having had time to think about it, though. i wanna address the happy ending to the game. normally, id be fine with it (there arent enough pieces of media with happy endings imo), but seeing the real effects this game has had on real people, i think it could be a dangerous narrative.
just hearing from john's own mouth what hes done in the past and the scale of his delusions and twisted perspectives? im surprised he even got joint custody. and like, im sorry but... ive never heard a story about someone like that who actually ended up changing their ways. in fact, they usually apologize and seem genuinely vulnerable (just like john does) for a very short time before going right back to how they were before. its called an abuse cycle, and this game ends in the middle of one.
im not saying the game is tone-deaf. in fact, sammy's and laguna's situations kinda highlight what im talking about. but the end makes me uncomfortable; just coming to grips with the fact that abuse cycles rely and feed on the hope that "they'll change this time" can take years of therapy. it's why found family is such an inherently queer trope—we usually end up forcing ourselves to break out of it by leaving the johns of the world behind us, and making new & actually healthy connections.
sorry for the long comment. if this game cracked your egg, please keep this in mind, and be careful. you'll figure it out. <3