Just finished this and wanted to start a discussion!
My playthrough ended up being shorter than I expected based on the playtime tag, but I enjoyed myself and was pleasantly surprised by the direction the story went.
I’m especially curious about the two(?) different endings! I got the good one in my own playthrough. If I find the time, I’d like to replay later and look for things I missed the first time around.
Just posted my review! I got the sub-optimal ending my first time through; it’s not too different, but definitely has a sadder vibe, so I was glad I replayed to get the good ending!
Worse ending:
“He died in 1856,” says the vicar sadly. “He was just 15 years old. At least he is at peace here in a quiet spot.” These are true words indeed. There have been no more strange occurrences at the pub. Even the beer tastes fine now. You turn around, and glimpse a spectral figure nearby. He is watching you, with a sad but calm face. Maybe it helped that you saw what happened to him, even if you dearly wish you could have changed what happened in the past.
You place the small wooden toy that you found in the pub’s cellar beside Will’s grave. It is only a small token, but it feels like the right thing to do. You turn away, determined not to forget the boy.
Nice! I see a lot of my own thoughts reflected in your review! Interesting to know that we get 3 attempts to solve that puzzle.
In my winning attempt I first fixed the top of the stairs, but then right afterwards I brought the plant down, so I never found out if the former would have been successful on its own!
The other ending, for the curious:
“See: he died in 1912,” says the vicar. “He lived a long, and happy life. I find it hard to believe what you told me, but he did not die from an accident, and lived to a grand old age. And this is a beautiful spot,” he says, gently touching the top of the gravestone. Beyond the gravestone among the trees you see a faint figure watching. It is Will, young again. He smiles, and waves, then vanishes. There have been no more strange occurrences at the pub. Even the beer tastes fine now. He is truly at peace.
You place the small wooden toy that you found in the pub’s cellar beside Will’s grave. It is only a small token, but it feels like the right thing to do. You turn away, determined not to forget the boy.
But first it’s time for a proper drink. Jack promised you a glass of the pub’s once again excellent beer this afternoon. You head off towards the pub, chatting to the vicar about Will as you walk.
Oh this is funny, I took so many tries to get it right; I don’t know why I initially thought of everything buttaking it down myself! I didn’t even think about fixing the stairs, am curious now if that would work.
Haha, it’s fun to hear how someone else approached it! I think on my very first attempt I kinda just loitered at the bottom of the stairs in hopes that it would change something, but alas…
Then later on, after picking up the plant, I waited for him to come and it gave me this event that’s when I decided to just run away with it instead!
Will suddenly seems to see you, spots the plant pot, and takes it from you, smiling.
I was half-expecting my attempt to pick up the plant to fail since I imagined it being heavy, so it was an amusing surprise!
I believe to fix the stairs you have to EXAMINE FLOOR while you’re upstairs.
I just realized there’s a walkthrough which answers all of my questions! It was fun to find out about some of the things I missed; I’ll be sure to give them a try when I eventually replay.