We had MORE Immersive Sims in 2023 Than I COULD KEEP TRACK OF!!!

[@EphiTV]

Hey, Ad Infernum dev here. Thanks for including it in the video! The Steam page has actually been locked with a 2023 release date for a few months since I forgot to update it before the deadline passed. But this reminded me to finally email them to get that fixed. The game is actually almost done! I'm just terrible at marketing lol. Hoping to have a proper trailer and revamped page in the coming months. Cheers!

[@strvmpet]

boost

[@tritoner1221]

You might also wanna consider adding pre-purchases as an option. There's been multiple times when I was willing to give a game my life savings for a chance to play it at some undetermined future date, only to forget about its existence once it finally released!

[@Helvetorment]

Have you considered adding a bunch of in-game ads to make the name of your game truly immersive? An infernum of in-game ads. I would play that!

[@strvmpet]

HELP@@Helvetorment

[@nemtudom5074]

Maybe a demo too? I'd like to give it a try and report back on the bugs i find

[@CharlatanWonder]

You might have noticed there's a lot of chapters, well that's because I know sometimes I mispronounce things and I wanna make sure all the cool little games I go over get a fair shot. Also, I was able to get jsut about everyone into the video's description complete with links to relevant storefronts!

[@danielcalabrese5769]

HELL YEAH CHARLATAN!!! Sing it from the rooftops brother, I found you because of immersive sims but I have stuck around because of your uniqueness and while I was able to help you out just a little through Patreon but had to stop because I'm only on a pension I am extremely happy to hear that you are doing well and are able to continue doing what you love. It might not mean much coming from some old bloke in Sydney Australia but I am genuinely happy for you and the thought of you being able to continue doing you for as long as possible puts a massive smile on my face. I'm not the creative type and that's why I really enjoy listening to and watching your videos. Stay strong keep your head up and always stay true to yourself brother. Much love and respect from Australia. 😊👍❤️

[@WildMageGames]

Hey, I'm the dev of Neverlooted Dungeon, thanks for mentioning it and showing some gameplay :) - The game entered polish phase and will be out in 2024. You can check out the last devlog for more info. - The visual have greatly been improved compared to the shown footage, don't hesitate to try the last demo version with better visuals and cool new features like rope arrows, and an optional Christmas theme. Happy New Year :)

[@XxJohnnyGATxX]

Neverlooted Dungeon is prolly the top imsim that I'm waiting on

[@FrogmanDev]

Great video Charl, thanks for the shout out! Chat mentioned it already but I am going to second Parkside: DSM as another im-sim to keep eyes on, there's nothing playable yet but it looks really impressive (it's a solo-dev project too 😲).

[@CharlatanWonder]

lmao you can even see Parkside in my suggested follows when I shout-out Sinno. I knew about it but it totally slipped my mind, which is 100% my bad.

[@BananaHardsoft]

@@CharlatanWonder Aw shucks, you guys. It's very humbling to think that Parkside could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with so many awesome games. Great video, I am also very, very excited for the next year of indie games and imsims... and I hope that you will find Parkside fun. I'm planning to have a demo out for NextFest in February.

[@smilebombdotfm]

I didnt enjoy the fortunes run demo but clearly theyre not looking down on anyone for playing differently when they literally included the alternate control option to do it when they couldve just not done it at all and kept one intended control system similar to, you know, most other games that exist, like come on that feels like a no brainer to think that one through instead of assuming they're berating anyone just because it says "EZ Mode"

[@Bushprowler]

Yeah, I really don't know what he is rambling on about and what point he's trying to make.. who is talking shit and about what? As someone who grew up with those crouch jump games I actually liked that they included both options...

[@goncalves4269]

Same, really didn't understand what he understood as playing one against people who play X or Y kind of FPS. Seems just like a slightly, very slightly edgy joke and that's it. And automated controllers are easier, that's just... easier? To have to press less buttons, you know. It's easier. I grew up on PS2 Medal of Honor, and Call of Duty, then PS3's Killzone 2, Bioshock 2 and The classic CoDs. I also happen to love classic and retro FPS, be it Duke Nukem 3D and Quake or Dusk and Hrot. Honestly, not at all felt berated by either of the options and thought the design of the images was quite nice.

[@shevek161]

How could a video on the Immersive Sims of 2023 not include a single mention of Thief: The Black Parade? It is ModDB's Mod of the Year and is probably one of the best releases of 2023. Really hoping you'll get to cover it at some point! Great video anyway :)

[@zaddyzeeseburgnutz]

It is so mind blowing how good this "mod" is. Like a whole new Thief game just dropped out of nowhere.

[@thiagof60]

He doesnt really Like Thief

[@shevek161]

​@@zaddyzeeseburgnutz 100%. The Thief modding community are really something else. Even Thief 2X and the individual fan missions released over the years far exceed the high bar set by the trilogy, and the Black Parade has just set a new standard. It should be a mandatory playing for any future dev who gets a chance to work on the series. Well deserving of all the accolades it's received

[@shevek161]

​@@thiagof60 Really? That's a shame. But even so, it still deserves mention when talking about Immersive Sim releases of 2023 considering the acclaim it's received.

[@thosebloodybadgers8499]

@@shevek161 Either he doesn't know (makes sense, the modding scene is a niche within a niche and doesn't penetrate much at all outside of its own scene, aside from the occasional miracle like somebody popular covering it (Hi, Mandalore!)) or he doesn't really want to consider mods to be in this same category (probably because it would open the absolute floodgates to hundreds of potential experiences to cover, which, yeah, considering how he hasn't managed to cover what he wanted within this year already, is a genuine concern, I feel)

[@MidBoss]

Thanks for doing what you're doing. The "content" hysteria has entirely stopped me from sharing any of my art for the past few years and I'm trying to get back into it again. Your encouraging speeches are great

[@elifdot]

I watched only the Peripeteia section as of now and continue tomorrow, but damn. I sadly have to agree with a lot of what you said regarding the map design, although not all of it is bad, and some improvements have been made. I just feel as if this level would have been better set as a later level then as a tutorial, non the less happy new year and let's hope that we'll get the release of peripeteia in 2024!

[@toprem4037]

10:10 - Uhhhh, that's not talking shit, its just calling it classic mode and referencing how those games worked. It even calls EZ Mode the modern way of FPS games. As for DNF, I don't know if that's actual shit talking, or just a throwback to the DOOM reference in D3D

[@big_tasty1]

Haven't heard much criticism from you on Shadows of Doubt. My personal experience is that there is little you can do to actually solve a murder case besides brute force. The game does not actually simulate a motive, so taking context clues like an email regarding an affair, or a receipt for an illegal gun purchase (lol), will more often than not send you down a dead end if you try to intuit the killer from them. There are a number of side missions available, but those can be boiled down to essentially the same process: finding one person in the city only with often less information than the actual murders. I had a lot of fun with the learning curve of the game, it was great figuring out my first mystery and exploring the city; however, there is no difficulty curve. It may in fact be an inverse curve, given that the upgrades and money go a long way towards making you more effective at getting the random NPCs to just tell you who someone is. My hope is that the final product will have something like a narrative mystery through-line a'la Return of the Obra Din, or Disco Elysium, while standing apart with it's immersive and procedural elements.

[@pninnan]

It’s such a shame that imsims will just never have a mass appeal. The most consistent trait of imsims is that the studios that make them don’t survive

[@jetaddict420]

It is insane that you havent mentioned abiotic factor at all, they have a demo up right now with more gameplay than modern triple a games and are releasing may 2nd

[@lechking941]

It has thankfully hit the moon on oys own as folls like rimmy found and loved it. Even Smitty.

[@aex8659]

Thank you. Never heard about RetroSpace before. This looks awesome, like the kind of game i've waiting for. Have a fantastic year 2024!

[@danielkjm]

Obenseuer (Open Sewer) Immersive Sim is a Hidden Gem.

[@thiagof60]

Your Channel introduced to what is now one of my favorite genres, thanks for all Charl

[@jax199]

Damn right this was a good year for indie FPS, ImSims among them. My personal favs were the Blood West 1.0 and the System Shock Remake.

[@VinylMorpheus]

Same. Definitely my 2 favorites. CULTIC too but I think that actually came out in 2022. I just played it this year.

[@cchristianjeremy]

Just got System Shock on PS5 and damn its so good. The vibes and atmosphere are amazing

[@P1NKPVNK_]

I might not always agree with your takes but every single time you talk about fighting against content near the end of your videos I always crack a smile and I feel motivated to make more stuff. It's good to see a KZbinr that isn't just trying to milk more engagement out of people especially since that's such a rare breed now You're the GOAT of modern yt, dude

[@IDROPHOT]

Great comment. We need more people like you as well.

[@iamjustkiwi]

I always love your speeches about "content" and this one was particularly inspiring, I felt like I should stand up and salute! Happy New Year charl, keep up the amazing work!

[@hypVideo]

10:07 I'm sorry, but I seriously doubt that many people will read "Bunny-hoping like it's 1996" and feel personally attacked. I think you're projecting a bit there.

[@dimoniysh5075]

1:00 - use pastebin or git to include everything you want to include, or make pinned comment for said purpose

[@kontrfile4443]

Great list! Also check out Aquametsis, ETOS, Parkside and Partizan.

[@IDROPHOT]

WOW! these games look geat! you're a f****** legend. Thank you. I've been searching high and low.

[@veritasetcaritas]

Your anti-content rant was utterly inspiring. Thank you so much for your body of consistently high quality, high effort, high value work, and your irrepressible passion for your creations.

[@rezneps]

Deep State has a demo of the first level and you should try it! The game is like if someone mixed No One Lives Forever humor with a Deus Ex level government conspiracy story and Perfect Dark/TimeSplitters gunplay. I'm really excited to see what the full game can offer.

[@burningsheep4473]

Honestly though, that comment on E.Y.E. does only speak to a lack of patience and perhaps to a lack of interest on the part of the player. I'm not particularly patient and I had absolutely no trouble getting into it. It's not like the game forces you to engage with many of its systems.

[@ImSamsquanch]

Finding out consumer softproducts has another game on the way and a pile of demos is great news to start the year. Have a great new year yourself Charl!

[@LabiaLicker]

9:45 How is a very simple command line equivalent to "coding". You lost me well and truly on that one

[@wildonionchase3934]

It’s like when someone calls “I found the password you wrote down on a post-it note” hacking, no it isn’t???? If he thought typing that out was bad he should stay away from something like Quadrilateral Cowboy or Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum.

[@indieemil]

Your fire speech about "content" just makes me so freaking happy, Charl. God damn it, I'm behind you on this 100%!

[@cameronmcgurrin3724]

I actually picked up Fortune's Run after you mentioned it a few videos back, I looked at the trailer and screenshots on the steam store, and I thought it looked fun. Then I played it... Ya, I think the game needed a bit more time in the oven before they should have released it into early access. I think your were really spot on about the problems it currently has, and I'm still hopeful that they will eventually address them and make a really fun immersive Sim. However, at the moment, I wouldn't even classify it as an immersive sim right now.

[@ClarkKentai]

I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who thinks of Ken Levine as Western Hideo Kojima.

[@CryingPanSFX]

3:55 it's the humble bundle that back for blood came in. It was one of their monthly choice games.

[@phrozac]

The extended rant at the end of this video got you a new sub. Very nice.

[@drackaryspt1572]

I appreciate that mad rambling because I feel the same way as an artist that we should valie something more for what ot is than what it represents even though it may be hard and completely againts our content overdosed society. So yeah thank you for your great vids!!

[@SteveAkaDarktimes]

I bounced off the new peripeteia demo HARD. there is no level design, everyhing is pointlessly huge and expansive, its ugly, samey mess where one wrong jump softlocks you. its just nonsense.

[@jeanfrancozaratemarcial7916]

Hopefully the devs are receiving criticism of the level design fairly well, since it´s been a shaky road so far, hell one of the devs left the project a while ago (idk the reasons though)

[@andreiv1916]

Rarely have i heard you rave at the end with such passion, makes me wish i could tell myself that.Great video as always.

[@crimsonclad8019]

Great video. Apocalyptic Vibes was a stand out from 2023 as well. Also, I understand some don't consider the STALKER games ImSims, but I do, and STALKER 2 is among my most anticipated games this year for sure.

[@riferwestern]

❤❤❤ Keep going with this project, I love your work Thanks to you I realize that I am not the only weirdo who loves this wonderful niche of video games Greetings from Spain and happy 2024 ❤❤❤

[@JSHADOWM]

Due to timezones you didnt make it on my region, but damn son, Jan 1, 2 AM is so bafflingly close taht imma just hand it to you, ok? ok. Happy new year Charlatan and Frisk!

[@MidnyaDaCow]

It really has been a great year for Immy Simmys huh? I've picked up quite a few i've been meaning to get around to over the holidays such as Thief and Cruelty Squad but i'm glad the space is growing a little larger in this niche space really just shows how community driven we really are to enjoy games of this style. Let's hope things continue to improve eh?

[@lovethrougheternity]

Great video! Can't believe there are too many imsims to play now lol, what a world. Also you forgot PARTIZAN and PARKSIDE!

[@elviskleber10]

Arkane Austin, understandably, had an exodus of talent with redfall but I don't think it's a problem that 70% of their staff changed during the development of redfall. When Arkane Austin went solo to develop Prey they had around 20 people and hired up to 100 by the time the game finished development and I don't see anyone complaining that 80% of the people that worked on Prey were new people that didn't work on Dishonored 1. Looking at redfall credits there's still harvey smith, ricardo bare, and two dozens of immersive sim veterans at arkane austin and in recent job posting they are specifically hiring people with immersive sim and RPG knowledge. I'm fairly confident they can still make a good immersive sim it's up to bethesda and xbox to give the studio the proper support.

[@Cyynapse]

its so funny to me that redfall is pretty much the only AAA game to be marketed as an imm-sim and it isnt an imm-sim

[@Not.A.Heretic]

if bioshock is in the immersive sim tier list then BG3 and system shock remake most definitely deserve to be ranked in it now too

[@TaylorWilmes]

BG3 is not an immersive sim.

[@Not.A.Heretic]

@@TaylorWilmes that's my point

[@chrishall2594]

I thought the shock games were the definition of immersive sims lol

[@lucjan1897]

The rant on the end was a little unhinged, but I agree 100%. I hate how you have to be a brand, you have to grow, you have to have sponsors, but I just want to create.

[@KaiBurley]

Maybe your greatest content speech of all time? Damn it got me fired up! Thanks for the videos

[@kyrylon9945]

those content speeches are getting more and more raw, redpilled, and true. great video

[@sunsinger970]

BG3 is by no means an immersive SiM.

[@vicentegomez1416]

So inspirational and authentic : ) Thanks CW, a great 2024 for you and your wife too.

[@pomaceous2056]

I crochet as a hobby and so many people ask if I'm going to open an etsy store. I cannot express how negatively I feel about that. I'd like to keep my free time fun thank you very much

[@arkgaharandan5881]

I agree with the rant in the end, most of what we got this year was slop, or "content" there is a saying "90% of everything is sht", i agree but to me its 95% now.

[@piwot8939]

if you hit the character limit in the description you could use a google doc or something akin to that

[@CharlatanWonder]

I got lucky and made it to 4500/5000 by not including links to my own videos. Perhaps I'll have to do that next year though.

[@jackwalsh5850]

Subscribed for the Beep Video, stayed for the Im Sim druid

[@webwallaballa944]

At a glance I thought that light fixture in the thumbnail was Subject Delta and I damn near lost my shit

[@StarvedForTime]

As a tiny youtuber I felt the content mill rant to my bones. I will never create "content". I'll create what I want, when I want.

[@erickschusterdeoliveira2662]

the Fortune's Run demo was very fun so I'm looking forward to its 1.0

[@joshuamoore637]

My friends and I have played so much gold this year because of you!

[@tehofil]

Bonjour and Happy new year to everybody in the immsim fanclub gathering here

[@benito6036]

I thought you were just making these to get us Chonk-pilled?! Happy New Year!

[@V2ULTRAKill]

Tbh New Blood takes their sweet sweet time with projects, but they have not failed to release any project (maximum action doesnt count, the dev was a PoS and got cut from the crew) so i have zero worries about anything dave oshry slaps his name on

[@Moji55a]

Wait George is a POS? iirc they parted way because of disagreement.

[@Maxgore1madness]

The rant at the end was absolutely amazing 🤩

[@nobodyfromnowwhere7510]

10:05 In what way is that shit-talking? It's literally just movement style choice, and one is easier? I think you're reading into things. Unless you have a tweet of them actually shit-talking this is just weird.

[@wildonionchase3934]

Yeah if the only instance of “shit-talking” is calling the modern shooter controls EZ mode the line reading seems overly antagonistic.

[@loudnoises8197]

Yea I also found that weird. Seems like a rather harmless flavour text so I dont understand why got so mad

[@maximesavard2759]

Vampire the Masquerade 2 devs explicitly said it WONT be an immersive sim. Just a regular bad action rpg.

[@Richard_Daniel333]

That speech at the end was fantastic. Made me want to beat the crap out of my boss.

[@theo_junk]

The bloodlines 2 stuff looks reeeeeal rough right now 😬

[@TheMC1102]

I like your channel because it showcases two of my favourite pastimes: gaming and cooking. Hope you have a Happy New Year. Also, I get that you have a LOT on your plate right now, but would you be interested in making a video on Atomic Heart? It's not much of an immersive sim (I've played the demo, so I can tell), but I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on it.

[@interessiertermatheschuler8405]

I know its a bit of an oddball, but The FINALS is pretty much a ImSim but multiplayer pvp.

[@WitchyWynne]

great work this year, Charlatan!!

[@manuelmartinducharne]

Yes! The rant at the end hits hard my guy! fire

[@webkinskid]

23 hours later and I finished the video haha, I love how passionate you are against Content, I'm coming to similar ideas about how my game doesn't need to be a product

[@Prysn]

Yo love your videos ❤happy new year!

[@jessegreen5464]

"I call him Jimbles" made me chuckle

[@controlschemekeaton]

Hey Charlaton! Have you ever heard of Subterrain? Maybe not exactly an immersive sim but I got similar vibes when Prey 2017 came out. I was like, oh, its like Subterrain but first person and on a space station instead.

[@cugeltheclever2957]

I would suggest making a pastebin page with all the links, so it takes up less room in the description

[@saschaberger3212]

Happy new Year

[@MaxiusTheGod]

“As I learned at the store from this bag of chips” sounds like something a schizophrenic would say lmao

[@arkgaharandan5881]

the demos for fortune's run and beyond sunset have diffirent levels than the early access so if you havent played them, you might want to check the demos out.

[@johnskelington]

I hate how accurate your tumb nail has been.

[@zackbard9420]

You're one of my favorite KZbinrs, I love your anticontentent and I'm enjoying the fuck out of Shadows of Doubt because of your videos!

[@tyrusgailey3131]

Love your vids! Have you ever played any of the metro games? Not im-sims but definitely very immersive! Seeing your vids has me wonder what you're thoughts are on those games?

[@abylaybissekenov1588]

I personally think that Blood west still need changes to the gameplay like return of purely stealth option of killing boss of 1st chapter (and wouldn’tg hurt to add same thing for other chapters). Otherwise, the gameplay is very hindering for purely stealth approach and I consider this as huge limiting factor

[@skookathing]

I'm excited for militsioner, it looks so strange and cool

[@CringePeddler]

monomyth is pretty much finished and is going into open beta for backers soon, full release should definitely be 2024

[@CharlatanWonder]

Whooooooooooo!!!

[@MICKEYrenraw]

Kudos to you Charl, happy new year and thank you :) Side note, not sure i'd call Blood West an immuerisive Sim, but i don't care i still loved it :D

[@webkinskid]

Congratulations: the video isn't late!

[@disbala]

I really love it when a video I can’t watch yet shows up in my feed it’s not annoying at all🎉

[@arkgaharandan5881]

i still have not progressed blood west, hundreds of enemies to stab in the behind with a kinife in the swamps isnt fun to me. But i did enjoy the first hub. It needs more exploration and less killing for xp.

[@Oldzany1zgonethxtoshttygoogle]

Does anyone know the name of the game under the similar to games you’ve played category at 23:14 ? The one next to blood west

[@La.hormigaRoja]

Abiotic Factor looks like a mix of half-life and deus ex, i think it has a demo

[@thehistorian1232]

Hey Charl, been following you since 25,000 subs and it’s been cool as hell to see how far you’ve come. Keep on keeping on and I’ll keep watching!

[@pecet]

Hey mate. I started to play Deus ex HR because of your other video. Pretty cool game. Thanks for recommendation!

[@sumbius1576]

That's a bunch of frustrating things i have never heard of. Thanks since i will probably play some of them

[@daniellof453]

That rant ❤ let's do it for the art!

[@azrhyga]

Really great video with really great games!!

[@removelimitbreak7524]

Shout out and huge love to all the devs in this comment section. You guys are doing God's work hahaha.

[@jhelmuth]

Gave a like for the 'content' rant! Love your stuff man, don't go a changin'

[@danielcalabrese5769]

Gotta love that chaos goblin hahaha

[@nemtudom5074]

27:00 Fuck yeah! Go attitude! Love to see it, lol

[@papypoulet]

Your work is awesome !

[@Scornfull]

I agree with you man I make terrible content but I'd rather make my content the way I like it rather than falling into the generic gaming/music mixing channels that say and do the same jokes or make nearly identical song mixes with the same doomer soyjak or ugly ass fake VHS filters

[@WulvenWanderer]

Shame about Fortune's Run. Like the aesthetic, but sounds like it needs a bit of work. Love the enthusiasm.

[@IDROPHOT]

I can't wait for Peripeteia. I put 10 hours in the demo so far and still haven't completed it yet. Don't let the emptiness fool you. The world is pretty big, but the game is early alpha. I read somewhere where the dev said he would be filling it over time. We need to support indie devs. There the ones that are keeping this genre alive.