4Player Podcast

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)

After a week off to play Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies together (seriously, check it out), we return to the podcast studio to talk about the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. First up, Sony debuted a new State of Play presentation which, among other things, revealed Ghost of Yotei to the world (the long awaited sequel to Ghost of Tsushima). After a few minor technical hiccups, we get back on track with impressions of UFO 50; an impressive collection of (50) games designed and built around the specs for a imaginary piece of retro gaming hardware! Krispy and Nick gush over Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 and Chris Davis finally got his hands on Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered! Of course, Warhammer also has Krispy spiraling towards an inevitable (and expensive) future in the tabletop space.

• Impressions - Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies (2:00)
• News - Highlights from the Playstation State of Play (15:08)
• Impressions - UFO50 (31:05)
• Impressions - Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 (1:01:30)
• Impressions - Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered (1:28:10)
• 4Player Minute (1:44:05)

Sony manages to be the talk of the town this week in more ways than one... First, we delve into the ridiculous Playstation 5 Pro announcement: a $700 system with NO DISC DRIVE and NO STAND included. Luckily, Astro Bot also released this week and has easily won the hearts of all of us who have played. Brad talks about new indie hotness, Shogun Showdown, and Krispy finally has his opportunity to talk about his extensive time with Star Wars Outlaws; a game he is thoroughly enjoying! Of course, this also leads to bewildering discussions about "Space Jizz" (you read that right) and eventually, more of Chris Davis's hilarious homebuilding shenanigans.

• News - Sony unveils the Playstation 5 Pro system and it is absurd (2:30)
• Impressions - Astro Bot (28:00)
• Impressions - Shogun Showdown (57:25)
• Impressions - Star Wars Outlaws (1:04:45)
• Fantasy Critic Update (1:32:40)
• 4Player Minute (1:40:00)

What a wild (and not great) week it has been in the world of video games! Sony shut down Concord less than two weeks after it launched to middling critical reception and tragic concurrent player counts. On top of that, Hideaki Itsuno - the famed designer behind classics like Power Stone, Devil May Cry, and Dragon's Dogma - announced that he is leaving Capcom after 3 decades. Despite all of the doom and gloom, new and exciting games continue to trickle out. Nick gives us his early impressions of Star Wars Outlaws which has been competing heavily with Black Myth Wukong for his time. Nolan walks us through his experience with the Quest 3 VR headset over the weekend and Brad talks about a cool new "Mesoamerican Fantasy RPG" called Arco. During the 4Player Minute, Chris Davis stuns with a shocking revelation about... Mattress shopping?

• News - Sony shuts down Concord less than 2 weeks after release (2:50)
• News - Hideaki Itsuno leaves Capcom (13:05)
• Impressions - Star Wars Outlaws (19:10)
• Impressions - Meta Quest 3 VR headset (39:30)
• Impressions - Arco (57:50)
• Impressions - Black Myth: Wukong (1:10:20)
• 4Player Minute (1:18:55)

After recapping the latest (and Silksong-less) Nintendo Direct presentation, Nolan shares some exciting news with the community and ultimately opens the door for one of the most bizarre conversations we've had since "Zip-Whip-Pee." Nick digs deep into the rewarding and addicting systems of Black Myth: Wukong while also scoffing at the most ridiculous requests ever put to paper in a video game embargo (one which we are happily not beholden to). Brad and Krispy go onto to rave about Tactical Breach Wizards; The next game from the developer of Gunpoint which some describe as "a DnD campaign gone horribly right." Krispy also dabbled in the early access builds for Abiotic Factor and Deadlock.

• News - Recap of Nintendo Direct (1:40)
• Nolan's Special Announcement (24:25)
• Impressions - Black Myth: Wukong (37:00)
• Impressions - Tactical Breach Wizards (58:35)
• Impressions - Abiotic Factor (1:21:34)
• Fantasy Critic Update (1:43:50)
• 4Player Minute (1:52:30)

We have good news and bad news. The good news is that Krafton swooped in and SAVED Tango Gameworks from closure AND acquired the rights to Hi-Fi Rush so a sequel is all but confirmed. The bad news is that Gamescom kicked off with a rather disappointing Opening Night Live AND Silksong remains as elusive as ever. Regardless, there are some announcements that caught our attention such as Dying Light: The Beast, Blur's new anthology tv series for Amazon Prime called Secret Level, and the reveal of Mafia: The Old Country. After we discuss the highlights (and lowlights) of the show, Brad gives his thoughts on Steamworld Heist 2 and Thrasher!

• News - Krafton Acquires Tango Gameworks along with Rights to Hi-Fi Rush (10:34)
• News - Highlights from Gamescom ONL (16:20)
• Impressions - Steamworld Heist 2 (50:35)
• Impressions - Thrasher (59:45)
• 4Player Minute (1:19:30)

The bad news keeps on comin. This week, Bungie was hit with a significant round of layoffs and even an internal project cancellation which has called the future of Destiny and the studio into question. Not to be outdone, Gamestop suddenly and unexpectedly shut down Game Informer magazine; A shocking turn of events for a company that has relied on the publication to prop up their business for many years. On a less depressing note, Brad talks about World of Goo 2 which, despite the long gap between releases, manages to end up just as great and just as flawed as it's predecessor. Chris turned off his brain to play Earth Defense Force 6 and Brad did something similar with a hilarious little game called Thank Goodness You're Here.

• News - Bungie hit with layoffs / cancellations (8:25)
• News - Gamestop abruptly shuts down Game Informer (18:00)
• Impressions - World of Goo 2 (25:55)
• Impressions - Earth Defense Force 6 (43:20)
• Impressions - Thank Goodness You're Here (56:55)
• Impressions - CONSCRIPT (1:13:00)
• 4Player Minute (1:21:30)

It's release week for Deadpool & Wolverine and Comic-Con so movie-talk does manage to worm it's way in at the top of the show! After that, Nick talks about a delicious new survival-horror game, CONSCRIPT, which captures the overwhelmingly bleak backdrop of World War 1 through a top-down Resident Evil lens. Brad takes a deeper dive into Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure now that the full game is out (and FREE on Netflix apparently!) and Krispy talks about his time with Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail which has hit a proverbial reset button on the story with this latest expansion. Sony dropped the price of the PSVR2 finally and Chris Davis revisits Pacific Drive and talks late game developments.

• Movie Talk (1:45)
• Impressions - CONSCRIPT (17:05)
• Impressions - Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure (31:50)
• Impressions - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (51:20)
• News - Sony drops the price of the PSVR2 dramatically (1:09:07)
• Impressions - Pacific Drive (1:13:04)
• 4Player Minute (1:28:10)

July might feel like a bit of a lull in the world of video games but there is plenty of fun to be found if dig a little deeper. Brad has now spent a good chunk of time with the full release of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. As it turns out, despite some rough edges, the game is... pretty darn cool! Chris Davis played through the first full episode of Fallen Aces; A retro FPS mixed with lite immersive sim elements that leans into comic books and classic detective stories to deliver something fresh! Finally, Nick also found himself playing a game focused around a detective but with a very different wrapper. Nobody Wants to Die is a futuristic, cyberpunk adjacent detective thriller running in Unreal Engine 5 (herefore referred to as a "Triple I" game)!

• Movie Talk (6:40)
• Impressions - Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (13:35)
• Impressions - Fallen Aces (40:55)
• Impressions - Nobody Wants to Die (1:06:30)
• 4Player Minute (1:31:20)