“Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil... prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...” ― Terry Pratchett
So interestingly in Elder Scrolls, they were originally called demons in the first game Arena, and Daggerfall would go onto to explain that the phrase "demon" was used by laymen of Tamriel to describe the Daedra, whereas the word Daedra was used by academic and scholarly sorts.
TES Daedra are the best evil characters in video game history because the lore is so strong and identifiable. The lore is consistent across the games and we can buy into it whole heartedly. Most importantly they give the princes a reason. Every villain needs a sympathetic thing that makes us drop our guard and lowkey empathize with the evil. There is also a scale, from Sanguine to Molag Bal.
I just live the indifference some have! Too often is it implied that humanity is the sole interest of immortal insanely powerful entities with the propensity for doing literally anything else they'd like, but they instead decide to either protect, attack, or manipulate only the living the player character is attached to. In TES all the deities seem to have individual motivations that just sometimes include men & mer but just as often don't. When deities are obsessed with lowly humanity it makes me wonder who's truly the god in the story. The deity for all it's power, or humanity for demanding so much willful attention from such a powerful entity. Having beings like the TES pantheon with mostly passing interest in the living as they cross their paths seems much more "real" I'm my perspective. One of many reasons I
Gaunter O'Dimm from a Witcher 3 dlc was a fantastic representation of a demon. He took on a humanoid form, & was helpful, although quite a trickster. Reminds me of Clavicus Vile a bit, but more fleshed out & intricate. His initials boiling down to G.O.D is also a nice touch.
tbf while O'Dimm might line up with a lot of demon tropes, I'm inclined to see him as some sort of straight up god of the Witcher universe. He does seem to be functionally omnipotent, and maybe there's some folklore elements that I'm just not aware of that supports it, like a souped up Loki or something.
@@wea69420 he is supposed to be the devil I believe. There are some old European fairytales with similar names. But his initials are G.O.D so yk could be something there
Actually, his character is a reference to Dark Tower character Walter O’Dimm AKA Randall Flagg AKA The Man in Black. He is an immortal sorcerer that some consider a demon, or maybe the devil himself. He can travel through time and dimensions, shape shift, and more. He is the enemy of Roland of Gilead, the Gunslinger.
I wish we got to see more of the good side to Mehrunes Dagon. The times when revolution and change are necessary such as Saint Alessia's slave rebellion and the exodus of the Chimer from their Aldmeri overlords; it's odd to me that Dagon's hand is not seen in these events despite their proximity to his domain. Perhaps it's telling that the successful and just revolutions of the Elder Scrolls lore were the ones that kept their distance from the prince of change. If the goal of your uprising is to replace the ruling order with your own then Dagon will eventually always become your enemy no matter the outcome. Only the system of rising and falling, the process of eternal superation and supplanting, remains under him. His design reminds me of an asura, a jealous titan, from Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. Asura are beings that constantly covet and vie for the power of the deva - the ruling gods. That is why they are called jealous. Dagon is the embodiment of that state of constantly fighting against the powers that be, interminably unsuccessful. His lordship over change specifically, meanwhile, could be more closely linked to anitya and Yama in Buddhism but the connection isn't as strong in my opinion.
I think it's because it's just easier to say that guy is irredeemable evil and these guys are good. Saying Dagon bad Septim good is easier than saying Dagon in this case is very clearly in the wrong but sometimes he is necessary to help people revolt against their cruel masters or Uriel septum may be a good guy in this case but in the past he did some awful things.
Because the spheres of the daedric princes are simply their spheres of interest; they're inherently self-serving and are described as having "no connection to creation." In order for something to belong to a daedric prince, it has to have their direct investment in it, not just be the general category that they deal with. Alessia's rebellion instituted the worship of Dagon's main rival, Akatosh, so it's safe to say he had nothing to do with it.
@@Dimitrije_Sukovic The only prince who could be described as "good" would, counter-intuitively, be Boethiah, as cruel as they are-- because their selfishness is rebellion. Dagon is destructive change and the failed ambitions of making something better. His positiveness only truly comes from his failures to cause the change he WANTS to bring, as Nirn always slowly scars over and flourishes again. Boethiah is overthrowing, breaking the rules, going "above your station", reaching heaven through violence-- Boethiah is the embodiment of a central theme in TES' meta-physical world-narrative: the Rebel who grows tired of the King's control and seeks freedom by overthrowing the King and taking that crown for his own. Boethiah's sphere is literally what the Aurbis itself is about, so I'd call that a connection to creation, if unorthodox: king and rebel in their eternal dance, their roles swapping again and again in an endless painful circle because the King and Rebel will never stop fighting over the Lover, whether the Lover is a person or a land or plane(t).
Big props to CDPR for Gaunter O'Dimm as well. He's quite restrained when it comes to showing the powers he's capable of. He looks down on a lot of magic, seeing it as basic and warps reality at will. He's a great example, I believe of a trickster kind of God or Demon.
One of my favorites is Castlevania, which started as an almost Universal monster movie man vs Dracula type of game and evolved into a veritable funhouse of demons, oni, monsters, and strange creatures from mythology, demonology, folklore and literature.
I’ll never forget the first time I played symphony of the night, the pixel art for all the enemies and bosses looked so magical and the sound design helped paint them as freakish otherworldly things. Such a timeless series that’s always fun to look back on and replay
Some of the games in the video (and others) do allow that to an extent: BG2, NWN series, WoW (warlocks), ES games, Heroes series (a whole faction), etc
Aside from Baldur's Gate, which is too primitive for me to play, I know for a fact that none of those games offer in depth summoning in any regard. WoW used to, with the heavy questing you did for class abilities, but now you just get it on level up and then click the button on your hotbar to summon infernal powers.
@@gourdlord3064 A whole ritual might indeed be tricker, Wow has/had ritual of summoning that kills one of the participants for a temporary super demon. Maybe Bayonetta during certain (boss)fights? D&D tabletop and maybe MTG games and others? You can imagine with the silly occult scare in the past, that this would be fuel on the fire for games back then... ;)
No, I know and have sadly accepted that any game with indepth summoning would have jihad declared on it by the pope. Furthermore, sadly, tabletop is a finnicky beast when all your friends have six games a day with seven players each.
When talking about the more messed up, medieval depictions of demons, and how they're not really portrayed in western games, I'm surprised you didn't even mention Dante's Inferno. That game had some surreal designs.
How does this only have 2k views? It mentions Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls, and Persona in one video. (Admittedly, I've never played nor have interest in Persona. But I know it has a dedicated following) More seriously though, well done. You made some good points, and it was entertaining to listen to. I never gave enough credit to Elder Scrolls' Daedra, for breaking away from the "7 sins" aspect of "demons".
@@yankokassinof6710 Not sure what quantity has to do with anything there? Unless you're talking about my referring to how many games this video refers to? And yes... The video is "shallow" to an extent. Those are the sort of videos that draw in more views. It's pretty much universal, that the deeper into lore you go, the more people you alienate. It looks like the video caught up in popularity! It also looks like Ghostcharm is getting a lot more well-deserved views. So, to answer your question: I was surprised at how few views the video had, at the time of my comment, 4 months ago, because it seemed like a video that should have far more views. I hope that satisfies your curiosity as to why I was surprised. 👍
The Souls Games are heavily inspired by Kentaro Miura's Berserk. And in this MAnga the vastly diverse Apostles are heavily inspired by the Visuals of Demon Depictions of the Middle Ages and 15th to 16th century. One of Heronimus Bosch's art piece is even directly copied in one of the panels :D Another heavy inspiration of Berserk is H.G. Giger the swiss artist who created the design of the Alien in the Movie Alien of 1979.
A pattern i've spotted in Ghostcharm's videos: "Lets talk about The Elder Scrolls for a second" A man of culture! "I have a feeling that me and you are about to be very close"
With the thirty-seven keys of Tzeentch, we open the way for our brothers. With the thousand whispers of Slaanesh, we call to them. With the twelve plagues of Nurgle, we fell their enemies. And with the mighty axe of Khorne, we cut open the world for them.
BUT WITH THE GOD-EMPEROR OF MANKIND HE SHALL PROTECT YOU. AS HIS SON HE SHALL MOLD YOU AND IN THE FURNACE OF WAR FORGE YOU. YOU SHALL BE HIS BULWARK AGAINST THE TERROR. YOU SHALL BE THE EMPEROR'S FINEST. IMPERIAL GUARD, AND SPACE MARINES. THEY SHALL DEFEND HUMANITY AGAINST THE EXCESS OF SLANEESH, THE PLAGUE OF NURGLE, THE INSANITY OF TZEENCH, AND THE HATRED OF KHORNE. THE EMPEROR PROTECTS...CHAAAAARRRRGGEEE
Anyone with an interest in eastern depictions of demons/oni should play okami. The style alone is gorgeous and the attention to detail on the demon enemies is like candy to anyone with any familiarity with Japanese history/mythology. And even if you don't have a familiarity it's still fun and unique all around experience.
And sort of a related topic: I love when video games and other stories showcase anything celestial or divine in its true and terrifying form. Painting all things otherworld as foreign and frightening. Making me question everything, causing my head to burst with madness.
I think the main mistake when it comes to demons, too many people resort to cristian hell demons. As you said, so many cultures made dark, spiritual monsters. - Wendigos in native american folklore - Black Donalds in scottish folklore - Yokai and Chaos spirits in Japanese mythology - (add more you want, my list is running short) A demon could come in so many interpretations, yet usually, its the classic devil look, or at least a sinister hell demon. Those monsters stand for much more than just basic evil. I think a good demon interpretarion should speak to us on a spiritual level. Demons are basically the darkest incarnation of your darkest emotions. They should also hit that certain element that demons have. Dragons have the same kind of element as a reptilic base. It is a dark and enchanting tone, yet also brutal and unnerving. Something going deep, touching your most formless fears. You understand what i mean. Overall, as someone whos favourite mythological creatures, i think a demon should be made something special, like a vampire, werewolve, giant, witch, dragon or ghost. The question should not be: how many demons will your hero defeat? It should be: how many demons will your hero survive? So, thats my thoughts about demons.
I would like to see a game at some point that delves into the deeper occult lore behind some of the larger names in demonology. Anyone who's read the _Ars Goetia_ will attest that demons and devil's can be a lot more nuanced that how Doom or Dante's Inferno portrays them; I think that would be an interesting avenue of study for a game in the future.
@@TheBananamonger More like they stylize and reimagine it; but I will admit Paizo and WotC at least make an attempt. It's just a shame that DnD/Pathfinder are so cringey and attract the worst kinds of people to be around
@@chesterstevens8870 oh for sure. I love ttrpgs but I rarely play them because of the personalities involved in the fan base. I just think its neat that people have tried to interpret and expand upon daemonology in a lighter pop culture way, like you were suggesting.
That Demons Souls music is SO sick. Incredibly eerie and demonic. It sounds almost exactly like the score in the final climactic scene of the movie The Ninth Gate, incidentally a movie about...The Devil.
the suffering's monsters are all representative of horrible ways to die, beheading, firing squads, burial and starvation, while they technically aren't called demons, they're still awesomely designed
"This is where i want to bring up the persona series" Me, a MegaTen fan getting Nam flashbacks to the IGN review of SMT5: "Awww shit, here we go again"
The SMT series deserved a more in-depth analysis as they are probably the most unique and accurate, not only in the sense of appearance but in the sense of morality. SMT gives the infernal powers ethical reasons beyond mindless destruction for doing the things that they do, to the point that under a certain perspective they can be characterized as the good guys and sided with.
One cool thing about Doom's version of Hell is that Hell is an entire separate dimension in itself that attacks and invades all the planets, galaxies, systems etc. Which is cool, no matter how advanced the Alien race is, they are still a bitch to Satan
Interestingly this is sort of in line with the perception of God’s reach in the Quran. In the Quran it is said that God is lord of all worlds. All worlds, plural. So it’s heavily intended and sometimes discussed by recent Muslim scholars that should humanity ever discover some form of non-human sentient life (I hesitate to use the word “alien” but you know what I mean) they would also fall under the jurisdiction of God. Really interesting.
I like the idea of Warhammer 40k "Demons" and how they are interacting with each other. The happiness of the Children of Nurgle and how they infiltrate and eventually conquer Citys or planets and the worshipping part that makes them stronger.
My favorite depictions of demons are eastern and Lovecraftian... and then there's the literal description of stuff like angels. Look that up and describe it to yourself, terrifying! One set of demons that I doubt you've seen are all of the demon family monsters included in FFXI online. Due to its stained nature for being an MMO and being an old MMO now, not a lot of people have played it. But in that game we have the demons: Dark Kindred - Bat-like men humanoids encased in obsidian steel hides with membrane wings on their back, often wielding powerful sorcery on top of brute strength. Imps - small flying horn blowing annoyances, possessed of powerful sorcery. Their horns cause you to forget your own skills or rob you of your voice and intellect. Gallu - Large horned humanoids, far larger than any other demons. They are roughly bipedal elephants, no trunks though. Sort of standard western styled demon or perhaps an admixture of an Oni with one. Ahrimans - A Final Fantasy staple, also known as Floating Eyes. Cyclopean with bat wings that flag from the top of their heads. Possessed of magic. Related to Zoroaster mythos IRL. Dvergr - Twist potbellied demons that sit upon levitated thrones of gold or other metals. Generally accompanied by pairs of floating skulls. They have skulls for faces with horn-like moustaches. Insanely powerful sorcerers. Absolute terrors to fight. Tauri - Grey skinned winged beasts with ram like horns, scythe like claws filled with potent venom, and extra long tails. They run fast as Chocobos almost. They have instant death gaze. Gargouilles - Skeletal flying beaked things with piercing yellow or red eyes. Masters of darkness thought to be made reality via the dreams of mortals and other demons. Souflayers - Mindflayers from D&D, but given a Final Fantasy XI twist. Rather than just existing as their own being they are the result of alchemical alteration performed upon any of the five "blessed" races of Vana'diel. This alchemical procedure grants one the ability to wield Blue Magic... but all power comes at a cost, and the moment the Blue Mage falters and loses to the beast within, they mutate inside and out, becoming a Soulflayer. Exceptionally powerful Blue Mages retain their sentience and humanity for a time after the mutation. A well kept secret by the Empire of Aht Urgahn, who tells mercenaries who come across these creatures from time to time when a mutation is witnessed that the Imperial Blue Mages are merely suffering from, "Kraken Flu."
Thats alot of information given on the topic of demons. Your very well articulated at giving your opinion on that and from an inteklectual standpoint I appreciate and respect that level detail. Yet Im convicted to leave this message even months later, as I see this as a prophetic validation to scripture as many will write it off as video game lore. This is the anti Christ becoming his own god in thia world of sin. This idea that demons are cool, amd to be amazed at is a dangerius one thats pulling souls to hell everyday. Heavy Metal, Hip hop, horror movies and video games all have one major thing in common.. They ALL whorship demonic entities and ideas. This isnt happen stance or coicidence, we are living in the end of ddays and starting to see these demonic forces enter people more and more often. This allure to demons isnt a harmless passtime, but an IDEA thats spawned in order to keep human bekngs from connecting to The Creator of all things. I pray someone reads this and begins tk searcj their hearts for Jesus Christ. If you ask Him too He will reveal Himself to you as well.
Never gave it much thought but this video made me look at games in a whole new light. SMT is an all time favorite of mine. Some of the demons in the series are exactly what I think of when I hear demon
I love how you included a clip from Agony (Not well known game) but you didn't even once mention the Demons created by the Chaos gods from WH40K. Like their lore and what they are and what they can do, how do they look and why. It all goes deep AF, My personal favorites being The Lord of Change, A greater demon of Tzeentch.
One of my favourite representations of demons in video games is demon souls. Cause a demon there is actually just anything that accumulates souls other than their original, a demon soul is just that the amalgamated souls that demon hoarded until u killed it. And in a very real way you the player become a demon as you collect these souls and empower yourself
Gaunter O'Dimm is what some call a demon in the witcher series but whether or not he actually is one is debatable, one thing is for sure the way the witcher 3 handled demons and goetia was chilling and subtle.
1:44 - yeah, this is why as an atheist, I'll still go through bible studies, as long as they're very in depth. 3:01 - and yet, if you look at what's taking place, you are in the role of Demon Slayer - heavens work. The game was fundamentally Christian and any satanic elements are to be destroyed with extreme prejudice.
16:38 warhammer daemons, there is 3 total war games with them, Space Marine game, dawn of war series, battlefleet Gothic armada games a bit too, daemonhunters chaos gate is literally all about fighting daemons
It's a terrible shame that you mentioned DeS and DkS and didn't elaborate on their demons. Especially in DkS the demon race has one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking, bittersweet lore I've ever seen.
Honestly I think it would be pretty neat to have demons as an enemy type in the game without telling you that they're demons. Like give them bunch of resistances that they all share but don't do the typical thing where an NPC tells you shit like "there's a demon ahead, they're weak to silver". Just keep them mysterious until you could find information explaining that they're demons summoned by someone in an end game area. Could,not will,have it be something missable.
Dantes inferno is a good demon filled game, the original release featured unbaptized babies that would attack you. The game also does the entire 7 realms of hell thing
Well, for the Daedra question, I suppose it could be if Dremora count. Cause, Daedra have their own things, like gods, princes, and other devious things. Meanwhile, Dremora are essentially human form Daedra.
I have a demon tattoo on my arm it is the ass faced one that has a goat like head with hyena sorta mouth on the head it is a sketch that my aunt drew and every image I have found of it nearly completely different from what she had drawn back in her day it couldn't have been traced from details being similar to 3 of it but it was always in hunched over position not standing perfectly straight up depiction of demon at this time stamp 13:12 also she added bat like wings to her drawing
I wish you touched on the aspects of dark souls demons a little longer. They're less portrayed as an ultimate evil (like most other games) but more of a misunderstood race fighting for survival.
Nah, just dive into the Demon designs of Kazuma Kaneko in the old school SMT games (and 5). His stuff’s truly creative but painstakingly respectful translations of classical depictions of gods, spirits, and demons. I like Souls as much as the next guy, but SMT is the GOAT.
i think the accessibility of the culture and mythos keeps some less-than-creative creators doing the same old thing. there are also lines where demonic folds into lovecraftian. there’s a lot of overlap, and the genre changes as you move around. japanese horror is really interesting in their ability to branch out from the horned and humanoid or the seven deadly sins. those tropes really are so worn out in the west in 2022. but yeah it’s all a really interesting conversation. until we drop away from “demon” as the entity, i feel we will be constrained to a lot of these tropes. it’ll likely always carry that baggage especially while lots of people still believe in demons. that’s what’s so amazing about fromsoft’s new titles and monster design (silent hill as well)
Caelid had one of my favourite hell-inspired wastelands, out of every game I’ve played I have never been so disgusted and impressed by all the monsters that roam Caelid, and some of them like the massive dogs with really nasty long necks are genuinely terrifying imo. They make some of the most horrifying sounds I’ve ever experienced in gaming
dnd got it right, the classics evil but orderly demons are actually called devils and they are fallen angels. On the conterary, the grotesc chaotic demons are called demons that way those two are really separated
To hop on the Judeo-Christian demon depictions - Have you seen what Angels look like? Floating rings of holy light and eyeballs! It's even speculated that it is why when angels address anyone in religous texts, normally the first thing they say is, "Do not be afraid," because they are absolutely terrifying.
It wasn't really until this video that I realised that Mehrunes Dagon looks rather like the design team drew inspiration from Hindu mythos. Four arms, causes destruction, dances around. That's Shiva.
The Bed of Chaos may not be *called* a demon, but I feel like it's strongly implied--if not explicitly stated--that all of Dark Souls' demons ultimately originate with it.
Great video, I'm glad I found your channel. One great demon you missed, and my favourite, would be Gaunter O'Dimm from the Witcher 3. A fascinating, well realised character and an excellent recreation of the classic tale of 'Faust'.
I’m a bit late and I know you probably aren’t’t gonna see this but I just wanted to say you have become one of my favorite youtubers SIMPLY for using the Timesplitters 2 title screen music as background for the “Accuracy of depictions” chapter of the video, instantly recognized it and was flooded with nostalgia you got a good taste in music and games I must say
I think you missed to mention the witcher games? The mythos of eastern europe was depicted there with plenty of demons. The witcher games were amazing with their depictions of wraiths.
Well in the Hellenic world Deamon meant pretty much every type of spirit. Left overs of the protector Deamon can be seen in the gargoyles on churches today.
My bad for mixing up SMT and Persona with the footage. Don't flay me. Thanks for watching!
Have you herd of these demons know as the "48 Fiends" ?? from the Sega Classic: Blood Will Tell?
Can't be mad when you throw Timesplitters 2 music in with it
Are you using Tuvan throat singing cause you think it sounds demonic or what’s the song from the beginning?
@@ooiiooiiooii Demonic Chanting from Doom Eternal. I also wanted to know and went on a search
i'm sorry but i couldn't help but cringing hearing you call it the persona series repeatedly
Any time anyone brings up the demonic imagery in Doom it reminds me of the one response, that Doom has a "very strong anti-demon message."
Archangel Michael would definitely play Doom.
“Over the centuries, mankind has tried many ways of combating the forces of evil... prayer, fasting, good works and so on. Up until Doom, no one seemed to have thought about the double-barrel shotgun. Eat leaden death, demon...”
― Terry Pratchett
I’ve never played anything so staunchly against demons.
So interestingly in Elder Scrolls, they were originally called demons in the first game Arena, and Daggerfall would go onto to explain that the phrase "demon" was used by laymen of Tamriel to describe the Daedra, whereas the word Daedra was used by academic and scholarly sorts.
And now all the unwashed masses think the deadra are evil...
TES Daedra are the best evil characters in video game history because the lore is so strong and identifiable. The lore is consistent across the games and we can buy into it whole heartedly. Most importantly they give the princes a reason. Every villain needs a sympathetic thing that makes us drop our guard and lowkey empathize with the evil. There is also a scale, from Sanguine to Molag Bal.
I just live the indifference some have! Too often is it implied that humanity is the sole interest of immortal insanely powerful entities with the propensity for doing literally anything else they'd like, but they instead decide to either protect, attack, or manipulate only the living the player character is attached to.
In TES all the deities seem to have individual motivations that just sometimes include men & mer but just as often don't.
When deities are obsessed with lowly humanity it makes me wonder who's truly the god in the story. The deity for all it's power, or humanity for demanding so much willful attention from such a powerful entity.
Having beings like the TES pantheon with mostly passing interest in the living as they cross their paths seems much more "real" I'm my perspective.
One of many reasons I
I think the best evil character in video games has gotta be wizpig, I still get chills 😬
@@loganbyrd3353 They are not entirely evil, Meridia is the most arguably good deadric prince
Sanguine is just slaanesh, and molag bal is just slaanesh 🤣
No
Gaunter O'Dimm from a Witcher 3 dlc was a fantastic representation of a demon. He took on a humanoid form, & was helpful, although quite a trickster. Reminds me of Clavicus Vile a bit, but more fleshed out & intricate. His initials boiling down to G.O.D is also a nice touch.
tbf while O'Dimm might line up with a lot of demon tropes, I'm inclined to see him as some sort of straight up god of the Witcher universe. He does seem to be functionally omnipotent, and maybe there's some folklore elements that I'm just not aware of that supports it, like a souped up Loki or something.
@@wea69420 he is supposed to be the devil I believe. There are some old European fairytales with similar names. But his initials are G.O.D so yk could be something there
Actually, his character is a reference to Dark Tower character Walter O’Dimm AKA Randall Flagg AKA The Man in Black. He is an immortal sorcerer that some consider a demon, or maybe the devil himself. He can travel through time and dimensions, shape shift, and more. He is the enemy of Roland of Gilead, the Gunslinger.
@@flintsky7706 oooh, thanks for the info
@@flintsky7706 The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.
I wish we got to see more of the good side to Mehrunes Dagon. The times when revolution and change are necessary such as Saint Alessia's slave rebellion and the exodus of the Chimer from their Aldmeri overlords; it's odd to me that Dagon's hand is not seen in these events despite their proximity to his domain. Perhaps it's telling that the successful and just revolutions of the Elder Scrolls lore were the ones that kept their distance from the prince of change. If the goal of your uprising is to replace the ruling order with your own then Dagon will eventually always become your enemy no matter the outcome. Only the system of rising and falling, the process of eternal superation and supplanting, remains under him.
His design reminds me of an asura, a jealous titan, from Hindu and Buddhist cosmology. Asura are beings that constantly covet and vie for the power of the deva - the ruling gods. That is why they are called jealous. Dagon is the embodiment of that state of constantly fighting against the powers that be, interminably unsuccessful. His lordship over change specifically, meanwhile, could be more closely linked to anitya and Yama in Buddhism but the connection isn't as strong in my opinion.
I think it's because it's just easier to say that guy is irredeemable evil and these guys are good. Saying Dagon bad Septim good is easier than saying Dagon in this case is very clearly in the wrong but sometimes he is necessary to help people revolt against their cruel masters or Uriel septum may be a good guy in this case but in the past he did some awful things.
that's Boethiah's domain
Because the spheres of the daedric princes are simply their spheres of interest; they're inherently self-serving and are described as having "no connection to creation." In order for something to belong to a daedric prince, it has to have their direct investment in it, not just be the general category that they deal with.
Alessia's rebellion instituted the worship of Dagon's main rival, Akatosh, so it's safe to say he had nothing to do with it.
i mean mehrunes dagon did win im Oblivion by killing the last septim and last emperor that protected Mundus from The forces of Oblivion
@@Dimitrije_Sukovic The only prince who could be described as "good" would, counter-intuitively, be Boethiah, as cruel as they are-- because their selfishness is rebellion.
Dagon is destructive change and the failed ambitions of making something better. His positiveness only truly comes from his failures to cause the change he WANTS to bring, as Nirn always slowly scars over and flourishes again.
Boethiah is overthrowing, breaking the rules, going "above your station", reaching heaven through violence-- Boethiah is the embodiment of a central theme in TES' meta-physical world-narrative: the Rebel who grows tired of the King's control and seeks freedom by overthrowing the King and taking that crown for his own.
Boethiah's sphere is literally what the Aurbis itself is about, so I'd call that a connection to creation, if unorthodox: king and rebel in their eternal dance, their roles swapping again and again in an endless painful circle because the King and Rebel will never stop fighting over the Lover, whether the Lover is a person or a land or plane(t).
Man this is one my top 10 channels, I hope you enjoy making them as much as I like watching them.
Me: has intense case of daemonophobia
Also me: *proceeds to watch video about demons*
You’re weird, fr fr.
I always kinda laugh when i see the lesser key of Solomon and there's a demon president.
Big props to CDPR for Gaunter O'Dimm as well. He's quite restrained when it comes to showing the powers he's capable of. He looks down on a lot of magic, seeing it as basic and warps reality at will. He's a great example, I believe of a trickster kind of God or Demon.
@5:05 That fable theme. Very good choice. Brings me chills from the nostalgia
One of my favorites is Castlevania, which started as an almost Universal monster movie man vs Dracula type of game and evolved into a veritable funhouse of demons, oni, monsters, and strange creatures from mythology, demonology, folklore and literature.
I’ll never forget the first time I played symphony of the night, the pixel art for all the enemies and bosses looked so magical and the sound design helped paint them as freakish otherworldly things. Such a timeless series that’s always fun to look back on and replay
i love reading the bestiary in all the different cv games, they take creatutes from so many cultures
Only watched the Netflix series. Still really interesting.
Legion in Symphony of the Night took me by surprise. A disgusting boss fight.
@@Gatorade69 Beezlebub does it for me. Gross.
I wish any game ever would let you have in depth demon summoning. I wanna fight hell with more hell, or kill a lich with a balor.
Some of the games in the video (and others) do allow that to an extent: BG2, NWN series, WoW (warlocks), ES games, Heroes series (a whole faction), etc
Aside from Baldur's Gate, which is too primitive for me to play, I know for a fact that none of those games offer in depth summoning in any regard. WoW used to, with the heavy questing you did for class abilities, but now you just get it on level up and then click the button on your hotbar to summon infernal powers.
@@gourdlord3064 A whole ritual might indeed be tricker, Wow has/had ritual of summoning that kills one of the participants for a temporary super demon. Maybe Bayonetta during certain (boss)fights? D&D tabletop and maybe MTG games and others? You can imagine with the silly occult scare in the past, that this would be fuel on the fire for games back then... ;)
No, I know and have sadly accepted that any game with indepth summoning would have jihad declared on it by the pope.
Furthermore, sadly, tabletop is a finnicky beast when all your friends have six games a day with seven players each.
Try shin megami tensei
When talking about the more messed up, medieval depictions of demons, and how they're not really portrayed in western games, I'm surprised you didn't even mention Dante's Inferno. That game had some surreal designs.
Or blasphemous
How does this only have 2k views? It mentions Elder Scrolls, Dark Souls, and Persona in one video. (Admittedly, I've never played nor have interest in Persona. But I know it has a dedicated following)
More seriously though, well done. You made some good points, and it was entertaining to listen to. I never gave enough credit to Elder Scrolls' Daedra, for breaking away from the "7 sins" aspect of "demons".
quantity is not quality, tho interesting his video is not deep at all, it is shallow just as he said in the end, so like why are you surprised?
@@yankokassinof6710 Not sure what quantity has to do with anything there? Unless you're talking about my referring to how many games this video refers to?
And yes... The video is "shallow" to an extent. Those are the sort of videos that draw in more views. It's pretty much universal, that the deeper into lore you go, the more people you alienate.
It looks like the video caught up in popularity! It also looks like Ghostcharm is getting a lot more well-deserved views. So, to answer your question: I was surprised at how few views the video had, at the time of my comment, 4 months ago, because it seemed like a video that should have far more views.
I hope that satisfies your curiosity as to why I was surprised. 👍
The Souls Games are heavily inspired by Kentaro Miura's Berserk. And in this MAnga the vastly diverse Apostles are heavily inspired by the Visuals of Demon Depictions of the Middle Ages and 15th to 16th century. One of Heronimus Bosch's art piece is even directly copied in one of the panels :D Another heavy inspiration of Berserk is H.G. Giger the swiss artist who created the design of the Alien in the Movie Alien of 1979.
A pattern i've spotted in Ghostcharm's videos: "Lets talk about The Elder Scrolls for a second"
A man of culture! "I have a feeling that me and you are about to be very close"
With the thirty-seven keys of Tzeentch, we open the way for our brothers. With the thousand whispers of Slaanesh, we call to them. With the twelve plagues of Nurgle, we fell their enemies. And with the mighty axe of Khorne, we cut open the world for them.
For the Dark God's
Hey hey people
BUT WITH THE GOD-EMPEROR OF MANKIND HE SHALL PROTECT YOU. AS HIS SON HE SHALL MOLD YOU AND IN THE FURNACE OF WAR FORGE YOU. YOU SHALL BE HIS BULWARK AGAINST THE TERROR. YOU SHALL BE THE EMPEROR'S FINEST. IMPERIAL GUARD, AND SPACE MARINES. THEY SHALL DEFEND HUMANITY AGAINST THE EXCESS OF SLANEESH, THE PLAGUE OF NURGLE, THE INSANITY OF TZEENCH, AND THE HATRED OF KHORNE. THE EMPEROR PROTECTS...CHAAAAARRRRGGEEE
Heresy
WHY AREN'T WE KILLING YET?! *WHERE IS THE BLOOD I WAS PROMISED?!*
Anyone with an interest in eastern depictions of demons/oni should play okami. The style alone is gorgeous and the attention to detail on the demon enemies is like candy to anyone with any familiarity with Japanese history/mythology. And even if you don't have a familiarity it's still fun and unique all around experience.
Anyone else get some nostalgia from the background music with just a male choir singing "aah"? It reminds me of fable...
Gotta wonder how people think a game is satanic when you fight demons in it.
>game about killing demons and saving humanity
"NOOOO IT'S TEACHING MY CHILDREN TO KILL PEOPLE REEEEE"
And sort of a related topic: I love when video games and other stories showcase anything celestial or divine in its true and terrifying form. Painting all things otherworld as foreign and frightening. Making me question everything, causing my head to burst with madness.
Daedra and the Dragon Age Demons are very interesting takes. Pride and Desire demons tend to be the most fascinating
I think the main mistake when it comes to demons, too many people resort to cristian hell demons. As you said, so many cultures made dark, spiritual monsters.
- Wendigos in native american folklore
- Black Donalds in scottish folklore
- Yokai and Chaos spirits in Japanese mythology
- (add more you want, my list is running short)
A demon could come in so many interpretations, yet usually, its the classic devil look, or at least a sinister hell demon. Those monsters stand for much more than just basic evil.
I think a good demon interpretarion should speak to us on a spiritual level. Demons are basically the darkest incarnation of your darkest emotions.
They should also hit that certain element that demons have. Dragons have the same kind of element as a reptilic base. It is a dark and enchanting tone, yet also brutal and unnerving. Something going deep, touching your most formless fears. You understand what i mean.
Overall, as someone whos favourite mythological creatures, i think a demon should be made something special, like a vampire, werewolve, giant, witch, dragon or ghost. The question should not be: how many demons will your hero defeat? It should be: how many demons will your hero survive?
So, thats my thoughts about demons.
I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favorite channel on the UA-cam.
I would like to see a game at some point that delves into the deeper occult lore behind some of the larger names in demonology. Anyone who's read the _Ars Goetia_ will attest that demons and devil's can be a lot more nuanced that how Doom or Dante's Inferno portrays them; I think that would be an interesting avenue of study for a game in the future.
Look into D&D and Pathfinder then - tabletop RPGs fully explore fiendish politics and culture
@@TheBananamonger
More like they stylize and reimagine it; but I will admit Paizo and WotC at least make an attempt. It's just a shame that DnD/Pathfinder are so cringey and attract the worst kinds of people to be around
@@chesterstevens8870 oh for sure. I love ttrpgs but I rarely play them because of the personalities involved in the fan base. I just think its neat that people have tried to interpret and expand upon daemonology in a lighter pop culture way, like you were suggesting.
@@chesterstevens8870 what do you mean by worst kind of people
@@chesterstevens8870
So cringey......it's awesome?
That Demons Souls music is SO sick. Incredibly eerie and demonic. It sounds almost exactly like the score in the final climactic scene of the movie The Ninth Gate, incidentally a movie about...The Devil.
"Hoopy memes?" Are you a zarking frood? Because I know where my towel is.
the suffering's monsters are all representative of horrible ways to die, beheading, firing squads, burial and starvation, while they technically aren't called demons, they're still awesomely designed
"This is where i want to bring up the persona series"
Me, a MegaTen fan getting Nam flashbacks to the IGN review of SMT5: "Awww shit, here we go again"
The daedric princes are my favorite "demons" because they aren't necessarily evil, like Azura, she is borderline benevolent at worst.
The SMT series deserved a more in-depth analysis as they are probably the most unique and accurate, not only in the sense of appearance but in the sense of morality. SMT gives the infernal powers ethical reasons beyond mindless destruction for doing the things that they do, to the point that under a certain perspective they can be characterized as the good guys and sided with.
One cool thing about Doom's version of Hell is that Hell is an entire separate dimension in itself that attacks and invades all the planets, galaxies, systems etc. Which is cool, no matter how advanced the Alien race is, they are still a bitch to Satan
Interestingly this is sort of in line with the perception of God’s reach in the Quran. In the Quran it is said that God is lord of all worlds. All worlds, plural. So it’s heavily intended and sometimes discussed by recent Muslim scholars that should humanity ever discover some form of non-human sentient life (I hesitate to use the word “alien” but you know what I mean) they would also fall under the jurisdiction of God. Really interesting.
My favorite demons are the ones that don't even have to be grotesque or weird to put fear in you. Akuma from SF and Kane from WWE come to mind.
Dante's Inferno is probably one of the best depictions of demons and Hell in any video game. Plus the combat in that game was top notch.
I like the idea of Warhammer 40k "Demons" and how they are interacting with each other. The happiness of the Children of Nurgle and how they infiltrate and eventually conquer Citys or planets and the worshipping part that makes them stronger.
My favorite depictions of demons are eastern and Lovecraftian... and then there's the literal description of stuff like angels. Look that up and describe it to yourself, terrifying!
One set of demons that I doubt you've seen are all of the demon family monsters included in FFXI online. Due to its stained nature for being an MMO and being an old MMO now, not a lot of people have played it. But in that game we have the demons:
Dark Kindred - Bat-like men humanoids encased in obsidian steel hides with membrane wings on their back, often wielding powerful sorcery on top of brute strength.
Imps - small flying horn blowing annoyances, possessed of powerful sorcery. Their horns cause you to forget your own skills or rob you of your voice and intellect.
Gallu - Large horned humanoids, far larger than any other demons. They are roughly bipedal elephants, no trunks though. Sort of standard western styled demon or perhaps an admixture of an Oni with one.
Ahrimans - A Final Fantasy staple, also known as Floating Eyes. Cyclopean with bat wings that flag from the top of their heads. Possessed of magic. Related to Zoroaster mythos IRL.
Dvergr - Twist potbellied demons that sit upon levitated thrones of gold or other metals. Generally accompanied by pairs of floating skulls. They have skulls for faces with horn-like moustaches. Insanely powerful sorcerers. Absolute terrors to fight.
Tauri - Grey skinned winged beasts with ram like horns, scythe like claws filled with potent venom, and extra long tails. They run fast as Chocobos almost. They have instant death gaze.
Gargouilles - Skeletal flying beaked things with piercing yellow or red eyes. Masters of darkness thought to be made reality via the dreams of mortals and other demons.
Souflayers - Mindflayers from D&D, but given a Final Fantasy XI twist. Rather than just existing as their own being they are the result of alchemical alteration performed upon any of the five "blessed" races of Vana'diel. This alchemical procedure grants one the ability to wield Blue Magic... but all power comes at a cost, and the moment the Blue Mage falters and loses to the beast within, they mutate inside and out, becoming a Soulflayer. Exceptionally powerful Blue Mages retain their sentience and humanity for a time after the mutation. A well kept secret by the Empire of Aht Urgahn, who tells mercenaries who come across these creatures from time to time when a mutation is witnessed that the Imperial Blue Mages are merely suffering from, "Kraken Flu."
Thats alot of information given on the topic of demons. Your very well articulated at giving your opinion on that and from an inteklectual standpoint I appreciate and respect that level detail. Yet Im convicted to leave this message even months later, as I see this as a prophetic validation to scripture as many will write it off as video game lore.
This is the anti Christ becoming his own god in thia world of sin. This idea that demons are cool, amd to be amazed at is a dangerius one thats pulling souls to hell everyday.
Heavy Metal, Hip hop, horror movies and video games all have one major thing in common..
They ALL whorship demonic entities and ideas. This isnt happen stance or coicidence, we are living in the end of ddays and starting to see these demonic forces enter people more and more often.
This allure to demons isnt a harmless passtime, but an IDEA thats spawned in order to keep human bekngs from connecting to The Creator of all things.
I pray someone reads this and begins tk searcj their hearts for Jesus Christ. If you ask Him too He will reveal Himself to you as well.
@@live4christ295 wtf dude
I've always loved Hieronymus Boschs' artwork, I could happily study his paintings for hours
Never gave it much thought but this video made me look at games in a whole new light. SMT is an all time favorite of mine. Some of the demons in the series are exactly what I think of when I hear demon
I would have to say that my favorite Demons from fiction have to be the ones we see in the Zelda series
my favorite video game demons are from
TES
DOOM
and Dragon Age
I've always loved how they did dragon age demons the most
I love how you included a clip from Agony (Not well known game) but you didn't even once mention the Demons created by the Chaos gods from WH40K.
Like their lore and what they are and what they can do, how do they look and why. It all goes deep AF, My personal favorites being The Lord of Change, A greater demon of Tzeentch.
Chaos gods are from Warhammer Fantasy not 40K
@@dinosaurkin5093 Same same, buddy. Fantasy came first, but that's just semantics.
One of my favourite representations of demons in video games is demon souls. Cause a demon there is actually just anything that accumulates souls other than their original, a demon soul is just that the amalgamated souls that demon hoarded until u killed it. And in a very real way you the player become a demon as you collect these souls and empower yourself
"Some dude will go inside your body and you'll explode"
Don't threaten me with a good time.
The Warhammer 40k universe has some awesome demons in form of the Chaos Gods. Because they always personify something evil but also something good
Gaunter O'Dimm is what some call a demon in the witcher series but whether or not he actually is one is debatable, one thing is for sure the way the witcher 3 handled demons and goetia was chilling and subtle.
1:44 - yeah, this is why as an atheist, I'll still go through bible studies, as long as they're very in depth.
3:01 - and yet, if you look at what's taking place, you are in the role of Demon Slayer - heavens work. The game was fundamentally Christian and any satanic elements are to be destroyed with extreme prejudice.
5:04
OOF, that Fable music... Oh, that hits the nostalgia hard.
Anyone wondering what the intro sound is, it's the Demonic Chanting from Doom Eternal. So you can search that up
Mate, I was scrolling the comments section looking for exactly that. You're a legend!
16:38 warhammer daemons, there is 3 total war games with them, Space Marine game, dawn of war series, battlefleet Gothic armada games a bit too, daemonhunters chaos gate is literally all about fighting daemons
It's a terrible shame that you mentioned DeS and DkS and didn't elaborate on their demons. Especially in DkS the demon race has one of the most beautiful and heartbreaking, bittersweet lore I've ever seen.
nope its cliché
3:40 that guys name is American McGee?!?!
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
Great video again !
I study game design and I'm taking good notes ;)
Kinda surprised nothing from Dante's Inferno made it into here
Honestly I think it would be pretty neat to have demons as an enemy type in the game without telling you that they're demons.
Like give them bunch of resistances that they all share but don't do the typical thing where an NPC tells you shit like "there's a demon ahead, they're weak to silver".
Just keep them mysterious until you could find information explaining that they're demons summoned by someone in an end game area. Could,not will,have it be something missable.
SMT (the series Persona spun off from) has some really interesting designs
Dantes inferno is a good demon filled game, the original release featured unbaptized babies that would attack you. The game also does the entire 7 realms of hell thing
13:12 Man's talkin out his ass
You deserve way more likes and a subs,your attention to detail is amazing,not to mention the editing involved, truly amazing buddy.thankyou.
Love the Smouldering Corpse Bar ambience at 14:45
Well, for the Daedra question, I suppose it could be if Dremora count. Cause, Daedra have their own things, like gods, princes, and other devious things. Meanwhile, Dremora are essentially human form Daedra.
I have a demon tattoo on my arm it is the ass faced one that has a goat like head with hyena sorta mouth on the head it is a sketch that my aunt drew and every image I have found of it nearly completely different from what she had drawn back in her day it couldn't have been traced from details being similar to 3 of it but it was always in hunched over position not standing perfectly straight up depiction of demon at this time stamp 13:12 also she added bat like wings to her drawing
A look at lovecraftian and cosmic horror influences in games would be a great video!
I wish you touched on the aspects of dark souls demons a little longer.
They're less portrayed as an ultimate evil (like most other games) but more of a misunderstood race fighting for survival.
Nah, just dive into the Demon designs of Kazuma Kaneko in the old school SMT games (and 5). His stuff’s truly creative but painstakingly respectful translations of classical depictions of gods, spirits, and demons.
I like Souls as much as the next guy, but SMT is the GOAT.
“It’s very likely you’ve encountered a few”
Millions have been banished haha
i think the accessibility of the culture and mythos keeps some less-than-creative creators doing the same old thing. there are also lines where demonic folds into lovecraftian. there’s a lot of overlap, and the genre changes as you move around. japanese horror is really interesting in their ability to branch out from the horned and humanoid or the seven deadly sins. those tropes really are so worn out in the west in 2022. but yeah it’s all a really interesting conversation. until we drop away from “demon” as the entity, i feel we will be constrained to a lot of these tropes. it’ll likely always carry that baggage especially while lots of people still believe in demons. that’s what’s so amazing about fromsoft’s new titles and monster design (silent hill as well)
Caelid had one of my favourite hell-inspired wastelands, out of every game I’ve played I have never been so disgusted and impressed by all the monsters that roam Caelid, and some of them like the massive dogs with really nasty long necks are genuinely terrifying imo. They make some of the most horrifying sounds I’ve ever experienced in gaming
dnd got it right, the classics evil but orderly demons are actually called devils and they are fallen angels.
On the conterary, the grotesc chaotic demons are called demons
that way those two are really separated
Well I would argue that Persona has more to do with personal demos come to life and how to confront and overcome them
Demons are fuckin cool.
its true.
I think a video about the undead, necromancy, or zombies in video games would be cool.
To hop on the Judeo-Christian demon depictions - Have you seen what Angels look like? Floating rings of holy light and eyeballs! It's even speculated that it is why when angels address anyone in religous texts, normally the first thing they say is, "Do not be afraid," because they are absolutely terrifying.
no realmente, esos son ophanims
los angeles solo parecen personas jovenes
It wasn't really until this video that I realised that Mehrunes Dagon looks rather like the design team drew inspiration from Hindu mythos. Four arms, causes destruction, dances around. That's Shiva.
Sad how the burning legion has been neutered in modern wow compared to being the mysterious hell creatures they were in warcraft 3
The Bed of Chaos may not be *called* a demon, but I feel like it's strongly implied--if not explicitly stated--that all of Dark Souls' demons ultimately originate with it.
Great video, I'm glad I found your channel. One great demon you missed, and my favourite, would be Gaunter O'Dimm from the Witcher 3. A fascinating, well realised character and an excellent recreation of the classic tale of 'Faust'.
BG3’s Minzora is just sublime.
The smoldering corpse bar part won me
anyone else notice that's a TimeSplitters track playing in the background around the 11 minute mark? props to you ghostcharm
I’m a bit late and I know you probably aren’t’t gonna see this but I just wanted to say you have become one of my favorite youtubers SIMPLY for using the Timesplitters 2 title screen music as background for the “Accuracy of depictions” chapter of the video, instantly recognized it and was flooded with nostalgia you got a good taste in music and games I must say
I think you missed to mention the witcher games? The mythos of eastern europe was depicted there with plenty of demons. The witcher games were amazing with their depictions of wraiths.
Bro at 9:55 I see you with that Timesplitters 2 main theme
Well in the Hellenic world Deamon meant pretty much every type of spirit. Left overs of the protector Deamon can be seen in the gargoyles on churches today.
I personally enjoy harmeus mora, though nurgle from 40k is pretty good
the absence of demon girl/monster girl hentai dating sims in this video is sacrilege
Dremora in Morrowind - Eloquently menacing
Dremora in Oblivion - Sounds like they are missing an IQ digit
great video! this is just a personal bias of mine, but I also wish you covered dante's inferno ;_;
I have recently played through blasphemous and while not technically demons some enemies in that game definitely have that feeling of wtf
>the persona series
*ShinMegamiTensei mainline crying in the background*
Kind of surprised you didn't cover Eternal Darkness. The ancients and their minions are essentially demons.
(Reads subject) "yes please!" (Ringing hands. Twirling mustache)
Toad once found out Baal can be depicted as a toad in a crown and then found out Baal is who satan descended from
You could also have talked about the Forgotten Realms differentiation between devils and demons if you liked the deadra
Painkiller had some nice demons as bosses
Ohh my God was that the Timesplitters 2 Soundtrack? I loved that Game back then so much xD
Ayo you keep on making high quality videos like this and imma make alternative accounts to get you to 1 mil
Don’t you threaten me with life changing success
TES: The only difference between aedra and daedra is: The deadra didn't got scammed by lorkhan, the most evil shit of them all. :D
The timesplitters music made me sub
I like to refer to daedra as 16+1 as jyg has been returned but he hasn’t fully returned with his own plane and goals yet