Game Scoop! 826: Real Mature, Wolverine

Summary

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Game Scoop! 826: Real Mature, Wolverine

Date: September 26, 2025
Host: Damon Hatfield
Panel: Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, Mark Medina

Episode Overview

In this week’s episode, Daemon Hatfield welcomes IGN regulars Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, and Mark Medina to break down a packed week in gaming. The show kicks off with reactions to PlayStation's big State of Play, with an in-depth discussion of the long-awaited full reveal of Marvel’s Wolverine. The crew also dives into other major games shown—like Housemarque’s Soros, Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024, and the surprise announcement of Deus Ex Remastered.
Beyond news, the panel delivers impressions of Ghost of Yotei, comparing it to both Ghost of Tsushima and Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, and critiques the latest in live service gaming with Skate and Borderlands 4. They round out the conversation with discussions of the Alien: Earth TV series finale, the Mandalorian & Grogu trailer, and finish with an in-depth video game 20 Questions focused on a classic SNES release.

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Wolverine Deep Dive – PlayStation State of Play

00:09 – 10:06

• Full Reveal after Four Years:
  Wolverine was finally shown off in detail, with gameplay and story hints after the 2021 teaser.

  • Quote (Sam, 02:56): "It's ultra violent. It's like Mortal Kombat plus Marvel."
  • Panel discusses the game's approach to violence, using robots and cyborgs to allow for M-rated action without excessive human carnage.
  • Memorable: Mark jokes about “keyboard warriors” and Daemon loves the new “blood tech.”

• Art Direction and Authenticity:

  • The look recalls '80s-'90s Wolverine comics and miniseries ("Sentinel, this is unbelievable to me... this game looks this good." – Sam, 04:00).
  • Some concern over Wolverine’s unmasked appearance, but universal praise for the costume and combat.

• Game Structure and Setting:

  • Multiple locations: Madripoor, snowy Canada, and Tokyo.
    • Quote (Daemon, 06:10): "So, three large locations or linearly?"
  • Debate: Will it be open world like Spider-Man, or more linear with action set pieces?
  • Insomniac’s pedigree ("hasn't missed in like 20 years") boosts confidence.

• Marvel Universe Connections:

  • Hints of shared universe with Insomniac’s Spider-Man, but no confirmation on direct crossovers.
  • Enthusiasm for possible cameos ("Venom would be a pretty cool character to put in a Wolverine game." – Sam, 09:30).

• Summary:
  The crew is all-in on the Wolverine hype, giving the trailer a collective "10 out of 10" (10:03) and seeing it as evidence that PlayStation is “getting back on track”.

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Soros and Other State of Play Highlights

10:07 – 20:56

• Soros (by Housemarque):

  • Not a direct Returnal sequel but spiritually similar: "This is just Returnal with a guy.” (Mark, 10:26)
  • Same roguelike mechanics, “very orange” palette, and promises easier, more accessible runs.
  • Panel debates the meaning of “roguelike” vs. “roguelite” (13:08 onwards), showing genre knowledge and humor.

• Community Reception:

  • Soros' announcement met with underwhelming YouTube chat reactions—panel blames audience expectations (“The gamers are upset set…” – Justin, 15:06).

• Microsoft Flight Simulator 2024 on PS5:

  • Surprise inclusion in PlayStation’s show.
    • First time Xbox Game Studios game received State of Play attention.
    • Discussion on industry shift: "The console war is over" (16:50).

• Forza Horizon 6 Announcement:

  • Set in Japan, will hit PlayStation after timed exclusivity.

• Deus Ex Remastered:

  • Reaction is mixed, with skepticism about developer Aspyr, known for delayed Star Wars: KOTOR remake.
    • Panel notes "not very remastered, looks like Half-Life 2 now" (19:08), but welcomes quality-of-life improvements.

• New PlayStation “Pulse” PC Speakers:

  • Panel is puzzled by the target demographic, but acknowledges the expanded accessory market ("Gaming accessories in general remain a really big business." – Justin, 20:27).
  • Fun nostalgia segment follows about vintage PlayStation hardware, including failed 3D TV experiments.

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Ghost of Yotei – Deep Impressions and Comparisons

25:10 – 43:20

• Praise for Open World and Visuals:

  • "Absolutely one of the prettiest games I've ever played." – Daemon (25:12)
  • Open structure, rich with distractions, reminiscent of Tsushima but more streamlined and vengeance-driven.
  • Panel loves protagonist Atsu's “no-nonsense” approach and immersive random encounters.

• Combat and Exploration:

  • Stealth is present, but most of the crew prefers direct combat ("The combat’s super fun, and I just want to get in it." – Sam, 29:31).
  • Skill trees, weapon variety (multi-types of katanas, spear, future access to guns).
  • Loved side mechanics: dueling, random wolf standoffs, picking up and throwing instant-kill weapons.

• Comparison with Assassin’s Creed: Shadows:

  • Both are Japanese-set open world games released the same year; Shadow gets slight edge in dynamic seasonal changes and facial animation, but Yotei wins for organic exploration.
    • Quote (Sam, 32:04): "It's less about opening a map and just seeing a trillion question marks and more about just kind of roaming around and getting lost."

• Sound, Graphical Detail, and Systems:

  • Standout comments on blood effects in water, ice surfaces, and sound design.
  • Panel notes overall technical excellence, especially with performance compared to Unreal Engine 5 games.
  • Little annoyances: can’t skip dialogue; invisible walls in exploration.

• Panel Consensus:

  • While not pushing innovation, the game’s execution stands out.
    • "It's definitely on my short list for game of the year." – Daemon (43:09).

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Other Major Reviews and News

45:35 – 57:59

• Hades 2 (1.0 Release):

  • IGN gives it a 10/10.
    • Quote (Justin, 45:42): "It's the highest reviewed game of the year on Metacritic."

• Final Fantasy Tactics and Baby Steps:

  • Tactics Remaster gets a 9/10.
  • Baby Steps receives a mixed panel reaction—respected for design originality (Bennett Foddy), but described as “miserable” (Mark, 46:39) and not kid-friendly.

• Skate’s Live Service Woes:

  • Panel laments the focus on monetization and always-online requirements.
    • Quote (A: Daemon, 50:20): “It’s just a soulless live service where everything is just designed to get, or extract, money from you.”

• Borderlands 4 & Battlefield Single Player Preview:

  • Mark is deep into Borderlands 4, loving gun variety but notes serious performance and field-of-view issues—especially harsh on Unreal Engine 5.
  • Single-player Battlefield impresses Mark: “It’s very pretty and has a lot of the stuff people love in multiplayer” (53:13).

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Extra Curriculars: TV & Movies

59:54 – 72:58

• Alien: Earth Season 1 Recap:

  • Sam and Daemon agree: decent sci-fi, weak finale ("It just felt like a regular mid to late season episode." – Damon, 60:34).
  • The show introduces lots of plot threads, but fails to resolve them.
  • Panel finds the “island” setting video game-y and wants more payoff from the monsters and cyborgs.

• Mandalorian & Grogu Movie Trailer:

  • General disappointment; panel questions the point and event status of the movie:
    • Quote (Justin, 63:49): “It’s just kind of boring.”
    • Nostalgia for Star Wars movie “event” status—feels this doesn’t capture the magic.

• Other Watching:

  • Peacemaker Season 2 receives enthusiastic endorsements.
  • “The Paper” and “The Studio” deliver workplace-TV laughs.
  • Brief Jurassic Park anecdote about family viewing and surprising “severed limb” moments.

• Star Wars Fandom Perspective:

  • A candid roundtable on personal favorite Star Wars films (Mark: Revenge of the Sith, panel teases gently).

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Video Game 20 Questions: Classic SNES Edition

73:12 – 83:56

• Game of the Week:
  SimCity (SNES version) — Developed and published by Nintendo with Will Wright’s involvement.
  • Notable for its unique features compared to PC, including Nintendo theming and involvement by Miyamoto.
  • The panel talks retro consoles, the PC vs. SNES era, and how formative early gaming experiences shaped their tastes.

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Notable Quotes & Moments

"It's ultra violent. It's like Mortal Kombat plus Marvel."
— Sam Claiborne (02:56)

"It's just oil and coolant."
— Mark Medina (03:20)

"New blood tech. How often do we get new blood tech?"
— Daemon Hatfield (05:42)

"It's less about opening a map and just seeing a trillion question marks and more about just kind of roaming around and getting lost."
— Sam Claiborne (32:04)

"[Wolverine is] everything I wanted."
— Daemon Hatfield (25:10)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• Wolverine Deep Dive: 02:09 – 10:06
• Soros/State of Play Recap: 10:07 – 20:56
• Old PlayStation Hardware/Nostalgia: 21:10 – 23:34
• Ghost of Yotei Impressions: 25:10 – 43:20
• Hades 2, Baby Steps, Skate: 45:35 – 52:56
• Borderlands 4, Battlefield, Performance Rants: 53:05 – 57:59
• TV & Movie Roundup (Alien, Mando, etc.): 59:54 – 72:58
• Video Game 20 Questions (SimCity SNES): 73:12 – 83:56

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Final Thoughts

This Game Scoop! episode is a vibrant showcase of gaming journalism culture: honest, witty, occasionally nostalgic – always focused on providing approachable yet deep analysis. New releases and retrospectives are equally valued, with each panelist adding unique flavor (and playful jabs). Whether dissecting blood tech in Wolverine or bemoaning live service models, the IGN crew strikes a fine balance between expert insight and accessible entertainment.

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Transcript

[A]

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[B]

We're back.

[A]

Justin Davis, Scoop and Mark Medina.

[C]

I'm here Damon. Clickety clackity. Clickety clackity.

[A]

It was you.

[B]

Quit typing Mark.

[C]

You got me.

[A]

You're the keyboard warrior of game Scoop. Now, we got a great show for you this week. So much to talk about. So many new game announcements and game reviews. When I woke up this morning, I didn't realize the Ghost of Yote embargo was up today. So I didn't realize we're finally going to get to talk about it. But we will. And I'll tell you how much I love it. I love it so much. A bunch of other reviews that are out right now, but of course, there is a big state of play just from PlayStation yesterday, from when we're recording this. Soros Microsoft flight sim Deus Ex Remastered. But first, they finally fully revealed Wolverine. Four years. Four years since that teaser trailer. State of play in September of 2021.

[B]

Believable.

[C]

We have B roll now. We can make videos other than that. Same Shing.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's ultra violent. It's like Mortal Kombat plus Marvel.

[A]

Yeah, it is. That was. That was kind of a.

[B]

But it's okay because it's robots, right? With lots of blood. Cyborgs with lots of blood.

[A]

Yeah, they're kind of cyborgs or something. Something's going on.

[B]

I think it's a. It's a funny, like, way to get around, like, a bunch of murder where they're like, maybe. Maybe they don't have, like, human souls. I don't know what's happening.

[C]

It's just oil and coolant.

[D]

Yeah. I'm sure there's like, such a. You can just see the meetings that happened of, like, we want it to be M and like, we just want it to be so bloody. And they use the word visceral and they're like, well, you need to make it robots, though.

[B]

Like, you can't actually.

[A]

Like, how many human beings is going, is he going to slaughter? Right, yeah.

[B]

What is this? Uncharted.

[D]

Well, and I'm sure, like, look, there's probably a pretty good story reason for why there's these, you know, cybernetic, you know, sort of people like, like, I'm excited to learn more, but it is just very funny. It's a funny way to reveal it.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I think it looks great. I'm all on board. And I love that box art in particular. It looks so good.

[B]

I know Wolverine is a generational hero, and I think we're all from slightly different ages. Generations, Damon, I think, are a year apart. And we were there for this really, really major Wolverine popularity wave in the late 80s and early 90s. And, boy, this captures that. That's what they're going for. It's like that's the weird, like Wolverine miniseries era before X Men animated hit. Like, that's what this looks like to me. I know for everybody else is going to look like every other era of Wolverine, but like the Sentinel, like this is unbelievable to me that this is. This game looks this good.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yep. I think so too. I don't, I don't. I don't know if this is controversial or not. I don't like him with the mask off. I think his face looks ugly.

[B]

People are saying that. I noticed people were talking about that.

[D]

I think it looks a little bit goofy to me. But like, I think the costume, you know, looks immaculate. Combat looks immaculate.

[B]

Is it one of those things, though, every time we see somebody that's not Patrick Stewart play Professor X, it's weird. And then all of a sudden you get used to it by the end of it. I mean, it happened with Spider Man, I guess too, until they changed it to Tom Holland.

[C]

That could be that first like close up of him and he's just like, oh, okay.

[A]

Well, I like how he's a little short too. It's just.

[D]

He's a little short.

[C]

He is a little short.

[A]

That's how he's supposed to be.

[C]

I'm a. I'm a big Spartacus fan and so this is. This is Liam McIntyre, the guy who played Spartacus after season one. And he's great. He's also Australian. So I like this trend of Australian actors playing a Canadian superhero. I'm into it.

[A]

You guys know that I love my blood and guts and they've created new blood tech for this. New blood tech. How often do we get new blood tech?

[C]

I love it.

[D]

Not.

[C]

Not often.

[B]

That's what Adamantium gets you.

[C]

Yeah. Insomniacs, this. They got the track record. I think this game's going to be great. There's no reason to think otherwise.

[A]

I'm super excited. I wonder how open it will be because, you know, the Spider man games are just in one city. You're just one location.

[C]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

Here.

[D]

I mean, you know.

[A]

Well, I'm just gonna say we know we're going to the island nation of Madripoor, the frosted wilderness of Canada and the narrow city streets of Tokyo. So three large locations or linearly?

[C]

Fine. That's fine.

[D]

Yeah, that'd be great.

[B]

Do you think you get on the, the. What's it called? The Blackbird to go between them if you need to?

[D]

Good question.

[C]

Yeah, I don't know, it's like, it looks almost linear with those action set pieces. But all of those action set pieces exist in Spider man and that's a totally, oh, total game.

[B]

So they should have said this. Actually. I guess they didn't confirm it's open world.

[D]

No, I don't.

[B]

I mean my excitement goes from 10 out of 10 to 3 out of 10 if it's, if it's linear, unfortunately. I mean, I know. Well, I know, I know it's probably still going to be good. It's just like what I want is to be able to infiltrate and sneak around in addition to chopping things up in these locations.

[A]

Think of Ratchet and Clank though. Like that was had several different areas. Several large open areas to explore.

[B]

Yeah, that's always been good. I think it's more weirdly like Yote, right? It's like Yote has a single map. It's really a bunch of areas.

[C]

Well, yeah, but like Ratchet was like.

[D]

Like oh, go ahead, go ahead. It's just, I mean Insomniac I don't think has ever made a bad game. I mean, maybe I shouldn't say ever, right? But like this is the next big Insomniac game. So it's like the hype level is like a. It's Wolverine and it's Wolverine being done in a really cool way. Right. But like even if you don't care about Wolverine at all, right, Like Insomniac is just a developer that hasn't missed in like 20 years, right? And it's like their next big, you know, either it'll be open or not, but just like, you know, their next big action adventure game, like that's reason enough for like people's hype levels to be super high, I think.

[B]

Yeah, agree. Yeah. And it's like, I mean just the fact that Marvel gets to be Marvel in this, it doesn't have to be. MCU is always really interesting. I think that worked with Spider Man. They limited it to Spider Man, Spider Man, Spider Man. But like already this has Mystique, a long running Wolverine kind of nemesis and also love interest. All kinds of crap. But like, you know, that's interesting. But that, that brings in the Sentinels, which means mutants, which is like of course like barely in the MCU still. So it's like this is all adding up to be a perfect, you know, set up to make Wolverine X Minnie and cool, which is what Wolverine should be. Because remember all these movies we've had, have had Wolverine have always had X Men around and kind of being part of it, except for Logan.

[D]

Have they talked about whether this is in a shared universe with Spider Man.

[C]

I was just going to say, I hope it's not.

[A]

No idea.

[C]

I don't want it to be. I don't want one dev to be in control of a shared universe because then it's just going to take way too long to ever, like, build up to anything.

[A]

It is.

[C]

I don't know. It is.

[A]

It's an insomniac's Marvel Universe.

[B]

Marvel is what they call it apostrophe.

[A]

S. But that, to me, that means like, okay, so does at some point does Spider man show up? Because if not, what is that? What is the connective? What is the connective tissue? Then if, you know, if a familiar face doesn't show up.

[C]

Right, right.

[D]

Like, Mark, you make a reasonable point of like, if it's gonna take him four years to make a big AAA game, like, it's hard to engage in, like, serialized shared universe storytelling. Right. So, okay, fair enough. But, like, I don't think they need to just, like, have Spider man show up for one mission and then it would be so cool. And then he can bounce. Like, that's. That's enough for me.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

Or it's just like. I mean, there's all these characters that the Spider man series, of course, has that are not really strictly Spider Man. They're. They're like, from all over the Marvel stuff now. And I don't know, like, Venom would be a pretty cool character to put in a Wolverine game.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. There's also a huge rumor that this is not the only insomniac game next year. That the Venom spin off is still going to be a thing.

[A]

Yeah, yeah, we'll see.

[D]

We will see.

[B]

Anyway, Couldn't be better, though. We. We talked last week about showing off a game and getting you hyped and showing you the right stuff.

[A]

Yeah. Nailed it.

[B]

10 out of 10.

[A]

IGN.com that's next fall.

[C]

We give this trailer a 10 out.

[A]

Of 10 next fall. I. I think, See, I think the state of play was good. I think it's a sign of PlayStation getting back on track because, yeah, they finally showed Wolverine. Big fall game. But they also showed Soros, which is in the first half of the year.

[C]

Yep.

[A]

Which is the follow up from Housemark, the Fallout to Returnal, which, Mark, I believe you're a fan of Eternal.

[C]

I'm a. I'm a fan of Housemark. I love everything they make. They only make good games. Except for Matterfall was not. Not their best. But other than that, they only make good games. Resogun Next Machina was Alienation. They. They make very good games. Yeah. This is just. This is Returnal with a guy. Yeah.

[A]

It looks very much like Returnal, which.

[C]

It looks great. I. I like that it's not just Returnal two, because I don't think that Returnal had a very specific story. Right. Which was like, that planet was an endless loop. And while this game does seem like it's going to have roguelike, you know.

[B]

Mechanics again, they said an endless shifting planet.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

There's another one. Huh.

[C]

It kind of just feels like, you know, like I. I like that they can kind of tell a different story without just sticking to this one, like, franchise over and over and over. This game's also very orange. Very, very orange.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

Probably one of the orangest games I've ever seen.

[A]

At least this particular biome that they're showing. Right.

[B]

Maybe that'll be the color of 2026. Like, muddy brown is the color of.

[C]

The Gears of War gta. Like, Florida is pretty orange.

[D]

It is the new iPhone. Like, hero color.

[B]

Exactly, exactly.

[A]

Wolverine is yellow.

[C]

Justin, did you. Did you get the orange iPhone?

[D]

I got the blue one. I chickened out.

[C]

I seeing people with the orange iPhone. But then they're getting the green case that looks like Master Chief. It's the ugliest phone I've ever seen in my life. But I chuckle at it.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

I would probably get the blue one as well.

[B]

What about those Garfield phones from the 80s?

[A]

Those are ugly. You are hijacking the show to talk about iPhones.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

We are back to Soros, Mark. I think it's interesting. Their whole sort of like, messaging about this game seems to be. Don't worry, it's easier this time because the tagline. The tagline is come back stronger.

[B]

That's great.

[C]

Yeah. Well, because the. The big thing with Returnal, like, the whole point of a rog, like, is you're supposed to. Every run you do, you come back more powerful, right?

[A]

Not necessarily.

[C]

You got far enough.

[A]

Not necessarily.

[D]

I don't know that I. Yep, I agree. Yes.

[C]

Wait, sorry, one more. What? Oh, right. Whatever. Returnal. There wasn't a lot of holdover between, you know, between your death and the next mission. There wasn't. There wasn't a lot of it. And so the game never really got much easier.

[A]

Oh, yeah.

[C]

And the runs were super long. Yeah. I don't know. I. I like Returnal. I liked it formula. I'd be fine with more of that, but if they are gonna make it a little bit easier, that's probably fine too.

[B]

Is the point you're making with rogue likes is that the thing that's getting better is you like with the witness puzzles where it's like that's the key to the game.

[A]

That's blunky.

[D]

We actually talked about this in. I don't remember if it was a staff slack or poll or something, but like rogue light versus rogue light. And then like we were split. Like we were split on like what does light mean that the genre change. Like we made it a card game or we made it this.

[B]

Yeah, I thought. I just meant you shuffled the elements in the game.

[D]

Right.

[B]

That's all it was. It's just the shuffle was in the game. Well, that's roguelike stuff.

[D]

The shuffling is the rogue part.

[B]

That's true.

[D]

The like versus light. The just like the argument was some people thought a rogue light was. You kept permanent progression run to run and you got stronger and stronger and stronger. And some people thought the. The light was. No, it's just any genre that takes those randomized runs and. And you know, skill power ups that reset between runs but puts it in a different genre other than a dungeon crawler.

[A]

No, those people are wrong. No way.

[C]

Yeah, I have no idea.

[A]

The former. The former is correct.

[B]

Anyway, we get lauded for our definitions of video game technical terms in this show, so we'll just give people away next week.

[A]

The tagline is come back stronger. They showcase the whole second chance mechanic. And then in the PlayStation Blog, the write up says you'll have the ability to upgrade your advanced combat suit and abilities if you choose to do so. So for people who don't want it to be easier, it seems like they're speaking to them too.

[C]

Goodness. All right.

[B]

I just wanted to throw out there that the audience reaction to this was not great.

[D]

No.

[A]

Oh, really?

[C]

What really?

[A]

People aren't.

[B]

I know you two are excited, Mark and Damon, but we were watching those YouTube comments.

[A]

Well, I mean. Okay, what YouTube comments during a live. Any sort of live stream are positive.

[B]

Well, if it's about Silksong.

[A]

If it's about silksong, yeah, sure. I don't know. People like Returnal. This looks like Returnal.

[B]

I would imagine people liked Wolverine to contrast.

[A]

Okay, yeah, Wolverine.

[C]

But. But why. Why didn't they like this?

[B]

I think it doesn't look graphically impressive and it looks a little janky and as a. What?

[D]

I mean, Mark, don't. Don't ask us. Like, I don't know.

[B]

That's what people are saying.

[D]

Like the, you know, the gamer. The gamers Are upset Set is like an evergreen statement that you can just apply 90% of the time.

[B]

Yeah, I'm happy to channel their frustrations. I don't really know anything about this game and don't care. So I didn't really pay attention, but I saw that that was the reaction.

[C]

Well, I think Housemark just has a style and this looks like a Housemark game. So I, I think it's. I don't know, it could be just from people not knowing the kind of game Housemarque makes.

[B]

It's because they're. They're true fans who only like resogun.

[C]

Oh, wow. Okay.

[A]

I mean, if they had announced title.

[C]

Resogun, I would be a lot more.

[A]

Excited for Resogun too.

[B]

To be fair, you could have saved them lots of money, Damon, if you were their only audience.

[C]

Yeah, just show up. Just like, just make Reso Gun too. Okay, bye.

[A]

I just also just think it's cool that PlayStation actually has two games coming out next year. That's nice.

[C]

Wow. We did it. Well, okay. PlayStation first party. There's. There's a lot of other games.

[A]

Yeah, first party is what I'm talking about.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Saros is out March 20th next year. And then in the state of play, I thought it was remarkable that they showcased Microsoft Flight Sim 2024 coming to PS5. I. Yeah, I just don't think they've ever. It's not new for Xbox games to come to PlayStation, but they've never taken time up out of a state of play to showcase an Xbox.

[B]

Well, Damon, they still haven't put a game on PlayStation.

[D]

Yeah, well, there's Gears of War, but besides that.

[A]

No, I just thought, I thought, I thought it was crazy.

[C]

I mean, I was also surprised that somebody from Microsoft had to be like, hey guys, can we be in your state of play? Like, I'm not surprised.

[A]

I mean, they have to talk. The companies have to talk and work together to make this happen. Right? Of course. Like Forza Horizon 5. Huge hit on PS5. The best selling PS5 game of the year. Is it over? The console war between these two companies is over. Right.

[C]

Well, I mean, who. The console war is over because Microsoft is leaving the console market. So then I guess you could say the console war is over.

[D]

Who do we think is more excited about Forza Horizon 5 being the best selling PS5 game of the year? Is Microsoft or Sony more pumped about it to win?

[C]

Microsoft. But like, what's so funny is that's.

[D]

So embarrassing to both companies in different ways.

[A]

You're right. That's really good.

[C]

But Mark, you're also announced.

[A]

Yeah, go ahead.

[C]

They also announced Forza Horizon 6 today and said that it is coming to PlayStation, just not at launch.

[A]

Yeah, of course it is. I'm excited for that. It's set in Japan.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

What a setting for a Forza.

[C]

I cannot wait.

[A]

That will be fantastic.

[B]

Smokes.

[A]

Microsoft flight sim is coming December 8, so not too long.

[B]

And then they showed that. I was like, oh, is this James Bond? That plane looks really good because they had that plane level that they showed in James Bond and then they showed the Malaysia Airlines thing and I was like, oh, this is going to be like a game about that really horrible incident. But no, it was just Flight simulator in the end.

[A]

Don't make a game about that.

[B]

Well, there was a disappeared Malaysia Airlines flight. It's like famous. I was surprised they showed that airliner.

[A]

And then they announced.

[B]

Sensitive topic.

[A]

They announced Deus Ex Remastered, which I was excited for. I've never played D6. I would love to, you know, play it in a modernized version. It is coming from our old friends that aspire though.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Who announced the. What is the. What is that Star wars game?

[C]

Star Wars.

[A]

The Old Republic. Knights of the Old Republic.

[C]

Republic.

[A]

Yeah, they announced that at the same state of play that the Wolverine was announced at. Back at. Back in 2021. So.

[B]

So do we have to pull like a George R.R. martin be like, finish the books with.

[C]

I think they just messed up anything.

[B]

That they work on that's not Star Wars.

[C]

I think they went to go work on Star wars and then they were like, oh no, we've been working on Deus Ex all this time.

[B]

If Republicans are looking like this though, I don't think we want it. Right?

[D]

No, I mean this game is not very remastered. It looks like Half Life 2 now, which is interesting. I don't even know that that's the wrong call. They talked a lot about quality of life improvements and some basic stuff like that that I think might go a long way to make that game feel more playable in 2024.

[B]

That's like those Banjo Kazooie magituh remakes. It's like, you know, make them widescreen, you make them, you know, play well and you have this game preservation reason for it. I've never played this game. I played the third one. I thought it was pretty boring. So I don't think I'm gonna go back.

[A]

I liked both mankind divided and human revolution. Is that what it was?

[C]

Revolution?

[A]

Yeah, I liked him. Good time. This one's coming February 5th, which means it actually misses the 25th anniversary, which is this year. And then they announced these Pulse speakers, which I thought were a little. Okay, there are desktop. They're desktop speakers. I don't really know what the market is, the demand for that. Obviously PlayStation games come to PC, but I would think any serious PC gamer already has an audio set up, so I don't really know who that's for. But then again, people ended up liking the PlayStation Portal, so what do I know?

[B]

I know they really did.

[D]

It is. I mean, you make a good point. I honestly hadn't really thought about it too much. I just kind of glossed over this part of the presentation. But like, gaming accessories in general remain like a really big business. So, you know, I, I don't know, like, yeah, it's strange. Where did this come from? Right? Like, how does a product like this exist? But like, someone at Sony is like figuring out like, wow, we sold a lot of PS Portals. We're selling a lot of like, accessories and extra controllers and other stuff like that.

[B]

So the brand.

[D]

Yeah, maybe that's where this came from.

[B]

I bet they sound great. I mean, Sony knows how to make speakers. That's one nice thing about it.

[C]

Well, and given that like sound bars are the thing. Right. Like, I don't know anybody who uses their TV speakers.

[B]

I do.

[C]

Do you? I do not.

[B]

Yeah, it's weird, I know, but like, I'm just. I don't want a sound system. I. Do you remember when PlayStation released a 3D television?

[C]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[B]

I want one so bad.

[C]

The one specifically for PS4.

[A]

You want one today?

[B]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want one in the box that I could keep forever.

[A]

Okay.

[B]

That's such a cool piece of hardware. They're just like, they have like 3D, the 3D glasses, era of everything. I just, I love it.

[C]

Gosh. You remember 3D TVs.

[D]

Yeah, it was, it was like the last CES. Well, no, because I went back to CES one. The last one I went to, you know, before I started going back was like 2012 and 3D TVs were everywhere that year and they were just trying so hard to make them happen.

[B]

And then, and then the Hobbit was in theaters. You couldn't avoid 3D.

[C]

Yeah, my father in law watched Superman in 3D. He's like, yeah, I watched it in 3D and I was like, oh, wow.

[A]

Like, which Superman 70?

[C]

The new one. The one that just came out. Yeah, I, I was, I was taken aback that it exists and that people are paying to go watch it in 3D.

[D]

I would go out of my way to not see that. A movie in 3D.

[C]

Yeah. I. I thought we were.

[B]

Yeah, you have to do that. All the megaplexes in California, they'll still have 3D. That. And then they have the worst one, which is 4D.

[C]

Oof. Yeah, 4D.

[B]

Which is where. Where they. Where they shake your seats and spray water on you.

[C]

Yeah. I've seen one movie in 40. There it is. There's the TV.

[B]

Oh, that's so cool.

[C]

The rounded sides on the side. Yeah. It looks like a psp.

[B]

Oh, it was small. And the big deal. The big deal is that it had the two views.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

That's why it was expensive. And small is because it has two screens.

[C]

They can't screen peak.

[A]

Yeah, you get.

[B]

But both person gets a full screen. It's a total dorm room play. And I think that's funny.

[C]

That's great. Look.

[B]

That guy could really use some Sony desktop speakers around.

[A]

He really could.

[B]

Yeah. His vaio, his Sony printer, his Sony television, and probably a Sony lamp.

[A]

It's good. Okay. That was the state of play, which I thought was pretty good. Now we can finally talk about Ghost of Yotei. Jin's review is out now.

[C]

Sorry, real quick. I love that it ended with it saying, super sleek, slim design. It's all that thick.

[A]

Four inches thick.

[B]

Yeah. Do you remember the era would they cut. They figured out how to get the sides of the TV slim and maybe the top, but then there was a big chunk on the back of it. And like, whatever size that was, sometimes it was like, you know, three by three feet of, like, chunk. And so it's like every instance didn't mean anything. It just meant that you had a thin TV 3 inches off your wall.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Sorry.

[B]

What a world.

[A]

Good time. If you're still overpaying for wireless, it's time to say yes to saying no. At Mint Mobile, their favorite word is no. No contracts, no monthly bills, no overages, no hidden fees, no bs. Here's why you should say yes to making the switch and getting Premium Wireless for 15 bucks a month. Isn't that right, Seth? I don't know about you, but my local cell phone provider always has signs.

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[C]

And that's all that's happening to me is I. My clock says I played 28 hours and I am not very far at all. I can't help it.

[A]

But you like it.

[C]

But, oh, yeah, I have a lot of skill points because that's how you get them in this game, is by finding the altars and stuff like that. Yeah. I think we'll start with graphics. It's gorgeous. I'm playing on PS5 Pro, which has a pro ray tracing mode, and it is jaw dropping. I would say that, like, I would say that desk training probably edges it out a little. Only because this game is like, you know, it's kind of like Kingdom Come, Deliverance. Right? Really, really pretty open grass fields where it's like death stranding. Probably had a little bit more going on. Not to say this looks bad at all. It looks fantastic. It plays a lot like Tsushima. They change stances for weapons, which is great. And yeah, I really like Atsu. I think she's great. I think she's like, they. They kind of took away a lot of the, like, kind of samurai stuff. Like, he has his, like, honor and doesn't want to, like, assassinate. They just give her a knife right at the beginning. She just kills everybody. She doesn't care. No, I think she's great. Erica Ishii did a really good job. Looks just like her. And yeah, I really like the hat. The. The. The chance things that happen. Right. You stumbling upon a vendor or you creating a camp and somebody, like, rolling up and being like, can I share some fish? With you and stuff like that.

[A]

And sit down.

[C]

They do, and then you sing them a song. It's great. Yeah, no, I like it a lot. I think it's really, really, really fun.

[B]

Can't skip any dialogue. And so when. When people do sit down at your camp, I'm like, please, please, no people this time. And then they sit down. Like, I was just walking by and I smelled the scent of fish. Would you like to hear my life story?

[A]

Nope, nope, nope.

[C]

Oh, I also like that the game has kind of like baby stealth. Like, it's very forgiving stealth.

[B]

I played a lot of this game, and I've not really stealthed at all. Or if I do, like, I just. Like. Yeah, I'd rather combat in the same this game. So I'm surprised to hear myself say that because the combat's super fun, the combat, and I just want to, like, get in it, you know, And I'm pretty good at it. I feel like I'm good at countering in this game compared to other games because I guess I still have my training wheels from the first one. Like, it all feels familiar, but, like, something about it. Yeah, I. I've been. I've been parrying well, and so some of those duels are really hard, and you have to work towards them.

[D]

How does it compare to Assassin's Creed?

[B]

Well, Justin, I'm glad you asked. The one thing that nobody will want to hear us talk about. It's not as pretty. I think it's the exact same story, so that's interesting to see them. It is crazy.

[A]

It has the same opening.

[B]

Yes, well, but the SATs creed opening, we all came here and talked about how awesome it was. They played that cool surf song, and it was really fun. It drew you through it. This game doesn't. It's not as good as that. I like the switching between the characters in the end in Assassins, and I like the infiltration of castles and stuff in that game. This game has some edges in combat. Just general. Just, like, the interest of stopping in the open world, I think just has a little bit of a slight edge. Even though all that's always good in Assassin's Creed. Yeah, they're very comparable. And there's parts in this where I'm like, this is really pretty for a different reason. But in terms of what they're both doing, it's really interesting. Assassin's Creed does the thing where you change the seasons change. And, like, it's. That's remarkable that the entire game has four maps and they all are immaculate. In their changes. Right. This game has regions that kind of substitute for that. There's a fall, like, region.

[A]

There's a snowy region.

[B]

Looks great. I'm in that right now. Like, it's totally good. So that's not as impressive though. But that's fine. It's. It doesn't matter. Like, but if you. If you have to, like, really, like, put these side by side, like. Like, they're so. I would say they're so similar. Like, it's kind of. Kind of surprising, you know, I mean, like, it's not a bad thing. They're just similar.

[C]

This one has exploration a lot more like Tsushima than Assassin's Creed. Right? So it's like Assassin's Creed. You climb up, you do the eagle thing, and it tells you where everything is. And then you just go and do the things where. This game, mostly the same concept, but it happens a little bit more naturally where it's like you get map fragments and then you're like, okay, I'll go there. Or like, a bird will fly in front of you and you're like, oh, I gotta follow this bird. See where he's gonna take me. Or a fox. So it's like, it's less about opening a map and just seeing a trillion question marks and more about just kind of roaming around and getting lost. It feels a little bit more organic if.

[B]

If nature was like, pretty close to comparable, which I don't think it is. I think Assassin's Creed has the edge on that. This has amazing nature. It's like, it's unbelievable. Like, these games that people make now are just incredible. This is a 10 out of 10 graphics. Assassin's Creed is better, but it's also a 10 out of 10 graphics. Right. Like, it's just amazing. What Assassin's Creed also had was just. It had better facial animation. Like, we all talked about it at the time. It just had. It has the edge on stuff like that.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

I don't know why, like, this game still, like, if you had never seen Assassin's Creed in your life, you'd be like, this is the most amazing, you know, Japanese set game ever made. You know, it's just a weird year.

[C]

Shadows was really good at doing that. Like. Like, I've never been to Japan, so maybe it's not. Or it is like this, but who knows? It has that, like, idea of what Japan is like, where it's like, there's just like, poppy flowers just flying, there's just leaves everywhere. And that's. That's. That doesn't happen as much in this game unless you go into the photo mode and you turn on leaves.

[B]

When it does though, it does it just as well. Like, it's really amazing when you're going through a field and you join up pack of horses and you're running with them across a field of flowers. It's unbelievable. There's no other game that's ever done anything like that. And it makes you look at this and be like a Zelda. Like, this would be even better. This is a combat focused game about exploration. We're just getting to the point where open world is getting really exciting and I think Witcher is going to be really exciting stuff.

[C]

But.

[B]

There'S elements of this game which I think push the limits of just why you want to stop and do stuff. Like, I actually want to go. Just the reviewer said this too. But I want to stop at the villages that are combat villages just because there's pretty good rewards in them and it's really fun to fight and kind of. I die a lot and I think that's cool. That's different than a lot of open world games where I take it easy to explore. It makes me want to go get into conflicts and do the standoffs. And the wolf standoffs are so cool.

[C]

I love picking things up and throwing.

[A]

I was just gonna say there's random weapons lying around that you can pick up.

[B]

Those are great.

[A]

Throwing at someone for an instant kill, it's so good.

[B]

Did you see that? There's a perk where you can do that and it happens to summon the wolf sometimes.

[C]

Oh, funny. I do like when you die and the wolf shows up and he's like, yeah, I. I don't actually know what triggers it. And so every time I die I'm like, yeah. And then the dude rolls up and stabs me and I'm like, oh, well, wolf didn't save me from that one.

[B]

Yeah. In the. Have you done any of the wolf tree yet? Yeah, yeah. So some of those have. It's so funny because every time I'm talking it shows like these things we're talking about. But it's very well matched. B roll. But the wolf tree has a little bit of like unlockable. I think it's like the. The blanket out ones that are like makes the wolf appear more often for different things. And one of them is like bridge throwing, spare weapons. And one of them is just appearance and yeah, it's great.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

I'm playing in Japanese.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

Yeah. Cool.

[C]

I am playing in English. As I revealed Earlier.

[A]

I like the. I like the new weapons. I like the. The. The very. The variety that you get out of the weapons. You got single katana, double katana, a huge sword that's good for brutes.

[C]

A real big katana, real big sword.

[A]

Big sword, kind of like whatever. Clouds. What's. What's the name of Cloud's sword?

[C]

Buster sword.

[A]

Yeah, the buster sword. Japanese buster sword.

[C]

And then the spear.

[A]

Yep, you have a spear. And then I don't have the sickle and chain yet. That's what I don't have. And I don't have a rifle or a musket, but apparently the guns are fun to use as well.

[C]

Oh, I don't have a musket either. I didn't even know that was.

[B]

I have the karagama. Yeah, it has a. That's apparently the. The. That used for shields is what you learn when you get that one. So it's like the ball end you like smash shields with and then the stabby and you finish them off with. So I thought that was a cool balance thing.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, I'm excited to check it out. Like, I. I bounced off of Shadows for a couple of reasons. One, I found that the main character in the storyline was just absolutely, utterly humorless with just like. I was just not interested in that revenge story very much at all. And I also found the open world and shadows to just be a little bit boring and a little bit unrewarding to be like, ooh, I wonder what's over there. And like, there was just a couple too many times of like, okay, there's nothing interesting over there. And then I ended up.

[B]

I ended up bouncing or if it's. It's the same thing that's in every Assassin's Creed game, right? Like, yeah, it's one of those.

[C]

Again, I. I love now way. But I. I do think ATSU is a little bit better of a protagonist. I think she's got a lot more personality.

[A]

I think I actually prefer now a. A little bit more. But you know, but Justin. I agree.

[B]

Well, now I did those little. That Damon and Damon loves so much. You know, every once in a while you just jump.

[A]

Really cool. Yeah. She just do a flip over a fence or something.

[C]

Oh, yeah, that's great. You go hold circle and make her do all sorts of things.

[A]

In Yotei, there's not just like a forest of trees that I can't get through. Lanterns and shadows all the time. I just can't get through these trees. Although I do. I do scoop nation will Be happy to hear. I ride my horse a lot in yote.

[D]

Okay.

[B]

Oh, yeah, you have to ride your. Well, I disagree with what you just said. Like, Assassin's Creed's A Lot is actually an open world where this game has a billion parts of it which are not open. You just hit the wall.

[A]

I don't.

[B]

And sometimes that's a forest.

[A]

I don't think.

[B]

I mean, if you look at the map, the map is like, it's like this weird channeled, like, it's like this big island, but the island is not the open world. The island, it's like this channeled part of the island that's the open world. So if you hit those edges, it's like these weird false edges. But what you're talking about is a different issue, Assassin's Creed, where you're like, you can just run either into trees because they're thick or the size of a cliff or whatever.

[C]

But.

[B]

But you can hack your way up things like Skyrim. Like, you can get on a horse if you ever get on horses in video games and get up lots of those hills.

[C]

Yeah, I'm just gonna. I feel like I say this every week. I have to do my session where I bash Unreal Engine 5. The two best looking games this year, neither of Destroying and Yotay do not run on Unreal Engine 5. And they are, man, the. The performance is like, near flawless. Like, I have not encountered any hitching, any frame drops. And it's like I'm playing that next to Borderlands, which is one of the worst performing games of the year. So switching between the two has been. Has been. Has been fun. I. Man, I hate Unreal Engine 5.

[B]

I have a game switching thing I'm doing right now. But before that, I really, really like that you go to sleep on your horsey like a pillow.

[C]

Yep, sure do.

[B]

And then when you wake up the.

[C]

Horse, you're like, jabs him. She's like, all right, time to get off.

[B]

What's really great?

[C]

What color is your horse?

[B]

I just stuck with the default.

[C]

Me too.

[A]

I haven't changed.

[B]

I just. That's always the reward horse and like shadow the classes and stuff. So I'm like, oh, my God.

[C]

I just. Because, you know, you play for that hour and in that hour, we formed a bond that I couldn't break. And also, like, I already had that. I found that. That dive vendor to the west and made all of my clothes pure white. And so I thought it would be cool to have a white horse as well. So. Yeah.

[B]

So this Game has really hard stuff in it. It has these kind of, you can be unprepped and get into a duel and like, it'll eventually say, like, give up this duel because you're just doing so badly, which I think is funny. But you don't have to. You generally know when that's going to happen. You can kind of. You can go and bulk up and be ready for them. Even the side quest ones. They're not going to throw too hard of stuff at you. Although you can get yourself into some trouble. But there's a lot of times in this game where you're just like, I'm just not feeling that tonight. I'm just going to do my exploration and see the beauty and talk to people, stuff like that. I'm also playing Silksong still and that game doesn't have that option ever. Like, you're just going all in. You're like, every minute I'm spending here is suffering. And it's really, really nice to have people. This game have the kind of balance of like I could choose between them and I just beat the last judge and Silksong and it was one of the hardest boss fights and it was totally crazy.

[A]

Okay, a few more things to say about Yotei. First, two things about water. I think this game has the most realistic blood in water effects I've ever seen.

[B]

Ooh.

[A]

You cut someone down. You cut someone down in like a stream. The blood will come out cloudy and will float downstream and then eventually just dissipate. It looks, looks. It looks amazing.

[C]

It's so.

[B]

Have you seen the frozen lake yet up north?

[A]

I don't think I've. No, I don't think so.

[B]

It's cool. This frozen waterfall is in frozen lake. But the frozen lake has this kind of like glacial blue and then it has this like sheen over it and it's doing some kind of light reflection casting, but it's like, it looks unbelievable. Best ice.

[A]

I like, I love that.

[C]

Real good ice.

[A]

All the bodies of water in the game, the lakes, the rivers, nothing is more than ankle deep. You can just run through any body of water.

[B]

The sound design, you can, you can swim in the ocean and you can dive there.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

You just died.

[C]

Oh, cool.

[A]

Yeah, the sound design is amazing. I love in the fights, like the sound of your blades going into your enemies and like.

[B]

Yeah, it does sound good.

[C]

Huh?

[A]

And then like after the battle, you know, she's like get, you know, splats.

[C]

All the blood on the ground. I love it so much.

[A]

That's also good. But even just moving around, even just moving around. The menus in the map, the sound design is awesome. Everything. Everything just sounds cool.

[B]

Now that you mentioned that a lot of the. The cues from the combat are actually like audio because you kind of know when you've killed somebody just because they. They crunch in a specific way and then you move on. You know, I really like that. I think I'm really getting used to that.

[A]

I'm playing with my pulse headphones. Everything sounds great. Like in the first one, you can look out around the countryside. You see smoke sack or, you know, smoke plumes, whatever they are. Yeah, that's where things are to go. I found myself on top of a hill, you know, looking around at all these smoke plumes I could go to. And I wanted a glider so badly to jump off things.

[B]

Like the same thought. Maybe, maybe it'll be like horizon and have that.

[C]

One of those first skills you got to get is the one where you. Where you. If you push circle.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

You can jump. You do that like roll. Because like, dude, it drives me crazy. Like you don't have that much where she'll just land and be like, oh, die. And so that. That thing was great. I also love that the, the smoke plumes, the white ones are the good guys, black ones are the bad guys.

[B]

Well, and there's a specific.

[C]

Are they burning different wood?

[B]

The really important hot springs, as they. They extend your life.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

If you, if you get to know what those look like, they look like an actual real hot spring in real life where it's like thicker and it's like kind of pumping upwards instead of wafting upwards. It's so cool looking.

[A]

Yep. You have some consumables that are fun to use. Like, like these firebombs that you can throw at enemies. I think it's super fun just to throw your enemy or set your enemies on fire. And finally, this is just a game that I like to hang out in. I like, I just look forward to it every night. Just to hanging out in this open world, running around, exploring and then getting super fun combat. It's great. I love this game. I, you know, I haven't finished. It feels more like a 9 out of 10 to me personally. It's definitely on my very short list of games of the year. So, Justin, how does all this sound to you?

[D]

I think it sounds great.

[C]

Cool.

[D]

I've been playing. I'm like, what? It's 120 hours into my current factorio save and I'm just starting to run out of of. I'M running out of steam a little bit, literally and figuratively. And so I, I'm like interested in emerging from this, you know, conveyor belt fugue state that I've been in for weeks. And, and I'm interested in checking out some new games. So yeah, I'm definitely interested in checking it out.

[A]

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[C]

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[B]

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[C]

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[A]

Well, there are a lot of new games coming out. Hades 2 the 1.0 version is out. We gave that a 10 out of 10.

[D]

10 out of 10.

[C]

So now that's Super Giant, man. They don't miss.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

It's the highest reviewed game of the year on Metacritic.

[A]

On OpenCritic, it's the second highest because there's that one Dungeon crawling, Teach yourself Japanese game, but only has seven reviews. So you take away that outlier. Yeah. Hades 2 and I played a bit of this when it first launched into early access. I liked it a lot and figured, okay, I'll just wait till this is in 1.0. So yeah, I will definitely play this.

[C]

I have it on switch too. And it is perfect. It's great.

[A]

Excellent. Our review of Final Fantasy Tactics is up to you. Give that a nine out of ten. That's out next week. I know. I'm so excited for that. I don't know where I'm going to find the time to play all this stuff. We gave baby steps a 9 out of 10 as well.

[C]

Dude, I played Baby Steps yesterday. Miserable, miserable, miserable. Awful game. I don't know what Travis Northup is thinking.

[D]

Miserable in a good way.

[C]

I thought it was awful. I played like 30 minutes. I fell down a hill. I could not get back up the hill. It's the most miserable 30 minutes of a game I've ever played. I respect what it's doing. I respect the whole like Bennett Foddy weirdness and whatever. I thought it was awful.

[A]

Well, I thought maybe this would be fun to play with Kingo, but they're blurring out parts of the game that maybe it's not kid friendly.

[C]

Yeah, well, so the point, the first thing that pops up on the screen is do you want to turn the nudity off?

[A]

Ah, okay.

[C]

Like that's the very first thing.

[A]

Okay.

[C]

So you can, you could turn it off, I guess it looks like that you could play a demo. It's. That's what I played. It's got one of those one hour trial demos on. On PlayStation and I was like, cool, Do I want to spend the 18 bucks on this game? And I do not.

[A]

Nope.

[C]

I couldn't even make it through the trial. I thought it was quite miserable.

[D]

Yeah, I mean, I. I'm not, not really a fan of these. I mean, this is a game by Bennett Foddy, so I guess it's not a Bennett Foddy type game. It just is a Bennett body game. This style of, you know, getting over it. Yeah. Yeah. Just like rage games. Right? Like not really my thing. But what makes me more interested about this And I can't vouch I haven't played it yet, but just like, apparently it's a commentary on, you know, AAA game design. Design and, you know, kind of a parody and commentary of just like, masculinity and gamers in general. And all of that makes me more interested to kind of check out what Bennett Fati's been up to for so many years.

[C]

Yeah. I got stuck here so long. Look at that cliff, man. That cliff couldn't be more miserable to try to get up. Yeah, they cut it because it probably took him an hour to get up there.

[D]

Yeah, I'm into it, man.

[B]

I play it.

[A]

Yeah. I'm curious.

[C]

Every moment that I thought, okay, I'm getting this. I. Then I would just. Yeah, this is the.

[A]

I mean, but that crap that would happen, sliding down the hill like that. My son would think that's hilarious. It's just like what we're talking about, the 100 Ways to Die in Breath of the Wild.

[C]

Right. It's funny because my wife was watching. She was cracking up the whole time. Because the first thing you do in the game, the first thing you do, because it doesn't teach you how to play, the first thing you do is you hold up on the joystick because you think, well, this is how I walk. And your character just face plants on the ground. Because that is not how you walk. You walk using R2 and L2. But it is like, I. I would never be able to do what is happening on screen. No. No way. No way would I. I could do that. I could do the part where he falls flat on his face, but I would not be able to climb. Like, climbing. No. I'm glad I quit it because I would rage. Quit, Man, I was miserable playing this game.

[A]

Yeah. Well, I'm. Like I said, I'm curious.

[C]

You guys will probably love it.

[A]

And then there's skate.

[D]

Yeah. Or Skate.

[C]

Second Escape.

[B]

Very similar games.

[D]

I mean, I was very amused by all the skate footage. I saw people somersaulting everywhere around the game world and how that's. That's fat. A faster way to move than actually skating. It's great. To be fair. That's also like Ocarina of Time. It's faster to roll. I don't really.

[C]

That's. That's what they're going for.

[A]

Yeah.

[D]

I mean, it's like this one, two punch. It's like this double whammy of, like, you know, the game's not very good. So. Okay. Like. Right. Got a 4 out of 10. But then it's like, it's it's like Skate, it's this beloved franchise that people are so pumped to come back. So it's like been so long extra and so insulting that it's bad.

[A]

Yeah. And just the reason it's actually, I don't think the gameplay is actually terrible.

[B]

It's just, it's the live service.

[A]

It's just a soulless live service where the whole everything is just designed to get extract money from you. Right.

[C]

Oh, that's too bad. Even in early access that's a terrible sign.

[D]

Yeah, I mean I think the gameplay is not that good. Like I haven't played it but like it's not, it's getting.

[B]

No, we did laud that the fundamentals like kind of how skate works is working and everything. Like the kind of, you know, you don't, you don't press up on the D pad to go just like in last game.

[C]

We're looking at.

[B]

Yeah. That type of stuff. So at least that's good.

[A]

I think you're a big skate fan, Sam. I'd love to hear your thoughts.

[B]

I'm a huge skate fan. I don't want to play a live service game. I don't want to play a game with a bunch of multiplayer stuff that I have to play by myself. Like I, it's also, I don't want to play with other people.

[A]

It's always. It requires an online connection. You have to be online.

[B]

Yeah, I'm a huge fan of Skate one and two. I think they're so fun and I, I at this point I just hope we get a, a super up res collection of those because they're that good and I play those. And like what was interesting is that, you know, they, they kind of like looked at Tony Hawk and they like, they kind of were like, how do we make this less goofy and more about street skate culture instead of X Games culture? And I think that was like really smart and cool. Even though they put in the X Games in it, they had it. But like the second game had that like it had Thrasher in it. Like Thrasher magazine was in it and you could like break your bones and it would do like a bone thing. Like this is Thrasher. You the stupid, what was it called, the side sidekick phones in it too, which is funny. But they were just trying to like get like they got like old and contemporary skaters in that like mattered that were cool. They got brands in that like mattered that were cool. And then they just made this game about like trying to pull off, you know, a trick or a gap on like a really like a set of stairs in front of an office. And it was really fun. Like that's what why people skate. That's what makes it cool. And I thought it was great. And then like the super like air tricks and everything, they brought those in Skate three and I don't think they did it poorly, but Tony Hawk was already doing that. Skate 2 did a little bit of that. But it was like I love just the downhill and the, you know, the trick based skate stuff. I thought it was really smart and cool and that skate culture is still around kids still skating.

[A]

Oh yeah.

[B]

It would be really great to bring that back.

[A]

Yeah, it's too bad. Cause it's been a long time. It's just kind of, it's kind of a, it's kind of the EA cliche at this point.

[B]

Yeah, I mean I even want to try every game and give her things a fair shake, but I just watch and read what we've covered of this. I'm just like, I don't, I don't have time to play this game game. Like I like even trying it.

[D]

You know.

[A]

There is a lot to play right now.

[C]

Real quick, speaking of ea, I. I did the preview for Battlefield Single player.

[A]

I wanted to ask you about this.

[C]

Oh, I, I thought it was really fun.

[A]

That's good.

[C]

I think it's really, really good.

[A]

But is it designed?

[C]

I think people will like it.

[A]

Is it designed for co op?

[C]

No, it. No, it's not. Okay, well, yeah, it's not. I even asked them, I was like, can it be co op? And they said no. Which was strange given that it seems very co op Y and this is the first time that. Not the first time ever, but this is one of the first time in a long time that Call of Duty is doing co op. And this seems like it would be like perfect for that. But no, it's just you, you. There are four members on your squad and as the missions go, you play as different characters. So you'll be the engineer or you'll be the recon or you'll be the, you know, gunner and stuff like that. Like, I don't, I don't want to overhype it and say that it's doing anything that like completely blew me away. I. It's very pretty and it has a lot of the stuff that people love in multiplayer in this. Like you see somebody on a balcony, you could throw a, you know, shoot an RPG at it and the balcony crumbles. And like I, I just thought it was really fun. I. If you like military shooters, which I do. I do like the campaigns for like Call of Duty and stuff like that. So I thought it was good. I thought it was very, very pretty. So check out my preview if you are interested.

[A]

I would totally play a good battlefield. Single player campaign.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

Sign up.

[C]

I thought it was great.

[D]

Military thrillers, like, I think we're all down for that once in a while.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Call of Duty was amazing last year. Single player was so good.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Yeah. Mark, are you still playing Borderlands 4?

[C]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, 100%. I was going to ask you if you played it at all.

[A]

I. By my. By the counter on my PS5. I played 43 minutes.

[C]

Oh, no.

[A]

But. No. And I want to play. I really, really do. I just love Yote so much. It's.

[C]

I can't. I can't.

[A]

I can't pull myself away from Yote.

[C]

Yeah. I really do. Are you in the open world yet?

[A]

No, I don't even think I got out into the open world. I was just playing. There's like an escape sequence in the beginning. I think I'm still in there.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, no, I. I'm getting everything I.

[A]

Want to get and then move on.

[C]

Oh, okay. That makes. Well, that's probably good because there was a patch today that got. That helped fix the memory leak issue. So hopefully that I haven't had time.

[B]

To test the field of view thing that people really wanted.

[C]

And then the field of view has been an issue since the game came out. You move very, very slow in the game because the field of view is very, very low. And so enemies are never that far away from you and you're like sprinting and it feels like you're barely moving and it just is like, it's still fun. It's been totally fun to play. But like, I cranked up the FOV for a video we're making to test it out and it just feels so much faster and so much more fluid that I'm like, all right, now I'm. Now I'm super in. But no, I love it.

[B]

It's such a cool dev thing. Until I kind of like think about and how. How much that that matters. And they're probably worried about, you know, game performance. Right. But once you get that wider, then everything feels more like a first person shooter.

[C]

Yeah, he. The. The patch notes even say, like, if you crank up the FOV too much, you could see a performance dip. But I cranked it up quite a bit and did one of those. Like, it's like the propaganda speaker things where there's just loads and loads of enemies and it seemed totally fine. Yeah, I love it. I think I've played this like 56 hours where I've only played Yote, like maybe 25. This is just scratching that itch, man. I just. I love killing things in this game. And the moment you get bored of a gun, you out level it and you get some crazy new gun that you didn't expect to exist, but it does and it's super fun. I like it a lot.

[A]

Yeah, I will definitely play it. But I thought it was interesting that the Switch 2 version was delayed indefinitely just recently.

[C]

Not surprised.

[A]

Less than a month out. Delayed indefinitely.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah, that was. I mean, that's the right call. Like this game I've been playing on PS5 Pro and it's. It. It. That memory leak issue is no joke. After like an hour, I. In the video we're making, I had saved some footage of me just. I'm not fighting, I'm not nothing. And you just see the game's running at like 25 frames with nothing happening. So like, if that's happening on the most powerful console, I can't even imagine what it's like playing.

[B]

I can't watch this footage anymore. We've shown this so much on Gamescape. Drives me crazy. Invisible wall footage.

[D]

How does the. How do memory leaks like that not get caught?

[C]

I don't know.

[D]

How is that not caught in like QA?

[B]

It reminds me of using Photoshop in 2007.

[C]

Too many layers.

[A]

Yeah.

[C]

My guess is that. Is that guns are. Are dropping and you're not picking certain things up and they just do not despawn. Like, that's the only thing because, like, you'll. You'll be playing. The game will be running at like sub 30fps and then you just back out to the main menu and you go back in 60. You're like, where did. What happened? And it just. The world needed to reload and get rid of all the trash that's been left behind. Yeah, that's the. That's the only. My only guess for what's happening. Also, it's Unreal 5, which is the.

[D]

Worst way back in the day. I think that's why Skyrim on PS3 was broken. If I remember right, is that like never despawned anything in the game world except that one. I. I don't think got fixed. I think your save file just got like, bigger and bigger and bigger until the game just like it had a.

[C]

Memory cap on the Save file. And it would just hit it and then that's it. You just like, couldn't play the game anymore. Oh, man.

[D]

Something like that.

[C]

Yes, sir.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

There needs to be a checklist when people are shipping a game. Like, stuff like that. And then you need to have like, can you select a bunch of things to sell in your menu? You know, can you skip dialogue and then you only put out the game after you get all that stuff done? Yeah.

[D]

You're not having dialogue. Skipping makes me legitimately. Like, that would lower my personal Justin Davis score. Like two. Two points for sure.

[B]

Yeah. It's wild.

[A]

You can pause it.

[B]

It's got to be patched in.

[A]

You can pause the dialogue.

[B]

At least pause it.

[D]

Okay. But since it's the opposite of skipping.

[B]

It, you feel a little bit more when you prolonging it. Yeah, that's true. You feel it more. And you have to read subtitles, right? Because it's like.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You can't just like, you know, check. Check the news while these people are talking.

[D]

Yeah, I love subtitles because it's like little conversation spoilers.

[C]

Oh, my gosh.

[D]

It happened in two seconds.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

Sam, did you see their reports out of TGS that Resident Evil Requiem is running well on Switch 2?

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Oh, that's great. That's great news. It looks. It looks pretty good in the direct on Switch two. Seems like we're lucky because we get to play these on, you know, nice next gen system. It's nice for Switch 2 to have them, but, like, I'll play Hollow Knight, Silksong and Switch 2, but I don't really need to play. It's nice.

[D]

Yeah.

[A]

Okay. Extracurricular activities. Alien Earth season one has wrapped up. I know Sam has watched it. Justin, Mark, either of you. Okay, we won't. We won't labor the point and we'll won't do any spoilers.

[B]

Justin already heard what happened in a meeting.

[A]

Okay.

[D]

Yeah, I don't mind. Okay. But we don't need to spoil it.

[A]

Well, also for the listeners and viewers, no spoilers. But like, I shared earlier that while I was enjoying it, I thought it was like a good sci fi show, but maybe not a great alien show. And I think that's kind of where I ended up with at the end. And I think also most people agree that the finale episode was kind of a big nothing. Like, it didn't feel like a finale. It just felt like a regular mid to late season episode. Right, Sam?

[B]

Yeah. You said they wrapped up the season. They didn't wrap up the season. They introduced a bunch of things and kept the loose ends loose. I thought that was kind of strange.

[A]

It just ended.

[D]

Nothing. Very strange. It's been interesting to hear that feedback. Everybody loves it and the buzz for the show is so high and it's so good. And then the final episode, it's like, it just didn't. Didn't give off the vibe of being a season four.

[B]

It went to commercial break. I think there's like. I think it could have done a little bit more with the environment being very Jurassic park or Predator. And like, I thought that the island is kind of a cool idea. It feels very video gamey. It'd be really great to set a video game on the island. And by the end of it, they're kind of showing more elements of that again. It's very Jurassic park arc. Yeah, they're in this area. Then there's the area. Oh, they discovered this area. Like, that part's awesome. Like, Lost kind of does that too. I like that part about it. But yeah, I mean, the, the, you know, the alien, they really tried hard taking our criticism on game Scoop that the aliens, we said they were wimps.

[A]

Yep.

[B]

And in the last episode, they're like, no, but look, the alien can kill all these people. Like, so, like, they did that, but at the same time, like, the big plot reveal that they're working on is like, you know, has to do with the aliens being controlled. And it's like, not great for the aliens not being wimps. So, yeah, I. Hard to get into without spoiling that. And then the. But then there's other aliens that are more interesting and stuff. And then they don't really get their time to shine because the episode ends.

[A]

Yeah, well, everyone's. Everyone's seen the eyeball alien. And I'll just say, like, what ends up happening with that, Sam? That was like the least interesting thing that could have happened.

[B]

I thought, what about the. What about the flower alien? The one hanging from the pod, from the ceiling? We're like, what's that one gonna do the whole season? And then the reveal is like, well, it does exactly what you expect. But then there's. There's a. There is a. There was a kind of funny reveal, which I thought was a very funny, like, plotty reveal. Like, we have to have these in this for the plot because they made a bunch of characters. Machines. Right. And then they're like, well, but one of these aliens only eats machines.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

And it's gross and cool and horror. Like. And like, it is funny, but it's such a device that it's just like, watch that.

[C]

Like, oh, God.

[B]

But then that doesn't go anywhere either, so.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

And I don't think it's even been renewed for a season two yet.

[D]

No.

[A]

So I don't know.

[D]

Probably will be.

[B]

It looks expensive as heck.

[A]

It does look so much. I mean, if they renew it, we'll have to wait three years to watch it. And.

[B]

Yeah, and this is not just because I like alien in the 70s and stuff, but like the. The episode, the spit, the. What do you call them, the pocket episode, the. The bottle episode where they're on the spaceship and they showed the flashback episode was. Was totally great.

[A]

I love that.

[B]

But I liked it because it explained some of the. Explains the cyborg character in a really interesting way, and I think he ended up being the most interesting character. But then there's a bunch of, like, GI Joe battles with all the characters, and he's one of them. Just like, that didn't get too interesting. I like. I like GI Joe battles. It's funny.

[A]

Yeah, it was all right. It was. I mean, it's the best alien thing that's been released in a long time. Although that bar is very, very low.

[B]

I want to watch more. It's not like every night. I didn't want to watch it. I was like, I can't wait to see more of this.

[A]

Yeah, I agree with that. It was at least a fun watch for the most part. Okay, what did everyone think of the Mandalorian and Grogu trailer?

[D]

I think that trailer commits the cardinal sin of what you want a trailer to do, which it's just kind of boring.

[C]

I'm not a big Mandalorian fan. This trailer.

[D]

I mean, I was a big Mandalorian fan. I think that show's gone completely off the rails in the third season. I mean, look, when I watch. Watch this trailer, it's like, you know, like, I really like Grogu. Like, Baby Yoda. Like, I like all that stuff, but it just. This trailer, like, everyone's fear was like, this is gonna be a plussed up TV movie. And the trailer does absolutely nothing to, like, assuage that fear. Like, it absolutely looks and feels and came off like a plussed up TV movie.

[A]

Yeah, it's like, when this was announced, everyone kind of rolled their eyes even before the trailer. And, you know, I love Star Wars. I would love nothing more than for this to be a great, fun Star wars movie. But it's kind of like. Like Justin has said the TV show had lost its way so we didn't feel like a movie was necessary. It also felt like the absolute safest thing Star wars could do after the debacle of the sequels. So it's like, it's not particularly inspired. No one's super excited for it. And then I don't think the trailer actually sells. Like, why. Why is this movie here? Why do we need this movie? Movie, Right. It does look like some fun things might happen. Some fun Star wars things might happen, sure. But, like, I don't even like, what's their adventure? Who's the villain? What's happening?

[D]

Mandalorian and Grogu. The Mandalorian and Grogu colon. Some fun Star wars things might happen. Yeah, that's the. That's what we get from this, you know?

[A]

What do you think, Sam?

[B]

I like how they showed a lot of practical effects and puppets and monsters. I thought that was cool. The hut thing I'm neutral on. Although I do like. I like that. I like that Clone wars plot line with Stinky in it. I think it's really cute that Stinky's back, but I. I like. It does. I agree with lots of the points you all are making. I still, like, want Star wars to be in theaters, and whatever reason I would go see another Star wars story, you know, like, the solo was bad, but I still like going to theater and seeing a Star wars movie.

[A]

So.

[B]

Yeah, I just. I still like that about Star Wars. I don't care. I will go see it no matter what.

[D]

Star wars returning to theaters should be an event, right? It should be like this big, big thing, especially coming off of, you know, off of the Last Jedi, you know, so that ain't happening. No. I don't know. Like, this comes from a place of, like, I want it to be good. And I really love the first season of Mandalorian. And then it's just been like, Season three was, like you said, David, it lost its way. It's like, here's what we need to do. We need it. We need to make a movie. That's how we're gonna fix it.

[B]

That also great.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Is the movie the end of this story is the end of, like, Is it the conclusion of the Mandalorian?

[C]

They just do a season four. Four.

[B]

It's like, growing up.

[D]

Yeah. Are they gonna do. Yeah, Are they gonna do a season four after this? Like, I was so pumped for, like, the mando verse in this little corner of Star wars that they've carved out, and. And now I am not. I like, look, look, I'm gonna Go see it for sure. So it's like, I'm being a little bit harsh. Like, you know, I agree. Like, I like the puppetry. Like, I still, I'm such a sucker for Grogu. Like, you know, we'll take the whole family. Like, it'll be great, you know, but, like, I don't know.

[A]

I'm excited that I get to take my kids to see a Star wars movie in theaters. That'll be, that's fun. Yeah.

[D]

Like, what about people that haven't seen the show? Like, is this for them?

[A]

Exactly.

[C]

I mean, I've, I've tried to watch the show. I did not like it. So I've only seen the first, like, three episodes. And no, this, this is not for me. But to be honest, three episodes are so good. Most Star wars things just aren't for me anymore. I think the last thing that I was super excited for was Kenobi. And even that, that didn't really do it for me. That was so. I, I think, I think after that, I was like, all right, I might just be. I might just be done with Star Wars.

[B]

It is sad to think about what Justin was just saying about, like, you know, Star wars coming back to theater should be this big event, because we did. That did happen with, with Force Awakens and with Phantom Menace. I mean, that's exactly what was happening. Yeah, the. But I, I mean, there's a problem with that because they've done it before, that it'll, it will feel manufactured next time. And, you know, probably for some people already felt manufactured for Force Awakens. And then in hindsight, it just literally was manufactured because JJ Abrams just remade the damn Star wars movies. Like, I just, like, it's kind of unbelievable. And then, I mean, it's almost embarrassing now watching that movie. I'm like, oh, this is just. It's all the beats of Star Wars. And then everybody got mad when they went away from those beats, right?

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

So it's a, It's a legendary bag fumble. The Disney Star wars era.

[C]

I, I, I genuinely think that Rogue One is probably still my last, like, Star wars thing that I just unabashedly enjoyed.

[A]

Especially after Andor. Rogue One hits so hard. After Andor.

[C]

Yeah, I, I need, I need to watch Andor. Because everyone says, yeah, I have not watched Andor.

[B]

It's a good place to start.

[C]

But it's so good. But the reason is, is like, like, you guys hear what I'm saying, right? Is like, there's been so many bad Star wars things. That is really Hard for me to get hyped for any of it. So when somebody's like, andor super good, I'm just like everyone says about the Mandalorian. I didn't like Mandalorian either.

[B]

And not. We won't make fun of you no matter what you say, but. No, no, no.

[C]

What.

[B]

What was your favorite Star wars movie?

[C]

My favorite Star wars movie? Okay, here we go. My favorite Star Wars.

[B]

You should have already said Empire Strikes Back.

[C]

And. And there's a reason. Okay, okay. My favorite Star wars movie is Revenge of the Sith.

[D]

Oh, boy.

[C]

The best Star wars movie is Empire 100. I know that. It's the best.

[B]

You're coming from a background of liking a different set of Star Wars. This is why I'm saying we're not gonna make fun of you.

[C]

Well, I grew up with the original trilogy, right? Like, I grew up with that trilogy. No, the original.

[A]

Yeah.

[B]

Okay, well, that's weird that you like Revenge of the Sith.

[C]

Revenge of the Sith is just so good.

[B]

Not bagging on it. I'm just saying that that's an unusual.

[C]

Venge of the Sith is just great. I don't. I don't. I mean, it's just really good. It's so good. It's. That's the one.

[B]

Better. We better just leave this.

[C]

That's the one where he turns into Darth Vader.

[B]

That's right. That's what happens.

[D]

Damon, I have one quick extracurricular I'd like to share. All right, hit us, do we. For a family movie night, we showed the kids Jurassic Park. They're getting a little bit older, so we can show them a little bit more. Big kid movies. But my younger daughter is still a little bit young, so we knew, like, we had to cover up up her eyes. When the lawyer gets bit in half by, like, the T. Rex, there's a couple moments that, like, you know, you need to cover up your eyes, but we forgot at the end of the movie, when she's Laura Dern's, you know, turning the power back on. And then Samuel L. Jackson's arm, like, falls over shoulder, but it's a severed arm.

[C]

And she's like, oh.

[D]

And then I'm like, oh, Oops.

[A]

Well, yeah, she's seen that.

[D]

Daughter saw that.

[C]

Now time to learn. Sometimes arms get severed.

[B]

Are you getting lots of questions about severed limbs now, Rita?

[C]

Yeah. No.

[B]

What happens if your limb gets suffered?

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

You know, sometimes you kill an enemy in Ghost of Tsushima and you realize their arms just there on the ground.

[C]

Yeah.

[B]

Separated?

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

You mean yot is a lot.

[C]

Yeah. My. My extracurricular is that I watched the paper and I thought it was fine. If you don't think of it as an office spin off. It's just a show that was filmed like the Office.

[A]

Was it funny? Did you laugh?

[C]

Sometimes. Okay, but who's laughing constantly at the office? Nobody. Right. So, like, that's. That's where this is. I think I laughed at the parts I was meant to laugh at, and the rest of it's just awkward weirdness. Dom Hall Gleason's great, though. And I am loving Peacemaker season two. I think it is very good.

[B]

Me too.

[A]

Well, I need to watch.

[B]

Season's awesome.

[A]

Yeah, I need to watch that. I can watch that now that Alien Earth is over. But also, I recently watched the studio, and my wife was out of town and I was just by myself on the couch. I was just laughing out loud. Watching the studio.

[C]

I want to watch the studio. I hear it's great.

[B]

It's so good. Yeah. And I really do recommend Peacemaker, and it's about to get really good because apparently the last episode run is supposed to be, like, more tied to James Gunn. He's been talking about it. Right. So that's cool. But. And I can see where it's going to. But I like the paper a lot. And, you know, we all worked in a editorial office for many years that is very. That the themes that the show touches on you will get and a lot of people won't. And I think it's really worth watching for that reason. Same reason. Why watching the studio, we all can probably relate a little bit closer to that side of the industry. The paper absolutely deals with really, really familiar meetings and decisions about editorial stuff, which are just background to the show, but they're super interesting, and I think it's really well done. And then the main character from White Lotus is one of the best characters out there right now.

[C]

Valentina. She's great.

[A]

From season two.

[C]

Her.

[A]

She's like the manager.

[C]

She's the season two hotel manager. Yeah, yeah. She's like the secondary main character. Maybe the third. Whatever.

[B]

Yeah. All the characters are from contemporary things too. That one of them is from Never have I ever. That's great.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

From Star Wars.

[C]

From Star Wars.

[B]

And apparently he's in the Harry Potter movies, which I've never really seen.

[D]

Oh, yeah, you're right.

[C]

He's also an ex machina, which is a fantastic movie.

[A]

He is. And he's in a good episode of Black Mirror. Okay.

[B]

On A ride at Disneyland.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

He is from Ride at Disneyland.

[C]

Yeah, that's true.

[A]

I'm the spy. Okay, that brings us to video game 20 questions. Our suggestion suite comes from Jimmy in Oil City. I don't know where Oil City is, but that's where Jimmy's from.

[C]

Sounds like Bakersfield.

[B]

Okay, and with that, isn't that where the Mega Man Fire level takes place in Mega Man 4? Oil City.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

Yeah, that's it.

[A]

That's where he lives. Let the questioning begin.

[C]

No history, huh? He just lives in Oil City.

[A]

Yep.

[C]

All right, it does tell us.

[D]

Start us off, Mark.

[C]

Sure, man. Okay, let's see. Did this game come out after 20? January 1, 2010. Now? No. Oh, it's a lot of years left on the table.

[B]

It could be Revenge of the Sith. The game.

[C]

It could be.

[D]

Yep.

[C]

Dude, those games are so funny because they couldn't spoil plot points because they didn't know them. So like those movie tie in games, they would just be like loosely based off trailers so much.

[A]

But remember when the Phantom Menace soundtrack came out before the movie and one of the tracks is called the Tragic Death of Qui Gon Jinn?

[D]

The exact opposite of what we're talking about.

[C]

That's great. Come on, man. That's.

[D]

Did this game come out in the 70s, 80s or 90s?

[C]

Yes. All right.

[B]

Did this come out as a cartridge? Yes. At any point?

[A]

Yes.

[D]

Did. Was it originally released as an NES cartridge?

[A]

No.

[B]

Was it an arcade game at any point?

[A]

No. That's five.

[C]

Okay, 78s, 90s. Let's see. What was this during the Nintendo 64 PlayStation 1 era?

[A]

No.

[C]

What was that? Dreamcast. Okay.

[B]

Is this a 16 bit game?

[A]

Yes.

[C]

16 bit.

[B]

Is it a console exclusive?

[A]

Yes.

[D]

So was it exclusive to a SEGA console?

[A]

No.

[C]

So Super Nintendo Probably.

[D]

Yeah. If it's 16 bit, I guess it technically could be turbographics.

[B]

Yeah, that'd be so cool.

[C]

Finally. Shinobi.

[D]

Yeah, It's Air Zonk, man.

[B]

I'm telling you, we should advance 16 bit.

[D]

Yeah. GBA was actually probably 16 bit too.

[C]

Should we blow the Super Nintendo question?

[D]

No.

[C]

Do you think we're there?

[D]

I think we. I'm just going to assume.

[C]

Okay.

[D]

Was this game made in Japan?

[A]

Yes. That's 10.

[C]

It's Final Fantasy 3.

[B]

Was this a strategy or RPG?

[A]

Yeah. Well, yeah. I want to say yes. I want to say yes. I'll. If that send you down a dark.

[B]

Path, I'll try to help you just act racer.

[D]

That's exactly what I was assuming.

[C]

I mean I kill like the RPGs that come to mind are clearly RPGs. Like Chrono Trigger, Final C6. Yep.

[D]

Not them.

[C]

So it's not those. But like, it could be, you know, something simple like linked to the past. Because there's been always been that, like, is Zelda an RPG debate.

[B]

Yeah. Secret of Mana.

[C]

Yeah. Yeah. Like very. Yeah.

[D]

Okay. Was this game developed or published by Nintendo?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Earthbound makes it easier. Earthbound makes it.

[D]

Makes it a lot easier.

[C]

God, man, Super Nintendo was such a goated console. How. How did the console wars exist back then when one of them was the Super Nintendo? I just don't get it.

[D]

I mean, the Genesis had Vector Man.

[C]

Blood in Mortal Kombat.

[B]

That really is what it was. It was blood.

[C]

You had to play with three buttons.

[D]

Yeah, Blood. Mortal Kombat. That's a real thing. Okay, so. Yeah. So you know what, like our strategy slash RPG adjacent Nintendo published games on the snes.

[B]

Guess like.

[D]

Yeah, Link to the past is credible.

[C]

Yeah. I mean, something like Earthbound, like, that's clearly an rpg, so I don't think it would be that.

[D]

Is it. Does the main character in this game. Can you play as them in Smash Brothers?

[A]

No.

[B]

All right, interesting.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Weird one.

[D]

Could be a weird one. Is it helpful to know if this game came out in the us Didn't Nintendo. Weren't they making like Goemon games in Japan or something like that that didn't come out here?

[C]

I don't know. Would Dana do that to us?

[A]

I only pick games with North American releases.

[D]

Oh, I didn't know that.

[C]

Oh.

[D]

Also, it being an SNES exclusive means that it's not Air Zonk.

[C]

It.

[B]

The publisher developed by Nintendo. I mean, if it's published by Nintendo, it was something weird like uniracers. I. I get that, but like, I don't. Maybe our Stunt Race fx. I mean, there's like, man, this makes it really tough with the Smash Brothers question.

[D]

Yeah. So it's not like a key franchise game.

[C]

Yeah. It's not F0 star Fox, were they making?

[D]

I guess. Wait, no. So no f0 or no fire Emblems came out in. No, in the US on the snes. I mean, I think they were making them, but like, maybe we didn't get them.

[B]

What if it's One of those RPGs that Nintendo published that are like Lufaya. Yeah, exactly. Or Secretive Gaia.

[D]

Yeah. Secretive and Evermore. Yeah. Secret of Evermore, Illusion of Gaia, A Legend of Gaia, whatever they're called. Yeah, yeah. You were right.

[B]

Illusion or Secret of Evermore I just don't know which ones they publish. But like something like that is likely. Those are like Capcom RPG sometimes. Yeah, like the.

[D]

The Mickey Mouse Castle of Illusion. I don't know. Like Nintendo. I don't know what they published. They could have published a game, a weird game like that. But this game was made in Japan.

[B]

Was this game developed by Nintendo?

[A]

Yes.

[B]

Oh boy.

[C]

I. I am.

[D]

What about Mario Paint?

[B]

It's classic rpg.

[D]

Well, he didn't say. He said. We said RPG or strategy.

[B]

And Damon said you are. You are. You are role playing as Mario.

[A]

Justin is correct.

[C]

You. You are. You are doing the Fly Swatter game.

[D]

Yeah.

[B]

Strategy. But maybe it's Sim City.

[D]

The Slice Water. Yeah. Yep. That's a great guess. Yeah. I don't see any reason why it couldn't be Sim City. Because Nintendo made that port themselves, right? No, maybe not.

[B]

They put Bowser in it.

[D]

Doesn't it have Will Wright in it?

[B]

Am I dreaming that as like the tool tip guy?

[D]

Yeah. Yeah. I don't know how. I don't know a smart way to narrow it down. How many questions do we have left?

[A]

Five and a guess.

[D]

I mean, is this like a. Is this a city building game?

[A]

Yes. That's 15.

[C]

That's what it is.

[D]

Okay. Is there anything else it could be before we pop off and do something stupid?

[B]

Yeah, like they did SimEarth and Sim Ant afterwards. But I don't think Nintendo developed this.

[D]

I don't think so either. Is this SimCity for the SNES?

[A]

It is SimCity for the SNES in particular, that version. Yes, you're right, Justin. The original PC version came out in 89, but Nintendo made this one themselves with the help of Will Wright who is in the game.

[B]

What a crazy time.

[C]

Yeah.

[D]

Yep.

[A]

Yeah. Miyamoto.

[C]

I really like this game.

[A]

Miyamoto was really impressed by the PC version and wanted to have a version for Super Nintendo. So they like bought the rights to make the own version of it.

[B]

So interesting that that came about. I was already playing this on PC at the time, so I would have looked. Turned down my nose.

[D]

So it was a really beloved port. I don't know that I've ever played it because I was the same. I was playing. I don't think I played the. I think I played Sim City 2 on the PC a lot. Sim City 2, Warcraft 2.

[C]

I didn't. Yeah, I didn't have a Super Nintendo during this time. And so it's like same Diablo 2. I. I remember playing like Sim Copter, like the helicopter one.

[A]

You all had computers at that time, man.

[C]

Yeah.

[A]

My family never had a computer.

[C]

Consoles.

[B]

My parents did. I didn't own it.

[C]

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. And it's like I would just get games for it and stuff like that. But like my first computer in the living room wasn't. Wasn't until PS2. So.

[B]

Yeah. And then my, My dad would spend infinite time figuring out how to put the auto exact bat file on a boot disk and so I could just play Return to Zork. Very, very difficult to get things running on computers back then. I have a sound blaster working just right.

[D]

I have a very vivid memory. Maybe I've talked about this on Scoop before. It's like, you know, our family, it's like you're a kid, you get dragged along to wherever and we were at some adult's house that like, I didn't know who they were. Like some family friend that like you just get drug along and like you're the only kid there. And then eventually either I f I made my way down to the basement myself or they sent me down to the basement and they had a computer that was just full like I'd never seen like, you know, they had Warcraft 2 and Diablo in SimCity and just like all these. And it was like, whoa. I must have been like, I was probably nine years old.

[C]

I would want to live there, right?

[D]

Yeah. And like, you know, now I'm like, my parents are never gonna remember, but it's like clearly like the dad of that family was like super with it. Right. They had this computer full of really cool games and like, you know, I'd only played console games. Like I didn't know computer games were like a thing. And I ended up playing like I bounced around between a bunch of games like Warcraft 2 and SimCity. I played like all night long.

[C]

The first tower changed my life. Yeah. The first Tower defense game I ever played was a mod for Starcraft. I didn't know what Tower defense was.

[D]

Yeah.

[C]

But I remember just loving it and being like, this is so fun. And then realizing it was a. It was a game genre that I was that were.

[B]

That started Tower Defense. I didn't realize I was a mod.

[D]

That's where Dota, like there's a really proto version of like, like Dota where they gave like Starcraft 2 units, like Hero powers and stuff. And then that started. It's a Starcraft, you know, Starcraft Warcraft mod.

[C]

I played so much command and conquer back in those days. Good times.

[A]

Well, nicely job SimCity. Thank you for the suggestion Jimmy in Oil City Viewers Listeners, if you have your own suggestions for video game 20 questions, email them to me at the email address gamescoopgn.com Humble Games has brought Lost Skies to full 1.0 release. Available now on the Humble Store and Steam, Lost Skies is a cooperative survival adventure set high above the clouds in a vast world of floating islands. Explore the remnants of ancient civilizations, uncover the mysteries of their downfall and harness their advanced technology to survive and thrive. Build and customize your own skyship to serve as both home and warship, battle colossal skyborne threats and weather dangerous storms with seamless traversal using climbing, gliding and a physics based grappling hook. Every landmark on the horizon is within reach as you shape your own survival story. Lost Skies is out now with a 25% launch discount on the Humble Store and Humble Choice subscribers can save up to an additional 20% off the launch discount. And that is all the scoops that we have for you this week. Thank you Sam. Thank you Justin. Thank you Mark. Thank you to Jobert working behind the scenes to make this episode possible. My name is Damon, this is IG and gamescoop. And we're out. This episode of Game Soup was produced by myself, Damon Hadfield and Gilbert Adienza. Technical direction is handled by Jobert Atienza. Technical production is by Marian Franzen and Amir Aqib. Audio engineering is by Amir Akiv and post production editing is by yours truly, Damon Hatfield. Graphic design is by Nicole Kagempen. Gamescoop is an IGM production and part of the Geek Media Network.

[B]

For a limited time at McDonald's, get a Big Mac Extra Value meal for $8.

[C]

That means two all beef patties, special.

[B]

Sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame seed bun and medium fries. And a drink.

[C]

We may need to change that jingle.

[B]

Prices and participation may vary.

[C]

Abc Wednesday Shifting Gears is back.

[A]

He has arisen. Tim Allen and Kat Dennings return in television series number one new comedy.

[C]

What what? With a star studded premiere including Jenna Elfman, Nancy Travis and hey buddy. A big home improvement reunion welcome.

[B]

Oh boy, that guy's a tool.

[C]

Shifting Gears season premiere Wednesday, 8, 7.

[A]

Central on ABC and stream on Hulu.