Games That Took A Dark Turn

[@Cat-uo4vw]

What I like about the ME Overlord dlc is that when you go to Grissom Academy in 3, David is happy and thriving because they did know how to help him.

[@GameTalesHQ]

I love the ripple effects troughout the series. Grissom Academy is one of my favorite moments as well!

[@returnedtomonkey8886]

Ngl, that scene made me tear up a bit.

[@Lawrence_Talbot]

Yeah he shows up but I really didn’t care. I thought keeping the experiments going was the best thing for the galaxy.

[@RebelTvShka]

​@@Lawrence_Talbotjust like creating a race of sentient robots to cull the space faring species right? Gotta protect the universe.

[@TheNorthie]

@@Lawrence_Talbot if you do keep the experiments going and talk to Archer when saving the Cerberus Scientists after the Geth are saved, destroyed, or live in peace he breaks down. He realizes his entire work and the sacrifices he made was meaningless.

[@IknowIamkindagreat]

The Mass Effect mission always felt like a nod to Harlan Ellison's "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream". He was turning his brother into AM. Truly horrifying.

[@asfandope]

Spec Ops: The Line made me rethink my moral compass, Life is Strange made me rethink time travel, and the Overlord DLC made me rethink ever sleeping again.

[@GameTalesHQ]

That's a lot of rethinking! Thanks for stopping by again :)

[@conan2096]

do you feel like a hero yet?

[@asfandope]

@@conan2096 I understood that reference, classic

[@AmericaTheSimpleMinded]

Dragon Age Origins made me rethink story narratives. When you’re in the Dwarf kingdom and you say: People say you poisoned your father! Just as many say Harrowmount did! And when Loghain says “I did what I did to save my soldiers! The King wanted glory and he were severely outmatched!” Why send people to kill us?! BECAUSE YOU ACCUSED ME OF TREASON AND TRIED TO KILL ME!

[@kanabis134]

>rethink time travel By virtue of it being one of the worst examples of time travel plot?

[@tombro911]

10:21 I remember when I first played that DLC and heard that and thought it said "please, make it stop" Immediately changed the tones up.

[@GameTalesHQ]

You've got a sharp ear!

[@CookiesRiot]

Reminds me of the zombies in Half-Life 2, screaming, "Oh god, help me!" in reverse.

[@vee1267]

Same!

[@digitaltrekkie]

The first time I played it and managed to pick that out of the garbled voice about 2/3s through, I had to stop for a few minutes and walk around my house. I literally felt sick. Never had another game hit me quite the same way since.

[@dars5229]

You might think that shot of Lara Croft sticking her head out of a literal bloodbath looks a bit Apocalypse Now, but it's actually a reference to 2005 horror movie The Descent.

[@GameTalesHQ]

I'm actually a giant fan of The Descent! Instantly recognized it when I first saw it :)

[@dars5229]

@@GameTalesHQ Ah, I see you are a man of culture as well.

[@ExplosiveDisregard]

Oh yeah! that shot and when you are scrambling up the hill of bones toward the light I was like, "someone definitely watched The Descent"

[@otakuofmine]

@@GameTalesHQ me too, it is a great homage. :)

[@CookiesRiot]

On the other hand, Spec Ops: The Line is based on the same source material as Apocalypse Now.

[@nont18411]

Spec Ops the Line is what “subverting expectations” should be like

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@nont18411 I wish more games would have the guts to do this kind of thing

[@jackalcoyote8777]

Was this so revolutionary a decade ago? I may have just missed the time. Because I see: American empire bad, American forever war bad propaganda everywhere! I feel like I've heard these talking points done to death [I agree with these ideas and am still sick of them]

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@jackalcoyote8777 The war = bad sentiment is, of course, nothing new, but this game marks the first time it was truly explored in depth through the gaming medium and its mechanics. It was different from the typical shooter mold that dominated the era. I can count on two hands the number of games I've played that use mechanics to explore deeper existential and philosophical themes, and I think Spec Ops is one of the best.

[@longphan7656]

@@jackalcoyote8777that’s just what it is circled around online The game was and is still pretty revolutionary for having the actual balls to commit to it. Cause 9 times out of 10, there are still more war games that portray the US as the good guys than the bad ones. Heck you probably won’t even able to find like 5 different titles that portray the US as bad

[@jackalcoyote8777]

@longphan7656 I guess it's just the circles I run in then. It's rare for me to see anything that portrays the US Empire and it's armies and intelligence forces as anything but evil exploiters. At best, they're clueless patriots easily manipulated by politicians and businessmen.

[@DrKnockers05]

Phew, hearing that piece of haunting music combined with the sight of David all wired up, eyes forced open and tubes down his throat, yeah that brought back some heavy emotions. I played Overlord for the first time at around 3 in the morning, completely creeped out all the way through until I reached that reveal, and then it was just feelings of horror, rage, and sadness, softened only by the fact we could finally end his physical suffering and help him to start healing from his mental suffering. Needless to say seeing him in Grissom Academy in ME3 literally made me burst into tears of happiness.

[@efxnews4776]

Buddy, without Shepard and the Normandy crew the whole galaxy in Mass Effect universe is a horror game. Take away the ultimate badassery of Shepard and allies and what is left? You don't even need to go far all you have too do is just imagine yourself playing as a civilian in Eden Prime hours before Shepard arrival. It's a fkg horror movie complete with space zombies, murderer alien robots, eldritch hooror creature and alien antichrist. And that is literally just the first mission of the first game. There's plenty more, in some cases if you play as renegade Sheoard itself could be the monster...

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@efxnews4776 I don't disagree, you could also make a case for the Reapers and cosmic horror. The reason I picked this particular quest is how personal and surprising it was.

[@dars5229]

@@GameTalesHQ Agreed. Many people have called Mass Effect Lovecraftian but I'd dispute that since the Reapers are eventually able to be understood and humanity is able to conquer them. Overlord on its own would still work as a standalone game or horror movie. The plot is basically a hundred X-Files episodes; some ruthless scientist is screwing around, unleashes horror, and Shepard is Mulder and Scully.

[@foofoo3344]

Yeah, I've see the Collectors liquefying humans to created a human-like Reaper and that would have been the fate for all of humanity & the other allied alien species if it had not been for Shepherd

[@MonoDree]

Even the Thorian on zhu's hope is a nightmare for anyone living there

[@Mesain-8]

I remember loading a save so many times to prepare everything so that I could save my whole crew and not lose a single person. Took so long, it's like they wanted you to lose a few people

[@thelostremainunfound]

I work with autistic people as a behavioral health provider and the way Gavin talks about David makes my skin crawl. It seems like a "good" stereotype to paint David as a genius but I felt dread as soon as I heard the way he talked about David only in terms of what society perceives as valuable. Autistic people aren't super humans and there are plenty who are brilliant but you'll never know because they won't express it unless you're willing to see what value it brings to /them/ and not /you/. David feels like an object to Gavin and I hate how true this is of so many people's perspective on autistic folks. Given Gavin is supposed to be a bad guy, it makes sense why he would talk like that, but I think if you weren't aware of the dangerous game his "praise" implies is going on then it will completely blind side you.

[@averycheesypotato]

The intention is made clear by the end of the DLC. Fortunately, you can meet David again in the following game. He’s much better off in Grissom Academy

[@ShadraRune]

The DLC was much harder on a replay, because when I replayed the trilogy, I was late diagnosed. It was bad the first time, but the second time I understood why what He said felt so Wrong. It was one of the only missions in 2 I had to get up and walk around to vent my frustration and rage. And by the second replay, my little brothers were diagnosed. In that moment, I understood why people break controllers and screens in rage

[@Greenhoofd]

If you have a sibling or someone who has disabilities like learning, talking and you are his mentor/guardian and promises them that everything is fine and nothing to worry about. I would advise to be prepared for Mass Effect 2 Project Overlord. Cause these last moments has broken my heart and sometimes making cry. Also great edit and content

[@GameTalesHQ]

I didn't want to delve too deeply into that aspect of the story since I don't have any experience being a mentor or guardian. However, I can imagine that this will make the story even more heartbreaking. Thanks for noticing the edit! I put a lot of work into it :)

[@thelethalcreator2077]

The crazy thing is, I have Autism and I wanna say some Dyslexia, and I've been drawn to video games since 2017.

[@pamisachan]

Goodness, I myself am on the way of being diagnosed with autism and I'm horrified by this. I had never seen that game in my life

[@voxistaken]

as someone who grew up caring for a brother with developmental disabilities, I have never felt so pissed off by a character before

[@mrpowers3649]

I have a brother like David and I legit threw up at the end. The idea of something like that happening to my brother haunts me to this very day.😢

[@mrpowers3649]

The Overlord DLC hit me like freight train because I have a brother like David... He's not a sauvant like David (few people with autism are) but he's much lower functioning. The idea of anyone doing that to my brother brings my blood to a boil but the idea of his own brother torturing and abusing David like that made me physically ill... Like I legit had to run to the bathroom at the end. I just thank God my brother was brought up in a family that loves him for the amazing person he is.

[@GameTalesHQ]

Hell yeah, love to see you hype up your brother :)

[@mrpowers3649]

​@@GameTalesHQWho doesn't hype up their siblings?

[@landladyification]

Finding out the truth about David Archer always gets me. I can even hear his screams before the reveal which makes the whole mission even more heartbreaking

[@samwizgamgie3rd828]

There is a reason why aftermath of war is censored. We should strive to make peace to end the bloodshed for both sides.

[@backtoklondike]

It really shows what kind of monster Gavin when paragon Shepard shows anger and disgust and beats Gavin with a gun. All of those voice lines and actions are usually reserved for renegade Shepard. And all totally justified as even the player is probably feeling the same, especially if you are neurodivergent or know someone who are.

[@handsomejamesgrandinternet2106]

Still , Ready or Not takes the cake for me. The mundanity and matter of fact delivery of all the horror, the fact that all this is actually real and happening all around us. Just perfect storm

[@GameTalesHQ]

Ready or Not has some of the best environmental storytelling, with an incredible amount of detail put into its maps. However, I’d argue the game didn’t take that much of a dark turn-it’s dark from the start and only gets darker from there. The horror elements are certainly unexpected for the genre, though!

[@handsomejamesgrandinternet2106]

I definitely agree that it’s more about the vibe. And it’s more of a sadness, violence and things going downhill. But, port Hokan, the “container” was a bit of a jumpscare for me, what was fascinating, is it gets worse the more you linger, not the other way around. Maybe it is just me, but Talent Agency gets under my skin stronger than Ishimura

[@omlette-n9o]

can’t really agree. I don’t feel any emotion when looking at things people call “disturbing” and “horrifying”. The things in ready or not, they don’t provoke a single emotion from me.

[@awkwardukulele6077]

@@omlette-n9ook

[@knihsvmk]

Life is Strange to me is a perfect depiction of CONSEQUENCE. I remember that around the time it launched, there was a lot of people being interested in how time travel would work in a choice game, because the whole shtick up until then was "every choice generates a loss" (meaning that because you chose path A, you can no longer experience path B, therefore it's lost to you, for example). With LiS, every choice generates a consequence, and you end up not having to choose what will happen, but rather which consequence you are ready to face, because every choice, invariably, leeds to a consequence...

[@Rosawuzhere]

I HATE LIS! Chloe is such a pathetic, selfish narcissist and tries to make everyone else as miserable as she is! Rachel is no better! Max lacks a personality! None of the characters are likeable!

[@shinai4307]

Nonary games and zero time Delema, they made me second guess time travel and my consequence to action.. with a touch of physiological horror this was wayyy before life is strange though. I'm pretty sure I know what I'm downloading tomorrow though.

[@knihsvmk]

@@shinai4307 I haven't heard of those games, but I love me some horror, are they on steam? I would like to check them out, they sound right up my alley 😂

[@Exel3nce]

or maybe there is nothing that you said, just a bad written plot with nothing in it

[@NonIntrovertial]

​@@Exel3ncebro move on with your life she'll never notice you

[@Viperess77]

I played Spec Ops: The Line as a very young teen and it completely changed the way I think. It still lives in my head rent free and I'm nearly 27 years old

[@Rawi888]

Oh... the last of the 90s kids... lets brave that storm bro.

[@Lawrence_Talbot]

Yeah that game is a gem even if it has its flaws. I remember replaying it several times trying to just see where exactly we went from being the good guys to the bad guys and why the story even got to this point. Really does a good job of showing the dangers of just mindlessly following orders

[@michaelreimer1111]

The Mass Effect one is something else...I've never played it, but just this video gave me chills. He was not only alive, but fully conscious, cognitive and aware... 😳

[@VersusArdua]

Props to The Line for having balls. CoD as a series was at its best when it offered challenging moral situations which made you question the concept of warfare and the human cost involved. We need more deep explorations like that in the series to balance out whatever dull multiplayer experience they're pushing now.

[@uchihasenpai5671]

At this point, CoD is basically glorifying warfare and avoiding the actual cost of war.

[@Arkeis121]

Everything about Spec Ops: The Line will always give me chills every time I see it or play it. That game played out in a way I never expected. I had no idea what I was going in to when a friend of mine got it for me on steam years ago. I haven't ever forgotten. Welcome to Dubai, gentlemen.

[@Its419games]

"...while Chloe reveals that her best friend, Rachel Amber..." 'Best friend'? The award for Understatement of the Century goes to... 🤣

[@GameTalesHQ]

Hahah. Well, at the start of the game it's still a bit ambiguous what exactly they were. Didn't want to risk spoiling more than necessary!

[@buwumet]

And this, my friends, is lesbian erasure

[@cluelessleeyt]

@@buwumetlook at the reply

[@Avaa-vanilla995]

​@@buwumetdunbass. He was avoiding spoilers.

[@fairoboilawrence5287]

​@buwumet The story definitely hasn't aged well.

[@ravenchelsvokia]

The overlord dlc broke me for a bit. I had to put the game down to get back in the mindset of "its just a game its not real."

[@pancakesean6888]

That quest in ME:2 is absolutely fantastic. I always thought that David was trying to communicate with you as you got closer. At least that quest has a solid ending if you do the right thing.

[@JaxonHex]

Fun fact for me, when I first played Operation Overlord for the first time, when he asked me to let him have his brother, i screamed to the screen, F*CK OFF!

[@voxistaken]

same lol

[@Amorfis]

I played the Mass Effect games completely blind, I’d heard of them before of course but I didn’t know anything about the plot or anything. Played a paragon route the first time but skipped a bunch of stuff because I was so sucked in. Decided to do a more thorough playthrough with a renegade Shepard, and even though I’d made some downright genocidal decisions and seen some fucked up shit, I was NOT prepared for Overlord. I was playing it alone at night and I tell you no other game, not even horror games I’ve played, have given me that much of a sense of dread. When I finished it I just sat staring at my TV for like 5 minutes and then went to bed. Couldn’t sleep.

[@RighteousJ]

In the Overlord DLC I was actually willing to give the scientist the benefit of the doubt right up until I walked into that final room and saw what he had done to his brother. The sheer inhumanity and depravity of inflicting that level of psychological and physical enslavement on someone is so far removed from anything justifiable that to call it "monstrous" would be an understatement.

[@tiredoreki]

4:44 life is strange. i'm already crying

[@firewalk27]

Playing the overlord dlc as an autistic person was painful and triggering but it was worth it to get to save David and see him in ME3. In a lot of ways it felt like not only a larger story about morality and how far is too far but how society often doesn’t treat autistic individuals as humans with autonomy or feelings. It was healing to get to save David and tell his brother to fuck off. Though from now on if I ever replay ME2 I ask my fiancee to play that dlc for me so I don’t get upset but can see him happy in 3. She’s the best.

[@lalas181]

I haven't played ME2 and possibly never will just because I already have so many unfinished games I need to get through, but like. I immediately went "oh no" at the phrase "his Autistic mind", and I hoped there was an option to _shoot the man_ when he called David a "human computer" in that hologram flashback thing. That remark specifically made me feel a kind of hostility that I generally cannot feel towards fictional characters. I'm so glad to hear they follow up on David in 3 and let you see him thriving instead of being in a sensory meltdown torture machine.

[@Dancinglemon]

My favourite part of the whole dlc is that the paragon interrupt, of all things, is pistol whipping the guy in the face and then threatening him.

[@GingerZombie29]

That Overlord DLC for Mass Effect 2 is damn perfect. Great eerie atmosphere and the awful things that were done to David. BY HIS OWN BROTHER. Damn. That is some really heavy stuff.

[@kglaser11]

David Archer's story is heartbreaking. I adore the Mass Effect series, have played it several times...I will always save him. Always.

[@morgan145able]

This was great! Another entry I'd like to put forward is Halo: CE when you first meet the Flood. Game goes from a great but relatively standard sci-fi shooter (with obvious story element exceptions) filled with enemies to a mostly empty map for most of the level. You're trying to rescue the Captain and the crew he took to investigate the area, only to find out that the ultra advanced aliens of the Covenant you've been killing so far are absolutely terrified of something inside the base. Cue blocked rooms filled with dead bodies, eerie silence, finding the Covenant with their guns turned towards the inside of the base, and a shell shocked marine that has absolutely lost his mind and won't stop shooting you, among so many other things. Absolutely set the stage for the Flood for the rest of the franchise.

[@gabebernhard4601]

I don’t know if I can name a single level in any other game that is as much of a turning point as 343 Guilty Spark. The opening in the dark swamp leading into a dungeon far more cramped and creepy than the monoliths you’ve seen up til now, and the introduction of an enemy you can’t beat, only suppress for a time. It’s one of the greatest levels in video game history for sure.

[@MegaMerdeux]

I remember the twist in Max Payne 3. Regarding why the corrupt cops were kidnapping the poor folks from the favelas.

[@SariniyaKiyu]

uh, context?

[@marvellousmarv9072]

@@SariniyaKiyu They drag them to an abandoned building to harvest their organs. Or: YOU'RE TURNING PEOPLE INTO GLUE! As the man himself puts it eloquently.

[@VMKjelly]

organ theft

[@1daysgrace]

Impossible decision in gaming: when Chloe asks Max to help take care of her suffering

[@minimalbstolerance8113]

I have to say, the Overlord DLC was the one mission in the Mass Effect trilogy that managed to unnerve me. I think a lot of my unease on the mission was due to just how at odds with typical Mass Effect design the interface device was. It was pretty jarring to finally reach David and go from the typical grey-plastic-and-holographic-display Mass Effect aesthetic to something that wouldn't look out of place in Warhammer 40k (I'm thinking of Penitent Engines, or anything connected to the Adeptus Mechanicus.)

[@winst7765]

Regarding overlord, don’t know if I chose to ignore it or I forgot it until I picked up the series again, but I’ve just recently realizes David had a surgical halo on him along with everything else his brother forced on him…

[@averycheesypotato]

His position and the halo around him are no more an accident than the main character’s name being “Shepard”

[@trrachel7102]

The way only three games were touched on here when I can think of so, so many more is so scary. Please do more of these😭

[@GameTalesHQ]

What would be your picks? I might do another in the future.

[@Fleonwyn]

4:14 The worst horror isn't supernatural it's the one that is actually possible in this world.

[@tiagovieira3388]

Cyberpunk 2077 is a game that caught me unprepared for how horrific and creepy it was. The Dream On quest is terrifying for its implications and how it suggests more powerful enemies that no one can hope to defeat. Then there's another quest that, depending on your choices, culminate with you having to crucify an assassin by his own request while a Studio films it and other where you help River rescue some kids from a psychopath. But even aside from those quests the game just oozes a dark, disturbing and utterly pessimistic atmosphere that gets more under your skin as you explore that world.

[@GameTalesHQ]

That quest with River is my favorite in the game, I considered it for this video!

[@Nobody.exe50]

skipped the ME part because havent finished the franchise but yeah i remember when i first played that mission in spec ops , i even knew the big reveal and it still got me , chills and not the type you get for a good ost , it was just chills

[@GameTalesHQ]

Good of you to skip that part, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you! Mass Effect is absolutely amazing. And yeah, I wish more games dared to do stuff like Spec Ops did. Hard to pull of as a AAA studio nowadays (even back then tbh)

[@genericname2747]

Mass Effect in general is unexpected horror. The first game presents itself as a sci-fi shooter then you see a horrific vision of death.

[@VanBourner]

Ready or not is a horror game similar to Spec Ops: The Line. It does not have a monster per se, it has trauma. It's kind of an unique horror where it's not trying to scare you but rather scar you. Not in a way that you'd lose your mind but in a way that under the shooter esthetic a really dark reality is hiding, reality that is often overlooked by media. SWAT units are not dealing with nice people, they in fact deal with the absolute worst humanity has to offer so they did not sugarcoat it. Same with Spec Ops, it deals with you being "driven" (there were other options as Lugo said but mechanically for you, the player there were no options other than not playing anymore; or maybe that is what Lugo meant the whole time) to the point of being an active war criminal and what a toll it takes on arguably/relatively healthy human mind (if Walker was a psychopath he'd be another shooter protagonist that does not care about what he did but he does care, he has regrets and he does lose his mind as a result). In RoN there is no arguing you are the good guys. After all you do crack down on things that people generally do not even realise are an issue (because of how well these men do their job IRL). But you still encounter similar scaring as Walker's squad in SO:TL. It's just completely outside your control (and you can argue the same with SO:TL, there is no option to not do the pivotal scene other than stop playing which while devs implied is a choice, it is clearly not a choice they encourage).

[@GameTalesHQ]

I considered RoN for this video, that's why its in the honorable mentions. That game has such a unflinching and sober look at reality, it's really great.

[@krika1119]

ME3 spoilers: Should you go the Paragon route in the ME2 DLC, David will appear again on the optional Grissom Academy mission, where Cerberus is attacking both the school and its students. David will be helping two other students in keeping a biotic barrier up, but also unlocks a room containing a weapon. Gavin also appears, and in the case of the Paragon route, he would have defected from Cerberus and wiped all data from Project Overlord, thus them putting out a hit on him, as a result of the immense guilt of using his brother as an unwilling test subject. If you went right away to this mission, you'd get both as war assets.

[@GameTalesHQ]

ME3 spoilers: I love the dialogue when you met him again :)

[@TheNorthie]

Even hardcore renegades Shepards can’t give David back to his brother. When the paragon action is to pistol whip someone, you know you messed up

[@iainkilcar7463]

I'd say for me it has to be halo ce. For the first half of the game it's a colourful shooter about the plucky humans trying to beat the technologically superior aliens that are winning a galactic war against them. Then halfway through the game it goes full on survival as you're suddenly desperately trying to stop a much more dangerous enemy that turns friends into foes and threatens all life in the universe.

[@ElisaSarah]

the thing about the murders in Life is Strange.... they happen in reality. And because it's REAL, women fear men, because men never speak up about it.

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@ElisaSarah All three of these are focussed on human suffering, that's why I picked them...

[@ElisaSarah]

@@GameTalesHQ are all three inspired by real events?. I doubt the last one is.. I personally don't find the last one as disturbing as the other two. But that is just my taske and my view, others might think differently, which is completely alright

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@ElisaSarah They are all inspired by reality. The first piece addresses the shifting of responsibility regarding civilian casualties in war. The second tackles themes of abuse, murder, and the misuse of power. And the final one tackles the abuse of a sibling with autism. Of course that particular story is set in a sci-fi universe, but the core of that story is as real as it gets!

[@ElisaSarah]

@@GameTalesHQ errrmmm. I am a person with autism, who has a brother with autism. And that last one has nothing to do with REAL autism...... if it's anything, its a parody of autism. Just saying.

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@ElisaSarah I’m not saying whether it’s a good or bad depiction of someone with autism; I’ll leave that judgment to you since I have no personal experience. However, what really struck me was the portrayal of a trusted guardian abusing their power over someone in that vulnerable position.

[@therunawaykid6523]

Still for me the first uncharted game shocked me the most when it suddenly turned to horror in the bunker chapter you are trapped with loads of creepy mutants that can only be killed with gunfire and you have to fight your way out against loads of them armed with just a machine gun - one of the greatest twists in a game I’ve ever played

[@awkwardukulele6077]

I haven’t played uncharted, so I genuinely can’t tell if this is you being sarcastic or legit praising the game. “All these enemies are weak to bullets, and all you have is a machine gun” is hilarious out of context.

[@therunawaykid6523]

@ oh I’m legit praising the game but i would say the third uncharted game is my favourite

[@Olynix89]

Id also say the brood mother reveal in dragon age origins was a dark turn

[@GameTalesHQ]

Origins did go pretty dark at times for sure!

[@eastbow6053]

hey kids here is a story about you a warden fighting monsters cool what are this monsters and how do we fight them well it turns out this monsters are mutated humans what? yea they corrupt and r@pe normal women turn them in to monsters and they give birth to monsters what is wrong with you? and the best part is inquisition was the last game in the series ..you are weeelcome

[@NeverHard]

Flawlessly edited video!

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you brother!

[@talideon]

If there's ever a time to pick a Renegade prompt in a Paragon run of ME, it's Overlord.

[@genericname2747]

I mean, the paragon prompt still has you attack him

[@shadowwatch11]

Me and my best friend have talked at length about Overlord DLC. An interesting thing is that the ethics conversation reaches farther than just the DLC, especially if/when you meet Gavin in ME3. We both chose to save David. We both forgive easily. But we talked at length about Gavin's ethics and the responses you can give him in ME3. We both differed. We still hated what he'd done, but it was about if a man can change after doing something so heinous to his own brother. Its still something we've agreed to disagree on. I like your analysis of it as I notice something new every time I do another playthrough. Its good to see someone bring it up (as well as SO:TL. Oldie but a goodie for morals)

[@the_silly_goober]

One that's really stuck with me is an optional questline in Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel called Quarantine. A little over halfway into the game, Jack makes a quick joke about "an infection that makes people go insane, and many of the enemies in the area are just workers and guards who have gone insane. Of course (being a Borderlands game), ethics and morality isn't really the focus, and you automatically tell yourself that these are just more grunts to be killed. Because, really, they are. The entire area (called the Veins of Helios) takes place in an unfinished section of a massive space station, full of fun platforming and unrealistically long low-gravity jumps. It's one of my favorite parts of the game, actually. However, the real horror aspect comes after the main story mission in this section. You take the mission at a bounty board, like half of the other missions in the game, and are greeted by Tassiter, the corrupt CEO of Hyperion and the owner of the space station. On the way, he explains (with a few "haha ur dumb" jokes and a scathing jab at Big Bang Theory fans) that a group of workers aren't working and are instead "complaining" about the viral infection mentioned earlier. You descend into the quarantined area, and almost immediately the vibes are off. The normally energetic techno music that plays in the Veins is replaced by subtle ambiance. The workers seem even more insane here, and after being ordered to shut off the lockdown, Tassiter tells you that "one of these guys looks less insane than the others", and you speak to a worker named Lazlo. He gets you to do some strange tasks for him, from freezing his insane friends "to save them" and being completely fine when they shatter, to making you crush ambiguously green blobs to "stop the infection from breathing" Along the way, you can find recordings of Lazlo's decent into madness, and how he was coerced by the main villain of the game to release his "pets" into the Veins, infectious parasites that he thought he had trained out of being incredibly dangerous parasites (he was def insane from the start honestly). Eventually, he drops the facade and attacks you with the intent of eating your corpse. He's not hard to kill, but is very evasive. It retains a lot of the humor of the game, but the whole thing feels...wrong. While in the area, a green tint slowly creeps into the edges of your vision, and Lazlo's dialog feels more desperate than maniacal at first. In the same game is a sidequest meant to poke fun at horror tropes, but that comes across as more funny than scary most of the time. The Quarantine questline isn't strictly horrifying, but it's such tonal whiplash from the "kill people awesomely" gameplay loop that it feels just unsettling enough.

[@RS-Requiem]

Another game that fits into this is the Yakuza spin-off “Judgment”, it starts as the tipical “ private detective investigates a murder case”, i was not prepared for the dark turns it gets, specially the final one… still gives me chills

[@a.s.raiyan2003-4]

I just found this channel, and I have to this. This is one of the most underrated game analysis and essay channel I've seen.

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you, I really appreciate that! 🙏

[@11th.death.kause.of.tamari]

as someone autistic watching the last one just fucked me up so much to the point of crying

[@deadboy_4847]

really like the voice and the whole video essay... keep going! :)

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you, I will!

[@humancream1919]

Spec ops: the line had my entire guts sink into a black hole.. what an amazing delivery of dark and disturbing real events

[@7willymak]

Great video. The cow farm serial killer quest from cyberpunk would fit in here perfect.

[@GameTalesHQ]

Damn, I forgot about that quest. It's probably my favorite from the base game!

[@wolfcraft4501]

It is a crime you didn’t play the audio of Chloe finding Rachel’s body. I didn’t play the game but instead watched a playthrough and that moment was chilling. Ashley Burch sold that moment as the devastating reveal it was.

[@GameTalesHQ]

Amazing performance! I wanted to keep the pace of the video going

[@wolfcraft4501]

@ that’s fair, it was just such a great scene

[@cupcakebill911]

Thanks for this video man, I gave up on video games a long time ago because of how much extra stuff was getting added (having to pay for extras, dlc stuff, too much customization within the games, etc). The last great game I played was Beyond Two Souls, I'd like to get back into gaming and this video has given me hope. Thanks man

[@GameTalesHQ]

Definitely check out my latest video, it's a really positive piece on some of the best that games have to offer! (I quite enjoyed Beyond Two Souls back in the day)

[@cupcakebill911]

@GameTalesHQ Thanks for that, I'll definitely check it out man!

[@ramonzeiro]

This was a great vídeo! Hope you make more of these

[@TijnvanGimst]

Life is strange is a game i'll never forget

[@UltraViolet_J18]

Every time I see even a split second of signalis in a video essay my head perks up like “my hyperfixation???👀👀👀👀”

[@DaniVegaz]

Got yourself a subscriber. Amazing job. keep up the good work and look forward to your future videos

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you Dani. I really appreciate that!

[@nielsB_FPV]

Thief 3 also had a part where it suddenly became a horror game (the one with the locked attic) Subnautica is also terrifying without actually trying to be a horror game.

[@RunedeGroot]

That was really a joy to watch! Even though I haven't played any of these games I think you conveyed the story very well and I feel like I got a glimpse of that feeling I figure you have experienced. Moments like these really add to the emotional and immersive experiences when playing games. I'm excited for more content like this ❤!

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you, I'm glad you got something out of it :)

[@voxistaken]

The Overlord DLC really hit home for me the first time I played ME2. As someone who had a brother with developmental disabilities, seeing what Gavin did to his own brother still disgusts and angers me to this day.

[@piotrk5801]

Life is strange is one of the most emotionally wrecking experiences I had from fiction. All the while being addictively beautiful

[@VeritabIlIti]

I know everyone loves to shout out the mission 343 Guilty Spark from Halo CE, but honestly the Composer in Halo 4 doesnt get enough credit. Rushing to secure the Forerunner artifact only for it to be suddenly and violently activated, disturbingly composing everyone around Chief, still sticks with me almost as much as the Flood. Great vid!

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@VeritabIlIti Thank you 🙏🏼

[@Avaa-vanilla995]

Oh, I knew that the white phosphorus scene would be here. "We were helping..." haunts me, and I didn't even play. That's just so awful and sad. They were just trying to help and the last thing that poor guy heard before he died was "you brought this on yourself." Then those poor civilians dying... ugh.

[@electricdanish912]

I've never played the first two games, but I've played ME2, and there is a special place in the least loving corner of my heart for people like Gavin. Hearing him rave about the wonders of his brother's "autistic" mind (as an autistic myself) and watch him subject David to such senseless torture--knowing how it affects him--made me feel not only horror, but disgust and rage. I've never revisited this DLC.

[@SyntheticHuman01]

SpecOps, I ❤️ this game and still play it. ❤️ having a physical copy of this game. My friend played this game 2 weeks ago, and he was thinking how this could have really changed his life if he was really doing this in real life. I told him it's a war crime and your life is over

[@viniciusmelo8010]

In Dragon Age: Origins the whole Deep Roads sequence is nightmarish You're probably going there with a couple levels on you. You probably saved the day along with your companions a couple of times, and feel invincible. Then you really face the threat of the Darkspawn. First, a crazed man that had to rely on cannibalism to survive. Then corpses and more corpses all around you. Then dwarf warriors just barely holding a spot. Then you slowly and slowly start to wander deeper and deeper into a thaig and flesh and stone meld into one another. A dark twisted poem rings in your ears then you discover WHY there are so much darkspawn. How they are made. Broodmothers. The whole sequence made my skin crawl and I had to actually give the game a pause after the boss fight

[@GameTalesHQ]

Origins was such a good game, it's the second RPG I ever played and it's still up there as one of my favorites. The Broodmother stuff was grim for sure.

[@NiceNewtPerson]

Overlord in the Mass Effect DLC caught me incredibly off guard. I felt that something was very very very wrong and I didn’t trust Gavin. My husband had not played the DLC and we were HEARTBROKEN and horrified

[@ElmarJournal]

My recent favorite would be from Cloudpunk, just in the ending, but the story was built from the beginning piece by piece as we on comms with Control (known later as Ben), and in the ending found out he was an automata (like AI program, but mind and memories from real human brain), knowing the story how he became Control kinda sad and so dark to think.

[@GameTalesHQ]

I've yet to play that game, have had it on my wishlist for a while!

[@ElmarJournal]

@@GameTalesHQ its a must, first it was like just a game for chill as no action or shootout etc. But when you focus on the story, feel the atmosphere of Nivalis (the city) it’s just perfect for me.

[@catsareexcellent]

11:00 WHATTTT 😭 who says ‘his autistic mind’ like its normal

[@GameTalesHQ]

David is an evil guy.

[@Keyndoriel]

Way too common in media. I wouldn't be shocked if there isn't a "magical autistic person" trope on the tropes list website at this point. At least this guy is evil. The people usually labeling the autistic person as "magic" or "more evolved" are usually the good guys, which is gross.

[@familiaalegre6252]

The overlord dlc made me feel like i was playing Arkham asylum all over again where I always felt that place which was supposed to help people that society thought were too gone and had no repair was turned into a hell where experiments are done on the patients, the guards constantly beat them to a bloody pulp and the doctors seem like they have given up on all of them

[@nothanks7263]

I never let Gavin off himself in 3. He deserves to live every day under the crushing weight of what he did.

[@Oherold19]

please please please make a part two or just any suggestions for other games with twists like these? I loved this!!

[@GameTalesHQ]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I'm currently working on something else but I might do a part two sometime.

[@urboyluke_]

One moment for me is in Hollow Knight. You work so hard to finally approach your sibling, the Hollow Knight, who has been spewing infection across all of Hallownest infecting the minds of all its citizens. You fight and fight, until it lets out a screech. With that, its music shifts from a cryptic battle theme to a slow theme of dread and despair. And after that, the Hollow Knight turns its weapon on itself and begins stabbing its chest. It's finally become sentient and sees all the damage it caused. It recognizes this and in between fighting you, it fights itself and in turn the Radiance (the source of the infection). The musics swells and swells getting more dramatic as the Hollow Knight's movements become slower as it focuses more on killing itself rather than you. And once you kill your sibling, you absorb and seal the infection. Doing what your sibling could not, sealed away, forever

[@Skeletoonz]

Outer Wilds and TUNIC, both have extreme existential and direct horror moments that come when you’re not ready

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@Skeletoonz Currently making my way through Outer Wilds! About 12 hours in with not too many '?' left. Super curious where it will go!

[@Skeletoonz]

I find that a lot of people feel the need to express their thoughts on this game when they finish it. We have so many video docs and the like because of just how it impacts people. If (and when) you decide to make a video about it, I bet it will be awesome

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@Skeletoonz Well, I'm planning to include it in my next video already! And that's before I know about the ending haha. The video is gonna be about 'Games that make full use of the medium". Basically, game narratives that would be hard or impossible to adapt to other artforms. Seems like a perfect fit already!

[@Skeletoonz]

@@GameTalesHQ Can’t wait

[@dhillonshastry3295]

Tai kaliso's death in gears of war was one that stuck with me, strange to see a man who actively confronted horrors for the sake of good, succumb to it so bad that he'd take his own life than live a second longer

[@finngomezgamer]

Halo ce did this great with the flood and the horrific flesh mess captain keys

[@catrinasmith5311]

YES. It was such a brilliant reveal.

[@redduskironsky1058]

Man...that last entry made me cry actually😢

[@vili-pekkavaltonen5943]

I played the blackops the line and that was the moment that the game got grip of me.. i will stop watching from that moment to get spoilers from other games with similar effect.

[@MrSirling]

ME3 Overlord is generally mentioned as a bad dlc, but I always liked it for its story

[@GameTalesHQ]

I didn't know that! I guess its because of the Mako sections.

[@schruteforce]

​@@GameTalesHQI especially liked the vehicle sections because the environments we're so beautiful and I missed the Mako from ME1 :D

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@schruteforce People generally dislike these sections; I'm not a huge fan either, but I do appreciate how they add a sense of scale to the games. And yeah, the enviroments were pretty for sure!

[@mekmekare]

I've just seen the game Mouthwashing, indie, poor graphics, short, but just brutal. It goes places you can't imagine when it starts as a sci fi mistery drama where you think you'll just be watching how they will manage it with short supplies and such. Worth a watch, just the gameplay or some story explained video maybe

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thanks for putting that game on my radar, looks right up my alley!

[@Dancinglemon]

The graphics are intentionally low poly but they are anything but poor!

[@Cyber_Crows]

Dam. If that was me in spec ops and id just done that, I’d eat my own bullet. 😱

[@creamsoda2392]

Spoiler warning for Outer Wilds. That game had this effect on me harder than any other game I've played. Despite the whole death loop part, the game is generally kinda light. The atmosphere is warm, in that you're a hopeful adventurer seeking to learn everything you can about your solar system. It takes a hard turn when you discover that the structure orbiting your sun was designed to make it go supernova. The tone shifts from hopeful to "I need to shut down the Sun Station because it's causing the sun to blow up." Once you reach the station though, the tone shifts to "all hope is lost." You discover that the Sun Station doesn't work, and that your sun has reached the end of its lifetime naturally. There's nothing you can do to save yourself, all the people across the system, your home planet, nothing. It hit me like a ton of bricks. I took a break for a day or two after that.

[@GameTalesHQ]

I recently finished it, and man does that game give a wide range of emotions.

[@Sus_Bak]

You should make another part of the same topic exploring more normal games with dark ending 🙂

[@GameTalesHQ]

Maybe I'll do a similar video in the future! Do you know of any examples? (without spoilers please!)

[@domhanson9167]

In a similar vein, I had thought of other dark twists in games. Example that I remember and must mean they were memorable to an extent, Saints Row 1 (ending cutscene) Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic when it’s revealed who the player character actually is, and I would be amiss if I didn’t find a way to mention XIII as the character begins to regain their memories. Not that the twist was the same in those games, but games that I felt have memorial twists that make it hard to look at the game the same way on replays.

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@domhanson9167 I'll keep those in mind! I haven't played any of the games you mentioned though.

[@domhanson9167]

@@GameTalesHQ I hope you find the time to give them a shot! Star Wars: KoToR can easily eat up 50+ hours for a play through for a first timer if you like to make sure you explore everything. The other two games would have much shorter time investments, but worthwhile in my opinion.

[@Sus_Bak]

Right now I can only think of games like Doki Doki Literature Club, Ori and the Blind Forest, Shadow of the Colossus and Undertale

[@OdinSmilesRavensLaugh72051]

Scorn was something that is stuff of nightmares!

[@thel0nerz377]

Brothers in arms!! ❤️ One of the classic shooters that has the tone of the game change, i feel like they incorporated that type of story/gameplay in even there first release

[@GameTalesHQ]

Such an underrated series, I try to mention it every chance I get.

[@dudewhy6953]

We need more games that cross the line (pun intended) when it comes to depicting war. World at War showed that war is hell. Spec Ops: The Line showed people are capable of spectacularly terrible things. We’re so afraid of telling a gripping story, where the lines between right and wrong, good and evil, good vs. bad guys, are incredibly thin, and blurry at BEST.

[@karu1585]

How do you only have a couple of clicks. Your content is similiar to videos that do 100k-Million clicks, keep grinding. Got yourself a new sub

[@GameTalesHQ]

Ahh, thank you! Means a lot :)

[@yashasupercow99]

Do you feel like a hero yet

[@alexzapf6422]

Spec ops the line. That was an absolute gut punch. So devastating.

[@Willroast]

Very well thought out analysis. Thanks!

[@GameTalesHQ]

@@Willroast Thank you!

[@notsocasualYT]

These examples are 🔥🔥🔥 . Well done with the video, game 3 specially was unexpected! Overall horror works best when you don't expect it. Oddly enough, last time I encountered so.ething similar was Starfield 😅

[@GameTalesHQ]

Thank you. I think RPG's have a lot of potential in this regard!

[@VeritabIlIti]

Dude same, I'm excited for them to dive into that a bit more with Shattered Space

[@notsocasualYT]

@@VeritabIlIti I'm cautiously optimistic 😅

[@sirsyncalot9147]

Great breakdown. ❤

[@arjadaa]

"please God make it stop" I'll never forget it

[@4storyboss]

4:49 timestamp of the letter H