The Besties

By Russ Frushtick, Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroyLeisure Video Games

Ranking
3rd
on Video Games
Favorites
223
Followers
Typical duration
57 min
per episode

Based on Podcast App listening data

The Besties episodes

May 09, 2017 The Besties pick the best games of April 2017
It’s only APRIL? Remember when good games only came out after Madden? That’s out the window. It’s been a stunner of a year already for game releases, and the streak continues in April with everything from JRPG/dating games to idle games. Join the Besties as they pick the month’s best.
Games discussed: Puyo Puyo Tetris, Office Space: Idle Profits, Flinthook, Kubb, Nier: Automata, The Sexy Brutale, Persona 5, What Remains of Edith Finch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3"
Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 31 min
April 07, 2017 The Besties are picking the best games of March 2017
You probably guessed it already Just because you almost certainly know what game we picked as the best of March 2017, doesn’t mean you can’t listen and enjoy hearing about all the games that aren’t the best game of March 2017. It’s about the journey, folks. Not the destination.
GAMES DISCUSSED: Mass Effect Andromeda, 1-2 Switch, Robo Recall, Nier Automata, Typeshift, Everything, Snipperclips, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3"
Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 15 min
March 06, 2017 The Besties pick the best games of February 2017
At least the games have been good in 2017! Though we still don’t have a great explanation as to why, the first ever Polygon podcast has returned on a monthly basis. Join The Besties (Russ Frushtick, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy and Chris Plante) as they nonsensically attempt to pick the “best” game released in January 2017.
GAMES DISCUSSED: Dandy Dungeon, Chess (again), Fire Emblem Heroes, For Honor, Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3"
Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 36 min
February 09, 2017 The Besties pick the best games of January 2017
Yes, they’re back. OK? Though we still don’t have a great explanation as to why, the first ever Polygon podcast has returned on a monthly basis. Join The Besties (Russ Frushtick, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy and Chris Plante) as they nonsensically attempt to pick the “best” game released in January 2017.
GAMES DISCUSSED: Dragon Quest Builders, Chess, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone, Final Fantasy XV, Gravity Rush 2, Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0 and Astroneer. Also, the Nintendo Switch.
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3
Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 17 min
December 13, 2016 The Besties podcast: Best of 2016
Yes, it's true, we've returned for yet another round of nobody's favorite video game podcast, The Besties. Join your hosts Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, Russ Frushtick and Griffin McElroy as they pick the year's best game with a methodology that ranges from "non-sensical" to "utterly, destructively haphazard."
Please enjoy this year's edition before The Besties are once again enveloped by fog and trapped in oblivion for 12 calendar months.
0:07 -- Honorable Mentions
0:24 -- Round 1
Hyper Light Drifter
Overwatch
Superhot
Battlefield 1
0:53 -- Round 2
Pokemon Go
Dishonored 2
Watchdogs 2
Stardew Valley
1:53 -- Round 3
Forza Horizon 3
DOOM
Dark Souls 3
The Witness
2:31 -- Round 4
Fire Emblem Fates
Quadrilateral Cowboy
Inside
Titanfall 2
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3
Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe.
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
3 hr 17 min
December 28, 2015 The Besties Game of the Year special for 2015 is now available, you monster
Last year, we published a post called "The Final Besties Ever." We're sorry that we lied about that, but we're even sorrier for those of you who made it happen by constantly demanding that we do it. We can't imagine what dark hole is embedded in your heart that you require one of the most universally maligned video game podcasts in history in order for your year to be complete, but that's your cross to bear.
True story: If Russ Frushtick's audio sounds odd during this episode, it's because he literally talked into the wrong side of his mic for the whole show, I shit you not. This is the podcast you demanded. This. This is on you.
If you'd like to subscribe to The Besties, you still can, believe it or not.
7:00 - Honorable Mentions
31:20 - Round One
1:09:50 - Round Two
1:45:20 - Round Three
2:25:25 - Final Decision
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Download MP3
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
2 hr 43 min
December 22, 2014 The Final Besties Ever: 2014's best games battle it out
This is it. The Besties have been on hiatus — which intimates a brief pause in an otherwise regular schedule, so let's call it a "temporary cancellation" — for a few months now, but we've gathered the crew back together for one last hurrah. We're going to talk about video games for a very, very long time, y'all. In this four-hour series finale, we're pitting 2014's best games against one another in unyielding combat to the death. (This isn't Polygon's official Game of the Year lineup, though — those will be announced soon!)
For those that have stuck with us from the beginning, through the exploratory episodes, the Chris Grant-a-Tron period, the video specials and countless horrible, imaginary special guests — thank you. Sorry it got so weird there, in the middle. Now: Let's close this out right.
The Games
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor
Mario Kart 8
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
Hearthstone: Heroes of Warcraft
Transistor
P.T.
Far Cry 4
Dark Souls 2
Bayonetta 2
Wolfenstein: The New Order
Destiny
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
Titanfall
Sunset Overdrive
Shovel Knight
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Get the show:
Download MP3"
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
3 hr 57 min
August 06, 2014 Best games of July 2014 - The Besties
It's fair to say that July 2014 will not go down as the most active month in video game history.
There were so few major releases this July that we decided the best way to cope was to go into the deep, dark past. Each Bestie was asked to select one game from their childhood that they love. The rule, though, was that at least two of the remaining three Besties had to have not played that game, so some of us would be playing them with fresh eyes. It was an enlightening experience.
Despite coming up with a whole backup plan for the lack of July games, it actually did end up as a pretty solid month, so we spend the top half of the show on some of the new releases, if that's your bag.
(Oh, and Justin couldn't make this episode because babies. Don't worry, he'll be back next month!)
5:00 - Some actually good games from July 2014!
31:00 - Actraiser (Frushtick)
43:30 - Quest for Glory (Griffin)
58:00 - Half Time
1:03:00 - News
1:16:00 - River City Ransom (Plante)
1:24:30 - The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery (Justin)
1:43:00 - Resties!
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Get the show:
Download MP3"
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Subscribe on iTunes
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 50 min
July 08, 2014 The best games of June 2014 according to The Besties
Remember last month when a surprise cloud of quality games rained down upon us, soaking us in the joys of kart racing and nazi shooting? Those warm rains of spring have passed and what remains is the scorched, dry earth of summer. Sure, a couple of nice games appeared, like oases ready to quench our thirst. But after completing Shovel Knight and Valiant Hearts we returned to our slog, counting the days till the fall deluge.
How have you been passing the summer drought?
5:00 - 1001 Spikes
22:00 - Shovel Knight
36:00 - News of the month, E3 Edition
56:00 - Valiant Hearts
1:14:00 - Pixel Junk Shooter Ultimate
1:18:00 - The Resties!
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Get the show:
Download MP3"
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Subscribe on iTunes
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 31 min
June 05, 2014 The Besties: The Best Games of May 2014
What a peculiar May.
Typically, I think of spring as a dumping ground, the soft, warm land where publishers unceremoniously bury games that failed to meet internal creative expectations or sales projections. The past few years have changed that, partly because publishers have learned to tie a AAA game's release to the incoming hype of E3, and partly because many games are released each year that every month is all but guaranteed to have one stand out.
There were a lot of games this month that deserve to be on a best of list. And we do our darndest to talk about most of them. Let's continue the conversation in the comments, because I'm sure we missed something.
5:00 - Watch Dogs
41:00 - Transistor
56:00 - News of the month
1:18:00 - Wolfenstein
1:32:00 - Mario Kart 8
1:39:00 - The Resties!
Theme song by Ian Dorsch
Get the show:
Download MP3"
Subscribe to the podcast (RSS)
Subscribe on iTunes
Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
1 hr 53 min

About The Besties

From the publisher's feed

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because…