On today's special New Year's episode of Steam Cleaners, Chase Wassenar and Walter Fedczuk are joined by special guest Kristen Pignuolo as they discuss their favorite games of last year while revisiting something another person played on the show. First, Walter upped the ante and finally understood why so many gamers like Balatro. Next, Kristen embraced the heartfelt horror game Slay the Princess. Finally, Chase wrestled with the contrast between tone and gameplay in Lil' Guardsman.

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On today's surprise episode of the Final Cut, Walter Fedczuk and Chase Wassenar look at Francis Ford Coppola's baffling Megalopolis film and try to make sense of it all. There's plenty of chaos and ridiculous moments along the way, but the core themes and philosophy of the film leave a bad taste in our hosts mouths all the same.

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On today's episode of Final Cut, Walter Fedczuk and Chase Wassenar look at The War of the Rohirrim, the latest entry into the Lord of the Rings canon and the first high fantasy animated film not intended for kids that our co-hosts can think of in a long time. Together, they discuss their history with the LotR franchise and how the film's rotoscoping enhances the experience before Chase gets out his editor's pen while dissecting the film's plot and characters.

On today's episode of Steam Cleaners, Walter "Ceades" Fedczuk battles through the seasonal fog by trying two different games: Roombo: First Blood and Indoor Kickball. Then, Chase "RedShirtKing" Wassenar tries to win Walter over on FMV dating sim Ladies School Prince (known as Knowledge, or know Lady on Steam) with the greatest stakes the podcast has ever had.

After a brief discussion on Arcane and the future of League of Legends media, Walter Fedczuk and Chase Wassenar make their way into the arena to discuss Gladiator 2. Together, they compare this sequel to the original film, discuss the high production value of the action scenes that drove most of the interest and advertising around this movie, and argue over whether that's enough for a film to be considered good.

On today's episode of Steam Cleaners, after a quick discussion on the NFL season, Walter "Ceades" Fedczuk delves into Battlefield One and why episodic campaigns - while short - might be the best path for FPS shooter. Meanwhile, Chase "RedShirtKing" Wassenar delves into the world of FMV visual novels and discovers that Five Hearts Under One Roof is more than meets the eye, for better and for worse.

Watch the video that broke Walter's brain: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ewWOrcE57E

On today's episode of Final Cut, Walter Fedczuk and Chase Wassenar take a look at Netflix's future Oscars darling, Emilia Perez. Together, they discuss how the film handled its musical elements, the incredible performances from the lead actresses, and why the film's ending unfortunately didn't land with our co-hosts.

After a quick discussion on AEW Full Gear, Walter "Ceades" Fedczuk shares his frustrating experience with Battlefield Hardline, while Chase "RedShirtKing" Wassenar resents the bloated Nikke stand alone "mini-game" Into the Mirror.

For the third movie in our wild card sidequest, Walter Fedczuk introduces Chase Wassenar and special guest Kristen Pignuolo to the 1962 film Taras Bulba. Together, they discuss the historical context of the original novel and Russia's attempt to reclaim this important piece of Ukranian culture, how the movie embraces Cossack culture, and why Chase and Kristen could not get behind the Tony Curtis of it all. They close with a touching tribute to Walter's Ukranian heritage and how it's shaped him to this day.

On today's episode of Steam Cleaners, Chase "RedShirtKing" Wassenar and Walter "Ceades" Fedczuk take a quick look at the new Fearless format that will be sweeping professional League of Legends next year before moving on to their game(s?) of the week. Both Chase and Walter took a nostalgia trip into Backyard Baseball '97, but one of them may have a last act twist up their sleeve.