Fisherman

The Fisherman is the main protagonist and playable character in the Estranged game series. From the game descriptions, we can infer the Fisherman owns a ship for fishing activites, but not much more detail.

The Fisherman is a "silent protagonist", similar to Gordon Freeman in the Half-Life series.

Events Prior to Act I

Estranged: The Departure begins before the Fisherman's shipwreck, with a Prelude section set on Fair Isle, Shetland, Scotland in what is presumed to be the Fisherman's house, next to a private dock. The nationality of the Fisherman is not stated, but it's possible they could be Scottish.

The player can turn on the TV in the Fisherman's house, where a news report states that storm "Edwin" is expected to make landfall, and for residents to prepare:

Weather now - storm Edwin continues to make landfall, but today provides residents in the north with a day of calm. Meteorologists are advising everyone in the area that the worst of the storm is yet to come, and they should prepare by filling bathtubs with water, and stocking food to last for at least two days.

It's unclear why the Fisherman disregards this advice and decides to set sail into the storm despite witnessing the warning - but the events that follow eventually lead to the Fisherman shipwrecked on the Island.

Events of Act I

The Fisherman's journal, from the ship in Estranged: Act I

The Fisherman's journal reveals that they are at sea for a long time - 9 weeks in total, meaning they survived the initial storm Edwin.

The journal also notes that communications have stopped - presumably with the mainland, and that the Fisherman's heading is now unclear. This is consistent with drifting into the vicinity of the Island, given the events of the game highlight that the Satellite Station is blocking all communications to and from the island.

The introduction to Estranged: Act I shows the Fisherman receiving a variation of the Arque Corporation curfew message, and then becoming shipwrecked.

Immediately after that event, the Fisherman surfaces in Redton, just next to a lighthouse and shipping office. This eventually leads to an encounter with John Derril, who provides the Fisherman with a gun.

Exploring more of Redton, the Fisherman makes their way towards a nature reserve where the first Infected humans are seen, then a train station - stealing a train and heading towards Wentworth. The train is unable to progress past a certain point, and the Fisherman is forced to alight.

Still heading towards Wentworth, the Fisherman encounters more Infected and a blocked road tunnel, and is then forced into a large sewer network. Once inside, the Fisherman is captured by an unnamed guard, who states that "we've been tracking you're movements ever since you entered the facility", from which we can assume the guard works for Arque.

The Fisherman walks free by tipping over the chair they are tied to, and eventually makes it into the Tempest water treatment facility, where they encounter more infected humans.

The facility eventually leads to a coastal path, and to a secret entrance to Arque West, where the Fisherman meets George Richmond. Together, the Fisherman and Richmond repair an overheating generator in the facility, and finally attempt to broadcast an S.O.S. message, to try to alert the outside world to the events on the Island.

The broadcast is unsuccessful due to the signal being jammed by the Satellite Station, and eventually security personnel catch up to the Fisherman and Richmond. The Fisherman escapes to a warehouse containing more security personnel, while Richmond is left behind (his fate unknown).

Following an escape from a heavy firefight in a warehouse, the Fisherman follows a road, crosses an adjacent river, and falls into a cave system below after the floor gives way. This is where the events of Estranged: Act I end, and events of Estranged: The Departure begin proper.

Events of The Departure

The Fisherman awakes in the cave system, and falls into a pool of water. Following the system the Fisherman ends up at a mine owned by Liam Brothers, and navigates towards the adjacent Arque East facility, learning about Liam Jones via audio diaries in the facility.

Once in Arque East the Fisherman encounters an unknown individual, who flees the Fisherman into the underground parking facility, attemping to kill the Fisherman using fire and explosives. The Fisherman exits the facility via its parking garage, and never learns the true identity of the assailant.

After exiting the grounds of the Arque East facility, the Fisherman encounters a railway, and witnesses a vehicle speeding along a road running above the tracks, later found to be Sokol-Glockner Private Security personnel racing to intercept the Fisherman. The Fisherman once again navigates a sewer facility which eventually leads, via an elevator, to a nature reserve.

A partially destroyed cabin in the nature reserve provides the Fisherman with a gun, which the Fisherman then uses to fight back towards the railway tracks. Unfortunately the Fisherman is intercepted by a set of miniguns, infected and finally a member of Sokol-Glockner Private Security, who injures and captures the Fisherman.

This time the Fisherman awakes inside an underground Arque-controlled prison facility, where escape seems unlikely. However, due to events outside of the cell leading to an explosion which opens an air vent on the cell's wall (with the facility's personnel presumably being overrun by infected humans), the Fisherman is able to fight through the facility.

The facility eventually leads to a small city, presumably Wentworth (though this is not revealed). The Fisherman again encounters resistance in this area, but persists through to a block of flats, accessing another sewer area via the basement.

The final sewer leads towards a cave system and eventually to an underground archeologist dig site, which via audio diaries is revealed to contain the remains of pirates, who eventually resorted to infighting for unknown reasons. The cave system eventually opens out onto a beach, where the Fisherman finally comes across the Satellite Station.

After destroying the equipment responsible for jamming outgoing signals, the Fisherman hears John Derril on the radio, who is able to successfully broadcast an S.O.S., which is received by the Norwegian Coast Guard. However, it appears it was intercepted, as fighter jets race towards the Island, firing missiles upon the island.

The Fisherman races to a boat on the ocean beneath the facility, escaping just in time to see the large satellite dish mounted next to the facility be destroyed. The Fisherman is targetted by a missile, and loses conciousness after what seems like a head-on collision with it.

The Fisherman regains conciousness in the wreckage of several off-short wind turbines, presumably destroyed by the bombing raid. Security forces are present with boats, hunting for signs of survivors. Eventually the Fisherman makes it into the open water, however is intercepted by two boats.

After diving underwater, the Fisherman's journey is unclear, with only fragments of conciousness - first clinging to a log in the ocean with a storm approaching, then surrounded by ice. It's unclear if the Fisherman receives some kind of assistance during this period since most of the events are unknown.

The next time the Fisherman regains conciousness, they are pulled into a boat, put into a wheelchair, and taken through an unknown facility. The rescuer is revealed to be John Derril, who is seen during a dreamlike bedside encounter in a medical wing of the facility. John states that he will leave to explore the facility, leaving the Fisherman to wake up, alone, in a daze.

Estranged: The Departure concludes with the Fisherman following the facility through to a locked doorway, which once unlocked reveals that the infection has spread to this facility too. The game ends with the fate of John and the Fisherman unknown.

Trivia

The Fisherman's hand model in Act I is reskinned Half Life 2 HEV suit model
The Fisherman loses their coat between Estranged: Act I and Estranged: The Departure

List of appearances

Estranged: Act I (First appearance)
Estranged: The Departure