This World Wants to Die

[@TheTaleFoundry]

The first 500 people to use our link will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare: skl.sh/talefoundry08241

[@pyeitme508]

IDK 😐

[@theheroofmagicical628]

rainworld is best game ever

[@abdobelbida7170]

I wonder if you're gonna make a video covering legion, the show.

[@sauceman-dv3lf]

I must say, you have a lot of correct in this lore explonation video you have however missed and misunderstiod mutliple things for ecanple the entire world of rainworld is not the iterator but its factory grounds and the iterators never said that they couldnt think of killing yourself

[@Hawk7886]

For anyone actually interested in Skillshare: You have to put in a valid credit card to claim the trial, and it automatically bills $8.25 a month ($99/yr) if you don't cancel in time. I didn't bother going further, so I'm not sure how hard they make it to actually cancel the account during the trial period.

[@Kulin4]

"The meaning of life is what you make of it, and also batflies" -Slugcat (probably)

[@kumaka6057]

based batfly eater

[@Robert_McGarry_Poems]

🤯

[@misfit_raven4367]

Saint: *sobs*

[@NecyarUnáty]

Saint disliked this comment

[@Kulin4]

"The meaning of life is mostly batflies" -Gourmand (probably) "The meaning of life is avenge your children" -Artificer (probably) "The meaning of life is learn how to do heart surgery" -Rivulet (probably) "The meaning of life is become god" -Saint (probably) "..." -Spearmaster (probably)

[@gfdweeqwr9962]

It’s not necessarily just moral purity that determines what the ancients thought would make you an echo. For example, in Farm Arrays, the echo there talks about how much they enjoy the view of the fields, implying that any connection to the world, regardless of morality, can tether you between reality as an echo.

[@johnather]

"Perhaps I reminisce because I cannot go. Perhaps I cannot go because memory traps me here."

[@Sir_Squirrelington_III]

This is a spoiler for Saint, but the undergrowth echo was probably my favorite one. An ancient that went either went against the traditional ascending narrative and appreciated life for what it was.

[@1God1Fury]

Any type of connection or memory to the world. It seem you have to literally have to be dead inside by absolving of all feelings, of all memories, of all personality - at that point you became nothing and when you don't feel nothing, think of nothing - you are a blank paper and ascend to become nothing.

[@catpoke9557]

Echoes are basically what happen when someone who doesn't actually want to die, dies. That's why the ancients made themselves as miserable as possible, only eating things like rocks and tea. If life was pain, you had no reason to want to stay. And it's why the echoes describe what sound to be pretty happy lives before they got stuck. I guess if you want to stay too much, your soul isn't able to leave the cycle even though your body is. It clings to life even when there's nothing left.

[@memesrdreams4854]

"Perhaps I reminisce because I cannot go. Perhaps I cannot go because my memory traps me here."

[@imbored4798]

You have summoned its fandom

[@astronomia2826]

Wawas are being summoned!

[@unknownbaguette6823]

Wawas are being summoned!

[@Whenpigfly666]

As I write this reply, the comment right below this one is "RAINWORLD MENTIONED". So yeah. Fandom summoned.

[@toaster9922]

⚠ You have alerted the horde

[@thegreivousone2444]

the fandom scares me...

[@gruntonium1669]

One thing is that not every ancient had the unending desire to ascend. There is an echo that can be encountered during saint's timeline that says as much: "Do you see the same as me? Beauty continuing to bloom even in a place long forgotten. I did not have the will to depart, nor the desire. Why did they always search for an escape, as if we were imprisoned? What offering from the void could usurp the gift of life already given? This moment, right here! It is where we are meant to be." The existence of this echo implies that it was forced upon every ancient to ascend, rather than a free decision. But it's always up to the scug to choose if they wanna ascend!

[@umbra4540]

i've come to believe that the forced ascension was more accident of society than intent. what happens if 90% of civilization decides to wrap it up? what can the last 10% (or whatever fraction) do among decaying infrastructure, deprived of social connection, bereft of trade, their perceived quality of life plummeting? in that situation, i can understand people who didn't want to ascend choosing to try it anyway just so they didn't have to stick around as the pallbearers of their civilization.

[@thiagotaubman7505]

The dialogue of this echo is one of the best imo. And also a very powerful piece of text in general

[@charleshaughtry]

The existence of this echo implies that the amateur modders who wrote the dialogue for Downpour didn't really understand Rain World, nothing more.

[@umbra4540]

@@charleshaughtry i mean, even if you don't think the dlc is canon compliant, i don't think the modders are amateurs when it comes to the lore. they just took it in a different direction than you would have. and that's cool! personally i think videocult publishing downpour functionally semi canonized it (another reason i don't think amateur really applies), but i still see default rain world differently from downpour added stuff. have you written any fics/mods? id be curious to hear more about your interpretation!

[@VoidsodaAndSmoot34]

@@charleshaughtry go away you dont know the lore, leave.

[@kuromi0hmyst4rs]

The reason why the ancients all died off was a “mass ascension” where whether they liked it or not, everyone hopped into the fluid.

[@fractalgem]

"All must die and become as gods" momemt

[@KnighTiggles]

In some ways it kind of reads like a mass suicide cult. Which. Throws some of the ancient ideas into question in weird ways

[@tsm688]

@@KnighTiggles I can't think of any possible interpretation where it wasn't

[@KnighTiggles]

@tsm688 in some ways, the question of rain world feels less "is this a suicide cult" and more "well, given that the suicide cult is right about at least part of the cosmology, does it make them right to ascend?" I dunno how much of the game lore youve read up on. Tale foundry does get some info wrong, but i appreciate that they dont take the "ascension is the best!" rhetoric at face value

[@koharumi1]

Evangelion moment

[@_fedmar_]

FINALLY YOU COVER RAINWORLD WE GETTIN OUTTA THE RETENTION WALL WITH THIS ONE BOYS

[@Alpha_mindustry]

Yepeeee!

[@Placerhold]

🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@MarkothTheSleepless]

YEAHHH 🗣️ 🗣️

[@theheroofmagicical628]

yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa rainworld has best 2d animation best AI of any game and then some really crazy story

[@somerandomperson9670]

Chills

[@toaster9922]

The world: A horrible purgatory, riddled with the remains of a civilization desperate to understand and escape their fate. The fandom: Slugcat!!!weeeee!!!Weeeeee Scugcat!!! weeeee!!!

[@pezvonpez]

It wasn't always thus.

[@NecyarUnáty]

The more serious you make the game's lore the less serious community will take it

[@OverHaul164]

ROTUNDNESS !!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

[@SolstaceWinters]

@@NecyarUnáty This is incredibly true. I don't know a thing about Rainworld (decided to click it because the title caught me, and I've heard the name of the game before). But as a Hollow Knight player: Hollow Knight: _a deeply profound game about a dead kingdom riddled with a plague brought about by a dead god._ Also Hollow Knight: _"So we included this guy named Zote, right? And he's the funny little feller who says 'Waa mall'eh-maah!' a lot!"_ There is no in between. And based on my new understanding of this Rainworld game's lore, I will have found Ascension before Silksong comes out.

[@NecyarUnáty]

@@SolstaceWinters Rain World community hasn't been the same since certain iterator got catboy outfit as a joke

[@AmmyWulf]

"Actively Hostile" yeah tell me about it, sometimes you die by simply existing in the same room as anything at all, or moving a little too fast at a Scav Toll. Absolutely BRUTAL.

[@riottherioter]

oh my gosh, scavengers are the bane of my existence 😭 I could not tell you how many times I've been killed by a scav for absolutely no reason

[@Squabsss]

i love scavs but also i love playing artificer

[@NamsaRay]

Git good But other than that, it's actively hostile towards it's own inhabitants if it makes you happy

[@serenity-studios8217]

​@@riottherioter (this comment was made by the artificer gang)

[@Resetium]

​@@riottherioterever wondered what being autistic feels like, by chance?

[@MichaelUrocyon]

We don't know much about the ancients, but we do know they had great sense of style and incredible sneakers.

[@GibbusWibbus]

Amen 🙏🙏

[@austinrollins6819]

i love that a popular headcanon is that the characters in Airframe Ultra (Videocult's next full title) are the ancients in Rain World (im all for it lmao)

[@GibbusWibbus]

@@austinrollins6819 ANOTHER VIDEOCULT GAME!?? thank you for making me aware of this.

[@mistermagister1693]

xD

[@Weirdoeevee]

Bro the entire rw discord went INSANE when you uploaded this. Congrats on summoning the majority of the fandom ❤

[@AlexStarkey-f1g]

bro just posted a video and the entire fandom went RAAAAAAGH

[@trollman_2345]

Rain world, the only fictional setting where the long-dead precursor race actually wanted to die.

[@TheRealNSH]

i have no mouth and i must scream fans:

[@higztv1166]

@@TheRealNSH they have no mouth so they don't say anything

[@shooey-mcmoss]

The Monument to all your sins is still there - dont get cocky over that

[@trollman_2345]

@@TheRealNSH ... What?

[@popejaimie]

​@@trollman_2345 "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" fans:

[@rgal]

Sounds less like 7 deadly sins and more like 108 worldly desires to me. Not the opposites of virtue, per se, but things that keep you… anchored to worldly existence, so to speak.

[@1God1Fury]

What about karma 1 - Violence/Anger? I think most of living things wouldn't want to have that or something they would desire on their own free will

[@Decodedvirus]

​@@1God1Furyartficer whose sole purpose for life is revenge or the lizards which much on any creature that is smaller than them

[@Decodedvirus]

its called the 5 natural urges in the game i believe

[@thunderspark1536]

​@@1God1Fury No, thats almost a necessity for any kind of true life. No anger, means no growth. No want to improve or change who you are.

[@liarliarplants4hire]

108? Like that story, the water margin.

[@blrbro9879]

Rain deer?… ally?… reindeer are no ally

[@mixingcat5213]

Ah reindeer my beloved

[@somerandomperson9670]

True, they absolutely suck and are jank as fuck.

[@maremaroo]

They are my beloathed.

[@Placerhold]

You deer

[@alextinsley1769]

​@@A_Shrubbery1901The duality of man

[@Crafterz]

[Rain World spoilers] The way that the player’s experience parallels the slugcat’s is unique. The game is hard for the player, but so is the world for the slugcat, the countless deaths the player go through are also what the slugcat experiences. And the world is unknown and hard to understand, both for the slugcat in that world and the player who plays the game. And the knowledge the slugcat gains is the same as of the player. The game’s philosophy is quite interesting, in some ways similar to that of the Buddhism. There are many perspectives on the eternal cycle of rebirth. The one in the game shows the disturbing part of the eternity, being stuck in the cycle of reëxperiencing suffering over and over again, forever and ever. One thing i want to note is that it’s not really "sins" but it’s the things that attach you to the world, they aren’t inherently bad but they will prevent the ascension. The perspective of the enjoyment in the cycle is more explored in the DLC downpour, even though it isn’t made by the same developers, i think it does expand the philosophy of the game in interesting ways. Finding the joy in the eternal cycle is also possible perspective. i think both of these perspectives are pretty valid, but it depends on each person which one is better. For example, for another slugcat, the hunter, who is terminally ill, the ascension is a pretty desirable option. But whether the slugcat, the survivor, the one the main game is about, wants to ascend is quite ambiguous. On one hand, the slugcat does want to find the family, but on another hand the slugcat does also accept that it will never happen, judging by dreams. The ascension is not the initial goal, but it’s unknown if it is the new goal for the slugcat after the enlightenment.

[@ViHtor]

Good thoughts. Yeah, calling them sins is pretty wrong, but i guess it was much easier for the westerner.

[@tahunuva4254]

It also parralels it in the ascension though, and makes this explicit with some of pebbles' dialogue, which runs along the lines of: "Me and my kin have as our mission to solve that very oscillating claustrophobia in the chests of all beings" (referring to the awareness of the cycle - or, in the player's sense, the need to "win" the game). Pebbles is certainly not an infallible source, but if we're to believe him as one of the _only_ sources in the game, and if we take the player's own actions into account, then it's clear that every creature must indeed be aware that they're trapped in the cycle - and they want a way out. Man. Those were run-on sentences worthy of an ancient :P

[@No-longer1]

@@ViHtor They do seem to be more or less be treated socially as sins though by the ancients because that’s what their society zeroed in on as the final solution to everything. Not because ascension in itself is bad, and is Hunter’s only real choice for peace- but you don’t get the choice of ascending or not as Hunter, you are just busy trying to avoid the worst possible scenario. As Survivor, you have all the time on your hands to see the world, enjoy it, and choose when to go instead of Hunter’s mad scramble. I do know though that if I would have ascended any earlier than my 347 cycles as Survivor (I swear it felt more like 356), I wouldn’t have liked the ascension

[@interceptionbug4166]

it's reminding me of Everhood

[@KnighTiggles]

​@tahunuva4254 i appreciate your "if we believe pebbles" It would be very appropriate for the beings that made pebbles (and by extension, pebbles themself) to decide "boy we're sick of these cycles of life! Surely all life feels the exact same!" There's maybe a sort of arrogance in that perspective that seems consistent with the ancients I dont think I'm the first person to wonder if thats some weird projection on pebble's part. Its not impossible that the lizards and scavengers feel the same way, i suppose, but in some ways it feels a little weird to assume that everything wants out just as bad as pebbles does

[@baff_forfun]

"The Most Complex Ecosystem in any Game" actually got me into Rain World year and a half ago. I didn't see much of the video to avoid spoilers and I immediately bought it. Best purchase I've ever made

[@BananaBotanists]

Same

[@zarks-heroes]

Same

[@AlexStarkey-f1g]

yippee!!!!!!!!

[@JamborHill]

Same

[@Chaos_insurancy]

I just found it while eating chips.

[@peq42_]

The old one is dying, a new one slowly being born

[@taran8845]

Now is the time for monsters

[@tahunuva4254]

​@@taran8845and centipedes, apparently

[@Rustylorde]

@@tahunuva4254 who said that centipedes are not monsters?

[@princedest1ny]

There are a total of like 5 living things in rainworld that don’t actively try and kill you(vulture grubs count as passively here)

[@devikjha4173]

@@Rustylorde they killed 3 of my slugpups, they are monsters (I later gave them justice by singularity bombing at least 20 in arena mode)

[@GMilkMan]

12:52 “There sure is a lot of life happening here” As Catslug gets obliterated by a lizard and two vultures

[@NecyarUnáty]

Life at its finest

[@CertifiedDingus.]

Gift from the cycle

[@Spy_sappin_my_sentery]

At least there is no king-vulture or red lizard. I could've been even worse

[@beast7842]

16:05 "breaking the cycle is appealing to those who don't see any value in it." that line really reminded me of the line "one must imagine Sisyphus happy." It makes sense they are about someone or something, stuck in an eternal cycle but not breaking free from said cycle, and I think that's beautiful.

[@JonJon-oq8my]

15:12 If it makes you feel any better, there is an alternate ending where he does get to return to his family

[@FrostPlayz]

My guess the video is focused on the base game.

[@spikerthedragonbear]

Not really, when the Slugcat returns, the Tree is empty.... Survivor is only followed by the lone slugpups found in the World. HOWEVER, when you play as Monk, monk actually ends up finding Survivor again (I think in both endings)

[@Glitch0Angel]

​@@spikerthedragonbear there is an ending where the slug cats are reunited, and has the pups

[@jessiesowter]

​@@Glitch0Angel they said that

[@AlexStarkey-f1g]

there's an ending where survivor has 2 pups following him already, and Monk makes his way back to the slugtree too as Glitch0Angel said. ontop of that, in the Gourmand slugtree ending the other slugcats are still there, meaning the missing slugcats are either searching far and wide for survivor, or spikerthedragonbear is right and they're gone, but i'm gonna believe my version because that's the one with 2930582359038059283058 siblings of Survivor's still intact

[@pikmingamerr]

My biggest flex is that my sisters friends uncle made rainworld and now he knows what I look like

[@Chronorust]

That's cool lol

[@hayati9600]

Thats a good flex right there

[@leocsic]

@@pikmingamerr Fr???

[@jarrahgold1061]

Woahhhhh

[@longpham8699]

Cool bro

[@Thatreallycooluser]

Straight up foundrying it, and by "it" Let's just say- my tale

[@Ohsoverysleepy]

😭😭😭😭

[@Dragonion8855]

9/10, missed the ‘jusr’ in ‘let’s just say’

[@DunkaccinoThe3nd]

Bro summoned the whole fanbase

[@Da_Rivulet]

*WE HAVE BEEN SUMMONED*

[@toaster9922]

I love how you Address the slugcat as "Slugcat" instead of "The Slugcat" Like it's his name instead of his species lmao.

[@cloudeddaze9502]

I mean a lot of pre-downpour videos about stuff also did that, and it seems like they only played vanilla, so it makes sense

[@Harbin_07]

​@@cloudeddaze9502 as they dont know much about the lore, it is obvious that he just finished survivor

[@Neit1606]

I mean , don't the devs of Downpour Say that the dlc is more of a AU of the original history? The base Game and the dlc were probably make whit a different mindset from different people about what they wanted to do whit the world and the way we experiment the history . For that reason i think is okay to just take in count the base Game when making a reflexión about that history and we can make about it

[@ArheIy]

The game is pure cosmic horror, meanwhile the fandom consists of the most wholesome people in the world, making iterator OCs and memes about rotund Gourmand. I love Rain World.

[@sanukatharul1497]

THE RAIN WORLD FANDOM HAS DETECTED YOUR VIDEO! THANK YOU FOR COVERING IT

[@die_now3431]

RAINWORLD MENTIONED

[@strawberryj5321]

YEAAAHH

[@UniCorneliusfan21]

god magically summoning 1940127390 unnamed rain world fans to comment "RAIN WORLD MENTIONED" to every video with a slugcat in its thumbnail

[@Huge_M]

We eating good today

[@MillsTheMan]

YEAAAAAA

[@Marscandy1]

RAINWORLD

[@ylobi1513]

Tale foundry made a video about RAIN WORLD? Now this is a happy day

[@quickglove6461]

Indeed

[@FaunoAtelie]

Good notification KZbin

[@AsherArtz]

I 100% agree with you on this one

[@LadyVenus125]

I agree 💯.

[@Shy--Tsunami]

Right? 😂

[@Alpha_mindustry]

yeah! i saw it in the first minute of it being uploaded!

[@jgobroho]

It failed me

[@DrrZed]

"A little animal, caught in something far beyond its understanding" Perfectly describes the blind playthrough of the game. It's interesting how the humble slugcat gets closer to the ascension requirements by gaining karma just by living to see another day. Catching batflies, eating blue [not]fruit, occasionally pinning a lizor to a wall or floor... The DLC actually adds a slugcat who refuses ascension and instead returns home (That actually allows Surv and Monk to return home as an alternate ending) to indulge in simple pleasure in life - good food, specifically. And another slugcat which shows what happens when you try to ascend but can't let go of the worldly obsessions. Also, kudos to whomever drew the slugcat in the video! Looks so cute in this style!

[@shadowbonbon3]

I never thought I’d see you cover this, my life is completed. However as a dedicated rain world player one mistake I would like to note is that, the iterators in the base game area are in a special state of disarray most of them survive a significant time longer than moon and FP does (FP still survived a long time but he likely collapsed centuries before the others) however I still love this video and it was really good, I only wish it was longer

[@Virtualblueart]

Was playing Rainworld just a few hours ago. Finished Rivulet's quest and was rewarded with a cute picture for it. It's worth all of the panic and drowning.

[@otakuwithapen2109]

Rainworld player here! Depending on what you do, Slugcat does get to go home! There are multiple Scugs in the timeline that you can play as, and if you do something specific as one of them, Slugcat (The Survivor) gets to go home!

[@Fox0fNight]

Isn't the home all empty because of Gourmand?

[@otakuwithapen2109]

@@Fox0fNight I’m not sure if that’s why it’s empty, but the Survivor sure does go home

[@marsh1159]

​@@Fox0fNightnot if you also go home as monk!

[@Fox0fNight]

@@otakuwithapen2109 Gourmand's Food Quest ending shows the slugcats moving to FP. I also think that this is right before Survivor gets lost

[@Fox0fNight]

@@marsh1159 Monk only finds Survivor with his new pups. It is a better ending than the ascension one tho

[@GallowglassVT]

Love Rainworld from both a worldbuilding and speculative biology sense.

[@miroslavzderic3192]

and then downpour happened. post gourmand survivor ending really feels like the one the game wants for you, somber as it is, completing the monk ending after really feels like life is worth it. specially with the mothernal instincts of taking care of baby slugcats yourself. having to put in more effort to get the ending that makes life more meaningful than death and having to play as two slugcats looking for eachother to achieve it is beautiful. and the game never forces you to take care of random scug babies you find, its meaning in your life you chose yourself.... and then came jesus

[@jonaut5705]

technically, according to the devs downpour is an alternate universe, but that won't stop me from thinking it's the main one

[@BananaBotanists]

@@jonaut5705where do the devs say this..?

[@jonaut5705]

@@BananaBotanists they said it on the discord, obviously i can't use links but you can find some images if you look around for a couple of seconds

[@VoidsodaAndSmoot34]

@@jonaut5705 *Incorrect game-show noise*

[@VoidsodaAndSmoot34]

And then satan herself arrived-

[@casualbird7671]

The slugcat and lizard art in this video is adorable and perfect. It was a wonderful reflective piece on the game environment as well, perhaps my favorite I've seen of the game thus far. Many others just get the lore details wrong or deliver it in a very annoying way. You told it so nicely.

[@TacoMeow189]

Finally a decently sized channel covers rainworld

[@valentinhalau3396]

Ahem, curious archive??

[@TacoMeow189]

@@valentinhalau3396 yeah that’s true i guess i just really wanted tale foundry to cover rain world lol

[@Archonoflogic]

Mark did A video on it, never a second, because it simultaneously did poorly and pissed him off to no end

[@Creatures_of_the_Everquarry]

​@@valentinhalau3396 Yeah but that video was boring as hell

[@smilemore7431]

The rain world revival is wild. I played the game in 2022 before downpour and it’s wild how such a niche game suddenly became a cult classic.

[@nitroflux_o1040]

Its so awesome to see

[@redstoneactive6589]

To my knowledge, only one iterator (sliver of straw if I remember correctly) has supposedly solved the problem. The triple affirmative. And the remaining iterators still debate on if this was a correctly given signal. Being sliver of straw was discovered to be dead soon after giving the signal that it had solved the problem. The rest are still searching for a way to solve Ascension. Summoning the rain world fandom causes very silly interactions. Slug cat is love slug cat is life.

[@Doggo_jaskd]

She was quite legendary among us indeed

[@KnighTiggles]

I love that lore detail. It would be easy to have the solution forever out of reach, to just tell a story about how impossible it was. How horrifying and strange to know that maybe someone, somewhere, somehow figured it out, but they didn't live to talk about it. Like maybe the solution isn't even that far out of reach, but there's no way of knowing.

[@jason0803]

Pretty sure it was Saint

[@KnighTiggles]

@jason0803 yeah I've heard that speculation too. There's that one trial, but i believe theyve said its noncanon. It's more interesting if it's ambiguous imo but each their own

[@jason0803]

@@KnighTiggles wow I can’t believe anything the devs keep saying, everything is non canon 😭 Thought the fight was 100% canon but guess not. Someone also said that the entirety of downpour was its own separate world (backed by devs too they said) but I’m not gonna listen to that. Downpour the main universe for me.

[@Sirpotato21]

This game is so underrated It’s great to see a big channel like you making a video on it

[@Ro_Robotics]

I love how tale foundry finds a meaning out of the story I only learned the lore but never the moral of the story and now thanks to this video I understand the meaning

[@DrownedLamp]

If I had a nickel for every 'Rain' game franchise that's stuck in an endless cycle of living and undying, I'd have two nickels. . .which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right? Now, if I had one for every time I respawned.

[@thelemoncoffee]

i'm so curious, what's the other one

[@Solstice261]

​@@thelemoncoffeerisk of rain?

[@lol_una]

​@@Solstice261 i dont think respawning is canon to ror2 lore, correct me if im wrong tho

[@ViHtor]

@@lol_una yeah canonically you don't die in ror, you just go through from the first time

[@lol_una]

@@ViHtor oh damn i didnt know that thats pretty cool actually

[@samfowler2073]

If I had a penny for everytime a group of beings known as Ancients used a technique called ascension to do away with the whole mortal coil... I could open a store that sold pennies.

[@onohkar4348]

I can only think of 2 off the top of my head xD how many pennies you got in stock?

[@ViHtor]

what do you remember? Sounds like good stories

[@AaaAaa2-xb5jp]

Kirby also. it's like the biggest trope rn, lol.

[@claran3616]

Well there’s also STARGATE Atlantis

[@5P_OFFICIAL]

What do you mean? Aren't 95% of civilizations die on accident, not on purpose?

[@Air21Man]

Rain World is possibly the industry's best example of a game being art. It utilizes its medium so fully that nothing else could do it justice the same way. Yet it is also widely different from every other piece of media in every medium, games included. No other experience is anything like it, and should be seen by everyone. But it is also cursed by the way it stands apart from everything else. It is wild that games like Elden Ring are so much more approachable by comparison. Because Rain World's difficulty is so much more than just the strategy and execution challenges that make up the bulk of difficulty in other games (which do still exist in Rain World as well). The real difficulty is a comprehension one. To understand the way the world works and how you are meant to survive in it. To learn how to find food, avoid predators, and even befriend other creatures. To use the plethora of movement options and tools available to you to scale a world that seems impossible to navigate. And then there is the Rain. Rain World is beautiful game, but not in any conventional way. It is true though, and fully evident whenever it starts to rain. No other game creates the kind of scale and unyielding power, like the rain in Rain World. The emotion it brings is a powerful thing, so do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself.

[@ViHtor]

I like your thoughs. This all feels much difference when you hit pro gamer skill level. Now you can comprehend this all. And it bites you.

[@Harbin_07]

Your comment was also art itself

[@amberkatanimations6585]

Oh my god, you covered it so well. You didn't go as much into the detail or the plot, but instead went into all of the symbolism of the cycle and the ancients, iterators and slugcats, and it's genuinely the first time I've ever heard someone cover it like that. It gave me a whole new view on a game I thought I knew inside and out, and honestly, really did give me a moment to be truly grateful for life. I had no clue you'd go over rain world, and it honestly came as such a shock to me, but a very welcome one at that.

[@SolunaStarlight]

I feel like the overall theme of Rain World can best be summed up by the title of the last song in the game: Reclaiming Entropy. With the Downpour DLC, you watch the entire story of the world unfold. From the iterators in their prime, communicating frequently. to the Saint's campaign where they have all fallen into disarray in a frozen wasteland. But there is a glimmer of hope in the Undergrowth, where there is still warmth and the ecosystem and all its inhabitants thrive. The Scavengers are still alive and dot the landscape, and my headcanon is that many many years after Saint, the scavengers go on to become the next great civilization... and the cycle, itself, repeats.

[@ViHtor]

That is a theme of downpour, not Rain world. Because MSC is not canon, of course. It makes sense from the perspective of DLC, though it's another story.

[@SolunaStarlight]

@@ViHtor I consider it the same story, but everyone is entitled to their opinion 😁

[@jevmenyt3422]

i think its more enjoyable to see them as separate things, specially with some of the incompatible ideas, everyone will prefeer one or the other but trying to fuse the two and discredit the other actively harms both

[@wanderingvagrant1551]

fun fact: if you hit the water just right with a dlc character (the blue one) you can "ploink" and be sent flying

[@CertifiedDingus.]

May be because of it's speed

[@ViHtor]

fun fact: you always could do that with enough speed, just riv has cheaty speed.

[@leosuber9475]

Based on what we see in the cutscene at the end of the game, there might be some sort of heaven that comes after ascension, and the cycle is preventing life from reaching heaven until they let go of the vices keeping them in this mortal plane. Before the Ancients discovered the void fluid, they first tried to ascend by JUST letting go of the vices that were mentioned in the video. The void fluid may just be an easy workaround that the unworthy people thought could let them ascend. I assume that the reason the slugcat is able to ascend is because they had no material attachments to the mortal world (which was the main vice that prevented people from ascending using void fluid). The goal and means of ascension may not be as dismal as it is made out to be in this video. After all, who wouldn't want to go to heaven?

[@ViHtor]

Heaven is a western concept. The goal there is to become free. No one knows what end cutscenes actually mean - hallucinations or dreams of the ascendant. Or even a temptation that will turn you into echo if you don't let it go.

[@leosuber9475]

@@ViHtor I realize that "heaven" was a bit of a misnomer there. I meant some sort of good afterlife where people are happy. Heaven was just what came to my mind first (I know that a lot of the stuff in Rain World is generally based on Eastern culture and Buddhism in particular). I have heard the theories that everything you see in the Void Sea is just a hallucination due to either being about to die or hypoxia, but the fact that there are echoes at all makes me believe that there is something more spiritual to ascension than just permadeath. I should also clarify that this is just my interpretation of ascension and other people can have completely different ideas.

[@ViHtor]

@@leosuber9475 "Good afterlife place" is exactly what heaven is. Who knows what we actually have in ending. Either way, at least ancients implied that they can transcend - erase themselves from the existence, from the cycle. Curious note: 6th karma "Circle" means "Monk", or "you". 10th karma is a crossed circle, so 10th karma basically means "To cross oneself out". Out of existence. Out of suffering. Let all go, including your own ego.

[@jaredhaupt9438]

The fact that the artificer is locked at violence karma and that you level up your karma through interacting with echos, which are probably meant to be an enlightening experience for the slugcat - the slugcat instantly being booted up to karma 10 upon receiving the mark of communication from 5p probably represents how the slugcat through their combined experience over the cycles and gifted intelligence spiritually and mentally matures in ways that allow ascension, something that would back this up is the fact that the guardians that stand at the entrance to the void will fling any creature below karma ten off-screen or outright kill them which can be seen as the ancients making an effort to stop those who are not of high enough Kama from ascending, this is also seen with monk and how he can forcefully ascend creatures, with the karma ten symbols acting as your cursor as you do so.

[@fox-fluffl9002]

Yes! Rain World! This is my favorite indie game of all time, I'm so happy you're covering this :D Edit: There's now a second ending for most slugcats, including the little white one (The Survivor), in the Downpour DLC. It adds a new region where the slugcats live, and you can return to your colony at the end if you choose to do so. It's quite sweet, and I think the sort of ending that really fits these little characters. I'm currently working through the slugcats myself, so no spoilers in the comments for anyone that's finished all the campaigns.

[@thegreivousone2444]

Same! And I also wish he mentioned downpour a bit, although I guess it's fair he didn't since some of it can conflict to the message he was saying

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

For monk too, not only survivor

[@ViHtor]

Downpour is not canon.

[@fox-fluffl9002]

@@ViHtor I'm pretty sure it is, since the slugcats we meet explain the lore of the world and iterators without conflicting with each other. Also, it was never stated otherwise by the devs (that I'm aware of). The only change is now another option for the player to end some of the campaigns that are a little more optimistic. Why would you say they aren't canon?

[@alias6676]

14:50 this realisation is THE thing that makes this ending just so unbearably depressing to me. Even thinking about it squeezes tears out of my eyes

[@Spiney09]

This game is one of the best built worlds I’ve ever seen… and it’s so under covered. I’m so glad it’s been getting more attention recently because the story is actually ingenious

[@Anpedu]

It finally happened, the sheer joy in seeing that thumbnail instantly caused me to do one of those goofy ahh grins

[@greenhydra10]

You know, someone in the comments section of Curious Archive's last video said it would be cool if the two channels collabed, so learning TF knows about CA is borderline surreal.

[@kerrie-annebarnes3178]

I'm so glad you talked about rain world never expected it

[@enteredthesite2644]

15:56 “I would much rather live my life and have fun rather than do whatever this ascension thing is” Downpour is yours for the taking, they introduced an alternate ending

[@chriq]

I've been loving the video game/internet culture videos you all have been making! As someone who deeply appreciates storytelling in video games, it's great to see appreciation for games like Rain World that put so much craft into the experience.

[@fennecishere]

Amazing video!! I love love love Rain World and you got most everything right! Most everything So a few mistakes I noticed: Consuming gravel and bitter tea was a practice from before void fluid was discovered. The ancients were essentially starving themselves in an attempt to ascend the cycle since there was no other way they could think of. It's similar to the practice of self-mummification that monks used to do. Slugcats aren't actually the purposed organism to clean pipes. A lot of fans assume this because moon says that the pearl brought is for a slug-like organism made to clean pipes, immediately thinking "oh well that must be a Slugcat". However, the name Slugcat is actually completely fanmade that the devs adopted as canon. Slugcats aren't made with either slugs or cats in mind, they're their own thing. That and moons refers to the organism the pearl is about and slugcats as if they're different things, so it's unlikely that this is actually about slugcats themselves. Iterators never solved the great problem. They were created after void fluid was discovered so I imagine their goal was to find a safe way to ascend without the risk of turning into an echo. Moon tells us that the ancients saw the cycle as a giant fishing net, catching any fish that struggles against it. Only the limp body of a jellyfish can escape the net, so they felt they should try not to care or think about escaping so that they could. This is partly the reason for iterators, someone to pass on the effort of actively trying to ascend onto. I suppose they eventually grew tired of waiting, so they all mass ascended. This is something forced on all ancients, whether they want to ascend or not. It is canonical that not everyone wanted to ascend, but they were forced. The iterators now are resigned to continue trying to find a solution for the rest of life. Iterators are not actively trying to find a way to self ascend, well at least many of them aren't. Some are trying to find a work around for the self destruction taboo, but other's see this as traitorous to their creators. One iterator did actually find a way to break this taboo, Sliver of Straw. I won't get into much detail but Moon says this kinda forced a huge divide in iterators. Sliverists, which is what Five Pebbles is, want to follow in her footsteps and believe breaking the self-destruction taboo is the solution. Pebbles tried desperately to do this, causing moon to collapse due to him taking most of her water supply, and ultimately failed, condemning himself to the equivalent of robot cancer. The 5 karma are less of sins and more of earthly attachments. The ancients may have seen little difference, sure, but really they were what tied someone to the cycle. Depending on the level of attachment you have to the cycle, this can cause your spirit to not fully leave and become trapped as an echo. In Slugcat's ascension, specifically Survivor, they do somewhat get what they wanted, their family. Now whether or not it's actually other slugcats that ascended is up to debate. The DLC also adds another ending for Survivor to return home and for their younger sibling, Monk, to find them. In Monk's ascension ending they do find Survivor in the void sea as well. A lot is up to personal interpretation, the game does not make a lot of the lore clear. The most clear explanation for a lot of the lore we get is from Moon, who is likely an unreliable narrator through no fault of her own. She literally only has 5 neuron flies and her umbilical is severed so she doesn't have any connection to the rest of her body. Needless to say her memory is prone to being a little.. inaccurate. I mean, we see how many neuron flies a normal iterator has and with moon only having five it's hard to imagine just how much information she's missing. Having played Rain World a tiny bit (over 400 hours), this video is insanely good. Especially for someone who never finished it themselves. I will say that ascension is SOOOO much different when personally experienced rather than watching it. It's hard to explain, but experiencing it first-hand is so intense. It feels like this is where you're meant to be, that all your struggles led to this very moment. It's confusing, yes, but so beautiful. This is it, countless deaths have led to this moment.

[@ViHtor]

Iterators have taboo of self ascension - they can't ascend themselves before finding a solution, thus forever cursed to doing work that ancients refused to. It is unknown If SOS actually achieved anything. It has much higher chances of being malfunctioning hardware than actual confirmation. Iters were just so desperate that it was a bell for them. Downpour is not canon

[@zephels]

ay was about to make this comment glad others caught the errors too

[@noahgarcia-fierro]

I didn’t think they would review this but I’m pleasantly surprised

[@Ohsoverysleepy]

RAIN WORLD YEAH THANK YOUOOOO

[@SebastianBSandi]

Worth noting because it is seldom mentioned, even within the community, with the DLC you actually get two endings per slugcat, Ascension and a Campaign Specific one, and this includes Survivor and Monk

[@Alliflowerr]

In the DLC that came out last year, the slugcat is actually able to go home to the tree it lived in! Also Amazing video!!

[@Axelpvz2030]

I'm very sad you didn't even mention downpour, specially the saint, not only it has the only direct mention of the point of this video , an echo that questions the obsession over dying when life itself is so beautiful. But the saint is also such an interesting character on its own, is so obsessed with imposing ascension over others, they want it or not that they ultimately are denied of it themselves

[@kumaka6057]

saint cant help but do that, its a purposed organism

[@princedest1ny]

Well Downpour isn’t canon after all.

[@Axelpvz2030]

@@princedest1ny ???? It is canon

[@coconutmomentyeah]

It's not about downpour!! That's a completely different au of the game! Not everything is about downpour.

[@coconutmomentyeah]

@@Axelpvz2030it isn't, it's a fan made au of the game.

[@szymonn2560]

Just for the record after beating fourth campain with Its main ending (ascencion is alternative) you unlock a way for a White slugcat (refered as survivor) to return home, it is half happy ending as you do not reunite with your family but there is a way to make it better ending which i wont spoil.

[@Da_Rivulet]

You can also get a similar ending as the yellow one (Monk). Also, I'm gonna spoil what you won't! Bring some slugpups (which are unlocked if you complete a certain quest related to food in the aforementioned fourth campaign) with you to the slugtree ending. (You always see Survivor with two slugpups as Monk.)

[@teraspeXt]

doesn't this only happen in Downpour, or?

[@MegaJani]

11:43 That line goes so hard

[@Denialisaheathen]

The chiselled muscular physique of the scug

[@ThatCyanThing-yt5wu]

Connecting the game's moral themes and discussion within the story, to the response seen in how the players view the game, is beyond pristine. This game changed my life, and you covered it better than anyone else in the fandom. Thank you.

[@caltehnrooley2957]

the slugcats are not the organisms that was make to clean pipes, you can read about one but its never says that you are made for that

[@holisticVigilante]

I was literally about to make a comment about that, thank you fellow RW brainrotter

[@atkrider1560]

I'm a simple person. I see a rainworld video. I click.

[@bloodstrike-playz2483]

Bro one of my favourite games makes an appearance on one of my favourite channels. LETS GO!

[@rottjavel3073]

Ever since I saw that rainworld stream I have been waiting for this. Haven't watched it yet but I know you guys won't dissappoint

[@SushiLizard]

A great video about the story of Rain World is The Affairs of Passing Gods. It dives more into the story of the iterators and the politics behind the ascension taboo with the main focus of the story being the iterator Five Pebbles' self destructive tendencies and the realisation that when he realises what he's doing and how others want to help him, it's already too late to do anything. Hits in the feels and is an overall great watch.

[@winterknight5923]

9:00 *Saint sitting there as an Echo* Yeah, bud? Then why the hell am I stuck as an Echo then?

[@Rando_freak]

TALE FOUNDRY!!! Drop another rain world video.. and my life, is yours.

[@sirpuggington8046]

i dont have enough time to watch this yet, but one of my absolute favourite channels covering one of my absolute favourite video game worlds is so exciting!!! WOO

[@Rivulet_Enjoyer]

I've been blessed by the heavens -- ain't no way you made a video on my favorite video game! :D (As may have been noticed by my name + pfp) Very well made all throughout, thank you for the video!

[@Natillumi]

I'm so happy to find actual good Rain World videos. I love the game so much. Great video :)

[@MarkothTheSleepless]

RAINWOTLD REFERENCED RAINWORLD REFERENCE RAINQORLD MENTIONEF THANK YOU I WILL DEVOUR !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@adoreldan_shorts]

IM SO GLAD THIS SHOWED UP IN MY FEED

[@HYDROCARBON_XD]

I like your perspective that the ancients aren’t actually all truth and right and that the other creatures aren’t really suffering because of the cycle (except for the current state the ancients left the world in with the rain), most lore channels just go by “yes yes it’s good to die yes yes all creatures suffer yes yes die die no suffering yes yes”

[@Harbin_07]

His perspective missed a lot of things, the game's lore isnt like this The 5 natural urges arent deadly sins, rather 5 things that tie you to the world, and ancients are pretty much misrepresented in this video

[@Neit1606]

​@@Harbin_07i really don't get what You mean with the misrepresentation of the ancients in the video Can you go on with what is wrong about it?

[@Ax0_1t01]

I think something that gets overlooked a lot is that one echo in undergrowth that is content with just living. It really feels like the climax of the thematic and idealogical motifs throughout the game. Where all other ancients and Iterators (that we know of, at least) were discontent with the life they had, this one echo, a being trapped for eternity in what many see as a horrible fate, enjoys the life that thrives and continues.

[@KnighTiggles]

​@@Harbin_07 its an interesting distinction but the line between "urges are deadly sins" and "urges are qualities with eternal consequences that ancient society seems to view as a punishment, or at least a less ideal state" seems a little wobbly to me

[@Harbin_07]

​@@KnighTiggles Being bound with the world prevented you from ascension, and ancients made those set of rules to save anyone from becoming an echo and suffering a lot more.

[@LuckyWolfUnleashed]

Slug cats can reach their family, if you have the DLC, and in Gourmaund meet five pebbles, for Survivor, Monk, and Gourmand himself, you can meet your family.

[@droycon]

Thank you for covering the lore in a way that doesn’t spoil all campaigns, since ive only finished survivor so far and wanna know a bit more about the lore

[@darryllmaybe3881]

This was a really good breakdown of an aspect of Rain World you don't often seen discussed. If you're getting more into interesting game worlds, then there's another one I think you might like. Inscryption is a game that has had countless videos made on it about it's interesting setting and ARG surrounding it, but one angle I haven't really seen discussed often that I think you'd enjoy exploring is what it's like for the characters in the game to exist in the way they do. Well, regardless of if you take that approach or not, I think you'd really like looking into this one. Love your channel, bye!

[@metadragon6443]

Let’s gooooo Rain World!!!! Edit: the part about making memes about the characters is too true

[@DeltaMix96]

play rain world for the world, story, art, and music while I love the game, the most fun I had while playing it was exploring the world and uncovering the lore

[@jellycore1316]

A RAIN WORLD video on Tale Foundry?! I'm so proud of ittt ;w; Thank you so much for the video, I love Rain World so much, it's such an incredibly special and unique game! It's 100% one of my favourite games of all time!

[@KnighTiggles]

I took the "gravel and bitter tea" thing as something a select few do. "'Some' still drink the bitter tea." But the idea that ancients have made themselves miserable through the structure they have set up is interesting. Thanks for the video!

[@dustinjones7458]

The Ancients are definitely portrayed as paradoxical in ways. They're portrayed by their culture as ascetic monks, but they were clearly materialistic. They genetically creatures as luxury pets. They competed with each other for wealth and prestige. What I think is the Ancients religion became "big business", losing a lot of it's spiritual meaning and becoming just another monument to their arrogance. They went from ascension being something a being might choose after a lifetime of dedication to the industrial scale mass suicide for their entire species.

[@KnighTiggles]

​@dustinjones7458 I think that its true that their religion changed, and maybe in frightful ways. But if the gravel and bitter tea line really is referring to live mummification (as some people say it does), maybe there was something foul in their belief system long before it industrialized

[@pyrotf2294]

RAINWORLD MENTIONED DAY IMPROVED

[@j-cool-guy-OFFICIAL-CHANNEL]

good video! i wish you touched more on the ego and fault of the ancients . like the whole thing of them wearing huge fancy golden masks and having long titles of importance. they had entire memory crypts dedicated to storing every single one of their memories because they thought they were so important. a good one is the Deep Magenta Pearl which shows their obsession with titles and importance- and storing their memories. they were very frivolous . its ironic

[@jamiethiele460]

Do you see the same as Me ? Beauty continuing to bloom in a place long forgotten. I did not have the will to depart , nor the desire. Why did they always search for an escape as if we were imprisoned? What offering from the void could usurp the gift of life already given. This moment right here ! It is where we are meant to be.

[@ViHtor]

Do you see the same as They ? Beauty continuing to bloom, though in alien place. Desire kept me there, though i will to depart. Why did they always search for an escape in the others terms? What offering from the fib ideas could usurp the gift of original thoughts. Planting the thoughts of themselves, forgetting what made it all to be. Downpour is not canon! It is where we are not meant to be.

[@Harbin_07]

​@@ViHtor wtf do you mean by downpour isnt canon?? Then the game has nearly 0 story about it as the main game just tells you the most basic things, downpour is what completed the stoey

[@ViHtor]

​@@Harbin_07 It's stated by the devs that downpour is not canon, multiple times. It was not made by original devs, so it has thoughts of another team that took the RW. And the timeline is not synchronized with original game, many inconsistencies. It may completed the story that you had in mind. Original Rain world was already completed to perfect state.

[@jamiethiele460]

@@ViHtor why are you like this.

[@ViHtor]

@@jamiethiele460 because i love Rain world.

[@theterrorofdimensions1326]

The original release of the game focused on the world trying to escape the cycle, getting into the mindset of the Ancients and seeing the cycle as a curse; the Downpour DLC seems to focus on loving the world you're in, and appreciating the beauty and life that you are privileged to experience. It's a stark contrast, but that's why I love it all the more. It gives you the choice to see the cycle as a curse like the Ancients, or to look at it all and realize (to quote one of the Echoes): "This moment, right here! It is where we are meant to be." - Rhinestones Beneath Shattered Glass

[@Gec3V]

i immediately clicked when i read rain world! im so glad you finally covered this game :D the art in this video is awesome, keep up the good work

[@thequagiestsire]

RAIN WORLD MENTIONED, SCUG PARTY TIME

[@SomeCapGuy]

new tale foundry video🗣🔥

[@Alpha_mindustry]

HOLY SHIT THEY ARE REVIEWING IT!

[@SikoMC]

a tale foundry vid not about a book i love but about a game i adore! what a pleasant surprise! great content as always ❤ much love from switzerland

[@ZillaZilla024]

Rain world is my favorite game, so happy you made a video for it!!!

[@2_OP]

Title applies just as much to real life as it does to rainworld

[@hextaped]

I love rain world and its lore. That being said... You can actually get the ending slug-cat wanted. Just gotta play the DLC.

[@wallacemendonca5594]

It wasn't religion that made the ancients miserable: they had explored everything, understood everything, and what they wanted was to explore more. So they sought death, as a portal, as a new chance to explore. That's what you do in the game, you explore everything, and when you're done you ascend.

[@ViHtor]

Not really. A little creature on the floor of my chamber, i think i know what you're seeking for. You stuck in a cycle, a repeating pattern, and you want a way out. Though, that doesn't make you special. Every creature saves the same frustration of yours - from the bacterias in my processing strata to, if you excuse me, who is godlike in comparison. Their main idea of exploration was to find a way out. And you're curious about world because you're a player. You want to reach the endgame and it is an ascension.

[@wallacemendonca5594]

@@ViHtor In the game, we see the end of a civilization, not its beginning. No civilization this great begins with the goal of abandoning the world it is on. That comes later.

[@OnePieceFan4765]

Which makes you question why they didn’t pursue space travel which would allow for practically infinite exploration. Maybe their universe is different to ours

[@slop599]

@@ViHtor you're so ancient coded

[@catempress5429]

OH MY GOLLY! RAINWORLD IS MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME, AND LIKE- MY SECOND FAVORITE FRANCHISE IM SO HAPPY YOU DID A VIDEO ON IT!