4Player Podcast

This week, we discuss not ONE, but TWO, Sony State of Plays! First, we delve into all of the new info about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Nolan gives us his thoughts after playing through the brand new demo! After that, Brad takes another journey into the wackly world of Yakuza with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and to nobody's surprise, he loves it. In the second half, Nick finally broaches the subject of Konami's handling of the Silent Hill revival after having a few days to contemplate. It's a complex subject given the breadth of projects in development versus the games we have actually played but he does his best. Of course, this includes his thoughts on Silent Hill: The Short Message, a free 2-hour experience that seems dead-set on artificially re-creating P.T... spoiler alert, that was probably a bad idea.

• Housekeeping - GOTY Videos! (3:45)
• Reactions - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth details + Demo Impressions (18:15)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (46:00)
• Inquiring Minds want to Know: How does Nick feel about the Silent Hill Revival thus far?
• Impressions - Silent Hill: The Short Message (1:07:20)
• Recap: Sony State of Play (1:43:05)
• 4Player Minute (2:00:00)

Despite the strong start to the year in terms of good game releases, it's been an overwhelmingly shitty week for the industry thanks to an abundance of layoffs and Embracer's continued reign of terror which has now led to the cancellation of a new Deus Ex game. We do our best to remain positive though amidst the chaos. In the first segment, we catch up on Fantasy Critic and talk predictions ahead of Sony's first big State of Play for 2024. In the second segment, Nick and Brad revel in the sheer quality of Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown and Brad takes us through his early impressions of Tekken 8.

• Housekeeping - GOTY content is starting to roll out (2:40)
• Predictions - State of Play for January 31, 2024 (14:10)
• Headlines - Mass layoffs + Embracer's reign of terror leads to cancelled Deus Ex game (59:20)
• Impressions - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown (1:08:30)
• Impressions - Tekken 8 (1:28:30)
• 4Player Minute (1:46:50)

Its 2024 and we are kicking things off with some indie gems and some closer looks at a few big games coming to Xbox later this year. Chris Davis gives us his thoughts on last year's Trepang2 which has us all spiraling about the state of Monolith and the potential (or lack thereof) for a return of the FEAR franchise. Brad talks about two games that seem tailor made for him; Cobalt Core has DNA from both card-based deck builders and FTL; Kingsvein is a super dynamic and systems driven strategy game that feels like a Final Fantasy Tactics game with a heavy dose of immersive sim. In the second segment, we discuss our reactions to Microsoft's latest "Developer Direct" presentation which gave us closer looks at Avowed and Senua's Saga: Hellblade II. Of course, we also got our first look at Machine Games new project, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle.

• Housekeeping - GOTY Plans + Fantasy Critic superdrops
• Impressions - Trepang2
• Impressions - Cobalt Core
• Impressions - Kingsvein
• Headlines - A closer look at Avowed (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• Headlines - Hellblade 2 details and release date (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• Headlines - Debut of Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (Microsoft Dev Direct)
• 4Player Minute

As is customary around these parts... we send off another great year in video game releases with our annual Awards show! Despite our best efforts to trim the fat, it's hard not to talk about the games that we love (and in some cases, hate) so enjoy another long episode! We talk about everything from hidden gems like Pseudorgalia, to indie bangers like Sea of Stars, to massive successes like Baldur's Gate 3! We even venture down some unexpected rabbit holes like the realistic snot that DEFINED Brad's moment of the year and the... tumultuous reactions to Starfield and Final Fantasy XVI.

• Community Game of the Year Drawing Winners
• 2023 Regrets - The games we didn't get to
• Best World / Level Design
• Best Looking Game
• Best Video Game Moment
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Dave the Diver (Nolan) and Baldur's Gate 3 (Kris)
• Best Storytelling **BIG SPOILER WARNING FOR STAR WARS: JEDI SURIVOR (1:33:30)**
• Best Boss Fight
• Best New Character
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Xenoblade Chronicles: Future Redeemed (Ed) and Sea of Stars (Chris)
• Biggest Surprise
• Biggest Disappointment
• Won't Quit You, I Promise
• Break - Best Soundtrack - Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (Brad) and Hogwarts Legacy (Nick)
• Spotlight Award
• Asterisk Award

With a new year comes an onslaught of new games to be excited about. As is now tradition around these parts, we kick off the new year with the initial Draft in our ongoing Fantasy Critic league! This year, Ed joins the fray, bringing our roster up to seven! We learned a lot over the last year and I think it shows because not only are our individual rosters stronger and spicier, counter-picking was absolute hell! But hey, it makes for a fun podcast. Pay attention at the beginning for the rundown of the rules and all of the changes we have implemented and then sit back and enjoy. Thanks for joining us for another year of video games!

• How Fantasy Critic Works (4:20)
• Determining the draft order (12:10)
• Initial Draft (18:55)
• Counterpicks (1:15:00)

For all intents and purposes, 2023 was a great year for gamers but the development / business side of the industry has taken a savage beating. In our final podcast of the year, we talk about two more high-profile cancellations: Naughty Dog's The Last of Us multiplayer project AND E3 were both taken off life support in the past week. Brad talks up Bomb Rush Cyberfunk and Pizza Tower as he squeezes in a few more games prior to Awards season and Chris Davis has us covered with his thoughts on the remake of Super Mario RPG. In the second half of the show, we devote our time to the past, present, and future of Fantasy Critic. We talk final rankings and then hash out the changes and improvements we want to implement in 2024 - including ways of allowing the community to join in the fun more directly!

• Housekeeping / Game of the Year Plans (2:38)
• Headline: E3 is (finally) dead (14:50)
• Headline: Naughty Dog / Sony Cancel 'The Last of Us' Multiplayer Project (19:45)
• Impressions: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (35:40)
• Impressions: Super Mario RPG (47:00)
• Impressions: Pizza Tower (59:00)
• Fantasy Critic Results and Plans for the Future (1:15:30)

Follow the 4Player 2023 Fantasy Critic League Submit your Top 10 Games of 2023 for a chance to win a free game in January! The link is pinned in our #goty-2023 channel.

It's an unexpected race against time this week! Sudden, unexpected technical difficulties near the end of the episode force us to do battle with Chris Davis' PC as it tries to silence us. Before that though, we delve into the first ever Grand Theft Auto VI trailer and take a look back at the history of the series and the impact it has had on culture and the industry. Rather than close out the show in our usual fashion, Brad runs us through a series of increasingly ridiculous predictions ahead of The Game Awards.

• Grand Theft Auto VI Trailer Reactions (09:20)
• The Game Awards Predictions (51:35)

Ed returns to the show after a hectic but exciting year of traveling and moving across the country! We take some time to catch up with him about Final Fantasy XVI, The Talos Principle 2, Shadow Gambit, and even impressions of the new Steam Deck OLED! The group discusses the latest developments surrounding Dragon's Dogma 2 (including a release date) and the upcoming Fallout adaption on Amazon. Brad makes an argument on Persona 5 Tactica as a potential 2023 underdog and Nick shares his thoughts on Cyberpunk 2077 now that the big 2.0 update has redeemed it in the eyes of players years after launch.

• Catching up with Ed (6:05)
• Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic (25:20)
• Headlines - Dragon's Dogma 2 has a Release Date! (36:00)
• Headlines - Our first look at the Fallout TV series (50:30)
• Impressions - Persona 5 Tactica (59:25)
• Impressions - Steam Deck OLED (1:13:20)
• Impressions - Cyberpunk 2077 (1:26:00)
• 4Player Minute (2:05:40)

After a week off from recording due to unforeseen circumstances, we are back with a vengeance! We are bursting at the seams with new (and mostly exciting) games to talk about! Brad gives us the skinny on the latest Yakuza titled: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name, and Nick recaps his time with Jusant; a touching and impassioned homage to classics like Ico. Chris Davis fills the group in on his latest... video game life choices which includes playing all the way through RoboCop: Rogue City and Redfall. Nick also takes a deep dive into The Talos Principle II which easily earns a place among puzzle game classics like The Witness and even Portal.

• Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic
• Impressions - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name (15:20)
• Impressions - Jusant (30:00)
• Impressions - RoboCop: Rogue City (43:00)
• Impressions - The Talos Principle 2 (1:05:30)
• Impressions - Redfall (1:24:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:43:00)

This week, we have the pleasure of delving into TWO quality games that couldn't be more different! Brad looks back on his time with Super Marios Bros Wonder and applauds it's accomplishments while pondering it's place in 2D Mario history. In the 2nd segment, Nick and Chris Davis dive into Alan Wake 2; a long-awaited sequel that brought the best out of Remedy thanks to it's ambitious, open-ended design and it's dramatic pivot into the horror genre. Of course, it's not all rainbows and lollipops. We discuss Konami's baffling decision to lead the Silent Hill reboot with Silent Hill Ascension; a perplexing and somewhat embarrassing experiment that nobody asked for.

• Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic Discussion
• Silent Hill Ascension and the reboot of Silent Hill (22:56)
• Impressions - Super Mario Bros Wonder (33:50)
• Impressions - Alan Wake II (58:50)
• 4Player Minute - (1:34:44)