john spent his whole life loving her, but never really being able to connect with her because he couldn't understand her developmental disability, and river spent her whole life desperately trying to communicate her love to him by bringing up how they first met, their experiences together... but he had no memory of them. they both loved each other, but were never able to express it the right way. and the dream he has... it's just an opportunity for them to be able to finally do so.

When you hear the beeps flatline, and you realize he died, that just kills me every time. His last memory was going to the moon with River...

As a guy who lost his mother and his best friend at 7, this game spoke volumes to me. It's funny, really, how we have so many advanced AAA games coming out, yet, almost none of them even manage to get close to the level of storytelling indie games like this one have... The world needs more stories like this to be told.

And with his last heartbeat, he was happy.

Saddest and happiest ending to a game. It's seriously a really beautiful game that needs more attention.

real men cry at pixels! god damn!

Anyone else realize the whole game is purely about giving a dying man a sweet dream before he dies? like... in reality he still lived a crap life, and River still died miserable.

Still, a year after playing it, the ending never ceases to make me cry... a lot. One of the great stories of our generation as gamers that deserves more.

that final beep fading into the first note of the outro song is the master's touch, epic game, and epic ending, they should turn this into a movie

The way the last beep of the heart monitor blended into the violin note is just beautiful. Simply beautiful.

This, and the beginning of "Up", are the only scenes in any movie/game where I can't hold my tears, no matter how many times I watch them...

Just got done watching your entire play-through, and I'm so glad I took the time to. This is such a beautiful game. I am just... blown away.

2 Neils at 36:41, big red flash right at the end 42:38, maybe its all Neils life experiences, and one of them is about John. Maybe he such a great life he wanted to give others a better one by any means he knew how, BY ALTERING HIS MEMORIES OF LIFE. Holy shit this is getting deep, I need to go watch inception to calm down...

this should be made into a movie.

Great work Reives. Glad to see that the project is finished and has received such great feedback. You are indeed an artist.

It's rare I find a game that touches my emotions so deeply. I didn't notice the second Neil, and the theory that this is him *also* spending the last of his time shaping wonderful experiences with the girl *he* likes just added another level to it. Wow.

FancyjakeOnline, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to do a walkthrough on this beautiful game. There's not many games that pull at my heartstrings, and I feel that this one really got to me. Again, thank you.

I cried because at first they make River out to be so distant and just plain confusing. But all along she was trying to help him, even in the end... So touching.

By far my greatest gaming experience ever. Incredibly clever and moving.

I loved it too! the minute it went flat...i went from kind of teary eyed, to burst out sobbing. it was so beautiful. It was an amazing story, I don't think I'll ever forget it. it was an honor to play.

Those last few moments with the heart monitor are... I just think they're absolutely beautiful.

THANK YOU. lots of people played this game, put it on youtube with comments they made during aaaaaaaall the end, and thats annoying when you want to concentrate in the story. again, THANK YOU

Art can be defined as anything that evokes emotion through a mastery of some medium. In this case, it's the combination of a grand story culminating in the sound of a heart monitor that transitions into a single strain from a violin. So simple, yet so beautiful. It IS art, whether it personally appeals to you or not.

This game is absolutely perfect. Never before have I cried at a game. This is a true form of art, I'll never forget this game.

your are correct.. everytime i watch these parts i just cry.. because ive grown so attached to neils charector i just.. im just so sad that this is all his memory and hes really dieing and he wanted to spend his last minutes in his memory watching him and the girl he likes going and helping patients so he can relive all those wonderful moments with her..

That you so much for this. God, this game is one of my favs. :)

OMG I cried so much during just this part of the video series alone. What a game!

One of the best stories in a video game ever. I cried like a baby as soon as he went to the stairs and River wasn't there. So much depth. This game proves you have have an amazingly deep gaming experience without top of the line graphics. All you need are characters you love and a solid story.

Thanks for posting this! It's incredibly hard to find silent play throughs these days. :( And to anyone who enjoyed the story to this game; Watch Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. You'll love it just as much as this.

This... was... incredible!!! This game's story is brilliant, just brilliant. I mean, sure the gameplay was awesome I assume, but the story! And it's Episode 1?! I can't wait for what's next! :D

Game theory: River is actually Elizabeth from Bioshock Infinite 7:30 Theory confirmed.

*Simply sheads tears* just one word to describe the ending... MASTERPIECE.

I just finished the game tonight. Absolutely beautiful. This is one story that will stay in my mind for the rest of my life. :') Just beautiful... I would 100% buy a movie or modern graphics adaptation of this. Bravo!

The moment where the cardiac monitor flatlines... That was amazing. When I saw that during my first playthrough I just sat there, staring at the screen with tears running down my face. Aaaaah I'm crying again make it stop

this was just beautiful and made me reflect how I want to live my life. It is still not late, and I will for sure try to remember even the insignificant promises because it will place a smile on people and myself.

This is the most beautiful story I have ever seen.

Every goddamn time. Even if I watch it repeatedly within seconds, I always shed a couple tears. This game is art.

I love the way Johnny's flatlining heart monitor then becomes the ending theme, it's so poetic

I can't wait for the next one!

this is just about the best story i have ever seen. There will never be a game as amazing and as sad as this game.

What a beautiful Game... god the story was so perfect.. Great Work of Art!!!!

graphics and gameplay is important, but what really beats things, is a good storyline, a good strong story that will bring emotion from the players

Glad to have stumbled upon this game.

maybe he is changing the memories of others he could not change at the time, fixing what he could not fix, reliving his days with those who he cherishes, that is the best kind of end, an end where we can say one last goodbye to everyone we saw along the way.

finally , something worth watching on youtube

The end really made me shed a few happy tears.

GAH that very last part before the credits makes me cry every single time

For everyone who liked the story, I recommend the movie Moon. It also has a tear jerking story, but it is kind of the opposite. The main character wants to return to earth from the moon, instead of the opposite. But it kinda has the same themes going on for it, and of course the emotional music and atmosphere. I actually kind of felt that this story was inspired from it.

never has a game made me cry this much until now,such a beautiful story and an excellent game. ;__;

@pliskinn0089 *continued* so in a sense, yes River was the reason he wanted to go to the moon in the first place, but they 'found' each other originally and Johnny had forgotten why he wanted to go to the moon (hence the origami bunnies and then the one with the blue head she made him) but by making it so they didn't meet in High School meant that they'd 'go to the moon and find each other' like they promised as kids. That's why she needed to be removed.

Yeah.. I am cry just now because this game. Incredible Game, DO A MOVIE WITH THIS STORY, because is so heartwarming.

Oh my GOD. I just got the "What else" part of River's last conversation with John, about the rabbit and how that was supposed to be a reference... DANGIT, THE TEARS JUST WENT AWAY.

Such a sweet ending I loved playing the game all the way through an it still makes me cry:')

@DemonicChocobo I think it's something more than that because we can see Neil's sprite waver as the flash ends which I might add look similar to the flashes we saw during Johnny's memories. I think that this whole thing is one of the doctors memories.

makes me cry every time

shed a tear or two near the middle of the video and then another one at the endim a sap for these kinds of stories :,-)

When i heard the beeping at 38:40 i thought it was the shuttle making noises. Then, i heard the ongoing beep... and began to cry... RIP Johnny. I hope you find River again on the moon.

It will be interesting to see how Neil's addiction begins to hash out in the upcoming sequels in the series.

Oh yeah, good shout. Didn't really understand the relevance of that story arc though, but I do reckon you're right.

Wow this was amazing. Best game ever. This just proves that the quality of the design and graphics don't mean a thing. The quality of the game beats a lot of games that were made these days. This is incredible.

God, when I heard those beeps I thought it was the shuttle, then John and river held hands. And right after, the ongoing beep began.... And that is the first time I shed a tear for a video game :')

So bittersweet.

@Raizo2212 it was the first episode. maybe its a plot element that will be elaborated on the next episodes.

@American5585 It means there's going to be a sequel! If you want speculation, I think that diving into someone's mind harms more than just the patient. Neil could be experiencing some kind of side effect of the device and his condition is likely going to worsen after each game. In fact, there was that one part where he mysteriously excuses himself and does something unknown for a large point in time before returning, I'm thinking he's hiding some symptoms at that point.

Damn this game for making me cry.

I accidentally skipped ahead and still found myself crying to the music

Please... make a movie of this....so beautiful.

Its comforting. He got his final wish how he wanted it. It was perfect.

4:00 to 10:00 . This is it. The scene that made this game the best game that I have ever played. Talk about where piece of the puzzle being put together. Playing and taking in this story is definitely an experience that everyone should go through at least once in their lives.

Whoever made this game, Inspired me and changed my life. This guy gshould be a Director Writer or a Producer.

I kind of... cried myself to sleep the night that I finished this. One of the best games I've ever played, I think.

@pliskinn0089 They had to remove her because Johnny ended up devoting his life to River at the time and didn't use his early years to pursue his dream, and then the doctor went back and saved his brother so th memory of him wanting to become an astronaut was never blocked out and neither was meeting River as a child and them promising if they ever got lost they'd meet again on the moon - which since they never met in his new memories is what I think drove them to work for NASA.

I think it's more beautiful as a game. We have a chance to involve ourselves in the story and watch as the memories develop, which would be almost impossible for a movie to do

beautiful game and storyline. i hope this will become a sequel.

this is truly a sad yet beautiful story.I think Joey lived as Johnny ever since the accident.He wanted to write Johnny's life and fulfill his promise to buy a big house for him.but he never told to anyone even to River that he is Joey.When he met River, he felt something was strange. It was the same Platypus Johnny had at the carnival and River has it. However johnny called it a weird duck.That's y he cldn't understand why the rabbit was so important for her,and he finally understood b4 he died.

3:05 I cried like a baby because of this scene, is so beautiful

dam.... i saw only the ending and my heart sank...

Cried some good man tears, was a fantastic game

@Slimjimmybob the white and blue rabbit represent the rabbit in the sky River and Johnny imagined while looking at the sky, the white part is the moon, the blue part are the stars. but for your 2nd question i have no idea :S

Such a beautiful yet sad ending.

I don't think I've cried this much in,...ever. It was tears of sadness that went to tears of joy with no break. Exceptional score to this game. Got to go buy some new songs =).

what a wonderful story this make me sad :( Beautiful musics!

@MaDrung Right, he remembered but didn't really remember. He had a feeling deep down but he didn't know why exactly, something like that.

Best story for a video game and made me cry a lot probably my favorite game ever

GOD I CAN'T STOP CRYING, THIS IS SO FUCKING BEAUTIFUL

@TrrainWrreck Well yes your comment makes perfect sense and i agree in everything except in one thing : If they actually met , and the whole point of going to the moon was to met her , so theres no point of wanting to to the moon in the first place , i mean they met they spent a life together. So why the wish?. You fill me? thats the part that doest not makes sense to me.

what did they mean to last 1: to the moon will where be a 2? sorry for bad english

@Dman1reallyroc You probably missed getting the painkillers earlier on in the story. Remember when you had to get the dead squirrel stench? There are painkillers on the ground there. That's why Neil had to go "take a leak". To take some painkillers. That is also what he did at the end when the screen flashed red. Neil probably has a sickness or something, and may be explained in Episode 2.

Thank god I'm not the only one who also cried when I finished this game too

@theslaughteringdevil no it is completely normal, it just means you don't have any relation or built up emotion to really cry about, I only cried since I had a year of built up emotion to get out, sure it's one of the saddest games ever but when you think about it, why does anybody cry? Because they can relate, they have built up emotions, or it's just so sad that your heart gets "broken". So you are still awesome :)

@SpooniestBard He did not remember why he wanted to go to the moon. He stated that many times. If he had, he wouldn't be wondering. But even tho he could not access his memory he could feel that he needs to go there.

@pliskinn0089 No no I know ^^ I personally think it's because that since he 'didn't know' why he wanted to go to the moon, being with her actually killed his passion rather than causing him to strive for it and that's why he forgot why he wanted to go to the moon. It has more to do with the fact they promised to meet again on the moon as kids if he never found his way back to her - so yes she's the cause of his wish, but for him to fufil it

@Slimjimmybob Sorry if my english is bad. For the hacky-sac, I think this is the first attempt for River to bring back Johnny's memory about their first meeting. Or to know for certain he don't remember. Must be heartbreaking when your lover throw away a memento of him you kept for maybe more than 30 years like it was nothing ...

Free bird announced that episode 2 will be a new patient, they also announced that they will make a sort of... sequel and episode to johns story.

There is something with his head. When Rosalene went to pick up some roadkill, you can also oick up Neil`s painkillers. And, when you met him, he will tell weird story about the wall.

Remember that this is a machine's reconstruction based on Johnny's knowledge of the world? In short, Johnny believed (or wanted to believe) that space shuttle is used to get to the moon.

at 36:41 i want you to take a long look at the man behind neil or should i say the neil behind neil

could someone explain to me how they managed to prevent joey (john's brother) from dying? i seem to have missed that part

That was fantastic :] really moving Bravo. Thank you for uploading this. And it seems neil may be dying himself 0.0

@Nirggoth Well, they can erase and move people, why not restore?