Squid Pro Quo

This is a companion piece to Issue 5.11. If you haven’t read the main feature yet, you might want to start there… though this one stands on its own if you insist.

Oh, and you need to be a paid subscriber to read it in its entirety. If you haven’t already, you can upgrade your subscription here:

Picture, if you will, a Yharnam back alley at 3 AM. You’re crouched behind an overturned cart, your trick weapon soaked in blood that (probably) isn’t yours. It’s been quite a night; you’ve just killed a werewolf that used to be a doctor, and before that, you witnessed a child being dragged screaming into a sewer. Earlier, you watched the moon turn blood red, and you’ve been hearing whispers from things that aren’t quite there (or are they?).

And then you check your stats, because obviously you check your stats, and your heart skips a beat as you realize what’s gone quietly but undeniably and catastrophically wrong.

Your Insight is at 43.

The game never warned you this was happening (and why the hell would it? It’s a goddamned FromSoftware title!). You’ve just been picking up those veiny eyeball items, popping Madman’s Knowledge like Tic Tacs, and fighting bosses to unlock more lore. Each time, nudging that counter up just a little higher. Each time, it seemed just fine… in isolation.

But 43 is past the threshold. The Lesser Amygdala are now visible — enormous spider-like things clinging to the cathedrals, which have apparently been there the whole time. The eerie Winter Lanterns are singing their disquieting tune. The children you saved earlier? They might not have been children, after all! And the dress-up doll in your safe room, the Plain Doll, the one you thought was just set dressing? She’s been watching you… intently.

Welcome, dear reader, to what might be the single most honest depiction of religious experience ever rendered in a video game. Not so much the worship part, or even all the rituals… but the knowing that comes with it.