Reddit

So I just finished Without a Trace...

r/avablade · Posted by u/shitsgettingweird 5 years ago

... and like everyone else still lurking on this sub, feeling let down and a little pissed off.

JL spent so much time explaining the relationship between the hikers. Sure, fine, that's important for context or whatever. But all the clues as to what actually happened to them felt so incredibly glossed over. Out of the Woods was only mentioned in 1 CHAPTER IN PASSING. Why didn't JL spend more time on the game Avery was playing right before she died, especially given that it's about a girl who can't escape the woods, and THE DEVELOPERS DISAPPEARED OUT OF THIN AIR AT THE SAME TIME AVERY DID????

u/tdub_chronic · 5y

Bc ootw literally has nothing to do with avablades disappearance. stop spreading conspiracy theories

|

u/rememberthe7 · 5y

I strongly disagree with this.

Without a Trace sucks, and John Lawson is a hack. I think everyone on this sub can agree with this. Too many of us have done our own investigating because we actually care about what happened to ALL those hikers and aren't writing a book for the cash grab. Anyone capitalizing on this story for their own monetary gain without actually helping to solve the case is gross.

We don't know if Out of the Woods has anything to do with the disappearance of Avery or the others because neither the game nor Cold Alpine Studio were fully investigated by the police. The police came across too many dead ends, like the fact no tax or business information could be found for CAS and their devs couldn't be contacted. They chalked it up to a prank because they were too stupid to dig for clues within the game itself.

There are a few aspects of the game I want to highlight here:

1. This game was clearly made for Avery. She liked indie games, cosmic horror, rich stories, female protagonists, and had told her fans she'd recently taken up the hobbies of backpacking and mountaineering. She began her playthrough the day after CAS sent it to her. We don't even know when the files that the other streamers had became corrupted because none of the streamers were interested in the game until after Avery's disappearance.

2. The storyline of OOTW: In Chapter 1, we learn no one in the village has ever made it all the way through the woods to the outside. The villagers worship a harvest goddess they call The Mother. As part of a ritual, the villagers choose one of their own to sacrifice to the forest every year, and the butcher's daughter is selected. But The Mother doesn't kill her right away; instead, as the butcher's daughter tries to escape to the outside, she meets a cast of characters living in the woods who assist her in one way or another, including the archgod The Shadow, Mother's nemesis. Obviously we don't know how the story ends because Avery never finished playing and the police couldn't find the game files.

3. HERE'S THE THING: historians and archaeologists who've studied Deadswitch Wilderness have found evidence of cults in the area that began during the pioneer era. Journal entries and religious documents of these supposed cult members mention not only The Mother and The Shadow, but other prophet or saintlike characters too who also appear in the game to help the butcher's daughter, such as The Ranger, The Lover, The Warden, etc.

The connection between Avery, Out of the Woods, and the pioneer cult WAS NEVER FULLY INVESTIGATED BY THE POLICE.

|

u/tdub_chronic · 5y

that still doesnt mean anything. ootw could have been inspired by the pioneer cult, and avablade could have found that out and then decided to go backpacking in deadswitch after because of the game.

|

u/rememberthe7 · 5y

Yes, you are absolutely right. But we will never know because that connection wasn't ruled out. It's not a conspiracy. It's a legitimate lead.

|

u/shitsgettingweird OP · 5y

I know you just said you're against capitalizing on this story, but you should really start a podcast.

|

u/rememberthe7 · 5y

Don't tempt me.