Fun fact: In a retrospective interview with a former Kane & Lynch dev, they claimed that the studio went all-in with the ugliness and presentation of Dog Days. The developers were already expecting the game to fail/have a bad rep (despite having sold one million copies) because of the Gamespot controversy after Dead Men's release, so they took complete creative freedom and risks not caring about the consequences. Despite the game's lack of polish, I'm glad it exists. There's no crime thriller quite like it, and despite the simple storyline, the psychological representation of the two protagonists gets quite deep through little details.

The first few hours of Oblivion were more incredible, revelatory and engaging than just about any film I'd ever seen.. leaving the sewers after the prison escape.. I couldn't believe what I was seeing

OMG IM SO GLAD, I literally just finished your Minecraft retrospective, and I really love your content man you are probably my favorite KZfaq when it comes to retrospectives!

The Talos Principle is the one that really got me thinking, especially if you play all the way through and really read through all the text messages.

A very wise video. A very advanced take on gaming. From someone that started with text adventures and has seen it grow from scratch. Well done.

Of all the many games that I've played, arguably the most profound game is hands down When the Darkness Comes. A 3 part game that only takes about an hour or two to fully beat, but it REALLY made me think about some VERY deep and sometimes dark topics. The game started off a little dark and a bit strange, but as it progresses, it continues to get MUCH MUCH darker until you get to the very end and it then shows you the beauty of what you just went through is. Art style is incredible. The voice acting is very unique in a way that I haven't seen in a game before. Yeah there's narration, but it is very well scripted and done very well. This just seems like it was done in one take (iykyk)

What a great video, the content of this channel is just so enjoyable, I love it. You talked about Cain and Lynch 2, it's a game that I'm always happy to see people talk about, as you said, it's Avant gard, experimental, anti-consumer in a sense. I hope more people get to play it. Once again, amazing channel and amazing content, I'm glad to have it around. So entertaining.

Munt thank you so much for constantly putting out these great videos, I love saving these for the late ass night for max immersion ❤

I believe Superliminal is also another game that would fit pretty nicely into this video, it’s simple, but by the end it actually starts to become real therapy. The entire game is centered around the idea what you are undergoing therapy by being inside your own head, in a dream state, going through puzzles, that when the game is ending, you realize that it’s not just your character getting therapy, it’s you, the player, being taught a lesson about how you perceive the world how you want to perceive it, you make your own story, all you’ve got to do is wake… up… (Those who have played the game will understand the “wake up” part)

The little Cut at 8:11 when Colonel Campbell says "Raiden" is such a stroke of PURE GENIUS. It's one of those things that EVERYONE HEARS, but no one really takes much notice of. Because at this point in the story, we are far too busy wondering what happened to Snake, and who the hell this blonde guy is!

new favorite channel, love the deep dives you take

Outer Wilds left me speechless. A deceptively simple, yet infinitely complex game. One of the most perfect gaming experiences of my life. The ending had me fighting back tears... EVERYONE should play it once in their life (you can only really play it once anyway. If you know, you know).

i personally recommending next list of the games i played and i love them so much: Rain World Outer Wilds Celeste Hollow Knight Oxenfree Mutazione Night in the Woods Hyper Light Drifter The Witness Subnautica Oneshot Moonlighter HoB FAR: Lone Sails / Changing Tides Transistor GRIS REZ FEZ Evil Twin: Cyprien's Chronicles Figment OMORI OFF Firewatch Limbo The Last Campfire Yuppie Psycho FURI The Binding of Isaac Hotline Miami Katana ZERO Cave Story ABZÛ Monuments Valley

Dang dude, nowadays not many videos hold my attention from beginning to end, well done!

When I played The Last of Us, I indeed slaughtered the doctors in the operating room when my Joel charged in. I was caught up in the emotional drive of the game (and Joel's drive) to protect Ellie at all costs, and having faced aggressive enemy fireflies throughout the hospital up to that point. When I replayed the game some time later, I realized that those same doctors are non-combatant NPCs who won't harm you, and that the game actually gives you the option to either kill them or spare them. I then chose to spare them. It's such a small moment in the overall game, but that moment has stuck with me since when I think of that game.

8:00 I love that you pointed out how Colonel was copy-ing what Mei-Ling told Snake. You can even hear how Raiden's name was spliced in to replace Snake. Just neat little touches like that are what I love about Kojima games.

this is a fantastic video on video games and why they truely are a profound art form, when it comes to these long form analysis videos for video games you are one of my favorite youtubers I know I already mentioned this in an earlier video, but you should really try this game called oneshot. it is in my opinion a narrative masterpiece and could fit into these profound games with how it utilizes the medium of gaming aswell as the 4th wall not for a cheap joke but to make you feel. it truely proves that video games aare a worthy art form, because it simply wouldn't work without that personal interaction.

Such a gem of a video. And so happy Munt touched on MGS2!

Wonderful, Kane and Lynch 2 still one of my favorite games!

I've been a gamer for over 30y the most profound game I've played is "OUTER WILDS" hands down... Just play it with the dlc "Echoes of the Eye", without looking anything up, as everything is a spoiler... It has no replay value.. But it's the most beautiful game with most original concept ever made.. a true masterpiece.. Problem why nobody heard of it because it came out at the same time as "Outer Worlds" and the AAA game swallowed it up..

Actually Only Up was made to promote NFTs, they were trying to capitalize on making it a meme game so streamers and youtubers would give their crypto more traction, so it is literally just a cash grab made to look deeper than it actually is

Such a damn good video, dude, and so many I could add to this already stacked list many of which took me by surprise. Spec ops the line is 100% deserving of a list such as this or Red Dead 2.

I love that little composite-in of pinging with bash you did at 0:59 that's something I would do.

As soon as I seen the Kane and Lynch opening screen I knew it’d be a great video

Outer Wilds is probably the most profound I've ever played and so different to anything else I've ever played.

I love Kane & Lynch 2. Most misunderstood game of all time. Never got he credit it deserved.

Awesome video! We need more stuff like this on yt.

Out of every game I've played the one that is the most profound to me is The Witness. It's a puzzle game that is very purposeful thematically and in the gameplay. Ever since I've played it, I've always been thinking about it. There are so many puzzles in it that are mind-blowing in the way that they play on your perception. It's very rewarding for people who love puzzle games and who are patient.

OneShot is probably the best game that I would describe as 'profound'. It really is special, if you haven't played it, play it. You owe it to yourself

Metal Gear Solid 2 was the first Metal Gear I ever played and the first I finished. And I am so glad for that fact

What a great film that shows this side to video games! I'd just like to add: I had a pretty profound experience with... Portal 2. The ending was so profound and hilarious and glorious to me that I laughed and cried. I'll give Dog Days another try. Thanks again for your interesting perspective on this issue.

An excellent video with a brilliant selection of games, also highlights the lack of real innovation that's happening. Instead of focusing on accurately recreating light bounces why arent more developers looking to enhance real human emotions and experiences through creative & unique design? Ohh and in this day and age, we need Kane & Lynch 3 more than we EVER! did before.

Panzer Dragoon Saga is probably one of the most profound games I've played.

id recommend you antichamber, one of the most underrated and influential games I've played, especially because of the incredibly original atmosphere it generates.

None of the games you cite seem to be profound because of the gameplay or any game specific qualities but rather because of the narration. It reminds me of modern art displays where one feels smart by reading the caption rather than by building a personal relationship with the work.

The most profound game I have ever played is God of War 2018. The story, the writing, the pacing and just the overall presentation. It actually changed my life, made me think about things and challenged me on an emotional level. To anyone who says that games are not art, you're simply wrong.

That's why I love the STALKER franchise and the first 2 metro games. Both don't have the greatest stories or the most polished gameplay but their post apocalyptic, desperate, posts soviet aesthetics are something else. You are placed in a world you don't know anything about, there are super strong monsters that can kill you in seconds, your main weapon is basically useless and you constantly have to search for bullets for your secondary one. On top of all that you can die to an anomaly instantly at all times. In both games you're not some superhero that is here to save the world. You're just a guy trying to survive in a world that doesn't give a shit about him.

Gaming is fully engaging your full mental attention as you accomplish the task at hand. It is like subconsciously living out the game your playing in that cyber world. Its mind, body and souls and it feeld real.

Can you please tell me how many hours per day you work on your videos because i simply don't believe you can put out this much content of this length and quality

I'm very excited to watch this video essay

THat was an excellent video! Congrats!

great video.. kane and lynch 2 seems really really interesting and im going to play it

Chuck is these kind of guy to say videogames don't have actors

Awesome brother, keep up the good work 🛸

We’ve come far with video games, I mean, hell, a film adaption of Pokémon premiered at The Chinese Theater and even opened at Number 2 at the box office and did really well for Rice’s sake! I mean, Cheezits Rice!

You are spot upon on II am severely physically disabled and often I feel I am in a bad video game and, yes II make my own choices

A game I find profound is ULTRAKILL. It's one of the most violent games out there, with it's subtitle and opening words simply being "Mankind is dead. Blood is fuel. Hell is full." Humanity has already died, and there's no true impact you can make on the word, which it emphasizes. Most of the story is actually told through descriptions. Each enemy as well as the five weapons you unlock all have descriptions that reveal more about the world, but in a natural way. It doesn't just tell you, but instead puts it in like as if the people who made the terminals expect anyone reading to know the context an left out information. It's like secret files, which is what they probably are. Despite being one of the most violent games, it has a LOT of self control. While a lot of soundtrack and gameplay is filled with heavy beats and guitar and blood, it also has calm. Most of the songs are split up into 2 versions, a calm version and a combat version. It keeps the game having a consistent feel when out of combat, but also making it so you aren't always filled with adrenaline. In the first true bossfight in the game, you are met with night time outside and inside a mansion while Clair De Lune plays. Up until the bossfight itself, there's only one moment in the level that isn't just calm. It's completely unnecessary, yet it works perfectly. Even the follow boss, it's artificial, but it's just as artificial as you the player being there as well. You are an unthinking machine made for war in a calm place, interrupted by your successor model. The most profound to me though is the main character. While in most games the main character is the protagonist, the main character of ULTRAKILL is instead the main antagonist, Gabriel the Archangel. Unlike your protagonist who is unthinking, Gabriel is a character who actually grows throughout the story. It also speaks to me as well. I was born into a Christian family, baptized, and raised to be Christian. But over time, I began to have my doubts, and now I'm an Apostate, wondering why God is never there to tell you that everything is okay, or how people suffering is apart of his great plan. Gabriel has that same problem, going from a firm believer at the beginning of the game, to a man who now accepts that God has abandoned him by the end of Act 2. From what I interpret, he even continue to grow and be more relatable to me once Act 3 comes out, that being a person who has lost all care and now simply does because he has nothing else to do.

What a coincidence MGS2 got mentioned because I literally started playing it yesterday and I already love it so much. I had to skip the section in the video to avoid spoilers though, I know some crazy shit goes down by the end of the game and I am fortunate enough to be almost clueless to what it’s about.

MGS2 Plant section being a simulation itself is literally genius. Why have I not heard this before.

i do not understand how in 11 days this video has only 16k views, i think your content is worth FAR MORE, but i'm sure that if you keep this up then you will keep growing :D

'Burnhouse Lane' from Harvester games deserve a mention...

Dark Souls changed my life to such a degree that even the most rabid fanboys and hardcore game nuts would have a difficult time believing the degree to which it affected me. That said, I am actually making this claim in a rational, level-headed, matter-of-fact kind of way. There is no frothing at the mouth(lol) when I point out that the game changed me profoundly, and I can back it up: 1) It started by miraculously removing my frustration with difficulty, forever, in all games. It took 10 years to learn how and why, so I’ll get back to that… 2) It eased my anxiety and depression, giving me an entirely ineffable experience. I could not put it in to words. It was the most profound experience of my life up until that point, and so I dedicated myself to working out what it was. I searched endlessly for 10 years, and would never have given up even if I went all the way to the grave not knowing. I HAD to know, at any cost. 3) in 2020, I finally found the answers. The truth is that the game is nondualistic/spiritual, that Miyazaki(the game’s director) is enlightened or close to it, and that it employs various universal human truths in its game design. This led to me fixing my anxiety & depression, using the same techniques that the game use to heal my frustration. The “ineffable” experience mentioned earlier was, outrageously, an experience of Oneness with the universe & humanity. I was an atheist before this, btw. I discovered this through meditation(which I took up to better understand Dark Souls) and when I experienced Oneness there, I finally knew that this was what I had been experiencing in Dark Souls. And that’s just scratching the surface, in broad strokes. I really need a book to explain it properly. No other media that I’ve ever experienced has came close to impacting me like this. It quite literally changes my whole reality, fixing various mental health issues in the process. I couldn’t thank FromSoft enough, and had I not played this game my life would be a living hell right now.

Phantom Dust - One of the most underrated profound videogames

I’d love to see what you think about Signalis.

The most profound game for me was The Witness. It literally simulates spiritual awakenings, or the Eureka moment. I felt my consciousness expand as I was playing it, then realized that's what it was engineered to do. Outer Wilds and Disco Elysium are 2 other profound games for me.

I didn’t know The Stanley Parable was so self-aware! Like Last Action Hero and Gumball! But for video game terms, like Doki Doki Literature Club and Undertale.

I don't believe there's a more profound game than Hotline Miami 1 and 2. Both on a narrative level, exploring how cycles of violence are ingrained in American culture, politics, society and cosmology, as well as on a aesthetic level that ties everything together in a cohesive style of murder, depravity, but also action, excitement - the contrast is shown to be intertwined, the palpable orgasm of rejoicing in acts of violence, exploiting our feelings and our media expectations (much like MGS2) to deliver a poignant message about how we perpetrate the social violence that permeates all bodies either we want it or not. It is as if Rousseau made a game translating his ideas of civilization leading to corruption and the irrational screams of the hallucinated, violent, orgasmic masses; masses, those, that endorse ideologies that lead to their own demise, such as rampant nationalism, war against the Other, the foreign, and ouright fascism. Such is the madness of violence, of action, of power.

no way i just got an ad from the guy whose 6h zombies video ive watched twice lmao

Devotion from Red Candle games is a game that is quite profound to me, it's story resembles that of a Stephen King story it tackles theme of childhood abuse and trauma. I think Outlast 2 is the only other game that tackles a similar theme unfortunately the plot for Outlast 2 muddles those themes

13:25 When the VRchat Black Cat Bar music plays in the background.

A really good series is the Off-Peak series by Cosmo D

I love seeing stuff like this! What is that game that is shown at the beginning and end (at 0:01, running through desert)?

Kowloon vibes from Only Up, like it

Cane & lynch 2 reminds me of that bodycam fps game if it was a 3rd person action narrative game from 2013

You should make a video about Terraria, that’s about as simple and open-world as you can get.

Very surprised Spec Ops The Line wasn't on here.

Very very very well said.

I FUCKING LOVE KANE AND LYNCH 2 DOG DAYS

even in praise, people still are sleeping on kane and lynch... people do a good job of explaining why the aesthetic is the way it is or how deep the story is in the right context, but nobody gives that gameplay props, at the time of release its because it was different that the other top 3rd person shooters, but its a visceral gameplay experience that actually aligns with the whole narrative of the series. there was very little ACTUAL jank to be annoyed with the games, or at least no more than any other game released, the frustration came from i guess what you could call a learning curve for the game. And it sucks because i felt even the multiplayer modes were good enough to be something to give the second game staying power but it never had a decent population just like max payne 3's multiplayer

Dude, please make an RDR 2 Retrospective video!

MGS2 is my favorite of the series, even prefer it over 3 but that's really good too, maybe second best for me.

I can't believe how positively surprised I am that I found someone who's intellectually honest and cognizant of the fact that Ellie would've wanted to sacrifice herself in that surgery and that Joel knew that, causing him to lie. I thought that was the consensus, but a lot of people asserted otherwise after TLOU2 came out, mostly to paint Joel as a messiah considering the outrage over that game, hence this video is very refreshing.

I am an art critic of all mediums, narrative and still art, and I do believe games are an important part of that puzzle that is humanity

Have you read Kojima's book "The Creative Gene"? If so, you will know that Kojima's thing is entirely about being actively influenced by many things, and referencing those things directly in his works. Because he wants you to like memes as much as he does, and help spread his memes.

The team ico trilogy are 3 games I consider to be art with the last guardian being my favorite 😍 ❤️

Super late here but if you like Eraserhead and haven't seen them yet check out annihilation or anything by yorgos lanthimos. They're not the same thematically but they make me feel the same sorta emptiness that Eraserhead does.

It's always been the same, if something is associated with youth it gets a bad reputation. Most people still see graphic novels as a lesser form of literature despite arguably taking the most effort to create. Then somebody adapts a graphic novel into a film and everybody says "this is great, where do they get their ideas?". The walking dead, Kingsman the secret service, sandman, very few people give any credit to the comics despite enjoying the TV shows and films which adapt them. Best advice is forget about everyone else and just focus on what you like, don't get into something just because everyone else is.

Weird I sae this poster earlier today but when I clicked on it it said the video was private. Did yt hit you with the accused yellow sign on the first try?

Id say videogames actually gave me a pretty good education, age of empires id spend hours upon hours just reading about civilasations and historical people and human progression, things like husbandary when it came to farming, i know how rice is grown, how water levels are important to control the temperature, how to seperate the grain from the chaff. Videogames are very important to human society Edit: adendum my english is bad because i only have one eye i can use right now xD

I tried hours ago to comment this but you made the video private as I hit post I was so confused it was up 21 minutes before

Well, didn't expect to see the naked flipping Raiden here, but I'm glad he was though I can only imagine the amount of people that thought MGS2 was the least worthy entry to be mentioned in this video lol.

1:03 i literally dont even buy games if im not confident about spending more than 10 hours in the game, even if it's a few dollars

The most profound game series I’ve ever played has been The Souls Series. I don’t think I need to explain why, as anyone who’s played it would know.

Kane n lynch has huge ps2 vibes.

If we consider the paint splatters and scribbles that is modern “art”, as art. Then games are definitely art.

you should make a video on lollipop chainsaw

You should not confuse post-modern intellectual masturbation with games being a “transcendental “ and “profound “ experiences. The only way games will ever reach the heights of classic literature or cinema is if modern game developers will pull their heads out of their asses and decide to explore universal topics like meaning of life, family, mortality and morality instead of endless self inserts and commentary about the medium. The deep, almost cultish conviction that MUH GAMEZ ARE ART was extremely destructive for game dev. That description should be earned each and every time you make a new game, it shouldn’t be automatic. Until then, we will hold up these literal joke projects like Stanley Parable as our holy achievements and people from outside who don’t play games will keep laughing at us.

The Metal Gear series are definitely some of the best.

*I've lived in China and yes the big cities do look like this.

I’m not fully a fan of when people talk about things that are well-liked by popular sentiment unless I like it too. But alright. I was referring to when you talked about The Last Of Us and said we think it’s great. But I don’t think that because I haven’t even played it, and I might not like it!

*WE NEED KANE & LYNCH 3.*

Some spoiler alerts would've been nice

Paradise Killer!

Hey look if you wanted my upvote you could've just mentioned Inland Empire in the first two minutes rather than the last two.

Ok but why K&L2 on thumbnail?

my brother have you played CrossCode?

Ppl really call games "art" then use a movie plot fitted into you bog standard third person template as an example. Video games are not pushing the medium they are pushing your wallet as things are rn. You need to look at how you interact with the games you play, is the game art or is it something else, like the story, visuals, idk. Would the game hold up without those things?

I NEED SCISSORS! 61!

❤

Why a reupload? Was something wrong before?