Hi. I joined the newsletter in order to represent the "towel over the door/curtain while you shower so you don't have to reach outside where it's cold" caucus. Now to finish the episode.
Hi Besties! I felt compelled to drop a heartfelt thank you for putting out such genuine and approachable content. I'm 30 years old and very recently discovered that I actually like video games (ACNH was my gateway drug, as I'm sure it is for many). I am enammered with BOTW (albeit 6 years late), but still very intimidated by the scope. As an avid MBMBAM & TAZ listener, The Besties felt like an obvious choice to broaden my potential game library. I picked up Sea of Stars after hearing all 4 of you gush about it, and it may sound cheesy but it completely changed my idea of what video games can be. I'm smitten with it and very close to completing the game! No real question here, just feeling in the thankful spirit and wanted to let you know that you all put on such a good show and it's been incredibly helpful ❤️ Cheers!
Hey all, don't know if you've heard of this but there's a free browser game I just found out about called The Roottrees Are Dead - it's basically an Obra-Dinn-like where you have to piece together info found in documents, pictures, archives etc to find identities of a rich family. I pretty much lost my weekend to it when I found it, I highly recommend!
(I hope this doesn't come off as an ad or anything, I really actually enjoyed the hell out of this and am always looking for stuff to scratch the same deductive itch)
Love all the VR game recommendations, I wanted to throw one game I haven't seen mentioned to Chris and Russ if they hadn't seen it before. Walkabout Mini-golf has been the only consistent VR game I have played on my quest 2. I have a buddy who lives too far away for us to feasibly get together on a regular basis but this game's chill atmosphere and regularly added DLC levels continue to amaze and entertain us. Have you two (or any other besties) had any luck with luck with VR games as a social experience or primarily stick to the single player immersive SIM?
I second Walkabout Mini-Golf. I've only played it in singleplayer, but it's still a great solo experience with a lot of inexpensive DLC courses; especially love the course based on Labyrinth. And the music is pretty great too.
A suggestion for a future episode (maybe when the release calendar gets quiet early in the new year): there's an online platform called Fantasy Critic - think fantasy football, but instead of teams of players you're collecting rosters of to-be-released video games with points allotted based on OpenCritic aggregate scores. It's somewhat in the spirit of the past annual prediction bets from the Resties, and you could easily attach some fun stakes. It could be a single episode per year (drafting and resolving the previous year) or a topic with a mid-year check-in or two.
I'm not affiliated with the site - I've just played with multiple groups of friends over the past several years, and it's a great way to hold ongoing conversations about new game releases, big and small, throughout the year. Website: www.fantasycritic.games
Sometime in the next week or so, I'll be firing up Talos Principle 2, which I am really looking forward too...then in the winter, I'll give out Baldur's Gate and Cites Skylines 2 a try, plus a few other misc smaller games.
I tried half life one and 2, I'm 35 but somehow I just missed them. My first pc game (tm) was starcraft/ diablo 2, idk why i just never got the half life's.
So trying to go back and play them without the nostalgia now in 2023 is just... Feels like a job. I just couldn't force myself to do more than a few hours.
In other news, *Lethal Company*
has been the most fun multiplayer experience with 3 of my friends, ever I think. Nothing comes close. It's hilarious and terrifying at the same time. My wife yells at me to stop screaming every time I see something
I first played Half-Life in 2015 (35 at the time) and thought it was alright. Like, I understood the importance of the game when I played it, but it didn't feel like I was playing anything groundbreaking. I found the story kind of "meh," but I was more interested in the story (and considered replaying Half-Life) after playing the two Gearbox expansions, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift.
Hey, 27 here and my first pc games were also starcraft and diablo 2! I also missed the half-life series, and tried playing through a few months back. I did like my time with it, but haven't gotten around to finishing it yet.
Indie games next week! I hope there's time to squeeze in a look at Cobalt Core which is what you might get if you crossed FTL with Slay the Spire and mixed in some cute alien animal space pilots and a time loop metanarrative. It is extremely my shit, and might be yours?
Hey! Just wanted to mention something in relation to your conversation about game preservation and playing older branches of games. Dead Cells has the option to go back and play older iterations of the game baked into the game. It’s obviously not for everyone but the idea of being able to experience a game’s development after the fact is really fascinating to me
Watched Suzume by Makoto Shinkai which I enjoyed quite a bit, and that led me to watch Your Name. (same writer/director) which is one of the best movies I’ve watched in a while. I would highly recommend it and I’m looking forward to watching Weathering With You. Also by the same writer/director and the same band (RADWIMPS) doing the music in all three.
My partner and I watched those, and we liked 'em a lot. Your name is my favorite, and Suzume might be theirs. We're also checking out some of the earlier/older shorter works of his as well.
In addition to all of the amazing AAA games that released this year, I have to shout out an indie game that was on my Switch’s heavy rotation this year: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It is Team Reptile’s love letter to Jet Set Radio and was just peak nostalgia juice for me.
Persistence persistence persistence:
Has Frush ever been to a ska show?
He must have right?
Hi. I joined the newsletter in order to represent the "towel over the door/curtain while you shower so you don't have to reach outside where it's cold" caucus. Now to finish the episode.
Drying inside the shower gang unite!!!
YES came specifically to say this!!! Lmao
Hi Besties! I felt compelled to drop a heartfelt thank you for putting out such genuine and approachable content. I'm 30 years old and very recently discovered that I actually like video games (ACNH was my gateway drug, as I'm sure it is for many). I am enammered with BOTW (albeit 6 years late), but still very intimidated by the scope. As an avid MBMBAM & TAZ listener, The Besties felt like an obvious choice to broaden my potential game library. I picked up Sea of Stars after hearing all 4 of you gush about it, and it may sound cheesy but it completely changed my idea of what video games can be. I'm smitten with it and very close to completing the game! No real question here, just feeling in the thankful spirit and wanted to let you know that you all put on such a good show and it's been incredibly helpful ❤️ Cheers!
Hey all, don't know if you've heard of this but there's a free browser game I just found out about called The Roottrees Are Dead - it's basically an Obra-Dinn-like where you have to piece together info found in documents, pictures, archives etc to find identities of a rich family. I pretty much lost my weekend to it when I found it, I highly recommend!
(I hope this doesn't come off as an ad or anything, I really actually enjoyed the hell out of this and am always looking for stuff to scratch the same deductive itch)
https://jjohnstongames.itch.io/the-roottrees-are-dead
Egg steam? Hot shower air? Russ is a vapormancer.
Love all the VR game recommendations, I wanted to throw one game I haven't seen mentioned to Chris and Russ if they hadn't seen it before. Walkabout Mini-golf has been the only consistent VR game I have played on my quest 2. I have a buddy who lives too far away for us to feasibly get together on a regular basis but this game's chill atmosphere and regularly added DLC levels continue to amaze and entertain us. Have you two (or any other besties) had any luck with luck with VR games as a social experience or primarily stick to the single player immersive SIM?
I second Walkabout Mini-Golf. I've only played it in singleplayer, but it's still a great solo experience with a lot of inexpensive DLC courses; especially love the course based on Labyrinth. And the music is pretty great too.
A suggestion for a future episode (maybe when the release calendar gets quiet early in the new year): there's an online platform called Fantasy Critic - think fantasy football, but instead of teams of players you're collecting rosters of to-be-released video games with points allotted based on OpenCritic aggregate scores. It's somewhat in the spirit of the past annual prediction bets from the Resties, and you could easily attach some fun stakes. It could be a single episode per year (drafting and resolving the previous year) or a topic with a mid-year check-in or two.
I'm not affiliated with the site - I've just played with multiple groups of friends over the past several years, and it's a great way to hold ongoing conversations about new game releases, big and small, throughout the year. Website: www.fantasycritic.games
Sometime in the next week or so, I'll be firing up Talos Principle 2, which I am really looking forward too...then in the winter, I'll give out Baldur's Gate and Cites Skylines 2 a try, plus a few other misc smaller games.
Talos Principle 2 is an amazing game! You'll love it
The first was so amazing, I think about it and the Road to Ghenna frequently.
I have been on team “dry off while standing in the shower” for a decade, and I’m glad to finally have backup from Russ Frushtick.
I tried half life one and 2, I'm 35 but somehow I just missed them. My first pc game (tm) was starcraft/ diablo 2, idk why i just never got the half life's.
So trying to go back and play them without the nostalgia now in 2023 is just... Feels like a job. I just couldn't force myself to do more than a few hours.
In other news, *Lethal Company*
has been the most fun multiplayer experience with 3 of my friends, ever I think. Nothing comes close. It's hilarious and terrifying at the same time. My wife yells at me to stop screaming every time I see something
I first played Half-Life in 2015 (35 at the time) and thought it was alright. Like, I understood the importance of the game when I played it, but it didn't feel like I was playing anything groundbreaking. I found the story kind of "meh," but I was more interested in the story (and considered replaying Half-Life) after playing the two Gearbox expansions, Opposing Force, and Blue Shift.
(I also hate how all ladders function).
Hey, 27 here and my first pc games were also starcraft and diablo 2! I also missed the half-life series, and tried playing through a few months back. I did like my time with it, but haven't gotten around to finishing it yet.
Lmao glad it's not just me
Indie games next week! I hope there's time to squeeze in a look at Cobalt Core which is what you might get if you crossed FTL with Slay the Spire and mixed in some cute alien animal space pilots and a time loop metanarrative. It is extremely my shit, and might be yours?
Where is the link to Virtual Insanity that Chris promised? Song slaps
https://youtu.be/4JkIs37a2JE
Hey! Just wanted to mention something in relation to your conversation about game preservation and playing older branches of games. Dead Cells has the option to go back and play older iterations of the game baked into the game. It’s obviously not for everyone but the idea of being able to experience a game’s development after the fact is really fascinating to me
Excellent point!
Watched Suzume by Makoto Shinkai which I enjoyed quite a bit, and that led me to watch Your Name. (same writer/director) which is one of the best movies I’ve watched in a while. I would highly recommend it and I’m looking forward to watching Weathering With You. Also by the same writer/director and the same band (RADWIMPS) doing the music in all three.
My partner and I watched those, and we liked 'em a lot. Your name is my favorite, and Suzume might be theirs. We're also checking out some of the earlier/older shorter works of his as well.
In addition to all of the amazing AAA games that released this year, I have to shout out an indie game that was on my Switch’s heavy rotation this year: Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. It is Team Reptile’s love letter to Jet Set Radio and was just peak nostalgia juice for me.