Tormented Souls and The Artful Escape (Zero Punctuation)

This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee reviewed Tormented Souls and The Artful Escape.
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#ZeroPunctuation

[@theescapist]

Watch this week's episode of Zero Punctuation on Deathloop. www.escapistmagazine.com/deathloop-zero-punctuation/ Watch it early on KZbin via KZbin Memberships for just $2/month.

[@th3element]

"I feel like I forgot something..." "Well, if you forgot it, I can't be that important." "You're right." *Game play, standing in the rain*

[@danielhale1]

Even at hundreds of likes, underrated frick'n comment

[@lyricmezzosoprano5357]

As someone who played the game for the first time *while on acid*, the gameplay was *just enough*. lol

[@thomastakesatollforthedark2231]

​@@lyricmezzosoprano5357that sounds like a sure way to see the face of God

[@lyricmezzosoprano5357]

@@thomastakesatollforthedark2231 It was a great experience. My husband watched me play and we especially enjoyed the bit where you travel between the Lung and the other locations, where it’s just a mishmash of noise and images.

[@jamescunningham54]

"why do people keep making games about sad people in apartments?" write what you know

[@lilowhitney8614]

Same reason why there are so many novel about english professors

[@OdaSwifteye]

@@lilowhitney8614 And so many gods damn animes that take place in a school with at least one main character being an otaku.

[@hailmuffins6934]

@@OdaSwifteye Or why so many romance novels are about women with unsatisfying sex lifes.

[@TheUnstableThinker]

Knowing Yahtzee's game creation+personal history, he's being fairly hypocritical with that one.

[@lilith-punkpollock609]

@@lilowhitney8614 and even more novels about English professors contemplating adultery

[@Carlos-ln8fd]

I was like, The Artful Escape sounds pretty good when is he going to mention the gameplay and then went "oh, I get where this is going".

[@TheQrstOne]

To the right and nowhere else? 😆

[@Dyneamaeus]

Yeah, Right around the psych point I thought, "but he hasn't said anything about the......oh. Oh no."

[@GreyAcumen]

As someone who never even heard of Artful escape up until this point, Yahtzee's presentation was a fucking rollercoaster for me.

[@ZmannShow]

@@TheQrstOne You do on the slightest of occasion have to... and stick with me here... go left as well.

[@tekgeekster]

I was wondering "wtf is the point of this game?" when watching the trailer and that depressed me because it looked gorgeous.

[@StrikeWarlock]

"And you're breaking my heart here, guys" He genuinely didn't want to give any negatives about this game, and something about that felt wholesome I couldn't stop rewatching the second half. Also joy of joys it's on GamePass so i guess I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

[@Nyghtking]

Sounds like a game that could have benefited from some guitar hero like gamplay moments.

[@JMarchel]

I love the way Yahtzee has developed as a critic. You can tell he loves the medium, and though he has high standards, he looks for positives and revels in the joy of gaming

[@talltroll7092]

... trying to take over the world?

[@ChristopherCubbage]

So was it any good? 🤣

[@matosz23]

​@@ChristopherCubbage It was good.

[@klyffjohnson]

As a chinchilla owner, the line "what if your pet chinchilla suddenly goes into labor" strangely hit close to home.

[@ShadowWolfRising]

Pinhead: We have such sights to show you. 'Turns around.' Pinhead: Alright, maybe next time. I don't know why, but I find that bit way funnier than I feel I should.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

Honestly I feel like that could be a game in its own right. You have a lonely and curious Occultist (Solomon, or Sol for short) who crosses over into a weird and eldritch otherspace, only to swiftly saunter back into the real world when an eldritch horror (Virgil) makes itself known in an overly-bombastic fashion. Later, when Solomon decides to head back into the Otherside while actually prepared this time, Virgil makes a much less bombastic introduction, and it turns out that they're just lonely and curious like Solomon, and that they only spooked Solomon because they were overexcited to see a "Realsider". After briefly talking it out, Sol either agrees to let Virgil be their guide in this mysterious dimension, or politely tells Virgil to leave them be. The Unguided Route offers more open exploration starting out, but doesn't pull its punches or hold the player's hand, happily killing Solomon if they wander into a particularly hostile area. On the flipside, the Virgil Route starts out with more of a guided tour, with Virgil able to defuse tense situations involving native Othersiders (since Virgil can actually translate unlike most Othersiders), as well as warning the Occultist away from areas that they are ill-equipped to traverse. The Unguided Route would be a dick in the eye for first-time players, but still entirely doable with enough persistence and situational awareness. And of course, there would be story changes depending on whether Virgil is guiding Solomon or merely watching from the shadows. Plus, for a small spoiler, there wouldn't be any surprise twist where Virgil was trying to take over Solomon's body. It'd merely be a puzzley exploration game where two lonely, curious souls form a weird but cozy friendship, all set against the backdrop of a weird Lovecraftian otherworld. "I have such sights to show you... ...no really, I do! Come on, it'll be fun!"

[@ShadowWolfRising]

@@GmodPlusWoW There is indeed a game in there.

[@GmodPlusWoW]

@Meat Box Plays Well, you're in luck: there's a game called Sucker for Love in development. There was a proof-of-concept version in Dread X Collection 3 IIRC.

[@i_just_got_here]

Congrats to Artful Escape for being named 5th Best Game of the Year

[@Gboy86ify]

More of an indictment of 2021 than anything else really.

[@KeithFraser82]

*Zero Punctuation emo rock album of the week:* *Afraid Of All The Shouty People* by the *Illogical Locking Mechanisms*

[@hukama6911]

im woalkin hyeere

[@Twitchy_McExorcism]

"Why do people keep making games about sad people in appartments?" Because that's probably like 90% of the audience?

[@addex1236]

Then 90% of the audience needs to get over themselves

[@seokkyunhong8812]

And the devs

[@Suika_Ibuki_The_Drunk_Oni]

@@addex1236 could not have said it better myself.

[@StrangerMoontail]

I was thinking it was because that's 90% of indie game developers.

[@sirfailalotful]

@@addex1236 What does that mean?

[@KeithFraser82]

*Zero Punctuation prog rock album of the week* (The Artful Escape aside): *Intergalactic Ego Trip* by *Transcendental Space Moth*

[@ideitbawxproductions1880]

as a Canadian, "Toronto Smells" got a good laugh out of me... but Hamilton smells SO MUCH WORSE!! "Hey, did a hobo just spray diarrhea all over the place after eating a bad hotdog?" "Nope, it's just the industrial district."

[@mythicalgriffin]

Okay I'm glad I heard that joke correctly. I was like "wait a second" when I heard it

[@TheSPY1997]

When I saw the title, I thought that Tormented Souls would be right up your alley, given how much you love Silent Hill 2. Then I remembered that you like Silent Hill 2 for being subtle, atmospheric, and unique. I sure hope that Tormented Souls starts a trend of old school survival horror game revivals, because there's potential there.

[@asianjackass237]

Old school horror revival is a thing for ages. Many horror are mimicking the PS1 era. Notably Puppet Combo

[@TheSPY1997]

@@asianjackass237 Oh I know about them. Kitty Horrorshow is pretty great too. I meant something that sticks close to the Silent Hill and early Resi formulas in terms of design, but using them to tell original interesting stories, exploring new settings, new types of horror, or modernising them in appropriate ways etc. I really love what RE7 and REmake 2 were going for, and even as a huge fan of fixed camera angles and tank controls, I must say they did an excellent job modernising the formula.

[@TheCyclicGamer]

I'd just like to have a survival horror game akin to classic RE but without the fixed camera tank control style gameplay, cause Jesus people have such an unhealthy hard-on for that stuff.

[@rcurl44]

​@@TheCyclicGamer Crow Country

[@nicklager1666]

Yahtzee's fast talking reviews are an artful escape for my tormented soul. Thank you i will see myself out.

[@Dethmaster64]

One of the best comments I’ve ever read for a video by The (Artful) Escapist

[@Andy_Enderson]

Not going to lie that was actually pretty witty word play

[@stephenbrady4352]

Please no sir you cannot leave you've been requested in the vip hand job section with bottleservice.

[@GayBearBro2]

Based on this and the 3MR for it, The Artful Escape sounds like something best experienced through someone streaming it, probably without a voiceover, but with a reaction cam.

[@StrikeWarlock]

More like a solo version of It Takes Two, IMO.

[@GayBearBro2]

@@StrikeWarlock I honestly enjoyed playing It Takes Two. Watching someone else play it removed some of the novelty from the game for me. It just looked like a game with a ton of poorly thought out ideas and mechanics, but definitely played much better than it looked.

[@Elix10]

And/or a dose of mescaline

[@wackywoohoopizzaman1290]

Do you people really need narcissist crittc,who doesn't really review game to tell you ,if a game good or not , instead finding out for yourself

[@jakethejax]

@@wackywoohoopizzaman1290 I ain't got that kinda time.

[@a_level_70_elite_raccoon]

The sadness in his voice on "I guess I still recommend [Artful Escape]" was absolutely heartbreaking.

[@jonnycellular]

I'm stoked that Toem got a few seconds of screen time there. I've only played the demo but it's such a delightful game with a deceptively simple mechanic.

[@angeldeb82]

LOLed at some bits here and there, especially at the "Spring Break" running gag! BTW, congrats on The Artful Escape being the 5th Best Game of 2021! :)

[@deebzscrub]

That's pretty much what I was afraid of with Artful Escape. It seems like a cool experience, but not much of a game.

[@Mernom]

Zero replay value, basically.

[@deebzscrub]

@@Mernom yeah seems that way, unless you wanna take the same trip again

[@Cleverconveyence]

it's basically Florence but longer in terms of interaction. also a fantastic experience.

[@jeremypedersen6894]

So basically it amnesia amfp. Ok.

[@shiv3rcubesolver664]

It's a fucking blast though, I loved it

[@HBlatz87]

Played both and enjoyed both. Though he's dead on with most of the Tormented Souls critiques. I largely liked it anyway cause I love that era/genre of gaming, but I'm surprised he didn't touch on how ridiculously complex some of the puzzles were. There's "ooh that was challenging and put my brain to work, I like it!" and then there's "dude who the FUCK would ever figure this out with no goddamn hints?!?" T.S. was firmly in the latter with a couple of those puzzles. Though it also had some great ones, so it wasn't entirely aggravating.

[@Vysard]

He's probably used to the puzzles from Silent Hill where sometimes it's just "find the thing" and sometimes it's "re-arrange this bookshelf according to Macbeth."

[@bbcraz1226]

Second that on some of those puzzles being absolutely bonkers

[@HBlatz87]

@@Vysard one of them was literally "TURN OFF THE LIGHTS, EQUIP THE LIGHTER AND WALK AROUND THIS ONE DEAD DUDE 3 TIMES". I get the slight context they gave you but fuck man they could've helped you out a little bit more on that one lol

[@graham3400]

Which puzzles did you find to difficult? The only one that stumped me was the reincarnation one.

[@manhphuc4335]

For example, people who never knew what a floppy disk is would never know how to un write protect them.

[@IceDelight]

To be honest, Tormented Souls sounds like everything I love, I'll have to check it out.

[@graham3400]

I absolutely loved Tormented Souls. Really hope we'll see more survival horror games moving forward instead of the god awful haunted house simulators that have been so popular for the last 5 years.

[@MrBizznessMan]

Nice Psychonauts 2 reference 1:50

[@WhiteFangofWar]

Just love it when a past game's technical limitations are carried over and called an 'homage' instead of a sharp reminder of why we don't do that any more, or at least shouldn't.

[@alabaster5302]

Funny thing is, SH had an option to play it in over-head 3rd person mode, if you knew what to change as well as access to the special options menu. Tho since some items become hard to spot/pick-up, requiring L2 to go into fixed angle, it was amazingly intuitive with the tank controls. However it was believed, in those days, fixed camera was more "cinematic".

[@danielbenitezperez6264]

Amazing double review, Yatz. Thank you for giving my dose of fast-talking humor every week and for training my ear to listen English accents without putting on the subtitles.

[@leowei771]

That's a pretty nice review for The Artful escape, he seems even reluctant to say the downside but has to due to his job. It's a shame if what ZP said is true, maybe som Funkin Night Friday rhythm gameplay would have made it better?

[@thundergamer64]

That game also has a weird thing where you're supposed to be out-singing your opponent, but all you're actually doing is copying them. Maybe there could be a twist where you're on the offensive for once? Imagine the 5 lane guitar hero structure, but instead of items being sent down towards you, you hit the notes to send notes up towards the boss, and each boss has you trying to figure out what rhythm and melody you have to play to hit them, or "appeal to their musical tastes" as it were. I don't think I've ever seen a game try to make composing music a mechanic instead of just reacting to music, and maybe that's for good reason, but it sounds like it would at least be interesting.

[@ACEYGAMES]

@@thundergamer64 I completely agree. It'd be nice to actually play a harder version or take over the song or something that isn't the comparitively low bar of playing worse but not bad enough you lose. Heck just making the ai fail notes sometimes would help with the feel that you're out singing the other guy.

[@sid6645]

@@thundergamer64 that sounds like hell to program, if theirs any degree in freedom of input haha

[@thundergamer64]

@@sid6645 Fair lol. Like I said, probably a good reason it's never been done.

[@edrimuspage9667]

@@thundergamer64 maybe a system that uses perfect notes as actual attacks, normals as blocks, and fails as damage? Composing music would really be a bit much, but a combat mechanic could be devised. Maybe using a rap battle style?

[@LegendaryPlank]

Well spinning around when the camera transitions is because 'modern' controls don't work well with fixed camera. That's up always being forward worked absolutely fine.

[@BrookHeimbaugh]

Games are usually remastered because they have great gameplay but the visuals need improvement. The Artful Escape may be the first game with the opposite problem.

[@gus.smedstad]

Sounds like the combat in Artful Escape is one step down from guitar games. I kinda want a game with music battles that play like the Bass Battle in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, where you're trying to find the right combination of chords rather than an elaborate game of Simon.

[@vigorouslethargy]

Or something like Everhood, even.

[@Libluini]

Comedy option: A finger on a Monkey's Paw curls, now everyone makes music battles play out like the final boss fight in Drakengard

[@ChristianBawden]

Id be really curious to hear your thoughts on hardspace shipbreaker

[@ChristianBawden]

@@davidmurray3542 It is, but it's so good.

[@sindrisuncatcher653]

Yeah but you really don't want somebody like Yahtzee to review a version of it with only what, two ships and zero progression? Hold off for the finished product so it's a thing he can get lost in for a few hours instead of a thing he's constantly running into the 'under construction' signs for.

[@petermanfox2535]

I was bingewatching Zero Punctuation videos and accidentally ended up on today's video, thank you for the fresh meat, Yahtz!

[@TheKrossRoads]

If you forget to put gameplay in your game, you may want to consider another medium to express yourself.

[@11equalsfish]

I know a game which is basically a picture book. It was interesting enough, so I don't want to be excluding it.

[@drdca8263]

@@11equalsfish yeah, I think “choiceless visual-novel” (images, maybe a smidge of animation, text, music/sound effects/voice-lines, and waiting for the player to hit “continue”) is a valid medium, though I think unfortunately such things would probably be too often judged as a game, and therefore be rated poorly due to the lack of gameplay, instead of being evaluated for what they are as a storytelling medium. I don’t know of any work which is in this medium, but still. Text alone is certainly a valid medium. I see no reason that this medium couldn’t be a good one for certain combinations of “the story the author wants to tell” + “the resources/budget and skills of the author”. Of course, maybe with unlimited budget/skills a movie would always be better(?), but budgets of time and money, and also skills, are limited, so I expect that in some cases this would be a good choice of medium.

[@KaguroDraven]

@@drdca8263 Visual novels, both choice-having ones and not, are exactly what they say on the tin. Novels with visuals, books with pretty pictures and sometimes voice acting. That's not a bad thing, it's a legitimate way of doing something and there are some Visual novels I adore, but they aren't games. They're books. Sometimes they're like old-school choose-your-own-adventure books, where you get to make choices that can kill the MC. But that doesn't make them a game. They're still a book. And that's OK, they can be great books, with great pictures and voice acting. But they shouldn't be judged as a Game, because that's not what they are. In short, I agree with you.

[@radical_dog]

It's real good, and another medium wouldn't let *you* feel like an interdimensional rockstar.

[@KaguroDraven]

@@macmcskullface1004 How in the fuck is saying "A visual NOVEL should be considered a type of NOVEL" gatekeeping?

[@GallowglassVT]

3:36 because they're usually the ones making them.

[@jonathankent1517]

"Embuggerance" is my new favourite word.

[@KazuyukiTaka]

I didn't finish Artful Escape due to the gameplay issue that was pointed out. I figured there would be some kind of platforming challenge mixed with the Simon Says mechanic they introduce, but there really is nothing to actually do.

[@igor_kossov]

The Artful Escape seems like Candyflip: The Game.

[@eatingpancakesrightnow2786]

God dammit, I want a game with a good story that I can't just watch on KZbin

[@jic1]

_Illogical Locking Mechanisms_ is the title of Ian McCollum's new book about John Bell Blish.

[@firebladetenn6633]

It’s in videos like this that I remember a prediction you made back in the Halo 3 video: Blandness would take over the videogame market.

[@davidcorfman309]

Love the vids man, watched them all and get giddy everytime I get a new notification from you. Keep up the great work.

[@kpr2]

Entertaining reviews, as always, and extra bonus points for the Red Dwarf nod! :D

[@NekoiNemo]

2:00 From that dismissal i can make an educated guess that she's either a cultist or the cult leader, and she got into this situation because she either got fed up and tried to escape or got betrayed and sacrificed by an upstart cultist who now took her place as a leader. Those just seem like the laziest cliches and i get the idea that Tormented Souls goes for that kind of tone. How close was i?

[@themaskedmysadaean8885]

Maybe the demons were going to kill them all the whole time? Or maybe it was Tropetty Trope who did the murder? They always seem to be the most predictable!

[@Adser261]

Nowhere near. If you don't care about Spoiler, the best analogy would be: Silent Hill 3

[@Mercra]

"Cruddy Holly" made me pause the video because I was wheezing. Well done.

[@bird3713]

Man, gotta love it when a video game doesn’t have any game in it. Then it’s just video.

[@Gojiro7]

"classic" style Survival horror is a niche market that has strong but not numerous demand and I don't really think Yhatzee is level headed enough to distinguish that people do exist that like this kind of thing while also acknowledging its a intentionally unintuitive game design in a modern context.

[@isabellamorris7902]

I don't think his point is "it's unintuitive so it sucks", I think his point is "it's unintuitive to the point of being annoying for no reason, beyond pastiche of earlier console games that only used those design elements because it was the best they could do with the hardware". He's said the same about Sonic Mania in the past. The genre has so many better examples. Go look at the Haunted PS1 Demo Discs or Puppet Combo if you want to see people doing cool stuff within the same space.

[@alvin_row]

Everything is a cliche if you describe it sarcastically enough.

[@jd2792]

@@isabellamorris7902 which I dont get compre to RE or silent hill games tormanted souls is much easier and more forgiving you get a riddcouls amount of ammo all the enemies are slow and weak there is no dog enemies almost all of them die from 1 shoutgun shell and you get over 100 shells

[@spartan2ar949]

The end of this video reminds me back in high school when the senior class played "its a small world" during to annoy people into donating to the prom. I did want to kick someone in the teeth.

[@Cobalt360Degrees]

If the dude in Artful Escape was a guitarist why wasn't it at least a cheap Guitar Hero knockoff if they needed some token gameplay??

[@JacobSprenger]

Because it's a game meant to be played while tripping. Can't ask for complicated inputs there.

[@fullmetalpancake9722]

I really liked Tormented Souls (except the save ribbons). Yeah, everything you said it true.. it's a bit janky, it's derivative, but I've played all the old school RE and SH and PE games to death, and it was nice to get something new in that style that wasn't a complete mess. And I thought the puzzles were pretty darn good.

[@saintallison]

I tried playing Tormented Souls on my Series S and there was screen-tearing galore. Luckily I was able to get a refund but I hope they fix it in the future.

[@nommindymple6241]

I'm most of the way through Yahtzee's past videos and am wondering if he's done reviews of Borderlands 3 or Supraland. I saw his reviews of Borderlands 1 and 2 (which he didn't like). I, OTOH, love those and since I hate Borderlands 3, was wondering if he went to the reverse of me for that. Supraland, is wonderful and since it's indie was wondering if he's reviewed it and I just can't find it.

[@lexi3312]

There was a running gag that he refuses to review borderlands 3 because he was that uninterested.

[@sebitapincha]

I knew he was gonna trash Tormented Souls, but fucking hell did I enjoy the game. Yeah the story was predictable and generic, but it did have a couple of interesting twists. And honestly even if the plot was complete trash, any game that plays like a classic survival horror game (and with tank controls too!) is so rare that I would enjoy it anyway.

[@axelprino]

Unrelated to the video or your comment but your avatar just caught my eye. My guess is "Austro-Argentinian bisexual basketball player", or is that a brownish volleyball?

[@sebitapincha]

@@axelprino LOL. It’s an an old badge from a football club, Estudiantes de La Plata. The red/white ribbon is the club’s colors, the light blue/white ribbon is because the club is from Argentina. Their shape along with the ball is supposed resemble the trophy of the Intercontinental Cup, which we won in 1968, you might be able to see the year written there. I edited the background to be the bi flag instead of white.

[@95JakX]

You had me years ago, Yahtzee… but I will admit you had me again at “Cruddy Holly”

[@MistromLuthane]

Guess we arent getting a lost judgement review lol

[@mc_kublai]

Honestly it’s probably for the better. He didn’t even finish the last game and I thought his review of it wasn’t very good, and I rarely ever feel that way about his content.

[@groundzero1077]

He didn't like the first one much and I doubt Lost Judgement could do much to change his mind

[@leonidasthanatos1182]

If it helps Artful Escape launched on that there fancy Microsoft game pass, so the barrier to entry is almost non existent if you don't really want to pay for a LSD laced walking simulator. He says it wasn't a dream, but it functionally was as you go thru a psychedelic space journey, just to get dumped back in your home town with a vague promise of going back to space some day.

[@EroPantherH]

Tormented soul? Sounds like Yahtzee during the drought periods.

[@Kyrrial]

Oooooo that end card gave me a game idea! Probably already been said (and I highly doubt Yahtzee will see this, but I gotta divulge). The Arseful Escape, where "the game" keeps trying to happen with people attempting to start this or that adventure, quest, mission, etc., but the protagonist isn't having any of it. Instead, the ACTUAL game revolves around the protagonist just trying to not, avoiding those people, and going home 'cause they're tired and just want to veg.

[@malachichampion]

Big fan of "cruddy holly"

[@rockzyk1291]

"Get a job at the fish cannery." Holy shit. I get that reference now.

[@casualbird7671]

I still hope he'll give Kerbal Space Program a go someday, or give a review for Outer Wilds given he played that one and I love that game to death >v

[@daemonwhite3740]

"Toronto Smells" Heyyyy that's not... entirely untrue. There are other places smell worse :(

[@brainflash1]

So it seems like Psychonauts 2 got Artful Escape's gameplay and Artful Escape got Psychonauts 2's whimsy.

[@TheTdroid]

hi

[@Nobenchmarks]

That’s a shame, I adored Tormented Souls and loved the story. I thought it was very enjoyable

[@ghostofthecommentsection]

Gotta love not getting notified of my favourite series. Thanks, YouYube.

[@msm3150]

Can't wait for that Lost Judgment review. Especially considering Yahtzee's surprisingly average review of the first one. Though I guess if you play enough RGG games you know what to expect.

[@Nerdnumberone]

I guess The Artful Escape could have been glued to a rhythm game, but then again it's hard to appreciate the background spectacle if you are staring at a bunch of dots flying towards you.

[@internationalwisecrack9982]

If you need another set of indie games to review, the Lakeview Cabin series is pretty dope (morbidly screwed up in almost every way possible...but still dope).

[@SummerRainer]

Genuinely surprised that escapist gets so many reviews codes when yahtzee shits on most games he plays tbh

[@johnolivera2369]

4:45 I was so hopeful. I was about to start looking for it on steam or something... Damn

[@SuperWolfman9]

"Honey?" "Yes mum?" "Did you forget to put some game in your game?" "........FUCK!!!" "LANGUAGE!" "sorry mum"

[@MatthewBester]

I mean, I really liked Resident Evil and Silent Hill back in the late 90s, so I'd like this?

[@dragmire3D]

The gameplay, as described by Yahtzee, in The Artful Escape sounds a lot like Wandersong(which is a delightful game btw).

[@SeventhSolar]

I'm not sure Yahtzee would play Wandersong and say "I wish this game had gameplay." though. A hold-right walking simulator is something else. Edit: Looked up Artful Escape gameplay, and I wasn't even sure when the gameplay was actually happening. My best guess was a part where you play a note every 5 seconds or so in response to a prompt. Based on a visual indicator, I'm guessing there's a total of 3 possible inputs.

[@jordanspencer2157]

wow. there are certainly a few lines in this one that'll hit the best of all time Yahtzee edition

[@Anebrd]

LOL. I was just on Steam and saw that Yahtzee recommended Artful Escape. I don't know if that could be seen as a recommendation. Entertaining... yes. Would Artful Escape get the job. Not a chance.

[@starburst98]

Okay so, imagine artful escape but with a guitar hero controller and the music fights are actually well made.

[@fictionarch]

This video really makes me want to watch him review Lost Judgment.

[@DragonAlchemist0]

Yahtzee wanted to kick someones teeth in at disney its a small world ride. I actually did it. But dont know if i should find offensive that police arrested one of the animatrons since it fit the description.

[@alexroy5854]

Hmmh, when I saw the character for Tormented Souls I was like "oh shit she's really cute", but knowing they did her dirty with frontal nudity within the opening of the game is a bit disappointing tbh. I wish they took a look at how Silent Hill 3 treated Heather, and just made her a real character...

[@Benbeasted]

I played the demo and, when she woke up naked in the bathtub, my first thought was "which classic horror game is this a homage to?"

[@RufusOmega]

I really wish people would stop lying by describing their walking sims as games. Walking sims are fine and have their place but they are not games, and pretending otherwise doesn't do anyone any favours.

[@bionicdragon5]

Huh. Looks like he's gone from dolphins to chinchillas.

[@brya9681]

Man I wish The Artful Escape didn't come out right around the time i"m playing Psychonauts 2, Eastward and No More Heroes 3

[@TheRealSpiderMew]

The last time i was on small world at Disneyland, the ride was breaking while on it. I was there with my mom and brother, they were in the front of the boat and i was in the back. The ride stopped and started over and over again but the song never stopped. It had started raining outside while we were on the ride, it was a big storm, by the end of that night they closed big thunder mountain because of lightning. While on small world, and we were going though the outside we had the longest break of them all. We had stopped just right under the walking bridge, and my mom and brother only had to lean forward to avoid rain or dirty water from the walk way. I on the other hand, was fully exposed to the rain. After a moment i started laughing like a madman! We were stuck there for 20 minutes. I broke. The whole rest of the day i was nuts. I road Splash Mountain in the rain like 5 times after that. Both me and my mom were in electric wheelchairs and we could go though exits on a lot of rides. I just started going on everything wet and windy and i went insane in the storm. I never stopped laughing until my mom got so mad that she had to pull me aside and snap at me almost to the point of tears just to get me to snap out of it, and that wasn't until we managed to get out of the park that night.

[@ReubMann]

Does Yahtzee plan on doing eastward??

[@arielbenveniste8070]

Yahtzee was dying from desperation right at the end XD

[@stupidflandrs4856]

I know he hates multiplayer, but I do hope Yahtzee finds a bit of time to try Lemnis Gate. He might actually find some innovative gameplay in this industry for once!

[@screamingcactus1753]

I don't think he'll cover that one. Pretty much all of the games he covers have narrative campaigns with a definitive ending, and though he's done co-op, I don't think he's ever covered any kind of competitive multiplayer.

[@stupidflandrs4856]

@@screamingcactus1753 Actually, legend tells of a time when he covered the original Titanfall, which was MP-only... so there's a SMALL chance...

[@Darasilverdragon]

"Cruddy Holly" fucking killed me

[@jirue]

Sounds like The Artful Escape falls into that category where it shouldn't really be called a "game" nor judged with the expectations of "gameplay". There's been a steady increase in this form of media over the past years as people experiment more with the capabilities for interaction that computers offer but don't fully subscribe to the idea of player interaction being the primary engagement of the interactive media piece they create. This form of media should probably be given it's own separate name to help temper the expectations that "game" media brings with it...

[@Gamer3427]

Actually started playing The Artful Escape at random because it was free on PS+, and I've gone through pretty much the same mental path that Yahtzee did here. Haven't finished it yet, but already the lack of actual gameplay is getting to me. It's got great visuals and while the story is fairly generic at its core, it's not the worst presentation of it that I've seen. I just wish that it had some more "game" to it than walking sideways and playing simon says every now and then. It feels like the sort of thing that could have been a long music video instead of a game, and nothing would have been lost.

[@Toleezu6]

I loved Artful Escape, but 2d walking simulator is accurate. I don't think it's a bad directorial decision though, as the spectacle of sight and sound is the appea. If you have tunnel vision on the MC executing skillful platforming, the background experience becomes muted. Definitely a play for the feel, not play for the mechanics.

[@adamwelch4336]

I think the problem with modern games is there trying to make a good game but there stapling the parts of older games together like a disfuctanal mulitilimbed Frankenstein made of cheese!

[@jakebooo1]

Annapurna interactive is the A24 of videogames

[@telemarkaeology]

Huh. Sounds like it could have been a great variation on the Rhythm-platformer thing.

[@SonicDMonkey]

Cruddy Holly,. lmao. Vintage Yahtzee pun right there.

[@norjia]

do you have noise cancellation on? cause I hear some weird audio artifacts like I'm using meh noise cancelation

[@StrikeWarlock]

Is it really It's a small world though? That place bored me to sleep, and the really cool AC didn't help.

[@rockzyk1291]

His review of Artful Escape was, more or less, the same as mine. Making your own solos loses its luster very quickly, and it, eventually, just becomes pressing buttons out of necessity of seeing the spectacle because that was all that was keeping me going. The main character and story were ok, at best, and "please stop talking so I can move onto the next part," at worst.

[@shakey2023]

Wow these reviews this week were a....... it wasn't a good week was it?

[@benabaxter]

Yahtzee totally going for the Monkey Island 3 nostalgia.

[@alessiomessersi2964]

So The Artful Escape is like that one level from Psychonauts 2 but without the level?

[@captaingr00vy40]

Hey I have that octopus plush

[@creamymilk4857]

Wooo spring break