Our chill and agreeable consideration of 2021's best games continues this week (and may or may not conclude), with categories like Best Music, Best Time Loop, the "I Wish I Liked It More" award, the games with the most positive zeal for life, and more!

Advertise on The Nextlander Podcast at Gumball.fm, or support us on Patreon!

CHAPTERS

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:02:33) Categories that are left

(00:04:18) Best Music

(00:53:46) Best Character

(01:33:10) Break

(01:33:13) Zestiest Joie de Vivre

(01:54:46) Best Time Loop

(02:11:46) The "I Wish I Liked It More" Award

(02:41:22) Recapping the day's awards

(02:43:54) Coming up on next week's show

(02:44:30) Wrapping up and thanks!

(02:45:28) Mysterious Benefactor Tier Shoutouts

(02:46:51) Be safe and see you all in 2022
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

30: Zestiest Joie de Vivre

Longtime friends and games media colleagues Vinny Caravella, Brad Shoemaker, and Alex Navarro share their combined decades of knowledge, expertise, and passion for games with weekly discussions about what they're playing, what's happening in the industry, and whatever else they're up to.

Hobbies

Games & Hobbies

Leisure

With SGF approaching and the console wars heating up, this week we consider Sony's newly announced State of Play, Xbox's decision to put Call of Duty on Game Pass, and Atari's ruthless takeover of Intellivision, plus we catch up on all the recent games with more on Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, (the end of) Hellblade II, Animal Well, Hades II, and more!



Advertise on The Nextlander Podcast at Audioboom, or support us on Patreon!



CHAPTERS



(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:01:53) They want to take away your Fuddruckers!

(00:02:09) “Our brand will not be closing all stores in 2024." CEO, Fuddruckers

(00:03:45) He's on that RetroTINK (aka The Old Games Block)

(00:22:17) Senua's Saga: Hellblade II [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S] on May 21, 2024

(00:39:58) Lorelei and the Laser Eyes [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 16, 2024

(00:44:06) Hotel Overloop [PC] on May 23, 2024

(00:47:06) Duck Detective: The Secret Salami [PC (Microsoft Windows), Nintendo Switch, Linux, Mac] on May 23, 2024

(00:49:22) Animal Well [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5] on May 09, 2024

(00:57:08) Hades II [PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 06, 2024

(01:03:42) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [PlayStation 5] on Feb 29, 2024

(01:05:38) Sony will have a State of Play and more!

(01:11:43) Possible PS VR2 PC dongle confirmation?

(01:14:06) New Astrobot game in the works?

(01:18:58) Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 will be on Game Pass

(01:26:45) Atari buys Intellivision

(01:36:10) Be kind, rewind!

(01:37:16) Emails

(01:56:15) Wrapping up and thanks

(01:59:28) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts

(02:01:41) Nextlander Content Updates

(02:05:57) See ya!

152: THEY'RE TAKING YOUR FUDDRUCKERS


Head to https://www.squarespace.com/NEXTLANDER to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code NEXTLANDER.



This week we all dig into Hellblade II, Lorelei and the Laser Eyes impresses mightily, we ponder the state of both games media and arcade "cabinets," cat ownership is debated in its many aspects, Big Rigs gets a shocking amount of airtime, and a bunch of other stuff!



CHAPTERS



(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:01:19) Let's work on this game and meat metaphor

(00:03:11) These 4th graders have some talent!

(00:05:49) Getting candy from old people

(00:07:38) Out of touch with the kids and their phone games

(00:11:19) Senua's Saga: Hellblade II [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S] on May 21, 2024

(00:36:39) Starfield [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S] on Sep 06, 2023

(00:42:17) Lorelei and the Laser Eyes [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 16, 2024

(00:49:24) Little Kitty, Big City [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S] on May 09, 2024

(01:01:12) News

(01:01:29) IGN Entertainment buys Eurogamer, Rock Paper Shotgun, GI, and more!

(01:17:55) There's a new NBA Jam-like coming to arcades?

(01:27:56) New Activision studio opening

(01:30:16) Ninja Theory's next game already greenlit

(01:32:38) Valve's next game has leaked?!

(01:39:41) Athena Crisis release its code in the spirit of Open Source

(01:44:05) Emails

(01:56:31) Wrapping up and thanks

(01:58:31) Mysterious Benefactor Shout Outs

(01:58:41) Mysterious Benefactors

(01:59:42) Nextlander content updates

(02:02:58) See Ya!

151: Cool Puzzle Wonderland

A ton of interesting indies hit last week, and we picked Animal Well, Cryptmaster, and Crow Country to dig into this week. Also in the news, PlayStation's new leader(s) announced, a multiplatform future for Square Enix, our initial thoughts on Assassin's Creed Shadows, and a new Doom next month?!



Advertise on The Nextlander Podcast at Audioboom, or support us on Patreon!



CHAPTERS



(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:01:04) Doctor (doctor)? Mr. M.D.?

(00:09:22) Are ads just memes?

(00:13:01) I'm a fan of the Whopper

(00:21:09) The ants are coming...

(00:21:57) Cryptmaster [PC (Microsoft Windows), PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 09, 2024

(00:40:00) The ants... they won't stop

(00:43:35) Animal Well [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5] on May 09, 2024

(01:05:05) Crow Country [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S] on May 09, 2024

(01:12:04) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [PlayStation 5] on Feb 29, 2024

(01:16:14) News

(01:16:47) Jim Ryan gets two replacements at PlayStation

(01:26:05) Next Assassin's Creed details emerge!

(01:41:22) Square Enix has high hopes for multiplatform releases

(01:54:12) Is a new DOOM on its way?

(02:00:15) Emails

(02:07:08) Wrapping up and thanks

(02:09:11) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts

(02:10:50) Nextlander content updates

(02:11:33) See Ya!

150: Indie-cent Proposal

It's been a week in the games industry with both Xbox's closures of Arkane Austin and Tango Gameworks and the Helldivers 2 account backlash, and we dig into the whole mess. On the upside, Hades 2 came out! Nintendo said the words "Switch successor!" We played Indika, Minishoot' Adventures, and the Balatro update! Podcast!



Advertise on The Nextlander Podcast at Audioboom, or support us on Patreon!



CHAPTERS



(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:02:27) Shows about video games on my TV?!

(00:04:37) George Lucas and his Jar Jar suit

(00:11:26) That Fallout show continues to make waves

(00:15:48) Hades II [PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 06, 2024

(00:33:10) Indika [PC (Microsoft Windows)] on May 02, 2024

(00:41:56) Minishoot' Adventures [PC (Microsoft Windows)] on Apr 02, 2024

(00:45:59) Stardew Valley [Xbox One] on Dec 14, 2016

(00:48:57) Balatro [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox One] on Feb 20, 2024

(00:54:20) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [PlayStation 5] on Feb 29, 2024

(01:04:37) News

(01:04:53) Take-Two shutting down Kerbal dev?

(01:08:48) Microsoft closing and shifting around studios

(01:37:30) Helldivers 2 facing backlash after requiring PSN login

(01:47:55) Ghost of Tsushima will also face login issues

(01:51:31) Nintendo's Switch Next Model...?

(01:56:51) Welcome to the Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition

(02:02:45) Emails

(02:10:53) Nextlander content updates

(02:14:30) Wrapping up and thanks

(02:16:46) See Ya!

149: Stylish Nun Action

We're thrilled to be joined by Remap Radio's Rob Zacny this week to talk about everything from Shogun: Total War to Qui-Gon Jinn's Force balls, Manor Lords, Another Crab's Treasure, the post-Embracer troika, strategies for truly unplugging, and plenty of other stuff!



Advertise on The Nextlander Podcast at Audioboom, or support us on Patreon!



CHAPTERS



(00:00:00) NOTE: Some timecodes may be inaccurate for versions other than the ad-free Patreon version due to dynamic ad insertions. Please use caution if skipping around to avoid spoilers. Thanks for listening.

(00:00:10) Intro

(00:00:38) Welcome Rob Zacny!

(00:01:09) How many days of vacation before you're in the zone?

(00:15:46) Total War: Shogun 2 [PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac, Linux] on Mar 15, 2011

(00:29:42) Where does Nobunaga fit into all of this?

(00:33:19) How many swords does Rob own?

(00:40:09) Wait, Yoda?! Ok, let's just get into it...

(00:55:00) Another Crab's Treasure [Nintendo Switch, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5] on Apr 25, 2024

(01:03:16) Manor Lords [PC (Microsoft Windows)] on Apr 26, 2024

(01:19:41) Harold Halibut [PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S] on Apr 16, 2024

(01:23:17) Citizen Sleeper [Xbox Series X|S, PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Mac] on May 05, 2022

(01:32:17) Balatro [PC (Microsoft Windows), Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox One] on Feb 20, 2024

(01:39:13) Final Fantasy VII Rebirth [PlayStation 5] on Feb 29, 2024

(01:44:37) Fallout 76 [Xbox One, PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows)] on Nov 14, 2018

(01:54:37) Switch 2 getting cool magnets?

(02:01:57) Nintendo loves a DMCA

(02:04:44) PSVR 2 possibly inching closer to PCs?

(02:08:01) Embracer Group breaks into smaller, oddly named, units?

(02:19:43) What happened to Dark Void?!

(02:21:30) Mysterious Benefactor Shoutouts

(02:22:42) We're returning to Twin Peaks on The Watchcast

(02:23:02) Thanks to Rob Zacny for joining us!

(02:25:25) See ya!

30: Zestiest Joie de Vivre

Download our free app to listen on your phone