Flow State

Persona 4 Golden's Heaviest Burden is Tradition

Matt Horton — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:00:00 -0400

(00:00) - - The eery quietness of Persona 4 Golden
(03:10) - - The Heisei mergers
(06:15) - - Persona 4 Golden is biased towards tradition
(06:55) - - Yukiko gives in
(08:55) - - Kanji's dyes his hair
(10:56) - - Rise goes back to showbiz
(12:35) - - These aren't real people
(13:03) - - Conservatism
(14:28) - - Tradition for tradition's sake

To watch the member-exclusive video, you can go to my Patreon or Ko-Fi!
https://www.patreon.com/c/flowstatecrit
https://ko-fi.com/matthorton

Thanks to @FazPersona , @shinobuSMT , and @SphericAlpha for game footage

Watch @LadyVirgilia 's video on the Heisei mergers and Inaba: https://youtu.be/gd2YrXqkchM

Watch @BiggeTwig 's "The Development of Persona 4": https://youtu.be/gd2YrXqkchM

Thank you to my $5+ members:
GJ
Jenn Cheung
Mike Turley
Chase Allhart
Zeno
MajesticOstrich
Kim
Silellak

Research Sources:
Katsura Hashino blogs from the old Atlus website

https://web.archive.org/web/20130831132713/http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/607
https://web.archive.org/web/20140205015317/http://www.atlusnet.jp/topic/detail/650

Podcast interview with Persona 4 dev team

https://web.archive.org/web/20100908090614/https://game.biglobe.ne.jp/colweb/shoku/2010/100902/100902.html

SiliconEra translation and summary of the podcast interview

https://www.siliconera.com/behind-the-design-of-persona-4/

“The Development of Municipal Mergers in Japan” by Kiyotaka Yokomichi

https://clair.or.jp/j/forum/honyaku/hikaku/pdf/up-to-date_en1.pdf

Interview on 1UP.com with Yu Namba and Nich Maragos

https://web.archive.org/web/20130228183558/http://www.1up.com/news/anime-expo-atlus-talks-persona

Interview on 1UP.com with Katsura Hashino

https://megatengaku.wordpress.com/readings/interviews/1up-persona-4-afterthoughts/

Shmuplations translation of Persona Club P4 book

https://shmuplations.com/persona4/

Highlights from the Persona Club P4 book by Tumblr user, adachimoe

https://adachimoe.tumblr.com/post/731417840378347520/random-stuff-from-the-persona-club-p4-book

Toru’s blog on their visit to Fuefuki

https://p4toru.jugem.jp

Toru’s blog visiting the same street as the P4G team did on their tour of towns to base their design of Inaba on

https://p4toru.jugem.jp/?eid=17

Fuefuki on Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuefuki

The woman who made Blippo+ weird

Matt Horton — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 18:02:28 -0500

0:00 - My boring question
0:38 - What is Blippo+?
1:17 - Why does JJ love 80s TV?
5:26 - Her analog video work
8:19 - JJ's genius made Blippo+ great
11:59 - JJ's reverence for her collaborators
14:23 - Giving "weirdos" the Holly wood treatment
15:07 - Following her dreams paid off
17:51 - My hope for Blippo+

Before I talked to JJ Stratford, I had a really boring question. Is Blippo+ a video game or a cable service? But she was far more interesting than that question.

Full interview with JJ available on Patreon & Ko-Fi:
https://www.patreon.com/flowstatecrit
https://ko-fi.com/matthorton

Blippo+ is available on Playdate, Steam (PC & Mac), and Nintendo Switch

2025 was a weird year for games...

Matt Horton — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:36:13 -0500

It was a weird year for video games, but here's my favorite moments among the mess.

(00:00) - - It was a weird year...
(01:01) - - and Roger
(01:48) - - Extra: Persona 4 Golden
(03:00) - - Dispatch
(05:15) - - The Séance of Blake Manor
(06:11) - - Unfair Flips
(07:20) - - Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
(08:54) - - Extra: Octopath Traveler 2
(09:56) - - Fretless
(11:13) - - Fighting Games
(13:36) - - Q-Up
(14:45) - - Known Mysteries
(16:47) - - Citizen Sleeper 2
(19:19) - - The Hundred Line: Last Defense Academy

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton

dotzip's and Roger episode - https://share.transistor.fm/s/570f6f40
Brendon on YouTube - ‪@itswavelengths‬
Stephen on YouTube - ‪@MemoryCardManuscript‬

It's time to admit it. Demonschool is disappointing.

Matt Horton — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:34:49 -0500

After 14.5 hours of Demonschool, it’s time to admit that I’m disappointed.

(00:00) - - Demonschool is disappointing
(01:14) - - Demonschool's original sin
(02:45) - - A game that does it better
(03:22) - - It's not just expectation

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton

Demonschool on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/19...

THIS is how you make a detective game

Matt Horton — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:33:26 -0500

(00:00) - - The Séance of Blake Manor
(01:26) - - Irish AF
(02:14) - - Deduction in Blake Manor
(03:09) - - The art

Support my work at ko-fi.com/matthorton

The Séance of Blake Manor on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/13...

It's two days before Halloween, and Declan Ward has been invited to Blake Manor to investigate the disappearance of a woman named Evelyn Deane. She and a number of guests are at the manor ahead of the Grand Séance, an attempt to speak directly to a spirit rather than through a medium. As the player, we navigate Ward through Blake Manor to solve the mystery of Miss Deane's disappearance, yes, but also to discover smaller, personal mysteries.

The Hottest Game Mechanic of 2025 🪙

Matt Horton — Wed, 18 Feb 2026 00:32:04 -0500

The hottest game mechanic of 2025 is... coin flipping.

(00:00) - - Flip a coin with me
(02:19) - - Number goes up
(12:11) - - The concept of 20%
(14:41) - - The "ladder"
(17:57) - - "Meme games"
(19:27) - - Commenting on humanity with a coin
(22:39) - - Committing to the eSports bit
(26:21) - - Simultaneous invention

To watch the developer interviews, subscribe monthly at https://ko-fi.com/matthorton

Unfair Flips on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/39...
Q-UP on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/37...
Music from the original soundtracks of Q-UP and Cobalt Core

At this point you’re probably aware of the game, Unfair Flips, where you flip a coin with the single goal of getting 10 heads in a row. Northernlion has played it. I’ve already made a Short about the game. The game has reached a meme status that often leads to financial success for these smaller, simpler games.

And in the latest Steam Next Fest, a demo for another coin flipping game has come out. Q-UP is a completely different take on flipping a coin, as impossible as that sounds. Where Unfair Flips is stripped down to only the slightest amount of mechanic on top of the basic probability of a coin flip, Q-UP puts that simple game of chance into the context of eSports. This is a video game that straight up looks like Apex Legends or Overwatch or Marvel Rivals. You have seen a video game UI that looks like this. The design is Fortnite maximalist, including a shop, messages from the developers, a carousel of fake news hits about the game, and even daily challenges. You can actually, really queue up with your friends for coin flipping matches. It is a tongue-in-cheek take on eSports that actually does have an interesting game within it, even if the coin flips themselves are completely random.

These games are wildly different takes on a goofy idea, and the distance between those takes leads to thematic differences that I find really interesting. Yes. The two games where you flip coins both have things they’re trying to say. I promise.

Losing Control in Consume Me

Matt Horton — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Consume Me is an auto-biographical story of a young girl and the untenable pressures she feels to be a success, whatever that means. It is serious, but it is goofy. The game has sad moments, but it’s not somber. Far more often, it’s really funny, chronicling Jenny’s young adulthood through a series of WarioWare-style mini-games. They are chaotic and funny and messed up in all the ways that real life can often be.

(00:00) - - A goofy game about real stuff
(02:19) - - Consume Me's big mechanic
(04:22) - - What even is this game?
(06:03) - - It starts out fun...
(08:42) - - The breaking point
(12:46) - - The broken ways we seek control
(16:08) - - Consume Me is extremely well-made

Consume Me releases Sep 25, 2025: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2359120/Consume_Me/

Music in the video is by Ken "coda" Snyder, including some music from Consume Me

Support my work at https://ko-fi.com/matthorton
Read more at https://matthorton.live

It's A Miracle Fretless Got Made

Matt Horton — Tue, 26 Aug 2025 09:07:52 -0400

Subscribe to Flow State: https://youtube.com/@flowstatecrit

(00:00) - - Fretless has a magic
(01:41) - - What is Fretless?
(02:42) - - Getting QTEs just right
(09:15) - - The musical theme of Fretless
(16:27) - - The game is great! And that's it.
(19:32) - - Fretless almost didn't get made

There’s a magic in the game feel of Fretless, and it’s immediately noticeable. Quick-time events in battle form the foundation of this game's incredible game feel. The wild thing, is that despite being a musical RPG from the very beginning of development about 8 years ago, these quick time events weren’t present until about a year before its release. This is a game that had so many chances to fail or be something much lesser. But the team at Ritual Studios were relentless, and they’ve made something special.

Fretless on Steam - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429050/Fretless__The_Wrath_of_Riffson/

Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton

Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live

The Puzzle Game Where a Minotaur Starts a Union

Matt Horton — Tue, 05 Aug 2025 09:00:00 -0400

Hoard's LLC: Limited Labyrinth Corporation is a block puzzle game about a minotaur who wants to unionize his workplace, a corporate dungeon. I sat down with Cephalopod Ink, the developer of Hoard's LLC, to learn just what kind of team makes a game like that.

(00:00) - - NO BENEFITS
(02:09) - - Meet Cephalopod Ink
(06:10) - - A corporate dungeon???
(07:47) - - The inspiration for the game
(08:59) - - The games industry is a nightmare for workers
(11:23) - - Cephalopod's experience with unions
(15:43) - - Scoping down to find success
(19:13) - - Keeping it light
(21:56) - - The art is great!
(23:23) - - How do you market a game like Hoard's LLC?
(25:54) - - Can games actually make change?
(27:28) - - How will Cephalopod Ink be better?
(31:21) - - They said the name of the show

Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton

Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live

Listen to my podcast at https://cantletitgo.gay

Listen to Lex's podcast - The Legend of Podcast: Trails Through Trails - https://trailspod.transistor.fm/

Finished Expedition 33? Play these next.

Matt Horton — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:26:05 -0400

Expedition 33 is just one of many great turn-based RPGs released in the last 10 years. Here's a bunch of RPGs that you should play when you're finished with Clair Obscur.

0:00 - JRPGs never died
2:12 - Turn-based RPGs are killing it
4:25 - High-fidelity 3D graphics
6:11 - Art Direction
7:21 - World Maps
8:23 - Combat
11:02 - Characters & Social Sim
13:11 - A Message
14:56 - Turn-based RPGs aren't ancient history

Find me elswhere:
Support my work at ko-fi.com/MattHorton
Read more of my writing at https://MattHorton.live
Listen to my podcast at https://cantletitgo.gay
My video on the end of Expedition 33 https://youtu.be/J_gfIx5VIqY?si=bv2Uvhpjpp_uK5tC

Lex's podcast!!!
The Legend of Podcast: Trails Through Trails - https://trailspod.transistor.fm/

Credits
-----

https://youtu.be/p00EF6_b5pI?si=rl5eCMgy3MqMHQi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i87Bk7OqAUk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p8azSzG-Fls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vkm1I7ngQb0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCuaejfDvR0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-6Aa3_86Lo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVLEPdSX8DY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6daXBKYT6N4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asf4DmuukZA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz0g9hxq7L8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?index=2&v=j_-dPgRy4LI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEo9rB4WmCM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gV5rIW1Qums
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsdxLwqUH6g
https://youtu.be/LUNL-Pey7BU?si=00AE5Gf1r6vtchsQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=raWYLdIqy5A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4Wj5bpID80
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgtBM23ltuw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sPcwMFWZksQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=off7_MX4eZk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-v6DRmersc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bgKMcrpvQNQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-P7obXHM3EQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxhzR5SzvRs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF96tpchink
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JB4WyHe-HRM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T85-Obx9iE8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWWy7V9rCrA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SKpSpvFCZRw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsMvSZeiKmw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QIIPXA2A6cM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXi0yQD9F1Y
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tavPnYeFrV4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1T22wNvoNiU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plwpzrXQoUw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yQPk4cVrU_w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1s&v=f5IWiqGKcQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd9j_NWZGG8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XTozylrz-Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJL0-lDuJn8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMtDNA_kiZ4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdkyi7Myg-c
https://youtu.be/ADaRsEhTB70?si=p_GKjqgqUDcswLwf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3dwFNq06bQk
https://youtu.be/pKRvc2HADUw?si=lR_ymsDfzwlrup0J
https://youtu.be/lgmLN1NHXyE?si=Xlk-u4Gbyxlmn-C1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fmi8KrntszI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVbqM_O2kcI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7trBUIkyO1A
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhqbNaxO82g
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dWXAxOKdQ6c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTOAd2fq740
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeZ_Z1diuig
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7zjsM5nQA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Goj8hyy_L0M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KES40VdEtQg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVP_nCK0tXU
https://youtu.be/jjiyzoII06I?si=8bS0E2shLrS7O9zf
https://youtu.be/7lM8fVR_oZw?si=l45fTQsf7eXp78Ty
https://youtu.be/srvV0riIgXU?si=Qe-DWMTlZRlsb3Qi
https://youtu.be/iNwMvTVPq2E?si=HlZ1fYaCdRzxmiF4
https://youtu.be/Vofkw9-O18c?si=gzQ_ZGqawbwgIbcL
https://youtu.be/iEGniXc7Xtc?si=eh_t4hodQFix3UtZ
https://youtu.be/-1LDIPBWjtU?si=pp_KiOifoEejX2VJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORpKwkq5z-4
https://youtu.be/qFs8-qGaoHU?si=Vj3TRiyLFQmkOFgY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wyprCbJwWsE
https://youtu.be/Woz3mS9Ao5k?si=sJGQru1pFn8iMg7z
https://youtu.be/yvSWRg_oPyw?si=nAKsR0Voifbny0JB

Expedition 33 is so much better than its ending

Matt Horton — Tue, 10 Jun 2025 10:24:36 -0400

We've GOT to talk about the ending of Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 and why it's the worst part of an incredible video game

0:00 - Spoilers ahead
0:09 - The speech
0:52 - Expedition 33 is beautiful
1:18 - The endings
2:45 - We just need consistency

That sick edit by @monners5910 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0bd3Zgf964k

Thanks to my writing partner, Lex, and to my friend Jason for coming up with this video's punch line in our Discord DMs.

Wanderstop isn't cozy. It's a chore.

Matt Horton — Mon, 10 Mar 2025 09:00:00 -0400

I don't recommend Wanderstop.

Find the video of this episode at https://youtu.be/MXGSgWCv90Y
Find the written version of this episode at https://MattHorton.live

0:00 - How you make tea in Wanderstop
1:37 - Not just another "cozy" game
4:02 - I'm reminded of Indika
4:54 - Why tea?

Known Mysteries refuses to be gaslit

Matt Horton — Tue, 25 Feb 2025 12:33:02 -0500

Play Known Mysteries: https://www.solarserver.games/onnow.html

References:
More about Solar Server: https://karastonesite.com/2022/11/03/solar-server/
The Bluesky post: https://bsky.app/profile/raantuva.fyi/post/3liahynaoyx2v

More of me:
More writing at https://matthorton.live
Support my work at https://ko-fi.com/matthorton

0:00 - I'm tired of pretending things are normal
0:52 - What is Known Mysteries?

Searching For The Best Game of 2024

Matt Horton — Tue, 31 Dec 2024 00:00:00 -0500

I couldn't decide which game was the best this year. So I didn't. There's a universe where every one of these is the game of the year.

Thanks to Cosmosis and AJ Fillari for being in this one!
Thanks to phloup_ for the cover of "I Will Protect You"
Find the written version of this video at https://MattHorton.live
Sudden Death on itch - https://dominoclub.itch.io/sudden-death

0:00 - The best game of 2024
0:16 - Mystery game
2:36 - Fishing game
5:25 - Fantasy game
9:16 - Spooky puzzle game
11:22 - The remake (w/ AJ)
11:30 - Tactics game
14:47 - Gay romance game
16:47 - Game from 2020
18:48 - Survival car game (w/ @Cosmosis )
20:11 - Card game
21:16 - Game about death
23:09 - Narrative game

You're going to fail in Citizen Sleeper 2

Matt Horton — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 09:49:52 -0500

We crave failure, or at least the chance of it. Why?

00:00 - You crave failure
01:39 - Citizen Sleeper’s ideas of failure
06:46 - We fear failure
09:29 - The Paradox of Failure
12:19 - The queer art of failure
14:48 - CW: Homophobia
17:22 - How Citizen Sleeper 2 uses failure
22:15 - Who gets to fail?
25:33 - The risk of making games
30:29 - Failing the contract in Citizen Sleeper 2
34:18 - Why we crave failure

Find links to everything I do online at MattHorton.live
Support the channel at ko-fi.com/matthorton and get access to the full interview with Gareth Damian Martin!

Wishlist Citizen Sleeper 2 - https://store.steampowered.com/app/2442460/Citizen_Sleeper_2_Starward_Vector/
Subscribe to the Jump Over the Age substack - https://jumpovertheage.substack.com/

Research sources:
The Art of Failure, Juul - https://mitpress.mit.edu/9780262529952/the-art-of-failure/
The Queer Art of Failure, Halberstam - https://www.dukeupress.edu/the-queer-art-of-failure
Queer Games Studies, Ruberg and Shaw - https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517900373/queer-game-studies/
No Fun: The Queer Potential of Video Games that Annoy, Anger, Disappoint, Sadden, and Hurt, Ruberg - https://ourglasslake.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Ruberg-No-Fun-QED.pdf

Music:
Signalchaser, Citizen Sleeper 2, Amos Roddy - https://youtu.be/M4BhsWWy4F0?si=D-djTl2B_-WJWk0P
Suncatchers, Citizen Sleeper 2, Amos Roddy - https://youtu.be/YL5LWm5Nk84?si=0vEwUiNKMRWV5HDI

Media sources:
Why do God of War's Characters Keep Spoiling Puzzles?, Game Maker's Toolkit - https://youtu.be/cZgjRcYGkY8?si=ynaXk8O8RP3eHzUb
In Defense of Dark Souls 2, hbomberguy - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRTfcMeqhig
Into the Aether's Pokémon Emerald Nuzlocke - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bYvqnTvUCg
Animal Crossing (Gamecube) with Stephen - https://youtu.be/_8e7wd6x9Ow?si=nS0VrrMR8xmnkP4P
Jesper Juul - Who cares if it's a Game? The uses and misuses of a dangerous word - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1RUiMY2MEs
The Cult of Microsoft by Ed Zitron - https://www.wheresyoured.at/the-cult-of-microsoft/
I made the worst ever 1-1 remake in Mario Maker 2 by YTSunny - https://youtu.be/eb60pnjABGg?si=ijyLAhsOxSFHGpcx
What is Super Mario Bros? by Into the Aether - https://youtu.be/ydoGs2Sflw4?si=cZPLJ3pXDw8rBOOc
Bo Ruberg: The Queer Games Avant-Garde - https://youtu.be/pc1az37mEvo?si=nUuxI9hQAmigJIE0
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe – Balloon Battle Gameplay - https://youtu.be/4xZ3TnVk9bQ?si=2hWRrtZfyhLhW9rs
Microsoft Closes Studios Behind Redfall, Hi-Fi Rush, And More To Prioritize 'High-Impact' Games, Kotaku - https://kotaku.com/xbox-closing-arkane-austin-tango-gameworks-1851460685
Ubisoft to Shut Down ‘XDefiant,’ Nearly 300 Employees Laid Off as San Francisco and Osaka Game Studios Close, Variety - https://variety.com/2024/gaming/news/xdefiant-canceled-ubisoft-layoffs-1236235023/
Aaron Greenberg's tweet praising how well Hi-Fi Rush did across their measurements - https://x.com/aarongreenberg/status/1649431572137779203

Persona has a problem - Persona 3 Reload review

Matt Horton — Mon, 21 Oct 2024 10:02:21 -0400

What this on YouTube at https://youtu.be/wGwtEtuuChM
Read more from Matt at matthorton.live
Support Flow State at ko-fi.com/matthorton

“Is Persona Gay?” by GarfieldKermit - https://youtu.be/37LacI2erq8?si=rEMKHsbLvATmSGRk
Gameplay footage provided by Faz
Read Brendon Bigley's review at Wavelengths - https://wavelengths.online/posts/persona-3-reload-a-review
"Katsura Hashino, directing Persona 5" by Archipel - https://youtu.be/jGb3BNgU7SE?si=O3V4WbM4nu7AchMu
"You should play 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim" by me! - https://youtu.be/O7EhtgGg4pc?si=_ng5V8GvgBWX_Tcw

0:00 - Persona has a problem
0:50 - Love things and critique them
2:05 - Persona 3 Reload is a masterpiece
5:27 - What is Persona 3 Reload?
7:46 - The best parts of Persona 3 Reload
15:02 - Critiquing what I love
24:45 - I want a Persona 6 without problems
28:54 - I recommend Persona 3 Reload (with caveats)

Listen to Flow State on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, or wherever you get podcasts

What Should You Leave Behind? - 1000xRESIST Review

Matt Horton — Mon, 26 Aug 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Support my work at Ko-Fi.com/matthorton

My writing - MattHorton.live
My podcast - cantletitgo.gay
Kim's video game podcast - dotzip.online
Kim's frod podcast - frogpod.online

1000xRESIST by Sunset Visitor - sunsetvisitor.studio
Gameplay footage by @samussonic-plays
Check out the dotzip 1000xRESIST spoilercast at https://share.transistor.fm/s/9180106a

1000xRESIST is not only a game about remembering. It is a game about we carry forward and what we must choose to forget. Holding onto every memory from every person on the entire planet is both impossible and dangerous. Some things just don't fit in the backpack.

Chapters
0:00 - Spoiler Warning
0:29 - Sometimes you just don’t fit in the backpack
3:07 - Making 1000xRESIST
5:02 - Watcher
8:03 - Iris
19:35 - Youngest
23:09 - The Occupants
27:47 - Blue
38:51 - Watcher
42:31 - Iris & Clara
48:20 - Principal
52:39 - Secretary
59:49 - What do we carry forward?

Don't be stubborn. Use a guide.

Matt Horton — Sun, 02 Jun 2024 12:00:00 -0400

It turns out that it's easier and more enjoyable to get things done when you're nicer to yourself.

Text version at https://MattHorton.live
Listen to our podcast, Can't Let It Go, at https://cantletitgo.gay

The IGN review of Animal Well - https://www.ign.com/articles/animal-well-review
My short blog about Animal Well - https://matthorton.live/2024/05/11/animal-well-isnt-tunic/

0:00 - Something is wrong with me
3:50 - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes
7:55 - Tearing down the Wall of Awful
8:31 - Animal Well
14:45 - Making things easier
15:45 - Elden Ring

This video game changed my life (for real)

Matt Horton — Mon, 29 Apr 2024 12:00:00 -0400

Citizen Sleeper changed my life. Did it make it any better?

Citizen Sleeper: How to Escape Dystopia - https://youtu.be/Eiyf-4FhdFs

0:00 - Citizen Sleeper changed my life
1:17 - Did it help?

Get Balatro running on iOS - https://old.reddit.com/r/iosgaming/comments/1bnf0zy/tutorial_run_balatro_on_your_ios_device/

Stop doing homework!

Matt Horton — Sat, 30 Mar 2024 12:00:00 -0400

I'm embarrassed I never played a Yakuza game

Matt Horton — Mon, 19 Feb 2024 12:00:00 -0500

0:00 - Yakuza: Like A Dragon is good
1:06 - Why I played it
1:33 - Why I enjoyed it

More writing at https://MattHorton.live

I'll spoil the point up front for you. Yakuza: Like A Dragon rules. It's a great game, and I regret not playing a game in this series until now.

You know what I usually hate? Long, overly complex games, over the top, macho violence, and turn based combat. So why did I start Like A Dragon?

Because Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth features a famous Hawaiian t-shirt shop that was also featured in the now defunct reality Netflix show Terrace House.

That's truly it. Just imagining the vibe of watching Terrace House Aloha State and playing Infinite Wealth at the same time sounded so fun.

Midnight Suns Deserves a Sequel

Matt Horton — Mon, 29 Jan 2024 12:00:00 -0500

This video and more writing at https://MattHorton.live

My podcast https://cantletitgo.gay

0:00 - Marvel's Midnight Suns
4:12 - What is Midnight Suns?
4:38 - Hero and Ability Management
7:14 - Combat
12:25 - Superhero Social Sim
17:19 - Abbey Grounds Exploration
18:37 - The Loop that keeps me playing
20:17 - The Problems with Midnight Suns
31:31 - This game deserves a sequel

The Game Awards Don't Matter

Matt Horton — Tue, 28 Nov 2023 11:00:00 -0500

0:00 - The Game Awards
1:25 - A sequel that outdid its predecessor
3:26 - A beautiful, smart puzzler
5:12 - The indie that surprised me
6:33 - Rethinking an earlier video
8:07 - A game DEMO?!

More writing at https://MattHorton.live

Broken Games are Good, Actually

Matt Horton — Sun, 29 Oct 2023 12:00:00 -0400

0:00 - I love broken games
0:41 - The game I can't quit playing
3:00 - The game that taught me imbalance is good
6:30 - Making games FEEL great
9:32 - Balance feels bad

Pokémon Needs to Evolve: Cassette Beasts Review

Matt Horton — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 11:00:00 -0400

0:00 - Cassette Beasts really works for me
1:04 - The vibe
3:58 - Cassette Beasts is Pokémon for adults
6:42 - It's not that deep
10:40 - Great battles
13:06 - Killer music
14:14 - Well-written characters
17:12 - Letting go

🔗 All my links @ https://matthorton.live

Kyle Labriola's Sea of Stars Review - https://cohost.org/kylelabriola/post/2762235-thoughts-on-sea-of-s
The Pre-Order Bonus podcast episode with Jay Baylis - https://www.buzzsprout.com/747596/episodes/12421340
The Back Page podcast episode with Jay Baylis - https://shows.acast.com/the-back-page-a-video-games-podcast/episodes/episode-126-how-to-make-a-video-game-with-jay-baylis

Why Great Games Fail

Matt Horton — Tue, 15 Aug 2023 12:00:00 -0400

0:00 - A great game
1:50 - The expert
2:59 - What games work on Steam
4:21 - Where Season did well
6:01 - Why talk about Steam?
7:38 - Marketing doesn't mean success
8:20 - DATA
8:44 - A secret formula
9:32 - What games don't work
10:53 - What about Steam Deck?
12:11 - A buzzy game you might know
14:48 - Ways to make a game work
15:36 - What about cozy games?
17:16 - Sports games do bad on Steam
18:22 - Pokémon-likes, on the other hand...
19:38 - Something doesn't add up...
22:11 - This is like software design
23:24 - Twitter is not real life
24:25 - NBZ helps me
26:04 - What people read on a Steam page
28:01 - The false door test

At the end of January, a game released that changed how I think of games completely. Season A Letter to the Future had been building hype through multiple trailers during PlayStation events. Season, at its simplest, is a game about riding a bike, taking pictures, and recording audio. Call it wholesome or cozy, but Season fits nicely into this extremely popular niche of games whose goals are not to best an opponent or kill an enemy. In Season, Estelle's goal is simply to document her world and its culture before that culture comes to an end. Season's first trailer drew a lot of interest. It looked beautiful and contemplative and like a game I was going to devour. It was rather big news when word came out that the game's director and Scavenger Studios co-founder Simon Darvaux had harassed staff working on the game and had a toxic management style. It was a little quieter news when an investigation found that Scavenger Studios had dealt with Darveau's toxicity appropriately and that he would return to the studio in a more isolated role working on a different game. But perhaps the most shocking news came months after Season's release in June, when Scavenger Studios laid off half of their staff due to the game's extremely poor performance. After a strong indie game hype cycle and being featured in multiple PlayStation events, Season only sold around 60,000 copies across PS5 and Steam. The game underperformed what was expected in sales, and very likely, I think, underperformed what was necessary to make up the costs of development. When this news came out, I put a link to the gamesindustry.biz story in a Discord server that I frequent. The series of responses that I got from today's guest are what completely changed how I think about games, or at least how those games are marketed.

In this video, NBZ walks me through the ways that indie games are marketed and why some great games fail when others don't.

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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Terra Nil is the perfect game for climate anxiety

Matt Horton — Wed, 05 Apr 2023 12:00:00 -0400

🔗 ALL of my links - https://MattHorton.live

Welcome to Terra Nil, the unique city-builder game that challenges you to restore a barren planet rather than exploit it for resources. In this game, you're not the typical city-builder where you bulldoze forests, pollute rivers and strip-mine mountains to build your metropolis. Instead, you must work with nature to heal the planet and create a thriving ecosystem.

And it's the first game this year to truly blow me away.

0:00 - What is Terra Nil
1:03 - This is Devolver game?
1:24 - How Free Lives make games
2:08 - How I found the game
2:56 - Playing Terra Nil
3:54 - It's a power fantasy
4:47 - Recycling difficulty
5:16 - The first game to grip me this year

Why I'll never finish Papers, Please

Matt Horton — Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:00:00 -0400

🔗 ALL of my links - https://MattHorton.live

In Papers, Please, you take the role of a citizen of the fictional nation Arstotzka, modeled after Cold War totalitarian Eastern European nations. The government of Arstotzka has just ended a war with the neighboring country of Kolechia, and the player character has been appointed as an immigration inspector as the tensions from that recent war continue.

Papers, Please is also a game that reminded me too much of my real life.

0:00 - This makes me uncomfortable
0:03 - Papers, Please
1:28 - When I finally played it
1:53 - Too close to home
2:55 - No wrong way to be an immigrant
3:46 - I'l never finish this game

The best games of 2022 (other than Elden Ring)

Matt Horton — Sun, 25 Dec 2022 12:00:00 -0500

While Elden Ring has generated a lot of buzz and excitement, there are other games that interested me more in terms of gameplay, storytelling, and overall enjoyment. I'll be sharing my top picks for the best games of 2022 and explaining why I think they're the ones you should play. If you're a fan of Elden Ring or just want to know what other games to catch up on from this year, you'll find something great to play here.

These are my favorite games of 2022.

0:00 - What games meant to me this year
1:21 - It's a Pokémon game!
4:01 - A puzzle game for mystery lovers
5:12 - This game feels like being a kid again
8:08 - You love superheroes and cards?
13:22 - They made 3 MOVIES for this game
16:43 - The best, ugliest game
17:49 - You still love superheroes and cards?
19:25 - Such a cute little fox
21:08 - The game that made my year

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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Marvel Snap is so frustrating

Matt Horton — Sun, 11 Dec 2022 12:00:00 -0500

Credits:
Marvel SNAP OST - Chris Alan (https://thechrisalan.com/2022/06/02/who-wrote-the-soundtrack-to-marvel-snap/)
Hero - Martin Garrix and JVKE (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5spiMVI9U8)
Hero (Piano Cover) - Jarel Gomes (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RWNBmTIGtY)

Links to everything @ https://MattHorton.live

0:00 - I shouldn't love this game
1:20 - What SNAP does right
1:46 - Cards RULE
2:15 - The Marvel of it all
3:01 - Why do the mechanics work?
4:12 - The Snap
4:58 - Is it pay to win?
6:45 - What Marvel SNAP gets wrong
6:56 - Cyber Holiday changed my mind
8:37 - What did it cost?
9:03 - I'd rather buy the physical copy
9:46 - You have to do better, Marvel
10:57 - We've done this before
11:59 - Players want credits
13:12 - You're supposed to enjoy video games
14:01 - Marvel SNAP is great despite everything
14:47 - A silly thing I'm doing

Marvel SNAP is a card battler mobile game featuring a wide array of Marvel Comics characters. Players collect and build decks of cards featuring their favorite heroes and villains, and then engage in simple, strategic matches against other players (and occasionally bots). Each card has its own unique abilities and powers that often map directly to the character's super powers, and players must use those abilities wisely to outmaneuver their opponents and emerge victorious. Marvel SNAP's deckbuilding is approachable. It's game play is simple to understand, and it's characters are loved.

But it's a genre known for predatory monetization practices, and I personally hate online competitive multiplayer games. But I love Marvel SNAP.

So what does Marvel SNAP get right?

Citizen Sleeper: How to Escape Dystopia

Matt Horton — Sun, 20 Nov 2022 12:00:00 -0500

0:00 - Content Warnings
0:45 - Is escape possible?
3:34 - Why Citizen Sleeper hit me this hard
6:55 - Who does YOUR body belong to?
9:26 - Citizen Sleeper's characters
16:12 - The body is not the self
20:42 - Content Warning: Body feelings
22:34 - Who do YOU belong to?
27:00 - Lem & Mina: An uncertain future
40:27 - Content Warning: Death and grief
42:01 - Where do you BELONG?
44:02 - Getting to know Emphis

Citizen Sleeper asks you to decide if escape is possible.

It took several minutes of impasse and tears and not touching my controller, for fear of making a decision before I was ready, for me to know what I thought about that question. Citizen Sleeper gives you several potential answers and in the ones that resonated with me was the kind of deep personal freedom you only find, sure enough, through community.

Citizen Sleeper is about disability and body dysmorphia and the inevitability of corruption, and it is about the things the grow among and around those things. The antidotes and the byproducts.

Citizen Sleeper is about collections of people: families, gangs, unions, neighborhoods, corporations, and communes. It is about the individuals that make them up and how their individual needs strengthen or threaten the collective. But for our purposes today, it is about place. Yes the whole of its corporate, colonized space, but also...the aging space station its story takes place on: Erlin's Eye.

The Eye is not exactly a welcoming home, but for a sleeper it is, in many ways, better than what they've come from. In the world of Citizen Sleeper, AI has been outlawed. So as a way of getting around that, the company Essen-Arp pays regular people to emulate their consciousness. It's a way to skirt the rules, but it also relies on there being people desperate enough to participate. These people are asleep in some kind of corporate facility, and their emulated consciousness is downloaded into a constructed body called a Frame. This new person is called a Sleeper, though many in this world would take issue with my calling them a "person." These Sleepers are forced to do some sort of labor for some period of time and when that time is up, the Frame is deactivated, the person whose consciousness they were made from wakes up, and that person gets paid for the work their Sleeper did.

As you might imagine, the Sleeper, an emulated human personality living inside a constructed body and being forced to work their entire life only to benefit another person, might have feelings about this arrangement. So Essen-Arp makes sure that if the Sleeper ever escapes, their Frame, their body, will begin to destabilize. It will break down at an accelerated rate. Death will always come for the Sleeper, either through violence or planned obsolescence.

And this is where the game places you at the start. You are an escaped Sleeper, nearly frozen in a cargo container, just trying to survive long enough to make it to Erlin's Eye. You're not sure where you'll go after that, but you know... well you hope there will be options when you get there.

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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Tunic did something Elden Ring could never

Matt Horton — Wed, 13 Apr 2022 12:00:00 -0400

Andrew Shouldice, creator and lead developer of Tunic, was actually heavily inspired by The Legend of Zelda, a game known for having many secrets that, depending on your perspective, are either genius or obtuse. But Tunic is heavily inspired also by games like Fez, Dark Souls, and Elden Ring. These are all games I have never played.

Tunic got me to love a Soulslike.

0:00 - The conundrum
1:24 - What people actually mean when they compare Tunic to Elden Ring
2:05 - How Tunic gripped me
4:09 - How Tunic makes difficulty fun
6:49 - Tunic is GORGEOUS

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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You should play 13 Sentinels- Aegis Rim

Matt Horton — Sat, 02 Apr 2022 12:00:00 -0400

13 Sentinels pumps out huge reveals, twists and turns that are actually meaningful to its characters rather than being empty fan service, and just super fun story beats every few minutes. And it wears its many sci-fi inspirations on its sleeve.

13 Sentinels is ostensibly a game about teenagers with secret powers that let them call down giant mechs to protect their city from kaiju attacks. But there's also an alien invasion plot line, a time travel element, and even an 80s high school drama. This game is referential, but its characters love the source material so fervently that reference quickly becomes reverence. It is unapologetic about its love for genre fiction and aims to be the epitome of those kinds of stories in a way only a video game can be.

0:00 - You should play 13 Sentinels
2:05 - This game is the best sci-fi tv show ever
4:48 - A few gripes about 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
6:59 - Who 13 Sentinels is for

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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The Forgotten City - Beyond the White Hallway

Matt Horton — Sun, 17 Oct 2021 12:00:00 -0400

The Forgotten City has a VERY corny ending, and I LOVE it. I love it so much that I played The Forgotten City for a second time just to tell you why.

This isn't a review, and it's not a video about The Forgotten City Skyrim mod. Instead, it's me trying to figure out why the ending to the 2021 worked for me and sharing that with you.

I love making these kinds of videos, so please settle in and let me know in the comments if you liked it.

@JacobGeller's video about The Forgotten City - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjGBP0E4zEs

0:00 - The White Hallway...
1:04 - What is The Forgotten City?
4:31 - This city's single mysterious law
6:40 - Yes. Another loop game
7:46 - How the game EARNS its ending
11:19 - The trope lands
15:01 - This could have been cringe city
16:47 - The horror that necessitates the cheese

Abandoned Island - Animal Crossing New Horizons

Matt Horton — Thu, 13 May 2021 12:00:00 -0400

I haven't played Animal Crossing in a while. I bet you haven't either. The game does a lot to shame you when you log back in after a long time, and I have my own guilt attached to my abandoned island. I also have a lot of parallel guilt and shame attached to my body and how I treated food when I was originally playing Animal Crossing New Horizons. That connection is what this video is about.

Obvious CONTENT WARNING for body image talk, food talk, and honestly just talk about pandemic grief. I have a lot to unpack, and I hope it's helpful for some people.

0:00 - A content warning
0:29 - Grasping for control
2:32 - Bingeing on control
4:02 - This pattern in my real life
5:09 - My body image in light of all of this
6:09 - Shame in the game
7:34 - Guilt in the game
8:12 - What I'm doing about it

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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Fantasian - Apple Arcade - Review of the first five hours

Matt Horton — Tue, 06 Apr 2021 12:00:00 -0400

Hironobu Sakaguchi, Final Fantasy creator, has released a new game EXCLUSIVE to Apple Arcade called Fantasian. It's a throwback to the Square Enix FF7 era, but its setting is entirely made of PHYSICAL DIORAMAS. This is how I feel about the game including the issues with iCloud saves that I encountered trying to play an Apple Arcade game on Mac, iPhone, AND iPad (but not Apple TV).

0:00 - PHYSICAL SETS
0:30 - The Good
4:18 - The Bad

MY LINKS

Find MY Discord, Twitter, Instagram, and Twitch at https://matthorton.live

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Hogwarts Legacy Character Creation and J. K. Rowling's Transphobia

Matt Horton — Wed, 10 Mar 2021 12:00:00 -0500

In this video, I talk to two trans people about the news that the video game Hogwarts Legacy could have trans options in its character creator. This Hogwarts Legacy news paired with J. K. Rowling's notorious transphobia had my brain flying around, but I didn't want to share my own opinions on Hogwarts Legacy, JK Rowling, and the news surrounding them. I wanted to ask trans folks what they thought.

AC's website - https://acfacci.com
Hope's links - https://linktr.ee/ohthereshope

0:00 - Why we're here
0:30 - The controversy
3:19 - A conversation with AC & Hope
3:33 - Tell me about your HP fandom...
6:21 - What is your fandom like in 2021?
10:39 - On death of the author
14:03 - What do you think about the character creator?
21:57 - Troy Leavitt
23:48 - Will you play Hogwarts Legacy?
26:29 - My decision

MY LINKS

Find my Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, and Discord at https://matthorton.live

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GBA In 2021: I built a $250 Game Boy Advance in 2021

Matt Horton — Sun, 28 Feb 2021 12:00:00 -0500

An Internet acquaintance recently showed off his custom Gameboy Advance collection, and I immediately fell down the rabbit hole of retro modding and custom gameboy builds. When my husband asked what I wanted for my birthday, parts for my own build was the only answer. I bought a Gameboy Advance in 2021 and built it exactly the way that I wanted it. This is that custom GBA build.

Kyle Starr's IG: https://www.instagram.com/_kylestarr

0:00 - A man of many hobbies
0:22 - Modded Game Boy Advances?!
1:17 - The mods I did
3:32 - Work left to do
4:52 - What did it cost? Everything...
9:03 - My next project(s)

MY LINKS

Find my Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, and Discord at https://matthorton.live

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Games That Got Me Through 2020

Matt Horton — Mon, 14 Dec 2020 12:00:00 -0500

Games That Got Me Through 2020

These are my top 5 games of 2020. These are the games that, looking back at 2020, stick with me the most, built the most important memories, and were the most fun. And with everything that went wrong in 2020, these are the games that kept me going.

0:00 - Looking back on 2020
0:40 - #5 - 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
3:02 - #4 - Spider-Man: Miles Morales
4:59 - #3 - Animal Crossing: New Horizons
6:17 - BONUS - Good Sudoku
6:53 - #2 - Kentucky Route Zero: TV Edition
8:27 - #1 - Hades

MY LINKS

Find my Twitter, Instagram, Twitch, and Discord at https://matthorton.live

Kentucky Route Zero: A Game You Can't Win

Matt Horton — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 12:00:00 -0400

This is a love letter to Kentucky Route Zero.

Kentucky Route Zero is a game you can't win. It tells you it's a tragedy.

0:00 - The most important moment of the game
0:14 - Spoiler warning
0:27 - What is Kentucky Route Zero
1:23 - Kentucky Route Zero on capitalism
4:14 - 1st Technique - Magical Realism
12:06 - 2nd Technique - Choice
22:46 - 3rd Technique - Community
28:25 - The game's final act

Kentucky Route Zero is one of the best games I played this year, and this video is why.

Actually, it is a game, but it's really a point and click game, adventure game, visual novel combo. There's a LOT of reading, but it's also one of my favorite Nintendo Switch games of 2020. Magical realism, anti-capitalism, and some serious David Lynch vibes make this one of the best games of 2020 for me.

A game ostensibly based in rural Kentucky, you play Conway, on a search for 5 Dogwood Drive. This sends you on a route down the Zero, a mysterious highway in the Mammoth Caves of Kentucky. The game tells you it's a tragedy and that your strategies are useless. It's not the kind of game you win. You can't min-max your way to a good ending.

This is my Kentucky Route Zero review. I played the Nintendo Switch version, so all the of the Kentucky Route Zero gameplay you're seeing is from the TV Edition.

Included in this video is my cover of a hymn that is included on the Kentucky Route Zero soundtrack. If you'd like to download that yourself, watch all the way to the end for instructions.

MY LINKS
https://MattHorton.live

Thanks to the Kentucky Route Zero unofficial Discord for the assistance.

Love Letter icon by Vectors Market and Noun Project.