Games That Hide The Horror In The Ordinary

Many of the games we play nowadays work because they are bombastic, colorful, endlessly packed with wonder. And generally, all of the things that give them those qualities are placed right before our eyes in the form of big moments, big boss fights, big plot points. But there are a handful of games I played recently that make that wonder in the subtext… games that craft their horror in the little things… that create the Devil in the details.
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"Go find a book" (0:00)
Hiding the seams (6:24)
When the ordinary stares back (9:19)
Uncanny familiarity (13:45)
More than a soundtrack (18:40)
Forever just out of reach (22:58)
Thanks for watching! (27:56)
▶Games Shown
Silent Hill: The Short Message (2024)
Devotion (2019)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)
NieR Replicant ver.1.22 (2021)
Soma (2015)
Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth (2024)
Alan Wake 2 (2023)
Astral Chain (2019)
NieR: Automata (2017)
God of War (2018)
Quantum Break (2016)
Alan Wake (2010)
Alan Wake's American Nightmare (2012)
Resident Evil 4 (2023)
Control (2019)
The Stanley Parable: Ultra Deluxe (2022)
The Exit 8 (2023)
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water (2015)
Metroid Dread (2021)
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)
Final Fantasy XIII (2009)
ANNO: Mutationem (2022)
Movies/TV/Anime Shown
Se7en (1995)
John Wick Chapter 3 (2019)
▶Media/Clips/Considerations:
• W A K E
▶Music Sources (in Order):
Oxenfree OST - Cold Comfort
Alan Wake 2 OST - Ambient (Depth Of Field Mix)
Control OST - Sankarin Tango (Finnish Tango)
Rakel - Follow You Into The Dark (Alan Wake 2 Chapter Songs)
There Came an Echo OST - The Singularity
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess OST - The Twilight Realm
No Copyright Cinematic Music Dark Ambient #9 - Soundscape Ambient
( • No Copyright Cinematic... )
Parasite Eve II OST - M.I.S.T
Control OST - Vapour
The Old Gods of Asgard - The Poet and the Muse
Alan Wake 2 OST - Yoton Yo
MOUGLETA - Superhero (Alan Wake 2 Chapter Songs)
SIGNALIS OST - Train Ride
Megaman X Command Mission OST - Sympathy and Sorrow
Rakel - Follow You Into The Dark (Alan Wake 2 Chapter Songs)
Alan Wake 2 OST - Yoton Yo
▶Research Sources
Sam Lake interview - How storytelling creates value in games
venturebeat.com/business/sam-...
Sam Lake and the Remedy team shine a light on what it takes to make games like Alan Wake 2 | BAFTA
• Sam Lake and the Remed...
Alan Wake 2 And The 13 Year Journey To Make It | Audio Logs
• Alan Wake 2 And The 13...
Alan Wake 2: Chapter Songs - Making Of
• Alan Wake 2: Chapter S...
Alan Wake 2 - Behind The Scenes | Alan Wake in the Dark Place
• Alan Wake 2 - Behind T...

[@gavintrout]

*3 Minutes into the video* “FINE, YOU’VE SOLD ME! I’LL PLAY THEM, I’LL PLAY THEM ALL!”

[@DarylTalksGames]

*camera snap zooms to face* “Oh yeah, it’s all coming together”

[@azuarc]

I've played Control, but not the others (unless you count Death Rally back in the 90s.) Maybe I'll consider AW now.

[@delmattia96]

@@azuarc I mean, Death Rally does feature a character called "Tom the Rhymer", a reference to an Historic/Mythological individual. The idea of "Tom the Poet" in the Remedy-verse is based on him. Also, in Alan Wake 2, there is a breakroom with an Arcade Box of Death Rally (not playable, unfortunately). So, Death Rally is definitely part of the Remedy-verse ;)

[@bluecat3338]

@@azuarca tip that might save some frustration down the line: Alan Wake is not absolutely necessary to play before Alan Wake 2 (heresy, I know, but even the people who love it find it frustrating to play) but you do need some level of understanding of the story. Watch a walk through or even just do a wiki trawl (how I did it having also only played Control before I played Alan Wake 2. I had a lovely time even with just that but also did extensive research afterwards up to and including finding a KZbin channel dedicated to breaking down the Remedy ‘verse).

[@necrosadotor]

3 seconds watching pokemon: "FINE, I'LL CATCH THEM ALL"

[@justing.7997]

My backlog just grew

[@rezaman2080]

And my backlog of Daryl's videos just grew as well 😆 One day gonna binge watch!

[@SL4PSH0CK]

​@@rezaman2080 you both I can relate 😂

[@William-Afton_jejcjschheiqx]

Every time I watch a Daryl talks game video my backlog grows

[@thekidd2888]

Same bro.. same

[@Dzztzt]

Social lives are so overrated

[@fireball312]

Cannot fucking believe he hit us with the "it's not a lake, it's an ocean" as the last line lmao. So awesome

[@srikarkavuri9812]

with my fav song from the game

[@loubloom1941]

Sam lake is actually frank Ocean

[@IrontwistFiM]

with the Ocean View book at the end too, damn incredible

[@fearingalma1550]

My ears perked up and my hair stood on end like YOU JUST DID THAT

[@X-SPONGED]

It's not a meme, it's a cognitohazard

[@bubblebeep1592]

Most people I've seen who didn't like control rushed through the game without interacting with any of the notes, videos and audio logs in the game, remedy's magic has always been in the details.

[@matman000000]

I'm usually tired of the old text logs and notes in games, but I've read every piece of paper and watched every tape I've come across in Control because its world was just so weird and fascinating. It's basically SCP lore hidden in a badass superhero shooter. Show me another game where the most terrifying enemy is an old fridge.

[@dostardo3606]

@@matman000000 that's exactly my experience. In most games i really don't put effort in reading any collectible, but with control i was almost compelled to read every single report, every single transcription and watch every single tape. I really love that game and wish i had the patience to play alan wake (the controls just leave me kinda icky, didn't play the secon one though)

[@fluffytheostrich3878]

It's so weird that anyone would rush through control. The game is so intricately crafted and delicately told that nothing would make sense without looking into the details

[@wellurban]

I loved those aspects of Control, but what I didn’t like was that despite all of the resonant weirdness of the plot and the stunning environments, so much of the gameplay boiled down to just another shooter. I generally dislike shooters and hate boss battles, so that was really frustrating and offputting for me. Smashing up the environment was a nice twist on that, but the combat scenes were mostly just an annoyance. If it had been more of an immersive sim, with options to work around combat, I would have enjoyed it a lot more, and I think that would have been more tonally congruent with the eeriness and complex storytelling.

[@yavorvlaskov5404]

The combat got really samey for me so I realized it was making me rush through things so I can get the game "done with". I switched to one-kill option and just read every collectible and yeah, they were top notch, it was some good X-files soup. I would not however call it good in design overall, they may be the best notes in a game but as Yahtzee often points out, anything that stops you from playing the game is not good game design. Should have been pure audiotapes.

[@Roccondil]

I was actually wondering if you'd mention The Janitor, who seems to appear everywhere in each of the Remedy games. A normally unassuming member of society, there to clean up places after everyone else has gone home for the day. The person that all too many pass by without a second glance, never knowing their name or showing appreciation. And yet this Janitor knows a lot more than he's letting on... possibly everything about the world and how it works, maybe even an orchestrator of events. However, it is quite certain the world would fall apart without him...

[@sippy1sippy]

Not to mention, a janitor has the key to every room in the building.

[@fionamaecry7579]

Ahti!!!

[@OiCroco]

I’m pretty sure Ahti is a deity, god of the sea/water perhaps in Finnish folklore. It’s a big rabbit hole I’d recommend having a look. It explains why he moves so freely throughout different planes of existence and knows so much about everything.

[@cregerbot8217]

@@sippy1sippy a key to every door… hmmm

[@christopherverhoef9112]

The Finnish word for "janitor" literally translates to "man of the house". Which, considering where you first find him...

[@Zachafinackus]

I like the detail in Helldivers 2 (of all games) where after Basic Training there is a few monolithic plaques that you can read that have the contract for being a Helldiver on it. Reading said contract is against the contract, and not reading it is automatic acceptance lol.

[@lolusuck386]

Helldivers has some amazing little details that make the game so funny. The superstore reviews will sometimes have a 1 star review that was redacted and being investigated for treason, Earth is the literal center of the universe on the map, and the ship broadcasts give so many great details about civilian life.

[@shiroganetsuki9634]

To answer the question why make something like that if most of the players wont notice: as a creative writer I can tell you: it's fun! It's so much fun to create something this complex and consistent, even spanning more than one title. And if just one player finds the hints, connects the dots, does the work and follows the breadcrumbs it's just satisfying xD On another note I wanted to honorably mention Half Life here, which achieved a similar mystery in gaming history.

[@SidPhoenix2211]

I'm an artist currently working on creating character designs for a portfolio. But I didn't wanna just make random, cool-looking characters without any context. So I spent a lot of time researching and thinking about and putting together a plausible world for the characters to exist in. A proper story. The audience (employers mainly lol) won't see all these background details that I paintsakingly thought about and crafted, they will just see the final product. But I think that giving all these things thought and consideration absolutely SHOWS in the final product. Things won't feel one-dimensional.

[@MrSpartan993]

@@SidPhoenix2211 that’s the sign an artist who actually loves what they do. I’m happy for you!

[@TheCaliforniaHP]

100% agree as a published writer myself. There's the story, then there's references and connections that specific people might figure out or understand. If you notice that's wonderful but it also doesn't kill your appreciation of the story. But when someone really gets into knowing aspects it's so much fun!

[@thechosenone3852]

And also Portal.

[@wiiuandmii7619]

Environmental scarytelling

[@high.level.noob.]

As a Finnish citizen, I am proud of what this small country has done.

[@eee2861]

The creatives at Remedy did the work. The country had nothing to do with it, you had nothing to do with it. All this "Suomi mainittu" stuff is super cringe.

[@z01k1]

@@eee2861 commenting is cringe

[@spirostsiggenopoulos6385]

This and the Fear and Hunger games, you Finns are really something huh.

[@kode-man23]

So much metal too 🤘🏼

[@rickiesgucci4814]

@@eee2861you dont realize how influential finland is on the game market despite its size

[@stanleyerdyanto287]

control really scratched the itch for scp games for me. the details were amazing

[@MrJsuave18]

YES!!

[@MrSpartan993]

Very much so!

[@zimbiotic7325]

Funny you say that because control was inspired by the SCP forums !:D

[@MetalMockingjay]

​@@zimbiotic7325That's pretty obvious to anyone who reads the documents.

[@zimbiotic7325]

@@MetalMockingjay yeah but some people didn’t and you have to give them the benefit of the doubt!

[@dragonstring1]

The details about Old Gods of Asgard really blew my mind. I found that song on iTunes last year, and had no idea the band is fictional or that it was tied to the Remedy-verse. Amazing!

[@lolusuck386]

Go look up Poets of the Fall, the real band behind Old Gods of Asgard. If you liked Old Gods, you'll probably love Poets as well.

[@jameslenze64]

I've been a fan of Poets of the Fall for years and years. After listening to them a lot on Spotify, the algorithm served me up "Children of the Elder God," which is an Old Gods of Asgard song. I thought, "that's cool, they sound like Poets as a metal band," and went on with life. A year or so later, I played Alan Wake 1, and there's a part where a radio broadcast is playing in the background and they put on a Poets song, comparing them to Old Gods. Turns out Sam Lake is friends with Poets of the Fall. It was awesome.

[@SithMirth]

Great essay! So, Oceanview Motel in Control. During a point where it's nighttime outside, I was able to get a small glimpse of the outside through a window. It was a desert landscape, barren except the one thing you can barely make out: the Oceanview Motel sign from Alan Wake's American Nightmare, a story written by Wake as an escape attempt.

[@trevordavison4078]

Oh fascinating - I hadn’t considered that angle (largely cause I never played American Nightmare) I’ll have to keep my eyes out if I play through Control again

[@embyrr922]

I love stories that feel like like the author has binders and binders of backstory and worldbuilding, but only put in what was necessary. Loose ends keep the world from being a bubble, but only if you have confidence that there is an explanation that you're not being given.

[@sputnik5676]

Short Message's library is particularly egregious because it's a *Silent Hill* game, a series whose original entries were overflowing with so much world building minutia that people are still pouring over them today. Silent Hill 3 even had a fully realized bookstore

[@turnipslop3822]

I feel like it's intentional, and that a library filled with only the same books is intentionally unsettling. Like how your brain doesn't actually populate a library in a dream with real books. It just shows something that implies more. Here they are drawing your attention to the uncanny nature of the world by making you look for one special book in a library full of blah blah blah. Additionally actually hiding a book in a fully stocked library wouldn't be fun. Players would waste time actually checking every shelf.

[@MegaBearsFan]

In defense of the developers of The Short Message, the library in The Short Message isn't a real library. It's a mental projection of a library from the protagonist's psyche. The repetition of those few books in particular might be because those are the books that she's most familiar with because they might be the required textbooks for her high school classes, or they are books that she has personally checked out from the library to read on her own time. It could be interesting to do some research into whether those books in The Short Message are real books, and if so, what are they about? Perhaps they have some thematic relevance or provide some context about the game's narrative (in addition to the super-obvious themes and context that the game explicitly spells out and hits the player over the head with). The library in SH3, on the other hand, is a real place (albeit a place that is transformed from its natural state) that exists independently of the protagonist's mind, and so is populated with real books.

[@AnaCarolinaCosta]

i respect that reasoning but to me it feels more like an excuse to be able to design the library in that way. It can be the same explanation with the sticky notes and i would still feel like it missed an opportunity to do something more interesting than that idk tho @@MegaBearsFan

[@ASpooneyBard]

@@AnaCarolinaCosta I agree. Regardless of the intention, it still LOOKS lazy. I think a better way to convey that dream-like quality would be to make all of the titles gibberish. Like those early AI images- They look like words but are unreadable. The other books blur together, and the one you need stands out. It even makes it easier to overlook any copy-pasting because it's already clear what they were going for.

[@ASpooneyBard]

I also want to share OP's sentiment about SH3. Every location in that game feels real, but just a little off, as it should. Early on, you can go into what is basically a Burger King (the legally-distinct "Happy Burger") And every detail, from the shape of the booths and the counter, to the colors on the menu are spot-on. This is an optional location that you can pass right by. There's no lore, no secret weapons, or a joke ending, just a couple of minor healing items. I didn't know it was there my first few playthroughs, but they put in the effort. That's the second time in a week that I've been reminded that I need to play that game again, but now I need to play Control and the Alan Wake games. I'm so conflicted.

[@vinga1780]

as a kingdom heart fan i can confirm i always do that deep sigh when someone asks me to explain the lore

[@Antonwas12]

"learning the plot of kingdom hearts" is probably my favorite video on youtube

[@shamsham1229]

If you've got the time, I highly recommend Prey (2017). I finished it recently and I can't remember the last time I played a game with so much attention and care put into every little environmental detail, it was incredible.

[@LecheFressa]

This 100%!!

[@KamikaZedManga]

Agreed, that game is criminally underrated

[@faroazandeen589]

It was great and after that Arkane fell off. They copy paste the same game and slap a different name on it everytime. The only time they did something different was that vampire online game which got abysmal ratings 🥲

[@DearShion]

@@faroazandeen589 you can't be serious. The Dishonored series (only 3 games) are amazing games, with incredible and adaptable gameplay which allows for some of the most varried experiences in video games... The art, story and attention to detail are some of the best in all of video games history. Each game is unique, you play a different character everytime with different abilities... In the second opus you can even mix up the characters' abilities as you wish. Those games were considered the best of the immervive sim genre and all around very good games. Just say you didn't play them and move on...

[@faroazandeen589]

@@DearShion OR... It could just be that I don't like those games.

[@chenkunnie]

The ending though, that's good

[@DarylTalksGames]

I’m very curious to see how it’s received haha

[@chenkunnie]

@@DarylTalksGames I would say that the ocean view and the ignore this whole thing came together and formed a double punch line, love it

[@gavintrout]

That was a crazy good payoff! When it clicked in my head I did the Leonardo DiCaprio pointing meme IRL.

[@LeUberTroll]

The best ad for remedy and the talent of Sam Lake. I played my first remedy game, Max Payne, about a year ago. The congruity of small details, the atmosphere, 3rd wall breaking, and style just captivated me but I never played anything else from them. Time to change that

[@patrickporter4440]

I was so drawn in by Alan Wake 2, it's one of my favorite games of all time. When I was playing it, I wrote a ton of the graffiti messages on my white board outside of my bedroom. I used the little details that drew me into the game to keep me connected with it while I wasn't playing.

[@mguin2104]

explore the decor of the Oceanview where the doors only open for a chosen few check your logic at the desk, you won't need it to progress a dream is just a test to be broken through - Into the Void, Stupendium

[@mguin2104]

not usually prone to quoting but this song drew me to Control & your video is likely to draw me to Alan Wake 2, in spite of not being into fps fighty games. Love some good lore, esp environmentally rich lore

[@vectormanforever]

I love it when someone has call backs or... call forwards?... to their other works. Back when my life was nothing but L4D2 mods, I found a map that had some very random easter eggs in it. Without knowing it, each one was either explaining something weird in a past mod or teasing a future one, and they continued to do this until the last mod they made. The mod itself yet again referencing stuff, but the whole thing was clearly signalling that the mod author was done. Every bit of graffiti, every message, the map itself ending in after a nuke went off and your health is draining from nuclear fallout and you don't even get rescued. Except there was a graffiti art that never got used, that you could find if you decompliled the file the mod was in and it was random art of a character. Even in the last mod they made, they were still leaving cryptid hints to the future. I always found it so damn cool.

[@ivankonishi7979]

the oceanview transitions are soo goooood

[@lukapitkanen3333]

I felt so cozy every time I went through the motel in Control

[@glengreer9614]

Get in, losers… we’re going Daryling!

[@delmattia96]

This video is dynamite ;)

[@emilyrln]

It's so fetch!

[@paleona5820]

I haven't played these games, but I'm surprised more people aren't talking about the extreme Twin Peaks vibes they give off. There are even what seem to be nods towards it (the red curtains, small town feel, the light lady essentially being this story's Log Lady). Would also like to mention the Address Unknown series in Max Payne, which mirrors what Max is going through. Love that Remedy included that detail.

[@lolusuck386]

Sam Lake is clearly a fan of Twin Peaks. The Oh Deer! Diner is almost exactly the same layout as the diner in the show.

[@helmaschine1885]

There are several KZbin docs that specifically explain every single Twin peak reference in alan wake. It's well known and has been discussed for years, hust search it up.

[@targard.quantumfrack6854]

I think it was pretty obvious in Alan Wake 1. Have you played Deadly Premonition? It's even more blatant lol. Weird and flawed game but it smells like passion.

[@jubileechambers2604]

Sam lake the creator of Alan Wake throughout all of this has talked very clearly that David Lynch is a huge inspiration for Alan Wake. Especially during the first games development and marketing. They even modeled it after the same town that Twin Peaks did in the first game coming to the Pacific Northwest for several weeks and coming back with hundreds of pictures. So yes you are completely correct.

[@GayDude69]

What struck me playing Control was how well the developers understand the medium of digital games they're working in. The broad rule of thumb is to keep the environment around the player stable. Avoid texture glitches or objects loading in. But Control happily unloads and reloads environments around you. The portraits of Hesse as the director change after she takes up the gun. Walls appear behind you, you often question the layout of the floors because video games aren’t constrained to physical reality. An object only has physics or is solid because the program is told to treat it as such. This allows Remedy to really lean heavily into the space bending otherworldly nature of the world in those games.

[@DX795Q]

In theory, but in practice the fact that it's so scripted takes away from the magic. They could have made the game about the shifting Old House but instead it's a linear action shooter. It's a great game, 9/10, but it's not 10/10.

[@darestep7844]

23:25 This actually reminded me of something Toby Fox seems to be setting up in Undertale and Deltarune. In Snowdin Sans gives you a word search that features a character named "Icee" and this character is seemingly never brought up again. In Deltarune however there is now an Icee Pizzeria where the Deltarune version of Burgerpants works. Icee also appears in Chapter 2's Cyber World briefly when you solve a puzzle to get a blue check mark. The puzzle directly calls back to the word search because the solution is one of the answers in the word search. (The answer is literally just the entire top row of the word search lol). Finally a few months ago a Spamton Sweepstakes Event was held where we got a truckload of new lore about Spamton, Kris, and Noelle and in one hidden story you can learn about how Kris, Noelle, Asriel, and Dess buried a burnt Icee's Pizza Box in the graveyard. (You just can't make this stuff up) Now the community is theorizing that we may get a restaurant themed Icee Dark World at some point or we may get a Graveyard Dark World where the buried pizza box may become a secret boss or something. By the way if anyone reading this is a fan of Deltarune and hasn't checked out the Spamton Sweepstakes I highly recommend taking a look at it. You can find it at the bottom of the Deltarune site under News and Updates. My advice is literally click on everything, every link is a secret.

[@kaleenar963]

Toby Fox lore always gives me the impression that it’s barely held together with duct tape and bubblegum and that if you look to closely the entire thing will fall apart from plot holes, yet no matter how closely I look I can’t find anything that makes it crack. I keep thinking “It feels like there’s an oversight here, but I don’t actually know what it is.” The lore really should be making me angry from the confusion but it doesn’t, in the words of Todd Howard: “It just works!” I don’t know if this is the same feeling Daryl was describing in the video, I’m not familiar with Remedy’s games.

[@DudleyKetsukane]

Honestly Alan wake in terms of plot and writing is just weirdly similar to deltarune I mean both games have a dark presence that turns non livings things into reality (in alan wake it's fiction in deltarune it's inanimate objects) and are based concentrated primarily in one place (the dark place in alan wake and the dark worlds in deltarune) and both of these are used as vehicles to explore the relationship between the person viewing the art and the art itself.

[@skalicia]

To be a bit of a mega nerd for a moment, and also add another strange layer to the Ice-E puzzle; none of the gibberish words match Exactly. They're all one letter off. The word search asks you to find "giasfclfebrehber" which is what the other two are one letter off from matching. The top row of the word search changes the "feb" to "fub" while the Deltarune puzzle changes "fcl" to "fel" instead. When it was just the two in the word search, I chalked it up to Sans pranking you and making the puzzle technically impossible to pass if you were to sit down and try it. Now that it's in Deltarune... Well, unless it somehow shows up as having story significance, I'm going to chalk it up as Toby having a little fun with those of us who noticed such a small detail; as much as it drives me a little insane.

[@thirdcoinedge]

I can't wait for Deltarune to be finished. Might not be for another few years, but hey, I got time. Will be very interesting to see the full picture of what exactly Toby Fox has in store for us this time around.

[@tax1283]

That ending was phenomenal. I'm playing the games soon, but my god.

[@uncleiroh5983]

Xenoblade did something similar about the retconning of the first one to make it connect to the second one. One very small change in Definitive Edition was enough to confirm a popular theory people had even before Definitive Edition came out, since 2 was released before it

[@Dzztzt]

I had to take a long break from Xenoblade. It became all I could think about.

[@Jemini.W]

It's videos like these that make me so happy I found your channel. I love your videos that take a more "research" oriented approach with referenced experiments and studies, but this format has it's own benefits. I could feel the passion you have towards games that leave you wondering. Keep up the good work!

[@steelbulwark8094]

Yeah... I've been wanting to play Control for a while, now I need to just play Every. Single. Remedy. Game.

[@NrettG]

Honestly, you can play Control by itself. It's so perfectly made that people didn't even connect it to Alan Wake until much later with the AWE DLC (Alan Wake Expansion)

[@kinothemystic]

@@NrettG nah, people (including me) found direct connections way earlier in the base game, in 2019. There are documents found, i think before the Panopticon area, that talk about Bright Falls and what happened there. There's also a manuscript page (altered item) in the Panopticon in a hidden area and when you go up to it, an overlayed vision of Alan Wake appears. This was all before the AWE DLC was even announced, and day one of the game coming out.

[@NrettG]

@@kinothemystic Huh, I never knew it was there day one. I played much later (Ultimate Edition) and just assumed that all the alan wake connections were added post announcement (with the exception of mr. door and such)

[@kinothemystic]

@@NrettG yep!! So as a huge Alan Wake fan since 2010, I freaked the hell out when i came across those documents. Regarding Mr. Door, *that* character is in reference to a character named Martin Hatch in Quantum Break. Pretty much an alternate version of the character since Remedy doesnt own the Quantum Break IP

[@lolusuck386]

​@@kinothemysticsame goes for Alex Casey, the obvious stand-in for Max Payne since Rockstar owns that IP.

[@Vlakod]

As one dude said, "Same Lake, you HACK!!(affectionately)"

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Wise dude

[@drgonzo123]

I love when one of your videos come out. I put you, Adam Millard, Razbuten, and Monty Zander all in the same high tier category for video game essayists. I drop everything and watch when your videos come out. Thanks for all the great content.

[@liammcnicholas918]

Don’t forget Joseph Anderson

[@Ash-pv3vq]

and lextorias !

[@alexterieur8813]

eurothug4000

[@dust9307]

Surely Raycevick as well!

[@sterlinghuntington6109]

Jacob Gellar

[@shadowSquall1]

I think your original title referencing the devils in the details makes more sense. As this video is less about horror, and more about that over-abundance of detail that seems so well thought out but still just beyond our understanding. Either way, its a great video and another example of how you're one of the more interesting video-game essayists out there. Cheers!

[@ejgeorge23]

Watching the Creative director say out loud that there is a lot of fun to be had looking back and finding interesting ways of connecting the details to fit the new story and world and plot makes me want to show this to the team that does Zelda at Nintendo HQ. Instead of saying the timeline "restricts them" they should have fun! Connecting old details that at the time meant nothing to new thing!! Like the fans do ALL THE TIME. Nintendo sometimes feel like a bunch of Aliens doing good games by chance and not understanding why people liked them.......

[@mohammadhussien5223]

This makes me wanna go back and replay Alan Wake 2 simply my goty of 2023. Great video mate.

[@kyrionbookshield2205]

*takes notes for dming his dnd sessions* >:3 nice. I love your works. This is useful.

[@OwlyLyra]

Holy shit, dude... As someone who just recently went through the journey of Alan Wake, Control, and of course, AW2... I feel this video encapsulates so many of the thoughts I didn't even know I was having about these games. Well done, man, my god...

[@Wonzling0815]

Not only are all the subway signs in AW2 relevant, they are all quotes from AW1. If you've played AW1 a few times (or one REALLY perceptive time), the moment of recognition in AW2 is eerie

[@phylippezimmermannpaquin2062]

I can't even hear the name sam lake without hearing *you hack* in the back of my mind. God bless him

[@Ashtarte3D]

I love that you picked up on the lowkey best song in Alan Wake 2 "Follow You In To the Dark" cause that was the first time I let the song just roll during my playthrough and was enraptured.

[@delikatessbruhe9843]

So I finished Control just a few weeks ago and it was one of the few games that kept me interested enough to read/listen to/watch every scrap of lore info I could find in game. And I think I found a lot but somehow it always made me feel like there is more. Like *I* am the reason I'm not getting the full picture, not the game itself. The other thing I found fascinating is that essentially you spend the entire game waiting for a jumpscare that never comes - or in my case regularly jumpscare yourself with the most normal stuff you wouldn't look twice at if the game didn't create this atmosphere of tension around you literally all the time. The ending of the story though (so uhm vague spoilers from here) I found slightly disappointing. I almost think it tried to explain too much. I remember feeling so dumbfounded after the "first credits", so utterly confused and ready to think this through and figure it out, that I almost wish it had ended there.

[@DarylTalksGames]

100%, that’s how it was for me too. It felt like most real world “unexplainable events” feel, like you have just enough info to be really unsettled by it, but it’s clear we’re all missing something. And somehow, that makes it even stranger. I agree on the end though, it was just… fine haha. I did read that Sam Lake and the crew purposefully structured the end such that nothing really changes. You can still move around the house, investigate anomalies, etc. They wanted to narratively allow you to keep playing and tying up loose ends, which was… a choice haha. Though I think it’ll set up Control 2 nicely.

[@Chandlaman]

i’ve been over here enjoying these art pieces and you took each of them and dissected them in the most profound and conclusive way. but like you said, “they leave just enough for us to want more..” so true.

[@TextualDeviant]

Voices of the Void perfectly fits this category, too, and in a few ironic ways given the monsters therein. Try it without spoilers and you'll get wowed- it's a free early access game!

[@Salmonella4Skin]

Absolutely amazing video as usual! Having someone as talented as yourself put my feeling towards these games into words is just fantastic. They are most certainly cut from a different cloth and Remedy truly oozes atmosphere and passion for what they do. Thankful you are out here showing games the love they deserve, Daryl!

[@strangejett1394]

I've been a fan of Remedy for a while, and am incredibly happy to see this video. They don't make perfect games, but all of them are so very special in a way no other games ever will be. I will always play, and buy, any new game they make on day one. You don't see this kind of genius in video games very often.

[@jonathancloutier4956]

My god this is such a perfect explanation of what Remedy's narration and World building is at its core. You've nailed it. And that last line... Perfection 👌

[@eduardomedeiros3245]

I didn’t find this video. It found me, and it was exactly what I needed! Thank for taking the time and producing such a gem!

[@delmattia96]

Thank you for choosing to speak about Remedy

[@danteburnside5421]

Dude, I LOVE Remedy's games. You can genuinely tell how passionate they are about making these weird, crazy stories.

[@taylorhancock5834]

Control is a favorite game of mine for good reason, and this is it: both how fully fleshed out the world is, with how seamless things are, and also the feeling that everything in The Oldest House is so incredibly mundane and normal (even to many who work there) while being crazy from an outside perspective

[@killer1one1]

Thanks for mostly translating and putting into words how I feel about Remedy. I played Max Payne 2 at 10 years old when it was new, and it was those little inter-connected details (the comic book panels, in-game TV shows, environmental storytelling, fake ads/brands, NPC conversations) that *literally* shaped how I view and interact with the real world. I'm not kidding, I "blame" these games for how I fundamentally see the world, as well as my philosophy on life lol. Everything is an echo or a loop of everything else, and we are just stuck somewhere in the middle trying to make sense of all of it... which we absolutely can't, but we find it engaging to try anyway.

[@kiiroshidori4296]

This gave me chills and almost made me cry. Honestly, great games, and a marvelous video about them. Just goes to show how much joy this loving attention to detail can bring.

[@hanthemayor]

This is such a well done video!! As a big Remedy fan myself i truly couldn't put into words why i love these games better than you did here!! Life itself in a way feels much bigger than we can ever truly grasp and no matter how bizarre the events of these games are it very much gives you that feeling and that makes them feel so real. All of these little details they put into the games, if you look around make the world around you feel real and i adore that!! Thanks for making this video, great job!!

[@TVD-hc3cm]

I never noticed all of these little details when I first played these games. Making an virtual environment through which the player can walk through has really become an art of its own.

[@Spieledota1995]

From someone who loves and has done alot of viewing and analyzing the game as well as the secondary sources such as interviews I can tell you I DEEPLY appreciate this video. I could never put into words all the things you convey in this video in such an orderly yet entertaining manner. I see what you did with the title :D.

[@madrazz8888]

The original 3 Silent Hills (and maybe 4 too) did this, which is why there are so, so many videos theorizing about it. Alan Wake is more complex though, yet similar. Both projecting horror from inside a person's mind to the outside because the location has special dark powers that interact with certain compatible individuals.

[@cbpzombie5462]

That idea of music making you feel as if you’re peering into a small microcosm of the world is also used in Final Fantasy 14, at least in some cases. Some boss fights have lyrics that tell a story or are some form of the boss speaking to you, and while not always like that, the ones that do it are pretty interesting, like the song “Equilibrium”

[@massimodalessandro108]

Yesss I really LOVE the Remedyverse, been hoping you'd tackle a video on these games, thanks a lot!!

[@Treia24]

"let the subtext do the heavy lifting" good lord, you are not kidding! I haven't even played *any* of their games, but just watching every single available cutscene compilation and letsplay and analysis of Control and trying to figure out wtf is going on is LITERALLY a game in and of itself!

[@Matthew-wm8tt]

Amazing video, I'd never gotten into these games but I liked the title and description of this video so I thought I'd listen anyway. I'm glad I did, as you did a terrific job of going over the intricacies of this studio weaving a story with subtext throughout their games. I now want to play these games and experience this sense of wonder found in the details myself. I always enjoy piecing together a puzzle like this, so thanks again for the great video.

[@thinethm]

One of my favourite creators releasing a video on the Remedy games I'm currently beyond obsessed with, ON my birthday?? What a treat, thank you Daryl 🙌

[@DarylTalksGames]

Happy birthday!!

[@thinethm]

@@DarylTalksGames Thank you!! And thanks for making this video, I loved it! Even spotted a few details from AW2 I missed 👀 I'll sign up for your patreon after this, keep up the great work man!

[@dudaseifert]

daryl, honestly, your videos are pure BANGERS. i only played quantum break out of those 4, but i couldn't take my eyes off of the screen

[@liammcnicholas918]

My takeaway from this video: Remedy rules.

[@Grogeous_Maximus]

This is probably the most interesting video you've made up until now. This is going on repeat for the rest of my night at work - thank you.

[@mattgenaro]

The level of dedication to create such an immersive universe through careful detailed storytelling is supranatural. Remedy is not what gamers want, is what gamers need.

[@user-xw5hp8ic1h]

I literally get goosebumps at the end man. A great video as always.

[@Fachewachewa]

Excuse me! There's nothing more exciting than someone asking me about KH lore!!! (part of the excitement might be because nobody ever asks...)

[@PhryneMnesarete]

The story in Remedy’s games is as deep as you want it to be. If you just look at the surface, they still make sense. They’re a little confusing, but they make sense. But if you are the kind of person to think deeply about these games and what they mean, then you find great depth and meaning. They are as shallow or as profound as their players. It makes me think of a quote from one of my favourite poets: “Beyond the shadow you settle for, there is a miracle illuminated.”

[@andrewcarlson3024]

Thanks for covering some of my favorite games in recent memory! I had played Alan Wake and then Control came along and really resonated with me. Lore littered everywhere, explaining our own real world mythology and legends, and still pulling back the curtain on the world of Control itself just enough to keep you looking for more. Will pick up Alan Wake 2 in the near future to keep going down that rabbit hole.

[@thomasantrobus8261]

Loved this video, Daryl! A love letter to Remedy which really grasps a large part of why I adore their storytelling. Hope you’ve had a great day and thank you for your work :)

[@alloytitanium5972]

One small thing that blew my mind away is that with every chapter for Alan, the ending song is just fragments of a song called "The Road" composed by Poe, the fragment of the song is first composed 11 years ago!

[@ferran273]

No one has convinced me to play Remedy Entertainment games as much as you. Magnificent work on this video.

[@hikariyubashiri860]

You Really do need more subscribers. Your content is of the level that deserves at least 3 million, if not more. If anything, I simply wish you had more money just so you could post more often. Because your content is insanely compelling

[@PlebNC]

Mentions Sam Lake Bricky fans: *"You hack!" noises*

[@delmattia96]

It became part of my everyday vocabulary!

[@spirostsiggenopoulos6385]

Sam Hack you Lake

[@captcha42]

There it is !

[@sludgerat666]

The more than a soundtrack segment was wonderful. You put to words how I feel about music and the mystical powers it can possess. Great video.

[@emmjaygames]

Thank you for these additions to my backlog :) and also, the sound in this is incredible, great job tying the music to the mood :)

[@eltonxxmaniac]

I just finished Alan Wake 1, so this was some good timing getting me excited to finish up the bonus stuff and get to American Nightmare and AW2. You really put into words why I’m so into Remedy’s stuff, I love how detail oriented their games are, constantly stopping to read, watch, and inspect every inch just to see what’s there.

[@Teflora]

The Remedyverse gives me a similar feeling the One Piece world does! There's tons of connections, characters from many years ago play a role again, things happen parallel to the story, but outside the story. There are many mysteries and whenever you get an answer you have 3 new questions. There's tons of details in the background, a lot of people will miss it. But that's where the great community aspect comes into it. Some people will find the hidden things and show them to others via online posts, videos and podcasts. They form their own theories and no matter if they are correct or debunked, it feels super satisfying to think about them and trying to make sense of everything! You can feel the effort the creators put in is worth it bc someone will pick up on it and magnify it through their own lens. I feel like in the middle of a big mystery and we're all experiencing and solving it together! I wanna know what the One Piece is, but at the same time I don't want it ever to end, same with the Remedyverse.

[@Chuggington_Videos]

This is your best video. I've added this to my Greatest Video Essays playlist, the writing in this video was absolutely fantastic. I was hooked on every word.

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Nice sub list. Lots of common ground

[@GameTalesHQ]

These games were already on my 'to play' list but they've shot up to the top spot. I f'n love your videos

[@kinothemystic]

i highly recommend playing in this order -> Alan Wake, Alan Wake's American Nightmare, Quantum Break, Control + AWE DLC, Alan Wake 2

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@kinothemystic That's the order of release right? I usually go that route!

[@kinothemystic]

@@GameTalesHQ yep!! you can also optionally play through Max Payne 1 and 2

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@kinothemystic I'm already a huge fan of the Max Payne series, I even made a deep dive video on the first game a month ago haha!

[@kinothemystic]

@@GameTalesHQ just gonna say this: When playing through Alan Wake 1, keep an eye out on anything relating to a character named Alex Casey. And i will check that video out!!

[@BetaVoltzDK]

Nier mentioned. I repeat, Nier mentioned! Alright, on a more serious note, I had no idea these games went so far with the story. I played a bit of Control and have always been curious about Alan Wake, but I never actually properly dove into any of it. This kind of story telling and world building is my absolute favorite kind of writing and you have most certainly convinced me to play the games and study the intricacies. Thank you for bringing this to my attention

[@MiloAC]

Dude your editing blows me away every single fricking time

[@AtomicFear]

Since I found your channel, I had been deeply hoping that at some point you would cover Remedy's titles because of how incredible their detail-orientedness is. I'm so happy to say that this video exceeded my expectations and the ending line was like a sucker-punch of joy. You covered things I didn't even know about their games! (Little detail I love that you mightve missed, the fountain in AW2 has cracks that form the Bird's Eye Cabin in AW1!) Thanks for this banger of a video. You just earned yourself a new patron.

[@bingusbongus8519]

One thing that you didn’t mention was the ng+ mode in Alan wake 2. It’s called the Final Draft and is very involved in knowledge about the world and the story unfolding. Due to various events in the first playthrough the characters have some vague idea that what’s unfolding has already happened. There are new notes, videos, story points, and a new ending. You gain a deeper understanding of what’s happening by interacting with the world more.

[@ThePeasantsRejoice]

This video was great, and I must say your editing is on point! I'm always down to hear some Remedy love! Control 2 simply can't get here soon enough.

[@lorenzodozzini6051]

You totally nailed it with this one and if you wanted to encourage me to go play these games you successed

[@sc00t]

You explain and describe my love for these games so perfectly that it all makes sense. There is enough details and breadcrumbs to follow and find that make the world feel so rewarding to take an interest in and make all the effort in finding those details just make it all worth it

[@Gnomable]

It's great the studio has stuck around long enough to get a chance to connect their games like this

[@ninthreaver]

"life isn't a lake, you can't see it all from a hilltop, you can't reach the bottom... its an ocean" damn, that hit hard!

[@Dhruv-_-0.]

Love the disclaimer! That's what any review should do, encourage to play!

[@patchpen5613]

Any positive review, at least.

[@IamSilent121]

I've played just about every remedy game aside from the Max Payne games. So there may have been some bits I've missed, but I've played every Remedy game after those. AW 1, Quantum Break, CONTROL, AW 2, and my god. When I saw those graffiti's and the posters using lines directly from the first game, and then Ocean View came up, and then I saw all those symbols on the doors similarly as CONTROL, it was so amazing! I love that explanation as well you brough up that Sam Lake had mentioned about them just not wanting to hand you the answers, and they never will. Its up to the player or, "reader" to interpret what it all means and no two conclusions will be the same. It really opens up this whole Remedy-verse to discussions with so many people, and I am so happy Alan Wake II has brought in so many more people who have interest in this style of storytelling! I have always loved stories with elements of mind bending and a aspect of "challenging your perspective" by making you question what is real by showing you the real world is not what you think it is in Remedy's universe. Like Jesse says right in the opening of CONTROL. Sam is telling people right from the beginning: "Forget what you thought you knew about the world, its much bigger than any of you ever thought" by referencing Shawshank Redemption as a means of explaining it, without outright explaining it, leaving it up to your interpretation of the information provided. Like the world you know is a prison cell, and that cell has a poster of something you'd find nice, but behind that poster is a hole that leads to the real world, and when something crawls from behind the poster, you freak out, and try to forget what you saw... or obsess over it. Its this open ended "choice" of what *YOU* think is going on in this world, what you choose to believe is happening in this world that makes it real for each individual person. And that makes it so memorable, because the only thing more memorable to someone than being told the answer and just being that, is a decision the reader/player makes of their own volition, because its *YOURS* now. The Oldest House for me, feels like a nod to a book (I own and haven't read just yet) called "House of Leaves." Premise beginning with a family moving into a house that they quickly find out, after measuring the inside of the house versus the outside of the house, its bigger on the inside than it is outside! As the story progresses things quickly grow out of hand, the house shifts inside becoming labyrinthian, working in patterns, endless looping staircases, windows on the floor, and doors on the ceiling. Bathtubs that when filled with water, just endlessly go down infinitely into cold watery depths. Pitch dark endless wide open spaces with maze like hallways, nothing decorating the walls or floors, with no ceiling in sight. I love mind bending tales like this, something about challenging my understanding of "REAL" just grabs me like nothing else. To all the new fans of Remedy games, welcome!

[@Kiy86]

Amazing video once again Daryl! Applauds for pronouncing "Yötön Yö" so well!

[@WeekndWarriorrr]

I think the reason Remedy makes such good games is because they make games they would genuinely like to play. That have ideas or concepts they find interesting. They're not making games for a target audience with targeted ideas. In other words there's no hidden agenda, and in doing so they end up making games alot of people enjoy. This video was extremely well done btw.

[@Secretor]

Thanks for referencing the music used in the description.

[@TheHustler245]

This video has made me want to play the Alan Wake games more than anything else ever has. Sam Lake also seems like a really cool guy.

[@Zero-OO7]

if not for the fact that I scare easily and am terrified of horror games, I would definitely play this game because the story is fascinating. Honestly beautifully made video :)

[@pennplayz]

Its always really nice when a video is able to *perfectly* put into words how I feel about something, I absolutely adore Remedy and that fascination started with Alan Wake 1/2, and this video touches on literally everything i love about these games and their stories and just *why* they feel so special

[@dortuff]

This is something that is good and tickles the brain so well, I not only have five games to now play but to appreciate in a way that I would not have been able to without this video. I like this. Good job.

[@atakji_art]

beginning of last year i played Control because my best friend saw it, thought it was confusing and say I should play it while he watches because "it would be funny to see you understand nothing". Little did he know nor expect that i like that game a lot. Somehow I think it's quite calming to know that you know nothing and might never understand anything in that game. I was just there to have fun, explore and interact with the world. End of last year then I finally played Alan Wake 1 and the biggest thing that stood out was the band. Because they reminded me of something I've heard before. I googled a bit and yeah, it was the same band that did music for Control - surprise. And that sunk so deep into my brain; the level of detail, the radio you find in Alan wake at some point where the host says something like "And now, Poets of the fall! They remind me of another band..." making that link obvious was so amazing to me that I told everyone about it. And only after that I noticed smaller hints and bits and pieces. It's kinda sad to think about how much I must have missed because I played Control first, but it's still very funny to me that this all started basically as a joke because my best friend thought it would be funny to watch me play this confusing game

[@ZephyrusAsmodeus]

I'm a very amateur writer, and I absolutely agree that looking back on a story and finding or weaving elements, hints, and chekov guns together into a satisfying payoff or intreaging little subtextal easter egg- it's a dopamine rush like no other, like solving a puzzle of your own making.