What's the point of "Zen" games?

I'm calm, I'm calm, I'M CALM
Bonus video: • Is the farmer from Adi...
Second channel: / @rycluse2
Twitter: / rycluse
Channel art: / bruno_desn
Dark Souls clip: • Humanity Restored
Harvest Moon clip from tuan kamaruzzaman
Viscera Cleanup Detail clip from Dpurdd
Music in order of appearance:
Dusk - DDLC Plus OST
Main Title - Terra Nil OST
Screws and Wires - Assemble with Care OST
Eternal Struggle - Phoenix Point OST
And Now We Leave - Terra Nil OST
Warm Coffee - Assemble with Care OST

[@Rycluse]

Bonus video about Adios: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fHnIgXuNhK50mJI It's been quite the summer, and sometimes a game that lets us zen out for a while it what it takes to get through it. Take care of yourselves.

[@DualBackdrop]

"is buying cyberpunk for 60$ worth it?"

[@agav2345]

Im watching this at 11pm the first 5 seconds almost made me fall into a slumber just for you to peep me into a ptsd episode of my upcoming 10 hour shift... great video tho

[@Tribow]

everyone salute this soldier

[@Flameclaw123]

Judging games by "cost vs hour length" has always been something I've avoided because I tend to really enjoy a lot of bite-sized games that don't feel like they wear out their welcome. That said, I've also felt a little ripped off by a few games that charge a premium and feel like they were cut short, so obviously price still factors into value for me. It's just never going to be enough of a reason to write a game off entirely if I feel like I would otherwise enjoy it yk

[@CarlMakesVideos]

From what I can tell, the disappointment around Terra Nil's length isn't /entirely/ one of value for money. A game can feel "TOO short" regardless of its length if it fails to thoroughly explore its concept within its runtime. A game being art rarely works as an excuse for its experience not feeling complete.

[@OccuredJakub12]

MAN DON'T FUCKING JUMSCARE ME TWICE IN A ROW I THOUGHT THIS WAS GONNA BE ABOUT ZEN😭😭😭😭

[@danger2236]

similar reason for why I love getting over it with bennett foddy, there isn't quite an atmosphere, but it has such a hyper-concentrated focus on frustration, that it just lets you simmer in that, rarely being interrupted or comforted by the voice of the creator telling you the next thing to think about. It's a bit pretentious in the way that the game tells you that most things are trash that you only think about for the brief time it's in front of you, but I think about Bennett Foddy way after I've played it

[@AndroidNoir-L06k]

This video is zen itself...

[@SpiderInStockings]

2:18 I have never touched League of Legends and I have no intention to, because if I do, I’m positive it’ll corrupt my soul like the One Ring. I have seen what it does to others and I do not wish that on my worst enemy

[@andreivoicu8892]

Guess who's back, back again.

[@Tribow]

I can't believe this video isn't about Zen Pinball 2

[@MrTheGooglman]

Thanks!

[@masterofraw1175]

7:00 this is what I like to call the “gaming triangle”. You have 3 corners “normie”, games like the assassin creed, R6S and Fortnite, “Artistic” like these cosy games,and disco Elysium, and “Autistic” like Paradox games, total war, and combat mission. Games as an activity vs Games as art vs games as a simulation. No game is truly in only one of these categories, New vegas for example is in the middle but leans Artistic and Autistic in around equal measure. Suzerain has almost no normie appeal but is again split between Artistic and Autistic. I fundamentally believe that all of these interpretations of gaming must coexist. A division of this kind exists in all of media movies as an activity vs movies as art vs movies as a display of world for example. While my sister was gushing over the cinematography and performances in the Ferrari movie I was appreciating the display of post war Italy both societal and materially.

[@user-finder0fluck]

Try out voices of the void! It is a "Zen" and [...] game about maintaining radio telescopes and managing research requests. I suggest you try ambiance mode first, than jump into story mode. Stream it if you can.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

To me a zen game just need to be stressless and replayable at least every so often which Terranill can be it just isn't which an 7 hour campaign isn't bad and what is there would make for a nice turtioal to a real campaign/sandbox. And people loved paying $60 for a singleplayer only AA/AAA FPS back in the day but today unless that FPS is amazing and replable it will be frowned upon... So yeah it sounds like a sub $15 expernice at most but a sandbox mode would fix it... Like imagine Civilation/Pardoxgmame with only a handholdy 7 hour campaign...

[@octaviusdrive]

i have the exact same monitor in the thumbnail

[@Rycluse]

This comment seems familiar...

[@pendantblade6361]

My personal zen game is RimWorld, which while tough as nails at times, is the perfect game to relax to with its slow pace coupled with intense moments. The OST fucking slaps too. It leaves rent free in my head.

[@bruhder5854]

Oh boy you and I have very different playstyle then 😂 I rush into gathering wealth and building defenses early on so raids appear with more people so that I can club them into submission and exponentially grow my population easily. Traits and skills, not that important, you're coming to the team regardless is what I say. Then keep expanding with multiple bases, improving weapons, armor and abilities and go ham on raids. Very adrenaline rush and intensity driven playstyle is what I like in it

[@user-finder0fluck]

Bringing up dollar to playtime comes only when the game was shit -This is a question.

[@trishtrash9339]

jumpscares were really annoying

[@basition]

I was a part of that discourse. I think a lot of it blew up because of dishonest journalistic practices. Gone home and dear eater stick out to me because i was suckered into bying one and almost the other. While its been a decade my recollection was them vaguely selling it as a horror game and not a "drink in the atmosphere and learn about a broken home." Game. Mind you the indie scene as also very corrupt at the time. There is a reason gg was a year out.

[@Rycluse]

Homie please tell me this is not unironic gamergate apologia in my comment section

[@basition]

@Rycluse That wasn't really my intention I always thought the conversation about walking Sims had a relationship to gg. I always considered it a part of the ground work that led to that explosion. It occupies the same part of my brain that the Phil fish conversy (the corporate one not the suck my sick saga) and some comments Edmund McMillian made about how the indie scene was. Of course there is more that goes into shit show then just that. It's just stuff I look back on and say, yeah that's another log on the bonfire.

[@TotalNigelFargothDeath]

@@Rycluse kek, what's wrong with gamergate?

[@brandemon6667]

@@TotalNigelFargothDeath lmao excellent name

[@TotalNigelFargothDeath]

@@brandemon6667 Why thank you, kind sir.

[@jothain]

Adios is one of the worst games I've ever played. Stay away.

[@Rycluse]

Wrong, it's good