Swiss here! It's impressive how good you pronounced "Graubünden". A little funfact: Switzerland has four(!) official languages: German (But we only write stuff in german like in school or letters etc. We speak and text to each other in swiss-german, which hasn't official grammar. So everyone texts completely different.) The other languages are French, Italian and Rumantsch.
Yeah, i did that a few times now. Just bought Mundaun a few days ago after watching the first ~10 minutes of this video. I'll will finish the game now and then i'll watch the rest of the video :)
I like the idea of the safe houses. After a hard night of killing monsters and nearly getting a panic attack, you bust into a house, eat some bread and brew yourself a nice cup of Joe.
Does that happen because that does sound nice. Fighting monsters and or demons and then by the time nightfall has come you sit on your most favorite seat and drink some coffee as you’re left alone with your thoughts.
@@vincenthawthorne9360 - Lol it does. I'm not sure if all of them has bread though. I think Ragnar says something that not all safe houses are as nice as the first one but they still give you that sense of peace.
When I played Drakan, ages ago, getting back to the dragon and sunlight after exiting some dark dungeon and hopping on its back was the safehouse. It felt SOOO good.
I tried signing up for his patreon but it won’t let me cause I have a patreon with small beans....am I only aloud to have one patreon??? Do you know at all? Any info would be helpful
@@cliftonsargent1572 hey, I'd suggest posting this as its own comment instead of as a response to another comment. That way it'll reach more people who might know how to help :)
It’s not that he’s fluent in a bunch of languages, but Europeans are encouraged to learn English from a young age, and are exposed to a plethora of languages so pronunciation comes far more natural for many.
Played it with my boyfriend and even though i was just watching, and the game didn't feel super scary (there was only one jumpscare that really got me), i had nightmares for two entire nights. I was afraid to open my eyes in my dark room or go to the bathroom. The first night was so bad i had to literally keep the small light at my bedside turned on all night. This game DOES something in your brain. It might not be scary like a resident evil or P.T., but the images, particularly in their pencil-ness, just STICK in your brain. I couldn't really say WHY exactly i was so scared, or even WHAT I was scared OF. Nothing in particular, sticks out as "aha! i am scared of THIS monster". It's more that the art style and oppressive atmosphere was making me "see ghosts in every corner", just like in the game. And that's pretty neat, it's a very different kind of horror. But nonetheless super effective. I wouldn't recommend playing this game while using psychedelics - i think it would melt your brain. I'm from bavaria in germany and I've heard the "deal with the devil/death, and the devil/death gets tricked" story a hundred times growing up. There's even a very popular play/movie called "der brander kasper" about an old man who extends his life by getting death drunk and beating him in a card game, and years later death returns to take his granddaughter's life because the "life time" that he "won" had to come from somewhere. In another tale, two architects in the city of regensburg make a bet on who can finish their project faster - the bridge or the church. So the bridge builder makes a deal with the devil, and, like in mundaun, the devil wants a pure soul as payment. When the bridge is inevitably finished first, the mayor is so impressed that he has a big ceremony to open the bridge, and his daughter is supposed to cut the ribbon. The architect had promised the devil the first soul that would walk on the bridge. And he had thought it would be the mayor, who he didn't like. But he couldn't stand the thought of an innocent child paying the price for his deal, so, when the time came, the architect grabbed the mayor's daughter's little dog and made it run across the bridge. The devil was furious but had to accept the price. But the architect was then stripped naked and had to ride through town naked, sitting backwards on a donkey, as punishment for dealing with the devil. Funnily enough, bavaria is catholic through and through, and Catholicism denies animals having souls, so technically this story shouldn't even work by the catholic church's own dogma, but oh well xD
Bruh the second story is exactly the same as the devil bridge in switzerland except that it wasnt a dog but a goat. And no major or architect but just a bunch of mountain people who wanted a bridge. And the devil got also furios and throw a stone trying to destroy the bridge but missed. And now when you are and the gotthard you can see a bridge and next to it a giant stone with the devil painted on it.
Seriously, how in the world do you discover all these small titles I have often never heard of? I am always amazed by how you manage to dig up so many cool, unknown (at least to me) titles, that seem so incredibly deep and intriguing! Grateful for all you content and keep up the good work!
In all honest to goodness? If you’re on console just filter games by date, plenty of new titles coming out that fly under the radar for most people but are easily seen, that’s how I found this game and many other and probably how Ragnar sometimes finds his too.
I saw Mundaun through an advertisement on Facebook, I believe they connected it to me due to my interest in another hand drawn video game being done on sticky notes. After looking up a bit of gameplay videos, I knew I needed to try this. Picked it up on day one and fell straight into the atmosphere.
Sorry to bother you but I tried to sign up for his 10 dollar patreon and it won’t let me cause I am on smallbeans patreon? Am I only aloud to have one? Any info if you know would be helpful
The direction in which Horror is going back too is genuinely amazing to see, with Resident Evil VIllage coming up and now Mundaun, it's great seeing developers go back to the roots of it all ! Another great video highlighting the beauty and aspects of this game, i somewhat heard about this game but never really looked into it, like your title states, you did a masterful job with this ! As always keep up the amazing work Ragnar :)
18:30 I don’t think it’s only a creative way to use panic as a mechanic but true to its lore you become a hay monster. It’s hay that’s covering your sight as you get consumed. Another walker joins the rank on sight
"You can pet the goats." That right there made me want to buy it. Also Ragnar's description of using the gun, reminded me of how I felt playing "The Fruit", from the Dread X "The Hunt" collection. You have to manually load the gun (a 19th century breech loading rifle) where you uncock it, load the singular shot and cock it, before firing. I really loved that mechanic. Recommendation to RagnarRox. Even if you never talk about it, the Dread X collection. Especially this newest one (The Hunt) is really worthwhile.
My grand father (we are Swiss btw) actually has four rifles just like the one Flurin had ! They are the same but different sizes. I don't remember wether he inherited them from his father or not.
I love the game for what it's is. I don't live far away from the reallife Mundaun. But everything shown in this game are things that slowly fade out of existance. The language, the art, the whole folklore. Because there are only so few people who know about this left.
Your Darkwood video introduced me to one of my favorite games. So, I decided that with this video, I would wait until I have played the game myself to watch. Just beat the game, absolutely loved it, and I am so excited to watch this now, finally.
You're one of the best man. There needs to be people who shed a light to these gems, be it underrated or forgotten. Videogames always have been, and are still, art.
This is hilarious i go looking on Ragnars channel for a video i maybe haven't watched and he uploads a video when I need some Ragnar. love what you do man keep up the great work!
See, this is why I don't need big magazines. With people like Ragnar, I get actually useful recommendations for games instead of the AAA treadmill. I mean, five minutes into the video, I looked up if GOG sold Mundaun, and they do. Why did I not know that? They regularly feature smaller titles on their start page, but I had *no idea* they sold the game. Also, as someone who spent a few holidays in places like Mundaun, it warms my heart to hear Ragnar's fascination with how coffee is brewed in those villages. The one I lived in did not even have electricity for many buildings: If you wanted to be up after dak, you had to use candles or oil/gas lamps. Oh, and no running water means a... special bathroom experience as well. That's the one thing I won't miss - either you're almost literally freezing your balls off on the shitter, or the smell is so bad you're nauseous enough to drop into the hole. edit. Mundaun's Art style evokes the make of books with Alpine local legends and sagas as well. They are (or were, don't know if they're still being made) mostly done in a semi-amateurish way with lightly smudged pencil drawings and illustrations being the usual way of illustrating them. The game *oozes* childhood for me, because I devoured those books as a kid. Yes, sometimes while on an Alm.
I always feel a tad guilty when people say "Don't watch this video until you've experienced the actual game," because I hate playing really horror-filled or dark games... but I love listening to people explain them. I have maybe played 1-2 horror games in my life, but I've watched sooooo many videos about them.
I will admit that I wasn’t expecting this game to get so much praise from people. Kind of like you I was expecting it to be a sort of walking sim with a really neat esthetic. Not that I have anything against walking sims, I absolutely love Amnesia: A Machine for Pigs, but I just didn’t see much more that grabbed me than the hand drawn textures. I’m glad that hear that there apparently is a lot more to it, and I’m really excited about giving it a shot myself!
Thank you for talking about this game! It truly succeeds in creating an eerie-but-familiar atmosphere, where the horror lies is in trying to *save* the cursed area instead of just fleeing it. You are *motivated* to solve the mystery *because* you care about this place. The game perfectly balances the slightly paradoxical idea of being a local AND a stranger simultaneously - trying to understand yourself in the context of your cultural origin. The pencil-artstyle supports the shifts in mood incredibly well throughout. It's just a well-crafted indie gem and I hope more people get to enjoy it!
Its interresting I also did the exact same thing before the ending. Closed all the doors, turned off all the lights, returned the rifle, walked to the gate. Interresting phenomenon
Absolute Masterpiece. Just finished it and It's instantly one of my favorites of all time. It got me so enthralled and invested in both the world and story. Binged it all in one day. Couldn't recommend this hidden gem enough.
Game was awesome, def a must play. Knowing portuguese or any romance language makes it even more enjoyable as the language they use (Romansh) is really similar to them!
Whenever I see a new video with a runtime like this from you, I get so excited to plan time in my day so I can watch it properly with a snack and my full attention!
I stopped the video 36 seconds in. We have quite similar tastes when it comes to horror, so I take your glowing recommandetion as a plea to play the game. I'll go and buy it right away :)
I just came back to finish this video after completing the game and I’m shocked by how much of an impact the whole experience had on me. You nailed every feeling I had been having about Mundaun. Also, I’m glad that there are other people out there that closed all the doors in grandpa’s house. It’s been a long time since I’ve felt so immersed in a video game world.
This game gave me nostalgia for the unseen Switzerland my grandfather came from. His family farm was quite a rustic thing, and the slide pictures always seemed so mystical. Interesting to see a horror game focusing on such a place.
played this game when it came out after following it for a while, got the same experience - expected something short but sweet, but instead, it turned out to be an instant cult classic
so happy that such a beautiful indie game has so much console support already! my laptop is really terrible at funning anything, so im really excited to actually be able to play a game you've covered!!
I remember in Resident Evil the remake, I found that if you could manage to get zombies to drop dead on top of eachother, then sometimes you only needed one dose of kerosene to incinerate both bodies. Which in turn made me try to get them to drop bunched up with varying degrees of success 😄
11:45 i fucking love when games do this. very different games to this but the metro series does this super well and that's like the number 1 or 2 reason i love them so much. true immersion
Interesting video on an interesting game. Just one thing, the map's an example of diegetic UI, not skeuomorphic. Diegetic is the word you use for UI elements that are an actual part of the world.
This game had been kicking around in my recommendations for a few days, and I was thinking of giving it a try, so when this video popped up in my subscriptions I knew I had to play it before I came here to watch. Glad I did.
Ragnarrox, I'm happy I found out about your channel so late. I've been watching about one of your video's per day now. I'm subscribed to a lot of channels, but this one has to be in my top 5 at least. I love everything about it!
I find it funny that there's no running water for the kitchen, but the bathroom has a faucet sink and a functioning toilet reservoir that refills with... water. If you can do plumbing for the toilet, you can do for the kitchen.
This game has masterful imagery that i've never seen expressed to that level in games. One moment that stuck to me was climbing down from the cliff overlooking the river and seeing a reflection that looks like the old man (satan) in the water. The mirror sequences are very memorable too, I've never felt more uneasy playing a videogame
Awesome to see this game get more recognition! I picked it up at launch, played it for an hour or 2 and wasn't really feeling it, but I came back a few days later with a different mindset and restarted and absolutely loved it. Recommend it to all who think they'd like a fairly open, in many ways, spooky experience.
I got Mundaun only because it seemed to be one of the first horror games releasing for the PS5 and I’m very glad I picked it up, one of the most unique horror experiences ever.
with my swiss grandmother and mother, this makes me ache for the rural areas :( this game captures their beauty in such a lovely sinister way. i discovered this game in vevey, on display in their games museum :) it was so cool playing it on a projector there
wow u spelled graubünden right, but u mostly spell words right. and thx for showing us this. i am from basel and never heard about this game. oh and u also ate znüni
that is pretty close to what rumansch actually is. It is a dialect that developed in a german (alemannic) speaking area, because roman soldiers spoke latin in these parts. Today's rumansch is "bastard-latin" if you'd like.
@@fightstance As a German I can "guess" some words, but it still sounds like an entirely different language to me. But well, on the other side the same goes for some of our own German accents. If you learn German and wander off to saxony or Bavaria, you will have a hard time understand anything from people, speaking a hard regional accent :b
@@fightstance actually, rumantsch "grew up" with a celtic surrounding. All the german came way later. but now you can really see the german, for example: aber, bustab (buchstabe), uham (umhang) and so on
(Swiss here) Your pronunciations are on point - I had to do a triple take, whether you actually said "Znüni" or what :D And it's also an excellent video essay on a game I had no idea about. Thank you :)
I started watching your Darkwood video and ended up closing it because you had already convinced me to play it in the first few minutes, I'll go back to it when I finish the game. Then I saw that you also had a video on Mundaun, so I bought it too without even watching the video. Thank you! Your work is awesome! I found your channel looking for videos on horror games but at some point in time RU-vid stopped showing your videos on my recommened page. Since I watch so much RU-vid on my LG TV, I ended up forgetting about your channel, but now I turned notifications on so I won't miss any video. Happy holidays!
One big contributing factor for Mundaun style and atmosphere, is that monsters aren't some scary grotesque abominations from worlds unknown. A lot of it looks like folklore creatures or mundane things with a twist. By making horror elements more tame in modern standards, game allows player to feel at ease more than any other horror game of our time. By making world more grounded, players have a more immersive experience and as a result more effective at telling it story. And additional note on 29:55, about navigating location. Reason why locations are so easy to navigate, is because of geography. Since game taking place in the mountaing, there is always "a wall" somewhere around you as reference. You always know where you are facing or going, since you move along, toward or away from a mountain range or a ravine.
One of my favorite horror games. I played it over two nights in a dark room when my gf and kids were asleep. Brought me back to the times when I was younger playing Slender and other scary games all night!
I loved the game and your video! However the effect you're describing at 18:30 is not actually the fear effect, but the ranged attack of the hay men that gradually entagles you in hay.
I love the use of the Samorost soundtracks at 27:00. It gave me nostalgia for another game while getting your take on the nostalgia in the game. The review was awesome :)
It's always a treat when you upload, dude. Even if I don't really play games, ur narration n presentation is always soothing n entertaining to watch and/or listen to at the background. Keep up the good work 👍🏾
