Episode 13 - In My PJs - Resident Evil Requiem

The silent treatment, I hope.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, we’re going to be talking about Resident Evil Requiem, the ninth mainline Resident Evil game and one that mechanically resembles the RE Engine games. Like, all of them, because this game is both a first person survival horror title as well as a third person action game at different points, and the balance between them and how you approach each is going to be the ultimate deciding factor if this game really works for you. Grace’s segments are slow and focused on enemy avoidance and puzzle solving, while Leon has a giant inventory and much more effective weaponry. Both are given their time to shine, with large sections dedicated to each (and a few to both, which I think is where the dual protagonist setup really sings), but I would be lying if I said it didn’t feel like one half was given a little more attention in development than the other. Visuals and sound are incredible in the way most AAA titles are like these days, with this games strengths lying in gruesome enemy art direction as well as punchy firearm sound effects. Unfortunately, as is usually the case with Resident Evil games, the narrative is a little flat, relying on the series’ long legacy to provide interest which it unfortunately doesn’t do particularly well. We’re going to be talking about the character divide and how sharp the differences really are, how both sides of the games handled their combat and boss fights, and the overlap between this and the Terminator franchise.

Thank you for joining us again this week! I ended the last episode by asking Andy “can we pleeeeease do Resident Evil 9” and so here we are. As happens with big games that are overall enjoyable, we talked a lot like we hated this game’s guts, but really it is quite good, just handled less artfully than maybe we hoped. Were you looking forward to this game, and did you hope it would follow closer to RE7 or to RE4? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord channel! Next time, we’re going to be talking about one of the most unambiguously good games ever made, Super Mario World, so we hope you’ll join us for that.

Episode 12 - Skyrim in Reverse - Final Fantasy

The black orb podcasts ominously…

Welcome back to the podcast where today we’re going to be looking at the Game Boy Advance remake of Final Fantasy. The first in what is probably the series of games most synonymous with the JRPG genre, the original Final Fantasy showcases all the hallmarks of the genre in a simple but still very functional way. The player is allowed to choose the makeup of their party from the beginning of the game and that will influence the type of gear, spells, etc., that they will be able to use throughout the runtime, characters level up and can even upgrade their classes midway through the game, and you will encounter enemies every seven steps you take. Despite some rough edges, it ends up holding up surprisingly well and, probably due to forty years of cultural knowledge of playing RPGs, it isn’t a “Nintendo hard” type game from the era either. The result is a somewhat primitive, but beautiful looking, RPG that is surprisingly comfortable to play and fairly easy to get into even from a modern context. We’re going to be talking about the clever and natural ways the game gates exploration and makes it feel like a worthwhile activity, the depth of the storytelling which was rare for games on the NES, and how the canoe is really just walking, but different.

Thank you for joining us again this week! This was one we had in the chamber in case we needed to do something quickly because we had both played it and yet we still managed to be late. Classic us. Do you have experience with any of the many, many versions of FF1 that exist? Do you have a favorite? Were you born twenty or more years after the release of this game and never even considered playing it? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re going from one of the (technically) oldest games we’ve ever played to the newest, and talking about Resident Evil: Requiem, so we hope you’ll join us for that.

Episode 11 - Dead in a Week - Roadwarden

Their shouts are like spells, and will make you sick.

Welcome to the final episode of Fanbruary this year! We’re going to be talking about Roadwarden, a largely text-based RPG that seemingly takes some inspiration from modern rules-light TTRPG design with a lot of richness to its text and a simple, obfuscated approach to combat and other randomness-based encounters. Set in a type of post-apocalyptic fantasy setting, Roadwarden tasks you with exploring a region and making numerous decisions in the interest of learning about the people there and surviving the wilderness. The game is full of dialogue and set events that give the player a lot of choice both in the ways that they interact with the world, but also how they shape the history of it and their place within it. On the flip side, that is also nearly all the game has. Dialogue and descriptions are many, many lines of text, and your reward for making your choices is often just more text. The mechanical side is predominately a game of resource management, with very few moments of genuine triumph to motivate you, so it falls squarely in the not-for-everyone camp. It’s definitely worth checking out if the storytelling elements of RPGs are what draw you to the genre, but you won’t get the other hallmarks of the genre here. We’re going to be talking about how the game plays against our expectations, how its difficulty creeps up on you over time, and how it somehow created an economy that perfectly mirrors real life.

Thank you for joining us again this week, and a special thank you to everyone who submitted their game suggestions for Fanbruary this year! As always, we had a blast going through some games we otherwise might never have played. Roadwarden in specific is one that is easy to see the potential in even it ultimately ended up not being up our alley. Have you played the game or did our episode make you curious about it? Let us know down in the comments or over on our Discord! Next time, we’re transitioning from an RPG that has been deconstructed from the basic parts that make up the genre, to one of the games that was pivotal in shaping that genre to begin with: we’re going to be talking about Final Fantasy (specifically the GBA “Dawn of Souls” version)! So we hope you’ll join us for that.

Episode 10 - Pigs and Other Shapes - Klonoa 2: Lunatea's Veil

I may leave this world, but we’ll always be a podcast.

Welcome back to the podcast, and to the third episode of Fanbruary, in which we play games suggested by you the listener. For this installment, we’re going to be talking about Klonoa 2, a 2-or-2.5D platformer on the Playstation 2. This is a game that thrives on novelty, with the interesting ways it uses its enemies as items and creative foreground and background elements for both traversal and puzzle solving. And of course, being from the early 2000s it has to also feature hoverboard levels which play very differently to the platforming and boss fights. Basically, the variety makes this game novel and with a tight runtime it ends up feeling paced pretty well, even if some of the later levels drag a bit. We’re going to be talking about how the game uses, and in some cases forces, its 3D design elements, our thoughts on mascot character design, and just how many stages can be donuts.

Thank you for joining us again this week! Klonoa 2 has been a recurring suggestion so we’re glad to finally play it. Unfortunately it was not suggested to us twenty years ago when we could have experienced in its original context, which I think would have helped us appreciate the unique things the game actually does. Still, it was an interesting look back, and the things that it does well are still genuinely interesting. Were you able to play this game when it came out, or is it new to you as well? Let us know over in the Discord or in the comments below! Given that this is literally the last day of February, we’ll likely bleed a little into Farch, but be sure to stay tuned, because next time we’re talking about Roadwarden!

Episode 9 - Hero Bucks - Far Cry 5

Every problem cannot be solved with a podcast.

Welcome back to the podcast and, of course, to our second episode of Fanbruary this year! Today, we’re talking about Far Cry 5, which is, obviously, an installment in the Far Cry franchise and, obviously, not the fifth one because of all the weird spinoffs. Still the thing that most stands out, or at least the thing that was advertised the most, that separates this from its predecessors is the fact that it is set in the United States. Ultimately, this game doesn’t do much in terms of commentary, which is unfortunate given the opportunity they had here, but it is still a novel setting for a Far Cry game. By far the most impressive element comes from the open world and its lush forests and rural towns. It looks very good. It’s an open world game with a bunch of systems attempting to create that emergent gameplay the genre is known for, and importantly, it wastes very little of your time and nearly everything you do contributes toward progressing the game. Still, it is a part of a series that gets that stuff right more often than not, and it doesn’t compare favorably in most areas to previous installments. This is particularly true in the writing, but I won’t spoil those things here in the description. It’s a good game by and large, but is let down in some key ways that make it more of a mixed bag than it could it have been. We’re going to be talking about “confidence” in games and the overstimulation of players, the progression systems across the open world, and we argue for the use of parachutes less than 10 feet off the ground.

Thank you for joining us again this week! As someone who bounced off this game when it released I’m actually really glad to have gone back to finish it because there is a lot of nuance to what this game does right and wrong in my eyes. On the other hand, I can’t advocate for anyone to play it or any other Ubisoft games for that matter thanks to their awful DRM, so just take our word for how the experience is, I guess. How do you feel this game stacks up against other titles in the franchise, if you’ve played them before? And if you haven’t, how do you feel about the fact that the unusable Ubiconnect software ruins the experience of all people who try to interact with the software? Let us know over on our Discord or in the comments below! Next time, for our third Fanbruary episode, we’re going to be talking about Klonoa 2: Lunatea’s Veil, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 8 - Adult Man Brain - Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor

What would motivate someone to turn into a podcast?

Welcome to the first episode for Fanbruary this year! We’re starting off with a classic adventure game in Nancy Drew: Curse of Blackmoor Manor, part of an extremely prolific series which we haven’t played before. Given that the character of Nancy Drew is a detective, the object of the game centers around solving a mystery, in this case the mysterious illness of Linda Penvellyn. The game starts off very strong, allowing you to freely roam the mansion and pick up clues and information where you can, giving it a real detective-y feeling to it. It does start to get into more traditional adventure game puzzles as time goes on, but there is still a very worthwhile experience here, both in those early hours, and to some degree the writing and design of the world are compelling as well. Still, know what you’re getting into with these games, there are going to be some obtuse puzzles and other tedious roadblocks to get through, but if you’re carried through it by nostalgia or the storytelling, I’d say it’s worth checking out. We’re going to be talking about the game’s story and characters, the slow descent into adventure game madness, and the least fun minigames of all time.

Thank you for joining us, and for submitting game suggestions, for Fanbruary this week! This was a game on our maybe list for last year, and I gotta say, now that the mystique of it is gone and the game is finished, it wasn’t actually what I was expecting. And that’s a little bit bad but a little bit good also. Did you grow up with these games, or point and click adventure games generally? Let us know in the comments or over on our Discord! Submissions are closed for Fanbruary this year, but feel free to throw us some suggestions anyway, as we’re always looking for interesting stuff to play. Next time, we’re going pretty far in the opposite direction and talking about Far Cry 5, so we hope you’ll join us then!

Episode 7 - That Which Was Well Paced - That Which Gave Chase

A podcast for the senses we can’t take from them.

Welcome back to the podcast! Today, on what is an appropriately wintery day, we’re going to be talking about That Which Gave Chase, a game where you sled through the arctic. Largely a narrative game, That Which Gave Chase takes you through several different points in time in a shaky, disconnected way as you learn about the reason you are where you are. It does also have a sledding mechanic, which requires a surprising amount of concentration during certain times in a way that I’d argue works with the cosmic horror narrative in a way you really would have to play to understand. The game is quite short and saying too much would spoil it, but it is one well worth checking out. We’re going to be talking about how this game compares to similar short narrative based games we’ve played, how the story keeps you engaged while moving along at a fast pace, and why this game is actually a sequel to The Lighthouse.

Thank you for joining us again this week! We have come out of our January dormancy like a Lovecraftian entity, so this felt like a moderately appropriate game for a time like this. If you haven’t played this game, which is fairly likely, I really would recommend giving it a chance as it won’t take up too much of your time, and when you’re done you can talk about it with us in the comments or over in our Discord! And speaking of, next time will be our first episode of Fanbruary this year, so while you’re over there please drop any suggestions you might have for games for us to play.

The Scribies 2025 - Gremlinsesque

With time, any game could be the coolest ancient artefact.

Welcome to the first ever Scribies, an award show and definitely not an itchy reaction to a species of mite: that would be Scabies. In the Scribies, we choose winners for myriad categories from the pool of games that we have played and talked about for the podcast this year. We’ve brought back some fan favorite categories like Least Likely to be Compared to Dark Souls and The Newlywed Game, as well as introduced some new classics such as “The Dad Award,” so there’s a lot to look forward to and a great variety in the nominations to be made. The best news is that if you have award fatigue after so many years-end celebrations across so many industries, you can rest assured our awards specifically target a sample population that has extremely limited relevance and only has like three qualitative categories! It’s basically meaningless in the grand scheme of things!

What isn’t meaningless however, is how much we appreciate everyone who listens to podcast and these year end wrap up episodes. We just entered our first year with the new name, so we do want to shout out everyone who has stuck around. However, we also appreciate+, an extra premium tier of appreciation, anyone who has or will submit game suggestions for Fanbruary, which is rapidly approaching. Next time, we’re going to be talking about That Which Gave Chase, a short but frigidly cold wintertime horror title, and Fanbruary begins immediately after that, so we hope you’ll join us then and hope that we can choose from among some of your favorite games when Fanbruary rolls around!