My Strange Obsession With Gaming Elevators

[@ValToadstool]

Whenever a game allows you to move while in an elevator, I find great joy in discovering how the elevator affects the physics of jumping.

[@shiroganetsuki9634]

That sounds fun. I gotta try it! xD

[@dragondude7107]

That one elevator in the white palace in hollow knight

[@DiscountWhiskey078]

Whenever real life allows me to move while in an elevator, I find great joy in discovering how the elevator affects my physics of jumping.

[@JoBot__]

@@DiscountWhiskey078 Exactly. 😂

[@saller_ar]

You should try die rise on bo2 💀💀

[@DED_C]

A 30-minute video on elevators: meh A 30-minute video on elevators by DTG: ah, a classic. Masterpiece. Excellence

[@foggyforest2625]

Goes to show how important delivering your emotions in the form of a media is

[@El_Rey_247]

I mean, Technology Connections would absolutely get me to watch a 30+ minute video on elevators. Dude got me to watch over an hour of explanation and ranting about dishwashers

[@tubeincompetence]

Or find some Deviant Ollam talk about elevators. :) Also interesting - and longer

[@AdriusFrostglare]

Yes, the very heights of emotional delivery.

[@HexagonThatReallyLikesVinegar]

@@El_Rey_247 oh hell yeah, that man could make me watch a hour of stair engineering and somehow make it more entertaining then Infinity War.

[@Captain_MelonLord]

Coolest thing happened: at 25:28 when Daryl says "...timeout." the youtube loading circle popped up. I was like "ha, I get it. Must just be part of the video." But after a suspiciously long while I look down and notice I have no internet. I nearly freaked out. The timing was too unreal.

[@JohnDBlue]

The amount of times a perfectly chosen and timed ad comes on in videos is almost unreal for me... Can video creators select these times for their videos? Even if yes, it's often been the sort of low effort upload (not in content but in presentation - e.g. a stream vod) that surely they wouldn't have gone through the trouble of timing ads... I'm almost suspecting that KZbin has some sort of built in system to detect perfect times for ads 😅

[@TennessineGD]

​@@JohnDBluefor ads, yes - if the video is longer than a certain amount of time (used to be 10 minutes, i think it might be shorter now), you can choose specific moments in the video to place midroll ads

[@ArchangelExile]

​@@JohnDBlueYes, they can choose when to place ads in their videos. Even if they don't, KZbin itself automatically places ads sometimes and detects when the is a break or silent period in a video to best determine when to start an ad. It's not coincidence.

[@JohnDBlue]

@@ArchangelExile interesting, thank you! I guess it makes sense with how much they can glean about the contents of a video that this is possible

[@SirStrangefolk]

The first time I watched Corridor Digital's "The Glitch" video I had something like that happen. Towards the end of the video things start glitching out more and it also does the "video loading" thing, and right at that moment I got an actual "blue screen of death" on my old laptop so I also thought it was part of the video. As it turns out that video does end with a fake blue screen, but I got a real one right before that happened.

[@iggy14750]

This is actually Daryl's awkward dialogue if you're ever stuck in an elevator with him

[@sponge1234ify]

No offense to Daryl, but i do _not_ want to get into an Elevator that takes 30 _minutes_ to reach somewhere.

[@hi28]

​@@sponge1234ify i wouldof Daryl was with me

[@sponge1234ify]

@@hi28 Honestly me too, yes, but i don't wanna know where an elevator that takes me *that* long to ascend is taking me to. Acrophobia's a bitch.

[@sponge1234ify]

@@ladyibis580 that's infinitely better, yes

[@TakeV]

Oddly enough, this video reminds me of this weird thing I have. I really enjoy stopping and getting gas on a road trip. It is not that I enjoy using gas, or driving, or spending the money, but every time I stop in an unfamiliar place, it feels like this liminal space where all you have to do is exist for a few moments. Driving blurs together in a hypnotic state, so breaking it up sort of feels like you have caught a glimpse of something strange.

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

alternatively you get to pick up snacks

[@RevenantMain1]

Considering I just stepped into an elevator and chose this as my form of entertainment, I have complete faith the the functionality of this elev-

[@Jaythaking04]

That's great! Update us on the ride when you can.

[@EGRJ]

I haven't seen a cut-off comment like that since the last time someone said "Candlejack" in fr

[@Grimsyreaper]

Hope you're okay man... You're name seems to tell me that you are a nice person...and nice people should not be harmed in any way!

[@bosniakslayer6614]

Whata ya talkin about

[@milomoxie2472]

This comment (and your probable violent demise) made my day much better, thank you Sassy.

[@razbuten]

One of my favorite elevator moments in game (and honestly just one of my favorite moments in game in general) is in God of War 2018 when Atreus is sick and Kratos is carrying him to Freya. You're technically still in control as it isn't a cutscene, but no matter what, Kratos paces back and forth as the the elevator slowly rises and IT IS JUST VERY GOOD. ELEVATORS ARE POG LET'S GO.

[@wobblywack5531]

Yeah it's interesting as you are in control, but you can't move the elevator any faster, so you just start running around impatiently

[@zenhaa]

Ayoo you're here ahahha

[@bakuhakudraws5603]

Came down here to comment exactly this, only to find one of my other favorite youtubers has already mentioned it.

[@wonder_platypus8337]

Have you played Bonelab on PCVR or Quest2? That elevator. I stood in it for a few mins before pressing the button. I knew what was coming and I'm not a fan of elevators anyway. Plus the signs... look it up.

[@paulkanja]

Minecraft elevators tho :troll:

[@xelac1334]

Another neat thing about the elevators in Portal 2 is that whether or not you go up or down is relevant to the story. At the beginning, you're going up, closer to your goal of escaping. Then, when GLaDOS wakes up and starts testing you, you're going down as GLaDOS brings you farther and farther away from freedom. Then, after you fall down into Old Aperture, you start going up again as you head back towards the main facility to confront Wheatley.

[@DraakjeYoblama]

That's awesome, I always wondered why the elevator moved in different directions.

[@mariecarie1]

That’s actually brilliant. What a phenomenal way to use a game mechanic to describe the villains. GLaDOS is dragging you away from safety, dragging you to hell, so to speak, floor by floor. Conversely, your final boss is Wheatley, who thinks highly of himself and lords over you, to where you have to “ascend” to reach him, like ascending Olympus to reach a god. Going up represents not only how he views himself, but the finality of facing him as the last boss. I love subliminal storytelling like that-something that seems incidental but tells you a lot more than you consciously realize.

[@matthewgiallourakis7645]

My favorite elevator is from the game Antichamber. If you look at the floor after reading a message on the ceiling that reads "Don't Look Down," you freefall for a solid 10 seconds. Then, at the base of the chute, there is an elevator that brings you back up about 8 feet to the room you fell from. I love the non-euclidean shenanigans in that game.

[@annievoss2010]

Oddly enough, one of the funniest elevator moments I've seen in a game is from FNAF. There is just something about that exotic butters joke that makes me giggle every time.

[@milliequick1271]

The one in security breach that sets up a funny non-lethal jumpscare is iconic too

[@eldritchcupcakes3195]

@@milliequick1271please take a map

[@alexisjett4860]

While not technically an elevator, the bathysphere arriving in Rapture in Bioshock gives vibes somewhere between Elden Ring and Soma. The terror of the deep but also the beauty of this vast underwater city.

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

It is a well known fact that both games served Ken Levine as inspiration for his famous triad.

[@atanamorell2]

💯

[@davidbrickey8733]

I genuinely expected him to talk about that one in that segment.

[@Texan.Insomniac]

Yeah I'm surprised it's still not here, it given just how breath taking seeing Rapture was for the first time

[@pedroscoponi4905]

Bathisphere rides absolutely count as elevators in my book, great choice.

[@C-F]

I find it really, really interesting how you interpret the Stanley Parable as going up and the Undertale elevator to go down, despite there being no visual indicators. (Also the latter canonically goes up, actually.)

[@lynchie2073]

each elevator scene in danganronpa is simple but really effective. going from almost uncomfortably full in chapter one to spacious and empty is a slap in the face of how many have died before you start the trial, especially the last one. the simple absence of each character where you remember they stood before makes their loss much more real than their crossed out portraits do

[@travis8106]

666 likes fits this comment well But yeah, that combined with the droning ambience makes for an unsettling experience

[@DeeFig66]

I just realized we all forgot about Bioshock. Those elevators both are kinda awe inspiring but also, kinda scary because we know that getting back home will be next to impossible unless we use a similar way to return. (Or at least from the first few minutes of the games, that was the impressions I always felt.) Like, if things go sideways, we're very screwed. Also, they literally give us the philosophies & aesthetics of the worlds we visit for both Rapture & Colombia.

[@nexxyz]

That and Skyrim’s Back Reach. Wow.

[@flyingsnowycats]

Yes! I was thinking about Bioshock! The elevator in Infinite comes to mind(off the top of my head) as an example of the wow factor one he couldn't come up with anymore examples of. When the city of Columbia first came into view, I was awe struck. Im sure there are exapmles in the other games- but Infinite is the only Bioshock game I've personally played.

[@brizzly-bear]

One of my favorite stairs jokes in gaming is from Borderlands 2. After the usual cutscene introducing Professor Yakanama as a boss, he promptly falls down a large set of stairs, taking his health from full to zero.

[@LaughingMoon365]

Elevators at conventions IRL are pretty great too. The number of weird things you see when you get on one made going on an elevator fun. I was staying on the 6th floor in a hotel that was hosting a convention and I remember going down in the elevator. It stopped at each floor and I got greeted with a different scene. One of the floors had two cosplayers doing a quick skit. It felt like I was in a funny video game.

[@BlueJay73FFS]

No, do not apologize for making a 30 minute video about elevators! I love hearing people talking about the niche stuff that they like and/or are fascinated by! This video is a treasure! The love and care that you put into it shows in every second, and it honestly made me think a lot about these kinds of scenes. Thank you for making a 30 minute video about elevators!

[@depresso7831]

Yeah, definitely!

[@Luxaron]

I really feel like you've elevated this topic to new heights.

[@renaigh]

Elevators go down as well as up, so this joke only works for half the experience.

[@MaddyPerez128]

@@renaigh you could probably make a joke about how he went *in depth* with the topic

[@Roeclean]

@@MaddyPerez128 as well*

[@jc_art_]

​@@Roecleanwell? Wells do tend to lower a container down into a pit, just to bring it back up filled, id say thats an elevator. Maybe not a people elevator, but an elevator nonetheless.

[@jodiehancock9182]

My favourite detail about the Mass Effect elevators is that in either Mass Effect 2, Garrus ribs into Tali saying "you ever miss those talks we'd have on the elevators", Tali is overall unimpressed, Garrus then says "tell me again about your immune system" and Tali replies "I have a shotgun." It's great seeing devs make light of technical limitations in previous games, especially since they didn't do too bad of a job in the first place

[@munchratt]

I know it is not an elevator by any stretch of the imagination, but my soul is CERTAIN that The Ladder from MGS3 is relevant to this discussion. I think it functions simillarly in gaming to some of the elevators you have mentioned, and is honestly one of the most memorable set pieces in all of gaming.

[@TheAlpacalypseIsUponUs]

I kept thinking back to this

[@IsuiGtz]

Same goes for the opening scene for Bioshock 1. First time you see Rapture. That is a pivotal moment in all of gaming history.

[@grimalexx]

Sad you didn't mention the elevator in Prey (2017). It's unique because it actually works like an elevator and it's not just a time for the game to load. You can even see the elevator from the outside of the space station. Real elevators are not common in games as they are a lot of work :D

[@AggroNoobs]

Not to mention the wizardry they pulled for a scene on it. It's impressive and like many other things in the game very memorable.

[@Mr._Sherwood]

I love Prey's elevator, how it throws you off the first time then never does it again, yet it's still right at the back of your mind every time you use it so you're never truly relaxed and always on guard while riding it. I just think that's clever.

[@guidedexplosiveprojectileg9943]

@@Mr._Sherwood Trapped in the elevator decending and watching all the typons that popped out of no where was a real experience, I didnt want to leave.

[@waterlubber]

Don't forget the elevator back down on Earth, before you lift off.

[@guidedexplosiveprojectileg9943]

@@waterlubber "Earth" was on Talos 1

[@gotcopper42]

I've ridden in some sketchy as heck elevators. They don't scare me much now, if they ever did. There's a salt mine in Poland called Wieliczka, you take the stairs down, then you walk further and by the end you're nearly 1000 feet underground. The trip up is a bunch of people shoved uncomfortably in a 1 square meter elevator that makes the ascent very quickly. As you ride, you watch the walls of the shaft fly down past you just inches outside the gates that make up the elevator. Needless to say, this was a very interesting video. Good crap mate.

[@DarylTalksGames]

That sounds like an absolute nightmare. Sign me up.

[@gotcopper42]

@@DarylTalksGames it's an amazing tour if you ever make it out there.

[@quan-uo5ws]

In my country bulgaria litteraly 90% of elevators are sketchy as fuck. They were made during communism and litteraly dont have automatic doors, they just have some random door that locks when you press the button there isnt even one in the cabin, so you can ram your face in the elevator shaft while it is moving if you want to. Some of them also make weird noises like a goddamn elevator in half life 2.

[@baronvonkrogglesteiniii5310]

Yeah, mine hoists are a breed apart. There's a similar mine tour in Cripple Creek, CO where you're crammed body to body with whoever else is on the tour, in a two story metal mesh elevator. And then you wait for two minutes as it almost noiselessly rushes 1000 feet up or down, knowing that your journey is being controlled manually by some dude in a hut on the surface. What makes it perfect is the "No Farting" sign.

[@olliek8235]

oh my god i visited there when i was little with my family. i barely remember the trip because i was small and scared out of my mind the whole time but i want to go back one day !! that elevator was . something

[@skeletonlover3214]

Who knew that elevators could have such emotional depth.

[@vizdrom]

Floor14andthisisdeep

[@schwa4883]

@@vizdromThis one got me.

[@ircha]

I have an obsession with rendered food stalls and fruits in video games.

[@RandomJayne]

I loved Portal 2's use of elevators as narrative and plot devices.

[@ethanwatercup]

WE LOVE ELEVATORS!

[@night-rider-lily]

LET'S GOOO!!!! ELEVATORS!!!!

[@GamesFoundationYT]

He loves elevators

[@lazylemon4081]

Someone please tell him to play The Complex Found Footage. It's a not so popular backrooms game but fits this video perfectly

[@hantasycreations2768]

Storytime: I happened to be in bed getting ready to sleep when watching this video and made it about a quarter of the way in. I then proceeded to have a unique dream with a gang of familiar friends. We eventually were in a building and needed to got to the 72nd floor, and since there were 3 elevators we split up. I went alone in one. Turned out, the elevator took everyone to random floors. Buttons gave us no control. I emerged on a floor with similarly confused strangers getting off other nearby elevators. I'd lost contact with no way to find my original friends again. Instead, I met a group of random-floor-stranded strangers. We banded together and always made sure to enter this building's numerous elevators in a group, risking life and limb to hold the door. We'd then use the ultra fast elevators with random results to search for our original crews. We'd journey to random floors for random adventures - in concerts, grocery stores, tropical hotels, futuristic liminal spaces, an ocean sailboat, etc. - before repeating the process. Never found our original friends. Had lots of fun along the way though. Never had dreams with elevators before. Was a good experience worth a good review. 10/10 would do again

[@eve_______]

You could write a short story out of this lol

[@FloridaManGaming]

That could be a good show. Like sliders, but its a haunted elevator instead of alternate universes

[@misssunflower2599]

could i write a short story based off of this?

[@raphaeld9270]

@@misssunflower2599 I suppose as long as you put the link to it in the description for us to find it when it is done ;) I don't think that @hantasy Creations would mind :D

[@hantasycreations2768]

@@misssunflower2599 oh HELL yeah! Go for it! If you do, would you share a link to the story with me?

[@Brizzle427]

I've always loved the Vault 111 elevator in Fallout 4, seeing the world before its destroyed only to take the same elevator and see it all destroyed as your eyes adjust to the light always hits no matter how many times I see it.

[@chair448]

My favorite elevator is actually in Gmod, in a gamemode called elevator source. The whacky stuff that happens each floor is cool to see, but seeing what people do in their downtime between floors is something special. Its like being a kid with nothing to do with your friends. Its got a certain charm to it

[@CadgerChristmasLightShow]

I have always had an irrational fear of elevators. I've had SO MANY nightmares of being in an elevator collapse or just involving an elevator being freaky. The human mind is a strange thing. Like deep down we know they are an unnatural man made machine that could fail, even though they very most likely won't.

[@michaelhuebsch572]

One more is the starting elevator in Outer Wilds. Having the game stop you for an extra 5 seconds as you can look out into the solar system really helps you set a new destination or reset yourself before you go retry a puzzle. Having that consistency every loop also helps you set off on the next chapter of your journey. Hope your journey went or is going well!

[@ThePedroAmigo]

Watch the last seconds of the video haha

[@michaelhuebsch572]

@@ThePedroAmigo Oh wow, didn't see that one. LMAO Thanks!

[@LethalLuggage]

@@michaelhuebsch572 someone skipped the credits, how dare you!

[@planetalhena]

omg I almost miss it too hahah why did he do it dirty like that xd

[@LethalLuggage]

@@planetalhena to reward those who stick through to the end of the credits

[@EylsRichEntity]

Highly recommend SOMA to anyone who either loves discovery games like Outer Wilds, survival horror games, or fascinating and philosophical stories. SOMA blends all these together so well. One of my top picks for “games I wish I could play again for the first time”

[@morkgin2459]

I love Soma but would you recommend me Outer Wilds?

[@EylsRichEntity]

@@morkgin2459 100%. more similarities between these 2 games than 99.9% of other games out there. Parts of Outerwilds potentially scared me more than SOMA despite it not really being a scary game. It's SOMA meets BotW and Subnautica.

[@snek616]

SOMA is exististential as fuck

[@pinkocean310]

Soma was sooooo underrated for how well made it was

[@rafaela00002]

Soma is so good

[@annepetty4518]

My favorite elevator in all of gaming isn't even one you can enter, but it's the courthouse elevator in Ace Attorney where the DL-6 incident took place. I won't spoil it for anyone who doesn't know, but that elevator haunts the narrative of the entire first game. I think about it every time I ride an elevator, how such a simple, mundane action could very well be my last.

[@endorito]

underrated comment

[@diceLibrarian]

VON KARMAAAAAAA

[@aff77141]

I get nervous on elevators, but mostly about "when was the last time these rails and buttons got cleaned? I need my hand sanitizer" or "God I hope the person who just got on doesn't try to make small talk or even look in my general direction, do I look busy enough" and maybe "euch, what is that stain? You seeing this, security camera? Cmon, I know you notice it, send somebody over here once in a while"

[@owoskan]

Genuinely loved the part on SOMA, this game was absolutely beautiful, and this elevator part with the absolutely emotional dialogue makes you realize how far you came, glad this game is getting more recognition.

[@sofifyfofum]

One thing i love about the elevators in portal 1 is the padding on the walls. Something about the type of material mixed with the subtle stains and yellowing, the tight, angle-less room, and glados's monotone uncaring voice talking to you over a speaker reminds me a little too much of an old school insane asylum. It feels like an acknowledgment that anyone who would ride these elevators, whether its an aperture scientist or a random test subject, has to be insane by now.

[@frozenpeaches06]

So do the bathyspheres in bioshock count as elevators? Because the intro to the first game where you enter this enclosed space in a grand entrance hall, get plummeted into the ocean, hear Andrew Ryan's speech just before the reveal of the city, all culminating in getting attacked by a splicer is one of my favorite introductions to a game

[@atanamorell2]

I agree that this scene should count as an elevator sequence. The city reveal with Ryan's speech playing is so epic 😍 The murderous splicer was so terrifying! I really had to screw up my courage to walk out of that bathysphere...lol.

[@Ahrpigi]

I thought of that one during the intro too!

[@jminsh463]

Yes, that is a culmination of awe at the scope of the place and then the flip to "actually this place is kind of dangerous"

[@dingusaringus]

As someone who works in the Elevator industry I'd never of guessed you'd make an entire video dedicated to elevators. This definitely made my day. Good stuff Daryl, keep it up

[@hauntaholic0]

someone with the username dingusaringus working in the elevator industry is lowkey halarious but idk why

[@Gorpfield]

i think daryl's in the pocket of big elevator

[@nicholaswatson3554]

I'm sure it has its ups and down

[@boat7186]

The escape phase in octo expansion for Splatoon, while not entirely being an elevator, does end with an elevator ride before the final boss, so I am going to count that as my favorite elevator moment in gaming. That whole escape section of the game really does give you this building wave of hope and anxiety before you face the final boss, and once you beat it everything kind of comes crashing down on you and it really hits you that Agent 8 has finally reached the promised land. They're finally free and they have succeeded in avenging those that came before them and unfortunately weren't able to make it. It's super cheesy but I love Octo Expansion so much and I am using this as an excuse to gush about it.

[@merienkat5524]

God I love the Mass Effect 1 elevators so much. One of my favourite bits in the ME3 Citadel DLC, which is full of lovely references to the earlier games, is when you step into an elevator and the camera shifts into that familiar angle, that by that point you haven't seen since Mass Effect 1. If you have Garrus with you he will ask if anyone wants to chat about their people's history or something. It's very cute.

[@darksentinel082]

The best elevator in any game ever in my opinion is at the end of the main route of OneShot, as you ascend to the top of the Tower. The dialogue there, the dread, it is perfect.

[@navolas2]

That elevator ride! I broke down during that part

[@stellar4677]

!!

[@rosegray4061]

At least the game has a happy conclusion in the end

[@aiviee6825]

i came to the comments to write this exact thing. i’m happy others agree!! oneshot is such a transformative game

[@thewelcomer5698]

Close, but it's obviously the elevator ride with the lamplighter to the surface, brings tears to my eyes

[@danielhuelsman76]

The elevators from Dark Souls 1 were great because it really showed how interconnected the world was. Like you get on an elevator after walking around and suddenly you're off the elevator to realize you're back to someplace familiar, it's just mind blowing, man.

[@justsomeredspy]

This. The interconnected world of Dark Souls 1 made exploring so rewarding. It grounded the world of the game and made every area so much more memorable. I actually spent time learning the layout of the world and how all the areas fit together, as opposed to picking them out of a fast travel menu. The lack of interconnected areas is my only major complaint with later titles in the Soulsborne series.

[@johnmichael4806]

@@justsomeredspy I would love to see tha shit again in a souls game. Elevators in souls games tend to be interesting especially when they are part of a puzzle like in DS3.

[@Dr.Slaughter]

Then Dark Souls 2 has THAT elevator.

[@danielhuelsman76]

@@Dr.Slaughter An unforgettable icon of immaculate world design, no doubt. (Sarcasm)

[@Dr.Slaughter]

@@danielhuelsman76 I love that I can vaguely bring up an elevator in dark souls 2 and anyone that has played it will know which one. Its beautiful. Truely flawless.

[@codeearth9820]

I used to have nightmares of my building's elevator bringing me to the eleventh floor, a floor that it couldn't get to, where a corridor with no doors and no staircase, the actual way of getting to that floor. At the time of these nightmares, I would start counting he seconds everytime on that lift to make sure that I was in the right place. The Floor 4 part reminded me of this, because my actual floor was floor number four.

[@NonJohns]

i hope its easier to deal with that stuff

[@prabh4489]

12:58 I actually love stairs in video games too. They create anticipation in a climactic way, like you're making your way upto a big fight or towards the final step of the journey.

[@c64cosmin]

18:03 creepily reminded me of the flat I grew up in, the floor 2 never worked, the button was also burned and had a weird texture, if you pressed the floor 2 sometimes it worked, but sometimes the elevator started going very slowly reachimg the station. This made me have these surreal dreams going to floors -999 after reaching 2 or going to floor 11 in a flat with only 9 floors.

[@ThePurpleCheeseMan]

I love this! For years I've heard takes from people that elevators in games were boring or simply disguised loading screens. I appreciate the acknowledgement of the detail that devs put into their elevator sequences.

[@pedroscoponi4905]

It's just silly to think that it has to be one or the other, too, yknow? They can be loading screens that also serve a narrative purpose!

[@morkgin2459]

​@Pushiswin but that is not a bad thing

[@SGustafsson]

I often forget how much i love SOMA, it's amazing imo.

[@ta-kibi2723]

i did not have a fear of elevators until i was 2 minutes into this episode. thank you daryl for the gains i will get from taking the stairs every day from now on

[@maniacalmeme5022]

I think my favourite elevator is the ending of half life 2, where you ascend to the top of the citadel at the pinnacle of the story. I think it’s a fantastic example of a quiet ride to let you reflect on your journey so far

[@deedjrethejester]

my favorite aspect about the elevator in the room behind doors straight across from the boss's office is how just completely calming it is. every time i open the game i'll head over to where i can hear the music the best and just sit for a moment. it's nice. i like to enjoy every little detail i can find in the game but it's also nice to just rest in a gag elevator and feel happy.

[@thecrasianasian4707]

My favorite elevator moment is actually the one at the end of Siofra. I finished exploring a beautiful starlit cave and took an elevator up to Caelid of all places. The moment really hit bc I’d never been to Caelid up to that point, so it felt like things got completely flipped.

[@rjc0234]

I love video game elevators since Halo. The one in Halo 1 "The library" is incredibly fun, and Halo 2 takes it up a notch with multiple elevator based missions, some even travelling vertically and horizontally. My friend and i referred to those as "Hellevators"

[@f1r3hunt3rz5]

You mean Halovators?

[@ap1evideogame44]

Speaking of hellevators, that's definitely a term in Terraria. You just dig down until you have reached the depths of hell itself, then you can fall down there whenever you please!

[@moon_girl1047]

Aw man, I loved those elevators too! They used to annoy me because I played co-op with my brother and he would always do friendly fire on the elevators. Looking back tho, it would have been a great place to think back on everything you’ve been doing.

[@dragonusmolamola4140]

@@ap1evideogame44 terraria terms are so fun

[@CadgerChristmasLightShow]

I can't believe you didn't mention the elevator in 343 guilty spark, I think it's one of the first ones in the first halo game. I will never forget all the buildup going underground in that alien facility to investigate what happened to all the marines that died there previously, and at some point going down the elevator the music swells as you start to see bright blue covenant guts splattered on the walls of the elevator shaft. Super unsettling and so well done. Then when you go down it again later in the level, the little popcorn flood are spilling onto the elevator platform from the edges of the shaft and start attacking you.

[@clarence5211]

the horror section reminded me that there’s also an elevator in amnesia: the dark descent. i think it’s an interesting one bc you have to fix up the elevator yourself even though it’s only gonna take you towards more horrors in the bowels of the castle. it truly feels like a point of no return to me. you have to fix something that’s gonna take you to a place from where you might never see daylight again

[@jaydenlobbe7911]

A lot of what adds to the horror of that Elevator is how safe you feel right after escaping the Water Monster, you know that you need to repair the Elevator to continue but you initially don’t want to leave this safe place behind, but then as you progress towards repairing the Elevator the Shadow slowly invades your safe place and when you finish repairing the Elevator it’s overtaken the area completely, and you’re left with no choice but to make a mad dash to the Elevator as the Shadow closes in on you But the horror doesn’t end there, once you’re on the Elevator there really is no going back, as it descends it suddenly stops and plummets all the way down to the Dungeon, stranding you down there

[@clarence5211]

@@jaydenlobbe7911 yess exactly! the ‘breather’ you get in the back hall with all the machine room puzzle stuff does a lot to build up dread, progressing until you have no choice to head into danger again. then it’s the beginning of the end…

[@gamingcookiereal]

i do love the awkward elevator in oneshot "I'm stuck in an elevator with the messiah and also literally god themself this is awkward" is such a banger line

[@AmyIssen]

I'm so glad you mentioned the Undertale elevator, because it was the first scene that popped in my head early in the video. What an unsettling, well-placed little moment. Weirdly one of my favorite parts of the game.

[@MrLevtastic]

The first two elevators you take in Prey 2017 are among my favourites - the first time you take them, they're absolutely nothing special, completely forgettable, they get you from A to B like any other game elevator... But then you encounter them a second time and they give you a moment of realisation that I absolutely loved - blew my mind in the most fun way, and is a fun meta commentary on how video game elevators often actually work, and is probably why the only other elevator in that game is carefully designed not to be a loading screen, and to clearly actually work like a real life one

[@theantgre]

There's also that elevator scene from God Of War 2018 where you're seriously concerned for Atreus's health and Kratos just stares silently, the game gets suddenly quiet, Kratos doesn't move or say anything because there's nothing to do, you're just supposed to wait for the elevator to arrive but... it's so eerie Other games would just get you to skip that part but here it's deliberate.

[@sarcasm-83]

That's actually a really good example of a good elevator moment. :) Definitely agreed! (I mean... a "bad moment" but... "good" as elevator-as-a-part-of-narrative moment.)

[@TechnicJelle]

Doesn't Kratos nervously and impatiently pace around?

[@alexanderhahn4398]

'Daryl Talks Elevators' was not a topic I'd expected, but it was an excellent one nonetheless. Some elevators which come to mind from me come from the Xenosaga games, which had a whole mess of gigantic, often diagonal-moving platform elevators which both served as battle locations and as reminders of the sheer scale of the places you were exploring.

[@FFmax33]

Oneshot has a short elevator segment but it has some fan favorite parts, such as one of the most creative puzzles, an amazing character who brute forces the code if you afk for a while, and an awkward ride.

[@sharonzhong]

Funnily enough, the reason why most buildings in the west does not have a “13th” floor and in east asia not having the “4th” floor is actually due to marketing. People are less likely to buy or rent a unit with certain unlucky number. To promote buyers and renters to buy or rent these units, the marketing team skipped the number altogether. This also applies to apartment unit number, house number, literally anything that people can buy, that the unit itself is named by a series of number.

[@billydrink]

Interestingly enough I always interpreted the last elevator on UNDERTALE as you ascending towards the city rather than defending. It just made more sense that you fall down a mountain so before the final encounter you make one big assend upwards towards the highest point of that same mountain.

[@bijouh]

I love the elevator ride at the end of the main story of PMD2. The swirling revelation that your character will die at the end of your battle with Dialga on the way up as well as your partner reeling from your death on the way down is done so well. *chef's kiss*

[@TechieindahHood]

Had me bawling when it happened ngl

[@AggroNoobs]

Half-life and Prey are by far two of the most memorable elevator experiences in games for me next to the now infamous Siofra River elevator.

[@plugshirt1762]

Infamous means something is famous for being bad. Personally infamous sounds way cooler than famous so it really makes me sad that they don’t mean the same thing

[@lilblop2656]

I'm going to cry. I'm absolutely terrified of horror and when the video got to the horror topic, the part where u said u press a sequence of buttons and a woman appears,I was going to skip that bit but the electricity went out in my area, my tv turned off and it went pitch black and I couldn't even find my phone to have some light!! My heart...TT

[@Darkdragon902.]

The feeling of discovery from the Elden Ring elevator is surprisingly similar to the feeling of dropping down into the Depths in Zelda TotK. Just that thought of “holy shit, there’s so much more here than I thought.”

[@sanachanto]

This was my thought exactly! The only other example I could think of.

[@babanioan9899]

THIS is why i love daryl, only he could make me watch a 30-minute video about elevators and make me feel like it wasn't enough. Really happy to see the backlog is going well. Hope your 2023 is good as well on every(or most) plans

[@krysc96]

The elevator down to the final boss in RE2 remake was always so serene yet foreboding. It gives me shivers every playthrough

[@Eryph]

Have you played The Beginner's Guide? Hearing you talk about elevators and "the space in between" makes me think of the space between the doors in that game. It isn't an elevator, but the significance of it feels very similar. It's also a game that asks a lot about what we get out of games and the human element of video games. I feel like you might enjoy its philosophical nature.

[@calistusjay60]

VOUCH

[@kjellvb1979]

Johnathan Frakes did "Beyond Belief: fact or fiction", and it was Robert Stack who did, originally at least, "Unsolved Mysteries", just to let you know. Both are awesome actors though.

[@KXC42069]

You forgot the funny and iconic first elevator cutscene in Doom 2016 - it does so MUCH to establish the tone of the whole game!

[@Kisher02]

Wow dang, if anything this video has shown me that once again I gotta get around to playing Elden Ring, it looks so beautiful... Gotta love elevators, great video as always, Daryl! Really gonna make me do a double take whenever I'll see one in a game now.

[@DarylTalksGames]

Oh you absolutely should man, it’s well worth your time 👌🏼

[@AmazingOwnage]

The ladder climb in MGS3, while not an elevator, gives me major elevator vibes hahaha The elevator in the intro to Bioshock is super memorable. Also, the Nier Automata elevator fight at the end of the game was super creative and enjoyable.

[@purrspctiv]

Outlast’s elevators are pretty interesting, I think. One of them leads you directly into being captured, possibly the most memorable moment of the entire game. One leads you into the ending of the capture sequence, killing your captor the same way you were introduced to him. But the real star of the show is the final elevator. A very climactic moment happens and you are given the key to escape. You enter the elevator and go down. It stops on the ground floor. You’re alone, and you can see the exit, an extremely important and memorable area from the start of the game. But the doors aren’t opening. You slowly realize it isn’t over. And then… it starts moving again, going down; below the ground floor. Far, far below the ground floor. You quickly realize that you’re deeper in something than you could possibly imagine. And you’re not going back. You step out of the elevator and it closes its doors, going back up the seemingly endless shaft. And when you walk through the doors right in front of the elevator, you’re greeted with an area completely unlike anything else you’ve seen so far in the game. A brilliantly ushered-in tone shift. Outlast 2 has a similar elevator, going deep into the mine before falling and getting trapped. But the first game’s use of elevators really shines the most.

[@morkgin2459]

Yes outlast 1 elevator

[@novaprimesguidetothemultiv7091]

I personally love the claustrophobic nature of sister location's elevator. But then again....... exotic butters

[@kyoukisatori4988]

Speaking of Elevator dialogue that reminds me of the dialogue with the Elevator before a major fight in Fate/Extra. You can learn alot about who you're fighting, their servant, sometimes your own (if you don't know anything about them already), and you can also just trash talk who you're fighting.

[@liam4736]

It's such a good feeling to be so immersed in a video game you forget about everything else

[@ganchroi]

Your reaction to the Elden Ring "dungeon" is actually how I felt the first time I discovered the underground Dwemer cities in Skyrim - I actually spent about 30 minutes just walking around and enjoying the scenery, I can't remember if you've done anything on these kinds of places in games (not liminal spaces... more like places of awe?) - it might be a fun one to do, looking at the effect just seeing something so magical can have on people.

[@mariahstanczak2887]

Blackreach is so interesting to me, because there are such visceral and opposite reactions tied to it. Finding Blackreach? Magical. Finding the 20 red nirnroot? Ass. Absolute, unadulterated ass. How could one place so full of wonder so quickly become one of the worst things to happen to a person? What went wrong? I _wanted_ a reason to explore every corner. Then when I got one...? How is that so terrible?

[@frankcl1]

@@mariahstanczak2887 I've seen a lot of people complaining about this quest and it's something I don't understand. Finding the 20 nirnroots isn't hard if you're fully exploring the place (they glow, make noise and are usually in very visible spots). And if you don't want to explore or already have explored in another save file, then you don't need to do the quest anyway as the reward is worthless (a small chance to make more potions for the same amount of ingredients if I remember correctly).

[@plugshirt1762]

The elevator in the Stanley parable always creeped me out. It’s so out of the way that it feels like you’ve wandered into a place you’re not meant to be in and the fact the elevator doesn’t even function adds to this even more so. Something about it always just unnerves me

[@saraceaser]

I'm not sure if this counts as an 'elevator scene' per say, but... the intro of Bioshock Infinite. The loud blaring horns, the whole being strapped down thing, the ominous computerized voice and dark atmosphere, and then you break the clouds and see Columbia for the first time with the light piano notes of Will the Circle Be Unbroken in the background with just a simple 'Hallelujah' from the computer... honestly the first time I played I literally restarted the game just to watch the whole thing again, there's just something so profound about the whole scene, made even moreso after you beat and understood the game. Has to be one of the best intros of any game ever.

[@AshlynnMods]

The most memorable elevator to me is in the intro to Doom 2016. Its such a short moment, but immediately encapsulates everything the Slayer stands for, what his goals are, and how he feels about your supposed guide. On top of all that, it is the most adrenaline pumping intro sequence I can think of. The way the music syncs up with the punping of the shotgun right before you get off the elevator.. ugh. Flawless.

[@Hustler9g]

I felt the portal 2 final elevator out of the labs was enjoyable, the song was a banger and it gave a great sense of scale of the facility.

[@tim000x3]

Your callback to floor 4 does not go unnoticed. Neither does the font. It did take me a second to notice it came after 5 and only realized it when we all of a sudden hit floor six. This is perfection.

[@snoovian7951]

this is my favourite thing about the channel, i never know what to expect but its always something that daryl makes sound incredible

[@YorkJonhson]

Man, I thought you'd really be reaching to be able to make an entire video about game elevators, but this took me through a lot of great memories, and weirdly reminds me of why I've enjoyed video games so much in general. Seeing the way that an experience can be cleverly enhanced in so many different ways by something so seemingly mundane.

[@magiciandice]

There's the Terrible Thing Not To Be Discussed about a certain elevator in Omori, but there's also the scene where you're heading to Mr. Jawsum's office and you think there's elevator music until Aubrey smacks Kel to stop him from whistling. That shit cracks me up.

[@hella_lugosi]

Interesting how Design Doc and Daryl Talks Games referenced the same section from Nier Automata in different contexts just 5 days apart.

[@cookietvON]

Man, i think elevators are so scary because they are a nightmarish mix of claustrophobia and acrophobia (fear of heights), and when people have both of those, well, fuck that's actually me

[@BasilOmoriFan]

It's not exactly an elevator but I love the pod ride in the Citadel in HL2. The view of City 17 as you approach the top showing you just how far you've come and the scale of what needs to be defeated.

[@millermcgraw1]

It's been awhile since the vid came about, but I just wanted to say that I appreciate the captions on the floor 2 intro. Thank you for the wise words, America's Ass.

[@endruv_2287]

Oh! The awesome elevator in Portal Stories Mel that provides a grand tour of old Aperture in its heyday! It even gets redone in Portal Stories VR! I think it has a similar concept to the "drop in the ocean" but a much smaller scale.

[@thefanfinfulo]

I literally still have nightmares about elevators. The ones that I remember most vividly, although, where about not taking the elevator. While going somewhere, the elevator would make me travel to an alternate dimension of some sort, and then stopped working. I would be forced to escape utilizing broken stairs that sometimes conducted to nowhere, with almost no way of rising up again. Only a bottomless pit of marble staircase inside a small yellow painted room. There usually where other people with me, but They quickly begin to disappear, I remember seeing them fall down and never come back, and once they were all gone, I would live some of the most terrifying moments of my life, and then wake up. Sorry for my bad English, I just wanted to share this with you.

[@cottereyre]

One of my favorite elevators comes from Halo: CE, where just after you have met the terrifying Flood for the first time, you take an elevator hoping to return to the surface where things might be safer, but instead the elevator takes you down, deeper into the facility, and as you descend you see alien blood splattered all over the walls of the shaft, indicating that things are about to get very, very bad.

[@AxiamWolfe]

My odd pick for memorable elevators in recent memory is actually the one from Ultimate Chicken Horse. The elevator in the Old Mansion map is thematically dilapidated, a viable alternate path, and a dangerous trap. The first time one player takes the path is the moment all hell breaks loose as Ultimate Chicken Horse do.

[@endruv_2287]

The elevators in SCP Secret Lab are super hype. You may be escaping from a monster but have to wait for the elevator to come to your floor. Misjudge closing the door and you could leave a teammate behind...or trap a monster in with you for several seconds. Super dynamic gameplay with them.

[@mt_xing]

If you think the 4 and 13 floor thing is weird, wait until you see elevators in Hong Kong, which skip both (and because of the British influence all start on G instead of 1), so it counts G 1 2 3 and then 5 6 up to 12 and then skips all the way to 15 (!) because 13 is unlucky in western cultures and 14 has a 4 in it.

[@ZephyrK_]

Every time you upload I'm ecstatic at what weirdly specific and yet absolutely fascinating topic you'll dissect. Pure quality, Daryl.

[@blobofdespair]

When you originally asked this question about favorite gaming elevators, I had to stop and think. I had never given much thought to such a seemingly small gaming element (aside from Stanley Parable). This video was truly brilliant in expanding on something I would have previously considered so niche. It is really outstanding how game devs sneak so much into these transitional pieces. Amazing too how you have latched on and soaked up so much experience from them. Really, really fascinating video.

[@marktoth5741]

My favorite elevator ride in any videogame was in Uncharted 4. Towards the end of the game, Nate and Elena ride an elevator, just before the best moment in the game/series (at least for me). It's not about the beautiful view, it's not about action like moments ago, it's about talking and sorting things out in your marriage after telling lies for weeks to your wife. I think this part is good enough by itself, but the following minutes after it elevates (get it?) the whole situation. After all the serious talk, you just sit back into your car, and drive through the jungle in silence. No words needed. It's just a ride through the jungle, the engine purring and you are listening to 'For better or worse'. The music, that is about marriage, love, reflecting, lies and forgiving. So yeah, my favorite elevator ride in a game is only favorite because of the following setpiece...

[@navolas2]

I think my favorite and most memorable elevator ride is in Metroid Fusion when the SA-X is revealed. If you've played the games before you're used to the camera tracking Samus as she descends down the elevator and if you haven't it does the same as Dead Space and gives a sense of dread on the elevator.

[@magmaticatlas]

So glad to see someone talk about SOMA's elevator scene because it's truly one of the highlights of the entire game. Hard to say too much beyond what was covered in the video without spoilers, though. I especially love how after you reach that ocean floor it really makes you feel that "pressure". Even the outdoor sections are now far more claustrophobic due to lack of light, and the pressure-resistant interior spaces have even tighter corridors than what came before.