Citizen Sleeper 2 Blends Game and Story Into One Complex Dish

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Besties – Episode: "Citizen Sleeper 2 Blends Game and Story Into One Complex Dish"

Release Date: January 31, 2025

Hosts:

• Chris Plante
• Griffin McElroy
• Justin McElroy
• Russ Frushtick

---

1. Cold Open: All Hallows Steves Challenge

The episode begins with Justin McElroy showcasing his collection of "All Hallows Steves," a set of character actors all named Steve. This playful segment sets a humorous tone as the hosts attempt to identify the different Steves based on Justin's stipple drawings.

• Justin McElroy [00:00]: "I got all my All Hallows Steves here... you can see on the camera."
• Russ Frushtick [00:51]: "The best. Number one."

Despite some initial confusion and playful banter, the hosts successfully identify Steve Carell among the Steves, highlighting Justin's talent as a hobbyist artist.

---

2. Main Discussion: Citizen Sleeper 2

Overview and Comparison to the First Game

The core of the episode revolves around "Citizen Sleeper 2," the sequel to the critically acclaimed "Citizen Sleeper." The hosts delve deep into how the sequel enhances and diverges from its predecessor.

• Christopher Thomas Plant [04:32]: "Citizen Sleeper 2 is a sequel to a beloved sci-fi narrative game by Gareth Damien Martin."

Gameplay Mechanics

The hosts discuss the intricate gameplay mechanics that blend resource management with narrative storytelling. In "Citizen Sleeper 2," players command a ship with a crew, undertaking missions across various space stations, which adds mobility and variety compared to the first game's more static setting.

• Griffin McElroy [07:00]: "You're synthetic human. How's that? Synthetic human."
• Justin McElroy [07:38]: "It's very much an experience about balancing some resources... making really hard choices."

Narrative and Storytelling

The sequel amplifies the narrative depth by intertwining gameplay decisions directly with the story. Hosts commend the game's ability to depict the struggles of leadership and community-building in a hostile environment.

• Christopher Thomas Plant [11:09]: "This game is a very weird to say difficult. You will lose a lot in this game, but losing is kind of the point."

Player Experience and Challenges

While praise abounds for the storytelling and depth, the hosts also highlight challenges such as steep learning curves, poor tutorialization, and subpar controller support, which can hinder the overall gaming experience.

• Russ Frushtick [13:15]: "I was put off in this case because it felt like the first game... picking dice and things."
• Griffin McElroy [14:35]: "I was not enjoying that. So I actually started over and had a much, much smoother ride."

Concluding Thoughts on the Sequel

Despite some technical and usability issues, the hosts acknowledge "Citizen Sleeper 2" as a compelling narrative-driven game that may appeal to a niche audience appreciative of its complexity and storytelling ambition.

• Russ Frushtick [25:28]: "I think it's going to click with a very select group of people in a really hard way."

---

3. Game Recommendations

A. Locomotive

Justin introduces "Locomotive," an adventure game reminiscent of classic point-and-click titles. Set on a murder-mystery train, players navigate through different characters' perspectives to unravel the truth.

• Justin McElroy [26:48]: "It's very much that old school... pointing and clicking and finding the items in the inventory."
• Griffin McElroy [29:26]: "It's a Rashomon kind of thing where everyone's telling their own angle of the story."

B. The Root Trees Are Dead

Russ recommends "The Root Trees Are Dead," a mystery game that combines genealogical research with detective work. Players piece together a sprawling family tree by investigating various sources, creating an engaging and satisfying gameplay loop.

• Griffin McElroy [34:00]: "It's a game where you are basically a genealogist putting together the whole sprawling family tree of the root tree family."
• Russ Frushtick [37:44]: "I guess this is another UI rpg."

C. Severance Season Two

The hosts briefly touch upon the highly anticipated second season of the TV show "Severance," discussing its thematic depth and narrative structure without delving into spoilers.

• Justin McElroy [39:40]: "A lot of shows that are really brainy get mad when people focus on mythology."

---

4. Additional Media Recommendations

A. Saturday Night (Film)

Justin recommends the film "Saturday Night," a dramatization of the first Saturday Night Live premiere. He praises its unique narrative style and engaging performances, making it a must-watch for fans of the show.

• Justin McElroy [39:57]: "It hangs together as a movie. It's fascinating to watch."

B. Colors Within (Anime Film)

Christopher introduces "Colors Within," an anime film by Naoko Yamada. The film explores synesthesia through a high schooler's perspective and culminates in a mesmerizing music number, showcasing exceptional animation and storytelling.

• Christopher Thomas Plant [47:21]: "It is very, very, very delicate and not presented like with all the bombast."
• Justin McElroy [49:32]: "I found it like a deeply moving experience."

---

5. Conclusion and Upcoming Content

The episode wraps up with the hosts summarizing their discussions and teasing future content. They announce an upcoming bracket episode and preview next week's focus on "Ender Magnolia," the sequel to "Ender Lilies."

• Russ Frushtick [51:20]: "We're going to be playing a game called Ender Magnolia."
• Justin McElroy [52:21]: "Be sure to join us again next week for the Besties because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?"

Additionally, they acknowledge their Patreon supporters and encourage listeners to support the show through memberships.

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Notable Quotes:

• Griffin McElroy [08:29]: "These mini missions feel like a much more focused version of the entire game."
• Christopher Thomas Plant [11:09]: "Losing is kind of the point."
• Justin McElroy [21:37]: "My brain's been moving really fast lately and I couldn't slow it down enough to do what this game requires."
• Griffin McElroy [34:00]: "It's like a Rashomon kind of thing where everyone's telling their own angle of the story."

---

Final Thoughts:

In this episode, The Besties provide an in-depth analysis of "Citizen Sleeper 2," balancing praise for its ambitious storytelling with constructive criticism of its gameplay complexities. Their thoughtful recommendations of other narrative-driven games and media offer listeners a curated selection of engaging content. The hosts' chemistry and insightful commentary make this episode a valuable listen for gaming enthusiasts seeking deep dives into narrative and game mechanics.

Transcript

[Justin McElroy]

So I'm. I got all my All Hallows Steves here. And you guys know that they're all character actors named Steve. Right, Right. But you guys can see on the camera. But I'm betting that you guys will be able to identify my All Hallows Steves.

[Griffin McElroy]

Can I play this game? Because I know you're all Halo Steves.

[Justin McElroy]

No, he's obviously cheating.

[Russ]

And you. And you did already tell us some of them, so.

[Justin McElroy]

But I wasn't, like, pointing at a specific.

[Russ]

Okay, so.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, some things that I. We know you have. We know that you got Steven Yoon. Great choice, I think.

[Justin McElroy]

Well, we see this is a cold open.

[Russ]

We don't need to turn it. Spoil it full.

[Justin McElroy]

One act play. Well, listen.

[Russ]

Okay, who is this?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, I see the game.

[Russ]

Oh, I'm not playing this game.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, I don't want to play this game.

[Russ]

I don't want to play this game.

[Justin McElroy]

I don't know. That was a gimme. That's a. That's Steven.

[Griffin McElroy]

Beautiful.

[Russ]

I don't.

[Griffin McElroy]

This bit is very visual.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah, I know. That's why it's a good cold open. Okay, so what about this one?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay, okay. Stephen Root or Steven.

[Russ]

Wait, wait, wait. No, no, no. Stephen Tobolowski.

[Justin McElroy]

Fuck yeah, Russ. You got it, buddy.

[Russ]

Crushed it.

[Justin McElroy]

You got it, dude.

[Russ]

Well, let me just say, for those that don't know, Steve Tobolawski, he was Bing in Groundhog Day, but he's in everything.

[Justin McElroy]

Good. He's also a great, like, storyteller. He's got a great podcast.

[Russ]

Anyway, it's interesting that you're mixing Steve's. And Steve.

[Justin McElroy]

Also, this is called open. Nobody's hearing this.

[Russ]

Okay, that's Steven Rick.

[Justin McElroy]

Pretty good for somebody who's, like, pretty good at art.

[Griffin McElroy]

Like. And these are little pumpkins that Justin's drawn.

[Justin McElroy]

That's not important. This is like stipple drawings. Everyone who Wall Street Journal profiles.

[Griffin McElroy]

But the cold open is Steve Jobs.

[Justin McElroy]

What?

[Russ]

I was going to guess Steve Jobs. That was also my guess.

[Justin McElroy]

Steve Jobs. That's not one of my favorite character actors. This is. I will admit, this is from his later Silver Fox era. Okay. Does that help? It's from later.

[Russ]

I'm still guessing. Steve Job.

[Justin McElroy]

It's from later. Silver Fox.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Steve Seagal.

[Justin McElroy]

No, come on. Character actor's name. Steve. Later. Silver Fox.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Steve Carell.

[Justin McElroy]

There he is. You got him in the first guess. Okay, he doesn't have the hardest one.

[Griffin McElroy]

Steve Jobs.

[Russ]

Oh, God.

[Justin McElroy]

The hardest one. But if he.

[Griffin McElroy]

Justin's holding up a pumpkin with a really.

[Russ]

Okay, so here.

[Justin McElroy]

Are you telling Griffin this isn't in the podcast.

[Griffin McElroy]

This is the first thing in the podcast.

[Justin McElroy]

This is in the podcast Griffith. This is just scraps on the editing floor for Rachel Might hear, but no one else. Okay, now here's.

[Russ]

Here's what it looks like. You know that guy who's a ghost in Ghost and is teaching Patrick Swayze how to be a ghost?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, yeah, that guy.

[Justin McElroy]

Vincent something. But it's not a Steven, is it?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Is it Stephen King? The best.

[Justin McElroy]

This is the best. Number one. This is the best. Number one.

[Russ]

The best.

[Justin McElroy]

There it is. I got all five of them. So like, can I ask a serious question now?

[Russ]

Should be bigger eyes.

[Justin McElroy]

This wouldn't be in the podcast. But like, what do you guys think? How do you think of me as an artist or a drawer now?

[Russ]

I mean, on the Pierre Trashami.

[Griffin McElroy]

I gotta say, five Steve faces pretty good.

[Russ]

Are we doing an average or are.

[Justin McElroy]

We doing whether or not I'm a good drawer? So he can't base.

[Griffin McElroy]

I've seen Justin.

[Justin McElroy]

He can't see me do drawings.

[Russ]

I would say hit or miss.

[Justin McElroy]

I just want to say, I'm just curious if you think I'm a good drawer.

[Russ]

Some of them great and some of them not so great.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Like a hobbyist.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay. Yeah, that's accurate.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, that's what he is.

[Russ]

It's not enthusiast, if you will. Hi.

[Justin McElroy]

My bones. You want to see how I make my bones?

[Russ]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Here I go.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, shit, he's growing.

[Justin McElroy]

Whoa.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, God.

[Justin McElroy]

Jack. I'm about to cast Juice.

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's too bad they can't see that dance.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, it's a shame.

[Justin McElroy]

My name is Justin McElroy and I know the best game of the week.

[Griffin McElroy]

My name is Griffin McElroy and I know the best game of the week.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

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

[Russ]

My name is Russ. Fresh to go out of the best game of the week.

[Justin McElroy]

Welcome to the Besties where we talk about the latest and greatest in home interactive intergamement. It is a video game club in actuality and by listening to this podcast, you've joined our ranks. This week on the show, we're going to be talking about a follow up to a bestie's fan favorite and besties favorite. I guess just best favorite overall. Citizen Sleeper 2 Chris Plant. What on earth is that?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Citizen Sleeper.

[Russ]

It's not on earth.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's not on this earth. Sequel to a beloved sci fi narrative game by Gareth Damien Martin. They are one of the more interesting designers out there and I can't Wait to talk about how this game blends Tabletop with just incredible amounts of daring frustration. I say that largely as a good thing after the break. This week's episode is sponsored by Rocket Money. One of the worst ways to lose money is to not even know that you're losing it. You subscribe to something months or maybe even years ago and it's just taken away eating cash right from your bank account, your credit card and just forgot. It seems implausible. And yet, something I love about Rocket Money is this service, which is a personal finance app, will show you where all of your subscriptions are. You'll see them all in one place and then you can easily get rid of the ones that aren't working for you. Even if you're just using something one once a month, seeing it there and saying, hey, I don't need this, that is a great way to save some cash. Rocket Money is a personal finance app that helps find and cancel your unwanted subscriptions. It monitors your spending and it helps lower your bills so you can grow your savings. That lower your bills part, I know I've talked about it before, but a humongous help to have them just reach out to the people responsible for your bills and see if they can get them lowered. Love it. Rocket Money has over 5 million users and has saved a total of $500 million in canceled subscriptions, saving members up to $740 a year when using all of the app's premium features. Cancel your unwanted subscriptions and reach your financial goals faster with Rocket Money. Go to RocketMoney.comBesties today. That's Rocket Money.comBesties RocketMoney.comBesties.

[Russ]

We love, we love the first game.

[Justin McElroy]

We did love the first game if you missed that one. Basically you're an Android or Riggus robot. Right. There's no difference.

[Russ]

Well, you're, you're a clone.

[Griffin McElroy]

Well, it's confusing.

[Justin McElroy]

You're synthetic human. How's that? Synthetic human.

[Griffin McElroy]

You're a consciousness in a robot body there.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Okay.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

In a robot body that's basically going to destruct if it does not maintained. And it is very expensive to maintain.

[Griffin McElroy]

So you're doing jobs in gritty space stations in this sort of post war galactic environment and just basically getting by the skin of your cyberteeth.

[Justin McElroy]

Right. It's very much an experience about like balancing some resources, things that you can and what you can and can't do without and making like really hard choices I think.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Justin McElroy]

Not a lot of like getting comfortable. It's very Much about like, what sacrifice.

[Griffin McElroy]

And it's very, it's very, very cool mechanically. You have like a character sheet with like, you know, five stats that you have different scores in. And then you have different D6 dice rolls that you can do for different checks which come with different sort of like danger ratings. And so like, it's a. It's a question of like, how much do I want to push this day to? Cause I'm dying. So, like, I need to make a little bit of money so I can afford my special robot medicine. That was basically Citizen Sleeper in a nutshell. Bunch of different endings, bunch of different stories, bunch of different ways that it could go. Very, very cool. Citizen Sleeper 2 seems to kind of blow the roof off. Blow the roof off the thing a little bit.

[Justin McElroy]

Roofs can be blown off in many ways. Griffin, can you clarify in what way the roof has been blown off?

[Griffin McElroy]

I would say the biggest differentiator between Citizen Sleeper and this may have been like a component of Citizen Sleeper that I don't remember. I think you guys probably got a little deeper into it than I did. Now you have a ship with a crew and you go out on jobs and you basically have these little microcosmic experiences that are short, very fucking stressful, like encapsulations of the whole loop of the game. So you'll be going through the space station. It's like, oh my God, we need these special tubes for our ship before this guy catches up to us or we'll die. You can either just do a bunch of work around the space station and try to scrounge up enough money, or you can go out on a contract job and have a little five day jaunt into the inky blackness of space. That might not go, probably won't go great for you, but it adds all these different systems. You have like crew that get their own dice that you can spin. They have their own stats.

[Russ]

Yeah. The first game was, as far as I remember, entirely based on a single space station. And this is. You've got like there. You start on a large space station, you go on missions, and then you'll go to other space stations. So it's much more mobile. And as Griffin said, those mini missions feel like a much more focused version of the entire game. Whereas I think in the first game you would look at a screen and you'd have like 16 different options of places you could go. And I think by having these missions, it kind of narrows your focus into a few select options.

[Griffin McElroy]

I'm way more into this game than I was the first one for this very reason, because I feel like the first one, it got a little bit after. I was loving it, loving the story. The writing is, like, still insane. Like, so, so good. So, so, so top flight good. But I would have, like Russ said, like, this huge map and it's like, man, it's another day where I'm a go fucking grind out some cryo so I can afford to buy some food so my dice aren't so shitty next time. Like, there were all of these systems that it got a little bit samey for me. These missions really break it up, especially as you get further in the game where going out on missions is a necessary thing to avoid being caught by the people pursuing you. It's a really, really cool way of handling the tempo of the game. That doesn't make it feel like there is this doomsday clock that is counting down and I have to finish all my shit before it hits zero or I'm dead. Because now it's like, well, that doomsday clock's getting a little low. Better get the heck out of dodge for a little while. It feels like you always have options to kind of, like, put time on the clock.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. Which is very good, I think the ambition of the storytelling. Okay, so the first game, I think, is a game about, like, literally just getting by day to day in a really shitty world. And I think, like, the political metaphor that there was, like, very obvious. It was a game largely about what it means to have to be effectively people who are doing jobs, like an Uber driver, where it's like you are on commission, constantly working dollar to dollar and a system that, like, is being updated basically daily to take advantage and exploit you. And then you, like, ultimately can build a community. And, like, that is your reprieve from that experience. Which is a great story and a very, like, I think, personal one. I feel like where this game is going is something much bigger, which is how do you actually, like, go out into the world once you have created that stability for yourself and, like, start to actually create change and start to, like, work with other people. And I think that is harder to do. And what I think is incredible about this game is it captures that it's harder to do. And that's going to be the divisive thing about this, is this game is it's weird to say difficult. You will lose a lot in this game, but losing is kind of the point. And I think that's going to be the hurdle that a lot of people run into. If you are the sort of person who goes into a game and you expect to feel the need to win. If you are a completionist and you expect to be able to see everything fairly, you will have trouble with this game because the way that it uses loss is not like actually because you are necessarily bad at the game, but because it wants to create hills and valleys for the story. So there are times where you will lose because you did a poor job. There are times you'll lose because you were doomed from the beginning and you just didn't even know it. And that, I think, is not common in video games.

[Russ]

Yeah, I like, really love the writing in both games. I was put off in this case, and this might be something that clicks the more I play it, but I was put off in this case because it felt like the first games. The ratio of the first game was like 70% narrative, 30% doing, like, gamey stuff, picking dice and things like that. And this feels like way more on the game side. I mean, there's still a ton of narrative, don't get me wrong. But I was kind of drowning in, you know, there's glitch dice, and there's damage to your dice, and there's stress to keep track of, and there's the crew members.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Russ]

And I don't think the game does a very good job tutorializing a lot of that stuff to the point where, like, I only real. Like, at one point it says, like, hey, your crew members have their own dice. And I'm like, oh, that's really helpful. Where is that indicated? And it's like in the corner of the screen to the point where I didn't even know I could use their dice until I had already myself up so bad that I didn't have any actual dice. And it. I think I was just really struggling with the, like, onboarding of got a little easier. But I still question whether the solution or the right thing for this game, which is so strong a narrative is just like, to add more interactive elements to it.

[Griffin McElroy]

I feel that. I feel like the game. My experience with this game was I played it. I think the build we played when we first got the code was a little bit rough around the edges because I had the same experience as Russ where I hired a crew member. And then when I got to a mission that I brought the crew member on, they weren't there for some reason. Like, there was some. But there's been an update, and it's finally.

[Russ]

I mean, I had played recently, so I think it's the first. It's the latest build.

[Griffin McElroy]

I started over, though, after playing, because you can skip through all the text and get through pretty fast if you want to catch back up to where you were. Because I wasn't enjoying the class. There's three different types of sleeper you pick at the beginning that have different special. I wasn't enjoying that. But mostly I didn't understand the economy of the game. There is certainly a pretty hard and fast economy of don't push it too. If you push it. If you go through the space station, just pushing it, making really risky rolls all the time, like, you're gonna. It's gonna be bad. Sometimes you go to bed with a dice that you don't spend because, like, you don't want to run the risk of blowing up the drone that you're trying to dismantle or like X, Y or Z. And hedging your bets is important. Sometimes that means, like, not going out on a job right away. Sometimes that means saving up some money so you can buy extra supplies so you have a little bit extra time on the job. Like, those things are not. Like, there's no way to know that stuff going into the game. And I think it's the kind of thing, like Chris said, where you figure it out as you go along and you fuck up a lot at first and maybe it gets better. But I was not enjoying that. So I actually started over and had a much, much smoother ride, knowing kind of like, okay, I should not go so hard on this. And it has made the whole thing feel a whole lot less stressful. And I am enjoying the different plates I'm kind of spinning and the different choices that it is sort of offering. Because you really do feel like the captain of a ship making really tough choices all the time on how to keep your, you know, your crew afloat in a really hostile world.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, I'll dig into fresh. What you were saying about just being more of the game. I think that's right. What they're going for here is the game and the story being one in the same. So that means when you need to literally just get through large chunks of text, there are checks throughout it where you are going to pass or fail. And again, you don't have control. It is based off of the stats of those roles. When you are deciding where even to go in the solar system, you need to earn or buy fuel and rations that allow you to actually have turns once you get there. And before you even do that, you have to decide, do I want to leave right now or Should I get some stuff done here and get the person who's chasing me to get a little closer to my current destination before I zip off to the next one? Every gameplay decision you're doing is also directly tied with the story that's being told, which I think this is like a. It is an art game and the way an art movie is difficult and that I'm like, really? I'm really into intellectually. It's working for me. Again, as a player, I just really don't know how big the audience is for this game and that's not really my problem. But the challenge with the thing that I'm describing, where you connect the game, playing the story so closely, is that feeling of loss, of being cheated out of the best possible storyline, when that is what you're accustomed to, I continue to think is going to be very jarring for many people. The good thing is Gareth Martin, the writer of this game, they do make you feel good even when things go wrong. Like, there is a richness to the story even when things fail and go topsy turvy. And I think if you can switch your brain to embrace that and just see wherever the kind of like the river takes you. It's such a great and compelling sci fi story. It really is.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

But again, it is a big ask and I'm not surprised. Fresh. I know that you was like kind of rocky.

[Russ]

I honestly think it's a tutorialization issue. Like, I think. I think it's two things. I think, one, it's a tutorialization issue. Like, if I started from scratch as Griffin did, I'm sure I would do better. I got into a situation where I literally had like two dice and so I would roll twice and then have to sleep again and roll twice and sleep again. And that fucking sucks. Like, that is a miserable experience. Yeah.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Something went really wrong. Yeah.

[Russ]

Adding in the fact that I was playing on controller and just like the first game, the controller support, while there is not very good in this game, it just isn't. It should be played on a mouse and keyboard. I would strongly recommend playing on a mouse and keyboard.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It works on Mac on the current processors.

[Russ]

Yeah. I'm sure there are a number of ways you could play it. Otherwise, I'm bummed because it was a critique I had of the first game and I think there are probably solutions, like a virtual reticle or something like that that would have made controller support a little more cogent.

[Griffin McElroy]

But I'm playing it on Steam Deck.

[Russ]

It's doable.

[Griffin McElroy]

I would say the worst thing about it is all of the UI elements are kind of free floating around on the screen, so you're not. When you press left on the D pad, you're never quite sure which way.

[Russ]

It'S actually going to go.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Right.

[Russ]

It needed like a Destiny style thing that you can move around the screen to act as your whatever. I mean, there are moments where like, I was like, okay, I need to go on this mission. I just accepted the mission. I'm going to go on it. I have no fucking idea where this mission is. I have it marked in my journal. And then finding the map button to.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I think that's very fair.

[Griffin McElroy]

Jumping to the. There's two different maps and the only way that you know that is by pressing there's a little tiny indicator at the top of the map that says if you press Y, it'll go to like the, you know, system map. Which I did not know. I was like, man, where the fuck does this guy want me to go? What the fuck is flotsam? What are they talking about?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's funny, the game is so clearly based on tabletop games. When you were describing my experience of playing every tabletop game for the first time, where I'm like, oh, sorry, what? Oh, I gotta go back and read the entire game.

[Russ]

It just feels like they got a little ahead of themselves in going in deep with all the new functionality and features of the gameplay that they didn't do the baseline of. Like, oh, you have to go to the map and do this and do this to really walk you by the nose.

[Griffin McElroy]

Juice, how are you feeling about it? Because I know you were really into the first one.

[Justin McElroy]

No, I did such a good job. I did such a good job of not saying anything.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay, do you want to continue that streak?

[Justin McElroy]

Okay, I'll be honest with you guys. I turned it on and I played for one minute and I was like, I can't. I'm not in a place where I could engage with this much.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's a lot.

[Justin McElroy]

It's a lot. Reading. I was reading.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's like, learn. It's.

[Justin McElroy]

Guys, I'll be honest, my brain's been moving really fast lately and I couldn't slow it down enough to do what this game. To meet this game where needed me to meet it. And listen, this is from. And I didn't say anything because, like, this is from someone who played the entirety of the first game. This is 100% just where I'm at right now, but it is just not. Just not where I was At I just couldn't. Couldn't get into it. I couldn't engage that.

[Russ]

Yeah, I had a tough time as well. Like. Like, end of the day, 30 minutes before bed kind of thing. I was like, how am I going to download all this information?

[Justin McElroy]

I spent a lot of, like. It's also been a lot of, like, where it's been a lot of, like, stealing time for games. And when it's like those short windows, it's like, really hard to, like, get into a groove with something like this. But I will probably play it at some point. But this is at that point.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I know that you do, you know, lots of travel for work and stuff. I played this on a plane and that was the best possible place. And I got a peek into why people get like, games like Civ, where once you do learn the rules, you're.

[Griffin McElroy]

Just like, oh, one more turn for sure.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yeah, it's like, oh, my gosh. The one more turn of it is.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's got its hooks in me from an RPG perspective, which I was not really expecting from this game. I know technically, I guess that is the genre. You have a fucking character cheat or whatever. But those elements were so light in the first game that I didn't feel like, oh, I'm putting a thing together that's my own. Because this game is based around having your ship and making choices about who lives on your ship and what jobs you go on and how you prioritize it and how well you take care of yourself. All of those choices I'm making really do make it feel like this is my thing. Like, this is my thing. And I know that the first game had branching storylines that were sort of designed to have that experience, but, like, I am finding it extremely compelling to, like, just manage a little crew of plucky independent space contractors right now, which I was. I really did not think this game was going to give to me.

[Justin McElroy]

You might go back and try that first game again, Griff, if you sort of are like, into the groove of this. Because it was. I've forgotten. I think it was a little. On the last episode when we were talking about this. I think I had forgotten or conflated it with another game. But, like, I played a lot of the first Citizen Sleeper. I really liked it and I will look forward to playing this one.

[Griffin McElroy]

Is this Chris? You might be the best one to answer this. Is this a continuation of Citizen Sleeper one? In my. Trying to figure this out. Like, I didn't want to spoil Citizen Sleeper one for myself because I do want to go back and finish it sometime.

[Justin McElroy]

Can you? But I don't think you can. I mean, it's.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, I mean it's not like quest for glory where you bring your. Okay.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Not the same character. From what I don't remember.

[Griffin McElroy]

I know there's a lot of endings to Citizen Sleeper.

[Justin McElroy]

That's what I'm saying. I was saying I could spoil it.

[Russ]

My understanding is this is just in the same universe and uses the same logic.

[Griffin McElroy]

The game starts with an insomnia or not an insomnia, amnesia, sort of.

[Russ]

Which is typical. Like, that's sort of the background of like that character. The city, the sleepers all are like clones of actual people that have to like work for those people before they can wake up and whatever.

[Griffin McElroy]

Okay.

[Russ]

So, yeah, no, I don't think it's a direct continuation of anything thing. Definitely worth playing the original one. If you like the writing and you like the story. Again, it's not going to have the like deep gameplay stuff you were just talking about, but approachable.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, Cool.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Cool.

[Russ]

Yeah, cool. Cool. Interesting game. I think it's going to click with a very select group of people in a really hard way. Yes.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sure.

[Justin McElroy]

Movers and shakers. Let's take a quick break and when we come back, I have a brief recommendation for a new adventure game. If you have a thirst for adventure.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, yeah.

[Griffin McElroy]

Every day when it's time to get my day going, I got a few rituals that I lean on. Gotta have my cho. Gotta have my prescribed mental health medication.

[Justin McElroy]

And then you know what else I do?

[Griffin McElroy]

I pop a couple ritual vitamins in my mouth because I need some help hitting my vitamin goals because I don't eat a lot of fruits and vegetables. And that's why I take ritual, a multivitamin designed for men to help fill nutrient gaps in their diets. We're talking about a beautiful multivitamin with traceable key ingredients designed to be gentle on an empty stomach with a minty essence in every bottle that makes taking your multis actually enjoyable. They are minty fresh. I am refreshed when I take them. And vitamin ized Essential for men is a quality multivitamin from a company you can actually trust. Get 25% off your first month for a limited [e-mail] besties. That's ritual.com besties for 25% off your first month.

[Justin McElroy]

I call it the ungoogleable game. Locomotive on steam. Search for it all you like.

[Griffin McElroy]

Search locomotive on steam. Locomotive that.

[Justin McElroy]

Search steam locomotive as I have so many times before and be Thrilled?

[Russ]

No, Google expert. I wrote Locomotive Adventure game and it did pop up immediately.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, wow.

[Justin McElroy]

Okay, so this is from a first time developer called Robust Games. And Locomotive is in many ways pretty classic. This came out in November, so we're a little bit on in years. But it's not like this is a multiplayer first person shooter. You'll be fine to return to it. But it is very much that old school, sort of like Ron Gilbert Day, the tentacle era look of adventure games. Pointing and clicking and finding the items in the inventory. This is a very. A lot of games like this really live and die by their dialogue. And this is a pretty snappily written one. You start the game, you have three different characters that you play actually, but you start the game as the lawyer to an heiress who is about to announce make a big announcement when she is murdered moments before you could reveal or peruse her last will and testimony. And she's murdered under strange circumstances. So what you learn at the beginning of the game is that there are three suspects for the murder. And in the game you are playing as the suspects to the murder as you're relaying the story to the police. Right. So you are. The lawyer has been brought in for questioning. There's huge suspicion on him. He is telling the police what happened. And that's sort of the framing device for you being on this job train where the murder happened.

[Russ]

And it's like a Rashomon kind of thing where everyone's telling their own angle of the story for sure.

[Justin McElroy]

And you definitely.

[Russ]

Right, Chris Plant Rashomon.

[Justin McElroy]

There you go.

[Griffin McElroy]

Wait, here's your biscuit. Rest.

[Justin McElroy]

Don't feel bad. Don't feel bad. Every time they say that a Japanese RPG has waffles in it and then look at me like. Right, waffles. The. It's. Sorry. So this murder happens and you are trying to like retell the events of the murder. But it is that thing, Russ, where the. You could tell that the narrative is being shaped by the telling. Like there is sort of a. An unreliable narrator aspect to this, which.

[Russ]

You don't see a lot in video games. It's like kind of untouched territory. You don't see that.

[Justin McElroy]

I think it's a neat way of introducing a kind of meta element to it. Right. Because the. This genre is so explicitly gamey that I feel like not running from that and rather kind of like hanging a hat on the artifice of it. Like there. There is certainly like a disbelief from the police that like you. So you may. You replicated the cocktail with Some petals you found on the ground and some mouthwash and then. Right. So that is. It's really. The dialogue is very snappily written. It is a great looking game if you like this era. Like the. The sprites are very lushly animated. It's pretty relaxing to spend most of it on a train.

[Russ]

It's got that like, crt, like low.

[Justin McElroy]

Red, a little bit of scan line, I think, at least. And then the way it's framed, it's like the top and bottom of your screen is almost always landscape, like going by because you're always on this, like, moving train. So it makes it a very sort of like, relaxing experience. I also like, for someone who. The biggest problem I always have with games like this is like backtracking and like, when you know exactly where you need to go in this game, it's just one line. You've got to go one end to the other. That's it. There's only so many ways. It is funny, though, how, like the. The size of the train has a little bit of like a TARDIS element to it where, like, when you open doors, they'll be like, wow, this does not. This should not be on the train.

[Russ]

It's way too wide.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes. It's like. This is like 20ft deep. Like, where is this room? It's very cute. It's very well written. It looks great. It's called Locomotive.

[Russ]

Is it? Is it voiceover?

[Justin McElroy]

Okay, so that. Sorry. Yes. Thank you, Russ. I'm glad you said that. It is voiceover. And that is one of the other, like, big recommendations I can make for it. The cast, it does a great job. I searched for Locomotive cast and it just. Castings for pieces of locomotives, so you can't actually find this information either. But the cast does a great job. It's fully voiced. Let me see if I can. I can't imagine.

[Russ]

I always wonder because, like, there are definitely times where having stuff like this, especially from this era, that level of humor, having it voiced over kind of diminishes it. But I guess that has everything to do with the performances themselves.

[Justin McElroy]

They're really good. Like, they're. Everyone's really like, leaning in and doing. Doing really fun stuff. And your character, the lawyer, is just, like I said, one of the characters. There's also like a Sherlock Holmes style, Hercule Perot style detective who really doesn't know what he's doing. And that's another one. But like I said, super well written, funny, well done. It's great. It's called Locomotive. I'd Check it. Were I you totally out.

[Griffin McElroy]

It looks so good. It looks it. Really? They have cashed out.

[Justin McElroy]

18 bucks VI on steam.

[Griffin McElroy]

Do I send that directly to you or.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes, I am selling the game.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, that's cool, man.

[Justin McElroy]

It's bootlegs. I'm selling bootlegs.

[Griffin McElroy]

Do we want to do some honorable.

[Justin McElroy]

If you need cracked rom, leave this in. Rachel, if you need any cracked ROM of this game, I can freak you a cracked ROM of this game. You send me $18, I'll gift it to you on Steam.

[Russ]

How many plugs does it come in fully free? 76.

[Justin McElroy]

I will give you for $18, I will gift you a fully cracked version of Locomotive on Steam.

[Griffin McElroy]

Honorable mentions. I got a doozer.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh, yeah.

[Russ]

Jump in.

[Justin McElroy]

Do you need to take a break so you can go to the restroom, Griffin?

[Griffin McElroy]

No, it's not a poopy doozer. This is a game. Doozer. Have you guys played the Root Trees Are Dead?

[Russ]

The Root Trees are Dead? No, this is recommended. So I recommended this to you guys, but only through a secondhand because friends of the show, Jason Schreier and Kirk Hamilton, were raving about it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Fuck. It's so good, y'all. It is a in the. And they're again, God.

[Justin McElroy]

Russ, can I say it makes me mad when you nail us with a recommendation. What really makes me mad is when you nail us with recommendation in a game you have not played.

[Russ]

It's like, haven't played it yet.

[Justin McElroy]

It's rude where it's like, here, one man's trash, et cetera. Here you go. This one's for you.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Sure.

[Russ]

It's lovely.

[Griffin McElroy]

It is a mystery game in the vein of, you know, an Obra Dinn. There's actually quite a few similarities, I would say. I know that we use that as a touchstone a lot. This is a game where you are basically a genealogist putting together the whole sprawling family tree of the root tree family. Who are these generational candy, like, empire runners? And you have to basically put together the family tree of the root trees, starting from the first generation that founded the company back in the 19th century all the way to the current generation. The main sort of root tree family has just died in a plane crash. And so you have been hired by some shadowy person to fill out this family tree. Each entry on the family tree is. There's a picture that you can put up there, a name and an occupation, and then, of course, how they fit into the family tree, who they're married to, et cetera, et cetera. And you get that stuff by getting on your computer and using a search engine or a number of search engines. One is basically like Google. One is a public library search, One is a periodicals search. So using those different things, you have to put together this family tree. And you do that basically like swinging from vine to vine, right? If you use the Google, if you use the fake search engine, you can find stuff on the most famous root trees, right? You can find stuff on the, on the, the one that went off to Hollywood to become a starlet or the one who was the founder of the company or the one who became a famous author, right? But it's not going to turn up much else because most other people don't actually have a Google listing. So for that, you might find something in the author's diary that got published that will lead you to another name that. And maybe they're an author too and they wrote a book. Now you're going to the periodical section and you're typing, you're searching for that, and maybe that gives you more evidence. The whole thing is so slick. And so it is compelling in a way where you don't want to put it down. Because one, it's immensely satisfying to fill out the family tree. They do the Obra Dinn thing where they confront firm things in groups of three, so you can't just like guess a bunch of shit. And whenever you lock in three names, three pictures, three occupations, it feels so good. It feels very, very satisfying. And the game doles out evidence to you in a steady drip. But you will have these breakthrough moments where you get a lot of evidence all at once. And it's like, well, I'm gonna be playing for another three hours. Like, I can't stop playing now. I have momentum. If I stop now and come back, I'm not gonna have this momentum because right now I'm trying to put together the order of succession of the president role of this family candy company. It's really, really, really well designed with a lot of really good sort of streamlined quality of life integration. You have a journal that you can fill out automatically by just highlighting something you see on a Google search result. And then it adds it to your own personal journal so you can go back and look through it later. It adds little numbers on each piece of evidence you have that basically indicate how many more clues there are in that piece of evidence that you haven't discovered. They have a lot of stuff in the game to make the process of filling out this family tree very doable. And once that boulder starts Rolling, man. There is just no stopping it. So it's called the Root Trees are Dead.

[Russ]

I guess this is another UI rpg.

[Griffin McElroy]

No, not rpg, I don't think. Because there's no.

[Russ]

But that was the genre we came up with for these games. We were on a computer doing things.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It looks like it takes place outside of the UI also, right?

[Griffin McElroy]

Yes. You hop around. Basically, you have an office, and so you have an evidence desk. And then you have the cork board with the family tree on it. And then you have all your computer with the different search engines on it. And sometimes someone comes to your front door and is like, hey, check out this picture. And it's. I don't know, man. It slots into this genre that I adore so much, just so cleanly and is so clever and throws little twists and red herrings at you that you don't expect. And I think anyone on this call would enjoy it. And I think anyone.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I'm definitely gonna check this out.

[Griffin McElroy]

Enjoys sort of like Mystery Games would definitely get in on it.

[Justin McElroy]

Some of us may have bought it.

[Griffin McElroy]

While we've been okay talking, have we talked about Severance Season two yet? I don't know if that's the type of thing.

[Russ]

Here's the thing. We're not allowed to talk about it because I still haven't seen season one and I want to.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, okay. Well, that's ridiculous. I'm not going to not talk about the show because I know that it exists.

[Justin McElroy]

The second season has been delayed. You didn't want to.

[Griffin McElroy]

There were. So you had.

[Russ]

So I do want to.

[Justin McElroy]

I didn't want to.

[Russ]

I do. I have wanted.

[Griffin McElroy]

We don't have to spoil it.

[Justin McElroy]

What is want?

[Griffin McElroy]

They wrote a big check at the end of season one that in the intervening years, I was like, no fucking way are they gonna cash that check. And in the first two episodes, Cha Ching. It's all cashed it.

[Justin McElroy]

It's all cashing.

[Griffin McElroy]

It's fucking hot as hell TV that I can't stand.

[Justin McElroy]

Here's what I'll say about Severance that I will. This is my personal take after watching those first two episodes. Speaking in the broadest of generalities, a lot of shows that are really brainy get mad when people focus on mythology.

[Russ]

Oh, sure.

[Justin McElroy]

And they're like, it's not about. You guys are getting hung up on all that stuff. It's not about that. It's about the themes. Like, forget all mythology. And they will narratively sweep a lot of that aside so they can. You know what I'm saying?

[Russ]

Lost yeah, to some extent.

[Justin McElroy]

Lost is so the problem that it's almost weird to use it as an example. It's like the bad house was built by Lost and then everyone else has rooms in it. But anyway, this show in the second season instead, like, leans fully into what it was doing. Like it knew it did not catch you by them by surprise. That you got hooked on the elements of the show that you got hooked on. It is very much, like, entertaining, like intentionally. It's trying to be.

[Russ]

So if I have a choice between watching the beginning of Severance or From, where should I go?

[Griffin McElroy]

Severance or from Juice? What's that?

[Justin McElroy]

I mean, from's. From's only three seasons, dude. Like do from. And I know you don't want to watch Severance because you would have, so you might as well watch Severance.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

The answer is neither. You should be watching Paradise. Paradise is the new from.

[Justin McElroy]

Is that good? Is paradise the new From?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I mean, I haven't watched it, but like, calling a shot for Games for Fresh, I am calling a shot for TV for you. You will watch paradise and you will say, woah, woah, wooga. This is my new love. I need everybody to watch Paradise, I guarantee you.

[Russ]

What is Paradise?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Paradise is Dan Fogelman. The person who created this Is Us, is like, I'm gonna bring all of that skill to get people, you know, like, hooked on my stuff. I'm gonna make a show that's about, like, I don't know, maybe space aliens and AI and the president gets killed, and the president's played by the dude from the Sonic movies. I just want Dan, James Marsden, Jim Carrey.

[Justin McElroy]

I would like to make a record.

[Russ]

That was not a good pitch. Chris Plant. I am not enticed.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

It's not for you, it's for Justin.

[Justin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Russ]

Oh, I thought you were calling a shot for me.

[Justin McElroy]

He doesn't know yet. No.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

If I wanted to call a shot for you, I'd be like Yogurt. Some movie that I watch with my friends, I had never heard of it. It's called Beauty and the Beast. Does anybody watch that one before?

[Russ]

Here's the thing. Justin said yogurt, and that fucking was right on.

[Griffin McElroy]

Actually, if you have a line on some new.

[Justin McElroy]

I leveled him with a single word. Listen, I would like to. Last week we talked about the SNL documentary that's on Peacock. This week I would like to recommend to you because I just saw it added to the Netflix platform the movie Saturday Night, which is a dramatization of the 90 minutes before the premiere of the first Saturday Night Live. Yeah, it's a very. I think it's a. I think it's a fascinating piece. I think it's really, really interesting. I don't feel like I. I have read so much. This is not like, bragging I'm a broken person. Like, I've read so much about this, like, era and this time period and these events and stuff like that. Not a lot of it was particularly, like, surprising to me. But the movie has a spirit that seems to be in conversation with, like, Saturday Night Live, the show. There is a, like, movement to it. There is a little bit of a silliness. There's a almost a sketch kind of nature to a lot of the scenes. Like, they feel like, feels heightened. What?

[Russ]

It feels heightened.

[Justin McElroy]

Heightened. That's a really heightened. And it is a very propulsive. Like, you are feeling like the drums. You're feeling like the. The. The band warming up. There is a great metaphor of the set designer who going back and rereading a lot of these anecdotes about this. Like, how many of them were not just, like, true, but verbatim based on articles or, like, people's recollections. But there is a great metaphor where the set designer, who had won a Tony before he started working on this, was laying bricks for the stage. As people were filing in to watch the premiere, he was still laying bricks for the stage for them to do the monologue on out front. It was coming in that hot. There's a lot of really great impressions, which it also feels like kind of a. A weird way in which it is meta. In conversation with snl, Laverne Morris, who is not related to Garrett Morris, does an incredible. Garrett Morris, very predictably from secession. Nicholas, help me.

[Russ]

Oh, the tall one.

[Justin McElroy]

Nicholas.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Yes. Holt doing Jim Henson and Andy Kaufman.

[Justin McElroy]

Yes. Does both.

[Russ]

It's just lose the beard, you're set.

[Justin McElroy]

Perfect. I don't. It's okay. Here's what I'll say, though. Like, I think it hangs together as a movie. I think it's fascinating to watch. But a lot of it is that, like, when you're excited about a movie's casting and you're just kind of curious how they'll do something or like, you want to see what the Billy Crystal's gonna be. That kind of deal. Yeah, it's really fascinating to watch. It's a very unique film that could only be sort of, like, about this exact moment. But I thought it was really fascinating as a companion piece to the rest of it. I thought was really interesting. Also Chevy Chase, upon watching it with the director Jason Reitman, told Jason Reitman, you should be ashamed of yourself and walked out of the room. That's how you know it's a pretty good movie. Is that Chevy Chase thought it sucked.

[Russ]

Right on. That sounds cool. I'll watch that. I had been playing a little more heroes of Hammerwatch 2.

[Griffin McElroy]

Oh, boy.

[Russ]

Which continues to be very good. They're continuing to patch it quite a bit, which is good to see. But just the satisfaction of leveling up a character, getting them through an entire run, and then using that momentum to get a new character up through an entire run, it just gets quicker and quicker and quicker to the point where I can get a Level one character almost through the entire story because of the gear and the things that I've unlocked on the other characters, which I think is something that is, like, really missing from Diablo. I know there are elements of that in Diablo, but that aspect in particular, I think is just really satisfying and great. I've also been playing more Pokemon Snap. Now, I haven't really mentioned it, but I will say this. I'm not really someone that uses guides when I'm playing games.

[Justin McElroy]

This is new information to me.

[Russ]

Yeah, I haven't really conveyed that. I did hit a breaking point, and here it is. I didn't know this about myself, but it turns out when your son is screaming his head off at you because you are unable to wake up Lugia.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah.

[Russ]

You will look up a fucking God. That is the breaking point. I was like, oh, my God, I've tried everything. And I tried the argument of, well, sometimes Lugia just doesn't want to wake up. Fucking bullshit. He was not having that.

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Russ]

And you know what? It was worth it. I'm glad I did. Saved me a lot of effort and heartache. And that game continues to rule for both little kids and kids at heart.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

I saw the new film by Naoko Yamada or Yamada, which. Did any of you see a Silent Voice?

[Griffin McElroy]

No.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Are you aware of this? Silent Voice came out in, I think, 2016. It's like a very, I don't know, famous anime film. But the new one, the Colors within, is about a young woman in high school who basically has synesthesia, which is to say she sees colors expressed in ways that are, like, not quite literally visual. In this case, she sees basically kind of auras around people. So like, oh, you're blue or you're green, or people carry different colors. And she's very quiet and a bit of an outsider so far. Feels like many Anime stories. She finds a young. Another young woman, another young man. They form a band. Again, all this pretty by the books story that you would see in a lot of animes. Maybe one music anime like this a season. The big difference is as a movie, it is structured like. Like the most quiet type of a 24 indie movie. It is really, really, really delicate and not presented like with all the bombast that you would see in a typical anime series. It is quiet in a way that Honestly, I mentioned a 24 that I don't even think they would make a movie this quiet, impatient and delicate. And it all builds to a huge risk, which is a big music number. And considering the movie is so quiet, this music number, it has to nail it. And let me tell you, wow, the music in this film is fucking incredible. It is so good. So if you are this sort of person who enjoys kind of a slow, very sweet, honestly, very wintry, cozy movie, perfect for this season, I really recommend checking it out. It probably works just as well on a tv. But I'll be honest, if you can see it in the theater where it's playing right now, that would be great. Because once the music kicks in, it is loud and it feels like being at a concert. And it is just a. I found it like a deeply moving experience. So, yeah, I recommend people check it out.

[Griffin McElroy]

Sick. Cool. That's it, right?

[Russ]

We did it.

[Griffin McElroy]

Tight one.

[Justin McElroy]

Good job, guys. Proud of everybody.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Proud of us.

[Justin McElroy]

Really proud, actually.

[Russ]

Plant, you want to recap what we discussed?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Oh boy. What at all did we discuss this week? We discussed Citizen Sleeper 2. We discussed locomotive. We talked about new Pokemon Snap, Heroes of Hammer, Watch two, the Root Trees Are Dead. Severance Season two, Saturday night. The film which I believe is streaming on Hulu. Is that what you said?

[Justin McElroy]

Hoof. Netflix.

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Netflix. And the Colors within, which is being presented by gkids, which means it's out in theaters right now. My guess is it will be on Crunchyroll or VOD sometime soon.

[Russ]

And I know it wasn't in the episode, but if you want to see some of Justin's art, you can go over to Besties Fan and sign up for the newsletter. We'll have a photo of his. What were they called again? Something Steve's.

[Justin McElroy]

All Hallow Steves.

[Russ]

All Hallow Steves. But it wasn't in the episode. But you'll have to just see the photo.

[Justin McElroy]

Why would you send that to people? I don't even know why you bring this up.

[Russ]

I apologize. We also want to thank people over at the patreon patreon.com thebesties you can gift a membership if you want to. Patreon.com thebesties gift. But we want to thank some members. We have Alan, we have Ty, we have Victoria, and we have Rue, child of Kanga. Thank you for being patrons of the Besties. Thank you all for supporting the show. We have a new bracket episode coming to you just in a couple days after this airs. So keep an eye out for that. It is a fun one. What are we doing next week? I know. Maybe I should just say.

[Griffin McElroy]

Yeah, you should just say it. Why ask questions? You know the answer to that.

[Russ]

I know. I thought it'd be more dynamic that way. We're going to be playing a game called Ender Magnolia, which is a sequel to Ender Lilies, which was a very cool Metroidvania that came out a couple years ago. And Ender Magnolia is. Yeah, the follow up to that. Looks very neat.

[Justin McElroy]

Cool.

[Russ]

So we'll be doing that next week.

[Griffin McElroy]

Cool.

[Justin McElroy]

All right. Well, that is going to do it for us this week. Until next time, my name is Justin McElroy. Be sure to join us again next week for the Besties because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

[Christopher Thomas Plant]

Besties.