Games bring people together, and sometimes that can be really painful. But luckily, we don’t have to face it alone.
As much as we enjoy games, we inevitably associate painful memories with them as well. Some titles deal with emotional themes on their own, while others might help us get through tough times.
For one Steam user, it’s neither one nor the other. On Reddit, Franci93 shares their last interaction with a friend before he died—and the community is crying along with them.
Subnautica from the Emergency Room
The post on Reddit has touched an incredible number of users. It has garnered nearly 80,000 upvotes and over 1,000 replieshere. Franci93 writes:“I didn’t know that would be our last contact… He sent me a game from the emergency room.”
didn’t knew it would be our last interaction… he sent me a game from the ER
byu/Franci93 inSteam
The image shows the underwater survival gameSubnautica. Below is the message the friend sent when he gave Franci93 the gift on Steam.
Hey, I’m still in the hospital, but I opened Steam Mobile and saw that it’s on sale and on your wishlist. Hope you have fun with it, Fran.«
In the post, Franci93 elaborates on the events a bit further:“I asked him for months to see a doctor, but he didn’t do it until it became unbearable.”The experience was bittersweet, and Franci93 still hasn’t fully processed everything. In the comments, the user also writes that Subnautica was the game they’d wanted for quite a while, but their friend couldn’t have known that.
If this is already too emotional for you, then you probably shouldn’t look at the comments, because the community shares their own tragic stories here that are connected to games.
SorryConfusion9186 writesfor example: “Man, this message is going to pop into your head every time you see the game in your library”, to whichEd19627 replies:
My wife passed away on February 11, 2022, and I was playing Forza Horizon 5 when I got the call. Guess which game I haven’t played since? Every time I thought about playing it, I had to think about that call.
There are plenty of anecdotes in the thread. So if you have enough tissues on hand, feel free to read a few and leave a kind comment.
Of course, there are also numerous expressions of condolence and a small reference to Subnautica itself.RattiepaloozaFranci93 advises: “When the time comes, let us know that youdropped a capsule for him? You’ll understand what I mean at the end of the game.”
The user is referring to a mechanic that comes into play at the end of the game. The goal of Subnautica is to escape the flooded planet. As soon as you reach the escape rocket, you get the chance tofill a time capsule with a message. If your game is connected to the internet, this capsule can then be found in the games of other Subnautica players.
It’s not uncommon for those who have just escaped to dedicate these messages to friends who have passed away, as Rattiepalooza herself writes: “I wrote one for my friend Michael. I’ve found so many others who have dedicated their memories to friends who have passed away—and I cry for them all, but at the same time feel joy that we had them in our lives at all.”
And there’s no better way to conclude this article.
