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Marathon casually dropping one of the best sci fi short films I’ve seen in YEARS!

It's so cool how he puts away the image of "himself" as a kid just like any other piece of meaningless loot they find.

It's CRIMINAL not to give us a full movie after that masterpiece

Glitch tucks the pictures behind her while Void tucks them in his vest close to his heart. She is running away from her human connections while he is deliberately trying to find them. They are both conflicted with the brutal nature of the world they inhabit. They both share the need for that human connection while they are both denied it.

These are synthetic bodies that they use to upload consciousness into, and after the bodies get killed/destroyed, they upload the consciousness again to another body. I believe that we see the girl with multiple costumes because all the times she has been killed

The song of the film is Bach: Concerto in D Minor, BWV 974 - 2. Adagio for anyone interested. Beautiful choice.

The prevailing theory right now is that people signed up to be cybernetic mercenaries but unbeknownst to them multiple copies of their consciousness are being used simultaneously, leading to faster degradation of the mind. A theme that sci fi uses very often is the concept that our minds are tethered to our physical being, and untethering that connection leads to unforeseen and dire consequences. I find this very interesting.

I am absolutely howling at how the auto subtitles turned Ozymandias into "Aussie Mandius" lmao

i see the therapy sessions as each time the person was killed and reborn and the voice goes through specific questions that measure how degraded the original mind has become. they have brains and souls in a way, but it’s being slowly lost each time. so excited for this universe

I love the sort of existential dread it conveys for these mercenaries. Death doesn't exist for these people and what they do and their existence has no real purpose to it in the grand scheme of things. They're forever sentenced to live and die over and over again to pay off an unreachable amount of debt.

I've heard people say that the guy at the end is actually the girl trying out the guys shell/suit after that fight. It makes sense then that they would be shown the same picture, because it's the same consciousness (not the person listening to the music first). Even his facial designs are more glitchy in the reincarnated version.

I think that would be a pretty cool way to show that their consciousness is disconnected/swappable with their body in this sci-fi way.

Void (the hood guy) is actually played by Elias Toufexis (aka Adam Jensen from Deux Ex Human Evolution). It's nice to hear his voice in a sci-fi game again.

Also if you look at it closely, Void was holding the same picture handed to Glitch (the punk girl), they were both doing a cognitive test that checks if they are functional as synthetics/cybernetics humans.

Quite possibly the best game trailer I've ever seen. It's just packed with so much meaning and purpose and I keep finding more layers no matter how many times I watch it. Excellent analysis!

The "silk worms" 3D printing bodies is such a cool concept, reminds me of the Ghost in the shell opening sequence where the body is created.
At 15:47 it's like the girl didn't want to fight and was pleading the dude not to attack her by putting both her palms facing him but her left hand turns into a blaster against her will and even recoils her back. It's like she knows something was up but the people keeping them in control just wanted them to fight instead of getting a grasp of what happened to their past

It's so enlightening to hear your detailed breakdown and reactions second by second

I interpreted it as the mind of the original was spilt into the girl we see and the guy. They are splitting the mind between multiple bodies at one time and that's why they are degrading mentally and cant remember things. Its why the male body has the same photo and how the music that he doesn't know why he listens to it but it speaks to him is immediately recognized by the female body when she puts it in. Something the original human body heard, Maybe a tune the mother used to sing them.

Pure cinema. Ive watched this 7 times now and it still makes me feel something everytime

Someone on the original video commented that the Vandal user rage swapped to the Assassin we see in the last scene and I love that idea

im so excited for this game. This short has been one of the most incredible animation and incredibly cinematic with a fantastic theme. using that incredible poem was amazing! good to see someone with a solid take on this from a filmmaking prospective

I am 250 hours into Marathon now, the way this film embodies the entire roller coaster of emotion the players go through in every match is ON POINT. The third party, the second of hesitation that made you lose the kill, your team leaving you to die to ads while they sit and watch, I particularly loved your quote of "find culture in a world that lost it" incredible!