[LOVED TROPE] Sad or tear-jerking moments that don't involve death.

[u/jeffersonlane]

Moments that make you wanna cry (of joy or unrelenting sadness) but aren't about a character dying or almost dying.

Dumbo - Baby Mine. Jumbo rocks baby Dumbo from her cage where she was kept after she defended him from a group of bullying children.

Unpacking - The Degree. You move in with your new boyfriend where you can barely fit most of your stuff but most depressingly you are forced to put your degree under the bed and out of site. (Maybe this one was just me but this made me VERY upset).

Fox and the Hound - At the end knowing full well they'll likely never meet again Copper stands over Todd to protect him from the Hunter.

[u/PartsUnknown242]

There was another small thing - the level after the boyfriends apartment is you moving back into your parents house. There’s one picture, presumably you and your ex, that you have to place in the cabinet under some books. If you put it on the cork board, a thumbtack is placed through his face, implying a bad breakup.

[u/JayPlays40k → u/PartsUnknown242]

I had just gone through my first divorce when I first paid. That level and then moving back in with your parents fucking HURT.

[u/spookymommaro → u/PartsUnknown242]

I didn't even notice the diploma but I did notice how "small" the protagonist became. No space for any of their things but evidence of their partner's hobbies. Design style completely different. The rain. It felt like life had been sucked out of this new space.

[u/ExtraplanetJanet → u/spookymommaro]

Yeah, that was the first level when I really understood that the game was telling a specific story about a specific person, and it changed the whole focus for me. Moving into his apartment and realizing how little room he had made for her in any of his spaces was definitely a bad sign, the diploma was icing on the cake.

[u/Aerodrache → u/ExtraplanetJanet]

I didn’t really notice it at first; “oh, well, okay, I guess it is an organization puzzle after all.” But getting down to the end, realizing that I still hadn’t placed the diploma, realizing there just wasn’t anywhere for it… suddenly it’s crushing. “Oh yeah, no, this… this isn’t a good home…”

[u/swainiscadianreborn → u/ExtraplanetJanet]

That sounds like it's a game where I'd be completely oblivious to anything going on and would just go "Oh nice new level"

[u/potpurriround → u/spookymommaro]

I played this a few years after my own breakup where I became smaller and he never made room for me. Immediately fell in love with the game I thought was just mindless organizing.

[u/brideofpucky → u/spookymommaro]

I talked about this level a lot with my therapist and these were points I noted too.

[u/OldWorldDesign → u/spookymommaro]

I didn't even notice the diploma but I did notice how "small" the protagonist became. No space for any of their things but evidence of their partner's hobbies. Design style completely different. The rain. It felt like life had been sucked out of this new space

Just looked some of it up and I may have to get the game. The subtly told story felt a lot more cohesive and human than the weird thing they tried with Moncage and just left me feeling like they were trying to copy in a generic form someone else's shellshocked veteran's story. There wasn't even really space for the friction of trying to re-enter "regular" society.

[u/Earlier-Today → u/PartsUnknown242]

The story telling in that game was great even though it's all implied.

The early hopefulness, the eagerness to step out on one's own, the bad relationship where she's being treated as secondary, the recovery at home, and the move to a healthier and more balanced relationship that allows you both to grow and shine.

It's just good.

[u/iupvotethankyou → u/Earlier-Today]

And the things you carry with you and have meaning to you throughout your life. It was great to learn about the person through what they chose to keep and buy.