>>58136907The way Arven's story is told is just very compelling and well written.
At first he's this abrasive weirdo who clearly knows more than he admits. It's intriguing, makes you wonder what the fuck his deal is. Over the course of the story he begins to trust you more, so he reveals the truth and shows his emotional vulnerability which starkly contrasts his first appearance where the almost literally told you to fuck off. Then there's the whole thing about his parent. The way the game gives you information about their relationship requires you to piece the puzzle together to fully understand Arven's past and why he's the person he is now. The game never names any concrete numbers, but from context it becomes obvious that Arven was completely on his own without any parental supervision since he was like 10 years old, possibly younger. It's a pretty shocking degree of child neglect, which is why the game is discreet about it I assume. You can also see from the way his room looks and how he berates Penny that he was forced to grow up early. He's a very well done character that tells his story through many mediums, a good mix of showing and telling.
Then there's the stuff about Area Zero of course. Throughout the whole game you get tiny bits of info about it, creating a mystery that really makes you wonder what Area Zero really is. You keep hearing about how the book about it is complete horseshit, yet you see things from it that turned out to be true, like the Paradox titan or the Herba Mystica, which is clearly contradicting information. The Treasure Hunt begins with "the crater is off limits", but with the things you learn you start being like "I gotta see this shit". Eventually you GET to see it, and it doesn't disappoint when it comes to creating a unique, otherworldly atmosphere. Plus, the 3 storylines of the other characters finally intertwine.
I could honestly ramble on forever but I'm at the character limit, let me know if you want to hear more.
