Armchair Brain

Hey everybody! So I was hoping on completing one more (and shorter) video essay on before 2025 concluded, but it will be have to be set back because 1.) The video's script is about 95% completed and 5/6's of the voiceover is done, but I am unsure how to finish the last chapter and 2.) Quite frankly I have been having too much fun playing and recording footage of this game (not sure if that's a bad thing or not). I think I'll probably finish writing the chapter and recording voiceover this week, assuming the holidays aren't that much of an interruption. You should expect the video to arrive this January at the latest if I can't complete it before New Years (and you can figure out from my shorts what the video's subject is about 😉).
Also, I had announced my plan for the first two BIG video essays for early 2026 almost a month ago, which I wrote over on my Patreon (the post is free to read) -
www.patreon.com/posts/game-plan-for-s-144409596

Anyway, just wanted to fill y'all in. Stay tuned for more updates !

#videogames #gaming #videoessay #gamer #indiegaming #indiegames #RPG #ArmchairBrain

1 week ago | [YT] | 10

Armchair Brain

Working on a thumbnail for the next skill analysis video essay and I don't know what to make of this rough draft, but what do y'all think?
Stay tuned for more updates.

#DiscoElysium #DiscoElysiumTheFinalCut #videogames #gaming #gamer #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegames #RPG #DetectiveGame #DetectiveRPG #DavidLynch #Identity #Epistemology #Philosophy #Inland Empire #HarryDuBois #videoessay #KimKitsuragi #ArmchairBrain

1 month ago | [YT] | 20

Armchair Brain

This week marked the 1 year anniversary of my video essay WHY FIVE NIGHTS AT FREDDY'S HOLD UP, which is also the start of my mini-series FOREVER FREDDY. Despite the low views compared to my more recent essays, I truly believe this video essay is one of my better ones as not only do I touch on what makes the first FNAF game a classic, but it allowed me to touch on the importance of indie gaming. Consider giving it a watch or two if you haven't watched it already before the 2nd episode on FNAF 2 eventually drops (I swear to Golden Freddy the 2nd one is coming! I know I said it'd come this year, but it's definitely coming next year).
Thanks and stay tuned as always !

#FiveNightsAtFreddys #FNAF1 #FNAF2 #FiveNightsAtFreddys2 #ArmchairBrain #videogames #gaming #games #gamer #indiegame #indiegames #indiegaming #horror #horrorgame #horrorgaming #PCGaming #NintendoSwitch #videoessay #videogaming

1 month ago | [YT] | 2

Armchair Brain

Many, many thanks to those of you who have watched my latest video essay and second episode in my DISCO ELYSIUM skill analysis series so far. I know that there were some checks I did not mention or dive into. Two of them occur during the Tribunal scene, but there is also the Reaction Speed check at the bookstore before you pick up the Dick Mullen book. Well, the reason I left it out is because the next episode in this series will cover the mysterious, paranormal, and sometimes untrustworthy Inland Empire, and covering this Psyche skill will allow me to dive into the game's theme of identity (hence, the book plays one small part in this theme).
As I said at the tail end of the last video, I want to squeeze in one more (and smaller) video essay before the year ends and I have a few other projects to catch up on. All I can say is that the video essays covering HOLLOW KNIGHT and FNAF 2 will be done when they're done. Thank you so much for taking the time to watch this 2nd episode and stay tuned for video updates!

#DiscoElysium #videogames #gaming #gamer #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegames #RPG #detectivegame #DiscoElysiumTheFinalCut #ArmchairBrain

1 month ago | [YT] | 3

Armchair Brain

🚨 NEW VIDEO ESSAY PREMIERING TODAY🚨
Why Reaction Speed Might Be The Most Disappointing Disco Elysium Skill | A Disco Elysium Video Essay
Premiering at 3:00 PM EST/12:00 PM PST

#DiscoElysium #ArmchairBrain #videogames #gaming #gamer #videogaming #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegames #RPG #ReactionSpeed #DetectiveGame #videoessay

1 month ago | [YT] | 6

Armchair Brain

So we are less than a day away from Team Cherry's HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG and I wanted to discuss a topic that's been on my mind regarding a sentiment I keep hearing across social media on Twitter and elsewhere. That is, that SILKSONG will mean having to say goodbye to the original game; hence, several HK YouTubers are doing "goodbye Hollow Knight" and "Last Hollow Knight Stream" videos and livestreams playing or speedrunning the first game, knowing that the next few days, weeks, months, and years will be spent playing SILKSONG and its potential DLCs.
But of course this is nonsense. If anything, just as HOLLOW KNIGHT veterans got hyped for SILKSONG's release for a few years and will probably love playing the sequel, SILKSONG will bring *more* interest for newbie gamers to try HOLLOW KNIGHT for the first time, in the same way ELDEN RING introduced gamers to the "Soulslike" genre (or more appropriately in this case, FromSoftware's "Soulsborne" games) by trying out DARK/DEMON SOULS or BLOODBORNE after ELDEN RING. Not just as an introduction into the lore of HK, but as an introduction to Metroidvania gaming as a whole. Lord knows, my boomer a** enjoys revisiting games despite new releases in a gaming series like ZELDA or STAR FOX. There's a reason why I keep saying HOLLOW KNIGHT is the greatest Metroidvania of all time and it's because of its massive replayability and its mechanics, even just putting aside HK's incredible lore. Whether or not SILKSONG is better or worse than the original is irrelevant, as HK has made its cultural influence known across gaming, and especially how Team Cherry has been extremely dedicated to developing the best games possible even while having "too much fun" in their words. To quote one memorable line from a pretty awful film, "It's not goodbye. It's see you later."

#HollowKnight #HollowKnightSilksong #Silksong #Metroidvania #Soulslike #videogames #games #gamer #gaming #videogaming #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegaming #ArmchairBrain

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Armchair Brain

Folks, I know a lot of y'all are prepping for the release of HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG this Thursday (God knows I'll be playing the crap out of it, perhaps on Twitch), but in light of my ANIMAL WELL video essay reaching 1,000+ views this week, I wanted to give a shoutout to another Metroidvania (or Metroid"BRAIN"ia) that I have enjoyed playing and replaying: NamaTakahashi's Öoo. In between my Summer DARK SOULS addiction (which is relevant and needed for some of the Soulslike gameplay mechanics discussed in my big HK project), the reason I had fun with Öoo is because, like ANIMAL WELL, it requires the gamer to think hard about navigating the game's seemingly small world *and* puts new meaning to the phrase "Use Bombs Wisely" (always got to quote Peppy Hare). You should give this one a shot if you have time before this Thursday; you might have a blast too (pun intended).
store.steampowered.com/app/2721890/oo/

#Öoo #Metroidvania #MetroidBrainia #AnimalWell #videogames #games #gamer #gaming #videogaming #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegames

3 months ago | [YT] | 1

Armchair Brain

I'm gonna keep it real: My happy mood when Silksong was confirmed for release [in less than two weeks] was diminished when [Fake] ZAUM announced during GAMESCOM the name of their next game, ZERO PARADES with the tagline, "For Fake Radicals" (ha ha, get it? Because they got rid of the "actual radicals" who were part of the original ZAUM art collective responsible for DISCO ELYSIUM). It's obvious that ZAUM (or at least the higher ups in ZAUM) wants to get ahead of the other studios like Red Info and Summer Eternal in putting out this spy RPG before the offshoots have a chance to put out their own games (hell, perhaps they want to get ahead of the DE inspired games like ESOTERIC EBB and RUE VALLEY which don't include original ZAUM employees). I can honestly sympathize with people wanting to boycott this game given how dirty ZAUM has shown itself, but maybe I'm wrong; the artwork looks just fine so far judging by the short trailer. What do you folks think?

#DiscoElysium #videogames #gaming #indiegames #indiegaming #gamer #indiegame #RPG #ArmchairBrain #Silksong

4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 6

Armchair Brain

As some of my subscribers know, I have been working hard on a massive HOLLOW KNIGHT video essay project in between enjoying the summer (the current draft is over 50,000+ words). However, in light of the Gamescom announcement regarding HOLLOW KNIGHT: SILKSONG yesterday, and its eventual release this year (the release date is being announced this Thursday by the game's developer Team Cherry), I have decided to split the HK video essay into four parts, beginning with a dive into the game's story (which has 23 chapters) starting with the game's opening cutscene and concluding with a discussion as to which of the game's ending is the "true" ending (despite Team Cherry stating that each of the game's five endings is equally canon). I also want to release the first part a week before the second episode in the DISCO ELYSIUM skill analysis series on Reaction Speed. I may premiere a final cut of the longer HK video essay with additional chapters not included in the four videos.
Also, isn't it really weird that YouTube decided to relabel the Community tab on Channel pages as "posts?" Sounds really bland if y'all ask me.
Thanks and stay tuned for additional video updates.
#HollowKnight #HollowKnightSilkSong #SilkSong #metroidvania #soulslike #ArmchairBrain #videogames #gaming #videogaming #indiegame #indiegaming #indiegames

4 months ago | [YT] | 1

Armchair Brain

Disco Elysium gamers: I highly recommend people read this Financial Times article, "The Curse Of Disco Elysium," which was shared by fellow DE YouTubers ‪@JamrockHobo‬ and ‪@The41stPrecinct‬ on Twitter. The author interviewed a number of the game's developers and lucidly summarizes the drama after the game's release. If you don't have a subscription, here's a link to read:
archive.is/hd3kj
www.ft.com/content/5ae5bf4f-4c05-4286-8133-5b81230…

#DiscoElysium #RPG #videogames #gaming #indiegaming #indiegames #indiegame #gamer

4 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 8