For Everyone That Says I Hate Video Games | Extra Punctuation

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This week on Extra Punctuation, Yahtzee has a response for everyone that says he hates video games.
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[@Illumas]

I really don't understand how people think you can't be critical of something even if you love it.

[@joevenespineli6389]

Yep, even if I disagree on a number of Yahtzee's takes (like his stance on stategy games), I'm still a huge fan.

[@falloutfreek1992]

@@joevenespineli6389 Specifically real-time strategy

[@Mecha_mage]

Right? My brother doesn't understand it or my dad.

[@ArtIsMySin19]

It really is frustrating and stupid. It's like the same type of people who would rather just give up or throw away something without trying to salvage it. News flash to those people nothing is perfect and being critical helps it grow and learn. Rationality is something lacking these days not everything is strictly black and white.

[@thenobleoak]

Fucking bingo! I love Star Wars, I love the prequels, and I can objectively recognize the shortcomings of the prequels. All of these things can be true at once.

[@akmal94ibrahim]

"You don't have high standards for something that you hate" Absolute gem of a quote right here. The more you enjoy something, the more you want a better version of it.

[@nickg131]

I dunno, I hate most of the customers I deal with, and still want them to be better.

[@temp0theman830]

That's why I hate almost every f1 race

[@ViolosD2I]

Then again you can justify a lot of things by claiming to just have high standards. ;)

[@BravoDox]

@@nickg131 Sure but you don't have HIGH standards for customers. "If they're obnoxious then keep them the fuck away from me" is not a high standard. It's actually considered "bare minimum".

[@nickg131]

@@BravoDox I know, I was more being facetious/a pedantic asshole lol

[@somestrangecircus5505]

Having a complete list of all the games Yahtzee has reviewed and liked in chronological order is probably very helpful for a number of wikis; that's so nice of him

[@Franku40keks]

There is a steam curator page titled Yahtzee recommends.

[@alphabetagandalf]

not to mention his tendency to publish a transcript for each of his ZP reviews, allowing people to trace the progression of his running gags

[@geroni211]

He did forget at least doom eternal

[@wonzbov]

@@geroni211 Also Katana ZERO

[@shrim1481]

Why does this comedian hate games so much and doesn't give ratings?

[@DarlingDreadful]

The reason I love Yahtzee so much is that he uses pretentious humor without actually being pretentious. Which, way back when, was just called “being sarcastic, witty, and fun”

[@XFGHL78E]

For a second I thought the whole video is going to be 7 and a half minute of him just listing the games he like.

[@theescapist]

That was the original idea I pitched him lol.

[@robertfletcher1871]

@@theescapist That's why Yahtzee is a good critic. He managed to include your suggestion into his word-shanking perfectly.

[@iamdmc]

@@theescapist I'm surprised we didn't get a much longer list!

[@ciontachthecthonicchampion3576]

Would have been better imo

[@Asaski09]

@@robertfletcher1871 'word-shanking', I like that

[@eldibs]

To me, Yahtzee never came across as someone who hates games, but rather someone who is tired of all the shit the games industry tries to pull over and over again. And sometimes I like to watch reviews if I didn't like a game but can't quite figure out how to say what was wrong with it, to see if someone else figured out how to put it in words. That helps me know what to look for so I can avoid other bad games in the future.

[@thestigsdutchcousin]

Exactly this!

[@MilanousMedia]

I'd say Jim Sterling is still the king/queen of that one, with Yahtzee as the close second

[@BinBintheRiceCake]

For every sensible person like you, there's hundreds of people who can't comprehend things but expect the answer to be placed in front of them telling them that's what they want.

[@mackielunkey2205]

A great example of this is the Hi-Fi Rush review. He LOVED Hi-Fi Rush, but also took time to criticize the industry.

[@mrb692]

“Let’s all laugh at an industry that never learns anything tee hee hee”

[@oberhofedavi]

The thing I've always loved about yahtzee is that for the most part of his career he's been consistent and clear in his messaging. I can listen to one of his reviews and generally get a pretty good picture of how I would feel about a game even if it ends up being the opposite of his opinion.

[@OverdramaticAngel]

Agreed.

[@nickg131]

Yeah. Yahtzee is pretty open about the fact that just because he didn't like it doesn't necessarily mean the viewer won't. He has said, probably thousands of times, that's part of why he doesn't give scores. He's criticizing from his own subjective viewpoint, just like every other critic, except Yahtzee doesn't pretend that HIS viewpoint is "the correct one". Just whats valid for him. If other people think the same way, great, makes it easier for that viewer to tell if they'll like a game or not.

[@SBaby]

So in other words, you have no opinion of your own.

[@AzoRevan]

@@SBaby That doesn't make any sense, why would you write that? For example, Yahtzee disliked The Witcher 1, and listed a lot of valid criticisms for the game. But I first bought the game (that I have not heard of before) because of his review, because I knew those were things I liked in games. How can one have no opinion of a game, if one can make a choice of whether or not to get a game that the reviewer ostensibly did not like?

[@SBaby]

@@AzoRevan Because all people seem to do on his channel is parrot him without giving their own opinion. As it is, this is more of a damage control video anyway.

[@12Iloveamy]

There have been many games that I specifically wait for a ZP episode on before I aim my purchasing. Not because I think they're the end all be all of gaming reviews, but because often times, you point out things I don't notice and end up ruining a game for me without knowing beforehand. So thank you for all your hard work honestly

[@eskurian8565]

Completely agree. I do it especially to check for common pitfalls in a game if the trailer / let's play leaves me on the fence.

[@Aristaios]

ive avoided a few stinkers thanks to his reviews

[@kickitsmooth]

“He’s a comedian” reminds me of how everyone says “It’s just satire” whenever Dunkey has an unpopular opinion.

[@superdark336]

reminds me of fans of cruel weirdos being like "He didnt REALLY say that he hates [minority group]! he was just joking!!!!" followed up by explicit hatespeech

[@liamzakhaev]

Or cinemasins, where the crwators themselves alternate between serious and comedian to avoid criticism

[@harbingerdown9877]

​@@superdark336 cope

[@adrianpadin1840]

Except sometimes with Dunkey there are so many layers of sarcasm it's impossible to tell when he's joking or not. Go watch his Metroid Dread review and tell me what you think his honest opinion is.

[@richardvlasek2445]

dunkey is an intellectual void

[@Sadarak1980]

Yahtzee's point about recomend or not recomend is one I have always believed in but I would add something, you want to watch a review on a game? Get to know the person reviewing it first, you know them well you will be able to take what you need from the review regardless of score or no score.

[@MissPoplarLeaf]

Yeah the point of a review is not just to blindly believe everything the review says. The point is to take the arguments with a grain of salt, and use your knowledge of the reviewer's tastes to get a general sense of whether the game/movie/book etc will line up with your own preferences.

[@mattw99280]

This reminds me of Dunkey’s bit on Armond White. He hates everything good and loves everything bad, so when you read his review you know to trust the exact opposite of whatever he said

[@TheLordDracula]

For sure. You make a great point. I don't come to Yahtzee on whether or not I should play the game. I come for the comedy. I have other reviewers I go to for actual breakdown of the game parts, like ACG who breaks down the visuals, audio, gameplay and fun and let's you decide if the pros outweigh the cons that were described. Even 3MRs are a better at giving you an idea if the game is something you want to invest in over Yahtzee. But Yahtzee has the really funny takes and as long as you're ok laughing at a game you like it's great entertainment.

[@Edagui97]

​@@mattw99280 Or when it comes to Dunkey himself (and Yahtzee for that matter), when they say they like a JRPG it really means a lot coming from them.

[@Sadarak1980]

Yeah I was also thinking about dunkys comment on Persona 5 when I typed it actually. This is also why soulness mass produced reviews can be very misleading unless your familiar with the reviewer themselves. Any review that tries to take an 'impartial' look at a game is kind of missing the point.

[@BiodegradableYTP]

5:08 my personal favourite Ebert quip (I don't remember the specific review) is something akin to, "To call the film 'cardboard' would be an insult to useful packaging material."

[@Renegade-re4vs]

Dear Yahtzee, Upon learning in this very video that you read the comments, I want to say that I find you are easier to understand as a critic than any other critic I've ever seen. I only discovered you recently, as in late 2022, and immediately went all the way back to your 2007 Zero Punctuation compilation. You don't mince your words, you share my opinion on how games have changed over the years, and I only wish I could say more about what an impact you've had, but I only have 500 characters to express an ideal that I doubt you'll ever read, so I suppose what I want to say is thank you for your work. You have reignited my interest in video games.

[@noahkeeffe9667]

I come to Zero Punctuation because Yahtzee honestly has a much more advanced perspective on the industry as a whole and exactly because he's so critical. I don't always agree with him on everything but he is always fantastic for getting a second opinion on a game

[@foldionepapyrus3441]

Indeed, I would choose to take Yahtzee's ZP over most anybody else's suggestion or review of a game - He actually mentions the bits that annoy him, all the bits that scream cut corners/budgets, the amount of mind alternating substances required to comprehend/come up with this silliness. Which is something far to many reviews just won't do only praising the good bits and all the 'next-gen graphics' type buzzword stuff. And as he has been so consistent in his reviewing quality for so long the translation factor between what I like and he likes I understand.

[@wasneeplus]

Quite honestly: the reason I started watching ZP 15 years ago was because yahtzee felt very relatable. Here was a snobby gamer bitching on KZbin about how everyone had it wrong. As an edgy teenager with an equally snobby taste that really spoke to me. I stayed for the knob gags, though.

[@Hotshot2k4]

I mostly come here for the humor and to get his perspective. I don't think there's been a single time I bought or chose not to buy a game because of one of his videos, because I think he and I have different tastes and priorities, but for me it's interesting to hear what he thinks of the games coming out and comparing that to the other internet voices. Usually I'll rewatch an older review if I waited to buy a game on sale and ended up really enjoying it, and it's interesting to hear his thoughts on it vs the ones I have. Not because I'm looking for validation, but because I know he's not going to jerk popular games off just to fit in, and I can trust him to be honest about what he thought of them.

[@manderic5436]

On that last point, it was Yahtzee's takedowns of MMOs that got me to quit WoW. My parents pointing out the sheer amount of time wasted didn't do that. Yahtzee pointing out that at a certain point 'fun' wasn't keeping me so much as misplaced investment did.

[@BlakLite15]

Matt’s gotten rather good at invoking Yahtzee’s particular style of visual humor, from the looks of things. Edit: Matt edited the video, not Nick. Sorry about that.

[@theescapist]

Credit goes to Matt on that, he’s the video editor!

[@MattKupka]

@@theescapist Excellent work, Matt!

[@BlakLite15]

@@theescapist Whoops, sorry about that. Fixed it. Don't want to deny credit where it's due.

[@segapig]

Too bad Matt's a comedian and not an editor :(

[@mozxz]

This is the "relaxed" version of his "Mail Box Showdown " he made many years ago, which still is, freaking hilarious.

[@manavsridharan3811]

I'm not kidding when I say I would have loved for this video to just end at the 55 second mark, just as a 'fuck you' to the detractors

[@TheDavidjakeson]

Yes, I was really hoping it would just be Yahtzee yelling a list of all the games he likes.

[@LOEKASH]

I was thinking the same thing

[@appelofdoom8211]

He should've made that the first video and then the next day post the full video

[@dirkmurvick913]

This reads like a comment on a DSP video.

[@michaelgrey1503]

​​@@appelofdoom8211 it should have been an April Fools video.

[@f.7506]

The funniest part is that the list of games Yahtzee displayed in the first minute of the video was, without a doubt, a extremely mixed list of genres and different gameplay styles. The people that tell Yahtzee "you don't like videogames" just means "you don't like the videogames I like" and those games are probably different variations of call of duty

[@Ch4pp13]

"How dare you not like Far Cry 3-but-with-magic or Far Cry 3-but-in-space or Far Cry 3-but-with-melee-combat or Far Cry 3-but-with..." and so on and so forth...

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

I'm sorry but I have to add this because it's really funny, one of the games he listed as one he loved was quite literally an evolution of the core Call of Duty design philosophy made by the very people who created Call of Duty in the first place

[@anansi9291]

@@Ch4pp13Unpopular opinion: Far Cry 1 is my only favourite Far Cry game, despite it being quite messy and buggy at times. I watched walkthroughs of other instalments and this is how I felt about them: FC2: You are hit with Turbo Maleri, too weak to point a gun at your target but magically cured by the hotel fire until you escape it. And later you faff about the snooze town until credits. FC3: You are untrained, naive first world tourist that got kidnapped by a local gang. You escape, while digging bullets out of your flesh without a squeak and healing broken legs by cracking your knuckles. You also have tattoos that help you fight better. FC4: You are a nobody who was captured by a local psychotic crime lord. You escape, find the first dead deer you come across and immediately harvest its heart, so you can later summon wild animals who will jump directly into an active combat zone to presumably retrieve it. FC5/FC6: Did not even bother. What blows my mind is that FC1 feels more “down to Earth” for me despite the fact that everyone is being turned into lizards there…

[@prointernetuser]

​@@VeraTheTabbynx a good game is a good game. And Titanfall 2 is a damn fine game.

[@VeraTheTabbynx]

@@prointernetuser It most certainly is. The FPS that taught me FPSs could be fun and that I could enjoy them

[@YMS]

Same.

[@iitsCarml]

Fine list them then

[@erakfishfishfish]

It’s apropos that you mention Ebert, then go on to how one becomes a critic. That’s literally how he became a film critic: his paper needed one. He never studied film before that, but lo and behold, he came to truly understand film just by watching every movie that came out each year.

[@BlackHatMatt]

I'm so glad you mentioned Anton Ego, because from the very first sentence that quote of not liking food but LOVING IT was in my brain.

[@awareqwx]

Same, it was the first thing I thought of when I saw the video title

[@espio87]

Glad to see that more people thought the same as I did. Sadly, Yahtzee can't sound like Peter O'Toole.

[@swovy5]

That's one thing that annoys me about certain fandoms... that just because you're a fan of something, you're not allowed to criticize any of it; you have to unequivocally love all of it and everything about it. Otherwise you're a "hater". Criticizing things and bringing attention to flaws is what improves things in the long run. You can't get better if you're not acknowledging your faults.

[@myyoutubeaccount4167]

Agreed. And another thing that annoys me is when criticism gets the response “where is your game/(insert something applicable here)?”. Because, using that logic, shouldn’t we all NOT have opinions unless we’re creators of the content we consume ourselves?

[@Tuss36]

You are correct, but often things swing too far the other way and you visit a forum and it's *only* people complaining about stuff. I suppose it might be a difference in environment. If you have a centralized place like a forum, you'll get a suite of complainers and if you bring up something positive folks will reply going "Yeah it's good but it'd be better if this bad thing we complain about was changed", like they can't go one thread without talking about it. Meanwhile if you're on Twitter or something less centralized you can get a lot of vitriol from fans when you say something's bad, even if what you initially said was the most mild of comments.

[@davidmurphy7332]

I think being a "fan" in a cultural sense is an act of self-harm. To swear allegiance to a franchise, IP, or whatever has no personal benefit and basically makes one a mark for corporations to exploit said allegiance. It also makes you say dumb things on the internet and beyond to justify suppressing the disappointment that eats away at your self-worth

[@zackakai5173]

Come to think of it, that's basically the same line of thinking nationalists apply to their country. The "I'll blindly worship my country regardless of what it does" crowd always acts like people pointing out the flaws in their country hate their country. When in reality, the reason (most of the time anyway) we do so is because we want said country to do better, and the first step toward fixing a problem is acknowledging that the problem exists. You don't raise a well-adjusted adult by always letting them get away with bad behavior as a child.

[@TomBombadil515]

Binary criticism is there just to provide catharsis and validation to one side while diluting any nuance to the piece they’re criticizing, which is ironic given that’s the main draw of their position as a critic. If I wanted to hear someone do nothing but shower praise or loathing on a movie/game, etc., I’ll hear it from my friends first.

[@mandownunder5211]

I've never got the impression that Yahtezee *hates* games - though I will say that in his early days he was a lot more "accentuate the negative, super hyper critical youtube shouty man" than he is now

[@countarchvile]

Young Yahtzee was a lot shoutier now I think about it.

[@embody_1337]

"you are watching my videos wrong" That one got me good xD

[@rizdew2749]

Honestly God bless Nick for moderating the comments on all escapist stuff.

[@jordanj809]

So this guy is editor-in-chief and cameraman for their live shows and moderator for Escapist forums? Let it never be said he doesn't pull his weight around here

[@EllieBerryPie]

Honestly Nick kinda saved the escapist. It felt really weir going there for a while

[@Gearmond]

Surprised it took this long for Yahtzee to spoonfeed haters a definition of the relationship between critic/art/viewer that every other medium understands, but then again this is video game fans

[@Canadamus_Prime]

Are you SURE every other medium understands this?

[@EHyde-ir9gb]

A point he made in the video cleared up a question I've had for a while, that being "How is it that people get so hung up on the opinions of a critic." And I think it's because, like Yahtzee said, most of such people are from a more casual audience, and given that, it's likely they have, like, yknow, lives and shit outside the internet. They just aren't that deep into such things and as such don't know the general relationship regarding art critics and their audience, that audiences to people like Yahtzee are here for insightful takes they may have missed and dick jokes while people who frequently watch gamranx are mostly in it for a buyers guide, which theres nothing wrong with

[@Canadamus_Prime]

@E. Hyde I'm inclined to think its those that DON'T have lives outside the internet that fail to understand that relationship. Those that define their entire sense of self by the things they like.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

@@Canadamus_Prime Yep. You can have on this very channel Darren drop a complex, insightful critique of a single aspect of a film or show with a throwaway comment about another thing, and all of the former to be completely ignored by weirdos demanding to relitigate the latter because it wasn't validating their enjoyment of things.

[@blushingralseiuwu2222]

Some people just want to watch reviews to affirm what great decision they took to buy this piece of shit product.

[@nathanraymond7781]

Over the last 20 years I've seen a real increase in people implicitly/explicitly expect/demand that media align with their pre-existing thinking. This increase has tracked with the rise of social media. I think social media companies and their algorithms feeding people "what they want" in order to mindlessly increase engagement and platform "stickiness" has coddled peoples egos too much. Many people now have a hard time coping with anything that doesn't stroke their ego in some way. Social media platforms don't inspire self-reflection or personal growth in people unless the user consciously fights what those platform algorithms are trying to do, so for a lot of people today, when they are confronted by media which triggers self-reflection or challenges their pre-existing thinking in some way they quickly get uncomfortable and look for ways to blame that piece of media for being poor quality or lacking in authority so they can more easily dismiss it and go back to wrapping themselves in the warm self-affirming blanket of their "personal feeds". And lastly - thank you Yahtzee for never coddling us.

[@abcdefzhij]

Excellent comment

[@dangittens41]

One of the things I like about Yahtzee is the slightly haunted Tom Baker-ish quality of his voice. That, and he's very good at reviewing video games.

[@Tyler-gg6xt]

"Your watching my review wrong." Is now officially my new favorite quote.

[@MediaMunkee]

Very Twisp & Catsby of him.

[@TS6815]

Yahtz made the passing reference to Roger Ebert and I really sincerely hope he realizes that "the Roger Ebert of video games" remains a credible summary of his legacy thus far

[@davidrobichaux9073]

I hope Yhatzee sees this comment because it's true. I've been watching his videos for so long and with such frequency that I'm not even sure when I started, only that it was around a decade ago. He blows anyone reviewing current games out of the water, from both "games as art" and "effective humor" standpointd

[@abramwalker882]

It's crazy how Ebert casually wrote off video games as not being true forms of art.

[@TS6815]

Slightly topical because with all of the discourse around HBO TLoU, I'd be curious to know if Ebert would be among the insufferable "why didn't you tell us about this" stroke "based on watching one video game adaptation and playing zero video games, I'm able to declare this the best adaptation of all time and the best video game story of all time" crowd or if he'd own up to his miss

[@sternenfresser]

"He's not a real critic, he's a comedian." That's like saying Bruce Lee is not a martial artist because he's an actor. Incredibly small brained way of thinking.

[@J-Ndre]

Nobody else can describe games as colorful as you do it, and that without even showing a single second of game play. Never change.

[@Balsiefen]

2:55 Now I really want an animation of Lucas Pope scuttling in controlled by a hair rat, to serve a cynical, stone-faced Yahtzee a platter of perfect retro indie game.

[@VeritabIlIti]

Was very surprised that Return of the Obra Dinn didn't show up on the list!

[@Memory169]

@@VeritabIlIti It did though

[@VeritabIlIti]

@@Memory169 must've missed it. I saw papers please for sure

[@Surkai25]

Amazing how something like this has to be clarified. If you have a place where folks can say whatever they want, with ZERO consequences to their actual life or physical being, course they're gonna say the absolute stupidest, thoughtless shit imaginable.

[@ArtIsMySin19]

It's really pathetic but a majority of people can't help but to view things in two minds. I really don't care whether someone likes something I don't as long as they don't try to force it onto me and disrespect my right to disagree. Anyone who says they want freedom of speech but in reality means "anyone who agrees with me can speak" can fuck right on off

[@BrenoPonce]

Some may say with Zero Punctuation

[@Revan_002]

Is that just the way of things or is it possible for them to change their behaviour? I think that would be nice, if it was possible to work towards that

[@blindey]

@@Revan_002 I think it's possible, with an insular group of people that all have the same standards and values and stuff. Maybe if it's 50 people and they all get to know each other. etc.

[@sand_eater69]

The Internet is a real life Ring of Gyges

[@MicoSelva]

Good video. I will admit it took me a while not to take criticism of my favourite things as a personal attack on me, my taste and life decisions, but I eventually got there. Same with being able to enjoy something despite the full awareness of its flaws.

[@conor-smith572]

It's illogical, isn't it? I know that I like Warhammer 40k and that some people don't and that logically, that's fine. Yet, when yahtzee riffs on it, it feels a bit personal somehow. Human brains are weird.

[@joganesha4151]

@@conor-smith572 Human brains are weird indeed. In the High on Life review, a lot of people felt a bit weird when Yahtzee was okay with the humor but that's when I personally got invested with the video. I have played the game in it's entirety but never vibed with the humor. Yahtzee just so happens to be the one who gets the humor, so I was fascinated even more simply because I genuinely wanna know how he sees it. Fascinating indeed

[@thetruemandalorian2637]

I hope Yahtzee reads these comments and feels better knowing that there are fans who understand and love his character from ZP, and also respect he is, you know, a person.

[@RedUmbre]

The 'cognitive dissonance is what's actually bothering you' point has gotta be some of the smartest shit I've ever heard. that applies to so much

[@CidSilverWing]

Because we live in a world where cognitive dissonance is being inflicted upon people by brainwashing them into being unable to think for themselves.

[@AdamFunk]

Yeah, I think you'll find it applies to most things in the world. Most of the friction always seems to come between the incompatibility of two models (the presented model and the believed model), and we have a hard time reforming our personality and stances -- it involves being really vulnerable -- to figure out where the truth lies, what we believe, and if our models need updating. A lot of people just sort of...tap out, as it were, when presented with that problem.

[@AlteredNova04]

Seriously, someone who is confident in their own opinion wouldn't give a crap if someone disagreed with them about something. The only reason to get upset at a critic is if you are insecure and desperate for validation.

[@rachaelnaevaoxley4506]

Encounter it a lot wrt hate at vegans.

[@OverdramaticAngel]

​@@AlteredNova04 What type of games I like and enjoy (at least back when I was able to play- being disabled got in the way of that and most games aren't very accessible yet) and the type Yahtzee does are completely different yet I've never been bothered by that fact at all. I tried games I never thought I would because I thought he had an interesting point- some I liked, some I didn't. I was never bothered he didn't like the same games I do or was critical of them- he does make good points on a lot of it a d half the time that's why I find them hysterical- but I never liked those games any less. Even though I can't really play video games anymore, I continue to watch ZP and probably always will, despite being envious about not being able to play, because he's fucking funny on top of everything else.

[@Grymbaldknight]

I don't always agree with Yahtzee, but damn do i respect him.

[@EtsuMatsuya]

3:48, "Meh-sterpiece", brilliant. I am going to take that and probably not remember who said it.

[@UnreasonableOpinions]

I have exactly this feeling about the genres, styles, and stories I care about the most. The things I love are the things I hold to the highest standards because I KNOW how good they can truly be, and my disappointment with a failing of potential is particularly heightened. I can tolerate a good-enough filler episode, film, or game of a style I enjoy a bit when I want a brain-off filler time, but if it came out in the exact centre of my personal Venn diagram I'd be hurt.

[@Adamgoat57]

The rattatouille food critic comparison is fantastic. Keep up the good fight yahtzee

[@McBeelzebub]

“If Yahtzee doesn’t love a game, he DOESN’T SWALLOW!”

[@utisti4976]

"I don't _like_ the game, I _love it._ And if I don't _love it,_ I don't _swallow."_

[@bernardoheusi6146]

That sounds like bad hentai

[@Terumi.K]

I've always considered you to just be critical about video games that's pretty much it, and I've always LOVED that you never gave video games a generic rating you just pointed out the merits of a game and the negative and left it at that so that WE could DECIDE whether the game is worth getting based on the way you structure your reviews. I always come for your reviews because they are to the point and they tell me exactly what I'm getting into and I love hearing your take on games its very refreshing.

[@clydeanthony894]

there is also the fact that dry british humor is either an acquired taste for non british people or the golden standard of witticism for british folks I personally love it and I find that my inner monologue has begun to sound a lot like yatz whether thats a good or bad thing has yet to be determined

[@Old_Man_Writer]

I won't lie, I was really hoping this was just going to be seven minutes of Yahtzee listing every game he's ever liked

[@maxresdefault_]

Extra Punctuation, to me, is evidence that Ben is one of the most thoughtful media critics of our time

[@gunknightben1829]

Thanks man

[@sdoijhadaoskdjfasokd]

He might be, but his criticism videos are glued to a schticky format that doesn't allow for good video game reviews. Ben's opinion is so trustworthy, but his videos are trash. Ben needs to quit and join RedLetterMedia; now there's some people who know how to transition from gimmick to quality

[@bluemooninthedaylight8073]

I think ZP's rise during the era of the loud and jokey youtube "critic" has led to ZP being unfairly lumped in with them. Jokes are part and parcel for ZP but hardly the only thing that ZP has to offer.

[@WavePiggy]

A couple of years ago now I did my dissertation on whether comic presentation undermines political or philosophical discourse, with Hitchhiker's Guide and Lucian's True Story as my selected texts. I really wish you'd released this video while I was writing that because this summed up my ideas quite nicely.

[@KooblayKhan]

That was awesome! I have never thought about the distinction between reviewing for function, vs art, and how video games are both. I was under the impression that the reason your reviews tended to lean more "snarky" was because that's what you liked doing, and that is also what the viewers liked. You'd switch it up if there was a disagreement there, or the stuff would stop getting the viewage. I really appreciate how you presented everything, and you gave me some great stuff to think about!

[@ClassyJackBF]

I love Yahtzee's critiques and I never thought they were unfair. I also realize I can still love games he hates and hate games he loves because we're different people and have different tastes.

[@AuroDHikoshi]

Mario movie getting middle reviews on rotten tomatoes... so we should assume its middle of the road and not worth throwing love at all because a few says it's so

[@aro2866]

@@AuroDHikoshi Are you afraid of having your own opinion?

[@EliseT_1012]

I adore Yahtzee, and I love this EP! Obviously, he’s a critic AND a comedian. He knows his stuff about game development, AND he’s a clever writer (with vast experience in both outside of ZP!). In my opinion, it’s this combo that makes him the best critic out there. You’re always getting a high quality opinion you can respect (even if you disagree with it) and a barrel full of laughs.

[@letfireraindown]

Absolutely! I've certainly agreed with his opinion in a lot of broad spectrums, but I've never been great with horror. I can like the art and symbolism expressed in such, but if I'm the one playing my mind is in a survival mode and I'm not in the place understand further. I like the his takes can open areas I'm otherwise not interested in.

[@EvaIowaCubsFan]

"You don't have high standards for something that you hate." There's another large group of people this applies to and it's called professional wrestling fans. They could learn a lesson or three from Yahtzee

[@PsianGG]

I have been watching Zero Punctuation since 2010, when it was still on The Escapist website, and it just occurred to me that my minimum criteria for actually considering buying a game has been "Wow, Yahtzee actually said 1 nice thing about that game!" Thank you for having such high standards for video games, without which I would have bought way too many crappy video games than I needed to.

[@geraldvogelsang9556]

The fact that Yahtzee's made 13 top 5 game of the year lists. Means there's already 65 games he unambiguously likes.

[@mistermister4525]

The fact that Yahtzee likes Persona 4 AND Persona 5 gives me the type of serotonin that I can live off of for the next week

[@SapphireDragon357]

I was waiting for him to say Undertale, and while it wasn't in the list, it was in the "and all the others" so I'll take it I guess. :P

[@enzolabre6295]

@@SapphireDragon357 Well, if you want to hear him praise undertale, he did give it his Number 1 spot in the good games in the year it was released.

[@jamiecooper14]

I think I always knew deep down there was a Persona fan in there.

[@kirant]

It's still so much fun reliving that adventure: - Yahtzee reviews Persona 5 because of fan prodding, and magically loves it despite mostly hating anime and JRPGs. - It ends up being a JRPG on his top 5 games of that year. - He then gets bothered by fans to play Persona 4. - He calls it Persona 5 minus 1, but later keeps playing it and puts it on his list of his games to play when he's wasting time and wants to shut off his brain. - His bias steamroller causes him to love Persona 5 Strikers - Then he just says Chie is his waifu

[@sportsjefe]

@@SapphireDragon357 He didn't say it but he showed it at 0:54.

[@zilchthegrate63]

you know, this video made me realize something important. I don't hate video games, I too have high standards. I don't play video games to escape from the world, I play them because I want to have fun and enjoy myself playing them. This would explain why Hi-Fi Rush is now my favorite game, which previously was Titanfall 2, when it came out. Thank you Penis Man, keep up the good job :)

[@drewforchic9083]

I think a large part of the problem is that many people think that you can/should "objectively" measure art, and will go on forever about "objectively bad writing." They're don't even think that art is subjective, and therefor think that the disagreements about quality means that one of the parties is wrong and must be proven so.

[@ShadowedAgony]

It is amazing how even after seeing what Yahtzee looks like several times, I still can only associste him with his ZP avatar

[@FrozenSocks231]

2 Assassin's Creeds made it into his "list". Ubisoft should be proud

[@E1craZ4life]

But those came out before he started making bland lists for the year.

[@stevenchoza6391]

@@E1craZ4life Black Flag was before that.

[@TheBfutgreg]

Plus Far Cry 3

[@jakiedark]

don't forget Sands of time.

[@aerrae5608]

I love 2 but don't like 4 personally. I love 4 as a pirate game, as an AC? Carries over everything I hated from 3 and dumbs it down even worse. Crappy parkour, further simplified combat with less options, same awful instant fail lengthy stealth segments with AI that is better than 3 but not good enough to be reasonably predictable. I always quit replays of 4 at the assassin island stealth segment, and I quit replays of 3 at the ship near the end. Both are just awful awful awful.

[@mrshmuga9]

6:48 A perfect encapsulation of people who say “let me/others have fun!” _Any_ critique can pop their hype bubble they’ve closed themselves in. Simply because they weren’t willing to acknowledge flaws or warning signs early on. The. 6-12 months later when the hype euphoria has worn off, they’ll admit it wasn’t as good as they fooled themselves into believing… only to do it again.

[@MichaelPohoreski]

3:48 I’ve switched my rating for movies/shows from a linear scale into 2 axes: *Fun vs Good.* There are bad movies that fun, there are serious movies that are very good, there are fun & serious, and there ones that are neither fun, nor good.

[@profdracko]

Well, I do feel called out for grinding out those ESO fish. On the other hand the little ding of unlocking the achievement for every zone makes my lizard brain happy and it's the sort of thing you can do while listening to a podcast or a 4+ hour game critic compilation, so it evens out.

[@spartanB0292]

Kinda crazy how many memories Yahtzee listing off his favorite games triggered. ZP has been around so damn long, makes me feel quite old. I've gone through both high school and college watching the videos, and now I'm working.

[@i_marcus_quintus]

It's crazy that ZP started right at the beginning of the 'modern' era of games where I too was just in high school and I'm now a working adult with a family. Seeing all the games pass by, I genuinely have memories associated with those reviews.

[@staomruel]

Whenever I think a critic is too harsh about a mechanic or whatever element in a game, I remind myself I'm not the one that has to play practically every big release on a deadline. If anything, Yahtzee's depth of criticism is a testament of his love for games.

[@grell9296]

To be fair, there are cases where "you were playing it wrong" is valid criticism. You CAN in fact play a game in a way that was unintended and against the expressed directions, and devaluing the game based on said experience would be unfair criticism. I haven't found this to be the case with ZP, but I took issue with Luke Stephens' review of horizon's ammo system when he really just sucked at aiming and didn't fully draw his shots, wasting ammo constantly and not interacting with the many systems the game offers to interact with other than shooting with the bow. I'm not saying I like horizon (having beat both games I can confidently say I don't) but his criticism came off as entirely unfair.

[@Squids_MacKenzie]

The closest ZP video to this that I've seen (and I've seen a large chunk of them over the years) is his review of Halo 3, which it becomes almost immediately obvious he didn't play 1 or 2 and didn't know it's a progressing story. Genuinely frustrating listening to him complain about not understanding anything as if that's the game's fault and not him decided to do the video game equivalent of introducing someone to Lord of the Rings or Star Wars with the final movie in their trilogy.

[@kyleslater5245]

But playing games the way I intend not the way the dev intended is more fun for me… so I’ll call that playing wrong argument meh at best.

[@grell9296]

@@kyleslater5245 Sure that's true, but if you played in a way that made it *less* fun and got frustrated, then that's not the game's fault, it's yours.

[@lax9586]

I've been following Yahtzee for some time and he always gave me the vibes that he loves video games. Only a person who loves a medium can be as critical as he is. I have to admit I do follow him for the speedy roasts but you can tell when he really enjoys a game compared to when he really hates them.

[@robertfletcher1871]

He's kind of like the Gordon Ramsey of video games, huh?

[@EllieBerryPie]

As someone who has consistently watched ZP from the age of 17 and is now 30, it's interesting to see these sentiments so regularly repeated in the comments and when people seem so offended by him disliking a game they like....its always made me wonder if they only have friends who share the same opinions they do on every single game, movie, song etc?

[@LOEKASH]

This is my favorite Extra Punctuation to date. There is something rewarding about someone explaining their way of thinking after expressing his opinions for 16 years. There is so much to learn from it if you want to be a critic yourself.

[@user-yc5lb8fw5r]

@6:03 is so real. Ppl just need to have confidence in themselves and do the thing.

[@NexusSomnia]

Old school ZP fans will recognize the last paragraph of this piece to be a rephrasing of a point he made 15 years ago in the "Mailbag Showdown" video.

[@AuroDHikoshi]

Just sad nothing has changed in 15, its getting worse

[@zackakai5173]

Funny you mention it, I remembered the point he made in that video about not giving games a numerical score before he even mentioned scores in this video. Also Jesus fuck, I've been watching ZP for over fifteen years, or just over half my entire life now 🙃 I remember when there were so few ZP videos that they fit on one page on the Escapist. A friend and I used to watch the new video every week on the computers in the back of my Junior year English class in high school by plugging our wired earbuds (which we carried for our dedicated mp3 players) into the tower directly. And the fact that *that* anecdote is running up on qualifying as "retro" makes me feel very old indeed 🤣 EDIT: rewatching it now, I just remembered that's the video where the line about "you can swear on the internet, your mum probably isn't going to read it" came from. Which is a clapback I've been using online basically ever since that video came out 😂

[@colinedgar6742]

I literally thought of "I don't like video games I love them" and lo and behold it pops up like fifteen seconds later.

[@colinedgar6742]

takes a bite of ratatouille --> flashback to playing fantasy world dizzy

[@the_disco_option]

I've never heard anyone articulate the difference the artistic and functional parts of a video game review so well before

[@deepfriedrobo]

It is funny, just last night I described you to my husband and a "comedian game journalist." I didn't realize that people thought your humor discredited your opinions on games. I feel like, out of all of the video games journalists I follow, you're the only way to can succinctly describe trends of the gaming industry and the strengths of the medium. Hearing you talk about the ghost train rides has totally changed how I view games and what games I will invest my time and money into. I used to watch ZP all the time as a teen, and I am just coming back to your channel as someone in my 30's. I really appreciate your critical perspectives of games! It helps me appreciate the good games all the more.

[@6Xyzzy]

Yahtzee has alienated me less and less every day for the past ten years.

[@Kohaku233]

Thank you for always being yourself, Yahtzee.

[@rayanderson5797]

Hey, we can always take comfort in the fact that the sun will rise, the tides will go in and out, and Yahtzee will be a bitter, sarcastic misanthrope.

[@Hundeputzmunter]

As I once said to a KZbinr who was new to doing reviews: "Don't apologise because someone disagrees with you - we're watching YOU because we're interested in YOUR opinion".

[@trevorhegstrom2816]

Dear Yahtzee, I have been watching your videos for about ten years now. I still enjoy them after all this time. I only play a few video games a year, so I want to make sure that my time is enjoyable when I do that. Thank you for introducing me to Spiritfarer. That was one of the most incredible experiences I've had playing a game.

[@daxitron]

To be fair, Yahtzee alienated me about 3 years ago, but I keep coming back. He's just a funny man who's opinion I can respect, even if I disagree with it.

[@AuroDHikoshi]

He brings proof of why he has those opinions.

[@TheoReddinger]

Any video where Yahtzee sets the record straight and shares a little about himself is an instant classic to me.

[@jordanthomas5635]

If I like a game, I come to ZP to hear it ripped apart for fun. You can love a thing and recognise it's flaws. The shared experience and the humour make me incredibly happy.

[@andrewhall6479]

That whole “fifteen games like it” was honestly something that hadn’t occurred to me. Considering it’s part of the job, I can imagine it would wear on you after a while if, say, you had to play a new Watch Dogs straight off the heels of a new GTA. It probably becomes a bit tiresome, especially of a whole bunch of releases are following the same set of trends.

[@darrin777]

Anyone else wish this was just 7 minutes of Yahtzee saying what games he likes?

[@frog42]

I love that you actually critique the game as opposed to giving it some nonsensical score. Scores can be helpful sure but I like your thoughts on the issues and the fun of the games.

[@theonlytnargmatt]

I think the best way of saying it is it's like whisky tasting, you get into it because you love whisky and so you spend a lot of time tasting it. Now someone who doesn't drink whisky much will be fine drinking the lower quality stuff every now and again, but to you jack Daniels tastes how living in Birmingham feels. This doesn't mean you hate alcohol, just that you know how good it can be an so get annoyed when it isn't. Thanks for coming to alcoholic ted talk guys, I really appreciate it.

[@jobobminer8843]

Why is the game critic the most emotionally mature person on KZbin?

[@samuelreed8888]

you are the only person who's opinion i respect in game journalism

[@realidadficcion9378]

That's kinda sad. Either way you interpret it.

[@2canwin635]

I think that says more about you than video game journalism

[@DinoDave935]

What about the people who only watch you for your voice we exist...

[@eluciumacademy3625]

This makes me nostalgic for 07-08 era Yahtzee responding directly to smash bros hate mail. Great vid as always!

[@Bonovasitch]

Been following Yahtzee for just about his whole career, even remember when he ran a gamer bar (one of the first to explore such a concept in the west) in Australia with his friends and unintentionally created a tongue-in-cheek competition between the creators of InFamous and Prototype when they were both vying for his stamp of approval. Man's done more to organically benefit the medium and the culture that surrounds it than people give him credit for. The fact he's been as consistent with his fundamental "auteur decisions over corporate decisions" and "audience over consumerist principles" for as long as he's been going kinda makes it inspiring.

[@scaper12123]

I tend to fall into the “comes here for the digs and gags about his favorite games” category

[@themarveluniverseonline]

I come here for the humor and the deep, critical analysis of games that lies just below the surface.

[@Darkaos_5]

Honestly I watch his reviews for 3 very specific reasons; 1- He gives broad but direct explanations over what a game is about, which sometimes is more information than the game's marketing summary, so I can make a less blind purchase. 2 - witty summaries of his own experience with the game which is a good baseline for me to judge if I should give it a try broadening my horizons or not. 3 - The best knob jokes I have ever heard to date, from a person I'd unashamedly call daddy for many reasons.

[@SBaby]

This video reminds me of when Spoony did a video reaction when 'Spoony Hates Everything' started trending. I do appreciate how hastily he lists games he 'likes' here. It's like the kid who brings home the worst report card of his life, but points to Phy Ed and says, 'Look, I did good there', while everything else is 'D's and 'F's.

[@guyguy3207]

This is great. Yahtzee is very influential and understanding this is important to understanding his work.

[@pwnedd11]

Wonderful! Man, I have been playing games a lot less than I used to due to having too many different hobbies... but I still tune into you, Yahtzee. And it's because your analysis of games from an art perspective is just simply that valuable to me. It helps me think about the arts in general. And the arts help me think about life, beliefs, and values. So, yeah... for every loudmouth who doesn't get what you're doing, there are those of us who do. You rock! Thank you for everything!!!

[@BitiumRibbon]

I love that this is just a better-articulated version of his post-Brawl Mailbag Showdown.

[@hakageryu-hz7jz]

There's still a surprisingly high amount of people who spend a lot of time playing games who still so narrow minded that they are unable to separate criticism and complete disapproval. I imagine its the same mechanism that makes people physically hurt when wrong. It hurts worse in people who are averse to learning new things and as such typically don't get exposed to much criticism and have gotten used to it and learned to grow from it more than others. They see video games the same way, and as such they are perfect (to them).

[@wires8054]

Personally, I think your opinion is infinitely more value than most. Especially after you started putting up Extra Punctuation. The amount of times you’ve summed up what I’ve been trying to say on games and genres and the state of gaming that I just couldn’t find the words… brilliant work.

[@DMBLaan]

My big question for him was always how he feels when mass public opinion is different from his, like on Dead Space. Not saying he should change his thoughts, just curious what they are in those instances.

[@robertfletcher1871]

I imagine it would be similar to me liking FNAF world. I like it, they don't, and I don't need to explain why I like it to them in excruciating detail, I just need to voice my thoughts in a way those who don't can comprehend. ...I liked the 3d models and the music.

[@gyroc1_]

At least he isn't lying to his audience, like he says.

[@DMBLaan]

@gyroc1 agreed, like I said, I'm just curious

[@SteelKreel]

Being critical of something is a sign that you care

[@AngryEggs231]

"If I'm not in heaven, I don't play past the tutorial." beautiful