Kinda Funny Gamescast: "Hot Take: Insomniac Should Stop Making Spider-Man"

Date: August 15, 2025 | Hosts: Roger Porny & Blessing Adeoye Jr.

Episode Overview

In this fiery episode, Roger and Blessing tackle the wildest gaming "hot takes" sent in by their audience, focusing especially on the central debate: Should Insomniac abandon the Spider-Man franchise and return to original IPs? Along the way, they dissect the biggest industry arguments—from the legacy of Fortnite, to the role of microtransactions, the politics of Sonic, and, of course, the lasting value (or not) of ray tracing. The show is lively, honest, and frequently hilarious, featuring serious reflection, spicy personal opinions, and a heavy dose of banter.

Key Discussion Points & Hot Takes

1. Should Insomniac Stop Making Spider-Man?

(42:33 — 53:14)

• Listener Hot Take (Barista Brand):

  • "Insomniac games were better when making original games than Marvel games... Sunset Overdrive was incredibly original. The studio would be better off making more of those than continuing with Marvel." (42:33)

• Blessing:

  • "I 100% disagree... Insomniac is at the peak of their powers with Spider-Man."
  • "You're not gonna sit here and tell me that Resistance is more worth their time than Spider-Man." (43:33)

• Roger:

  • Initially fumbles his answer, then: "I 100% agree... I want them to create original stuff... When we get into them doing Spider-Man as just the Marvel Studio, that's way less interesting to me." (44:35)
  • On Spider-Man 2: "I'm very disappointed... I think it's a very safe sequel... The more I think about it, I don't like that story." (44:28)
  • Wishes Insomniac could "build up and make franchises, like Ghost of Tsushima." (45:02)

• Blessing’s Counter:

  • "Spider-Man and Ratchet are the two best examples of what Insomniac thrives at… their talents shine more in these properties." (47:12)
  • "I don't think Insomniac creates worlds I'm invested in—playing in other people's worlds actually makes me more invested." (47:26)
  • "Is it the best Spider-Man universe? Maybe not, but for video games, it is." (51:29)

• Debate Takeaway:
  The hosts are split—but both acknowledge Insomniac's unique talents. Roger prefers original IPs and worries about the studio becoming creatively pigeonholed. Blessing believes Spider-Man lets Insomniac do what they do best, but does agree that Ratchet & Clank should continue.

2. Fortnite Ruined Video Games?

(10:34 — 19:09)

• Listener Hot Take (Andy):

  • "Fortnite is the biggest enemy in gaming... it encouraged unrealistic profit expectations, and its cross-IP marketing and mode-stealing denies us great license games."

• Blessing:

  • "I agree more than I disagree…Fortnite did reconfigure and change a lot. Introduced the battle pass, borrowed trends from other games. But is it the #1 enemy? No, that's the corporations chasing the money." (12:31; 13:10)

• Roger:

  • "I 100% disagree... It's the scapegoat. Similar to blaming McDonald's for all of American obesity."
  • "Free-to-play games and microtransactions were in motion before Fortnite; it's just the biggest example. The real damage is when they copy indie devs, not big companies." (14:43; 16:50)

• Notable Quote:

  • Blessing: "Capitialism is the number one [enemy]." (18:20)

• Consensus:
  Neither sees Fortnite as gaming’s singular villain; it’s a symptom of wider industry forces.

3. Did Microtransactions Save the Industry?

(19:21 — 29:39)

• Listener Hot Take (Mic Drop):

  • "Microtransactions saved video games. Without them, we'd get maybe one or two games per year and only small mobile-like experiences."

• Blessing:

  • "I disagree. I think games would have just gotten more expensive and we would have just balanced that out." (20:22)

• Roger:

  • "100% disagree... I’m interested in that alternate universe. Games would still exist and be popular without microtransactions." (21:02)
  • "Microtransactions are not a net evil, but gambling elements in them are truly harmful. That’s the side we should be angry about." (26:14)

• Andy (Producer):

  • Reflects on subscription models: "If microtransactions vanished, maybe we'd have more subs, but a lot of games would fail with too many subscriptions." (28:58)

• Notable Quote:

  • Roger: "Valve and Steam... are contributing to a lot of people’s gambling addictions." (27:14)

4. Fighting Games Are Easy to Learn?

(32:11 — 40:13)

• Listener Hot Take (Claw Master):

  • "Fighting games are not that hard to learn. It just takes a bit of effort, and the community is welcoming."

• Blessing:

  • "100% agree—especially modern ones with good tutorials and auto combos."
  • "Biggest challenge is not learning moves, but learning how to improve and lab." (33:18)

• Roger:

  • "100% disagree. My brain just doesn’t work like that—the learning curve with real-time blocking and inputs is tough for me." (35:23)

5. Mouse Cursors in Console Games are Bad

(40:24 — 42:19)

• Listener Hot Take (Samson):

  • "Mouse cursors in console menus need to go. Give us motion controls or classic menu navigation."

• Roger & Blessing:
  Both instantly "100% agree."

  • "It's slow and there’s no setting for it. Yuck!" (41:57–42:19)

6. Ray Tracing is Overrated on Consoles

(58:20 — 61:02)

• Listener Hot Take (K.):

  • "Ray tracing is overrated. Great for marketing screenshots, but not worth the performance tradeoff right now. Maybe with next-gen."

• Blessing:

  • "Agree. I turn that shit off every single time… for 60 FPS."
  • "Every time the lighting’s great and I check? It's usually not ray tracing." (59:01–59:39)

• Roger:

  • "We're pushing hardware just to push hardware... ray tracing sometimes makes games look weird." (59:39)

7. Have Games Gotten Less Political? (The Sonic Rant)

(53:32 — 56:44)

• Listener Hot Take:
  Hilarious, passionate call asserting that Sonic used to be a radical eco-terrorist fighting real-world villains (corporate polluters) while now he's "just a mascot about chili dogs."

  • Memorable moment: "When Sonic discovered the blood emeralds that were fueling production, you better believe he seized the means of production... when describing Sonic the Hedgehog, radical was gospel truth." (53:47–54:57)

• Hosts:
  Both love it; Roger: "100% agree." Blessing: "Not agreeing or disagreeing because they're not taking the take seriously." (55:36)

8. Spiritual Successors Are Boring

(66:32 — 68:59)

• Listener Hot Take:
  "Spiritual successors usually end up being boring—Sea of Stars, Yooka-Laylee, Chained Echoes. Play the old games."

• Blessing:
  Mostly disagrees, but points out that if the new game is just aping the old, "why not just play Banjo Kazooie?”

  • Notable quote: "Art inspires other art... Sometimes it works out and sometimes it doesn’t." (68:46)

9. Supergiant Was Better Pre-Hades

(65:10 — 66:06)

• Listener Hot Take:
  "Supergiant was better when making Bastion and Transistor."

• Hosts:
  Both disagree; "That's a hot take... All amazing games but Hades is on another level."

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Blessing:
  "Capitalism is the number one [enemy in gaming]." (18:20)
• Roger (on microtransactions):
  "As soon as we figured out microtransactions, it was: how do we just milk this?" (22:21)
• Blessing (on fighting games):
  "Really, it is just learning the language of the game. If you’re good at action games, that translates." (39:38)
• Samson (on mouse cursors):
  "If I want to do PC stuff, I’ll go play PC games. Get rid of those mouse cursors.” (41:18)
• Clawmaster:
  "Fighting games are not that hard, folks. Pick up a fighting game. It's a lot of fun. We are very welcoming to new players." (33:16)
• Sonic caller:
  "No dated references from Ben Schwartz, no wisecracks from Jason Griffith. Just a dead, silent needle-mouse... When he discovered the blood emeralds... you better believe he seized the means of production." (54:42)
• Roger (on gambling):
  _"Valve and Steam... are contributing to a lot of people’s gambling addictions." (27:14)
• Blessing (on ray tracing):
  "Every single time I go, 'this lighting looks incredible!'—it’s not ray tracing." (59:26)
• Barista Brand:
  "Insomniac would be better off making more original ideas than Marvel games until they get shut down by PlayStation." (42:33)

Other Fun/Insightful Hot Takes

• Playing retro games you never grew up with makes you a try-hard poser. (61:25)
  • Hosts: Disagree, but enjoy the heat.
• Remasters are good (63:32)
  • Hosts: Agree—better framerate and features are welcome.
• Last of Us ruined gaming for a while by inspiring boring imitators.
  • Hosts: Unsure—can’t think of many bad clones.

Conclusion & Tone

The tone oscillates between rowdy debate, sharp insights, and goofball energy. Both hosts challenge each other's points while also surfacing nuanced takes on creativity, industry shifts, player psychology, and nostalgia.

Final message from the hosts: "Next time, get even freakier with your takes. Give us some weird ones, and we’ll do another Hot Takes episode soon." (73:41)

Suggested Timestamp Guide

• Intro/Audience Hot Takes Setup: (00:49 — 09:35)
• Fortnite Ruined Gaming: (10:34 — 19:09)
• Microtransactions Saved Games: (19:21 — 29:39)
• Fighting Games Are Easy to Learn: (32:11 — 40:13)
• Mouse Cursors on Consoles: (40:24 — 42:19)
• Insomniac/Spider-Man Debate: (42:33 — 53:14)
• Games Getting Less Political (Sonic Monologue): (53:32 — 56:44)
• Ray Tracing is Overrated: (58:20 — 61:02)
• Spiritual Successors, Supergiant, Misc. Mini-Takes: (66:32 — 69:34)

If you missed the episode, this summary covers every major topic and captures the Kinda Funny crew’s signature vibe—playful, opinionated, irreverent, and always ready for the next spicy debate.