The History of Vin Diesel's Surprisingly Excellent Riddick Games
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ก.ย. 2021
- Please consider supporting us on Patreon: / gvmers
When Pitch Black released in the year 2000, moviegoers were treated to a flawed, yet entertaining slice of science fiction. Its plot - which saw a crew of interstellar travelers band together to survive a hostile planet - was formulaic, but its setting and cast captured the imagination. And no other character on its cast did so better than Richard B. Riddick. An enigmatic antihero portrayed by Vin Diesel, Riddick’s mixture of smarts and physical abilities proved decently popular, and all but guaranteed that audiences would be seeing him once more on the silver screen.
Few could have predicted that on the eve of his next cinematic appearance, a little-known Swedish game developer called Starbreeze would release a expertly-crafted video game starring the anti-hero - and that it would prove more popular than the movie it released alongside. This game was Escape from Butcher Bay, a stealth-centric action title that followed Riddick’s numerous attempts to escape from a maximum security prison using whatever means necessary.
While circumstances surrounding its release prevented Butcher Bay from being as massive of a success as Starbreeze wanted it to be, its critical acclaim put the studio on the map - and before long, a follow-up called Assault on Dark Athena made its way to market. The latter featured a higher emphasis on action over stealth, and ended up being less well received. But its reception did little to sully its predecessor’s legacy - or prevent the people who made it from eventually going on to do bigger, better things.
This is the videogame history of the Chronicles of Riddick.
Support the channel by becoming a member:
th-cam.com/users/GVMERSjoin
Subscribe to GVMERS:
th-cam.com/users/subscription_c...
Follow GVMERS on Twitter:
/ gvmers_
Like GVMERS on Facebook:
/ gvmers
Join the GVMERS Discord channel:
/ discord
Subscribe to the GVMERS subreddit:
/ gvmers - เกม
Notice how there's no HUD in the gameplay. All weapons have laser sights, and when in stealth mode, Riddick could hear enemy heart beats for situational awareness. This game was way ahead of its time.
im horrible at stealth games but im intrigued by games that have gameplay whose depth goes far beyond games now
Exactly, love this aspect of the game
It was, was more movie like which every game is like today, aged so well.
@@oasisbeyond I'd go as far to argue that games nowadays try TOO hard to be cinematic, instead of hitting a nice balance
@@majik5194
True.
I feel like Beyond Good & Evil was another good example of cinematic/gameplay balance.
The coolest part to me about all of this was how much of a role Vin Deisel played in the development. Not just being a face for marketing but actually being interested in what’s being made was really awesome.
He's a big time gamer
@@Shadow.in.History The man is practically responsible for XCOM: Enemy Unknown and Enemy Within being released. He loved the games so much he funded the rest of development after 2K cut funding.
Too many people don't know about these games, but those who do, we consider FAMILY.
Oh god cringe….
Wo Wa
😂 Didn't get the joke I presume?
@@brando3342 I got it exactly. That family crap is so cringe.
@@j.a.weishaupt1748 Oh okay lol
One of the most underrated games I've ever played. It had some flaws in mission design, but I adored every minute.
you want a vent tool i think yah goonna need et ?
It's quite highly rated, but perhaps it is underappreciated?
Underrated means people don’t think highly of it. You’re using the term wrong.
The soundtrack was amazing too! Great voice acting, gameplay and story. Wished they made another Riddick game after Dark Athena.
@@AricTWS I don't think anyone knows how to use the word underrated *overlooked* is a better word to use.
Legend has it these games were made with the power of family, and that's why they're so good.
beautiful
I got a good chuckle from that one, thanks! Haha
lmao
Best comment right here!
Funny how family became Vin Diesel's official Trademark
Butcher Bay remains of my absolute favorite games. I remember being floored by its presentation and sound design. I also remember loving just how organic the conversations felt, they didn't feel like "dialogue written for a game" but rather, something so much more grounded and Mamet-esque.
The intro stands as one of my favorites as well, with a style so well-realized, it (in my opinion) gave me the same goosebumps s the original Half-Life.
That game was challenging, even on the normal difficulty.
I recently replayed the game for a second time. I have to say that its a fun if flawed game. Some parts are harder than they need to be and quests are somewhat arbitrary.The stun gun is overpowered and even if choose to not use it some parts are very difficult to pass without it. I liked BB will probably replay it again in the coming years.
Getting walked through the opening section of the prison was such an experience. Everyone heard you was a bad ass but never really believed it, and then you get the entire game to show ‘em just how much of a badass you are. Loved it!
I also love that someone has created a film from the game cutscenes, made for a great weekend watching both games and all the films. 👌
Definitely agree with the comparison to Half-Life
I remember reading about it in one of the gaming magazines before it came out and being blown away by the graphics. It really was one of the best looking games at the time.
Starbreeze' releases of Butcher Bay, The Darkness and Dark Athena were a fantastic trio of games and should have turned them in a AAA studio.
They’re publishing the payday franchise now.
Enclave as also awesome.
@@biikuajet never got a chance to play it.
@@CP-uw4ts True, Starbreeze is now publishing Payday. Though, the team responsible for Butcher Bay, Dark Athena and The Darkness ended up leaving Starbreeze (shortly after finishing The Darkness) to start a new studio Machine Games. As Machine Games, they created the recent Wolfenstein games, which are also fantastic games (except for the turd that Arkane Studios created 'Wolfenstein: Youngblood').
@@theresapimentacointheglove8760 nobody speaks of Youngblood…..
This universe went criminally unexplored!! Even if he only lends his voice going forward, I want to see more of Riddick and the world (necromongers notwithstanding...)
I love Riddick and Pitch Black is one of my favorite movies of all time...
...but I disagree. I think the main reason the sequels failed is because Riddick's "tale" isn't one that you can stretch into oblivion like most. The reason why PB was so good was because it had an awesome char and a derivative but supremely fun story to tell that perfectly worked as a one-off thing. There's not much you can do with the character now tbh and making a sequel would mean rehashing the same ol' idea over and over. Like the sequels did. And that's just...not fun. That's why most sequels fail. Riddick's universe isn't that rich either. It's basically just a f-up version of our current one. So again...there's actually very little to explore imho.
TL;DR: I would LOVE for more Riddick movies...but let's face reality: they'll never make anything good now that the genie is out. Games on the other hand do have more room to move forward though so....fingers crossed?
Actually I would like to fight Necromongers. And ignore the guy above me... the movie sequels were awesome and there is plenty of world-building in them to expand the universe upon.
Just because this is old now does not mean it is good now. At best, it's mediocre, both the games and the movies.
@@Campo_ I've just played the riddick games recently and I have to say that in my eyes Butcher bay is a bit of a masterpiece. I felt so immersed in the character and the world. Also for years I've just thought that the chronicles of Riddick movie is shit however I've recently seen the directors cut and I have to say it actually makes it a somewhat good movie. It expands the world way more and actually shows you character's motivations more fully explored
@@Campo_ Butcher Bay isn't good "just because it's old". It was highly regarded and reviewed really well when it was brand new. The movies I agree are nothing really special, the second game was nothing really special, but Butcher Bay was a rare masterpiece of a game.
I replayed both titles about two months ago.. They still hold up really well. Especially Escape from Butcher Bay, which I completed in two sittings on my days off, only stopping to sleep.. So good.
Yeah I did the same, about 6 months back. I never played Dark Athena, so that was a treat. I was also surprised at how pretty the games still are. I enjoyed Butcher Bay most, of course. Please bring on that new movie. Great docu, GVMERS!
DUDE I remember escape from butcher bay! It was to me the Splinter Cell game I liked lol.
Same I just completed both games back to back recently on xbox 360. Took me about a month but it was a hell of a ride! I got all smoke packs and bounty cards too.
I played it back in the day during college in between college finals to unwind. Wonderful games, I hope we get a sequel one day.
What did you play it on? I bought a digital copy and was so excited to play it again, but couldn't get it to work with Windows 10
If any of the Devs read this: I thank you for the many hours I spent on Escape from Butcher Bay. I love Pitch Black and finding out there was a prequel story game for it, I had to get a copy.
Every other game: Eat this snack bar to regain health.
Riddick games: (Large sharp pole stabs you in the neck)
Wait for a while
Riddick's health bar will refill itself a bit
we treat you right while the world treat's you rough
I can handle needles, but those NanoMEDs... scare me a lot.
@@creatorsfreedom6734 When the Wooorld beats you up
Starbreeze made some legit classics. The Darkness is one of the best FPSes I ever played, and so is EFBB. I've started playing Syndicate and that, too, is off the chain.
I feel like the darkness took what butcher bay did and improved on it in almost every way. The semi open world design was great because you had all the outside areas you go to for missions and the subway as a central hub that you return to often. The subway always had new and interesting people to talk to with fun little side quests to do for them. Both games did a great job at making the world feel alive and lived in.
@@xgrillsenx yeah there's something really atmospheric about their approach, it's very experiential - I remember having a real 'zen' moment just watching an old cartoon on that TV in the subway in The Darkness, I was like man it's so cool just to exist inside this game. And they tell a great story too, you really feel like you went on a journey with your player character.
Enclave is also a lot of fun, some really atmospheric maps in that game.
@@system-error I never even played either Darkness game, yet the name JACKIE ESTACADO just randomly pops into my head throughout the day and has for years. They had such excellent marketing and story building for that game.
Syndicate is criminally underrated. The chaingun section was nothing less than glorious.
Butcher bay was so immersive. Blew my mind on the Xbox. It really has that mid 2000’s golden gaming age touch.
I absolutely LOVED Butcher Bay. Pitch Black made a massive impact on my preteen self, I watched it back to back to back and could probably quote nearly the whole thing even today. And for me, being able to see Riddick's body in a lot the 'cutscenes' in game, when you jumped into vents, shimmied along pipes, etc was so incredibly awesome.
MAG into Portal into Riddick, you’re on fire 🔥
Now we need BioShock
How about FreeSpace? If not that, then Star Wars: The Dark Forces Saga featuring Kyle "Forcedamned" Katarn?
Some of the most underrated games of the 2000s. I loved both of these and Starbreeze as a studio in general never got the love they deserved. Their 2012 version of Syndicate is an excellent shooter too. RIP Starbreeze
Starbreeze has made most of my favorite shooters. I'm very fond of being able to see the character model and moving in game. I'm fond of how tactile the environments can feel as I play. I hope to see all their games remastered for newer consoles and holding out for a new Riddick game.
This game blew my mind back in the day! It was way ahead of its time. I'd love a remake or continuation. If ever there were a game series that deserved more recognition, this is it.
Escape from Butcher Bay will forever be in my heart! Thank you, GVMERS!
I remember when this was compared to Doom 3 and Half life 2 in 2004 when I read PC magazines... good times
Yeah real-time shadows
@@user-yq5kw2gt8r Yup I remember they focused on the reflective surfaces, just like in splinter cell chaos theory
It was better than DOOM 3 and nearly on par with HL2. It's hard to believe this series died with so little fan fair. At the least the studio lives on in MachineGames. They're still amazing at what they do.
Pretty cool how the movie "The last witch hunter" is based off his DND character in real life. lol
Oh man, I remember this movie. I remember the hype that was Riddick killing the other prisoner with just a cup, and then everyone fleeing when he put a pin on the table afterwards.
This is by far MY FAVORITE Game of All Time I am so glad you are finally talking about it
I really hope they bring Butcher Bay and Athena to Epic or Steam. Literally 2 of the best stealth action games I've ever played. Glad to see others in the comments enjoyed them as well 🙃🤘🏿
The love and dedication just shines in every aspect of these games.
They show their age but...damn. They still look good. and feel great to play as well
I loved the fact the sequel came with a remastered copy of the first game bundled in for free
I was totally blown away how amazing this was on Xbox. I played through a few times and played it differently each time. It beat doom 3 to its main graphical point. I got the bundle I think it was PS3 and played through again and it was still a great game. The second game however went on too long. You felt badarse when you escape the ship for a sloppy second act. That said I have valley of the dead await the turmoil on my daily playlist.
Thank you for making this video! I loved this game but was quiet young at the time and don’t remember much of it, this was great to watch
I downloaded a warez version of the first Riddick back in 2005, burned it on 5 cd's. I remember playing it through the first time and thinking, that this is next gen and all games should look and feel like this. The gameplay experience is very engaging and entertaining. A lot of games fail to deliver this kind of engagement nowadays, as they focus on how to gamble and loot coins.
I just recently found out, that there was a sequel and got my hands on it. I played that through as well and I must say that graphically the second game looked better when you were on the spaceship, but while on ground, the game showed it's age quickly.
Overall the second game was a warm welcome but it didn't come close to the first title.
Starbreeze if you read this, damn you nailed it the first time! Way ahead of its time and I'm so sad that I wasn't able to support you when I was younger.
I seriously hope that Riddick as a saga continues, but I doubt there will be anything like the first game. The graphics are 2005'ish and a lot of the technologies are abandoned in modern work flows, such as Stencil Shadows, that actually make this game unique (like Doom3).
It would be extremely hard to achieve the original games atmosphere with modern graphics API's.
Still one of my favourite games when I was young. Strongly recommend playing it even now, as it works with windows 10 out of the box and it has a lot to offer.
If only the story were about 4 times longer...
Vin Diesel, this is probably one of your best feature games and probably one of the best movie games of all time! Next time make it longer haha.
Man what an interesting time early to mid 2000s... High Shcool years for me.....All the fps rage was Halo Halo Halo.... But there were gems that got popular by word of mouth. Republic Commando and Butcher Bay. I remember I was sooo envious of those that owned a Xbox and wishing I could play those two games. ugh.
Pitch Black and the Chronicles of Riddick are extremely amazing movies, the flaws are more like fine spices that add to the flavor of the movie. The newest Riddick movie was alright but if Vin can get back to making Riddick movies and expand the franchise in a way similar to Chronicles, he would be swimming in money. We need more of these movies! The games were pretty great too! Although I will admit to not having completed the second game, it is abit harder then the first. I will get around to it one day. Great video GVMERS.
Chronicles of Riddick was the worst movie I’ve ever seen
@@yellowcrayonkid The theatrical version was bad. Director's cut was better. All in all, the movie still cut too much out and needed to be split up.
@@yellowcrayonkid It had Alexa Davalos in it!!!!!
Growing up as a young teen with games like riddick, the darkness, fear is just something that's so hard to explain. No matter how great games look today, being in that mindset and playing these during their peak was just something else
Games back then were less samey and more willing to experiment.
They were built with smaller teams, more focused on a singular vision, less focused on mass appeal and made as games the devs wanted to play, not just a product to monetize.
@@maskoblackfyre that's definitely a big part of it
Oh man, I don’t think I’ve ever been thins excited for one of their videos. SUPREMELY underrated game and one of my top 5 favorites. I wish I could still play it on current Gen consoles.
Like the Ps4?
@@guidedexplosiveprojectileg9943 PS4 is not current gen anymore.
@@EliseoRocha I would like to think the ps4 would get the game at the same time the current gen consoles get them
I was a teenager when Riddick came out on Xbox and didn't have the money to buy it, but I played the demo from an oxm disc and I must've played it 5 times and showed all my friends and there's no possible way PS2 could've ever made anything like that. I'm not surprised to learn that version was dropped. It was visually mind blowing and so open ended like splinter cell. Amazing game.
Escape from butcher bay was one of my favorite games on the original Xbox! I used to replay this all the time would listening to beck haha
This and Enclave, two of my favourite games on the og xbox.
First time i heard a goblin talking swedish in enclave was glorious. :)
Love your guys sense of professionalism. Keep putting em out and I'm gonna keep watching!
In 2004 I beat the game within 24h of release and decided to write a review. This review landed me a journalism job. That led to working as a producer. Today I run tinybuild. Eternally grateful to Starrbreeze and Vin Diesel.
RagnarRox did an amazing 1 hour and 20+ minute video on the Riddick games, and he really did them justice. That's a video that anyone who's interested in these games should watch, and it's a great channel in general for video game horror history.
This video made me want more thanks for the tip
Played it, loved it.
Totally blew all my expectations out the water.
This is probably the best movie-to-game release ever. It took everything that was interesting about the movies and expanded on that into a setting that was only teased by word in the movies. I mean, as soon as Riddick talks about how he escaped a prison, your mind goes to that place immediately. Add to that a thick atmosphere and Riddick´s f*ck you-attitude. Excellent work by Starbreeze and it´s partners.
The Riddick universe is one of my favourites. Even after the movies and games there is till so much left unseen.
How do you guys not have even 1m subs yet? Its insane, you're the best game doc series, I've watched this channel for literally years now.
Love the editing!!!
Long overdue, this great game was ahead of it's time & for that reason it's one of my favorite gameS of all time along w/ my splinter cells & Rainbow 6's back in the OG Xbox era, I replayed it to death. Its crazy but never heard of the Sequel til watching this video, thank you GVMERS.
I had no idea that Starbreeze staff moved on to Machine Games. That makes sense considering how good Wolfenstein is.
This is easily one of my favorite channels on this platform
been PATIENTLY waiting for a Riddick 4 movie. The fact that the third movie even came out still gives me hope
As always, Great work y’all!!
Amazing videos every time, each video definitely deserves more views!
One of the funniest moments in the game is one part when you're going to the mines you can buy a stun gun a guy took from a guard. If you shot him with the stun gun he would say before he went down "I knew you were gonna do that". It always cracked me up
The darkness was a brilliant first person shooter, one of the first games I bought personally, loved it.
This game is superb. I want more Riddick… games and films. Would love another game to Kill Count. Amazing back in the day on the Xbox too!
I agree that the Starbreeze series of games were amazing! They had a few bugs, but they not only had an engaging storyline, but successfully combined exploration and some light puzzle solving with EXCELLENT combat.
Going to see Riddick 3 or whatever you want to call it was a seminal moment in my life. It was the first time I drove myself to the movie theater to go see an R rated movie by myself. I hadn't seen the other movies (beyond catching bits and pieces of Pitch Black on cable) and was going in without having seen a single piece of marketing for it beyond posters. I was blown away by how hard I instantly attached to this character, and it was just a cool movie all around. Can't wait to see whatever gets added to the universe next!
It's really nice to see this underrated franchise getting some coverage from you guys
love these videos, keep em coming!!!
There they are, my fav. game doc people :D
RagnarRox has a fantastic 1 hour and 20+ minute video on the Riddick games. Also a fantastic channel in general
@@CGoody564 Just checked it out and it looks interesting.
Gaming historian is another good channel
I like Noclip
My as well grew up with them. First played at 8 or 9. even wanted to look like riddick. I mean look at my pfp lmao. Those games and the movies are masterpieces and riddick the best rolemodel
The amazing graphics of the first game on PC back then !! Oh man..
Butcher Bay is something I still play every few years. I've beat it about 4-5 times. It still holds up to modern day standards of graphics and gameplay. There really is no other game like it. And Dark Athena is awesome too
Stealth sections were realy good and tense in these games .. And difficult .. Hope Vin will collaborate again with some developers .. Great channel Gymers !! .. Keep it up ..
I do wonder if any of the devs are still around or where they are today. “Creator of Dark Athena and Butcher Bay” is something worth putting on a resume for sure
I've been thinking about these games a lot lately for some reason. Super slept on, I wish we could get more.
pitch black is still one of my favorite sci fi films as a kid it was my go to films to watch out of my limited dvd collection lol i was 10 it was 2010, i miss them days 😥
First picked it up on the OG Xbox, than later as Dark Athena on the 360.
Played through the games several times and still love them.
everyone keep in mind Vin Diesel is in one of the old Commercial for Street Shark toys
also Vin's cameo in Tokyo Drift, he decided to forgo a paycheck and instead he wanted the IP rights to Riddick. he owns Riddick and i want another movie
Loved Chronicles of Riddick Escape From Butcher Bay/Assault on Dark Athena. I would like to see a new one. It had some issues, such as AI inconsistency, but overall the gameplay, puzzles and story was a really great experience.
loved this game. had so many unique changes going on throughout the course of the campaign. Always shaking things up. pretty cool.
Well done reconstruction, like always!🤟🏻❤️
Bruh I used to love watching the fight compilations of this game on TH-cam when I was younger lol
Such good times man
Beautiful doc
I loved the series thank you for making a video on it.
this channel is incredible
every video upload is a gift
This game (Escape from Butcher Bay) was ahead of its time. Great memories....
I still have Enclave installed on my computer, but I can't find Riddick, yet I'm sure I bought it and played it years ago.
With the Darkness they form my "not great but I like them anyways" games.
The first time I played Butcher Bay back in the day I was blown away
enclave and escape from butcher bay were 2 of my fav games back then :)
Fantastic games!
I was also a fan of The Wheelman game too.
Just in case anyone is wanting to go through the movies to set them up for the games. Its worth knowing that the movies follow on perfectly from one another in sequence to make one long story but most people are unaware that there is a movie that comes after Pitch Black called Dark Fury, its a 100% animated movie voiced by Diesel and takes place between the moment they take off in that ship at the end of the first movie and well, I won't spoil anything but the end of Dark Fury leads straight into the next movie.
I love Enclave, I played both Light and Dark campaigns numerous time on every difficulty, and I even found all of the gold pieces in every level without using internet guides. It was the only game at the time where bows were actually somewhat realistic. The only similar game that I can say that is better than Enclave is Severance : Blade of Darkness.
What an astonishing games, hopefully someday someone will continue it...
Butcher Bay and Assault on Dark Athena are a pair of my fav stealth games. I played them on the 360 on a duel pack remastered thing. They were great, I wish they came out for steam.
Need to replay these
OMG so glad this is here! Butchers was such an underrated game!!! the one time a game was good after a movie
Butcher bay is a fucking unrecognized classic.
This franchise deserve way much more attention... There is so much they could do with it
Yesss love this channel
Man I LOVED those games growing up on the Xbox. Truly wished someone had made more.
I remember playing this at release, i was still a kid
And i was absolutely floored with the presentation. The bleak, dark atmosphere dripping. The feeling of constant dread/no hope as you go further and deeper into the facility in order to "Escape"
The way the robots scared the living bajeebes out of me. The dark tunnel parts are still not as bad as going against those... fucking mechs which would instakill you if you got too close, and they were always closing distance.
Damn, this game truly was deserving of all the praise
This games it’s like little deus ex 1 but with Vin Diesel, really love this series. One of the first immersive sim games earlier than this world being so popular.
Ah man every once in a while I replay these games, usually when the movie shows up in tv. Really love these games!
I'm always shocked how Americans always tend to forget, that there is something called PC and it can run games. Chronicles of Riddick Escape from Butcher Bay came to PC this same year as Xbox version. I still have my CD.
The Riddick Titles were pretty much the entire Basis for the Arkham Games.
The Riddick games still look really fucking good even by today’s standards. I’m actually quite surprised they’ve held up as much as they have. And the lighting effects are still the best to ever be crafted in a video game. Bar none. My mind is honestly blown.
I’m not arguing with you here but I think for light mattering in games the big 3 are Riddick, Splinter Cell and maybe Thief. I remember being technically blown away by shooting lights out back in the day 😂😂🔥🔥👍
The hell are you talking about? Any title with ray traced lighting looks better than this game.
You think the lighting in this looks better than Quake RTX? LOL
@@unitedfools3493 Relative to when Riddick came out? Yes.
I remember someone lending me a PC Riddick game. It had several CDs
The old X Files game on pc had like 8 discs, where as it only had 4 discs for the PS1.
Bullshit, no game could be that big.
Both games were really good. One of the early surprises for me.
I recently replayed Riddick when switched to ultrawide. I was amazed when I saw that the game natively supports 21:9 - a game that was released 12 years ago. To this day some devs can't properly support ultrawide. Yes, I'm talking about you Ubisoft ...
In an interview for GameRadar, Vin talked about the possibility of another Chronicles of Riddick video game. - I hope Machine Games is going to do it, but it can be difficult because rights to IP probably still have Starbreeze.
Love that one of my most played games as a kid was the same makers of enclave, another one of my most played first games.
i remember finding the demo on the dvd when i put it in my xbox and being blown away