Might Be THE BEST GAME I've Played in Years!
There's a reason the reviews for this game are off the charts right now.
It's no secret that Silent Hill is one of Max's favourite game franchises.
Here's a review of Silent Hill and how it relates to mythology, academic value, and other theories.
Imagine if the more action-oriented Silent Hill games were good.
That's The Suffering.
PlayStation 2 PC Emulation Guide
#spooktober #horror
Hideo Kojima, the creator of Metal Gear Solid, has said that there is a single word... a single theme that can summarize each mainline game in the Metal Gear Solid saga.
With that in mind, Max decided to look at each game in the series exclusively through the lens of their respective theme.
Today, Max looks at the single theme that summarizes Metal Gear Solid 5: The Phantom Pain. That theme is "race and revenge”.
#metalgear #metalgearsolid #konami
Max understands why Prey didn't get overwhelming praise upon its release. While it was well-received, there was no specific element that stood out as exceptional.
With this video, Max argues why the story was better than remembered, and why that alone should elevate our collective appreciation for Prey. In fact, some of the ideas and concepts that the game deals with are so intriguing, that it might make Prey, in Max’s mind, one of the most underrated games ever.
“The idea for this video came to me when I was working on my Metal Gear Solid 5 retrospective. I realized, as I was working on it... that that might be the last Metal Gear video I ever do. Metal Gear is my lifeblood. It is the air that I breathe. I love talking about this series, and the thought of not having a reason to talk about it in the future freaks me out. So, I thought about what else, if anything, I could discuss regarding the franchise... and thankfully... I was reminded of something that has fascinated me for years.” ~ Max
“Kept you waiting huh? Even though I'm not a part of the Beyond the Forbidden Lands project, an old video of mine seemed to make a great number of people aware of it. So, they kept commenting on that video asking if the project was still being worked on. I didn't have anything to say on that matter... until now...” ~ Max
The last time Max did a subscriber celebration stream, he fought the first eight bosses from Shadow of the Colossus on hard mode.
Now it's time to do the rest of them, while also celebrating this incredible milestone with you guys!!!
This game is second only to Xenogears when it comes to making a dense convoluted story; But like Xenogears, that convolution is necessary, to a degree, in order to evoke original philosophical questions.
Chrono Cross's concepts are unique and powerful, and you owe it to yourself to feel the enlightenment that they bring.
Freud's Influence on Video Games (Silent Hill 2, Xenogears, Control, More...)
Freud is somebody that our society takes for granted. Most people do not recognize how much he has influenced our culture. Here, Max discusses the numerous video games that Freud has influenced; many of which happen to be some of the greatest games ever made. While that is not entirely due to Freud, he played a significant role.
"Pyramid Head as Superego/Shadow - This is the problem with psychoanalytic concepts, particularly with Freudian ones: they describe only one part of a greater truth... and even then, what that truth is remains debatable. For myself, I'd say the greater truth is Jungian: that the Freudian id is one part of a person's unconscious. Pyramid Head shares the same multiplicity of purpose that the personal unconscious does. Though he takes the form of the "Id" part of the unconscious, his function isn't simply to be libidinous force of nature. He seems to have a purpose. Is he the superego? I suppose it depends on whichever way you look at it. Like Heather said, and Vincent alluded to in Silent Hill 3, God can be the devil or vice-versa. You would think that the superego would take the form of an angel, like I explained in the video. But what does an angel actually look like? Another character from Silent Hill that Pyramid Head is related to, Valtiel, is described as an angel. He looks decrepit like Pyramid Head too. Is he the shadow? Is he actually trying to help James? Again, it's hard to say for certain. He seems to be helping James towards his goal as much as he is trying to kill him. This is the problem with integrating unconscious contents into consciousness. Sometimes it's the most important thing that needs to be done, and sometimes it will kill you. Trying to be objective about something as subjective as the unconscious mind, or its personifications (like Pyramid Head) is impossible. Given the evidence, I would say that Pyramid Head's aesthetic and behavior is definitely id-like, but will have the side-effect of a superego/shadow... in that it will shock those who witness Pyramid Head's behavior towards the good. That's the best I can do for now." ~ Max
Max found this game tough to take. Nevertheless, he recommends playing through it at least once.
It's an important part of gaming history and has some unique artistic value to it.
“Special thanks to Corbin for recommending this game to me.” ~ Max
10 Life-Changing Games You Can Finish in One Sitting
How often have you wanted to introduce somebody to the world of gaming, but they offer up too many excuses.
Maybe they have bad hand-eye coordination. Maybe they get motion-sick easily. Maybe they don't like the time investment.
In response to that, Max decided to put together a list of the some of the shortest, yet highest-quality games.
The Unparalleled Brilliance of Yu-Gi-Oh's Lore
If you were born in the 90’s, chances are you were a fan of
Yu-Gi-Oh.
Max grew up reading, watching, and playing Yu-Gi-Oh, and he remembers enjoying it.
As it turns out, Yu-Gi-Oh isn’t just for kids anymore.
Recently, Max decided to take another look when his girlfriend started playing it. She showed Max cards that were based off real-life myths; myths that he has talked about in relation to other franchises on his channel.
These real-life myths were interwoven in the card game in truly brilliant ways. Max had no idea Yu-Gi-Oh was capable of this level of sophistication.
#yugioh #konami #maxderrat
"In a world filled with misery and uncertainty, it is a great comfort to know that, in the end, there is light in the darkness." ~ Joshua Graham
#maxderrat, #fallout, #falloutnewvegas, #maxderratfallout, #randallclark, #thesurvivalist, #joshuagraham, #bethesda
Elden Ring - All References to Norse Mythology
If you have even a cursory knowledge of Norse Mythology, you have noticed its influence on not only Elden Ring, but the other FromSoftware games as well.
With Max’s final (planned) video for Elden Ring, he decided he would go through all the potential references to Norse Mythology, and how those references might help us solve some of the deeper mysteries of this game.
#eldenring, #fromsoftware, #maxderrat, #gaming
Chrono Trigger - An Existentialist Masterpiece
This game is perfect... and that perfection maintains itself 27 years after its release. What's interesting, though... is that of all the things that Chrono Trigger is appreciated for, the story tends to be the lesser of the elements.
Max understands why this is: it's because the best parts of the story are only unlocked by a considerable effort.
If you make the choice to find those pieces of story content, you will be handsomely rewarded.
Alchemy Explains So Much About Elden Ring's Story
The meaning of Marika's name is something relevant to alchemy. Max discusses that, along with other things related to alchemy within Elden Ring.
#eldenring, #fromsoftware #fromsoft #eldenringexplained, #eldenringanalysis, #sorcery, #eldenringsorcery, #sellen, #eldenringsellen, #maxderrat, #sellenthesorceress, #costumes, #eldenringcostumes, #eldenringfashion, #fashion, #fashionsouls, #エルデンリング
Elden Ring Mythology - The Secrets of Sorcery
There's a lot of interesting, in-depth stuff going on behind the scenes with the sorcery in this game. The item descriptions and locations of certain enemies help to reveal some of the background politics going on with the Academy of Raya Lucaria and its dissident students. It also reveals why those students were kicked out, and why their expulsion was necessary.
Elden Ring - Everything We Know About Ranni (UPDATED VERSION)
This is an updated version of Max’s previous video on Ranni the Witch. This takes into consideration the criticism and comments people made on that last video and includes the major theories surrounding Ranni.
The Best Character in Fallout: New Vegas is One You Never Meet
Max has recently been playing through Fallout: New Vegas
for the first time.
Based on many recommendations, he tried to gravitate to the areas that have the best storylines and characters. He went to Joshua Graham, Ulysses, Mr. House, but none of them fascinated Max as much as a "father in the cave".
Elden Ring Mythology - The Ancient Dragons and the Crucible
The Ancient Dragons and the Crucible not only might be two of the most important elements to Elden Ring's story... they might be important to other games by FromSoftware as well.
Elden Ring Mythology - Connections to Dark Souls and Bloodborne (Shared Universe?)
Ever since the first Dark Souls came out (following up Demon's Souls), people have been speculating about whether or not the FromSoftware games are a part of the same universe.
Elden Ring seems to confirm these suspicions in multiple ways.
Listen on to find out why.
Elden Ring Mythology - Ranni the Witch (Story and Theories)
Find out what you need to know about Ranni the Witch.
All factual claims are backed up by in-game evidence, both item-descriptions and dialogue. All speculative claims are openly labelled as "speculative".
1. Evidence for Radagon being Marika's male half: THE ALBINAURICS: The "Albinauric Bloodclot" item states that Albinaurics are "lifeforms made by human hands. Thus, many believe them to live impure lives, untouched by the Erdtree's grace." This, combined with the fact that the item is silver (like the Silver Tear Husk and Larval Tears) leads Max to believe that Ranni and the Nox created these beings to be a part of her army, if and when they were going to challenge the Golden Order.
Note: Max initially said that Empyreans were born of two gods. He, in fact, meant one god.
Top 10 Most Profound Moments in Gaming History
Since 2017, it has been Max’s mission to bring the most profound examples of art to as many people as possible, with a major focus on video games.
One major highlight of this 5-year mission was the release of a video called "The Most Profound Moment in Gaming History".
While most people seemed to agree with Max’s choice for the “Most Profound Moment”, there were some viewers that offered alternatives.
Max decided to take some of those alternatives and see where they rank on a Top 10 list.
PEACE - A Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker Retrospective
Hideo Kojima, the creator of Metal Gear Solid, has said that there is a single word... a single theme that can summarize each mainline game in the Metal Gear Solid saga.
With that, Max decided to look at each game in the series exclusively through the lens of their respective theme. Today, we will be looking at the single word/theme that summarizes Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker. That word…
Eternal Darkness - Story Explanation and Analysis
Max has known about this game for about 15 years; more than half his lifetime.
It was only in the last two months that he decided to finally give this game a shot.
He couldn’t believe how good it was.
It's been three years since Max released the video titled "The Most Profound Moment in Gaming History".
Here are his reflections on that video... what it did for Max, his channel and the community. Does he still think it's the most profound moment? Did he ever find a game that he thinks has a more profound moment, or is more profound overall?
Listen on.
Kept you waiting for this one, huh? Don't worry... it'll be worth it.
For a while, Max thought Deus Ex was the most important game ever made. He said that because of the standard it set for gameplay, music, graphics (at the time), story and immersion. But that was before he played System Shock 2. Now, he's not so sure. Like Deus Ex, System Shock 2 inspired so many games that followed after. Without System Shock 2, modern day action games might not be as inclined to add RPG elements... in-depth mechanics... or thought-provoking stories.
Listen on to find out just how important System Shock 2 was and is...
Max analyses Silent Hill - Mythology -The Tarot Cards
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