Amanda the Adventurer may be a horror game, but it's surprisingly effective at tugging at players' heartstrings.
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Pilot Episode
- Wooly's futile attempt to warn the viewer away from Amanda in the second tape. He doesn't even get a sentence out before Amanda takes over again. Even worse, Amanda then drags him off to the butcher with it being all but stated that she killed him as punishment for defying her.
Full Game
- In the "Oh no! Accidents!" episode, Amanda asks the viewer who can help you when you're in trouble. If you type in "nobody", Amanda replies "You're probably right" in a despondent tone of voice.
- Considering what we know about Rebecca, whose father disappeared and left her in Hameln entertainment's questionable care, she's probably speaking from experience.
- While Amanda's breakdown in the family-episode if you refuse to help the Lonely Kitten is terrifying, it's also pretty clear that Amanda was really asking for help for herself and is becoming increasingly desperate and distraught at Riley's refusal.
- It's also really clear that Amanda is extremely hurt if Riley tells her they don't want to hear her secret, and while she doesn't start screaming, crying, or siccing the entity on them, she does become very uncharacteristically calm and subdued, immediately closing herself off from them by turning the TV off and sending them a note simply saying, "LEAVE".Amanda: I thought you were different.
- Amanda spends most of "Everything Rots!" creepily educating us about death...and then, after bickering with Wooly about whether or not everything really does rot, wants your opinion. All the possible responses are sad:
- You can agree with her...
Amanda: (despondent) That's what I was afraid of...- You can agree with Wooly, and she'll just stare ahead sadly while Wooly tells her that everything is fine, but his words ring hollow to Amanda and likely the viewer as well.
- Or you can put in something that's NEITHER yes or no. Every evasive answer gives a new, more desperate dialogue.Amanda: Why won't you answer my question?Amanda: (Sounding like she's about to cry) You have to tell me...Amanda: TELL ME! (Erases Wooly from the scene)Amanda: Don't you want to be my friend? Please, answer my question.(At this point, Riley is forced to type "Yes")Amanda: (sad) I...think it might be too late.
- Despite the fact that Amanda wants Riley to answer this question so very badly, everything they say ends up upsetting her enough to cause the entity to attack. She knows that she's dead and rotting somewhere far away, and it's just as upsetting for her to face the truth as it is to pretend to ignore it.
- After Sam's disappearance, Hameln tries to protect themselves in the controversy by publically stating that he had "abandoned" both the company and his daughter. The statement also claims that Rebecca was so distressed of the news, likely being told by Hameln that he had "abandoned" her, that all events surrounding her had to be cancelled. The fact that she was orphaned, and Sam, the one who supposedly "abandoned" her was also the one who lovingly adopted her, makes it especially gut-wrenching that the company would even try to suggest such a thing to both Rebecca and the public.
- In the final tape, if you get the Hollow End or The End? You will be met with just Amanda, who will be considerately more calmer than usual, she will tell you about how friends will tell secrets to another, and ask you if you want to hear a secret. If you say yes, she will respond with, "I'm out there... Somewhere." which is progressively sad if you think about it. Her voice alone says it all.
- This isn't the only time Amanda had a change in voice, during the petting zoo tape, Amanda's voice will drop once she says "Daddy Rooster."
- It's eventually revealed that Aunt Kate was actually a family friend of Sam and Rebecca, which already puts her interest in the case in a new light. But it's also revealed that her support was one of the reasons their show became successful in the first place, and considering that success led them straight into Hameln's hands, it's easy to get an even sadder impression of what was driving her.
- Amanda's voice actor, Blair Greene-Osako, is spot on when it comes to her expressing Amanda's anger, frustration, and sadness. While it is funny for Amanda to rip on you for choosing the wrong options, seeing Amanda's breakdowns and desperate cry for help after repeated wrong choices, are uncomfortable to listen to and watch. For a young kid to have such an existential crisis and be on the verge of tears is heart-wrenching, making the viewer want to help her. It's not just the breakdowns though, Amanda talking about death in a nonchalant matter is genuinely disturbing, as if she is hiding something.
