This World Wants to Die 

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"The meaning of life is what you make of it, and also batflies" -Slugcat (probably)

The world: A horrible purgatory, riddled with the remains of a civilization desperate to understand and escape their fate. The fandom: Slugcat!!!weeeee!!!Weeeeee Scugcat!!! weeeee!!!

You have summoned its fandom

One thing is that not every ancient had the unending desire to ascend. There is an echo that can be encountered during saint's timeline that says as much: "Do you see the same as me? Beauty continuing to bloom even in a place long forgotten. I did not have the will to depart, nor the desire. Why did they always search for an escape, as if we were imprisoned? What offering from the void could usurp the gift of life already given? This moment, right here! It is where we are meant to be." The existence of this echo implies that it was forced upon every ancient to ascend, rather than a free decision. But it's always up to the scug to choose if they wanna ascend!

The reason why the ancients all died off was a “mass ascension” where whether they liked it or not, everyone hopped into the fluid.

FINALLY YOU COVER RAINWORLD WE GETTIN OUTTA THE RETENTION WALL WITH THIS ONE BOYS

It’s not necessarily just moral purity that determines what the ancients thought would make you an echo. For example, in Farm Arrays, the echo there talks about how much they enjoy the view of the fields, implying that any connection to the world, regardless of morality, can tether you between reality as an echo.

"Actively Hostile" yeah tell me about it, sometimes you die by simply existing in the same room as anything at all, or moving a little too fast at a Scav Toll. Absolutely BRUTAL.

[Rain World spoilers] The way that the player’s experience parallels the slugcat’s is unique. The game is hard for the player, but so is the world for the slugcat, the countless deaths the player go through are also what the slugcat experiences. And the world is unknown and hard to understand, both for the slugcat in that world and the player who plays the game. And the knowledge the slugcat gains is the same as of the player. The game’s philosophy is quite interesting, in some ways similar to that of the Buddhism. There are many perspectives on the eternal cycle of rebirth. The one in the game shows the disturbing part of the eternity, being stuck in the cycle of reëxperiencing suffering over and over again, forever and ever. One thing i want to note is that it’s not really "sins" but it’s the things that attach you to the world, they aren’t inherently bad but they will prevent the ascension. The perspective of the enjoyment in the cycle is more explored in the DLC downpour, even though it isn’t made by the same developers, i think it does expand the philosophy of the game in interesting ways. Finding the joy in the eternal cycle is also possible perspective. i think both of these perspectives are pretty valid, but it depends on each person which one is better. For example, for another slugcat, the hunter, who is terminally ill, the ascension is a pretty desirable option. But whether the slugcat, the survivor, the one the main game is about, wants to ascend is quite ambiguous. On one hand, the slugcat does want to find the family, but on another hand the slugcat does also accept that it will never happen, judging by dreams. The ascension is not the initial goal, but it’s unknown if it is the new goal for the slugcat after the enlightenment.

We don't know much about the ancients, but we do know they had great sense of style and incredible sneakers.

Rain world, the only fictional setting where the long-dead precursor race actually wanted to die.

Sounds less like 7 deadly sins and more like 108 worldly desires to me. Not the opposites of virtue, per se, but things that keep you… anchored to worldly existence, so to speak.

Rain deer?… ally?… reindeer are no ally

My biggest flex is that my sisters friends uncle made rainworld and now he knows what I look like

"The Most Complex Ecosystem in any Game" actually got me into Rain World year and a half ago. I didn't see much of the video to avoid spoilers and I immediately bought it. Best purchase I've ever made

12:52 “There sure is a lot of life happening here” As Catslug gets obliterated by a lizard and two vultures

The old one is dying, a new one slowly being born

Straight up foundrying it, and by "it" Let's just say- my tale

Bro the entire rw discord went INSANE when you uploaded this. Congrats on summoning the majority of the fandom ❤

THE RAIN WORLD FANDOM HAS DETECTED YOUR VIDEO! THANK YOU FOR COVERING IT

I love how you Address the slugcat as "Slugcat" instead of "The Slugcat" Like it's his name instead of his species lmao.

RAINWORLD MENTIONED

Rainworld player here! Depending on what you do, Slugcat does get to go home! There are multiple Scugs in the timeline that you can play as, and if you do something specific as one of them, Slugcat (The Survivor) gets to go home!

16:05 "breaking the cycle is appealing to those who don't see any value in it." that line really reminded me of the line "one must imagine Sisyphus happy." It makes sense they are about someone or something, stuck in an eternal cycle but not breaking free from said cycle, and I think that's beautiful.

15:12 If it makes you feel any better, there is an alternate ending where he does get to return to his family

Bro summoned the whole fanbase

Tale foundry made a video about RAIN WORLD? Now this is a happy day

Was playing Rainworld just a few hours ago. Finished Rivulet's quest and was rewarded with a cute picture for it. It's worth all of the panic and drowning.

To my knowledge, only one iterator (sliver of straw if I remember correctly) has supposedly solved the problem. The triple affirmative. And the remaining iterators still debate on if this was a correctly given signal. Being sliver of straw was discovered to be dead soon after giving the signal that it had solved the problem. The rest are still searching for a way to solve Ascension. Summoning the rain world fandom causes very silly interactions. Slug cat is love slug cat is life.

and then downpour happened. post gourmand survivor ending really feels like the one the game wants for you, somber as it is, completing the monk ending after really feels like life is worth it. specially with the mothernal instincts of taking care of baby slugcats yourself. having to put in more effort to get the ending that makes life more meaningful than death and having to play as two slugcats looking for eachother to achieve it is beautiful. and the game never forces you to take care of random scug babies you find, its meaning in your life you chose yourself.... and then came jesus

Good notification RU-vid

Love Rainworld from both a worldbuilding and speculative biology sense.

Finally a decently sized channel covers rainworld

the slugcats are not the organisms that was make to clean pipes, you can read about one but its never says that you are made for that

I never thought I’d see you cover this, my life is completed. However as a dedicated rain world player one mistake I would like to note is that, the iterators in the base game area are in a special state of disarray most of them survive a significant time longer than moon and FP does (FP still survived a long time but he likely collapsed centuries before the others) however I still love this video and it was really good, I only wish it was longer

If I had a penny for everytime a group of beings known as Ancients used a technique called ascension to do away with the whole mortal coil... I could open a store that sold pennies.

The rain world revival is wild. I played the game in 2022 before downpour and it’s wild how such a niche game suddenly became a cult classic.

If I had a nickel for every 'Rain' game franchise that's stuck in an endless cycle of living and undying, I'd have two nickels. . .which isn't a lot, but it's weird that it happened twice. Right? Now, if I had one for every time I respawned.

The slugcat and lizard art in this video is adorable and perfect. It was a wonderful reflective piece on the game environment as well, perhaps my favorite I've seen of the game thus far. Many others just get the lore details wrong or deliver it in a very annoying way. You told it so nicely.

The game is pure cosmic horror, meanwhile the fandom consists of the most wholesome people in the world, making iterator OCs and memes about rotund Gourmand. I love Rain World.

Rain World is possibly the industry's best example of a game being art. It utilizes its medium so fully that nothing else could do it justice the same way. Yet it is also widely different from every other piece of media in every medium, games included. No other experience is anything like it, and should be seen by everyone. But it is also cursed by the way it stands apart from everything else. It is wild that games like Elden Ring are so much more approachable by comparison. Because Rain World's difficulty is so much more than just the strategy and execution challenges that make up the bulk of difficulty in other games (which do still exist in Rain World as well). The real difficulty is a comprehension one. To understand the way the world works and how you are meant to survive in it. To learn how to find food, avoid predators, and even befriend other creatures. To use the plethora of movement options and tools available to you to scale a world that seems impossible to navigate. And then there is the Rain. Rain World is beautiful game, but not in any conventional way. It is true though, and fully evident whenever it starts to rain. No other game creates the kind of scale and unyielding power, like the rain in Rain World. The emotion it brings is a powerful thing, so do yourself a favor and experience it for yourself.

fun fact: if you hit the water just right with a dlc character (the blue one) you can "ploink" and be sent flying

"A little animal, caught in something far beyond its understanding" Perfectly describes the blind playthrough of the game. It's interesting how the humble slugcat gets closer to the ascension requirements by gaining karma just by living to see another day. Catching batflies, eating blue [not]fruit, occasionally pinning a lizor to a wall or floor... The DLC actually adds a slugcat who refuses ascension and instead returns home (That actually allows Surv and Monk to return home as an alternate ending) to indulge in simple pleasure in life - good food, specifically. And another slugcat which shows what happens when you try to ascend but can't let go of the worldly obsessions. Also, kudos to whomever drew the slugcat in the video! Looks so cute in this style!

This game is so underrated It’s great to see a big channel like you making a video on it

Yes! Rain World! This is my favorite indie game of all time, I'm so happy you're covering this :D Edit: There's now a second ending for most slugcats, including the little white one (The Survivor), in the Downpour DLC. It adds a new region where the slugcats live, and you can return to your colony at the end if you choose to do so. It's quite sweet, and I think the sort of ending that really fits these little characters. I'm currently working through the slugcats myself, so no spoilers in the comments for anyone that's finished all the campaigns.

Based on what we see in the cutscene at the end of the game, there might be some sort of heaven that comes after ascension, and the cycle is preventing life from reaching heaven until they let go of the vices keeping them in this mortal plane. Before the Ancients discovered the void fluid, they first tried to ascend by JUST letting go of the vices that were mentioned in the video. The void fluid may just be an easy workaround that the unworthy people thought could let them ascend. I assume that the reason the slugcat is able to ascend is because they had no material attachments to the mortal world (which was the main vice that prevented people from ascending using void fluid). The goal and means of ascension may not be as dismal as it is made out to be in this video. After all, who wouldn't want to go to heaven?

I'm so glad you talked about rain world never expected it

I love how tale foundry finds a meaning out of the story I only learned the lore but never the moral of the story and now thanks to this video I understand the meaning

This game is one of the best built worlds I’ve ever seen… and it’s so under covered. I’m so glad it’s been getting more attention recently because the story is actually ingenious

Amazing video!! I love love love Rain World and you got most everything right! Most everything So a few mistakes I noticed: Consuming gravel and bitter tea was a practice from before void fluid was discovered. The ancients were essentially starving themselves in an attempt to ascend the cycle since there was no other way they could think of. It's similar to the practice of self-mummification that monks used to do. Slugcats aren't actually the purposed organism to clean pipes. A lot of fans assume this because moon says that the pearl brought is for a slug-like organism made to clean pipes, immediately thinking "oh well that must be a Slugcat". However, the name Slugcat is actually completely fanmade that the devs adopted as canon. Slugcats aren't made with either slugs or cats in mind, they're their own thing. That and moons refers to the organism the pearl is about and slugcats as if they're different things, so it's unlikely that this is actually about slugcats themselves. Iterators never solved the great problem. They were created after void fluid was discovered so I imagine their goal was to find a safe way to ascend without the risk of turning into an echo. Moon tells us that the ancients saw the cycle as a giant fishing net, catching any fish that struggles against it. Only the limp body of a jellyfish can escape the net, so they felt they should try not to care or think about escaping so that they could. This is partly the reason for iterators, someone to pass on the effort of actively trying to ascend onto. I suppose they eventually grew tired of waiting, so they all mass ascended. This is something forced on all ancients, whether they want to ascend or not. It is canonical that not everyone wanted to ascend, but they were forced. The iterators now are resigned to continue trying to find a solution for the rest of life. Iterators are not actively trying to find a way to self ascend, well at least many of them aren't. Some are trying to find a work around for the self destruction taboo, but other's see this as traitorous to their creators. One iterator did actually find a way to break this taboo, Sliver of Straw. I won't get into much detail but Moon says this kinda forced a huge divide in iterators. Sliverists, which is what Five Pebbles is, want to follow in her footsteps and believe breaking the self-destruction taboo is the solution. Pebbles tried desperately to do this, causing moon to collapse due to him taking most of her water supply, and ultimately failed, condemning himself to the equivalent of robot cancer. The 5 karma are less of sins and more of earthly attachments. The ancients may have seen little difference, sure, but really they were what tied someone to the cycle. Depending on the level of attachment you have to the cycle, this can cause your spirit to not fully leave and become trapped as an echo. In Slugcat's ascension, specifically Survivor, they do somewhat get what they wanted, their family. Now whether or not it's actually other slugcats that ascended is up to debate. The DLC also adds another ending for Survivor to return home and for their younger sibling, Monk, to find them. In Monk's ascension ending they do find Survivor in the void sea as well. A lot is up to personal interpretation, the game does not make a lot of the lore clear. The most clear explanation for a lot of the lore we get is from Moon, who is likely an unreliable narrator through no fault of her own. She literally only has 5 neuron flies and her umbilical is severed so she doesn't have any connection to the rest of her body. Needless to say her memory is prone to being a little.. inaccurate. I mean, we see how many neuron flies a normal iterator has and with moon only having five it's hard to imagine just how much information she's missing. Having played Rain World a tiny bit (over 400 hours), this video is insanely good. Especially for someone who never finished it themselves. I will say that ascension is SOOOO much different when personally experienced rather than watching it. It's hard to explain, but experiencing it first-hand is so intense. It feels like this is where you're meant to be, that all your struggles led to this very moment. It's confusing, yes, but so beautiful. This is it, countless deaths have led to this moment.

You know, someone in the comments section of Curious Archive's last video said it would be cool if the two channels collabed, so learning TF knows about CA is borderline surreal.

Oh my god, you covered it so well. You didn't go as much into the detail or the plot, but instead went into all of the symbolism of the cycle and the ancients, iterators and slugcats, and it's genuinely the first time I've ever heard someone cover it like that. It gave me a whole new view on a game I thought I knew inside and out, and honestly, really did give me a moment to be truly grateful for life. I had no clue you'd go over rain world, and it honestly came as such a shock to me, but a very welcome one at that.

It finally happened, the sheer joy in seeing that thumbnail instantly caused me to do one of those goofy ahh grins

11:43 That line goes so hard

Just for the record after beating fourth campain with Its main ending (ascencion is alternative) you unlock a way for a White slugcat (refered as survivor) to return home, it is half happy ending as you do not reunite with your family but there is a way to make it better ending which i wont spoil.

I didn’t think they would review this but I’m pleasantly surprised

I feel like the overall theme of Rain World can best be summed up by the title of the last song in the game: Reclaiming Entropy. With the Downpour DLC, you watch the entire story of the world unfold. From the iterators in their prime, communicating frequently. to the Saint's campaign where they have all fallen into disarray in a frozen wasteland. But there is a glimmer of hope in the Undergrowth, where there is still warmth and the ecosystem and all its inhabitants thrive. The Scavengers are still alive and dot the landscape, and my headcanon is that many many years after Saint, the scavengers go on to become the next great civilization... and the cycle, itself, repeats.

I've been loving the video game/internet culture videos you all have been making! As someone who deeply appreciates storytelling in video games, it's great to see appreciation for games like Rain World that put so much craft into the experience.

14:50 this realisation is THE thing that makes this ending just so unbearably depressing to me. Even thinking about it squeezes tears out of my eyes

Worth noting because it is seldom mentioned, even within the community, with the DLC you actually get two endings per slugcat, Ascension and a Campaign Specific one, and this includes Survivor and Monk

In the DLC that came out last year, the slugcat is actually able to go home to the tree it lived in! Also Amazing video!!

Bro one of my favourite games makes an appearance on one of my favourite channels. LETS GO!

A great video about the story of Rain World is The Affairs of Passing Gods. It dives more into the story of the iterators and the politics behind the ascension taboo with the main focus of the story being the iterator Five Pebbles' self destructive tendencies and the realisation that when he realises what he's doing and how others want to help him, it's already too late to do anything. Hits in the feels and is an overall great watch.

Thank you for covering the lore in a way that doesn’t spoil all campaigns, since ive only finished survivor so far and wanna know a bit more about the lore

RAIN WORLD YEAH THANK YOUOOOO

TALE FOUNDRY!!! Drop another rain world video.. and my life, is yours.

The chiselled muscular physique of the scug

Connecting the game's moral themes and discussion within the story, to the response seen in how the players view the game, is beyond pristine. This game changed my life, and you covered it better than anyone else in the fandom. Thank you.

That is pretty nifty! I had no idea it went this deep into its little world. This is why I love your channel. These kinds of dives into the deep end.

i dont have enough time to watch this yet, but one of my absolute favourite channels covering one of my absolute favourite video game worlds is so exciting!!! WOO

good video! i wish you touched more on the ego and fault of the ancients . like the whole thing of them wearing huge fancy golden masks and having long titles of importance. they had entire memory crypts dedicated to storing every single one of their memories because they thought they were so important. a good one is the Deep Magenta Pearl which shows their obsession with titles and importance- and storing their memories. they were very frivolous . its ironic

play rain world for the world, story, art, and music while I love the game, the most fun I had while playing it was exploring the world and uncovering the lore

Ever since I saw that rainworld stream I have been waiting for this. Haven't watched it yet but I know you guys won't dissappoint

Tale foundry + rain-world = *happiness*

This was a really good breakdown of an aspect of Rain World you don't often seen discussed. If you're getting more into interesting game worlds, then there's another one I think you might like. Inscryption is a game that has had countless videos made on it about it's interesting setting and ARG surrounding it, but one angle I haven't really seen discussed often that I think you'd enjoy exploring is what it's like for the characters in the game to exist in the way they do. Well, regardless of if you take that approach or not, I think you'd really like looking into this one. Love your channel, bye!

Let’s gooooo Rain World!!!! Edit: the part about making memes about the characters is too true

I like your perspective that the ancients aren’t actually all truth and right and that the other creatures aren’t really suffering because of the cycle (except for the current state the ancients left the world in with the rain), most lore channels just go by “yes yes it’s good to die yes yes all creatures suffer yes yes die die no suffering yes yes”

15:56 “I would much rather live my life and have fun rather than do whatever this ascension thing is” Downpour is yours for the taking, they introduced an alternate ending

I'm so happy to find actual good Rain World videos. I love the game so much. Great video :)

RAINWOTLD REFERENCED RAINWORLD REFERENCE RAINQORLD MENTIONEF THANK YOU I WILL DEVOUR !!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a simple person. I see a rainworld video. I click.

RAINWORLD MENTIONED DAY IMPROVED

I've been blessed by the heavens -- ain't no way you made a video on my favorite video game! :D (As may have been noticed by my name + pfp) Very well made all throughout, thank you for the video!

I cannot say how happy I am that you covered Rain World, it is and has been for a long time one of my favourite games out there, as well as being incredibly unique!

Do you see the same as Me ? Beauty continuing to bloom in a place long forgotten. I did not have the will to depart , nor the desire. Why did they always search for an escape as if we were imprisoned? What offering from the void could usurp the gift of life already given. This moment right here ! It is where we are meant to be.

IM SO GLAD THIS SHOWED UP IN MY FEED

I'm very sad you didn't even mention downpour, specially the saint, not only it has the only direct mention of the point of this video , an echo that questions the obsession over dying when life itself is so beautiful. But the saint is also such an interesting character on its own, is so obsessed with imposing ascension over others, they want it or not that they ultimately are denied of it themselves

The original release of the game focused on the world trying to escape the cycle, getting into the mindset of the Ancients and seeing the cycle as a curse; the Downpour DLC seems to focus on loving the world you're in, and appreciating the beauty and life that you are privileged to experience. It's a stark contrast, but that's why I love it all the more. It gives you the choice to see the cycle as a curse like the Ancients, or to look at it all and realize (to quote one of the Echoes): "This moment, right here! It is where we are meant to be." - Rhinestones Beneath Shattered Glass

a tale foundry vid not about a book i love but about a game i adore! what a pleasant surprise! great content as always ❤ much love from switzerland

RAIN WORLD MENTIONED, SCUG PARTY TIME

I love rain world and its lore. That being said... You can actually get the ending slug-cat wanted. Just gotta play the DLC.

HOLY SHIT THEY ARE REVIEWING IT!

I have never clicked on a Tale Foundry video so fast - one of my fav youtubers covering my favorite game? Heck yeah. gimme!

...then there's saint. Saint: You get an ascension and you get an ascension and you get an ascension and you get a SUPER ascension and you...!

new tale foundry video🗣🔥

There's a small error in the video, that doesn't really matter. The religion predates the Echoes. The idea of ascension came way before the Void Fluid revolution. It was just pasted onto the Void once they discovered it. Not only that, but the extremes of "drinking bitter tea and eating gravel" were just that, extremes. Sure, the religion was more or less law, but most Ancients didn't go that far. And even the basic principles weren't universally followed or accepted, as suggested from the Undergrowth Echo and, if I remember correctly, the Farm Arrays Echo, as well as some of the graffiti. The thesis of the video still stands with these small objections, but I just felt like bringing them up, since I really love this world.

Title applies just as much to real life as it does to rainworld

I like how at the beginning of the game you think the "Rain" is what specializes rainworld, but its really about how this rotting but undying world was left.

OH MY GOLLY! RAINWORLD IS MY FAVORITE VIDEO GAME, AND LIKE- MY SECOND FAVORITE FRANCHISE IM SO HAPPY YOU DID A VIDEO ON IT!