Hitpoint Pals

Episode 26: You guys ever heard of Mixer? Forgot about that. Will has been adventuring in what he calls "Stealth Souls," or Sekiro. We break down how effective Sekiro's stealth system is, then reminisce on Thief: The Dark Project's challenging but rewarding stealth mechanics, and wish more games would treat stealth with the depth it deserves. Also, we reflect on mobile, idle tie-in games like Mass Effect Datapad and the Black Flag Companion App.

Games discussed: Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, Kind Words: Lo Fi Chill Beats to Write To, Thief: The Dark Project, Splinter Cell, Dishonored

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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 25: Going to a Denny's at 3 in the morning is a classic American ritual, an experience shared by many and from which we derive a greater meaning. This week, we're talking about the shared experience of playing games, and the rituals we partake in before and during our gaming sessions and the purpose behind them. Gotta get that bad juju out of the d20 before the game starts, right? We wrap up our discussion on rituals in gaming with an online Discord and Twitch-based church complete with all the sermons, worship songs, and homophobia you'd expect of a traditional Christian church.

Thanks to Amy for joining us this week, follow her on Twitter!

Games discussed: Sky, Tetris Effect, South Park: The Stick of Truth, The Sims 4

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Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 24: Some games we associate with so many positive memories that picking them up again feels like returning home, and there are psychological reasons behind the phenomenon. This week we discuss an article by Polygon's Astrid Johnson, who breaks down why a game like Breath of the Wild can evoke such a reaction. Cam Call joins us on the podcast this week and he's waiting on a card game stuck on a boat because of the new China tariffs. Also, Caleb's final thoughts on Metal Gear, Travis experiences triumph in The Climb, and You Are Jeff Bezos is a harrowing text adventure. 

Thanks to Cam Call for filling on this week. Follow him on Twitter! 

Show notes:  The psychological reasons certain games feel like coming home (Polygon) 

Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, The Climb, You Are Jeff Bezos, Ticket to Ride, The Partisans 

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! 

Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 23: Rebekah has released a new and exciting zine called "Brave," and we kick things off by talking about the project and being passionate about independent publications. Then it's on to video game news. The "Den of Thieves" G2A came under fire again Monday when indie developer Mike Rose condemned Google ads directing people to buy his games from the grey market site. "Please, if you’re going to buy a game from G2A, just pirate it instead!" he tweeted. We discuss the fraud-enabling history of G2A, including our own experiences with the third party key marketplace, and how the website hurts indie developers disproportionately.

Show notes:

Games Discussed: Breath of the Wild, Katana Zero, Mini Metro, VA-11 Hall-A, Hypnospace Outlaw.

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! 

Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 22: We recorded this episode a few minutes after an earthquake shook Vegas, so Travis is on edge. But we dive right into The Outer Worlds co-director Leonard Boyarski's statement that the game will be "political," but not "politically-charged" and the misguided pandering developers often practice to reassure sensitive fans the game is worth buying. We also look at how The Last of Us handles complex moral issues, and how the developers of  Mordhau are trying to find a great way to appease their racist community. Finally, we make mid-year reflections on 2019's best games, from The Outer Wilds to Resident Evil 2, and Caleb reflects on his time playing the Metal Gear Solid series, which leads to an attempt to explain Metal Gear Solid to Travis. Emphasis on attempt.

 Show Notes:

Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, The Outer Wilds, Resident Evil 2 Remake, Scorn 

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! 

Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 21: Marianne Williamson is channeling powerful crystal energy. Beto o'Rourke wants to make sure you know he can speak Spanish. And the planet is rapidly advancing towards irreparable destruction. Meanwhile, we discuss an article about climate change from a gaming perspective, where beautiful digital recreations of nature are overshadowed by the dark reality that global warming is destroying the world we inhabit in real life, and 4K gaming and Stadia data centers will only heat us up more! After getting that existential crisis out of the way, we all weigh in on what games Bernie Sanders should stream on Twitch. Rebekah wants to see him indulge in an ultraviolent title like Mortal Kombat, while Travis wants to see him play Doki Doki Literature Club to address the need for accessible mental healthcare. To close we recap games we've been playing - braving the depths of Europa in Barotrauma, our multiplayer Crusader Kings 2 session, Caleb's adventures in Metal Gear Solid, Rebekah's experience with Dominion, and a rhythmic journey through Cadence of Hyrule. 

News Discussed:

Games Discussed: Metal Gear Solid, Barotrauma, Crusader Kings 2, Dominion, Cadence of Hyrule

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter!  

Hitpoint Pals features the voices of our host William Suitt, Rebekah Markillie, Caleb Warwick, and our producer Travis Lien.

Episode 20: Making our post-E3 return, the Hitpoint Pals recap their favorite announcements from the showcase including Watch Dogs: Legion, Cyberpunk 2077, and Psychonauts 2. We then take a look at the decision by EA to sell Nazi character cosmetics in Battlefield V, and the dangers of normalizing Nazis as "just German soldiers." We look at the games Call of Duty: WW2, Hearts of Iron IV, and the Wolfenstein series and discuss how each of these games portrays the Axis powers, and how the cartooning of Nazis in media detracts from the atrocities of World War II, and the events leading up to the war that allowed those atrocities to happen.

Show Notes:

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Episode 19: Following an exciting week of pre-E3 announcements, we gathered to unpack the week's news and then dive right into a special conversation about queerness in video games. Will and I do our best to follow along as Rebekah guides us through a discussion about the way that games are already queer, and tries to show us how the mere act of playing a game is a queer experience. By the end of the discussion, Will and I feel like we're college freshmen who have stumbled into a 400 level gender studies course, but it's an enlightening conversation nonetheless. Finally, we briefly preview the E3 conferences on the horizon, and prepare for the reveals, surprises, and disappointments in the days to come.

News discussed:

Games discussed: Ashen, Dungeons & Dragons, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Crusader Kings: II, The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim  

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Episode 18: First things first, everyone saw Godzilla: King of the Monsters this weekend, so before we can get anything done we have to get our thoughts on big monster movie out of the way. Then it's a full fledged Kojimian nightmare as we remark on the latest Death Stranding trailer, our histories with Kojima games, and our hopes and skepticism about the upcoming "strand game." But then things get real dark. First we discuss the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trailer and presentation summaries. Activision's "reboot" of the most loved Call of Duty game will feature brand new commentary on the realities of war while still making shooting guns feel cool. Then our conversation unravels into a larger criticism of imperialism, military grandstanding, international diplomacy, the corrupt loop of the military industrial complex, and straight up war crimes. But we wrap up on a lighter note with the games we've been playing, including Travis' adventures in The Outer Wilds, Caleb's revisit to Dead Space, Rebekah's Civilization VI conquests and D&D adventures, and William's surreal "Pathologic" trip. 

News discussed:

Games discussed: The Outer Wilds, Pathologic 2, Dead Space, Civilization VI, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare

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Episode 17: Will gives his his thoughts and praise for Total War: Three Kingdoms, and fills us in on the perils of hiring a high maintenance character like Lu Bu. Travis gives Life is Strange 2 some attention, and Rebekah's guilt about colonizing Zimbabwe in Civilization VI leads to a larger discussion about morality in strategy games. Then we move on to the news that Playdate is launching a handheld gaming platform with a crank, as well as the acquisition of another studio by THQ Nordic, who it turns out owns a lot more properties than we thought. Finally, we read some breaking news about the commissioner of the Overwatch League leaving Blizzard to join Epic Games, and discuss the staying power of Fortnite as well as a Kotaku article about shady business practices in esports.

Games discussed: Total War: Three Kingdoms, Life is Strange 2, The Last of Us, Civilization VI, Breath of the Wild

Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter!