4Player Podcast

Another week, another huge release for 2023. We spend MOST of the first segment this week talking about Insomniac's Spider-Man 2; a bold, polished sequel that delivers on almost every front. As it happens, it almost over-delivers with it's new wing-suit mechanics. After that, we ponder the current state of Insomniac and hypothesize about their upcoming Wolverine game. In the second segment, Brad gives us the rundown on two new indie releases worthy of your time and attention: Killer Frequency (Happy Halloween!) and Laika: Aged Through Blood - a game that feels like Trials HD and Castlevania had a brutally challenging baby...

• Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic
• Impressions - Spider-Man 2 (12:55)
• Discussion - The state of Insomniac and the potential directions for 'Wolverine' (50:40)
• Impressions - Killer Frequency (1:09:20)
• Impressions - Laika: Aged Through Blood (1:19:35)
• 4Player Minute - (1:29:30)

It's a strange week. We find ourselves in the midst of spooky season as we await the imminent release of some of the years biggest games. After some Halloween banter, we delve into the latest developments surrounding Naughty Dog's troubled Last of Us multiplayer project and the announcement of the new PS5 Slim. In the second segment, Brad finally has an opportunity to talk about the demo for Star Ocean: The Second Story R; An impressive remake of a PS1 classic that also calls more attention to the weird choices Square Enix is making. Nick and Chris Davis talk about the double edged sword that is Assassins Creed Mirage and then brad makes a compelling case for El Paso Elsewhere.

• Housekeeping - Please take our listener survey (link below)
• News - The Last of Us Factions 2 is in trouble - (35:15)
• News - Sony announces PS5 Slim - (42:45)
• Impressions - Star Ocean: The Second Story R (Demo) - (49:20)
• Impressions - Assassin's Creed Mirage - (1:02:10)
• Impressions - El Paso Elsewhere - (1:27:00)
• 4Player Minute - (1:43:10)

Link Dump:

• Take our short listener survey
• Follow the 4Player 2023 Fantasy Critic League

It may be a skeleton crew this week but this industry slows down for nobody; Especially in 2023! We take an unexpected detour into Assassin's Creed territory up front but then go on to revisit Armored Core VI. Nick gushes over Cocoon; A game which may be struggling to find it's audience in such a crowded release season but is undoubtedly one of the best puzzle games of the year. A Starfield discussion goes sideways for Nick and Chris delivers his verdict on Telltale's The Expanse now that the full season has wrapped. Also, it's been an absolutely terrible week for game developers...

• Tangent - Assassin's Creed Mirage is Out
• Impressions - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
• Impressions - Cocoon
• Impressions - The Expanse
• Impressions - Payday 3
• 4Player Minute

Microsoft can't seem to catch a break. The Activision aquisition led to another massive document leak which gives us some insight into Bethesda's future lineup including new entries in the DOOM and Dishonored franchises and some rather shocking assessments about the value of certain games when it comes to Game Pass. We also react to the new gameplay footage for Dragons Dogma 2 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth which dropped this week at the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, the 2023 onslaught of cool games continues as we talk about the likes of Mortal Kombat 1, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (Mimimi's final game), and the new Separate Ways DLC for Resident Evil 4!

• News - Huge Microsoft Leak
• News - Reactions to new 'Dragons Dogma 2' and 'Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth' gameplay
• Impressions - Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways
• Impressions - Mortal Kombat 1
• Impressions - Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew
• 4Player Minute

It has been a whirlwind week in the world of video games but more importantly, we are sporting new podcasting uniforms; In case there was any doubt that our nerdiness knew no bounds. Of course, we dip our toes in the big Unity debacle that has taken the industry by storm this week and we discuss a major departure from Respawn / EA. It is also a historic day in which a Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play were held on the same day so we run through the highlights. In the second segment, Brad talks Pseudoregalia and we take our first stab at Starfield impressions which, thus far, is proving to be a bit of a mixed bag. Nick and Chris delve deeper into Sea of Stars and we discuss our time playing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre last week.

• New Uniforms!
• News - Unity fucked up big time
• News - Stig Asmussen leaves EA / Respawn
• News - Nintendo Direct / Sony State of Play recaps
• Impressions - Pseudoregalia
• Impressions - Starfield
• Impressions - Sea of Stars
• Impressions - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
• 4Player Minute

It's a good news, bad news week. The good news is that Starfield reviews have landed and while they aren't blowing Baldur's Gate 3 out of the water, they do seem to indicate that it's not a disaster! On the other hand, the industry suffered several unexpected studio closures this week. Mimimi announced Shadow Gambit would be their last game and Embracer group shut down Volition. With that said, the year of great gaming continues! We dig into Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Blasphemous 2; Two games that faithfully continue their respective franchises while opting to play it safe. Chris also gives us his very early thoughts on Sea of Stars which is on it's way to becoming one of the best reviewed RPG's of the year... outside of Baldur's Gate 3 of course.

• Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Starfield Reviews are HERE
• News - Mimimi & Volition Studio Closures
• Impressions - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon
• Impressions - Blasphemous 2
• Impressions - Sea of Stars
• 4Player Minute

We take a break this week from the onslaught of current games to delve once again into the world of "what if?" Inspired the release of 'Bomb Rush Cyberfunk' - an indie spiritual successor to 'Jet Set Radio' - we discuss our Top 3 games or franchises that we wish would be reborn as an indie spiritual successor. The possibilities are endless but our answers range from classics like Mega Man Legends to cult hits like Manhunt. These may never come to pass but anything could happen and it's always fun to imagine.

Want to share your thoughts or leave a comment on this episode? Visit the official posting for this episode on 4PlayerNetwork.com!

The show name says it all. We live in a post Baldur's Gate 3 world and despite our best efforts at staying on topic, we feel the pull of this massive game in almost every segment. We take our 2nd dive into the game and talk about the impact it has had on the industry and more specifically, the impending release of Starfield which has officially gone gold! We also spend a few minutes talking predictions about next week's Opening Night Live presentation at Gamescom. Chris Davis shares his experience with the recent Payday 3 beta and Brad talks about Blasphemous which he has finally played now that the sequel looms on the horizon.

• Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Starfield has gone gold
• News - Gamescom is next week; What do we expect?
• Impressions - Baldur's Gate 3
• Impressions - Payday 3
• Impressions - Blasphemous
• 4Player Minute

It's been a couple weeks since our last recording but the world has changed. Baldur's Gate 3 is out and it's already giving Tears of the Kingdom a run for it's money as one of the year's most critically acclaimed releases. We spend the entire 2nd segment diving into this undeniably dense but absurdly rewarding RPG. But first, we discuss the announcement of the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail expansion and Rockstar's incredibly disappointing Red Dead Redemption announcement. Chris Davis "prepared a statement" about Dead Island 2 and Nick highlights My Friendly Neighborhood which feels like Five Night's at Freddy's and Resident Evil 1 had a baby.

• Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail expansion announced
• News - Rockstar announced a PORT of Red Dead Redemption on old hardware
• News - GTA6 might be coming next fiscal year
• Impressions - Dead Island 2
• Impressions - My Friendly Neighborhood
• Impressions - Baldur's Gate 3
• 4Player Minute

If you like your video games extra video-gamey, we've got a great episode for you this week. After our Fantasy Critic update touches on the rumored Red Dead Redemption remake (remaster?), we deliver our impressions of some of the most vibrant games to release this year! Pikmin 4 is the most accessible entry in the series to date but it comes at a cost. Viewfinder is an impressive technical achievement that doesn't quite reach the heights of the games that inspired it. Gravity Circuit is a rock-solid homage to classic Mega Man that has struggled to find it's audience. Finally, as Brad put it, Exoprimal is "Everything, everywhere, all at once... with a Battle Pass." Don't be fooled, all of the games mentioned this week reinforce 2023's killer lineup.

• Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update
• Impressions - Pikmin 4
• Impressions - Viewfinder
• Impressions - Gravity Circuit
• Impressions - Exoprimal
• 4Player Minute