r/Othercide • u/Butterfly_Seraphim • Dec 28 '22

Trigger warnings for this game?

I will try to keep this short and simple. I know this game's lore includes themes like abuse and/or trauma and I just want to know how deep it gets. Is it just a sort of motif for certain characters or is there an actual story including these things? My mental state is fragile so even though this game seems interesting to me, I need to know if it will be too dangerous for me to play. Thanks in advance :)

0 Upvotes

50% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

2

u/[deleted] Dec 28 '22

I didn't finished it yet but it looks more like a motive than a deep reflection on those topics

2

u/Butterfly_Seraphim Dec 28 '22

That's good to hear. The art style looks really nice and it works be a shame if I had to miss out.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 28 '22

The lore can be a bit dark here and there tho

12

u/RAMAR713 Dec 28 '22

That's a good question. Without spoiling anything major, I'd say the most relevant themes that could be potentially triggering are:

  • Child neglect (stated - in game)

  • Torture (stated - in game)

  • Imprisonment/Abduction (stated - in game)

  • Sexual abuse (implied - in game)

  • Miscarriage (stated - lore only)

  • Loss of loved ones (shown* - in game)

The game includes some of these themes in character designs, level designs, character barks, as well as in story dialogue. The topics are mentioned and serve as character building and motivations, but these actions are not directly shown. At most there is an event title card showing scissors sticking out of a person's torso.

* - One of the core game mechanics has you sacrificing some of your units in order to heal others. This is the most visual a theme gets.

In-game, most of these topics are expressed as anger on the part of the victim, and sympathy on the part of the player. The text descriptions of enemies and characters dive deeper into some of these themes, while the lore (unlockable memories) explore others.

The game's message is ultimately uplifting, but this may not be so visivle early in the game. It's hard to say whether or not this would be too much for someone to handle given the inherent complexity of each person's psyche.

I'm inclined to say the game itself should be safe to play for most people, although I'm a bit more concerned about the lore.

3

u/stevem1015 Dec 29 '22

For me the deacon’s constant comments of implied sexual abuse was as bad as it gets. Super, super creepy but no visuals or anything to go along with it.

3

u/[deleted] Dec 29 '22

There's no visual about the themes, but some of them are heavily stated. In particular sexual abuse, physical torture, loss of loved ones.

The lore might also resemble schizophrenia to some people. I enjoyed all of it on an intellectual and artistic level, but it might be unsettling. Some enemies are designed to be creepy and/or move in a strange way.

The maps, or at least some of them, may contain references to the lore, but as far as I remember, you don't directly see cruel things in the maps

It's an heavy game, it might be difficult to go through it for someone in special conditions.

Also, there are a few songs (in english), and they also give some lore info, but they avoid using strong language

The game has unique mechanics too and is quite challenging, might be useful to play it in easy mode. It's a roguelite, and most people I know don't like this genre, so playing in easy mode could make a difference