It was especially awkward with my secretly crushing MC vicariously romancing Ortega through the Puppet, sad that situation never got to reach its “climax”, as it were. I am sad that the Puppet can never get intimate with Ortega, I think it would’ve been an utterly fascinating scene psychologically given how messy the Sidestep/Ortega relationship can be. The ROs are probably the best part of the game, not for the romantic content per se (although they are all quite sweet, in their own ways), but rather how utterly fucked the situations can get when you are romancing multiple people across multiple identities except you’re still the same person. Every permutation plays on the main themes of the game in fascinating ways, can’t wait for it to be followed up. I honestly can’t say I know what endstate is my favorite, which I find a rarity in interactive fiction. In particular the way your identities pile on top of each other is masterfully executed, coming to a head at the end of Retribution when everything falls apart. The delightfully thorny questions of identity that run through everything are just an utter treat to play with, and how they can be permutated and reanalyzed through multiple playthroughs simply doesn’t get old. Back when Rebirth came out I played the demo and passed it up after not being particularly grabbed, and I have to say that was a huge mistake. After finally playing both Rebirth and this, I have to say I’m kicking myself for not giving the series a chance sooner.
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