Between dramatic dips in internet, discord instability, and Nick's unprecedented noobism when it comes to podcast production, this week's live recording was about as messy as it gets... but the show must go on! Regardless, we've got some big games to talk about including the long awaited release of Avowed from Obsidian and the obligatory Yakuza release for the year titled, Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza! Nick played a Yakuza game, finally finished Metaphor Refantazio, AND he talks briefly about his time with Spirit of the Samurai; The game he was tasked with trying after coming in last place during our 2024 Fantasy Critic competition!

• Impressions - Metaphor Refantazio (17:07)
• Impressions -  Avowed (23:30)
• Impressions - Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (47:15)
• Impressions - Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza (56:20)
• Impressions - Spirit of the Samurai (1:12:40)
• 4Player Minute (1:27:50)

It feels like 2025 is off to somewhat of a slow start in the world of gaming but that changes as we move deeper into February. Brad spills the beans on the first surprise hit of the year, Kingdom Come Deliverance 2! He also brings a game that stands at the opposite end of the video game spectrum, Lonely Mountains Snow Riders. We continue to press Chris Davis about his midhandling of the Dino Crisis series and Krispy's love affair with Yakuza reaches new heights now that he has finally finished Yakuza: Like a Dragon!

• Impressions - Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 (11:15)
• Impressions - Lonely Mountains Snow Riders (58:00)
• Impressions - Yakuza: Like a Dragon (1:08:10)
• 4Player Minute (1:34:00)

David makes a sudden and somewhat chaotic return to the podcast this week to talk about the latest news involving the reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the surprise announcement of Ninja Gaiden 4! On top of that Chris Davis talks about his time with Ninja Gaiden 2 Black which was announced and shadow dropped at the same time. In the second segment, Brad talks about his addiction to Lorn's Lure; a game about climbing megastructures that seems like it was absolutely made for Brad specifically. David brings his usual randomness to talk about his frustration with Donkey Kong Country Returns HD and... Clock Tower Rewind?

• News - Ninja Gaiden 4 Announced
• Impressions - Ninja Gaiden 2 Black
• News - Nintendo Switch 2 Announcement
• Impressions - Lorn's Lure
• Impressions - Donkey Kong Country Returns HD
• Impressions - Clock Tower Rewind
• 4Player Minute (Filibuster Edition) 

As is customary, we jump start a new year by revisiting the old one! It's time to run through a bunch of meaningly award categories that we made up for fun! We even introduced a new set of "Wild Card" awards that are complete surprises for everyone at the table! So join us as we celebrate 2024 in all of it's glory. Our discussions cover everything from Dragons Dogma 2 to Silent Hill 2 to 1000x Resist... and everything in between. 

• Best World / Level Design (6:45)
• Best Storytelling (23:05)
• Best Gaming Moment (43:30)
• Wild Card Award #1 (1:08:13)
• Break | Best Soundtrack Picks (1:21:10)
• Best New Enemy / Boss Design (1:24:10)
• Best New Character (1:36:30)
• Biggest Surprise (01:48:30)
• Wild Card Award #2 (2:01:10)
• Break | Best Soundtrack Picks (2:15:10)
• Biggest Disappointment (2:16:30)
• I Won't Quit You, I Promise (2:33:20)
• The Spotlight Award (2:41:30)

This week, we found some time to squeeze in a semi-regular show in between our Fantasy Critic draft and our upcoming game of the year awards show! Brad talks about Slitterhead, the next game from the original creator of Silent Hill... and it turns out, it exudes some serious PS2 energy (which is not necessarily a bad thing). We also take a moment to speculate about the upcoming reveal of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the Xbox Developer Direct. 

• Impressions - Slitterhead (10:00)
• Rumor - Nintendo to Announce Nintendo Switch 2 on Thursday (29:05)
• Rumor - New Game Announcement at Xbox Developer Direct on Jan 23 (44:20)
• 4Player Minute (57:50)

As is customary nowadays, we kick off another new year by drafting games into our Fantasy Critic League rosters! If you are unfamiliar, think of it as Fantasy Football but for video games where scores are tallied based on each game's review aggregate score on Open Critic. Of course, this also gives us a great opportunity to talk about a bunch of great looking games that you can expect to hear us playing and talking about throughout the year! 

We bring 2024 to a close with some film banter right out of the gate followed by impressions of two new entries in sibling franchises. Chris Davis delivers his impressions of Metro: Awakening, marking the first time the franchise has delved into the VR space, and Nick talks about STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl now that recent patches have finally rendered the game playable! In the second segment, Brad takes us through the final results of our 2024 Fantasy Critic competition including announcing the winners in each of our community leagues! Thanks for sticking with us in 2024. We'll see you in 2025!

• Chit Chat: Film talk (2:40)
• Impressions - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (17:12)
• Impressions - Metro: Awakening (22:00)
• Impressions - STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl (46:00)
• 2024 Fantasy Critic Wrap-Up (1:06:13)

What a week! The Game Awards came and went but they left a trail of insane game announcements in their wake. We try our best to cover the highlights including Okami 2, a new game from Fumito Ueda, Onimusha: Way of the Sword, and more! Unfortunately, we eventually ran into some poorly timed internet troubles so our broadcast (and this recording) took a hit. When we get those sorted out (for now), we jump into impressions of Marvel Rivals and Indiana Jones and the Great Circle! 

• Chit Chat: Brad Interrogates Nick about 'Dexter: Original Sin' (3:00)
• Recap - Highlights from The Game Awards (12:20)
• Technical Difficulties
• Impressions - Marvel Rivals (27:28)
• Impressions - Indiana Jones and the Great Circle (49:55)

It has been awhile since an unexpected discussion topic reveals some unusual truths about the group... That changes this week as we learn some interesting fears that Brad has about sleeping. But of course, we are here to talk about video games so we revisit some big recent releases like Dragon Age: The Veilguard and Metaphor ReFantazio! On the new game front, Brad talks about new, fast-paced indie game called Echo Point Nova and Chris Davis (and Nick) talk about their early impressions of STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl!

• Quick Mention - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (2:55)
• Impressions - Echo Point Nova (23:45)
• Impressions - Metaphor ReFantazio (36:40)
• Impressions - S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl (1:00:40)
• Fantasy Critic Update (1:39:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:46:48)

It's the week of Thanksgiving here in the states so we decided to take a little podcasting detour to talk about the games that we are most thankful for! These aren't necessarily our favorite games of all time but they all mean something important to us for one reason or another! Whether it helped shape our current tastes in games or put us on a new path in life, the impact these games had on us cannot be understated.

**Please Note: We had an internet hiccup early on during the stream so there is shift in audio quality around the 16 minute mark.**