My girlfriend works in a call center and i sent her this video. She says that if her work was like this it would be so much easier and now i can't stop thinking on the fact that is easier to help someone get rid of an anomalous creature than helping an angry person with their healthcare plan.
It is a lot simpler than an actual agent position; you basically just select an option and click a button. It would be more realistic if you could see the queue growing longer and longer as you worked through each call, and if the current caller’s name started flashing when you had them on hold for too long…
@@sexygirlmax2019I work in a pharmacy and this is so real. Had a guy claim he had new insurance. It was an expired/inactive Medicare Part B card. Look on his profile. He hasn’t used insurance for his meds in the 2 years our system goes back. He claims we’re retards and drives off on a huff… without his blood thinners (not something you should stop taking all of a sudden). This happens every day.
So the new mice species with inteligence is implied to be humans that are turned into mice. The "prank calls" becoming squeaky noises also implied they are mice
I think the exchange between manly and the lady sad about her kid is the funniest thing ever: “Please help me! My poor Jeremy is missing!” “Look lady, you’re going to need to be more specific. Just about half of all the things here eat kids. Dang, it really sucks to be a kid here huh…”
All the comments are saying what an amazing hotline worker manly would make cuz of his soothing voice, which is undeniable, but are we all going to ignore how a caller reported TEETH MARKS on a bedpost and he just went "Those are probs ants my dude "
A good portion of watching this so far has just been infuriating screaming on my part 😭 I agree that Manly absolutely could NOT be a hotline worker LMAO
I love that slow realization with the dude who originally just had a Common Hobb, where you realize that because he thought your answer was stupid, he ignored it and allowed the Hobb to metamorphosize.
@@DeathnoteBB I haven't gotten to the third call, but the second call is him talking about the boggart, which the instructions say not to do... Not that he would know that before receiving the instructions, but, you know... c'est la vie.
@@bigmanspook his first call was with the worker before the player (the one who got terminated and turned into a mouse) because he gave wrong info OR the guy simply ignored the info given to him, which led the hob to turn into a boggart
There is something so funny about the idea of someone calling a call center and saying that some kind of giant beast took a shit on your dining room table and the response you get is being told that you and your entire family need to eat it immediately
@@christiancolasito8266 imagine if its not. like its a dead stair slug, or one of those fungal growths. but you dont know that. you just eat it for nothing beacuse they told you to do it.
I could hardly control my laughter when he selected the feast for this one. Thought he must have been wrong and was sooo looking forward to the 2nd call, but I guess he was right!
The ending is pure genius. By Saturday the player should have realized that this is all fairy mythology. And so on Sunday, rather than answer customer calls, the player answers fey riddles - which is both thematically appropriate and recontextualizes the earlier gameplay loop as "riddle solving". The player also travels to the fairy world underground - and in some myths this is also the netherworld - so it's all very mythological. By answering the riddles correctly, the player comes face to face with, revealed as a fey. She tells the player to "be not afraid" as the Biblical angels did, and puts a crown on their hand. It's a very dramatic and tense moment. ...and then she calls you "new Junior Supervisor", and the tension breaks, and you get the everyone dances(?) ending. It's like a joke: You go to the deepest part of the fairy land only to find a mundane corporate title. And the best part is, this is clearly something fairies would do. Of course they would commit to the business bit even when it kills the mood. Of course they'd all start singing to welcome their new junior manager. Mythology and fiction shows that fairies generally love this sort of thing. It's a brilliant anticlimax, is what I'm saying.
Also, we've been conditioned to expect the promotion to be something bad. Portal 1's "you will be baked and then there will be cake" is the norm. But the fae don't act like that. They'll do a lot of horrible things for their own amusement, but they do not break a bargain. You fulfilled your part of the employment contract, and you are rewarded with a promotion (and probably some amount of magical powers). Heck, most human corporations can't even be trusted to give you the raises or annual bonuses that they openly promised. It's a wonderful subversion of expectations, because the default expectation is that "creepy people who are clearly hiding something from you" mean you harm.
I also love how Dorcha was never an answer to any of the callers, yet the very final question basically requires you to have read Dorcha’s description on the prior day to get it right, even though it never actually came up on Saturday. It’s a really cool way of rewarding attentiveness and carefulness over the course of the game
It’s such a good ending, honestly. I’m not too invested in mythology in general but I do know a decent bit about faeries - but the hobbs, the leprechauns, the horde, the abundance of plants and nymphs and singing? *FORGETTING IMPORTANT THINGS?* Yeah. If you know even a little bit of fae mythology you would’ve caught on. If you didn’t catch on? Better call your local HSH, your ignorance may have been upsetting ;)
One of the best things about turning 18 is breathing a sigh of relief knowing you're out of the age range where evil creatures can spirit you away. I can now go to the kitchen pick up a glass of water at 3 AM knowing I'll be safe from false artifacts, walking rosebushes, Slenderman, Herobrine, Sonic.exe, minecraft youtubers and other assorted witches and goblins and faes
Reminds me of that one diary of a wimpy kid scene about Shel Silverstein. “If you get out of your bed tonight, you might run into SkyDoesMinecraft in the hallway”
47:44 the idea of a mystical creature who’s whole gimmick is to just ride your washing machine around like a roller coaster and break it in the process is way funnier to me than it should be. I just have this mental image of a towel with legs being tossed around a washing machine making a big thud every time it makes contact with the walls.
I absolutely HAVE to know what the whistling fungus does after it starts harmonizing. Completely vague horror like that with an eerie build up always gets me the most
The “you got it wrong call” for the whistling fungi is only carla, who’s voice is super distorted so it’s hard to understand her, seemingly screaming or in pain while the fungi’s whistling plays loudly. It’s super vague but I’m sure if you don’t evacuate your house when the whistling starts - you’re done.
Based on other mushrooms, they tend to grow relatively quickly within a few days. For culinary types maybe 3× or larger even if it was a nub in the morning... (Wonder if they're edible 🤤) I'm assuming the harmonizing hints at them releasing more spores, which then grow into the walls further before caving them in on you. Although I prefer to imagine it summons something that's not on the list- Now that gives me the shivers.
@@patpat4937 you cant speak about them too, telling by the solution part of the informations. Just you refer to them when speaking and they will come and slap you up so hard you wont be able to speak about them ever again.
I'm honestly fascinated by this cause you really don't see like, fae and traditional faerie tale monsters appearing in a modern creepypasta type thing, at least not without significant changes to the source material. This one actually keeps pretty faithfully to traditional faerie tales, all things considered, but just in a modern American suburban setting. It's actually so unexpected that it's actually a bit creepier than if it was just standard "ooh spooky internet horror monsters"
I think the thing that makes them creepy is that they operate on a completely different rules then the one's we've established. To them, ownership and invasiveness has no meaning. They will just exist where they feel like, regardless of how disadvantous it is for the people living with them.
Is that you, Yandere Angela? Also I feel the same about the fae here. (I mean yes, the fae traditionally tend to be a mixed bag, but you’re telling me the fae in this universe will give me gifts if I forget to wash out a tea cup? Amazing!)
Yeah, this one was a breath of fresh air. I love that they went all in with the fae stuff (and just enough other types of horrors to keep some variety). And the ending got me smiling, because all things considered it is a fairly happy ending...if you don't mind being literally invested in the corporate culture of HSH.
This game is _really_ good at portraying a world thats just casually horrifying, the false artifact entry on its own is one of the most disturbing things I've heard in recent memory
@@afbanjagjafdbxcvbrtjwsasdg2825 Just the idea that your child/pet/loved one can get caught in a false artifact and be slowly digested inside, but the only thing you can do is grieve and move on since there's no way to get them out, even if they're still alive.
Exactly why I like things like Welcome to Nightvale (even if more subtly horror) and I'M ON OBSERVATION DUTY-- it creates a word that supposedly to everyone else, feels normal, but can feel eerie, unsettling, or disturbing to the viewer, especially when such things are out of the viewer's control, or could have been prevented with the correct knowledge of a situation
I like how he gets the call about something "almost the size of my dog that hangs out on the stairs" and his first thought is "maybe its this 7 foot tall humanoid creature" lol
Serious answer I forgot stair slug existed because I didn't read the entries that run, serious serious answer I'm not paid enough to care and it's funny to me to hear their distress.
@@squeekydinky I mean to be fair, even in the solutions of that Wisp it just says that it will go away once it has stole the memories so no real way for them to be brought back, and even has them as a: "Your pet and or child is missing huh, tell me more about it so that we can deduce what it is so that we can find a possible way to get them back.. Oh it's the False Artifact? Oooh ah hmmm, big yikes. Okay uhhhh Miss or Sir? You know what, there's this one whimsical little thing that can help you forget about them! Because they uh uhm, yeeeah there's no getting them back sooo, yeah"
That obligatory to the gameplay. At some point, the information is just hidden to the player for some calls and the players can't read while having the call in the middle of the screen. The game don't give much times between calls too. The only moment the player can safely read, it's when a call is on hold if the info isn't missing. So yeah, the game will be unplayable if the answers are timed.
And yet manly just picked the first loosely matching description to him everytime. It was strange because he usually pays attention to the details and even did in the demo but here it was like watching a different youtuber play, like those youtubers who skip every tutorials and are confused about what's going on lol. Tbh kinda felt like he didn't want to play the game.
@@Bluesit32"Fracture Hobbs are a subspecies of Hobb that are known to cause cracks and fractures in the walls of the homes they inhabit." Wow it's almost like the first line of the fracture hobb entry explicitly talks about them leaving cracks in the walls...
0:50 ah yes, Metamorphosis. A common home safety hazard indeed, happened to a guy I once knew. He became a giant roach all of the sudden one fine morning, and remained stuck as a roach even to the end of his days. A real tragedy I tell you 😔
The introduction of the smart mouse along with the fellow employee emailing you about being small or being hunted by a cat, and even the final "prank call" with frantic mice cries asking for help, were all a nice touch that I really ended up liking. Really helps contextualize the bad ending a bit more since it implies there have been way more employees involved besides you.
@@Kyumifun not really, tbh. They are very dissimilar. Rats are bigger, and have smaller ear to head ratio and different ear plavement, along with their eyes relative to their head size being different as well, as well as their body shape, tail shape and length, and head shape being different. Mice are generally "rounder" than rats as well. It is pretty easy to tell apart a rat from a mouse if you actually look at them.
@@starlight_studios_artI understand where you’re coming from, but clearly you’ve been educated about it and you’ve forgotten that the layman doesn’t share your understanding of things. Of COURSE someone who doesn’t look at info about mice/rats would see that they’re both small rodents with tails and round ears who live in crevices in the home. And at the same time, OF COURSE the rats and mice have obvious visual differences and comparing the two would show you how different they are. But the average person doesn’t KNOW what those differences ARE or where to look for them. Talking about these things like they’re obvious and everyone should know about them is honestly just rude and unnecessarily attacks a person’s intelligence. I feel like advice and information sharing would be better received if it’s said in a less accusatory way.
What gets me the most is Hank. His problem wasn't even cryptid or fae related, yet he got compelled to go into the tunnel to 'repent for his sins', probably because he killed a mole. Damn, this setting is scary
@@mantha6912Actually, in the demo, it said Moles are part of the one below, or something to that affect. If there ever is a rush mode for this game, (Probably not, since that'd be EXPENSIVE to have that many voice actors record that many lines, even if they're just friends and coworkers) I would love the Mole Queen or whatever be a new hazard.
There’s something funny about how some of these info packages try to put a positive spin specifically on fairy-related stuff. If there’s one thing you don’t want to do, it is to accept fae food and politely decline with an excuse. This is the opposite of what HSH will tell you lmao
@@palecaptainwolfkayls8499 we are supposed to accept fae food but not eat it? Can you please elaborate a bit better? I am a bit confused with the wording.
@@mahapatrasohamm I phrased it poorly. Accepting fae food is the opposite of what you want to do Instead, politely decline with an excuse. Like you have already eaten before you arrived.
the one about the woman who lost her son to the false artifact makes me so sad not only is the kid dead they make sure to let you know that he'll die a long miserable death :(
absolutely adore the fact that 'the feast' was totally written from the perspective of the fae!! normally when you see something like that you DON'T eat the food. neat little detail
So THATS why I got the worst feeling in my stomach and immediately thought, "no, DONT"-- I love (and am kind of freaked out) by such mythology, especially since my dad is/was pagan and I'm a DND nerd, so I have some knowledge of it, and I was honestly horrified by the notion of eating raw food materials. SPEAKING OF?? Also the fact that it said EDIBLE food materials, but mentioned... Flour? Excuse me? Technically edible, yes, in the way that you can consume it, but you can consume anything. Flour itself is not fit for human consumption in its flour state! Not unless you spread it on a sheet and heat treat it, and even then you have to MIX it into something, like when making edible cookie dough ???
@@doghoarde4366 honestly i assumed you were supposed to cook with it immediately. like make bread or pancakes. i mean! back in the day having a big pile of fine flour would be a real treat!
@@doghoarde4366 cornmeal (also listed) is also not the greatest raw lol. but if i recall correctly bread is a big thing for fae so flour makes sense, but it says to consume *immediately* soooo... guess you'd have to figure out a way to scarf it down i also absolutely adore the mythology and folklore of fae! this game is riddled with a ton of it and it was really fun to pick it out
@@comfortme A variety of bad things can happen, but the one I remember the most clearly is that fae food actually tastes insanely good...so good in fact that mortal food eaten from there on out will taste like dirt. Yeah if you got a fae feast and the fae who prepared it will be offended with you if you don't eat it, just hire them as your chef at this point if you don't want the mere process of eating to be pain and misery for the rest of your life.
I think Hank’s aggressive attitude was written to be thematic with his plight, since Hank acted like a guy who “would make a mountain out of a molehill.”
@@funguy3259 To "make a mountain over a molehill" is to make a big deal out of something small, and to get really uppity about it like the guy on the line!
10:48 if I’m not mistaken that’s actually the sound of rhubarb growing - in fancy farms, they’re grown in complete dark other than some candlelight. It helps them grow faster and tastier. But they grow SO fast (like several inches a day) you can actually hear it growing.
I love the false artifact solution being: “If no children have been kidnapped by this thing then call our pest control! If so then use memory wisps to skip to acceptance." Edit: same goes to dorcha "If you someone you love is being sought by dorcha only thing you can do is grieve."
Honestly, out of all of them, that thing scared me the most just because it's so, subtle and quiet. There's no fighting back, there's no cry of defiance, it's just suddenly, oops, my kid is now in a TV and I can't get them our and they'll starve before being digested, how the hell do I deal with this? Honestly makes me curious if false objects are literally indestructible or if no one thought of it.
@@embroideredragdoll If those people existed, I imagine they would just kill or poison the child themselves. Obtaining the fake rose bush or fake artifact would be a lot more work.
I have to say, reading the solutions were pretty fun. Half the time it's like, "this isn't really a problem, if you want to get rid of it, you can't so live with it." Paticularly with the hobs and such. Then there's, "sorry, you're dead and there's nothing we can do." Then finally you have the rare, "hmm.. that is an issue, here's a ten step program to rid yourself of this pest. Chao!"
I really liked the Warlock Remnant solution, where you embark on a magical quest to retrieve a Seelie Stone to remove it - but then it's like yeah but that's super difficult so you should probably just move past it
I'll point out in the stair slug entry THAT is pointed out as the actual solution to ALL hobbs. Presumably because it's not a solution to a specific hobb type and it seems to be the only thing that can eat a hobb without aggravating it into becoming a boggart, which a removal attempt DEFINITELY would, since they seem to consider it THEIR house and not YOURS. Stair slug entry even says you REALLY shouldn't try to remove a stair slug, just clean up its slime instead and be careful with going down the stairs and with your pets around it.
Listen we're just the messenger. Though I think the kid trapped in an object might have been able to be saved? They mentioned starvation is the bigger threat of death and she called before starvation would have settled in. Though nothing indicated there was a way to get the person out..
The solution for the False Artifact honestly being tragically hilarious once it has done it's thing. "So us you know, there's this one little thing that can just make you forget about them!"
there's something very soul crushing of hearing someone cry on the call only to see their problem is basically a lost cause wich they can't do anything about
I like that most of the entities just Fey creatures that operate on childish rules. Don't leave your socks out or the Drawer Gnome will put them in his sock chest.
@@DeathnoteBB Not just Europe to be fair, I find that Africa and Asia also got their fair share of "DON'T BE LAZY OR THE OGRE WILL ASK YOU TO PEEL YOUR BLISTERS! BOOHOOO!" "DON'T GO NEAR WATER OR ALONE AT NIGHT!!! AND DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS THERE!" or adults too even "Don't cheat after finding this water spirit or you'll be miserable!" "Don't abuse your workers or they'll turn into ghosts to haunt yoUouou!" Monsters are fun to tell you what not to do! :D
Hey, Drawer Gnome on an alt account here. Sorry that I keep stealing your socks. I am currently building a sock fort for my sock army. I kinda need to do that or the sock tax collector will take my sock taxes and then I'll be broke.
This is a perfect horror for me. No jumpscare or scary monsters, but as in existential dread as in how it feels to exist in this world where these things exist and treated almost like a wild animal (at least some)
After seeing Manly absolutely destroy every game he’s ever played, it’s funny to watch him genuinely have a hard time with this one lol. We have found his one weakness… word problems
@@Bloomkyaaa Reading something and understanding how the information in the words connect with other pieces of information are two very different things.
I found the development notes very intriguing! It's really good example of how someone can lean heavily on inspiration from a variety of materials, yet create an original experience, rather than simply paying tribute. It's not the first time I've seen development commentary in a game, however, it's something that I would love to see more of...as understanding the thought process and intent of the author really helps you to appreciate their creative choices.
"Your kid is a tree...yeah..." The way he just so casually but awkwardly breaks the news to the parent about her recently deceased son is hilarious to me.
I love that most of these entities aren’t malevolent or even that hard to deal with. Yeah, they’re freaky, but some of them are actually just beneficial. Or you need to set up mouse traps. Or call a door removal service. It’s very charming and fun- it feels real in a way that most “they are coming for you. Call this line! [NOBODY WILL HELP]” vhs horror fails to be. I also really like the integration of traditional fae lore! And the bit about the hike because yeah, of fucking course people would go to the deadly fae cave hill. People go cave diving and mountain climbing- I bet in this world there are RUclips videos titled 10 PEOPLE GONE - THE DEADLIEST HIKE or something.
The fact that a number of these supernatural anomalies are generally harmless if you know what to do also makes it so it's an even bigger gut punch when you read entries saying "there is nothing you can do. Use a Memory Wisp to help with the grieving process" or "evacuate immediately" without even telling you if there's a service that can help. It makes the "You're fucked" moments so much more impactful after you've been seeing functioning rituals and solutions beforehand.
But simultaneously, the idea that failing to do these basic rituals or failing to respect the creatures space one too many times means it is likely to attack and kill you, with no way to safely eject it from your house, is almost worse than something killing you on sight. I would never feel peace again.
Even some that sound malicious really aren't - the fake rose bush eats kids and pets because they are small enough to be eaten, thing's just trying to survive. Same with memory wisps, they eat your memories because that's their diet, that's just the consequences of fae evolution
@@algumbraleatorio1278 During the failed version of the call. You can hear the woman screaming in pain and freaking out. Assuming they just kinda melt your brain or something
The true horror isn't the many monsters or the paranormal entities in this world, the true horror is how little the hotline operators gets paid for helping all these people.
I love how everyone says they're underpaid even though we don't know how much they're getting paid. If you've ever called Hotline or call centers like this, you know they don't even help one bit.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommeI helped a lot or at least tried in my 3 years at a call center. But often the callers don’t appreciate it or got a bad employee.
actually working in a call center, I'd love to give my input on this! Sometime I would go way above anything I'm able to do in order to find solutions to help customers. However, in a majority of cases, it's rough to help a customer mainly due to the fact we aren't being given enough tools to work with. In some phone lines, our supervisor straight out give the same information that are being given to the customer and we can only deal with that. I speak for a few colleagues when I say that it's a lack of tools (or the training, for some of them) that makes up for a bad customer service, not giving us what we require to help the people that are calling. (though, I do not deny that there are really lazy employee out there that are genuinely not good at what they do or they are just not good for the job itself) I think I'm not being provided enough mental support for what some of the customers tells me though. Sucks working on some lines haha.
Theory: when you get the cutscene where you are "unemployed" by HSH, you are turned into one of the smart mice 'science mysteries' talks about and mike3 the employee before you, got turned into one and got eaten by the cat on friday 🤔🤔
I am pretty certain that is what happened and I am surprised Manly did not notice it. The reaction of the bad ending indicated that you were shrunk down and the hobbs do not sound as easy to remove as a cat.
The mix of choices was interesting in this game. Hypothetical: "Help a beast is pulling me into the void using a pitchfork and pointed tail" Manly: "probably mice again"
Honestly really nice and refreshing to see a kind of fae themed horror. Its not something you see a lot of despite the concept of a lot of fae myth being pretty dark.
my favorite one is the unicorn virus it's so whimsical, imagine seeing your cat/dog have a spike on their head and they aren't even worried about it. considering it'll go away after a few days, it's nothing to worry about anyways, just a slight inconvenience when you're petting your dog/cat and you accidently get hurt by the spike
the "bed bugs" picture resembles very much a common 'stink beetle' found in the PNW. Those lil critters taught me why relocation of pests can be the better option over eradication.
Yeah, I was thinking that it was those fuckers I see around everywhere when the weather becomes minimally hospitable towards them. Also, never kill them. It attracts more of them.
Found one of those on my mint plant, and politely shook it out onto the road. Perhaps it made it to someone else's garden, or perhaps there was a mysterious smell on someone's tyres that evening
I have a bunch of empty pill bottles (I like to keep small things like paperclips in them) and we get those bugs sometimes. I have now acquired the skill of being able to scoop them and seal them in their fluorescent yellow tomb
whiskers was the name of the cat the lady with the fracture hobb had, and a kid got eaten by a false rose bush which you learn about later, GOD I love the hidden details when out of work
@@Bluesit32a lot of people speculate they took her cat because the timing is suspicious XD the day after they go to her home with the info package and suddenly we get a cat with the same name
Legit think it’d be pretty calming to hear Manly pick up the phone if you’re calling for an emergency situation like this. Bro’s got a good voice for making you feel cozy.
Out of context some of these would be so funny man. Imagine calling up about a broken heater and the dude straight up tells you there's a leprechaun in your house.
As a doctor myself this game really reminds me of how we make our diagnosis 😅 there are so many diseases with similar characteristics that we have to comb one by one
I love the gnomes, they arent some terrifying paranormal thing that cant be removed safely, but they also arent frozen pipes. They are just little guys trying to suck up dust or start gardens in your house.
I adore the “Fairy Folk” theme and I was captivated by this game. Although it is not my cultural background, I LOVE the idea of mysterious kinda-malevolent spirits from the pagan past co-existing with us in modern times. I can easily imagine our analogue of such a game with governement hotline in case of “Domowoy” or “Kikimora” and so on. Glad more people will learn about HSH!
Yeah, could be very interesting. Especially an Australian hotline. People think the creepy crawlies, snakes and crocs are bad, wait until they hear some of the Aboriginal Dreamtime creatures that go bump in the night!
I'm happy our traditional European faes and creatures are interesting to you :) most of them are ignored over the cute ones that most English and American cultures show. Granted, a lot of country people still believe in faes/faeries. It's kind of like believing in ghosts? A lot of people do, and even if they don't they're still a little weary of them (only speaking for eastern europe). Although a lot of foreigners just use our folklore and beliefs for aesthetic :(
@@Finnbobjimbob Britain, yes, like Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. England to my knowledge does not have a lot of fae lore- and most of the folklore from England are the cute ones you see in media. If I'm wrong please feel free to correct me.
1:18:02 the voice acting for this call goes CRAZY good lord. This is the only call I got genuinely nervous hearing. I fell asleep listening to this but this call had me up quick as butter on a hot slide with the intensity of that panic
I really appreciate the perspective on this game where most of the time in stuff like analog horror, you are perceiving it through a random person watching the tv to see the warning or some form or another. You never actually see the “job” in action.
Usually manly is amazing at games so I kinda get to live out a power fantasy watching him play. (I suck at games) but watching this man be so utterly oblivious to every clue and refuse to check twice at the options has been...an interesting experience. Got to say the first time Ive genuinely yelled at a screen was when that guy started hitting every checklist point for stair slug and manly just goes "hmm this sounds vaguely like a creaking noise must be a bogart!" Edit: the time where he picked soap sprite despite nothing in the description matching all because the guy mentioned soap on his sink had me screaming😂😂
The video is really entertaining but also frustrating, as some of these clues were so incredibly obvious and easy yet manly still doesn't connect the dots.
While I agree that many things had me riled up with his decisions I was surprised manly used the image of the soap sprite to help because of the tentacle or whatever things like the call had described in addition to the mention of soap. At least I believe he used the image in that situation.
i think my problem with it is how he tried to talk about how his mistakes were intentional lmao. like it's okay to fuck up, dude. don't pretend it was on purpose though
I feel like the game being a little silly really helps with the really horrific shit that the people in this world have to live with. The contrast really helps things like the False Artifact hit different. Additionally I appreciate that this is a very Fae setting versus the more common Eldritch Horror a lot of other Analog Horror goes for.
1:18:03 Can we just take a moment to appreciate the voice acting here? There’s some other really good calls but the raw emotion in this one is *insane*
_"Please hold"_ Those words sounded absolutely not reassuring lol. Questions like "Where am I? What is that black ooze? Where did my child go?" all met with that awful digital _please hold._ The resolutions were both funny and frightening, especially the packets of information that mostly said these people were doomed. Extremely creative, well-written, with pretty good voice acting.. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor.
Imagine how the other GOI's would handle being like, corporations in Broken Masquerade? GOC would be something like pest control or an army. Imagine if they just work with the Foundation to just clear with the issues and everything is treated like a 9-5. Like The City's Wings in Project Moon.
@@Evnyofdeath In the comments of another video they pointed out that this is a Fae Contract. The people who sign up to allow the HSH in, essentially, invite ALL manner of folktale creatures to their home by default. It is like a Vampire working a service in which the contract has something akin to, "Employees may have access to your domicile to conduct maintenance upon the security system", and then vampire attacks go up drastically due to the technicality that it was in fact invited in by proxy. *And Hell, they can even just show up after being called and then invited in directly under the guise of doing their job.
The very second the company introduced Whiskers, I immediately exclaimed, “Oh, no! Whiskers!” One of the clients had a cat named Whiskers. Edit: sending a picture of the Pooka to my friend because I told her it scared my at 5AM. Literally was event watching or playing this, it just popped into my mind.
I did wonder about that haha Like did they steal the cat from the owner or did the owner die as a consequence and so HSH decided "might as well get a cat to fix the ex-employees/mice problem".
I have never herd voice actors so obviously having fun, this is amazing. Somehow it lends charm to the game without robbing it of the creepy atmosphere.
@bestaround3323 A house is a house. I'll just tell the ghosts/demons/fae to either help pay the mortgage and the utilities or gtfo. There'll be no freeloaders on my property lmao
This reminds me of observation duty, it feels like it's in the same universe you know? If you're poor you call the hotline and just get info, if you're rich you get observation duty and a team of oompa loopas run in to fix every reported anomaly
I’m now sitting here imagining the Oompa Loompas sitting at the regional unemployment office after the factory shut down, and a rep walks over and goes “quite a few of you are ideal for this job” 🤣
2:06:18 they should add a New Game+ mode where you can get as many wrong as you want without getting a game over so you can listen to all the "bad ending" bits, since they put so much effort into it! Edit: oh! they already did it.
Already in the game. Manly just didn't check the options menu. You get Junior Supervisor privileges after beating the game. These include unemployment immunity (no game overs), the ability to skip the wait time between calls, and a constant accuracy counter so you know exactly when you mess up.
As someone who was raised by my grandfather from dear ol’ Ireland and heard many a story of the fearful Fae, I love the theme that they were responsible for basically everything. The plot would make absolute sense in their uh… logic. And then they ended it with a light hearted 90’s style theme common to films that depict Fae to the states. Duality at it’s finest. The horror experienced by the callers is common to the Irish folklore, Fae are terrifying and their whimsy is twisting the world of people any which way they please. The comical ending is basically the answer American cinema gave us as children in the 90’s. Troll, Ernest Scared Silly, Fairytale, Legend, and so on. All goofy and what not as presented in old movies, only these days are seeing more legitimate horror media concerning the Fae that are faithful to how my grandpa depicted them. Love it.
It's nice to see a game portraying practical, real-world problems for a change. I've dealt with many a Cellar Growth, and people call me a Pipe Hobb all the time... that might be unrelated, though.
Also, I want to point out that "Carol Regina" name is such a foreshadowing level that would make my HS Lit teacher smack my nose with a newspaper. For those who don't know "Carol" comes from the French "carole" which is a form of circle dance combined with singing. Regina is Latin word for queen. So Manly isn't that far off with his assumption that MC is promoted to being Oberon.
@@Bluesit32True, but MC gets the promotion to junior supervisor after a *week* of working for Fae. Who knows how far they can get if they keep doing a good job 😉
I like how just like in regular support if you don't get it right the first time from their vague description the customer decides that you will never be able to help them and are actively trying to sabotage them.
I find the game concept extremely fascinating. Normally, and some examples being no-exception, fey stuff and shenanigans whether both extremely malevolent or tame, are typically done towards people who usually do not end up asking for it. So it makes so much sense and kinda nice that there would be a dedicated fey hotline created to specifically aide people who ended up being victims to them. Sadly, there isn't any good solutions when it comes to children. But I think that's the horror shines the most. I won't forget how my stomach dropped when I heard the pleading mother's phone call and the only thing that can be done is to get a fey lobotomy while the child is slowly digested over the years.
Actually, the description for the False Artifact states that "While digestion can take upwards of several years, starvation can be a more pressing concern." So the child will probably starve to death before even being digested! :D
@@kingjaffad That was a heart-wrenching reminder that "Fairy Tales" aren't as bright as modern media makes them out to be. The "whimsical" nature of their world and creatures would be horrific and traumatizing to deal with in real life.
The false artifact... out of all of these cool and interesting monsters, the mother, and the dang false artifact thing made me so gut wrenching uneased that I've actively tried to find out if the kid could be save, if one could smash the thing to bits and rescue them. Just the thought, the mother is searching for her son, only to realize he's trapped in whatever for days, probably screaming his lungs out with not a sound made... that scares me so much.
I love this game so much, the retro style combined with classic folklore cryptid/fae creatures is so neat and super unique compared to other horror games. It's so funny and surreal that these occurances are common enough in this world to require such a hotline, yet somehow aren't common knowledge. You can really tell a lot of love and care went into this game.
I loved all the tiny details in the cutscene like how your manager was wearing one of the glamor necklaces from the final coupon, or the description of the kids kidnaper in the amber alert matched the false rose bush, or how one of the houses had autumn vines on it supper cool stuff!
The housing market in this game's universe must be really crazy, considering how many of these things can only be dealt with by moving out. Plus there was that one ad in the real estate video for a 5-bedroom house for only $12,000 - there is *definitely* something horrible in there.
Ok so basically you would turn into a mouse if you fail and that’s why the person before you said you could join him in the hole in the wall because then you would be small enough to fit
I had assumed that you always respond to calls with the “Please hold” text-to-speech was because you were a Smart Mice from the start, desiring HSH’s promotion to get yourself away from feline-height dangers.
Normally I just laugh at Manly intentionally getting stuff wrong but like... It's admittedly a little unnerving how some of these callers were royally fucked regardless of whether he helped them or not. Also, ngl I was actually kinda' surprised when the one guy turned out to be a prank caller X'D Up until the moment he broke character, I simply assumed it was a changeling or something trying to pose as human (hence the weird dialogue, goofy names, and distorted picture).
I really appreciate the patience on some of the horror with this. Even the vhs tape was more patient than 99% of webseries out there. You’ll click on something and it’ll go “things to watch out for in the forest! Mosquitos, *the meat man*”
Eh, I prefer when the webseries get on with it. If I wanted to watch an actual non-horror 90’s series I would do that. I’m here for the meat man, dammit!
i used to work in a call center answering questions and loved the demo of this game, NOW ITS FINALLY OUT!! i also love the variety of critters and lifeforms in this game.
@@memey6978 I think the solutions in the HSH database are designed to give the lowest risk solutions, but no necessarily the best ones. Like you could shoot the false rose bush with a shotgun a few times or spray herbicides on the false flower from a distance and clean the toxic secretions later. So I believe the mother could've pried the false artefact open and saved her child since she said it was kidnapped recently and starving was mentioned in the entry, so it probably doesn't kill instantly.
Welcome to the Let Me In Don't You Trust Me Club how Let Me In Don't You Trust Me are ya?
VERY :3
Day 668 of asking Manly to play A Cold Love Story through RUclips comments.
I am very Let Me In Don't You Trust Me Awesome!
Average
You're a skinwalker!
My girlfriend works in a call center and i sent her this video. She says that if her work was like this it would be so much easier and now i can't stop thinking on the fact that is easier to help someone get rid of an anomalous creature than helping an angry person with their healthcare plan.
I did that job fuck that, I quit in the middle of a shift working from home
It is a lot simpler than an actual agent position; you basically just select an option and click a button. It would be more realistic if you could see the queue growing longer and longer as you worked through each call, and if the current caller’s name started flashing when you had them on hold for too long…
You have no idea how hard it is to check an old persons eligibility because they just hand you like, a referral card that expired 10 yrs ago
@@sexygirlmax2019I work in a pharmacy and this is so real. Had a guy claim he had new insurance. It was an expired/inactive Medicare Part B card. Look on his profile. He hasn’t used insurance for his meds in the 2 years our system goes back. He claims we’re retards and drives off on a huff… without his blood thinners (not something you should stop taking all of a sudden). This happens every day.
Your girlfriend is right, old angry people are worse than fae tricks.
So the new mice species with inteligence is implied to be humans that are turned into mice. The "prank calls" becoming squeaky noises also implied they are mice
I think that’s what happens to you if you get fired
@@The-Lion-Of-Feronia That, and being a prank-caller.
Oh I didn't even make that connection, that's pretty neat.
Careful you don't let those mice take your brain and dissect it to learn The Answer to Life, the Universe and Everything...
@@louisharkna9464I understood the reference
Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy
I think the exchange between manly and the lady sad about her kid is the funniest thing ever:
“Please help me! My poor Jeremy is missing!”
“Look lady, you’re going to need to be more specific. Just about half of all the things here eat kids. Dang, it really sucks to be a kid here huh…”
Yeah that one was particularly bad.
@@katlicks sad. i cried
@@KrystalHarwood-z1b I shidded and cried 😢
@@katlicks It's worse if you get it wrong.
and do you think they gave credit to the creators of the Troll movie for the Fae Carol and ending music? hope so. Carlos Maria Cordia
I knew the moment he confused a mole for a raccoon the people in this town were absolutely fucked.
He also possibly confused termites for Fracture Hobbs.
lmao
It wasnt even mole it was gopher
@@Mcd6eNope. They’re moles
I saw him say cockroach instead of black mold and went "you're all getting eaten"
All the comments are saying what an amazing hotline worker manly would make cuz of his soothing voice, which is undeniable, but are we all going to ignore how a caller reported TEETH MARKS on a bedpost and he just went "Those are probs ants my dude "
Yeah, soothing voice or not, we'd all be dead with Manly on the line LMAO.
A good portion of watching this so far has just been infuriating screaming on my part 😭 I agree that Manly absolutely could NOT be a hotline worker LMAO
I haven't got to that part but it's probably termites witch are kinda close to ants
Also all the photos/videos of the "mice" are of rats. RATS. Wildly different critters
Well, did the caller specify how big the teeth marks were? 😅
I love that slow realization with the dude who originally just had a Common Hobb, where you realize that because he thought your answer was stupid, he ignored it and allowed the Hobb to metamorphosize.
Yeah except the third call of his implies boggart wasn’t the answer for the second call. So was it still a Hobb then?
@DeathnoteBB
No, boggart is the correct answer as shown in other playthroughs.
@@DeathnoteBB I haven't gotten to the third call, but the second call is him talking about the boggart, which the instructions say not to do...
Not that he would know that before receiving the instructions, but, you know... c'est la vie.
I didn't see a first call where his problem was a Common Hobb I only remember the call where the answer was a Boggart
@@bigmanspook his first call was with the worker before the player (the one who got terminated and turned into a mouse) because he gave wrong info OR the guy simply ignored the info given to him, which led the hob to turn into a boggart
There is something so funny about the idea of someone calling a call center and saying that some kind of giant beast took a shit on your dining room table and the response you get is being told that you and your entire family need to eat it immediately
So the response is basically “eat shit”...
Well, if it's a fae feast, then that "shit" is at least harmless for consumption.
@@christiancolasito8266 imagine if its not. like its a dead stair slug, or one of those fungal growths. but you dont know that. you just eat it for nothing beacuse they told you to do it.
@@christiancolasito8266 I'm pretty sure it's real food though so if it's been sitting there for awhile it could have gone rotten
I could hardly control my laughter when he selected the feast for this one. Thought he must have been wrong and was sooo looking forward to the 2nd call, but I guess he was right!
The ending is pure genius.
By Saturday the player should have realized that this is all fairy mythology. And so on Sunday, rather than answer customer calls, the player answers fey riddles - which is both thematically appropriate and recontextualizes the earlier gameplay loop as "riddle solving". The player also travels to the fairy world underground - and in some myths this is also the netherworld - so it's all very mythological.
By answering the riddles correctly, the player comes face to face with, revealed as a fey. She tells the player to "be not afraid" as the Biblical angels did, and puts a crown on their hand. It's a very dramatic and tense moment.
...and then she calls you "new Junior Supervisor", and the tension breaks, and you get the everyone dances(?) ending. It's like a joke: You go to the deepest part of the fairy land only to find a mundane corporate title.
And the best part is, this is clearly something fairies would do. Of course they would commit to the business bit even when it kills the mood. Of course they'd all start singing to welcome their new junior manager. Mythology and fiction shows that fairies generally love this sort of thing.
It's a brilliant anticlimax, is what I'm saying.
Also, we've been conditioned to expect the promotion to be something bad. Portal 1's "you will be baked and then there will be cake" is the norm. But the fae don't act like that. They'll do a lot of horrible things for their own amusement, but they do not break a bargain.
You fulfilled your part of the employment contract, and you are rewarded with a promotion (and probably some amount of magical powers).
Heck, most human corporations can't even be trusted to give you the raises or annual bonuses that they openly promised.
It's a wonderful subversion of expectations, because the default expectation is that "creepy people who are clearly hiding something from you" mean you harm.
Faeries invented the Wal-Mart wagie dance. 💪🧝👌
I also love how Dorcha was never an answer to any of the callers, yet the very final question basically requires you to have read Dorcha’s description on the prior day to get it right, even though it never actually came up on Saturday. It’s a really cool way of rewarding attentiveness and carefulness over the course of the game
Yeah, that ending was weird...
It’s such a good ending, honestly. I’m not too invested in mythology in general but I do know a decent bit about faeries - but the hobbs, the leprechauns, the horde, the abundance of plants and nymphs and singing? *FORGETTING IMPORTANT THINGS?* Yeah. If you know even a little bit of fae mythology you would’ve caught on. If you didn’t catch on? Better call your local HSH, your ignorance may have been upsetting ;)
The call about Jeremy was genuinely chilling, the voice actress did really good selling the fear of a child going missing.
One of the best things about turning 18 is breathing a sigh of relief knowing you're out of the age range where evil creatures can spirit you away. I can now go to the kitchen pick up a glass of water at 3 AM knowing I'll be safe from false artifacts, walking rosebushes, Slenderman, Herobrine, Sonic.exe, minecraft youtubers and other assorted witches and goblins and faes
Ehh it was an issue of size for most the ones shown here. which also seems to be how a lot of people try and guess age soo. are you short or tall?
eh. the horrors are preferable to being in my mid-twenties, though
@@nemnyoom As a kid one fears the monsters going to eat them. As a young adult one fears the property damage and sleepless nights.
If anything, you are open for a wider selection of monsters that 4chin like to bang on about.
And they aint scared of a cross or iron fork.
Reminds me of that one diary of a wimpy kid scene about Shel Silverstein.
“If you get out of your bed tonight, you might run into SkyDoesMinecraft in the hallway”
47:44 the idea of a mystical creature who’s whole gimmick is to just ride your washing machine around like a roller coaster and break it in the process is way funnier to me than it should be. I just have this mental image of a towel with legs being tossed around a washing machine making a big thud every time it makes contact with the walls.
the gnome is living all our dreams of taking a ride in the washer
god that's so funny
Omg same. Just a little guy having a good time
This game is both hilarious and scary
Yeah but like, then you need a new Washing machine, and those aren't cheap!
Still, that's pretty funny 🤣
I absolutely HAVE to know what the whistling fungus does after it starts harmonizing. Completely vague horror like that with an eerie build up always gets me the most
The “you got it wrong call” for the whistling fungi is only carla, who’s voice is super distorted so it’s hard to understand her, seemingly screaming or in pain while the fungi’s whistling plays loudly.
It’s super vague but I’m sure if you don’t evacuate your house when the whistling starts - you’re done.
@@ColdestMorning I went in search of this in hopes of answers actually, and it only left more questions 😭
I imagine the whistling will eventually drive you mad at a very rapid pace until your eardrums burst, maybe even worse
house fall down
Based on other mushrooms, they tend to grow relatively quickly within a few days. For culinary types maybe 3× or larger even if it was a nub in the morning... (Wonder if they're edible 🤤) I'm assuming the harmonizing hints at them releasing more spores, which then grow into the walls further before caving them in on you.
Although I prefer to imagine it summons something that's not on the list- Now that gives me the shivers.
The guy who couldn't remember his wife's face's voice acting really stood out to me. He did a particularly good job.
Agreed. That one was particularly heartbreaking.
Him, and the lady with the kid that got eaten by a False Artifact really got to me.
It goes to show that they had a really good friend group to call on when you read the dev log.
and then immediately after that plea for help
"PLEASE HOLD"
Some voiceactors were amazing in this and i REALLY hope they do get more jobs and have success :)
Hank: "...I must climb inside... I must... Pay for my sins..."
Manly in the most uninterested, monotone voice possible: "Good luck."
Manly's downright savage. I love it.
"Good luck chief, better you than me."
CUS WHAT ELSE ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO SAY TO THAT 💀
He is the definition of "Not my problem f*cker" lol
@@sexygirlmax2019 "Wait bro lemme join!" 🤣
Honestly, the Fae Flu, the Fake Beetroot, and the False Artefact got me the most, it's literally "Yeah you're fucked, goodluck."
falde artifact is ez tho if you're 18 and no pets or kids its just a sitting duck
Boggarts are also like:just leave you're screwed
@@patpat4937 you cant speak about them too, telling by the solution part of the informations. Just you refer to them when speaking and they will come and slap you up so hard you wont be able to speak about them ever again.
or "just leave"
@@patpat4937 yeah, but at least you can prevent boggart by being nice to your new roommate lol
I'm honestly fascinated by this cause you really don't see like, fae and traditional faerie tale monsters appearing in a modern creepypasta type thing, at least not without significant changes to the source material. This one actually keeps pretty faithfully to traditional faerie tales, all things considered, but just in a modern American suburban setting. It's actually so unexpected that it's actually a bit creepier than if it was just standard "ooh spooky internet horror monsters"
I think the thing that makes them creepy is that they operate on a completely different rules then the one's we've established. To them, ownership and invasiveness has no meaning. They will just exist where they feel like, regardless of how disadvantous it is for the people living with them.
Traditional
Project Moon
Is that you, Yandere Angela? Also I feel the same about the fae here. (I mean yes, the fae traditionally tend to be a mixed bag, but you’re telling me the fae in this universe will give me gifts if I forget to wash out a tea cup? Amazing!)
Yeah, this one was a breath of fresh air. I love that they went all in with the fae stuff (and just enough other types of horrors to keep some variety). And the ending got me smiling, because all things considered it is a fairly happy ending...if you don't mind being literally invested in the corporate culture of HSH.
This game is _really_ good at portraying a world thats just casually horrifying, the false artifact entry on its own is one of the most disturbing things I've heard in recent memory
Can you elaborate please? I tend to agree with this sentiment and I'm trying to make a frightening game.
@@afbanjagjafdbxcvbrtjwsasdg2825 Just the idea that your child/pet/loved one can get caught in a false artifact and be slowly digested inside, but the only thing you can do is grieve and move on since there's no way to get them out, even if they're still alive.
Exactly why I like things like Welcome to Nightvale (even if more subtly horror) and I'M ON OBSERVATION DUTY-- it creates a word that supposedly to everyone else, feels normal, but can feel eerie, unsettling, or disturbing to the viewer, especially when such things are out of the viewer's control, or could have been prevented with the correct knowledge of a situation
@@waffleauflauf4213The loss of agency coupled with the total normalcy of what is causing your loss of agency
and then that Longmont potion castle at 7:40 is just going buck wild.
Like Flip Child.
"Hark, employee! Lend thine ear once more!" *Carol said, slayfully.*
sLAYFULLY JAJAJA
She provided us werk and we got promoted to queen 💅🏼
SLAYFULLY AAHSBAHAGHA
"Can you translate that one for me?"
"W-what?"
"Like from Shakespeare to English please."
@@grossberglawoffices9910 now we co-rule the fairy realm. Call us "Twintania"
I like how he gets the call about something "almost the size of my dog that hangs out on the stairs" and his first thought is "maybe its this 7 foot tall humanoid creature" lol
To be fair his solution would work on avoiding the issue. I guess the game did not expect him to make that call either.
Yeah, it totally wasn't the stair slug or anything...
Serious answer I forgot stair slug existed because I didn't read the entries that run, serious serious answer I'm not paid enough to care and it's funny to me to hear their distress.
@@ManlyBadassHero you left an old man to forget his wife's face. That was the real horror haha
@@squeekydinky I mean to be fair, even in the solutions of that Wisp it just says that it will go away once it has stole the memories so no real way for them to be brought back, and even has them as a:
"Your pet and or child is missing huh, tell me more about it so that we can deduce what it is so that we can find a possible way to get them back.. Oh it's the False Artifact? Oooh ah hmmm, big yikes. Okay uhhhh Miss or Sir? You know what, there's this one whimsical little thing that can help you forget about them! Because they uh uhm, yeeeah there's no getting them back sooo, yeah"
I appreciate the fact this game doesn't force a time limit on you, and let's you explore the data files and enjoy it.
That obligatory to the gameplay. At some point, the information is just hidden to the player for some calls and the players can't read while having the call in the middle of the screen. The game don't give much times between calls too. The only moment the player can safely read, it's when a call is on hold if the info isn't missing. So yeah, the game will be unplayable if the answers are timed.
@@Kingdo_RGT Exactly, a lesser dev would have forced a time limit to make the game more tense
@@DrCoomer_1or "realistic" which i suppose would be true but annoying
And yet manly just picked the first loosely matching description to him everytime. It was strange because he usually pays attention to the details and even did in the demo but here it was like watching a different youtuber play, like those youtubers who skip every tutorials and are confused about what's going on lol. Tbh kinda felt like he didn't want to play the game.
@@d.no-aqui6307 Ah, hello Gordon!
“So what did the other girl have? She had cracks…”
Termites, Manly. She probably had termites.
Exactly. Fracture Hobbs don't leave cracks on the wall.
@@Bluesit32 termites, on the other hand, will *gladly* fuck up every wall they get into
@@Bluesit32"Fracture Hobbs are a subspecies of Hobb that are known to cause cracks and fractures in the walls of the homes they inhabit."
Wow it's almost like the first line of the fracture hobb entry explicitly talks about them leaving cracks in the walls...
I love how one was basically “you have roommates now, just give them dairy and you’ll be fine”
"you'll never see them but they clean for you"
Or, "give them your dairy (solidified)"
@@Noirxireand they keep The Horde away from your house.
I mean, free housekeeping for just putting out a bit of milk, I'll take that deal any day. @@Noirxire
And the memory wisp is like "Yeah, you had your memories robbed. See ya!"
I'm glad manly isn't an actual exterminator consultant. "You heard something? It's either ants or mice. Impossible to tell which."
Ecactly my thought process XD
He claims it’s either ants or mice and then when he heads inside there’s a nest of Copperheads.
Fr tho, I get why carpenter ants, but mice??😭 there’s literally termites as an option 😭😭
He would tell me that, what’s clearly a rat, is actually the thing from Iron Lung
@RepentandbelieveinJesusChrist5what??
0:50 ah yes, Metamorphosis. A common home safety hazard indeed, happened to a guy I once knew. He became a giant roach all of the sudden one fine morning, and remained stuck as a roach even to the end of his days. A real tragedy I tell you 😔
Good one, Kafka
I heard he missed his job
And he still had a better outcome than the nerdy girl with glasses...
@@NotAGoodUsername360
Ikr? When she turned into a beetle boggart and ate her abusive dad's... job?... I really felt for her
oop-
The introduction of the smart mouse along with the fellow employee emailing you about being small or being hunted by a cat, and even the final "prank call" with frantic mice cries asking for help, were all a nice touch that I really ended up liking. Really helps contextualize the bad ending a bit more since it implies there have been way more employees involved besides you.
The thing is the photo used for the mouse entry and the mouse video were of rats...
@@starlight_studios_art honestly, these two creatures are very similar and pretty hard to tell apart.
@@Kyumifun not really, tbh. They are very dissimilar. Rats are bigger, and have smaller ear to head ratio and different ear plavement, along with their eyes relative to their head size being different as well, as well as their body shape, tail shape and length, and head shape being different. Mice are generally "rounder" than rats as well. It is pretty easy to tell apart a rat from a mouse if you actually look at them.
@@starlight_studios_artI understand where you’re coming from, but clearly you’ve been educated about it and you’ve forgotten that the layman doesn’t share your understanding of things. Of COURSE someone who doesn’t look at info about mice/rats would see that they’re both small rodents with tails and round ears who live in crevices in the home. And at the same time, OF COURSE the rats and mice have obvious visual differences and comparing the two would show you how different they are. But the average person doesn’t KNOW what those differences ARE or where to look for them.
Talking about these things like they’re obvious and everyone should know about them is honestly just rude and unnecessarily attacks a person’s intelligence. I feel like advice and information sharing would be better received if it’s said in a less accusatory way.
@@acespades2387 even to a laymans eyes it should be a little bit obvious
What gets me the most is Hank. His problem wasn't even cryptid or fae related, yet he got compelled to go into the tunnel to 'repent for his sins', probably because he killed a mole.
Damn, this setting is scary
oh shit I just put it together- the Spriggan got him for harming an animal of nature.
@@mantha6912OH
@@mantha6912Actually, in the demo, it said Moles are part of the one below, or something to that affect. If there ever is a rush mode for this game, (Probably not, since that'd be EXPENSIVE to have that many voice actors record that many lines, even if they're just friends and coworkers) I would love the Mole Queen or whatever be a new hazard.
@willowthywisp Yup, moles are close to those "beneath the soil".
I thought his son got dragged in and he felt like he killed him
I enjoy how many of the 'solutions' are basically 'give up' or 'make it someone else's problem'
Basically it's saying just "deal with it" 💀💀
"It's a part of life now. Get used to it."
There’s something funny about how some of these info packages try to put a positive spin specifically on fairy-related stuff.
If there’s one thing you don’t want to do, it is to accept fae food and politely decline with an excuse. This is the opposite of what HSH will tell you lmao
@@palecaptainwolfkayls8499 we are supposed to accept fae food but not eat it? Can you please elaborate a bit better? I am a bit confused with the wording.
@@mahapatrasohamm
I phrased it poorly.
Accepting fae food is the opposite of what you want to do
Instead, politely decline with an excuse. Like you have already eaten before you arrived.
Fun fact:The home safety hotline symbol is 1:1 a shield knot,a celtic symbol of protection often use to ward off evil spirit.
the one about the woman who lost her son to the false artifact makes me so sad not only is the kid dead they make sure to let you know that he'll die a long miserable death :(
Poor guy
Makes me wonder though. Can’t they just break him out of there?
It specifically states that they can't be removed once inside... for some reason? I wonder why that's the case @@MigjolVanMjol
@@MigjolVanMjolI assume because the photo shows the kid is like *in* there, breaking the screen is as effective as turning the TV off.
Im confused, isnt the child in the bed? Since she didn’t mention a tv why cant they just open the bed
Supervisor: You realize your inaccurate answers can get people killed right?
Manly in the most unapologetic, bored voice ever: Damn, my bad chat.
i love how at 38:14 you pick up a call and the guy says ''my wife'' and you immediately put him on hold
absolutely adore the fact that 'the feast' was totally written from the perspective of the fae!! normally when you see something like that you DON'T eat the food. neat little detail
not to mention it is said not to eat fae food in mythology, of course they tell you to eat it haha
So THATS why I got the worst feeling in my stomach and immediately thought, "no, DONT"-- I love (and am kind of freaked out) by such mythology, especially since my dad is/was pagan and I'm a DND nerd, so I have some knowledge of it, and I was honestly horrified by the notion of eating raw food materials.
SPEAKING OF??
Also the fact that it said EDIBLE food materials, but mentioned... Flour? Excuse me? Technically edible, yes, in the way that you can consume it, but you can consume anything. Flour itself is not fit for human consumption in its flour state! Not unless you spread it on a sheet and heat treat it, and even then you have to MIX it into something, like when making edible cookie dough ???
@@doghoarde4366 honestly i assumed you were supposed to cook with it immediately. like make bread or pancakes. i mean! back in the day having a big pile of fine flour would be a real treat!
@@doghoarde4366 cornmeal (also listed) is also not the greatest raw lol. but if i recall correctly bread is a big thing for fae so flour makes sense, but it says to consume *immediately* soooo... guess you'd have to figure out a way to scarf it down
i also absolutely adore the mythology and folklore of fae! this game is riddled with a ton of it and it was really fun to pick it out
@@comfortme A variety of bad things can happen, but the one I remember the most clearly is that fae food actually tastes insanely good...so good in fact that mortal food eaten from there on out will taste like dirt.
Yeah if you got a fae feast and the fae who prepared it will be offended with you if you don't eat it, just hire them as your chef at this point if you don't want the mere process of eating to be pain and misery for the rest of your life.
"I hear something crawling in my walls and there are TEETH MARKS on my bedpost"
"Definitely carpenter ants"
This comment made me envision ants with mouse-like teeth and uuuuh I will not be doing that ever again D:
Lady: *Provides the most accurate description of a Stair Slug you've ever heard in your life*
Manly: Yeah you've got a boggart don't worry about it
Please I was literally shouting "it's a stair slug omg!"
How many stair slug descriptions have you heard
I literally lost my mind watching that scene. Plus the size difference between a stair slug and a boggart is huge
The same thing with memory wisps!
exactly lol
I think Hank’s aggressive attitude was written to be thematic with his plight, since Hank acted like a guy who “would make a mountain out of a molehill.”
Damnnn u cooked
Literally my exact thoughts. It seems really obvious to me
my hero
I dont get this... and over 1 thousand people understand??
@@funguy3259 To "make a mountain over a molehill" is to make a big deal out of something small, and to get really uppity about it like the guy on the line!
10:48 if I’m not mistaken that’s actually the sound of rhubarb growing - in fancy farms, they’re grown in complete dark other than some candlelight. It helps them grow faster and tastier. But they grow SO fast (like several inches a day) you can actually hear it growing.
Yes! Evil Rhubarb is awesome lol
EVIL RHUBARBS YESSSS
I love the false artifact solution being:
“If no children have been kidnapped by this thing then call our pest control! If so then use memory wisps to skip to acceptance."
Edit: same goes to dorcha
"If you someone you love is being sought by dorcha only thing you can do is grieve."
The ultimate way to get out of child support™️
I absolutely see people playing false roses and false artifacts to get out of paying child support
Honestly, out of all of them, that thing scared me the most just because it's so, subtle and quiet. There's no fighting back, there's no cry of defiance, it's just suddenly, oops, my kid is now in a TV and I can't get them our and they'll starve before being digested, how the hell do I deal with this? Honestly makes me curious if false objects are literally indestructible or if no one thought of it.
@@embroideredragdoll If those people existed, I imagine they would just kill or poison the child themselves. Obtaining the fake rose bush or fake artifact would be a lot more work.
@@greenfire4656I think they just didn't think of it, lol. There's a few logical inconsistencies in the game, but that's how horror is.
I have to say, reading the solutions were pretty fun. Half the time it's like, "this isn't really a problem, if you want to get rid of it, you can't so live with it." Paticularly with the hobs and such. Then there's, "sorry, you're dead and there's nothing we can do." Then finally you have the rare, "hmm.. that is an issue, here's a ten step program to rid yourself of this pest. Chao!"
I really liked the Warlock Remnant solution, where you embark on a magical quest to retrieve a Seelie Stone to remove it - but then it's like yeah but that's super difficult so you should probably just move past it
I'll point out in the stair slug entry THAT is pointed out as the actual solution to ALL hobbs. Presumably because it's not a solution to a specific hobb type and it seems to be the only thing that can eat a hobb without aggravating it into becoming a boggart, which a removal attempt DEFINITELY would, since they seem to consider it THEIR house and not YOURS.
Stair slug entry even says you REALLY shouldn't try to remove a stair slug, just clean up its slime instead and be careful with going down the stairs and with your pets around it.
Fun fact: the prank caller is based on Longmont Potion Castle, an actual prank caller... and one of my personal favorites, too.
I was looking for someone to bring him up
yess I knew it!! I knew I recognized it lol
I like how most of the "solutions" are just "You are boned, nothing can save you, just live with it lmao", very helpful here
Listen we're just the messenger. Though I think the kid trapped in an object might have been able to be saved? They mentioned starvation is the bigger threat of death and she called before starvation would have settled in. Though nothing indicated there was a way to get the person out..
@@phantom-ri2tgI think that just meant that starvation would kill victims before digestion did, since the digestion process can take a year or two
That's why it's strange to get "you chose the wrong option, get fired", because all options just "you can't do nothing, lmao"
The solution for the False Artifact honestly being tragically hilarious once it has done it's thing. "So us you know, there's this one little thing that can just make you forget about them!"
Ehhh, most of the entries have ways to prevent the problem from getting any worse, and/or advice to prevent further infection.
there's something very soul crushing of hearing someone cry on the call only to see their problem is basically a lost cause wich they can't do anything about
"Man i love my job"
- Manly, after telling a mother her son is dead
I like that most of the entities just Fey creatures that operate on childish rules. Don't leave your socks out or the Drawer Gnome will put them in his sock chest.
That’s because a lot of creatures in European folklore are just ways to tell kids to behave. Tidy your room or the Trash Gnome will come, etc
@@DeathnoteBB Not just Europe to be fair, I find that Africa and Asia also got their fair share of "DON'T BE LAZY OR THE OGRE WILL ASK YOU TO PEEL YOUR BLISTERS! BOOHOOO!" "DON'T GO NEAR WATER OR ALONE AT NIGHT!!! AND DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS THERE!" or adults too even "Don't cheat after finding this water spirit or you'll be miserable!" "Don't abuse your workers or they'll turn into ghosts to haunt yoUouou!" Monsters are fun to tell you what not to do!
:D
@@flyingstonemon3564 True. I only know of more European ones. I keep forgetting exact names and countries of origin though
Hey, Drawer Gnome on an alt account here. Sorry that I keep stealing your socks. I am currently building a sock fort for my sock army. I kinda need to do that or the sock tax collector will take my sock taxes and then I'll be broke.
If it was American cryptid tales then this game would be a lot more violent.
This is a perfect horror for me. No jumpscare or scary monsters, but as in existential dread as in how it feels to exist in this world where these things exist and treated almost like a wild animal (at least some)
@@foxinabox5103 being a small child or pet must be absolutely awful
@@Poopenfarden it would be basically be like the middle ages where infant mortality was high
Caller: uhh yea my kid was complaining of noises and was dragged off and murdered can yall help
Manly: ya got carpenter ants bruh
2:05:20 for anyone wondering when manly realized the bad end turned the player to a mouse and not a hob
Looks like it took him a goood while lol
After seeing Manly absolutely destroy every game he’s ever played, it’s funny to watch him genuinely have a hard time with this one lol. We have found his one weakness… word problems
The riddler is manly's nemesis
Word problems??? You mean reading? 🤣
@@Bloomkyaaa Reading something and understanding how the information in the words connect with other pieces of information are two very different things.
Which is weird cuz IIRC he actually got all of the answers right in the first demo.
@@chrissmith9167 i noticed that too, the raccoon one was the definition of overthinking it
I found the development notes very intriguing! It's really good example of how someone can lean heavily on inspiration from a variety of materials, yet create an original experience, rather than simply paying tribute. It's not the first time I've seen development commentary in a game, however, it's something that I would love to see more of...as understanding the thought process and intent of the author really helps you to appreciate their creative choices.
"Your kid is a tree...yeah..."
The way he just so casually but awkwardly breaks the news to the parent about her recently deceased son is hilarious to me.
and then that Longmont potion castle at 7:40 is just going buck wild.
Like Flip Child.
I love that most of these entities aren’t malevolent or even that hard to deal with. Yeah, they’re freaky, but some of them are actually just beneficial. Or you need to set up mouse traps. Or call a door removal service. It’s very charming and fun- it feels real in a way that most “they are coming for you. Call this line! [NOBODY WILL HELP]” vhs horror fails to be.
I also really like the integration of traditional fae lore! And the bit about the hike because yeah, of fucking course people would go to the deadly fae cave hill. People go cave diving and mountain climbing- I bet in this world there are RUclips videos titled 10 PEOPLE GONE - THE DEADLIEST HIKE or something.
The fact that a number of these supernatural anomalies are generally harmless if you know what to do also makes it so it's an even bigger gut punch when you read entries saying "there is nothing you can do. Use a Memory Wisp to help with the grieving process" or "evacuate immediately" without even telling you if there's a service that can help. It makes the "You're fucked" moments so much more impactful after you've been seeing functioning rituals and solutions beforehand.
Frankly, if I was living in this world, my already pretty high paranoia would be 100% justified.
That’s already a vid, I can guarantee it.
But simultaneously, the idea that failing to do these basic rituals or failing to respect the creatures space one too many times means it is likely to attack and kill you, with no way to safely eject it from your house, is almost worse than something killing you on sight. I would never feel peace again.
Even some that sound malicious really aren't - the fake rose bush eats kids and pets because they are small enough to be eaten, thing's just trying to survive. Same with memory wisps, they eat your memories because that's their diet, that's just the consequences of fae evolution
I like to think that at the end after the whole goblin dance bit the employee just say "Thanks Carol! Anyway, see you tomorrow"
I love the Whistling Fungus so much. It's so mundane and harmless, and then it starts singing and all hell breaks loose.
What happens when the whistling fungi sing in harmony?
@@algumbraleatorio1278house collapses
@@algumbraleatorio1278 it doesn’t say but if i’m gonna completely guess it may cause it to grow within whoever hears it
@@Iateamonkey86 to me it sounds like you get spirited away
@@algumbraleatorio1278 During the failed version of the call. You can hear the woman screaming in pain and freaking out. Assuming they just kinda melt your brain or something
The true horror isn't the many monsters or the paranormal entities in this world, the true horror is how little the hotline operators gets paid for helping all these people.
I love how everyone says they're underpaid even though we don't know how much they're getting paid. If you've ever called Hotline or call centers like this, you know they don't even help one bit.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommehaving to deal with everyones shit does that to you.
@@calmlyquiet7664fuck… they put me on phones at retail. People are jerks. Especially when the ps5 came out.
@@itsgonnabeanaurfrommeI helped a lot or at least tried in my 3 years at a call center. But often the callers don’t appreciate it or got a bad employee.
actually working in a call center, I'd love to give my input on this! Sometime I would go way above anything I'm able to do in order to find solutions to help customers. However, in a majority of cases, it's rough to help a customer mainly due to the fact we aren't being given enough tools to work with. In some phone lines, our supervisor straight out give the same information that are being given to the customer and we can only deal with that.
I speak for a few colleagues when I say that it's a lack of tools (or the training, for some of them) that makes up for a bad customer service, not giving us what we require to help the people that are calling.
(though, I do not deny that there are really lazy employee out there that are genuinely not good at what they do or they are just not good for the job itself)
I think I'm not being provided enough mental support for what some of the customers tells me though. Sucks working on some lines haha.
I love that, if you're into the fae, you'll pretty quickly not only recognize a lot of the cryptids but also understand the issues/danger they bring
Theory: when you get the cutscene where you are "unemployed" by HSH, you are turned into one of the smart mice 'science mysteries' talks about and mike3 the employee before you, got turned into one and got eaten by the cat on friday 🤔🤔
the art book at the end quite literally says that is the case lol
I am pretty certain that is what happened and I am surprised Manly did not notice it. The reaction of the bad ending indicated that you were shrunk down and the hobbs do not sound as easy to remove as a cat.
You don't say?
@@phantom-ri2tg1:06:19
he comments about the mice being former employees.
@@Xgm. He did not refer to them as mice there.
The mix of choices was interesting in this game.
Hypothetical: "Help a beast is pulling me into the void using a pitchfork and pointed tail"
Manly: "probably mice again"
giant angy mice
Nah it was carpenter ants
Idk what kinda mice he is having but I THINK HE NEEDS TO GO TO THE EXORCIST
Relatable
Honestly really nice and refreshing to see a kind of fae themed horror. Its not something you see a lot of despite the concept of a lot of fae myth being pretty dark.
Nobody wants to piss them off
I'm glad that this game took a Fae focus and not just generic Analog Horror.
"Don't become a statistic" is a great motto for life
until you realize everyone is a statistic, because of how statistics work
@@Terrible_name was just about to comment this.
Sadistic statistic
@@dizasteroid7"Sadistic Statistic" would be a good band name
@@dizasteroid7Autistic statistic
my favorite one is the unicorn virus
it's so whimsical, imagine seeing your cat/dog have a spike on their head and they aren't even worried about it.
considering it'll go away after a few days, it's nothing to worry about anyways, just a slight inconvenience when you're petting your dog/cat and you accidently get hurt by the spike
THE “oops 😊” MANLY DOES WHEN HE SCREWS UP IS SENDING ME
Oopsie woopsie, it seems i have *accidentally* took the life of another person, man, seventh time this week- Manly.
@@bittersweetpepper2482gotta fulfill his quota of one life fucked over per day
the "bed bugs" picture resembles very much a common 'stink beetle' found in the PNW. Those lil critters taught me why relocation of pests can be the better option over eradication.
Yep, definitely a stink bug/shield bug.
Yeah that absolutely is not a bed bug lmao. Though stinkbugs are awful too.
Yeah, I was thinking that it was those fuckers I see around everywhere when the weather becomes minimally hospitable towards them.
Also, never kill them. It attracts more of them.
Found one of those on my mint plant, and politely shook it out onto the road. Perhaps it made it to someone else's garden, or perhaps there was a mysterious smell on someone's tyres that evening
I have a bunch of empty pill bottles (I like to keep small things like paperclips in them) and we get those bugs sometimes. I have now acquired the skill of being able to scoop them and seal them in their fluorescent yellow tomb
whiskers was the name of the cat the lady with the fracture hobb had, and a kid got eaten by a false rose bush which you learn about later, GOD I love the hidden details when out of work
She had termites. I think the cat being named Whiskers might be a coincidence. It's a rather common cat name.
@@Bluesit32a lot of people speculate they took her cat because the timing is suspicious XD the day after they go to her home with the info package and suddenly we get a cat with the same name
I love how people are literally losing their shit over the phone and the response is the most monotone "please hold" ever hahaha.
Legit think it’d be pretty calming to hear Manly pick up the phone if you’re calling for an emergency situation like this. Bro’s got a good voice for making you feel cozy.
and then you remember hes a Lets Player who aims for all the endings.
I think he did that once in a game about being a 911 operator
Your emergency is gonna end up a bad ending run LOL
yet he has like a 86% sucess rate on actually giving you the right info
Ok so I’m not the only one who watches to fall asleep 👍🏽
Out of context some of these would be so funny man. Imagine calling up about a broken heater and the dude straight up tells you there's a leprechaun in your house.
As a doctor myself this game really reminds me of how we make our diagnosis 😅 there are so many diseases with similar characteristics that we have to comb one by one
Autoimmune diseases are so tricky because of how they imitate other stuff and cause somatic symptoms!! Hard mode lol
It's the same for those of us in the mental health field. So many diagnoses in the DSM overlap with each other!
The gameplay is highly similar to the Diagnosis segments of Trauma Team, the last game in the Trauma Center series.
I love the gnomes, they arent some terrifying paranormal thing that cant be removed safely, but they also arent frozen pipes. They are just little guys trying to suck up dust or start gardens in your house.
metamorphosis in question
@@Jundiyun theyre gnomes not hobbs
They're just chill little guys!
washing mashine roller coaster ride (may make the machine broken but who cares)
i like how this was more whimsical and folklore intensive than it looks, because from what i knew i thought this was another Mandela catalog game.
I adore the “Fairy Folk” theme and I was captivated by this game. Although it is not my cultural background, I LOVE the idea of mysterious kinda-malevolent spirits from the pagan past co-existing with us in modern times. I can easily imagine our analogue of such a game with governement hotline in case of “Domowoy” or “Kikimora” and so on. Glad more people will learn about HSH!
Yeah, could be very interesting. Especially an Australian hotline.
People think the creepy crawlies, snakes and crocs are bad, wait until they hear some of the Aboriginal Dreamtime creatures that go bump in the night!
I'm happy our traditional European faes and creatures are interesting to you :) most of them are ignored over the cute ones that most English and American cultures show.
Granted, a lot of country people still believe in faes/faeries. It's kind of like believing in ghosts? A lot of people do, and even if they don't they're still a little weary of them (only speaking for eastern europe). Although a lot of foreigners just use our folklore and beliefs for aesthetic :(
@@moimoiyoopYou say that like we don’t have these in Britain, hell a lot of them are from here.
Every culture has fae like entities.
@@Finnbobjimbob Britain, yes, like Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. England to my knowledge does not have a lot of fae lore- and most of the folklore from England are the cute ones you see in media. If I'm wrong please feel free to correct me.
God the voice actors did an amazing job, 54:43 I was legitimately tearing up, even though I know its a game, she sounds like she's in genuine pain
and manly’s just like “calm down lady damn grab yourself a memory wisp”
1:18:02 the voice acting for this call goes CRAZY good lord. This is the only call I got genuinely nervous hearing. I fell asleep listening to this but this call had me up quick as butter on a hot slide with the intensity of that panic
I really appreciate the perspective on this game where most of the time in stuff like analog horror, you are perceiving it through a random person watching the tv to see the warning or some form or another. You never actually see the “job” in action.
Yeah this aspect is super unique and adds to the horror
Usually manly is amazing at games so I kinda get to live out a power fantasy watching him play. (I suck at games) but watching this man be so utterly oblivious to every clue and refuse to check twice at the options has been...an interesting experience. Got to say the first time Ive genuinely yelled at a screen was when that guy started hitting every checklist point for stair slug and manly just goes "hmm this sounds vaguely like a creaking noise must be a bogart!"
Edit: the time where he picked soap sprite despite nothing in the description matching all because the guy mentioned soap on his sink had me screaming😂😂
To be fair, it was actually a soap sprite
The video is really entertaining but also frustrating, as some of these clues were so incredibly obvious and easy yet manly still doesn't connect the dots.
While I agree that many things had me riled up with his decisions I was surprised manly used the image of the soap sprite to help because of the tentacle or whatever things like the call had described in addition to the mention of soap. At least I believe he used the image in that situation.
i think my problem with it is how he tried to talk about how his mistakes were intentional lmao. like it's okay to fuck up, dude. don't pretend it was on purpose though
@@nbkarkatI mean, he didn't say he failed on purpose just that he didn't really care about double checking
I feel like the game being a little silly really helps with the really horrific shit that the people in this world have to live with. The contrast really helps things like the False Artifact hit different. Additionally I appreciate that this is a very Fae setting versus the more common Eldritch Horror a lot of other Analog Horror goes for.
1:18:03 Can we just take a moment to appreciate the voice acting here? There’s some other really good calls but the raw emotion in this one is *insane*
“oh no they’re singing in harmony girl. you get out. get out.” 😂
_"Please hold"_
Those words sounded absolutely not reassuring lol. Questions like "Where am I? What is that black ooze? Where did my child go?" all met with that awful digital _please hold._ The resolutions were both funny and frightening, especially the packets of information that mostly said these people were doomed.
Extremely creative, well-written, with pretty good voice acting.. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humor.
The game feels like it takes place in the SCP Broken Masquerade timeline where the whole world knows The SCP Foundation and anomalies exist.
Instead of ticks or lice, it's "Don't you just hate it when you accidentally book a motel with a dreameater infestation?"
Eh, the fact that the weird shit is walled off from normal users and most of the people calling aren't aware of the full scope suggests otherwise
Imagine how the other GOI's would handle being like, corporations in Broken Masquerade? GOC would be something like pest control or an army. Imagine if they just work with the Foundation to just clear with the issues and everything is treated like a 9-5.
Like The City's Wings in Project Moon.
@@Evnyofdeath In the comments of another video they pointed out that this is a Fae Contract. The people who sign up to allow the HSH in, essentially, invite ALL manner of folktale creatures to their home by default. It is like a Vampire working a service in which the contract has something akin to, "Employees may have access to your domicile to conduct maintenance upon the security system", and then vampire attacks go up drastically due to the technicality that it was in fact invited in by proxy. *And Hell, they can even just show up after being called and then invited in directly under the guise of doing their job.
Yeah I feel the same thing
The very second the company introduced Whiskers, I immediately exclaimed, “Oh, no! Whiskers!”
One of the clients had a cat named Whiskers.
Edit: sending a picture of the Pooka to my friend because I told her it scared my at 5AM. Literally was event watching or playing this, it just popped into my mind.
I did wonder about that haha Like did they steal the cat from the owner or did the owner die as a consequence and so HSH decided "might as well get a cat to fix the ex-employees/mice problem".
@@cerisewolfeah I mean, they ARE fey... so of course theyll petnap someone's cat
They stole Wanda's cat. 😢
@@cerisewolfeahI figured Wanda died and they just stole her cat. It’s never explained, but it’s significant enough that it made me bolt upright.
I wonder if she really had a fracture hob or if it was something more sinister
I have never herd voice actors so obviously having fun, this is amazing. Somehow it lends charm to the game without robbing it of the creepy atmosphere.
the real horror is seeing house prices from back then
The prices are so low because they are haunted
@bestaround3323 A house is a house. I'll just tell the ghosts/demons/fae to either help pay the mortgage and the utilities or gtfo. There'll be no freeloaders on my property lmao
@@Tea_Noiregiant 7ft black monster emerges; "pay rent or leave"
@@generalbaron7084 "Now see here, mister. I've got the, ah say, I've got the deed to this here property! Either shell out or shove off!"
@@Tea_Noire They don’t leave that easily.
This reminds me of observation duty, it feels like it's in the same universe you know? If you're poor you call the hotline and just get info, if you're rich you get observation duty and a team of oompa loopas run in to fix every reported anomaly
Oompa Loompa Doopity Doo I've got the perfect anomaly for you
I’m now sitting here imagining the Oompa Loompas sitting at the regional unemployment office after the factory shut down, and a rep walks over and goes “quite a few of you are ideal for this job” 🤣
@@stephweasenforth7891
"Believe it or not, you all won't even have to separate!"
2:06:18 they should add a New Game+ mode where you can get as many wrong as you want without getting a game over so you can listen to all the "bad ending" bits, since they put so much effort into it!
Edit: oh! they already did it.
Already in the game. Manly just didn't check the options menu. You get Junior Supervisor privileges after beating the game. These include unemployment immunity (no game overs), the ability to skip the wait time between calls, and a constant accuracy counter so you know exactly when you mess up.
@@Bluesit32 thank you for the correction!
As someone who was raised by my grandfather from dear ol’ Ireland and heard many a story of the fearful Fae, I love the theme that they were responsible for basically everything. The plot would make absolute sense in their uh… logic. And then they ended it with a light hearted 90’s style theme common to films that depict Fae to the states. Duality at it’s finest. The horror experienced by the callers is common to the Irish folklore, Fae are terrifying and their whimsy is twisting the world of people any which way they please. The comical ending is basically the answer American cinema gave us as children in the 90’s. Troll, Ernest Scared Silly, Fairytale, Legend, and so on. All goofy and what not as presented in old movies, only these days are seeing more legitimate horror media concerning the Fae that are faithful to how my grandpa depicted them. Love it.
i noticed the celtic inspirations right away so i really enjoy your analysis. the ending really was super funny
@@gwennorthcutt421the symbol on the wallpaper
I love fae for the same reason i love yokai and urban legends. Its so creepy and interesting that they are supposedly in our world
Lol yeah, and the feast entry? Okaaaay, mx HSH, sure thing 👀👀 45:14
It's nice to see a game portraying practical, real-world problems for a change. I've dealt with many a Cellar Growth, and people call me a Pipe Hobb all the time... that might be unrelated, though.
Also, I want to point out that "Carol Regina" name is such a foreshadowing level that would make my HS Lit teacher smack my nose with a newspaper.
For those who don't know "Carol" comes from the French "carole" which is a form of circle dance combined with singing. Regina is Latin word for queen. So Manly isn't that far off with his assumption that MC is promoted to being Oberon.
Given that he became a junior supervisor...he's closer to a Puck.
@@Bluesit32True, but MC gets the promotion to junior supervisor after a *week* of working for Fae. Who knows how far they can get if they keep doing a good job 😉
@@Bluesit32 Your reply made me laugh, cause I know it's not, not exactly, but "you're closer to a Puck" sounds like some kind of sick burn.
I like how just like in regular support if you don't get it right the first time from their vague description the customer decides that you will never be able to help them and are actively trying to sabotage them.
Accurate
I find the game concept extremely fascinating. Normally, and some examples being no-exception, fey stuff and shenanigans whether both extremely malevolent or tame, are typically done towards people who usually do not end up asking for it. So it makes so much sense and kinda nice that there would be a dedicated fey hotline created to specifically aide people who ended up being victims to them. Sadly, there isn't any good solutions when it comes to children. But I think that's the horror shines the most. I won't forget how my stomach dropped when I heard the pleading mother's phone call and the only thing that can be done is to get a fey lobotomy while the child is slowly digested over the years.
Glad to know I wasn't the only one who was mentally broken by that one.
Actually, the description for the False Artifact states that "While digestion can take upwards of several years, starvation can be a more pressing concern." So the child will probably starve to death before even being digested! :D
@@kingjaffad That was a heart-wrenching reminder that "Fairy Tales" aren't as bright as modern media makes them out to be. The "whimsical" nature of their world and creatures would be horrific and traumatizing to deal with in real life.
The false artifact... out of all of these cool and interesting monsters, the mother, and the dang false artifact thing made me so gut wrenching uneased that I've actively tried to find out if the kid could be save, if one could smash the thing to bits and rescue them. Just the thought, the mother is searching for her son, only to realize he's trapped in whatever for days, probably screaming his lungs out with not a sound made... that scares me so much.
I love this game so much, the retro style combined with classic folklore cryptid/fae creatures is so neat and super unique compared to other horror games. It's so funny and surreal that these occurances are common enough in this world to require such a hotline, yet somehow aren't common knowledge. You can really tell a lot of love and care went into this game.
I loved all the tiny details in the cutscene like how your manager was wearing one of the glamor necklaces from the final coupon, or the description of the kids kidnaper in the amber alert matched the false rose bush, or how one of the houses had autumn vines on it supper cool stuff!
The housing market in this game's universe must be really crazy, considering how many of these things can only be dealt with by moving out. Plus there was that one ad in the real estate video for a 5-bedroom house for only $12,000 - there is *definitely* something horrible in there.
"Wow this house is really nice! Why is it so ch-- Good heavens!"
[Giant slug slowly looks towards you]
"... Well, it all makes sense now."
*walks into house* *hears whistling from the walls* Oh no…
*walks into house* *hears whistling from the walls* Oh no…
*walks into house* *hears whistling from the walls* Oh no…
Dude why did you post this comment so many times?
Ok so basically you would turn into a mouse if you fail and that’s why the person before you said you could join him in the hole in the wall because then you would be small enough to fit
I had assumed that you always respond to calls with the “Please hold” text-to-speech was because you were a Smart Mice from the start, desiring HSH’s promotion to get yourself away from feline-height dangers.
Normally I just laugh at Manly intentionally getting stuff wrong but like... It's admittedly a little unnerving how some of these callers were royally fucked regardless of whether he helped them or not.
Also, ngl I was actually kinda' surprised when the one guy turned out to be a prank caller X'D Up until the moment he broke character, I simply assumed it was a changeling or something trying to pose as human (hence the weird dialogue, goofy names, and distorted picture).
I really appreciate the patience on some of the horror with this. Even the vhs tape was more patient than 99% of webseries out there. You’ll click on something and it’ll go “things to watch out for in the forest! Mosquitos, *the meat man*”
Eh, I prefer when the webseries get on with it. If I wanted to watch an actual non-horror 90’s series I would do that. I’m here for the meat man, dammit!
i used to work in a call center answering questions and loved the demo of this game, NOW ITS FINALLY OUT!! i also love the variety of critters and lifeforms in this game.
Mom: "He's all I have!"
Manly: "Now you have nothing."
💀💀💀
but a victim is still retrieval because digestion from a false artifact can last days to years
@@Iateamonkey86nothing in the solution suggests saving the person at all, in fact your suggested a memory wisp instead to "deal with it"
@@memey6978 my bad i thought it said that in the solution section of its info
I was dead at that point, manly just like “lady it’s time to face facts” really goes to show that indifferent feelings for people he has and I love it
@@memey6978 I think the solutions in the HSH database are designed to give the lowest risk solutions, but no necessarily the best ones. Like you could shoot the false rose bush with a shotgun a few times or spray herbicides on the false flower from a distance and clean the toxic secretions later. So I believe the mother could've pried the false artefact open and saved her child since she said it was kidnapped recently and starving was mentioned in the entry, so it probably doesn't kill instantly.
I love how Carol's dialogue just keeps getting more unhinged.
Also I hate when loved ones are sought by Dorcha
They Must Pay. Do Not Hate On The Ones Who Bring Karma
Let The Ones Bring Karma To Those That Deserve
That end cutscene was amazing. And the actress playing the spriggan was spot on. Loved it.