Brady: -going through everything about confirmation bias and how it can make a toxic relationship (do remember, this IS a love story) -talking about how he's starting to connect with the Princess a bit -actively trying to trust the Princess and establish a dialogue The Princess: please get in stabbing distance please get in stabbing distance please get in stabbing distance please get in stabbing distance please get in stabbing distance
@@bontiac Nah. There are multiple endings, but she'll always want to kill you. The main difference is whether you pick up the knife in chapter 2, in which the route ends two different ways depending.
@@electrichunnel6281 not quite. In this one you kill each other (mutually assured destruction) in the other, you become nothing and she has an existential crises (because shes the one who hurts you and if your nothing, and shes the one who hurts nothing what is she)
He basically tricked himself lmao Edit: And I mean it literally by the way. He picked all the options that would have given him the most wiggle room to perceive the Princess and her intentions in the way he wanted. This is incredibly ironic given that he was literally talking about confirmation bias as well. Goes to show that we're all vulnerable to these issues even when we're trying our hardest to be aware of them and avoid them.
My favorite comes from a steam review "Me (Narrator's strongest warrior) and my homies (voices in my head) on a path in the woods on our way to save my wife (a woman we've just met)"
The princess is trustworthy if you simply view her as she is. The only reason she changes is because you assume bad things will happen or that she is a monster.
The voices _immediately_ saying exactly what they need to say to perfectly back up your lesson on choice theory must've been the most validating thing in the world
Same. honestly, I want him to see (spoiler!) moment of clarity for the simple reason of her speech during the shifting mound fight. With her speech being about sharing your heart and him being a therapist, I feel that would be perfect.
@@Kirill-Ivanov2002 we've got the murder hobo and the straightman, we just need a good hearted numbass to complete the perfect comedy trio. Y'know, like rock paper scissors, you need balance
@@impossiblehanley2732 nah, he's too smart for a himbo, he would gladly play the straightman if paired up with the razor. Maybe voice of the smitten? Though he's not very dynamic, I think he could play a good himbo
from "how are we supposed to find love like this!" to "You're cute" "... that makes me feel weird." to "Not gonna lie..." not the character development I expected, but the character development we deserved
@@imetacrabI mean, how can you NOT be into Razor? Despite her murderous spree, she's very jovial and happy almost to an infectious degree. Surprisingly supportive as well, considering she on occasion encourages and even compliments the protagonist, lol
@@nolanstrife7350 I mean yeah, as long as we're operating on Dark Souls rules where I'll keep coming back, I don't mind a girl that finds joy in murdering me. That's kinda hot. At least, when she's as happy about it as Razor is. lol
More voices ≠ Larger emotional range. It'll take too long to explain for me, but that's a thing. But generally in this case incorporating more needs and emotions within fewer voices is the goal when looking to expand the emotional range, within my understanding.
Thinking about this game from a therapeutic perspective is so interesting, because in that framework, you know what the voices you develop after your death are? They're defense mechanisms. You went into a situation, you got yourself hurt, and now you have a maladaptive pattern of thought that is trying to prevent you from getting hurt again. The thing is that, as a therapist, you know that these reactions are maladaptive, and so you resist them, because they aren't conducive to future relationships. But chapter 2 isn't a new situation, or a future relationship. It's another interaction with the same person who hurt you. We as humans, develop defense mechanisms with a purpose, and that purpose is to keep us alive. All this to say, Cheated is a direct response to the princess. He KNOWS that princess, and if he tells you "if you get too close to that woman, she's going to stab you," he's probably right! What's interesting psychologically is noticing when listening to the voices is helpful, and when it isn't. Are their goals aligned with yours? Is what they are saying reasonable, or have they dug too deep in to their own framework and are misleading you? In this game, there are no wrong choices, or course. Every route, every ending, is the right one for your journey. But you might go into the cabin with a specific goal, maybe killing the princess, maybe saving her, and if you want to reach those outcomes, the best way to is listen (not follow, listen) to what the voices are saying, all of them. What are they repeating? Where do they disagree with eachother? Hero, especially. Hero is usually naive and empathetic, but when another voice is being unreasonable, Hero will usually have a clearer picture of the situation. And we can compare that to examining our own impulses! I feel uncomfortable talking to this person because they remind me of someone who hurt me in the past. Is that a reasonable reaction? Are the similarities superficial, or is there real evidence that might make me not want to pursure this relationship? If I put my trust in this person, is that breaking a cycle of mistrust, or is it unnecessarily putting myself in a place to be harmed? The voices are what they are and they think how they think, but that doesn't mean they can't help you, you just have to be careful about knowing when to take their advice.
By the end you said "I was afraid we'd fucked this Playthrough" and i will remember the games words at the beginning: There are no wrong choices, only fresh perspectives. Have heart to see them through. Also, seeing you go into deep reflection when you're talking to her at the end of the loop is... Conforting. I went through something similar and i feel like the music there does put us in that state. I played this game over a year ago and it truly changed how i look at life. And seeing you play and reflect, as well as bring insight of a professional has become one of my favorite things here. Can't wait for the next one!
There are absolutely a few princess I encountered where I thought, "How do we go back after this???" Sure enough though, The Long Quiet eventually cleanses all.
I recommend playing it again, there's been some meaningful additions in the Pristine Cut update that came out recently. Especially the new path for the Damsel and Prisoner routes are fantastic(for me at least, these two were the most impactful).
I was expecting the Cold route, but seeing him trust the Razor who’s a complete 180 from the Prisoner who was very transparent and blunt about her intentions to a scheming sociopath is hilarious.
I find it kind of interesting that you were so distrustful of The Cheated that you missed/ignored really blatant warning signs that she was lying to you and wanted to kill you lol
You know, Brady's LPs are great in their use of psychology but they are also interesting showcases about how psychological analytics can lead you astray when followed too rigidly or applied incorrectly
Eh, honestly I can see where he was coming from. He still wasn't sure how the world of the game worked. He said himself that he felt like what he was seeing was just how The Cheated was perceiving the situation. In Brady's mind, it sounds to me like he assumed his character's perception was literally warped in some way, and that the actual reality of the situation maybe looked and sounded different. It wasn't until the Princess actually made the move to kill him that he was like "Oh no, oh NO"
Incredible power move to draw a chart mapping the different voices to different aspects of choice theory, and then every subsequent line of dialogue proves you got it exactly correct.
the juxtaposition of your legitimate psychological knowledge letting you predict and explain a disarming amount of the game and the game's sudden descents into chaotic nonsense is comedy gold
The thing is its not nonsense, but his perspective is limited. He was invested in the cheated being wrong and somehow convinced himself to trust the fukin razor.
I have the controversial take that The Razor is better than The Thorn. The Thorn ends right as it gets interesting due to the limitations of the game but the Razor is a full circle satisfying route.
@@NixahmaI think what you said about the Thorn route really depends on how you see the situation. I'm going to assume (and if I'm wrong, please correct me) that you think the interesting part is when the romance really starts to pick up. So it's disappointing once the end of the route ends when the romance starts. But the thing is, is that the end of the Thorn route actually _isn't_ when that romance starts. It actually starts all the way back in Chapter 1. What I think makes the route feel more satisfying and wonderful is when you focus less on the romance, and more on how the relationship between you and the princess has grown over time. The relationship between you starts with trust and hope (Helping her get out of there). In a way representing a real relationship that's going nice and smoothly. But then the first conflict in the relationship begins. You do something that makes the other person feel hurt and betrayed (Stabbing her in the back in her moment of vulnerability). Unfortunately, that person does not know how to cope with that and work through it (The Witch holding a grudge against you and is willing to lose her freedom to spite you). But you (The one who hurt her) don't want the relationship to go like this, and want to make up for what you did. You know what you did was wrong, you let the worst part of you make the decision (Opportunist in this situation would be the bad part of you) and it hurt the one you loved. She's no longer willing to listen to you because she feels she can't trust you, so you decide to show her through actions instead by "mastering our fear and insecurity and handing over our power" (Smitten is so understanding in this route like holy shit) which is giving her the blade. The very thing you used to hurt her. But due to her not handling the betrayal well and holding onto the pain you've caused her, she convinces herself that this is another trick. She then does the very same thing you did to her. She has hurt and betrayed you in your moment of vulnerability. When she realises that, by holding onto this anger, it has caused her to do the very thing that you did that caused all this pain. She spirals into this pit of self-loathing caused by the guilt because she also doesn't know how to cope with all this pain she held onto (All the thorns wrapped around her and cutting multiple deep wounds). She knows how much hurt and anger the betrayal caused her, and she couldn't let it go. So she expects you to do the same, and she wouldn't blame you if you do, no matter how much it would hurt her. But after what happened, she's still hoping that maybe, just maybe you can be better than her, and forgive her. Because deep down, she still loves you. She always has. Which is exactly why the first betrayal was painful in the first place. Because she loved you. So, by deciding to learn from her mistakes, and simply taking the time to understand, you don't hold onto that pain and anger. You, just like her, still love the other, and truly want to get through this difficult situation together, and be there for each other. So now that things have calmed down a little, you finally come to her again, and talk. Just, talk. You and her have now both experienced each other's pain and mistakes. She has now felt the guilt you felt after betraying her, and you have now felt the pain and anger of having your trust betrayed. You understand each other and relate to each other so much more than you did before. So you both decide to let down your guard, and become vulnerable together one more time. That's all that was needed to finally mend things. To finally be able to love and trust again. And in that moment of joy and relief and of getting to the end of a difficult journey in your relationship, you kiss. That kiss marks your love and care for each other being the thing that helped you pull through the difficulty together, to show that what you hold between you, really is true love. So yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the internet romance at the end is not when it "gets interesting" because that love has always been there. The Thorn route isn't about romance, it's about love. It's about how much the two of you have grown since the beginning. So I think the Thorn route continuing where it ends won't work story-wise, because that continuation would be a different story. It would be about a loving couple being happy together because they've already moved past the conflict. While the Thorn route is a story about a loving couple that is currently experiencing that conflict. Also also, when you said the Razor is a full circle, taking into consideration what I've said, the Thorn route also comes in full circle. You're a loving couple, you go through lots of pain and conflict, and in the end you go back to being a loving couple thanks to your love. Sorry for rambling so much. I just really enjoy talking about this game lol
@@CowMalicious9479 I admit that "right as it gets interesting" is poor wording, but I feel like a big part of what appeals to people about The Thorn is navigating how to patch up that relationship, which obviously won't start and end with freeing her. I've also seen a lot of fan content made of how TLQ and The Thorn go on to lead a happy life. That's mostly what I mean by that- The Thorn has a lot of potential that continues past its ending, but The Razor is a conclusive story, which I personally prefer. At least that's how I see it.
@@Nixahma Ah, ok I see. I get what you mean now. Honestly, I can't decide which route I like better for its story. They're both great, but for different reasons. But anyway, thank god we have fan stories to continue the route. Gotta love them lol
I cannot believe you got the razor second try that’s absolutely hysterical. This run is one of the most chaotic, the amount of times you think “well this can’t get any worse” and then she explodes into a ball of spikes. The smitten also kills me every time, when he calls the princess “the perfect woman” and she’s this haunting pile of knives I can’t help but laugh. You’ve given the entity some very interesting perspectives loll.
I’d even say Stubborn’s more simpy than smitten. He’s a whole lot more respecting towards the princess and he’s not the evil-shadow-monster-eternally-eating-dinner-rip-your-heart-out-guy.
@@ilikepineappleonpizza4257 The Stubborn adores the princess as much as the Smitten, perhaps even more so, when she is thinking and acting exactly like he is and just wants a fight. That's why a woman made entirely out of blades is perfect to him
45:50 pointing out the broken’s concern being belonging/love is really interesting, and almost heartbreaking, considering the other route that spawns him
Yeah, it might be that not just his spirit or body is broken, but also his heart. Him surrendering to The Tower feels like he just wants someone to want him and see value in him, because he can’t do it himself. Even if The Tower sees him as a pet and not an equal. I guess this game does explore all kind of toxic relationships?
@@anitakim_Yeah, a lot of people just see him as that one miserable guy, but I've always had the feeling there was more to him. *Spoilers for Tower and expanded Apotheosis Routes* I see a lot of people just say that Broken wants to submit to the Tower because he "simps" for her, and yeah, he does in fact love her. It was confirmed in Apotheosis when he said "but... I love her." (Or something like that. I can't remember the quotes exactly) but I really don't think that's entirely the reason. What really saddened me was when Broken said "maybe she'll be nice to us" in the Tower route. He just wants to feel safe and comforted, he just wants someone to make him feel loved because he can't love himself. And I figured this out _before_ the Pristine Cut thanks to that one quote. So I've always had a soft spot for him, it's why I've always wanted to hug him and tell him everything will be alright whenever he shows up. (This is also part of the reason why I hate the Tower so much. I just wanna protect Broken so much) But yeah, I agree that Broken being belonging/love really is perfect for him
Honestly it makes me think of the new (pristine cut spoilers) …it makes me think of the new Adversary-to-Fury route, where Broken promises to stay with you through the suffering and he’s the last one left after everything. Even Hero is gone, which I think makes this the only scenario where you have only one voice but that voice isn’t Hero.
@@a.n.9800 (pristine Cut spoilers) This can happen with another voice as well. If you get Cold, he'll make it through and you'll only have him left. Though, the reason for being able to get through the torture is less wholesome. He makes it because he just doesn't feel anything lol Though, he does have a genuinely wholesome moment _after_ all the torture is done.
Something that is wild to realize is that you only had the chance to, theoretically access half of the total routes available. Less, even. All from a single decision. After all, what possible "ally" enters a conversation with a knife already in hand?
The one that mutually understands it would not be used on each other. The one that understands such an implement can or may be used towards their mutual goal.
As proven by this episode, this game isn't just rich in its psychology, it also does a fantastic job in being a meta-narrative (narrative about narratives) The razor route you just did, for example, is a hilarious parody of the slasher horror genre. This route also is arguably the most chaotic route in the whole game, so it's great that you get to experience it. What I absolutely love about this game is that almost every route utilises some kind of cliche/trope/character archetype but twists it in such a way that both deconstructs / breaks down the trope being used AND expands upon the characters psychology. Oftentimes it even relates between the two i.e. how a trope reflects an aspect of the human experience. It's great stuff.
Fr! Goodness I really hope he gets to see the Moment of Clarity. It's arguably the darkest route in the entire game once you really get to understand what happened. I would _love_ to see that route from the perspective of a therapist!
@@CowMalicious9479 I hated that route TBH. It felt a bit more standard for the genre and the message wasn't... Oh, I see now why it was called "Moment of Clarity" XD. From his perspective though, I hope he gets the thorn route, because it seems to be in his expertise.
@@Midaspl It's honestly my fav though. I'll give a quick explanation to you. So in Nightmare, we abandoned her. She's extremely alone and depressed, all she really wants is some companionship, but all she knows is how to hurt. So when we refuse to let her out or run away, since she's so incredibly scared of being alone again, in a desperate attempt to make us understand her pain, she bares her heart to us. She's trying to be vulnerable with us, showing us how she's been trapped in this endless cycle of loneliness she can't seem to escape, making her worse and worse and worse. Unfortunately, during that moment we're too scared to understand, and we end up rejecting her instead. Which for her is like one of those moments where you finally build up the courage to open up to someone and be vulnerable around them, but they don't handle it well and it just makes you feel more alone than you did before. This rejection causes her to become so desperate and afraid of being alone forever, that she breaks us so we become too scared and hopeless to leave her. This is hurting her too, because she never truly wanted to do this to us. But being a horrible monster is the only thing she knows, so she feels it's the only thing she can do. Which explains why she says "I am what I am" so much. And the Moment of Clarity is what we see by the end of this cruel and painful cycle. Two people, suffering and in pain, with no way out until one of them eventually breaks. At least that's my understanding of the chapter and why I love it so much!
8:08 When I pick the option "Slay the Princess" to slay the princess and slay the princess in the game Slay the Princess. Jokes aside I do think it's fun how there is this moment of shock when the game actually just lets you do that.
No joke, I got the Good Ending my first time through because I figured, "what the hell, let's just go along with what the narrator tells me. He's the narrator right?"
I normally dont write comments on the videos I see, but I wanted to say that, even as an avid fan of slay the princess, all of the playthroughs I've seen and all of the time Ive played this game, your take on this story is refreshing, the way you put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist is endearing and I really hope you continue this series, even after the main storyline ends, to explore the (many) different princesses that are in this game, thanks for this series.
Honestly super refreshing, after so many streamers i've seen paying more attention to their chats than the game. Not naming names, but there was one that was literally having like, bidding wars on the options in the game. That really put me off.
If you want a similar playthrough focused on analysis I recommend the small streamer theeverythinggm, I was the one who rec'd the game to him and he did a great job doing a playthrough where he rly delved into media analysis
@@anitakim_ 1. Allowing chat to have a roll in making decisions drives up interactivity and gives more of an experience to the audience than simply having them watch. 2. Taking your same logic, the game itself is telling you to make decisions so taking advice from the game is not you making your own decision.
Every time you say you want to talk to her because that’s your job, I keep wondering, “Do you often keep your clients at knife-point while talking with them?”
There's a lesson in perspective-taking there. After the first route, you know you're a freaky-looking bird monster armed with a dagger, yet so many people I've seen play this game not internalize that fact and how intimidating it must be to be face-to-face with that while you're chained to a wall. Most people don't see that; since they don't think about it, in their subconscious the Princess is facing themselves, a streamer sitting comfortably in a couch, clicking buttons.
@@UrLeingodI mean TLQ is also unaware of what they look like. They assume that they’re some kind of bird but unless you’re going through The Princess and the Dragon he never properly understands what a terrifying creature he is
@@nightmarexgaming120In addition, Brady seems to keep taking the knife as a means of self-defense just in case shit goes south rather than intending to kill her (only exception of course being the razor route prequel). He may not realize that the PC is outwardly brandishing the thing
@@UrLeingod Yeah, I'm hoping Brady chooses to let the dagger outside at some point and gets his "love story" chapter, or at least something resembling it lol _spoiler_ though the scene where she falls in love with you but has to kill you against her will and even fumbles it is painful in its own very special way
Right now it seems like he isnt analyzing himself as a character in this and just the voices and the princess and it keeps leading him astray. Like he wants the love story but continues to make first impressions awful by bringing a knife every time. It partially frustrated but also fascinating and funny. It takes a while for players to realized how their actions can affect things beyond killing or not killing the princess.
"We need less voices! Less!" The Ending: Has the main character get rid of all the voices in order to achieve an ending. I feel you might've been a bit frustrated to really catch on to the fact the game validated your views.
In taking the knife, some part of you believes she must die. In not listening to her, some part of you believes she cannot be reasoned with. In checking her pulse, some part of you believes she may not have died, but that doesn't change the fact that you drove the knife into her heart. You reap what you sow. (love the playthrough btw, it's exactly the sort of deep dive i was hoping someone would make about this game)
It's funny seeing how your first playthrough with the princess made you perceive Chapter 1 and made you do something so far away from what you originally intended, because you based your thought process on what you have learned during the Prisoner's route which the Hero should have forgotten The disconnect is real 😂
I always felt that was the point that we the players bring to the game themselves. Even if the avatar in-universe can't remember, we will and we bring that and the structure within the game enforces this.
@@handel2502 This is further reinforced by the fact that the game removes choices you've already made. You can never get the same princess twice in one playthrough, the game just locks those options from you.
this playthrough is absolutely legendary. the way you say something and 1 second later the hero chimes in with that exact thought. the way you predicted what was going to happen near-perfectly. THE WAY YOU SAID YOU NEEDED TO GET RID OF THE VOICES AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS IN MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION. i think i need to see you get every option but this is already amazing
Getting The Razor immediately after The Prisoner is wild 😂 complete and total whiplash. There are _so_ many choices, you won’t run out of content for a while, though when you are satisfied of course depends on you. There are no wrong answers 😁
There's something oddly beautiful about Brady's picture-in-picture overlaid on top of the Razor entity at the end. For one, he's literally in the centre of this horrific metal tree of violence that he created, which is just a cool and meaningful visual for the episode. But also, we're seeing this as he's processing his own personal response to what he's experienced and explaining the ways that people process their pain. The juxtaposition of the pain/chaos that brought him here and this weirdly serene, tree-like form growing out behind him -- stretching out, searching for meaning... it's very striking.
I find if funny that because The Razor acted differently from the Prisoner you rightly connected they were differently princesses, but because of that you wrongly assumed she was not the one you killed. You never killed the Prisoner, you just sat with her until the cabin deteriorated. You *did* stab the Razor and then she, unlike the Prisoner, lied about your past experiences together.
On one hand, it -is- funny, and the talk about confirmation bias in front of the razor "who is definitely not lying" was cherry on top, *but* in poor Brady's defence, the prisonner looks *really* close to the princess (the chains aren't really a part of her), and it's easy to just... Not understand how the talks with the shifting mount work after just the first talk.
The truest beauty of this game to me is that it keeps its promise of having mo wrong choices, all are equally valid and meaningful. The developers did not want us to take any particular action. Go with your gut, go with your reasoning, or go with your heart. The story just provides you with options, then presents you with the consequences thereof - as unforseen as they may be. ❤
I love how he completely fell for the games manipulations. Displaying literally every emotion he said the character was feeling, he was too naive with The Razor, he was too broken for the next level, he was too insane with the many voices, he just wanted to be safe for the last one(Survival stuff), etc etc. Just because you understand how manipulation works… doesn’t mean you will always recognize it.
He analyses and is empathetic to even the most horrible scenarios. I think he can figure this out in detail, but I'm worried that he'll feel very bad about it.
Brady at the beginning: I want to see what happens I want to be able to choose Brady at the end: I regret everything... man i finished this episode feeling sad
I would LOVE to see you play through this more than just once. There's many routes that can't be seen on just one playthrough and many different ways to end the game. One specifically I would love to see you find.
The thing is if you choose to pick the blade the 1st time,you will _forever_ be inclined to do that. Unless you wanna just make an experiment. Which is a pity.
@Nicamon I dont think that's true. Theres plenty of outcomes if you took the blade where you might not want the blade in future. Hell some of the chapters even bring up why always taking the blade can be bad
@@gabrielbarron7667 SPOILER My point was that if you pick the blade the 1st time your 1st interaction with the Princess will be at least a bit hostile.When she asks:"Who's there?😒"you can hear immediately that she's not just an innocent,sweet lady,which _would_ happen if you _don't_ pick the blade and listen to her:"Is someone there?🥺"but if you hear that _after_ meeting the hostile/suspicious Princess you will _already_ have formed a pre-judice towards her,all because you chose to pick up the blade the very 1st time. And if you choose to _not_ pick the blade after many interactions you will already know the Princess is not just _1_ princess but a multitude of different personalities,some good and most bad. What I wanted to underlying is that it's extremely rare to get in a game in which you will *for real* be convinced,at least for a while,that the Princess is 100% Good and the Narrator is just"a Villain"(as the Smitten calls him 😎)that wants to trick us into killing an innocent.
@@Nicamon I agree that it's hard but there are some princesses that come from taking the blade that are sweet like that. SPOILERS spectre and cage come to mind, cage especially since it downright proves why not having the blade can be helpful
@@gabrielbarron7667 SPOILER Well,the Spectre is...a spectre...she's creepy and she shows violent impulses more than once and Cage is cold and sassy. And...isn't Cage a case in which you *must* pick the blade even if you don't want to?🤔
feeling so stressed because he's being like "uhmm idk if she's REALLY the same as last time we killed eachother?" like, my guy, buddy, i don't want to be rude but... there IS a reason she wants to kill you and that is because you killed her first
Careful of course with comments. This game is its best when you go in truly blind and try to piece it all together as you go. One of the best games I've played in years, and yet my experience was and will be totally different than yours.
The way you play this game is fascinating! Other people seem to play this more as a game so they end up on the strait forward routes and deal with their mistakes and learn and change their decisions accordingly. You on the other hand are questioning everything and want to find answers by having the upper hand or some kind of control, spiraling and second guessing every move you make even if it goes according to plan leading to you getting very paranoid voices and assuming that your choices give you very little agency when in reality they give you all the agency in the world.
ive seen all your videos thus far and i must say, i think this is the most important video you've made yet.. particularly about expanding ones access to emotional needs, that hit hard for me. what a great game choice to move from disco elysium, i didn't think another game would bring out so much.
17:43 I really love to go through the whole ordeal in the beginning, even if it does get a bit repetitive. It's very interesting and insightful to hear how the new voice is gonna react. The "you're here because you're special" line in particular is my favorite. Just seeing every voice's response to it is sooo funny but also tells a lot about their character!
I find it so interesting that Brady reacts to the Razor with abject horror when I know she's one of the most popular princesses and most people react with humour and enthusiasm.
I think one of my favorite things about this game is the way your actions shape the chapters, and even how each princess has things in common with each new voice. like the skeptic and the prisoner, whose chapter you achieve by being skeptical of the narrator's actions and assisting the princess's escape, both conspiring quietly to escape without drawing the eye of the narrator. its VERY fun to see your actions actually have specific consequences
wake up babe! new tpstp dropped considering your reaction to her little chomping act last time and the thumbnail of THIS video, this is going to be good
Ok I don't know anything about you but these two videos, but this has been FASCINATING. All your insights from your field of work, of course, but also just watching how your brain works with this game. Like, most fascinating to me is how intensely relieved you are to get back to Chapter 1 in the woods. You say "we get another chance" despite having been expressly told that you have MANY chances, and that there are no wrong answers, and that the being is grateful for ALL of the experiences. You still seem surprised to return to square one, and refer to it as a single extra chance. That's incredibly interesting to me, it's like you didn't trust the game's reassurance that you hadn't fucked up. You said "we deserve this" when the psychopathic princess dispatched you even though you hadn't harmed her in that round. In a game where almost more than any other game, it's EXPLICITLY CLEAR that you're in a loop, you still felt like the morally "worst" of your actions were more final. It's also so interesting to watch someone who is so acutely aware of what's happening in your own thoughts as you react. I really like how you're able to describe in real time what the game is doing to your decision making process and why. Can't wait to see more!
The multi-handed one wipes the memory of the character you play. So whenever you see the Chapter 1 Titlecard, it's the first time the character you're controlling sees the path in the woods. That's why all the questions you can ask the Narrator are the same. But when you return to the long quiet, the memories of all the chapters you've been through return.
I’m so fascinated by how in tune you are with the game. Like even though you went into this run thinking about the last run (even though canonically the main character should’ve forgotten that) you still managed to feel and think through like it would. Watching you play this game and psychoanalyze and go through your thought process is like rediscovering and recontextualizing what I already know while still ending with a similar take away. It really makes me think and I find myself learning quite a lot.
Only Brady will power through his lesson about limited emotional range while playing an ending with the full spectrum of the game's emotional states on display.
Brady feeling cheated by the Cheated because the Cheated feels cheated and is therefore cheated out of less stressful story routes is the meta narrative that I wasn't expecting, but wholeheartedly enjoyed
That line about gifts always gets me. Whenever a gift-giving holiday comes around people always ask eachother "what do you want me to give you?". Is it because we all no longer know each other enough? Are we just so afraid of disappointing others that we don't want to even try?
Hey, something you should know for getting into the head of your character, when you reset to the woods at chapter one, you lose your memory. You regain your memory every time you end up back in the Long Quiet . Of course you remember as the player, so carry on with connecting the different storylines, as they inform you on your approach to life, love, choice and relationships. (maybe you already knew about the memory loss thing, but at very least your player character doesnt recall the trauma of previous perspectives when he isnt in the Long Quiet.
You have GOT to play The Stanley Parable if you haven't already. If you liked the whole Pissing Off The Narrator thing you will LOVE Stanley Parable I prommyyyyyy it's so good :D
Bro this is the best playthrough of this game I've watched, that moment where you analysed the hunted and the cheated and they word for word confirmed what you just said was insane, your commentary of this game is amazing!
49:00 huh. I honestly have never understood how someone could get to such a rather broken point where they develop such behaviors beyond their control, but you've actually made this an understandable concept. I can see now how someone can be trapped like this. Wild. Good job recommending this playthrough, algorithm 😂
I love this game for sheer amount of capacity to reflect and self-reflect it provides, the questions it provides ground to ask, to learn, to understand, to grow, and I love your work for going out of your way to incapsulate some of that into words through your unique perspective of being well-versed in your field of expertise, as it is, once again, a perspective that would otherwise not avaiable to me. Thank you.
I find it hilarious how you've taken the knife every time you went down the stairs hahaha. Like, you keep saying you want to establish rapport, but you got down the stairs, armed, to face a lady bound in chains and most probably scared of whatever you are with your scaly arms and, of course, a pristine blade glinting in the moonlight within your claws. Just saying, it's hilarious :) I'm enjoying your perspective on the story, I can't wait for more!
This one took me back. The razor was the first princess I met. Although I got to her in a different way. Needless to say after this I was scared shitless of her and what she could do, and it really shaped my first playthrough! Glad you got to experience it early
I am loving your playthrough so much. I've watched quite a few playthroughs, seen almost everything this game has to offer, and listened to several different breakdowns analyzing its narrative from a variety of perspectives, but you're bringing something uniquely refreshing to the story and giving me an even more profound appreciation for the depth of this game. The way you stop and discuss after almost every line of dialogue makes it so much more impactful, and lines I've heard a dozen times suddenly take on new meaning and emotional weight. Phenomenal work; I absolutely cannot wait for the next episode!
trusting the razor was NOT what i expected from Any playthrough of this game ever but i think this was the fresh take i needed to see 10/10 cant wait for you to get through the rest of the game
here's the thing to be careful about: your characters do not have all the information you do. the narrator does not remember any loops. he knows their possible, but as far as he's concerned, he's always on his first until proven otherwise. the player, princess, and voices do remember prior loops, but only the immediate chapters. chapter 1, no one remembers anything. chapter 2, they remember chapter 1, chapter 3, they remember the prior 2. when you meet Handsy, your player regains memories of all the other chapters, but then she erases them when she sends you back, so on each chapter 1, your character, voices, and the princess are back to square 1. be careful making decisions based on prior chapters when you're dealing with characters that actually don't know those happened. for instance, none of the characters in this pathway (the Razor) remember what went on last episode while you were dealing with Prisoner, and so on and so forth.
im praying (non religiously) that you get the thorn princess, one of the most impactfully versions of the princess in my opinion (though im biased lol)
Definitely explore the unarmed options in future episodes they lead to very interesting routes. Also this might help, but when you bring vessels to "her" at the end of a run, think of it as a safe space. The self doubts and questions you have won't manifest the voices there. You can be as honest as you want with her and she will be equally with you. It can also make for a good time to add more notes or analyisis segments. As a pause between each route
Love how the smart man tried to out-think the game, but the game turns it right back around with pre coded results. Dude's playing checkers while Black Tabby is playing 4D chess.
"i never wanted to kill her, i just wanted to feel like i was making my own choices" is a hell of a line
Unironically using that for my ocs 😭 it slaps so hard
I have zero context about what thats from yet (I just got here) but that is a great line
"Cool motive, still murder."
@@RogueSwansongGiven what you and she actually are... no, not in the slightest.
@@saranorah228 Pretty sure it's just something he said.
Brady:
-going through everything about confirmation bias and how it can make a toxic relationship (do remember, this IS a love story)
-talking about how he's starting to connect with the Princess a bit
-actively trying to trust the Princess and establish a dialogue
The Princess:
please get in stabbing distance
please get in stabbing distance
please get in stabbing distance
please get in stabbing distance
please get in stabbing distance
LMAO
Right, but can you actually talk to the razor to get a different ending?
@@bontiac Nah. There are multiple endings, but she'll always want to kill you. The main difference is whether you pick up the knife in chapter 2, in which the route ends two different ways depending.
@@bontiac nope! there are only two endings for the razor and in both of them she kills you again and then you get to kill her
@@electrichunnel6281 not quite. In this one you kill each other (mutually assured destruction) in the other, you become nothing and she has an existential crises (because shes the one who hurts you and if your nothing, and shes the one who hurts nothing what is she)
31:29 ''OK I guess we're fucking cooked then" not something you ever want to hear from a therapist lmaooo
when your therapist calls "gg" and ends the session after 35 mins 😭
when the therapist goes 'now we don't have time to unpack all _that!!!'_
@@sparkcircuit7029"And we got literal parallel universes amount of time" 😭😭
Brady overanalysing and trusting one of the most straight forward psychotic princesses is hilarious
That was hilarious
oh just because a woman has swords for arms and wants to cut you into so many tiny little pieces she's "psychotic"? God forbid women do anything.
He basically tricked himself lmao
Edit: And I mean it literally by the way. He picked all the options that would have given him the most wiggle room to perceive the Princess and her intentions in the way he wanted. This is incredibly ironic given that he was literally talking about confirmation bias as well. Goes to show that we're all vulnerable to these issues even when we're trying our hardest to be aware of them and avoid them.
@@mahlawn2808"Ironic. He could save others from confirmation bias, but not himself."
@@TheR00k They say that those that can't do it themselves make good teacher, after all.
"Why do I never get what I want!?" Brady says as the voice of the cheated manifests in real life.
Gotta love how the voices just reflect what the player is thinking at the time
@@Superficial_IntelligenceFr, this game is done so well!
To quote a tumblr post I saw of this game:
The best way I can describe StP is "driving a packed clown car to an assassination"
That’s so funny, but also pretty accurate lol
My favorite comes from a steam review
"Me (Narrator's strongest warrior) and my homies (voices in my head) on a path in the woods on our way to save my wife (a woman we've just met)"
@@Arbeta10000 That is the best steam review I have ever seen, and I read those.
I'VE SEEN THAT and yeah
Brady therapy gaslighting himself into trusting the least trustworthy person possible
Goes to show that nobody is safe from confirmation bias! 😂 not even him.
@@peachykeen53 but he probably knows he is cheating himself with the confirmation bias.
The princess is trustworthy if you simply view her as she is. The only reason she changes is because you assume bad things will happen or that she is a monster.
I really recommend picking “what are your thoughts on this vessel” everytime
True, the game tells about the Princess, so he can have a clear view
It'd give him more to chew on for sure
Honestly one of the best options no matter the run.
This!
THISSSS
Brady: "I really don't want to hurt the princess"
Also Brady: "I REALLY need this knife though"
Brady: "Wasn't this supposed to be a love story?"
Also Brady: "Hmmm what if we killed our love interest"
Brady: "Holding a blade during therapy sessions is a good way to make patients talk." XD
@@jesterjaded73"It is a love story, but a tragic one"
The voices _immediately_ saying exactly what they need to say to perfectly back up your lesson on choice theory must've been the most validating thing in the world
I repeated that part like 7 times, so satisfying
Psychology rules, man
Time stamp ? ❤
Edit: oo found it
@@LolaHaze When?
50:02-51:00 for the curious
God, after seeing this one, I really hope we get to experience "Heart. Lungs. Liver. Nerves."
My thoughts exactly.
Same. honestly, I want him to see (spoiler!) moment of clarity for the simple reason of her speech during the shifting mound fight. With her speech being about sharing your heart and him being a therapist, I feel that would be perfect.
I hope he gets 'The Stranger' too.
I wanna see him kiss the witch, he deserves it after all of these
real i hope he gets thorn
12:00 "Why do I never get what I want?!"
That's such a Voice of the Cheated line...
The fact that the Hero went ‘nah, she lying, and I’m easily tricked’, but Brady still trusted the princess was hilarious
Euro Brady and Razor are the best cartoony duo.
"Nice argument. Unfortunately, it all goes dark and you die."
@@Kirill-Ivanov2002 we've got the murder hobo and the straightman, we just need a good hearted numbass to complete the perfect comedy trio. Y'know, like rock paper scissors, you need balance
@@miajajajajajajajajajovoice of the hero?
@@impossiblehanley2732 nah, he's too smart for a himbo, he would gladly play the straightman if paired up with the razor. Maybe voice of the smitten? Though he's not very dynamic, I think he could play a good himbo
from "how are we supposed to find love like this!"
to "You're cute" "... that makes me feel weird."
to "Not gonna lie..."
not the character development I expected, but the character development we deserved
Callin the second to last stage as "i would die for her" :)
brady being kinda into the razor is somehow unsurprising but i cant explain why
@@imetacrabI mean, how can you NOT be into Razor? Despite her murderous spree, she's very jovial and happy almost to an infectious degree. Surprisingly supportive as well, considering she on occasion encourages and even compliments the protagonist, lol
@@nolanstrife7350 I mean yeah, as long as we're operating on Dark Souls rules where I'll keep coming back, I don't mind a girl that finds joy in murdering me. That's kinda hot. At least, when she's as happy about it as Razor is. lol
@Pompadourius "that's kinda hot"
Let me guess. You love the kind of woman that will actually just kill you?
Getting to the Razor as a therapist is WILD
The skeptic got to him.
"I want to expand the emotional range" a few moments later "I want less of you!! less of you!!!" 😂😂😂
More voices ≠ Larger emotional range.
It'll take too long to explain for me, but that's a thing.
But generally in this case incorporating more needs and emotions within fewer voices is the goal when looking to expand the emotional range, within my understanding.
Thinking about this game from a therapeutic perspective is so interesting, because in that framework, you know what the voices you develop after your death are? They're defense mechanisms. You went into a situation, you got yourself hurt, and now you have a maladaptive pattern of thought that is trying to prevent you from getting hurt again.
The thing is that, as a therapist, you know that these reactions are maladaptive, and so you resist them, because they aren't conducive to future relationships.
But chapter 2 isn't a new situation, or a future relationship. It's another interaction with the same person who hurt you. We as humans, develop defense mechanisms with a purpose, and that purpose is to keep us alive.
All this to say, Cheated is a direct response to the princess. He KNOWS that princess, and if he tells you "if you get too close to that woman, she's going to stab you," he's probably right!
What's interesting psychologically is noticing when listening to the voices is helpful, and when it isn't. Are their goals aligned with yours? Is what they are saying reasonable, or have they dug too deep in to their own framework and are misleading you?
In this game, there are no wrong choices, or course. Every route, every ending, is the right one for your journey. But you might go into the cabin with a specific goal, maybe killing the princess, maybe saving her, and if you want to reach those outcomes, the best way to is listen (not follow, listen) to what the voices are saying, all of them. What are they repeating? Where do they disagree with eachother? Hero, especially. Hero is usually naive and empathetic, but when another voice is being unreasonable, Hero will usually have a clearer picture of the situation.
And we can compare that to examining our own impulses! I feel uncomfortable talking to this person because they remind me of someone who hurt me in the past. Is that a reasonable reaction? Are the similarities superficial, or is there real evidence that might make me not want to pursure this relationship? If I put my trust in this person, is that breaking a cycle of mistrust, or is it unnecessarily putting myself in a place to be harmed?
The voices are what they are and they think how they think, but that doesn't mean they can't help you, you just have to be careful about knowing when to take their advice.
Except for a certain rose that grew up in … turmoil… if you are picking up what I’m putting down
We're a birb though.
Man, I love this comment.
YES YES YES YES, OH MY GOD YES THIS IS EVERYTHING I LOVE ABOUT THIS GAME'S ABILITY TO CONVEY SELF LOVE, DEFENDING YOURSELF IS PART OF LOVING YOURSELF
Yes, that is a perfect description of this whole thing
By the end you said "I was afraid we'd fucked this Playthrough" and i will remember the games words at the beginning: There are no wrong choices, only fresh perspectives. Have heart to see them through.
Also, seeing you go into deep reflection when you're talking to her at the end of the loop is... Conforting. I went through something similar and i feel like the music there does put us in that state. I played this game over a year ago and it truly changed how i look at life. And seeing you play and reflect, as well as bring insight of a professional has become one of my favorite things here. Can't wait for the next one!
the feeling is mutual my friend
There are absolutely a few princess I encountered where I thought, "How do we go back after this???"
Sure enough though, The Long Quiet eventually cleanses all.
I recommend playing it again, there's been some meaningful additions in the Pristine Cut update that came out recently. Especially the new path for the Damsel and Prisoner routes are fantastic(for me at least, these two were the most impactful).
YES! THE PERFECT WOMAN.
10/10 PLAYTHROUGH
The Tower disliked that...
@@imetacrab Oh boo hoo. We're going along with the guy that appears
[*spoiler beat*]
after you kill her
@@FireyDeath4 THE PERFECT WOMAN.
0*
no *The Look* 😔
@@dibs6462Unfortunately, not everyone has the luxury of seeing the greatness of *_The Look_*
Brady casually predicting all the lines with his therapy skills right before they're spoken
50:00 is so goddamn funny the way everything is confirmed one by one in a checklist style
YEAH IT'S SO GOOD.
Yeah, it was so funny 😭
Pure validation right there 👏 😂
And yet it does not save him
After your look into language and paralanguage last time, I was hoping you'd get the razor
Yet despite the razor having different language and paralanguage he still trusted her 😂
That means Brady ain't good at detecting lies in videogames
yeah same!!
I was expecting the Cold route, but seeing him trust the Razor who’s a complete 180 from the Prisoner who was very transparent and blunt about her intentions to a scheming sociopath is hilarious.
Broken prioritizing love/belonging over all pther needs make soooo much sense with other routes too
also his reaction to flirting in this route
Especially in the tower route. That part of him comes through the most there.
I find it kind of interesting that you were so distrustful of The Cheated that you missed/ignored really blatant warning signs that she was lying to you and wanted to kill you lol
Euro "missing the forest for a tree" Brady
You know, Brady's LPs are great in their use of psychology but they are also interesting showcases about how psychological analytics can lead you astray when followed too rigidly or applied incorrectly
He was too interested in reforming himself to be appropriately paranoid lol
Eh, honestly I can see where he was coming from. He still wasn't sure how the world of the game worked. He said himself that he felt like what he was seeing was just how The Cheated was perceiving the situation. In Brady's mind, it sounds to me like he assumed his character's perception was literally warped in some way, and that the actual reality of the situation maybe looked and sounded different. It wasn't until the Princess actually made the move to kill him that he was like "Oh no, oh NO"
He should have known though because he was told last time what the world was, his perception.
Incredible power move to draw a chart mapping the different voices to different aspects of choice theory, and then every subsequent line of dialogue proves you got it exactly correct.
the juxtaposition of your legitimate psychological knowledge letting you predict and explain a disarming amount of the game and the game's sudden descents into chaotic nonsense is comedy gold
The thing is its not nonsense, but his perspective is limited. He was invested in the cheated being wrong and somehow convinced himself to trust the fukin razor.
Please always ask the Entity at the Long Quiet her thoughts in the vessel everytime.
You know, watching you play, it entirely makes sense that you got the skeptic as your first addition.
I feel like knowing a person’s first route automatically says a lot about them. Like, even more “a lot” than you’d initially suspect.
@@Kayta-Linda Most people end up in one of the three category; "The Damsel", "The Prisoner", or "The Stranger"
@@saininsa98 Really? I've seen a lot of Nightmares personally
@@Nixahma Oh, I hope it didn't affect your sleep schedule too much
@@saininsa98Or Cold
For the record Brady. You found probably one of the most insane paths in the game. Congratulations
I have the controversial take that The Razor is better than The Thorn. The Thorn ends right as it gets interesting due to the limitations of the game but the Razor is a full circle satisfying route.
@@Nixahma Have you tried things since Pristine Cut dropped?
@@NixahmaI think what you said about the Thorn route really depends on how you see the situation.
I'm going to assume (and if I'm wrong, please correct me) that you think the interesting part is when the romance really starts to pick up. So it's disappointing once the end of the route ends when the romance starts. But the thing is, is that the end of the Thorn route actually _isn't_ when that romance starts. It actually starts all the way back in Chapter 1.
What I think makes the route feel more satisfying and wonderful is when you focus less on the romance, and more on how the relationship between you and the princess has grown over time.
The relationship between you starts with trust and hope (Helping her get out of there). In a way representing a real relationship that's going nice and smoothly. But then the first conflict in the relationship begins. You do something that makes the other person feel hurt and betrayed (Stabbing her in the back in her moment of vulnerability).
Unfortunately, that person does not know how to cope with that and work through it (The Witch holding a grudge against you and is willing to lose her freedom to spite you).
But you (The one who hurt her) don't want the relationship to go like this, and want to make up for what you did. You know what you did was wrong, you let the worst part of you make the decision (Opportunist in this situation would be the bad part of you) and it hurt the one you loved.
She's no longer willing to listen to you because she feels she can't trust you, so you decide to show her through actions instead by "mastering our fear and insecurity and handing over our power" (Smitten is so understanding in this route like holy shit) which is giving her the blade. The very thing you used to hurt her. But due to her not handling the betrayal well and holding onto the pain you've caused her, she convinces herself that this is another trick. She then does the very same thing you did to her. She has hurt and betrayed you in your moment of vulnerability. When she realises that, by holding onto this anger, it has caused her to do the very thing that you did that caused all this pain. She spirals into this pit of self-loathing caused by the guilt because she also doesn't know how to cope with all this pain she held onto (All the thorns wrapped around her and cutting multiple deep wounds). She knows how much hurt and anger the betrayal caused her, and she couldn't let it go. So she expects you to do the same, and she wouldn't blame you if you do, no matter how much it would hurt her. But after what happened, she's still hoping that maybe, just maybe you can be better than her, and forgive her. Because deep down, she still loves you. She always has. Which is exactly why the first betrayal was painful in the first place. Because she loved you.
So, by deciding to learn from her mistakes, and simply taking the time to understand, you don't hold onto that pain and anger. You, just like her, still love the other, and truly want to get through this difficult situation together, and be there for each other. So now that things have calmed down a little, you finally come to her again, and talk. Just, talk. You and her have now both experienced each other's pain and mistakes. She has now felt the guilt you felt after betraying her, and you have now felt the pain and anger of having your trust betrayed.
You understand each other and relate to each other so much more than you did before. So you both decide to let down your guard, and become vulnerable together one more time. That's all that was needed to finally mend things. To finally be able to love and trust again.
And in that moment of joy and relief and of getting to the end of a difficult journey in your relationship, you kiss. That kiss marks your love and care for each other being the thing that helped you pull through the difficulty together, to show that what you hold between you, really is true love.
So yeah, I guess what I'm trying to say is that the internet romance at the end is not when it "gets interesting" because that love has always been there. The Thorn route isn't about romance, it's about love. It's about how much the two of you have grown since the beginning. So I think the Thorn route continuing where it ends won't work story-wise, because that continuation would be a different story. It would be about a loving couple being happy together because they've already moved past the conflict. While the Thorn route is a story about a loving couple that is currently experiencing that conflict.
Also also, when you said the Razor is a full circle, taking into consideration what I've said, the Thorn route also comes in full circle. You're a loving couple, you go through lots of pain and conflict, and in the end you go back to being a loving couple thanks to your love.
Sorry for rambling so much. I just really enjoy talking about this game lol
@@CowMalicious9479 I admit that "right as it gets interesting" is poor wording, but I feel like a big part of what appeals to people about The Thorn is navigating how to patch up that relationship, which obviously won't start and end with freeing her. I've also seen a lot of fan content made of how TLQ and The Thorn go on to lead a happy life. That's mostly what I mean by that- The Thorn has a lot of potential that continues past its ending, but The Razor is a conclusive story, which I personally prefer. At least that's how I see it.
@@Nixahma Ah, ok I see. I get what you mean now. Honestly, I can't decide which route I like better for its story. They're both great, but for different reasons.
But anyway, thank god we have fan stories to continue the route. Gotta love them lol
I cannot believe you got the razor second try that’s absolutely hysterical. This run is one of the most chaotic, the amount of times you think “well this can’t get any worse” and then she explodes into a ball of spikes. The smitten also kills me every time, when he calls the princess “the perfect woman” and she’s this haunting pile of knives I can’t help but laugh. You’ve given the entity some very interesting perspectives loll.
I'm pretty sure it's Stubborn of all voices who actually proclaims full knife Razor to be his perfect woman.
@ that’s even funnier
I’d even say Stubborn’s more simpy than smitten. He’s a whole lot more respecting towards the princess and he’s not the evil-shadow-monster-eternally-eating-dinner-rip-your-heart-out-guy.
@@ilikepineappleonpizza4257 The Stubborn adores the princess as much as the Smitten, perhaps even more so, when she is thinking and acting exactly like he is and just wants a fight. That's why a woman made entirely out of blades is perfect to him
I got Razor and Voice of the Cheated during my first ever run. Imagine what I felt lmao
1:09:18 Bro I'm not sure therapy can help me against a giant blade woman advancing towards me with the intent of turning me into ribbons 😰 /j
45:50 pointing out the broken’s concern being belonging/love is really interesting, and almost heartbreaking, considering the other route that spawns him
Yeah, it might be that not just his spirit or body is broken, but also his heart. Him surrendering to The Tower feels like he just wants someone to want him and see value in him, because he can’t do it himself. Even if The Tower sees him as a pet and not an equal. I guess this game does explore all kind of toxic relationships?
@@anitakim_Yeah, a lot of people just see him as that one miserable guy, but I've always had the feeling there was more to him.
*Spoilers for Tower and expanded Apotheosis Routes*
I see a lot of people just say that Broken wants to submit to the Tower because he "simps" for her, and yeah, he does in fact love her. It was confirmed in Apotheosis when he said "but... I love her." (Or something like that. I can't remember the quotes exactly) but I really don't think that's entirely the reason. What really saddened me was when Broken said "maybe she'll be nice to us" in the Tower route. He just wants to feel safe and comforted, he just wants someone to make him feel loved because he can't love himself. And I figured this out _before_ the Pristine Cut thanks to that one quote. So I've always had a soft spot for him, it's why I've always wanted to hug him and tell him everything will be alright whenever he shows up. (This is also part of the reason why I hate the Tower so much. I just wanna protect Broken so much)
But yeah, I agree that Broken being belonging/love really is perfect for him
@@anitakim_ Yeah, although the added Apotheosis route after the Tower feels like a "good path" for him in the end.
Honestly it makes me think of the new (pristine cut spoilers)
…it makes me think of the new Adversary-to-Fury route, where Broken promises to stay with you through the suffering and he’s the last one left after everything. Even Hero is gone, which I think makes this the only scenario where you have only one voice but that voice isn’t Hero.
@@a.n.9800 (pristine Cut spoilers)
This can happen with another voice as well. If you get Cold, he'll make it through and you'll only have him left. Though, the reason for being able to get through the torture is less wholesome. He makes it because he just doesn't feel anything lol
Though, he does have a genuinely wholesome moment _after_ all the torture is done.
Something that is wild to realize is that you only had the chance to, theoretically access half of the total routes available. Less, even. All from a single decision.
After all, what possible "ally" enters a conversation with a knife already in hand?
The one that mutually understands it would not be used on each other. The one that understands such an implement can or may be used towards their mutual goal.
I guess you’re almost ready, as a therapist, to ask the most important question for playing this game:
“Who is the client?”
As proven by this episode, this game isn't just rich in its psychology, it also does a fantastic job in being a meta-narrative (narrative about narratives)
The razor route you just did, for example, is a hilarious parody of the slasher horror genre. This route also is arguably the most chaotic route in the whole game, so it's great that you get to experience it.
What I absolutely love about this game is that almost every route utilises some kind of cliche/trope/character archetype but twists it in such a way that both deconstructs / breaks down the trope being used AND expands upon the characters psychology. Oftentimes it even relates between the two i.e. how a trope reflects an aspect of the human experience. It's great stuff.
the twists are even foreshadowed in the title of the game, *Slay* the Princess rather than the usual cliche of *save* the princess.
Fr! Goodness I really hope he gets to see the Moment of Clarity. It's arguably the darkest route in the entire game once you really get to understand what happened. I would _love_ to see that route from the perspective of a therapist!
@@CowMalicious9479 I hated that route TBH. It felt a bit more standard for the genre and the message wasn't... Oh, I see now why it was called "Moment of Clarity" XD. From his perspective though, I hope he gets the thorn route, because it seems to be in his expertise.
@@Midaspl It's honestly my fav though. I'll give a quick explanation to you. So in Nightmare, we abandoned her. She's extremely alone and depressed, all she really wants is some companionship, but all she knows is how to hurt. So when we refuse to let her out or run away, since she's so incredibly scared of being alone again, in a desperate attempt to make us understand her pain, she bares her heart to us. She's trying to be vulnerable with us, showing us how she's been trapped in this endless cycle of loneliness she can't seem to escape, making her worse and worse and worse. Unfortunately, during that moment we're too scared to understand, and we end up rejecting her instead. Which for her is like one of those moments where you finally build up the courage to open up to someone and be vulnerable around them, but they don't handle it well and it just makes you feel more alone than you did before. This rejection causes her to become so desperate and afraid of being alone forever, that she breaks us so we become too scared and hopeless to leave her. This is hurting her too, because she never truly wanted to do this to us. But being a horrible monster is the only thing she knows, so she feels it's the only thing she can do. Which explains why she says "I am what I am" so much. And the Moment of Clarity is what we see by the end of this cruel and painful cycle. Two people, suffering and in pain, with no way out until one of them eventually breaks.
At least that's my understanding of the chapter and why I love it so much!
8:08
When I pick the option "Slay the Princess" to slay the princess and slay the princess in the game Slay the Princess.
Jokes aside I do think it's fun how there is this moment of shock when the game actually just lets you do that.
No joke, I got the Good Ending my first time through because I figured, "what the hell, let's just go along with what the narrator tells me. He's the narrator right?"
I normally dont write comments on the videos I see, but I wanted to say that, even as an avid fan of slay the princess, all of the playthroughs I've seen and all of the time Ive played this game, your take on this story is refreshing, the way you put yourself in the shoes of the protagonist is endearing and I really hope you continue this series, even after the main storyline ends, to explore the (many) different princesses that are in this game, thanks for this series.
Honestly super refreshing, after so many streamers i've seen paying more attention to their chats than the game.
Not naming names, but there was one that was literally having like, bidding wars on the options in the game. That really put me off.
@@Wromeo13so stupid to let someone else make choices for you in the game about choices.
If you want a similar playthrough focused on analysis I recommend the small streamer theeverythinggm, I was the one who rec'd the game to him and he did a great job doing a playthrough where he rly delved into media analysis
@@anitakim_
1. Allowing chat to have a roll in making decisions drives up interactivity and gives more of an experience to the audience than simply having them watch.
2. Taking your same logic, the game itself is telling you to make decisions so taking advice from the game is not you making your own decision.
Every time you say you want to talk to her because that’s your job, I keep wondering, “Do you often keep your clients at knife-point while talking with them?”
There's a lesson in perspective-taking there. After the first route, you know you're a freaky-looking bird monster armed with a dagger, yet so many people I've seen play this game not internalize that fact and how intimidating it must be to be face-to-face with that while you're chained to a wall. Most people don't see that; since they don't think about it, in their subconscious the Princess is facing themselves, a streamer sitting comfortably in a couch, clicking buttons.
@@UrLeingodI mean TLQ is also unaware of what they look like. They assume that they’re some kind of bird but unless you’re going through The Princess and the Dragon he never properly understands what a terrifying creature he is
@@nightmarexgaming120In addition, Brady seems to keep taking the knife as a means of self-defense just in case shit goes south rather than intending to kill her (only exception of course being the razor route prequel). He may not realize that the PC is outwardly brandishing the thing
@@UrLeingod Yeah, I'm hoping Brady chooses to let the dagger outside at some point and gets his "love story" chapter, or at least something resembling it lol
_spoiler_
though the scene where she falls in love with you but has to kill you against her will and even fumbles it is painful in its own very special way
Right now it seems like he isnt analyzing himself as a character in this and just the voices and the princess and it keeps leading him astray. Like he wants the love story but continues to make first impressions awful by bringing a knife every time. It partially frustrated but also fascinating and funny. It takes a while for players to realized how their actions can affect things beyond killing or not killing the princess.
"We need less voices! Less!"
The Ending: Has the main character get rid of all the voices in order to achieve an ending.
I feel you might've been a bit frustrated to really catch on to the fact the game validated your views.
In taking the knife, some part of you believes she must die.
In not listening to her, some part of you believes she cannot be reasoned with.
In checking her pulse, some part of you believes she may not have died, but that doesn't change the fact that you drove the knife into her heart.
You reap what you sow.
(love the playthrough btw, it's exactly the sort of deep dive i was hoping someone would make about this game)
"I guess it's only appropriate that I've chosen the most fucked-up route possible"
...oh honey
🤣
which one would you nominate?
@@dargons5145 Not sure, maybe The Fury? Happily Ever After could also be nominated.
The Den, too
@@dargons5145Perhaps the Nightmare? Specially the choice where you go on a trip and end up with every single voice.
"Can we just talk" he says after choosing not to talk and killing her in cold blood
Yeah, that is not a smart thing to say while carrying a knife.
Narrator, saying not to do something - 2,
Braddy, going to check it out anyway - 0.
so far Narrator is winning.
The Narrator has all the evidence in his favour, but is so shockingly poor at explaining his point that it doesn't even matter
nobody trusts Jonathan Sims whether he's heading magnus archive or narrating a love story
@@increbidel4685 he can't help it, unfortunately
@@increbidel4685 this game feels like such a good metaphor for everything lmao
@@increbidel4685 It's that he cannot explain. If he does, things just get worse because of the princess' nature.
It's funny seeing how your first playthrough with the princess made you perceive Chapter 1 and made you do something so far away from what you originally intended, because you based your thought process on what you have learned during the Prisoner's route which the Hero should have forgotten
The disconnect is real 😂
I always felt that was the point that we the players bring to the game themselves. Even if the avatar in-universe can't remember, we will and we bring that and the structure within the game enforces this.
@@handel2502 This is further reinforced by the fact that the game removes choices you've already made. You can never get the same princess twice in one playthrough, the game just locks those options from you.
Forget therapy with relaxing piano jazz or nature sounds -- try therapy with horror ambience: really brings out the trauma!
this playthrough is absolutely legendary. the way you say something and 1 second later the hero chimes in with that exact thought. the way you predicted what was going to happen near-perfectly. THE WAY YOU SAID YOU NEEDED TO GET RID OF THE VOICES AND THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENS IN MUTUALLY ASSURED DESTRUCTION. i think i need to see you get every option but this is already amazing
Getting The Razor immediately after The Prisoner is wild 😂 complete and total whiplash. There are _so_ many choices, you won’t run out of content for a while, though when you are satisfied of course depends on you. There are no wrong answers 😁
There's something oddly beautiful about Brady's picture-in-picture overlaid on top of the Razor entity at the end. For one, he's literally in the centre of this horrific metal tree of violence that he created, which is just a cool and meaningful visual for the episode. But also, we're seeing this as he's processing his own personal response to what he's experienced and explaining the ways that people process their pain. The juxtaposition of the pain/chaos that brought him here and this weirdly serene, tree-like form growing out behind him -- stretching out, searching for meaning... it's very striking.
I truly hope he gets "happily ever after", would be a 3 hour episode.
I find if funny that because The Razor acted differently from the Prisoner you rightly connected they were differently princesses, but because of that you wrongly assumed she was not the one you killed. You never killed the Prisoner, you just sat with her until the cabin deteriorated. You *did* stab the Razor and then she, unlike the Prisoner, lied about your past experiences together.
On one hand, it -is- funny, and the talk about confirmation bias in front of the razor "who is definitely not lying" was cherry on top, *but* in poor Brady's defence, the prisonner looks *really* close to the princess (the chains aren't really a part of her), and it's easy to just... Not understand how the talks with the shifting mount work after just the first talk.
The truest beauty of this game to me is that it keeps its promise of having mo wrong choices, all are equally valid and meaningful. The developers did not want us to take any particular action. Go with your gut, go with your reasoning, or go with your heart. The story just provides you with options, then presents you with the consequences thereof - as unforseen as they may be. ❤
I love how he completely fell for the games manipulations. Displaying literally every emotion he said the character was feeling, he was too naive with The Razor, he was too broken for the next level, he was too insane with the many voices, he just wanted to be safe for the last one(Survival stuff), etc etc.
Just because you understand how manipulation works… doesn’t mean you will always recognize it.
I had a feeling Brady would find meaning in the overall game structure faster than most; and it looks like I was right
He analyses and is empathetic to even the most horrible scenarios. I think he can figure this out in detail, but I'm worried that he'll feel very bad about it.
Brady at the beginning: I want to see what happens I want to be able to choose
Brady at the end: I regret everything...
man i finished this episode feeling sad
I would LOVE to see you play through this more than just once. There's many routes that can't be seen on just one playthrough and many different ways to end the game. One specifically I would love to see you find.
Id like to ask is it
(Spoiler warning for brady)
The princess and the dragon?
@@Reynnan123
Oh I actually haven't seen that one. I was thinking about Thorns.
@@Proto-Blues oh yeah that would be amazing for him to analyze
"I'll always take the blade" is *very* interesting. I suppose it gives you more choices than not...
Or does it.
The thing is if you choose to pick the blade the 1st time,you will _forever_ be inclined to do that. Unless you wanna just make an experiment. Which is a pity.
@Nicamon I dont think that's true. Theres plenty of outcomes if you took the blade where you might not want the blade in future. Hell some of the chapters even bring up why always taking the blade can be bad
@@gabrielbarron7667 SPOILER
My point was that if you pick the blade the 1st time your 1st interaction with the Princess will be at least a bit hostile.When she asks:"Who's there?😒"you can hear immediately that she's not just an innocent,sweet lady,which _would_ happen if you _don't_ pick the blade and listen to her:"Is someone there?🥺"but if you hear that _after_ meeting the hostile/suspicious Princess you will _already_ have formed a pre-judice towards her,all because you chose to pick up the blade the very 1st time. And if you choose to _not_ pick the blade after many interactions you will already know the Princess is not just _1_ princess but a multitude of different personalities,some good and most bad. What I wanted to underlying is that it's extremely rare to get in a game in which you will *for real* be convinced,at least for a while,that the Princess is 100% Good and the Narrator is just"a Villain"(as the Smitten calls him 😎)that wants to trick us into killing an innocent.
@@Nicamon I agree that it's hard but there are some princesses that come from taking the blade that are sweet like that. SPOILERS
spectre and cage come to mind, cage especially since it downright proves why not having the blade can be helpful
@@gabrielbarron7667 SPOILER
Well,the Spectre is...a spectre...she's creepy and she shows violent impulses more than once and Cage is cold and sassy. And...isn't Cage a case in which you *must* pick the blade even if you don't want to?🤔
feeling so stressed because he's being like "uhmm idk if she's REALLY the same as last time we killed eachother?" like, my guy, buddy, i don't want to be rude but... there IS a reason she wants to kill you
and that is because you killed her first
Honestly is fun to see how proud he seems when he predicts what the cheated, broken and hunted are
And how The Cold was going to appear
OMG ONE OF THE BEST ROUTES IN THE 2ND PLAYTHROUGH???? COUNT ME INNNN
Careful of course with comments. This game is its best when you go in truly blind and try to piece it all together as you go. One of the best games I've played in years, and yet my experience was and will be totally different than yours.
The way you play this game is fascinating! Other people seem to play this more as a game so they end up on the strait forward routes and deal with their mistakes and learn and change their decisions accordingly. You on the other hand are questioning everything and want to find answers by having the upper hand or some kind of control, spiraling and second guessing every move you make even if it goes according to plan leading to you getting very paranoid voices and assuming that your choices give you very little agency when in reality they give you all the agency in the world.
1:08:04 woah... That almost sounded like *awe* in Cold's voice. Iiiiinteresting!
When even Cold is shaken, you *know* you’re screwed.
ive seen all your videos thus far and i must say, i think this is the most important video you've made yet.. particularly about expanding ones access to emotional needs, that hit hard for me. what a great game choice to move from disco elysium, i didn't think another game would bring out so much.
Handwritten text over the dimmed game screen is a great stylistic fit
I'm glad I'm not alone with this thought.
17:43 I really love to go through the whole ordeal in the beginning, even if it does get a bit repetitive. It's very interesting and insightful to hear how the new voice is gonna react. The "you're here because you're special" line in particular is my favorite. Just seeing every voice's response to it is sooo funny but also tells a lot about their character!
I find it so interesting that Brady reacts to the Razor with abject horror when I know she's one of the most popular princesses and most people react with humour and enthusiasm.
I mean... It's one of the few princesses that are genuinly happy and I just want to make her happy. Wink.
I think one of my favorite things about this game is the way your actions shape the chapters, and even how each princess has things in common with each new voice. like the skeptic and the prisoner, whose chapter you achieve by being skeptical of the narrator's actions and assisting the princess's escape, both conspiring quietly to escape without drawing the eye of the narrator. its VERY fun to see your actions actually have specific consequences
now I understand that line "You carry a part of what should be her, and she carries a part of what should be you."
"can we just talk" said the guy who always choose to take the knife XD
it's interesting that you sais "we will do better" I hope you're gonna do it ^^
wake up babe! new tpstp dropped
considering your reaction to her little chomping act last time and the thumbnail of THIS video, this is going to be good
at first I thought tpstp was like, some variant of pspspsps
Whose cat are you trying to call ?
dude
stp slay the princess
tsp the stanley parable
just noticed
My cat brought me over here, what's all the fuss
@@thetas-sounds teaspoons
Ok I don't know anything about you but these two videos, but this has been FASCINATING. All your insights from your field of work, of course, but also just watching how your brain works with this game.
Like, most fascinating to me is how intensely relieved you are to get back to Chapter 1 in the woods. You say "we get another chance" despite having been expressly told that you have MANY chances, and that there are no wrong answers, and that the being is grateful for ALL of the experiences. You still seem surprised to return to square one, and refer to it as a single extra chance. That's incredibly interesting to me, it's like you didn't trust the game's reassurance that you hadn't fucked up. You said "we deserve this" when the psychopathic princess dispatched you even though you hadn't harmed her in that round. In a game where almost more than any other game, it's EXPLICITLY CLEAR that you're in a loop, you still felt like the morally "worst" of your actions were more final.
It's also so interesting to watch someone who is so acutely aware of what's happening in your own thoughts as you react. I really like how you're able to describe in real time what the game is doing to your decision making process and why. Can't wait to see more!
The multi-handed one wipes the memory of the character you play. So whenever you see the Chapter 1 Titlecard, it's the first time the character you're controlling sees the path in the woods. That's why all the questions you can ask the Narrator are the same. But when you return to the long quiet, the memories of all the chapters you've been through return.
Yeah it’s time for full house of voices judging by thumbnail
I’m so fascinated by how in tune you are with the game. Like even though you went into this run thinking about the last run (even though canonically the main character should’ve forgotten that) you still managed to feel and think through like it would. Watching you play this game and psychoanalyze and go through your thought process is like rediscovering and recontextualizing what I already know while still ending with a similar take away. It really makes me think and I find myself learning quite a lot.
Behold, the perfect woman!
I love you keep being like "I just wanna talk!" but you keep bringing the knife down with you, lmao
Only Brady will power through his lesson about limited emotional range while playing an ending with the full spectrum of the game's emotional states on display.
Brady feeling cheated by the Cheated because the Cheated feels cheated and is therefore cheated out of less stressful story routes is the meta narrative that I wasn't expecting, but wholeheartedly enjoyed
That line about gifts always gets me. Whenever a gift-giving holiday comes around people always ask eachother "what do you want me to give you?". Is it because we all no longer know each other enough? Are we just so afraid of disappointing others that we don't want to even try?
Hey, something you should know for getting into the head of your character, when you reset to the woods at chapter one, you lose your memory. You regain your memory every time you end up back in the Long Quiet . Of course you remember as the player, so carry on with connecting the different storylines, as they inform you on your approach to life, love, choice and relationships. (maybe you already knew about the memory loss thing, but at very least your player character doesnt recall the trauma of previous perspectives when he isnt in the Long Quiet.
You have GOT to play The Stanley Parable if you haven't already. If you liked the whole Pissing Off The Narrator thing you will LOVE Stanley Parable I prommyyyyyy it's so good :D
(liking my own comment because I Lov Myself :3)
I second this!!
"Look, she's smiling :D"
Oh, sweet summer child...
Bro this is the best playthrough of this game I've watched, that moment where you analysed the hunted and the cheated and they word for word confirmed what you just said was insane, your commentary of this game is amazing!
You embraced the cycle of violence, why recoil when it embraces you back?
49:00 huh. I honestly have never understood how someone could get to such a rather broken point where they develop such behaviors beyond their control, but you've actually made this an understandable concept. I can see now how someone can be trapped like this. Wild.
Good job recommending this playthrough, algorithm 😂
I love this game for sheer amount of capacity to reflect and self-reflect it provides, the questions it provides ground to ask, to learn, to understand, to grow, and I love your work for going out of your way to incapsulate some of that into words through your unique perspective of being well-versed in your field of expertise, as it is, once again, a perspective that would otherwise not avaiable to me. Thank you.
I find it hilarious how you've taken the knife every time you went down the stairs hahaha. Like, you keep saying you want to establish rapport, but you got down the stairs, armed, to face a lady bound in chains and most probably scared of whatever you are with your scaly arms and, of course, a pristine blade glinting in the moonlight within your claws.
Just saying, it's hilarious :) I'm enjoying your perspective on the story, I can't wait for more!
This one took me back. The razor was the first princess I met. Although I got to her in a different way. Needless to say after this I was scared shitless of her and what she could do, and it really shaped my first playthrough! Glad you got to experience it early
“This makes it clear that we’re not some sort of avian creature.”
Does He Know?
Arguably my favorite route in the entire game, the voices here are all really peak in my opinion.
I am loving your playthrough so much. I've watched quite a few playthroughs, seen almost everything this game has to offer, and listened to several different breakdowns analyzing its narrative from a variety of perspectives, but you're bringing something uniquely refreshing to the story and giving me an even more profound appreciation for the depth of this game. The way you stop and discuss after almost every line of dialogue makes it so much more impactful, and lines I've heard a dozen times suddenly take on new meaning and emotional weight. Phenomenal work; I absolutely cannot wait for the next episode!
If you want love try not taking the blade for a change.
trusting the razor was NOT what i expected from Any playthrough of this game ever but i think this was the fresh take i needed to see 10/10 cant wait for you to get through the rest of the game
here's the thing to be careful about:
your characters do not have all the information you do.
the narrator does not remember any loops. he knows their possible, but as far as he's concerned, he's always on his first until proven otherwise.
the player, princess, and voices do remember prior loops, but only the immediate chapters. chapter 1, no one remembers anything. chapter 2, they remember chapter 1, chapter 3, they remember the prior 2. when you meet Handsy, your player regains memories of all the other chapters, but then she erases them when she sends you back, so on each chapter 1, your character, voices, and the princess are back to square 1.
be careful making decisions based on prior chapters when you're dealing with characters that actually don't know those happened.
for instance, none of the characters in this pathway (the Razor) remember what went on last episode while you were dealing with Prisoner, and so on and so forth.
im praying (non religiously) that you get the thorn princess, one of the most impactfully versions of the princess in my opinion (though im biased lol)
1:01:30 "I'm supposed to be a mental health professional"
Definitely explore the unarmed options in future episodes they lead to very interesting routes. Also this might help, but when you bring vessels to "her" at the end of a run, think of it as a safe space. The self doubts and questions you have won't manifest the voices there. You can be as honest as you want with her and she will be equally with you.
It can also make for a good time to add more notes or analyisis segments. As a pause between each route
I like how the entity ended up giving him therapy at the end after he was feeling guilty for turning the Princess into the Razor.
Love how the smart man tried to out-think the game, but the game turns it right back around with pre coded results. Dude's playing checkers while Black Tabby is playing 4D chess.
1:01:25 "There's the disaffected! I _knew_ we could draw it out!"
*Slow applause*