Why Do Horror Games Sound So Beautiful?
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- Опубліковано 4 тра 2020
- but i have seen
death’s clever enormous voice
which hides in a fragility
Support me: / jacobgeller
Follow me at: / yacobg42
Voice Cast:
Polyphonic as himself: / polyphonic
Visual Media Used: Amnesia: The Dark Descent, Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, The Evil Within, The Evil Within 2, Silent Hill, Silent Hill 2, Silent Hill 3, The Making of Silent Hill 2 (documentary), Resident Evil 1, Resident Evil 4, Resident Evil 7, Resident Evil 2 (Remake), Outlast, Dear Esther, Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture
Music Used: What Darkness Awaits You (Scanner Sombre), New Year’s Eve, Recital, Clockwork Soul, The Factory Gates, Mandus, The New Century (Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs), Serenity, Mercenaries- Wesker’s Theme, The Drive (Resident Evil 4), Secure Place (Resident Evil 2), Safe Room (Resident Evil 2 Remake), Save Room (Resident Evil 1), Saferoom (Resident Evil 7), Heaven’s Night, Promise, Theme of Laura (Silent Hill 2), Not Tomorrow (Silent Hill 1), Rain of Brass Petals (Silent Hill 3), Clair De Lune, Carousel Theme (The Evil Within 1), Serenade for Strings in C Major Op. 48, Making Your Way Home (The Evil Within 2)
Thumbnail by: / hotcyder
Description Credit: E. E. Cummings, [the bigness of cannon] - Ігри
If you want to hear more about horror games, sounds, and any song with strings, I'll be releasing a full-length video commentary for this essay on Patreon: www.patreon.com/JacobGeller
How about layers of fear? both the first game and the sequel Jacob?
Hi Jacob! My mother and I are big fans of your work. The length you're able to go to to cover these subjects are far beyond any other video essayist I've ever watched. This question came up between us while we were watching your video on areas designed for violence. If it's not too personal, what is your educational background that you're able to make stuff this good?
I don’t always agree with your opinions, but I hold a massive respect for you, my man. Your videos are beyond compelling. The depths one still has me reeling, and your pivot into Evil Within’s (under-appreciated) soundtrack was executed with absolute poignancy. Thanks so much for putting in the effort to write, record, and edit these videos. Out of curiosity, have you played SOMA or Bioshock? I would love to hear your thoughts on them, since they (in my opinion) both have beautiful soundtracks and are correlated with the same theme you discussed in your video: the lure of the abyss (more SOMA in this case than Bioshock, but hey, points for ocean stuff?).
Try Darkwood.
Outlast’s soundtrack is one of the best soundtracks I’ve ever heard and I’ve never heard anything like it. The setting is beautiful too. One of my favourite horror games.
I don’t think horror works without empathy.
This is gonna sound really weird, but I don’t think you realized just how much this comment sticks with me. What you’ve said is something that I always knew but could never put to words, or really even thought about. And then you thrust it to light and now it’s all I can think about.
We can’t be horrified of someone dying if we don’t care about them. We be terrified if we have nothing to lose.
*we can’t be terrified if we have nothing to lose
nicely put
I know you said this two years ago, but man is this the most simple, yet striking sentence I have ever read.
@@tylermilfloverong ong frfr osrs this deep
The audio: I lay there and watched the god I had created die.
The screen: Dickslapper666
Too many times I have found fascinating or humorous tidbits in videos, but when searching the comment section of said videos to find the comment/-s about said thing there has been nothing but silence, while the cacophony of numerous replies that might or might not be interesting to me goes on for many rolls on the scrolling wheel. But not in that moment.
You, Hexx, satiated my silly wish this time.
Thank you.
@@nakumavecaan254 dickslap
Ayy Circa
@@nakumavecaan254 The pretension, it drips.
@@TheBlarggle :)
“It can’t be horror all the time. you have to give players a safe spot to rest”
Dead space monsters posing as corpses to jumpscare you front of save stations: allow us to introduce ourselves
In fairness that game weaponizes safety. I had never felt more terrified than when I was 'safe'. I knew things were there that wanted to kill me, but I no longer knew where they were, I could no longer see them, and I could no longer defend myself from them.
Which I suppose is the point. Dead Space weaponized a cramped space, anxiety, and the constant knowing.
And Silent Hill 4
Second half of Silent hill 4: 👁👄👁
Mr X: 🚶♂️
Anyone who dosent shoot every intact corpse in Dead Space deserves what they get
A few years back my girlfriend was killed in a car accident, I was able to walk away from a 70 mph car crash and for a while the survivor's guilt led me to drinking heavily and distancing myself from a lot of people. Out of the blue I decided to stream on UA-cam and started a playthrough of silent hill 2. Playing through the game and having anonymous people to talk to really helped me out of a tough time. My first time playing SH2 I didn't realize there were more endings and I thought it was just the in water ending. Being able to play the game as James learning to let go of his wife and allowing himself to move on for the good ending really resonated with me and to this day everytime I here the songs from that game I can't help but get emotional.
I'm sorry for your loss man. I'm glad you were able to move on, I couldn't even imagine. I hope you're doing ok.
I'm really sorry to read about your story,it must have been a really rough and dark time. It is so true though that the escapism games give us and the opportunity to talk with strangers with no judgements is often what we need.
I'm sorry you had to go through that. I hope you're doing okay
That’s great that you were able to sort of relieve yourself of that guilt.
Glad you were strong enough to go through that.
I feel like you're missing the point with Claire de Lune in Evil Within. They didn't just throw in some pleasant-sounding music, they picked a real-world classical piece to play in a creepy asylum. It's not just game music that only the player hears, it's being played IN the asylum, over the speakers.
It's intentional tonal dissonance; the room itself may be safe, but it doesn't _feel_ safe, it feels sinister and morbid. The inclusion of a calm, lilting classical piece puts that feeling in stark relief.
You don't feel calm, you feel like you're _being_ calmed, like a doctor telling you "this won't hurt a bit" before sliding a needle into your vein. That makes it far more unsettling than any deliberately creepy music could accomplish.
Wasn’t that Jacob’s overall point though? That horror games possess a special pathos in those rare moments of peace, solitude, and fill players with a sense of emotional longing. If you’re unsettled in the “safe moments” the music is not doing its job, to decompress you, and allow you to breathe. Clair de lune, while beautiful, doesn’t have that same impact as the other music he referenced.
@@swagpotato720 Perhaps, but going by what he said it doesn't sound like he wishes the EW saferooms weren't unsettling. He doesn't mention anything about it feeling creepy or unnerving, just that it "sounds okay, but doesn't have the same weight," as if he's just mildly disappointed in the choice of music rather than the intended feel.
I could be wrong of course, but I get the feeling that he went in expecting that same sense of calm decompression, but since the game didn't deliver that he missed what it was trying to deliver entirely.
@@ToozdaysChild Thank you for this because this was mostly what I was thinking too about Claire de Lune. To me, Claire de Lune wasn't supposed to feel entirely safe, but with the first Evil Within game I felt like I was on some kind of road to recory ya know? A road to recovery from whatever was going on and yes, Claire de Lune sounds pretty but I knew this was just the eye of the storm. It was a moment's bit of peace until I had to go out into the chaos of the world around me again.
It wasn't thrown in just to sound pretty. Claire de Lune and the way it faintly plays when you are close to the safe areas was like a small nudge of, "Hey! You are so close to this checkpoint! Just move a bit closer!" versus, "Oh this sounds pretty let's throw it in."
You know what, you aren't wrong, but I realized something about the song. Like you said, it's a real world classical piece. the key difference between that and the other pieces here is that they were designed specifically for the game they were played in. they were a part of the in-game world as much as the characters and environments. that's exactly the thing missing in choosing the real world song, and what makes it feel like a puzzle piece that's either a hair too big or too small to fit properly.
@@0The_Farlander0 I just realized that if you put it like that AND tie it in with what Toozday's Child said, this makes the choice for Claire de Lune as a real life piece of classical music from our world perfect, because if it is played in the asylum, it is a piece from an other world when you are inside STEM.
I think choosing a classical piece of music as the save room music is a good choice, because it's a place that seems to exist somewhere between STEM and the real world (because of all the newspaper articles). To me the choice of music highlights the otherness of that place. (I NEVER felt save there, the Nurse creeped me out so badly)
Jacob, you've officially made my list of "can't sleep play a calming video" creators. The highest honor.
Who else is on there?
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has one of those lists
@@quicksandsoftime5384 for me at least, i like to fall asleep to funny things, so I sometimes pull up a john mulaney special, or more often I listen to the most recent drawfee video, it helps with putting me at ease and falling asleep
@@quicksandsoftime5384 for my own contribution I enjoy listening to the "let's drown out" series by Yahtzee and his buddy Gabriel.
Make it public!
I had a similar experience with Death Stranding. Without spoiling it, there’s a song hinted at throughout the game and the player finally hears it in its entirety in a crucial moment in the plot. Hell, the song was even hinted at in some trailers, before the game was out. Damn Kojima.
"Soon i'll come around.
lost and never found,
waiting for my words,
seen, but never heard,
buried underground.
But i'll keep coming.!
And now. Nobody talks the game.
the entire soundtrack in death stranding is gorgeous. the implementation of Low Roars music is amazing.
@@geoffreygorgonzola248 yes! It’s the reason I know of Low Roar and they’re so good!
See the sunset...
I'll be honest... every time I hear clair de lune, I remember The Evil Within, a game while not necessarily perfect it still has a special place in my heart.
The sequel though - perfection
The evil within 2 is by far my favourite video game exprience ever, and I couldn’t really get why until now. I wish I could play it for the first time again man
@@george-kv7ei I definitely need to give it another shot. I really enjoyed the first and then got bored partway through the second
Chances are tho, it's probs EEAAO now
@@izzym6422 the same happened to me buy I was so immersed in the story I couldn't stop playing
"The Evil Within 2 Deserved Better."
... Welp, guess I'm spending 20 dollars because Jacob Geller told me to.
Same(ish). Got a copy cheap, but how unbelievably disappointed I was by the first one I've been hesitant to start up 2. Looks like it's moving up in the queue.
@@SamuraiMujuru Evil Within II is much better than the first one.
@@Bluecho4 that's been the consensus I've seen, but y'know, once bit twice shy.
Not the best game, maybe not even a great game,
_but_
some of the coolest moments in any game I've seen. Hands down.
...and yeah, a huge improvement over the first - even though I know that's a pretty weak compliment *_: /_*
The Evil Within is an awesome game. It has some annoying parts but is a solid good horror game. Resident Evil is king and almost a reality except for monsters , (Coronaville anyone).
The Japanese have a term for this feeling; Mono no aware. It describes the feeling of knowing this moment is not permanent. Nothing is, nor will it ever be. Your happiest moment, your deepest despair. This too, shall pass.
I think these pieces evoke that feeling. The knowing of time, the deep understanding that your best efforts, even your life, is futile in the face of time, in the grand scheme of the entropy of the universe.
But I believe there is also a hope in this, some kind of happy joy to be had to know that none of this really matters, that we are the universe experiencing itself, and what else is there to do but experience it all?
never thought I'd have a reason to use the word uplifting, never have before, but i have no better
way to describe the feels I got from your commentl
bravo
I tip my hat to you
Another Japanese term that's related to this sort of feeling is "Ichigo ichie" which means basically to appreciate each and every moment of life, as it is all fleeting and temporary.
@@amatsu-ryu4067 Memento Mori, almost exactly in implication (this makes even more sense etymologically when you consider it's a Zen statement on the transience of life).
Yeah...actually, no.
Mono no aware basically describes music. No medium like music can evoke feelings like nostalgia as well. It's just embedded in the way music works. Because, also music is ever fading away
This reminds me of when I first found Eurydice when playing Hades. I went from desperately fighting for my life between lava pools and entered an unknown room and was met with the beautiful voice singing of the sweet release of death. I stopped and listened to the entire song before I touched my controls again.
Yep I agree with that I relax completely when I find that room.
Hades is honestly a masterclass on music and sound design. Meeting Eurydice, dying to come back to Orpheus singing good riddance, then later Orpheus' Lament playing for the first time, the silence of rest chambers...
Man that game was good.
@@egg_2705 hades is a masterclass in most things it does
Xxxx
So perfectly well said, I fully resonate with this! The atmosphere was so lovely, no burdens, no further debts to be paid~
5:10
"I also find it fascinating that the contrast to horror isn't happy, either, it isn't bright and bouncy. Happy music is just distorted by the scares. Instead, it's just a return, to something like, neutral."
I'm a survivor of a 7 year long trauma before I was old enough to have a childhood. I'm plagued with several mental disorders, illnesses, and neurological conditions. This includes depression, anxiety, PTSD, and several others still. This really speaks to me for some reason. I've had an aversion to happy music and happiness in general since I've been through it all, and come out alive. I've tried to tell myself "you need to be happy" but I don't want to be happy. I want neutrality. I want to be safe. I don't want a smile across my face 24/7, I want peace. Without fear or pain, I want solace. I think that this line is enough to explain why I love good horror audio design. When the contrast is happiness, it's merely distorted and wrong, when the contrast is solace and peace, it's much more effective at putting you in their place. Thank you for allowing me to have some insight into myself as well
You know, I’m glad you approach life that way. People who are focused exclusively on constant happiness will never achieve it, but you have a real shot at living a life that, while obviously it won’t be perfect all the time, will be peaceful and gentle for you. I really hope you feel that you’ve reached that point!
I feel a similar way. I was kinda depressed for a lot of highschool and I coped with that by sleeping through as much of it as possible, I didn't want to do things that were difficult and tedious, and I didn't want to do things that were supposed to be fun, so I'd curl up in bed, or rest my head on my school desk and not do anything, not make any decisions.
This kinda reminds me of the game Omori, where (small spoiler, sorta)...a 'happy' environment is used to portray what you come to learn is a bad coping mechanism. It doesn't mute the horror parts of the game, in fact it often amplifies them.
"The world is a machine for pigs. We are all pigs"
...
"Special K ceral is bursting with strawberries!"
"Come into Wendy's today and try our all new triple bacon chipotle cheese burger! Only at Wendy's!"
@@LeonClaw88 cannibalism! (Bc bacon is pigs lol)
The protagonist of that game really reminds me of the protagonist of SCP-1461
We're all pigs? What about the Dogs and the Sheep?
@@nyukjustacommenter857 They are Pigs of Sheep's Clothing
What you feel is what Portuguese speakers call "saudade". A longing for something or someone, but also a longing for the feeling you have when you're with that said person/thing. You can have saudade of a town, but it's not only by longing to be in this town, but the feelings and memories you have in this town. Same goes to the person, you long to meet someone, but you long to meet someone because of the experiences and the love and the memories you have for someone. And saudade is something that happens the most when something is outreach, you don't necessarily can have those experiences or memories or love, it can be out of your reach so you have saudades of it
I Am Portuguese and Yes, I was thinking about that, and hearing this themes I felt "Saudade" ,yes I've always believed that horror games where the most beautiful, and this video helped me fixate that opinion better.
@@BascoDubs absolutely, irmão. I always felt saudade, for something I can't really pin what it is, by listening and playing Silent Hill. I think it could be summed as empathy or immersion to the character of Harry having saudade for his daughter, really puts another perspective to his quest and game, and hopefully it was designed to feel like this.
Bonito ver como nossa língua consegue descrever uma experiência tão bem
i never knew there was a word for it so i never really knew how to describe it but this is perfect
So THIS is what we K-pop stans feel towards our biases? awifjadslfj I feel educated
I have a feeling Jacob would like the Music, *"Lillium"* from the show _"Elfen Lied"_
That's one of my favourite pieces.. I even named my band after the lyrics lmao. 'Kyrie Eleison'
Loved that anime
@@kleebeez you might already know this but just in case. Kyrie Eleison means Lord have mercy
@@Alcyone_FGC yep! it's such an edgy name ;)
@@kleebeez i mean i dont find it that edgy compared to other band names i have heard but probably because i have heard kyrie eleison so many times that i dont find it edgy anymore
Akira Yamaoka is a fucking genius, after so many years still listening to the entire SH soundtrack.
Jacob: we are all pigs.
Ad: LET'S PLAY RAID SHADOW LEGENDS!
Ahhhhhh, imaginary internet points, you gotta love 'em
Oh no my castle's under attack!
*AAHHH thAtS oKaY*
After reading this comment, Jacobs quote here proceeded from the video and immediately following was an ad for 50 states of fright on quibi.
@@AmericanLibra awwright my kingdom's lookin' good. My neighbor's lookin like he could use some help
I'm not Important I got a D&D Ad lol
There's no doubt in my mind that you have set a new standard for what a great video essay should be. Props, man.
Agreed 100%
Facts
Yourm rigmht.
Danilo Llorca nah where’s my lofi hip hop beats to study and relax to? And monotone voice and video game gameplay as broll and Synthwave aesthetics
You must be new to this channel.
The “Mandus” piece along with the machine’s pleading made up for all the stupid parts of that game. I get chills listening to it now. Like you said, the inevitability is captured.
That scene made me cry pretty hard. Voice acting, writing, music all on point.
It's interesting because I grew up surrounded by classical musicians, so Claire de Lune played A LOT through my childhood, which made the safe room in The Evil Within cause a pretty deep-rooted "yearning for that other world" because while I'd be running for my life and scraping by to survive a giant spider lady with long hair and then suddenly hear that song playing, it was like "hey, you remember when you were a kid and you weren't actively being chased around by projections straight out of the mind of a serial killer?"
This channel is like thought-provoking, eye-opening, mind-blowing comfort food.
That's exactly how I feel about it omg
I know right!!
I had multiple breakdowns on his horror videos
I could’ve have said it better
The very few instances he tries delving into politics coincidentally happen to also have aged like milk, but this video is a perfect example that he clearly knows his usual subject.
Remember, bLuE mAn BaD because video games and zombie media popularized headshots, ignoring the victimization of the police and clear statistics showing diminishing police shootings, also the nearly nonexistent police brutalities he also claimed contributed to headshot culture.
Finally Amnesia: a machine for pigs has gotten the recognition it deserves.
I remember being not that impressed with it, but for some reason hearing him talk about it makes it seem so much cooler
This video alone made me play A Machine For Pigs (And also the original Amnesia), and I do not regret it for a second.
I absolutely ADORED A Machine for Pigs, and this is seriously the first time I've ever heard anyone talk positively about it.
Im still to scared to finish it alone
The pigs really killed it for me, and judging from its reception just about everyone else. It should have been a Chinese Room standalone, without ties to the Amnesia franchise misleading fans or leading to really forced enemy sections full of piggies
"They will make pigs of you all." *cries
STEP RIGHT UP
I had the pleasure of seeing Akira Yamaoka perform live in Sweden with a Silent Hill cover band. Hearing him jam out Theme of Laura was SICK
that sounds awesome
damn
duddee amazing
If I could meet people who've worked in games I wish I could see either Akira Yamaoka, Hidetaka Miyazaki or Alyson Court
Story: A man is driven to insanity by visions of a horrific future!
Me: Meh, we've been here a hundred times.
Story: The horrific future is literally just what happened in the 20th century.
Me: Oh.
fr tho
@LastName Almaember 2020 isn’t 1/16th as bad as the shit that happened in the 20th century
21st century**
@LastName Almaember No where in your comment implied sarcasm or a joke but go off
@LastName Almaember 2020:
Almost a war
A plague that killed about 1 million
Wildfires
20th century:
2 world wars
Rise of countless dictatorships
Many many large wars
60 years of constant threat of total distribution
Plague that killed 100 million
Much more
Ever played Darkwood? After surviving a night, time freezes, any enemies who invaded your house vanish, the daily merchant appears and you get time to repair your defenses, and it all lasts until you leave your house so there is no stress or time limit.
All the while this beautiful track plays in the background.
YYEEEEESSSSS
That's what first popped into my head as well.
I literally had to go and listen to "New Dawn" as soon as I finished this video. It hits that exact tone of melancholy calm, never victorious, no matter how narrow your survival was. I especially love how you can hear bits of the forest's general ambient drone fading in and out of the music, like a reminder that - yes, you are safe _for now_ but you can't stay in the hideout forever. Eventually you will have to step outside and when you do, you will be at the forest's mercy again.
Thank you for mentioning that gorgeous game!
fr more ppl need to talk about darkwood
I just love your way with words, talk about a great inspiration. Your writing elevates any subject!
Much love from Brazil.
Oia só, Ludinho por aqui, ❤
ludoooo
Do nada o ludo aqui consumindo bom conteúdo.
Come to brazil, ludo
Finally someone talks about THAT chapter in The Evil Within 2. The music injected me with so many emotions, it's a memory I'll never forget.
Finally, someone talks about A Machine for Pigs in a positive way.
What makes this game so special to me though; Is the voice acting.
The protagonist and the antagonist have such stellar performances.
I encourage everyone to look up a compilation of all the voice lines on UA-cam.
I had to rewatch the machine’s plea to Oswald several times in this video, it just grabbed me...
the soliloquy of the machine always makes me cry :(
don't worry there are tons of people that love AMFP just like you and I :)
thx
@@waffel9101 It's still pretty bad though.
Horror game : we are scary and will ggive you trauma!
everyone : ahh yes the melody is beautiful in my ears like a sunset
That's not quite what is going on.
@@techstuff9198 why you correcting a comment from a year ago...
@@vian7599 Can't say I'm correcting something if I didn't actually correct it. I merely pointed out that it was wrong.
Also, have you forgotten where you are?
This is the internet, time doesn't matter.
I've spent so many hours in the Hunter's Dream in Bloodborne, just sitting there, next to the doll. Just hearing a few bars of the Hunter's Dream Theme or the Moonlight Melody is enough to take me back.
I've done the same thing, the hunters dream theme is so good
That ending music for "A machine for pigs" always gets me, so beautiful, that and the narrator's voice it's so immersive, so cinematic, when it makes you feel things you know it's well done
I'm never disappointed by your deep dives. Music is one of the most important things in my life, and the fact that I'm not the only one that cherishes it's presence really makes me feel a little less alone.
Aizvainia 💙
Funny enough, I am disappointed. It was by no means bad. In fact, it's great. Just didn't have quite same effect as some of his best videos. I think the issue was that he was a little too self depricating so which put a damper on his points.
Nope, you are literally the only person in the world that likes music....lol
Fabio Silva I meant in the context of..this...never mind lmao
Aizvainia yesssssss
This helped me realize what I needed to understand about my own life. It'll never return to the simplicity my life once held. The future, no matter how awful, is inevitable, and trying to stop it from happening is a fools errand born from desperation. But even as everything descends into a broken hurricane of pain and misery, there will always be a place I can return to that's safe for me. I can always find... serenity.
That hits hard my guy
Goddamn...
That comment hits home.
Machine of Pigs ending dialog and music is amazing. I never played the game, but in a University core class, "oral expression", every student had to recite in front of the class a poem, or monologue of his choosing as an assignment.
Nearly everyone chooses the typical ones, from political to pop-culture, to social people.
I'm a shy person, an Information and Industrial Civil engineer, and public speaking isn't my thing, but since i had to do it as an obligation for a grade, I decide to search for one in the video game space, which is what I enjoy, and i find this one, and i couldn't look away. Even if I didn't play the game, it was just so impactful, so real. I did need it to translate it to Spanish, as you can see English isn't my first language, and even if I can understand without problem, and I'm somewhat capable to write it, to some extend, my tongue is just stupid when I'm trying to talk it. But the result was close to it, and I did add emotion (i was nearly crying impersonating the machine, in a mix of desperation and anger plying to Mundus), and i receive the higher grade and the following ecstasy when doing something that you are not comfortable do in it.
and yet, nearly 8 years since that presentation, i still remember close to 90% of the monologue, word by word. And the music. fuck, what an amazing sound. Every time i hear it, it make me somber, reminiscence of all the emotion on the monologue, and every part of my skin tingles.
The same goes to silent hill. I've had played all of them, even the awful wii one. and the music, the soundtrack of each one, is just spectacular.
cheers
oh, I forget to say, I found the Machine of pigs one similar to the Leftovers one, same grim tonality, expression, or emotion.
This is exactly how I feel about Reflection in Hollow Knight, the theme that plays when you're sitting on a bench. Healing, saving, sorting things out... the whole time you've been fighting for your life, being surprised-attacked or almost trapped. But on that bench you're safe and you can finally breath.
Whenever I hear that theme it brings me instant peace, but also this strange, deep sorrow. Like you said, longing.
"Saw Future (Very Bad!!!)"
"Created a Machine to End All Humanity (Not Great)"
Your sense of morality is a little bit weird Jacob.
his behaviour is very lovecraftian
a) It's not like he's rejecting the ending!
b) Mood, though??
morality is weird
Not to be an edgelord or like Rust from True Detective or anything but I think we've gotten to the point where somehow ending humanity would be a net positive for most of the other living things on this planet. Not saying I would want to do such a thing - but I mean, c'mon. We're shit. It's like us and wasps and penguins - we're just assholes and none of the other organisms would miss us besides the ones that've gotten by just feeding on our scraps for all these years and years.
When's the last time you pollinated a plant? I never pollinated a damn thing in my entire life. Freeloaders, the lot of us.
@@fuzzydunlop7928 That makes sense, but still by human morality killing all humans would be much worse than just seeing the future.
When you end with empathy, I find it revealing that horror games are where we find music that makes us more empathetic towards the characters. The necessity for players to empathize with a character in a horror game is more essential than in other games due to that being were part of the fear comes from. Not only do we not want to die and get a game over, but we also don't want the character to die. We want to see them get through this. It is also revealing that horror games are more often an example while other games are not.
This makes me think of the ending to "the witches house" which i wont spoil for those who dont know but thia deffinitely applies to it.
@@jordanjoestar9096 That was heartbreaking =( and we keep questioning whether we made the right decision despite we already finished all those tasks
@@Nadiaputriangginita i think its because we tend to define horror as something that we never want to experience its all the things we fear and our scared of and one of the most tearifying things is that reality moment in which the illusion of safety and happiness is shattered. Its more destructive than any physical thing but physical suffering can be just as bad if done right.
For anyone interested in more of this kind of music, the genre is generally called 'dark ambient'
So far, every time I'm like, "hmm this video might be interesting but it's not really my thing, let's put it on anyways"
And every time, your videos are amazing. Well done
That Mandus track and monologue in game are extremely haunting. I didn't know the full extent of what deactivating the machine meant in my playthrough. Remarkable.
Searcg up the lore
The Machine's speech at the end of A Machine For Pigs gets me every... damn... time. The combination of the swelling music and the EMOTION that the Machine's voice carries is just... yeah.
That voice actor is perfect. You can hear genuine fear and anxiety in their voice and you believe every word they are saying.
Hi, Jacob. You'll probably never read this but in the off chance that you do, I want to say thank you. UA-cam has become such a deluge of things I don't care about and things that actively make me upset that it's always nice to just come back to one of your videos. It's like a safe place. A palette cleanse. Beautifully written, emotionally striking. Though I love the big three, I watched Mr. Beast and Pewdiepie, I love Yahtzee's reviews, and though I think Dunkey and Jakey can be surprisingly clever, - fact is, you're my favorite youtuber out all of them.
Lmao
The song "Mandas" in Machine for Pigs is something special. I've never played the game. This video essay is my only exposure. But just the clip played her brought me to tears the first time I watched. Every time I've listened since stirs an uneasy sadness in me, like I want to deny the hope that is intrinsically woven into the notes. Incredible.
I swear to God when I ascended those stairs in the end of A Machine For Pigs, and that track started playing over the machines monologue. Never before have I experienced so many goosebumps.
I cried. I can't describe why, but I think you kinda know.
I’ve never even played the game, but the first time I saw that ending, I became captivated and I still feel that way about it, even today
I completed Everybody's Gone to the Rapture in one sitting, ended up going to bed at around 5AM, and it was an otherworldly, almost religious experience. I don't want to call it ''horror' but that most certainly is what we're seeing - humanity ended 32 minutes ago and we are an etheral "something" listening to the voices of those who have died - but it's more "despair" than horror. I loved each and every game by The Chinese Room (A Machine for Pigs, Dear Esther). So sad they don't exist anymore.
I had a very similar experience with Rapture, truly one of the most beautiful, haunting game experiences. Good news is that the Chinese Room are back! They have just released Little Orpheus on Apple Arcade, not their usual style but it is exceptional, the music in made in collaboration with Jessica Curry once again. Even better news is that they have something else in the works, it's a secret as yet and they are still hiring so I imagine we have a substantial wait
@@runswithpencil WOW that's great news!!! Thank you so much for telling me!!
@@TheMightyPika Absolutely my pleasure, if you are on twitter give them a follow, they're very active at the moment
I had a similar feeling with Dear Esther, and I was not prepared to be hit that hard emotionally. Especially when you're walking through the gorgeous underground caves with these ethereal waterfalls, but it's juxtaposed with the last words of someone who lay dying on the same beach, in the same caves. No, Dear Esther isn't horror, but it is melancholic and lonely, and above all it there is this longing for something or someone you know you won't find on the island.
I don't know too much about Everybody's Gone to the Rapture, and tis the season, so I checked and saw that it's currently $6 CAD (originally 26). I know I like this flavor of game, Gone Home was a treat a few weeks ago and the Beginner's Guide is one of my favorites ever. I wasn't expecting this video to net me a recommendation I'd go through with but I'm here for it.
You summed up exactly how I felt about Resident Evil 7; I literally almost cried I was so relieved to hear the save theme. Just sitting in the dimly lit room, knowing you MUST go on sometime, but now you can rest. Its so good. Also, I love your thoughts on the Silent Hill games. Great video
the song "not tomorrow" turns into really almost tells you that this wont be a pleasant experience. i've never played silent hill but i can feel the impending fear and weight of everything in it just in the song, and its SO good.
The Evil Within is so underrated. It's such a good game.
Well the dude who made the original deadspace and the dude who made the old school resident evil teamed up to make it lol
Jordan Joestar that’s why it didn’t do well, a lot to live up to, I personally enjoyed it but disgruntled white protagonist with stubble and ambiguous past #94045 gets really tiring
@@saloonboone disgruntled isnt bad though. The way i see it most horror games arent happy and cheerful. Theyre not meant to be and thats what makes them unsettling. If horror was meant to be happy more stuff would be looking like Happy tree freinds lol
Jordan Joestar Dissonace can do a lot for effective horror, and I was just pointing out how generic and uninteresting of a character he is
They could've been great, if it wasn't for the awfully boring and generic plot/characters. They almost felt like a parody of old school Japanese survival horror.
small thing, but when the mandus monologue's text came up i got chills because it was the same font you used in the anatomy video. weird how that through-line affected me
:) love that you picked up on that
probably chosen because it's similar to the font used in the game anatomy itself, but i approve of it becoming the standard Horror Voiceover Subtitle Font
@@Vallam23 and it was a thinking structure
i love how jacob will make a masterpiece like this and then the patreon donors page is like ‘this video was made possible because of dickslapper666’
I'm so thrilled to see Machine for Pigs getting the positive attention it deserves. I love it so much.
You got a dope ass name, sounds like a fantasy villain/location
@@vodago Omg thanks! I put together this alias way back in middle school and I've stuck with it since lmao
when you said "that's just art" at the end it made me realize what i want to do. i want to make art that makes people feel. provides massive worlds that make people want to explore, and fantasy places that make people wish they were true. and i want to accomplish that through pixel art, and massive canvas's. thanks. you've made me tear up a bit.
You got this man I believe in you
Do it.
You had me until "pixel art"... please leave that crap in 2009 where it belongs.
@@DeadAndAliveCat oooh... honestly that kinda hurt. bet you feel validated for bein an ass. here, let me show you something: www.deviantart.com/sovanjedi/art/Diorama-789746626
www.deviantart.com/sovanjedi/art/Bhumi-744922366
this artist right here is a big inspiration. let me guess, you were thinking things like undertale, when i said pixel art? if so then i'll have to tell you. pixel art is not only reserved to random indie games. also pixel art isn't bad, it actually looks really good when used correctly. for example, the two links i gave up there.
also please, try not to be an asshole. it really can hurt some people. critique is fine, but calling all of pixel art "crap" is just bullshit, if i do say so myself.
DeadAndAliveCat just let him practice his art are you seriously this sad and bitter that a random artist being inspired bothers you this much?
"Ozzy Mandus"
...I see what you did there, Amnesia. -_-
Look on my porks, ye mighty, and despair.
HA
"I see man dies"?
@@nahometesfay1112 Ozymandias.
I'd be surprised there are people that didn't catch it, but I missed the S Hayden thing in Doom 16, so I have no room to judge. 🤣
The most beautiful piece of game music I've heard, is the beginning of ori. It's when you watch the character you've rapidly bonded with die. Exhausted, in pain, utterly defeated, and alone.
Brilliant video as always, and I'm particularly happy to see more appreciation for The Evil Within 2. Up there in the pantheon of art that suffered for the shortcomings of others, in this case its direct predecessor. Small note: Mikami didn't direct it, it was helmed by John Johanas, a designer from the first game. It was his first time directing a game and as a debut effort that's pretty impressive.
I love how easily you put all the subconscious thoughts in my head into THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WORDS
That's why I love this channel so much.
I feel so many similar things, but I can never properly (and seemingly that easily) to put out what I feel subconsciously into words like he does.
eurothug4000 yes!!!
My god, The New Century immediately brought tears to my eyes. I've never played a machine for pigs (hell, I never finished the dark descent), but something about the music just drew out this deep sadness. It almost sounds like somebody is breathing slow, staggering, yet sharp, breaths in the background; the kind of breaths one makes as they are faced with fear and grief. It's the same breaths I use to take during panic attacks in the middle of the night. It's the same breaths I took after crying over the loss of a loved one.
It is the breath of despair, and it has been rendered in such awe inspiring beauty.
I love how resident evil 7 used music and sounds to incite fear. Everything from insect noise to hearing ur own footsteps as u move into debris wondering if something else moved around you. Truly felt alone and desperate through most of the game.
I don't know why I have always imagined you as a "recently bar mitzva'd boy"
The theme’s in Resident Evil games are incredible. In Re2 Remake I’ve spent more time than I even realize just sitting in a safe room, waiting for Tyrant’s theme to dissipate. It always seems to scare me, it’s so strong and when you hear it you know you’re in trouble.
The thing I love about RE7’s Safe Room theme is how even though it’s the safe theme, it’s still haunting and unnerving. You don’t feel safe, per se, but you feel safe-er. It still reminds you where you are, though, and that anything could be behind that door.
The moment you hear that music, you know he's gonna *X* you out.
You should play "The Shattering", a game about.... i won't spoil anything of it, its so good
Spoiler: Its about shatting yourself
@@shetto Wow nice job man its ruined
Okay game dev
Hmm, haven't heard of a game about an ellipsis before
I'm assuming something breaks in such a way that produces many small shards of the original
the evil within 2 is one of my favorite games. It always makes me happy to hear someone talk about it. that ending was amazingly well done.
because the sound design is actually involved during development
whereas normally the sound desing gets an almost finished project and told here put some samples in this or whatever
how is jacob this good at the whole youtube thing?
Never expected to see you here
Why do you have so few likes?
@@charlieniven6558 the comment has 120 likes, but who cares? Do you really think it even matters how many likes anyone gets? It's completely inconsequential.
@@ninja_tony usually UA-camr comments get thousands because of UA-cam's crap
Rarely do I watch a video that feels like it was pulled straight from the deep recesses of my thoughts. The places where I understand the thoughts as feelings or a smell connected to a memory that is just outside my field of view. Thanks for putting words to those parts of me. I know that's all a little fluffy and maybe cringy... but its true. I greatly appreciate your work. Well done.
I listened to Everywhere at the End of Time in one sitting once. I still experience... something akin to terror when I hear Just a Burning Memory, the first track in the work.
Upon hitting the last album, the quiet emptiness was a relief from the mounting horror of the third, fourth and fifth albums. Listened to on its own, it might be eerie. Truth be told, I can't even remember what it sounds like. What I do remember is how it made me feel - it was, rather than whatever it might be on its own, it becomes a respite, a return to something else. Not normality, normality would be the ballroom jazz of the first album. Just something that isn't the relentless, overwhelming confusion and static of the third, fourth and fifth albums. The emptiness, after that grim, grinding noise, is a release.
I have, on more than one occasion, said that Everywhere at the End of Time is probably the closest thing I will ever hear to horror as a genre of music.
I feel like the same applies to A Moments Peace from Dark Souls. The track is so tranquil and ethereal and it is only the menu theme. It really lulls you into a false sense of security and almost acts as respite from the rest of the game as you know what horrors you'll be expected to face going in. The title really speaks for itself and while Dark Souls isn't a horror game I still feel like it works really well at capturing that longing feeling and a mysterious atmosphere that's carried throughout the rest of the game.
The Limbo chapter of Evil Within really reminds me of the ending of Journey. The slow climb up a snow-covered mountain while the sad strings play in the background. I wonder if they were inspired by Journey.
Probably I mean they have an evangelion reference in an achivement for gods sake
@@yourbrainonegg159 what?!
I think its supposed to be sand
"13-year-old... man" lmao
the first amnesia has the track "back hall" that has that same sort of comfort and rest. i distinctly remember it playing in the hall with the unusual fountain. its a nice reprise, especially considering the madness that the player goes through immediately before reaching that point.
Around this time last year, I played through Amnesia: The Dark Descent, immediately followed by Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. While I felt the gameplay was significantly stripped down in comparison to the first game (having no inventory was less than ideal, in my opinion), I do feel it had a much stronger theme and more hopeless tone. Its narrative was also pretty powerful. At the final culmination, I was just so overwhelmed with emotion from not only the score, but the sheer devastation involved in Mandus' fear. Excellently crafted as a piece of horror media, and pretty decent as a game.
Silent Hill is by far my favorite horror series, and my 2nd favorite series ever. And the music is a LARGE portion of it. Laura's Theme kills me when I hear it. Akira Yamaoka is a god with music.
I absolutely love A Machine For Pigs and the Mandus monologue/song. I still get chills listening to it. Such a beautiful work of art. Thank you for talking about it. It's a criminally underrated horror game.
Jacob, the writing you did for your dialog in this video was tremendous, the way you talked about the song at the end of Machine For Pigs, as well as the song at the end of Evil Within 2, made me think and feel things that are deep enough within me that they can be hard for me to reach most of the time. I think one of the reasons I've started binging all the videos on your channel is because the things you talk about feeling in all these videogames are emotions I relate to but have never heard articulated. You're making me more passionate about videogames and I thank you
This actually explains a lot about how I feel when playing Thumper. From the intense moments of one mistake leading to death and then feeling an immense calm after that intensity really does make Thumper a "Rhythm Horror" game. It doesn't keep me up at night with thoughts of being on an unending path with everything trying to kill me (or maybe it does). But rather, the moment by moment sensation of being one misstep away from failing can truly be horrific.
That Resident Evil 4 tune is just so gentle and comforting.
Between the months when I first started to suffer from depression to my first therapy sessions, the Silent Hill soundtracks - especially Silent Hill 2 - got me through. It was some of the only music that I felt understood and sympathized with the hopelessness, despair, bitterness, nostalgic addiction, and complete surrender to fate that I was feeling.
“The opposite of horror isn’t “happy”, it’s “safe” feels so obvious and yet having it spelled out like that blew my mind
That part about the "stone egg" makes more sense if you've played The Dark Descent and know about the orbs (or what little we know about them).
Well, you know, I happen to very attached to Claire de Lune. So to me it sounds exactly like a wish for things to be different.
I think that a lot of what people feel toward music comes from associations we form either from listening to similar music or from our own emotional state the first time we hear that particular piece of music. I think that is why Claire de Lune didn't click with Jacob in the same way as the original music did. He has a different association with the song, one that doesn't match with the association that he has made with the other save room music in other titles.
@@Bastit3hman Well yeah, music is one of the most subjective forms of art.
That's interesting. To me, Clair de Lune sounds like Twilight, so it doesn't make me feel much. I think that's the advantage of having an original soundtrack: you have a better chance that the players will feel what you want them to feel when a song comes on.
The Evil Within version is also the best version because of the violins.
I love it myself, but the distorted speaker and scratched record graininess is what music sounded like in older sanitariums. They were trying to evoke the feeling that you were in a technically "safe" place but the nurse and the electroshock chair for leveling were supposed to maintain a level of discomfort. At the end of the first game you eventually get attacked in that space. They still play loud music like that in some mental hospitals so a lot of former tenants develop a hatred for certain symphonies.
Thank you, sincerely, for talking about A Machine for Pigs to the extent you do in this video. It's one of my favorite horror games of all time, and almost nobody talks about it because it wasn't a jumpscare monstercloset UA-camr Reaction Generator like its predecessor. It deserved so much better than it got, so if anyone's even mildly motivated to check it out after watching this, please do so. It'll stick with you.
The Dark Descent was not a "jumpscare monstercloset UA-camr Reaction Generator like its predecessor". You don't know or remember the game correctly, just like you don't know or remember A Machine for Pigs properly either. The nuance that Dark Descent had is squashed in A Machine for Pigs. You're rather confused.
Loved this video. So glad to hear Jessica Curry getting some appreciation. Everybody's Gone To The Rapture is one of my favourite games of all time, and the soundtrack is a large part of why. And as for The Evil Within 2... that music has haunted me ever since I first finished it a few months ago. That game was fantastic.
When ever I hear Mandus score I always imagine a mad scientist walking through his laboratory as is burst in to flames slowly burning the fire growing larger the more the scientist walks through and reflects on his life’s work and as his stops and accepts his fate he is then slowly consumed by the flames
Sounds like Faust
@@INCAnitysy Faust?
Omg, that reminds me of pirates of the caribbean, where the one antagonist (forgot his name, maybe becket?) is slowly walking down the stairs of his ship as it’s getting blown to smithereens
I went and listened to a random track off of Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture when you mentioned it. The song The Seventh Whistler. Thought it was nice at first, wistful sounding solo wind. Then when the ensemble joined in half way, I mean, god. It’s like my heart burst. I’ve been having a stressful time lately during a move, and I didn’t know I needed that cry. So thanks for that.
I hope I’m not the only adult man who cried like a baby when Lisa turned
The ending of Machine For Pigs always gives me chills. That music plus that speech is just sublime.
This is BY far my favorite video by you. I love the use of music and the sharing of personal stories. I feel I can hear the appreciation and astonishment in your voice.
When I need to make myself cry I play the Silent Hill soundtrack.
Fair
Dude, I found your channel two days ago - best thing that ever happened to me. I love your videos. They are so considered, well thought out and researched. They expose me to ideas and concepts that I've never heard of but that I always find interesting and that resonates with me. I'm a filmmaker in University, and your videos fill me with inspiration for scripts, themes and stories to tell. Thanks so much, dude, you're the best.
Also, to anyone reading this, if you like Jacob's videos, you might also like 'hbomberguy.' Have a great day :)
Matthew Reese yo dude me too not even kidding
First video I found of his is "Artificial Loneliness", it really hits the thought spot, and makes you replay some games that once you've beaten the story, each level has it's own story to it. Like games that have free roaming but there is no point to it once the story is complete, but yet you can still do it, and then even though it feels like minutes have gone by, you go through those levels thinking about the history you just made.
MisterCh13f117 mine was fear of depths but I quickly fell in love with his content
@@Deltaz11 Dude we are food for words, and he just delivers
Matthew Reese this comment melts my heart and gives me faith in the UA-cam community again ✌️
I played Amnesia a Machine For Pigs because I got so curious after watching your video, I’m totally obsessed now.
The soundtrack hunts me as much as the question of “what would I do in Mandus place?”
I think that is absolutely incredible how video games can open so many questions and create conversations as much as universes of infinite possibilities.
Thank you so much for your work and dedication!!
God a Machine for Pigs is such a good game. A different kind of horror for sure, but I remember I couldn’t stop crying the first time I got to that part. I cried for a long time.
ok ima be real here, Claire de Lune hit me so hard in The Evil Within that I still get chills and feelings I cant describe whenever I hear it. I just have to close my eyes and experience the song every time I hear it now because of what the game did to it for me. It represents peace but also a distortion of the beautiful things in the real world that stem is mimicking. It is also important that Claire de Lune is a song that was played to the patients in beacon mental hostpital, and also a song that we see Ruben Victoriano playing a few times on the piano throughout his younger years. It encompasses the insanity, the peace, and the still permeating sense of danger even when in the save room realm thing. It did so fuckin much lol
The same happens to me, the song hits me really hard
I'm very happy to see A Machine for Pigs be given some attention again, it's a game I got after finishing the first one, the sense of defeating the horrors of The Dark Descent followed me into buying it and as I got it I didn't know what I was in for, slowly I realised this was not what I was expecting. It was something new though, something I have not seen before and it turned out to be the thing I needed the most. The ending broke me, I went up those stairs with tears flowing down my face and as the credits ended and all went silent I just sat there. Later that night I had a mental breakdown in the shower, crying, not even knowing why. But as I felt my mind leave me I saw what I needed to do, for so long I was ignoring it, the calling of my life. In short, I wanted to make art, but never truly dedicated myself to it and every time I saw an amazing animation or a great drawing, something would pull at my heart, this feeling of sadness I couldn't give a true name. That night I shattered. But from the fragments I started to rebuild myself and bit by bit, day by day, year by year I became whole again. Now, 3 years later, I may not be the master of art I wish to be, but I know I'm on my way with tons of work behind me, I am proud but most of all, finally happy. I can enjoy the work of other without my feelings pulling on me, I can now seek inspiration in the work of others rather than sadness. I can't thank A Machine for Pigs enough, though the story didn't really focus on this, it connected with me so deeply it became essential in my life. Who would think that facing your fears in a videogame would lead me to become the person I am today. I wouldn't back then, but now, well I can't not belive it. Again I'm extremely happy to see some cover of it, your entire video was great and I connected with it in a way I think you know way too well. I can't wait to cover this aspect of video games in one of my own videos later down the line. Thank you and have a great life Jacob.
me, an Eisenhorn and Horus Heresy fan: "That sounds like Toby Longworth..."
imagine my surprise!
excellent essay as always! I'm a recent fan but have thoroughly enjoyed all the rabbit holes and deep dives I go on with you! keep up the great work!
Where in the video?
@@DanielPlaceholder during the credits, 28:23
@x804xApplesauce Thanks, I realize I've heard it in snippets from videos on Garviel Loken and Istivan III.
@@DanielPlaceholder Loken's mah fucking boy. The original 3 Heresy novels are masterpieces
Great job man. The most memorable parts for me tend to be the sound design, music, and amazing dialogue or monologues from fantastic voice actors. That's why Transistor and SOMA are among my favorite games. And I think you captured that well here with the effective uses of beautiful music in horror games. God bless.
I'm still surprised that all the cut scenes for Silent Hill 1 were done by one guy
I still stand by Amnesia: The Dark Descent as easily having one of the greatest soundtracks in a horror video game. At least to me. It's mixture of pure serenity, apprehensive reprieve, unnerving atmosphere, and utter anxiety and terror from one point to the next and everywhere in between just makes me feel every emotion even just by listening to the soundtrack alone. I've played the game and seen multiple playthroughs over the years, and the experience *never* gets old for me, simply for that reason.
The Storage and Safe 02 songs are the total Yin and Yang of the OST. I fucking love TDD so much.
Pathologic 2, though more of psychological horror game had my favorite soundtrack it’s mesmerizing and just as weird as the game
@@saloonboone I'd love to check that out! PsychoHorror is my jam.
I know this is a comment late to the party but we've got to give Toby Longworth credit for his vocal performance in that ending monologue. Coupled with that rising song it's an brilliantly constructed scene.