I Have Done It, I Have Figured Out The Watcher’s Theme, And How It It Fits With The Rest Of Rain World

I have done it, I have figured out The Watcher’s theme, and how it it fits with the rest of rain world (I will try to make this short sorry if I ramble)

ALSO SPOILERS (kind of)

Basegame

To me rain world is one of those games that can only truly be understood by playing it yourself, sure, you can read the wiki and watch the very good video essays about it, you can know the story, but you won’t Get It, because playing rain world? Dying over and over again? Exploring the world until you know it like the back of your hand? Dying in stupid ways? Some that aren’t even your fault? Getting so frustrated you don’t touch the game for weeks? That’s the Cycle, that’s why The Ancients decided to dip out, they weren’t just arrogant monks obsessed with death, they were tired, and frustrated, and just done with it, and as a player you experience that, the only out, the only rest, is to ascend, nothing else really matters.

Downpour

Downpour really means a lot to me because it takes what the basegame says, and goes against it, downpour is about how insignificant, small, sentimental things hold incredible meaning, eight slugcats, walking the same abandoned dying word, only separated by a literally incomprehensible time between them, the only ones who share a time period can’t meet again until their journeys have completely transformed them, Survivor and Monk go from pups, to a parent and a capable and independent adventurer respectably.

The slugcats are small, irrelevant, insignificant creatures, Five Pebbles says as much, and yet they shape and change the world around then in small but significant ways, for better or worse, Spearmaster, delivering the pearl that causes 5P complete isolation from his family, as well as allowing Moon to say a final goodbye, (also there is the shelter sign he draws in underhag (I think) and it just warms my heart), Artificer completely destroying the scavenger civilisation beyond repair, I even believe scavengers are so immediately hostile to Hunter, another red slugcat, Gourmand, that opens the gate to allow every lost slugcat a way back home, Rivulet, The Timeline Fixer.

I could go on but I’m really trying not to, where the rain world basegame is about how life is all about our path towards death, and how this is a mercy, peace, downpour is about how life, for as messy and small, has meaning, value, people who care.

The Watcher (finally, really sorry for the ramble)

Also warning, watcher is the only one of these I haven’t played, downpour is destroying me :,)

Anyways.

While basegame is about the peacefulness of death, and downpour is about how all life has inherited value, watcher is about how life is just plain old beautiful.

The world is wide, amazing, mysterious, and when you think you just began ti underhand it, something new comes (and kills you, taking away hours of progress, but ANYWAY-)

For all the complains I have heard about the new dlc, one thing that is a constant is just how stoning the new maps are, the new music is.

Watcher as a slugcat with just has one goal in mind, survive, and to do that, they are just chilling warping around the world with their new bestie.

The Best Echo Ever and Watcher are parallels, they both reject ascension in favour of exploring the world, accepting a Cycle of never ending death and resurrection, in favour of the unknown Void, not understanding why others see that as the better option, and for thought they were left behind.

So now, alone together, they just sit back and watch it all pass by, with jokes and introspection, acceptance of life as it is, with all that it has to offer, both good and bad.

There is also a bit about how the rejection of death is equally as damaging as the search for self destruction, points at the whole rot mess that’s going on, BUT again, I do not have the dlc, so I haven’t have the time to see all that’s going on over there.

That will be all, hope I made sense I didn’t ramble too much, I can’t help myself when it is about my favourite game about depression and existentialism :)

(SPOILERS FOR THE WATCHER ENDING) Its insane that you wrote all of that in just one ask to a random tumblr user because this is some banger thoughts and interpretations I really, really like your take on Downpour and it helped me come to the conclusion why I like that DLC so much and put it into words. Funnily enough, I am a player that lowkey personally disagrees with what the base game had to say about ascension. As much as I understand the motive of peacefulness of death 100%, there is something beautiful in the struggle and our own personal cycles. Basically I value the way more than the ending, and I think Downpour and how the decisions of such small scugs, haha, echo through the entire world with time is an amazing thing to think about. Though my thoughts on the Watcher were a tad different, mostly because the ending I got (SPOILERS) was the toys one - where the child Echo, the OAOA comes to a conclusion of what was binding them to the world - the inability to accept the next step, fearing "walking thorugh the white door" if I remember well. And with that, paired with the Watcher's opening cutscene (in which the OST "Childhood's end" plays) + the toyroom in the ending I started seeing this DLC as one about childhood, from two perspectives. One of an Echo desperately clinging to theirs, a time in their life that they don't want to leave behind, literally playing hide and seek with their slugcat friend in their little make-believesque world and of a slugcat who's childhood got ripped away, forcing them to just stall and observe everything that comes and goes their way in the "adulthood" they were never ready for, one that shouldn't have come so fast. Ironically enough, I think that the DLC really doesn't fit it's name - it puts the Watcher in the role of a protagonist, the most influencial thing in the worlds they traverse through, making them finally have an impact, make decisions that matter and shape the world all around. And not even in a powertrip-like sense, just in a sense of finding joy and peace in something so trivial like adventuring through countless make-believe worlds... or playing with toys. I really like the toys ending, dilly dally and have fun my scug

I liked the feeling of being insignificant in Rain World, this take on the Watcher kinda flips it on its head, but its okay in a way. Just relying this contrast of accepting the next step in life when you're ready for it and regaining the lost feeling of importance, control and the plain, simple ability to have fun.

Thank you for sharing your thoughts!!