Wardcast

With 2020 solidly in the rearview, we embrace 2021 and everything that comes with it: Hollywood cannibals, bean dads, Alex’s addiction to segues, and our yearly discussion about The Game Awards.

But that’s not all! We also take the time to discuss the One-Winged Angel coming to Smash, the rebirth of Lucasfilm Games, and the Cyberpunk 2077 saga of labor issues, problematic representation, and unstable software.

Games include Monster Hunter Rise, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Cyberpunk 2077, and Doom Eternal.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

After a long and arduous year, we’ve finally made it to Best Games Played!

We simplified and streamlined to make our end-of-the-year recording responsibilities a little simpler, and as such, we still got some games to discuss before we get to the final countdown: talking PlayStation 5 ownership and a new world of haptic feedback, who will be the Lord of the Sweetieflies on Snaktooth Island, one final update to Blaseball, and so much more.

So join us for the final journey of 2020 as we sojourn through our Best Games Played awards and sail into 2021!

Games include Animal Crossing: New Horizons, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Bugsnax, Blaseball, Ghost of Tsushima, Astro’s Playroom, Forza Horizon 4, Phasmophobia, Superliminal, Star Wars: Squadrons, Star Wars: Tales from the Galaxy’s Edge, Demon’s Souls, Ring Fit Adventure, Titanfall 2, Deep Rock Galactic, and The Last of Us Part II.

Awards include Greatest Debates, Warmest Neighborhood, Oddest Ball, Best Game Show, Boldest Myth, Best Archive, Best Playground, Greatest Responsibility, Best Shared Screams, and Most Balanced.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

With two Smashers down and four left to go for the seemingly final DLC pack of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, Dylan, Alex, and Nelson gather together to debate and discuss who will be lucky enough to ascend to such vaunted a station.

Theories abound: maybe another Microsoft representative, maybe a yet-to-be-fully-acknowledged Nintendo rival, or maybe someone from the company’s retro past? Who’s to say! We consider the realistic, the reaching, and the ramshackle possibilities on this, our second round of the Smash Ultimate Prediction Pool.

Games include The Wonderful 101: Remastered.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

As we roll through the sleepy days of autumn, the games industry continues to keep us on our toes.

First up, we have multiple video game movies to contend with, with the release of the first full Monster Hunter trailer and the first photos of Tom Holland as Nathan Drake.

But autumn means one other thing: that’s right, it’s spooky season! So we contend with games both scary and macabre as we ponder the nature of consciousness in SOMA, fend off Mr. X in Resident Evil 2, investigate a murder in Paradise Killers, and explore the afterlife in I Am Dead.

And once we’re done spooking ourselves through games, there are other horrors to contend with: Facebook’s total absorption of Oculus, lackluster Mario Royale successors, Steve losing his meat, content creators paying license fees to play games, and the American election.

Games include SOMA, Resident Evil 2, Genshin Impact, Paradise Killer, I Am Dead, Disc Room, Star Wars Squadrons, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Super Mario Bros. 35, Soviet Jump Game, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, and Grand Theft Auto V.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

Wedding bells are ringing out on the Wardcast, as two of our hosts prepare for holy matrimony, but before they can spend life eternal with their significant others, they have to take their vows:

Do you, Alex, take this Breath of the Wild gacha game, in good rolls and in bad, to be a decent enough successor to the seminal Zelda game? To valiantly defend Super Mario 64 even though it may not be the best entry in 3D All-Stars, and to always find Project Winter to be vastly superior to Among Us?

And do you, Nelson, promise to always ensure that we have a five-stack in Valorant, whether in competitive or unranked? To always find Zagreus in Hades drop-dead sexy, and to find Final Fantasy VII Remake a frustratingly lacking game, as long as it is sold on shelves?

Games include Genshin Impact, Valorant, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Hades, Super Mario 3D All-Stars, Among Us, Project Winter, and Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

It’s a powdery fresh Wardcast as Dylan, Nelson, and Alex discuss the ever-changing gaming landscape.

We got acquisitions galore as Red Ventures steps in to acquire CNET Media and all its associated brands while Microsoft makes a big play by purchasing Bethesda parent Zenimax Media for a whopping $7.5 billion. All the while, the next gen of consoles hangs heavy on the horizon, as we discuss the rise of the prosumers, question the point of 4K, and wonder who the heck is buying a console this holiday, anyways?

Games include The Sims 4, Wide Ocean Big Jacket, Night in the Woods, Boku no Natsuyasumi, Disco Elysium, and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

This week on the Wardcast, Dylan and Nelson are joined by Abby Russell, content producer at Giant Bomb!

The duo talks to Abby about her work at the site, including the balancing act of being an informer, entertainer, and a (sometimes) critic of games, as well as understanding the parasocial relationship between herself and the audience.

We also tackle the big questions: is the state of Virginia technically in “the South”? And who are video games’ hottest characters?

Games include The Sims 4, Fortnite, Titanfall 2, and Marvel’s Avengers.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

For the inaugural PAX Online, we join together with our friends and colleagues to talk about acquiring funding for your indie game! Joining Dylan for this discussion is Finji’s Bekah Saltsman, Kickstarter’s Anya Combs, Kowloon Nights’ Callum Underwood, and Devolver Digital’s Nigel Lowrie!

The gang discusses everything about funding partners, including what to have prepared for your preliminary meeting with a potential partner, what your expectations should be for your first collaboration, and more!

From the panel description:

Finding funding for your game’s development can sometimes feel like a forbidden art — discussed only in hushed tones in hidden rooms. We’re here to demystify that search and equip you with the knowledge and preparation needed to approach a financial stakeholder — whether it’s a publisher, a crowdfunding platform, a funding collective, or some alternate partnership. Listen in on this discussion between publishers, crowdfunding representatives, and other industry professionals about the ins and outs of funding your game.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

It’s a two man show this episode as Dylan and Nelson sit down to talk about a handful of games, coincidentally all starring the same voice actors.

We follow up with Nelson’s foreshadowing last episode about how he might not like Marvel’s Avengers, only to discover that he, in fact, does not like Marvel’s Avengers! And Dylan finally played The Last of Us and leads us through a discussion on how the game holds up seven years on, especially in comparison with the release of Part II.

Games include Marvel’s Avengers, The Last of Us Remastered, Fall Guys, and The Last of Us Part II.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!

Our third and final attempt at catching up has us discussing games, games, games!

It’s a whirlwind tour of all sorts of games — web games, AAA games, and… weird, corrupted fan games?

We also double up on two entries in two different franchises, as we jump between Hell and a world of assassination.

It’s all this and more in our quarantine catch-up!

Games include Blaseball, Mario Royale, Doom, Doom Eternal, Hitman, Hitman 2, Valorant, Pottergame, and Marvel’s Avengers.

Got a question for the show? Join us on Discord at ward-games.com/discord or email us at [email protected]!