I haven’t fully explored all routes of Steel path but [spoiler]
why does it seem that Steel is the one who handles the aftermath of Heartbreak incident very well? Sidestep’s case is very obvious so that makes it Steel and Ortega the only ones who keep it down well on the surface. I also get glimpses of Ortega’s emotional struggle but it’s not very evident(I will talk about it later.)
But in Steel’s case, he also knew some truths regarding the incident for example, Regene status and pictures. He also witnessed how Ortega was devastated by the Heartbreak event. He also got shot and had other shady things. Yet, during the talk with Sidestep, the way he talked about that event was kind of subdued. Maybe, it’s his neutral way of speech or maybe the soldier background has made him mentally resilient. Sidestep even dared to ask Steel about very sensitive issues like death, how HB made him feel but Steel was very calm. He didn’t exaggerate it. (Compared to Sidestep whose response has become defensive and bitter, and compared to Ortega, who has been trying hard to cover it, but failing??, responding angrily or become obsessed)
His legs got crushed and his almost whole body was replaced by synthetic parts. He probably also witnessed other horrors of war, especially as a soldier, being told to follow orders and not show any hesitation or vulnerability.
Yet, for all he has experienced, his responses could be summarised as mature/diplomatic or even considerate. It really contrasts with the rest of the survivors, Sidestep and Ortega, in my personal and very blunt opinion, both of them a mess.
Did Heartbreak affect Steel less? Or his innate emotional immunity to Heartbreak’s manipulation?
[/spoiler]
Ngl, this series has all the elements I love from the novel and the movie such as action, angsty, drama, mystery, psychological, romance, sci-fi, thriller and especially TRAGEDY. Kudos to the author for making FH. It has a special place in my heart since 2018.
there’s a hidden “stat”, gates! Presumably like the gates mentioned in the flashbacks of rebirth about HB and someone. they’re messed up psychic scenes that can be triggered like the scene in argent’s mind on the bridge if you try to control her again, the need to either make others feel your pain or to… not live in the way that heartbreak does in therapy, the need to silence the crowds around you outside the rangers hq, ect.
so uh! they’re kinda bad! and they’re very easy to miss.
once opened there are some things that can close them, and you can tell how many you opened by the end.
My “main” playthrough I only reveal myself to Argent. Otherwise I go maximum secrecy.
Honestly though I’m probably going to do a playthrough that is both maximum evil and maximum secrecy. I want to see if I can be both an abominable, vile villain and still keep secrets allllll the way until the end of the final book.
Presumably at which point my Sidestep either just ends the world out of inertia and sees it as a natural conclusion to things, or is fine living as the worlds most deadly and mysterious orphan eater and puppy kicker.
This is what I want to do on my main route. Seeing everyone’s reaction to being the bad guy was interesting, but I think we all agree this was probably the most humiliating situation a villain can find themselves in I want to reveal a big secret on my own terms. When the heroes will be defeated and completely helpless!
Right?! Getting stuck as the Puppet will make things far more interesting in the next book. I get why the vast majority of people seem to want a ‘perfect ending’ where everything goes well, but I think it’s way better when all goes wrong and Hell breaks loose. I’m planning on saving my playthrough where my Sidestep rescues his own body with help of the gang and then has to run away, panicking inside a hotel room. I’m excited to see what comes from that.
Yep, the puppet ending definitely seems to have the more potentially interesting stuff. I probably like the ending where the crime gang saves the main body while you get apprehended by Steel because you couldn’t bring yourself to shoot him, the most so far.
Some of us didn’t pick getting stuck in the Puppet for one good reason: Ortega!
If you get stuck in the Puppet, you don’t get to reveal anything. So, plz. Don’t assume.
And there is also the ending, where you don’t reveal anything either. I like that one too!
Personally, from a power standpoint: It’s better if you lose the puppet than your real body. Your real body has way more value and is more powerful, whereas the puppet may have its use and power of its own, but they are nothing in comparison to your Original Body.
As far as I remember, you cant know about the regenerator or be a mob boss (because you gonna hit HG with your crew). You have to say to the Dr to just buy the thing and she will ask you to go with her.
It’s exactly because the main body is so powerful that I prefer to lose it, actually! Playing the third game stuck as the Puppet you’ve been using to do your bidding for so long while your own is out of your control will make for a good challenge. (I need to stop saying “far more interesting” so much.)
It’s kind of a shame that you miss on the option to go to the casino as your Puppet if you’re a mob boss. Those sweet precog points, forever lost to the void…
This gonna sound dumb, but wth is Durability anyway? Like, Harold got Durability. What does that mean? Cause I sure like hell remember that idiot getting bruise and broken bones.
I can totally get it: my canon run is still puppetstuck: where Sidestep finally gets to live with a face she actually likes and a scientist who fell in love with said face… and has plenty of that precognition thing to hopefully help deal with whatever’s hijacked her OG body. Freedom with aces up your sleeves!
My second canon run I WAS planning to spend in Reluctant Villain Sidestep, happily settling with Herald…until I sent in the puppet to meet HG and his flashback of when Sidestep found him comatose popped up. Immediately switched gears, Ace should totally wake up and date my Sidestep. Bumpy ride, but it’s gonna taste better than rocky road ice cream.
There’s just so much I missed out simply by not sending the puppet to the meeting, and even getting entangled or pegged as a henchman wasn’t as bad as I thought. Can’t wait to see where the next book will go with the puppet. And Ace. Especially Ace.
So, doing a gate route and… Christ… We actually pull a small scale heartbreak, sharing mental images on two guards in the auction that drives them to tear themselves apart. Even Rat King was terrified.
I heard it brings Sidestep on a dark path, but holy hell.
I’ve played this a few times now and absolutely love it, am so much more attached to the characters like Steel, Ortega and Herald, Steel’s so interesting when I didn’t care for him at all in the first game, and the different choices are so fun, Sidesteps’ bias is really interesting still, especially when you have the context of later reveals and know things from previous playthroughs that the main character doesn’t know. I’ll just ramble a bit.
There are a bunch of cool endings. My first ending was fairly status quo, apart from Mortum knowing the true identity of Cypher (my villain), then the Re-gene reveal and love confession to Ortega, since my Step couldn’t keep it secret after they became intimate, needed to know if she’d still feel the same and fully expected rejection, so not sure what’ll happen now, Ortega is suspicious but seems to not be acting on that suspicion. Those reveals could backfire, but the only major issue so far is really the puppet getting taken over, and that doesn’t seem too bad. Turns out dwelling in the tunnels and just being a fairly low-key thief who never kills anyone is a great way to stop the Farm being able to find you, and the heroes seem to have other priorities. Also got the Healing achievement so on the whole things seemed fine in that run, although I’m sure that will change rather quickly going forward.
Cut to the second playthrough where my evil villain was an anarchist out for the truth who killed with no remorse, and the difference is night and day. That character seems screwed now, seemingly making every possible enemy except Mortum (if she can truly get over the sleeping with her through the puppet thing) and Bo, who may be too terrified to do anything. Sidestep’s body being taken over is much more terrifying than the puppet getting taken too, no idea how he’ll get past that.
My first character just wanted a better life and felt appropriately like a bit-player, while the second definitely came across as a major one. Rival Steel also definitely knows who the villain is in that 2nd run and hates him so…yay. It’s been very fun to try out different characters, replaying from the last checkpoint to get different combinations as well, for instance I adored my evil anarchist speaking to rival Steel in the scenario where he gets caught, it’s one of my favourite scenes in both books, and while it won’t be my canon for that run, it does leave me excited for future interactions between the two.
So yeah, this was well worth the wait, I’m very much looking forward to the next one when that releases, and will be following the speculation about it as I have been since release day.
I want to reveal a big secret on my own terms. When the heroes will be defeated and completely helpless!
