STASIS: BONE TOTEM Review

STASIS BONE TOTEM brings you to the terror of the deep sea after deep space, where the ancient ones await alongside fleshy manmade horrors and malevolent AI.
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Twitter: / lord_mandalore
00:00 - Intro
00:19 - Standalone Sequel
00:52 - Game Premise
03:18 - Visuals
05:40 - AI Artwork (NOW REMOVED FROM THE GAME)
08:40 - Music & Sound Design
11:30 - Gameplay Mechanics
14:19 - Story
16:14 - Story (SPOILERS)
36:55 - Conclusions
37:47 - Credits
38:53 - Voices
#gaming #games #stasis

[@MandaloreGaming]

UPDATE - A NEW BUILD WAS PUSHED AND THE MEANINGLESS AI CLUES HAVE BEEN OBLITERATED. They've apparently had this build "a while" but test thoroughly hence the sudden release. BONE TOTEM on GOG - gog.la/rattlemebones THE LIST - docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1_K3ziSxT9zcUUGCddS4sF1uNJTWHSbOwB1CQX2Rx4Uo

[@alexbayswood4847]

"I-I-I got this feeling, yeah, you know Where I'm losing all control 'Cause there's magic in my bones *Marv scream*"

[@neonparks8446]

Glad to see a South African game reviewed by you. We don't make much here so it's cool to see.

[@Rifqiethehero]

Amogus

[@OrificeHorus]

No hints on the Halloween video yet, eh?

[@DerFreiegedanke]

You did not respond to my Email regarding the Ghost Master Episode on Halloween.

[@setlerking]

The “hello, my name is Moses, what is your name?” Over the radio followed by a “oh god, he’s found another corpse” is both deeply unsettling and excellent storytelling

[@kegluneq6306]

Moses is an absolute gift of a character. And a very brave bear.

[@spartanx9293]

Imagine not knowing what a corpse is or even the concept that someone could die and finally seeing one in person that would be horrifying

[@Guru_1092]

​@@spartanx9293I don't think it'd be scary if you don't understand the concept of death. More likely it'd just be very confusing as to why the person isn't moving.

[@jonathansotelo4877]

I almost laughed but yeah that's awesome.

[@LordDragox412]

Moses: Hello Another Corpse. I am Moses.

[@STASISGame]

Hey Mandalore - thanks for an amazing deep dive into the game! You'll be happy to know that any AI art has already been removed and replaced with our bespoke pieces. :D Keep up the good work! - Chris

[@MandaloreGaming]

THANK YOU

[@STASISGame]

@@MandaloreGaming Thank YOU. I really loved your take on the story!

[@lunarmagpie619]

SO happy to hear this, now I can buy it!

[@bingusshlingus1442]

LES GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@lesserspottedmugwump.363]

Fantastic game, can’t wait for the next one.

[@TheRaikoku]

"Grief is the final, most painful and purest expression of love." I was not expecting to find solace here of all places, that line hits really hard as of now, but, in a good way, thanks.

[@SilverlandgmodTV]

Hope you're doing okay, brother.

[@somerandomrpgenthusiast8451]

Aye. True.

[@edeasley144]

I had to go back and listen to that line a couple of times. It honestly hurt quite a bit. I was not at all expecting to have a soul-searching moment in the middle of this video...

[@lamborghinea-pig5663]

I had to let my dog go yesterday and honestly this line was comforting in light that

[@D64nz]

If I'd known that maybe 20 years ago...

[@Tzilandi]

Honestly, Mac going from describing Calaban as "It's a Numen, it's sacred, we shouldn't even be talking to it", to telling Calaban to shut up, he's talking to Charlie, is just wonderful representation of people under stress.

[@512TheWolf512]

Depends on their faith. Some would rather die than let go of their delusions

[@Racald]

@@512TheWolf512 careful not to cut yourself on that EDGE

[@512TheWolf512]

@@Racald you will be replaced

[@enamelpajamel8374]

​@512TheWolf512 you will be replaced 🤓

[@jaop3734]

​@@512TheWolf512 🤓

[@wardawg1142]

"Heaven is real and it's also Amazon prime" I'm not sure I was ready for that statement despite it being a stasis video

[@WiseOwl_1408]

Rather shallow version of heaven.

[@rayanderson5797]

As a Christian myself, I think that's legitimately the most terrifying concept I can conceive of.

[@WTFisTingispingis]

That's easily the scariest thing I've heard recently.

[@l0lLorenzol0l]

that sentence filled me with such overwhelming dread I need a drink at 10am

[@dreyri2736]

It would have been scary if a material implant transferring your "consciousness" into a virtual reality seemed even remotely, logically possible. Same with SOMA. Seriously, it's like game developers just read Descartés once and never look back. Never learning about the fact that the entirety of european philosophers, including nobility like the princess of Bohemia, essentially dogpiled on the guy over how nonsensical his dualism is. Also, it doesn't make sense. Assuming god does not exist, which this game implies. Do you really die if your "consciousness" is just transferred into another virtual world which is ultimately based in physical(non-idealist) reality? Isn't that just immortality? If they can transfer consciousness why aren't they creating biomechanical bodies for that consciousness?

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

Mandy is taking this spooky season very seriously. 2 horror game reviews in 2 weeks and it's not even October.

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

boy does mandy delivers horror with some titles. this is like watching old universal horror movies at noon

[@CheeseOfMasters]

This fall is gonna be great.

[@TheDrLeviathan]

Either that... or he found an adventure game/series that is absolutely insane, and is getting spooky out of the way now.

[@theicepickthatkilledtrotsk658]

@@TheDrLeviathan He always had a thing for adventure games with a bizarre art direction.

[@bradleycalkins394]

Halloween is having to take refuge in light of the Christmas invasion

[@effehezepe1808]

31:15 "Mac is right. My fault. I am... not a good bear" Goddamn, the fact that that line is so heartrending is a testament to this game's writing and acting.

[@foobarbazbaa5598]

The voice acting and the visual design of Moses are just perfect. Haven't had such a strong connection with a game character in quite a while. Mac and Charlie are pretty good as well.

[@notthed6534]

I actually winced, it hurt so bad

[@HackionSTx]

He may not be a good bear. But he is a very good boy.

[@tycrewe]

I personally don't like how alive he seems, not in a character sense but more that the fear and self preservation instinct he shows in his death animations is far too human for me. They leave me with a deep sense of wrongness, as if it simply shouldn't be happening.

[@efefe48]

Dear god the captains surname being Boynya (Бойня) literraly slaughterhouse or butchery is so on the nose, but especially considering that the parasites other name "Veles" is the name of the slavic god of livestock. Also the name of the soviet sub being "Big Special" is just so funny.

[@STASISGame]

The Lima was an actual soviet sub, designated БС, большая специальная :D en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lima-class_submarine

[@LordDragox412]

@@STASISGame Lima-class? Uhh, no, thank you, I don't think I will. That's disgusting.

[@Narsilion098]

@@STASISGame "The exact purpose of this boat has remained unclear to western observers" - NOW WE KNOW WHAT IT WAS

[@thecandlemaker1329]

Veles is the god of not just livestock, but also the underworld, making the reference much more appropriate.

[@larrythebag]

@@vadimkaz1467 if you're talking about Elena Igorevich, it's a relatively normal last name, albeit a bit rare - just put the emphasis on the third syllable instead of the first. I doubt anyone has any problem with any female relatives of Leonid Yakubovich :D

[@jakeh56]

The Balenciaga bit fucking killed me. So true.

[@Catheidan]

11:29 bruh, did you see that?

[@normlord6357]

I was drinking soda and that bit made it go straight to my sinuses ahahahahaha

[@ZonicCeasor]

"You are Balenciaga, Harry" *Balenciaga intensifies*

[@imp1576]

we may have lost Hope, but we haven't lost Balenciaga

[@giornogiovanna729]

"School for kids who can't read well" got me too.

[@dentedskull6762]

"Leyland-Toyota" was such an understated reference to Alien's production design and the name the concept artists were brainstorming for "The Company". Kudos for slipping it in.

[@StrikeWarlock]

No surprises there, prior to finally deciding to review games, Mandy initially wanted to be a movie reviewer.

[@furfixer]

​@@StrikeWarlock oh, so that's why his email is like that

[@jamesreed2888]

​@@StrikeWarlockso Mandy is a successful AVGN?

[@ProfessorShnacktime]

@@jamesreed2888 The fuck do you have against AVGN? He's successful by classic KZbin metrics for sure.

[@georgesoroshitman9625]

the writer for all of the environmental green circle descriptions, Olga Moskvina, also worked a ton on Disco Elysium, which may be interesting to know

[@furfixer]

So that's why they felt so familiar

[@CoratMcRed]

Oh damn, nice to see the Disco devs are still getting work in the industry.

[@diamondmetal3062]

I do hope Mandalore checks out Disco Elysium at some point.

[@NosferatuandFriends]

I'm glad somebody else acknowledges that ReviewBrah will thrive in an apocalyptic/dystopian setting.

[@remobothic]

Imagine a cannibal raider clan starts cutting you up for meat, and then ReviewBrah sits down in front of you and starts reviewing your legs.

[@emetanti]

​@@remobothicLike a somehow more deranged version of Hannibal Lector that escaped straight out of the 1920s.

[@boarfaceswinejaw4516]

"i was really hopeful regarding these mutant nuggets, but they are instead somehow dry and soggy. I didnt think the apocalypse could get any worse, but i was wrong".

[@NosferatuandFriends]

@@remobothic So true. He has to constantly poison himself with fast food because he knows modern society just isn't ready for the muscle-bound barbarian warlord that is ReviewBrah's natural state.

[@damiennixel925]

@@remobothic Get roasted and then your roast gets roasted

[@veraudinus5818]

That Walmart line hit harder than I thought it would, that dance was soul killing

[@GrayderFox]

Oh, man. I can see the awful semi-human logic behind mandating those dances, too. Oh boy.

[@winstonsmith3703]

To quote him on a podcast "The dance is meant to crush your spirit. Some people are finding it funny because they just started. Some are exhausted an feel absolutely humilated by it. Then some people have given up and love it because its the bright spot of their day. Those people love big brother now.

[@doctoradventure413]

@@winstonsmith3703 that's genuinely horrifying

[@naomisoltesz9890]

@@winstonsmith3703 Name checks out.

[@StrikeWarlock]

Don't forget Walmart Radio™

[@Supercohboy]

27:17 Aaand Calaban is a fallen angel, having been dumped into the sea to literally fall deep into the depths. That's a clever bit of symbolism, these devs never cease to impress.

[@theoneandonlymichaelmccormick]

At last, I am vindicated for writing my bachelor’s thesis on The Tempest.

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

Oh. OH

[@mattaffenit9898]

I knew this but still defaulted to summoning Asmodai to make the Fallen repent I hate my brain sometimes.

[@javkiller]

The callout about the visual elements as a statement of author intent immediately followed by the direct quote from the art book had me in stitches.

[@HeisenbergFam]

3 uploads in 4 weeks gotta be the most consistent Mandalore has been in 11 years

[@ufuk5872]

it been 11 year ?

[@andreykasyanov1063]

Just checked, technically correct

[@ManiakPL22]

@@ufuk5872 haha you are old now! haha.... oh god...

[@LaifuHaiku]

Meanwhile his "other side" has been pretty dormant. I wonder what he is up to?

[@UncleBalthasarGelt]

​@@LaifuHaikufighting the voices because he's off his meds.

[@gabrielx4639]

95% accuracy prediction that you are a weary brave bear if u finish this game

[@elturistador1827]

Q

[@DogTheSnoopie]

“Bone Totem is about how far they’ll be pushed for hope” is a chilling line after finishing the video

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

Mandy couldn't have worded it better the relationship of the bear and Faram. "Two broken beings helping each other"

[@BRuh-tf6uu]

Not ashamed to admit I teared up at those clips

[@DemonBlanka]

Calaban reminds me in a way of Sovereign from ME1. Inscrutable intelligence that views itself as so beyond humanity but still full of those so familiar emotions, and the voice is so damn close.

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

Funny how this channel covered enough games to make a pantheon of AI gods from it, from Durandal to Lowry

[@reavercity568]

@@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988 SHODAN

[@ignotumperignotius630]

The reapers had so much promise in ME1

[@bensarchett8416]

It also looks like the brain bug from Starship Troopers.

[@Dark-pr3jj]

If I must tear you apart Shepherd I will

[@teecee1827]

IT IS TIME FOR MY MOSES

[@bearmouse9424]

ISHMÅĘL SANTIAGO

[@titanjakob1056]

Moses is a smart bear

[@ArachD206]

The ocean in Morrowind unsettled me too. Mostly because i used those scrolls of icarian flight, overshot it and landed way out at sea. With the draw distance of that game, and it being middle of the night, both in and out of game, it really felt like being lost in the middle of the ocean.

[@mightypsychobat9144]

Oh man! That happened to me too, Only I am terrified of deep water, even in games and one of those crab/squid people aggroed me and it scared me so much I exited the game, then immediately booted up again cause I couldn't get enough of it.

[@Ichabod21]

I played Bone Totem in preparation for this review after the Stasis one. What was merely curiosity turned into one of my favorite horror games of the past decade. The game has an emotional core that your review could never do justice, so it's great that you left it to the game itself. If you're reading this and on the fence after watching Mandy's video, his review barely shows 5% of the context and scope. Please go play this game.

[@damoclesecoe7184]

Sold, now I just need a computer that can run it ;P

[@Archtew]

I hate horror games but I have seen this and another one by a youtuber I got reccomended. Super good I have to find the name to reccomend Mandy to go over cuz I think he would like it and it would be a great video

[@vz7742]

@@damoclesecoe7184 I played it on my laptop with integrated gpu? It runs really well because its made on Unity engine,which has really low hardware requirements.

[@freshlymemed5680]

Would love to play this game but I'm a wuss and anything existentially horrifying sticks to my mind for a good week so I'm going to have nightmares for a while after playing this game.

[@addisonmartin3200]

Will you cover Beautiful Desolation? It bridges the gap between Stasis and Bone Totem in terms of writing and technical achievements, and you can really feel how one led to the other. Stasis stumbled so Beautiful Desolation could walk so Bone Totem could sprint and trip on AI art.

[@MandaloreGaming]

Beautiful Desolation is extremely cool (though frustrating at points), but maybe one day! Thought it'd be a weird thing to fit between the Stasis games even though it does explain the visual glow up.

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

Lmao that last statement is gold

[@techieg33k]

The AI that was used (not for any writing or the facemodels - this was asked and addressed on the official Discord) has been removed where it had been used.

[@hollowhusk5166]

​@MandaloreGaming kind of unrelated, but have you ever tried RainWorld? The game is downright inspired, but also soul-crushingly hard at times

[@BobbinRobbin777]

@@hollowhusk5166 Oh hell yeah. RainWorld review would go HARD.

[@Speeff]

How have I never heard of these games before....this looks like a masterpiece of a horror series

[@cowboybenbop]

i played the 1st but had no idea they had followed up, insta-buy

[@Katstandfield]

I was enthralled by the first two, so this is fantastic news.

[@zerpblerd5966]

if you like sci-fi check out their other game: Beautiful Desolation

[@Speeff]

@@zerpblerd5966 I do quite enjoy sci fi! I appreciate the recommendation, I'll check it out for sure

[@luckynumber1335]

It was so distressing to see Moses scared and running for his life from the hand-spider thing, especially after him having human feelings like guilt and fear it made me feel uncomfortable in a way I haven't before

[@LutraLovegood]

Guilt and fear are emotions humans have, but are not exclusive to humans.

[@StrikeWarlock]

They basically replicated the strength of Blade Runner where you end up sympathizing to a character who you know isn't human. And Moses also ends up ultimately achieving the same thing as Roy Batty and Joe at the end, by being more human than human.

[@sicksock435446]

@@StrikeWarlock The most impressive thing is that none of Moses' emotions feel cheap. Having played it, many of the 'human' interactions felt forced or cliche. You could feel the writer trying to build a connection to Hope when her parents were talking about her. But for Moses it comes through perfectly naturally, in every line. Foe example when he's looking at a human vivisection machine and saying "knives are dangerous, children should not play with them", there's an undercurrent of sadness and loss. Like he's narrating his experiences for his best friend who's no longer there. His entire character is soulful in a way that very few video game characters manage to properly portray.

[@ARStudios2000]

I think what adds to that feeling is how helpless he is. He's a small child sized toy, if he's caught, he's caught. He can struggle all he want, but he can't escape because he's too weak for that

[@alecrizzle]

Very interesting that there's a husband and wife duo. You almost never see that in games

[@unimpartialobserver]

Weird how the most traditional relationships are actually the least represented, no?

[@niyandrey]

​@@unimpartialobserverwhat? The op didn't mean a male protagonist with a wife or something of the sort, this is all over the place. Story-wise, you have Artyom and Anna from metro, half of assassin's creed games, Ethan and Mia, Jill and Chris from Resident Evil, and those ones are only the first ones I can name off the top of my head. You don't see great storytelling with those games, but I would argue you don't see it often at all. I would argue that the main reason we rarely see good close relationships in games (and every game that accomplishes it is praised, like The Last Of Us) is because the games more often focus on the mechanics, the things that prioritize interaction with guaranteed feedback, so the relationship can't be written into the game, or you could beat your wife to death for a meager karma penalty like in the Fable series.

[@ZaiketsuKumori]

@@unimpartialobserver What are you trying to say, bro? That straight people are oppressed because you don't play enough video games to see husband and wife protagonists very often?

[@sewerentropy5217]

​@@ZaiketsuKumori lmao just go look at who they sub to, that person is certainly not interested in good faith arguments

[@TrinSpin]

@@niyandrey wait wut? Jill and Chris were never romantically involved (unless I missed a manga that that was in), let alone married

[@ChaosGaming965]

That yearly goosbumps theme always gets me pumped for Mandy's Halloween Editions.

[@notinspectorgadget]

Do you think it sounds a bit more produced than usual?

[@StrikeWarlock]

Man gets stronger the closer we get to Halloween. He must be Samhain

[@kombatwombat6579]

I thank the fact Mandalore publishes on a Friday (in my timezone) because it's the best way to start a weekend.

[@MateuszKiwalczyk666]

You do realise its literally friday all around the globe? I mean 12h +/- depending but still its mostly friday.

[@WiseOwl_1408]

You are strange

[@kombatwombat6579]

@@MateuszKiwalczyk666 You are absolutely right, bro. But I'm not speaking just about this video and I don't recall if past ones have been published sooner or later in the day, so I was covering all bases.

[@kombatwombat6579]

@@WiseOwl_1408 why?

[@Rifqiethehero]

It's Friday and it's night here in Malaysia lol

[@Zhiloaxeman]

I am too much of a coward for these kind of games, but the concept of Moses really fascinates me. An Ai feeling guilt and grief while not being equipped at all to understand and handle those emotions, while also being in a working relationship with one person who hates it and one who is emotionally hurt by what he's a memento of. Such amazing complexity of characters. Almost makes me want to brave the game for the story, but I have already tried and failed to do this with SOMA.

[@sicksock435446]

Moses is great. This video really undersells how soulful and brilliant he is. It's a lot easier than SOMA, stress wise. All of the 'deaths' are telegraphed and linked to failing certain puzzles. I'm not great at adventure games but I only triggered 2 in my play through. An explosion and a big worm eating somebody. Also there's no segments where you're running/hiding from monsters or under time pressure, which is great for me.

[@dustrockblues7567]

I don't think I will play this game either, but I'm still convinced this is some of the best sci-fi of all time.

[@ManOutofTime913]

You can turn off enemy encounters in SOMA, you know. The devs added that feature in at some point. I wasn't interested in goofy monster chases, so I played the game this way and just took in the story.

[@Claymann71]

While nothing can replace playing SOMA, it's such an amazing game please believe me when I say as SOMA's biggest fan that Gameological Dig has a 5-Video Breakdown of the Story & 'Meanings' (plural) of SOMA. SOMA's story & MUCH MORE IMPORTANT it's Questions it asks the player to grapple with. The only Game that made me think as hard was Saya no Uta, which is a H-Graphic Novel with mind bending Lovecraftian Influences filtered through a Japanese Writer. (Feels like Grity Junji Ito. If you cannot handle themes of Cannibalism & Psychosis, do not play Saya no Uta. It will change your definitions of 'what a hell on Earth could be?'.)

[@bomnitoperro9422]

SOMA is the closest thing to a book like red dead redemption 2, disco elysium or baldurs gate 3. Man pleeeeease do yourself a favor and play it.

[@nicholasbarber8531]

I swear, almost every piece of dialogue Mandalore showed with that bear was either funny, or genuinely completely top shelf emotional writing. And I mean that on a standard of all media.

[@awalllen212]

Was that review brah in one of those computer terminals at 11:30? That's effing hilarious. God I love Mandalores editing gags they've been getting better and better as the years go on.

[@angellara7040]

In his Warhammer total war 2 video he censored a fairies feet

[@StrikeWarlock]

It's gags like this which serves as the reason why he'd want to stay his own editor.

[@Sofus.]

uncanny valley is also something I feel when I see review brah

[@default_7481]

Literally just finished watching the first Stasis video damn this is a blessing

[@nbtwall7287]

Praise Cayne 🙌

[@woffman37]

For anyone interested in more sci-fi that deals with “digital afterlife”, check out “Surface Detail” by Iain M. Banks, and “Echopraxia” by Peter Watts (and to a lesser extent “Blindsight,” also by Watts, which is a companion to Echopraxia)

[@MrAszak]

Ah I was looking for someone mentioning Surface Detail!! Great book about digital afterlives and their theological, carceral, and political implications.

[@tomorbataar5922]

Thought about Watts as well.

[@gestaltengine6369]

do not read echopraxia, it's meh and does not have much to do with digital afterlife. Read blindsight, it's good and also does not have much to do with digital afterlife

[@gestaltengine6369]

Starfish is alright as well

[@seanfager8063]

"Fall (or Dodge in Hell)" by Neal Stephenson is a pretty good entry on the theme.

[@benjaminzhang3295]

13:58 for anyone curious the "cayne school for kids who can't read good" is a Zoolander reference! Zoolander wants to build "The Derek Zoolander Center for Kids Who Can't Read Good and Who Wanna Learn to Do Other Stuff Good Too" Also, Zoolander being presented the model of the school is the origin of the "what is this, a school for ants?" meme.

[@malignantslurpee8902]

Scrolled down looking for this before I posted it, haha. Not the game one would expect to have a Zoolander reference.

[@ethribin4188]

While it ismore limiting, having item interactions relegated to interact screens is great for a point and click adventure game! It takes away to fear of missing something, pixle hunting or just trying everything on everything.

[@kegluneq6306]

This game is a joy to play from that perspective. The item sharing feature is also a tremendous time saver.

[@sicksock435446]

Unfortunately before Caliban I didn't know that you could use items ON characters. Meaning I missed basically all of the "death" cutscenes...

[@a_chicken]

The Gachimuchi sounds being in every single review is causing me psychic damage. Please never stop.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

Moses, despite his flaws, is the best bear. Also, the idea of a corporate-run heaven really adds a horrific twist to the idea of a virtual afterlife. Even more-so if said afterlife merely uploads the contents of the brain, and doesn't migrate stream-of-consciousness to a more durable medium, since if you don't migrate your soc, it won't be YOU that lives beyond the death of the flesh; it'll be someone else that thinks that they're you.

[@remobothic]

Unless you believe in the information state theory, in which case the transferral of the frozen information state of your brain's contents' last functional arrangement would itself constitute direct continuation of your stream of consciousness.

[@SomeKindaSpy]

@@remobothicI don't think that's a matter of belief, but reality.

[@remobothic]

@@SomeKindaSpy Well, why don't you go ahead and verify reality for us?

[@RustyBanjoid]

The downside being something that happens every single time you go to sleep doesn't really add horror. By this logic it wasn't really you that went to bed last night, won't really be you that wakes up tomorrow, and we should all live in constant fear over this state of affairs

[@GmodPlusWoW]

@@RustyBanjoid Nah. Going to sleep is more like standby than a full-on shutdown. You're still you after you go to sleep. "Every time you sleep you die" is a black lie, and you are not to repeat it any more.

[@ImSeriously]

"He will never understand that grief is the final, most painful and purest expression of love." 32:23 Goddamn, Mandalore. Hit me with the poignant gut punch out of nowhere.

[@the_bowtie_man]

2 reviews so close to each other, can't wait to watch!

[@TuriGamer]

This has been his upload schedule for a while now

[@neoneoz4]

Considering the development team size, the stasis games are way better than they have any right to be. Absolute atmospheric masterpieces. Any chance of a Signalis review?

[@zerpblerd5966]

or rather it shows how low the bar is and how much more potential there is when people care about their work/are passionate rather than trying to prove something/coming from ego

[@ZaiketsuKumori]

Signalis would make certain parts of Mandy's community have a complete meltdown and cry about "Wokeness" due to the nature of the relationships of some of the characters. (There are lesbians), so I don't think he'd wanna risk that.

[@jackmesrel4933]

​@ZaiketsuKumori Why tho, he is in a podcast with several gay people and one of the founders of it and ex-member, Shammy, came out as being a trans woman quite a while ago.

[@cloudwaves1648]

​@@ZaiketsuKumoriwhat? I don't think he's at all the kind of idiot who'd pander to anyone who's so worried about media being ""woke""

[@sewerentropy5217]

​@@cloudwaves1648 he certainly wouldn't pander to those people but i have seen a number of people like that in his comments across many videos so you never know

[@JacenSharingan]

Your channel and your reviews truly are a mad fever dreams' treasure island. I found myself invested in games I never played and would never play either, while still enticed to come back for more. Great job, Mandalore. Heh, never thought I would think that while not seeing Canderous Ordo on a killing spree...

[@natalielyric2950]

Watching the scene at 1:55 while knowing Charlie knows Hope has been cloned gives it so much more depth. "Is it wrong to wish I could stop missing her?" "No... I think that... it isn't wrong at all" she's having to reaffirm/justify her actions. I wonder how many other scenes have new meaning on replay.

[@owldiamond2108]

Thanks for not marking your spoilers, jackass

[@ImmLff]

Spoilers FFS! Add a spoiler warning to the beginning of your comment.

[@everythingpony]

Bruh that's your fault ​@@ImmLff

[@sicksock435446]

@@ImmLff dumbledore dies

[@whynotcaptaincrunch]

So this AI art thing got me curious to see if there was anyone else discussing the issue. I follow a lot of authors and artists who are understandably upset about the prospect of being replaced by AI. Weirdly the first thing I found was a twitter thread by an account claiming to be a developer of Stasis: Bone Totem declaring that AI art is soulless and will never replace real human creativity. The next was a steam review by some guy ranting about how shitty it is that Bone Totem uses so much AI generated art, and how the devs are deleting any threads that mention their use of AI art. What is going on here?

[@Rifqiethehero]

Lmao the dev being a hypocrite lol

[@l0lLorenzol0l]

sounds like some cope going on and deflecting from their mistakes

[@tomorbataar5922]

I'm surprised its on Steam in the first place, unless they changed it AI content breaks their terms.

[@logangraham3689]

​@@tomorbataar5922praise Lord Gaben, I fucking hate AI too

[@k1d666]

Steam doesn't allow games on their platform that has ANY AI work on them, they're suppress discussion because if it gains traction it'll mean the game gets removed from Steam. edit: apparently the devs released an update yesterday to remove all AI work.

[@rtkizzle5512]

I just watched your review of Genesis and Stasis last night before passing out and as soon as I wake up, I get this gem. You reviewing all these old esoteric games that I slightly remember or never heard of is amazing and I don’t see anyone else doing it. Thanks for the hard work of playing through these games that I know must be a bitch to trudge through. I know I couldn’t make it.

[@codydagg2259]

I mean, that guy is right, as someone who sailed with the military off and on for 7 years it is excruciatingly painful to try and find something in the ocean. Even if it's the size of a rig, they may look big in port but out there they become very small. (unless it is massive but that rig was mobile and we have those even today) Once again he's correct. A storm royally fucks with sensors and the like, you're probably not going to get lost but they are piloting a pretty small vessel with equipment that would probably be absolute garbage.

[@conorkelleher2571]

Why are you saying "I mean" as if you are contradicting anything? Your entire comment is just you agreeing with the game. You are in complete accord.

[@codydagg2259]

@@conorkelleher2571 Do you want me to change it for you? :)

[@sicksock435446]

@@codydagg2259 I mean, yes.

[@ManOutofTime913]

Writers often have a fundamental misunderstanding of scale, especially in sci-fi. The idea of stumbling across something or deliberately searching for something, when you don't know where to look, either in the ocean or in outer space is laughable. The distances involved actively make probability your enemy.

[@HungryPhish]

Hey Mandalore. This review was one of your best and I really enjoyed it. The passion you felt for it shined through and the discussion of hope and sub plots was enjoyable. Looking forward to the next one as always.

[@cactuskris8141]

On one hand, I love listening to you talking about a game for over an hour, on the other hand, this style means more uploads for all of us. You´re an inspiration - long may the age of MANdalore continue

[@dakota2336]

I have become keenly aware of the month of October more so than any other month purely because of how much I am looking forward to a new adventure game review from you. I swear it feels like the Super Bowl for me. This year I may legitimately make some special food and get a baby sitter. Thank you so much for what you do.

[@kamrankazemi8646]

Your videos are incredible, I was genuinely checking my subscriptions daily for this upload when you teased it at the end of the first STASIS video. Thanks for all that you do Mando!

[@PopeDope69-420]

It’s a little early but I’m always SO excited for your Halloween episodes. They’re a huge highlight of the month usually and my favorite of yours for the year.

[@simonjernigan7957]

You really are a truly interesting and intelligent creator man. I love your content. Considering becoming a member for the first time for any KZbinr I've watched.

[@TheMienaiChikara]

Keep on loving this channel, Great job sir!

[@thesidneychan]

Given the biblical references, "Faran" might mean "pharaoh". I'm only assuming based on my home country's language where Pharaoh is referred to as "Firaun". Moses and Pharaoh. Quite apt.

[@VioFuru]

"Mac and Charlie face unspeakable horrors"

[@j-plm1030]

When you finished up the first statis review saying you'd be covering the second next i was so excited and you've delivered with outstanding quality as always! Thank you!

[@Chreoustofer]

“People jerky,” becoming a recurrent joke is ‘macabre’ and hilarious.

[@LordDragox412]

Made from real jerks!

[@dc8836]

Thank you so much for this video, Mandalore. I loved Stasis when I played it... some years ago, and I never would have known there was a sequel out if not for you biting into the games. You're the best, dude.

[@dem0nchild610]

Me personally I could never get into these type of games but I do find some of their stories interesting and to have an unbiased and respectable review keeps me looking forward to each new video

[@themodernfrontiersmen]

Been waiting for this since the last Stasis review.

[@FeralAscendant]

Mandalore, I can't express how much I appreciate you taking the time to explain the themes present in some of these more narrative-heavy games. Media literacy is really poor these days and seeing reviewers only tackle the most surface-level themes present in games breaks my heart.

[@ZemplinTemplar]

I appreciate it as well. That said, I personally don't think either of these Stasis games have that much substance or new things to say in their storylines. I don't think they're bad and there was clearly a huge amount of effort by the developers, but narrativelly, I just don't find these engaging.

[@graysonramon1803]

Rough day but these videos make me happy. You somehow manage to immerse me in a video game and it’s world within 30 min. You give enough info to enjoy the overall scope, art and story of a game. You leave enough out to enjoy it if you don’t care for spoilers and still play the game. Thank you

[@CitizenMecc]

Mandelore's videos are a gateway to perspective. It widens my horizon, which was narrowed through life. Thank you for sharing your particulair but incredibly interesting observations! They make me want go out there and explore

[@dylansolesby4615]

Two great spooky reviews already. A blessing of the droods

[@bestthangever117]

Man, you always sell me on the best games. All of these interesting, eclectic games that I otherwise would have never heard of I've tried because of your reviews. I'm so excited to try the Stasis games.

[@bjollnirbjordsen9795]

This is like my third year watching your Halloween videos. Always find some real gem games for the season watching these, thanks for another good year

[@Crimson350]

I have discovered some of my favourite games thanks to your channel. Recently Northern Journey and now these two Stasis games. Keep up the awesome work Mandalore!

[@gangleri1358]

I already played it and think it's a huge improvement to the first game. World building, story and characters are super interesting and I love Moses, his AI has problems to process the horrific stuff that happens around him and that leads to hilarious moments. Like at 10:53, where he introduces himself to a corpse and wants to have some smalltalk with them.

[@Squeakcab]

Wakes up. Opens youtube to start my day foff with my coffee. "Mandalore posted 53 seconds ago". Yeah its gonna be a good day.

[@ShadoSpartan44]

i agree with you continuing to be the editor, you have your unique style. Getting a pro to do it will feel off putting, plus i'm sure you enjoy editing just like i do with my videos. I'm very basic with my editing but it's the journey of playing a game, then typing up a script, record, and start putting clips together and add sound effects, then watch the whole thing to catch any mistakes and any last minute ideas. keep it up

[@Jptorrent004]

My favourite time of year has come, Halloween time! Thank you for this video Mandalore, it was certainly a hidden gem for me (:

[@tuffemily1431]

I think the thing that gets me with ai art is that like no one even seems to check it before putting it out there? Like did no one see the glasses thing and even wanna redo it? Amazon doing that shit isnt surprising but its sad to see with a smaller passion product

[@asj3419]

In their defence, generative AI seems to be really good at disguising artefacts. If it doesn't fail completely, the weirdness will usually be hidden in tiny details that can be mistaken for artistic flair. I think the invisible glasses (6:28) is a good example of this. It's still weird that a team with dedicated artists didn't notice, but a non-artist did. It makes me wonder if all AI art is like this with weird artefacts and they picked the best one.

[@517342]

The thing is this, AI art is a tool that allows non-artists, that is people who have not studied art either through lack of time or ambition, to quickly generate random stuff. Of course they're not seeing the obvious flaws in the "art" because they never bothered to learn about it. Any seasoned artist notices these things and would want to fix them immediately, assuming they would touch AI generation in the first place. To them art is an expression of their own skill or soul and that comes with a certain amount of ego which is a good thing if done in moderation. The non-artists who use AI stuff simply do not see the flaws because of their lack of knowledge and experience that drove them to use AI as a shortcut in the first place. That's the major theme I see over and over whenever it comes to AI generated assets. I'm generalizing here of course but it's true more often than not.

[@tomorbataar5922]

@@asj3419 I think the important detail is that this game came out in May, which means the AI content was made even earlier. The AI image field has made huge strides since then, a lot of tools and properly tuned models that would fix the issues present in this game's AI art may not have been available yet.

[@tuffemily1431]

@517342 yeah I totally get that it's just like this studio does seem to have artists on staff so like even just asking one of them to look seems like it would reveal a lot. Maybe I'm just being naive there though

[@thebleachbartender1312]

At best Ill just say it was a just placeholder until they got all the art finished while still being basically finished but either they forgot to add it in or just didn't have the art in time. At worst however, they wanted to emphasis the "the game involves AI and we used AI to make it, crazy right" even though it made the final product worst. I don't want to believe they're lazy because they put a lot of care into the game but with how much they side stepped the issue it seems like they wanted to keep it in until someone with an audience thought negatively about it.

[@ThatGuyW3s]

This video is like the perfect balance of everything I enjoy about Mando- jokes, horror, a dissertation on the game design challenges of AI art and a brief aside on the relationship between love and grief. Brother over here is the most interesting man in world and he runs a game review channel.

[@dc8836]

It definitely sets him in a class of his own. Some oddball mix of review and essayist that ends up being better than the sum of its parts, and he really does have a very unique wit and turn of phrase that's only improved as he's done more of this. Mandalore was never bad at this, but if you watch the very early stuff compared to stuff from 2023, the difference is enormous. It's actually flabbergasting how much he's managed to improve without really *changing.*

[@fernandozavaletabustos205]

Awesome video as always!!

[@lz29510]

love your videos my guy keep up the good job

[@Ma3ckes]

While I always loved your reviews, the last twelve months were just excellent. This one, along Myth, Arcanum and Ring are all top 5 IMO.

[@RedHazeCh]

I was expecting you to talk more about the changes in the demo, especially Moses since he did sound like a cute friendly toy that's unaware of the whole situation before they hired a different studio to do the voices

[@slumpsupreme9200]

Dropped a suggestion and question to the email in your description! Keep up the great work!

[@elderyaag3534]

The Ghost Master music at the end completely took me out. :D Such strong nostalgia. Great video

[@tomorbataar5922]

1:44 Holy shit you're just gonna casually hit us with this? Ok this game is a special one.

[@erdervv]

Bought the game before the story spoilers part of the video and finished it in a single sitting. It can not be understated how good the dialogues are, Faran and Moses for me prop up the game, that disembodied (ahah) voice might not have the physique but he certainly has the soul of a gigachad.

[@Yormolch]

Mandalore video 1 of actively waiting patiently for the Paraworld review. Great work as always Mandalore, I hope I'll one day overcome my deep fear of horror games and actually play this one.

[@maggiem6209]

Before seeing the rest of the video, the intro tune makes me as officially as hyped for these Halloween videos as I ever was for the show. 🧡🖤

[@MrPuschel]

Played Stasis and Stasis: Bone Totem back-to-back after your last video and was pretty baffled on just how much of an improvement it was in every category. Despite some glaring flaws that stick out like a sore thumb. Moses/10.

[@jackwest540]

Mandalore killing it recently. Great videos!

[@youraduck]

another video so fast, it must be Christmas!

[@UnHappyGingah]

Another banger mandy!

[@Cassey_White]

Thank you very munch for your in-depth reviews. I'd never play this game myself but I'm glad I can somewhat experience it.

[@unimpartialobserver]

True. I can't handle watching agony, not even fictional characters, so this sort of channel is a blessing.

[@Slaanash]

You know you're in for a good(?) time when a mandalore video is 38 minutes and 20 are for story (spoilers). It's the kind of game that gives me a nauseating existential dread, but is also so fascinating it's hard to look away.

[@DangerDav1]

Everything good your end? Sounding different in this video. Feel really spoiled with all your uploads lately, solid work and thank you!

[@Mnero78]

Great video as always! I'd love to see you try out the Faith trilogy

[@donut_42]

This game was absolutely phenomenal when I played it. I was lucky enough to play this game and then the System Shock remake and boy was I happy that week.

[@seanfager8063]

I've been waiting to buy the SS1 reboot until I find out if the rocket roller skates make an appearance. Have you seen them?

[@realllybadgaming9216]

Fastest click of my life, wasn't motivated to go to work today, but I was reinvigorated by the adventures of John Stasis

[@jackschmidt141]

You're videos are amazing

[@jarrodwakefield4992]

Another certified banger from Mandalore

[@BrainerVideos]

Cold Fear was a surprising mention. I didn't think many would even remember its existence, although back in 2005, before RE4 was ported to PC, it seemed like its own thing to someone with only a PC and no internet and not like a somewhat shameless clone at least in terms of general gameplay and what its enemies were conceptually. Mid-oughts was a weird era of lots of interesting games that are very obscure nowadays, like Cold War (that one stealth game about an American journalist in 80's USSR jury-rigging slingshot projectiles of different degrees of ridiculousness), Sudeki (a western take on JRPGs with actually quite good combat), or Fall: Last Days of Gaia (a Fallout spiritual successor from the developers of Soldiers of Anarchy (really good) and Gorasul (really mediocre, though the setting is neat), which had vehicles, a surprisingly complex character system, and party-based RTwP combat). I am sure many have their own examples.

[@peppermillers8361]

Cold Fear is an interesting one. Weirdly enough, I'm aware of Fall: Last days of Gaia, it looked interesting save for the pretty inconsistently crappy AI, apparently.

[@BrainerVideos]

@@peppermillers8361 It had a main theme song by Darkseed, and a fantastic soundtrack in general, with a lot of guitar and tribal instruments combined with more electronic riffs. Also a different take on a post-apocalyptic setting where instead of nukes going off it's the result of terraformers intended for Martian colonization being activated on Earth... combined with a lot of very German humour and approach to making references to American movies and culture.

[@Thariorn]

Honestly, Sudeki did have good, for its time, gameplay, however, looking back now (and honestly more so back in, what, 2005?) the game shouldn't have advertised itself so heavily via skimpy clad heroines. Sure, 13 year old me looved animu bazoonkas, but I imagine it actively harmed the games success, at least in europe. But yes, the the 2000s brought alot of interesting games and genre-mix ups, many of which I'm still misssing decades later. Was a good time to be a PC-nerd, lots of magazines with game-collection-discs included, so you got access to ~2/3 yrs old good games, no widespread net access to bore yourself outta a neat game, because person X said Y and so forth. What I woudln't give for a retroactive sequel to Heroes of Annihilated Empires, such a good and novel setting for its time.

[@BrainerVideos]

@@Thariorn Them were simpler times, and it's not like PoP: Warrior Within isn't the most warmly remembered one out of the Sands of Time trilogy for some of the same reasons (although gameplay-wise it's a backtrack-fest with a lot of padding. Ahem). Wasn't Europe a lot less up-in-arms about excessive fanservice than US, though, or is it only the anime variety? And yeah, that was a fantastic RTS with 4 genuinely unique factions (remember the dwarves with their mechs, minefields, and bomber zeppelins were a lot of fun). The story ended on a to-be-continued, even, but GSC had other priorities then, falling on hard times afterwards.

[@samvimes9510]

I know they're not exactly spooky, but I would love to see you cover the Zeno Clash games at some point. They're so utterly bizarre and I think they'd be a great fit for this channel.

[@wenchinatrenchcoat8459]

brilliant review :)

[@keinname2481]

damn...heeven made the comment transparent for the second the patreons name passes by thats dedication! very good video!