Extraction Shooters YES or NO? - Kinda Funny Gamescast

Summary

Kinda Funny Gamescast: Extraction Shooters YES or NO? - Detailed Summary

Release Date: April 29, 2025

In this episode of the Kinda Funny Gamescast, the hosts delve into the contentious and evolving genre of extraction shooters, sparking a heated debate on whether these games deserve a place in the mainstream gaming landscape.

---

1. Introduction to Extraction Shooters

The episode kicks off with the hosts, including special guests Snowbike Mike and Nick Scarpino, introducing the day's hot topic: Extraction Shooters. The conversation sets the stage for a deep dive into what defines this genre and its current standing in the gaming community.

---

2. Defining Extraction Shooters

Snowbike Mike provides a clear definition of the genre:

"[11:00] An extraction shooter is a video game that you interact with on a computer screen. You and your friends gather together or you can hop in solo. It usually features a large map where you explore and complete missions for factions, often facing both NPC enemies and other human players."

This explanation underscores the blend of PvE (Player vs. Environment) and PvP (Player vs. Player) elements, which are central to extraction shooters' appeal and complexity.

---

3. Deep Dive into Arc Raiders and Marathon

The hosts focus on two prominent games within the genre: Arc Raiders and Marathon. They offer comprehensive analyses of each, comparing gameplay mechanics, map designs, and overall player experiences.

3.1 Arc Raiders

Nick Scarpino shares his enthusiasm for Arc Raiders:

"[10:00] Arc Raiders combines all the elements I love in a shooter—goals are simple, the gameplay cycle is engaging, and the human element adds a competitive edge."
"[22:32] I appreciated the presentation a lot more than Marathon. The game features a 3D model of a human being interacting with you, which enhances immersion."

Andy Cortez echoes this sentiment, highlighting the game's post-apocalyptic aesthetic and third-person perspective:

"[21:20] The settings are reminiscent of an '80s Mad Max movie, blending a robotic world with a desolate, futuristic environment. The third-person view makes the vast maps feel even more expansive and isolating."

Snowbike Mike emphasizes the game's audio design and environmental tension:

"[36:43] The audio in Arc Raiders is fantastic. Highlighting footsteps and environmental sounds amplifies the sense of dread and immersion, especially in darker maps."

3.2 Marathon

Contrastingly, Marathon offers a more competitive and fast-paced experience. Nick Scarpino reflects on his shift between the two games:

"[23:36] Marathon feels more forgiving with easier respawns, allowing players to recover and re-engage without significant setbacks."

Andy Cortez appreciates the constant competitiveness that Marathon provides:

"[27:11] Marathon feeds the audience that craves frequent engagements and the unpredictability of clashing with multiple teams, akin to a battle royale vibe."

However, both Mike and Nick discuss the limitations and frustrations inherent in Marathon, such as the rigidity of class systems and the repetitiveness of missions.

---

4. Challenges and Prospects of the Genre

The hosts explore the sustainability and mainstream potential of extraction shooters. Nick Scarpino raises critical questions:

"[10:00] What will extraction shooters need to endure in the general populace? Can they strike the right balance between PvE and PvP to maintain player interest?"

Andy Cortez addresses the balance between fun and frustration:

"[30:37] In Marathon, losing all your gear can be demoralizing, especially when facing better-equipped teams. This risk-reward dynamic is central to the extraction shooter experience but can be a double-edged sword."

Snowbike Mike adds that the genre's niche status might limit its mainstream adoption:

"[32:41] There's a unique thrill in encountering other players unexpectedly, but the high frustration levels from losing gear and continuous competition may deter casual gamers."

---

5. Industry Developments Affecting Extraction Shooters

The episode touches on recent industry news impacting the genre. Nick Scarpino discusses the fallout from Electronic Arts (EA) layoffs:

"[48:21] Electronic Arts is laying off between 300-400 staff, including 100 at Respawn. This move comes as Respawn cancels an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe."
"[48:58] This cancellation signals potential uncertainty in the development and support of extraction shooters within major studios."

Andy Cortez reflects on the broader market challenges:

"[51:28] The gaming industry is in flux, with companies striving to identify the next big hit post-Fortnite. Extraction shooters are among the experimental genres trying to capture a wider audience."

---

6. Audience Opinions and Interactions

The hosts engage with their audience through Super Chats, which provide additional perspectives on the topic.

• Dean's Comment:

  "Everyone's bubbles different, but I don't know anyone who has played these extraction shooters. Maybe I'm the odd man out, but I don't see why companies are chasing this as the next battle royale craze."
  Response:
  Andy Cortez explains the uncertain future of the genre: "[51:28] Developers are taking shots in the dark, trying various genres to see what sticks. Extraction shooters might not reach the mainstream like battle royales, but they're experimenting with new mechanics and experiences."

• Bulk Dasher's Comment:

  "The genre is still very niche, contrary to what some say. Free-to-play versus paid doesn't make a difference. Nobody wants these games anymore, especially from devs like Bungie and Sony."
  Response:
  Andy Cortez concurs on the niche appeal: "[51:28] Extraction shooters are tough to predict. Companies need to balance making something great with the uncertainty of whether it'll resonate with a broader audience."

• Demon Hacker's Comparison:

  "Survival Arc and V Rising versus Extraction. Which do the three of you prefer?"
  Responses:

  • Snowbike Mike: Prefers survival games for their more relaxed experience:

    "[56:48] I prefer survival games. Extraction shooters keep me on edge too much with the constant risk of losing gear."

  • Andy Cortez: Enjoys the competitive nature of survival games:

    "[56:51] I love survival games because they balance competition with exploration, allowing for strategic gameplay without the constant high stakes of extraction shooters."

  • Nick Scarpino: Values the competitive aspect but finds trouble maintaining interest without consistent PvP:

    "[56:48] I prefer competition, but extraction shooters can become repetitive if the PvP elements don't continuously evolve or stay engaging."

---

7. The Future of Extraction Shooters

As the discussion wraps up, the hosts ponder the long-term viability of extraction shooters.

Snowbike Mike muses on the genre's potential to mainstream:

"[53:07] With games like Helldivers gaining popularity as pure PvE shooters, extraction shooters need to innovate to attract a broader audience beyond hardcore PC gamers."

Nick Scarpino highlights the need for continuous evolution:

"[34:48] For extraction shooters to thrive, they must offer unique and evolving challenges that keep players engaged without becoming repetitive or overly frustrating."

Andy Cortez agrees, emphasizing the balance between earning and losing progress:

"[43:57] The thrill of potentially losing gear versus the satisfaction of successful extractions is a delicate balance that extraction shooters must maintain to retain their player base."

---

8. Upcoming Content and Final Thoughts

The episode concludes with a tease of upcoming content, including plans to explore Escape from Tarkov in future episodes and a look ahead to Final Fantasy 10 2 discussions.

Tim Gettys encourages listeners to share their thoughts on extraction shooters:

"[59:55] Let us know in the comments below what you think about extraction shooters, yes or no? Or if you want to say anything else, we'll appreciate that as well."

---

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Snowbike Mike [11:00]:
  "An extraction shooter is a video game that you interact with on a computer screen. You and your friends gather together or you can hop in solo."

• Nick Scarpino [10:00]:
  "Arc Raiders combines all the elements I love in a shooter—goals are simple, the gameplay cycle is engaging, and the human element adds a competitive edge."

• Andy Cortez [27:11]:
  "Marathon feeds the audience that craves frequent engagements and the unpredictability of clashing with multiple teams, akin to a battle royale vibe."

• Snowbike Mike [36:43]:
  "The audio in Arc Raiders is fantastic. Highlighting footsteps and environmental sounds amplifies the sense of dread and immersion."

• Nick Scarpino [48:21]:
  "Electronic Arts is laying off between 300-400 staff, including 100 at Respawn. This move comes as Respawn cancels an extraction shooter set in the Titanfall universe."

---

Conclusion

The episode offers a comprehensive exploration of the extraction shooter genre, weighing its strengths against its challenges. While Arc Raiders and Marathon showcase the potential for immersive and competitive gameplay, the hosts express skepticism about the genre's ability to achieve mainstream popularity without significant innovation. Industry shifts, such as EA's layoffs and project cancellations, further complicate the landscape, highlighting the uncertain future of extraction shooters. Audience interactions reinforce the idea that while extraction shooters have passionate followers, they remain a niche within the broader gaming community.

For those intrigued by the debate, the episode promises continued exploration of extraction shooters in future discussions, inviting listeners to engage and share their perspectives.

Transcript

[Snowbike Mike]

Foreign.

[Andy Cortez]

What's up?

[Tim Gettys]

And welcome back to the Kind of Funny Games cast for Tuesday, April 29, 2025. Of course. I'm your host, Tim Gettys. I'm joined by a very unusual cast today. It's the Jabroni Boys. Snowbike Mike.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, if you get the Jabroni Boys together, Tim, that means we're talking about one thing. First person shooters, baby. Anything. Shoot.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah. We also have Andy Cortez, second person shooters as well.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

And the producer slash seducer, Nick Scarpino.

[Nick Scarpino]

How come there aren't second person shooters? You know, I just watch you play a game.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, exactly.

[Tim Gettys]

You play, Mike, all day. I've heard you say a bunch of. Because you're still bike Mike. And you, you're just constantly.

[Andy Cortez]

Well, I had. I had to fill you in on my life, Tim. And I. I like telling you about my life.

[Tim Gettys]

Appreciate it.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

Can we stop? Can we stop for one second? Yeah, can we stop for one second? Can you take one of those down? Just one.

[Tim Gettys]

Just one.

[Nick Scarpino]

Just one. I need you to go 90s with.

[Snowbike Mike]

There it is. Wednesday.

[Tim Gettys]

Nothing, nothing screams 90s more than one. One overall on, one off with a Beyonce shirt.

[Snowbike Mike]

Overall.

[Andy Cortez]

It'S a fun one because like, I bought this way back in the day and I told the chat, I was like, I can't.

[Nick Scarpino]

How back in the day when you.

[Andy Cortez]

Were in junior high, way back in the day, you're like three. And I was like, I can't wear this. And they're like, just wear a jacket over it. And I was like, I don't have a good jacket, so I'll wear overalls. But of course. And you're probably saying stomach. Mike, why are you wearing a Beyonce T shirt? As Tim was going to get to. And it's a great question. Of course. I have now joined the girly pop nation for Final Fantasy 10 2. And it was ladies night last night because it's all about Final Fantasy 10 2. What's the group name? Tim, you should know.

[Tim Gettys]

RP in position, baby.

[Andy Cortez]

RP. What? That is so lit. Nick Scarpino.

[Tim Gettys]

It's the blankest there.

[Andy Cortez]

I had to get him involved. Nick, this thing starts off like a Spice Girls concert in the early 2000s. Bang this dancing and party.

[Nick Scarpino]

And now I'm thinking about trees.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, I'm thinking about the sky. We got to get back to shooters. I want to let you know I've.

[Tim Gettys]

Heard you say ladies night no less than 15 times. Ladies Night with no context or anything. And the fact of the context is Final Fantasy 102 makes me so happy.

[Andy Cortez]

I know you'd love it, Tim. I've gone through some heartbreak as well, but I won't get into that. We'll talk about it later on. I. I hit something so hard and heavy, Andy, in that video game that it rocked me to my fundamental core.

[Snowbike Mike]

Chris Anka told me, he said, and.

[Andy Cortez]

I haven't quite been the same.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, Chris Anka told me. Mike cried today, by the way, because some characters have a baby now and it's just like he wishes that he could, you know.

[Tim Gettys]

So is that what you're upset about? That it should have been you? Or are you just such a Chapu fan that you're. You're sad that.

[Andy Cortez]

That his little brother should have been me? Of course it should have been all of us. Except for Waka. And then, yeah, I'm a Chop. I'm a ride or die Choppu fan to the point where I'd rather have Lulu, poor, sad and lonely than with Waka. Right. Wow. Yeah, it's a tough one out there when you hear about the girl that you love having a baby with somebody you don't even know. You know what I mean? Like, that's a tough one.

[Nick Scarpino]

Happens to the best of us.

[Snowbike Mike]

Shake it to your core. Yeah, this is the best of us.

[Andy Cortez]

So, yeah, I've been absolutely right.

[Nick Scarpino]

I had a dollar for every time I love someone and they just spit out someone else's baby.

[Tim Gettys]

Mike sends me a 2 1/2 minute video last night where like, he just turns his phone on, starts talking to it as if he's doing a podcast, which I always appreciate. The snow Bike Mike move, he does. What's up, Tim Gettys? I have this for you. And he tells me this whole story. And on the Uber home last night, me and G, and I'm just like listening to this call. She's like, what are you doing? And I'm like, nothing important. Listening to Mike. And she's just like, why? I'm like, he made this for me. She's like, yeah, he made it for you at like 10pm what are we talking about? I'm like, yo, he just had his.

[Andy Cortez]

Heart broken, G. And Tim gets it because it is important.

[Tim Gettys]

It is important.

[Andy Cortez]

One of the best RPGs of all time. The characters you've fallen in love with are back for the sequel. They don't do sequels. And the pop stars now. And people are having babies.

[Tim Gettys]

Final Fantasy 10 too. Stay tuned for the Journey, the story. It will continue with Snowman's long term.

[Nick Scarpino]

Review of Final Fantasy 10 what's his.

[Snowbike Mike]

Game of the year 2025 list?

[Andy Cortez]

Final Fantasy best best RPG of the.

[Tim Gettys]

Year DMC3 oh you beat DMC3. We need to talk about that.

[Andy Cortez]

This isn't the show.

[Tim Gettys]

This isn't the show. This show is talking about Extraction Shooters. Y' played arc raiders. The embargo's up for that. So we're going to talk about that. Marathon is the new hotness question mark. I know we've talked a little bit lightly about it here and there, but the question of the day is Extraction Shooters. Yes or no? We will get into all of that because this is the kind of funny games cast. Each and every weekday we get together to talk about the biggest reviews, previews and topics in video games live on YouTube, Twitch and podcast services around the globe. If you love what we do, support us with the kind of funny membership on Patreon, YouTube, Spotify or Apple Podcast to get all of our shows ad free. Watch us do cool things for you and get a daily exclusive Greg Way for a chance to be part of the show. Submit your thoughts and opinions as YouTube super chats as we go. Just like Demon Hacker already has saying I like Extraction Shooters but it has to have procs chat. I'm sure we'll be talking a lot.

[Andy Cortez]

About Prox chat today.

[Tim Gettys]

A little housekeeping for you. We do have a schedule change for tomorrow. Wednesday at 10am we're doing games daily. Then at 11 the stream's gonna happen. Nick and Mike playing Little Tarov. At 1:45 we're going to start our reaction to the state of play for Borderlands and then do the games cast after that. Talking about everything we see for Borderlands 4 which recently got pushed up a rare release date move up situation. Interesting. Does it mean GTA 6 is coming this year? Andy, yes or no?

[Snowbike Mike]

Do they have insider info?

[Tim Gettys]

Probably.

[Snowbike Mike]

It's. I mean it's weird that like PlayStation's doing a state of play for a game that is not unlike marathons coming out the I guess they moved it up but I don't know, it's just. It's really weird. It's a weird situation.

[Tim Gettys]

It is weird. Then at 3:30 we'll be doing the happy hour for patrons out there where you get to call in and talk to us live. It's great. Remember we're 11 person business all about live talk shows today. After this you're going to get Mike and Nick playing Escape from Tarov. Starting your journey.

[Andy Cortez]

Two complete noobs. First timers ever. Yeah, jumping into Escape from Tarkov. For the first time, the whole week is dedicated to just me and Nick jumping into this extraction shooter. Will we like it? Will we love it? Will we hate it? Will we get good? We're gonna find out this week.

[Tim Gettys]

We're gonna find out together if you're a kind of funny member. Today's Gregory will be a massive one lasting the entire drive in as Greg explains where the hell he's been the past two days. That's a great question. I've been wondering where the fuck this motherfucker's been.

[Snowbike Mike]

He was on a show yesterday. No.

[Nick Scarpino]

Were you on the podcast? I don't think you were. When?

[Tim Gettys]

Secrets.

[Nick Scarpino]

Last week's podcast where Andy. He might have said the most poignant thing I've ever heard Roasted say ever. How is Greg as a 42 now? 42? Yeah. Just turned 42 years old last weekend.

[Tim Gettys]

Fresh. Beautiful.

[Nick Scarpino]

How is he still going on spring break?

[Tim Gettys]

It's my.

[Nick Scarpino]

It's the best thing you've ever said.

[Tim Gettys]

I haven't listened to the airing of grievances 2025 episode yet. I need to. I really, really.

[Nick Scarpino]

I don't think you catch too many strays in it.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, no.

[Snowbike Mike]

Roger put me on blast because I always have a lot of open.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, Rogers.

[Tim Gettys]

Just the unaccounted hours.

[Andy Cortez]

Heavy.

[Tim Gettys]

That's all I need.

[Snowbike Mike]

Mike didn't like Roger's high fives.

[Andy Cortez]

I hate Roger's high fives. I'm uptight about it.

[Snowbike Mike]

He just doesn't want to touch you.

[Nick Scarpino]

He doesn't want to be touched.

[Snowbike Mike]

What are you weari. He's never gonna wear it again.

[Tim Gettys]

I heard you in the office, like, question the Greg spring break thing, and I, I. It was a guttural laugh out loud, you know? Yes, it is very.

[Nick Scarpino]

Oh, the podcast.

[Snowbike Mike]

There it is.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, God, yeah. Oh, here we go, you guys. Real talk. The Pavlovian is so real. Like, it's not a joke. When the set changes, when music plays, I get a chill through my body thinking, Greg's fucking with me.

[Nick Scarpino]

Oh, I'm sorry about that.

[Tim Gettys]

Like, it's insane that it's, like, such a response that, like, my stomach sinks where I'm like, what am I gonna have to deal with? Like, how hard and loud is he going to be?

[Snowbike Mike]

What am I gonna change schedule wise?

[Nick Scarpino]

What temperature and smell is his breath gonna be? You know, when he gets all up in you and you're like, oh, that is a cool. That's like a Coors Light smell right now. That's an ipa.

[Andy Cortez]

We're like sometimes ayso and then the other time you're like, dad, that's not okay.

[Nick Scarpino]

Dad, you had one many dad.

[Andy Cortez]

Isn't it exciting to think about? Like you're wrapping up the season here soon and then a new season will happen and then a new stars in the banks will happen.

[Tim Gettys]

I take a phone call. So it's a disaster. Talk about extract.

[Nick Scarpino]

Let's talk about extraction shooters.

[Andy Cortez]

Let's jump into it, cuz guys, we played arc raiders, which is going to have a live play test very soon. April 30th through May 4th. So we have now jumped into arc raiders. Me and Andy have already previewed arc raiders before. Yeah, we have played marathon. We've played the cycle. We're jumping into Tarkov. You played a little Delta Force.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, played some Delta Force over the weekend.

[Andy Cortez]

We've played a lot of extraction shooters and that's kind of today's topic is we played arc raiders. Let's talk about is marathon or is extraction shooters hitting for us right now? Are we in? Are we out on them?

[Nick Scarpino]

I mean, my answer is always yes. I like extraction shooters. The big, the bigger question for me is what will it take for them to endure in this office or just going forward, I guess in the general populace? I think it's a really fun balance. I think it combines all the elements like in the genre in general. Combines all the elements that I like in while playing with my friends. There's goals, they're simple. It's the cycle itself, no pun intended, is.

[Snowbike Mike]

Is quick, rest in peace, Rip.

[Nick Scarpino]

And there's a human element to it that I think you absolutely have to have because that adds a level of competition to these things that like something like a destiny raid just never really hit for me because I'm like, I don't love shooting bots. I do love the occasion. I like that chaos of clashing with another team and then getting third partied and then like you barely survive and all these things. I like knowing there's a really human on the other side that whose day I just ruined or who just. Who knows? They ruined my day. So these are all like both of these were really, really fun Arc raiders and marathon in their own. In their own right. But I'm just fascinated. Like what's going to be the one that catches for us if there is.

[Tim Gettys]

One real quick ending out the little rigmarole here. Thank you to our Patreon producers, Anatoly Asked, Delaney Twining, Carl Jacobs and Omega Buster. Today we're brought to you by Imperial and Aura Frames. But we'll tell you about that later. Let's get to the topic of the show. I appreciate you jumping in so quickly, Nick, but I want a little refresher and I want you to answer a question that I've asked y'all before, but I want to hear it again. What is an Extraction Shooter?

[Snowbike Mike]

An extraction shooter is a video game that you interact with on a computer screen. You and your friends gather together or you can hop in solo. And it's usually a large ish map that you go explore because your main missions, you're always working for a faction. There's always.

[Andy Cortez]

There's always somebody.

[Snowbike Mike]

There's always somebody in this like, dilapidated world that you exist in that says, hey, I need five fucking cans of beans and three gears of whatever and you know, two armor plating or whatever and go find those will give you a lot of money. Go find those things. Bring it back. We'll reward you, right? And you select that. You say, I will select that contract. You select it and you embark on this world. No pun intended. Embark is a studio that made is making Arc Raiders who also makes the finals and finals. Then you go embark on this world and you and your homies go out there and then you go, oh, the. Those little parts are usually in this area of the map. Let me go there. But watch out, there's other players out there. There's other. There's another. An extra threat that's not just the NPC enemies that vary across different difficulties depending on the game that you're playing. Some spots you're like, ooh, really good loot in there. But we know that it's going to be hot because there's good loot and other teams are really going to gravitate towards that little spot on the map. And it's also going to be extra difficult because the game also put in harder NPCs and harder computer enemies there that are going to really challenge us if there's not already another team challenging us as well. You hope to get those things. If you die, you're you. You die. You die.

[Tim Gettys]

You lose your shit, you're dead.

[Snowbike Mike]

So that risk reward of, oh man, I really want this to be a good run, but I got this really sick ass shield and I'm not willing to lose it right now. And I feel like if I take it out, we're just going to get third partied or we're going to get snuck up on by somebody. You lose your shit and your run is done. And then you're either super sad. And you, you hit alt F4, you get real sad and you quit out the game. But yeah, I think extraction shooters are in sort of a weird spot, right, Mike? Because I think Escape from Tarkov is kind of like the biggest main one. And then the more casual audience who isn't PC gaming because it. Escape for Doggov requires you to like go to a website and sign up for.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, you can't get it through Steam.

[Nick Scarpino]

Pretty sure Mike and I belong to the Russian model.

[Andy Cortez]

I've given up my credit card information.

[Snowbike Mike]

So the division Dark Zone is kind of the main thing that a lot of more casual audiences know because of the division. Dark Zone was a mode within the division video game, which is a PvE game. But the Dark Zone is like, you can hop in there to go get loot, but you might also encounter other players that really want that loot as well, who's going to be able to extract the quickest. And then we've sort of seen a lot of different extraction games pop up.

[Andy Cortez]

Remember Call of Duty had their own. They tried to make that, you know, popular as well with dmz.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, they tried.

[Tim Gettys]

I have some questions.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, yeah, you're.

[Tim Gettys]

You're saying that you and your squad, you get the contract, you're going out to get all the things that they want and there are other human characters or players doing other missions. Are there other missions to stop you? Or there are the missions to get other extract other things.

[Snowbike Mike]

There might be a little side mission that says like, hey, if you take down an enemy challenges, you might get extra XP or whatever, but the missions are always, go out, go loot here in this spot. Go out, take down this enemy, go out, bring back some cloth so I can make bandages, and we'll reward you. There's always different contracts and missions that people are on.

[Nick Scarpino]

Now this is where prox chat comes in. Yeah, because when we were playing the cycle, there would be multiple times where you'd come across one person. You'd be like, look, you can't. It's hard to get. That's one of the, the, the downsides to shooters like this. It's hard to get to your friends sometimes to hop in with you midday or whatever. If you're just grinding so you hopping by yourself. Right. And we've had multiple times where we come across one Jabroni with his proc shat on and he's like, guys, look, I'm just trying to get 10 plantains or whatever it is. Please don't, please don't kill me. And the two of us are like, absolutely. Mike's like, come on.

[Andy Cortez]

Why don't you come over?

[Nick Scarpino]

And then Mike, I. We hear, like, three shots, and I got you, bitch.

[Snowbike Mike]

Did you just kill that kid?

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

And that's.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

I like, so, like, the biggest question that. A lot. You know, we had that super chat asking about Prox Chat, and Arc Raiders has procs chat. Arc Raiders will allow you to sort of live out those really improvisational cool moments with another player that I got to experience when I played the cycle, where most of the time, you're going to run into a. Who's going to want to kill you, because that's part of the thrill of running against enemy players. But 10 to 15 of the time, there will be like, I will never forget this. I think his name is Luis or Juanito or something.

[Nick Scarpino]

Okay.

[Snowbike Mike]

Dude with a heavy Spanish accent. Okay. I mean, just sound like somebody I went to school with back in the day. And I was like, hey, man, please don't. I'm just trying to do this. He's like, okay, cool. Yeah, I'm trying to do that, too. And then we just kind of became homies, and we're just on this run, like, looting together. We're just chatting. I'm not even streaming. I'm just like, this is kind of. This is a cool sort of thing. And then we hear gunshots, and we're like, oh, there's another. There's another team here. I was like. And then we're communicating. Oh, he's over here. He's over here. Here's. We can't. He can't see the pings that I'm doing on the map, but I'm trying to communicate. And we end up taking this dude down, and we both leave with our. And I'm like, I'll never forget you, bro. Like, and it was just, like, a cool moment. And those are the things that, like, I wish marathon turns on Proc Chat. I hope they eventually do. They have to, because that. Those are the. The. An extra layer of excitement that adds into running against another player in the world.

[Nick Scarpino]

It definitely adds to the tension, too, especially if. If one of your other teammates hears them and you don't, and they're a little bit off the map. That's when your heart starts beating a little bit. Like, we had a great moment in our creators where we came across a team and they were in a lit elevator, and we were in the darkness, and we were like. We just. I don't know if you guys noticed, but we inherently like, shh, shh. Wait, wait. I don't even think we had Proxy.

[Snowbike Mike]

I don't think we did.

[Nick Scarpino]

I literally. I literally got like. I felt myself getting, like, quieter. I was like, oh, yeah?

[Snowbike Mike]

Yes.

[Nick Scarpino]

And then we iced them, went into the elevator, and I looked down the hallway and it was dark. And after about a couple seconds, I was like, wait, is someone else? And then just shot started ringing out on us. I'm like, this. This is a very unique thing.

[Snowbike Mike]

And. And at that moment, as Nick and Mike go down, Mike is like, andy, get the out of here. So I attached to the zip line and I go up the elevator because there's no, like, actual functional elevators. You just go up like a little zip or whatever and I'm at the top and it's like, do I wait it out? Do I wait to go res them? There's. There's a lot of excitement like that. And I think what kind of really pumps me. What about arc Raiders and the different jokes for different folks. Right. But running across a team in the game Marathon, which I still enjoy. Not a game that I love yet. I hope we can maybe get there, but with marathon running against another squad. Because the mechanics and the look in the first person shooter. And hit three to run with your knife out so you run quicker. It reminds me of running across another team in the battle Royale. Mainly Apex, because it's so much of Apex.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yes.

[Snowbike Mike]

And it. It's that same sort of vibe where I'm not ever really super surprised and the heart rate doesn't quite get as high, but it's still, like, exciting to run another squad. You want to shoot them, you want to kill them. All communication. We had some great, exciting moments.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

There's something just really cool about arc Raiders that reminds me so much of playing Daisy.

[Tim Gettys]

So let's get into. Let's talk about arc Raiders. Andy, how much have you played and what's your experience with it?

[Snowbike Mike]

Arc Raiders is something that me and Mike played many, many months ago as an early preview. We couldn't even record it. I really wish we could record our gameplay because we had, like, some awesome laughs and great moments. And then this opportunity came up again to hop into arc Raiders for the second preview before the big one that releases tomorrow, which is kind of more of a public thing. You have to go to their Steam page and request access. And Arc raiders is from Embark Studios, the people that made the finals. There's a lot of, like, former dice developers on there as well. It is a third person shooter. I've played maybe around six or seven hours, maybe now maybe 8ish. Over the different sort of gaming, you know, periods that we could play. And a lot of it reminds me of Daisy and the, the sort of stress that comes with that as well. And maybe it was like the third time that we played it, the final time that we played it because Michael's like, oh shit, we're playing on the nighttime map. And I felt the need to be way more stealthy and sneaky. And you hear shots ringing out in the distance and you're like, oh shit. Squads over here, keep a lookout because they're probably going to be in this area. And then as we start sort of sneaking in these darker rooms where, you know, you turn on your flashlight but you don't want to have it on too long because you don't want to maybe make anybody else aware that you are out there. The robot NPCs are really tough to kind of take down because once the robots take start shooting, you're like, they're alerting everybody else that shit's going down here. And there's just like a tension there, man. We were creeping in the dark. We were like, where's the squad at? They're at the bottom of the elev. There was just, I, I, it felt great. It felt exciting and, and full attention. And that's kind of the feeling that I've been looking for in a lot of these styles of games. I still don't think extraction shooters are 100 my, but if you put me in a lobby with my friends, I'm gonna have fun because I like pointing and shooting and clicking, you know, Mike.

[Tim Gettys]

You like pointing, you like.

[Andy Cortez]

I love clicking.

[Tim Gettys]

You love hanging out with your friends. What was your experience with our creators?

[Andy Cortez]

I really enjoyed arc raiders. I like arc raiders for the setting. I think the different maps that they had, the zones felt big to the point where you could hear gunshots ring out and you would be enticed to maybe go check it out or want to go hide and go the opposite way. But like these maps were very cool.

[Tim Gettys]

Right.

[Andy Cortez]

Reminiscent of like, I don't know, nick, like an 80s Mad Max type movie.

[Nick Scarpino]

Well, I mean it's literally like, it's like watching Last of Us right now too.

[Andy Cortez]

Right.

[Nick Scarpino]

It's just any post apocalyptic sort of.

[Andy Cortez]

Post apocalyptic in the desert.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Bright colors all around you. Right. And I think the third person perspective also adds to that right. Of like you seem so small in this giant map. As opposed to Marathon, where Marathon right now feels like smaller maps that are definitely Meant to like you're going in for engagement and you're gonna clash and that kind of gives that battle royale feel.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah. I love lots of elevation here too.

[Andy Cortez]

I like Darth Raiders for the setting. I also like Darth Raider for the vibes. Right. I think there's just like a cool theme of like this robotic world meeting this post apocalyptic world and you're kind of blending the two together. So we're out there shooting these super futuristic robots, but all I got is this like put together pistol that has 10 rounds and goes super slow. Or my assault rifle only has 15 bullets and it sucks. And of course you'll build off of that to get better and better. I liked walking around with the crew. I enjoyed the missions that they gave us. It felt like every other Extraction shooter. Nothing different on the mission, structure wise.

[Snowbike Mike]

I appreciated the presentation a lot more than Marathon though. And Marathon is already.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Kind of hinted that they may want to introduce a hub world. So when we play the Cycle Frontier, which got shut down recently. The Cycle Frontier, when you'd finish a run, you'd go back to your homeworld and. Or to your hub world rather. And you would station. You would see your other home like other homies kind of running around, going to accept missions from different NPCs.

[Nick Scarpino]

Stuff. Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

That's probably like the most. It felt like the Destiny Tower right in the. In Marathon, you're basically looking at a video that plays and of a person, of a computer, of AI, whatever it may be.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

And then dialogue is read to you. With Arc Raiders, I. I really appreciated that. While still not a hub world, which I would ultimately prefer, it's a 3D model of a human being that is looking at you, talking to you, saying like, hey man, here's the deal. We need this and blah. And so not quite a hub world, but still more presentation that than what Marathon offered.

[Andy Cortez]

Keep going. Tim.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

What if.

[Tim Gettys]

Nick, what about you? Like you. You played this too?

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah. It's very interesting. So playing this back kind of back to back actually on. On alternating days with Marathon was a very interesting experience for me because we played Marathon first, the Alpha and I was like, this is really fun. This is scratching an itch that I like. I like Extraction shooters. I think it's fun.

[Tim Gettys]

And you're more of a first person guy, right?

[Nick Scarpino]

First or third? I, I just, I like anything competitive shooting wise. And I am. I mean I gravitate more toward first person shooters. I think that's just because that's the. That's the majority of the genre is first person. If you name any game that's come out that's competitive shooter. The last like, you know, six, six years, most of them have been first person, right? We played Marathon. I was like, this is really, really fun. And then you jump right into arc Raiders. And Andy's right, it's a different pace and it's a different vibe and it definitely has a. Like the second you're in this world, you feel isolated and that you're in danger and that there is no safety for you. And that's a really cool, fun feeling as a player. And then of course, when you do inevitably clash with another team, you can feel they're feeling the same thing and they're not quite sure if they should push you or not, but they don't have. And then you're, you know, you're, you're. They don't know. You don't know if they have a choice or whatever. But then all of a sudden you're, you're, you're entangled with them. I immediately thought, hey, I kind of, I think I'm gravitating more toward the arc Raiders experience than, than Marathon. And then we jumped into Marathon the next day and I was like, okay, they're, they're just very different. One is more fast paced, one is more forgiving. Marathon's way more forgiving because you can actually res people a little bit easier and all that stuff. And one person could like run away and bring the other people back. But arc raiders is like if they had a single player mission in that if there was like a 20 hour experience, I'd be like, I would jump into this and play this game. It's really fun.

[Snowbike Mike]

And that's what's kind of ultimately more of a bummer because I think my feedback, which is old, echoed by a lot of other people. And it's ultimately like, well, you're just asking for a different game at this point is that I look at Marathon, I'm like, I, I just wish it was a PvE game with a PvP side component like the division Dark Zone. I wish it was just another version of Destiny. Arc Raiders, when revealed in 2021, was going to be a Luda shooter, like PvE Game Co Op with your friends or whatever. And then they eventually kind of turned it into this more extraction shooter experience, which is a huge bummer because it reminds me so much of the division because it's not only third person, but has a cool little dodge roll when you're trying to get back into cover and stuff. The switching of views from. From each shoulder. There's just like a really good tactical nature to it. And because the maps feel a lot larger. Right, Mike? Like, they definitely feel more. There's more places to explore than just the, you know, like, buildings in.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

In Marathon, I think the Marathon buildings maybe go three or four stories, but there's some gigantic structures.

[Tim Gettys]

Super tall structures too. Like you talking about the verticality earlier. Like, I'm very taken aback by how much.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

Variation there is in the terrain.

[Snowbike Mike]

It feels like you're just playing in a much larger map and. And I think you get the added feeling of this sort of aloneness feeling because you are in third person. Yeah. But I. I love it. I love that sort of.

[Tim Gettys]

That.

[Snowbike Mike]

That sort of dread when you're kind of walking into these zones because it doesn't quite feel. It feels More like the PvP engagements happen more by happenstance, where with Marathon, it feels like they really want you doing that.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

And I don't know which one I prefer or not.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. I think Marathon feeds the audience. Like, me, who wants that engagements. Right. Like, I think Andy will tell you, whenever I hear gunshots, I usually say, let's go find that. Right. As opposed to, like, hey, let's try to avoid that and keep on to the mission. Or keep searching. Maybe we'll get a better engagement on them. I usually hear the gunshots and it's like, I'll drop everything and just start chasing that. Right. And I think for me on Marathon side, I like that clash. Right. I really enjoy the hey, we are a looter shooter extraction game. But at the same time, like, it's a battle royale type vibe where you're just going to be clashing all the time and you're going to get third party and frustrated because it happens so quickly.

[Snowbike Mike]

First day, Mike.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. When we played arc Raiders, it's like you could go a run without ever seeing a team. That's how big the map feels and how much room you kind of have to play cat and mouse with. But you could bang into a team when you play marathon. It's like, oh, you're gonna bang into a team. And you might bang into two or three teams and it gets wild. So I like that side of things because it feeds that constant competitiveness that I want. But at the same time, I like our creators of, like, let's slow it down, let's get lost. And that's the setting that builds that.

[Nick Scarpino]

But I do wonder though, right. Because for me, specifically, the Competitive aspect of it is what keeps me coming back. I've never gravitated toward the division or anything like that, where it is just. You're just constantly fighting AI bots and it just feels like it's such a. Such a cycle of predictability that there is no wow factor to it. Where when you do clash with a team, like, we had that. That moment in our creators where we clashed the team, and I was like, we're great. And then another team came up and I was like, oh, right. You forget. That's actually a possibility. So I think you do need that competitive aspect of. And I think to myself, like, if we were. If you were like, nick, let's play more marathon right now, I would absolutely want to do that.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think a lot of it comes down to the. For me, it's like the really deflating feeling of us having a great first day with marathon.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

And then me and Mike turn on the stream that night, and it was five straight back to back, like, dying so fast and almost. You got to assume sometimes, like, maybe there was, like.

[Nick Scarpino]

Interesting. What was the. What was the difference there?

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, God.

[Nick Scarpino]

What was the difference in your team there?

[Andy Cortez]

Missing our rock.

[Tim Gettys]

We were.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah, we sure were.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Our anchor, as some would say most teams need an anchor.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

Anchoring you to reality, right?

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

Is that what you're saying?

[Andy Cortez]

And that's the problem with the extraction shooter is about, like, the fun tagline that they all use. Right. Scavenge, survive, thrive. Right. And at the end of the day, you want to thrive. We've gone into the world, we've gotten all this cool, sick loot, and at the. Hopefully by the end of the night, we are thriving. Meaning we have the best guns, the best gear, the best loadouts, and we feel confident to bring them in. But there's moments where me and Andy had right in marathon where you get in the cycle of losing, you've now lost all your guns. You're up against the wall of. I have the bare bones loadout that I can walk in with, and Nick and his squad are going to be thriving. And we're at a big disadvantage now. I will say, in all of this, it always feels like you have the opportunity to be on an even footing with them and maybe catch them. But, like, there is a. That team was very much better than us with all their guns and weapons. And we were up against it because we didn't have anything and we lost it. Right now we feel down. We. We're beat up on that. And I think arc raiders would allow us to kind of crawl back, right? Big enough room, we can loot, we can get out, we can do good marathon. If you jump in with the basic loadout, you're going to get run over probably 80 of the time. They're going to find you. I don't think you're getting in and out safely.

[Nick Scarpino]

It does feel. It does feel harder to oh, sorry. Do you want to throw to an ad real quick?

[Tim Gettys]

I want to keep talking about this dick, but we'll do that right after A quick word from our Sponsors this.

[E]

Episode is brought to you by Imperial. We have told you all how important it is to developers that you wish list the games you're interested in. So if this sounds cool to you, make sure you wish list it. I can't tell you how much it helps. Imperial is a complex, feature rich action RPG where you'll be sent to a planet in a far off corner of the galaxy to explore an enormous, imposing monolith. As an elite mercenary, you'll join the expedition tasked with unearthing the secrets of the Monolith and face off against the deadly automatons within. In Imperial, you'll explore four vastly different quadrants of the monolith, accessible only by using mysterious artifacts known as cartograms. Each cartogram affects which enemies, boss fights and loot will appear when you enter the monolith, so no two excursions will be the same. Find even more cartograms to explore by looting defeated enemies or buy them from other players online at the Trading Post. You'll need to make sure you have the right gear to take on the harder cartograms. Build your mercenary, choose your gear, master your abilities, and take down everything in your path. In Imperial, face off against enormous deadly bosses and seek out secret paths to find bigger and better loot. Help the members of the expedition in deep branching quests and aid other players in asynchronous multiplayer. Get ready Mercenaries. The Monolith awaits. Imperial is available May 8th on PC Xbox Series X&S and PlayStation 5 wishlist now it helps so much. Wishlist Imperial this episode is brought to you by Aura Frames. If you haven't called your mom in a while, here's your reminder to do it. But if you want to go above and beyond beyond, Mother's Day is coming up and I have the perfect gift idea. Aura Frames are incredibly smart and easy to use, allowing you to upload unlimited photos and videos directly from from your phone to the frame. Plus, you can order the frame online and preload it with photos and videos using the Aura app so it's ready to go right out of the box. It's a gift so special they'll use it every day. Me, Kevin and a ton of people at Kinda Funny are obsessed with our Aura Frames. It takes about two minutes to set up the frame using the Aura app. Aura Frames were named the best digital photo frame by Wirecutter and featured in 495 gift guides last year. Accounted or it has a great deal for Mother's Day. For a limited time. Listeners can save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off plus free shipping on the best selling Carver matte frame. That's auraframes.com promo code. Kinda Funny. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply.

[Nick Scarpino]

Nick riffing off that, it does feel like you can be a lot more tactical in. In our creators. It feels like you can there if. Because the map is so big. Especially those night maps where you can literally be like, we could do a run where we don't fire a single bullet if we wanted to.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

And I think that's. That's always the double edged sword for me because you do it once, that's great. You do a second time, that's great. Third time I'm like, I'm itching. I gotta kill a real human being right now. And so I think that I. I think that's in the grand scheme of things. While they're both really fun, I think I would gravitate more toward Marathon because I do think I want that. That type of engagement more so than I want the let's explore this environment. I think that's going to just run itself thin very quickly for me.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. I think for me and Nick in particular, I think I can speak for him. It's like we get kind of bored over and over again looting the same stuff, right? Looting that just basic gear or the duct tape of like every run you're going in there and you're just looting. It's like, no, I'm here to shoot. Right. And so I want to shoot more than I'm just grabbing random stuff from my backpack pack. Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

That's my thing is any game that reminds me that there's borders to the game or anytime I start seeing behind the curtain of like, hey, this is just the basic programming of this, I start getting bored and I immediately lose focus. That's why, that's why I think I stayed with Battle Royales for so long. Because it, it Might seem like it's repetitive, but it's not. There's always something crazy or chaotic to look forward to that's new in the experience. And it's the same reason why that. Or it's the inverse reason why I never really gravitated toward Call of Duty's multiplayer because that just felt so grindy and so samey after a while that I think you need to have both those elements to keep my attention.

[Snowbike Mike]

Specifically, I. I guess for me, I'm on the opposite side of it where if it's all of the time human engagements, I want it to feel more special. And that's why I think I'm leaning more towards enjoyment in Arc Raiders because it does feel tense. Hearing the audio. The audio is fantastic in both games, honestly. I think the. The audio design of hearing other players walking around like the. The last night playing with Kevin Maddock and we're looting inside of a room and then hearing like, yeah, footsteps. And you're like, oh, there's something here somewhere here. Something here. Kevin send out the drone of. It's one dude. I only see one guy. Is it only one person? Or they are his two squad mates somewhere else. And then he's sort of like, you know, I'm like, he's right here. I'm pinging next to me because he's on the other side of the wall and Maddox sees him. Our homie Maddock is like, start shooting him. Start shooting him. We start shooting him. Ho shit. He has a purple shield. We take his ass out. We don't know where the other two people are. Did he die? Did he come in here alone? We don't know. I kind of want to wait to go loot. Should I go loot yet? I'm scared that like maybe they're just watching my bag, you know. All those sort of thoughts start racing through your head. I go out and go take all of his shit and it's like, oh, that was cool. That was thrilling. And I think if I wanted more of that, I would just play a battle royale fair. And with Arc Raiders, I love the tension. The night map especially was like the one that really made me feel the fear with especially how great their audio design is where even when you're walking around, you're like, is that a noise? Was that me? Like, I'm hearing shit right now and it's. It really kind of fucks with your head. And I. I want to see what the. What these games have to offer more with more dangerous areas. I want to progress more in Those games. And I think the progression in that game overall feels more enticing because of how there being a skill tree in our creators as opposed to Marathon, which has a kind of a more convoluted system.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, we haven't really talked about there's a skill tree in our creators to make you feel like this is your character. It can be unique from everybody else. Marathon, it's, hey, this is a hero shooter. We're going to give you set classes. You are going to pick one of these characters and you're going to jump in with their moveset. Right. And so it is interesting to see, right, you and I on this skill tree in our creators, which is big. It has what, three different pathways, Maybe four. And you can choose, oh, I want more endurance. I want to be able to climb up a ladder faster. I want to be able to look at people's backpacks.

[Snowbike Mike]

Want my stamina to recover quicker.

[Andy Cortez]

And I'm still just whatever Mike character I want, right? You can go into the store, buy cosmetics. Right. You can just be generic soldier 42. But then on marathon side, it's like, hey, here's four pre made classes. You're going to choose from one of them and there's not much leeway between that. You're just going to be there.

[Snowbike Mike]

What's up, Andy?

[Tim Gettys]

You were talking about the, the audio stuff and how impressive it is, but the visuals of Arc Raiders I'm kind of surprised by. And you talk a lot about the. The night level having a very different gameplay style because of the dark. And I saw a lot of the flashlight stuff that you were describing, but in the daylight stuff, it seems like there's a lot of like sun glare and like getting in your eyes and stuff. Like is. Am I wrong in saying that? That this is a very pretty game and like, does that like, I feel like when you guys normally play your competitors.

[Nick Scarpino]

No disrespect the Marathon, by the way, but this game is stunning our creators, surprisingly.

[Snowbike Mike]

I love, I love them both for I, I know like Marathon, I think is a bit more. I think it's a bit more polarizing art style wise. Like, some people really don't like it, some people really love it. I happen to really love Marathon's art style and I love our creator's art style.

[Tim Gettys]

But so with this though, I feel like when I hear you guys talk about competitive shooters and stuff, you usually want to turn all the visual settings off so it's not distracting, the lights not getting in your way. But is that part of the Gameplay here.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think it's part of the experience. Yeah, for sure. I think adds to the immersion a lot more. For sure. Like it adds to the, this sort of feeling of dread and just I think the game looks gorgeous and I want to see it look amazing. It's not necessarily a game that I need to have 200 frames per second on. I don't mind rocking, you know, 80, 90, 120 or whatever. Like I, I, I, I, I would. I prefer the visual so much that I want the experience to look great because I'm having fun with this experience. And yeah, I think just like the dynamic sort of lighting. Marathon has a very similar thing where Marathon I think is. It looks great. But Marathon also is super light and super like diet when it comes to how it runs on your machine. It can run on a lot of much lower powered machines. It feels like I don't know how arc raiders would really fare. I don't know how Arc Raider scales performance wise. Yeah. You know, because it looks really damn good.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yes. Because they probably not as well as Marathon but, but I'll second that. Like art graders is also not. It's not a ultra fast Call of Duty multiplayer. Like you need those frames because you need to have your 13 year old reflexes be like as jacked as humanly possible. This is a tactical, this is way more tactical. You get caught out in the open, it doesn't matter if you have 200 frames per second with this you're going to get destroyed.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

And that's. That really adds to it. And I would actually second that. I really do think that like this would be the one game that I'd be like, you know, when they always have. I don't think they even have it in this. But like in most games where it's like we want to set your gamma and we all be like oh, we'll set it right. But we all jack it up right. This is the one where you want to set it correctly because it really does add the tension to like. Like I said with that first example of looking down the hallway and seeing the actual like real time shadows and like not being able to see anything in front of you but they can see you and then like seeing something move, you're like oh my God, this is terrifying. And it really, really adds to the experience.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah. We got a bunch of super chats I want to get to here. Demon hacker says I'm enjoying Mike's hello fellow children fit. I do. Here's the thing, you know the, the hello fellow Youth type thing. This legitimately is children though. Like it is the vibes of like a kid at recess, you know what I mean? I appreciate that a lot, Mike.

[Andy Cortez]

It's ladies night.

[Tim Gettys]

Ladies night. Remember that. Yelsing says, is Nick continuing Pokemon after the Elite Four?

[Nick Scarpino]

We are continuing Pokemon for Snowbike Mike's birthday next week.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yes, we will. I'm sorry.

[Andy Cortez]

He doesn't know about it.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

So he doesn't know anything. The end is the Elite Four.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yes.

[Tim Gettys]

Next week. Stay tuned for that Flying penguin. Says Nick's Nick on a gamescast. What is this? Bizarro World? Got to get him off the bench. You know, he's been playing. He did a preview. He did heart raters.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah. We also don't know where Greg is. We haven't seen Greg.

[Tim Gettys]

Break is a never ending spring break forever. They said it, they told us a long time ago.

[Snowbike Mike]

Look at all my Mike, how do you feel about the weapons and like upgrading things and going back once you're done with a run? What are your. Your strong points and your weaknesses in either Arc Raiders.

[Andy Cortez]

The big drive for me right now in our craters is the setting that we've talked about with the visuals and the look and the style. I've really enjoyed. I've actually not liked or connected with the weapons whatsoever in Arc Raiders. It's a very slower game. Right. Feels like the last of us with the single shot sniper rifle, the 10 shot automatic rifle. I. I haven't dug that. Right. So I really have enjoyed the futuristic more machine gun, full blasting on Marathon. I always dig finding a new scope. Right. We talked about it when you and I were playing Marathon on stream. I was like, hey, what gun are you rocking? I have X, Y and Z. Let me drop this for you. And so I like the upgrade so far on both of these games. Finding them. I haven't found much in Arc Raiders to upgrade my guns. I never felt like we had that. I found one yellow sniper rifle. We lost it the next round. So I never really got to see it in action. But like I never felt like I was finding, hey, here's a scope for this gun. Or here's this gun's larger ammo round. Right. As a marathon, I felt like I was finding that stuff.

[Snowbike Mike]

I also don't know if we progressed even.

[Nick Scarpino]

We did not even close.

[Snowbike Mike]

And we were because the. Unfortunately with just the way that we work here and us all, you know, we're always on a lot of shows and stuff. There was a lot of moments where it's like I'm not even gonna start up the next one because I got. I gotta be on Gamescast. I gotta be on whatever. So, like, just what we found. Get in there, like, let's try to get another run in or whatever. But when it comes to the weapons. Yeah. I think the initial kind of weapons you find in arc raiders may feel a bit overwhelming or underwhelming because you're also. You're essentially just shooting at steel robots and drones. So like, when I. I always kind of make the comparison of why I always felt Battlefront. Star Wars Battlefront was always underwhelming because shooting a laser just doesn't feel as cool as like hit a bullet, like pop. You know, that hard impact. And there's something about shooting metal and hearing like, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. That is not quite as satisfying as it would if it was like a big monster enemy or other human npc. Ye. In Arc Raider, that's interesting.

[Nick Scarpino]

I had the opposite feeling. I actually really liked the mechanics of shooting like just the little drones in the air and how they reacted to your bullets and they would like shift and that. That felt really organic.

[Andy Cortez]

The weak spot on the larger spider enemy, when it would open up and you'd get inside the.

[Nick Scarpino]

There was just a lot of.

[Snowbike Mike]

I guess I'm thinking more of just the audio feedback. But I love how in arc raiders you can shoot the individual propellers on these drones and it will. If you break like that one propeller, it'll kind of like fuck up or whatever. But yeah, there's some. I. I think I want to eventually put more time into our graders just to see how the weapons get. And also the skill tree is really nice because I really loved feeling weak as at your lowest level and consistently upgrading to, oh, my stamina is coming back now I'm not running 12ft and then getting tired. I enjoyed seeing that progression in addition to, albeit how, you know, it is very, very limited, but the having a character creator. And that's also another big disappointment I have with Marathon. With Marathon, you. The lore is that you are a consciousness that is being put into a weaved like body exosuit. Right. So you're just kind of like a mind being put into any sort of body doesn't matter. Like Citizen Sleeper. Yeah, kind of. It doesn't matter if it looks male or female, whatever. Like you're just kind of being put into any body you want. And so that's why they have these classes that you are able to sort of create. And it still bums me out because one Thing I really enjoyed about the game that we played, Exoborn, which is another extraction shooter that we got to play that little Steam Next Fest demo or whatever it was, the way Exoborn is. It's also a character creator, but the classes are dependent on what exosuit you are equipping. So if you want to be the more tanky sort of exosuit, you put on the tankier exo suit. Where in Marathon it's like you feel like you have less agency. And I think they want to have added agency by doing customization and getting cosmetics and getting a cool new helmet, cool new color scheme, whatever it may be. But I still look at Marathon, I go, but I want. I want my destiny guardian. I want my character to be like my character. And then maybe I put on the glitch thing that makes me the glitch class or I put on the whatever class that gives. You know, I just kind of find it's such a bummer with how much I fuck with Bungie's art style and then not giving me a character creator. Just like now I've already talked it to death. But it just really.

[Andy Cortez]

You talk about the look, though, let's talk about the play. Did you like the hero movesets? Right? Because, like, for me, I enjoyed having the, hey, let me scan the area. Nick fumbling the bag most of the time, but like, him having the tape, his, you know, never quite got the.

[Nick Scarpino]

Hang of the shield.

[Andy Cortez]

I liked when you threw down smoke. I liked that added layer of gameplay of, hey, how do we work these hero attributes together and actually be able to do cool things?

[Snowbike Mike]

I do. But I think in the same vein, it could have been a character creator with you picking certain perks going into.

[Nick Scarpino]

I agree with Andy.

[Snowbike Mike]

You know, you could pick the radar thing that sends out the thing that pings enemies out there, or I could pick the perk class that lets me drop down.

[Andy Cortez]

Did you like the hero moves?

[Snowbike Mike]

I did enjoy them. I feel like they. I want to see more creativity with them because they do feel a bit standard at the moment. But I also don't know if, like, is that even necessarily what I want out of an Extraction shooter, because does it then become too apexy or overwatchy, where these abilities may start to. You get that feature creep, right? Like you. It happened in Apex where it's like the first class of heroes have, you know, their set moves and abilities and then they, hey, brand new hero we're making. Oh, they're finally adding a brand new hero. Let's check it out and it's like this and this character's abilities combine. You're like, oh man, that's way better than them. Why would I ever. And then you start to see this like, escalation of abilities. And I don't know if I want that in an extraction experience. And I also don't know if I want an extraction experience at all. Like, because I would rather play Marvel Rivals or any other multiplayer game. Like I, I took, I took part in the Bungee little survey and it's like, ultimately I don't think this is a game that I would ever main. I don't think this genre is a game that I would ever main. If I want to do a PvP, I would prefer the battle royale experience. I would prefer Overwatch, Marvel Rivals, that sort of thing. So like, ultimately I'm enjoying these games and I'm enjoying this genre, but I don't think I would ever, it would ever be my main thing that I would like pour hours and hours into.

[Tim Gettys]

And that it's interesting. You know the topic of the show is extraction shooters. Yes or no? We have breaking news now from Jason Schreier. Electronic Arts is laying off between three and 400 staff, including 100 at Respawn, canceling a Titanfall. I think that was the Star wars stuff, right? This is more information.

[Snowbike Mike]

We're getting more specific details. We did talk about this story, but it was all breaking and coming out. We now know that the title that Respawn was working on was this extraction shooter.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Set in the quote unquote Titanfall Universe. Which means absolutely goddamn nothing because Apex Legends is in the Titanfall universe.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah, we have a couple of super chats I want to get to as well. Cowhand super chatted about the Jason Schreier news there. If there's more that comes out, we'll talk about that on Games Daily tomorrow. Then Dean says everyone's bubbles different, but I don't know anyone who has played these extraction shooters. Maybe I'm the odd man out, but I don't see why companies are ch this as the next battle royale craze. And then Bulk Dasher says the genre is still very niche, contrary to what some say, free to play versus paid doesn't make a difference. Nobody wants these games anymore, especially from devs like Bungie and Sony. Any thoughts on that, Mike?

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, they're taking a shot at the dartboard, right? Like, it's very tough to read the future telling ball, right? And go, this is what it's going to be like Four years, five years from now, right, you're seeing companies now come up with games that they've been working on for two to three plus years and they're trying to find what's the new hotness. Fortnite has taken over and changed the world of video games in general, right? And so you have Call of Duty, which is a mainstay. You have Battlefield trying to get back into relevancy here. You have massive companies that have been shaken to their core on where we're at in 2025. And then there's smaller teams that are a little more agile, but they come and go. We've seen hundreds of games here on this panel and all of you that have played and then they've just kind of gone and they're never coming back, right? And so I think it's very tough, right? And they're trying to hitch their wagon onto something that may blow up, maybe it doesn't. But right now, no one knows what is going to be the next big money maker. You just try to make something great and hopefully people vibe onto that. You also have to remember this doesn't need to be Fortnite, right? You can get wins and still stick around. We've seen that a ton where people have made great games. We've all rallied behind them, played them for six months, a year, two years, and then they've gone and that team is now able to fund their next game, right? And so, yeah, maybe when we look at it on the EA level, it's massive, right? This is ground shaking. Oh, we made the wrong decision. But they're also testing a thousand different game types and going, what works, what doesn't? What can I say? Yeah, let's back up the Brinks trucks and let's develop this for five years, right? And we're in a tough one right now. And so, yeah, I mean, we're trying. I, I think this is something that someone is trying to find the mainstream game. They're trying to take it from Escape From Tarkov and be the one that you can put this on consoles and PCs and everybody's going to play it. It might not be their main thing, but if I can get you for one day a week, two days a week, if I can start to build that momentum, that's a win for any company.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think the most, I think the most pressing question is the one I get a lot and the one that I'm always thinking about while playing these attraction shooter games is, you know, with, with a game like Destiny or even thinking of the division or any sort of Ludo shooter. You are trying to get the best weapon, you're trying to get the best gear and the best loot so that you can eventually take on the end game boss or the final raid or whatever big thing it is. And that is still a question that people who maybe have an experience, Extraction shooters, that's still the question they're asking. What am I getting with the ultimate goal? Yeah, what. And a lot of it is like, well, to do another run and then to feel that thrill again of experiencing another team that you come across and you go, oh, I beat your ass because I had this better gear or this better loot, or you die and you lose that loot because maybe you just got sniped from an angle you didn't see. You know, it happened to me and Mike. And granted we're not. Not having this crazy loot that we could even worry about losing. But you know, running in Marathon and we're just talking shooting the. And I'd like to think I'm. I'm usually good at hearing like the footsteps and all that stuff. And so we're just kind of hanging out. It's like, oh, we're. Oh, man, I didn't even. We just landed here. I don't know how we didn't see that other team or whatever. Like there is that risk reward that will be worth it enough for some people. But I don't know if this will ever capture the mainstream audience because I think they will still prefer the battle royale experience. Prefer the 4v4.5v5 counter strike valorant experience.

[Tim Gettys]

What's the price on our creators? Is it free to play? Is it a paid game?

[Snowbike Mike]

I thought it was going to be 40. They were initially going to want to do free to play. And I think it's going to be 40, but $40. Okay. Yeah. Because they said that during the preview period because.

[Tim Gettys]

And they're originally planned free to play, it shifts to premium.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah. And like during that first preview session, many sometime last year with them, the reasoning was we'd rather create content for the game that is for the betterment of the game and not to help sustain the company. Like freedom. Like we'd rather us be able to make that makes the game better as opposed to like, makes the company money. To like, oh, we need to put on a new cosmetic to make more money. And I guess at the end of the day it's like, oh man, this. This could have been a ludicro shooter with a PvP component. And I Would have like lost my about that. Because you could still have the people like Nick that want the thrill of that, or you could have the people like me that can momentarily hop in to the pvp section but still be like, oh, now we get to go to this map to take on that big ass crazy boss.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

And who knows what that experience is going to be like. But I'm stoked to see what they cook up because a lot of these big robot enemies in arc raiders are super sick. They look awesome. They're scary. They're these big, like, they get gigantic at some points where they're just massive spider walkers around the world.

[Andy Cortez]

I mean, we're also in this day and age where helldivers last year just took over the entire planet. And that is strictly pve shooter like you wanted. Right now companies are going, well, maybe we back off the pvp Ve situation and extraction shooters. We make something like this. Right. And so they're constantly in flux. Is it? We need to charge $40 to make some money back because if we go free to play and Andy and the crew does want to spend their time in it, we make nothing at all.

[Nick Scarpino]

Right.

[Andy Cortez]

Like the business decision of now you weigh out the free to play. Yeah. We get more people in here. We hope to make some money on cosmetics or hey, we need this 40 price tag because whatever we do get in here is at least giving us the money that we can make back and put forward into it. Because if we go full free to play and nobody wants to play this, we've lost it all.

[Snowbike Mike]

Well, there's no doubt they'll still be making content for cosmetic purposes.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Snowbike Mike]

Like there will still be dev time to make cosmetics that will.

[Nick Scarpino]

Well, arc raiders has a battle pass, right. Like they're.

[Tim Gettys]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

All these games have bad.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah, they're all selling you all these cosmetic things.

[Andy Cortez]

Hates them.

[Tim Gettys]

Someone in the chat was saying that the battle pass is free in arc raiders.

[Nick Scarpino]

It's.

[Andy Cortez]

It is.

[Nick Scarpino]

But I think there's. There's a currency that you have to buy as well for. For a lot of you might be.

[Snowbike Mike]

Able to speed it up or something. I don't know.

[Tim Gettys]

Got it.

[Nick Scarpino]

I mean. Yeah, I think it's like everything else. We just buy our coin or whatever it is.

[Snowbike Mike]

I think it all depends on. I think your question, Mike, is all depends on how good and viable the finals is.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. You know, the finals. The game.

[Snowbike Mike]

Yeah.

[Andy Cortez]

Oh, yeah. I mean that this is just one of those of like Tim will tell you as Mr. Businessman. Right. He's like, there's a bunch of people in the room going, can we go free to play? Do we need a charge? Right. That's why what we see with Marathon is like that team is not like, well we're a premium title, not 70, but like we're gonna have to put something on this because it clearly isn't going to be the way on free to play with these right now.

[Tim Gettys]

Final couple super chats here. First off, I want to give a congrats to Rave Lord Naito who says.

[Snowbike Mike]

Gravelord Nito from Dark Souls 1.

[Tim Gettys]

Oh, my bad. Andy. And and Mr. Nito just accepted an internship at a game company for this summer as a programmer. Congratulations.

[Andy Cortez]

Have fun learning.

[Nick Scarpino]

Hell yes.

[Tim Gettys]

And then Demon Hacker has the last super chat of the day here saying Survival Arc and V Rising versus Extraction. Which do the three of you prefer?

[Snowbike Mike]

Survival.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah. Andy likes survival games.

[Snowbike Mike]

I'm a survivor. Yeah. Like if I had to choose I'd have a more sort of zen like experience. And when. Yeah. An extraction shooters. I'm always on the edge of like I'm, I'm just gonna alt F4 after losing all my like, I just, the frustration there is too high for me and I don't think this genre will ever 100 be my I'm on the.

[Andy Cortez]

Chase constantly for competition. So I like that. I love the good survival game, especially with these guys. We found a couple of great ones recently. But yeah, I'll always want to go in and try to be the very best or try to get close and see what happens.

[Nick Scarpino]

Yeah. I mean competition for me all the way. I, I, all the going in, looting, all that stuff. That's, that's interesting for five seconds to me. But if I'm not clashing with teams, if I'm not feeling like I'm getting better at the core mechanics of a game, like, like an athlete would in their particular sport, their chosen sport, then I know I'm just not coming back to this. If that's the case. I have such an interesting thin line where I'm like, it's either ultra competitive or it needs to be a standalone single player story that I can just immerse myself in and not have to worry about anyone else.

[Andy Cortez]

Give him cyberpunk.

[Nick Scarpino]

I'm still playing cyberpunk.

[Andy Cortez]

Hell yeah.

[Nick Scarpino]

It's great. It's still great. I still just jump in every once in a while because I like to exist in that world on my own timeline, take the story or the side quests as I want to take them and not have to worry about that. And it's so weird and antithetical to what I just said about, like, dropping into War Zone, but, like, there's so much energy that has to go into even getting your friends together to play an extraction shooter that sometimes you got to just sit and it's midnight. You guys fire this up and hear Keanu Reeves sweet voice in my ear and just relax for a little bit and just get lost in this world. You know, I really quick.

[Andy Cortez]

I do wish on the prox chat when we talk about that. I wish more people took part in that. I feel like we live in such a day.

[Nick Scarpino]

I wish you had to.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah, you. You're more on the side of, oh, I'm just in discord. And I'm not really doing the prox yet because I do wish there was more engagement of, like, hey, we're talking about our day. But it's like, yo, shut the up. Everybody be quiet. They can hear us, right? You know, we get a lot of that.

[Snowbike Mike]

What do we live in?

[Andy Cortez]

We live in a silent society, Baron, and that's where it is. People say they want prox chat, but, like, 90 of the time, we're just on a discord. I wish it was like, because, like, we found so many great games, right? That recent game Repo is all about proximity chat, right? Like, you shouldn't be in the same room. We've done it with Lethal Company. Everybody go in your own room, turn on the prox chat. And the moment that you can't hear someone, you get that fear, right? And then the moment they come back, you laughing, giggle when they're running away from something. And the same goes for extraction shooters of why that is so cool and what Call of Duty did with the def cam or def comms and all that of like. Like, you love hearing other people talking. And you can be strategic of, like, everybody be quiet. We can hear them. Like, let's creep up on them. Or, you know, they can hear you and come after them. I wish we had more of that.

[Tim Gettys]

Well, we just had an excellent conversation about extraction shooters, but the day's not over when it comes to them. We're about to hop into Escape from Tarkov. Mike and Nick are going to see if they have what it takes to escape.

[Andy Cortez]

I don't know if that's how it works.

[Tim Gettys]

We don't either.

[Nick Scarpino]

We're gonna figure it out.

[Tim Gettys]

Figure it out.

[Andy Cortez]

Yeah.

[Tim Gettys]

So if you're on Twitter, it stay where you are. You'll be able to see that if you're on YouTube, you need to make the jump over to the other video. Let us know in the comments below what you think about extraction shooters, yes or no? Or if you want to say anything else, we'll appreciate that as well. Until next time, it's Ladies Night.

[Andy Cortez]

Celebrate Ladies Night.