The Philosophy of Planescape: Torment

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Planescape: Torment is all about choices. Not necessarily choices in the game, though there is some of that, but the choices we have made in the past that send ripples throughout time. It plays with many ideas, but what it plays with the most is the idea of death and rebirth and how with each new life, we become a different person based on the circumstances of our rebirth.
You can even see this theme in the main menu of the game where most games would have the option for you to start a new game, Planescape asks you if you would like to start a new life or resume an old life. It’s one in a number of ways the game makes you consider the consequences of your choices and the insignificance of a single life when it comes to the nameless one.
But The nameless one is unreliable. His memories are fractured and missing. We cannot rely upon him to give a faithful recollection of his actions, and since I believe that intent does not matter and instead, what matters most is how your intentions are experienced by others, let’s explore the Nameless one through the eyes of the people who knew him and who have met him for the first time.

[@thelightbringer638]

*Updated My Journal*

[@Schizo_Souls]

Linkara is that you?

[@CegeRoles]

*I'm gone.*

[@user-qd9rg3wy2n]

Feels like I have been strained through someones bowels

[@joshuasuggs2379]

Done

[@Shakenmike117]

Oh my god it’s the LIGHT BRINGER

[@paytonholmes6019]

The world needs more Planescape: Torment videos.

[@luthor24127]

the world needs more Planescape Torment

[@megamastah]

Try Disco Elysium.

[@gameman1957]

do you have ideas ? [e-mail]

[@solaris4019]

@@megamastah NO, Disco is boring , TRY MASK OF BETRAYER 2007 best "dlc" Planescape

[@MidnightSt]

the word needs more Planescape: Torment games. Numenera was... a valiant effort that turned out pretty good, but... it can and needs to be better.

[@Xeronoia]

On the subject of fantasy standards in media, I've always been frustrated by the way most fantasy settings are LESS fantastic than reality. In the real world, we have the river of five colors, giant crystal-filled caverns, multiple seemingly ever-burning pits filled with flammable natural gases, and even in terms of ancient or modern architecture we have things like ancient ruins that are almost entirely preserved thanks to being purposefully buried in sand some fifteen thousand years ago, or amusingly ornate libraries made almost entirely out of glass and towering skyscrapers. Meanwhile, in your average fantasy setting, it's usually a vague approximation of medieval Europe with some plains and hills, forests, and maybe a mountain or two. I blame this mostly on Tolkein, though not directly the man himself - more specifically, I blame everyone copycatting off the setting presented in tolkein's work and not bothering to try and think of anything fantastic themselves. It also honestly does a disservice to medieval Europe, as despite the elves and goblins, those settings are usually less fantastic than actual medieval Europe was.

[@formanmills8211]

This is a thought I haven't been able to put into words for quite some time, but you're exactly right. For specific examples Pripyat where you can literally die from an unseen force or Centralia, Pennsylvania where there are coal fires underneath the ground where you can die from the gas in the air or a collapse into the fiery depths below you. Which literally sounds like a descent to hell, not something to be found in Pennsylvania. Yet (not to go after the easiest example) in TES you're only ever told of such places through lore or daedric quests with each installment featuring less and less of the latter. In Skyrim, not even the Dwemer ruins inspire true wonder because it's so... mundane. The Aeylid ruins of Oblivion were not much better, but aspects of them did elicit a genuine wow (but maybe that was my youth, haven't played it in years) and accidentally buying a haunted house was much better than being rewarded the opportunity to buy a house after discovering a serial killer kept body parts (Skyrim). Which is not only not fantastical at all, but worse than REALITY because you don't even get it at a reduced price. 12k for the house with up to 9k on upgrades, including removing the kill room. Which is just dreadfully bleak, in a shitty lazy capitalistic way not a "we live in a dark, bleak world" way. Tl;dr Fantasy games are inspired by real life in the worst ways that just pull as back to reality

[@dravenocklost4253]

Never thought about but now that you pointed it out you're right.

[@sethgaston8347]

I think Planescapes setting is amazing, and likewise for stories that pull into the portags psyche rather than propping up the protag as the savior of the world

[@lemokemo5752]

Ridiculously on point!

[@kyousukekoyomi9160]

The Continent- a Flat world that has 4 holy beast that are the foundation of the world who causes massive earthquake which creates huge cracks and cannons. It has ancient ruins of civilization and other worldly aliens. it has Huge deserts, snowy wasteland, plains, huge mountain ranges with Huge amounts of different monsters. It also has a Gate to another world that lets Humans contact The Creator Of The World who created the world because the world is in a Void in space with stars far out of reach so the Creator God Ludo-Rathwom created this world so he may never feel bored in this void and he loves suffering and war. If Humanity establish world peace and greatly reduce humans suffering then God will be enraged and order the extinction of Humanity. It's a world forever Fated to be in chaos and suffering. Also this is a story from a P@rn game.

[@MidnightSt]

My favorite dialog choices were when you got like three sentences, and each was there two times, one of those prefaced with "Truth:", and one with "Lie:"

[@Langtw]

Yeah, you get to decide what your character's internal state is, rather than just what they say. Brilliant.

[@SamuraiMasenko]

Like when Ravel asks if you think she's ugly, and you can say "Truth: No, you're beautiful" or "Lie: No, you're beautiful."

[@MidnightSt]

"Cities dense with population... TO A FAULT." I, for one, am very thankful for the amount of generic NPCs in all areas. You know why? Because when nameless dies, the game's scripting actually goes looking for generic NPCs in the area where he died, and kills the first one it finds. And if it can't find any left, you actually get a game over screen.

[@shadowgaleshale9218]

Holy shit

[@almond5917]

So if you die too much without reloading your save and end up back again in the morgue over and over you get an actual game over screen? Damn...

[@MidnightSt]

@White-Van Helsing well... as I said, I literally found the code in the game's files, it was "get list of generic NPCs in the area where player just died, pick a random one and kill it, revive the player at revival point associated to this place". I can't really be sure if the code is actually used or its call was commented out later, but it's there, and I am convinced that it is actually working, because I remember the first time I played the game I was crap at it, and kept dying in Sigil, and I remember thinking "why are the streets so empty all of a sudden?" =D

[@itameio6161]

My God!

[@KingLich451]

good thing the game really isn't THAT hard.

[@runewhiz]

In knowing the teachings of Zerthimon, I have become stronger.

[@backupnoname]

It looks like my skills have increased!

[@htf5555]

endure. in enduring, grow strong.

[@jonesdan85]

Dak'kon was the finest character in all of gaming for me. Reading the Unbroken Circle of Zerthimon as a 14 year old boy was akin to reading a religious text in the real world. I still remember it all now 21 years later.

[@AllWillBeRevealed957]

"New taunts alright!"

[@Kevlord22]

@@jonesdan85 Same here, that whole experience stayed with me to this day.

[@benl2140]

13:20 "...for a circle is infinite, yet has a beginning and an end" No, you have that exactly backwards. A circle is finite, but has no beginning or end.

[@axa6503]

Both statements are correct IMO. The circle is infinite if you are experiencing it, and it is finite if you are observing it.

[@megamike15]

the fact it added a tab highlight feature is one reason i'd recommand people play the enhanced edition over the original.

[@seanwhitney3534]

Hello Strat-Edgy, if you ever read this I've never been good at conveying my thoughts in an articulate manner, and honestly, I feel awkward typing this out. But I just want to convey to you just how much I enjoy your videos. You produce solid content and in my opinion, you are one of the most underrated channels. Your videos have brought some of the most compelling and thought-provoking story's into my life and for that, I am eternally grateful I look forward to your future videos. Sincerely a Fan.

[@dormiebasne3578]

What a wholesome comment

[@dotanuki3371]

"Why do games feel so hollow and meaningless now?" Pretty sure Frank Zappa answered that question 40 years ago, just talking about music: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYvEq3iDbciaqpI

[@dallasjohnson2137]

Thank you.

[@AncientSlugThrower]

Same reason Hip Hop sucked in '96. It's the money.

[@danielhyberg2590]

Capitalism has entered the building

[@IAMAGUNH4XP]

The fact that they Censored "Masturbation" while he was talking about people having an issue with a song about masturbation is just so ironically perfect

[@telephonebitguy9296]

Frank Zappa always knew the answers

[@Kainlarsen]

>Every time he says "Mortay" It's MORTE! MOOORRRRRRT!

[@MultiErland]

It depends, I pronounced it the same way during my playthrough because the origin of the word is death and it's pronounced "mortay" as you put it - in Italian.

[@Lacidios]

@@MultiErland , the only thing it depends on is if you believe _all_ of the companion voice actors mispronounced the name and the devs left it in. If you don't believe that, then the name is simply pronounced "Mort."

[@MultiErland]

@@Lacidios No argument there, I suppose it will remain that way so long as the game is concerned. Outside of that, pronouncing it as "mort" wouldn't make any sense, since the origin of the name has a different pronunciation of it.

[@Lacidios]

​@@MultiErland , setting aside the French (fem) pronunciation being also with a silent "e," it doesn't matter how a word is pronounced elsewhere if it's a specific name of a character and you are given the specific pronunciation of the name by the character's creators multiple times within the same medium you otherwise encountered it. I feel both the root and their chosen pronunciation fits the character pretty well.

[@NakuNaito]

Morte is the italian word for death, so actually he pronunce it right, at least in the italian way

[@nobody828]

One of the only games I've ever played that made me cry at the end. Best RPG of all time.

[@michaelsnow1]

This video is incredible and the interview was very informative. I hope we see Planescape again so we can explore Sigil in a modern game. The Bleak Cabal are my favorite faction too. I love their symbol of a blank, empty helmet they don't remember the origin of, signifying nothing in particular.

[@croissantlover1]

I respect your choice but I disagree, sounds boring but enjoy nonetheless :D

[@Urelasir]

Thanks man. I was feeling rather lost in the night, since its 4:45 am here and this is exactly what I needed.

[@Koeras16]

Cant sleep ?

[@Urelasir]

@@Koeras16 Yup. Been having a hard week and mortality and death has been very present these.last few days. Either way, Loved the video.and sure helped me get through the night. Love how unique this game is and remembers me how videogames are a form of art that can provoke deep feelings and thoughts. Also sorry, went off topic but I also wanted to comment the video again, after finishing it. Thanks for asking btw.

[@josex2077]

@@Urelasir i hope things get better for you

[@Koeras16]

@@Urelasir Planescape Torment is a hidden gem with some quite interesting concepts. And yeah, well its the aspect that I personally love. When videogames succeed at hitting that note of "art". Sadly Planescape Torment is also rather old these days. Well at least it runs well on Windows 10 All the best wishes

[@gadellomagnollo1810]

Damn man, a year later and it’s 5:05

[@DecimeCuba]

i love how unforgivable this game is. Give the wrong answer , piss the wrong person off , and if you kill them and dont put the pieces together by yourself you ll literally fucked. i remember when i first entered the Alley of Dangerous Angles. There where some berks asking for money , so i killed them all. Then i realized i had to kill the whole map .) Obviusly ,after that , i had to go to the players Maze. Goddamn , feel like i gotta go and update my journal.

[@damaskosc]

'Sijil'? 'SIJIL'?! Harmonium, take him away! And call the Mercykiller too!

[@cashnelson2306]

"Mor-tay" too lmao

[@StratEdgyProductions]

www.pronouncenames.com/pronounce/morte Be happy I didn't do that...

[@tree_alone]

@@StratEdgyProductions Oh god the nameless one's name was Rick...

[@devilsadvocate1380]

@@tree_alone wait, what?

[@tree_alone]

@@devilsadvocate1380 Rick and Morte travelling the planes of the multiverse

[@ricardoguanipa8275]

I remember playing this game around 2012 after seeing it so many times on different "Best Games of all time" list quite trip but you know what needed, "long thick daggers"

[@cheater00]

what a great video. i count myself lucky to have followed your channel. your polemics are always captivating, and even if i don't always agree, and rarely even find some notions naiive, they all come from a point of deep thought and extended consideration and in the complexity and nuance that ensues it often manages to change my mind on things that you present, or to display a side to the topic i haven't considered yet, because i would need to be in your specific position to make those remarks in the first place. you, unlike many people who write, have an actually unique, and nuance, view of things, and that is why i will gladly spend an hour listening to this, while my patience with most videos on youtube ends at five minutes. please never change this. i hope you still beam your voice out 50 years from now.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Thank you. I appreciate that. Especially with the feels lately.

[@cheater00]

@@StratEdgyProductions ah, that sucks, what feels? anything in particular bothering you?

[@lovethesuit]

This, actually. I've had a terrible attention span lately, but I'm watching this in one sitting.

[@cheater00]

@@lovethesuit all his videos I've seen so far are great, even the ones where he rips the game a new one!

[@deleonyx]

This is the most thoughtful and thorough love letters to one of my favorite games that I have ever seen. Thank you so much!

[@wtfronsson]

Original Torment was really sweet when I was a young lad, still able to read actual books. Playing through Torment really was more like reading a book than anything else. These days my brains are softened by all the nonsense entertainment and starting senility. Couldn't even finish a tutorial in a CRPG without slipping into a coma. Maybe it was all the instant ramen and energy drinks.

[@aagh8714]

you were young in 1999 and senile in 2019? Solomon grundy born on a Monday

[@colorsred2771]

You've had all the wrinkles smoothed out of your brain

[@megasuperhyperspeed]

Video games destroy patience. I played so many video games as a teenager that consuming entertainment without direct inputs feels like i'm missing something. It's why i find myself robotically scrolling on my phone when watching a film or tv show....

[@Pedros93]

Funny enought i'm the opposite, after many years of video-games, played them all, racing, fighting, RPGs, Fps, casuals, hardcore... i kinda lost my interest in modern gaming. It's all the same, trends, gimmicks, etc. Until i gave Planescape a try and it was like discovering Gaming again, what a ride! one of, if not, the best game i played! now i'm off to Baldurs Gate (1 & 2)

[@wtfronsson]

@@Pedros93 Arcanum and the Fallouts are classics too. Wasteland 2, 3, Divinity Original Sin 1, 2 great too if you are still hungry for more :)

[@MidnightSt]

After some time, I settled on describing Planescape: Torment as "an amazing interactive novel with beautiful artwork and music".

[@glowblack5235]

Game had a pretty good amount of combat for being so narrative/ conversation driven

[@Dungeonus]

With an awful battle system that I, for the sake of my time and my cognitive capability cannot digest. Wish I could avoid it altogether, like in Disco Elysium.

[@RandomAllen]

@@Dungeonus Awful battle system? What are you smoking

[@Dungeonus]

@@RandomAllen Pixie dust that's for sure, you want some? Maybe then you will see that in this game fighting is a chore and i'd rather skip this section of the game.

[@assassinofkeyblades]

Man I come back to this video every few months and I never get over how well done it is in my opinion it's strats best video to date I just love how thought provoking this whole video is

[@KCGabe]

YES!! I've been waiting so much for this, you never disappoint. Thank you.

[@TheOFFman64]

Just finished Planescape: Torment for the 1st time, LOVED it and watched the whole video. LOVED it as well, so interesting, too bad it's so short, could listen to you for hours.

[@rchetype7029]

Friendship ended with *MR.BTONGUE* Now *STRAT-EDGY PRODUCTIONS* is my best friend

[@patrikkarlsson9463]

I miss MR.BTONGUE

[@danyo10]

TUN

[@danyo10]

how dare you speak out against the god of video game video essays

[@mathewhuff1157]

damn im not the only one with Mr. Btongue vibes

[@smoss9813]

I think this guy wishes he was mr.btongue. Man i miss that guys work. So much better than half the vids out there.

[@Vulmen311]

Found your channel randomly today and have been deeply enjoying your analyses! I have no one to talk about concepts found in Torment, so listening to you talking about it is a good substitute.

[@timothyeshelman1227]

Love your videos, keep up the good work! Thanks for bringing so many videos so quickly

[@Mortiis558]

When Planescape come out as a D&D setting it instantly became my favorite. I couldn’t get enough of the lore. Planescape Torment is my favorite of the Baldur’s Gate type games, and Tides of Numeria surprised me, even if it wasn’t the best game ever. But your ideas on the game and it’s choices and morality are very engaging and give me a lot to think about. Even though I agree with a lot you said. Good video! You’ve earned a sub.

[@codyramsey7217]

Always enjoy your insights. Thank you so much for continuing to make these videos! -Insert all of the words of encouragement here-

[@alexstrekal6944]

Thankyou for this video. I've always been a Torment fan, and I originally played it back in the late 90's when it first came out. I had no idea what I was doing on my first few playthroughs and never got far. A few years down the line I tried again, and then the whole game opened up and I was amazed. I must have played it 20 times by now, and discovered something new each time. It does take some patience to play through this type of game these days, and I am likewise a bit spoiled by modern games. But I'm old enough and have enough nostalgia for when it was new to "get it". Playing through Torment now for me is...different though. Sort of unlike the way you describe it, I've done it so many times (and read through the guides enough) that I pretty much have all the key necessary things to do memorized, and most of the major nook and cranies and secrets memorized as well. While on the flip side, the first few playthroughs of the game got hard, because it was all guess work based on dialogue and a vaguely organized journal. So you can actually get lost, or not pick up the right item, miss an important dialogue, and so on. That was more frustrating but the playthroughs had more "soul" to it - when the game itself is still a mystery. A mystery RPG. As for Numera, I somewhat enjoyed it - I did at least 3 full playtroughs - at first but the main nagging things about it for me were that it seemed to be too blatantly trying to copy the *formulas* of Torment but not so much the *spirit* or *feeling* and ended up being too forced. The narrative stuff was also philosophical in a more convoluted way and it seems like they purposefully padded out the game with unnecessary text just to boast a high text count. The combat, while technically a better system than Torment, was also terribly implemented and super buggy at first. There's also the fact that they broke half their promises to their backers and the game was totally not ready to be released when it came out. I felt like they should have just released Numenera as its own game without relying on the hype of the Torment name as well, as it's a completely different game in a completely different setting. They oversold its connection to Torment and then paid for it with a flood of buyer's remorse. The only thing it really has in common with Torment are certain thematic elements, a simplified class system, and the general choice to make a narrative-focused, text-heavy game. Otherwise, it's basically its own post-apocalyptic RPG with thematic allusions to Torment.

[@a.lampman2165]

I started playing this last week so I'm probably not going to watch this any time soon, but this'll give me something to look forward to when I finally am done with it. Keep up the good work, your videos are consistently insightful and enjoyable and I can't wait to get to this one (even if I can and will wait... you know what I mean). :)

[@sebastokrator9426]

This is fantastic like always! You ever consider reviewing Arx Fatalis?

[@nikolaigoven9575]

Welcome back and wonderful video.

[@usafbgartin]

Dude thank you so much. Is it surprising that an analysis of a game all about self-discovery has actually given me insight into myself? A truly good work of art should send philosophical ripples like that. My new fav channel keep it up

[@vazilin4ik]

Amazing video, as always. its really nice to see you still doing videos, especially after your last video . I hope everything goes well for you . have a nice day since you made my, and thousand of others peoples day better.

[@CoderRed]

it's 2021, found your channel after playing this amazing game, which i played after it was recommend for players who wanted more of a disco elysium game. good work man, nice analyse

[@dishwasherlove]

Hey just wanted to you to know that this video was great and I appreciate the effort that went into it.

[@richardbohacik2685]

Nice video :) I loooove this game! I remember playing it for the first time in my teens and I immediately fell in love with it - the strangness of the world, it had such a charm, characters, deeps stories everywhere. I have my list of top most beloved games ever… and then, there is Planescape Torment in its own “god tier” level above them. It was truly unique experience for me, I love every aspect of it - story telling, graphics, music, everything. And while I love also some other games, this one is the most unique for me.

[@frankula]

Dude thanks for this! Motivated me to rerun this gem after decades

[@cashnelson2306]

When he's talking about Chris Avellone around 35:50 and how much Avellone hated the tropes of the time (most of which are common to this day) - gotta give Avellone props for staying true to that all the way to 2019. He's one of the only game writers whose games I seek out, no matter the engine or IP or decade. (And I'm pretty damn excited for The Outer Worlds even though he's no longer with Obsidian, because that attitude is absolutely engrained in Obsidian.) That said, the original design document for Torment (which Colin makes reference to a few times) is floating around online and boy, it's... rough. Really telling regarding how developers were viewing their audience at the time. Kinda shows through in the released game in the completely unnecessary bosom and bosom-enhancing clothing on nearly every woman's model in the game, though of course that's a pretty minor flaw on one of the greatest games of all time.

[@JoeTAC]

I read your comment and I would really love to know what you ended up thinking of Outer Worlds and its writing.

[@cashnelson2306]

@@JoeTAC I ended up thinking outer worlds was good, not great. Felt like it had a lot of great ideas that it explored in a fairly shallow way, and the anti-capitalist satire felt a little hollow when all the moral decisions ended up with a bit of wet noodle impact. Doesn't really matter which settlement you decide to give power to if you never come back to see any consequences! It was also harmed by coming out in such close proximity to Disco Elysium, I think, which was a much deeper story that offered the sort of moral debates and choices and consequences that make games like PST such all time classics. Outer Worlds will be barely remembered in ten years, but Disco Elysium goes in the pantheon next to Torment.

[@aslakgurnirsson1685]

Re: The original design document. Agreed, and it still shows in the characterization of Annah. While the character of Annah works as a tool for worldbuilding the city of Sigil she is lackluster in comparison to the other companions. All the other characters have complex "torments" that ties deeply entwined with either the different incarnations of the Nameless One, or with the central torment that the NO suffers from. They all serve the central themes the game. Annahs torment, which is that she loves the NO, is quite shallow in comparison since she has only known him for a few days. Her torment is also partially shared by both Ravel and Deionarra, both of whom have a deeper connection with the incarnations of the NO. I think that the whole romance of Annah is a leftover from the early design goals of having the NO be a zombie that the ladies are inexplicably hot for, and her character suffers from it.

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

@@cashnelson2306 I think Outer Worlds was exactly what it needed to be - what Obsidian needed it to be - and was only hampered by the marketing of the game as the “new New Vegas”. People forget, but the games that Obsidian’s made for mainstream markets have typically been either commercial flops or they’re barely broken even - these types of projects nearly killed the company - so something like Outer Worlds that is concise and honed in a particular image, that hasn’t gone off the deep end creatively or budget-wise - is what Obsidian needed to build confidence (and a financial cushion) to be more experimental down the line. Outer Worlds feels ‘safe’ to a lot of people for this reason.

[@vladimirthegreen6097]

@@aslakgurnirsson1685 you forgot Annah's father. And yeah I don't see problem in her character. She youngest and most important more vital and lifefull character of all around NO. Her path is like the view (and part) of actual living life look at this situation

[@sofiemagko5911]

Ohhhh!! New video! What a great start of the day:)

[@diegowushu]

Awesome video. It's wild that more than 20 years had to pass to get something even remotely on the same vein of P:T, Disco. It speaks volumes that it needs a specific group of people, in a particular situation and mindset to craft an experience such as this one.

[@KiazaKadaj]

always come back to this one. such a great vid.

[@alexandruvasile9776]

Got into your channel recently. This is some good shit man, i love it.

[@ghpgois]

Kudos from Brazil. Recently discovered your channel though your video on TToN. Just had to subscribe it!

[@S1ick865]

your a awesome youtuber man, just found you a couple months ago and have binged all ur stuff lol good stuff man!

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Thanks. This video doesn't get that much attention so it's nice to know people are still finding it.

[@S1ick865]

Strat-Edgy Productions yeah man, Iv recently went back and did a back to back to back of all the old IE games, and remembered I found your channel originally through a tyranny video, I was looking into it before I bought it and your review is what convinced me, lol had just finished pillars and I wanted more but not another full play through, you have good content man, well spoken, and put together. Thanks

[@Sarnum]

Great piece of work, thank You!

[@PregnantWhale3000]

This is pretty fucking ace, mate. I always love watching your content.

[@oszkar2102]

This game made me think about philosophical questions in the bed after playing it. Awesome game and awesome video! Thank you!

[@garchomowner]

Everyone who love planescape, should check put Disco Elysium. It is a detective RPG releasing in 2019 (hopefully) with crazy skill system, deep story that explore alot of philosophy and human nature.

[@suddenshadow]

Disco Elysium is a solid 15/10 brother

[@DieEineMieze]

Why go disco its covid right now

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

This comment has aged like fine wine, good take!

[@fuzzydunlop7928]

@@DieEineMieze Covid Elysium? Reminds me of Pathologic’s native title “Plague Utopia.”

[@jjurksztowicz]

Amazing! Thanks for your thoughtfulness.

[@Nathaivel]

I didn't even have to press play, I saw that you covered this game for 59 minutes and I immediately went to your Patreon for a subscription.

[@Diskhate]

You know that old tired response to videos "i was going to bed, then this video popped up" ? I hate reading that...but it just happened to me, and now i don't know how to feel That said: One of my favorite moments in this game is "the brothel of intellectual lusts" the music inside it...the many tales of Yves...the intellectual conversation that you must have with Fall-From-Grace to convince her to accompany you...it is one of those moments that really give sense to Planescape being "the best game you'll ever read" ; the brothel is basically a single screen, with thousands and thousands of lines of dialogue to have (if i remember correctly it took me more then 2 hours to fully talk to everyone) and yet ... another INCREDIBLY powerful moment is when you see one of your past incarnations at the society of sensates and you experience (as a memory) what you did in the past but through the eyes of the one you made suffer..no matter your character, no matter who your character has been built as, no matter your alignment or anything else you decided...your character cries desperately because of what he has done in the past..just for a moment your "role play" gets taken away to impose how atrocious what you have done is. Doesn't matter how evil you are playing your character: what you have done is unspeakable.

[@qaztim11]

same such a conflict

[@zrobotics]

Well, good thing tomorrow isn't a work day then

[@revelationnow]

That video is a pretty great love letter to PS:T. Beautiful in parts. I'd argue combat and strategy in PS:T is pretty great, and I love the FMVs for spells, and despite the devs, I think it works. I'll look forward to watching more of your content.

[@brantnuttall]

Excellent video! Thanks!

[@calculatroncalculatron1556]

Interesting insights! Planescape: Torment has been one of those games that is always in the back of my mind, and serves as a benchmark for any cRPG I play. It is a game that highlights the importance of good writing and creativity held up by a scaffolding of solid design choices. Where the game falls short is where the game is also a product of its time; uninvolved combat, clunky interface and user interface,

[@mutenroshie]

Great review about my alltime fav. game. Just a quick correction, Ravels split personalitys like Marta, Mebbeth und Ei-Vene are creations and split personalitys created from the believ of the people with which Ravel interacted and her personal desire off a specific personal trait. Meppeth even tells you so if you check the wisdom and intelligence check. Cause she was the strongest and most desired trait that Ravel possed. Quite beautiful that the cruel and Spiteful Nightvettel got fulfillment in being a midwife and healer to the poorest people in Sigil. but sadly all their lifes wa interlinked. So after Ravel dies so do Marta, Mebbeth und Ei-Vene. Mebbeth has that realisiation that she is a aspect of ravel if you talk to her and then she dies.

[@mikeg5039]

This was brilliant! Now im gonna go back into playing the new torment game

[@rid71k]

Hope you enjoy your break man

[@ryanulrich2147]

Torment is one of my favorite video game storylines. There is so much to explore throughout the game.

[@pronoydutta614]

Really good video. Subscribed.

[@acidwizard6528]

Cool that you quoted my favorite comedian Doug Stanhope. On the same subject, when I was younger I did a lot of drugs including DMT on several occasions. The flash from a DMT trip is unlike anything you can imagine ranging from perceived inter-dimensional travel, to seeing/experiencing the interconnectedness of all things, and even communicating with otherworldly entities. Do I believe that I really traveled to another dimension? No, but at the time that was what my mind told me I was doing and thus it felt real in the moment. Point being that your perception of your five senses as interpreted by your brain is your personal reality, and we all perceive things differently, thus we all have different realities, albeit with many commonalities.

[@brenokv]

I adore how ya know it will be a smart look into filosophy and theorethical spacetravel in a magical setting when ya start the lecture by going into names on baby speak

[@alexandruvasile9776]

Probably the best game review I've ever seen.

[@cedesciuwax1101]

Great vid!

[@Elgar337]

The best moments of Planescape: Torment are the points where you meet Deionarra's ghost and the theme kicks in. Each time I'd just take my hands off the keyboard and mouse, and just sit there.

[@RinaSC1]

Thanks Paul, I'll be getting my own copy of the remastered soon. As someone who was born in the 90's I need to remedy the crime of not having played this great game yet.

[@StratEdgyProductions]

Let me know how it performs. I kind of want to buy it too, but not sure if the changes justify buying it again.

[@edp4421]

I've just finished the remaster, never played before, and it worths the money... also you can use tab to highlight items and not go pixelhunting....

[@zlodrim9284]

I just finished the game a couple of hours ago for the first time and was just blown the fuck away with it, it's certainly an experience and it's been a while since something had that much of an impact on me. I loved your video on it and you've captured my thoughts on it perfectly. Can't wait until I play the sequel so I can watch your vids, then replay them afterwards. P.S: What you said about yourself and how the modern titles fucked up your attention span kinda affected me to when I reached the Clerk Ward, but after googling the shit I got stuck on I realized just what a dumb fuck I am for doing so since all I needed to do was add 2 and 2 together. Looking forward to coming back to the game because I'm sure I missed a couple of things.

[@Cunnysmythe]

I think the New Vegas record is for spoken dialogue Tremendous video. Never heard Torment dissected in such detail.

[@Cunnysmythe]

@White-Van Helsing Fallout New Vegas had a Guinness World Record winning 65000 lines of spoken dialogue. IIRC Strat was confusing that with the written dialogue of Planescape Torment. No idea if FNV still holds that record, the Guinness website is a confusing mess with a terrible search function

[@caramelconundrum9280]

Cool video. I gotta try this game now, thanks.

[@minine6508]

Just finished Planescape. What an incredible experiencr

[@futonrevolution7671]

It was nice to see that Easter Egg Morte. I've been using that wallpaper off-and-on for... well, you can probably guess for how long.

[@LuccaZa]

Lifetimes.

[@liriolua]

Fucking love your videos man, this one's perfect. Makes me wanna install the game again

[@UnknownRex]

Great video

[@thatsithlord9906]

This channels so under-rated

[@nathanielwestermann]

Great video! I hope to make my own philosophical examination of Torment very soon.

[@dormiebasne3578]

When will that be coming out? What lens will you be using to examine it?

[@tzzeek]

Mebbeth did die in my game, went to see her to sell some rings and she was dying, can't remember the convo very well but i think she was unawares of being ravel, only thing i remember for sure is i asked her if she was in pain and she said she was. Also went to check on Marta in the buried city and she had disappeared from her home. Played the EE, dunno if they changed some things there.

[@lamestudiosinc418]

I'm on my first run through right now and I just got out into the hive. I initially planned to sneak out of the mortuary but to keep it short I wound up having to fight my way out.

[@emmagoldman2399]

Came for the gaming analysis, stayed for the Doing Stanhope philosophy trip

[@joshuawallace4405]

Thank you for this enlightenment

[@fafnyr2537]

perfect video perfect structure, you are reason that reminds me why i love internet..

[@StevenSeagull123]

Good stuff! The Enhanced Edition of PsT is pretty good, but I would still like to see a improvement in the a.i. of the companions.

[@Prang972]

This game storytelling got me to an experience which I have never found in any game ever since. Well, bg3 still has a chance as I have yet to finish it.

[@Ripotes]

This reminds me of a mr b tongue video. Good job

[@BlameMaxSand]

This game defined a part of my life. I was a PC gamer in the mid to late 90s and a bit of an edgy teen. I loved Baldur's Gate, and others in that genre, but Planescape spoke to me. As a nerd who read philosophy books and also loved RPGs, Planescape immediately became my favorite game above all else. It exposed me to new concepts, new ways of looking at things that, of course, I looked into more and found literature on the topics and themes in more depth. I haven't played the game in many years, but even now I knew every intricate part of the Brothel and a wave of nostalgia hit as I watched this video. I suppose its time for me to buy that Enhanced Edition now.

[@futonrevolution7671]

The EE is just the game with the mods already installed, so it's not necessary. I bought it, because the inclusion of Steam achievements that take multiple playthroughs - without any self-awareness, on their part - was just too funny for me to pass up.

[@slammysammy9555]

It’s a pretty funny coincidence that you released this video on the same day I bought this now obscure 20 year old game.

[@samuelcamarillo1349]

How is this obscure? I thought it was pretty well known.

[@Atomastos]

@@samuelcamarillo1349 It's both

[@Transplanar]

lol, almost forgot about those holiday-themed costumes for Morte and Anna.

[@kriseinspahr5822]

I'm going through alot of the forgotten realms lore and I hadn't come across this and wow

[@discobook]

one of the best video i've ever seen, when i played planescape i was really young, but my answer doesnt change: what can change the nature of a man?..... nothing

[@2handedshotgun541]

Very interesting assey! Would you consider doing one about the ridick games and movies? Espacialy escape from butcher bay?

[@TheSuperQuail]

I never really realised how much influence the poster for Evil Dead 2 had on games what with this and also Daggerfall. (I'm talking about the skull with eyeballs)

[@OlegLecinsky]

I'd say the biggest downside of the Tides of Numinera is that while it stimulates the intellectual side of you, I wouldn't call it "emotionally engaging". There are no brilliant humorous moments (in the style of P:T or especially Fallout 2), no characters you care about and can develop an emotional attachment for (like Dak'kon or Annah from P:T or Sulik from FO2) - I don't remember you talking for a half of an hour about ToN characters. And even the main character in ToN is just a blank paper roll and can't trust anyone around - OTOH the inclusion of Morte was a excellent move in P:T that brings in some personality into the game right from the start. IOW ToN is kind of emotionally barren - despite of all great improvements in made compared to the Planescape game.

[@willis3rik]

Great video. I always say his name as “Mort” like a part of Rigor mortis

[@Elgar337]

Enhanced Edition (which came out in 2017 if I'm not mistaken) includes an option to highlight objects and npc names.

[@genericname9875]

And here's Tom with the weather!

[@alifarhat16]

I don't blame you for missing splinter, I completely missed Dakkon and modron on my playthrough...

[@aziztcf]

Cool Varg Vikernes looking rpg dude is right about the good experiences still being there. I bet most of the PST-fans would love Disco Elysium. Also did not expect to see Stanhope in this lol

[@serindas]

And now i need to replay Planscape: Torment...

[@dannym2918]

Ty.with this knowledge I feel I can ascend to a higher plane.

[@ChristopherSummer89]

Damn! I have played this Game twice or so, and have none the less learned no many new Things from this Video. Amazing Job, thank you! P.S. (Plane-Scape?): I totally agree, it kinda-sorta is an Adventure-Game, and I love it for that... I actually kinda wish it was in the same Perspective, that maybe would have sold the Game-World even better, allowing for some astonishing Landscapes and Views into the Distance, while having Characters closer to the Camera.