Intro Cutscene

**Intro Cutscene** is a cinematic scene which plays at the very beginning of the game, when a new save file is created. The cutscene introduces Ash as the main character and includes a short gameplay section in the form of The End is Nigh cartridge. After the cutscene ends, the game begins in The End.

## Events shown in the cutscene

Ash is streaming himself playing a video game cartridge to an audience of 0, when the cartridge suddenly breaks after the first unlucky death. Ash scrambles to fix the cartridge, blowing into it and inserting it back into the console, to no avail. Angrily, Ash ends the stream and comes up with a new plan.

He decides to leave his house and "make a friend", by collecting body parts and assembling them into a human being. Before leaving, Ash writes a note to whoever might read it, in case he doesn't return from this dangerous adventure. In the note Ash explains that the world has ended a while ago, and that since then Ash has been living alone in his slowly collapsing home, playing video games. Now that his last cartridge broke, Ash doesn't have much to lose and will finally venture outside.

## Video of the cutscene

**Transcript:**

```
Okay, we're gonna load one my favorite games here, uh... Here we have, uh, The End is Nigh.
It's a classic, old-school platforming game, and you know, it's one of my favorites. One of my favorite games.

You've got your classic controls: got your jumping, you've got your going left and right and, like always in these games, avoid the spikes.

[CARTRIDGE BREAKS]

Wait, what? Oh, shit. Oh no! NO! NO-NO-NO-NO-NO-NO! NO!
OH, FUCK! OOH FUCK!
Oh God, no, this can't be broke. Here, let me get the cartridge out...

[Blowing on the cartridge, inserting it back in]

Okay... Oh no, it's still not working! Oh fuck! FUCK, WHAT AM I GONNA DO?!

FUUUUUUUUCK!

[Writing a note]

Dear anybody reading this,

I'm probably dead.
That wouldn't be surprising. Everybody else is.
There was some kind of apocalypse and- and all that was left was me. Well, most of me.

All in all, you know, hasn't been so bad! Til yesterday. My favorite game cartridge finally broke.
So now I'm gonna go out and make a friend!

[Ash's note lists his four-part plan for making a friend: head, heart, body, and video game]

I'll have to go out there... Outside...
It's a dangerous, twisted place full of death, decay, and... well, death, mostly.

But you know what? Imagine all the fun we'll have, me and my friend, you know?
Collecting tumors, spitting teeth for distance...
And, you know, if I do it right... repopulate the world.

Won't be easy, but I have nothing left to lose!
Except my other eye...
Oh well, fuck it!

```

## Beating the intro cartridge

Beating The End is Nigh cartridge in the intro leads to an alternative ending, in which Ash's cartridge doesn't break, meaning he doesn't have to leave his house. This also unlocks the Streaming Mimi achievement. The game won't keep the save file which was used to get this achievement, since the game ends before the player can make any progress.

**Transcript:**

```
Aand there you go! Done.
That was a lot easier than I expected.
Anyway, this is Ash to anyone out there who may be watching this, saying...
Stay inside, kids!
```

## Trivia

* The Binding of Isaac poster can be seen in the background of the cutscene, on the wall of Ash's room. This implies that The Binding of Isaac exists as a video game in the world of The End is Nigh and explains the appearance of Isaac as an NPC in Anguish as Ash hallucinating a familiar character.
* Another playable copy of The End is Nigh cartridge can be found in Nevermore.
* It is unknown how long Ash spent alone after the end of the world, but given the state of the world, it had to have been at least a few months. That would drive anyone insane and Ash is no exception.

## See also

* Characters - a page containing more details about Ash and the friend he makes.
* The End is Nigh (Cartridge) - the cartridge Ash plays in the intro.
* The End - the first area in the game, which becomes accessible after the intro cutscene.