10 Small Details In The Story Of Remnant: From the Ashes You Missed
As with all Souls-like video games, Remnant: From the Ashes is rather vague about the story and the exposition. Such is the tradition popularized by the Dark Souls series and it would be a crime for any of its derivatives stray from an established form of storytelling. Suffice to say, players can miss plenty of details when it comes to Remnant: From the Ashes' story.
That's why this list exists. Because let's face it, the ending gives more questions than answers and players usually end up Googling what the heck just happened. As it is, most of Remnant's story is hidden in logs and requires vigilant reading. Thankfully, some of those crucial story details are summed up here in bite-sized pieces.
10 THE WHOLE STORY IS CONNECTED TO A PREVIOUS GAME
One of the reasons why most players will often feel like Remnant's story is missing something is due to the fact that it's a continuation of another game. That game is Chronos, a VR-only title, which is why it's not that popular.
Lots of elements and plot points are carried over from Chronos to Remnant. In order to understand some of the terms used by NPCs and even some of the narration, having played Chronos beforehand certainly helps. It's not needed, of course.
9 IT INVOLVES PARALLEL REALITIES
For those who have missed it, Remnant: From the Ashes plays with the premise of parallel universes. The whole game's plot happened because some scientists from the 1960s managed to find a way to peek or travel into these parallel universes via mediums called Dreamers.
Unfortunately, these dreamers were also capable of opening two-way bridges to other worlds. Hence, the Root, which is the main villain and apocalyptic force in Remnant, was able to pour into Earth and nearly wipe out humanity.
8 THE DREAMERS WERE THE KEY TO CONNECTING TO OTHER REALITIES
As mentioned before, everything in Remnant: From the Ashes was made possible using the Dreamers. They usually appear as small human children who can open up pathways to other realities.
Unfortunately, the Root proved to be smarter than Earth's scientists, and one of the Root's entities named Clawbone managed to use a Dreamer to invade Earth. There were also other Dreamers involved but the one Clawbone managed to trick was the most disastrous.
7 HUMANS BECAME PROPHETIC AND SUPERSTITIOUS
Players start off their journey in Remnant several decades into the horror and apocalypse which began as early as the 1960s. For that matter, much of the human culture has changed and many of them have resorted to being superstitious and regressed intellectually.
That's why terms like the "dragon" and many other cryptic storytelling phrases were being used. It's also important to note that humans did retain some of their modern technology despite the superstition and this made the general atmosphere of the game's world feel like a hybrid.
6 CLAWBONE IS THE "DRAGON"
As for who that dragon is mentioned at the very beginning of the game, it would be Clawbone himself. There's no other logical candidate. As for what Clawbone is, it's rather unexplained and about as vague as the Root.
Even his name is just a designation given by the Ward's researchers. At best, they understand him to be a "brain" of the Root which acts and functions like a hivemind. One thing's for sure, however, Clawbone is powerful-- enough to be called a "dragon" by humans.
5 THE FINAL BOSS IS THE PLAYER FROM THE PREQUEL
Keeping in line with the continuity of the first game, Chronos one important character gets carried over from there to Remnant. Anyone who has played that prequel will surely figure out that Remnant's final boss is the player from Chronos.
It's quite clever, actually. The Dreamer boss appears to be wearing a VR-like device that allows him entry and visual to other parallel worlds. This way, Clawbone manages to get a hold of him. So it's up to the players to slay that poor Dreamer.
4 EARTH WAS SUPPOSEDLY IMMUNE TO THE ROOT
Ironically enough, the whole Remnant: From the Ashes game could have been avoided and wasn't even supposed to happen. Turns out Earth and its reality was the core of all parallel universes and is thus exempt from the Root's onslaught.
The only reason the Root set its sights on Earth is that it was invited by none other than the Dreamers and Clawbone. Other researches discovered this too late and even tried to close the gates by killing their Dreamers, but that didn't succeed.
3 BULLETS ARE ACTUALLY RARE
Bullets are the main fuel of combat in Remnant: From the Ashes and while they might seem ubiquitous and disposable, they're actually precious. That's because humanity was on its last legs by the time the game happens.
It also best explains why swords and other melee weapons are back in fashion or why armor looks crude. Bullets and other modern technology are nearly extinct-- don't let the infinite ammo reservoirs fool you, they're just there for player convenience.
2 THE ISKAL ARE A MIRROR RACE OF THE ROOT
The Iskal are one of the weirdest races the players can encounter while jumping to other realities in Remnant: From the Ashes. They're also a hivemind and have their own queen as well as mindless creatures such as zombies, horrors, and insectoids.
In fact, one can easily mistake Iskal minions for the Root's. Hence, they are meant to be a mirror image of the Root-- an alternative species that are less destructive and has its own philosophy about harmony which is rather contradictory to how hostile they are to the players.
1 PLAYERS GET TO SAVE ONLY EARTH FROM THE ROOT
Throughout their journey across multiple dimensions beyond Earth, players often come across different cultures who have been affected by the Root one way or another. As much as the players want to save them all, destroying the Root is not that easy.
At best, players can merely save the Earth by severing the Dreamer's ties with Clawbone or closing the Root's pathway to Earth. Oh well, at least humanity can thrive again after that and the Root is no longer a problem for Earth.