In Taoism culture, which was heavily used in this game, if a person commits suicide, the person will have to repeat his/her actions over and over again, unable to reincarnate, and stuck in limbo, kinda like Groundhog Day. So the game's name is called Detention.
Growing up in Buddhism and Taoism community, it's hella cool watching this gameplay when you understand and being able to pinpoint about what's going on.
WeiSen Tan How do you know she committed suicide? Did it slyly mention it or was it shown. I've watched all the 3 other parts and I didn't see anything mentioning her suicide
I think it stated a bit clearly if you get the other ending. Also from the beginning when you still play as Wei and you get to the roof for the first time, you see her jump off the roof.
What I believe happend: Coming into the school, Ray was a model student and well rounded girl until misfortune struck her family. Her father began cheating on her mother, which left their family broken and in pain. As a means of escape, Ray confided into her counselor, Mr. Chang, as a way of relief from the anger she felt. After sometime, they fell in love with one another through shared ideas or views. Meanwhile, Mr. Chang supplied illegal books to a bookclub that Ms. Yin ran as a means of resistance. When Ms. Yin caught word of Chang/Ray, she feared for the students and what would become of them if Ray decided to turn on them. She confronted Mr. Chang with this fear without knowing that Ray lay in wait listening. Ray took the conversation as realtionship between Chang/Yin. Filling her with rage, she quickly set to work to get rid of the woman who was stealing her happiness. Finding the reading list in Ms. Yin's desk, Ray turned it over to Instructor Bai in hopes of getting Ms. Yin out of the picture. It was the smoking gun (😉) she needed to go back to her happy kife with Mr. Chang. Sadly, poor Ray's mind was clouded with such anger that she did not know that her beloved Chang was the man supplying the books to the book club. She had unknowningly and unintentionally sent him to his death. He was caught and sentenced to death while her friends (Wei and the the others) were put to rot away in jail. Ms. Yin fleed and Ray was left behind with no joy or means of escape. Rattled with grief and regret, Ray climbed to the top of the school building and hurled herself off the roof. (Why we see a shadow of her jump and the news article about her jumping.) Now her spirit roams the last remaining pieces of the school soon to be torn down now that martial law has been lifted. We see her stuck in an eternal purgatory, reliving her hellish existance over and over again. Never to find relief or some means of passing on. Wei returns to the school to remember and regret. He wonders what could have been and what wasn't every going to be regained. 15 years of his life taken from a small piece of paper and an unknowning little girl, full of spite. He sits at his old desk, now an aged man without every knowing that the one who started all this set across from him. We end the game seeing the two as they once were. Friends, comrades. Now with death seperating thing instead of a desk.
He wonders what could have been and what wasn't every going to be regained. 15 years of his life taken from a small piece of paper and an unknowning little girl, full of spite.
wasn't the book list given to ray by wei? he would've suspected ray to be the snitch (I might be making up stories as I don't remember exactly all the happenings of the game)
If you go back to play the game, there is a lot of details you can notice. I'm listing a few I thought was interesting: -In the beginning Wei found Ray's necklace in the fan, which Ray thought it was odd to find it there. But in the end (this episode itself) you can hear someone crying and a stuff being thrown. It was Ray who threw the necklace in and cry. -the closeness of the lingered, the door with talisman that she couldn't enter, having to avoid the ghost officials who escorts spirits to after life, all indicated she was already dead. - remember in the dungeon where there were puppets? On one puppet you found the token for hei bai wu chang (the pair on the door), which was a token used in death sentence; another remained tied and behind bars; one of them the door was opened and the puppet disappeared. As we can see in the end we know three people, one was sentenced to death, one was jailed, one escaped. -When you see Ray obtaining the booklist, and she confronted miss Yin, you saw one Ray covering her ears and one ray raising the gun. Very few of us noticed that in the mirror, the person killed that has a bag on the head, was flat chested. It was not miss Yin. -The end you opened the toilet stall with a note written "snitcher", you could see the same stall was opened in the beginning when you visit the toilet. After Ray was praised after the event, it was possible that she was bullied as well. I can only remember this much so far. And also, a few notes: -songs on the radios: those were banned song sang in taiwanese dialect. Not only communism, local culture was banned too. -white jade deer: It wasn't written specifically, but we can guess it was a token or keepsake for love, in chinese that is called 定情信物. It didn't have to be a white deer jade, but giving it between lovers indicate the promise of long lasting love. Jade is precious, and it is not something you gift to just anyone. I believe Jade was said to can ward evil as well. -white daphodil: the flower of Narcisus, the man who fell in love with his own shadow. This was something I read from others, that possibly Ray knew her own charm. She no doubt approached the counsellor (I was an actor from the beginning), and knew that she could get Wei to give her the booklist. -the combination lock: Before you solve the lock (hint with blood staining the carved table) on the lock was 444. 4 Is a very unlucky number in chinese since it sounds the same with death. - the red river: Ray never did crossed the river. As the old woman said at the end, she couldn't enter the afterlife. - the old woman: Meng po, the woman you would meet on the bridge crossing the afterlife bridge on the river. She was known for brewing soup that you drink, that let you forget everything in your past life, but in this case she was more of a guard of escort. -Back to school: The chinese name for this game means coming back to school. It could be Ray coming back to the school over and over in memory of her sins, and also Wei coming back to the school for the last look.
sae osthavula I know it's been 2 months and this comment is late, but I had suspicions on the old lady in the end. So if what she said was true, does that really mean Ray never was able to achieve afterlife? That makes the good ending seemingly depressing. I wonder if the ending scene of Ray sitting with Wei has something to say.
CeloHunter hmm, that is the 'limbo' that they are referring to, Im not sure about thr 100 times though. I did heard of 百年轮回 which means 100 years, and it talks about reincarnation, not sure if it is related.
Everything about this storyline is bittersweet. Wei is freed, but can never get back the years of his life lost due to Ray's betrayal and Ray is stuck in an endless purgatory for the decision that ultimately ruined the lives of the people who cared about her.
Okay. Here is what I can piece together...I think Ray and that Councilor guy had a little....Relationship going. Hence "White Deer to MY White Daffodil." and Ms. Yin saying "Caught in your little Romance" to him. Because life was shit back home for her, Ray confided in him and they soon saw similarities in thought and I guess fell in love? But Ms. Yin interfered and that pissed Ray off cuz he was her only source of happiness. So she told Instructor Bai about the illegal book club thinking it would only hurt Ms. Yin, but little did she know, he was supplying said books. Also, I think the list being a gun in that one part symbolizes Ray's anger and her wanting to kill Ms. Yin. (Dont quote me, but when Ms. Yin said "you forgot about us" I think she and the councilor guy were a thing or by "us" she meant the book club.) Here is my question though: What happened to Ray the past 15 years? Was this all her just reliving the guilt? Was the Typhoon real? This left me with more questions than answers. It was still good though :)
Kaori Nishidake I believe in her guilt, Ray killed herself, hence why at the end she's a teenage ghost. Also In the note written by Wei, it mentions an unmarked grave. Im thinking maybe she hung herself (with Wei being hung towards the beginning) but don't quote me on it. Hope this helps :)
Maddstercookiez That does make sense! Thank you~! ^w^ But here is the thing. What WAS the majority of the game? WAS it her seeing all the shit she has done? All she lost and risked? Or was it Wei seeing what she saw through her mind set? Maybe thats why it began and ended with Wei. Ray, from beyond her grave, wanted to give a now adult Wei a reasoning behind what had happened, and we saw it as Wei bur through Ray's eyes?
Kaori Nishidake I was able to find some theory online , it seems like Ray is dead this whole time..that was all her memories..either she hung herself up or jump off the roof :D
Kaori Nishidake well when Wei was walking up to the school you can hear the old lady saying that "she " couldn't go to heaven or hell so I guess Ray is stuck in limbo ... maybe Thats why its called detention. limbo is her detention
I'm so glad you got the good ending Cry! Yeah it sounds like Ray was jealous and wanted to be with Chang. She overheard Yin and Chang talking and believed they were in a relationship and wanted to get Ms Yin out of the way:( and now she greatly regrets it.
there's a ceremony to reward Ray for her "loyalty" to her country except the reward is a noose and she hangs herself (symbolysing that she really regrets what she did)
I think it was Ms.Yin who told Chang to stop seeing Ray so the book club wouldn't be compromised. Ray heard this and so she sold out the book club in her depression and anger. But her actions had consequences
_________________________ It does not matter what happened what happened, happened and that can not change, humans need to stop regretting poor choices and live with their consequences. This is why many humans disgust me with their wretched me,me,me mentality just deal with your issues and move on.
"I'm gonna shut up now" as the credits roll by. This is why I love Cry's work as a RUclipsr. Not only he is one of the most underrated editors out there (I see all those little details you put in your videos, boo) he also shows great respect for the medium of videogames, always featuring the entire credit sequences in his playthroughs. Well done, sir.
You handle these let's plays very well. A lot of other RUclipsr's are a bit disruptive during heavy games such as these which takes away from the experience. You don't create any dissonance like that when you play and I love you and your channel for that.
The main target of this game is not scaring the player, but let the players know how horrible and scary our past history 228 white terror event in Taiwan... It's not just horror game, it's a beautiful and simple way to let every one to know the history. Thank you cry, thank you for letting more people know about this history. Taiwan loves you so much cry, 台灣很愛你喔
I find "Light Wang" to be rather amusing myself (yes I have the sense of humour of a 13 year old) I know "Wang" is a rather common chinese name but really though, Light Wang? (perhaps that's just a handle rather than his actual name but if it is real though XD)
Actually, 光 (guāng) literally translates to light, so instead of leaving it in romanized pinyin, he just went ahead and used the translation for his name.
I love games like this that leave an emotional impact on you... Because at the end of it, you're able to see the situation from Wei and Ray's point of view. And you know what Ray did was wrong, but you see why she did what she did, you see how broken she was and that she just wanted something to cling to and.. You feel bad for her, especially since she's supposedly in that in-between place forever, but at the same time you look at Wei and you feel even worse for him. He and the others in the book club were innocent and absolutely did not deserve what happened to them. So then it comes back and you have to look for someone to blame. Blaming Ray feels wrong, but then who is there? The counselor? If anyone can hold blame without excuse, I think it would be him.. But he's been long dead. And he seemed to genuinely care about her? Maybe? Man. This game has me feeling things. This was such a wonderful experience. Thank you for playing this, Cry.
In short, Wei, Ms. Yin, a few students, and Mr. Chang are in a group of forbidden book club, since this is a strict era. Ray's abusive parents make her depressed, so Mr. Chang, as the counselor, tries to talk with Ray. She falls in love with Mr. Chang, but when their counseling sessions are over, he cut off their relationship completely. When Ray overheard about Mr.Chang and Ms.Yin's conversation about the book club, she misunderstood and suspect that they are in a relationship, and she got even more depressed. She asked for Wei, who used to have a crush on her, for the forbidden book club member list that Mr.Chang and Ms.Yin started. She tells the authorities out of hatred, to get a revenge for Ms. Yin who took her beloved one away from her since she thought it'll get her fired as a teacher. But instead, she ended up putting Wei in prison and leading Mr.Chang to be executed. Out of guilt, she decided to kill herself, and her spirit is now roaming around the school. I believe the grandma in the game is actually Meng Po (Thanks for those who help me ^^), a chinese mythology figure that leads spirits to reincarnation. And the old guy at the end is Wei, who finally got out of prison. All the "ghosts" we've met are actually Ray's fears and guilt forming into several figures. The good end is to symbolize the good old day, when they are still students. When everything is nice and happy, and both of them are trying to re-live and imagine those moments. But instead of happiness, the only thing left are sorrow and guilt.* *copy-pasted
I don't believe Wei had a crush on her. I agree with someone else's comment somewhere in here that they were stuck at the school during a typhoon and he told her about the book club after they bonded for a bit. Also, Mr. Chang did seem to have feelings for Ray since he tells Ms. Yin something along the lines of she doesn't understand (I'm too lazy to look up the exact line, but it was when Ray listened in on Yin and Chang's convo). He also tells her what they had was pure or something and he was happy with her when she visits him in the counselors room later during this episode.
If you don't know what's going on: Ray was a good student until problems at home come up. The father cheats and the mother sells him out to the authorities for revenge. Ray falls into depression and starts seeing the counselor Mr. Chang to deal with it. They fall in love and Ray was happy. Mrs. Yin finds out about the romance and tells Mr. Cheng to break up with her because it was dangerose for Ray with Mr. Chang involved in the secret book club. Ray hears the conversation and thinks both teachers have a relationship. After breakup she wants to get rid of Mrs. Yin to get the counselor back by leaking the book club list. The plan backfired and resulted in Mr. Chang being executed and Wei, who was a good friend to her, being imprisoned like other students, too. She can't live with the guild and commits suicide by jumping of the roof. Because she can't accept what she has done and because she can't go to the afterlife, she is stuck in an infinte loop. (At least thats what I understand.)
The real way that Ray killed herself is jumping off the roof. It was mentioned on Wei's journal and the developer team already answered as well. The hanging in auditorium are symbol of her sins that she'll repeating the same nightmare from the beginning of the game all over again. She does get a medal and praises at the auditorium after selling the book club. And this is the last string that causing her to commit suicide. Is a place where her sins dwell. Sorry for my english
No, the real death is the jump. The auditorium is where she gets a 'award' for snitching from the school - it also makes sense that the amulet is stashed where it is if you consider that she got rid of it after the 'award' and before suicide.
That was extremely sad and beautiful at the same time. Much like life and love and loss. What the developers did with this game was simply stunning! I'm so glad you got to play this and we could join you on this journey!
Wow! The gameplay, symbolism and story line were all very well done indeed. The game and story were very powerful and impactful. Imagine. Ray, who wanted nothing more for herself to be free, spurred by a counselor, turned in those who also wanted to be free out of jealousy and spite. There were so many great themes in this game. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed watching Cry go through it.
8 лет назад+26
Barred from the heavens and hampered from the underworld. Alone and wondering forever she goes... Pitiful. Sad and maybe even a little mean spirited, but I found something kind of beautiful about what she said. Great game. Great playthrough!
Alright time to put my own analysis on this. So I'm pretty sure like, 99% of the peeps out there already know the story but I still feel like putting my own thoughts and theories here. So hope you don't mind if I miss anything or get things wrong. It's gonna be pretty lengthy so maybe have a drink or a snack nearby. I'm going to start at the very beginning, and according to the timeline as well. So at first, Ray(it weirds me out spelling it like that, cause normally you'd spell it like 'rui', just throwing it out there) led a pretty normal life during her time in high school, and her family was still stable. She was praised and admired by her peers and teachers, and got a lot of attention. But then her dad cheated on her mom by going out to see other women(most likely prostitutes?)and her mother was really depressed, but didn't know what to do about it. Her dad also drank a lot, which resulted in a lot of arguments in the household(the cutscene with the furniture being thrown about), and their family gradually became less and less happy. During this time period, I assume that her peers and teachers caught wind of it, and they started to think less of her. Because of that, she went to get counseling with Mr. Chang, and they fell in love. A little tidbit here is that the colourful goldfish at the movie area symbolizes love, meaning she fell in love with Mr. Chang, and the grey, decaying goldfish at the teacher's office meant that her heart broke because he rejected her. Before the rejection, her mother saw an ad about catching cheaters, and called the PI to catch her husband. They succeeded and Ray's father was taken away. The household has calmed down a lot more though her mother was still very bitter. Now the reason behind this rejection, is because Ms. Yin found out.(it may or may not be due to the reason her family has calmed down now, and there was no use for further counseling) In that period of time where Martial Law was implemented, these kinds of things were strictly prohibited. So Ms. Yin, who was collaborating with Mr. Chang to manage a book club, got worried that he'd get too infatuated to take care of the book club properly. Or maybe she was afraid Ray would eventually find out about the book club and possibly rat them out. There are many possibilities, but the most important thing here is that she was worried. But at that moment, Ray was listening in on them, and she thought that "being on the same boat" meant that they were in love, and that Ms. Yin was getting in her way of her freedom to love. So she learnt about Wei being in the book club(he possibly approached her about it) she decided to use him to get a book list so that she's able to rat them out.(It is also believed that Wei had a crush on Ray, judging by his actions) Originally she just wanted to frame Ms. Yin, but she was so blinded by her emotions that she brought the whole club down, including her beloved Mr. Chang. Instead of what she wanted, which was harming Ms. Yin, Mr. Chang was sentenced to death and all the club members were sent to jail. Ms. Yin also escaped and went abroad, which probably added insult to injury to Ray. At that point in time, all the students who knew about that event was also bullying her, calling her a "snitcher".(The note on the toilet door and the words on the blackboard) And even though Instructor Bai praised her and she was seen as patriotic, she couldn't live on with the guilt and all the bullying going on. Thus she decided to commit suicide and jumped off the roof(evidence in the note that Wei wrote and the cutscene where we see her jumping off the roof) Many people thought that she hung herself to death because of the "normal" ending, but that's actually her killing herself for the second time and repeating the game again. Because in Taoism culture, if you commit suicide you're forced to go into a purgatory state and re-live your actions again and again. Now for the symbolism, at the start of the game when Wei died, it was Ray's subconscious thinking that she killed him because of her actions. I feel like they were genuinely friends at first, and she regretted getting him into this mess. Little did she know, he was actually alive in jail. That's why in the true end, when she finally sees Wei, now an old man, she lets go of her guilt and regret and she can finally go to heaven and rest in peace. More symbolism/tidbits : -The booklist turning into a gun symbolizes how even a simple piece of paper can cause a lot of hurt to people. ((In the Chinese ver, Ms. Yin described as "It's just white paper and black words, but it resulted in my death, his death, everyone's death")) -The giant monster was probably symbolism of how she was afraid of confronting her past, seeing as it was right before you tried to get into the into the counseling room, where she spent most of her time with her beloved teacher. -The shadow-Ray is probably a reflection of herself who has already accepted her guilt, and if you haven't noticed the game itself also relies on mirrors to tell the story. -Remember the heavy clang you hear in the vents? That's Ray throwing her necklace into the vent before she committed suicide, hence why Wei found it there earlier in the game. I guess she just wanted to be free of her past. -The three figures in the underground cells each represent Mr. Chang, Wei and Ms. Yin. -The clapping people in the hall is probably a distant memory of the past, when Ray was still admired. She probably knew how to play the piano very well. -The puppet show was to symbolize the policemen getting to Mr. Chang.(Pretty obvious, I know) ((Feel free to comment if I missed anything out)) But yeah time for my thoughts!! I can't help but love this game so much, and I'm surprised that it got so popular with the western side of RUclips. I'm Chinese(though not Taiwanese) so I'm so proud they managed to make a game that spread world wide. Well, part of it is because it has English subtitles, of course. The translation was not sloppy at all, in fact, even the poems were translated really well. I love everything about this game, the art style is simply gorgeous! Also the fact that it reminded me of The Cat Lady a lot. What with all the black and white and side-scrolling. The sound design is amazing as well, I really loved it. But the most important part is the story and how they bring in so much of our culture and lore, it's really amazing. A great way to learn about a big part of Taiwan's history as well. Martial law really sucks. This is really just a great and solid game, I really look forward to see how much more they can produce!!
Rebecca MetroStory thanks for your thoughts. westerners do appreciate beauty, despite what you may have heard. one thing we do love is a story well told. voices like your own help to educate others. it was appreciated. it enhances and enriches this wonderful tale. thank you again for taking the time to help others understand.
I'm so happy that cry is playing this kind of games again. I missed this games so bad. I love this games with some great story. Please cry play more of this games
This game gets a 10/10 from me. It's just amazing, the atmosphere, story, characters, art style, soundtrack are all great. It really got me immersed with it's story and made me wanting to find out more about what's going on. The game also captures that dark feeling of living under martial law, which in this case lasted for a whooping 38 years. It has one of those stories where you have to piece together the clues to get the full picture, when you do, it will shock you. I want more games like this, 2D or 3D.
It's times like these that make me realize that Cry is still the same Cry that I subscribed to years ago. Nowadays I come across many comments bashing him but I fail to agree with those people. Cry was, is, and will continue to be a great dude that I hope to have in some aspect of my life. You da real one Cry
Thanks for the great series Cry, this game is so beautiful and terribly sad at the same time. All of the symbolism that they used to tell her story is superbly done, even if it is a little confusing at first. This really highlights the problems of what went on back then and it did it with such a unique and culturally filled way. You're the best boo, and kudos to the creators of this game too
This game really has a lot of symbolic and hidden meanings. As far I see, the gold fishes that appeared repeated in the game was a symbol for freedom and liberty in Buddhism(I think). You can see that during the scene where Ray and Mr. Chang was hanging out in the movie theater, signifying the idea of Liberty and love between them. Detention has the meaning of "back to school" in Chinese (someone said that earlier) and it also has the meaning of "detained, restricted". These really hinted that Ray was stuck in the school due to guilt and suicide(another Buddhist belief mentioned in the comment).
Also, the blood river we've seen in the first episode was another belief that the dead have to cross the Forgiven Bridge or Alternative Bridge (not sure what's the English translation). Ones with good deeds shall pass with aid from deities, the bad drowns in the river and gets tortured. The broken bridge signified that Ray wasn't allowed to pass the bridge due to suicide therefore could not move on to afterlife.
Also not sure if everyone picked up, I personally think Ray wasn't aware at first that Mr.Chang was in the club. She was mislead at that one part in the flashback memory, someone or Ray said "Mr.Chang has nothing to do with the book club right? He is not in none of this." I think that was suppose to be a promise that everyone make to not drag Mr. Chang in, but instead Ray really believed it. Talking about that, She also misinterpret the conversation between Ms.Yin and Mr. Chang (that one peek a boo listening at door scene) Ms. yin said about the business between her and Mr. Chang "us". Ray thought they had something, but Ms. yin was talking about the book club. So ya, Ray reported book club= everyone go bam bam, and so was Mr.Chang.
And I thought I knew majority of the game! The more you know. By the way, what do you think on the purpose of making the player play Wei as the first character? Couldn't we have just started with Ray, fell asleep in class and woke up? What was the typhoon in the beginning suppose to represent? And do you think Wei was in love with Ray, that's why he willingly gave the booklist to Ray? Sorry had to ask.
DindonPoo I suspect it might be because Wei is the only one who survived through all of this also it's showing the story through the side of the person on the book club and the tattletail. (Rey killed herself, Ms. Ying died of lung cancer and the counselor was tortured and hanged). Besides you've got to admit it makes a nice loop as previously mentioned (Rey is stuck in purgatory since she can't cross the bridge because she suicided) having Wei go back to school as mentioned by the title.
I love how Cry does his let's play, he talks when he has to and is funny and shuts up and enjoy the game that he's playing and is respectful, I really apreciate that
I really enjoyed this playthrough. I love watching certain games on your channel, cry, before I make a purchase because your videos are in my opinion the most honest and well-laid-out playthroughs on youtube. Every time there's a game I want to check out, I go to you. And I've even purchased games i've never heard of because I enjoyed your playthrough so much. I've been with you since you played Which and I've enjoyed watching you grow, but never change. Keep doing you, man
Wow, this was a trip.. The symbolism and all the little details of this game, the way that the story is presented and slowly unwrapped... The atmosphere, the-... It was such a good game. Cry, thank you for another amazing play-through :') Seeing as Cry apparently got the good end, I feel like I have to watch the bad ending now, too. Off we go
From what I can tell, Ray feels guilt over causing the deaths and imprisonment of so many innocent people. As a result, she killed herself (when you see that girl jump off, it's her). Her own version of hell is reliving those events, which is why you can see different versions of her repeating the cycle. You seem to have gotten the "good" ending, where she sees Wei one last time, and is finally able to pass on. Or that's my interpretation anyway.
thefruitsong I'm seeing from multiple people that she can't pass on and will be forever stuck in a loop, sadly. There are multiple things that hint it throughout the game :/
my fave part is from 26:25, cry's soothing voice unravelling wei's suffering through the years with the ambient music is so heartbreaking. especially that one line, where his voice is raw with emotions on the words "it doesn't matter what i was feeling back then, only pain and sadness remains". hauntingly beautiful
It was a gorgous metaphor. They repeat several elements- The jade deer, the dandelion (the flower you first pick and sacrificed), Wei himself. it... was just amazing. thank you for playing.
That was fucking amazing. Maybe I'm just way too used to metaphorical bullshit, but I pretty much figured out what was going on somewhere during part 2. She turned in the list because Ms. Yin didn't want Ray and the counselor together. That's also what the whole 'blood of the innocent' thing was about. Wei was in the book club, so when she reported it, he was also 'killed,' metaphorically speaking. I also feel like the note that had the poem was referring to Ray committing suicide in order to escape her life and also to be with the counselor. During the whole game, she was one of the lingered, and reliving fragments of her life that drove her to her sins.
This is my first time comment on gaming video, don't get me wrong, i love watching horror gameplay, but most of the time I just have nothing to say. However, this game is incredible done. It reminds me a lot about my family history. Probably because I'm relate to the history, so I can understand more of the characters' emotion. My granddad was born in the same time period as Ray and Wei. He was killed by the government because he studied left-wings books and joined the communist. My dad is the youngest of the family, he has no memories about my granddad. He said the only thing he remember is that my grandma used to bring food and cloth to jail, and came home with tears. No one informed my grandma about the date of execution. When she realized my granddad was dead, she ran to the execution ground, and found the body in a cement barrel. Anyway, I'm glad that someone made a game about our own history. Also, I would like to say thank you, cry, for playing and sharing this game.
This game is so fucking tragic. It's not even "sad" it's just so emptily hopelessly tragic. holy shit. Good game. Good game. It makes me want to pick up where I left off reading Tezuka's "Adolf". A thousand kudos to the game developers for making a game with such heavy themes and somehow incorporating both wider themes of politics and making it very personal and emotional at the same time, and tying the two together so well as they don't stand separate from each other. Now I'm gonna go lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling for the next 12 years.
Man such a beautiful game with an amazing tragic story. Reading people's thoughts and theories and insights into the culture, it really helps appreciate all of the symbolism and more poetic parts. So good. I hope to see more from this developer.
This is my type of game. Something that makes you think, something that changes your life. The meaning I get from this game is simple, life is full of decisions, some we love, some we regret, but in the end life is cold, what we built is sure to fall, nothing is guaranteed, so enjoy it while you can. (I already knew this, but it's surely craved deeper into the stone I call my mind)
I like how we are just observers taken along on this literal guilt trip. That feeling of piecing together the puzzle of what might have happened is really nice. Everything was implicit, damn that was a good narrative. It felt like reading a great short story.
The relief I felt when he didn't end up on the roof to meet the same fate as Ray. Wow. Emotional ending though. I'm so sad none of them deserved to go to jail. They were just kids who wanted to read books. And yet I'm not mad at Ray either I feel very bad for her as she's trapped forever but if only she did not give them the list.
Shit, I adore how this emphasized the story of each character with the opposing story. Like Wei's story felt so crystal clear even though Ray was focused on. Gosh. And the fact that, afaik, every horror element was just a metaphor for what a dark place Ray was in. Dang!
This game is definitely worth a second round, then you will find out how clever the developers put all the hints and metaphors in the context and scenes you might not notice in the first round.
wow, i am really impressed with this game in how they've combined history, culture and religious beliefs together. games should be more like this one so, when you reach the ending you walk away with not only a good story but also a few more things that you didn't know before. that is an elegant way of promoting awareness and learning.
IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THIS PLAY THROUGH DO NOT READ: That ending was super good. I didn't know how I would feel about watching this but it ended up being amazing. The ending was a little confusing but I think I understood. I think Ray turned the names after the one teacher that she loved rejected her. So in a way that was her payback. After that happened I think Ray was conflicted with guilt that she jumped off the roof of the building as we saw in the beginning of the game where we saw a girl jump off the school when we were following her. Ray was reliving some of her past and she's stuck living it over and over again because she is in some type of purgatory. When we saw the old lady in the end talking in the beginning that same old lady was saying the same things but we were in Ray's upside-down world so connecting to what I said earlier, she will never seem to get out of it. I think the person that we saw walking in the end (the old man) was Wei since he actually lived in the end. I though it was the one teacher she had some type of affair with but he was killed. So there is my thoughts, let me know what you think Cry!!!!
Ray actually was trying to get at Ms.Yin, the teacher who found out she was in a relationship with one of the teachers(the counselor). Her turning the book club in was her way at getting back at the teacher, Ms.Yin, little did she know that the supplier of the books for the book club was the counselor. Having framed her lover on accident she then kills her self as you say.
Marlon Gomes I don't think Ms. Yin was in a relationship with the counselor. 'Cause in one part of the game, Ray peeks through a door and overhears Ms. Yin talking to him saying stuff like, don't wrap your arms around her...it'll end us (the book club) I think Ray misinterpreted that as a relationship because she asks Wei if they were together.
Man this game was quite sad but also good. The unfolding story was enthralling and the scenery changes inbetween the different "worlds" was also quite amazing. I'm really glad that in this day and age we don't have this "martial law" against books or I'd be breaking them so hard! No one will keep me from my precious fantasies! >3
At the beginning it was kinda hard to understand but I really got emotional after I got the idea of the game. Thanks for the gameplay, Cry! My computer broke and I cannot play anymore, watching your gameplays helps me a lot!
If anyone is interested in the music that Old Wei was playing and the one which Cry played to solve to the puppet in the birdcage puzzle, the song is called 雨夜花 (lit flowers in a rainy night) by Teng Yu-hsien, one of the famous taiwanese folk songs that were banned during the martial law period. The songs on the radio were also composed by the same person and banned.
Cry thanks for choosing games according to your interests, and playing them humorously and seriously at the same time. A skill you have ;) Appreciate all these series. Moving on to the next now. hehe.
I bought the game after seeing your first video and played a bit ahead of you on Steam after that. I'm happy that you also got the same ending, I really loved this game, thanks for playing it Cry. 😊
Wow......this story was deeper than I originally thought it would be when you started this out. Loved listening to you narrate this, although I'm sure you get that a lot. Good playlist Cry :)
idk if this is creepy but sometimes i just put on one of crys videos before i go to bed just because his voice is so calm and comforting and it soothes me to sleep? yeah he'd probably be concerned if he read this lol
Sadie Rae He wouldn't be concerned :) he'd be happy because he's helping someone, Regardless of his voice...Everyone feels safe (sort of speak) while he's talking....If anything. He should be proud of how many people he helps
+Lady J. I dont think so, since the game seemed to challenge the idea that people judge Ray and Chang's relationship due their age. There didn't seem to have any sexual meaning in their relationship's portrayal as well.
Yes, as a person living in Taiwan I always see some graffiti theme around sex. For example in the game there is graffiti of Dick butt, the word 打手槍 ethier means shooting with a pistol or jerking off, the charter 幹 mostly means FUCK when in single use, the word 徵女友means girl friend wanted. And in Taiwan gang members or people who are just bad shit crazy likes to hide in ruins to avoid police. It make sense for them to put these dirty suff in a abandon school. So yes it does say rape on the wall.
Wow... I really didn't expect all of that.When I began the serie, I just thougt it was a horror game with some interesting background (since I don't know much about Taiwanese culture and history) . But it's so much more than that. Thanks for playing this game, Cry. And thanks to the people who explain a little bit the taoist things used there. Great game, great ending, great let's play.
Cry, my friend. The White Terror lasted for 38 years, until 1987. In that time, the martial law was always in effect. A very sad period in history and this is based on that.
This was amazing! Another example good horror games don't need only great graphics but a good story. Love your LPS since a long time ago. That voice of yours helped me through rough times. Please if you can play Resident Evil 7! You're gonna love it, filled with pink unicorns everywhere! Wish you the best!
Such great story. And I loved someone explained the title. I mean, indeed I got the fact she is trapped and needs to keep living for the guilty but never thought that could use for the name of the game. I loved how they told the story, and the end is so sad. True what he says :/ how many people hadn't lost their years just for those ideals? Thanks a lot for showing this awesome game
Thank you Cry for playing this game completely. I love this! And I saw my friends' fanarts here! I feel so glad for them. They must be excited for this, and they really do the great jobs 😊 Have a nice day!
That was hella artistic and an excellent way of storytelling. I wasn't too keen on watching this at episode one just because I was so confused, but I'm really glad I stuck around.
Theory: Rei sold them out because of all the problems she had, and she thought that by selling them out something would finally make her life turn around. However, it didn't and her life only got worst. Unable to deal with the pain and suffering, she ended her own life in the school auditorium. I think the game is about Rei's endless journey as a ghost who is trying to redeem herself.
purelight Mmm.. from other comments, Ray sold them out because she thought it would affect only Ms. Yin. She had overhead Ms. Yin and Mr. Chang talking, and it sounded as if they were in a relationship too. But what Ms. Yin meant was they were also in an illegal situation and Mr. Chang was putting himself in two. And since she loved Mr. Chang, she wanted to get revenge on Ms. Yin since she ruined their relationship. So she told. But then Wei was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Mr. Chang was executed. She committed suicide because she felt guilty for putting a good friend in prison and killing her loved one. And her family was messed up, I think. She's reliving her guilt because apparently this game revolves around Taoism culture and in Taoism culture, when someone commits suicide, they don't go to heaven or hell, they are stuck in a purgatory kind of state.
Glad to see you got the good ending! There's a bad ending that I think is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already. Thanks, Cry, for showing off a really great indie game!
let them do the next silent hill game please. just saying. and thank you cry for play this beautiful game. love the story so much though its so sad at the same time
I thought this was a great game, my sister and I spoke last night about our thoughts on the plot and it just enforced my love of this and how deep rooted everything was. Phenomenal.
Ray is just a spirit reliving her last few days. Mr. Chang & Ray had a relationship until Ms. Yin found out about them & wanted him to stop because they were in enough danger with him supplying the blacklisted books for her club. Ray found out Yin made Chang break up with her & wants to get back at her by snitching about the book club. Ray didn't know Chang was supplying the books. When she found out he would be killed, she jumped off the roof. That's why her spirit lingers at the school.
I can't believe how much I learned about Taiwanese culture through a video game like this, not to mention gaining some basic knowledge on Taoism. This game is so beautifully designed. I swear Cry always picks the best games to play!!
Well fuck that was sad. My sweet popcorn has turned salty. Damn it Ray. Damn it Cry! All I wanted to do was have happy fun times! And now I am sad and reflective and mourning for lives lost.
That was a beautiful game. They told that story in such an incredible way. After reading through many of the theories I feel like I understand the story better and what a thought provoking tale it was. Many thanks Cry for a riveting playthrough.
**SPOILER, DO NOT LOOK IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE VIDEO** Cry, I think what happened was this. Ray, the female, was a smart girl who had a good family. But then her father began having an affair, and got involved with peeps he shouldn't have messed with, and he became a drunk and her family life fell apart. Because of her intelligence and desires to be a woman of her own path, she catches the attention of our Counselor. She falls in love with him (who also seems to have loved her in return as evident by him referencing that he too was a daffodil and all that), but Ms. Yin and the Counselor are also in a relationship, and she finds out about it. Ms. Yin confronts him, and basically tells him to break it off. So he does, leaving Ray heartbroken. What both aren't aware of, though, is that Ray overheard the conversation, and becomes bitter and spiteful towards Ms. Yin, who she blames for losing the one good thing she had in her life. So to get back at Ms. Yin she convinces Wei, a boy that liked her, to let her have the book list under the pretense that she too wants to be part of the book club Ms. Yin was running (the cutscene with Wei giving Ray the list). But instead, she turns the list over, not really realizing the consequences of it (why the blood stained movie was titled snitch). She assumed Ms. Yin would get fired, but she discovers quickly that her actions actually killed the man she loved, and send her friend and other classmates to jail for at the time was indefinitely...and yet the one person she'd wanted to exact revenge on, Ms. Yin, got away. Devastated, she commits suicide by jumping off the roof of the school (which is what the letter by Wei was talking about, the unmarked grave is hers; as well as the scene when Ray is on the roof and sees a copy of herself falling off), which in their culture is taboo punishable by your spirit forever being in limbo, unable to move on (what the old woman is referencing to when Wei passes her on his way to the school at the end). And though Wei knows it was her that did it, he doesn't hold it against her, and was heartbroken to learn that she had killed herself. And so finally freed, he goes back to the last place they spoke, to relive his memories of her (the final scene) before the school is demolished.
Beautiful game with a touching, tragic story. I am looking forward to seeing more from these developers. The story, music, and visuals, absolutely stunning. I believe I have a good grasp on the story, and wow. Thank you for playing as always Cry.
Probably one of my favourite stories as of late. It was definitely a wonderful thing to relax to, and unwind with. Only wish it was a bit longer, but ah well. I hope to see more from this studio too :D
to quote another comment on this video, In Taoism culture, which was heavily used in this game, if a person commits suicide, the person will have to repeat his/her actions over and over again, unable to reincarnate
Sandra Niedzielska But Ray doesn't just regret sending Wei to the prison, she also regrets killing Mr. Chang, maybe she also regrets making Ms. Yin had to flee the country, not to mention the other students in Book Club. So, yeah, her guilt is too big than that. Looks like she will spend eternity in the loop ;-;
Basically, yeah. Unable to reincarnate, she is stuck in the endless loop forever. This is why the game was called "Detention". It was an eternal detention to make up for her sins in the afterlife.
It's sad to know that, especially as Wei might won't be able to visit much longer since it appears that there's a plan for construction of real estate at the school's site.
god this was really well done! Putting aside the story, I appreciated the fact that they set this game based on a historical event which I didn't know well of, as well as putting many cultural items in there.
What a beautiful game! Ray was already losing her family and then she lost her love of interest, who took her pain away, the counselor. Ms Yin stopped the affair and Rei got upset. Ray snitched on everyone and it backed fired. Ray killed herself and repeats everything over and over because she feels guilty. And Wei survived but lost everything in the end. GREAT GAME PLAY CRY ❤❤❤
Watching your playthrough of Detention after watching the Netflix adaptation (last 2 chapters tomorrow) - man, this explains A LOT! Merry Christmas and thanks for all your videos!
Ray sold out the book club because Ms. Yin, the coordinator for the book club, told the counselor to stop meeting with Ray, from what I understand. I'll be damned if that wasn't a sad ending though.
Commie Doggo The thought of Ray roaming around in a depressing and dark realm, repeating the guilt trip scenes, in a loop after death is depressing. She could not move on and go to heaven. This concept was also used in Hayao Miyazaki's movie, "The Grave of Fireflies".
Wow. That was spectacular. I'm happy at least their relationship actually seemed mutual. He gave her a nice necklace. When Yin confronts Chang he wasn't ashamed, seemed like he respected Ray... Especially that monologue during his arrest!! Although why exactly he decided to turn around on that...? I guess to avoid suspicion? Or maybe thought since she was getting better mentally, didn't need to rely on him anymore..? But he was like her main source of happiness ;A; I'm glad Wei lived, although damaged...
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In Taoism culture, which was heavily used in this game, if a person commits suicide, the person will have to repeat his/her actions over and over again, unable to reincarnate, and stuck in limbo, kinda like Groundhog Day. So the game's name is called Detention.
That´s very clever. Thank you for elucidating it for me. Until that, I thought the guy was the one thinking about her actions.
And the Chinese name "返校" means "Back to school", which is what Wei did in the end.
Growing up in Buddhism and Taoism community, it's hella cool watching this gameplay when you understand and being able to pinpoint about what's going on.
WeiSen Tan How do you know she committed suicide? Did it slyly mention it or was it shown. I've watched all the 3 other parts and I didn't see anything mentioning her suicide
I think it stated a bit clearly if you get the other ending. Also from the beginning when you still play as Wei and you get to the roof for the first time, you see her jump off the roof.
What I believe happend:
Coming into the school, Ray was a model student and well rounded girl until misfortune struck her family. Her father began cheating on her mother, which left their family broken and in pain. As a means of escape, Ray confided into her counselor, Mr. Chang, as a way of relief from the anger she felt. After sometime, they fell in love with one another through shared ideas or views. Meanwhile, Mr. Chang supplied illegal books to a bookclub that Ms. Yin ran as a means of resistance. When Ms. Yin caught word of Chang/Ray, she feared for the students and what would become of them if Ray decided to turn on them. She confronted Mr. Chang with this fear without knowing that Ray lay in wait listening. Ray took the conversation as realtionship between Chang/Yin. Filling her with rage, she quickly set to work to get rid of the woman who was stealing her happiness. Finding the reading list in Ms. Yin's desk, Ray turned it over to Instructor Bai in hopes of getting Ms. Yin out of the picture. It was the smoking gun (😉) she needed to go back to her happy kife with Mr. Chang. Sadly, poor Ray's mind was clouded with such anger that she did not know that her beloved Chang was the man supplying the books to the book club. She had unknowningly and unintentionally sent him to his death. He was caught and sentenced to death while her friends (Wei and the the others) were put to rot away in jail. Ms. Yin fleed and Ray was left behind with no joy or means of escape. Rattled with grief and regret, Ray climbed to the top of the school building and hurled herself off the roof. (Why we see a shadow of her jump and the news article about her jumping.)
Now her spirit roams the last remaining pieces of the school soon to be torn down now that martial law has been lifted. We see her stuck in an eternal purgatory, reliving her hellish existance over and over again. Never to find relief or some means of passing on.
Wei returns to the school to remember and regret. He wonders what could have been and what wasn't every going to be regained. 15 years of his life taken from a small piece of paper and an unknowning little girl, full of spite.
He sits at his old desk, now an aged man without every knowing that the one who started all this set across from him. We end the game seeing the two as they once were. Friends, comrades. Now with death seperating thing instead of a desk.
what was that small piece of paper?
Which one? There's alot of pieces of paper.
He wonders what could have been and what wasn't every going to be regained. 15 years of his life taken from a small piece of paper and an unknowning little girl, full of spite.
The paper is the illegal book reading list. It was written on a piece of paper.
wasn't the book list given to ray by wei? he would've suspected ray to be the snitch (I might be making up stories as I don't remember exactly all the happenings of the game)
Rich with culture and history. Need more games like this.
ElectricFan91 Second that!
ElectricFan91 So true!!😊
Rose Stone Maybe it's banned in China I think...
Rose Stone Well a lot of schools in America have courses for Europe...and that's pretty much it.
Yeah, I went through that. I like the myth, culture, history and stories of the game. Not pleased with the game itself though.
If you go back to play the game, there is a lot of details you can notice. I'm listing a few I thought was interesting:
-In the beginning Wei found Ray's necklace in the fan, which Ray thought it was odd to find it there. But in the end (this episode itself) you can hear someone crying and a stuff being thrown. It was Ray who threw the necklace in and cry.
-the closeness of the lingered, the door with talisman that she couldn't enter, having to avoid the ghost officials who escorts spirits to after life, all indicated she was already dead.
- remember in the dungeon where there were puppets? On one puppet you found the token for hei bai wu chang (the pair on the door), which was a token used in death sentence; another remained tied and behind bars; one of them the door was opened and the puppet disappeared. As we can see in the end we know three people, one was sentenced to death, one was jailed, one escaped.
-When you see Ray obtaining the booklist, and she confronted miss Yin, you saw one Ray covering her ears and one ray raising the gun. Very few of us noticed that in the mirror, the person killed that has a bag on the head, was flat chested. It was not miss Yin.
-The end you opened the toilet stall with a note written "snitcher", you could see the same stall was opened in the beginning when you visit the toilet. After Ray was praised after the event, it was possible that she was bullied as well.
I can only remember this much so far. And also, a few notes:
-songs on the radios: those were banned song sang in taiwanese dialect. Not only communism, local culture was banned too.
-white jade deer: It wasn't written specifically, but we can guess it was a token or keepsake for love, in chinese that is called 定情信物. It didn't have to be a white deer jade, but giving it between lovers indicate the promise of long lasting love. Jade is precious, and it is not something you gift to just anyone. I believe Jade was said to can ward evil as well.
-white daphodil: the flower of Narcisus, the man who fell in love with his own shadow. This was something I read from others, that possibly Ray knew her own charm. She no doubt approached the counsellor (I was an actor from the beginning), and knew that she could get Wei to give her the booklist.
-the combination lock: Before you solve the lock (hint with blood staining the carved table) on the lock was 444. 4 Is a very unlucky number in chinese since it sounds the same with death.
- the red river: Ray never did crossed the river. As the old woman said at the end, she couldn't enter the afterlife.
- the old woman: Meng po, the woman you would meet on the bridge crossing the afterlife bridge on the river. She was known for brewing soup that you drink, that let you forget everything in your past life, but in this case she was more of a guard of escort.
-Back to school: The chinese name for this game means coming back to school. It could be Ray coming back to the school over and over in memory of her sins, and also Wei coming back to the school for the last look.
Well that explains a lot. Thank you!
sae osthavula I know it's been 2 months and this comment is late, but I had suspicions on the old lady in the end. So if what she said was true, does that really mean Ray never was able to achieve afterlife? That makes the good ending seemingly depressing. I wonder if the ending scene of Ray sitting with Wei has something to say.
CeloHunter hmm, that is the 'limbo' that they are referring to, Im not sure about thr 100 times though. I did heard of 百年轮回 which means 100 years, and it talks about reincarnation, not sure if it is related.
are you a Chinese?
Everything about this storyline is bittersweet. Wei is freed, but can never get back the years of his life lost due to Ray's betrayal and Ray is stuck in an endless purgatory for the decision that ultimately ruined the lives of the people who cared about her.
I wouldn't say it was bittersweet as it was way too bitter.
the sweetness is almost non existent
xJellySodax It's existential dread, our favourite way to feel bad.
xJellySodax It's what she deserves after what she did to those people I hope she never finds peace.
Most petty game I have ever played
Jose Guardiola I mean what she did was very bad, but I get it. I do believe she deserves peace though.
Okay. Here is what I can piece together...I think Ray and that Councilor guy had a little....Relationship going. Hence "White Deer to MY White Daffodil." and Ms. Yin saying "Caught in your little Romance" to him. Because life was shit back home for her, Ray confided in him and they soon saw similarities in thought and I guess fell in love? But Ms. Yin interfered and that pissed Ray off cuz he was her only source of happiness. So she told Instructor Bai about the illegal book club thinking it would only hurt Ms. Yin, but little did she know, he was supplying said books. Also, I think the list being a gun in that one part symbolizes Ray's anger and her wanting to kill Ms. Yin. (Dont quote me, but when Ms. Yin said "you forgot about us" I think she and the councilor guy were a thing or by "us" she meant the book club.)
Here is my question though: What happened to Ray the past 15 years? Was this all her just reliving the guilt? Was the Typhoon real? This left me with more questions than answers. It was still good though :)
Kaori Nishidake I believe in her guilt, Ray killed herself, hence why at the end she's a teenage ghost. Also In the note written by Wei, it mentions an unmarked grave. Im thinking maybe she hung herself (with Wei being hung towards the beginning) but don't quote me on it.
Hope this helps :)
Maddstercookiez That does make sense! Thank you~! ^w^
But here is the thing. What WAS the majority of the game? WAS it her seeing all the shit she has done? All she lost and risked? Or was it Wei seeing what she saw through her mind set? Maybe thats why it began and ended with Wei. Ray, from beyond her grave, wanted to give a now adult Wei a reasoning behind what had happened, and we saw it as Wei bur through Ray's eyes?
Kaori Nishidake I was able to find some theory online , it seems like Ray is dead this whole time..that was all her memories..either she hung herself up or jump off the roof :D
Kaori Nishidake well when Wei was walking up to the school you can hear the old lady saying that "she " couldn't go to heaven or hell so I guess Ray is stuck in limbo ... maybe Thats why its called detention. limbo is her detention
pescaditodiabolico Oooh. Good point! :) That does make a lot of sense. I knew Granny was important! Thank you~! ^w^
I'm so glad you got the good ending Cry! Yeah it sounds like Ray was jealous and wanted to be with Chang. She overheard Yin and Chang talking and believed they were in a relationship and wanted to get Ms Yin out of the way:( and now she greatly regrets it.
Janice Ivester wait there's another ending?? What is it??
there's a ceremony to reward Ray for her "loyalty" to her country except the reward is a noose and she hangs herself (symbolysing that she really regrets what she did)
+Justsyasya She gets an award for being patriotic and kills herself from guilt
I think it was Ms.Yin who told Chang to stop seeing Ray so the book club wouldn't be compromised. Ray heard this and so she sold out the book club in her depression and anger. But her actions had consequences
_________________________ It does not matter what happened what happened, happened and that can not change, humans need to stop regretting poor choices and live with their consequences.
This is why many humans disgust me with their wretched me,me,me mentality just deal with your issues and move on.
"I'm gonna shut up now" as the credits roll by. This is why I love Cry's work as a RUclipsr. Not only he is one of the most underrated editors out there (I see all those little details you put in your videos, boo) he also shows great respect for the medium of videogames, always featuring the entire credit sequences in his playthroughs. Well done, sir.
You handle these let's plays very well. A lot of other RUclipsr's are a bit disruptive during heavy games such as these which takes away from the experience. You don't create any dissonance like that when you play and I love you and your channel for that.
I like how cry can be all fun and chill when he controls the character but when there's text and dialogue, he switches to his batman voice.
The main target of this game is not scaring the player, but let the players know how horrible and scary our past history 228 white terror event in Taiwan...
It's not just horror game, it's a beautiful and simple way to let every one to know the history.
Thank you cry, thank you for letting more people know about this history.
Taiwan loves you so much cry, 台灣很愛你喔
Coffee Yao is not only a good producer, but has the best fucking name I've ever heard.
there are some rather amusing names in the credit as well. "5", "Happy Dog", "Smiler"
I also noticed Happy Dog.
+Jeroz 5 is a name of a Taiwan youtube gamer who had played the demo of detention
I find "Light Wang" to be rather amusing myself (yes I have the sense of humour of a 13 year old)
I know "Wang" is a rather common chinese name but really though, Light Wang? (perhaps that's just a handle rather than his actual name but if it is real though XD)
Actually, 光 (guāng) literally translates to light, so instead of leaving it in romanized pinyin, he just went ahead and used the translation for his name.
SPOILER ALERT
I guess we can say his time in prison was... *put sunglasses on* ... Wei too long!
I'm out. Peace!
lol
Eat this LIKE!!
That joke was good! You're just a ...... Ray of sunshine!
lazylank
:D
I'll be here all week!
I love games like this that leave an emotional impact on you... Because at the end of it, you're able to see the situation from Wei and Ray's point of view. And you know what Ray did was wrong, but you see why she did what she did, you see how broken she was and that she just wanted something to cling to and.. You feel bad for her, especially since she's supposedly in that in-between place forever, but at the same time you look at Wei and you feel even worse for him. He and the others in the book club were innocent and absolutely did not deserve what happened to them. So then it comes back and you have to look for someone to blame. Blaming Ray feels wrong, but then who is there? The counselor?
If anyone can hold blame without excuse, I think it would be him.. But he's been long dead. And he seemed to genuinely care about her? Maybe? Man. This game has me feeling things. This was such a wonderful experience. Thank you for playing this, Cry.
all were just victims of martial law
In short, Wei, Ms. Yin, a few students, and Mr. Chang are in a group of forbidden book club, since this is a strict era. Ray's abusive parents make her depressed, so Mr. Chang, as the counselor, tries to talk with Ray. She falls in love with Mr. Chang, but when their counseling sessions are over, he cut off their relationship completely. When Ray overheard about Mr.Chang and Ms.Yin's conversation about the book club, she misunderstood and suspect that they are in a relationship, and she got even more depressed. She asked for Wei, who used to have a crush on her, for the forbidden book club member list that Mr.Chang and Ms.Yin started. She tells the authorities out of hatred, to get a revenge for Ms. Yin who took her beloved one away from her since she thought it'll get her fired as a teacher. But instead, she ended up putting Wei in prison and leading Mr.Chang to be executed. Out of guilt, she decided to kill herself, and her spirit is now roaming around the school.
I believe the grandma in the game is actually Meng Po (Thanks for those who help me ^^), a chinese mythology figure that leads spirits to reincarnation. And the old guy at the end is Wei, who finally got out of prison. All the "ghosts" we've met are actually Ray's fears and guilt forming into several figures.
The good end is to symbolize the good old day, when they are still students. When everything is nice and happy, and both of them are trying to re-live and imagine those moments. But instead of happiness, the only thing left are sorrow and guilt.*
*copy-pasted
Black Fire UHG THID GAME'S STORY IS SO WELL TOLD
Black Fire I saw this comment on Jay's (Kubz Scouts) video lol
I don't believe Wei had a crush on her. I agree with someone else's comment somewhere in here that they were stuck at the school during a typhoon and he told her about the book club after they bonded for a bit. Also, Mr. Chang did seem to have feelings for Ray since he tells Ms. Yin something along the lines of she doesn't understand (I'm too lazy to look up the exact line, but it was when Ray listened in on Yin and Chang's convo). He also tells her what they had was pure or something and he was happy with her when she visits him in the counselors room later during this episode.
I'm still wondering about what the meaning of Wei's hanging upside down from the ceiling
+ChannelChingCong I think it's a phantom of Ray made Wei being caught by the government
If you don't know what's going on: Ray was a good student until problems at home come up. The father cheats and the mother sells him out to the authorities for revenge. Ray falls into depression and starts seeing the counselor Mr. Chang to deal with it. They fall in love and Ray was happy. Mrs. Yin finds out about the romance and tells Mr. Cheng to break up with her because it was dangerose for Ray with Mr. Chang involved in the secret book club. Ray hears the conversation and thinks both teachers have a relationship. After breakup she wants to get rid of Mrs. Yin to get the counselor back by leaking the book club list. The plan backfired and resulted in Mr. Chang being executed and Wei, who was a good friend to her, being imprisoned like other students, too. She can't live with the guild and commits suicide by jumping of the roof. Because she can't accept what she has done and because she can't go to the afterlife, she is stuck in an infinte loop. (At least thats what I understand.)
She actually hangs herself in the Auditorium, that's why she kept appearing back in the chair. It's shown in the bad ending.
The real way that Ray killed herself is jumping off the roof. It was mentioned on Wei's journal and the developer team already answered as well. The hanging in auditorium are symbol of her sins that she'll repeating the same nightmare from the beginning of the game all over again. She does get a medal and praises at the auditorium after selling the book club. And this is the last string that causing her to commit suicide. Is a place where her sins dwell. Sorry for my english
No, the real death is the jump. The auditorium is where she gets a 'award' for snitching from the school - it also makes sense that the amulet is stashed where it is if you consider that she got rid of it after the 'award' and before suicide.
4:50 The first rule of book club is: you do not talk about book club.
I love the way you read the dialogues and notes, it makes it so much more believable and emotional.
That was extremely sad and beautiful at the same time. Much like life and love and loss. What the developers did with this game was simply stunning! I'm so glad you got to play this and we could join you on this journey!
Wow! The gameplay, symbolism and story line were all very well done indeed. The game and story were very powerful and impactful.
Imagine. Ray, who wanted nothing more for herself to be free, spurred by a counselor, turned in those who also wanted to be free out of jealousy and spite.
There were so many great themes in this game. I cannot stress enough how much I enjoyed watching Cry go through it.
Barred from the heavens and hampered from the underworld.
Alone and wondering forever she goes...
Pitiful.
Sad and maybe even a little mean spirited, but I found something kind of beautiful about what she said.
Great game. Great playthrough!
Alright time to put my own analysis on this. So I'm pretty sure like, 99% of the peeps out there already know the story but I still feel like putting my own thoughts and theories here. So hope you don't mind if I miss anything or get things wrong. It's gonna be pretty lengthy so maybe have a drink or a snack nearby.
I'm going to start at the very beginning, and according to the timeline as well.
So at first, Ray(it weirds me out spelling it like that, cause normally you'd spell it like 'rui', just throwing it out there) led a pretty normal life during her time in high school, and her family was still stable. She was praised and admired by her peers and teachers, and got a lot of attention. But then her dad cheated on her mom by going out to see other women(most likely prostitutes?)and her mother was really depressed, but didn't know what to do about it. Her dad also drank a lot, which resulted in a lot of arguments in the household(the cutscene with the furniture being thrown about), and their family gradually became less and less happy.
During this time period, I assume that her peers and teachers caught wind of it, and they started to think less of her. Because of that, she went to get counseling with Mr. Chang, and they fell in love. A little tidbit here is that the colourful goldfish at the movie area symbolizes love, meaning she fell in love with Mr. Chang, and the grey, decaying goldfish at the teacher's office meant that her heart broke because he rejected her.
Before the rejection, her mother saw an ad about catching cheaters, and called the PI to catch her husband. They succeeded and Ray's father was taken away. The household has calmed down a lot more though her mother was still very bitter.
Now the reason behind this rejection, is because Ms. Yin found out.(it may or may not be due to the reason her family has calmed down now, and there was no use for further counseling) In that period of time where Martial Law was implemented, these kinds of things were strictly prohibited. So Ms. Yin, who was collaborating with Mr. Chang to manage a book club, got worried that he'd get too infatuated to take care of the book club properly. Or maybe she was afraid Ray would eventually find out about the book club and possibly rat them out. There are many possibilities, but the most important thing here is that she was worried.
But at that moment, Ray was listening in on them, and she thought that "being on the same boat" meant that they were in love, and that Ms. Yin was getting in her way of her freedom to love. So she learnt about Wei being in the book club(he possibly approached her about it) she decided to use him to get a book list so that she's able to rat them out.(It is also believed that Wei had a crush on Ray, judging by his actions) Originally she just wanted to frame Ms. Yin, but she was so blinded by her emotions that she brought the whole club down, including her beloved Mr. Chang.
Instead of what she wanted, which was harming Ms. Yin, Mr. Chang was sentenced to death and all the club members were sent to jail. Ms. Yin also escaped and went abroad, which probably added insult to injury to Ray. At that point in time, all the students who knew about that event was also bullying her, calling her a "snitcher".(The note on the toilet door and the words on the blackboard) And even though Instructor Bai praised her and she was seen as patriotic, she couldn't live on with the guilt and all the bullying going on. Thus she decided to commit suicide and jumped off the roof(evidence in the note that Wei wrote and the cutscene where we see her jumping off the roof)
Many people thought that she hung herself to death because of the "normal" ending, but that's actually her killing herself for the second time and repeating the game again. Because in Taoism culture, if you commit suicide you're forced to go into a purgatory state and re-live your actions again and again.
Now for the symbolism, at the start of the game when Wei died, it was Ray's subconscious thinking that she killed him because of her actions. I feel like they were genuinely friends at first, and she regretted getting him into this mess. Little did she know, he was actually alive in jail. That's why in the true end, when she finally sees Wei, now an old man, she lets go of her guilt and regret and she can finally go to heaven and rest in peace.
More symbolism/tidbits :
-The booklist turning into a gun symbolizes how even a simple piece of paper can cause a lot of hurt to people. ((In the Chinese ver, Ms. Yin described as "It's just white paper and black words, but it resulted in my death, his death, everyone's death"))
-The giant monster was probably symbolism of how she was afraid of confronting her past, seeing as it was right before you tried to get into the into the counseling room, where she spent most of her time with her beloved teacher.
-The shadow-Ray is probably a reflection of herself who has already accepted her guilt, and if you haven't noticed the game itself also relies on mirrors to tell the story.
-Remember the heavy clang you hear in the vents? That's Ray throwing her necklace into the vent before she committed suicide, hence why Wei found it there earlier in the game. I guess she just wanted to be free of her past.
-The three figures in the underground cells each represent Mr. Chang, Wei and Ms. Yin.
-The clapping people in the hall is probably a distant memory of the past, when Ray was still admired. She probably knew how to play the piano very well.
-The puppet show was to symbolize the policemen getting to Mr. Chang.(Pretty obvious, I know)
((Feel free to comment if I missed anything out))
But yeah time for my thoughts!! I can't help but love this game so much, and I'm surprised that it got so popular with the western side of RUclips. I'm Chinese(though not Taiwanese) so I'm so proud they managed to make a game that spread world wide. Well, part of it is because it has English subtitles, of course. The translation was not sloppy at all, in fact, even the poems were translated really well. I love everything about this game, the art style is simply gorgeous! Also the fact that it reminded me of The Cat Lady a lot. What with all the black and white and side-scrolling. The sound design is amazing as well, I really loved it. But the most important part is the story and how they bring in so much of our culture and lore, it's really amazing. A great way to learn about a big part of Taiwan's history as well. Martial law really sucks. This is really just a great and solid game, I really look forward to see how much more they can produce!!
Rebecca MetroStory thanks for your thoughts. westerners do appreciate beauty, despite what you may have heard. one thing we do love is a story well told. voices like your own help to educate others. it was appreciated. it enhances and enriches this wonderful tale. thank you again for taking the time to help others understand.
I'm so happy that cry is playing this kind of games again. I missed this games so bad. I love this games with some great story. Please cry play more of this games
Valeria Schayman it's not really that he doesn't play these games anymore. It's mainly that games like this don't come out often
its been a while since ive seen a game this deep and throught provoking in a long time. Well done to the people who made this
This game gets a 10/10 from me. It's just amazing, the atmosphere, story, characters, art style, soundtrack are all great. It really got me immersed with it's story and made me wanting to find out more about what's going on. The game also captures that dark feeling of living under martial law, which in this case lasted for a whooping 38 years. It has one of those stories where you have to piece together the clues to get the full picture, when you do, it will shock you. I want more games like this, 2D or 3D.
It's times like these that make me realize that Cry is still the same Cry that I subscribed to years ago. Nowadays I come across many comments bashing him but I fail to agree with those people. Cry was, is, and will continue to be a great dude that I hope to have in some aspect of my life. You da real one Cry
Man this game was so beautiful and rich in culture as well as history. I really loved this!! Thank you for taking us on this ride Cry
Thanks for the great series Cry, this game is so beautiful and terribly sad at the same time. All of the symbolism that they used to tell her story is superbly done, even if it is a little confusing at first. This really highlights the problems of what went on back then and it did it with such a unique and culturally filled way. You're the best boo, and kudos to the creators of this game too
This game really has a lot of symbolic and hidden meanings. As far I see, the gold fishes that appeared repeated in the game was a symbol for freedom and liberty in Buddhism(I think). You can see that during the scene where Ray and Mr. Chang was hanging out in the movie theater, signifying the idea of Liberty and love between them. Detention has the meaning of "back to school" in Chinese (someone said that earlier) and it also has the meaning of "detained, restricted". These really hinted that Ray was stuck in the school due to guilt and suicide(another Buddhist belief mentioned in the comment).
Also, the blood river we've seen in the first episode was another belief that the dead have to cross the Forgiven Bridge or Alternative Bridge (not sure what's the English translation). Ones with good deeds shall pass with aid from deities, the bad drowns in the river and gets tortured. The broken bridge signified that Ray wasn't allowed to pass the bridge due to suicide therefore could not move on to afterlife.
Also not sure if everyone picked up, I personally think Ray wasn't aware at first that Mr.Chang was in the club. She was mislead at that one part in the flashback memory, someone or Ray said "Mr.Chang has nothing to do with the book club right? He is not in none of this." I think that was suppose to be a promise that everyone make to not drag Mr. Chang in, but instead Ray really believed it. Talking about that, She also misinterpret the conversation between Ms.Yin and Mr. Chang (that one peek a boo listening at door scene) Ms. yin said about the business between her and Mr. Chang "us". Ray thought they had something, but Ms. yin was talking about the book club. So ya, Ray reported book club= everyone go bam bam, and so was Mr.Chang.
And I thought I knew majority of the game! The more you know. By the way, what do you think on the purpose of making the player play Wei as the first character? Couldn't we have just started with Ray, fell asleep in class and woke up? What was the typhoon in the beginning suppose to represent? And do you think Wei was in love with Ray, that's why he willingly gave the booklist to Ray? Sorry had to ask.
DindonPoo I suspect it might be because Wei is the only one who survived through all of this also it's showing the story through the side of the person on the book club and the tattletail. (Rey killed herself, Ms. Ying died of lung cancer and the counselor was tortured and hanged). Besides you've got to admit it makes a nice loop as previously mentioned (Rey is stuck in purgatory since she can't cross the bridge because she suicided) having Wei go back to school as mentioned by the title.
DindonPoo also many had theories that Wei might have liked Rey but I don't fully understand that either.
I love how Cry does his let's play, he talks when he has to and is funny and shuts up and enjoy the game that he's playing and is respectful, I really apreciate that
I really enjoyed this playthrough. I love watching certain games on your channel, cry, before I make a purchase because your videos are in my opinion the most honest and well-laid-out playthroughs on youtube. Every time there's a game I want to check out, I go to you. And I've even purchased games i've never heard of because I enjoyed your playthrough so much. I've been with you since you played Which and I've enjoyed watching you grow, but never change. Keep doing you, man
Wow, this was a trip.. The symbolism and all the little details of this game, the way that the story is presented and slowly unwrapped... The atmosphere, the-... It was such a good game.
Cry, thank you for another amazing play-through :')
Seeing as Cry apparently got the good end, I feel like I have to watch the bad ending now, too. Off we go
From what I can tell, Ray feels guilt over causing the deaths and imprisonment of so many innocent people. As a result, she killed herself (when you see that girl jump off, it's her). Her own version of hell is reliving those events, which is why you can see different versions of her repeating the cycle.
You seem to have gotten the "good" ending, where she sees Wei one last time, and is finally able to pass on.
Or that's my interpretation anyway.
thefruitsong I'm seeing from multiple people that she can't pass on and will be forever stuck in a loop, sadly. There are multiple things that hint it throughout the game :/
my fave part is from 26:25, cry's soothing voice unravelling wei's suffering through the years with the ambient music is so heartbreaking. especially that one line, where his voice is raw with emotions on the words "it doesn't matter what i was feeling back then, only pain and sadness remains". hauntingly beautiful
Being in detention for 4 episodes? That's a loooong time...
Phenominis it's like half the time goku takes to power up so it's fine
Damn, goddem.
Phenominis wei too long if you ask me
Ah man... the pun is strong in this one.
Ba-dum-tss
It was a gorgous metaphor. They repeat several elements- The jade deer, the dandelion (the flower you first pick and sacrificed), Wei himself. it... was just amazing. thank you for playing.
That was fucking amazing.
Maybe I'm just way too used to metaphorical bullshit, but I pretty much figured out what was going on somewhere during part 2. She turned in the list because Ms. Yin didn't want Ray and the counselor together.
That's also what the whole 'blood of the innocent' thing was about. Wei was in the book club, so when she reported it, he was also 'killed,' metaphorically speaking.
I also feel like the note that had the poem was referring to Ray committing suicide in order to escape her life and also to be with the counselor. During the whole game, she was one of the lingered, and reliving fragments of her life that drove her to her sins.
This is my first time comment on gaming video, don't get me wrong, i love watching horror gameplay, but most of the time I just have nothing to say.
However, this game is incredible done. It reminds me a lot about my family history. Probably because I'm relate to the history, so I can understand more of the characters' emotion.
My granddad was born in the same time period as Ray and Wei. He was killed by the government because he studied left-wings books and joined the communist. My dad is the youngest of the family, he has no memories about my granddad. He said the only thing he remember is that my grandma used to bring food and cloth to jail, and came home with tears.
No one informed my grandma about the date of execution. When she realized my granddad was dead, she ran to the execution ground, and found the body in a cement barrel.
Anyway, I'm glad that someone made a game about our own history. Also, I would like to say thank you, cry, for playing and sharing this game.
This game is so fucking tragic. It's not even "sad" it's just so emptily hopelessly tragic. holy shit.
Good game. Good game.
It makes me want to pick up where I left off reading Tezuka's "Adolf".
A thousand kudos to the game developers for making a game with such heavy themes and somehow incorporating both wider themes of politics and making it very personal and emotional at the same time, and tying the two together so well as they don't stand separate from each other.
Now I'm gonna go lie on my bed and stare at the ceiling for the next 12 years.
Man such a beautiful game with an amazing tragic story. Reading people's thoughts and theories and insights into the culture, it really helps appreciate all of the symbolism and more poetic parts. So good. I hope to see more from this developer.
This is my type of game. Something that makes you think, something that changes your life. The meaning I get from this game is simple, life is full of decisions, some we love, some we regret, but in the end life is cold, what we built is sure to fall, nothing is guaranteed, so enjoy it while you can. (I already knew this, but it's surely craved deeper into the stone I call my mind)
I like how we are just observers taken along on this literal guilt trip.
That feeling of piecing together the puzzle of what might have happened is really nice.
Everything was implicit, damn that was a good narrative. It felt like reading a great short story.
The relief I felt when he didn't end up on the roof to meet the same fate as Ray. Wow. Emotional ending though. I'm so sad none of them deserved to go to jail. They were just kids who wanted to read books. And yet I'm not mad at Ray either I feel very bad for her as she's trapped forever but if only she did not give them the list.
Shit, I adore how this emphasized the story of each character with the opposing story. Like Wei's story felt so crystal clear even though Ray was focused on. Gosh. And the fact that, afaik, every horror element was just a metaphor for what a dark place Ray was in. Dang!
A world without women would be a pain in the ass
kappa
i see what u did there
Arozura what hentai is your profile picture?
What I know, it coming from something something Combat Butler.
Arozura but Rey fang was the one who caused all of this suffering so she caused the pain in the ass then killed herself
This game is definitely worth a second round, then you will find out how clever the developers put all the hints and metaphors in the context and scenes you might not notice in the first round.
wow, i am really impressed with this game in how they've combined history, culture and religious beliefs together. games should be more like this one so, when you reach the ending you walk away with not only a good story but also a few more things that you didn't know before. that is an elegant way of promoting awareness and learning.
IF YOU HAVEN'T FINISHED THIS PLAY THROUGH DO NOT READ: That ending was super good. I didn't know how I would feel about watching this but it ended up being amazing. The ending was a little confusing but I think I understood. I think Ray turned the names after the one teacher that she loved rejected her. So in a way that was her payback. After that happened I think Ray was conflicted with guilt that she jumped off the roof of the building as we saw in the beginning of the game where we saw a girl jump off the school when we were following her. Ray was reliving some of her past and she's stuck living it over and over again because she is in some type of purgatory. When we saw the old lady in the end talking in the beginning that same old lady was saying the same things but we were in Ray's upside-down world so connecting to what I said earlier, she will never seem to get out of it. I think the person that we saw walking in the end (the old man) was Wei since he actually lived in the end. I though it was the one teacher she had some type of affair with but he was killed. So there is my thoughts, let me know what you think Cry!!!!
Ray actually was trying to get at Ms.Yin, the teacher who found out she was in a relationship with one of the teachers(the counselor). Her turning the book club in was her way at getting back at the teacher, Ms.Yin, little did she know that the supplier of the books for the book club was the counselor. Having framed her lover on accident she then kills her self as you say.
Damn you right, I forgot about Ms. Yin and how she hated the fact that Yin was in the way of everything. That makes more sense!
Marlon Gomes I don't think Ms. Yin was in a relationship with the counselor. 'Cause in one part of the game, Ray peeks through a door and overhears Ms. Yin talking to him saying stuff like, don't wrap your arms around her...it'll end us (the book club)
I think Ray misinterpreted that as a relationship because she asks Wei if they were together.
Man this game was quite sad but also good. The unfolding story was enthralling and the scenery changes inbetween the different "worlds" was also quite amazing. I'm really glad that in this day and age we don't have this "martial law" against books or I'd be breaking them so hard! No one will keep me from my precious fantasies! >3
New video from cry?! And its the final?!
*removes pants*
Lets do this.
GLaDOS is it weird I'm not wearing pants either?!😂
It'd be weird if you were wearing pants ^w^
i wasnt wearing pants in the first place
True I wasn't wearing pants in the first place they're leg prisons 😂
GLaDOS Hi
At the beginning it was kinda hard to understand but I really got emotional after I got the idea of the game. Thanks for the gameplay, Cry! My computer broke and I cannot play anymore, watching your gameplays helps me a lot!
I'm not ready to say goodbye to this game yet! I loved every minute of it :3
If anyone is interested in the music that Old Wei was playing and the one which Cry played to solve to the puppet in the birdcage puzzle, the song is called 雨夜花 (lit flowers in a rainy night) by Teng Yu-hsien, one of the famous taiwanese folk songs that were banned during the martial law period. The songs on the radio were also composed by the same person and banned.
Holy crap the music during the end credits gave me chills, it was so good!
Cry thanks for choosing games according to your interests, and playing them humorously and seriously at the same time. A skill you have ;) Appreciate all these series. Moving on to the next now. hehe.
I bought the game after seeing your first video and played a bit ahead of you on Steam after that. I'm happy that you also got the same ending, I really loved this game, thanks for playing it Cry. 😊
This game was really beautiful, I love the story, the art and music. It's just all around a really well put together game
01:05 AM in Taiwan
great, love you Cry. 👍
get up for your Detention.
awww yeahhh, Taiwanese watcher here toooo
It's very gald to hear Cry love this game!!!
鶴月璃 me too!!!
Wow......this story was deeper than I originally thought it would be when you started this out. Loved listening to you narrate this, although I'm sure you get that a lot. Good playlist Cry :)
The ending nearly had me in tears, that was a great game. I'm almost hoping they could make a movie out of this.
Loved this series. It's so cool when a game can leave you waiting to put all the pieces together until the very last moment.
At 26:29 i swear i could fall asleep to him reading stories, Anyone else?
Sarah pettigrew I did fall asleep lmao
LMAO NICE! And i mean who wouldn't xD
IKR! I kept replaying it because of how good he read it, with emotion! its so good!~
idk if this is creepy but sometimes i just put on one of crys videos before i go to bed just because his voice is so calm and comforting and it soothes me to sleep? yeah he'd probably be concerned if he read this lol
Sadie Rae He wouldn't be concerned :) he'd be happy because he's helping someone, Regardless of his voice...Everyone feels safe (sort of speak) while he's talking....If anything. He should be proud of how many people he helps
Thank you for finishing the series despite the massive hiccup with the corrupted file, really enjoyed it :)
did it really say rape in the bottom right corner at 30:38 ?
Adam Ska YEP.
I believe they were trying to portray what people really spray paint as graffiti.
damystery123 or it could be a reference to the abuse of authority (teacher dating student)
+Lady J. I dont think so, since the game seemed to challenge the idea that people judge Ray and Chang's relationship due their age. There didn't seem to have any sexual meaning in their relationship's portrayal as well.
Yes, as a person living in Taiwan I always see some graffiti theme around sex.
For example in the game there is graffiti of Dick butt, the word 打手槍 ethier means shooting with a pistol or jerking off, the charter 幹 mostly means FUCK when in single use, the word 徵女友means girl friend wanted.
And in Taiwan gang members or people who are just bad shit crazy likes to hide in ruins to avoid police. It make sense for them to put these dirty suff in a abandon school.
So yes it does say rape on the wall.
Wow... I really didn't expect all of that.When I began the serie, I just thougt it was a horror game with some interesting background (since I don't know much about Taiwanese culture and history) . But it's so much more than that. Thanks for playing this game, Cry. And thanks to the people who explain a little bit the taoist things used there.
Great game, great ending, great let's play.
Cry, my friend. The White Terror lasted for 38 years, until 1987. In that time, the martial law was always in effect. A very sad period in history and this is based on that.
This was amazing! Another example good horror games don't need only great graphics but a good story. Love your LPS since a long time ago. That voice of yours helped me through rough times. Please if you can play Resident Evil 7! You're gonna love it, filled with pink unicorns everywhere! Wish you the best!
I N E E D B U D D H A M O M E N T
👌
Such great story. And I loved someone explained the title. I mean, indeed I got the fact she is trapped and needs to keep living for the guilty but never thought that could use for the name of the game. I loved how they told the story, and the end is so sad. True what he says :/ how many people hadn't lost their years just for those ideals?
Thanks a lot for showing this awesome game
at least she has her both shoes now
BUT AT WHAT COST?!?1
Thank you Cry for playing this game completely. I love this!
And I saw my friends' fanarts here!
I feel so glad for them.
They must be excited for this, and they really do the great jobs 😊
Have a nice day!
This was a freaking amazing story and game. Holy shit. Hats off to the creators.
That was hella artistic and an excellent way of storytelling. I wasn't too keen on watching this at episode one just because I was so confused, but I'm really glad I stuck around.
Theory: Rei sold them out because of all the problems she had, and she thought that by selling them out something would finally make her life turn around. However, it didn't and her life only got worst. Unable to deal with the pain and suffering, she ended her own life in the school auditorium. I think the game is about Rei's endless journey as a ghost who is trying to redeem herself.
purelight Mmm.. from other comments, Ray sold them out because she thought it would affect only Ms. Yin. She had overhead Ms. Yin and Mr. Chang talking, and it sounded as if they were in a relationship too. But what Ms. Yin meant was they were also in an illegal situation and Mr. Chang was putting himself in two. And since she loved Mr. Chang, she wanted to get revenge on Ms. Yin since she ruined their relationship. So she told. But then Wei was sentenced to 15 years in prison and Mr. Chang was executed. She committed suicide because she felt guilty for putting a good friend in prison and killing her loved one. And her family was messed up, I think.
She's reliving her guilt because apparently this game revolves around Taoism culture and in Taoism culture, when someone commits suicide, they don't go to heaven or hell, they are stuck in a purgatory kind of state.
Glad to see you got the good ending!
There's a bad ending that I think is definitely worth checking out if you haven't already.
Thanks, Cry, for showing off a really great indie game!
let them do the next silent hill game please. just saying. and thank you cry for play this beautiful game. love the story so much though its so sad at the same time
I thought this was a great game, my sister and I spoke last night about our thoughts on the plot and it just enforced my love of this and how deep rooted everything was. Phenomenal.
Ray is just a spirit reliving her last few days. Mr. Chang & Ray had a relationship until Ms. Yin found out about them & wanted him to stop because they were in enough danger with him supplying the blacklisted books for her club. Ray found out Yin made Chang break up with her & wants to get back at her by snitching about the book club. Ray didn't know Chang was supplying the books. When she found out he would be killed, she jumped off the roof. That's why her spirit lingers at the school.
I can't believe how much I learned about Taiwanese culture through a video game like this, not to mention gaining some basic knowledge on Taoism. This game is so beautifully designed. I swear Cry always picks the best games to play!!
Well fuck that was sad. My sweet popcorn has turned salty. Damn it Ray. Damn it Cry! All I wanted to do was have happy fun times! And now I am sad and reflective and mourning for lives lost.
That was a beautiful game. They told that story in such an incredible way. After reading through many of the theories I feel like I understand the story better and what a thought provoking tale it was. Many thanks Cry for a riveting playthrough.
**SPOILER, DO NOT LOOK IF YOU HAVE NOT FINISHED THE VIDEO**
Cry, I think what happened was this.
Ray, the female, was a smart girl who had a good family. But then her father began having an affair, and got involved with peeps he shouldn't have messed with, and he became a drunk and her family life fell apart. Because of her intelligence and desires to be a woman of her own path, she catches the attention of our Counselor. She falls in love with him (who also seems to have loved her in return as evident by him referencing that he too was a daffodil and all that), but Ms. Yin and the Counselor are also in a relationship, and she finds out about it. Ms. Yin confronts him, and basically tells him to break it off. So he does, leaving Ray heartbroken. What both aren't aware of, though, is that Ray overheard the conversation, and becomes bitter and spiteful towards Ms. Yin, who she blames for losing the one good thing she had in her life. So to get back at Ms. Yin she convinces Wei, a boy that liked her, to let her have the book list under the pretense that she too wants to be part of the book club Ms. Yin was running (the cutscene with Wei giving Ray the list). But instead, she turns the list over, not really realizing the consequences of it (why the blood stained movie was titled snitch). She assumed Ms. Yin would get fired, but she discovers quickly that her actions actually killed the man she loved, and send her friend and other classmates to jail for at the time was indefinitely...and yet the one person she'd wanted to exact revenge on, Ms. Yin, got away. Devastated, she commits suicide by jumping off the roof of the school (which is what the letter by Wei was talking about, the unmarked grave is hers; as well as the scene when Ray is on the roof and sees a copy of herself falling off), which in their culture is taboo punishable by your spirit forever being in limbo, unable to move on (what the old woman is referencing to when Wei passes her on his way to the school at the end). And though Wei knows it was her that did it, he doesn't hold it against her, and was heartbroken to learn that she had killed herself. And so finally freed, he goes back to the last place they spoke, to relive his memories of her (the final scene) before the school is demolished.
Beautiful game with a touching, tragic story. I am looking forward to seeing more from these developers. The story, music, and visuals, absolutely stunning. I believe I have a good grasp on the story, and wow.
Thank you for playing as always Cry.
the soundtrack in the credits is fucking beautiful.
Probably one of my favourite stories as of late. It was definitely a wonderful thing to relax to, and unwind with. Only wish it was a bit longer, but ah well.
I hope to see more from this studio too :D
24:01
白水仙染上一河鮮血
只能如鐵鏽般凋零
The credit song was beautiful, ah the violin
wait so is this like silent hill? Was she trapped in that world forever?
to quote another comment on this video, In Taoism culture, which was heavily used in this game, if a person commits suicide, the person will have to repeat his/her actions over and over again, unable to reincarnate
I hope that Wei came to school and said to ghost Ray that he forgives her and she can be free from now on ;_;
Sandra Niedzielska But Ray doesn't just regret sending Wei to the prison, she also regrets killing Mr. Chang, maybe she also regrets making Ms. Yin had to flee the country, not to mention the other students in Book Club. So, yeah, her guilt is too big than that. Looks like she will spend eternity in the loop ;-;
Basically, yeah. Unable to reincarnate, she is stuck in the endless loop forever. This is why the game was called "Detention". It was an eternal detention to make up for her sins in the afterlife.
It's sad to know that, especially as Wei might won't be able to visit much longer since it appears that there's a plan for construction of real estate at the school's site.
Wow, the ending of this game legitimately left me speechless. What a beautiful, rich piece of work.
And with that notification... I knew it was time to stop studying. Man this game was good
heh! you to? I'm watching from school. this was to important!
Hey man any Cry notification demands it's immediate attention
god this was really well done! Putting aside the story, I appreciated the fact that they set this game based on a historical event which I didn't know well of, as well as putting many cultural items in there.
so basically ray is going through her own hell..... dat is one hell i dont wanna be in
What a beautiful game! Ray was already losing her family and then she lost her love of interest, who took her pain away, the counselor. Ms Yin stopped the affair and Rei got upset. Ray snitched on everyone and it backed fired. Ray killed herself and repeats everything over and over because she feels guilty. And Wei survived but lost everything in the end. GREAT GAME PLAY CRY ❤❤❤
I keep replaying Chang's arrest just to hear that one song... ;_;
Watching your playthrough of Detention after watching the Netflix adaptation (last 2 chapters tomorrow) - man, this explains A LOT!
Merry Christmas and thanks for all your videos!
Ray sold out the book club because Ms. Yin, the coordinator for the book club, told the counselor to stop meeting with Ray, from what I understand. I'll be damned if that wasn't a sad ending though.
Commie Doggo The thought of Ray roaming around in a depressing and dark realm, repeating the guilt trip scenes, in a loop after death is depressing. She could not move on and go to heaven. This concept was also used in Hayao Miyazaki's movie, "The Grave of Fireflies".
I love this game. Amazing story, and the ending honestly almost made me tear up. It's so bittersweet. And also, awesome playthrough as always Cry!
I'm crying my eyes out.
Wow. That was spectacular.
I'm happy at least their relationship actually seemed mutual. He gave her a nice necklace. When Yin confronts Chang he wasn't ashamed, seemed like he respected Ray... Especially that monologue during his arrest!! Although why exactly he decided to turn around on that...? I guess to avoid suspicion? Or maybe thought since she was getting better mentally, didn't need to rely on him anymore..? But he was like her main source of happiness ;A;
I'm glad Wei lived, although damaged...
Simply a beautifully tragic story.