Apologies if there are any audio skips or issues in this video. If you're wondering why I glitched out around 38 minutes in I was hearing some skipping in my headphones and was worried I'd have to pause the recording and reload. It might have just been my headphones though. Hope you enjoy!
You playing the og version or the pristine cut update? Cus you should be playing pristine cut, it has 3 new routes, and three updated ones, and they are all grate, and I think they did a bit more but idk what
Minute 6: I'm a professional, i won't be caught in her web of lies Minute 10: Taking 5 minutes to make a decision and IMMEDIATLY questioning it after clicking YUP. That's Slay The Princess for you. I'm not a professional but it happened to me too
Brady saying "I need to build trust" made me chuckle because trying to build trust with someone chained to a wall is functionally Therapy: Super Hard Mode Unlocked!
I think it's pretty metaphorical. SPOILERS: The game is all about perspective and everything in it is filtered by how you think about it. Even the Princess is a Princess because that's how your character views her. Having her chained to a wall and having to talk to her, reason with her and free her through mutual understanding or through death speaks for everything happening between you and her
Not just that. Trying to build trust with someone chained to the wall while HOLDING A KNIFE! If I was in the princesses shoes I wouldnt trust a word anyone says.
I love how easily you understood the mentality and flaws of the voice of the skeptic. Commenting on his tendency to get caught up in “figuring out” unimportant details before his interest in the shackle literally got you locked up and immobilized was immensely satisfying.
The Prisoner my beloved. Consent queen. "That's pathetic." "I never said I wasn't." is one of my favourite Narrator interactions. Regardless of wheter he's right or wrong, he has been nothing but suspicious, insulting, and generally unpleasant so far. It came as a surprise and earned him a lot of sympathy points from me. I am so, so grateful that you're playing this. I wasn't sure you would and I certainly wasn't expecting it *now*. I could not possibly verbalize how important this game is to me, and you sharing your psychological expertise on top of that is all I ever needed. Know that the game only gets better from there. If Disco Elysium changed you, this certainly will. I wonder if you'll run into any Pristine Cut content on your first playthrough? Probably, but the game is pretty big, so you might not. The fact it (the Pristine Cut) only took the devs one year to complete is mindblowing. The game is now everything it was ever meant to be.
I feel like he kinda believed that, but also said it exactly to make himself more agreeable. That doesn't really matter when you have the Skeptic talking though... and it could've even been why he just said it. On another route, he says to a voice, "you don't need to know what I am. You just need to know that I'm...different from you. More important."
You predicted the game as much as the game predicted you. And your psychological insight on the interactions and the natures of the voices were very interesting. Definitely one of the most interesting playthrough analyses of the game I’ve seen so far. Looking forward to more Slay the Princess content! Also, the fact that you called that the Skeptic would be wrong and still inspected the shackle. Agh! I was genuinely on the edge of my seat there thinking “don’t do it, don’t do it!” You’d have definitely figured out the best ending for the Prisoner route otherwise I think. But yeah, great video!
Slay the Princess is a work of art, the writing, voice acting and art are so good it's incredible. In Chapter I we have the trolley problem, where you have to chose between potentially sacrificing everyone or proverbially changing lanes so just one person dies, regardless if she is a princess or a seamstress. On the way the problem somehow morphed into the prisoner's dilemma, which is amazing since you got The Prisoner as your princess (one of my favorites btw). Now it's no longer the world or the princess, the stakes are personal, you either kill the princess and be let out or chose to cooperate with her and stay locked up and risking bad things to happen because of her near presence. Choosing the path of The Skeptic we cooperated and achieved the best result under the prisoner dilemma problem as the princess also cooperated with us (either willingly or not is unclear, my point is that just sitting next to her wasn't enough to kill/starve us). Very satisfying first episode, I liked how you went through with your thoughts and logic and especially how you underlined what you were feeling with regards to the pressure coming from the perceived time sensitivity of the issue rather then from the princess herself. Also emphasizing with the narrator when he started showing emotion. You say that The Skeptic is someone who tries to outsmart the situation while you were just trying to be a good person and do the right thing, but I have to contradict you on a point there... you picked up the knife both times with the argument being some shade of "better safe then sorry" this is more in line with the personality of The Skeptic. I find it funny because I also disliked what the game showed me on my first run, by the tune of "this isn't me". And it isn't, just how you said about The Skeptic not being able to sympathize with the narrator in his moment of emotional vulnerability proves the you are not them. Still.... the game raises a mirror in front of you, both literally and figuratively. In the end I think this is why the voices disappear when you gaze into the mirror you don't see The Skeptic, a part of yourself, you see the whole, you see you.
Excellent breakdown! You're so right, there's always a tiny bit of the skeptic still in me if I'm still grabbing the knife lol. I can hardly believe how clever the design is to so accurately predict the player's thought process, and that there are also a ton of layers of that happening all at once. I can't wait to see the rest of this game.
Therapist moves on from my one hiperfixation to another. How is he reading my mind like this!? It's gonna be so good, am stoked, Brady, much love for you
I love how you edited the notes you were making on screen to sort of match the aesthetic of the game! (or at least it seems like you did). That's a very neat touch!
@@VBandit47Sams here. Im also subbing because this was an amazing video. Especially since i love this game so much! I love doing analysis on the voices but ive never really thought much about the Skeptic. This has helped me understand him a lot more and its _very_ interesting! Cant wait to see what he finds out about some of my more favourite voices!
To answer your question, I'm the guy who just went in and done it silently, just to see what happens. Probably because of a perverse form of disagreeableness or something. I expected the game to expect me to try and disobey the Narrator, so I've obeyed Narrator to disobey the game on the meta level :D
Now you have me thinking maybe the game wanted me to defy it because that's what they expect a player to do, and real defiance would have meant just doing exactly what it says...damn it's just too clever 😂
@@eurobrady the narrative works out no matter how you approach this conundrum, so don't worry about it too much and enjoy the ride. I'm interested in your final conclusions and reasoning behind your choices. You'll get to it when you'll get to it. But yeah, I am perfectly capable of being laughably petty. It's a skill!
@@eurobrady if you spend any amount of time designing games or DMing in tabletop RPGs, you quickly learn players love doing anything except what they are told. A big part of developing games is channeling that urge to push players towards fun and engaging experiences despite that. If you decided to climb a barren mountain in an open world that was far away from your objective, a good designer will put something there to reward you. An even better designer will put something like a character that needs you to take him to a small town right by your main objective, to make your journey there feel personal, because YOU chose to take on this challenge in a place you discovered “on your own”. Needless to say, the StS devs are pros at their craft.
I’ve seen literally dozens of players doing a blind playthrough of the game, and the most popular option by far in Chapter 1 is defying the narrator and trying to liberate the princess. It’s such a common route for new players that I’m delighted by the novelty of someone actually opting to go in for the kill on their first run.
@@Epistolary8 I made the Adversary on my first run, since I was unsure but ultimately defaulted to not releasing a bound whatever-it-is. The funny part is how the best word that fits is 'demon', and the adversary...
Oh wow we're only one episode in and this is already my favorite playthrough of the game! Your breakdown on trust and the nature of these characters is super deep and I'm loving this psychological approach to the game! Instant sub from me.
One note on how we use the word 'trust' in different contexts, because sometimes it can get confusing: I think it's useful to differentiate between trust and reliability/reliance when we talk about this topic. Relying on someone is necessary for trusting them, but not the other way around. When I trust my friend to drive me to the airport, I'm (among other things) relying on her to perform said action. But that's different from me relying on my own car to drive me there. It can be justified to get emotional about broken trust, but not always about broken reliance. In everyday conversation we often use the term 'trust' when we are actually talking about reliance. Saying things like 'Trust your instincts.' or 'Don't trust the weather forecast.' does not refer to an actual relationship of trust between different actors. Those relationships are more akin to relying on tools. This may seem like a purely semantic distinction, but since there is real moral and social weight to a relationship of trust, which is not there for one of pure reliance, I think it's actually a pretty important difference. Also, this framework helps to avoid confusion. An example: At 1:24:17 Brady says the Skeptic isn't very trustworthy, which is true, since he can't be relied on. But here is the difference I want to highlight: the Narrator is made untrustworthy by engaging in deception. This makes him unreliable. The Skeptic however is made untrustworthy by his unreliable sense of judgement. As far as we can tell, he communicates truthfully, but is off in his assessment of the situation. Even if we can't rely on the Skeptic's assessment, he is not undermining other conditions for trust. The relationship of trust (i.e. the general feeling that he is "on our side") can persist precisely because we know the extent of his unreliability and we are relatively sure that he is not trying to deceive us. On the other hand, the Narrator's attempts at deception make him unreliable in a specific way that also undermines other necessary conditions for trust. Those are the ones giving trust it's moral weight. That's why I'd say it would be more accurate to say the Skeptic is unreliable, but not broadly untrustworthy. It would not be strictly wrong to describe the Skeptic as untrustworthy, but it feels a bit misleading to me, since that term has some moral implications that seem unfit to describe someone doing their best, but failing because of an unreliable sense of judgment. Anyway, glad to see you play this game, Brady! Can't wait for more analysis! :)
Wow I really like the fresh perspective you bring to the game! One of my favourite parts of watching playthroughs for Slay the Princess is seeing what choices people make on their first playthrough, as I do really believe it shows what type of person you are (Only if you take the game seriously obviously). It's somewhat common for people to make the connection that the Voice you get in Chapter 2 reflects how you behaved in Chapter 1, but you're the first person that genuinely analysed the Voice and it's thought process (To the point where you could correctly predict what it was gonna say). This looks like it's going to be one of the most interesting playthroughs of the game I've seen, I'm really looking forward to more!
Klaasje delayed a murder investigation for days and led to the death of several people depending on how your night goes. The Princess is just chilling in a basement
@@superkdude8D basically, Harry take the place of the protagonist in Slay the Princess. And the voices from slay the princess also occupy his head along with his other skills. The text is formatted how it is disco elysium with graphics and everything. And it’s still ongoing too. Highly recommend.
you honing in on and identifying how your actions in chapter one basically shape the sceptic in chapter two is incredible, and reminds me of how jonny, the va for the narrator and the voices, said in a recent livestream that tony, the writer, created the voices as they are as yet another way to poke fun at the player (paraphrased, i do not remember the actual quote, which is a shame bc i know i found it very funny when he said it)
Every playthrough of this game I've seen is different and I absolutely love your approach here! Also the little bits about psychology are super interesting and informative, they also made this playthrough very unique. I am so hyped for you to find..."fresh perspectives and new beginnings"... Also, just a hopefully vague enough thing: The blade is WAY more important in your interactions with the princess than you may think.
I've watched so many playthroughs of this game, but your insights as a therapist add such a fresh perspective to it all. I can't wait for the next episode, and honestly of all the playthroughs out there, I hope the developers have a chance to see yours.
I think the thing you have to understand about the voices is they’re all elements of personality taken to their extremes, so you say the Skeptic isn’t trustworthy anymore near the end, but I don’t think that’s the right way to think of it, the Skeptic is trustworthy in the sense that you always know he’s going to be skeptical of anything you’re told to some degree, it’s simply his nature as what he is to be that way, being mad at him for being skeptical and overanalysing everything is like setting a match to a load of dry wood and then being mad that it turns into a forest fire, it’s up to you as the center mass of this collective to determine what the ‘right’ course of action to take is based on the information you’re given, you have to determine whether the Skeptic is being correct in his skepticism or if he’s going too far with it. Like in a real human mind you can have multiple trains of thought pulling you in different directions simultaneously and it’s up to you to decide whether to follow those trains all the way to their conclusion or to step off and try a different route. Tldr: you’re the one who chose to listen to the skeptic and go up to the shackle lol
So glad to see you playing this game! Not sure if you'll see this or if you take recommendations for future games but the dive into mental health in the game In Stars and Time would be super interesting to see from you, it's been one of my favorite games in the way it handles mental health and topics of such in the setting it has. Just a suggestion for the future!
"I came into this story thinking it was about trust" As the game states in the beginning, this is a love story. That's basically the thesis statement of this game, something to keep in mind as you analyse, because one way or another, your encounters lead back to love. Wonderful video, you earned a new sub! Excited for more ❤❤❤
Oooooh, I'm excited to watch this. I got an absolute braintwister of a first princess and spent the next hour having an existential crisis. Some visual novels will claim to be a covert personality test- but if you'll let it, Slay the Princess actually follows through with that claim. Edit: it’s interesting that you mentioned decision paralysis, because there are a couple routes that are basically indecision personified, and one of them (heart, lungs, liver, nerves- iykyk) is by far the scariest route, to me. Edit 2: Hating the Skeptic when you’re the one enabling his choices is… an interesting take. Very funny that you stated that sentiment RIGHT before his curiosity saves you from unchanging oblivion.
I loved this playthrough! It’s nice getting a technical breakdown of all of the complex interactions that I completely took for granted, even thought I’ve been obsessed with this game for half a year. I’m eagerly awaiting part 2!!
This is going to be so awesome! I love Slay the Princess an immeasurable amount... And started playing Disco Elysium after hearing from the developers of this game how it influenced them... This is a perfect game for you to play in conjunction!
I’m so glad you first met Skeptic. He’s the most dangerous because he right and wrong simultaneously. This Voice is analysis paralysis incarnate and maybe third best of the most complex Voices in game.
Going in, trying to go against the narrator seems to be the obvious thing for the developers to expect most players to do. So in a meta way, doing exactly as the game instructs would be going against the intentions or expectations of the developers and thus the way to go. But I admit I'd like to explore too, seek more information and all that. So.... I think I would have made the same choices as Brady in chapter 1, because I would like to know 1- why I would have to attack someone and 2- if there would be a solution that would benefit or be agreeable to all parties. However, the moment the princess attacked us, she showed me that she is indeed dangerous. The second time around, chapter 2, I wouldn't either have stayed at a distance or attacked her straight away. I was curious about the empty chain too, but getting that close to her and to a suspicious empty chain seemed dangerous to me. I chuckled when Brady got himself trapped. Great playthrough! I would have liked the game to give the option "enter the cabin, take the blade but holder or hide it", since approaching a chained up person with a weapon in hand isn't exactly a great start in establishing neutral or common ground.
I have been wanting to watch a playthrough of Slay the Princess for quite some time but hadn’t gotten around to it. Now I am so glad that I didn’t because I get to watch you play it first. Love your commentary and character analyses!
If you can’t play the game yourself, or if you don’t want to, it’s fine. But for what it’s worth, the developers have urged people to play it themselves for their first experience, going so far as asking people to pirate the game if they can’t afford it. As someone who experienced the game first through a playthrough, I wish I had done what they said. That being said, do as you like. (Actually, I just realized that based on what you said, it’s possible you might have played the game yourself already, in which case ignore what I said)
Excited to see you play this! I've been loving the Disco Elysium series but it has been hard to catch up in it as it gets pretty dense and heavy (in a good way!), I appreciate the mixup!
Slay the Princess is such a good game. There's so many ways to approach the situation. I think you'll find it interesting how things change by the mindset you put in at every loop. Definitely feel free to try something new (the game won't let you repeat the same 2nd chapter per playthrough anyway, since new perspectives are needed).
By far one of my favorite playthroughs of this game so far! You understood so many of the little details I've seen most people miss. Can't wait to see more!
Wow, the YT algorithm recommended this to me, and boy, did you not disappoint with this. I love how you analyzed the characters so far. I look forward to the next chapter. Btw, not a spoiler, but you will not be able to recreate the princess from chapter II that you get (in this case, The Prisoner Princess) because the entity needs more perspectives. There are a lot of them in any case.
I'm very excited to see your reactions to the rest of this game. You had a lot of interesting insights on this route, and you actually take the time to go through your thoughts and think about the situation before making choices.
I absolutely LOVE your analysis, the way that you read the game - but not in a cliche way - but more in a 'this is what's going on in the mind of the characters' and how they act and interact with eachother. Holy... this is fantastic... Also, this game is incredibly huge, and (as you've already figured in the '4 of us' part) you, the player, are also a character, that can choose or not choose the dialogue options. I'd love to see more of your journey in this game! I'm now subscribed and ready for more! :D
I imploded with joy every time he mentioned something i knew the game would immediately tell him or when he said things that would be very important later and he had no idea of even knowing what he said could be important
Oh I can’t wait for this series to continue, Also another game that I’d love to see a therapist react to would have to be in stars and time if you dont mind
This video is how I found your channel and I honestly can’t wait for you to play more of this game. You have such a intriguing way of going through it and I feel like I’m learning more about the game and just things in general as I watch
Trust me considering it’s his first play through, he might not get exclusive Pristine cut content anyway. It really made with assumption of meta game knowledge or atypical choice making imo.
44:55 Now that is an interesting thought. I'm wondering if it makes sense to view your character through the lense of someone who is plural; and, if you have any experience in working with people who are also plural, if that may apply. Speaking from personal experience, we have a similar experience to the character in this game (tho our different facets are not this archetypal) and i think it could be quite informative to think about the game in such ways. I'm definitely excited where this is going already Edit: 1:34:00 This as well! This could come verbatim out the mouth of one of my system friends.
halfway into the video and I'm really liking this type of commentary so far !! REALLY loved the language/paralanguage annotations I audibly gasped when you started drawing on the screen LOL
I love every time someone plays this game! Almost each person (whether friend I asked to play the game or youtuber playthrough) I've seen, people make such different choices, from killing her immediately to just doing against the narrator as much as possible! It's so interesting! Thank you for also explaining your thought process and tactics while playing, it was very fascinating to hear your perspective!
I love your playthrough! Slay the princess is becoming one of my favorite games and something about the way you lay out your thought process is making me really enjoy the video. I can't wait for the next episode!
This is one of my favorite games, one that is very close to my heart. I hope that you play through the full thing on this channel; I would love to see your takes on the way that the story unfolds as more and more of what's really going on becomes clear.
Brady: "There are two reasons my audience might want me to play this game." Me, chuckling: "If there's one thing this game is 100% certain on, it's that nothing is certain, and motives vary widely." I'm so glad he's playing this.
This was such an informative and fun watch. I love your analysis. As a psych major, hoping to become a therapist myself, I love seeing your thought process. Please play more!!
Honestly? This is probably one of the most enjoyable playthroughs ive seen on UA-cam (and ive seen a LOT) (i am deranged about this game) Your analysis of the game doesnt come off as pretentious and the reasons behind your choices are very interesting. Im really looking forward to seeing you play through the different routes and seeing the different voices!
you're mistrusting of the narrator because, even if things are apparently as he says they would be, he was evasive and wouldn't give you any direct answers when you pressed him, you're aware that there's something you're not being told
Knowing exactly how this game goes, it is awe-inspiring seeing you looking that deep into the possible outcomes and narrating some of the conclusions the game will reach. Nobody knows whether you will ever find them, but I am now subbed to be able to know!
THIS is the playthrough I wanted to find. I absolutely adore how this game lets you craft your own narrative and mental states. it practically demands multiple playthroughs to appreciate fully. It's by far one of the best visual novels out there. So much complexity and branching choices. And yes my cat is also my princess. Black Tabby really outdid themselves
oh am i SOOO glad this video showed up in my recommendations cause i love it, not only the simple bit of hearing a therapist's approach to dealing with the characters in this game but also just casually teaching me things. I love it! Also while I've seen therapist react videos on my timeline a few times, never have I seen it for video games, which is more of my thing so that's an extra bonus :) If there is room for game recommendation I'd love to see you talk about the game Mouthwashing. A therapist view of that would be amazing, of course it is a heavy psychological horror game so completely understandable if you avoid it, but it is an average 2hr game so its not too long. Either way definitely enjoying this channel, subscribing RIGHT! NOW!
When I first opened this game, I felt that the game was trying too hard to make me distrust the narrator. So my first run, I went right along with what he wanted.
Ah, Slay the Princess, the geniusly-written mind game full of greater and lesser mind games within it - being played by someone who enjoys analyzing and nurturing the mind! Super excited for the continuation of this series. And remember, this is a love story... but -what part of existence- who will you fall in love with next?
Apologies if there are any audio skips or issues in this video. If you're wondering why I glitched out around 38 minutes in I was hearing some skipping in my headphones and was worried I'd have to pause the recording and reload. It might have just been my headphones though. Hope you enjoy!
Thank you for playing it. Please finish it, its so much more than you think. ❤
You playing the og version or the pristine cut update? Cus you should be playing pristine cut, it has 3 new routes, and three updated ones, and they are all grate, and I think they did a bit more but idk what
I agree with sarahnorah228, the Pristine Cut is a must have for this experience, especially for the POV of a therapist
😮a44444 1:19:31 !!ereereereereereereereereereer5😮😮😮😢
Minute 6: I'm a professional, i won't be caught in her web of lies
Minute 10: Taking 5 minutes to make a decision and IMMEDIATLY questioning it after clicking
YUP. That's Slay The Princess for you. I'm not a professional but it happened to me too
In the game all about choices and perspectives, there is always one constant - everyone loose their crap the first time they hear glass breaking
Watching for that first break is one of my favorite parts of a playthrough. It gets everyone!
Brady saying "I need to build trust" made me chuckle because trying to build trust with someone chained to a wall is functionally Therapy: Super Hard Mode Unlocked!
I think it's pretty metaphorical.
SPOILERS: The game is all about perspective and everything in it is filtered by how you think about it. Even the Princess is a Princess because that's how your character views her. Having her chained to a wall and having to talk to her, reason with her and free her through mutual understanding or through death speaks for everything happening between you and her
Not just that. Trying to build trust with someone chained to the wall while HOLDING A KNIFE! If I was in the princesses shoes I wouldnt trust a word anyone says.
I love how easily you understood the mentality and flaws of the voice of the skeptic. Commenting on his tendency to get caught up in “figuring out” unimportant details before his interest in the shackle literally got you locked up and immobilized was immensely satisfying.
Oh yes. In believing in his limitations, he placed a shackle on his neck
searched "slay the princess" and hit the jackpot, please play more of this and try different routes maybe
The Prisoner my beloved. Consent queen.
"That's pathetic." "I never said I wasn't." is one of my favourite Narrator interactions. Regardless of wheter he's right or wrong, he has been nothing but suspicious, insulting, and generally unpleasant so far. It came as a surprise and earned him a lot of sympathy points from me.
I am so, so grateful that you're playing this. I wasn't sure you would and I certainly wasn't expecting it *now*. I could not possibly verbalize how important this game is to me, and you sharing your psychological expertise on top of that is all I ever needed. Know that the game only gets better from there. If Disco Elysium changed you, this certainly will.
I wonder if you'll run into any Pristine Cut content on your first playthrough? Probably, but the game is pretty big, so you might not. The fact it (the Pristine Cut) only took the devs one year to complete is mindblowing. The game is now everything it was ever meant to be.
I feel like he kinda believed that, but also said it exactly to make himself more agreeable. That doesn't really matter when you have the Skeptic talking though... and it could've even been why he just said it. On another route, he says to a voice, "you don't need to know what I am. You just need to know that I'm...different from you. More important."
i really appreciate the "we have partial messages, we're looking for the whole message" in the context of the game
You predicted the game as much as the game predicted you. And your psychological insight on the interactions and the natures of the voices were very interesting. Definitely one of the most interesting playthrough analyses of the game I’ve seen so far. Looking forward to more Slay the Princess content!
Also, the fact that you called that the Skeptic would be wrong and still inspected the shackle. Agh! I was genuinely on the edge of my seat there thinking “don’t do it, don’t do it!” You’d have definitely figured out the best ending for the Prisoner route otherwise I think. But yeah, great video!
Slay the Princess is a work of art, the writing, voice acting and art are so good it's incredible.
In Chapter I we have the trolley problem, where you have to chose between potentially sacrificing everyone or proverbially changing lanes so just one person dies, regardless if she is a princess or a seamstress. On the way the problem somehow morphed into the prisoner's dilemma, which is amazing since you got The Prisoner as your princess (one of my favorites btw).
Now it's no longer the world or the princess, the stakes are personal, you either kill the princess and be let out or chose to cooperate with her and stay locked up and risking bad things to happen because of her near presence. Choosing the path of The Skeptic we cooperated and achieved the best result under the prisoner dilemma problem as the princess also cooperated with us (either willingly or not is unclear, my point is that just sitting next to her wasn't enough to kill/starve us).
Very satisfying first episode, I liked how you went through with your thoughts and logic and especially how you underlined what you were feeling with regards to the pressure coming from the perceived time sensitivity of the issue rather then from the princess herself. Also emphasizing with the narrator when he started showing emotion.
You say that The Skeptic is someone who tries to outsmart the situation while you were just trying to be a good person and do the right thing, but I have to contradict you on a point there... you picked up the knife both times with the argument being some shade of "better safe then sorry" this is more in line with the personality of The Skeptic.
I find it funny because I also disliked what the game showed me on my first run, by the tune of "this isn't me". And it isn't, just how you said about The Skeptic not being able to sympathize with the narrator in his moment of emotional vulnerability proves the you are not them. Still.... the game raises a mirror in front of you, both literally and figuratively. In the end I think this is why the voices disappear when you gaze into the mirror you don't see The Skeptic, a part of yourself, you see the whole, you see you.
Excellent breakdown! You're so right, there's always a tiny bit of the skeptic still in me if I'm still grabbing the knife lol. I can hardly believe how clever the design is to so accurately predict the player's thought process, and that there are also a ton of layers of that happening all at once. I can't wait to see the rest of this game.
Therapist moves on from my one hiperfixation to another. How is he reading my mind like this!?
It's gonna be so good, am stoked, Brady, much love for you
Right? This!
Therapist plays another one of my favourite games in recent years. Enjoy the absolutely stunning VA work bratan!
I love how you edited the notes you were making on screen to sort of match the aesthetic of the game! (or at least it seems like you did). That's a very neat touch!
Yep just a bit of editing to help it fit in :)
@@eurobrady Btw you got a sub from me; this was an amazing vid! Your analysis was so interesting.
@@VBandit47Sams here. Im also subbing because this was an amazing video. Especially since i love this game so much! I love doing analysis on the voices but ive never really thought much about the Skeptic. This has helped me understand him a lot more and its _very_ interesting! Cant wait to see what he finds out about some of my more favourite voices!
To answer your question, I'm the guy who just went in and done it silently, just to see what happens. Probably because of a perverse form of disagreeableness or something. I expected the game to expect me to try and disobey the Narrator, so I've obeyed Narrator to disobey the game on the meta level :D
Now you have me thinking maybe the game wanted me to defy it because that's what they expect a player to do, and real defiance would have meant just doing exactly what it says...damn it's just too clever 😂
@@eurobrady the narrative works out no matter how you approach this conundrum, so don't worry about it too much and enjoy the ride. I'm interested in your final conclusions and reasoning behind your choices. You'll get to it when you'll get to it.
But yeah, I am perfectly capable of being laughably petty. It's a skill!
@@eurobrady if you spend any amount of time designing games or DMing in tabletop RPGs, you quickly learn players love doing anything except what they are told. A big part of developing games is channeling that urge to push players towards fun and engaging experiences despite that.
If you decided to climb a barren mountain in an open world that was far away from your objective, a good designer will put something there to reward you. An even better designer will put something like a character that needs you to take him to a small town right by your main objective, to make your journey there feel personal, because YOU chose to take on this challenge in a place you discovered “on your own”.
Needless to say, the StS devs are pros at their craft.
I’ve seen literally dozens of players doing a blind playthrough of the game, and the most popular option by far in Chapter 1 is defying the narrator and trying to liberate the princess.
It’s such a common route for new players that I’m delighted by the novelty of someone actually opting to go in for the kill on their first run.
@@Epistolary8 I made the Adversary on my first run, since I was unsure but ultimately defaulted to not releasing a bound whatever-it-is. The funny part is how the best word that fits is 'demon', and the adversary...
Oh my God Brady I can't believe your impeccable taste. This game just had a huge update so it's trending again.
Oh wow we're only one episode in and this is already my favorite playthrough of the game! Your breakdown on trust and the nature of these characters is super deep and I'm loving this psychological approach to the game! Instant sub from me.
One note on how we use the word 'trust' in different contexts, because sometimes it can get confusing: I think it's useful to differentiate between trust and reliability/reliance when we talk about this topic. Relying on someone is necessary for trusting them, but not the other way around. When I trust my friend to drive me to the airport, I'm (among other things) relying on her to perform said action. But that's different from me relying on my own car to drive me there. It can be justified to get emotional about broken trust, but not always about broken reliance. In everyday conversation we often use the term 'trust' when we are actually talking about reliance. Saying things like 'Trust your instincts.' or 'Don't trust the weather forecast.' does not refer to an actual relationship of trust between different actors. Those relationships are more akin to relying on tools. This may seem like a purely semantic distinction, but since there is real moral and social weight to a relationship of trust, which is not there for one of pure reliance, I think it's actually a pretty important difference. Also, this framework helps to avoid confusion.
An example:
At 1:24:17 Brady says the Skeptic isn't very trustworthy, which is true, since he can't be relied on. But here is the difference I want to highlight: the Narrator is made untrustworthy by engaging in deception. This makes him unreliable. The Skeptic however is made untrustworthy by his unreliable sense of judgement. As far as we can tell, he communicates truthfully, but is off in his assessment of the situation. Even if we can't rely on the Skeptic's assessment, he is not undermining other conditions for trust. The relationship of trust (i.e. the general feeling that he is "on our side") can persist precisely because we know the extent of his unreliability and we are relatively sure that he is not trying to deceive us. On the other hand, the Narrator's attempts at deception make him unreliable in a specific way that also undermines other necessary conditions for trust. Those are the ones giving trust it's moral weight.
That's why I'd say it would be more accurate to say the Skeptic is unreliable, but not broadly untrustworthy. It would not be strictly wrong to describe the Skeptic as untrustworthy, but it feels a bit misleading to me, since that term has some moral implications that seem unfit to describe someone doing their best, but failing because of an unreliable sense of judgment.
Anyway, glad to see you play this game, Brady! Can't wait for more analysis! :)
I really like how aware Slay the Princess is about it's tone, it knows when to have some comedy and when to take itself seriously
Wow I really like the fresh perspective you bring to the game! One of my favourite parts of watching playthroughs for Slay the Princess is seeing what choices people make on their first playthrough, as I do really believe it shows what type of person you are (Only if you take the game seriously obviously). It's somewhat common for people to make the connection that the Voice you get in Chapter 2 reflects how you behaved in Chapter 1, but you're the first person that genuinely analysed the Voice and it's thought process (To the point where you could correctly predict what it was gonna say). This looks like it's going to be one of the most interesting playthroughs of the game I've seen, I'm really looking forward to more!
Brady you arrested Klaasje, but you won't slay the princess??
Klaasje made my skills turn on me, and that made it personal!
Klaasje delayed a murder investigation for days and led to the death of several people depending on how your night goes. The Princess is just chilling in a basement
Sociopath behaviour, I am telling you.
@@fireandthunder9862 This says a lot about you
Klaasje ❤❤
Wow, your style of notes for this one mesh with the artstyle perfectly. It makes neurons fire in my brain.
now he can read the most popular disco elysium fanfic which is a cross between DE and Slay the Princess
Huh?! I need the name pls!
@@charlioanimations"The fury of a shattered mirror" on ao3
ooo do tell
@@superkdude8D basically, Harry take the place of the protagonist in Slay the Princess. And the voices from slay the princess also occupy his head along with his other skills. The text is formatted how it is disco elysium with graphics and everything. And it’s still ongoing too. Highly recommend.
also, it’s worth mentioning that u don’t need prior knowledge of slay the princess to enjoy this fic
you honing in on and identifying how your actions in chapter one basically shape the sceptic in chapter two is incredible, and reminds me of how jonny, the va for the narrator and the voices, said in a recent livestream that tony, the writer, created the voices as they are as yet another way to poke fun at the player (paraphrased, i do not remember the actual quote, which is a shame bc i know i found it very funny when he said it)
Every playthrough of this game I've seen is different and I absolutely love your approach here! Also the little bits about psychology are super interesting and informative, they also made this playthrough very unique. I am so hyped for you to find..."fresh perspectives and new beginnings"...
Also, just a hopefully vague enough thing: The blade is WAY more important in your interactions with the princess than you may think.
I've watched so many playthroughs of this game, but your insights as a therapist add such a fresh perspective to it all. I can't wait for the next episode, and honestly of all the playthroughs out there, I hope the developers have a chance to see yours.
it's almost like watching different people interact with a game about collecting perspectives is in itself a perspective collection,,,,,
@@terilerke1849YT brought us another Vessel huh?😂😂😂
I think the thing you have to understand about the voices is they’re all elements of personality taken to their extremes, so you say the Skeptic isn’t trustworthy anymore near the end, but I don’t think that’s the right way to think of it, the Skeptic is trustworthy in the sense that you always know he’s going to be skeptical of anything you’re told to some degree, it’s simply his nature as what he is to be that way, being mad at him for being skeptical and overanalysing everything is like setting a match to a load of dry wood and then being mad that it turns into a forest fire, it’s up to you as the center mass of this collective to determine what the ‘right’ course of action to take is based on the information you’re given, you have to determine whether the Skeptic is being correct in his skepticism or if he’s going too far with it. Like in a real human mind you can have multiple trains of thought pulling you in different directions simultaneously and it’s up to you to decide whether to follow those trains all the way to their conclusion or to step off and try a different route.
Tldr: you’re the one who chose to listen to the skeptic and go up to the shackle lol
Super excited to see a StP Playthrough by a therapist!! The bit of information about dialogue/para-dialogie was very interesting and insightful :D
Oho, good choice!
You seem to have a liking for games that give you diffrent voices in your head 😁👍
(read this as screaming) This is the best notification I've ever gotten I am so happy I cannot wait to watch it
thats what capslock is for brudda
And exclamation marks!@@marclaw9479
THIS IS THE BEST NOTIFICATION I'VE GOTTEN!!?!11!1!
I AM SO HAPPY I CANNOT WAIT TO WATCH IT
So glad to see you playing this game! Not sure if you'll see this or if you take recommendations for future games but the dive into mental health in the game In Stars and Time would be super interesting to see from you, it's been one of my favorite games in the way it handles mental health and topics of such in the setting it has. Just a suggestion for the future!
I second the in stars and time recommendation, though fair warning, it's not a short game and there is a fair bit of RPG combat.
IN STARS AND TIME MENTIONED 💥
Omg I love your commentary. Hope you'll play this through all the way 😁
"I came into this story thinking it was about trust"
As the game states in the beginning, this is a love story. That's basically the thesis statement of this game, something to keep in mind as you analyse, because one way or another, your encounters lead back to love.
Wonderful video, you earned a new sub! Excited for more ❤❤❤
OMG, YES! You're going to have a field day with this game! It depicts such fascinating psychological states. Looking forward to watch this!
Oooooh, I'm excited to watch this. I got an absolute braintwister of a first princess and spent the next hour having an existential crisis. Some visual novels will claim to be a covert personality test- but if you'll let it, Slay the Princess actually follows through with that claim.
Edit: it’s interesting that you mentioned decision paralysis, because there are a couple routes that are basically indecision personified, and one of them (heart, lungs, liver, nerves- iykyk) is by far the scariest route, to me.
Edit 2: Hating the Skeptic when you’re the one enabling his choices is… an interesting take. Very funny that you stated that sentiment RIGHT before his curiosity saves you from unchanging oblivion.
Moralism mentioned in the first three minutes! The Disco Brainworms have taken root!!!
I loved this playthrough! It’s nice getting a technical breakdown of all of the complex interactions that I completely took for granted, even thought I’ve been obsessed with this game for half a year. I’m eagerly awaiting part 2!!
This is going to be so awesome! I love Slay the Princess an immeasurable amount... And started playing Disco Elysium after hearing from the developers of this game how it influenced them... This is a perfect game for you to play in conjunction!
I’m so glad you first met Skeptic. He’s the most dangerous because he right and wrong simultaneously. This Voice is analysis paralysis incarnate and maybe third best of the most complex Voices in game.
Him: if your new here I have either been asked to play this for character analysis or complete degeneracy
Me: “both, both is good”
Going in, trying to go against the narrator seems to be the obvious thing for the developers to expect most players to do. So in a meta way, doing exactly as the game instructs would be going against the intentions or expectations of the developers and thus the way to go. But I admit I'd like to explore too, seek more information and all that. So.... I think I would have made the same choices as Brady in chapter 1, because I would like to know 1- why I would have to attack someone and 2- if there would be a solution that would benefit or be agreeable to all parties.
However, the moment the princess attacked us, she showed me that she is indeed dangerous. The second time around, chapter 2, I wouldn't either have stayed at a distance or attacked her straight away. I was curious about the empty chain too, but getting that close to her and to a suspicious empty chain seemed dangerous to me. I chuckled when Brady got himself trapped. Great playthrough!
I would have liked the game to give the option "enter the cabin, take the blade but holder or hide it", since approaching a chained up person with a weapon in hand isn't exactly a great start in establishing neutral or common ground.
I’m wildly excited for this! This is one of my favorite visual novels!
Disco Elysium🤝(Voices in my head)🤝Slay the Princess🤝(Going insane from looping)🤝Re:Zero
I have been wanting to watch a playthrough of Slay the Princess for quite some time but hadn’t gotten around to it. Now I am so glad that I didn’t because I get to watch you play it first. Love your commentary and character analyses!
If you can’t play the game yourself, or if you don’t want to, it’s fine. But for what it’s worth, the developers have urged people to play it themselves for their first experience, going so far as asking people to pirate the game if they can’t afford it. As someone who experienced the game first through a playthrough, I wish I had done what they said. That being said, do as you like.
(Actually, I just realized that based on what you said, it’s possible you might have played the game yourself already, in which case ignore what I said)
On no - how my favorite yt psychologis playes my favorite game
Excited to see you play this! I've been loving the Disco Elysium series but it has been hard to catch up in it as it gets pretty dense and heavy (in a good way!), I appreciate the mixup!
Slay the Princess is such a good game. There's so many ways to approach the situation. I think you'll find it interesting how things change by the mindset you put in at every loop. Definitely feel free to try something new (the game won't let you repeat the same 2nd chapter per playthrough anyway, since new perspectives are needed).
I cannot describe how hyped I am for this
By far one of my favorite playthroughs of this game so far! You understood so many of the little details I've seen most people miss. Can't wait to see more!
I love this game! I hope that you play more of it soon!
Wow, the YT algorithm recommended this to me, and boy, did you not disappoint with this. I love how you analyzed the characters so far. I look forward to the next chapter.
Btw, not a spoiler, but you will not be able to recreate the princess from chapter II that you get (in this case, The Prisoner Princess) because the entity needs more perspectives. There are a lot of them in any case.
Remember: this is a love story.
I really want to see more of this. It's such an interesting game and your commentary is equaly as interesting.
I'm very excited to see your reactions to the rest of this game. You had a lot of interesting insights on this route, and you actually take the time to go through your thoughts and think about the situation before making choices.
I absolutely LOVE your analysis, the way that you read the game - but not in a cliche way - but more in a 'this is what's going on in the mind of the characters' and how they act and interact with eachother. Holy... this is fantastic...
Also, this game is incredibly huge, and (as you've already figured in the '4 of us' part) you, the player, are also a character, that can choose or not choose the dialogue options. I'd love to see more of your journey in this game! I'm now subscribed and ready for more! :D
Holy crap, is this dude gonna play all of my favorite games??
Well, I'm not sure a "therapist plays Outer Wilds" would be specially relevant, but...
@@Melgorias BASED OPINION ALERT
I cant wait for another episode of this. As a spoiler free tip you cant get all the princesses in one run so make honest choices ❤
The timing couldn't be more perfect. I'm revisiting Slay the Princess videos again after two years, and you uploaded!
1:39:50 it's a love story, brady! It said so at the beginning
I imploded with joy every time he mentioned something i knew the game would immediately tell him or when he said things that would be very important later and he had no idea of even knowing what he said could be important
Oh I can’t wait for this series to continue,
Also another game that I’d love to see a therapist react to would have to be in stars and time if you dont mind
This video is how I found your channel and I honestly can’t wait for you to play more of this game. You have such a intriguing way of going through it and I feel like I’m learning more about the game and just things in general as I watch
Do you always take a pristine blade with you into the office to have more options, just in case? What kind of a therapist are you, the game 😅
Oh i love this
The people yearn for Slay The Princess playthrough, my lord 😭🙏
btw is this a pristine cut edition?
Yep!
@@eurobrady great! I wasnt expexting to be this excited, but i am! Hope you have a ton of fun with the game!^^
Trust me considering it’s his first play through, he might not get exclusive Pristine cut content anyway. It really made with assumption of meta game knowledge or atypical choice making imo.
I’m so excited. I love watching people experience this game, what directions they take, and your take on it is really interesting.
Please, we need MORE!
Wow what a surprise! I happen to have played this game too to completion and man was it a treat. A scary treat..
44:55 Now that is an interesting thought. I'm wondering if it makes sense to view your character through the lense of someone who is plural; and, if you have any experience in working with people who are also plural, if that may apply.
Speaking from personal experience, we have a similar experience to the character in this game (tho our different facets are not this archetypal) and i think it could be quite informative to think about the game in such ways. I'm definitely excited where this is going already
Edit: 1:34:00 This as well! This could come verbatim out the mouth of one of my system friends.
I love how the the first guess he takes at the options the game gives to you is exactly correct.
Wait this is going to be a great playthrough. I already loved this game to death but the analysis just makes me realize the genius of the writing.
So happy to see you start Slay the Princess. It's a really wonderful game and your analysis through it is such a pleasure to listen to.
halfway into the video and I'm really liking this type of commentary so far !! REALLY loved the language/paralanguage annotations I audibly gasped when you started drawing on the screen LOL
I absolutely love this game, can't wait to watch your reaction of the other princesses
Haven't had time to watch your vids lately but your thumbnails are getting crazy good lmao love to see it
I love every time someone plays this game! Almost each person (whether friend I asked to play the game or youtuber playthrough) I've seen, people make such different choices, from killing her immediately to just doing against the narrator as much as possible! It's so interesting! Thank you for also explaining your thought process and tactics while playing, it was very fascinating to hear your perspective!
I love your playthrough! Slay the princess is becoming one of my favorite games and something about the way you lay out your thought process is making me really enjoy the video. I can't wait for the next episode!
\(^^)/ YES! Oh, I am so happy you've found this game!
1:25:00 funny how you blame Sceptic for a choice you yourself made
Yes! I'm looking forward to the rest of the series! Such a great game that has so much emotional depth!
I am EAGERLY awaiting a continuance of your LP for this!
This was amazing. I've never encountered your channel before, but I am thoroughly entertained! I look forward to more!
This is one of my favorite games, one that is very close to my heart. I hope that you play through the full thing on this channel; I would love to see your takes on the way that the story unfolds as more and more of what's really going on becomes clear.
Brady: "There are two reasons my audience might want me to play this game."
Me, chuckling: "If there's one thing this game is 100% certain on, it's that nothing is certain, and motives vary widely."
I'm so glad he's playing this.
This was such an informative and fun watch. I love your analysis. As a psych major, hoping to become a therapist myself, I love seeing your thought process. Please play more!!
Love this perspective on this game. It's one of my favorites and I love seeing new people play it.
Honestly? This is probably one of the most enjoyable playthroughs ive seen on UA-cam (and ive seen a LOT) (i am deranged about this game)
Your analysis of the game doesnt come off as pretentious and the reasons behind your choices are very interesting. Im really looking forward to seeing you play through the different routes and seeing the different voices!
you're mistrusting of the narrator because, even if things are apparently as he says they would be, he was evasive and wouldn't give you any direct answers when you pressed him, you're aware that there's something you're not being told
There's a psychological horror game that came out recently called "mouthwashing" I'd love to see you play it (and it's a pretty short game too)
I just finished this game a couple hours ago and didn't even do any google searches and now this dropes on my recommendations... I'm scared
Oh i cant wait to see more, this was an awsome playthrough
Knowing exactly how this game goes, it is awe-inspiring seeing you looking that deep into the possible outcomes and narrating some of the conclusions the game will reach. Nobody knows whether you will ever find them, but I am now subbed to be able to know!
THIS is the playthrough I wanted to find. I absolutely adore how this game lets you craft your own narrative and mental states. it practically demands multiple playthroughs to appreciate fully. It's by far one of the best visual novels out there. So much complexity and branching choices. And yes my cat is also my princess. Black Tabby really outdid themselves
oh am i SOOO glad this video showed up in my recommendations cause i love it, not only the simple bit of hearing a therapist's approach to dealing with the characters in this game but also just casually teaching me things. I love it! Also while I've seen therapist react videos on my timeline a few times, never have I seen it for video games, which is more of my thing so that's an extra bonus :)
If there is room for game recommendation I'd love to see you talk about the game Mouthwashing. A therapist view of that would be amazing, of course it is a heavy psychological horror game so completely understandable if you avoid it, but it is an average 2hr game so its not too long. Either way definitely enjoying this channel, subscribing RIGHT! NOW!
Found you through random STP recommendation :D Time to watch other stuff, i'm in the club now
When I first opened this game, I felt that the game was trying too hard to make me distrust the narrator. So my first run, I went right along with what he wanted.
Ahhhhh! I want to watch your enyire playthrough! I don't want to wait!
Ah, Slay the Princess, the geniusly-written mind game full of greater and lesser mind games within it - being played by someone who enjoys analyzing and nurturing the mind! Super excited for the continuation of this series.
And remember, this is a love story... but -what part of existence- who will you fall in love with next?
i love therapists, i love slay the princess. what better discovery than the existence of this treat. only thing that beats this is a second parter!
Excellent analysis here! I learned some things about different kinds of communication!
The people and the algorithm loved this! You know what to do next!