Canon Ending

## Overview

The canon ending is the true ending to the game, and is achieved by shooting the dog on any level, not calling the police when prompted, and defeating the dog after Mom is murdered.

## How To Trigger The Ending

* Upon playing the Game shoot The Dog once on any level to antagonize him.
* After shooting the dog, play the game normally.
* When you're being spied on by The Dog, do not call 911 as it leads to the Best Man Ending.

* After David's Mother is killed, Shoot the button marked "Come face me" within the game.
* You'll be plunged into a boss fight with The Dog. Shoot him to damage him. After enough damage, a giant demonic version of The Dog will rise up from the lake. The player's shotgun will turn golden, then they must shoot The Dog's eyes to stop the lazers from breaking the TV. After enough shots, it will sink back into the lake and you will be forced back out into the real world.
	+ Failing to defeat the dog here and letting him reach David will result in the Stuck Forever Ending.

* When you're back in the real world, wait for The Dog to appear and kill him with the Light Gun, Bat or Katana (PC exclusive).
	+ Listen to the TV carefully. If the TV is becoming louder and louder, this is a sign The Dog is about to attack.
* After the Dog sustains enough damage, he will be zapped back into the cartridge.
	+ You will also unlock the Backpack Achievement.

## Plot

Eventually, after shooting The Dog and playing four rounds. The player will emerge in a dream sequence, where they must wake up the child. After waking him up, Mom will say that she can't find the knife.

A cheesy romance VHS will begin playing, possibly hinting that the player fell asleep once again.

Playing another round, a video of the child playing the game will appear on the TV screen, being broadcasted, if the player turns to the right, they will see The Dog filming the player with a camera. During the next round, if the player turns around and looks out of the TV, they will see The Dog standing behind the unsuspecting child. After staring at him for long enough, he will duck behind the couch, out of sight.

Upon returning to the real world, a really demonic version of the "Lone Wolf" commercial plays. If played long enough, it cuts to the game and reads: **"Where's Mom?"**, forcing the player to turn around, only revealing that The Dog has brutally murdered the David's Mom, and left David a message, telling him to **"Come face me"**. If the player plays this level, they will be taken to a heavily corrupted variant of the woods, the lake will be blood red, the moon will be crimson red, a forest fire will appear in the background, the trees will glitch, and the truck will be on fire. In this level, they must defend David, who has fallen asleep, by not letting The Dog get out of the game into the real world.

However, no matter what the player does, The Dog ends up getting out of the virtual world anyways.

The level will end as the screen slowly fills with static. The player will then wake up to find that the entire house has gone dark and a heavily corrupted version of the game's trailer will begin playing on screen, getting louder and louder. The player can pick up a flashlight, a baseball bat, a katana (PC edition only), and the gun from the ground. The player will eventually hear the screen door slide open, and hear The Dog rummage through items in different rooms of the house.

The Demonic Form of The Dog will eventually enter the living room and charge the player with the kitchen knife. If the player shoots The Dog enough times, hits The Dog with the baseball bat, or slices it with the katana if it gets close enough, it will be zapped back into the game, leaving pixelated blood everywhere.

In the ending cutscene, David destroys the game and immediately calls 911 about his mom, but then hangs up the phone, since nobody would believe a kid that a killer dog came out of a video game, slaughtered his mother, and that he was able to zap it back into the game using the shotgun-like controller.

He then decides to partially bury his mother, pack a backpack with snacks, a family portrait, a pocket knife, and a revolver, before running away from his home, leaving the past behind him. The Stress Level Zero logo will pop up, and then the game's credit sequence will play.

## Notes

* The Music in the Credits scene is called The Season By Michael and Jonathan
* This Ending is the most commonly achieved ending for a first playthrough.