It's the time of the year when families gather together to eat turkey, watch football, and play video games. With perfect timing, two new local (and online) multiplayer treats just appears on digital store shelves. We open the episode with Alien Hominid Invasion, a sequel of sorts to the beloved '00s Flash game Alien Hominid. For the B-segment, we bounce around KarmaZoo, a winning co-op game that allows for up to 10 players -- and features a special local multiplayer mode! Plus, we open the reader mail bag and share a classic Ghibli movies and a bold Ghibli adaptation.

Two new games to play with friends! [Resties]

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

Video Games

Games & Hobbies

Leisure

What if you combined Dark Souls and Diablo, then added a pinch of city-building mechanics and survivor elements? You’d get No Rest for the Wicked from Moon Studios, the team best known for the Ori games. It’s ambitious and bound to inspire conversations — even in its Early Access stage. In the back half, Plante updates the team on 2024’s best nun simulator: Indika!

There's No Rest for the Wicked Nuns

Special guest Lucy James (GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Frames Per Second Podcast) joins Frushtick and Plante to discuss Another Crab’s Treasure. Have you ever wondered what it would have looked like had Rare made a Souls-like in the early ‘00s? Now you have an answer! Plus, the crew shares updates on other games they’ve been playing, from Stellar Blade to TopSpin 2K25.

A Souls-like for Fans of N64-era Mascot Games

Duck and cover! This week, The Besties discuss the first two episodes of the excellent Fallout TV series. Then, they talk through the ways the Fallout approach could alter the trajectory of video game adaptations. Plus: a bunch of great listener recommendations!

Falling in to the Fallout TV Show

This week, The Besties share their favorite “rainy day” games!  These are the games we dig out when we’re feeling blue and need something that provides a quick dose of comfort. Turns out our list is quite long! In the back half, we do the rare Besties spoilercast with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — a.k.a. one of 2024’s best games.

Chicken Soup for the Gamers' Soul

This week we've got a game inspired by the SNES era and a game that probably shouldn't have come out at all. We'll also find out just what Justin thinks about Dragon's Dogma 2, and what's going on with the Stardew Valley 1.6 update.

Two new games to play with friends! [Resties]

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