It's October, and that's Castlevania month now! We join writer Lucas White to analyze a whole bunch of games. We're talking cyberpunk (again), Jackbox, Dragon Quest 2, and a whole bunch of others. Then we do something different for the variety minute and cover the Castlevania timeline. We top it all off with an analysis of Rondo of Blood. Join us for the wild ride.

Time Stamps:

0:00 Introduction

4:30 Dragon Quest 2 (1987)

11:00 Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)

19:00 Alan Wake (2010)

26:45 Jackbox Party Pack 10 (2023)

37:15 Omega Quintet (2015)

Variety Minute

49:30 The Castlevania timeline

Game of the Week

1:14:30 Castlevania: Rondo of Blood

We have returned, with a sequel to the banger episode of Myst from last season. Will we have the same affection and praise for Riven, or is this a more complex entry than we've bargained for?

Bro talks about Ghost at Dawn, Guilty Gear Strive, and Armored Core. Murph talks Yakuzas (plural!) and En Garde!

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playin'

1:30 Ghost at Dawn (2023)

8:00 Guilty Gear Strive (2021)

15:15 En Garde! (2023)

21:00 Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon (2023)

28:00 Yakuza Minute (6 and Black Panther)

Variety Minute

46:00 Dream remakes and remasters

Game of the Week

1:16:00 Riven: The Sequel to Myst

Murph returns from the lands to the north (Seattle) with tales of a wonderous gallery of games and developers (PAX West 2023). There he ran into some other like-minded friends. Brendan from The Crawl and Tucker & Abram from THE Backlog Banter. Together these 4 gamers with opinions share tales from the showfloor and impressions on the various demos they were exposed to.

(If you want additional PAX coverage from Murph, you can read his article here)

The unthinkable has happened: Bro has been able to make a dark souls episode. Largely in part to Cal just having played the game, we get a fresh perspective on the Fromsoft classic. We also go through other kinds of dungeons in the meantime, we talk about Quake 2 and Doom's 2016 rebootquel. Bro also finds the time to talk about Bombrush Cyberfunk, which is a jammin' good time.

Timestamps:

Whatcha Playin

1:00 Doom (2016)

9:30 Bramble (2023)

13:45 Resident Evil 2 and 3 remakes (2019) (2020)

20:30 Bombrush Cyberfunk (2023)

26:30 Quake 2 (1997)

Variety Minute

33:00 Fromsoftware Games

Game of the Week

45:10 Dark Souls (2011)

We got a craaaazy episode for you today. Murph and Bro team up to cover all sorts of smaller titles and company buyouts. Murph complains about Zelda, Bro talks about System Shock, everything is aligned for engaging systems and fun titles.

Oh and Murph goes Pikmin CRAZY.

Time Stamps

Whatcha Playin'

1:10 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom (2023)

19:00 - System Shock Remake (2023)

26:30 - Pokemon: Infinite Fusions (2023)

35:20 - Slipstream: Blue Hour Update (2023 for the update)

39:45 - Pikmin 4 (2023)

Variety Minute

54:25 Video Game Company Buyouts and Acquisitions

Game of the Week

1:21:00 Dark Messiah: Might and Magic

The time has come, and so have we. In one of the tightest episodes, we hit a platonic ideal of an episode at almost a flat hour. Murph and Bro tackle some indie sleepers and hits, and then tackle the Wii classic No More Heroes. Will we fall in love with the game or be frustrated? Is it possible to be both?

Time stamps:

Whatcha Playin'

1:30 Dreamwild (2022)

5:00 Raji: An Ancient Epic (2020)

8:30 Inscryption (2021)

13:00 Re:CALL (2023)

19:00 Street Fighter 6 (2023)

Variety Minute

26:20 Jerk Protagonists in Gaming

Game of the Week

42:00 No More Heroes (2008)

Taking a break from long video games and playing a little short horror title, Murph and Bro explore the complex worlds of rabbit fighting, street fighting, and cthulu dungeon exploring. First we talk Eldritch, then Overgrowth, then Street Fighter 6.

Murph reminisces over horror RPG maker games he used to watch Markiplier play, and then we talk about Ao Oni.

Time Stamps:

Whatcha Playin'

Eldritch (2013) 1:45

Overgrowth (2017) 6:00

Street Fighter 6 (2023) 11:00

Variety Minute

RPG Maker Games 29:00

Game of the Week

Ao Oni (2008) 43:00

ROCK AND ROLL! Brendan discusses visions of the future, Murph talks about the best Yakuza game yet, and Brogan schpiels about Tears of the Kingdom with the others for like an hour.

Then, we cover famous licensed needledrops in games, then we cover our game of the week: Brutal Legend. Double Fine, Tim Schafer, Jack Black. The list goes on, but this is one epic tour. Be sure to tear down that shitty merch booth on your way out.

Bro and Murph team up with journalist and freelancer Will Borger to discuss a whole bunch of stuff. Murph talks about Titanfall 2 and No Straight Roads, while Will talks about Strayed Lights and discovering Metroid Prime for the first time in 2023. Bro talks about Cassette Beasts, then we all dissect Zelda handhelds and their game design differences to the console Zelda outings.

Then, we venture to Koholint Island to wake the Windfish.

Time Stamps:

3:00 - Metroid Prime Remastered (2023)

16:00 - Titanfall 2 (2016)

28:30 - Cassette Beasts (2023)

33:00 - No Straight Roads (2020)

36:30 - Strayed Lights (2023)

Variety Minute

45:00 - Zelda handheld titles

Game of the Week

1:00:00 - The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)

Cal Murph and Bro talk about the 1993 film Super Mario Bros, and the 2016 film Detective Pikachu. Which one is the best? The answer may surprise you. Or it won't.