When my sister saw Peter for the first time, she was physically disgusted. I think we need to remember to find a balance between photorealistic faces and animated zany essence.
@@Mikefiser Only insofar as any animation exists as a series of still images which might be pixelated. Some pixel animations are extremely naturalistic.
@@JohnGuyJohn i think Mike is referring to the technique, confusingly called 'pixelation' which is moving human 'puppets' one frame at a time for "human stop motion". Its so confusing that this technique has the same name as an aesthetic technique also used in animation!!
While not an animator, my girlfriend worked at Toys for Bob and worked on Crash Team Rumble. She was laid off and seeing the footage from that (I think it was the happy meal ad?) from that game brings up some very bittersweet emotions as it's been a bit of a challenging time for us. I greatly appreciate you meantioning the layoffs in your video there's a lot of people really suffering right now from it and there's a lot of value just having them feel seen right now
From a random fellah on the internet, best wishes to you two as well as any others affected by the layoffs and other such unfortunate events. May the future bring a lot of good, and may we bring a lot of good to the future.
@@jurtheorc8117 Thank you very much! She’s been doing amazing on the job hunt and already has a handful of interviews at other studios we pray will be better
I was furious when I heard about the layoffs at TFB considering the consistently amazing output that team has produced. I'm sorry to hear you were impacted by this larger layoff culture that has arose from rich people's greed. I pray that this leads to an industry-wide push for unionization that will create a bulwark against further layoffs and give game devs the leverage to be paid what they deserve, treated as they deserve, and not have their rights constantly trampled over.
@@wavesofbabies we both appreciate the kind words! Both me and her work in the games industry and this has definitely made us more activated and motivated look into unionizing. I fear that layoffs will keep happening for a while, but we’re hopeful that us and our friends in the industry can start really pushing for change. She met with an entertainment industry union leader last week and we’re hoping to be more involved with them going forward (forgot the name of the group sorry). So we’re keeping our heads held high! Thank you for the kind words again, let’s all push for change where we can!
Thank you for the little shout out to those affected by the layoffs. I wasn't one who was laid off, but it was devastating to see coworkers being laid off one by one.
Yes these Game Animation Videos are getting longer and longer. And I'm not complaining at all! These are always such a *delight* to watch!!! I love the effort you put into those! Not only the visuals, but also adding the soundtracks from the videogames you talk about and the funny jokes and transitions in your script.
Another thing cool about BG3 animation I wanna mention (since they released patch 6 today) is how Larian has continued to updating the animations to show off more of the characters personalities. We've now have several different kissing animation for each character you are romancing and they've added some new idle animation for the companions at camp! I just think it's cool that Larian keeps giving more in this immersive sim to make it feel more alive
“Screw it, we’re putting a mo-cap suit in the recording booth.” Leave it to the D&D game to circumvent the problem with an ingenious solution no-one expects. Bet the DM was furious.
I thought most devs did this? If you ever look at The last of us or Silent hill voice acting videos they got mo-cap suits on while acting out the scene.
@@wolfrox777 in those games the solution is more "add recording equipment to the mocap studio". The distinguishing factor for BG3 is that they mocapped people without the full-on Hollywood sets present in games like Uncharted or TLoU.
@@cptroot it is also very verrrry important to add: While games like tlou, uncharted etc, have definitly needed a big amount of mocap recordings, it could not even compare to the freaking vast quantity baldurs gate 3 needed. It is insane that they did not decided to do it procedural but also freaking awesome.
The way you described how the pc in pseudoregalia animates on 3s but translates around the field on 1s made me think of how you descibed Mr. Game and Watch back in the day.
About the condolences section at the end, usually whenever I receive these sorts of messages, it feels patronizing and pretty insincere. I'm not a game animator and haven't gone through the experience of being fired for no good reason like this, but this apology touched even me. I've never heard such a sincere and heartfelt apology to a group of people the person apologizing has never met personally before. "Sweet" is far too light a word for this. Thank you.
If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking out Rashid's animation in Street Fighter 6. Specifically all the cloth physics at work and how they somehow don't break, despite how many pieces there are and how much he spins around.
There are *so many* well animated characters in SF6. The highlight for me is actually JP. They are doing everything in their power to sell you on the kind of villain JP is, and how different he is than someone like Urien, Bison, Seth, Akuma or Nicalli. He's a villain to whom appearances and good PR are the real battleground, where it isn't enough to win the fight, he has to come out the other side *looking* like the good guy, so he puts a lot of effort in keeping his metaphorical hands clean... Which is why the fact that the only time he will put his *literal* hands on someone is when he's backed into a corner (AKA: His level 3 super). Not a single one of his strikes, not even his throw will lay a single gloved finger on his opponent. A great bit of storytelling in animation, and that's not to mention his world tour cutscenes and his walk-off animation where he is given the opportunity to do the typical Street Fighter villain win pose of "the frame before they kill you" in favor of him having the opportunity and letting it go.
@@leKageBunshin Agreed. I liked Dan giving NetherRealm the benefit of the doubt with the "they're trying to convey the old stiff 2D MK look!" angle, but honestly... I think it's just stiff 'cause it's bad. Especially since it's the same in Injustice. Great cutscenes tho.
@@leKageBunshin Mortal Kombat squeaked by because it's the only fighting game in "Naturalistic animation". While the visuals are impressive in SF6 it certainly isn't trying to imitate real life. That being said, NRS has *never* had good in-game animation, and I have no idea why. I do agree with the video that the facial animation in MK1 is actually really good though.
There’s some dodgy animation here and there in SF6 (I’m looking at you, Tatsu), but man they’ve knocked it out of the park for like 85% of the game. Rashid’s cloth animation feels like Capcom specifically showing us that they’ve conquered the physics issues from SFV. So good
I KNEW you were gonna talk about mario wonder. When I played it, I immediately thought "oh, boy, look at all the little flourishes, smeary speed lines and poses! Dan's gonna enjoy going frame by frame with this one!"
Armored Core 6 has a lot of subtle mechanical animations you might not even notice. They really juggled responsive controls with powerful animation like not many games do (even by their own games standards).
New Frame Plus if you're reading this, I am MORE than ok with how long the video is. My shrinking backlog expands because of your videos and I love the effort and detail you put into curating these selections for us. I look forward, as always, to your next video!
Your videos only get better and better with each upload. And I gotta say, the way you carry the conversation sounds more confident than ever here. Huge fan of everything you do!!
I tend to put on a podcast for JRPGs these days because I can only listen to the same battle music tracks for so long but I always stop the podcast to hear those boss themes. Also nothing gtmets me more pumped in gaming than the sound and visual effect for boosting (or whatever it's called)
Right? Fromsoft LOVES mechanical eye-candy, and you can see their obsession in many mechanical contraptions and transforming weapons in the Soulsborne series.
Probably because he didnt play it i think,but yeah AC6 animations are super complex if you look at the underlying system,many micro animations with different timing and From having to make a new animation system for it.
Jesus Christ you sold me hard on Sannabi. As you began to explain it I wasn't sold on the tiny sprites, but then 10:52 happened and that shit went WILD
He just finished the playthrough on the main channel (PlayFrame) and while the start of the game is an incredibly predictable revenge story, the game GOES PLACES
Thank you so much for talking about SANABI! I absolute love that game and I really wished people talked about it more. I have never been so awed at a pixel animated game other than Katana ZERO in a long time. The gameplay and OST is one of my favorites too
Wow, what a treat! I'm going to be re-watching this video all year, I just know it! Also, Hi-Fi Rush came out in 2023? It totally feels like it came out earlier than that. What a long year 2023 has been! >_
I feel a similar way about Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. Came out a little bit before HFR in 2023 but equally feels like it's more a year and a half or two years ago. Good games.
Few games I'll rewatch a friend or a streamer play and actually tab back even during cutscenes I've seen a thousand times (helps that when you replay yourself you can only skip on the next beat anyway), but HFR is one of those, to catch just an extra bit of animation to the characters' gestures that I previously missed. Stuff like CNMN changing expressions the dialogue box *before* his own showing how he's thinking while everyone else is still talking, or how Chai has a ridiculous amount of hair bones to follow through basically everything he does. It's neverending in the best way.
After a discussion about high-quality game art, an acquaintance on Discord recommended your channel to me - and this video in particular as a great place to start. On watching it, I instantly subscribed and set notifications to all. Time to do a deep dive into all your past work!
Sea of Stars! This is potential (minor) spoiler territory but I can't let it go without shouting out the animation of B'st the living glass golem. The animation has him morphing his body to perform various actions, like climbing (morphing into a slug), swimming (morphing into a bottle) and tiptoeing across a tightrope (morphing into a wheel). Sabotage were constantly surprising me with their creativity as I saw him perform more actions.
Agreed! :D Sea of Stars has such nice character detail animations, it was such a treat to try each of the combo moves too and see how they would all interact :D
It really makes me happy to see a video like this. Animation is such hard, intricate work. It's nice to see somebody spotlight it and just give it appreciation.
Kinda wish SF6 has more mention in this video since imo it has some of the best animations I've seen in a fighting game for a while, especially for one that is photorealistic. Like the game just looks so damn aesthetically pleasing
These lists are legitimately a highlight of each year for me. I absolutely adore them and this channel has taught me so much about animation. I love learning about some well animated games that deserve recognition. I also love the small segments that show well animated games and list what they are between your full on discussions. Make sure to give yourself a good pat on the back, because these videos rule!
I'm a bit late to this video this year, but glad I finally got around to it. I was one of the many impacted by the industry layoffs last year, and your nod to people like me at the end was very touching. Thank you Dan
Re: Pizza Tower Your point on the developers understanding enough of the animation rules they’ve put on themselves while being able to break the rules is great. As it also imo reaches on their inspiration of 2D platformers like Wario Land, while still knowing how to introduce mechanics that defy established expectations. Truly a punk game in the industry Re: Spider-Man 2 Seeing usually underrepresented cultures and ideas is great but putting time and attention into making sure every detail is considered is exactly what makes it great. Representation can only go so far if it’s tacked on for brownie points without a second thought or care Absolutely love this video, you have subscriber in me. Can’t wait to see your next few videos while I watch your current ones
Thank you for this breath of fresh air amid all the chaotic news in the animation and video game industries. Always look forward to your videos and can't say thank you enough
There were tons of fantastic games last year, but I wanna mention one game that blew me away in both its visual style and gameplay. Roboquest is an FPS roguelite that released late last year, and it's easily one of the funnest FPS games I've played in a long time. It is incredibly comic book styled, like Hi-Fi Rush, but its environments and characters go for a more natural, rounded look. When you use your weapon, you'll get little onomatopoeia floating around it like "bang!", "zap!" and "pow!". Each enemy robot was designed to let you know what they'll do at a glance. Small grounded robots will move forward and shoot, flying drones will get in your face, taller robots can punch you if you get too close, and in a game where there are at least 8 robots in a room and there's a ton of bullets flying by and explosions happening, having that sort of visual clarity is very helpful. I'd love to see it get more attention, it's absolutely fantastic.
Whoo Jusant mentioned! I don't know enough about game dev to know what parts are what but I remember being absolutely floored by some of the environmental story telling that arose from mixing different technology levels and styles to show how lived in and ancient the world was despite being so barren and being mostly background.
One thing about Hi Fi Rush: Fast action games have to have good animation to let players know if they are moving along a combo string and if enemies are about to interrupt them. But this game feels very very accessible for a spectacle fighter.
So glad you talked about "Pseudoregalia" that game deserves so much attention, it's one of those games that you get obsessed with and it just leaves you wanting more.
I don't think I was expecting to see Psudoregalia jammed between HI-FI RUSH and Super fuckin' Mario on this list, but I am SO THOROUGHLY PUMPED TO SEE IT. I genuinely think it is one of the best games to come out last year, and it's a tiny ass 6$ indie game that was started as a game jam game. Please go play it, it's so good.
I haven’t really played visual novels before, cause I didn’t think I could get invested in a bunch of static images. Goodbye Volcano High was probably my first one, and I loved it. The voice acting and the slight animation for talking and expressions really elevated the immersion I got that I don’t think I would get for just static images and just reading.
If you're curious about it and like RPGs, I'd recommend Disco Elysium :D That game may ooze beautiful stylistic artstyle, have good mechanics and decent animation, but in reality all of that is a disguise. It's actually a pullitzer-level novel and story/world :D
Go play witch on the holy night. It uses static 2d images but manipulates them in a way that it feels like your watching an anime. Add one of the best stories for a visual novel and it's an addictive read.
I know a lot of people write off Mihoyo's work just because they make gacha games so hearing Star Rail get a shout out was really nice for me. Great work as always Dan!
I'd LOVE to see you do a full on deep-dive into hi-fi rush! it's such a good game and the animation and EVERYTHING being tied to the music is just nutty.
It can shake hands with No Straight Roads which released a few years earlier. First debut game by its respective studio, has its ups and downs and differs from HFR from being more boss-centric and quite a bit shorter, but in terms of the genre and love for music and style, they could be like cousins in a way.
Thank you for mentioning all the layoffs, and on a side note for showing Destiny which I feel is constantly overlooked for the amazing artistic work that it continues to showcase year after year, it may be a GaaS which many people look down on, but the technical level those devs and artists bring to the game is among the best in the industry. Keep doing what you're doing, you continue to impress.
I really really love Who's Lila, but I'd say it has an amazing visual style rather than amazing animation, the character's model movements are clunky and the facial rigs always animate linearly, not to say it looks bad of course, but it's not remarkable imo
im SO glad you talked about pseudoregalia!! its absolutely one of my favourite games of 2023, probably beaten only by bg3. its so charming, and the controls are so smooth. if you haven't yet, play it.
It's a shame that as someone who is very much invested in the games industry, I've not heard of a lot of these games, and they look a lot better than many games I did hear of last year.
There's even more to discover that deserve more attention. Like for example Clash: Artifacts of Chaos from early 2023, Soulstice from late 2022, the upcoming Blud which seems like it could find a place for itself on "great animation" videos like these, and before that there has been stuff like No Straight Roads, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and Charlie Murder, Grime, Strangeland, and more. For upcoming games there's things like Genokids, aforementioned Blud, Gori: Cuddly Carnage, Lost in Random, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip, My Familiair, etc. And there's even some games that have dipped or are dipping their toes into stop-motion animation and/or handcrafted environments. Papetura for example, which had environments made out of paper crafts and then photographed/scanned to be game environments. And for ones that have yet to release, there's Harold Halibut and whatever current project Moonhood Studios is working on. Many titles very much worth spreading the word about, even if the games in question may not be up one's alley.
16:42 The animation of this person's face is *mesmerizing*. I don't know if I've seen the true elasticity of a human's face rendered to a degree that doesn't look at least a little cartoony, and that face *oozes* artistic confidence. Incredible
Honestly, I think Armored Core 6 deserved a mention here. Cuz even with how stiff and solid the animations are for most of the mechs, it makes sense for the war machines you're piloting and fighting. Sure, your AC barely animates, but then you look at stuff like IBIS-CEL-240 and it's just going absolutely NUTS the entire fight, really emphasising how outclassed you are in this fight but making that dance with it feel absolutely incredible when you nail its moveset and rip it to pieces. Or hell, IBIS-SOL, which appears in two of the endings and you can feel the either regret or the pure and utter malice and HATRED coming from whose piloting it just based on the small movements of this giant, chunky mech
Okay, but can we PLEASE get a whole video dedicated to the stunning animation of Lies Of P? Looks like Bloodborne, plays like Sekiro, and every animation feels like someone broke down From Soft's entire catalog to its purest form and painstakingly reverse engineered it, all while maintaininga distinct visual identity. Its by far one of the best Soulslikes I've played, and the visual clarity that it manages even in bonkers scenarios that could easily become overwhelming is a major part of that.
Great video, love to see a focus on animation which is one of my favorite elements in video games and one of the things I pay attention to the most when it comes to how much I enjoy games.
i mean this in the absolute best way possible... this channel's... well everything, but especially the writing and delivery feels so unique, even though it isn't doing anything particularly special or new technique wise. it isn't rolling on the floor funny, or super deep, or full of metaphors and fantastic quotable analogies. but it also isn't trying to be any of those things. what it does have, and oh boy does it ooze this out of every corner and crevice, is charm. every small joke, while i don't feel like i want to laugh at them particular hard, lands in a "oh that was a good one" kind of way, and in the best way. every line read is expertly paced, and i cannot imagine how many takes you must do for some of them. a favorite bit is the introduction to resident evil 4, such a clever yet endlessly relatable comparison to make. as someone who wishes to improve my ability to narrate and do voiceovers like these, this is a shining performance to strive towards.
Super freaking awesome video. I really enjoyed it! It’s very cool seeing what everyone has been doing in the animation field, and I’m glad you even acknowledged the layoffs.
Looking forward to this! I used to watch these videos every year with my partner until she passed away last year. Kind of a weird thing to shout into the RUclips void, but, hey, it's engagement!
Dang what a short 31 minute video. I feel like you could've let most of the stuff here breathe a little more, like twice as long. I would definitely have watched. So much good stuff in 2023. Had to buy a few of the games mentioned here I didn't even know about.
I'd give a honourable mention to exoprimal, not for extremely exceptional animation at base, but for the technical achievement of having so much on screen at once, while still having the clarity it has. Swarms of dinosaurs actually looks like a chaotic swarm, not a bunch of bots.
Love to see Pseudoregalia so highly rated, what a remarkable game. I hadn't played many platformers since Crash Bandicoot and it was a complete delight.
Your end of year videos are always some of the best on the site. I don't know how you always manage to find such a diverse list of games that no one else talks about, and shower them with so much love.
It is always good seeing your videos pop in my notification feed. They are little events to cherish throughout the year, I cannot wait to see the next one
Wish Bomb Rush Cyberfunk showed up for more than a second, I really love its expressive and stylish animation. Lends a lot to the feel its going for. Great video regardless :)
I was waiting for this video! thank you! it was so nice seeing so many different games I would never see otherwise. and i'm so very happy every time you compliment something that's not AAA, it warms my heart have a good year!
the way that i relish your celebrations of the undersung and almost “shrugged off” achievements of the gaming animation industry, cannot be understated. i know these videos are a labor of love, too. thanks!
Amazing video as always! Always love your insights into game animations, so glad you mentioned Sanabi its such an underrated gem from last years game lineup
I'll say it. Pizza Tower is to Spongebob what Cuphead was to Early Disney/Fleischer. Both are excellent executions of rubberhose but from different eras.
I went and played SANABI because of this video and man it was an absolute banger, I can't believe how much it hit on all fronts. Thanks a ton for the recommendation!
![ROSÉ(로제) - APT. (Band VER.) (With. 이영지) [더 시즌즈-이영지의 레인보우] | KBS 241129 방송](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/IW8qaemx74g/mqdefault.jpg)
“Anticipation is no substitute for follow-through”
Is… is that an animation joke too?
pizzer
Haha, I didn’t catched it !
I'm not even an animator but I've watched every single of this dude's videos and this joke just got me like "ohh you no you didn't 💕"
When my sister saw Peter for the first time, she was physically disgusted. I think we need to remember to find a balance between photorealistic faces and animated zany essence.
Every time you do one of these my backlog grows by 5-10 games and it's already so big please Dan
DAN YOU ADDED 18 NEW GAMES TO MY BACKLOG ;-;
Do you play any of them?
He’s a menace. He must be stopped.***
***Please never stop doing these.
I've gotten to quite a few over the years, yes!
pizzer
I DID THE ANIMATION ON BATBOY TY FOR THE SHOUTOUT AAA
Congrats on your excellent work! That game is a blast. :D
@@NewFramePlus Im glad you liked it! I love this channel so it was so surreal seeing it mentioned
I love how you edited a lot of the Hi-Fi rush segment to the beat. Excellent detail.
I still gotta play that game…
I have legitimately become so much more excited for this annual video than any other award show
Oh my gosh yes. An award show just tells you that a lot of people like something. NFP is a passionate guy telling you _why_ he likes something.
Seriously though.
@@matthewjones6786 not even. Award shows are just commercials paid for by the nominees.
Legitimately, this video was a lot more fun to watch than TGA '23 lol
Love how the peppino sprite they used in the thumbnail is literally him in the verge of screaming from the top of his lung
An exemplary sprite from an exemplary game. Don't know if anything's ever captured such an absurdist anxious energy before.
pizzer
I never would've guessed, he looks like he's just silently judging my trash taste in anime.
@@hoodiesticks aka literally on the verge of screaming from the top of his lungs
Literally the first SECOND I saw hi fi rush I thought “this is going to be in the play frame best animation of the year list”. And now here we are!
Hah, same here! That game looks incredible, as in, I literally struggle to believe that it's real.
"Human stop motion" is a great descriptor for Mortal Kombat.
There's a term for this! It's called pixilation (note the two i's), we did a module on it in film school. It's really hard to pull off!
Pixilation, anyone? Is it not THE word for human stop motion? :D
@@Mikefiser Only insofar as any animation exists as a series of still images which might be pixelated. Some pixel animations are extremely naturalistic.
@@JohnGuyJohn i think Mike is referring to the technique, confusingly called 'pixelation' which is moving human 'puppets' one frame at a time for "human stop motion". Its so confusing that this technique has the same name as an aesthetic technique also used in animation!!
@@GavStrangeYou're right. TIL. Apologies to @Mikefiser. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixilation
Truly superb research and production Dan!
While not an animator, my girlfriend worked at Toys for Bob and worked on Crash Team Rumble. She was laid off and seeing the footage from that (I think it was the happy meal ad?) from that game brings up some very bittersweet emotions as it's been a bit of a challenging time for us. I greatly appreciate you meantioning the layoffs in your video there's a lot of people really suffering right now from it and there's a lot of value just having them feel seen right now
From a random fellah on the internet, best wishes to you two as well as any others affected by the layoffs and other such unfortunate events. May the future bring a lot of good, and may we bring a lot of good to the future.
@@jurtheorc8117 Thank you very much! She’s been doing amazing on the job hunt and already has a handful of interviews at other studios we pray will be better
I was furious when I heard about the layoffs at TFB considering the consistently amazing output that team has produced.
I'm sorry to hear you were impacted by this larger layoff culture that has arose from rich people's greed. I pray that this leads to an industry-wide push for unionization that will create a bulwark against further layoffs and give game devs the leverage to be paid what they deserve, treated as they deserve, and not have their rights constantly trampled over.
@@wavesofbabies we both appreciate the kind words! Both me and her work in the games industry and this has definitely made us more activated and motivated look into unionizing. I fear that layoffs will keep happening for a while, but we’re hopeful that us and our friends in the industry can start really pushing for change.
She met with an entertainment industry union leader last week and we’re hoping to be more involved with them going forward (forgot the name of the group sorry). So we’re keeping our heads held high! Thank you for the kind words again, let’s all push for change where we can!
Thank you for the little shout out to those affected by the layoffs. I wasn't one who was laid off, but it was devastating to see coworkers being laid off one by one.
Yes these Game Animation Videos are getting longer and longer.
And I'm not complaining at all! These are always such a *delight* to watch!!!
I love the effort you put into those! Not only the visuals, but also adding the soundtracks from the videogames you talk about and the funny jokes and transitions in your script.
Another thing cool about BG3 animation I wanna mention (since they released patch 6 today) is how Larian has continued to updating the animations to show off more of the characters personalities. We've now have several different kissing animation for each character you are romancing and they've added some new idle animation for the companions at camp! I just think it's cool that Larian keeps giving more in this immersive sim to make it feel more alive
“Anticipation is no substitute for follow through”. We’re not even 15 seconds in, you can’t just drop jokes that clever without letting us prepare
I guess we didn't have enough time to anticipate
“Screw it, we’re putting a mo-cap suit in the recording booth.” Leave it to the D&D game to circumvent the problem with an ingenious solution no-one expects. Bet the DM was furious.
I thought most devs did this? If you ever look at The last of us or Silent hill voice acting videos they got mo-cap suits on while acting out the scene.
@@wolfrox777 in those games the solution is more "add recording equipment to the mocap studio". The distinguishing factor for BG3 is that they mocapped people without the full-on Hollywood sets present in games like Uncharted or TLoU.
@@cptroot it is also very verrrry important to add: While games like tlou, uncharted etc, have definitly needed a big amount of mocap recordings, it could not even compare to the freaking vast quantity baldurs gate 3 needed. It is insane that they did not decided to do it procedural but also freaking awesome.
Sassy Dan telling us to make our own videos is definitely the new addition to 2024 I've been waiting for
I swear there's no one I'd rather hear talk about their job at length. Excellent list, Dan
Dan I hate to be pedantic, but have a nice death is more cartoon network animation, while pizza tower is DEFINATELY a nick toon.
When you're right, you're right.
The upcoming Blud seems to be kind of like a Cartoon Network show as well.
Don't lie, you love to be pedantic :)
@@imveryangryitsnotbutter I mean sometimes yeah
idk about that pizza tower screams "Courage the Cowardly Dog" to me
This is one of those videos where at the end i went "wait... that was 31 minutes? I WANT MORE!"
The way you described how the pc in pseudoregalia animates on 3s but translates around the field on 1s made me think of how you descibed Mr. Game and Watch back in the day.
About the condolences section at the end, usually whenever I receive these sorts of messages, it feels patronizing and pretty insincere. I'm not a game animator and haven't gone through the experience of being fired for no good reason like this, but this apology touched even me. I've never heard such a sincere and heartfelt apology to a group of people the person apologizing has never met personally before. "Sweet" is far too light a word for this. Thank you.
If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend checking out Rashid's animation in Street Fighter 6. Specifically all the cloth physics at work and how they somehow don't break, despite how many pieces there are and how much he spins around.
There are *so many* well animated characters in SF6. The highlight for me is actually JP. They are doing everything in their power to sell you on the kind of villain JP is, and how different he is than someone like Urien, Bison, Seth, Akuma or Nicalli. He's a villain to whom appearances and good PR are the real battleground, where it isn't enough to win the fight, he has to come out the other side *looking* like the good guy, so he puts a lot of effort in keeping his metaphorical hands clean...
Which is why the fact that the only time he will put his *literal* hands on someone is when he's backed into a corner (AKA: His level 3 super). Not a single one of his strikes, not even his throw will lay a single gloved finger on his opponent. A great bit of storytelling in animation, and that's not to mention his world tour cutscenes and his walk-off animation where he is given the opportunity to do the typical Street Fighter villain win pose of "the frame before they kill you" in favor of him having the opportunity and letting it go.
SF6 deserved a longer section in the video. MK1 is great and all but the animation pales in comparison to SF..
@@leKageBunshin Agreed. I liked Dan giving NetherRealm the benefit of the doubt with the "they're trying to convey the old stiff 2D MK look!" angle, but honestly... I think it's just stiff 'cause it's bad. Especially since it's the same in Injustice. Great cutscenes tho.
@@leKageBunshin Mortal Kombat squeaked by because it's the only fighting game in "Naturalistic animation". While the visuals are impressive in SF6 it certainly isn't trying to imitate real life. That being said, NRS has *never* had good in-game animation, and I have no idea why. I do agree with the video that the facial animation in MK1 is actually really good though.
There’s some dodgy animation here and there in SF6 (I’m looking at you, Tatsu), but man they’ve knocked it out of the park for like 85% of the game. Rashid’s cloth animation feels like Capcom specifically showing us that they’ve conquered the physics issues from SFV. So good
I KNEW you were gonna talk about mario wonder. When I played it, I immediately thought "oh, boy, look at all the little flourishes, smeary speed lines and poses! Dan's gonna enjoy going frame by frame with this one!"
Armored Core 6 has a lot of subtle mechanical animations you might not even notice. They really juggled responsive controls with powerful animation like not many games do (even by their own games standards).
New Frame Plus if you're reading this, I am MORE than ok with how long the video is. My shrinking backlog expands because of your videos and I love the effort and detail you put into curating these selections for us. I look forward, as always, to your next video!
Thanks for the shoutout to the workers who got lay off last year and this year
I haven't even pressed play and I'm already laughing from reading the description. In for a good time.
Your videos only get better and better with each upload. And I gotta say, the way you carry the conversation sounds more confident than ever here. Huge fan of everything you do!!
Octopath Traveler II is amazingly gorgeous and is currently my favourite game of all time.
I tend to put on a podcast for JRPGs these days because I can only listen to the same battle music tracks for so long but I always stop the podcast to hear those boss themes.
Also nothing gtmets me more pumped in gaming than the sound and visual effect for boosting (or whatever it's called)
9 Years of Shadows mention!! ❤
Mr Coo mentioned, day has been made.
A little surprised that Armored Core 6 wasn't mentioned at least in passing. Some of the mechanical animations in it are really impressive.
There was a clip of AC6 in the intro!
Right? Fromsoft LOVES mechanical eye-candy, and you can see their obsession in many mechanical contraptions and transforming weapons in the Soulsborne series.
Probably because he didnt play it i think,but yeah AC6 animations are super complex if you look at the underlying system,many micro animations with different timing and From having to make a new animation system for it.
Jesus Christ you sold me hard on Sannabi. As you began to explain it I wasn't sold on the tiny sprites, but then 10:52 happened and that shit went WILD
He just finished the playthrough on the main channel (PlayFrame) and while the start of the game is an incredibly predictable revenge story, the game GOES PLACES
Yep, the beginning is cliched, but the storytelling and characterization is rock-solid. This turns out to be not an accident. Worth a play/watch.
Thank you so much for talking about SANABI! I absolute love that game and I really wished people talked about it more. I have never been so awed at a pixel animated game other than Katana ZERO in a long time. The gameplay and OST is one of my favorites too
Shocked that Bomb Rush Cyberfunk didn't get a call out, I was just playing some more of it last night and was floored yet again by the dream sequences
He definitely showed a clip of it, I remember seeing the same in this video even if he didn’t call it out specifically
Wow, what a treat! I'm going to be re-watching this video all year, I just know it!
Also, Hi-Fi Rush came out in 2023? It totally feels like it came out earlier than that. What a long year 2023 has been! >_
I feel a similar way about Clash: Artifacts of Chaos. Came out a little bit before HFR in 2023 but equally feels like it's more a year and a half or two years ago.
Good games.
Few games I'll rewatch a friend or a streamer play and actually tab back even during cutscenes I've seen a thousand times (helps that when you replay yourself you can only skip on the next beat anyway), but HFR is one of those, to catch just an extra bit of animation to the characters' gestures that I previously missed. Stuff like CNMN changing expressions the dialogue box *before* his own showing how he's thinking while everyone else is still talking, or how Chai has a ridiculous amount of hair bones to follow through basically everything he does. It's neverending in the best way.
PEPPINO SWEEP
After a discussion about high-quality game art, an acquaintance on Discord recommended your channel to me - and this video in particular as a great place to start. On watching it, I instantly subscribed and set notifications to all. Time to do a deep dive into all your past work!
Sea of Stars! This is potential (minor) spoiler territory but I can't let it go without shouting out the animation of B'st the living glass golem. The animation has him morphing his body to perform various actions, like climbing (morphing into a slug), swimming (morphing into a bottle) and tiptoeing across a tightrope (morphing into a wheel). Sabotage were constantly surprising me with their creativity as I saw him perform more actions.
Agreed! :D Sea of Stars has such nice character detail animations, it was such a treat to try each of the combo moves too and see how they would all interact :D
It really makes me happy to see a video like this. Animation is such hard, intricate work. It's nice to see somebody spotlight it and just give it appreciation.
19:04 amazing transition from Scorpions burning chain to the flames of the FF16 logo!
Kinda wish SF6 has more mention in this video since imo it has some of the best animations I've seen in a fighting game for a while, especially for one that is photorealistic. Like the game just looks so damn aesthetically pleasing
These lists are legitimately a highlight of each year for me. I absolutely adore them and this channel has taught me so much about animation. I love learning about some well animated games that deserve recognition. I also love the small segments that show well animated games and list what they are between your full on discussions. Make sure to give yourself a good pat on the back, because these videos rule!
Oh I am LOCKED IN for this video!
oh no oh god my steam library, it's growing so much! and my wallet is getting so empty!
I'm a bit late to this video this year, but glad I finally got around to it. I was one of the many impacted by the industry layoffs last year, and your nod to people like me at the end was very touching. Thank you Dan
This is my Game Awards. Seriously, you do more justice to the year in gaming than the major awards and publications do!
Re: Pizza Tower
Your point on the developers understanding enough of the animation rules they’ve put on themselves while being able to break the rules is great. As it also imo reaches on their inspiration of 2D platformers like Wario Land, while still knowing how to introduce mechanics that defy established expectations. Truly a punk game in the industry
Re: Spider-Man 2
Seeing usually underrepresented cultures and ideas is great but putting time and attention into making sure every detail is considered is exactly what makes it great. Representation can only go so far if it’s tacked on for brownie points without a second thought or care
Absolutely love this video, you have subscriber in me. Can’t wait to see your next few videos while I watch your current ones
Been patiently waiting for this video since the beginning of the year.
Here we go!
Thank you for this breath of fresh air amid all the chaotic news in the animation and video game industries. Always look forward to your videos and can't say thank you enough
There were tons of fantastic games last year, but I wanna mention one game that blew me away in both its visual style and gameplay. Roboquest is an FPS roguelite that released late last year, and it's easily one of the funnest FPS games I've played in a long time. It is incredibly comic book styled, like Hi-Fi Rush, but its environments and characters go for a more natural, rounded look. When you use your weapon, you'll get little onomatopoeia floating around it like "bang!", "zap!" and "pow!". Each enemy robot was designed to let you know what they'll do at a glance. Small grounded robots will move forward and shoot, flying drones will get in your face, taller robots can punch you if you get too close, and in a game where there are at least 8 robots in a room and there's a ton of bullets flying by and explosions happening, having that sort of visual clarity is very helpful. I'd love to see it get more attention, it's absolutely fantastic.
Whoo Jusant mentioned!
I don't know enough about game dev to know what parts are what but I remember being absolutely floored by some of the environmental story telling that arose from mixing different technology levels and styles to show how lived in and ancient the world was despite being so barren and being mostly background.
One thing about Hi Fi Rush: Fast action games have to have good animation to let players know if they are moving along a combo string and if enemies are about to interrupt them. But this game feels very very accessible for a spectacle fighter.
My love for animation grows with each one of these video. Great work
thank you for giving me more hope in humanity and art. god knows we need it.
So glad you talked about "Pseudoregalia" that game deserves so much attention, it's one of those games that you get obsessed with and it just leaves you wanting more.
Welp, time to add another 15 games to my wishlist...
I don't think I was expecting to see Psudoregalia jammed between HI-FI RUSH and Super fuckin' Mario on this list, but I am SO THOROUGHLY PUMPED TO SEE IT. I genuinely think it is one of the best games to come out last year, and it's a tiny ass 6$ indie game that was started as a game jam game.
Please go play it, it's so good.
You are now legally obligated to talk about every Sonic game from now until the end of time
I don't get it.
Honestly surprised mk1 showed up here considering how much criticism nrs gets on how funky the animation looks
I haven’t really played visual novels before, cause I didn’t think I could get invested in a bunch of static images. Goodbye Volcano High was probably my first one, and I loved it. The voice acting and the slight animation for talking and expressions really elevated the immersion I got that I don’t think I would get for just static images and just reading.
If you're curious about it and like RPGs, I'd recommend Disco Elysium :D
That game may ooze beautiful stylistic artstyle, have good mechanics and decent animation, but in reality all of that is a disguise. It's actually a pullitzer-level novel and story/world :D
Go play witch on the holy night. It uses static 2d images but manipulates them in a way that it feels like your watching an anime. Add one of the best stories for a visual novel and it's an addictive read.
I know a lot of people write off Mihoyo's work just because they make gacha games so hearing Star Rail get a shout out was really nice for me. Great work as always Dan!
I'd LOVE to see you do a full on deep-dive into hi-fi rush! it's such a good game and the animation and EVERYTHING being tied to the music is just nutty.
It can shake hands with No Straight Roads which released a few years earlier. First debut game by its respective studio, has its ups and downs and differs from HFR from being more boss-centric and quite a bit shorter, but in terms of the genre and love for music and style, they could be like cousins in a way.
@@jurtheorc8117 I've only seen the beginning of NSR when a friend played it. But I've heard it's good
Holy moly, I haven't heard of Worldless, but it looks incredible
Thank you for mentioning all the layoffs, and on a side note for showing Destiny which I feel is constantly overlooked for the amazing artistic work that it continues to showcase year after year, it may be a GaaS which many people look down on, but the technical level those devs and artists bring to the game is among the best in the industry. Keep doing what you're doing, you continue to impress.
Fucking incredible list, and you didn’t even mention stuff like “Who’s Lila” and “YOMI Hustle.” What a fucking banger year
I really really love Who's Lila, but I'd say it has an amazing visual style rather than amazing animation, the character's model movements are clunky and the facial rigs always animate linearly, not to say it looks bad of course, but it's not remarkable imo
I literally screamed when you mentioned Pseudoregalia, that little game deserves so much more attention.
im SO glad you talked about pseudoregalia!! its absolutely one of my favourite games of 2023, probably beaten only by bg3. its so charming, and the controls are so smooth. if you haven't yet, play it.
It's a shame that as someone who is very much invested in the games industry, I've not heard of a lot of these games, and they look a lot better than many games I did hear of last year.
There's even more to discover that deserve more attention. Like for example Clash: Artifacts of Chaos from early 2023, Soulstice from late 2022, the upcoming Blud which seems like it could find a place for itself on "great animation" videos like these, and before that there has been stuff like No Straight Roads, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile and Charlie Murder, Grime, Strangeland, and more.
For upcoming games there's things like Genokids, aforementioned Blud, Gori: Cuddly Carnage, Lost in Random, Tiny Terry's Turbo Trip, My Familiair, etc.
And there's even some games that have dipped or are dipping their toes into stop-motion animation and/or handcrafted environments. Papetura for example, which had environments made out of paper crafts and then photographed/scanned to be game environments. And for ones that have yet to release, there's Harold Halibut and whatever current project Moonhood Studios is working on.
Many titles very much worth spreading the word about, even if the games in question may not be up one's alley.
16:42 The animation of this person's face is *mesmerizing*. I don't know if I've seen the true elasticity of a human's face rendered to a degree that doesn't look at least a little cartoony, and that face *oozes* artistic confidence. Incredible
Honestly, I think Armored Core 6 deserved a mention here. Cuz even with how stiff and solid the animations are for most of the mechs, it makes sense for the war machines you're piloting and fighting. Sure, your AC barely animates, but then you look at stuff like IBIS-CEL-240 and it's just going absolutely NUTS the entire fight, really emphasising how outclassed you are in this fight but making that dance with it feel absolutely incredible when you nail its moveset and rip it to pieces.
Or hell, IBIS-SOL, which appears in two of the endings and you can feel the either regret or the pure and utter malice and HATRED coming from whose piloting it just based on the small movements of this giant, chunky mech
Yay for Pseudoregalia!
Great list, great analysis. Pseudoregalia is such an amazing game! Thrilled to see you highlight its animation.
Yes!!!
With the release of this video the year can now begin properly!
Okay, but can we PLEASE get a whole video dedicated to the stunning animation of Lies Of P? Looks like Bloodborne, plays like Sekiro, and every animation feels like someone broke down From Soft's entire catalog to its purest form and painstakingly reverse engineered it, all while maintaininga distinct visual identity. Its by far one of the best Soulslikes I've played, and the visual clarity that it manages even in bonkers scenarios that could easily become overwhelming is a major part of that.
bomb rush cyberfunk has adapted on the aesthetic and animation of jet set radio very well. i'd just like to mention that.
Hypest video of the year LETS GOOOOOO!
Great video, love to see a focus on animation which is one of my favorite elements in video games and one of the things I pay attention to the most when it comes to how much I enjoy games.
i mean this in the absolute best way possible... this channel's... well everything, but especially the writing and delivery feels so unique, even though it isn't doing anything particularly special or new technique wise. it isn't rolling on the floor funny, or super deep, or full of metaphors and fantastic quotable analogies. but it also isn't trying to be any of those things. what it does have, and oh boy does it ooze this out of every corner and crevice, is charm. every small joke, while i don't feel like i want to laugh at them particular hard, lands in a "oh that was a good one" kind of way, and in the best way. every line read is expertly paced, and i cannot imagine how many takes you must do for some of them. a favorite bit is the introduction to resident evil 4, such a clever yet endlessly relatable comparison to make.
as someone who wishes to improve my ability to narrate and do voiceovers like these, this is a shining performance to strive towards.
Commening for engagement.
I love your inside takes on this stuff.
Super freaking awesome video. I really enjoyed it! It’s very cool seeing what everyone has been doing in the animation field, and I’m glad you even acknowledged the layoffs.
I'm so glad to se Psuedoregalia on here, that game is a gem and I can't wait to see Rittzler's next title later this year
i have found out that I can basically stop following gaming for a year, watch this video and just find something cool to play
Looking forward to this! I used to watch these videos every year with my partner until she passed away last year. Kind of a weird thing to shout into the RUclips void, but, hey, it's engagement!
Dang what a short 31 minute video. I feel like you could've let most of the stuff here breathe a little more, like twice as long. I would definitely have watched. So much good stuff in 2023. Had to buy a few of the games mentioned here I didn't even know about.
I'd give a honourable mention to exoprimal, not for extremely exceptional animation at base, but for the technical achievement of having so much on screen at once, while still having the clarity it has. Swarms of dinosaurs actually looks like a chaotic swarm, not a bunch of bots.
Love to see Pseudoregalia so highly rated, what a remarkable game. I hadn't played many platformers since Crash Bandicoot and it was a complete delight.
Your end of year videos are always some of the best on the site. I don't know how you always manage to find such a diverse list of games that no one else talks about, and shower them with so much love.
It is always good seeing your videos pop in my notification feed. They are little events to cherish throughout the year, I cannot wait to see the next one
5:42 Did you write the captions for the video too? Cause I doubt RUclips would write [cutely-spooky music]? Thanks for the work though.
Yep, I always make sure we have authored English captions for every video I release here!
Wish Bomb Rush Cyberfunk showed up for more than a second, I really love its expressive and stylish animation. Lends a lot to the feel its going for. Great video regardless :)
Finally someone that talks about SANABI, its a well deserved shout-out.
When i casually found the game, i was shocked I'd never heard about it online.
I was waiting for this video! thank you!
it was so nice seeing so many different games I would never see otherwise.
and i'm so very happy every time you compliment something that's not AAA, it warms my heart
have a good year!
Love that you still did the review of the year. Thanks!
Awesome work as always, thank you. I always look forwards to your yearly round-up vids!
the way that i relish your celebrations of the undersung and almost “shrugged off” achievements of the gaming animation industry, cannot be understated. i know these videos are a labor of love, too. thanks!
Amazing video as always! Always love your insights into game animations, so glad you mentioned Sanabi its such an underrated gem from last years game lineup
I'll say it. Pizza Tower is to Spongebob what Cuphead was to Early Disney/Fleischer. Both are excellent executions of rubberhose but from different eras.
Absolute cartoony goodness
YEEEEEEEEEEEES THIRSTY SUITORS MENTIONED!!!!!!!!!!!!
This was great, thank you! There was SO much cool stuff that came out last year it's going to take me awhile to catch up lol
I went and played SANABI because of this video and man it was an absolute banger, I can't believe how much it hit on all fronts. Thanks a ton for the recommendation!