struck me as someone who loves being alive, and that's one trait of hers that I really appreciate, because she's so wholesome. Even as she's stuck on her little island, barely clinging to sentience, she's still chipper, and happy. She gracefully accepts things as they are when she has to, but she's quietly overjoyed to exist, I think. You can see it the way she desperately tries to stop you eating her neurons, and in how appreciative she is of...almost everything, really, even really small things. I ascended her anyway, because I figured, life is nice for a while, but maybe not forever. I wondered when she'd next get a chance to escape, too.
I also would rather not think Saint's whole campaign was a dream, because that would be...crushingly sad ! But thank you, great video though
him just dreaming things would be really weird if we consider that he's the triple affermative
@@laff__8821 as much as I love that interpretation, the devs said outright that challenge 70 isn't cannon. you can still believe what you want of course (saint being the triple affirmative just makes so much sense) but it absolutely is not hard cannon
@@kattaplez721 as far as I know, the fight isn't canon. Sliver of straw really died in the end communicating she found the triple affermative, and we know Iterators are basically impossible to kill. Other than that, Saint has three small points on his head, which further confirms everything.
@@kattaplez721i think it's hilarious that by declaring Challenge 70 as "non-canon" the Downpour team effectively created Sliverist and anti-Sliverist groups in real life.
@@Resplendent_Eel that's incredibly funny, i never thought of it that way!!
It's poetic how the only remaining pearls are both about earthly experiences. One about some good fucking beverage, another containing a hymn Pebbles was fond of.
As the ages passed and the pearls faded, the Ancients weren't remembered for their zealous rejection of the cycle. The last records of their presence are ones of joy and life. Halcyon Memories time chose to spare.
Maybe jnstead of focusing purely on dying they shouldve focused on how to live with their predicament better
@@stger44 Rhinestones Beneath Shattered Glass:
@@stger44 Ascension is not death! Ascension is transcending/rebirthing onto a "higher"" plane of existence
Theres actually a lore pearl fully dedicated to a benefactors life, and it seems they did actually enjoy their lives.
It was only when they decided they lived life to it's fullest, that they ascended
I now understand why Saint is stuck at karma 2, love for the world and everything in it.
Wow, really appreciate this video. The presentation, editing, and flow here is phenomenal. Saint's whole campaign is meant to serve as an epilogue to everything else, and I'm glad about the emphasis you put on how the story being told here is really focused on the world itself. I love a lot of the interpretations in this video; your ideas presented about Rubicon, the cycles, and Saint's ending are quite different from the usual theories I see people present about it... but the ideas here totally work, and are a very interesting way to look at it!
Watching this video made me feel emotional. Telling a story through a game can be difficult, especially in a game like Rain World that's light on dialogue, has tons of emergent behavior, and gives the player a lot of freedom of choice. When I watch people's playthroughs, or especially see everything summarized like this, it's such a good feeling when the presentation of the story "worked as intended", and I see that the story completely resonated with the player and gave them something to think about. It's easy for me to get caught up in the nitty-gritty and chaos of game development, but when I see stuff like this, it helps me take a step back and really feel proud of what we managed to create here.
thank you, andrew fm from rained world
ANDREW FM WHAT!?!?!?
cheese
Whoa! Rare AndrewFM sighting.
@@_Cypher__ yes
This type of stuff is my favourite type of content. Especially with Rain World, I love hearing people describe their experiences from THEIR OWN perspective, instead of solely theorizing on what the devs meant or other streamers/youtubers experiences.
This is eloquent and very well written, and I feel most every point being made was explained in depth without being circular or drawn out. You spent an adequate amount of time explaining and exploring concepts, emotions, setting. It’s lovely to watch :)
One thing I really liked about rain world downpour is they didn’t just put all the story in saint, spearmaster gives lore for the past events and rivulet fills a gap in between saint and the other slugcats. Both spearmaster and rivulet also give more dialogue and character to moon and pebbles, both are really good but I personally like rivulet the most. It makes the game way more enjoyable than if they just said “hey here’s some basic campaigns like the original 3 and a really good one.” Also just a funny thing is the karma 2 symbol is related to sexual desire/instincts hence why it is called karma sex by lots of people which begs the question, why the heck does saint start at karma 2?
I think saint starts at karma 2 so the player is able to reach max karma reasonably.
it'll go underappreciated because it's *stupendously annoying to do* but having arti gather pearl for pebbles gives him so much extra characterization he wouldn't otherwise get. especially effective if you play arti right before rivulet, as is the default order. gourmand's the only campaign that doesn't really add anything in the way of iterator lore but as more of a "welcome back" campaign for returning players than anything else i think that's fitting
on saint starting at karma two, my headcanon is that his cap physically cannot drop as low as karma one. Because he's a pacifist. Arti is locked there because she is hyperviolent and hellbent on revenge, but Saint is a pacifist. So when he rejects ascension and forgos his attunement to the cycle he drops as low as possible, which is one above the violence karma, and just so happens to be procreation even tho saint is completely ambivalent to it
Sexual desire is a part of Lust, not a synonym. Lust is a broader term.
The reason saint starts on the first 2 symbols meaning violence, the other meaning lust or reproduction, which may be a representation of the cycle, death and life. The reason they start on karma 2 is because well... they are alive right?
ur use of goodbye to a world with it gradually building up while you talked and being in time with the game and major moments during that section genuinely made me teary, incredible use of that song !! so fitting for saint :D
32:00 “There’s no need to pity that. Instead, lets move on and see the beauty they spoke of”
*Goodbye to a World by Porter Robinson starts playing*
JESUS CHRIST I STARTED BAWLINGGG YOU CANT JUST DO THAT TO SOMEONE 😭😭😭😭
It literally hit me so hard when it started. The buildup, the anticipation of the music. And then max karma shows up and the lyrics start.
The icon moving to the centipede and just merges with the music.
THAT WAS AMAZING!
@@devilshelby Not to mention the perfect timing of Moon's ascension matching up with the end of the lyrics fading into the machine turning off as Moon turns off for the final time.
Literally couldn't have chosen a better song for this moment.
Saint was already my favourite character and campaign, but this video only made me love them more. The idea of the very game itself fighting the will of the player is a crazy concept, and it just makes me love the effort and time put into the game all the more. Thank you for making this video, I’m sincerely glad I was able to watch this.
32:01
YOU CAN'T JUST DO THAT TO ME
I HAD A PHYSICAL REACTION
GOD THAT SONG MAKES ME CRY SO MUCH
I’ve tried to type this so many times, but I always get to the same conclusion: this video is amazing. This is the perfect video to describe the games Lore. Just as good as “affairs of passing Gods” and the Ancient video( I forgot the name of)
You managed to put this story not only through words, but through gameplay and music. You gave rainworld the description it needs and deserves.
it wasn't really intentional but i do like that there's big long vids about the ancients, the iterators, and now the world itself
like some kind of accidental trilogy
(those other two vids are really good too btw, if you are a person reading this comment who hasn't seen them go check them out)
i don't believe anybody is ever free of the cycle, ascended or not. ascension is just moving on to another world, ever evolving. and while saint is busy catching up, when he finally arrives at the end of this new world he starts ending it all
YOU CANNOT HIT ME WITH THE GOODBYE TO THE WORLD UNDERGROWTH AT 123 ON A WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON
YOU CANT HIT ME WITH GOODBYE TO THE WORLD ASCENSION OF PEBBLES
this has to be one of the (if not THE) most interesting and unique interpretations of the saint's campaign! i'm glad i decided to watch this
I wasn't prepared for "goodbye to a world" from porter robinson
The solution to the great problem... the lines Moon and Peebles say in rubicon kinda hint to the issue in itself being the biases of the Ancients and the formulation of the great problem, their frame of reference, that which they looked for, indishtinguishable, for the answer was never within the parameters of what they were supposedly looking for. They were looking for an end, even thou and end was never what could be acomplished.
That goodbye to a world edit at 34:07 is amazing
As someone who’s watched practically every video on your channel, the point from the That Song segment til the end is some of your best writing ever.
If you can get /me/ to be moved by the game’s content, having never previously felt any strong emotion toward anything similar, the world is completely your oyster.
And you hold the pearl…? Idk, I’m learning.
The reveal that Shoreline leads directly to underhang as Saint absolutely blew me away. I sat there for a good minute in shock while my friend who i was in a call with asked me what went wrong. Just describing the emotional impact of rain world really can't do it justice, it's that good.
This video is a masterpiece. The editing, the choice of music, the thought put into all the interpretations... just so good! Saint story's interpretation is just so interesting! It's amazing how many different but still compelling interpretations of the same campaign can exist
Wow, I have to say, as someone who has never played Rain World before, this was an extremely well-written video. Well done on this, honestly one of your best videos ever.
This was an excellent documentary. Lots of interesting insights. I am so glad that the Devs didn't make every ending clear, left endings or beginnings with mystery. Not just because of immersion, but because of the allowance to think. To believe in your own version of its truth. Thank you.
I played Minecraft, and read the credits, when games do that it's not as fun as they think it is
This comment might be a little long but I have a lot to say!
Firstly, thank you so much for sharing your experience and thoughts with us. The editing and music, everything you put into this movie of a video is absolutely stunning. You perfectly wrapped up the Saint Experience, and the experience of the final breath of the dying world we all became a part of.
I've always loved seeing how others consume and process games like this. They have a story to tell with so little words, and I think it's unique playing from the perspective of a species that everything, even the gods consider insignificant beasts.
I have very little regrets when it comes to Rain World, but one main one is how much I spoiled myself on the content once it started getting popular. If I could wipe my memory of the game and experience it all over again with new eyes I absolutely would.
This video gives me the experience of witnessing the world of Rain all over again! I just wish I could play it with my own hands, you know?
Perhaps, with the modding community, I'll be able to experience something familiar again as we go further. And who knows! Maybe, in the future, we'll have more official slugcats to learn about and more of the world to explore. Wouldn't that be cool? Imagine a slugcat from the time of the ancients directly, an older, more feral beast than the ones we know many cycles into the future we know as our Rain World.
Even though Saint is like a finale to the world, even they have to go through the cycles. What's to say we can't cycle back or further on to see what new or old this world and its iterators have to offer?
Well, I could say much more but I'll leave it at this for now. Thank again for the wonderful video, I'm gonna finish it now and then take a fat nap ❤
Edit: ACTUALLY I have more to add!!!!
GOD I love the way you interpret this story, like Saint is merely being pulled along by our will as the player, and as a creature and being we will never truly understand what they really wanted. Was it only a dream? Is it their reality? We don't know! No one will ever know unless we're given a hard answer.
We get to move on and wait, but meanwhile, Saint will be waiting too. Where it always has been in the snow.
Bravo, bravo!!
You make a good point, the increase in popularity is sort of a two sided thing. Personally i played the game back in 2017, seeing that it was on sale, and i noticed it was published by Adult Swim Games, which i found highly curious. I went into it completely blind, and loved the hell out of it (i still do).
The community stayed small for a pretty long time, but there was a massive surge in popularity when videos by youtubers like Curious Archive were made. I originally thought this was a blessing, i thought it was insane that this game got any attention from anything mainstream, I mean I can actually mention the name of the game to someone in real life, and they might know what im talking about. Thing is, most of these people play the game because they hear about the ecosystem aspect, not because they find the idea of the gameplay fun. Plus most of these players have basically been spoiled on every single creature in the game after watching these videos.
This is madly underrated. I love your script and your narration, and the way you tell it in such a soothing yet passionate matter. Definitely deserves way more views
you can do your part by sharing it around :>
i am glad people are calling "my most successful video in 16 years" underrated tho
@CawCophony that just means a few people have started to notice your content, enjoyed it, and they want more people to see it!
honestly a beautifully put together video, especially saint's ascension spree at 34:08, combined with the music you put it in is perfect
Wat is that theme
@@Kill_scavysit’s called “goodbye to a world”
Thank you for sharing your experience with this video. It seems that even though I have watched a lot of Rain World videos there is yet more to think about. Rain World is a really unique game that I will never truly forget.
37:25 Having the song end with Moon was deeply moving. Unexpectedly got a lump in my throat. Bravo my dude.
this is actually, genuinely my favourite rainworld video. the writing is incredible, especially in conjunction with the journey you take us all on, your own experience and thoughts of saint’s campaign as *you* went through it. i almost cried several times from how poignant it is. you make an already emotional story even more compelling and yes, painful. saint can never escape the cycle that they have tied themselves to
Yes
The use of that song gave me chills
The use of Ascension noises with the song goes so hard.
it's beautiful. So beautiful. This world, this story, everything. It made me cry again and again. It made me attached to this world, to the iterators, to the slugcats, to *everything*. I want to relive it again and again because it is beautiful. I wish I could forget and replay this game again and again. Experience it again and again and cry out of sheer emotion it brings me. Even the biggest, deepest sadness evolves into a feeling of being alive. But unlike this world, we are not stuck in a loop. We can't be stuck in a loop. We can't forget and relive it again because our days are limited. This makes me realize just how valuable life is. How valuable these happy moments are. And I will relive these moments for as long as I will live. I will be happy for as long as I can.
I haven't felt like that for a long time due to depression and Rain World has given me a second chance in seeing and realizing that what seemed to be impossible just a day ago is actually possible. It's actually doable. I love this game 😭
OK I COMMENTED ALREADY BUT i also love the way you incorporated goodbye to a world by porter robinson. the timing is perfect and it adds so much to the atmosphere aughghh!!!!
I really love this interpretation of saints campaign it makes a lot of sense for rubicon being something that the player wants. Saint doesn’t really desire ascension they turn it down to instead help others ascend so them going to the void sea doesn’t make much sense. It’s really cool that the last thing that the player does in rain world is something that only they themselves desire with every thing else being something that we do because we get into the scugs general mindset.
This is such a well crafted video. It lives in my head and I keep coming back to it every so often to rewatch.
the choice to use goodbye to a world by Porter Robinson was such an amazingly perfect choice, it fit the feeling of saints story of picking up the legacy of the ancients search for the triple affirmative and wiping the world clean for whatever comes next after the cycles just so well. timing the ascensions to the beat gave me shivers
This hit me in the gut. I played through all of rainworld not because of story or humbling gameplay, but the challenge. The satisfaction of finishing something difficult. I was so focused on perservering that I never felt anything that you talked about. The fimiliarity wasn't there, only anger and rest. Basic survival. The very things that tied all the creatures to the cycle. I even ruined the discovery of rainworld because I had learned about most the creatures before I had shelled out the 15 dollars. I was so amazed by the lore saint brought with his ending, the satisfaction of leaving the world behind, it didn't click to me that saint was defying me until this video. He was never a stupid animal or a defiant rebel of the worms. He was a slugcat with dreams and ambitions, like all the others. He was just the first to defy the random god on the other side of the screen.
This has got to be one of the best interpretations on the story of Rain World I've seen
a very interesting interpretation of Rubicon/Saint's end! I very much like the idea of Saint, at the last moment, being like "NO I don't want to ascend and I will prevent it at all costs, even if it means I have to go against your control and try to ascend a void worm. Even if it means I will lose all of my karma and be sent back to the beginning of my story, that would be better than ascending."
small note- if you open a new saint campaign after (ascending? I don't know anymore) as saint, you keep your stomach item from the last campaign, which means a lot of things for the lore probably, but seeing as you're a lore hunter I'll mention you can get a fire egg back from Rubicon this way, and it has some very neat Moon dialogue :D
This is the best video I’ve ever watched on UA-cam. It really touched my heart ❤
Saint’s campaign is absolutely beautiful a bittersweet campaign, the reality of it all, the progression of the slugcats, it’s so beautiful it genuinely makes me cry ❤
Huh, I never thought of saint’s campaign in that way I always though he was to good for the world and getting the highest level of ascension was his goal, but your video changed how I look at saint. As well as making me have a tiny existential life crisis for a moment :,)
Why are there no echoes of previous civilizations? Don't you think that the further the story develops, the more developed and intelligent appear? Maybe one day there will be those who will consciously give up the gift of emptiness and find their own way on their own?
it is possible the echoes can ascend after some time, since what keeps them imprisoned is their attachment
Yeah, like rodrigonoffs said, the Echoes are attached to places or things, as soon as those places or things get destroyed or rendered totally unrecognizable they lose their last attachment and get freed. For example: you can't find Four Needles under Plentiful Leaves (the shaded citadel echo) in Saint's campaign because their memory box was destroyed when Pebbles fell down, so without that to attach to they presumably have finally ascended.
Well, as the UA-camr said, there is one echo which is attached to life and experiences yet to be had, so they shouldn't have ascended after some time. And yet maybe during the time between civilizations would it ascend as there is nothing to experience? Nothing to see live and thrive?
I once read a theory that void worms are past civilizations' echoes. Where each worm is the combined echo of an entire civilization. And that saint will keep doing their journey until all civilizations past and present are erased. But this theory contradicts the echoes being tied to locations theory. Unless if when a location is destroyed that echo is transferred to that society's void worm
damn, i had shivers while watching this and even cried a little. its very well made video and also i like other approach to saint than " he's tripple affirmative and he can't ascend itself"
34:18 HOW COULD YOU THAT POOR LITTLE YEEK YOU MONSTER
...that was a stowaway, feel no pity :)
@@CawCophony oh ok I thought you commited a warcrime
I fear that the echoes we can't reach may not be gone, but stuck with something worse. At least for a time. We've already seen echoes in niche spots, like the subterranean echo in a little aside cave... What would happen to him if say, the entrance collapsed? He would be in there all the same, but locked away. Its even more tragic to imagine an echo buried deep underneath the ruins of pebbles and shaded, suffocating but unable to asphyxiate. We'll never truly know their fate, but maybe some aren't able to move, or maybe the concepts binding some echoes are dynamic enough to support movement when one manifestation of that concept fades.
The echoes are incredible storytelling, their circumstances and fate are beautifully tragic.
This was incredible by the way, it really captures the energy and feeling moving through this story. The journey was breathtaking, amazing, heart wrenching. It was extremely emotional and you've managed to share not only what happens, but how it feels. Something like the first time at the edge of the wall or old shaded, the first time you hit karma 10, the ease of ascending pebbles (or refusal out of spite for some lol) followed by the torn feeling to do the same to moon, having already left her without her friend and the feeling you'd be undoing or nullifying multiple campaigns you yourself played, stories you worked for...
Music is important. Knowing when to let it settle, when to move through it, when to wait so it can do its thing before you proceed. The game does a good job but its obvious extra care went into the audio design and it works magic hammering in the emotions of the moments you created for us. I love these types of videos for rain world in general, it's probably my favorite game of all time. Maybe media in general story wise. But some stand above the rest, and I'm grateful youtube let me find this.
Amazing video. I never had anyone who has also finished this game to talk to about my experiences with RW, so this filled that hole for me.
Thank you.
I finished saint a couple weeks ago, and haven't been able to touch the game since then (outside of one expedition with a mate). Saint's campaign was something that really got me invested in the world rather than the structures built on it, and the ending got me questioning so much about the cycles and saint themselves. Perfectly constructed, just like this video of yours. Well done!
To me rain world is a game about being a witness. A witness to the passage of time, to what happened of the past and to the world. Saint is the final view before decision is made to sever all ties to the world and let it be born anew
I cannot believe you've opened my eyes upon this world's 4th wall existance, where we are part of it. Incredibly well written and made. Definitely another amazing rain world video!
Thank you for creating this beauty. ❤
Hey, I really liked the way you presented the struggle of the ancients! I understand why a lot of people in the community resonate with the echo who just wanted to live, but I feel many simply dismiss the ancients as evil creatures hyperfixated on killing themselves just because, ignoring the struggle of possibly being stuck in endless loops of suffering.
BTW, my interpretation wasn't that the echo who wanted to live was physically forced to ascend or anything, but that they were super young and just went with the flow and did what everyone else was doing (peer pressure could've played a role too).
"Nine: I love you guys.
Ten: Love you too.
Juice: love y'all too
Nine: I need to make a partition in my data storage. This is the end, right? The end of this story?
Ten: We were always at the end. It's a free play, buddy. Clock's all zeros. It's after the end of the world."
- 17776, What Football Will Look Like In The Future
five pebbles collapse reminds me of 'whalefalls' events where a dead whale sinks to the ocean floor and its corpse acts as a food source and home for life forms for dozens of years
My favorite thing while watching my friend play through saint on discord was insisting on using the new area names and pretending not to remember the old ones
Downpour's story is about the player and, as bad as rubiccon is, that's never truer than when this familiar reality the saint never got to see breaks apart before our eyes, the ending is the end of your own little cycle as a rain world player
I absolutely loved this video, great job!
32:02 oh WOW, I was NOT expecting that song. But I did always feel like it matched rain world.
Hi, do you know where I could find it? :)
@@ultramasterii5752 ua-cam.com/video/W2TE0DjdNqI/v-deo.htmlsi=26rIrMHHY4P7F9du
@@ultramasterii5752 Goodbye to a world, by Porter Robinson
@@yannismc4113 Thank you!
this is very interesting take, very positive one. for some reason i was kinda heartbroken after saint's story, thinking its kinda over, and i completely missed out how around me on my journey nature was flourishing, changing to new wold, breathing with new life. i guess saint is kinda like death in a way - it arrived to end the rule of "old gods" and allow them to rest, allowing new world to fully take over. its still sad, but beautiful in a way. thank you for sharing your perspective, it was very well done
I think this is one of the best Rain World video analysis.
When I first saw that Saint was becoming an echo... I felt I knew why. Because I love this world, and it shall forever bind me.
Now lore-wise it's a horrible answer. Yet... it sticks with me. Saint's campaign, story, is so open to interpetation.
So, who's to say my answer is any more wrong than the others?
Certainly not me!
What an insightful, interesting, brilliant presentation and analysis of Saint's campaign. Top quality video, absolute pleasure to watch. Thanks for making it!
"have to go to silent construct" meanwhile me swimming around under moon, looking for the echo that keeps pinging me in her superstructure
What a beautiful video! I liked your interpretation of the events and how you presented it.
The End of Rain World is truly something I'll never forget
36:37 Well damn, hearing it like that does sound similar to us doesn't it? Didnt really think of it like that before. What a change in perspective can do.
This was a fascinating take on the story. Most lore breakdowns and interpretations I've seen - my own included - were all very self contained in the game, treating the story of rain world as independent from the player, saint's very much included. This is a fresh take, and probably the more appropriate interpretation for a campaign whose strongest performance is in the player seeing how the world has changed.
Honestly it's really sad that Hunter is the only one that arguably has their canon ending be a bad end like even arti who will forever suffer with the weight of revenge and sadness has a slightly better end since even though it's extremely unlikely she could've eventually found a reason to be happy again via other slugpups and I have nothing to say about saints ending I'm still trying to come to terms what even happened
Honestly it’s just a testament to how good rain world is that saints campaign still managed to hit me so hard even though I had been spoiled on the fact 5P was dead and saint turning into an echo. Also I really like the blue clean water. Also the swim to the echo at the leg was so damn tense, silent construct as a whole just, hit me. Despite all the world changes in downpour like garbage wastes and shoreline past seeing moon intact was crazy. But seeing 5P collapsed was really, sad. It just always felt like 5P was gonna be there no matter what, even though the rot was killing him. The depths being gone was a surprise as well. Also am pretty sure things like disease and old age means the being will be reincarnated.
These deep lore videos never fail to bring a tear to my eye, this game is something special in my heart and it will remain forever. Even though i love the game I probably won;t ever go back to it as I broke away from the cycle, my story moved on.... and yet I come back every now and then to remember how great of an impact it left on me. What started with haha cute slugcat and ended with deep thoughts about life itself. Videocult truly created a masterpiece that unfortunetaly won't be appreciated by many
usually after I play a really good game to the end I am kind of become attracted to it wanting more. that’s what lead me to this video, after watching this video though I kind of feel like that craving for more had ended. This video was perfect, how you did the lore probably had some unanswered questions but in my opinion this is the most fulfilling answer to the question what is happening in saints campaign. I also love how did the song it’s been forever since I heard it and the way it’s used made me cry.
love your interpretation of saints campaign. really good video
I feel like there could be a movie/series for each slugcat.
That would be insanely cool
if i had one wish to come true, it would be replaying rain world for the first time.
Amazing video, and rain world is an amazing game that still deserves its attention!
I fucking adore your interpretation of saint's campaign.
beautifully said and made, great video.
Honestly, this is the type of art that doesn’t come more than a couple times a century. I’m planning on writing a book and this game helped me figure out how to write it, and it gave me a story that has a strong base but is extremely malleable and can happen in a lot of ways
a wonderful analysis my only grudge is that i didnt watch this sooner
Rain World's main storyline may be done and the dealings of Looks to The Moon and Five Pebbles fully explored, but there are stories that could still be told about the decaying world, both before Spearmaster and after Saint, or between them, but far away from the Local Iterator Group.
Not many - perhaps half a dozen - but it would be sad to see the game saying its official farewells without giving a try to some of the perfectly, lovely made and canon compatible regions and slugcats.
Base Rain World is barely an epilogue, and More Slugcats is where the lore unfolds enough to give us the equivalent of a movie. A long one, for sure, but nowhere near enough to count for two.
Rain World 2 may be unnecessary and even detrimental, but a second community-built expansion needs to happen; The modding community and game interest are at their peaks, even more than right before Downpour came to light.
Really well put video, thank you for this experience. Got to relieve Rainworld again. Off to listen to the OST. :)
Rain World is an Art masterpiece, fully using the immersiveness that comes with video games, to present you a new experience, the experience of a different world with different rules in a different body, and it makes you feel there, in that body in that world, attached to it even as you traverse and get to know it.
I'm going to get onto playing on my second save (which I think I've already unlocked Saint). my first ever save I kind of "preserved" let it on the state it was after finishing every campaign, showing how much that I took in every campaign and how many cycles, and were I ended up.
I also keep coming back to Rain World because it was a changing experience and also something that kept me going after terrible things happened to me, the game means so much in a emotional level, taken out of this world into another one with different but primal struggles, that the mind can much more comprehend, since we are after all just smarter apes with our biology made to live exactly like scavengers or slugcats.
thats why I love it, being on another existence, being the slugcat, even if I had to die over and over again, that how the slugcats universe worked.
I bought Rain world more than a year ago, about half into 2022 because it looked so beautiful and unique, I've always loved and been fascinated by alien worlds and seeing a game that pretty much encapsulated what I wanted to experience, I HAD TO BUY IT, I was between buying it or hollow knight, thankfully bought rain world(for me its such a better game, hollow knight isn't a unique experience for me). I was absolutely lost and refused to use wikis or look up what you have to do, Happy I did. for another couple months I didn't touch the game, I didn't even get to finish it (I had about 60 hours of mindlessly exploring) actually just finished the game about 4-6 months later when downpour got released, I got back into the game, finished the survivor campaign, it was amazing getting into the void sea, I had left the game while I was descending the wall I think, even remember were I stopped at before going to the depths (those tunnels with water before filtration system). couple days later bought downpour and wow, since then, since I picked the survivor campaign to finish it, my love for Rain World has been a constant.
Right after picking Rain world up in january, my mother(someone I deeply loved) died, and having a escape from the pain, being on another world (thats how much immersive rain world can be to me) were life and death are different, were things were simpler, helped me.
Okay I'm convinced. Saint is the best campaign in Rain World. I still prefer to play as Rivulet because _speeed_ and I can actually fight creatures but Saint's campaign has just better buildups and a better worldstate and... Everything you covered!
Also playing Goodbye to a World when you ascended Pebbles and Moon and saying "and letting entropy reclaim it" when reclaiming entropy plays is genius. Thanks for making this superb video essay, it is now 1 am and I'm going to miss school tomorrow because I couldn't sleep.
(Trust me I tried to for an hour and a half before giving up and watching this vid)
i did not expect goodbye to a world to play
nobody expects the porter inquisition
5 minutes and I'm sure it's awesome video, with good message and telling.
rain world makes me cry in all four ways. anger, fear, happiness, and sadness
Awesome video
Id argue though that the collapse of pebbles was inevitable, the rot would eventually eat him whole, if anything you changed the fate of moon...a change that amounted to nothing at the end but still
Just... incredible
Because we know from the final cutscene showing that there are many other iterator structures falling into ruin, i think Saint not only has possibly already ascended himself multiple times, but also possibly a majority of the iterators as well.
such a beautiful video for a beautiful game
you mentioned saint taught you to keep a lantern on you at all times. saint taught me to move with urgency and always carry surplus food.
I really like your interpretation of Saint taking control of it’s own narrative by going back or looping back in time to recontinue the purpose Saint was seemingly made for, erasing what the player forced Saint’s story to be by going into the ‘dream’ that is Rubicon and instead fulfilling it’s purpose; ascend every living thing until none remain.
I don’t know, something about the idea of Saint having agency in this sense is so cool to me and I’d like to see it that way :D
lmao, so Saint basically just says "f@ck you" and deletes your save if you try to ascend him.
This remarkable game has inspired countless hours of great content (In particular this video which absolutely knocks it out of the park)
I love this game so much, heck i have 130 hours in it, but i hate how sad the story makes me. I literally have to gaslight myself about the story in order to play without getting sad
I have to say, even though i disagree with almost all of your interpretation of Saint, this was still one of the most captivating videos I've ever watched. Its really just such an amazing tribute to rainworld and the incredible spiritual depth this game has. Especially the discussion of the undergrowth echo--freakin love that guy, and its kinda horrifying to think that they were forced to ascend against their will, despite their love of all life.
this has to be the best campaign of all time. there is so much story and depth behind this, something that most other slugcats lack, their stories being belittled and seemingly small and meaningless compared to saints story
when I finished the game I didin't think at first of what I've interpreted of the history or created my own personal theories, but I think that In a way, that's appreciation, too. I don't rushed the history, enjoyed every last moment the game had to offer me, I was sad for ascending the iterators but happy seeing them toguether one last time. I was also emotional for saying goodbye to a world that seemed so vivid whitin my memories, and this, this Is trully feeling yourself emerged on the history, this is why I love rainworld.
That's beautiful. Beauty uncovered by narrator withing himself impossible without a game prompting to it. Game is insane(ly beautiful too).
one time on my first gourmand run i had two slugpups and it was about to rain and i needed food so i had to do what i had to do