Kinda Funny Gamescast: The Fantasy Critic 2026 Draft (Jan 6, 2026)

Overview

This episode of Kinda Funny Gamescast centers on the much-anticipated annual Fantasy Critic 2026 Draft. Greg, Tim, Blessing, Andy, Mike, Barrett, Roger, and guests Paris Lilly engage in a live, snake-style draft where each participant selects upcoming 2026 video games they believe will earn the highest review scores throughout the year. The draft mixes fierce friendly competition, strategic mind games, deep gaming knowledge, and plenty of playful banter, all overseen by Commissioner Blessing.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Opening Ceremony & Champ’s Privileges (02:03–07:00)

• Snowbike Mike relishes his status as 2025 winner, demanding first introduction and recapping how he “saved the league against Barrett” in dramatic fashion.
• Barrett Courtney enters with a “heel turn” persona, describing his ‘evil’ plans as the new Tim Jr. His first “evil” act: using his winner’s granted wish to force Roger’s team name to become “Barrett is my best friend,” purely to mess with Mike’s head all year.
  • Barrett: “I want to change Roger's team name so every time Mike goes on FantasyCritic.com and sees Roger's team name, it stings a little bit.” (05:36)
• Playful, wrestling-style promos set the tone for the friendly but competitive proceedings.

What is Fantasy Critic? (08:00–10:50)

• Greg and Blessing break down the league: each player drafts 5 games, scoring points for each point their picked game scores above 70 on Open Critic.
• Points double above 90; fall below 70 for negatives.
• Counter Picks: After drafting, each player picks a rival’s game they believe will flop or be delayed for points.
• Additional picks are made throughout the year via secret $100 bidding.
• Rules include bans on partial remakes, ports, early access, remasters, etc. Trading is allowed again this year with caveats against shady IRL deals.
  • Blessing: “We heavily frown upon in real-life deals… You’re playing the game of Fantasy Critic.” (13:34)

New Rules & Stakes (11:19–17:42)

• Last place this year must complete a challenge or punishment live, decided by the winner.
• Winner’s perks: the reigning champ (Mike) gets 3 rule requests (subject to commish blessing) and first draft pick.
• Draft order is partially random but seeded for the champ.

Draft Order & Team Names (17:42–19:38)

Draft order is set:

1. Snowbike Mike
2. Andy Cortez
3. Barrett (Evil)
4. Roger
5. Tim Gettys
6. Paris Lilly
7. Blessing
8. Greg Miller

• The draft proceeds in a “snake” order (last picks twice in row, reverses).

Players announce whimsical, sometimes strategic team names for extra flair.

2026 Game Draft: Highlights, Picks, & Strategic Moments

Round 1 – The Big Gambles (19:55–27:40)

#1: Mike passes on GTA 6!

• Despite the obvious allure and risk of GTA 6, Mike goes with Forza Horizon 6: Japan, citing its likely high critical floor and certainty.
  • Mike: “Instead of GTA 6… I feel very confident with that pick” (21:35)
• Others agree: Forza was their #1 if they had the pick.

#2: Andy shocks with Fire Emblem

• Andy Cortez avoids the “GTA 6 hot potato,” picking Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave, arguing its sequel status and strong pedigree.

#3: Barrett’s Wolverine Over GTA

• Barrett lets GTA 6 slip further(!), instead opting for Marvel’s Wolverine for its critical hype and recent development buzz.

#4: GTA 6 Falls to Roger

• Roger finally snaps up GTA 6 with the #4 selection, though he voices concerns about risk of delay and technical bugginess.
  • Roger: “What if it doesn’t live up to the hype? What if there’s some bugs?” (26:39)

Other Notable Picks

• Tim: Resident Evil: Requiem
• Paris: Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (impressed by Gamescom preview)
• Blessing: Mixtape
• Greg: Soros (believes the developer is “a first-round stud”)

Rules Recap & Draft Banter (27:40–39:52)

• Reminders: trading, drops, extra picks, and banned game tags get extra emphasis.
• Lots of self-deprecating humor about previous draft failures.

Strategy & Snake Draft: Rounds 2–5 Highlights

Round 2–3 Hot Moments & Quotes

• Players wrestle over risk vs. reliability, especially with big-name games lacking clear dates (Marvel, Wolverine, Silksong, Control 2, 007).

• Mike laments how fast his planned picks disappear: “You guys have selected a lot of them. Roger taking the only game I know about!” (46:47)

• Blessing focuses on “niche with big potential” games (Slay the Spire 2 — Early Access will get reviewed?).

• Barrett continues his new ‘Evil’ streak, making bold, sometimes meta picks (e.g. counterpicking Mouse PI for its possible shallowness).

• Paris plays for proven pedigrees (Gears, Control), but also surprises by taking a shot on Blood of Dawn Walker.

Notable Team-Building & Risk Picks

• Minna the Hollower (Andy) – strong but possibly delayed.
• Adventures of Elliot (Mike) – controversial due to an “ugly red hat” but chosen for confidence.
• Super Meat Boy 3D, Vampire Crawlers, Halo: Campaign Evolved (Mike) – creative swings for indie breakout and faith in Xbox’s single-player revival.
• Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven (Greg) – picks for “points”, citing strong indie history.

Fifth Pick: “Swing for the Fences” (81:16+)

Players take last-round flyers:

• Tides of Annihilation (Tim) – huge risk, high reward “[my most anticipated], even if not 2026, then when?”
• Blood of Dawn Walker (Paris) – ex-CDPR devs, “ambitious double-A striving for triple-A.”
• Deltarune Chapter 5 (Blessing) – based on creator Toby Fox’s tweet.
• Pokemon Gen 10 30th Anniversary (Greg) – the perennial wildcard; jokes about “hopium”.

Memorable Quotes & Banter

• Barrett, on Roger’s forced name change:
  “Every time Mike goes on FantasyCritic.com and sees Roger's team name, it stings a little bit. Slowly, slowly... making him break down throughout the year.” (05:36)

• Mike, about the stress of going first:
  “When you go first it is... a heavy is the crown, they say.” (46:36)

• Andy, debating risky picks:
  “There's just a lot of, a lot of the games that you would expect to be drafted right now. I just don't think are going to hit very high.” (44:54)

• Blessing, on counter-pick strategy:
  “We need to lock him [Mike] into like one of his lowest picks... If he drops stupid hat man, if he drops that, his team is looking so good.” (97:53)

• Greg, on Pokemon Gen 10:
  “It's Hopium for sure... I think there's a lot of upside to it. It's not like I'm gonna lose points on it.” (87:37)

• Tim, justifying a risky final pick:
  “I don't really want two or three points that these might get me. So I'm going for a swing...I believe in this so much. This is my most anticipated video game possible.” (81:16)

Counter-Picks: The Final Gamble (91:39–110:11)

• Greg: Counter-picks Paris’ Blood of the Dawn Walker “High chance it slips out of the year.”
• Blessing: Counter-picks Greg’s Mainline Half-Life – “A big gamble. 30/70 shot of seeing it this year.”
• Paris: Counter-picks Tides of Annihilation for its uncertain date.
• Tim: Counter-picks Greg’s Marvel Token Fighting Souls due to beta feedback and delay risk.
• Roger: Counter-picks Barrett’s Mouse, PI for Hire– “Is this just a gimmick? I don’t know.”
• Barrett: Counter-picks Greg’s Pokemon Gen 10, “recent Game Freak track record is mixed; will they clean it up for the big anniversary?”
• Andy: Counter-picks Mike’s Adventures of Elliot, directly targeting the “ugly red hat” and saying the demo “just wasn’t it.”
• Mike: Counter-picks Paris’ Duskbloods—predicting it "will not release this year.”

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 02:03–07:00 – Posturing, intros, Barrett’s evil birth, wish used
• 08:00–10:50 – League rules, overview, scoring, counter-pick explained
• 11:19–17:42 – New rules: punishments, champ’s wishes, seeding
• 19:55–27:40 – First round of draft: major picks, GTA 6 saga
• 33:03–39:52 – Banter, drafting strategy, rules refresh
• 43:09–49:00 – Indie/creative picks: Reanimal, Silent Hope, Witchbrook
• 54:35–72:08 – Mid-draft: risk picks, Xbox/PlayStation representation, Bloodborne-style games
• 81:16–88:22 – Final picks: unannounced games, “hopium”, Deltarune, Pragmata, Witcher 3 DLC rumors
• 91:39–110:11 – Counter-picks, in-depth debate on delay risk, points floor, Halo/Elliot hat discourse

Notable Moments

• Barrett’s heel turn and team name prank, which sets the chaos tone early.
• GTA 6 repeatedly “hot-potatoed” (not picked by top 3, despite being obvious juggernaut).
• Elongated, anxious counter-pick deliberations—demonstrates how seriously the crew takes their possible negative points.
• Multiple references to “Hopium” when picking high-upside, risky titles.
• Constant cross-referencing of past years’ heartbreaks—a running history and meta-commentary.
• Running meme: the “ugly red hat” of Elliot, invoked by nearly all panelists.

Draft Results: Complete First Five Picks (see [90:12–91:13])

Mike (Team Snowbike Mike #1):

• Forza Horizon 6
• Adventures of Elliot
• Super Meat Boy 3D
• Vampire Crawlers
• Halo: Campaign Evolved

Andy (Nitro Rifle):

• Fire Emblem: Fortunes Weave
• Mina the Hollower
• Reanimal
• Witchbrook
• Planet of Lana 2

Barrett (Team Barrett/Evil):

• Marvel’s Wolverine
• Hollow Knight: Silksong DLC
• Sea of Sorrow
• Phantom Blade Zero
• Pragmata

Roger (Barrett is My Best Friend):

• GTA 6
• Trails in the Sky: Second Chapter
• Neo 3
• Yakuza Kiwami 3: Dark Ties
• Witcher 3 Unannounced DLC

Tim (Let Tim Publish):

• Resident Evil: Requiem
• Dragon Quest 7: Reimagined
• 007: First Light
• Onimusha: Way of the Sword
• Tides of Annihilation

Paris (Paris Born Again):

• Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight
• Control: Resonant
• Gears of War: E Day
• Duskbloods
• Blood of Dawn Walker

Blessing (Level 67):

• Mixtape
• Slay the Spire 2
• Crimson Desert
• Mugenics
• Deltarune Chapter 5

Greg (Ecto One Games):

• Soros
• Marvel Token Fighting Souls
• Cult of the Lamb: Woolhaven
• Unannounced Mainline Half-Life
• Pokemon Gen 10

Tone & Language

The panel maintains a casual, fun, ultra-nerdy, competitive locker-room vibe. Inside jokes, mock bravado, and genuine knowledge are on full display. Quoting past heartbreaks and celebrating smart, if spicy, picks are constant.

Closing Thoughts

This episode is a must-listen for anyone who loves strategic fantasy leagues, deep video game knowledge, or just wants to hear a crew of friends go all-in on their gaming predictions. The draft sets the tone for a year of playful rivalry, upsets, and high-stakes gaming drama.

Favorite Quote (Barrett, 05:36):

“I want to change Roger's team name so every time Mike goes on FantasyCritic.com and sees Roger's team name, it stings a little bit. Slowly, slowly... making him break down throughout the year.”

Counter-pick Drama (Mike, 110:00):

“I have to go with the Dusk Bloods because it will not release this year.”

Peak Banter (Blessing, 98:00):

“Somebody needs to lock him [Mike] into one of his lowest picks… If he drops stupid hat man, his team is looking so good.”

For More:

• Check out the Kinda Funny Gamescast league on FantasyCritic to track teams, points, and new bids all year.
• Look for ongoing draft recaps and surprise upsets on future episodes—this competition is just heating up!