I’ve been enjoying digging through the archive of the podcast, there’s enough resistance to having to also open up the newsletter to find the associated page that I don’t bother. Would you consider adding links to the specific page of the episode going forward?
Oops, should've replied here! Just copying from my message below: "Yooooo, FFXIV fam, how's it going????? Tasallei Bannor from Cactuar on Aether here, and I'm so stoked to discover this Besties/FFXIV crossover.
Lmk if that link shell ever ends up being created!!!!"
A friend got me into it during the pandemic, now I always get pumped to hear Griffin mention it on the show. I'm "Felinal Vartal'phe" on Goblin if anyone wants to add me or play sometime! And if someone does put together a besties LS I'd be very interested!
I've been playing FFXIV consistently for like 8 years and I go nuts every time Griffin mentions it haha. I'd love to help folks clear duties or grind or whatever!
With the Steam Summer Sale happening, I was able to pick up Shadow of War for the first time. Having a blast with it, but because it's Nemesis system is copy written, I'm sad that we cant see it used and or improved in other games. Are there any mechanics or systems that you have seen that you want to make a comeback?
While some games have done similar sword combat since, the lightsaber combat in Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (and Jedi Academy) still feels unmatched. Using directional inputs and varied stances to determine how you swing your weapon already makes it feel deeper than melee combat in a lot of modern games, but factoring in the importance of movement and acrobatics gave JK2's online lightsaber fights an incredibly high skill ceiling. It resulted in a massive community of "academies" where players would train and spar for hours a day just to get better. The Movie Battles II mod for Jedi Academy added even more depth to the system by introducing a dedicated block button while also making direct hits much more deadly, so I gotta mention that as well.
On a recent episode of your show, Justin mentioned he has a 3D printer. That was news to me! I’m just curious what kind of printer (or printers) he has, how long he has been in the hobby, and what is his favorite thing that he’s printed so far? Thanks!
I would love to hear your thoughts on Chained Together. And, no offense to Chris and Russ, having the McElroy brothers do a YouTube video playing it together would be highly entertaining!
I know you guys haven't directly discussed it yet, but since it did come out before the end of June, I still would like to personally nominate the remake of Riven. I've started a second playthrough of it now and have come to really appreciate how unique it is among "puzzle" games, in that there are hardly any puzzles. It's mostly about immersing yourself in the history, mathematics, and technology of its world, and then applying that knowledge at various points to progress. I think the closest recent comparison I can think of is last year's Chants Of Sennaar, which similarly focuses on gaining knowledge to help you advance through its world, though I think Riven makes this experience feel less like a game mechanic and more like just natural learning through exploration.
I don't think I've ever experienced a fictional world that makes me feel like I've actually become more worldly and cultured the way Riven does.
I've got a question for you all based on the Luigis Mansion 2 episode- Do you guys feel like the industry is moving in a good direction for game preservation? Games are a weird media for preservation due to hardware ecosystems I know, but thinking about the 3DS, it's a bit strange that there is essentially a now dwindling supply of the original hardware and game available for so many experiences that wouldn't be preserved any other way. For software and games, I like the approach that some studios have taken with older PC games to make them open source (See Aleph One for Marathon from Bungie, Quake and Doom are available open source as well). Hardware is a bit trickier though. What would an ideal world of preservation look like to you?
Have you guys checked out Skald: Against the Black Priory? It's an indie retro party-based rpg that you can finish in just about 20 hours - pretty interesting story too, I'm having a lot of fun with it.
For the next half of the year you guys should consider trying Earth Defense Force 6. My friends and I fell in love with the madness that is EDF5 and can't wait for the next one!
Damn, Nine Sols don't even get a mention. I know it came out at an awkward time and Red Candle Games is maybe a little radioactive after the whole Devotion thing, but that game is fantastic. Not enough people talk about it
There's also Bo Path of the Teal Lotus coming out next week which looks SO good. The trailer is giving Ori Will of the Wisps gameplay x Okami aesthetics
I remember you guys mentioning Dread Delusion way back before its 1.0 release, and if you haven't gone back, I recommend it. The gameplay and systems are shallow, but the worldbuilding and the way it plays into the story and the choices you make is really top notch. I'm still trying to justify choices I made to myself weeks after I finished the game because I feel bad about them.
One of y'all has gotta hop into Dread Delusion. It's essentially an indie Elder Scrolls and has easily the best writing I've played in a game this year. It's formatted in a kinda similar way to TOTK with disparate individual kingdoms and I think about the plotlines of those kingdoms and side quests every day.
Happy one-year anniversary of this newsletter!
Wow, time flies
I’ve been enjoying digging through the archive of the podcast, there’s enough resistance to having to also open up the newsletter to find the associated page that I don’t bother. Would you consider adding links to the specific page of the episode going forward?
Chiming in for the FF14 community!
I always love to hear Griffin bringing up my favorite game.
If Griffin or any of the besties fans want to say hey I'm "Aurelia Mardun" on Balmung in the Crystal DC.
If enough people are interested I could set up a Besties link shell!
I came here to say the same thing! I am happy to hear that Griffin is dipping back into Endwalker and can get started on Dawntrail at some point.
My character is "Riyo Astera" on Adamantoise in Aether and would love to run content with any other fans.
Aji Onishi on Jenova! Aether buds
Hopping on the Aether train! Ragham Hurkbolder on Faerie
Aether-ites unite! Morg A'lion on Siren
Heck yeah FFXIV fam! A besties linkshell would be super rad.
Besties LS sounds excellent.
Oops, should've replied here! Just copying from my message below: "Yooooo, FFXIV fam, how's it going????? Tasallei Bannor from Cactuar on Aether here, and I'm so stoked to discover this Besties/FFXIV crossover.
Lmk if that link shell ever ends up being created!!!!"
Naomi Tormelados on Exosus!
Besties linkshell would be awesome.
*Exodus* - can't type. too excited about Besties in FFXIV :)
A friend got me into it during the pandemic, now I always get pumped to hear Griffin mention it on the show. I'm "Felinal Vartal'phe" on Goblin if anyone wants to add me or play sometime! And if someone does put together a besties LS I'd be very interested!
I've been playing FFXIV consistently for like 8 years and I go nuts every time Griffin mentions it haha. I'd love to help folks clear duties or grind or whatever!
Looks like we're all on different DCs, boo. Hanami Mei on Primal/Exodus here.
With the Steam Summer Sale happening, I was able to pick up Shadow of War for the first time. Having a blast with it, but because it's Nemesis system is copy written, I'm sad that we cant see it used and or improved in other games. Are there any mechanics or systems that you have seen that you want to make a comeback?
While some games have done similar sword combat since, the lightsaber combat in Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast (and Jedi Academy) still feels unmatched. Using directional inputs and varied stances to determine how you swing your weapon already makes it feel deeper than melee combat in a lot of modern games, but factoring in the importance of movement and acrobatics gave JK2's online lightsaber fights an incredibly high skill ceiling. It resulted in a massive community of "academies" where players would train and spar for hours a day just to get better. The Movie Battles II mod for Jedi Academy added even more depth to the system by introducing a dedicated block button while also making direct hits much more deadly, so I gotta mention that as well.
On a recent episode of your show, Justin mentioned he has a 3D printer. That was news to me! I’m just curious what kind of printer (or printers) he has, how long he has been in the hobby, and what is his favorite thing that he’s printed so far? Thanks!
Surprised there was no mention of Persona 3 Reload. I guess it just goes to show how STRONG this year has been so far
I would love to hear your thoughts on Chained Together. And, no offense to Chris and Russ, having the McElroy brothers do a YouTube video playing it together would be highly entertaining!
The McElfam just streamed themselves playing it this past Tuesday during McElroy Family Clubhouse! Lots of "bro tugs" and "edging".
I can’t believe I missed it!!!
They post all the streams on their youtube channel so you can still enjoy! : )
I know you guys haven't directly discussed it yet, but since it did come out before the end of June, I still would like to personally nominate the remake of Riven. I've started a second playthrough of it now and have come to really appreciate how unique it is among "puzzle" games, in that there are hardly any puzzles. It's mostly about immersing yourself in the history, mathematics, and technology of its world, and then applying that knowledge at various points to progress. I think the closest recent comparison I can think of is last year's Chants Of Sennaar, which similarly focuses on gaining knowledge to help you advance through its world, though I think Riven makes this experience feel less like a game mechanic and more like just natural learning through exploration.
I don't think I've ever experienced a fictional world that makes me feel like I've actually become more worldly and cultured the way Riven does.
I've got a question for you all based on the Luigis Mansion 2 episode- Do you guys feel like the industry is moving in a good direction for game preservation? Games are a weird media for preservation due to hardware ecosystems I know, but thinking about the 3DS, it's a bit strange that there is essentially a now dwindling supply of the original hardware and game available for so many experiences that wouldn't be preserved any other way. For software and games, I like the approach that some studios have taken with older PC games to make them open source (See Aleph One for Marathon from Bungie, Quake and Doom are available open source as well). Hardware is a bit trickier though. What would an ideal world of preservation look like to you?
Have you guys checked out Skald: Against the Black Priory? It's an indie retro party-based rpg that you can finish in just about 20 hours - pretty interesting story too, I'm having a lot of fun with it.
I was waiting to hear further thoughts about Selaco, but given that next week is indie grab bag, maybe you’re waiting for that?
Also Chris, glad to hear you’ve picked up Fallen Aces. I love how it’s an immersive sim where your “build” is what you’re carrying around.
For the next half of the year you guys should consider trying Earth Defense Force 6. My friends and I fell in love with the madness that is EDF5 and can't wait for the next one!
Damn, Nine Sols don't even get a mention. I know it came out at an awkward time and Red Candle Games is maybe a little radioactive after the whole Devotion thing, but that game is fantastic. Not enough people talk about it
Don't worry, we'll be talking more about it soon!
There's also Bo Path of the Teal Lotus coming out next week which looks SO good. The trailer is giving Ori Will of the Wisps gameplay x Okami aesthetics
I remember you guys mentioning Dread Delusion way back before its 1.0 release, and if you haven't gone back, I recommend it. The gameplay and systems are shallow, but the worldbuilding and the way it plays into the story and the choices you make is really top notch. I'm still trying to justify choices I made to myself weeks after I finished the game because I feel bad about them.
please play Heading Out for next week 🥹
my favorite game of the first half of 2024 is A Short Hike, followed by Kentucky Route Zero
One of y'all has gotta hop into Dread Delusion. It's essentially an indie Elder Scrolls and has easily the best writing I've played in a game this year. It's formatted in a kinda similar way to TOTK with disparate individual kingdoms and I think about the plotlines of those kingdoms and side quests every day.