@KusTruce
We NEED more Kane video essays. I think you exhausted the topic super well and I really enjoyed the video, seriously. Very surprised there wasn't a single mention of Dark Deception but with the amount of games you covered that's really just nitpicking on my part lol
@uraynuke
I was originally skeptical about moving away from the mainstream definition of Mascot Horror, but switching to a more objective definition is just too enticing and it just, y'know. makes sense now? there's no ambiguity, it's PERFECT!
@kzechkzoch44
Please do more videos like this dawg, idk how to describe it but your voice and hearing you explain things is really interesting. I find myself rewatching the theft king video a lot because it’s funny
@DaizoDeeVonOfficial
Hold up, a famous fangame developer decides to drop a bombshell of an essay video featuring his perspective of developing in the genre he's talking about? Sign me up.
@kalosbaku
I actually cannot overstate how genuinely invested I get whenever Kane brain-dumps like this, it itches that logical side of my brain lmao
@shyguymike
Everyone asks what is mascot horror; however, no one ever asks how is mascot horror.
@AndreasHawk
I'd be genuinely interested in seeing the results for a game like Mouthwashing, where the main monster is an in-game corporate mascot but the 'face of the franchise' is Curly, who is just a character. There's also Lethal Company, where there's a cast of colorful, cartoonish, recognizable monsters but the players in hazmat suits are the thing the game is recognized for. I also find it interesting that the term 'Mascot Horror' originated pretty much as an insult or derogatory term in all the first instances you show, not a defined genre. It was just a term to define the backlash to the perceived rise of repetitive, shallow indie horror game slop in the late 2010s and early 2020s, so maybe trying to find exact definitions is beside the point. I think 'Nostalgia Horror' is a fine term for what you're expressing towards the end, though its vagueness would mean it probably also includes Analog Horror and old videogame creepypastas like Ben Drowned or NES Godzilla, which all riff on 'old thing from childhood is corrupted'. Would a game like Fran Bow, Bad Dream, or Dreaming Mary count? There are probably hundreds of indie horror games, especially older ones, that use disturbed childhood aesthetics without riffing on something specific in the way FNAF riffs on Chuck E. Cheese.
@kittythegamer2537
Using this definition, we can say that one of the First horror games ever made (3D Monster Maze) is a mascot horror game.
@Indunnie
woah Kane Carter makes a video essay on the definition of mascot horror?? this surely will be absolute cinema and very educative i must get the popcorn!
@Oldmangamess
The biggest distinction between mascot and horror are that some games are just mascot and don’t fit the horror category or horror games that don’t fit the mascot category.
@placeholderdoe
I would argue that the term “mascot horror” is a homonym, meaning it has two different meanings. Since the meaning is pretty evenly split I think this is the best way to be categorize it
@Fork219
Honestly this video is amazing, as someone with autism who gets confused with long term videos, everything was crystal clear here and was easy to follow which I admire in this video, this video also helped me understand the terms itself more in-depth too so I'm very thankful for that, great video as always Kane, can't wait for more like this should you continue these types of videos, I definitely see this popping off
@NickDaDroid
i think the modern definition has just shifted into “horror games whose intended audience (or gained audience) are children.” this is why games like granny, who isn’t a cartoony character but whose game is clearly aimed at kids, is lumped in. this is also why basically any “corrupted childhood” game is deemed mascot horror, it’s a premise that naturally appeals to kids the most. this also is why people are hesitant to lump alien isolation or slender into mascot horror, as people view these as more mature/highbrow because they’re older. but i think the term largely has nothing to do with the actual contents of the game and more its visual appearance and internet presence now. this is obviously an incorrect definition but genuinely “mascot horror” has become too derogatory that i don’t think it can be reclaimed into an actual genre or meaningful term anymore lol.
@ItsProbablySpeedy
Mascot horror? Is it like.. a type of food? Spooky food? Is mascot Italian?
@JinsmokeDS
Y'know, this video brings very hard hitting points. I never really viewed the term "mascot" as negatively as other people did, but this really changes how I view it. The Popular/Original/John Wolfe definition really has grown on me after hearing what you had to say about it. But I don't think that particularly makes the games worse, only more defineable.
@Tobi5aV2
I hope you'll make more of this type of content in the future.
@Charliehotdog79
Great video, and I agree with all the points you've given! Would love if you make more general videos in the future like this one!
@StopDropDash
Brilliant video man, I love objective reasoned essays like this.
@DenverDSnail
Y'know what, i absolutely agreed with the literal definition of in-universe mascots defining the genre, but in an unexpected turn of events this video has successfully changed my mind. Your logic just can't be argued with here i'm afraid! i guess "Defacement Horror" is now something i'll have to work into my vocabulary.
@roxelpop_