Bugsnax & Super Meat Boy Forever (Zero Punctuation)

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This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee reviews Bugsnax and Super Meat Boy Forever.
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#ZeroPunctuation

[@theescapist]

Watch this week's Zero Punctuation episode on Medal of Honor: Above and Beyond. www.escapistmagazine.com/v2/medal-of-honor-above-and-beyond-zero-punctuation/ Watch it early on KZbin via KZbin Memberships.

[@scunny]

Yahtzee, did you have some affiliation with the creators fo Spiritfarer... you seemed to say it was a fairly decent game yet it so repetitive just doing the same old bollox over and over... and overrrrrr. The game was pretty shit 👍

[@tabuu9]

Wait, what game?

[@scunny]

@@tabuu9 Spiritfarer

[@noneofyourbusiness4133]

please review Omori. It needs more attention. I think it's be best indie game, or rather the best expeirence and emotional pay off, since undertale.

[@manavsridharan3811]

@@scunny I guess it's something that just appealed to him. I loved Spiritfarer too, it really hit some amazing story beats, and the gameplay loop is basically how life is as a terminal-care nurse. Also Yahtzee literally got paid for Watch Dogs Legion and still didn't go easy on it lol

[@FuzzySumasshu]

I like how Yahtzee doesn't really insult Bugsnax that much he's just utterly baffled by its weirdness.

[@the_Red_Star]

he's like gordon ramsay, if you confuse him enough he won't scream at you

[@Enchie]

@@the_Red_Star Or just be so out of hope, he just gives up on you within two seconds of seeing you.

[@Mernom]

It's an Orange out of 10.

[@Ramsey276one]

Same as me when I saw the trailer! XD

[@spacebearcadet746]

Pokemon and Sesame Street had a baby, and it got the Los Plagas from Resident Evil 4

[@bionicdragon5]

1:32 The sheer distress of that "I DON'T KNOW!" pretty much sums up Bugsnax entirely.

[@Cappytain101]

Probably his best of a reaction to a video game.

[@lexslate2476]

Notpoodle! Notpoodle! Er, I agree.

[@OneOfTheLoveless]

Once again I have to remind myself to not read zp comments because creativity is often followed by mediocrety incarnate.

[@bionicdragon5]

@@OneOfTheLoveless You know, if you want to sound like an intellectual, it would help if you spelled mediocrity correctly.

[@jmurray1110]

I don’t even know if I can recommend it for my siblings

[@bluestormpony]

yeah bugsnax is really unsettling... the whole thing has a kind of "dont hug me im scared" vibe but never breaks out into the overt horror, so looking at it, im left with a apprehensive anxiety that is never vindicated

[@randomjunk1977]

You're just waiting for the other shoe to drop the entire time and it NEVER does, which is arguably even more unsettling.

[@Enchie]

@@randomjunk1977 Maybe it will drop on you as you sleep at night.

[@duckwantbreads]

If you get the good ending it's fine, the bad ending descends into body horror.

[@darkstar114]

@@duckwantbreads wait, there's and ending o.O

[@adamsbja]

I don't WANT anyone tied up in a shed while another character, having decided they want something more than bugsnax, is force-feeding them and then cutting off the bits. I'm just surprised it never happened.

[@jordanj809]

So a game who's primary selling point was the creator's weird vision gets a sequel without said creator's involvement and it's extremely bland. A tale as old as time

[@XC11301991]

I love that "I don't know." 1:32 Going to save that.

[@Supaserrin]

I know right?! It's on par with that one time he just SCREAMED "SHUT THE FUCK UUUUUP", in a Gears of Wars review, if I'm not mistaken.

[@chasecrowe5536]

@@Supaserrin let’s also not forget the Black Ops 4 review’s “130 bucks” moment

[@comraderamirez9866]

Or his "Lahndan taaaaan" and "what's a fucking skal" from Vampyr

[@CGGongtai]

I'm a fan of "Nooooo, ya big twats" from We Happy Few

[@the-engneer]

I'm leaving this comment just to go back and watch the videos you people are referencing. I'm also on drugs, but that's for you to know and me to find out

[@2CPhoenix]

Turning Super Meatboy into a procedurally generated platformer is like making it so The Binding of Isaac only has one possible dungeon layout

[@BottomOfTheDumpsterFire]

Nah, imagine Isaac still has dungeon layouts, but Isaac always walks towards the boss and you can only change the direction of where he goes for the duration of a room while there's enemies there.

[@Ramsey276one]

A Robot named FIGHT haven't gotten ANY ending yet JOYCON DRIFT IS REAL DX

[@alvin_row]

@@BottomOfTheDumpsterFire I don't think you get the point

[@bubbledoubletrouble]

So... Greed Mode?

[@nobodyinparticular2870]

@@Jaaaa315 do you really think the binding of isaac would look/play better if there was only one dungeon layout??!

[@Superellysan]

Love how, of the two games mentioned, it's the one that didn't get recommended that KZbin decides to advertise and push in the description

[@Oscar97o]

KZbin doesn't do that automatically, the uploader has to set it themselves.

[@gorboreally7186]

@@Oscar97o if thats true. This is hilarious

[@AleK0451]

@@Oscar97o it does if you tell it to

[@christophera4090]

@@Oscar97o with the actual correct info here.

[@ashleycarvell7221]

I don't get it. What's in the description?

[@EMPerror403]

Bugsnax' art style is literally a bait for Yahtzee's photoshop skills.

[@KeithFraser82]

"That's bait."

[@westcoast9158]

1:32 Yahtzee's utter cry for help in the form of confusion gets me every time

[@luckybrass8457]

You can feel the "Zero Punctuation" part of his script suddenly stop as he struggles to answer his own question.

[@PanSpaceman]

It's wild, when bugsnax first was revealed it seemed entirely like a meme game, something people were only jokingly interested in. I thought it was some Five Nights at Freddy's-ish play, the sort of Horror-From-Cute-Familiar-Muppets thing, but it turned out not to be. I actually ended up having a great time with it and it was a pleasantly cute game that indulged in darker elements without casting them in your face in a "isn't this SO fucked up?" way.

[@Lawsome1997]

It hurts to see Yahtzee making fun of mid-2000s edgy internet humour when Zero Punctuation was at the core of my mid-2000s edgy self-image

[@jamesbryant8087]

Self awareness is key

[@zacharyanderson4372]

Die a hero you know the rest

[@skeetsmcgrew3282]

Yeah, the man sorta forgot his age on that one

[@MasterCharlie104]

To quote the man himself "Well I never said I wasn't a hypocrite."

[@TAP7a]

It is possible to grow and acknowledge that being better today necessarily means you were worse before

[@HnTr_VDH]

Good lord, “Fragglerock directed by David Cronenburg” that right there, you’ve hilariously summed it up, yahtz

[@LordSnoodles]

look up how to spell the man's name

[@wesleythomas7125]

Not that Fraggle Rock was any less terrifying without the influence of a famous horror writer...

[@HnTr_VDH]

@@LordSnoodles damn, I guessed 1 letter incorrectly, I should probably read the dictionary backwards while I’m at it?

[@ThrottleKitty]

@@LordSnoodles *Look* up how to use punctuation and capitalization if you are going to correct others first. Secondly, if you truly care about grammar, you should probably clarify "correctly". *As he did technically spell the man's name,* just incorrectly. Your sentence structure isn't quite right either. It should look something like "You should look up how to spell his name correctly." or alternatively, "You should look up how to correctly spell that man's name.". Unless, you know, it's dumb to care that much about spelling and grammar in an internet comment. 🤷‍♀️

[@isabellamorris7902]

@@ThrottleKitty This is an entirely genuine question: would it be "look up how"? Or should it be "look up the way to spell his name"? Does it matter which you choose (in terms of pedantic grammar rules, not in terms of the grand scheme of life)?

[@15oClock]

Bugsnax sounds like if you gave it to a six year old, you could chart all the reasons they grew up funny to that.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

It's the Willy Wonka blueberry scene, Banjo Tooie's Humba Wumba, Pokemon's Sabrina episodes, Digimon Season 3's fusion scenes, also Digimon Season 3's anthropomorphic fox-thing, you know what, Digimon Season 3 in general, Nicolodian's live action slime scenes, and every episode of Totally Spies, mixed together and baked in a Muppet crust, but not the wholesome Muppets who could be seen on Seseme Street, the weirder episodes where Kermit and Mrs. Piggy's sexual tension was so thick you could hold a drink on it, and something about Gonzo was just off. And then the ants started crawling on that pie, and that's why we call it Bugsnax. Don't suppose I missed any crucial ingredients of the filling?

[@ThrottleKitty]

@@aprinnyonbreak1290 You forgot accidentally watching The Shining alone late at night when you're like, 7, thinking because the main character is a little boy not much older than you, surely it can't be too scary for you.

[@Tustin2121]

Kain Tugwell-Fisher - There’s nothing like a gay sexual awakening brought on by watching the fusion scenes in Digimon season 3 when you’re 10 and realizing that you just want the camera to zoom out a bit... just a bit more maybe... 😳

[@jonathansotelo4877]

Didn't need to call me out like that.

[@seokkyunhong8812]

If we see a surge of vore and transformation fetish art in 10 or so years, we know who to blame.

[@Onyxs]

Bugsnax actually has a pretty dark ending, and the bad ending is even darker

[@satansgayniece6246]

Wait there’s a bad ending???

[@arrogantfop]

@@satansgayniece6246 trust me, if you have seen the regular ending, the bad ending is far more depressing

[@Onyxs]

@@satansgayniece6246 so SPOILERS... If you don’t complete all of a characters side quest lines in the story, during the escape at the end where the Bugsnax are attacking you, the characters who you didn’t complete will eat Bugsnax that get too close, and if they eat too many, they turn completely into snacks and fall to pieces, their bodies disintegrating and them lamenting of their failure

[@user-oe8tx9co1p]

@@Onyxs ew that sound disgusting

[@liamzakhaev]

@@user-oe8tx9co1p even worse, bugsnax have evolved to assimilate other organisms through repeated consumption, when you disintegrate you become the material needed to make more bugsnax

[@Magmafrost13]

Im so glad that Bugsnax seemingly never answers all the "what the absolute fuck" questions that it asks right from the start

[@gearguts7259]

Love how the DLC actually gave more questions than answers

[@ProfPrimbottom]

Thought I was gunna hate Bugsnax, but I platinumed it so I guess there's something engaging there.

[@jmurray1110]

I mean it’s not exactly a difficult platinum so that certainly helped Even if you include the isle of bigsnax’s whike 3 achievements Especially if you know how to farm snaxquatch encounters

[@Sayrden]

1:30 I don't usually laugh out loud at these, but I did when Yahtzee gave that pained _"I don't know!!!"_

[@jordanj809]

Judging from the comments and Yahtzee's synopsis, Bugsnaxs sounds like some kind of Don't Hug Me I'm Scared game

[@Meenie25]

It is fun at the start but when you get to the end it gets really dark...

[@blackvial]

@@Meenie25 really dark is an understatement

[@becuaseimbored3481]

@@Meenie25 yeah , whatever you do make sure you complete all side quests. Unless of course, you enjoy watching your friends crumble alive while in their final hours praising bugsnax

[@TheNextDecade244]

Except with less "horror" and more "melancholy". At least until the VERY very end.

[@sarafontanini7051]

its not quite as on the nose gorey and dark as Don't Hug Me I'm scared, but it does seem to have a similar "subverted kid's show" style. Just instead of horrible murder and gore and horror, it's depression and failure to suceed and filling your empty whole with something ultimately not good for you. also body horror.

[@Mr.Maguro]

bugsnax seems like the kind of game targeted at the cast of "lord of the flies"

[@auralunaprettycure]

Now that's true haha. Jack would absolutely love that shit, I think Piggy would pretend he likes it but in reality he felt uncomfortable

[@seokkyunhong8812]

@@auralunaprettycure "Piggy" would be called "Bunger"

[@maddermanner7776]

Is this supposed to be a Sao abridged reference

[@simple-commentator-not-rea7345]

Here's a timeless dead-baby-joke classic: Outlast 2

[@griffnuts]

What’s the difference between a truckload of bowling balls and a truckload of dead babies? You can’t unload the bowling balls with a pitchfork.

[@BugsyFoga]

The description "Fraggle Rock directed by David Cronenberg " is the most amazing description for Bugsnax.

[@weregretohio7728]

Become Bunger. Return to Bunger. Bunger is love. Bunger is life.

[@mariopikaman1]

You are smart You are happy Your brain, full of *BUNGER.*

[@ribbonfly]

@@mariopikaman1 your brain becomes bunger if you eat enough of them

[@internet_introvert]

Scoopybanoopy 😔

[@masterjerelk820]

@@mariopikaman1 NO BUNGER *NOOO*

[@cumaorangbiasa8431]

Main plot spoiler

[@mityakiselev]

Hey, no kidding, Bugsnax is an amazing game that in addition to the acid trip features described in the review might or might not contain a horrific secret that might or might not make it basically a horror game... All I'm saying is it's definitely one hell of an experience

[@CyberLink70]

Horrific secret? Do tell! Is it that humanity is long dead?

[@localr0bot]

The bugsnax are- *gets shot*

[@mityakiselev]

@@CyberLink70 *SPOILERS* (seriously, if you don't want spoilers, play through the game for yourself): The bugs are actually parasites that take the shape of food, then if eaten function as part of your body. If your whole body is filled with them, it falls apart and becomes a bunch of bugsnax, that's how they multiply. In fact, the entire island is made of bugsnax. They also trigger sadness and other bad feelings in the carrier, that's why all the grumpuses have some psychological issues. Near the ending, the game actually turns more towards horror where all the bugs swarm you trying to get in your throat

[@CyberLink70]

@@mityakiselev WELL SHIT

[@CantaloupeLover69]

@@mityakiselev That can’t be true

[@corwin32]

Every time I see that title, I think it says “Bug Sex” and I’m like, “Ew, no thank you”

[@r2d2fromstartrack83]

I always read it "butt snack" and I'm like, "don't mind if I do"

[@MrGemHunter]

I always read it as "Bug Sex" and i'm like, "Yes please moth girl sama"

[@YourFatherVEVO]

I can't get the gifs out of my head, help me

[@runningcommentary2125]

I was going to make a joke about mantis femdom, but... um... no. Ew.

[@MrGemHunter]

@@runningcommentary2125 𝘴𝘭𝘢𝘮𝘴 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘬 𝐏𝐔𝐒𝐒𝐘

[@krausercruz2780]

"Oh so its a kids game" I mean, if you are from the XJ9, Kids Next Door, Samurai Jack, Transformers crowd of "For Kids" Then yes

[@mariazapata1606]

And the old classic of mice and men seriously that book have many elements that modern kids entertainment doesn't havs

[@Roariken1]

"I don't KNooOooOooW!!!"

[@deadcatthinks6725]

Yeah, when i started playing Bugsnax I thought it was a kids game, then i found the film reels that hint at at the light BDSM play enjoyed by the 2 characters you're trying to find.

[@appelofdoom8211]

it just gets steadily more weird and kinda messed up from there up to the ending. Trust me

[@gearguts7259]

I was surprised by the amount of jokes that wouls easily count as "inapropiate", that "Snax on the beach" one was so on the nose

[@fighteer1]

Aww. I thought that Super Meat Boy Forever would be a Duke Nukem Forever sendup.

[@DaneTheDane]

Especially considering how long it took for both games to come out.

[@DGilVids]

But then we'd be waiting for another decade!

[@linusdn2777]

What's a sendup?

[@Veefy]

@@linusdn2777 a parody

[@christophergreensides1410]

No thats an idea worth brainstorming. Wot if super meet boy was a boomer shooter. Prehaps you could play as one of Dr fetuses death machines killing all meatboys that attempt to get past you

[@aomine6817]

people launching Super Meat Boy Forever for the first time: "Why are you running?!"

[@nicklager1666]

When you mentioned it was a kidsgame. It is the same feeling of despair i get when someone asks me if Teletubbies are a children show.

[@luigivercotti6410]

They're not?

[@Tengila]

@@luigivercotti6410 It is, but it's also so horrifying at times that it really shouldn't be, in a way that's difficult to explain. Much like Bugsnax.

[@ryanjones_rheios]

So, appropriate for modern life as we know it?

[@mrshmuga9]

@@Tengila What the heck happens in Teletubbies?

[@Tengila]

@@mrshmuga9 Nothing 'happens' in Teletubbies, frankly. But a lot of the visuals are _deeply_ uncanny

[@pokemonmanic3595]

Yahtzee admitting he liked P4G is the kind of spark I needed to give this year hope.

[@SnuSnuDungeon]

RIP Flash, thanks for all the fun and horrifying games

[@Meenie25]

It's kinda in a state of undead, just no updates. When they said no more support they prob meant no updates anyhow.

[@wesleythomas7125]

@@Meenie25 They outright made it stop working.

[@MetaL556]

@@Meenie25 All the browsers wasted no time in setting themselves up so that you CAN'T run Flash anymore without some roundabout fiddling, though. So it's Undead locked away in a Tomb kind of deal.

[@thepuzzlemaster64]

Meenie25 No, Adobe said themselves that the Flash Player (the newest versions) will disable itself after the 12th of January. And every modern web browser will now eliminate Flash support. The only way to play Flash games now is with an old web browser with an old version of Flash, by using BlueMaxima's FlashPoint to download archives of them, or use Ruffle to emulate them.

[@Shalakor]

@@thepuzzlemaster64 There's alternative browser plugins. Or site-based players like Newgrounds itself has.

[@harrygoad329]

So what we could gather from this episode is that Bugsnax has given Yahtzee an existential crisis, and that he hasn't taken the death of the Flash Engine very well.

[@phoebeaurum7113]

He should play some Friday night funkin

[@scrittle]

@@phoebeaurum7113 Yahtzee isn't the sort of person who follows gaming trends, he just reviews video games either requested by fans or of his own interests. In my opinion I think FNF is overrated. It's a decent game but the fandom and "audience" give it too much credit, it's not very innovative to combine PaRapper the Rapper with Just Dance, and it isn't going to instigate a Flash game renaissance either, because people only care about FNF. Still, it's great for hand eye coordination training (even if it's heavily dependent on muscle memory).

[@Alfie_D2049]

1:31 It's so hilarous hearing the confused defeat in Yahtzee's voice.

[@KhushbuMel]

The inspiration for Bugsnax? See: "Don't Hug Me I'm Scared."

[@scrittle]

I don't see the resemblance

[@davorianware1382]

The anguish of "I don't know" 🤣😂🤣

[@DinsRune]

Describe BugSnax in one sentence: **Kinda bug and kinda snack.**

[@cadence_2463]

Kinda bug and kinda snack, you’ll never get your family back

[@merrittanimation7721]

I didn't expect there would be a reference to Johnny the Homicidal Maniac in these times.

[@Cyndersparx]

I'm shocked whenever I hear or see anyone bring up anything Jhonen's done outside of Zim, but I guess the guy was more of an influence at that time than I thought.

[@aqueelkadri8371]

Will the Escapist ever buy Yahtzee a PS5? The man needs to play the Demon's Souls Remake.

[@landotucker]

You can't just *buy* a ps5

[@aqueelkadri8371]

@@landotucker I got you fam But you know what I mean Let me rephrase that...the universe should've put a PS5 in Yahtzee's possession by now just so he can play Demon's Souls. It would be ok even if the universe took the PS5 away once he was done playing.

[@elijahsmith4761]

Honestly begs the question if the review would be relevant. Kinda like his questionably valuable VR reviews. If it is so hard to get a PS5 that the Escapist can't get even one, how many people are actually going to use Yahtzee's opinion on demon souls? "Well this thing you can't get on a system you can't buy was really good. Hope you save your pennies till next year when you might be able to get one... maybe..."

[@noticemesenpai69]

@@elijahsmith4761 we don’t even play 90% of the games he reviews, it’s just entertaining to hear him talk about them

[@aqueelkadri8371]

@@elijahsmith4761 Well personally, Demon's Souls has always been one of those games that I wanted him to reflect on cuz that was the one fromSoft game that he dismissed as too difficult and unfair before he got turned into a superfan by Dark Souls.

[@bloomingteratoma]

i had a dream last night that yahtzee was my father. he came over to my home drunk and tried to get me and my brother to fight over some petty shit, while he sat in the corner enjoying the chaos like a mustache-twirling villain. i'm terrified of the repressed shit in my brain that manifested this.

[@skyler6175]

Bugsnax is most definitely NOT a kid's game. I won't spoil the ending for anyone who wants to play it, but right near the end things go off the rails rather quickly.

[@Meenie25]

Yeah i won't spoil but ALLMOTHER it gets dark....

[@tnarwhal]

You'd be surprised what kids can handle. but yes, it does push the limit quite a bit

[@skyler6175]

@@tnarwhal I'm not saying kids can't play it, I let my niece play it and she was having a blast. But I would not call it a kid's game.

[@StrikeWarlock]

Who wants to bet Yahtzee found out about Yoshitsune? That Persona turns P4 into a massive cakewalk

[@Meenie25]

I'll bet my Nintendo PiiU

[@pauloandrade925]

Probably. YoShitsune Shits all over persona 4 s balance especially when u get the most Overpowered move in the game by far.

[@lordalbertfondlebottomxiii5249]

P5 as well. God of control? *laughs in hassou tobi*

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Nah. Statboosters. Stack statboosters on one persona, and the game crumbles. The game, much like Pokemon, just disintegrates if you powerlevel your Charizard. Find a Persona with reasonable base weaknesses, then go ham, and the basic difficulty just can't keep up.

[@pauloandrade925]

@@aprinnyonbreak1290 Nahh i (For some reason ) found soooo many golden hands that i got to the FINAL DUNGEON AT LEVEL 99 ON ALL MY MAIN PARTY!!!! Without any grinding With everyone maxed out and Rise breaking the game AND YoShitsune (Ok yeah i did get some stat boosts too) and Not even the reaper was a challenge with Hassou tobi... The final boss was still long ish and hard tho . I was on max difficulty btw.

[@Tomwebsterart]

I love the sheer hopelessness in his voice in the "I dont know!" 1:30

[@LuciusAugustusRex]

I honestly wasn't expecting to hear a JTHM joke and now I feel like a small child again reading Johnny and Squee.

[@Hagunemnon]

Ah, I remember borrowing my friend's copy of...whatever the "whole series in one book" thing was called. Must've read that thing a hundred times before I gave it back. I should see if I can find one for myself, at some point.

[@micheljavert5923]

Bugsnax was a weird-ass trailer that eventually became an amazingly weird-ass game.

[@randomjunk1977]

Procedurally generated Metaboy levels? With auto run? That sounds AWFUL.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Bring out your dead!

[@JamesBond007Nejc]

That's a lie all levels are hand crafted. Game is hard that's the point. And sprinting makes it harder. CRY MORE FANBOYS.

[@NamePending878]

@@JamesBond007Nejc OK so you're calling US fanboys when YOU'RE the one defending the game with flawed arguments... Sounds like fanboy behaviour to me.

[@JamesBond007Nejc]

Fanboys of OG game. Learn to read. Game is way better than that OG shit. Original game looks like cheap asset flip, and autorunners are genre SO HATE MORE.

[@danielj8085]

What exactly is so bad about that? It's pretty fun tbh.

[@4444Ferris]

Is super meat boy part of the serious heary dad crew now? i mean... is trying to return with his daugther and at one point grows a beard

[@Joyful_Traitor]

I watched a video on Bugsnax that went through the entire game and in my opinion it looks terrifying

[@TheLsensei]

I get the distinct feeling Yahtzee didn't FINISH Bugsnax.

[@appelofdoom8211]

Yeah him saying that he does't know whether or not it's a kids game is enough proof.

[@Ashannon888]

Probably not. There are lots of games he reviews that he doesn't finish because he might not have the time or desire to do so. And if your counter is "but you need to finish the game to truly understand it and enjoy it" that's bad game design.

[@tricky9131]

This review has been brought to you by: EVERYTHING

[@EpicMacaroni]

0:32 Welcome to JRPGs Yahtzee

[@RatelHBadger]

Ahh Jimmy Saville "The Band Was Shawaddywaddy" - Hugh Dennis

[@kr1spness]

P4G is a lot easier than P4 where you'd actually have to grind in the first dungeon to get certain skills, but best thing about P4G is custom difficulty. I can turn damage against me high so it's harder but keep damage I do at normal so it's not a slog. Turn exp up if I want to grind for a particular skill and then turn it low so I don't destroy everything.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

Things like this are important. "Difficulty" that just inflates enemy stats, while decreasing grinding rewards doesn't make the game harder, just more time consuming, while doing things like specifically raising enemy offences actually does change the way you have to approach things.

[@clawlion8]

Kain Tugwell-Fisher I feel like difficulty can be pretty difficult to balance correctly, especially in turnbased rpgs. How do you make a boss challenging without incentivizing the player to simply over grind? How do you create higher difficulty settings without just raising an enemy’s stats or levels? I think creating custom difficulties is a decent enough solution.

[@SteelBollocks]

As someone who played P4 on the PS2, I was surprised by how much Golden nerfed the difficulty In replaying it now, I don't even have the last person unlocked and have twice the level, money, Slinks, and stats that I had at the same point in the old version. I guess people really didn't like waiting for new game + to get everything so they buffed progress?

[@axelprino]

So Super Meat Boy Forever is a procedurally generated runner? Why!? It's like they went out of their way to do the opposite of what made the original one so good: hand crafted levels with simple and precise controls.

[@thepixeler1869]

How the are you guys surprised by this ITS BEEN ADVERTISED AS SO FOR 6 YEARS...

[@jijigri9224]

It is hand-crafted tho. Each level is a succession of hand-crafted chunk (among about 7000 chunks if I recall correctly). The only random aspect is which chunk get picked.

[@axelprino]

@@thepixeler1869 The thing is, other that having seen it on a list of upcoming games I had no clue of what it was. I liked the first one but I didn't keep up with it, this video is the first info I heard about this particular game.

[@EvanCWaters]

@@jijigri9224 That's kind of how a lot of procedurally generated games (esp. platformers) work. Not every pixel is random, there are certain configurations the game chooses and the algorithm usually has certain rules (like, in Spelunky there's always got to be a clear path to the exit, etc.)

[@lexslate2476]

I really like that 'I don't know!' at about 1:32.

[@nis5e]

I love the outros of the double-bill reviews especially for always combining the both games into a visual gag

[@KitsuneYojimbo]

Bugsnax... A game where, much like Octodad, I'm convinced the whole game studio is full of the most hardcore stoners in the world. You've got to be as high as a satellite to make a game with such a premise.

[@Ashurman666]

And that ending...

[@octopioctopus]

They were made by the same developer! So.... yes.

[@ryanjones_rheios]

Tmu Obsidian...which might explain some of the FNV wild wasteland and weirder POE humor

[@ThrottleKitty]

He did it, he was the first to accurately describe Bugsnax

[@azzzanadra]

Bugsnax, a game so weird even the weird loving yahtzee got confused by it

[@michelvanderlinden8363]

Damn, a Jhonen Vasquez reference in a Yahtzee review? Man 2021 is just getting wilder and wilder

[@shadowproductions7829]

1:31 Everyone: Ah so it's a kids game Yahtz. Yahtzee. exe has stopped working

[@benshapirohamburgerhelper1239]

I honestly really enjoyed meat boy forever. The autorunning isn't a problem because the levels are specifically tailored for autorunning and the new mechanics get pretty creative throughout the game. Its a shame so many people dissmiss the game because its an autorunner.

[@connorbooth5736]

I don't take issue with it being an auto runner, but it certainly had big shoes to fill as the Super Meat Boy sequel, and I would have liked it a lot more if not for that. I do still like the game overall, and have fun playing it, but I don't think it has the same level of charm of the original in terms of design or atmosphere.

[@IllusionistsBane]

Bugsnax is basically Dead Space wearing the skin of a children's game. That's the best way I can describe it.

[@chillhour6155]

a review that's well over the 5 minute mark, you spoil us Yhatz

[@jonathanrikkers793]

Was not expecting that Johnny the Homicidal Maniac reference. DEFINITELY wasn't expecting it on bugsnax/super meat boy video 😂

[@CountCocofang]

Wow, I did NOT expect a Jhonen Vasquez reference in a Zero Punctuation video. Or anywhere else for that matter. Damn, now I miss Invader Zim ...

[@GrayVBoat]

So, Yahtz; you think that food-based Cronenburg-ing is sinister? Just wait until you get to the ending - especially the *bad* ending.

[@Mistheart101]

3:32 did not expect a callout for jhonen vasquez and his work

[@andrewchor7461]

I really want to see Yahtzee's library of old sprites and photoshopped horrors.

[@luuketaylor]

Fraggle Rock directed by David Cronenberg Absolutely the best description for the game. You did it, Yahtz.

[@ig_4220]

I'm not sure if there's anything "faint" about the disturbing tones of Bugsnax at all.

[@lifessb1907]

Not sure if yahtzee didn't finish Bugsnax or just doesn't want to spoil it, because "faintly sinister" is a pretty tame description by the end.

[@Rondrent]

“Flailing around like a quadriplegic on a teacup ride” LOL

[@the-engneer]

3:50 I'm stealing the term "Drinking Gun", and adding it to my everyday vocabulary from now on

[@WeebJail]

i think "drinking gun" has to be my favourite line in any zp ever

[@b3rz3rk3r9]

From what I've heard of the full game, Bugsnax is supposed to be an analogy for Depression. If true, the the story I've heard (what little I fully know) makes me think it's fairly well done. Though, if you're gonna ask why won't I play it, there's no way I'm playing this nightmare fuel.

[@Leostar-Regalius]

it's depression and addiction but overcoming it while dealing with personal issues, but yeah it's pretty screwed up near the end, more so if you get the bad ending

[@TS6815]

I feel like Yahtz might not have finished bugsnax, as he didn't remark on the ending

[@chukyuniqul]

The ending does have a better effect if it just catches you off-guard tho. At any rate I'm surprised he liked it, I think he's beginning to turn into a dad, since the core gameplay is...well...a hunting sim, like those dad games he keeps mentioning.

[@gio_el_santo0099]

@@chukyuniqul doesnt he have a kid?

[@chukyuniqul]

@@gio_el_santo0099 He does, but that only cements my point. Back in the day he would have been all "oh this is boring and only for dads who like boring but realistic games to play with their kiddywinks" and now he's not that negative towards it. It's kinda neat to see him change throughout the years, it really slips through his character.

[@isabellamorris7902]

I agree he might just not have wanted to spoil it

[@FirnonZodd]

0:41 Please let us know if you do catch a PS5 that way. It sounds like it has the best chance of succeeding.

[@MagicalMaster]

Fraggle Rock by David Cronenburg. That actually is a good fucking summary of Bugsnax.

[@BroAnarchy]

wait wait... did you legitimately just put in a JTHM reference? ....I just _Squeee_ 'd

[@dragmire3D]

Was expecting yahtzee to talk about or allude to the ending of Bugsnax in some way. The ending is also where the feeding the townsfolk has a minor gameplay consequence. It's not much but it's there.

[@Ashurman666]

Not really, feeding them has no consequence. What DOES have a huge impact in the ending is if you did their side quests or not

[@sarafontanini7051]

he obviously didn't finish the game

[@lordthor5951]

@@Ashurman666 Feeding defines how many lives they have if you haven't completed the side quests.

[@dragmire3D]

@@Ashurman666 spoilers here During the final escape, the amount of hits the townsfolk can take depends on how transformed they are. If they are fully transformed, 1 hit will kill them. It's still not much but it has a gameplay effect here.

[@Ashurman666]

@@sarafontanini7051 Yes, yes i did

[@srbrant5391]

Yahtzee described mid-2000s humor _perfectly._

[@ThatsJustLikeYourOpinionMan]

That was probably the best description of Bugsnax I've seen. What a cool unique game.

[@bigjohnsbreakfastlog5819]

The fascinating thing about Bugsnax (which, ironically is also what would concern me to let kids play it if I was a parent) is the undertones of the game's story. A common wedge that joins the cast of characters on Snaktooth Island is failure and their struggles to overcome setbacks. Your character is also a failure, when you stop and reflect on the game's intro, but since you (the player) are controlling them, you have the option to do the bare minimum or do as much as possible to have each Grumpus on the island discover and accept who they are, which isn't easy. That said, when we get to the game's climax (which is the part that concerned me), and everything goes into eldritch horror, is when things get a little too crazy, but I guess that was for the sake of having a grand finale.

[@kevinvelasco3925]

This is a certified bunger moment

[@oscaranderson5719]

for anyone that’s ever seen an interview of McMillan, that’s a perfect one-to-one description of the man.

[@dalelowey686]

Banana and crisp sandwich is the best description I have ever heard, for any thing, ever.

[@ImusakHctividar]

Yahtzee, I already played a game about running around in the wilderness and eating everything in sight. It was called "The Forest". ... Although the difference being if I wasn't careful everything would eat me back.

[@simonblackwell3576]

1:11 delivery sounds so funny to me, like Yahtzee felt like he was being too vague and just said fuck it need to drive it home 😂

[@catfish6415]

Didn't even talk about the ending with the person you set out to find being a massive horribly mutilated abomisnaxion that is preventing the entire island from collapsing, with the ending sequence being that of running around trying to save the characters from bugsnax, and if you didn't do every side quest for each one, they just straight up fucking die when too many get to them.

[@srbrant5391]

Catching Pokémon and serving them as food sounds like the perfect kind of gritty reboot for the franchise.

[@ToyKeeper]

Surprised Yahtzee didn't even mention how the Bugsnax song sounds like it's "Talkin' 'Bout Buttsecks... wooo-ooo-ooo!"

[@nathanharrison8901]

Loved Bugsnax so much. It was one of my favorites of the year. Such a gem

[@Meenie25]

Oh how you don't know the twists and turns of The Undersnax, Mr Yahtzee Crossbow.

[@damiancrowley569]

I'm thoroughly enjoying bugsnax. It's a horrific, beautiful, odd (hilarious after a blunt) game that I never knew I wanted

[@damiancrowley569]

It feels like a body horror mountains of madness

[@nerdstorma8427]

Fragle Rock directed by David Cronenberg, with extra emphasis on the burg, gave me a good chuckle

[@cubandarknez]

bugsnax is definitely pretty freaking dark... will fuel kid nightmares in the future and their subsequent adult trauma

[@Montesama314]

It's weird that I predicted Yahtzee would reference or mention Sesame Street and David Cronenberg.

[@bdo7765]

"It's like Fraggle Rock directed by David Cronenberg." ... stop it, Yahtz, I'm going to wake the kids laughing!!