For gamers on a budget I recommend looking at Netflix again. When I first found out about games on there it seemed to be mostly mobile shovelware. But recently found out there are "real" games now. Just finished the sequel to Curse of the Golden Idol and it worked really well on tablet. Into the Breach, Civ 6, and some other great titles. If you already have a subscription, it's worth checking out.
The newest game from DONTNOD, Lost Record Bloom and Rage has a very fun camcorder mechanic that definitely scratches that photograph game itch for me. It’s very good
On the subject of games reusing old maps and areas: trying to think of examples of this I realized that in almost every case that comes to mind I actually thought it was really cool. In TOTK I was actually really excited to visit each familiar area to see what was different. I still have a crystal clear memory of realizing the whole Kanto region was in Pokémon gold/silver, still familiar but new and different at the same time. It makes these places feel real to come revisit them after time has passed.
It’s always referred to as a way to reuse assets, but done right I think it can be very positive.
This may be too cynical but if you are a state power interested in building/refining large scale context-sensitive surveillance networks then Niantic is a dream acquisition. Not just because of their existing data but because of the ability to use Pokémon GO users as a panel for longitudinal data collection moving forward. Reflecting both past behavioral data and new data in response to a changing world. I work in public health research with the occasional geospatial foray and the granularity of the data that companies like Niantic collect is honestly terrifying. I loved Plante’s example of “knowing how many Americans have uneven foundations”. A fantastic example of how invasive and powerful (but also sometimes pointless?) this sort of data collection can be.
"you should play belatro and you should watch severance" I opened youtube after finishing this ep and this is is the first video I see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0YU7ZFrajo
I just hit 60 hours in Infinite Wealth and am on chapter... 9? I think? And I expect I'll play probably another 40-50 hours.
But Pirate Majima is next and then I'll actually be caught up on Yakuza/Like a Dragon. After about 6 years of playing. I'm... Unsure of what to do next.
Also: The NYT has a great article about Metroidvania... Both the term and the genre.
You can just do what I did lol... Start over! I have been working my way back through the series in between new releases. I basically play 2 yakuza games a year, the new one and the next old one. I replayed 4 last year and after the pirate one I'll replay 5.
Russ you are an absolutely miserable person, wishing death on a character that people love? Because they’re too “depressing”? You’re an intolerable edgelord
Question for the besties, I know games with any sort of combos aren’t generally your guy’s thing, and I’m curious as to why? I find action games without/with very simple ones to be quite button mashy and boring personally, so just wondering why they don’t strike everyone’s fancy. Love the show, keep up the great work!
I'm not sure if this is the right place for game suggestions, but some friends and I got finished book-clubbing the game YIIK recently, which received a massive overhaul of an update last December, and were all pretty blown away by it. Because of the cultural zeitgeist surrounding the original release of the game, we each went in with a bit of trepidation and were almost doing it more out of a morbid fascination than anything, but each of us came away with such glowing things to say about it and it's been on my mind so constantly since seeing it's credits roll. It's using the language of games and surrealist film making to tell a kind of story I don't think I've seen a game so before, and I think some on the Besties crew might really appreciate what it's swinging at. Plus, the overhauled combat for this new update is so fresh it would have been enough to keep me playing until the end even if it's puzzle-box narrative didn't hook me as hard as it did.
Skeptical about another Yakuza recommendation. Got Infinite Wealth after hearing it was a great game and perfect entry to the series. It was not for me at all, I don't see the appeal.
Are there any games that you've all played recently that you'd consider truly novel (e.g., game mechanics, story, etc.). After 20+ years of gaming, I feel like I've seen it all - the magic and wonder of discovering truly unique games seems harder to find these days. I'm curious to hear about experiences that rekindled that sense of discovery and amazement I used to feel when gaming was newer to me.
For gamers on a budget I recommend looking at Netflix again. When I first found out about games on there it seemed to be mostly mobile shovelware. But recently found out there are "real" games now. Just finished the sequel to Curse of the Golden Idol and it worked really well on tablet. Into the Breach, Civ 6, and some other great titles. If you already have a subscription, it's worth checking out.
Oops. Meant Case of the Golden Idol. Whatever.
Plus Kentucky Route Zero is on there!
Russ your take on Kiryu is so inconsiderate and awful
RE: Photography Games
The newest game from DONTNOD, Lost Record Bloom and Rage has a very fun camcorder mechanic that definitely scratches that photograph game itch for me. It’s very good
On the subject of games reusing old maps and areas: trying to think of examples of this I realized that in almost every case that comes to mind I actually thought it was really cool. In TOTK I was actually really excited to visit each familiar area to see what was different. I still have a crystal clear memory of realizing the whole Kanto region was in Pokémon gold/silver, still familiar but new and different at the same time. It makes these places feel real to come revisit them after time has passed.
It’s always referred to as a way to reuse assets, but done right I think it can be very positive.
Re: Older Maps, I loved the inclusion of original locations in Zelda II and Dragon Quest II.
And second everything about how TotK handled the BotW map.
This may be too cynical but if you are a state power interested in building/refining large scale context-sensitive surveillance networks then Niantic is a dream acquisition. Not just because of their existing data but because of the ability to use Pokémon GO users as a panel for longitudinal data collection moving forward. Reflecting both past behavioral data and new data in response to a changing world. I work in public health research with the occasional geospatial foray and the granularity of the data that companies like Niantic collect is honestly terrifying. I loved Plante’s example of “knowing how many Americans have uneven foundations”. A fantastic example of how invasive and powerful (but also sometimes pointless?) this sort of data collection can be.
Just wanted to inform Justin that Monster Train 2 has a demo out now!
"you should play belatro and you should watch severance" I opened youtube after finishing this ep and this is is the first video I see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0YU7ZFrajo
I just hit 60 hours in Infinite Wealth and am on chapter... 9? I think? And I expect I'll play probably another 40-50 hours.
But Pirate Majima is next and then I'll actually be caught up on Yakuza/Like a Dragon. After about 6 years of playing. I'm... Unsure of what to do next.
Also: The NYT has a great article about Metroidvania... Both the term and the genre.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/02/20/arts/metroidvania-games-metroid-castlevania.html?unlocked_article_code=1.yk4.sBpD.tvzqtHCNG4W7&smid=url-share
You can just do what I did lol... Start over! I have been working my way back through the series in between new releases. I basically play 2 yakuza games a year, the new one and the next old one. I replayed 4 last year and after the pirate one I'll replay 5.
I have been looking for a reason to replay the series 🤔
Russ you are an absolutely miserable person, wishing death on a character that people love? Because they’re too “depressing”? You’re an intolerable edgelord
Good to hear Russ continuing his villain arc with that "Kazuma Kiryu should die of cancer" take.
Question for Griffin if he reads this!
The upcoming YAKUZA moves away from only using New Japan wrestlers by adding Samoa Joe as a Hawaiian Pirate King Character.
Griffin, I know you've talked about being at least a passive wrestling fan, so I'm curious which current wrestler you'd most like to see in the game?
Question for the besties, I know games with any sort of combos aren’t generally your guy’s thing, and I’m curious as to why? I find action games without/with very simple ones to be quite button mashy and boring personally, so just wondering why they don’t strike everyone’s fancy. Love the show, keep up the great work!
I'm not sure if this is the right place for game suggestions, but some friends and I got finished book-clubbing the game YIIK recently, which received a massive overhaul of an update last December, and were all pretty blown away by it. Because of the cultural zeitgeist surrounding the original release of the game, we each went in with a bit of trepidation and were almost doing it more out of a morbid fascination than anything, but each of us came away with such glowing things to say about it and it's been on my mind so constantly since seeing it's credits roll. It's using the language of games and surrealist film making to tell a kind of story I don't think I've seen a game so before, and I think some on the Besties crew might really appreciate what it's swinging at. Plus, the overhauled combat for this new update is so fresh it would have been enough to keep me playing until the end even if it's puzzle-box narrative didn't hook me as hard as it did.
Skeptical about another Yakuza recommendation. Got Infinite Wealth after hearing it was a great game and perfect entry to the series. It was not for me at all, I don't see the appeal.
Are there any games that you've all played recently that you'd consider truly novel (e.g., game mechanics, story, etc.). After 20+ years of gaming, I feel like I've seen it all - the magic and wonder of discovering truly unique games seems harder to find these days. I'm curious to hear about experiences that rekindled that sense of discovery and amazement I used to feel when gaming was newer to me.
Lucodene is awesome, thanks for the suggestion! I have just been rolling a 20-sided die to figure out what to play next!