A Detailed Analysis of Heart of Darkness (1998)

A Detailed Analysis of Heart of Darkness (1998) | Gaming Retrospective

Рет қаралды 11,203

Күн бұрын

Heart of Darkness (1998) is a game renowned as a cult classic by many but with lots of questions that I look to answer with this detailed look at a beloved classic from the late 90s.
Known for its gruesome death animations, Heart of Darkness was supposedly released at the wrong time to really hit the heights of what was expected. Is this true, was Heart of Darkness released too early? Find out with this in-depth retrospective video analysis!
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| Video Chapters |
00:00 Introduction
01:30 Development History
11:36 Opening Cinematic
24:07 The Canyon
38:50 The Swamp
47:31 Underwater Caves
56:37 Amigo Village Cutscene
1:02:34 Start of Disc 2
1:09:31 Lava Climbing
1:17:18 The Power Stone
1:20:26 The Castle of Darkness
1:28:18 Losing Power
1:39:30 The Ending
1:41:54 Review & Conclusion
Background Video sampled from:
Heart of Darkness Trailer: • The Heart of Darkness ...
Another World: • Out of This World (a.k...
Flashback: • Flashback 25th Anniver...
Silent Hill: • Flashback 25th Anniver...
Thank you to friends who I have sent drafts to for feedback, my amazing wife for support and you for watching. Also a thank you to / @ifinishedavideogame for inspiration and also for allowing me, without knowing, to copy the format of this description.
No part of this video was made with AI.
All media in this video is used for the purpose of review, commentary or criticism and is defined as fair use under US Copyright law. Even though I am English.
#retrospective #retrogaming #gaming #psx #playstation

Пікірлер: 127

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

Lots of questions I had to answer, here's my response, in a separate video, I even found a previously unknown regional difference. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/o76Ef9houpqmk58.html

@FraserCottington 3 ай бұрын

Out of all the heart of darkness videos I've watched, this one is 100% the best

@bobsgammon 3 ай бұрын

To be fair you did see the drafts of this and this much better than them

@CyrillKR Ай бұрын

Boy, what a trip. I remember playing this game as a kid in the early 2000's, grinding my teeth every combat screen and trying to beat the game thinking it was just way too difficult at times. I've had a box copy for the PC and it contained the blue-red 3d glasses. Sadly, by the time I actually beat the game, I had already lost them. Thank you for this retrospective, it really took me back to the past. You've expressed some of those experiences I've had and it's good to know I wasn't the only one.

@bobsgammon Ай бұрын

You're more than welcome

@Hairlesswookie62 17 күн бұрын

Man, you took so many of us back before we really knew what time was. Good times, time.

@alexf836 24 күн бұрын

Hey man, great video, always awesome to find new, high quality retrospective content creators, I know the work that must go into making feature length videos like this must be massive but stick with it! Can't wait to see the next project and where your channel goes from here

@bobsgammon 24 күн бұрын

Cheers man, I'm working on another retrospective at the moment for the telltale walking dead, probably will release series by series. Have some other different bits of analysis written too but getting round to it is a pain. Stuff like your comment really does makes me wanna spend more time doing it though so a big thanks

@mahtimonni97 3 ай бұрын

I played this at age 6, when a box of cereal had the demo disc. And I'm pretty sure it didn't scar me for life! Edit: It might've also had a positive impact! Since it just oozes *style* and creativity in the artistic sense. Perfect for a developing mind!

@bobsgammon 3 ай бұрын

It very much is an artists game both for good and ill. Certainly something inspiring creatives should look at to see how different elements pull together to one whole

@nimonabeturbulon9390 3 күн бұрын

As a massive enthusiast of this game, this Heart of Darkness video was incredible, the best I've seen so far. This game deserves a lot of respect and recent indie platformers such as Inside and Limbo owe a lot to this game. If it HOD came out at the time it was supposed to, it would have done better for sure. Odd world was actually inspired by this. What a work of art, so thanks for giving this game some genuine love.

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

Definitely, the way that the art works so well with the mechanics makes it unique at the time as graphics weren't just a theme but a conscience part of the whole thing

@wolfsamhain8886 3 күн бұрын

I been loving seeing all of these hour + long gaming retrospective/deep dives/ docs, what have you. great video and well formatted. keep up the good vibes.

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

I am trying but they do take an age to make so sorry for delays!

@shinigamiauthor 13 күн бұрын

sees the logo for Amazing Studio: "oh nooo"

@sonneveld_ 17 күн бұрын

I'm sorry if this has been pointed out already but did you notice the "Tim Shafer" under the Thanks in the credits? Turns out that's Tim Schafer of Doublefine. Apparently he met up with the devs and told them how much he liked their games during development.

@bobsgammon 17 күн бұрын

That's really cool thanks for pointing that out

@andraska724 23 күн бұрын

Watching that first sequence in the beginning of the game when you get out of the spaceship and get overwhelmed by the lurkers unlocked some core memories. Excellent video.

@bobsgammon 23 күн бұрын

It is probably my strongest memory as a kid that or the bit where your gun gets eaten just after! Literally can remember my cousins playing it and me behind a sofa

@user-tu2rc3oq7m 3 ай бұрын

I went into this video with no knowledge of the game nor you to begin with, but I came out of it extremely pleased by both your presentation and analysis of the game as well as the game itself! Really good work for sure [:

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for the lovely words and glad you enjoyed :)

@martink.461 17 күн бұрын

Would love to see this game get a proper remaster.

@GrumpyMunkyGameDesign 12 күн бұрын

get me a 2d artist to rip the sprites, il make it happen

@OmegaEnvych 19 күн бұрын

I really want to point one thing up - I played Heart of Darkness when I was a kid - around 10-11 years old, in 1998-1999 and I think that game works perfectly for that age. It looked like my favorite movie of the time - Toy Story, it had incredible animations and I didn't care that it was not 3D - I was still mostly playing games either on my uncle's computer (on which I played this game) or on my Megadrive at home - I only heard about Playstation and best 3D game I saw was Duke Nukem 3D - back then my uncle's PC was barely able to run Turok and other 3D games like Heretic 2 so smooth 2D game with beautiful graphics that ran well, was so nice to see! And it was one of few games that I was allowed to play and was able to complete on my own! I think this game is good for its relatively good balance between light-hearted tone and darker themes. It has issues and boy, level 8 was a difficulty spike! But I still consider it highlight of my childhood gaming. Also, it was one of the first games I really wanted to see a sequel of. I was imagining things - like return to the space island to see it drained of life by a new enemy and Amigos being mostly gone, Andy trying new weapon that would work as a combination of his gun and magic power and more things like that. Of course those were ideas of like... 11y.o. me, but still, that's thought that counts!

@denzelmidnight8976 2 ай бұрын

The most underrated heart of darkness video of all time, you definitely earned a sub for me

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

Thank you 😊

@alibenice 19 күн бұрын

A forgotten gem indeed. Fingers crossed for a remastering project... A guy can dream.

@bobsgammon 18 күн бұрын

A man can dream, a man can dream...

@astralodin 6 күн бұрын

hey old school game, didnt hear from ayone about it in a long time. as a kid this game was so scary and anxiety enduceing. it impacted ne nassively

@CommissarJake 21 күн бұрын

Well done, this is an excellent effort for a first release. I look forward to seeing you do more going forward.

@bobsgammon 21 күн бұрын

Cheers mate, I appreciate it

@exiiesaid8004 Ай бұрын

Had an urge to watch a vid about a game I used to love. Found a new youtube channel that I do love. Keep the content coming brother! Loved this vid more than you could even imagine!

@bobsgammon Ай бұрын

That's very sweet thank you very much

@drryanmorris 14 күн бұрын

I rented this game, back when that was a thing you could do. I found it too hard, put it down, returned it, and never heard of it again, until now

@bobsgammon 11 күн бұрын

I rented some games with my older cousins now and then, but stopped being a thing before I could do it on my own

@ShattForte 21 күн бұрын

loved this game when it came out. it took a lot of effort to beat it! great memories, thanks for the video

@bobsgammon 20 күн бұрын

Glad you had fun with it

@zZiL341yRj736 16 күн бұрын

Game has amazing animations and art style.

@Der_Andere_Da 7 күн бұрын

I really wish this game would get a HD release/remake similar to Another World. This is the far better game and just imagine what this game could look like in HD or even 4K on a nice OLED screen in 60 FPS. Although the old PC game is still playable on Windows 10 it still would be very nice to play it with higher resolution. I guess the biggest problem with this games success was that it was released during a time where 3D was just the hype and nobody really was interested in 2D games anymore. IMO this game could really benefit from being rereleased today on GOG or Steam to maybe get the attention it actually diserved.

@unfille991 21 күн бұрын

I remember being so hyped for this game when it was being teased in all the gaming mags back in the day. I love this game. Me and another kid at my school would sit around and talk about this game and Resident Evil 2. We wrote fanfics about this stuff, lol. When I was playing it the first time around I was getting heavy "imagination" vibes, because well I was 12 I think when it came out and I was always daydreaming about going on crazy adventures, braving deadly traps, and yeah my thoughts on the death animations, during these imagination sessions I was always having I definitely thought of all the ways it might look to get eaten by an alien you made up in your head. The one death I always hated about this game, the worms. And you nailed it during your description. Thank you for bringing back all these wonderful memories.

@bobsgammon 20 күн бұрын

I'm glad it tickled them memories, I was 4 so slightly different memories but I totally get that sense of imagination it invokes

@jakethorne8336 Ай бұрын

Was always curious about this game. Glad you put this video together

@bobsgammon Ай бұрын

Thank you for this, comments like this helps me keep going

@thesidneychan 20 күн бұрын

This game oozes Robert Zemeckis and Spielberg. Especially especially the music. I miss movies that had similar orchestral soundtracks.

@bobsgammon 20 күн бұрын

That adventure feel and hope to it is missing somewhat

@marclohnhardt6420 23 күн бұрын

I played it as a kid,totaly forgot it existed until your video popped up randomly. Nice work brought back some memories ❤❤

@bobsgammon 23 күн бұрын

More than welcome, glad people are finding it and enjoying it

@MrGrae333 19 күн бұрын

I've never played this game but man,nthose are some beautiful gameplay animations for a retro side scoller. Honestly puts Contra to shame, and I grew up on those games.

@bobsgammon 19 күн бұрын

But their gameplay is probably superior, not that I don't enjoy HoD gameplay

@Bootleg64DD 10 күн бұрын

I remember playing the demo of this game that I got from a cereal box early 2000s

@bobsgammon 10 күн бұрын

Miss demo disk days, kinda forced you to try things you'd not think to play

@chumpyman 3 күн бұрын

insane video. ps1 era of gaming was amazing and heart of darkness is one of them. wild 9 I feel is another underrated ps1 game

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

I will give it a gander thank you!

@wuoarh0815 21 күн бұрын

never realized how the master of darkness relates to the teacher 🙈 awesome vid! thanks for looking into this forgotten gem :) one of my favourite nostalgia trips

@bobsgammon 21 күн бұрын

Glad you had a good time

@GrumpyMunkyGameDesign 12 күн бұрын

u never saw how the master related to the teacher?! DID YOU SEE THE TEACHERS MODEL! Chekovs gun if ever i f**kin saw it!

@bobsgammon 11 күн бұрын

@@GrumpyMunkyGameDesign Tbf you don't spend a lot of time with either so easy to miss.

@clintonsmith8215 11 күн бұрын

Would love to see more like this! Great work!

@bobsgammon 10 күн бұрын

I'm getting there with my next video, though I'm jumping to 2010. Work and life are slowing me more than I'd like but comments like this make me push through. Thank you

@clintonsmith8215 10 күн бұрын

@@bobsgammon I really enjoyed it. I’ll be looking for the next one! Hope you are doing well!

@bobsgammon 9 күн бұрын

Thank you :)

@mikedoe525 18 күн бұрын

I wish so bad to someone make a remaster of this game, but I guess it's almost impossible

@bobsgammon 18 күн бұрын

The way the game is kindve requires a holistic vision and intense desire and I think you'd need the two Devs back for it to happen

@bocarlsson3rd 5 күн бұрын

Definitely deserves a subscribe. Good work chap.

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

Cheers mate, I appreciate the kind words, goes a long way!

@coolcatshan5266 10 күн бұрын

Loved this game

@jesterofdimensionz 17 күн бұрын

Such a good game

@toongrowner1 16 күн бұрын

1:21:20 always looked to me like gray potatoes, so I kinda call them potato warriors XD

@bobsgammon 15 күн бұрын

Love this

@Calculon1712 10 күн бұрын

I remember seeing footage back in 1995 on GamesMaster and looked forward to it. Then i rented it on PS1 in July 1998 and thought it was okay but couldve been better. I like a lot of Eric Chai's work especially his most recent VR game Paper Beasts. Love the soundtrack as it was done by Bruce Broughton whos done quite a few films and TV shows. The soundtrack i must associate him with is the music for Tiny Toon Adventures

@bobsgammon 10 күн бұрын

I saw that he done that but can't really play VR ATM

@jefferyjones8399 23 күн бұрын

I clicked on this thinking... they made a game out of that book? And then he was like, it has nothing to do with that. lol

@bobsgammon 21 күн бұрын

Is the book any good?

@toongrowner1 16 күн бұрын

I swear I got this game as an extra in a cereal box once as a kid. Still love it (and still have it, but the ps1 version so I can play on my ps2). Thanks to oddworld and mortal kombat 3 (for which I, like many others, where clearly too young for) and some disney cartoon shows, had already a certain fascination with death animation and dark transformation XD I still play it from time to time though can not tell if it got easier or more difficult for me XD

@bobsgammon 9 күн бұрын

It got easier for me but a ton of that is patience

@toongrowner1 9 күн бұрын

@@bobsgammon well it kind of switched for me. some areas I had trouble as a kid are now easy but easy areas are now harder for me XD

@twi57ed 14 күн бұрын

Great video!

@bobsgammon 11 күн бұрын

Thank you

@twi57ed 11 күн бұрын

@@bobsgammon No, thank you! Keep up the great work,man!

@MSDGAMEZ 23 күн бұрын

My local game store has a mint copy of this game for $29.99. Is that a good price?

@bobsgammon 23 күн бұрын

I tend to use the link below as a metric, but not always the best (prices can be volatile) and not recommending any purchases on it purely on monetary value. Saying that it seems very reasonable and not gonna blow the bank. Really depends on what you think old games are worth. The emulation is good and representative, I love having hardware but don't think its the be all and end all. Though this is a case of a game I've owned since I can remember so maybe someone else around here can help point you in the right direction. Sorry thats a wishy washy answer www.pricecharting.com/game/playstation/heart-of-darkness

@brockbooth630 2 ай бұрын

If I had to asked you something in the future QnA if the unmade film for the Heart of Darkness was made what would you want in the film ps did you see some Wizard of Oz stuff in the story in the game

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

Interesting, I'll have a think and will get back to you. Either here or in video form :)

@brockbooth630 2 ай бұрын

@@bobsgammon take your time if you want I can point all of them out for you and if you want I can tell you the rumors if Heart of Darkness was going to be a movie but I don’t know if it’s true or not

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

I mentioned the rumours briefly but maybe not clearly, but they were related to speilberg

@brockbooth630 2 ай бұрын

@@bobsgammon I know he was one of the founders of DreamWorks I don’t mean to possibly tell you info about the rumor you may have heard but it Spielberg or someone at DreamWorks say the cutscenes for the game in between 1996 to 1998 and know they struck gold so they called for a meeting with Eric and it lead to the studio telling him and his team to drop the game development and give the rights to DreamWorks for good reason they Eric dropped the deal and finished the game sorry if it was a long comment it’s a habit

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

It's good info, I knew some of it, not all, I'll definitely dig deeper. Thank you

@novelezra 14 күн бұрын

I wanted to play this so bad as a kid. Thank fuck I didn't.

@bobsgammon 14 күн бұрын

It's not bad just weird

@novelezra 14 күн бұрын

@@bobsgammon Oh no! I probably would have loved it as Flashback was one of my favorite games as a kid I meant, thank God I didn't play it because it would have scarred me for life haha

@bobsgammon 10 күн бұрын

Haha if I'm anything to go by, then yes you'd end up weird

@goodlookinouthomie1757 20 күн бұрын

Man I would love a HD remake of this.

@bobsgammon 20 күн бұрын

I think a remaster for the FMVs and backgrounds to make them pop on new systems would be good but I love the pixel art I'd be apprehensive of doing too much

@goodlookinouthomie1757 20 күн бұрын

@@bobsgammon Yeah the pixel art is great. It's a timeless classic. But imagine a studio like the Rayman Ubisoft team making a sequel.

@bobsgammon 10 күн бұрын

Good shout

@Pettysburg 2 күн бұрын

Damn was that a mugshot??

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

I am a mug but I assume you mean of the teacher?

@SurPatel-uz2fu 2 ай бұрын

Great retrospective video essay. I didn't have the patience to get through this when I first played it on the PS1, so it was nice t know more about it. If ou're taking requwsts I personally would like to see ones on: Impossible Creatures and Bandits: Phoenix Rising

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

I've never heard of that,I'll definitely have to look it up!

@SurPatel-uz2fu 2 ай бұрын

@@bobsgammon Great, thanks. They are quite obscure titles, and may not have the smoothest gameplay, but I think they have a certain charm to them.

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

@@SurPatel-uz2fu There is a few obscure titles I am thinking of looking at but have a few things in the pipeline beforehand. However doesn't mean I won't get round to them, even in a shorter form vid!

@SurPatel-uz2fu 2 ай бұрын

@@bobsgammon O, very cool, I look forward to knowing of those obscure titles too. No pressure, you may not even like those games anyway haha

@bobsgammon 2 ай бұрын

Honestly views also come into it but if I can get some vids under my belt and more returning viewers, I'd make time to follow this ip

@necrosadotor 6 күн бұрын

great game, too bad it's so short

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

One of its biggest criticisms, though I suck at platformers so it took me longer than most

@lpdigit4363 21 күн бұрын

I remember always beating the first disc pretty easily but the second one fucked me up instantly. I still love this game, probably one of the best games for the psx. Also, how could anyone call this game bland? 😭 Thank you for the great video btw, thats an instant subscribe vor me ❤ Editing this comment for the third time now but wouldn't it be awesome to get a remake to this game like the oddworld games?

@bobsgammon 21 күн бұрын

I am still to play new n tasty but would love to see this game to get the same treatment from what I've seen. I found oddworld too hard as a kid as I was terrible at remembering to save

@lpdigit4363 21 күн бұрын

I remember playing abes exodus only to the end of disc 1 and having to start a new game all the time cause we didn't have a memory card but I'm sure I would never have finished it even if we had one 😬

@bobsgammon 20 күн бұрын

We had a memory card but I remember getting so far into a game just to find out it was full

@Danferplus 21 күн бұрын

nice retrospective video, Heart of Darkness is a great underrated game, but if I have one complaint about the video it's the wrong aspect ratio, why stretch it to wide screen when it's clearly a 4:3 game...

@bobsgammon 21 күн бұрын

I play it in 4:3 but the game constantly cuts the top and bottom off and so I cropped pure black screen out

@Der_Andere_Da 8 күн бұрын

34:15 btw you can just hold X to grab on again, you don´t have to time pressing X

@bobsgammon 8 күн бұрын

I never knew that, nearly 30 years and I never tried holding it

@evan12697 Ай бұрын

51:25 ayo?

@bobsgammon Ай бұрын

You're the first person to have noticed that I put that line in there! Don't know whether to proud I hid it well or disappointed it took so long :P

@evan12697 Ай бұрын

@@bobsgammon 🤣🤣 great video mate, Happy to notice lol

@bobsgammon Ай бұрын

@@evan12697 Cheers matey I appreciate it

@Artynos_YT 9 күн бұрын

Not gonna lie. The entire look of Heart of Darkness never looked interesting to me. And I’m into 2d puzzle platformers.

@bobsgammon 9 күн бұрын

Interesting, as a 2D platformer it really stands out aesthetically to me. Any reason it doesn't look interesting or just personal taste?

@SaturdayCrunch 10 күн бұрын

Has Anyone ever said you sound like moogleftw?

@bobsgammon 9 күн бұрын

I have no idea who that is, sorry

@SaturdayCrunch 9 күн бұрын

:) the ears know @@bobsgammon

@bobsgammon Күн бұрын

I'll check it out, though from my time working in radio I know that we never hear ourselves how we hear others, so I doubt I'll agree :P