What a Bizarre Horror Game... [The Heilwald Loophole]
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- čas přidán 13. 05. 2023
- Heilwald Loophole ► store.steampowered.com/app/16...
One of the more interesting horror games I've played recently - The Heilwald Loophole is about... well, uh... how about you just decide for yourself?
Twitch ► / johnwolfe
Twitter ► / johnwolfeyt - Hry
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I feel like a lot of horror games use asylums or medical facilities to make their games scary (sometimes at the expense of painting mentally ill patients as horrific beings) so I really loved how this game draws on the horrors of medical malpractice rather than demonizing patients !! Like, yes the patients are emaciated, but its cool to see the doctors be painted as the antagonists because the patients are at their mercy. Sick game!!! (literally and figuratively)
That's what I was thinking, its nice to see the mentally ill portrayed as victims rather than monsters.
For real! I was so tired of neurodivergent and mentally ill, suffering people being painted as monsters. I felt dehumanized as a result due to being ND. I'm so glad this game flips that on its head because, historically, it was really the practitioners doing twisted things "in the name of science".
❤❤❤❤
THIS. Patient abuse is one of the darkest realities that we don't talk about/ignore, so it's good that a game like this can be honest about that and portray it in the light it should be in.
I also liked that this game showed not only different types of malpractice and that not all staff were terrible. It's refreshing to see horror game where some characters are evil while some are good and don't go out of their way to be an asshole to you one way or the other.
The chef's "ENJOY THE SOUP. HERE'S YOUR FUCKING SOUP." made me howl with laughter. This game's humor is immaculate
Not to mention I'm pretty sure he says "Don't you fucking season me" at one point
Wolframs "Were gonna get you clean..." was so hilariously freaky LOL
Well that’s some bath water…😂
I noticed that in particular too lol! These lines change after he seasoned the soup, the chef was actually kind of nice with what he said and that was surprising. Considering how much he seemed to hate being seasoned n all...
If John was saying this game was bad 'yall single-celled organisms would all be saying the game is bad
28:52 I wasn’t expecting to get jumpscared by a man saying he clogged the shitter
Were you... shit scared?
Ok I'll see myself out.
@@Mantosasto *scared shitless?
@@samwisegamgee1243 That could be what I was thining, but I looked in Google and "shit scared" existed, so I went with that. English is not my native languaje xP
@@Mantosasto no worries, it's not mine either. English is weird. 😅
German humor at its finest
John: "The only thing I don't want to do is kill the trash collector"
John: *Feeds him glass and biohazards*
John: "Who could've done this?"
He was murdered lol the dude eats all sorts of crap, he's probably eaten glass more times than we can count lol there's no way he would die from that
The moment Rudolph goes from incomprehensible foreign speech to “I AM GOING TO REMOVE YOUR LIVER” was absolutely terrifying and a testament to the talent behind this game’s sound design.
If John was saying this game was bad 'yall would all be saying the game is bad
@@DamageMaximowhat.?
@@DamageMaximoand how do you know that 💀
@@DamageMaximoI don't think there's any hivemind mentality happening here
@@DamageMaximo No one is allowed to share the same opinion lest they be accused of hivemind chicanery, huh? 💀💀
John: Feeds a man glass.
Also John: "Who killed the trash collector?"
At first I thought he was joking, but 2 minutes later and he's still questioning who killed the trash collector 🤣 Clueless!
@@clarenceoveur9497 The best part is how like right before he feeds the trash collector the biowaste, he himself brings up that giving him this stuff might kill him lol
Lol classic😂😂😂😂😂
He questions that because the game sounds heavily imply something murders the collector while you're in the room, and the game's already proven the characters to be capable of surviving wildly unrealistic scenarios without much issue.
@@KaleidosXXI yeah given that 1. the trash collector is depicted cheerfully eating all sorts of trash and reacts to the glass as if it were just as edible as everything else he's been depicted eating 2. the trash collector mentions hearing scary noises that imply Something prowling around outside immediately before dying and 3. the noises that happen when the trash collector dies sound far more like murder than anything else, i have absolutely no idea why people are acting like the glass doing it is an obvious assumption or even particularly clear
I have a theory The Ominous Voice is either the previous Hospital Director that Randolf replaced or actually The Heilwald Hospital itself, its fury made sentient at the hospital staff for breaking their Hippocratic oath and violating the Building’s purpose.
It’s kinda nice to see a horror story where the sentient haunted building is actually trying to help the protag. I like to think even before the Ominous Voice could talk it was assisting the protagonist by eldritch-shifting its architecture i.e. having low hanging pipes for the monsters to bump into.
I believe the voice is actually the Loophole itself; at least, that's what tv tropes says it is
I like that theory about the building helping the protagonist, that’s interesting (no joke intended) I never thought of it that way. I was thinking the voice belonged to that 1 reoccurring statue of the bearded man that is everywhere and doesn’t belong to any of the characters alive in the game. Whoever he is, he’s the previous hospital director I seem to remember.
I hadn't thought about this but it's quite interesting.
Fascinating take! And that's now my headcanon. We think of "haunted places" as being sinister, but it's kind of the reverse, isn't it? Sinister people do bad things in places. The places just... exist.
@@pennywright3274 Thank you for the comment! My head canon was inspired by one of my favorite youtube essay vids called: "Control, Anatomy, and the Legacy of the Haunted House" by Jacob Geller.
The hypothesis in the video is that the reason the haunted buildings trope (specially haunted houses) are so popular in stories is because the amount of trust, we humans, put into our homes. That this building, and an inanimate object, almost feels like an extension of its occupants.
Which makes sense, right? We expect our houses to protect us from the elements, from intruders, and it makes us feel safe. So imagine how terrifying it would be if one night, as we're sleeping in our beds, the House decides It doesn't like us anymore...
I'm paraphrasing but there's a line in video that still chills me when I think about it, plus I think it very much applies to Heilwald staff stuck in the endless time loop: "What the hell can you do with house that hates you? Wait for it to die? Buildings don't die easily...they just wait."
you fed glass to the trash collector and you wonder who killed him...
Lmao 😂
we dont wanna talk about biowaste huh
Tbf, the trash collector eats a lot of weird stuff
@@christop3 thats just compost stuff generally speaking, meat fruits etc. Not radiation
@@miklyways isnt it also used needles and bloody clothes like a surgeons gown, etc.?
The sound design in this game is absolutely frickin unreal. Triple A games don’t have as good quality as this.
I m in love with the trash collector voice ngl
i adore all the 64-esque vibes it has. i recognize some of the textures and a LOT of the sound effects used from games i played as a kid, they did such a good job working with what they had. definitely gave me a few good jump scares there and the effort they put into immersion really paid off. i hope they plan on making more horror games!
you can't exactly compare a game that aims for realism with this though
@@m0-m0597 huh?
@@m0-m0597 to be more specific I am praising the quality of the design to achieve the intended goal. I think they hit a home run with the careful choices and construction of context based sounds and atmosphere.
If I was a game dev talent scout, I would be all over this 😂
John saying "who killed the trash collector???" minutes after feeding him glass and biowaste is the most ironic shit imaginable lmao
I think he questioned it because he heard a loud noise that resembles a gunshot sound and a fighting sound? I'm not sure though 😅
@@dan18503we know everything is loud in this game, it was just the trash collector falling over but I don't think he saw it that way
Bro literally TRIED to kill him 😂
Yeah it goes to show how you can get away with not-so-great graphics so long as the sound is amazing and the story is coherent!
The sound design is worth a praise. Unsettling muttering turning into coherent lines is absolutely haunting.
The sound design was incredible, especially with Nurse Helene’s movements! That was some unexpected ASMR right there
Very effective use of multilingual dialog, the characters transitioning between different languages signals a transition in tone.
@@asteroidrules I'm an American who also speaks German. When Nurse Anne suddenly screamed at me in German to follow her, it genuinely shocked me.
Clearly after Getting Over It, Sauer went on to become a master chef working for a hospital somewhere.
I thought he'd go on too work on making stupendous air line food. 🤢
I love how, despite how utterly insane the cast of this game is, there's still a kind of perverted logic guiding what they do. Their personalities make sense for their role within the Klinikum, and despite how violently aggressive they can get they mostly just want to stick to their bizarre and prescribed routines.
Impressively imaginative world building, and a real testament to what a cleverly novel gameplay concept can do for an indie title.
@@malicetosociety perverted also can describe distorted or corrupted
If John was saying this game was bad 'yall would all be saying the game is bad
@@malicetosocietyPerverted means twisted, though?
@@theatomictitan0a588Sure but the majority of people don't interpret the word that way at face value.
@DamageMaximo No not really, this is one of my favorite games to come out in recent times
The combination of Nurse Anne’s jaunty little walk and Sparta kicking of doors had me dying.
I loooove the placement of Nurse Helene because it feels very intentional. They could have put her anywhere, she could have been the first person you run into, but she is incredibly late in the game, the last before you learn the truth about Astrid and the final boss. The precedent has already been set that every other person besides the trash collector will attack you when provoked. So when you hear her tapping around, your immediate instinct is to sneak around and avoid her because you don’t want to provoke her into an attack. It might be unintentional but it’s still very clever because like most people in the health care system, after so many times of being abused and run through the wringer, you simply can’t trust medical staff anymore. This also extends to the trash collector. He’s not a medical staff person, in fact he’s presented pretty similarly to the patients, dirty and in ripped clothes. He’s on your level essentially. Maybe it was unintentional but I really liked that little detail.
Good analysis
its interesting how the disfigured people (with the guy with the crown and the Nurse being an exception) be the friendly and helpful people. Meanwhile, the people with perfectly healthy bodies being the most hostile and threatening such as the doctors and nurses.
@@hashem6356 I was going to say an exception to this was the chef, but after I thought about it I realized he’s actually kinda the least aggressive. Sure he’s angry, but he only attacks if you go in the kitchen, and the thing that normally gets you in the level is the food. So you’re right, that’s really interesting actually.
It all is too cohesive to be fully unintentional, I've been at the receiving end of a lot of malpractice, and every moment hit home and made me feel weirdly seen and... comforted? For lack of a better description? It doesn't matter how seemingly aesthetically pleasing a place and staff works to be when it's caused you the worst pain in your life and fxked with your body, it starts to feel like a horror house.
It also shows how Helene and Astrid are fellow victims. The rest of the clinic staff have all broken their oaths, and that's left Helene and Astrid broken in the same way as some of the patients, Helene being overworked to her breaking point as she's the only one left willing and able to care for patients, Astrid physically tortured in retribution for her willingness to stand up to Randolph.
the wobbling and shifting of the footprint sounds from ear to ear make me imagine the MC is doing a comically wide dueling cowboy squat-walk
He's doing the John Lennon walk.
I like watching John's playthrough of scary games before anyone else's because he really puts in the effort to get everything done, read all the files, follow the storyline etc. and actually knows how to play horror games. And then he'll do something like feed the trash collector guy glass and biohazards (while already knowing beforehand he can potentially die) and then being like "WHO KILLED HIM?!" Uh...I think that was you, my guy lol
Any of John's play-throughs are best to watch first he plays and gets straight to the point , throws in humor where it never goes overboard , no ridiculous screaming at random times or at most of the jump scares
@@Nariethelle dont forget the S A S S
@@conq1273 OMG I can't forget the SASS💕
I love an in depth playthrough where notes aren't just skipped over and the game is actually 'played' and not just run through as quick as possible
@@squirrelwithaflute8512 i dont mind sprinting screamers like Mark but i will acknowledge they offer different experiences
I think what's interesting about this game, and what makes it subversive, is that it could've very easily demonized the patients. Instead, you end up sympathizing with the patients, especially since they're at the mercy of medical professionals who care about themselves more than the oath they took. Most hospital/asylum games fail at being scary because they don't understand that the appeal of medical horror is the *loss of control* in an environment where you're forced to just "take it" (like the ending scene where the protagonist is forced to have their teeth smashed in). Instead of tapping into the horrific history of abusive psych wards, most indie horror games would rather pull the old "they're bipolar and a killer!!!!" schtick. Instead of exploring the real past of mass medical malpractice, the typical indie horror game gets stuck on "the patient died in misery, and now their ghost HAUNTS the hospital halls!!!". This game can be really funny at times. Other times, it can be quite sad. The villains, despite how exaggerated they are, represent horrific possibilities. It's the medical system - not the physically and mentally unwell patients - that reserve the institutional power to drag on misery. This is something I'm aware of at all times, as a chronically ill person who isn't always taken seriously (and as a future doctor, that never wants to contribute to that).
I kind of want to see a game that pulls the Silent Hill alternate reality in a hospital and killing "monsters," but the patient is having delusions. However, the end of the story is that the "monsters" were terrorists or highly abusive staff and the delusion was the protagonist's way of being able to protect the patients/good staff without having to process killing other humans.
I almost spit my hearth out when that neglected patient came out of the room crawling
I'm extremely fond of this game. Love the Alice in Wonderland-ish quest style to it, makes its denizens strangely endearing despite the situation and the context. Glad you gave this one a shot.
God, I love how this game subverts expectations. Loops are different each time- you don't expect a second bathhouse chase to be different, but it is. You don't expect Some Guy to go "AAA hey give me a glass of water or I'm calling the nurse" after you've already been to that loop. Even the beginning- you see the beginning promise of "No one dies at Heilwald" and you think "a fate worse than death," but the loophole has a double meaning, in the very mechanic you use to progress.
The man making the soup is boiling himself, the trash collector is the kindest soul that's been corrupted nonetheless, the librarian is arguably both your ally and your enemy. Heilwald itself isn't sure of what it is anymore- it wants to be a place of healing, but look what it has become. Can it truly say it was always free of corruption if it spread this easily? Even within its trusted staff, the ones who were once loyal but corrupted by Randolf, only one truly remained. Helene, busybody that she is, with the clock nonfunctional and her work ever piling up. Even Astrid, presumably disfigured beyond imagination and trapped in an iron lung where she can't tell who is who, or what she was supposed to be doing anymore. Just feebly holding onto the medicine you need, chasing you around. Even Heilwald knows she had no choice in her fate.
My only critique is that there's only really two good examples of "man they are FUCKING with the patients." Astrid and the chef. The others have fucked up alternate forms, but I believe it's implied these aren't physically real, due to the death Randolf takes at the end. It does manifest in some of the other staff- Anne, for example, and her fucked up legs and arms, or the first nurse and her massive chin- but again, those could be perceived as stylization. I think some characters like the trash collector or the second birthday boy could've had a little more emphasis on "look what Randolf did to his patients just to keep them alive."
everyone teasing john for the glass thing with the trash collector, but can you blame him for thinking it might be harmless after a man serves his own bathwater for soup that he’s boiling himself in? LMAO I did like this game, the whole bit john explained about the characters especially rings true for me. It’s cool to see how little interaction you can have with a character but how much information you can get from it. Anyway, hated the Jaw scene, gonna go relax my jaw now while being hyper aware of my teeth!
I only now got to witness the full game after seeing playthroughs of the demo years ago. It was refreshingly comedic but I was taken by surprise at the serious undertones in it's narrative. If you've had enough experience with the medical industry, especially if you are disabled like I am, this game, despite how far back in time it looks, still feels up to date. Especially the ending with the dental building. I recently had my teeth essentially mutilated a few years ago by a dentist who only really saw $$$ and it's taken a long time to fix the damage they've done to my face. I winced so hard at the pounds of pressure bit because it reminded me of all the pain I had to go through with my own jaw. I'm not sure if any of my observations were intentional by the dev, but they did an incredible job with this game. The toilet humor was a bit excessive, but to me it felt like a nice balance between that and every other element from the horror to the somber story, so I feel like it gets a pass. This is certainly one of my favorite indie games!
I think the toilet humor actually makes a lot of sense in context. After all, it's bodily functions, and in hospitals, the body can be a little scarier. Seeing patients destroy a bathroom utterly can be scary because we want to think of that experience on the throne.
It's unpleasant and kinda silly. I think it works!
John: *feeds the trash collector glass*
Trash collector: *dies*
John: 👁️👄👁️ oh no! What happened?!
Does he not die if you don't feed him glass?
i can't believe you played it.... I loved this game, so underrated
Surprised he didn’t play it sooner
Same!
Yeah same, this game is great
@@MILK-zm2lc true but i think the "real horror" parts still worked
@@MILK-zm2lc i liked it, made it less scary but more fun. Toilets being collectables was probably a sarcastic dig at all the high amounts of dumb collectables in mainstream games.
I really loved watching this game! I don't think it was an asylum horror, seemed to be pure medical hospital based (although the lines around that kind of blur), but it was refreshing to see this type of game where the patients aren't the enemies! They're actually allied with you, while the horror comes explicitly from the doctors and admins around the facility !! Also, I laughed when John looked around cautiously like "what killed the trash collector?" after feeding him glass and bio-waste, only to discover that the ominous noise was a toilet. It was genuinely scary, I thought, especially in the first half when we weren't as familiar with the die and come back again mechanic: and I thought it was refreshing that there seemed to be a few parts where John tried to apply his extensive knowledge of horror game tropes to a scenario, only to have to replan his approach on the fly because they weren't hewing to the cookie cutter app store experience. 10/10 for me, and a great video !!
Did anyone catch what nurse Astrid was saying in the old ward? I caught “no doctor, this is wrong, I can’t allow it” and “help, please help” but missed the rest - I’m so curious!
I'm pretty sure when she stopped chasing, it wasn't because she got stuck - I could swear she said "oh, you're not Joseph". She couldn't tell until she got closer because she's stuck in the iron lung, and was chasing him because she assumed it was Randolph.
I like how the doctor was like what are you doing here this area is off limits and you immediately shut the door in his face while he was still talking too you that was funny
John is often times so much smarter than I can ever hope to be, but then other times, he feeds a man Bio-waste AND glass, then wonders how said man dies. The duality of man.
We’re talking about the same game where a guy is boiling himself alive in a pot for all eternity and serving his own flesh in a soup, right…? And you don’t understand why I wouldn’t think logic automatically applies to every situation?
@@JohnWolfe Can't tell if I just can't read tone but it really wasn't meant to be insulting to you, and I feel you might have taken it that way? I just called you smart, but meant it's funny to me when you make silly mistakes like that. Sorry if it offended you /gen.
@@Savvystarrlight I won't hold it against John, he might be having something going on. My guess is that he misread your comment.
@@toushinrance I mean yeah, I've been watching John for a long ass time at this point but that doesn't mean anything if tone is still hard to comprehend over words on a screen. Was just covering my bases. That's all. Can't help the nurodivergency influenced reactions to things and the need to make sure everything is chill.
@@Savvystarrlight im 99% hes playing w you dont take it so srsly
John's very dry "My man's full of POIGNANT observations" killed me after an hour and a half of the protagonist's inappropriately chirpy "Could be interesting!"'s and "Might be of note!"'s in this clearly fucked up hospital.
I wish this game had a released soundtrack. I absolutely love the distorted classical music that plays with Dr Randolph's and Dr Wolfram's chase themes
Wolfe's German pronunciation is just 🤌 so good!
😁
FLAISH-SHOOPE!
WORTUNG was my fav 😂 but yeah as a german myself its really good. love it
My Last Name ist Sauer...
Well not really but Ill let that slide
1:51:45 the mental image of a guy running, terrified, and lighting and flicking matches into oil lamps is really funny.
This game's chase scenes really had my heart pumping, great sound design
1:51:44 The patient was inside an iron lung. They were look for doctor Joseph, and they were just giving you the medicine. That's why your character says, "I'm sorry". You didn't get them stuck. Though the game dev did do an excellent job in tricking people that it was a monster.
That is not an pacient, that is Astrid
@@denysvision And Nurse Astrid was in an iron lung.
This actually makes the story get a bit confusing because of it. As fortunately or unfortunately, a hospital, especially like the one in Heilwald Loophole, wouldn't really put a perfectly fine person in an iron lung as that doesn't fit the M.O. as iron lungs were quite expensive for their time (not just to buy, but also to maintain). Which might mean that Astrid actually did have Post-polio syndrome, and there were enough people who cared about her to get the iron lung for her.
Doesn't change the fact that the player is setup to fear (run away from) her after witnessing the past body horror monsters.
Nurse Astrid tried standing up to Dr. Randolph and he tortured her and stuck her inside an iron lung.
I am so impressed with John's effort on CZcams. He posts very long videos every 2 or 4 days on average, idk how you can manage to edit and put time into these videos and make produce them in such a fast time. I really appreciate your effort on youtube. Thx John 👍
Umm he doesnt post every 2 or 4 days on average. And he has an editor (unless i somewhere missed him say thst the editor is cancelled).
NO not her kicking down the doors with her ridiculous feet/heels i can’t deal 🤣 26:39
This games world map goes way harder than it needs too for how simple it is. This guy gets UI design and the sounds of moving with the echo of a clock tower is just (chefs kiss).
This is reminding me of Fear & Hunger. Different mechanics obviously, and no "looping" in F&H. But the way that player knowledge acts as a checkpoint, "defeat" isn't necessarily the end, and obstacles sometimes require unintuitive approaches - these traits add up to create a comparable experience. I'm still trying to beat F&H right now, and it's a blast!
You know it’s a good day when John uploads a new indie horror game play through! Also happy Mother’s Day everyone!
Absolutely love how the developer understood the essense of SH surreality. A perfect "Silent-Hill-esque" game in my opinion.
I think the fact this game actually isn't scared of including comedy.. even if a bit strange and horrifying comedy, is great. More horror games are able to play into their comedic tendencies and never do.
34:34
HERE IS YOUR SOUP...ENJOY YOUR FUCKING SOUP. nice line.
The funniest part of the game! lol
Their voices are so intriguing to me! I love this game, so strange and fun. Did you ever play Cookies? Feel like it is on a par with this game.
that was amazing. the way the game works around looping and rewarding you for trying out possibilities at the first part is really fun. loved how unique the characters and enemies are too.
So glad you finally played this game!!! "NUUUURRSSEEE HEEIIDDLEEETTRAAUUTT!!!"
excellent game, the sounds were so immersive and the humour helped balance it all in a way that was oddly like... emotional? i'm kind of blown away
man what the fuck the sound design is AMAZING. i can usually turn on horror games in the background to fall asleep to just fine, but i had to switch over to a different one this time because the music and sound effects are SO fucking unnerving and it had my heart pounding. i have never once had a game's soundtrack affect me this much, it might be the actual single scariest videogame OST i've ever heard and it really does radiate pure horror and i love it
The loop mechanic reminds me of Siren 1/2 where you could play back chapters to unlock areas in other chapters for other characters and make progress/get different endings that way
fleischsuppe; my meager german knowledge tells me that this means "flesh soup"- yummy
I think meat soup would be a better translation, although Fleischsuppe can be a variety of things. The stuff that is served kind of looks like Wurstsuppe (sausage soup) to me, a creation from hell itself.
I love games that can completely envelope you in their unique and unsettling atmosphere, and this did that so perfectly! The characters were all so unique, the plot was interesting and surprising, and the sound design and music were phenomenal. I really enjoyed this little world they created. Also rip trash collector
21:17 "SO CRITICAL! ABOUT THINGS THAT DON'T MATTER!" is really the funniest thing to hear with suspense horror music playing in the bg
John I'm watching your playthrough on my lunchbreak at work because im an introvert and cant fully rest if im talking to people and you are recharging my people-interaction battery
@@DoctaShrooms Thats not what an introvert means, but it is a possible part of being an introvert.
That was great ! I loved the nurse kicking the doors open lol ❤
Johns hair lately really has been looking fabulous !
Late comment on this I know, but this game's antagonist character designs (and allys) remind me A LOT of some of the strangely deformed humans in the game Chulip, which is about a boy who has to strengthen his heart and practice kissing before he can successfully kiss the girl of his dreams. There's a bobble-head officer, a streetlight pole man, a train conductor with a rotating disc with two faces, and other bizarre and just really creative but horrific designs. The Chef especially makes me thing of that, as well as the dialogue being so fast and garbled for the most part. It's not really a "horror" game, but I was terrified by it, it has some amazing scares.
Hi John, I'm going through my most brutal breakup ever, lived with a man, who i thought I was gonna marry, for 4 years. 5 days ago he told me he can't imagine a future with me so he broke up with me. Unfortunately, we cannot move out for now so we will have to keep sharing the house for a couple of months. I'm completely heartbroken, I feel so lost...but I would like you to know watching this video made my life a bit less miserable and for 2 hours I didn't think about that jerk. So thank you so so so much for this, thank you for making a stranger's life better
Sorry to hear that. Hope you're pulling through. Music might be helpful for lifting relationship related pain. Many people comment on Bob Moses helping in this regard. You might want to give it a try.
When I saw it was German horror with a doctor at the beginning I was wondering if it was going to turn into The Human Centipede the game 😫 Definitely seems inspired by it.
im happy u played this. the full release was over a year ago and i was so excited to see my main youtubers play it. im glad u finally got around to it!
Really like the loophole part in the start of the game, that's creative. The end where you go from new part to new part is more common. Hope to see more games from this developer, sowell made even in so low graphic condition :)
_WHERE ARE YOU GOING???_
I love the music in that segment so much. It reminds me of like, Rule of Rose and those kinds of games.
I remembered Amercian McGee's Alice game watching this one. Something about music and character design is so good. The horror parts work so well. Genuinely enjoyed this one.
It’s always fun to watch John play weird or bad horror games because of his reactions lmao
I Believe this Game Sits More in the 'Weird' Camp than 'Bad.'
(Also, Apologies in Advance if you Hate 'Long-Winded Mini-Essays' in the Comment Section; if I'm Going to Be Presented with a Means of Sharing and Discussing my Thoughts, I'm GOING to Do Exactly THAT, Damn All the Rest Who Use it to Simply Yelp 'First' as if Anybody Truly Care About Who's First to Comment on a Video, or Uses it to Make Meaningless Leet Speek Quips, Like They're Tweeting it on their Smartphones in Traffic or Something; if Any of You Actually Bother Read all This, I'll Know Both that you are Literate and Possibly a Friend; if you Just Wanna Tell Me 'Too Long; Didn't Read,' or 'Shut Up,' than Stow it, I've Heard it Before Nine Trillion, Three Hundred and Seventy Four Billion, Six Hundred and Three Million, Twenty Two Thousand, and Seven Times Before, and it Didn't Stop Me Then, So There!)
It May Not Necessarily Be Outright Pants-Shitting Terror Like PT, Eternal Darkness, Amnesia: the Dark Descent, Silent Hill 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins, and Outlast 1, but... Come On, Cut the Heilwald Loophole Some Slack; those are Legends in the Field of Horror Games, it Can't be Expected to Immediately Reach that Same Tier of Stardom in a Short Space of Time!
I Think This Game Deserves to Be Judged on its Own Merits.
And its Merits are Many: Hair-Raising Sound and Musical Design which Always Sets you on Edge, Like When a Character that Previously Spoke a Quieter More Unintelligible Bit of Dialogue (Much as Animal Crossing Villagers are Prone to) Suddenly and Unexpectedly Go to SHOUTING in Clearly Discernable Words, Often Threatening and Jarringly LOUD; or When you're Sneaking through an Area and the Music Immediately Cuts in (the Electro-Shock Ward and Bath-House are the Worst Offenders in my Opinion, as the Former has a Neurotic, Anxious Feel to it, with the Sudden Violin or Cello Strings Kicking in at Random Moments, Reminiscent of Dainty Spider Legs Crawling up my Arms as I Try to Avoid Detection, the Electrical Equipment Sparking, the Nurse Tapping Away at Keyboards as she Prepares for your "Session"; the Bath-House, on the Other Hand, has an Uncomfortable, Wrong, Disturbingly "Intimate" Feel to it, being an Inappropriate-Given-the-Context Slow Waltz Number, that makes it Feel Like Something Out of Freud's Wet Nightmares, What I Imagine it Would Sound Like if you Were Suddenly by Yourself, Naked, in an Uncomfortably Humid, Moldy Boiler Room, and Being Chased by a Known Rapist or Sado-Masochistic Pervert who Plans to Torture you for his Amusement, which we Know Wolfram is Based on Evidence that Suggest he Abuses the Patients Under his Care).
Another Merit for the Heilwald Loophole is its Usage of the Graphics of Old PS1 Titles; there have Been Other Games that Sought to Use the Wonky, Uncanny Graphics of Older Games to Add to the Atmosphere of the Game, but in this Game's Case, it Manages it Without Seeming like it's Trying too Hard, it Doesn't _Feel_ Forced, Unlike a Lot of Demakes I've Seen. And the Outdated Graphics Mesh Well with the Body Horror Aspects of this Game's Story, along with the Muted, Nasty Colors (Shit-Brown, Olive or Puke Green, Piss Yellow, along with Less Gross but Subtly Depressing Hues of Beige, Gray, Black, Maroon), None Having any Kind of Vibrancy or Brilliance at All, as Though the Life has Been Sucked Out of this Cursed Place, Emulating the Feeling that You're Wandering Through a Diseased, Dying Carcass, not Dead, but not Indicative of any Kind of 'Life' as we Would Understand it; Being a Thing Left to Writhe in its Own Filth and Necrotized, Maggot-Infested Flesh, Begging for a Mercy Kill that Will never Come, as the Doctors and Nurses Ensure that 'No One is Allowed to Die,' Abandoning Medical Ethics and Compassion, for Pure Ruthless Efficiency.
It Perfectly Captures the Unpleasant, Horrible Emotion that Some People Might Feel When they Go to a Nursing Home Where they Left their Elderly Relatives, and they Come on a Bad Night, on the One Night Where it is Overcrowded, Where There's a Ton of Residents, yet Hardly any Nurses or Orderlies or Doctors Around Seeing to the Elderly People's Needs or Wellbeing, Leaving them Stranded in their Unwashed Cots that Smell of Death and Bedsores and Urine and Abscess Pus, or Confined to Wheelchairs in the Hallways but Not Doing Anything to Help Move them, Pointedly Ignoring their Cries of Discomfort, Appeals for Aid Falling on Deaf Ears, in a Revolting and Brazen Display of Neglect and Passive-Aggressive Punishment towards the Elderly for Begging for Help (Even Though that's their JOB), Which Makes the Person Visiting their Relative Reconsider Leaving them in this Godawful Place, and Feel a Shred of Guilt for Condemning them to this Misery!
So I Say; this Game May Not _Be_ Another Silent Hill 2 or Outlast 1 ... But it DEFINITELY isn't Far Off From That!
And Anyone Who Says Otherwise has their Head Shoved Up their Ass, Clearly not Playing the Same Game!
Or they're mere Games Journalists or Snobby Critics who Just Like Giving Everything Negative Reviews Because they Think it Makes them Look "Sophisticated" and "Elite."
Or Because it Doesn't Measure Up to their Impossible, Unrealistic Standards, not Being as Good as Something from a Larger Studio (and they Aren't Just Paying them to Say that, they Swear, to Help Cover Up the Larger Studio's Buggy, Unplayable Mess Which was Rushed to Fulfill the Social Media Hype and Because Insistent Fans Demanded it be Out by a Certain Date).
But Criticism is Not Just about Trashing Something; it's About Looking for Both the Good and Bad of Something, Offering Helpful Pointers on How to Improve Something, So that Creators can _Improve_ the Quality of their Art and Stories! Anyone who Goes Around Just Disrespecting and Negging on Everything, All the Time isn't Really a Critic; they're a Douche or Bitch of the Lowest Sort!
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Not Trying to Blame or Point Fingers at Anybody, Just Sharing my Opinion on What Qualifies as a 'Good' Horror Game, and How People Who are Professional Critics Come from a Narrow, Unfair, Highly-Specific Background that Prejudices them Against Anything that Isn't Something "They'd" Like, Leading to Inconsistent Ratings on _Rotten Tomatoes_ where One Side (the Larger Public) Say Something is Good or at Least Half-Way Decent, and the Other (the Minority of Professionally-Trained, Older, White Males Who are Hired to Critique Something. Doing it Mainly 'For the Money' or 'For Pride' in their Verbosity) Bombing it Back to Neolithic Era!
@@nerdiboy5128 that’s awesome you took the time to write all that, and no I just meant in general I obviously wrote this comment in the middle of watching the video.
@@nerdiboy5128
Wow, even your apology for being long winded was long winded. Anyways, good post.
+1
(Except for comparing it to SH2. Not a snowballs chance in hell.)
It's only gotten better in recent years. I don't know how he did it, but his 12-hour long album video somehow has 64k views. That's seriously impressive.
@@karenamyx2205 nah it has similarities to SH2, that isn’t a perfect game in its own right so comparison isn’t totally left field
I'd love to see you play "Who's Lila?"! It's a very neat indie surreal horror game.
Seconding this. That game had me questioning my identity for a few days.
aah i really loved that game too, he really should play it
Why did you have to remind me of her.
As a German it's so cool to see a German Videogame played by John!
This was such an awesome game that I stopped doing what I was doing just to watch and pay attention 100% (my adhd rarely allows this) I gotta say I love the Trash Collector so much! I care about that stinky mans!! I was kinda hoping we'd get more lore for some of the 'monsters' like the lady in the iron lung or the trash collector, but this was so cool!!
2:05:55: I Feel that the 'Ominous Voice' is the Spirit of the Klinikum Itself; the Last Remnants of the Place of Healing and Goodwill it Used to Be Before Randolph Came Over and Ruined Everything.
As Part of my Theory, or Interpretation, of the Story as Presented by the Game, there were Many Holes All Around the Klinikum, much Like the One you Discovered in the Closed Down Ward Before Entering the Patient Bay and Encountering Nurse Helene, the Sole Remaining Heart/ Voice of Sanity and Compassion of the Place (Incidentally, I believe there's a Plug in her Room; I Don't Believe it Was Plugged up; I'm not Sure However, and I Openly Admit I Could be Wrong in this Regard... but it Would Explain why she's Not 'Unhinged' and 'Monstrous' like the Other Doctors, Nurses and Staff who've Sworn Allegiance to Randolph, the Usurper, the Cause of the Klinikum's Darkening); with One or Two Exceptions, All the Holes are Plugged Up and Taped Over, as if to Try and Keep Something Contained... Or Silent.
Here are Other Hints that the Ominous Voice is the Klinikum Itself.
The Ominous Voice Claimed that All it Could Do was 'Watch as it Went Up in Flames.'
In that Statement, it Makes itself Abundantly Clear that it Didn't Approve or Condone the Way the Hospital was Becoming a Place of Suffering, Torture and Mad Experimentation, Rather than a Place of Mercy, Healing and Altruistic Intent; but the Manner in Which the Ominous Voice _Phrased_ it, Made it Sound like the Actions Undertaken by Randolph towards the Hospital were Affecting the Voice as Well; and if the Voice was Telling the Truth About Being 'Omnipresent,' 'Aware of Everything that Occurs within the Walls of the Klinikum,' then it Would Make Sense that the Ominous Voice _IS_ the Klinikum Itself, Unhappy with How Randolph and Those that Allied themselves with the Mad Doctor were Letting the Patients Suffer and Letting the Hospital Fall into Disrepair (there's Poop and Vomit and Blood Everywhere, the Patients are All Malnourished and Filthy Looking, Resembling More Skeletons or Desiccated Mummies than People, Vent Coverings are Broken and Jagged, there's Cracks in the Walls, the Toilets, Especially those in the Sick Ward, are All Backed Up and Spreading Sepsis and Staph and Other Nosocomial Infections, not Very Hygenic or Good for a Place Where you Intend to Keep *_S I C K P E O P L E_* ), Ignoring the Medical Oaths, the Klinikum's Mission Statements, and Going From a Place that Cares for the Ill and Injured, to a Place that Exploits them.
When the Ominous Voice says that it's not your Enemy, it Hesitatingly Adds, 'Well, Perhaps a Part of Me."
Almost as if it's not 100% in Control of Itself; if we Choose to Interpret this as Referring to How the Klinikum itself was Overtaken by Randolph's Awfulness, Forcibly Changed by the Egotistical Bastard into Something more in Line with _his_ Way of Thinking, then that Would Imply, Whether or Not it Truly is Omnipresent, Knowing Everything that Happens Within Itself, and Able to Perform Small Actions Around the Klinikum (Opening Previously Locked Doors, Warping Space to Decrease Distance, Using the Light in the Attic to Ward Off Hauser from Pursuing you, Resurrecting you Near the Items of Knowledge which Were there to Expose the Misdeeds of Randolph, etc.), the Voice's Agency and Ability to More Substantially Affect the Hospital are Limited by Whether or Not People Listen to it Anymore, Something Randolph Figured Out Upon Assuming the Role of Chief Physician/ Hospital Director, Resulting in him Purposefully Silencing it so That it Holds No Power over its Body, the Klinikum, Any Longer, 'Binding its Hands and Gagging its Mouth' as it Were.
With the Klinikum Effectively Rendered Incapable of Directly Opposing Randolph, the Latter Would Begin Adding New Wards to the Klinkum, Starting with the Dentalklinik, his Passion Project, a Building that was Designed to be Less like a Place of Healing (with Nice Flowers, Statues of Previous Physicians and Angels, Windows to Let in the Sunlight... or Alternatively, to Make Sure People Outside Could Hear the Screams of Torture Coming from the Unlucky 'Patients' Sent there and Do Something to Stop it) and More Like a Torture Chamber or a Concentration Camp (the Building is Made of Drab Concrete, like a Bunker; there's Searchlights, as you'd Find in a Prison or Military Camp; Barbed Wire Surrounding the Perimeter; is Built in a Dreary, Uninviting, Intimidating Style; Etc.).
Minor Detail, but I Noticed that the Ominous Voice Speaks in a Multitude of Voices Speaking as One, and When it Uses the Guidance Stones and 'Blind Judge' in its 'Sentencing of the Guilty Nurses and Doctors who Went Against their Oaths,' it Uses a Bust of What was Presumably the Preceding Chief Physician/ Hospital Director, Friedrich Erlenmeyer.
These Threads Leading Me Down the Path of Assuming that the Spirit of the Klinikum Itself/ Ominous Voice is a Being Comprised of the Wills and Good Intentions of the More Warm and Empathetic Doctors that Lead it in the Past, Building on their Knowledge and Sharing it by Giving Counsel through its Holes When asked a Question about How to Heal and Care for the Patients, Inheriting a Portion of the Previous Doctor's Knowledge and Good Intentions.
But When the Egotistical, Selfish, Power-Hungry and Cruel Randolph took over, he Couldn't Stand the Idea of People Listening to (and Possibly _Respecting_ and _Idolizing_ ) Someone who Wasn't _him_ ; so he Plugged Up the Ominous Voices Holes, Keeping it Silent, and Slowly Began the Process of Rebuilding the Klinikum in HIS Self-Serving, Cruel Image, Corrupting not Merely the Doctors, Nurses and Staff Faculty with his Evil, but Fundamentally Altering the Nature of the Klinikum, Seeking to Replace it as the Only One Anybody Obeys, Much to the Detriment of the Patients, of the Two Sane Nurses (Helene and Astrid), and Anybody Unfortunate Enough to Get Stuck there.
I think someone could make a game on elderly homes just because of all the abuse they go through... I have a real world example because my grandmother recently died and she was brough home after being pulled because of body sores, they reached the point where she developed scepis. Some of them were so bad that you could see to her bone.... At the end we managed to get them healed as best we could but thanks to the constant battle with scepis and having dementia she was bed ridden for years.
That’s sad. Sorry for your loss.
the lore seems kind of lovecraftian, with a strange otherworldly voice in a well and the staff going insane, trying to keep the voice locked in with the plugs
I play a lot of horror games and I can only think of 5 that actually scared me. This is one of the good ones
This game went from "haha poop man" to me recoiling in fear as i watch one of my worst fears happen on screen and scream about how messed up it is. What a game
I love that you read every piece of text even if it goes too fast. Very good play through!
I'm tickled John got spooked by Dr. Randolph to start - I could have sworn he played the Demo of this game ages ago but it's so much funnier this way
Evil Dr : I'm going to remove your liver
John Wolfe : Not Cool !
(* Reminds me more of shutter island if it followed on the backstory of the Nazi adjacent scientists
Love when John discovers an indie banger. This was really cool,good, even if I thought the end was a little muddy. Outstanding sound design, and a cool story; wasn't expecting so many chuckles.
A very enjoyable game, thank you for playing, John.
I really like that the patients help you. And it also shows why they've probably been admitted (big teddybear man, trash eating and being way too about poop) but never in a demonising way, infact surprisingly helpful.
Yess, I was hoping you'd play this one day! Absolutely love how weird this game is, so I'm super excited to watch you play it!
Loved this game! Unique enemies and funny interactions! Thanks for playing John, as always loved your take and playthrough. I really like games that let you loop back because it feels like a puzzle and it feels great when you complete them . Hoping to see more games by this developer on your channel in the future !
Best horror play-through in years, John. Have already watched this three times lol. Amazing job as always man.
The substantial variation in the loop events really sets this game apart, imo.
I really enjoyed this playthrough. Thanks for sharing with us!
the sounds!!! the sounds design is so friggin delicious to my ears and extremely inspiring. i want to make a ps1 inspired horror game someday too :))) just to put weird ass monsters and insane ambience into....and i love games that dont take themselves too seriously, a little bit of retro tongue in cheek comedy mixed with actual shocking moments of horror is hard to balance and i love it so much
I appreciate you taking the time to play this game, John! Thanks for the full video on it. The graphics are neat and the story is... unique and a bit silly. It definitely had moments where it gave me the creeps!
Again John just happens to upload today and I really needed this. My comfort gamer/content creator
Thank you
This was absolutely fantastic. Thanks for another amazing play-through, John. This is why I’ve been following you for so many years. You’re one of the best!!
I'm here for anything created in the same vein of 'Night of the Consumers!'
I freaking LOVE that playthrough - you gave it HANDS DOWN my favorite voice work of yours!
And if Germfood adds (substantially) more to that game, PLS PLS PLS consider giving it another go... it's such a silly treasure.
This game gave me some Outlast vibes, but like a semi-parody. Especially the attic/library, I was expecting a man to pop up trying to turn the player into his bride.
That aside, the sounds in this game pushed me close to a panic attack once or twice. _I loved it_
I can't wait to come back and re-experience this in 3 to 6 years with a big bowl of chocolate drizzled popcorn, and then lose my appetite due to the Neglected Patient.
Really enjoyed this play through. Love watching you play games that you genuinely enjoy and longer videos are always really enjoyable. Loving the vibe on your channel right now with the variety in content!
really enjoyed this play through. this game is so creative, great sound design, interesting characters, weird and gross at times but very cool! horror comedy is my fave genre and this is a good blend that was fun to watch. Thank you for playing it!
I expect a 20 minute apology video for criticizing the vital poop subplot John.
im so happy you’re playing this also love that this is one long vid 🙏😤
I think this game wears a lot of inspiration from Paratopic... and now that I've thought of that, I realize it would be awesome to watch John play Paratopic.
Paratopic is dog shit. Driving simulator
absolutely loved your playthrough, as always!! thank you john
This game is awesome. Another really underrated one is the full version of Mirror Layers.
Thank you SO MUCH for playing this. Everyone is so thirsty over 'banban', and it's all the content right now. I really hope to see you play Bramble. It is gorgeous, terrifying, and wonderful.
Chef's kiss* This is my favorite play through and game of the last several years. Going to have to keep an eye on this developer. The story, humor, and action mix was very good.
this was quite a little gem of a game! really enjoyed the unique method of traveling to different places in the game and the character design
so happy to see a new upload! hope you're still able to chill with all the irl stuff going on!
I had so much fun watching this game. Not what I expected. Great video
I’ve been waiting for you to play this, a dream come true 😭
Always love these long videos, this game was really interesting!