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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 12 ก.ย. 2024
- Follow me on Twitch: / haedal_vt
Grimdark worlds are as intriguing as they are terrifying. In this video essay, I will show you a couple of my favorite grimdark settings, as well as exploring the themes and implications of this fascinating literary genre.
Songs used:
Rebel - Arknights OST
Heartman - Ludvig Forssel
Melancholy - Isaak Wolf, Isaiah Nunez
Air - David Deluxe
Resting Grounds - Christopher Larkin
The essence of Grimdark is the phrase “To Rage against the dying of the Light”
Everything sucks, everyone’s fucked, but all it takes is that one solider that makes it through or that one squad that holds the line at all costs that can make it even a small iota better. The most noble aspect of humanity is our ability to live through even the worst thrown at us by an uncaring universe, be it through wit or pure tenacity.
Grimdark can only be dark in contrast to the light that it’s attempting to suffocate.
Yep, I've been making that point for a long time when trying to explain why I dislike Warhammer 40k- because by making the scale of it's universe so grand, it fails to execute this idea due to nobody caring about "just another 50 planets", whereas Warhammer Fantasy succeeds because once a city is burned, it's burned, and the consequences are serious when one soldier manages to hold the line allowing civilians to escape from scavens. To emulate the same feeling of "destruction has consequences", writers of 40k create events of such a scale that actions of individual people are completely meaningless. It might not fail as a grimdark setting to somebody else, but for these reasons it fails to me.
@@starhalv2427 I think the banality and scale of the atrocities that occur in 40k adds to the grim darkness, it’s one thing dealing with an orc WAAAGH at your city’s gates, but the Tyranids?
Imagine you were in charge of tithe for a sector, only to see they’ve stopped sending their tithes. You chalk it up to another rebellion and send a guard regiment to beat them back into submission.
Only for the only report to come back is pictures of once verdant worlds turned to dead rocks and the sounds of venerated battleships buckling under the weight of a living ship’s maw. It might not be strictly Eldritch but to me that’s a cosmic horror that’s terrifying at the surface, before you realize they’re coming from every angle into the galaxy.
@@starhalv2427 well the fall of cadia certainly had consequences. And the "end times" of warhammer fantasy didn't work out too well when stuff had "consequences"
My issue in grimdark worlds is if everything sucks so much why does anyone live? Like why not game-end yourself the moment you're able to?
@@starhalv2427honestly, what I love about warhammer 40k is the little stories of people living their lives, the soldiers trying to live another day, the space marine trying to fulfill his duty no matter what challenges lie ahead, or the being attempting to preserves the legacies and memories of a galaxy ablaze. Their fates and actions may not matter in the greater setting, yet they still press forwards, and you hope that sometime somehow they will see their lives fulfilled.
Grimdark exists so that Don Quixote could grace our eyes
PROJECT MOON MENTIONED!!!!!1!🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥
And especially our ears!
The old ass knight?
The knight from the Spanish novel or the one piece character?
Or the project moon one?
Grimdark exist so Games Workshop can sell plastic figurines 😅
That's the REAL grimdark.
@@tyinyk you mean corporate greed or Warhammer?
@@rotmistrzjanm8776both 😂
@@rotmistrzjanm8776 I did mean corporate greed, yeah.
@@tyinyk Cartoon Grimdark. Too shiny and bright.
"Why tf are there robots in 1918?"
Me, a CoD Zombies nerd: "Well you see..."
I wouldn't mind hearing more about that.
It would take 2 hours to fully explain the zombies timeline
"what hope can you find in a world where flowers no longer bloom?"
that line goes so hard wtf
Reminds me of Mistborn.
The hope that even though the world is in a longer than normal winter, spring will eventually come.
A fool's hope perhaps. But one that keeps mankind going.
We wouldn't have the luxuries and bountiful harvests we have today if our ancestors all gave up when the world was a much grimer place to live.
We owe them our thanks, for staying hopeful even amidst our darkest age
Could go harder: "What hope can you find in a world where flowers no longer bloom? Where grass gave up on growing?"
Because grass not growing is even more messed up, considering it grows everywhere.
One Day the Only Butterflies Will be in your Chest
Meanwhile in WH40k soldier gets eaten by giant carnivorous flower...
"What is the point of Grimdark?"
Hope.
Good grimdark is never a 100% evil. It should always allow a tiny sliver of hope so that tomorrow, while never promised, is feasible. Today sucked, but tomorrow might be better, if only slightly.
Darkest Dungeon nails this. Especially DD2, since it follows the apocalypse that came after the events of the first game. In DD2 they focus a lot on the small, otherwise unnoticeable moments of well-being that existed in the world before a lovecraftian apocalypse (a good meal, a favor from a friend, a calm day, etc) because its those moments of genuine peace that the characters in the world fight for; in spite of the horrors that permeate the world around them.
No, grimdark is specifically the genre with no heros and no happy endings,
If you want to see hope and perseverance rewarded, then any other genre is better
@@theeviloverlord7320 Then we end up again at the beginning. What's the point?
@@DarkJusn2020 To just indulge in tragedy. What about Whim Dark though? A bi polar world of bubbly Hello Kitty sequel happiness and Warhamer 40k Darkness for dramatic effect. The idea that some groups and species live in bliss and get away with it where as others usually individuals can experience extreme darkness.
Not if you're a character in a Joe Abercrombie book.
i think berserk: the lost children arc is pretty good example of a good grimdark story, it is grounded in its own reality and rules, the darkness part is very present too, and i think the concution of it is exacly what grimdark is all about.
And human makes a monster pee themselves in fear. That's a nice bonus too.
The indomitable human spirit shines brightest when surrounded by the grim darkness
And Then There Xeeleeverse made you hated humanity.
The grim darkness is once you realize that the light that shines is just an anglerfish's bait. The true light is far, far out of reach, and one must brave the darkness to find it. Brave the darkness alone, and in all likelihood, die forgotten instead. The vast masses will instead follow the bright light they see in front of them; they will die on the lines, drawn to the light as moths to a flame, ignorant to the teeth closing in around them.
"Indomitable Human Spirit" is a red herring.
@@secutorprimus WELL SAID!
@secutorprimus There is no other light in most settings other than the one which can at least mean you get to live for long enough to get a small chance at life. Perhaps sometimes there is another light but most of the time there is the light and there is deception. And often the light is dying. And who is to say that other light is not simply a farther anglerfish, if it is the case that the closer one is?
@@hudsonflores5478 Humanity, in this setting, is doomed because they are terrified to search for other lights. Despite the fact that this light scorches their flesh, they cling to the dying flame as it sinks into the murky depths, entirely unwilling to abandon it to search for sunlight.
"In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only war..."
Except when races get along to squash Tyranids. Also some planets are pretty nice to live on.
Also Tau were done dirty. They should've remained unapologetically good, with the grim aspect being them having no impact on the galaxy.
The grimdark future is now.
Like in Ukraine right now...
I like grimdark because it reminds me that things could always be worse
Hey, I like that. 👍
in a way that is optimism: no matter how horrid things may appear, life always finds a way. take what that means as you will.
Worse is yet to come.
A counter guardian fitting comment ngl
Grimdark makes the smallest light brighter than the sun.
Like a great glowing lighthouse amongst the seas of darkness
OK, you got me at the blind snipers lol, I love that
That's an extremely cool concept that I'm surprised isn't more popular.
0:45 i'm kind of a history nerd and i'll always remember vividly that time I saw a picture taken of Verdun right after the end of WWI, the picture was of course in black and white so it didn't help the feeling but. Desvastation, as far as the eye can see. Common and generic hills of the France landscape, completelly deformed by shell impact, the earth completelly turned over and a disfigurded landscape everywhere, probably still corpses under the soil and shells that didn't detonate on impact (we find some even to this day). And I remember thinking "If there is a Hell then I think this is it."
But then you realise it isn't hell, it is something worse, because innocents are not sent to hell.
That's the true horror of our reality. No matter who you are, and how good you are, even if you have the best intentions, you can, and will probably, get fucked.
That's pretty grim.
Imagine being isekaid into a grimdark world where you are the only hope. 99% of everything is in a state of living decay as an unspeakable abomination has swept the world. Only 3 "havens" exist with all 3 merely waiting to fall.
You can stop the cursed, but you are the herald of the forbidden God. Thus, even those you could save actively seek your death.
If you could save a grimdark world, would it even be worth it?
Yeah. If I was plopped into a Grimdark verse with Superman-esque powers, I would 100% try my damn hardest. Because while I may fail in saving it in the end, I'd have pushed the dark clouds far enough that more seekers of light could continue hoping and fighting and living for a better future. I'd do my best to fight for hope, justice, and a better future.
@@mikedanielespeja6128Then something similar happens to Warhammer 40k were the Emperor is a figure like that, but the Empire and humanity is still suffering.
Yeah we don’t need another generic high fantasy setting.
To me Grimdark is ultimate exaltation of human agency. If there is no hope, or even no hope for hope, just living is a choice. In such situation if someone tries to rise they become hero, even if their fate is equaly grim. Those strong enough keep fighting and if they are skilled enough they could restore a little bit of hope if not for the world, then for some small part of it.
Nature is Grimdark. We are just fortunate enough to be so detached from it that we forget.
Parasitoid wasps are monstrous, and I heard they contributed to Darwin's conclusion that an all loving God does not exist. They dig a burrow, find a caterpillar, paralyze it then pull it into the burrow, lay their eggs on it, then seal it shut. Really screwed up stuff.
No it isn't
@@devingunnels3251 go try and live in it using only what you can source from the land. Ill wait.
@@riddell26 that doesn't make it grim dark you edgy dork. Life is tough but it isn't uniformly awful.
No we aren't. We just pretend to be detached.
I'm surprised give me a Grimmdark video and didn't mention 40K once
I appreciate that he eschewed the obvious stuff everyone knows, and gave me obscure stuff I otherwise would've never heard of.
Very interesting points, and good call showing these settings.
Grimdark is a hard "genre" to nail because it's not exactly a genre, I think. People usually use it for other genres like dark fantasy, survival horror or sword and sorcery settings. It was deliberately used by publishers as a catch-term for sword and sorcery, feeling the term outdated, but no one can define what it is as a result. It was co-opted from Warhammer, with no regard for what makes Warhammer "grimdark." And now it's used for anything that's just slightly dark. Much like how cosmic horror is now frequently overused.
And I think you caught onto what makes Trench Crusade in particular "grimdark" with its bleak and terrifying setting.
grimdark exists so people can experience their darker fantasies from the comfort of their own homes.
Something that I found years ago was a story that made a distinction from grimdark by describing it's tone as noblebright. I describes grimdark with these qualities:
• The world is in slow, painful, decline.
• Your best efforts will only serve to slow down the inevitable.
• Life is cheap. Death, including massive body counts, is distressingly common.
• The innocent exist to be victims of the strong.
• Heroes are naive fools.
And it describes noblebright with these qualities:
• The world is emerging from an age of darkness.
• You can make a difference, no matter how small.
• Even in the midst of mass death, every life you can save is precious.
• The innocent deserve to be protected from the strong.
• Heroes are naive fools… but they are naive fools who can make a difference.
Grimdark only works if there is someone who is ultimately trying to do some good in the world, and is beaten down each and every time, until one day...he succeeds.
The brightest light is the sun rise after great darkness.
I just got into a novel that made me start thinking about how anyone would be able to keep going in a world where everyone is suffering in some way with no real hopes for a better future and now I see this.
It doesn't feel so much like suffering porn anymore.
"Because then, who would carry the fire?"
@notaheretic6675 that was my first thought after reading the comment.
I'm curious about what the novel is now.
@@matthiasthulman4058 I'm not sure if it's a good one, I just couldn't drop it because it was somewhat interesting watching the main character's dilemma over his twisted sense of justice and morals while he's obsessed with revenge... but if you want to bite:
Zilbagias the demon prince.
It's the typical rpg fantasy setting, a hero died and was reincarnated as the child of the demon that killed him. Only read 2 volumes but it's filled with mildly disturbing content (like all the various ways of torturing a pseudo-immortal being that heals from any damage for years to the point she would rather live as a dog than relive the memories by regaining her sense of self... They made paper from her skin, limitless supply), all the races at war have no hope, they're just fighting to survive and it's not something that can be fixed or will get better.
@matthiasthulman4058 it's the book called "The Road." it's a companion piece for no country for old men.
3:20 Oh Gawd, ofc its Trench Crusade
This reminds me of a guy that basically became the only one with a gun in a cod Lobby.
"the time I became a space monster"
I'm glad you covered some more obscure parts of the grimdark genre I had never heard of Vernis and it seems pretty dark.
I love this channel it always introduces me to new things or offers a new perspective. I personally like Grimdark when it's done well. I'm a very pessimistic person so I find comfort in the dark and hopeless worlds I often view this world as being. But something that's consistent in these stories mentioned here is hope. I'm unsure if Fear and Hunger is Grimdark, but there are moments of hope and peace, despite the inevitable suffering. It makes me feel a little less silly for enjoying the small things. A good cup of coffee, waking up cozy. Even if you have no faith in the world and humanity, enjoy the little joys you have, no matter how silly they are. It's your life, love it when you can.
i absolutely love vermis!! plastiboo is one of my all time favorite artists and is so good at that eerie, helpless vibe
For me, grimdark should contrast with humor. It’s already hard enough, but a laugh doesn’t kill anybody unless only the ork with a bonk hammer will.
In Trench Crussade you either pldedge yoruself to:
- The Lord God who might not love you
- The Dark Lord who might betray you
- The Invaders from beyond who's transcendence might not be as fun
And well, I am glad to see a hard hitting (vibe and art wise) competitor to 40K that is in the grimdark setting that is interesting and takes similar inspirations as it, but does not look like a rip-off.
And the main tenure off Grimdark is, I think, best represented as quote form Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer: "Noone commits suicide, but we all self destruct". None wants to die, in even the last flash you will fight to stay alive, but the situation you are in will grind your body down.
The more "hopefull" qupte for Grimdark would be "As long as we're alive we will continue fighting"
Love the Arknights music in the background
I absolutely love that you used the "Resting Grounds" Song from the Hollow Knight soundtrack, very fitting.
Great video, thank you for not going for the more obvious well-known examples of the genre but using the chance to promote some more unknown ones instead.
1:30 some of the easter egg songs hint that the Zombies, or rather the original person are completly aware but unable to control their bodies
Honestly I'm impressed that you were able to make a great video about Grimdark without mentioning the father of the word "Grimdark" Warhammer 40,000
But it’s also really fun to write in grimdark, because if you want a story where the light overcoming the dark is truly a spectacular and wondrous thing to behold, and not just some bland predictable given event, it can make the ultimate setting for it, as long as you are willing to throw away plot armor, up the stakes, throw down the kid gauntlets, and let the antagonists have a sizable amount of relevant victories
I wrote and published a grimdark indie novel - it was pretty messed up, but it definately had that core of hope in it.
Great video!
In some, what I love is how, despite the darkness, there exists motes of light, however fleeting
As someone from the subtropics, whose seen frost a literal nonmetaphorical handful of times, winter is ''thank the stars it's now less than 100 degrees!''.
Wish you good luck with Signalis. Be waiting some video about this gem.
This video, specially the end note, motivated me to continue on a project I've had on hiatus for a long time, thanks for that!
You best start believin' in grimdark worlds... You're livin' in one
That's amazing concept art. Thanks for sharing.
I was fully expecting The Forever Winter, but I was pleasantly surprised by Vermis. Great video, dude! Here, have my humble suberooni.
Talking about grimdark without talking about warhammer is a sin
I think you mean heresy, brother.
The emperor protects!
My brother in the Omnissiah, literally everybody knows grimdark associates with 40k. Not the other way around
@@hobbes2555 funniest warhammer fan
@@yersiniapestis5237More like “the least zealous 40K fan:” 😂
It's losing its grimdark edge over the last 5 to 10 years, sure elements of it exists in game but they are sanitising it bit by bit.
It's how you get away with building a modern world full of stuff but no people to talk to, it makes it deep and you can put all the writing in text boxes or audio logs
"To be a man in such times is to be one amongst untold billions. It is to live in the cruelest and most bloody regime imaginable. These are the tales of those times. Forget the power of technology and science, for so much has been forgotten, never to be re-learned. Forget the promise of progress and understanding, for in the grim dark future there is only war. There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods."
Don't forget the Tredecillions of Eldar that died during the Fall
Thanks for making videos, I love them ❤🥰
FOR DORN! FOR THE EMPEROR! WE RAGE AGAINST THE DARKNESS FOR THERE IS NO OTHER CHOICE
This one video just covered everything I've been obsessed with over the past month lol
The point of grimdark is to make things remotely believable, relatable, grimdark is like a caricature of reality, and its as fun and relaxing to enjoy as any caricature, because actual reality is far, far worse
Your a caricature of a doomer cuz I refuse to believe someone can be that pesamistic
5:10 "Ministery of Dis (nuts lmao)"
GOT ME xD
16:06 - I can already hear a symphony of pitches from a bunch of Aztek death whistles being used for this forest of flutewoods. 😍 I don't know, it sounds haunting but also beautiful in my head.
Very well put together explaination really enjoyed the video!
Great video.. been obsessed with vermis/ plastiboos art for so long im so excited to see it pop up in videos like this!
I haven’t kept up at all with CoD Zombies. Where did the robots come from?!
Grimdark to me is the fact that the end is coming and there is nothing you can do to stop it, but endlessly struggle against it. You can slow it down, but never truly stop.
That almost pointless defiant struggle is what so appealing about it. It mirrors the human struggle in life that many nihilist say as is pointless. Unlike other stories that give a sorta price for the struggle, grimdark give no such illusion, you live, you suffer, you endure, then you die, that it.
But the highlight are those that find the strength to keep fighting even if all hope is lost, even if there is no price at the end. To have the audacity to push even just a little the unstoppable encroaching darkness and tell it "not today".
That's grimdark to me, the end is coming but you can make it a glorious end.
13:43 Hopelessness? Honestly this world gives me dark souls 3 vibes. Like what other world would fit that description
Most of them.
Hello small youtuber that's surprisingly good at making video, that video was very cool and well made and I hope your channels grow :D
This was a great video, great quality, great speaking, just great in general dude, bravo
Good on you for not saying Dark Souls or Warhammer out of the blue. These less known ones are cool.
Huh. So Haedal discovered Trench Crusade around the same time I’m binging its lore videos… Neat!
I love these worlds, thanks for sharing.
Hellgate London is a game from my childhood that I’m very fond of that has wonderful grimdark theme
Because the darker the dark, the brighter the light. In a world of people surrounded by filth it makes those who still remain bright shine all the better.
The human spirit, whether literal or metaphorical, is stronger than anything than humanity or evil can conjure.
To survive is the ultimate goal, as it is through survival and to simply EXIST that anything else can be accomplished. Any other is cowardice and degeneracy.
After all humanity attained its high position through not being the SMARTEST, nor STRONGEST, but rather through our ability to ENDURE. That is what makes us human. Our ability to persevere through any illusions of despair, degeneracy, hubris, horror or any other.
Incredible video essay, remember me when you’re famous 🙏
I'm drawn to grimdark settings because they provide the greatest opportunity for improvement.
Earth is a grimdark world you can’t prove me wrong
Great video. I too love me grim dark worlds. The world I am working for my TTRPG is very grim dark. People are forced to live under massive pale trees for outside of their branches a miasma fills the land mutating any living creature into a variety or eldritch monsters.
A stable crop for those living under the tress is the Rotbulbs a large, bulbous plants that emit a foul odor as they grow, feeding off decaying flesh and skin of the dead or dying. The bulbs can be mashed and cooked into a paste that is a staple in many dishes.
I feel like theres a difference between things like berserk and 40k. Berserk feels like there is light at the end of the tunnel. It feels like maybe just dark fantasy? But i feel like with 40k and what i fear with trench crusade as someone who is only interested in lore is the lack of progression. In a need to keep things always hopeless there are rarely any major victories. And when there are i feel like they are called less grim dark. I could be wrong though
Honestly, personally I think Vermis is quite hopeful. As a world, I would say it isn't that far from our own. Lots of shit has happened in the past, being at some places and times can lead to certain and painful death or worse and there's no telling of the future. But just as there is potential for a bad life, there is potential for a good one. In real life, we may not be the result of a great fall of civilization, but the future is yet uncertain. The only true constant is change. Change by it's own metric. That can always go either way. In grim dark, like in utopia, like anywhere else.
Any emotions, positive or negative, are always made by relativity. No matter the place, or the world, there is always a reason to be happy. Or to be unhappy, for that matter. In a world without flowers, we can find joy in the grass. In a world with no grass, we can find joy in the geometric form of some rubble. In a world with flowers, we can find anger in the abscence of gardens. In a world with gardens, we can be angry at the abscence of... geometrically shaped rubble? Some will be. The point at which one goes in what direction and to what point, is up to one self.
Great video!
Many of these are barely grimdark, in my opinion. But Vermis captures it perfectly. For me, grimdark is pure hopelessness. It's not just "this world has dark themes," but rather that, "this world has so many dark themes, that there is no good." It's not just in the themes, but also in the presentation of those themes. Not only should the world seem to disregard you (as a viewer/player), and there should be no hope at all, even if you try, but that there is no other objective except to struggle. The harsh reality of struggling to live in a world that gave up long ago. That's pure grimdark.
Grimdark for the sake of being grimdark something I will always look down on. If there is some intent to explore holding fast in a world that gives you little reason to, I will respect it. The only reason to make the former is to reflect a terrible quality in one's own soul.
I remember watching video on vermis but forgot what it was called. Good luck slogging through results for "medieval grimdark"
The Road by Cormac McCarthy is a great starting point for those interested in grimdark content.
This video is more peak Haedal, nothing more to say than that.
This is why I love the Soulsborne games so much. “Desolation tries to tame you”
What i love at grim dark is that its realistic.
I read a lot of WW1 soldiers reports/books/letters or even better books written by holocaust survivors. Change some words and the horrors of WW1 could be a warhammer book.
And the comforting thing is that these events are not really out of order for the history of humanity. Imagine the horrors in history.
The most realistic genre is grim dark and as someone who knows the literature of actual man made horrors beyond our understanding i find that the genre represents it perfectly
Make a part 2. Please.
Don't you dare go hollow.
Those who have managed to get a copy of Darklight: Memento Mori, will know its world for being pretty dark. It is a place where a demonic apocalypse has come and left a handful of human left all over the world, on top of that a figure like the grim reaper come and asks for your soul every so often and the only way to live a little longer is to offer the soul of others.
I find it so hard to find a good balance between hope and despair. Too much of either and the story becomes flat. I feel it is about feeding the reader/player a grain of hope just enough to let them keep going.
Same reason why candles shine brightest in the dark
mic quality is 🔥🔥
One of the most underappreciated pieces of media I’ve watched
Grimdark is only as good as the hope that keeps the people going forward
Vermis really reminds me of Dark Souls, also one of my favorite grim dark or maybe grim dark adjacent pieces of media was the first law trilogy
I love that Mike Franchina looked at Warhammer and went "No filthy xenos in my grimdark!" And proceeded to out-grim _and_ out-dark the gold standard.
Ah grimdark, my favorite genera. Where heroes stand against all odds just to spite a cold and unfeeling universe that will never know they existed. Thank you for making this video.
This earned you another subscription
I am amazed that we have reached an age where somebody can talk about GRIMDARK for over 20 minutes and not mention Warhammer 40k, the mother that birthed the term, at least once.
Life .. uh .. finds a way.
If you enjoy these aesthetics I highly recommend the film "Mad God" and the dark souls series. Both seem like excellent examples of similar worlds
If you enjoy D&D.
I recommend looking into Grimhollow.
It is very much the grimdark setting of d&d. Not as far as what you find in trench crusade or forever winter. But it's close.
Aside from this being a suspiciously timed recommendation by TH-cam this game/ world sound 'beautiful' ( sounds funked up but i can't put it in a better way) and the conseptart is insane like you said I wish my mind was this funked up!
Love your take makes me feel normal
Ever heard of Dark Sun in the D&D world? If not, I think you'd like it. Best grimdark setting IMO!
I just knew trench crusade is gonna be mentioned
Grimdark reminds me of our horrible potential but to keep going. This is why we need stories like this to remind us what we could become but also that we ourselves can still be good despite. The world sucks but the stories about the individuals continuing to fight or do good that make it despite what lifes given them makes it imp. It doesn't matter if the world will get better what matters is the fight
I was very interested in Tench Crusade because it has an awesome aesthetic and world, I quite enjoy playing Warhammer 40K with friends on the weekends so it would've been a cool alternative to play every now and then. Flash forward like a year later, and color me surprised when I found out, can't remember if it was one of the creators or a community manager, but that person blatantly said that 40K players are not welcome in their community and can go eff themselves, since no one was reprimanded for such a post, I can assume that statement is also shared by the company and I refuse to support people who dislike me, to quote Leon S. Kennedy from the original Resident Evil 4 " No thanks, bro".
And about Butchered saint- I think they might wear the mask to not "demoralize" their devoted.
It reminds me of Abhorrers faction in Magnagothica Maleghast, a faction of exorcists who decided to fight fire with fire and learned necromancy. All units besides their necromancer wear golden masks or hide their face in other way, which might be implying they don't want to look at their own face, not wanting to admit they are going against their faith or see in what state they have been brought back by it.
grimdark's appeal is the same reason people love Solaire in Dark Souls 1: the world is dying, withered, nothing truly good will ever return to it, but there are still those you see the faded embers and still revel in them, even if that is just a temporary thing.
If you like cod zombies, alt ww1 and grimdark you might like hunt showdown and especially the lore around it. The vibe is less "dead" and more "what remains after a huge storm" but the aesthetic is top tier
I got an add for that before the video.
I am genuinely shocked you made a video on the topic of Grimdark without even coming close to talk a little bit about Warhammer or Hollow Knight. So, to a large extent, that breaks my heart.
If you like Grimdark, read "The Road" by Cormac McCarthy.
Peak of the genre.