I'm Lost in the WooOOoooOds *sings*

Heya everyone! Finally, here it is, the sequel to The Daughters of the Sun!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

What can I say? I'm so excited, thrilled and happy to finally release another Pheadra-themed game!! If you guys don't know it, I am a FAN of Jean Racine's Phaedra, and this series of games is dedicated to show my appreciation for this theatre play! If I'm being honest, though, Son of the Woods is less inspired by Phaedra than The Daughters of the Sun was, although I still borrowed some lines! But I guess it is due to a significant difference in the way Racine and I approached Hippolytus, the protagonist of this short game, and the object of Phaedra's twisted feelings.

Racine indeed makes him in love with a character who won't be mentioned or appear in this series, as it is an addition to the myth of Phaedra, absent from the other versions (especially Euripides and Seneca's, who are the best-known worldwide I think), named Aricia. For my Hippolytus, I wanted to channel some of his original roughness, rudeness even, to make him proud (because Hippolytus is proud), and yet, break this shell, show him more vulnerable, more so considering his step-mother just traumatised him. Moreover, I made my Hippolytus as aroace, and, although this isn't a game about Hippolytus questioning his asexuality or aromanticism, you can still see glimpses, I hope, of that characterisation: of how he is sex and even love-repulsed and not favourable!

So, yes, I guess you might find some answers to The Daughters of the Sun in this game and yet, have some more questions! I do hope the third installment of the series (if I commit to the idea) will bring all the answers to perfectly conclude this short tragic story.

I might, in future devlogs, if I am motivated and have time, try to explain the symbolism in this game because, oh boy, how more symbolic than The Daughters of the Sun it is (which isn't an exploit, considering I didn't have to sit through the restrictions of O2A2 this time)! But I can't help but feel like it's even a more personal artistic piece for me, and I hope you guys connect with it? I won't go into the lengths of my personal experience and what I needed to vent, but let's just say I wanted to tackle self-infliged victim-blaming in situations of abuse on minors (with what is the metaphorical abuse happening in the last game, which will be a prequel).

I hope you guys will enjoy this game (as much as possible; I don't think it's as majestically sad as The Daughters of the Sun, but it's definitely more raw) and that it's not a case of failed, uncreative or unfaithful sequel! See you for future devlogs (or games!).