Game Scoop! 840: New Nintendo E-slop Games

Date: January 16, 2026
Host: Damon Hatfield
Panel: Sam Claiborne, Justin Davis, Mark Medina
Podcast Network: IGN & Geek Media

Episode Overview

On this week's episode, the Game Scoop! crew returns from the holiday break, diving into the latest in gaming news and culture. They dissect the quality (and quantity) of new Nintendo eShop slop (low-effort, often AI-generated games), wax nostalgic about old-school classics, and discuss the state of indie puzzle games and genre evolution. The panel reviews recent games they've been playing, shares hilarious reactions to bizarre Nintendo Switch games, and fields listener questions before taking on the traditional 20 Questions gaming challenge.

Main Topics & Key Discussion Points

"Dispatch" – Telltale-Style Superhero Interactive Series

[03:00–10:23]

• Damon has been playing Dispatch on Sam's recommendation and is pleasantly surprised by the game's high production value and script:
  • Developed by Ad Hoc Studios (ex-Telltale devs).
  • "It's like really well written. It's fun. The premise is our main character—played by Aaron Paul—is a superhero, but he doesn't have any superpowers. He just has a giant mech suit but his mech suit gets destroyed..."
    (Damon, 04:08)
  • Jeffrey Wright plays a speedster who has aged physically from running so much—a running joke in the narrative.
  • The gameplay is less “video gamey” than old Telltale titles; “more like an interactive TV show.”

    "I would say the video game elements definitely take the backseat, which, again, I would say is a good thing. Like, treat it more like a season of television."
    (Justin, 05:56)

  • Episodic release (“could’ve come out as one package, but they wanted the TV experience”), with Critical Role talent helping establish comedy and tone.
  • Contains a light dispatch strategy minigame where players assign superheroes to oddball emergencies—fun, low-stakes, silly.

"Hightail" – Early Access Minecraft Competitor

[11:05–17:21]

• Hightail is generating buzz as a polished “Minecraft 2,” though still barebones:
  • “It is far below Minecraft, obviously, because Minecraft has had so long to add stuff and this is extremely early access. ...You’ll find, like, an entrance to a dungeon… and it literally has an under construction sign that says, like, work in progress on it.”
    (Justin, 12:11)
  • Core focus is on improved building, RPG elements, dungeons—not yet implemented.
  • Quality-of-life upgrades (e.g., chests interface with crafting) are immediately better than in Minecraft.
  • Riot Games acquired the devs, then dropped them; now independently publishing.
  • Game’s quick launch likely a cash flow strategy for continued development. Community response is contingent on rapid content updates.

Retro & Indie Game Chat: Double Fine’s “Keeper”

[19:18–20:41]

• Sam has finished Double Fine’s Keeper:
  • Praises “unbelievable” visuals, slower pace, and whimsical design.
  • Hopes Double Fine keeps making “dinky tiny games”—sometimes they’re surprises.

Echo the Dolphin Returns (?)

[23:22–27:59]

• Unexpected headline: Multiple Echo the Dolphin games are apparently in development, remasters included.
  • Unanimous surprise at the return.
  • Echo remembered as “impossibly hard,” with an infamous mid-game twist involving aliens.
  • Speculation on what a remaster could possibly add, jokes about Final Fantasy-style bad remasters.

The Nintendo eShop “Seal of Quantity” Parade

[28:00–44:47]

Exposing the E-Slop:

Damon spotlights a series of new, notably low-quality, AI-touched, sometimes surreal Switch games featured in Nintendo’s own email promos.

• Mom Life Simulator [28:33]
  • Sloppy AI art, sexist premise, and broken English in promo screenshots.

  • “This game is extremely sexist. For two. Were the dad and the kid dead? And she propped up the dead bodies...?” (Mark, 29:16)

• AAA Games Ultimate Collection [31:38]
  • Brazen title—includes nothing close to actual AAA games.

  • “I suspect that they don’t even know that that’s an industry term, AAA.” (Sam, 32:14)

  • $80 list price, on sale for $6.99.
• Battle Tanks Animal Wars [34:09]
  • Confusing product: There are no animals visible; they’re apparently piloting tanks.

  • “Where are the animals?” (Damon, 34:29)

• Clothing Store Simulator [35:13]
  • Lo-fi graphics, another entry in the “work simulator” genre.
  • Sam: “How do you get a game to look this lo-fi?”
• Need for Race: Street King [37:03]
  • Shameless Need for Speed knockoff with laughable visuals.

  • “The car doesn’t have a shadow. … Those buildings... look like twisted metal on the PS1.” (Justin, 37:52)

• Sheriff Park Ranger [38:58]
  • AI artwork features a hero whose hat grows and shrinks inconsistently; panel is in hysterics over “hat progression.”
• The End of the Beginning of Courage, Reasoning, and Seaweed 10 [41:50]
  • Incomprehensible title; listing’s icon is a blurry text smear.

  • "I appreciate that. What... what's happening under of?" (Mark, 42:30)

• Panel debates—Why does Nintendo email these to fans?
  • Damon: “I only know this exists because Nintendo emailed me about it. … Nintendo’s like, here’s a new game that you can…”
  • Mark: “How does Doug Bowser get that email?” [44:27]

Listener Mailbag ([47:32–53:12])

Where Did All the Great Puzzle Games Go?

From “Big Tony Style”:

• Asks about the disappearance of “PopCap-style” games (Plants vs. Zombies, Peggle).
• Panel response:
  • Justin: “PopCap’s still around but yeah, they’re not making games like that anymore. Plants vs Zombies 2 was an overly aggressive monetization mess... Free to play crushed them.” [48:29–50:43]
  • Puzzle/short session games now mostly displaced by service games or mobile F2P.
  • Still hope in the indie space—look to Xbox/Nintendo indie directs.
  • Justin lists some new “gambling-coded roguelikes” that echo classic puzzle fun.

20 Questions Stats & Community Fun [53:12–56:33]

• Listeners Greg Kelly and Matt Reed keep thorough stats on the show’s game-guessing performance, including win rates per host.
• 2025: 70.2% win rate; Sam played the most, Mark has the highest individual win rate (80%).

Video Game 20 Questions Challenge [56:33–72:58]

Game: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin (Nintendo DS, 2008)

Highlights:

• The panel struggles to pinpoint a 2D, non-platformer, Nintendo-published, handheld game with no Smash Bros. character and no direct sequel.
• Several genre diversions (puzzle, rhythm, sim), before zeroing in on strategy.
• Sam and Mark guess “Advance Wars,” zero in on “Days of Ruin.”
• Damon provides trivia: Days of Ruin went much darker in tone, wasn’t released in Japan until 2013 (!).

Notable Quotes & Moments

“The Nintendo seal of quantity is your assurance that literally no one at Nintendo is paying any attention to what games are being published on the eShop.”
(Damon, 28:01)

“I can’t imagine playing this on a Switch. That looks like a PC game.”
(Mark, 35:57, on Clothing Store Simulator)

“I would like to think these are all generated by some kind of video game college class.”
(Sam, 38:32)

“Damon, you don’t play either of those games. Look, it’s like Minecraft in the sense that it’s a blocky 3D world, but the art styles are different. … This is higher res and has a higher level of detail.”
(Justin, 18:30, on Hightail)

“If you put up Battlefield 6, I wouldn’t know the difference.”
(Damon, 18:21)

“The car doesn’t have a shadow. … Those buildings look like twisted metal on the PS1.”
(Justin, 37:52)

“He arrested somebody. Well, look—look at his hat right there. … The truck and the hat have issues.”
(Sam/Mark, 39:55–40:06, on Sheriff Park Ranger)

Timestamps of Key Segments

• [03:00–10:23] Dispatch (Ad Hoc Studios) Dissection
• [11:05–17:21] Hightail Early Access Review
• [19:18–20:41] Double Fine’s Keeper
• [23:22–27:59] Echo the Dolphin News
• [28:00–44:47] Nintendo eShop Slop Parade
• [47:32–53:12] Listener Mailbag: Puzzle Games
• [53:12–56:33] 20 Questions Stats
• [56:33–72:58] 20 Questions: Advance Wars: Days of Ruin
• [72:58–end] Outro, banter, and post-show AI-avatar conversation

Tone & Style

• Lively, irreverent, and fun-loving.
• Panelists regularly riff off each other’s jokes, especially when reviewing laughably bad Switch games.
• Deep knowledge of both modern and retro gaming history on display.

Conclusion

This episode delivers a quintessential Game Scoop! mix: a blend of sincere games criticism, retro love, quick-witted banter, and an in-depth look at an industry overwhelmed by quantity over quality. Whether you’re here for serious game recs (Dispatch, Hightail) or for a guided tour through the depths of the eShop’s “seal of quantity,” this is a must-listen for anyone who loves gaming culture, community, and comedy in equal measure.