I love your line of script where you say: “aligning the game’s protagonist, with the person holding the controller”. That really hits the nail on the head (for me) on what makes computer games such a special art form. Immersion at its finest.
A good chunk of these games wouldn’t exist without Ico, which I think is THE perfect example of a medium-specific story. Fumito Ueda is a video game auteur like no other.
So many people misunderstood Last Guardians nuanced controls and AI. They were complaining how hard it was to command him what to do. They entirely missed the point it was like training a pet. Videogames can tell such unique stories and it's a shame people fail to see the special things it's trying to do. Players don't "immerse" themselves. They just grind competitive games. Good video.
Yeah, it's the commercial aspect of making it fun for as many players as possible vs the artistic vision. Sadly the commercial aspect usually wins, that's why we must cherish the games made by visionaries like Ueda and Taro.
I’m so glad to see TLOU here. People often label it as a “movie game”, but after watching the HBO show, I had a whole new appreciation for the little interactions during gameplay between Joel and Ellie
Beautiful video! If you ever do a part 2 I'd like to suggest another beautiful small game called "Before your eyes" which uses blink detection from your webcam as the principal mean of gameplay. I don't want to spoil the story in case you want to play it
Great video. Its so weird how we fight the pull in Shadow of the Collosus. Like as a gamer it's clearly progression but as Wanderer I fight it for a while despite knowing its futile before eventually letting go. And I've done this every playthrough. 🤔
Jusant is a great indie game which released in the past year. It's a game basically about climbing. But the controls make you feel like you are experiencing the act of climbing throughout the whole game. It's far different than something like Assassin's Creed games where you simply push single button to automatically scale any surface. With Jusant you have to coordinate your climbing movements with various controller actions. And the game gives a sense of achievement as you progress.
Team Ico's can't be expressed better in any other form of media other than games. There's something beautifully tranquil and tactile that gives breath to those masterpieces
Ueda's philosophy of design through subtraction has always worked wonders. There is absolutely no fluff in his games. Everything is there for a reason.
Journeys mp was so interesting. It was such a welcome surprise when someone would just show up when you were playing. You wouldn't see their name and could only see if you checked your recent players list You wouldn't even know how long they'd be with you. It was quite poignant
Fantastic work man, I really loved the longer length to be able to hit more games that have done it well. I also cant find a way to claim that XIII should have been included.
@ yeah it is. You’re not wrong that it’s oft forgotten about. I feel it was a major part of my life for a short sliver of time, and in the moment felt like it could last forever as a series. Now that I’ve gotten older I see that it was just a naive age and one of my first experiences with a “cliff hanger” ending that never got resolved with a sequel.
@@domhanson9167 Those couple of games that were your 'first' will always remain special, even though they're objectively not even that great. So I feel you. Sad that it never got that sequel.
I'd wager that fully embracing the medium is being more branching instead of cinematic. Thus, story generators like Kenshi are the "gamiest games" imho where each player will experience a completely different story unfold: something only a game can provide.
Fantastic video. Gaming is one of the best art forms out there because of the amount of immersion it is capable of achieving. Some notable examples I believe also deserve to be included in this discussion are the following: • Doki Doki Literature Club • Inscryption • Lisa: The Painful • Undertale • Hotline Miami • Fear & Hunger • Before Your Eyes • What Remains of Edith Finch • The Stanley Parable All of these titles break conventions and use video game tropes and expectations to either mess with the player or add to the story / gameplay.
Added them all to the list. I did play Doki Doki, Hotline Miami and Stanley Parable. I didn't care much for Doki but I really liked the other two games.
6:53 - it is not just one button press, but the game's actual mechanic. It was not just an arbitrary interaction to trigger the punchline, but the entire gameplay itself building up to it. That's why Brothers is the best video game as an artform to me.
Pathologic 1 and 2 and The Void are pitch perfect games for this type of list. In addition, I would also say Disco Elysium, Majora's Mask, Alan Wake 2, maybe Inscryption.
@GameTalesHQ Disco Elysium is one where 10 different players will have 10 totally different experiences, the amount of ways to approach the game is near-unmatched, your choices and skills all actually matter down to the tiniest details. It might be the best game I've played, up there with Bloodborne, NieR Automata and Outer Wilds for sure. Pathologic 2 is another masterpiece, it's THE perfect synchronization of gameplay with storytelling and mood for me. Same with The Void, from the same developers. Ice Pick Lodge has the philosophy about game design that not all games need to be "fun" just as not all movies/music/books etc need to be "fun". Stress and negative emotions are all used as intentional storytelling and gameplay devices in their games and I love it.
@GameTalesHQ They're definitely one of the few studios that really understands the strengths and weaknesses of the medium and wants to push it forward. Also Pathologic 2 is essentially a vastly improved remake of Pathologic 1 with another entry coming next year to expand on it, I'd just play Patho 2 (and The Void too) and only try Patho 1 if you become obsessed and want more haha
For Nier Automata, I love that game to death but I'll never play it again because it just doesn't feel right after getting ending E. Absolute masterpiece of a game and story.
Brothers really got me. Great game. And I know there’s no shortage of people gushing about RDR2 online, but it really shook me to the core. I lived as Arthur, and bonded with members of the gang. It’s a long game, but I think the length is what makes it feel so personal and epic. A tv series can be long, but doesn’t hit in the same way a game does. The Last of Us also starts the game with the player controlling Sarah. It just hits that much harder when she dies. I love video games. lol. Great video!
Fantastic video and could not agree more on the choices here. It’s so refreshing to come across a video on UA-cam that celebrates games as opposed to the constant rage baiting and grifting that you see all too often these days in the gaming UA-cam sphere. Great video, you earned a like and a subscription from me.
Hell yeah! The negativity is becoming way too common. While there are definitely things that need improving, they make it seem like there's nothing left to celebrate anymore.
Great video! Got inspired to get some games from that list. 😅 I keep noticing in your videos Spec Ops: The line, on the surface it seems like something I wouldnt care about it, but this video made me really interested to give it a try.
Didn't know about Nier Automata ending as I have never played it, but it sounds exactly like humanity most basic sacrifice: be saved and save others, even at the cost of our own life. It's like helping our parents when they get old, after everything they sacrificed for us, and us sacrificing for our children. Sacrifice is one of the most inspiring moves. And maybe, it's the reason why Warhammer 40k is not as crazy as it sounds in a futuristic intergalactic permanent war situation where people helps each other with anything to lose except its species.
Having played most of the games featured in the video, been through various emotions these games elicit, this video made me feel the same emotions over again.
i remember i got journey for free during some holiday sale on the playstation 4 and being stuck at one point just for another person to pop up for the first time in my playthrough and go through it like they've done it before, and during the last few sequences going through them all with another person. it really was a magic experience like no other. also this made me really want to play more games so i'm looking through the timeline avoiding spoilers and noting them to see which game i'll play next
While they certainly don't have the significance of the other moments mentioned in this video, there are 2 really clever uses of the medium in Simon the Sorcerer 3D (You are locked in a room with a couple of other characters and the trick of escaping is trolling one of them until he kills you and you respawn at the savepoint outside the house.) and Pony Island (During a simple text puzzle that requires you to pay attention, you are getting some fake Steam chat pop ups).
@@comradestannis To be honest, StS 3D isn't necessarily a game that I would recommend. The switch to 3D only makes the game look even older with large empty areas and NPCs straight out of Minecraft. The writing sometimes feels so cringe / bad like it is taken from some fanfiction. While you probably already know these 2 games, The Stanley Parable had some very clever moments with the interactive narrator and Undertale is just so much more than a simple game that it has been presented to the Pope as a gift.
I started playing Nier yestarday, had bad first impressions but decided I'll keep playing it. In the evening your video showed up (watched it up to the spoiler warning) and now I'm determined to beat Nier. I do have to say that voice acting and over the top emotional robot sounds really put me off.. As for the game mechanics that change the game, one light version of it is in Ace Combat Zero. Depending on if you let damaged enemies escape you get points to fill a style gauge, you are shown this gauge after each mission and it goes from Mercenary - Soldier - Knight and you start in the middle. Every few missions you get something like a boss fight and different style gives you different enemies, and beating the enemy unlocks their aircraft in the shop. And as for your video, it's an amazing mini documentary, I hope you keep doing stuff like this, I was immersed from start to finish!
Definitely continue playing NieR, I also don't like the typical over the top anime stuff but this game is really worth it man. The Ace Combat thing is really cool, thanks for sharing that. Ahh, glad you liked it, immersion was the thing I was going for :)
@GameTalesHQ the game has only 2 anime moments total. Both involving adam it eve and 9S. 1st with Adam taunting 2B and laughing at her as they get ready to fight, and 2nd when 9S and eve have an anime style power clash with their large fists made of scrap complete with yelling. This totals less than 10 seconds of the game. It is a non issue.
@@GameTalesHQ And I was NOT disappointed. Made me reminisce about my playthroughs, shed a tear for games I've never played or witnessed before and made me look deeper into the meaning of certain systems of games. Such a great video. I was here in the trenches, can't wait to see you reach 1 million subs one day. The sky isn't the limit, it's just the beginning!
I’d like to add the general Xeno-series too, personally speaking. So much story and world building is done through gameplay and the Unique type of character interactions that usually only happens through the gaming medium. Also helps that games can be exorbitantly larger and more complex story-wise than most other mediums helps this game series put its best foot forward in every entry.
why the absolute hell aint dark souls here. Thats literally the game i think of whenever i hear any sentence along those lines. Will note down some of these games because games like these are my favorite games.
Final Fantasy VII, with Sepbiroth dealing 4000 dmg with a hit during the flashback, so you can see his legendary strength when you barely make about 100 damage, or when your limit break is filled when "somebody" dies.
TLOU is just so brilliant, and then 2 comes along and rips your soul out and reminds you of the world WE live in. A thin line between being neighbors and enemies when supplies are scarce, trust is hard to come by.
I think Rain World is a pretty good one. The game doesn't hold your hand and while it has a story, it's up to you to go out of your way to find it. Not to mention its dynamic AI ecosystem that you're also apart of, and while the creature you play as is a pretty damn intelligent species, the game makes you quickly realize that you're nowhere near the top of the foodchain. You and the AI are all just animals trying to survive and at times it feels frustratingly brutal. Sometimes you aren't quite agile enough and get snapped up by a lizard, only for it to drop you when another lizard comes along and starts a fight wanting to make you its next meal as well, and... oh shit, you're still alive, time to make a getaway while they're distracted! The game is subtle about communicating when you're for sure done for, so accidentally nudging my joystick and seeing my slugcat's eyes pop back open the first time was such a fun revelation to me.
BioShock is a game that does the same system as Metro 2033. If you save every little sister, you will get the good ending, but if you take any adam from any of them, it will result in the bad ending
True, but Bioshock was more up front about it. It was pretty obvious that you were making a choice. I liked Bioshock for its world building and its twists but I wasn't the biggest fan of the way the game handled that morality system and ending.
@@slenderman4946 Nope, just the original. I saw some scenes from the remake and I think I prefer that voice cast except for Mary. That original performance was perfect.
Incredible video dude. I've never played Neir: Automata, but that ending was mind blowing. Have you played Control? I don't have the right words, but it is a very video game video game. It's fun.
@@GameTalesHQ Ik weet dat deze video niet ging over games met meerdere endings (good ending - bad ending) maar toch moest ik even denken aan de game Tunic. Ik denk dat Tunic ook een soort plek heeft in het thema van deze video (weet niet of je het gespeeld hebt). Hoe ik het zie: Tunic beroept zich op een soort meta-bewustzijn van de speler, door de toevoeging van het nostalgische "boekje". Zo wordt je blijvend herinnerd aan het feit dat je een game speelt. Maar (SPOILER) zonder het boekje (en dus het bewustzijn "it's all a videogame") kun je het goede einde niet unlocken. Speaking of embracing the medium :)
@@elmoo88 Ik heb Tunic nog niet gespeeld, maar hij was al wel op mijn radar. Ik vind het altijd erg gaaf als meta elementen goed worden toegepast. Ik heb niet verder gelezen dan je spoiler waarschuwing, maar de game staat op m'n steam wishlist :)
Another game thay deserves to be here is definitely death strandung. It is a game about maaking connection not just in the story but the gameplay aswell as players place tools and items that help other players a lot and you can also like these items that are placed by the community of this game and you feel a connection with the players that you are connected with them through an 'strand' Edit: i know there is a lot of spelling mistakes but that is because my fingers are made out of butter😭
No game uses its interactivity to develop its characters and character relationships in such intimate and subtle ways as TLOU Part 1, Part 2, and RDR 2.
Dragon Quest 11 is also one of these games, i think. Spoilers Below in act 2 one of two twins dies. And in her death her powers move to the other twin's skill tree. The living twin becomes incredibly strong, but also carries the resolve of her twin to finish the quest they started out on. I think this detail made the weight of her death in the player's eyes to have some finality to it. I am one of the people who played the game who thinks that Act 2 should have been the end of the game, because everything felt very complete and final.
@GameTalesHQ most people don't seem to like Hellblade 2 but for me it became my second favorite game ever. I liked the first game well enough but the second game had me bawling.
@@leohaddad9225 No problem! It depends on who you ask, without context I wouldn't call it a spoiler. It's a commonly used screenshot. But definitely don't go looking into it, better to find out for yourself!
When people say "games are art" they mostly show Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and emotional moments in other games. Games don't have to be similar to movies to be 'art', they don't have to look like pretty paintings or real life pictures to be 'art' 'art' is just expressing emotions and sentiments And trying to defend "games are art" with "games are like movies where you can control things" is bad. games are games and that doesn't make them less
@@_KillerD_ I approached this video from a narrative perspective, games that try to say something. I never said games that are purely made for entertainment are lesser. This video also wasn't made to defend games as art, I find that a pointless discussion. And finally, Brothers, The Last Guardian, Route 96, Outer Wilds, Journey are all highly stylized and not realistic at all. I just personally really resonate with narrative driven games, and I think the medium of games can take narrative further than any other medium. That's why I chose them, nothing more, nothing less.
I was so excited for this video ... and then you started with TLOU, a game that encompasses the medium's biggest 'ashamed to be a video game, would rather be a cheap tearjerker Oscar bait movie' insecure inferiority moment which the industry has never fully recovered from. Could not pick a WORSE example of a game that EMBRACES the medium if you TRIED.
Did you watch that part though? I feel like the game gets lumped into the 'movie games' category a lot, but it does some interesting and subtle things with interactivity.
@@GameTalesHQ I did, but I highly disagree that the example you've given is an example of gameplay interaction. What actually happens is that you press an interaction button, and a cutscene plays. You're fooled into thinking this in any way related to gameplay, because you can move your character during it, and because usually you press the same interaction button and a different cutscene plays, but it's not gameplay at all. Any emotions you might be feeling about Ellie come from the interactive cutscene of her moping, not from any meaningful change in, or feedback from, the gameplay. In fact, even the "interactivity" of it is an illusion, because the characters talk to each other with no input from you, and no matter what you do, the outcome of this scene is the same. I truly detest TLOU for what it did to the industry trends, and to see it given as an example of something it's actually opposite to, is just ridiculous. There's absolutely nothing about TLOU that couldn't exist as a movie. I've seen visual novels that were more proud to be video games, and would have more lost in translation if adapted to different medium, than TLOU. Am I a hater? Yes, absolutely, but the topic is dear to me, and I detest how TLOU took the entire 'games as art' discourse off the rails for like, good ten years, in a pointless direction of 'games are art, because games with mocap and linear story are almost like movies, and movies are art, so games are (inferior) art too', as opposed to recognizing the medium on its own merits, such as aforementioned interactivity. If you want to see a game that could never work as anything else than a game, look at something like Pathologic 2, where the excruciating gameplay carries the entire emotional weight of the story, the desperation of its characters, in a way that no other medium could. Then come back to look at TLOU, and you'll see what I mean ;)
@@rateater1857 I disagree, even though it is basically a cutscene; it still requires the player to do something they've done for the whole game. Subverting that can be quite powerful in my opinion. I really think the show was a lot worse because it wasn't interactive. I do agree with you on the fact that TLOU is probably the weakest title when it comes to this topic and I wanted to start off with it to ease people into the video. I also think TLOU has become such a huge game that it's become easy to hate on, I've felt this with big titles myself. Pathalogic 2 sits unplayed in my steam library, it's high on my 'to play list'!
@@GameTalesHQ Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I still like a lot of your stuff, though, including some other examples in this very video 😁 I will say though, just to be clear, I'm not hating on TLOU because it's big and popular, or because everyone's been hating on it since Joel got the golf club in TLOU2. I've been pissy about the way it's praised (ie. as movie-like, as opposed to on its mertits as a video game) by critics, ever since I played it back on a PS3. I wrote my compsci BSc thesis on video games, mainly the MDA framework. My haterism is not casual, it's ranked competitive, my haterism has a degree. 🤣 You should deffo give Patho 2 a whirl. I've never played a game that achieves this level of ludonarrative consistency before. Everything the narrative tells you, the gameplay shows you. It's harrowing to play, but a very interesting and unique experience.
@GameTalesHQ there's also OMORI but I wouldn't say it's THAT interactive Though it certainly has a lot of examples of it, just not to the degree in the video above. Still worth it.
Imma be honest, using The Last of Us kind of goes against the thesis of the video. It is a primary source of complaints on too many games trying to be like movies.
Bro talking bout TLOU literally the most boring game ever . I thought this video was gonna be a be video about making games fun again not these boring ass cutscene movie games
It is the weakest of the bunch when it comes to interactivity but I feel like it still had it's moments, that's why I chose it. I'm convinced you didn't finish the video if you call the rest cutscene movie games lol
Because TLoU1 shines as a game, as an experience where you walk on someone else’s shoes. To think video games one and only objective is to be “fun” is very childish of you
@@GameTalesHQ Thank you for your reply. I really appreciate you including that game. I seen people say that TLoU is a “bad game” when we can see how much better it tells its story over the very faithful TV show. Games aren’t just about gameplay. I can’t imagine those people playing games Shadow of the Colossus or Journey Don’t listen to these morons that have this irrational hate on TLoU.
@@Indigo_1001 It’s so oddball to me that in discourse circles of every other medium of art (because video games I do wholeheartedly believe are art like movies and books), you would rightfully get laughed out of the room if you claimed that all movies or all books or whatever had to be “fun”. Like I just couldn’t get into Schindler’s List because movies are supposed to be fun guys!!! And that’s not to diminish the value that purely fun entertainment can have, and deserves to exist just as much as any other form of art. I love games like Doom and Astro Bot that are just pure fun. I also love games like Last of Us, Silent Hill, Spec Ops: The Line and so many others like it. Games that I would not classify as fun in any traditional sense, but the gameplay in these games is a satisfactory vehicle to experience the great stories and impeccable atmospheres these games have. And yeah, anybody who actually unironically thinks Last of Us or any game of its ilk is “jUsT cUtScEnEs aNd WaLkInG!!” either have not actually played any of these games or engaged with them in the worst possible faith and barely even paid attention.
I fully disagree, games are getting worse and worse, everything has a drop in quality and if there was no GTA, there wouldnt be any big hype. What is there to hype about - new COD? lol
@@AnteBoss Call of Duty has been the same slop for over a decade by this point. Sure, we are in a bit of a slump right now but we still have the indie scene, and the triple A scene will course correct in time. Even that scene isn't too bad tbh, Japanese/european devs are killing it, it's just been a wave of bad western releases. I'm personally looking foward to anything by Fromsoft, Yoko Taro, Ken Lavigne (Judas), Stalker, Kingdom Come Deliverance etc. I feel like gaming UA-cam is overly negative nowadays and I felt like bringing out something positive!
What’s there to hype? Uhhh a lot. New Doom next year, Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, Metroid Prime 4, KCD2, Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Hell is Us, Avowed, Judas, Mafia: The Old Country, South of Midnight, and I’m sure there’s a lot more. There’s a lot of problems in the gaming industry, lack of things to look forward to is absolutely not one of them unless you’re the type of gamer who’s so close minded that you never give a chance to anything outside of one or two genres or you just plain don’t pay attention. Which is your fault, not the gaming industry’s.
AAA games sure, but there are literally thousands of AA and indy titles that do awesome interesting things. Videogames have never been so diverse, interesting, and experimental.
It's really tough for me to even watch a 20 minute video related to Games but surprisingly i finished this video in one sitting. It really shows how interesting the video turned out for me ❤️🩹
A masterfully created 42 minute epic.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.
I love your line of script where you say:
“aligning the game’s protagonist, with the person holding the controller”.
That really hits the nail on the head (for me) on what makes computer games such a special art form. Immersion at its finest.
Yes! Immersion is such a key ingredient for a memorable videogame.
A good chunk of these games wouldn’t exist without Ico, which I think is THE perfect example of a medium-specific story. Fumito Ueda is a video game auteur like no other.
Yes, ICO is so good! I felt like I had nothing more to add, so I linked Max Derrat's video on it.
Yoko Taro is a genius at utilizing the medium to its fullest
One of the most unique directors we have!
So many people misunderstood Last Guardians nuanced controls and AI. They were complaining how hard it was to command him what to do. They entirely missed the point it was like training a pet. Videogames can tell such unique stories and it's a shame people fail to see the special things it's trying to do. Players don't "immerse" themselves. They just grind competitive games.
Good video.
Yeah, it's the commercial aspect of making it fun for as many players as possible vs the artistic vision. Sadly the commercial aspect usually wins, that's why we must cherish the games made by visionaries like Ueda and Taro.
I’m so glad to see TLOU here. People often label it as a “movie game”, but after watching the HBO show, I had a whole new appreciation for the little interactions during gameplay between Joel and Ellie
Right!? TLOU has a lot of these subtle moments that just didn't translate to the small screen.
It is a movie game 😂
Beautiful video! If you ever do a part 2 I'd like to suggest another beautiful small game called "Before your eyes" which uses blink detection from your webcam as the principal mean of gameplay. I don't want to spoil the story in case you want to play it
Thank you! I haven't heard of that game before, sounds really interesting, added it to my wishlist!
@@GameTalesHQ It is free on Netflix. It's really great game
Sounds up my alley. Any other games?
How lucky I am to have stumbled upon this video, it's right up my alley. Your voice is really nice as well.
Your*
Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
I will now offer this video essay to anyone who is passionate about gaming . This just encapsulates the medium perfectly .
@@flyinggraysuns9620 Awesome, thanks for such a lovely compliment!
Amazing video. Thank you so much! I'm still blown away by Soma's ending even though it's been years since I've played it...
Great video. Its so weird how we fight the pull in Shadow of the Collosus. Like as a gamer it's clearly progression but as Wanderer I fight it for a while despite knowing its futile before eventually letting go. And I've done this every playthrough. 🤔
Yep, the game does such a great job of aligning the player with the protagonist. Masterful stuff.
Great game, truly.
Jusant is a great indie game which released in the past year. It's a game basically about climbing. But the controls make you feel like you are experiencing the act of climbing throughout the whole game. It's far different than something like Assassin's Creed games where you simply push single button to automatically scale any surface. With Jusant you have to coordinate your climbing movements with various controller actions. And the game gives a sense of achievement as you progress.
Sounds awesome, added it to my wishlist!
What a video, you left me speechless as well as with the need to talk further about the topic. :)
Hell yeah, that's awesome!
There's also the layer of meta games like Inscription and Doki Doki that rely on file snooping & manipulation to influence the game directly
I wasn't too impressed by Doki Doki myself, but that's probably because it was hyped up so much online. I haven't played Inscryption yet though!
Video was well worth the wait! It's amazing how the medium of videogames allow for these truly unique and engaging moments.
Thanks mate!
Team Ico's can't be expressed better in any other form of media other than games. There's something beautifully tranquil and tactile that gives breath to those masterpieces
Ueda's philosophy of design through subtraction has always worked wonders. There is absolutely no fluff in his games. Everything is there for a reason.
Journeys mp was so interesting. It was such a welcome surprise when someone would just show up when you were playing. You wouldn't see their name and could only see if you checked your recent players list
You wouldn't even know how long they'd be with you. It was quite poignant
A beautiful title that doesn't lose its power on subsequent playthroughs!
Fantastic work man, I really loved the longer length to be able to hit more games that have done it well. I also cant find a way to claim that XIII should have been included.
Glad you enjoyed it! XIII is a first person shooter right? I think I saw a video on that game once, it's a game you don't hear many people talk about.
@ yeah it is. You’re not wrong that it’s oft forgotten about. I feel it was a major part of my life for a short sliver of time, and in the moment felt like it could last forever as a series. Now that I’ve gotten older I see that it was just a naive age and one of my first experiences with a “cliff hanger” ending that never got resolved with a sequel.
@@domhanson9167 Those couple of games that were your 'first' will always remain special, even though they're objectively not even that great. So I feel you. Sad that it never got that sequel.
SOMA and NieR changed me. I can only recommend, 1000xResist.
Will add it to my "to play" list, thanks!
Well… I’m subscribed now lol
Unreal work in the video. So well done, G ❤
Thanks broski!
Not sure if IMMORTALITY meets your criteria for fully embracing the medium, but this video reminded me of it
I'd wager that fully embracing the medium is being more branching instead of cinematic. Thus, story generators like Kenshi are the "gamiest games" imho where each player will experience a completely different story unfold: something only a game can provide.
I haven't played it yet, looks super interesting!
@@Odisseia-hh2td This video was more focussed on more traditionally narrative driven games, but for sure; Kenshi is a true sandbox.
What's the game about?
Fantastic video. Gaming is one of the best art forms out there because of the amount of immersion it is capable of achieving.
Some notable examples I believe also deserve to be included in this discussion are the following:
• Doki Doki Literature Club
• Inscryption
• Lisa: The Painful
• Undertale
• Hotline Miami
• Fear & Hunger
• Before Your Eyes
• What Remains of Edith Finch
• The Stanley Parable
All of these titles break conventions and use video game tropes and expectations to either mess with the player or add to the story / gameplay.
Added them all to the list. I did play Doki Doki, Hotline Miami and Stanley Parable. I didn't care much for Doki but I really liked the other two games.
6:53 - it is not just one button press, but the game's actual mechanic. It was not just an arbitrary interaction to trigger the punchline, but the entire gameplay itself building up to it. That's why Brothers is the best video game as an artform to me.
Yep, it's definitely up there as one of the very best.
That’s a very positive video
Most people saying we reached the plateau, but would rather believe gaming is still evolving and still young
Yep, I feel like gaming UA-cam is overly negative at the moment. I truly believe the best is yet to come!
beautiful video, I loved watching it and hearing your insights
The World Tendancy system in Demon's Souls is a mechanic that subverts game design, feels right at home here.
Pathologic 1 and 2 and The Void are pitch perfect games for this type of list. In addition, I would also say Disco Elysium, Majora's Mask, Alan Wake 2, maybe Inscryption.
Pathalogic and Disco Elysium are high on my 'to play' list. Will take a look a the others as well!
@GameTalesHQ Disco Elysium is one where 10 different players will have 10 totally different experiences, the amount of ways to approach the game is near-unmatched, your choices and skills all actually matter down to the tiniest details. It might be the best game I've played, up there with Bloodborne, NieR Automata and Outer Wilds for sure.
Pathologic 2 is another masterpiece, it's THE perfect synchronization of gameplay with storytelling and mood for me. Same with The Void, from the same developers. Ice Pick Lodge has the philosophy about game design that not all games need to be "fun" just as not all movies/music/books etc need to be "fun". Stress and negative emotions are all used as intentional storytelling and gameplay devices in their games and I love it.
@@TheRodriguezFilms Love the philosophy of Ice Pick Lodge. The way you describe all the games sound right up my alley.
@GameTalesHQ They're definitely one of the few studios that really understands the strengths and weaknesses of the medium and wants to push it forward. Also Pathologic 2 is essentially a vastly improved remake of Pathologic 1 with another entry coming next year to expand on it, I'd just play Patho 2 (and The Void too) and only try Patho 1 if you become obsessed and want more haha
For Nier Automata, I love that game to death but I'll never play it again because it just doesn't feel right after getting ending E. Absolute masterpiece of a game and story.
Great video, was invested every minute 👏
Hell yeah, thanks!
Hellblade 1 does a fantastic job displaying trauma, schizophrenia, and inner/mental turmoil that would otherwise not work in any other medium
It was a great game, would love to see more of that kind of stuff from the AA scene. That binaural gives me goosebumbs every time.
I think Halo Reach's final mission objective is also a good example.
Brothers really got me. Great game. And I know there’s no shortage of people gushing about RDR2 online, but it really shook me to the core. I lived as Arthur, and bonded with members of the gang. It’s a long game, but I think the length is what makes it feel so personal and epic. A tv series can be long, but doesn’t hit in the same way a game does. The Last of Us also starts the game with the player controlling Sarah. It just hits that much harder when she dies. I love video games. lol. Great video!
RDR2 is an amazing title for sure! And yeah TLOU does some cool character switches, just like the winter section with Ellie. And thanks alot :)
Brothers A tale of two son...this game and the soundtrack with always stay with me. The emotional journey was too overwhelming
Fantastic video and could not agree more on the choices here. It’s so refreshing to come across a video on UA-cam that celebrates games as opposed to the constant rage baiting and grifting that you see all too often these days in the gaming UA-cam sphere. Great video, you earned a like and a subscription from me.
Hell yeah! The negativity is becoming way too common. While there are definitely things that need improving, they make it seem like there's nothing left to celebrate anymore.
amazing content man! subscribed
Glad you enjoyed it :)
Great video! Got inspired to get some games from that list. 😅
I keep noticing in your videos Spec Ops: The line, on the surface it seems like something I wouldnt care about it, but this video made me really interested to give it a try.
@@notsocasualYT Thank you! Spec Ops is a very deep game disguised as something entirely different, highly recommend it.
It's an anti-war game too.
Didn't know about Nier Automata ending as I have never played it, but it sounds exactly like humanity most basic sacrifice: be saved and save others, even at the cost of our own life. It's like helping our parents when they get old, after everything they sacrificed for us, and us sacrificing for our children. Sacrifice is one of the most inspiring moves. And maybe, it's the reason why Warhammer 40k is not as crazy as it sounds in a futuristic intergalactic permanent war situation where people helps each other with anything to lose except its species.
Yes, when games can tap into these universal and human themes, they can be really powerful.
Having played most of the games featured in the video, been through various emotions these games elicit, this video made me feel the same emotions over again.
i remember i got journey for free during some holiday sale on the playstation 4 and being stuck at one point just for another person to pop up for the first time in my playthrough and go through it like they've done it before, and during the last few sequences going through them all with another person. it really was a magic experience like no other. also this made me really want to play more games so i'm looking through the timeline avoiding spoilers and noting them to see which game i'll play next
While they certainly don't have the significance of the other moments mentioned in this video, there are 2 really clever uses of the medium in Simon the Sorcerer 3D (You are locked in a room with a couple of other characters and the trick of escaping is trolling one of them until he kills you and you respawn at the savepoint outside the house.) and Pony Island (During a simple text puzzle that requires you to pay attention, you are getting some fake Steam chat pop ups).
Cool stuff! Thanks for letting me know :)
Might play these. Any other recommendations?
@@comradestannis To be honest, StS 3D isn't necessarily a game that I would recommend. The switch to 3D only makes the game look even older with large empty areas and NPCs straight out of Minecraft. The writing sometimes feels so cringe / bad like it is taken from some fanfiction. While you probably already know these 2 games, The Stanley Parable had some very clever moments with the interactive narrator and Undertale is just so much more than a simple game that it has been presented to the Pope as a gift.
I started playing Nier yestarday, had bad first impressions but decided I'll keep playing it. In the evening your video showed up (watched it up to the spoiler warning) and now I'm determined to beat Nier. I do have to say that voice acting and over the top emotional robot sounds really put me off..
As for the game mechanics that change the game, one light version of it is in Ace Combat Zero. Depending on if you let damaged enemies escape you get points to fill a style gauge, you are shown this gauge after each mission and it goes from Mercenary - Soldier - Knight and you start in the middle. Every few missions you get something like a boss fight and different style gives you different enemies, and beating the enemy unlocks their aircraft in the shop.
And as for your video, it's an amazing mini documentary, I hope you keep doing stuff like this, I was immersed from start to finish!
Definitely continue playing NieR, I also don't like the typical over the top anime stuff but this game is really worth it man.
The Ace Combat thing is really cool, thanks for sharing that.
Ahh, glad you liked it, immersion was the thing I was going for :)
@GameTalesHQ the game has only 2 anime moments total. Both involving adam it eve and 9S.
1st with Adam taunting 2B and laughing at her as they get ready to fight, and 2nd when 9S and eve have an anime style power clash with their large fists made of scrap complete with yelling.
This totals less than 10 seconds of the game. It is a non issue.
To this day, SOMA continues to fuck with my existentialism...
SOMA had some incredible writing, especially for a video game.
Yes a new video! Can't wait
I hope you enjoy it :)
@@GameTalesHQ And I was NOT disappointed. Made me reminisce about my playthroughs, shed a tear for games I've never played or witnessed before and made me look deeper into the meaning of certain systems of games. Such a great video. I was here in the trenches, can't wait to see you reach 1 million subs one day. The sky isn't the limit, it's just the beginning!
@@Tempuslight Thank you for the lovely comment, I truly appreciate it!
This is the most epic shit ever. Great video blud
Thanks for the epic comment
YES!!!
Greatness start with selfawerness.
I’d like to add the general Xeno-series too, personally speaking.
So much story and world building is done through gameplay and the Unique type of character interactions that usually only happens through the gaming medium.
Also helps that games can be exorbitantly larger and more complex story-wise than most other mediums helps this game series put its best foot forward in every entry.
Love this video and this channel. Thank you mate. Subscribed.
why the absolute hell aint dark souls here. Thats literally the game i think of whenever i hear any sentence along those lines. Will note down some of these games because games like these are my favorite games.
I already had Bloodborne in the line-up, and the video was already 42 minutes long. But yeah, DS1 definitely fits right in!
Great video!
I appreciate it!
Final Fantasy VII, with Sepbiroth dealing 4000 dmg with a hit during the flashback, so you can see his legendary strength when you barely make about 100 damage, or when your limit break is filled when "somebody" dies.
TLOU is just so brilliant, and then 2 comes along and rips your soul out and reminds you of the world WE live in. A thin line between being neighbors and enemies when supplies are scarce, trust is hard to come by.
Tru
I think Rain World is a pretty good one. The game doesn't hold your hand and while it has a story, it's up to you to go out of your way to find it. Not to mention its dynamic AI ecosystem that you're also apart of, and while the creature you play as is a pretty damn intelligent species, the game makes you quickly realize that you're nowhere near the top of the foodchain. You and the AI are all just animals trying to survive and at times it feels frustratingly brutal. Sometimes you aren't quite agile enough and get snapped up by a lizard, only for it to drop you when another lizard comes along and starts a fight wanting to make you its next meal as well, and... oh shit, you're still alive, time to make a getaway while they're distracted! The game is subtle about communicating when you're for sure done for, so accidentally nudging my joystick and seeing my slugcat's eyes pop back open the first time was such a fun revelation to me.
I've seen it recommended a couple of times, it's on my wishlist for sure!
BioShock is a game that does the same system as Metro 2033. If you save every little sister, you will get the good ending, but if you take any adam from any of them, it will result in the bad ending
True, but Bioshock was more up front about it. It was pretty obvious that you were making a choice. I liked Bioshock for its world building and its twists but I wasn't the biggest fan of the way the game handled that morality system and ending.
Great video, bud.
My pleasure!
In my restless dream, i see that town... silent hill
@@slenderman4946 Her voice actress did such an amazing job!
@GameTalesHQ oh you played the remake?
@@slenderman4946 Nope, just the original. I saw some scenes from the remake and I think I prefer that voice cast except for Mary. That original performance was perfect.
@@GameTalesHQ i hope you play it. They did a remarkable job with the remake
@@slenderman4946 I will definitely play it, just waiting for a sale at the moment!
I'm surprised you didn't talk about Part II. I felt that was more innovative than Part I because II actively challenges the player with perspective.
Original God of War 2 with the Spartan character kill, and Far Cry 2 and 3 back when that franchise was any good.
Amazing video brother!
Thanks, I appreciate it!
Incredible video dude. I've never played Neir: Automata, but that ending was mind blowing.
Have you played Control? I don't have the right words, but it is a very video game video game. It's fun.
Thanks man! I've got Control in my steam library, I've yet to play it though.
God wat heb ik gejankt als een baby toen ik besefte dat ik mijn Trico, mijn maatje, moest wegsturen. De moeilijkste buttonpress ever.
Dat was de eerdere frustratie zeker wel waard!
@@GameTalesHQ Ik weet dat deze video niet ging over games met meerdere endings (good ending - bad ending) maar toch moest ik even denken aan de game Tunic. Ik denk dat Tunic ook een soort plek heeft in het thema van deze video (weet niet of je het gespeeld hebt). Hoe ik het zie: Tunic beroept zich op een soort meta-bewustzijn van de speler, door de toevoeging van het nostalgische "boekje". Zo wordt je blijvend herinnerd aan het feit dat je een game speelt. Maar (SPOILER) zonder het boekje (en dus het bewustzijn "it's all a videogame") kun je het goede einde niet unlocken. Speaking of embracing the medium :)
@@elmoo88 Ik heb Tunic nog niet gespeeld, maar hij was al wel op mijn radar. Ik vind het altijd erg gaaf als meta elementen goed worden toegepast. Ik heb niet verder gelezen dan je spoiler waarschuwing, maar de game staat op m'n steam wishlist :)
Another game thay deserves to be here is definitely death strandung. It is a game about maaking connection not just in the story but the gameplay aswell as players place tools and items that help other players a lot and you can also like these items that are placed by the community of this game and you feel a connection with the players that you are connected with them through an 'strand'
Edit: i know there is a lot of spelling mistakes but that is because my fingers are made out of butter😭
Will definitely play it, seems really interesting!
No game uses its interactivity to develop its characters and character relationships in such intimate and subtle ways as TLOU Part 1, Part 2, and RDR 2.
I loved the work bench jumpscare in TLOU 2, I almost put it in this video but it was already too long haha
Man I so miss Japan Studio
Stanley Parable was also a great game that had to have been a game.
Great pick!
Mass Effect not being here stings a bit but I do get the list you've made nonetheless, great vid!
The Stanley Parable shouldve had a mention imo.
Very good pick, definitely belongs in the video but it was already 42 minutes, so I had to scrap a couple.
had to skip half the video because of spoilers, but it was still good
@@reco7234 Yeah, it's spoiler heavy. Hopefully you got some good recommendations out of it!
Dragon Quest 11 is also one of these games, i think.
Spoilers Below
in act 2 one of two twins dies. And in her death her powers move to the other twin's skill tree. The living twin becomes incredibly strong, but also carries the resolve of her twin to finish the quest they started out on. I think this detail made the weight of her death in the player's eyes to have some finality to it. I am one of the people who played the game who thinks that Act 2 should have been the end of the game, because everything felt very complete and final.
Note to self: watch this plz, this is the good shit
People don't want to hear it but hellblade 2 was one such game
I haven't played it yet, I really liked the first one. Will eventually get to the second game.
@GameTalesHQ most people don't seem to like Hellblade 2 but for me it became my second favorite game ever. I liked the first game well enough but the second game had me bawling.
SOMA is so underrated
Hey Man i seriously love your Videos but I have a kind one request. Can you make a video on American McGee's Alice. Please 🙏🏽
I've only played it once at a friends house back in the day. I'll keep it in mind!
@@GameTalesHQ Don't you forget about it ❤🩹
What games are on the thumbnail?
From left to right: The Last Guardian, Nier: Automata & Bloodborne!
@ thank you, is that a spoiler for bloodborne?
@@leohaddad9225 No problem! It depends on who you ask, without context I wouldn't call it a spoiler. It's a commonly used screenshot. But definitely don't go looking into it, better to find out for yourself!
@ Thanks for answering so quick. I hear Bloodbornes a great game and I look forward to playing it.
Tunic
It's on my wishlist!
You probably not really into horror but silent hill series belong in here
I talk about Silent Hill 2 at 13:45!
I actually love horror games :)
I am sick of games trying hard to tell a story
If I wanted a story I’ll go read a book or watch Netflix
Why only consider cinematic games with emotional stories and realistic graphics?
Tic Tac Toe can only be a game, it can't be a movie or a book.
When people say "games are art" they mostly show Red Dead Redemption 2, The Last of Us, and emotional moments in other games.
Games don't have to be similar to movies to be 'art', they don't have to look like pretty paintings or real life pictures to be 'art'
'art' is just expressing emotions and sentiments
And trying to defend "games are art" with "games are like movies where you can control things" is bad.
games are games
and that doesn't make them less
@@_KillerD_ I approached this video from a narrative perspective, games that try to say something. I never said games that are purely made for entertainment are lesser.
This video also wasn't made to defend games as art, I find that a pointless discussion. And finally, Brothers, The Last Guardian, Route 96, Outer Wilds, Journey are all highly stylized and not realistic at all.
I just personally really resonate with narrative driven games, and I think the medium of games can take narrative further than any other medium. That's why I chose them, nothing more, nothing less.
I was so excited for this video ... and then you started with TLOU, a game that encompasses the medium's biggest 'ashamed to be a video game, would rather be a cheap tearjerker Oscar bait movie' insecure inferiority moment which the industry has never fully recovered from. Could not pick a WORSE example of a game that EMBRACES the medium if you TRIED.
Did you watch that part though? I feel like the game gets lumped into the 'movie games' category a lot, but it does some interesting and subtle things with interactivity.
@@GameTalesHQ I did, but I highly disagree that the example you've given is an example of gameplay interaction. What actually happens is that you press an interaction button, and a cutscene plays. You're fooled into thinking this in any way related to gameplay, because you can move your character during it, and because usually you press the same interaction button and a different cutscene plays, but it's not gameplay at all. Any emotions you might be feeling about Ellie come from the interactive cutscene of her moping, not from any meaningful change in, or feedback from, the gameplay. In fact, even the "interactivity" of it is an illusion, because the characters talk to each other with no input from you, and no matter what you do, the outcome of this scene is the same.
I truly detest TLOU for what it did to the industry trends, and to see it given as an example of something it's actually opposite to, is just ridiculous. There's absolutely nothing about TLOU that couldn't exist as a movie. I've seen visual novels that were more proud to be video games, and would have more lost in translation if adapted to different medium, than TLOU.
Am I a hater? Yes, absolutely, but the topic is dear to me, and I detest how TLOU took the entire 'games as art' discourse off the rails for like, good ten years, in a pointless direction of 'games are art, because games with mocap and linear story are almost like movies, and movies are art, so games are (inferior) art too', as opposed to recognizing the medium on its own merits, such as aforementioned interactivity.
If you want to see a game that could never work as anything else than a game, look at something like Pathologic 2, where the excruciating gameplay carries the entire emotional weight of the story, the desperation of its characters, in a way that no other medium could. Then come back to look at TLOU, and you'll see what I mean ;)
Can't stand that "game"
@@rateater1857 I disagree, even though it is basically a cutscene; it still requires the player to do something they've done for the whole game. Subverting that can be quite powerful in my opinion. I really think the show was a lot worse because it wasn't interactive.
I do agree with you on the fact that TLOU is probably the weakest title when it comes to this topic and I wanted to start off with it to ease people into the video.
I also think TLOU has become such a huge game that it's become easy to hate on, I've felt this with big titles myself.
Pathalogic 2 sits unplayed in my steam library, it's high on my 'to play list'!
@@GameTalesHQ Well, I guess we'll have to agree to disagree then. I still like a lot of your stuff, though, including some other examples in this very video 😁
I will say though, just to be clear, I'm not hating on TLOU because it's big and popular, or because everyone's been hating on it since Joel got the golf club in TLOU2. I've been pissy about the way it's praised (ie. as movie-like, as opposed to on its mertits as a video game) by critics, ever since I played it back on a PS3. I wrote my compsci BSc thesis on video games, mainly the MDA framework. My haterism is not casual, it's ranked competitive, my haterism has a degree. 🤣
You should deffo give Patho 2 a whirl. I've never played a game that achieves this level of ludonarrative consistency before. Everything the narrative tells you, the gameplay shows you. It's harrowing to play, but a very interesting and unique experience.
Play Pathologic 2
I've already got it on steam, will definitely get to it!
@GameTalesHQ there's also OMORI but I wouldn't say it's THAT interactive
Though it certainly has a lot of examples of it, just not to the degree in the video above.
Still worth it.
Imma be honest, using The Last of Us kind of goes against the thesis of the video. It is a primary source of complaints on too many games trying to be like movies.
Undertale would have been a great example, that has a great story that could never be adapted.
Bro talking bout TLOU literally the most boring game ever . I thought this video was gonna be a be video about making games fun again not these boring ass cutscene movie games
It is the weakest of the bunch when it comes to interactivity but I feel like it still had it's moments, that's why I chose it. I'm convinced you didn't finish the video if you call the rest cutscene movie games lol
Because TLoU1 shines as a game, as an experience where you walk on someone else’s shoes.
To think video games one and only objective is to be “fun” is very childish of you
@@Indigo_1001 I feel like the game became so big that it became easy to hate on. It's definitely not perfect, but it's still one of my favorites.
@@GameTalesHQ
Thank you for your reply.
I really appreciate you including that game. I seen people say that TLoU is a “bad game” when we can see how much better it tells its story over the very faithful TV show. Games aren’t just about gameplay. I can’t imagine those people playing games Shadow of the Colossus or Journey
Don’t listen to these morons that have this irrational hate on TLoU.
@@Indigo_1001 It’s so oddball to me that in discourse circles of every other medium of art (because video games I do wholeheartedly believe are art like movies and books), you would rightfully get laughed out of the room if you claimed that all movies or all books or whatever had to be “fun”. Like I just couldn’t get into Schindler’s List because movies are supposed to be fun guys!!!
And that’s not to diminish the value that purely fun entertainment can have, and deserves to exist just as much as any other form of art. I love games like Doom and Astro Bot that are just pure fun. I also love games like Last of Us, Silent Hill, Spec Ops: The Line and so many others like it. Games that I would not classify as fun in any traditional sense, but the gameplay in these games is a satisfactory vehicle to experience the great stories and impeccable atmospheres these games have. And yeah, anybody who actually unironically thinks Last of Us or any game of its ilk is “jUsT cUtScEnEs aNd WaLkInG!!” either have not actually played any of these games or engaged with them in the worst possible faith and barely even paid attention.
I fully disagree, games are getting worse and worse, everything has a drop in quality and if there was no GTA, there wouldnt be any big hype. What is there to hype about - new COD? lol
@@AnteBoss Call of Duty has been the same slop for over a decade by this point. Sure, we are in a bit of a slump right now but we still have the indie scene, and the triple A scene will course correct in time. Even that scene isn't too bad tbh, Japanese/european devs are killing it, it's just been a wave of bad western releases. I'm personally looking foward to anything by Fromsoft, Yoko Taro, Ken Lavigne (Judas), Stalker, Kingdom Come Deliverance etc.
I feel like gaming UA-cam is overly negative nowadays and I felt like bringing out something positive!
Why you need big hype. Go indie. Seek small artist with great dreams.
What’s there to hype? Uhhh a lot. New Doom next year, Ghost of Yotei, Death Stranding 2, Metroid Prime 4, KCD2, Clair Obscur Expedition 33, Hell is Us, Avowed, Judas, Mafia: The Old Country, South of Midnight, and I’m sure there’s a lot more.
There’s a lot of problems in the gaming industry, lack of things to look forward to is absolutely not one of them unless you’re the type of gamer who’s so close minded that you never give a chance to anything outside of one or two genres or you just plain don’t pay attention. Which is your fault, not the gaming industry’s.
AAA games sure, but there are literally thousands of AA and indy titles that do awesome interesting things. Videogames have never been so diverse, interesting, and experimental.
It's really tough for me to even watch a 20 minute video related to Games but surprisingly i finished this video in one sitting. It really shows how interesting the video turned out for me ❤️🩹
Glad you connected with it man!
@@GameTalesHQ Hey Man i seriously love your Videos but I have a kind one request. Can you make a video on American McGee's Alice. Please 🙏🏽
Incredible video! So well made with justice given to all these amazing games!
Great video!
Thanks!