The Importance of an Ending | Semi-Ramblomatic

[@ItsCamille735]

I feel like what developers don’t seem to realise is that a story ending in a satisfactory way doesn’t mean that the story stops. In the overly franchised state of the current media landscape it often feels like writers are scared of tying up lose ends out of a need for a hypothetical sequel.

[@hyperon_ion9423]

1000% this. The best over-arching stories are the ones that have dozens of smaller stories within them. Each with their own endings and beginning that tie into each other.

[@MD_Polydactyl]

Agreed; even in intentionally sequel heavy franchises, there was a narrative thread that concluded. Shepherd acts as the avatar for humanity’s ascension in the geo-political landscape of the Council in Mass Effect 1. You escape the Templars at the end of Assassin’s creed. Modern Warfare, for goodness’ sake, had some character arcs and pathos, as schlocky and thematically questionable as those military shooter storylines were.

[@Crispman_777]

@@Secret_TakodachiBBEG?

[@stephenschlueter8242]

​@@Crispman_777Big Bad Evil Guy

[@TheEveningEconomies]

Not developers, studio executives

[@NemoEtNihil]

"It was satisfying to think of the corporation being left in Trevor's dust...forever chasing the shadow of its most popular character after he nopes out." Can't imagine why this story appeals to Yahtzee.

[@milomichelisaustin1981]

Unlike our favourite rambler, Trevor completely disappears from public eye after his monumental exodus, so there are some similarities but much more differences.

[@Mjmannella]

"maybe there's something about a bespectacled dude breaking free of an emotionless corporate machine that particularly resonates with me personally, in the last month or so..." Nope, couldn't have any clue why

[@NemoEtNihil]

@Mjmannella I know, I commented before I finished the video 😅

[@Junglelove20mm]

The other more realistic part about this is yatzi has bills to pay so clearly he's going to use his talents and stay in the industry. Unless he wants to get off his ass and finish interstellar bum pirates.😂

[@bippythechippy882]

​@@milomichelisaustin1981 to be fair Trevor did go on to make a documentary about his experiences, and in the game he says he wanted to have a career in music, so he may do something creative in his free time but probably on his own terms and that's what matters to him.

[@TyroneBruinsmaFilms]

Remember two writing advices Yahtzee has given: -Write the beginning and the end, so they'll be the best parts and any rough edges will be in the middle. -Is this the most interesting part of your character's life? If not, why aren't you showing us that? I'm glad we still have Yahtzee

[@elultimopancho]

Hearing Yahtz talk about it, there’s another aspect of American Arcadia’s ending that I think makes it work even better; throughout the whole game, Trevor has barely had any control or say in his own situation, every choice he has is a two way street between somebody telling him to submit and somebody telling him to resist. He never gets to do what he wants, which is just live a peaceful life. The game represents this with his gameplay being a linear sidescroller, him just running to the right and jumping, with the occasional assistance from the CCTV gameplay. He’s never in control. The ending baiting the player into thinking it’s gonna be a choice continues that motif, giving him two choices allowing him to be controlled by somebody else, whether he resists or complies. Him refusing the player that choice is him finally breaking free of the game itself, its rules and its choices, to finally do what HE wants, even up to breaking the game’s profanity rule and dropping the only f bomb in the whole script. He’s done, it’s over, and he’s refusing to engage anymore in this linear plot that was only gonna end one way for him. Master class ending with just one line of dialogue and a well placed fuck, I also couldn’t stop thinking of it after playing (on Yahtzee’s recommendation, no less!)

[@andrewphilos]

After all, when Trevor points and says, "Leave me the fuck alone," he's pointing to the player, too.

[@nirast2561]

I just realized something that either would've made the ending better, or a lot worse: Give us the two choices... But whatever button we press, Trevor still yells "Leave me the fuck alone!". That would've really driven home the idea that he takes control back from both the player and the AA audience.

[@9seed.]

Feels like the game equivalent to how we never see what happens to Truman once he leaves the show because it’s not our business anymore.

[@franconunez925]

​@@nirast2561I dunno, I think it would be bashing the player over their face with the message at that point.

[@NewExile]

In a similar vein, you may enjoy The Turing Test. A bit of a mystery portal-like , and one from which you’ll almost immediately figure out the twist just from the trailer… Except that’s not the real twist. Thoroughly enjoyed it, must have played through it two or three times to get the different endings and figure out more of the mystery, but to its credit while your ending choice arguably matters, the game never says you made the right or wrong call - it presents you with a complex dilemma, lets you act appropriately, and leaves you asking “Did I make the right choice?” as you consider the ramifications of what you’ve just done.

[@supersmily5811]

About time someone pointed out the importance of games as an ACTUAL storytelling medium.

[@huntercrindson3927]

I would like to add that Hi-fi Rush also has an incredibly satisfying ending, as Yahtzee said in that review: "all the plot threads reach a stage of denouement, and we are, for some reason, not obliged to continue grinding combat forever or hold out for DLC." And he is right even ignoring the Spectra doors the ending still lets a rewarding conclusion where all characters finalize their arcs. Peppermint finally make amends with her mother, Korsica finally manages to feel useful to the company she admired and starts drinking decaf (still chuckling at that), Macaron returns to work where he was best at, CNMMN gets repaired and Chai is finally able to learn how to play guitar and enjoy the new friendships he made.

[@joink25]

Wish I could like this more than one time. Any commentary that praises Hi-Fi Rush is a-ok with me!

[@Ch4pp13]

Honestly the closing gag of Chai not actually knowing how to play guitar's so funny to me, and it caught me so off guard I'm still laughing just thinking about it. That, and Chai's big moment of realization's just so fucking good...

[@prestonm-f382]

I do agree, but I don’t think the ending of Hi-Fi Rush is nearly as good from a writing or message perspective

[@JacksonJinn]

@@prestonm-f382 As good as American Arcadia in those areas, no. But it does work faaaaar better from a character perspective. Which may be part of the point of AA? We don't spend time watching Trevor giving a title to his unfinished track, or really dig into what his relationship to Angela is beyond... plausibly living together. It's just "Yeah, no, we're done here. Trevor out." But we do get a proper character denouement for HFR. We get Korsica returning to work, (now caffeine-free and far more at peace,) CNMN is fixed up and Macaron is happily back to work, Peppermint is fixing up the old Vandelay truck and apparently going on the road to fix things like her mom did, and Chai is outright learning guitar the slow way as an explicit back-up in case his new role with the company doesn't pan out. It's a solid ending as much as we need one. There's *room* for a sequel, but insomuch as (oddly) Kung Fu Panda has sequels, exploring new facets of the character growth. So I'd say HFR is better written an ending for characters.

[@prestonm-f382]

@@JacksonJinn I think that’s a fair point! HFR definitely put a lot of effort into the characters in a way that really popped.

[@Romalac]

I've been saying something like this for a while. I am _so beyond sick_ of open world design and "linearity" being a dirty word, and it's just so nice for a piece of media to tell a complete story. (Of course, I'm also a fan of ongoing narratives and continuity, but those do still require distinct, concise entries.)

[@ezzy384]

"Linearity" is still a pretty dirty word if not done correctly. Most open world slop games still have a boring linear story that never takes advantage of being set in a big open world. Nonlinear games with nonlinear storytelling are so much harder to pull off, and it's a type of storytelling that only video games can achieve. It also doesn't require these boring open worlds to pull off. A game can be non linear while still having structured levels by incorporating branching paths.

[@SocksAndPuppets]

I remember people complained SO much that Final Fantasy 13 was "linear" whereas the other games "weren't" - but like... the story of pretty much every final fantasy game is linear... sometimes there's small side areas that branch off and let you do a couple of extra things, but on replaying (say) final fantasy 10, each area is just a straight line to the next plot point there too. Yes, the areas in FF13 are often *visually* straight lines, but the game itself is about as "linear" as the whole series - except there's a giant mostly optional open world section jammed into the middle that many of the other games didn't have. What linearity allows you to do is tightly control your narrative, so you can pace it how you want and make sure it happens in a set order. This is generally helpful if you actually want to tell a good story, generally the Final Fantasy games that people describe as "linear" have stories that are more intelligible, and the less "linear" ones have stories that make absolutely no sense at all.

[@leandervr]

@@SocksAndPuppets Also what apparently a lot of people missed is that the linearity in FF13 serves the plot. It is linear because the gods of the world are literally doing everything they can to railroad your destiny. And the impossible struggle against this destiny is what the game is all about.

[@ichijofestival2576]

I will gladly defend FF13 on a number of fronts-- I liked the story, I liked the characters, I've got the soundtrack, and the combat was... well, I didn't _hate_ it-- but even compared to other PlayStation Final Fantasys, it is *extremely* linear. It's not just about the "running down corridors." In terms of exploration, side activities, minigames, "secrets" of any sort, peripheral characters, world-building... FF10 is a convenient comparison at first, but (a) in this respect, it was the black sheep of the franchise at the time, (b) it still sprinkled in optional activities to vary up the experience, and (c) by mid-late game, the comparison shatters: FF10 was *packed* with sidequests, secrets and so forth, incentivizing you to revisit areas. By contrast, FF13 seals off most areas, and provides little/no reason to revisit. (The suggestion that it was done so because the X360 had to use multiple disks has been vehemently denied, but... c'mon.)

[@fang_xianfu]

Open worlds exist so that the money people can see where all that money went. There's all this *stuff* in the game, that's where the money went!

[@Zaxophone32]

One of the things that stuck out to me about American Arcadia was it being a story about A character. The endingtron 3000 is all about making the story "the player's" but player agency interferes with characterization. It's like those dialogue trees with 5 options that seem to come from five different people. Games are unique in their ability to give the consumer agency, but there is something to be said for games where the main character is a distinct character that the player can build a relationship with and who can make their own decisions as opposed to a player surrogate.

[@Nowolf]

​@@SimuLord"What's the point of int anyways? Fancier dialogue options? Which stat let's me shoot better?"

[@g80gzt]

This just makes me think of a game which fully sends it with your character being utterly and entirely a nondescript agent for the player's actions, but from the get-go. A simple tutorial in extremely simplistic and bad graphics environments, and then it brings you into 'the real world' with much better graphics as you're a clone or whatever, or a robot, freshly awoken and with an explanation as to how you know language and walking and food and money and so on. And then you go through whatever story is present, as someone entirely fresh to the world, with no prior experience from themselves, figuring out who they are, what they're like, what they like and dislike.

[@beckstheimpatient4135]

American Arcadia is so awesome. It doesn't overstay its welcome, as if somewhat aware of the fact that its gameplay is kinda naff. And the ending is SUCH an amazing work of satire that it boggles the mind. I watched RT Game play it and it was wild seeing the faux stream chat near the end. It really messes with your perception or reality and makes you take a step back and consider your own media consumerism. And then it pats you on the shoulder and says 'Look, it IS bad but what're ya gonna do? Just enjoy yourself!". And then you feel guilty. And then it actually ends in such a stunningly realistic way that you feel like someone pulled the rug from under your feet, slapped you with a bundle of rolled up tax paperwork and reminded you of your outstanding bank loans.

[@BooperTee]

I watched the entirety of RT's playthrough and I was fully invested. Great video indeed, the chat at the end was way too on the mark with accuracy.

[@kcrtxbw.4349]

Also, Trevor and Angela are so cute together XD

[@nairocamilo]

@@kcrtxbw.4349 They are!

[@khanaris129]

Man, I was expecting a lot more, though. Specifically, I was expecting to be Inceptioned and that the "real world" of the game was one layer further up or even that it would make an attempt to break its own actual 4th wall. The actual twist was a lot LESS of a twist than what I thought would be coming. Does that make it more of a twist? Not sure. I didn't even spoil myself but it feels a bit deflating.

[@jakemaelstrom1404]

Actually... Yeah. Them NOT breaking the 4th wall was unexpected for me, but I had no problems with that. Too much of it recently. I like how they comment on the state of our reality without being fully aware of it.

[@danielmikula1375]

The interesting thing about that "I expected two buttons" ending also comes from the way that the developers' previous and first game, Call of the Sea, has one of those. Maybe they learned their lesson about narrative satisfaction.

[@gargaj]

It's funny cos with Call Of The Sea, I loved the game (Myst-clone) but the ending(s) were a letdown - with American Arcadia, the game itself was a bit meh, but they brilliantly nailed the ending.

[@doctorjay8673]

I loved both games. Call of the Sea always had this somberness to it whenever I replay it, while being incredibly refreshing. The story and puzzles were so good and I really loved the ending since it gave us subtle deviations from the credits and it felt more heartfelt. American Arcadia felt like a pull under the rug in a good way. And replaying it, you finally get to understand all the subtle hints of it's intricate lies. I also appreciate the many Call of the Sea Easter eggs and hope to see American Arcadia ones in their next game. The ending felt really realistic and it really brought to light a lot of the problems in mass media consumption and corporations. It's not the happy ending, but it's not the bad ending either for Angela and Trevor. They just both had enough of being lied to.

[@jigurd]

"It was satisfying to think of the corporation being left in Trevor's dust, having to grit its teeth and milk profit from its' own humilation. Forever chasing the shadow of its' most popular character after he nopes out." Can't imagine why Yahtzee would relate to that ending.

[@wahbegan]

I love how much Second Wind is like "Yeah c'mon guys just leave the Escapist alone y'know it's not a big deal it's whatever" while Yahtzee's over here throwing out passive-aggressive barbs like twice a video lmaooo

[@Squarcialupi]

The Escapist did nothing. Current Second Wind staff members were responsible in part for the day to day dealings of The Escapist. However, The Escapist has a parent company (GAMURS) who is responsible for dicking over the creatives and other workers.

[@sorio99]

To be fair, only Yahtzee ever had to hold the Escapist brand up single-handedly in the past, so it kind of makes sense he’d be a bit more bitter about them then the others.

[@redgeoblaze3752]

Well when he's responsible for their top 683 most viewed videos (at the time he left. Yes, I counted.) He kind of deserves to drill it in just how royally they fucked up.

[@Anton-de5vu]

Yeah really ZeroPunctuation was the only thing keeping ZeroPunctuation afloat

[@Mysticgamer]

What ever happened to the escapist? After Yahtzee left, I unsubscribed. When I saw second wind a couple of weeks later, I subscribed to that.

[@WolfHreda]

Can't imagine why Yahtzee got so invested in this one. Faceless corporation chasing infinite growth loses its cash cow? Doesn't ring a bell.

[@BerenElendilAPGaming]

Vtuber fans can relate. Sink the yacht.

[@TheStrangeSandwich]

Also applies to general media really. There's a trend of more and more sequel hooks, not to mention shared universes. I am starting to savor anytime anything wraps things up enough for proper cartharsis. Turns out that whale model of story intensity they taught in school is great, but now we've cut off it's face and are failing to forever drive things higher, forgetting that a crucial part of the roller coaster ride is the part where you go back down.

[@cybertramon0012]

It also doesn't help that everyone's desire to create their own shared universe ends up being for nothing because the universe generally doesn't get off the ground.

[@mastercheif978]

Inscryption and Signalis both had me in tears as the credits rolled. It's easy to forget how powerful telling a story that actually ends can be

[@EricGranata]

Outer Wilds and Spiritfarer were the last two to do it for me.

[@vcom741]

I dunno how Inscryption's ending works by itself, honestly, since it's part of the bigger "Mullenverse". Pony Island 2 seems to be on the way to wrap everything up though.

[@Nova225]

​@@vcom741was there an overarching plot between the games? I know a bad guy from the "The Hex" makes a brief cameo during a climatic scene in Inscription, but I wasn't sure if there was a big overarching connection beyond the literal Devil being involved in both Pony Island and (less directly) Inscryption

[@vcom741]

@@Nova225 Both the company that hired the dev in Hex and the company that made Inscryption is the same.

[@EmperorSeth]

@@EricGranata Outer Wilds is my semi-recent go-to answer for this as well. Disco Elysium's was pretty good, too. In terms of modern, non-indie games, I thought Tears of the Kingdom did it okay. Sure, it was long as shit and open-ended, but when you beat the game, that's it. You could always reload a past save to mop things up, but the actual ending has a note of permanency.

[@Rawfury]

Incredible video! You really summed up the ending perfectly. I'll be sure to share this with the devs. Thanks for everything you do.

[@gustaveriksson113]

Hades is the only roguelite with an actual ending. Two great endings in fact. First you finally find your mom and reunite her and your father. After that the story is making your extended family an actual family again. Both endings felt earned and heartfelt.

[@gabrote42]

Very good example! I had forgotten!

[@Veelofar]

I was literally coming down here to say that. I think the best part about said endings is they never feel like the final bit of character growth, just the final bit of character growth you’re there for. It feels like the trajectory of their overall story will continue into infinitum, not as a sequel hook specifically, but because they’re simulating how people are. They have more room to grow, but are on an overall positive trajectory, and getting to that trajectory IS what the story was about and IS the payoff for everything.

[@Hazzy113]

Wait? There’s a second ending?

[@richardvlasek2445]

yeah but thats because hades is not a very good roguelike

[@sharkastic2633]

"...the only roguelite..." Uh huh, no.

[@spaghettios6267]

I like to think Ghost Trick had a pretty satisfying ending.

[@vcom741]

Oh, that was the perfect ending.

[@SocksAndPuppets]

I think we should all put a spotlight on how good Ghost Trick was.

[@JacobSteakfries]

I think that a testament to Yakuza's writing staff is that they treat every mainline entry like it could be the last one they make. Every game ends wrapped up neatly in a little bow (some more than others, but the intent is still there) and if you just stop playing at any point after beating one that's a perfectly serviceable ending for yourself. Good writers can always find new avenues to a sequel, rather than having to make a backdoor for themselves to slip into to make it easier.

[@Bubbble_Bear]

To be fair with how SEGA was treating Yakuza before it blew up in the west, I think it was fair that every game they make, they can assume it would be their last

[@KRIMZONMEKANISM]

To me, one of the games with the most powerful endings I've ever experienced was none other than *Soma* The game gives you a few choices here and there, but the reality is there really aren't any. Humanity has lost. It failed. It's over. All there is left is a little dream, foolish as it may be, it is the last thing that is left of humanity and which humanity values most, our consciousness, and the hope that somehow our legacy is preserved... Floating through space for an unknown amount of time... As long as the device endures... a sliver of humanity will endure with it...

[@lokiswager]

For real, SOMA's ending is the kind of thing that sticks with you afterwards for days. It's been a few months since I've finished this game and I still think about it from time to time.

[@VeritabIlIti]

SOMA would be a perfect game if the chase sequences (read: actual gameplay) werent so tedious, because it has one of those narratives that only works in this medium.

[@al-muthannaathamneh120]

I really liked Papers, Please ending; it had 20 possible endings that come from decisions you make through the game and all of them felt satisfying.

[@chase_h.01]

AA was so charming, it wasnt revolutionary gameplay-wise but damn was it a fun adventure

[@PJSproductions97]

This is one of the few times I stopped at a "pause the video here and go play it before continuing" i must have done that a couple months ago, because when I started this back up I got perfectly "oh hey you're back." from Yahtzee!

[@reallyeffingcooltechnodude]

My favourite ending of recent times was in A Short Hike. After your A Short Hike you come back to where the game started, go take a nap and that's it.

[@zakarylorrain7422]

Endings are important, it tells your brain this is done, let's you move away for something else without the lingering anoyance in your brain that is just to prevent now-a-days.

[@freddie9705]

My favourite detail of the ending is how Steve Just, who becomes a central character of the Escape from Arcadia spinoff, grows a mustache like Trevor's and tries to look more like him.

[@noahsabadish3812]

OUTER WILDS has a powerful ending that both concludes things, while suggesting that the ending is never really the end.

[@VeritabIlIti]

The end is never the end is never the end is never the end is never the end...

[@HowlingWolf518]

“I learned a lot, by the end of everything. The past is past, now, but that’s… you know, that’s okay! It’s never really gone completely. The future is always built on the past, even if we won’t get to see it. Still, it’s um, time for something new, now.”

[@Penguinmanereikel]

The Twitch chat part from the game was SO freaking funny 🤣 And the fact that the chat reacts to the situations and the player's actions was the cherry on top!

[@alangreenway6695]

I think a lot of popular media has a problem with being ‘content’ recently. Stuff that just lives in a holding pattern to waste our time. Games, TV, Film, and Books are afraid to draw a line at the end as there’s always more on its way. The problem with endings is that the audience moves on to the next media and stop paying for yours.

[@ebbderelict]

One of my favourite non-endings was when I played Spider-man Web of Shadows: Amazing Allies on PS2 (basically a PSP port). You defeat this Venom blob as the final boss and as soon as his health bar is gone it just cuts to a 'Congratulations, you beat the game' style of screen. It was hilarious to me.

[@NICK....]

"You a winner!"

[@calebbeaudoin8726]

God, I remember that game! Played it as a kid and convinced myself it was fun until the ending ruined all illusions.

[@ban1kam]

@@NICK.... "You're winner"

[@MD_Polydactyl]

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[@thegodofalldragons]

You proved the justice of our culture.

[@21solomonspace]

I agree on this for games that are obviously going for a strong narrative structure, but not every game needs to be a standard narrative or even have it at all.

[@GeekMasterGames]

Tears of the Kingdom had a pretty satisfying climax and ending/denouement

[@FubukiTheIcyKing]

Ghost Trick lands an ending so satisfying that you're okay with it being standalone title.

[@bitter-unicorn]

GHOST TRICK MENTION!!!! Man I love how Ghost Trick handles itself from a story and plot perspective. Genuinely one of the most compelling, well-considered, and satisfying ways I've ever seen time altering powers handled in media

[@TheFillyosopher]

Honestly the best possible person to review the game, someone who has been through that exact situation and can comment on the exact emotional situations it displays. Fantastic.

[@vyrv6719]

The trick is realizing how many different events can be AN ending. You aren't required to rip a heart in two, just a scratch will do. Everyone gets so caught up on the big finales, or the bittersweet partings, that we forget the little endings. The child walked out the door, the playwright's final showing, of tasks done well. For the end of a sentence can be as true an ending as death itself. If only a little death, of Thought.

[@TheWrongButton]

Love that small nod to the Mass Effect ZPs with the ice cream flavours

[@KimCarter]

I LOVED watching my friend stream this. Absolutely amazing story. And that’s not even touching on the two main character aspect of it and how they used that so creatively

[@Formoka]

I definitely miss good endings. Yes, it’s good to see more of stuff you love, but there’s something so satisfying about all questions being answered, plots wrapped up, and characters sent off to the right destination.

[@jalapenoofjustice4682]

I think there are plenty of ways to experiment with storytelling in video games while having a satisfying ending - I played Hypnospace Outlaw recently and that tells its story almost entirely through fake webpages. I also love the Zero Escape games for the way they incorporate branching paths into the narrative.

[@hedgehoundable]

I think Octopath Traveler 2 has my favorite ending out of all the games I played this year. Once the final boss has been flicked on the nose, everyone hangs out around a campsite and says farewell and what they want to do in the future. Then after the credits roll, you get this awesome ending where you walk around one of the towns you visited and it's populated with all of the NPCs you met on your journey from main quests to side quests and they all talk about how the travelers have changed their lives from meeting them. Then you go around and find your old party members one by one and watch a theater performance where the dancer of the party is the main star and dedicates her new song to the journey she went on and the friends she made all with a glorious pan-out shot of all the named NPCs in attendance. White out to the game's title card and that's that. It put a nice bow on an excellent game and it doesn't have any other intrigue. No sequel hook, but it does leave with the implication that the travelers have already started working to make the world better in their own respective ways, leaving on the note that even when you turn off the game, you have enough information to piece together how everyone will live their lives after.

[@Evanz111]

Second Wind is becoming a better and better name the more we get to see these guys thrive in this new role. ❤

[@tjpeluso]

Kinda surprised how Yahtzee failed to point out how American Arcadia's ending is probably exactly what the Truman Show's ending would be were it being written today. The protagonist gets out clean in both, but in the movie it's with the hope of being able to choose his direction in life driving him and the audience cheering him on and moving on to find something else to watch, while in the game the circumstances have turned him cynical and inwards, and the audience just shrugs its shoulders and keeps feeding the machine.

[@HatsAlEsman]

I think Avellone said regarding KOTOR 2 if he could do it again he'd cut a whole major planet just to refocus on the last planet more.

[@Guymanbot97]

​@@louisduarte8763Yep. In good old Obsidian fashion.

[@TheJadedJames]

@@louisduarte8763 The biggest cut content issue with KOTOR 2 was the influence system. A huge feature of the story was that you had the ability influence the personalities of your teammates, even going so far as to train them as Jedi or change their moral alignment. This is clearly supposed to pay off in the final mission where the story can take a bunch of divergent paths on your way to the last objective based on all the different ways your party could have developed. This element of the game was drastically unfinished in the original release of the game.

[@hackcubit9663]

Played American Arcadia. Searched this video again. And it started exactly as Yahtzee welcomed back those of us who took his recommendation and played the game. Wow.

[@sentrysapper45]

Dang, American Arcadia sounds awesome even if I spoiled the plot and ending for myself by watching this before playing. I'll have to play it myself some time. This game isn't going to win any narrative awards, but Pizza Tower has the most cathartic ending I've experienced in a long-ass time. Having Peppino finally snap at the final boss and proceed to lay an almighty smackdown on each and every one of his foes was one hell of a power trip, followed by a final escape from the crumbling tower that felt more like a victory lap. All while the soundtrack laid down some of the sickest beats I've ever heard in a video game. It was absolutely exhilarating, and I had a big, dumb grin on my face the entire time.

[@PtolemyJones]

And yet clearly, after he broke free, the player was still watching him. Layers within layers...

[@philismenko]

I think my favorite bit of american arcadia that yhatzee doesnt touch upon is the inspiration of it being the original plan for disneys epcot, a true experimental prototype city of tomorrow

[@andybrinegar8861]

Hollow Knight, Tunic (the good ending), and Subnautica all have fantastic endings. Yet they’re still replayable because the story itself is so well written

[@vcom741]

Hollow Knight definitely has a good multiple ending system. The less you know of the situation, the more chance you have to fuck everything up. When you know everything about what happened leading up to your journey, the path to what to do is clear. Honestly, I love the lore in HK

[@levesteM]

Also helps that HK spawns you at the last bench after you get an ending, so it doesn't have the problem of "nullifying" the ending, since you technically didn't fight the final boss yet.

[@MD_Polydactyl]

Love this Yahtz. An unasked for addition: Overall, I’m 100% on board with a focus on a more efficient and traditional “beginning-middle-end” narrative experience in games, but I wonder if it’s just a symptom of growing older and having less time. Maybe it’s not the quality of the ending, but the crushing length to get there. I still hold up Mass Effect 2 as my favorite gaming experience, and it’s never left my top 5. But I was binging that on a summer break in high school. I try to play it now - or a contemporary experience like God of War: Ragnarok or Baldur’s Gate - and it’s harder to get completely enthralled in a 45-90 minute play session than a 3-4 hour binge. Still enjoyable, but that bittersweet “now what?” ennui I used to get when I left the game world behind isn’t as strong because I’m going to bed too late. I’m gonna pay for my decision to get captured by the narrative when I’m bleary-eyed at my job the next day. Nowadays, the Journeys, the Chants of Senaar, the Obra Dinn’s, and the Titanfall 2 campaign - these snacky, well-defined level or puzzle experiences - hit harder and feel more fulfilling because it’s not taking me months to get through them. Maybe it’s a dose effect? The ending feels stronger because I could engage with the world in the more limited parameters I have as an older aficionado in the medium.

[@bobbobbing4220]

ive been a fan of yahtzee for years, i just wanna say its great to see you and your team busting out solo and succeeding!

[@louiewood7689]

I absolutely love this format (almost more than ZP/ FR ) its so interesting to see a veteran in the gaming industry just break down themes and reccorances from across the industry. Genius new style of video!!!

[@astereotypicalgamer1708]

"Forever chasing the shadow of its most popular character after he nopes out." - the subtle shade

[@CJBooks4]

"Leave me the fuck alone" That's gonna be stuck in my head rent-free now, along with the ending: because *HOLY SHIT! I feel called out here!* 😱🤯😰

[@RusticShadow]

I feel that Yahtzee's lack of enjoyment for the endings of long games may be influenced by his need to complete games in a limited time for review purposes. Long games can be less exhausting when you can take them at your own pace. With that said, yes, I 100% agree that a satisfying ending is key to my enjoyment of a game. I will never forget the anticlimax of finally catching the Riddler in Arkham City, just to not have anything else to do.

[@Mustafa_AhmedPGH]

Ending's are basically the culmination of the entire gameplay and story experience. If the ending falls flat, it feels like al the investment you put into the game is wasted. So yeah, I totally get what you mean.

[@ImTwoPie]

Loved the hell out of American Arcadia

[@ChadkinsShow]

American Arcadia seems like a very well-written game, but I think it does something just as if not more important than that - it's contemporary. It's not another fantasy game about a medieval hero in a fictional world, or a war game set in past world wars or a fictional future, or even a whimsical Wizard of Oz journey about finding out the meaning of love or some junk. It's entirely relatable to modern people and modern problems, while still managing to retain a sense of adventure and high stakes. That keeps the game engaging, but beyond that Trevor is the perfect example of the modern person - his life is a pathological lie set up by a cabal of corrupt business executives who's only concern is growing profit margins - and even when he manages to uncover the truth and break his mind free from their control, they still win in the end. It's the modern Noire story - except where Noire often highlighted the dreary, miserable fate of its heroes - Trevor's story is about how he is absolutely capable of having everything he wants in life (to just be left alone) and that that's totally achievable and up to him now that he's broken free of control - but he's _still_ powerless to do anything to _change the society he lives in._ That's exactly how it feels to live in today's society. It feels like the curtain is being pulled back for everyone to see just how pathological of a society we all live in, and upon this realization we're compelled to change it. But in the end, we can only change ourselves - because the money makers have already won. They've figured out how to stay profitable no matter what you do, and all we can do now is hope and pray that one day their hubris catches up with them and the whole thing comes crashing down, hopefully in a way that doesn't throw the baby out with the bathwater. Until then, the best thing we can do is just live our own lives, and try to avoid buying into the game. So, truly, the only people with the real power to do anything to make things better - is you. The corrupt people rely on you to support them no matter what. So while the audience isn't at fault or even responsible for this "evil", they're the only ones left who can do anything about it. So yeah, vote with your wallet and your eyes, folks. It's the only way.

[@helperb0t4]

I am late to the party, but gosh is it good to have y'all back

[@InuAres]

I could listen to yahtzee talk about american arcadia for hours, man. it genuinely is a really good story.

[@TheTabletopMisfits]

That's the reason I loved Cyberpunk's endings. If you went back to complete it, you could try another and another and another and they were all satisfying in their own way.

[@ImTopin]

Coming back to this after wanting to play American Arcadia before this was uploaded and now having finally beaten it, God I'm glad I did. And hearing Yahtzee divulge into what he appreciated about the ending makes me appreciate the game all the more for what it was doing. I wasn't sure what the ending was going to be like for me, but I was heavily invested on how Trevor was going to get through it. Suffice to say I'm satisfied that I was not given a choice in the final matter. Also the piano scene was simply beautiful.

[@mauromerconchini]

Regarding your point of games not giving you a "second ending", I think Kingdom Come: Delivernace handled this very well. You can complete the final story quest with the big important battle, and the game will give you the ending to the story of that particular narrative and conflict. But it's an RPG, and it knows you might have other stuff you want to do. After it rolls credits, it gives you an epilogue which you can also complete, and the game makes it very clear that once you complete this epilogue quest, it won't let you continue in the world. It even fits thematically, because the final objective of that epilogue is to meet with a character and tell them that you're ready to ride off to a far-away destination, which matches your choice as a player to say that you're "ready to put the game down and be fully finished with it". It will play a nice cutscene where the characters speak about their journey and their growth, and literally ride off into the distance with the words "The End" fading in. It's a really genius way to give players who wanted to keep playing (for side quests or to do the DLC content) a "second end", and I couldn't help but smile as the final scene played out, it faded me back to the main menu, and I closed the game for the final time, satisfied with my adventure as Henry of Skalitz.

[@BoardGamesBricksHobbies]

I really like the ending to 2017's Prey. Sure it did a little bit of the "choose A, B or C", but the build up for it has an impact on how things played out. I found it really satisfying!

[@ThatSpecificIndividual]

The part about the audience rings incredibly true. Arcadia is powered by the audience because they are the reason it exists the way it does. The one There's a part midway through the game where the 2nd character, Angela who does the 3d puzzle sections is walking through a museum of the corporation, its history. There's this one wall lined with posters of made up movies and TV shows made throughout the years and she comments on each one. Despite her main goal is tearing down the company she still grew up and reminisces on the content she grew up watching owned by that business. Like at the end the two characters got together, they watched the opening of Escape from Arcadia, riffing on it mystery science theatre style. Even though they didn't watch it for long they still contributed to viewership numbers. Like people selling Che Guevara and "smash capitalism" shirts still contribute to capitalism. Even resistance to something can still sustain it.

[@KelleyEngineering]

David Mitchell has a soapbox episode kinda about what you’re talking about. He talks about living in the moment and how ridiculous that sentiment is. You didn’t like the game in the moment but because of the ending, you retrospectively enjoyed your time with it.

[@Ajbolt89]

I saw the line "I might not be the most interesting guy in the world, but I've never hurt anyone, and i dont deserve the crap im going through", and simultaneously said to myself "yeah i feel you bud" and "that's a pretty convenient way to absolve yourself".

[@gabrote42]

0:33 I had felt the same way about many anime before watching Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood. On the topic of Videogames, the standout example here is definitely Earthbound, and Omori might be even mlre concrete and satisfying. There are serviceable endings like GTA:SA's, but satisfying endings are also not as rare as they seem. But mostly on indie games, AAA suck at finishing up their plotlines unless they are Rockstar. American Arcadia was also a good recent example that you cited, and Ghost Trick is famous for it's outstanding ending. I could cite a dozen examples if you wanted 1:49 Oops! Ok then I will need to find a different recent example. Until then, Ace Attorney 3 and Investigations 2 are amazing endings as well. And so is Celeste, imo. 4:03 it's exactly the kind of ending that Farenheit 451 had, yet nobody seems to talk about it!

[@cranapple3367]

It's not just the ending for me, it's the themes. American Arcadia absolutely nails "engagement culture", right down to shitposting Twitch chat commenting on Trevor's final escape. I didn't find the ending a mixture of up and down at all - i thought it was a huge downer and a very believable one, even if Trevor's personal story gets a resolution.

[@Derah_OG]

This is one of the very few channels on KZbin where I specifically disable my AdBlock before tuning in. You guys actually earned that revenue, no matter how small it is.

[@Boonesman]

I liked American Arcadia a lot, it's cool to see someone talk about it.

[@InMaTeofDeath]

Last ending that left an impression was lies of p. Last ending that knocked me off my feet and still had my head spinning weeks later was Half Life Alyx.

[@stickybear2557]

I stopped watching the video and bought it. One of the best recommendations. What a game.

[@palopoildazeroth4376]

I think my fav ending must be when you finally escape in the first subnautica, all the elements of it clicks just right for me, and admit it, that last music is a banger

[@ЄвгенКорякін]

Got a similar ending in Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines. Ruined the establishment, told the Prince everything I thought about him, gave the finger to the Anarchs, and just disappeared into the night. In a setting all about intrigue and manipulation, this felt the most satisfying. Kinda don't want to replay the game now, since I got what I wanted out of it (same with Pyre. Yeah, there's a ton of variations to the ending, but I got the one I wanted, so I'm good.) Hades might still be the only roguelite with a good ending that you can still play afterwards. (After)life goes on, but it's actually good now.

[@saw4894]

Best endings fill your head with thoughts, like SOMA or SIGNALIS. It will haunt you for days and weeks. It's the wrap up and conclusion of things.

[@hourglass1988]

This is a really interesting concept that's all too real and media tends to shy away from. In fact Kafka was the only person (that I know of) that really writes about it and he died just shy of 100 years ago. An organization once big enough eventually becomes its own entity. Doesn't matter if its a government, company, or even the vague idea of a society. You get enough pieces in place and the 'thing' takes on a life of its own. Some cogs in the machine are paid more then others but the machine itself isn't controlled by anyone which is part of what makes them so terrifying. If I had to guess its not a common idea to write about not due to corporate conspiracy to cover it up but just because we like our villains to have a face. When something bad is happening we want a specific person to blame and more importantly to punch. You can't stick a concept in the guillotine and that makes a story more frustrating than satisfying.

[@agreetodisagree8256]

Omg! That was fantastic. One of my favorite commentaries from Yahtzee.

[@witchywoman2008]

Finished American Arcadia today so I can finally watch the rest of this video now. DON’T BE A FOOOOL 🎉

[@Brown95P]

Took a while, but now we finally have our Not-Extra Punctuation; cheers.

[@casualbird7671]

I really think Outer Wilds is the best of both worlds, in terms of being less linear while also having an amazing ending

[@pavlotverdokhlib7627]

I paused, Bought the game in a Fanatical Winter sale, played ti, came back, and resumed 2 weeks later. it is, indeed, a very fun ride with a solid ending. The game also crashed for me during the finale (when the "please stand by" screen was supposed to pop up) the first time, so that just added to the effect, :)

[@Ceece20]

For me, Nier Automata had a satisfactory ending, that I will still cry over when watching back.

[@MacBunny6978]

You are so real for this

[@Konpekikaminari]

If you know anything about the OG NieR, then ending E becomes even more impactful because it is by far the most hopeful ending in the franchise gods... NieR: Automata wasn't just a game, it was an experience

[@Ceece20]

@@Konpekikaminariyep, Nier made me cry for the characters. Nier Automata made me cry for myself. Both impacted me equally but in different ways.

[@Konpekikaminari]

@@Ceece20 you said it perfectly

[@wraithwrecker_]

Might be my favorite video from Yahtzee in a while.

[@tasmynjean3900]

When I played Breath of the Wild it was my first modern game in at least 10 years and my first immersive sim. The anger and disappoint I felt when I finally finished the story (quite the achievement for a non gamer like I was) and the game just spat me back out in the world like nothing had happened. I was furious and my partner had to explain that that's just home games are these days. Forever tainted that first play through of the game

[@rezzy8590]

Same here. I still love the game but man...so anticlimactic. Only made worse by a quest that you have to get halfway through Hyrule Castle to qualify for finishing it, thereby destroying the natural pacing and tension of the final dungeon. At least, iirc.

[@KingOfElectricNinjas]

I do like how expeditions into Hyrule Castle are a valid way to play, with lots of ways to get in and a high risk-reward ratio, but there's definitely a point where it loses its luster when you know the final boss is just a step away.

[@booxmowo2684]

That's not really a modern thing though? Like, if you boot up a completed save file of A Link to the Past it puts you back in the world like nothing happened. What's the difference?

[@zacharygilmore1075]

@@booxmowo2684 Pretty much all Zelda games are like that.

[@phftheebonidiot637]

This is what ultimately led to my losing interesting in comic books and other ongoing media entirely.

[@Gavyn84]

I literally paused the video at the suggestion to play this game, bought it, played it through, then came back and watched the conclusion.

[@GoCubs3425]

Going to come back to this video after i’ve purchased and finished the game, i love a good narrative

[@GhostOfRazgiz]

He was a powerless man, trapped in a world he had no control over, so he took the one, single, moment of power and control he was given, and freaking shoved it down everyone's throat.

[@ryshow9118]

6:18 That's it. That's all. I'm still so proud of all of you and I'm so glad that you get to see how much your community values your team.

[@dumonu]

Towards the end, right as Angela's elevator came into view while Trevor is climbing a ladder and the PoV is meant to cut back to Angela, my game crashed with a generic error message. I was so deep into the mindset that I thought this was an intentional 4th wall crash and checked through the game files before relaunching the game.

[@Tolly7249]

I had very much the same reaction to American Arcadia. I was dreading a 'choose your ending' button and found myself both charmed by Trevor's explosive rejection of the entire situation and saddened but unsurprised by how nobody was held to account. It was a brutally clever ending that made the game before it infinitely better.

[@DodgeThisBam]

Heavy Rain, Disco Elysium, Bayonetta immediatley come to mind in regards to satisfying endings. Strangely enough, there IS a rouge like that gets the ending right: Wildermyth. As long as you got invested in your characters (and that's most of the point of this game) the ending sequence (and yes, that is based on your characters AND randomized) while "something in the woods is very strange" plays is the perfect send of to your campaign.

[@TheWeiseth]

Totally agree on Wildermyth!

[@RevolverRez]

The last game with a satisfying ending I've played was Outer Wilds. It was a fantastic, bitter sweet ending that paid off the hours of being trapped in a timeloop incredibly well.

[@Jelkeludo]

It's interesting what you said about God of War's ending. On the one hand, I loved the time I got to spend with that game, and then ending felt especially meaningful because of how invested I was (time-wise, emotionally, even financially to an extent, I'd bought a PS4 just for this). Yet thinking back, I also remember that the moment the credits rolled, I was also 100% done with it. Not in a bad way, I still love the game and its ending, but there was a definite sense of closure. It was strangely easy to exit the game, sell my PS4 again (no, I wouldn't have used it for other games, I don't have the time), and move on with my life. Even with the new DLC I've not had the desire to go back. Now I don't know whether I'm glad about how much time I got to spend with the game, or whether I wished it had left me wanting for more.

[@TriforceWisdom64]

I wish he would've spent a little more time on that point. Saying Ragnarok is too long and refusing to elaborate is a weak critique for a fairly bold claim.

[@morfinny94]

@@TriforceWisdom64 He did do a ZP on the game back when it came out. Yahtzee is just way too jaded with Sony's narrative adventure games, and doesn't seem particularly invested in God of War as a franchise. Talking about great stories and endings and dismissing the new God of War games is incredibly reductive, but even Yahtzee has his biases, I dont begrudge him that.

[@FatAlbert1020]

Very intriguing how right Yahtzee is about this. Thinking about it now, I haven’t played a game with an ending driven by storytelling in years. In an economy where anything remotely successful must be milked to death by sequels and spinoffs, a satisfying ending is lost in the shuffle. The last true one I had was Bioshock Infinite. Where it ended and I was left thinking about it for months afterward

[@theresnothinghere1745]

Try looking for games based on that category then instead of just playing what well known. I've played plenty of games with such endings over the last few years most of them in niche games.

[@yehormasalitin5390]

I paused the video as you said, added to the wish list, and now, 3 months later I can finally finish the video 😅

[@TheRIsForRizzo]

Meanwhile Sam Lake over here taking 13 years just to tell two parts of a "setting" as Yahtz so succinctly put it.

[@crazedmimic]

I'm really liking the Semi-Ramblomatic format. Listening to Yahtzee's thoughts less frenetically is just as interesting.

[@parkerdixon-word6295]

On a rewatch, this makes me think of, of all things, some of the Pokemon Spin-ffs, specifically pokemon ranger, though I suppose Legends Arceus does this as well- where they make 100% completetion far less psychotic a goal to pursue than it is in the main games, and then make it so, once you get to 99% completetion, you unlock one last pokemon to catch that's kinda epic, and can send the game off with a satisfying sense of finality and a little cutscene of character acknowledging that you got 100%. After the first Ranger game (and in Legends) they even made sure the final boss fight was some kind of cool Legendary Pokemon as a postgame superboss. They still leave the world open to explore afterward, though pokemon is in a semi-unique position where resolving the plot 100% doesn't remove *everything* interesting from the setting, because there are still wild Volcano Badgers, Lightning Spiders, Angry Boulder-men, 4-armed wrestlemania lizards, ESP Goat-men, Teddy Bear Dragons, Sword birds, Sea Serpents and Living Toxic Waste, among others, who will all pick a fight with you if given a reason to. They get to have their cake and eat it too, to some extent.

[@spoogemop]

Nice reference to Logan's Run, which it seems to resemble more than a little (one man discovers the truth about his world, then fights to escape it)