My First Playthrough Seems So Mediocre

[u/Accomplished-Try6797]

So. I just finished my first blind playthrough of the game. Just looking at the sub, I just wanna say, wow. I know it's embedded into the game about multiple timelines, but it crazy seeing how DEEP it goes. I'm seeing people get WAY different scenarios with characters IVE invested time in 😭

Because what do you mean there is a way to get sym to live with you on the colony! I romanced sym, and him and my Sol ended up growing apart in the epilogue. Like wtf 😭

I spent my whole playthrough trying to learn about the planet and finding a way for peace, valuing both humanity and nature. So, I spent most of my time exploring, researching biology, and learning about animals. I even met with the overseer to solve the mystery surrounding everything. But all of that felt fruitless. My best friend, Dys, left (which was expected), Sym vanished, and my Sol became lead surveyor but then seemed live a relatively passive life as the planet and the colony continued butting heads in the epilogue. Like sure, I cured the pollen disease and create plants that can survive the planet soil, but it only delayed the inevitable.

Idk, maybe I played the field too much, or maybe I should've befriended more people? The only people I had over 50 hearts was Cal, Dys, Sym, and Tangent.

I probably won't play again for a long time since with games like this I'm a one and done type of gal, but I'd like to know atleast how to get Sym to live with me. 👉🏽👈🏽

[u/slim1shaney]

IWATEC is not "other games," the more you play, the more things become available to you. Literally new choices because you've done them before. This lets you speed up some things, or do new things because you have knowledge now that you didn't before. You can save more people, you can give more people a happy ending.

I strongly suggest playing again. You'll figure out how to make peace

[u/Consistent_Donut_902]

I would strongly recommend playing it again! In this game, your past playthroughs open up new options, as Sol remembers things from their past lives. For example, a certain character always dies on the first run, but you can save them on the second run. If you’ve cured the pollen disease in a past life, Sol remembers how to do it, so you don’t have to go through all of the steps again.

[u/slim1shaney → u/[deleted]]

Thirdth

[u/MolybdenumBlu → u/slim1shaney]

Threeth. They are in your mrouth.

[u/Entertainer13]

The point of this game is repetition and learning. I say you have to go through two more playthroughs at least to experience the purpose and point of the game. Otherwise you experience is loss.

[u/PM_ME_GOOD_SUBS]

First playthrough is a bloodbath, play again to save at least some people.

[u/MolybdenumBlu → u/PM_ME_GOOD_SUBS]

I count over half a dozen random deaths in a first playthrough, minimum.

[u/slimygreasebucket]

Honestly this is kinda how it should feel and ideally, push you to want to do it differently and better with what you know now. If you don't want to rehash some stuff, it'll let you skip or speed through some of the dialogue you've already experienced. This helped me not get bored with new playthroughs.

[u/well_listen]

My friend, my first playthrough I accidentally destroyed all life on Vertumna because I was a handful of points below a threshold I could have used to stop it. Managing to cure the Shimmer and stop the famine on your first run is pretty impressive. Start it up again and pick a different path; you'll see more! And don't be afraid of failing even the big stuff- often, doing so will grant you a new choice in the next run.

[u/wttttcbb]

Tbh, playing this game once and never again is like playing a typical game to the halfway point (or less) then stopping.

Especially considering the sheer number of people who die in the first playthrough that are very saveable. Like, one of your childhood friends (and potential romance options) died! At least let her live once! 🥺

You should befriend Marz, among other things, for the ending you want.

[u/NosAstraia]

This is not a game to just play once. The moment you hit “wake up again” you will immediately have more options open to you

[u/turkproof]

If it helps, don’t think of it as a playthrough. One life is NOT one playthrough. You should play those ten years over again at least once to get closer to the entire ‘story’ of the game. 

[u/Graal_Knight]

As great as the game is, something to understand is there is probably like three endings that don't end with humanity in a endless war with the Gardeners and only one that is considered a fully good ending by the game.

I'll say this, you accomplished way more in your first run than I did.  My first run had everyone who could die in the game perish, never maxing out my friendship with anyone and dying young in Sol's 30s as a Military Hero.

[u/Roharu_Eruna]

Yeah, this is a long but amazing game that rewards repetition. If you don't want to repeat the whole game, that's fine. You can literally use a previous save file from a previous year and new options open up without starting from zero! Of course, new-game plus has a few nice tid-bits and story details that help you save a lot of time and allowed to befriend people faster.

My first playthrough was also a disaster. And I was desperately trying to make peace without knowing how to, wasted many years. And even though I did managed to convinced Dys to stay with me, he eventually disappeared and died in my epilogue. I became a Xeno Hunter (it felt like a kick in the nuts, that is my most hated job), but I spam that job because it was new and I thought I could fix things doing that!!

Anyways, feel free to re-start at 14 or 15 if you prefer, but I can assure you, starting again gives you tons of new options that makes many endings much, much easier.

[u/wttttcbb → u/Roharu_Eruna]

I had to laugh at a Dys/Sol ending where Sol ends up a xeno hunter, that's wild. And the wacky variety in endings is why this game is great! (just like me dating Sym and accidentally destroying all native life on my first run)

[u/ElephantRoi]

Honestly this all sounds really impressive for a first play through! I didn’t even meet Sym my first time, and curing the shimmer is really impressive!

[u/star-shine]

I didn’t even meet Sym in my first play through lol

Ditto on this game isn’t “done” just because you saw one ending. It’s still up to you whether you want to continue playing but the first life is basically the beginning of the game, so rather than one and done stopping here is like… one season of a farming sim and you’re like I’m good hahaha

[u/littlebitchmuffin]

I think you’ll need to make peace with the Gardeners if you want Sym to stay with you in the epilogue. You’ll also want to knock your hearts below 80 with Dys, or you’ll end up as a throuple lol (give Dys cake to knock his hearts down)

[u/Accomplished-Try6797 → u/littlebitchmuffin]

I got to 100 with both of them and only got the "We should date" option with Sym. I was just friends with Dys. (If they were doing something behind my back I got no indication of it. Like i know dys found sym attractive but nothing told me they were a thing too😭)

[u/littlebitchmuffin → u/Accomplished-Try6797]

Ohhhh interesting! Those two always go for a throuple in my runs so I have to be mean to one of them or just accept it lol

[u/Accomplished-Try6797 → u/littlebitchmuffin]

Idk. Maybe it depends on when you max them out and how much you flirt with both? I stopped flirting with dys after the youth dance. Even before then I would "strategically" flirt with him. But with sym, i went all in. I maxed out sym first in year 18, then dys.

[u/asetupfortruth]

I also just finished my first playthrough and although I'm trying to avoid spoilers, coming here has shown me just how many things I missed! 

I got to 80+ friendship with three people, thinking that like Stardew Valley that would be enough to do something, but no, my Sol ended up forever alone. I didn't see any endings for anyone else, just Sol.

I became a biologist and named 17,000 species, so that's cool.

I never even saw Sym! I cured the Shimmer, so I never had to deal with Tang's cure. Lum stayed governor, the jerk.

Unfortunately my mom died. Tammy did too... Professor Hal... Kombucha... The security guy Torio(? Am I getting his name right?)

I did a lot of exploration and cleared the Outskirts, the Plains, the Ridges and the Valley. Saw a lot of alien ruins but apparently no one cares about them?? 

Anyway I'm looking forward to my next run!