"Raik" presents two different storylines, one in English and one in Scots, that run parallel to each other. The Scots story is set in the modern day, while the Scots story is set in a fantasy milieu. I assume that most people consider English to be the less exotic, more mundane of the two. I also assume (safely, I think) that most people consider questing through dark caverns to be more exotic than muddling your way through a normal work day. The presentation is thus an interesting dichotomy: the mundane seen through exotic eyes, or the exotic seen through the mundane. This creates a clear and inescapable link between the two.
Running parallel to each other, each choice in one is also reflected in the other. I confess that I did not always see how the choices related, or how the specific dilemma in one might be similar to the other. But that's a very minor detail. Ultimately, it seems to me that the point is escapism: you can escape from one to the other if and when you find the situation in one to be too much to handle: the reinterpreted situation might seem less stressful or more manageable.
The "normal work day" story line is not without its monsters, of course. Our hero is apparently prone to some very scary panic attacks, and when that happens ... well, there's a point where the game jumps between the storylines without your asking for it. The comparison is clear: finding your way out of a meltdown is like trying to find your way through a maze. The mind doesn't simply shut down: it goes to a whole other narrative. For me, though I knew it to be a conscious design decision, it felt very much as if the game was going to pieces before my eyes.
I can't for the life of me remember how this ends. All I remember is the world falling apart in twin narratives. It's brilliantly evocative, but I'm not sure where it's going with what it's saying.
Breakfast: scrambled eggs, oatmeal, strong black tea.