4Player Podcast

The calm before the storm. We take a breather this week to talk movies and do some much needed 2024 catchup! Brad finished up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and expresses some concerns over the recent demo of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Nick and Chris Davis talk Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Nolan takes us on virtual migration to (the) New York City where he and Bernadette attended a major Pokemon Go event this past weekend. Chris Davis reveals that he played Resident Evil 1 this past weekend... for the very first time and Nick highlights an exciting new indie Survival Horror game called Holstin which blends classic Resident Evil with more modern entries like Resident Evil 4!

• Movie Talk (3:30)
• Impressions - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (27:40)
• 2024 Catchup - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth / Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (40:35)
• Pokemon Go Event with Nolan (50:10)
• Impressions - Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Demo (1:05:00)
• Impressions - Holstin Demo (1:19:40)
• Chris Davis Played Resident Evil 1 for the FIRST TIME (1:26:00)

With the year half in the bag, we take some time to talk about what lies ahead in the second half of the year. With zero overlap, we each highlight 3 games that we are excited to play in the coming months. The discussion takes us to some expected and unexpected places; From Star Wars: Outlaws to The Plucky Squire to... Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (?!). Of course, we fill in some of the gaps with help from the community. Needless to say, 2024 has been an impressive year thus far and the best appears to be in our future.

Believe it or not, this week marks our 800th official episode! It's an episode full of impressions, drama, and even a couple pacts / agreements that may surprise you. We talk the long awaited Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring to find out if the game really is too hard or if they design was elevated to support the increased challenge! Brad talks about a couple new demos from Steam Next Fest including Arranger: An Role-Puzzling Adventure and Dungeons of Hinterberg, and Chris Davis' continue to talk up his time with Rise of the Ronin. Nick played through Still Wakes the Deep; a game with some serious vibes that can't help but paint a bleak picture for the team's next high-profile project. Things get a little tense during the Fantasy Critic update but it culminates in one of the most interesting trades / agreements we've made thus far.

• Off-Topic: Fast food shenanigans (3:00)
• Impressions - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (9:15)
• Impressions - Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure - Demo (30:10)
• Impressions - Dungeons Of Hinterberg - Demo (37:50)
• Impressions - Still Wakes the Deep (58:40)
• Fantasy Critic Drama (1:12:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:34:20)

Nintendo came out swinging this week with a new Direct presentation full of surprises! We recap the highlights which include the reveal of Mario & Luigi Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and of course, the re-reveal of Metroid Prime 4 Beyond! Nolan shines a spotlight on a demo for a fun new deck-builder called Dice & Fold and Brad talks about Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser; a game he delved back into in the immediate aftermath of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard reveal last week.

• Recap - Nintendo Direct ft Mario & Luigi Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Metroid Prime 4, and more! (3:35)
• Impressions - Dice & Fold Demo (44:45)
• Impressions - Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser DLC (56:45)
• Impressions - Quick mentions from Chris Davis - Alan Wake 2: Nightsprings DLC, Indivisible, Rise of Ronin (1:15:20)
• Fantasy Critic Updates (1:34:48)
• 4Player Minute (1:45:35)

It's a big week. Krispy has finally blessed us with Destiny 2 footage to coincide with the recent release of Destiny 2: The Final Shape! Not only that, Krispy takes us on a journey through the history of Destiny which has culminated in one of the game's most exciting and successful expansions! Brad talks about his experience with the demo for The Alters; an upcoming game from 11-Bit Studios which seems to combine survival gameplay with an intriguing narrative that involves cloning. In the 2nd half of the show, we recap the highs and lows of this year's Summer Game Fest including the re-reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly Dreadwolf), Perfect Dark, Star Wars Outlaws, and more!

• Impressions - Destiny 2: The Final Shape (8:30)
• Impressions - The Alters Demo (45:40)
• Reactions to the Re-Reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard (1:03:44)
• Recap - Summer Game Fest (1:25:50)
• 4Player Minute (2:14:50)

It's that special time of year once again... where the mess of showcases and preview events run amock without the comfort and organization of E3. Chaos aside... it's still an exciting time for anyone looking to know what the future of gaming has in store. With that in mind, we run through a long list of Summer Game Fest predictions put together by Chris Davis and discuss the highlights from last week's Playstation State of Play and Silent Hill Transmission events. But before we get to all that, Nick and Nolan talk about a hot up-and-coming new Metroidvania called Nine Sols and Brad shares his thoughts on a charming new arcade shooter called Minishoot Adventures!

• Housekeeping (1:40)
• Impressions - Nine Sols (6:15)
• Impressions - Minishoot Advenures (30:45)
• Recap - Playstation State of Play and Silent Hill Transmission Highlights (44:30)
• Summer Game Fest Season Predictions (1:13:30)
• 4Player Minute (2:09:00)

Summer Games Fest approaches and some serious rumors are starting to circulate. We set aside some time at the top of the show this week to address some whispers regarding the next round of Resident Evil remakes, an impending Astro Bot announcement, and more! Krispy does an excellent job of selling us on the latest game from Simogo called Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and a conversation about Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 leads to a deeper debate about what dictates success in this industry.

• Housekeeping (1:40)
• Rumors - The latest on the next Resident Evil projects (9:25)
• Rumors - Playstation preparing to announce the next Astro Bot (22:05)
• Impressions - Lorelei and the Laser Eyes (38:40)
• Impressions - Senua's Saga: Hellblade 2 (1:07:30)
• 4Player Minute (1:51:20)

Indie-May continues! We revisit Animal Well and focus a little more on what that game looks like once you have peeled back a few layers of the proverbial onion; More specifically, after the credits roll. Brad goes to town on Dread Delusion as it subverts expectations in both good AND bad ways. Despite that, Brad is very clearly all in on the game. Nick circles back to Stellar Blade which has, at this point, established itself as an uncompromising horny game with some rock solid mechanics to boot. Also... we ask the age old question... what will Chris Davis play next?

• Housekeeping / Chit-Chat (1:30)
• Impressions - Animal Well (30:08)
• Impressions - Dread Delusion (39:38)
• What will Chris Davis Play Next?!?! (1:03:40)
• Impressions - Stellar Blade (1:20:25)
• Fantasy Critic Updates (1:37:36)
• 4Player Minute (1:52:38)

The video game industry landscape continues to shift and collapse as everyone tries to time their layoffs to blend in with the outrage aimed almost entirely at Xbox. While the AAA space might be in turmoil at the moment, May is shaping up to be an absolutely incredible month for indie releases! We try our best (and mostly succeed) to not spoil Animal Well; but with a game built around discovery and experimentation, it proves difficult. As a lover of classic survival horror, Nick is ecstatic to share his thoughts on Crow Country while Brad hypes up V Rising which just hit 1.0 and offers one of the most genuine and addicting Vampire power fantasies out there. In the 2nd segment, Chris Davis entices Krispy to play Star Ocean: The Second Story R with an impressive but unexpected pitch.

• Impressions - Animal Well (13:10)
• Impressions - Crow Country (35:25)
• Impressions - V Rising (42:00)
• Impressions - Star Ocean: The Second Story R (1:10:40)
• News - Playstation now has TWO CEOs... Hurray! (1:02:00)
• Fantasy Critic Updates (1:22:00)
• News - Assassin's Creed: Shadows to be Revealed on May 15th (1:26:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:34:00)

It's yet another sad day for the industry - Unfortunately just another week of mass layoffs, studio closures, and project cancellations thanks to out-of-touch, overpaid executives and bad management. On the morning of May 7th, Microsoft officially (and unexpectedly) closed down Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Games, and Alpha Dog studio. As a result, hundreds of talented folks are suddenly unemployed and the future of promising IP like Hi-Fi Rush, Evil Within, and Prey are now in indefinitely in limbo. Of course, Sony is also in a hell of their own making (albeit a temporary one) thanks to a wildly misguided decision regarding Helldivers 2. It's a lot to unpack this week but it's not all doom and gloom; Nick takes the time to share his thoughts on the wacky world of INDIKA.

• News - Microsoft suddenly shutters Arkane Austin, Tango Gameworks, Roundhouse Games, & Alpha Dog Studio (2:30)
• News - Sony stirs up controversy surrounding Helldivers 2 (43:35)
• Impressions - INDIKA(53:40)
• 4Player Minute (1:15:20)