Man that might be the longest title so far.
Besides my obsession with Amnesia: The Dark Descent, I also really really love the other games Frictional Games made before that: the Penumbra series.
Of course, I haven't played this series (yet), but I've seen tons of 'Let's Play' videos, as well as gone to friends' livestreams.
WELL, the Penumbra series (Overture, Black Plague, and Requiem) are SUPER SUPER TRIPPY. Especially Requiem, since it's the ending.
I guess I decided I should share my thoughts about the series and its ending, since I've seen tons forum posts and discussions about this.
Much like my post about my sense of humor, this is probably going to be really disorganized; since I have a bunch to say but haven't prepared how.
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Basically Penumbra is about a Physics teacher named Philip Lafresque, whose mother dies at the beginning. He gets a letter from his papa telling him to 'FIND ALL THESE FILES AND BURN THEM MY SON'
And Philip is all 'WOAH SHIT I THOUGHT MY DAD WAS DEAD MAN'
So he goes to this place where the documents and stuff was....but he gets CURIOUS YA KNOW?
So instead of burning them, he GOES THROUGH THEM, and finds the mention of this mine in Greenland.
And Phil's all 'hmmmmm maybe I should just throw away everything my dad asked me to do and go to FREAKING GREENLAND.'
So he goes to freaking Greenland.
On a boat.
Bad idea, Philip.
He finds the entrance to the mine after he's all 'MAN I'M SO COLD GOTTA FIND SHELTER OH LOOK A SEALED HOLE IN THE GROUND THAT LOOKS SO SAFE LEMME LOCK MYSELF IN THUR.'
So skipping ahead, Philip gets stuck in the mine, and starts going around trying to find answers about his father and about everything going on in that place. During this, he's fighting mutant dogs (mutant dudes in the second game) and getting instructed (sort of) by this guy named Red via one-way radio. Red likes to rant to you about DOGS AND FECES AND I'M LIKE DUDE WHAT'S UP WITH YOU. Red promises Philip answers, but like he's cray cray and he probably doesn't know anything.
Philip finally finds Red and he makes Philip set him on fire.
Oh well.
You later find out that Red was sent to work in the mine when he was FOURTEEN AND GOT STUCK THERE SINCE 1970. THIS TAKES PLACE IN 2001 SO HE WAS LIKE STUCK THERE FOR 31 YEARS JUST LET THAT SINK IN. WITH NO ONE TO TALK TO AND LIKE NOTHING TO EAT OR DO OR DJLGLSDAKJGLSAKGHJSKHG
And then Philip gets hit in the head and dragged away.
The next game (which I'll try to sum up more quickly) is Penumbra: Black Plague, where Philip starts getting trippy.
After going through this crazy-ass dream/hallucination world, he meets Clarence. Sort of. Clarence is this voice in Philip's head, who apparently is a personification of the DISEASE PHILIP GOT. That's where all the mutant things are coming from; I'm not sure why there are so many dogs though. That's probably some historical mine stuff I don't know about. Like maybe they'd send dogs in first and stuff. I don't know.
So most of the time, Philip ignores Clarence because he's a douche (though I love him), and keeps messing with Philip's head and stuff.
Philip goes into this weird part of the facility, and finds a corpse.
Not just any corpse....it turns out to be his father, Howard Lafresque.
THE SOLE REASON Philip even came to this place, and he's gone.
And Clarence is just laughing his ass off during this.
Though one part where Clarence crosses the line is when Philip finally finds this lady named Amabel Swanson, a scientist who managed to contact him via video chat. WELL, Clarence tricks Philip's brain into thinking Amabel is one of the infected zombies, and Philip ends up killing her with a giant metal box...
So that's when Philip's like 'THAT'S IT CLARENCE YOU POOPSICLE I'M GONNA USE THESE CHEMICALS TO CURE ME OF THE DISEASE AND THAT'S GONNA GET RID OF U WE AREN'T FRANDS ANYMORE DUDE!"
And Clarence with his weird voice is like "I'M TAKING YOU WITH ME'
And crazy shit goes down. Waste really hits the whirling device if you know what I mean.
Eventually after Clarence having his conflicting freak-out, and a lot of confusion on Phil's part, he finds the machine that will make the cure for the disease out of the chemicals he found.
He succeeds!
He takes a deep breath, 'IT'S FINALLY OVER'
Not not really Philip, this is a horror game. It's not over.
Instead of Clarence dying with the disease, he gets TRANSFERRED TO A CORPSE AND STARTS CHASING PHILIP LIKE 'GRRR PHILIP YOU'RE UGLY' (like I think he literally says that).
When Philip makes it to this big hallway, a bunch of infected mutants come up like
'THERE CANNOT BE ONNEEEE THERE CAN ONLY BEEE USSSS ALLLLLLL"
And kill Clarence.
And they're all 'hey Phil 'sup Imma put you through some tests because I knew your father and he was beast.'
So Philip enters his own mind, and goes through these tests that make him use teamwork, sympathy, and sacrifice.
So then the spirit in charge of the disease (called the Tuurngait) is all
'OH PHILIP YOU'RE SO COOL SO FLY YOU'RE SO NICE I LOVE YOU. NOW HELP ME. DESTROY THE MINE BECAUSE ME AND MY HIVE-MIND WERE HERE FIRST SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME AND HUMANS ARE DOUCHES BUT NOT YOU I LOVE YOU. GO SEND SOMEONE AN E-MAIL TELLING THEM TO DESTROY THIS PLACE SO I CAN BE ALONE, CAN YOU DO THAT? K THANKS. I LOVE YOU PHILIP.'
I could copy and paste the e-mail, but I'll find it much more fun to paraphrase it myself.
"HEY BRO THE TUURNGAIT ASKED ME TO HELP IT AND I WAS LIKE YEAH SURE OK. MY DADDY DID THE SAME THING KIND OF BUT NOT REALLY. HE MADE A MISTAKE, BUT I'M NOT STUPID. HERE, I'M ABOUT TO DO SOMETHING REALLY STUPID K. I SAID I WOULD HELP THE TUURNGAIT BUT I WAS JUST TROLLIN MAN. I'M NOT ACTUALLY GONNA HELP THAT CREEP LOLOLOOLLO. I LIKED CLARENCE MORE HE WAS PRO. SO YEAH THE COORDINATES ARE: BLAH BLAH BLAH -ACTUAL-COORDINATES- IN- GREENLAND BLAHBLAH. GO HERE AND
Kill them.
Kill them all.'
The end.
Ok so I just looked up and it turns out this post isn't as long as I thought, so I'll fit the rest in.
The next game is Penumbra: Requiem. MY PERSONAL FAVORITE.
So it starts with Philip's horrible e-mail, and then he turns around..
SHABOOM HE GETS HIT IN THE HEAD.
And the rest of the game is just him (or someone else?)
going through all these weird puzzles, while being instructed (sort of) by Dr. Eminess (a diseased crazy scientist you met in Black Plague).
But then... RED TALKS TO YOU TOO?! BUT HE dIED!?
And then you're also hearing thoughts of this crazy other new guy but he's weird he's not important.
After Philip completes all the cray cray puzzles and goes through the portals and stuff, he finds himself.....
BACK AT THE INCINERATOR THAT RED MADE YOU KILL HIM IN!?
He starts talking to you about rats and tea or something, and asks you to join him, ending with the quote:
"Better to have a story and end it, than never to realize it has begun."
And with that, you can either join him in the incinerator, or 'leave' through the door behind you.
If you leave through the door, you end up suddenly on a boat strikingly similar to the one you started in.
With the slight difference that it is ACTUALLY the boat from the crazy dream world you got sent to in Black Plague. hmmmm. Then credits.
If you join crazy Red in his incinerator, he thanks you, and then you see flames and Philip goes
'AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH'
Then credits- NO NOT YET.
You see someone-Philip- either passed out or dead on the floor in front of the computer where he sent the stupid e-mail to his brosif.
This means, in a sudden burst of obviousness,
PENUMBRA: REQUIEM WAS ALL IN PHILIP'S HEAD.
MAAAAAAAAAAAN
YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
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Here's what I think:
The Tuurngait found out that Philip told his friend to kill it, and killed Philip, just as it had probably caused his father's death.
Just as Philip is about to die, he enters a state of mind that is almost a way of ending everything with dignity.
The best ending is probably to join Red in the incinerator, because otherwise Philip is just avoiding death that has already struck him. In this way he's accepting his fate.
I never said it was the happiest ending, but it's probably the best if my opinion makes any sense.
The entire series, I always thought Philip was one of the awesomest game protagonists ever. But by the end of Black Plague I couldn't get over how STUPID he is.
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Man my hands are cramping up, I think I typed enough for one night.
I hoped anyone who actually read it enjoyed my terrible summary.
The End.
OR IS IT.
MAYBE THIS BLOG POST IS ALL IN OUR HEADS.
P.S I'm still mind-boggled over Penumbra and I cAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT IT :c
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