Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Wolfman Jew
Bresson

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
5:05 – Why There’s So Much Gaming News in February
8:35 – Digimon Con
13:35 – Soul Hackers 2 and MegaTen Games
18:10 – February Nintendo Direct
40:55 – Dune: Spice Wars
46:15 – Pokémon Presents
50:05 – Sony Buys Bungie and Other Acquisitions
58:15 – What We’ve Been Playing
1:29:00 – Trivia Challenge
1:43:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep81

Podcast header image from The Good Life. Linkdump, spoiler warnings, and answers for the trivia challenge after the jump.

• The Jelle’s Marble Runs and ThorHighHeels YouTube channels, both from the Netherlands.
• Wikipedia article on Columbo.
• Steam store page for The Great Ace Attorney Chronicles, whose protagonist is Ryonosuke Naruhodo.
• Official website for The Witch Queen, the most recent Destiny 2 expansion.
• Wikipedia article on the Baldur’s Gate series.
• Wikipedia article on Dragon Age: Origins.

• Wikipedia article on Mass Effect: Andromeda.

• Information on Digimon Survive revealed at Digimon Con. (Source: Siliconera)
• Official website for Witchcraft (in Japanese).
• Official website for Hyde (in Japanese).
• Wikipedia article on Mighty No. 9.
• Official website for the Polish Witchcraft Studios, not to be confused with the Japanese Witchcraft.
• The American and Canadian intros for Dragonball Z. Merve would like to apologize for characterizing the Canadian intro as “butt rock” when it’s really more ‘80s synth rock than anything. (Sources: dragon chan and Eidlones on YouTube)
• Music video for “Hunger Strike” by Temple Of The Dog. (Source: Temple Of The Dog on YouTube)

• Announcement trailer for Soul Hackers 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Persona 5 Strikers.
• Wikipedia article on Hyrule Warriors.

• English February 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Mouthful Mode reveal trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Xenoblade Chronicles 3. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Nintendo Switch Sports. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Wii Sports.
• Wikipedia article on Fru.
• Wikipedia article on Steel Battalion: Heavy Armor.
• Wikipedia article on Binary Domain.
• Wikipedia article on Arms.
• Trailer for the Chrono Cross remaster. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announce trailer for The Centennial Case: A Shijima Story. (Source: Square Enix on YouTube)
• Report on the cloud versions of Kingdom Hearts games running on Switch. (Source: Polygon)
• Correction: It hasn’t been confirmed that the PS4 versions of the Kingdom Hearts 1.5 and 2.5 collections are running on a layer of emulation; this is just a well-informed rumour. Moreover, this setup would be emulating components of the PS3, not the PS2. (Source: ajdragoon in the Kotaku comments section.)
• Announcement trailer for the Switch port of No Man’s Sky. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Japanese February 2022 Nintendo Direct presentation. (Source: Nintendo 公式チャンネル on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on h.a.n.d.
• Wikipedia article on the Tex Murphy series.
• Steam store page for Root Letter Last Answer, the remake of Root Letter with live-action sequences.

• Preview footage for Dune: Spice Wars. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Dune Wiki article on Arrakis. (Source: Fandom)
• Dune Wiki article on the Butlerian Jihad. (Source: Fandom)
• Dune Wiki article on the Fremen. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Sins of a Solar Empire.

• An illustration of Alolan Exeggutor. (Source: Bulbapedia)
• Announcement trailer for Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet. (Source: The Official Pokémon YouTube channel on YouTube)
• Information on Pokémon Scarlet and Pokémon Violet’s starters. (Source: Eurogamer)

• Report on Nintendo’s acquisition of SRD. (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• Report on Sony’s acquisition of Bungie. (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• Hoeg Law video on Sony’s acquisition of Bungie, and a helpful Reddit summary. (Sources: Hoeg Law on YouTube and r/DestinyTheGame on Reddit)

MAJOR SPOILERS for Unpacking and Kingdom Hearts II

• Nintendo store page for Unpacking.
• Steam store page for Total War: Warhammer III.
• Wikipedia article on Kingdom Hearts II.
• Steam store page for The Good Life.
• Wikipedia article on Balan Wonderworld.

• Wikipedia article on the Gears of War series.
• Wikipedia article on Vancouver studio The Coalition.
• Wikipedia article on Perfect Dark.
• Perfect Dark Wiki article on Elvis. (Source: Fandom)
• Official webpage for Wordle.
• Wikipedia article on Fahrenheit, a.k.a Indigo Prophecy.
• Wikipedia article on Theory of a Deadman.
• Wikipedia article on the Commander Keen series.
• Wikipedia article on Cortana from the Halo franchise.
• IMDB page for Jen Taylor.
• Wikipedia article on the “All your base are belong to us” meme.
• Wikipedia article on Zero Wing.
• Bulbapedia article on Zapdos.
• Wikipedia article on Kazutaka Kodaka.
• Wikipedia article on Danganronpa.
• Wikipedia article on the Dune franchise.
• Wikipedia article on Tacoma.
• Zeldapedia article on Rupees. (Source: Fandom)
• As of this writing, 1 Canadian dollar is worth 60.09 Indian rupees. (Source: Google)
• Wikipedia article on the Sly Cooper series.
• Wikipedia article on the Infamous series.
• Wikipedia article on Ghost of Tsushima.
• Wikipedia article on Sucker Punch Productions.
• Wikipedia article on Half-Life.
• The Half-Life & Portal Encyclopedia article on Xen. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on the Monkey Island series.
• Wikipedia article on Guybrush Threepwood.
• Wikipedia article on theSoulcalibur franchise.
• Wikipedia article on Soul Edge, a.k.a. Soul Blade.
• IMDB page for Michael Fassbender.
• IMDB page for Marion Cotillard.
• Wikipedia article on the Assassin’s Creed film.
• Hololive Wiki articles on Gawr Gura, Amelia Watson, and Calliope Mori. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Hololive Production.
• Virtual YouTuber Wiki article on VOMS Project. (Source: Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Waluigi.
• Wikipedia article on Mario Tennis.
• Wikipedia article on Among Us.
• Official website for Innersloth.
• The Avocado’s Werewolves games.

No links here.

1. What is the name of the Vancouver, B.C. studio that currently develops the Gears of War franchise?
   Answer: The Coalition
2. What is the name of the little grey alien whom Joanna Dark rescues in Perfect Dark and who later assists her on missions?
   Answer: Elvis (Aelphaeis Mangarae)
3. How many attempts do you have to correctly guess a word in Wordle?
   Answer: 6
4. The soundtrack of Fahrenheit, a.k.a. Indigo Prophecy, featured songs by which Canadian post-grunge band, including “Santa Monica” and “No Surprise”?
   Answer: Theory of a Deadman
5. Which video game hero wears a fuchsia t-shirt, blue jeans, and a Green Bay Packers helmet?
   Answer: Commander Keen (Billy Blaze)
6. Who voices Cortana?
   Answer: Jen Taylor
7. From which video game does the phrase “All your base are belong to us” originate?
   Answer: Zero Wing
8. Of the three Legendary Bird Pokémon from the original 150, which one comes second in the Pokédex?
   Answer: Zapdos (get it, because “dos” means two in Spanish)
9. Kazutaka Kodaka created which “psycho-pop” video game franchise featuring a scholastic killing game and a psychopathic teddy bear named Monokuma?
   Answer: Danganronpa
10. Video games based on which sci-fi franchise created by Frank Herbert are said to be seminal games in the real-time strategy genre?
    Answer: Dune
11. Which game, developed by Fullbright, is set aboard a space station and involves using an AR device to review past conversations?
    Answer: Tacoma
12. What is the currency in the Legend of Zelda franchise called?
    Answer: Rupees
13. Which studio, currently owned by Sony, developed the Sly Cooper franchise, the Infamous franchise, and Ghost of Tsushima?
    Answer: Sucker Punch Productions
14. What is the name of the alien world that you visit in the final section of Half-Life?
    Answer: Xen
15. What is the name of the protagonist of the Monkey Island franchise?
    Answer: Guybrush Ulysses Threepwood
16. The first game in the fighting game franchise Soulcalibur wasn’t called “Soulcalibur,” but was instead called what? (I’ll accept either the Japanese title or the Western one.)
    Answer: Soul Edge or Soul Blade (Soulcalibur is actually the second game in the series!)
17. Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard starred in a 2016 movie based on which video game franchise?
    Answer: Assassin’s Creed
18. Gawr Gura, Amelia Watson, and Calliope Mori are vtubers belonging to which agency?
    Answer: Hololive
19. Waluigi made his first appearance in which video game?
    Answer: Mario Tennis (N64)
20. What is the name of the American video game studio that developed and published Among Us?
    Answer: Innersloth

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Lutair
Lovely Bones

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
6:50 – What We Played Over the Holidays
32:50 – Microsoft’s Acquisition of Activision
52:00 – 2022 Predictions
1:31:40 – Games We’re Looking Forward to in 2022
2:02:05 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep80

Podcast header image from Type:Rider. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Official teaser trailer for Starfield. (Source: Bethesda Softworks on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on pumpkin spice.
• Official website for Dunkin’ Donuts.
• Official website for Tim Hortons.
• Correction: Burger King actually did purchase Tim Hortons (not the other way around), but the merged company is incorporated in Canada as a subsidiary of the Canadian holding company Restaurant Brands International, in which Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital has a majority stake. (Source: Wikipedia)

MAJOR SPOILERS for Type:Rider

• Steam store page for Project Zomboid.
• boxbox‘s Twitch channel.
• Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!
• The “Mona pizza” song from WarioWare: Touched! (Source: Tutajkk on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II.
• Steam store page for Type:Rider.

• News report on the acquisition. (Source: The Verge)
• Geoff Keighley’s controversial “shopping list” Tweet. (Source: @geoffkeighley on Twitter)

• Report on E3 2022’s probable cancellation. (Source: ComicBook.com)
• The infamous Metaverse rave Tweet. (Source: @alexmoss on Twitter)
• Merve’s 1st prediction (normal): Steam Deck won’t work as well as advertised.
• Steam Deck is officially coming out on February 25th. (Source: Steam)
• Merve’s 2nd prediction (normal): Digimon Survive will release this year within a couple of months of Digimon Con, and a new Digimon Story game will be announced at Digimon Con for a late 2023 release date.
• Digimon Con is set for February 26th. (Source: DigimonWeb, the official Digimon website)
• Merve’s 3rd prediction (wacky): The new Mario Kart game will be a mash-up with F-Zero.
• Serkan Toto’s insider information that Mario Kart 9 “comes with a new twist.” (Source: GamesIndustry.biz)
• The Kappa’s 1st prediction (normal): Digital purchases will increasingly be interoperable between stores.
• Ubisoft Store page for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Extraction.
• The Kappa’s 2nd prediction (wacky): Nvidia is hoarding RTX 30 series (“3000 series”) GPUs, and the card drought will end abruptly this year once the 4000 series is announced.
• Nvidia’s official webpage for the GeForce RTX 30 series.
• The Kappa’s 3rd prediction (normal): The games that will dominate the conversation this year are indie games that aren’t currently on many people’s radars.
• Steam store page for Bastion.
• The “UnderTale” (sic) Kickstarter campaign.
• Steam store page for Vampire Survivors.
• Steam store page for Elden Ring.
• Lovely Bones’s 1st prediction (normal): Obsidian will put out a lot of information on all their upcoming games.
• Wikipedia article on Obsidian Entertainment.
• Lovely Bones’s 2nd prediction (wacky): Star Fox for Switch will be announced for a 2023 release.
• Wikipedia article on Starlink: Battle for Atlas.
• Lovely Bones’s 3rd prediction (normal): We will get a full “E3-style” video demo of Insomniac’s upcoming Spider-Man game this year, but we won’t hear anything about their Wolverine game.
• Reveal trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Marvel’s Wolverine. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Lutair’s 1st prediction (normal): When Braid: Anniversary Edition comes out this year, it’ll spark a two-week torrent of discourse and then disappear from the zeitgeist entirely.
• Announcement of Braid: Anniversary Edition. (Source: Thekla Inc. on YouTube)
• Lutair’s 2nd prediction (wacky): The upcoming Mario movie will be good.
• Wikipedia article on the untitled Mario film.
• Lutair’s 3rd prediction (wacky): Play-to-earn games will become annoyingly big this year but then crash after government intervention or legal challenges.
• Wikipedia article on blockchain games.

MAJOR SPOILERS for Dragon Age: Inquisition

• Story trailer for Elden Ring. (Source: BANDAI NAMCO Europe on YouTube)
• Official reveal trailer for MultiVersus. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Nickelodeon All-Star Brawl.
• Announce trailer for Total War: Warhammer III. (Source: Total War on YouTube)
• Gameplay trailer for Stray. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Maquette.
• Announcement trailer for Kirby and the Forgotten Land. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Digimon Survive. You can ignore the planned 2019 release date. (Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America on YouTube)
• Story trailer for AI: The Somnium Files – nirvanA Initiative. (Source: Spike Chunsoft on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Sports Story. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Cinematic trailer for Dragon Age 4. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• The report on how BioWare’s Anthem went wrong that introduced the term “BioWare magic” to the world. (Source: Kotaku)
• Official teaser trailer for Starfield. (Source: Bethesda Softworks on YouTube)
• Development update on Metroid Prime 4. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official gameplay reveal trailer for Marvel’s Midnight Suns. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Gameplay sneak peek trailer for Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Game Awards gameplay trailer for Saints Row. (Source: Saints Row on YouTube)
• Story trailer for Harold Halibut. (Source: Harold Halibut on YouTube)
• Official trailer for She Dreams Elsewhere. (Source: studio zevere. on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Afterlove EP. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Neon White. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official announcement trailer for Baldur’s Gate 3. (Source: Larian Studios on YouTube)
• 13-minute gameplay preview for Pokémon Legends: Arceus. (Source: The Official Pokémon YouTube Channel on YouTube)
• The Avocado’s Game News Roundup, run by Lovely Bones.

• Information on the new Windows 11 Paint app. (Source: ZDNet)
• Wordle, everyone’s new favourite word game.
• Lyric video for “Just the Two of Us.” Confirmation: Merve does indeed have to apologize to Grover Washington Jr. and Bill Withers. (Source: RHINO on YouTube)

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
3rdstringhero
Canadave87
DashboardDough
Dramus18
LittleMac
Science is Bad

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:35 – The Game Awards: Ceremony and Awards
22:20 – The Game Awards: Announcements, Part 1
52:50 – The Game Awards: Project Sonic Watch 2022
53:00 – The Game Awards: Announcements, Part 2
57:15 – Abuse and Labour in the Games Industry
1:08:45 – Epic vs. Apple and Google
1:22:55 – Studio Acquisitions
1:34:55 – Community Top 3: 3rdstringhero
1:39:50 – Community Top 3: Canadave87
1:49:50 – Community Top 3: DashboardDough
1:56:00 – Community Top 3: Dramus18
2:02:35 – Community Top 3: LittleMac
2:11:55 – Community Top 3: Science is Bad
2:22:10 – Merve and The Kappa’s Top Fives
3:22:45 – Worst and Most Disappointing Games of 2021
3:47:15 – Surprises of 2021
3:54:55 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep79

Podcast header image from OPUS: Echo of Starsong. Linkdump and content warnings after the jump.

• Wikipedia article on the SARS-CoV-2 omicron variant.

• Official website for The Game Awards.
• Stream archive for the 2021 Game Awards. (Source: thegameawards on YouTube)
• The Avocado’s live chat for The Game Awards.
• Nominees and winners at The Game Awards. (Source: The Game Awards)
• Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• Steam store page for Deathloop.
• Steam store page for Resident Evil Village.
• Steam store page for Genesis Noir.
• Steam store page for Chicory: A Colorful Tale.

• Announcement trailer for Dune: Spice Wars. (Source: Funcom on YouTube)
• Confirmation: Dune 2000 was indeed released before 2000, in 1998. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article for Shiro Games.
• Wikipedia article on the Command & Conquer franchise.
• Announcement trailer for Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2. (Source: thegameawards on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Alan Wake 2. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Slitterhead. Correction: Slitterhead is Bokeh’s debut game, not their debut “studio.” (Source: Bokeh Game Studio)
• Wonder Womanreveal trailer. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Cinematic reveal trailer for Quantic Dream’s Star Wars Eclipse. (Source: Star Wars on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Star Wars: Visions.
• Wikipedia article on Detroit: Become Human.
• “Sessions: Diana,” a royalty-free music collection by Riot Games. (Source: Riot Games Music on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for Thirsty Suitors. (Source: Annapurna Interactive on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on I Feel Bad.

• Announce trailer for Sonic Frontiers. (Sonic the Hedgehog on YouTube)

• Reveal trailer for The Lord of the Rings: Gollum: The Untold Story. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Correction: Abe’s Oddysee is actually one of the Oddworld games, not a separate franchise. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Game Awards 2021 trailer for Forspoken. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)

CONTENT WARNING: Discussion of sexual misconduct

• Wikipedia article on the lawsuit filed by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing against Activision Blizzard.
• Report on Bobby Kotick’s involvement in the ongoing problems at Activision Blizzard. (Source: Wall Street Journal)
• Report on layoffs at Raven Software. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on the ongoing union drive at Activision Blizzard. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on Jennifer Oneal’s resignation as co-head of Blizzard. (Source: Kotaku)
• Survey about why people didn’t buy Call of Duty: Vanguard. (Source: gamesindustry.biz)
• Eidos-Montréal’s announcement about moving to a four-day workweek. (Source: Eidos-Montréal)

• Report on the hearing of Epic’s case against Apple. (Source: Associated Press)
• Report on the judge’s ruling. (Source: The Verge)
• Report on Valve changing their cut for Steam purchases in 2018. (Source: TechCrunch)

• Wikipedia’s article on 2021 in video games lists most of these acquisitions.
• Correction: Gearbox does not appear to have their own dedicated launcher. (Source: Gearbox Software)
• Wikipedia article on Black Mirror: Bandersnatch.
• Official webpage for Xbox Game Pass.

• First place: Steam store page for Scarlet Nexus.
• Second place: Official Nintendo page for Monster Hunter Rise.
• Third place: Steam store page for Halo Infinite.
• Epic Games Store page for Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade.

• Voting thread for the video game category of the Pits, The Avocado’s annual awards show.
• Third place: Steam store page for Inscryption.
• Second place: Steam store page for Call of the Sea.
• First place: Steam store page for Sable.

• First place: Official PlayStation page for Returnal.
• Second place: Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Third place: Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.

• Third place: Official Nintendo page for Bowser’s Fury.
• Second place: Steam store page for Deltarune (including Chapter 2).
• First placed: Steam store page for Rhythm Doctor.

• Origin page for Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny.
• Official Nintendo page for Shin Megami Tensei V.
• Official Nintendo page for Voice of Cards: The Isle Dragon Roars.
• Third place: Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!
• Second place: Official Nintendo page for Bowser’s Fury.
• First place: Official Nintendo page for Metroid Dread.

• Third place: Steam store page for Unpacking.
• Second place: Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• First place: Steam store page for Resident Evil Village.

• Merve’s #5: Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• The Kappa’s #5: Epic Games Store page for Far Cry 6.
• Merve’s #4: Steam store page for Psychonauts 2.
• The Kappa’s #4: Official Xbox page for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.
• Go listen to “Superman” by Goldfinger! (Source: Goldfinger Music on YouTube)
• Merve’s #3: Steam store page for Adios.
• The Kappa’s #3: Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.
• Merve’s #2: Epic Games Store page for Hitman 3.
• Clarification: You can go outside in the Dubai level of Hitman 3; you just can’t leave the building. (Source: Gamer4Sight on YouTube)
• The Kappa’s #2: Steam store page for Mass Effect Legendary Edition.
• Correction: Combat in the Legendary version of Mass Effect 1 has not been modified to include ammo instead of weapon cooldowns; the cooldowns have just been shortened, among other changes to the combat. (Source: Mass Effect Wiki Guide on IGN)
• The Pits 2021 video game results. (Source: The Avocado)
• Merve’s #1: Steam store page for OPUS: Echo of Starsong.
• Sisi Jiang’s review of OPUS: Echo of Starsong. (Source: Kotaku)
• The Kappa’s #1: Steam store page for Halo Infinite.

• Steam store page for Maquette.
• Wikipedia article on publisher Annapurna Interactive. N.B. There is an error in the article: Hindsight has not yet been released.
• Steam store page for Outriders.
• Official Nintendo page for Unpacking.
• Steam store page for New World.
• Steam store page for Operation: Tango.
• Steam store page for We Were Here.

• Epic Games Store page for Fortnite.
• Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.
• The “Most Anticipated Game” category at The Game Awards.
• Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
• The somewhat janky looking preview footage that Marvel Entertainment released for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. (Source: Marvel Entertainment on YouTube)
• Epic Games Store page for Radiohead’s KID A MNESIA EXHIBITION.
• Steam store page for Persona 5 Strikers.
• The Jack Frost horde scene from Persona 5 Strikers. (Source: CGInferno on YouTube)

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:25 – Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy
30:25 – New World
49:25 – Tales of Arise
1:06:10 – Age of Empires IV
1:15:35 – The Hitman Series
1:22:40 – Evil Genius 2
1:26:10 – Deathloop
1:34:45 – Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms
1:40:00 – Golf Club Wasteland
1:47:15 – It Takes Two
1:58:25 – Upcoming Games
2:16:25 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep78

Podcast header image from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Aaron Rodgers admitted to being unvaccinated and taking ivermectin. (Source: NBC News)
• Rodgers has been dropped by Prevea Health and had his ad time cut by State Farm. (Sources: CBS Sports and New York Post)

• Steam store page for Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy.
• Steam store page for Marvel’s Avengers.
• Know Your Meme page on “Welcome to Die!”
• Clarification: While Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3: The Black Order was developed by Koei Tecmo’s Team Ninja, the first two games in the series were developed by Activision’s Raven Software and Vicarious Visions, respectively. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Correction: Square Enix president Yosuke Matsuda made his statement implying that Crystal Dynamics was the wrong fit for a games-as-a-service title in the company’s annual report, not in an interview or press conference. (Source: VGC)
• Correction: The Black Panther DLC for Marvel’s Avengers is called War For Wakanda. Wakanda Forever is the subtitle for the upcoming Black Panther film. (Sources: The Verge and Wikipedia)

• Steam store page for New World.
• Wikipedia article on Legend of the Red Dragon.
• Correction: The Realm Online was originally published by Sierra On-Line, but is currently maintained by Rat Labs. Robinson Technologies is the company that made Legend of the Red Dragon. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on EverQuest.
• Annabel Lee by Edgar Allan Poe. (Source: Wikisource)
• Official website for Genshin Impact.

MINOR SPOILERS FOR TALES OF ARISE.

• Steam store page for Tales of Arise.
• Wikipedia article on Final Fantasy VI.
• Wikipedia article on Persona 5.

• Steam store page for Age of Empires IV.

• Epic Games Store page for Hitman 3.
• Correction: The tutorial mission in New Zealand, “Nightcall,” is the first mission in Hitman 2, not Hitman 3. The first mission in Hitman 3 is “On Top of the World,” set in Dubai. (Source: Hitman Wiki on Fandom)
• Correction: The Chinese cyberpunk level in Hitman 3, “End of an Era” is set in Chongqing, not Shanghai or Hong Kong. (Source: Hitman Wiki on Fandom)

• Steam store page for Evil Genius 2: World Domination.

• Steam store page for Deathloop.
• Reprise is the name of the ability in Deathloop that gives you two continues. (Source: Deathloop Wiki on Fandom)
• The new game from Dean Hall, creator of DayZ, is called Icarus. (Source: Official Icarus website)

• Steam store page for Idle Champions of the Forgotten Realms.
• Steam store page for the “Bardic Inspirations” soundtrack.
• The Phantom Rabbid song from Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle. (Source: Boss Fight Database on YouTube)

• Steam store page for Golf Club Wasteland.
• Steam store page for Golf With Your Friends.
• Correction: Demagog Studio, the makers of Golf Club Wasteland, are located in Belgrade, Serbia. (Source: LinkedIn)

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR A WAY OUT.

• Steam store page for It Takes Two.
• Steam store page for A Way Out.
• Steam store page for We Were Here.
• Steam store page for Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Vegas 2.
• Official Nintendo page for WarioWare: Get It Together!

• Steam store page for Halo Infinite.
• Steam store page for Battlefield 2042.
• Steam store page for Jurassic World Evolution 2.
• Know Your Meme page for Domino Effect.
• The “octagon” layout in SimCity. (Source: Zhatt on YouTube)
• Epic store page for Solar Ash.
• Info on Halo Infinite’s battle pass. (Source: IGN)
• Official website for Call of Duty: Vanguard.
• Halo Alpha entry on Arbiter. (Source: Fandom)

• The games Merve played in 2017. (Source: Refrigerator Rants)
• Correction: Plus signs would be encoded and can’t be directly included in a domain name. (Source: URLEncoder)

Featuring:
The Kappa
Bresson
LittleMac

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
1:00 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 1
23:30 – Richard Garriott and MMOs
32:15 – The Activision Blizzard Scandal
48:30 – Steam Deck
1:00:40 – Non-Traditional Sports Games
1:34:55 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 2
1:38:45 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep77

Podcast header image from Wired. Linkdump after the jump.

No links here.

• Wikipedia article on Max Payne.
• Wikipedia article on Layton’s Mystery Journey: Katrielle and the Millionaires’ Conspiracy.
• The game with custom shareable dungeons that The Kappa mentioned was most likely the 3DS remake of Dragon Quest VII: Fragments of the Forgotten Past. (Source: Eggplante!)
• Wikipedia article on Ultima V: Warriors of Destiny.

• Wikipedia article on Richard Garriott.
• Wikipedia article on Tabula Rasa.
• Wikipedia article on Legend of the Red Dragon.

• The original report on the lawsuit by Maeve Allsup. (Source: Bloomberg Law)

• Official website for the Steam Deck.
• Wikipedia article on This War of Mine.

• Official website for the Olympics.
• Wikipedia article on the Football Manager series.
• Wikipedia article on the Madden NFL series.
• Wikipedia article on the Eastside Hockey Manager series.
• Wikipedia article on Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games.
• Clarification: “Caveman Games” refers to Caveman Ughlympics. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Super Dodge Ball.
• Journal article on the nekketsu subgenre of manga. (Source: Comicalités)
• Wikipedia article on The Aquatic Games Starring James Pond and the Aquabats.
• Wikipedia article on Rockstar Games Presents Table Tennis.
• Wikipedia article on the Virtual Boy.
• Wikipedia article on FIFA Street.
• Wikipedia article on the NFL Blitz series.
• Wikipedia article on the NBA Jam series.
• Wikipedia article on Fight Night Champion.
• Wikipedia article on Mutant League Football.
• Wikipedia article on Mutant League Hockey.
• Wikipedia article on the Mutant League animated series.
• Wikipedia article on Carmaggedon.
• Wikipedia article on Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars.
• The box art for Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Allgame’s review of Cyber Stadium Series – Base Wars that describes the difficulty of fielding. (Retrieved from The Internet Archive’s WayBack Machine)
• Wikipedia article on Pyre.
• Wikipedia article on the Punch-Out!! series.
• OpenRetro page for Chiyonofuji no Ooichou.
• Correction: The loincloth that sumo wrestlers wear is called a “mawashi.” (Source: Wikipedia)

• Wikipedia article on The Ascent.

No links here.

Featuring:
The Kappa
Bresson
Lord Stoneheart
LittleMac

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
1:20 – Project Sonic Watch 2021
2:30 – What We’ve Been Playing
27:30 – Some Pre-E3 Discussion
38:45 – Games that Won You Over
1:35:50 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep76

Podcast header image from Golf Story. Linkdump after the jump.

• Correction: It’s our second Merveless GamesCast. The first was Episode #53, “I Could Have Mined Bitcoin.”
• Clarification: LittleMac is making his first regular appearance on this episode, but he did previously contribute year-end top 3 lists to Episode #56 (2019) and Episode #73 (2020).

• Announcement of the new Sonic game. (Source: Sonic the Hedgehog on YouTube)

• Official Nintendo page for Golf Story.
• Wikipedia article on Outlaw Golf.
• Official Nintendo page for Ring Fit Adventure.
• Steam store page for NieR: Automata.
• Epic store page for Maneater.
• Wikipedia article on the Jaws video game.
• Wikipedia article on E.V.O.: Search for Eden.

• Trailer for Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Clarification: Alfred Hitchcock – Vertigo is being developed by Pendulo Studios, which did not develop Garfield Kart or Syberia. However, it is being published by Microids (f.k.a. Microïds), which also published Garfield Kart and Syberia. (Sources: Wikipedia)
• Information on the upcoming “Marvel XCOM” game. (Source: PC Gamer)
• Update: We did get a new trailer for Elden Ring. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Correction: There was no horse in the original announcement trailer for Elden Ring. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Fallout 76.

• Steam store page for Elite Dangerous.
• Wikipedia article on the SaGa series.
• Wikipedia article on Fire Emblem: Three Houses.
• Wikipedia article on Final Fantasy VII.
• Wikipedia article on Red Dead Redemption 2.
• Wikipedia article on Diablo III.
• The first trailer for No More Heroes. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Lollipop Chainsaw.
• No More Heroes and No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle were released for the Switch on October 28th, 2020. (Sources: Wikipedia)
• The No More Heroes spinoff that we discussed was called Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Clarification: Killer7 and Killer Is Dead are different games. Both were developed at Grasshopper Manufacture and written by Suda51, but the latter was actually directed by Hideyuki Shin. (Sources: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on the Baldur’s Gate series.
• Wikipedia article on Dragon Age: Origins.
• Wikipedia article on Divinity: Original Sin.
• Wikipedia article on Larian Studios.
• Wikipedia article on Fortnite.
• The YouTube channel Stop Skeletons From Fighting.
• Wikipedia article on Red Faction.
• Wikipedia article on Dark Souls.
• Wikipedia article on Elden Ring.

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
Ben
Bresson
HobbesMk2
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
3:20 – What We’ve Been Playing
35:00 – Rainy Day Games
42:30 – Happy Games
59:55 – Autumn Games
1:10:45 – The First Game You Play After Winning the Lottery
1:17:05 – Doritos and Dew Games
1:21:30 – Games You Play in Front of Your Mom
1:27:40 – Egyptian Burial Games
1:36:45 – “Potato” Games
1:39:25 – Games You Stream from Orbit
1:57:10 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep75

Podcast header image from Balan Wonderworld, taken from GamesIndustry.biz. Linkdump after the jump.

• An explainer on what’s going on with GameStop stock. (Source: The Verge)
• An article about the enthusiastic fan reaction to Lady Dimitrescu, the tall vampire lady, in the Resident Evil Village trailer. (Source: Eurogamer)
• Vicarious Visions, developers of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2, have been merged into Blizzard. Rumour has it that they’re working on a remake of Diablo II. (Source: Bloody Disgusting)

• Steam store page for Little Nightmares.
• “Turtle World,” one of the stop-motion shorts that aired on Australia’s ABC. (Source: Uriel Dominguez on YouTube)
• Ontario children’s television mascot Polkaroo posing with former Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty, Jr. (Source: Torontoist)
• Steam store page for Tainted Grail: Conquest.
• Steam store page for Islanders.
• Steam store page for Bad North.
• Steam store page for Borderlands 3.
• Nintendo page for MDickie’s Wrestling Empire.
• Steam store page for The Medium.
• Steam store page for Murdered: Soul Suspect.
• Steam store page for Shadow Man.
• Steam store page for Yakuza 0.
• Steam store page for RollerCoaster Tycoon 2.
• Steam store page for Balan Wonderworld.

• Wikipedia article on Halo 3: ODST.
• Wikipedia article on Advance Wars: Dual Strike.
• Wikipedia article on Mega Man.

• Steam store page for Shovel Knight.
• Steam store page for Plants vs. Zombies.
• Music video for the “zombie on your lawn” theme song from Plants vs. Zombies. (Source: Plants vs. Zombies on YouTube)
• Wikipedia articles on Donkey Kong Country, DKC2, and DKC3.
• The Donkey Kong Country for SNES did not use special chips in their cartridges. (Source: rec.games.video.classic on Narkive)
• Wikipedia article on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.
• Steam store page for Far Cry.
• Steam store page for Far Cry 2.
• Steam store page for Stardew Valley.
• Steam store page for Graveyard Keeper.
• Steam store page for Dead Rising.

• Clarification: Launceston is located in the north of Tasmania. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on the Gears of War series.
• Steam store page for Frostpunk.
• Steam store page for Iron Harvest.
• Steam store page for Ghost of Tsushima.
• Steam store page for Night in the Woods.
• Steam store page for Firewatch.
• Wikipedia article on Fable.
• Wikipedia article on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• Wikipedia article on Monster Bash.
• Wikipedia article on Alien Carnage, formerly known as Halloween Harry.
• Wikipedia article on the Monster Bash pinball table (not related to the video game).
• Official trailer 2 for Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury.

• Wikipedia article on the SimCity series.
• Wikipedia article on Mobile Suit Gundam: Bonds of the Battlefield.
• Steam store page for Half-Life: Alyx.
• Steam store page for RollerCoaster Tycoon.
• Wikipedia article on 38 Studios, known for defaulting on a loan given to them by the government of Rhode Island.
• Wikipedia article on The Most Dangerous Game.
• The game in the Battle Rooms in Ender’s Game doesn’t have a name. (Source: Ender’s Game Wiki on Fandom)
• Blitzball is a sport featured in Final Fantasy X and its sequel. (Source: Final Fantasy Wiki on Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on Rollerball.
• Wikipedia article on Quidditch, a fictional sport from the Harry Potter series.
• Wikipedia article on Dr. Hannibal Lecter, the fictional cannibal created by author Thomas Harris.
• Wikipedia article on The Last Starfighter.
• Wikipedia article on Clerks: The Animated Series.

• Wikipedia article on the Grand Theft Autoseries.
• Wikipedia article on The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time.
• Wikipedia article on the Jak and Daxter franchise.
• Wikipedia article on the Ratchet & Clank franchise.
• Wikipedia article on the Sly Cooper franchise.
• Wikipedia article on the Call of Duty series.
• Wikipedia article on the Soulcalibur series.

• Wikipedia article on Rampage 2: Universal Tour.
• Steam store page for BioShock.
• Wikipedia article on the Animal Crossing series.
• Steam store page for RollerCoaster Tycoon.
• Wikipedia article on El Shaddai: Ascension of the Metatron.
• Steam store page for Journey.
• Wikipedia article on flOw.
• Steam store page for Abzû.
• Steam store page for Euro Truck Simulator.

• Steam store page for Pharaoh + Cleopatra.
• Steam store page for Katamari Damacy.
• Steam store page for Catlateral Damage.
• Correction: Mewgenics’ development was indeed put on hold, but it has been back in production since 2019. (Source: PC Gamer)
• Wikipedia article on Sphinx and the Cursed Mummy.
• Steam store page for The Mummy Demastered.
• Wikipedia article on the 2017 remake of The Mummy.
• Wikipedia article on the National Treasure series.
• Steam store page for Assassin’s Creed III.
• Wikipedia article on Conduit 2.
• Steam store page for Assassin’s Creed II.
• Steam store page for Metal Wolf Chaos.
• Steam store page for Call of Duty: Black Ops III.
• Wikipedia article on Lollipop Chainsaw.

• Steam store page for Portal 2.
• Steam store page for I am Bread.
• Steam store page for Stardew Valley.
• Correction: Nintendo’s “Turn Up for Turnips” campaign referred to games as “turnip-filled,” not “turnip-based.” (Source: Merve’s Tumblr)
• Steam store page for Farming Simulator 19.
• Wikipedia article on Harvest Moon.
• Wikipedia article on Genshin Impact.

• Steam store page for Kerbal Space Program.
• Wikipedia article on Asteroids.
• Wikipedia article on Space Invaders.
• The arcade game Bresson was thinking of was called Sinistar. (Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on the Star Fox franchise.
• Wikipedia article on Pac-Man.
• Wikipedia article on Pong.
• Wikipedia article on World of Warcraft.
• Steam store page for Football Manager 2021.
• Wikipedia article on Minesweeper.
• Steam store page for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.
• Two video games fit the description of an early vector-based Star Wars arcade game. The first is simply called Star Wars. The second is named after the second/fifth film, Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, and it was sold as an upgrade kit for the first. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Ehrgeiz.
• Wikipedia article on Mace: The Dark Age.
• Wikipedia article on the Mortal Kombat franchise.
• Wikipedia article on 2017’s Prey.
• Wikipedia article on 2006’s Prey.
• Wikipedia article Xena: The Warrior Princess: The Talisman of Fate.
• Wikipedia article on SimAnt.
• Correction: Will Wright has not left game development entirely. He is currently working on a new game called Proxi. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Spore.
• Steam store page for Golf With Your Friends.
• Wikipedia article on Space Station Silicon Valley.
• Wikipedia article on Moonbase Alpha.
• Wikipedia article on Second Life.
• Steam store page for Hentai Fighter.
• Steam store page for HuniePop.
• Wikipedia article on reduced-gravity aircraft, a.k.a. the “vomit comet.”
• The 3-axis gimbal in which astronauts train is known as an Aerotrim or a Multi-Axis Trainer. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Mission: SPACE.
• Wikipedia article on PogChamp.

No links here

Featuring:
Merve
Lovely Bones
Andy Tuttle

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
2:15 – What We Played over the Holidays
26:40 – What We’re Looking Forward to in 2021
52:00 – 2021 Predictions
1:24:15 – Will It Get Delayed?
1:50:30 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep74

Podcast header image from Tales of Zestiria. Linkdump, content warnings, and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Mass Effect Wiki article on Salarians. (Source: Fandom)

CONTENT WARNING: JOKES ABOUT MENTAL HEALTH. SPOILERS FOR DANGANRONPA V3.

• Wikipedia article on the 2016 Hitman reboot.
• Wikipedia article on Weezer’s discography. Merve’s “teal game” remark was a reference to Weezer’s cover album, known colloquially as “The Teal Album.” (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Assassin’s Creed Unity.
• Wikipedia article on Murder by Numbers.
• Clarification: “Oekaki” is a Japanese word for doodling or drawing. “Oekaki rojikku” or “Oekaki logic” is a Japanese term for picross. There was a Japan-exclusive picross game for the PlayStation called O-Chan no Oekaki Logic. (Sources: Wiktionary and Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.
• Wikipedia article on Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze.

• Announcement trailer for the Western release of Persona 5 Strikers. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Trailer for HD remaster of Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official story and gameplay trailer for The Medium. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Mass Effect Legendary Edition. (Source: GameSpot Trailers on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Sports Story. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Gamescom 2020 trailer for Cris Tales. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Official trailer for NUTS. Clarification: At the time of recording, the Apple Arcade and Switch versions of the game hadn’t yet been announced. In fact, they were announced literally the day after we recorded. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for Balan Wonderworld. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Brain in a Jar trailer for Psychonauts 2. (Source: DoubleFineProd on YouTube)
• Report on Cyberpunk 2077’s troubled development. (Source: Bloomberg)

• Wikipedia article on Bluepoint Games.
• Wikipedia article on Quantic Dream.
• Wikipedia article on Housemarque.
• Wikipedia article on Media.Vision.
• Wikipedia article on Dontnod Entertainment.
• Clarification: Dontnod self-published Twin Mirror on PC, but Bandai Namco published the console versions of the game. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Team17.
• Report on Sony’s de-emphasis of the Japanese market. (Source: Bloomberg)
• Reveal trailer for Horizon Forbidden West. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Confirmation: The “Christmas Shopping” trophy for Psychonauts is indeed available in the PlayStation version. (Source: PSNProfiles)
• Announcement trailer for Kena: Bridge of Spirits. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• The Majora’s Mask fan film Terrible Fate. (Source: EmberLab on YouTube)

• Wikipedia article on Net Promoter Score.
• E3 2019 announcement trailer for Elden Ring. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Official teaser trailer for Bayonetta 3. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• First look for Metroid Prime 4. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Correction: Lovely Bones had the correct month. The last full Nintendo Direct was held in September 2019. (Source: Nintendo Wiki on Fandom)
• Gameplay trailer for GhostWire: Tokyo. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Game Awards 2020 trailer for Dragon Age 4. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• First look trailer for the sequel to Breath of the Wild. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• E3 2018 cinematic trailer for Beyond Good & Evil 2. (Source: Ubisoft North America on YouTube)
• Official announcement trailer for Starfield. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Teaser trailer for Babylon’s Fall. (Source: PlayStation Europe on YouTube)
• Trailer for Shin Megami Tensei V. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Correction: JAG aired from 1995 to 2005. Merve was definitely not a baby during that time. (Source: Wikipedia)
• World premiere trailer for Gotham Knights. (Source: DC on YouTube)
• Official trailer for Dark Alliance. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Official reveal trailer for the Fable reboot. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Awakening trailer for Final Fantasy XVI. (Source: PlayStation on YouTube)
• Information on MachineGames’ new Indiana Jones game. (Source: PCGamer)
• Trailer for No More Heroes III. (Source: Nintendo on YouTube)
• Official announcement trailer for the Perfect Dark reboot. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Third trailer for Resident Evil Village. (Source: Resident Evil on YouTube)
• Announcement trailer for State of Decay 3. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Trailer for TUNIC. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• Windjammers 2 gameplay footage. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• Official announcement trailer for The Wolf Among Us 2. (Source: IGN on YouTube)

• E3 announcement trailer for Tales of Arise. (Source: Bandai Namco Entertainment America on YouTube)
• Andy Tuttle’s Tuesday New Games column for The Avocado.
• Lovely Bones’s monthly Game News Roundup column for The Avocado.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa
Lovely Bones
SingingBrakeman
Zeussical
Science is Bad
Lutair
LittleMac
Bresson
3rdstringhero

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:10 – Introduction
3:55 – The Game Awards
21:55 – COVID-19 and Console Launches
36:25 – E3’s Cancellation and Gaming Livestreams
50:25 – Mixer’s Shutdown and Twitch’s Woes
1:05:40 – Vtubing
1:08:50 – Harassment, Abuse, and Labour Issues
1:22:40 – Epic vs. Apple and Google
1:34:00 – Microsoft’s Acquisition of ZeniMax
1:45:35 – Cyberpunk 2077 Controversies
2:23:15 – Community Segment: Zeussical
2:25:30 – Community Segment: Science is Bad
2:32:40 – Community Segment: Lutair
2:34:20 – Community Segment: LittleMac
2:41:40 – Community Segment: Bresson
2:44:55 – Community Segment: 3rdstringhero
2:51:15 – Our Favourite Games of 2020
4:11:05 – Least Favourite Games and Disappointments of 2020
4:45:30 – Biggest Surprises of 2020
5:00:55 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep73

Podcast header image from Call of the Sea. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

• Wikipedia article on Among Us.
• Wikipedia article on Carly Rae Jepsen.

• Official website for The Game Awards.
• The “human razor” was a reference to the Schick Hydrobot mascot at the 2016 Game Awards. (Source: Know Your Meme)
• Clarification: Xbox put out a separate developer interview around the same time as the CG trailer for Perfect Dark debuted at The Game Awards. (Source: Xbox on YouTube)
• The “consequences” for how you complete an objective in Perfect Dark that The Kappa was referring to happen in the missions Air Base: Espionage and Air Force Once: Antiterrorism. Depending on how you complete the former, you start in a different location in the latter. (Source: The Perfect Dark Wiki on Fandom)
• Sephiroth trailer for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Reveal trailer for The Callisto Protocol. (Source: GameSpot on YouTube)
• Back 4 Blood gameplay trailer. (Source: GamersPrey on YouTube)
• Master Chief reveal trailer for Fortnite. (Source: IGN on YouTube)
• World premiere trailer for Evil West. (Source: Focus Home Interactive on YouTube)
• List of nominees and winners for the 2020 Game Awards. (Source: The Game Awards)

• Episode #60 of the GamesCast, where we interviewed Scott LaGrasta.
• Wikipedia articles on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.

• Official website for E3.

• Reporting on Twitch’s increased music-related DMCA takedowns. (Source: The Verge)
• Reporting on Twitch’s more stringent language rules. (Source: Kotaku)
• Wikipedia article on the Scunthorpe problem.
• Information on the “felony streaming” bill. It appears that for now, Twitch will be unaffected by it. (Source: The Verge)
• Tweet about DMCA takedowns on 127.0.0.1. (Source: @WeldPond on Twitter)

• Quinleythorne’s articles on Vtubers for The Avocado.
• Polygon’s explainer on Vtubers.

• Episode #65 of the GamesCast, where we covered this summer’s allegations.
• Jason Schreier’s Twitter thread on crunch and awards.
• Duke Nukem Forever co-director and Apogee co-founder George Broussard’s Twitter thread on crunch.
• Interview with Amir Rao and Greg Kasavin of Supergiant Games that touches on how the studio avoids crunch. (Source: Kotaku)

• Wikipedia article on Epic Games v. Apple.
• Correction: Microsoft’s statement in support of Epic is technically not an amicus brief, because the matter has not yet been decided and then appealed. (Source: GameLuster)
• Merve’s mention of “Xenoblade” was a reference to the series’ Titans. (Source: Xenoblade Wiki on Fandom)

• Microsoft’s announcement of the acquisition.
• Episode #69 of the GamesCast, where we previously discussed the acquisition.
• Wikipedia article on Guerrilla Games.
• Correction: The first PlanetSide game was released in 2003, nearly two decades ago. (Source: Wikipedia)

• The New York Times story on Cyberpunk 2077.
• Reports on crunch and delays at CD Projekt Red from Bloomberg and Game Informer.
• ResetEra thread on CD Projekt Red and transphobia.
• The “no preorders except Cyberpunk” meme. (Source: ME.ME)
• Tweet about an unconscious body turning into a patio set. (Source: @katietiedrich on Twitter)
• Wikipedia article on No Man’s Sky.
• Destructoid’s review-in-progress and final review of the game.
• Gamespot’s review of the game.
• Sony’s announcement that they’re pulling the game from their digital store.
• Report on the save file bug in Cyberpunk 2077. Since recording, it has been patched. (Sources: Eurogamer and PC Gamer)

• Wikipedia article on Murder by Numbers.
• Wikipedia article on Spiritfarer.
• Wikipedia article on Hades.

• Wikipedia article on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• Wikipedia article on Paradise Killer.
• Wikipedia article on Hades.

• Wikipedia article on Genshin Impact.
• Wikipedia article on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
• Wikipedia article on Hades.

• Wikipedia article on Super Mario Bros. 35.
• Wikipedia article on Paper Mario: The Origami King.
• Wikipedia article on Hades.

• Wikipedia article on Bugsnax.
• Wikipedia article on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.
• Wikipedia article on Animal Crossing: New Horizons.

• Wikipedia article section on Persona 5 Royal.
• Wikipedia article on The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel IV.
• Wikipedia article on 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

• Wikipedia article on Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
• Correction: The Nancy summon in Yakuza: Like a Dragon is a crawfish, not a lobster. (Source: Yakuza Wiki on Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on the used panty, or “burusera,” fetish.
• The Peely Awards, The Avocado’s awards (dis)honouring the worst in pop culture.
• Steam store page for Wargroove.
• Wikipedia article on Hades.
• Wikipedia article on Gears Tactics.
• Wikipedia article on Paradise Killer.
• Wikipedia article on the Danganronpa series.
• Wikipedia article on Dicey Dungeons.
• Official website for Camp Camp.
• Wikipedia article on Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.
• Wikipedia article on Ori and the Will of the Wisps.
• Wikipedia article on Call of the Sea.
• Wikipedia article on H. P. Lovecraft.
• Wikipedia article on Ghost of Tsushima.
• Wikipedia article on Wasteland 3.

SIGNIFICANT SPOILERS FOR KENTUCKY ROUTE ZERO

• Wikipedia article on Death Come True.
• Wikipedia article on Kentucky Route Zero.
• Wikipedia article on Maid of Sker.
• Wikipedia article on Murder by Numbers.
• Wikipedia article section on the remastered edition of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles.
• Wikipedia article on Warcraft III: Reforged.
• What Happened? on Warcraft III: Reforged. (Source: Matt McMuscles on YouTube)
• Wikipedia article on Disintegration. Clarification: The game was developed by V1 Interactive but published by Private Division, a label of Take-Two Interactive.

• Wikipedia article on Genshin Impact.
• Wikipedia article on the spirit Paimon.
• “Yvan eht nioj” is a reference to “New Kids on the Blecch,” the fourteenth episode of Season 12 of The Simpsons. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Steam store page for A Summer’s End – Hong Kong 1986.
• Steam store page for If Found…
• Steam store page for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
• Wikipedia article on Paradise Killer.
• Wikipedia article on Darksiders Genesis.
• Wikipedia article on Final Fantasy VII Remake.
• Final Fantasy VII Remake Tonberry boss fight. (Source: Boss Fight Database on YouTube)

No links here.

Featuring:
Merve
The Kappa

Editor:
The Kappa

Timestamps:
0:15 – Introduction
1:15 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 1
35:00 – This Year’s Console Launches
44:40 – Marvel’s Avengers
1:11:20 – What We’ve Been Playing, Part 2
1:18:00 – Games that Influenced Us
3:05:55 – Conclusion

Download Link: https://archive.org/details/avocadogamescast_ep72

Podcast header image from Yakuza: Like a Dragon. Linkdump and spoiler warnings after the jump.

No links here.

• Wikipedia article on the Xbox Series X.
• Wikipedia article on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.
• Clarification: Assassin’s Creed Origins, Odyssey, and Valhalla were indeed all built on the same engine, AnvilNext 2.0. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on the Breath of Fire series.
• Article on the giant children bug in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. (Source: Gamerant)
• Confirmation: Flyting was indeed a real thing. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Yakuza: Like a Dragon.
• Clarification: Merve was not counting spin-off games (aside from Judgment) in his tally of Yakuza games. Moreover, many of the spin-off games were never released outside of Japan. (Source: Wikipedia)
• A screenshot of Yakuza: Like a Dragon’s protagonist using a vibrator as a weapon. (Source: Merve’s screenshots on Steam Community)
• Wikipedia article on L.A. Noire.

• American department store Kohl’s, not to be confused with Canadian bookstore Coles. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Sackboy: A Big Adventure.

• Wikipedia article on Marvel’s Avengers.
• Article on Avengers’ poor sales. One analyst estimates it only sold 3 million copies. (Source: Screen Rant)
• Wikipedia article on Anthem.
• Wikipedia article on the upcoming Gotham Knights.
• Correction: Square Enix’s HD Games division reported a loss of ¥6.5 billion. (Source: @gibbogame on Twitter)
• Ishaan Sahdev’s retrospective on Monolith Soft. The name of the Nintendo exec who handled Monolith was Hitoshi Yamagami. (Source: Kotaku)
• Why Polish securities law affected the announcement of Cyberpunk 2077’s delay. (Source: Game Informer)

• Steam store page for Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
• Wikipedia article on Halo 4.
• Wikipedia article on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).

MAJOR SPOILERS FOR DEUS EX. MINOR SPOILERS FOR DRAGON AGE: ORIGINS.

• Wikipedia article on Warcraft: Orcs & Humans.
• Wikipedia article on Marble Drop.
• Wikipedia article on the Incredible Machine series.
• Wikipedia article on Final Fantasy Tactics.
• The “twelve X” game The Kappa was referring to was Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. (Source: Final Fantasy Wiki on Fandom)
• Wikipedia article on RollerCoaster Tycoon.
• Destructoid’s review of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Correction: Merve meant “review,” not “interview.”
• Wikipedia article on Halo: Combat Evolved.
• Wikipedia article on Deus Ex.
• The name of the religious faction in Deus Ex: Invisible War is the Order. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Fallout 3.
• Correction: You drive on the right in Grand Theft Auto, because it was set in the United States, not the United Kingdom. (Source: Wikipedia)
• Wikipedia article on Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 4.
• Wikipedia article on Persona 5.
• Wikipedia article on Dragon Age: Origins.
• Wikipedia article on The Walking Dead.
• Wikipedia article on Anthem.
• Wikipedia article on Super Mario 64.
• Wikipedia article on Undertale.

No links here.