Fire Escape Cast #127

Summary

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Fire Escape Cast #127 – March 2, 2026

Hosts: Dan Ryckert, Mary Kish, Mike Mahardy
Episode Theme: A cozy, raucous chat spanning blizzards, pop culture, horror movie adaptations, a deep dive into Resident Evil 9: "Requiem," and gaming as emotional survival.

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Overview

This episode is a sprawling, highly entertaining discussion revolving around recent travel woes, the culture clash between books and movie adaptations, pop culture touchpoints, and a full-throated, spoiler-avoiding exploration of the new Resident Evil game. The cast leans into both their specific tastes (cozy games, hard horror, Nintendo oddities) and broader themes like emotional resiliency and what games provide comfort versus chaos. Notable detours include farting into Walmart microphones, favorite cozy and anxiety-busting games, and what being “like a baby” still looks like for each host.

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Main Segments & Timestamps

1. Weather, Travel, and Life Update

[00:39–03:28]

• Mike kicks off with Northeast blizzard complaints.
• Dan laments the current state of travel: “I used to never have delays … and all of a sudden everything just fucking sucks.” (02:46, Dan)
• Rapid banter around bar trivia, running into people serendipitously (Brian Vore at WrestleMania).
• Mary flags she's deep into a “reading the book, then watching the movie” phase.

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2. Books vs. Movies: Letdowns and Revelations

[03:28–22:19]

• Mary’s current obsession: reading books like Twilight, Sphere, and The Housemaid and then watching their movie/TV adaptations. She finds Twilight “so absurd,” and wants to host a “drunk” Twilight viewing with Dan and Mike.
• Dan reveals he's never read or watched Twilight or Harry Potter: “I’m a grown-ass man, I don’t fall in with this nerdy Internet stuff.” (04:38, Dan)
• Pop-culture confusion: differences between Handmaid’s Tale, The Housemaid, and Little Women.
• Joys and disappointments: Mary loved The Housemaid as a book, hated the movie.
• Dan’s childhood longing: reading Jurassic Park, being hyped for The Lost World movie, only to be disappointed.
• Michael Crichton adaptations get love (Congo, Sphere) and ribbing.
• The “book is better than the movie” trope, Lord of the Rings as a shocking exception (“Both very bad at what they do, it turns out.” (13:14, Dan)) triggers collective disbelief and laughter.

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3. Marty Supreme and the Allure of “Awful” Protagonists

[14:04–16:53]

• Dan and Mary discuss the new film Marty Supreme. Dan raves about the “carny-ass worker piece of shit” lead, played by Timothée Chalamet.
• Mary frets about people idolizing bad characters—comparing it to the Fight Club effect: “Your little fucking lizard brain thought that movie was cool … and that’s what kids do.” (16:45, Mary)

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4. More Book Adaptation Woes / Stephen King Corner

[17:16–22:19]

• Mary reads Stephen King's The Life of Chuck—loves the short story, finds the adaptation dull despite strong acting (Tom Hiddleston, Mike Flanagan).
• Dan and Mary articulate why some literature ("all in your head") simply doesn't translate to film.

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5. New Orleans Plans & Nicholas Cage Tangents

[22:32–25:06]

• Upcoming group trip to NOLA, haunted tours, and Mary’s fondness for Nicholas Cage’s peculiar presence in the city ("There always has to be a Nicholas Cage segment!").
• Sidebar on the decline of Shia LaBeouf: “Tough time to be a wife abuser.” (24:30, Mary)
• The table draws a hard anti-abuse line: "Let's not get political here. Coming out strong. Anti abuse. Wow, hot take." (24:54, Dan)

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6. Farting Into a Walmart Intercom (Comedy Highlight)

[27:05–31:18]

• Mike regales the tale of paying his friend Nico $50 to fart into a Walmart microphone: “It was such a funny little fart too.”
• “I've probably farted into this one, Harry, but not like in public.” (31:01, Dan)
• The group riffs on adding fart edits to classic films and their own podcast episodes.

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7. Deep Dive: Resident Evil 9 "Requiem" (NO SPOILERS)

[32:37–61:34]

• Spoiler Policy: Conversation covers only mechanics, non-story gameplay elements revealed in trailers/marketing. Skip to ~[61:34] for other topics.
• Overview: The game splits between new character Grace (first-person, survival horror) and Leon (third-person, action-heavy). You can choose the viewpoint but are prompted to use the “classic” camera style for each.
• Thematic Range:
  • Grace’s sections: Highly tense, inventory management, nearly defenseless, persistent threats. “She stutters … she panics. When Leon walks into a room, he’s making some kinda quip...not too bad for a Tuesday.” (40:00, Mary)
  • Leon’s sections: Power fantasy, reminiscent of RE4/5, “kicking chainsaws into doctor’s faces.”
  • Both hosts agree: Grace’s sections are more exhilarating and atmospheric; wish the game had focused even more here. Mary: “Every minute with this game went by so smoothly and so it was just so well designed.” (53:13, Mary)
• Mechanics Insights:
  • Enemies exhibit personality, persistent danger (ala Mr. X, Nemesis).
  • Resource strategy: Injectors, persistent enemy corpses (à la "crimson heads").
  • Map and objective design: improved clarity over classic games, no overt handholding.
• Difficulty and Save Systems: Choice between classic ink ribbon saves and more forgiving options.
• Overall Verdict: Both Dan and Mary sing high praise—feels both familiar and fresh, packs “everything” from the series in a new context, “a culmination of everything they have learned from 30 years of making this series.” (56:23, Dan)
• Mike's Anticipation: “If anyone’s ever enjoyed any Resident Evil game, you’re gonna find something to like about this for sure.” (63:14, Dan)

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8. What Makes a Cozy Game? (Mary’s Mini Rant on Cynicross)

[65:39–74:59]

• Mary, after a stressful week, searches for a soothing game—finds Cynicross overly stressful ("all of the game, so if you take too long on an easy puzzle, you’ll die later...").
• Recommends A Little to the Left as the cozy game for anxious times: “...such a nice cathartic way to organize items ... felt like my anxiety was dissolving over time.” (69:53, Mary)
• Group discusses the value of “turn your brain off” puzzle games, with nods to Unpacking and Strange Horticulture.

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9. Indie Game Break: Demon Tides & Kairn

[76:38–95:23]

• Demon Tides: Dan reviews this new 3D platformer—praises its plethora of movement options and checkpoint innovations. Compares it favorably to Big Hops.
• Virtual Boy RE-release: Dan tries Nintendo’s weirdest hardware revival: “These games suck shit … [yet] just a weird fucking company and I love them for it.” (80:57, Dan)
• Kairn: Mary’s surprise climbing indie favorite. Smart, tactile UI: “...shows you things without any GUI.” (82:22, Mary)
  • Intricate stamina/health systems, visual feedback for failing climbs.
  • Strong “passive storytelling” and metaphorical storytelling for mental health resilience.
• Caution that Kairn can be slow/tedious for some, but enchanting for those in the right frame of mind.

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10. Community Q&A: Desert Island Games & Emotional Maturity

[95:25–115:33]

• Desert Island Game Discussion: Lively debate with oddball picks (Dan: Punch-Out!!, Mary: Minecraft or GTA 6, Mike: Warframe, XCOM 2, Breath of the Wild).
  • “You could not choose this game. Really?” (96:53, Mary, to Dan)
  • “No game I have booted up more in my life than Punch Out.” (98:22, Dan)
• Childish Behaviors: Which host is most “babylike”?
  • Mary: tantrums, impulsivity ("I actually stomped my foot...")
  • Dan: tunnel vision, insistent on getting his way (“Just be a pain in the ass until you get your way.” (109:16, Dan))
  • Mike: most emotionally mature? “If I don’t like you, you’ve got problems, buddy.” (111:04, Mike)
• Cathartic Redacted Name Segment: The crew beeps out real names as Mike is prompted to confirm or deny whether he’s forgiven certain industry figures.

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11. Outro – Plugs & Patreon

[116:50–End]

• Dan touts new shows at Giant Bomb, especially the newly launched Marry Me Tomodachi.
• Mary streams new indies on Twitch, shares dog pics and life updates on Instagram.
• Resident Evil spoiler Let's Plays teased but not yet scheduled due to travel (inside baseball on how work and life complicate plans).
• Patreon reminder: ad-free, video episodes, bonus recordings at deepdishpussy.com.

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Notable Quotes

• “I haven’t seen Harry Potter, I haven’t seen Twilight, I’m a grown ass man. I don't fall in with this nerdy Internet stuff.” (04:38, Dan)
• “When Leon walks into a room, he’s like, first of all, he's making some kind of, you know, silly quip ... And with Grace, I wasn't laughing at all. It was fucking terrifying.” (40:00 & 51:23, Mary)
• “Farts are so funny.” (31:15, Mike)
• “Your little fucking lizard brain thought that movie was cool. And that's what kids do.” (16:45, Mary)
• “This is a streamlined and good game experience, but they have also made a few risks that paid off.” (56:35, Mary)
• “[Kairn] is showing you things without any UI. I respect this game a lot...” (82:22, Mary)
• “Let’s not get political here. Coming out strong. Anti abuse. Wow, hot take.” (24:54, Dan)

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Vibe & Tone

The episode flows from high-energy silliness (farts, made-up movie plots, internal industry beefs) to substantive gaming analysis to unexpectedly heartfelt exchanges about anxiety, emotional maturity, and gaming’s value as catharsis. The hosts’ chemistry is warm and irreverent, with ongoing meta-commentary about podcasting, memory, and inside jokes. The balance of insightful critique (especially of Resident Evil: Requiem) and infectiously dumb anecdotes makes this episode a snapshot of why Fire Escape Cast continues to resonate.

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Listener Takeaways

• Resident Evil Requiem is a must-play, especially for fans of classic survival horror, but packs enough bombastic action for modern RE fans.
• Cozy games (A Little to the Left, Strange Horticulture) are vital for anxious times; not all puzzle games are created equal (beware Cynicross’ stress).
• The Fire Escape crew are real people: sometimes mature, frequently childish, always honest.
• Don’t fart into public-use microphones … or do, if you’re getting paid by Mike Mahardy.
• Email your own questions to firescapecastmail.com for inclusion in future episodes—especially absurd, creative prompts.

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Next Episode

Look forward to further post-travel recaps (including New Orleans), more pop culture analysis, and follow-up reviews once everyone’s finished Resident Evil Requiem.

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Transcript

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[Mary]

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[Dan]

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[Mary]

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[Mike]

Good golly Mahershala Ali. We're back with the fire escape cast. It is episode 127. Fucking Blizzard is starting in the northeast once again. Can't get out of this goddamn winter. Can't wait for better weather. I'm here as always with Dan Reichert.

[Dan]

You're making me nostalgic for the previous ones that I thought were bad, but now in retrospect are better than what you're doing now.

[Mike]

You love it. That's the first one. The first one, like ever.

[Dan]

Yeah. What's happening? Bradley Krapen.

[Mike]

Billy. Crap.

[Dan]

Billy Crapton.

[Mike]

Holy shit. You don't even remember his name?

[Dan]

No, no.

[Mike]

Hopefully you don't run into him in person.

[Dan]

Do something with Mary's name.

[Mike]

Let's dish with Mary Kish.

[Dan]

That works.

[Mike]

I saw. I think I've told Dan there's a realty company called Weikert and I can't not hear your name with like a

[Dan]

speech impediment or like the mocking baby voice. Well, I can't. Weickert.

[Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Mike]

And then I saw a bag. I don't know what, like it looked like a makeup bag someone brought into the wine bar and it said Kith K I T H on it. And I just cannot hear Mary's name with a lisp. It's Mary. Kath. She's here.

[Mary]

She brought makeup.

[Mike]

What's going on with you guys?

[Dan]

Traveling. Got back from New York recently. That was fun. Very short, but yeah, you made it

[Mary]

out just in time.

[Dan]

I did, yeah. I heard there's some shit coming in.

[Mike]

Yeah, we should specify we're recording. We all have a busy few a month really coming up. But we're recording this much earlier than we usually do on what is today? 22 February. So that's why I'm talking about a blizzard, because I'm sure there won't be one. Hopefully when this episode goes up on the third. Yeah. I was supposed to have a flight tomorrow still somehow has not been canceled. But like the four flights preceding and proceeding it are canceled. So maybe they just haven't got around to canceling mine yet, even though they're going to.

[Dan]

Is it just starting, the blizzard stuff?

[Mike]

Yeah, it's barely even sticking yet. But like the wind is definitely starting to pick up. There's some like snowflakes going completely vertical.

[Dan]

I find even without weather issues in the last year, like my travel has been a giant pain. Like I used to never have delays or whole days at airports because the things getting fucked up and all of a sudden everything just fucking sucks. Nothing works the way it's supposed to.

[Mike]

I've been having a good, like a streak of good luck. This one is just act of God. But it's, it's supposed to be like 2ft of snow and we just got over that other blizzard. I love talking about the weather. Let's just do this the whole episode.

[Dan]

The weather. That's like 10 days dated by the time the podcast comes out.

[Mike]

Yeah, I'm sure people in fucking Miami are loving this. Mary. Well, you both have. Dan, you were in New York, but you guys have some travel coming up as well, I think, right?

[Mary]

Yeah, together. I mean, I think there's a lot coming up. But what I'm doing recently has been getting really into reading books and then watching the movie version of the book.

[Dan]

Like Sphere.

[Mike]

Twilight.

[Mary]

Yeah, like Sphere and Twilight. I actually unapologetically like Twilight and like watching the, the whole trilogy because it's so absurd and such a ridiculous experience. Dan, have you ever watched Twilight? Like Bully?

[Dan]

No, I've never seen the movies or read the books. I know it's Robert Pattinson.

[Mary]

Yes.

[Dan]

Kristen Stewart and There's a Wolfman. Because I remember the Wolf man. And there was a feud between like Billy and Eddie or whatever, like the, the vampire and the werewolf or something. Because I remember like stores would have like Team Billy, Team Eddie shirts and stuff like that.

[Mike]

Jacob.

[Mary]

Yeah, Jacob and Edward. Billy is not involved.

[Dan]

Billy. Okay. Billy the Werewolf.

[Mary]

Billy, I love you.

[Mike]

I.

[Mary]

So you've never watched any media of it? You haven't seen the first one?

[Dan]

No. Oh, I haven't seen a Harry Potter. I haven't seen a Twilight. I'm a grown ass man. I don't fall in with this nerdy Internet stuff.

[Mike]

You haven't seen Harry Potter? No, no.

[Mary]

That's crazy.

[Dan]

Harry Potter period for sure.

[Mary]

But I would say the first Twilight is culture. There was a cultural moment where it was important to observe these ridiculous films and they get more ridiculous. Dan, I mean, I think you, you're a fan of ridiculous media. I think you.

[Dan]

I think we should rectify this a romance thing? I'm not really a romance movie guy.

[Mary]

There's also death. People are dying.

[Dan]

But, like, cool death. Like Schwarzenegger deaths.

[Mary]

Or is it just vampire death?

[Dan]

Shakespeare death?

[Mary]

I mean, I think, like, they are a bit fantastical about it, but people die. There's murder.

[Dan]

What's the funniest death in Twilight?

[Mary]

I mean, they're all pretty stupid.

[Mike]

Oh, at one point, Edward the vampire, he goes to bite someone's neck and he accidentally bites their dick. And then. I don't know.

[Dan]

I don't know how that sounds like a scary movie 7 thing or something.

[Mike]

Edward's like, oh, whoops. And pretends it was an accident.

[Mary]

That's actually the whole books are an allegory for being scared secretly in the closet. Yeah, he's like, no, I'm not, but he is.

[Mike]

You know, whoops. I've seen.

[Dan]

You know what? I haven't seen the Twilight movies, but I have seen vampires suck. The parody movie of Twilight movies on pornhub. On. On the pornhub.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Dan]

No, it was. It was really bad. It was like. It was like a sub scary movie type thing. Or like, remember like Meet the Spartans, like the. The 300 parody? It was like below that tier of a parody movie.

[Mike]

Like, Sex House tier.

[Dan]

No, Sex House is fantastic.

[Mike]

Yeah, that's.

[Dan]

That's.

[Mike]

That's s Tier.

[Dan]

Yes.

[Mary]

I think the original feels like a parody. And I think you would enjoy it only in the ridiculousness of it. I don't think it's aged well either. And so there's this kind of outrageousness to the first one that I think does warrant a view. But I kind of want to be there for it. Like, I feel like it would be a nice, like, experience. You'd have to be in the right mood, though. Drunk, you know. Drunk.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Everyone has to be, like, accepting of this if this absurd thing. Those are other movies. I read Handmaid Tale, which is a new movie that just came out with Sydney Sweeney and Handmaid's Tale.

[Dan]

The show.

[Mary]

No, no, you're thinking of Handmaid's Tale. I'm saying the Handmaid.

[Dan]

Oh, that man. Okay.

[Mary]

Handmaid.

[Mike]

I was thinking it because you said it.

[Mary]

Handmaiden, I think, is also one too. But I'm talking about the hand gaslighting feature. No, not the Handmaid's Tale, which is also a book.

[Dan]

I'm talking about Bible's Tale Goes West.

[Mary]

What's it called?

[Mike]

I don't know.

[Mary]

You guys tell me.

[Mike]

You brought it up.

[Mary]

The Housemaid.

[Mike]

The Housemaid.

[Dan]

Okay. Was the TV show with the Mad Men.

[Mary]

There's too many books about handmaids, maids, maidens. And I just think that culturally we have to move on.

[Dan]

Is that, like, what Little Women is?

[Mary]

No, no.

[Dan]

Little Women, they dress and they have the. Don't they have the frilly things and the aprons.

[Mary]

But that's, like, in a time where everybody dressed like that. They're not housemaids. They're just people.

[Dan]

Everyone was just wearing frilly stuff back then.

[Mary]

They just wore frilly stuff back then. That was like a, you know, the Pride and Prejudice time where you just, like, hoped to find a really good husband.

[Dan]

Whereas a handmaid or a housemaid. Are they the same thing? I've never thought of this concept in my life.

[Mary]

That's a really good question.

[Mike]

Handmade in the. In the. In Margaret Atwood's book. In. The show was like, literally just like a. As far as I understand, a slave used to, like, breed.

[Dan]

Wait for, like, not just, like, doing stuff around the house. It's like.

[Mike]

It's the Handmaid's Tale. It's like a dystopian future. Yes, it's a dystopian future thing where, like, Mary, you might know more than me. Amanda was probably, like, bashing her head against the wall listening to me explain it. But, yeah, they're, like, used, like, specifically for breeding. Like, in.

[Dan]

Wait, in the show. Right? This isn't like, a real concept from, like, the 1800. Are we talking about real things or.

[Mike]

A Handmaid's Tale is a dystopian fiction.

[Mary]

Right, Handmaid's Tale.

[Dan]

But I'm saying I don't know what a handmaid is, and you start talking about breeding and so, wait, handmaid didn't

[Mike]

realize Handmaid is a fictional creation, right?

[Dan]

Oh, hands aren't a real thing.

[Mike]

I don't think so. Oh, well, now I'm going to Google it.

[Dan]

I thought it was just a different way of saying made. I don't know.

[Mary]

In Handmaid's Tale, it is a. It is a different version of United States history where we get so conservative. And it's also really difficult to have babies that anyone who is of birthing age and viability gets given to families to make sure that they continue their lineage.

[Mike]

That's like. It's like a Mad Max. Those six women that she busts out, right?

[Dan]

And they got the Mad Men Scientologist lady is in it. And like, a handmaid. I thought that was a word before that show, I think.

[Mike]

No, I don't think so.

[Dan]

Oh, man.

[Mary]

I think a housemaid and then housemaid's very different. Yeah, it's a modern.

[Mike]

If you're treating your housemaid for having a handmaid, you see the confusion.

[Dan]

You see the confusion here. I was like, whoa. Maybe that word meant different things in the 1800s.

[Mike]

Will not help you in court, though,

[Mary]

so be careful socially. You would still get in trouble. So Housemaid is a psychological thriller that I actually thought was akin to, like, A Gone Girl.

[Mike]

I'm. I'm seeing the trailer in my head now.

[Mary]

I know.

[Mike]

I'm so sick of Sydney Sweeney.

[Mary]

I. Well, this is how I would sell. It is. And I. And I know this is like, such an old, you know, contrite thing to say, but, like, the book is so good at manipulating the reader into not knowing what's gonna happen. And there's a lot of twists and turns. It's very, very good. And I was so excited after reading the book to watch the movie. And the movie is not, unfortunately, like Gone Girl at all. It's kind of like. It's bad, unfortunately.

[Dan]

I've had that experience a couple times in my life, and it is really disappointing. I remember, like, a kid loving Jurassic park and reading the Lost World and being like, I cannot wait to see this on the big screen.

[Mary]

You're going to mean the original Jurassic Park? Because I was going to be like, boy, you're on your own, everybody.

[Dan]

I read that. I read the original as a kid, and I love the original book.

[Mary]

But the original Jurassic park is amazing, no?

[Dan]

Oh, yeah, of course.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

No, I'm saying you're talking about.

[Dan]

And I don't even think Lost World's a terrible movie. I just think it's just, like. It's not. It missed a lot of stuff from the book and everything. It was a disappointment coming off the book, I think. No, the first book and movie were incredible. Yeah. Yeah.

[Mary]

Nobody questions that. You'd be crazy.

[Mike]

It's fucking crazy. How many huge movies came out of Michael Crichton's writing.

[Dan]

Something about his writing really was conducive to that. I mean, like, they were building up Congo to be like, the next Jurassic Park. And that super was not. I liked it as a kid, but Herkimer, Hermolkov.

[Mike]

What's the contagion? Was that him?

[Dan]

The Andromeda Strain.

[Mike]

Androm.

[Dan]

That was like the 70s or 80s. That was like, before. Oh, wow.

[Mike]

He's done a lot of fights.

[Mary]

I liked Congo. I just want to say that's good.

[Dan]

I loved it. Tim Curry, Ernie Hudson, like, yeah.

[Mary]

Diamonds. Yeah.

[Mike]

It's like so many good lines in that sphere. Oh, God. You mentioned Sphere earlier.

[Dan]

Sphere is awesome.

[Mary]

Yeah, we'll never forget fear. Yeah, there's so many good ones. Bummer. When you read a book and you get really excited about how good the book is to watch a movie and be like, oh, no. And I. I was so hyped about the book that I was like, we're all going to watch Housemaid because the book is really good. I bet it's gonna be good. And then I left and went, oh, no.

[Dan]

Oh, shit.

[Mary]

I know that wasn't. And it wasn't faithful and you can't really defend that, but I was like, that's not what happens in the book. They changed things. They moved stuff around.

[Dan]

Yeah, that is annoying because you'll get to a part in a book and be like, oh, I can't wait to see how they do this in the movie. And then sometimes they just totally don't even touch it.

[Mary]

You know, they didn't do half of it. I was very confused with why they made the decisions that they made.

[Dan]

The worst is when it's both ends are terrible. Where it's like, I remember for the Lord of the Rings movies came out and I was like, this is going to be exciting. This sounds awesome. And I got the books and I was like, ooh, this is very bad, this book. I don't like this at all. And I was like, I'll wait for the movie. And then I saw all the movies and I was like, these are even worse. So both ends were terrible on that.

[Mike]

Someone say something so stupid so quickly and not with no self awareness.

[Mary]

More wrong in the history.

[Dan]

Both very bad at what they do, it turns out.

[Mary]

Oh, my God.

[Dan]

I'm not even kidding.

[Mike]

I'm not falling for that.

[Dan]

I'm not saying objectively. I'm just saying to me, like, Lord of the Rings books and movies are terrible.

[Mary]

I will say there's an element of descriptor that is in the Lord of the Rings of describing the environments and the histories that are difficult.

[Dan]

Soup. You'll spend 80 pages talking about, oh, the pumpkin smell on the soup was so good. And it's like, oh, this is fucking terrible. And then the movies are less exciting somehow.

[Mary]

Yeah, they're not about soup at all. They don't even have one bowl.

[Dan]

Yeah, it's just like, look at a hill for two hours.

[Mike]

I will. I'm not even going to humor this conversation. What. What else is new in your. Oh, we're not talking about video games.

[Dan]

Yeah, I do have questions I saw a movie, I saw a movie that I have not been able to stop thinking about Marty Supreme.

[Mike]

Oh yeah, we're about to watch that soon.

[Dan]

Don't have either seen it.

[Mike]

Not yet.

[Mary]

I have seen it.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Mary]

That character, I think it's pretty good.

[Dan]

I adore that character. He is such a carny ass worker piece of shit.

[Mike]

I, I thought, I think we might watch it.

[Dan]

So much fun as that guy. I love that movie.

[Mary]

Horny piece of shit is like, fair. I think when I walked away from that movie, I was like, that person is bad. And I refuse to acknowledge that this is like a good person. And I think that a lot of people are going to walk away from that movie and be like, what a cool character. And it's like, that's the same guy

[Dan]

that thinks like, Walter White or Scarface or Don Draper are like aspirational characters. There's always going to be those people who take like, obviously, yeah, Ken from Barbie. Oh, yeah, yeah.

[Mike]

The worst guy, you know, is going to be Ken for Halloween or something like that.

[Dan]

Like, Marty Sprung is clearly a piece of shit in this movie, but that's why I find him so fascinating. He's like, Chalamet is just chewing up this character. And I, I. It's a longer movie and I thought it just flew by. And it's again, in that genre. Like, I don't know the name of this. I don't even know if it is a genre. But we were talking about uncut gems. If I had legs, I'd kick you. And now Marty supreme were Anxiety. Anxiety the movie.

[Mike]

Well, same with Good Time.

[Dan]

Robert, Pat, Good Time. I loved Good Time.

[Mike]

Well, these are all by like three of these four from the same directors or. No, this, this is only.

[Dan]

This was Josh. Josh was uncut gems in this. Benny did Smashing Machine, which I heard was bad. And then they were both on Good Time. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I, I like Benny's stuff too. Like, I mean, Benny and the Curse with Nathan Fielder and all that stuff. And Bowser Jr. Of course.

[Mike]

For other good. Good Time was in the news recently for other reasons, but people can Google that. Oh, I think I heard something about that that seemed bad.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. I legitimately think we might watch Marty supreme after this recording.

[Dan]

You should. It's tremendous.

[Mary]

I think it's worth it. Yeah, I think I recommend it for everybody. I just always add this caveat of, like, I hope people are recognizing kind of like watching Fight Club. Like, this is not good. And I'm a little worried that a lot of impressionable boys are gonna watch this and be like, really? What a cool dude. Yes.

[Dan]

I can't imagine watch movie and being like, I want to be like that Marty guy. Like this guy who makes every bad decision.

[Mary]

The guy that said that this movie was like, the most incredible movie of all time. Fight Club. And you have to watch it because it's so important. Symbolism. Symbolism. Symbolism doesn't understand the nuance of a shitty character.

[Dan]

That was 26 years ago.

[Mary]

Oh, really? When you were an imperfection. Dumb idiot.

[Dan]

Now, I recognize that I have a film degree. And I know that Fight Club is satire about toxic masculinity. I know that I have a degree.

[Mary]

You've learned it now. But guess what? Your little fucking lizard brain thought that that movie was cool. And that's what kids do.

[Dan]

16. I was thinking about that recently because the wrestler Seth Rollins was just doing, like, a GQ interview and talking about his favorite movie. Like, oh, absolutely. It's Fight Club. It's Fight Club. You know, Tyler Durden's like, I wonder what Seth. If Seth Rollins just still thinks it's cool, you know? No, I know. I know what Fight Club is. I read the book. I read the book after I saw the movie there. Yeah, I know what the deal is there.

[Mike]

That's somewhere.

[Mary]

Another book that I. I read. It's a real short story. This one I really do recommend is called the Life of Chuck. And it was recently also adapted into a film. And the film I saw, like, a trailer for the film, and I was like, ooh, I'd like to read this. I just think it would be neat to try this again. Because I had a bad one with the housemaid, and I was like, I can read and then enjoy a movie. And I hope this is better. It's actually written by Stephen King, which is interesting, and it's short. This is another thing I love about books. Cause sometimes I don't want to read something that's Gonna take me 400 hours. This is a short story about a person who's dying. And it's basically going through the phases of their life, and it goes backwards. So it starts in Act 3 when he's dying, and then Act 2. And then Act 1 is the final chapter. And it's great. It's like a really good slice of life, of what happens in a world. Imagine that when you die. Because the universe is how you perceive it, Dan. That when you die, the universe ends.

[Dan]

Everyone sucks for everyone else.

[Mike]

Solipsism. Solipsistic way of.

[Mary]

Yeah. So it's like the idea is like, you're dying, which means the world is actually crumbling because it was made for you. Anyway, I loved this concept and I loved this short story. And so yet again, I pull everyone together and I say, this short story was so good. Let's watch the movie. And this movie is a real tough watch. It's called the Life of the Tom Hiddleston.

[Mike]

It is Tom Hiddleston.

[Mary]

And it's good. Yeah, it's well acted. That's not the problem. It's just. It's a book that really struggles to be a movie.

[Mike]

Wait, wait, Mike Flanagan directed it? Why did he. I didn't know he was doing non horror stuff.

[Mary]

Okay, this has an interesting story. So this kind of occurred as a miracle. I think Stephen King does the opener in the book, which is interesting to like a. Like an audio book. And apparently, like, this is one of those things where it was like, impossible to even have this movie be made. Because it just so happened that it was made. It was written by Mike Flanagan during a time where all the screenwriters were on strike and so it couldn't exist. And it was also like a 2020 Covid situation. So nobody could make anything for multiple reasons. And Mike Flanagan, because of where he was at the time, he was allowed to write the screenplay adaptation of this book. And so it was constructed at a time when nothing else could be made. And that's why they made this film. Like, it shouldn't have existed. It's like a miracle that it came out.

[Dan]

But it wasn't made during, like, the pandemic, right? Like, it wasn't shown.

[Mary]

No, I think it just kind of was one of those, like, threading a needle situations where it was like, well, we already have the screenplay. Cause it was allowed to be written by this very specific person to this very specific time. And so when they were coming back into the world, it was one of the few screenplays that was greenlit to go.

[Dan]

Okay. And it was cheap but not good.

[Mary]

No, unfortunately.

[Mike]

Here's the thing.

[Mary]

It doesn't suffer like the housemaid. It is built for a book. That is how I feel. When you read it, you will be like, oh, there's so much nuance. You can understand all what the characters are thinking. This character is dying, right? So it's like going into their head. It's like telling you their innermost thoughts. Going into their past. It's telling you, like, why they're doing the wacky things that they're doing eventually. Like, the idea is like, this character does, like a really Good dance on a public square. And everyone's like, why does this guy dance so good? And it's like, well, they don't know that, you know, I, like, loved dancing. And I was in a band as a youth. And this brings me back to my youth. And you can't fucking have any of those conversations in a movie. So he's just dancing in a public square.

[Dan]

I was thinking about that. Like, I was reading the Stephen King short story collection over the last year or so. And, like, that is the crazy thing about books that they have over movies is, like, they got the huge downside in that you can't see the things that are happening.

[Mary]

Yeah, there's a big downside in the fact that you can't see them.

[Dan]

That's a downside. But it does have an upside in that, like, you can hear so much more of what's in their head. Like, you can do narrating in a movie, but that's like, a couple lines here and there to set up a scene or something. This one, you can have pages and pages of what a character is thinking, which movies don't typically do.

[Mary]

I mean, not well. Right. Like, if you're having a constant voiceover that's like, this makes Dan angry.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Because as a child, he didn't like when his pumpkin soup was described for four pages. So he's getting more angry as he's read. It's like you need that context to understand a character. That's why, like, maybe we're saying Michael Crichton's books are so much better as adaptations than a lot of other writers because he writes for action, probably more than he writes what's in your mind. This book is 100% what every character is thinking and feeling. And so as a movie, I was like, this is impossible to explain. And now I don't think I could ever invite people over again and be like, we have to watch this movie because I've done two bombs in a row.

[Dan]

You know what you got to do reset with MacGruber.

[Mary]

I'm a reset with Twilight. I feel like that's going to be my saving grace.

[Dan]

I will watch it with, you know, Mary if we, like, get back to the B and B in New Orleans or something. And it's just a thing where we all just want to, like, hang out for another couple hours and just chill out with some drinks or something. I will not balk at Twilight if you want to force us all to watch Twilight.

[Mary]

Okay.

[Mike]

All right.

[Dan]

I'm just putting out there and New Orleans Spooky town. They probably dealt with vampires at some point. It'll be.

[Mary]

It could be pretty fun to do a haunted tour.

[Dan]

I did one once. It's not that great. I mean, I did one that was like pretty well rated and stuff, but it's still like you're just kind of walking around and they point at buildings

[Mary]

and I'm like, oh, you weren't drunk enough. Yeah, that's a you problem.

[Dan]

I was

[Mike]

the one thing to make.

[Dan]

We actually halfway through the tour because we were. We were just like halfway through the tour and we were just kind of bored as me and Bianca were there on our honeymoon and we're just kind of bored and we're outside and all of a sudden we heard Dan Bianca and we looked up and you guys might know Brian Vore. He used to be a game informer. And he was just up on a balcony having dinner. Brian.

[Mike]

And so you didn't know he was in town?

[Dan]

He was in Town for WrestleMania, which was coming up. And so, yeah, we just left the tour and went up and hung out with Brian. So.

[Mike]

Did they let you swear? Could. Could you swear on the tour?

[Dan]

I see where this is going.

[Mike]

Those come out of the ceiling.

[Dan]

Yeah, I mean, this is. This is your trip. So. I will, I will. I'm game for anything. I would do a haunted tour. I will just say as someone who's done them, not the most exciting.

[Mary]

I. I did one and I liked it. I think it's all in your headspace. Yeah, I think tour where you go

[Dan]

to Nicholas Cage's pyramid that he's gonna get buried in because that's all right.

[Mary]

I went to Nicholas Cage's house. There always has to be a Nicholas Ca segment because this guy's fucking weird and has a lot of property in New Orleans.

[Dan]

And any bar you go into, Mary, I want to take you to a few different bars that like, they all have all these framed photos of Nicholas Cage all over because he's just constantly there. Apparently Charlaboo is there a lot too. I was.

[Mary]

Apparently he got in a big fight. I saw his videos. He got arrested.

[Dan]

Yeah. I saw shirtless and tattooed, looking very drunk and got his ass beat, I think. Yeah.

[Mike]

It just does not seem like he's doing well.

[Dan]

No.

[Mike]

Anytime I hear anything about him. Yeah, no. What was that movie? Peanut Butter Falcon.

[Dan]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike]

Last time I heard about him.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Tough time to be a wife abuser. Is he? Yes. He's like fucking notoriously known that he's like been a piece of shit to every woman. He's ever been.

[Dan]

Oh, my God. I had no idea.

[Mike]

Mia Goth fuck.

[Mary]

Shia LaBeouf.

[Dan]

He seems like a douchebag name.

[Mary]

I don't care. I have, like, no patience for that shit. I will not abuse. Yeah, look bolder for that, man.

[Dan]

Let's not get political here. Coming out strong. Anti abuse. Wow, Hot take.

[Mary]

I have a real strong opinion about it.

[Mike]

Fucking police are going to be at your door momentarily.

[Dan]

If he's still there, let's kick his ass.

[Mike]

Maybe I would love to beat up Shia LaBeouf.

[Mary]

However, closer to the Handmaid every day now, Dan, just so you know, that's the one where women are being told to sleep with other men, not the one where they're cleaning.

[Dan]

We know, Mike. Yeah.

[Mike]

Weird thing to say in any context. I don't remember why I said that. Probably thinking about the Handmaid's Tale. We watched. I think I told you, Dan. We watched Roadhouse after MacGruber a couple weeks ago. That movie's still so good.

[Dan]

It's a. It's a perfect age.

[Mike]

He rips a guy's throat out and then pulls the body into the water and yells you to his boss across the river.

[Dan]

Terry Funk is in it. There's the. Do you know the thing with Bill Murray and. And the sex scene in that?

[Mike]

Oh, yeah. He calls the guys, the woman, her husband, to say, like, you don't know me.

[Dan]

Your wife's getting pushed up against the

[Mike]

wall by Patrick Swayze right now. We're all watching. Yeah. She's not putting up too much of a fight. Yeah, I think he said that on a parts unknown episode.

[Dan]

There's pain don't hurt. There's God, man, I haven't seen Roadhouse in a couple of years.

[Mike]

It's.

[Dan]

I. I didn't come to that one until way late. I didn't really know a lot of Swayze stuff until Bon and I watch a bunch of them for our old podcast and, like, holy Dirty Dancing. Roadhouse. Like, he had a charisma to him. That was really good.

[Mike]

Yeah, he was awesome. How old was he when he died?

[Dan]

Like, he was young with pancreatic cancer.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

That's a shame.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. 39 or something.

[Mary]

Like, no.

[Dan]

No way.

[Mike]

No way.

[Mary]

Young.

[Dan]

No way. That young. I would say 50s.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Dan]

Yeah, he was 57. He barely missed it by 20 years.

[Mary]

It's almost twice.

[Mike]

I'm gonna start spreading rumors that he died in 39. The myth will grow. Do you guys want to talk about video games?

[Mary]

Yeah, sure.

[Dan]

Oh, wait, no, Mike. Important Mike. I'm Glad I caught his Jake. We didn't cut off. We didn't get no break yet. I have a note on my notes of games to talk about here. But at the top I have bolded and I don't know why. Fire escape Mike, friend fart. Walmart.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah, the Walmart microphone text.

[Dan]

Mike texted me and said, remind me that. And I typed it into my notes Doc.

[Mike]

It was one of those stories that I somehow forgot about. And once you hear it, you'll be surprised. I forgot about it, but it came up when I was. Amanda and I were out the other day. I was like, I can't believe I haven't told you this before. She had not heard it. One of my friends who you guys know, hometown friends. I guess I could say his first name. Do.

[Dan]

Full full name.

[Mike]

Yeah, it's Nico. You guys met him in the wedding party. Yeah, I just. It's not. There's not much of a setup. We were going camping one night in my grandpa's woods, but we were going to a Walmart in my hometown before driving to where my grandpa lives, like 45 minutes away. And we went into Walmart and the idea was that we needed to buy, like, a Coleman lantern. And I think like, some, like, old school, like, popcorn, the ones you put over the fire, the tinfoil. And so someone came up over the loudspeakers in Walmart just saying an announcement, like, someone, can you please return to aisle whatever? And I told Nico, I was like, I'll give you $50 if you go fart into the microphone so the whole store can hear it. He's like, all right. And he kind of broke off to go toward where we think the microphone was over near the customer service center or what. I thought he was just joking and pretending to go over there. So I was like, all right, I'll see you at the camping equipment. And so I. Three minutes later, not that long. I was just looking through the camping equipment. All of a sudden, over the loudspeakers of Walmart, I hear. The two people at the gun and ammunition counter nearby. Like, I know I wasn't the only one who heard it because they're like, very confused looks on their face because someone clearly just farted over the loudspeakers. And I went walking around Walmart to try to find him for like a good 15 minutes. And this is a Walmart, so it's fairly large. And I couldn't. I was like, okay, I got the camp equipment. I'll meet him back.

[Mary]

Get him.

[Mike]

I'll meet him Back at the car, apparently like three people staff members just saw it and kicked him out. So I get back to the car and I technically owe him $50. However, he wasn't there to buy some of the camping equipment, so I think it evened out. So I just bought all the camping equipment.

[Mary]

Also, he farted, which is really funny and you should tip for that.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Dan]

You bought the camping equipment with the fart money?

[Mike]

Yes.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mike]

He. Technically it went toward the camping equipment.

[Mary]

He earned every part of that tent.

[Mike]

It was such a funny little fart too.

[Dan]

It wasn't a funnier option because like you don't need big flappy record setting fart. It's just like act of doing it into the microphone is the funny thing.

[Mike]

Butthole tearing fart would have been really funny in its own way.

[Dan]

I mean, look. Yes, of course.

[Mike]

But yeah. Amanda was astounded I had not told that story for it. I don't. I think it was just such a busy day and we went camping later that day that like the wrinkle in my brain hadn't properly set in. I was like, oh, my God, I forgot this happened. And Nico did this. So that was him.

[Dan]

That's. I wish I would have known that before I met him. I would have shaken his hand.

[Mary]

Yeah, what a hand.

[Dan]

You see him.

[Mary]

What a cool dude. It makes you never want to speak into one of those speakers because I actually don't think that's a rare story. I have seen videos of people farting into those before. It's a. It's a classic bit. And so I just feel like those. Those phones are probably covered in farts.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Dan]

I mean, I farted into microphones before, but always my personal microphones.

[Mike]

Yeah, it would. You'd be forgiven for saying it's unsanitary even.

[Mary]

This is my microphone. I'll fart into as much as I want.

[Dan]

Yeah, I've probably farted into this one, Harry, but not like in public.

[Mary]

Jesus, it's so high.

[Dan]

Oh, but I mean, but maybe at the last house when it was like just on a little stand or something. I'm sure there's an old stream where I just farted on the mic or something and it's probably the same one.

[Mike]

That's really good. It's. Farts are so funny.

[Dan]

It's the funniest thing.

[Mike]

Yeah. Any movie? Name one movie, any movie, and I'll tell you whether a fart would have made it better at some point.

[Dan]

Nutty Professor.

[Mike]

Infinitely better. Keep going. Any movie.

[Dan]

They needed a couple more Phantom Thread

[Mike]

infinitely better if he's like, if he's trying like fitting her for the dress and then she just rips one. He's like, I might, I should let out the butt a little bit that

[Dan]

I want to see an edit of the drink your milkshake thing from There will be blood and just like put in little farts to punctuate everything.

[Mike]

I still like love the fact that Wet Hot American Summer has the fart edit on the dvd.

[Dan]

I haven't seen it.

[Mike]

Bonus feature.

[Dan]

I think I've seen clips of it. That's a great idea.

[Mike]

It's really good. Like they jumped the shark very early on though. Like whoever was doing it was very trigger happy. So like in like the second scene when Coop, when Coop and Katie are going to I think lunch or something or in the mess hall, every step he takes on the grass like it desensitizes you really quickly.

[Dan]

We should do like a hundred dollar Patreon tier for the podcast that is just fart edits of every episode and Jake can just go nut with it.

[Mike]

Oh yeah, that won't take him long at all to make that he's going

[Mary]

to be real trigger happy.

[Mike]

We should watch the fart cut of Wet Hot at some point for a moment. Like watch along. All right, do you want to talk about video games now?

[Dan]

Sure.

[Mary]

Yes.

[Mike]

All right. I'm excited to talk about Resident Evil Requiem Renown Wheel. Dan, you've finished the game as of now. Mary, you started. I have not touched it but I do have many questions. Curiosities. I was telling you guys before this.

[Dan]

I.

[Mike]

Well first off we're not, we're going to avoid anything spoilery at all.

[Dan]

Well, I want to lay the groundwork here so people know exactly what we're going to talk about.

[Mary]

Some people have different versions of what a spoiler is and so obviously even speaking about the game could be a spoiler to some people. So give us specifics so people know whether or not they want to skip ahead.

[Dan]

So if you're the type that avoids spoilers, doesn't want to know anything. Like for instance Mike said something before we were recording that like oh, you didn't even know that. That's been like a. The main part of the marketing. Like stop now, stop now and keep fast forwarding for a while because we're talking about this game for a bit. If you are fine with us talking about things that have been shown in the trailers and talked about in the marketing, that is what we're going to do. So I beat the game I don't, I'm not going to talk about any story stuff that goes beyond stuff that was in the, in the trailers or the marketing or anything. We were going to be talking about the format which again that is stuff that they really went over in the marketing quite a bit. You know, the perspective stuff, the different characters and things like that. And as far as like the location in all the trailers and all that stuff you've seen, they're showing this one area, this medical, it's called the Rhodes Hill Chronic Care Center. That is the area that they show in the marketing. We're going to talk about the stuff there because that is a big chunk of the early hours of the game. So we will talk about the things that happen there. Again, nothing. We're not going to reveal boss fights or characters or anything that aren't shown already in the market marketing. So you've seen the trailers, the marketing. We're not going to go much past that. Obviously we'll give opinions and stuff on that but like we're not going to go deep into the back half of the game and things like that.

[Mary]

So I think that's fair. I think this is a good overview. So if you followed the marketing you're probably fine anyway.

[Dan]

Or even just watch the trailers because I just watched the trailers and the stuff we're going to talk about here is like shit that was in there.

[Mary]

Now I, I, historically I do not watch trailers of a game that I know is going to come out because I like to have that like eye opening, jaw dropping moment when I see stuff. So everybody has a different vibe with it. But I think we can generally talk about this game in a way that won't, will not harm your experience of it in any way and only add to the hype if it's cool. I would like to start and preface this that I keep getting very confused which Resident Evil it is because they are using words instead of numbers.

[Dan]

Now it's renign wheel. What's confusing about that? You had sevenage. You had. No, wait, no. I always think seven and Village are the same thing. No, seven is biohazard.

[Mary]

You just get stuck again it turns out. I rest my case. I rest my case.

[Mike]

Biohazard originally when they announced it did not it was Resident Evil 7 biohazard. And then they like sort of phased out the actual seven separate from.

[Dan]

Is it just called Resident Evil Biohazard? Is that what it's it?

[Mike]

I'm almost positive it was seven at first. Like actually called Resident Evil 7.

[Dan]

They hide the VII. The VII was hidden in there. Yeah. And the Village was The G. The 8 or no. Was it V I, I? Oh, yeah, yeah. V I, I, I. Yeah. And then this one is Renin William. It's in the queue. The nine's the queue. It flashes in and nine. That's.

[Mike]

That's annoying. But it's Resident Evil 9 and I, for context, I have not watched any trailers like you just told me. Okay, again, you should not be listening now if you don't want to know anything about the game. Yeah, I, you mentioned. I thought it was all first person. Like the whole game again. 7, 8, 9.

[Dan]

That's the whole thing is the gimmick this time is that it's Grace Ashcroft, young FBI agent.

[Mike]

I really, really have avoided anything and everything about this game as much as possible. Aside from the fact that it's back in Raccoon City and Leon's in it.

[Dan]

Okay, well, you're. That's a whole weird take. It's like all of the early marketing was you're in this medical facility. It's first person, you're Grace Ashcroft. Like, the Leon stuff was a late reveal.

[Mike]

Okay? So I know random weird stuff about it. I don't. But I didn't know that Leon's sections were third person.

[Dan]

Right? So the whole gimmick here is like, this is like an everything bagel of a game. This is a, like, you know, it's okay. You can name any of the numbered Resident Evils. And there's clear inspiration here. Like the, the Grace sections are like, okay, so it's a lot from seven. It's a lot of the first person sneaking around. Kind of classic. Kind of the classic finding keys and stuff. Like, 1, 2, 3. And then you also have kind of the omnipresent kind of stalking you around bigger enemies. Like nemesis from three, like Lady Dimitrescu from eight. Like Mr. X, the dad from Mr. X from two remake. You know, the dad from Biohazard. So, like, there's that stuff going on and then you're Leon and it's over the shoulder. Now you can, you can switch either if you play both as first person. If you want to play both as third person, you can. Now, they do strongly prefer. Like there's a pop up that says, like, you should probably keep it this way. You know, like, you should probably do first person for Grace and third person for Leon. I agree. I did try. I swapped back and forth. It just feels better. Like, don't fuck with the perspective thing. It's kind of Cool. Going back and forth. So like the Leon stuff over the shoulder, Tetris inventory, kind of the curved health bar and stuff. It is all four or five, like, that type of stuff. And then Grace is limited inventory. It's the kind of like ekg, you know, fine, dangerous.

[Mary]

This bitch needs pockets. She has like six slots. It's impossible to carry anything with her pouches.

[Dan]

But again, that's. That's harkening back to Resident Evil. One is like, I just remember being Jill and having eight spots. And like, that's what this feels like here, you know? So it is just everything that's ever been in, like the numbered core series all thrown into one game even. There is one section, Mary, you haven't gotten there yet. And I won't give you specifics, but it's kind of six. It's a little bit of. Of Re six, which sucks ass. Re six. But like, there is a section that's very short in this one that I'm like, oh, this is like pretty much the six section. And they kind of did a. It's a fun little side.

[Mike]

Do you like the game?

[Dan]

I love this game.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Dan]

I love this. Now here's. Here's my main issue with it. And it is so both parts are so good. The gray stuff and the Leon stuff is so good. But because you are going back and forth between these perspectives, I feel like you're getting like 40% of two different really good games. So it's like, for instance, I prefer the Grace stuff. My favorite part of this entire game, I do too, was the first few hours in the care center when it's just kind of really spooky first person horror. It's almost like amnesia style horror where it's like you are underpowered, you're hiding, you know, you've got lights. You're trying to like hide in the light and stuff. Like it's very like kind of amnesia survival horror. And then you go.

[Mary]

She has two bullets, like the whole time, right?

[Dan]

She has a shitty knife that breaks. Yeah. And then you go to Leon and it is fucking Itchy and Scratchy Goofy town. It is like you are kicking chainsaws into doctor's faces and quipping about it and stuff, which is hilarious. It is like. It is this funny power fantasy thing where it's like you'll clear an area as Grace and then you'll go back in there as Leon. And suddenly you have like double rocket launcher shotguns and shit. And you're just fuck all. You like all these things that were just Absolutely terrifying. You as Grace, you're suddenly super overpowered, dude. Which is. It is almost kind of cathartic. The couple times. It is like, okay, go back into that spot as Leon.

[Mary]

Yeah, because you're not scared as Leon. And it's not just in the mechanics. It's in their performance. And I really want to express, like, Grace has severe anxiety. I don't know how she made it as an FBI agent. She should not be in that position. And she stutters. And constantly throughout this game, she cannot. She can barely get a sentence out. She can barely speak. She cannot function. She is not mentally equipped for this experience. And so when you are playing as her, you are mimicking that as a player. You are like. You can hear her breath stutter every time she enters a room. When something scary happens, she. She panics. You'll hear her panic. When Leon walks into a room, he's like, first of all, he's making some kind of, you know, silly quip about, like, you know, you know, catch this. You know, not too bad for a Tuesday. I'll have what she's having. And he's, like, constantly doing really funny stuff without a fear in the world. I find it interesting how much more afraid I was playing as her, not just mechanically. They limited me, but I took on her personality, and I was afraid as her coming back as Leon makes you feel like you're a superhero.

[Dan]

It is kind of funny. Like, she is this FBI agent, and they send her into this, like, incredibly terrible situation, and she's constantly, what do I do?

[Mary]

Did she get that job?

[Dan]

Why do they send her to that hotel? Because she has a history of that hotel that is not great. So I don't think she would have been the best person to send there for a variety of reasons.

[Mary]

Doesn't make any sense that they sent her and that she has the job that she has. But I. I do think I had a similar reaction to it as you, Dan, which is. It feels awesome to retread space as a strong character, but I feel like I'm playing two separate games. I prefer to play as Grace. I think it's more interesting to limit me as a player and make me make very specific decisions of what I will do with my precious space and if I will make precious bullets. Like, Mike, when you and I played these old games, and I was like, what do you mean that this will net me six bullets? That's so few. And you're like, that's more than enough, Mary. Like, six bullets is gonna save you.

[Mike]

Yeah. Stop being A baby?

[Mary]

Yeah. In this game, you're constantly given maybe two to three bullets per enemy. And there were times where my knife was on 5%. I had two bullets to my name. And I was like, I genuinely don't know how I'm going to get through this.

[Mike]

As Grace.

[Mary]

I find that as Grace, specifically as Grace, as Leon, I feel like they're giving you more. More than enough crap to get through that game. And. And to me, the Leon areas feel very 5, 6, and the grace areas feel very 1, 2, 3. They just do.

[Mike]

So they jumping back and forth.

[Dan]

There are longer stretches. So, like, my favorite part of the game is a long Grace section at the beginning of the game, which Mary has played through. Like, that is my favorite part. And something I think is really cool here. Like, the place where it does feel like not just like a lot of this game is like a greatest hits of Resident Evil moments and feelings and stuff. The thing that does feel like kind of moving forward is these characters Will have they. They describe, like, these characters, like, retaining some semblance of their past selves and stuff. So their behavior and stuff is like. Like, there's ma that will, like, wander around and let's say you exploded a fucking enemy in one. This maid will walk in and be like, who made a mess? And, like, go into like a berserk mode and stuff like that. Or then there's like these Usher type guys that kind of work the halls and they're like, gotta turn the lights off. We gotta turn the lights off. And so you can kind of lure them around by like, turning on a light and then hiding behind a table or something. And then he comes to turn the light off and you can. Whatever. There's a chef that is like a larger enemy.

[Mike]

See, I did see this too, weirdly enough.

[Dan]

Yeah. So the chef is a great example here too, where it's like one of my favorite things is like, there's a sense of like, you really want to clear rooms out because this is a big interconnected area. It's like the mansion, basically. And like, there are thoroughfares and stuff where it's like, man, fuck, I gotta walk in these hallways near the kitchen a lot. And this fucker, the chef is always here. So, like, okay, you could avoid him every fucking time you go there, or you can try to get in a gunfight with him and kill him. We're just gonna eat through a ton of ammo and stuff. But then there's this thing I love. It's called the, like, himalytic injector where it's basically like the syringe that you can fill up. Like, you find these, like, puddles of infected blood. It might be in a bathtub, it might just be a pool on the floor. And it's like a currency, basically, and you can use it to craft things. And this injector thing you can craft is a syringe that will like, basically most enemies just make them explode like a fucking water balloon of blood. With one injection, you just sneak up behind him, pop them, and then they are just nothing but vistra and like blood all over the world walls. So you really. But. But it costs quite a bit to make these. So like, they're. They are a very, you know, precious. Yeah, they're a precious resource. So you have to decide, like, I'm not going to like, okay, this room in the corner, maybe I'm not going to be going through there that much. I'll just sneak by this guy. I'll save my resources. But then there's that chef, and I was like, I got to kill this. I don't want to get in a gunfight. He's probably going to take 20 bullets and it's going to be a shitty fight. So I snuck up on him. I put the injector in snack, like, exploded that guy. And it's like, oh, now I just don't have to worry about that guy anymore. Like, you clear. Like it is persistent.

[Mike]

You.

[Dan]

You clear rooms out and then suddenly you don't have to worry about it.

[Mary]

That's. But yeah, very funny because that's very different than my experience.

[Dan]

What'd you do to the ship?

[Mary]

I killed him as Leon.

[Dan]

Oh, so you didn't even. You just avoided him as Grace the entire time?

[Mary]

100%. I am a little baby in this horrible space. I avoided him completely. And then when I was Leon, I was like, let's go.

[Dan]

Oh, that's cool. You come in with a shotgun or something.

[Mary]

I had a very, very different playthrough than you did.

[Dan]

That's really cool. That type of stuff I think is so awesome. And you do have to consider all this. It's not just avoid or kill. There are things like, you know the Crimson head system in RE1 remake, where if you leave a body down, you don't burn it, they come back. Well, now they're fucking blister heads. And they are scarier than the crimson heads. They are going to fucking chase you and scream. And they're fast and. And they're harder to kill. They got these big blister fucked up heads and stuff. So it's like, even if you do decide, like, all right, I'm going to use my gun and I'm going to shoot my way through this lounge area here. Well, great. Those are bodies that every time you go into this room in the future, you're going to be worried that they're going to fucking pop up and be even worse this time around. So it's like you really got to choose, like, when do you want to use those injectors and like that. It was so fun just like being strategic about the areas you're going through and which ones you need to clear out. Clear out. Which ones you need to clear out for now and which ones you're just going to avoid and kind of tiptoe past, like, that shit really worked for

[Mike]

me, honestly, that I think the game that did that better than Resident Evil was Signalis. I think you both played it that you had to be really careful with resources as well. So it's nice to hear that Resident Evil is kind of getting back to that. Because Village, you don't really ever. You're not wanting for ammo in Village. If memory serves, seven was a little bit more survival focused. But like, yeah, yeah, I'm excited for this. I can't wait to play it. But I'm also like, yeah, I've been trying to see as little as possible about takes a big man to fall on a sword and ask you guys questions and let people know. So I'm happy to be that really, really, really big man.

[Mary]

Ask us another.

[Dan]

Yeah, yeah, I want to talk. This is a fun game to talk

[Mike]

about when you're talking about Grace's sections. On a scale of sneaking through the boathouse with Margaret in seven and the umbilical baby thing in Village.

[Dan]

Great question because you get both.

[Mike]

Both, like definitely both.

[Dan]

You talk about umbilical baby. There's, there's.

[Mike]

That part was terrifying.

[Dan]

Well, there's a few in that care center that are big scary that like,

[Mary]

you're not really gonna take on such a good job. I actually kind of like Dan, your comparison to and everything. Bagel. I feel like they said, hey, what are our favorite parts of all of these games? And gave you a little taste of all of it sometimes. My only complaint really was I was like, oh, I felt like this should be more. It's so cool what you've constructed. But it's just a sliver of this game because they're doing so many things. But there are multiple baddies in this game that I Was like, you are inspired from previous games and you are also inspired from some of the craziest horror movies I have ever seen. And Dan, I think you probably know which one I'm talking about, but there is like a boss where I was like, oh, shit, you were clearly inspired by a really good horror movie here.

[Dan]

Oh, I might not know because I don't play or I don't watch a ton of horror movies, so I might not know what you're.

[Mary]

I know. Well, you then. I'm just not connecting the dots because we've talked about this horror movie and I know you've played it.

[Dan]

Is it a girl? Is this.

[Mary]

It might be.

[Dan]

Huh? Anyway, there's one just called Girl. Oh, yeah, okay. Yeah, I didn't think about that. I can see that. Totally.

[Mary]

And I was like, this is so inspired and it's so absolutely terrifying. I played this game on a dark rainy night and I had to take breaks because it was so scary. For me, I think that this is one of their scariest games yet. Specifically terrifying.

[Dan]

That section, we're talking about that Grace section, which is why it's like, I feel like a fully fleshed out game that felt like that long gray section in the care center, like that could rival, you know, two seven, you know, like the best the series has to offer, you know, like in terms of just survival horror. And I think a fleshed out Leon game could rival four, but because it kind of feels like we're getting like 40% of a game here, you don't get all the satisfaction. Like, even as Leon, you know, part of the joy of like four is the level up system. Like, you know, when you get that upgrade to your attache case, it's like, oh my God, I can breathe. Oh, I've been dealing with this for so long. I've been blah, blah. And then like when you upgrade your weapon all the way, it's like, oh man, I turned this pea shooter into this thing that's like super powerful over the course of 10 hours or whatever. And since it's so much shorter here, like there is a longer Leon section the way there is that longer gray section. But it's like everything's on this very abbreviated, like rushed schedule where it's like, okay, yeah, you have your attached case upgrades and you do level up your weapons and things like that. But it like, it all just happens really fast because it's like like a three hour timeline instead like a 12 hour timeline. So you don't have as much of a payoff really. Like, sure it's great that you're leveling your shit up, but it's like, it doesn't feel like the long treadmill to get there, you know?

[Mary]

It does for Grace. It doesn't for Leon. For Grace. Every time I upgraded anything, I was like, this is even big deal for Mary. I really needed this. For Leon. I, like. I think I just, like, opened up a case and I got a charm for my gun. And it was just like, this makes your gun stronger. And I was like, okay. And it didn't feel earned or, like, good or anything. And it also is a ridiculously stupid, like, charm that hangs off of your gun. And so Leon's walking around with this gun shooting, and there's this stupid charm hanging off it. It's almost comical and quirky. It's very four. It's, like, silly. And you kind of almost laugh when you do it. And with Grace, I wasn't laughing at all. It was fucking terrifying.

[Dan]

Genuinely terrifying. And then you get to Leon and, like, there's an area. I don't think you're there yet, Mary, but, like, you get a wristband that's an item, and it's like, this will basically give you points for every kill you get. So it's like, it just turns into, like, all right, well, headshots. Oh, I got two. 20,000 points. I'm gonna go get a bunch of upgrades. So, like, the tonal shift is very jarring, and it's meant to be supposed to be very different, but it's like, you are going from, like, oh, God, it's gonna kill. Everything's gonna kill me to, like, I need to get 20,000 points to get bi.

[Mary]

I. I prefer her.

[Dan]

I. I think I said in the review that, like, Grace's parts are akin to, like, the dog jumping through the window in the first game. And the Leon parts are like. Like shooting double rockets through Wesker's eyes as he drowns into a volcano. Like, that is, like, the difference in tone between two, which. I love both parts of this.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Yeah. But they're just. They are really shoving everything into one game here.

[Mary]

I think so. But I would like to just also bring it back and say I'm loving this game. So far. I haven't beat it. So I don't have the same perspective. I am, like, knee deep in. I just. I think I've, like, finished a lot of these. I actually don't know how far I am into this game. I've tried to tell you around where I think I am, but the areas that I have completed, I have adored. I think that this is better. This area in my opinion is like better constructed than Village.

[Dan]

I wanted a whole game of that. I want a whole interconnected world of that. Great. That is the ideal game for me right now is like, I do love the going back and forth, the Leon stuff because like, I don't even know if these are sound like complaints or whatever. Like, it's all very fucking good. This game is great, good. But the Grace stuff is so good that I think the ideal one for me would be just like keep stretching that out for the rest of the game.

[Mary]

I, I am in agreement. I'm just. I, I have. Every minute with this game went by so smoothly and so it was just so well designed. I will say like, like, it's funny when you play the original trilogy, like Mike, how sometimes I'll be like, I have no idea where I'm supposed to go. And you'll be like, well, don't you remember that one part of the note that you read? And it said to specifically go to this area? And I'd be like, well, no, I don't fucking remember that. You know, like this game has upgraded. It's a modern game that reiterates things like three times. There's no way that you don't know what to do next. Like, they have been cautious with the player to give you very clear guidance of what you are supposed to be achieving next. And I appreciate that about this game. I don't want to get into the old like, oh, it's for dummies. Yeah. I don't want to get into like a yellow paint debate. But I think what I'm saying is there are parts where I'm like, man, you really hammered this home. So I know exactly what you want me to do. But that's good. I don't think people are going to get lost and confused. I think they're pretty clear with your objectives in each section.

[Dan]

But I don't think it's bad bad about it by any means. I don't think they overdo that. Like, it's not big flashing arrows. It's not marking a thing on the map. It is like when you save the name of the save file will be like, find the last part of the thing to go in this door, you know, and it's like, it doesn't say find it in this room. It's like, hey, you need to find one more thing and then go through that door. That's the ultimate goal, you know?

[Mike]

Okay, cool. That's Nice.

[Mary]

I think they do a good job with that. There's a funny part in the beginning where a character says something, your character says something, and then the objective gets written on the screen and says, do the thing that we just said to you. And it's just like, okay, you're being very, very clear that I know what to do and where to go. And I personally like that, especially as someone who usually cannot spend eight hours on a game. I have to come back to it sometimes after five working days, which means I am. I don't remember. This game will help you remember. It's guiding you. It's being very explanatory, explicit so that you're not confused. Also, the map is awesome. It tracks everything. I don't think this is a spoiler. This is just modern Resident Evil. When you go into a room, if you hit the map, it'll be like, there's a health here and there's some bullets here. And it's like you walk by.

[Dan]

So it's like. It's not like it does it by, because if. If they were always there. You just walk into a room, look at the map and go to it. But it's like it will only show you, like, oh, that ammo pickup that you walked by and didn't pick up. So, like, it's smart about that. And you know, the red door is locked.

[Mike]

It's.

[Dan]

It's very, very good about that.

[Mary]

Oh, I love that. It tells you about the different door systems. And it's very explicit that it's like, this needs a key. This needs a key card. That's a level two. This is. This is a gate. And I don't know if it will ever open. Like, they. They help you because the.

[Dan]

The old games, I feel like before the maps got so good, it's like, well, okay, it's kind of a dangerous thing to go all the way across the mansion to this thing just to be like, oh, right, that door needed the. The club key or whatever, you know?

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

They tell you on the map, even if they're like, this might need a special tool. And it's like, ah, wake wank. Okay, all right, I understand. Yeah, it.

[Dan]

It really feels like this game is a culmination of, like, everything they have learned from 30 years of making this series. And then it seems like they've learned stuff from every step along the way and put it all into one game, which is kind of fascinating to see.

[Mary]

Fine. It's finely tuned. It is, it is. They have softened the edges to make sure that they. This is a streamlined and good game experience, but they have also made a few risks that they have not done in previous games that paid off. The new upgrade system is different, the enemies are different, and they have found good ways to make this feel a fresh game in a series that is successful. This is a good, good add to the Resident Evil series.

[Dan]

Yeah, it feels fresh, but it also feels like it's constantly hearkening back and nodding to the series history in a way that like, I think really works because like, it's not just greatest hits. It is. There's so many things like that gray stuff and the new enemies and things where it's like I didn't feel like I was playing a cover band of Resident Evil. You know, I felt like I was playing a new Resident Evil that is really hearkening back to like a lot of references, you know, subtle and very overt. And it really, really works almost all the time.

[Mike]

I feel like even Village sort of did that. Like the castle felt a bit more like the earlier games. And then you're doing the house where it was very much like the Amnesia the Dark Descent or Amnesia the Dark Descent kind of style of horror where you're helpless and you're literally just trying to dodge. But that was all first person and the action didn't get that crazy. Even at the factory, when you're fighting the last guy or whatever or order you do them in.

[Dan]

Oh, right.

[Mike]

But yeah, that sounds rad. Does the length feel good? Is it similar to Village?

[Dan]

Yeah, it's like 10 to 12 hours, which is kind of on par with the last couple. Like Mary, from what you've described, I think you've got about six hours left.

[Mary]

Wow. I mean, I find that shocking considering it was a really fantastic first half then and I've really enjoyed it. And I will also say I think you could spend longer. I think you could go back through these places and retrace your steps and get everything. I think to like a well tuned gamer this is like 10 to 12 hours. But I think for like I always end up taking my time or getting stuck on a few areas. And so I usually, I usually find that anytime someone reviews a game and they say it takes X amount time takes me about 30% longer.

[Dan]

I mean I was very, very thorough about like even like it shows you on the map, like all the pools of blood and stuff like that. And I was like, look, I know this is a finite resource. I'm getting every one of these things before I leave this hospital. So you Know, just for context, I wasn't rushing, by any means.

[Mary]

I don't think you were resting. Sorry. I think you're an elite gamer is what I'm saying, what I was trying to get at. All right. I. I think. No, don't you record that and don't put it in. Don't write down the time.

[Dan]

No, no, no, no. Absolutely not.

[Mary]

No, Dan is right. I didn't write.

[Mike]

I didn't say. I really can't even tell. Like, I wasn't looking at the screen when that happened. I could not have told you.

[Dan]

You.

[Mike]

Which was actually Mary and which was the recording.

[Dan]

I mean, I know that she said that.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

I think I'm just saying, like, I struggle and I usually do have to replay a boss fight or there's a. There's like a. The first time I encountered a Crimson Head or whatever they're called now, I died and I lost a lot of progress and I had to do it again. And so I think that other people don't have to do that, and it saves them a lot of time.

[Dan]

I did die a lot, and I was playing on the, like, There's. You can. There's like two standard difficulties. One of them is you don't have to use the ink ribbons. And one of them is like, hey, if you want to do it standard difficulty, but with the old school save system, you can do this. So, like, there is the, like, hey, do you want to be really classic Resident Evil here? You can do it.

[Mary]

I did it with the. What? You use ribbons in both, right? Because I did. Oh, I see what you're saying. You have to have a physical item of a ribbon in order to save. Oh, brutal. Okay. I didn't know you can do it that way. That's correct. Oh, and it's an item. It's an inventory slot.

[Dan]

Yes, it is.

[Mary]

You hate it.

[Dan]

I started the second playthrough on that. And you sure as hell need ink ribbons to save.

[Mary]

Oh, my God. I couldn't imagine, like, what a. What a terrifying system. I don't think there's anything more beautiful than going into a room and, like, holding your breath and seeing a typewriter. It's just such a magnificent physical item.

[Dan]

That's the thing is, like, the gray stuff. It is so Re123, where it's like, you go in, there's a typewriter, there is an item box that shares space with all the other item boxes. So it's like, man, this is. This is straight up, like, RE one stuff.

[Mary]

It's beautiful. A beautiful section of the game that I have, I have thoroughly enjoyed and I can't wait to see everyone's reactions when they play through it and experience some of these monsters or whatever they put in this place. Like, they did a good job with some of the design and I know a lot of people talked about Lady Dimitrescu and her scale and stuff like that. They've played with scale again in this game that I think is very smart. Very. It's kind of funny, but scary. Like they did. They did such a great physics the game. Like, I wonder how they designed these spaces to do this. Like they had fun making some of these characters.

[Dan]

You talk about some of the big characters and stuff and like there are great moments where you're just kind of walking along. It's not like it's doing a big tense build up. Like, oh God, something scary is gonna happen. All of a sudden just something will break down and you'll be looking at a thing and your brain is like, like, nope, nope, nope, nope, nope. And you're just running away. Just give me the out of here. Give me the fuck out of here. Like, I love that feeling in these games.

[Mary]

They did it. They do it so well. And I can't wait to see people's reactions live. Like experiencing these things and reacting to some of these scenarios that they put the characters in. It's brutal. Very funny for a casual observer. Like when I watch these people play, they're going to freak out.

[Dan]

I think it's going to be a very streamable game. Mary. Like you, I played late at night, lights out. I didn't play during the day at all here, just all late night hours. But like now I'm like, oh, I can't wait to watch my sister stream this. This is gonna be a very streamable game.

[Mary]

I played this like on during a thunderstorm. Like there was like lightning and stuff and I was like so scared.

[Dan]

Perfect.

[Mike]

I'm looking forward to this.

[Dan]

It's good.

[Mike]

Yeah. The last thing I played Resident Evil was the Resident Evil Village VR, which is really good as well. Did you guys try that?

[Dan]

I do a good job with that stuff. Yeah.

[Mary]

Scary in VR. I think this is. That's old dumb, isn't it? Like didn't we play that? I swear I was like still at Gamespot or something when we did like a VR playthrough and I was seven habit.

[Mike]

That's probably what you're thinking. No, the village came out long after GameSpot era. Yeah, you, you. I think you played 7 VR which was also good too. But, like, they went really hard with, like, each gun had different reload movements you had to do. It was great. Yeah. I can't wait to play this. I'm looking forward to it. I'm. I'm gonna get around to it sooner rather than later.

[Dan]

But if anyone's ever enjoyed any Resident Evil game, you're gonna find something to like about this for sure.

[Mike]

Okay, cool. Dan, I'm also curious how Sekiro's going or went. Did you finish it?

[Dan]

No, I'm close. From what I heard, I was it last night or the night before? I streamed it and spent over two hours trying to beat Owl. Anyone see that fight? That was the part nine of my playthrough on YouTube. Boy, that was just a tough time, but it felt incredible. I was telling. I went upstairs and told Bonk after the stream. I was like, no game ever has made my brain and body feel the things I felt when I, like, do something like. Like. Like when I beat Owl and it's like I. It's a actual sensation. Just feel like, like fuzzy and catharsis and just.

[Mike]

It.

[Dan]

I've more than beating Tyson for the first time in Punch Out. It is just the most like. Oh, my God. What? Like, it feels like a real accomplishment. I love it. I love it. I think I've got like four hours left or so from what people are telling me. But yeah, what a game.

[Mike]

That game's red. I love that game. I still like Bloodborne the most. We're talking fromsoft stuff, but kind of

[Dan]

I think I might go to that soon because I heard the emulation on that is you can play it at like 60 frames a second now, so.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah, I forgot you have. Have you played Bloodborne at all?

[Dan]

I beat it back in the day, but I did it in the most horse. I just summoned for all the bosses. I fucking, like, cheese dicked my way through all the, like, leveling up, grinding like, amen. Well, now that I know that I can actually, like, do it right, and I can actually, like, be good at these games, I want to go back to these games and do it.

[Mary]

There's no right way to beat a game.

[Dan]

My way was especially Cheese dick. I mean, I was just like, hiding in a corner and letting some. It was Eric Tay. Eric. Eric Tay was watching me when I streamed it back in like 2015. Bloodborne. And he saw me tweet out that I was going to play it and I would just summon Eric Tay and I would hide in a corner while he beat the boss.

[Mike]

Eric Tay was the original let me solo her.

[Mary]

Yeah, he was. He was the original let me solo. He probably was also the one that was like, you didn't really beat the game.

[Dan]

I definitely did not. No credits, but I didn't earn that.

[Mike]

God, yeah, that game is really good. Like, the way that the. The com. It's one of my favorite combat systems ever. It, like, forces you into, like, if you just sit back and try to be defensive, you're going to get fucked up. You need to, like, make contact with them. It's great. Y. Mary, you said you have a mini rant about Synacross.

[Mary]

I'm curious.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah.

[Mary]

So last episode, Dan asked. Dan talked about Cinecross and suggested it for me because I like, like Sudoku and games, puzzle games, like calming puzzle games. So picture this. I wake up from restful slumber and the radio is on and countries are invading each other and people are fighting over water, and it's really stressful. And so I turn it off. And then I go to work and there's a lot of misinformation and AI is taking over our jobs and the company's angry and it's stressful and so I turn it off and then I go watch television. And I choose the Pit because that sounds like it'll be a nice escape from my reality. And doctors are abusing their kids and shoulders are popping out of sockets and we have a terrible healthcare system. And it's very, very stressful show.

[Mike]

Yeah, it's like the most stressful show of all time.

[Mary]

And so I turn it off.

[Mike]

Calming.

[Mary]

And then I say to myself, video games, the last bastion of mental health. Than recommended that I play this game called Cinecross, which is kind of like Sudoku or like Minesweeper. I'll play that and relax this evening. But it's timed and you lose health for every mistake. And the clock is ticking. And even if you're playing an easy puzzle, the time is all of the game. So if you take too long on an easy puzzle, you'll die later. So even on the easiest puzzle, I am trying to go as fast as humanly possible. And if I make a mistake, my literal health bar goes down. And it's so stressful. Is there any end to the stress in this life?

[Mike]

Dan did talk about the time of being very big thing. Like I said, like, for in his defense.

[Mary]

But I can't play any more stressful things.

[Mike]

Dan, is that what you played all

[Dan]

the way to the left? It sounds like you're Describing you just want to play normal picross which is out there. That's picross 3D. That's picross DS. That's picross S on switch. There's no time limit on that. That's the whole gimmick with this one is that they turned it into a fast paced thing with a timer and health bars and roguelike mechanics.

[Mary]

I'm clinically upset all the time when I play. This game is built to make you upset. It's really stressful.

[Mike]

Is that why you went to a little to the left? Left.

[Mary]

You guys gotta get into a little to the left. This game is so relaxing.

[Mike]

Yeah, it's good. It's. It's up there with like unpacking esque kind of stuff.

[Dan]

Then you wind it down with some Resident Evil 9.

[Mary]

Maybe I just confusing myself. I'm going to have a stroke.

[Mike]

I while brainstorming Mary's Bargain Bin Hole deal.

[Dan]

Whatever

[Mike]

the were you doing this weekend?

[Dan]

Are you okay?

[Mary]

Clearly drinking. One of my favorite pastimes is going to a local bar with my Steam deck and I get a drink and I play a game on my Steam deck in the bar. I love it. It's one of my favorite things to do on it on a night off and I started playing Cinecross and I had to quit because I was like, this is too stressful. I've. I've worked too hard this week. I had a really hard week. I cannot handle it. And I looked up a game called A Little to the left which was on sale. This is important because like it's also cathartic to play a game for like less than five bucks. This game is very affordable and it is a actual cozy game. It is a game where it will give you a puzzle that has multiple solutions based on scale, size, color, and you sort things the way your mind says you should probably sort it. I'll give you an example. They'll give you seven pencils. The pencils are different colors, they're different sizes and maybe even the way that they're shaved. Right. There's like different points to them. Some of them are rounder and some of them are like super, super pointy. How do you sort them? Do you sort them small to tall? You're correct. Do you sort them nubby tip to extremely pointy tip. You're also correct. Do you sort them Roy G. Biv, Guess what? You're correct.

[Mike]

Who?

[Mary]

It's just such a nice cathartic way to organize items, household items in your house in different ways that feel good. I Played a little to the left for like five hours on Friday and it was one of the best experiences where I actually felt like my anxiety was dissolving over time. And so I just want to say like if people are looking for a cozy game during these like wicked times, A little to the Left was the one for me and I really, really enjoyed it.

[Dan]

Before the record state, I never pitched Cynic Cross as a cozy game.

[Mary]

I believe that Dan was like this is right up your cozy alley with a nice book and a glass of white wine you're going to love.

[Mike]

No, I don't even think he full on recommended. I think he just said that you actually kind of dislike the timer as well, Dan. Or you said it changes the picross.

[Dan]

It's a very type of picross but like I said, plays the town of picross. I enjoyed having a different way to do it but I certainly wouldn't have said it was a cozy game.

[Mary]

Like no, it's described it as cozy. But you did say that. I would. I. I think you were like I think you'd like this. And I think maybe on a less stressful week I would have liked it. I think there is a world in which for the record, this rant is not to say I don't like Cynicross. I actually think there's a world for me and Cynicross and I recommend it as a very well constructed game. I think it's beautiful. I love the Diablo esque graphics and styles but I have no problem with this game. I am telling you that you have to be in the right mental health space to take on a puzzle game that times every second and time gets faster. In this game they'll actually be like time now is 1.4 times. And it's like fuck you, Cynacross. I've had a really tough day.

[Mike]

Yeah, little to the left was great. I played it a little bit back when it came out.

[Mary]

What did you think? I think it's fun.

[Mike]

I played it.

[Mary]

Not great for the organizer.

[Mike]

I remember being excited for it because I liked unpacking quite a bit. This has similar vibes. Do that a little bit to the left. Little to the left. Yeah, I liked it. There's the. I'm just watching like the steam gifs of it. Even watching it is kind of relaxing.

[Mary]

It's very relaxing. And yeah, it's fair to compare to unpacking because it is about organization. But unpacking has all these like story elements where they're like oh my gosh, is she moving into her Boyfriend's house or there's not enough room for her cups. This is bullshit. Like, little to the left has none of that. It's like, no. How will you organize your rice? I'm like, maybe I would think I would organize it like this. And the game is like. Like, you're a genius. I love that you get stars for every completion of an organization or the way they. They would like you to try to organize things. And like I said, there's. There's multiple ways. So if you do one out of the three ways you can organize things, you can just move on to the next puzzle. You don't have to be like, how else can I organize it? You just move on. SKM also has a really nice hint system where if you're like, I. I don't know. Very easy, clear hint guidelines to give you a bit of a sneak peek into what it's trying to convince you to do. And you can also say, I don't want to play this one anymore. And it'll be like, cool. Here's another one. It's just so lax for your brain. No matter what you're feeling, the game's like, cool, fine.

[Mike]

You don't need this puzzle. I like the fact that, like, in this game, the persistent nemesis is a cat that keeps fucking up all your shit.

[Mary]

Yeah. It knocks over things. If you're organizing something, sometimes the paw will come in and just smack it and make.

[Mike]

And the tail will like, yeah, that's the Mr. X. Yes.

[Mary]

This horrific cat tail blob that comes in and destroys you. It's funny how often the games that we play are very stressful, and that's also cathartic. And we can. That's like a separate conversation. Right. We're like, why would you play horror games? And it's like, I find it relaxing in a way, but I actually needed a relaxing game on Friday and I found it. And so that is my advice.

[Mike]

That was the game in 2020 that came out before. What the hell is a little to the left? It was Assemble with Care.

[Mary]

Oh, yeah.

[Mike]

Very similar to unpacking in this, where you're just like, repairing old school cameras and stuff like that. I remember that as well.

[Mary]

I love it. I like stuff like that occasionally from time to time. And I also want. What do you call that?

[Dan]

Like.

[Mary]

Like brain. Like turn. You can turn off your brain games like you're still playing it, but like very simple puzzles, podcast games.

[Mike]

Oh.

[Mary]

Designed to, like, let you relax a little bit so you never. Not only are you not stressed but, like, it's not really gonna push your head that hard. Like, it's just asking you how you would you. Oh, you'll see, like a picture frame and it'll be crooked. Like, that's not really a puzzle.

[Dan]

It's just thing to do.

[Mary]

Yeah. It's giving you something to do that lets you feel accomplished. And it's got really nice colors. I feel like I've covered it.

[Dan]

That does sound fun. I want to get that on my Steam deck.

[Mike]

Okay.

[Mary]

It's pretty nice. And I also played it on. It was on my Switch. I haven't been playing my Nintendo Switch 2, like, at all. So I, like, made a point to be like, I'm going to use my Switch 2 tonight. And I actually bought it on the. On the Nintendo shop for like. Like, 60 off. That was the impetus of it. So a nice mobile game for your brain.

[Dan]

Nice.

[Mike]

Also, what was I gonna say? What was the last. This is not the same kind of game necessarily, but Strange Horticulture gave me vibes like that too. Like, the stakes are low. Strange Horticulture, I love that game. That was one of my favorite games of 23. Whatever.

[Mary]

It was very, very calming. Also had rain in it. It was, like, constantly raining in that game. And so it had.

[Mike]

It's got, like, cozy Halloween vibes, too. Like, not scary, but, like, fun Halloween. Like, costume quest vibes. Yeah. Autumnal. Not that funny.

[Mary]

Seasonal.

[Mike]

I have. I. It is a big bugaboo of mine when someone laughs too hard at one of my jokes that I did not put a lot of effort into. I'm insulted.

[Dan]

Mary. We gotta try to coordinate on this. Next time he has a joke that's just like, okay, Ish. We need to lose our shit.

[Mike]

Start punching holes in the wall. Yeah. And then when I say something brilliant, you just don't even give me any credit.

[Dan]

All right, we gotta try to time this because we're just gonna do it on the fly, you know, we can't. We can't predict what he's gonna say, but you'll know what he says.

[Mary]

Kind of. But not very funny all the time.

[Dan]

Right. Right. So we just gotta get in there when he does that.

[Mary]

Okay.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Mike]

It's gonna be amazing. I can't wait. Daniel.

[Dan]

Yes?

[Mike]

What is Demon Tides?

[Dan]

Demon tides is a 3D platformer that just came out. It's nice. I love those Fabraz. It's the developer who's doing Bubsy 4. Or is it 40? Or just Bubsy 4? But yeah, it's a. I've Only played a couple hours and so far I can tell it's probably going to do some stuff that I really like because it gives you a ton of tools. Like in the toolbox as far as, like, you can just tell, like, oh, shit, I can. I can. Can turn into a Snake to go really fast here. I can do a double jump into a transform into a bat, but then I can also get out of it with this boost thing. And like, there's just so many different ways you can extend jumps or make them go higher or wall jump off things that, like, there's no way they're giving me all these mechanics early on without having some really fun platforming challenges. So. And it's also, it seems to be formatted in more of like a Bowser's Fury type thing, where there's like a large ocean map with a bunch of islands and things like that. And it does seem pretty open. Like at any point you can turn into the Snake and just kind of like boost, swim around anywhere you want in this map and you'll just see a series of like, islands and stuff on the horizon. I'm gonna go there and see what's there and get a bunch of collectibles and stuff. So, so far, it's like, I have felt kind of aimless in terms of like, you know, it's very, very open. And I've definitely had times where I'm like, I don't really know what I'm supposed to do here, but I am having fun. Just like the mobility and jumping around and sailing around stuff is very, very fun. But it also does really cool stuff. Like, at any point you can place a checkpoint flag. So let's say you're about to try some crazy platforming. You can hold in Y to put a flag down, and then at any point you can, like, I think you hold up on the D pad, it'll warp you back to your last checkpoint flag. So you don't have to rely on the game to set your checkpoints. You can just be like, I'm going to try some bullshit. I'm going to set my checkpoint right here. And like, some games like Skate and stuff have done that before, but I haven't really seen it in a 3D platformer like this before. So it's definitely got a lot of cool ideas it's playing with here still very early on, but, like, there's, there's definitely a lot of potential here.

[Mary]

Can I ask you, between this and Big Hops, which is also a similar platformer with fun Ideas and a cheeky art style that feels a bit indie but interesting. Which one would you play first?

[Dan]

That's a great question. Because I did think about Big Hops a lot while I was playing this. I think this is doing a lot more that I like than Big Hops was. So I would. I would lean this over Big Cops based on my time with it. Both. Both good. This has felt a lot better and seems to have a lot more potential.

[Mike]

I was also gonna say the. Oh, no, I was confusing that with something else because you also put Virtual Boy. Like, is that the. Do you have a Virtual Boy now? Is that the new one?

[Dan]

Wait, you don't know? Boy, look at this guy. You're. You're back in the Stone Age here. You don't know. They re released the goddamn Virtual.

[Mike]

I assumed that was the Virtual Boy RE release. I was just making sure that you weren't playing the original. Yes, we talked about it on Firescape. I remember our conversations.

[Dan]

Oh, look at. Ooh, fancy guy.

[Mike]

Here. Check out the big memory on Brad. How is the Virtual Boy RE release?

[Dan]

Oh, these games suck. Shit. These are. Oh, no, no, no. But that's not even a.

[Mary]

Can you put it on while you review it, please?

[Dan]

Yeah, yeah. Let's see. So it actually. It fits pretty well even when you have glasses on.

[Mary]

You look so stupid.

[Mike]

You look so cool.

[Dan]

Did you say cool? It was cool, right? I even wore a shirt that would match it and everything. Look at that.

[Mike]

Nice.

[Mary]

It's so big.

[Dan]

Yeah, it's a big, clunky, dumbass piece of plastic. It was like, I played it at a funko land in 1995. And like, this is the new Nintendo console. I can't wait. I'm gonna go into virtual reality. I played it for 10 minutes. I was like, this sucks. And I kind of had a similar feeling when I played this, but. But it's so fucking funny to me. And it's so Nintendo that they're just like, all right, we're gonna put these very emulatable Virtual Boy games. Like, you can easily play this on just the screen of the Switch. And they're like, no, you have to have a stupid headset. And if you don't wanna spend 100 on a plastic one, you gotta spend whatever and get the cardboard one. Like, you can't play them in non virtual reality. It is insane. It's very Nintendo. I'm very glad it exists. None of these games seem particularly good. The Wario Land one seems okay, but it's still just insane to look at Just a weird fucking company and I love them for it.

[Mike]

It's $100, I believe, actually lower than I thought it would be.

[Dan]

Well, I mean it's not actually doing anything. It's just a fucking like it's. You put your switch inside this thing and all this thing is doing is like 3D glasses. So it's basically plastic.

[Mike]

It looks like one of the viewing things in cities that you can use.

[Dan]

Oh, sure, sure. Like the viewfinder.

[Mike]

Things to like on top of the Empire State Building.

[Dan]

Yeah, totally. It's a very silly thing. It's. It's a silly thing to buy.

[Mike]

I don't want one.

[Dan]

Don't buy one.

[Mike]

I won't. Not going to do it. Not letting you fool me this time.

[Dan]

Nope.

[Mary]

Such a good podcast summary. I don't want one. Don't buy one.

[Dan]

Yeah, okay.

[Mike]

I can't make you do anything.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mike]

I'm going to say whether I want something or not. After everything we talk about from non marriage, what is Kairn? See if I want one or not.

[Mary]

Okay. I don't believe that anyone else has played Karen on this podcast, but a lot of people are talking about Karen, so I'm glad that I can.

[Mike]

Isn't Karen like a tune?

[Mary]

Talk about it with you. It's a very unique game. So Kairn is a climbing game.

[Mike]

Oh, sure, I've seen that.

[Mary]

But it solved a lot of my problems with like QOP or what was the other one where you jusant was one.

[Dan]

I don't know if you played that.

[Mary]

Yeah, I was comparing it to the other ones where the guy. You're wearing that guy. Watch, you're playing that guy who's wearing sweatpants and like baby steps, sweaty butt.

[Mike]

Baby steps.

[Mary]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's so much better than that. It's like very thoughtful and nuanced of this one button which I like. So imagine you're climbing and X is your grab. The game automatically selects your next limb and then you use your steering to decide where the litten should go. And then you hit X to grab the more sturdy of an item that you grab. A rock, a surface, a crack. Those types of things will give the the player just a sturdier climb upwards as they. As they advance, as the rock starts getting smoother or it's starting to actually come towards you so you're essentially going upside down. The character's legs will wobble. I will say at first, especially if you watch gameplay of this, you might be like that looks bad or it looks janky, but that is the game's visual way of saying you are at risk for falling. And so it's a very natural and organic way to show stamina as opposed to a bar. This, this game is like tactile and it's showing you things without any ui. And I respect this game a lot for showing what it feels like to climb a massive rock face. And eventually as you go, you are climbing a big freaking mountain. It is always showing you in a visual way that you are in danger and you absolutely are when you're playing this game that you need to find a better foothold for your body to sustain. And if you do not, you absolutely can fall. And there's only certain saved areas in this game. And if you fall and you die, you have to redo that entire rock face. I think that's also good. This game is a risk reward about you choosing the right path. It has a really interesting visual style for you to be able to change the camera angles that you can look at the rock face and say, oh, I see that there's a lot of pointy rocks on this one. This will be easier to climb than this riskier one. But this riskier one has a cave, which means there's going to be an item in there which I would probably want. And so it's a lot of risk reward of like which path you're choosing. Not only does the game allow you to move your camera angle so you can see the rock face a little bit better and make a good decision, but if you're in this visual style and you hit y, it shows your entire snail trail of everywhere that you've climbed previously, including when you've chosen a rock face and like fell and got injured or died. And so the entire journey is dotted all the way up this giant mountain as you traverse the rock front. I think it's a brilliant design for what it is specifically trying to execute of making you feel like you are a rock climber. Taking on one of the most enormous mountains of your career and letting you go on on the journey with it. I really like it.

[Mike]

It. How are climb backs?

[Mary]

What?

[Dan]

There you go. Oh, Mikey. Oh, God, he's the funniest.

[Mary]

I had to laugh this hard.

[Dan]

Oh my God.

[Mike]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm actually choosing to think you're really laughing good too. I like that it's all diegetic.

[Mary]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Like, even the bandages that they're. That she's okay. I'm seeing her wrap like, like wrap up blisters and cuts. Is that just like you hold A button, and she does automatically or she does it automatically.

[Mary]

But you do need to have enough tape.

[Mike]

I don't want, you do, I don't want to.

[Mary]

You have to build things. You have to make sure you have enough tape to heal your fingers and your toes. If you climb a riskier rock face, you are more at risk to cut your fingers on a sharp rock face. That is a risk you take as a player, but it's maybe better than doing a smoother rock that you'll slip off of and fall. There's so much diegetic gameplay, Mike. There's, there's, that, there's, there's a, there's a food system. And the food system is a lot of things that you find on your travels, like berries or maybe you stumble. I actually stumbled across like, a dead guy, like somebody else who failed climbing the mountain. And I, I stole all of his,

[Mike]

like, oh, I thought you were gonna say you cannibalize him.

[Mary]

I ate him. No, I, I, I got all of his old stuff, and it's all in a backpack. And the system for the backpack is that it's, if you can see it in the trailer, it, it really shows it well, but there's no item slots. It's just a hole of a backpack. And all of your items are in there flopping around. And if you are out of room, there's a button to shake your backpack. And all the items, like, physically move around and hopefully give you a little bit more space to have enough items. Like, how cool is that? It reminds me of Kingdom Two Crowns. In Kingdom Two Crowns, it doesn't say you have $40. You have a pouch with gold coins, and if it's too full, they start falling out. And, and you know how rich you are based on how full of, of your pouches of coins. This is the same thing. It's like, like physical items bouncing around in your pack. And it's, you have to be like, how many chocolate bars do I have? And you gotta shake it to, like, see them all. It's really, it's really fun how they, how they have your items. You do have thirst, hunger, and I think sleep, although it's probably like focus, I think is how they describe it. And so you do need to sleep, you do need to eat, and you do need to drink water consistently throughout. And as you progress on the mountain, you get cold. So maybe when you're in your tent after you've taped your fingers, you will take the berries that you've found and you will put them in Your water bottle and heat them up. And now you have tea. And so that will give you additional focus. It will. It will feed you a little bit because of the berries, and it will also give you hydration, and it will heat you when you get cold on the top of the mountain. The last thing that you can do in that tent is you can fix your pitons. I never say that. Right.

[Dan]

I want to call them pitons.

[Mary]

I think they're pittens. And when you are climbing, if you are climbing a very tall rock face and you think you might fall, it's a great time to put a piton in the wall, which will save you. And you also get your stamina back because you're like, ah, I got to relax because I am connected to this wall. You have six precious, precious pittens. And if you. There is a quick time event when you decide to put one in the wall. And you're also very stressed, right? Because you're shaking, because you're about to fall. And so you're like, I need a pitten. I need a pitten right now. And if you do it incorrectly, you can crack your pitten. And now it's gone. Now you only have five. And as you're on your journey, you might find some scrap, you might find some metal, you might find some stuff when you are sleeping in that tent. The other thing you can do is you could try and fix your pittens so that you can have six again. You can actually break them, I think, permanently, or you can just, like, crack them, which means they need to be repaired. If you do a perfect wall pitten attempt, then it's in great condition, and you're in great condition. So you want to make sure you're getting everything right. But that's hard to do in a very stressful situation.

[Mike]

I'm liking how much puzzle solving there seems to be as well, with, like, messages and maps and stuff like that. And like, also just environmental storytelling. Looks super cool.

[Mary]

There is a strong story that is being told as you climb this mountain. You are facing a lot of personal demons. There's a lot of really good passive storytelling.

[Mike]

Is it about. Is the game metaphor for mental health challenges? Oh, well, that's new.

[Mary]

I think it is. Yeah. I think she's overcoming a lot of personal dem. There are people can send her voice messages. You're getting a lot of audio clips from friends. Doesn't sound like she has a lot of family. I think that comes into play a lot. I have not gotten far enough into it. But people I've talked to who have played a little further are like, this story will gut you. It is a good, good hard earned story. And so I love that. But I can't personally speak to it. So there's a lot going for it. I will tell you from a person who likes to mix up their gameplay a lot, there was a couple times where after falling on the same rock face three times, I like, well, I'm gonna play something else. And I think you can quit this game just because of the nature of the beast. There's not a lot of mix up. You're here to climb a rock and if you don't like doing that, I could see a player getting bored very quickly.

[Dan]

Like I'm thinking about like, I want to play this game. I'm very curious. But I really like Juan. I have liked, you know, grow up or grow home. You know, like I've liked climbing games.

[Mary]

Yeah, I like grow home a lot.

[Dan]

But there was also the baby steps thing where it's like, it did do the thing that you're saying this does too, where it's like I fell down a thing. The first that I spent 20 minutes climbing up and I was like, well, I'm not doing that again. I'm done. So it's like I am wondering if, if this would be similar.

[Mary]

I think that this can dig up feelings like that. The good news is you can always pick a different mountains have many ways to climb them and so you don't have to pick that same climb. You can pick a lot. The game gives you endless areas that you can try the same wall in a different way. And so I do appreciate that about the game. Nevertheless, I actually did have that moment where I climbed the wall like three or four times and I fell three or four times. Then I said, I'm gonna play something else. So I could see people falling off and quitting. If they're not getting the good feelings that you should get from being able to achieve the climb. You also can get really physically hurt, which makes me just want to restart my save. Like if I fall and break or like hurt a bone, she goes to sleep to like, you know, recover. And a part of me was like, I'll just, I'll just restart. Like I'm not dealing with all that. So anyway, I, I don't think this game is for everyone. I think this is a very niche game. I think what it's trying to do is one of the best at doing it. So my warning is maybe for like gamers who tend to be like that feels a bit tedious for me. It probably is too tedious for you.

[Mike]

Okay, this is from the game Bakers. This is kind of a left turn for that. They did Fury and Haven. I don't know if you guys played Haven. Fury was the more stylistic Fury.

[Dan]

Yeah, Fury was awesome. Yeah.

[Mike]

Haven was the 2020. The, like, romance set on a different planet, kind of RPGish thing. They make quite different games from release to release.

[Mary]

Yeah. It's cool that they took such a risk with this. I think it is a huge risk. The last thing I'll also say, this is probably obvious, but I just want to say, graphically this game is stunning. Great style, and it's doing a fantastic art style that is required for this type of game. Because when you are climbing a mountain, sometimes the rock will look pretty flat except for the tiniest crack. And that crack can be the difference of unless you climbing or not. And so this had to have very fine line work. So this game has vast vistas where you are being able to, as you climb, see massive mountains and clouds and rainbows and rain systems and. God, this game is so beautiful. But it also has to have high detail of lines and cracks in the wall and in your body so that you can see, like, where you're cut and where you're hurt and what's going on. This game has threaded a needle of high fidelity without giving you so much noise that it's not appealing to look at. This game is beautiful to look at and it's also very nuanced with its art style. I love this art style. I think it's really nice. The audio is nice too. I wondered if maybe you might think it kind of feels like Death Stranding a little bit, Dan. Like you're not, you know, you're carrying stuff up a mountain and like charting a path. It's so interesting.

[Dan]

And I do typically like the games that, like, you know, communicate things like stamina everything through, like, diegetic, you know, in world things. So, like, I do like that Death Stranding did have a lot of shit going on on the screen, but the idea of just kind of carrying something or just like this laborious thing turned into gameplay I can enjoy for sure.

[Mary]

So it's cathartic, I think. I think it's like relaxing to be like, how will I tackle this really tall rock face? And as long as you have your kittens, you usually can achieve great things in this game. I think it's fascinating. I just have to be, again, I have to be like, in the right Headspace. Because I do think it's a bit slow, I guess, is what I will say. It's like, yeah, do I want to climb a rock for three hours? Like, all right, this is the one.

[Mike]

Okay, Red, you guys want to talk about emails or. Yeah. Okay. Reminder that you can send in questions for the show to Firescape Castmail, that is fire escapecastmail.com to get your questions read, video game related or otherwise. Usually otherwise. Got some game game specific ones tonight, but our inbox is getting low, so refill those the questions for the rest of the year or at least the next month.

[Mary]

Send them on in.

[Mike]

All right. Mary, do you want to read this one from Darian? Sure. The subject I should say was desert island video game. That's basically it.

[Mary]

Dear Castaways, what's the game you could pretty much keep playing forever if it was the only one you had? Mine has got to be total warhammer shout out to Mahardi because there's just so much stuff in it. Cheers, Darian from Toronto.

[Mike]

I think we've done this before, but I think it was like, a couple years ago, if memory serves. So I was kind of surprised.

[Mary]

Yeah, it's been a while. Let's talk about it again. It's a very different perspective, Right. This isn't the game that you love, although it could be. This is a game that you could play forever because it's the only game you're allowed to play for the rest of your life. So it's a very different way to view your favorite game.

[Dan]

I feel like, man, I don't think it'd be like, infinite replayability, but there is something about, like, punch out that, like, I've played it all the time.

[Mike]

Jesus.

[Mary]

You could not choose this game. Really?

[Dan]

Why?

[Mike]

She disagrees with your opinion.

[Mary]

Same.

[Dan]

What do you mean?

[Mary]

That's the point of this podcast. I disagree with your opinion.

[Mike]

I was laughing. I know. I'm not. I'm trying. I'm trying to.

[Mary]

I know it's subjective, but I just can't imagine. There's no, like, mix up. It's the same.

[Dan]

Oh, no. There's so, so much nuance to how you can go about this. Like, I've been playing this game for 35 years and I'm still like, oh, I didn't know that was possible. Didn't know you could do that.

[Mary]

Like, the same people. It's the same.

[Dan]

It's the same fights. But that's the thing. It's like, I have fought, you know, the second Piston Honda a million times, and I Still, there's so many little things that like I've never been able to pull off or that like, oh, I didn't know you could beat him that way or whatever. Like every fight has so many different little variables and things like that. That like, that's what makes it a great speedrun game is like it does. The way I play this game now is completely different the way I played it five years ago or as a kid. And like I would like to further refine that, you know. But I do think at a certain point you would hit a diminishing returns. Like, okay, I can't really shave off any more time here. But that's the first thing that came to mind. I mean, link to the.

[Mary]

That's a crazy choice. I. I would say it should be something that has like endless replayability. Like World of Warcraft where it's just like be in that world. I'm assuming. So he did not say. Darian, please confirm if the island has Internet. It's this just said. This actually just says like it's the only one you have. So it's like it's the only game. Like it should be played the rest of your life. I mean, so vast that I could play it forever.

[Dan]

You're saying it needs to have replayability. I don't think there's any game I have booted up more in my life than Punch Out. There's no game I've beaten more in my life than Punch Out. And me just saying Punch out right now. I would like to go play Punch out right now. Pretty fucking replayable to me.

[Mary]

Dan is right.

[Dan]

Thank you.

[Mary]

No, you're not.

[Dan]

I won her over. Okay.

[Mike]

Yeah, because like I my head. Like my favorite games of all time, my mind immediately goes to like Ocarina and Majora. But even then I don't like, if this is, this is forever we're talking about. Like, for the record, I don't think there's a single video game I wouldn't get sick of at some point.

[Dan]

Right.

[Mike]

However, the one that would probably keep me going the longest, Total War Warhammer 3 is definitely up there. But I'm going to try to be less predictable and something like, I don't know, like Warframe, even that kind of gets mind numbing. Like, and I want something that I can actively like. Really?

[Mary]

I love you were like, I'm not gonna be predictable.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Warframe, Breath of the Wild.

[Dan]

Punch Out. Or Zelda Shocked.

[Mike]

Yes. Breath of the Wild.

[Mary]

I am shocked.

[Mike]

Like Breath of the Wild. I wonder.

[Dan]

Honestly, I was Thinking about that last night because I was just kind of, like, fried after a week of travel and stuff, and. And I just wanted to play something that I didn't have to think too much about. And I booted up Breath of the Wild, and I have a save.

[Mary]

It's got, like, yeah, easy game.

[Dan]

Yeah. I've got three of the Divine Beast beat. And I'm like, it was so easy to pick up. I haven't played this save for a few months. And I was like, okay, okay. I've got a bunch of shrines I could do. I've got the Divine Beast. Like, I got plenty I can occupy myself with.

[Mary]

You could mine for, like, minerals and cook stuff or whatever, harvest stuff.

[Dan]

You can pick it up at any point. And it's like, okay, I'm having fun immediately.

[Mary]

Oh, that's a good pick. I feel like you could do that forever. I think maybe if I'm allowed to cheat a little bit, I would hold and say I won't play it until it comes out and then choose GTA 6, because I think. I think I could play that for the rest of my life. My prediction is that this game will have so much in it that I could play this for 10 years.

[Mike]

It's gonna be funny if it's bad, though. It's not. That would just be funny. If you waited for me and then you had to play this terrible game,

[Mary]

I wouldn't be able to play a bad game.

[Dan]

What if it just. Just sucked ass? Like, objectively? Like, it's glitchy. All the voice acting's terrible. It kind of looks like, like, very.

[Mike]

It's not fun whatsoever. And mar. At least I'm not playing Punch out

[Mary]

for the rest of my life.

[Dan]

For God's sake. One of the greatest, most refined games of all time. Okay.

[Mary]

Yeah. From like, 19 Dickity 2. This is like a modern world. You could pick any game.

[Mike]

I would also consider XCOM 2, I think, also predictable. I. But I. I gravitate towards stuff with emergent gameplay or procedural stuff, because that's where that's what I would go to. Like,

[Dan]

Eugenics is kind of like. It just kind of keeps going. That's one that.

[Mary]

I bet you could play that for hundreds and thousands of hours. I don't know if I could, but you absolutely have the ability to Even Hades.

[Mike]

I still think I would. Like, I've. I've done long stretches of Hades 1 and 2, and I still was like, like, all right, I've played enough of this game.

[Dan]

Sure.

[Mary]

I could get sick of Hades. I Think it has to have something that has a mix up in the core gameplay, like Minecraft. You can play that billions of different ways. You could be like, I'm going to build a life size replica of my grandmother.

[Mike]

I'm going to build a boat to get home.

[Mary]

Yeah. And then die on it. Yeah. I think you could do so much with that space. Creatively, problem solving, actually getting, you know, trying to beat the game. You could play that game hundreds of different ways and spend tens of thousands of hours and I don't think you would be that bored. You. You might get tired of it, but you could always try something else.

[Dan]

Ease. Eight lacrimos of Dana. That'd be up there.

[Mike]

What?

[Dan]

Eze. Lacrimos of Dana.

[Mike]

Ys. Yeah.

[Dan]

East.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Dan]

Eight lacrimos of Dana. Yeah.

[Mike]

I miss.

[Dan]

It's a lot going on there.

[Mike]

That's a fun sound bite. Just Dan continuing to say the same weird game name. Is it a desert island game, though?

[Dan]

There's a lot going on there. That combat system's great. Yeah.

[Mike]

I always pegged you for a. I shouldn't have started the sentence that way. I always had you pegged for a yeast guy.

[Dan]

Mainly yeast ate. Lacrimos of Dana. That's the only one I've played.

[Mike]

Dan got the yeast infection. I think we've talked enough about our desert island games.

[Mary]

Disgusting.

[Mike]

I'm gonna go. Weird way to say that. Thank you, Darian from Toron. Toronto. All right, Dan, this one. Toronto. I almost said Toronto. It's not how you say it, Dan. Oh, wait. Actually there is. First came named her Ava. Violet. I'm gonna cut that. It was just Christian here was showing, sent us a photo of their new kid that they had talked about. Yay.

[Mary]

I wish we could put that on the podcast.

[Mike]

I don't know if we should share babies, but.

[Mary]

Babies. It's got a round face.

[Dan]

You get it?

[Mary]

Smiling.

[Dan]

You've seen a baby.

[Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mary]

Picture a baby.

[Mike]

Dad, you want to do this one from Christian? I just cut a few things. Christian. Apologies. To get right to the question, in

[Dan]

what way are each of you still like a baby or child? Examples. Does one of you expect everyone on the street to stop and say how cute they are? This is definitely Mike. Would Mary and Christian said that, not Dan. Yeah. Yeah. Would Mary, in the middle of a meal, decide she is bored and need to punch someone right in the boob? Are any of you unable to make it through dinner without filling your pants multiple times and smiling about it? Sorry, Dan, you're the only one left you get pooping. Wish you all the best in lives. Full of many blessings in 2026. That's Christian. Now listen, Christian, I've said it before, I'll say it again and I'll tell you when something changes. I have not shit my pants past diapers age, not once. But I will tell you when I do, I will not be ashamed of it. There are many reasons an adult could shit their pants. I have not done it.

[Mary]

Genetically, you're the most likely.

[Dan]

What does that mean?

[Mary]

It's been passed down from generation to generation.

[Dan]

No, my dad just gets skid marks. He doesn't like fully dumped

[Mary]

just like a baby.

[Mike]

I shit my pants. I've talked ad nauseam about it. Yeah, the jump poop, I still am so proud of. I like, what am I still like a baby? I still sometimes wake up in the morning in the fetal position. Like, I clearly my body wanted to do that overnight when I was sleeping.

[Mary]

I like to sleep, like, not feet, not fully.

[Mike]

I do like the, like sort of curled up with my hand between my

[Mary]

legs like a ball, you know?

[Dan]

Yeah, I think I do that too. And I thought that was a weird thing. I've never heard anyone say that before. Like fetal and then like, arm under and like tucked between. It's like, for reasons comfortable. Yeah.

[Mike]

It must be more common than if, like, this is a. This is a 66% use case right here between three people.

[Mary]

Oh, three of us. This is two.

[Mike]

That's a hundred.

[Mary]

Good example of the global population. And I think it's womb. We like. It's like being back in the womb.

[Mike]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I do a lot of stuff when I'm sleeping that I don't remember. I sleepwalk and talk walk. Amanda's a safe for putting.

[Dan]

I'm glad I haven't seen you do that before. That would creep me out. I've seen you walking around and not being conscious, but it didn't have anything to do with sleepwalking.

[Mike]

Old booze head.

[Mary]

I think like a child, I have tantrums. And I am most likely to have a tantrum based on something that I think someone who has wronged me or something bad has happened. And just literally this weekend, I thought I was gonna get a game code and something went wrong and I didn't think I was gonna get it. And I went on a little rant in our discord and I said, well, if I don't get the code, I'm not gonna talk about that game. I will not be there for this part of the podcast because I don't wanna get any spoilers. And I actually stomped my foot when I was typing that to you.

[Mike]

Wow. Amanda was. We were getting ready. We did Valentine's Day yesterday. Cause we were seeing my family on the day, so we did it a week later. And we were getting ready to go out, and I was on my phone like. Like. And I literally said out loud, Amanda's like, what are you doing? I was like, mary just needs to take a deep breath.

[Mary]

I was pissed. And I was like, where is this code? I was told I was getting this code. I'm ready to have this code now. Code does not work. I am upset. And I was. And you both. I wanted you to both hear about it. And I. I did. Not only did I text in the discord, I texted Mike and interrupted his life to be like, this is a big deal.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Get into the discord.

[Mike]

Yeah. I've seen Dan get weird about game codes before. Oh, yeah, Once. Once. Once. It was at the. In the New York office when. When I was working with a physical

[Dan]

copy that was getting sent out.

[Mike]

No, I remember the game. I don't. But I remember, like, you were bothering Vinnie about something and I remember.

[Dan]

I. I remember one in New York, but it was a physical one that. I remember. I went in over the weekend to see if it showed up in the mail room.

[Mike]

No, this is something different. It was a Friday and it was getting to like 4:30pm Eastern. And you were pacing around like, why haven't they said it? Should I. Vinny's like, Dan. Yeah. This is a while ago, though.

[Dan]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Various thing. Was yesterday less defensible.

[Mary]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

Dan's grown a lot since four years ago.

[Dan]

I remember the game making peace with not getting its way. And so it's like when something is like, wait, I don't want it to be like this. I will just filibuster and just. Just be like, what? No, I. What do I need to do to get my way right now? Because it's all I'm gonna do until I get my way.

[Mike]

I have a bit of a leading question. Yeah. And please refute me. I'm not sure. I'm not trying to get you guys to. Maybe I'm wrong. Am I the most emotionally mature of US3? Genuine question. Do you. From your point of view, not saying I'm always wise.

[Dan]

I think I am. I think people would be surprised by how emotionally mature I am.

[Mike]

No, I know you're emotionally mature in some ways. I think in the way you just.

[Dan]

And, like, genuinely dealing with People and how me and Bianca are together and everything. I think I'm remarkably be emotionally mature.

[Mike]

It's a little saying.

[Mary]

You're a baby. We're saying you're lower on the totem pole than Mike, who keeps his together in almost every respect of his life.

[Dan]

Shit's together.

[Mary]

Am I.

[Mike]

Let me. Let me right that. It's a loaded question. It was unfair. Let me reframe this. Am I the most emotionally mature in situations where something's not going my way?

[Dan]

Oh, if you can deal with things not going your way, then yes, you're more mature.

[Mike]

That's what I was hinting.

[Dan]

I like my brain breaks in two if I don't get my way.

[Mike]

I know it does. And like twice our friendship, like once our friendship has become strained. I don't have a specific instance in my head, but it was. I think it was your fault.

[Dan]

I would love to know what that is.

[Mike]

Putting it peacefully. What was it? No, it's all like. That's the stuff that comes to mind is like when Dan's got an idea of how that next day or two should go in his head. And I'm like, I know better than to fuck with that now.

[Dan]

Well, because history has just shown that, like, there's always a way. There's always a way to get where you want to go. It's just a matter of how much a pain in the ass you have to be about it.

[Mike]

Yeah. Yes. Oh. Oh. I remember what it was. The getting back into msg. Oh. I really did not super like you that night.

[Dan]

That was a moment where I was like, why am I not getting what I want? Went right now. I would like to go backstage at Madison Square Garden. I was just backstage. Let me back there again. And they were. The NYPD was not having it.

[Mike]

No. The only information you had was that a guy named Chad could help us out. And the police officer, the guy I work for, the nypd. I don't even know what the fuck is going on in there. I can't let you back in. I have one job.

[Dan]

Blackout drunk and arguing with the NYPD because I wanted to go hang out with wrestlers more.

[Mike]

Yep. Now that. That. That was the literal only time I was actually like, did not want to be around you. Like you were. I was on the cops. I was on the cop side. That's how annoying you were being.

[Dan]

Like, I think at my worst, I'm just really annoying.

[Mike]

You get tunnel vision for sure. Sorry. This didn't have to become about you. I was just curious because I think

[Mary]

like the ways Dan is super annoying.

[Dan]

I can be. I, I'll own that. And I'll take that over angry or violent or anything.

[Mike]

For sure.

[Mary]

I have the temperature.

[Mike]

Emotional vice.

[Dan]

Do you not have a temper?

[Mary]

Yeah, I have a temper.

[Mike]

I think I can, I don't know, like, because Mary's got the temper, Dan's got the, like, tunnel vision. I think my. On the emotional spectrum, I think my biggest weakness within the confines of our group, I can be stubborn. For sure.

[Dan]

Mike, you do have a certain thing where it's like, ooh, boy, if you don't like someone, you, you are like, I want them dead. I like, like, you can't be in the same room without glaring at that.

[Mary]

Yeah, I wouldn't want to be your enemy.

[Dan]

Yeah. Your enemy. Very well. Yes.

[Mike]

If I don't like you, you've got problems, buddy. Like I and you.

[Dan]

I've never seen you really come around on someone. Like the people that. I could probably rattle out eight names right now. That it's just like, Mike's dead to me.

[Mike]

Listen, can you say it? And then I don't want to make more work for Jake, but you just beep and I tell you whether I've turned around on them. Is that worth it or.

[Dan]

Jake, you got to be ready with the beeps here. I'm going to also cover my mouth of the video.

[Mike]

You can't tell I'm excited for this.

[Dan]

Are you ready?

[Mike]

Okay. Yeah.

[Dan]

Example number one.

[Mike]

That guy. Him. No, I will never, ever come around on him. Keep going. Is that okay?

[Dan]

Well, that was.

[Mike]

This is fun.

[Dan]

That was number one.

[Mike]

Yeah. Oh, yeah. You started with the top.

[Mary]

That's so fun.

[Dan]

Mary. Mary, you got one. You want to take a turn? God, that one is so glaring.

[Mary]

Yeah.

[Mike]

Yeah. That was easy. That was easy.

[Mary]

Everybody dislikes that.

[Mike]

I don't think anybody likes that, guys, to be clear.

[Dan]

Wow, that was just such an obvious one that, like, I feel like there are other ones, but that.

[Mike]

Mary, I think you've got, you know, one. I almost just said way too much and, like, almost revealed who it was without the beep.

[Mary]

Oh, my God. I mean, I know people you dislike. I wonder how, like, hard we're going, right?

[Mike]

I'm just trying to see if I have come. Yeah.

[Dan]

Dan goes one. Okay, ready?

[Mike]

If I've come around on anybody, I,

[Dan]

I, I'm going to. I don't remember the exact name, so I'm just going to describe this person. Oh, that guy, I think.

[Mike]

Oh, yeah. No, I don't like him at all. That's not his name, but I know who. Exactly who you're talking about there.

[Mary]

It's not even the right name.

[Mike]

I know you got the last name correct.

[Dan]

Okay.

[Mike]

Okay. Yeah. No, no, no, no, no, no, no. Because I don't. I don't think I unfairly like anybody dislike anybody. I think I have valid reasons for all of them. Like these first two you mentioned.

[Dan]

Yeah. I don't know you.

[Mike]

Neither of you.

[Dan]

No, yeah, I'm with. Yeah, fully with you.

[Mike]

Second one, just super pompous.

[Dan]

Okay, hang on. Ready?

[Mike]

Oh, of course not. Nobody likes her either. That's not just a me thing. This is so fun. It's cathartic. As for me, I didn't mean to turn this into a therapy session.

[Mary]

That one, that's.

[Mike]

I'm trying to think if there's anyone I have done a 180 on. Oh, actually there's. There's.

[Dan]

I've got some.

[Mike]

There's an intense enough dislike where I get to that I can't come back. But like, there's. They have the opportunity to save to. To turn it around.

[Dan]

I. I've definitely had that over time where it's like people that, like. Oh, boy. It just seems like we don't like each other at all, you know, in 2014. And now it's like, oh, yeah. Hung out with these people and. Yeah. All bygones are bygones.

[Mike]

Know I said this.

[Mary]

I have one.

[Dan]

Yeah. For Mike. For Mike.

[Mike]

Oh. I never had the huge problems with her. That was more.

[Dan]

I know. I know who did it.

[Mike]

I. I don't. I don't like her, but I like. I. I never, like, intensely disliked her.

[Dan]

Okay, okay. Okay. Okay. Ready? Ready, Ready?

[Mike]

Yeah. Oh, God. No, that. That. He earned my ire for sure. Like, over a long period of time. I tried. I gave that guy chances.

[Mary]

Funny.

[Mike]

Okay, Jake, there's four. There should be four B. No, five. This is so dangerous.

[Dan]

And all of them were ones that you super hate? Well, no one. The Mary one was like, Mike didn't hate her.

[Mike]

To my credit, though, I would not care if any of these people heard this.

[Mary]

Jesus.

[Mike]

Like, I take pride in that. Like, I don't. I don't. Yeah, I don't.

[Mary]

They would know too. They'd be like, yeah, that's.

[Mike]

They all probably two. 1, 2, 3. I think all those people know except for this third one.

[Mary]

And today is the day we learned that Mike is the most emotionally mature of all of us.

[Mike]

Yeah. No, I've. I've. I'm stubborn in who I dislike, but I've Definitely there's been a couple I've turned around on. But those were not like, intense dislikes. Those were like, I don't really like this guy. I'm not this guy's biggest fan. But then later on I was like, actually, no, you know what? They. They turn around. Okay. There's been a few. After we stop recording, I'll name a few. Thank you, Christian.

[Mary]

You're on the good list.

[Dan]

I would. I would actually say I think we're all probably around the same level of, like, we all have our little things that are a little. Not as mature, but I don't think anyone's like, wildly in one direction.

[Mike]

No, no, no.

[Dan]

Yeah, no, we're doing great.

[Mike]

We're doing fine. Yeah, I think we're doing fine. And if you don't think we're. I'm gonna be stubborn. I'm not gonna like you about it.

[Mary]

Like, you're going on the list.

[Mike]

Thank you, Christian. That's our emails today. Oh, God. I got a really good. Make sure to tell Jake to be. Yeah. All right. Well, thank you, Christian. Thank you, Darian is our email section. That's our episode. Like I said. Fill that inbox back up. The more creative questions that lead to fun convos, the better. That's fireskitcastmail.com. that is episode 127. We recorded it well in advance. I'm curious to see what everybody else thinks about Resident Evil Requiem. Sounds like people might be pretty positive once the embargo lifts. I'm excited. Excited to play it too.

[Dan]

I think it's going to be very well received.

[Mike]

Yes, I might. If. If my travel. What's the word I'm looking for? If my travel travails continue, I might use the time bought back not traveling to play Resident Evil.

[Dan]

I would say, too. Like, I don't know how it's going to run on Steam Deck. I didn't try, but, like, it's one to like, you know, Like, Mary and I both had that experience, you know, at night, like, set the mood pretty hard right now.

[Mike]

Maybe I'll after Marty Supreme. Honestly, that it's rough out right now. It's. The whole world is white, especially the.

[Dan]

The. The gray stuff. The gray stuff at the Care center is like, top notch.

[Mike]

I'm more excited for that than Leon's,

[Dan]

which I want to make clear. Leon stuff's super fucking fun too. It's just the gray stuff's better.

[Mike]

Cool. All right, Dan, what do you have going on before we close the episode out?

[Dan]

We are killing it [e-mail] lately we got new stuff. We are launching. We just launched Abby's show, the Marry Me Tomodachi, which is hilarious. Tune in for that. But yeah, just go to Giant Bomb, check out the Bombcast. Blight Club's killing it. We just got so much stuff going on over there and it's all been very exciting. More to come too.

[Mike]

Cool. Mary, what about you?

[Mary]

I'm playing. I'm streaming games on Twitch usually before we talk about them here. And I think that's kind of of cool. So sometimes my very first impressions of a game will be on Twitch. I streamed Karen. That was kind of like my first reaction to it live. So I think that's a good place. And updates about my dog and normal life on Instagram.

[Mike]

Mary, I had an idea I want to run by you that's related to Resident Evil. And I'm sure people are wondering what our plans are.

[Mary]

Yes. Playing that offline it because I didn't want to put pressure on you, but what's.

[Mike]

Well, I have an idea. Yeah.

[Mary]

Okay.

[Mike]

And I don't want to. I almost don't want to mention it because if I. We don't do this and I.

[Mary]

That's my fear too.

[Mike]

I'll tell. I'll tell you after.

[Mary]

I don't want to set anything up because your. Your travel is so bad in the next few weeks.

[Mike]

It's terrible.

[Mary]

And then mine's bad in March and so I was like. What I don't want is for us to like make people wait.

[Mike]

It won't be anytime soon. But.

[Mary]

But obviously I do think we should figure out how the next Resident Evil will work. And I have some ideas.

[Mike]

Yeah.

[Mary]

So that is something we will figure out, but just due to work and travel and I also have some projects that I'm working on secretly that I have to finish too. So once all that stuff is done, then I'm in.

[Mike]

Cool. And if you're not a patron of ours, through Patreon, you can get ad free episodes and the video versions of the episodes. We also do bonus videos, recordings, et cetera, whenever we can find time to go to deepdishpussy.com that's correct. You can become a patron there or just go to patreon.com, look up fire escape cast. That's our episode. Be back in a couple weeks for episode 128. Looking forward to chatting with you guys again. Will you have been to New Orleans by then or. No. March. It'll publish on March 17th.

[Dan]

We go on the I'm looking at our next recording. No, no, we were recording.

[Mike]

Well, at some point, I want to. I want to catch up on that trip. Unfortunately, I cannot make it. I don't like Mary enough.

[Dan]

Two recordings from now will be right after.

[Mary]

I'm not on the list, though.

[Dan]

That's true.

[Mike]

Looking forward to that. No, I don't. I don't dislike you. All right. Thank you, Dan. Thank you, Mary. Thank you, everybody, for coming to. Listen, we will see you in a couple weeks. Till then, bye, Sam.