Astrobot is the New GOTY Frontrunner

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Besties – "Astrobot is the New GOTY Frontrunner"

Released on September 13, 2024

Introduction

In this episode of The Besties, hosts Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, and Russ Frushtick delve deep into the latest contender for Game of the Year (GOTY): Astrobot. Combining their expertise and camaraderie, the Besties explore why Astrobot is making waves in the gaming community and assess its standing among contemporary platformers.

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Debating Astrobot as the Game of the Year

The episode kicks off with Russ Frushtick passionately declaring, “This is the best platforming video game I have ever played in my entire life” (06:34). Justin McElroy initially expresses skepticism, noting his intention to adopt a "curmudgeon" stance but admits, “I can't even work up a fake” (06:07), highlighting the game's undeniable charm.

Chris Plant emphasizes the rarity of such unanimous praise within the podcast, stating, “You've done it. Okay,” in acknowledgment of Russ's fervor (07:13). This sets the stage for an in-depth discussion on what elevates Astrobot above its peers.

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Detailed Gameplay Analysis

Russ provides a comprehensive overview of Astrobot's evolution, tracing its origins from Astro's Playroom on the PS4 to Astro Bot Rescue Mission and finally to its current iteration on the PS5. He remarks, “Astro's Playroom was the PS5 game and that was as close to this as it gets” (07:41), underscoring the game's foundational legacy.

Justin highlights the game’s unadulterated fun factor, free from the trappings of modern microtransactions: “It's just fun because it's fun” (10:11). Chris adds, “There's so much to talk about” (10:05), hinting at the myriad of engaging elements within Astrobot.

A standout feature discussed is the game's innovative scaling mechanic. Justin describes a level where players can “change your size. So you're like 1/100th basically, you're like, mouse scale” (12:24), allowing for dynamic gameplay that feels both fresh and immersive.

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Comparisons to Other Platformers

The Besties draw comparisons between Astrobot and iconic platformers like Super Mario Odyssey and Spelunky. Russ acknowledges Super Mario Odyssey's excellence but points out, “All Mario games have those moments where... they're a little bit of a chore” (12:10). In contrast, Astrobot maintains consistent engagement: “Every single level is fucking fun as shit” (12:24).

When Spelunky is mentioned, Russ states, “This is a better Rog-like than this is” (34:15), positioning Astrobot favorably within the genre. Chris further praises the game's design, noting, “Astrobot didn’t invent the jump, but of all the games of platforming games that have come before this... this is the best” (34:16).

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Difficulty and Accessibility

Justin raises concerns about the game's difficulty curve: “There's some parts that are like. Would be pretty challenging and frustrating” (18:26). Russ responds by highlighting accessibility features, such as camera control adjustments: “There is a setting that basically removes the need to manipulate the camera” (20:14). This balance ensures Astrobot remains approachable without compromising on challenge.

Justin further elaborates on the game's fair difficulty, stating, “It’s pretty fair” (18:26), while Russ concurs, emphasizing the lack of hindrances like microtransactions that often disrupt gameplay flow.

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Connection to PlayStation and Sony Lore

A significant portion of the discussion centers on Astrobot's integration with PlayStation's history and characters. Chris explains, “Astrobot is the named protagonist of this game” (23:25), and the game features cameos from beloved Sony franchises, including nods to Resident Evil and Tomb Raider.

Justin appreciates the marketing finesse, observing, “Astro's Playroom was the first time I ever felt any affinity for PlayStation as a brand” (25:42), while Russ underscores the game's role in celebrating Sony’s diverse intellectual properties: “They have got Kiryu in there” (24:10).

However, Justin offers a nuanced critique, expressing a desire for a more grounded historical aspect: “I want like, I want it to be like some sort of history” (28:23), suggesting that while the game's homage to PlayStation lore is commendable, a deeper narrative could enhance the experience.

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Closing Thoughts

As the episode nears its conclusion, Russ reaffirms his stance on Astrobot: “The best platforming video game I've ever played in my entire life” (33:02). The consensus among the Besties is clear—Astrobot stands out not only for its engaging gameplay and innovative mechanics but also for its seamless integration of Sony’s rich gaming heritage.

Justin summarizes, “I couldn't say that [Astrobot]... of all the games of platforming games that have come before this, the Celeste, the Super Mario Threes, you name it, this is the best” (34:16), encapsulating the episode's unanimous endorsement.

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Notable Quotes

• Russ Frushtick ([06:34)(#): “This is the best platforming video game I have ever played in my entire life.”

• Justin McElroy (06:07: “I can't even work up a fake.”

• Russ Frushtick (12:24: “Every single level is fucking fun as shit.”

• Chris Plant (34:16: “Astrobot didn’t invent the jump, but of all the games of platforming games that have come before this, the Celeste, the Super Mario Threes, you name it, this is the best.”

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Conclusion

In "Astrobot is the New GOTY Frontrunner," The Besties provide a fervent and comprehensive exploration of Astrobot, positioning it as a top-tier platformer that expertly balances nostalgic homage with innovative gameplay. Their collective enthusiasm underscores Astrobot's significant impact within the gaming landscape, making it a strong contender for Game of the Year.

Transcript

[Justin Bacher]

Russ, I was watching Furiosa on the plane.

[Russ Frostick]

Furiosa.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Furiosa, exactly is the bit that you watched an IMAX movie on like a 2 1/2 inch screen.

[Russ Frostick]

That is kind of funny. It was.

[Justin Bacher]

Here's what I was saying. United has some nice screens.

[Russ Frostick]

Do they?

[Justin Bacher]

Yes, it was a nice screen. The sitting distance was fine. But I was thinking about how when I was. When he was asking Furiosa. Chris Evans is asking for.

[Russ Frostick]

Yes, Chris Hemsworth.

[Justin Bacher]

Chris Hemsworth. When Chris Pine asked Furiosa if she had what it takes to make it epic, I was thinking how cool would be if you were in the wasteland? Like, what would you. What would you. What would be sort of like your role in the wasteland? This is assuming you didn't die, right?

[Russ Frostick]

Sure.

[Justin Bacher]

Like, obviously you would die.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, no, I think that's pretty clear.

[Justin Bacher]

Assuming you somehow found a way to thrive in the wastelands, like Mad Max.

[Russ Frostick]

Sure, sure.

[Justin Bacher]

Like, what would be. How do you think you would be cutting?

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, valid question. I think I would probably be selling baubles. If I had to guess the bobble man, I would be the bauble guy. So if you had like half a goggles or if you had like.

[Justin Bacher]

No, hold on. Okay. This is two different things. The bobble man is a mysterious shadowy figure that wanders the fields collecting bobbles. A bobbles guy is like. Yeah, I got a bobbles guy. Yeah, yeah, you know, Russ, he's my bobbles guy.

[Russ Frostick]

That's me. I'd keep them all in my coat. I'd open them up and I'd offer. What bobbles are you looking for? Do you need like half a jaw? Do you need a tire that's been flat for about 10 years? I've got em. I've got bottle em.

[Justin Bacher]

What do you take in exchange? Do you borrow all things or you just want gasoline?

[Russ Frostick]

Gasoline's pretty good. But I'll take guzzling. I'll take candy, man, you got like a whatchamacallit. I'm all over it.

[Justin Bacher]

If someone rolled up on you in the blasted lands and they're like, here's what's up. I know you just ate your son to survive, but one thing I should know about me is I do have a Whatchua call saving this bad boy.

[Russ Frostick]

I do want to say, no fucking chuckles in this house. You bring a chuckle and you're out. That's it. I'm sending you out.

[Justin Bacher]

He just cut the candy restraint.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You got offered a chance to anything and one of the coolest universes in the world and you chose an NPC vendor from Resident Evil.

[Justin Bacher]

Not even a good one. One that you'd kill to see if he had anything better.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. I would not be selling guns and gun upgrades.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, no, you wouldn't.

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Justin Bacher]

He's got a point. Like, it has to be sad enough that you'd feel guilty murdering him for his goods.

[Russ Frostick]

I would be trying to upsell, like, empty cereal boxes. That's my number.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Relics of a different age.

[Russ Frostick]

Yes.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, that's depress.

[Justin Bacher]

My name is Justin Bacher and I have the best game of the week.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

My name is Christopher Thomas Plant and I genuinely know the best game of the week.

[Russ Frostick]

My name is Russ Frostick and I'm the best game of the week.

[Justin Bacher]

Welcome to the Besties, where we talk about the latest and greatest in home interactive entertainment. It is a video game club and just by listening, my friend, you have become a member. Welcome aboard. This week we are talking about Astrobot, a follow up to a free thing that is actually a game. Now, Chris Plant, it seems like I summed it up perfectly, but you haven't.

[Russ Frostick]

Three free things. This is not the first Astrobot.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

For decades, Sony has tried to make a mascot platformer in an Astrobot. They have finally done it. A platformer that can live alongside old Super Mario is here and we'll talk about it after the break.

[Russ Frostick]

He said Mario.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

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[Justin Bacher]

I was so. You guys were so excited for this one. I was so ready to have my curmudgeon pants on. I keep them in the closet. I was really hoping to be the dissenting bully for this episode. Cause you guys are so worked up. But gosh darn it, this little guy. I can't. I can't even work up a fake. Fake thing.

[Russ Frostick]

I'm gonna start this segment with a bold stance, and then I'm gonna try to back it up throughout.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Russ Frostick]

This is the best platforming video game I have ever played in my entire life. Justin has run away from the camera.

[Justin Bacher]

That's just so exciting. I don't agree or disagree. I just. I think it's so exciting.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It is a.

[Justin Bacher]

Here's what I think is so exciting about that. There's so many qualifiers that aren't in that sentence that you could put modern.

[Russ Frostick]

I know.

[Justin Bacher]

3D. I know PlayStation 5.

[Russ Frostick]

I did not qualify it.

[Justin Bacher]

2024.

[Russ Frostick]

The best platforming video game I have ever played.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

This is fascinating for me to get a chance to be on a podcast with someone doing the me bit.

[Russ Frostick]

I know it's so rare that I tried out the superlatives a la plante. Who's favorite game of the week is the game we're playing that week. It's always that's the game of the year is the one we're playing that week.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You've done it. Okay.

[Justin Bacher]

And joyful in his life when I harangue him.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Can you believe that? Can you believe that? Well, it's my turn to harangue. Okay. About this wonderful game that I can't really come at you after this is.

[Justin Bacher]

This is. Okay. I don't know how to frame this discussion in a way that is. That is helpful. So I'd like to let you. Russ.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

Start with the biggest.

[Russ Frostick]

Well, I want to start with a little bit of history. A little bit of history lesson of where Astrobot came from.

[Justin Bacher]

Okay.

[Russ Frostick]

So Astrobot's first appearance was Astro's playroom. Wait, let me just make sure I'm getting this right, because there's a few. Astro Bot.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's also pronounced Astrobot.

[Justin Bacher]

Here's what I would say, Russ, because this is in. You were pretty sassy with me about the chronology of Astrobot when I was trying to enter the show. For you not to have it real gentle.

[Russ Frostick]

Okay, I'll gist it because I don't have it on hand on one of the consoles. I think it was the PS4. The thing launched and as a way to demonstrate the power of the PS4, they had these cute little robot guys and you'd play this little demo game and it was fine. You'd like shake the controller around and the fucking robots would bounce around. You'd hear them having a good time in your controller and everyone was like, oh, that's kind of cute. And then a few Years later for PS4, a game called Astrobot Rescue Mission came out which basically no one played because it was on the PlayStation VR. I know there was a lot of them that got sold. I feel like a lot of people didn't play this game. I played it in the Polygon offices one night. Cause I was like, I guess I gotta play it. People seem to be into it and I was fucking blown away by how good it was. But it required the PlayStation VR controller and headset and all that nonsense. So a lot of people didn't play. Flash forward again to the launch of the PS5. PS5 launches. There is one game that is arguably a pack in game. It's downloadable, but still, which was Astrobot Rescue. Oh, wait now, Astro. What the fuck was it? Astro's Playroom was the PS5 game and that was as close to this as it gets. Which is to say that was a third person platformer that not only celebrated the history of PlayStation, was also a really fucking good platformer. This game builds off of the groundwork that was there where they basically gave the team the keys to make an entirely full, you know, retail game. And if you go back and listen to that year when the PS5 came out, you listened to me talking. I guarantee that at one point I said, please fucking give the keys to this team to make a full game because it would be incredible. And here we are. It is. It's fucking incredible.

[Justin Bacher]

What's so great about it? Oh man.

[Russ Frostick]

So there's so much to talk about. Yeah, I just went off on a rant. So please.

[Justin Bacher]

Normally my type of game and I didn't like the last one that much. I like, I appreciated it, but didn't like hook me. This game is really fun to play.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

And what I mean is it's fun all the time.

[Russ Frostick]

Yes.

[Justin Bacher]

To do everything. And it's fun in a way that isn't tied to microtransactions and skins and leveling. It's just fun because it's fun. It's fun because they'll throw a hundred apples on the screen and you'll do a spin move through the apples for no reason other than I want to. It'd be so cool to see all these apples go flying. Like, every moment is like that. It's fun the whole time.

[Russ Frostick]

And that is why, when I. To go back to my earlier superlative of why it's the greatest platforming game of all time, you're talking about microtransactions, things like that. I totally agree. Like, there's a lot of games that are great but are hindered by those things.

[Justin Bacher]

I'm not even talking about micro transactions. I'm talking about fun for fun sake.

[Russ Frostick]

And that's what I'm talking about.

[Justin Bacher]

I'm not bitching about microtransactions.

[Russ Frostick]

When people talk about fun for fun's sake, the games that they think about are obviously Nintendo games. I'll bring, you know, Mario. Super Mario Odyssey is obviously the closest comparison to this game in modern memory. And I love Super Mario Odyssey. Don't get me wrong, I love it. It's a shame that Griffin is not here, because I know that he hugely loves it as well. A lot of people love it. But that game has, for lack of a better word, fat to it, where there are levels and chunks and powers that are, like, okay. They're okay, but can feel like a little bit of a chore sometimes to run through the desert and, like, get all the gold stars or whatever the fuck you're doing. There's. And that applies to all Mario games. All Mario games have those moments where, like, they're a little bit of a chore. They're not as much fun as the, like, core. First time you run through a level kind of thing.

[Justin Bacher]

Yeah.

[Russ Frostick]

This game, granted, probably shorter than Super Mario Odyssey from a completion standpoint. I think it probably takes like 15 hours to finish this. But it is all bangers all the time. Every single level is fucking fun as shit.

[Justin Bacher]

And the way every single level feels like, oh, you're gonna let me do this for a whole level? Like, the whole level's like this. The one where you're. I don't. It. There's a section where you have this. You get sort of like one off abilities in a lot of the stages. And there's one where you are able to change your size. So you're like 1/100th basically, you're like, mouse scale.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

And it's like, you could do that at any place in the level. And it basically is another level entirely dependent on your scale that you can move about freely in the larger scale, jump up in the air, be small, and then be in a different level. Really? Because your scale is so different. And that's the whole level. And it's wild.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Like, the difference between this and every other game that has done an idea like this is quite literally, you would go to another level in a different game. You would say you can scale down to the size of the mouse, and you would go up to, like, a pot with a plant in it, and there would be a prompt to, like, scale down and you would, like, load into a new level that now.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. Minish Cap is a game that, like, does this exact thing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

In this game, you just shrink within the world. And then what you realize is, oh, peppered across the world are all these spaces that look kind of like the environment, but are actually interactive. As long as I'm really tiny. And by that I mean hopping on a plant and literally jumping up the leaves or.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, one of my favorites floating around.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And you can hop on it.

[Russ Frostick]

One of my favorites was there's a. You walk into, like, a bedroom and there's like, a blanket. And it just looks like a blanket, but then you see, like, oh, part of the blanket is, like, ruffled a little bit. So you shrink down. You go under the blanket through, like, the tiny little ruffle and then, like, increased your size again, and the blanket goes flying and there's, like, all sorts of surprises underneath.

[Justin Bacher]

This is the first time, I think, since Jak and Daxter and Spider Man Miles Morales, the first time where I really felt the sense of, like, this is. This is a next generation. Like, this is an experience that could not have been done.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Which previous generation makes it a wild game to come out on the same, like, week as the PlayStation 5 Pro announcement.

[Russ Frostick]

That is our B segment, so do not.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, I won't spoil it. Yes. Thank you. We won't get into it in terms of stuff that's good. I want to talk about just a few levels to give people an idea of what else is there. We've talked about the getting small. For me, my moment was just before that where I had the. Oh, wow. They are using the power of the video game console to do things that feel different, that couldn't have been done before, rather than just like, raw visuals. And that was kind of a like, boss ish fight level where you're going up against, effectively, King Kong. And as you are going through this stage, this giant, going the opposite direction of scale, this giant King Kong is hurling steel pylons at you that are like, crashing into the environment. And you're jumping closer and closer and closer to the enemy. And again, I think it almost benefits. I mean, it doesn't. Almost does benefit the level that comes shortly after where you're shrinking down to a mouse. When you go from a level where you're like, I have not experienced something this grand in a game before where it is in action. And I guess when I say in a game, in a platformer like this before, and then to go from that all the way down to okay, and now I'm the size of a bug, it really made the universe feel. Just feel huge.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. I think the boss fights are obviously the, like, big standout moments. Like, you have these, like, gobsmackingly incredible moments within the boss fights, but they're backed up by all the gameplay that's been supported throughout the other levels, which are also, like, incredible and fun. The boss fight, you mentioned, the gorilla one, the one that's after that. And I don't want to get too far deep into the game because obviously, spoilers, whatever, but you do a fight against an octopus, and this fight starts as, like, a pretty standard, like, giant octopus in front of you. You're knocking, you know, projectiles back, etc. Etc. And then halfway through, you're on an island. Halfway through, the octopus swims away from you and the water level drops like, 100ft and you've got, like, a chasm in front of you. And to get to the octopus, you've got to do this insane swinging platforming challenge while waves are, like, flowing through you and you've got this gap of water, like, in ten Commandments that you're trying to get through. And it's just like the ambition of this, every single time there's a boss fight is like the final boss fight of Mario game. The ambition of this is so gobsmacking that they kind of went for it at all times that I like. It's. It's staggering. I'm so excited. I'm so excited for this team because this game was made with 60 people over the course of three years. You compare that to these games that take seven, eight years to make with 200 people, 300 people, and external resources, whatever it is. This Shows you that a team with amazing art direction and amazing gameplay sense can really like stand above the rest in a great way.

[Justin Bacher]

Could we talk? I'd love to hear your guys thoughts a little bit about difficulty in this game because I thought it was a little all over the place and I don't mean that necessarily in a bad way but I did think it was interesting playing it. I really, I don't think my kids maybe would. Would be able to really get too deep into it. There's some parts that are like. Would be pretty challenging and frustrating. There's a lot of like, you know, it doesn't make things terribly hard. It's pretty fair. But the way it approaches difficulty is really you make one mistake and you got to try again.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, right.

[Justin Bacher]

There's not a. But that's like it's almost instant. Right. So it's like I know kids would get frustrated by that like pretty pretty easily. Especially like younger kids. I'm sure there's like other settings in there but I thought that that was really kind of varied. Where sometimes I felt like wow, this is incredibly easy. This isn't even. I'm not even challenged at all. And then sometimes it's like God, this level is really rough to get through. And I don't know if there's like an indicator of that that I'm missing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But sorry, just to clarify one thing. When you die in this game, you don't replay the whole die in real life. You do not die in real life. You restart kind of pretty close by.

[Russ Frostick]

There is a maybe 10 or 15 seconds earlier to where you were previously.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. But I agree with you.

[Justin Bacher]

There's some one offs.

[Russ Frostick]

Right. So that's what I was going to address that you were looking for indicators. And I would sort of agree that the game is not explicit about this. I think they kind of hope that people would get the idea but from a design standpoint they basically said anything that's like a mainline level. So a larger. It's pretty clear which are like main big levels versus not anything like that should be relatively easy doable for I would say a kid that's like probably six and up. I would say anything that's like a side. You don't think so?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, no man.

[Justin Bacher]

No man. Sit. 6. 6 would like 3D manipulation is not a given. I mean like it takes a lot of kids. You know. I will tell you this. I would say that the kids who play Roblox.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

Will probably be able to hang with it like if you play Roblox and you're used to that, like dual stick manipulation. I think you could probably swing this. I just think from a difficulty perspective. I know if my kid tried to do a jump three times and they couldn't do it, they would quit.

[Russ Frostick]

There is a. That you mentioned accessibility. There is a setting that basically removes the need to manipulate the camera. With the right analog stick. It basically handles all the camera controls for you. I think it assigns it to a button to, like, push the camera behind you. But most of the camera work is just done. You'll probably end up missing some stuff because a lot of the, like, extras on the side do require camera controls. But that's there. The other setting that I wanted to call out, and this actually was the one thing that was keeping me from lauding plaudits as extreme on this game. I strongly recommend everyone listening, unless you, like, love them for some ungodly reason, go into the settings and turn off motion controls. I found the game way more fun when I was not juggling with the motion controls, which are. There are a lot of them. Like, when you're flying into levels, you have to, like, steer the ship around and, you know, some of the powers use the motion controls. It's fine. It's like, gimmicky. But if you turn them off, it just plays like a straight up platformer. And I found that to be way more.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And you're not talking about turning off the special rumble?

[Russ Frostick]

No.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

PlayStation.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, no, I think those are fine. Like, there's adaptive triggers which, like, makes the tension on the triggers a little harder. I think those are fine. And then the haptics, forget about it. This fucking game crushes haptics. The rumble that you feel in your control room, like the little speaker sounds. Feels so fucking good. They kind of set the standard with Astro's Play Playroom previously and just elevated. Elevated that to an incredible degree with this game. I don't know that this game could ever run on any other platform that doesn't have as good haptics as this does. Because it feels so much better and adds so much to it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I mean, it could run, but it wouldn't.

[Russ Frostick]

It could run. I just mean, like, I don't think it'll ever get ported necessarily.

[Justin Bacher]

Yeah, it was okay. It did pretty. I played some of this on the portal.

[Russ Frostick]

Oh, God. Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

And a lot of that was. It was fine. It worked fine. The haptics were good.

[Russ Frostick]

That has haptics. That has the same haptics on it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes.

[Justin Bacher]

Too loud. I could, you know, I couldn't Play with the sounds at all last night when I was putting my kid down because even the very lowest volume setting.

[Russ Frostick]

On that thing is blaring.

[Justin Bacher]

It's a crappy device. Can you talk about the connection to history and sort of PlayStation and Sony lore?

[Russ Frostick]

I want to hear that from Plant because he's a history boy.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I am a history boy. And also I have kind of mixed feelings about all this. Well, okay. So earlier Hoops, you mentioned that the game doesn't do incentives like a lot of modern games do. And I think this game does a nice job by using Your love of PlayStation and video games as kind of the core incentive to play through the game and to explore every corner of it. So throughout each mission, unlike Stars in a Mario game, your goal is to rescue various other Astrobots and all the Martin immediately. More compelling than Stars immediately because they actually have character. It's a bold idea. And some of them are just kind of usual Astrobots who are just interacting.

[Russ Frostick]

And I think, for the record, for the record, I think those are just bots. Astrobot is the named protagonist of this game.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You are saving bots. Thank you so much. That would have been terrifying and embarrassing. Some of them are effectively cosplaying as your favorite Sony characters and not your favorites and ones you've never even heard of and ones that Sony didn't even make. There are so many of these characters. You want like a Kratos type? Don't worry, they've got you covered. You want a Gravity Rush type? Don't worry, they've got you covered. You want a Vidribin type? Don't worry, they have got you covered.

[Russ Frostick]

You want Kiryu's in there.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Kennedy from Resident Evil.

[Russ Frostick]

You boy. Kiryu is in there.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes.

[Justin Bacher]

What is the Resident like? I was getting confused at that point. When Resident Evil showed up, I was like, okay, is Arrow the acrobat next? Like, how far does this extend?

[Russ Frostick]

So I think the rubric was not only obviously first party Sony games, but also any major games that had like a real moment on a PlayStation console. So resident Evil, big one. Obviously like retro games. I think Capcom in general has like a very strong relationship with Sony and has for many years. So you see a lot of Street Fighter stuff there. Tomb Raider is another. There's a Tomb Raider bot that runs around being chased by a Raptor. Tomb Raider obviously had its first console moment on the PlayStation 1.

[Justin Bacher]

Explicit, I should say. None of these actually say Resident Evil.

[Russ Frostick]

No. I kind of wonder.

[Justin Bacher]

It's like, I don't know if they're actually like. They're kind of towing the line. They have to pay for this.

[Russ Frostick]

I was wondering that. Because obviously they wouldn't want to spoil a relationship with a company. But also what company is going to fucking complain that Sony is putting.

[Justin Bacher]

Listen, we're not going to.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I don't think there's a. A world in which it was not approved because they largely partnered with Japanese publishers who are going to. I mean, we've worked with some of these publishers on other projects. Everything's going to be in paper. But also, who cares? That's like the least interesting part of the game.

[Russ Frostick]

I mean, I was actually interested in the licensing agreements, but yeah, I mean, of course.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Because we are sickos.

[Justin Bacher]

Sick of Weeb dorks.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So here's the question. And it's not good or bad. It just is that I had as I was playing this game. This is the best act of marketing ever. And you are paying 50 or $60 or whatever for what is. This was an ad for Sony. And let me. It's not just.

[Justin Bacher]

That was going to be. If I could just say that was going to be. I was. That's why I was so disappointed that I didn't get to be a mean bully because that was going to be my opener. Was going to be. Not since Cool spot on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Like, that was going to be. How has an act of marketing been so compelling?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I don't. But yeah, I don't think it's bad necessarily.

[Russ Frostick]

The way you're saying it is like, this is a new thing. But every fucking Mario game, like, since the first one has.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's. Come on.

[Russ Frostick]

I understand there's an extreme.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And this is like. That's not even just. It's so completely off base because Mario is sure it has characters in it. This is a game that. The entire goal of the game is to build a PlayStation 5.

[Russ Frostick]

Okay. That's right.

[Justin Bacher]

You are worshiping at a monolith.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You are worshipping a monolith. And then you are going and getting a gpu. That is the reward for one level. You are getting a RAM set from another level. It is a game fundamentally about the power of PlayStation.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. And you know what's really funny? Everyone playing it already fucking bought one. So it's not even marketing to new people. It's marketing to people that are already like, that's marketing.

[Justin Bacher]

That's an equally important kind of marketing.

[Russ Frostick]

No, sure.

[Justin Bacher]

Indoctrinating people more in is like.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It is building the Church. Right. Again, I'm not, I'm not necessarily saying it's bad. I'm just saying it is. It is a weird kind of blemish on the game for me in that like it would be the best platformer of the year, maybe of all time in your case, without you building a PlayStation with Astrobot, just being like Mario, a character who lives in a world where it's not all about how wonderful Sony is, it would still be fantastic.

[Justin Bacher]

I like, I like that stuff. I think that charging people to be fans of a thing is classic video games. Like, I think that does not bother me. I think the only thing that I think the reason for me personally that I was like a little bit whatever I want. If you're going to do something like this, the winky like cameos are neat. But I want like, I want it to be like some sort of history or like some sort of like thing that you're learning to be a bit more grounded. And I think when you can have that history aspect of like, here's when this was released, you know, when you, you know what I mean? I am already have.

[Russ Frostick]

I got the game for you. It's called Astro's Playroom. It's free to play on the PlayStation.

[Justin Bacher]

I know, but I like, I like.

[Russ Frostick]

I like that and that stuff was it. I, to be honest, while I was playing this, I kind of wished that they brought the museum into this game as well because I like, I really like that of the last game too. So I agree with you 100%. I agree with all the nods. It is weird because when I played Astro's Playroom, it was the first time ever that I ever felt any affinity for PlayStation as a brand because it had never been brought together in such a cohesive way. And this is really just like kind of building off of that. I agree with you. It's marketing. I agree with you. It feels a little dystopian. But I think if it was just a platforming game, even though it'd be a fucking amazing platforming game and probably like from a gameplay standpoint, my favorite platforming game ever. I think the added charm of seeing characters, you know, collecting the little figurines running over to them and punching them so they do their little action on the crash landing thing, all that stuff further enhanced the experience.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I agree with all of that. It really is the building the church of the planet of PlayStation where I think it's kind of like, okay, okay, that made sense in a free to play game.

[Justin Bacher]

Don't you prefer I prefer that it be so blatant though, that it just kind of drastic. Wouldn't it be where I prefer if it's like hooray, PlayStation. Rather than try to cloak it at all? Because you can't even pretend when you're building a giant PlayStation.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

The only reason that I disagree with that is I don't think it would be cloaking it. I think it is voiding an opportunity to build a universe for these characters. And considering how great the developer has done with everything else, I would love to know about like a universe where the bots. An Astrobot come from. Tell me more. And you're like. And Justin's like, nah, man.

[Russ Frostick]

Is that.

[Justin Bacher]

Or they live in a big PS5 and fly around on a controller. That sounds good. That guy looks like Ryu. Like, it's good.

[Russ Frostick]

This is good.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I guess I just imagine it's really.

[Russ Frostick]

The only franchise outside of like the Fortnites of the world. Sure is so wide ranging in terms.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Of IP and successful at it.

[Russ Frostick]

Like a Fortnite and really successful at it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

Like, I can't. I think. Which one of you guys was it where like, this just feels like if Sackboy didn't look like trash. Yeah, like, I forget who said it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Like, also, if you could jump, everyone.

[Justin Bacher]

Would have loved it. If they just. If the Sackboys hadn't looked like trash and they looked like these fun little.

[Russ Frostick]

Robots, then those games are. I think we can say all respect to that team because they do some amazing stuff. But those are not fun platformers to play. The Little Big Planet games are true Misery from Black.

[Justin Bacher]

I mean, in the sense of what it is for the brand. Like, I don't mean playing it. I mean like what it. What it represents. Right? Because there was definitely a time where the Little Big Planet guys were this sort of like, you see it, they were like minions, right? They pop up in all the different costumes and you see like they were.

[Russ Frostick]

Doing a very similar thing that this game is doing. It was like there was a lot of marketing.

[Justin Bacher]

Like trash.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I mean, that awesome. Yes. That's the grand achievement of Astrobot games is they made a funko that people like, you know, they made the thing that is the base piece of plastic that you can decorate in any way and it looks adorable and you want to own each one no matter what you dress it up as. And that is a.

[Justin Bacher]

You know how old you put these guys in a landfill when your kids go to college.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Because digital. At least for now, I have a feeling that we will be getting plenty of Plastic pretty soon.

[Justin Bacher]

Oh, I think you're probably right.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Yeah, I think there's plastic on the way. Don't you worry. We're gonna. We're gonna flood the oceans with microplastics soon enough.

[Russ Frostick]

Fuck. I hope this game does really fucking well.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's gonna. It's gonna do great, right?

[Russ Frostick]

Like, I. I mean, there just isn't combat. Like, when was the last. There's like, what, five PS5 exclusive games in total?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. Also, the movie has to be in development already, right. With how aggressive Sony is with getting its stuff.

[Russ Frostick]

I hope there's no movie.

[Justin Bacher]

Really?

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. I hope there's no movie.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I can't imagine.

[Russ Frostick]

For the same reason, I hope there's no Legends of Zelda movie. I don't know that there's a good way to do this movie. We'll see.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

They did the Mario movie and made.

[Justin Bacher]

A ton of money.

[Russ Frostick]

Okay, once again, I'm gonna. I'm gonna. I think we're. We're probably closing in. Unless anyone had any closing thoughts, I'm gonna end the segment with a reiteration of what I said earlier. The best platforming video game I've ever played in my entire life.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Wow.

[Russ Frostick]

Put that on the fucking box.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm happy for you that.

[Justin Bacher]

Are you including, like. Okay. Do you include Spelunky in that list?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, just.

[Justin Bacher]

I'm not saying versus I'm saying, like, yeah. Heck, yeah.

[Russ Frostick]

I mean, just as, like, I don't think.

[Justin Bacher]

Hold on. I was standing up to walk out of the room, and then I saw Plant's face, and then I sat back down at the table.

[Russ Frostick]

I mean, I don't think Spelunky is purely a platformer, which gets a little messy. But, I mean, this is a Spunky is a better Rog like than this is.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, my God.

[Russ Frostick]

Which is. You know what I mean? But as a platforming game, yeah, I think this feels better and looks better than Spunky. And obviously I'm take. You know, I'm not factoring history into it. Like, Astrobot didn't invent the jump, but of all the games of platforming games that have come before this, the Celeste, the Super Mario Threes, you name it, this is the best.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

We should probably. Because this is an audio medium and people didn't see it, but at the beginning of the episode, Frosty did lick that pile of mushrooms and his eyes have been just giant.

[Russ Frostick]

Have you guys mentioned a single platforming game that's better than this? I guess. No.

[Justin Bacher]

Okay. Can I. Can I ask you a question, Russ? Because I'm actually not arguing with this because I don't have course of this race, but I want to understand it. When you say best platformer, though, some of the games that we've talked about in that same context, you just mentioned Celeste, right?

[Russ Frostick]

Sure.

[Justin Bacher]

And you've mentioned like, I don't know, Super Meat Boy or things like that, where there's this whole fidelity of control and there is a precision that when I think platformers, a lot of times, like, that's what I'm. That's kind of part of what I'm thinking about right now that this game doesn't have.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I love this game. Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

This game.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Its controls are not the hook for it.

[Justin Bacher]

What is it when you say best platformer, what is that encompassing for you?

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, I would say the core of it is the core gameplay loop is like platform to platform exploration, like Super Mario Brothers. Celeste is definitely one of them. I mean, I don't know. I think people know what a platformer is versus, like, for example, Ori has platforming elements, but it's a Metroidvania. It's a search action game, I should say. You must say so, like, I think as a pure platforming game, I don't think there's anything better. I think, you know, Jak and Dax, their Banjo Kazooie is a platforming game.

[Justin Bacher]

Like, is your overall list a concrete enough thing that you know where this like slots in for you?

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, it slots in at number one.

[Justin Bacher]

No, I mean of all games.

[Russ Frostick]

Of all games. No, I. I couldn't say that.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Is Flunky above this in all games?

[Russ Frostick]

Probably.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay.

[Justin Bacher]

I love. That's so twisted, dude. I love the way your mind works.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's so nice getting out of the labyrinth.

[Justin Bacher]

Yeah. God. Okay, well, let's take a break and we'll come back and we'll talk about other stuff.

[Griffin McElroy]

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[Justin Bacher]

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[Russ Frostick]

Now, I know we were all loving Astrobot in the first segment there, but don't you wish you could play it at 8K and 140 frames per second after paying $700? Well, now you can.

[Justin Bacher]

Absolutely.

[Russ Frostick]

PlayStation announced through the Power and magic of mark Cerny, the PlayStation 5 Pro.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, it's here.

[Russ Frostick]

It's here. It's everything you guys have been waiting for.

[Justin Bacher]

I completely missed this. Fill me in. Give me the reader's okay.

[Russ Frostick]

It's got, it's got some black stripes on the side of it. It doesn't come with a disc drive. But every time you remember, you know when you're playing games and they're like do you want fidelity or performance? And you're like I am not doing fidelity because the game runs like dog shit in comparison to performance. And I don't care if it doesn't have ray tracing. Well now you won't have to choose.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, maybe it's a little unclear from it. It seems like you can kind of have both sometimes.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, I think that is probably the easiest way to grok it is like you'll get relatively the higher performance in addition to having frame rate. I think that's like might not be 100% of the case but that's certainly how they're marketing it. No one here.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

For $700 more the game will look a bit better.

[Russ Frostick]

And this is really what it comes down to for me is. And I've talked about this a lot. I cannot even side by side tell ray tracing like ever. A lot of this trailer promoting the PS5 Pro was like showing side by side clips of like how much better one looks versus the other. And I was with a microscope trying to understand the difference and I couldn't do it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I did not expect it to look so much like a digital foundry video.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Where they're like zero and it needs to.

[Russ Frostick]

That's the only way.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Screenshots. Yeah. I'm absolutely baffled by the decision to release hardware that on one hand does have slightly better visuals but then is missing basic features that you would expect from probably a base level console, but certainly from a premium console. Doesn't have a disk drive, doesn't have a stand. Couldn't throw in the extra, you know what 250 in plastic.

[Justin Bacher]

I feel like if your top of the line product does not have an inbuilt disk drive, then you should just say we're not doing that anymore.

[Russ Frostick]

I mean I kind of think that's what anymore. I kind of think that's what this is. I mean PS6.

[Justin Bacher]

Well no, but they're selling. But, but it can't. It better not be that because they're still selling the drive. You know what I mean?

[Russ Frostick]

But I think they're selling it in the context of Dorks like Chris plant who buy 4K Blu Rays. Like, I don't think they're intending for people to buy discs to play games in it.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, I mean, I think that's the bigger thing is they don't want people buying games anymore. They want physical. They want buying. Yeah. They want people buying digital code. And that's what they're trying to accomplish is, you know, they're trying to fully kill the resale market.

[Russ Frostick]

Here's. Here's the best, most generous pitch that I can give the PS5.7.

[Justin Bacher]

I did not know any of this, by the way. We've been traveling $700.

[Russ Frostick]

Here's the best argument that I can make for it. And this is not in the trailer. This is me, like, extrapolating, because in the trailer, all they're saying is like, hey, I know how much you love playing Last of Us 2, but don't you wish you could play it in 4K at 60 frames a second with all the bells and whistles turned on? That's their pitch. Right now. The best pitch I can come up with is a year or two from now when Grand Theft Auto 6 comes out, you'll be able to play it in 60 frames per second, whereas on a base PS5, it'll probably be 30. That's the only thing that can come up with. And what that does is it kind of puts pressure on Microsoft to be like, if you don't put out your updated hardware on all Xbox consoles, GTA 6 is going to run at 30 frames a second. But Sony's got the ability to run it at 60. So long as you are willing to pay $700 for this thing.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. I also don't think. I don't think Microsoft is going to worry about that because it's called a PC. You know, I guess maybe Grand Theft Auto 6 is like, it doesn't launch on PC again, but the idea of, hey, it could run better is so the norm right now. The idea that you would force the hand of Microsoft.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So I think it's just like, we're not even going to be making hardware by then.

[Russ Frostick]

Microsoft knows if they're going to make an updated Xbox or not. This is not going to literally, like, force them into it. I'm just saying it'll be a marketing differentiator.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, it's. I just. I mean, we kind of hinted at this in the previous section, but it is. It's something to release Astrobot, which is the best exclusive original game released on the PlayStation 5. Like, of all the PS5 exclusives. It is I think the best one, right?

[Justin Bacher]

Yeah, maybe PlayStation writ large.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah. And also there just aren't that many after these years and you release this game Astrobot and it looks and plays as well as you could possibly hope for.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And then you're saying what if you spent $700 for I don't know, maybe the reflections look a little different on Astrobot's little cute face. I don't know.

[Russ Frostick]

The car's side mirror reflects the car accurately whereas previously it was just a mesh cube map.

[Justin Bacher]

This is what I'm saying. Like I. Okay, let think of, I think about like potential consumers for this, right?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah.

[Justin Bacher]

Okay. I'll buy anything. I'll buy anything. Right? Whatever. I'm in this field. Like I do this as part of my job. Like I like to have the newest stuff I owe by anything in my head. I'm like, well I would like the best graphics available but I also would like to, I don't want to not be able to have a disc drive. Like there's other. Like I have discs for this and the previous generation of consoles. Like I'd like to.

[Russ Frostick]

Well, good name.

[Justin Bacher]

Sometimes I want to watch a DVD or whatever.

[Russ Frostick]

Like you can buy an add on for our.

[Justin Bacher]

However and this is what I'm saying, it's an I don't want. But if I bought it. But even if I bought it, I can't get rid of I my old PlayStation 5 because it is not, it is not as functional as that is. It's infuriating.

[Russ Frostick]

I mean I would do if you bought the add on disk drive. Nonsense. It'd be as I know and if.

[Justin Bacher]

A frog had wings, it wouldn't bump its ass when it hopped.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

There are two forces that can drive you to buy something like this. There's your brain where you're like hey, I just need a video game console. And then there is your. And Justin's pointing at his heart. Justin's pointing at his heart right now. There's your heart where you just have so much passion for it. You can't really help yourself. Right. You know, you don't need the new PS5, but it has all these new features that you're excited about. And what is bonkers about this is it takes the heart out of the equation. It costs too much. There are very few novel gimmicks. It's not coming with anything special and it's actually losing features. So that odds you'd be like I can't help myself, gotta click. Buy is gone.

[Justin Bacher]

I'M a mark man. I've driven to Arby's to try something new. Like you don't.

[Russ Frostick]

It's beef, I gotta be honest.

[Justin Bacher]

And it's like I can't get, I can't latch any of my systems onto it. I can't attach either of those. Like I can't get access to.

[Russ Frostick]

The other issue that they have is when the PS4 Pro launched, which was only three years after the PS4, I thought it was longer than that, but it was only three years. Games were already starting to run pretty badly on the original hardware. You had games, new releases like God of War, the original God of War that was like kind of struggling a little bit to maintain a steady frame rate on the original hardware. So you kind of understood it. And not to say that I'm like I'm thrilled. The fact that new releases are performing well on a base PS5 now that's great but it doesn't make for a good selling point. And a lot of the issue is this entire generation has been so cross generational where all these games are running on PS4 and PS5. So of course they're gonna run great on PS5 because it also has to run on PS4. So they're just kind of, the timing of this tells me they were like this is the only time to do it. We want to launch a PS6 in three years and we can't launch this thing a year before the PS6 comes out. So we kind of have to do it now and it'll run GTA better. But that's the like it just, that's all I can piece together.

[Justin Bacher]

I'll also say, I would say more than half of the time I spent playing Astrobot was spent on either my Steam deck or the PlayStation Portal.

[Russ Frostick]

How do you stream to the Steam deck as well through Chiachi or whatever it's called?

[Justin Bacher]

Yeah, yeah, there's a Chiaki. There's a new version Chiaki ng that uh, it works really well. Uh, but either way I like I and I'm definitely not going to notice those like upgrades, those Pro upgrades when I'm playing like in a and remote setting which is how I play a lot of the time. Like so even if you're like a bigger consumer of it and like bigger into it, like that's even less reason to buy in.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I mean the thing is they're going to be fine no matter what. They don't need, you know, our pity or questioning here and that Sony is crushing Microsoft. They are the clear winner of this and probably the future of video game consoles that are not, you know, Nintendo making a device that plays all of its best toys. And I say that as a compliment. But the I look at things like this and the handheld and its countless accessories and I do wonder like what's the biggest idea that they have moving forward? Because consoles themselves are going into a weird spot and this does not fill me with confidence that they have some grand vision for the future of video game console.

[Russ Frostick]

Ray tracing is not a plan. Like building around ray tracing as the future of gaming is not a plan.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Well, and building around power as an idea is not the plan because power is now widely available and you get new upgrades every year effectively. But if you move over to PC. So if you want to get into the power race, you've made a mistake. People are getting used to being on PCs and they offer way more power and way more variability than this and their games are cheaper.

[Russ Frostick]

Here's the thing. If Sony this week instead of announcing the PS5 Pro, announced Vita 2 and it ran every PS4 game at 720p, I would have canceled the podcast because all I'd be doing is refreshing the pre buy auction.

[Justin Bacher]

This is, I think that is the future. I think that for me and it's something I was thinking about a lot with like the travel I've been recently and playing games on the like for me the graphics future, like we're, it's. It's kind of a very diminishing returns there. What I want is the convenience and convergence future where it is easier for me to go between these different devices and not have to spend 20 minutes syncing and making sure files are working and making sure my controller is where it needs to be and it just all works seamlessly together. And I think that like the amount of time I spend switching between devices and making sure this file's here and downloading this game that I didn't download here and so I could play it over here, like especially between the Steam deck and the PC. Like I feel like that's where these things could actually evolve to actually make it more convenient to just be in the ecosystem.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Also talk about dream. And we're in fantasy realm here, but if they had announced a Vita 2 the same week as Astrobot and it had an Astrobot collection that came with it of like 10.

[Justin Bacher]

You're getting into like fan fiction now, right? And then Kaz Hirai kicks open the door and he's like, I'm back.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

And Moto comes in and is like.

[Justin Bacher]

Mario Reggie Fils a Bay is like, I'm also joining the team.

[Russ Frostick]

He's got nothing.

[Justin Bacher]

We all roll with Astrobot.

[Russ Frostick]

Now we have a partnership with Pizza Hut. Okay, I think we did it. We have one quick reader mail. This one comes from Rex. After hearing only the highest praise for Double the Psych Odyssey from Besties and TripleClick, which is great. It's on YouTube as a documentary about making Psychonauts 2, I put it on my to watch list and snatched up Psychonauts 2 at the first good sale I saw. But I haven't started either, I guess the first or the second game yet.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

My question is, I think the game or the Blu Ray or not blu Ray. The YouTube video.

[Russ Frostick]

I understand. Yeah. But I haven't started either the game or the documentary yet. So my question is if I'm planning consuming both of them, Both of these for sure. In what order should I partake? Should I play the game first and watch the documentary second or do a simultaneous experience? Thank you. My advice would be to play the game first because simultaneously does not work. Because that's not how game development works. Like they're designing the last level first and shit like that. What's really cool, after you play the game, you can, throughout the entire experience know what they're referencing and what they're building and stuff that like never actually made it to the final version while you're watching it. So definitely play the game first.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm on the opposite side. I am pro. Watch the documentary first and see how a game comes together and then play the game because you will have so much more appreciation for it. When this game came out, I was like mixed on it and it gets better. I will also say that I think when we recorded the episode for the game, I was maybe like five or six hours in, which was not enough. And the game does get better. But playing this game and revisiting it after the documentary is something else. Because you.

[Justin Bacher]

I did that too.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Have this rich appreciation for even the tiniest details that are happening in the game. And this is a game about details. Speaking of platformers, hey, if you are excited about Astrobot, but you don't have an opportunity to play it because you either have a PC or an Xbox. Psychonauts 2, a very solid platformer. Not Astrophot level, but pretty damn good.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah, pretty good.

[Justin Bacher]

You guys play anything else?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, wow. Fresh. You watched a movie I see on our list. Tell. Tell people about this great film.

[Russ Frostick]

I watched the movie called Blowout. It came out in 1981 and probably has one of the more interesting and original premises. It is directed by Brian De Palma. It came out just before Scarface came out. And it stars John Travolta, who is an audio engineer for movies. He's basically like. What are they called? A Foley artist. Foley artist kind of. He goes around and like, captures audio to then inject into movies. So if you need a scream or like, tire screeching, whatever it is, he'll, like, go out into nature, which I don't know that they necessarily do a ton, but I know that it still happens now, anyway, he. He does this and basically witnesses a murder or a accident or whatever happens, and it kind of turns into like this thriller. It's shot in, like, kind of like a Hitchcock movie a little bit. Willows Zygmun is the cinematographer who has done like, a ton of amazing things.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Also, Brian De Palma made it, so.

[Russ Frostick]

Also Brian De Palma.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

So, like all Alfred Hitchcock. Yeah.

[Russ Frostick]

Yeah. It's very insane. I don't know that I would say it's a great film.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

What?

[Russ Frostick]

I don't know. I don't know, man. The, like, last 45 minutes of that movie are like, this is a wild take. Wild.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah.

[Russ Frostick]

I also. I think the. Yeah, his. His co star, I thought was pretty weak in this movie. But if. If you want, like, I don't know, just like a look into time, I think I was entertained for a while.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

If you're wanting a Hitchcock movie, but you don't want to go all the way back and you want something from the 80s, something a little more modern.

[Russ Frostick]

And you want something. I think this is definitely schlockier than Hitchcock. Like, this is not as, like, refined as a Hitchcock movie.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. Brian De Palma makes the subtext text. So everything that you're like, hey, I think this might be about sex. Brian De Palma is like, don't worry, we got you covered. I'm so glad you watched that. I watched a movie this week called Yi Yi, which is just this absolutely wonderful full family story set in Taiwan from the year 2000. And if you like sprawling family novel, like epics with a really good sense of humor and the sort of film that makes you feel good about life, this is it. It's just waiting for you. One word of warning, because I feel like a cliche. It is three hours long.

[Russ Frostick]

Oh, boy.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

You should make time for it. But I think if you watch this film, you will fall in love with all of the films of Edward Yang. And I think there might be a new print out. I saw it at a theater and it was a gorgeous, gorgeous restoration. So I don't know if that's new or old, but definitely worth checking out if you have the opportunity to see it. We lost Hoops. The Internet did fire Hoops into the sun and. Or he left to go play more Astrobot. I'm not sure. But I'll just say that, like, his recommendation of the week is Sewer Shark and he shoot the tubes. Have a great time if you can, on Sega cd. Anything else before we wrap? Do we do it?

[Russ Frostick]

No. Justin's stupid. He's a big dummy and we don't like him. I think that's basically it. Do you want to recap the games we talked about today?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, let's do it. We talked about Astrobot. We Talked about the PlayStation 5 Pro. We talked about Double Fine, Psych, Odyssey and Psychonauts 2. You watched Blowout, a Brian De Palma masterpiece. I watched Yi Yi and Justin, or the spirit of him channeled me into shouting out sewer Shark. Sega cd, a disaster piece. And that is it. My friends, I want to thank.

[Russ Frostick]

Don't wrap it up because I wanted to thank some people, some people that are very near and dear to my heart. Yeah. Special thanks to the new joiners of the Patreon. We have Greg, we have Charlie, we have Iris, and we have Baxwell. Thank you so much for joining the [e-mail] thebesties. We have the Bracket Battles episode, which is already live. We also have a brand new episode of the Resties. We talked about that game Paths of Mystery, which is fucking dope. If you like Stardew Valley, that's the game for you.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

If you don't like Stardew Valley and you're like, I think I would, but it didn't quite click. Have I not the game for you?

[Russ Frostick]

This will do it next week. We're still figuring it out.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Probably a little UFO 50 and something else, but we're not something else. We're not sure yet.

[Russ Frostick]

Still figuring it out. We don't want. There's a lot to cover. It's a busy time of year, so we'll have something fun and exciting for you. Stay tuned. I think that's going to do it for us here at the Besties.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

We have done another episode of the Besties. We've come a long way since Pac man because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?