Ever since Valko was cancelled last month, my overall thoughts had been mixed. I felt angry in the beginning and have now reached some sort of begrudging acceptance of the situation (even if I don't like it).
There are plenty of people who have made great posts going into detail about the overall issues, this post is just me putting out my thoughts after the month of silence. I'm just some person with thoughts I want to share.
When it was clear they weren't going to listen and stay silent about it, that was when I uninstalled the game. I did not like how they screwed over the player base and the team behind creating Valko. I cannot in good faith continue to support them by any means. By that time, I was starting to get bored with the game and not logging in as much. Things were getting pretty stagnant and my enjoyment was going down. While I may not have been fully into Valko when he was announced, I was willing to give him a chance and I was planning on logging in more but now that's not going to happen.
I especially feel bad for any official cosplayers and the voice actors. I can't imagine seeing all the hard work they've put into him only for all that work to be thrown out. It would not surprise me if the cosplayers and VAs want nothing to do with infold after this.
It did feel strange uninstalling the game because I did like the memories I had with it. But now that it's been a month, I don't feel that strange or sad. I've made peace with the fact that I will probably never play it again.
The thing that gets me the most is the toxic positivity and overwhelming pessimism I've been seeing and while I do think there can be a healthy amount of hope and skepticism, it can be tiring seeing posts of people saying, "Guys, trust me, Valko is coming back soon I don't know when but he is inhale the copium," and "Give up, there's no point, it's stupid and a waste of time." It's part of the reason why I haven't been following news outside of any statement from the official lads account.
Even if by some miracle Valko does come back at a later date, the game won't be the same. They've made it loud and clear about their choices and it leaves a sour taste in my mouth. Their silence speaks volumes.
What hurts the most is seeing all the artistic integrity behind shafted. The artists, voice actors, story writers and more, all that hard work gone because of some few loud people. I've seen people say his files are still there but they're not present and it shows with the amount of glitches the game had. Combine that with there being little to no main story update and anecdotes, I can't understand any reasoning behind this mess.
With that being said, I don't want people to give up on the idea of Valko returning. I look at all the positive effects people have made in the name of Valko (donating to wolf conservations, domestic abuse centers, flooding relief efforts, etc.) and it shows how united people can be and the sincerity they have. This is probably one of the few times I've seen the fandom united excluding the bad apples.
This whole situation isn't good for anyone. No one wins. They've made their choice and I made mine uninstalling the game. I don't want to take away any ounce of hope people have for his return.