Anodyne 2 Analysis

[@analgesicproductions]

Thank you for making this!!

[@yoppimedia]

all i can say is... thanks for making anodyne 2! :) one of the best games i've ever played!

[@spritelessGirl]

Thank you for pointing out the elegy beaty LGBT wordplay

[@automaticspaz]

I really loved that with this one there was a very strong emphasis on systems of power. I also feel like it was great that a Government system replaced what was representative of familial support, and that psalimist feels conflict because she's between Palisade and Visionary, it almost seems like its saying psalimist has the potential to be a force for good if not exploitated and controlled by systems of power. I think given the dustbounds reverence for life that it says that hierarchical and shame based institutions are forces of harm that stifle expressions of inner spirituality.

[@raccoonja-ronja]

Spoilers for the Ending: Everything turning white with the Anodyne is probably also a referece to greek and roman statues. You can first find a referece to them in one of the parks in Center City Cenote. One of the NPCs comments that the trees created by the center are so pure and white, without garish colours. This was also believed of roman and greek statues, until it was found out that those statues where once painted brightly, but the paint just came of over time. So the Anodyne just frezzes everything as white statues, pretending that they aren't individual, colourfull or lively and have always been "perfect".

[@yoppimedia]

whoaaaa i love this

[@collette3428]

This game has quickly become one of my favourites, thanks for offering your perspective on the many twists and turns

[@fabrimuch]

I got here because the Anodyne youtube channel shared your video and boy am I loving your channel!

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much! yeah they're super supportive and awesome :) glad you like my channel, these nice comments really motivate me to make more stuff :)!

[@Choice_au]

0:12 I'm expecting a sincere analysis of the Shrek video game at some stage now. Ideal candidate for an April Fools video if you ask me.

[@yoppimedia]

Shrexbox... that's all i will say for now...

[@Sarah-hy3py]

Lovely analysis of a "small world" game :) I totally loved how you picked up on so much visual symbolism that always seems to go over my head (the tree=dust crystal 🤯) Can't wait to see more from you!

[@yoppimedia]

thank you so much! theres still a ton of stuff that im realising even after releasing the video lol, the game is just that good. the tree dust crystal thing, i didnt even realise until i was editing footage haha it fried my potatoes when i noticed it

[@valegory]

Thank you for putting together this incredible analysis. Your video on Anodyne 1 gave me a whole new perspective on and appreciation for the symbolism and narrative for the game. When I saw you had a video on Anodyne 2 I decided it was finally time for me to play through the game. Your video on Anodyne 1 made me go into Anodyne 2 with a completely different mindset than I had with the first game, looking for symbolism and trying to decipher some of the subtext. A month later today I finished the game and can finally watch this video. The game is nothing short of a masterpiece, and this video has helped me look at it through different lenses and put many of the themes into words. I reached the "no such scene" section as my third to last card, and when I got to the computer at the end, selected "yes", and was returned to the main game, I felt somewhat empty and confused, like I had just been ripped out of an experience with no explanation as to what I was seeing. Your analysis of the section made me realize that it was sort of a foreshadowing to The Anodyne ending of the game. Choosing the easy way out of the scary situation resolved it but left me as a player feeling empty, just like bringing about the Anodyne technically escapes the difficulties the NPCs are facing without giving them any resolution, and instead only providing an empty comfort. The "no such scene" section of the game was so effective at instilling me with the feeling of empty conflict the entire game is about, and I have only realized why that is after watching this analysis.

[@yoppimedia]

wow thanks so much for your insightful comment. i coupdnt agree more, ano2 is a masterpiece and easily one of my fave games of all time. no such scene was a total mindblower and i really appreciate your take on it. im super hyped for their next game sephonie

[@Big_Dai]

@3:09 "Really bakes my noodle"!? 😂😂 I like this guy

[@tepig2828]

One of my favorite details in this game is how the problems Nova faces become more adult and complicated the further you stray from The Center’s Control The citizens of Cenote all have basic problems like “I am angry” and “I am lazy”. These are problems you commonly face in childhood. In The Blue Vale, the problems become things like “how do I support the people I care about” and “How do I find companionship and family” these problems are much more adult. The Outer Sands features problems that are more existential like “how do I cope with my mortality” and “Would my life had been better if I didn’t get married with this person I deeply love and instead went adventuring?” As the problems get more complicated, the simple and reductive nature of The Center’s rhetoric fails to address these problems leaving Nova to realize it’s flaws. It is also likely not a coincidence that those further from The Center’s control have more complicated problems. The Center can only perpetuate itself by reducing people into very simple beings, the more people live their lives and find their own happiness, the less power The Center can wield over them.

[@StiffAftermath]

should be getting my physical copy soon in January 2024 I'm sure because of the holidays! Can't wait to see all the physical goodies.

[@Rolli_Zolli]

Okay, just finished watching and...wow, i'm at a loss for words. You expressed all my thoughts and more with this amazing analysis, i'm not even sure what i can add. i guess i'll elaborate a bit more on why i felt the ending was more than a strictly good ending vs bad ending scenario. Like i said under you Even the Ocean analysis, there is enough vagueness to the ending that you could read the Anodyne as being the right answer, even though all context clues make it obvious that isn't the case. After thinking it over a bit more, i think i felt that way because the good ending seems...almost scary? You express how escaping into the ocean represents a future of infinite possibilities and, being the person that i am, i can only see an infinite amount of ways things could go wrong. What if Nova can't raise a family due to her upbringing, what if Nora is still using Nova's life as an escape, what if the family that Nova started all meet the same fate as the citizens of The Land? i feel like that's just another way i can relate to Nova, feeling so anxious and hopeless without a sense of purpose or a set goal to achieve. Although the future seems scary and uncertain, i know deep down that this ending is ultimately for the best. Buuuut, that's just my anxiety riddled brain overthinking things as usual, for all i know that interpretation was completely unintentional, lol. Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm going to go try out Shadow of the Colossus in preperation for your next analysis! Keep up the great work and have a nice day!

[@yoppimedia]

wow! thanks for the awesome comment :) i totally see where you're coming from. i think there was defintely vagueness intended with the endings, and the player fills in those gaps with their point of view. i am always looking at things optimistically, so sometimes i miss really interesting interpretations like the ones you pointed out, and certain details don't register as important to me when to you they really resonate... thats definetely a huge part of what makes this game so dang good... thanks again for sharing your view on things :) yes please play it! it's a masterpiece! and let me know what ya think, cuz im tryna talk to people to get more ideas for my script

[@StiffAftermath]

I just pre-ordered the physical switch version and can't wait to play it! Thanks for the video!

[@caseygroat]

Amazed this doesn't already have more views. I'd been looking all over KZbin for an explanation for the whole Nora/gargoyle section and couldn't find anything at all! Such a great analysis 👍🏻

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much! i was surprised no one had done a really in depth analysis either! the game is so good and deserves more discussion

[@danieldantedev]

Great analysis for my favorite game, good job!

[@yoppimedia]

glad you liked the video! honestly..........its probably my fav game too lol

[@stagivian4705]

I recently finished the game and it quickly became one of my favorites and you did an amazing job of analysing the game, this video should have more views.

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much i really appreciate it :) this game deserves more love!

[@Buradoran]

Really enjoy your analysis videos! Keep up the good work! I’m gonna play the game on switch before I finish the video, but I’ll look forward to watching it.

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much :)! let me know what you think of Anodyne 2 when ya finish

[@SpotCam]

82 subs? wtf... I'm promoting your channel on my discord my friend - the quality of these analyses are phenomenal!

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much!!! i've been tryin to up my game with each new video. gonna go all out for my next vid on shadow of the colossus

[@SpotCam]

@@yoppimedia ay the pleasure is all mine bro keep it up! (jheesh I cannot wait for the SOTC vid!)

[@scas97]

WOW! This is such an amazing video analysis. One if the best I've ever seen for sure! As overused as this sentence is... You definitely deserve more subs and more popularity! Anodyne 2 is one of the best games I've ever played as well. The visuals are amazing, the soundtrack is pure perfection, the story is really deep and fascinating and the gameplay is just too much fun! I loved going out of bounds and clipping through buildings and such to find the metacoins and to explore the unzones. Everything about the game and about your video is top tier

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much! glad to know the hard work on this one paid off :)

[@renegadaddy]

incredible content, im really glad i found your channel. you're gonna blow up someday

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much! glad you liked the vid and i can't wait to make more and grow the channel :)

[@bumblebot2458]

Y'know, one thing I noticed you didn't mention with the DesertNPC scene that I had when I was playing, and it was when you see the Gargoyle. Spoilers, by the way. It's a random thought, but when you first find the Gargoyle before it chases you, you see it eating something. I died a few times, so I had a few opportunities to see, and it looks like a body. There's the shape of two legs and a torso, with the rest kind of obscured due to the graphical style and point of view. While I'm unsure if this is *actually* what happened, could it be Eebs? Again, I doubt it was actually *eating* Eebs, but I feel as though it's symbolic for Nora's (and by extension Nova's) mental state. As if this protection she's built up has cut connections with these people. It's an unfinished thought, but it's something I started thinking on after the analysis.

[@Rolli_Zolli]

"If you want to skip the spoiler section, skip the next hour!" Me, who hasn't looked at the video length yet: "...Oh...oh golly...this is gonna be a good one!"

[@yoppimedia]

omfg hahahaha, i couldn't help myself, the game is just so good it deserves a video this massive... that being said i also loled when i put that hour long skip text into the video

[@hplikelike]

Very good video. My only real issue is I have yet to find a satisfying explanation for the Dust Assassin Virus you encounter in the early game and then never see again.

[@yoppimedia]

to me i thought the dust assassin was created by the center as a way to villify dust and motivate nova to clean dust. if you go back and play the game with that mindset, palisade and psalmist's dialogue warning you about the first dust assassin comes off as very forced like they are trying to act like they don't know the center created it. this would also explain why when you start cleaning further from the center, you no longer see them, because the center didn't get out there and implant them yet. also the fight with zera's glandilock seed (something also made by the center) plays very similarly to the dust assassin fights.

[@hplikelike]

@@yoppimedia I too noticed the similarity with zera's glandilock seed, but that made me even more confused. Are they glandilock seeds that got even more corrupted? That didn't seem to gel with the rest of the game. Your explination is probably the most satisfying explanation so far, but it feels out of character for Palisade to knowingly send an assassin after Nova, or for the center to create something out of dust. That said, there is something interesting in the idea of religion creating problems in order to solve them, but I feel the game works better with religion trying to solve problems that occur naturally in a harmful way. Anyway, thanks for your insight! (My personal hypothosis is that the assassin involves ideas the devs had early on that were scraped as the game developed, but kept due to helping the early game tone and gameplaywise, but I'm willing to be wrong!)

[@yoppimedia]

@@hplikelike i thought the assassin designs being similar to the glandilock seed was just a hint to clue players in to the fact that the center made the dust assassin. like the center just designed them similarly for no particular reason, but who knows. maybe it's because both the glandilock seed and dust assassins are tools used to control nova. i saw palisade as very conflicted between her duty to the center and care for nova at the beginning of the game so it made sense for me at least. the center made everything in the world of new theland with dust though, so i don't think they'd be opposed to create a fake antagonist for nova out of dust. that is all just my interpretation though and it defintely could be what you said too.

[@hsatin20]

Yes, this is a really great game series.

[@berunkasuteru]

watching this later and god i have to make my own analysis. anodyne 2 is such an incredibly trans game. i really read it as about the way we're forced to suppress our sexuality, too, so i'd love to talk about that;; i need to replay the series, and i want to see the kinds of anti-gamer things they did with even the ocean too... it's so sad that sephonie didn't get the success it deserves. i should simply give melos more of my money

[@yoppimedia]

please make that video! i would watch the hell outta that

[@trashbirdie]

Amazing video, you deserve way more views

[@yoppimedia]

thanks so much! i can't wait to make a video on sephonie when it's out :)

[@shifterlocker2361]

Great vid.👌

[@thedrunkenmudcrab]

Excellent video.

[@czarkowskipawelyt]

46:37 This part of the game made me think about ChatGPT and how people, myself included, tried to bypass the "ethical limiters" to cause ChatGPT to output stuff people working at OpenAI don't want it to output by pretending the purpose of "evil output" is good. I started wondering if The Center is an AI, if it's stupid enough to fall for it and describe a boat in detail. Yeah, I know Anodyne 2 predated ChatGPT, but I still think it's neat to think about.

[@Random-Dan]

nice video dude

[@Jpinkyfan]

Ah yes shadow of the colossus, smash melee, and shrek.

[@prahanormal]

:o

[@patrickraftery1815]

Am on PS4 I loved a quirky game called deadly premonitions. Was going to give this a go but not sure about them 2 d sections they look very dated.

[@yoppimedia]

the 2d sections are very creative and charming and don't feel dated visually or gameplay wise

[@Nyx-yq3hs]

for the algo

[@yoppimedia]

im sure all the algogators appreciate you sending love