This Game Is a Contradiction | ...Knew The Beginning Game Review

[@jokerngesund]

Thanks for the Review. There was no real vision, more of a test within the engine. Trying stuff, having fun and with time realizing that this could become a full game. That might explain the lackluster riddles or clunky design choices. I didn't think that there would be enough content within ...Knew The Beginning to even get a review. While I am not the proudest of the game, it was fun making it and it keeps being fun seeing people react to it. There are no excuses for typos. That's just me.

[@Graeldon]

Thanks for stopping by to say hello! We had a great experience playing through this game in a livestream. I'd be interested if you would ever create a larger project like this? Maybe continue the story?

[@jokerngesund]

​@@Graeldon There are plans. Not the next game though. There are elements that could connect the next game to Knew The Beginning but that is up for interpretation. But that is not a conversation for the KZbin comment section. I can't find any social media to your account but if there is, I could DM you a bit more info.

[@Graeldon]

@jokerngesund sounds interesting! You'll have to let me know when the game releases! I don't use social media much, but you're welcome to add me on steam, or to jump into the Discord to DM me

[@jokerngesund]

@@Graeldon Alright!

[@sixthdragoness]

This feels like something you'd find on Newgrounds during the height of the flash era, I'm not sure if I mean this as a compliment or criticism? possibly both.

[@Graeldon]

I definitely know what you mean!

[@DustyHoney]

Personally I’m not going to watch this review because of this. I need to play the game first

[@zestysword]

YOOOO IM THE PROTAGONIST LETS GOOOO

[@taisato2091]

How does it feel being a protagonist?

[@zestysword]

@@taisato2091 feels like I’m moonwalking everywhere

[@Berny23]

As a German myself, this art style and humor reminds me a lot of the point and click adventure "Edna & Harvey: The Breakout", created by the German mastermind and founder of Daedalic Entertainment, Jan Müller-Michaelis ("Poki"). And I'm 80 % sure, that the voice actors are the German voice actors speaking English.

[@aglavraowl4932]

Yes, I think the developer took inspiration from Edna and Harvey, but went for darker and more absurdist vibe.

[@ALE199-ita]

Oh! yeah that's what the game reminded me about!

[@popculturegamer6464]

Wasn't that company the one that made the Gollum Game this year?

[@aglavraowl4932]

@@popculturegamer6464 yes , unfortunately. But as far as I remember , one of the founders left a couple of years before, and Daedalic got bought by some other game publisher. So the company wasn't the one we value for amazing point and click quests anyways.

[@popculturegamer6464]

@@aglavraowl4932 Well, it is what it is...

[@B0wser998]

I remember watching this live on stream and hearing the constant "dinging" in the background and thinking to myself "boy, this is going to be awful" but as the game progressed, I couldn't stop watching, because the story is so unusual it's actually very interesting. The broken english and stuff lost in translation is what makes it feel special. After couple of hours, I fell in love with the art style and even cared the characters. At the end, I even felt bad that the game was over and I wanted to see more, because I had soooo many questions, but no answers.

[@Graeldon]

There's just something about it that pulls you in. Morbid curiosity perhaps?

[@winneratwin]

subtitle errors: 13:29 missing not messing 4:22 an entire unsaid paragraph 6:29 unsaid now 9:44 unnaturally long pause before the word cookie shows onscreen 10:16 unsaid w 10:33 "fisherman death scene" is probably for editing and is not said 12:54 "Play clip" same as above

[@Graeldon]

Thank you for catching those, I've updated the captions. I appreciate you taking the time to type those timestamps out!

[@heraditestreamingarchive1100]

I feel like you're going to encounter a lot of absurd little games like this. After all, when you have very little budget, just going for absurdity is a good way to try to stand out while excusing some things that might be rougher around the edges (like you said maybe substituting complicated animations with live action stuff).

[@Graeldon]

If I find more games like this, then I'll be very happy indeed

[@Neopolis3]

Truly fascinating and bizarre game. Love that this kind of thing gets highlighted.

[@Graeldon]

That's why I love making this series!

[@iizepic9788]

For some strange reason the artstyle reminds me alot of games like don't starve, I think it's the way characters move and animated

[@L1ncore]

Went to play this game last night when you scheduled the premier for this. I really did like it, but as a point n click fan it was also waaaaay too easy and barebones. I hope the dev ends up making other (hopefully more challenging) games in the future. The style and the vibe are just so charming to me.

[@Graeldon]

Definitely barebones, but I think the point and click style was just there for the mechanics of telling the story, and to let you explore the environment.

[@NintendoNun]

Honestly, this game looks exactly the kind of game I think I'd absolutely adore - and without this series I'd have no clue it even exists!

[@breeckthon5144]

As a German my self I know how hard it is to translate from German to Englisch. It’s so different in so many ways. I mean just the „The“ has three different versions in Englisch 😅

[@twiexcursori]

I've heard more than a few times that apocalyptic fantasies are fundamentally power fantasies - and judging by the gang being named "the Survivors," I think this dev gets that.

[@Graeldon]

Makes sense, it's essentially showing your superiority (strength) as a disaster survivor. If you survive, you must be superior to others that didn't. Assuming you take dumb luck out of the equation

[@twiexcursori]

@@Graeldon As I understood what they were saying, it's less about individual strength and more about the normal rules of society being suspended - either literal laws or more general social contract stuff. You can't (or aren't supposed to?) shoot people for pissing you off right now, but after the zombies or whatever, who's going to stop you? It's probably why hoarding guns seems to be a lower tier of 'doomsday prepper' than stocking up on food and water - the basic level of it is a fantasy about a world where might makes right more than it is a realistic assessment of a catastrophic scenario. This game appears to take the bold but compelling stance that if the world ends, maybe most people just take that as permission to be weird

[@A.HollerMusic]

14:21 Okay, why does Kloys look like Klaus Kinski? I'm pretty sure that's him. 😅 For all of the non german folks here, Klaus Kinski was a german actor and pretty famous for beeing absolutely psychotic and narcistic. It was hell to work with him apparently. Also there are rumours that he abused his own daughter.

[@Graeldon]

it definitely could be a reference! There are many other tongue-in-cheek references throughout

[@jokerngesund]

It kinda is a reference. Yes

[@richmcgee434]

Huh. The "neither trash nor treasure" category has been largely unoccupied up until now. So different in that respect as well.

[@annawanna5995]

It'd be cool if there were separate endings for killing Kalle only and sparing the rest or for sparing just him and killing James & Kloys later

[@kevinmitk]

Seeing this game gave me major early poki vibes (like Harveys new Eyes and Edna and Harvey: The breakout). The artstyle, kinda absurdist characters and scenarios and to an extend it being a click and point adventure all make me feel that the developer was (at least a bit) inspired by those games. To be honest, the video just made me nostalgic for those games :D Great video btw. I hope you continue your journey through steam for a long time

[@Graeldon]

Thanks! There's definitely a nostalgic feel of a different era of gaming. The journey will continue for quite some time yet!

[@Berny23]

Especially the stains on the first screen look like Poki's Ketchup and Mustard stain designs from the first Harvey game.

[@kevinmitk]

@@Berny23 I haven't notived it, but yeah, you are totally right

[@jokerngesund]

Yeah. The Daedalic and especially Poki Adventures are a definite inspiration!

[@elvencataccess7830]

This one... this is super cool. Obviously a super niche one for those with a surreal and/or morbid sense of humor, but definitely up my alley.

[@nplt8263]

Lol, there were a bunch of MandaloreGaming references in the manager's office

[@wafffls]

excellent review as always! this game seems fascinating, and it’s such a treat to learn about things i would otherwise never discover. i also wanna appreciate the background music choices throughout the video. perfectly sets the mood without distracting from the review itself. thanks for another great youtube vid

[@DanteSparda-o5v]

The only channel I turn my add blocker off for, Love your series man keep it up!

[@Graeldon]

I appreciate that! I'm glad you're enjoying the series!

[@tuwacroi]

I actually liked this one, the art style was charming in a different way!

[@Graeldon]

It has a lot of personality, even if it's not exactly pretty

[@mattwcook9127]

I was kinda hoping you'd notice that David Lynch was chilling at the coffee shop

[@Graeldon]

Thanks, I honestly didn't know who that was meant to be! I'm not good with celebrities

[@mattwcook9127]

Hey, no worries! I'm a massive Lynch fan, so I spotted him right away (plus, it kinda makes sense that the devs were influenced by his work, lol)

[@jokerngesund]

@@mattwcook9127 yup, they were

[@ALE199-ita]

This was a good watch, thanks for bringing up the game, reminds me of a simmilar game, I think it was about a girl hunted by a demon and that had pills that could be used to change dimensions? Dinner Bone I think it was called Edit: it was FRAN Bow and even then I was remembering the wrong game, it wasn't fran bone but it was a game about some insane girl but I litterly forgot everything aside that it was about an insane girl and then she teleports somewhere where she solves clock puzzles and something something. Edit: it was Edna & Harvey: The Breakout the game I was thinking about. well better late then never

[@richmcgee434]

One of the better games out there dealing with trauma and mental health issues.

[@ALE199-ita]

@@richmcgee434 Just remembered it reminded me of Edna & Harvey: The Breakout

[@erikcalixto5018]

The "Wait, I know you" is from skyrim, the guards say it when you got a bounty on you. same thing with "What happened to this guy".

[@ahhhhyes]

I love ugly/gritty artistry like this. Great game with a few hiccups

[@ezdispenser]

i'm definitely checking this out, it seems like a nice short point and click that i can have fun with :3 i like when a lot of objects are interactable in games, even (and especially) unimportant ones

[@Graeldon]

If you end up enjoying it, they've actually released a new game in a similar style!

[@MegaHellstrike]

As an Austrian I can confirm that the German voice acting is just Germans doing english voice acting without forcing on a fake accent. Germans have some of the thickest and easily recognizable accents in their english, when I got into online gaming and got sick of Germans talking German with me I started developing an accent that fluctuates between british, New Yorker and cowboy to throw them off my scent,

[@Highretrogamelord]

Yup, definitely gives me Daedalic vibes...well, pre-Gollum Daedalic.

[@Graeldon]

We don't dare speak the name of that game.

[@Highretrogamelord]

@@Graeldon S-sorry!!!

[@frostare]

I... probably shouldn't have laughed as much as I did at 6:30 but whatever, man. =P Another impressive review, thanks!

[@AkorBestoff]

Ok im sorry you Mentiont Germany im Forced to do it xD: Dieses Video ist nun Teil der Bundesrepublik Deutschland!

[@Zero_de_Nova]

So wahr! =)

[@Berny23]

Richtig und wichtig!

[@the_clover_star]

Im sorry, but.. *WEESKI*-

[@Zift_Ylrhavic_Resfear]

Thanks for the video :)

[@yourhighschoolenglishteach8405]

5:54 if he was able to switch directions, the devs would need to draw a second set of walking sprites.

[@melisalongfellow7289]

Amazing ✊🏽 🏆🙂🙏🏼

[@klank9409]

just caught up and ive gotta say this game seems rad

[@Graeldon]

welcome back Klank!

[@Busterdrag]

...WHY DOES THE MANAGER HAVE MANDALOREGAMING'S HELMET?

[@Graeldon]

I suspect the dev is a fan!

[@thedemonspawn8289]

Is James and the other two guys a top gear reference

[@jokerngesund]

It wasn't intentional but now that I see it. Could be.

[@superduperdrew12345]

The shopkeeper sounds like Moroder talking about the Moog Modular

[@yesnutches]

this game reminds me a lot of the inner world also german dev!

[@MegaKBang]

This reminds me of the old Spongebob Movie Game on PC. Gives me similar vibes.

[@budderk1305]

your rating system is a Josh Strife Hayes reference, isn't it? Not that it's a bad thing

[@Graeldon]

Yes and no - I've definitely been inspired and influenced by his style, but I actually saw ProJared rate games this way first, way back when he reviewed Chrono Trigger

[@CainXVII]

The barkeeper doesn't get the privilege of being Larry?

[@solouno2280]

The voice acting is. Dingo pictures again

[@bobabobavich9110]

The art style reminds me of sally face

[@frixyg2050]

Gonzy? Like.. *that* Gonzy?

[@notquitenil]

If I might ask, what was the song you used during the "Verdict" section at the end there? It's surprisingly evocative.

[@taisato2091]

Give me a second i will check the name when my gf gives me my pc back

[@Graeldon]

Hi there! It was "A Cold Wind" by Savvun. You can find it on Epidemic Sound - it's not part of the game's original soundtrack

[@taisato2091]

oh thanbk u i forgor @@Graeldon

[@MiningJack777]

The voice actor kinda sounds like Simon from cry of fear

[@Michigan-4632hoggan]

FOR THE ALGORITHM!

[@geekjokes8458]

_wheeeesky_

[@ShinoSarna]

So this is the first good game you found in this series, then?

[@Graeldon]

Not quite! If you check the spreadsheet, you'll see that I've found 11 good games so far. The first was "LIFE" Not Found;

[@ShinoSarna]

@@Graeldon Nice! I will check it out

[@taisato2091]

​@@ShinoSarnaLife not found is free, so i suggest checking it out on steam first

[@lapinte8136]

for the algorithm

[@jamic6107]

Was it really necessary to spend almost 20mn to tell us the whole story?

[@Graeldon]

@jamic6107 yes.

[@lithuanianhound]

egg

[@LicencetoMeme]

Stop turning people into-

[@taisato2091]

Hello do you speak cake

[@stalebread7116]

Day 8 of waiting for Celeste

[@taisato2091]

In theory Celeste could be played before we even reach the letter "C" if it's chosen by the community to be played during stream

[@Graeldon]

Welcome back lol

[@andreworders7305]

This isn’t a cancelled Daedelic game though? The title makes no sense whatsoever.

[@mistermist634]

The dialogue and voice-acting are inexcusable. I am German myself and I have to say: C'mon guys, we can do better

[@szymps]

Stop calling one person "they". There's always only one person.

[@Graeldon]

While traditionally "they" would indicate a group, grammatical rules have changed and "they" is now acceptable to use when referring to a single person. Usually to describe a person of unknown gender, but not always - it can also be used when gender is irrelevant

[@popculturegamer6464]

Hey, dude, you're the best. I hope I can get you friended on Steam! I'll even gift you some hidden gems!

[@lukecwolf]

I would really love to make a mutual fund for the steam funds

[@Graeldon]

I'll keep an eye out for a Steam invitation!

[@Graeldon]

Funds from channel memberships and donations go towards new games for the channel =)

[@Graeldon]

@@popculturegamer6464 I'm Graeldon on Steam, easy enough to find haha

[@sheepsause]

Oh man I wonder how you'll react to the Deponia series since this game reminds me of that series a ton

[@Graeldon]

I look forward to reviewing them! In about 50 years though haha

[@stalebread7116]

Day 11 of waiting for Celeste

[@Graeldon]

How high are you prepared to count? The letter A is around 5000 days away...

[@stalebread7116]

As high as it takes

[@stalebread7116]

Day 12 of waiting for Celeste

[@stalebread7116]

Day 9 of waiting for Celeste

[@stalebread7116]

Day 10 of waiting for Celeste

[@stalebread7116]

Day 13 of waiting for Celeste