How to MISS THE POINT of Silent Hill | The Medium Review

00:00 - Introduction; The Medium, Bloober & Silent Hill
03:45 - The Dream, Marianne, and our Prologue
08:48 - The Niwa Resort
12:17 - Chasing Sadness
17:29 - Let me wear your skin
20:20 - What happened to Richard?
31:25 - Frank, Jack, and the Maw
38:33 - What happened to Henry?
42:14 - Under the Red House
46:28 - Return to the Dream
48:40 - Discussion Time - Richard & The Childeater
54:08 - Henry & The Hellhound
56:02 - Lily & The Maw
01:01:48 - Who do you shoot?
01:04:01 - Angela Orosco and PTSD
01:07:46 - Final Thoughts
Twitch: / mertkaykay
Patreon: / mertkaykay
VOD channel: / @mertkaykayvods

[@astor4853]

as someone who suffered from csa, I'm so exhausted of the 'pedo with trauma' storyline. They always explain the perpetrator in depth and in a sympathetic light while ignoring the literal traumatized child. I don't want to hear about how a pedo is just a little broken boy, I don't find a story like that interesting.

[@Densoro]

'You have to understand, he had a terrible childhood.' 'I'm having a terrible childhood right now!'

[@lavenderhuman]

Same here as someone with PTSD. While I wasn’t abused, my trauma was “caused” by someone and honestly if I had to play a video game where this person is portrayed as sympathetic I don’t know what I’d do

[@Justmyhandle]

@@lavenderhuman As someone who experienced physical & emotional childhood abuse, I've no sympathy for abusers with tragic backgrounds. I do appreciate it though, when stories at least make an effort to give such characters some level of depth instead of writing yet another one-dimensional villain whose role is simply to be an easy-to-hate obstacle. Essentially, they do bad things because some people are just bad and that's all you need to know for their purpose in the narrative. While such characters are not necessarily unrealistic, and encountering such evil people in life can be relatable, the fundamental problem with such characterizations for me has nothing to do with realism or relatability. It's an issue of repetitiveness and lack of creative effort in the execution. This is not to suggest that simple villains are inherently inferior to complex and/or sympathetic ones, far from it. Ex- Avatar: TLA's Firelord Ozai is for several reasons in my opinion one of the best examples of a simply written antagonist + abusive character in all of fiction. Even in episodes that add context to his past and attempt to flesh him out or even humanize him as more than the series' overarching boogeyman for Aang to eventually fight, he's never painted as sympathetic. He abused his two children their entire childhoods, each in very different but equally heinous ways that ultimately drove them to conflict. Everything he did had a purpose both in the larger story and specifically in connection to his family's relationships as well as their character arcs (Zuko's being one of redemption and improvement while Azula's was more self-destructive). Now, compare that to a character like Beverly Marsh's dad in the 1990 mini-series adaptation of Stephen King's IT. While he and Beverly's family history are given more background in the original novel, the mini-series depicts him as a bland, overprotective/possessive alcoholic who beats his daughter seemingly because he "worries a lot". That's his whole personality. His abuse plays into Beverly's development, but he himself has little-no actual character or context. To me, that kind of characterization is oversimplistic, stereotypical, grossly overused, and just plain boring. I've seen it done countless times in media over decades. It takes no effort or exercise in sensitivity for the storyteller to approach. It's the lazy, easily marketable abuser archetype (older male, addict, uses abuse as discipline and/or control).

[@lavenderhuman]

@@Hynotama mf we’re talking about a child molester, why the hell would I ever want to look at them with anything other than hatred???

[@Densoro]

@@Hynotama The issue is that this has already been explored, so much that people think it’s the ONLY outcome and treat us like we’re automatically dangerous. People have lost careers over this.

[@nyctophobia4573]

So, the game portrays an abuser as “a mostly good/salvageable man who is tormented and possessed by an evil demon” but then the actual victim of his abuse is portrayed as “an irredeemable, damaged person who is host of an unstoppable murder machine demon”? Huh? This might be the most horrible handling of such topics I’ve ever seen. If the Maw is a representation of trauma, the fault is 100 percent to blame on the abuser. Lily is ten thousand percent blameless in this. The ending would have been much better if they got the poor girl some therapy. Not to say therapy solves all problems, but it’s sure better than the real ending!

[@MertKayKay]

I can't agree more Nyct! I had no idea the story would take this direction at all, and it ended up being so absurd and such a strange focus on the absolutely wrong things. Thanks very much for watching!

[@filypa101]

I think they could still keep most of those aspects (maybe not the reddemable abuser, more like the sorrowful or regretful kind of one that we could feel pity for but thats it, good person or not, thats all they get.) if they had handled them differently. Like sure, the victim could still be in a state of irredeemability (mostly thanks to the demon that won't let go) but... They basically seemed to rush it at the end, I almost didn't understand what The Maw was, I don't need hold hands but I need the angst ending to be reasonable in a more satisfying way than "demon possesses this person so person needs to go". Like... "great, he regrets it, but show me or narrate to me more about him and about our sister (mostly show in her case, little bits of memory during the adventure unless I'm misremembering) so I can get attached and understand that both were lost causes by this point." No offense to Lily. The game needed more gameplay time for the ending in my opinion, it looked like "The Maw possessed her, she's been causing trouble since then, he could be the cause, hecoukd be the original Maw, he could be a lot of stuff, doesnt matter, end your sister's suffering". And also "Congrats you solved the mystery that your sister IS The Maw so...you know what to do and feel confused cuz as the player you don't know a lot about her, many pieces of info and trivia and maybe metaphors but no more concrete stuff except twin. Psychic connection." Like, I like the demon but I didn't even understand the demon the first time cuz they didn't seem to connect the events that trespassed up to that point to the ending...very seeminglessly

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

Richard wasn't possessed, he while having a function mind and conscience chose to indulge in his darker desires i.e the childeater

[@MertKayKay]

@@Cold_Zero_The_Wise It's worth considering that this is left over to interpretation and it's never actually confirmed in-game :D Although I am glad you've engaged so much with it

[@Cold_Zero_The_Wise]

@@MertKayKay no problem I find the medium to be an interesting story with high potential, but like an uncut gem unpunished and unrefined, hope it gets a more thorough, coherent and detailed remake in the future.

[@maduinargentus5878]

The Child-eater was always weird for me - like how does "trauma from growing up in an abusive home during war times" lead to your monstrous behaviour being "sexually abusing child that reminds you of your childhood sweetheart"? Like, if he had instead went "must protect" and kidnapped and locked her away to keep her away from all potential threats out in the world it'd be much more logical, but I guess they really wanted to have CSA as a plot point and just shoehorned it in

[@MertKayKay]

I agree! I have no idea why all of those things /caused/ some kind of obsession with children. Like you said: probably a good old shoehorn situation

[@millirabbit4331]

Trauma causes people to develop ineffective coping skills and negative world views. The outcome varies baed on experience, support, and individual variations. Most abusers have a history of being abused. It doesn't give them an excuse for their behavior but it helps explain how we got to today in at least two of the above categories.

[@AFoxInFlames]

Amen. I hate this, I suffered some....abuse as a kid and there is no one to blame besides them, he wasn't possessed, he was just a man, an evil man.

[@agencymenace1090]

I'm convinced the devs are child rapists and had to force in an excuse for other child rapists so they could cope.

[@Kindlesmith70]

Psychological results/breaks aren't one for one logical. You might not be able to draw that line, but you aren't exactly that character. There's also a key factor that this is fiction, not reality. Have you come into any contact with any product that utilizes the Cthulhu Mythos? XD

[@kingdynex8693]

I love the silent implication that if each Silent Hill 2 ending represents a stage of grief that the Dog ending is Anger

[@MertKayKay]

I didn't consider that but I love it 😍

[@shiguriyamamo6730]

I mean. If we found out that dog was responsible for everything. Sure why not^^

[@matty6878]

what does the ufo ending represent?

[@MertKayKay]

@@matty6878 We'd have to look to the seven stages of grief for this one, but my money's on Shock

[@kingdynex8693]

@@matty6878 Same thing all the UFO endings represent. The protag getting high off White Claudia.

[@PaxtheDreamer]

Y'know... I feel like the whole idea of Demons in this game could have been more acutely explored if rather than TAKING OVER their hosts, they were just ENABLING their hosts. Painting everything in the best possible light, encouraging their darker impulses, and always offering a justification whenever they start to second-guess themselves.

[@MertKayKay]

Yes! Like the devil on your shoulder :D

[@writingcuriosity]

That's a very interesting idea.

[@shadowangel6359]

Demons enabling their hosts make more sense since that offers a choice to the host whereas possession essentially strips the host of any agency, which is something frowned upon in a story exploring mental illness and trauma.

[@shadowangel6359]

Mind you, the fear of having no control is a terrifying thing, but the fact that the demons were used as a methaphor messes with that since it flat out says how victims of mental illness and trauma are forever prisoners to them and that is kinda stark and cruel thing to say. This clashes against Henry, who is by far the most controlled of the demons shown in-game. Henry is not a prisoner to his demon like the others.

[@orionar2461]

I mean, that's almost makes the abusers victims themselves, depending on how much the demons gas light people into thinking that what they did was "good" or "normal".

[@Sergei_Ivanovich_Mosin]

That awkward moment when LISA: The Painful, a game that features a boss that's just a trio of dudes with such amazing hair it actually tangles together into a giant fist that fights you and uses porn magazines as currency, handles the theme of child abuse more respectfully than a game supposedly trying to "raise awareness"

[@fuzzyzombielove]

When we first meet Maw, it's crying and saying "DON'T LOOK AT ME!" It doesn't actually do anything harmful until Marianne walks around and violates it's boundaries by looking directly at it. But we're not supposed to sympathize with it or imagine that it can be accepted and managed, because the only point the game is trying to make with this character is that TRAUMA = BAD.

[@MertKayKay]

I always wondered why it didn't want to be looked at: whether it was trying to draw us in by making us curious, or whether there was something else going on. This boundary point is super interesting and I wish I'd considered that when writing my script. Thank you Fuzzy!!

[@fuzzyzombielove]

​@@MertKayKay It's not just the Marianne. Maw also mumbles something about "He's always looking at me." If the "he" in question is meant to indicate Richard, then it seems like the abuse Lily experienced is still ongoing from Maw's perspective. At various points the characters talk about not letting demons "out" and how they make people to terrible things. MAYBE the game was trying to say that bottling up trauma and how it will inevitably manifest as something harmful to yourself and those around you. Again, _maybe._ There's a lot to explore here and I feel like they wanted to, but conventional ludonarrative DEMANDS a clearly defined antagonist to be defeated. I think that's were they fucked up.

[@benruniko]

This game is so backwards. Even the children’s movie ‘Inside Out’ had the message that being sad isn’t bad. Suffering from trauma doesn’t make someone bad. Good grief game, I shake my head at you.

[@Ajehy]

@@benruniko no no, not “good grief!” Grief is a bad thing, you see. Because trauma and sadness are bad. /s

[@benruniko]

@@Ajehy hahaha good point!

[@ironmask2849]

I can't wait for the twist to Silent Hill 2 where we find out how Angela's Dad is actually the victim of the whole situation and he didn't do anything wrong and it was his internal demons.

[@mothmantra6289]

With this new announcement your joking prediction looms ever closer to reality

[@CoolStoryTimeBro]

❤‍🔥For us SH fans, it's always like this.❤‍🔥

[@zard1255]

We have a prophet here

[@abecharles7652]

God I hope it'd be one on one remake, no narrative tweaking whatsoever

[@numbersbubble]

@@abecharles7652 ummm we are talking about Konami here and didn't they lose all of their sourecode for sh2. So when they did the HD collection they had to use incomplete beta builds

[@carmirhodes6851]

I wonder if their intent was less to condemn Lily more to say "her trauma is greater, therefore her demon is far more powerful", it consume her from the inside. It's just as bad honestly because there's no way to save her from it, like therapy isn't a thing in Bloober's universe, too much research for them I guess. Also if they're going to defend a pedophile, why not defend Henry as well? KGB agents have to go through mental grooming as well, they're not born that way. There such a tonal dissonance here just because they preferred the clichéd tragic backstory to justify criminal activities.

[@MertKayKay]

Very true on all fronts Carmi! Weird that of Henry, Lily, and Richard, Richard is the one who got all the care and attention. Henry is irredeemable from the start, not even worth examining, and Lily is - well, I mean. Thanks so much for watching Carmi!

[@vanyadolly]

They absolutely shot their own argument in the foot by introducing Henry.

[@Densoro]

I wonder if the idea with Henry was less, 'he was born like this,' and more, 'He didn't have to invent another self to take responsibility for what he's done. He fully accepts -- and is too twisted to apologize for -- his evil deeds.' It doesn't fix 99% of this victim-blaming edgelord story, it's just another angle I'm curious enough to poke.

[@MertKayKay]

@@Densoro I agree! I think Henry's characterization is the best of the three and this kind of inner demon exploration is by far the most interesting

[@DuelaDent52]

They’re not defending Richard, though? The characters all show nothing but contempt for him.

[@bariyou]

The thing about art, and it's something I wish more people who created/criticized art would understand is, art is a conversation between the creator and the audience. And sometimes the creator says something really stupid, and so naturally the audience is going to weigh in on that. You wouldn't tell someone they can't criticize a speaker on stage because he MEANT to go "blooble dooble pfthrrrrp" and you just ~don't get it~. Art is no different. (Most) Art shouldn't be banned, but that doesn't mean it's free from people voicing their own opinions OF that art. Especially when that art costs $50, a 9ish hour investment of time you'll never get back, and a spot forever reserved in my mind that slowly pushes out the older memories of my halcyon childhood.

[@MertKayKay]

Hey Burr! I completely agree. There are so many frustrating ways people deflect criticism of games, and I've probably seen this method of it disproportionately as a result of my videos, but, my god, can we not just sit as adults and critique things

[@thesleepydot]

@@MertKayKay most people who say "you can't criticize X because-" just aren't ready to hear criticism of something they like and push that blame onto the critics. frustrating and immature.

[@faid3015]

I feel like the ending didn't *intend* to villainize Lily, it's just one of those situations where the writers wanted to create as impactful and sad an ending as possible and, in the process, forgot to think through the message and implications of that ending. Everything about it screams "rushed tragic finale where we desperately try to tie everything together," from the set up of the "you can't save everyone" line being merely a couple scenes ago, to how generally unrelated the Maw seems to be to Lily and her trauma, despite the game suddenly insisting that it is a manifestation of said trauma. It truly feels like they designed the Maw beforehand, then stapled it onto Lily later in the writing process just to create needless tragedy in how the Maw is banished. It's all made worse by the fact that we just met Lily, that- much like Rachel foster- Lily is barely allowed to have a voice or active role to play in the story. She's the passive victim from beginning to end, and the game treats it like laying down and dying is the best thing for her to do. She was a character quite literally conceived of with the express purpose of fridging her, killing her to get a reaction from the audience with no consideration of her own personal character arc. Like God, at least let us see something of her, maybe give us some flashback sequence where we get to play as her, perhaps culminating in the birth of the Maw so we could have some justification for how it's even related to her. Still wouldn't excuse the ending as it stands, but at least give the poor girl some role to play in the story other than die

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely agree Faid! Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching

[@teslashark]

That's the opportunity to shout Skill Issue to the devs.

[@awetistic5295]

Vincent's "Monsters? They looked like... monsters to you?" is still one of my favorite moments in horror game history, and definitely one of the most disturbing ones. Even if he passes it off as a joke, we know that Silent Hill looks different for everyone who visits it and that the monsters are personalized as well. We even see Lisa's transformation into a monster only after she realizes she's one of them. So for me, there will always be that "...what if?"

[@toolatetothestory]

Was it ever mentioned how the monsters did look like to him? Or is there a theory?

[@awetistic5295]

@@toolatetothestory They might just look like regular people... maybe the inhabitants of Silent Hill or only the cult members.

[@syrentide]

@@toolatetothestory he might just not see them as "monsters"; a lot of the enemies in SH3 are based on alessa's memories of the cult, so it's possible vincent sees them the same way, but just doesn't think of them as monsters like heather does.

[@night1952]

@@toolatetothestory I always took it as Vincent implying they're normal humans that you've been shooting, slashing and stomping, maybe some dogs too.

[@toolatetothestory]

@@night1952 "In other news, Silent Hill has been experiencing a Mass Shooting, apparently carried out by a single Teenager. Current victim estimation is around 100 people and more than 10 dogs, many more left wounded. Apprehension was not yet possible and we reccomend everyone to stay inside and lock their doors until the threat is removed. And now to James with the weather-"

[@HopingForDawn]

I wanted to say the Line "I wanted to commit suicide but was not strong enough." is extremely accurate. The reasons that you listed for why this line annoys you, is in actuallity exactly the thought process you would have as a suicidal person. I say this as someone who tried to commit suicide various times. When I was so deep into depression it really seemed as if me living was a burden to everyone around me and my death would be a relieve, therefore me not doing the right thing/ the best thing for everyone else (killing myself) was selfish and cowardly, because I "obviously" thought myself more important than the happyness and wellbeing of everyone else. Sounds illogical? For the sane mind it is, when you are deeply depressed THIS is logical to you.

[@throwawaybabie8943]

was coming to comment this exact thing, so glad i scrolled and saw someone else bring it up.

[@parrotperson]

Thank you for this. Multiple times I have been on that ledge thinking that everyone in my life would be better off without me, but it goes against all instinct to die on purpose, so I was too scared to go through with it. In that moment, it feels cowardly. Of course now I realise I never actually wanted to die. I just wanted support and had surrounded myself with people unwilling and unable to provide it. Hence why I felt like such a burden.

[@HeatherHolt]

Damn… I don’t know you, but I’m glad you didn’t do it and that you were here to leave this comment for others who were in a similar situation. Like me. It’s wild to remember how sure I was that I would be helping everyone if I ended it all, when really I would have just broken my dads heart and a decade later my daughter would have never been born into this world… life is so hard and depression is a bitch, but thankfully we have people around us who care. It might only be one person and it might be someone we hardly ever talk to but whether it be a parent a friend a partner or even an internet stranger, there is always someone who wants us to be here ❤

[@VSPhotfries]

I think this is what grinds my gears when people who DON'T experience depression or suicidal ideation talk about it: They don't understand the experience yet seem to think they understand anyway, and assume it's selfish or weak without even trying to actually see past that surface level idea. Having lost people, I understand the impulse to be angry at the thing that took someone precious away from you - even if that thing IS the person. I also understand what feels like a personal slight, e.g. the idea of "why didn't they trust me enough to talk to me about it?" but having been there myself, I get it, and I moved past that feeling. To paraphrase David Foster Wallace: Nobody jumps from a burning building because they want to fall to their death, they jump because burning alive is worse. In other words: Nobody wants to kill themselves because they want to die so much as they can't bear to remain alive - and nasty judgement from others is just fuel for the proverbial fire.

[@geekgirl_luv4262]

Exactly!!! This is why it always bothers me when people describe suicide as “cowardly”, “selfish”, or “taking the easy way out and harming everyone you love in the process”, because in the person’s mind they often are doing what is better for the people they love, and so describing people who commit suicide as selfish and cowardly only serves to further alienate someone who is suicidal and makes them feel worse about themselves. What people don’t realize is that the person’s brain has been constantly tearing them down, making them feel worthless, and convincing them that they are a burden to the people they love. They need help and compassion, not judgment.

[@J0566]

Didn't this game also get into controversy over the developers making a patent for the game's two world gameplay? That was the primary reason I refused to buy or play this game. Copyrighting gameplay mechanics seems like a very detrimental thing for the game industry.

[@brawler5760]

Yo that’s the second worst thing I’ve heard coming out of this game.

[@MertKayKay]

Wow, if that's true then that is some CRAP behaviour. Like you said: copyrighting gameplay mechanics is just not the way.

[@lukekebell3146]

While agree with you're statement this is not a new thing in gaming. The Nemesis System for Shadow of Mordor (the one where you build an orc army) is also patented. Lots if games do it to protect their stance. However they usually have a limitation where they eventually become available to other companies but it allows the parent company to keep their edge in gaming a lil longer.

[@vfxninja5503]

Ah, yes. Their stated reason for the copyright was 'we don't want to have to sue anyone' as if they would have to sue people MORE if they weren't copyrighting their stupid little gimmick. Bloober Team's executives need more personal experiences with trauma so they treat it more respectfully.

[@dramaghost999]

Suddenly I want from thinking that this mechanic is a neat feature with a lot of potential to wanting to nit-pick every last detail and kill it with fire and insults. Petty, but not undeserved… …I hope the CEO shits their pants on the way into work.

[@csidesummit]

I always had the impression, in Silent Hill 2, that Angela was going off to fight her own final boss. James was getting a glimpse into what the journey was like for her. Just as he was off to finish his own story, she was off to finish hers. I think all three of the 'human' characters, Eddie, James, and Angela, could have been the main character (though obviously Eddie never made it to the end of his). Maybe Angela failed, maybe she had a suicide ending, but I don't think her ascent up the stairs was definitively her death march.

[@MertKayKay]

Aww Goldsmith this is actually kind of a really hopeful interpretation. I always thought the stairs were really straightforward in their depiction but you're one of two people who's pointed out some really possible other interpretations. Another commenter said the stairs could have been Angela's hell for her to walk up forever, which immensely depressed me. I think your interpretation is much cooler and much more preferable. Thank you!

[@frogmemo4153]

I love this interpretation. My new head canon now.

[@Densoro]

I love this! It makes so much sense too; if the staircase 'always looks like that' to her, and she's made it this long, why would it destroy her now? There's also an underutilized suggestion here, that Silent Hill doesn't look like flesh for everybody. To dovetail with the 'healing horror' mentioned in the video, I've always said I'm a fan of 'pro-survivor' horror. Mainly to contrast with 'sadistic horror' where the viewers _cheer_ for protags to die. I want horror where you can tell the protagonist, 'You were so brave, I'm so proud of you and so glad you're still here, let's get you some therapy and a future.'

[@hiddenshadow2105]

Actually, I think this is a reasonable interpretation. She, by her own volution, touched James' face before she went up, took it into her hands even - to me it does say she became somewhat more assertive and confident in facing her pain, as previously she shunned all such contact.

[@csidesummit]

@@hiddenshadow2105 That is a REALLY good point that completely went over my head!

[@Gloowie12345]

It feels like, instead of Marianne killing herself or Lily, they could have done something maybe cheesy but at least meaningful. Like "the power of love" kinda thing. Marianne confronting Maw, "I know you're scared and angry and lashing out, hurting others because you're hurt. But you can stop now, it's over" a dialog like that. Someone HELPING Lily instead of trapping her like an animal. Making Maw an out of control self defense thing conjured by an extremely powerful psychics trauma. Because the psychic's being real is a thing in the game, and that being a reason why Maw got so powerful. Lily is hurt and alone and isolated, feeling helpless and powerless, and Maw being her powers lashing out in compensation. Just a thought, but better than whatever the hell the writers was thinking.

[@ravengrey9709]

So many horror creators in general just don't know how to shock an audience and turn to serious issues like rape and child sexual abuse as a way to make the story seem more shocking or deep when all it does is destroy the narrative and trivialize those issues. It even gets worse when there are people like those you mentioned who just try to excuse it by saying the poor handling is intended like we're at some art museum looking at an abstract painting instead of a piece of media with that has a set plot and viewpoint behind it.

[@GuiltyKit]

It's such lazy writing. It's as bad as "can't figure out a motivating backstory for your female character? Just add rape!" Original Red Sonja, etc.

[@xenith800]

That's the thing, this development team has almost no idea how to make an actual horror game or story. It was evident enough past Observer, but this particular game only drives that that past the goal post.

[@fluorescentgreys]

As an Autistic Person I am soooooo incredibly wary of media that claims its "raising awareness" and is usually spreading the same old harmful bullshit lmao. Nice to hear someone call it out. Your takes on video games are always so refreshing to hear.

[@MertKayKay]

Thank you Greys! I can't stand a 'raising awareness' game that does absolutely nothing to raise awareness >:(

[@doomsday1268]

@@MertKayKay Amen, if you want to actively raise awareness, do it in a way that doesn’t make the characters you create take away from it. Like Racheal Foster, it could have been really interesting if they didn’t try to make the abuser out to be a redeemable man, same for Richard. These things can work, but if you want to make a three-dimensional character, do it in a way that it doesn’t contradict your entire story

[@Khashmonet]

@@MertKayKay what did you think of Senua's Sacrifice? I thought that was alright for a "raise awareness" game.

[@shcdemolisher]

As a fellow autistic myself, I feel the term ‘raising awareness’ is super dated when there is almost nothing new to be aware of these days.

[@landonhagan450]

"Raising awareness" is to psychological media what "We made it for the fans" is to nerd media: A fallback position.

[@bronzergoth7598]

GREAT point bringing up The Babadook as "healing horror". The monster doesn't get defeated, only held at bay, and life goes on. Love your analyses on these difficult narrative issues. I think it's becoming common to insist that the only responsible option is to not write/portray them at all, and the reminders of stories that do it right makes your videos rise above more reactionary commentators

[@Wendigoon]

I’ve nearly watched your entire channel and gotta say I’m a big fan, can’t wait for more content

[@MertKayKay]

Oh my god Wendigoon! I am an enormous fan of your stuff! Absolutely loved your videos on Dante's Divine Comedy & I Have no Mouth and I Must Scream, and recently finished your offensive film Iceberg. Insanely flattered to know you like my videos, thanks so much for being here :D

[@Sniperk1ng187]

The cross over I never knew I needed

[@yagmurtaymaz5696]

HI DAD :))

[@criminalscum7272]

IT'S THE GUY

[@TheAngryMarshmallow]

Yeah I just found them and I'm voraciously watching them. I really like the way they describe stuff and they're hilarious!

[@midnght9914]

"'Food may contain nuts' is super vague." In the USA, this translates to "Processed in a facility that processes peanuts and tree nuts." This warning is specifically for people with hypersensitive allergies, where they'll have a severe allergic reaction from just touching a surface that has minute traces of their allergen. At the facility I work at, we cleanse and sanitize EVERYTHING if we were working with peanuts, and that warning is still printed in bold on every product we produce.

[@Albinojackrussel]

The frustration comes when it's put on things that *definitely* contain nuts. Like packets of peanuts

[@NameIsDoc]

@@Albinojackrussel it's just cheaper to produce one label then two the may contain nuts can be placed on things that definitely contain nuts

[@Albinojackrussel]

@@NameIsDoc the thing is I've seen that printed on packaging that is all one solid piece which is clearly specific in other places so it's all one label cybertext.files.wordpress.com/2010/06/peanuts.jpg

[@NameIsDoc]

@@Albinojackrussel again it's easier to slap it onto a label then to change it. I've worked some graphics design some parts are modular

[@thesleepydot]

@@NameIsDoc still, like albino said, thats a bit frustarting because this method of saving a bit of time and a bit of money muddies the understanding of those labels. If "may contain traces of nuts" means "Processed in a facility that processes peanuts and tree nuts", people with hypersensitive allergies know to avoid them, but people with regular/mild allergies know they are proooobably safe. if "may contain traces of nuts" can be anything from "there are some nuts in the factory where this is produced" and "THESE ARE LITERALLY NUTS YOU ARE BUYING", people with any sort of nut allergies, from mild to hypersensitive, are forced to avoid them altogether _just in case_ edit: a friend has stopped buying about 95% of chocolate products because most of them have this now-vague label on the packaging

[@simplyerayn6278]

"Marianne shakes off the stray bullet and tells Lily that her parents died-" This line absolutely obliterated me. My sides and cheeks hurt, my god. I love it.

[@Kammereer]

I feel like the game suffered from trying to juggle "demons are a manifestation of psychology" and "demons are demons" and dropping the plates. I didn't feel like the game ever puts any blame on _Lily_ beyond being a psychic dangerous by accident, but "demons=psychology" puts such a blame.

[@livik9582]

One of the few things that I do like about the way Richard was portrayed is that Mirror Thomas actively comments that his actions are inexcusable regardless of his past.

[@dinofelisdruid78]

the fact that these horror games keep condemning women for being assaulted while abstaining the (pedophilic) men who preyed on them from any real blame reeks of misogyny fr. as for the ending, im gonna live in a fantasy world and imaging that she shoots the maw, then she and her sister go to get therapy.

[@vfxninja5503]

She fires the pistol into the air and the act of refusing to kill her sister becomes a totemic psychologocal act which drives The Maw away temporarily and gives your sister reprieve, and by taking her away from Baby Auschwitz in that window of time she's able to finally escape it's influence with our help. (A caring family member who defies cynical 'they're beyond saving' advice and rescues their loved one from themselves even if they have to go above and beyond.) (Oh and then you go and personally obliterate that child rapist's soul with your demon powers)

[@robomojo8639]

@@electricfishfan7159 Whaddya mean? I haven't finished the third game yet so if I missed something then that's my bad. In the first game at least, it definitely seems like Alessa is undoubtedly the victim. She literally goes out of her way to prevent the cult getting what they want and is only forced to help them once she's forced to at the very end of the game.

[@Lucifronz]

In this game's case, unlike the Suicide of Rachel Foster, it at least doesn't seem intentional. Whereas in the other game's case they were very clearly trying to make the villain some sort of tragic figure. I still get nauseous thinking about it. I stand by my previous statement that they should be, at the least, fined heavily for that toxic pile of crap they created. It sends a horrible message out and they had to have known what they were doing.

[@MistarZtv]

hearing all the horror stories of how a lot of gaming companies treat the women and lgbtq people in their team thats been more public now, its honestly really telling as to why so many video games have such terrible takes about sex abuse and misconduct in the stories.

[@ohjeezriles]

@@electricfishfan7159 Christ, you really missed the *entire* point, huh?

[@Slinaro]

Fun fact about the visual aspect : The inspiration for the nightmarish visuals are heavily inspired by the work of polish artist Zdzisław Beksiński, which is very cool as its a an amazingly haunting style. However, (and what follows is 100% a biased diatribe) this unfortunately continues a trend with Bloober Team : Relying a lot on pre-existing work of arts and games concept to the point of annoying some players. Their main selling arguments are often limited to "This has the same vibe as [Famous game]" or "We are referencing [Artist/Work of Art]". Obviously, there is nothing wrong with taking inspiration and reference (again Beksiński's work is great and I'm glad that it get some spotlight) but Bloober Team tend to do that a lot and sometimes a bit lazily. Though, I really hope the Silent Hill remake will be good despite of this pattern.

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks for that info there Slinaro! I wasn't actually aware of that, that's really interesting. Seems like they're inspired by a lot of other work. I really hope they find their own niche as they go - maybe, potentially with the remake (if they're still doing it). Thanks for watching Slinaro

[@grayrainbow100]

I was going to make this exact comment! The second I saw the environment it just *screamed* Beksiński, it's unfortunate it feels trite and wasted. I'd rather explore a Beksiński nightmare world on its own than have it play backdrop to these pseudo-philosophical blatherings. You wouldn't even have to stretch the themes that far to achieve that effect given that post WW2 trauma is the soul of his work.

[@tcrpgfan]

They're doing the SH2 remake, but that's counterbalanced by Annapurna Interactive doing Silent Hill: Townfall.

[@hoodedman6579]

You know what that reminds me of? How Darkseed and Darkseed 2 used H. R. Giger's art to make it; much of Darkseed 2's backgrounds are basically just his work wholesale, maybe with a walkway put on it. It looks kind of stupid to be honest. Note that they did actually license the artwork.

[@gfn6656]

Bloober Team is a Polish company, Observer was also set in Poland. You can criticize their overuse of existing visual tropes but I hope that they would reference Beksiński out of any artist.

[@dangerszewski9816]

You have an amazing gift for one-liners and jokes, the bit about "Silent hill is about having to confront your trauma, then confront your trauma in less than two hours, then confront your trauma on hard mode" was amazing, and there's other examples in other videos too.

[@bonniecallahan925]

"It's about having the courage to look your past in the eye before you beat it to death with a gold pipe you got from a 2D mermaid in a sewer somewhere" is perhaps the greatest sentence I've ever heard.

[@KatKit52]

Ah yes, the content warning "this game may contain scenes". Yes, I should hope a story driven game has scenes. I'm so tired of the "give the pedo a sad backstory". Like, we've moved past this. I believe that we should give every person the grace of potential redemption and help, even abusers. Restorative justice as opposed to punitive and all that. But there has to be a balance. You can say "I feel bad for this person having gone through shit" without absolving them of the horrors they have inflicted upon others. Also, in regards to the "suicide requires strength": I feel like that comes from the kind of well-meaning enabling of harmful coping mechanisms. Like, when you're confronted with someone you love who killed themselves, you don't want to call them a "coward" or "weak", so instead you swing the other way and say that actually suicide requires "strength" and "bravery". You want to see this person you love in the best light possible, especially now that they cannot defend themselves. Further, it's most people's first instinct to offer comfort to someone who is suffering from suicidal ideation, and that includes putting a positive spin n their thoughts: "you're not a coward, you're brave" and "you'll feel better". It's like how people will say "those who committed suicide are angels who are called back to God". They're born from a genuine want to help people feel better and support those who are hurting, but in actuality, those platitudes only enable harmful coping mechanisms. Suicide is not brave or cowardly, and it is not a sign of an angel or a demon. It is not a question of morality or of a person's character. It is harmful but it is not evil.

[@MertKayKay]

We do love a content warning that assures us, yes, definitely, there will be a game after this. There may even be some gameplay. I agree on the pedophile backstory thing. Like, the characters in the game assure us that it's not relevant, and we know it's not relevant, so why is it in the game? If it was merely to tutorialise Thomas' section it was a dreadful excuse. Like you said, we don't need to absolve him and I feel like this game really does try to. And re: the suicide thing, I think that's a really valid observation. I think peer to peer, we really do try and see the best in each other, exactly like you said. Thanks for watching Katie, good to see you again :D

[@calemr]

There's 3 main issues with content warnings, that make it very difficult to do them well. I will point out I am not claiming to have a Solution to these problems, nor am I saying "So we shouldn't do them". Just saying how and why it can be very difficult to do them "Right". 1: Spoilers. If something is meant to be a big reveal about a character, or a shocking moment late in the story, saying "This story contains Patricide" while you play as a man looking for his child who, for some reason, kills him in the end, it kind of dampens the impact. 2: Almost Anything can be a trigger. Fireworks are a common trigger, for example. I, personally, had to stop watching this video for a little while when conditioning came up and the example hit a Little close to home. Should it have began with "Content warning, mentions of screaming at children"? I don't think so. 3: Literally just mentioning the trigger Can be a trigger. "This story contains sexual assault" can Already be too much for some people.

[@noheterotho179]

@@calemr Hi! This is very true, may I offer some counter arguments? 1. In many cases, you do not need to be that specific. More along the lines of 'familial violence' or 'unhealthy family dynamics' or honestly, even just ''Abuse and murder'' and if you've written your story well, people would probably figure out that the 'murder' = patricide anyways. However, if you really have to make your trigger warning specific and have it ruin your surprise then so be it. I don't know about you but I'd much rather my story is a little less interesting than force an unsuspecting player to relive their worst trauma 2. Good point! The solution to this is that not everyone can be accommodated. I don't mean this in a negative way but what you said is true- it's possible for ANYTHING to be a trigger, so the solution is to kind of treat it like an allergy. ANYTHING can be an allergy, you can be allergic to very specific foods or uncommon triggers but you rarely see much of a debate on whether allergen warnings aren't inclusive enough. This is because you're obligated to put the most common allergies on the warnings- nuts, seafood, dairy, etc, and if anyone is allergic to something specific like watermelon or grapes, they usually know better than to rely on allergy warnings and instead look up the ingredients themselves. This is true for triggers too! I have some triggers that no one really considers a 'real trigger', so pretty much no one warns for it, and honestly I don't expect them to! That's why I use the internet to check, especially the website does the dog die, it's a website where users upload warnings for media. So while yes, it can be tricky to decide what needs warnings or not, it doesn't actually make Trigger warnings more difficult. Warn for sexual assault/murder/gore/abuse/etc, the most popular triggers and then warn for whatever else you want! 3. Kind of my point in two. Not everyone can be accommodated, and if someone is triggered by just reading 'sexual assault' I imagine their reaction to seeing it will be even worse! Of course there is the fear that someone will go off at you for 'not doing it right' but you'll get that no matter what you do. You'll never create something that makes everyone happy, your priority shouldn't be to be 'correct' but to well, *warn* people about potential triggers! Try to minimise the harm your game does. No ill will intended, just thought I'd give you some counter arguments!

[@ohjeezriles]

@@calemr Not to nitpick, but I’m fairly certain this video does have a content/trigger warning for child abuse, which is a reasonable enough warning IMO for the viewer to determine for themselves if they should continue watching, especially if they - for example - have triggers about children being yelled at.

[@iiHana]

Honestly about the content warning thing they should just have some kinda option that asks you if you want to see a more detailed warning even though it may spoil the game. This way the game warns you there's nasty content and gives you the option to see exactly what it is while at the same time giving you the option of ignoring it if you think you'll be fine.

[@hushthecipher]

I swear ever since Silent Hill 2 made a murderer SOMEWHAT sympathetic and POTENTIALLY redeemable, indie horror devs have tried to push it too far by trying to make us feel bad for pedophiles and sex offenders and it never works. Murder is extremely complex and can be justified in numerous different ways (Military Combat, Self Defence, Euthanasia, Revenge for extreme crimes) but pedophilia? No. There is no scenario in which a adult who sexual assaults or molests a child can be justified because of just how evil of a act it is. Same with rape or genocide these acts are just to horrifically evil for anyone to feel sympathy towards the person committing the acts. I truly believe a rapist or a pedophile who acts out never feels truly guilty or deserves any shred of sympathy, because unlike murder which can happen in the spur of the moment or be justified as a way of protecting people, rape and pedophilia are something that almost always has to be planned in advance and carried out over a much longer period of time. The amount of time it takes to fire a gun and kill someone is microscopicly short and there is often a level of disconnect that comes with that too. But grooming a child or stalking someone to rape them can take weeks or months and if they didn't back down during that time there is no forgiving them, unlike someone who fired a gun in a fight in a matter of seconds and regretted it afterwards. So in short, devs stop trying to make pedophiles and rapists redeemable. It isn't Avant Garde or Edgy it's just offensive, tasteless and harmful to how people should perceive these pieces of shit.

[@brawler5760]

Ironic that I find another game tryna justify this gross shit, considering that I recently got done raging at The Suicide of Rachel Foster.

[@MertKayKay]

Couldn't agree more Cryers! Really tired of seeing 'devils advocate' stories about rapists and pedophiles. There's no 'grey area' to explore and I don't want to see their behaviour excused :(

[@alleosussquirt8041]

The thing with James Sunderland's murder, he was a man that had been mentally and emotionally abused to no end by his significant other, he loved her enough to put her out of her misery, while trying to deny that somewhere deep inside, he did indeed want to be free from her. The nuance is what the indie devs miss the hardest.

[@oneofnone7947]

I really hate inde devs only took we can make anyone sympathetic from silent hill 2 when James wasn't a good man yes you would fell bad but no one hated him more then himself that is pyramid head despite what konami thinks the only incenent in silent hill was a child THAT NOTHING HAPPENED TO thanks team silent for being more mature then modern devs

[@MertKayKay]

@@alleosussquirt8041 Alleo can I know more about the mental/emotional abuse? I don't disbelieve, I'm just curious to know more. My reading of James was that he had been trapped for years by Mary's illness and while he loved her, he couldn't move on with his life with her hanging in that limbo. There was even a point where she said she wished she was dead, but when he put the pillow on her there's some cut audio where you can hear her screaming. So there's that conflict there. In her final days she was moved into their home so she could die in comfort, but I think she lingered for ages until he 'put her out of her misery' and could no longer be trapped and no longer see her like that, but, of course, still killed his wife which is a whole different ballpark. When I saw your comment I was definitely curious about the extra layer of abuse, it was either subtle enough that I didn't notice it, or I purely just didn't pay attention enough. I'd love to hear more if you have time

[@illusiveaxeman9164]

I really appreciate the bit in the video where you explain that just because a piece of media includes a bad thing doesn't mean it's 'raising awareness' or whatever, because presentation really *does* matter. I can absolutely see where Bloober was trying to go, but it is entirely likely they completely missed their own problematic subtext because as a creator, you know what your intentions are and what certain details may mean, but you may also miss that these things are absent for any external audience who may perceive them as meaning something you didn't intend. Everything I knew about this game came from a video explaining the plot, but it didn't go into the subtext or the worrying implications of Richard's plot. I really like how you broke it down and bringing in the bit about determinism, I wouldn't have made the connection myself, I would have just existed with a subconscious feeling of "this doesn't feel right" if I had ever played the game myself.

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks Axeman! If it wasn't super obvious, I hate when people deflect criticism with the "but it was intentional" excuse: intentional or not, as you say, presentation really matters. I'm really glad you enjoyed the video! I had a lot of fun making it :D

[@MegaBearsFan]

"... it is entirely likely they completely missed their own problematic subtext because as a creator, you know what your intentions are and what certain details may mean, ..." I would be perfectly willing to give Bloober this benefit of the doubt if Medium were their debut game. But they've been criticized for this exact same type of messaging in almost every game they've released. So if it's not their intent, then they should, by now, be much more careful about what their stories say. At this point, I think it's gone far beyond innocent miscommunication and well into the territory of willfull neglect, and possibly into the territory of "this is what they really do mean to say".

[@dahliawouldbeking]

as a survivor of csa, i think of the "greed" and "hunger" being brought about by that is a want for love. a vast majority of my untreated time was spent moving in and out of meaningless, unhappy romantic and sexual relationships. if you take a look at it from a non-literal sense, the maw is hungry for love, and as much as that isn't an evil sentiment, it can lead you down dark places.

[@Toksyuryel]

I want to think you for this comment. It has recontextualized the past 30 years of my life and given me a lot to think about.

[@sarapeters6217]

Yesss, another awesome video!! My frustration with all of these "let's poke the trauma button" games is how intent they are on forgiving/humanizing the perpetrators of trauma and how little thought they give the victims. Unless they go on to perpetrate further trauma. Is it because it's "edgy" or "groundbreaking" to go, "hey, but did you ever think that the bad person might be bad for a *reason*? Ooooh, got you there, didn't we?" I wouldn't be so opposed to it if it didn't always seem to be, "when bad things happen to people, they either go on to do bad things to other people, or they're irredeemably broken (and should probably just die)." I totally understand gamifying therapy is maybe not in the cards, but these devs have such a boner for presenting trauma through metaphors -- maybe it wouldn't be impossible to do the same with healing? I know, I know, way fewer penis monsters and scary grabby hands, and we know those penis monsters pay the bills.

[@MertKayKay]

I have to agree with you Sarah, that's my issue with it too. Sometimes evil people are just evil, I don't need to see a 'different perspective' on a pedophile or an abuser. I don't need anyone to play 'Devil's Advocate' and make me reconsider my opinion. It's just insulting to juggle these themes in peoples' faces; many players may have been abused themselves and, without that content warning, could have stumbled into it only to see their abuser given more grace and understanding than them. Thanks for watching as always Sara! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@sarapeters6217]

@@MertKayKay Totally. I mean, I can understand, to a point, wanting to understand why bad people do the things they do, especially since a lot of gaming is, point gun at bad thing, squeeze trigger. So, to a degree, I appreciate devs who want to explore the bad guy. But yeah, I would come away from the whole experience feeling a lot less like I need a shower if they'd pick a subject matter that isn't just inherently reprehensible, and even more so if they'd stop treating victims like they deserve it, and the best thing they can offer now is to find somewhere to kindly f*ck off and die. The problem is they spend so much time trying to get into the mind of their bad guy that everything else gets treated as set dressing. The victims are just props. And the problem with that is that it's not just sh*ty storytelling, it's sh*ty being-a-human-being-with-empathy. Anyway, I will be anxiously awaiting your next video, even as I quietly seethe with rage!! ;D

[@DarkKnightroolz]

see i love the truama centric take on horror i love it. but i think in defeating the deamons it should be about that healing. That the victims are treated with respect instead of wierdly the villian.

[@HolldollMcG]

@@MertKayKay I liked your portion on determinism. And I do believe it's entirely possible to examine the external factors in someone's life that shape their view and thought processes without completely excusing their bad behaviour. Like, if we're gonna bother looking at what caused a bad guy to turn bad, it should *only* be as a cautionary tale to us, to warn us of the ripple effect our mistreatment of others can have in the hopes that we make better choices in our own interactions with others: not to say "see? He had a hard life so he can't be faulted for hurting children!" He can, and absolutely should. Lots of people go through hard shit. But barring some wildly incapacitating psychological defect that causes us to literally not know what we're doing, we all have the agency and autonomy to choose whether we traumatize others, or learn from and fight against the horrible stuff that happened to us and try to prevent it from happening to anyone else.

[@Em0lga]

​@@MertKayKay Have you seen Bojack Horseman? I think it makes a good point by showing this 'different perspective' on multiple abusers (mostly through showing generational trauma and exposing how fucked up the Hollywood industry is) but all while calling them out on their bullshit and holding them accountable for their actions.

[@yeez13]

Fun Fact: Sadness is a very subtle reference to the same name of a game that devs from Bloober Team worked on for the Wii way back before the console even came out. At the time, they were called Nibris and that game in question, Sadness, had a somewhat different but similar appeal to The Medium, but in different genres: It was to be set in WW1 Poland and followed a mother and her child basically escaping a train crash; it leaving her with a sort of color-blindness and giving the game a Black and White color palette. Along the way, you were to shoot and fight monsters and creatures of Polish Myth with motion controls and the like! The story of the original Sadness and its dissolution is incredibly fascinating and the devs that worked on it look back on it fondly but with a tinge of regret and knowledge of how to build games better and smarter (relatively speaking…) from then on out

[@MertKayKay]

Aww that is a fun fact! I absolutely loved Sadness in this game; she was so eerie and creepy but also sweet and innocent and such a sad story. Thanks for telling me NieR :D

[@Bi0mega]

Ahh, Bloober Team: great visuals coupled with dogshit writing that has no sympathy for anyone who has been through trauma. Every time I get to the 'moral' of their stories, I'm reminded of a manager I used to have. People would come up to her and say 'look, I'm having physical/mental health issues and could use a bit of help or breathing space'. Her reply, regardless of what they'd said, would always be 'I'm sorry to hear that, it's terrible and I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I've been through what you're going through and I managed just fine, so get back to work'. That's BT in a nutshell: "get over it, weakness is worthlessness, broken people need to fix themselves or end themselves". And, as you say, because they're writing about 'difficult' topics, they get a pass on it every time. Also, with Angela in Silent Hill, I never actually thought she died. I pictured her walking up that burning staircase forever, knowing she'd have to deal with her nightmare when she got to the top, but never actually getting there, just suffering that never-ending feeling of defeat and shame and despair forever. For her, death would be a welcome release, but her self-punishment would forever deny her even that.

[@MertKayKay]

Oh my gosh, Biomega, that image of Angela is the most depressing thing I ever heard - the idea of walking up a staircase FOREVER. On fire. That is so sad. In comparison to an eternity like that, lowkey, I do kind of hope she died. And re: that manager, my god, I've had similar ones. Always from a place of extreme comfort or ignorance too. Thanks for watching Bio!

[@DuelaDent52]

Something I appreciate about Silent Hill Downpour is the idea of “full circle”, where characters are forced to repeat the experiences of the town over and over again until they learn their lesson.

[@besitos2493]

honestly “healing horror” has to be the best subgenre of horror imo bc the scariest thing irl (aside from the unknown) IS healing. it’s not innate, it can barely be taught, but we all have to go through it at some point if we want to ever overcome our traumas. also i loved the line “it’s about having courage to look your past in the eye before beating it to death with a gold pipe you got from a 2D mermaid in a sewer.” your scripts always make me giggle :)

[@anonymouswind1]

I finished this with my partner a week or so ago and the ending was really lackluster and abrupt (my partner absolutely hated it). The Maw doesn't make sense when you explained it because it acts so independently from Lily unlike the Hound and Child Eater. I think if the Maw was its own separate entity to begin with, maybe a real demon or from someone who had passed away that attached itself to Lily after the assault it would have made more sense in a way. The whole thing with Richard really put me off, and it was easy to see where it was going the moment "something stirred" in him (even before that I was a little weirded out by the notes you found of his). I did want to point out in the beginning when you mentioned the wound on Limbo Jack's head, I believe its because he was to have some kind of brain surgery for a tumor or cancer(you can find it written on a calendar along with several doctor's appointments) and the tumor/cancer is most likely what killed him, and as for why the nurse killed Richard first or seemed to target him, it might have been because of the Maw being a part of Lily, and targeting her abuser the best way possible (even though it went on to kill everybody in the resort anyways). All in all I loved the setting and atmosphere, and even Marianne, spirit Thomas and Sadness. But I feel if Bloober Team is going to continue dealing with mental health issues they should start consulting doctors, therapists, and people with those issues so they truly understand them more. As someone with PTSD we might not be able to be cured, but we can get help and manage it (which it seems in like...none of their games people try to do that or get offered help by anyone). When it comes to the atmosphere and setting I think Bloober Team will be fine with handling Silent Hill 2 if they are indeed making it, but when it comes to the story and its characters with mental health issues...I worry. I'm hoping its just an updated graphics and voice over thing and they leave the story and characters alone but I suppose we will see.

[@MertKayKay]

I agree with a lot of your observations Ash! I think that The Maw is a really cool concept, but linking it to Lily was such a strange choice. I know she's a Medium so she can probably 'support' it outside of her body but, even so, there's so many questions that, if answered, would probably make the plot crumble. I also loved the premise of the game and the atmosphere. The characters were all really charming, I LOVED Thomas, I loved Sadness. They wrote their characters so well and set up all these amazing concepts and then tried to tell a story that just didn't need to be told. I think if they'd gone for a standard horror story they could have made one of the best games of 2021. And I agree! A shot for shot SH2 remake could be really good and play to their strengths! And, you're right - we'll see. Thanks so much as always Ash!

[@vanyadolly]

Managing! Thank you! It doesn't have to end in tragedy or sunshine and rainbows. Life, trauma, functioning as a human being is about learning to manage whatever it is you're carrying with you. It's not about either being saved or being beyond redemption. But I suppose that isn't cinematic or dramatic enough for some writers.

[@lizzy6828]

I always thought that The Maw panicked when Marianne put the gun to her head bc Lily only freed it with the promise that it would protect/save Marianne, so that means once Marianne dies the promise is broken and The Maw is either no longer free to roam or it ceases to exist completely

[@chelseaadams5454]

Funny how Lisa The Painful came out 8 years ago (2014), and is an RPG Maker indie game, yet it handles the subject matter so much better than The Medium does.

[@MertKayKay]

Lisa is such a brilliant series. Thanks for watching Chelsea!

[@YouCantDeleteDenzelL]

Ending your game with a suicide is the video game equivalent of ending a movie with "he woke up and it was all a dream".

[@Tkokat]

25:24 "Marianne can sense desperation from it, so she decides to sit in it" This line somehow perfectly encapsulates my romantic life.

[@kail9036]

SA, and especially childhood SA, is a common theme in the horror genre, which makes sense. As someone who's a victim of childhood grooming (by multiple people) it isn't something that goes away. If you take legal action, the legal system (at least in America) revictimizes the victim(s) involved, if you tell someone about it you run a high risk of being revictimized, if you remember it's like it happens all over again, or if you traumatize yourself in order to forget you still have trauma (think American McGee's Alice: Madness Returns where the doctor forces children to forget by traumatizing them.) It's like no matter what, you will either live with the memories of what happened or you live with a greater trauma that forced you to forget...something, but you're never quite sure what. It's like living a real life horror game/book/movie, except this one has no ending. No monster is brought to justice fully and truly. They get to live, and meanwhile you're forced to live in an eternity of Hell. Some people can move on, and others relive the experience everyday. Even if it happened once, it will never truly feel like it happened once. That's how trauma works. It will always feel like you're constantly reliving it, frozen in time, paralyzed with the thought of "what if"s and "maybe"s. However, very few horror media explore that. It shows victims as broken husks who can't move on, and yet we are never meant to sympathize with them. Why? Because they told you to f#ck off? We're meant to sympathize with the abuser. "They cured cancer, so they're still good" but why are we not meant to sympathize with the children he harmed physically and mentally in order to get there? It's so rare to find any form of horror media that handles it well in any capacity. The only time we're meant to sympathize with the victim is if they become the abuser. But why? Why should we sympathize with them? Why do they get to be three dimensional and yet their victims are one dimensional, two dimensional at most. It's hard for me to consume this kind of media, not because I feel seen/heard, but because it's like how it is with the legal system; constantly being revictimized. I would love to see a game that covers this topic well. In Fallout New Vegas there was a quest called, "I don't hurt anymore" that handles it rather well, I think

[@ptlemon1101]

I think you can make a "Pedophiles may be redeemed" and "Opressed victims can become the opressors" but doing both at the same time, especially when the latter has no shot at redemption and apologizing was a really, REALLY bad move. I'm ok with them trying to paint Richard in a positive light despite his flaws but why is Lily treated as if it was just better to everyone if she was just dead? Especially when she's a child and had/has so much time to change and perhaps heal? I don't know, this game as weird, and not in a good way,

[@DuelaDent52]

Richard’s never really painted in a positive light after the reveal, though. Lily and the Maw are largely treated as separate entities.

[@yang8647]

⁠@@DuelaDent52 No. Not in a typical, obvious positive light. But the writing of this story tried so hard to make the viewer sympathetic towards the abuser, Richard. It's fine that they showed his story, I also like exploring the minds of fucked up people. But in this game it wasn't just that, they actually made Richard say it wasn’t him, it was something inside him that did it (his demon). And that, together with the portrayal of his sad past, we’re expected to somehow sympathize why he did it. The characters condemned him, yes, but the way his character was so carefully explored, explained, compared to Henry and Lily while also the game showing us that Richard was also a victim of his own demon that’s why he did it, when in reality abusers know what they’re doing. They had a choice. I’ve seen your other comments, it's surprising to see that you don’t see it this way. Maybe you still won’t see it and that's fine, I respect your opinion. But just in case this will help you understand our point more, I’ve explained it here.

[@wildmoose6934]

I didn’t quite catch if Lily created the Maw or attracted it, but I feel like it should be the latter. A victim becoming the host of a demon that already existed and that moulds itself to the host rather than being born from her trauma. OR the Maw should’ve been a representation of her need for actual love and understanding. If it represents greed and hunger, make it hunger for safety and the warmth of a loved one. Not an intentionally murderous spirit, but perhaps one that seeks love, realizes it’s running away and gets extremely upset to the point of accidental murder (since it is a demon after all). Like a child begging for attention and throwing a tantrum when they don’t get it? I’m not sure if I’m conveying it well, but I think making the Maw an evil genocidal demon linked to an already broken victim like they did makes it feel so… gross

[@alljustletters]

oof. honestly it sounds like the maw had real potential. an embodiment of your feelings of self-blame and anger and hate that you can't work through so you lock them away in the back of your head? that sounds good honestly. and the imagery of it being something that devours, that eats you alive, also works. but the story should have been that either the maw didn't actually do horrible shit and lily just has to accept it and integrate it like her trauma; or the maw is actually ontological evil and feeds off her suffering, in that case she should have to be the one to kill the thing and get rid of it and start healing. they didnt really write themselves in a corner cause clearly there were solutions here, it seems like they genuinely see lily as the villain or an obstacle. i think the film the night house did something really good with the whole idea of "victim has to die to kill monster" cause whoo boy if that isn't a very unfortunate trope in horror. really enjoyable video as always, despite the heavy themes. looking forward to your next one! i really enjoy your longer essays

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely agree! I really, really loved the Maw and I think their design is fantastic. Even their physical appearance is just so emblematic of what I'd expect. I was just so baffled by their execution! Glad you enjoyed the video Ghoul!

[@mikaelste-marie1275]

For this interpretation of the Maw to work, you need to play Lily and maybe downplay the supernatural in the Resort. But could have been a really good idea.

[@EveCat2343]

I think really all they'd have to do to fix the Lily issue is change the last scene. If she was like "I was weak, I couldn't fight him, and I was so angry!" As the maw appears, to show the connection between it and her feelings of anger and helplessness. Let Lily get angry as she talks to her sister about her trauma. As she does, maybe The Maw gets smaller and smaller. She's finally letting those feelings out, and that weakens him. Let Lilly be the one to stop it. It doesn't have to be a happily ever after, but let her learn she can control it, and that leads to her starting to heal.

[@Lilian620.]

Why do so many games seem to fail at doing a proper messages and showing the horror of being assaulted, silent hill did it right in the past with one of its monsters and that monster wasn’t even a main enemy, but that single monster handled it better then many of these games

[@gabriela8818]

hey, i’ve never played silent hill before but im interested - what is the monster that you’re talking about?

[@Lilian620.]

@@gabriela8818 Abstract Daddy , it was a monster that looked like two figured bounded under blankets of skin, before you even learned the complete context of the monster it always had this sickening feeling towards it, Angela suffered horrific sexual abuse from her father and brother, which Lead to her killing her father when she tried to run away from home, because of her guilt and the rules of silent hill, until she accepts her guilt and moves on she will be haunted by the monster aka the trauma, but from my memory the game never treated her like a monster, they treated her like a victim like she was

[@lafken2]

30:52 The creature calling Lily "light of my life, warmth of my soul" sounds like it's paraphrasing the opening line of Lolita. Also the line "she came to me cause she has nowhere else to go". EDIT: Just heard the acknowledgement of Lolita as a basis for that monster. That book is written as the self-dense argument of a pedophile, where he romanticizes his own life, lies a lot and accuses a 12 year old girl of "seducing" him and then "betraying" him (aka running away from his abuse). I'm actually a little bit impressed by the game's reference, but only because that book has been falsely represented as a love story by a whole lot of people who completely missed the fucking point. This game is actually saying that what happened in Lolita was horrible for her. But then, they created their own different fucked up justification for CSA that makes no fucking sense. Good fucking job, game devs.

[@gaspardp7314]

I thought that before giving us the final scene, right after Marrianne shakes her head in dread and despair, you were giving us your final thoughts before everything would be ruined, but it dawned on me that it was, in fact, the final scene. That this was it. A non-ending to not have to face the repercussions and consequences of a writing that ends up clashing against itself because of contradictory ways of seeing trauma, and that's just...woah. I can't believe we're still getting those lazy "hey it's up to you to interpret what happens or whatever" endings; open-ended stories aren't bad but you have to strike a balance, you can't just say you're done at any point you want

[@casanovafunkenstein5090]

Another couple of things about the contrast between The Medium and Silent Hill 2 would be that James, while a tragic figure, is a bad person (or at least considers himself as such) who did something morally objectionable with an ambiguous motivation, so his handling of the situation you highlighted and in the various endings you can receive isn't framed as a means to protect against a greater evil. I'd add that Silent Hill 1 and 3 are also better representations of the effects of CSA than what The Medium presents. Both are stories about teenage girls being forcibly impregnated against their will: with Cheryl/Alyssa in the first game becoming a destructive force as a reaction to what she was forced to endure but with the trauma being resolved through a form of reincarnation where she escapes to have a proper childhood with adoptive parents who give her a better life away from the cult, and Heather in SH3 dealing with the trauma she experiences largely by herself through getting access to a means of aborting the child she doesn't want and again escaping the religious zealots who are trying to force her to give birth against her will, enabling her to move on with her life in a way that her counterpoint within the cult cannot because she frames the pregnancy and all the other abhorrent things that happen in the town as part of God's will and evidence of her faith, regardless of the abuses she herself has experienced within the cult. It's really fucked up that Bloober Team so openly takes inspiration from a series that is largely about the effects of sexual violence against women and then presents the perpetrator of CSA with greater sympathy and scope for redemption than the victim who has to live with the trauma of what was done to them.

[@MertKayKay]

These are fantastic points, thank you! And I agree, I think the framing of the characters is so important

[@zeroanonymity9736]

Just like with the last one you covered, it's SO CLOSE to being good. So close. With Richard you could acknowledge that he'd likely never have done what he did if he hadn't been abused himself, there's so many examples of cruel and horrible acts being perpetuated as a cycle from one generation to the next, but still acknowledge that he still CHOSE to give in. He CHOSE to hurt those kids. His demon was a cancerous growth that was planted inside of him, but instead of excising it or getting help with it he instead chose to embrace it for relief. Determinism, Nurture, but without it being absolute. Then Henry could be something on the opposite end. Don't even portray him with a fake inner child, nor show a Hellound. Make his core a blank slate. Empty. Very simplistic backgrounds and designs. He was born without a moral compass and without empathy, and as he developed he chose to embrace cruelty and violence instead of working to understand others beyond the limits he was born with. Destined nature clearing the way, but still a CHOICE to develop as he did. Finally Lily COULD have been handled in any number of ways. First she could have had a similar ending to what we got and to Angela's, a lesson that not everyone could be saved isn't inherently bad. Portraying her as a bystander and passive figure torn apart by fate, however, is SHIT. If you were going to do this ending, make her and the Maw one and the same. She took solace in the killing, felt freed by the bloodshed. She might have hated herself for it but she fled from her reality to escape her trauma by feeding it into the Maw. An inescapable hunger for all things, a jaw that consumes the world as fuel to keep those emotions held back. You could say that at this point, like Angela, she doesn't want help. There's nothing you can do to ease that pain, nothing that can set things right. You can't save her, but you don't have to kill her either. Or, hey!! You can keep all of that but make it to where you fight to keep her grounded. Help her ride through the guilt and pain and agony by being there for her as a sister. Maybe have a big dumb final boss, yeah, but have it be cathartic. Shedding every layer of her mental shields around her agony and helping to drain the infection. Helping her heal. It isn't a lost cause for her, she doesn't have to live in agony anymore. Her trauma and her actions to relieve it won't ever go away, but she can allow herself to grow and change as a person, actually live again as a human being rather than a caged animal. It's just so, so, so fucking close. Tiny changes that'd cascade into a beautiful piece on trauma. It's just so heartbreaking to know this ended up being so vile. Thank you for covering it this thoroughly.

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely agree with you Zero - a few tweaks to the story here and there and not only could we have had a better experience gameplay/story wise, but also a better message. I also love the idea of Henry being a blank slate - probably why he'd gravitate towards the bureaucracy and constant paperwork of the service, and find his purpose there. Thanks for watching

[@rdarkstorm8414]

I cried twice watching this, once while hearing that it's not my fault I freeze and fawn when I'm yelled at, and once hearing that I'm not a burden. Both were things I desperately needed to hear today

[@MertKayKay]

Always got your back Darkstorm ; - ;

[@justaduck3615]

I get you there, every time something bad happens, even if I had nothing to do with it I apologise. I’d do anything to avoid people being angry at me, haha.

[@thesleepydot]

exactly, it's very cathartic...

[@donniebelladonna4512]

hey!! it's been a while. hope you're doing good!!!

[@ExValeFor]

The whole pedo thing to me has always felt like sheer edginess. It's clearly just there as a striking thing no one else would think of, and it confronts you, making you think the devs are cool, smart and highly intelligent for going where no one in today's neutered media landscape has ever gone before. All of Bloober's writing is like this - relentless, self-important fart huffing. They'll go where no one has gone before and they'll do it in a way the modern gaming audience will recognize (because Silent Hill 2 did something loosely similar once)! They'll also make it LOOK as if it's impressive and has literally anything in common with something cool that also did a controversial thing (LoF/PT; Blair Witch/Spec Ops: The Line; this/Silent Hill 2). Cannot stand Bloober. It's writing that's made to *look* smart or shocking. Honestly i can't even be disgusted by it, it's just so offputting by its intent. This has even less "heart" put into it than Rachel Foster, where I do honestly still wonder if the devs did it just to be edgy, or because they're European and they're allowed to do things Americans are not (Bloober, incidentally, are also European), or because they actually believe this. Here? No, all disingenuous, calculated edge.

[@MertKayKay]

I absolutely agree; we can have edgy stories, we can have horror, we can have healing horror, but I feel like writers just go "What's one of the worst kinds of trauma? Oh, child abuse trauma" and just write whatever they assume it would be like, how it would feel, and whatever 'dark' themes they assume they can stretch out of it. Like leave the subject alone, try something else. It's a cop-out and an insensitive cop-out at that, especially when they try and offer 'different perspectives' on it. It's not even like Martha is Dead where it's clearly there to make headlines and spark controversy - like you said, it's fart huffing. Unhelpful dialogue.

[@clev7989]

What does LoF stand for? It's driving me nuts cause I bet I'd know it already if I knew what the acronym stood for.

[@MertKayKay]

@@clev7989 Layers of Fear I reckon :D

[@clev7989]

@@MertKayKay I stand half corrected, I know of LoF but not of any controversy. at any rate thank you, your vids are masterpieces!

[@MertKayKay]

@@clev7989 I'm not sure on the controversy either but I should give it a read sometime :D

[@AllergyPuppy]

Rule of Rose is a good point of comparison for this work, imo. And a way more sensitive and intelligent portrait of victims as villains. The children in that story are awful, but are ultimately a product of their environment. And Jennifer defangs the power they still hold over her consciousness as an adult by realizing that they were children. RoR is a whole mess of a game, rushed and obviously unfinished. But it handles the subject matter with more grace and sophistication than games like the medium, remothered, etc. I wholly appreciate the call out of using “it raises awareness of mental health” as an excuse in this video. You can make something about dark themes and still have it be garbage. It’s lazy. It’s really easy to use “exploring dark subject matter” and “mental health awareness” as a shield against criticism. I don’t think the writers for the medium wrote the story with an ending in mind, and then did not go back to look at the implications they made once they found the ending of the story. Nor did they think very hard about the implications of “the abuser is literally not in control of himself, a demon is” and “some people are just born evil.” It’s all so lazy and a disservice to the work done by all the programmers, artists, and other creatives that made the game. Bloober Team keeps aping Silent Hill 2 and falling short. This one is at least a stronger showing than Layers of Fear, which is a “sad man murder wife” game. I love SH2, but it inspired so many games with the twist of “sad man murder wife”.

[@scaldcrowe]

i think layers of fear was more blatantly a p.t./silent hills clone, what with all the repeating hallways and a dead wife ghost jumpscaring you every now and then

[@williamking4649]

Yeah, mainly because James in many of the endings comes to terms with HIS responsibility for the murder, and it effects what comes next, while so many others just stop there with “murder man is sad”

[@AllergyPuppy]

@@williamking4649 James even has the presence of mind to acknowledge that the Mary he’s speaking to at the end is a delusion who will say things he wants to hear. There is no forgiveness, because the wronged party cannot actually speak for herself anymore.

[@Walamonga1313]

SH2 is too overrated

[@chillhour6155]

Gender bias, have you looked outside ?

[@114Freesoul]

Rather than SH2, this story actually reminds me of SH1 and Alessa, the 'abused child lashes out with psychic power' theme feels very similar. And in a way, that story had a rather optimistic resolution, with Alessa essentially getting a second chance at life, raised by Henry.

[@ehaydon3491]

The way I see the Maw as a manifestation of Lily's trauma is that it is the part of her that does not want to be seen. The part that wishes to be another person, and not the ugly body she sees herself as due to her abuse. It could have been an interesting creature, but making it just end up murdering everyone cuz 'people with trauma bad' is so stupid and a waste of it.

[@CalvinChikelue]

Another great video! Whenever I hear the "raising awareness" excuse, I'm always brought back to the abject failure that was the 13 Reasons Why series. That show is just one of so many pieces of media that seem to only want to tackle rough subjects for the veneer of maturity & to garner a fanbase that will make excuses for its lack of finesse. 13 Reasons steamrolled over the multiple hazards for the depiction of suicide but got away with it by claiming it was "raising awareness". Too may creators are fine treating their idea about a story where the abuser is the sympathetic character as clever & mature & avoid putting effort into finding out if their approach in anyway reflects reality because they think that they're obviously doing the world a service by tackling the subject at all. "Raising awareness" shouldn't simply be pointing at a subject & saying that it exists. It should require actually treating it with respect

[@MertKayKay]

Oh Calvin I am right there with you - 13 Reasons Why was TERRIBLE. I gave that first series the patience of one full watch-through before I made my decisions and it was just utterly embarrassing in its portrayal of mental illness, depression, and suicide. Actually the worst series I've ever seen. Thanks so much for the comment, completely agree!

[@LangkeeLongkee]

Hot take, I don't think 13RW is near as bad objectively as people paint it out to be. That said I mean exclusively the first season, because that is all I watched, I think it should have ended there nothing more needed to be said. I know the excuse of romanticising mental illness is always used but I don't think that's true at all, again for the first season. At most certain aspects are actually present in mentally ill people. There are certain aspects for sure that are just bad, but I think the criticisms people tend to make specifically often, not all the time, but often don't make much sense when scrutinized. Coming from a psychology student with mental illness.

[@Brahim0801]

This is awesome, im glad you went ham on those who keep blabbering about "raising awareness" trying to defend pieces of media that has such terrible take, you didn't hold back i literally repeated that part 1:07:52 music to my ears lol seriously tho, you're right, when tackling these serious subjects it has to be well executed, otherwise it almost feels like they're trying to use the subject in order to get the braindead gamers emotional and you know how these mfs start acting just because some garbage game made them cry (which reminds me of a certain game)

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks Brahim! Nothing bothers me more than games that claim to 'raise awareness' and then hamfist it so bad >:( Glad you enjoyed the video!

[@AkumaSoulful]

I think the maw fits lily's trauma. As someone groomed assaulted and beat I can see it as a desperate act of trying to take back control. Be more powerful than those that could hurt them. Them wanting new skin I can also see as them wanting a body never touched by their abuser.

[@floating_couch]

I also feel like making Marianne's self be directly connected/the same as the limbo world self but Thomas's self and mirror self be, like, entirely separate? is a heavy plot hole that could've been easily fixed by just not making it that way

[@FormCreator]

Agreed. They could've also still made it work by just having it be he separates part of himself by saying he's separate from himself when it was still him the entire time doing all the awful shit he did while Marianne knows her limboself is still her. But that would also have to say predators are aware of and in control of their actions which they didn't want to seem to say for some reason

[@GreenMonkeyToaster]

There is a weird vague note from Thomas adressing the differences in limbo selves. It's in the underground bunker right before Marianne meets Thomas' limbo self. Something vague about how trauma splits you, which I guess explains why Thomas (who survives WW2 and experiminetation) and Lilly have independent limbo selves while Marianne and her other self are more two sides of a coin. But that's just my conclusion from that note.

[@gordonmorgan3131]

In regards to the maw.... i think its meant less in a greedy sense and more in a "her innocence and trust as a child was ripped apart and violated, leaving a gaping maw of a wound upon the psyche, begging to be fixed, filled, replaced. Begging for the old skin she wore as an innocent child." Sense, a common feeling of children of abuse is to see that trauma as a gaping rotting blacked Maw, asking for the rest of you that you try so hard to protect from said traumas. Its not a greedy maw, but a desperate and twisted one. Its the loss of what should of been. Its the need to feed that maw using others to protect whats left even if that means death all around. Its feeling vile for simple things. Its looking at your own body and seeing vile rot. It is an unending maw desperate for more of you. Its something you will never be free of completely, but it can be tamed. It can be quieted. Muzzled starved and forgotten. And one day itll be just a skeleton, with a gaping maw of sharp teeth left to crumble.

[@beebthatscreams]

TW: For a SA but no worse talk than in the video. I think they could have kept the way they represented Richard had they changed the way Henry and Lily were represented. There is a very real thing that some cases of pedophilia in people are very trauma based and they know it’s terrible, feel terrible about it, but will not seek help that could actually disperse those desires because it’s such a terrible thing they won’t admit it and let it stew until they act on it. While they DEFINITELY did not do this great had the other characters been treated the same it would have almost turned into a more silent hill message of had he tackled the trauma of loosing a young love in such a brutal manner he wouldn’t have let himself become the monster he did and the characters condemning would have worked better. It’s more of a person who fell to their “demons”because of negligence of how strong those demons were getting. Had Henry been shown to have become a bad person slowly because of his work or because of some kind of deep desensitization to causing pain. Someone taught so deeply that “it’s just business” that humans aren’t human when they’re a part of his work. A message on dehumanization instead of some creature of evil. Lilly is difficult because the maw could only work if they gave her edges that it’s stereotypical giving an abuse victim if not done perfectly. Had her resentment and willingness to toss her sister aside been harsher, if she took on the mindset of “If I had to go through pain you have to go through pain” the Maw could have worked. Some kind of hunger for atonement, justice, revenge, that you can’t really get. But it would have been a much better call to have a self consuming monster than a outwardly harmful one. Lily deserved to be a kind and scared character with trauma and the maw is a good villain but they don’t coexist well as they are.

[@maybemablemaples2144]

Oh no it's not that they don't want to get help (pedos), it's that our mental health system is so broken they have no help or structures to curb them of these urges. I was reading this article about how (usually men) have to chemically castrate themselves illegally to physically stop but most of the time there's a trigger that they are unable to curb. Not to say that they shouldn't be punished or that actual evil people don't exist, but I find that media like this doesn't even care about the deeper problems and only wants the messiness. They don't care about the victims in any case at the end of the day so we can't even get to more nuanced discussions on how to prevent such suffering. All style no substance, healing is for wimps and preps I guess 🤷🏿‍♀️

[@CheshireCad]

Henry's 'inherently evil' aspect could have also worked, if this game had a greater quantity of characters before that point, all with complex motivations and guilts. That way, the reveal of a person who is purely irredeemably sociopathic would have been even more shocking, without being unrealistic.

[@leongremista95]

@@CheshireCad imagine if we were led to believe that he was possessed by a demon that made he do all these terrible things, but then we find out that he actually is not possessed, he is just evil. Some people don't need outside help to do horrible things. Would be an interesting "plot twist"

[@goosechaser13]

I think it speaks volume that their best game (observer) has almost nothing to do with either trauma or horror

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely agree, it's almost like it was made by another team! I think it's BECAUSE they didn't bother with themes about mental health that Observer was so good. I really enjoyed it.

[@NightmareLyra]

The Medium was just made for them to try and get a job with Konami, anything and everything remotely good about it is stolen from other media, like with most other Bloober Team games. Seeing what they made before Layers of Fear is very illuminating about what kind of studio they truly are

[@thebatter7769]

and it worked since they are doing sh2 remake

[@MD-iw2vt]

What do you mean by your last sentence? "Seeing what they made before Layers of Fear... "

[@MD-iw2vt]

What was stolen from other media in THE MEDIUM?

[@picahudsoniaunflocked5426]

1:07:45 "It is possible for healing to take place & for something to still be scary." I'm tempted to say that healing, as a process, is scary. That's why horror works so well with themes of harm + recovery. It's such a shame Bloober doesn't understand how any of it works tho. But MertKayKay gets it. This was a great video.

[@MertKayKay]

This is very true! Facing yourself and growing is 10x harder than living in delusion. You make a great point

[@JadeAislin]

I'm a big believer that our past can influence our future actions. However that does not absolve any negative actions. For example, Richard had a terrible past. His past explains why he acted as he did later, but it does not excuse those actions. I'm not even going to try to analyze whether he was possessed or not. He is still culpable for the actions he took no matter what the exlanation/excuse is..

[@Densoro]

I like to frame it as -- our past gives us _tools._ We decide how to use those tools. One of those tools is knowhow. Another is motive. We still have to ask ourselves, 'Is it worth meeting this motive, through these means?' and if we say yes, we're accountable for that.

[@deedeedan8681]

@@Densoro This is the best way Ive ever seen someone explain accountability after abuse

[@CruelestChris]

With "this food may contain nuts" what that means is, typically, it isn't supposed to but is produced in a factory that makes other nut products and so there's a risk of cross-contamination. It's mainly a legal disclaimer so the company can say it made the effort to render you are aware of the risk. An example would be a roadsign advising you of rockslides doesn't mean there's necessarily going to be one.

[@Kermthefrog]

The thought of Blooper team making any changes to the SH2 story is terrifying to me.

[@MertKayKay]

Let's hope Konami have them on the tightest leashes

[@fearhunger3983]

There was a report from some insider that Blooper are on a very short leash with SH2. I'm sure there won't be big changes - but going by the trailer, I'm already not feeling the *subtle* storytelling on James' repentant frown compared to the original dead stare neutral face... But maybe I'm just nitpicking. SH2 remake made by Blooper was never going to win me over anyway :/

[@a.p.6580]

@@fearhunger3983 Same. I'm much more excited for F and Townfall, especially the former.

[@fearhunger3983]

@@a.p.6580 We barely know anything about Townfall, so can't say much, but F definitely has my interest too. It was the kind of departure from established SH aesthetics I wasn't expecting from Konami. Hopefully at least one good game comes from all this. I'm sure SH2 remake will win over the mainstream crowds too with pretty graphics alone.

[@alleosussquirt8041]

@@MertKayKay Given how hard Konami pulled at Hideo Kojima's choke chain, I got a feeling Bloober team is basically on a noose comparatively speaking.

[@UnstableEquilibrium]

Hey! These are the devs that patented the (non-original) two worlds mechanic, then openly admitted to not having any plans to ever use it again!

[@katiequeen7225]

Its incredibly scummy to do this but the weirdest part is that since other games have done it before them, they cant sue you over it. Since its easily proven that they didnt invent it, causing any case to get dismissed. Also they said that they patented it so they didnt have to sue people which makes no sense whatsoever

[@BohemianScandalous]

The one thing is can say about the CSA plotline: even though it showed a possible explanation for perpetrators actions, the father’s shadow self going through it all did not care one bit. He saw the sob story and was like “too bad, this doesn’t change the horrendous thing you did to my daughter.” He doesn’t absolve his actions.

[@TheAbigailDee]

Something I really love about your content is the way you balance your review with some comedy. Your jokes always have me genuinely chuckling but it never takes away from your point, especially on dark topics. You add lightness and keep things interesting while focused on your thesis. I think that can sometimes be really tricky but you always are able to.

[@MertKayKay]

Aww thank you Abigail! I think with the subject matter in these games it can often be so doom and gloom. Really glad you enjoy the jokes and stuff :D

[@thesleepydot]

I completely agree! I've laughed out loud so many times, and yet like you said, it was never at the expense of MertKayKay's excellent points!

[@ThatKaylaPerson]

The story could easily be saved, which makes this extra sad. From you explanation, I could see the inner demons being remolded and potentially closing the holes pointed out. Henry is the hellhound, stays the same and shown as a more bloody, murderous man, basically stating some people are just demons. Richard and the Child Eater, have them more intertwined, even two faced, still reaching and grabbing and greedy, but two faced, one that plays the victim through the inner child and then the real face, explained as some people turn themselves into demons. Because he is. He's a demon. The Maw and Lily are connected, but only just. The Maw should not just be tied to Lily and defeated when she dies. Its older, tied to the land, the place, born even out of the massacre. Demons are attached to the land. They really did shot themselves in the foot with the story and I agree, when I initially watched a few playthroughs of this game, I found myself getting bored very quickly with the long slog and repetitive nature of the game play. Which is sad. It has so much potential, but in the end, only uses a fraction of it.

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks for the comment Kayla! You make a good point: just by slightly tweaking the way the demons are represented, you could do so much to improve this game and its story. Thanks for watching

[@wrenbeck3370]

The spirit world kinda reminds me of Antoni Gaudí's semi-organic architectural style mixed with Zdzisław Beksiński's warlike bio/dieselpunk body horror. (Also, I recommend Stephanie Sterling's recent video "Bloober Team Doesn't Deserve Silent Hill", it's really interesting, and they briefly talk about their feelings on The Medium - and some of Bloober's other games - in relation to their own trauma.)

[@MertKayKay]

Thank you for the recommendation Wren! I am a huge fan of Stephanie for many years and have been following them on Twitter for a while but it's been so long since I've seen any of their videos. This one sounds like an absolute doozy, I shall definitely have to check it out

[@PinkManGuy]

Silent Hill 2 is the most important game I ever played. James Sunderland's struggle with grief, resentment, and guilt was something I desperately needed in my life to help process things going on in my life. I won't pour my heart out by explaining why I relate, but it's the most important piece of media I've ever experienced. It brought me to tears in three different areas, and I never cry at anything.

[@ctdaniels7049]

There's something really funny about the demon having no poker face. I could try analyzing that but, the comedy of "AHAH, I finally found you" switching to "oh frick" is too good.

[@diegogutierrez1997]

The demons were misused in this. They could've given us 3 renditions of the same phenomenon affecting 3 people differently. For the hell hound, that's the case we're the demon and the human did not split, they became one and the same. The child eater was the case were the demon was born from the rejection Henry had for his own desires, effectively purging the demon from his main soul, which allowed it to grow on his own and progressively get stronger than the main Henry, a slow spiral of depravity into himself. And then The Maw, the most complex demon, one that's different because of its host's medium powers. The Maw could've been born of Lily's sentiment of powerlessness amalgamated with her own abilities lingering in her subconscious. She had monstrous power inside her, and that power manifested itself as The Maw when she was abused, an entity who was the embodiment of the power she wished she had, her trauma, her blaming herself for "allowing it to happen" and her fear of people with power, who use it to abuse those who don't have it.

[@kawtharami2635]

I haven't played the game but... I feel like the Maw should have been a more overprotective paranoia driven demon manifested by lily's trauma of being repeatedly violated- rather than just a mass murderer. It only kill when it senses a broach of Lilly's boundaries, and since lilly should be hypersensitive to the danger that people would bring upon her due to her repeated abuse and emotional trauma, it should be out of control in that sense. A manifestion of an abuse survivors anger, isolation, and distrust that may lead them to lash out at those who possibly don't deserve it in order to protect themselves. And it's something that can be helped and resolved through healing and self improvement, rather than just Lilly being a lost cause.

[@MertKayKay]

I agree! I think the Maw could have been so much more effective if it's dynamic was slightly different. Violent could work if, like you say, it was defensive or something. Thanks for watching Kawthar

[@aidaowo4773]

i love your videos btw!!! found your video through the rachel foster vid and just binged your channel, mad props to you for being cool

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks Aida!! I'm glad to hear it!

[@sakurasensations4786]

I found her channel through that video too! I’ve been loving watching it since :)

[@Deathy_is_me-_-]

Glad to hear i am not the only one, like to watch the dishonored one to sleep, don't know why but it works wonders

[@milesabaughan]

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. Honestly, from what I can see here, if the demons were more internally consistent in the game (among certain... other choices being rectified) then the story could have been tidied up a lot better and come out in a way which made a lot more sense. As you mentioned, because all of the internal demons work in a different way to the others, often in a way which is conflicting and a bit backwards, they steamroll over a lot of the actual points they're trying to make. In a way that kind of makes it a bit more tragic game-wise than something like Rachel Foster which honestly seems like it was ruined by game designer mindset right from the get-go, its a shame to see something which obviously at some point had a lot going for it, teeter and fall off at the end.

[@MertKayKay]

Hey Miles! :D Absolutely true! I think they got caught up in a lot of wires with these demons. I did really enjoy the game and very much wanted it to be good but I feel like they stumbled so hard with it and all these random contradictory rules. Thanks for watching!

[@solidmaninbox]

I wish all the people that are stoked to hear Bloober is officially doing SH2R would see this video because they might understand why the rest of us are less than thrilled.

[@MegaBearsFan]

Indeed. When SH2 remake was announced, and Bloober announced as the game's dev, I joked with a friend that the fanbase has made it really easy for Bloober: "In water" is already the most popular and well-known ending, and most fans seem to consider it the "canon" ending because Silent Hill 4 says that James' dad never heard from him again after SH2, so Bloober can go ahead and make it the ONLY ending, because it's the only ending they know how to make.

[@teslashark]

*you suddenly see Angela having another knife

[@TravTravYT]

50:00 To the comments that go "stop talking and play", this is why we discuss things. I personally fully understand this determinism behaviour and hearing it explained FEELS like living through it again, identifying and analyzing it in characters and fiction or hearing other creators say it is HOW I find paths around and to identify and manage the emotions it brings.

[@tragicalgirl]

i actually did play through the game and remembered that i was endeared to marianne as a protagonist! i had completely forgotten about it until now and realized it was because i hated the ending segment of it as well :/ there's always some weird trope in these kinds of games where female characters are sacrificed as a theatrical and final means of "overcoming" some sort of big trauma, and that just never sits well with me. i think it soured the entirety of the game for me as well, and it's probably why i had forgotten about it ... on the mention of some people thinking marianne shot herself, i seem to recall some secret ending cutscene with thomas implying such in that route...? i can't remember since i think i saw it in a video somewhere, but i think it's an equally silly action for marianne to sacrifice herself for the trauma of her family. wonderful video as always though ♥ love listening to your video essays as i always learn something new ^^

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely true! I loved Marianne very much. This game does have a huge issue with sacrificing women for other peoples' character arcs - including Richard's mother which was probably one of the worst ways to do it. Rose and Lily too. Nurse Ursula. Thanks so much for watching Sasha! I'm really glad you like my videos

[@Soulless_Persona]

I was gonna pick up this game until I heard about the ending and was, thankfully, warned about the SA from a friend. I would have had a panic attack if I heard that as someone that was SA Also, Lillies demon could be a symbol of secretly wanting to gain back control of her body/self then just wanting to have control over everything to make sure it never happens. At least I wanted control back afterwards until I was able to get help etc. Just my two cents on that factor but the game could have handled it much better regardless. It has a lot of issues for abuse and suicides etc. Great video, keep it up!

[@MertKayKay]

Thank you Persona! And thank you for your own perspective as well. The inclusion of SA with no warning was a NASTY twist. I am glad you didn't stumble into it. Thanks for watching

[@TheP1x3l]

The warning at the beginning of Silent Hill is definitely not there to actually warn you, but to add to freaking you out. I've always liked it for that reason. It's eerie.

[@emilycrow8278]

Fantastic analysis. I feel that a major issue is often that stories like these are handled by people with limited insight of either their own or other's mental illness and trauma. I think a lot of creators lose it because they try to rationalize the thoughts of the characters. Which they can't, because mental illness is irrational. People don't come to the idea they ought to end their lives, they fall into a cascade of irrational self destruction, the entire world is covered in a filter of guilt. Actually, kind of like Inside Out, the Pixar movie. The memories were skewed by the emotions that were dominant there, seeing only what those emotions wanted to highlight. Which are all a subconscious process that even understanding what's going on with your own mind, doesn't change how your mind is perceiving things. Which is why Silent Hill is a perfect world to explore those themes, if it were just handled well, like literally ever. I do like the idea of determinism, in that our psyche is a result of a long line of environmental affects. It could have been an interesting way to show how trauma is passed down from generation to generation, and ever growing to all it touches. However, the answer to this isn't that, everyone is predetermined to act how they act, but instead that the necessary course is to provide the language for change, an alternative environment that gives agency over one's trauma. I.E. some god damn therapy. To which, imagine if this game was instead about being a supernatural therapist diving into the minds of people, and helping them subconscious work through their issues, slowly changing the warped Silent Hill -esque environments into something moderately peaceful. Like a dark horror Psychonauts. Though, ensuring not to say that those characters are then "healed" but they have the tools to tend to their traumas, and understanding to ensure that their own trauma isn't let to harm others. I dunno. I kinda wish mental illness in any stories were just handled better, instead of constantly buggered by people jerking themselves off on how "deep" they think they are being because they once read a webmd article.

[@MertKayKay]

I agree! I find it difficult to critique portrayals of mental illness - like for example in Martha is Dead, SO many commenters were like "I have DiD and this is nothing like it", but one single commenter was like "I have DiD and this is exactly how it is" - like when you make a game portraying it, there's going to be at least someone who resonates with it. But imo, that's purely coincidental and just a byproduct of the variety of people walking around. Someone, somewhere, will understand. I also agree about different directions this game could take; if they'd stuck to their strengths and just made something with the mechanics they had and the tension they'd built, I do believe we'd have such a good game on our hands. But, like you said, it was buggered by people jerking themselves off and trying to be profound. Thanks as always for your comment Emily :D

[@emilycrow8278]

@@MertKayKay Thanks for reading my ramblings. I was half awake when I was typing it. Lol. I have a bit of a soft spot when it comes to psychology in media, and by soft spot, I mean; I studied psychology for years and can ramble incomprehensibly about it and why it frustrates me when writers use it as an easy way to make their stories feel more important/darker.

[@asherscottL]

Imagine being able to tackle backsliding with that premise though? "I'm worse. I'm more haunted." But then helping clear these monsters with the tools provided. Realizing that these monsters in their head may come back. May be worse, but knowing your coping mechanisms (*cough* I mean paranormal weapons) are more and more efficient at subduing them

[@emilycrow8278]

@@asherscottL Back when I was in school for game art and design, I had used that premise for a Hollow Knight style project premise. Where upon death, you'd lose your runes, but you could regain them by retaking the boss that gave them. Of course, in the background, each boss defeat would make later iterations easier to take on, so it feels like to the player they're progressing, even though they suffer brutal setbacks. It was an attempt to implement a mechanical way of portraying using knowledge of how to overcome trauma and build from those tools to more easily overcome later issues.

[@JadeAislin]

I think even if something is good, a bad ending can ruin the whole thing. I loved almost every episode of Wanda Vision. I was excited to see they hired the actor who played her brother as her fake brother in this show. But then the show told us he was just another resident of the town. It ruined the whole show. It wasn't that. they made a fake brother for Wanda, but that they used an actor who had played that role in a different franchise. And since Disney had control of that franchise now gave hope we would see that franchise soon. Instead his presence felt like a slap to the fans. It felt like the fans, people who knew this actor had played that character before, were trolled. And this tainted the whole show for me.

[@MertKayKay]

It is so strange how one thing can utterly put you off a show/piece of media, and I completely understand! Raising the expectations of your consumer and then just bolting in the worst direction is a surefire way to disappoint someone so drastically that they don't come back. Sorry to hear about WandaVision as well - I heard that series was apparently really good!

[@JadeAislin]

@@MertKayKay I'm conflicted on whether to recommend it or not. It would be fine for people who did not watch the xmen movies. And the rest of the show is pretty good. I think the worst part is they even made the character's name a joke. They gave him the last name "Bohner" which even the character smirked and laughed at.

[@onilevi]

OMG absolutely nailed it. I played this game on stream when it came out and when I reached the end I got SO UPSET by the "if ur broken, the only way out is suicide" message!!!! I had to end stream cause I was so mad lmfao. I didn't catch some of the things you mentioned from the story, but I had the exact same feeling of "hey, this is really fucking interesting" to "uh, can we get this over with" to "are you kidding me right now with this bs". Disappointed doesnt even begin to cover how I feel about this game's ending and overall handling of its themes...... great video!

[@MertKayKay]

Oo Levi! I had the fortune of playing this off stream so I could sit and be as weirded out as I wanted - I can't imagine trying to keep the stream on track and keeping up with chat whilst dealing with this ridiculousness in real time. People really underestimate how much something can throw you off kilter when you're live and how hard it can be to recover. I hope you and your chat had a good time ripping into this game at the very least :D Thank you for watching!

[@onyxtay7246]

I really appreciate the discussion of determinism and responsibility. (CW: PTSD & Child abuse) I was raised in an abusive household and am being treated for PTSD. Learning to accept that my fear response (and my hypersensitivity to threats) is a learned behavior that came from abuse makes it easier to with. At the very least I don't blame myself as much. One of the things that I've realized is that my parents had a lot of trauma as well. The key difference, the reason that trauma isn't an excuse, is that they refuse to reexamine how they interact with the world. It was a particularly shocking experience when I talked with my father about trauma, and he dismissed my experiences talking about his own. He presented flashbacks as a good thing, because it means your parents' rules will still be enforced even when you're nowhere near them. This isn't someone reacting to stress and falling into a familiar threat response. It's someone who recognized the permanent effects of abuse and decided that it was a power they could control.

[@calemr]

There's a couple of forgotten metaphors in this story, that seem to be the main issue. That, or just completely missed ones, and we're supposed to just take demons as "Fantasy monsters that don't really exist IRL" and nothing more. Which is rather short sighted on the Dev's part. Sacrificing oneself to save others can be heroic, but when it's portrayed as an act of suicide, it looks really Really bad. As you point out, feeling like a burden can be very common. Or absolving a person's actions if they truly have no control over them can be fine, but when it looks like you're saying "He couldn't help but touch kids" that's pretty fucked up. 'course, the issue is that Within the narrative, someone is causing immense destruction and harm to innocents and, allegedly, the only way to stop it is for them to die. Therapy won't make the Literal, Actual monsters go away. And within the narrative, a person IS blameless for the actions their body was puppetted into performing, much like how if someone glued a gun to your hand and then pushed your trigger finger until it fires. But they Really should have thought about this. They're not malicious, they don't want to portray these negative messages... They're just complete fuckin' idiots.

[@MertKayKay]

I agree Cal - I do think the developers meant the best with this game but their wires just got so crossed and they ended up just putting something out with an absolutely appalling message. Thanks for watching as usual though! Always nice to see you

[@calemr]

@@MertKayKay Oh god I'm being recognized. Always happy to help feed the dark beast known as the algorithm!

[@MertKayKay]

@@calemr Haha got my eye on you cal

[@cattyditty]

you have such a gift for articulating complex points and then illustrating them with brilliant examples. your videos are so well thought out and well done!

[@MertKayKay]

Thank you so much Catty! :D

[@TheNivek22]

It seems that Henry acknowlege his inner "shadow" in terms of Jung's psicology thats why there is no inner child anymore. He is at peace with himself so there is no conflict. I love your channel girl!

[@cloverdeityhearted8729]

I'm back to rewatch this after... well...... yknow.

[@MertKayKay]

Welcome back Clover 😞

[@lucianofyro3445]

I thought for some reason we're gonna meet multiple families and help their deceased family members move on and was dissapointed because it's not despite the obvious where the game will going from the opening scene 😅

[@SackMan039]

I remember seeing this game show up in some games showcase years ago, getting a somewhat quiet release, and then showing up on gamepass to like, no announcement? I remember being interested, funny to hear its a bit of a mixed bag! Good stuff tho keep em coming!

[@MertKayKay]

Super super mixed bag! So much going for it and then also like not at all. Definitely the most personally confusing experience I've ever walked away from 🤣 thanks for the comment Sack!

[@maxiargos1971]

You talking about the fear response makes me realized that me explaining to my ex partner at the time, "When I get yelled at I feel like I did something wrong. I was always yelled at by my mother growing up. So when I get yelled at my brain shuts down until the yelling is done. And I don't talk back, because if I did my mom would slap me as a result of that." They told me acting like that is not a real thing and I should get over it. Glad they are not in my life anymore. Quick edit: I thought I should share this cause I would like to put in the comments what I thought that whole burning stair case part of SH2 means in my point of view. I will admit this. I only seen cutscenes or quick walkthroughs of SH2. I've never played it. So If I am wrong for not knowing something fully, then I will accept it as a mistake. It's odd, but here me out. When Angela asks James if he will love her, heal her, take all her pain away. I feel that was in a odd way her asking for him to treat her like a family member. Mostly in a way of the love and support she misses from her mom. Before that part she thought she was talking to her mom only to realize it was James, and in the start of the game she is looking for her mom as well. Sure you also find out that her mom might have said, "She deserved what happened to her." But it could also be silent hill making her feel that way. When you face trauma you think and hear things from your head you believe. So back to the scene in question. When James says nothing and doesn't answer back, and lets her go in the fire I also think the reason why he didn't stop her or even try is because of these two things. One being that he didn't even do that for his wife. When she was sick James pretty much hated her for not giving him what he always wanted. James is a asshole you see his demons, his desires when his wife fell ill, and his need to be punished for killing her. James is not a good person. Second being that (I could be wrong but I hear this all the time. so if I am wrong then ignore this part.) But I hear that the underwater ending is canon. So James not answering to help her is, because he is about to end his life soon for killing Mary. So there is no way for him to stop her when he is going to do the same thing himself.

[@TheRealAmadeusMozart]

That.. actually explains why I rarely ever fight back when my ex yelled at me or criticized me for the smallest things. I felt like worse things would happen if I did, even if keeping quiet still got him angrier, telling me I should fight back. He encouraged me to, but I never did.. And when I did, my raw emotions of anger were apparently "too unrational" to his liking, then he'd go back to criticizing me and become extremely condescending to me. I regret being friends with him again, I feel stuck now. I feel like I have no way out. We're supposed to do a collab with another friend and it feels shitty to leave like that. He's threatened me with suicide too, like the many times he did when we were still together. I feel devastated, I dont feel comfortable just thinking about him. I constantly distract myself just to avoid getting a panic attack, I almost did have one in school. I dont care if he suffered worse than me, I'm absolutely traumatized to the point where I cant view him the same way ever even if he did change a bit.

[@TheRealAmadeusMozart]

Sorry for ranting, I need an outlet to do that. And communicating with him has always been hard. Seeing people who went through something a bit similar to my experiences release some kind of raw emotion in me.

[@Claudia000]

To me, it sounds like those two options left on the Medium game are what someone can imagine as options in the mind of someone that has witnessed abuse, but not directly experienced it. Someone that has experienced abuse has many options on how to deal with it. Someone that only witnessed abuse can only imagine options and they result in narrow "solutions" because they can't control the abuse survivor's thoughts and actions. The better framing of the ending would be that Marianne can only see suicide and murder as the only two options, but Lily being able to have more options (flight, fight, fawn, freeze or denial, acceptance, rage, healing, emotional retreating to a child, etc.) and thrn being able to convince Marianne that Lily would try to work it out as the big sister for the good of Marianne. Obviously that would leave the whole child eater thing still stupid, but at least the end would not be so dumb. Hope it makes sense?

[@MertKayKay]

Absolutely makes sense Claudia and is such an excellent way to point at games like this that seem to see healing as this strange binary. "Continue to exist as a burden or don't exist" is the binary of Marianne's perspective but, like you said, it doesn't need to be the binary of Lily's. Amazing point Claudia, thank you!

[@charlieni645]

This is going to be fun. I hope your channel get big soon!

[@MertKayKay]

Thank you Charlie! 😍 I hope you enjoy it!

[@doctorqrow3452]

You explained Determinsm well. A friend and I are both Psych majors who had an argument about it awhile ago. I still can't prove it, but I think the ultimate way to combat determinism is awareness of why you do what you do. Also nice coverage of the game, I was on the fence but now I know just a quick watch through of this video is all I need instead of playing it. And THANK YOU for covering the cop out "coverage" of traumatic issues that makes games borderline immune to criticism.

[@MertKayKay]

Qrow I'm so happy you like the video! I am super glad to hear it from a psych major too; sometimes it can feel a bit tenuous to share my opinions on the portrayal of mental health and such in games - being that I'm not an expert - so it was reassuring to hear it got your approval. Thank you for watching

[@aname4508]

That part about fear responses and ppl yelling at you hit home way to much.

[@mikaelste-marie1275]

I feel that some people want to tackle darker subject to appear like an adult (same with the gamer who play it and defend it for all criticism). The problem is that if you want to be treated like an adult, you will get adult criticism. Like how did you portray the abuser and the victims ? You can go dark , but you need to treat it seriously (Berserk is a perfect example, a lot of fuck up shit happen, but it actually talk about the trauma Gunts has and how it affect him). Games like the medium, the suicide of Rachel Foster or Martha is Dead are just edgy, talking about dark subject with no care how they do it. It just seems immature. Heck, Psychonauts 2 did the monster is trauma better by not making the victim of that trauma a monster or an obstacle. It's someone you need to save and help get better. Why does a 3d plateformer for an audience of 7+ is more mature about mental health issue than an horror game ? (I know one had actual psychologist work on the game) Anyway, that my Ted talk. Also my recommendation of playing Psychonaut 2 (but I do that often.)

[@MertKayKay]

Thanks Mikael! I bought Psychonauts 2 and I was supposed to play it on stream a month ago for a marathon weekend but I got covid and haven't rescheduled :'D I heard it's honestly so brilliant. I can't wait to play it and then bring it up in all these videos.

[@existingdark]

"Raising Awareness" doesn't fly when the morals/solutions you propose in your story are JUST AS BAD, IF NOT WORSE, than the problem you are "raising awareness" for. I want to be clear, James didn't do the right thing either, but he didn't take ownership of Angela's situation and attempt to solve it. He admitted that he couldn't, and let her go. Still infinitely better than blaming her or telling her she needs to die. In Angela's case, the best scenario isn't total forgiveness either. She DID kill her father, and likely her brother as well (though not outwardly stated). She is sympathetic but not good or evil, she is a person who is dealing with tragedy and trauma. Stories like this have this nasty little habit of treating trauma and tragedy as something solvable within the space of one or two sittings. You just need to point the right fingers and do away with the real baddies, right? Fuck no, that's idiotically naiive. This shit has layers. Can a pedophille be forgiven? Perhaps, but that comes with so many caveats that doing it right in the span of an 8-20 hour experience is going to require a lot, and you're risking exhausting the player with something that could be slow and plodding. It's not that it can't be done, but nearly every theme in this game requires just that; time and care. Not blanket hope, forgiveness, condenmnation, etc. Every action needs to be judged individually, repeat habits addressed, feelings, fears, and traumas dealt with. The biggest flaw here in these edgy, "let's raise awareness" games is that they cheaply want to pack everything up in a neat little pill without realizing that if these issues could just be solved that way, someone would have already fucking solved them. You're not saying anything new, hell you're not even saying anything fucking productive. You're literally just making money on recycling the same garbage that keeps is at the point where we sit as a society right now. Boy, my game character conquered their traumas in a tightly packed 8 hour experience, why can't you, real live person? Fucking hell, dude.