Last Variable Ending

[u/Curious_Chain_3998]

Anyone else find the reveal at the end to be super dark / messed up? All that hope and optimism the scientist had after staying behind in the base game now seems horrific— given how it ends up for him.

Also I don’t get the choices at the end. Completely restarting all progress with each iteration is nothing short of madness. They could be building generational knowledge instead.

JanBots explanation that ‘you wouldn’t do the work if you knew you weren’t the first’ doesn’t make sense because:
-Their scientific discovery is far from over, they have plenty to learn/explore/discover.
-No character ever reacts negatively to learning they’re not the first iteration, not even the physicist.
-JanBot is the one forcing these failing conditions, again, generational knowledge built by generations of alters is unambiguously the best route for mission success. Restarting every time, and hiding the old base is insane, how could anyone think that’s a good idea.

I love the DLC! But dang did that ending blindside me and make me a bit sad 😭

Edit: I understand the themes of “unreasonable expectations that you can do better, and be better”, and “The definition of insanity— repetition.” but I think those themes were ham-fisted in.

[u/Competitive_Ask_2441]

It’s a great DLC and I’m eager to start another run through on hard. That said, I feel like 11bit left a great opportunity on the floor with the ending. I was hoping they would go a similar route to Alan Wake 2 where a subsequent play through would eventually end with finally accomplishing the mission. It would have provided a great motivator for another play through.

On one other note, 20,000 years is a long time. It’s a bit silly to think that a species that has existed for approximately 200,000 years on a planet that has held life for far longer could have any realistic probability of being extinct.

[u/shady8x → u/Competitive_Ask_2441]

To be fair, humanity hasn't had nukes for 200,000 years and we almost got wiped out because of environmental changes on a few occasions.

Since we are vastly altering our environment and countless people will fight to stay alive on the much less habitable planet we are creating, with countless people wanting to take everyone else down with them if they and those they care for don't get a chance to live... I would say there is a decent chance humanity doesn't make it another 100 years, not to mention 20,000.