I think I know what that hidden condition is:
At the very beginning you choose between Richard and Alice.
For the record - I chose Richard (mostly because I'm male).

Would be pretty funny if that really is the hidden condition :p. I never even paid attention to which one I picked on both playthroughs.

I can't think of any other condition \ choice that can determine anything.
Plus, Lewis says we haven't seen one last ending...

Data point: I chose "Richard" and got the Polar bears ending. (Because I didn't want to pry...)

I'll replay the beginning later and see if there's an immediate difference between the choices besides the order of answers.

Edit: In this scene, only the order of the dialogue changes. I do not know if there's any long-term effect.

Edit2: I'll replay the game in some days. Knowing what you learn on a first play-through gives a different meaning to scenes you have already played - for instance on my first play-through, I interpreted the reluctant answers by Alice as being caused by being put in prison, now I also see her talking to a guy she knew responsible for some pretty bad stuff.

I just finished the game and came to see other people's thoughts. My ending consisted of:
-After escaping prison, Richard and Alice go to Barney's grave and say goodbye.
-Alice gets gun, but no confrontation happens with Richard. Richard said something like he was surprised it was still there and there is one bullet left.
-They go to the church where they discuss the Polar Bears.
-Then, Alice says that she will go with Richard for now, but someday Alice will leave Richard with supplies and no trouble.
-She also says something like when she saw Richard's photo in the beginning, she knew who he was, and she wanted to kill him, but now she is glad to have him as a friend.
-At the end, they say they are going to meet York at the storage vault, and Alice comments on how sometimes she thinks the world hasn't really changed at all.


Also, I got the mystery box with the ladder, but I thought it was weird that Alice would be afraid of going on the ice. With the constant freezing temperatures, I wouldn't think falling through the ice would be an issue, but I guess it was needed for the puzzle.

Looks like we have the fifth ending!

Good work!

"With the constant freezing temperatures, I wouldn't think falling through the ice would be an issue"

In a frozen future world, I would much rather be wrapped up warm in a coat and scarf on hard land than I would stuck underwater in temperatures that would kill me within minutes. ;-)

EDIT: Hooray on the ending-find!

I won't say too much, but I will say OvaltineJenkins is in possession of a very important piece of information that otherwise hasn't been touched upon at all in this thread so far.

Now I know why the RPS writer said "Trust me, play it twice." When I played the game, I had no idea who Richard was until I recognized the Brussels sprouts quote, but I didn't make the connection with the family photo. I didn't think Alice knew who Richard was, either, until this point.

I don't understand.

What are you choosing?

(Edit: Like, I recall that bit and that you choose one or the other to discuss. But what does that have to do with the way the endings play out? Is something said that either paints Richard as a villain or not?)

(Edit again: PS. I think it's an interesting design idea, it just seems very subtle. Or - over my head, at least. I don't think explicit A, B ending is necessarily bad, either, though - like in Bastion. Maybe I'll have a third play tonight and try to notice more of the decision making moments.)

Got the same ending

I did confess with richard to kill
and got the box with 1 bullet

What about Alice telling Barney that the Polars are actually good people? Could that be it?

I really don't feel like replaying the game for the third time though. Two playthroughs within the span of a week is enough to burn me out. Someone else will have to be the guinea pig :p

Yeah. Dunno.

I went through a third time pretty quickly, although I did quickly read dialogue and notes, and got the same ending as the first time, Alice and Richard go to the Polars. I didn't get any info that seemed radically different to the first two times.

This is like a friendship ending but different to Ovaltine's.

I suspect my Alice is missing some vital information in this playthrough but I don't know what it is. Like, a note or something.