#kramblings

After the game’s reveal, one of the main aspects people critiqued were the character designs, saying they were “overly detailed” or “too cute” compared to their predecessors. Which I get, because it's unfamiliar in a series that's known to emphasize the "horror" in "charming horror" a bit more. But I believe this is mainly to service these brand new characters and make them recognizable. In the early marketing, it was mentioned in interviews that “childlike curiosity” was a key element in the character design. This is evident in the items that Low wears: his mask, cape, beaded anklet, and hand-made bow and arrows. This signals to the player that Low is a determined, hopeful person with a crafty aesthetic, who displays his imaginative nature outwardly. Instead of letting go of his “inner child” and assimilating into the dreariness of Nowhere, he clings to hope and the things that bring him comfort, such as his creative hobbies and his best friend. Speaking of, Alone fits into this philosophy just as well with her bright colors, can-do attitude, and "incurable" curiosity about the world around her. She's the idealized best friend who's always there to pick you up when you fall, and she and Low have survived this long because of that. The same can't be said for all the other kids in the series.

This makes for a noticeable contrast between Low and Alone's highly personalized designs and the visual simplicity of the previous 4 playable characters. They all have one, maybe two standout features. And I think this was the design philosophy of choice for these characters so you could tell the Nowhere has begun to leave its mark on them and wear them down. Even from the start of their respective stories, they've already developed some sort of ruggedness and grit. Unlike Low and Alone, who retain vague memories of their home, they don't have places they want to return to, if such a place existed for them at all. It's clear that Low still clings to certain stereotypical indicators of childhood, like playing with toys, drawing out his thoughts and (somewhat) untainted optimism. I’d initially assumed he was a bit older than Mono and Six because of his height, but I later started questioning how young he was actually supposed to be, thanks to the "Dreams On Paper" trailer. Low could be the same age as them, but if not, that means he’s not yet ready to grow out of that phase of life, as opposed to other characters who were forced to grow up faster. His character design and actions reflect this in a way that stands apart from the other kids.

[I think Mono is an exception, or maybe more of an in-between. He and Low both deal with a similar conflict: running away from their problems until they can't run anymore, and accept that they have to face the problem head-on. But until that turning point, Mono remains largely resigned to the idea of the world hating him, while Low continuously strives to return to the place he belongs.]

Worth noting that what ALL the game protagonists have in common are their obscured faces. It's a recurring motif that Tarsier has used since the beginning and likes to utilize into all their stories in different ways, to the point that people see it as an element of their personal brand. It makes sense that future LN works would keep up the trend, given that it's equally part of this one series' identity, but use it for a unique purpose that differs from Tarsier's current usage of it.

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This all isn't to say that LN3 abandoned the worldbuilding and social commentary, though. Low is still part of a collective like, say, Runaway was. He's one of many kids whose fears helped construct the Nowhere from the ground up. But unlike the rest of the gang, the way that Low carves out his unique identity is not that closely tied to the games' locations. (Except for the final chapter, but we'll get to that.) LN3's story centers more on his personal trauma, his journey, his friendship with Alone.

For the most part, Low and Alone traverse through different loosely connected landscapes that, while still grand, don't have any hard connections to either character. And I believe this is on purpose. As I wrote in a previous analysis, these locations don't need to be connected to Low's character, because he has one key reason to visit them: the mirrors. His primary goal in each location is to keep search for the mirror hidden within and take the next step towards the Waking World. (The other big reason for going on this journey is for the journey itself, which I believe is Alone's primary motivation.) And I may be reading into it too deep here, but I think this way of navigating Nowhere is a reflection of his severe depression. Living with the illness is often described as "going through the motions" so to speak: chasing the next high, looking for the next material thing that'll bring you temporary solace, days passing by until they all blur together but don't feel very cohesive. And Low only stays in one particular place as long as he needs to check another item off the list and then move on.

This pattern repeats for a few chapters until everything changes in chapter 4, the conflicts of which directly arise from Low's medical trauma. Low was subjected to institutional abuse in the CoPI, which he crossed into the Nowhere in order to escape from. But some semblance of that trauma ended up following him. The Nowhere's version Institute, which Low presumably broke out of later and is most intimately tied to his past, is ironically where the one mirror he actually needed was being kept all along. So until he faces his past head-on, he can't return home.

This is why I think the game doesn't have an overarching "main" antagonist. Low spends most of the game away from the Institute, running in circles, only to be dragged back to it to confront his fears. If he and Alone hadn't crash-landed on the shores outside the building, he may have just kept on running, either due to unknowing ignorance or complete denial. But he's instead forced to confront the Hypnotist, the manifestation of his past abuse, in order to get his ticket out of the nightmare and begin to move on.