Tonight we have a blend of new topics and bumped topics starting with discussion of recent plays of Chicory, and how the musical soundtrack is phenomenal.  Ash talks a bit about how maybe there are games with too much complexity…  more specifically Xenoblade 2.  From there Kodra talks about his first major VR game experience with Psychonauts Rhombus of Ruin.  We contemplate what the heck a Disco Elysium TV Show might look like.  Tam talks about his experiences with the latest Total Warhammer game.  Finally we finish the show with a long discussion about Elden Ring and how maybe most of the game reviews are a little biased.

Topics Discussed

• Chicory is Great
• Xenoblade 2
• Psychonauts Rhombus of Ruin
• Disco Elysium TV Show
• Total Warhammer III
• Elden Ring
• • Problems with Game Reviews

Tonight we talk about how constructed Kamigawa is a challenge and how effectively there are only so many viable decks that you can build.  From there we talk about Vampire Saviors a game that Bel griefed Ashgar with and he has been playing at length.  Grace discovers Chronicon, a game that we would consider the perfect diablo clone…  if it had reasonable graphics.  Finally we dive into a long discussion about our earlier feelings about Horizon Forbidden West, a game that has in large part consumed most of the cast since its release on Friday.  There is a weird diatribe about dpads and the importance of a good one as well as a quick blurb about how Psychonauts does not maybe hold up as well from a representation of mental health aspect.

Topics Discussed

• Kamigawa is Hard
• Vampire Saviors
• Chronicon
• Horizon Forbidden West
• Initial Thoughts
• Diatribe about DPads
• Psychonauts Holds up Less Well

We start off with a quick update on Elden Ring and how From Software is working on fixing the exploit prior to launch.  From there we spent quite a bit of time talking about the Nintendo Direct that happened last week and the interesting and wildly unexpected things that came out of it.  We talk a bit about the Lost Ark launch and how only one of us is actually playing it.  From there we talk some more about Control and how Grace has beat the main campaign now and Tam is working his way through it.  Bel talks about his fixation on Remedy games and playing Alan Wake and Quantum break.  Kodra talks about replaying Psychonauts 1 in order to prepare for the sequel.  Finally we dive into a topic about how games can make it a net positive to see other players in the open world.

Topics Discussed

• Updates about Elden Ring
• Nintendo Direct News
• Lost Ark Launch
• Control
• Quantum Break
• Bouncing off Prey 2017
• Psychonauts 1
• In Game Events
• How to make seeing other players a good thing

• Control
• Jade Cyberpunk Cantha
• Neon Cyberpunk Kamigawa
• Trials of Mana New Game Plus
• Transparency in Game Dev
• Aka Star Citizen Recent Controversy
• Elden Ring potential exploits
• Celeste.smc and Kaizo Mario

Hey Folks!  Tonight we dive into a few topics that we did not have time for last week.  First off Grace shares their adventures in Wytchwood, a game largely about crafting interesting potions.  From there we talk briefly about first impressions with a wildly different Pokemon game, Arceus.  From there we talk a bit about Chorus which dives into a longer topic about games that try different things without fully committing to them.  This brings forth a long discussion about minigames and breaking up the rhythm of a game without doing it poorly.  Kodra talks a bit about Celeste.smc which is a version of Celeste playable on the Super Nintendo.  Then we wrap things up with a quick discussion about God of War on the PC and Bel’s thoughts in playing through it.

Tonight we are trying to get back into the swing of regularly recording shows.  It was a bit of an odd week because no one saw Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard King before it was announced.  We talk about this a bit, and Game Pass…  then Bel shares a whole bunch of games that he has been playing from Game Pass.  We also talk a bit about a game called OneShot that Kodra has been spending some time playing.

Topics Discussed

• Microsoft Buys ActiBlizz
• Game Pass
• Nobody Saves the World
• New Super Lucky’s Tale
• Oneshot
• Old School Adventure Games
• Wadjet Eye Games
• Interactive Fiction
• The Gunk
• Forza Horizon 5
• • Car MMOs

Hey folks it is that time again, time for the Games of the Year show.  As is often the case we ended up with way too many things to talk about and could in no way fit them into a single show.  As a result this week I bring you the continuation of last week's show as we run through the second batch of games.  We covered twelve games in the first show and we cover the last seven games in this show.  As you can tell when we go further into the list more active discussion happens as there is a bit more overlap in the titles.

Without further waffling, I bring you the second round of discussion.

Topics Discussed

• Final Fantasy VII Remake - Intergrade
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition
• Valheim
• Wildermyth
• Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
• Final Fantasy XIV / Endwalker

Hey folks it is that time again, time for the Games of the Year show.  As is often the case we ended up with way too many things to talk about and could in no way fit them into a single show.  As a result I will bring you part one this week and next week it will conclude with part two.  We have nineteen games to discuss this year, which means we left some ten honorable mentions on the cutting room floor just because there was nowhere near enough time.  This is probably the most diverse list of games that we have compiled because as a group there was not a whole lot of overlap in the titles we played this year.

Without further waffling I bring you the first round of discussion.

Topics Discussed:

• How we Choose Games
• Ghost of Tsushima - Director’s Cut
• Cozy Grove
• Boyfriend Dungeon
• Celeste
• Chicory a Colorful Tale
• Deathloop
• Deltarune
• Haven
• Psychonaut 2
• Subnautica Below Zero
• Tales of Arise
• Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries

Hey Folks!  Sorry for no show last week but Bel was not able to record.  If you follow him on social media you might have an idea of the weekend he had.  Additionally we should probably talk about how this is going to be our last show of the year.  Time and space has conspired to make it so our recording days for the next two weeks are Christmas Day and New Years Day which yeah…  are not going to be days we record on.  So instead we will see you again in the new year with our traditional “Games of the Year” show.

Tonight however we start off by talking about how generally hard it is to actually play Final Fantasy XIV.  From there Bel talks about the Bungie 30th anniversary event and what he has been doing instead of FFXIV since he finished the MSQ.  From there we talk a bit about Warframe and how the beginning of a new year tends to be when Ash revisits the game.  We talk briefly about the Game Awards 2021 and how Tunic finally has a release date.  Tam talks about his experiences playing Summoner in FFXIV Endwalker.  We then talk about crossing the uncanny valley with the Matrix Awakens Unreal 5 Tech Demo.  Finally we wrap things up talking about how freaking cool the Neon Kamigawa Lands are and how probably hard it will be to get our hands on them.

Topics Discussed

• Not Being able to play FFXIV Endwalker
• • Ceasing Sale of Product
• Bungie 30th Anniversary Event in Destiny 2
• Warframe
• Game Awards 2021
• • Tunic Release Date
  • FFXIV Winning Awards
• Summoner in FFXIV
• Matrix Awakens Unreal 5 Tech Demo
• Neon Kamigawa Lands

Tonight we start the show with a discussion of the Endwalker Head Start…  which may or may not have started depending on if you can make it through the queues.  We talk about our early struggles with the game and some general impressions in a fully non-spoilers way.  From there Kodra talks about his process of learning how to speedrun Celeste.  A topic that has been on our list for awhile is a discussion about Homebrew and House Rules and why this exist or when they go wrong.  Ash talks a bit about Fuga: Melodies of Steel and how it appears to be a passion project for CyberConnect2.  We wrap up with a discussion of New World’s latest patch on PTR and how they are making it impossible to avoid the Watermark Grind.

Topics Discussed

• Endwalker Early Access
• • Nearly 400% increase in Steam over Shadowbringers
  • Five Hour Queues
  • Early Impressions
• Learning to Speedrun Celeste
• Homebrewing
• • When Designers Get it Wrong
  • House Rules and Negotiation
  • Enhancing Fun
• Fuga: Melodies of Steel
• New World December Update
• • Killing Value of High End Crafting
  • Forcing the Watermark Grind