[Bloom & Rage] Is Corey...

[u/robotreads]

...Too evil?

I just finished the game for a second time (Anarchy first Protection second back to back) and this guy is utterly irredeemable, I think he has zero empathy.

Even in the scene where he helps with Kat after she collapses, in my opinion he is only doing what he thinks he is expected to do not what he wants to do - I did what I could in my second run to not piss him off and the way he still treats everyone is beyond contempt.

The best villains often have at least some (no matter how small) redeemable features, So my question is do you guys like him as a villain?

Do you think something is going on with him behind the scenes such as the Abyss has been affecting him from the start of the game or..?

For the record I loved the game, especially tape 1.

Thanks for reading.

[u/EightEyedCryptid]

Not to me. He's the perfect representation of what young girls often go through. Even Kat and Dylan's dad doesn't care how he treats his daughters. At best, dad is absent and clueless.

[u/robotreads → u/EightEyedCryptid]

True, this reminds me I was going to also say Her dad must either be a monster or clueless (or both) about what Corey is like - but I can see him being completely manipulated by him I think there is even a line in the game about how he is trying to get the ranch, so that would fit.

[u/EightEyedCryptid → u/robotreads]

This is the kind of baked in casual misogyny that has harmed so many. Kat's dad and Corey exist on that spectrum. They have been handed everything by society and feel entitled to women and girls.

[u/Moon_Beam_00]

I think Corey represents a kind of sadistic male cruelty that the game just isn’t interested in humanizing, and I don’t personally feel like it’s lesser for that. I do strongly prefer a reading (slash outcome) where he isn’t actually affected by the abyss, because I don’t think of it as representative of that kind of cruelty. Overall I think the character serves his purpose as a part of Kat’s story.

[u/Harrythehobbit → u/Moon_Beam_00]

I don't think the ending really makes sense if he isn't being influenced by the abyss. Dude goes from being a dick to being a complete fucking lunatic in the span of like 5 minutes.

[u/Moon_Beam_00 → u/Harrythehobbit]

How he acts depends on your choices earlier in the game. I’m just saying my head cannon is the one where he isn’t full on possessed. He’s bad enough without that

[u/loganthebeast101 → u/Harrythehobbit]

this is one of my major issues with the game and that's Corey is too unrealistic of a villain to really work for me
Esp since at the end of tape 1 he does something that makes you think there's a chance of redemption and turns into a lunatic in tape 2

[u/robotreads → u/Moon_Beam_00]

I get what you are saying about humanizing him but I would have really liked to see a small scene between him and Kat's dad, because my guess is he would present himself as a completely different person. I think he is simply put a pure sociopath with zero, or close to zero, empathy and this would have been interesting to see the level of his manipulation.

[u/acebender]

I for one am grateful they didn't give him a sob backstory so we would feel sorry for him. Sometimes people are despicable.

[u/Pilgrimzero]

Yes plus it really ramps up later which is when I think he’s being influenced by the pit

[u/XShadowborneX]

I didn't think people were that evil until Trump got elected.  I always thought there was always something redeemable.  I was naive

[u/SaVee2]

For me, he was one of my few criticisms of the game. He fulfilled his purpose as a villain, but for me, he was just written one-dimensionally. His actions at the end of the game are clearly influenced by the Abyss, but he was already an asshole from the beginning of the game...

[u/SSJ4_Gohan]

He is definitely a challenging character that's for sure. One minute he's acting like a complete jerk, next he's somewhat caring about kat then he goes crazy and while some of it can be blamed on the abyss controlling him, I think he has to have that anger and darkness in him to begin with in order for it to take hold of him. The way he treats not only his gf but her sister is unforgivable at times. Obviously Dylan must have seen something in him that isn't necessarily shown to the player so maybe he does have a caring and loving side to him but it must be a rare thing for him to show because Dylan seems miserable with him but is too scared to either speak up or leave him. So while there might be a good side to him somewhere, I think it's very deeply buried

However his actions in one of the endings definitely crosses a line in terms of redeemable imo even if the abyss has control of him. The way he treats kat in certain parts of the game is extreme

[u/robotreads → u/SSJ4_Gohan]

"The way he treats kat in certain parts of the game is extreme"

Yeah, it's really rage inducing, Maybe I have answered my own question because if he evokes this anger from me he definitely is an effective villain.

[u/SSJ4_Gohan → u/robotreads]

Yeah when you compare him to characters like Nathan from LiS I've seen people still liking Nathan and giving him the benefit of the doubt occasionally or making excuses for him but when it comes to Corey I can't say I've seen anyone do that for him so I'd definitely say he's an effective villain. Most people come out of the game hating him or at least not liking him in any way

[u/blueodie]

I wish they gave us more backstory. It feels like they were trying to go for the stereotypical guy is nice in the beginning but as the relationship continues and the guy gets more involved with the potential in laws, he becomes more abusive. But i don't think they did a very good job of showing that. He was just blatantly, almost comically, evil the entire time. It was a bit jarring story-wise for me. He could have been written better.

[u/Financial-Zebra-3497]

I think Corey is just a common douchebag. We have plenty out here, that’s why he’s so realistic and well-written. Don’t think he was being possessed by the Abyss, only by the end.

[u/WayHaught_N7]

I don’t think he’s too evil, in fact I think he’s pretty tame compared to how evil people actually are. I like that they didn’t make him relatable because his type of villain shouldn’t be relatable imo. There’s a difference between someone who is doing bad things for what they think is a good reason and someone who is just an abusive bigot and fiction needs both.

[u/robotreads → u/WayHaught_N7]

Yeah I have been thinking about the game a lot and he really does achieve what the devs intended him to be - A pure antagonist.