How BURNHOUSE LANE Handles Mortality

DEAAAAAAATHHHHHHHHHH RAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[@Mandlbrot]

I absolutely love how these games, no matter how grotesque and horrific they get at moments, they really touch on some beautiful human moments. Whether its finding yourself (like in the alice games), or the connection with (i cant remember his name) on the top of his building, it a beautiful dichotomy.

[@thenetiyeti]

I love these games so much... they combine the "weird" with "genuinely touching" so well

[@Raven-wq4li]

btw! the bloody mary lady is a reference to Misery by Stephen King! It also had a little easter egg in the cat lady where you had to find a key in a book.

[@sonder1028]

I didn’t even think of that!

[@Raven-wq4li]

@@sonder1028 also i think that scene with the barber might represent a few things. the baldness could be an obvious hint to cancer treatment, and the cut off limbs her inability to do anything about it.

[@sonder1028]

Absolutely, I hadn’t thought of the limbs thing but I think that makes sense!

[@kolbayada4938]

Burhnouse lane used to be called The Cat Lady 2 in the developement. Also, IMO all (1) golden endings go against themes of every game (except for the OG downfall and Lorelai, I guess). Think about it: The Cat Lady is about overcoming bad experiences and trying not to focus on the negatives of life, Mitzi's death is a perfect way to end Cat Lady because it gives Susan not just another struggle in life but also a more positive outlook on life's negatives due to Mitzi's perspective; Downfall - a game about letting toxicity of the relationship slowly destroy mental health of you and your SO, only to end in a happy ending when suddenly both Joe and Ivy suddenly overcome their struggles and escape into the sunset. Also also in Burnhouse lane golden ending feels less of a cop out than the Cat Lady's one. In Burnhouse Lane golden ending is essentially achieved through perfect situations that line up back to back: journalist gets saved and looses his mind but still helps Angie, bad guy is dying and Angie gives him pleasure of his bad habit just as he about to pass away. Meanwhile Cat Lady's golden ending is "Mitzi isn't sick anymore" and that's it. Edit(1): changed "none" to "all" since it didn't really make sense

[@n1vz3r]

darn, came here to read this comment (although the video is good too)

[@purplestardust0]

I just finished this game and figuring out you could see Mitzi again before killing the Spider from this video...lol

[@OnyxeBlade]

I'm personally glad Angie had a way for her to be freed of her cancer. Otherwise what was all the task she had to do if she was still going to be condemned to her cancer in the end? I really hope the Golden Ending is the canon ending since both George and her are alive. Cairan finds love and Jenny dies to her own foolish actions and not due to being given the death cigarette

[@Triljoo]

I was waiting for the game to try to make Jenny at any time to have any way of liking her, even until to the end just to make some reason for the player NOT to give Jenny the cigarette. But I respect Jenny staying as she was and made the choice easy. The Cat Lady still the best especially how in so short time the game manages to craft Mitzi into someone you care and think of as a friend.

[@JewTube001]

She's not likeable. If you played a male character you might have been seduced by her in a way as as a hetro female that character is always bad.

[@harvesterindiegames]

Fascinating - I had no idea you existed! ;) So there's more vidoes like this one? Why didn't anyone tell me?! ;)

[@sonder1028]

Thanks so much for subscribing! I’m sure you’ve noticed I’m a big fan of your work :D

[@harvesterindiegames]

@@sonder1028 I'm really honoured. And very very happy ;) Thank you so much!

[@JewTube001]

Hey Guy. You should make Stray 2.

[@noxturnae]

I believe the monsters you fight in the Burnhouse lane do reflect the inner demons of Angie's psyche. If you use your cat power on the barber after killing Omar's girlfriend, he reveals that the reason he didn't help you with killing her is because she literally was Angie's demon to kill, as she was personification of her greed, hunger, and the general desire for "more". In the similair vein, I think the monster from the wax museum symbolizes her being stuck in her past (hence him waxing people to "freeze" them in a picture-perfect holiday image), or the spider being the literal personifiaction of fear of death. Oh, and the "burned house" metaphor could be related to her smoking? The way she has "burned" her lungs into cancer. I think this is why I loved the ending where Angie dies the best, ironically, even though it's not the best "golden" one. She let go of her earthly connections and moved on peacefully. It was a beautiful way to go.

[@sonder1028]

That’s actually really interesting!

[@JewTube001]

Right. Also the fact the Cheshire cat dies when she's forced to make a choice and/or dies. Although it's Mitzi 100%. So Burnhouse Lane is probably just an aspect of what's she's interacting with.

[@gregoriodelimaalves6862]

10:45 uhm actually you can save him 🥸

[@HenryWayat]

It's actually hard to find video reviews on Burnhose Lane and I'm glad that time passes and I stumble upon something like this. It's a little bit sad that no matter how many times Rem tries to release a new game he's probably will never outperform his Cat Lady hit. Or going solo on Steam really hit him hard in advertising because I feel this one is less known and only spread by people's word. At least it got ported to consoles which is great for Rem! I liked Burnhose Lane, it's a surprisingly cozy game when you're not on Burnhose Lane or trying to deal with serial killers. But I guess I like it less then Cat Lady and Downfall they were just too good. I also like how Rem gaslighted everyone that "it's a standalone game :)" and then he pulls a Kojima again and it's still connected to DCTH universe. Though at the same time technically he didn't lie and the game stands on it's own, showing what happens outside of Cat Lady's. Anyway nice Easter Egg for the fans. I'm writing this now and you may probably know this already but Rem Michalski dropped a stealth announcement on his discord, where alongside his 4 text channels dedicated to his games, there was a fifth one called "Trainwatch"... and the first message there from Rem was and I quote "Trainwatch? What the fuck is Trainwatch?..." What a legend. All aboard on hype train...watch.

[@taimurali8427]

Just finished playing the game and after a wild ride I still feel unfinished the main character, the story, the riddles gore, and the realty everything was a spot on.

[@wickedarctiinae4132]

Thank you for the recommendation of Harvester games. The humor blends well in the editing.

[@sonder1028]

:D thank you! I’m glad to hear it flows well

[@SummerDays1991]

I just finished this game and while I really enjoyed it, I think Cat Lady had the best message and story. But I do enjoy this games view on mortality.

[@JewTube001]

Meowtality.

[@methamorphosiz]

Thanks so much for the review ! I'm a huge fan of all of this creator's games and I say GENUINELY they've changed my perspective of seeing the world, and about death itself ! It's great to see that there are more appreciators of these works 💜 The video is amazing !!

[@sonder1028]

I’m so glad you like it!

[@BrettGrell]

This was very well done :D Excited to be here before you blow up.

[@Puppetmistress]

I love the atmosphere of these games. I haven’t played them, but thanks to this, I may play them

[@sonder1028]

Would certainly recommend! They hit that sweet spot between weird, lovely, and comforting for me

[@princerobles6059]

I really wanted too play this one myself before I watched the video since it was so new but I opted out and decided too watch this because I have nothing else too listen too at work and you did not disappoint!

[@sonder1028]

I’m glad you liked! I appreciate the sacrifice of spoilers haha

[@Shibby4L]

Just found your channel, you’re so rad!

[@sonder1028]

Thank you so much! ☺️

[@ElementGuns12]

My favorite of the lesser known game developers, harvester games. Even though I only played downfall, played burnhouse lane, watch the cat lady walkthrough, and not played loreai, I am a huge fan. Glad to find your channel, you earned a subscriber. I enjoy your quirky dark humor, i hope to see more contemt from you but take your time no rush :)

[@sonder1028]

Thank you so much! Glad you like these vids :)

[@morganhay3968]

Without having played it, I do kind of wonder if maybe this was originally going to be explicitly related to the Devil Came Through Here games?

[@n1vz3r]

it is related, but, except the cameo of one of trilogy's characters, in quite subtle way

[@lvl85taurendk]

I love your videos!!! So far all of the games you've covered are some of my favorites for youtube viewing so glad to find ya!

[@sonder1028]

Aww thank you! I’m glad you like em 🥰 lots of these games don’t get enough love

[@gregoriodelimaalves6862]

FINALLY, After watching yout videos I played burnhouse lane on release and loved it so much, thanks for spreading awareness

[@sonder1028]

Absolutely! I’m amazed no one has talked about it

[@gregoriodelimaalves6862]

17:03 yeah... the whole bloody mary chapter was disgusting and shallow

[@bw9382]

Great video essay, thanks for putting all the effort into making these!

[@sonder1028]

You’re so welcome, I love doing it. Thanks for watching :)

[@n1vz3r]

For me, the meeting with James-the-husband was the dullest and absolutely artificial moment of the game... but whatever. Everything else in your video resonates perfectly with what I felt when playing the game

[@gregoriodelimaalves6862]

Finished the video, didnt thought of how the golden ending isnt thematically resonant before because that was the only one I got lmao

[@sonder1028]

Oh interesting! It must hit different to just get the golden ending. Thanks for watching all the way through btw ;)

[@MagnenoAlexWilkins]

Found out about you through looking up cat lady stuff. I dont know if your familiar with jordan underneath who used to make a lot of gaming content but hes kinda become more of an artist as of late. And this video while a different vibe from him scratches a certain itch. Your videos are extremely well done. And i hope that 200 subs boost to 2,000 in no time. And beyond

[@sonder1028]

Thank you thank you! Ah, I remember Jordan Underneath. He made/makes some awesome stuff

[@MagnenoAlexWilkins]

@@sonder1028 agreed and from what I've seen so far your definitely on par

[@magnenoalex2]

I'm glad to see your at 330 now. It took me since 2014 to now to reach 380 well on my main so don't you worry your gonna keep boosting and boosting due to the epic content

[@sonder1028]

Thank you! :)

[@chrishunter8305]

I like to think of Harvester Games as the spiritual successor to Team Silent.

[@sonder1028]

TRUEE

[@chrishunter8305]

@@sonder1028 also, I know it's a big ask for any kind of video (used to do it myself) but a bizarre horror game I've come across called Fear and Hunger would hopefully give you some material, also Enigma, An Illusion Named Family. (Be warned though the former is pretty dark and unforgiving, like pathologic and manhunt had a baby and it was an RPG.)

[@sonder1028]

Oh I’ve definitely looked into fear and hunger lol, I was actually thinking it might be good video material. I’m kinda going back and forth on it, mostly because I just know I’d lose my shit playing it lol. I haven’t heard of enigma, but it sounds up my alley, I’ll check it out!

[@chrishunter8305]

@@sonder1028 cool, glad to be able to direct you to something new :)

[@yurionagony7782]

​@@sonder1028just be warned in fear and hunger the amount of naked people would make even the most depraved sols(me) uncomfortable

[@Mandlbrot]

"Consentually keeps her chained up in the basement, and feeds her kebabs." Well. If they're good enough kebabs.. maybe its worth it?? 😂

[@sonder1028]

I mean they do look kinda fire

[@Scott_Inksmith]

This is a good synopsis. I do wish rem had gotten farther away it being too much like cat lady.

[@JewTube001]

CL was peak Rem. Although it's nice he added gameplay elements to it.

[@AdamWong]

Fantastic Video!

[@sonder1028]

Thank you!

[@yurionagony7782]

Im kinda pissed they didn't make any way to save Jenne's life cause i actually kinda like her, yeah she is kind of a bitch in the end but that makes sense, she's is going through withdrawal and that really brings out the worst in people but she knows she inst a good person at the end of the day, thats the first step, she accepted that she isn't what Angie needs in a friend and she tells her its only gonna hurt her too, kinda wished they made a way for her to get better, the idea that she is too far gone authough realistic its very depressing cause she is showed to be a better person before the withdrawal, honestly she could get her own game with her strugles alone, so yeah kind of a miss opportunity to me

[@sonder1028]

I agree, I think she definitely could have been more dimensional and had a chance at redemption

[@JewTube001]

Why does your computer lag so much? The FPS on the gameplay footage is like a silent movie. And yes that IS Mitzy. 100%

[@danielymcfarlane4069]

is it bad that I said '' Jenny'' the same time you did

[@sonder1028]

LMAO