I am so confused on the voice acting and direction. The MC should clearly be terrified or at least strongly frustrated by his disorientation, but the whole performance gives mild "Where the hell are my keys" energy.
Thanks for putting into words what I felt but didnt know. Like, the MC should be HORRIFIED and angry or something, but every word he speaks is like "Haha wow this is a little weird, hey wheres my daughter at anyway?"
I'd like a subversion of this whole trope, honestly - where it's revealed that the dad is a good dad loved by his family, he's just projecting his fears and insecurities onto the very literal monster that's coming after him because it's easier to believe that you're being tortured by your psyche than that there's an actual monster that's real and after you.
If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend the movie The Devil's Candy. It centers on a pretty likeable family who clearly cares for each other. And while the dad has his issues, he loves and communicates with his family for the mostt part. And there's also a very real threat that he needs to face that takes precedence.
Wow, this game commits about every cardinal sin, doesn't it? Bad dad, mannequins, looping, red lighting, overuse of drugs/booze to signal trauma, locks you in a room... 😂 The story about your daughter and her flashlight was adorable, though. A+ for cute baby stories.
Womp…. I do agree that psychological horror games overdo it with medicine and alcohol in the environment to not so subtlety insinuate that the main character is troubled. There are more nuanced ways to depict a troubled individual in a horror game, where possibilities are endless.
Like it’s not even a problem to do it but if you watch movies it’s like, one 3-second shot of drugs to imply it, not paraphernalia littered in every scene. Video game devs often spoon feed that stuff.
brb sabotaging my wife during her high-wire mother/daughter act, but so confidently i'm not going to even glance up for 1 second to see if my daughter is up there too
literally 💀 also the fact that the main takeaway from that was "oh no i killed my daughter by accident" instead of "hey maybe trying to murder my wife wasn't the move in the first place"??
@@missnoncompliant6279 if he got caught for the murder of his wife, dorie would be all alone and still tied to the circus via the contract though. the destroying the marriage and moving in with an "uncle" is the least of the problems; she signed her daughter up to years of child labor in the circus. she actively risked her daughter's life for something as silly as art.
When I studied for game designer I had to make a horror game and the guys in my group wanted to make the twist that the dad killed the family. I tried explaining that the “bad dad” trope was a overused trope in horror games and they wouldn’t believe me lol😅
In part one when the game started I was just like "Male protagonist waking up with headache, fuzzy memories; check. Prescription pills on the nightstand; check. No sign or wife or daughter; check. This is bad dad game. I would love to have been proven wrong but alas.
What was that guy doing studying with you? He clearly wasn't interested in the subject enough to actually look what's on the market, what works and what is a tired cliché. People like that annoy me.
@@LucalliaNoted exactly the same things, had the same thought 😕 And also was disappointed to be right. Why is anybody with the imagination to be a creator still thinking 'hey, I know what would be a cool idea' about this hackneyed old trope 😑
Man, after 2+ hours of gameplay, the game has added about 5 minutes worth of story. That is quite an accomplishment. It's like Nothingburger: The Game.
Walter's lines feel so forced and throwing me off. Everything he says is like the protag in a kid's edutainment show. "Oh no, just what IS this place!" says Mickey Mouse. "And why on Earth does my head hurt, I wonder? Do you know, children?" asked Mickey. "Look at that shiny little orb on the table. I'm not sure what it is but I FEEL it's going to be USEFUL somehow, hohaha!" winked Mickey.
"Expensive watch, huh can't be mine..." "Oh wait I'm a murderer and in some sort of purgatory, damn forgot for a second. Oh look, a train, dorie loves...d'oh! I forgot again, I killed her...oh well am I still dreaming? Hello, any breakfast, toast, cornflakes...?"
I kind of wished that after the realization of the truth, Walter's line deliveries sounded.. somber? Reflective? Depressed. Why does he sound totally the same before he knew the truth and then after he knows the truth? Does he even care?
Also, I gotta say.. I watched Still Wakes the Deep late, so I'm finishing multiple people's playthroughs as of yesterday and the day before. I loved it that much, lol. But going from that to THIS? I know it's apples to oranges but it's like running face first into a brick wall. To be clear, I'm not criticizing you John for providing us with this viewing opportunity. I just wasn't emotionally prepared is all.
Still Wakes the Deep was good. I hated the ending at first, but after John pointed out it fits with Lovecraftian horror, I came around. But this? I hate all of this... It's a real 180 from SWtD.
@@SusiLarew I really liked the ending. I felt like it gave us a pretty realistic portrayal of what real people would look like going through something like that. Truly it would be hopeless, and we'd be running around from task to task thinking we're making headway all while the ship is literally and figuratively sinking around us. I do get why people may not like it though. This is very bad though, I feel bad for people who recommended it because I'm sure they meant well lol. But it's like a reskin of Visage, Layers of Fear and a bit of PT of course. And they lay it on SOO thick.
Honestly, I feel you’re absolutely spot on with the pill issue in these psychological horror games. I have a chronic illness (sickle cell disease) & have been on a minimum of 2-4 different medications since childhood with today at age 36 taking about 8. I explicitly organize them in one place as often as possible not just because of how critical they are but to keep track of refills & make sure I don’t lose any. The pill tables in horror games always make me think to myself “how does this character even know what they are taking at this point?” “Do they not have a side drawer or medicine cabinet for all of this?” I can somewhat grasp the excuse that the character might be an addict & thus may treat their pills the same way an alcoholic might treat drink with several bottles in nearly every room of the house or something & just sloppily self-medicating or the idea that since this character’s life is falling apart the strewn pills are meant to just suggest overall disorganization & apathy. However in the case of horror games like this like you mentioned it feels just like it starts and stops at shorthand with the devs not considering: A) Is this character an addict or are they actually medicating for something & B) Do they have a mental and/or physical issue & if they do then what specifically is that issue & is anything they are taking in the environment actually relevant to the treatment. Leaving it so vague smacks of boilerplate this character is just “disturbed” or “depressed” or “suffering” with minute indications of how or why. Hell, there are times when I feel extremely fatigued or depressed for days and leave my place a mess but at the very least my meds stay in reasonable order since they are critical & I never want to just be searching for the bottle of XYZ I genuinely need. As someone who takes a lot of medication rote portrayals like this only frustrate me with the stigma that there’s something “off putting” about just taking a lot of medication and little to no examinations of the issues they are ostensibly meant to treat.
It sort of ends up leaning into conspiracy with how it demonises medicine. If you took the advice of indie horror games, medicine is just a coping mechanism that will make you worse.
Its so hard to feel anything for Walter, or this type of set up. We feel nothing relatable. And with lines like " oh no... Did I murder them?" And 5min later "THEY NEVER SUSPECTED ME.." its jarring.
Thanks for suffering through this game for everyone John! This game is looking to be yet another "psychological horror" bad dad walking simulator. Someone needs to make a PT clone bingo card.
I hate that you pointed it out and all i hear now is "ugghhhghgh I have to EUUGHGH where is uuueghhgfff this circus was yuuuughghffff oouughffff my wife uufffffff chess"
I agree that these psych horror games are excessive with the pill packets/pill bottles/beer bottles. I need them to get creative, there are so many ways people cope with life. I want to see a shopaholic or gambler one of these days.
I would love to see a shopaholic instead of an alcoholic for once. Give me a game where I can see the depressed protagonist has thousands of purchased yet unplayed games in their Steam library.
'We got a lot of pill packets' *turns around and looks down slightly* 'we got a LOT of pill packets'. I'm ready for the John Wolfe detective show, where you debunk ghost hunters and work out exactly which pills they took to see the devil. Lol.
"DAD was such a DRAG...." - Dorie REVEIL (EDIT: I posted this just off the bathroom scene in the PT-esque house and in hindsight boy this sure did age a certain way.)
I appreciate John going through the trouble of trying to match the colors to the game, it IS pretty fun lol. Also loved the impression of Walter's gas station run, the "Martha STEWIN'" joke, and his reaction to Walter's wild decision to make with the snippy-snippy. On another note: on one hand it kinda kills the creepy a bit because it breaks the mood so much it's funny, but on the other hand, boy oh boy do I love Walter just reacting in polite befuddled bemusement to EVERYTHING: his daughter's bedroom opening up into a forest, repeatedly waking up in some time loop hell dimension version of his house to his wife, the giant living blinking eyeball in his house... I'd love to shackle him and Caz (Still Wakes the Deep) together at the ankle and force them to hop along together one-legged race style through a horror game. Caz would LOSE IT lmao.
Edit after watching: One thing I've noticed is that we hear both Walter's verbal commentary and his "thoughts". It happens more in this part than the first part (e.g., around 52:00 mark). Not only is it unusual to have two sources of narration in this kind of game, but sometimes the thought comes right on the heels of the verbal comment in an unnatural way, like they're coming from different people? Not sure what that signifies, it doesn't seem like a timing mistake in the narration because they've gone out of their way to separate what he says aloud and what he thinks - why do that at all if it doesn't matter to the story? Although the significance may end up not even being worth the effort they put into doing this, I'm interested to see if it amounts to something. Just what I was waiting for! Before even watching, the title suggests this isn't going to be any better than the 1st video - I wish I were disappointed but honestly, something about these kind of "womp womp" horror games is so relaxing to watch, I'm kind of glad lol hopefully it doesn't get so bad that it absolutely demolishes your mood though 💀
This weird, stilted main character performance is an odd tying characteristic of so many bad psychological horror games, at this point it needs its own name or something. The Conjuring House had it, Scrutinized (good game, bad voice acting), and now this. Jeez lol
Please, someone needs to make an indie horror bingo game. My suggestions that I saw in this video: 1. Mysteriously locked in room until you see something 2. The dad killed the wife/kids/family 3. Pills, beer bottles and other drugs littered around to show Deepest Trauma™ 4. You have to fish something out of murky water 5. Red means scary 6. Protagonist doesn't realise they or someone they're looking for is dead (even though it's very obvious)
SPOILER FOR THE END OF THE VIDEO Man, the bad dad simulator thing is so predictable and boring at this point, is it kind of pathetic I was actually kind of pleasantly surprised when it seemed to be going in the direction of Martha being the bad parent responsible for her family's hell? It was kind of a refreshing change that made me go "oh??" when I thought it was headed that way, and I was ready to feel sorry for Walter and Dorie to be trapped in some kind of time loop hell afterlife as innocent victims, it would be a different kind of horror: not the same old "oh I'M the bad guy, I deserve it, guess this is karma!" but "oh man it is UPSETTING to be put in the shoes of someone who absolutely did not deserve this and is suffering forever because of something outside of their hands." Like when it comes to hells and horror, I think of things like... Drag Me to Hell or Hell Girl, where overall pretty innocent people can be condemned to Hell for small petty things and there's nothing they can do about it. Makes it so much more emotional and impactful imo than just "yeah, ok, guess you deserve it. guess we're done here. moving on..."
I agree with the comment about the pills. One bottle in a medicine cabinet or end table would get the point across, without going overboard. That and a message on a machine saying a prescription is ready for pickup, or something realistic such as that. HIDDEN bottles of liquor, say in a toilet tank and behind things in a kitchen cabinet. I thought that would have been more effective in "Layers of Fear" rather than have bottles EVERYWHERE. Just my opinion, of course. Also, the desk in the middle of the forest made me laugh because it reminded me of a Monty Python skit!
I wonder sometimes what these devs are thinking when they're writing this kind of plot. Like who would actually be horrorfied by this? Does anyone identify themselves or build some sort of empathy with the characters? Walter is such a dumb character.
I feel like this would have been more interesting if he wasn't just another Indy horror bad dad. Would have been interesting if there was a twist and the mom killed him because he was getting in the way of her plans
Having been spoiled on the ending in passing, I don't know if this Big Twist can undo all of the monotony of the less enjoyable horror tropes that the player has to endure for (allegedly) 81% of the game, but I sincerely hope the last chunk is better and proves me wrong. Fingers crossed... 😭
For me, I felt it wasn't enough to redeem the sludge it makes you tread through for the majority of the game. It also doesn't help that the voice acting and tired gameplay remains largely the same (minus a few tidbits they stole from other indie horror games) even after the big reveal, so it feels like a chore trying to get through the rest of the story.
@@samwisegamgee1243 that sucks 😭 I was also deeefinitely taken out of the narrative of the game from the start by the clunky dialogue/voice acting choices, so a plot twist wasn’t really gonna help with that
I'm still watching the video so please ignore if you figured it out later, John, but I'm currently at the moment where you said you dislike FOV changing when sprinting. I'm sure when you went through the options before there was "Dynamic FOV when sprinting" option, you can disable it for the next video :)
I had to chuckle when you said Spooky's House of Jumpscares cause I thought that so many times in the first video when you go through the attraction the first time.
The reason why the FOV changes when you sprint is to fool you into thinking you're moving faster than you actually are, because the sense of speed depends on FOV. Many games do this, sometimes combined with other tricks (like adding "swooshing" lines to your view). Sometimes there's actually no change in the speed of the player's movement, too ;)
someone tell him to turn off vignette. it is probably what is causing the weird field of view as it tends to mean, small portrait or view of something.
Commenting super early in. Not disagreeing with your sentiment about the scattered pills being a bit excessive; I'm ashamed to admit that my used sleeves of birth control are scattered all over my dresser and extremely reminiscent of the table at the beginning 😭
Less is more when it comes to presentation, especially when your story contains what's intended to be mature, heavy, and triggering subjects. And sure it's a habit for some to let pill containers pile up and make a mess-myself included-but when the player is constantly being reminded that the character uses drugs (prescription or otherwise) or becomes heavy-handed and prop-like, as John was getting at. I would point to Mortuary Assistant for what realistic (aka good) representation of a troubled character and drug related imagery. But Reveil, The Short Message, and games like it fall into that easy trap of explaining too much and having the player experience too little, which ruins the overall impact of the plot
My computer is being super annoying and making it hard to watch videos for this and the last Elden Ring video (hopefully I'll be able to fix it tonight!), but I HAVE to say how the title of this video instantly made me laugh EDIT: Ok the reveal of what happened makes this 100% funnier ajkdj. John has NO patience for this lmaoo
tbf as someone who grew up in a house where beer bottles were everywhere as well, i feel somewhat represented by these lmao. but at the same time they could at least change it up
"My daughter is not allowed here because of all the dangerous chemicals!" he says as he confidently walks through a house where all sorts of meds and alcohol just lie around, safely in a child's reach like a bag of skittles. (Not saying that a paint thinner and antidepressants are the same, obviously, but neither should be kept accessible to a kid)
Is the “big amazing original twist” the mom is evil instead of the dad for once…… . . . 52;40 oh look at that we’re still bad dad wow so cool much amazed at plot
The game looks amazing - clearly a lot of love and effort went into its creation. I'm hopeful we get something other than "bad dad" at the end... regardless, having a great time watching John play!
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"Dad was such a drag" is truly the most tired of horror game subgenres
I am so confused on the voice acting and direction. The MC should clearly be terrified or at least strongly frustrated by his disorientation, but the whole performance gives mild "Where the hell are my keys" energy.
Big Jerry Smith energy
Thanks for putting into words what I felt but didnt know. Like, the MC should be HORRIFIED and angry or something, but every word he speaks is like "Haha wow this is a little weird, hey wheres my daughter at anyway?"
I'd like a subversion of this whole trope, honestly - where it's revealed that the dad is a good dad loved by his family, he's just projecting his fears and insecurities onto the very literal monster that's coming after him because it's easier to believe that you're being tortured by your psyche than that there's an actual monster that's real and after you.
If you haven't seen it, I'd recommend the movie The Devil's Candy. It centers on a pretty likeable family who clearly cares for each other. And while the dad has his issues, he loves and communicates with his family for the mostt part. And there's also a very real threat that he needs to face that takes precedence.
Wow, this game commits about every cardinal sin, doesn't it? Bad dad, mannequins, looping, red lighting, overuse of drugs/booze to signal trauma, locks you in a room... 😂 The story about your daughter and her flashlight was adorable, though. A+ for cute baby stories.
Womp…. I do agree that psychological horror games overdo it with medicine and alcohol in the environment to not so subtlety insinuate that the main character is troubled. There are more nuanced ways to depict a troubled individual in a horror game, where possibilities are endless.
Lol, all it's missing is a report from an inpatient psych unit with the page torn off.
right? i don't drink or take drugs at all and i am profoundly fucked up lol
@@bronzergoth7598and I used to do drugs and alcohol and I was NEVER a bad dad. These guys lie about everything!
@@FleshMelter oh wow you're the opposite of my dad!
Like it’s not even a problem to do it but if you watch movies it’s like, one 3-second shot of drugs to imply it, not paraphernalia littered in every scene. Video game devs often spoon feed that stuff.
brb sabotaging my wife during her high-wire mother/daughter act, but so confidently i'm not going to even glance up for 1 second to see if my daughter is up there too
literally 💀 also the fact that the main takeaway from that was "oh no i killed my daughter by accident" instead of "hey maybe trying to murder my wife wasn't the move in the first place"??
@@Maya-xoxoxo I mean she did destroy the marriage, take your daughter to move in with "uncle".
@@missnoncompliant6279 i have to believe there were other courses of action to try to remedy the situation besides murder 💀 our MC is … interesting
@@missnoncompliant6279 if he got caught for the murder of his wife, dorie would be all alone and still tied to the circus via the contract though. the destroying the marriage and moving in with an "uncle" is the least of the problems; she signed her daughter up to years of child labor in the circus. she actively risked her daughter's life for something as silly as art.
When I studied for game designer I had to make a horror game and the guys in my group wanted to make the twist that the dad killed the family. I tried explaining that the “bad dad” trope was a overused trope in horror games and they wouldn’t believe me lol😅
Please tell me you went on to be more successful than they did, some justice has to come out of that 😄
they always think of the same things 😴
In part one when the game started I was just like "Male protagonist waking up with headache, fuzzy memories; check. Prescription pills on the nightstand; check. No sign or wife or daughter; check. This is bad dad game. I would love to have been proven wrong but alas.
What was that guy doing studying with you? He clearly wasn't interested in the subject enough to actually look what's on the market, what works and what is a tired cliché. People like that annoy me.
@@LucalliaNoted exactly the same things, had the same thought 😕 And also was disappointed to be right. Why is anybody with the imagination to be a creator still thinking 'hey, I know what would be a cool idea' about this hackneyed old trope 😑
Man, after 2+ hours of gameplay, the game has added about 5 minutes worth of story. That is quite an accomplishment. It's like Nothingburger: The Game.
Walter's lines feel so forced and throwing me off. Everything he says is like the protag in a kid's edutainment show. "Oh no, just what IS this place!" says Mickey Mouse. "And why on Earth does my head hurt, I wonder? Do you know, children?" asked Mickey. "Look at that shiny little orb on the table. I'm not sure what it is but I FEEL it's going to be USEFUL somehow, hohaha!" winked Mickey.
Walter's endless comments in that cheesy voice of his about the most mundane things are driving me up the wall
"Expensive watch, huh can't be mine..." "Oh wait I'm a murderer and in some sort of purgatory, damn forgot for a second. Oh look, a train, dorie loves...d'oh! I forgot again, I killed her...oh well am I still dreaming? Hello, any breakfast, toast, cornflakes...?"
I admire John's perseverance with these types of games, I would have exited out as soon the protag started with the incessant self-narrating.
This is the first time In a while where I believe when john says I'm not going to try to 100% complete the game and actually not try to 100 it lol 😂
I kind of wished that after the realization of the truth, Walter's line deliveries sounded.. somber? Reflective? Depressed. Why does he sound totally the same before he knew the truth and then after he knows the truth? Does he even care?
I assume they never told the voice actor when to change tone.
John can make any game entertaining for real.
this
He killed them? Oh no, I never saw it coming!
the real bad dad was the bad dad we made along the bad dad
At around 2:55, the Circus Ticket is wrong. 4th of August 1984 was a Saturday. Unplayable.
💀💀💀
Also, I gotta say.. I watched Still Wakes the Deep late, so I'm finishing multiple people's playthroughs as of yesterday and the day before. I loved it that much, lol.
But going from that to THIS? I know it's apples to oranges but it's like running face first into a brick wall. To be clear, I'm not criticizing you John for providing us with this viewing opportunity. I just wasn't emotionally prepared is all.
Still Wakes the Deep was good. I hated the ending at first, but after John pointed out it fits with Lovecraftian horror, I came around. But this? I hate all of this... It's a real 180 from SWtD.
@@SusiLarew I really liked the ending. I felt like it gave us a pretty realistic portrayal of what real people would look like going through something like that. Truly it would be hopeless, and we'd be running around from task to task thinking we're making headway all while the ship is literally and figuratively sinking around us. I do get why people may not like it though.
This is very bad though, I feel bad for people who recommended it because I'm sure they meant well lol. But it's like a reskin of Visage, Layers of Fear and a bit of PT of course. And they lay it on SOO thick.
Walter sounds like Jerry from Rick & Morty and I cannot unhear it..
😱 he does. It’s amazing.
I literally had to look up the VA, but no, just a coincidence.
I did learn however that the daughter is, in fact, played by a 27 year old woman.
Oh my goodness, you're right lol
@@GolemCC😂 there are so many child actors….
@@GolemCCWHAT. I was sure it was the same guy! Uncanny, man.
Honestly, I feel you’re absolutely spot on with the pill issue in these psychological horror games. I have a chronic illness (sickle cell disease) & have been on a minimum of 2-4 different medications since childhood with today at age 36 taking about 8. I explicitly organize them in one place as often as possible not just because of how critical they are but to keep track of refills & make sure I don’t lose any. The pill tables in horror games always make me think to myself “how does this character even know what they are taking at this point?” “Do they not have a side drawer or medicine cabinet for all of this?” I can somewhat grasp the excuse that the character might be an addict & thus may treat their pills the same way an alcoholic might treat drink with several bottles in nearly every room of the house or something & just sloppily self-medicating or the idea that since this character’s life is falling apart the strewn pills are meant to just suggest overall disorganization & apathy. However in the case of horror games like this like you mentioned it feels just like it starts and stops at shorthand with the devs not considering: A) Is this character an addict or are they actually medicating for something & B) Do they have a mental and/or physical issue & if they do then what specifically is that issue & is anything they are taking in the environment actually relevant to the treatment. Leaving it so vague smacks of boilerplate this character is just “disturbed” or “depressed” or “suffering” with minute indications of how or why. Hell, there are times when I feel extremely fatigued or depressed for days and leave my place a mess but at the very least my meds stay in reasonable order since they are critical & I never want to just be searching for the bottle of XYZ I genuinely need. As someone who takes a lot of medication rote portrayals like this only frustrate me with the stigma that there’s something “off putting” about just taking a lot of medication and little to no examinations of the issues they are ostensibly meant to treat.
It sort of ends up leaning into conspiracy with how it demonises medicine. If you took the advice of indie horror games, medicine is just a coping mechanism that will make you worse.
Its so hard to feel anything for Walter, or this type of set up. We feel nothing relatable. And with lines like " oh no... Did I murder them?" And 5min later "THEY NEVER SUSPECTED ME.." its jarring.
I SWEAR Walter's footsteps sound like a horse clip-clomping around and I keep thinking "Where did the horse come from?"
And who's horse is that?
This protagonist is such a yapper oh my goodness
the way this made me cackle
Ooo Twolfe is almost at 100k!! Congrats!!
Thanks for suffering through this game for everyone John! This game is looking to be yet another "psychological horror" bad dad walking simulator. Someone needs to make a PT clone bingo card.
I hate that you pointed it out and all i hear now is "ugghhhghgh I have to EUUGHGH where is uuueghhgfff this circus was yuuuughghffff oouughffff my wife uufffffff chess"
I agree that these psych horror games are excessive with the pill packets/pill bottles/beer bottles. I need them to get creative, there are so many ways people cope with life. I want to see a shopaholic or gambler one of these days.
I would love to see a shopaholic instead of an alcoholic for once. Give me a game where I can see the depressed protagonist has thousands of purchased yet unplayed games in their Steam library.
The title says it all lmao 😄
I remember when John used to play horror games.... Now he just plays Bad Dad Simulators... Wait a seco-
'We got a lot of pill packets' *turns around and looks down slightly* 'we got a LOT of pill packets'.
I'm ready for the John Wolfe detective show, where you debunk ghost hunters and work out exactly which pills they took to see the devil. Lol.
"DAD was such a DRAG...." - Dorie REVEIL (EDIT: I posted this just off the bathroom scene in the PT-esque house and in hindsight boy this sure did age a certain way.)
It's impressive when a character even on 1.75% speed sounds monotone and unemotionalish 😂
Cmon Dorie, get in the car. Chili's isn't gonna hold our reservation forever.
Thank you John. agree with others meds and alcohol are so overdone in horror!
I appreciate John going through the trouble of trying to match the colors to the game, it IS pretty fun lol. Also loved the impression of Walter's gas station run, the "Martha STEWIN'" joke, and his reaction to Walter's wild decision to make with the snippy-snippy. On another note: on one hand it kinda kills the creepy a bit because it breaks the mood so much it's funny, but on the other hand, boy oh boy do I love Walter just reacting in polite befuddled bemusement to EVERYTHING: his daughter's bedroom opening up into a forest, repeatedly waking up in some time loop hell dimension version of his house to his wife, the giant living blinking eyeball in his house... I'd love to shackle him and Caz (Still Wakes the Deep) together at the ankle and force them to hop along together one-legged race style through a horror game. Caz would LOSE IT lmao.
I appreciate your appreciation for big chonker mushrooms. Also the CK impression was too cute awww
man, even just watching the game felt tiring. like I've already seen all this before...
Edit after watching: One thing I've noticed is that we hear both Walter's verbal commentary and his "thoughts". It happens more in this part than the first part (e.g., around 52:00 mark). Not only is it unusual to have two sources of narration in this kind of game, but sometimes the thought comes right on the heels of the verbal comment in an unnatural way, like they're coming from different people? Not sure what that signifies, it doesn't seem like a timing mistake in the narration because they've gone out of their way to separate what he says aloud and what he thinks - why do that at all if it doesn't matter to the story? Although the significance may end up not even being worth the effort they put into doing this, I'm interested to see if it amounts to something.
Just what I was waiting for! Before even watching, the title suggests this isn't going to be any better than the 1st video - I wish I were disappointed but honestly, something about these kind of "womp womp" horror games is so relaxing to watch, I'm kind of glad lol hopefully it doesn't get so bad that it absolutely demolishes your mood though 💀
Honestly, agreed! John's voice is just relaxing to listen to so I don't really care what game he plays.
This weird, stilted main character performance is an odd tying characteristic of so many bad psychological horror games, at this point it needs its own name or something. The Conjuring House had it, Scrutinized (good game, bad voice acting), and now this. Jeez lol
Please, someone needs to make an indie horror bingo game. My suggestions that I saw in this video:
1. Mysteriously locked in room until you see something
2. The dad killed the wife/kids/family
3. Pills, beer bottles and other drugs littered around to show Deepest Trauma™
4. You have to fish something out of murky water
5. Red means scary
6. Protagonist doesn't realise they or someone they're looking for is dead (even though it's very obvious)
SPOILER FOR THE END OF THE VIDEO
Man, the bad dad simulator thing is so predictable and boring at this point, is it kind of pathetic I was actually kind of pleasantly surprised when it seemed to be going in the direction of Martha being the bad parent responsible for her family's hell? It was kind of a refreshing change that made me go "oh??" when I thought it was headed that way, and I was ready to feel sorry for Walter and Dorie to be trapped in some kind of time loop hell afterlife as innocent victims, it would be a different kind of horror: not the same old "oh I'M the bad guy, I deserve it, guess this is karma!" but "oh man it is UPSETTING to be put in the shoes of someone who absolutely did not deserve this and is suffering forever because of something outside of their hands."
Like when it comes to hells and horror, I think of things like... Drag Me to Hell or Hell Girl, where overall pretty innocent people can be condemned to Hell for small petty things and there's nothing they can do about it. Makes it so much more emotional and impactful imo than just "yeah, ok, guess you deserve it. guess we're done here. moving on..."
Day 1 of recommending John plays Lies of P, because it fits the channel well enough and needs more attention.
I am appreciative, and also, i feel bad that you had to suffer through this dumpsterfire of a game.
39:38 still waiting on the edge of my seat to hear what green means
I agree with the comment about the pills. One bottle in a medicine cabinet or end table would get the point across, without going overboard. That and a message on a machine saying a prescription is ready for pickup, or something realistic such as that. HIDDEN bottles of liquor, say in a toilet tank and behind things in a kitchen cabinet. I thought that would have been more effective in "Layers of Fear" rather than have bottles EVERYWHERE. Just my opinion, of course. Also, the desk in the middle of the forest made me laugh because it reminded me of a Monty Python skit!
The protagonist sounds like he's voiced by Cyril Figgus from Archer. Not all the time, but enough that I noted it.
Hello!
I like how Walter talks to himself like he's in a bad sitcom
Edit: nevermind, bro yaps too much
Bad dad says ugh as much as the mortician in Autopsy Simulator sighs. They must have copied each others notes 🤣
Another tropetrain. I enjoy watching john play these though.
Martha Stewing lmao✨ Call me easily entertained, but I always love your dad jokes
yeah i mean even in the 80's this was child abuse and cruelty. and a violation of child labor laws.
The cereal comment had me dying.
This is a golden era.
Frfr
I wonder sometimes what these devs are thinking when they're writing this kind of plot.
Like who would actually be horrorfied by this? Does anyone identify themselves or build some sort of empathy with the characters?
Walter is such a dumb character.
I feel like some games would make really rad Vermis style art books and don't then benefit much from being made in to full 'interactive' products...
From the title of the video alone, I can imagine how much John "enjoys" this game XD
hon hon hon le baguette circus
I feel like this would have been more interesting if he wasn't just another Indy horror bad dad. Would have been interesting if there was a twist and the mom killed him because he was getting in the way of her plans
I have a fear of mannequins so this one got the ol' ticker going a bit.
I know, I know, mannequin fear is lame.
I know it's par the course for these bad dad sim games but this Walter guy is an incredibly unlikeable main character
Having been spoiled on the ending in passing, I don't know if this Big Twist can undo all of the monotony of the less enjoyable horror tropes that the player has to endure for (allegedly) 81% of the game, but I sincerely hope the last chunk is better and proves me wrong. Fingers crossed... 😭
For me, I felt it wasn't enough to redeem the sludge it makes you tread through for the majority of the game. It also doesn't help that the voice acting and tired gameplay remains largely the same (minus a few tidbits they stole from other indie horror games) even after the big reveal, so it feels like a chore trying to get through the rest of the story.
@@samwisegamgee1243 that sucks 😭 I was also deeefinitely taken out of the narrative of the game from the start by the clunky dialogue/voice acting choices, so a plot twist wasn’t really gonna help with that
what was the big twist? I didn't catch it.
It’s revealed in the 3rd video…or should I say, “reveiled”? Lol
@@Laura_5757 😂👍
I'm only going to carry on watching if you continue adding CK anecdotes and impressions because that shit is just too cute
"Let me commit murder and NOT check to make sure I don't include someone else" Also it would 100% obvious who did it ... are these writers dumb?
Oh boy, this dad is BAD
I'm still watching the video so please ignore if you figured it out later, John, but I'm currently at the moment where you said you dislike FOV changing when sprinting. I'm sure when you went through the options before there was "Dynamic FOV when sprinting" option, you can disable it for the next video :)
Prewatch: Thanks John for continuing this playthrough!!
I had to chuckle when you said Spooky's House of Jumpscares cause I thought that so many times in the first video when you go through the attraction the first time.
That's the most ridiculous twist ever, I actually laughed when Walter realized he also murdered his daughter.
"You can't touch me, I'm touching Grace" 🏃♂️
Man how psychological horror games have gone downhill
The reason why the FOV changes when you sprint is to fool you into thinking you're moving faster than you actually are, because the sense of speed depends on FOV. Many games do this, sometimes combined with other tricks (like adding "swooshing" lines to your view). Sometimes there's actually no change in the speed of the player's movement, too ;)
Game shows an orb called "mysterious red orb".
Protagonist: "what is this, some kind of *cube*?"
😂😂😂
Man, Timore has come a long way
re-vay, John. Great commentary as always :)
I was searching this after John said it in the video 😂
Postwatch: Thanks again! The laser pointer puzzle was interesting.
Thank you for this video John Wolfe!
* Reads title * * puts down dinner 😮💨 * * watches both ads * * leaves comment and like for algo *
Love ya, John. Sorry this one is a let down.
someone tell him to turn off vignette. it is probably what is causing the weird field of view as it tends to mean, small portrait or view of something.
Of course the french made it
Commenting super early in. Not disagreeing with your sentiment about the scattered pills being a bit excessive; I'm ashamed to admit that my used sleeves of birth control are scattered all over my dresser and extremely reminiscent of the table at the beginning 😭
But probably not every single other surface of your house, too (and in every drawer)
Less is more when it comes to presentation, especially when your story contains what's intended to be mature, heavy, and triggering subjects. And sure it's a habit for some to let pill containers pile up and make a mess-myself included-but when the player is constantly being reminded that the character uses drugs (prescription or otherwise) or becomes heavy-handed and prop-like, as John was getting at.
I would point to Mortuary Assistant for what realistic (aka good) representation of a troubled character and drug related imagery. But Reveil, The Short Message, and games like it fall into that easy trap of explaining too much and having the player experience too little, which ruins the overall impact of the plot
John getting annoyed at the characters he plays will never not be funny lol
Visage is waaay better and scarier. This reminds me of visage more than PT.
How are the reviews good for this? It should be called Trope, because it's the most cliché horror game.
My computer is being super annoying and making it hard to watch videos for this and the last Elden Ring video (hopefully I'll be able to fix it tonight!), but I HAVE to say how the title of this video instantly made me laugh EDIT: Ok the reveal of what happened makes this 100% funnier ajkdj. John has NO patience for this lmaoo
what beverage cooler do you have behind you? I am trying to find a good one myself.
Title is a bad sign
tbf as someone who grew up in a house where beer bottles were everywhere as well, i feel somewhat represented by these lmao. but at the same time they could at least change it up
"My daughter is not allowed here because of all the dangerous chemicals!" he says as he confidently walks through a house where all sorts of meds and alcohol just lie around, safely in a child's reach like a bag of skittles.
(Not saying that a paint thinner and antidepressants are the same, obviously, but neither should be kept accessible to a kid)
It took me several videos to place this, but you remind me of the cat from kiki's delivery service
the fortune teller sounds like the heavens basement guy
Is the “big amazing original twist” the mom is evil instead of the dad for once……
.
.
.
52;40 oh look at that we’re still bad dad wow so cool much amazed at plot
That’s not the twist. Still haven’t got there yet.
Nope.
@@jdphillips7539you’re still fanboying this game? Lmfao. The “twist” is still crap and the game is still lame
I stg if they use the death card to mean literal death, I will explode
The protagonist’s unshakable calm is really ruining the mood of the game for me.
Keep at it John this game really is not what it seems LOL
LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOO
The game looks amazing - clearly a lot of love and effort went into its creation. I'm hopeful we get something other than "bad dad" at the end... regardless, having a great time watching John play!
WOMP WOMP
If you are looking for a more phonic way of saying Réveil try saying: “Rave-hay-yuh”
Réveil is french it means "awake" or promply "wake up"
I wish "bad dad simulator" was more of a meme and less of a reality in these games.
I think Zohan's voice is familiar because its that one AI TikTok narrator right? Am I tripping?
I thought the same lol!
Is it not just the main character’s voice but a little different?
@@Fuzzysea693That's what I thought, too.
So, like this?