Toggle Background Color
Update 18: SecondShot
My Burden is Light
Despite seeing the end credits for the game, and despite the literal name of the game... we aren't done with OneShot. You see, after the ending, we are stuck on this screen. But if we go back and open up the clover program...
We get this message from, I assume, the Author.
Sure enough, the save progress file is there and we can delete it which...
Takes us back to the main menu! And with that, we can talk about post game playthroughs and the solstice update. Now, multiple playthroughs are in this weird spot for the game because it has a big emphasis on the whole "OneShot" thing, but of course, people don't really don't like not being able to replay a game. So by deleting that save progress file, you can go back and have a second or third or however many playthroughs you want. Prior to the Solstice update (which came out on March 27th, 2017) there wasn't a lot of differences and the ones that were there were to foreshadow what would come in the Solstice update. And since the update, a second playthrough that doesn't go into the Solstice update, is in this very weird spot because the game kinda assumes that if you're replaying - it's to see the new Solstice content and not experience the old content pre-solstice. As such, this update may seem a bit disjointed, but hopefully there's enough new things in here to make people go "ooh!"
...
...wait, why did I... say that word...
"Goons"...
...why does that sound so familiar?
Any second playthrough and beyond has Niko calling out the player's name, though not knowing who the hell that is. Now, you may notice, there's no remote control! So how do we get out of here? Well, you'll have to wait on that answer! Solstice update provides a new way out of here that you must take. Prior to the update, the remote was still there. We'll see how to get out of here next time, but for now, let's check in with that computer
No. This does not feel right at all. Have we... already been through this, Goons? But that should be impossible... You only had one shot. I wasn't supposed to exist after that...
Showing this part off now to show the game does justify getting around the literal point of the game - OneShot. Which I like! It keeps you on your toes.
...."Goons?"... that sounds so familiar.
Now, the rest of the house is solved in the same way as before. Light the branch, get the key, go down and get the sun, then get out of here. Let's jump to the prophetbot meeting to see new content.
Before, Niko could ask about the computer. Now, they want to ask about Goons.
When I woke up in that house... For some reason, I called out a name. "Goons".
I'm not sure why I did that.
But then I saw it on a computer too!
[Ah That Would Be Our God.]
Oh! Right!
I think I...
I feel like I remember something about that.
[You Do?]
[But Wait... Did You Not Just Arrive Here? I Was The One Who Was Supposed To Inform You Of That.]
[So... How Did You Know?]
...
hm...
It just made sense, I guess!
[Ah...]
Nope! I just have to close my eyes and focus, right?
This is going to sound weird, but... have we... met... before?
We have!
Ah! But I don't know who you are, though... It's just a weird feeling that I have... Oh... I bet I'm just being silly, aren't I... Sorry... But... it's nice to meet you, Goons! My name is Niko!
[Do Not Be Afraid To Ask Goons For Assistance.]
So the next big changes on a second update are in the mines with Silver... the problem is, prior to Solstice, there was a scene you could see on a second playthrough... but seeing it now leads directly into a Solstice run - so we'll hold off on that for another day. So just keep that in the back of your mind for another day. The next little change after that is the note you get from the computer to unlock the safe.
There's no fancy letter and creepy writing this time, just the code. Less grandiose, but also less cool. This simple note is actually a casualty of the solstice update, which did have a more grandiose note on the second playthrough.
Jumping forward a lot - let's go to the Glen. There's a couple changes there we will get to see, but one big thing is that... we know what the puzzle solution is already! We don't need that stupid computer's help!
So that's what we did - solved it without the computer's help... but what happens if you go talk to it after you do this?
Hey, Entity! Guess what? We didn't need your stinkin' help!
[How did you already know the answer?]
[...]
Not gonna lie, that interaction gives me a bit of the goosebumps. Mostly because we still don't really know anything about the Entity, and what its agenda is.
Next change - the courtyard. There's actually something quite big that happens here, now.
Children of the Ruins (Piano)
Niko?
What's wrong?
Huh?
You looked like you were about to faint!
It was like a dream, but only for a split second...
A vision?
Vision?
Like something a prophet would see.
Whoa!
18 updates in and I still giggle everytime.
I... guess?
...or not, I don't know.
I've only read about it before.
Oooh...
The conversation then folds into the same conversation about the Sacred Grounds we saw back in Update 8. Now, the next cool little change is when you get Niko to sign the scroll that the Glen Guardian has that let's us leave the Glen.
[Good luck.]
...Hey, Goons?
When I was signing the scroll, there was already another name on it. It was a little blurry, but...
I think that name was also "Niko"?
Weird...
Yup! Sure is weird! It's almost like some other Niko came through here on a past life, or something?
...
Actually, how did that happen? Why can Niko see their old signature? Err, anyway... there's some... interesting things to do in the elevator area. So let's head over there.
Countdown
Specifically, we're gonna head back to this weird room... which is about to get even weirder.
So... this door. The lights above the door are now all lit up and are all zeroes across the board. This used to count down to March 20th, the day the Solstice patch was going to come out, and then it got delayed by a week... There was actually a small little scene to accompany this delay which I'll link at the end of this update. But for our purposes, the door can now be interacted with and demands a password. The password it wants is SOLSTICE, which will reset your game so you can play the new Solstice update without any complications. But uh... there's other things you can enter there too.
Like... this, for instance.
Unreality
Um...
It's a big penguin...plush?
No wait, it's just a penguin.
Hello... penguin?
HELLO
...
...wait Goons, didn't we see a plush like that in the apartments?
H-hello?
...
Say... what is this place?
I sure wasn't expecting all this to be behind that big door!
This place doesn't even look like the rest of the world, come to think of it.
No answer, huh...
HELLO
...
Anyway.
The penguin won't stop staring at me!
What... should I do now, Goons?
Alright...
...Wait what?
...
...we should go, Goons.
Goodbye, penguin!
...
Yeah, let's get outta here.
Right behind you!
That's a promise I plan to keep. Okay! Rapidly moving on to anything else, the next change is with the door code for the elevator. Since we know what the elevator code is, why do we need to go talk to that computer? Let's just punch it in without any help!
No dialogue changes here, but the computer... has a few things to say.
[You didn't need my help for this puzzle. And yet you're still there talking to me? How quaint.]
Clearly not mad at us... it's laughing, actually.
One last thing to do, if you recall, we ran into a talking fox in the alleyway. Who told us that, if we could come back, to meet with them. Well, we came back! Let's go see what that fox has to say.
Sonder
Eh?
But I've never been here before...
That means...
...
Have you... met the others?
...others? You're the only fox I've seen...
Wait! There's that one plush in Calamus and Alula's house, right Goons?
...
It's not time.
...?
We will meet again.
And that's it for the fox... subsequent playthroughs will give the fox more dialogue, but it's basically the same format of them going "Having fun? It's still not solstice update! Come back when that's active!" It's cool that there's changes for multiple playthroughs, but playing the game for 2 hours to experience like 2 minutes of new content is... not the best use of time! Which I can't blame too much on the game, people kinda demand these things sometimes.
That's also it for second playthrough changes! Like I said, there's a couple more things that do happen but they work better going into the new content, and not on their own. All this stuff cannot be experienced in a Solstice run, and there's some good things in there that I'd hate for people to not be able to see.
To end this, if you are curious about what happened if you were one of the few people to have been playing the game between March 20th 2017 and March 27th 2017, then please check out this video I found from someone else showing it off. There's no spoilers in this video for anything we'll see later on, but be mindful of going anywhere else on that link... see you for the Solstice!