The Resties Required Reading List returns!  Our goal is to curate a "must play" list of 25 games released between 1980 to 2020. Think of it like Video Games 101. This week, we've selected games from 1995-1999. Join us as we revisit the moment when video games went  mainstream! 

Visit @thebestiespod on Twitter to see a full list of games from this week's episode.

Previous picks:

1985-89 - Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, SimCity

2005-09 - Resident Evil 4, Wii Sports, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

This week's bonus recs: 

Deep Rock Galactic and When Worlds Collide (1951)

The Video Game Required Reading List: 1995-1999 [The Resties]

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 shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

Video Games

Games & Hobbies

Leisure

Duck and cover! This week, The Besties discuss the first two episodes of the excellent Fallout TV series. Then, they talk through the ways the Fallout approach could alter the trajectory of video game adaptations. Plus: a bunch of great listener recommendations!

Falling in to the Fallout TV Show

This week, The Besties share their favorite “rainy day” games!  These are the games we dig out when we’re feeling blue and need something that provides a quick dose of comfort. Turns out our list is quite long! In the back half, we do the rare Besties spoilercast with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — a.k.a. one of 2024’s best games.

Chicken Soup for the Gamers' Soul

This week we've got a game inspired by the SNES era and a game that probably shouldn't have come out at all. We'll also find out just what Justin thinks about Dragon's Dogma 2, and what's going on with the Stardew Valley 1.6 update.

Pepper Grinder and Princess Peach, Together at Last

Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best game of the year? Or is it the buggiest? It might be the most divisive! This week, The Besties talk about the wildly ambitious (and difficult to run on most hardware) fantasy RPG from Capcom. Plus, we take a deep dive into the reader mail pool. Did we mention we keep all the letters in a pool, Scrooge McDuck-style? Because we do.

Arise with Dragon's Dogma 2

Team Ninja has been busy! 

In the past five years, the studio released Dead or Alive 6, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Nioh 2, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Their latest game, Rise of the Ronin, compiles everything they learned into their most ambitious project: a sprawling open-world samurai adventure set in a recreation of mid-19th century Japan.

Rise of the Ronin takes the “something for everyone” approach, blending the exploration and loot systems of recent Assassin’s Creed games with the quick-reflex sword fighting of the studio’s Nioh series. This video game smoothie is quite delicious — if you can stomach the occasional funky chunk of game mechanics.

In the back half, we talk about our favorite under-appreciated open-world games.

The Video Game Required Reading List: 1995-1999 [The Resties]

Download our free app to listen on your phone