*** THIS PAGE CONTAINS SPOILERS ***
Save the World really shines in it's writing and storylines, no matter where they end up taking you. This is what gives the characters some depth of soul. The voice over actors are all exceptional at what they do and really bring the characters to life.
What I found interesting about this quest was a line from the Canny Valley quest, "Please Hold" in which Dennis and Ray have this quick interaction detailing some stories Dennis is going on about. That seem to offer an ominous hint towards this future quest and timeline.
And I was going to be a dad, but then I saved the future. Dennis
No you weren't and no you didn't. Ray
In the future it turns out he really is a dad and he doesn't save the future but his son does! It's very powerful that an entire story/questline can pretty much come out of a few random thoughts. That level of expansion ability really lends well to this character rich universe.
In this storyline, The Long Road Home, the comet makes its return and time has been altered. We meet The Forever Ned and a bad Ray named Dark Ray. An alleged time traveler is revealed to be Dennis Jr. from the future and he brings grim predictions about the future of the population of homebase.
Including the demise of his father Dennis and our beloved bot Ray. Who dies in a big fire at homebase after the shields go down in an alternative timeline. Dennis Jr.'s mom is also revealed to be Sarah and they have some fun future-family moments.
It's a profound story that has several parallels that seem to mirror the state of the game that reverberate through the community. Whether it was intentionally designed to or not. Let's look at these lines then explore those possibilities.
In the future, the leaders of the defense against the storm lose their motivation! Dennis Jr.
It's too bad they don't have our Ray in their ear telling them to believe in themselves and never lose hope. Carbide
(gasp) Press record. (ahem) Believe in yourselves! Never lose hope! I love my buddy, Ray! Ray
These lines really speak to me and parallel some thoughts that been around in the community for a while now. That some people lost hope. That some people lost their motivation and moved on. It happens. It happened. No reason to lose all hope though and abandon ship. The ones who remain are strong and capable.
In the future, heroes are scattered across the world and never join forces Dennis Jr.
Nothing brings them together and they can never combine their skills, so... Dennis Jr.
Hey, Other Ray? Sound familiar? Ray
Yeah, I think this one is my bad. Dark Ray
Our bad. Ray
Great! I think we're on our way to fixing the future. Ray
Thank you. What you do here and now has an effect, like ripples off a stone thrown into the river. Dennis Jr.
There's some parallels here as well to the game itself. This game is a 4 player co-op game that most people play solo, looking for a public group. Social games and social gaming should bring people together. This game is even better when you are playing with a group of like minded individuals who value teamwork. Often times those other players are out there but they may not be on our friends list to find.
What we do now and forever more, always has an effect. There are a lot of avenues out there for people to find other players to play with. Like discord servers, forums and other places. I encourage people to use them if they're interested in a richer Save the World experience.
I don't think altering all these timelines with information we shouldn't have is going to cause any problems. Dennis Jr.
You were lucky. All your interventions appear to have blurred the edges, but timelines remain stable for now. Lars
We've been trying really hard to fix it. We don't want to ruin the entire universe. Ray
Well there are things we can control and things we can't. All we can do is make the best choices with what we have. Lars
You're pretty wise Lars. Ray
There could be more than just story going on here. This story seems to parallel our world in a lot of ways. Is enlightening us to these facts hurting us or altering things? Not really. Not for the worse anyways. We know they've been trying really hard. It's why we're here. We know there are things you can and can't control. It's cool and Lars is pretty wise.
I hope this story in this season wasn't a precursor of the end of days and things to come. It would be a crying shame. If not, let it be a call to arms for the player base that does enjoy this game. The time is now! In Season 11 we must change the narrative to a more positive one and grow this player base. Before it's too late.
Things become even more grim as the season progresses and they launch the Timeless quest line. I'm not sure how much more Ray and homebase can take!