Wanderstop - a cozy game about burnout, from creators of Stanley Parable - by Yakoob
Yakoob on 14/3/2025 at 06:46
Inline Image:
https://shared.fastly.steamstatic.com/store_item_assets/steam/apps/1299460/header.jpg?t=1741875096So just completed the game after some ~9 hours. It is a very philosophical and introspective experience I would love to hear other thoughts and impressions of.
Overall, it was an enjoyable experience exploring a variety of different themes, interspersed by some well-executed, poignant moments. It deals with burnout, impermanence, life changes, self-talk, and a bit more than that. It actually hit me really closely to what I've been already examining in myself - for over a year now I've been taking my Fridays partly off to journal and reflect on my life direction and what truly makes me happy. I also used to be a bit of a workaholic and thankfully moved past the grindset mindset. So, lots of themes that connected with me.
I think my main complaint (aside from some technical/jank issues), is that the game tends to be a little too "tell" instead of show. I think most of the poignant moments (for me at least) are told via dialogue instead of experienced via gameplay. It works well enough, because the writing is really well done, but I was left feeling like it's a bit of a missed opportunity. Although, to be fair, me expectations were inflated knowing it's a game made by Stanley Parable devs.
There are moments where you get a glimpse how the gameplay encourages more introspection (
like when every time you ask Boro what to do he tells you "There is nothing you must do" or the very end where he encourages you to wander around at your leisure before moving on just cleaning and making tea for no reason at all but its own enjoyment), and I wish that was a bit more central. Heck, even the main game loop of making very specific teas for very specific people seems kind of antithetical to the game's message. I was almost hoping
for the subversion of this mechanic at some point, but the game pretty much stays the "checklist simulator" till the very end, aaalmost starting to get repetitive---
Now, the ending... I am a bit conflicted about. I thought it was poignant and left me in thought, mirroring some of my own big realizations. However.... something felt off about it, like I "missed" something, so I made (maybe the mistake) of looking up a lets play and I learned I made the "wrong" (binary) choice and effectively got the "bad" ending (
I chose not to teach Monster and took the sword from Monster, because frankly I found her annoying and I don't like kids)
Apparently I missed on a bunch of character development and some other major revelations (
like seeing the second voice and really clarifying what it is), because I didn't make the exact choice the designers wanted me to make. Which kind of doesn't sit well with me? It's bit like them saying there is one specific way to grow and recover, and I grew and recovered "wrong," so I don't get the extra plot and story beats. I actually kind of saw this coming - there is a moment where an X character shows up and I just knew "oh the game will try to make me do Y to overcome this, isn't it?" and right on cue, that's exactly what happened.
I think it would be fine in a more linear walking simulator or a movie, where it's very clearly
someone else's story (
or if there was a choice for a less-annoying Monster to train instead). But in an interactive game that gives you many micro-choices constantly, makes you introspect and self-insert as the protagonist, I felt I was suddenly snapped out from my personal connection to the game's themes and reminded "no no, this isn't about YOU! It's about ALTA! It's HER story and she can overcome her struggle in only ONE specific way!"
---
Anyway, I'm curious what others thought. There's still a lot of interesting themes/questions I've been thinking about: who exactly is Boro? (is it like id/ego type thing)? what did Zenith represent and their change? Where the suitted men just a funny gag about corpo life, or a deeper message (in the end, the seemed pretty happy)? What about Nana? Did all the characters "mean" anything at all, or are they all basically just random "slices of life" ?
I guess tl;dr "good chill game, thoughtful introspecting, but will hate you if you don't want to be a kindergarten teacher"
Yakoob on 14/3/2025 at 07:11
Some more thoughts about the ending, the central message and some existential themes
I think the central core idea is that, once you peak, the only way is down. Being on top is unsustainable, and that's ok. At that point in life, you must start transitioning from a "fighter" to a "leader/mentor". It's now your turn to step down and become a mentor for the young ones, pass on all your skill and knowledge, and make room for the next generation. The cycle of life.
(I think I read enough SelfHelp™ popsci books to see this coming early on, so when Monster showed up, I just knew she's gonna ask me to train her. I partly said no just to be contrarian... but I also kind of wish she wasn't as annoying/young lol. Like, are we expected to be her mentor and train her to fight, or are we filling in for a missing parental figure? Because those are different things.)
Anyway, it's interesting to me because I feel like I'm kind of on that same cusp as Alta. I've been working in my field for close to 20 years now and just had my first financial planner meeting where they asked me when I plan to retire, and that put things in perspective. I've actually taken up mentoring in recent years as well, and been helping out some new, bumbling indie devs get their foot into the big pond of the industry.
I guess this goes back to the idea of kids/disciples as the next logical step. I always heard from people who have kids how it changes you as a person, how your kids are your "true legacy" and the closest we can get to being immortal. I don't want kids and at 37 the chances of that changing are slim, but part of me wonders if maybe I will grow to regret it one day. But at the same time, I also heard of so many stories of parents regretting having kids as well. So who knows.
Aaaanyway, going on a tangent here a bit. But that is why I wanted to make this thread. I definitely can't complain the game doesn't make you think about things, and maybe that's worth all the world's praise in the end?
