Cat Context Podcast

This week Liore, Arolaide, and Ellyndrial.. huh, talk about video games? Weird! Overwatch is celebrating its first anniversary, and Aro reports on the eternal quest for cool skins in lockboxes. She also tried Heroes of the Storm as part of an Overwatch promotion, and has strong feelings on her first MOBA experience. Activision and Bungie announced Destiny 2, and we are… a little excited? Elly is unsure why the game decided to go through the Battle.net launcher, while Liore thinks it’s a smooth marketing plan. Liore played 30 hours of Persona 5 over a three day period, and she’s not ashamed! She talks about why the game is so good and how many monsters look like giant wangs (hint: more than 0). This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

This week Liore, Arolaide, and guest Vajra discuss the role of story in video games. The discussion was inspired by this article — you might want to read it before listening so you know exactly what we’re shouting about. Is the pursuit of a good story hindering game development? Does environmental storytelling really count as a story? Have game writers, thus far, created anything better than a Twilight novel? This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

It’s been three weeks, so how are we feeling about Mass Effect: Andromeda? This week Liore, Arolaide, Ellyndrial, and friend Corranhorn get together to talk about the highs and the lows of forming new colonies in space. This episode does touch on some story spoilers from the first third of the game, and our general impressions of Andromeda and the characters you meet. We don’t give away a ton of early story points, but be aware if you’re very sensitive to spoilers! Is the open world a good idea? Is the Tempest basically a space school bus? And most importantly, which companions are we snuggling??? We answer all the important questions, and talk about how the realities of Andromeda meet or neglect our expectations. (Also, Liam is the worst.) This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

HEY GUYS, GUESS WHAT GAME IS LAUNCHING THIS WEEK? That’s right, it’s time for Mass Effect: Andromeda, otherwise known as Spaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaace. We recorded this the day before the game launched, so it seemed appropriate to discuss all things Mass Effect. We’re sharing our list of the best and worst companions, including a discussion of why Jacob is just so boring. Also, does anyone remember Vega, because Liore sure forgot about him. We also take on some of the tepid reviews of Andromeda, and discuss how they’ve tempered our expectations, but also how janky animations are not the only reason we love this series. Also, enjoy Aro’s list of Top Five Garruses! Elly’s partner revises his companion list for more Garrus! And Liore… well, it turns out Garrus is one of the few characters she DIDN’T kill in Mass Effect 2. This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

2017 has been a pretty action-packed year for video games thus far! Aro and Elly have been playing new release Horizon: Zero Dawn, and although they both have only put a few hours into it, they seem pretty pleased so far. The two talk about first impressions, and Elly even has a couple of sweet weapon tips. All three of us… have NOT bought the Nintendo Switch. The gang talk about why they passed on the Switch launch experience, and whether they really need a console that lets you play Zelda while at a hipster rooftop wine party. We also discuss the fate of our current portable game devices.. including something called a Vita? Huh. Sony says they’ve never heard of it. We didn’t even intend to talk about Mass Effect: Andromeda, but of course we did. 11 days, people. Eleven days! CALIBRATE YOURSELVES. Also, Aro is actually finishing Mass Effect 3! Elly is kind of over WoW again! Liore gets real mad about Bethesda games, even though she wants to love them! This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

The news has been kind of a bummer lately, so Liore, Arolaide, and Ellyndrial have been enjoying some games, movies, and television to escape for a bit. But why is everything they’re enjoying post-apocalyptic…? Is it some kind of sign? Aro has been preparing for wasteland home design by working on her settlement in Fallout 4. Elly is consoling himself by contemplating the grimdark future of Shadowrun, where people are elves and computers are trying to kill us (and also have overly complicated rulesets). Liore has turned to space, in the form of sci-fi show The Expanse, and finds solace from unpleasant current events by watching people get chased by demonic hillbillies in Resident Evil 7: Biohazard. Also, we talk about movies for kids that made us cry forever! And debate which classic piece of dystopian literature best represents our current times! Also, Aro has a weird problem with watching childhood stars who are all grown up, so we make fun of her for it. You know, the usual. This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

Liore was out sick for this recording, but Ellyndrial and Arolaide got together to talk about games where you punch Nazis in the face. This clearly has no relevance to current events. But seriously, if you’re a little burned out on the topical topics, that’s okay, we get it. In this episode we also talk about using games as escapism in difficult times, and how they can be a critical part of self-care. Maybe you’re tapping out for a while by buying every $2 piece of nonsense that shows up on the Steam bargain bin, or maybe you’re enjoying the pantheon of diverse creators and points of view made available through the indie game revolution from the past few years. Or.. maybe you’re punching Nazis. Also, Aro plays something called “Dino D-Day”! Elly forgets the podcast’s Twitter handle! Liore particularly liked the bit where it was implied that she “sends out show notes”. This is one of our more sincere episodes, but Liore thinks it’s also pretty darn great. This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

Let’s face it, 2016 has a lot to answer for. But in between all the terrible news and political nightmares and beloved artists dying, there were some pretty good games and movies! …. Look, it’s what we’ve got, okay? This week Arolaide, Ellyndrial, and Liore talk about their favorite video games and movies from 2016, from mobile timewasters to sprawling epics. We also look back at what we said were our most anticipated games of 2016 and realize how few of them actually came out. Also, was 2016 really the year of VR? Did we get any cool gadgets for Christmas? And just HOW WRONG is Aro when she says that the Nintendo 64 wasn’t a great platform? This podcast is also available as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

This week Liore has left the children alone in the house while she goes on vacation, so Elly and Aro are joined by friends-of-the-show Aurelia and Corr to talk about our holiday wishlists. Also, TV shows make an appearance Topics: * SWTOR -Knights of the Eternal Throne: You can get a sweet walker mount! And there are new stories to play! Is the Empire really evil? * FFXV: Delays are almost over, finally. Maybe. Probably. * Mass Effect: Would it really be an episode of Cat Context without some Mass Effect talk? I THINK NOT. * Elly’s Superhero TV Show Addiction: Gotta watch ’em all. Except DC’s Legends of Tomorrow. You can also see this episode as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store

This week Elly talks about the new Destiny expansion, Rise of Iron, Liore continues her journey through Legion, and Aro is still unconvinced about watching Luke Cage. Also, we got live questions from YouTube viewers! Topics: * Rise of Iron: is it getting players back into Destiny? Also, lockboxes wtf?! * Legion: Liore is getting into Mythics and the strange new Mythic+ system that works a lot like Diablo. * Luke Cage: Is the foley work too squishy? Wait, what kind of a question is that? * Dragons: Can our YouTube viewers drive Aro insane with troll questions about dragons? PROBABLY. You can also see this episode as an unedited video: * Free Music Archive page for our theme, in THE crowd by The Years * Aro’s Etsy store