I adore this game. I loathe this game.
I've been playing this game off and on for about 4-5 years now. It is the best puzzle game I will probably ever play in my life. The way it teaches its fundamental concepts, with no words whatsoever, is f***ing brilliant. The joy I felt learning the game and how the various puzzles worked the first time through was unlike anything I'd ever felt playing a computer game. It didn't hurt how visually stunning it all was, and how serene the landscape sounded, with no soundtrack to force emotion.
In that first playthrough, I found >!one theater code and one audio recording. !< They both felt... unnecessary at the time. (I'll get back to that feeling later)
I "finished" the game and was puzzled by >!the "is that all?"!< feeling it left me, but still happy with what I'd experienced.
Then I found >!the ending!< and loved the game 10x more as i realized what it was trying to get across.
...and then >!I watched the end video!<, and I hated the game for about a year.
I've played it on and off since then, trying to reconcile the two emotions in my head.
I've read enough essays about the game to get the whole idea about >!perspective, and viewpoint, and "searching vs. discovery",!< and I think I've finally determined why I still have such a sour taste in my mouth over it:
Most of it doesn't need to be there.
The discovery of >!the "real" ending.!< The discovery of how >!the sun shines off the archaeology puzzles!<. Finding the first EP >!on top of the mountain (the river).!< These were lessons I gained through my own exploration. Joyous revelations that led to me giggling like Bluey's sister Bingo when she tries a drum set for the first time. To me, these were the heart and soul of the game.
I didn't need >!"deep" quotes, or self-satisfied video lessons!<. I didn't need >!self-styled intellectuals telling me how to learn, or look, or search, !<because it was already all there in what I was experiencing.
If I had simply >!walked through that "dream door" in the ending!< and the game had simply ended to my Windows screen, I'd have been 100% satisfied. The >!"waking up" video!<, just like all the rest of the >!philosophical claptrap cluttering up the experience!<, feel like someone is trying to beat me over the head with capital-M Meaning and Message instead of simply letting me enjoy the experience that already taught me pretty much the same thing.
TL:DR, Jonathan Blow is REALLY good at catastrophically gilding lilies. Beautiful, subtle, artfully designed lilies.