WEBVTT 00:00:02.369 --> 00:00:04.971 - [Shannon] The Haunted PS1 demo disc 00:00:04.971 --> 00:00:07.707 not actually a physical demo disc, 00:00:07.707 --> 00:00:12.112 is a collection of 17 games, some more polished and finite, 00:00:12.112 --> 00:00:15.015 some more unfinished and clearly in-progress, 00:00:15.015 --> 00:00:18.018 all in the style of PS1 horror games, 00:00:18.018 --> 00:00:20.787 and all available for download for free. 00:00:20.787 --> 00:00:21.621 - Hey, kid! 00:00:21.621 --> 00:00:22.522 - Who, me? 00:00:22.522 --> 00:00:24.657 - Yeah, you, dummy! 00:00:24.657 --> 00:00:27.127 You wanna play some cool video games? 00:00:27.127 --> 00:00:27.961 - Yeah. 00:00:27.961 --> 00:00:29.229 I wanna play games. 00:00:29.229 --> 00:00:31.164 - [Shannon] The itch.io page for the disc reads 00:00:31.164 --> 00:00:33.433 "Roused by the crackle of static, 00:00:33.433 --> 00:00:36.736 "a lingering sense of dread crawls across the floor. 00:00:36.736 --> 00:00:38.371 "You sit alone in your room. 00:00:38.371 --> 00:00:40.840 "A dimly lit memory repeats in your head. 00:00:40.840 --> 00:00:44.844 "17 demos too horrible to describe keep you from your bed. 00:00:44.844 --> 00:00:47.547 "Each one is a personally crafted nightmare. 00:00:47.547 --> 00:00:50.950 "You've tried to tell others, no one understands. 00:00:50.950 --> 00:00:54.320 "A CRT you don't remember owning flashes to life. 00:00:54.320 --> 00:00:57.123 "Frozen in place you look upon the flickering screen 00:00:57.123 --> 00:00:59.692 "to spy a dismal, bloodied scene. 00:00:59.692 --> 00:01:02.595 "A cracked and faded jewel case sits close beside. 00:01:02.595 --> 00:01:05.298 "A pale grey plastic box sits in front, 00:01:05.298 --> 00:01:07.534 "emitting a low whirring noise. 00:01:07.534 --> 00:01:09.002 "Will you take to the controller 00:01:09.002 --> 00:01:11.137 "or let yourself be taken over?" 00:01:11.137 --> 00:01:14.207 I'm going to talk about each of the 17 games individually, 00:01:14.207 --> 00:01:16.810 including my feelings about both the original release games 00:01:16.810 --> 00:01:19.079 and some of the games that were significantly altered 00:01:19.079 --> 00:01:21.514 with a later update, but before I do any of that 00:01:21.514 --> 00:01:23.783 I have to say that this is a triumph. 00:01:23.783 --> 00:01:24.984 This is amazing. 00:01:24.984 --> 00:01:27.253 This is so cool and so much fun, 00:01:27.253 --> 00:01:28.955 and is such an exciting sampler 00:01:28.955 --> 00:01:32.592 of what is available right now as far as weird and engaging 00:01:32.592 --> 00:01:34.761 and independently produced horror games. 00:01:34.761 --> 00:01:37.363 I initially saw that Bro-gone Hackett and Modus Interactive, 00:01:37.363 --> 00:01:38.731 two of my favorite developers 00:01:38.731 --> 00:01:40.834 of weird and beautiful short horror games, 00:01:40.834 --> 00:01:42.936 were involved, which piqued my interest, 00:01:42.936 --> 00:01:45.638 along with just the concept of a PS1-style demo disc 00:01:45.638 --> 00:01:47.173 and how much people I follow on Twitter 00:01:47.173 --> 00:01:48.708 were talking about it. 00:01:48.708 --> 00:01:50.176 And I'm not as familiar with anyone else involved, 00:01:50.176 --> 00:01:51.678 but I was pretty immediately converted 00:01:51.678 --> 00:01:53.680 to being a fan of a lot of these developers 00:01:53.680 --> 00:01:56.716 even after playing, just, like, a 10-minute demo they made. 00:01:56.716 --> 00:01:58.284 I'll get to it later in the review, 00:01:58.284 --> 00:02:00.320 but I loved Dread Delusion so much 00:02:00.320 --> 00:02:02.155 that, as soon as I was done playing it, 00:02:02.155 --> 00:02:03.857 I backed the creator's Patreon 00:02:03.857 --> 00:02:05.492 to get updated versions of that game 00:02:05.492 --> 00:02:06.926 and to be able to play it longer, 00:02:06.926 --> 00:02:08.595 just as an example of how cool 00:02:08.595 --> 00:02:10.196 the games on the demo disc are. 00:02:10.196 --> 00:02:11.898 I also want to say that, while I am going to be honest 00:02:11.898 --> 00:02:13.600 about how I felt about all of these games 00:02:13.600 --> 00:02:16.436 and am pretty critical in some of my assessments, 00:02:16.436 --> 00:02:17.770 please take into consideration 00:02:17.770 --> 00:02:20.306 that every one of these games is cool as hell, 00:02:20.306 --> 00:02:22.075 this whole project is cool as hell, 00:02:22.075 --> 00:02:24.644 and I have so much respect for everyone that worked on this. 00:02:24.644 --> 00:02:26.980 And if you play every game all the way through, 00:02:26.980 --> 00:02:29.649 you are getting hours of completely free entertainment, 00:02:29.649 --> 00:02:32.152 all of which was made with sincerity and a clear love 00:02:32.152 --> 00:02:34.521 of classic experimental and horror games. 00:02:34.521 --> 00:02:37.257 My criticisms are more comparing the games with each other 00:02:37.257 --> 00:02:39.459 than to any big budget triple-A titles, 00:02:39.459 --> 00:02:41.427 and I tried to be fair in my assessments. 00:02:41.427 --> 00:02:42.929 And the fact that some games in the collection 00:02:42.929 --> 00:02:44.998 are much more polished or more fun to play 00:02:44.998 --> 00:02:46.933 or more emotionally affecting than others 00:02:46.933 --> 00:02:48.835 does not mean that you shouldn't play all of them. 00:02:48.835 --> 00:02:50.103 They're right there, and they're free, 00:02:50.103 --> 00:02:51.437 and they're all weird and creative, 00:02:51.437 --> 00:02:52.906 and you might as well play them. 00:02:52.906 --> 00:02:54.340 I'm going to talk about the games 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:56.276 in the order they're listed on the disc. 00:02:56.276 --> 00:02:58.244 I know there's a secret game somewhere on the disc, 00:02:58.244 --> 00:02:59.913 but I haven't found it and played it yet, 00:02:59.913 --> 00:03:01.181 and I didn't want to cheat to find it 00:03:01.181 --> 00:03:03.383 or spoil it if I did, so I won't be covering it. 00:03:03.383 --> 00:03:04.584 So ... 00:03:04.584 --> 00:03:05.652 A Place, Forbidden has a very pronounced 00:03:05.652 --> 00:03:07.187 and well-established atmosphere: 00:03:07.187 --> 00:03:10.223 you can practically smell the old books and mold, 00:03:10.223 --> 00:03:11.925 and it feels dusty. 00:03:11.925 --> 00:03:13.293 It gives the sense of a place 00:03:13.293 --> 00:03:15.461 that is actively degrading in front of you. 00:03:15.461 --> 00:03:16.963 I wasn't a fan of the puzzles in it, 00:03:16.963 --> 00:03:19.832 but I certainly admired how well its setting was conveyed, 00:03:19.832 --> 00:03:22.635 and some of the images in it were shocking and creepy. 00:03:22.635 --> 00:03:25.205 Dread Delusion is, to me, the most technically impressive 00:03:25.205 --> 00:03:26.806 game on the demo disc. 00:03:26.806 --> 00:03:29.275 It's an open-feeling world full of grain, 00:03:29.275 --> 00:03:31.311 garish neon colors that I loved 00:03:31.311 --> 00:03:34.547 and that were used very effectively, ghosts, skeletons, 00:03:34.547 --> 00:03:38.618 cruel gods, death, paranoia, oppression, and fear. 00:03:38.618 --> 00:03:39.919 It has such a sense of scale 00:03:39.919 --> 00:03:42.589 and so many stunning, gorgeous views. 00:03:42.589 --> 00:03:44.691 It's not like a ripoff of any Zelda games 00:03:44.691 --> 00:03:46.359 or of Zelda gameplay mechanics, 00:03:46.359 --> 00:03:47.694 but it reminds me of a Zelda game 00:03:47.694 --> 00:03:49.562 in the rush I get when playing it, 00:03:49.562 --> 00:03:51.030 that feeling of adventure, 00:03:51.030 --> 00:03:54.434 of exploring and uncovering weird small mysteries, 00:03:54.434 --> 00:03:57.570 only in a darker and more cynical and more upsetting world. 00:03:57.570 --> 00:03:59.806 It's brilliant, and I am so excited to eventually play 00:03:59.806 --> 00:04:01.274 the full version of the game. 00:04:01.274 --> 00:04:04.244 It's delightful, and I would highly recommend it. 00:04:04.244 --> 00:04:06.412 I wanted to like Dead Heat, and I certainly liked 00:04:06.412 --> 00:04:08.081 some of its basic conceits. 00:04:08.081 --> 00:04:10.450 It's some kind of noir-style detective game 00:04:10.450 --> 00:04:13.052 where one of the detectives is a zombie, maybe? 00:04:13.052 --> 00:04:14.554 But it was really glitchy 00:04:14.554 --> 00:04:17.690 and had some basic design and accessibility problems. 00:04:17.690 --> 00:04:20.660 The way the text populates on the screen is distracting, 00:04:20.660 --> 00:04:22.328 and the plain color text blends 00:04:22.328 --> 00:04:23.997 into the background way too much. 00:04:23.997 --> 00:04:26.899 I also found the text sound kind of grating. 00:04:26.899 --> 00:04:29.335 I had trouble with the controls and with even understanding 00:04:29.335 --> 00:04:31.471 how I was supposed to interact with the game. 00:04:31.471 --> 00:04:33.806 The updated version had some kind of issue on launch 00:04:33.806 --> 00:04:35.241 where I couldn't select anything 00:04:35.241 --> 00:04:36.876 that I was only able to fix by launching 00:04:36.876 --> 00:04:39.412 the older version of the game in a windowed mode, 00:04:39.412 --> 00:04:41.381 which carried over and fixed the issue. 00:04:41.381 --> 00:04:43.416 The updated version is definitely less glitchy 00:04:43.416 --> 00:04:45.084 and seems to have more content to it, 00:04:45.084 --> 00:04:47.287 but it still felt unpolished and confusing 00:04:47.287 --> 00:04:49.722 and like a lot of ideas were just kind of thrown together. 00:04:49.722 --> 00:04:51.090 There are filters you can switch between 00:04:51.090 --> 00:04:52.725 to give the feel of different eras 00:04:52.725 --> 00:04:54.961 to the visuals of the game, which is neat, 00:04:54.961 --> 00:04:56.429 but, like a lot of this game, 00:04:56.429 --> 00:04:59.299 it just seems to have been added in because it sounded cool, 00:04:59.299 --> 00:05:02.135 not as part of any kind of cohesive or polished idea. 00:05:02.135 --> 00:05:04.103 But, of course, this is a demo. 00:05:04.103 --> 00:05:05.705 I bet the finished version of this game, 00:05:05.705 --> 00:05:07.473 if they pull off everything they're going for, 00:05:07.473 --> 00:05:10.209 will be really cool, and the developers seem aware of, 00:05:10.209 --> 00:05:12.712 and apologetic about, the fact that it's unpolished, 00:05:12.712 --> 00:05:13.946 and it's entirely possible 00:05:13.946 --> 00:05:15.682 that I just didn't understand the controls 00:05:15.682 --> 00:05:17.617 and missed out on what I was supposed to be doing. 00:05:17.617 --> 00:05:19.819 It could still be on me, and you should still check it out, 00:05:19.819 --> 00:05:21.954 but the bad AI and hard-to-read text 00:05:21.954 --> 00:05:23.423 and other glitches and issues 00:05:23.423 --> 00:05:25.191 definitely hampered my experience with this game, 00:05:25.191 --> 00:05:27.126 and I would have preferred something simpler 00:05:27.126 --> 00:05:30.463 and less ambitious that better accomplished its goals. 00:05:30.463 --> 00:05:32.899 Effigy did remind me of old school FPS games, 00:05:32.899 --> 00:05:35.234 and it has a well-established sense of wide scale 00:05:35.234 --> 00:05:36.502 and a unique setting. 00:05:36.502 --> 00:05:38.137 The only aspects of it I found frustrating 00:05:38.137 --> 00:05:39.839 were imprecise controls getting in the way 00:05:39.839 --> 00:05:41.507 of me completing time-based puzzles 00:05:41.507 --> 00:05:43.676 and the fact that I spent a lot of time on this game 00:05:43.676 --> 00:05:46.112 for the ending to just kind of trail off. 00:05:46.112 --> 00:05:48.514 Again, yes of course, it's a demo. 00:05:48.514 --> 00:05:51.084 I'm not expecting a grand, polished narrative. 00:05:51.084 --> 00:05:52.151 But a lot of games on the disc 00:05:52.151 --> 00:05:53.353 have a pretty clear arc to them, 00:05:53.353 --> 00:05:54.620 and while I liked Effigy, 00:05:54.620 --> 00:05:56.322 I wouldn't have spent as much time on it as I did 00:05:56.322 --> 00:05:58.825 if I had known it would just trail off at the end. 00:05:58.825 --> 00:06:00.960 Erasure is one of the more experimental games 00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:02.095 on the demo disc. 00:06:02.095 --> 00:06:03.363 It has a unique sense of humor 00:06:03.363 --> 00:06:06.632 and it's a weird, abstract, eerie twist 00:06:06.632 --> 00:06:09.969 on standard sci-fi themes around simulations 00:06:09.969 --> 00:06:12.672 and maybe the morality of manipulating them. 00:06:12.672 --> 00:06:13.706 I liked it a lot. 00:06:13.706 --> 00:06:15.475 Fatum Betula-- 00:06:15.475 --> 00:06:17.577 I'm not even gonna look up how to pronounce that. 00:06:17.577 --> 00:06:19.512 Is beautiful and frightful. 00:06:19.512 --> 00:06:23.416 It's a game of grief and dreams and imagination. 00:06:23.416 --> 00:06:25.184 And with many games on the disc, 00:06:25.184 --> 00:06:26.719 but especially with this one, 00:06:26.719 --> 00:06:29.088 there are none of the constraints of commercialism 00:06:29.088 --> 00:06:31.891 or needing to market to or appease an audience. 00:06:31.891 --> 00:06:34.293 It made me wonder what old games could have been 00:06:34.293 --> 00:06:36.429 if they'd been approached in the same way. 00:06:36.429 --> 00:06:37.764 Not that there weren't weird experimental 00:06:37.764 --> 00:06:40.032 dreamscape nightmare games on the PS1, 00:06:40.032 --> 00:06:41.801 just that there could have been more of them. 00:06:41.801 --> 00:06:45.071 This game made me retroactively reassess my view 00:06:45.071 --> 00:06:47.407 of the entire retro PS1 aesthetic. 00:06:47.407 --> 00:06:49.041 In games as artful as this one, 00:06:49.041 --> 00:06:52.378 the aesthetic and use of tropes from those old games 00:06:52.378 --> 00:06:55.081 all become tools to reclaim a chance to make art 00:06:55.081 --> 00:06:57.550 that could have existed if commercial interests 00:06:57.550 --> 00:06:59.685 didn't influence console games so heavily. 00:06:59.685 --> 00:07:02.889 It's that engaging and weird and haunting and beautiful. 00:07:02.889 --> 00:07:04.490 My only complaint is some of the writing 00:07:04.490 --> 00:07:06.592 seemed a little bit pretentious. 00:07:06.592 --> 00:07:07.994 Small complaint though. 00:07:07.994 --> 00:07:09.862 I think it is my favorite game on the disc. 00:07:09.862 --> 00:07:11.664 I don't expect it to be everyone's favorite; 00:07:11.664 --> 00:07:13.065 there are certainly more complex 00:07:13.065 --> 00:07:14.600 and technically robust games 00:07:14.600 --> 00:07:17.670 that are just as beautiful here, like Dread Delusion, 00:07:17.670 --> 00:07:21.441 but weird, small-scale, creepy, charming, grief dreamscapes 00:07:21.441 --> 00:07:23.843 definitely appeal to me in particular. 00:07:23.843 --> 00:07:25.878 Filthbreed is one of the few games on the disc 00:07:25.878 --> 00:07:28.381 that doesn't fit the PS1 aesthetic. 00:07:28.381 --> 00:07:30.116 Not that the aesthetic is lacking. 00:07:30.116 --> 00:07:33.419 The game is creepy, and the filthy lens effect is cool. 00:07:33.419 --> 00:07:34.987 The game has a sense of humor to it, 00:07:34.987 --> 00:07:37.223 and I liked occasional reminder 00:07:37.223 --> 00:07:40.293 that there's a world outside of this gross, dingy setting, 00:07:40.293 --> 00:07:42.895 given by beams of daylight coming in through windows. 00:07:42.895 --> 00:07:44.697 And the cult narrative and cow skulls 00:07:44.697 --> 00:07:47.867 and gross dingy feel gave the game a True Detective vibe. 00:07:47.867 --> 00:07:52.104 I absolutely hated the jumpscare death animation, though. 00:07:52.104 --> 00:07:54.540 It was not scary; it was annoying. 00:07:54.540 --> 00:07:55.741 Also I thought it was funny 00:07:55.741 --> 00:07:58.511 that the game's icon is just a gun. 00:07:58.511 --> 00:08:01.614 Heartworm's description is a very overt Silent Hill homage, 00:08:01.614 --> 00:08:03.082 and the main character looks like 00:08:03.082 --> 00:08:06.152 a Resident Evil character or a Laura Croft type. 00:08:06.152 --> 00:08:07.587 The game's credits are really creepy, 00:08:07.587 --> 00:08:10.590 and some of the shots and scenes in it are creepy as well. 00:08:10.590 --> 00:08:11.958 The game definitely has potential, 00:08:11.958 --> 00:08:13.493 but the fixed camera angles 00:08:13.493 --> 00:08:15.528 and the style of controls it used were frustrating, 00:08:15.528 --> 00:08:17.964 and the mental illness angle in horror games like this, 00:08:17.964 --> 00:08:20.166 to me, it gets old super fast, 00:08:20.166 --> 00:08:23.736 and it's just kind of cliched and boring. 00:08:23.736 --> 00:08:26.439 I really don't like that approach or that angle, 00:08:26.439 --> 00:08:28.007 especially when it's used in kind of like 00:08:28.007 --> 00:08:30.376 a very basic, standard way. 00:08:30.376 --> 00:08:32.478 In Somnio is described as an attempt 00:08:32.478 --> 00:08:35.047 to recreate the developer's dreams as games. 00:08:35.047 --> 00:08:37.183 I loved some of the choices the developer made 00:08:37.183 --> 00:08:38.985 in portraying these dream-games, 00:08:38.985 --> 00:08:41.487 like the way that the ground movies in the second game. 00:08:41.487 --> 00:08:43.122 The surreal succession of vignettes 00:08:43.122 --> 00:08:45.725 reminded me of the old browser-based game 99 Rooms. 00:08:45.725 --> 00:08:48.294 This whole game was scary and felt haunted, 00:08:48.294 --> 00:08:50.196 like it was instilled with pure dread. 00:08:51.163 --> 00:08:53.432 (dripping) 00:08:55.635 --> 00:08:58.037 (screeching) 00:09:08.147 --> 00:09:12.585 - [Garbled Voice] Somebody was murdered in this room. 00:09:14.186 --> 00:09:16.956 It's fuckin' haunted, all right. 00:09:16.956 --> 00:09:18.958 - [Shannon] And really did resemble what it feels like 00:09:18.958 --> 00:09:21.093 to dream and to have a nightmare. 00:09:21.093 --> 00:09:23.396 One of the strengths of a lot of the games on the demo disc 00:09:23.396 --> 00:09:25.665 isn't that they're scary, though some of them are, 00:09:25.665 --> 00:09:27.433 but rather that they're really unique, 00:09:27.433 --> 00:09:31.637 surreal little explorations of dreams and feelings. 00:09:31.637 --> 00:09:33.406 In Somnio was really cool. 00:09:33.406 --> 00:09:34.974 That's definitely one of the ones I would recommend. 00:09:34.974 --> 00:09:36.208 Here's my first set of notes 00:09:36.208 --> 00:09:38.778 on the first release of Killer Bees, verbatim: 00:09:38.778 --> 00:09:39.946 Hardcore filter. 00:09:39.946 --> 00:09:41.814 VHS mode can't see shit. 00:09:41.814 --> 00:09:43.215 Reminds me of PT. 00:09:43.215 --> 00:09:44.750 Didn't get super far. 00:09:44.750 --> 00:09:46.552 Kept getting killed by bees. 00:09:46.552 --> 00:09:48.187 Can't tell if gun does much. 00:09:48.187 --> 00:09:50.656 And I have to say out of all the games on here 00:09:50.656 --> 00:09:53.659 that got updates, this was the biggest improvement. 00:09:53.659 --> 00:09:55.861 I went from being frustrated and confused 00:09:55.861 --> 00:09:58.130 to really loving the updated version of the game. 00:09:58.130 --> 00:10:00.600 It's a unique concept executed very well 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.569 and with unique gameplay that is never spelled out for you 00:10:03.569 --> 00:10:05.071 but is still intuitive. 00:10:05.071 --> 00:10:06.505 I'd rather not describe any of it 00:10:06.505 --> 00:10:09.475 because I found the act of discovery fun in and of itself, 00:10:09.475 --> 00:10:11.911 but I will say you're exploring a weird building, 00:10:11.911 --> 00:10:14.747 and there are, of course, killer bees. 00:10:14.747 --> 00:10:17.116 The game operates with its own weird logic that is original 00:10:17.116 --> 00:10:20.219 but easy to follow, and there are a lot of flashes of images 00:10:20.219 --> 00:10:22.421 with really disturbing implications. 00:10:22.421 --> 00:10:25.958 The sound design is also great and very realistic. 00:10:25.958 --> 00:10:28.160 Some of the aspects of this game are very stylized, 00:10:28.160 --> 00:10:31.163 but the soundscape you're walking through feels very real. 00:10:31.163 --> 00:10:33.265 And even when the game is not actively threatening 00:10:33.265 --> 00:10:36.168 your character, it's still menacing and creepy. 00:10:36.168 --> 00:10:37.970 This went from being one of the most frustrating games 00:10:37.970 --> 00:10:39.972 on the disc, to me, to one of my favorites 00:10:39.972 --> 00:10:42.808 and is a great example of a simple but unique concept 00:10:42.808 --> 00:10:46.112 executed flawlessly, and it's really fun and unsettling. 00:10:46.112 --> 00:10:48.314 You can also choose between PS1 mode and VHS mode 00:10:48.314 --> 00:10:50.249 for visuals, and while I liked both, 00:10:50.249 --> 00:10:51.884 I did like VHS mode more, 00:10:51.884 --> 00:10:54.186 especially after alterations with the update 00:10:54.186 --> 00:10:56.522 that made the game easier to see and play. 00:10:56.522 --> 00:10:59.859 Neko Yume, or cat dream, is, as I understand it, 00:10:59.859 --> 00:11:03.763 an homage to the game LSD Dream Emulator, but with cats? 00:11:03.763 --> 00:11:05.631 And maybe referencing Yume Nikki? 00:11:05.631 --> 00:11:08.067 I haven ot played either of those games, so I don't know. 00:11:08.067 --> 00:11:10.236 But I love the work Modus has done in the past, 00:11:10.236 --> 00:11:11.871 Sanguine Sanctum especially, 00:11:11.871 --> 00:11:13.939 so I was excited about playing this one. 00:11:13.939 --> 00:11:16.308 I was a little frustrated when I started this game, 00:11:16.308 --> 00:11:18.244 because I wasn't sure of what I should do 00:11:18.244 --> 00:11:20.112 or of how I was expected to interact 00:11:20.112 --> 00:11:21.514 with the world it presented, 00:11:21.514 --> 00:11:23.115 but then I had a lot more fun when I realized 00:11:23.115 --> 00:11:25.551 I should just goof off and see what I came across. 00:11:25.551 --> 00:11:28.020 The game overall is very charming and funny, 00:11:28.020 --> 00:11:29.789 and, I know I keep using this word 00:11:29.789 --> 00:11:31.290 to describe games on the disc, 00:11:31.290 --> 00:11:33.359 but, yes, it's also very weird. 00:11:33.359 --> 00:11:34.927 I laughed a lot at this segment, 00:11:34.927 --> 00:11:37.129 which gets the game's tone across pretty well. 00:11:37.129 --> 00:11:39.699 (quirky music) 00:11:44.270 --> 00:11:47.206 (meowing) 00:11:47.206 --> 00:11:50.009 (rocket rumbling) 00:11:57.416 --> 00:11:59.552 (meowing) 00:12:03.756 --> 00:12:05.791 Ode to a Moon has a very cool title screen 00:12:05.791 --> 00:12:07.426 and a striking color palette, 00:12:07.426 --> 00:12:10.863 and I liked how it shifted its atmosphere with VHS effects. 00:12:10.863 --> 00:12:12.932 It's a spooky game that uses sound well, 00:12:12.932 --> 00:12:15.668 and I liked the way its 4:3 aspect ratio was used. 00:12:15.668 --> 00:12:17.937 It has some lovely landscapes as well. 00:12:17.937 --> 00:12:19.238 One problem I had was that 00:12:19.238 --> 00:12:21.240 it was kind of easy to get lost in the game, 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:23.008 and I had trouble being able to tell 00:12:23.008 --> 00:12:24.877 where I was going a couple of times, 00:12:24.877 --> 00:12:26.812 like in different segments of the game. 00:12:26.812 --> 00:12:28.347 I still really enjoyed it, though. 00:12:28.347 --> 00:12:31.050 Orange County is a horror game where you're on a skateboard, 00:12:31.050 --> 00:12:34.920 and I found the controls kind of confusing and unintuitive. 00:12:34.920 --> 00:12:37.223 Dying in this game is scary, though. 00:12:37.223 --> 00:12:38.657 As far as I could tell, 00:12:38.657 --> 00:12:40.392 the objective is to ride around getting different drinks, 00:12:40.392 --> 00:12:42.228 trying to not get hit by cars? 00:12:42.228 --> 00:12:45.264 There's a lot of creativity in the concept and presentation, 00:12:45.264 --> 00:12:47.333 and it's worth playing just for how unique it is, 00:12:47.333 --> 00:12:49.835 but I found it kind of frustrating and never really got it. 00:12:49.835 --> 00:12:51.403 It never really clicked with me 00:12:51.403 --> 00:12:52.872 what I was supposed to be doing. 00:12:52.872 --> 00:12:54.874 At least, my experience trying to play 00:12:54.874 --> 00:12:56.575 all these games all the way through, 00:12:56.575 --> 00:12:58.778 or close to all the way through, to review them, 00:12:58.778 --> 00:13:00.846 the more difficult to understand what was happening 00:13:00.846 --> 00:13:02.882 or what was expected of me, the less time 00:13:02.882 --> 00:13:04.517 I wanted to spend on a game 00:13:04.517 --> 00:13:07.787 trying to just figure out how to interact with it 00:13:07.787 --> 00:13:08.988 before moving on. 00:13:08.988 --> 00:13:11.157 When a game is in a big demo disc like this, 00:13:11.157 --> 00:13:14.693 I think focusing on something that someone can get into, 00:13:14.693 --> 00:13:16.495 play, and then move on, 00:13:16.495 --> 00:13:18.097 not that you should make your game disposable, 00:13:18.097 --> 00:13:20.466 but just like, it's one of 17 games. 00:13:20.466 --> 00:13:21.801 If I'm trying to play the whole demo disc, 00:13:21.801 --> 00:13:24.103 I don't have time to sit here and learn 00:13:24.103 --> 00:13:27.473 some kind of really, really complicated control scheme 00:13:27.473 --> 00:13:30.009 for a game that I'm gonna play for like 15 minutes. 00:13:30.009 --> 00:13:31.877 I just preferred games like Fatum Betula 00:13:31.877 --> 00:13:34.180 which were weird and mystifying in content 00:13:34.180 --> 00:13:36.382 and in how to progress the story 00:13:36.382 --> 00:13:38.684 but super easy to understand how to play, 00:13:38.684 --> 00:13:41.821 or games like Killer Bees that are more challenging to play 00:13:41.821 --> 00:13:43.989 but still pretty quickly clicked for me, 00:13:43.989 --> 00:13:45.925 to games like Orange County or Dead Heat 00:13:45.925 --> 00:13:48.627 that I had trouble even understanding in the first place. 00:13:48.627 --> 00:13:51.130 Sauna 2000 is wild. 00:13:51.130 --> 00:13:53.833 My biggest complaint is that it was super glitchy for me, 00:13:53.833 --> 00:13:55.568 with subtitles lagging behind audio 00:13:55.568 --> 00:13:57.937 and glitches actually preventing me from beating the game 00:13:57.937 --> 00:13:59.205 or seeing what was going on 00:13:59.205 --> 00:14:00.940 while some really wild stuff was happening, 00:14:00.940 --> 00:14:03.108 so I had to keep replaying the game, 00:14:03.108 --> 00:14:04.977 trying to avoid the glitches, 00:14:04.977 --> 00:14:06.512 to actually be able to complete it, 00:14:06.512 --> 00:14:09.048 which kind of broke some of the atmosphere for me. 00:14:09.048 --> 00:14:11.116 But even though it was one of the most problematic games 00:14:11.116 --> 00:14:12.918 on the disc for me gameplay-wise, 00:14:12.918 --> 00:14:14.320 it was still one of my favorites. 00:14:14.320 --> 00:14:16.088 From the music to the game's sense of humor 00:14:16.088 --> 00:14:17.990 to the mounting sense of dread, 00:14:17.990 --> 00:14:20.693 I loved the concept and I loved playing it. 00:14:20.693 --> 00:14:23.562 And regardless of technical problems, it ruled. 00:14:23.562 --> 00:14:25.664 The basic conceit is that you have to start up a sauna 00:14:25.664 --> 00:14:28.701 by chopping wood and collecting water and so on, 00:14:28.701 --> 00:14:31.337 and then something weird starts happening. 00:14:31.337 --> 00:14:33.505 It's surprising and funny and creepy, 00:14:33.505 --> 00:14:34.807 and I really enjoyed it. 00:14:34.807 --> 00:14:36.508 Snowy Castle was the only game on the disc 00:14:36.508 --> 00:14:38.377 where the proportions felt a little off. 00:14:38.377 --> 00:14:39.578 I don't know if it was intentional, 00:14:39.578 --> 00:14:41.480 but my character felt a little short 00:14:41.480 --> 00:14:43.449 or like the scale of the environment was off. 00:14:43.449 --> 00:14:45.084 The game was somewhat atmospheric, 00:14:45.084 --> 00:14:48.053 and I did like the little weird mysterious story it had, 00:14:48.053 --> 00:14:49.588 especially how it ended: 00:14:49.588 --> 00:14:52.324 you walk around an old castle in the snow lighting candles. 00:14:52.324 --> 00:14:53.692 But especially for the outside candles, 00:14:53.692 --> 00:14:56.161 some of them felt like I was just mentally 00:14:56.161 --> 00:14:59.064 criss-crossing the map, like going through the scenery 00:14:59.064 --> 00:15:01.267 to light candles out of obligation 00:15:01.267 --> 00:15:03.168 versus the sense of exploration you feel 00:15:03.168 --> 00:15:04.403 while inside the castle. 00:15:04.403 --> 00:15:06.272 But even then, it's definitely a fun game 00:15:06.272 --> 00:15:08.440 that executes a simple concept well. 00:15:08.440 --> 00:15:09.975 I liked Tasty Ramen's title screen 00:15:09.975 --> 00:15:11.243 and I thought the color palette, 00:15:11.243 --> 00:15:12.811 out of all of the games on the disc, 00:15:12.811 --> 00:15:15.347 felt the most accurate to PS1-era kids games, 00:15:15.347 --> 00:15:17.449 like the aesthetic was a very accurate homage 00:15:17.449 --> 00:15:19.385 not necessarily to old horror games 00:15:19.385 --> 00:15:22.221 but old wacky kids games, especially from Japan. 00:15:22.221 --> 00:15:24.189 The game itself, though, is what I would refer to 00:15:24.189 --> 00:15:27.693 as an anxiety simulator rather than a horror game. 00:15:27.693 --> 00:15:29.862 You walk around collecting keys trying to avoid 00:15:29.862 --> 00:15:33.399 a patrolling ramen mascot that kills you if it sees you. 00:15:33.399 --> 00:15:35.701 This game got an updatte to balance its gameplay, 00:15:35.701 --> 00:15:37.169 and I did consider the updated version 00:15:37.169 --> 00:15:39.104 more forgiving and more fair, 00:15:39.104 --> 00:15:40.439 but it still isn't something I'd play 00:15:40.439 --> 00:15:41.974 on my own time for fun. 00:15:41.974 --> 00:15:44.076 I really like dread-soaked atmospheric horror 00:15:44.076 --> 00:15:46.545 rather than a game that just makes me anxious, 00:15:46.545 --> 00:15:48.213 but that's a subjective assessment, 00:15:48.213 --> 00:15:49.982 and I still did really appreciate 00:15:49.982 --> 00:15:52.418 how well this game executes what it set out to do. 00:15:52.418 --> 00:15:53.652 It's still neat. 00:15:53.652 --> 00:15:54.820 My first impression of Until Biglight 00:15:54.820 --> 00:15:56.722 is that it is gorgeous and weird. 00:15:56.722 --> 00:15:58.524 You play a mouse traversing the underbrush 00:15:58.524 --> 00:16:00.125 with all these canted camera angles 00:16:00.125 --> 00:16:01.961 and little mouse establishments. 00:16:01.961 --> 00:16:04.296 Pretty quickly, though, I found some problems with the game. 00:16:04.296 --> 00:16:07.599 Until Biglight is overtly anticapitalist, which is cool, 00:16:07.599 --> 00:16:10.302 but the way it's handled is kind of clunky and obvious. 00:16:10.302 --> 00:16:11.737 The game has too much dialogue, 00:16:11.737 --> 00:16:13.472 and I'd rather that same information 00:16:13.472 --> 00:16:15.040 be conveyed more concisely 00:16:15.040 --> 00:16:16.942 and in a way better suited to the medium. 00:16:16.942 --> 00:16:18.377 And you're very much railroaded 00:16:18.377 --> 00:16:20.346 as far as what you can do in the game, 00:16:20.346 --> 00:16:22.481 which I'm normally fine with in games like that. 00:16:22.481 --> 00:16:24.083 I like point A to B walking sims 00:16:24.083 --> 00:16:26.719 and weird little barely interactive experimental games, 00:16:26.719 --> 00:16:28.587 but it does give the thin illusion of choice 00:16:28.587 --> 00:16:30.522 that falls apart pretty quickly. 00:16:30.522 --> 00:16:32.558 The visuals and the representation 00:16:32.558 --> 00:16:34.460 of a little capitalist hellscape mouse world 00:16:34.460 --> 00:16:36.895 run by evil cats are both fantastic, 00:16:36.895 --> 00:16:38.230 but I'd definitely want to see the dialogue 00:16:38.230 --> 00:16:40.265 tightened up a little in future versions. 00:16:40.265 --> 00:16:42.034 Okay, there's all 17 games. 00:16:42.034 --> 00:16:44.169 I really enjoyed playing this. 00:16:44.169 --> 00:16:45.704 I can't recommend it enough. 00:16:45.704 --> 00:16:47.272 I think at this point a lot of people come to my channel 00:16:47.272 --> 00:16:50.809 for recommendations for weird, independent art to check out, 00:16:50.809 --> 00:16:52.711 and this is definitely one of those. 00:16:52.711 --> 00:16:54.747 Although, this already got a fair amount of attention. 00:16:54.747 --> 00:16:57.883 It's not like it's a super obscure collection of games, 00:16:57.883 --> 00:16:59.351 but I figured a lot of people in my audience 00:16:59.351 --> 00:17:00.552 wouldn't have heard of it. 00:17:00.552 --> 00:17:02.087 And it took me a while to review it, 00:17:02.087 --> 00:17:03.655 especially because I wanted to play the updated versions 00:17:03.655 --> 00:17:06.091 of the games I had already played before they updated 'em, 00:17:06.091 --> 00:17:08.560 and I wanted to go a little bit in depth on every game. 00:17:08.560 --> 00:17:10.429 When final versions of these games come out, 00:17:10.429 --> 00:17:12.164 for some of them I'll probably do a full review. 00:17:12.164 --> 00:17:13.399 I could definitely see myself doing 00:17:13.399 --> 00:17:15.134 a full review for Dread Delusion, 00:17:15.134 --> 00:17:17.302 which already has so much going on with it, 00:17:17.302 --> 00:17:19.772 even though you can tell it's barely complete, 00:17:19.772 --> 00:17:21.874 as far as the scope of that game goes. 00:17:21.874 --> 00:17:23.675 I was surprised at how many of these games 00:17:23.675 --> 00:17:26.912 were more surreal than horror games. 00:17:26.912 --> 00:17:29.148 It doesn't feel like they were mis-marketed; 00:17:29.148 --> 00:17:31.183 it was just a pleasant surprise to me, 00:17:31.183 --> 00:17:32.651 although most of them were both. 00:17:32.651 --> 00:17:35.387 It was also weird how much a lot of the games 00:17:35.387 --> 00:17:37.456 kind of fixated on Japanese culture 00:17:37.456 --> 00:17:39.825 and had Japanese characters in them. 00:17:39.825 --> 00:17:41.593 I don't think it was offensive or problematic, 00:17:41.593 --> 00:17:43.996 and it makes sense, because PlayStation 00:17:43.996 --> 00:17:45.931 was a Japanese console, and a lot of the games 00:17:45.931 --> 00:17:46.899 that people would have played growing up 00:17:46.899 --> 00:17:48.600 were originally in Japanese. 00:17:48.600 --> 00:17:51.070 It was just something that kept coming up again and again, 00:17:51.070 --> 00:17:53.739 and I thought it was funny, or that stood out to me, rather. 00:17:53.739 --> 00:17:55.007 Anyway, thank you for watching. 00:17:55.007 --> 00:17:56.708 If you enjoyed this video, please consider 00:17:56.708 --> 00:17:58.077 supporting my work on Patreon. 00:17:58.077 --> 00:17:59.411 I also have a Ko-fi. 00:17:59.411 --> 00:18:00.212 And, thanks.