4Player Podcast

With a few members out this week, we figured it would the perfect time to revisit our Fantasy Critic league, discuss the year so far, and look ahead at the games that have been drafted to predict how the remainder of the year might come together. Carlos even joins us to shine a light on his roster thus far and discuss some of the big question marks for the year such as Hollow Knight Silksong, Routine, and Counter Strike 2. Throughout the discussion, we review each of our rosters and dive deep on a lot of BIG games set to release in the fall and beyond including Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, and a whole lot more!

• Catch up with Carlos
• Fantasy Critic Recap - A look at all of our current rosters
• A look ahead at the year to come
• 4Player Minute

The week has been slow for headlines and Fantasy Critic but that gives us more time to gush over Dave the Diver and vent our frustrations with Final Fantasy XVI. We discuss a small update from IO Interactive regarding a new studio and what it means for their upcoming 007 project and then discuss the validity of the rumors surrounding an impending Red Dead Redemption remake. Beyond that, the gaps are filled with plenty of tangents including bear sex in Baldur's Gate 3 and the impending release of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning which has Nick chomping at the bit.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - IO Interactive announce Opening of a new Studio
• News - Rumors circulate regarding a Red Dead Redemption remake coming 2023
• Impressions - Dave the Diver
• Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI
• 4Player Minute

Nintendo has spoken and Krispy agrees... the people are ready for an amazing 2D Mario game! We dig into all the big announcements from Nintendo's summer showcase including Super Mario Bros Wonder, a remake of Super Mario RPG, and a new Princess Peach platformer! Annapurna also brought it with their latest showcase thanks to the announcement of an internally developed Blade Runner game. In the second segment, we take our first dive into the meat and potatoes of Final Fantasy XVI, Chris makes a strong case for playing Aliens: Dark Descent, and Nick gives his initial thoughts on Trepang2, an indie successor to the original FEAR. Oh... and Brad found his new drug in Halls of Torment, a successor to last year's mega-indie, Vampire Survivors.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Nintendo Direct Recap
• News - Annapurna Interactive Showcase Recap
• Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI
• Impressions - Aliens: Dark Descent
• Impressions - Trepang2
• Impressions - Halls of Torment
• 4Player Minute

We follow up last week's Xbox Showcase predictions game with the results and then recap all of the big announcements including updates on Fable, Avowed, Hellblade II, and more! Of course, we also discuss all of the exciting details that came pouring out of the big Starfield Direct which now has us appropriately hyped. In the second segment, we finally discuss our dissenting(?) opinions of Diablo IV and then take a close look at the big Final Fantasy XVI demo which now has us pretty optimistic ahead of it's launch next week. Chris Davis uses his 4Player Minute to give us a detailed breakdown of the rather bleak news about Embracer Group which seems to be faced with studio closures and game cancellations.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - XBox Showcase Predictions Results & Recap
• News - Ubisoft Showcase Recap
• Impressions - Diablo IV
• Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI (Demo)
• 4Player Minute - Includes a detailed breakdown of the Embracer Group debacle

It's June so Keigh-3 is in the air. The big Summer Game Fest showcase happened this week so we run down the list of all the big announcements including a new Prince of Persia game, Mortal Kombat 1 and Alan Wake II gameplay debuts, and the re-reveal of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth! After that, we take a new, points-driven, prediction segment for a test-drive ahead of the upcoming Xbox Showcase. In the second segment, Nick praises Amnesia: The Bunker as a new high bar for the series (and maybe even the genre) and Nolan introduces a clever new 1v1 (or 2v2) card-based FPS called Friends vs. Friends.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Summer Game Fest Recap
• Xbox Showcase Predictions Game
• Impressions - Amnesia: The Bunker
• Impressions - Friends vs. Friends
• 4Player Minute

Nolan returns to the "studio" after 2 months of relative silence to talk Zelda and reveal that he picked up and moved across the country! Not only that but he gets a chance to chime in on the recent Playstation Showcase and join us for an important conversation about the state of The Last of Us multiplayer project which is apparently struggling to live up to Sony's expectations. Konami shed some light on Silent Hill Ascension which is interesting but concerning if they intend for this to be the first impression for Silent Hill's big resurgence. In the second segment, Nick talks impressions of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (a Warhammer boomer shooter!) and the newly released remake of System Shock.

• Housekeeping
• Nolan Updates + Playstation Showcase
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - The Last of Us Multiplayer Development Woes
• News - Konami Reveals more about Silent Hill Ascension
• Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Impressions - Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Impressions - System Shock (2023 Remake)

It's another big week in gaming. In fact, we spend almost the entirety of the first segment discussing the news and announcements out of this week's big Playstation Showcase! Strangely enough, that first-party showcase ended up being more of a third-party showcase but we still got big news including a release date for Alan Wake II, a debut of Dragon's Dogma II, and a lot more! In the second segment, we talk Planet of Lana, Humanity, and we dig a little deeper into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom!

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News: Playstation Showcase
• Impressions: Planet of Lana
• Impressions: Humanity
• Impressions: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Nick is back from vacation and full of Coronavirus. Fortunately, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been keeping him (and the rest of the crew) plenty busy. Before we delve into the biggest game of the year though, there is some important business to discuss... because Chris Davis was right and Mortal Kombat 1(12?) is real! We break down the biggest Fantasy Critic twist thus far and talk about what we expect from this new entry. Sony also announced their official 2023 Summer showcase for next week so we spend a few minutes talking predictions. Of course, the rest of the show is ZELDA ZELDA ZELDA.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News: Mortal Kombat 1 Revealed (Release in September)
• News: Playstation Showcase Announced for May 24th
• Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Recorded in the final hours of a pre-Tears of the Kingdom world and with Nick out on vacation, Chris Davis, Krispy, and Brad sit down to clear out their game dockets so that Zelda madness can consume them. Krispy and Brad give their impressions of Darkest Dungeon 2, a daring departure from the original's enjoyably challenging formula, followed by updated impressions of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. And there's no way we couldn't talk about the Mortal Kombat news and how that affects our Fantasy Critic league!

Topics:Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update (5/11/23) News of the Week Impressions - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Impressions - Darkest Dungeon 2

The Star Wars gods have shined upon us this year by giving us one of the best Star Wars games to date and allowing our recording date to coincide with May the 4th (be with you). Nick is joined by Krispy and Chris Davis to take a deep dive into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Respawn's bold new sequel to Fallen Order. Despite the rough launch on PC, our Console experiences have been more than enough to secure this one as a highlight in a year already bursting at the seams with quality games. It's not all sunshine and rainbows though; Star Wars may be great but Arkane Austin had a disastrous launch for Redfall which is on track to be the worst reviewed game of the year. We take a look at the circumstances that led to this unforunate outcome and discuss what it means for Microsoft and Arkane going forward.

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - Redfall has a Disastrous Launch
• Impressions - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor