7 Times a Game Was So Meta It Freaked You Out: The Return

[@bethanyrostron7486]

I may not be on a boat, but it still sufficiently freaked me out, thank you Ellen

[@the_well-known_stranger2275]

We found a Bethany!

[@pretergeek]

It was a ship, wasn't it?

[@mintmilano4074]

You may not be on a boat *yet*.

[@TheYorkRose]

Save the hyperlink to this video as a diary entry for a random date in summer 2023 jusssssst in case

[@Dancinglemon]

I’m glad another Bethany was freaked out by that. Also not on a boat but also sufficiently startled.

[@asomelord]

One of my closest friends is named Bethany and I'm licensed to teach canoeing... I will do what i must come Spring

[@angelofstupidity5487]

It is for the greater good.

[@timothyoswald8618]

Please don't forget... such a good opportunity.

[@JanAside]

Why wait?

[@SebiBubble]

You're doing a great service

[@dearone1]

Not all heroes wear capes.

[@JT_Lich]

Either Bethany is too scared of Ellen's foresight to comment, or she just hasn't watched the video yet and Ellen is actually predicting events that will happen years in the future.

[@barrybumblecrumpets8977]

Frankly Bethany's silence on the matter speaks *volumes*.

[@RobertoBastone]

Now I am forced to come back to this video once in a while and see if the prophecy has been fulfilled!

[@jackwriter1908]

Well, she is on a boat, maybe she doesn't have a good connection.

[@bustinarant]

@@jackwriter1908 I'd change my name to include boat if that happened to me Boat-thany, they'd call me.

[@JT_Lich]

@@jackwriter1908 ah, touché

[@TizzyLento]

There's a nice one in Paper Mario: Origami King. When you're in Peach's castle with Bowser near the end of the game. Once you're inside the castle you can try to open a door, but it's locked. Then Bowser comments that it'd be cool to have something secret behind that door, but the developers were probably too lazy to do the work.

[@OriginalPiMan]

Is it possible to get behind that door at all?

[@setster007]

You know, I really need the Game Theorists to do a video on that game. I beat it and I'm SO FREAKING CONFUSED. WHAT HAPPENED!!!!!

[@NFITC1]

@@setster007 Really? It's not that deep. Basically an origami doll came to life (rooted in old origami folklore that you can imbue life into the "perfectly made" origami dolls. Eastern literature is rife with the idea that art can somehow come to life) and decided to remake the world as origami instead of ink. What's to be confused about?

[@RiskierGoose340]

Paper Mario loves being self aware. Especially super paper mario.

[@setster007]

@@NFITC1 It's the ending that broke me, man. I understand all of it except what on earth that final boss fight even was.

[@louiemarks8501]

You mentioned Psychonauts, but you didn't do the bit in "the milkman conspiracy" where getting caught by those men in black type dudes has Raz get interrogated, and one of the rapid-fire questions they throw at you is "we know who's playing you". Creeped me the f*** out first time I played it.

[@0ceanicify]

My milk is delicious

[@Violet-Spark]

@@0ceanicify it is fortified with what the world needs… what the world deserves. The Milkman Conspiracy has always been my favorite section of the game. The G-Men and the Rainbow Squirts are hilarious.

[@kk_cats6072]

I am the milkman my milk is delicious

[@Nicooriia]

There's also dialogue if you throw a confusion bomb at Boyd, which, normally, isn't accessible at this point without cheats. Highly encourage you look up that scene if you can, it's very meta.

[@user-fe8gx3ie5v]

Please do not censor.

[@rasmusts6060]

It's funny to imagine Luke and Ellen texting the others for stuff they need in their videos. "Jane, can you pick up a bag of chips om your way to the studio? It's for a video, i swear!"

[@Brasc]

The 'om' actually works. "Jane! The crisps! Thanks! Om-om-om!" Presumably Jane was om-ing her own crisps on her way to the studio.

[@geraintthomas4343]

Though it always feels weird when they (as english people) put american versions of words in their scripts. I know why but it feels weird when they say "garbage" or "chips" when they'd usually say "rubbish" or "crisps"

[@benrgrogan]

@@geraintthomas4343 to be fair, most people I know in the UK would call those tortilla chips rarther that crisps

[@geraintthomas4343]

@@benrgrogan really? I don't know anyone who does. A fair few call them nachos or just say doritos for everything but never chips.

[@TransmitHim]

@@geraintthomas4343 Yeah, the chips one makes sense for the moment in question, but Sega Genesis rather than Mega Drive got a big ol' eye twitch from me.

[@screamingtongue]

Kelsey Grammer was a PERFECT choice for Beast. The only problem I had was that he was wasted in such a terrible, terrible movie.

[@Wolfrover]

Agreed. Grammer was a wonderful voice for the bounding, blue-furred Beast, known for such lines as "Oh my stars and garters".

[@Nynzy]

Better than any of the dreadful rebooted X-men movies, at least. Admittedly, this was a low bar to clear xD~

[@TheFinalSmash]

I have good news.

[@axolotlgab]

Ah, I cannot forget Marina's line from the Splatoon 2 Splatfest: chicken vs egg. "It's funny because we're all living in a simulation and free will is a lie."

[@kirbywithaknifeisawesome6028]

Why is this so funny to me

[@kizoomtite4779]

@@kirbywithaknifeisawesome6028 because we're all living in a simulation and free will is a lie

[@AughOughWaugh]

I have a screenshot of that on my Switch

[@nickjeffery536]

Ellen - "Well, here's a Nintendo DS puzzle that makes Zelda look like a game for kids!" Luke - "I mean - it IS a game for kids..." Ellen - "No - no it's not, i-i-if it is then how come I like it so much then?" Luke - silently points to a tape measure...

[@adiardm5189]

I remember this kind of meta thing in Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance 2. When you stay idle for to long, the characters threaten you until you take the controls back. It freaked me out the first time.

[@l0stndamned]

Wasn't it something like "If you don't get moving I'll strangle you with the controller cord"? Somewhat less of an effective threat nowadays.

[@Patrioticpawn]

The original Baldur's Gates had similar ones too. When you select Jaheira, she'll sometimes say 'oh yes? You omnipresent authority figure?'

[@etowngti]

the Baldur's Gate meta moments still get me twenty years later ha ha

[@relaxinginwonderland62]

@@l0stndamned sounds like the barbarian (dorn

[@gdonaldson26]

In Baldur's Gate 2, in the Adventurer's mart, there are two paintings up the back of two characters from the 1980's cartoon Dungeons and Dragons (Hank and Bobby) and them "attempting to return to their homeland far away".

[@empurress77]

I'm reminded of the scene from Silent Hill 3 where if you have a save from Silent Hill 2 Heather will turn to the camera and ask "Who would even think of doing something so disgusting"

[@etowngti]

My exact thought! Such a great easter egg

[@eyeonsquatch]

These people have managed to write dumb jokes about games that make me laugh every week for years. I appreciate you, OX crew.

[@doingitwron]

After every other pun, someone off screen: "BOO!" Me: lol

[@darthsimian2196]

Kelsey was a popular fan casting from early 90’s onwards because of the genius version of Beast in the Claremont run. Constantly quoting poetry and literature like a blue furry Frasier.

[@kyledavy4546]

Not to mention his depiction in the X-Men cartoon series which, for me at least, cemented that version of Beast as definitive and made the casting of Kelsey Grammar absolutely perfect.

[@marhawkman303]

@@kyledavy4546 yeah it was about being able to TALK the part, since Beast is a highly intelligent and soft spoken person. Everyone knew the LOOK of Beast was gonna be all special effects anyways.

[@rockarola55]

@@marhawkman303 yup, I thought that he was perfect for the part. The mid-atlantic accent, the "smarter than thou" attitude and all of that caught inside of a monkey/werewolf/bear thingie :)

[@chrisdewgong]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that was a bit of an unfair slam! I didn't even know people who thought Kelsey Grammar was a bad choice for Beast existed, In my mind he's always been the actor I considered perfect for the part.

[@barrybumblecrumpets8977]

"What about Psycho Mantis from Metal Gea-" I begin before being fatally tackled to the floor by Xochiquetzal, the Aztec goddess of KZbin content. The internet applauds as I am beaten by keyboards for 10000 years.

[@johncameron1935]

Those Aztecs really were ahead of their time.

[@Ladywizard]

Think that was in the original part 1 of this miniseries

[@KyleeAshton3]

Um YEAH BETHANY! Hope you’re doing well after getting called out. Make sure you use sunscreen while you’re on a boat.

[@ddjsoyenby]

we should take bethany's boat she doesn't deserve it after what she did.............i know all your secrets.

[@michael_mcgowan]

Kelsey Grammer was a fantastic choice for Beast, in terms of character. The only reason to think he wasn't a good choice would be physique, and finding someone with the physique of Beast would have been difficult (his physique is part of his mutation) and likely come at the cost of the character. That was one of the best castings in the whole series is all i'm trying to say.

[@mr.mammuthusafricanavus8299]

I really wanted a scene in the kitchen with Beast singing: Baby I hear the blues a calling tossed salads and scrambled eggs! :P LOL

[@Bronzescorpion]

Agreed

[@0ceanicify]

The part where Beast is in the middle of a line and then has to start fighting was a combo Frasier/Sideshow Bob/Beast moment.

[@typacsk]

No, I saw him shirtless on "Frasier." I think all they had to do was change the hair color.

[@DampenedHorizon]

My favourite is in Jak 3 when Seem says "This isn't a game!" Before Jak and Daxter both turn and look at the camera.

[@fromthelostdays]

If I ever have a daughter I plan on naming her Bethany in honor of my mom, and I solemnly swear swear that one day when we're on a boat I play a few other videos to lull her into a false sense of security then pull this one on her.

[@3TeamsMedia]

Did anyone ever talk about Psycho Mantis from the original MGS? That dude "knew" games you had played previously. He also detected your moves if you didn't switch the controller port.

[@m0use253]

I said the same thing!

[@DoctorT144]

I was really surprised this wasn't #1 on this list

[@Wolfrover]

For those whose second port didn't work, you could also destroy the statues in the corners of the room, temporarily shutting down his ability to read your controller.

[@Wolfrover]

For those whose second port didn't work, you could also destroy the statues in the corners of the room, temporarily shutting down his ability to read your controller.

[@3TeamsMedia]

@@Wolfrover I never knew that.

[@twilight7721]

The scariest meta moment in my opinion is (spoiler alert) at the end of metal gear solid 2 sons of liberty when the arsenal gear ai is bugging so colonel starts saying things like “You’ll hurt your eyes sitting to close to the tv” or telling raiden that it’s “All just a game”

[@zayaanatif4474]

Don’t you just love it when you’re binging old Outside Xbox/Outside Xtra videos and a new one gets posted as soon as you run out of videos to watch? It’s a bit creepy though ngl, they could be watching me and waiting for the perfect moment to post to keep me engaged with the channel forever until I am eternally glued to my screen hungry for more Outside Xbox content. Probably not though.

[@graywolfdracon]

The Matrix has you.

[@inc2000glw]

I know, right ?

[@RageUnchained]

Andy is hiding in your closet

[@UndeadPanda]

If only your name was Bethany

[@DodderingOldMan]

'Oh no, my time on Earth...' Aw man, that really, really resonated... Especially since I'm now so old and doddering.

[@skvaderarts7009]

"Oh no, my time on earth." _Looks at the nearly two thousand hours I've spent on the game._ ... Yup. I think you might be right. I can feel my 20s just slipping away.

[@andybrown4284]

The "close your DS" thing was used in a number of games. I think it was spirit tracks that had one that required it to be completely closed that I found the solution for when I shut it after spending way too long trying to figure out the puzzle and going off to watch some telly. There was a 6DOF shooter back in the 90's that had you fighting off a computer virus, main gimmick of the game was it looked over your hard drive and used stuff it found as backgrounds.

[@Violet-Spark]

Turning the handheld upside down to evolve inkay in Pokémon was pretty great too.

[@Ladywizard]

@@Violet-Spark And you still need to flip the switch upside down to down it now

[@ThePureSynergist]

I think “Oh no. My time on Earth…” has to be one of the greatest realizations for any gamer. Whelp, time to play through FE:3H for the fourth story line…

[@joffcallaghan]

Well, that brought back memories of looking at GameFaqs with extremely intricate ASCII art at the top trying to find the answer to the Another Code puzzle

[@marhawkman303]

yeah that game had some very very creative ways of even defining what puzzles ARE.

[@nightmarethrenody8232]

I’m pretty sure I solved that one just by searching the entire bookshelf, book by book.

[@0ceanicify]

Stanley was quite glad that the Parable didn't appear here, because he had already walked through the right door.

[@johncameron1935]

Stanley then went on to question whether the door on the right was the right door, or if the right door was in fact referring to the correct door. That door, Stanley thought, may have been on the left. As he had already gone through the door on the right however, he decided to continue on and see where this path leads.

[@sacrificiallamb4568]

@@johncameron1935 Stanley encountered a keyboard, how curious.

[@Bigd2k]

13:20 I did spend my whole life never knowing how to beat this. I didn’t learn about this until years later when I no longer had the game.

[@sheetedkid]

I was fortunate, in that I was subscribed to a video game magazine at the time; someone wrote in asking about how to reset the computer, and one of the writers explained the solution. I was so glad, because that part of the game had been bugging me for months, and I would never have figured it out on my own.

[@Thalatash]

I forgot about this part, I never beat it either. I just rented it for a couple of days and stopped playing because I think it was about time to return it when I got stuck here. I don't know if I ever would have figured this part out, I don't remember any games making you reset and I remember thinking I was going to ruin my game when some Playstation games wanted me to reset (or replace a disc mid-game) the first time. I would have never thought about doing it on a Sega Genesis.

[@dearone1]

I know Bethany! I meta ages ago. ...I'll see myself out.

[@IamaPERSON]

I bet you did, but right now, it’s all in the pasta.

[@kevinwelch6506]

I have a feeling Bethany's mind will be blown when she watches this video

[@currely7]

Ellen's a witch, A WITCH I SAY She turned our house in to a boat... Get Her!!!! LOL!!

[@kevinwelch6506]

@@currely7 Ellen also turned me into a Newt....I got better lol

[@currely7]

@@kevinwelch6506 We need Andy to stop this tyrant... CALL THE WITCHER!!!

[@christhefirstxenosian5544]

There minds will be blown twice. 1st by the video metaphorically and 2nd by the guys I sent to eliminate any Beths that see this.

[@3possumsinatrenchcoat]

that DS tilt entry definitely gives me hotel dusk vibes with the "how to flip the puzzle over" puzzle

[@hunterwulfstern6121]

I was just thinking that, as I thought Hotel Dusk was the only DS title game that had but never knew there were other games that did that.

[@Targemq8]

Little cartoon hearts appeared over my head when Ellen referenced JFK’s back problems. 😂🥰

[@pulsefel9210]

yes finally trace gets some attention! my favorite was the dusty picture one. i tried and tried to brush the dust off. in frustration i let out a huff, the mic picked it up and blew some dust away. they also had a stamping puzzle like phantom hourglass and since i played trace first i had no idea what to do. i got grumpy and closed the console, heard a click, blinked and opened the console to find it solved.

[@marhawkman303]

YES!!!! I still remember that! The people who made that game were super clever to find ways to make you do stuff that couldn't be done with a gameboy.

[@westrim]

It was that phase of DS game development where everyone was trying to be creative with the tools of the console, before they settled down to being lazy and treating it like just another console, with an extra screen for minimaps.

[@camking2235]

saying i'm watching this on a boat when I'm literally watching on a boat, caught my attention really fast.

[@absentmindedcat]

In Borderlands 2, if you put down the controller for long enough, Zer0 will accuse you of being on your phone. In haiku form of course.

[@sarawilliams3190]

Zer0 is my absolute favorite! He has the best idle chats!

[@randyotte9599]

Oh no, now I have to do another playthrough of BL2 being zero this time.

[@flemmingpedersen567]

I always enjoy these videos where they cut to the chair for jokes - it just works better than the pure VO ones.

[@huppaduppa]

Waiting for Bethany's reaction in the comments

[@SkydreamPony]

That Psychonauts one is really more of an anime reference than a meta gaming one, given that one trope of action anime involving giant robots/monsters is to call out attack names. "GIGA...DRILL...BREAKEEEEEEER!" from Gurenn Lagann comes to mind

[@lissas4152]

Yeah, it's not the only one I know of that does it either. Suikoden V has a duel that does the same thing. The only difference is that it plays as a combat version of rock-scissors-paper.

[@krazie02]

I cant comprehend that you made a list about games using the meta to scare you without mentioning Batman arkham Asylum! Scarecrows toxin does a big spook!

[@sh4d0wcloak42]

I have to jump in with Eternal Darkness. I was SO freaked out the first time my insanity level was so high an alert came on screen saying my controller was disconnected.

[@CMorseth]

So many freakouts in that game. I'd love to see that come to Switch.

[@ethanrobyn2399]

Does Arkham asylum count?When you get scarecrow gassed again and it acts like your game crashed,I immediately turned my PS3 off and on again and checked if the disc was damaged.

[@ka-mai]

It does but they have featured it in another similar list a few times.

[@DodderingOldMan]

I played that on PC, about a week after upgrading because the graphics card in my old PC got fried. The fake crash looked very, very similar to what had happened then. I have never been so scared by a video game :P

[@relicking9207]

The only proper name for the mabari is Barkspawn, and I will hear no arguements to the contrary

[@dallydaydream]

That's the name my friend gave to his mabari plushie ^_^

[@kraziiXIII]

Barkspawn may be one of the best Dog names possible... But I am extremely fond of calling Dog any animal but dog! Like Duck, Goose, Bear, Bird, Cat, Fish, etcetera. Also I really enjoyed naming him Demonspawn when I had an evil blood mage playthrough because demons and darkspawn!

[@cody-adricharper5848]

Barkspawn may be his proper name, but I always name him Beni after my childhood dog. He was a big, fluffy, choodle (chow/poodle) and such a sweetie. That was so long ago that he had to be put down because of cancer, but I miss him still. I love Daisy, my cukoo crone miniature chihuachsunner (Chihuahua/dachshund/miniature pinscher), but I'll always have a fond place in my heart for Beni. Such a good boy.

[@lizardguyNA]

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Professor Frankly Says "And you in front of the TV, you better pay attention" or when a disguised Lord Crump says "Yes, I know my disguise is obvious to you out there, but don't tell these buffoons" or whatever he said. Now in either of those situations, who was the proverbial "You in front of the TV"? Oh right, US, the player!

[@star1wolf2]

I love that I knew about the Another Code game because my cousin owned it and she had asked me to help her get past a certain part of the game.... and I viscerally remembered exactly where she was stuck as it's shown on screen lol.

[@dallydaydream]

One day, ONE DAY, I will learn the difference between a roguelike and a roguelite

[@gamedifficulty_4230]

A roguelite is what you end up with when a developer gets halfway through making a roguelike but then remembers why they don’t like roguelikes

[@jessicalee333]

I think most "rogue-like" games are technically rogue-lite. As I understand it, "rogue-lite" is a term for Rogue purists who think for a game to be "rogue-like" it must have perma-death, procedural generated levels, and the goal of being completed in a single run from scratch (like the original Rogue - a strict definition may also require the game to be turn-based, have some kind of resource management, and "countdown" element like a timer or starvation meter, et cetera). To make that actually any fun for most players, stuff like permanent unlockable items or abilities, and other ways of actually getting something in-game to reward or at least display progress, have been added to lots of recent games inspired by rogue-likes - making most of them "lite" instead.

[@kraziiXIII]

@@jessicalee333 thank you for an actual explanation for this question! :)

[@dallydaydream]

My brain is refusing to process information properly at the moment due to being ill, but I do love these two different schools of how to answer this question ^_^

[@garrysucks4190]

Honestly Another Code's method of solving the puzzle wasn't just so meta it was freaky, it was so meta it was sheer genius

[@joeldfisher]

Hotel Dusk has many moments where you use the DS to do things you'd never have thought of doing. Things including closing the DS to turn over a puzzle so that you could see the back of it when you reopened the console and using the stylus to get a gun out of a cistern on a toilet

[@gorimbaud]

It was made by the same studio as Another Code, too!

[@taeraresh2115]

@@gorimbaud and is set in the same universe. Fantastic game.

[@gorimbaud]

@@taeraresh2115 It's been a long time since I've played Another Code/Trace Memory, so the only connections I really remember are in the artstyle and game engine, but that wouldn't surprise me. Never managed to play the Wii sequel either, since it never made it over here, though i did import the Hotel Dusk sequel from the UK.

[@EST84x]

Wow, love that Another Code puzzle. Also hadn't thought of that game since probably 2009 when I played the Wiii entry into the series.

[@marhawkman303]

yeah, good story game, not very long and near zero replayability. :/

[@gorimbaud]

I think about it sometimes, because it's kind of like the prototype for my favorite DS game ever, Hotel Dusk, from the same dev team which plays like it must have been built on a lot of the same code. Thinking about it as a prototype, or a tech demo for their game engine, is about the only way I could make sense of the length.

[@Dragonlightning]

As hard as that puzzle is, I also got stuck on the "close the ds to stamp" puzzle and the "blow the mic to blow out the candle" puzzle. And maybe a few others lol

[@LiamDuke]

Oh man, Another Code! So many memories of that game. Solving that reflection puzzle at my nan's house was probably my greatest achievement

[@konoikurozora5851]

Ah, Another Code - one of my favorite games of all times, to the point I enjoy speedrunning it. Fun fact, the first time I played, I didn't get stuck on the mirror image puzzle, no no. I did get stuck on the one where you have to blow on a dusty painting to remove the dust. I didn't even know the DS could even register you're blowing (nor, in fact, that it did have a mic, which it uses for it, recognizing the sound of someone blowing, not the fact air goes on it). So, I spent literal hours - well, days - on that, rubbing the paiting in all manners of ways, going elsewhere to look for more clues and so on. I did figure it by accident, because I was so angry that I sighed so strongly the DS actually registered me blowing on it. And I actually got even more mad! Still love that game! And wow, I did never understand the "joke" in DAO since I was playing on PS3!

[@caslaBBalsac]

Metal Gear Solid ONE telling you to check "the back of the CD", if THAT wasn't meta, I don't know what is.

[@darthizzle]

DA:O also has another meta moment. At Lake Calenhad, but the mage collective fufe, you can overhear two NPC's essentially discussing how theyre in a simulation, or something to that effect. It's been awhile, so I dont remember the details, but its a similar thing to the book entry in your list, someone noticing that theres someone watching

[@sway4829]

Not on a boat, but my name is Bethany and you definitely got my attention. Well done Ellen. 😂😂

[@seaside9791]

In dragon age origins there's actually another pretty fourth-wall breaking moment behind/outside of the tavern Spoiled Princess (where you find Ohgren's ex). Two npcs can be found having a decently long and pretty funny conversation about how the world they are in may be in a story or game for some "cosmic beings' amusement". The other npc then asks if the cosmic beings thought of boils and why anyone would find amusement in the supposedly very big boil on his toe.

[@andymcp4752]

It’s no use trying to seek solace in the comments section Bethany!!

[@Ceece20]

How about KZbin spooky meta moments where you find out the ghost 👻 behind Ellen’s shoulder is just a reflection on your screen and the ghost turns out to be behind YOUR shoulder?

[@Michael_Lindell]

This video is so Meta it used to be called Facebook...

[@isiaadiel3468]

Since the 2.0 update in AC:NH, when villagers visit your house, Snooty types will comment "do you choose furniture on how they make you feel or how they look?" and get anxious before brushing it off. It was clearly a reference to the dreamy hunters and is one of a few times a villager has made me feel bad for something I didn't even do.

[@chunkywhippet9503]

Great video as always guys! That ACNH bit freaked me out more than I was expecting... Spooky. Also shout out to Ellens sparkly Star Wars T shirt, looking fabulous

[@jr637-1]

Ellen called them chips and not crisps. Clearly this isn't real life, this is a KZbin video!

[@devringalbrath]

She also called it the Genesis instead of the Mega Drive

[@rasmusn.e.m1064]

Yeah, I also remember Luke calling arses 'donkeys' on several occasions! ...ok, maybe it was 'asses'.

[@thumper5555]

How about when Spyro looks at you with his idle animation. Or Sonic.

[@KestrelDC]

That sketch of Godzilla in goggles is actually super adorable!

[@straightupanarg6226]

I'm shocked that Bravely Second isn't on this list. It ends with absolutely nothing to do but get owned by basically unkillable Ba'als (true nightmare fuel, BTW), and everyone insisting that you do New Game +. If you do, it goes just as you'd expect: you are way OP, the game is not challenging and you are so high level that you can't really advance at all. But if you do something special during the opening cutscene of NG+ ... the game goes off the rails meta while the earlier story (which involved a time loop) is able to continue. Its so weird that I can barely remember what happened, but S.end P.layer is not what it seems. Also, your party calles itself Angnés' Ba'al Busting Avengers, which is comedy gold.

[@MidBoss666]

If you're planning a commenter edition, then Coco from Nexomon Extinction definitely deserves a shout out. First of all, he's a cat, so Ellen should be happy to talk about him. Second, he's an incredibly sarcastic cat sidekick, who pretty much slams the 4th wall over your head with his comments about the world, gameplay and just about every trope that can be joked about, from the protagonist being mute and doing weird twirls when obtaining an important item, to walking into houses, taking your opponents money after a battle, kids being sent on a quest into the woods until midnight, and how the "Extinction" in the game's title fits random NPCs putting themselves in danger. Seriously, do give this one a look.

[@cearnicus]

Gah, I hate to say this: if you want a game that revels in meta, look no further than Doki Doki Literature Club. If, however, you want to keep your sanity, look _anywhere else_ than DDLC. No seriously, the warnings on the game's steam page are very well deserved. Do not get fooled by the cutesy graphics. I mean it.

[@wallofnyc]

That one is definitely a case of I am Very Grateful for people letting me know something was up with it right out the gate. Because I know I am not remotely equipped to have handled that hard twist unwarned. It would have actually broken me, and I got bills to continue paying.

[@lionocyborg6030]

Here’s a couple more: *The Stanley Parable* The original Half Life 2 mod is really subtle about it knowing it’s a video game until you reach a couple of the endings. The remake on Steam breaks the fourth wall a lot more often including going through an open window and doing a certain easy achievement. *Any game tutorial level in the 90s and/or early 2000s* Lara Croft in the first 6 Tomb Raider games (Werner Von Croy in the fourth) directly addresses the player in the tutorials explaining the controls. So long as you read the manual or learned from someone else, you’d know what controls she’s referring to e.g. CTRL for action, Shift for walk, Alt for jump, direction/cursor keys to move, ? for sprint and > for crouch. She only does this in the tutorial levels/sections and never the main game (minus rare tutorial dialog after the training level in Angel of Darkness like explaining how to sprint) Half Life is another good example in the Hazard Course which is basically linear Lara’s Home. Gina Cross’s hologram often tells players to refer to their Use key or jump and crouch buttons. Freeman’s mind had a field day with this, especially the part where you learn to climb ladders. Black Mesa’s Hazard Course (which exists as a mod instead of in the game by default) makes fun of it too and tries to play it more realistically. *Max Payne* When Max is forcefully given valkyr late in the game, he has a hallucinogenic nightmare involving an office fire and blood trail platforming while it snows blood. Before this however, he gets two phone calls from his dead wife warning him that he’s in a comic book (the cutscenes) and a video game. He finds it funny. (“It was the most horrible thing I could think of.”) *Mother Trilogy* All three games have the player input their own name but the fourth wall breaks are more common in the second and third games, such as when _you_ land the final hit on Gyiyg by praying for your characters’ safety and when you explore a post apocalypse abyss in Mother 3 where everyone including Lucas thanks you for helping them. *Conker’s Bad Fur Day* The game is very lax about the fourth wall in general but it comes to a head when the game freeze crashes right as the final boss is about to kill Conker. He calls out the programmers on this and offers not to tell people so long as they help him kill the boss. Unfortunately for Conker, while he does succeed it does not end well for him as he forgets to ask them to save his recently murdered girlfriend. He spends the epilogue drinking away his sorrows in the bar from the main menu and start of the game.

[@Grabehn42]

I really enjoyed Trace Memory back when it came out, and I know it's kinda silly but for some reason as a kid I enjoyed that a game character was born the same year I was.

[@Soulsfromthevoid]

Kelsey Grammer was wonderful as Beast. Beast is my favorite XMen character. Also, Alan Cumming as Night Crawler was brilliant.

[@thenonexistinghero]

In the game Alundra 2 there's actually a joke about teleporting NPC's. In the first real dungeon of the game you sometimes see a female NPC doing her own thing once you enter a room. At some point you see her open a chest with a key in it and she says she doesn't need it and puts it back. It's referring to the fact that NPC's just randomly teleport to places even behind locked doors and closed off passages.

[@TigerofRobare]

In one of the Space Quest games there's a sequence where you have to interface with a computer and delete the villain's program before it finishes, but one of the programs you can delete is the game you're playing -- which causes an instant game over. This is also a game where you can travel into a future sequel and buy a hintbook for the game you're playing.

[@1Holbytla]

Yes! Space Quest IV: Roger Wilco and the Time Rippers. That was fun and clever!😁

[@sr72387]

Not sure if Ellen will read this or if the person who reads these will tell her but that Star Wars shirt looks great on her. I want one now.

[@mactavish3836]

I always remember splinter cell: chaos theory ship level when Lambert tells Fisher that it isn't a video game, after the latter asks if three alarms will equal a failure.

[@laerr]

When calling out viewers names, go with more rare ones so they're especially freaked out. Like Sebastian, or Tanisha, or something.

[@HazeEmry]

Reminds me of when The Click used to do that

[@Nynzy]

You could fill another list feature of these just from the Disgaea series alone. The characters are aware of how leveling works, grinding, earning new titles, and even some digs at tropes and genres! It is a lot of great fun to be sure~

[@MREEELEEE]

I came across one of my villagers once going through a reality-shattering existential crisis once. Let's just say, we don't talk about Stitches anymore...

[@johannvongenerico9487]

Oh no, Luke has a Sharpie! He's about to do normal adult things!

[@wallofnyc]

Importantly, did he draw that himself? Because honestly, it's really good

[@justinoconnell90]

I think it was Metal Gear Solid that had a similar tip to Zelda. IIRC Naomi tells you to hold the controller to your thumb/ wrist during the Ocelot torture scenario. Basically the game forces the controller to vibrate for a short time because you’ve been hammering the Circle button to survive. It’s if you don’t escape the cell after the “first round”.

[@longtimeagowhenwewascrab9143]

The lore tab of 'the skull of dire ahamkara' from destiny 2 is always unsettling to read. Like no thank you ancient, unknowable dragon skull stop talking to me.

[@notoriousbmc1]

When Minerva broke the forth wall in AC:2, ignoring Ezio, Desmond, and me. Speaking to whomever is playing as me in their videogame

[@louderthanthedj]

At the end of the Teen Titans cartoon PS2 game the end credits scene (and a couple moments throughout) involves the team realizing that the game's events followed a video game's formula too closely, and berate the player for using them for entertainment. It was less an end game gimmick and instead genuinely the plot of the game. As a child I was freaked out for days. How did Cyborg and Beast Boy know I was on the couch. How dare they

[@gamepassghost]

I was hoping to see lungfishopolis pop up, I played that whole game because of Andy including the motherflipping meat circus. Hooo boy. That lungfishopolis level is really endearing and the resulting effect of your submarine mind hop is excellent. No spoilers but definitely play it.

[@Houldey]

Colonel Campbell telling me to turn the console off near the end of MGS2 will forever haunt me.

[@gabi7730]

Dragon age, the game that has a smelly dog, great friendships, weird cheese obssesion, but not many dragons

[@bustinarant]

One of three dragons is a potential in-law lol

[@kraziiXIII]

This is true and surprisingly in Dragon Age 2 there are even less dragons! Talk about false advertising. (Joking of course)

[@pretergeek]

Moments after this video went public, black helicopters were seen flying over ACNH's islands. Coles all over the world have moved out, without warning or thought bubbles popping up over their heads. There have been reports of Villagers picking up tree branches.

[@RoryStarr]

Ellen's shirt is nothing less than fantastic and I am envious.

[@OGFritoHaze]

The fact that you had a real bag of chips and not some french fries made me extremely happy lol

[@ChristopherMB87]

Oh Ellen… Kelsey Grammar didn’t play Beast once… He’s played him at least twice o_o

[@etherraichu]

When people are playing OneShot in videos and it happens, they actually get freaked out. That's how good it is. You get legitimately freaked out, get that feeling of your stomach dropping, etc. This happenes to everyone who plays the game, without exception.

[@Vanished_Mostly]

2:45 Personality type "lazy"? So it's a reference to stoner thoughts? Btw, Bethany, if you're on a boat, please let us know. There's few things I want more right now.

[@scottyawesomesauce]

The Stanley Parable needs to be included in the Commenter edition of this video. The whole game is a big fourth-wall existential meta journey.

[@PatrickLongblkwhtrbbt]

Oh no! How did youtube know that I, Bethany, am watching from a boat???! Oh wait. My name isn't Bethany. And I'm not watching from a boat

[@Franky_Sthein]

Your name is Brittany and your watching from a plane?

[@BlackAceZeroExeV2]

I can name 2! First: Borderlands 2's Krieg, where he sometimes say "See the numbers taste the violence" when in the menu Second: I believe this is Monster Hunter World, but there is a monster where if it's focused on you, it's eyes will be focused not on your character BUT YOU!

[@davidbardsley9350]

Wait Ellen knows about the time a game got meta and freaked me out…

[@penguingonemad]

I would like all my existential crises to take place to the soundtrack of K.K. Dirge, please and thank you.

[@iceman95540]

One game I immediately thought of when I saw the title, though it is enough of a niche game it's unlikely to be the list (I haven't seen the video yet, so hopefully I'll be surprised) is Hyperdimension Neptunia. They don't just break the 4th wall, they (metaphorically) blow it up so that it never existed in the first place!

[@CeirusAvalon]

That psychonauts level brings back memories of when I was told (erroneously) to fast prior to a mandatory Hep B vaccination shot for travel when I was a teenager. I have a decent pain tolerance, but no food means low blood sugar, and low blood sugar and sharp pains means I pass the hecc out. It's actually kinda funny since I can feel the onset immediately yet I can do absolutely nothing about it aside from prepare my new napping layout. But when I got my vaccination shot I had a fever dream of that level before promptly regaining consciousness a few minutes later, despite having only played that game as a rental from block buster, and that company by this point 2 years prior, and we rented that game while we still lived in Canada, so it was at least 4 years prior. Here I am, almost 15 years later and I can still remember that fever dream.

[@sambridgett]

Dang, I need to play the Another Code games again. Played the DS one two or three times but only ever played the Wii sequel once.

[@heartofthewild680]

I think OneShot deserves some attention here. Between the hints the computer (and later the Author) give you, the T-shirt you can get from the merchant in the Glen, and everything about the solstice run, the whole game is extremely meta, and while you do get used to it after a while, it definitely freaked me out a little the first time the game called me by my real name.

[@rosacomard4453]

Lazy Villagers in ACNH are literally just stoners and they're my favorite villagers 💕

[@DragonsRPretty]

9:40 Reminds me of how you evolve and Inkay. It's not just programmed into the software, but it puts under consideration the hardware too.