Your current browser is bad. Get a better one here: operagx.gg/DarylTalksGames6 Thanks for watching! What popular game is *your* body rejecting?

It's always funny how calling something "mid" is somehow more of an insult than calling it "bottom tier".

There's always that one KZfaqr that makes a three hour long video essay on why "new popular game" is actually "overrated garbage."

It's not just social media, just being online ruins my hype for games. Everywhere you see memes, secrets, clips of cutscenes and funny moments, bugs they found, etc etc etc. It completely ruins it for me. And if I somehow avoid all of that and play the game a few weeks after it comes out, all of a sudden it's old news or I get responded with headpats and oh you're just finding out now. Like if you don't partake when everyone else is, you completely missed out.

"Suddenly that hidden vista becomes a bustling resort overrun with tourists." I get such feelings when I compare the internet before and now...

I feel like your explanation of how intergroup threat creates toxic communities is right on the money. I noticed pretty much the same thing recently: that as soon as we start rooting for our favorite franchises/pieces of art like they’re sports teams, nuance dies.

I don't remember the last time I had this with a video game, but I experienced this phenomenon with Breaking Bad. To this day I have not watched a single minute of that show, despite people telling me how amazing it is and constantly pestering me to go watch it. I feel there is an element to this where your exposure to the thing has to be voluntary. You have to be excited about the show/game or whatever yourself first before interacting with others who are just as excited. When people try to infect you with their excitement it can either work or turn them off completely.

Bobs burgers of all shows has a really good episode about this phenomenon. Everyone gets obsessed about a game played over recess except for Gene, who ends up being really good at it, despite resisting the whole episode. He admits to liking it, but really, he’s just fine with doing his own thing at recess. Doing his own thing in his own spare time, regardless of what’s popular. I think when your spare time is spent genuinely enjoying something, everyone else cannot stop talking about something else, that’s when rejection settles in. It’s like everyone else is going off topic.

Something I felt wasn't mentioned here is a very simple reason I personally become averse to popular games: when enough hype builds and enough people talk about it, it's not that I get tired, but rather the expectations become so high that they're impossible to meet. It happened enough to me that I simply checked out of the mainstream for a while because I couldn't enjoy basically anything because it always fell short of what was promised. I've since changed my mindset to enjoy things as they are as opposed to what was promised, but setting expectations too high, even when you really want to enjoy something, can lead to nosediving interest as well.

I know you said you were kinda frustrated writing this one, but it definitely still came out really well!

This was something I've been scratching my head over for a while as to why I would frequently be repulsed by certain shows, anime, and videogames. Really glad you touched on this topic. There's also another possible reason for someone to start disliking when something gets popular. I've had many times where I've tried to get my friends to check out a game or anime and they tell me they aren't interested, then have someone else in my friend group suggest the same damn thing and they decide it's one of the greatest things they've seen. This has led to me feeling sick of things I've enjoyed and despising even the thought of trying out things my friends pitch for me to try.

Honestly, it's pretty nice hearing you say "sometimes, Fine is fine." I often times tell my friends that I like to play games that most people would consider "bad" or "mid" because they are palette cleansers. They are a return to form to the kind of games I played as a kid. Sometimes just popping in a generic JRPG is exactly what I want. Sometimes a bland or average racing game just hits the right spot. I don't WANT every single experience to be this crazy mind blowing thing, because then I get exhausted of that kind of "grandness" and it doesn't feel as grand as it should. This might get me crucified, but I really don't think Elden Ring is anything special. I liked it well enough at first, but as the game just keep going, kept going, kept going, I was getting more and more irritated with it. Everyone else was like "But it's just more of a great thing, why is that a bad thing?" I can tell you there were five separate times where I felt like I should be reaching a natural conclusion to the game, and then I'd find a NEW HUGE portion of map that needed to be explored. It was honestly exhausting. I honestly think Elden Ring personally is in the lower half of Fromsoft games. I liked Bloodborne, Dark Souls 3, Sekiro, and Armored Core 6 more than Elden Ring. And maybe I wouldn't be as harsh on Elden Ring, except that everyone else LOVES it, claims it's one of the greatest games ever made, when I thought it was only "good." So I'll admit, I am that friend in the case of Elden Ring.

I'm in this weird middleground where I'm not against popular things but also not really drawn to it. The bigger issue to me is that, once I do like something, I'm with most certainty the one person to enjoy it for way longer than any of my friends will. Leading to me being completely alone with what I enjoy, everyone had their fill, nobody really wants to hear about it, so all I can do is either give it up like everyone else or continue enjoying it. But now it always serves as a reminder of when it used to be a thing I could share And from how much this has happened, I've become more distant to anything that I dont have an innate reason to get for simply myself. If I dont want it for "just myself" then I'm more against getting into it

I think a cause for losing interest after so much exposure is because the flaws start being easier to point out (Btw, I didnt watch the entire video, so if he already mentioned this, then my fault)

I tend to buy games months or years after they come out so I can get them on sale. This has the added benefit of allowing me to avoid any hype cycles and to just get the games that look interesting to me based on their own merits, not what others say

The thing about your favorite turning into content to be pumped out perfectly fits into my feeling on so many fandoms I use to be a part of. These fandoms don't offer me the refuge they once did, but I also feel that is part of becoming an adult. I also think some of the reason some of us turn away from popular content is that some of our identities were never made to feel accepted in popular spaces, so when something turns popular we no longer feel welcome.

Humans are so very interesting. I have OCD and a lot of the time if someone tells me to do something, every bone in my body tells me not to. However, when it comes to seeking out games, I usually look for the most critically acclaimed games to play, and it doesn’t bother me one bit. It might be somewhat different is an actual person told me to specifically play a game, but even still I don’t think it would matter to me too much. Gaming is the one hobby where I actually think I welcome the idea of listening to others input when decided what games to get

I just refuse to pay $70 for a game.

"Shut the world out and pretend that you found it on your own" Not a video game, but I tried this with Star Wars of all things. I grew up with the LEGO video games, but could never really get into the movies until late last year my dad and I watched Episode 4. I thought if I didn't think about it as "Star Wars like I've seen everywhere" and more as "an old space sci fi movie" I'd like it more. Because of that, I ended up LOVING it. Since then, I've seen all the other movies and I'm in the middle of the Clone Wars. I love Star Wars now!

TVTropes laconically calls this "It's Popular, Now It Sucks!"

Hey, I know you didn’t have fun making this video, and I am not the type to make comments, but this one deserves it since it just feels super timely. I have felt like an outsider at work in so many ways- and this video really helped me sort out some major feelings about that. It’s annoying because I’ve always kind of had a theory like this in the back of my head so having this video explain the studies done on this topic expands my understanding to some actual healthy use for grounding through a healthy reminder that my emotions are valid, but they also need that extra encouragement to slow down, take it easy and listen beyond my gut reactions and insecurities. Thanks again! Your videos mean so much to me and I show them to my gamer and non-gamer friends all the time to explain so much of myself. They provide clarity, comfort and entertainment. It’s a lot of work and you’re a bad ass for doing it bro.

There's a moment I had in one instance where it was a story that got popular in its niche subcommunity to the extent that pointing out even some basic problems that you might have with it, something that doesn't overall detract but becomes more noticeable when you are subjected to having to see it constantly, makes those flaws stand out more. It's not just a reaction to exposure, it's that having more exposure makes it so that issues that you glossed over on the initial exposure are more easy to notice simply because the project is brought into your mind more often. Plus the community having this guttural reaction of, "You just didn't get it" only makes someone dig their heels in and fixate on that issue. If you just experienced the story once and didn't spend a lot of time being exposed to it, the memories of the standout parts are what sticks but if you have a lot of people talking about it then small nitpicks, plot holes, or more subtle things like pacing issues will be more apparent so a story you might have said was an 8 or 9 out of 10 could get slowly bumped down to like a 6. I think that people who are into more niche products can be more appreciative of them and willing to be chill about addressing the flaws, in particular if someone's being respectful about it. Someone who says, "I like Assault Spy but feel the controls are a bit stiff" will get a response of, "Hey, someone else who likes Assault Spy, cool." There's also an instance of how a lot of things that are trendy on social media don't actually appeal to everyone. This is more true in anime than games most likely but with anime the stuff that trends often ends up being stuff that's easy to share. Stuff that is more style than substance, that can easily fit into a Tweet. Higher production values, or more ripe meme potential, or frontloading the plot - there are a lot of ways that anime in particular pulls the wool over a general audience's eyes and obfuscates a series that isn't really that great by making it easier to get people onboarded. For an apples to apples comparison, gambling anime like Kaiji or Akagi are great but not for everyone because FKMT's art style is so stylized and rough (intentionally so) and his writing is designed to be a slow boil. Kakegurui, however, has art that is more easily shared with waifus and meme faces and it's episodic so it's easier to share - you don't have any instance where you have to say, "Trust me, you might see that he'll be spending over 12 episodes playing Pachinko but it's GREAT." A lot of the big trendy anime are ones that you can see everywhere but that nobody actually really puts into words why they enjoy them, they just basically say, "It's the hit of the season." And I've been through enough anime seasons to know that when the anime stops airing generally people will completely forget about the anime, which makes me look at the hit show of the season and not feel obligated to watch it if it didn't already catch my interest. That last bit is probably key to it. If you've seen enough popular media within a certain subcategory of media you start to recognize what you can expect from something that becomes trendy and it might just not be what you enjoy. Sometimes a thing becomes popular that vibes with you and you're cool with that but it stops being a standard by which you judge a thing. For games I've tried a handful of Souls games and always found that after the first couple bosses I get bored and drop them (in part because I'm more intrinsically motivated when it comes to games) so whenever some new game is getting hyped up and I see Souls-style combat, even if the game is popular and even if there are parts of the game that might vibe with me I know, "Yeah, probably won't be my thing."

In my opinion, I feel like not liking popular things stems from feeling like you missed out. Like you'll feel like if you start liking it, you're finding things out alone. Then for not liking it when a game you liked gets popular, I feel like it stems from video games being an escape. They're essentially a place you go to escape from reality, and when other people start showing up and populating that place, it changes the feeling of it.

5:35 Deathloop marketing did this. The ads were everywhere, they REALLY wanted that game to be seen but i know a lot of people were getting sick of seeing it everywhere. Me personally, i adore the game, i think it's a genuine masterpiece and somehow underrated. I think they did the right thing to go ham on the marketing, even for those that got sick, everyone being aware of it is important nonetheless

the thing people have to understand is that, popularity doesnt equal its universal, the same way a game being unpopular or bashed, doesnt translate to a terrible experience. as someone who has many good experiences with bad games, but also cant stand some of the popular ones. this is a lesson i learned and live by. i loved the gameplay of mass effect andromeda, while i couldnt stand the first mass effect for more than a few hours. i cant stand competitive games, but i genuinely love playing fighting games in arcade/story mode. each person has things that they find fun, but many others cant stand, and they also may have things they hate, that are absurdly popular. its similar to enjoying a game vs completing it, for example i loved zelda ocarina of time, but never managed to finish it, but i 100% all achievements of lords of the fallen(the first one), even though i had a miserable time playing it.

I hated Undertale for years when it came out (I was like 14 years old). Thought rather much about it and it was probably because it turned into the "best game on earth" online, and what bothered me was that meanwhile, when I'd have creative ideas (I was playing music), no one would semmingly care, other than the few adults at the local contests where I usually performed really well. Pretty much the "meh I'd have done it" syndrom. It felt like "everyone rejects creativity, but when it manages to bloom, everyone praises it", amplified by the "no one understands me" we all felt as a kid. Though Devil May Cry 3 hit a bit different. I bought the 3 titles last year after seeing stuff about it on YT, and it was freaking great, but my experience was kinda wasted. When you hear about DMC online, you probably see Vergil first and sick combos. I remember when I started my first playthrough of the 3, I was like "omg theres gonna be Vergil and its gonna be good" Excepted it kinda ruined it, like I already knew it was a great game, so even though the first hours were very good, it was pretty much "meh" because I expected it to be great on the first place, and I was also mostly thinking about fighting Vergil later. I think that a core aspect of loving something is to discover it's good by myself. If people everywhere tells me it is, then I won't have the surprise and will just expect it, killing the discovery. I visited a ton of Minecraft servers and tried most of Steam's free releases for a while, and that's where I had the most fun. Trying stuff that no one heard about, maybe it's good, maybe it's not, but if it is, I wouldn't have expected it and would get the satisfaction of striking gold by myself. So yea, now when I talk about stuff I like, I don't say "it's great, try it", I just mention I loved it so it's up to others to check it out. I think KZfaq is great for that, like you can get flooded with trendy content, but also get a taste of fresh things that you'd end up checking out and loving

For me, a lot of it has to do with how careless ppl are with spoilers. My first exposure to Invincible was someone telling me the twist that happens at the end of the first episode, and that _immediately_ made me less enthusiastic than if I had been able to experience it on my own terms

one of the biggest things the internet needs to learn is that opinions about media, by their nature, are subjective.

I'm definitely the friend in the beginning. I try to not be, but normally I end up just playing games that I enjoy and ignoring the mainstream...which is a little annoying bc its hard to talk to anyone about the games. Or I play a game after all the hype has passed, like I'm currently on my first run through of Elden Ring.

I'm in that weird group of people where the popularity of said media doesn't negatively impact my enjoyment of it, but rather the complete opposite. I'm glad more people are discovering the same thing because it means they can connect with others of similar interests and build a community around it. I remember when Elden Ring got released and our whole school talked about it for months. It was fun and engaging. Of course, that hinges on if you're willing to put yourself out there and talk with people about it. It doesn't hit the same when it's just you enjoying said media, but that's just me.

_Fleetwood Mac_ is an incredible band, but it took me over twenty years to admit this to myself because of how not cool it seemed. Now middle-aged, I don't give a squirt what's popular or not, and finally realizing just how little the mass opinion of something matters has been incredibly liberating. To you younger people out there who are thinking _I don't care what other people think!,_ well, you aren't being totally honest with yourself yet; this is because you are actually caring about what other people think on some level, but you just don't realize _how_ yet, and it's keeping you from doing what you want. Count this as one of the few perks of age-that you will only be able to see what you couldn't see before when you can finally see it. I know, sounds ridiculous. But stick around. In the meantime, just try to enjoy what you really enjoy.

"So unplug and go plug-in" is such a clever outro line for this topic.

13:12 Thank you, this really opened my eyes about why I needed to have an opinion about everything.

this really helped me understand why I always loved Undertale, but I didn't really liked Deltarune I found out about undertale when it wasn't really that famous, SPECIALLY on my country, and I didn't really consume media in english at that time (but now it's the only language I consume media in without subtitles) but when deltarune released... I played it for a bit and went to bed. The next day, everything exploded. Everything was about deltarune, and that... that ruined the game for me. I tried to play it a couple of weeks ago bc some friends pressured me into it. And fuck, I hated it. Chapter one was good because I played it months ago on my own will and without a lot of exposure. But now there was a lot of exposure and pressure. anyway, thanks for the video again.

Sometimes we form personal connections over a shared interest in certain media - like a band or TV show. When things get popular, that goes away; it's no longer special.

I feel like with media like games or anime part of the fun is discovering it, feeling like an explorer that found a new, beautiful land. And another huge part is sharing my fascination with others. Neither is possible if everyone already knows it...

Well that Wild Arms intro music makes me happy

Most of the time, I just happen to not like some of the genres that are popular right now. But one game I started disliking because of overexposure was Palworld. I don't really like survival crafting games to begin with, so I was indifferent about it. But because I watch video's about Pokémon and Palworld was trending at the time, recommendations for the game were shoved down my throat. It didn't help that most of the video's were negative in tone, from drama to Pokémon comparisons. At this point I'm completely sick of hearing about it. I even tried blocking the name from my KZfaq recommendations. My friends like Palworld, but they at least seemed understanding when I said the game just wasn't for me.

I wish the games I like were mainstream and popular. Then there would be more companies making the games that I like because they make money. Sadly I'm cursed with unpopular tastes.

Thank you for doing this. Actually seeing the research and tying it to what we all relate to is missing so much in this day and age. Keep it up.

1:36 One thing I will say about this that I think is funny is I am one of the people that wasn't interested in Elden Ring, or Tears of the Kingdom or Palworld. But all three of those games have a very similar base structure, gigantic open world with hundreds of hours of gameplay. And that's just a format I haven't enjoyed since I was 13 and had endless time to play games. For me, I find myself not hating things for being popular (in fact often I can recognise why they are popular), it's more just a lot of the popular things fall into categories of gaming I really don't enjoy. That being massive maps, tons of hours, usually an overwhleming amount of mechanics and loot. I love a game with a very simple game loop, where the complexity comes from applying the few mechanics (see puzzle games like Baba Is You, or Rogue-likes like Spelunky and Binding of Isaac). So many popular games these days seem to have 20 different mechanics to memorise, a ton of lore, a ton of stats, and it really itches my need to optimise which makes me hate a game. Outer Wilds though is one game from your examples where I'm the opposite end of, I can see why people hate it but that directionless, "at-your-own-pace" learning and exploration is what I love. There's like 2 mechanics, it's really easy to play, it's just a medium for telling a fantastic story.

Something I've also thought about in regards to this conversation plays off that ease of having an opinion on the internet. I have a desire to add something to the conversation. If I hear people hyping things, I don't want to just parrot or amplify their thoughts, I want to bring in a perspective that isn't being spoken on, to be a part of and keep that conversation going, and often the easiest thing to acknowledge there is the faults. If you like or hate it I try to balance that, and at first I thought it was because I was a contrarian. I also thought it came from a desire to seem smart and original. Those things can be true but what I actually think it is: is a fear of no reaction. If someone loves something or hates something a conversation/connection occurs. If you don't feel anything notable, it ends. I'm that guy on Facebook who's timeline is full of videos and music that I really like and want to talk about because they illicit something strong in me, but the majority of my posts have little to no interactions and ultimately make me feel invisible. I would rather people disagree with me/interact with me at all than not give it the time of day or not have any emotions at all. If something that inspires me/brightens my existence is received with indifference, my whole existence feels empty and undeserving(I know this is an unhealthy depressive leap in logic). These days even positive reactions to things can end a conversation early, thanks to how much media there is to consume. You experience it, you like it, your friend likes it, ya'll move on almost as if you didn't experience it. This may be way off the rails of what this conversation is about, and maybe a bit more of an optimistic take on the pessimism? I think the older I get and more isolated I can feel, the more I have a desire to add anything to the conversation that can keep it going. The idea that people can put years of their life into something that exists and is seen fully only for a brief moment is terrifying to me. What does that say about me, who doesn't feel like they have much to offer? So, I want to add anything to help it live longer. (This isn't a cry for help or a need for emotional assurance, but I am curious if anyone else feels something similar)

Thank you for finally helping me figure out why my love for certain game series and genres of music that I grew up with has wavered. My little quiet vista has been overrun with people making “content” about it and overpopulating it with opinions nobody asked for. While I’ve been here for years and even “bullied” for liking it for YEARS and sometimes *DECADES*. It’s frustrating. But sometimes you just gotta shut the internet out and move through it as best you can.

Really good points! I had a similar experience with various manga but most clearly with Steven Universe. I got into the show early, but as it got more popular, I pretty much fully disengaged with the fandom that sprung up. I think part of the culprit, which overstimulates the mere exposure, is the mental fatigue of playing a game or experience media, then a mentally uncountable number of other people doing the same. Playing a game for 8 hours, then watching KZfaqrs or streamers play for 8 hours is exhausting for anyone.

This is why I wait to look at people’s opinion on a game until I finish playing a game. I want to form my own thoughts

A reflection of the principles in this video (Taylor Swift edition): I’ve never particularly been a fan of her music. Some songs I thought were okay, but most were absolutely not my music. Today, I have been saying that I don’t like her music at all. Weird. Why? Now that I’m constantly INUNDATED by Taylor Swift as the media latches onto the last time she took a dump and what she had for dinner last night, it frankly makes me want to puke. You can only force so much down my throat before my body rejects it. And here’s the funny thing: I haven’t even listened to any of her music since that single Shake It Off hit the world by storm. And I think I haven’t because I keep being told that I should.

That "What did you just say to me?!" was perfectly delivered. :)

Thank you for talking about games, Daryl. I very much enjoyed this video, even more with how much attention you put into subtitles. Means a lot to me!

Thank you for making this video, Ive had this feeling for so long but could never put it into words, which you finally did! awesome video :)

i would argue that its a bell curve the more you get exposed to it, it does as you say, until it just dissolves into the background and the WAY its exposed to you ends up increasing that fondness, or souring it

I personally don't give a shit if a game is popular or not what i care about is what I see and what I like in the gameplay,Art,Mechanics. If a game i like gets popular or popular from the get go thats just a + for me because i know it wont be abandoned by the devs/company and they will invest for into it in some form.

Great video man :) Always love how you portray these feelings and topics in such a relatable and funny way. You're the best man

Honestly, this video is applicable to the whole internet. I, and I imagine most people reading this, have been in all the groups/situations you've described. The internet being an amplifier/catalyst for emotions really made something click in my understanding of it as a whole. Thank you, this feels like one of those critical lessons in maturity and simply human-ing. Good video. Thanks dude.

If you dislike a popular game because it's popular, you are a wart. If you dislike a popular game because you dislike it, that's a valid opinion to have

Playing games for 35 years made me desensitised to most big budget games

You're one of my new favorite channels. You pick some very interesting topics for your vids! Keep up the awesome work! :)

Out of pocket but, one thing I miss from my childhood during the PS1 and PS2 era is just trying and buying any games cuz they were cheap and I had the time and patience. Now as an adult, I have money but no time and patience to test new games blindly and let the game just sink in. Sigh..

1:46 I will chain you in the basement. You WILL play Outer Wilds.

I'm just a contrarian.

I play games but never been part of any gaming "community" and games I play are usually obscure. I've never had any friends either so this has never been an issue. I never played "popular" games, but the popularity of games never deterred me from playing them.

im a bit of a hipster about media, moreso music n movies than games, but think of it this way... what kind of place is more special to you: a beautiful place occupied by 500 people or a slightly less beautiful location with only 7 peeps? to me, theres something magical about knowing about a movie or a song that not everyone else does. I mean, you cant go up to a friend and be like "id like to introduce you to a song called Free Bird" "have you heard of the movie... The Dark Knight?" but if you have something not many people know of, it becomes yours to introduce

I wonder if there is a term for the phenomenon of people (like me) liking stuff that is polarizing. All of my favorite media tends to be stuff that you either REALLY like it, or you REALLY hate it, and that attitude generally doesn't change over time. And for the most part I've formed my opinion in a vacuum only to find out later about the polarizing effect when I get a metaphorical shovel to the face. It's always quite a shock but I've gotten used to it over the years. For some reason this video reminded me about it. Something about the visceral reaction, I suppose.

I just don't like Pokemon, there I said it, don't kill me please.

With some anime I have had this feeling that something I was watching was supposed to be good. Like I know it’s “objectively” good, but don’t really vibe with it. While other shows are just dumb fun and it’s just simple and nice. I also liked Tears of the kingdom. I knew I was going to play it anyway, because I loved Breath of the wild. But as the high rating came in I got a weird feeling in the back of my mind. Something I like can’t be that good. It was as if the more praise it got the more it pushed me away. If it’s a 10/10 game, why wouldn’t I like it. I still liked it and completed it, but it still felt weird

When you started talking about the way a star was born, I was fully hooked and mesmerized. Your voice is perfect for that kind of thing.

7:05 this whole topic is above my pay grade but these counter culture contrarians are something else. They are surprisingly popular too

I don't hate popular games because they're popular, I hate them because they're fads. Palworld is already not popular anymore, Fall Guys is gone, Lethal Company is dying, and Hell Divers will be next mark my words. I have such little trust in what people say is good if that opinion is sudden and everywhere. If people are still playing Hell Divers in 2025, maybe I'll give it a shot. Elden Ring is on my list of games to play because to this day people still rave about it.

I’ve done that for movies and tv shows and games too outside of a few exceptions not because I think they’re bad or “mid” but because they get enough love when there’s something out there not getting enough attention that deserves it

Just a quick comment as a scientist to thank you for putting the publications on the description, that is awesome work buddy, more people need to do that.

I'm not gonna lie, I am that guy. My issue with "mainstream games" are due to the over exaggerated hype and toxic fans. Now a days everything that's good or above average is labeled a masterpiece and if you dare point out any of its flaws, you will be bombarded with loyal fanboys who treat your different opinion as a personal attack.

Thank you for utilizing the intro song from Wild Arms 1. Best intro ever.

I experienced this phenomenon with squid game, no matter where you go, what you do you will see squid game. You will see so much spoilers, parody's, memes, people saying that you should watch it NOW that at some point i just started hating everything squid game related. To this day i havent watched a single episode of squid game and dont think i ever will

This helped me make peace with TotK. It just wasn't for me or the type of thing I liked that much. Combine that with the fact that it came out at a time when I wasn't super into gaming while everyone else was SUPER hyped about a new Zelda game coming out. It felt like everyone was saying my happy memories of Breath of the Wild weren't valid anymore, and it made me feel like I was missing something amazing when I wasn't as excited for Tears of the Kingdom and even more disappointed when it didn't change my life like everyone said it would. So thank you, Daryl, for helping me untangle my TotK conundrum.

There’s a sense of discovery when you stumble across a masterpiece, that you don’t get from following mainstream or hype. However, a true masterpiece would stand the test of time. Seeing it 50th time would bring nostalgia rather than contempt

I have a similar feeling that I feel relates to this topic. I have, on several occasions, found a thing and then deliberately NOT wanted to share it with others because it makes it mine. The Spotify algorithm gives me something new that I like? That's not for my friends, it's for me. I found it without the influence of others and that makes it special in a way. Sharing that then takes away that speciality, not because they might not like it, or even because they might like it. It's simply that they would then know it exists, that it is not something that belongs exclusively to me, untrained by the world or my friends around me. Ive often broken through that and shared eventually, or been exposed to the fact that my friends like this song or game long before I did. Sometimes that leads to joy of shared interests. Other times it diminishes my love of it because it's no longer purely mine.

Excellent video with great analysis and honestly very funny quips! good work!

Love the wild arms music near the end

Don’t forget microtransactions and greed also play a part in this too, MWIII is really good example of this

Hey man I tried breath of the wild and I just really didn’t like it.

This was a really good video. For some reason it was the easiest thing for me to process all literal MONTH [seriously, my mind gobbled this up with a weird amount of clarity. I had trouble reading a single sentence text from someone five minutes ago]. This video opened my eyes to a lot of my nonsensical feelings, and I'm glad I've gotten some clarity for those things. This video's info is definitely going to help me when I'm consuming media in the future. I really appreciate all the studies you've included, too. All around, a well-researched and insightful video, presented in a easy-to-listen-to, non aggressive way. You did good :D

As far back as I can remember When large groups of people get together, they get dumb and start being fake. This is especially true about popular things. I remember thinking “ I know you, you’re not like this” of friends do who suddenly got weird when a bunch of people talked about the popular things and started like they were mimicking someone else. It was such a turn off. I don’t know if I’m a lone wolf because of this, or if I’m like this because I am a lone wolf.

I think another aspect with regards to normative social influence is that whether or not people know that phrase to describe it, they are aware that the phenomenon exists, and the desire to overcome it, to be your own person and to demonstrate your free will is stronger than the desire to play the game/engage with a piece of media. The irony though is that I suspect that a lot of that comes from not sharing the same interests as your peers during your developmental years, like preferring to sit indoors and play yu-gi-oh rather than play sports with the cool kids, and the isolation from that popularity festering resentment, and ultimately manifesting years later in lashing out at the community you have found, full of people just like you. And it becomes a point of pride that you don't get the hype around popular media and prefer to sit in your niche, because "I'm not a sheep, I like what I like, not what the majority likes" while simultaneously enslaved to a different subconscious neurological process. And yes, I'm projecting and using "you" when I mean "me" because it's easier to pretend to be examining the mentality of others from the outside than admit I'm analysing my own thought processes 🤣🤣

Great job Daryl, now I don't know if I should recomend your channel to my friends, because I would hear more about your videos and have the same effect as you presented

My first video of yours, seems like you put a lot of effort into this! Subbed!

I've had my own thoughts on this, often being the one that's sparse to enjoy a "hyped" game, song, movie, product, and etc... My experience is, perhaps, a little more simple than the findings you have eloquently stated. I listened to popular music and didn't like it... over and over. So I said "alright, Won't fall for that crap anymore". Played a bunch of popular games... they were not my thing what so ever... so I started to avoid popular games all together. Anything that was "hyped" basically gave me a clear sign that it wasn't going to be enjoyable for me. Popular culture in general, just over all, was crappy. I didn't like spending time with people that were into that sort of stuff because those types of people were, well, often times not good people. Eventually I came to settle with myself and reality and try popular things from time to time. Sometimes I like them and sometimes I don't. BG3 and Elden Ring, as mentioned in this video, were actually very well made and enjoyable for me. Though, my pickiness remains and I don't tend to like most games/songs/movies, popular or not.

Actually helps me articulate why I am not as fond of Halloween as 95% of my friends

U have that calm energy that jerry has in his jerry rig everything vids... Great stuff, love it!

First off, fantastic video as always. Two, I had a whole thing that I was going to type, but then I heard the Wild Arms opening theme and I got hyped up. Imo, it is an underrated game and I am happy to see its music used for something as epic as the conclusion to your wonderfully made video!

This video should have more views this totally explains everything about us popular game sceptics 😅😂 I've never seen your content before now, and I'm sorry these were so sucky to write, but this was spot on and I really thank you for pushing through and explaining this perspective so gd well 💚

Using Wild Arms as your final theme... Man I wish I could like a video more than once.

I think the largest part you may have ignored is knowing yourself and your own preferences. While some games may be tremendously popular in the world maybe it's in a genre that you know you have no interest in (having not enjoyed similar games in the past). It's not refusing to play it "just because it's popular" it's more like deciding war shooters aren't fun for you and you prefer magic RPGs. Also I would argue it doesn't matter if someone refuses to play a game for any underlying reason, even a subconscious "it's too popular and seeing it everywhere annoys me." Because not playing a game isn't hurting anyone! Whatever experiences they are "missing out on" in that particular game just means they're getting other experiences elsewhere. They don't have to play it just because you or I like it. One has to learn with being okay with people "missing out."

Nice video, thanks for the talk on a topic. I find myself the "friend" that hates popular games for no good reason outside of letting it's crowded, constant chatter in my usual spaces get to me. I got past this barrier of closed mindedness by making a targeted mental effort to not be such a downer every time my friend group wanted to chat about stuff, and be open to hearing why they like something. And even now as a result of my effort, although I don't play Helldivers when I'm NOT playing with my group, it's a total blast when we get the chance for game nights together.

My reaction is to cheer wildly! I have also never played Among Us. You are not alone! We need a support group!

The Wild Arms theme at the end makes me happy.

Relatable. Helldivers 2 being jammed down my throat left right and center till I am sick of hearing about it and not going to play.

Man, I love watching your videos. So well thought out and the way you present them is awesome. Keep up the good work. I learn something new each time I watch one of your videos. Such a smart guy. We appreciate you. Game on gamers. Be good to each other out there.

All my life, I experienced JOMO when my friends or classmates were gushing about whatever popular media. I would say I hadn’t heard/played/seen whatever it was, and their incredulous reaction just made me so happy. I think I still experience this, just not as much

With all the lemmings starting at the sun today, I was curious as to why my body experiences visceral disgust at popular things.

Thank you for this video! Recently I’ve noticed that I’m not as attracted to certain franchises as I used to be (I.e Smash and Zelda) and have needlessly worried about whether to sell off some of my games. But now it’s starting to make sense. If you could, a follow up video or two that dives deeper on this matter would be cool 👍

I actually have a pretty personal stake in this cause a lot of popular games I've tried I just Do not enjoy. I just don't have the same kind of taste as a lot of general audience, I.E. liking slower paced action combat over faster paced combat. Something that annoys the ever living shit out of me is when EVERYONE I see is constantly praising a game that I see huge flaws in, almost seeming unaware the flaws I see exist at all. It feels like I'm suddenly not ALLOWED to dislike this thing. Typically when this is a thing I DO like I have a different issue where a lot of stuff I like about it gets repeated and memified to the point where it kind of saps the joy out of the experience because I'm so sick of seeing it online, that shifts my perspective on the game. This is especially common with smaller, social games. I had this experience with Lethal Company, where I had a lot of fun experiences with friends, and really liked the game. I started to fall out when I saw these exact experiences posted about by basically everyone I follow and the repetition of something that felt so personal by so many people made it end up feeling entirely empty.