4Player Podcast

With the recent developments involving Microsoft's attempt to swallow Activision / Blizzard and Tango Gameworks continuing to rack up wins amidst apparent losses, there is plenty of news to chew on this week. In the second segment, we get our first taste of Street Fighter VI thanks to the new demo and Brad finally has a chance to share his thoughts on TWO grid based tactics games - Advanced Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp and Wartales. Nick and Chris also share their thoughts on the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon: Forbidden West; a DLC that is equal parts impressive and perplexing... Guerilla somehow decided to deny PS4 players the opportunity to play this chapter in favor of some bold new "cloud" tech...

• Housekeeping
• Fantasy Critic Update
• News - UK blocks Microsoft's acquisition of Activision / Blizzard
• News - Remedy provides development update on all projects
• News - Microsoft to Expand Tango Gameworks amidst rumors of Hi-Fi Rush failure
• Impressions - Street Fighter VI (Demo)
• Impressions - Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores
• Impressions - Advanced Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp
• Impressions - Wartales

It's not often that we focus our attention on the specifics of game development. With that in mind, our latest bonus episode is inspired by Brad's recent love affair with "PsychOdyssey" the exceptional Docuseries that chronicled the development of Psychonauts 2 at Double Fine! That's right, we run through our personal Top 3 lists of the games that we wish would inspire a similar DEEP dive. Answers range from bizarre (Blaseball) to fascinating (Fable) and everything in between.

After a rather unexpected tangent involving coffee creamer, we kick the show off this week with the Playstation handheld that is rumored to be in development. It's been a light news week but we find plenty to chew on thanks to some additional developments related to the future of Resident Evil. Nolan makes his return this week so he and Nick talk about their time with DREDGE; A Lovecraftian fishing game that is sure to be a standout Indie game for the year. Brad finally talks about Wild Hearts - game that has challenged his Monster Hunter programming but is shaping up to be a worthy relative to the beloved hunting franchise.

We brought the SPICE this week. Brad opens the show with a dramatic trade proposal during our weekly Fantasy Critic update and the wheels finally came off E3 2023 which has now been cancelled. We discuss the fate of the industry institution and then switch gears to talk about something a bit more positive... Nintendo gave us a brief glimpse of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the game looks amazing. After the break, we take our first deep dive into the Resident Evil 4 remake and Nick goes to bat for Horizon: Call of the Mountain which, despite struggling hardware sales, manages to be a powerful VR experience.

It has been quite the week in the games industry and it's got everybody feelin spicy! We've got a bevy of big point updates for our Fantasy Critic and some big headlines including a rumored release window for Spider-Man 2 and the acquisition of Night Dive Studios by Atari! But all of that pales in comparison to the dust kicked up by the recent Redfall preview coverage which continues to be one of the most divisive but compelling games on the horizon. In the second segment, we manage to find conflict in Tchia despite it being the most wholesome and delightful games of the year thus far. Krispy takes us on a journey through the Diablo IV beta and Chris Davis claims that Exoprimal could be a potential sleeper hit for the year after his time with the beta.

It's a week full of noteworthy demos. In impressions we talk about our first hands-on impressions of the new Resident Evil 4 demo and our expectations for how the obvious changes will be applied across the full release. Brad also talks about the surprisingly charming demo of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Before all that though, we deliver another Fantasy Critic update, run through the Naughty Dog heavy headlines for the week, and deliver some final thoughts on The Last of Us now that the first season has run it's course on HBO.

We're mixing things up a bit by introducing an updated "News" segment and swapping the placement of the weekly discussion topic and impressions. With that in mind, we deliver a spicy update to our ongoing Fantasy Critic adventure and run down the juiciest headlines from the past week including an Elden Ring DLC announcement, Suicide Squad delayed, and the details regarding the upcoming XBox & Starfield showcases. We then turn our attention to a hot topic surging through the industry and our discord: the legacy of the term "JRPG" and the potential harm it is doing to the industry. In the 2nd segment, Brad talks Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania. Chris Davis discusses his playthrough of Metroid Prime Remastered which also happens to be his 1st time playing the game.

Our first surprise twist of the year has landed... Mortal Kombat 12 is real! Proving once and for all that Chris Davis was right! In other news, Nick is smitten over Atomic Heart and is convinced that it is destined to be his 2023 underdog. Brad breaks down Theatrhythm Final Bar Line and explains how it compares to other entries in the series and other music & rhythm games in general. The group also delves into Like a Dragon: Ishin which is the latest entry in the recently rebranded Yakuza series. In the second segment, Nick gives his early impressions of the Playstation VR 2 headset and it's only true launch title, Horizon: Call of the Mountain.

In our first Top 3 list of the year, we discuss the games that got away. The games that we booted up, enjoyed, and then never completed despite enjoying them thoroughly. Sometimes a game gets moved to the back burner and is forgotten despite our intentions to the contrary. To make things interesting, we treated this as a committment to return to the games on our list in 2023 in an effort to right these wrongs.

This week we dig into two big events at opposite ends of the industry. On one hand, Nintendo just had one of their biggest Nintendo Direct events in recent memory so with that in mind, we devoted the first segment to breaking down all the big announcements including the release date for Pikmin 4, Metroid Prime Remastered (another Shadow Drop!), and the next big trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! In the second segment, we highlight a handful of games that are currently available as demos for Steam Next Fest including System Shock, Planet of Lana, Shadows of Doubt, and more!