All endings & bond thresholds

Core rule: bond is a hidden meter

The girl’s bond aggregates photography co-presence, campfire downtime choices, spirit completion, and select dialogue tones. It does not care about your puzzle speed. Sub-thirty bonds signal emotional abandonment—Eugene accepts exile in the Dusklands. Mid bonds let the pair descend the mountain but sand away memory. High eighties preserve memory, and a perfect hundred unlocks the true ending where the game reveals the girl’s identity twist (community summary: “she is tethered to Eugene’s unfinished family guilt”—verify in-game text at launch).

Bad ending — bond under 30

Eugene stays behind, camera lowered but too late. Route it intentionally on a disposable save by skipping campfires, refusing dual portraits, and ignoring dog fetch empathy checks. Useful for the Ash & Echo achievement.

Normal ending — bond 50–79

The pair returns to the mundane world, but memories of the mountain fray. You still “finish,” yet optional spirit scenes lock out. Good for first-time players who want a bittersweet stop without hunting every lens mod.

Good ending — bond 80–99

Memory intact, themes about letting go resolve softly. You likely cleared most spirits but missed a finale confession button or skipped a microscopic optional shot. Cross-check spirit completion before final chapter.

True ending — bond 100

Requires cooperative photography through the finale, completing all firebowls, and picking dialogue that privileges honesty over spectacle. Expect an extended cutscene revealing the girl’s relationship to Eugene’s past—a beat dataminers tagged as daughter-echo; trust the shipped script over fan shorthand.

Choice flowchart

Use this chart while planning saves. It compresses bond outcomes; it cannot list every dialogue node—see photography for mechanical contributors.

flowchart TD
  start(["Progress & major choices"]) --> bond{"Bond score with the girl?"}
  bond -->|"< 30"| bad["Bad ending · Eugene remains in the Dusklands"]
  bond -->|"50–79"| norm["Normal ending · returns home with memory loss"]
  bond -->|"80–99"| good["Good ending · returns with intact memory"]
  bond -->|"100"| true["True ending · full revelation"]
  bond -->|"30–49"| gray["Unstable branch · raise bond before finale"]

Full-route video

Embed shows a trailer/teaser suitable for refreshers. Swap to a spoiler-safe let’s play if you are actively routing.

Clean save strategy

• Slot A: blind narrative run.
• Slot B: duplicate before finale gate; branch bad vs true.
• Slot C: achievement mop with chapter select (if available).