Chamberlain and Chance

Sony decided to show of a few games today, none of which were a Bloodborne remake. Chamberlain couldn't care less as he is still knee deep in Valhalla with no sign of the end. Alex is at most bemused. He got everything he wanted in life when Psychonauts 2 came out and was pretty good. Every day from here on out is gravy. Chance, though, is heartbroken, as he can no longer play anything that runs at less than 40K 60FPS. At least Deathloop comes out next week.

Last week Chamberlain promised Alex that he would play Psychonauts 2, since it was on GamePass. He didn't. At all. He lives in Valhalla now, killing the English at every opportunity. Alex finished Psychonauts 2 and then started it again, which is always a good sign. And Chance is a shark. A big nuclear shark that shoots laser beams at helicopters. This is not as cool as a being a samurai but that is was Chance was last week.

It was Christmas morning for Alex this week. Tim Schafer showed up at his house, ate all the cookies, drank all the beer, and left behind Psychonauts 2. On the other extreme, Chamberlain played a depressing metroidvania, a pretentious 2D physics-based platformer and them ran back to an ex for comfort, the ex being the only Assassin's Creed game he didn't finish, Valhalla.  Chance watched No One Lives, which is not a prequal to No One Lives Forever (who own that game's rights, anyway?) and then settled in to the Ghost of Tsushima expansion. In case you were worried, it is more Ghost of Tsushima.

This is where Chamberlain would normally put a humorous synopsis of this week's episode. Unfortunately he was not there to record, and he hasn't even listened to the episode yet, so for all he knows Chance and Alex complain about his arrogance and his hatred of Hades for a solid sixty minutes. Or they talk about movies and Overwatch. Either way, Chamberlain is terrified, but you shouldn't be.

Alex returns and in his return he has finished Returnal. Please note that this does not mean he understands everything that has happened. No one does. Chance watched a whole bunch of movies, including one about Nicholas Cage and his missing pig, which he swears is one of the best movies he has seen this year. Perhaps the pig flies. And Chamberlain found the undying crows of Death's Door too adorable to ignore, a purchase that he does not regret in the least but that comes with some hefty, isometric downsides. 

Alex is busy meeting a brand new, mint condition first edition person so you have to deal with the old men. Chamberlain marveled at the 4K bits of garbage in The Ascent but stopped short of calling it anything more than okay. He also almost found his house in Microsoft Flight Sim but it not quite sure it was with the 100 gig download. Chance happened about an incredibly 'Nicholas Cage' Nicholas Cage performance in Willy's Wonderland. He also decided that Ghost of Tsushima Legends is his tai chi, which I suppose makes him a multi-form master as flying across the point in a giant hamster ball is not exactly calming or soothing.

Only one thing can contain this podcast: no games coming out. Chance can always fall back on Overwatch, as the tears of wiped teams sustain him. Alex had the audacity to leave his house and do thing outside, where the sun can get to him. Someday he will come back to us. Chamberlain remained indoors and braved the blandest RPG of recent memory, CrisTales. It's just slightly better than playing nothing.

Alex is the happy owner of a new, non-scalped PS5. Yes, it took nine months, but it's not like a whole lot of games actually came out for it in the meantime. So far he has sampled Returnal and Demons' Souls, finding a bit of joy in both. Chamberlain comes to you with a metroidvania recommendation that comes with a few conditions, one of which being you don't mind dying in three hits. Play Ender Lilies. But he cannot recommend The Legend of Zelda Skyward Sword, as the stench of waggle is still attached to it. And Chance played some Overwatch, this time in the crossplay queue, and won a whole bunch anyway, because he is cool like that.

The PS5 suspense enters its final stage. Did Alex manage to secure one of these almost fictitious boxes? I am not telling, but he did almost get Chance to buy Wildermyth, a dreaded Steam game. Chance played some Overwatch, and then some Ghost of Tsushima multiplayer, and then watched a bunch of movies, quite possible all at the same time. And Chamberlain had no time to do anything that he said he was going to do, opting for a little game that served as a sort of follow up to another little game that no one really played.

Lost and alone without the shepherding hand of Chamberlain, Alex and Chance go rogue and talk about movies and TV for a half an hour!  How crappy IS The Tomorrow War?  How bingeable is Broad City?  Are we talking about The Bad Batch as in the dreamscape post-apocalyptic commentary on the American penal system, or are we talking about The Bad Batch Star Wars cartoon?  There's only one way to find out...