The "Thrilled" state is an actual status effect in the game’s code. It occurs when you re-initiate contact after a period of ghosting. The dialogue becomes raw, panicked, and hyper-attached. The writing in v0.4.9.5.2 is particularly sharp: ghosted characters do not forgive you. They interrogate you. They remember previous playthroughs. If you restart the game, Silas will say, "You reset. Again. Do you know what that does to a person?"
One pastebin log from a user named DredgeRat describes it best: "I didn't play for three days because of work. I opened v0.4.9.5.2 and Mara was sitting in my save file with a stopwatch. She said 'You ghosted me for seventy-one hours, fourteen minutes. I counted.' I closed the laptop so fast." If the game ghosts you, and you ghost the game, why is the audience "Thrilled"? Because the emotional volatility is addictive. "The Secret- Ghosted Thrilled -v0.4.9.5.2-" has been described as a "toxic relationship simulator" by detractors, but fans argue it is a commentary on digital attachment. The Secret- Ghosted Thrilled -v0.4.9.5.2-
The "Secret" referenced in the title is not a physical object in the game world, but a passive state. To find "The Secret," you must get ghosted by the game itself . That is, you must ignore the game for 72 real-time hours. When you return, the main menu is different. The "New Game" option is replaced with "Return to Sender." Clicking it loads you directly into a nightmare sequence where the characters accuse you of being the ghost—not in the game, but in real life. The "Thrilled" state is an actual status effect