There are really only two “questlines” in the game, and I love how both of them are implemented. One of them has a couple divergent endings depending on your actions, even though it may be a bit inaccurate to refer to them as “the good ending” and “the bad ending” as the MSC wiki does. The other questline, if completed correctly, gives you the only real way to “beat” the game.

The first was the series of driving an abandoned Jouko from Pub Nappo to his home across the map. You learn of a lot of things about him through these drives, like his failing marriage, his perception of the world being out to get him, and ultimately his suicidal ideation. The “bad ending” of course ends with you stealing the lottery winnings he tells you about, either ending the story with your murder or his suicide, or the “good ending” where his wife leaves him and he moves to Peräjärvi with your help.

I enjoy both these paths from a storytelling standpoint, but I take some serious issues with people calling these the good and bad endings of Jouko’s story. The bad ending is pretty bad; The money may seem attractive but the game becomes pretty boring when you’re 5,000,000 markka richer, with not really ever having to worry about expenses ever again, like groceries, car upgrades, or even fines. The player also seems to develop a guilty conscience, as stress increases much easier from there. However, the “good ending” shows Jouko giving in to his alcoholism, as the driving force for moving seemed to be getting closer to the pub. You’d think that he probably wouldn’t have much time left to live following the game’s events, but apparently, he’s present in the sequel which will take place several years later, so what do I know.

Suski is also the one I stopped myself from talking about further in the main review, considering her place in the game’s story and only true “ending” outside of you dying (if you’re not a wuss). As it goes, there’ll be a chance where at some point Jani will get himself killed (or mortally wounded, as he will respawn) if he gets in an accident, which can usually be prompted by challenging him to a race (or ferociously spinning your engine near him, or towing him with the septic truck and leaving him tied near the train tracks to get sent to space). Suski will always survive and you can take her home so she can rest, prompting her to commend your help and ask you on a date. You will require some new upgrades/changes to the Satsuma to impress her, but get a good date with her and she’ll call you not long after to tell you that she’s pregnant (Jesus Christ, protag, on the first date??).

This results in a cutscene that is deliberately reminiscent of the one that opens the game, with Suski seemingly giving birth to your new child in the back of your Satsuma as you drive down an empty road. With a preceding message of “WELCOME TO YOUR NEW LIFE”, the credits finally roll. I really do love how the game closes in the exact same way it opens, heavily implying that it was some bizarre chain of events that could’ve led to the protagonist being born in the same backseat his child would be some couple of decades later. I’m also pretty sure that Johannes and Kaarina have a child of their own now, and it’s equally funny and endearing to consider them as representations of the player character and Suski respectively. Whether this ending will be considered “canon” for the setting of the sequel is a bit unclear, but this final cutscene was definitely set in the snow, so…