Cabela's Dangerous Hunts 2011: A Cursed Hunting Game

[@MandaloreGaming]

HAPPY HALLOWEEN Yes I know about the Uncharted clone one with the genetically engineered bear but I haven't gotten into it yet.

[@Aetherial_Moth]

The WHAT with the WHAT?!

[@100acatfishandwillbreakyou2]

cre its

[@RhazahLuna]

How many genetically engineered bears do you know about in games? Is this like the folder of unsettling horses?

[@requiem4ameme2]

You think you can drop a comment like that and just walk away? Free the bear mutant!

[@cinkro9616]

What about the top down survival horror game one I played, it's also in Alaska iirc

[@thefischdeo]

Since Bass Pro Shops owns Cabela’s now, they should make a fishing equivalent of these. Like Moby Dick but with an evil trout.

[@USSMariner]

ELDRITCH BILLY BASS

[@torchcato4625]

@@thefischdeo the start of the game is you, your dad, and your younger brother catching hammerhead sharks, and ends with you fighting your father who’s become a shark-human hybrid inside of a giant underwater Bass Pro Pyramid

[@sneed915]

​@torchcato4625 you throw dynamite to fish out your father in the inverted pyramid. The plot twist is its a sequel to seaman on the dreamcast.

[@Azmodeus87]

You don't even need to invent new species for that one, just a reason for Deepseas fish to somehow coming to our pressures ( and surviving). Have you seen the only photo of teh angler? That is some "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!" creature design.

[@SecuR0M]

That's just any Asian carp in Missouri. You're riding around on a kayak or motor boat and a bony Hound of Tindalos pops up and breaks your collarbone. 🫡

[@cpom5075]

This game is just one white phosporous mortar section away from being the best hunting game of all time

[@mmsL125]

Woah….cool!!!!!!

[@BasilOreganoo]

​@@mmsL125I will never forget how Mandy brought up that guy's reaction to that scene out of nowhere on stream😂

[@fssamiel1156]

@@BasilOreganoowhat is the context here?

[@BasilOreganoo]

@@fssamiel1156 Mandy was streaming on Twitch and pulled up the white phosphorus scene of Homefront and a random lets player's reaction to it. The LPer went "woah...cool..." just before the enemy North Koreans gets hit by the white phosphorus and starts screaming in agony.

[@Bowiiihowdy]

Or one .50 cal and or mini gun scene

[@Waffleplateninja]

"To hunt for yourself is poaching. To hunt for your family is tradition. To hunt for entertainment is sport." -Cabela's: The Line

[@smartfella7914]

To hunt for entertainment is conservationism

[@bigchungus6827]

@@smartfella7914 Given the seemingly infinite onslaught of monsters Cabela's throws at you, I almost feel like conservationists are analog to the Doom Slayer. It's them or humanity drowning under a tsunami of rampaging possessed wildlife.

[@TheNetherlandDwarf]

"Do you feel like a conservationist yet Walker?" E: fucking lmao it's actually in the video

[@alltat]

It was actually humanity that they were trying to conserve.

[@lilwyvern4]

@@bigchungus6827 Which makes it even funnier that they insist on only using traditional civilian hunting weapons. I dunno, if they had hordes of maneating hyenas the size of biblical locust swarms, maybe taking a trip over to Arizona and borrowing some gun collector's LMG stash might be in the cards.

[@KevinC2793]

"going hunting with your emotionally abusive and psychotic father" is an unhinged premise for a video game to begin with and yet they somehow made it even more unhinged.

[@bendeguzkocsis2692]

Twice.

[@clpthegamer3129]

i like how the game jumps from "Lets waste these Elk becuse our family is abit odd" to "Cabela vs The World of Darkness"

[@PikachuLittle]

Turns out they’re a different kind of Hunter

[@gringottssteakhouse5893]

Bloodborne

[@Gotnogoodusernam]

Yeah like a Hunter vs a devourer demon with lore of flesh 5 and spent literally years crafting the pinnacle of animals (This is a “World of darkness” reference if you referring to something else)

[@lucasgislon]

One of my favorite things about WoD is that the lore is really easy to recontextualize/headcanon into other media and thia game is perfect for that

[@afinnishfishnet7366]

​@@lucasgislon The Lab stuff could probably be some Pentex shit couldnt it

[@Taryntheterrible101]

So - to clarify some story points. In the cavern section next to one of the ladders you can actually find the whistle. So Samson was the one controlling the animals the entire time; at least in Alaska. It's heavily implied that he was bitten by the Kaftar in the intro, which turned him like a werewolf; and that he IS the kaftar you're fighting at the very end of the game. If you look closely at his model you can even see the Kaftar is blind in his left eye, just like Samson.

[@nisnast]

Werehyena

[@MagnusTonitrum117]

I saw on a different comment that the DS version shows the Kaftar shapeshifting from beast to man in Alaska, so it was watching us the entire time (it probably was Samson)

[@SneakyIrishNinja]

Ooh, and that loading screen before the final battle says to use Hunter's Sense on the Kaftar because it "may not be what it seems", so it looks like that holds water!

[@klikssiikubra314]

@@MagnusTonitrum117 To be clear, my comment said that you see the Kaftar in silhouette in Alaska. The shift from man to beast is in a separate scene when Mbeki tells you its story, and it's a black man transforming into it. Presumably this is the original Kaftar that Samson and Mbeki fought in the cave.

[@MagnusTonitrum117]

@ gotcha, gotcha

[@klikssiikubra314]

There has to be an addendum with the lore from the DS version of this game, you straight up see the Kaftar transforming from man to beast in a cutscene in it, you see its silhouette stalking you in Alaska, and we get flashbacks to Samson whipping and training hyenas to hunger for human flesh. Also, a weird detail is that while in the PS3 and Xbox versions of 2011, the Kaftar has both eyes, the Wii one has it missing one eye. The same eye Samson is missing...

[@AlozarLorandul]

Yea the whole time I was watching this video I felt it was obvious that Samson is the Kaftar. Really surprised Mandalore didn't seem to allude to/pick up on that? They talk about it being a werewolf like creature, they talk about how it ate Samson's heart and cursed him, Samson clearly lured Cole to Uganda in order to pass on the curse, even talks about killing him... idk it seemed really obvious to me.

[@DarkHenrik1]

@@AlozarLorandul He did question that in an old vod were he played this game. I'd assume he either forgot that while working on this video, or he might have changed his mind on it while looking further into the game.

[@thehoodedteddy1335]

Fuck I need to look that up Now

[@tiolloyd9555]

​@DarkHenrik1 given how someone mentioned an actual Yeti fight on the game that predates this, maybe Mandy is planning on doing a trilogy and then a lore theory timeline, and then he will mention these details there

[@alster546]

Its hard to notice but in the xbox and PS3 version the kaftar also has his left eye damaged, but only on the final fight (you can get a good look at 43:09), the one from the intro has both eyes, same goes to the dad back then, so I gotta wonder if thats the same kaftar, or the dad killed the kaftar and then was cursed like Mbeki said and became the next Kaftar. Gotta commend the devs for going this fucking wild on a plot about a licensed hunting game, and Cabela for giving it the thumbs up.

[@iguanaboi3921]

I feel like not enough people talk about how insane the baboons are. No baboon currently alive is anywhere close to being as big as they are in these games. These are straight up Dinopithecus, either brought back through Jurassic Park technology, or brought back through genetically modifying existing baboon species

[@brettknighten1171]

I mean they are close to 100 lbs

[@JozefLucifugeKorzeniowski]

ah, cabelas always brings back fond memories of hunting with my dad; stacking up with 4 other hunters outside of a bull moose's apartment door. waiting for the lead to kick in the door and toss a flashbang before we all rush in and neutralize our assigned corners.

[@mmsL125]

Just remember, no Russian

[@Sir_Bucket]

​@@mmsL125 *remember, no hyenas

[@ulric8445]

@@Sir_BucketRemember. No Elks

[@useless4692]

@@Sir_BucketRemember. No laughing/howling.

[@nekakagiggle]

​@@useless4692 Remember. No Eating

[@brownruns]

14:27 "Alaska's a Stand Your Ground state, so watch me stand while I put you in it" is a HARD ASS line

[@ColorfulHelices]

Fucking incredible writing What a GOD

[@WoodlandDrake]

I stand, you're ground.

[@testname4464]

My favorite is "it's Howl's Moving Castle Doctrine!"

[@SetariM]

He said it in the lamest way though lmao

[@selectionn]

@@SetariM the non-chalant way he said it made it even more hard pure cinema

[@Europoorbird]

There's always a Kaftar. There's always a hunter. There's always a safari.

[@vanyablazer3113]

Yeah I remember when Booker had to kill 600 water buffalo

[@rafaelalodio5116]

It’s an endless cycle, eternal return, a timeless battle for the heart of the planet

[@fractaldunes2903]

We all have a real first hunt

[@hiephiep12]

Bring us the elk and wipe away the debt.

[@vaclav4435]

@@vanyablazer3113 Booker probably took one of those transcontinental railroad trips where you could stick your gun out the window of your passenger coach and just shoot at the buffalo herds as they run by.

[@CluelessAnon]

24:24 "How many animals can there be? How did Jacob have any *left?*" Mandy's sheer bewilderment in that line delivery combined with the cut to the airstrike footage pushed that montage over the edge. Absolutely amazing.

[@Blisterdude123]

27:40 - A line for the ages, unironically uttered in a videogame made by a massive corporate brand specialising in catering to sportsmen, outdoorsmen and hunters who partake for fun. What animal kills for pleasure? Humans you absolute dingus lmao

[@TheBonkleFox]

​@@Blisterdude123 Cats. Cats kill for pleasure.

[@Razumen]

@@Blisterdude123 Hunters almost always eat the animals they kill, it's part of the hunting culture. And hunters donate nearly 10 million pounds of game meat annually. A single deer can feed up to 200 people. Not to mention most jurisdictions, it is the law that hunters not waste any of the meat. So the myth that people are just going around and shooting animals for no reason but fun is just that, a myth.

[@Blisterdude123]

@@Razumen It's not a myth just because you say it is. What an absurd statement. People hunt for sport, for leisure, trophy hunters are a thing. I don't know...what level of reality you think you're operating on.

[@Razumen]

@Blisterdude123 Yes, they hunt for sport, which is fine, because they eat what they kill and follow the laws regarding over hunting. You are the one trying to insinuate that what they're doing is bad and wasteful, when it's not.

[@kyleglendinning9414]

I love the idea of some old man who's into hunting getting this game from the local Cabela's, expecting a fairly grounded simulation game and getting completely blindsided by the plot

[@dylanhaugen3739]

Yeah, a hunting game where you're encouraged to kill everything that breathes and every animal seems to be possessed by Satan or on enough meth to make Walter White a billionaire.

[@pennsylvaniafellow4409]

The prior games were grounded simulations as well so I imagine this actually did happen.

[@LadyTylerBioRodriguez]

The first Dangerous Hunts game was just a hunting game with aggressive animals. The second has a slightly weird plot and boss fights with Hogzilla and eventually a Yeti. It really set the stage for all this madness.

[@pennsylvaniafellow4409]

@@LadyTylerBioRodriguez I remember. I played the first dangerous hunts game quite a bit.

[@guyofminimalimportance7]

@@pennsylvaniafellow4409 Well not entirely. The Dangerous Hunts games in specific were always more campy and arcade based. As far back as the second game the hunting mechanics were being downplayed, and you even fought a Yeti as the final boss.

[@kabob0077]

6:36 I believe that in the Cabela's setting that "Conservationist" is a name for a group of some elite, anti-animal shock troops that have dedicates their lives to the Animal Wars.

[@MrTetrisz]

When the animals are so dangerous that they're more concerned about poachers' lives than the animals they're hunting

[@badman5852]

If not for them the Emu War of 1908 would have been lost. God bless them and their families.

[@LogosChaser-r5d]

They're like the Patriots from MGS

[@InvestmentBankr]

Hunters are actually the strongest and most effective group in habitat and wildlife preservation. As with most things, the people who actually USE a thing (loggers, fishers, hunters, farmers, etc) are the most invested in its sustainable longevity.

[@MillionAirL]

At 42:46 the loading screen reads "Do you feel like a conservationist yet?" - I think this is an Easter egg reference to Spec Ops: The Line. During the climatic final chapter of that game, when the protagonist is losing their grip on reality, the loading screens also trade the FPS style tips towards more pessimistic 4th wall breaking "tips". One of these reads "Do you feel like a hero yet?" Which, in the context of the game is a very overt dig at the "Hero protagonist" trope in most FPS. This Easter egg is pretty neat and I am suprised to have spotted it!

[@WadeGb]

"If you don't mind me asking.. what was it like? How did you survive the Kaftar's Cave?" Johnny Cabela: "Who said I did.."

[@Refloni]

Gentlemen, welcome to Uganda.

[@nemotoad9315]

Do you feel like a Hunter yet?

[@crazybrit1192]

There were over 5000 animals alive in Uganda, the day before you arrived. How many are alive today, I wonder? How many will be alive tomorrow?

[@aravindpallippara1577]

​@@crazybrit1192hopefully none if I have anything to say about it.

[@hansbass8119]

​@@RefloniUganda, you say. Are you from the merchants guild as well then?

[@Soulraven2735]

Something of note to em is the fact the name "Nightfall Program" also appears in Call of Duty Ghosts's "Extinction Mode" as an organization fighting against the mode's Cryptids. Both games are Activision and I'm convinced they're in the same universe.

[@RipRLeeErmey]

The Nightfall Program is the remannts of the Conservationalist Program, converging together to fight The Animal's final trap card: The Cryptids.

[@Harbyaught1]

2011 actually feels like it adds a ton of context to 2013. The people of Uganda had seen such strange phrnomena before, so knew they needed to call in outside help. This is shown when Ed asks "You are a conservationist, yes?" It's not small talk, or an offhand thing. Ed knows what lurks out there, he knows what Jacob will face. Normally they would hire poachers as a mercenary force to resolve their problems with wildlife. Butthe Black Lions were something different. They were out of the league of the poachers. He needed something more. He needed a conservationist.

[@troin3925]

@@Harbyaught1 I don’t know if it’s a joke, but no, none of them are connected. I explained this in other comments, but Cabela’s never continues any of their story driven games (I don’t even think they take place in the same universe. That’s how disconnected they are). They also reuse assets all the time (at least when they still made games), even back during the PS2 era, they just switch up the assets every few years. Even in Dangerous Hunts 2011, some of the shooting gallery levels, while others used maps from the campaign, others just straight up used maps from Big Game Hunter 2010. That’s how cheap and shameless they are.

[@The_Crimson_Fucker]

The threat was too great for the locals to handle, they needed something scarier, something meaner, they needed a predator equal to the worst of them, one that could only be summoned through dark rituals and promises of blood sacrifice - they needed _the White man_ .

[@ES21007]

@@troin3925 It's a joke from Mandalore's review series. Due to "conservationist" Jacob of 2013 having a natural gift for hunting animals to extinction, people who watch his Cabela's Hunts videos view "conservationists" as the enemy of all animals, hunters extraordinaires. Adding to this, Mandalore's review of the 2013 put a lot of funny emphasis on the ridiculousness of the animals you hunt (The sandstorm practically being a divine event, Baboons "jamming" the radio and using the old buildings and structures of "The ancient ones", the mountain lions breaking the power circuits, the Black Lion Emperor commanding all the animals). This led to the "lore" of the conservationists, the animal kingdom revolts against humans and "conservationists" and all the connections between the 2011 and 2013 games that are just really hilarious to think about.

[@troin3925]

@@ES21007 Yeah, they were hilarious!

[@PikachuLittle]

@@troin3925 no fun allowed

[@lucjan1897]

When Rainsford dad talks about his family history he sounds like he's on the verge of grasping some truely Lovecraftian revelation but his mind can't quite comprehend it yet

[@theatagamer90]

The Elder God Cabela is attempting to escape via hunting games.

[@lonestarlibrarian1853]

@@theatagamer90Every hunt, a sacred prayer; every kill, a holy sacrifice; every taxidermy’d body a piece of something far beyond the minds of mortal men

[@notthed6534]

It felt like something out of Great Value Darkest Dungeon

[@MrThatguyuknow]

They way he talks at the end made me feel like they were setting him up to be the demon and this was all some elaborate sacrificial ritual.

[@alster546]

@@MrThatguyuknow He IS the demon! The kaftar, you can see in the final fight it has a damaged eye just like the dad.

[@Zogger568]

a hunting game commissioned by a major corporation that most people would write off as shovelware has more complex and disturbing lore and implications than most dedicated rpgs

[@ivarent3784]

Forget "rescuing a cat---> fighting God", in the Cabelaverse, God IS the cat.

[@JillLulamoon]

God bless whoever was put in charge of writing this Cabela game and said "Screw it" and went nuts with the plot. As much as I'm laughing at how ridiculous it is, it's kinda cool.

[@tonypeppermint5329]

So good.

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

​@@JillLulamoonId rather have an ABSOLUTELY INSANE plot then most plots nowadays

[@Weldedhodag]

@@JillLulamoon it comes across like one of those old campfire stories a father or older brother would tell his kids during a hunting trip

[@ellisbkennedy652]

"Did an entire fucking circus escape?!?" is a good bit lol

[@bananapie6564]

15:03 additional fun fact if you want to warm your heart a little, Ravens have been noted to play with wolf pups to help build trust with the pack

[@parkerdixon-word6295]

@@bananapie6564 Oh yes, Ravens and wild wolves have a genuinely bro-tier symbiotic relationship. It's extremely cute, two extremely intelligent wild animals building a genuine and mutually beneficial relationship.

[@louieburnham8090]

I think this counts as actual domestication

[@dalemountain5041]

​@louieburnham8090 the difference between taming and domestication is whether the relationship has existed long enough to induce physiological/ethological changes in the animal model. Taking a wild animal and forming a relationship is taming. Taming the children, the children's children, etc. so on until the animal is born different- that's domestication. It's the difference between dogs and wolves or aurochs (now extinct) and cows.

[@evinbraley]

KInda knew about this from AC6. You know, the whole friendship between the protag and Rusty (A Raven being partners with a wolf)

[@barrag3463]

Ravens will help cue the wolves on to carrion or easy prey, and the wolves will let them in on the meal. They'll also protect the ravens they're familiar with if another animal tries screwing with them (there is footage of a coyote getting deleted by a pack for harassing a raven eating some scraps). The ravens will also sort of babysit wolf pups, shepherding them while playing and making a stink if something bad shows up.

[@escapedrecluse]

I know the VA who plays the dads in these games. Absolute sweetest man with a massive list of credits, including the colonel from Akira, tons of WOW characters, and one of the hokages. I brought up your last video to him and he remembered that game cuz his son loved playing with the peripherals

[@wallclimber4021]

how cool would it be to play this game and hear your actual father voicing your character’s dad? thanks for sharing! gonna have to look into his credits now

[@planescaped]

I just hear Sojiro.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

Amazing.

[@Comkill117]

He’s also Papa Nier.

[@Boneworm852]

Oh damn that's right, Colonel Shikishima! "SOL. We will use SOL!"

[@tylerdelange5959]

Fun Fact: The family's last name "Rainsford" is a nod to The Most Dangerous Game. I guess it implies that this family has descended from the original man who was hunted for sport? Maybe General Zarof from that story was the original Kafta?

[@falkoo4052]

That's entirely possible with a good chance of being likely. The staff behind the game clearly understood the assignment. So what if it was a licensed tie in game? They were going to put that love of literature to use. Though the fact that the psychological/mythological horror FPS genre was a thing in that era is wild.

[@pastramiandrye]

This puts the title in a different light. After all, what would you hunt on the dangerous hunt? The most dangerous game.

[@eisgnom7383]

Hang on, I saw in another comment that Alaska stopped being a Russian colony only around 130 years ago, but they were on that land for 200 years!

[@weneedaladder8384]

Apparently in other versions of the game (like the ds version) it's much more clear that Samuel is the Kaftar, so you're literally hunting a man named Rainsford.

[@ootdega]

Zarof was Russian. Alaska was formerly Russian territory. Mother of god, it all adds up.

[@filippocecamore7588]

Little did they know, M'beke actually survived. He combined coal and lemons in order to make an NVidia graphics card, put that in a laptop borrowed from one of the last Ugandan park Rangers, changed his accent and started a famous KZbin Channel.

[@secretname2670]

it's such a shame comments got nuked on that video. I remember there being over 800 of those, and youtube deleted everything...

[@StrikeWarlock]

Also the reason why he has an affinity for Mandalore. The spirit of his friend lives on in him.

[@MoonlitWood]

“What about you, Cole? What's it going to be? Loyalty to your mother, or loyalty to me? Your brother, or your old father? The hunt, or your heritage?” - Samson "The Boss" Rainsford

[@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing]

Sad his dad wasn't the final boss. Definitely a 12-pack of Miller-a-night kinda dad, Officer. No, I don't know why mom jammed a hot curling iron in his eye. He was a hard man, but fair. Never beat her with anything thicker than his thumb.

[@marley7868]

@@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing the kaftar was his father so you did the man was always full of love but the heart of a hyena is strong stronger than love but not grief hence why was nicer after the younger fell

[@odinlindeberg4624]

​@@WindFireAllThatKindOfThing Funny thing. You find a flute near the end, and the Wii version of the game has the Kaftar be blind in one eye, much like Samson is.

[@patrickfrost9405]

The Father of 2011 has a scar over his eye. The bear of 2013 has a scar... over the same eye.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

Wait a minute.

[@KingThrillgore]

Hold the f up: was this at some point supposed to be a shared story, and someone at Activision or Cabela's got cold feet? Someone said the DS version had a scene that implied the Kaftar took a human form. Was there once a far better story at play here?

[@Reac2]

Werebear /Berserker

[@troin3925]

@@KingThrillgore It's all a coincidence. Cabela's has a thing of reusing assets and changing them every few years (at least when they still made games). They've even been doing that since the PS2 era. Also, with that comment talking about the DS version, I never owned it and the only footage I can find doesn't show the whole game and I can't find what that commenter was talking about. So either it was a joke or a flat out lie. Update: My bad, the models for certain animals like the bear, wolves and baboons were completely different in Dangerous Hunts 2011 and 2013. I was also talking about the bear model specifically, not Cole’s father too.

[@gdmnsdgl]

are the father and the bear in the same scene at any point in that level? ARE THEY?

[@tommykarrick9130]

I like how in this setting poachers aren’t bad because they kill endangered or rare animals or because they leave most of the bodies behind for small trophies to sell, They’re bad because they steal the animals that are rightfully yours to kill

[@ARocketTaco]

I mean historically that WAS pretty much what it meant.

[@R3GARnator]

@@ARocketTaco The lord owned the land and hunted it as he pleased. Poachers were stealing from the lord.

[@leonardhollsten8145]

They're also bad because they are placing themselves in danger from the vicious monsters that this game calls animals

[@potaterjim]

29:16 Fucking killed me. Finally, peace and quiet, animals just leaving you be peacefully, and the game is like "I WANT PROBLEMS, ALWAYS"

[@josemaria8177]

Mandalore doesn't play horror games for Halloween, instead he plays games that makes you question your sanity

[@fluorideinthechat7606]

If it makes me go insane that makes it the horror game

[@EmaRussoUltra]

Psychological Horror

[@Intestine_Ballin-ism]

It's a different flavour of horror.

[@josh-oo]

So he plays cosmic horror games instead. Got it.

[@OrificeHorus]

Gartens...

[@Scarwing]

So, seeing as the hyenas in 2013 had no leader, and attacked in random, unorganized anbushes, I think we have a fallen Dynasty situation here. The Kaftar and the Black Lion Emperor may have even been brothers, both being demons. After the Kaftar falls, the Black Lion Emperor rules unopposed, save for the hyenas, which refuse to betray their lost ruler, and instead have to hide underground in the bunkers.

[@Rebelnutt]

You eat a mountain lion's heart what exactly is the final boss in 2023?

[@Jirwemthegreat]

“Please be a normal field trip…” With Cabela’s? NO WAY!

[@quickstrike4242]

CRUISIN ON DOWN SAFARI

[@pipedreamer9781]

​@@quickstrike4242 Shooting everything we see

[@KingThrillgore]

Hop in the magic of the drui...I mean, the curses of Cabela's! [Honk honk]

[@The_Robbing_Narrator]

​@@pipedreamer9781 Next thing that you know we're seein (WAHAHAHOOO) HIPPO IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD?

[@dinosdaniel3508]

Man i have to say it. What i love most about Mandalore's videos is the little references he makes like "Dagoth Ur speeches" or "Primaris lions".

[@TheFanofmanythings1]

Remembering that these are supposed to be games for your grandpa is doing psychic damage. Like im imagining pop pop getting this for christmas, sitting down for what he believes is a normal hunting game, then being blindsided by Cabelas own brand lovecraft tale.

[@akumaouja4062]

Considering the kind of pulp and genre fiction he probably would have grown up with depending on his age that might actually be a bonus tbh,

[@bc-cu4on]

​@@akumaouja4062 Exactly, all those ridiculous magazine covers with burly men wrestling crocodiles and lions are from their time.

[@ssjjshawn]

I guarantee any Grandpa who got a game about hunt demonic animals and killing them would love that game. That's 20s-60s era pulp horror at it's finest

[@Jynx_Splatoon]

Cabela’s having lore more arbitrary & confusing then most H.P Lovecraft settings while also having one man with a fiery hate against nature itself and wiping out entire species with nothing more then a 308. is amazing and I wish we would have supported it so we could get a modern sequel.

[@timothymclean]

To be fair, HP Lovecraft kept his lore light on purpose. Lore is answers, and the root of his most effective horror is not having answers.

[@The_Faceless_No_Name_Stranger]

How God intended for us to squash evil

[@badman5852]

Man cannot control nature, but he can fill it with enough lead to take pause. 'And we shall water our crop with the blood of our trophies. The bounty of our love of nature is fruitful and nutritious.` Cabela 2:85

[@troin3925]

None of these games are connected and never got any actual continuations (Dangerous Hunts 2009's story was completely unrelated to Dangerous Hunts 2's storyline). At least Dangerous Hunts 2's storyline was incredibly easy to understand (even if the true final boss was a gigantic WTF moment). That game also didn't take itself seriously nor pretended that its story was more emotional and meaningful than it actually is like 2013's (the final boss in 2013 where it cuts back in forth in time is a huge example of this). In fact, it was kind of tongue in cheek and most of the supporting characters (only two supporting characters actually follow you for the rest of the game while the rest only appear for one part of the story), are mostly one dimensional caricatures or stereotypes. The reason why the animals look the same is because they reused assets. Cabela's has been reusing assets since the PS2 era and they change assets around every few years, especially for later console generations (back when they still made games at least). Update: I forgot that the models used for the bear, wolves and baboons weren't the same from Dangerous Hunts 2011.

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

​@@The_Faceless_No_Name_Strangerwhat about .50 cal bmg?

[@NotOnLand]

At one point Samson says "I was afraid the wrong son had died in Alaska." Aside from that being a totally fucked up thing to tell your only surviving child, I think that lends a lot of credence to the "Samson was the kaftar from the start" idea. He clearly didn't like Cole from the start and wanted to solidify his bloodline, so he brought the "weaker" son with him and summoned his forces against him.

[@HazhMcMoor]

"God took the wrong son"

[@Channel-gz9hm]

WRONG KID DIED

[@miquelescribanoivars5049]

​@@HazhMcMoor Goated reference

[@MishraArtificer]

How very Denethor of him...

[@seb24789]

Who do you think was controlling the animals with that whistle? And why did the wolves spare the player character after he blacks out?

[@CaesarGB]

This game terrified me as a kid. Will always hate Cave paintings and hyenas because of it. When my parents bought me this game for my birthday I had no idea what I was in for. I will however always love fighting baboons in an abandoned military base like they are some kind of occupying army.

[@VirusVescichetta]

"His paw was in the glove box" tickled just as well as last year's "I saw the impala reaching." Mandalore's writing and delivery are so good.

[@mattmac5506]

I have the head-canon lore in my head now about this Game Dev whose been in the industry for 30+ years, trying to pitch this idea for years at the 'real' game companies they've worked at only to be laughed out of the boardroom. Then, in their retirement, they takes a quieter gig at Cabelas, little less money, way less stress. Then, realizing there would be virtually no oversight over this project, because why would there be? It's a hunting game! "Draw the guns and the animals and make both go boom!" They then dust off their old script and get to work...

[@FireTalon24]

I can see that exact scenario playing out...

[@Kveldred]

they didn't even bother drawing the guns lol

[@skirk248]

and he was told to send it again later

[@RolandTheJabberwocky]

I love how these games just blatantly scream, "THE BRAND ISN'T PAYING ATTENTION TO THE WRITERS."

[@BrightBrandi]

It's great

[@StrikeWarlock]

And we need more of that shit.

[@wilfordbrimley689]

Like all important and successful brands, make money and they let you do whatever

[@SouthernFerrets]

"Alaska is a stand your ground state. So watch me stand while I put you in it" goes incredibly hard.

[@thespiffingbrit]

Damn feels great to be a conservationist

[@MrQwertysystem]

Perfectly balanced nature!

[@Totallynotkyubey]

A species cannot be endangered when it's fucking dead.

[@bohemianearspoon8493]

Conservationist of mankind

[@TheTrashkKing541]

Spiffing popping up in a random comment thread is my favorite genre

[@etcher6841]

Sir this is a Wendy

[@sortedevaras]

I interpreted your dad to be a were hyena possessed by the Kaftar. He was trying to make his sons strong enough to kill him

[@vanyablazer3113]

Cool actually

[@bohemianearspoon8493]

Same man, it makes so much sense that way

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

Maybe it's one of those "ONLY YOUR BLOOD CAN KILL YOU" situations. Like how lobo from DC comics can only be killed by another from his species, which is why he genocided them himself.

[@FireTalon24]

Considering some other commenters saying that other versions of this game actually showed the Kaftar transforming, you're very right apparently.

[@nerdyvids1]

I want people to know that this is BARELY exaggerated for comedic effect unlike the whole "bear conspiracy" joke from 2013. The connections to 2013 are just having a bit of fun, but if you watch the actual stream Mandalore did of this game about a year ago, this is 100% what the story is like. Dad is a freaking weirdo who threatens to disown you if you dont run off after a puma you just shot, and sounds like he's about to start hunting the poachers on his land before you find the dead hikers. Mbeki is muttering about witchcraft the whole time, talks about how the spirits of your ancestors are granting you power, and implies your dad is either possessed by or actually is the Kaftar. The facility was trying to make the ultimate animal weapon before people started dying, it's all true.

[@peterclarke7240]

Love the casual racism of the African guy being into witchcraft. What a very American game.

[@everest5718]

@@peterclarke7240this game thinks animals are demon spawn out to destroy us all. I’m not surprised about the racism here.

[@witchfynder_finder]

Yeah the baboon supersoldier thing sounds like a bit Mandy invented but it's not, that's very close to the actual text of the game. It's so wild.

[@12b_engineer]

​@peterclarke7240 how is that racist? Are you really trying to gate keep witchcraft? Ahahahaha

[@AdamantLightLP]

@@peterclarke7240 Love that people whine about something that literally doesn't matter. Go solve a real problem instead of pointing out a fictional fact about a fictional character.

[@Zerosknight5]

I haven't seen it said yet, so here it is. Rainsford is inspired by the protagonist of The Most Dangerous Game, Sanger Rainsford. For those who don't know, the story is about a hunter who finds himself trapped on an island being hunted by another hunter.

[@levalexenko4863]

It could be British military base in Uganda, it was their colony till the 60s after all. Kinda fits with the lore, too. Secret facility to study horrific things as weapons during Cold War. p.s. Even more, the "military rifle" icon looks a bit like L1A1.

[@klikssiikubra314]

I think the fact that the experiments were during the Cold War is being slept on here. The implication that this is a US or British military experiment gone wrong has fascinating implications for the West in this game trying to harness supernatural animal demons to fight the Soviets. Does that mean that the times when you hunt in Russia in the other Cabela's games, that you're seeing the animals created by the KGB's experiments?

[@electricfeverx976]

​@@klikssiikubra314would be a great lore reveal. All these horrific mutants, the Baboon King, Black Lion, & so on, are just byproducts of Cold War scientists trying to harness the demonic energies that lie in Africa.

[@DecidedlyNinja]

They were desperate to match the Soviets' armored combat bears.

[@StrikeWarlock]

​@@klikssiikubra314The Baboons were essentially a far worse threat than the Russians considering how the base wasn't just overrun, they had to seal it by surrounding the base with landmines.

[@iratepirate3896]

It was a British military base, but it was taken over by Idi Amin in the 70s who used it as a source of magical power to defeat the Tanzanians.

[@zeche8477]

42:28 “I’m sorry, Rainsford. But you knew it would end this way. Your brother, dead. The savannah on fire. And you… alone. You’re a failure. Finally… something we have in common.” “Well done, Rainsford. You’ve done what the fires could not - destroyed the Kaftar’s horde. Do you feel like a conservationist yet?” “No matter what happens next, don’t be too hard on yourself. Even now, after all you’ve done, you can still go back to Alaska. Lucky you.”

[@marianocamacho8788]

Gentlemen, welcome to Cabela

[@MrSchnorkel]

40:00 To me, Samson saying "I thought the wrong son died that day. Could be I was wrong about that." implies that he did try to kill one of his sons. He initially considered Cole to be the right one to die, which he wouldn't say if he wasn't fine with at least one dying. I reckon Samson used the whistle to command the animals in Alaska to kill the 'weak son', but as Cole had just proven himself by beating the grizzly, the wolves mauled Adrian instead. Ten years later, Samson saw it proven that Cole was the superior one after he slaughtered his way through the ugandan wildlife.

[@VicStrange9]

I was like "please dont tell me we're doing Silent Hill Homecoming again"

[@JillLulamoon]

Why is the plot of this Cabela hunting game kinda really cool? Especially this one compared to 2013. Giving me Heart of Darkness vibes.

[@DAHSspookyyYyyy]

​@@JillLulamoonit's giving pre-Call of Cthulu Lovecraft

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

​@@VicStrange9I've never seen or played s.h.h. what's are you referring to?

[@nemesis041]

My brother and I got this game because he liked the more "casual" Cabela's hunting games. We played both this one and 2013, and never really thought about the story much, just shot stuff and unlocked the galleries for us to play together. You've just opened my third eye in these two games...

[@danielclark653]

My personal theory is that Rainsford is the Kaftar. Mbeki describes the Kaftar as a shapeshifter who has the mind of a man but the heart of a beast and that description seems to fit your dad. It would also explain why your dad spends so much time in Africa and the ritualistic animal heart devouring along with the talk of baptisms in blood. Your dad controlled the wolves to kill your brother because he viewed him as weak and undeserving of the family name and inheritance of the curse. The final scene we see Rainsford in the cave also reeks of a werewolf transformation scene. It seems like he’s losing it and about to give into his demonic were-hyena form. He’s rambling and jumping from topic to topic trying to cover all his regrets in his last moments of humanity. When he’s blown up by a landmine he still talks to you even after being blown up and imparts some final words on you before fully becoming a beast. The final battle against the Kaftar in your father’s house is you fighting your father as a beast surrounded by beasts he has slain. In the end he joins all his trophies in an ironic twist of fate. Edit: I’m also realizing it’s probably why Mbeki knocked you out and almost killed you. He’s trying to end the bloodline of the Kaftar by killing you so you don’t inherit the curse from your father but seeing as you haven’t been cursed yet and are innocent in this he can’t bring himself to do it.

[@Angzt]

Isn't that basically confirmed? The Kaftar has the same eye injury as your father (43:09, go frame by frame with "." and "," keys). Heck of a coincidence otherwise.

[@diegocastaneda3829]

He did eat the heart...

[@spacesui-t]

This game is truly the dark souls of hunting sims, needing community theories to untangle the plot.

[@Kefkaesque13]

Minor correction/addition: The player is considered the "weak hunter" in that Alaska hunt, with the Father even saying he has felt that "the wrong one died" up until we surprised him on the African hunt. The implication appears to be that the wolves were meant to be a trial where either the brothers would forge an unbreakable bond and become an unstoppable team, or the chaff would be culled (us). Whether he's doing this because he wants the next Kaftar(s) to be even stronger than himself or because he was hoping to create someone capable of putting an end to him is unclear to me from this vid. (If the latter, then the African invitation was a last resort gamble taken once he realized the Kaftar was on the verge of assuming full control, with Mbeki being unaware of or not trusting the plan and trying to save us/prevent a new Kaftar).

[@danielclark653]

@@Kefkaesque13 I interpreted it as you are the weak hunter but through the trip your father sees you for the warrior you are and your brother and less so, you wound/kill the bear by yourself and your brother doesn’t even get a shot off. He says it’s because he didn’t have a good shot but part of his dialogue makes it seem like he was afraid. Same with him firing and starting an avalanche. He talks big but when it comes down to real scenarios he can’t deliver while the player is just the opposite, appearing meek but really being a hunter. It’s why you dad is almost cordial with you in Africa.

[@Ankhtowe]

"But I ask you, what animal kills for pleasure?" "Dolphins."

[@nerdyvids1]

And housecats

[@NicoBabyman1]

And orcas

[@octopode170]

dolphins end up actively killing a lot less than popular rumors say. their victims usually die as a byproduct of the dolphins' play rather than a desired outcome. and while one could argue that'd still definitionally be "killing for pleasure", i don't think it holds up to the spirit of the term, as in "gaining pleasure from the act of killing in itself" rather than "killing as a consequence of the pursuit of pleasure". most of their intentional murders are either prey, dolphin children or porpoises, which they really like killing in particular for some reason.

[@Dethmeister]

And humans.

[@daanstrik4293]

Most animals that kill also tend to do it for fun lol

[@electricbayonet2]

Wait, is this the one where you have a gunfight with a swarm of monkeys in a Resident Evil lab that was trying to reverse-engineer a cryptid’s ability to control animals? EDIT: OH YES IT IS

[@damoclesecoe7184]

Before watching the video this statement makes no sense. After watching the video it makes too much sense.

[@RAFMnBgaming]

My favourite episode of Friends.

[@captainnyet9855]

Also, the cryptid is your dad.

[@Blutwind]

​@@damoclesecoe7184 i am not sure if the statement is more wild before or after watching

[@Shaviine]

Whoever designed this level was traumatized by the white baboon attack in the movie Congo.

[@krookodiledude]

Watched the first video again for chronological sake, and i realized that the ranger station that was burned in 2013 is the one that cole burned down in this game, gotta be the same place. Even hyenas attack there in 2013, The Emperor orchestrated everything, and Kaftar was the general.

[@bahamutdragon1754]

I've pieced together the lore. Umbeki tells you a very important piece of lore, that the demon can shapeshift. Demons traditionally require a blood sacrifice to be brought into this world. Its obviously the same father in both games, he is just disguising himself, that is why its the same voice actor. He even refers to the boys mother as down south, an allegory for below the earth, in the pits of hell. When Cole and Jacob are hard pressed, their breathing sounds demonic and haggard. In both instances the protagonists start out normal, and then are dragged to a hunting trip that the father describes as a *ritual.* Each time, one son is sacrificed to bring the demon forth into the other son. This explains why the sons gain superhuman powers, like the ability to fistfight a pride of lions. Its demonic strength flowing through their veins. These demons want nothing more than to obliterate all life on earth. The humans have forgotten the threat the demons possess, but the animals have not. After the bear heroically attempts to stop the ritual and is grievously wounded in the first game, the wolves, who have betrayed nature, leap in to finish the ritual, that's why they have demonic glowing eyes, they switched sides and were branded as demons. Its also why the bear was fighting the wolves at the beginning. The father immediately heads to Uganda after the son is sacrificed, because he knows the animals will stop him if given enough time. He heads there first to destroy the animals before they can gather their armies and march against him. At some point the animals actually manage to overpower and imprison the father, planning to seal him away. Its why you find him in a cave surrounded by baboon land mines. Notice those mines don't explode when regular animals, or Umbeki walk over them, its because they respond to demons. Those were keeping him sealed. This is why he suddenly calls for his son to come to Uganda, he's compelling the demon he bound into the flesh of his child to free him. This completely explains why the animals suddenly launch a coordinated ambush upon Cole the second he entered Uganda, they sensed his demonic blood.

[@thedeadwookie25]

Pretty fucking sick

[@rokkraljkolesa9317]

pretty sure it's Mbeki and not umbeki

[@thedeadwookie25]

@@rokkraljkolesa9317 ur mombeki

[@VANTARTS]

essay nation

[@moosal0329]

🎉 makes too much sense

[@ZanTheFox]

"Like someone at Cabela's corporate said super soldier baboons except no one was smiling or laughing" Good way to explain this game

[@Bluecho4]

A spiritual successor to the Cabela Duology NEEDS to happen. A game that starts as a mundane hunting sim, before spiraling into a supernatural survival horror. Deer Hunters meets Heart of Darkness. Where you don't know what's real, what's in the protagonist's head, and what comes beyond the veil of reality to bring secrets man was never meant to know.

[@completelyferrouschemist6776]

To make it as deep as possible, tie it into the thunder-god vs. dragon mythos. Susanoo no Mikoto vs Orochi. Thor vs Jormungandr. Zeus vs Typhon. etc. Barrels and muzzles flash like lightning and shots ring out like thunder, big monster falls.

[@NEEDbacon]

I mean, there is Squirrel Stapler, but that seems almost quaint comparatively.

[@bingusshlingus1442]

@@NEEDbacon Squirrel hunter also doesn't have the same kind of madness set in. It doesn't give you that sense of dread asking "Oh god, what COULD be next?"

[@PelinalWhitestrake36]

I think there is UKTENA 64 but that one‘s not to subtle with the horror…

[@RedSunUnderParadise]

Ideally with a pinch of Monster Hunter and Hunt Showdown during the second to last acts.

[@connor3284]

How did humanity even survive long enough to have an Industrial Revolution and invent repeating firearms in the Cabela's Dangerous Hunts universe?

[@mioszskupinski343]

When I heard the younger brother say "Alone if i have to" it triggered something in me. I looked it up and...it's Jason Spisak, the voice of Vulpes Inculta from New Vegas. Once you realise it, it's impossible to unhear.

[@jmjedi923]

So that's where he got his wolf hat from...

[@XMJ3904]

Also chum bucket from the Mad Max game.

[@11kiwifruit]

took me off guard once I heard that lol

[@The_Faceless_No_Name_Stranger]

For some reason how you said it made me think you got aroused by his voice rather recognizing it

[@MarktheRude]

Maybe the nukes were launched as a last resort against the berserk wildlife?

[@weirdferretthing]

"But how many animals have you saved?" "Do you feel like a conservationist yet?" Sweet CHRIST, I'm not a fan of Spec Ops: The Line, but those quotes, especially in this context, still hit like a truck.

[@bigchungus6827]

It has interesting implications in the context of Cabela's because I'm pretty sure the term conservationist almost *has* to mean conserving human life against the endless demonic horde of animals.

[@AstridFrost_UwU]

​@@bigchungus6827They're edited it. It's a spec ops the line reference

[@bigchungus6827]

@@AstridFrost_UwU I knew that, thanks. I was talking about the use of the word conservationist in the context of Cabela's games.

[@roadent217]

"To prevent further death, Uganda classified the wildlife preserve as no-man's-land. No one is allowed inside." "The wildlife reserve was once home to thousands of local villagers, most of whom were unable to evacuate." "Mbeki is leading the war against the animals. Without him, you have no chance of finding your father." "It's the Kaftar. It did it. All of it." "In a "No-Fail Hunt," failure is not an acceptable outcome. If necessary, the hunters will sacrifice their lives to achieve their goal." "You are still a good person." "In the savannah, a person can survive for 3-5 days without food if they stay focused." "The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service does not condone killing animals without claiming a trophy afterwards. But this isn't real, so why should you care?" "There is no escape." "If Adrien were still alive, he would likely suffer from PTSD. So, really, he's the lucky one." "To hunt for yourself is animal cruelty. To hunt for your family is tradition. To hunt for entertainment is harmless." "Hunt an animal, and some will call you a murderer. Hunt every animal, and everyone will call you a god."

[@user-Mr-L-of-York]

Anyone who isn’t an idiot hates spec ops the line

[@vahlok1426]

The sudden ad spam on KZbin had me convinced that the bit with the Cabela's advert was real.

[@benvos2458]

(get ublock origin and opera)

[@CameronKilgore]

Cabela's, they're the ones with the giant pyramid in Memphis, right?

[@tabulasmara]

@@CameronKilgoreI mean it’s their parent company bass pro shop so close enough

[@vahlok1426]

@@benvos2458 On mobile my friend, there's no hope for me.

[@internetgamer2]

​@@benvos2458got anything for mobile?

[@loupblanc7944]

By the way the box art for this game is AMAZING. Its a simple concept yet is soo cool!

[@CriticalNobody]

A father and his two sons enduring harsh environments to kill anything that moves? …is Call of Duty: Ghosts a secret Cabela’s sequel?

[@hollyone75]

The “Nightfall Program” sure makes it seem that way

[@leonardhollsten8145]

God, the extinction campaign makes so much sense now. The cryptids work scarily well in the Cabela universe. Can't wait for the next Cabela Dangerous Hunt to have you murdering animals and then you fight the former rulers of the earth who use endless hordes and psychic powers (which works well when you take into account the Ancient Ones and the Black Lion Emperor).

[@hydrothermalworm7778]

The script writer Brad Santos worked on Ghosts too!

[@sethfulton7011]

@@hydrothermalworm7778wow so he definitely used Extinction to flesh out the full story he wasn’t allowed to with Dangerous Hunts (either by veto from Cabela’s or by the excision of the series)

[@timothymclean]

6:50: Hold up. 200 years? Alaska was a Russian colony until 1867, only 134 years before this scene. So were the Reinsfords a bunch of Russians who stuck around after Russia left America to the USA? And they stole customs from the local tribes, and say the land is "in their blood"? And at least in recent generations, they spend a roughly equal amount of time in Uganda? Never mind the demon vampire wildlife, the Reinford family has tons of lore to unpack.

[@drugmate9710]

The Reinsfords are the founders of Wagner Group, confirmed.

[@JerryRey404]

The villain in the novel Most Dangerous Game was Russian. And the protagonist was named Reinsford (as noted by another commenter)

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

I could see American or Canadian settlers living on what would later end up being Alaska, it's not like the border between Canada and Alaska was clearly defined, let alone monitored. It took a gold rush in the territory for the USA and Canada to bother figuring out who actually owned what up there, so imagine how little the Russians cared. I could imagine that maybe the Reinsfords intermarried with some local natives. It's not an implausible thing to happen out on the frontier, and such a "well I'm 1/16th [tribe here], so of course I'm allowed to follow X/Y/Z wacky tradition of theirs" type of guy feels like exactly what a Cabela's protagonist would unirronically be written to be.

[@NazgNurglych]

So, while Alaska did belong to Russian Empire nominally, it wasn't much of a colony, meaning not a lot of russian settlers there. But there were americans and american companies, hired by russian government or on leased land. So I could see some family settling there 200 years ago, maybe working for American company that was contracted by Russia or something.

[@GhostfaceRocks]

Well, the dad did say that they followed the traditions of the natives, so maybe that's how the extra 66 years got there? Like the natives split into a diffrent tradition that we are shown in the game and later the family bloodline married with the natives and followed their traditions?

[@sovietcanuckistanian]

These games feel like they’re building towards some lost media Dangerous Hunts 201X where it’s revealed that all previous games were cycles of some traumatized hunter’s purgatory, reliving tragedy in Alaska then slaughter in Uganda in different iterations over and over again.

[@whitemoon8987]

%hero.....

[@kabob0077]

@@whitemoon8987 %hunter even

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

​@@whitemoon8987what does that even mean?

[@MBoy-zq7qt]

38:00 actually that makes perfect sense. In the 1900s The British Empire brought a ton of workers from India to construct a railway across Africa. Where did they have the most trouble? The Grasslands of Tsavo. Home of The Tsavo Man-Eaters.

[@prayforbeans1955]

Which Mbeki mentions before the leopard attacks him.

[@DeusExAngelo]

I'm gonna be honest, I think Cabela should've (and still should) go all in on making games where you hunt monstrous cryptids with their products. Imagine hunting the Flatwoods Monster with a lever-action rifle, or a Hodag with a Deagle.

[@retroicdescent]

Hunting Bigfoot or the Wendigo with an OICW.

[@SamhainVenus98]

Sasquatch but it keeps being dumbasses in costumes

[@fakeorchestra4260]

Every dangerous hunt game has a cryptid from what I know. Here it is the kaftar in 2013 it's the black Lion, there was a yeti as well.

[@DeusExAngelo]

​​@@fakeorchestra4260 Oh I know, I just want them to go all in on it's Oops! All Cryptids! Bring down the Loch Ness Monster with an Elephant Gun.

[@-DeScruff]

"Son we hunting the MOTHMAN!"

[@crmzoncomet8643]

I played this when it came out, I was a kid and I got it for christmas. One of the selling points of the game was that it came with a gun shell to put your wii mote and nunchuck into to mimic shooting a rifle. The biggest point of this gun shell though was that it had a scope with a red lens on it designed to help with the hunter vision you first used. Kinda like a 3d glasses effect in a way. Your hunter sense wasn't broken, you just couldn't play with the original equipment the game came with so it was useless until you sent it back to classic mode. Trust me, looking through a tiny plastic scope while using hunter sense certainly amped up the fear factor for young me and kept me from seeing a lot of things rushing at me.

[@moizesbrando]

pinnable

[@22burnsie]

Amen to that, dude. I remember that thing

[@MattWindowz]

"He's putting his paw in the glove box" killed me. And him

[@ShooterQ]

“How many baboons have you killed?” “Do you feel like a hunter, yet?”

[@redundantfridge9764]

Poachers in the Cabela Dangerous Hunt universe are either hired mercenaries to slow down the animal army, or they're drafted conscripts being sent to the meat grinder.

[@paulcruz168]

I think elite Conservationists oppose them because they operate in any combat zone, disregarding tradional fiefdoms and hunting grounds

[@NEEDbacon]

Someone else commented that "Conservationist" MUST be some kind of elite troops. Your comment mixes so well with that idea. Would Hunters just be some kind of PMC or maybe Vigilante force trying to hold back the demonic animal hordes?

[@kabob0077]

@@redundantfridge9764 Or they're Penal Legions, criminals sent to die in this endless war against nature...

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

​@@kabob0077them being criminals would be the perfect cover as poachers.

[@dracthewanderer6871]

More like vigilantes, amateurs out to avenge their fallen loved ones, but hopelessly outmatched by onslaught of nature.

[@MetaDeviant]

This is just making me want an actual game that markets itself as a hyper realistic and super serious hunting sim, and then halfway through you're hiding behind trees from a wendigo.

[@The_Robbing_Narrator]

If the monsters look anything like they do in the thumbnail I will kill to play it (please hear me out on the monster in the thumbnail)

[@neatnoot214]

Hell man, put me in Daedalus' labyrinth with a M1903 and and the Minotaur and you've got a horror/survival game ill play through to the end. I'm amazed Cabela's hasn't stepped into the market of hunting/vanquishing mythological creatures, let me fight the Manticore goddammit! I want to be Moby Dick and hunt the white whale!

[@rushrushw]

Is that not how yalls hunting trips go?

[@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272]

@@The_Robbing_Narrator huh?💀

[@holysparkbatman]

@@spazemfathemcazemmeleggymi272hear him out! (He played baulders gate 3)

[@yeedog6145]

Cabela's Dangerous Hunts: The Line

[@yeedog6145]

HOLY SHIT I KNEW IT 42:32

[@МихаилПрошутинский-ю8п]

Metal Hunt Cabela

[@rickmalinger5361]

​@@yeedog6145 Bruh I was thinking the same thing.When I saw that I burst out laughing.

[@iratepirate3896]

Hunt of Darkness

[@roryntommy]

Thank you for playing this, making an in depth KZbin vid and editing it like a pro. Because it means I never have to play this. Big fan, love your work. Keep it up big dog

[@mgdubba-U]

42:02 “The less I know about how Hyenas mate, the better my life is” buddy, I can’t BEGIN to tell you how correct you are lmao

[@Sir_Bucket]

I always love to bring this up in the rare occasions when I can. The look of confusion on people's faces is priceless.

[@BabyGreen162]

Hyaena clits are built different

[@AD-dg3zz]

​@@Sir_BucketI do the same thing but with the reproductive anatomy of ducks

[@ShatteredPedestal7]

I only knew about that specific fact about female Hyenas because of Interspecies Reviewers.

[@Sir_Bucket]

@@AD-dg3zz the female ducks' sperm stach are truly an abominable work of art. Nature is grosser than any sci-fi biological tech we ever thought of.

[@cloudycolacorp]

Alexander wept for there were no animals left to hunt

[@torylva]

God damn, that made me genuinely laugh!

[@95keat]

Fun fact, the final boss in this game was actually impossible to beat on the Wii because that version of the game had the camera turn slower than the hyena, so if it got behind you it would just attack you until you died.

[@arbitraryvalue]

The true ending.

[@InFamousLombax]

Yeah, my friend in his 30s at the time asked me, a 17 year old, if I could help him. I hadn't played the game before but I barely beat him, and did it first try. Felt bad for beating his game, but that boss was baloney, so he was super happy.

[@lawsonhayes4176]

I have vivid memories of my father literally pulling all nighters on our Wii in the living room trying to beat this boss, and I finally know why. This has given me answers I never knew I needed. Thank you.

[@DragonGunzDorian]

I remember having a lot of issues with the final boss as a kid and raging over it. Although oddly I came back a few years later and stomped the whole game and finally beat that final boss rather easily. I was proud of myself.

[@jaimegomez7065]

I beat this game as a child gave me nightmares but man did I love it

[@ChumpkinINC]

the meteor causing the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs wasn't an act of God, it was just Cole using his killstreak

[@jacob5169]

My personal theory is that your dad is the Kaftar. In the cave in the 80s, the real dad was infected and started to turn into this beast. It affected his personality and mannerisms, making him go insane. He tried to spread his lineage, having two sons. The hunt in alaska? It was him trying to see if the curse was passed on genetically. Trying to see if his children could control animals the way he can. The problem was that he was losing control and didn't fully realize it. When you came across the butchered hikers, he was worried that he had murdered that entire group of people. However, he desperately wanted to not believe it, so he accepted the easy explanation of it being a grizzly bear. He sent the wolves after his two sons as a test and got one of them killed. After that hunt, he lost control. The beast inside him wanted to return to its home turf, so he did. The ancestral hunting grounds he was talking about wasn't in Alaska: it was that cave system. He lured you there to try and make a true successor and infect them, turning them into another Kaftar. At the last moment, his human mind managed to take back control. He tried to unalive himself on a land mine and when that failed, he desperately tried to hold the beast inside him back to give you time to escape. When he says, "When it's done with me, it'll come for you," he's talking about losing control and transforming into this all consuming beast. In the end, he transforms and you put him down.

[@charlumau]

I think this is the most likely timeline

[@SudsyMedusa53]

30:15 "M'beki's friend was the one who died in the cave and you played that character. His spirit living on in you is literally true, you are him." Oh my fucking god, you are %hero. The Marathon brainworms are gnawing at my skull again...

[@Sir_Bucket]

It's a cycle, a line of infinite ends finite finishing The one remain oblique and pure Arching to a single point of conciousness Find yourself Starting back

[@StrikeWarlock]

No wonder Sseth reveres the shit out of Mandalore. Sseth witnessed his best friend get murdered in a cave.

[@halfmettlealchemist8076]

IT’S ALL CONNECTED

[@AnsaMafan]

@@StrikeWarlock "Sseth witnessed his best friend get murdered in a cave." This weird dream again, déjà vu! It's true that I killed my friend... and yet, I am not his murderer.

[@kabob0077]

@@SudsyMedusa53 Thanks for pointing that out now I'm taking SAN damage again...

[@ErebosSpiral]

HOW IS 2013 SOMEHOW LESS UNHINGED THAN THIS ? Sure, it's also ridiculous, but a lot of the insane factor comes more from gameplay elements and questionable sequences(The Baboon King fight or the Power Station flashback).But here ? It's not only those, but combined with eldritch storytelling involving African MKUltra, Werehyena Dad, Witchcraft, the legitimately well done night sequence while the entire forest burns around you AND THE BABOONS AGAIN. Wonderful video as always Mr Mandalore, i cannot wait for you to somehow top this next year

[@chrisdaughen5257]

Theory: Cole and Jacob are the same person. Cole's model looks exactly like young Jacob. After the Kaftar incident, Cole got adopted by the dad from 2013. The trauma of the incident caused him to start talking, but the additional trauma of learning his voice did not match his Troy Baker inner-monologue slowed his learning, so his new family decided to call him Jacob and it stuck. It's also explains how he was able to solo the Bear in 2013. He already had experience.

[@TheTber123]

It's all connected...

[@Elyseon]

No wonder the mother left. The father is a psycho.

[@georgewhitworth9742]

I wouldn't doubt any woman wanting to divorce a werewolf. Likely the smarter choice.

[@chettlar212]

I actually love the way the game tells this too. It's told through the dad's framing. He doesn't seem himself as psycho. He sees this as sacred, and her not respecting it must mean she must be an immature city loser. But you listen to him and it's like, oh uhuh. Yeah man, I see why that's the perspective you would have on it lol. I like that.

[@nerdyvids1]

@@chettlar212 The heart thing is one matter, that's an actual hunting tradition in some areas. But the fact that he threatens to disown you if you don't run off into the wilderness after a wounded puma directly after saving his life is the reddest flag I've seen in years.

[@chettlar212]

@nerdyvids1 I have too although I'd consider it a red flag lol. Not a sure sign. But a red flag. But yeah no I am talking about everything too yeah. He's clearly like, super far gone

[@pofuno]

Its a game stop projecting your daddy issues 😂😂😂😂

[@anonemuss1418]

I was expecting the dad to actually be the final animal, like a literal werewolf. Seems like a missed opportunity.

[@sortedevaras]

It was though, he was a were hyena. His "death" was him permanently turning into the Kaftar.

[@RipOffProductionsLLC]

I know one of the other Dangerous Hunts games has a Yeti boss fight... I hope Mandy covers tgat sone day.

[@AlozarLorandul]

It seemed HEAVILY implied to me, and another commenter on this video said in the DS version they make it much more obvious. Also apparently the Kaftar model in the Wii version is missing the same eye that Samson is. Who knows why they didn't explicitly say it but I feel that it was all but outright said in this video that he is the Kaftar, and it also explains why the whistle could be heard in Alaska.

[@DarkHenrik1]

@@AlozarLorandul Legit, thinking on this, it wouldn't be too out there to assume that, it might have been a concept that they might have walked back on during development, as at times, handheld games will some times use the discarded or early concepts of the main console games during their development. So picture this, during development of the console game, they might have originally intended on having a more supernatural origin of the Kaftar. Only to either get cold feet or some higher up shooting down the idea because they wanted it to be more "realistic".

[@LopsidedMoz]

The Ugandan guy said that the father's heart was eaten and he was cursed, so he turned into the werehyena I'm guessing

[@Jimbo55151]

In college one of my fondest moments was when some friendly dude bros on my floor were playing this stoned AF and one of them kept screaming “holy shit bro!” in various tones and inflections till like half the floor was crowded into their room cheering and hooting along with the insanity myself included.

[@boinguss]

i love this

[@TheUnknownLegend1234]

Amazing!

[@Jimbo55151]

@@boinguss it’s one of my fondest college memories. People brought in snacks, met one of my closest friends during it who I still talk to. Sometimes the elk heart eating brings folks together

[@Ohnodatboi]

Of all the things that never happened, this didn't happen the most

[@Jimbo55151]

@ thanks for your input anime profile picture. Truly you are the height of culture and knowledge

[@chavamara]

40:08 Maybe Samson MEANT to have Cole killed, so his older, more "manly" brother could take his place (like what almost happened to Samwell Tarly), but the wolves murked Adrian instead by mistake? I'm sure all humans look alike to them.

[@patronsaintofprocrastination]

Or maybe the wolves killed Adrian on purpose, but due to misunderstanding the orders they were given. Assuming Samson told them to kill the "weaker" of his sons, they might not have seen Cole as the one fitting this description, considering that he had already seen fought and killed many members of their pack that night and also managed to kill a huge man-eating grizzly all by himself. As far as the wolves were concerned, he was a powerful hunter. Adrian, on the other hand, was a younger man who didn't prove anything to them. True, according to Samson, Adrian was already the better hunter of the two, but the wolves couldn't be expected to know that. They just went after who they saw and interpreted as the weakest one. It would explain why they didn't harm Cole at all despite having him at their mercy too: they considered him a worthy fellow hunter.

[@notrafi_]

42:27 you cant just pull an edit of the Spec Ops The Line loading screen like that on me Mandalore, fantastic work

[@Palgineer]

He’s even got the loading screen tips: “But how many animals have you saved?” “The Kaftar may not be what it seems.” “Do you feel like a conservationist yet?”

[@nerdyvids1]

They were in the last one too

[@DavidDDavidsonSA]

8:05 A quick note about this game that Mandalore forgot to bring up: This was made when the Wii was at the peak of it's popularity, and bouth Microsoft and Sony were trying to get in on the motion controls craze. Many versions of this game shipped with a special controller with a scope on it that would filter out whatever this is supposed to be.

[@dr.danzerfaust1022]

Yep can confirm, I had the version with the controller. It was janky and frustrating to use, would get crazy inaccurate if a slight amount of dust was on the lens, if I recall correctly the scope would make that mess look like the normal hunter's vision with a slight distortion

[@TemperusMaximusM41]

"If Mbeki were still alive, he would likely suffer from PTSD. So, really, he's the lucky one."

[@bbthr33]

Seeing a lot of comments about Samson being the Kaftar, and I really agree with that theory, one thing I haven’t seen mentioned yet is when Cole explained he couldn’t tell if the gaze he felt on him was his fathers, or the beast, I think that could be another nod to them being the same thing :)

[@The-Eternal-Zoo]

So it’s worth mentioning that the Super Soldier Baboons are based on Olive Baboons, while 2013 had baboons based on Hamadryas Baboons, which means there’s two different groups of giant baboons

[@electricbayonet2]

I had forgotten that the family name of the protagonists was ‘Rainsford,’ as in ‘family name of the protag of The Most Dangerous Game.’ Someone on the writing team of these Cabela’s games had some ideas and the will to make them happen.

[@parkerdixon-word6295]

Mandy, you have no idea how much my face lit up when I saw this in my subscription feed with the simple joy of saying "He Made Another One!" This series feels like one of your true perennial classics, and I've probably watched it a silly number of times over the last year.

[@JimRicken]

His dangerous hunts video is one of the best things I've seen on all of KZbin

[@mrduffbier000]

Never read anything more pathetic

[@antiseabearcircle3360]

Nice video! I played this game a lot back in the day and love the ridiculousness of it. Samson is such an over the top character. All of the shooting montages and Metal Gear references you did had me cracking up 😂 I didn't know the Kaftar was an actual cryptid! I will have to read more about it.

[@GROMALOCARIS]

I like to think that the Black Lion King is more of a successor or fanatic to the Kaftar, a lion formerly under its control wanting to either finish what it started or try and become greater than it now that there is a power vacuum

[@klikssiikubra314]

You can add the Black Cloud lion from African Adventures to that lore idea

[@leonardhollsten8145]

The Black Lion strikes me as more of a actual emperor or ruler (albeit one with supernatural powers), while the Kaftar feels like an actual demon. So that line of reasoning makes sense.

[@benmartland704]

42:39 - "TIP: The Kaftar may not be what you think it is" Oh. Oh damn. I get it. Jesus Christ.

[@TheXell]

It's funny Mandy did that MGS5 reference when he did, I had a "huh this is giving me MGS vibes" right before that. Though then again, the pool of games where you bumble around in Africa heavily armed and dealing with seemingly supernatural bullshit exists but is fairly small. Though I gotta say, fighting your way through a burning, nocturnal savanna while being hunted by hoards of possessed animals is one of the most badass settings for a game I've ever heard of.

[@KawausoKuso]

Far Cry 2 is another game that also kind of fits that archetype. That game is so fun despite the malaria screen popping up every 30 seconds of running.

[@nerdyvids1]

In his original stream of this game, he was cracking up over how similar the baboon level's music was to MGS4's intro theme. Then he started growling "ID tagged baboons"

[@MB-dn1fx]

“Alaska’s a stand your ground state, so watch me stand while I put you in it.” Goes unreasonably hard

[@RainusBrainus]

Notice the Kaftar's left eye at 43:09. You may have to move one frame at a time.

[@francesco3772]

Got it with 0.25x speed, hoooly

[@nadontcare9684]

Checkin the original Kaftar from the prologue, both eyes there...

[@paulenan9636]

holy shit, it's the dad

[@nadontcare9684]

@@paulenan9636 apparently the Non-Wii versions show a shadow turning.

[@Lord_Of_Night]

@@nadontcare9684 That's because it's a different one. I think that's the scene where Rainsford gets turned into a werehyena kaftar. Notice Rainsford's shoulder gets slashed by the monster in the prologue.

[@panzerkat3349]

The Father is the demon. The heart eating ritual was to pass down his power to his sons. The Fathers house is directly above the demons lair. The father taking his son out for hunting is the inciting incident in both halfs of the game.

[@thelordofthelostbraincells]

The demon wants a strong vessel for itself.

[@benelmore745]

Mandalore is maybe the only person who has anxiously awaited the emulation bugs for this game to get ironed out