2021 has been a pretty awesome year for games, so this week on the Save Data Cast we take a look back at our favorite games that came out in the first half of the year. Are remasters at the top of everyone's list? Could Final Fantasy 7 Remake DLC be the best game so far? The crew discusses all this and what games we're most excited for in the latter half of 2021 on this week's episode!

Time Codes:
Start - 00:00
Fantasy Critic Update - 02:00
https://www.fantasycritic.games/league/6c97a174-0e29-4004-b066-efe920016821/2021
What have we been playin'? - 05:15
Our Game of the Year So Far
Elise GotY Watch - 11:32
Prij GotY Watch - 28:56
Zak GotY Watch - 33:21
David GotY Watch - 51:45
What games are were still looking forward to in 2021? - 1:06:20

 Remember to watch the show live every other Friday at 7:30 pm EST at: https://Twitch.tv/SaveDataTeam (check there for a more accurate schedule!) 

Horizon 2: Forbidden West is presumably coming out this holiday season, so this week on the Save Data Cast we go back to the original game with our review and spoiler cast! Join as as we discuss Horizon: Zero Dawn mechanics, the open world, characters, story, and everything in between. Did we miss something major? Have you own opinions to share on Horizon: Zero Dawn? Let us know on twitter! Let us know if you'd like us to do more spoiler casts as well. 

Time Codes: 
Start - 00:00 
Fantasy Critic Update - 01:48 
https://www.fantasycritic.games/league/6c97a174-0e29-4004-b066-efe920016821/2021
HZD General Review (No Spoilers) - 08:02 
HZD Spoilers Begin, BEWARE! - 19:35 

I was going to try to time code the topics...but we jump around a lot. Sorry, first time doing a spoiler cast! 

E3 2021 is over! Join the crew as we choose the best (and worst) games, presentations, and surprises from this year's gamer Christmas in June. Was Elden Ring a more hype announcement than Breath of the Wild 2? Which awkward presentation was the most awkward? Find out the answers to those questions and our impressions of Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart and all of the other games we've been playing on this weeks save Data Cast!

Time Codes:
Start - 00:00
What have we been playin'?
Zak - 03:16
Prij - 13:14
Elise - 24:04
David - 31:10
Save Data E3 Awards Intro - 41:09
The "Oh Man There Are Really Only 2-3 Choices Here, Huh?" Award - 41:51
The "We Found This Presentation On A USB Drive In A Medieval Times" Award - 49:58
The "Holy S*** They Actually Put Goofy In Smash" Award - 1:00:33
The "Aww S***, I Might Actually Try This Game" Award - 1:06:30
The "Inverse No Man's Sky" Award - 1:12:00
The "This Game Was Not Made By Activision" Award - 1:17:30
The "Literally No One Asked For This" Award - 1:22:35
The "Summer Of Kermit Best In Show" Award - 1:29:45
Closing - 1:38:33

May was the first month this year that game releases we were all excited for. So on this week's Save Data Cast, we review 3 different games! Zak reviews Resident Evil 8 Village, the whole team reviews Knockout City, and David and Chris review Mass Effect Legendary Edition! Let us know what you thought about Knockout City, RE8, and Mass Effect Legendary Edition on our discord or on twitter! 
Time Codes: 
Start - 00:00 
Fantasy Critic Update 02:24 
Resident Evil 8 - 06:54 
Knockout City - 29:25 
Mass Effect Legendary Edition - 44:29 
Upcoming Games We're Playing Next - 1:22:33 

E3 and Summer Game Fest are fast approaching! This week on the Save Data Cast, we make our predictions for what we will adn won't see at this summer's biggest gaming events. Will we finally find out if Elden Ring is coming out? Is Starfield coming this year? WIll Halo Infinite make it's release date? Will David finally get a Beyond Good & Evil 2 date? We talk about all of these and make some wild predictions of own! 

There are a couple outlook ping sounds in here, sorry! I'm an idiot and forgot to disable until a little while in T.T

Time Codes: 
Start - 00:00 
Elden Ring - 02:02 
Switch Pro Talk - 11:51 
Beyond Good & Evil 2 (David Bias) - 26:44 
E3/SGF Predictions Round 1 - 30:10 
E3/SGF Predictions Round 2 - 47:33 
E3/SGF Predictions Round 3 - 1:07:23 
Leftover predictions (Starfield and others) - 1:25:40 

Open world games (like Horizon, Assassin's Creed, Breath of the Wild, and Ghost of Tsushima) each have their own approach to open world game design. This week on the Save Data Cast, we talk about what features in a game make for a great open world and why. Has there been a perfect open world yet? What game has the best points of interest? Is climbing a deal breaker? We discuss all these and what we've been playin' on episode 9 of the Save Data Cast! 

Sorry for the late upload! I'm an idiot and set the premiere data to the wrong month! -David

Time Codes: 
Start - 00:00 
Fantasy Critic Update - 00:55 https://www.fantasycritic.games/league/6c97a174-0e29-4004-b066-efe920016821/2021 
What have we been playin'? 
Elise - 04:05 
Prij - 14:47 
David - 26:37 
Topic of the Show - 33:31 

The music industry has it's one hit wonders, like I'm Blue, Somebody I Used To Know, and others, but what about games? Turns out there are a lot of series and studios that have their one hit wonders too. What studio put out a hit game for Rockstar but ended up closing after a few months? Did the creator of Tetris ever make another game? Was there ever a good StarFox game? We answer these questions, ask more questions...and talk about Kermit (?) on this week's Save Data Cast!

Time Codes:
Start - 00:00
Fantasy Critic Update - 03:03
What have we been playin'?
Zak - 05:41
Chris - 10:48
Prij -  16:09
David - 19:52
Topic of the Show - 26:30

Remember to watch the show live every other Friday at 7:30 pm EST at: https://Twitch.tv/SaveDataTeam (check there for a more accurate schedule!)

Marvel's Avengers was a real let down of a game in 2020 (and continuing into 2021). Let's fix Avengers. This week on the Save Data Cast, we replace Marvel's Avengers with video game characters from different franchises. Would Snake make a good Captain America? Which Avenger could possibly be replaced by Kirby? Kratos is obviously Thor, right?

The answers may surprise you.
We missed our Fantasy Critic Update this week, it'll be back on the next episode! Whoops!

Time Codes:
Start - 00:00
What have we been playin'?
Zak - 01:37
Chris - 04:34
Prij -  09:02
Elise's Monster Hunter Corner - 13:31
David - 26:16
Topic of the Show - 31:41

We decided to have a little bit of fun this week on the Save Data Cast, so we went through a did FMK with everything (and everyone) from video games - edgy Final Fantasy Swordy Boys, Kirby Bosses, League of Legends champions, Zelda games/characters, failed mascots...you name it! 

If you thought this was fun, let us know in the comments and hit us up with more trios on our discord! https://discord.gg/kt9AJtp
If this wasn't your jam and you want us to stay in previous lanes, let us know that too!

Time Codes:
Start - 00:00
Fantasy Critic Update - 4:42
What have we been playin'?
Zak (sort of) - 07:43
Chris - 08:36
Zak (for real this time) - 09:50
Prij - 13:03
David - 18:24
Topic of the Show - 28:37

Over the years that we've been playing games, some genres have come and gone from the spotlight. This week on the Save Data Cast, we talk about some of our favorites that we wish were back or that we're happy lived a full life before dying. Are there some genres that we, and all gamers, have just grown out of? What is the next genre of game limping towards the River Styx?
Did we miss a recently dead genre? Is there a genre you think is on death's door? Let us know on twitter!
Time Codes:
Intro - 00:00
Fantasy Critic Update - 01:45
What have you been playin'?:
Zak - 05:27
Prij - 17:54
Chris - 25:36
David - 30:43
Topic of the Show - 36:56