In today’s episode, we’re feeling normal about last week’s sicko-centric Nintendo Direct double feature. We cover a surprisingly stacked set of announcements, revisit the dating sim discourse that will never die, and predictably have different reactions to a re-release of a certified Old Person Game.

Timestamps

(01:30) Two normal people talk about the Indie World Showcase

(14:00) Date Everything and the return of dating sim discourse

(23:50) Nintendo Direct: Dorks and Losers Edition

(49:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Alien: Romulus, dotzip’s 1000xResist episode, The Rings of Power, and Star Wars Outlaws)

Mentioned this week

dotzip talks for five hours about 1000xResist

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Street Food by FASSounds

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Willa makes her triumphant return and we celebrate by talking about everything we liked and mostly didn’t from Gamescom Opening Night Live. We cover takes both good and bad, commit to playing yet another game we definitely don’t have the time for, and run through the best (and in one case worst) of what we’ve been playing, watching, and eating this week.

Timestamps

(02:40) Gamescom sure did happen

(05:40) We love shorter(ish) games

(11:30) Secret Levels looks whatever

(25:50) Peter Molynieux please never change

(29:00) This time for sure for real we will play Monster Hunter

(31:20) Misc. Gamescom

(41:20) Willa’s plane games (feat. A Highland Song, Arranger)

(47:00) The duality of Square Enix (feat. Visions of Mana, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance)

(57:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Christopher Nolan's entire filmography, Forever by Charly Bliss, and a baking revelation)

Mentioned this week

Shorter standalones like Dying Light: The Beast are "the future of games"

A List Of Every Game Featured In Amazon’s Promising ‘Secret Level’ Show

So yeah, since we recorded this, Wizards of the Coast walked back its most recent idiotic move. Here’s a great explainer from Ash Parrish on the whole debacle: D&D publisher walks back controversial changes to online tools

Video game lawyer Haley Maclean explains copyright law

Monument Valley 3 Looks So Good You Might Actually Remember Netflix Games Exists

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With Willa fleeing the country for reasons I can’t disclose here, Into the Aether cohost Brendon Bigley stopped by to chat this week! We cover Shy Guy Surfing, Brendon’s most formative childhood game, the surprising 2024 release he can’t stand, and of course, where the key grips stand on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Timestamps

(00:30) What’s your deal, man?

(16:00) Shy Guy Surfing and other actual games

(20:30) The game that made Brendon

(33:00) Shit-talk corner

(40:00) The Deadlock Saga

(54:00) What else have Brendon and Robin been playing/doing? (feat. a game I don’t want to spoil, Fields of Mistria, Man I Just Wanna Go Home, and Minishoot Adventures)

Mentioned this week

We played Valve’s secret new shooter, Deadlock

The Bright Sword is a Radiant Reimagining of Arthurian Legend 

Brendon’s blog, Wavelengths.online

Listen to Into the Aether!

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Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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Borderlands the movie is out and we couldn't be more excited to hear about how terrible it is. After that, we realize that a sequel to The Order 1886 would be the best game ever, get cautiously excited about two newly announced spiritual sequels, and talk about a couple of new games we actually liked.

Timestamps

(01:30) A vault full of disappointing bullshit

(15:00) The Order 1986

(24:00) ONE BTN BOSSES

(27:30) Creatures of Ava

(35:00) Dishonored 3, kind of

(40:30) Is this Terranigma 2?

(45:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

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Street Food by FASSounds

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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Shockingly, the news remains bad, so we’re keeping it short this week for the good of all of our mental health. We cover the Olympics, Star Wars Outlaws, Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and another awful week for the games industry and games media.

Timestamps

 (01:00) I guess this is a sports podcast now

(11:50) Maybe Star Wars Outlaws will be good?

(15:40) Let’s get sad! (RIP Game Informer, fuck GameStop forever)

(21:20) We’re transitioning into Pokémon

(29:50) Let’s get sad again (RIP a bunch of Bungie staff, fuck Pete Parsons forever)

(32:40) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. SteamWorld Heist II, Babel by R.F. Kuang)

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Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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Like most weeks, there’s a lot of bad news this week, as we talk through the death by restructuring of Humble Games and Ubisoft making everything worse by both-sidesing racism. Then we pull out of a nosedive with a SAG-AFTRA strike and the formation of a massive game dev union at Blizzard, complete with a little union 101 session courtesy of a listener’s questions and quotes from World of Warcraft senior producer Samuel Cooper!

Timestamps

This is already coming in late so no timestamps, sorry!

Mentioned this week

Assassin's Creed Developers Didn’t Have To Explain Their Game

Kazuma Hashimoto on Ubisoft bullshit

Humble Games Lays Off All Employees, Carries On In Name Only

Humble Games ‘Restructuring’ Shows There’s No Easy Answer to Gaming’s Layoff Crisis

World of Warcraft Devs Form Blizzard’s First Wall-to-Wall Union 3 Years After Walkout

Five Years Later, Fire Emblem: Three Houses’ Best Character Is Still Edelgard

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Street Food by FASSounds

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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We’re running through some news updates first this week, from alarming details about the death of one of the best game studios ever to Overwatch’s latest attempt to convince us it’s good again. Then we talk through some recent games we’ve been getting into, and by recent we mean some of them are 20 years old.

Timestamps

(00:20) The Mets are not doing great

(03:20) Spooky scary bag head man update

(8:20) Japan Studio you will live forever in our hearts

(13:00) Congrats Bethesda *The Internationale begins playing*

(16:00) Juno came from space to make Willa play Overwatch again

(21:30) Recent games roundup (feat. Riven, The Star Named Eos, Jeanne d’Arc, Cataclismo, Diablo 2, Nobody Wants to Die)

(49:00) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Spy x Family, Mayonaka Punch, Interview With A Vampire, An Education in Malice)

Mentioned this week

Overwatch 2's new space girl healer takes the throne as one of the most strategically satisfying heroes in the game

.45 Parabellum Bloodhound Trailer

Parasite Eve-Inspired Cyberpunk Game Announced, Looks Cool As Hell

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Street Food by FASSounds

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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There’s lots of news to cover this week, so we’re spending half an hour talking about Endwalker instead. Also the Mets missed their shot this week and we’re bummed about it.

Timestamps

(00:30) Having a non-apocalyptic one

(01:30) Mets update

(04:00) Spooky scary bag head man

(07:00) Xbox Game Pass sucks now

(16:40) Jeanne d’Arc hive rise up

(19:00) Willa finished Endwalker/Tons of FFXIV spoilers

(45:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week? (feat. Flock, Spy x Family, Assassins)

(57:00) Mets update update

Mentioned this week

Is Xbox Game Pass really worth it anymore?

Final Fantasy 14’s Post-Endwalker Story Feels Like A Mini-Expansion In The Best Way

Flock Is A Delightfully Chill Birdwatching Game I Can’t Stop Playing

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Music 

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

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Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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We’re halfway through 2024, so this week we’re running through our GOTFHOTY (Game of the First Half of the Year) picks and of course talking shit on this year’s most beloved games that we don’t like.

Timestamps

(00:30) Copious table setting

(03:30) Six months of being haters (the worst game of the year)

(19:00) Games we need to go back to

(24:00) Underrated games

(26:20) Surprise Mets break

(28:00) Back to 1000xResist (and more underrated games)

(34:00) Lots of Hoyoverse talk

(46:00) What we’re looking forward to in the next six months

(51:20) What else have Willa and Robin been up to this week?

Mentioned this week

"Rapid-Onset Gender Dysphoria" Part 1: The Cooties Theory of Transgender Identity

‘The Bear’ Season 3 review: Carmy bears down on success, with uneven results

The Bear Season 3 Premiere is A Messy Amuse-Bouche

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Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

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eSims for Gaza

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Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

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As usual, we kick things off this week with Willa’s thoughts on the Mets, then move into Willa’s thoughts on Endwalker (which she likes less than the Mets). After an Alan Wake detour, we then dive into the excruciating but still funny Shadow of the Erdtree difficulty discourse and other meandering thoughts about Elden Ring. Let’s go Mets!

Timestamps

(00:30) Willa is here to talk about the Mets

(11:30) Endwalker is generally bad, but also good (or vice versa)

(29:40) Night Springs is also good

(35:50) *sigh* Elden Ring difficulty discourse

(56:50) Baseball lore

Mentioned this week

Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker Was A Flawed Finale I'll Never Forget

If Shadow of the Erdtree Feels Too Hard, Try Playing Like Hidetaka Miyazaki

Elden Ring balance update makes the first half of the DLC easier, so you don't have to be as good as games journalists

Jose Iglesias singing OMG!

Elden Ring streamers Robin has been watching: Alyska, elliejoypanic, ohlindsey, skyytea, wraff

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Music 

Street Food by FASSounds

We stand for a free Palestine, and against the occupation, oppression, and genocide perpetrated against its people.

Please consider donating or otherwise standing up to support Palestinians in the wake of Israel's attacks.

Gaza Funds

eSims for Gaza

Medical Aid for Palestianians

Palestine Red Crescent Society

Palestine Children's Relief Fund

Demand a ceasefire from your representatives

Game Assist's "Gamers for Palestine" resource packet

Cartoonist Cooperative’s e-SIM fundraiser

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.