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View Full Version : An Analysis and Discussion of the Cryostasis Story


Imelari
06-21-2009, 01:39 AM
Earlier, I happened across a thread which went over a few theories about the nature of the game, and though I found them a bit questionable, I was inspired to offer my own thoughts on the matter. Thus, my own analysis of the story, setting, and characters.

To begin with the basics, there's one important piece of information in understanding the game which isn't emphasized much. Alexander Nestarov arrives at the North Wind in 1981. The North Wind wrecked in 1968. In other words, the ship has been out of commission for over ten years by the time Alexander boards. Yet, even without its power source, parts are still functional and fires still burning. furthermore, when you consider the ending, in which the crew saves Alex from falling into the ice, it makes no sense given the dates. That is, unless you realize that Alex is dead, having perished shortly before the start of the game when the ice broke.

The game does not take place in reality, but rather a sort of afterlife (explained in more detail later). This can be seen in the prisoner's cafeteria where you can see into a void through the hole above the globe, which is the same void that you see later in the final chapter. This explains the odd state of the crew. As is seen in the echoes, there are two phases of corruption, one which produces zombie-like but still human enemies, and another which produces bizarre and otherworldly foes. The zombie-like foes likely come from the ship's reactor failure which lead to the massive radiation poisoning seen in the sick bay scenes (oddly enough, Arktika class ice breakers used pressurized water reactors, while the North Wind uses a Graphite Moderated reactor. The latter is famed for its involvement in Chernobyl. There may be some intentional parallel here, though). This would explain why they are present when the ship and crew are still alive. All of this leads to widespread fear, and after the ship effectively collapses during the helicopter's attempted escape, those who are left find their will broken as the temperatures continue to plummet. As a parallel to the story of Danko, they become bound by their own fear to the point where they sacrifice their humanity and become warped in this world of stasis. Notice that all the warped enemies feature locks, bars, chains, or other bindings (save, perhaps, the flys, though they may still be bound in some fashion. It may also be noted that all of these enemies, including the fly and Kronos, are blind, their eyes bound or altogether missing).

The nature of these enemies also leads us back to Alex. If Alex is dead, how is it that he can die again at the hands of these enemies? The simple truth of the matter is that he can't, just like the surviving crew could not. Notice that his "life" is represented by heat. Think of this, instead, as will. If his will is broken, then like the crew, he surrenders and is bound to the ship. Will, in such a situation, can easily correspond to heat, since when one is cold it is hard to keep moving. You simply want to sit there and drift off into the darkness...

What, then, is the world in which the story takes place? The mental echo offers the key to this. It is a world formed by the fears and regrets of the crew, it is a world of memory, a mnemosyne; ethereal in form, but real to those whose memories are bound within. This is why changing the memories of the crew also changes the reality of this world--it is formed by memory, and so can be changed by it. It is a world stuck forever in 1968, or rather the memories thereof, locked in time just as much as it is ice.

This leads us to a few anomalies—the strange cloaked man you cross several times aboard the ship and then during the final chapter, and the figure of Kronos. On these items, I am still uncertain. One suspicion is that the cloaked man is, in fact, the captain, or rather his wrathful emotions embodied, still wandering his ship and striking down those whom he crosses (a world formed be memory can also be populated by emotions given form). This would explain why he appears at the end, but at the same time, during the scenes with him, you don't take his frame of reference. Instead, you take your own. In other words, it is quite possible that this figure is, in fact, Alex (he does bear a similarity, especially to faceless corpses of Alex encountered in the first chapter. If I could read the Russian on his coat, that might offer a clue, but I am unable...). This is why, when you do a mental echo on him, you see into your own memories--memories of memories (also note that Alex's hand is different during the final area--there is no coat or glove. Oddly enough, though, if you look at yourself via mental echo, you're still in your coat and gloves...). Of course, this explanation seems odd due to the encounters while on the ship—why would you be haunting the ship and why would you kill yourself? It may be that there are two different figures, but the difference in Alex's hand may be key in figuring out who he is, and this also leads us to Kronos.

Edit: Upon reviewing the final chapter, I noticed something curious. Though it may appear at a glance to be the same faceless coat-wearing man in all three scenes, it seems reality is otherwise. I first noticed, when looking at the engineer's area, that the figure seemed odd. He was made of stone, or at least, looked like it. I then headed to the security officer's area, and this time, the figure was coated in blood. Finally, I headed for the first mate, and found the figure covered in black spots. Though I may be a bit off, it seems that these figures are in fact the embodiment of the respective crew members' fears. Each area opens with them saying something expressing their current state, and the figures sit opposite of them, except for the first mate's. The areas as a whole reflect their personalities, warped as they are by now. The security officer goes on about how he must strike first, lest they devour him. His area is a table which consists of an unhinged door supported by swords and guns, with chairs made likewise. The engineer murmurs a message of futility and surrender. His area is a bed supported by gears, books, and a globe, reflecting his call to simply lie down and surrender. The first mate expresses paranoia, saying that they must be tainted and deceived, and his area reflects his desperation to be in control (the chess table seems a bit off, though I'm no expert on the matter. The king is knocked over, but is not checkmated. Rather, the rook is in checkmate, which means it may have been a mistake of placement...). I would be curious if anyone could confirm if the appearances of these figures while exploring the ship bear similar resemblances to the ones here (stone, blood, and corruption/tar)./Edit

I at first thought Kronos might be the captain, but this didn't quite work out. Kronos is the antithesis of the captain. Whereas the captain is represented by red, the color of heat and blood, Kronos is represented by blue, the color of cold and ice, a distinction which is rather important in the game (notice, for example, that when you shoot enemies, they're wounded with red, while when you're hit, the screen flashes blue). Kronos is, then, one of two things, either an amalgam of the three (engineer, first mate, and security officer, relating to how Kronos struck down his father (the captain) and seized the throne, but out of fear, began to strike down his own children (the crew) who would usurp him as he had his father (they had taken out the captain, and in the end, it seemed the crew was poised to take them out were it not for the helicopter). Note that it is Kronos, the titan, not Khronos, god of time. They may have intentionally merged the two, though, due to the hourglass/stasis symbolism, as well as the fact that Khronos was said to have three heads, akin to the heads of these three), or the fearful and wrathful emotions found within the whole of the crew (they both seem to be possible as both can be related back to the story of Kronos, though the parallel is a bit stronger with the three, especially the first mate). Kronos stands in the void where heat and confidence once arose, and where now only fear and despair can be found. While the crew, or what's left of them, yearn for freedom, Kronos strikes them down, chaining them to their prison of fear. Thus, they must be freed and this fear which has seized the heart dispelled. And this brings us back to the previous bit.

The fight with Kronos is activated by using the mental echo on a red, glowing hydrogen atom. This atom is seen once before inhabiting the outline of the captain, and is linked with the heart/reactor due both to its color (that of blood) and its nature (Hydrogen, often associated with the nuclear process due to the Hydrogen bomb). What does this all mean? Basically, in that final fight, you are not Alexander, but rather the captain. Your goal is to dissipate the fear of your crew, embodied by Kronos, and finally give them peace. In the past, when the captain attempted to destroy this fear, he failed both in reality and in this battle, leading the ship to be encased thoroughly, inside and out, in ice (during the battle, the ship still seems to be in repair, as opposed to when you come across it). This parallels the story of Danko up to that point where Danko seems fated to perish at the hands of his people's fear. But, due to Alexander, the captain succeeds in quelling Kronos, the collective fears of his crew, and then needs only to reverse what happened in reality. Thus, he faces the three, locked in prisons of their own making just as with the rest of the crew, and along with them is Alex. Upon dispelling the fear both in reality as well as in memory, the captain is able to lead his crew at last to peace, mirroring the shift in Danko's story in the end.

Granted, it is these final parts with which I am uneasy. Feel free to offer any suggestions or corrections. If there were a transcript of the story, it'd be easier to draw parallels between it and the game as I always notice plenty when going through it (the sides of the ships having an icy leaf pattern in line with the forest, the poisonous vapors being akin to the radiation poisoning, the bog being analogous to the flooded--now frozen--ship, etc, etc). Perhaps when I have more time, I could just alt-tab through it, but for now, I'd rather see if there's any discussion to be had.

Xiaopang
08-07-2009, 07:23 PM
this was a very fine read! you should also take the level names into account as they also seem to bear a symbolism that is important to the part of the ship you're just wandering in and the history that happened there

kantucki
10-08-2009, 10:46 AM
Wow! As Xiaopang already said, what a fine read. And I do believe your analysis of this excellent story is very close to what the creators meant it to be or convey.

I think my biggest revelation from your post is the time line. I thought I had the story figured out but the time line blows my theory out of the water,NBI. Love this game btw. We need more of this.

RavenMaster
10-08-2009, 12:35 PM
Thats a good analysis. Shame the game is unlpayable with physx turned on...

With physx off my 3 nvidia GTX260's run the game at 40-60fps all the way through. If i turn physx on, the game stutters so much that it feels like a slide show. Why they even bothered to give it physx recognition is beyond me (patch did nothing to help).

But yeah game has a great storyline. Danko's story and the Captain's story run back to back and are very similar in essence. They are both leaders and they are both turned against by their own people when $h** hits the fan.

rrohde
11-02-2009, 09:49 PM
That was indeed a fine read. Thanks for this one!

Sneaksie
11-03-2009, 08:26 AM
I would rather say that Alex didn't perish. By his actions throughout the game he alters events of the past all the time (saves people and in the Captain himself), setting the things the 'right' way. After all that, past is changed and North Wind did not died with all it's crew in 1968. It remains in service and it's crew saves Alex in 1981. There is a contradiction though - we've been told that North Wind was on it's last journey in 1968 and was going to be scrapped, but this could be changed too along with other events.

After all, both outcomes are possible - either Alex dies and is being saved only in his declining thoughts (or afterlife) or he truly alters the history and in new 1981 North Wind is still operational and saves him.

mjhhiv
11-17-2009, 04:54 AM
I'd just like to add that the fact that Cryostasis' narrative can generate a somewhat intelligent discussion is something that not many video games can claim. I don't think I've ever played a first-person-shooter that has anywhere near the depth of Cryostasis, and it's a shame that more people aren't aware of this.

Sneaksie
11-17-2009, 08:00 AM
OFFTOPIC
If you like first-person games with strong plot, i would suggest playing Thief series of games, especially the first one. If you can cope with outdated graphics, it's story is the best out there IMO.

redscare
12-25-2009, 11:51 PM
Interesting read, though I have a question. Where exactly have you read that the North Wind wrecked in 1968??

I've checked wikipedia (cos I know 1C games are usually as realistic as they can be), and the first Arktica class nuclear icebreaker was launched in 1975.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arktika_class_icebreaker

So I think the North Wind would have been launched much more later than 1968. But then again, in the game is stated that the ship is quite old so you may be right :confused:

Everything (specially the ending) would make more sense if everything took place in 1981.

Sneaksie
12-28-2009, 07:13 AM
Maybe it was a Lenin class icebreaker (it was launched in 1959 and taken out of service only in 1989).

idiom
12-31-2009, 12:37 PM
Well lets get some of the facts straight from the game itself:

From the game manual:

The North Pole, 1981…..Amidst the
deathly silence of an icy kingdom,
meteorologist Alexander Nesterov
is the last man aboard the floating
station Pole 21. He has just received
an urgent message from the mainland
and must leave the vast Arctic
immediately. A comfortable ship will
pick him up at a designated place and
time to bring him back safely, or so
he thinks. Instead of a warm reception
and an easy ride home, the scientist
soon finds himself in a real-life
nightmare when he accidentally boards
the atomic icebreaker, North Wind,
which has been drifting for years in
an endless sea of ice.

From the game message files, the Captain's diary:

The nuclear icebreaker, North Wind, hit an iceberg at 2:16 AM on 24 March 1968. The vessel's bow and starboard suffered heavy damage which resulted in partial flooding of the third deck and damage to the stern's starboard crane. There were no casualties and the ship is currently still afloat. Repairs are under way but may take up to a week...

From the game message files, radiogram to you:

Alexander Nesterov, a junior research assistant at the Pole 21 polar station, is due at coordinates 86°21' N, 74°57' E on 27 March 1981, where he will board the nuclear icebreaker North Wind.


So the whole thing is a paradox, the North wind was an active ship in 1981 but when Alexander meets up with it he finds it wrecked several years ago... He then proceeds to "correct" this and the story then ends as the original radiogram indicated, i.e. he is picked up by the North wind and taken home.

Why wasn't the ship decommissioned as per the radiogram from HQ? well I think the turning point there is with the chief engineer, where he gives the captain the model of the ship he's been working on and says "Here, take it. We'll send it to HQ... Let them disassemble it.".

persoiranian
12-31-2009, 04:39 PM
I think the turning point there is with the chief engineer, where he gives the captain the model of the ship he's been working on and says "Here, take it. We'll send it to HQ... Let them disassemble it.".

u mean at the end of the game?if we are talking about a same place,then what if we chose the other ways to reach the ending?

persoiranian
12-31-2009, 04:48 PM
Maybe it was a Lenin class icebreaker (it was launched in 1959 and taken out of service only in 1989).

text from wikipedia:
When launched in 1957, Lenin was powered by three OK-150 reactors.

In February 1965, there was a loss of coolant accident. After being shut down for refueling, the coolant was removed from the number two reactor before the spent fuel had been removed. As a result, some of the fuel elements melted or deformed inside the reactor. This was discovered when the spent elements were being unloaded for storage and disposal. 124 fuel assemblies (about 60% of the total) were stuck in the reactor core. It was decided to remove the fuel, control grid, and control rods as a unit for disposal; they were placed in a special cask, solidified, stored for two years, and dumped in Tsivolki Bay (near the Novaya Zemlya archipelago) in 1967.

The second accident was a cooling system leak which occurred in 1967, shortly after refueling. Finding the leak required breaking through the concrete and metal biological shield with sledgehammers. Once the leak was found, it became apparent that the sledgehammer damage could not be repaired; subsequently, all three reactors were removed, and replaced by two OK-900 reactors. This was completed in the Spring of 1970.

Details of these accidents were not widely available until after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Lenin was decommissioned in 1989, because her hull had worn thin from ice friction. She was laid up at Atomflot, a base for nuclear icebreakers in Murmansk, and according to Pravda.ru, repair and conversion into a museum ship was completed in 2005.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenin_(nuclear_icebreaker)

czerro
01-20-2010, 12:38 AM
I think the above theory is largely correct. Alex saves the crew of the North Wind, thus the crew of the North Wind never crashed and still existed in 1981 to pull Alex from the ice. My only issue with this is the setup to to the game relies on Alex rushing to be picked up by a ship that crashed in 1968. I guess it's simply plot convenience that Alex received a dispatch from a separate timeline (the one in which Alex rescues the crew of the North Wind.)?

I still got nothing on the man/men in hooded arctic suits are. I always assumed they were the same person, but as someone else pointed out they are infact different. Also, how does Kronos fit into the story? Was he simply a gatekeeper trying to prevent Alex from messing with the timestream and creating a paradox?

Sneaksie
01-20-2010, 08:39 AM
Game manual states that Alex was going to be picked up by 'a comfortable ship' (seems like not the North Wind), but he 'accidentally' encountered North Wind which was drifting in the ice all these years and obviously was not found (or just nobody bothered about it - nothing valuable on board and it's difficult, if not impossible, to reach it).
Men in arctic suits - you mean dead sailors? Or someone else?
Alex actually helps Kronos in the strange fight near the end of game, so it seems that the timeline where North Wind became a nightmare was for some reason wrong (well, it's wrong for sure ;) ) and Kronos tried to set things the way they should be. In the end, player actually chooses how he would correct this (by going along one of the Kronus fingers).

czerro
01-24-2010, 07:41 PM
I don't think we are to believe that the crew of the North Wind was stranded in the arctic for 2 decades to rescue Alex at the end. I think you are correct about Kronos but a little off about "the comfortable ship". The ship was always The North Wind, but for whatever reason there was the possibility that The North Wind wasn't going to exist to pick up Alex. A cyclical paradox: The North Wind can only exist to pick up Alex if Alex can somehow influence the events of the past to save the North Wind. In the end they save each other resolving Kronos' dilemma: consolidating the two timelines into one and resolving the paradox.

Edit: I think I may have been too focused on the Why and How of the paradox. I think in most western entertainment/cinema we expect everything to be explained at the end, but this particular story isn't really reliant on the Why or How. I think we are simply to understand that Something occured that resulted in two diverging timelines of which Alex (the player) is the only one capable of repairing. We don't need to know the specifics, only that 1) Alex was to meet the North Wind for pickup in 1980-something 2) The North Wind became icebound in 1960-something. Why or how this happened isn't important to the player, they are simply acting as an agent of Kronos to fix the paradox.

sp3000
05-02-2010, 05:10 AM
The hooded figure walking around has some serious significance in the story.

He appears in three forms.
The First is coat covered in bloody hands. The second is something that resembles the scales of a fish or dark stones. The third is a antiquated world map. Each of these forms stands next to the main characters at the very end.

Now on a replay of the game, I noticed that the figure with the world map appears right before the second in command officer radios HQ telling them of the captain's incompetence. I think this is supposed to mean that the world is arriving on the ship whereas it was previously isolated from any contact with the outside world.

The game is trying to make a commentary about the problems of humanity and the world. This is also evident when at one point there is a globe trapped in icy chains. It's important to note that this occurs right after the prison scene where you see the world through the perspective of your enemies. The end of this scene has you entering the mind of the guy who is hitting the pan on the floor. You then see the world being formed as we know it today. The events on the North Wind are perhaps meant to mirror the problems of the real world.


The most central theme of the game is the inability of people to understand each other and consequently close their mind to others. You can see this almost everywhere, from the story of Danko, to the infighting between the Captain, the executive officer, the security officer, and the engineer, to the way that each enemy is literally locked inside their mind with a prison of their own doing. Every problem in the game arises from the close mindedness of each character, their inability to understand and accept what others think.

As the Captain says "And so the thin layer of human knowledge cracked under the weight of nature."

Flyguy2000
11-07-2010, 08:26 PM
I'd just like to add that the fact that Cryostasis' narrative can generate a somewhat intelligent discussion is something that not many video games can claim. I don't think I've ever played a first-person-shooter that has anywhere near the depth of Cryostasis, and it's a shame that more people aren't aware of this.

I agree, it is nice to see a game with an intelligent story.

Nick Ray
08-24-2012, 07:26 AM
Iwould simillar to to supply which will that experts claim Cryostasis' story will be able to bring in an important a bit reasonable topic is without a doubt an item a small number of gaming system will be able to allege. As i don't even think I had ever in your life trialled an important first-person-shooter with somewhere outside the amount in Cryostasis, and an important ill at ease which will alot more many people are usually not concious of it.

kantucki
08-24-2012, 09:21 AM
What Nick said ^^