One of my favourite side informations in Hylics 2 was learning that aparently Wayne is not a single guy but something like a hivemind. If the current guy dies his body dissolves but the spirit will be in the next Wayne larva that then grows to be humanoid. The game even had several enemies that are "failed" Waynes that lack the spirtual connection to the hive and go rogue.
Yeah, the Warpo enemy is a product of force feeding abducted Wayne Larvas Juice, and I feel that more iterations of modified Waynes are going to be in the third game as seen by all the Wayne styled enemies that Mason teased.
What's also cool is that Old Wayne (Hylics 1) and Wayne Prime (Hylics 2) are the only Wayne's with total individuality and free will. They're the only ones not controlled by the hivemind (which becomes a problem in Hylics 3 as we'll soon see, listen to the Absent Moon album.)
"you can easily miss out on the 3 additional fuckos who will join you in exploration" is exactly how id describe the coincidence of finding my own friends😤🤙 awesome video!!
YES! a video essayist whose outlook on art i can absolutely agree with. i think channel is so underappreciated, your writing is just so fun to listen to! i vibe so hard with this channel. you really take a step back and appreciate stuff for what it is, embracing abstraction, and i absolutely respect that. so glad i stumbled upon this channel!!
There's something about the host's narration that's kind of mesmerizing, and it fits so well thematically with the review. The cadence, the relaxed tone of voice, the unique use of slang, the way certain words are pronounced in ways I've never even heard. I can't quite pin down the accent, and I think that's really cool.
Style is when a thing has personality that strikes, fits, and flows. Style is substance, because the best art, the most weighty and crazy, has hella swagger.
This review captures a style that doesn't formally exist, but clearly exists online and has for like a decade. It's punk as fuck in a positive way. There was a tweet that made the rounds once that stuck with me. "In an age of performative cruelty, kindness is punk." To look at Hylics and show that loving art is about loving art and to also say fuck off to hating shit. We've been living through a world where we remember Spider-Man 3 as a masterpiece and opinions like this are how we remembered that.
Definitely your best work, some of those visual flourishes and transitions were genius. In a way, it almost feels like the video is about itself, or maybe that the video exists as supporting evidence for its own thesis
Never before has a video made me decide to subscribe to someone as quickly as this. The way you talk about art is something I both highly connect with, but also just mesmerizing. You truly show how much you not only love this game, but the medium of games as a whole especially as a means of artistic expression. Definitely going to go through your other videos.
Thank you so much for this amazing video! Not only have you been saying what I’ve been thinking, it’s a nice reassurance that I can unapologetically be myself in my creations.
I like this more conversational style of video essay. It's very intelligent and intellectually stimulating, but it's more interested in conveying information honestly and authentically than it is in being taken seriously and embodying the conventions of "academic" language. Awesome work.
I've been unable to make art for almost a decade, then discovering Hylics through your video changed everything so thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me.
This game looks magical and artful, I am entranced and just bought it. For me claymation is firmly in the uncanny to unsettling category, with Skullmonkey and weird adult TV shows being my frame of reference at an age where I was not mature yet to get them. This time I am enchanted and need to get into the meat (or clay) of this. And your casual way of talking is just the perfect fit for talking about games like this. I am in love with listening to you! Thank you for the video!
Dude, I love how you talk; it feels like I'm less so listening to a professional essay that sounds like the text was put together formally and more like I'm just listening to a friend rant about something they're passionate about - also in essay form but far more casual than what you'd submit to your teacher on a Google doc in MLA format. New to watchin' ya, already subscribing, and definitely looking forward to more! Now to binge-watch all your vids; I like your voice - it's nice both as background listening for while I'm drawing and as intent listening where that's the primary subject of my attention.
I love how such a random series like Hylics found a cool way to streamline it's gameplay so efficiency and thematically while looking and sounding the way it does. I love these games so much and look forward to any future work done by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone. Great video!
I normally don't tend to comment on a lot of videos, but this is really a special occasion. The way you were able to translate the malleable nature of creative expression and how everything in the eye of the beholder is filtered through their own perspective and life experiences into words is incredible! You really delve deep in those reflective thoughts obout how we all see art and tend to devalue everything that decides to deviate from the norm, the expectations of the general public. Truthfully, art goes much deeper than that, there's a million of different perspectives such as the billions of humans that exist and have their own experiences and views in this world we all share as home. As an artist myself it was really conforting to hear this, I consume a lot of media that is a bit more out there and unconvencional, I really value the way art makes me feel, the questions they create above only their stylistic value, the most impactful type of art are the ones that disturb, that wake up those discomforts deep in our subconcious, that makes us remember the sensations and feeling that makes us human, it's really great to be able to ignore other's expectations and really represent what we think, regardless if the end result is stylisticaly appealing or not. It's always great to feel the freedom art can give us as a mean of expression, the way we execute, the message we are trying to share doesn't matter, if our essence is expressed, people will resonate with it or dive deep into something they never thought about before. It was really fascinating to watch this video and hear your point of view in the topic, it is clear that you value art and really lets yourself get immerged in the feeling and atmosphere that a piece of art gives off, it was really important for me to see someone who shares a lot of my ideas and oppinions towards art, and try to look past the superficial esthetic value and dive deep in the always changing meaning of art to our personal percepcion.
@@maraganger It is pretty cool to discover that other people might share similar opinions to us, even if I never thought obout some of the stuff you talked in this video, it's always interesting be exposed to a different perpective as the one you are used to. I also value art a lot and it is conforting to find someone that resonates so deeply with creative expression like that. Thanks for posting this, you did an absuletely amazing work.
I never liked "style over substance", there's something dismissive about it, as if style can't have substance somehow. The truth is that style is art and art by its very nature is substantive. I never got around to playing Hylics myself, but I love watching videos about it because these games seem so cool, the unique visuals were clearly lovingly crafted with passion and a desire to create something that stood out in a big bad way.
I really resonated on your last part about how not everything has to have a deeper meaning to be enjoyed. I say this since I've had a similar media challenge me and took away that "style over substance" distain I had for a while. I still do have that opinion at times but I learned the value of enjoying something for what it is. Not everything has to be this great monologue on deeper stuff to have value. I think that ties into how some people look down on others who aren't hustling to a greater purpose. I don't like that since sometimes trying to look for a deeper meaning you miss the whole point and the experience of what your looking at. "You cannot go on 'seeing through' things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to 'see through' first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see."- C.S. Lewis. This is how I feel when I see directors or movies or shows try so hard to be this deep thing when that just takes away the charm of the story. The story over embellishes itself in meta commentary and loses itself in what has to say. Maybe I'm becoming a cynical old bag but I notice that a lot of stories try to comment on everything but end up saying nothing of substance. I think this lack of voice is due to how there is not enough exploration on their own unique experiences and just each story seems to be a regurgitated slushy of previous masters. I don't mean that artists don't steal or take but that they add to convo with their voice. Hylics, Dorohedoro, and Dandadan do this extremely well. The author is not interested if you understand them or not cause they are not trying to appeal to everybody. I love that. Unapologetically Stylized. I wanna make a video about it but I wonder if I am making any sense. Thank you. Maraganger, I really found this video and your whole channel valuable.
Man this whole video was a love letter to all types of weird and absurd media that decided to go all out there on aesthetics and vibes. Also love the shoutouts to Chulip and Banjo Gyro near the end of the video
That intro alone got me to subscribe! I love it when video games or any piece of work focuses on style to bring substance. As that approach brings in fresh, tasty experiences that are created through an insane amount of thought and effort. Anyways, the vibes of this video are immaculate and I love the graphics created for it. I'm excited to check out the rest of your videos!
I grew up watching chainsaw maid regularly and the fact that you dropped takena in this video based around a game that is everything I’ve loved in the modern era is just 10/10. So happy to have watched this. Thank you 🙏🏻
Ever since I watched Jerma play Hylics (perfect combination) i have been obsessed with Hylics Its such a unique game. And it's definitely gonna be one of my favorites for a long time
You were one of my fave recently found youtubers, and then you pointed out the (mostly incorrect) overuse of the term "surreal" as a blanket statement of weirdness and not what it really means... And now I'd kill for you. Thank you for doing the godly work.
i got obsessed with Hylics like a day ago, and i've looked everywhere just to hear more thoughts on these games, im so happy i could find your channel, for i came looking for a videogame review and came out happy knowing that a lot of people do actually apreciate art in games or rather, videogames as a medium for expression. Hearing your thoughts its wonderfull, i wish more people shared their opinions with the passion that you have for these, it's so cool! (sorry for my broken english tho)
Hylics 2 is like watching black magic happen in real time. I remember there was this interview Mason Lindroth stated that he made the party members look the way they do to easily animate them because they were simple for him to reproduce. Then you look at the enemies in Hylics 2 like the Feral Hydrostat and the Truculent, and I'm sitting here like: "Oh my god, how did this man animate these without taking a whole year to work on them? This is unreal."
Chuck, I know you lurk on these Hylics videos. Please tell Mason to give his hands a break once in a while. The amount of effort it takes to produce just one of his works must be insane. Also take a break yourself while you're at it thank you.
I’m so happy that I clicked on this video, your channel is to die for I’ve been searching for something like this and I cannot wait to see what you share with us next!!
I always rolled my eyes when someone would complain about a game or something being "style over substance" as if a work of art being visually oriented is less sophisticated than something more story driven . It's like saying "this painting sucks id rather read the book" or something idk.
This is my first video from you (drawn in by an hour long video about hylics) and god bless you did not dissapoint. Besides your well structured points, your own style, both visual and the way you speak, really show your appreciation for the medium with emphasis on the surreal and "weird" (I mean that in the best way possible). As someone who completely shares your opinion I've often felt alone in a world where the peopke around me don't appreciate art in general, let alone stuff like hylics. Subcribed after only 5 minutes, truly a great essay!
btw if you are interested in some philosophical writing on the idea that "style is substance" (or, form just is content) I recommend Gadamer's essay "On the Relevance of the Beautiful" (and other essays from the book of that title). It's actually pretty commonly expressed in aesthetics that you cannot really separate form and content, but Gadamer's expression of that idea is incredibly compelling
Somebody who gets their point across when it comes to art as well as doesn't hold back on cursing? Take my sub. Fantastic video on the games. I personally cannot wait for Hylics 3.
Waves are hitting my brain; this was so much. I've never heard of this game, and wtf this looks intense. The art scene you highlighted feels so obscure. You have this 'cool person' speech more authentic than ive ever heard. What you said about a review being your feelings rather than a ranking was important. There's a dozen conversations i feel i could have from this video, but i can't begin. Stay funky
this video owns! I've never really seen much of these games before. I knew they exist but seeing them talked about and shown off like this did a lot for me. Thanks
this is my first video of yours that i've seen and it's blown me away! i've always been more of a surface-level person when it comes to enjoying art, as i struggle to think of deeper meanings to pieces the likes of which you seem to effortlessly describe. not that i believe my viewpoint to be lesser, but i state it as it leads conveniently into my next point. this video, as well as considering the way i primarily view art, led me to think about another aspect of hylics that i find notable, the way in which its blending of both mechanics and visuals led to such an artistic experience being more accessible to someone with a more mechanically-inclined mindset. if it were just the visuals, i probably wouldn't have purchased it, but having the concrete gameplay mechanics and the RPG tropes present in the game gave me something familiar to latch onto, thus allowing me to enjoy an experience i would have otherwise passed by. while i initially stayed for the RPG experience and the visuals unlike anything i'd seen before, i was able to engage with the game long enough to gain further appreciation for it by seeing other people's interpretations of it, including and especially your own. as for me, i find myself fascinated with the cyclical nature of the world of hylics, and how it ties into wayne's characterization.
Thanks for this video! I think this is the 4th piece of the puzzle I was stuck on for a while. GMTK alleges that "Game Mechanics" become "Player Actions" which result in "Player Feelings" and this has always felt incomplete. If you violently transformed the visuals, wouldn't the Players Feel be transformed without impacting what Actions are demanded of the Player? The Game Scenes. The style of the space, the accompanying sensory arts, and the fluidity of how Scene becomes Scene becomes Scene. This is what manipulates the Feelings of the Player in ways that are separate from the Mechanics. In that sense, the style of these scenes provides a distinct type of substance to games as an art.
WHERE had your channel been hiding?! You wonderfully fill the niche of “media analysis for ridiculously obscure games.” Subbed! I need to hear more from the mind behind the sentence: “On more than just a kinesthetic level, Hylics absolutely fucks”
Hylics rly is something else, the visuals, the music, the viiibes, amazing game, I didn't finish the second game played like an hour or two and never played again for no real reason, after watching this video I wanna play it now haha, imma restart my run from scratch because In my head I see hylics as like a movie (not rly but I mean it like as an experience, with a certain flow) and since I stopped at 1/2 hours months ago I gotta reset the experience imo
The criticism of Style over Substance was pinpointed around the 70s when the Cyberpunk genre was created, criticizing works such as Neuromancer and Blade Runner for their over reliance on aesthetics, which we now know transmit both meaning and intention, but are also artsy as fuck. Said criticism is not surprising as Cyberpunk(and anything punk, really) is in turn a criticism of far right ideologies, extremist capitalism and conservative thinking, for more on this do consider watching Tale Foundry's "Is Cyberpunk actually Punk?" For a great insight into the origina of the meaning of Punk, going back all the way to Shakespeare. Like you mentioned, said criticism tends to hide the fact that some just don't vibe with the style and therefore consider it all style and no substance, but it'd be like calling Picasso, Kubrik, Dalí and Diego Rivera out for transmitting a message through their style, hell I'd like to see the people using that line of thinking at the Sistine Chapel and going "Ya Michelangelo was all style and no substance, how's that giant ass painting on the roof supposed to add anything to praying inside?". 😂
Definitely gonna give it a rewatch after I complete it, good video. I really wanna play Hylics now.. Adding onto that, I honestly feel heard when I hear you say "Style is Substance" its a belief I hold really strongly :^)
This is such an interesting take. On a primal level I agree with everything being said here, but I also sort of think about conversations I have where people talk about aesthetics, and I guess I see it as this completely flat and hyper aware of itself and the style it's going for. When the style is just the style it can ring hollow sometimes. I dunno, I guess I feel slightly conflicted on this idea, but it's something I'll be chewing on for a while, so I really appreciate the take.
Gosh I love your videos so much. Nothing feels like *this* and nowhere else could I hear about these kinda games, *like* this. Youre expanding my mind, Mara. This shit is working. Keep it up 💙
Came for a review of hylics stayed for your thoughts on genre and nonconformity in art - im feeling really inspired to seek out art different from what im used too :)
Just discovered your channel through this video and I absolutely love how you represented both Hylics games. I remember being totally hypnotized playing through the first one. I also get regularly reminded I'm getting old as my burnout millenial brain winces with every hella and gucci :D
yo this video owns. you made some great points about style/substance and you made me interested in hylics, which was not something that attracted me much when i saw it on steam. for sure i found the visuals unique, but it's when i understood its themes and vibes that i got its appeal, and the video sells it 100%. Here's to cool games that commit to being real mfs
First vid of yours. RIP my pending library games, you've seriously hyped this up and I've never played it. I absolutely adore your delivery and explanation
The first time I found out about Hylics, I found it while listening to music from Mortis Ghost’s “OFF”, and after I listened to the strange music of this game, I just HAD to see the game itself, and boy, did it live up to my expectations, beyond them even. I was entranced by the clay animations, and on top of that, some of my favorite creators had played it. I eventually bought both games, and, yes, it is largely easy, only being genuinely difficult in the final area of the second game, but it was such a vibe. The only thing I don’t like is how most of the gestures from the first Hylics didn’t carry over, because I would LOVE to see some of the first game’s animations in the better quality provided by Hylics 2.
I really like your style! (I just realized the pun after typing it.) This game was so strange and abstract, and I can't wait to play the second title, and have been wanting people to talk about the game with. "So, this is the Afterlife. Feel free to crash on the couch."
lovely video, you have a very nice vice for narration and I love your editing style. The way you shape your script is also very good. will pay atention to future uploads
I think the weirdest part of the "style over substance" argument is how time-bound it is. the way that works of art intertwine with time is relatively new if you compare it to how long visual art as a whole existed. classical art studies are basically "how do you extract meaning from aesthetics? here's how:". ultracrepiderianism is what rolls around criticism theory for the past 15 years or so, so it's great to feel humbled by visual expression. great video and great game!
If you like the style of hylics, i would reccomend you read dai dark and dorohedoro, both by Q hayashida! Dorohedoro is more comprehensible, but dai dark is closer to the weird, lumpy, organic-ness of Hylics
Just found your channel, this is an awesome review. You really opened my eyes up to some of the more obtuse shit going on in these games and shared a few interesting philosophies regarding them. Cool as hell, enjoy the sub notification
Hell yeah, forgot about these games until I saw the title of this, been too distracted by games, projects, lover, and work, thankfully these games are $20USD together so no bank breaking :3
PATREON : www.patreon.com/maraganger
TWITTER : twitter.com/maraganger
Totally forgot to plug my patreon lmaO
One of my favourite side informations in Hylics 2 was learning that aparently Wayne is not a single guy but something like a hivemind. If the current guy dies his body dissolves but the spirit will be in the next Wayne larva that then grows to be humanoid. The game even had several enemies that are "failed" Waynes that lack the spirtual connection to the hive and go rogue.
Yeah, the Warpo enemy is a product of force feeding abducted Wayne Larvas Juice, and I feel that more iterations of modified Waynes are going to be in the third game as seen by all the Wayne styled enemies that Mason teased.
i like to imagine the waynes at the waynehouse play wayne jenga
With a little reconstitution, even the most belligerent Wayne larva can become a harmless Warpo!
What's also cool is that Old Wayne (Hylics 1) and Wayne Prime (Hylics 2) are the only Wayne's with total individuality and free will. They're the only ones not controlled by the hivemind (which becomes a problem in Hylics 3 as we'll soon see, listen to the Absent Moon album.)
WHAT. OMG I HAVENT FINISHED THE FIRST GAME WHAT.
Yeah, this review fucks. Hard. You rock, thank you for the in depth observations. Also, you have a way with words! I loved it. Thank you so much.
Thank you for your musical chops and hard work ! I'm so glad you vibed with the vid. ; v ;
That battle theme in 2 is one of the best battle themes in RPG history. Easily!
@@jgrocket I appreciate that!
@@chuck_salamoneSeriously, especially the new albums you put out for Hylics 2 recently; I'm practically addicted to those guitar riffs.
@@HyperfixationWizard hope you liked my latest release! It’s not Hylics, but it’s me, so it’ll be adjacent!
"you can easily miss out on the 3 additional fuckos who will join you in exploration" is exactly how id describe the coincidence of finding my own friends😤🤙 awesome video!!
i love hylics soooo much its one of those projects that makes me think "i will make something like this one day" whenever i think about it
i hope we see smuldunde in hylics 3 too tbh
real af
YES! a video essayist whose outlook on art i can absolutely agree with. i think channel is so underappreciated, your writing is just so fun to listen to! i vibe so hard with this channel. you really take a step back and appreciate stuff for what it is, embracing abstraction, and i absolutely respect that. so glad i stumbled upon this channel!!
Aw hell yeah, thanks ! B)
stylebstance
Substyle
Sounds like a word that would actually be used in Hylics.
Stylestance, perhaps?
There's something about the host's narration that's kind of mesmerizing, and it fits so well thematically with the review.
The cadence, the relaxed tone of voice, the unique use of slang, the way certain words are pronounced in ways I've never even heard.
I can't quite pin down the accent, and I think that's really cool.
There was nothing "pseudo"philosophical about that analysis of the game's themes at the end. Marvelous video
Style is when a thing has personality that strikes, fits, and flows. Style is substance, because the best art, the most weighty and crazy, has hella swagger.
This review captures a style that doesn't formally exist, but clearly exists online and has for like a decade. It's punk as fuck in a positive way. There was a tweet that made the rounds once that stuck with me. "In an age of performative cruelty, kindness is punk." To look at Hylics and show that loving art is about loving art and to also say fuck off to hating shit. We've been living through a world where we remember Spider-Man 3 as a masterpiece and opinions like this are how we remembered that.
Definitely your best work, some of those visual flourishes and transitions were genius. In a way, it almost feels like the video is about itself, or maybe that the video exists as supporting evidence for its own thesis
Never before has a video made me decide to subscribe to someone as quickly as this. The way you talk about art is something I both highly connect with, but also just mesmerizing. You truly show how much you not only love this game, but the medium of games as a whole especially as a means of artistic expression. Definitely going to go through your other videos.
I love this. I recently played Hylics because people said it was style over substance. I had the same though. Style is absolutely substance.
Thank you so much for this amazing video! Not only have you been saying what I’ve been thinking, it’s a nice reassurance that I can unapologetically be myself in my creations.
I like this more conversational style of video essay. It's very intelligent and intellectually stimulating, but it's more interested in conveying information honestly and authentically than it is in being taken seriously and embodying the conventions of "academic" language. Awesome work.
I've been unable to make art for almost a decade, then discovering Hylics through your video changed everything so thank you. You have no idea how much it means to me.
This game looks magical and artful, I am entranced and just bought it. For me claymation is firmly in the uncanny to unsettling category, with Skullmonkey and weird adult TV shows being my frame of reference at an age where I was not mature yet to get them. This time I am enchanted and need to get into the meat (or clay) of this. And your casual way of talking is just the perfect fit for talking about games like this. I am in love with listening to you! Thank you for the video!
Dude, I love how you talk; it feels like I'm less so listening to a professional essay that sounds like the text was put together formally and more like I'm just listening to a friend rant about something they're passionate about - also in essay form but far more casual than what you'd submit to your teacher on a Google doc in MLA format.
New to watchin' ya, already subscribing, and definitely looking forward to more!
Now to binge-watch all your vids; I like your voice - it's nice both as background listening for while I'm drawing and as intent listening where that's the primary subject of my attention.
I absolutely love how you voice your opinions your videos are genuinely so much fun to watch
Glad you enjoy ! :>
I love how such a random series like Hylics found a cool way to streamline it's gameplay so efficiency and thematically while looking and sounding the way it does. I love these games so much and look forward to any future work done by Mason Lindroth and Chuck Salamone. Great video!
I normally don't tend to comment on a lot of videos, but this is really a special occasion. The way you were able to translate the malleable nature of creative expression and how everything in the eye of the beholder is filtered through their own perspective and life experiences into words is incredible! You really delve deep in those reflective thoughts obout how we all see art and tend to devalue everything that decides to deviate from the norm, the expectations of the general public. Truthfully, art goes much deeper than that, there's a million of different perspectives such as the billions of humans that exist and have their own experiences and views in this world we all share as home. As an artist myself it was really conforting to hear this, I consume a lot of media that is a bit more out there and unconvencional, I really value the way art makes me feel, the questions they create above only their stylistic value, the most impactful type of art are the ones that disturb, that wake up those discomforts deep in our subconcious, that makes us remember the sensations and feeling that makes us human, it's really great to be able to ignore other's expectations and really represent what we think, regardless if the end result is stylisticaly appealing or not. It's always great to feel the freedom art can give us as a mean of expression, the way we execute, the message we are trying to share doesn't matter, if our essence is expressed, people will resonate with it or dive deep into something they never thought about before. It was really fascinating to watch this video and hear your point of view in the topic, it is clear that you value art and really lets yourself get immerged in the feeling and atmosphere that a piece of art gives off, it was really important for me to see someone who shares a lot of my ideas and oppinions towards art, and try to look past the superficial esthetic value and dive deep in the always changing meaning of art to our personal percepcion.
Hell yeah, glad you resonated with this vid' so much ! :>
@@maraganger It is pretty cool to discover that other people might share similar opinions to us, even if I never thought obout some of the stuff you talked in this video, it's always interesting be exposed to a different perpective as the one you are used to. I also value art a lot and it is conforting to find someone that resonates so deeply with creative expression like that. Thanks for posting this, you did an absuletely amazing work.
I never liked "style over substance", there's something dismissive about it, as if style can't have substance somehow. The truth is that style is art and art by its very nature is substantive. I never got around to playing Hylics myself, but I love watching videos about it because these games seem so cool, the unique visuals were clearly lovingly crafted with passion and a desire to create something that stood out in a big bad way.
I really resonated on your last part about how not everything has to have a deeper meaning to be enjoyed. I say this since I've had a similar media challenge me and took away that "style over substance" distain I had for a while. I still do have that opinion at times but I learned the value of enjoying something for what it is. Not everything has to be this great monologue on deeper stuff to have value. I think that ties into how some people look down on others who aren't hustling to a greater purpose. I don't like that since sometimes trying to look for a deeper meaning you miss the whole point and the experience of what your looking at.
"You cannot go on 'seeing through' things forever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to 'see through' first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To 'see through' all things is the same as not to see."- C.S. Lewis.
This is how I feel when I see directors or movies or shows try so hard to be this deep thing when that just takes away the charm of the story. The story over embellishes itself in meta commentary and loses itself in what has to say. Maybe I'm becoming a cynical old bag but I notice that a lot of stories try to comment on everything but end up saying nothing of substance. I think this lack of voice is due to how there is not enough exploration on their own unique experiences and just each story seems to be a regurgitated slushy of previous masters. I don't mean that artists don't steal or take but that they add to convo with their voice. Hylics, Dorohedoro, and Dandadan do this extremely well. The author is not interested if you understand them or not cause they are not trying to appeal to everybody. I love that. Unapologetically Stylized. I wanna make a video about it but I wonder if I am making any sense.
Thank you. Maraganger, I really found this video and your whole channel valuable.
Man this whole video was a love letter to all types of weird and absurd media that decided to go all out there on aesthetics and vibes. Also love the shoutouts to Chulip and Banjo Gyro near the end of the video
Hell yeah, gotta rep the good shit. B)
That intro alone got me to subscribe!
I love it when video games or any piece of work focuses on style to bring substance. As that approach brings in fresh, tasty experiences that are created through an insane amount of thought and effort.
Anyways, the vibes of this video are immaculate and I love the graphics created for it. I'm excited to check out the rest of your videos!
Aw thank you so much ! ;w ;
I grew up watching chainsaw maid regularly and the fact that you dropped takena in this video based around a game that is everything I’ve loved in the modern era is just 10/10. So happy to have watched this. Thank you 🙏🏻
this game is stunning, holy
KBash spotted in the wild
Ever since I watched Jerma play Hylics (perfect combination) i have been obsessed with Hylics
Its such a unique game. And it's definitely gonna be one of my favorites for a long time
You were one of my fave recently found youtubers, and then you pointed out the (mostly incorrect) overuse of the term "surreal" as a blanket statement of weirdness and not what it really means...
And now I'd kill for you. Thank you for doing the godly work.
i got obsessed with Hylics like a day ago, and i've looked everywhere just to hear more thoughts on these games, im so happy i could find your channel, for i came looking for a videogame review and came out happy knowing that a lot of people do actually apreciate art in games or rather, videogames as a medium for expression. Hearing your thoughts its wonderfull, i wish more people shared their opinions with the passion that you have for these, it's so cool!
(sorry for my broken english tho)
your english is more than fine, thanks for the nice comment :>
This was very inspiring. You knocked it out of the park. And style is most definitely substance.
Hylics 2 is like watching black magic happen in real time. I remember there was this interview Mason Lindroth stated that he made the party members look the way they do to easily animate them because they were simple for him to reproduce.
Then you look at the enemies in Hylics 2 like the Feral Hydrostat and the Truculent, and I'm sitting here like: "Oh my god, how did this man animate these without taking a whole year to work on them? This is unreal."
Chuck, I know you lurk on these Hylics videos. Please tell Mason to give his hands a break once in a while. The amount of effort it takes to produce just one of his works must be insane.
Also take a break yourself while you're at it thank you.
I’m so happy that I clicked on this video, your channel is to die for I’ve been searching for something like this and I cannot wait to see what you share with us next!!
the way your writing style switches from sick as fuck to impressively elegant is as absurd as this game's artstyle. good shit.
I always rolled my eyes when someone would complain about a game or something being "style over substance" as if a work of art being visually oriented is less sophisticated than something more story driven . It's like saying "this painting sucks id rather read the book" or something idk.
Loved these two games, got really high and played them both back to back, Pongorma is a homie and a badass.
One of my favorite things in media criticism is being told that style has no value by a person who’d breach “show don’t tell”
Love your stuff. Not just reviews, but vibe bombs of positivity and creative energy. Great ideas and things to think about for sure.
This is my first video from you (drawn in by an hour long video about hylics) and god bless you did not dissapoint. Besides your well structured points, your own style, both visual and the way you speak, really show your appreciation for the medium with emphasis on the surreal and "weird" (I mean that in the best way possible). As someone who completely shares your opinion I've often felt alone in a world where the peopke around me don't appreciate art in general, let alone stuff like hylics. Subcribed after only 5 minutes, truly a great essay!
btw if you are interested in some philosophical writing on the idea that "style is substance" (or, form just is content) I recommend Gadamer's essay "On the Relevance of the Beautiful" (and other essays from the book of that title). It's actually pretty commonly expressed in aesthetics that you cannot really separate form and content, but Gadamer's expression of that idea is incredibly compelling
Somebody who gets their point across when it comes to art as well as doesn't hold back on cursing? Take my sub. Fantastic video on the games. I personally cannot wait for Hylics 3.
An absolute banger!! Love love love this video so much!! The transitions are insanely good!! Totally worth the wait!!
Waves are hitting my brain; this was so much. I've never heard of this game, and wtf this looks intense. The art scene you highlighted feels so obscure. You have this 'cool person' speech more authentic than ive ever heard.
What you said about a review being your feelings rather than a ranking was important. There's a dozen conversations i feel i could have from this video, but i can't begin. Stay funky
this video owns! I've never really seen much of these games before. I knew they exist but seeing them talked about and shown off like this did a lot for me. Thanks
this is my first video of yours that i've seen and it's blown me away! i've always been more of a surface-level person when it comes to enjoying art, as i struggle to think of deeper meanings to pieces the likes of which you seem to effortlessly describe. not that i believe my viewpoint to be lesser, but i state it as it leads conveniently into my next point.
this video, as well as considering the way i primarily view art, led me to think about another aspect of hylics that i find notable, the way in which its blending of both mechanics and visuals led to such an artistic experience being more accessible to someone with a more mechanically-inclined mindset. if it were just the visuals, i probably wouldn't have purchased it, but having the concrete gameplay mechanics and the RPG tropes present in the game gave me something familiar to latch onto, thus allowing me to enjoy an experience i would have otherwise passed by.
while i initially stayed for the RPG experience and the visuals unlike anything i'd seen before, i was able to engage with the game long enough to gain further appreciation for it by seeing other people's interpretations of it, including and especially your own. as for me, i find myself fascinated with the cyclical nature of the world of hylics, and how it ties into wayne's characterization.
Thanks for this video! I think this is the 4th piece of the puzzle I was stuck on for a while.
GMTK alleges that "Game Mechanics" become "Player Actions" which result in "Player Feelings" and this has always felt incomplete. If you violently transformed the visuals, wouldn't the Players Feel be transformed without impacting what Actions are demanded of the Player?
The Game Scenes. The style of the space, the accompanying sensory arts, and the fluidity of how Scene becomes Scene becomes Scene. This is what manipulates the Feelings of the Player in ways that are separate from the Mechanics. In that sense, the style of these scenes provides a distinct type of substance to games as an art.
WHERE had your channel been hiding?! You wonderfully fill the niche of “media analysis for ridiculously obscure games.” Subbed! I need to hear more from the mind behind the sentence: “On more than just a kinesthetic level, Hylics absolutely fucks”
aw hell yeah, ty ty B)
Hylics rly is something else, the visuals, the music, the viiibes, amazing game, I didn't finish the second game played like an hour or two and never played again for no real reason, after watching this video I wanna play it now haha, imma restart my run from scratch because In my head I see hylics as like a movie (not rly but I mean it like as an experience, with a certain flow) and since I stopped at 1/2 hours months ago I gotta reset the experience imo
The criticism of Style over Substance was pinpointed around the 70s when the Cyberpunk genre was created, criticizing works such as Neuromancer and Blade Runner for their over reliance on aesthetics, which we now know transmit both meaning and intention, but are also artsy as fuck. Said criticism is not surprising as Cyberpunk(and anything punk, really) is in turn a criticism of far right ideologies, extremist capitalism and conservative thinking, for more on this do consider watching Tale Foundry's "Is Cyberpunk actually Punk?" For a great insight into the origina of the meaning of Punk, going back all the way to Shakespeare.
Like you mentioned, said criticism tends to hide the fact that some just don't vibe with the style and therefore consider it all style and no substance, but it'd be like calling Picasso, Kubrik, Dalí and Diego Rivera out for transmitting a message through their style, hell I'd like to see the people using that line of thinking at the Sistine Chapel and going "Ya Michelangelo was all style and no substance, how's that giant ass painting on the roof supposed to add anything to praying inside?". 😂
This is such a great video for a great channel overall. Just nothing but love for art filled game experiences. Immaculate vibes❤️❤️
Definitely gonna give it a rewatch after I complete it, good video. I really wanna play Hylics now..
Adding onto that, I honestly feel heard when I hear you say "Style is Substance" its a belief I hold really strongly :^)
This is such an interesting take. On a primal level I agree with everything being said here, but I also sort of think about conversations I have where people talk about aesthetics, and I guess I see it as this completely flat and hyper aware of itself and the style it's going for. When the style is just the style it can ring hollow sometimes. I dunno, I guess I feel slightly conflicted on this idea, but it's something I'll be chewing on for a while, so I really appreciate the take.
Such cool looking games. One of your best videos yet. Great work
Fantastic video. Great to see more people talk about this gem of a series.
So glad the algorithm showed me your channel. Absolutely vibe to hell and back with it and definitely subbed.
Hell yeah, thank you. B)
Great video. I love the hell outta Hylics. Also, props for using Elemental Gimmick Gear's OST.
Thank you ! Glad someone recognized the OST. B)
Gosh I love your videos so much. Nothing feels like *this* and nowhere else could I hear about these kinda games, *like* this. Youre expanding my mind, Mara. This shit is working. Keep it up 💙
Aw thank you so much !! ; w ;
Came for a review of hylics stayed for your thoughts on genre and nonconformity in art - im feeling really inspired to seek out art different from what im used too :)
Just discovered your channel through this video and I absolutely love how you represented both Hylics games. I remember being totally hypnotized playing through the first one.
I also get regularly reminded I'm getting old as my burnout millenial brain winces with every hella and gucci :D
Thank you ! Also as a millennial myself, just know you're never too old to spice up your vocabulary. B)
yo this video owns. you made some great points about style/substance and you made me interested in hylics, which was not something that attracted me much when i saw it on steam. for sure i found the visuals unique, but it's when i understood its themes and vibes that i got its appeal, and the video sells it 100%. Here's to cool games that commit to being real mfs
I love how unpretentious your speaking style is, I'm so tired of videogame analysists taking themselves so seriously. definitively gonna follow
"Wake up, wake up!! There's another Hylic video on youtube!"
"I've waited 48 yeaaaaaaaars!"
First vid of yours. RIP my pending library games, you've seriously hyped this up and I've never played it.
I absolutely adore your delivery and explanation
Aw hell yeah, glad you've enjoyed !
Very nice video! Hylics is an absolute gem.
The first time I found out about Hylics, I found it while listening to music from Mortis Ghost’s “OFF”, and after I listened to the strange music of this game, I just HAD to see the game itself, and boy, did it live up to my expectations, beyond them even. I was entranced by the clay animations, and on top of that, some of my favorite creators had played it. I eventually bought both games, and, yes, it is largely easy, only being genuinely difficult in the final area of the second game, but it was such a vibe. The only thing I don’t like is how most of the gestures from the first Hylics didn’t carry over, because I would LOVE to see some of the first game’s animations in the better quality provided by Hylics 2.
*jerks awake from under a pile of paper cups and warm burritos at 5am*
I should buy a keytar
A damn good review, what else can I say?! Def gonna binge through your other vids when I can.
Wayne is literally like the “Fly Me to The Moon so I Can Kick It’s Fucking Ass” song.
God this game has some of the best animation and vibes of the medium
Excellent video, which absolutely does justice to these great games!
Your very measured and calm tone juxtaposed against chaotic memespeak is absolutely amazing. Glad to have found this channel.
I'm so excited to watch the rest of your channel, your style of talking about obscure games absolutely slaps and fucks
Thank you ! Some of the older stuff's kind of a hard watch but I hope you'll enjoy. :>
I really like your style! (I just realized the pun after typing it.) This game was so strange and abstract, and I can't wait to play the second title, and have been wanting people to talk about the game with.
"So, this is the Afterlife. Feel free to crash on the couch."
WOW! I love hylics I Think i am incredibly Lucky to live in a time Where i can experience games like This!!!!! Incredible video!
lovely video, you have a very nice vice for narration and I love your editing style. The way you shape your script is also very good.
will pay atention to future uploads
What a beautiful thoughtful thoughtprovoking video
plz keep making videos, we need people like you in youtube, That all
Thank you for this I'm using Hylics for an essay I need to write and your video really helped!
New viddy fucks, well done! You've defo been opening my eyes about art and meaning for a while now but it's rad to see your philosophy summarized
“Style is substance” reminds me of an old digibro (now ygg studio) video, “aesthetic is narrative”.
Oh to be able to spring from bed the way Wayne does
I think the weirdest part of the "style over substance" argument is how time-bound it is. the way that works of art intertwine with time is relatively new if you compare it to how long visual art as a whole existed. classical art studies are basically "how do you extract meaning from aesthetics? here's how:". ultracrepiderianism is what rolls around criticism theory for the past 15 years or so, so it's great to feel humbled by visual expression. great video and great game!
this channel is so underrated. your vids are great :-)
If you like the style of hylics, i would reccomend you read dai dark and dorohedoro, both by Q hayashida! Dorohedoro is more comprehensible, but dai dark is closer to the weird, lumpy, organic-ness of Hylics
great vid! thankful to youtube for showing me this vid and channel.
HELL YEAH GARAGE BAD DREAM ADVENTURE!!! I hope you'll do a video on it, its obscurity surprised me. Great video btw hylics changed my life!!!
If time allows, I'd love to cover Garage. Also thank you ! ; w ;
These are the games i love thank you for introducing it to me i will be checking it out personally.
Just found your channel, this is an awesome review. You really opened my eyes up to some of the more obtuse shit going on in these games and shared a few interesting philosophies regarding them. Cool as hell, enjoy the sub notification
Aw thank you ! :>
this fucks so hard. i love ur personality and eloquence. ur philosophies abt art match mine but ive never been able to put it into words as well
Your vernacular is fantastic XD
One of my favorite notions is that there is substance in style
I’m super excited to check out the rest of your channel. This review slaps. Feels like you and Thorhighheels are drinking the same juice.
Thank you ! As it just so happens, we're friends ye. B)
This was _fucking_ _awesome_ and I haven't enjoyed a youtube video this much since, idk, birth of the universe!
this video has big Thorhighheels vibe and I mean that as the highest of compliments.
Thank you ! As it happens, both him and I are homies lmao
Style type beat and defo is crazy in this context
Hell yeah, forgot about these games until I saw the title of this, been too distracted by games, projects, lover, and work, thankfully these games are $20USD together so no bank breaking :3
Great video. And I loved seeing those clips of Zelle.
Glad you've enjoyed ! Defo looking forward to covering Zelle soon. :>
this game reminds me of brutal orchestra (which is prob inspired by this) also the same dev made perfect vermin and that too is so good (and free)
Ey boss. I missed you. Yay new bideo