Fun fact: Spec Ops: The Line features you in the opening credits as a "special guest". Also, turns out, there is an ending or two that involves briefly addressing the player in The Stanley Parable. It doesn't change the overall point as most endings don't operate in that way, but I'm annoying that I didn't find this while researching.

@ModestSeagullRTS

10 ай бұрын

Hi

@keepcoolgames5896

10 ай бұрын

Good video. Good script Good editing ! I would just say talk 10% faster and with 10% more energy. I get this video doesn't need energy but you sound more bored than dramatic and serious to me. Great job though !

@themoonischeese

10 ай бұрын

@@keepcoolgames5896 he doesn’t need to talk faster bro

@jfh2112

10 ай бұрын

@@keepcoolgames5896 I don't think they asked bruh

@TheCursedJudge

10 ай бұрын

@@keepcoolgames5896 This is kinda just how I talk lol

Any game that has microtransactions automatically hate you and treat your wallet like their golden child.

@shadowtd9982

10 ай бұрын

OW2

@camzilla603boy12

10 ай бұрын

Not really

@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883

10 ай бұрын

there are exceptions, but truths be told, exceptions dont break the norm

@jacobjenkins7362

10 ай бұрын

genshin impact

@igotbanned3timesfromyoutub883

10 ай бұрын

@@jacobjenkins7362 terrible argument

"when a house is both hungry and awake... every room becomes a mouth" is one of the scariest/hardest things I've ever heard LOVE IT

@Atellas

10 ай бұрын

I feel stupid, but I don’t really understand it. Could you please explain it to me? I’ve tried multiple times to interpret what it means but i just can’t.

@dez9084

10 ай бұрын

​@@Atellas The best way I can explain it is that the house is treating you like the human body would treat a parasite, bacteria, or other outside threat. A human's white blood cells will attack or "consume" the intruding disease. The house has marked you as a threat from the outside, which means it is "awake" (wanting to get rid of this disease,) and therefore you are about to be "consumed" by it. Every room that had once been the brain, or the subconscious, suddenly becomes hostile ("hungry") and is therefore a "mouth" capable of "eating" you (or getting rid of you in some way) just like how white blood cells can attack something anywhere in the body.

@Atellas

10 ай бұрын

@@dez9084 this makes a lot of sense. That seriously clears it up really good, thank you so much!

@dez9084

10 ай бұрын

​@@Atellas Glad it helped! :)

@onearmwriter3437

10 ай бұрын

Literally shook me cant belive what it would be like playing that

One great detail about Spec Ops, is how the game constantly berates you for your "choices" with things like the tooltips on loading screens being replaced with quotes like "Do you feel like a hero yet?" or "If you were a better person, you wouldn't be here" the further you get into the game. Or how during the phosphorus scene, you can see Walkers face subtly reflected in the screen as you burn everyone alive. God, I love that game.

@theawesomenaut5129

10 ай бұрын

Man those screens were trippy bro

@Johnnyupside

10 ай бұрын

God I hate that there's no actual choice for most of what heppens in the gamr

@G7ue

10 ай бұрын

@@Johnnyupside When I first played it, my friend said there were choices, and I thought I fucked everything up lol

@Johnnyupside

10 ай бұрын

@@G7ue Most of the choices are there to gaslight you

@arandomhashbrown3756

10 ай бұрын

​@@JohnnyupsideThe only choice to stop all those bad things from happening is to stop playing the game

The "You are making the characters suffer by playing" thing is also in hotline miami 2: When you finish the game all the characters die but when you choose to replay the game they are seen all sitting in a room with jacket, jacket is like an embodiment of death. Jacket speaks to the characters about their actions and kills them then turning on the projector, starting the game and their torment once again

@endieisfridgeconfirmed

9 ай бұрын

Man, that game is nostalgic. And had banger music too.

@lanternsupremacy420

9 ай бұрын

Finally someone talks about how incredible the hm series is.

@youyou3172

9 ай бұрын

Thats not Jacket, its Richard

@trooper575

9 ай бұрын

If you restart Undertale after a happy ending it guilt trips you for using the characters like toys Tip of the iceberg for that game’s guilt tripping btw

@Jekyll1886

8 ай бұрын

Jacket is just one more guy,richard is the death,there is actually a lot of interesting theories about how he impersonate death so yeah

This is exactly why I love the Genocide Route in UNDERTALE. You only do it because you want to see what happens, and then you get punished for it. Stuff like this is great and I'm amazed other games have similar punishments if you do something the game doesn't want you to.

@TheCursedJudge

10 ай бұрын

I was gonna include a section on the Genocide run but I've already talked about it in two different videos already and I figured that I had to change things up

@blockeontheleafeon

10 ай бұрын

@@TheCursedJudge Fair enough then. The games you did talk about here are pretty cool.

@jonathanjoestar_real

10 ай бұрын

Great point. The game makes you feel so bad for your actions

@blockeontheleafeon

10 ай бұрын

@@jonathanjoestar_real Not to mention what happens at the end of the Genocide Route ties into the theme of this video too.

@jlewwis1995

10 ай бұрын

Yeah imo undertale did the whole punishing the player for their choices thing better than spec ops did, in spec ops you get railroaded down a single story path where bad stuff happens and you get chewed out for the bad stuff happening even though there's LITERALLY no other alternate routes or nothing else you can do outside of well not playing the game to begin with like the video said, but it just so happens "buy our game but don't actually play it" isn't a particularly good marketing strategy (at least I wouldn't think so, then again it might peak some people's curiosity and get them to buy the game anyway just to see what happens in it so 🤷‍♂️) so they have to slap that on you at the very end, imo it's just kind of contrived and disrespectful to the player, there are ways they could have gone about it while still achieving their goals but like I said they just chose the most obnoxious contrived option instead... Meanwhile undertale does it really well in my opinion, you know for a fact that when you do the genocide route it's 100% your fault and no one else's, unlike in spec ops you can actually *CHOOSE* whether or not you want to do good or bad stuff and the game goes out of its way to try to convince you to not kill things so when you do that's 100% on you and when you get to sans and have to fight him you can totally see it coming and it's not just the game pulling a fast one on you out of nowhere for something you didn't even initially know was going to happen and that you literally had no way around regardless of whether you wanted to get around it or not... Basically what I'm saying is to me undertale actually "earns" being able to call you out for your actions whereas spec ops doesn't, if there was a way that was actually within the bounds of the game (as in, that didn't involve just straight up not playing it) to get around doing the bad stuff in it then I would say it earned it as.well, but it doesn't so it didn't, it's basically like if in undertale there was only one route and there were 0 alternate paths or endings or anything like that and at first you were able to avoid killing stuff but then halfways through the game you *had* to start killing stuff out of nowhere for some reason and the events form that point onward play out like on the genocide route, imo that be just as contrived as spec ops

I've read that in the beta build of Spec Ops: The Line, you can actually obey the order to return to base, which just causes the game to roll credits. This was removed because Beta Testers kept doing that, thinking it was what they were supposed to do, then complained the game was insultingly short. A shame, I wish they kept it, because it actually would make the game more effective imo, if a choice existed in-game beyond just shutting it off... to have never done this in the first place.

@gemtownMANCHURIA

9 ай бұрын

as always play testers are unbelievably retarded and unimaginative

@Wenceslas_Krantz

8 ай бұрын

Where did you read it? I could not find that info, could you link it please?

@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062

7 ай бұрын

Damn, they shouldnt hire monkeys to test their game

@chaoslord8918

6 ай бұрын

They could've done that in a similar way to Far Cry 4.

@tabkg5802

6 ай бұрын

Disagree here. You even simply BUYING and opening the game is the part of the "issue" game shows

When I played Spec Ops: The Line, I really didn't want to shoot the white phosphorus and even tried to see if there were any other options. But it was clear that it was the only way forward, even if you knew it was the wrong choice, and personally that made it feel like there was a disconnect between what the character would do and what I would do. Some people make the argument that the character is being forced to do what the player chooses, but this is one instance where the player is forced to do what the character chooses, because the only alternative is to turn the game off or stay at that spot forever.

@jlewwis1995

10 ай бұрын

Yeah like I said in another comment, in my opinion it honestly kind of partially undermines what the game is trying to go for thematically, there should have been some secret way to avoid doing it even if it means you don't get the "proper" ending, like the game ends prematurely or something because that's not what's "supposed" to happen, it would still be better than just railroading the player down a singular path where bad stuff happens then chewing the player out for doing the bad stuff later on even though you literally had no say in whether or not you wanted to do it or not and especially if you didn't want to do it to begin with and you already knew it might end badly but you still wanted to play the game to completion... It would also reward the player for thinking critically about what they're doing which was literally the whole point of the game

@lpfan4491

10 ай бұрын

Yeah, that is kinda silly from a thematic standpoint. There actually is a much better showcase of the concept later in the game, so they clearly knew how to do it correctly. Basically, there is the point where a group of civilians show up as enemies who punch you and you are supposed to gun them down, crossing the moral horizon and finally becoming a monster for real. However, you can also just..not do that and scare them away instead. The story does not change because the whole thing is less about morals and more about wanting to be something you aren't to the point of turning rogue and skirting responsibility for your actions, but it is nice that the choice is in the game in the first place.

@ND-nr6mx

10 ай бұрын

​@jlewwis1995 Some of what you said made me remember the narrative strategy of the original Prince of Persia, where it turns out the first 95% of the game is a retelling of events. Because of this, anytime you die, the main character will say, "wait, that's not how it went..."

@1Hol1Tiger

10 ай бұрын

Originally, you were supposed to have multiple parts were just doing the right thing would give you a "Good Ending", but end the game right there. Beta Testers complained that this made the game too short, as too many of them just picked to obey the "Return to base" order at the begining of the game thinking that was how it was meant to progress... If only they clued the Beta Testers into what was going on, because I'm pretty sure the average gamer would say "If doing that causes the game to come to a halt, and I have the option, not to.... Let's see what doing the other thing does." Because the game really would have been more effective if it had been an inverse of many other games "Bad endings that end the game early, but one good ending if you persevere", this could have been "Good endings that get progressively worse, with the worst outcome being playing the whole way through." The message would have been a lot better, but as it stands Spec Ops: The Line fails in my book, because having things turn out this awful becomes more "The developer is an edgelord" than "The player is a monster" , when you have no say in the matter beyond just shutting the game off.

@dariogonzalez8989

9 ай бұрын

@@1Hol1Tiger As another comment mentioned in this thread, the game would have been improved quite a bit if it gave you the option of leaving Dubai around the beginning... but only after you already beat the game at least once, because by then, you've already seen just how disastrous the consequences of trying to play the hero can be and would now be able to show that you learned from it.

7:30 "The only thing left to do is glaringly obvious." *Sets up chair like he's going to hang himself *Cuts to him grabbing his trench coat and hat saying "is to go and see what's outside..."

@senritsujumpsuit6021

9 ай бұрын

subtle humor

@bredoffender

9 ай бұрын

dude i thought i was trippin but it's actually that way

@metalclawsteelheart

5 ай бұрын

What i thought was that you just sit there, never leaving the room, just like the character said they would

No game company hates their players more than Nintendo

@SnakeEyesOfficial42

10 ай бұрын

Ha! Ha ha! Hahahaha… *sobs*

@Aerial_Arsenal_Ship

10 ай бұрын

...EA?

@shadowtd9982

10 ай бұрын

Blizzard?

@Baxten123

10 ай бұрын

I dunnnoooo, rockstar is slowly moving up that list

@inaneinacheve

10 ай бұрын

I mean yeah, but other replies above me work too

I think Delta Rune would be another good example. The game literally tells you that your choices don't matter because the end result is always the same.

@eyeless_person

10 ай бұрын

And kris hates you too. Almost everyone who knows you in the game either hates you or is scared of you

@pencilvoid

10 ай бұрын

I completely trust The Cursed Judge to make an amazing analysis of Deltarune but I'd rather he waits until the full game is released just so he has more to discuss and the game can say everything it wants to say

@eyeless_person

10 ай бұрын

@@pencilvoid yes

@lpfan4491

10 ай бұрын

@@eyeless_person Tbh, almost no one knows about you outside of weird route where they should 100% be cautious and/or negative about you.

@philippetremblay906

9 ай бұрын

Hey, that sounds exactly like mass effect 3! (*sobs loudly in a corner*)

Spec Ops: The Line is the kind of game that recontextualizes all the other games. It unfortunately did not do well in sales, because for its purpose it had to look just like a normal shooter. But it is the one game which made me really consider it "art" as cheesy as it sounds. It made me reflect, think, and learn about myself. For one, "in a time of crisis, no one put me in power" is a takeaway I have :D Thank you for covering it, I can always go for more SO:TL content! :D

@Kavilion

10 ай бұрын

It takes a mature person to recognize their own flaws. Games have taught me that in the moment of max pressure, when everything is on the line I will crumble like an incompetent child.

@SingularityEngine

10 ай бұрын

I'm so glad I tried out the beta, and then subsequently bought the full game because I thought it was a cool 3rd person shooter set in Dubai

@1Hol1Tiger

10 ай бұрын

Honestly, it's a big reason why I ignored it until people kept telling me it was this "Subversive Psychological Horrror Master Piece", and even then I thought it was people trolling me... I kept going "You're kidding right? It's a Call of Duty clone..." Even when I played it I didn't get past the intro, because it was so grounded and generic that I figured the people who told me that were either kidding or just "REALLY into Military Shooters" When I found out about the "twists", there was no longer any reason to play as any shock or effect they'd have was gone. It just really isn't an effective premise for a military shooter, because the kind of Hardcore Gamers who'd play it and respect the message... Wouldn't play a generic military shooter, if anything, we were complaining about the oversaturation of the genre, and how Call of Duty and its clones had overtaken the market. If it had a more unique "fake premise" or took place in a fantasy setting, it may have worked a lot better.

@Codex_0613

9 ай бұрын

@@1Hol1Tiger the choice of it being a generic military shooter is a deliberate one as well it's supposed to be familiar to anyone who has ever touched a mil shooter game before. Almost like a satirical version of it, to mock and ridicule just how cookie cutter these games are. The ultimate point is to lure people into a false sense of security. After all, for someone who doesn't know anything about it, they'd just turn their brains off and play it. Until the game start to divert and the cracks start showing, that's when the game really hook you and make you think and rethink about the choices and what you've been doing mindlessly for the past couple hours. You giving up playing it is ironically what the game was trying to achieve with its design decision, albeit not the giving up part but the "generic mil shooter" part. So if they had given it a more "fantasy setting," it wouldn't work as well at all.

@1Hol1Tiger

9 ай бұрын

I feel like this is asking way too much of the player@@Codex_0613

I think Deltarune would've been a perfect example of this, since its a game where it makes it clear that you, the player, and Kris, the protagonist, are two very different entities, and Kris is very much aware, and also absolutely hates, the fact that you are controlling them.

@pedrorosa9893

9 ай бұрын

Maybe is a few years……

@bredoffender

9 ай бұрын

i think the most interesting part is that you don't play as "just the player" in deltarune, but neither do you play as kris, directly. you're the SOUL. in undertale they were just the core essence of humans and monsters, but in deltarune it's shown they're completely seperate entities. and ironically, the times where you're put in your place, as the player, the SOUL and by that the direct tormentor of kris, they're the most eerie and just straight up terrifying moments in the game. kris is free, and they do as they please, just for it all to lead to more entertainment for your sick and twisted joy. Deltarune is god damn scary the more you think about it.

@igenvykris

4 ай бұрын

Love that game cus it also deals with topics of escapism using video games as that pathway to escaping your real life. (you can also tell by my pfp)

@headphonesaxolotl

Ай бұрын

@@bredoffender I REALLY hate the "the player is evil" thing. The player didn't intend to use Kris as a puppet- rather, the vessel your create is immediately tossed away by whoever the voice at the start is, before we are essentially forced into playing Kris. The player can't be considered sick or twisted unless they explicitly choose to torment Kris (like deliberately getting hurt), even if they do hate us, we haven't actually intended to harm them. The real sick person is the one that forced a random entity (the player) into controlling an innocent person- neither the player nor Kris is really "in the wrong."

@Zynet_Eseled

24 күн бұрын

​@@headphonesaxolotl have you considered that there is a point trying to be made here? Trying to force yourself as a literal blank slate of your own creation, meaning nothing in a pre existing world? That is to say, spawning from nothing. That just does not work. So, the game, in its attempt to begrudgingly comply with what you want to do, are converted into being a soul. And put into a character who has their own autonomy and life. One that we will never get to see.

I would like to point out that the narrator in the Stanley Parable will absolutely acknowledge the player, at least in the broom closet ending. Probably a few other times too.

@yoshiandpoochieland

8 ай бұрын

The 'not-so-Stanley' ending (or whatever you call the ending where you pull the plug of the telephone) is also a great example for that. The Narrator actually makes the difference between Stanley and the player. And we see how when we- the player- exits the body of Stanley's model, the story doesn't continue, the choices don't get made and the game doesn't exists as a whole really.

@RinLovesYou

7 ай бұрын

@@yoshiandpoochieland the broom closet ending is fun because the narrator will assume you dead and ask for a second player to take your place

@deadpan904

5 ай бұрын

@@RinLovesYou And believes he got another braindead idiot for a player when you return to the broom closet

I have no other ways to describe the cursed judge other than he is probably the most talented video essay youtuber on the platform.

@dont_jinx_me

10 ай бұрын

Jacob geller is on par in my opinion, both amazing video essay youtubers, and they both have some of the best content on here

@josewilkins2517

10 ай бұрын

​@@dont_jinx_meboth of their content gets very philosophical, which is nice to see. i do feel like they do suffer from videos being oversaturated with depressing topics though.

@soraskingdom2388

10 ай бұрын

add super eyepatch wolf and in praise of shadows to this list @@dont_jinx_me

@caiomenudo

10 ай бұрын

@@dont_jinx_me I came here to mention Jacob aswell. He's REALLY good. It's definitely a tie here.

@dont_jinx_me

10 ай бұрын

@@josewilkins2517 yeah I agree with that, but I also feel that's where there content shines the best, they really show how good the content on Yt can be, just some people don't want to put the time in, I also hate when people get annoyed at their upload schedule, cause i feel like the more time between videos the better the next one is.

I too hate myself. Edit: AYOOO MY MOST LIKED COMMENT SHOUTOUT TO ALL MY SELF LOATHING HOMEBOYS!!! 🎉🎉🎉

@Friendlyneighborhoodgarbagebin

10 ай бұрын

Real

@Minnevan

10 ай бұрын

I hate myself and want to die… Is a song by Nirvana

@UTubeFam4

10 ай бұрын

Literally me

@IAmTheJellyBeanRock

10 ай бұрын

Real

@smoshy921

10 ай бұрын

Us moment

Devs, don't hate the player, hate the game.

@hatefulded

10 ай бұрын

clever clever

@avocadothecat

10 ай бұрын

The mantra of DBD

@elio7610

10 ай бұрын

What...?

@danielazevedoteixera4194

9 ай бұрын

Thats how you end up with gollum

@thatguy5391

6 ай бұрын

Yea, this is about the GAME hating the player

*EVERY ROOM BECOMES A MOUTH* gives me chills every time i hear it oh my god

If you haven't played Spec Ops: The Line and are a fan of shooters, play it and then come back and watch this video. Don't have it spoiled for you it's a very unique experience that will stick with you and only takes about 5 hours of your time

@horserage

9 ай бұрын

> that will stick with you Alright, that verrrrrry much depends on your buy in to it, same with genocide route in Undertale. If you don't like the "Just quit the game lol" messaging, i'll admit, esp at that fucking price point, it doesn't land.

@tysonchambliss1584

9 ай бұрын

@@horserage I'd say having a bad experience is still an experience that sticks with you.

@horserage

9 ай бұрын

@@tysonchambliss1584 But now i'm down 20 quid with nothing to show for it.

@justinfourie3422

9 ай бұрын

bought it because of everyone praising it and the ending, played about 2 hours before dropping it and refunding it because I got bored with the gameplay. It felt like a generic cover shooter and I wasn't willing to waste more time on a mediocre game with some profound message

@ChucksSEADnDEAD

9 ай бұрын

​@@tysonchambliss1584 I'd rather have the bad experience for free than get charged 60 dollars.

Depression Quest seems shockingly accurate. I've been struggling with depression for years now. Sometimes it's worse, sometimes better. At the worst times it really does feel like my life is almost on autopilot, that I don't have any decisions. I just sit in my room feeling like complete shit while I waste my life away online. I can afford a therapist, but I don't go. I have friends I could text, but I don't. I just feel trapped a lot of the time. I've been getting better, but very slowly.

@inaneinacheve

10 ай бұрын

Hey, I'm feeling like that recently I should be worried and should go see a therapist ?

@FreyaonaPegasus-jc5qb

10 ай бұрын

If you feel like you should see a therapist and you can easily afford it or you Healthcare covers it, go see one. Even if it's just once, it's better for you to see one once than never seeing one

@taureon_

10 ай бұрын

@@inaneinacheve some symptoms of depression COULD just be a lack of sleep/serotonin. i have had a conversation with someone knowledgeable in the field about my situation and it turns out i just had to go outside more, maybe drive my bicycle and be inside less. maybe it works for you too **but i don't know you** **you should probably ask a therapist how you're feeling, they probably know better** i hope you feel happier soon!

@inaneinacheve

10 ай бұрын

@@taureon_ Thanks my man :D !

@Victoriousjia

10 ай бұрын

LMAO! 🤣😂

I personally always thought that at the end Walker is aware of the fact that he's the bad guy here, as shown by the epilogue, and who gets shot is just whether he decides to live on with it, or takes the easy way out. Also, I didn't expect this video to mention a game that IIRC was basically a catalyst for GamerGate.

@horserage

9 ай бұрын

DQ wasn't a catalyst, that would be, "other" actions.

3:16 Star Wars Republic Commando does exactly this. I remember when I was a kid I got curious to see what would happen if I shot my own teammates, they basically turn on you immediately and even have dialogue to go with it. Literally never experienced anything like that at the time and it gave me chills. It felt like I was being watched lol. Didn't help that I was alone in the room.

There's still an "option" not to use phosphorus: you Can try to take down all soldiers with usual guns. But in such case the game decides to endlessly respawn shooters on roofs, who aren't even there if you decide to annihilate the place.

Spec Ops: The Line is still, after many years after it released, my favorite video game for just how memorable the story is. I've never played a game like it since that's been as memorable that's stuck with me over a decade later. I almost wish that in a second playthrough (and only on the second) they'd actually let you do as your mission stated; as in after the first altercation turn around and leave. To show just how far "trying to be the hero" in a misguided attempt harms more than helps.

You are such a genius when it comes to video essays, the intro of the video talking about Spyro Year of the Dragon and revealing the topic of the video, transitioning to a collage of games that perfectly define and explain the topic further, just to come back to Spyro, showing that it is practically eating away at itself because you the player are playing the game. Absolute goosebumps, this moment alone in the video is so amazing that I cant help but applaud you with this comment. - Truly amazing work, keep it up!!!

The first game that comes to mind with the “players are designed to be blamed for the wrongs of the characters” format with the map Mob of the Dead from CoD Black Ops 2 Zombies. 4 characters to play as, 3 of them have some vague memory of doing things “before” (over and over again) and 1 remembers everything that happens to the group, where to find specific objects, what happens next etc. and that was a really enjoyable experience

Solitude reminds me of how i feel when I'm suffering from existential depression, not like you want to disappear, but that you never existed at all, that the bed you're lying in would just swallow you whole, and the lights would just gently fade away, as the darkness becomes all you see.

@senritsujumpsuit6021

9 ай бұрын

Look up the White Room torture method its exactly this in a form all your senses can fade as if your hardly alive but just somewhere

You're very quickly becoming my favourite videoessayist on youtube. It seems like a very accessible format so there's a lot of them out there, but yours always build towards a very satisfying and interesting "point" and engage me so well. The effort you put into the writing and pacing of these doesn't go unnoticed, excellent stuff!

@Whyisthisathing825

9 ай бұрын

True talent never goes unnoticed

@teguh.hofstee

8 ай бұрын

Oh look, it’s the jump goblin

I thought The Line was a really good story, but that phosphorus launcher scene really forced the disconnect for me. It was presented as if there WAS a choice, and I spent a considerable amount of time on what are apparently endless waves before realising the story wouldn't move on unless I used it. Honestly, taking the choice out of my hands would have been better as I felt no guilt for being forced to do something.

@youmukonpaku916

7 ай бұрын

I mean. I know this might sound crazy but... You could've turned the game off. That would be the simile to leaving Dubai. The choice was meta.

@shizukousapostle1stapostle710

4 ай бұрын

​@@youmukonpaku916 that would be the simile of leaving them where they were trapped, because in your meta universe we got them to that launcher but if I never take them back out of that situation I am just leaving them there forever, you know meta and shit

@centerflag982

2 ай бұрын

@@youmukonpaku916 "You could've turned the game off." And the devs could've given me back the money I gave them.

@variantgamer9885

Ай бұрын

Lugo: “There’s always a choice.” Walker: “No. There’s really not.” The game never gave you a choice. Everything was telling you to use the willy pete

I have my own experience with a choice that has always stuck wit me. In Ender Lillies, your goal of clearing the infection is put into question, where the knight that's been following you says that you don't have to finish, you can leave and no one would be there to judge you. Once I reached the first ending, I stopped playing for about thirty minutes because, I wanted her suffering to end. It's the only game I've played where I wanted to stop early and not finish.

@SenorCardgageFan87

20 күн бұрын

Such a good game, I did all the endings and really enjoyed it. Definitely helps that the music throughout the game is so beautiful and melancholy (besides the very last area, then it's really unsettling).

Xcom really hates the players. What else can explain me missing a 95 percent shot and then the enemy returning fire with 30 percent and it hits me.

Cursed Judge casually returning after a month with quality milk puts a smile on my face

@thirtysevenistic

10 ай бұрын

You can not be real bro

@torp___5179

10 ай бұрын

are u from braking bad

@Connor17199

10 ай бұрын

I only just found his channel a few hours ago so it's great timing for me

@HCroaks

10 ай бұрын

quality... milk?

@TheStardustConspiracy

10 ай бұрын

On.. your face?

Depression quest really hit me hard… I have depression, recently went through a breakup, and I’ve already been obsessing over all those choices I could’ve made but didn’t… 🥺😭

@chloroform2982

10 ай бұрын

I played it before finishing the video and It hit me hard as well, I got a good ending but it made me realize that even though I know what to do when I'm severely depressed I don't and god that hit harder than I thought it would

@tracedd

10 ай бұрын

It's tough my friend. I was just reflecting on that too. Lost a relationship two years ago now due to in part my depression. I thought if I just ignored it I could just keep going. But ultimately it brought things to an end. Sure it feels like you could've done something (and we could) but you really can't. Like in the game those options you are aware, but you can't really choose them in the moment. Their not real options. They are only options in hindsight. And it's not you're fault. It was always going to happen. After we broke up (me and my gf of years) I went through a period of deep sadness and nothingness, and alot of self reflection and discovery. And a year later I came out the healthiest and happiest I've ever been in the last 10 years. I needed to go through and change to break me out of my cycle of depression. Because I was trapped by it and wasn't going to break myself out. She was my best friend and my first real love, but I thank her for everything she did and regret nothing. But everything serves a purpose, even break ups. I know it hurts and saddens you (I still does to me too) but just know you're on a brighter path with many good things to come. It's ok to feel sad once and while, but keep your head up and keep on marching forward. You're a trooper. It's always better to hurt than not feel anything at all. Wishing you well, and you're crushing it. From- a stranger over the internet

@YOUTY209

10 ай бұрын

@@tracedd ❤

@YOUTY209

10 ай бұрын

@@chloroform2982 It's like they always say, the actual "cure" for depression is simple - Social interaction, exercise, and sunlight. The keyword being simple - because it's not at all easy to get out of bed in the morning when you're in the depths.

@elio7610

10 ай бұрын

​@@YOUTY209​ I do not think that really works, at least not always. A lot of people's depression is from a lack of enjoyment of such as things. It is not just that it is hard to do anything, it is that doing things is unrewarding. One of the reasons it becomes so hard to do anything is because of a lack of motivation as you know you are not in a state to enjoy things. Even something like watching a favourite movie or playing a favourite game, you still may like them but it can be hard to actually enjoy them in the current mental state. You can't just randomly do something and expect it to actually feel as good as you think it should. Attempting to engage with something in a "bad" mental state can just lead to even more avoidance of such things as you build up new bad experiences with such activities. I have found that it is good to try to get back into engaging with stuff that you love, it just takes preparation and care. Throwing yourself into situations can sometimes work but it is inconsistent and hard to maintain. Being told to "Just do something" is very unhelpful and ignores depression altogether, it is advice for someone that is not depressed. I think people often just fail to understand how depression results in a general lack of enjoyment in everything. Depression is not a state of desire, you can't just do the thing and be satisfied, it is more of a state where everything that is feasible is undesirable.

One of the best parts of video games is that they have been branching out into playable experiences rather than just trying to be fun. Movies aren't always meant to make you laugh, or cry, or cheer for joy, sometimes they are meant to say something. The best literature has always been the kind that has something to critique or expound upon. Now, games are increasingly becoming vehicles for more than just "fun" or entertainment. Granted, it's almost solely tiny indie games that go this route, it's still fantastic to go through an experience that isn't about having fun, because the subversion of your expectations makes the message hit that much harder

@senritsujumpsuit6021

9 ай бұрын

Films not being happy but being a statement is indeed an experience

I want to say something about you and your videos, something that I, in my broken English, find kind of hard to do, but I'll try my best. Your videos take me back to when KZread and I were young-not because of low quality or something like that, not at all. But because I feel like, despite having watched a lot of spec ops videos, this made me feel like the first few I watched, I felt like you were speaking from a place of genuine passion or interest, and I also felt like my attention span wasn't destroyed like it is. I didn't feel distracted, and I felt interested in the video, just as I did when I was 14 and watched my first text-to-speech loquendo analysis on stuff. Today I turn 27, and despite everything, I feel like content creators such as yourself can still make me owe in amazement, just like the very first time. For that, I've got to thank you.

I love the games that aren’t horror, but make you acutely aware that something isn’t right. One of the most unsettling things I remember from a game is a loading tip from Spec Ops: The Line, that reads “Cognitive dissonance is an uncomfortable feeling caused by holding two conflicting ideas simultaneously.” I saw that on my second playthrough of the game and the pit it put in my stomach is one of the most unique ways a game has unnerved me. I need more PTSD, trauma inducing war games please. Edit: Forgot to mention how much I enjoyed the video! You did an awesome job here dude

dude that last game sounds so good holy crap i got shivers from just your description of the events in the game. 10/10 video makes me want to play that game so bad

@TheUnslainDragon

10 ай бұрын

You should. Spec Ops: The Line is a masterpiece.

@ratchet2007

9 ай бұрын

It's overrated tbh

@queuedjar4578

9 ай бұрын

People say it's preachy, but I think that just means that people who came to that conclusion have already internalized the message that it's trying to communicate. I still think that the best approach is playing through the ENTIRE game and deciding for yourself. Definitely get it while it's on sale at least, it's dirt cheap even when not on sale, and at its very core is a very mindless and solid third person shooter which was kind of its initial intention anyways.

@KongoMuller69

9 ай бұрын

​@@ratchet2007 no? It's literally underrated

The stars alligned and you came back with a sick subject on my birthday! Can't wait to get home and watch this video!!! I'll let you know what I think when I get done! So happy to have you back, hope you're doing better

@rick8961

10 ай бұрын

Happy birthday!!

@10C45E

10 ай бұрын

Happy Birthday dude!

@TheCursedJudge

10 ай бұрын

Happy Birthday!

@Sunny_Haven

10 ай бұрын

happy birthday!!!!!!

@pusspuss1096

10 ай бұрын

​@@TheCursedJudgethank you! I really liked the video! I was expecting the title to be much less interpreted than it was and was really pleasantly surprised to see how you applied it to not only indie games but some major titles as well. Really good job man!

Lmaoo I fucking lost it when Zoey said spyro was playing a hacked game. Super unexpected. Great video.

My favorite part of Spec Ops' finale is that after everything you and Walker push through, the final (and in many ways the first) true choice you get is deciding his fate, casting judgment on him, and the best part is that every option feels equally valid. Regardless of what you decide should happen they all feel satisfying as a path to choose for yourself.

Great video, man. Love your content. I love the discussions around spec ops, so many different takes on the same story, so much to talk about and so many theories, and i never actually disagree with any of them. One of the topics you could maybe do a video about is player avatars, and the dying of the silent protagonist? Idk that also is a very interesting topic to me and i would love to hear your opinion about it.

Damn depression quest sounds just like me. (Getting better though, slowly)

Bro had to play the cursed music in the background, my heart froze

There's an interesting contrast between Black Ops and Spec Ops I haven't thought about until your videos. Both games have totally non-sensical plots, it's just that one is about fulfilling the player's fantasy and the other one is about breaking the player emotionally. Neat

@caav56

8 ай бұрын

>Black Ops and Spec Ops I haven't thought about until your videos. Both games have totally non-sensical plots, it's just that one is about fulfilling the player's fantasy and the other one is about breaking the player emotionally Someone didn't play BO3, I see.

@AI_KyunNotAnEgg

7 ай бұрын

​@@caav56train go boom?

@caav56

7 ай бұрын

@@AI_KyunNotAnEgg More of "Why do you fight?" man myself. Damn do I miss Corvus.

Ironically enough, shooting Konrad is a valid action here - game wants to be meta and blame me for actions of a character in a linear video game claiming I could have stopped, but I can be meta too, claiming that since game is linear it's a movie with interactive combat and not a fully interactive project that can require me to take even partial responsibility for what is happening on the screen. Sorry game, you don't get to take my money, tell me I could've stopped and never played what I paid for and blaming me for what you created, Konrad eats the bullet.

@elbolovo4721

10 ай бұрын

Those kind of twists like "The player is ultimate villain, you should've stop playing" doesn't do anything for me unless you offer me a refund along the way. In fact on Spec Ops I think everyone focus on the white phosphorus scene that the player doesn't have a choice and must use it to progress, but nobody talks about the part where the crowd starts trying to lynch you. The majority of players shoots straight at the mob killing civilians, but a single shoot in the air does the same thing and progress the game without a single drop of blood shed.

@Ireee702

9 ай бұрын

No. Ironically you proved the game's point. You're even worse than what the game is telling, cause you already knew what the game was about and you still decided to buy it so you can kill civilians and satisfy your curiosity. You're a monster, exactly like Walker. And even knowing what you did, you prefer to blame something or someone else. Just like Walker. This game is a masterpiece and haters like you only makes it better, cause you just keep proving right it's entire message

@Ireee702

9 ай бұрын

​@@elbolovo4721What about not buying it in the first place? lol

@elbolovo4721

9 ай бұрын

​@@Ireee702 Why the fuck would I spoil the story of a game that everyone was praising for it before I bought it if I was planning in doing so? It was the gaming version of spoiling myself the ending of the Sixth Sense before going to see the movie. Mate, your opinion is anachronistic as fuck. The WHOLE marketing material and even the demo that was available focused ONLY on finding what happened to the 33rd, relying heavily on the common military shooter tropes popular at the times and hiding the twists at all cost. Everyone what got the game at launch or soon after (like myself) didn't have a clue that it wasn't just another third person cover shooter. When people started playing and reached the meat of the story, everyone talked about how it was good, but didn't talk openly to not spoil it to everyone. The game now is 11 years old and is analyzed openly, but at the time it wasn't. If you buy it today you know exactly what you are getting, but at the time you couldn't.

@lurkio804

9 ай бұрын

@@Ireee702 Nah, I'll just play a good game instead.

Spec Ops The Line made me feel horrible and stare at a wall after playing it (happened a lot) And made me have continuous nightmares till this day I played it when I was 12 and I still play it today. Truly a masterpiece

@monitor_zirnevis

9 ай бұрын

how can it be masterpiece when you had nightmare 😮💀

@afilthyweeb8684

5 ай бұрын

You clowns need therapy if you can't dissociate from a fuckin video game

I clicked on your unsatisfying endings video and have been binging your video essays for a few hours now. I have to say these are incredibly well written. Fascinating topics, well paced, somehow manages to leave me feeling all sorts of emotions. Incredible.

I know barely anyone but me remembers it, but Starlancer (2000) for PC had you pilot a starfighter in open space arenas where you fought an enemy team of pilots alongside a few friendly pilot bots on your team. There are sometimes larger ships like freighters and cruisers. Your objective can vary between missions and areas, but usually it's to overcome a batch of enemies, destroy a certain objective or survive a gauntlet. One day I was just fucking around for fun, and deliberately chased down one of my friendly bots and chipped away at his health with my gatling guns until his fighter exploded. I killed my squadmate. And the devs accounted for that - there's special audio lines of dialogue from your friendlies, and a disturbing prerendered cutscene where your pilot is coldly blindfolded and executed via firing squad. I was 7 years old and the inclusion of this "ending" rocked me to my core.

I found you out of nowhere and i must say that this is one of the best video essays i've seen in a long time. you've earned my sub and i look forward to exploring some more of your content.

it's funny how even through that brief mention of depression quest it hit harder than anything else

@barendSho

7 ай бұрын

Niko pfp, automatically like

@heededshadow509

4 ай бұрын

Tried out depression quest immediately and not gonna lie, it's pretty accurate. You what the right choice is, but often times you just can't make it. You won't yourself make it. It's very frustrating, but in the end you always feel the only one to blame is yourself.

I’m going to stop at Spec Ops because I’ve always wanted to play it myself, but I’ve got to say that I really love this video. What these games are doing is so intriguing; I love self-aware horror that involves its audience (with or against their will) and deconstructs its medium, and you’ve tied these examples together very nicely.

@queuedjar4578

9 ай бұрын

Very good choice. Play through the game and report back here. People say it's preachy and all that, but I think it's best to play through the ENTIRE game and decide for yourself.

@user-sd6zz2hm2u

8 ай бұрын

did you play it yet? if so whats your thoughts on it

3:09 honestly I've found it more realistic if the friendly NPCs turn hostile and start to attack you because that's a natural reaction if you get attacked by someone. Like NPCs in the world defend themselves against a threat. Many games I played had this mechanic like Deus Ex, Half-Life, Gothic 2, Halo, GTA, Fallout (Tactics) etc... Never really questioned it from the perspective of the games' attitude towards you but rather immersion.

at exactly 12:20 my headphones turned off for no reason, pausing the video on this screen with the red text, but instead of the narration i just heard ”power: off” coming from my headphones. scared the shit out of me because i was so immersed that for a second i was almost convinced that a game meta enough to crash for narrative purposes could then somehow also reach out of this youtube video and disconnect me from my own device in a last ditch effort to keep me from the basement and secrects of the house

No One: Not a Single Soul: Every Indie Dev: This bright and cheery game is actually a metaphor for depression.

@senritsujumpsuit6021

9 ай бұрын

an that's not a bad thing Omari has been popping off an the whole opening to that game is playing on a playground before childhood self-harm disorder an more hapens

@Baronnax

9 ай бұрын

"Do not ask the white boy for Steam sale recommendations. They'll just start telling you to play an indie RPG Earthbound-inspired platformer that's actually about being depressed."

@dopaminecloud

9 ай бұрын

@@Baronnax Lisa goes hard and no one can pretend it doesn't despite fitting this exact criteria. It's all about execution.

I've always been captivated by the element of the camera in movies, television, books and so on - the observer, the witness, the one for whom most stories are sort of blindly performed, and I wanted stories that deal with that in some way. This shows some such. Good video

I love your videos man, a whole new twist on video game essays

disappointed to not see lisa or fear and hunger showed off

I'm just glad I stumbled upon your channel while trying to find a video to fall asleep to. Turns out, besides your soothing voice, you also make great-ass contents! Always great points, the way you construct them into a video and the topics you choose are 😚👌 . More power to you, and I hope your channel blows up because you damn well deserve it

Just wanna say, your content is really really good and nice to watch, hope everything’s doing okay and nice work!

Thanks for bringing Spec ops up in your content. Loved it

God this concept reminds me of Generation Loss. (genloss is made by Ranboolive if you want to check it out, and of courses spoiler warning for the streams.) It was streamed on twitch I believe and the fans as chat got to make decisions. It started with comedy. It ends with us choosing to kill Ranboo, not really as a different character, but as the streamer. Now of course Ranboo is alive irl but this other Ranboo seems to be more of a clone or alternate version than some rando. I can’t really explain it well but we do realize at some point that the only reason Ranboo gets put through this torture is because we as viewers choose to go to the streams and keep playing. It was a really cool experience if you where there live (still is one now) I didn’t get to be there live, but the pain of seeing them yell and beg to just be killed still kinda haunts me. I love this because it feels like (at least for me) that the show is actively telling you “you did this! You watched. You kept going. You got him tortured and you got them killed!” It’s very cool and I like the idea of a show halting and really just speaking to you saying that the blame can’t just be on the big bad evil guy, but also you since your the ones watching it and fueling anyway. That was just a mindless ramble and a bit of a tangent but eh. Really cool video from you cursed judge, I like this concept a lot so thanks for the video. I doubt anyone will get into Genloss just from this comment but again, eh whatever.

Oh sweet, a video about Overwatch

This is such a well thought out video and discussions. Props to you. I am enthralled.

And now we await the sequel: Games That Love The Player (uhhhh DDLC? technically? Maybe Minecraft, if you read the End Poem? Uhhhh...)

While I watch nearly every video games essayist's videos here on youtube, I find that yours are the most thoughtful of them in a sense. I sincerely would pick your videos over the likes of for example Jacob Geller's or NeverKnowsBest's in pretty much every instance. Keep doing this please

@pleasegoawaydude

10 ай бұрын

Why do you have to put down other creators to praise this one? Jacob especially started just as small as Judge and built up on raw merit. Judge is absolutely fantastic, but it's quite cruel of you to only recognize that in the context of lessening somebody else's value.

@OsirisMawn

6 ай бұрын

​@@pleasegoawaydudebecause let's face it, most if not all video game essayists or video essayists in general have no point. But his is different

This feels like a creepypast video.

I've just recently found your channel, and your videos are amazing! Keep up the good work!

Good video. Zone of the Enders has a neat "you are playing it wrong" moment halfway through the game - if you go out of your way to kill all the civilians up to that point, you are told that a vital story character was in one of the buildings and the game ends with you being scolded for not taking it seriously. The player character even says "but I was just playing the game..." - classic Kojima moment. Oh and you might like a game called Producer 2021. I'll say nothing about it but your choice of indie games would fit alongside it very well.

I love how similar you are to Jacob Geller. I love his content so of course I love yours too. Keep up the great work!

Cursed judge really does make the best video essays. The topics chosen are always extremely interesting

Bro I seriously love your videos, you do a really good job on them and I’m excited every time I see a new upload. Wanted to recommend a game for you, it’s called The Longing. I think it would be a perfect game to talk about like you do in your videos. I won’t say much abt it, other than it’s a genuinely awesome experience to play, and it takes 400 days to beat.

This video was fantastic and may be one of your best yet, i feel like “There is no game” could have fit into the meta rebellion section however. Once again i’m going to suggest some sort of video on “games that play the player” or something along those lines. Keep making videos and bringing joy to those who watch them! 😀

About "solitude": While watching you're video, i thought: What if the character can't leave the room on its own, but with us, The Player, taking control over movement, can break thru this imaginary for the character wall and live happily after, like "Don't be afraid to accept help from other people". Sounds cool imho

you forgot the mention tf2

The first time i played SOTL i already knew about the white phosphorus scene but playing it still absolutely killed me. I knew what was coming and yet seeing the aftermath of the atrocity i had commited broke in a way i can not deacribe. Truly it is a work of art that i wish had done better when it was released.

Dude the house game gave me chills, that was so badass!

@abrupta

10 ай бұрын

bro so true I wanna play it but I can't find it

@senritsujumpsuit6021

9 ай бұрын

nothing makes a game for fuked up then having someone payed half the budget for VA work

Video essays like no other. Love you judge

@wafity

10 ай бұрын

are you a real american man?

It takes a strong man to deny what's in front of him. And if the truth is undeniable, he creates his own.

I'm a simple man. I see philosophical bideo about video games eith spec ops: the line, I cilck. And am I delighted by that. Awesome video

My AirPod died immediately after Walker said “this isn’t right!” lol

I finally subscribed. Sorry I didn't sooner. Glad that we're both explorers of "this kind of stuff" (A Toothed Wheel Intensifies)

I adore the way your videos are structured. The games you cover are fascinating and the way you loop back to ideas is masterful. Thank you for the great content

yeah dog video essays surrounding gaming are almost exclusively the only content i watch on youtube anymore and i can confidently say that this was one of the best ones ive seen in a while. good shit

The stanly parable is essentially a video game hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy, by that i mean the humor in it is very Douglas Adams like, i know if they did make a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy game it would be fantastic

@raeganj6744

10 ай бұрын

There’s a hitchhikers guide to the galaxy text-based adventure game from the 80s

@jamesdeanseternaldreams2232

10 ай бұрын

@@raeganj6744 yes iv played it, im talking specificly in terms of a modern game, and even more specifically the concwpt of a hitchhikers game being made by the stanly parable developers. But the 80s game is absolutely hilarious, i got into an argument with the reply texts that lasted for 30 mins untill it got bored and gave me the oh no the world has been blown up

If you do a second part you should definitely include the beginners guide

@nothere5378

5 ай бұрын

The Beginners Guide is a special case since it not only hates the player but hates any outside observation or analysis, so putting it in a video like this would be a far worse offense against Coda then simply playing it

Cursed Judge, please just know that I fucking love your videos so much and that I'm hoping for more.

This is the first video of yours I’ve seen, and I am amazed. You are an incredible creator, writer, orator, and more. I can’t wait to watch more of your stuff, thanks for putting the work into this!

Bro just put me in an existantial crisis then told me to have a nice day love your stuff anyway

Everything you create is just fantastic, and it genuinely adds so much to the games you cover. Thank you for making these!

That Anatomy game looks terrifying, and it has exactly the same theme to it as SCP-002. SCP-002 is a large meaty sphere with a door in it that leads to a house made of flesh, bones and other biological components. It has fleshy furniture, walls, floors and everything. But it sources this flesh directly from the humans that enter it, so whenever more Class-D (sacrificial test subjects) are fed into it more furniture is made from their bodies, essentially closing around and digesting them into inanimate objects.

Video games and video essays, two of my favorite things. When combined, it just makes them even better.

No.1 video essay creator. I'm No.1 video essay creator enjoyer. You sharing your mind with others is a blessing

Damn these videos are great. Video games are a legitimate art form, and although some people do abuse their time with them, there is still some very valuable lessons to take away from a lot of these games that might otherwise go unlearned for some. Spec Ops: The Line taught me a valuable lesson, and that was to not play video games for the false reward of feeling better than you actually are. If you want to feel like a hero, feel like you can do good in the world, feel like you can help or save others, feel brave and strong… work on doing it in the game you’ve already been playing: the game of life. Gay, I know.

@dean_l33

10 ай бұрын

I refuse to be gas lit by spec ops the line

@spugintrntl

10 ай бұрын

Look man... Don't feel bad about being right.

It doesn't hate you, but I think that the game that hits the hardest by making the player a relevant part of the story is One Shot. I don't know if there are more games of that kind (maybe Deltarune and less so Undertale), but if there are it can be a cool video topic too

I love how you mix all the games you talk about together

Thank you for having gameplay from Zenith!! My favorite undiscovered gem

The first time I played SpecOps: The Line I got to the gate and knew right away that the final target was not a military target. The IR signatures were not in defensive positions or in any sort of orderly way. It didn't look like they were a command post of barracks or field hospital either and there were too many of them bunched up. My problem with the ultimate thesis of the game is the same one Yahtzee had, The game forces us to "Go for the HighScore(tm)" and then waggle's it's finger at us for doing the only thing that the game would let us do. The difference between that and, say, No Russian is in No Russian you can actually choose not to participate. The mission still plays out the same and still ends the same, even a little more understandably, but in The Line you HAVE TO willy-pete those civies. You aren't allowed to participate in the game any further without committing the spicier war crime which is a problem if you are trying to prove a point and you aren't just being an asshole. Like I said, I knew those weren't a valid target from the way it looked and so should have Walker, but that wasn't what the game wanted. It blunts the point a bit in hind sight. Still a really great game.

No wait there is a Stanley Parable ending where it address the player it's when the female narator tells you the only wat to win is to quit

Love your videos, it's great seeing that you posted another video!

I often feel a strange sense of betrayal, with me being the betrayer, when upon replaying a game I don't simply stop playing at a peaceful and/or happy moment. I have the chance, the ability to let these characters stay in a happy life, and I take it away for the sake of a game I've already played.. for a narrative that I already know the end to.