When I was younger and ran out of Xbox Live, I would run around these empty multiplayer maps and pretend to do campaign missions. To think I had such a vivid imagination to literally be PRETENDING in a video game lol, good times. Also scary ones, especially in Minecraft (herobrinephobia)

I'm so glad this game included Bart Simpson's famous line "Eat my ass"

Wait, how come I never saw that pool at 30:07?

I love the dark, foggy, gritty, rainy, environment of GTA III, and Manhunt 1 (and GTA IV). It's cold and eerie vibes, thinking about what lies behind it, brings a chill down my spine. I also love GTA Vice city and Sanandreas. But those games are vibrant, and hence, they have less suspense element. But Sanandreas has some suspense elements in the countryside and mountainous regions, but something about the Sanandreas engine doesn't appeal to me. I'd have admired Sanandreas if it was made in GTA III Engine. GTA LCS feels very little similar to GTA III in terms of it's weather and ambience, but still it somewhat lacks the gloomy atmosphere of GTA III. I'd wish Rockstar to continue expanding the 3d era timeline by making more Small size GTA and Manhunt games (like 3, VC, SA, LCS, VCS, manhunt 1 and 2) in RenderWare engine. I don't mind the graphics being not as good as today's level of graphics. I still play the 3d era GTA and Manhunt Games these days.

Really glad you're still uploading. Your channel is like a comfort thing to me. Your thoughts are so well articulated - it's very relaxing to chuck on your videos when I want to wind down after a long day. Thanks so much, dude.

Am I supposed to watch this video high? I know what Backrooms are. You say the same thing for an hour. I haven't played much of this game though. I don't know how relevant this is but I like cozy Unreal Engine 1-2 levels with colorful lights and Team colors in Real Time Strategies. Video games are cool.

exploring 2D environments re-imagined in 3D gave me a such a bizarre feeling growing up, this phenomena is truly an obsession, shit used to make me feel like I was floating. if anyone is interested in playing this game again I highly recc trying out the mpalko vhs shader to blend the aliasing and get that vintage color banding.

damn I been playing this every night lately 😭 much luv keep droppin vids and music brody

your videos are amazing, I don't know if you're fond of it, but please consider making a video about Bully

this game was pretty good for its time

Another banger to add to the pantheon of videos that get me through working long shifts.

It's one of my favorite games of all time. I couldn't play GTA so I played this instead😁

After a decade of browsing YT I believe your videos are my favorite content on this website, and I am always happy to see another upload. I really do hope you keep making these kinds of videos for a long time.

ugly sonic

You truly cover a KZbin niche I never thought I needed in my life.

This guy needs to lay off the acid.

Love the long form video content you make

The music soundtrack to me was SOOO important. It was like pop songs from a parallel universe. Sounds kinda familiar, but you know you never heard them before. This whole aspect changes when you get to Vice City and all the music is popular licensed from planet earth.

YES, WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Idk i got this strange fondness for this game eapecially the theme song

Man the soundtrack on this game brings back so many feelings. Me and my sister played this non stop as kids

You call yourself joyless but your channel notifications fill me with joy

i am so jazzed to always see a Joyless video in my notifications

I'm here to appreciate how at the spookiest time of year with some pretty obvious contenders for best spooky, surreal game of the year out there Joyless turns around and goes "check out how uncanny The Simpsons Hit and Run is" and absolutely backs up their perspective with an hour long video rich with new and vivid perspective. If anything it's a real shame to think the golden age of games and virtual environments like this might be past us just because the technique and technology of designers has evolved to the point where the facade is never this obvious anymore. I'd be glad to be proven wrong, but still, procedurally generated infinite landscapes are now the filler over what might have been in the past some reluctant compromise of map design or ingenious artistic trick that presents a horizon more boundless feeling than one we could ever really explore.

This is one of the games that i feel was able to capture that "this really could be a place in the real world" feel. That because it gives us just enough to fill in the rest with our minds. Something that even some photo-realistic games fail to do.

God, I love when you post a new video. Highlight of my day! Keep it up, Joyless!

Yay, another Joyless video. I've watched your GTAIII one a million times, it never gets old. This is just an awesome format. Would love it if you also cover Oni, Max Payne 1, Hitman: Contracts; whatever other ¬2000s games have oddly dark and empty worlds that get the mind wondering.

Wow, got back from work about half an hour ago. Watching the latest Joyless video. What a great way to start my 3 day holiday off!

Based on

May I just say I really appreciate how thorough and thoughtful you are when covering games, especially considering your not talking about them in the easy way by analyzing what was intended, but instead picking up on abstract things that was never considered by the people who made them. It’s such a unique insight. I remember playing Minecraft alone as a kid and feeling so much dread I couldn’t play it unless I knew someone was home with me. I started realizing I would have these moments in multiple games where I felt this looming unease and they weren’t ones that people talked about like half life 2 or whatever. They were games that didn’t have any horror elements but they still managed to cause me discomfort. I think your videos do a great job diving into everything that causes things to feel wrong in games. Your GTA3 video was one I especially appreciated. It’s always a treat when you upload!

Oh we eating good tonight 😌

Ah, my first GTA game. Put hundreds of hours into this as a child in the early '00s, all the driving music stuck permanently in my head, Springfield looking like Whoville with its' weird buildings, and Homer and Bart ripped straight from that Halloween episode in Season 6; I was totally obsessed with SHaR. Brilliant adventuring around the open world and analysis from yourself, as always. Thank you Joyless!

NEW JOYLESS VIDEO YEAHHH!!

the goat has blessed us with another banger

Prince of Persia when?

HOLY SHIT NEW VIDEO BY GOSTIEPOOH YES YES i WILL WATCH THEN COMMENT GOOD JOB YES YES

He’s back!!!

When I think of touching grass, I think of Spyro grass 💜💚

There is even more harrowing nightmare-imagery in Rugats in Paris on N64, with its graphics.

ARUBAAAAA 🇳🇱🇦🇼

That early 2000's post 9/11 crime videogames feeling

I think further classification of genre or types is needed. I call 'games' like GTA 'virtual worlds' because the main thing they bring to the table is not a "game" Counter Strike is a game. It's not as much a "virtual world" as GTA is. Obviously everything on a 'videogame' is a 'virtual world' though. See the classification gets tricky.

Sure, you're overthinking things throughout and speaking in hyperbole for what was at the end of the day a kid's platforming game made on PS1 hardware, and doesn't really go much deeper than that, but I've enjoyed listening to that overthink all the same! The OG Spyro trilogy is one I've loved and adored since childhood, and whilst I did really enjoy the Reignited Trilogy, I went back recently to the originals via PS2 and there is definitely something ineffable in the atmosphere of their more limited graphical presentations that remains charming and ultimately more visually distinct from Reignited's more typical 'animated CGI' look - and the colour palette, particulary of Spyro the Dragon, is definitely stronger!

absolutely amazing album; you are criminally underrated

Lets stop being polite about it and just say ReIgnited Trilogy was bad

Revisiting this video in celebration of the GTA2 25th anniversary which happened earlier this week in the 22nd. Still just as funny as I remember it

The title alone was just enough explanation to know exactly what you’re talking about without watching the entire video. I absolutely LOVE this game and it has more of a personal sentiment to me than I can even explain, this was the first game I ever played in my life at just 6 years old. The dark creepy atmosphere was so ominous and intriguing to me as a young child. It’s also the perfect example of the time period it’s set in, post 9/11 in 2001. This game represents how the world felt shortly after the horrific tragedy.. dark gritty and lost of all hope. I think that’s why it feels the way it does and why the atmosphere was set in this creepy light especially considering that it’s based on New York City.

rewatching this video again, really love it

When I was a three year old kid first gaining awareness of my existence, I recall feeling like I had come from these ethereal worlds before I was born

If anything, historically GTA 3 is the most important and ground breaking game of all times when it comes to open world games. Everything we have today came from that game. Do I love San Andreas or even Vice City more? Yes but that doesn’t take away anything from GTA 3.