Frictional Games Reviewed: From Overture to Rebirth

[@Nickong67]

I don’t think Simon Jarrett at the end of Soma just forgot about the fact that the consciousnesses are just copied instead of transferred, I just think that he believed he would always be “transferred”, leaving a copy behind. Thus he thought that uploading himself to the Ark would mean he gets to go on it and leave a Simon behind. Because in both the past “copyings”, the Simon at the end has by definition won the coin toss twice in a row and has never experienced being left behind, so it’s not unthinkable that he would believe that copying just meant him carrying on in another body. That or the sheer stress and anger of being left behind just got to him and he lashed out, which I find to be a less satisfying explanation.

[@eurothug4000]

Literally just watched the first five seconds and stopped to comment: THIS VIDEO IS ALREADY ICONIC

[@pimscrypt]

YOU ARE WAY TO KIND 💜💜💜

[@Calllamastia]

You're videos are literally so good! I'm glad you gave Machine for Pigs the praise it deserves and I really hope more people see your content, you're seriously underrated

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜 It really is a shame that A Machine for Pigs didn’t come out later, or that we didn’t know better back then. But I’m very happy that the game is finally getting a bit more love nowadays!

[@nope1018]

Giant mouth guy from The Dark Descent is horrifying. If someone saw that walking out of an alleyway they would likely piss themselves. Goofy monsters are much scarier than traditionally menacing monsters, imo. If I see a shambling nightmare turn a corner, it's a lot scarier if I don't know what it's going to do to me.

[@nope1018]

(lovely video btw, I am now a subscriber)

[@pimscrypt]

If I ever faced a creature like that in real life, yeah maybe it would effect me differently. But as an enemy in a video game it's so exaggerated in its visual design that it's the scariest when I don't see it.

[@lunabellsprout]

Ahh, I’m 30 minutes into this and I’m absolutely enraptured...I’ve never played any of these games but there’s nothing I care more about in this moment. Incredible work ♥️

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜 This really means a lot!

[@FpsGamer43]

You know I don't usually watch low subscriber video essayists because their audio quality. I tend to watch these videos in bed after a good meal, falling asleep, focusing entirely on the script. The fact that you got your audio this high quality right out the gate is an instant sub.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! I actually do the exact same thing when I watch Noah Gervais’ videos haha!

[@EbonPhantasma]

The absolute fabulousness of the intro! Amazing video Pim!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you Ebon!! 💜 I was so happy with how the look turned out!

[@Bobthepetferret]

I've always been kinda curious about Frictional's games but can't play them as Amnesia: Dark Descent was the only game to ever give me panic attacks. So this was a great video that allowed me to appreciate their work without having to stress myself out! Awesome work!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! I’m really happy that you are able to enjoy these games this way!

[@burretploof]

On the baby growing very quickly: *If I recall correctly and I might be wrong* - I think early on there are some notes about the rifts and that other world where at least one of them mentions that time passes differently in that other world. This would explain why Tasi notices her baby growing after returning to earth. She was gone for a few "earth minutes" but her body aged a month or two, including her baby. - And now that I wrote this I'm like "but shouldn't she still experience that faster passing of time normally while in that other world?" ... Doesn't make too much sense, even with this in mind, I guess.

[@babylotuseater]

I'm SO excited to find the time to watch this - busy work week lmao. I was hooked from your FNAF video, got obsessed with your takes, and I just recently replayed the penumbra + amnesia series myself so the timing is perfect!

[@pimscrypt]

That makes me really glad to read, and perfect timing indeed! I hope you’ll enjoy the video when you get around to it! 💜

[@Darkfry]

Well this is as incredible as I thought it would be, I was looking forward to this so much and you did not disappoint Pim

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much Dark!

[@TheTyper]

It's interesting how few complaints I actually had about Rebirth compared to others. The moment I realized it was going down the pregnancy rabbit hole I kinda got super nervous just because I knew how womb horror works in art. I knew Frictional was already alienating a chunk of their potential market just because of how offputting it might be for a lot of women. Meanwhile womb horror is tricky to do without feeling grotesque. It very easily goes down the schlock road, which Frictional has never really been about. But I think in the end the symbiotic mechanics, for me personally, helped me continue to enjoy Rebirth and see the central thing Frictional was trying explore: Motherhood. The mechanics of holding your stomach to calm you were helpful on one end, as it meant I'd regularly check in and see what Tasi had to say to Amari and that overall just pushed me towards this instinctive bond. I even felt upset that I could no longer use that function when the doctor took Amari from Tasi. Meanwhile the villain of the story is someone who has the means to keep Amari safe forever at the expense of so much, and her motivations are driven by the desire to have a child herself, something she never could do. Tasi and the Empress are intertwined in similar ways here as they both want this child, but the fork in the road comes twice: First at the fact that the Empress was never truly giving Tasi a choice. It was give up the child or lose everything else (friends, yourself, etc.). And so Tasi is not truly being offered the choice to try and raise her daughter despite the possible pain and suffering Amari might endure. It should be her choice, but the Empress doesn't think so. And then there's the other fork in the road that is: What does Amari's eternal healing come at the cost of? Before we've explored enough of the other world to understand how the Empress is eternal, Tasi is confronted with the choice of doing some heinous things to save her child and to what lengths she would go to to keep Amari safe. I found all of these various aspects really compelling for me as someone who's always been fascinated by motherhood. To see Frictional take this path and try to provide a horror experience that tries to make players feel vulnerable and emotionally fraught not just for their own survival, but for the survival of the child, was really commendable to me. And maybe that's why I had so much trouble getting stuck on the games flaws. For Frictional to decide to expand the connected fiction of their Amnesia games with a sequel like this and to focus instead on two characters longing for a child was a unique direction, but it paid off for me.

[@reecebenson4996]

I really agree with your opinion as a fellow Rebirth defender. Could Rebirth have been better written? Definitely. Would it have been better written if they had even one mother in the writers room? Oh 100%, in fact I feel its absurd that frictional hasn't involved even a single woman in the writing process up to this point. But despite the games flaws, it still evoked a lot of emotions in me, and I felt really engrossed in Tasi's story the entire way through.

[@ProfessorFlowers]

"I hope you enjoy the show" *Pim snaps their fingers* Absolutely stunning!!!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much!! 💜💜 I felt very powerful recording that haha!

[@ronmegaron]

This was an excellent video, congratulations, Pim! I’m very proud of you.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜

[@vazzeg]

I am so HAPPY about what you said about The Machine for Pigs. It was my favorite too until SOMA came out. That...thing...is just something else entirely. I play it yearly around December each year and it NEVER, not once, despite several playthroughs, does fail to choke me up by the end credits. It's absolutely mind-blowing.

[@SulMatul]

I'm so here for this, especially exploring SOMA

[@pimscrypt]

I’m so happy that I finally gave that game another shot!

[@PixelaDay]

This is amazing Pim! Loved every minute!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much Kat! 💜 That really means a lot!

[@Weighty68]

Finally managed to finish this after it sat in my Watch Later for two actual months. Thank goodness I finally decided to crunch out the remaining hour of it today because I was pleasantly surprised by how little I knew about Soma and am now interested in getting to it someday. Wonderful work as always with this one and the immense amount of work really paid off in how effortless you made it all seem! Now... to sleep!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much!

[@rileyderingor1548]

April fool's more like april this was pretty coooooolllllllllllllllllll yup nailed it

[@pimscrypt]

I applaud the attempt!

[@starrychan33]

Rebirth is basically the only proper Video Game I can think of where you play as a pregnant woman who doesn't desperately want to get rid of the baby. See the Silent Hill game. It's kind of inherently subversive and I was really excited about it when you find out but yeah they kind of missed the mark in pulling it off. I want someone to do this better. Especially considering how many other games focus on Dads

[@pimscrypt]

That I absolutely agree with!

[@BobLogical]

It's probably worth mentioning how Justine might also be trans, since one of the lore notes you get is her father talking about how he's sad about his wife dying and shit but it was all worth it because she died birthing his "son". Considering no one ever mentions another kid in the family even to just say, "Yeah, he died 10 seconds after mom," and Justine's obsession with being as beautiful as her mother, that seems like a pretty likely possibility. Which has the side effect of making a lot of the game even grosser.

[@pimscrypt]

That didn’t even cross my mind, but yeah that implication indeed makes the whole thing even worse!

[@Reubel]

0:43 And that game was, of course, Andreas Rönnbloms solo 2005 effort "Afraid of Monsters", which ultimately gave us 2012s "Cry of Fear" :p Thanks for the monumental job with this one. I really appreciate that there's people out there that serves up free (well, community-funded) entertainment, running the equivalent of feature films.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! I'm glad you liked it! I wish I had the time and energy to make more in-depth videos with longer running times, but sadly I think it's not gonna be very often. Still, I'm very proud of this one!

[@miraprime474]

Absolutely excellent work! This thing must have bee a beast. Congrats on finishing it! I tried playing Soma before the safe mode update, and the monsters put me off. I think I'll give it another shot because it sounds like that special brand of devastating that sci-fi horror can bring to the table.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜 I’ve never done anything like this before and I’m not sure I’ll ever do it again, but I’m so happy with the result! I’d love to hear your thoughts on Soma if you decide to give it another shot!

[@CorruptedSave]

Great video, Pim! I haven't played all of the games you talked about, but I do also have a special fondness for SOMA. With regard to the suicide cult that formed, I am not sure if they thought they would be the ones to be on the Ark. At least the way I remember it, they thought that the longer they existed once their brain was scanned, the more their timeline deviated and they became different individuals from the ones that would wake up. Cutting themselves short soon after their brain was scanned would be the closest thing to an actual continuation of their existence. It's weird, but I understand their logic anyway, even if I think that they were extreme. If the brain scan killed the original Simon, and then the transfer deleted the one in the first suit, and then transferring to the Ark deleted the Simon that launched the satellite, it would be like one continuous existence was happening, even if logically we know that what was happening was death each time. It's sort of like the Star Trek transporter question.... if you're just torn apart and reassembled in another location, is that a death, and if the clone can't tell the difference, is it one continual existence? It's all really interesting and really horrifying at the same time. I love thinking about this shit. I'd like to close out, though, that you are amazing at ending your v--- GAME OVER YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much Jack! 💜 One of the things about Soma is the open endedness of it. Every solution has at least some kind of merit, but no answer is the correct one. It’s a matter of having to accept the circumstances, even when they are absolutely horrible. I feel I could talk about the motive of the pact and it’s validate for hours but-GAME OVER YEEEEEAAAAHH

[@genericeuropean3745]

I get a strong Contrapoints vibe from the intro, nicely done! I really liked your fnaf 4 analysis, and I'm glad that because of it I found a new great esseyist! Also finally, someone who also loves A Machine for Pigs, which I find really underrated.

[@ProfessorFlowers]

I remember being in high school and playing Amnesia with two other friends, and we would switch off playing every few minutes because we were scared.

[@pimscrypt]

I had a similar experience. Me and a friend played it at the same time and tried to help each other out over Skype. In the end we were just screaming in each other’s ears. 😂

[@ProfessorFlowers]

@@pimscrypt 😆

[@ivie_online]

I really enjoy how you talk about these games, such fascinating analysis, great work Pim!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much Ivie!! 💜

[@whym6438]

I just want to thank you for naming Jessica Curry in your review of A Machine for Pigs. Not enough people mention game composers by name in their reviews, even when they do mention the music. In that spirit, the soundtracks for the other games in this video were written by the Finnish game composer Mikko Tarmia.

[@pimscrypt]

Giving people credit is something I try to be better at. Mainly because I'm not a fan of the idea that game development is solely driven by standout auteurs.

[@mad8598]

This was the defence of A Machine For Pigs I’ve been looking for. You’ve convinced me, I’m going to give it another go. I’ve checked out some of your other videos and am very happy the Mysterious KZbin Algorithm smiled and put you in my recommendations. Subscribed.

[@ThePrimordialChronicles]

Safe mode is a great addition to SOMA, I enjoyed it at release without that option being available but I can completely get behind the idea of this incredible story being more accessible to even more people.

[@idgafcadf]

Oh damn! That was so incredible. Enjoy your well deserved lie down, you did so good!!!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜💜 I’m really glad you liked it Christine!!

[@Furore2323]

+1 Skittles points You got the Ferret Helmet!

[@pimscrypt]

Yay!!

[@WarMomPT]

Horror games are not really my jam, I scare easy so I feel like I had my fill with just a couple (uber-cheesy, super-campy) Resident Evils and an LP of Soma, but I'm always fascinated with them thematically and from a design perspective, so I'm very glad to have watched this. It's really neat to see frictional's output over the years contextualised both in terms of each other and the culture around them. Really great watch!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! 💜 I think it’s really neat that people who aren’t really into playing horror games can still enjoy them from afar!

[@gabby3036]

Clarence reminds me SO much of Mr. Gray possessing Jonesy's body from Stephen King's Dreamcatcher. He's constantly egging on Jonesy, trying to get deeper into his head but he's darkly funny and kind of an asshole. It's great.

[@K1ngCraft]

First time viewer here! - I am ready for this fabulous individual to recount my favourite horror franchise to me.

[@michimatsch5862]

God, searching your channel on KZbin is somehow really hard for me. Have to type out specific names of videos and all and then go to the channel, to then find new videos. Says a lot about the channel that I am still following it. Oh, also congrats on 10k!

[@Furore2323]

+1 Transparency points You got the Alicia Boots!

[@pimscrypt]

Alicia is very good!

[@GooeyGremlin]

Soma is my favourite as well out of all of these! The ending had me deeply thinking how I would have acted if I had been in that predicament..

[@Unnamed_Gh0st]

correction: in Amnesia The Dark Descent, he ending where Daniel walks away, his sister dies canonically, in the Agrippa ending, Daniel and his sister both get saved by Agrippa

[@Cartograph176]

I agree with your defense of "Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs" and I like your comparison to "I Have no mouth and I must scream".

[@irProspect204]

Can’t believe I’m only just discovering this review. This is next level.

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you, that’s very kind!

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Just discovered your channel. Really fantastic coverage! Subbed 😄

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much! Glad to have your sub!

[@MrRaivokasMagma]

I remember Penumbra. Friends were like "Can you imagine, game by smaller studio and game looks better than Oblivion!" :D Hard to think that was so many years ago. I was honestly surprised when first Amnesia came out, that it was from Penumbra developers.

[@pimscrypt]

Honestly yeah, Penumbra looks WAY better than Oblivion haha!

[@MrRaivokasMagma]

@@pimscrypt I think it was the tech demo version of Penumbra. I remember title theme so clearly. Yet that tech demo still looked better than Oblivion :D

[@MrBjort]

Bought Soma because of this video

[@pimscrypt]

This comment made me very happy!

[@mcz_13]

Dang Ämma those brows are GODLY

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

I haven't played any of Frictional Games's titles myself, but this was such an impressive breakdown that it has inspired me to give them a shot, especially Soma. Wonderful job Pim!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you so much Daniel, I'm really glad you liked it! I hope you'll enjoy Soma as much as I did!

[@DanielSantosAnalysis]

@@pimscrypt Existential dread is my jam, I am confident Soma is up my alley, lol.

[@pimscrypt]

@@DanielSantosAnalysis Hell yeah!

[@BOD4C1TY]

stoked for the machine for pigs appreciation

[@pimscrypt]

It deserves all the love it can get!

[@adriartilol]

1:39:04 - I feel like I wanted to add that the reason why it feels like that is because the devs needed to manually place 'darkness' zones across the maps, unlike TDD which had it hardcoded into the player, it's an interesting bit of insight but it contributes to why some parts feel iffy at best

[@pimscrypt]

That makes a whole lot of sense. It's a perfectly valid solution, I think. It's just a shame that the borders of those zones become so jarringly obvious in some cases.

[@preciouseaglecactusfruit]

Finally, someone else who sees the beauty in A Machine for Pigs its my fav out of the series

[@pimscrypt]

Hell yeah! A fellow appreciator!

[@BornIn1142]

Regarding Dark Descent's ending - my take was that Daniel didn't necessarily earn redemption by the act of killing Alexander, but more that the terrifying ordeal he went through in the castle after losing his memory was a kind of karmic retribution for his previous deeds. He paid for his sins, at least partially.

[@Argacyan]

Something which makes Amnesia unique, which I've noticed nobody else talking about, is that it is maybe one of two or three games at most that take place in the country of Prussia. I'm wondering if the choice of location was intentional, and with some meaning to it, or if it was just randomly done. It's a place with a lot of & itself of major importance in European history, but it's so unused you could be let to believe that it's intentionally being avoided as a subject - so it stands out to me that the original Amnesia happens there.

[@adriartilol]

And now I'm excited to see The Bunker review when it drops! I think you'll like it!

[@pimscrypt]

We'll see if that video ends up happening. I kinda want to wait and see if I'll have anything interesting to say about it that adds something on top of this video. Either way I'm very excited about playing it! It seems to be a very unique take on the franchise, for sure!

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

12:55 "Puzzles that ... repeatedly make me exit the game to look up the solutions, it's not just immersion breaking*. It's game breaking". I feel you! That's the very reason I retired CrossCode. I really wanted to like it, but the puzzles were not only so arbitrary, they were also very hard that I had to interrupt the game to watch youtube walkthroughs. If your game is a puzzle game, then tell me it's a puzzle game, don't tell me it is "A retro-inspired 2D Action RPG set in the distant future", be honest and upfront tell me it is a puzzle game with action RPG mechanics.

[@silentj624]

The thumbnail didn't get me to click, it was the look at the start of the autoplay. A mood.

[@arielrolerbill]

i enjoyed this video!

[@pimscrypt]

I’m glad!

[@Marycore]

omg i love your hair sm!!!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! I really liked that color!

[@Argacyan]

I feel like I'm the odd-one out, but I like Overture above Black Plague. They tried out a lot of stuff in it & I like the focus on exposition. There's also a lot of more or less environmental storytelling, so for example while the notes are kinda talking about it already you can physically see the environment around you become more technologically advanced the deeper you go.

[@hgrunt7429]

This is the review I was searching for. The "Justine" part was fantastic

[@pimscrypt]

I’m glad you found it, and I’m glad you liked it!

[@kienesel7]

Hey mate great video. I gotta say tho, as someone who generally agrees with the views presented on the social implications of the games, I think you are laying it kinda thick. Very cozy still. And I am SO GLAD someone else sees A Machine for Pigs in the same light I do.

[@KirstenMarie_MS3]

This may sound a bit shallow, but my first observation was that the creator's blush no longer makes him look like a clown. The bright pink, near perfect circles only on apples lf the cheeks was distracting. Much better here.

[@pimscrypt]

Someone did not realize that it was intentional.

[@rylands4289]

Pim looks so magical here 💜

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you! 💜

[@LijieDraws]

I didn't know that Frictional Games helped Red Barrels for their game "Outlast 2" o_o

[@TheGlooga]

This video is incredible! I'm a scaredy cat so I haven't actually played any of the games mentioned (though I plan to get to SOMA and maybe A Machine for Pigs), but it's really interesting how the idea of forbidden knowledge is used by Frictional Games. In Penumbra: Black Plague, knowledge of the Tuurngait drove Philip to a terrible action, but it wasn't as if looking at the Tuurngait broke his mind. Rather, he acted on a colonialist impulse to destroy a lifeform/civilization he deemed incompatible with his own. The game's Wikipedia article apparently notes the Inuit lived with the Tuurngait in peace, and the scientists that research the Tuurngait in the present are called *checks note* the Archaic Elevated Caste. In a colonialist framework, the eldritch knowledge that drives a person to genocide is that the Tuurngait exists at all. This theme gets reused in Rebirth, where it's Oops All Colonialism and the big bad evil Lovecraft monster is, like, just France Two-Point-Oh. It's interesting then how A Machine for Pigs, takes this theme, of colonialist societies reflexively turning toward violence, and makes that itself the eldritch knowledge, where the main character is driven to cruelty in the face of human suffering. It almost feels like a self-reflexive look at the franchise, telling you how to read it. If you get from this that humanity is doomed and there is no hope for the future, then you share that with the main villain of the game, who's sole ending has you undo his work. You have to work for something better, or maybe just try to protect the people around you, instead of falling into despair. I skipped the SOMA section (due to wanting to play it for myself--the safe mode looks like a really interesting way for me to play the game) so I wonder if their futuristic post-apocalyptic game will play around with these same ideas.

[@reecebenson4996]

I agree with your criticisms of both Justine and Rebirth in regards to how ridiculous it is for them to try and attempt these types of stories without even a single woman or mother in the room. However, despite its writing flaws, Rebirth is easily my favorite in the series. I suppose I was just in the target demographic for how they were trying to get people to feel about Tasi and the child but I personally felt really emotional the whole way through and felt like the game as a whole just had a major impact on me. But I can definietly relate to being a fan of one of the two more unpopular Amnesia games. I personally love TDD but do consider it a bit overrated and like most of frictionals newer titles like SOMA, Rebirth and The Bunker more.

[@cthulusauce]

Amazing video!

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you!!

[@starrychan33]

Why does no one ever talk about how Frictional Games can't make real friendly NPCs. 90% of Frictional NPCs are speaking to you in your head or over a radio or something like that and the other 10% are static and anchored to a wall (or floating above you while t-posing naked...). This is such a specific thing that Frictional does that almost no one else does and I desperately need someone to talk about this 🙀

[@reecebenson4996]

I never actually thought about that, so I really like your critique bc yeah it is weird they do that and I wish that we got the type of interaction. I do think this is a very valid criticism and wish they were a bit better about it. For me personally, I also suppose I haven't minded it much, because I do like horror games that make me feel isolated and rarely seeing or talking to another human really enhances this sense of isolation. I do think they've gotten a bit closer to that, especially with SOMA and Rebirth, but definitely still not perfect. Part of the reason why SOMA and Rebirth are my favorites are they had way more characters than any frictional title gave us before, and while many have issues with the writing in Rebirth, I genuinely like a lot of the characters in the game.

[@retu3510]

I didn't know about Justine!!! I played it right now, because I do love sadistic women ^^ I don't think their was rape between the father an justine. One of the very last notes tells us, that her father experimented on her and she became frustrated with him and more importantly judged herself when failing the stiluette test. The father writes that he scolded her and she was very embaressed and frightend of him. This is when he decides to drop the testing and reconnect with his daughter. Buut in the libery we learned Justine murdered her father after he upset her greatly. And later that the father was supprised by her action. So I'm very sure this is a kind of story like the yellow wallpaper. About a woman/girl being abused by a man who was oblivious what damage he did.

[@ZBlinkZ]

Commenting for reach day 4 challenge help me keep on going :D

[@necrobata1]

Aw its a shame i cant enjoy the video for i actually want to play those games :( ill be back i guess.

[@pimscrypt]

I hope you'll enjoy them!

[@takke9830]

Thank god you‘re talking about how Machine for pigs was good actually. It really resonated with me in my teens and hearing how much ppl hated it for not serving the boring gamer dudebro standard as well as for being apparently „too communist“ and therefor shunned cause anything critiquing the system is a boogeyman not worthy of being listened to, it‘s so refreshing to finally see this game getting the praise it deserves. Sadly angry straight dude bro gamers are such whiny little annoying babies so these games I enjoyed were often critisized to death by these idiotic manchildren much like any other games made to appeal to more than just men wich is a thing i always loved as an afab person who‘s a femme enby but yeah. It just sucks that gaming is so dominated by these nasty disgusting whiny losers and so I‘m really glad we‘re seeing more channels like yours rising as a sort of safe haven for minority or women gamers. I‘m honestly so done with the straight cis guys constantly throwing hissy fits over non issues with their nonexistent emotional control and general stupidity as well as complacency in the system that was made to serve them but yeah. Thanks for this video! Frictional has been one of my fave studios of all time and it‘s thanks to games like Soma and A machine for pigs that I myself as an artist decided to aim for more complex narratives as well as just getting to love a scifi that isn‘t the typical mario saves the princess or strong white man is epic and his woman is a sexy lamp but instead shows a story of pretty much two equals (especially in soma) and makes the female character super cool and lovable tbh. I honestly love both cathrine and simon to death and it‘s by far the only real straight ship in media i feel anything for especially as a demisexual who has been left feeling dead over every movie cause female characters usually are barely humans and love is never really built beyond the substanceless looks over everything trope. Like, soma really just made me happy. And maybe it also kinda spoke to my still in the closet enby self at the time too cause simon‘s androgynous robo body just spoke to me on a deep level simular to the journey flying lil guys in that cool artsy desert game. I just really love these games and I‘m so glad someone‘s finally talking about them!

[@PlaCrown]

absolutely loved SOMA. so thought provokin game.

[@aranerem5569]

Amnesia The Dark Descent and Soma, great games.

[@mynameisozymandias7150]

In defense of Amnesia: Justine about its portrayal of mental illness, I want to point at the time period the game is set: the 19th century. Back then, psychology, neurology and psychiatry, while pionieristic, were an absolute joke if compared to nowadays. Pseudosciences like phrenology were taken very seriously, even in criminal investigations. Social stigma against mentally ill pepole was rampant, and psychiatric hospitals (called "lunatic asylums" at the time) were basically jails for undesired people. There wasn't any form of welfare state to economically help the ill. It was the time of colonialism, "scientific" racism, eugenics and social darwinism (many people, even cultured, learned lots of wrong lessons from Charles Darwin's discoveries). So, I think that the portrayal of mental illness is quite consistent with the setting.

[@pimscrypt]

You are right about mental health and mental illness being treated extremely poorly at the time. I feel that it’s sort of a thermian argument though. That there is an in world justification doesn’t change the fact that the developers decided to tell the story this way. I’m not saying that you can’t make a story about how bad the treatment of people with various mental health problems were back then, but in the end I don’t think Frictional did a great job of exploring the topic that wasn’t just shocking for the sake of it. It gets a bit to muddled to just be a condemnation of old medical practices.

[@mynameisozymandias7150]

@@pimscrypt I agree. Frictional Games could have done a lot better.

[@AKSAKSAKS]

You missed the secret ending of TDD in the cell. But really awesome review

[@brandonloiacono2015]

These games are so much better with context.

[@jamesteavery0]

I feel like you didn't touch on one of my favourite mechanics in penumbra, which was barricading. I don't think I've ever had as immersive of a horror experience as barricading a door with physics objects as an enemy got close. It was what made me fall in love with black plague in particular, and has become less and less of a mechanic in frictional's games as time went on.

[@pimscrypt]

I have to admit I didn't mention that because I can barely remember ever having to barricade anything.

[@jamesteavery0]

@@pimscrypt Yeah I think in reality it's a bit of a useless mechanic when running is so much more effective, but there were specific interactions when zombies found a door blocked where they'd grumble and push if it wasn't blocked properly enough so it was definitely intended. I didn't know that it wasn't the best way to avoid things and I think I appreciated the game for that. I'd love to have seen it implemented into other bits of their games. Obviously the worm 'boss' in overture used the principle as more of a setpiece. I got to the point where I'd often barricade doors before I even knew if there was something creeping around.

[@mcz_13]

This video was excellent! But as you point out, holy shit they need to hire some women wtf on that note hello @frictional i am a woman writer seeking employment wink wink

[@pimscrypt]

Thank you!! And yeah they should totally hire you!

[@NyctobloomCreations4658]

I seriously wonder now what you think of Frictional now that The Bunker was released.

[@pimscrypt]

I might make a video where I explore that game further (likely it would be some kind of part 2 to this video, where I review several games that Frictional released after Rebirth), but for now I’ll say that I enjoyed the Bunker more than the last Amnesia. There’s potential with this new approach, and I’m excited to see how Frictional will evolve it with their next projects.

[@conorl8990]

This is ContraPoints talks games.

[@pimscrypt]

Nope, just me.

[@SirLaguna]

Now I need your opinion about Rebirth's Adventure mode.

[@pimscrypt]

I haven’t tried it, but I assume that it’s similar to the safe mode in Soma? Since the story is such a big issue in Rebirth, imo, I really don’t want to play a version of the game that makes the player focus even more on it.

[@fafo867]

really nice work with the music, the cuts are a bit rough maybe but it gives the hbomberguy vibe

[@pimscrypt]

The problem is that the songs used in Frictional’s games are usually really short, so I did my best to loop some of them. In some cases it came out better than others.

[@fafo867]

@@pimscrypt understandable, have a great day

[@AlexPinna531]

25:51 would you apply this same logic to reds death? because the two characters both served the same role of helping the player through and then dying partly due to phillip, im bringing this up because if annabell was really only their to die then she wouldnt have guided the player through the game and leave a plan for Phillip afterwards, her death is meant to be a shocking moment where the player feels how bad phillips situation had gotten, a more accurate use of women in refrigerators would be max payne maybe, max’s family in that game only serve to die for the story to happen, also i do believe a machine for pigs is a very big downgrade for the series, the story is fine but if you remove mechanics for a game you need to add something gameplay wise to make up for it, and they didnt really do that in the gameplay department, for example when penumbra black plague removed overtures combat they added scarier enemies to replace them, that works well, the dark descent keeps the lighter and flashlight concept (the concept of a light source that lights up torches and objects in the world and a limited source of light) but removes the glowstick idea, that actually helps and makes the game scarier due to more limited light sources, but a machine for pigs removes the puzzles involving inventory items, light management, inventory and sanity mechanic but doesnt add new mechanics to replace them, i know its a different developer but if they remove one thing you need to add another gameplay element to make up for it

[@akwilson1676]

Amnesia Re"Birth", get it?

[@dirtydan987]

Nah the puzzles makes it better

[@ronnical2489]

Resident Evil 7 and 8 wouldn't exist either 44:00

[@theclipman9283]

Why do you dress like that