Next Gen Basecast

After a very long Christmas break, we’re baaaaack!

Before we get to the podcast, check out our upcoming Gameblast charity stream: https://www.nextgenbase.com/ngb-is-doing-gameblast-2020/

Now, join Andy, Jonny and Kieran as they ramble and meander over a chat about:

* Jonny’s got a brand new song!

* Anthem’s also had extended Christmas break and aparently doesn’t know it’s the new year

* That game that’s like Overcooked but it’s removals

* Hypercharge Unboxed

* GAMEBLAST!

* Zombie Army 4

* Patapon 2 Remastered

* GAMEBLAST!

* Control

* A Plague Tale: Innocence

* Scourgebringer

* NVidia Now is out and might just do a murder on Stadia

* GAMEBLAST!

* Blizzard do a bad (again)

* Outer Worlds gets delayed on Switch

* Sony shuts down Manchester Studio – is PSVR in trouble?

* GAMEBLAST!

* Folks leaving games studios

* Animal Crossing in single island per Switch shock

* Wonderful 101 is getting a remake!

* Crash Bandicoot mobile game leaks!

* GAME! BLAST!

Did you know NGB is doing Gameblast? Visit https://www.nextgenbase.com/ngb-is-doing-gameblast-2020/ for more info!

And it’s here… The final day of the year can only mean one thing. It’s our Game of the Year finale!

Catch up with our “Best of the Rest” in the podcast and video below, for in this piece, it’s our Top Ten, so let’s get right into it!

10 – RING FIT ADVENTURE

Jonny: Nintendo have proven time and again that weird peripherals and hardware are very much their bag *quickly sweeps Wii U under a rug*. I was gripped by the Rig Fit Adventure from the first trailer, a proper game-ifying of the Wii Sports formula that proved so profitable on the Wii. While the new IP on display may not be up to much (a body building dragon called Dragaux is the grim nadir of a forgettable world), the inventive use of two basic pieces of hardware is what’s made this my game of the year. Having clear goals in exercise is key, so having the activity set to a literal adventure with clear progression points is perfect. I never thought I’d be excited about unlocking new exercise techniques to battle enemies in a fantasy realm has provided anticipation unlike any other game this year for me. Also, my bum looks great now. (Editor’s note: This last part is debatable)

9 – SEKIRO: SHADOWS DIE TWICE

Andy: My most anticipated game of last year only hits 4th place! So Sekiro probably wasn’t the game I was expecting, eschewing most of the customisation and social functionality of FromSoftware’s past catalogue, but it presented a rich world of Japanese mythology and such a good story. Sure, it was hard as nails, probably harder than many games of its ilk, but the level of polish and craft on display here is immense.

8 – LUIGI’S MANSION 3

Kieran: Nintendo makes great games, I don’t need to tell you that, but I have because I’m trying to up my word count. But one of Nintendo’s background brothers – Luigi – really shines in his debut game on the Switch. Luigi’s Mansion 3 takes the tried and tested puzzle/platform formula and creates something that’s suitably ‘of its ilk’ but does so incredibly well. Nintendo games reek of charm and Luigi’s Mansion is no exception. In fact, it utterly stinks of it and this is down to the smaller details. Luigi is a meek character and his nervous persona lends to some incredible character animation which ties the games overarching whimsy into a beautiful little parcel. The environments feel alive, quite literally (but not really because ghosts are dead) in some cases, lived-in and perfectly crafted. It’s quintessentially a run of the mill puzzler yet it’s somehow more than that because of the attention to detail paid to it. It’s a simple game done very well and it makes Luigi’s Mansion 3 an essential purchase for Nintendo Switch owners.

Ben: Luigi’s Mansion 3 is a visual treat, wrapped up with familiar yet surprisingly engaging gameplay mechanics. Taking Mario’s scared sibling through a number of levels of a haunted hotel is a real pleasure, with some laugh out loud moments along the way, and some absolutely gorgeous environments to go with it. One of the year’s best Switch games

Gari: The Luigi’s Mansion series has always been one of my favourite series and when it was announced in 2018, my excitement level reached its peak. Straight off the bat, Luigi’s Mansion 3 does not disappoint. It’s charm is something that shines more than any other game I’ve played in 2019 and with tight gameplay, beautiful art style and solid gameplay, Nintendo has done it again with another 1st party software masterpiece. If you own a Switch, Luigi’s Mansion 3 is without doubt a must own.

7 – JUDGMENT

Robin: The SEGA Yakuza series is fantastic, but it can definitely be accused of feeling a little samey, over the course of the 6 mainline series entries and the three or four spin-offs. That is why Judgment was so interesting.

It’s the end of the year, so that means we’ve cracked our heads together, and decided on the best (and worst) of 2019’s games, just for you!

Today, Ben, Gari and Matt sit down and take you through some of our favourite categories, including:

Best “old” Game!

Best Surprise!

Biggest Disappointment!

Best Soundtrack!

Best Looking Game!

Best Free Game!

The Most Anticipated Game of 2020!

Be sure to check out the podcast and the video below for all of our thoughts, we’ll see you soon for our run down of the best games of the past 12 months!

Ben and Jonny get together and talk about all things gaming, including:

Death Stranding!

Luigi’s Mansion 3!

Untitled Goose Game!

Stadia!

X019!

And more!

Join us next week (we promise) and we’ll have even more for you!

EGX-Citing Times!

Ben, Andy and Kieran sit down feeling extremely sleepy, and talk about EGX! As well as a few other things…

As every give us a like and a follow and all that cool social media jazz all the kids are doing these days, and we’ll see you next week!

Ben and Andy sit down and present this week’s Basecast!

We talk:

John Wick Hex!

PLAYSTATION 5!!

Sony Layoffs

PSVR2?!

Red Dead 2 on PC!

Nintendo’s awful Microtransactions!

Destiny Shoes!

Subscribe to the pod and we’ll see you next week!

Andy, Jonny, Kieran and Jonny’s cats get together for the usual weekly basecast in which they discuss such fun things as:

* Big spiders, undead spiders, fancy spiders and toilet spiders

* Creature In The Well

* Twitter bantz

* Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Remastered

* Ru-Paul’s Drag Race UK

* Harry Potter

* PES 2020

* Untitled Goose Game

* Code Vein

* The Surge 2

* Apex Legends new season

* Cuphead in Tesla’s

* Brain Training on Switch

* Ring Fit on Switch

* Shawn Layden leaves Playstation

* Playstation Now gets a price cut

* SNES Controllers on Switch

* Untitled Goose Game (again!) comes to the PS4 and XBox One

* Review Re-view

Ben and Jonny get together to talk about games in this week’s Basecast! We discuss:

Untitled Goose Game!

PES!

Link’s Awakening!

Bodyguard?!

Steam reselling!

AND MORE!?

Drop us a like, subscribe, and all that jazz, and we’ll see you next week!

Andy and Jonny get together for a good old ramble about time travel, ghosts and broken cars. Oh, and videogames. Subjects include:

Numbering foobars

Haunted busses

eFootball PES 2020

Exhausts falling off cars

Blasphemous

Apple Arcade

Switch Lite

Dubiuous Dreamcasts

Won’t somebody please put Anthem out of its misery

It: Chapter 2

The Rockstar Game Launcher

Free Batmans on the Epic Store

Batmans in the Fortnites

…and the return of Review Re-View!

Ben, Gari and Kieran get together this week and talk about video games! This week’s topics include:

PES!

The Creature In The Well!

GRID!

News!

And More!

As ever, like share and subscribe, all that good stuff, and we’ll see you next week!