Marvel's Midnight Suns Unintentionally Made Me A Better Critic | Cold Take
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- čas přidán 1. 01. 2023
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@Rob.4 Can I claim the prize in their stead?
"You should buy this because it is this" is a fantastic way of putting it lol.
Dang, I didn't think anyone would have to feel like they spoiled Ratatouille.
Ratatouille dies at the end
Ratatouille gets eaten at the end
@@lutherholayeahme7449big if true
This is fantastic insight. Even the worst games sometimes have interesting or unique ideas, and to dismiss the whole thing as "not worthwhile" throws out the baby with the bathwater.
When every part of a game comes together, we all give it the praise that it deserves. But we should still take a moment and appreciate the good things that come out of otherwise bland or inconsistent experiences. Well said.
Honestly though I took a different message from him. That in a way the real problem with these ho hum meh games is that they COULD'VE done better. The inconsistencies prove it. If they, for example, took that Blade dialogue then set that as the standard for their writing, then set that as the primary focus you could have a rather interesting take on a hero game. Xcom but instead of base management you have to manage emotions in a dating sim. Do you help Wolverine with his hang ups or do you help Dr. Strange out? And all of it making you care for the characters that you then have to send out to go fight.
It's worse than not worthwhile. It's wasted potential. It would've been better off just putting the Blade event as a CZcams video and get some ad money. It would've saved the audience time and money. They can watch it, enjoy it, then go play a game that puts that much effort into the entire product.
Alpha protocol was a good example of that, it was objectivly a terrible game but it still had enough highlights to not be a complete waste of time, a useful distraction at the very least,
@@iandakariann it's can be and should be seen as both. Like he said, Anton Ego doesn't take back his bad review even after he found the shiny after all the muck. The muck and the shiny should be acknowledged, it's just the reframing of what a critic's role that changed.
Nice
@@jamescranley933 Alpha Protocol wasn't objectively terrible. That's massively overstating its flaws. It's a good game that incorporated some bad ideas and needed more polish. I still played through it twice.
Please continue cold take! I absolutely love the style!!!
This guy has an audiobook voice, could listen to it for hours
As a long time Yahtzee fan, I didn't realize these Cold Take series were happening but I'm super grateful to have found it.
The ham, cheese, and bread bit was inspired.
I don't really follow game reviewers. I don't really do games. Not sure how this popped up in my CZcams, not an uncommon feeling. But I have to say, this was one of the most delightful reviews I've ever read on any subject. Really, great job
Midnight Suns was weirdly my favourite game, I understand its a very specific thing and most assuredly not for everyone. But it was like it was made just for me
I am a huge turn based tactical game fan (X-Com, Final Fantasy Tactics, Fire Emblem etc ...), but the lack of specific characters is almost a no go for me. But I am picky that way!!! If a racing game does not have at least one of my favorite cars i usually pass, if comic game does not have my favorite characters its a pass.
I still may give it a chance and watch for mods.
Omg a guest appearance from THE NOIR FROST - I am honoured and humbled. Fantastic work as always 🙌
He's in a video about every month or so. He only just recently got his own segment "Cold Take," but he's in a lot of other 3 minute reviews.
@@Toxicfox63 That's not what she meant. She herself is appearing in the video.
The “I’m walking here” was hilarious. What I appreciate about Midnight Suns is they lean hard into camp. I think superhero stories are most fun when they embrace how silly the entire concept is.
This is the prefect foil to zero punctuation. Just as punchy but an entirely different tone. Wish this series started sooner.
I actually like Midnight suns and would say it's like going to a wonderful carnival, but for the 1st 6 hours the staff locks you in the port-a-potty
Every great ride has a hell of a line at the front of it.
Such an important realization as some reviewers struggle to reach that critical thinking amidst all the strong opinions and hot-take. Please keep up the good job 👍🏼
It's difficult to sell nuance though, I think it's "safer" for reviewers to go hard with their opinions - it's shorter, easier, and even if people disagree it results in engagement.
I just finished midnight suns on New Year’s Eve and loved my time with it. Hell of a build, a challenging final mission, and a veeeeeery hype sequel tease (don’t pay too close attention to the voice actor credits, it kinda spoils the end-credit scene)
But I respect your point, I’d have bought this even if it wasn’t Marvel, cuz I trusted in Firaxis after the XCOM games. But it had Blade in it and as a big fan of the Wesley Snipes flicks, that was a big hook 😅
Can’t wait for the dlc and hopefully sequel. I just hope it won’t take as long for Firaxis as they are with XCOM 3 😂
I dont think it sold well unfortunately
@@jamespaul6315 Yeah I can tell you up front that the card aspect of it just takes my bowl of corn flakes and pisses in it. I like XCOM for how much control you have to ultimately decide how the events play out. Making it where I need the right cards to get the outcomes I need just makes me feel like I'm not really in control. Alternatively I loved the combat style of Chimera Squad as it threw enough wrenches in your plans to make you constantly come up with a plan A, B, C, and sometimes D. The big difference is I still always felt like I fucked up if I lost, not that the game just didn't give me what I needed to win.
I adore this game, even though there’s a lot that doesn’t quite fit. I think the dialogue needs a better pass, the open world grounds are cool but need a bit more love, the customizations need a bit more depth without getting exploitative, and the base building aspect needed some more depth in my opinion, but overall, I still love it for being… what it is. But it is also the perfect example of “if it’s not for you, it’s not for you,” so anyone who doesn’t like it? Totally fair.
@@thechevyferrari9559 The dialogue was cheesy or a little cringe in parts, but overall most of it was fairly good to great. Especially once you get past the first few hours or so. Better than a lot of the comics.
That coal miner monologue reminded me of a scene from “the menu” (I’ll avoid spoilers but) one of the victims in the film is a b movie actor who has spent the last few years pumping out trash just to stay relevant. The antagonist of the film describes a similar situation to the coal miner monologue and it really makes you think about the audience. Not as a group but as individuals who invest their time and money into something an artist makes, and the way that low effort cash grabs demean the audience.
This has quickly become one of my few "click immediately when spotted on my feed" series on YT and I'm lookin forward to more of it in 2023!
Now for the actual content: In my experience, discovering the ratio of 'good bits' to 'sludge you have to get through to reach the former' that you are comfortable with seems to be a relevant skill nowadays. No matter whether it's what you've described here or, say, the amount of annoying tropes you're willing to look past for the sake of enjoyable fight scenes in an anime. There seem to be significant individual differences as well, which makes the critic's job more difficult. Or maybe it makes it more important for us as viewers/readers to find critics which we trust, that is, who have a similar 'ratio tolerance' as we do, or ones that are transparent enough about it that we can put their criticism into perspective.
I'm really digging this new series of yours. Hope to hear more of it in the coming year
I don't usually comment on videos, but I understand it helps with the algorithm and I found it very thought-provoking. I just want to say thank you to the creator.
That was likely the best video game review I have ever been exposed to. Made all the right points with healthy description and admission while being entertaining and insightful at the same time. Do more of these pronto.
Happy New Year, The Escapist
Looking forward towards your content here this year
This man could do an incredible Keith David impression
Speaking as someone who was hyped for Midnight Suns since I saw the first trailer, bought it on release day, and played it exclusively for a month straight and loved almost every minute of it, I entirely agree with what you said here. Realistically, to an outsider who doesn't particularly care for either tactical RPG's or Marvel, this game is probably just okay. But for someone who likes both of those things, this game was *exactly* what I wanted and expected it to be. Now to be fair, I am very much a lover of camp, and I wanted and expected Midnight Suns to play like a solid Firaxis strategy game with the story of a cheesy 90's comic book. Which it does! But the writers surprised me by hiding nuggets of genuine pathos and legitimately good characterization in between the cheesy parts. To return to your earlier food metaphor, it's like I went in expecting a regular old grilled cheese sandwich: simple, but satisfying. But what I got was a grilled cheese sandwich that had bits of diced tomato layered in that surprised me with a nice bit of freshness. But I can also see that if someone isn't interested in the grilled cheese itself, the tomato might not be enough to entice them to finish the sandwich. And that's okay! Was this game a 10/10 for me, damn near a perfect fit for what I wanted it to be? Absolutely! Is it a masterpiece of gaming, an achievement within the medium that should be experienced and beloved by all? Absolutely not. And that's okay, too.
These are quickly eclipsing ZP & EP as the escapist content I look forward to most! Thanks for the awesome work!
ZP got old years ago. You can only do the same thing for so long
I don’t think anything can eclipse ZP for me for sheer unbridled uncensored snarky snack of glee, but this is an excellent alternative sort of meal and glass of smoky oaky drink that might just pull up alongside as equal fun. And wow, that voice. Both their voices.
Excellent delivery of a great point
I love these essays, they feel not just well thought out but also like the actually delivery itself is really well crafted.
Ay Frost! Just wanted to say that I appreciate you and your standpoint man. It's never easy being the "man behind the recommendation." I just hope you know that at least some of us out here hear you and still choose for ourselves. I listen to your recommendations but it's still my buck behind the purchase. I hope you're as well as you can be man. Happy 23 and cheers! 🍻
I keep thinking games are just average more frequently than ever, and I can never tell if it's me getting older or the games genuinely are becoming that way, so I'm glad to hear it's not just me.
I think it's also partially that any one game mechanic can be fun once but not twenty times, or that the best example is the one all others get compared to.
I know I've played some games where it was *fine* but just made me want to play the best one again, no fault of the new game that it doesn't deliver at the same level of an all-time favourite video game of the player.
As budgets increase, studios hedge their bets on pre-existing things including mechanics. Which means they homogenize and everything starts to feel like everything else, rather than pick a niche, though not necessarily the case here. But “open-world, 3rd person action game with RPG elements, crafting, and random loot with stats” is a hodgepodge of traits that it’s no surprise you could be bored. Some or all of those elements are in a ton of games (especially AAA or anything with marketing) with little to no differences that you don’t even make it through the trailer. You’ve been there and done that and doing it again isn’t worth the trek. Especially when it’s a huge time commitment.
Holy... is... is that October Sky footage? Someone actually remembers that movie?
That was my sister's favorite movie for years! I haven't thought about it in... well over a decade, maybe two. I just got hit with personal nostalgia in a video I REALLY wasn't expecting it in, and it wasn't even for the animated movie about a talking rat.
...I think I'm gonna go call my sister.
'2023, it's you and me.' Now THAT is a slogan for the year I can get behind! Looking out for each other, knowing we're not alone, and that it's a ride that we're supposed to enjoy. Thank you, Mr. Frost. If you happen upon the same diner I'm at, I'll save ya a seat. Meal's on me.
I was considering getting an Avengers/Guardian of the Galaxy bundle, realized I'd rather play a Batman Arkham game, and had the same realization you did here: the IP alone isn't what interests me, it's the gameplay. Mario + Rabbids and Marvel's Midnight Suns work well because Ubisoft Milan/Paris and Firaxis know what they're doing, not the IP-rich window dressing looking to hook a few casuals who might otherwise not have tried it.
But sounds like some dialogue from the tacked on dating sim stood out well enough to partly win you over, and that's interesting to consider. Maybe it wasn't a bad idea after all, even if it is more like Commander Shepherd got loose in an XCOM game most of the time.
Don't worry too much about me and my fleeting moments of happiness after the coal mine (well, public service sector), I've long since learned critical opinions are that: opinions. While I take a professional's opinion as higher than some Steam review bombing schmuck, I'm well aware not everyone likes the same things. People firing off hate mail for liking what they don't like are generally too ignorant to worry about.
i agree with that. when reading reviews i focus on the technical aspects and only really skim the rest. i might enjoy a specific genre, or plot, or jokes much more than an average critic, but if a game cannot perform on the basic technical level (bugs, crashes, poor performance on older machines etc.) it's probably not worth my time and money
Whoever does the voice for these videos does it SO WELL! And yeah, i feel you Yatzee. "The more things change, the more they stay the same".
This was really well written and delivered! I like your content.
Nothing really to say, but I enjoyed this video. Thanks for making and sharing it.
Alan Moore says that a writer learns more from reading terrible books than from reading good ones
I’ve been waiting for a series like this for ages.
You have a similar tone to one of my favorite youtubers, Noah Caldwell-Gervais. I would love to see you do longer form videos of your thoughts on games or series.
One of my favourite games this year. Was a shame to see it struggle in uk charts
Another instant classic episode. I love these!!!!!
I'm really enjoying this series and hope to see it continue.
Oh my god-I would know that voice from anywhere-That’s Frost. OG big fan of your Smite Content my brother-glad you’re plugged in with the good folks over at Escapist now. Looking forward to a new Frost sub! 😁
This was an awesome video. Breaking down HOW the game is a cynical, by the numbers, hashed out pile of predictable, soulless dross and WHY that is unacceptable (particularly with the ham, cheese, bread metaphor and the CHOICE not to make something better) was awesome.
2:30 What’s up with the CZcams bar here?
Can listen to this brother talk all day, great voice , super cool delivery.
I have to confess, I am not subbed to the escapist, but I make my way here for Yahtzee's ZP and Extra Punctuation. I dont really bother with the other stuff here. But this video came up in my autoplay, and it has left a wonderful impression. If this level of thoughtfulness is present in all your videos, I think I have a backlog to catch up on.
This is immensely compelling, I hope to see more Cold Takes
Ah, that was beautiful. That part about Anton Ego's "final" review was such a good choice to tie in to the whole thing.
Delirious discussions with Frost have definitely become my new favourite segment of this community, cheers!
Sebastian, your wordplay and your style are so goddam refreshing. Thanks for making unique content that I continuously love, not just like.
Thank you for providing subtitles!
Whenever the scene of Blade asking if your name is really "The Hunter" makes me wonder if the game writer never knew anyone named "Hunter". I don't think it's too uncommon of a name.
Rural American here. There were three Hunters in my highschool year alone
Got a friend at work named Hunter and his last name is also a noun, specifically another typical fantasy-game class. In other words, the guy’s name is half of his own DND group.
@@bird3713 or he's just multiclassing
No, first name "The", middle name "Hunter". Can't say I've met many "The"s
You missed the point their name is not Hunter it is The Hunter the "The" is actually a part of their name
This was excellent!
I'm glad Frost has his own segment, I love these.
I couldn't tell you why but that was pretty amazing. I need to look up the rest of your stuff.
What a great review, I love you Frost. Haven’t seen you since you quit smite.
I think Sparks of Hope does a bit more to sell itself by having the gameplay break from X-Com convention too. Free movement and team jumping really help it stand out . Although that's not really what the marketing focused on I guess.
please keep making these
I feel like a good way to introduce Sparks of hope is "We made something that a lot of people surprisingly really like. We made more of it with more thought and effort for those same folks."
"This is a damn good video, too good for a crumby youtube recommended feed like mine. Has the algorithm finally decided to cut me a break, or is it just a fleeting shaft of sunlight through usual the smog. Maybe I'll stick around and find out.."
Silly, whelmed and overwhelmed mean the same thing. To whelm means to completely submerge in water. There are no degrees of complete submersion. Semantically, "over"whelmed is like saying "totally" dead or "totally" unique. It either is or it isn't. No degrees.
Tell me you've read the dictionary without ever actually having a conversation without telling me
Thanks Frost, the effort is appreciated. We'll try to offer up some weird fun stuff for forgotten gems and indie plays as well.. There's so much produced out there, it needs to be a team effort.
True story - After a hard day I fell asleep while I was listening to Slightly Something Else, 1 hour later I am waking up to the sound of your Voice saying - 2023 it's you and me - half asleep I said to myself....ok I am losing it. Save me a seat on your side Frost ( guess the movie trivi ) . I knew you could do angry Frost but you know what I like the most , I can feel the honesty in your Voice and even in the video about a meaningless video game you manage to make it sound...I am searching for a word....Anyway from your first video I told you you are special kid and you will go a long way. BTW just don't go and work for IGN or similar sites because they will ruin that talent . Happy new year Frost!
While there a number of IPs I love. ie - Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, DC, LoTR, D&D (Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance), Battletech, StarGate, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, Wheel of Time, Asimov's Foundation and Robot series, etc.
The product still has to look fun and not look like a cash grab (full of micro-transactions). Midnight Suns felt too middling and as such I left it to the reviewers to sway me in a direction. I was swayed to stay away and maybe, just maybe, check it out one day if it's cheap enough to entice me.
Marvelous writing of this Cold Take (a little pun intended). Good job, thanks for sharing your thoughts!
To be honest, I was sticking to Yahtzee for 10+ years just ignoring the rest of the Escapist's content. I regret nothing, though: the guy's great.
But now, when I'm giving other creators a chance, one bite at a time, it amazes me how great you guys are - all of you. Sure, there is no 'one size fits all', and I dropped some of Escapist's shows, but I admit that all of you are truly amazing.
Thanks. It means a lot to have some genuine and honest content-makers these days.
xoxoxo
Captivating review. I truly mean that.
But the question is whether that's the reviewer's real speaking voice or is he doing a gag where he talks like a young hot Morgan Freeman.
It seems to be his real voice, he sounds just like that in streams.
This was very well written. Wadda hell. But yea you made a great point.
Please keep this show going…this is the best new show since extra punctuation. Your takes are fantastic and give us excellent perspective into the state of the industry. We need more people like you, Nick!
Hey! I'm walkin' here!
How does this guy and JM8 get so few views? The content is so good!
great video, More!!!
Midnight suns is the best Firaxis game to date, feels like you're relatively wrong across the board. However, you did have one flash of brilliance in this where you point out that in the grand scheme of things, a person's personal enjoyment should dwarf another's personal opinion which is not only emphatically true but not emphasized nearly enough.
Been watching only the occasional cold take videos here and there and although I don't feel like I have a lot of common ground with the reviewer, I'm slowly but steadily liking them more and more.
Marvel: Unlimited Potential, Half the Effort
Frost, have you ever thought of doing ASMR? you have the voice for it.
This is a good review. Yahtzee is an energy drink and this is a nice cup of hot hot tea to me. Some times I need one, and other times I crave the other. Well done Frost.
Great one frost
The script for this video was outstanding, I loved it.
This is the content I come to the Escapist for
You're the best thing to happen to the Escapist since Chris Slack. Keep up the good work.
Jesus Farking Christ, this man’s voice is the precise embodiment of this man’s writing. Pure talent.
Top content, this. More please
Did I hear Paul Tassis opening?
Great video
I think the Marvel's Midnight Suns is well written. Conversations with characters, their ideas, trauma, what they expect of themselves and the rest of the world is well done. Over the course of the game some characters are broken down and built up multiple times. Look at conversations in book club, or overheard side convos, or quiet moments like talking about the inability of humans to stop fighting wars with, Cap. Of course you have the comic booky theme of ultimately the bonds of friendship making us stronger, but cliche and optimistic doesn't automatically equate to bad. And even the opening hours, though Saturday Morning cartoon expository, aren't bad. You have a limited amount of time to not only teach the mechanics, but also a short amount of time to teach the Marvel Comics uninitiated who Nico, Robbie, Blade, etc, are. So you can't be as nuanced yet, you have to shout who these characters are so players can easily differentiate the archetypes and have some understanding of who these people are. And once you get into the rhythm of the gameplay, the nuance is injected.
... is that Frost? Nice
Correction: the restaurant loses one of its FIVE stars, not four.
i like this content, very cool
"Tears streaming down their eyes". What were they doing, a handstand?
While I personally like Midnight Suns, this video still resonates with me. I recently decided to clean out my PS3 backlog completely. So many of the 10 or so games I had remaining that relatively early in the game I just went "Nah" and stopped playing it.
This really is my favorite escapist series now
Great job escapist. Your doing Yahtzee proud.
Thank you
Is Frost doing his own editing?
Thanks again
Yay Frost!
What a strangely unorthodox, humorous and genuinely entertaining review video.
Love these noir style videos.
I love these
A great and unique marvel game
I’ve come to look forward to Cold Take more than Zero Punctuation. Keep ‘em coming!