The Fear Of Abandonment: A Rot In Paradise Story Review

The Fear Of Abandonment: A Rot In Paradise Story Review.

Studio Investigrave’s new game ‘Rot In Paradise’ first caught my attention due to the abrupt ending to the story. As the story ends very suddenly, I almost wrote it off as a weak successor to a lot of their other games. But as I looked further into the story, the more I began to really enjoy the jarring end to the game, and wanted to share a review of the story, with my interpretations of the plot. This article contains spoilers for the plot of ‘Rot in Paradise’. 

The fear of abandonment is undoubtedly the reason for the second ending of the story. While all of her friends are going through the ‘rot’, physically and mentally changing as people, she still attempts to save them in the hope that they will get better. Studio Investigrave uses this as symbolism for choosing to stick with a friendship group, hoping that there is some way that you can save them from the influences they are under, which is symbolised here by the ocean. The word ‘follow’ used as one of the endings specifically shows this, as June can choose to stick with her friends for fear of being left behind. Even drowning would be preferable to being left alone. The setting of the deserted island is also so perfect for proving this point, as it really highlights just how alone June is if she chooses to let go of Ryan. A lot of dialogue that is used by characters reflect the thoughts of victims of these friendship groups: The old man saying that she would be ‘lucky to not be left behind’ is such a perfect example of how the characters start to specifically target June’s fear of abandonment. She puts up with everything the characters say to her because of the fear of being left behind on the island by herself. Right until the ending of the game, she does everything to help save her friends, and watching them slowly disappear into the ocean really adds to the futility that the player feels. A large part of the game is showing that some people cannot be saved, all you can do is either become corrupted with them or save yourself. 

Studio Investrigave also uses a large amount of foreshadowing throughout the game. I love the foreshadowing used in this first part of the story, with even the first sentence of the game referencing the ending. The quote that is used, ‘Bad company corrupts good character’ truly conveys the meaning of the game so well, and is the perfect quote to describe ‘Rot in Paradise’ with. The bad company, which starts as the ocean and becomes the supporting cast of friends, is physically shown to be corrupting the entire cast of ‘good’ characters through them rotting. Foreshadowing is also used to show the true nature of characters, with McCoy being accidentally mean to June, saying things like ‘Why couldn’t you come just a little later?’ and ‘Lazy and messy and forgetful…’. June also mentions that Ryan can’t swim, which sets up nicely for the ending of the story where Ryan drowns. McCoy’s accidental way of insulting June is very revealing of the character that he becomes towards the end. Ryan’s character is also commented on by June, as she says that he is ‘easy to bully and peer pressure’, highlighting his end where he follows his friends into the water despite not initially being corrupted. Another cool detail is June mentioning an incident with her cousin, that mirrors her own situation exactly. A friend group that was clearly awful, but she couldn’t leave. This shows June’s naivety to the situation that she is in, and makes the ending hurt that much more. 

However, the most interesting part of the game’s story is undoubtedly when the characters start ‘rotting’. The rot sees the character’s worst traits start to develop. McCoy becomes violent, and blames it on him ‘not meaning to’, referencing the scene at the beginning of the game. Carmen becomes uncaring of her friend’s concerns, saying that they were just ‘freaking out’. Vonnie treats June like she’s an actual child, highlighting her clear superiority complex that the game plays off at first as a character quirk. The rot can be perceived in two ways: mentally changing the characters, or exposing the people they always were. An interesting observation in these scenes is the constant use of the word ‘she’, mentioned both by Vonnie and Carmen. While nothing is explicitly confirmed, we can imply from the ending that the mysterious ‘she’ could either be something in the sea, or perhaps the sea itself. Either way, ‘she’ is presented as an enticing figure that attracts people in, a source of the rot, a bad influence on the friendship group. The sea is also a constant symbol of negative influence for the game. 

The most controversial part of the game by far is the ending. The ending has two options, to follow or go back. I think the endings are so important because it shows the reality of the situation: there is no option to save everyone, there is no true happy ending to the game. I think that the perspective of June is so important for the game, as we truly play as June. We can truly feel the same emotions that June does, the confusion and distress about her friends truly impacts us as well. The lack of information about the mystery of the game makes the game so much more haunting, as we are a human experiencing the confusion with no information instead of an omnipotent figure with a realistic theory of the cause of the rot. The game ends before you can come up with a solution or an answer for the mysteries that the game presents. When I first played the game, I thought the endings were symbols of futility. Like the rest of the game, the endings being short symbolise how much the situation can’t really be fixed by any of your actions. Neither ending is actually good for you. I do wish the ending had a little bit more clarity on what happens to June after she leaves her friends, but I think the mystery and uncertainty reflects June’s confusion with her own situation. 

Overall, the story is interesting because of the pure confusion and dread it makes the player feel. The story is supposed to be confusing, and this is because it’s not meant to be taken literally at all. It is a brilliant metaphor for change, abandonment and corruption. Studio Investigrave does such an amazing job at conveying this meaning of the game while still creating an interesting mystery for the players to experience. This game is made not to be taken at face value, and for a game that spent only a month in development, the story is truly incredible.