Did You Find What You Lost? Looking Back on The Missing 

Literal life-changing kind of game. Wonderful video piece. Definitely gave me some new insights on top of my own from playing it myself twice and watching others play it through. One thing I will say - which is the other half of the difficulty in recommending the title to others without spoiling the secret" - is that it needs major content warnings to go along with it, because a lot of those big story beats in the back half of the game can hit a lot of people where it hurts, no matter what walk of life they're from.

Great video. Late congratulations on your surgery, hope you're happy after it

Well, I'm in tears ;v; Fantastic video, Ricki.

"you've probably found something in common with a trans person" yeah, when I tell my trans friends that I'm interested in coding, play as a girl in most games, liked my little pony growing up, have only dated pan girls, had an ask blog on Tumblr in its golden age, love Celeste and ultrakill and guilty gear (and even mained Bridget in GGXX), and have autism... *PAUSE FOR BREATH* I've sometimes got the response of "wait and you're telling me you're NOT trans" like part of me hopes I don't have some massive realization about my gender because I'm a great example of how much a cis person can relate to a trans person, I've nearly hit every stereotypical trans woman bingo and here I am still male. Who knows though maybe next week I'll open GGst and Bridget's theme will hit me in the right part of my brain and I'll wake up in thigh highs the next morning

Just came across your channel. I love your videos! (And as someone starting their PhD in psychology appreciate both the gaming videos and the PhD videos so so much)

This is easily my favourite game with the Arcsys name attached to it. And yes, that includes their fighting game library which is still excellent. So, real talk, I knew what I was getting into when I finally played this game, because I'd watched a Let's Play of it the Scary Game Squad did. At the time of the reveal I was kinda disappointed, because of my own internalised transphobia that I'm still having some hard time getting over (But have made improvements since coming out as trans). I'd watched that LP about 3 times before playing it myself, and I still got a lot out of it. Since then, I played it twice, once by myself on PS4 and when I started VTubing, I played it as my second game on PC (It was planned first though, but my PC needed a bit of an upgrade first). I talk thoroughly about my thoughts on the game while collecting FK dolls, but I'll summerise. First, the whether Memoria Island I think is at least somewhat real, but I took the game's story itself to be a near death experience JJ was having. Possibly influenced by a real trip she took to with Emily during their camping trip. But the locals we visited have nothing to do with the actual island. It's a patchwork of JJ's other memories at work. Places she's been and stuff. Second, to me, the hairshrieker I felt represented JJ's suicidal thoughts. Her will to die at the time. I also kinda like the detail shown in the concept that original it wore a nun's habit, as religious conservatives tend to be the ones who are anti-trans, but I feel it was a good call not to go for it, as it creates an easy enemy and it's much more complex than that. Third, I feel the Emily we've been chasing was part of JJ's will to live. An anchor keeping her from giving into those thoughts. It's possible JJ's feelings for Emily are equally bound in admiration as well as love, so perhaps the Emily we've been chasing has took that form as JJ would've liked to have been like her. This is just a theory. FK, though I'm afraid I didn't think about and doesn't factor, but can fit into a similar vein. Fourth, I know a lot of people give JJ's mother flack, and have even thought poorly of Swery for saying that his statement of 'no one is wrong for being who they are' includes her, kinda suggesting that 'she's not wrong for being a transphobe and putting her daughter through conversion therapy', and I totally get their reasoning. But I honestly don't think JJ's mother was a villain. An antagonist, yes, but not a villain. And there's a difference. She's just a concerned, religious mother, who fell down the wrong pipeline and ended up hurting JJ instead of helping her. And their strained relationship didn't really help matters. I feel their relationship started to get better when you read the post-game messages, where you learn kinda why she helicopters over her. Maybe I have a rare view on that, though, because I have a rare situation where I'm part of a religious family and they still loved and respected me after I came out as trans. And finally, since I have stated that JJ's mother, you have to ask who is in this situation, right? I don't think there was ever an intended villain per say, other than the hairshrieker and the resulting battle over JJ's life. So, in my opinion, there is no actual villain. At least not a singular villain. The true villain is a society that tends to other those different and encourage harming them. The real villain is bigotry. Bigotry can take on many forms, but the fortunate thing is there's a cure: Education. There are many people who support the queer community that were once bigots. They learned. They had the will to learn, and they became better people. Why the time I finished my LP of this game for PC, I'd experienced this story around 5 times and I've 100% it twice. And it still brings me to tears. I consider this game a must play even if you know the twists and the story. And I think that makes it a great story. Anyway, yeah, this became long winded. Sorry about that.

great video

For anyone brushing off the "go play it for yourself FIRST": i didnt do that and i regret it. i wish so badly to unwatch this video so i can play the game first. Go Play The Game First

I remember distinctly watching the Zero Punctuation for this game years ago, and decided that I'd go ahead and skip the game. And now I can't help but feel sad like I missed out on a valuable piece of media that might have helped me while I was in the throes of coming to terms with myself. Like I could've made the connection sooner and with more self love. I think I owe it to myself to fix the mistake of skipping over this game. Your videos have become a comforting presence. Thanks, Doc.💙💖🤍💖💙