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Friday 20 January, 2017
This world is filled with countless tiny interactions that alone don't seem like much but all together they paint a picture of the personalities of our two protagonists, the two brothers and of the world that they inhabit. The older brother is more serious and frequently asks for directions towards the tree they are heading towards when interacting with people, however he does have his softer and playful moments. The younger brother is a playful, cheerful, and occasionally mischievous little guy, as likely to play rock, paper, scissors with a stranger as he is to spit into a well.
I did notice that throughout this session, which was significantly longer than the last, there was a common theme between some of these tiny, and not so tiny, interactions. The issue of freeing various different creatures from confinement is something that comes up enough that I think it warrants mentioning. The first instance of this that I noticed was entirely optional and would be easy to miss. That instance being the simple act of opening a cage door and releasing a small, colorful bird. This simple act doesn't help or hinder the brothers adventure. Later on, in the bowels of an ancient underground fortress that is in a state of disrepair, but currently inhabited by some ogre type creatures, you must free an injured female ogre from a cage in order to progress. Finally near the end of this play through within a giant tower (not simply large but giant, like jack in the bean stock giant) I released a bloodied owl griffin type creature who had clearly been mistreated but was affectionate and kind, which carried the brother further towards their goal.
Each of these interactions with imprisoned creatures of various shapes and sizes led me to wonder if the creators of this beautiful game were subtly making a statement without saying a word that it is wrong to imprison living beings. I'm left contemplating if and when it is justifiable to hold or cage a creature against its will. Is it right to do so to a small bird, to a man or woman, or an elephant or any other living thing in between. Why would some argue that is it wrong for certain creatures but not others?
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