Opus Magnum ReviewMatthewmatosis2018-07-06 | The fifth in a series of Zachtronics reviews. Start with the SpaceChem one if you're seeing these for the first time. Links below.
Source of the interpreter: youtube.com/watch?v=Ll0qHlx_qLgExtrinsic MotivationMatthewmatosis2023-05-14 | This video presents theories about general game design concepts. It’s not meant to prescribe a set of ideals which all games must follow. However valuable any guideline might be, it’s always (or almost always) possible to imagine a game which is made better by ignoring such considerations. A great game cannot necessarily be made just by applying a set of principles.
I don’t know if/when I’ll be making another video but if you enjoyed this one and would like to support me, you can make a pledge. There’s no reward for doing so but this video wouldn’t exist without the support of my patrons.
patreon.com/matthewmatosisContext SensitivityMatthewmatosis2022-09-08 | This video presents theories about general game design concepts. It’s not meant to prescribe a set of ideals which all games must follow. However valuable any guideline might be, it’s always (or almost always) possible to imagine a game which is made better by ignoring such considerations. A great game cannot necessarily be made just by applying a set of principles.
I don’t know if/when I’ll be making another video but if you enjoyed this one and would like to support me, you can make a pledge. There’s no reward for doing so but this video wouldn’t exist without the support of my patrons.
patreon.com/matthewmatosisMeta MicrovideosMatthewmatosis2021-01-03 | You decide to read the video description and find it predictably meta. It warns you that the video contains major spoilers for The Witness, moderate spoilers for Metal Gear Solid 2, Axiom Verge and Katamari Damacy. It also has spoilers for Matthewmatosis, whatever that means.
The description then goes on to list a series of timestamps correlating to each microvideo. The word microvideo might seem strange to anyone else but you're already acclimated to it from having watched the original Mega Microvideos and its sequel.
[00:00] - Yes You [03:17] - Clickerbait [07:11] - How to Enjoy Matthewmatosis [10:05] - One Purpose of Abstraction [12:45] - An Esoteric Text on Criticism [15:57] - Many Years Later [21:04] - Unrelated [24:04] - Seven Years Earlier [29:03} - Mega Microvideos: RevelationsDeath Stranding ReviewMatthewmatosis2020-10-13 | It's not necessary to watch my Metal Gear review series before this but if you're interested in seeing some reviews of Kojima's previous games you can find those here: youtube.com/watch?v=d5jBGtNVrS4&list=PLdg60-UktzB6NLg6C9-AVN1H5SXjo97xc
I didn't want to censor the violence or profanity, as a result this video has limited ads. If you'd like to support me another way I'm on Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosis
There's a tiny spoiler for Odin Sphere in this video too, not worth worrying about I think. There's a few instances of flashing lights but also probably not anything to worry about.Recommending The Wonderful 101Matthewmatosis2020-05-27 | Some mild spoilers of early game events and a few strategies here. Probably nothing to worry about since I left a lot out. The 2D games in the middle are all Mega Drive games which support either the 3-button or 6-button controller.
Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosisThoughts on GrimGrimoireMatthewmatosis2020-04-27 | ...Thoughts on Mr. DrillerMatthewmatosis2020-04-20 | ...Thoughts on Kero BlasterMatthewmatosis2020-04-13 | ...Thoughts on Heart of DarknessMatthewmatosis2020-04-06 | ...Viewtiful Joe CommentaryMatthewmatosis2020-01-04 | This video follows on from my Devil May Cry Commentary which I recommend watching first, link below. There are flashing lights in the opening cutscene which could be a problem for some viewers.
Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosisReturn of the Obra Dinn ReviewMatthewmatosis2019-05-13 | I strongly recommend avoiding this video if you haven't played Obra Dinn yet. Minor spoilers for Papers Please too.
Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosisRecommending Rain WorldMatthewmatosis2019-03-13 | While I wouldn't classify anything in this video as a spoiler, I advise going in totally blind if you're already interested.
Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosisBreath of the Wild ReviewMatthewmatosis2019-02-27 | Some very minor spoilers for the other 3D Zelda games as well. You might want to pause to read some of the text that appears at points but if this is your first time watching I recommend just letting the video continue to play.
Microvideo List: [00:00] - Without Warning [02:14] - Aping Ape Escape [05:06] - The Tiberium Must Grow [07:19] - Point Blank Crisis [11:13] - Cast him in Soul Reaver [14:20] - Dramatic Edge on a Gumshoe Budget [18:41] - The Demon is in the Details [22:34] - Abzundancy [25:59] - Order & Chaos + 塊
Spoiler List: [14.20-18.40] - Spoilers for Phoenix Wright Case 1. [18.41-22.33] - Full spoilers for Demon's Souls and Bloodborne. [22.34-25.58] - Full spoilers for Flower, Journey, and Abzu. [25.59-28.49] - Full spoilers for Katamari Damacy, although most people probably don't think of it as a spoiler.
Patreon: patreon.com/matthewmatosisShenzhen I/O ReviewMatthewmatosis2018-05-24 | The fourth in a series of Zachtronics reviews. Start with the SpaceChem one if you're seeing these for the first time. Links below.
This is the original interpreter video: youtube.com/watch?v=EzzLzUCRmBwRecommending ZachtronicsMatthewmatosis2018-03-13 | If you've already played these games there's not much here for you but hopefully it provides a good starting point for everyone else. This video has a lot of overlap with my old SpaceChem one but I thought it was worth revisiting to mention the more recent games too.
The three games featured in the intro are: The Talos Principle Stephen's Sausage Roll Puzzle Dimension
It's not my intention to single those games out for any particular reason, they were just the three puzzle games I happened to have installed at the time which seemed as fair a way to choose which ones as any.Thoughts on Sonic Dreams CollectionMatthewmatosis2018-02-26 | Both games featured in this video are available for free from the Arcane Kids website. I recommend playing them before watching, it takes less than an hour to complete them both.
http://arcanekids.comAxiom Verge / Environmental Station Alpha ComparisonMatthewmatosis2018-02-12 | Comparing two games which set out to put their own spin on the Metroid formula. Heavy spoilers and both games get a recommendation from me so I encourage you to play them before watching the video if possible.Devil Daggers ReviewMatthewmatosis2018-01-30 | No spoiler warning for this one since top replays are freely available and prominently placed.The Lost Soul Arts of Demons SoulsMatthewmatosis2017-06-22 | Some thoughts on the merits of Demon's Souls.
The blog post referenced in the video is no longer available so you'll just have to take my word on that one.Recommending RivenMatthewmatosis2017-03-24 | A video about why I like Riven and think you should play it. Even though it's a sequel to Myst it's not strictly necessary to play Myst first but it is a good idea to play them in order.VA-11 Hall-A / Papers Please ComparisonMatthewmatosis2016-12-18 | A comparison between VA-11 Hall-A and Papers Please.Matthewmatosis Live StreamMatthewmatosis2016-10-31 | ...Furi ReviewMatthewmatosis2016-10-22 | A review of Furi which talks about the game at length. This is one is particularly heavy on gameplay/story spoilers. If you have any interest in playing it I recommend doing so before watching the video.
A note on performance/video: I usually try to get the best footage of a game that I can, within reason at least. After initially playing on the PS4 I bought the PC version so I could capture the highest quality footage but found that performance was inconsistent. The framerate is more stable and screen tearing wasn't much of an issue even with vsync disabled but there was some relatively severe hitching during some bosses. In the end I decided to capture mostly PS4 footage since it felt more consistent to play despite some screen tearing and frame drops. If you notice those things in the video, that's why.
I don't think the relatively simple visuals of Furi justify poor performance on modern hardware so I hope The Game Bakers will put some work into this area in future. That said the issues were infrequent enough not to sour my opinion on the game.
By the way if you play the PS4 version the patch with multiple control schemes isn't available yet but you can use the Accessibility menu to change the parry button to something else.Downwell ReviewMatthewmatosis2016-09-22 | A review of Downwell which talks about the game at length, spoiling some mechanics in the process.Devil May Cry CommentaryMatthewmatosis2016-06-11 | [00:00:00] - Introduction [00:04:16] - Mission 01 - Curse of the Bloody Puppets [00:09:55] - Mission 02 - Judge of Death [00:13:46] - Mission 03 - Destroyer of Ardor [00:19:24] - Mission 04 - Black Knight [00:27:31] - Mission 05 - Guiding of the Soul [00:29:49] - Mission 06 - Evil of the Waterways [00:33:05] - Mission 07 - Holding the Key of Ardor [00:35:55] - Mission 08 - The Legendary Knight Returns [00:39:16] - Mission 09 - New Strength [00:47:17] - Mission 10 - Canyon of Mist [00:50:41] - Mission 11 - Fate [00:58:43] - Mission 12 - Ghost Ship [01:04:41] - Mission 13 - Abyss [01:07:13] - Mission 14 - Deep Darkness & Towering Mountains [01:16:45] - Mission 15 - Wheel of Destiny [01:24:45] - Mission 16 - Nightmare of Darkness [01:35:46] - Mission 17 - Parted Memento [01:48:31] - Mission 18 - Spirit Stone, “Elixir” [01:55:05] - Mission 19 - Enter the Corrupted World [02:00:53] - Mission 20 - Showdown with Nightmare [02:08:40] - Mission 21 - Living Cave [02:14:32] - Mission 22 - Legendary Battle [02:27:03] - Mission 23 - Mother’s Guide [02:32:10] - Conclusion
These timestamps don’t correspond exactly where each mission starts because sometimes the commentary is mid-topic. Timestamps start at the first new topic of each mission.
In order to create an exact comparison, the footage in Mission 18 isn’t actually from the PAL version. It’s the same video slowed down to 83% speed.Recommending Kula WorldMatthewmatosis2015-12-19 | After firing up Kula World yet again I thought some of you may be interested to hear why it's a game I keep going back to.Dark Souls CommentaryMatthewmatosis2015-10-10 | [00:00:00] - Introduction & Tutorial [00:12:35] - Undead Burg 1 [00:27:03] - Undead Parish [00:51:07] - Darkroot Garden 1 [01:02:36] - Undead Burg 2 [01:10:44] - New Londo 1 [01:19:29] - The Depths [01:32:42] - The Catacombs [01:47:51] - Blighttown [02:10:46] - Firelink Shrine & NPCs [02:18:06] - Northern Undead Asylum [02:29:28] - Sen's Fortress [02:51:29] - Anor Londo 1 [02:57:30] - Painted World [03:11:54] - Anor Londo 2 [03:41:31] - The Duke's Archives [03:53:51] - Crystal Cave [03:59:05] - Demon Ruins [04:10:25] - Lost Izalith [04:20:22] - Sanctuary Garden [04:27:07] - Royal Wood [04:44:47] - Oolacile Township [04:55:38] - Chasm of the Abyss [05:08:47] - The Battle of Stoicism [05:19:12] - The Great Hollow [05:27:31] - Ash Lake [05:36:38] - Tomb of the Giants [05:53:39] - Darkroot Garden 2 [06:04:31] - New Londo 2 [06:15:29] - Kiln of the First Flame & Ending
Thanks once again to Matthewmitosis for the help.Mario 3D World ReviewMatthewmatosis2015-03-22 | An in-depth review of Super Mario 3D World for the Wii U, the last in a series of reviews I've done on the Mario games.
There are a few omissions and simplifications for the sake of clarity.
The optimal path through Championship Edition stages are not always as obvious as they appear to be for a number of reasons, although I touch on this when I say sometimes not scoring short term can lead to a better score long term.
Also Pac-Man can pre-turn in both games which makes him round the corner faster so his movement is a little more complicated than it appears to be, the speed of championship edition makes it much harder to pre-turn for every corner but it's far from impossible.
I'm sure not every version of Breakout is completely deterministic (often the ball drop position is random) but the game can certainly be built that way and has been on many occasions.Antichamber ReviewMatthewmatosis2014-07-16 | A review of Antichamber which talks about the game in-depth and spoils some of the gameplay mechanics as a result.Recommending DustforceMatthewmatosis2014-06-14 | After spending way longer than I expected with Dustforce I decided to lay down some thoughts on it. Some footage here is taken from the community replays, in those instances the player's name will be displayed in the top left corner.
Note: This video was originally titled "Underrated Games - Dustforce" but I've decided to relabel it as a recommendation instead.Dark Souls 2 CritiqueMatthewmatosis2014-04-21 | After finding myself let down by Dark Souls 2 I wanted to talk about many of the problems I had with it. This is a critique, not a full review. Some positive details are omitted, for instance I like the health reduction when hollowed. That said, my overall feeling is one of overwhelming disappointment.
I've played through the game three times: Knight, melee only, latter half in Company of Champions. Hexer, no shield, participated in all covenants. Dex, poison build, Company of Champions. I feel this has given me a good overview of the different possible builds/covenants. I never record my first playthrough of a game so there's no footage of the Knight.
Apologies to everyone I killed as a Rat, for what it's worth I didn't enjoy it either.Uplink ReviewMatthewmatosis2014-03-11 | A review of Uplink which released in 2001 for the PC. This unique game was developed by a small team called Introversion Software. The game scales pretty well to higher resolutions but I recorded at 720p in order to ensure the text would be legible in video format.The Stanley Parable ReviewMatthewmatosis2014-02-05 | A review of The Stanley Parable for the PC. I encourage anyone who is interested to try the demo.
I plan to start reviewing more small games this year and this is the first one which was randomly chosen, hopefully there will be more to follow.The Wonderful 101 ReviewMatthewmatosis2014-01-29 | An in-depth review of The Wonderful 101 for the Wii U. This video will include gameplay and story spoilers.