It Watches

Markiplier| 00:20:28|Mar 24, 2026
Chapters6
Markablier introduces the premise of an in-scene exploration game where anomalies must be spotted as you ascend a building.

Markiplier guides us through a suspenseful elevator-spot-the-difference horror, balancing curiosity with creeping unease as anomalies pop up between floors.

Summary

Markiplier brings his signature chill and humor to It Watches, a first-person spot-the-difference horror set inside an apartment building elevator. The premise is simple but effective: you’re part of an observation program and must spot environmental anomalies as you ascend through floors from 1 to 10, with “No clip” jokes and a creeping sense of surveillance. He compares the game to Backrooms and Exit 8 vibes, noting the baseline setup and the rules that anomalies can reset progress. Throughout the run, Markiplier narrates his attempts to memorize room details—posters, three cable bundles, a stray light, and even subtle shifts like a crooked rug—while reacting to sudden, eerie distractions. The humor stays rooted in anxiety as he questions why he’s there, what the building is, and whether the anomalies are a test or punishment. He emphasizes the puzzle-like aspect of noticing tiny changes, sometimes missing obvious cues only to realize something subtle later. The stream of reactions—fear, curiosity, relief when a guess is correct, and frustration when an anomaly escapes detection—gives the video a tense, approachable pace. In the end, the “End” twist and the line about not all possibilities being tested leave a lingering sense of mystery that invites another playthrough. Markiplier wraps with a reflective note on the game’s concept and his enjoyment of the spooky yet playful mechanic.

Key Takeaways

  • Memorization of environmental details is crucial; subtle changes like a new light or a crooked rug can signal an anomaly.
  • Anomalies can appear in ways that aren’t immediately obvious, requiring careful cross-floor comparison and memory.
  • The game blends horror with puzzle-solving, offering tension from guessing and the occasional jump scare rather than constant violence.
  • Player commentary and self-doubt (e.g., ‘I’m not dumb’) add relatability and humor to the suspenseful task.
  • Endings can leave questions open (e.g., ‘End. What?’), encouraging multiple playthroughs to explore missed anomalies.
  • Markiplier highlights the influence of other media (Exit 8, Backrooms) to frame a familiar yet fresh experience.
  • Visual/audio cues—the border around targets and off-screen sounds—play as much a role as visible differences in spotting anomalies.

Who Is This For?

Essential viewing for horror-game fans who enjoy puzzle-like, slow-burn experiences and for viewers who like Markiplier’s humorous yet tense narration while exploring curious, SCP-like premises.

Notable Quotes

"Hello everybody. My name is Markablier and welcome to It Watches."
Opening line establishing the character and premise.
"There is an anomaly. A horrible, horrible anomaly."
First clear moment of threat and gameplay payoff.
"End. What? It watching me. That was pretty good."
Climactic note tying the experience to the game’s twist and meta run.
"I’m not seeing anything, which, you know, bugs me, but I’m going to go with no anomalies."
Shows the cautious, trial-and-error mindset central to the puzzle mechanic.
"Maybe I just want a boring anomaly job. Maybe I don’t want to risk life and limb…"
Reflects the player’s tension between curiosity and safety, a theme in the video.

Questions This Video Answers

  • How does It Watches implement the spot-the-difference mechanic in a 3D elevator setting?
  • What makes Markiplier’s commentary style effective in indie horror games?
  • What are common subtle anomalies players miss in It Watches, and how can you train yourself to spot them?
  • Is the ending of It Watches hinting at a larger SCP-like narrative or a single-loop puzzle?
It WatchesMarkiplierSpot the differenceElevator horrorSCP-inspired environmentBackroomsExit 8First-person horrorIndie horror game
Full Transcript
Hello everybody. My name is Markablier and welcome to It Watches. It's watching you. This is a spot the difference kind of anomalous thing type game, but in an elevator in an apartment building as opposed to watching from cameras, which means that we're going to actually be in the scene walking around looking. Oh, floor count 10 to start with, I guess, just to get a taste of it. 35452. You're part of the observation program. Proceed through the floors like backroom style. No clip right through the floors. Environmental anomalies will appear. Identify each anomaly. Failure may reset your progress. Reach the top floor to survive. Your actions are being monitored. Oh. Oh. Bo. Okay. Hold on there. This is a little bit sensitive. All right. Okay. So, I'm guessing that everything is going to be baseline right here. So, I need to know that things are going to be different from here on out so that I could detect the anomalies. So, we got two boxes. It's kind of like uh Station 8 or Exit 8, sorry, not Station 8, Exit 8, which if you didn't know, got a movie made out of it and apparently it's pretty good. It was in Japan and but it's uh being brought to America. Um, pretty interesting. Okay, cool. We got tube going to mattress. We had a kind of like a double shelf cabinet with like some electrical warning stickers on it and nothing else in the room besides one light. And then we got three wires going that way. Am I supposed to remember this? I don't even know. And then to turret. One turlet. H. Okay. There's not a whole lot here. Maybe that wasn't even it. I don't even know if that was supposed to be it. Maybe I was supposed to be looking at something else. Okay. I don't know what the that is, but whatever. Seems scarier. You have no cash. Well, that's a shame. Is that important? Is any of this important? Was I supposed to remember any of this box? Hi. How are you? Looking good. No anomaly, I'm guessing. Okay. Okay. Uhhuh. Yeah, I really should have paid attention a bit more. Okay, that time's the same. These look the same. That all seems the same. I don't remember if that was a ceiling fan up top there. So, what is this building that you have these anomalies happening anyway? What kind of place would this be? It looks the same. Looks roughly the same. Yep, that looks the same. Locked. Okay. Looks roughly the same. Yeah. Is this like some kind of SCP style building where you am I is this a testing program? Why? Why am I here? Why must I endure? I'm going to go. No, not one. Is that good? That's what I'm talking about. I know when nothing's nothing. All right, floor two. I have no cash. You know, the appeal of these games is always that something could happen, something might, and you're kind of wanting to see that thing that might happen, which is a different take on the whole, you know, usual indie horror trope of just walking around and doing stuff. Is that farther away from the wall? It doesn't look like it. Okay, seems fine. Everything is it farther away from the wall? It looks slightly, but I can't confirm that. I would I wouldn't I wouldn't be willing to push the button just for that. Was there always an indent on the wall there? These are questions I cannot answer. I don't remember if there was a support pillar right there. Posters all look the same. That looks I'm going to say there's no anomaly. I'm assuming that's good sounds. If I get it wrong, are you going to eat me? Are you going to eat me? If I get it wrong. Hey. Okay. All right. That's nice. Yeah, but it was there always a vent. Uh, I don't know. Freak. I don't remember seeing a vent, but then again, there could have been. Why is it weirdly violent? Okay. So, there is a pillar there. Lounge speaker up there. Okay, that's fine. Hello. Okay. there. Uh I I don't recall there being vents. I feel like I would have noticed them because there's one over there, too, but I don't remember seeing them. So, I'm I'm just going to say that I feel like I would have noticed those. And I'm going to say there's an there's an anomaly. Don't eat me. A. All right, I'm going to go no anomaly. We're going right off the bat. This time there's definitely no anomaly. There we go. Okay, I just wanted to get at least one, you know. At least it's not killing me. Maybe that's like a three strikes thing and that was two of them. All right, let's go quicker. Time's the same. All fine there. That's fine. That looks all right. I'm not sure if that's just going through a hole there or what. Okay. Oh my god. Is that salad fingers? All right. Well, there's an anomaly. I've detected it. I've detected it. Turns out there's an anomaly. There's an anomaly. There's an anomaly in the elevator, by the way. Don't know if anybody noticed that one. No one's been reporting that anomaly. Okay. I wasn't really looking at the floors in there, but I'm assuming that it's all the same. Was there always a carpet? God, I hope so. It's a welcome area, I'm going to assume. No anomaly. All right. Don't know why it opens that door so violently. I don't think there's an What the Did I just see something crazy? Nope. I'm seeing things out of the corner of my eye. I don't know why. Okay, this seems fine. That's locked. That's there. That's there. This all seems good. Everything is good. I have no cash. Okay. No anomaly. I have no cash and no anomaly. Oh, WHAT THE WHAT? WHAT WAS IT? No anomaly. Come on. Come on. Come on. Can you hear me? Oh, what the If you guys see them, call them out because I'm not Oh, wait a minute. Did these always have black borders like that? I don't I don't think so. I don't think they did. Wait, I don't Wait, did they? Wait. Oh, no. I'm second guessing myself. I don't think they did. I mean, that might have been it. That might not have been it. I don't know. Maybe they always had those. Maybe that's just a lucky guess. Oh, no. They might have always had that. There might have been a completely different unrelated anomaly over here. Oops. Uh-oh. Okay, it seems normal. What? Okay. Okay, that's just me. It's the character breathing in and out. I thought it was that tube was moving. Maybe it was like the loudspeaker was missing and I didn't notice it. Okay, No anomaly. That's what I'm talking about. Okay, so there always was a black border around that there. There's loudspeakers in the spots. I got to remember to check that box. I have no cash. Time is correct. Posters are correct. Violent opens correctly. Speaker is there. Three cable bundles. Toilet. You're out of position. There's an anomaly. A horrible, horrible anomaly. Someone just whistle behind me. When's it going to be super obvious? I know that one of these is going to be like ridiculously obvious, but all right, we got pillar, loudspeaker, toilet, light, nothing else. Three bundles. Tube mattress. Am I hearing something? Thought I maybe I could hear something different, but I don't know. I'm not seeing an anomaly. I'm going to go with no. I'm going to go I have to go with no. All right, man. I'm getting paranoid because I think like obviously there's no anomaly because I didn't see anything, but I I was tricking myself up because I heard things. Wait a minute. Was there always an extra light over the There might have been. How How would I not notice that? There might have been an extra light over there, but I don't remember it. Was there? Wait, that doesn't Also, there's like a little wire on it. That doesn't seem right. How would I not have noticed that? Let me look at the rest just to confirm. Maybe there's something obvious over here. I feel like I would have noticed that. Or am I just stupid? I think that's an anomaly. I think it is. I I'm I'm pretty sure that's an anomaly. I feel like I I feel like I've never seen that anomaly. How? Oh, come on. AND HOW HAVE I NEVER SEEN THAT LIGHT? I am not dumb. I I swear I'm not dumb. I swear. It's just the nature of these games where you just notice something that you've literally never noticed before on the fifth floor. I know I could have just guessed this one, but I did that before. And Oh, No, thank you. I should have been able to see that from the very Oh, man. All right. There's an anomaly. There's an anomaly. If you didn't notice is there was a shadow at the end of the hallway. That's why I turned around. All right. I have no cash. Uh-huh. Okay. That's anomalous. I I'm pretty sure that's anomalous. Pretty sure I don't need to investigate it any further. That's pretty anomalous. That would be anomaly. All right. Wish I could sprint. We got that speaker Turlet bed. Bunker. Everything looks pretty good. Still locked. Speakers there. Okay. Weird light that I never noticed before is and was there. That's all good. No, not Okay, now we're rolling. Now I got a good grasp of everything in there. Why does that toilet look a little different? I think it's the same, but I don't know. Something about it seems slightly different, but I doubt they would do that where it's like What the Hey, stop it. Ah, god. What the What the Don't do ever. Don't ever do that. Why would you ever do that? Why would you ever do that? At least the ghost haunting this building seems more like they're into pranks than actually killing people. All right. Well, that was silly. I have no cash. Anybody? Anomol. Anomol. Anamole. Analy. Not seeing anything. All looks pretty good. No nomala. No. No. Nomala. No nomala. Knew it. I'm going to gun it down straight to the end. Straight to the end. Barely looking at nothing because the sooner I get to the end, I might trip up one of the sound bites. Locked loudspeaker vent boxes. Now I can look in look closely. the Oh, speaker's missing. speaker. I should have noticed that from the jump. I should have noticed that right away. How did I not notice that right away? Because I was like, I'm just going to sprint to the end like an idiot. All right, let's take a look this time. Okay, seems pretty good. Seems pretty good. Seems pretty good. Pillars there. Speakers there. Posters are there. There's posters there. I have no cash. All's good. That's there. Box is good. There's no anomaly. That's what I'm talking about. Now that I got it. Now I got it. Or floor eight. Floor eight. I have no cash. Time's right. Couch is there. Rugs there. Lights there. Speakers there. Whoa. Thought I saw something. I did not. Lock speaker lights there. That looks good. Definitely not seeing anything there. Definitely nothing there. Definitely nothing there. Okay. Speakers there. Pillars there. Things are there. Nothing's jumping out of me. Pillars there. Speakers there. Lights there. Posters are the same. Posters the same. Couch is the same. I have no cash. Posters are the same. Fence the same. Box is the same. Elevator. No anomalies. Oh, I'm the best. I'm the best. Uh-huh. Okay. No cash. It looks good. Okay, we're good. Looks good. Looks fine. Looks fine. Okay. I don't I don't like feeling like I'm not going to get another anomaly again because that means I'll get like three no anomalies in a row, which I suppose is possible. Okay. God damn you. Wait a minute. Is that it? That rug is slightly a skew. Is that it? Oh my god, that is so subtle. But yeah, no, that's an anomaly. But that's that's so subtle, though. That Oh my god. Oh my god. That was That was way too subtle. That's That's such a small thing. I mean, I guess it's right when it opens. Yeah, it was it was it was crooked. I am doing this on the easiest mode, so if I get this, I win. Um, but I know I haven't seen too many really, you know, interesting anomalies, but maybe that's for the best. Maybe maybe I'm okay with that. Maybe I maybe I just want a boring life with my boring anomaly job. Maybe I don't want to have to risk life and limb, not andor and limb to to see some cool funky things beyond my comprehension. I don't need that in my life. I just want to live, you know? You know what I mean? Okay, I'm not seeing anything, which, you know, bugs me, but I'm going to go with no anomalies. There was definitely a speaker on the other side, right? And nothing behind the door. Okay, I'm going to go with no anomalies. No anomalies for me. Oh. Oh. Uh uh floor minus minus why y minus whiness my minus minus wnessus. Am I free to go? Is this me going home? Am I going home? I'm going home, right? It's be uh could have been floor zero, you know. Oh. Oh. Oh no. Don't do this to me. I'll take the pills. You did what you were told. What do you mean? I did what I was told. Not all possibilities tested. End. What? It watching me. That was pretty good. I like that. I mean, I'm I I do like these kind of spot the difference type games. I mean, itarkens back to, you know, when we were kids and just doing the spot the difference books and, you know, the different things like that. It it it all plays in. It just has a spooky twist. I don't know what kind of anomalies are in this game as a as a whole, but I like the concept. It had some spooky ambiance and it was subtle sometimes, but I imagine some are not so subtle. I don't like the popping in my ears, but I'll I'll deal with it. So, thank you everybody so much for watching and as always, I'll see you in the next video. Bye-bye.

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