Forspoken (Zero Punctuation)

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  • Опубликовано: 15 янв 2025
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Комментарии • 1 тыс.

  • @theescapist
    @theescapist  Год назад +155

    This week on Zero Punctuation, Yahtzee reviewed Hi-Fi Rush. www.escapistmagazine.com/hi-fi-rush-zero-punctuation/ Watch it early on RUclips and support the channel via Patreon for $2/month. www.patreon.com/the_escapist

    • @Scampcam
      @Scampcam Год назад

      Bongry? Bangry? Borngry?

    • @simoneval2619
      @simoneval2619 Год назад +2

      @@RP-mp4ow he recommend also Spiritfearer (and I confirm the sentiment because it's very beautiful) in multiple occasion. And Psychonauts as well. For not mentioning Portal as well. And of course Silent Hill.

    • @DangerousMuteLunatic
      @DangerousMuteLunatic Год назад +2

      AAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAH MORE LOVE FOR HI-FI RUSH

    • @Banedragon
      @Banedragon Год назад

      So low effort isekai in video games is just as paint by numbers as the low effort isekai in anime, /s who would have thunk it

  • @hanniballahr94
    @hanniballahr94 Год назад +4234

    Didn't expect such a strong contender for worst of the year so soon.

    • @ng_canadian
      @ng_canadian Год назад +329

      It could easily go in the bland category as well, since it’s both a ghost train ride, and a Jiminy Cockthroat

    • @paulrus-keaton439
      @paulrus-keaton439 Год назад +43

      It really is a toss up between the two.

    • @holdendefrank757
      @holdendefrank757 Год назад +116

      Most likely worst. His bland list is usually filled with games whose gameplay, while bland, has a story and writing that is at worst just boring, not bad.
      His worst games are usually encompassed by games that are not fun to play, have terrible writing, and/or stories that are so abysmal you can't defend it and seem sane.
      Compare his Last of Us 2 review and Ghost Recon Breakpoint. One he never wanted to play again, while the other was merely drab.

    • @xcellentcreations3312
      @xcellentcreations3312 Год назад +11

      And here I thought fnaf security breach got it rough with yatzhee last February!

    • @jmurray1110
      @jmurray1110 Год назад +2

      Did you forget his early security breach was reviewed

  • @pileofcheese5017
    @pileofcheese5017 Год назад +2036

    Forspoken's main character has this air of not giving a shit, and the game does a fantastic job of making you indentify with that feeling, by making it's world and story so absolutely flat that you also don't give a shit.

    • @VeritabIlIti
      @VeritabIlIti Год назад +163

      Right? It's almost like an air of total cynicism is bad for engagement. Weird

    • @Corusame
      @Corusame Год назад +67

      The people who designed this travesty fully embraced the 'not giving a shit' vibe of the main character.

    • @eddthehead123
      @eddthehead123 Год назад +45

      She goes out of her way on many occasions to make sure you are intimately familiar with how much she does not give a shit. She puts in a lot of effort to not give a shit, and to ensure that you know that.

    • @ianwells7916
      @ianwells7916 Год назад +35

      Right? That is sort of the issue with that story design. It is totally fine to have a reluctant hero, but if the only character in the entire damned game we are allowed to be and interact with as a player is that character, they better have a damned good reason to be reluctant. Just not giving a shit because its not their world and they are too busy just enjoying all this power they now have, then why should the player care? And if the player does care, why would the player have any affection for the asshole they are supposed to be steering?
      A better example of this exact troupe working out better comes easily to mind. Indie game that it is, we have "Loren: The Amazon Princess" - which asks the question, 'What if Xena was totally cool with owning slaves and was openly minandric and a bit of a racist to boot?' It does several things better, by having her being the main character in the story, but putting you in the shoes of a slave tasked with protecting her under implicit threat of death. It also gives a wider cast of characters for you to interact with, Dragon Age style, and actually gives Loren actual reasons for her reservations. She doesn't give a damn about the world or the lands outside the Amazon queendom, because she is only interested in finding her mother.
      She only opens up to the world at large when she does find her mother and learns that she abandoned her duties as Queen to run of with a male slave she fell in love with. Its enough of a shock to her system that she has an existential crisis and requires a good chunk of the game going forward to accept that maybe her own ways aren't the only ways that are acceptable. She is disgusted at her own mother, but conflicted as she always saw her as her distant but motivating role model. Its an actual character arc that resolves in her accepting her role as the chosen savior of all lands, not only her own.

    • @garibaldibritann1240
      @garibaldibritann1240 Год назад +2

      "What a riveting gameplay"
      Uricksaladbar (probably)

  • @georgesears934
    @georgesears934 Год назад +2326

    Bruce Campbell elevates everything he's in because he manages to have the energy of someone who simultaneously does not give a shit about what he's acting in but is giving it his absolute best anyway. That positive nihilism is refreshing.

    • @VicStrange9
      @VicStrange9 Год назад +70

      I would agree, but also, it felt like he was actually enjoying it during the entirety of the very short-lived Jack of All Trades show.
      Sheesh, imagine. Bruce Campbell as Harry Flashman.

    • @Y2KNW
      @Y2KNW Год назад +41

      Shame we never got to see Bruce Campbell, Brian Blessed, and Bill Shatner on stage together at the same time. Preferably doing a musical number on par with Spamalot.

    • @LoganChristianson
      @LoganChristianson Год назад +41

      That's not nihilism, then, that's absurdism.

    • @georgesears934
      @georgesears934 Год назад +6

      @@LoganChristianson Cool.

    • @viljamtheninja
      @viljamtheninja Год назад +19

      @@LoganChristianson Nah, I'd disagree. What annoys me about Camus is the fact that he's too obsessed with the meaninglessness of everything to the point of making the battle against it his life's work by trying to find a positive negation of it in absurdism. He completely lacks the NOT CARING AT ALL of what OP brilliantly describes as Campbell's positive nihilism. Campbell in his acting LIVES what Camus seemingly could mostly conceive of as a philosophical idea spawned by his obsession with life's meaning or lack thereof.

  • @reviewman
    @reviewman Год назад +206

    2:38 The whole “I want to go back home!” Motivation Only works if there is something worth going back to. Frey has no home; no family; no money; no job; no boy/girlfriend. The only thing that is there is a gang that will kill her if they see her. The cat? She gave that thing away to the Judge. The only reason in game for why she wants to go back is that Athia is full of monsters, but has magic so that should even out.

    • @adamloga3788
      @adamloga3788 Год назад +28

      Yeah, when your options are homeless, hated, and broke in the modern day or having magic powers in a place that may not have invented toilet paper and occasionally people get attacked by monsters, then absent any major attachments, and sometimes in spite of them, I'd wager that most people would choose to be able to magically parkour around a dragon.

    • @Bee_Mavrick
      @Bee_Mavrick Год назад +1

      She had a cat. That's more then enough

    • @reviewman
      @reviewman Год назад +15

      @@Bee_Mavrick she gave it to the judge

    • @MtnNerd
      @MtnNerd Год назад +3

      Reminds me of the first time I watched The Wizard of Oz as a child and couldn't get over Dorothy being an idiot.

  • @espio87
    @espio87 Год назад +2340

    So basically the game is what an Isekai designed by committee would be.

    • @b3rz3rk3r9
      @b3rz3rk3r9 Год назад +319

      Very fittingly, it sounds like the most absolutely boring isekai ever made.

    • @merrittanimation7721
      @merrittanimation7721 Год назад +223

      It doesn't star a black haired generic boy so it's not quite that bad but everything else is.

    • @ShadowMKII
      @ShadowMKII Год назад +152

      ...Which is what isekais already are, basically.
      Gj, Square Enix.

    • @ludisnemo887
      @ludisnemo887 Год назад +94

      Actually, it sounds more like what you said, but then implemented by a dev team through maximum malicious compliance.

    • @justina2225
      @justina2225 Год назад +102

      Even the protagonist is the token loser, down on their luck, “don’t know what to do with my life” archetype.

  • @thedogmaticdirector
    @thedogmaticdirector Год назад +864

    The AAA version of "F you, it's January".

    • @billyjones-1996
      @billyjones-1996 Год назад +92

      ENDLESS TRAAAAASH!!!!

    • @iwasakikoji6969
      @iwasakikoji6969 Год назад +66

      Gaming has been in "Fuck You, It's Forever" mode for several years now.

    • @JohnMBlue1992
      @JohnMBlue1992 Год назад +7

      Glad too see RLM Fans are here! idk if but id love to see Yatzee on BoTW!

    • @scarletknight1996
      @scarletknight1996 Год назад +7

      @@JohnMBlue1992 that would never happen. Yahtzee would look at Mike and Jay like oddities, and vice-versa. They wouldnt gel. Yahtzee and Jack barely did.

    • @timesnewlogan2032
      @timesnewlogan2032 4 месяца назад

      @@GCTubaTim RUclips's a bit trigger-happy these days. You can't be too careful.

  • @dovakiin296
    @dovakiin296 Год назад +835

    It'd make more sense if her primary reason for wanting to go back was that this magical world was far worse than where she came from or if she left someone she cared for behind. Otherwise this only comes off as she got exactly what she wanted and shouldn't have any reason to complain.

    • @floricel_112
      @floricel_112 Год назад

      ah yes, the shield hero dillema: be transported to a fantasy world, turning from an average joe into a r*pist, a criminal, an all around piece of sh-t everyone hates, and all of it because you were falsely accused, framed, incriminated and found guilty in the first place

    • @AVoiceForRadio
      @AVoiceForRadio Год назад +34

      She did leave her cat behind

    • @staregineer
      @staregineer Год назад +174

      @@AVoiceForRadio And it would be much more interesting story if it really shows that the soul reason she wants to go back home is that she scared that nobody will feed her cat but nuh.

    • @SoullessOO1
      @SoullessOO1 Год назад +6

      Well and it is the middle of an ongoing slow apocalypse, so it's also worse.

    • @sleepysera
      @sleepysera Год назад +74

      @@AVoiceForRadio But didn't she leave her cat with the lawyer lady..? So the cat honestly has a better life now than at her place, where she couldn't even afford proper food for it..

  • @acomingextinction
    @acomingextinction Год назад +233

    "I know you won't, you f***ing coward."
    Jesus that was a scathing delivery.

    • @meapickle
      @meapickle Год назад +23

      It's the simpler things that can be the most offensive. Especially when it's true. The game is a coward, plain and simple

  • @calamaria9221
    @calamaria9221 Год назад +154

    I still can't get over the fact that Frey doesn't take the 3 seconds to zip up the bag of money and sling it over her shoulder. Something she can literally do while walking and trying to find her cat.

    • @nathanjereb9944
      @nathanjereb9944 Год назад +23

      It would have made more sense if the bag was in the other room or the gang that set her apartment on fire stole it while she was asleep
      It wouldn't fix everything wrong with the game, but it would make Fey less of a dumbass (not by much, but sertainly better than this crap of a human being)

    • @wheatflavoredbread2844
      @wheatflavoredbread2844 4 месяца назад +2

      i don't think common sense was a part of the story board

  • @theatomiclemon1
    @theatomiclemon1 Год назад +3670

    You know, call me a fan of Schadenfreude (please, it would be entirely accurate) but it's nice to hear good old Yahtzee rip something to shreds again because of nice, classical reasons of having terrible design, not because it has microtransations bursting out of its tear ducts.

    • @talatos
      @talatos Год назад +93

      you are a fan of schadenfreude!

    • @elberethgilthoniel1397
      @elberethgilthoniel1397 Год назад +102

      Just to help anyone who doesn't speak German (that would include me) : "Schaden, which means “harm” or “damage,” and Freude, which means “joy.” By definition, schadenfreude means finding joy in someone else's misfortune."

    • @theatomiclemon1
      @theatomiclemon1 Год назад +14

      @@talatos Thanks!

    • @theatomiclemon1
      @theatomiclemon1 Год назад +50

      @@elberethgilthoniel1397 Isn't it an adopted English word as well now? Thanks for defining it anyway.

    • @elberethgilthoniel1397
      @elberethgilthoniel1397 Год назад +58

      @@theatomiclemon1 Probably. Just like Kindergarten or Gesundeit. It's neat when cultures adopt words from other languages to fill an absence in their own. I just hope we resist the idea this is somehow "cultural appropriation". That path leads to xenophobia and cultural regression. Where would humanity be if everyone on the planet didn't know what Coca Cola is after all? 😋 But, seriously, it would be a shame if Chinese virtuosos couldn't play the piano because it was invented in Italy or Italians were forbidden from enjoying silk sheets because they were invented by the Chinese. We're all one family of semi rational, babbling, bipeds. We should share and enjoy what we all figure out together. Sesame Street closing message done.

  • @GretgorPooper
    @GretgorPooper Год назад +156

    Yup, the AAA industry still thinks empty quippiness is a suitable substitute for actual personality.

    • @xenxander
      @xenxander Год назад +12

      that's the entire entertainment industry, today.

    • @MARKLAR5
      @MARKLAR5 Год назад +7

      @@jack-a-lopium Yeah, and that formula was applied to the new Star Wars movies. Still salty about that lol

  • @tiresias7231
    @tiresias7231 Год назад +103

    Forspoken: Takes hours before sending the protagonist to the other world.
    Nino Kuni 2: Isekai's president-kun within 30 seconds.

    • @SnuSnuDungeon
      @SnuSnuDungeon Год назад

      With a nuke to the face no less

    • @leonkuwata4510
      @leonkuwata4510 Год назад +5

      It literally takes 15 minutes lol. There's plenty of stuff to criticize about this game, and you chose the one thing that isn't true.

    • @bigbruno2232
      @bigbruno2232 Год назад +10

      Feels like hours

  • @TheBrianJ
    @TheBrianJ Год назад +1195

    The thing about her losing her life savings for "stupid reasons" is not hyperbole. If anything it's understating how bad it is.
    There's a house fire and her bag that contains her entire wealth is quite literally SITTING AT HER FEET. Less than an inch away from her toes. But you can't pick it up, because if you try then she says "I have to check on my cat first." So you have to walk out of the room and check on your cat, at which point the ceiling collapses and you can't get to the money anymore, and she laments that there was nothing she could do.

    • @alex_-yz9to
      @alex_-yz9to Год назад +1

      this lady has 0 braincells!

    • @crapshot321
      @crapshot321 Год назад +303

      Oh wow...what bad writing. Didn't the writers and director realize that she could, you know do both?

    • @Afrologist
      @Afrologist Год назад +36

      Should've stacked silver.

    • @dragonquest8ftw1
      @dragonquest8ftw1 Год назад +225

      @@crapshot321 its even more ridiculous because when the fire starts, in the time she takes to say to the player: "gotta find my cat Homer first!" She would exhaust less energy just bending to pick it up.

    • @ironviper72
      @ironviper72 Год назад +48

      This is actually realistic writing. This is exactly what cat owners would do and how they would do it because they are dumb!

  • @nordicnemo3512
    @nordicnemo3512 Год назад +148

    Brian Blessed booming aloud "IM A SASSY YOUNG AMERICAN WOMAN, NOW I WILL CONSUME THIS BABY" had me laughing way more than it should have

    • @Rhenor
      @Rhenor Год назад +14

      Honestly, Yahtzee's wrong on this one. I would play anything voiced by Brian Blessed.

  • @Foxhood
    @Foxhood Год назад +239

    Forspoken has one silver-lining. It makes the out of nowhere surprise hit that is Hi-Fi Rush look even better as that one actually understands how comedy works!!

    • @laterferaligatr2947
      @laterferaligatr2947 Год назад +11

      I been playing HFR on Gamepass. Surprisingly fun combat and funny writing

    • @somethingwitty2747
      @somethingwitty2747 Год назад +13

      don't forget pizza tower. that game can be described as completely deranged in the right ways.

  • @Bumbleton
    @Bumbleton Год назад +128

    Question for Yahtzee in December: "Will Forspoken be the worst game of 2023?"
    Yahtzee in December: "That game came out this year?"

    • @chrisschirripa5917
      @chrisschirripa5917 Год назад +2

      I’m going to take a bet right now. This is going to be his worse game this year.

    • @VirradIsHere
      @VirradIsHere Год назад

      @@chrisschirripa5917Welp…

  • @PattheBassist
    @PattheBassist Год назад +235

    The return of pissed and in-top-form Yahtzee! Gotta love it

  • @Zayl1016
    @Zayl1016 Год назад +275

    I feel like someone getting overly hyped about getting magical powers and being teleported to a magic medieval world would be charming and awesome and endearing if done right, ESPECIALLY with her opening about being homeless. But that sorta needs better build up and MUCH better dialogue.

    • @tnecniw
      @tnecniw Год назад +63

      Hi-fi rush did the "suddenly getting powers" thing so much better.

    • @VeritabIlIti
      @VeritabIlIti Год назад +66

      I mean the entire premise just doesn't fit it. "wow, I'm so hyped about these magic powers! But I can't help you with your dumb problems, I have my dumb problems back home even though I've been dreaming of leaving them behind!" I guess they thought there just wouldn't be anything driving her forward if not a "get home" arc, but it makes no sense with everything else they've set up

    • @Evanz111
      @Evanz111 Год назад +13

      Good point! I blame the cuff for most of what ruins that dynamic. It would have been better to have an inner monologue exclusively.

    • @VeritabIlIti
      @VeritabIlIti Год назад

      @@nigeltheoutlaw except this is a Japanese company lol, they just tried to appeal to western audiences

    • @blockEdragon
      @blockEdragon Год назад +4

      If you want that story and you're cool with kids shows, try The Owl House. It has a similar sense of humor to Gravity Falls, the creator of GF is a voice actor for the show, actually. And the characters are actually good and well written.

  • @sir.mannington
    @sir.mannington Год назад +329

    It’s nice to hear Yahtz tear into a game that seems to really deserve it.

  • @ianharac5153
    @ianharac5153 Год назад +54

    For the record, I would play a game where someone holds up Aslan with a switchblade.

    • @mandisaw
      @mandisaw Год назад +7

      Chronicles of Narnia, set in a modern country under conflict? The not!Pevensie kids could still be siblings, or just kids who are surviving together in the warzone, on the streets, barely. Set it in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Palestine, any of a number of places - or several places, such that the different kids over the 7 books are from different cultures, but linked by their common traumas, and by Narnia.

    • @derekquigley5816
      @derekquigley5816 5 месяцев назад

      I would read the absolute hell out of that.

  • @Cpl.Clawhammer
    @Cpl.Clawhammer Год назад +19

    I imagined the line “I’M A SASSY YOUNG AMERICAN WOMAN NOW I SHALL CONSUME THIS BABY” in Brian Blessed’s voice and cracked up, then I imagined it in Bruce Campbell’s voice and cracked up all over again. I then imagined it in Yahtzee’s voice and had a sensible chuckle.

  • @IceAge70
    @IceAge70 Год назад +203

    Square Enix pulling a Mindjack right at the start of the year.

    • @sunlitsonata6853
      @sunlitsonata6853 Год назад +40

      It’s like a blood pact; for all the quality stuff they put out, they need at least one game that’s a disaster either commercially or critically. It’s been going for several years now:
      2018 The Quiet Man
      2019 Left Alive
      2020 Marvel’s Avengers
      2021 Balan Wonderworld
      2022 Babylon’s Fall
      2023 Forspoken (so far)

    • @5Chaor
      @5Chaor Год назад +2

      The game is functional and just boring. It's not a complete mess

    • @CrystalWings12
      @CrystalWings12 Год назад +1

      @@5Chaor If only the writing team didn't mess up the entire story...

    • @CrystalWings12
      @CrystalWings12 Год назад +8

      @@sunlitsonata6853 And they killed two games so far as a result of those disastrous results. Despite all of that and everyone's protest, they're still going with their blockchain plan.
      *_HOW MANY TIMES DO WE NEED TO TEACH YOU THIS LESSON, SQUEENIX._*

    • @garibaldibritann1240
      @garibaldibritann1240 Год назад

      @@sunlitsonata6853 "Well, Square Enix trying not to mess with theri original IP's like Disney challenge (impossible)"

  • @AcousticProfit
    @AcousticProfit Год назад +8

    The mis-aligned spotless grey brick wall textures at 3:29 was perfect.

  • @lowhp_comic
    @lowhp_comic Год назад +69

    Love how none of this game would have taken place if she has the single Braincell to pick up the large bag of money right next to her feet instead of leaving it in the flaming room

    • @legomaniac213
      @legomaniac213 Год назад +17

      And its so easy to fix too. Just have her grab both, but as she's making her escape the floor collapses under her and she drops them. Then have her have to make a split second decision to grab one or the other before something else falls on them and she snags her cat and leaves the money to burn. Then when they're both outside, have her look sad and frustrated that she left her money, until her cat licks her face. That acts calms her down and she tells her cat; "I think I made the right choice."

    • @meapickle
      @meapickle Год назад +5

      ​@Legomaniac91 no that doesn't work, it sounds almost believable and that would go against the committee's vision

    • @Sorain1
      @Sorain1 Год назад +6

      If ordered at gunpoint to make that plot point work, I would point out to the gunman that the money means nothing in the fantasy land and the main character is a thief. Let her take the money and still grab cuff, then the money doesn't matter in fantasy land. Have the dragon burn it if you really must, that'll make your PC mad at it.

  • @amezzeray2
    @amezzeray2 Год назад +146

    Bruce Campbell and worcestershire sauce... the best laugh I've had today

  • @MightyManotaur22
    @MightyManotaur22 Год назад +37

    I didn't get the teardown that I wanted for High on Life, but I'm glad that Forspoken stepped up to take the beating

  • @Dyneamaeus
    @Dyneamaeus Год назад +46

    Saw the Spotify advert again, and suddenly I realized that Yahtzee has something like a national arsenal of self-referential humor in his back pocket. Years worth of highly memorable quips he could just whip out at will, and yet doesn't. That's some restraint right there.

  • @Bekayvd
    @Bekayvd Год назад +32

    I haven't heard Yahtzee so eloquent in a while, truly a masterpiece of messy game

  • @nvfury13
    @nvfury13 Год назад +6

    2:29 Holy crap, the Ultima 5 cloth map…still have that.
    Very appropriate to use with this as well, since the game series all (at least to that point) has the player character transported from the regular world to the magic world.
    Btw: There is an Easter egg island where the compass rose is on the map.

  • @LinktheSamoyed
    @LinktheSamoyed Год назад +17

    This is actually the first review I have seen on Forspoken that actually talked about the game... and it was from Yahtzee

    • @KeithFraser82
      @KeithFraser82 Год назад +1

      What did the other reviews talk about?

    • @LinktheSamoyed
      @LinktheSamoyed Год назад +3

      @Keith Fraser They just says its terrible and thats it, no details, and then videos like Dunkey just talked about Spiderman 2, instead. Oh just now Angry Joe did a proper review too...

  • @6Qubed
    @6Qubed Год назад +36

    Bruce Campbell's fun to watch because I watched all three Evil Dead movies and played one of the tie-in games and I still can't tell you if Ash Williams is actually competent at fighting zombie demons or just really dumb and lucky, and it takes a really skilled actor to sow such confusion

    • @meapickle
      @meapickle Год назад +1

      That's why the quips work for him. Because he's an idiot who's out of his depth and has no idea what he's doing. So it only makes sense that he screws up and gets his ass kicked.
      And because of all that, it makes it all the more endearing when he succeeds

    • @MARKLAR5
      @MARKLAR5 Год назад +2

      Agree 100% lmao, though in the TV show he seems legitimately skilled at it most of the time. He still bumbles into anything he would have needed a brain to figure out but that's why he's hilarious lmao

  • @DMBLaan
    @DMBLaan Год назад +88

    I like this review of Forspoken the best because it tells me about the actual game, and not hyper focus on the dialog and setting that any anime fan could tell you about in their sleep.

    • @Evanz111
      @Evanz111 Год назад +30

      Yeah, so many reviews on this game were clearly catering to the outraged audience who saw all the memed clips. It’s refreshing to see the actual game addressed.

  • @bangormc3rd562
    @bangormc3rd562 Год назад +21

    If Brian Blessed were transported to a fantasy world, he'd immediately be made king.
    Frankly, I'm surprised he's not a king in THIS world.

    • @luketfer
      @luketfer Год назад +4

      Considering he's one of the few people to actually fucking deck a Polar bear right in the face and still be alive to talk about...I too am surprised (yes really, it was even confirmed by the other people on the Expedition, the bear tore into the tent and surprised Brian who seems to only have 'fight' on the 'fight or flight' response and he panicked and just punched it as hard as he could square in the muzzle...which confused the Polar bear and caused it to back off).

  • @nicklager1666
    @nicklager1666 Год назад +27

    The yahtzee dictionary has a new entry hangr-ennui. The yahtzee following can soon speak a secret language with eachother that only they know the meaning of.

  • @15oClock
    @15oClock Год назад +185

    This sounds like something that would naturally appear on the blandest list this year, but Yahtzee's so passionate about it, it might end up on the worst.

    • @SeanGomesPortfolio
      @SeanGomesPortfolio Год назад +33

      Seems like it would be a low contender on either list: Too bland to be top Bad, to bad to be top Bland.

    • @CBRN-115
      @CBRN-115 Год назад +13

      @@SeanGomesPortfolio damn, that deserves its own category. Yhe worst of both worlds

    • @williamgreci8219
      @williamgreci8219 Год назад +4

      Possible. But then again, his personal frustration over "Return to Monkey Island" lacking puzzle depth and ending in a way that seemed to insult anyone invested in the characters and story wasn't enough to get it on either list for the 2022 video.

    • @TheBlackSeraph
      @TheBlackSeraph Год назад +1

      @@CBRN-115 Definitely. The same studio that spent 8 years creating the mess that was Final Fantasy 15 spent 5or 6 years on this game making more or less the same poor design choices (that I can tell), and ended up getting shut down not long after this game's release.

  • @risingdawn5259
    @risingdawn5259 Год назад +17

    The most hilarious part is you have Forspoken at £70 rrp that's utter trash, and then Hi-Fi Rush that came out at a 1/3rd of the price and was absolute gold.

    • @sambauman69
      @sambauman69 Год назад +4

      He commented on that in his review of Hi-Fi Rush. Developers always knew what a good game actually is, but publishers refused to let them make good games for so long, as crappy grindy live services were projected to make very slightly more money.

    • @TheAssirra
      @TheAssirra Год назад

      It's 80 fucking euro's for the cheapest version on Steam. Disgusting

  • @mattw99280
    @mattw99280 Год назад +56

    My takeaway is that Army of Darkness is an isekai

  • @knowledgeistheremedy5400
    @knowledgeistheremedy5400 Год назад +12

    Sometimes I come for the nuance and conversations about video games as art... And sometimes I come for the blood bath 😂... You did not disappoint.

  • @cman8995
    @cman8995 Год назад +10

    0:38 I like how Yahtzee doesn't know the oversatureted genre called "Isekai"

    • @tedneweb
      @tedneweb Год назад +3

      He knew it in his Pokemon Legends: Arceus review

  • @Things_n_Stuff
    @Things_n_Stuff Год назад +30

    Army of Darkness also worked because of the hard left turn from R-rated physical & psychological terror, to lighthearted comical fantasy… not where I would’ve expected a horror character to go

  • @diptyapinakaherringcandrad2930
    @diptyapinakaherringcandrad2930 Год назад +19

    Genuinely surprised that Yahtzee didnt make a Foreskin joke

    • @bandicootsauce4569
      @bandicootsauce4569 Год назад +1

      Yeah, I was waiting for that. It's literally the first thing that comes to mind for me every time the title of this game is brought to my attention.

  • @danielhenington9476
    @danielhenington9476 Год назад +106

    Its funny, as I played the demo I thought to myself that this is the most Anti-Yahtzee game ever.

    • @cha0sniper
      @cha0sniper Год назад

      Yeah, I actually enjoyed it for what it is (as someone who adores shitty isekai anime xD), but I just *knew* that Yahtzee would absolutely despise it lol

  • @blackbirdfrost
    @blackbirdfrost Год назад +105

    Interviewer: "So, Squeenix, tell us about what happened with Forspoken."
    Squeenix: "Forspoken failed to meet our sales expectations."
    Interviewer: "Yes, we know, but why do you think that is?"
    Squeenix: "It's not our fault. It was because of our child studio."
    Interviewer: "Um...yes, but, you sold all of them off, so..."
    [Squeenix used smoke bomb]
    [Squeenix escapes]
    [Dropped 30 million gil]

    • @matthewmuir8884
      @matthewmuir8884 Год назад +18

      Knowing Square Enix, they probably forbade all their staff from saying "Forspoken", just like how they forbade everyone in the company from mentioning "Final Fantasy Versus XIII" after the game's nightmarish development and ultimately disappointing release as Final Fantasy XV.

    • @SakuraAvalon
      @SakuraAvalon Год назад +6

      @@matthewmuir8884 Fitting, that both games are the only games made on the Lumenous engine.

    • @matthewmuir8884
      @matthewmuir8884 Год назад +4

      @@SakuraAvalon Indeed. They were also both made using the same dev team. To be honest, when I first learned about Forspoken, I was surprised that that dev team was willing to make a game that would be published by Square Enix; they left Square Enix after being forced to make FFXV DLC and becoming disillusioned with the company, and I was especially surprised that they were using the luminous engine for it.

    • @SakuraAvalon
      @SakuraAvalon Год назад +2

      @@matthewmuir8884 Perhaps monetary issues came up, and they needed Square to help fund their idea?

    • @matthewmuir8884
      @matthewmuir8884 Год назад +8

      @@SakuraAvalon Perhaps. Maybe Square Enix's desperation gave them more leverage at the negotiating table. I don't know. I just find it surprising.
      Hopefully, we'll learn more about what happened with Forspoken's development. With FF15, enough research shows that the fault clearly lies with Square Enix and goes all the way back to when the game was Final Fantasy Versus XIII. Hopefully, we will learn how much of this game was luminous and how much of it was square enix.
      Incidentally, luminous wasn't the only dev team that became fed up with square enix as a result of FF15's development; the original dev team, led by Nomura, was forced through seven years of pre-production as a result of the engine that Square Enix was forcing them to use, as well as the team repeatedly getting siphoned off to work on other projects. After the game was rebranded as FF15, Nomura was forced off the project to focus on KH3 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and this pretty much destroyed him, since he wanted Versus XIII to be his magnum opus. However, Nomura can't leave Square Enix because all the IPs he loves working on; namely Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, are owned by Square Enix.
      If you saw any similarities between "Verum Rex" and early footage of Versus XIII/FF15, that was not a coincidence; Nomura has pretty much resolved to bring the original Versus XIII to life in one form or another, especially if it's in a way that points a big middle finger at Square Enix at the same time.

  • @legateelizabeth
    @legateelizabeth Год назад +9

    I appreciate that Brian Blessed ‘speaks’ in bold all caps with a larger font. Because of course he does.

    • @Brian-tn4cd
      @Brian-tn4cd Год назад

      Only time ive heard him proper was The Brigadier from Cod BO4 and he does always talk extra boisterous and loud all the time, its great

  • @chrisdaughen5257
    @chrisdaughen5257 Год назад +28

    The demo did not sell me on the magic system. You can only cast one set of spells at a time and they’re very contextual (earth is long range, fire is melee, etc). I got tired of constantly switching.

    • @karthikkumar6861
      @karthikkumar6861 Год назад +5

      I think Hogwarts legacy does it better or at least makes it work.
      I have finished Forspoken cos I spent money on it and I am playing through HL right now. Enjoying it way more than Forspoken.
      I still like the "idea" of forspoken combat but it probably required many iterations to be good.

    • @chrisdaughen5257
      @chrisdaughen5257 Год назад +3

      @@karthikkumar6861 I had the same thoughts. Having spell sets makes things a lot more accessible without breaking the flow of fights with slowdowns. And the lack of parkour makes it easier to get your bearings in a fight.

  • @Secret72062
    @Secret72062 Год назад +6

    I don’t play a lot of the games Yahtzee does. But when I do, he generally nails it on the head. Our old man is probably the best gaming barometer out there.
    He’ll list things that he enjoys and can’t stand. That’ll generally give you a good idea what to expect. Absolute legend

  • @andrewlawrence6176
    @andrewlawrence6176 Год назад +15

    I don't know what kind of portmanteau I was expecting, but 37 seconds was apparently not enough time for me to mentally prepare for "HANGR-ENNUI" 😂 keep 'em coming!

  • @MarkusNapp
    @MarkusNapp Год назад +23

    Ouch, Yahtzee really isn't one to hold back but this one was just brutal. I like it.

  • @BarkingCur
    @BarkingCur Год назад +30

    Bruce Campbell and Brian Blessed in the same movie? Impossible! The projector would have melted from all the awesome.

    • @mandisaw
      @mandisaw Год назад +2

      LOL But at least we got Brian Blessed in an isekai - Flash Gordon

  • @longdongsilver3267
    @longdongsilver3267 Год назад +44

    Never thought I'd hear director Ken Loach's name in a video game review.

    • @HazardGoat
      @HazardGoat Год назад +1

      I'm only here for the Ken Loach jokes.

    • @evlofenn
      @evlofenn Год назад +1

      @@HazardGoat Can't wait for LoachSofts "Up the Junction- the game"

    • @bloonface
      @bloonface Год назад +3

      @@evlofenn "This is the first Kes-type game"

    • @GallowglassVT
      @GallowglassVT Год назад +2

      I'd love a kitchen-sink drams game tbh.

    • @euanduthie2333
      @euanduthie2333 Год назад +3

      I'm strangely on board for the concept of Socialist-realist Isekai, though. Perhaps in "Asland and Freedom" you're supposed to stage a revolt against both the white witch (who is somehow now Margaret Thatcher) and creepy jesus metaphor lion.

  • @xxTICxxTOCxx
    @xxTICxxTOCxx Год назад +5

    Worst trend for me is the one where in a few years we'll see a plethora of videos talking about how 'Forespoken isn't as bad as we thought it was !'

  • @alwayswrite2011
    @alwayswrite2011 Год назад +2

    4:04 - THANK YOU! I played the demo and my immediate complaint was every opponent blending into the scenery. "Don't worry. We'll help you see them with a marker." You mean that microscopic triangle over them? Next you'll try to tell me that I can find a singular drop of water in the Atlantic Ocean. 😡

  • @estefencosta1835
    @estefencosta1835 Год назад +5

    It warms my nearly dead heart to see Yahtzee still bringing it. Lord knows we need someone to call this shit out.

  • @Agent789_0
    @Agent789_0 Год назад +15

    It's weird how this game feels both designed by committee and designed to appeal to as few people as humanly possible.

  • @GallowglassVT
    @GallowglassVT Год назад +13

    Still feels weird that Amy Hennig, who wrote the vast majority of the story and dialogue in the Legacy of Kain series, was involved in this. I know it was only the initial concept, but I can't see it turning out as mid as it did with her bringing her full skill as a writer to bear.

    • @Ashurman666
      @Ashurman666 Год назад +6

      Really? The one who wrote one of the best(IMO) gothic vampire stories and worlds in videogame history shat out this turd?

    • @GallowglassVT
      @GallowglassVT Год назад +15

      @Ashuraman she just came up with the original concept. The actual writing was done by three others (two dudes and a girl).

    • @AttentionDeficitGuy
      @AttentionDeficitGuy Год назад +18

      In fairness, I do think this game is *conceptually* good - a classic hero's journey portal fantasy about an asshole from the real world going to a fantasy world and learning that with badass magical powers comes great responsibility sounds like a lot of fun, if not particularly original
      Unfortunately, the devil is in the annoying, unlikable details

    • @GallowglassVT
      @GallowglassVT Год назад +11

      @AttentionDeficitGuy exactly. It's a fairly simple premise that has the potential to be genuinely great, but they decided to turn it into a generic bore with a protagonist that apes the worst of Whedonesque dialogue. Like, Yahtzee has said it already, but I wish that latter aspect would die already.

  • @thetopcats.9154
    @thetopcats.9154 Год назад +8

    This whole thing just makes me think there should be more video games where you play as Bruce Campbell.

  • @davidgreen9911
    @davidgreen9911 Год назад +11

    Yahtzee usually goes easy on universally hated game. Him tearing this one apart means it must be devoid of redeemable qualities

  • @Jagunco
    @Jagunco Год назад +29

    After well over a decade and I still get a chuckle out of these

  • @Corusame
    @Corusame Год назад +6

    Saddest thing is this is the direction a lot of AAA games are going today. As long as the suits see certain boxes are getting ticked they couldn't care less about whether the game is actually fun and well made.

  • @applesmith9137
    @applesmith9137 Год назад +2

    Omg the Spotify compilation is exactly what I wanted for a sleep aid. Thanks!

  • @cdm966
    @cdm966 Год назад +10

    "An original IP from the studio that brought you Final Fantasy XV" was always a funny concept to me, because truth be told if FF15 was not part of a series I like I would not have bought it. It was really nice of them to develop this game as a new IP so I knew I could safely skip it.

    • @matthewmuir8884
      @matthewmuir8884 Год назад +4

      To be fair to that studio (Luminous), when it came to Final Fantasy XV, they were abruptly assigned to a game that already had seven years of horrific development under a different name (the original name was Final Fantasy Versus XIII) and they were told to change basically everything about the game and finish it within two years using the Luminous Engine which, at the time, hadn't even been finished yet. When they were then forced to make DLC for the game, the luminous team were completely disillusioned with Square Enix and left.
      That said, the only other FF game I can find that luminous also made was Type-0. I've never played Type-0 and I know very little about it, and I've heard different statements about the game's quality.

  • @LadyHestia101
    @LadyHestia101 Год назад +7

    Please lower the volume of the intro and outro or increase the Yahtzee's volume I always have to turn it up to hear the review but then I get blasted by the outro

  • @xyzero1682
    @xyzero1682 Год назад +3

    "I just fucking killed my fucking development studio! With my fucking game!!!"

  • @Okada_Caelun
    @Okada_Caelun Год назад +20

    I'm suprised the basic "Isekai" narrative structure of person from our world goes to fantasy land didn't set off Yahtzee's anime-alarm bells.
    I suppose that's the result of Persona 5 worming it's way through his brain.

    • @Sorain1
      @Sorain1 Год назад +2

      Well the is both Narnia and Alice in Wonderland to prove that's not an anime native structure, I think that keeps him grounded.

  • @armelior4610
    @armelior4610 Год назад +3

    Now I want to see a version of Blackadder where Bruce Campbell is Brian Blessed's other son (and brother of the titular character)

  • @jordanj809
    @jordanj809 Год назад +14

    I was really hoping Yatzhee would call the game a pussy at 4:37 but coward works too

  • @scaper12123
    @scaper12123 Год назад +7

    Let’s all now take a moment to consider the fact that the dev studio behind this has already been shut down. And then let’s laugh, because it’s better than banging our head against a wall.

  • @VulpisLazuli
    @VulpisLazuli Год назад +3

    After playing the demo, I'm not really surprised by any of this. Also, thank you for "hangr-ennui" Yahtzee. It perfectly encapsulates how I've been feeling for the past several years.

  • @TheGmodkilla
    @TheGmodkilla Год назад +3

    Now I'm thinking about a game where you actually jump between two modestly sized open worlds using the neat bits from one to augment the other.
    Go to New York, sell off some golden coins you found to a collector, buy a pistol and return to narnia to gun down some fantasy looking guy to steal his boots that then let you traverse more of New York faster.

  • @PalindromeAAF
    @PalindromeAAF Год назад +6

    I'm so glad they released a demo. I was this close to buying it. Then I tried the demo and NOPE I COULD NOT.

  • @lemiserrob
    @lemiserrob Год назад +27

    When you realize Yahtzee can pronounce Worcestershire sauce: "Mother of God, the legends were true....."

  • @awordabout...3061
    @awordabout...3061 Год назад +1

    I think the visual gag with the oversized chihuahua is one of the best Mr.Crowshaw has done, and that's a long record of excellence to top.

  • @ExplodingPiggy
    @ExplodingPiggy Год назад +4

    "Gimme Turkish Delight Bruv" 😂😂😂

  • @dorongrossman-naples9207
    @dorongrossman-naples9207 Год назад +2

    "Hangrennui" is a work of genius.

  • @Penrose517
    @Penrose517 Год назад +9

    Anyone know why Yahtzee is still with The Escapist? He coulda gotten rich off his very own platform but he's still chosen to carry the entire Escapist brand on his own, feels like the other people are leeching off his success at this point

    • @BunkerFox
      @BunkerFox Год назад +1

      I believe it's down to two things. Loyalty, they were there helping him at the start so he'll stay and help them now. The other thing is probably just why bother switching? He seems to enjoy sticking with them and changing things would just be a bother

  • @nolanwolf1828
    @nolanwolf1828 Год назад +2

    Not gonna lie, that bit with the heavy marijuana user in safeway almost made me choke on my drink. Big props

  • @tairyu2574
    @tairyu2574 Год назад +13

    How can someone mess up an isekai after a few decades of them? They didn’t even give a harem.

    • @karthikkumar6861
      @karthikkumar6861 Год назад +11

      I honestly can't tell if it would have made it worse or better and that's saying something.

    • @meapickle
      @meapickle Год назад +4

      Would've been a reverse harem and the committee thinking would likely decide that wouldn't appeal to the male demographic.
      You can probably find holes and contradictions in that, but that's more my point about the decision making

    • @hitotsudaketsukinoko
      @hitotsudaketsukinoko Год назад

      Oh, so it has at least one thing going for it, then. Wow. I'm shocked.

  • @glossblack2045
    @glossblack2045 Год назад +2

    Its fun to imagine him doing wild flailing arm motions while hes recording these just like the animation

  • @ystacalden
    @ystacalden Год назад +7

    Hearing that the transversal was the only decent-ish thing - something I didnt find sufficiently engaging in the demo, confirms that despite whatever changes they made because of reactions to the demo arent worth looking for for me.

    • @karthikkumar6861
      @karthikkumar6861 Год назад

      The combat and the parkour belong in a different game. Squenix should use that in something else.

  • @Medusa_plays
    @Medusa_plays Год назад +1

    "There needs to be a word that means bored and angry, and hungry. Because that's what ___ brings out in me. Hangr-ennui perhaps." Is the single best thing I've ever heard anyone say and sums up my life perfectly lol.

  • @gloweye
    @gloweye Год назад +7

    The moment the lion got out of the wardrobe, I knew what was going to happen in the last frame of the end credits.

  • @Flood520
    @Flood520 Год назад +1

    It's always interesting when a clear contender for Worst Game of the Year comes out so early in the calendar. It really keep you on edge waiting to see if anyone else can sink to even lower depths.
    Also I can remember a time in my life when I was actually excited for a new Square game. It was the SNES through PS2 eras. Nowadays, I mainly greet their efforts with contempt.

  • @Tyler-gg6xt
    @Tyler-gg6xt Год назад +9

    Wow... I heard this one was going to be bad, but holy shit 😳

  • @TraphouseTCG
    @TraphouseTCG Год назад +1

    The comment about the heavy marijuana user in the Safeway baked goods section felt like a pointed attack

  • @drustan17
    @drustan17 Год назад +5

    Was looking forward to this ZP because I was hoping to find the answer of: "Why is this prized at 80€?"
    Needless to say, I'm more confused now.

  • @justcommenting4981
    @justcommenting4981 Год назад +2

    Jesus. He's really turning phrases on the torture rack for this one. I audibly shouted "NOOoooo" twice.

  • @JDLaney-zk4wb
    @JDLaney-zk4wb Год назад +4

    Spoilers for the newest ZP, but I’m so glad that Yahtzee loved Hi-Fi Rush. That game deserves all the love it’s gotten since it came out, and it might be the best day 1 Game Pass game ever.

  • @Denizu
    @Denizu Год назад +1

    That's a tough one. If Brian Blessed had been in Army of Darkness I genuinely don't know if it would have been better or not. Campbell just sells it so perfectly. It would have been a rather different movie for sure.

  • @iJUSTON
    @iJUSTON Год назад +4

    Finally, been waiting for his review.

  • @scottslayer2
    @scottslayer2 Год назад +2

    Im surprised you didn't point out that the poorly designed city uses stock assets, which is blatant from the dev images.

  • @smolbirb4
    @smolbirb4 Год назад +4

    The sad thing is the suits will blame its failure on the lack of micro transactions then on it just being shit

    • @Ineedgames
      @Ineedgames Год назад +1

      This is Square.
      Not enough NFTs, and somehow blame their non existent western devs.

  • @ManoredRed
    @ManoredRed Год назад

    1:04 I love his metaphors

  • @Violaphobia
    @Violaphobia Год назад +4

    Yahtzee, a word you shout when an unlikely combination of factors align, for ex: a game Yahtzee likes :P

  • @CyrusBluebird
    @CyrusBluebird Год назад +2

    Brian Blessed as the narrator going full ham, there, that's the idea.

  • @sorio99
    @sorio99 Год назад +5

    You know, maybe the reason Whedon’s work originally succeeded is that, alongside the “quips”, there was also fun and cathartic action, and the occasional (if rare) actual character moment. Not just a generic bad game.

  • @MaztRPwn
    @MaztRPwn Год назад +2

    I totally called that this would end up on your Blandest or Worst of the year lost really fast.

  • @Big-Image
    @Big-Image Год назад +2

    5:05 Here's another one. Forspoken, more like Foreskin!

  • @scottosau
    @scottosau Год назад +1

    Man Brian Blessed in Army of Darkness would have rocked

  • @silverlight6074
    @silverlight6074 Год назад +4

    What bothered me, aside from the cardboard cutout fantasy world with generic people, was the protagonist being an absolute heel the entire time. It's like the people who wrote her found a guide on The Hero's Journey and wrote the entire game based on just the first step, then at crunch time someone *noticed* it was only the first step so they had to bullshit together the rest of the steps in a single string of story scenes so they could have their 'epic' final boss fight that was about as engaging as watching a cutscene of the final fight would have been. Even if the world lore *had* been worth a damn, the story centers around this shower drain of personality that would have just swallowed it up anyway.