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.**

With Nolan officially out on paternity leave (congratulations!), we press forward into the wacky world of video games once again! We re-visit Dragon Age: The Veilguard to discuss how the game is progressing and examine Nick & Brad's drastically different playstyles. Chris Davis expresses his enjoyment of Life is Strange: Double Exposure after the first three episodes but braces himself for the tides to shift (if the reviews are to be believed). Brad also brings back the UFO50 minute with two new games from the collection and hypes up I am your Beast, the next game from the developer of El Paso Elsewhere! Oh... and we also dig a little bit into the controversary surrounding The Game Awards GOTY nominations.

• Nolan's big news! (1:38)
• Impressions - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (10:30)
• Impressions - Life is Strange: Double Exposure (36:30)
• Impressions - I am your Beast (59:30)
• The UFO 50 Minute (1:09:00)
• News - The Game Awards Announces their GOTY Nominees (1:19:45)
• 4Player Minute (1:39:00)

Time to get back on the podcasting horse... It IS Brad's week to shine as there is a new Dragon Age game AND some major Castlevania content to discuss so he is firing on all cylinders! We take our first deep dive into Dragon Age: The Veilguard and find that Bioware has managed to put together a polished, fun, and addicting game despite having an undeniable resemblance to modern God of War. In the second segment, Brad goes full nerd while discussing the crazy new Castlevania DLC for Vampire Survivors and Chris Davis revisits Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 now that he has spent some time with the co-op campaign.

• Impressions - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (5:15)
• Impressions - Vampire Survivors Castlevania DLC (1:04:00)
• Impressions - Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 (1:22:40)
• 4Player Minute (1:36:00)

The stars have aligned on this very Hallowed Eve; Blessing this episode with a bevy of sweet horror games to talk about! Krispy continues to tackle his backlog of life-changing games and talks about his time with Signalis! Brad brings two new indie-horror games to the table with The Closing Shift and Tormenture; Both of which defy expectation but in completely different ways. Nick discusses his first night of playing The Outlast Trials with the community and delivers his early impressions of this year's reboot of Alone in the Dark (RIP Pieces Interactive). Of course, we also talk a little about the critical reception of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the looming Beta of Monster Hunter Wilds!

• News - Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd Reviews are Out! (10:30)
• Impressions - Signalis (19:40)
• Impressions - The Closing Shift (37:10)
• Impressions - Tormenture (46:40)
• Impressions - The Outlast Trials (1:08:00)
• Impressions - Alone in the Dark (1:24:45)
• 4Player Minute (1:42:10)

We're running a little late this week but we have a lot to talk about! After a little detour to talk horror films and general spooky season stuff, Krispy takes us back to 2019 now that he has finally played (and loved!) Death Stranding: Director's Cut! It's a fun discussion that puts a lot of us in the mood to revisit the game ahead of the looming sequel. Brad gives his first impressions of the Silent Hill 2 Remake now that he's played a significant chunk of it and Chris Davis shares some thoughts on his time with the story campaign of Mech Warrior 5: Clans. Of course, we've got another does of UFO 50 highlights and some Fantasy Critic talk mixed in there for good measure.

• Halloween Season Chatter (2:40)
• Impressions - Death Stranding: Director's Cut (17:55)
• Impressions - Mech Warrior 5 Clans (48:45)
• Impressions - UFO 50 (1:05:10)
• Impressions - Silent Hill 2 Remake (1:15:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:49:30)

The surprises keep on coming. Not only did Creative Assembly announce the development of Alien Isolation 2, but Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2 AND the new IP, Metaphor ReFantazio released to stellar reviews! Nick digs deep into Silent Hill 2 Remake and praises it as a faithful and worthwhile adaptation of one of the best horror games ever made. While Metaphor ReFantazio has not officially released, a lengthy prologue demo that carries over to the full game gives us a detailed look at what to expect from the next game from the Persona team! Brad also highlights two more games from UFO 50 and highlights a spooky horror game making the rounds this Halloween season called Ten Bells.

• News - Creative Assembly Announced Alien Isolation 2 (13:55)
• Impressions - Silent Hill 2 Remake (19:05)
• Impressions - UFO 50 (45:00)
• Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (57:05)
• Impressions - Metaphor ReFantazio (1:14:35)
• Impressions - Ten Bells (1:33:50)
• 4Player Minute (1:46:00)

I was so tempted to name this show the "Piss Filter" show but alas, it is Chris Davis' birthday so this episode is named in his honor! How did Chris Davis spend the days leading up to his birthday? By playing through two 20-year old games (read: bonafide classics!): Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater! Brad and Nolan deliver some early impressions of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and then highlight 4 seperate games from UFO 50 that have their hooks in deep! There has also been some intense developments with our ongoing Fantasy Critic league so stay tuned!

• Banter - Spooky season has begun (7:18)
• Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (21:08)
• Impressions - UFO50 (47:20)
• Impressions - Resident Evil 3 / Metal Gear Solid 3 Double Feature (1:22:30)
• Fantasy Critic Update (1:29:45)
• 4Player Minute (1:38:30)