To hang out with Gregg, is to hold on to someone that appresciates you, but ultimately you have to accept that it won't always be there for you, because the whole world and the people in it, they don't exist in your favor, they have their own obligations and commitments. And to hang out with Bea, is to hang out with someone that resents you for what you are, but ultimately you end up closer, because you both realize that both of you are in the same kind of mess
I know i'm late, but i can't resist to reply. It's good to know that someone's seeing the good in both "endings" rather than expressing which they prefer / AKA those who sees Gregg's hangout as less developing as Bea's(which is cool, but i like neutrality better. Both of them involves Mae growing up with different perspectives)
@@nindyfarrel1322 Hey, I'm also super late, but I'd like to believe that both endings kind of happen, you just see one of them. Like, you hang out with Bea and grow closer to her, but after that Mae still has to let Gregg go, and viceversa. I think Bea's "route" connected with me more, but I Appreciate both.
"When my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad. I want to lose. I want to hold on until I'm thrown off and everything ends. And until that happens, I want to hope again. And I want it to hurt, because that means it meant something."
i played this game a while back. what hit ME the most is the part about the proximity friends. that really hit home, i had a friend like that once, never knew it, till our friendship dried up, and i realized weren't best friends. we were just people who were basically stuck in the same situation, in the same shitty town. what really bothers me is that at any moment, a person you've been friends with for years, had some of the best times with, someone you truly cared for. can just up and vanish from your life in more ways than one, its really that thought that scares me the most. this world can be very cruel sometimes. i've been slowly falling out of love for video games, these past few years, it all feels the same, nothing feels like an experience anymore. it's just the same games over and over and over, its games like this one that really reignite that sense of wonder and experience i always loved about video games.
Your final thought about "the courage to care" reminds me a lot of the writing of a psychologist named Brene Brown, who often talks about vulnerability and "The power of vulnerability". Caring about something is a risk, because you risk disappointment and you risk experiencing loss. It's much safer to be indifferent, but you pay a terrible price for that safety. Because vulnerability, or having "the courage to care" is the birthplace of connecting with others, of relationships, of intimacy, of creativity, even of good emotions like joy. It's a necessary ingredient for the stuff that makes life worth living. Anyway, fantastic work here. Its a huge testament to NitW that it has inspired these types of thoughts and discussions.
I saw her Ted Talk a few years ago as part of my "work culture" training! Watching the first part again, it brought to my attention why I was so connected to Mae in the first place. She had the courage to be "imperfect", she was always willing to put herself in social situations I'd call too risky, and when some of those don't pan out, she doesn't sulk in that "betrayal". I wrote this whole thing after a year of living by myself, slowly realizing the freedom I earned by automating my obligations made me the opposite of happy. Brown's talk of shame is a pretty accurate representation of my feelings from back then, and I think it's true for most people figuring out their lives after their education is over.
"It's much safer to be indifferent, but you pay a terrible price for that safety." Sorry but could you please clarify what you meant by a 'terrible price' here? I am someone who out of necessity chooses to be indifferent to lead a 'safer' life. My own 'terrible price' I pay daily is isolation, loneliness and depression as well as an early trip to the grave, but I would like to know what you meant in this context. Thanks
Credit has to go to the developers for making such a well considered game in the first place. Thanks for the support, it helps drives me when I'm working on new stuff.
Mae is probably my newest favorite character in anything ever. I've never seen one be so much like me that it actually helped me better understand my feelings by having the words i could never figure out or say.
The line 'at the end of everything, hold onto anything' feels less strong the 'nothing can save us forever, but a lot of things can save us right now.'
Strongly agree. I also think it has a double meaning. The first being, everything is temporary. The second being, it's not usually one big thing that "saves" you, but a lot of smaller things. The game embodies both of those really well.
The wrap up of having the courage to care about everything regardless of losing it soon, or eventually hits me pretty hard. I've met a lot of people throughout life and they disappear never to be heard from again. Meeting people and having 8 hour conversations and then never seeing them again and forgetting their names/faces makes me feel like socializing and life are pretty pointless, but after watching this I've realized I need to have the courage to accept that loss.. but sometimes it still feels pointless to have the courage to care.
You have the memories though. You have the insights gained from the conversations, the laughter of an old friend who's lost now, the time that you sat up till the wee hours of the morning conversing about whatever. It sucks that sometimes people have to go, or die, or just don't mesh anymore. But they are part of your banner, part of the grand tapestry of your life currently in progress, carry the good moments, learn from the bad moments, and try your best to bring light into the lives of others. If it is pointless to care, then it is also pointless to not care, for not caring leads to disconnection, and disconnection leads to loneliness, which leads to fear and eventually you find yourself wondering why bother living at all? Care. Because We're all going to die if we don't keep living. Nothing we can do will save us forever, but we can save ourselves for today, and tomorrow, and if we can save ourselves each day, day after day, then life at least is interesting, even if it isn't easy. Good luck Taylor.
DankLoops 13 >socializing is pointless >I need to have the courage to accept that loss For WHAT? Weren't you saying that there is no point in socializing? Then what's the point in having courage to accept it? This eventually leads to dumb recursive way of thinking when you have to need the courage to accept the nesesity of accepting. There is no point in letting go if there is no point in moving on. Delusioned and counterproductive. But what do you except from a wеeb?
@@VitaliyMilonov They literally said "makes me feel like", that's just the way that person feels about beeing social they aren't saying "caring is bad, or pointless" in a totalitarian way. Your commentary was very agressive tho and totally out of fucking context. But welp, why would you listen to someone on the effing intertet am I right? Sorry for the bad english tho.
As I've gotten older (way, way older than I ever thought I'd be, honestly), I've come to a fairly simple realization. We can only do the best we can. Nothing and nobody is perfect. Like the saying goes, Keep on Truckin'. I've dealt with a LOT of the same issues Mae has in my time, and several of the other characters, too. Great video on a DAMN great game.
The Last of Us taught me that lesson!! All we can do, is our best. I think both games are able to capture the "realness" of that, and communicate an acceptance of it.
I assumed you were coming from her video! Yes you should. You both make that specific connection, but it's a GREAT one. Mae holds on tight to everything, but just because her grip inevitably slips doesn't mean it wasn't worth clinging to for as long as possible. There's another lesson in there too, to hold on tight, even knowing you'll be thrown off and hurt for it.
I feel a strong connection to Mea's character, having gone away from home to follow my dreams only to come back home after after getting hurt with nothing to show for it and becoming a burden on my parents. Moving forward is hard and especially if you don't have anything on the day to day to keep you going. Always bring a battle buddy
i'd just finished this game and hoo boy, i think that out of all the videos i've watched so far, your commentary best managed to put into words exactly how thoughtful and touching this game was. this was my favorite bit: "but for her, and for possum springs, the only way forward is to learn how to accept loss. and not just the loss that has happened, but the loss that will" because wow, that hit home, and it was very eloquently said. thank you for this video!
That was such a deep, moving explanation of the game & what the most important part of it means. I can relate to some of the main characters like Bea & Mae all too well.
Nightpony inRface I think there are a lot of really important parts. There's a lot of different themes that seep through the dialogue, and it's rewarding to pick them up, when playing through a second time.
I played this game for the first time when I was 14, now I'm 19 and it just. hits different. I never went to college because I'm scared of debt, I'm scared to move because I am not ready to lose my friends if they decide not to keep in touch, things matter so much to me even while I feel like *I* don't matter and *I'm* just shapes. And I quite frankly do not have the courage to care as much as I do. I don't want to lose anything, I think if I did I would break down entirely and no longer connect anyone. I can only see a lose-lose world because I spent the last 10 or so years of my life trying to get a win, and I guess I did, my friends are great and I love them, my mental health is certainly better, but the idea of moving to the next step seems like it's be one step forward then right back to the start. idk. just some thoughts. This game really hits me right in the fuckin emotions.
I LOVE this game. It’s been one of my favorites for years now. And now It’s about time that IM going to be leaving the house and going into college. Leaving behind some of my old child like memories. Leaving behind friends that I’ve loved for years. Leaving behind… kinda just being a kid. Night In The Woods was kinda the therapy game to show that you have to make the best with what you have, before it’s gone. Thank you so much for making this video.
And the sentiments put forth in this video really resonate with me. I find myself mourning the chances I thought I would have - the chance to make friends in highschool, go to prom, gain some independence, date someone - and I wonder if that was just a sense of entitlement. If I really think about it, I'm mourning stuff that was never really mine to begin with (I was homeschooled). Hopes are a cruel affliction, but I take comfort in the thought that whatever I make of *myself* is guaranteed.
The story hits this one feeling, over and over again, giving you a lot of time to meditate on it. Accepting that the things you took for granted won't always be there - and realizing you still have so much to be grateful for. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@@OrangeLightnings I was randomly thinking about this game and remembered this video essay: nearly 4 years later all the things you said still move me. Great video for a great videogame :)
this has been my favourite game for YEARS and i have somehow never managed to make that connection with the dreams telling the story of possum springs. oh my god. i need to sit down
This video made me realise so many things. Night in the woods hit me hard, and *you* hit me even harder. I appreciate every word you've said here and I will come back to this video, not just for analysis, but for reminder as to why this has moved me so hard
You put into words how night in the woods hit me. And you did it in an incredibly beautiful way. I replay night in the woods every fall and I just finished my latest play through. It hit different this time, being 20 years old now, when I was 18 And still pretty naive to the world, I only related to maes lack of direction and mental illness. the game was still meaningful to me, but I don’t think it ever hit as hard as it did now. I’ve experienced a lot of grief and loss this past year in my familial life, love like, finances etc, but I still have that hope that things are still worth caring and trying for because if I don’t, what else would I have to live and love for. I don’t want to drop out of college because I know there’s nothing waiting for me back where i come from. Nothing waits for you.
It's always really apparent that you spent a lot of time and thought on those videos, so I can't help but loving your content. This game is special to me, it's one of the few stories that linger and flip a switch or two in your head, changing your outlook on life every so slightly - but enough to make a change.
You're right on. I was buried in other work when I played this game, and it just occupied my thoughts until I dropped everything and committed to writing about it. It legitimately changed the way I think about the things in life we can control, the things we can't, and how to live with that.
Uh Bea doesn't have to let go of anything. She ended the game saying she was taking courses online and preparing to go to school. The message isn't to give up. It's to adjust to reality or give up. Big difference.
A lot of people have said this game helped them through rough times but I found that this game helped uncover the hidden pain in my life, it never occurred to me how wrong things really were before and it’s a good start to fix it. Overall this game is beautiful, there’s nothing else like it. Your consideration of everything really helped me make sense of everything as well. At the end of everything, hold onto anything.
I think this was my journey as well - I wasn't quitting my life's responsibilities or dealing with a disassociative crisis. But the game DID let me play out that fantasy. And you know, discovering that dropping out wasn't exactly the safety net I would have figured it was... yeah that brought some shit to surface.
Dude, you are so good! this video... this channel is exactly what i needed. you don't know how happy i am right now! don't stop making making content, please
I loved the game and i always wonder why it had such a great effect on me. i am glad there are people here who have great insight and also are able to transform that into understandable explanations. such a great skill. thank you. i really love hearing people telling what could be written between the lines.
I didn't understand the tagline until now. That makes a lot more sense. I think I understood it, but didn't _know_ that I did. _I've got some family to appreciate while we're all still here._
There's an opening up here in explaining what the themes of the game are about and how it affected you that touched me. It sounds like the game was able to guide you towards what you wish to accomplish with this channel. If your future videos are like this, I'd say you're moving in the right direction. It also makes me feel a bit sheepish about my own video on the game :)
This is probably the one I put the most "me" into (explicitly), and it was a huge revelation to write with that at all. It fundamentally changed how I approach other essays that focus on story, those just take a lot longer to write than, say, Titanfall (2 weeks vs. 2 hours). Your words mean a lot, because I never quite know if that effort is better served without feedback. Thanks a lot dude, I'll have to check out your video on NITW as well.
Oh yes, that's what I was most afraid of before uploading this. I tend to write myself in a bunch, then edit myself out, because wasting time is something I must enjoy.
I have to give the game an enormous amount of credit to the game for putting these thoughts in my head. It had a profound affect on me, and because of that the only game that was more difficult to do justice to was The Last of Us.
Good point - I wonder if any of the city council members were in the cult? I suppose they wouldn't have bothered much with trying to rid him from the church if they were. Poor Bruce.
@@OrangeLightnings I think they are all in it, and with discussions I've had with other fans of the game theres speculation Mae's aunt is either apart of it too or aware but looks the other way. Btw hope you come out with more content, really like this in depth summary of the game that imo is relatable to most of the millennial generation.
It's certainly plausible, I'm not one to extend leniency on behalf of the city council. Mall Cop though? I liked that she was a mostly inoffensive authority figure that Mae rebelled against because ACAB. The game *does* support the theory that she at least looks the other way though, so... I dunno. The cult stuff sorta rubs against the millennial angst, but I think the latter is where NITW is at its best. I've spent a long time looking for something that scratches the same itch, but haven't found anything as brutally honest or as cringe inducing. I can't think of anything else that better captures what it's like being 20. Regarding new content, I'm staging a comeback. 1 - th-cam.com/video/Rm2UdCPPpMI/w-d-xo.html 2 - th-cam.com/video/oVjjyDAu-e8/w-d-xo.html (finished Tuesday night) Both spoiler heavy, so... hope you're cool with that. I think it's VERY likely that I'll publish three videos by the end of this month (these two plus one more). I shouldn't speak too soon, but I think I finally know how to make a video on The Last of Us 2 that's not, like, 3 hours long. So that's coming together.
@@OrangeLightnings hey in the times of millennial angst our world is a strange one at the moment and I really hoped the creators would make a sequel to nitw but even if not this game is gem. I look forward to it and hope that you are feeling safe where you're at.
This might be my favorite video essay on this game. I teared up a bit from your descriptions of the connections between friends. The last few months of my life have been pretty destabilizing, but I still have my friends to get me through it. Lately it feels like we're at the end of everything, so I'm thankful that I have anything to hold onto.
The best video about this game I've found and it's on such a modest little channel. Keep this up, and I see a very bright future for you man. Just gonna hit this ole subscribe button here and watch the magic unfold.
The desired effect - I cried writing it. The game gets all the credit for bringing so much out of so many players. It broke me in ways I struggled to understand. It's special.
i dont really comment on youtube videos a lot, but i want to let you know that i found this video about a year ago and ive always come back to it. this video describes my experience with the game so eloquently, this is probably my favorite game analysis video ever. there's just something really raw and true that speaks to me at a very personal level. thank you so much for this video, and i hope you keep making videos. ive watched the rest of your videos and i love them a lot, but this one just gets me on a personal level.
Thank you, that really means a lot. I remember feeling like this video was "risky" because of how personal it was, but there was no other way to do it. The game really affected me, it really brought all this stuff out, and I just have to give it so much credit for that because nothing's done it since. I'm working on something for this post apocalyptic zombie sequel everyone's been talking about, and that's getting pretty personal, too. I found myself going back to this video to reflect on what made it so resonant.
I wish i’d seen this sooner because this is a really great analysis that i haven’t seen a lot of people touch on! this is my favourite game of all time so thank you for putting this video together.
RaiRaeKen Then you'll have to tell people! I'm interested in seeing what developers will be doing next, in the mean time I'd like to revisit the DLC chapter.
This review/interpretation of NITW got to me a lot more than others I've seen and a bit of the game itself. This sort of look into a "neutral/positive existential nihilism" is something I relate to and feel like almost everyday, and I tend to have periods or phases of dissasociation from time to time, it's hard to learn how to live, think, or feel, when there isn't any way to it in the first place, when everything just means nothing and nothing makes sense, inherently, things are just... there - and as you've mentioned, once you learn or start to think about a lot of these things, that realisation or feeling of a "heightened sense of awareness" or a "deeper perception of reality" just doesn't go away, and sometimes it's hard to detach with that and cope normally as one would, or is 'supposed' to. I've been asking myself a lot whether things make sense, or if we are the ones who make sense of them, and I believe it's the latter, with each one of us interpretating things in ways that others could never fathom to even begin to think about, but just as others may seem ignorant to us, we seem ignorant to them, and that's just how things are, it's nearly impossible to choose on which side of the fence to be, if there is even a fence at all. I've played NITW since it was on the itch.io bundle and I can definitely say it has helped me a lot in figuring some things about my life, my town, my feelings towards my friends and family, and just overall existance - it's definitely added on to the experience, and I'm really thanksful for that. Whether this sort of feeling ever ends or not, one needs to learn to appreciate the possitive in things. Sometimes, just as the game depicts, missing out on some things allows you to be in on others, and viceversa. Life is just incredibly and amazingly complex, and as much as I sometimes wish I could share the perception, view, or even just things that give me joy with others, sometimes I also enjoy just things being as they are. Sometimes there's things to be done and sometimes there isn't, sometimes there's obligations and sometimes there isn't, sometimes you can make choices, and sometimes your life just simply isn't in control. But I believe that's just what makes life be what it is. I'm glad things stay how they are, I'm glad things change, and I'm glad this game has made me feel reminiscent of the good times I've had out with friends, bandmates, family, and all around, loved biking around, talking til late nights, you know, that sort of thing. I'm sure there's many more to be had, I'm just glad life happens, in any way it does, it's just great that it even does in the first place. I'm glad I played the game at the time I did and not any sooner or later, it's definitely done a lot for me through these times of existential dread. I'm 20, I'm in college and looking back in the same way this game depicts, I even play bass and enjoy playing with my band the most, and just the overall insight this game has given, your interpretation included, I've definitely learned a lot about life that I'm sure I'll hold closely on the way forward. P.s: Thanks you for sharing your view and interpretation of the game, I really appreciate what you did here.
It's 3 AM so I'll give you a better reply tomorrow. In the interest of being timely, this is the best comment I've ever received since starting this channel. I hope you're writing for others in some way. It'll matter to people you know. It'll matter to people you don't. Articulating these kinds of thoughts is challenging, and to put it bluntly, you're good at it.
@@OrangeLightnings Thank you! It's also 4 AM here, and I very much appreciate your response! I am sure it matters, your video and thoughts just spoke to me in a very meaningful way, and it was just the sort of thoughts and ideas I've been needing to both accept and learn about at this time in my life, that going in hand with my recent experience with NITW just worked perfectly, and shows how much can be said about any piece of media or art, or even inherently said through it. These things help, and as you said, it can help anyone whether you know them or not, I think there's a lot of intrinsic value to that. Even with this video being made 2 years ago, it continues to reach out and help. I love to reach out and help others myself and I try to get myself engaged in projects for the sake of creation, but we all need to learn or get help once in a while ourselves. It's hard making it all come to make sense without it turning into a rant, or overly subjective, or to keep it helpful or informative, and the struggle and strain of life is beautiful in its own sense, I believe it's worth learning, experiencing, and talking about. I'd definitely be interested in talking whenever time is better. Regardless, thank you for what you've done here, I'm sure it's spoken a lot to me, and will continue to speak for others aswell.
See, aren't we both glad I left the timely response? Geeze I really thought I'd get back to this sooner. You talk about how easy it is to forget how to 'be' (through disassociation), like the only way we can exist is without the heightened awareness. It's a freaky feeling - like we can't honestly live while being aware of our place in the universe. But maybe that doesn't make us alone, either? When I published this video a few years back, I did NOT think it would resonate with people the way it did. My feelings on the game felt so personal, so unique, and in many respects so unlike what I was seeing others take away. Reading comments from people wrestling with vulnerability and purpose (as I was), while they're never *exactly* how I felt, would carry real resonance. Maybe being on that same wavelength is enough to really connect? Maybe congruence is good enough when equivalence is impossible. But there's one thing I'm certain in - whether or not things make sense (and there's lots of ways to answer that question), we have a responsibility to make sense of them. That's what life is. The shapes. The patterns. The people that come and go. If they are to have meaning to us, we have to make sense of them - in all the ways we can do that. Being vulnerable. Being open. Being honest. Seeing ourselves in others. Seeing others in us. That's what it means to 'be there'. This isn't a game you get much out of without making sense of it in your own personal context. It goes to show how important that is. I'm glad things stay how they are, I'm glad things change, I'm just glad life happens too. I don't think the awareness goes away, it hasn't for me (sorry?), but neither does the resonance. The connections you hold on to at the brink of dawn (4 AM) are the evidence that you can find patterns with others. Be fucking 20. It's the fucking best. It's the fucking worst.
@@OrangeLightnings Absolutely agreed! All in all, it makes the "ignorance is bliss" expression make a lot more sense... but even when it doesn't make sense, the "making sense of things" itself is blissful as a process on it's own, it's yet another journey to embark on. I'll never come to understand just how entirely different life experiences can be ranging from one person to another... I think there's pros and cons with both ways of living and seeing life, but just as cumbersome as it sometimes can be, I'm happy with it. There'd be no mountains without valleys, and relatively we wouldn't have the same sort of appreciation for good or bad things if we had nothing to compare them to. Sure, I might not like a colour or two in a painting, but that doesn't mean I should get rid of all of them - I don't want to get rid of everything the whole spectrum of this "awareness" brings to think about. The shapes and patterns surely become things once one begins to make sense of them.
Thank you, I think I watched this video years ago, but since then I’ve gone through a lot, starting with Covid snatching away formative years of my life. And now this video really speaks to me. So thank you for making this, if you’re still there.
I like this interpretation, in the same way that I like just about every interpretation. A literal month after I finished this game( I only played because I thought it was going to be Lovecraftian, and that's my vibe) I was told by a shrink that the thing that had made me think I was nuts, was in fact dissociation. After I chuckled for a few minutes, I realized why this Goddamn game made so much sense to me. That being said, it also speaks to the fucking separation that even regular folks feel from the reality that they feel they should be living. I still think it's a great game, for everyone that just feel even a little separated from the world, either because "You can't go home again", existential dread, or actual mental up-fuckery. If you read this friggin' novel, thanks, and if Shub-Niggurath or his cult is ACTUALLY, your problem, the Dynamite thing is also a good lesson. Just make really sure before you do something that makes you look real awful in the news.
Thanks for calling this an interpretation, I think there's just so many different ways to read this game. It makes me nervous when people say I "explained" it. There are so many ways to feel separated from the world, "can't go home", "can't go back", "never had it in the first place". I had that feeling playing this also. I think that's why it means so much to so many. How could anyone NOT feel like what they're doing is pointless, at one point or another?
I really appreciate how you just summed up so much of the game in a beautifully written way. Thank you. This game means so much to me so to see you give it so much love.
This was my best friend's favorite game. He always encouraged me to play it, but i never did. Now that hes gone, i couldn't bring myself to get it. I now see a lot of why he was unhappy. To those who read this, you are loved. To those who think they aren't, you still matter. I may never meet you, but you matter to me. You should matter to yourself. Stay strong. Hold on. Hold on to everything
(if nothing we do matters. all that matters is what we do). this was lovely. I just started the game and already love it. thanks for making and sharing!
Man, I think I’ve seen so many perspectives and opinions on this game, so many have seemed… idk Mae-centric? Once I watched an analysis titled “An uncomfortable analysis of night in the woods” which really tore into her character and her ignorance. It was astute but it really hurt, seeing as I saw so much of myself in Mae. It almost made me feel hyper critical of myself, and my own blindspots. This video helped me come to terms with the fact that those blind spots, friendships fading, moving away, fucking up… are all a part of life. No matter how good or bad of a person we are how privileged or lazy or disadvantaged we all are we have these blind spots and we experience loss and pain. And we can spend our time mourning the lives we could have had, but that’s just staying in place. These mistakes and setbacks and losses are only really failures when we refuse to care again. When we refuse to recognize the things we still have. I recently watched Everything Everywhere all at once and it reminds me so much of that emotional realization.
I think there’s a lot to admire about Mae. Mae chats up everyone she bumps into. She’s naive of how badly those conversations can go for both parties, but so many interactions either strengthen her connection to her home or lead to richer friendships. Even if those things are temporary, they’re worth a damn. For all the growing up Mae has to do, her interest in other people, and her enthusiasm to share her perspective are good traits. Better they be poorly calibrated than shut down all together. The comparison to EEAAO is appropriate. You can find a lot of Mae in both Evelyn and Joy. Evelyn has an enthusiasm to throw herself into fantasy, and swing for the fences in hobbies she will give up weeks later. Is she living her worst life? Or just living? Joy deals with with this pit of dread that everything dies and nothing matters. Is she wrong? Or wrongly focused? Joy teaches Evelyn that “there are no rules.” She learns self acceptance. Then Evelyn teaches her daughter that there is joy to be found in all the things that don’t matter. EEAAO is like Mae’s internal conflict argued between two people. It rules.
This video made me think a lot about myself as someone who is in kind of a similar situation to Mae. Fantastic video. Definitely going to think about this for a long time.
Coming back to it, I actually wish to translate the video to my language (polish), to be able to show it to my mother. If it's possible, I'd be grateful if you allowed viewer added subtitles to this video
I just enabled it (for all videos), let me know if that works for you. I bet having the script will make it easier for you to translate: docs.google.com/document/d/1AuLBbs4JX6AuWT1sSb06qxemb9FiURX_AXpvpwb2Th8/edit?usp=sharing Ignore my schizophrenic rambling underneath the main script, I don't have the heart to delete the anguish that goes into the writing process.
@@damyzs Thanks for following up, because it actually looks like it fell back on me. Just now, I went to try to add a Polish translation, and it suddenly notified me that a community submission for that language was pending. They SHOULD have been auto approved, but, I guess I'm still figuring out the settings on my end. I published your translation, let me know if it's working now.
This has really helped me see things from a new perspective, Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Have a good day, and good luck in your journey 😄
That's a good thing! The time you get to spend with people is precious, at any stage in your life. When you know that, those shared moments get the importance they deserve.
This game, like Life is Strange: Before the Storm, is so relatable if you have something in common with any one of the characters in the game. I relate so strongly to Mae's character.
@@OrangeLightnings Absolutely. You don't have to be an objectively driven person like me to see that either. Look around, they're all people too, trying to do what they can with the cards they're dealt. We would want help just as they do if we were in their positions. At the moment, funds keep me from going out and demonstrating, so i use the platform to leave comments and have some (hopefully) respectful discourse so I can show others that this is being done peacefully, and we're trying to be taken seriously. Though when I signed to defend the constitutional rights of all americans against all foreign and domestic enemies; I still hold that true, even after my discharge. I hope it doesn't come to bloodshed. Me and all my friends, brothers, sisters will do everything we can to keep it from getting there. Because human life shouldn't be the cost for freedom. But if it cannot be avoided to be treated as true equals and not under an illusion; We won't back down. I sure as hell won't.
@@OrangeLightnings We should all use our talents and resources we can to push forward the movement for human rights for everyone in our own way. Anything we can to express ourselves and get our voices heard. Be it videos, pictures, music, protests, we will be heard and we shouldn't be afraid to be human.
@@OrangeLightnings Things like creed, race, sex, political alignment should be irrelevant. These are human beings and they should have been treated as such to begin with.
As someone who struggles with mental health I related to Mae a lot, I don't know if I've ever played a game character who felt so human and she's a cartoon cat lol. She made such an impact on me I named my horse in Red Dead 2 after her, as I played that around the same time, which is weirdly another game about letting go of the past and coming to terms with reality and holding onto what matters. Obviously that's told in a different way but it seems to be a theme in games as we go into the '20s.
Your comment makes me feel less insane. There was a time where I felt like every story I wrote about (from Nier to God of War, Night in the Woods to The Last of Us) was leading to the same idea: how do you reconcile having lost something that you care about, and how do you care about something new knowing that it will eventually go away? I still don't know if it's just a fixation of mine (stories about those themes are the ones that resonate most with me), or if it's just what stories are supposed to be. It's probably the former, and that was an interesting thing to learn about myself. Red Dead 2 totally fits the bill. Watching Arthur "give up" his lifestyle is sad, but what's most tragic is who he becomes once he's allowed himself to be something different. He becomes a good man. He couldn't conceive of a life for himself outside of the gang, but with death at his doorstep, his instincts compel him to listen to and help others. Rather than resign to nothing, he fights with his last breath for his brother John. Is that the same thing as accepting that the life you knew before college is gone, that the town you live in may continue it's decline, and that your role isn't to save it, but just to be present for the people who need it? Yes. Yes, it's exactly the same thing!
@@OrangeLightnings Yeah exactly! Glad it wasn't just me lol. Another thing I noticed both games deal with is existentialism and faith, the conversation Arthur has with the nun at the station where he questions faith reminded me a lot of the scene where Mae speaks with the pastor in the church where she questions faith. And both characters come to the same conclusion in the end, that one day they will no longer be there and the universe is cruel and uncaring, but that just makes those things and people that matter to them matter even more while they are still there. "Take a gamble that love exists and do a loving act" or "A universe that doesn't care and people who do". But yeah I don't think I would've noticed any of this stuff if I hadn't played the 2 games pretty much parallel to each other lol, I thought it'd be a culture shock going from one to the other but they ended up having a lot of the same themes even tho they were totally different styles. Just goes to show good writing is good writing I guess. Life is Strange is another game that shows how destructive holding onto the past can be, like NITW it starts with a girl returning to her hometown and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances and discovering how everything has changed since she left, it kind of lulls you into a false sense of security at first with a twee indie soundtrack and pretty colour pallets. The game oozes nostalgia, the main mechanic is literally going back in time to change your past. But then it ends (spoilers) with having to choose between your hometown being destroyed in a storm (implied that it was caused by you going back to the past) or letting your childhood best friend get shot and killed. You have to let go of a huge chunk of your past either way and move on, and in the end the choice you make for your future is the only one that really matters in the game. I think the reason this type of story is prevalent and why it resonates so much right now is we are bombarded with so much nostalgia in media and have been for the past few years with constant remakes, reboots etc of stuff we grew up with and while a little nostalgia is fine, a whole popular culture built around being stuck in the past is unhealthy. And I think we as a society are, consciously or unconsciously slowly reacting against that. These games and stories similar to them have actually taught me a lot, a few years ago I over-indulged in nostalgia because I'd come to a bad place in my life and wanted to go back but now I try to limit my access to it more because I know how blinding and addictive it can be. Life is about changing and moving forward, however hard it is to let go it's even harder to realise too late that you're still holding onto something that's gone. You gotta push through that shit. Thanks for the reply if you read this far lmao
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, but people who do." Sister Calderón and Pastor K are such excellent characters. There's a moment where Mae and Arthur each say they don't really "believe" in anything, and Sister C and Pastor K respond by expressing their own doubt. It's interesting how Mae reacts so negatively to that (like she just NEEDS to believe there's a solution out there she can just copy), while Arthur seems to take Sister C's advice to heart. "Take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act". What I loved about that, in both games, was both Pastor Kate and Sister Calderón faced the same questions as the protagonists, and though they were guided by religion, they ultimately had to arrive at the same sort of answer as Mae and Arthur eventually would on their own. I played Life is Strange first, and I remember gravitating toward it for exactly the same reasons as I gravitated toward Night in the Woods. Unconventional art style and setting, warm autumn colors, appropriately whistful music, and some sinister undertones. It's got the themes, it's got the flair, but for whatever reason it didn't land on me like these other games did. Red Dead 2 surprised me with its emotional resonance, and I thought on it for months. Night in the Woods fucked me up for a couple weeks. I WISH Life is Strange messed me up like that! Maybe I played it too late to relate (I was in college), and too early to resonate (I hadn't really 'yearned' for nostalgia). I think your assessment of the game, and it's main mechanic as a reflection of the theme, are dead on. Though there are these reoccurring themes of nostalgia in all of the above (especially in LiS and NitW), I do wonder about what nostalgiac media offers to people that don't have living memory of what's being nostalgisized (made up word). Stranger Things is a comfy show that takes place during a time before I was born. The Marvel Universe is built on these old properties, but most movie goes don't have a history with their origins. Jurassic World aimed to recapture the spirit of one of my favorite childhood memories, and I suppose it got me into the theater, but it didn't give me the warm and fuzzies. I guess that's all to say, DO we have a culture defined by reboots and remakes? I guess I'm not sure, maybe I'm thinking too insularly. I feel like media has become so fractured, what people watch varries so much from person to person - but those properties that have cultural history (Star Wars) are seen and discussed by everybody. Maybe the stories we see in LiS, NitW, and Red Dead are a rejection (conscious or otherwise) of a society leaning too far into its past. Maybe still, those themes are universal, and appear throughout the decades. Regardless, the safety of treading something familiar is like a drug, and it's effect tires when we overindulge. Returning to the same 5 pieces of media over and over dulls what it represents, until it's gone. You have to make new context to make that thing new again. I think that's what this game, and some of the others taught me. I learned a lot from them too. Thank YOU for reading this far.
@@OrangeLightnings Interesting comparison about the characters' reactions to the religious figures themselves doubting faith. Mae is younger than Arthur, when you're young you tend to have a somewhat simplistic view of the world I guess, when something is complex doesn't have an easy answer you can find it frustrating. Arthur is past that, life has been tough for him and he's just found out he's gonna die, I think his outlook has been thrown for a loop so much he welcomes life's absurdities like a nun questioning her own faith. Maybe it helps him feel less alone and afraid in what he's feeling. Honestly Life is Strange came out at just the right time for me, I was a little older than Max but in a similar situation with my best friend from when I was a kid, and I'm big into photography too. But yeah the ending is honestly what kinda ruined it for me, I wish we'd got more. I feel like NITW did what LiS set out to do but like better, it walked so NITW could run lol. Yeah same NITW fucked me up for a good few days after I finished and made me rethink a few things. It is fractured for sure, I was talking to my dad about this and he said him and his friends used to go to each other's houses just to play music whereas now people just listen to Spotify with their earphones and it's all very insular. It was kind of an ok boomer moment lol but it made me think that now everyone has their favourite bands, movies, shows, TH-camrs, whatever and there's nothing like, social about it. Guess the closest you get are comment sections and online communities but irl even my closest friends don't really know what bands I like for example, or me theirs. I wouldn't even say I have a fav band just what happens to come on shuffle half the time. Don't know if that's kinda sad or just how it is for our generation yeah I get what you mean, I don't remember a whole lot before even the 2000s but I listen to '80s music sometimes and get nostalgic for that time, then I remember I wasn't even alive lmao. It's a weird feeling. I think it's a cycle probably or like a pendulum, everything in media or life even has a reaction, I think people are getting tired of their memories getting sold back to them by Hollywood and are beginning to look towards the future, new decade and all. I hope so anyway because I'm super ready for new original works, as someone who's had kinda a rocky few years mentally it's good to hope for the future again
To hang out with Gregg, is to hold on to someone that appresciates you, but ultimately you have to accept that it won't always be there for you, because the whole world and the people in it, they don't exist in your favor, they have their own obligations and commitments. And to hang out with Bea, is to hang out with someone that resents you for what you are, but ultimately you end up closer, because you both realize that both of you are in the same kind of mess
Dead on, couldn't have said it better myself!
I know i'm late, but i can't resist to reply.
It's good to know that someone's seeing the good in both "endings" rather than expressing which they prefer / AKA those who sees Gregg's hangout as less developing as Bea's(which is cool, but i like neutrality better. Both of them involves Mae growing up with different perspectives)
instablaster...
@@nindyfarrel1322 Hey, I'm also super late, but I'd like to believe that both endings kind of happen, you just see one of them. Like, you hang out with Bea and grow closer to her, but after that Mae still has to let Gregg go, and viceversa.
I think Bea's "route" connected with me more, but I Appreciate both.
I think mae said at one point "I want to hope again and I want it to hurt. Because that means it meant something" or something aling those lines
"When my friends leave, when I have to let go, when this entire town is wiped off the map, I want it to hurt. Bad. I want to lose. I want to hold on until I'm thrown off and everything ends. And until that happens, I want to hope again. And I want it to hurt, because that means it meant something."
i played this game a while back.
what hit ME the most is the part about the proximity friends.
that really hit home, i had a friend like that once, never knew it, till our friendship dried up, and i realized weren't best friends.
we were just people who were basically stuck in the same situation, in the same shitty town.
what really bothers me is that at any moment, a person you've been friends with for years, had some of the best times with, someone you truly cared for.
can just up and vanish from your life in more ways than one, its really that thought that scares me the most.
this world can be very cruel sometimes.
i've been slowly falling out of love for video games, these past few years, it all feels the same, nothing feels like an experience anymore.
it's just the same games over and over and over, its games like this one that really reignite that sense of wonder and experience i always loved about video games.
Your final thought about "the courage to care" reminds me a lot of the writing of a psychologist named Brene Brown, who often talks about vulnerability and "The power of vulnerability". Caring about something is a risk, because you risk disappointment and you risk experiencing loss. It's much safer to be indifferent, but you pay a terrible price for that safety. Because vulnerability, or having "the courage to care" is the birthplace of connecting with others, of relationships, of intimacy, of creativity, even of good emotions like joy. It's a necessary ingredient for the stuff that makes life worth living. Anyway, fantastic work here. Its a huge testament to NitW that it has inspired these types of thoughts and discussions.
I saw her Ted Talk a few years ago as part of my "work culture" training! Watching the first part again, it brought to my attention why I was so connected to Mae in the first place. She had the courage to be "imperfect", she was always willing to put herself in social situations I'd call too risky, and when some of those don't pan out, she doesn't sulk in that "betrayal". I wrote this whole thing after a year of living by myself, slowly realizing the freedom I earned by automating my obligations made me the opposite of happy. Brown's talk of shame is a pretty accurate representation of my feelings from back then, and I think it's true for most people figuring out their lives after their education is over.
this is beautiful
"It's much safer to be indifferent, but you pay a terrible price for that safety." Sorry but could you please clarify what you meant by a 'terrible price' here? I am someone who out of necessity chooses to be indifferent to lead a 'safer' life. My own 'terrible price' I pay daily is isolation, loneliness and depression as well as an early trip to the grave, but I would like to know what you meant in this context. Thanks
I needed that and was slowly realizing it again after a long time of not caring about anything
This is the most beautiful consideration of Night in the Woods I heard.
Credit has to go to the developers for making such a well considered game in the first place. Thanks for the support, it helps drives me when I'm working on new stuff.
Truly.
Mae is probably my newest favorite character in anything ever. I've never seen one be so much like me that it actually helped me better understand my feelings by having the words i could never figure out or say.
Literally just beat the game and wanted to see if anyone had anything thoughtful to say... this is the best by far.
Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed the game, I still listen to the soundtrack for this one.
I'd say two other Channels has done great things on it too, showing two very different sides to the game: Errant Signal, and Lockstin & Gnoggin.
The line 'at the end of everything, hold onto anything' feels less strong the 'nothing can save us forever, but a lot of things can save us right now.'
Strongly agree. I also think it has a double meaning. The first being, everything is temporary. The second being, it's not usually one big thing that "saves" you, but a lot of smaller things. The game embodies both of those really well.
The wrap up of having the courage to care about everything regardless of losing it soon, or eventually hits me pretty hard. I've met a lot of people throughout life and they disappear never to be heard from again. Meeting people and having 8 hour conversations and then never seeing them again and forgetting their names/faces makes me feel like socializing and life are pretty pointless, but after watching this I've realized I need to have the courage to accept that loss.. but sometimes it still feels pointless to have the courage to care.
You have the memories though. You have the insights gained from the conversations, the laughter of an old friend who's lost now, the time that you sat up till the wee hours of the morning conversing about whatever. It sucks that sometimes people have to go, or die, or just don't mesh anymore. But they are part of your banner, part of the grand tapestry of your life currently in progress, carry the good moments, learn from the bad moments, and try your best to bring light into the lives of others. If it is pointless to care, then it is also pointless to not care, for not caring leads to disconnection, and disconnection leads to loneliness, which leads to fear and eventually you find yourself wondering why bother living at all?
Care. Because We're all going to die if we don't keep living. Nothing we can do will save us forever, but we can save ourselves for today, and tomorrow, and if we can save ourselves each day, day after day, then life at least is interesting, even if it isn't easy.
Good luck Taylor.
DankLoops 13
>socializing is pointless
>I need to have the courage to accept that loss
For WHAT? Weren't you saying that there is no point in socializing? Then what's the point in having courage to accept it? This eventually leads to dumb recursive way of thinking when you have to need the courage to accept the nesesity of accepting. There is no point in letting go if there is no point in moving on. Delusioned and counterproductive.
But what do you except from a wеeb?
@@VitaliyMilonov
They literally said "makes me feel like", that's just the way that person feels about beeing social they aren't saying "caring is bad, or pointless" in a totalitarian way. Your commentary was very agressive tho and totally out of fucking context.
But welp, why would you listen to someone on the effing intertet am I right?
Sorry for the bad english tho.
As I've gotten older (way, way older than I ever thought I'd be, honestly), I've come to a fairly simple realization. We can only do the best we can. Nothing and nobody is perfect. Like the saying goes, Keep on Truckin'. I've dealt with a LOT of the same issues Mae has in my time, and several of the other characters, too. Great video on a DAMN great game.
The Last of Us taught me that lesson!! All we can do, is our best. I think both games are able to capture the "realness" of that, and communicate an acceptance of it.
I need that quote about the entropic soup tattooed on my body
I would not object to this.
There's this quote by David Foster Wallace and it really reminds me of Mae, "Everything I've ever let go of has claw marks on it"
Where's that "What's so Great About That?" video?
(Her NITW take is excellent)
@@OrangeLightnings I should probably check out that video! Guess I'm not the only one who made that connection then lol
I assumed you were coming from her video! Yes you should. You both make that specific connection, but it's a GREAT one. Mae holds on tight to everything, but just because her grip inevitably slips doesn't mean it wasn't worth clinging to for as long as possible. There's another lesson in there too, to hold on tight, even knowing you'll be thrown off and hurt for it.
I feel a strong connection to Mea's character, having gone away from home to follow my dreams only to come back home after after getting hurt with nothing to show for it and becoming a burden on my parents. Moving forward is hard and especially if you don't have anything on the day to day to keep you going. Always bring a battle buddy
I really like that, the battle buddy.
I'm happy games are now telling this kind of story.
i'd just finished this game and hoo boy, i think that out of all the videos i've watched so far, your commentary best managed to put into words exactly how thoughtful and touching this game was. this was my favorite bit: "but for her, and for possum springs, the only way forward is to learn how to accept loss. and not just the loss that has happened, but the loss that will" because wow, that hit home, and it was very eloquently said.
thank you for this video!
Thanks! This game was something special.
That was such a deep, moving explanation of the game & what the most important part of it means.
I can relate to some of the main characters like Bea & Mae all too well.
Nightpony inRface I think there are a lot of really important parts. There's a lot of different themes that seep through the dialogue, and it's rewarding to pick them up, when playing through a second time.
I played this game for the first time when I was 14, now I'm 19 and it just. hits different. I never went to college because I'm scared of debt, I'm scared to move because I am not ready to lose my friends if they decide not to keep in touch, things matter so much to me even while I feel like *I* don't matter and *I'm* just shapes. And I quite frankly do not have the courage to care as much as I do. I don't want to lose anything, I think if I did I would break down entirely and no longer connect anyone. I can only see a lose-lose world because I spent the last 10 or so years of my life trying to get a win, and I guess I did, my friends are great and I love them, my mental health is certainly better, but the idea of moving to the next step seems like it's be one step forward then right back to the start. idk. just some thoughts. This game really hits me right in the fuckin emotions.
I LOVE this game. It’s been one of my favorites for years now. And now It’s about time that IM going to be leaving the house and going into college. Leaving behind some of my old child like memories. Leaving behind friends that I’ve loved for years. Leaving behind… kinda just being a kid. Night In The Woods was kinda the therapy game to show that you have to make the best with what you have, before it’s gone. Thank you so much for making this video.
And the sentiments put forth in this video really resonate with me. I find myself mourning the chances I thought I would have - the chance to make friends in highschool, go to prom, gain some independence, date someone - and I wonder if that was just a sense of entitlement. If I really think about it, I'm mourning stuff that was never really mine to begin with (I was homeschooled). Hopes are a cruel affliction, but I take comfort in the thought that whatever I make of *myself* is guaranteed.
This game is one of those stories that give me the will to keep on going and this video shows why
The story hits this one feeling, over and over again, giving you a lot of time to meditate on it.
Accepting that the things you took for granted won't always be there - and realizing you still have so much to be grateful for.
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
@@OrangeLightnings I was randomly thinking about this game and remembered this video essay: nearly 4 years later all the things you said still move me. Great video for a great videogame :)
this has been my favourite game for YEARS and i have somehow never managed to make that connection with the dreams telling the story of possum springs. oh my god. i need to sit down
My mind was blown at 6:24. I never had a clue what the dreams meant and this was such a cool explanation
This video made me realise so many things. Night in the woods hit me hard, and *you* hit me even harder. I appreciate every word you've said here and I will come back to this video, not just for analysis, but for reminder as to why this has moved me so hard
You put into words how night in the woods hit me. And you did it in an incredibly beautiful way. I replay night in the woods every fall and I just finished my latest play through. It hit different this time, being 20 years old now, when I was 18 And still pretty naive to the world, I only related to maes lack of direction and mental illness. the game was still meaningful to me, but I don’t think it ever hit as hard as it did now.
I’ve experienced a lot of grief and loss this past year in my familial life, love like, finances etc, but I still have that hope that things are still worth caring and trying for because if I don’t, what else would I have to live and love for.
I don’t want to drop out of college because I know there’s nothing waiting for me back where i come from. Nothing waits for you.
Nothing waits for you.
That's true I think.
It's always really apparent that you spent a lot of time and thought on those videos, so I can't help but loving your content. This game is special to me, it's one of the few stories that linger and flip a switch or two in your head, changing your outlook on life every so slightly - but enough to make a change.
You're right on. I was buried in other work when I played this game, and it just occupied my thoughts until I dropped everything and committed to writing about it. It legitimately changed the way I think about the things in life we can control, the things we can't, and how to live with that.
Uh Bea doesn't have to let go of anything. She ended the game saying she was taking courses online and preparing to go to school. The message isn't to give up. It's to adjust to reality or give up. Big difference.
Wait when did she said that?
A lot of people have said this game helped them through rough times but I found that this game helped uncover the hidden pain in my life, it never occurred to me how wrong things really were before and it’s a good start to fix it. Overall this game is beautiful, there’s nothing else like it. Your consideration of everything really helped me make sense of everything as well. At the end of everything, hold onto anything.
I think this was my journey as well - I wasn't quitting my life's responsibilities or dealing with a disassociative crisis. But the game DID let me play out that fantasy. And you know, discovering that dropping out wasn't exactly the safety net I would have figured it was... yeah that brought some shit to surface.
This game is, something else. You don’t see games that represent mental issues with such accuracy too often. We need more games like this
Dude, you are so good! this video... this channel is exactly what i needed. you don't know how happy i am right now! don't stop making making content, please
beautifully well thought out and realized take on this wonderful game. this seriously got me super choked up haha
I think this video just made more progress for me than 8 years of therapy
I loved the game and i always wonder why it had such a great effect on me. i am glad there are people here who have great insight and also are able to transform that into understandable explanations. such a great skill. thank you. i really love hearing people telling what could be written between the lines.
I think Mae Borowski would have an interesting crossover with Silent Hill
how exactly
I didn't understand the tagline until now. That makes a lot more sense. I think I understood it, but didn't _know_ that I did.
_I've got some family to appreciate while we're all still here._
There's an opening up here in explaining what the themes of the game are about and how it affected you that touched me. It sounds like the game was able to guide you towards what you wish to accomplish with this channel. If your future videos are like this, I'd say you're moving in the right direction.
It also makes me feel a bit sheepish about my own video on the game :)
This is probably the one I put the most "me" into (explicitly), and it was a huge revelation to write with that at all. It fundamentally changed how I approach other essays that focus on story, those just take a lot longer to write than, say, Titanfall (2 weeks vs. 2 hours). Your words mean a lot, because I never quite know if that effort is better served without feedback. Thanks a lot dude, I'll have to check out your video on NITW as well.
It definitely can be a tough balance between enhancing the writing through your own feelings and the writing being just about you instead of the game.
Oh yes, that's what I was most afraid of before uploading this. I tend to write myself in a bunch, then edit myself out, because wasting time is something I must enjoy.
Heh, well rewriting and editing is always a good thing (I need to do more of it). Experience should help stop that feeling of "wasting time" ^^
There are so, so many great quotes in this video. Definitely my favorite of your videos so far! Great friggin job man!
I have to give the game an enormous amount of credit to the game for putting these thoughts in my head. It had a profound affect on me, and because of that the only game that was more difficult to do justice to was The Last of Us.
This is a very well done analysis of the game. In all fairness the homeless guy dodged a bullet not staying in town.
Good point - I wonder if any of the city council members were in the cult? I suppose they wouldn't have bothered much with trying to rid him from the church if they were.
Poor Bruce.
@@OrangeLightnings I think they are all in it, and with discussions I've had with other fans of the game theres speculation Mae's aunt is either apart of it too or aware but looks the other way. Btw hope you come out with more content, really like this in depth summary of the game that imo is relatable to most of the millennial generation.
It's certainly plausible, I'm not one to extend leniency on behalf of the city council. Mall Cop though? I liked that she was a mostly inoffensive authority figure that Mae rebelled against because ACAB. The game *does* support the theory that she at least looks the other way though, so... I dunno. The cult stuff sorta rubs against the millennial angst, but I think the latter is where NITW is at its best. I've spent a long time looking for something that scratches the same itch, but haven't found anything as brutally honest or as cringe inducing. I can't think of anything else that better captures what it's like being 20.
Regarding new content, I'm staging a comeback.
1 - th-cam.com/video/Rm2UdCPPpMI/w-d-xo.html
2 - th-cam.com/video/oVjjyDAu-e8/w-d-xo.html (finished Tuesday night)
Both spoiler heavy, so... hope you're cool with that.
I think it's VERY likely that I'll publish three videos by the end of this month (these two plus one more).
I shouldn't speak too soon, but I think I finally know how to make a video on The Last of Us 2 that's not, like, 3 hours long. So that's coming together.
@@OrangeLightnings hey in the times of millennial angst our world is a strange one at the moment and I really hoped the creators would make a sequel to nitw but even if not this game is gem. I look forward to it and hope that you are feeling safe where you're at.
Sequel or successor, anything with that art and writing. Times are tough yo, holding out hope for at least one bad thing to go away via election.
This might be my favorite video essay on this game. I teared up a bit from your descriptions of the connections between friends. The last few months of my life have been pretty destabilizing, but I still have my friends to get me through it. Lately it feels like we're at the end of everything, so I'm thankful that I have anything to hold onto.
The best video about this game I've found and it's on such a modest little channel. Keep this up, and I see a very bright future for you man. Just gonna hit this ole subscribe button here and watch the magic unfold.
Thanks friend! You've got good timing, I didn't get to publish anything last month, but I've got two new videos right around the corner.
the reverse direction side scrolling part just explained why i kept going to the street blocked off by construction every single time i left the house
I played this game last year, it almost made me cry. It touched me soo deeply and i couldnt tell why. Just watched your video, im crying now.
The desired effect - I cried writing it. The game gets all the credit for bringing so much out of so many players. It broke me in ways I struggled to understand. It's special.
I think this is the best analysis on nitw I've seen yet. Good stuff man.
Thank you!
That speech halfway through, made me tear up a little. Well done!
This truly is an amazing game I love it
Great video! Thank you
i dont really comment on youtube videos a lot, but i want to let you know that i found this video about a year ago and ive always come back to it. this video describes my experience with the game so eloquently, this is probably my favorite game analysis video ever. there's just something really raw and true that speaks to me at a very personal level. thank you so much for this video, and i hope you keep making videos. ive watched the rest of your videos and i love them a lot, but this one just gets me on a personal level.
Thank you, that really means a lot. I remember feeling like this video was "risky" because of how personal it was, but there was no other way to do it. The game really affected me, it really brought all this stuff out, and I just have to give it so much credit for that because nothing's done it since.
I'm working on something for this post apocalyptic zombie sequel everyone's been talking about, and that's getting pretty personal, too. I found myself going back to this video to reflect on what made it so resonant.
I wish i’d seen this sooner because this is a really great analysis that i haven’t seen a lot of people touch on! this is my favourite game of all time so thank you for putting this video together.
RaiRaeKen Then you'll have to tell people! I'm interested in seeing what developers will be doing next, in the mean time I'd like to revisit the DLC chapter.
The mere mention of Catcher in the Rye got me stoke like finally. Someone sees it too!!
Everything you said really resonated with me, thank you for making this video.
to continue to care even when things go bad... That is when we discover/uncover the new... (what we did not realize)
This review/interpretation of NITW got to me a lot more than others I've seen and a bit of the game itself. This sort of look into a "neutral/positive existential nihilism" is something I relate to and feel like almost everyday, and I tend to have periods or phases of dissasociation from time to time, it's hard to learn how to live, think, or feel, when there isn't any way to it in the first place, when everything just means nothing and nothing makes sense, inherently, things are just... there - and as you've mentioned, once you learn or start to think about a lot of these things, that realisation or feeling of a "heightened sense of awareness" or a "deeper perception of reality" just doesn't go away, and sometimes it's hard to detach with that and cope normally as one would, or is 'supposed' to. I've been asking myself a lot whether things make sense, or if we are the ones who make sense of them, and I believe it's the latter, with each one of us interpretating things in ways that others could never fathom to even begin to think about, but just as others may seem ignorant to us, we seem ignorant to them, and that's just how things are, it's nearly impossible to choose on which side of the fence to be, if there is even a fence at all. I've played NITW since it was on the itch.io bundle and I can definitely say it has helped me a lot in figuring some things about my life, my town, my feelings towards my friends and family, and just overall existance - it's definitely added on to the experience, and I'm really thanksful for that. Whether this sort of feeling ever ends or not, one needs to learn to appreciate the possitive in things. Sometimes, just as the game depicts, missing out on some things allows you to be in on others, and viceversa. Life is just incredibly and amazingly complex, and as much as I sometimes wish I could share the perception, view, or even just things that give me joy with others, sometimes I also enjoy just things being as they are. Sometimes there's things to be done and sometimes there isn't, sometimes there's obligations and sometimes there isn't, sometimes you can make choices, and sometimes your life just simply isn't in control. But I believe that's just what makes life be what it is. I'm glad things stay how they are, I'm glad things change, and I'm glad this game has made me feel reminiscent of the good times I've had out with friends, bandmates, family, and all around, loved biking around, talking til late nights, you know, that sort of thing. I'm sure there's many more to be had, I'm just glad life happens, in any way it does, it's just great that it even does in the first place.
I'm glad I played the game at the time I did and not any sooner or later, it's definitely done a lot for me through these times of existential dread. I'm 20, I'm in college and looking back in the same way this game depicts, I even play bass and enjoy playing with my band the most, and just the overall insight this game has given, your interpretation included, I've definitely learned a lot about life that I'm sure I'll hold closely on the way forward.
P.s: Thanks you for sharing your view and interpretation of the game, I really appreciate what you did here.
It's 3 AM so I'll give you a better reply tomorrow. In the interest of being timely, this is the best comment I've ever received since starting this channel. I hope you're writing for others in some way. It'll matter to people you know. It'll matter to people you don't. Articulating these kinds of thoughts is challenging, and to put it bluntly, you're good at it.
@@OrangeLightnings Thank you! It's also 4 AM here, and I very much appreciate your response! I am sure it matters, your video and thoughts just spoke to me in a very meaningful way, and it was just the sort of thoughts and ideas I've been needing to both accept and learn about at this time in my life, that going in hand with my recent experience with NITW just worked perfectly, and shows how much can be said about any piece of media or art, or even inherently said through it. These things help, and as you said, it can help anyone whether you know them or not, I think there's a lot of intrinsic value to that. Even with this video being made 2 years ago, it continues to reach out and help. I love to reach out and help others myself and I try to get myself engaged in projects for the sake of creation, but we all need to learn or get help once in a while ourselves. It's hard making it all come to make sense without it turning into a rant, or overly subjective, or to keep it helpful or informative, and the struggle and strain of life is beautiful in its own sense, I believe it's worth learning, experiencing, and talking about. I'd definitely be interested in talking whenever time is better. Regardless, thank you for what you've done here, I'm sure it's spoken a lot to me, and will continue to speak for others aswell.
See, aren't we both glad I left the timely response? Geeze I really thought I'd get back to this sooner.
You talk about how easy it is to forget how to 'be' (through disassociation), like the only way we can exist is without the heightened awareness. It's a freaky feeling - like we can't honestly live while being aware of our place in the universe. But maybe that doesn't make us alone, either? When I published this video a few years back, I did NOT think it would resonate with people the way it did. My feelings on the game felt so personal, so unique, and in many respects so unlike what I was seeing others take away. Reading comments from people wrestling with vulnerability and purpose (as I was), while they're never *exactly* how I felt, would carry real resonance. Maybe being on that same wavelength is enough to really connect? Maybe congruence is good enough when equivalence is impossible. But there's one thing I'm certain in - whether or not things make sense (and there's lots of ways to answer that question), we have a responsibility to make sense of them. That's what life is. The shapes. The patterns. The people that come and go. If they are to have meaning to us, we have to make sense of them - in all the ways we can do that. Being vulnerable. Being open. Being honest. Seeing ourselves in others. Seeing others in us. That's what it means to 'be there'. This isn't a game you get much out of without making sense of it in your own personal context. It goes to show how important that is.
I'm glad things stay how they are, I'm glad things change, I'm just glad life happens too. I don't think the awareness goes away, it hasn't for me (sorry?), but neither does the resonance. The connections you hold on to at the brink of dawn (4 AM) are the evidence that you can find patterns with others.
Be fucking 20. It's the fucking best. It's the fucking worst.
@@OrangeLightnings Absolutely agreed! All in all, it makes the "ignorance is bliss" expression make a lot more sense... but even when it doesn't make sense, the "making sense of things" itself is blissful as a process on it's own, it's yet another journey to embark on. I'll never come to understand just how entirely different life experiences can be ranging from one person to another... I think there's pros and cons with both ways of living and seeing life, but just as cumbersome as it sometimes can be, I'm happy with it. There'd be no mountains without valleys, and relatively we wouldn't have the same sort of appreciation for good or bad things if we had nothing to compare them to. Sure, I might not like a colour or two in a painting, but that doesn't mean I should get rid of all of them - I don't want to get rid of everything the whole spectrum of this "awareness" brings to think about. The shapes and patterns surely become things once one begins to make sense of them.
This is THE best video analysis, if not the best overall analysis, I've ever heard. Amazing job, and thank you!!!
That is one of the most beautiful TH-cam videos I’ve ever watched. So deep.
Thank you, I think I watched this video years ago, but since then I’ve gone through a lot, starting with Covid snatching away formative years of my life. And now this video really speaks to me. So thank you for making this, if you’re still there.
He comes from somewhere
Wow, just wow. This should really be at the top of the search before any other analysis video!
The YT algorithm has been good to me, with this video in particular. Thanks for the support!
I like this interpretation, in the same way that I like just about every interpretation. A literal month after I finished this game( I only played because I thought it was going to be Lovecraftian, and that's my vibe) I was told by a shrink that the thing that had made me think I was nuts, was in fact dissociation. After I chuckled for a few minutes, I realized why this Goddamn game made so much sense to me. That being said, it also speaks to the fucking separation that even regular folks feel from the reality that they feel they should be living. I still think it's a great game, for everyone that just feel even a little separated from the world, either because "You can't go home again", existential dread, or actual mental up-fuckery. If you read this friggin' novel, thanks, and if Shub-Niggurath or his cult is ACTUALLY, your problem, the Dynamite thing is also a good lesson. Just make really sure before you do something that makes you look real awful in the news.
Thanks for calling this an interpretation, I think there's just so many different ways to read this game. It makes me nervous when people say I "explained" it.
There are so many ways to feel separated from the world, "can't go home", "can't go back", "never had it in the first place". I had that feeling playing this also. I think that's why it means so much to so many. How could anyone NOT feel like what they're doing is pointless, at one point or another?
Wonderful analysis for a wonderful game. Really glad I clicked on this.
Kickass work!
I really appreciate how you just summed up so much of the game in a beautifully written way. Thank you. This game means so much to me so to see you give it so much love.
This game really effected me more than almost any game before seeing as I have also suffered from existential crises in my life before.
NitW is one of my favorite games and this one of my favorite analysis' of it. Excellent stuff.
This was my best friend's favorite game. He always encouraged me to play it, but i never did. Now that hes gone, i couldn't bring myself to get it. I now see a lot of why he was unhappy. To those who read this, you are loved. To those who think they aren't, you still matter. I may never meet you, but you matter to me. You should matter to yourself. Stay strong. Hold on. Hold on to everything
its been four years since i watched this for the first time and its still my favorite video essay ever- the end makes me tear up every time
I feel the song "Feel Like That" by the Washboard Union fits this game perfectly.
this is such a thought provoking video! loved it man
I don't think I'll ever find another character in a video game as personally relatable as Bea.
Wow, beautiful analysis. I played this game years ago and loved it, but it really hits different in 2020.
well done. you've put into words the melancholy vibes that this game brings
Well, now I'm crying.
(if nothing we do matters. all that matters is what we do). this was lovely. I just started the game and already love it. thanks for making and sharing!
With a quote like that, you're gonna love this game. Do give me your thoughts when you finish.
This game is amazing
Best analysis video I've seen so far. Thanks for this.
This was beautiful.
Thanks!
Great analysis!
I have a lot to think about now
Thanks! Hope you enjoy thinking, it's a tough game to get out of your head.
aww man I tears up a bit, great analysis
This is an excellent video. Thank you for making it. I've subscribed, and am looking forward to whatever you make next.
Thanks for watching
this video deserves a crap ton more likes than it currently has, holy crap.
You'll never hear me complain about lack of exposure on this one! I'm really proud of how well it's been received.
How did i miss this video?? this is very well put together and i love your analysis of the game!
The first 3 minutes already hit too close to home
I know i am leaving alot of comments in a row but i am binging your episodes. Damn this is good stuff.
Oh, I appreciate it! I'm glad you're enjoying these.
I need to watch this video a couple of time until I understand
i love Night in the woods. i'm gonna save this video for when i play for Bea
Man, I think I’ve seen so many perspectives and opinions on this game, so many have seemed… idk Mae-centric? Once I watched an analysis titled “An uncomfortable analysis of night in the woods” which really tore into her character and her ignorance. It was astute but it really hurt, seeing as I saw so much of myself in Mae. It almost made me feel hyper critical of myself, and my own blindspots.
This video helped me come to terms with the fact that those blind spots, friendships fading, moving away, fucking up… are all a part of life. No matter how good or bad of a person we are how privileged or lazy or disadvantaged we all are we have these blind spots and we experience loss and pain. And we can spend our time mourning the lives we could have had, but that’s just staying in place. These mistakes and setbacks and losses are only really failures when we refuse to care again. When we refuse to recognize the things we still have. I recently watched Everything Everywhere all at once and it reminds me so much of that emotional realization.
I think there’s a lot to admire about Mae. Mae chats up everyone she bumps into. She’s naive of how badly those conversations can go for both parties, but so many interactions either strengthen her connection to her home or lead to richer friendships. Even if those things are temporary, they’re worth a damn. For all the growing up Mae has to do, her interest in other people, and her enthusiasm to share her perspective are good traits. Better they be poorly calibrated than shut down all together.
The comparison to EEAAO is appropriate. You can find a lot of Mae in both Evelyn and Joy. Evelyn has an enthusiasm to throw herself into fantasy, and swing for the fences in hobbies she will give up weeks later. Is she living her worst life? Or just living? Joy deals with with this pit of dread that everything dies and nothing matters. Is she wrong? Or wrongly focused?
Joy teaches Evelyn that “there are no rules.” She learns self acceptance. Then Evelyn teaches her daughter that there is joy to be found in all the things that don’t matter. EEAAO is like Mae’s internal conflict argued between two people. It rules.
i like 4 years late but this is a beautiful video dude
That's a beautiful review of the game, beautiful video
This video made me think a lot about myself as someone who is in kind of a similar situation to Mae. Fantastic video. Definitely going to think about this for a long time.
Great video man, I found it very moving
i love this game so yes also its sad but true i relate to mae because i suffer from some of the things mae suffers from
After playing the game,
and watching life,
I think I know why it's important to not live in the present, but for the present.
Coming back to it, I actually wish to translate the video to my language (polish), to be able to show it to my mother. If it's possible, I'd be grateful if you allowed viewer added subtitles to this video
I just enabled it (for all videos), let me know if that works for you. I bet having the script will make it easier for you to translate:
docs.google.com/document/d/1AuLBbs4JX6AuWT1sSb06qxemb9FiURX_AXpvpwb2Th8/edit?usp=sharing
Ignore my schizophrenic rambling underneath the main script, I don't have the heart to delete the anguish that goes into the writing process.
I added it some time ago, send for evaluation, yet it still does not appear under the vid. TH-cam is taking their time with it I guess
@@damyzs Thanks for following up, because it actually looks like it fell back on me. Just now, I went to try to add a Polish translation, and it suddenly notified me that a community submission for that language was pending. They SHOULD have been auto approved, but, I guess I'm still figuring out the settings on my end. I published your translation, let me know if it's working now.
This has really helped me see things from a new perspective, Thank you for taking the time to make this video. Have a good day, and good luck in your journey 😄
I’d never found such a more relatable game than this. That’s all I have to say
thanks for the message
Wow, this video makes me want to play nitw again.
This was beautyfull
This video is makeing me grow up and realize everything way to soon...
Oh well!
That's a good thing! The time you get to spend with people is precious, at any stage in your life. When you know that, those shared moments get the importance they deserve.
This game, like Life is Strange: Before the Storm, is so relatable if you have something in common with any one of the characters in the game. I relate so strongly to Mae's character.
Masterful. Thank you so much.
Gonna start crying in the club man istg
Cool idea for a channel. Keep it up.
Excellent video
i think this game is worth maybe coming back to , now in the future...
this is an amazing analysis
Funny how that title relates so much today.
Black Lives Matter.
@@OrangeLightnings Absolutely. You don't have to be an objectively driven person like me to see that either. Look around, they're all people too, trying to do what they can with the cards they're dealt. We would want help just as they do if we were in their positions.
At the moment, funds keep me from going out and demonstrating, so i use the platform to leave comments and have some (hopefully) respectful discourse so I can show others that this is being done peacefully, and we're trying to be taken seriously. Though when I signed to defend the constitutional rights of all americans against all foreign and domestic enemies; I still hold that true, even after my discharge.
I hope it doesn't come to bloodshed. Me and all my friends, brothers, sisters will do everything we can to keep it from getting there. Because human life shouldn't be the cost for freedom. But if it cannot be avoided to be treated as true equals and not under an illusion; We won't back down. I sure as hell won't.
@@OrangeLightnings We should all use our talents and resources we can to push forward the movement for human rights for everyone in our own way. Anything we can to express ourselves and get our voices heard. Be it videos, pictures, music, protests, we will be heard and we shouldn't be afraid to be human.
@@OrangeLightnings Things like creed, race, sex, political alignment should be irrelevant. These are human beings and they should have been treated as such to begin with.
As someone who struggles with mental health I related to Mae a lot, I don't know if I've ever played a game character who felt so human and she's a cartoon cat lol. She made such an impact on me I named my horse in Red Dead 2 after her, as I played that around the same time, which is weirdly another game about letting go of the past and coming to terms with reality and holding onto what matters. Obviously that's told in a different way but it seems to be a theme in games as we go into the '20s.
Your comment makes me feel less insane. There was a time where I felt like every story I wrote about (from Nier to God of War, Night in the Woods to The Last of Us) was leading to the same idea: how do you reconcile having lost something that you care about, and how do you care about something new knowing that it will eventually go away? I still don't know if it's just a fixation of mine (stories about those themes are the ones that resonate most with me), or if it's just what stories are supposed to be. It's probably the former, and that was an interesting thing to learn about myself.
Red Dead 2 totally fits the bill. Watching Arthur "give up" his lifestyle is sad, but what's most tragic is who he becomes once he's allowed himself to be something different. He becomes a good man. He couldn't conceive of a life for himself outside of the gang, but with death at his doorstep, his instincts compel him to listen to and help others. Rather than resign to nothing, he fights with his last breath for his brother John.
Is that the same thing as accepting that the life you knew before college is gone, that the town you live in may continue it's decline, and that your role isn't to save it, but just to be present for the people who need it? Yes. Yes, it's exactly the same thing!
@@OrangeLightnings Yeah exactly! Glad it wasn't just me lol. Another thing I noticed both games deal with is existentialism and faith, the conversation Arthur has with the nun at the station where he questions faith reminded me a lot of the scene where Mae speaks with the pastor in the church where she questions faith. And both characters come to the same conclusion in the end, that one day they will no longer be there and the universe is cruel and uncaring, but that just makes those things and people that matter to them matter even more while they are still there. "Take a gamble that love exists and do a loving act" or "A universe that doesn't care and people who do".
But yeah I don't think I would've noticed any of this stuff if I hadn't played the 2 games pretty much parallel to each other lol, I thought it'd be a culture shock going from one to the other but they ended up having a lot of the same themes even tho they were totally different styles. Just goes to show good writing is good writing I guess.
Life is Strange is another game that shows how destructive holding onto the past can be, like NITW it starts with a girl returning to her hometown and reconnecting with old friends and acquaintances and discovering how everything has changed since she left, it kind of lulls you into a false sense of security at first with a twee indie soundtrack and pretty colour pallets. The game oozes nostalgia, the main mechanic is literally going back in time to change your past. But then it ends (spoilers) with having to choose between your hometown being destroyed in a storm (implied that it was caused by you going back to the past) or letting your childhood best friend get shot and killed. You have to let go of a huge chunk of your past either way and move on, and in the end the choice you make for your future is the only one that really matters in the game.
I think the reason this type of story is prevalent and why it resonates so much right now is we are bombarded with so much nostalgia in media and have been for the past few years with constant remakes, reboots etc of stuff we grew up with and while a little nostalgia is fine, a whole popular culture built around being stuck in the past is unhealthy. And I think we as a society are, consciously or unconsciously slowly reacting against that.
These games and stories similar to them have actually taught me a lot, a few years ago I over-indulged in nostalgia because I'd come to a bad place in my life and wanted to go back but now I try to limit my access to it more because I know how blinding and addictive it can be. Life is about changing and moving forward, however hard it is to let go it's even harder to realise too late that you're still holding onto something that's gone. You gotta push through that shit.
Thanks for the reply if you read this far lmao
"I believe in a universe that doesn't care, but people who do."
Sister Calderón and Pastor K are such excellent characters. There's a moment where Mae and Arthur each say they don't really "believe" in anything, and Sister C and Pastor K respond by expressing their own doubt. It's interesting how Mae reacts so negatively to that (like she just NEEDS to believe there's a solution out there she can just copy), while Arthur seems to take Sister C's advice to heart. "Take a gamble that love exists, and do a loving act".
What I loved about that, in both games, was both Pastor Kate and Sister Calderón faced the same questions as the protagonists, and though they were guided by religion, they ultimately had to arrive at the same sort of answer as Mae and Arthur eventually would on their own.
I played Life is Strange first, and I remember gravitating toward it for exactly the same reasons as I gravitated toward Night in the Woods. Unconventional art style and setting, warm autumn colors, appropriately whistful music, and some sinister undertones. It's got the themes, it's got the flair, but for whatever reason it didn't land on me like these other games did. Red Dead 2 surprised me with its emotional resonance, and I thought on it for months. Night in the Woods fucked me up for a couple weeks. I WISH Life is Strange messed me up like that! Maybe I played it too late to relate (I was in college), and too early to resonate (I hadn't really 'yearned' for nostalgia). I think your assessment of the game, and it's main mechanic as a reflection of the theme, are dead on.
Though there are these reoccurring themes of nostalgia in all of the above (especially in LiS and NitW), I do wonder about what nostalgiac media offers to people that don't have living memory of what's being nostalgisized (made up word). Stranger Things is a comfy show that takes place during a time before I was born. The Marvel Universe is built on these old properties, but most movie goes don't have a history with their origins. Jurassic World aimed to recapture the spirit of one of my favorite childhood memories, and I suppose it got me into the theater, but it didn't give me the warm and fuzzies. I guess that's all to say, DO we have a culture defined by reboots and remakes? I guess I'm not sure, maybe I'm thinking too insularly. I feel like media has become so fractured, what people watch varries so much from person to person - but those properties that have cultural history (Star Wars) are seen and discussed by everybody.
Maybe the stories we see in LiS, NitW, and Red Dead are a rejection (conscious or otherwise) of a society leaning too far into its past. Maybe still, those themes are universal, and appear throughout the decades. Regardless, the safety of treading something familiar is like a drug, and it's effect tires when we overindulge. Returning to the same 5 pieces of media over and over dulls what it represents, until it's gone. You have to make new context to make that thing new again. I think that's what this game, and some of the others taught me. I learned a lot from them too.
Thank YOU for reading this far.
@@OrangeLightnings Interesting comparison about the characters' reactions to the religious figures themselves doubting faith. Mae is younger than Arthur, when you're young you tend to have a somewhat simplistic view of the world I guess, when something is complex doesn't have an easy answer you can find it frustrating. Arthur is past that, life has been tough for him and he's just found out he's gonna die, I think his outlook has been thrown for a loop so much he welcomes life's absurdities like a nun questioning her own faith. Maybe it helps him feel less alone and afraid in what he's feeling.
Honestly Life is Strange came out at just the right time for me, I was a little older than Max but in a similar situation with my best friend from when I was a kid, and I'm big into photography too. But yeah the ending is honestly what kinda ruined it for me, I wish we'd got more. I feel like NITW did what LiS set out to do but like better, it walked so NITW could run lol. Yeah same NITW fucked me up for a good few days after I finished and made me rethink a few things.
It is fractured for sure, I was talking to my dad about this and he said him and his friends used to go to each other's houses just to play music whereas now people just listen to Spotify with their earphones and it's all very insular. It was kind of an ok boomer moment lol but it made me think that now everyone has their favourite bands, movies, shows, TH-camrs, whatever and there's nothing like, social about it. Guess the closest you get are comment sections and online communities but irl even my closest friends don't really know what bands I like for example, or me theirs. I wouldn't even say I have a fav band just what happens to come on shuffle half the time. Don't know if that's kinda sad or just how it is for our generation
yeah I get what you mean, I don't remember a whole lot before even the 2000s but I listen to '80s music sometimes and get nostalgic for that time, then I remember I wasn't even alive lmao. It's a weird feeling. I think it's a cycle probably or like a pendulum, everything in media or life even has a reaction, I think people are getting tired of their memories getting sold back to them by Hollywood and are beginning to look towards the future, new decade and all. I hope so anyway because I'm super ready for new original works, as someone who's had kinda a rocky few years mentally it's good to hope for the future again