lain 🐛

Important disclaimer, I enjoy Outlast Trials I want for this game to succeed, I have literally gotten at least 8 different people to buy this game, my opinions are my opinions and not in bad faith, etc etc. At first I didn't really get the Project Messiah catalogue themeing, until it finally clicked in my mind that the cover and the knight-like skins are referencing Joan of Arc, and it was with this discovery that I kind of realized how much I wished Liliya had leaned into this aspect of her character rather than what actually happened.

The concept of a woman in the 1940s being a Joan of Arc esque character is interesting !! And I really wished they had leaned into this visually with her design because besides her comic there's very little visual indication that she is meant to be this kind of figure. Besides a recent concept art post that is incredibly invocative of The Entombment of Christ and Pieta, I don't even really get a religious vibe from her.

And while I understand her design is more cult leaning than Roman Catholic, a lot of her imagery in trials is inherently more traditional Catholicism. In addition to this I guess I'm just kind of confused as to why she's Russian in the first place. Maybe this is because I'm putting too much weight on her and her Joan of Arc imagery but I feel as if it would've been more fitting for her to be French. Not just because Joan was also French but also France was obviously also occupied by Nazis during WW2. Russia was as well obviously, but it just feels very out of left field to have a lot of her inspiration come from the patron saint of France and then just make her Russian while also not really drawing on any real WW2 history.