again, flan has outdone themselves with a fantastic spin on the walking sim genre, literally wallowing in the depths of space, time, and iconic characters.
playing this game felt like sinking into my head in the hyper-mediated age of simulations, simulacra, and late capitalism. the way it's structured and the constant sense of not being able to tell where one room ends and the next begin, where you end and the world begins, was a deeply intrusive yet poignant look into my subconscious corrupted by media. the way this game is framed and its constant reference to other characters, media, and life formsallows it to hold a mirror up to our brains as they're filled with so much external stimuli--movies, games, music, pictures, museums, etc.--that we begin to question what thoughts are our own and what thoughts are intrusive sunken ships, armed with lost romances, abandoned ballrooms, and unfinished stories to disturb the insular deep-sea from its peace.
if i've learned anything from this game, it's this:
it's scary what goes on in all the places we can't see, but it's important to remember that even in darkness, your heart will go on.