Games I Played in November

[@JaredTakesTime]

Cocoon was one of my favorite games this year just for the audio design. The puzzles were fun, but the presentation really nailed it.

[@razbutwo]

the way the sound comes in whenever you solve something is chef's kiss

[@dgshoe]

Glad to know you enjoyed Ghost Trick! I personally consider it to be writer and director Shu Takumi's magnum opus. The Ace Attorney series is fun, but Ghost Trick is in a whole other level. Also, mandatory trivia: Missile, the pomeranian featured in the game, was directly based on Takumi's own dog.

[@razbutwo]

Did not know that! That is very cute AND ALSO MAKES A LOT OF SENSE lol

[@Charcoal190]

And Takumi's dog, Missile, was named after the dog in Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney's 4th case, Missile!

[@leftovernoise]

Ghost Trick is damn near a perfect game

[@jayglenn837]

The missile knows where it is at all times. It knows this because it knows where it isn't. By subtracting where it is from where it isn't, or where it isn't from where it is (whichever is greater), it obtains a difference, or deviation.

[@e.f.3]

I don’t agree with the puzzle repetition being bad. It’s that one perfect execution that makes it so satisfying.

[@Stizzl]

About Cocoon's management problem: While I do see your point and agree to an extent, I think the devs did something clever here: When you have already figured out a puzzle and just have to spend a minute to do the tasks in game that are required to solve that very same puzzle, the game's music often swells up during those points, in the middle of a puzzle. This 1. Helps people see whether they are on the right track regarding a puzzle 2. Feels like a celebration for those that figured it out beforehand, like the game itself is proud of you While the problem itself still remains, that second point I made somewhat lessens that problem for me.

[@Perdition27]

YESSSSSS He decided to do it again 😭🙏🏼 Happy Holidays Raz

[@pedroscoponi4905]

Sea of Stars has really snuck inside a corner of my heart despite all it's faults. Something about the central conflict between the Immortal Alchemists completely fascinated me, and while the characters aren't very complex, they have _tons_ of charm. The last dungeon's unexpected dip into body horror aesthetics was also a fun surprise. I went back and played The Messenger after it and really didn't like it too much, but I'm still very excited to see what Sabotage has cooking right now...

[@razbutwo]

Yeah, I LOVE the conflict between the alchemists, but as their story is a bigger one than Sea of Stars, it felt jarring for it to wrap up in the way it did. With that said, 3 games from now, it might totally pay off and I will forget I ever felt this way lol

[@Venoseth]

I loved the Messenger also. What about it missed for you? Was it the overly meta/corny dialogue? The gameplay felt good enough to make up for it, to me.

[@patriciogarciadamiano7469]

I don't mind putting things together for like a minute or so after I solved the puzzle in my head, it feels like a victory lap!

[@TheRealBOBlibob]

Especially if you realise you were wrong 😅

[@dermotc4070]

I find it depends on how much things I have to put together. If it takes a few minutes then I'm generally not a fan and would prefer a quicker mechanic to snap the relevant pieces into place.

[@GentlemanGamer94]

I got really excited when I saw Ghost Trick on the thumbnail ^_^ While I've played it so many times that I'm no longer stumped by the puzzles, I enjoy the story and presentation so much that it's still a game I enjoy coming back to. I'd be curious as to what could be done with the puzzles if we ever got a sequel.

[@patricktalksalot427]

The delayed gratification from solving a puzzle in Cocoon is definitely something other puzzle games can struggle with ant its often something puzzle games look out for. A lot is said about this in a video by Second Wind.

[@internisus]

Oh, I knew it was a familiar topic. I must have watched that one within the last week.

[@LunamrathP]

Ha, I was thinking of that exact video when he brought it up.

[@Coda117]

I hope you dont stop doing these, I love seeing what you are playing for the month. We end up having a lot of overlap!

[@moistchohan3896]

don't stop doing this, Raz. I love these videos and look forward to them each month.

[@Zyckro]

You mentioned Sea of Stars setting up a greater narrative, and it is! Maybe you know already, but it’s the prequel to The Messenger. If you haven’t played this ninja gaiden inspired bundle of charm, I highly recommend it. A lot of things pay off, like the four acolytes, the alchemist, Brugaves, The Sleeper, the entirety of Mesa island is fan service. There is a lot.

[@sif1102]

These videos really keep me rooted to reality. Firstly the reality that time passes by very quickly, because every time a new one gets uploaded I wonder when did another month pass by and secondly cause it becomes apparent that time is finite and it's not possible to play/experience everything in a month.

[@Charcoal190]

I played many VNs this year, and Ghost Trick is definitely among my favorites. The story is amazing and it gets even better when replaying it and noticing all the bits and pieces of foreshadowing hidden throughout. Hell, TV Tropes has a whole page dedicated to all the bits of foreshadowing in the game!

[@arcturus4853]

Always happy to have monthly content from Raz. You genuinely have a very soothing voice that pairs nicely with the contemplative and educational content you make

[@johnd5149]

GHOST TRICK SWEEP💪💪💪💪💪🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥 (I’m mildly obsessed with this game and happy to hear you also enjoyed it)

[@almtzd]

always look forward to these! loved cocoon. excited to try the other two.

[@LARAUJO_0]

0:13 I consider Limbo & Inside more as adventure games so it was weird to hear them called platformers

[@MrCliffybiro]

Design Delve on Second Wind just did an episode talking about the disconnect between solving a puzzle intellectually and practically in their last video. You might find it interesting!

[@ElieHaykal]

Played, finished and reviewed Cocoon. The awesome aspect of Cocoon is that watching the trailer will give you more questions than answers. Thee way it is represented in an almost abstract fashion is what won me over. Even if you are remotely interested in puzzle games, at least give it a try as it is also available on Gamepass. Also, please keep on making this videos!

[@haratofu]

1:39 Second Wind's "The Worst Puzzle of All-Time" talks about exactly this sort of problem, actually, and I agree it can be a problem if it's too much. Puzzles that space out solving it in your head and actually solving it in the game can be really annoying, especially if the feedback loop while you're trying things out is painful too.

[@crisbercutov7405]

Cocoon is probably one of my favorite games this year and to me, the fact that you solve things in your head then actually do it isn't an issue at all, given how great the audio and the visuals are, just moving around in the game feels awesome! Besides, moving things around in this game doesn't require you to take things far, everything is usually within reasonable reach, unlike some other games that you have to remember a specific part of a huge map to find out where to go next. Looking at Tunic and Deaths door (both good games, but definitely have this issue imo)

[@Hazzy113]

These Episodes are getting slightly later every month, looking forward to your next games in November videos in march next year! Jokes aside I’m loving these videos

[@razbutwo]

Idk September’s came out in November so the fact that I got this one out now is an improvement in my book

[@oh_wall]

Love seeing Ghost Trick Phantom Detective in the thumbnail haha

[@Kayas]

I'm going through my backlog and I'm wrapping up CrossCode, which is a game that seems to tackle your traversal and puzzle critique of Sea of Stars. It does have some pacing issues though I enjoy these monthly updates though, great vid as usual

[@Zedex_Poisson]

Crazy how Ghost Trick, a nintendo DS game I used to play as a kid, aged so well

[@LethalLuggage]

I haven't played through Cocoon yet but the point you made about solving the puzzle and then needing to go through the motions is something I felt deeply based on my experience with other puzzle games. It's a big reason why I bounce off a lot of puzzle games nowadays.

[@sphinkleberry]

Completely agree on Sea of Stars. My playthrough (including getting the true ending) clocked in at 35 hours, and I really feel like it could have been about 10 hours shorter. I also got annoyed at having to do lots of extra stuff to get an ending that was even a little satisfying, even if the tasks to get it were enjoyable except for the conches. Calling back to your game endings video, it felt like they really should have only rolled credits after the true ending, anyway. All of that said, I still really enjoyed the game. It had very solid combat and such indelible charm that few, if any games have matched for me.

[@mattendo021]

I really liked Cocoon. I did find a lot of the puzzles to be easier then say something like Baba is you or Patrick's Parabox. I almost wish they would of taken the concept even further. But I agree it does lead the player well. As far as moving the orbs, I found it to be a bit zen-like in the solving process

[@CrispyGFX]

Loved cocoon. The last few puzzles in the game had me screaming at my screen when I figured out the solutions.

[@PixelCrabs]

I'd want to see you check out the game Void Stranger. It's an indie sokoban puzzle game. One of those games where you know there's a lot going on under the surface but you don't know what. It's very interesting in terms of how you progress, almost bad and annoying, but it does really feel like you're solving this complete mystery all on your own.

[@zacharywong483]

Nice vid, Raz!

[@CompleteReview]

Sea of Stars has been sitting in my Wishlist for SO long! Thanks to Raz's video, I realized how similar it is to Avatar TLA for the Gameboy Advance (i.e the best ATLA game ever). Thanks for the reminder to Sea of Stars within Steam Winter Sale lol.

[@rex-cq6pv]

i forget if you’ve already played this (or hell,if i took a recommendation from one of your videos) but i think that unsighted would very a good choice for both its very interesting and zelda like puzzles as well as the combat! i also think that the time based mechanic (having a time limit to the npcs lives) makes for really engaging gameplay! this is also just a general recommendation for anyone interested in that type of game!!

[@Saixga]

He did play it. It's included in a video in his main channel from half a year ago called "More Indie Games You Missed (probably? i still don't know your life)". Unsighted IS amazing tho, as well as Crosscode

[@rex-cq6pv]

ah, yeah i figured. I do have to check out crosscode though!! @@Saixga

[@YOjeremyRaps]

I feel like cocoon ended right as it got really mechanically interesting. I think it could’ve gone for a bit longer using the mechanics that it introduced towards the end bc I feel like it didn’t achieve its full potential. Still a fantastic game, I just wanted a bit more from it.

[@Waffletigercat]

I think I like Ghost Trick. Call it a hunch.

[@Anni_ka]

Thank you for this video, because it reminded me I wanted to add Cocoon to my wishlist 😂 And I'm glad to see Ghost Trick mentioned. So far I've only played its demo, but I was hooked immediately! Maybe I should move it up higher on my next-to-play list 🤔

[@Watchful_Owl]

Happy November! Wow the holidays are almost here...

[@BluePieNinjaTV]

I think Design Delve did a video on bad puzzles where even if you know how to complete it, if solving it takes too long then it can feel bad to play. That's probably why taking a minute to solve the puzzle in Cocoon didn't feel great, but the example used in the Design Delve video is from Obduction, where solving the worst puzzle in the game can take upwards of 20 minutes!

[@murphrichard]

I have a cat named Raz and he told me a great game released in November was the Golf Update for Goblin Rules Football.

[@PinchedSlinky]

I personally don't mind the puzzle situation you had with Cocoon. I'd much prefer the process of "inputting the solution" to a method I believe in my mind to be correct. Than wandering aimlessly unsure what the solution is, moving orbs around haphazardly in hopes something will click. This is something I'm glad Cocoon did right for me. After all, you'd never solve a physical puzzle without knowing the picture it should form. Also Baba Is You was perfect here to voice your frustration of puzzles so complex that the average joe will just be doing the classic John Travolta confused look, completely unable to come up with any possible solution. Which is what that game did to me barely hours in and I dropped the game because of it.

[@hezzas8394]

There’s a video by JM8 (formerly of the escapist, now of second wind) where he breaks down the worst puzzle in a game he experienced, he goes into depth about your issues with solving a puzzle in your head vs doing it in the game, would highly recommend

[@billyrubin7713]

Cocoon was so good, should have been a GOTY nominee. Love the atmosphere in the game, which made some of steps-retracing you mentioned much less of a issue.

[@Saixga]

Thymesia was really fun, and it's extremely impressive considering it was mainly developed by a team of 7 people (with a few more outsourced devs and artists, as well as the music and story being all outsourced ofc). The combat was great, which is the hardest part to get right, so I'm excited to see if they do another game with the same or similar combat system and a slightly bigger scope, while cutting some of the fat (mainly the redundant side missions. Some side missions were great, even including some of the best bosses, but others were there just to increase the completion playtime). I imagine the game was profitable enough, given the studio's size.

[@2late2go2n8]

I agree with 99% of the Video. Moving Balls around is pretty engaging though!

[@silvershine2261]

It always amazes me, how you put my exact thoughts about a game in words, this time for Sea of Stars. I really liked the game. But I couldnt bring myself to place it in my hall of fame and a part of me is very sad about it. More specifically the part of me, that knocked on a double door at the top of a sacred tower which would stay closed in another timeline, but did open for me. Thats when I really fell in love with the story, just to be worn thin near the end and that bugs me. I wanted it to be my next Crosscode, the game I will tell my grandchildren about but it just wasnt. And nobody on this Planet deserves Garl, im not kidding

[@XtremeAffeX]

Hey Raz! You should watch Second Wind's "The Worst Puzzle of All-Time" video. Explains a lot about the awkward feeling you have for Cocoon and Ghost Trick. It's a common feeling for many puzzle games since we tend to get satisfaction when we the "lightbulb" moment happens instead of when we complete the puzzle.

[@Victorzero7]

Reading Razbuten's Backloggd reviews before watching these videos feel like reading the book before watching the movie.

[@razbutwo]

it's more like reading the blurb on the back of the book before watching the movie

[@Victorzero7]

@@razbutwo both highly enjoyable I would say. Keep on the awesome work king!

[@chrisclark7285]

Heck. I'd kill for BG3 to just have a party inventory management screen, so I don't have to swap someone into my party just to hand them a potion.

[@ThatSkiFreak]

Having not played cocoon and not being super into puzzles, my first thought when you say the orb management was time consuming and introduced downtime was 'just have slightly wicked movement'. On one hand it's a stupid and pointless idea since going fast has no practical gameplay advantage or purpose in a puzzle game, on the other hand, it would fix the issue you brought up.

[@OrignalNameHere]

love these!!

[@Sneaky_racoon_sly]

im telling you go and play the demo of ghost trick. i was catched right away and it became one of my fav games

[@codingandquesting]

So happy you gave thymesia a go! So many people dogged it, but I played it not even a month ago and d 100% bosses because the combat was so fun! Also seems to go on sale often so is always a steal

[@Owlfury]

Have you played The Messenger? I completed Sea of Stars and I really enjoyed it even though there is a point where it drags a bit. But I think it was more exciting for me because of all the little connections to The Messenger and looking for those. Anyway, I really enjoy these videos you do. Thank you!

[@razbutwo]

I have not played the Messenger yet, but I definitely plan to now

[@argenismorales5866]

Cocoon looks great, I'll take a look to it

[@kalebbarlow5716]

It’s weird to say I liked the orb management in cocoon issues so I won’t but I do think that it helped add to this worker bee sense of construction the game was trying to create. I think the game is great at connecting to the player and I think It’s because even these in between moments help lend to the games overall tone and ideas. The creation would’ve feel as earned without the work

[@Saad_Chishtee]

If you havent you should try sifu its amazing and loads of fun its also not too long but its decently challenging

[@razbutwo]

Loved Sifu!

[@Saad_Chishtee]

Oh I didn't realise. Have you made a video on it?

[@razbutwo]

I played it before I started the second channel, so I don't have anything on it here, BUT I did talk about it a bit in one of my main channel videos: When Should A Game End?

[@Saad_Chishtee]

Oh alright will check it out :)

[@hawawa675]

Gotta love hearing someone showing the love for a Shu Takumi game. Really hope we'll get to see some Ace Attorney opinions one day. It's my favorite franchise to ever be created

[@milkishealthy9662]

Cocoon was pretty boring for me, at least the first two-thirds of it. Every single puzzle I was instantly able to intuit how to solve it within a second of me seeing it, meaning the majority of my playtime felt like I was just idly walking through it. The last third or so was the only part that actually felt like a puzzle game, which I enjoyed. It might be worth noting though that I'm a big puzzle game fan that loves complex games like Baba Is You, which you mention is frustrating for you. I love thinking about puzzles for extended periods of time, trying different possible solutions in my head.

[@razbutwo]

To be clear, I also love Baba is You-I like it more than Cocoon. I just don’t think all the puzzles fall into the “sweet spot” I mention. And that isn’t a bad thing, but I do think MOST people like to land within that.

[@TheJCghost]

Love this series

[@bass9380]

If you enjoyed Sea of Stars you should definitely try Chained Echoes, it's so underrated

[@razbutwo]

This is what everyone is saying, but it terrifies me to add another 30-40 hour jrpg to my list of games to play lol

[@bass9380]

@@razbutwo For me it was a perfect game on Steam Deck while traveling or chilling with my GF, but I can see why you are afraid. I'd wait until I had the mood for another jrpg. I have Sea of Stars and CrossCode on my backlog

[@ferall]

CrossCode is an absolute banger 🤩

[@EHAmos]

Appropriate you showed th Green swamp Monster when you mentioned Lies of P because that boss is why I quit playing even though I had tons of fun before it. When I die against a boss over 40 times I just no longer care about seeing it through.

[@MoonMarshmallow]

GHOST TRICK MENTIONED WOOOOOO!!!

[@eugenykhanchin862]

I don't like JRPGs, but I really loved Sea of Stars!

[@zapp770]

Did you play Ultrakill already?

[@BalasielVOD]

I wonder if you ever played a Monster Hunter Game. I think you would enjoy World / Iceborne, the combat mechanics are super satisfying 😊

[@EriesAston]

Cocoon made me feel like an idiot, I would have done the "stare at the screen for an hour" thing, but I had the sense to quit, uninstall and never touch the game again

[@statz3697]

I hope he never stops doing thi

[@joe_the_zombie]

You played chained echoes, right? Reminds me a lot of sea of stars

[@razbutwo]

I have not, but it is on my list of games to play (that is a million games long...)

[@joe_the_zombie]

@@razbutwo I've been having a lot of fun with it recently, so if you ever get the jrpg itch, I'd recommend that(or bravely default, but you gotta emulate that one)

[@gdfish3532]

chained echoes was one of the best games I played this year, and oddly enough I first heard about it in a comment on a sea of stars video. I felt very similarly about sea of stars to what raz said; it felt good to play and had some great wow moments and set pieces, but I was a little underwhelmed in the end, so it was a surprise when I played chained echoes, a game I'd heard relatively little about, and it really blew me away. I was genuinely impressed with the grip it had on it's characters and themes, and it used the tropes of the genre to explore novel ideas, although personally the gameplay systems were a bit more complicated than what I would have prefered.

[@vagabundorkchaosmagick-use2898]

Cocoon really sounds like a festival of boredom. 😩😴

[@jorgeskuf]

this entire time I thought this series was Jacob Geller lol

[@razbutwo]

I have so many questions

[@BewbsOP]

I have exactly one problem with sea of stars that makes it basically unplayable for me. Speed the frickin text up! I cannot describe the sense of pure rage I feel everytime an rpg designer decides that they're game comprised of 50% text needs to make the text boxes crawl along and force you to hit the button twice just to make it show the whole text box! Let me read the damn text at more than one character at a time!

[@jimmysmathers7367]

I love you, man

[@Ashtarte3D]

The comment on Cocoon with some puzzle games being too easy to players good at them hit home for me. It's always a worry with puzzle games. I played Viewfinder and never once did I find it remotely challenging, which frustrated me because the concept was so cool but nothing in the game felt like it was hard enough to justify the game.

[@thomaskuzma4360]

Decided to subscribe because of this

[@trickynumber7]

Did you catch the Surivor finale?

[@razbutwo]

Yep! Best winner of the modern era, and maybe the best first-time player winner since Millennials vs Gen X!

[@trickynumber7]

Agreed! But... man, poor Jake. That guy couldn't catch a break. Hoping they bring back some themed seasons in the future to spice things up again.

[@razbutwo]

Yeah, Jake was a really fun player to watch, and I'd be curious to see how he'd do if he got into a situation with a more stable group. It is wild to me how badly Belo tanked their game even though they had the numbers around the merge.

[@ratratratratratratrat777]

Love Ghost Trick mang

[@FlowerBoyWorld]

any rpg with puzzles as core mechanic i would just not play, so it is a risk i think

[@unavezms8167]

I hate puzzles that rely on randomness (hello, control) and the ones where you have 0 idea what you are even supposed to do. And I am not a fan of them in general because I tend to get stuck easily. Have you played Trine? It's puzzle platformer that's allows you to do crazy shit. You are playing as 3 characters: Thief (grapling hook, bow), Knight (sword&shield, can break stuff), Wizard (can create boxes that allow to solve certain puzzles). I bought it for like 2$ on sale and it's about 7-10 hours.

[@andreatilli6227]

Loved Trine 2

[@ChrisTheFields]

Ok but what if next month is when he finally decides to stop doing this?

[@razbutwo]

one can only hope

[@videoaccount4323]

I don't get the love Sea of Stars gets. I DNF'd it about 13hrs in. I gave it a real chance, but it just wasn't it. The story, characters and dialog are horrible, it feels like it was written by a high-school er at best. The highest feeling I had towards a character was apathy, and I came to really dislike most of them. The combat seems interesting at first, but it doesn't develop at all. What you're doing at hour 1 is what you're doing at hour 10, and you mostly are just leaning on a single ability from each of your party members. If anyone is looking for a competent, oldschool rpg like this I'd 100% recommend Chained Echoes and HIGHLY recommend avoiding Sea of Stars.

[@razbutwo]

I disagree with the writing being HORRIBLE, but I do think it is the weakest point of the game. I'd have to do some more research on it, but from what I've heard all the writing is all done by the creative director. I assume other people on the team help in some capacity, but I don't think anyone else is hired to help come up with story beats AND help reign in Thierry Boulanger's ideas. I think this leads to a lot of the BIG ideas being pretty cool (especially the lore), but the moment to moment stuff lacking direction and proper motivation. They really should prioritize hiring a team of writers who have experience and expertise that Boulanger lacks. Ultimately, I think the game would have been way better if it had been 15 hours long instead of 30+. Would have given them the ability to hone those 15 hours to be as enjoyable and well paced as possible. Instead they spread themselves too thin, leading to a lot of misses by a certain point.

[@seanaugagnon6383]

Sea of stars. Great combat system. Lack luster item selection, powers, backtracking and exploration.... So yeah. Whenever you find a new weapon there is almost never a thought to it. Just equip it because it's a little better. It just didn't have that... Expansive feeling.

[@aaronkaw4857]

Cocoon lost me at the shooting orb's timing shots at targets spinning around you. At that point, it's not a puzzle game anymore. It's an annoying "angle your shot with an angled perspective in a limitied time where if you miss any, you need to do THE WHOLE THING AGAIN" kill me.

[@jdcheetham]

i found combat in sea of stars really boring. just lacked complexity and team work

[@iAmPimmiCue]

Honestly Sea of Stars was disappointing to me. Combat was the best part, but the writing and story was kinda meh-bad. Not to mention going through the maps was way too slow, and getting the fastest way to travel right at the end of the game was annoying