It's particularly ironic, considering I spotted this when I was about to type a comment asking about his (admittedly brief and informal) explanation of the "oil rig" setting. His script suggests that these concepts (technology and almost suicidal corporate greed) are inextricably linked, but his actions in advertising Nord VPN (Or as I like to call them, "Nobody Online Really Demands VPNs") suggest that his personal politics are considerably more nuanced. I'm sure we'd all love to know, RagnarRox, in your own personal opinion, what is the absolute best thing conceivable that humanity could do with our technology, going forward, assuming we could somehow manage to stop doing the stupidest possible thing 100% of the time?
@@TheLlamaFarmer3 In his defense, though, can you think of literally any other way to fund video essays this "so good it's unmarketable?" He somehow made it to 300k subs doing this content in this style on this platform during this economy as a member of this species. The odds were stacked against him. Yet he didn't fizzle out in his first year. I don't question his actions, only his ideals.
Such a beautiful story about you and your friend. Thank you so much for sharing it. For that story I am subscribing. This was a great video by itself. Don’t get me wrong. But… so moved…
I laughed way harder than I should have when I saw the sign that said 5 out of the 6 lifeboats were inoperable before anything kicked off and the several connecting passages/stairways filled with unsecured cargo right next to signs reminding you not to to exactly that. 🤣
@@Momo_Minomo No wonder why Trots was so vocal about unionisation as clearly if they did nothing something horrific was going to happen. Too bad it did & he didn't live long enough to say he told them so.
It really was mindblowing to play as someone who's entire existence has been in Glasgow. Extra cool to see that one of the achievements required me to play the entire game in Scots Gaelich
Yea I feel the same as a Northern Irish man I love hearing my wee accent in the video games. To bad I've only heard it twice & one of those examples was because of Liam Neeson as yer da in Fallout 3 so it doesnae count & the other was O'Connor in this wee game. We need more games with authentic British & Irish accents as its really boring hearing the same American & Southern English accents in everything. Too few games have Scottish, Welsh, Irish & Northern Irish accents. But then again not many games place themselves in these wee places.
I don't know if you noticed this at the end of the game. When Caz is in the bedroom about to leave, there are two pictures against the wall. One of them looks like that ending spiral where Caz is swimming towards the light, and a second one depicts an angel with ribbon-like clothes, that someone could say are similar to the ribbons of The Shape.
I would love to see a deep dive on Amnesia especially with the machine for pigs! I've always just heard people saying how bad it was and I wondered if that was truly the case or if there were meanings just not grasped then since everyone was so high with the dark descent still. Also, I really love this game. Everyone is so written well and it's just gorgeous. That ending was always nice. It felt satisfying for some reason.
I would contest your view on cronenberg in one small way. His work doesn't as much feature changes in the body effecting changes in the self, the identity and the mind. But I would propose that instead, the main ethos is that changes in the body are a manifestation, an externalization, of crises or trauma within the identity. The body horror is more, what if our bodies reflected our inner selves and our emotional conflicts about our own identities, in the same way that the face changes to reflect the emotions inside the head or the heart beats faster or slower as a reflection of our state of mind. At least, that's what I would argue is the underlying logic of his earlier body-horror work (if it sounds like a very literal translation of the premise of The Brood, that's for good reason - all of his early work basically states this logic outright in some way, from Shivers's 'everything is erotic' speech to The Fly's 'I am a fly that dreamed he was a man' and so on.). It's a... simplistic read, I'll admit, I'm definitely challenging your view with a somewhat more reductive one of my own, but I just really find the "bodily transfiguration as a way of making internal turmoil visible, as an extension of the broader filmic goal of using only vision and sound to somehow communicate internal, wordless, subjective emotion" idea utterly fascinating.
While I haven’t personally played a machine for pigs, I was introduced to it on a video talking about music in horror games and I was shown a song called “Mandus” along with a speech given to the player by a machine that begs the player not to turn it off. Having never experienced this game and only being told the premise, hearing by the speech and music along with knowing what is eventually to come in the story’s timeline was an absolute gut wrenching moment about the horrors of humanity but also humanity itself and the idea of moving forward. I’m unsure if I really summarized it that well. To me it wasn’t hard to get. I only sat down and meditated on the emotions of the speech and everything that surrounds it. The video I mentioned being “Why do horror games sound so beautiful?” By Jacob Geller. I recommend it.
I had shower thoughts and wanted to come back to add to a comment I left, but I can't find it 🥲 I'll just continue as if my comment does exist, which I hope it does, because that sucker was long. On my first watch, when Gregor falls from the helipad, my immediate thought is "that bro is dead". Temperature and current and waves aside, once you pass a certain height, water doesn't break your fall. It may as well be concrete when you hit it hard enough. As soon as Caz fell in after, I immediately forgot that thought and brushed it off, suspending disbelief. On my second watch, it struck me as significant that it's when he has his first hallucination. Now, putting together my thoughts of the unlikelyhood of survival again... How on earth could anyone have spread word of what happened fast enough to anybody who might be in a position to save Caz? Maybe people who were close enough saw him fall, but there was chaos everywhere. They probably would've been a little distracted. I accept the afterlife theory as a possibility, or as a valid interpretation, but my thoughts organically theorized a lot on first watch. I liked to try and take everything literally and at face value, not necessarily because I think that's what it is, but because it's a fun and easy way to think of it. I kept weighing whether it was purely sci-fi or if there was an element of the supernatural. I wanted to heavily weigh on the side of sci-fi and the organism having a psychic or psyonic effect, but one thing I struggled to get by is the glowy rainbow lights when Trots is attacked. But then maybe that could be some alien bs, idk. My theory I came up with, for assuming the organism is a real and literal thing, is that it's pretty much what happened when primordial soup wound up in a pocket in the earth and it just evolved in isolation for millions of years.... Excuse my surface understanding of oil, but to my knowledge, it's organic organisms that have been broken down my decomposition and pressure... Or something. And maybe the organism evolved into that environment? Or that's what it's been eating up to now? Idk. Just the ideas I've come up with.
Being from Scotland, seeing items around the rig that depict where I live, actual Glasgow culture of the time and hearing recognisable street names and spots of the city, as well as having that real life connection of my dad and late granddad both having worked on the rigs, this game was an utter joy to play and experience! Despite the horror, it was honestly a wonderful homage to Scotland in the 70s and rigging culture which I grew up hearing stories about. So glad you got to experience this game as well and a snippit of our modern culture! Settling down now to watch this
have your dad play this or watch this video, I wonder if he'd give any neat insight on anything that maybe we missed as we're not ex-employees on a rig! if not at the very least he might find it interesting
@@reddie1705 He has actually! Funnily enough watching this reminded me that our protagonist Caz was an electrical engineer at the rig, which is what my dad did as well in his time off-shore. :D There were some things which weren't accurate such, as the rig that is in the game isn't actually an oil rig but is what is considered a production rig, however since the differences between the two aren't common knowledge it's likely they changed it for simplicity. Typically as well you wouldn't have many radios on board (like the random ones you find just sitting in the cabins or in the rec. areas), other little details and that added for flavour, layout of the rig being different as well but overall changed for gameplay purposes. There's other little fun details he pointed out as well, but this comment is long enough as is haha. Otherwise, it's pretty close to real life!
Really appreciate the read of this game as Cronenbergian. Lovecraft never had an eye for human behavior, while Cronenberg is all about the icky parts of human nature. David Cronenberg protagonists are often characterized as somehow "incomplete" or "inadequate" in some way, a deeply flawed and too-passive person. Caz is a great Cronenbergian main character, because despite trying to get everything right, you can just feel he's doomed.
Agreed. Lovecraft's works are always anti-human, a likely reflection of how poorly he understood others and also often actively refused doing so. His characters are always separate from the environments they're in, and they actively avoid being understandable by others. I also think that's why Bloodborne is such an amazing piece of Lovecraftian horror in essence, because everything in Bloodborne is ultimately about denying what makes humans human. In Bloodborne humans are not even comparable to beasts or vermin, as beasts or even vermin are still superior lifeforms to humans because they have *power* whereas humans do not. In Lovecraft's works, humans are always at the bottom of the food chain. Even being an animal is preferable because then one would at least not be subject to the awareness of one's own inferiority.
@@Kamishi845 Bloodborne mentioned lets go. But in all seriousness Bloodborne is, in my opinion, the best depiction of Lovecraftian horror in gaming. Humanity is utterly insignificant in the face of the Great Ones, and all of the diferent factions (Mensis, the Choir, the Healing Church) are trying to shed their humanity and ascend. Even the "best" ending for the Hunter is the one where they ascend to be and infant Great One.
Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos does have some aspects of human behavior, mainly with the dreamlands. Other than that Lovecraft's addition of any aspects of human nature/psychology were incredibly biased by his own experiences rather than any facsimile of psychological study of his day. His racism and xenophobia are apparent in his writing, especially with old ones like Shub Niggurath, being an outer being literally named "Mother of a thousand young" and those young being capable of consuming humanity.
I've never heard of this term before until now and it absolutely fits this. I love it. And I think I'm fascinated with characters that are equipped with that blight.
I think the best part of the game is that instead of the prompt saying "throw" it says "let go" when you burn up the place with the lighter. Truly feels both literal and poetic. Let go of your earthly form, let go of your connections to the people, let go of your past and let go of the lighter.
Let go of the life that was already lost since the beginning. It's amazing that they transformed this tragic scene into something brave and humane. They are hopeless at the whole event, but they are also victorious in fighting until the very last minute against something so vast and beyond their comprehension. It's very classic depiction of the spark of humanity. So rare to see in horror games these days.
I love how this grim game about individual, personal and social responsibility also has trophies for dying in the stupidest and most gruesome ways that the player will almost certainly have to go out of their way to experience.
I love how Caz is always running. His song he chose is Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. And at the end, when Finlay is saying this thing will spread to the mainland. Think of your children. In that moment? He decides to stop running and blow it all to shit, was my favourite scene.
I genuinely wonder if the devs were inspired by Battle Royale in that regard. In the novel Born to Run is central to Shuuya and the story and is a constant theme that represents so much more than just a desire to escape. It’s something you almost never see brought up because most people have never read the novel but a lot of game developers have mentioned being fans of the novel specifically. I love studios that allow the players to interpret the material however they choose and offer endings that resonate differently with different people, with no clear ‘canon’ outcome. My love of that definitely started with Silent Hill in the early 2000s.
honey wake up, Ragnar just released a lengthy video essay which he pretentiously over analyze a philosophical horror game that i'll never play for myself and i'm all here for the infodump
In all seriousness though, i love how you analyze art, but i play games to feel some sense of power and control. If i wanted to feel scared that at any moment i could be violated by an unfathomable horror that takes over my body and talks with my mouth while taking cues from my memories. Deal with an overbearing selfish boss and unsafe work environment, get no money and be left alone while everyone i know disappears or becomes possessed by this horror... i'd walk outside and deal with society.
100% agree. I get what they are sayin as an adult, but heavy Scottish accents were unintelligible to me as a kid. And I’m English. We’re on the same heckin island : )
I’m in my 30s (rapidly approaching 40) and if you lined up every two-bit manager that I’ve worked under since I was a teenager…I know all of them would’ve commanded me to drill into an Eldritch horror if it made them an extra two pence of profit 😅
ehh...i do somewhat dislike the whole dying dream / purgatory explanation. Not because it doesn't fit here, but because it ALWAYS fits. That's why it's such a tired trope, you can argue for any fictional story to be like that. Personally i prefer to take things at face value where there is no reason why i shouldn't. As for the escape routes all failing, i see that as the companies penny-pinching biting everyone in the ass, just to show that even against a supernatural horror it is ultimately because of humans that the worst things happen. The foreman's unwillingness to listen to his crew is what frees the monster in the first place, the company bigwigs not caring about their workers while there's a goldrush going on means no money spent on safety equipment. Of course, the monster itself is at its most dangerous when it's coming at us in the form of our former coworkers. It's only one possible interpretation, but i like it. The one thing i have to shoulder in on hard is a small point: You claim the monster has no malice in it's actions. But first, how the hell can you know that? if it really is some form of hivemind, it's smart enough for morals and should be judged accordingly. And secondly, why the hell would that matter? If an animal tries to eat you, it doesn't act out of malice either. That doesn't mean you let it, you either try to get away or punch it in the face.
Exactly! The "it was all just a dream" theory is widely mocked for a reason. And you're right about the animals comparison, except it can go even further. Whether or not the thing trying to kill you is irrelevant to how you feel about it. An earthquake doesn't even have a reason to kill you, a tiger wants to eat you, and a human might have a reason to kill you. An eldritch entity could fit into any of these categories, but it doesn't matter.
At the start of Dear Esther, you can jump in the water. If you dive, you will hear the heartbeat of a life support machine. The protag is in the hospital, and probably dying. The game is him working through his mental baggage, until at the end, he finally reaches his personal Damascus and... I don't know. I think he finally dies. Or maybe he wakes up from his coma. So, thematically, I had a very similar interpretation to this, I guess.
It's been a decade since the game came out, and I never knew that. ....Also aren't you playing as Esther herself? I dunno why, I just thought given the ending I always felt like I was her when I played it.
It was nice of the developers to give players a good way to decide if they want translated subs or not by throwing possibly the single most Scottish two-minute-chat in the history of the English language at you right out the gate when you first run in to Finley.
Honestly, the voice acting in this game beats so many you'd find in Triple A games, including BG3. The slang and dialogue is so natural that it just flows.
After A machine for pigs i gotta say they nailed their style. This is the best kind of walking simulator where the enviroment and the people drives you forward and wanting more!
Another Scottish resident here, the game is beautifully realised and feels so bleakly authentic to my own family’s odd idiosyncrasies from the North Sea rigs, bravo for covering this one ❤
It is amusing to imagine a boardroom of C level execs of this company a couple of years later, discussing the “Lovecraftian Horrors/Eldrich Beasts” bullet point on a slide titled “Risk Assessment”
For some reason, spoilers don't affect me when it comes to games. I went in to one game knowing about a simple phrase that at the end takes on enormous importance. The first time I heard it, I nearly freaked out: What? THIS soon? Changed my mind completely. Now I really want all of the Chinese Room games, they all sound like my kind of entertainment (if that is the right word for gaming).
Always struggled with fear of death, my own mortality and that of those I love, especially after my mother passed away unexpectedly when I was 16. I don’t think I’m ready yet to let go of the uncomfortable and terrifying parts of the uncomfortable and terrifying truth of death. But this video definitely helped me to find a little more acceptance of it, despite how much I cried while watching it. I may have never played this game, but your video has impacted me all the same. Thank you for the analysis and the lovely writing, and for the story of your friend.
I'm certain someone has always had this realization, but from the moment you started talking about "the taboo" - the dichotomy of actively, willfully holding on and struggling versus the bliss and beauty of accepting Entropy's inevitability... my head just immediately flashed to that iconic scene in Jacob's Ladder. "If you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, these are devils tearing your life away... But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from earth..." Anyway, thank you for this video, and for correctly pointing out not only how Cronenbergian SWTD is, but how thematically so much of Cronenberg's filmography is about that struggle with the self, the surroundings, and where identity falls inextricably between them.
When I hear the term "Lovecraftian" there are two extremely different things it can mean. The first is that it uses components and iconography from Lovecraft's universe. Cthulu Saves Santa is Lovecraftian in that way. The second is that it embodies the cosmic nihilism and fear of both the unknown and of finding out cosmic truths so huge and incomprehensible that it breaks people's minds. Some fiction does both, but describing a piece of media which does the second without the first can still be called Lovecraftian.
Is that specifically said? I always thought it was meant to be ambiguous, kind of a body horror where you don't know if it's really the person being controlled with your mind trapped inside, or just the Thing duplicating your form.
It çonsumes and absorbs then and uses the DNA and hacks behavioural recordings retained on those cells and uses them as facsimilies to spread it's influence. This only works of course until they split into self-contained entities who are concerned with their sole survival mirroring of course humanity it's self. The Thing is the Primordial manifestation of humanity. Reacting and responding on raw chaotic instinct. It may even be our creator and destroyer.
In a way, yes, it does possess people. If one drop of it ends up inside you, it starts to spread while resembling your own cells. Eventually, more and more of your body starts be ”the thing”, which could be seen as possessing or eating you from the inside.
I like the themes of accepting death, but i think there's also something to be said for how it was the efforts of the crew aren't futile. It's only because the rig stayed up this long that it could become their final weapon and ultimately save the mainland. The courage Caz needs to let go is first cultivated in his attempts to face the shape and keep the rig afloat - to hold on. The crew never had a chance and yet everything they did along the way mattered (I think Caz is clinging to similar thoughts when he cries out "I loved this big man!" into the void when he finds Roy). Caz lives for his family before he dies for them and the game celebrates both. Still wakes the deep, and still on we plow.
Gosh... I'm already a big fan of Still Wakes the Deep, but linking it to Absurdism? Fuuuuck man, now I can see the parallels it has with Albert Camus' works. Your point about the The Shape being Death and how it just *is* without any morals beyond the crew's need to survive it - and how Caz in tge end accepts that they never had a chance - remunds me so so much about The Stranger's final scene where the protagonist realizes "the gentle indifference of the universe" as he's about to be executed. But in terms of tone? About choosing to hold on regardless of the madness surrounding Caz? *That* was peak The Plague themes. When all hell breaks loose and nothing makes sense anymore, holding on to to what you believe when it really means nothing is worth it - even if it ends in heartbreak. Another peak essay, Ragnar. Thanks a lot for it 👋 EDIT: FUCK I wrote this before the goddamn Sisyphus mention I *knew* this vid has Camus' soul sewed into it lmao
A lot of criticism for modern day media is due to lack of media literacy. People aren't taught how to explore and deconstruct themes anymore. Whether it be in video games, TV show,s movies, heck even booktok (book tiktok) is filled with people labeling books as unreadable because they don't understand how to look for the authors intentions or make connections. But I also think that's why deep dive videos like this and many others are becoming popular on video sharing platforms People want to learn which I'm glad to see, just not enough lol
When people say that something is Lovecraftian, it's not just because of the whole 'elder gods and tentacles, all hope is lost' they're talking about. They're also referring to the fear of the unknown horror element. Not knowing what the feature creature is, its motive, and where it's from, creates that horror tension than knowing everything about it. The first Alien movie as an example of this kind of horror because even though we know the xenomorph is an alien (and let's not forget the space jockey too), we have no idea what exactly it is or where it's from.
Also the element of fighting an indescribable force, where humans do everything they can but they are doomed to fail either way and die horribly or even if they save someone, they pay a price of madness is Lovecraftian in my opinion!
Incredible reading of the game I hadn’t considered. Truly touching argument about how important personal analysis is when it comes to art. As a Scottish person, I give you a 6 out 10 on the accent replication. Better than most. More importantly: as a Scot, the game jumps out to me as a continuous meta narrative of the “Scottish story”. Not the beginning but definitely one of the most honest moments of our time in media was Trainspotting where our POV character and protagonist waxes about how imbecilic Scottish pride is. Because we’re all losers. We lost to the English and had our identity and gods stripped from us. SWtD has several political moments talking about how upper powers, sometimes the English, are going to keep taking from us. Such as the oil we find. Something that did actually happen after the attempted Scottish referendum which the English Gov. and Media worked very hard to dissuade from happening. The moment it failed, the English Gov. claimed a lot of oil that Scotland had found and has proceeded to make further attempts at a referendum actively harder to pursue because of a worsening climate that could have been offset by that oil. I find it almost inconceivable that a game could mention the possibility of this happening when, to a Scot, it is well within the current cultural zeitgeist. I have to believe they knew what they were doing. As a culture we strive to remain who we are despite knowing we answer to a government that views us as inferior. Absolutely zero hatred here to English people btw, it’s only the people in power that continue to be an issue. Just like in SWtD, our best friend is English, the boss is Scottish and it is through wanting to appease “the man” that penny pinching has been employed. Penny pinching is also an incredible pervasive stereotype about Scottish people, especially back in the 70s. What also strikes me as personally hurtful, the writing during the scenes with your best friend: that forced trying to keep everything light and jovial while talking about something serious? That is a very prominent and often criticized way for, particularly, Scottish males to talk to each other. Candid we are but genuine we struggle with. The nervous laughter, the jokes, only opening up once he’s dead…I’m not saying these aren’t universal, they exist in all cultures, but it captures the Scottish experience from that perspective incredibly accurately. The swearing in particular is uncannily life like and does what no other media has before it, it makes me homesick. What I would give to share a drink with you pal. I could teach you some Scottish words and phrases. Help you on that accent. We could easily get that up to a 7/10.
Thank you for writing this. A touching,at times heartbreaking and informative comment that taught me so much and left me with a smile. I hope that things improve for Scotland and the Scottish, and all the best for you, stranger.
43:00 I love this stuff too, and I feel angry at a piece of art when they try to hold your hand and tell you everything you're supposed to feel like you're a child. BUT, holy SHIT it feels like so many movies, stories, etc realized that they could use this so they didn't have to tell a story at all lol🙃 it's just as frustrating when you're TRYING to engage with something then realize "nah, this is just bad and I'm doing all the work" 🤣 This game is badass, I'm not talking about the Chinese Room. "You just don't get it" can just mean that there was nothing there to get
I hadn't heard about the Chinese Room until they were tapped to make Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2. What they have shown us so far made me hesitant. Until I saw this and their announcement that they would be taking a bit more time to work on it. They clearly know how to make a haunting narrative with great atmosphere and characters and that is what is most important.
I like TCR's games, but I'm still hesitant about their V:tM-B2. Yes, they're great at narrative, but Bloodlines is an RPG with roots in the tabletop, and an immersive sim. Very different beast. If they were making just a standalone V:tM game, I'd be incredibly excited. But a sequel to Bloodlines? I don't know about that.
Gods above Ragnar! Your story of your friend moved this silly old fool to tears, I've smoked all my adult life (and quite a bit of my teenage years too) and have had to accept I'll be gone sooner rather than later, strangely I'm not that bothered about it. I haven't lived a great life, haven't influenced the world, but I've always been around for friends and loved ones. I love this world and all the beauty of it and I find it reassuring to believe that when I die I will be part of the world still, maybe only as fertiliser for a tree but..... Anyway, thank you again for this video.
hearing my own accent featured in a game and it's not treated as a joke fills me with so much joy and never realised until after that the VA for Caz is the same VA for Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk blew my mind learning that
I had NO idea where this essay was going to go. Lately, I've been struggling with just the overall idea of human consciousness and why it matters. Being afraid that in the end nothing was ever special or important; really, scared of what the "end" really is. Your analysis really opened the whole thing up. The anecdote of your friend touched my heart and honestly everything feels okay now. "We never stood a chance" is only a metaphor for the instinctual painful struggle against the inevitable, I understand that now. Thank you so soo sososo much.
you mentioned it briefly, but in support of the "you were always dead" theory, that dropping the lighter into the Shape is prompted as "let go". not drop the lighter or anything else, but let go - something that is common to hear in the case of people passing on. i played this game and initially took it at face value but seeing that "let go" prompt in this video in the context you put it on changed the whole experience for me post-experience. rest easy to your friend, if this is the kind of thing that you can put together as one person i cant imagine the kind of world-changing conversations you two would have. :)
"If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, and they're freeing you from the Earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don't worry, okay?" - Jacob's Ladder... calling back to one of your earlier videos that first introduced me to your channel.
Amnesia: AMFP definitely needs more analysis of it. Not only to help solidify it as a worthy entry in the Amnesia series but also as its own standalone horror title. If you ever do a vid on it you can definitely count on me watching it.
Honest review: As someone who has never played a game from The Chinese Room, this game was very different for me. I love horror games, ones where you can’t defend yourself either such as the Outlast series, so this seemed like a no brainer. In terms of atmosphere, level design, and voice acting, I thought the game was amazing. The game play has both ups and downs. At times it feels like you’re not really doing anything and at other times it can be quite fun and daring. Pretty short, but it’s quite alive if that makes sense. I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5, but again that’s someone who is coming in never playing anything from TCR, so if you like this kind of stuff it’s a must play for sure
I just spent the whole day at work thinking about this game after playing it last night and this is the first thing I see when getting home 10/10 perfect
When going up the stairs to the roof (where Roy is), I noticed that if you look out the window you can see an infinite reflection of the same window stretching out forever. Like two mirrors reflecting off each other. That was when I started suspecting Caz's experiences aren't real
Shit RagnarRox, that Dear-Esther anecdote hit a note with me. I loved Still Wakes the Deep, but I love Dear Esther too, and had a very similar association with that final sequence that your friend Hartmut described. I had advanced cancer as a kid. Really beat the odds by surviving, but had a few close calls. The memories from that time are mostly distorted and frightening, but I remember this strange lucid reoccuring dream where I'm falling, but in slow-motion and in reverse. I float up and away, and know deep-down in that strange "dream-logic" that if I let myself float up, it means accepting that I won't ever return to that life I'm leaving behind. But I can't stop the floating, until I wake up in a cold sweat. That stupid Dear Ester sequence put me in tears for reliving that, but in reverse. I love that Hartmut described it as peaceful. To me, that dream was peaceful too, but I wasn't ready to go as a kid. In the end, I hope we all find peace with whatever comes; be it falling, floating or flying. May it be peaceful and RIP to your friend.
None of us came INTO this world, but we are instead OF this world is the deepest idea to come from a video game video I've heard in forever. I had to stop what I was doing and think on it. Great stuff.
The way at 101:20 your voice caught on the word "heart". . . When my mother passed away in 2015, I had a hand on her chest. I felt the last beat she gave this world. I still have trouble just saying the word "heart." I feel you, Ragnar.
How dare you I didn’t click on this video just to be confronted head on with my existential dread thank you (Thank you, now I can start to try and ease it a little)
The letter from Suze at the beginning compared to the letter at the end is actually driving me crazy. The developers have made a beautiful, gut wrenching, masterpiece of a game. Bravo to the developers, voice actors, and everyone else who helped.
That last player prompt we get could've easily been called something else. "Release", "Drop", or even not given a name at all, because the player knows there's only one thing to do in that situation, lit lighter held so loosely in Caz's hand after "We never had a chance". But The Chinese Room decided to give that prompt a name, and called it "Let Go". Not like a command or a simple action, but a call to action. You are prompted to Let Go. I still think about that detail a lot.
I can't even be mad at you for calling me out because I did see the thumbnail and think "Yo holy shit, Ragnar made a Still Wakes the Deep vid, let's fucking goooooooo" Defenless horror games spike my anxiety way too hard just launching them so I can never play them myself. It's why I played SOMA only when they patched in the non-agressive mod as a feature, and why I only play Resident Evil and Silent Hill 2 horror games wise. Well, plus the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Plasma Cutter only run I did of Dead Space 2. I need to be able to panic shoot the spooky thing to calm myself.
I LOVE the horror genre. Unfortunately, I also have awful anxiety and I find playing horror games impossible. With that in mind, I'd like to thank you for your work. Your channel's one of my favourites because of the depth and level of commentary, and because I get to enjoy all of these fabulous works in a way that doesn't leave me feeling wretched and traumatised.
Oh, *same.* There is a very limited sliver of horror content I can actually consume. In spite of that (or perhaps because of it), I find the genre absolutely fascinating. Hearing or reading other people’s analysis is often the only way I’m going to get to experience the stories & themes. Plus, as a writer myself, I really *really* want to study the techniques that go into well made horror, because horror’s ability to toy with the audience’s emotions is arguably even more important than almost any other genre (especially when you take into account the meta-level, where the audience is constantly adapting to the new tropes, tools, & works, forcing the artists to be constantly moving the goalposts & upping their game.) Studying horror is one of the best learning tools as a creative, but as a person I can’t do it firsthand; those techniques are just too effective on me! No, I can’t play these games. No, I can’t watch these movies. No, I can’t finish these books, or comics, or shows. Yes, *please* tell me more!
Thank you for this video. Through telling the story of your dear friend, you've dispersed little fragments of who he was and whatthe two of you experienced to all of us viewers. Just as this game became a unique experience unto you, the story you've shared will take unique form within the rest of us in myriad and unfathomable ways -- just as the people and objects took on new life in "the shape." And also thank you so much for sharing your model of existence and life. I'm sure you must have hesitated before decided going that deep, but I've been a viewer for years now and it brings me great satisfaction to know that a creator that I respect carries a near-identical interpretation of the beautiful entropic dance we find ourselves in. Will be joining your Patreon!
I like to think that the words the taken co-workers repeat were their last thoughts before the incident. Cas knows this, because he knows them. They were like a family, all of them. Cas' last thoughts once the rig explodes were probably about his family, how he left them to run away to the same rig where he would die. That's what i think the epilogue was, his last thoughts before he couldn't think anymore. I enjoyed this retrospective, a wonderful essay about this terrifyingly amazing game. My favorite types of media have to be ones that let you find the pieces of what you believe it to be, and it means something different for everyone.
if you read the terminal at the start of the game it explains what happens after cas falls into the water. in exchange for protecting him and preserving his life, his guardian force has to consume his long term memories which is why everyone around him starts changing to reflect the specific tropes and characteristics he's mentally assigned them
It's great finally seeing TCR get their flowers. I've loved most of their games even if they have mostly been walking sims. Their writing so often seems effortlessly profound (to me). Absolutely adore their Amnesia sequel, and EGTTR is one of my all time favorites. I also, can never mention them without bringing up Jessica Curry's amazing scores within their games.
I would love a long form video on Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Ever since Jacob Geller touched on it (and its sound design) in his Why Do Horror Games Sound So Beautiful? video, I've been wanting a nuanced exploration of the game (and how Incredibly Sad it is lol).
The ending makes me think of Indika's ending, where it initially feels disappointing but I immediately have a feeling of something profound being told to me that I need to meditate on.
I fall under category nr. 3. I usually never played the games you analyzed, but I love the depths and the spiritual levels your deep dives reach. These games also tick a box as a lover of weird fiction. Where stories often don't have no understandable ending. They get stuck in your mind trying to get so some conclusion but often you don't find one. I thrive on things like that. It what I loved about Dear Esther. With felt to me like reading a weird fiction story, mixed with strange poetry and lucid dreaming.
There's a cool systemic horror reading one could make out of a game where the main character, attempting to escape one aspect of the capitalist system, finds himself isolated in another. Where trying to make a home amid an engine of profit falls apart as infinitely larger forces seek to crowd out the human in favor of their own, incompatible designs, not because of malice, but simply disinterest. Caz spends the entire game fleeing from things that, at best, do not care if he lives, but will steamroll him for their own benefit in an instant, only to find at the end that true escape was always impossible, that the things he cares about have either already been subsumed by these systemic forces or are waiting victims for it back home, and chooses to literally burn out the remainder of his life to protect the latter as best he can. And even then he'll never know if it was enough. It probably won't be: they never had a chance. Anyway, loved watching your reading of things, super cool to see another perspective from someone willing to engage with the thematic layers of this stuff.
i always loved the menacing industrial coziness and marooned claustrophobic confinement of the oil rig location. there was this miniseries not long ago that ticked a lot of the same boxes this game seems to cover as well.
I always assumed the helicopter pilot was fighting with the Mr.petty-boss-man over the controls of the helicopter and that’s why it crashed. Great video as always RagnarRox! I really appreciate your insights
I finished the game and for me it was a little bit lackluster overall. It had some incredibly strong moments like the early scene with the washing machine or the first real stealth section outside... but other than that it was very repetitive. They could have gone nuts with the cosmic body horror but they kinda stayed within the same lane for the most part and you encountered the outside-monster multiple times, just with different people. But the biggest disappointment was the big bad. When I think of Lovecraft, I do think of the abstract, but I still like a little bit more of something sentient with tentacles. The monster in this game is abstract to a point where it's not even fun anymore. In a game like this, which is a fairly short game for 40 bucks... the experience needs to be there. And the experience in this game, for me, was really mostly a small handful of great scenes. The first section with the washing machine is IMO the absolutely best moment in the entire game. If that would have been just the beginning and it got more and more cinematic from there, it would have been insane. In hindsight I wish 'Still Wakes The Deep' would have been a Lovecraftian movie. Then the ideas they had in mind would have been more frequent / more impactful and it wouldn't have been dragged down by walking and repairing sections in between. Still a decent game. Just slightly overpriced. For the same amount of money you could buy Bloodborne which is a stronger Cosmic Horror experience overall.
i loved finding this. a creator i havent seen yet making a pretentious philosophical video essay thats over an hour long about a video game ive never heard of. not even 10 minutes in and i know im about to binge your channel though. these videos are the ones that stay in my brain the longest
What I took away after finishing the game was that the Horror Game aspect was really just a wrapper to tell a very typical Chinese Room-ian drama. If you strip away the Horror Game you're left with an introspective story not much unlike those of 'Dear Esther' or 'Everybody Went to the Rapture'. And that's pretty much why I loved it. To me the 'shape' never needed explaining for that very reason. It never felt like the focal point, rather a vessel to lure people into experiencing a beautiful heartwrenching story that they never would have were it a typical 'Chinese Room' "Walking Simulator". And I also wanted to say thank you for a video that gave me a deeper appreciation for a game I already loved to bits. But as I'm not much of a re-player it is nice when someone else does the deep digging and I get to experience the deeper interpretations vicariously.
i can't wait to get stuck into this video everyone talks about the voice acting in this game and as another Scot, i genuinely think Still Wakes the Deep not only had some of the best Scottish voice acting, but some of the best voice acting i've heard in a video game full stop. Not only that but despite being offshore you truly FEEL the depth of culture that went into this game, all the way down to the flashback scenes being set in what looks like a detached Glasgow council house bedroom. An absolute masterpiece of immersion. i had to say all that BEFORE i got started on the video! can't wait to hear what RagnarRox has to say about it, he's one of my favourite game retrospective essayists
I(American) lived near Glasgow for a few years in the 90s and it’s absolutely wild to hear how much Caz sounds like an old Scottish roommate of mine, Franny. They nailed it.
@RagnarRoxShow I do not normally comment at all on videos. I have worked on this game. I want to thank you for the exceptionally brilliant analysis you made.
I'm writing as you're talking about your friend, holding back a few tears. I hate that people try to gatekeep what games are, it's almost as if they're trying to invalidate what these games make people feel. I usually don't like it when stories are ambigous for the sake of it, but I love stories that have this ambiguity in mind as they're being written. It's fun to talk about, fun to discuss, it means something to someone and it's made me think about things I had literally never thought of in my entire life before. Sharing these points of view, these theories, and seeing how they stack up alongside others is half the reason I watch videos like these in the first place, half the reason I like games as an artform. One thing I did not expect was to be reminded of the Final Fantasy 8 Squall is dead theory. I don't remember if you've mentioned it before, but if you haven't, I think you'd at least find it fun to think about.
Still Wakes the Deep is a rare case where I prefer to discard the more cerebral interpretations and go with the literal, and there's a specific reason for that. I feel like 'working class horror' is somewhat under-explored, not sure how to explain it, but something about the narrative of 'greedy corporation cut corners and bootlicker supervisor drilled in unsafe places, and now we woke something we shouldn't have, and the bosses are first to try and jump ship' just hits right for me. It feels tactile, with Caz jerry-rigging fuses, struggling with rusted safety pins, breaking shitty padlocks with a screwdriver, and kicking the 'safety' door to open it, and it feels relevant to the struggle workers in unsafe conditions like oil rigs or coal mines go through even without eldritch monsters present. Purgatory, dreams, etc., less so. *More importantly though*, I am extremely incredibly intensely excited about the potential Amnesia retrospective! I adore Amnesia, even the much-maligned Machine for Pigs.
About your part about lovecraft, while I get your critisism of the over-inflationary use of the term "lovecraftian", I have to say that the core of the game's story, your interpretation aside, the Shape morphing it's environment to something resembling itself and all that, is literally the story "The Colour From Outer Space" by H.P. Lovecraft, therefore calling the story lovecraftian is not one of those over-inflationary uses, but merely calling a direct reference
Get 4 months extra on a 2 year plan here: nordvpn.com/ragnar. It’s risk free with Nord’s 30 day money-back guarantee!
I am begging you to properly research companies before endorsing them
One day you'll promote "bEtTeR hElP" and have absolutely no idea you're doing way more harm than good.
It's particularly ironic, considering I spotted this when I was about to type a comment asking about his (admittedly brief and informal) explanation of the "oil rig" setting. His script suggests that these concepts (technology and almost suicidal corporate greed) are inextricably linked, but his actions in advertising Nord VPN (Or as I like to call them, "Nobody Online Really Demands VPNs") suggest that his personal politics are considerably more nuanced.
I'm sure we'd all love to know, RagnarRox, in your own personal opinion, what is the absolute best thing conceivable that humanity could do with our technology, going forward, assuming we could somehow manage to stop doing the stupidest possible thing 100% of the time?
@@TheLlamaFarmer3 In his defense, though, can you think of literally any other way to fund video essays this "so good it's unmarketable?" He somehow made it to 300k subs doing this content in this style on this platform during this economy as a member of this species. The odds were stacked against him. Yet he didn't fizzle out in his first year. I don't question his actions, only his ideals.
Such a beautiful story about you and your friend. Thank you so much for sharing it. For that story I am subscribing. This was a great video by itself. Don’t get me wrong. But… so moved…
Ah yes Still Wakes The Deep. Or as i call it, Osha Violation Simulator.
I laughed way harder than I should have when I saw the sign that said 5 out of the 6 lifeboats were inoperable before anything kicked off and the several connecting passages/stairways filled with unsecured cargo right next to signs reminding you not to to exactly that. 🤣
@@Momo_Minomo "Please keep this doorway clear"
*[proceeds to be covered in videogame barrier garbage such as barrels and crates]*
@@Boomblox5896 Truly Rennick is a paragon protector of worker's rights and safety!🤣
@@Momo_Minomo No wonder why Trots was so vocal about unionisation as clearly if they did nothing something horrific was going to happen. Too bad it did & he didn't live long enough to say he told them so.
It really was mindblowing to play as someone who's entire existence has been in Glasgow. Extra cool to see that one of the achievements required me to play the entire game in Scots Gaelich
I miss Glasgow. I'm jealous you get to live there.
@WobblesandBean haste ye back! There's a lot of pessimism around this city but I'm in love with the whole place. Always finds new ways to surprise me.
@@dannybuchanan3661that’s capital cities for ya, always a love-hate relationship.
Yea I feel the same as a Northern Irish man I love hearing my wee accent in the video games. To bad I've only heard it twice & one of those examples was because of Liam Neeson as yer da in Fallout 3 so it doesnae count & the other was O'Connor in this wee game. We need more games with authentic British & Irish accents as its really boring hearing the same American & Southern English accents in everything. Too few games have Scottish, Welsh, Irish & Northern Irish accents. But then again not many games place themselves in these wee places.
I don't know if you noticed this at the end of the game. When Caz is in the bedroom about to leave, there are two pictures against the wall. One of them looks like that ending spiral where Caz is swimming towards the light, and a second one depicts an angel with ribbon-like clothes, that someone could say are similar to the ribbons of The Shape.
I would love to see a deep dive on Amnesia especially with the machine for pigs! I've always just heard people saying how bad it was and I wondered if that was truly the case or if there were meanings just not grasped then since everyone was so high with the dark descent still.
Also, I really love this game. Everyone is so written well and it's just gorgeous. That ending was always nice. It felt satisfying for some reason.
I would contest your view on cronenberg in one small way. His work doesn't as much feature changes in the body effecting changes in the self, the identity and the mind. But I would propose that instead, the main ethos is that changes in the body are a manifestation, an externalization, of crises or trauma within the identity. The body horror is more, what if our bodies reflected our inner selves and our emotional conflicts about our own identities, in the same way that the face changes to reflect the emotions inside the head or the heart beats faster or slower as a reflection of our state of mind. At least, that's what I would argue is the underlying logic of his earlier body-horror work (if it sounds like a very literal translation of the premise of The Brood, that's for good reason - all of his early work basically states this logic outright in some way, from Shivers's 'everything is erotic' speech to The Fly's 'I am a fly that dreamed he was a man' and so on.). It's a... simplistic read, I'll admit, I'm definitely challenging your view with a somewhat more reductive one of my own, but I just really find the "bodily transfiguration as a way of making internal turmoil visible, as an extension of the broader filmic goal of using only vision and sound to somehow communicate internal, wordless, subjective emotion" idea utterly fascinating.
While I haven’t personally played a machine for pigs, I was introduced to it on a video talking about music in horror games and I was shown a song called “Mandus” along with a speech given to the player by a machine that begs the player not to turn it off. Having never experienced this game and only being told the premise, hearing by the speech and music along with knowing what is eventually to come in the story’s timeline was an absolute gut wrenching moment about the horrors of humanity but also humanity itself and the idea of moving forward. I’m unsure if I really summarized it that well. To me it wasn’t hard to get. I only sat down and meditated on the emotions of the speech and everything that surrounds it.
The video I mentioned being “Why do horror games sound so beautiful?” By Jacob Geller. I recommend it.
Ragnar going galaxy-brain on Machine For Pigs would be yet another mind-blowing philosophical video
I had shower thoughts and wanted to come back to add to a comment I left, but I can't find it 🥲
I'll just continue as if my comment does exist, which I hope it does, because that sucker was long.
On my first watch, when Gregor falls from the helipad, my immediate thought is "that bro is dead". Temperature and current and waves aside, once you pass a certain height, water doesn't break your fall. It may as well be concrete when you hit it hard enough.
As soon as Caz fell in after, I immediately forgot that thought and brushed it off, suspending disbelief. On my second watch, it struck me as significant that it's when he has his first hallucination. Now, putting together my thoughts of the unlikelyhood of survival again... How on earth could anyone have spread word of what happened fast enough to anybody who might be in a position to save Caz? Maybe people who were close enough saw him fall, but there was chaos everywhere. They probably would've been a little distracted.
I accept the afterlife theory as a possibility, or as a valid interpretation, but my thoughts organically theorized a lot on first watch.
I liked to try and take everything literally and at face value, not necessarily because I think that's what it is, but because it's a fun and easy way to think of it. I kept weighing whether it was purely sci-fi or if there was an element of the supernatural. I wanted to heavily weigh on the side of sci-fi and the organism having a psychic or psyonic effect, but one thing I struggled to get by is the glowy rainbow lights when Trots is attacked. But then maybe that could be some alien bs, idk.
My theory I came up with, for assuming the organism is a real and literal thing, is that it's pretty much what happened when primordial soup wound up in a pocket in the earth and it just evolved in isolation for millions of years.... Excuse my surface understanding of oil, but to my knowledge, it's organic organisms that have been broken down my decomposition and pressure... Or something. And maybe the organism evolved into that environment? Or that's what it's been eating up to now? Idk. Just the ideas I've come up with.
Great video. This game was already on my radar, but a solid review from RagnarRox moves up to the top of the list.
Sold me 7 minutes in. I’ll come back after playing the game.
Love from a UrickSaladBar and Vaush fan!
You're thinking too deep.
A masterpiece is considered the top work of that artists' work
Being from Scotland, seeing items around the rig that depict where I live, actual Glasgow culture of the time and hearing recognisable street names and spots of the city, as well as having that real life connection of my dad and late granddad both having worked on the rigs, this game was an utter joy to play and experience! Despite the horror, it was honestly a wonderful homage to Scotland in the 70s and rigging culture which I grew up hearing stories about. So glad you got to experience this game as well and a snippit of our modern culture! Settling down now to watch this
I love Glasgow. I miss the city dearly.
have your dad play this or watch this video, I wonder if he'd give any neat insight on anything that maybe we missed as we're not ex-employees on a rig! if not at the very least he might find it interesting
@@reddie1705 He has actually! Funnily enough watching this reminded me that our protagonist Caz was an electrical engineer at the rig, which is what my dad did as well in his time off-shore. :D
There were some things which weren't accurate such, as the rig that is in the game isn't actually an oil rig but is what is considered a production rig, however since the differences between the two aren't common knowledge it's likely they changed it for simplicity.
Typically as well you wouldn't have many radios on board (like the random ones you find just sitting in the cabins or in the rec. areas), other little details and that added for flavour, layout of the rig being different as well but overall changed for gameplay purposes. There's other little fun details he pointed out as well, but this comment is long enough as is haha.
Otherwise, it's pretty close to real life!
Sorry Lad, the game was Rigged from the start.
hah!
Oil rigged from the start
Ban this guy
@@10THPROPHET Nah man, this warrants a promotion!
+ENRAGED
Really appreciate the read of this game as Cronenbergian.
Lovecraft never had an eye for human behavior, while Cronenberg is all about the icky parts of human nature.
David Cronenberg protagonists are often characterized as somehow "incomplete" or "inadequate" in some way, a deeply flawed and too-passive person.
Caz is a great Cronenbergian main character, because despite trying to get everything right, you can just feel he's doomed.
Agreed. Lovecraft's works are always anti-human, a likely reflection of how poorly he understood others and also often actively refused doing so. His characters are always separate from the environments they're in, and they actively avoid being understandable by others. I also think that's why Bloodborne is such an amazing piece of Lovecraftian horror in essence, because everything in Bloodborne is ultimately about denying what makes humans human. In Bloodborne humans are not even comparable to beasts or vermin, as beasts or even vermin are still superior lifeforms to humans because they have *power* whereas humans do not. In Lovecraft's works, humans are always at the bottom of the food chain. Even being an animal is preferable because then one would at least not be subject to the awareness of one's own inferiority.
@@Kamishi845 Bloodborne mentioned lets go. But in all seriousness Bloodborne is, in my opinion, the best depiction of Lovecraftian horror in gaming. Humanity is utterly insignificant in the face of the Great Ones, and all of the diferent factions (Mensis, the Choir, the Healing Church) are trying to shed their humanity and ascend. Even the "best" ending for the Hunter is the one where they ascend to be and infant Great One.
Lovecraft's Cthulhu mythos does have some aspects of human behavior, mainly with the dreamlands. Other than that Lovecraft's addition of any aspects of human nature/psychology were incredibly biased by his own experiences rather than any facsimile of psychological study of his day. His racism and xenophobia are apparent in his writing, especially with old ones like Shub Niggurath, being an outer being literally named "Mother of a thousand young" and those young being capable of consuming humanity.
I've never heard of this term before until now and it absolutely fits this. I love it. And I think I'm fascinated with characters that are equipped with that blight.
He is one of my favorite directors ever.
I think the best part of the game is that instead of the prompt saying "throw" it says "let go" when you burn up the place with the lighter. Truly feels both literal and poetic. Let go of your earthly form, let go of your connections to the people, let go of your past and let go of the lighter.
Let go of the life that was already lost since the beginning. It's amazing that they transformed this tragic scene into something brave and humane. They are hopeless at the whole event, but they are also victorious in fighting until the very last minute against something so vast and beyond their comprehension. It's very classic depiction of the spark of humanity. So rare to see in horror games these days.
I love how this grim game about individual, personal and social responsibility also has trophies for dying in the stupidest and most gruesome ways that the player will almost certainly have to go out of their way to experience.
"Not so good with the Leccy" got me cracked up but unfortunately I didn't go for it.
I love how Caz is always running. His song he chose is Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen. And at the end, when Finlay is saying this thing will spread to the mainland. Think of your children. In that moment? He decides to stop running and blow it all to shit, was my favourite scene.
I genuinely wonder if the devs were inspired by Battle Royale in that regard. In the novel Born to Run is central to Shuuya and the story and is a constant theme that represents so much more than just a desire to escape. It’s something you almost never see brought up because most people have never read the novel but a lot of game developers have mentioned being fans of the novel specifically.
I love studios that allow the players to interpret the material however they choose and offer endings that resonate differently with different people, with no clear ‘canon’ outcome. My love of that definitely started with Silent Hill in the early 2000s.
honey wake up, Ragnar just released a lengthy video essay which he pretentiously over analyze a philosophical horror game that i'll never play for myself and i'm all here for the infodump
In all seriousness though, i love how you analyze art, but i play games to feel some sense of power and control. If i wanted to feel scared that at any moment i could be violated by an unfathomable horror that takes over my body and talks with my mouth while taking cues from my memories. Deal with an overbearing selfish boss and unsafe work environment, get no money and be left alone while everyone i know disappears or becomes possessed by this horror... i'd walk outside and deal with society.
Let's Goooooo!
Honey, wake up, Ragnar is cooking
babe wake up smigleson made a very original joke
LET'S GOOOOOOOOOOO
yes I'm late to the party retail is draining
As a native of the UK, I can confidently say this is the most realistic Scottish dialogue I've ever heard in a video game.
I struggled to understand wtf anyone was saying through the whole game loll
100% agree. I get what they are sayin as an adult, but heavy Scottish accents were unintelligible to me as a kid. And I’m English. We’re on the same heckin island : )
It is great seeing this sentiment repeated as it does add a layer of authentic virtual tourism to the game since I have never been to the UK
I *loved* hearing the authentic accents, and Shaun Dooley’s voice acting too (I’m from Manchester, England)!
Needed a few more utterances of “cunt” tbh
They litteraly drilled into a great old one due to budget cuts and ignored regulations.
Its like they speed ran capatalism..
I’m in my 30s (rapidly approaching 40) and if you lined up every two-bit manager that I’ve worked under since I was a teenager…I know all of them would’ve commanded me to drill into an Eldritch horror if it made them an extra two pence of profit 😅
ehh...i do somewhat dislike the whole dying dream / purgatory explanation. Not because it doesn't fit here, but because it ALWAYS fits. That's why it's such a tired trope, you can argue for any fictional story to be like that. Personally i prefer to take things at face value where there is no reason why i shouldn't. As for the escape routes all failing, i see that as the companies penny-pinching biting everyone in the ass, just to show that even against a supernatural horror it is ultimately because of humans that the worst things happen. The foreman's unwillingness to listen to his crew is what frees the monster in the first place, the company bigwigs not caring about their workers while there's a goldrush going on means no money spent on safety equipment. Of course, the monster itself is at its most dangerous when it's coming at us in the form of our former coworkers. It's only one possible interpretation, but i like it.
The one thing i have to shoulder in on hard is a small point: You claim the monster has no malice in it's actions. But first, how the hell can you know that? if it really is some form of hivemind, it's smart enough for morals and should be judged accordingly. And secondly, why the hell would that matter? If an animal tries to eat you, it doesn't act out of malice either. That doesn't mean you let it, you either try to get away or punch it in the face.
agree! every walking horror game can be a dying dream if you look hard enough, but otherwise a really good essay
Big agree!
To that I say.. what says that your life isn't already a dying dream?
Exactly! The "it was all just a dream" theory is widely mocked for a reason.
And you're right about the animals comparison, except it can go even further. Whether or not the thing trying to kill you is irrelevant to how you feel about it. An earthquake doesn't even have a reason to kill you, a tiger wants to eat you, and a human might have a reason to kill you. An eldritch entity could fit into any of these categories, but it doesn't matter.
At the start of Dear Esther, you can jump in the water. If you dive, you will hear the heartbeat of a life support machine. The protag is in the hospital, and probably dying. The game is him working through his mental baggage, until at the end, he finally reaches his personal Damascus and... I don't know. I think he finally dies. Or maybe he wakes up from his coma. So, thematically, I had a very similar interpretation to this, I guess.
It's been a decade since the game came out, and I never knew that.
....Also aren't you playing as Esther herself? I dunno why, I just thought given the ending I always felt like I was her when I played it.
@@WobblesandBean "No conclusions or interpretations are offered, confirmed or denied on purpose. You're incentivized to find your own meaning"
It was nice of the developers to give players a good way to decide if they want translated subs or not by throwing possibly the single most Scottish two-minute-chat in the history of the English language at you right out the gate when you first run in to Finley.
Honestly, the voice acting in this game beats so many you'd find in Triple A games, including BG3. The slang and dialogue is so natural that it just flows.
100%
Takes it to the next level and makes it truly believable.
The game showed me once again how bad 99% of the voice acting in games is.
I did not expect to get this emotional when I clicked this video. RIP to your friend. 😢
After A machine for pigs i gotta say they nailed their style. This is the best kind of walking simulator where the enviroment and the people drives you forward and wanting more!
Like, if a game has to be a walking simulator, it should be like this.
Another Scottish resident here, the game is beautifully realised and feels so bleakly authentic to my own family’s odd idiosyncrasies from the North Sea rigs, bravo for covering this one ❤
This video almost instantly reminded me of your Pathologic videos. Time to go watch 'em again! :)
It is amusing to imagine a boardroom of C level execs of this company a couple of years later, discussing the “Lovecraftian Horrors/Eldrich Beasts” bullet point on a slide titled “Risk Assessment”
For some reason, spoilers don't affect me when it comes to games. I went in to one game knowing about a simple phrase that at the end takes on enormous importance. The first time I heard it, I nearly freaked out: What? THIS soon? Changed my mind completely. Now I really want all of the Chinese Room games, they all sound like my kind of entertainment (if that is the right word for gaming).
BioShock?
Would you kindly elaborate? 😊
@@DarkDragon1889 Correct.
Always struggled with fear of death, my own mortality and that of those I love, especially after my mother passed away unexpectedly when I was 16. I don’t think I’m ready yet to let go of the uncomfortable and terrifying parts of the uncomfortable and terrifying truth of death. But this video definitely helped me to find a little more acceptance of it, despite how much I cried while watching it. I may have never played this game, but your video has impacted me all the same. Thank you for the analysis and the lovely writing, and for the story of your friend.
Thank you for sharing this, wish you all the best on your path. It takes time.
I'm certain someone has always had this realization, but from the moment you started talking about "the taboo" - the dichotomy of actively, willfully holding on and struggling versus the bliss and beauty of accepting Entropy's inevitability... my head just immediately flashed to that iconic scene in Jacob's Ladder.
"If you're frightened of dying and you're holding on, these are devils tearing your life away... But if you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, freeing you from earth..."
Anyway, thank you for this video, and for correctly pointing out not only how Cronenbergian SWTD is, but how thematically so much of Cronenberg's filmography is about that struggle with the self, the surroundings, and where identity falls inextricably between them.
When I hear the term "Lovecraftian" there are two extremely different things it can mean. The first is that it uses components and iconography from Lovecraft's universe. Cthulu Saves Santa is Lovecraftian in that way. The second is that it embodies the cosmic nihilism and fear of both the unknown and of finding out cosmic truths so huge and incomprehensible that it breaks people's minds. Some fiction does both, but describing a piece of media which does the second without the first can still be called Lovecraftian.
True, this floor is made of floor
What did he name his cat?
@@loganslimcrocks7622 named him after you 🤣
@@loganslimcrocks7622 He was openly racist, just like everybody in the 1920s and a good majority of people today. What's your point?
last sentence makes no sense
It's a detail, but the alien creature in The Thing doesn't possess people, it kill them and then make copies of them.
Is that specifically said? I always thought it was meant to be ambiguous, kind of a body horror where you don't know if it's really the person being controlled with your mind trapped inside, or just the Thing duplicating your form.
@@Here_is_Waldo I don’t know man most of the people who get copied in the thing look pretty dead to me…
It çonsumes and absorbs then and uses the DNA and hacks behavioural recordings retained on those cells and uses them as facsimilies to spread it's influence. This only works of course until they split into self-contained entities who are concerned with their sole survival mirroring of course humanity it's self. The Thing is the Primordial manifestation of humanity. Reacting and responding on raw chaotic instinct. It may even be our creator and destroyer.
In a way, yes, it does possess people. If one drop of it ends up inside you, it starts to spread while resembling your own cells. Eventually, more and more of your body starts be ”the thing”, which could be seen as possessing or eating you from the inside.
I like the themes of accepting death, but i think there's also something to be said for how it was the efforts of the crew aren't futile. It's only because the rig stayed up this long that it could become their final weapon and ultimately save the mainland. The courage Caz needs to let go is first cultivated in his attempts to face the shape and keep the rig afloat - to hold on. The crew never had a chance and yet everything they did along the way mattered (I think Caz is clinging to similar thoughts when he cries out "I loved this big man!" into the void when he finds Roy). Caz lives for his family before he dies for them and the game celebrates both. Still wakes the deep, and still on we plow.
Gosh... I'm already a big fan of Still Wakes the Deep, but linking it to Absurdism? Fuuuuck man, now I can see the parallels it has with Albert Camus' works.
Your point about the The Shape being Death and how it just *is* without any morals beyond the crew's need to survive it - and how Caz in tge end accepts that they never had a chance - remunds me so so much about The Stranger's final scene where the protagonist realizes "the gentle indifference of the universe" as he's about to be executed.
But in terms of tone? About choosing to hold on regardless of the madness surrounding Caz? *That* was peak The Plague themes. When all hell breaks loose and nothing makes sense anymore, holding on to to what you believe when it really means nothing is worth it - even if it ends in heartbreak.
Another peak essay, Ragnar. Thanks a lot for it 👋
EDIT: FUCK I wrote this before the goddamn Sisyphus mention I *knew* this vid has Camus' soul sewed into it lmao
Dammit Ragnar, posting one of your longest videos minutes before I head to bed! I guess I be staying up late tonight!
Wish you a good night in roughly 1.5 hours!
A lot of criticism for modern day media is due to lack of media literacy. People aren't taught how to explore and deconstruct themes anymore. Whether it be in video games, TV show,s movies, heck even booktok (book tiktok) is filled with people labeling books as unreadable because they don't understand how to look for the authors intentions or make connections. But I also think that's why deep dive videos like this and many others are becoming popular on video sharing platforms People want to learn which I'm glad to see, just not enough lol
When people say that something is Lovecraftian, it's not just because of the whole 'elder gods and tentacles, all hope is lost' they're talking about. They're also referring to the fear of the unknown horror element. Not knowing what the feature creature is, its motive, and where it's from, creates that horror tension than knowing everything about it. The first Alien movie as an example of this kind of horror because even though we know the xenomorph is an alien (and let's not forget the space jockey too), we have no idea what exactly it is or where it's from.
Also the element of fighting an indescribable force, where humans do everything they can but they are doomed to fail either way and die horribly or even if they save someone, they pay a price of madness is Lovecraftian in my opinion!
Some games and movies use it carelessly, I’ve heard lovecraftian so often it really has lost its meaning
Dang Ragna...thanks for taking the time to make this. And thanks for sharing part of your friends life with us
Incredible reading of the game I hadn’t considered. Truly touching argument about how important personal analysis is when it comes to art.
As a Scottish person, I give you a 6 out 10 on the accent replication. Better than most.
More importantly: as a Scot, the game jumps out to me as a continuous meta narrative of the “Scottish story”. Not the beginning but definitely one of the most honest moments of our time in media was Trainspotting where our POV character and protagonist waxes about how imbecilic Scottish pride is. Because we’re all losers. We lost to the English and had our identity and gods stripped from us. SWtD has several political moments talking about how upper powers, sometimes the English, are going to keep taking from us. Such as the oil we find. Something that did actually happen after the attempted Scottish referendum which the English Gov. and Media worked very hard to dissuade from happening. The moment it failed, the English Gov. claimed a lot of oil that Scotland had found and has proceeded to make further attempts at a referendum actively harder to pursue because of a worsening climate that could have been offset by that oil. I find it almost inconceivable that a game could mention the possibility of this happening when, to a Scot, it is well within the current cultural zeitgeist. I have to believe they knew what they were doing.
As a culture we strive to remain who we are despite knowing we answer to a government that views us as inferior. Absolutely zero hatred here to English people btw, it’s only the people in power that continue to be an issue. Just like in SWtD, our best friend is English, the boss is Scottish and it is through wanting to appease “the man” that penny pinching has been employed.
Penny pinching is also an incredible pervasive stereotype about Scottish people, especially back in the 70s.
What also strikes me as personally hurtful, the writing during the scenes with your best friend: that forced trying to keep everything light and jovial while talking about something serious? That is a very prominent and often criticized way for, particularly, Scottish males to talk to each other. Candid we are but genuine we struggle with. The nervous laughter, the jokes, only opening up once he’s dead…I’m not saying these aren’t universal, they exist in all cultures, but it captures the Scottish experience from that perspective incredibly accurately. The swearing in particular is uncannily life like and does what no other media has before it, it makes me homesick.
What I would give to share a drink with you pal. I could teach you some Scottish words and phrases. Help you on that accent. We could easily get that up to a 7/10.
Thank you for writing this. A touching,at times heartbreaking and informative comment that taught me so much and left me with a smile. I hope that things improve for Scotland and the Scottish, and all the best for you, stranger.
Happy for you or I'm sorry
Not reading that novel 🍻
@@AC-hj9tv Thank you for either sentiment!
A standalone on Machine for Pigs would be good.
I’d definitely like to see this too!
Seconded.
Your writing always blows me away. Your tangent starting with your lost friend RIP, until you came back to your outro was incredibly moving
43:00 I love this stuff too, and I feel angry at a piece of art when they try to hold your hand and tell you everything you're supposed to feel like you're a child. BUT, holy SHIT it feels like so many movies, stories, etc realized that they could use this so they didn't have to tell a story at all lol🙃 it's just as frustrating when you're TRYING to engage with something then realize "nah, this is just bad and I'm doing all the work" 🤣
This game is badass, I'm not talking about the Chinese Room. "You just don't get it" can just mean that there was nothing there to get
Honestly the scariest thing in SOMA was the concept of being all alone, at the bottom of the ocean, maybe forever trapped in a metal body.
first time seeing a vid like this and going "ya know what chief, I'll be back after I play it"
Solid 7 minute sales pitch for the game
I hadn't heard about the Chinese Room until they were tapped to make Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines 2. What they have shown us so far made me hesitant. Until I saw this and their announcement that they would be taking a bit more time to work on it. They clearly know how to make a haunting narrative with great atmosphere and characters and that is what is most important.
I like TCR's games, but I'm still hesitant about their V:tM-B2. Yes, they're great at narrative, but Bloodlines is an RPG with roots in the tabletop, and an immersive sim. Very different beast. If they were making just a standalone V:tM game, I'd be incredibly excited. But a sequel to Bloodlines? I don't know about that.
As a Scot, I have to do my obligatory.... Ahem.
SCOTLAND FOREVER!
Gods above Ragnar! Your story of your friend moved this silly old fool to tears, I've smoked all my adult life (and quite a bit of my teenage years too) and have had to accept I'll be gone sooner rather than later, strangely I'm not that bothered about it. I haven't lived a great life, haven't influenced the world, but I've always been around for friends and loved ones. I love this world and all the beauty of it and I find it reassuring to believe that when I die I will be part of the world still, maybe only as fertiliser for a tree but.....
Anyway, thank you again for this video.
hearing my own accent featured in a game and it's not treated as a joke fills me with so much joy and never realised until after that the VA for Caz is the same VA for Adam Smasher in Cyberpunk blew my mind learning that
I had NO idea where this essay was going to go. Lately, I've been struggling with just the overall idea of human consciousness and why it matters. Being afraid that in the end nothing was ever special or important; really, scared of what the "end" really is. Your analysis really opened the whole thing up. The anecdote of your friend touched my heart and honestly everything feels okay now. "We never stood a chance" is only a metaphor for the instinctual painful struggle against the inevitable, I understand that now. Thank you so soo sososo much.
you mentioned it briefly, but in support of the "you were always dead" theory, that dropping the lighter into the Shape is prompted as "let go". not drop the lighter or anything else, but let go - something that is common to hear in the case of people passing on. i played this game and initially took it at face value but seeing that "let go" prompt in this video in the context you put it on changed the whole experience for me post-experience.
rest easy to your friend, if this is the kind of thing that you can put together as one person i cant imagine the kind of world-changing conversations you two would have. :)
"If you're frightened of dying, and you're holding on, you'll see devils tearing your life away. If you've made your peace, then the devils are really angels, and they're freeing you from the Earth. It's just a matter of how you look at it, that's all. So don't worry, okay?" - Jacob's Ladder... calling back to one of your earlier videos that first introduced me to your channel.
Amnesia: AMFP definitely needs more analysis of it. Not only to help solidify it as a worthy entry in the Amnesia series but also as its own standalone horror title. If you ever do a vid on it you can definitely count on me watching it.
Honest review: As someone who has never played a game from The Chinese Room, this game was very different for me. I love horror games, ones where you can’t defend yourself either such as the Outlast series, so this seemed like a no brainer. In terms of atmosphere, level design, and voice acting, I thought the game was amazing. The game play has both ups and downs. At times it feels like you’re not really doing anything and at other times it can be quite fun and daring. Pretty short, but it’s quite alive if that makes sense. I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5, but again that’s someone who is coming in never playing anything from TCR, so if you like this kind of stuff it’s a must play for sure
I just spent the whole day at work thinking about this game after playing it last night and this is the first thing I see when getting home 10/10 perfect
My wife is making me buy and play the game before I'm allowed to watch this so I'll be back in time to download plus time to play to finish watching.
Imagine if when you reached the end. The shape asks Caz. "If you had the chance, would you change your fate?"
When going up the stairs to the roof (where Roy is), I noticed that if you look out the window you can see an infinite reflection of the same window stretching out forever. Like two mirrors reflecting off each other. That was when I started suspecting Caz's experiences aren't real
Shit RagnarRox, that Dear-Esther anecdote hit a note with me. I loved Still Wakes the Deep, but I love Dear Esther too, and had a very similar association with that final sequence that your friend Hartmut described. I had advanced cancer as a kid. Really beat the odds by surviving, but had a few close calls. The memories from that time are mostly distorted and frightening, but I remember this strange lucid reoccuring dream where I'm falling, but in slow-motion and in reverse. I float up and away, and know deep-down in that strange "dream-logic" that if I let myself float up, it means accepting that I won't ever return to that life I'm leaving behind. But I can't stop the floating, until I wake up in a cold sweat. That stupid Dear Ester sequence put me in tears for reliving that, but in reverse.
I love that Hartmut described it as peaceful. To me, that dream was peaceful too, but I wasn't ready to go as a kid. In the end, I hope we all find peace with whatever comes; be it falling, floating or flying. May it be peaceful and RIP to your friend.
None of us came INTO this world, but we are instead OF this world is the deepest idea to come from a video game video I've heard in forever. I had to stop what I was doing and think on it. Great stuff.
The way at 101:20 your voice caught on the word "heart". . .
When my mother passed away in 2015, I had a hand on her chest. I felt the last beat she gave this world. I still have trouble just saying the word "heart." I feel you, Ragnar.
How dare you
I didn’t click on this video just to be confronted head on with my existential dread thank you
(Thank you, now I can start to try and ease it a little)
The letter from Suze at the beginning compared to the letter at the end is actually driving me crazy.
The developers have made a beautiful, gut wrenching, masterpiece of a game. Bravo to the developers, voice actors, and everyone else who helped.
That last player prompt we get could've easily been called something else. "Release", "Drop", or even not given a name at all, because the player knows there's only one thing to do in that situation, lit lighter held so loosely in Caz's hand after "We never had a chance".
But The Chinese Room decided to give that prompt a name, and called it "Let Go". Not like a command or a simple action, but a call to action. You are prompted to Let Go. I still think about that detail a lot.
I can't even be mad at you for calling me out because I did see the thumbnail and think "Yo holy shit, Ragnar made a Still Wakes the Deep vid, let's fucking goooooooo"
Defenless horror games spike my anxiety way too hard just launching them so I can never play them myself. It's why I played SOMA only when they patched in the non-agressive mod as a feature, and why I only play Resident Evil and Silent Hill 2 horror games wise. Well, plus the Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Plasma Cutter only run I did of Dead Space 2. I need to be able to panic shoot the spooky thing to calm myself.
That anecdote of yours regarding Dear Esther really got to me. I'm so glad you didn't give up on that essay !
i love how they keep sending caz to do these daunting tasks because they recognize he has the `sauce` (sufficient skills and luck of the devil)
I LOVE the horror genre. Unfortunately, I also have awful anxiety and I find playing horror games impossible. With that in mind, I'd like to thank you for your work. Your channel's one of my favourites because of the depth and level of commentary, and because I get to enjoy all of these fabulous works in a way that doesn't leave me feeling wretched and traumatised.
Oh, *same.* There is a very limited sliver of horror content I can actually consume. In spite of that (or perhaps because of it), I find the genre absolutely fascinating. Hearing or reading other people’s analysis is often the only way I’m going to get to experience the stories & themes. Plus, as a writer myself, I really *really* want to study the techniques that go into well made horror, because horror’s ability to toy with the audience’s emotions is arguably even more important than almost any other genre (especially when you take into account the meta-level, where the audience is constantly adapting to the new tropes, tools, & works, forcing the artists to be constantly moving the goalposts & upping their game.) Studying horror is one of the best learning tools as a creative, but as a person I can’t do it firsthand; those techniques are just too effective on me!
No, I can’t play these games. No, I can’t watch these movies. No, I can’t finish these books, or comics, or shows.
Yes, *please* tell me more!
Thank you for this video. Through telling the story of your dear friend, you've dispersed little fragments of who he was and whatthe two of you experienced to all of us viewers. Just as this game became a unique experience unto you, the story you've shared will take unique form within the rest of us in myriad and unfathomable ways -- just as the people and objects took on new life in "the shape."
And also thank you so much for sharing your model of existence and life. I'm sure you must have hesitated before decided going that deep, but I've been a viewer for years now and it brings me great satisfaction to know that a creator that I respect carries a near-identical interpretation of the beautiful entropic dance we find ourselves in. Will be joining your Patreon!
I'm in the "Let's Goooooooo!" Club
pbs.twimg.com/media/GV_UiV-XYAA6sYW?format=jpg&name=large
I like to think that the words the taken co-workers repeat were their last thoughts before the incident. Cas knows this, because he knows them. They were like a family, all of them. Cas' last thoughts once the rig explodes were probably about his family, how he left them to run away to the same rig where he would die. That's what i think the epilogue was, his last thoughts before he couldn't think anymore.
I enjoyed this retrospective, a wonderful essay about this terrifyingly amazing game. My favorite types of media have to be ones that let you find the pieces of what you believe it to be, and it means something different for everyone.
if you read the terminal at the start of the game it explains what happens after cas falls into the water. in exchange for protecting him and preserving his life, his guardian force has to consume his long term memories which is why everyone around him starts changing to reflect the specific tropes and characteristics he's mentally assigned them
this would have been an 11/10 read if the oil platform had suddenly started moving at some point lol
Gardens & Gunblades
It's great finally seeing TCR get their flowers. I've loved most of their games even if they have mostly been walking sims. Their writing so often seems effortlessly profound (to me). Absolutely adore their Amnesia sequel, and EGTTR is one of my all time favorites. I also, can never mention them without bringing up Jessica Curry's amazing scores within their games.
I would love a long form video on Amnesia: A Machine For Pigs. Ever since Jacob Geller touched on it (and its sound design) in his Why Do Horror Games Sound So Beautiful? video, I've been wanting a nuanced exploration of the game (and how Incredibly Sad it is lol).
The ending makes me think of Indika's ending, where it initially feels disappointing but I immediately have a feeling of something profound being told to me that I need to meditate on.
08:39 oh we're all here for the infodump
I fall under category nr. 3. I usually never played the games you analyzed, but I love the depths and the spiritual levels your deep dives reach.
These games also tick a box as a lover of weird fiction. Where stories often don't have no understandable ending. They get stuck in your mind trying to get so some conclusion but often you don't find one. I thrive on things like that.
It what I loved about Dear Esther. With felt to me like reading a weird fiction story, mixed with strange poetry and lucid dreaming.
There's a cool systemic horror reading one could make out of a game where the main character, attempting to escape one aspect of the capitalist system, finds himself isolated in another. Where trying to make a home amid an engine of profit falls apart as infinitely larger forces seek to crowd out the human in favor of their own, incompatible designs, not because of malice, but simply disinterest. Caz spends the entire game fleeing from things that, at best, do not care if he lives, but will steamroll him for their own benefit in an instant, only to find at the end that true escape was always impossible, that the things he cares about have either already been subsumed by these systemic forces or are waiting victims for it back home, and chooses to literally burn out the remainder of his life to protect the latter as best he can. And even then he'll never know if it was enough. It probably won't be: they never had a chance.
Anyway, loved watching your reading of things, super cool to see another perspective from someone willing to engage with the thematic layers of this stuff.
i always loved the menacing industrial coziness and marooned claustrophobic confinement of the oil rig location. there was this miniseries not long ago that ticked a lot of the same boxes this game seems to cover as well.
I always assumed the helicopter pilot was fighting with the Mr.petty-boss-man over the controls of the helicopter and that’s why it crashed.
Great video as always RagnarRox! I really appreciate your insights
I finished the game and for me it was a little bit lackluster overall. It had some incredibly strong moments like the early scene with the washing machine or the first real stealth section outside... but other than that it was very repetitive. They could have gone nuts with the cosmic body horror but they kinda stayed within the same lane for the most part and you encountered the outside-monster multiple times, just with different people.
But the biggest disappointment was the big bad. When I think of Lovecraft, I do think of the abstract, but I still like a little bit more of something sentient with tentacles. The monster in this game is abstract to a point where it's not even fun anymore.
In a game like this, which is a fairly short game for 40 bucks... the experience needs to be there. And the experience in this game, for me, was really mostly a small handful of great scenes. The first section with the washing machine is IMO the absolutely best moment in the entire game. If that would have been just the beginning and it got more and more cinematic from there, it would have been insane.
In hindsight I wish 'Still Wakes The Deep' would have been a Lovecraftian movie. Then the ideas they had in mind would have been more frequent / more impactful and it wouldn't have been dragged down by walking and repairing sections in between.
Still a decent game. Just slightly overpriced. For the same amount of money you could buy Bloodborne which is a stronger Cosmic Horror experience overall.
i loved finding this. a creator i havent seen yet making a pretentious philosophical video essay thats over an hour long about a video game ive never heard of. not even 10 minutes in and i know im about to binge your channel though. these videos are the ones that stay in my brain the longest
this video made me cry
What I took away after finishing the game was that the Horror Game aspect was really just a wrapper to tell a very typical Chinese Room-ian drama. If you strip away the Horror Game you're left with an introspective story not much unlike those of 'Dear Esther' or 'Everybody Went to the Rapture'. And that's pretty much why I loved it. To me the 'shape' never needed explaining for that very reason. It never felt like the focal point, rather a vessel to lure people into experiencing a beautiful heartwrenching story that they never would have were it a typical 'Chinese Room' "Walking Simulator".
And I also wanted to say thank you for a video that gave me a deeper appreciation for a game I already loved to bits. But as I'm not much of a re-player it is nice when someone else does the deep digging and I get to experience the deeper interpretations vicariously.
8:26 I feel attacked, honored, hugged, and fully seen at the same time.
I think you'd like the interactive horror games Supermassive Ganes develops, like Until Dawn, The Quarry and the games in the Dark Picture Anthology.
Ragna went on some hyper-deep JRPG final battle motivational speech in the last 20+ minutes of the review/essay.
Such an interesting game. I remember people discussing how authethnically Scottish it is.
I'm seated. 💅💅💅
I feel this game is as legendary as Silent hill 2 or Resident evil 4.
But it is slept on
I was literally thinking yesterday I haven't seen a video from Ragnarox in a while and then this came into my feed
i can't wait to get stuck into this video
everyone talks about the voice acting in this game and as another Scot, i genuinely think Still Wakes the Deep not only had some of the best Scottish voice acting, but some of the best voice acting i've heard in a video game full stop. Not only that but despite being offshore you truly FEEL the depth of culture that went into this game, all the way down to the flashback scenes being set in what looks like a detached Glasgow council house bedroom. An absolute masterpiece of immersion.
i had to say all that BEFORE i got started on the video! can't wait to hear what RagnarRox has to say about it, he's one of my favourite game retrospective essayists
I(American) lived near Glasgow for a few years in the 90s and it’s absolutely wild to hear how much Caz sounds like an old Scottish roommate of mine, Franny. They nailed it.
@RagnarRoxShow I do not normally comment at all on videos. I have worked on this game.
I want to thank you for the exceptionally brilliant analysis you made.
Hey thank you, I appreciate the comment! And thanks for your hard work!
Great, but please never attempt a Scottish accent again 😂
I'm writing as you're talking about your friend, holding back a few tears. I hate that people try to gatekeep what games are, it's almost as if they're trying to invalidate what these games make people feel.
I usually don't like it when stories are ambigous for the sake of it, but I love stories that have this ambiguity in mind as they're being written. It's fun to talk about, fun to discuss, it means something to someone and it's made me think about things I had literally never thought of in my entire life before. Sharing these points of view, these theories, and seeing how they stack up alongside others is half the reason I watch videos like these in the first place, half the reason I like games as an artform.
One thing I did not expect was to be reminded of the Final Fantasy 8 Squall is dead theory. I don't remember if you've mentioned it before, but if you haven't, I think you'd at least find it fun to think about.
6:40 Was....was that a "Will It Blend" reference?
Lorsque vous réalisez que votre journée ne serait pas aussi amusante sans cette vidéo. Merci, Internet 💕
Still Wakes the Deep is a rare case where I prefer to discard the more cerebral interpretations and go with the literal, and there's a specific reason for that. I feel like 'working class horror' is somewhat under-explored, not sure how to explain it, but something about the narrative of 'greedy corporation cut corners and bootlicker supervisor drilled in unsafe places, and now we woke something we shouldn't have, and the bosses are first to try and jump ship' just hits right for me.
It feels tactile, with Caz jerry-rigging fuses, struggling with rusted safety pins, breaking shitty padlocks with a screwdriver, and kicking the 'safety' door to open it, and it feels relevant to the struggle workers in unsafe conditions like oil rigs or coal mines go through even without eldritch monsters present. Purgatory, dreams, etc., less so.
*More importantly though*, I am extremely incredibly intensely excited about the potential Amnesia retrospective! I adore Amnesia, even the much-maligned Machine for Pigs.
About your part about lovecraft, while I get your critisism of the over-inflationary use of the term "lovecraftian", I have to say that the core of the game's story, your interpretation aside, the Shape morphing it's environment to something resembling itself and all that, is literally the story "The Colour From Outer Space" by H.P. Lovecraft, therefore calling the story lovecraftian is not one of those over-inflationary uses, but merely calling a direct reference