Kinda Funny Gamescast: "What We Played Over Christmas Vacation"

Date: January 7, 2026
Hosts: Tim Gettys, Greg Miller, Blessing Adeoye Jr., Andy Cortez, Mike "Snowbike Mike"
Theme: The gang reunites after the holidays to discuss everything they played over Christmas break, giving candid reviews of the biggest releases they finally had time to finish and sharing laughs, gripes, and personal stories from their gaming adventures.

Episode Overview

This episode focuses on the games each host played and completed during the winter holiday, featuring in-depth discussions and reviews of major recent releases (like Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, Ghost of Yote, Elden Ring: Night Rain - Forsaken Hollows DLC, and more), a rapid-fire run through smaller titles, and reflections on backlog progress. Expect honest review scores, strong opinions, a sprinkling of holiday banter, and advice for listeners trying to tackle their own game queues.

Major Discussion Points

1. Metroid Prime 4 Beyond (05:11–16:00)

General Reception:

• Andy Cortez: 7/10 ("Good")

  • Praises: Stellar visuals, Samus’s hero shots, strong Metroidvania gameplay core.
  • Gripes: Mixed bag due to "struggles with different visions," green crystal mechanic felt tedious, lackluster ideas.
  • “The great parts are so great, and the bad parts are...not good and kind of bad.” (06:25)

• Greg Miller: 7.5/10 ("Good, but heartbreaking")

  • Initial excitement ("my Volt Forge...that excitement and energy was with me for a long time") faded due to repetitive and unfun combat, especially at the end.
  • "If you are making a game like this where it's not about the shooting, why am I shooting so much right now? And why is it not fun?" (07:01)
  • Green crystal “vagina pedestal” mechanic universally panned; broke pacing and felt like busywork.

• Blessing Adeoye: Did not finish (apathy quit at midway point)

  • Loved the early game; “Vault Forge is where I was like, oh, shit, this is fucking awesome.”
  • Metroidvania elements and open desert hub failed to capture the magic of prior games (esp. Prime Remastered).
  • "I just wasn’t having fun... it’s not a bad game, but it’s not what I want to play on my break." (14:00)

Notable Quotes:

• Andy: “I could almost feel and sense all the struggles that this went through... like, at its core, it’s still such a really cool game.” (06:02)
• Greg: “I was crestfallen by this one.” (10:16)
• Blessing: “The Metroidvania aspect of this is so disappointing, especially coming off Prime Remastered... everything is so spread out and uninteresting.” (14:00)

2. Ghost of Yote (16:00–23:52)

Reception & Comparisons:

• Andy Cortez: 8/10 ("Great, highly recommended")

  • Loved sidequests, visuals, open world’s variety.
  • Compared its impact to God of War 2018 vs. Ragnarok: “Yotei is an overall better video game...but not quite as special as Tsushima was.” (18:15)
  • Praised armor sets and customization; disliked new stance/weapon system (“I’ve decided I don’t like it”). (21:02)

• Greg Miller: 9/10 on review, “it’s interesting how it doesn’t resonate the same way that Ghost of Tsushima did.” (20:15)

• Blessing Adeoye: 8/10, “I like, but don’t love it...”

  • Legends multiplayer might be the experience that truly elevates Yote for him. (22:38)

Notable Quotes:

• Andy: “A weapon should be so much more and cooler than that.” (21:03)
• Blessing: “I realized that Legends was the thing to really upgrade that experience.” (22:40)

3. Elden Ring: Night Rain – Forsaken Hollows DLC (23:58–33:19)

Highlights:

• Andy Cortez: 9/10 ("Amazing experience")

  • New map, new bosses, all fresh content; especially praised “ever dark” remixed boss fights and the scale of the new area.
  • “It's probably the final boss is up there with favorite Souls bosses ever. Wow, so much fun.” (32:30)
  • Only complaint: No crossplay ("just stinks", 33:00).

• Mike: Echoed the high praise, loved co-op and discovery (“This shit’s lit.” 24:19); detailed how the new mechanics and world added tons of incentive for replay.

Notable Quotes:

• Andy: “This map is fucking massive...gave me a lot of core Elden Ring moments with exploration.” (27:03)
• Blessing: "Our first time doing that, it was...like elementary school playground secrets." (25:51)

4. Lies of P: Overture DLC (35:38–37:47)

• Blessing Adeoye: Huge shout-out to the quality of the DLC: “There are moments that reminded me of my first time playing Last of Us – [it’s] top tier in video game design.” (36:01)
• Andy Cortez: “I loved all the boss fights in the Lies of P DLC. So much fun.” (37:09)
• “Final boss...one of the best soulslike boss fights I’ve done.” (37:25, Blessing)

5. Tim’s Holiday Indie Surge (39:52–49:16)

Shinobi Art of Vengeance (Finished)

• Score: 8/10
• “Mini metroidvanias for each level is a great concept. Combat is deep – totally a Lizard Cube fan now.” (40:52–41:55)

Dispatch (Narrative Game)

• Score: 9/10 ("Amazing")
• Praises innovative, jank-free adventure gameplay; succeeded at onboarding non-gamers and fostering engagement (Gia — “her gamer brain turned on”).
• "This game is jankless... production value is through the roof." (40:52)
• “Loved it — can't wait for more.”

&Roger (Indie Narrative Experience)

• Not scored, but described as emotionally devastating.
• “I didn’t know it was this...stupid-ass indie games fucking me up for real.” (45:44)
• “Video games are really powerful. I don’t even want to give it a score.” (45:18)

Hollow Knight Silksong (Beat Act 3)

• Score: 9.5/10 ("Amazing")
• “An all-timer for me in every single way…but I do think about 20 of my 70 hours were not fun—too much of a good thing.” (48:38)

6. Mike’s Holiday Gaming Journal (49:16–61:40)

Control (Remedy)

• “I loved it...blown away by the setting, the gameplay, all of it. The Federal Bureau of Control rocks.” (49:41+)
• Enjoyed the Alan Wake tie-in DLC, although felt lost due to unfamiliarity with Wake.

Fire Emblem: Three Houses (First Time)

• Golden Deer house; “I had so much fun, not only on the tactics and gameplay side... but the school side.” (51:46+)
• Loved bonding and recruiting (“I got NIL deals out — you want some money? I need you Bernie. Bernadette, get out of the room.” 53:41)
• Gaming Journal Segment: Mike showcases his holiday gift: a personal, illustrated gaming journal, documenting his Fire Emblem journey.
• “I actually wrote out the entire moment-by-moment game of Fire Emblem...put my little goods and bads...my star, Hilda. Hilda’s a queen.” (59:29)

7. Backlog & Future Gaming Plans (61:40–67:32)

• Blessing: Considering Final Fantasy X (!), Fire Emblem, or Dragon Quest XI for next JRPG; leans towards FFX. (62:04)
• Andy: Blessing likes Dark Souls more than Bloodborne now (“Whoa, we have crossed the threshold!” 62:41)
• General: January deemed "Big Backlog January" (64:32) — quiet release month, so time to dive into old games.
• Greg tried Baldur’s Gate 3 again, bounced off the controls, started New Vegas instead. (64:01+)

Notable Moments & Quotes

• Blessing on Metroid Prime 4’s desert:
  “I think this thing pales in comparison to Hyrule Field and Ocarina of Time. Mainly because it’s uninteresting.” (14:00)
• Andy on Ghost of Yote’s combat:
  “I’ve decided I don’t like the stance system and I don’t like the weapon system.” (20:48)
• Andy on Elden Ring DLC:
  “This map is fucking massive. It’s crazy that we’re still discovering wild moments of elevation…” (27:03)
• Tim on Dispatch:
  “A 9 out of 10 on the Kinda Funny scale is an amazing game. I think it’s easily my favorite of these narrative type games…” (40:52)
• Mike on his gaming journal:
  “If you read this on the back, it has everything that happened...And so yeah, that was just an incredible two weeks. 77 hours in 11 days.” (57:51; 59:29)

Rapid-Fire Review Scores & Games Played

| Game / DLC | Player(s) | Score/Impression | |----------------------------------|----------------------|---------------------------| | Metroid Prime 4 Beyond | Andy, Greg, Blessing | 7/10, 7.5/10, stopped | | Ghost of Yote | Andy, Blessing, Greg | 8/10, 8/10, 9/10 (review) | | Elden Ring Night Rain DLC | Andy, Mike | 9/10, “lit” | | Lies of P: Overture | Andy, Blessing | “One of the best” | | Shinobi Art of Vengeance | Tim | 8/10 | | Dispatch | Tim | 9/10 | | &Roger | Tim | Not scored, must-play | | Hollow Knight Silksong | Tim | 9.5/10 (“all-timer”) | | Control | Mike | Loved it | | Fire Emblem: Three Houses | Mike | Loved it |

“Big Backlog January”: More Games & Final Thoughts (61:40–67:32)

• Community super chats shout out personal backlogs and emotional journeys (e.g., Expedition 33 compared to God of War 2018) (65:33)
• Tim: Dread is his favorite Metroid after replaying several in a row: "Super Metroid...old game is old, but goddamn, Dread is fucking sick." (66:17)
• Blessing asks, between Silksong and Prince of Persia: Lost Crown for next Metroidvania?
  • Tim: Lost Crown for a quicker, equally rewarding experience. (67:08)
• Call-to-action: Listeners are encouraged to share what they played during break in the comments (67:33)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Metroid Prime 4 Beyond Review: 05:11–16:00
• Ghost of Yote Discussion: 16:00–23:52
• Elden Ring Night Rain DLC: 23:58–33:19
• Lies of P: Overture: 35:38–37:47
• Tim’s Indie Highlights: 39:52–49:16
• Mike’s Gaming Journal: 49:16–61:40
• Backlog Reflections & Community Q&A: 61:40–67:32

Summary Tone & Style

The cast brims with candid opinions, relatable gaming struggles, fondness for deep dives, some good-natured grumbling (Metroid crystals!), and plenty of inside jokes and encouragement for exploring new genres, returning to old favorites, and just keeping the passion alive. The gang blends genuine review analysis with the kind of loose, inviting “talking games with friends” vibe that defines Kinda Funny’s best episodes.

Closing

If you missed this episode, you missed impassioned reviews of 2025’s most anticipated games, clever recaps of old favorites, and a real sense of how to enjoy (and sometimes survive) that post-holiday gaming backlog.