requiescat
In fiction, love is a blessing, a peaceful eternity. But as this game says, “in real life, things happen.” You can fill in the rest.
This is a reflection on a first love gone horribly wrong. The text prominently features the song “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane, which was my favourite song as a child and a band I’m still fond of… There was a trailer for a TV series a few years ago which did a dramatic remix of it that placed creepy emphasis on the line “you’re gonna let me in”, and this piece feels much in that vein. Because it’s a sweet and simple song that can easily be twisted: somewhere only we know is, necessarily, isolated from anyone else who might be able to help.
I admit to finding the ending a little confusing. I think the idea is that you’re supposed to reflect on the earlier romantic scenes which now seem suspect - but I didn’t really see them as innocent the first time around, and there doesn’t seem to be any extra unnoticed detail added in the repeats. That may just be my own circumstances making me presuspicious though! And given how it does end, there is something haunting about being forced to reflect on those memories for the rest of your life. Can you savour the happiness, or were they always bloodied, or are they now?
The game has a mechanic that lets you go back to each segment of the story from a menu, which would be neat but seems a little unnecessary for a game of such a short length. I tried to use it to aid with my review but it didn’t seem to work, so I just started again in a private tab.
But what do you think? Did you find this haunting or sympathetic? What would you have done? Is it too late? Aah!