Dark Souls and Undertale - Critique

[@felineaux2921]

Me after the first 40 minutes: Wow, that was a really nice video. Very calm and inspiring. I'm tearing up a bit. Last 15 minutes hits: Ah, there's my boy.

[@thecrimsondragon2379]

yup

[@metroidman3893]

Here's your plus 1

[@22neptun]

Thanks for the rant at the end! I really hate how many Blind Let's Plays were ruined by the Undertale-Fanbase. When the first thing I hear is "Oh, I was told to do a Pacifist-Run" I groan and close the video because the experience was already lost.

[@Revacholiere]

I always play pacifist in every game so (despite not hearing much about the game before playing) I got the pacifist ending first try. I don't think there's too much of an issue telling people to do pacifist first, because most people aren't going to want to play the game twice with just some changed dialogue to get the pacifist ending.

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

@@Revacholiere And i played genocide so many times that i can basically beat Sans easily by memory alone.

[@TheGnann]

I went into this video thinking "there's no way I'm going to listen to this dude talk for an hour about two games I have no interest in", but I stuck around for the end of this video because it was hilarious.

[@clintflippo917]

It blows my mind how small this channel is.

[@countertopconfessions9975]

Yeah I've had that same mindblow. I think the reason for that is because it's difficult to market. Or in other words difficult to share. And therefor difficult to spread. This channel will grow to great heights. Definitely. But only slowly.

[@miselojaime2214]

I actually completely agreed with your argument against the Undertale fanbase. I actually enjoyed playing it, but i didn't get the full experience because people spoiled it for me.

[@MrGojira95]

Hype culture is why Sonic Forces was awful for me.

[@mcboomishr]

Holy shit. I can't explain how amazing your videos are, thank you so god damn much for making these. I was worried there wouldn't be another video for a quite some time, please keep making these as long as you have the pastion to do so. I love your look on Dark Souls and I'm not sure if you're a fan of anime but, I would suggest you check out Welcome to the NHK. Once again love you and your videos thank you oh so much.

[@HyperCharge]

It takes me a while to make these videos, but you can usually assume that it take like 3-6 weeks for me to make something. I'm kind of a casual fan of anime. I grew up watching Naruto, but I've gotten into Evangelion, Gurren Lagaan, Attack on Titan, Jojo's BIzarre Adventure.

[@lyathan662]

oh my god that turn around of attitude at the end was hilarious!

[@thrawncaedusl717]

Spoilers: Undertale is a tough one for me to judge. In a perfect world, I would have went into it blind. That said, I generally only buy 5-6 games a year, and without hearing that it was a meta commentary about violence versus understanding, I likely never would have picked up Deltarune (which convinced me to get Undertale). Additionally, I think the theme of understanding the opposition being more difficult than killing them but also more rewarding still shines through despite the game being spoiled. I played through it knowing that I wanted to play by my own morality (regardless of the “best way” to play); I killed Toriel because I considered that better than giving up (the only other option I saw, I knew theoretically there was a pacifist way, but functionally it did not exist for me), I spared Undyne because I respected her motivation of protecting her people (and I actively sought out the action about halfway through the fight, making it more meaningful for me, again if I had not found the option I would have simply killed her), and I was willing to kill mettaton (well, destroy, as I did not think he was a “living”, emphasis on quotation marks, entity) until I found out about his origin. The game was certainly “spoiled” for me, but I still think it executed its concept well enough that I still got and appreciated the themes it was developing. Side note: do you generally prefer action over turn based combat games? Your criticism of Undertale’s basic replayability (and simple playability) seems like it applies to all turn based games. Side side note: I love Dark Souls (it’s generally in my top 5 games, occasionally replaced by Bloodborne) because of its execution of its theme (which you absolutely nailed, well done), but I still argue that the controls are clunky and the gameplay is, well just not good. Final note (I promise): I loved your critique. You really got at the meaning of the games, while still describing the basic action of playing the games. I’m subscribing and hoping for more critiques in the future.

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

The gameplay of Undertale is trash for me.

[@memutahar1]

@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 no one asked

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

@@memutahar1 This place is called a "comment" section, it is meant for commentary, meaning, nobody needs to ask me shit, my opinion is free to give.

[@jerryseinfield9609]

The Day March 3 2017, the day this video was released, marked the beginning of the new, true new fan base of Undertale that doesn’t spoil shit.

[@LeafRazorStorm]

Undertale taught me a valuable lesson. If someone online ever tells me to watch some show or play some game because of the "feels," I'll immediately avoid that product like the plague. Feels are a spoiler, and if the only way you can sell me something is through spoilers, there's probably no other substance to make it worth my time.

[@Weaponsomasscreation]

I dunno about hype culture in games, but it's impossible to overhype HyperCharge videos.

[@HumdrumSuperior]

Oh that roast at the end had me in stitches. I also had undertale spoiled for me and my feelings on it were exactly like yours. I still love these games but man people can get snobby about them. Fantastic video man. Also have you had the chance to play any of the other games in the souls series and would you consider playing them? I'd love to hear your thoughts on Bloodborne in particular because that one's my favorite.

[@HyperCharge]

I've only played Dark Souls and I'm not really in a rush to play the others at the moment.

[@joeyjose727]

Tbh I think this is the most genius video you've made for the ending alone

[@HyperCharge]

I appreciate it, cause this video took FOREVER

[@GiantButterKnife]

Last 15 minutes should be its own video.

[@HyperCharge]

I was thinking about doing that, but I try to explain myself before I go out and straight up shit on things. Without the critique of each game before it, it makes my argument have a lot less weight and it will come off as more negative than I want it to be. One of my most viewed videos is "Paper Mario is Dead', which has all of my actual opinions of the series, but since I went out hands swinging, it's became one of my most disliked video, since it immediately puts people on the defense. I don't regret making that video, since it's still my opinion, but I try to at least explain myself so I can slowly introduce my opinion without shutting everyone off.

[@kazoorion7993]

To be honest, I don't blame you that you went out hands swinging in your "Paper Mario is Dead" video. Even though I like Super, I absolutely agree that Nintendo has completely ruined the Paper Mario series, the last "Paper Mario" game came out in 2004 and until then, Nintendo has only been making spin off games that nobody ever wanted. I once introduced my opinion of the Paper Mario series in some reviews and I got the same results as you did.

[@HyperCharge]

I don't really care about people hating my opinion, but I find it more to pull the rug out from underneath them.

[@sambadcoe5009]

Your probably the best small KZbin iv seen please keep making video :D

[@OneTheSilver]

From 56:26 all the way to end: THIS! SO MUCH THIS! THANK YOU! For BOTH games.

[@KoroxasHeart]

the only ending you miss out in Undertale is Aggressive ending, known as Genocide. Other than that, it's a fun 10/10 games that surely fan base complaining and sometime ruin it.

[@HyperCharge]

I was more just trying to replay each game twice to talk about how I enjoy Dark Souls more than Undertale, rather than going over all the endings.

[@Naterkix]

The Genocide route, or whatever you want to call it, is tedious and hard. The amount of time between when random battles occur starts to get _soooo_ long, it's almost better to have a handheld, another console, book, TV, _anything_ else while you wait, like, five minuets for the next thing to kill. You really start to want to kill actual things at some point. Bwuh. Megalovania is still a sweet song though.

[@cheddarcheese6474]

Love your videos. I've been watching since Wonderful 101. Have you ever considered doing EarthBound. It has the charm of Undertale but it lasts and only gets better the more you replay it.

[@HyperCharge]

Never played Earthbound, but I might play it at some point

[@pokecam9677]

HyperCharge I personally like mother 3 just a little bit more

[@HyperCharge]

I heard good things about mother 3

[@itsyourboi9823]

I mean dark souls is a game that is only hard if you make it hard. Later installments make the builds more balanced, so you can't steam roll bosses with magic as easily, but still its op. Dark Souls like you said is more about how beautifully the themes of the game are woven into gameplay, not the actual difficulty.

[@ZarpoxRooting]

Great video, enjoyed every second of it! I appreciate more in depth critique like this. Recently found your channel because of Paleo Steno mentioning it. I'm also a Nintendo fan and watched most of your other videos already too, great stuff! And I really love Monster Hunter, so when is that video coming out? :D

[@LAnite430]

I don't know if you like requests, but a Monster Hunter retrospective would be awesome.

[@Abumuhammadnuh]

Great vids, watched ur whole channel in one sitting, my back hurts

[@rtroyer33]

Dude, I love your videos! Keep up the good work!

[@MrSupersonic2012]

I feel like the reason dark soul's difficulty is blown out of proportion is because so many games nowadays are so easy and explicitly treat players like they have no way of comprehending basic premises without beating it into your head. I've played every Souls game and went to great lengths to master them. These are some of my favorite games and are very relaxing to play. I can start a fresh new character and don't have to have a bunch of text fly at me, telling me how to press A. And also the fact that these games have so much replay value. One playthrough I can be just swing a sword, next playthrough I can be a full caster.

[@daxteryvillencourt9048]

The rant about both fanbases was really unexpected lol. You do have a fair point about them, but then again every fanbase has it's problems.

[@not_aeo]

Your videos are fucking amazing and I'm really glad that I found this KZbin channel, it's hilarious and extremely entertaining. You really deserve a bigger audience than what you have now, and I hope you'll get to that point in the near future.

[@Gontrand00]

Perfect balance between smart review and hilarious trash talk. Keep going and I think there are a lot of people missing on the good stuff you're doing.

[@noko-nori]

Loved the video man, great work. And about the ending, do you actually plan on making any MonHun videos any time soon? Would love to hear your more in depth thoughts of the series

[@SuperNobody64]

I got the full undertale experience and still thought it was only...good.

[@WanderKrew]

If I had to wait a whole hour before I got the HyperCharge rant it's worth it. God your so damn hilarious

[@fizzybitzobacon5747]

Eloquently put! I do love undertale but you're absolutely right. I actually watched the gameplay first and got spoiled so playing it was different. Still pleasant though. Your review of dark souls also explained a lot. I never understood why people thought solid gameplay was so hard.

[@nickk3077]

1:04:19 Wow, foreshadowing, but it was bound to happen at some point anyways.

[@abloogywoogywoo]

So... Dark Souls' story isn't as good as Undertale's. Undertale's gameplay isn't as good as Dark Souls. Dark Souls' fans ruined the gameplay for newcomers. Undertale's fans ruined the story for newcomers.

[@joshwillcox7141]

Hype ruined the mario galaxy games for me

[@ApylonTV]

really good video man, how you're not the most famous youtube is beyond me.

[@MsQuote]

Personally My favorite game of all time is Undertale because I was the lucky one that had no Idea of anything but a few characters and that it had a morality system. Even though Undertale is my favorite game, I ironically love Nintendo RPG's which brings me to this... "what's YOUR favorite Nintendo RPG?"

[@HyperCharge]

uhhhhh probably Pokemon

[@kazoorion7993]

I thought you were going to say Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door xD

[@Naterkix]

Uh... How is that ironic? You love Nintendo RPGs... so you love another RPG? Wha...?

[@MattMatrixJohnson]

Kouroshie Yoshi Not ironic at all but I hear ya

[@comicluigi7]

56:27 there he is!

[@sauarkrokur818]

Have you ever played any of the Mario and Luigi series games? And if so, do you like them?

[@HyperCharge]

I really liked Superstar Saga and everything else was ok I guess

[@MsQuote]

The only reason I hate bowsers inside story. three words: F*cking wiggler minigame

[@Cat2005]

My favourite video of yours, you originally got me into long form content with this video, Thank you.

[@HyperCharge]

I appreciate it! I'm planning on making another 'Critique' style video in the next 6 months or so, so stay tuned for that.

[@MarkSKristensen]

Some of the monsters in the ruins actually gives you clues about the fight with Toriel, and how to spare her. And Undyne literally hints in the middle of the fight how to avoid killing her, when you're green you can't run, but when you're red you can.

[@pokecam9677]

*sees video length* ... YES THANK YOU BRUH

[@theonetruespice]

Oh man the timing of this video paired with the recent TBFP souls comments. Couldn't agree more.

[@tylermarik5709]

Saying Dark Souls is impossible is like saying Pokemon is hard because you are nuzlocking it. The game is not that hard if you are making it harder than it was meant to be played because you are a try hard

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

I didn't know you could summon anyone for the Iron Golem boss fight...

[@nickk3077]

Regardless less of how you feel about Undertale, you gotta admit that it’s impressive that only ONE person made it and its music! ...I mean, I just think the game is alright... but still quite remarkable nevertheless.

[@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051]

I hate when people say this garbage, so many great indie games have been made by one person, Undertale is not the first, being made by one person doesn't excuse it of critique.

[@memutahar1]

@@aldiascholarofthefirstsin1051 still impressive tho

[@cosplayingchao]

Rewatching this and thinking of a certain other game that your Dark Souls rant reminds me of. Devil May Cry. The fanbase for that game also feels very elitist. "Don't use items" "Don't continue from the checkpoint" "Trickster is for noobs who can't block with Royalguard" "Don't use Gold Orbs" If you care about rank, then some of these issues might matter, but most people can probably beat it no problem. The main difference is the game will tell you if you played the way it wanted you to. That's why some gamers feel better than others; because their number is artificially higher. Maybe these arbitrary restrictions should be included in all action games so elites can feel better about themselves. This comes from a DMC fan

[@sauarkrokur818]

Well I know what I'll be doing for the next hour

[@queen4k60fps4]

Good video, but at 59:41 you're implying that the fanbase is the only factor that can spoil Undertale's morality system when it says right on the game's Steam page that Undertale is "The RPG game where you don't have to destroy anyone." So if anything is spoiling the game, it's the marketing

[@HyperCharge]

While it's true that they marketed the morality system up front in both the games tutorial and the marketing, it seems like the game also tries to constantly lure you away from sparing the monsters and baiting you into killing. It introduces the ability to fight and spare monsters in the tutorial, but on a first time playthrough, you're not really sure that's it possible until the very end. I mean, going into the game blind, it's easy to see how some players might feel uncomfortable with the simple act of not gaining EXP for fights. The act of sparing is nice, but the fact that their not getting stronger goes in complete opposition to the entire structure of a typical RPG. It's creates a sort of unnerving feeling that you'll eventually have to fight something while being extremely weak. This is later exacerbated by the unclear win conditions of certain boss fights. As your enemies become more and more threatening, sparing becomes more and more complex and as someone who doesn't know that's it's possible to spare everything, you start to become doubtful of the possibility of completing a passive play through. This is what the morality system banks on. I guess the point I was trying to make was that if you're told that it's possible by other players, it removes that feeling of doubt and the illusion is ruined. Instead, it then becomes a process of figuring out what works and looking up how to do certain things if you get stuck, which reflects really poorly on a game that's design to make you act on your own instincts. I mean, sure, the marketing does say that it's possible, but you don't know if that's actually true or not until you hear from someone else who's already beaten the game. As a player, you can't entirely trust the creators intentions because it's not really in their best interest to spoil the surprise, but other players don't really give a shit. That's why the cutscene with Sans at the end of the game is suppose to be a sort of dramatic reveal of the games true intentions. It's this sort of "eureka" moment where you realize that it's actually possible to spare the past enemies and boss fights that you might have ended up killing and I'm pretty sure that's what Toby Fox intended for that scene to accomplish. On the other hand, if you were already spoiled on the premise, it's more or less a scoreboard that shows how well you did.

[@keerokamiya9126]

so Undyne MIGHT be a good person yet she wants my soul? Doesn't sound like a good person to me. Toriel saved us so she IS a good person yet she won't let us leave and is holding us against my will? doesn't sound like something a good person would do

[@finnfinity9711]

BUT MUH PACIFIST ENDING THAT'S LE BEST ENDING GUYS

[@Exigentable]

Only like your characters to be Mary Sue's with no flaws huh?

[@slowpoke8585]

Hell yeah! New video! Keep up the good work, man! You're definitely good!

[@jerryseinfield9609]

Honestly I’d rather be overhyped on how hard dark souls is than get my entire experience with undertale spoiled. THE FANBASE FOR UNDERTALE IS FUCKING BULLSHIT

[@spider_wil1695]

Older video but I will comment anyway. I agree with most of your arguments. I do have to mention that getting the black knight sword early wins the game. It’s luck based so most first time players don’t get the sword so they have much harder times than you but other than that completely agree about the last 10 mins of your video.

[@dougbrit2]

A hour video? Hell yeah!

[@ajfreeney]

Undertale would be so good if they had some sort of puzzle combat instead.

[@ravioli4601]

-ew wtf-

[@esentries]

Waiting for that MonHun video. Sell me on that shit since I know zero shit about it.

[@felineaux2921]

I kind of feel bad for watching this video now because I realize that Undertale seems like a great game and I feel like I just ruined the best part about the experience (discovering the morality thing). I've never felt this empty for spoiling something for myself, and it feels even worse because I didn't even realize what I was spoiling until I felt it. I get that it's my fault for clicking on a video that would OBVIOUSLY have spoilers, but I really REALLY wish you would have put some sort of disclaimer about watching the video because spoiling the game makes it, well, unplayable. Now I gotta invest in some sort of mind wipe therapy so I can forget this and experience it for myself... Nevertheless, great video

[@HyperCharge]

I probably should have put a spoiler warning before this video, but I guess I figured most people played these games already. You can beat the game within a couple of hours, so it's not like it's a big investment. I skipped over a ton of dialogue that a lot of people really enjoy, so if you really like that kind of stuff, you should still check it out.

[@cosplayingchao]

Talk about subverting expectations

[@athy8763]

damn i was expecting you to tear into one of my favorite games but you ended up giving me more reason to dislike the fandom and even more reason to like the game i already love. (while also not really making bad points) i also now want to play dark souls. i think you achieved something.

[@athy8763]

also subscribing.

[@familyofgames1]

Why is the last 10 mins almost totally true about the simple dark souls fanbase

[@BadExample77]

Fucking nailed it. 10/10 will overhype your content to my friends

[@bryangutierrez6679]

To understand the dark ending you have to remember that humanity natural state is of the black phantoms floating in the black void of the abyss and not the bodies whose only purpose is to Hollow out and wander the earth aimlessly. But who cares , is stupid videogame lore anyway.

[@HyperCharge]

Yeah, I'm not too heavy into the lore at all, literally only played Dark Souls 1. That's kinda why I like Monster Hunter more, it's just a Dark Souls boss rush mode without the bullshit.

[@linkkicksu]

People conflate "overrated" with "bad". Dark Souls is a fantastic game, I'd even say it's my favourite game. But it's also really, really overrated. To be honest though, the "Dark Souls is hard" meme comes mostly from game journos and people who've never played it. The majority of Dark Souls players resent the meme.

[@randomhumanontheinternet9857]

What About genocide ?

[@josephcross8464]

Fanbases comprised of fuckin' elitists are always a pain in the ass; the fanbase I've had more problems with is Fire Emblem's. It doesn't matter how much you love the games, if you play on anything less than lunatic+ you're not a real fan; your favorite unit is always be nothing short of garbage; New games will never be as great as FE4 and the series should've died after FEV. That's why I preffer enjoying these games in particular on my own and don't mind in the least if I have any friends to share my experiences with.

[@22neptun]

Lunatic+ is the worst way to play a Fire Emblem-game. You can only beat the first couple of chapters by doing exactly one specific string of actions which you look up on KZbin. And after that you have to grind EXP till you're maxed out with all your warriors to even have a halfway decent experience. I can't recommend that mode to anyone.

[@chopsandtoots]

Yeah the Dark Souls fandom is really annoying. I hate the stigma against summoning and people claiming that people are 'playing the game wrong'. Oh my god just let people do what they want.

[@Jdudec367]

honestly? I haven't played dark souls but undertale? I saw a couple let's plays and then played it and? it wasn''t ruined...spoiled? yeh but playing it? even today? it is different then just watching. like you can't tell me fighting sans is the same as watching someone do it in terms of the experience even for more cinematic bosses like asriel it felt different

[@jiancosta9042]

lol, bro, i hope you drink lots of tea for all of the yelling

[@HyperCharge]

I spent 8 hours recording this and legit ruined my throat the next day, but don't worry, cause I drink a lot of acidic soda too

[@nunyabidness1681]

Thank you for taking these games down a few notches. They're good games but Jesus are they overrated.

[@muamua101]

I fucking know right

[@RandomStuff-ne3fd]

Dark souls is better I agree

[@svenskgamer9635]

Great!

[@SynderFGC]

You got my sub from this

[@leeartlee915]

Dark Souls fans are much worse because they are legion and they get the same game released over and over again.

[@turtleanton6539]

👍

[@blazinbutter6677]

Undertale is a solid 8/10 but definitely not the 10/10 everyone makes it out to be. Great music, interesting beginning and ending. The middle of the game straight up sucks I'm sorry. And the graphics are too bland and the combat just gets boring and bland. I think the music really carried the game HARD and made the game more emotional than it really is.