At the end of Undertale, there’s a mirror you can interact with, and the response is “Despite everything, it’s still you.” I don’t know why that’s stuck with me, but it has.
Everything after the Mettaton fight until the end of the Asgore fight is extremely good. The New Home walk is one of my favorite moments in gaming.
“Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.” -Mordin Solus, Mass Effect
“I’m going to the last place that hasn’t been corrupted by capitalism… SPACE!”
Capitalism. Tim Curry was the Communist in this scenario.
Oh you are totally right, my bad
I still need to play this game if only for this line/scene.
That whole game is an absolute rollercoaster ride of insanity. Westwood Studios leaned into camp the way 60s Batman did.
Ah delightful.
“Some days you just can’t get rid of a bomb.”
“War is where the young and stupid are tricked by the old and bitter into killing each other”
- Niko Bellic
“Wow, we sure crossed the Spec Ops: The Line.”
I didn’t like how this game delivered its message.
“Gee, you sure are in a pickle. Maybe use some of that white phosphorus over there!”
Nah I’m good.
“Hmm sure are lots of enemies though. Should probably use some of that white phosphorus!”
Are the enemies just going to keep spawning until I do?
“…yes”
Alright, fine. I’ll use the white phosphorus.
“USING WHITE PHOSPHORUS IS A WAR CRIME! YOURE A WAR CRIMINAL! DO YOU FEEL LIKE A HERO??”
Bruh…
It’s essentially a reflection of how Walker feels in that situation. You’re pretty much supposed to feel like you didn’t have a choice because at the same time that’s how Walker felt.
Even though Walker did have a choice at the very beginning. He was supposed to scout the area out and return with his findings, he was never supposed to go deeper into Dubai like he did. But at every step he convinced himself that he had no choice but to do so. Culminating in the white phosphorus event.
That’s kind of the point. Most other war games don’t give you a choice either, but we find that acceptable because they reward us. Of course, this isn’t how war actually is, but we tend not to criticize that despite how a lot of these games are blatant propaganda. Spec Ops turns that around and actually makes you face the consequences of your actions. It even points out the excuse of the lack of choice.
At that point in the game you do have a choice: to do the unthinkable and survive or just to just be shot and die. I’m pretty sure the actual message is that to just die is the choice you wouldn’t consider, just like quitting the game afterwards and uninstalling. It’s kind of ridiculous, and I think that’s the point.
For me, it was definitely when Kratos is speaking to Mimir to warn Mimir about seeking vengeance. Mimir snaps at him, saying of all people, you’re one to talk! And Kratos replies:
“I am an authority on the subject. You would do well to listen."
Honestly, this interaction impacted my perception of people and when they have insight that is counter to their behavior.
I also found the “Do Not Mistake My Silence For Lack Of Grief.” Quote very fitting. Just because you are not showing it doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect you.
The original save screen from Nintendo: “Everything not saved will be lost.”
“The servers will shut down for good in X days.”
I was thinking about that the other day, I can still show my kids games that I played when I was a child in the 90s but not stuff from my late teens and 20s.
“Press F to pay respects”
Fuck took me ages to beat that part
deleted by creator
“Hhrng„
—Bob Villager, Minecraft, 2011“Are you crazy? We’re gonna die down here while those fuckers live it large on a spaceship! They’re not us! They’re not us!!”
“I’m sorry you feel that way, Simon. I’m proud of what we did. We made sure that something of the hundreds of thousands of years of human history survived – that something lives on.”
The silence that followed after their subsequent cussing each other out and losing power was quite heavy, especially given everything else that happened to them; and SOMA really is one of the only games whose narrative really made me question what it means to be human.
“Catherine? Please don’t leave me alone. Catherine – Catherine?!”
I don’t remember the exact line, but fairly far in the game half minute hero, there was a stage where there was a ghost you could befriend and later you encounter it in battle and avoid killing it by tapping the escape button to move back and forth to not hit it until it came to it’s senses or whatever. The asshole dev move though was to give you the “duel greaves” shortly before this encounter which provide great stats while disabling running away.
Being called a liar after being forced to kill the ghost has been my lifelong emotional trauma.
“I have a home!” - Tali’Zorah vas Normandy, Mass Effect 3
If somehow the Lord gave me a second chance at that moment…
I would do it all over again. ————
Joel sacrificed humanity’s chance at salvation because of his love for Ellie, and he has no regret. He is a flawed person but damn this is a powerful, human moment.
