With massive games like Baldur’s Gate 3 and Tears of the Kingdom out, and Starfield releasing this week, video games keep getting bigger. Even franchises that were once 10 hours are now 25-hour adventures. Jake and Sam discuss why the industry is trending toward larger games, what games justify their length, and which ones should have scaled down.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:10:37 - News Story #1: Remnant 2 Leads July 2023 Sales |

00:17:27 - News Story #2: BioWare Lays Off 50 Employees |

00:23:56 - News Story #3: Starfield’s Boundary and Review Code Drama |

00:40:30 - Main Topic: Question Block: Why Are Modern Games So Big? |

1:20:00 - Rotating Segment: Demo Reel (Shadow of the Colossus) |

1:23:03 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (Sea of Stars) |

1:24:39 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: Diablo IV, Metroid Prime, Hades, Super Mario 3D World, Mario Party 2, MOVIES: Cocaine Bear, The Virgin Suicides, The Visit, Old, Jurassic Park, TV: Jury Duty, Ahsoka, MUSIC: Lauren Auder - the infinite spine) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Armored Core VI: Fires Of Rubicon marks the grand return of the Armored Core franchise, so in honor of the series’ revival, Jake and Sam break down gaming’s best and worst comebacks. They debate what qualifies as a comeback and run down their favorite examples, including Doom, Crash Bandicoot, Tomb Raider, and more.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping (Fantasy Football, Super Jake Show Notes) |

00:11:18 - News Story #1: Microsoft Plans to Sell Activision Streaming Rights to Ubisoft |

00:18:51 - News Story #2: Project Q Is Now PlayStation Portal, Coming This Fall for $200 |

00:29:09 - News Story #3: Gamescom Opening Night Live 2023 Recap |

00:47:41 - Main Topic: Best and Worst Franchise Comebacks |

1:29:22 - Rotating Segment: Yoshi’s Topsy-Turvy Trivia (Franchise Comeback Trivia) |

1:36:30 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon, Blasphemous 2, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk) |

1:38:09 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: Diablo IV, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Baldur’s Gate 3, MOVIES: Oldboy, MacGruber, TV: Ahsoka, How To with John Wilson, MUSIC: Sufjan Stevens, Victoria Monét, Alan Palomo, Genesis Owusu - STRUGGLER, Hozier - Unreal Unearth) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Jake shares his opinion on a much-overlooked third-person shooter in a mini-review of Remnant: From the Ashes.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:02:10 - News Story: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III to Feature Remade Maps |

00:08:01 - Main Topic: Remnant: From the Ashes Mini-Review |

00:24:31 - Rotating Segment: Jake’s Red Hot |

0:27:37 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, MOVIES: The Meg, Pirates 4, & Pocahontas, TV: The Americans, The Wire, Jury Duty, I’m a Virgo, MUSIC: Miles Kane - One Man Band, Noname - Sundial) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

This week, Jake and Sam invent a new gaming term. “Indie torchbearers” are indie games that carry the torch of beloved older titles. In honor of the upcoming releases of Bomb Rush Cyberfunk (inspired by Jet Set Radio) and Sea of Stars (inspired by Chrono Trigger), the brothers discuss these passion projects, their favorite examples (Shovel Knight, Stardew Valley, and more), why many torchbearers seek crowdfunding, and their dream indie spiritual successor.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping (Metroid Prime Remastered, Sleep Schedules) |

00:05:21 - News Story #1: $50 Red Dead Redemption Port Coming to Switch and PS4 |

00:12:32 - News Story #2: Baldur’s Gate 3 Is a Critical and Commercial Hit |

00:26:36 - News Story #3: Take-Two Hints at GTA 6 Launch During Next Fiscal Year |

00:35:10 - Main Topic: The Thriving Trend of Indie Torchbearers |

1:13:52 - Rotating Segment: Ken Burns Presents (PS2 Licensed Games – Neopets: The Darkest Faerie and Taz: Wanted) |

1:20:56 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (The Plucky Squire, SteamWorld Build) |

1:22:57 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, MOVIES: Oppenheimer, Talk to Me, Theater Camp, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, Knock at the Cabin, Infinity Pool, TV: The Righteous Gemstones, The Bear) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

2023 is one of the best years in video game history, so Jake and Sam travel back in time six years to look at another fantastic year - 2017. They draft their elite lineup of games and compete to see who can build the better team!

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:14:40 - News Story #1: June 2023 Sales |

00:28:21 - News Story #2: Hasbro Wants to Bring Back Activision’s Transformers Games |

00:39:25 - News Story #3: Nintendo Switch 2 Repotedly Coming in 2024 |

00:47:10 - Main Topic: 2017 Video Game Draft |

1:21:23 - Rotating Segment: Game of the Week of the Year (2003) |

1:26:18 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (Disney Illusion Island) |

1:27:23 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: Mario Kart 8 DLC, Remnant: From the Ashes, Tears of the Kingdom, Metroid Prime Remastered, Hades, Spyro Remastered Trilogy, TV: Justified: City Primeval, Star Wars Visions, Secret Invasion, BOOKS: The Ballads of Songbirds and Snakes, Jade City, MUSIC: Oppenheimer Soundtrack, Travis Scott - UTOPIA, By Storm - Double Trio, Carly Rae Jepsen - The Loveliest Time) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

The boys ran long this week because they had so much to say about this summer’s movie blockbuster trifecta – Barbie, Oppenheimer, and Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One. Listen to their reviews here, as well as Jake’s takedown of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi Review |

00:01:01 - Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One Review |

00:03:34 - Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny Review |

00:07:50 - Barbie Review |

00:12:31 - Oppenheimer Review |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Everyone is talking about “Barbenheimer” – the shared release date of two of the year’s biggest movies, Barbie and Oppenheimer. So what are the Barbenheimers in video game history? The brothers run down the biggest shared release dates from the last ten years, including “Doom Crossing: Eternal Horizons” and “Dark Ratchet & Dark Clank 3.”

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:04:02 - News Story #1: Immortals Fenyx Rising Sequel Reportedly Canceled |

00:12:54 - News Story #2: Xbox 360 Call of Duty Games See Server Update and Sales Spike |

00:25:18 - News Story #3: Spider-Man 2’s Comic-Con Story Trailer |

00:38:26 - Main Topic: The “Barbenheimer” of Video Games (2013-2023) |

1:29:16 - Rotating Segment: Mad Mags: Fury Read (Top 20 Games on Every Nintendo Console in Nintendo Power 231, Issue 231, August 2008) |

1:38:16 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (Pikmin 4, Remnant II) |

1:38:38 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: Remnant: From the Ashes, Metroid Prime Remastered, Mario Kart 8 DLC, Hades) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

The boys move out of the past and into the future with their most anticipated games for the second half of 2023. With a five-team draft and a good ol’ round of OpenCritic predictions, Jake and Sam break down the second half of one of the best years in video games.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:05:50 - News Story #1: Xbox Live Gold Is Now Xbox Game Pass Core |

00:13:41 - News Story #2: EA Announces New Black Panther Game |

00:21:50 - News Story #3: Microsoft Wins FTC Fight |

00:31:50 - Main Topic: Most Anticipated Games for the Rest of 2023 |

1:02:11 - Rotating Segment: Mad Mags: Fury Read (Kingdom Hearts 2 in Electronic Gaming Monthly, Vol. 201, March 2006) |

1:09:35 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (OXENFREE II, Viewfinder) |

1:10:16 - Game, Watch, Listen (VIDEO GAMES: Tears of the Kingdom, Remnant: From the Ashes, Metroid Prime Remastered, Citizen Sleeper + Episode: Flux/Refuge/Purge, Hades, Spyro Reignited Trilogy, MOVIES: Lady and the Tramp, Double Jeopardy, I Am Number Four, We Are Your Friends, Indiana Jones, Past Lives, Rye Lane, Infinity Pool, Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, TV SHOWS: The Idol, Silo, The Other Two, MUSIC: grouptherapy. - I Was Mature for My Age, But I Was Still a Child, Maruja - Knocknarea, FLO - 3 of Us, Yazmin Lacey - Voice Notes, Body Type - Expired Candy) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

The boys bring their five-part ultimate E3 bracket series to a close by selecting the all-time best year for the gaming showcase extravaganza. They also discuss the juiciest headlines from the FTC v. Microsoft trial, their favorite reveals from the latest Nintendo Direct, and what they should play on vacation.

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping |

00:04:38 - News Story #1: Steam Summer Sale 2023 and What We Should Play on Vacation |

00:22:10 - News Story #2: The Biggest News from the FTC v. Microsoft Trial |

00:40:05 - News Story #3: Nintendo Direct June 2023 Review |

00:49:16 - Main Topic: Ultimate E3 Bracket Finale |

1:12:43 - Rotating Segment: Yoshi’s Topsy-Turvy Trivia (E3 Trivia) |

1:18:01 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner (Super Mario RPG Remake, Super Mario Bros. Wonder, Final Fantasy XVI) |

1:19:40 - Game, Watch, Listen (Tears of the Kingdom, Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time, Asteroid City, Black Mirror, Silo, ICECOLDBISHOP - Generational Curse, Killer Mike - Michael, McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, Geese - 3D Country) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!

Happy 100th episode! To celebrate the podcast’s first relevant milestone, the brothers tackle the 2023 GQ Top 100 Video Game List, dissecting its best choices and dreadful misses. In the second half of the episode, they pick their last Final Four contender for the best E3!

Timecodes:

00:00:00 - Intro/Housekeeping

00:07:30 - Main Topic #1: GQ Top 100 Video Game List Review |

00:47:10 - Main Topic #2: Ultimate E3 Bracket (Part 4) |

1:23:15 - Rotating Segment: Rotten or Fresh Movie Games (Inside Out) |

1:26:42 - Draft Day Starring Kevin Costner |

1:29:51 - Game, Watch, Listen (Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, Breath of the Wild, McKinley Dixon - Beloved! Paradise! Jazz!?, The Flash, Beef) |

Shoutout to Mizuki Kuroiwa for the incredible podcast artwork and to Thomniverse Remix for the music.

Send any questions, comments, or concerns to [email protected] and follow us @SuperMosherBros on Twitter. Thanks for listening!