In 2008, Turtle Rock studios brought a new kind of multiplayer experience to video gaming with Left 4 Dead. You and your friends took control of a group of four survivors and try to navigate a world overflowing with undead in a chaotic first person cooperative campaign. Thirteen years later and Turtle Rock are revisiting the idea with Back 4 Blood. We found that it iterated on the formula nicely in some places, and seems to have lost the plot a bit in others. Additions like the deck management system give character creation a bit more depth, while inattention to the personalities of the Cleaners removes some of the charm present in its predecessors. Overall its a great cooperative experience, so listen in as Bryan, Josh, and Clint talk through their experiences with Back 4 Blood.

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Satisfying Soulless Successor

Josh - Wrong Lessons Learned

Clint - Team Building Exercise

In 2019, Asobo Studio released A Plague Tale: Innocence, a story about a brother and sister navigating a plague and war torn 14th century France. Just months later the world would experience its own major pandemic event. For months after that Bryan and Clint had put off playing A Plague Tale, but during the Fall of 2021 they managed to play through and both are extremely happy they did. Providing a affecting emotional story (with a few supernatural elements to spice things up), A Plague Tale pulls off a cohesive blend of stealth, combat, and drama. Come for the gorgeous visuals of the French countryside, but stay for the story about how family, and found family, can make all the difference in an overwhelming world. Listen in for Bryan and Clint’s takes on A Plague Tale: Innocence and why they are excited for whatever’s next for this series and its studio.

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Sling Into Action

Clint - Beauty in Bleakness

Someone’s murdered Paradise and Bryan and Josh are on the case! Paradise Killer literally drops you into the shoes of Lady Love Dies, who is investigating one of the most bizarre and otherworldly mysteries that one could imagine. The game immediately sets you free to explore a city full of convoluted history and conspiracy, dripping in sun-drenched style, and set to the tune of a relaxing and evocative soundtrack. Kaizen Game Works first outing is not a perfect game, but it is an excellent ride that you’re sure to remember for the setting alone. Listen in as Bryan and Josh investigate what makes Paradise Killer a mystery to remember.

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - What Main Quest

Josh - Vaporwave Occult Banger

Show Notes:

Vaporwave artist Saint Pepsi

Japanese City Pop

Japanese City Pop Example - Mariya Tekuchi - Plastic Love

Paradise Killer’s ‘killer’ OST

Join Bryan and Clint for a podcast on the latest game from Arkane Studios, Deathloop! It has all of their Arkane favorites: flavorful distinctive environments, a deep intriguing backdrop, and interlocking systems of stealth, combat and exploration to name a few, but it also brings plenty of new ideas all its own. Whether you’re breaking the loop or protecting it there’s plenty to love on the island of Blackreef. So pull up a chair, or perhaps, join us in our 70’s style conversation pit to hear how Deathloop weaves style, action, and unpredictability into an intoxicating new type of immsersive sim.

Three Word Reviews:

Clint: Mastery Through Repetition

Bryan: Save Scumming, Defeated

Its that spooky time of year and everyone playing games is looking for something to match the spirit of the season! The latest entry in Capcom’s long running, and often remastered Resident Evil series is Resident Evil Village. Clint, a longtime Resident Evil fan, and Bryan, a relative newcomer, both weigh in on the merits and shortcomings of this 2021 release. Sticking with the first person perspective from RE7, Village takes Ethan winters to a remote European hamlet where he squares off against four lords to save his kidnapped daughter. Well… there’s a bit more to it than that, but you’ll have to listen in to find out!

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - A Horror Buffet

Clint - RE8: Identity Crisis

The air is getting cooler, the days are getting shorter… and Josh, Bryan, and Clint are getting spooky with Pumpkin Jack! Pumpkin Jack is a 3d action/platformer with a ton of spooky-scary Halloween vibes. It’s a love letter to the 3d platformers of yesteryear and is absolutely dripping with character and some gorgeous visuals. To add to its impressiveness, it is largely the work of solo-developer Nicolas Meyssonnier. We love to see small studios succeed at their goals and this project absolutely nails the eerie vibe it is aiming for.

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Nostalgic Pumpkin Pie

Josh - Crisp Fall Breeze

Clint - What a Treat!

If On A Winter’s Night Four Travelers by Laura Hunt and Thomas Möhring, who together make up Dead Idle Games, is a masterwork in terms of writing, art, and overall tone. Spanning three stories inside of a larger framing narrative, this (Free!) indie game delivers a punch of tension, suspense, and horror well above its weight class. Listen in as Josh and Bryan discuss what was so affecting about this indie horror gem, and reveal their ignorance of Italian postmodernist novelists.

Three Word Reviews:

Bryan - Allusion Confusion Conclusion

Josh - Best Damn Library

Show Notes:

If On A Winter’s Night, Four Travelers – Interview

If On A Winter’s Night, A Traveler

Link to the Game: If on a Winter’s Night Four Travelers

Ahoy, Matey! Clint, Josh, and Bryan recently set sail on the Sea of Thieves and recruited fellow buccaneer and friend of the show, Andy, to reminisce on some of their most memorable mischief on the high seas. Sea of Thieves is a special kind of co-op multiplayer game, that values both whimsey and diegetic action to a high degree, whether you’re taking over one of many aspects of successfully piloting a ship, or just passing the time on deck by playing your hurdy-gurdy. Listen in to hear about how this design helps enable a one of a kind multiplayer experience that can provide equal parts calming relaxation and heart pounding chaotic action.

3 Word Reviews:

Bryan - Sailing and Chill

Josh - Aye, Me Hearties!

Clint - Ride the Wave

Andy - Watch Your Back

Join Josh, fluent Paradox games veteran, and Bryan, an enthusiastic newbie for a discussion of Paradox Games’ signature 4X space strategy game, Stellaris! We both put a good amount of time into this game recently and our play actually straddled the big 3.0 update back in April 2021. Paradox games have always thrived on the support given to them by their developers, and this game is no different. Stellaris is a special game among space sims due to the huge amount of flavor infused not only into the core gameplay but also into the writing of the game’s anomalies and events.

3 Word Reviews:

Bryan - A Galactic Paradox

Josh - Deep Spacetime Sink

City builders have always been among the more meditative and ‘flow-state inducing’ genres for many people. This week we play two city-builder games, Islanders and Dorfromantik which offer simplified but vastly different takes on the city builder genre. Islanders is a low poly score-chasing city builder that always nets you a view of one or more gorgeous cities at the end of a round. Dorfromantik is a hex-based city builder that tasks the player with keeping the city going by pursuing quests the game procedurally generates for you. Both are highly relaxing games by German development studios. Join Bryan and Josh for a discussion comparing and contrasting these two city builders in a podcast we’re calling ‘Simple Cities’

3 Word Reviews:

Islanders

Bryan - Chill Island Time

Josh - Pretty Itty-bitty City

Dorfromantik

Bryan - Carcassonne as Solitaire

Josh - Single Player Carcassonne