Fire Escape Cast #116 (The Silksong Episode)

Guess what this is?

Sure pissed?

No, No, Mary is closer just because she guess a whine.

No, it depends on the brand. Let's be real.

It's Oregon Pino noir.

Those my second guess.

Yes, all right, what hell? Then Billy crapping in. It is Monday, May fifth, sixteenth. I'm your host, as always, Mike Maharty here with episode two hundred and sixteen, seventy sixteenth, And that's Dan Reikert jumping in for as Q. As always, that's Mary Mary. I said it's episode two hundred and sixty seven.

I think May sixteenth, and Mary, kesh, this is all inaccurate.

No, it's not.

You know, we are in the age of misinformation and you are killing it.

Thank you. What are you guys up to? What are you doing here? I'm kind of busy. What do you want? It's my favorite bit to do with Mary. When we were doing Knevila, She's like she'd start recording and be like,

It's very good.

I just had the Bully.

I still maintain that both RESUMEEL four and resume before remake. The last third of both of those games is not good.

It's a bit of a slog, isn't it. Like I just kind of was like some grads finished. I was like, let's go, like, let's finish it, whereas like the first third of that game you don't want it to ever end.

I was like, this is awesome. I'm loving it.

Castle are Grade.

Yeah, I read like that was the era when it's like when I was buying games where it's like anytime it was longer, it always equaled good to me because it's like I'm getting more for my money, and so like when the Castle ended and then it's like, wait, are we going to this whole island? There's gonna be a whole other thing, I was like fuck yes. And like as I got older and also started getting games

It was fun. I still like the key.

There's there's gotta be there's got to be a secret underground laboratory. It's resident evil, So I'm fine with that happening. It's the fact that you like, the zombies are this like fully armed militia with like garage doors that are on a timer that does this for some reason in.

Search lights and it's just this laser commando or something which normally which is no problem with but it's.

In and of itself. But yeah, but the village.

And Castle were so like, I feel like there's diminishing. If there's three acts there, Village, Castle, Island, I think it is slightly diminishing.

We're earns each time, even though I like all of it, you know.

And I think Resume before Remake did a really good job with the Castle, especially especially the metroidvany aspects of the puzzles that you're going back to underground, like the night you have to kill that one night to get the weapon up grade or whatever it is, or you get that the merchant gives you the blue note to go kill him. That stuffs great. And then also what the ways that they changed the blind wolverine dude fight with the bells. I think they did a good job

I really I've been I've been bad, bad girl, but I was like, let's do this, let's finally do this, and I I'm proud of myself for finishing another Resident Evil game. I mean, we're like past ten of these games now, like we've done.

Twelve, past ten, we count doesn't more than that. I think we're I think before we make was season six.

King Senia sixteen sixteen, all.

Right, sixteen, your's worth a lot for eleven twelve? Yeah that was thirteen thirteen.

Yeah yeah, man, Jack.

Like discussing game amounts in birthday sacraments.

Yeah yeah, Like Mario is just an actual middle aged man.

Now, yeah, legal what we say? Yeah yeah, or it's maybe what they said in the nineties. I don't know if it's okay to say that anymore, Like that's kind of fucked up upon reflection, Mario's.

Legal Wait wait, I don't.

Think he had a mustard.

You're talking about a six year old. I'm saying even legal for thirty eight.

Uh eight numbers and we're like, oh, King seniora sweet sixteen eighteen is just was like legal.

I was growing that was like, it's still for it, but is he not legal?

World as a plumber with a mustache? Mario is a man now like baby Mario is a different situation that is a baby born.

Were they not? Are you saying they came out of the womb?

Like, so there's no evidence of Mario between baby and plumber man.

But I think it's just different universes like Marvel where it's like, oh, this is a different timeline where yeah, where Mario is a baby, that's what he actually used to look like when he was not legal.

I've never thought it was something he looks like Mario.

Do you know this joke.

I'm going to let you play it out.

Watched joke when.

I was growing up. People used to say that all the time, and I was like, that's really fucked up.

You're gonna get us pulled off the air. Okay, here's the I.

They showed the new Mario Tennis thing in the direct and there's a baby law Jesus Christ, Mariady drunk baby Wallawigi and I was like, fuck yeah, which like in in Mario lore, everyone's got a baby thing. There's baby Rosalina, Baby, Peach, baby, everything, but there's nothing between baby an adult.

If they announced any kind.

Of official Mario project, whether it's a fucking cartoon or a movie or a game, and there was like a sixteen year old Mario, I would hate it so much, just like you know, I'm a kid, I'm kid Mario, Like, I would fucking hate that guy, Mario.

Broccoli hair and.

Mario influencer marios O.

God, they have baggy jeans, Jenko's.

Straight edge.

I would take. I would take drunk Mario like Mario just has a bad turn.

And no at that age, it's just like they're scraping cigarettes off the ground and you know, asking you to buy them beer.

Can you say tween Walluigi three times.

Fast between Wallowigi, tween wallow tween wall Owigi. Okay, yeah, yeah, I'm in practicing, you know.

Susions work for me like a shithead high school age.

Spell it really quickly, you're yeah, what's your desktop image? Pervert?

Look, I brought this up.

On the BombCast and this is fucking insane to me, which and it's not nothing wrong with this whatever people are into.

But we'll get to the Holi Night discussion.

Later, but I have frequently while playing this game, searched the Blue Sky for like, you know, I like the Trobio boss fight I was having trouble with, and so I was like, is.

It just true?

I just need to see I need to see if people are having problems with it. And I just searched the word Trobio and I go by latest to see what what people are saying. Every fucking other thing is just like here's my drawing of three Robio jacking off with his giant cock, or here's Hornet fucking sucking off Trobio, or here's I Today. I started Act three and I literally just typed in the phrase act three because I was like, man, this gut really hard, really quick, just to see what people were saying.

And it was like dah, here's fucking DP Hornet with fucking last judge or whatever. What Yeah, yes, people are fucking horny.

Oh yeah, like all the time.

William hollow Night would be the thing, though, Like I know, people get very horny about video game paracters and stuff. We've discussed that, but like, yeah, I expected the cartoon Bug game to be that, you know, yeah, yeah, I wonder if there's more of it with soak song or I'm just saying it because I'm searching for soaksong terms like the cross terms. Would it be like, oh, look at this cross puzzled fucking bukacky?

Did you see did you see the Pickman three ship? But? Did you see the Pickman three ship? It?

I'm gonna I'm gonna say you said, I know, I know, I know you're made of that, But just I'm gonna see if I can just type in something.

As a pin in the Blue Sky go by Latest and.

Blue Sky just like overwhelmed with porn right now?

I think so when I think it's a lot of like video game art porn and stuff. Yeah, it's it's not as filthy as the Hollid Night stuff. Maybe that's just like, but there is just some kind of like corny ish drawings of Pickman here.

There's a lot of lowest from family guy porn out there too. You ever notice that I've heard that.

See the market for her. I just don't understand.

I heard people have told me yeah, okay.

Friend lunch a friend, name.

My heart and said, so I will say Pickman does seem to buck the trend here. I'm not saying a lot of good, a thing of warriors ass and and it says, what's the aroma of the day.

You're on a weird blue sky?

Yeah, I don't know. It's uh.

I feel like we maybe maybe it's just societal or maybe we're just like at that part of the internet where like you can't google something without it being disgusting. But like my friend the other day was like, oh, when was the last time you watched Shrek? And I like googled Shrek and I just saw Shrek's like it was a meme of like Shrek's butt and he just was turning around and going get at a mass swamp.

Yeah, and it's.

Funny, but I was like, I didn't want to see your butt.

That's hard.

Thing was trying to figure out like what percentage of

You know, hear me Out is like a very popular trend right now?

Do you know what that is? Dan? Yeah, yeah, we did this.

Oh yeah, we hear me Out?

Yeah, yeah, we did episodes.

I bet tween Waluigi would be on Dan's No.

Look, I love Wallaig, but I can't say I have any interest in seeing any form of extual huaalauji, no, thank you, No, I.

Would struggle with any of this. I understand that it's like, uh yeah, maybe it's like a part of our culture. But is nothing sacred anymore? Is Tetris clean?

No way, those straight those straight lines, you can't look like that going into a whole perfectly formed for it.

You can guarantee there's Tetris porn.

There's absolutely Tetris porn. Real sex is basically Tetris and Twister combined.

So the Bible described it.

Yeah, yeah, did you see her shape?

I mean, come on, yeah bye. Exodus twenty three, twenty three, verses sixteen fourteen, when a man gets left hand yellow and the woman gets right foot red. Only then shall a vision of God come into the bedroom.

Yeah, Twister is still a thing. I feel like Twister was such as in our childhood.

My niece Enhew's played it every once in a while. Okay, okay, I don't think it is.

I think it was like a classic game. I wonder if they play candy Land anymore.

That game does just suck.

It really does, like there's just nothing, like you're just reskinned.

Yeah, what about mouse trap.

I like, oh, it's a mouse trap.

The actual game sucks ass like the actual like I never Actually it's like, oh, you have to get like, you set it up, you do the thing, the green guy backflips into the fucking tub, and then it's just a great time for everyone.

That's how simple it was.

Back then, we watched that same fucking mouse trap thing go through four billion times and we loved it, loved it.

Did you play Don't Like Daddy? Yes, that game was an anxiety Remember the commercials.

I remember the commercials.

And Daddy and you get you roll it. I think, like I'm probably butchering some of it. But you roll a dice or you roll a die and it tells you how many times you basically press this thing button on his alarm clock and it's like a jack in the box. It randomly resets every time you put his torso back down. It's like the gator tooth thing repressed the gator. Yeah, that was terrifying and then like stressful too, Yeah, terrif And then also, Don't Break the Ice was another game.

Don't Bring the Ice is awesome.

When you would uh, you would put speaking of tetris, you would flip this platform upside down, Yeah, with the hammer and then you'd fit them all in so like it would be push.

Into the tile games.

Yeah, you like push stuff.

I think that feels good, is great.

I think one that has the surprise element and the tactile element is Perfection. Do you remember that where you had to take the yellow pieces and you put it at for Operation Opera, your hands going.

Oh my god, you could kill that guy so easily.

Did it just buzz or did it shock?

You?

Just buzz and mind vibrated?

Yeah?

The worst child though, right, I think?

Is it like to a near lethal vibrated trust me? No, but it was the Yeah, Perfection messed with me too. But the yeah, don't wake Daddy always causings.

Get caught up in the crossfire.

The idea of Crossfire was always better than the game though.

Yeah.

That had a sick trailer though, like incredible, kids were like really excited and the Paul landscape.

Yeah it was great.

Yeah, that's old, that's old old.

I do appreciate Jenga's like resurgence as this beer Garden Brewery game, the Giant.

One Giant Jenga.

Yeah, the drink like in college, if we did the drinking game one where everything has something in the sharpie written on it. Chug a beer, you gotta you can give out to drinks you can?

You know that stuff.

Yeah, I think I just want to stop talking about video games for good and go play games.

Yeah, yeah, to change the podcast a lot.

There's a lot of good games.

There are a lot of good games. We're gonna have quite a few to talk about tonight and next episode within Bargoes Lifting, I think we're all playing something that we can't talk about right now, but looking forward to that. But we have plenty to talk about before that. Any Oh,

I love the concept of a meetup is just if you run into one of us in the streets.

Ah.

The virus Scape meetup is so successful. Again, this is what happened to these gripes.

Now they're alcoholic.

Check it out.

Is this your character when you are the wine guy?

Yeah? People hate like people hate it when I welcome them to the bar with that halcome.

This response, but sit around, come trick it.

Yeah. So put October twentieth in your calendars and then we'll put it on I haven't asked Dana Mary about this, but I'm gonna put it on Patreon and then we'll promote it.

We're gonna have to huddle about it and.

Yeah, sign some paperwork.

Yeaheah took the business rules.

If you're listening to this, Jake is coming to town

He's gonna be having to meet up. He's in a hotel, So just go say hi to Jack in the hotel seven.

Yeah. The holiday on holiday and on the lower east Side just.

Seven the Haunted Shining Room.

Yeah that's what. Yeah, Decker requests that everything puts her in the tub and says stir.

Yeah, he brings like a Porky's meads shining situation.

Yeah, well we love him dearly though.

Yeah, he'll be there. Go say hi to him. But yeah, I know he's visiting.

That's cool.

It's nice when your friend does Visit feels good. Speaking of I mean, like, we're gonna all be visiting each other pretty soon in like a couple not.

That far away.

It's yeah, some dates and stuff, not quite ready to announce yet, but uh, you know, we're doing our usual game of the year business doing Minnesota and that's gonna be great.

This year.

I was talking to Mike when I first hopped on this call about this year is going to be insane as far as the top ten, Like, yeah, there's as a lot of sleeper stuff that like you know, they it. It's not necessarily the huge titles that you would expect that are that came out of nowhere and are just like, oh, these are like some of the best games I've ever played. It's it's awesome. Like every I looked at my top ten right now, and every one of them is just a killer.

You know. Yeah, last month or two for me has started to get tough or not tough, to get really fun, but then has caused me to, you know, see Game of the Year as this tough thing to rank, because early on in the year I was like, oh, this is fun, this is great. Oh that game is amazing. That will definitely be I can't see anything surpassing that. Now, all of a sudden, I have like six games I'm

We'll be like the all quarter of this year was a little dry, Like I don't remember having so many games where I was like, these are big contendees, and then all of a sudden, there's like six right now that I'm trying to raise.

The Prince Blueprints was an early one.

Yeah question on that one, but like fairly dry.

Yeah, what else happened early this year? A lot of them, like the Summer about I liked a Battle, Yeah, it was great, Yeah, I got playing that. Spring of summer is when it started to really pick up for sure, but yes, we will get to games in a bit. Obviously, Silk Song the big one, Uh, I've not talked to. I'd have some very brief first impressions with the three of us, we have not really got any pop We'll do that.

Listen, this is the first time all three of us are talking about that game as a group extensively. There's definitely been one off d ms where I'm like, what did you think of this specific thing, or did you also hate this or did you also love this kind of stuff?

Yeah, I literally don't even know if Mary like likes it or anything.

I have no clue.

I haven't said anything about it yet, but like it's hard to not we we're not going to get to games just yet. But I just want to say, like, usually this first half is like, what have you been up to lately? And the truth is, this is what I've been up to lately.

I took the day off of work and played Silk Song for eleven hours.

That is what I did.

And when you ask me, like, in the last two weeks, what was really memorable for you, It'd be like, oh, pouring thirty five hours.

Into this game, that is what I have been doing.

When I am not working or like eating food, I am usually playing this game or thinking about this game all the time.

I guess if we're yeah, because we usually do just talk about this is ketchup shit, this is flushit time. There's one thing I think.

I did, which you know, Tuesdays is me and Bonx movie night. So we did watch a movie. So did one non holid night thing. In the last couple of weeks.

Fuck. I was literally about to bring this up.

Oh, this is Days. I watched it last night, so did I.

This is Days.

That is an intense fucking movie. And like, I was curious because Mike, I feel like your family.

Did, like maybe because we, like Hulu promote it to put it front and center for both.

We watched it in a field Max.

Yeah, since it got we saw the trailer and we heard just the concept of the movie and Alex Garland being involved in everything. It's like everything just kind of like, oh, this seems like us type of movie. And then I was very curious when I watched it to Mike, hear from you because family in the Iraq war and stuff and that in that in Ramadi, that was in that era.

I made the mistake of watching that movie late at night after a man had gone to bed and I had had a few drinks and I read and I know Alex garland story too.

So the yeah, so the idea of it is is that this was me.

The director Alex Garland has a writing and directing credit on it, along with I think the guy's name is Rex something who was one of the soldiers that was Ray maybe Ray Mendoza, let me look, yeah, I forget the name. But so basically, actually in this incident and AB Starland shared yeah, NABC shared writing and directing credits, and like they basically recreated like it all kind of takes place in It's like an hour and a half long.

Did it read to you as authentic? Yeah?

I wasn't there, but like, uh so, the I believe the movie took The incident in the movie took place in I think the shorthand aliciation is Ramadi, but the town is called our Ramadi two months that this took place two months after September two thousand and six, which is you know, Felusha got a lot of the headlines. Felusha, I think everybody is part of everybody's like kind of vernacular now because of some fucked up shit that we

And I'm not gonna like spoil specific stuff again, this is the thing that really happens, so I don't know spoil. Yeah, it's not like there is an explosion that happens, and in the immediate aftermath of it, it's very much doing that saving Private Ryan kind of trying to emulate the like, you know, disorientation and kind of tonightis type stuff and everything, and like you're kind of hearing muffled yells and stuff

Yeah, and also like, uh, I've never been from a movie, and you know, I've talked my brother about a lot of stuff like that's neither here nor there, I guess, but he went through some very very bad stuff, like you know, none of which I obviously condone. But that's it. It's it, you know, it's it's it's been done, and you know, he's it still affects him to this day.

Oh cool, like medivacs and hearing like, oh, it's gonna be six minutes too.

Bradley tanks coming in. So then they're like, I'm pretty sure the six minutes is real time, so they don't. So you're like you're waiting six minutes on your couch watching it, and I'm like that six minutes felt like forty minutes, and I'm like, it's it's so good at setting that stage and when stuff, when shit hits the fan. It's the most horrific movie I've seen in a while.

Pretty different.

No, no, no, but yeah no, but this is way like I'm okay, this, this is an apt comparison. Weapons is like this horror movie that's meant to scare you. Warfair is this movie that's presenting something matter of fact that happened based on ewhend discounts. That fucked with me way more in a horror sense, because all of a sudden, I can't every single horror movie I've ever watched, minus like The Descent and Borderlands, Mary, which you and I

Borderlands was a bad movie, but I didn't know what.

The nice I could remove myself and I could remind myself, hey, I'm watching horror. It's entertainment, Like I'm not. This movie like pulled me in in a way. I was having a very hard time reminding myself that I was, in fact on a couch watching this unfold and I was not fucking feeling all this, yeah.

Because in a way like you're I mean you are, but you're not because like the whole time you're watching, you're like Jesus Christ, this really happened, like and I think that is like I feel like I do enjoy war Enjoy such a weird thing to say with movies like this, because like when I rated it on a letterbox, I like was thinking about giving it five stars, but then I thought that was kind of like.

It's, well, you fuck, yeah, let's watch Warrior.

It's like like that, it's incredibly well done, but I didn't want to, Like it's not like a you don't something in a movie Cook's ass, Like no, it's it reminds me more of like you know, saving Private Ryan, like the d Day scene, because you know, you have the more kind of like artistic you know, the Full Metal Jackets, the Apocalypse now is that are kind of using this war as a backdrop to tell a story about it, and then you have like the d DA scene from Private Ryan and Warfare that I think are

Oh yeah.

I mean I like halfway through, I'm like, I don't know if I could finish this, Like I was like, oh man, this is like it's also funny because you know, they're reconstructing this place where a family member was, and so I was I was wondering whether it was even good for me to keep watching the movie.

Yeah.

Yeah, but I finished it. And you know, I, Jake and I used to do a video essay series for a GameSpot called Reboot, and there was an episode where it's like, hey, could video games potentially portray war in a quote unquote realistic way? Is it possible? I don't think it is. But there's a quote from I think it was French Watcherfoe, the French film director, saying there's no such thing as an anti war movie.

But brought that up after we watch it. She said that, yeah, no matter how.

Hard you try to portray war in a bad light in a movie, it's always going to end up being entertainment or it's always going to end up like sensationalizing or heroicizing or mythologizing the people in it. Warfare was one of the aside from Deer Hunter. I think Warfare Deer Hunters were rough. Yeah, both of those movies are like it's up there with Deer Hunter in a sense, and like Deer Hunter obviously digs into their home life afterward and before and whatnot. That's that's more of a

She she brought up the quote to me after we watched it, and I was like, man, I don't know what this one if that applies, because like I can't imagine anybody watching this and being like, yeah.

Fuck yeah America war Like this was cool, good thing.

We were there, Iran, and I want to enlist, like you might surprise yourself.

I mean even uh, you know, Band of Brothers, like a lot of the originals when they did this.

People do idolize characters, right, and so it does end up.

I haven't seen it, so like maybe I need to watch it and see if I can. But generally speaking, it is almost impossible to do this without being like, ooh, but there's a hero in this story.

There's good We root for these.

Guys, yeah, I mean a couple that people later on, and like again, you kind of see the effects of like shell shock, not shell shock, you see the effects of like this numbness and fear on the original squad, and then another platoon has to come in and help and they are just these professionals, and all of a sudden, you're like, it's just like then it becomes sort of about like how different leaders can affect the morale, and then you start thinking about like and then this other

Yeah, but it's like this is so different than like

The family that owns the house that they and was in the bedroom like under like captive, and then the yeah, like.

The the translators. Yeah, you know, like it's man.

Yeah, seriously, just knowing it all happened this way, it really affected me in a major way. Yeah, it's like, damn, this is a I don't think I've seen a movie quite like that.

I I don't even know that I can recommend the movie because I'm glad you watched it. I wouldn't know what to. I mean, like, I do think it's extremely effective and well made in what it was trying to do. I didn't enjoy watching it, Like it's not no, no, no, it's sure, yeah exactly, it's it's if this all sounds up your alley, I think this is one of the better. To Mary's point, there are episodes of Band Band of Brothers that absolutely make those guys out to be these myths.

There are brother does that like very straightforward, but then like it does tend like look at these heroes.

There are other episodes that you're like, man, this is rough to watch. This is that episode. This is like the this is intense, this is like chaotic, this is visceral. This is uh not the kind of movie I should have watched, like with a glass of wine after my.

Nope, at the end when it pops up, like the credits pop up at the end, it was just like Jesus.

I need to go for a walk or something. Yeah.

Yeah, well, you're not selling it for me right now. I'm like really looking for escapism too.

It's just.

Escape isn't back to the quainter time of the Iraq War, right, Oh, what a lovely time.

I can't even watch the Bear right now.

I'm like, I don't have it in me, Like I'm not watching like eight people scream fucking you know, ship at each other while they try to make.

Dinner, screaming and bleeding and shooting. Yeah, it definitely is that, I know, ruptures their ear drums for a bit. It's not all screaming.

It is horrifying for most of the hour and a half running.

When he opens the bottle of champagne, everyone gets the tonight. Yeah, they're like I can't.

No, no, there's the part where he's trying to give morphine to the guy who's bleeding out and he accidentally does it upside down and jabbed himself.

With the morphine.

Canna beans and beans go everywhere, and they're like, we have eighteen orders.

We are past due.

Oh. And then there's the part where you're like, oh, they got to roll this guy over. How bad could that?

Oh my god? And then they do the other way. Jesus.

Yeah, they're like, oh, wait, his shins are in eighty pieces, so that's gonna hurt a bit.

Yeah, the guy's money, he's running out of money for the restaurant, but they've got to make this dinner rush.

He's like getting rolled over with morphine. He's like, thank you sho enough every time to get morphine. I shouldn't. Yeah. It was definitely the biggest.

Test of my Like, you know, I talk about, like, you know, movies like I don't really cry. I don't get you know, emotionally affected by movies because it's just like I can just see that like this is a movie.

This was a sound stage in Burbank.

This didn't really happen, and my brain can't really do that clicking it, but like my brain clicked in with this one because it's like now does happened, so like I felt every bit of it.

You know, this movie is extremely good at putting you in a very specific spot at a very specific time for ninety minutes in real time. And if that sounds like it's something you want to see, you can go for it if you want to, Like Mary said, enjoy your entertainment and like kind of escape, don't do this is not that, which I totally get and I probably should have told myself before I started that movie. I'm not.

Talking about you, like while I was watching.

Yeah, and that was where he was, Like it took place a month and a half after he was he was still there when it was happening, But this took place a month and a half after some shit was going down with him in his marines.

But it didn't seem like a good time.

No, doesn't. Not not on my like, not on my bucket list to go through that ship.

Not so much mar you watch anything.

Yeah, one travels back in time to be a chef for Samurais.

She's got to make flat but the steak is tough, Nor.

Does she have morphine to help her morphine steak.

No, Mary, I I really I wish I had. I wish you were there to tell me, hey, let's watch something that we cannot think about.

I mean, not to bring it back to games, but like, because I've been playing Hollow Night so much. The idea of like finishing a Boston Hollow Night and going down and watching a war movie like get Out.

That's literally not have a heart attack.

No.

I played like hours of Hollow Night and then watched Warfare.

And then you.

Want to live.

Past forty five, like we are. We have to be kinder to our hearts. Like I I am so stressed. I work and I am like, wow, that was a really stressful day. And then I play Hollow Night and I'm like, wow, that was a really stressful game.

This is why my hair war frame.

Fucking company that makes Xanax is having a field day. Though.

Yeah, oh there's like no reprieve. Even my hobbies are stressful right now.

I need I like, uh, I started every summer, I like try and grow a vegetable, and every summer I fail because it doesn't get that much sun in Portland. It's like kind of you know, it's like not the sunniest town in the world, but we've had a really sunny summer and I planted a tomato plant and all summer I watered it and kind of waited, and god.

Damn it, I got my first tomato this weekend.

Nice.

So what happens then, Is it just a celebration you have a tomato party, or is it just like you eat it and it's like that's that.

I cut it up and I put it into guacamole. But before I put it in guacamole, I had one like piece by itself and ate it. And I'm sure there's some you know, cognitive dissonance in there, which is like, this has to be the best tomato of all time because I grew it, but it genuinely tastes so much better than store bought tomatoes. I wish I could have grown more than one.

It was so good.

Yeah, is growing numerous harder than growing like, let's say you're growing one. Is there a big difference between grown one and growing six? Or is it just like I gotta put the water over like I played stardoo oh ba.

Yeah, I want to talk about growing crops. That's all I've been reading about for the last fucking four years.

This tomato wine was a one.

It was a star. It was a star.

This would have won the awards at the fair. I think when I grow up, we would do cherry tomatoes. And you can get like thirty cherry tomatoes when you do that, because they're small and they just kind of pop out right.

Well, if you're growing one fat tomato, which is what this plant was doing, it just took months for it to like like shove this one out the door. I was so proud of it for me, even one, but I wish I could have had. It's kind of a bummer to be like, I grew tomato this summer. It can't even say tomatoes.

That's good that you got one. That's better than most people what you do this summer.

I grew tomato.

It's the journey, not the destination, right, No, I want to eat it, absolutely well, there's.

Ways if you just want to eat one.

But they do taste better fresh like from your own I mean they literally are go through way lesservation.

I don't know what tomatoes are like in your supermarkets, but airloom tomatoes, which is what I would compare a homegrown tomato too, right, like something that's like by a farmer. You know, they're kind of weird looking with all the little noodles and hooks in them. They don't look like your regular tomatoes that you get. They can be like seven dollars, like they're expensive per pound, but like that's a lot of money for tomatoes.

This may shock you. I've never bought a tomato in my life.

Should yeah tomatoes. No, no, no, I'm new to the tomato game, and like, dude, tomatoes I didn't. I grew up. My whole family. We disliked them. I thing because of like the texture. Yeah, but oh my god. Now I think like if I if there's one I don't know, I'll call it a fruit. I know it's a debate, but I'm gonna say it's a fruit. Is I think it's just a fruit. It's a fruit of a vegetable plant, I guess, but it's no, it's a fruit. I don't

So I just Google image search air one tomato. Don't know what these are.

I'm glaving that you guys were talking about war like ten minutes ago, and I was like, I was like, you guys, I'm really into tomatoes right now.

You navigated us out of trying.

I'm trying.

You're the second squad that comes in. Yeah, Dan, and I couldn't get out. Let's talking about fucking tomatoes. Fucked up.

So I'm living these tomatoes.

And to my layperson's eye, when I picture tomato in my mind's eye, it's just smooth and round and it's got the little green thing coming out the top.

Uh.

These there's way more creases going on.

Yeah, they've gone like all these bits and bobs they've got they like look weird. They almost look like aliens.

Yeah, they got company vibes to them, and I think that's I wish I knew more about airlom tomatoes, but I just think like they are they are bread more like in small quantities, whereas the tomatoes you were probably eating were made for mass consumption, and so they're trying to go for a many tomatoes.

It's humanly you can shape over and over under these same conditions, whereas like airloom tomatoes are often grown on small hectares in Europe or whatever, or you know, like San Marzano tomatoes in uh Campania. I think like those like they grow in an actual like field where the conditions are not you know, it's up to the climate,

So they I was just gonna say all of that.

I know.

Yeah, so I think my well was poisoned with tomatoes because growing up not just tomatoes, but like so many different things that took me forever to get to, like you know, uh, pickles, tomatoes, mustard, things like that that In recent years, I've kind of been like, oh shit,

And imagine your first tomato being on a subway sandwich. It's like paper thin and looks like bent, tastes like water, just like complete sad sandwich.

Yeah, of course that's not going to be a good impression.

Yeah, So I think that's maybe part of why I grew up thinking like that stuff looks gross, And now that I can try like actual, like normal ones, not fast food or whatever, it's like, oh I get it now, Yeah.

No that they're uh tomatoes are I would hate to live without them. Glad you grew one. Thank you. I'm proud of it.

The guac was really good too.

I had a nice evening and I bought my other

I like estate sales, and I went to a state sale and this this.

Lady must have really liked bakewear. Or like cookware that is seasonal. So they had like all these different pots and pants, but it was like specifically for Christmas, and they had like snowflakes on them. But she had an entire set of bakewear for fall and had pumpkins on it. I bought the whole damn pack, all ten pieces with their original lids, seventy dollars in today's Yeah, in today's money, this should have been like six hundred bucks.

I'm thrilled.

And so I made this food specifically so I could showcase all these different pieces.

I liked it it, I love it.

I thank you. I was like, I'm I'm vtny cracker.

I was like enjoying the experience of like having an excuse to use all my custom fall bakeware, which I will have to put in a plastic bin at the end of I guess November, because the season will be over these next three months.

I'm going to be insufferable.

Yeah, we're we're holding off on. There's apple cider at the grocery store now, and I'm mould cider every year, and also applesider is the best thing ever. I used to make homemade apple cider. My grandpa so it's got like I've have strong memories attached to it. I held off. I did, not getting it till the official first day of fall, which is Monday the twenty second, which is my birthday.

Monday.

I always bring in the fall my birthday and.

Your big apple boy, big big apple.

Pilla's tanging brown. You're insider town.

Yeah, I'm in cider town twenty four seve until November twenty seven.

I tare you that quote?

Dan?

Are you a pumpkin spice?

Girly?

You know what?

I did recently have a pumpkin spice thing. Bonk went to I think Carabou Coffee or something. They had a pump I knew it was bunk.

She's the best thing ever happened to you. Every time I ask you something and hope that you've experienced it, you're like, you know what, Bonk?

Did you think you think you're breaking news to me?

Christ No, she she got me.

Whether it's Starbucks or Cara or something, she got me a pumpkin spice something or other, And.

Goddamn, it's just a good fla. I see why it's popular.

It's good. Everybody likes the pumpkin spice I'm into it. I was not as strong as you, Mike. I as soon as I saw a pumpkin spice coffee.

Creamer, I got it because one of my favorite times of year is when my coffee tastes like pumpkin spice. I'm not gonna get us Starbucks every like that's insane, So I just make it at home in the morning and do my little You actually like to make the syrup myself. It's really easy and you just chuck it in a jar. Then you have pumpkin spice all all

I love this season. It's my fast season.

Yes, whenever something gets like newly kind of very popular in more recent years or whatever, it tends to become a meme to shit on it between Like you know, pumpkin spice stuff or avocado toast is the go to for like boomers making fun of millennials and stuff.

But it's like, no, they're just good, Like avocado toast.

Isn't this like stupid thing that like is a fad or some think it's like no avocados kicks ass.

Yeah.

Chris Plant said something when we worked together at Polygon that really resonated. He he mentioned not and he might have been paraphrasing somebody else, but I remember him being the one to tell me that not everything that's good becomes popular, but everything that becomes popular there's some there tends to be something good about it in the entertainment space, Like there might be something really shitty that gets popular,

And I'm trying to think like a greater examples of things, like what what is the biggest discrepancy between most popularity and least the Kardashians. Yeah, but even then they seem to have a good sense of just like was never seen the show, but like they might have understood, yeah audience where Reality TV was, And yeah, you.

Might have to stretch farther.

You want something like universally hated that's popular, Dan, what are you looking.

For anything that you would consider objectively bad that got very popular, Like, I mean, you can point to a million different bad things or whatever, oh, Backstreet Boys or something, but people like that, what.

Do you wire you fuckers laughing?

I'm not nothing. Something has to do with what we were saying before we started recording.

Just move on, we will move on.

There's nothing like that that matches that just weird.

I understand, and we will move on.

But no, I think again. I apologies Chris, and he listens to us every once in a while. Apologies if I'm butchering your quote, but there is I think it's worth remembering that even when something you thing sucks and has no redeeming qualities, it got popular for some reason.

Everything is great. There's actually nothing wrong with anybody.

Yeah one saying, yeah, do you want.

Let's talk about video games. Okay, it's time. Let's talk about solid Day, silk song. Hellow night, Solid Day, Yeah, hellow night.

Oh that's bad. That's not a good.

Let's start over. Let's start over.

We're not alive. Take on that.

I want everyone to know who you are.

Start over. Let's start over.

Taking you actually to keep that in. That was just terrible, Jake, bleep it out. Mary. There's so many people that can do a podcast.

Don't you have a button?

You have all those fart My ship hasn't been working, so that's I've not been able to part for real because.

You got I don't know that.

I think I still have a fart. Hang on ones that were like grandfathered in, I can do.

Do I not have a fart?

I love Dan farting in like a courthouse and saying that one was grandfathered in. It's fine.

I don't think I have a this is allowed.

No, I have the built in ones. I have none of my custom ones. It's it's time to get serious.

No sense.

Okay, Oh sorry, so sir, okay, do it do a witty intro to this segment.

We've all been playing a game called Hollow Night's Silk Song.

Accurate if not witty. Yeah, okay, Okay, here's the deal. This has been a long running thing, going back to the beginnings of this podcast about this game, going back before that, going back to me and Mary yelling at each other.

Uh, going back before that, before I knew you existed.

That's not true, that's not true Twitch office with you and and you we were sitting in the weird Twitch bar Pinball Lounge or.

Whatever in San Francisco.

Because I remember being like, Wow, she really fucking likes Hollow Night. I think it had just come out, and you were like in full you know, like four beers in rave mode about it, and I played a little bit and I was like, it's fine, all right, who's this weirdo?

All right?

That seems accurate. That does sound like something that happened. I have no memory of that, but that.

Does sound like what I remember.

The whole saga I do recall, and we've had a lot of evolutions of it, and honestly, we have not talked about this prior. Like all I have seen is I've seen a couple of people in like Giant Bomb Chat and stuff like that mentioned like, oh I was watching Mary stream and she was raging at this boss or something like that.

That's true, but we have not talked about it.

So it's exciting. These are like our genuine, fresh first impression.

I never got the chance to talk about Hollow Night the first game on the show because you two always are fucking you.

Blew it with your fucking intro let us have our moment.

Mom and Dad are always arguing, and I'm just sitting in the corner listening to fucking ever Clear.

Go suck off some pipes or whatever you do.

Why the solid day fucking out?

Yeah, go fu talk about the game. That's fine.

Oh you're playing it too Okay, too late, time out? Okay, even start? How do we eat?

I'm gonna start. I will start because I feel very down.

Mary.

I know.

The floor is yours. Mary.

Thank you.

I've never been at odds with song discussion.

I'm happy to have this conversation with you all.

I've been almost dreading it a little bit because I I really do love this game, and I am enjoying all of my hours that I've poured into I think I've poured thirty five hours into it, which is crazy considering I have not beat it.

Chicking, So thirty five for Mary, I'm at about forty as of today.

Mike, you're at twelve. Okay, I just all I can tell you the thing I just unlocked. I'll probably be a spoiler. THO wouldn't it?

Hey, do you know what?

This is good?

This is gonna be the big Soilk song discussion for this podcast. So like, hey, if you're worried about spoilers, uh, this is not the segment for you. So I agree all on the table.

Yeah, I mean, I'm not going to like get rid of crazy stuff, but like, yeah, it's you have to talk about some of the boss.

And abilities and bosses and yeah, totally no.

I've like, I think an hour ago I unlocked the the glide ability, and that's a very helpful one. You're gonna be that. I've been using it for about an hour hour two backtracking. I have not gotten to the next big boss. But I just thought, yeah, so that's where I'm at.

I think it's phenomenal.

I think it is such a powerhouse of a game. It really pushes you as a player. I have never felt so pushed with my ability to deal with serious combat situations, stress. The platforming of sections are so long and arduous, and yet at every turn and every death.

And it is true what you have heard of my streams.

And me being like these sons of bitches, which I did say multiple times out loud when.

Streaming this game.

I adore this game, but it is punishing, is punishing me as a person. And I have said out loud multiple times, maybe I'm not as good of a gamer as I think I am. And then I do something really cool and I say out loud, I am the greatest gamer on Earth.

I think that's that's the big thing with this game is, like Bonk has mentioned, like while I'm playing it downstairs, she's hearing me. I'm screaming, I am fucking like I've had a couple bosses that it's like, you know, twenty thirty times it feels like I'm just dying and I get so close and some complete horseeshit happens, like god, fuck got n Like I don't get I'm not a throwing controllers, angry gamer type or anything, but like I am so because I get so fucking invested in like

Sure.

Uh.

With Hollow Night, I have had moments where I'm at a one out of ten, and then I have moments where I'm in a fucking fifteen out of ten. You know, it's just and that range, like I like it all where it's like, you know, I'll go upstairs after I'm playing and I'll be like, oh my god, the game is incredible. I love it, And Bonk were like, yeah, it really sounds like you're loving it down there, like, you know, santastically because I'm.

Yelling at something and I'm like, no, but no, I do. Like that's the thing I do.

Like I'm getting angry and I'm yelling, but it's I don't think I would change anything. It is brutal and challenging in a way that like I am nostalgic for.

This is like this is like meant to be this way and hard.

Yeah.

I actually said the same thing, which is I haven't been this angry at a game since Lion King on Sega Genesis. Like shit, that last boss fight of Lion King. I was like, first of all, I don't even know how to throw scar Is too. This is too hard, it's not possible. But even once you figure out what you're supposed to do, it can take you so many lives and then you're gone. You lose your whole save and you start all over again. That's a fucking brutal game.

You stupid bitch. You're gonna have to do it another one hundred times. You're not there yet. You still don't know what you need to do to get it done. That's how tough they've made this game, but it is. It is so rewarding when you are able to actually succeed in this game. I feel such a sense of accomplishment when I am able to get past that boss fight. When I saw the words act Too, my jaw hit the fucking floor. I could not believe. I thought I

I'm trying to remember what was the moment that does the switch over, because like I have lately just been in the act two to act three thing and I try to remember what because it's the grandmother silk thing for act two to three? What is the thing between one?

And it's it's the firebug that has the really long run up. He's like a bug and a second phase run back, and his second phase he has a fire mallet and he like, is it the.

One on fire? Is it the one where the ground is falling out into the lava.

No, that's the giant with the forearms.

I'm struggling to remember which one this is, but like, okay, so fucking many of these things.

It's a sand area with wind and it has a really father of the flame run back and then we.

Father the flame is the one where we break the lanterns uh.

He has a like a lantern on a uh like on a metal chain and he throws it at you. But it's also on fire now and then waves of fire go go by.

Okay, maybe last year that's elden.

Ring shit, Like, oh yeah, they I'm surprised. I this boss is like locked in my core memory. This one was so hard for me personally and then when I got it done, I was like, that's it. What a what an incredible accomplishment. These benches are liquid gold, they are chocolate for the eyes, they are like heroin. I'm so elated when I see a bench anymore. I'm like, sweet, sweet very wine. I cannot believe I get to sit on this.

I'm so happy. I'm so so so happy when I see these. And I just think that this game evokes so much emotion.

There have been issues that I've had with it, but like generally speaking, what I'm saying is like I don't think I've had a game make me feel this way in years.

Yeah, And I feel like there are there were phases of like, you know, most bosses I would say, you know, i'd be between like the third or fifth time I bought them, and then there were like a few that like you know, we're in that fifteen twenty thing, and like for those those are the ones, I'm yeah, those are the ones I'm screaming at, and like they kind of all follow the same pattern where it's like okay, the first like ten times, you're just kind of learning

The last one.

That's when the ads come in you know how to take you Like, so there's the part. There's the learning process, which i'd say with these really hard ones or like maybe ten tries, and then there's the like overconfidence where it's like, Okay, I know how this guy works, I know all the attacks. I just got to go in there and kill him now. And that's where I would get the most frustrated, is when it's like I'm not getting surprised by.

Shit, I know what to do now, it's just not happening for me.

Yeah, I'm like it's like, oh, I got it here, Okay, I got the right load out and everything. I know all the attacks. I'm good.

And then you spend like ten deaths and like, what the fuck is wrong with me? Why am I fucking up here? Like oh, that's bullshit? And then it's always like at a point where it's like you're at the most pissed off and you're just like kind of just like over and over emotionlessly, just like doing the run back and just like fucking okay, whatever, whatever, and then I would inevitably get into a fight where it's like I'm like halfway through the fight and I'm like, I

This is phase three. I haven't been hit yet.

And then you just win and it's like sometimes it's like you didn't get hit once and it just like you've just been beaten down so much and the muscle memory has been established and it's like it happens.

And I kind of think that's an awesome process to go through with something.

Like if that was every Boss, I would my beard hair would fall out, not just my head hair, Like I I would lose my mind and not want to play this, but like for it to be you know, every like tenth Boss or something is something that like I am screaming at the TV, like I like, look a.

Little hairless mole rat without anything.

I feel like you got to have some hair I considered, Yeah, well would that a fight? At some point in my life, I will shave everything and it's gonna.

Be weird shiny.

Yeah yeah, but no, I I do like the process too, of like, Okay, if you've been beating your head against it, you know, take a break.

Yeah.

Well there's the thing like oh, trying the same thing over and over again, you know, and it's not working. You got to shift something up. And so it's like, okay, you sit on the bench and it's like, okay, what tools do I have here? What can I equip here? And then like you'll you'll find certain things where it's like I got the cogfly and it's like, oh shit, okay this fight where I can't really like do.

You have the cogfly?

Mary?

Is that a trap?

There?

It's a tool, And it's the kind of bugs that even spawn like five of them.

Oh my God, to save my ass in so many fights because like there's so many where, like the windows to attack these bosses are so so tiny, and so you're just like dodging, dodging, dodging for your life. And then it's like guy got one hit in and I gotta run away and heal. The cogflies are a great way to like just load up on them as long as you know your tools are at like the maximum. You know, your craft kit, your toolkit, all that stuff is all powered up, and it's just like, all right,

You know, it feels very like I.

Did use something like that. I had a one that heat. When I heal it, it damages everything around me.

Oh the mirror thing.

Yeah, And I love that because it's so nice to be like, I got a heal.

I'm and something comes at me to hurt me, and I actually kill it because I'm healing, and I'm like, that is sweet, sweet revenge that I can defend myself. I do think that it is more important in this game than in Hollow Night to upgrade your person. It is so difficult to get through this game without upgrading your stats. You need to have all the bells and whistles, you need to get your needle sharpened. Do not sleep

There are some things too where it's like there's only a few, like actual needle upgrades, and like your needles are your main point of attack, so it's like you have to get this pale oil stuff to upgrade it, and like I got a purple of them all right, and it was like a third one that it's like I kind of like, I was like, how do I get to needle updates? And I did a few times like search, like I need to need a update.

I did a search too. I got really stuck on one of them. I just could I didn't know what to do.

I don't know.

I don't think that's like a shame for me. I kind of want to hear, like I really appreciate your opinion on this. I like also want your Mike's opinions. Like it's like ex journals, there's been conversation about this game from like a journalist because journalists didn't get this game early, which means they had to kind of get through really quickly.

Maybe what I just said funk off married to the people that I do see that, Like one thing that is kryptonite to me is like games, media entitlement stuff. Yeah, sorry, I I yeah, maybe we should beat that. I probably don't. No, I'm sorry.

I thought you were.

I thought you were genuinely upset.

No, I think that's super h was annoying. It was annoying that like people were complaining about that. I get that. I saw that. Yeah.

Yeah, it's the same thing I had where it's like when whenever I would say journalists complaining about going to E three because it's so much work, you know, back in the day, I'd.

Like, what the fuck, Like this is the you're get paid to go to E three with the complain about it.

When there was a point where there was like a steam glitch and a lot of us journalists like got are like press accounts, like we couldn't log into it, and I saw people tweeting.

Oh, this is a big problem.

It's like, no, this is a major crazy perk of the job, and suddenly you don't have it, like this is not a problem. This is you don't like we get a lot of benefits and stuff and stuff like yeah, you're gonna be okay, and so, like I kind of did feel that way with the Holli Night stuff, where it's like when I saw that it was not coming out earlier, it's like, yeah, okay, I'll play it a bunch when it comes out, It's fine.

Well. I read one review that, uh, broadly was like, listen, this game is like so punishing that it's like almost mean to the player.

That's a very not fair TLDR.

But if I were to cliff notes it, I felt like that was what this reviewer was saying, which is like it's almost like cruel for as the purpose.

To be crazy.

Yeah, And my kind of reaction to that was, but when I get frustrated at this game, I can go to bed and I can have a snack, and I can watch TV and relax. But a person who like needed to review this game probably as fast as possible was not given that grace, and thus was probably really angry trying to get through this game as fast as possible, and thus that might have actually, like.

I think thought process at is I don't think you should have to beat a game like this to review it. I think there are people finding a way around sorry to give a final verdict on it, I think you should beat it. Let me say that, I think I think anybody complaining that they are like killing themselves to beat this game in order to review it has more of a problem with their We really should beat that out.

I agree the systems.

The system is broken, right, and you can kind of hear it in their writing sometimes. For sure, get broadly, I'm not trying to like call it anyone specifically, and some of these in some of the reviews, I was like, you just sound mad, like you had a miserable.

And I'm sure, but like again, that's not that can be self imposed or that can be bad management. Where I've had it both ways, where it's like you know, Death Stranding and Red Dead Redemption two. I rushed through it because I like no one at Giant. It's not like Vinnie was being like you better fucking like No, it wasn't that. I just kind of felt like I need to do that, and I played it in a not optimal way and didn't like the game as a result.

The off them'll experience that's the thing.

It's like that, Yeah, that step is fucked in a million different ways. And also it's like, yeah, games journalism typically doesn't pay very well, So it's like, yeah, when you're paying people, you know, twenty thousand dollars a year and then expecting them to spend their entire weekend and like it's like, yeah, I can there are very valid.

Complaints for sure.

Yeah, yeah, yes, absolutely, And that that can vary wildly depending on whether you're just a solo Twitch streamer or you work for val net or something yeah, fair.

When I say it's just a failure management, there are many factors of play into it. I do think some entitlement comes out, and also, uh, I worry or I think that. Like a lot of times when it comes to video game reviews, we do put a lot of stock in someone finishing game before they give a final verdict on a game, which I get because there's some shit can happen in the last third review. Well, we

I was adamant about always beating games.

If I was going to score too, I think game, yeah, yeah, beating it, But like I was going to give a score and write a review, I had to beat it for sure.

Yeah, and and yeah, so like I don't want to get im I clearly riled up, but like.

Want, I'm very curious what you guys think about stirred a lot of emotions. Yeah, when I when I was playing it and when I was reading other reviews of.

It, Yeah, it did call into question what team Cherry Owes people. They've been working on it forever. I think, like, here's the thing. I think, if you have a game that you're confident in and you think, given enough time, people will love it, if they can play it at a good pace, it behooves you, the developer the publisher to give out code as early as possible. Obviously, then that doesn't take into account how long it can take

Is that wasn't the reason though. The reason wasn't because the game wasn't ready. The reason was because of.

Back kickstarter or backers.

Sure the reason they gave, Yeah, they basically said it was unfair.

Yeah, So at that point, like I guess they were faced with does Press deserve to play the game before people who before.

Or with I mean, I respect the decision they made, Like I think I'm sure I totally understand that, and like it's tough because like some people are in genuinely tough physicians with this where it's like you know, like managing editors and things like that, and companies are like, you know, if they're saying, like we need a scored review asap because this is going to drive a lot of clicks or whatever. That sucks that you have to

That fucking sucks.

Guys. Writers keep the lights on many sites, although to your point, they're not rewarded commensurate to those efforts.

I mean, I mean whether you're a writer or a guide writer or whatever, but like guide writing is an especial.

Can they can play an open world game or sorry, a reviewer can play an open world game and like decide that they've seen enough side content miscellaneous stuff to get an adequate overall view of the game. Guys writers don't have that luxury. They have to say, oh, I have.

To go do all of these I have every lost flee in this game. I need a guide the second day it's out or whatever.

I need to go beat. I need to go bea do every single cave in Borderlands for because then I can't tell people about the six one. So like, yeah, that sucks, and I shouldn't sound so callous because I empathize with the people who are dealing with that when they get the game on release day. I think for me, it is the entitlement that like it's expected no matter what, and like that is part of the system of like, Okay,

So it's I don't fault Team Terry at all. For this,

You know, Yeah, I I'm not as far as you two. I think Silksong is a great game so far. And I've never really talked about Hollow Night on fire Escape, but I think that's also a great game. I think Team Cherry clearly in certain respect has incredible design chops

It's not even the abuselling at times, like there are a couple of benches where like, hey, I made it, and it's like.

Yeah, and and like I felt this way with Hollow NIGHTE. It's like I feel like we talk about Hollow Night with reverent terms because it is really fucking good game. It's it's up there with one of the best games in the last decade. I think it's incredible. I also think, and I don't I'm kind of putting words in Team Cherry's mouth or like assuming a lot on their part, whether intentionally or not, I think they're they're confusing frustration

Yeah, I see what you're saying.

Like there are some enemies just like going to run back whatever where it's just like a lot of flying enemies. Will be things where it's like, look, this isn't a thing where I have to like train and learn myself with the patterns. It's just like you jump up and you try to slip them and they're always backing up and stuff like that. Just this is some little asshole that takes three hits. Let me just kill them so I can get past this thing. And it's not like

But the game is so fucked. Team Cherry's so fucking good in both of these games, especially Silk Song, that they're so good at payoff that I do end up forgiving them for those small annoyance, not small, for those major annoyances, to the point where I'm like, oh god, now this game's incredible. But then, like Amanda walks by when I'm playing in here, and I'm like, and she's like, how are you liking it? And it's become a running gag. When she walks by, She's like, do you hate her

Getting beat I'm at war three to six hours in evening right now with a game that is pushing me to my fucking limit, and it is.

It is.

I've said this a lot. The word that I usually have been using to describe this game is brutal. Is brutal to my thumbs, to my mental state, to my patience.

I am still happy. I sleep good at night. I am, I am satisfied. I love this game.

But it is like it would be a lie to say that I love every minute of this game. I am getting through the game, and I am, and I reflect on it, I'm like, I can't believe I accomplish that there are sections of platforming that are so fucking insane in this game.

I the ascension that I just did to you, it was.

All the way on the.

Left map of the game, in.

The freezy mountain.

Yeah, the freezing Yeah.

I mean I said it so many times I was like just so brutal, Like we're at different levels of play, and I'm not that far behind you in terms of how many hours I put into this. I must have spent hours just trying to climb and dying to the end before. I was like, there has to be a bench around here, and I just start hitting random walls.

Sure is shit. I do hit a random wall. There is a bench, and it costs eighty dollars that I don't have because I've been dying in a frozen wasteland.

And so I go.

I take the train, I take my bug train and I go and I get and I go kill some bugs and I get eighty dollars, and I take the bug train back and I run up this fucking mountain and I'm freezing my ass off, and I have to get through this area, this gauntlet with all of.

My shit, and I die, and then I have to get back and I have to get my shit or I have to go. I have to take the train back to Bugville. You know this stress that I had on my body.

When I got back, I cut my silk, got all my beads back, and sat on that bench that I bought.

That's like the best value bench I ever got.

It's like the equivalent of like when you were like twelve and you have any fucking money, and your parents were like, get a job, bitch, And so you work really hard and you mow, and you get like fifty cents every time you mow, and eventually you have enough for McDonald's cheeseburger and it's the best goddamn cheeseburg you've ever had because you bought it.

That was that bench.

This bench was the sweetest bench of my life because I earned it. It was so hard and I sat on and I was just like, oh good.

And then and then I watched The Great British Bake Off.

Yeah, I've been watching the new season as well.

It's the only thing that cures me.

It's a good balance, for sure.

Are opposite of All the Night Mary. I know exactly what you mean, because, like I, you know, bio water is an area that everyone hates so much for a good reason because like the magns, you fall in, you can't heal and all that.

Oh right, you can't heal if you fall in the I know exactly what you're talking about. That's a mean area.

Yeah, there's so much platforming and bullshit enemies and things like that, and I desperately wanted a fucking bench. And I finally got a point where it's like I'm so scared because it's like, okay, I got a couple masks left of Health, and it's like, okay, I just need to find the fucking bench. And then I see the rings that you know, chakra or whatever like leaves, like, oh my god, I think I'm your chakra. I think I'm gonna be able to buy the map. This won't

Yeah.

I used three rosary beads short I had seventy seven, and I was like, okay, there's gotta be some fucking here, and I'm going back and I'm like one floor.

Some tiny slug bugs so that you can buy.

This fuck about And every fucking thing I find is just dropping shards. It's like something about buy a water or whatever, like no one has any fucking rosary beads. I put on the tool that makes it in case some rosary beads fall or something that will just suck up to me or whatever. No, And I'm a half hour in, I'm still just desperately. Just give me two fucking beads.

I don't.

And then I finally I like went out of bio water. I went, I took this, took forever. I found some other area where I went in. One of those little bugs is there, and I killed him and I got like five or whatever. I was like, oh, thank god, I'm gonna go back. And I just backtracked my whole way back there, and she's fucking gone, She's not there, Are you kidding me?

And I had to backtrack all the way to a billway. Yeah, moved a fucking it was fucking maths.

Yeah, King Roll guy or whatever, and King God can grow the biggest swamp guy or whatever. And he got a bunch of ads and the maggots and stuff. King Roll, I think that's his name for something.

Next King Hommie.

Oh I get it, King.

Plant. Yeah. Sure, there's Dave girl a bit. No, this is not to me to me, okay, so merritt. You know, obviously I came around on Mary.

Podcast.

I super came around. I came around on Holid night. I appreciate the first night I beat the game, So I definitely didn't feel the need to.

Like or like totally a situation or anything.

But it's like, Okay, I get it, and like a lot of my frustrations still kind of remained. But like I think with Silk Song, I think it's an important thing if this game turns you out, like the idea of it and people talking about how brutal it is. I think the first ten hours or so are probably like bosses will get harder, a platform will get harder,

Let's go back here.

Oh, I'll put on this bell that helps me against fire tacks because it has fire attacks. I'll use the cog flights here.

Well, I just got this thing.

I'll play, or maybe I'll go and i'll explore for a while. I'll get a new you know, crest or something, and I have a whole new attack style or something like. There's there's I almost feel like it gets easier after that first hump, because like you don't have options you can switch between. Like early on, like it gets like you know, the last judge and some of the harder boss fights and stuff you.

Can't do a lot.

And by the end, when you've got double jumps and glides and air dashes and the fucking like the claw thing or whatever, like, you've got so much mobility and you have so many tools, and hopefully at this point you've got a lot of mask shards and more silk and things like that.

Like there's just different ways you can approach it.

So I do think it lessens the blow a bit of the harder parts, And so I think for that and other reasons, Like I mean with the first one, the difficulty wasn't really the thing that ever bothered me about it.

But like, no, I actually I don't even remember.

I think I remember like a couple boss fives being hard, or the Gauntlet. Do you remember that where you had to do wave after wave after wave That was very difficult for me?

But I think it was optional. I'm pretty sure you didn't have to do it anyway.

I just don't have these memories of being like what a difficult game. I just remember being challenging. This game I would describe as difficult. I would say it's not for the faint of heart. I do love this game, and I recommend this game, but I would not recommend it for someone who is looking for like a fun, casual Metroid Venia.

I don't think that's what this is.

I think this is like a absolute brutal test of a game. It will challenge you to your core. It is for someone who is looking to be punished, but I think it's worth it. I do think it's worth it to go through it, but it's not for everyone.

And I think it's brutal in ways that are better than the way the first one was, because the first one would be a little player unfriendly and things that, like the things that frustrated me were more like, Okay, I know we're need to go, but the closest fast travel station is like I got a fucking hike all the way over here, and like you still have to do that.

It's it's not two seems now, which I appreciate.

Bellwigh and the things.

Yeah, yeah, they've created new mechanisms.

I think their level design has gotten better to Mike's point, I actually think it's more seamless, where like usually the end takes you back to the beginning or to a new cool area and it all flows together. Sometimes it's brutal, but I also think that's also intentional, where they're like, if you go down this direction, there's no way back, you have to go all the way and.

Find the first fucking half hour. That like the fact that like all those drops bring you right back to where you started. That as someone who needs to try every direction to explore, that annoyed me. But like, I don't know what the lesson was they were trying to teach me. I'm sure there was one, but the first one.

Was definitely more annoying in that, like it was longer hikes to a fast travel or to a bench or whatever. And also in a game where like you're not getting XP as you're right attacking enemies and stuffs, so basically like yeah, you'll get some like shard or rosary beads or something, but ultimately like you're not getting stronger, so you're just like, I gotta walk twenty minutes of this

Oh you like the diagonal?

I like the Hunter, which is the spin and I think that one is just how I've spent most of my life.

Or is that the Reaper or is that the Reaper a bunch? And that's like it just kind of does an arcing downwards.

Just doesn't arcing down It's so nice for platforms.

I've done it for some boss fights. The Reaper one's better. But like I really like I clicked with the like the Pogo stuff like back and forth stuff like that.

That one's better for damage as well. People like the the Pogo one you're talking about.

Yeah, you just get a bunch of shit in really quick. Yeah.

Yeah, I just like, like, I know a lot of that, like the Hunter's march and buy water, like a lot of stuff when you're bouncing off, like flowers and stuff like. I had a little bit of a learning curve for that, but once I got it, it was like, no, actually I like this a lot, like kind of like position in mid air, kind of pause, a little bit hit of the gain, and then once you get the claw grab thing or whatever, like just I love that mobility

Where you shoot out the needle and then zip z.

You can use that for mobility, and you can also kind of use it as an attack attack bounce off of an enemy and you can bring that into a pogo situation or whatever.

That's cool.

Yeah, I've enjoyed that attack as well. There was so the last boss fight that I.

Got really truly, truly truly stuck on. It was right after truvio. So it's kind of like the culmination of that area. You need to get these different audio reels. I forget what they're called, but you need to get three songs memorized.

Oh sure, yeah, and one of them in this area is behind waves of enemy um in the high holes.

Yeah.

I want to say, it's like six waves of groups of enemies which are brutal.

I think it's ten, and then a solid mini boss and then there's three more maybe four more waves enemies and then two two of that and that Dan. I mean, I must have gone through sixty seventy lives, like I mean, I spent days on it. I spent days on it. I spent days on it.

That was the moment I probably died like ten times to it. And I was like, Okay, I know there's one more pale oil upgrade for my needle I can do. Yeah, like I had googled it before, Like, how do I get the next needle upgrade? Do you have to do this whole taste of farloom side question? You have to get five different things, and one of them is no courier question. Did you do the fucking courier.

Quest where you have to run the thing back in like five minutes, and like, have you done walls?

Quists are crazy on Sword from Akarina.

Have you seen the ones where they're like if you see uh, you'll your tracker like in the Witcher, and so you see a body and it's like you hit a track button and you see they're like body gases.

And you have to follow it through all these enemies. That's like six things too, and I did the Cogharts.

I mean, like these side quests are fascinating and they're worth doing, but they are massive detours, massive detours. They can sometimes take you hours to get these like little upgrades.

I did every one of them.

I did everyone because like it's like still kind of unclearer how you unlock Act three, Like people know certain prerequisites and stuff. But like most guides I've seen, it been like I don't know, just do most of the town quests and so like I was like all right, every time, like there's like three base where there's like a quest board and it's always like, oh, get all these like purple flowers, get all these things, you know,

That's really cool. I think like this game.

On the on the good side, like phenomenal at surprising you with really fun side quests and kind of mixing it up.

There is a thing that happens that has happened to you and me now where like an enemy attacks you and then they actually like capture you. That blew my fucking mind. And I was like, this is this is like the type of shit that makes me love video games. I did not expect this.

Rethink you're dead, and it's like, oh something else happened.

Yeah, to do this and to like pick me up and put me in a new location like this and just.

As Bloodborne esque, it was awesome, say middle your solid ask, but yeah, oh my.

God, it's it's really awesome what they were able to pull off in this one. So anyway, I love it. I know that we haven't beaten it, which this goes against well, you you kind of you've rolled credits at least Jane.

I've rolled two sets of credits.

Now I could right it was between I'm not sure, but basically, I have beaten the Final Boss twice in two different ways, and I've unlocked the Act three situation, so I've seen two different sets of credits.

Yeah, I would like to challenge you to fuse this. I'd like to challenge all of us to fuse it.

Okay, I got a number that popped up my head right away. I think nine point five cool based on my twelve hours.

Yeah, I think it's fair. I mean, obviously you can adapt it when you play more.

Uh eight, based on the first twelve hours.

We have, I want to do a nine point five two. We've always been like, I've been anti half score. I can't give it. I can't give it perfect.

I've had like some minor foibles with it, but I think it's damn close. I think it's like one of the best games I've played uh in recent years. I'm I'm obsessed with it, So I think it's a it's a nine point five.

Oh yeah, I think it's I was talking to Bunk, and I do think, like, if there's a mount rushmore of Metroidvanie is I think if you asked me. Right now, it's Simphony the Night, It's super Metroid.

It is this, and oh boy, I really like.

Yeah, yeah, you know yeah, like blood Stained or Prince Persia the New Last Crown or whatever.

Yeah, I would swap out Prince of Persia for axiom Verge probably actually the first first actium, yes, second one, first the first one?

So good?

Now complex is I Without getting into stuff that we'll talk about the next episode, some other stuff has pulled me away in a way I did not expect same. So Silk Song is us. It's great so far. I really want to keep playing it again. Every time I think I'm like ready to give up, not not give up from challenge, but like give up from like all right, there is too much frustration here, the payoffs are not worth it. I get a big enough payoff and Team

And and yeah considering you.

Sorry to interrupt, but it's like also it all has that kind of underground bug type thing, and even within that kind of like it's such.

A unique art direction.

Yeah, I love it.

I mean right at the beginning when you're dashing through and those birds are all flying off, it's a gorgeous every time there.

Yeah, it has moments of beauty and and comedy.

It's so fucking funny. I want to talk about This game is hilarious. Fuck what was it? It was? What was it? It was another like it was an enemy the same size as me. It was a boss fight. The Lace, yes, Lace and Lace said something at the beginning it's like you're both like are you an enemy? Like, yeah, are you gonna are you gonna fight me? And then all of a sudden, like it just escalates it a way that feels very believable because both of you you

On yeah, And going into it, I was as I think neutral as someone could be, where it's like I was not caught up in the hype cycle. I was aware of It's like just kind of the meme of oh, whins silks, I'm going to actually come out, But like you know, I liked the first one came around on I wasn't like chomping out of the bed, like, oh oh.

Fucking folk song. It's the biggest thing.

Like, I went into it completely neutral and I was like, I might hate this, I might like it, and it really really won me over in a big way, and.

I do consider it. Yeah, one of the best metro advaniers I've played.

Yeah, I also think are so cute.

Thank you, Yeah, thank you, and thank you for sending so many people to my chat to tell me that they really wanted me to play this game because you recommended it.

I mean, I'm glad you listened.

I'm just glad. Yeah.

That's been really it's been the cherry on top of the Sunday of losing the same boss battle fifty times in a row in my chat is finally winning and having someone being like, now, aren't you glad that Dan recommended this because it's been pretty.

Relentless. I will remember this, Dan, I believe it.

Yes, I know.

Just give this number one game in the uh under the Radar category for Game of the year.

Yeah, out of nowhere thing.

Yeah, shock and awe Dan recommended category.

Yeah, honestly, you should just be prepared because it's gonna come up multiple times.

I'll take the name of the year more than we've done with five of these or something. Now, Yeah, this is just going to be this is.

Going to be a blood bath. I'm excited about it.

We said that most years, but like this one. And if you if you had said this, if you had said this too much.

Ees to like, this is crazy stuff.

Going three Expedition thirty three.

Not that I've played these, like some of these are still under embargo, but I'm just saying, like, these are games that are going to be prolific. I know they're probably going to come up. I think there's going to be like big things to talk about.

If you had said that two months ago, I would have been like, no, this is a boring year. But all of a sudden, it's really interesting.

That's what I think.

I don't know there was a sleeper. Yeah, it's like

Speaking of what's probably going to be in your top three. No, I shouldn't sa that because I think I think you're liking it a decent amount Borderlines four, Dan, you've been playing you and I I haven't.

I would love I will get to it. But a silk song, lady.

I will give it credit certainly in that it is without a doubt better than three in every way. I mean, I didn't play a ton of three. I played enough of it to be like, wow, I am annoyed by this game now, Like this, the stuff that worked in two thousand and nine, twenty twelve or whatever is just gotten old feeling by now in a lot of ways tonally, mechanics, wise, and things like that. It's better, Like I think just

Things like that is good.

They've toned down on a lot of the very kind of like meme redit humor type stuff that was extremely pervasive in three.

There's still some of it.

The two villains were like twin streamers. That was.

Yeah, I and I know they were supposed to be like annoying, but like it's not in a good way necessarily. I don't know, like if I wanted to, like I don't play games online often, if I wanted to play a game with three friends where we could just kind of mindlessly do shit and talk and just kind of catch up. This is kind of ideal because like, you don't super need to I mean, the story is whatever. It's like, there's very clear, like okay, here's the markers

Talk and everything.

But to interrupt really quick, I should say, for I don't know, I'm sure most people know by this point, but for anybody who doesn't know, it is an actual like open world as opposed to the last three and two spinoffs, which were more like MMO zones. So yeah, this is an open world. There's a point you get to where the basically this an ally tells you, Hey, there's a bought a villain in this biome. There's a villain in this biome. There's a villain in this biome.

Yeah, but then it's like, you know, when you boil it down, it there's just a lot of like shooting at everything you see. And then between it you kind of go around to the battlefield and there's a million guns laying around and you're like, all right, these are green arrows. Oh, that one's got acid, this one's got shock.

I love those green arrows. That's how you know when it's good.

Yeah, but it's not really interesting because there's you know, you got shields, you got your guns, you've got your grenades, you've got all these different things, and it's like it's just a lot of looking at a bunch of numbers. And then like when you level up, you go to your skill tree and stuff and it's like, all right, this one does a plus point two five percent of this when I reload, and it's just like, okay, I'll

Do they have any like stupid guns though, like ones that like you know, out grenades that explode and then when the gun runs out of bullets it becomes a grenade and you throw it.

I you know what I mean that.

Yeah, they had the whole like different like gun brands and stuff and like all these guns instead of reloading, you throw it and they blow up and you make a new one or whatever.

Yeah, I like my.

Memory with it where I was like, this is a crazy gun. These guys are crazy. You're not allowed to do this. They would do it. They broke the gun rules.

I'm still I would say early on, and like most of them have just been like assault rifles and SMGs and sniper rifles and pistols that are like different stats of Like I'm sure those crazier guns are out there.

I you know, I hey, kudos to them. It's better than three for sure.

I'm sure fans of Borderlands they're just kind of like one excuse shoot stuff and talk to their friends.

It'll be great for that. It's not. Yeah, I don't know. I don't know if I'll play more of it.

Yeah, it's I I will say, I feel like I did start getting a lot of guns that actually felt less like stat upgrades and more like functional changes. I will say, I do think it backloads a lot of them. I think you start getting that the game really wants you to reach max level cap and then start doing endgame stuff, which three did two, And I think three's endgame was actually really good. I played three a lot.

It's still that's the thing.

It's still like they've made movements to make it feel more modern, but it still feels old.

Yes, I will say I still think I will I will put Borderlands three in this up there with like Destiny in terms of some of the best feeling shooters on controllers. I think this feels incredible. Yeah, which is no easy task, but like I will also say, yeah, a lot of the abilities are absolutely like I like, you look at Path of Exile two, you look at even Diablo four. I'm trying to think of other loot shooter games like the I think Remnant two did a

And I say bomb, like, there will be like five levels in a row where it's not exciting to level level yet.

All right, I'm just trying to get to the next like layer.

Yeah, obviously, if you took your character at level one and then you took your character at level fifty and you compare them, you're like, oh fuck, I built a completely new character, but it's so seldom does feel like you're making a major bump, which Diablo four when it first released had that problem as well. Then they revamped

Less than five hours?

I would say, Okay, So I will say I think the game's story, although the story I don't love. It's like, basically, you've got the Timekeepers, the ultimate boss in this city in the center of the map. You're also hunting down these three like his three lieutenants around the map. You start to pursue each of them, and I actually think the game does some cool things story wise with like oh this this boss also might not be super on board with some of the shit the villain's doing and

Game, but yeah it.

I think it did. I prove a lot on three for sure. I would actually argue the end game kind of took a step back as someone who played a lot of three end game, like because I'm a fucking weirdo. So yeah, I'm not gonna play another I'm not gonna play another hour of this game for a while. I do want to try other characters at some point maybe, but yeah, it's a you know, like if you didn't put a lot of hours into that already, then Silk Song and we've got Yote coming up, We've got Octopath Traveler,

So some big bangers coming out.

So it's I think Borderlands four is commendable for a lot of the improvements it made, but it's also like, I don't think it's going to change your mind on Borderlands. No, definitely, So yeah, I'm I totally get that for sure.

I just have such a strong history with border Lands, Like I've always loved their wacky antics and their silly gun and like running around not caring. I think, like you were saying, Dan, it's friend slop, and to a degree it might be the originators of friends slop because I never took that game seriously and they didn't take themselves seriously.

I remember how many times.

They would have like a boss who would like act so tough and then like self implode with one bullet, Like they were funny.

That game is cheeky.

But yeah, tonally they didn't take it seriously. But like I think underneath that there were really great kind of mechanics and the different builds you could make, and like, yeah, it didn't the humor in the tone was not serious, but as a game it was a co op game, it was fantastic.

Yeah, yeah, I agree. I'm still tempted.

I love stuff like that, and it is like a playful world, so I'd like to get into it. It's it's just a really challenging time. How dare all these games come out?

Yeah? I guess is there any if there's no other major thing people want to talk about? I do think I know, we have a few others we want to like hit quickly.

I think, sure, next episode and there's some embargo stuff that will lift that we can kind of go into.

Next episode will be Hades two. Next episode, Yota, I think will be out by that point. I think so, yeah, so there'll be a lot of episodes. But Mary, you and I both I believe dabbled with Shinobi because Dan

I mean the entire game, it's just one thing after another, like oh shit, that's awesome, Oh shit, that's awesome.

Literally the The literal only reason I stopped is because I there's no way you can just dabble with Silksong. You need to go all in. So Schanoby is number outside of this other stuff I'm playing. I'd say Silksong is number one on my backlog. Shanoby is right behind it. But like, Schanobi felt like such a breath of fresh air from Silksong in a way that again apples and oranges, they're not going for the same thing.

Well, you were the one in power in Shanoby.

In Silksong, it's a power fantasy for sure. There's some challenge, for sure, don't get me wrong, But like, yeah, and I'm still wrapping my head around how the game is structured. To me, it feels like a Metrodvania divided into different zones.

Do you ever play an Order of Ecclesiasvania? Yeah, so that was different than standard Cakeslovania, and that instead of one giant map, it was like little sectioned off maps. So it's like Metrovanias but in tiny little chunks, yeah, that are not necessarily connected by hallways and stuff like that.

So it's like Order of Ecclesia basically for sure.

So now I'm like, oh man, I really want to dig into Shinoby and fully immerse myself in that, And I also want to do it Silk Song, and there's such different games. I gotta I will do that for both of them before a Game of the Year, because Shinnoby already is speaking my language on many levels. The platforming feels great. The platforming itself is very compelling. The platforming it strikes that really good balance between action reactive

Yeah, yeah, my first I'm enjoying it too.

It is for me very difficult to go back and forth between this and Silk Song because the moves are very different.

I find myself warfare and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

I am like, I'm dashing when I mean to be Yeah, attacking, I'm very confused, so I don't like doing that.

But in the three hours that I've spent with it, I've really enjoyed. Visually, this game is stunning. I absolutely love I got a knee up.

From a roll yeah yeah, and it looks so good. It looks so good that I use it even if it's not appropriate, because I'm like, check out how good this looks.

Like.

You laun in the air, jump up.

You can keep them up in the air. You slamming them down using a jump and then a heavy attack down very fun, super effective, and again like doing using the environment, so knocking them off cliffs, knocking them into spikes, like oh, hitting barrels that then explode at them. Juicy, super fun. I'm loving that aspect of it. I love that there are these skulls and areas that if you find them, you basically have to kill everything in that space.

I do really like all these fun pieces that they've put into every level so that you're not just getting through the level, you're kind of exploring and experimenting and finding little challenges everywhere. Some of them are platforming, some of them are combat, which is like my DNA, like that is my core of like, yes, you're gonna make me happy. My biggest issue so far has just been every reward is like, here's six new moves, and I'm like, okay, I haven't memorized the last forty.

I don't know if I can handle anymore. And they just keep they keep giving me more shit to memorize, and so like there was this time where they had given me this move. There's like water based, fire based, electric based moves Avatar using your bumpers. You have to use left and right bumper and then and then the button of the element that you're looking for. And I kept accidentally, like you know, pressing water when I wanted

And I just kind of breathe a fireball.

Now, yeah, give me a second. This have you done the giant face boss. He looks like Oma Tech or whatever, and he keeps saying.

Like, show me what you got. I'm almost he's a face.

He's a face on a wall. He's a face on a wall. And he spits balls.

Out of his mouth.

Yes, yes, yes, you did do that.

Yes, yes, okay, and he literally just says like show me your power. You're about to true power. He's so annoying.

Anyway, I can't tell you many times I could have easily gotten through this boss much faster.

But every once in a while I would do this boss and I would be like, right, I want to do the fire and then I'd get attacked by lightning and I was like, no, you have to be faster.

I have to basically before I get into a boss fight, memorize which moves I want on which buttons and practice them, because in real time in these boss fights, I was actually getting overwhelmed with which moves I wanted and which buttons resulted in the moves that I wanted, and so that was a bit frustrating. For Other than that, I think I'm just like loving this game, and I think it's a funny criticism to be like, you're giving me too many moves.

I'm just pacing to that too. It's like I've already resigned myself to I'm probably going to restart this game when I go back. I have no qualms with that, because I'm the first couple hours were so fun to begin with. I don't mind. But yeah, it's one of those things where it's it's okay, I just learned how to breathe a fireball, and now I learned how to

You got two medallions. Here's six moves. We're so proud of you, we love you.

It's such a power song.

Mom.

I've been like eight hours in a boss and it's like, you get nothing. We didn't even put anything here.

We hate you, like like drinks.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Like there's a complete opposite types of development studios, Like they just want to harm you, and Shnoby is constantly giving me gifts and I'm like, my pockets are full, I don't want anything else, Grandma.

It's all leave me alone. It's great, it's I love it for it.

If somebody is having like if silk Song is not clicking for someone and it's just too brutal or whatever, I cannot imagine that better palate cleanser A yeah, some similar ish you know, like two D kind of exploring tips off, but like you are the one killing everything in Shnoby.

It's Barmenheimer, but with Ninja's Yeah, that's so sweet.

That's good.

That's a really good comparison. I think they're both hard to like. I've been tested in Shnoby. I just think it's more graceful.

It's kinder.

It's like not putting, it's not giving me anything that I can't figure out. There are times in Hollow Night where I'm like, it's impossible, it can't be done. They've obviously made this game impossible just to.

Fuck with me becoming John mulaney talking about that game. Did anybody else hear that it can't be done? It's impossible, it can't be It's impossible. I've got a nice suit that's being tailored. I gotta go pick it up more than John Mulaney did.

In a way, it depends on how much cocaine you give them.

I'm no, I'm clean now these days. Girl. Yeah, but Ioby uh Dan Praier recommendation. Immediately, it was like, yeah, this game rules.

It's good. I want to play more of it.

After those like first two hours, like just.

It only gets better.

I also think, like for a long plane ride, I personally don't know if Hollow Night is going to be that for me because I could see myself getting.

Really plane ride seem way longer, yeah, like a.

Jail, Whereas I think Shanoby is going to be like, ah, I have eight hours to enjoy this universe and fun shit up like that is going to be a nice palate cleanser for me. So I think that is what I'm going to be playing more of. I've just been trying to get. I think I'm closed Dan, but I I don't. Actually I have not looked.

Up like where I'm at, but I am at Yeah, I'm at well now, I don't know if I can say it silk.

Song or snowby Silk Song. I mean we've been spoiling, right, I'm at the I'm at least the second time.

Second.

Oh damn it, it's what I said. That's why I'm trying to say, Oh, you were worried about me.

It's the one thing, the one thing you said you didn't want to know. Well, I ran into her again and she still pissed.

Credits at all yet?

Right, No, I don't think So, okay, can you be do credits without Yeah that's spoiler.

Yeah, I mean I think I know we were going to ask and like, yes, you can see credits and then have another like I'll tell you this, I got credits around thirty two hours. I didn't see the Act three slide until forty hours, Right, did you get?

And are there?

Like?

Same thing?

That's bad ending And it's at that point if you're not if you didn't finish the game.

Some games do that and have like a bonus, you know.

Right, But it's act three. It's not epilogue.

Act three is basically an epilogue.

I'm on to cherry. I don't think that there's know what they're doing. I think they're just a bunch of rookies who are just like, oh, let's.

Make let's make things hard and frustrated.

Here.

Oh oh, are you so mad?

I don't know to fucking roll credits at the end like a normal boy.

It's the encore.

Okay, that's better call it an encore. That'd be awesome. Uh. You want to do some talk about emails?

Yeah?

I love yeah, eating them, thinking about them?

Okay. As always, you can write into fire Escape cast at gmail dot com for questions, comments, concerns. Uh. We have quite a few responses. From last episode. Dan had mentioned that he was trying to figure out if he he just apparently it keeps him up at night thinking about if he was transported back to a castle in the Middle Ages and he was immediately going to be killed if he But what is a skill we have to have.

A simple man? Yeah, he can castle times?

What is a skill he could immediately show them that we have knowledge of that would paint him as a wizard or some sort to them, so they'd spare him. So we got a few of those that we have some other questions, So thank you for writing in. But keep those questions coming. They're good enough. I'll put them in the show. If they're not into the bin, you go.

This is like the silk Song of email reading. We won't even acknowledge your work.

Yes, you get nothing.

You stolef is he lifting drinks? Okay this one tonight Alex and Bendigo not into the bin? Go he's written from Bendigo.

We're gonna end this podcast on the.

White sheet black letters unfold. We must read them.

I don't even know what hot or cold?

Mary? Do you want to read this first one from Alex?

Yeah?

I don't understand what that impression was. No, Mike demanded we all write in.

We thought we demand. I think I politely requested, are you way mad?

I'm just reading this guy.

Alex from Bendigo. He Beniso is.

Doing what he's told.

H demanded that we all write in with what you could do in Castle Times. Mike, your three most prominent elements are stupid. Voice you just did one stupid, the fact that you're four foot nine, and that you were voted sexiest mandolin player by Mandolin Player Monthly magazine in twenty twenty three.

You will be a court jester.

Fine that I'd be. I'd be trying to make him laugh.

Cyborlthare.

Now you're doing Bob Dylan.

No, but that's like in like a weird gesture voice.

Wait the way Hans heaven.

Man by me who she was?

Love mine?

Tell you all right?

You live Mary.

Given the opening of last episode, it's very clear you're the strongest talent.

Is it not what he wrote?

I think he said you're the strongest talent.

What I mean, it's very clear your strongest talent is one of the most vicious acid tongues to ever grace humanity.

The level of vitriol, spite, and shame you can vomit out is terrifying and commendable. You would become the pope less than three days.

Political hope back then like ad fear.

Hello, shit, I don't know.

Now we got a Chicagoan in the in the big seat. I don't know how you got there. Really, I don't pay the billy. What's the guy's name, billy.

I do believe that historically.

We're super kind.

Popes were pretty could be authoritarian.

There's a Palatine pope that looked like the Star Wars emperor.

Yes, that's where that's where George Lucas got the idea.

Yeah, that's right.

Yeah, so I think that's really fair. I appreciate that. Thank you, Alex uh Dan.

Your only hope is that Manati is transferred back with you to act as a comparison point, so you might have any chance of seeming useful.

You are still weirder.

I do genuinely disagree with you.

He gave you nothing.

I mean, I honestly, that's fair. I think I take no offense to that. I I don't know what I would have to offer Manati. I think Manatti would do all right, uh to sort of. I think he could sing, and he could cook meat and stuff. I do think Manati might be able to do better than me and Castle Times, because he'd like texting a lot of Castle Times fiction, you know, like Lord of the Rings and stuff. Yeah, yeah, Times Guy Zelda doesn't really work.

Maybe both of you with your powers combined, though, you could have some kind of fun two.

Person act on stage or something like a like a podcast with them who's on first.

Type situation in Castle Times, you know, play.

Off each other well. But yeah, I don't know if the Castle people are gonna.

Like it without all your gaming knowledge, I just don't understand what we talk about, what material you have.

You're like, what about this gruel? Yeah, I'd love to hear Mike Minate's bit on gruel and like sleeping on straw.

I would just tell them now, I would just tell them like I would pretend I'm a fortune teller, Like I would just tell them, oh, Dave Girl has a secret baby like that. That's simple enough to tell them.

They're not going to live long enough, like what we were Castle Time. They're not going to live long enough to know about Dave Girl.

You're right, so the.

Battle of Hastings will be one no.

Eclipses or something, you know, the.

Stars are actually uh bugs, and if you don't believe in God enough, who is also me, they will come down and kill you.

You could probably figure out a way to frame yourself as God. I think so.

I think i'd get away with it.

A Ventura did it, I'd.

Either do it or die try.

I think like I would go for broke right. I'm not there to live a life of like stirring the soup. That's just not who I was born to be. So I'll go all in and say I actually am an ethereal being, and I will smite anyone who touches me or doesn't feed me and clothe me and bathe me and give me really good jewels and stuff, and then hope it works out.

Easy for you to say you got boobs. You could just I know they'll they'll they'll be more than that you didn't have them.

Back in Castle times, they're like they're so enamored by the.

First they've been fucking driving a Morocco around. All of a sudden a range rover shows up.

Take a look at these cattle bus.

Yeah, Castle boys. They hope for is being just a well liked guy about town. I think that's it.

I think I'm a friendly fellow. I think I get along with folks, and I think that you keep them living.

Oh that I have know him Dan?

Just walking around asking people if door Dash delivers to the castle.

Yeah, just hoping people invite me over for dinner and stuff. Yeah, that's the best I could hope for.

Someone's been milking the cows in the dead of night, and it's been you because you don't have a job and you don't know how to consume any food anymore, so.

You've just Then they'd ask like you be like, oh, is there anything I can do to help an exchange for this dinner?

And then they'd tell me something. I'd be like, I don't know how to do.

You have any media I could review?

Yeah, get out a microphones, We'll get out.

Yeah, thank you, Alex.

Yeah Dan. This one is from Paul in Middle Georgia.

I'm reading this.

Yeah, sorry, Okay, what to do? Read it? Hey?

Hey, guys.

If Dan were to suddenly find himself in Castle times, I think Dan knows enough about the lingo and how the sausage is made to be able to invent wrestling. Just find an investor, put a troop together, bing bang, boom. Mike could probably pull bullshit his way into becoming like a fence or something. Harry would be burned at the stake for being too intelligent a witch.

I'm offended and appreciate it.

Yeah, I want to like a compliment slash insult.

I mean back then, I do think it happened a lot, and I do think that is a part of it.

Which stuff.

Well, my original plan of saying I'm just going to say I'm a god and tell people I'll smite them if they don't give me jewels and food. I think it's going to go two ways. One is they're going to be afraid of me and they're going to do what I say, and the other one is that they're going to burn me at the stake. So I think I do have like a fifty to fifty chance.

I like what I think what Paul is saying here is maybe one of the better actual things I could do, which is just like take my knowledge of how like the Carnie origins of wrestling and apply it to like it's a pretty timeless thing, you know, just have like plants in the audience and be like nobody can beat my strong man, and then have a plant that you know, and they pay on the to watch the fight and everything, like, Yeah, I think I could invent wrestling one hundreds of years before or at the.

Very minimum, you could probably like just set up that actually are fake and then profit off of the money that people bet because you know who's gonna win.

Well, that's say people thought it was real until like the fucking mid nineties. Basically, like imagine the fourteen hundreds or whatever, Like it'd be the easiest marks in the world.

Those stupid idiots. They don't even have electricity yet.

Imagine what you could do with wrestlers that say that they got hurt amazing.

They don't know work from a shoot back then.

I still don't, And there I am burned at the stake.

Yeah, you're you're screaming, your flesh is burning off, and I'm.

There, revolves.

I would just be fucking silver tongue in my way into that snatch. Snatch. Whoa, I'm gonna bullshit my way into that snatch. Say that to the queen. See how that goes down.

He seems possible that we all die horrible death because Mike's trying to bang the clean. I think I'm a god and Dan gets over his head trying to set up wrestling matches.

We'd all go out the same we die. This the way we lived, truly, wrestling matches, connelings and burning.

I wrestled the Fire and I lost.

I wrestled Deck Clinton.

I won.

Now it's gross. That's the grossest thing I said in the why.

About it.

I realized my credit. I realized that it was come out in my mouth, that it was gross.

I wish my soundboard still work. I'd be using that.

Really good. Okay, I'm going to read it. Thank you Paul from Middle Georgia. I'm gonna read this one from Max from markham on tear, Hello, Firescape cast crew. I

Bruce Scanlon, he's the sweetest boy in though. That's a thing. That's exactly why worst.

If suddenly Drew Scanlan was a weapon style running at me, it would be such a different Like Drew was just so nice and calm and composed. So if he was like wild eyed and bleeding and sprinting at me trying to know something was something was terribly wrong.

For me, I'd be like, Drew, you need a doctor, come here, I have a band aid. And then he would snap my neck. I would never he pummels your skull with his skull, It would trick me immediately. I would never. I would never assume anything bad could happen.

He could fly planes. Imagine him doing that from a.

Plane, like with his hands behind his face before he's.

Just flying at you like a plane. I would same, same reason they would. Jake Decker would terrify me such a like even headed, calm, cool, collected dude, one of my best friends. Like, if he was coming at me like that, I'd that'd be weird. I guess my dad, my mom, anybody close to me.

If my day was running, I would know something was terribleness.

Just running all his arms, the idea airplace them one.

Going floodlights connected to his feet. They're just dragging through electric cords.

I did ask him one point. I was like, Hey, when was the last time you ran? And he was like, I think that maybe I ran to my car while it was raining once, like twenty years ago.

Like he just he doesn't run quickly.

Probably nineteen eighty nine.

Yeah, he doesn't move quickly.

No.

Because of one of the scariest movies I ever saw, Mike and I talked about this a lot, was It Follows.

I think some of that was the randomness of like a random person that just kind of freaks you out. I do think that.

Just a weird looking lady or dude that's naked would scare the shit out.

Of me, because is a multiplier.

Yeah, it would just freak me out. And I think that was something and that was a theme in that show.

Another one was because it was like, uh yeah, like people you well, the plot was kind of like people you had slept with were like the next in line. But I mean, I bet if you're like exes were running at you, that would freak the crap out of me, not just because of like why are you running at me, but also like what are you doing here?

I haven't seen you in ten years?

And I don't want to, Like I don't want my exes running at me for any reason ever.

I like just yesterday had a moment of I was just being very self conscious about like I walk every day, like around the neighborhood and stuff, and at one point yesterday I found myself like walking at about the same pace as this woman, but I was behind her, and so I was like, probably, you know, fifty feet behind her or whatever, and I was like I just kind of feel awkward, like just kind of walking, Yeah, you

Yes, yeah, she's just walking in her neighborhood and this man.

But I was I wanting to show you that I don't have a gun, No big deal.

I'm not I don't have a weapon. Look at where It's like I was feeling weird about it, and I was sure. She was like is this guy following me? And I was like, I just how do I make it? Do I go through the woods? Do I get off the path?

You know? That is the most Tim Robbinson asked, ship you go into the woods because you can't deal with the social cli complications of this encounter. There's probably some celebrity that would scare me more if they were doing this than anybody else.

There's a TikTok about what you're doing, Dan, which is like you're passing a girl in the woods on a high How do you do it so that it's not scary because you're both alone in the woods and she's a sure.

Yeah, they're all pretty silly, but generally the joke is that you like vogue or do something. Whether she's like oh good, you're an ally like, oh you're one of us, Yeah you.

Like you is like that works if you were at a pace faster than the person. So I've got like my AirPods in and I'll just look straightforward and like as I'm doing the past, like once you're kind of like like right next to each other, I just kind of like turn, just do a little like looky friendly like smile and wave, and then you just keep going along on your way like oh, good evening or something like that.

That's that's probably a good way to do it.

I think it's a nice thing to do. But I think the the ultimate thing I just want to commend you for is I think the nicest thing is to give them space.

And so the fact that you cross the street without like really even thinking it is a wonderful. That is what I would recommend for most people, which is like, this isn't about you at all. Sometimes people are like, but I didn't do anything and I would never hurt anyone. It's like, that's actually not what it's about.

They don't know that. They just know that there's some guy they don't know.

Unfortunately, women carry this burden. This has happened to me so many times. We're like, it's like.

Late at night, I carry fucking keys in my hand because there we have like a burden that we bear. So it is it is not on who you are at all as a person. The idea that you're just like I should just cross the street and give them much more.

Space is the best move.

Just give them more space, because it kind of just freaks a girl out when there's men in close proximity and they're alone.

That's just that's the reality.

Yeah, the woods and stuff.

That was the golden move, my dude, excellent. Yeah, or kill them, you know, because.

Like you got old after a while.

It's the same thing every time, you know, like yeh from behind that, Yeah, it's just the same screams.

It's the same every time.

Yeah, I'm bored out of places.

To bury the bodies.

Give me a challenge.

Yeah, come on, not good at still, what are you afraid of?

I think Cloris Leachman would be weird, like young Cloris Leachman. Now, like, is that Claris Leachman?

But look, no, Clorence Leachman because of the Norm McDonald, Bob Saget.

Roach, No, I knew. I uh, that's a big part of why I know her.

That's mainly why I know her.

Yeah, but uh yeah, there's like I guess.

The tallest woman in the world that would freak me out.

Albert Finney would be weird too.

Are the tallest man? Tall people are scary?

Tall people do creep me out? I told Will Carle Yeah, Jason Alexander, Jason Alexander, Why am I blank?

Castanza?

Oh yeah, ah weird?

Is that George George Castanza and then he running at me?

Yeah, it would be someone you have to take a second to recognize. Yeah, that's why I was thinking, like Helen Mirrendeo Kojima. Yeah, although again it's probably has something.

To do with his next game, Like Charlie from It's Always Sunny And at first you're like and then you're like, I'm gonna die.

Yeah, but yeah, no, my family would be weird. Thank

Echo the community when saying that very much appreciate it, appreciate all three of you and that you share your time and selves with us.

You three are all wonderful, truly caring and a joy. Is this a plant?

I just wrote?

No, thank you, Christian, I don't believe it. That's awesome. Thank you for saying that question.

We are expecting our first child in January and have found deciding on baby names to be an experience. We quickly discovered some lingering feelings with those who have passed through our lives when you reject name after name as can't name our child after that person or names that just give the I are there any names you can't imagine ever naming your own theoretical child? Do you think you'd find boy or girl names harder? Girl names are much easier for us?

And the second question, yeah, then do you want to start with one and then we'll go to the second one?

Yeah, very I'll go back to it.

Let's not a little knock one out. Thank you, Christian. I'll come back.

I mean, I guess we don't have kids, but we have pets, and so that's.

We're so easy.

Dogs and cats you can just name them weird things. And like with people, it's got to be like.

How easy it is to.

Name fucking dog corn dog and like call it a life. You can't child that you can't name a child Brisket.

Amanda and I we don't don't plan on having kids, but we have talked about like it. I don't know, it just comes up as like a fun convo it sometimes over drinks or whatever. If we were going to have a boy, what we name if we're gonna have a girl, what we name them. But it does come up every once in a while, like early on I would recommend a name and she'd be like, nope, one of my worst ex's, for instance, or something like that, like a cruciation stick.

I feel like, I I've never thought about this before, but I do kind of hate just like modern trendy names where it's like it's like Brayden and.

Like soap like that's like millennial kid naming from soap operas.

Yeah yeah, or something like Whennef Pultrow would like name her kids or something where it's like so I feel like I would want to go the other direction and just be like, here's my kid Carl, you know, like just the most like a name that could have been from nineteen forty.

You know, here's Steve, Here's Carl, Here's Jilly Brick.

Oh, listen, Brick, that'd be a sick kid named Rick Reker. I know Rick Rick is the.

Name you think it is. Brick gives media, Yeah, is this my son, Brick?

I kind of like that.

I'm just setting up for a life on that pole.

Good for him, he comes, Brick.

Yeah, my daughter Crystal Chandelier just ruined both of them for life.

Brick and his sister Botox doing a co op dance for all you Bucky bums out there. Creighton, Yeah, oh yeah, you started to Braiden. That'd be annoying. It just sounds like something that would be like Hunter, Bryce, Crench, those are all.

Probably Crench would be a good name for a woman. I've never thought of.

Kreskowski Maharty.

He's a French.

She literally can only be a brain surgeon or else he will amount to nothing.

No, he's a murderer before he comes out of the womb.

It's not a matter of whether he's a murder. It's a matter of how he's going to kill his victims and how long he's gonna shakes. Hopefully he u's a scalpel.

I will say. There's a good subreddit for this.

It's called traged day and it's spelled really weird intentionally because a modern thing that a lot of people do is they have a kid, you know, named Chantrell, but it has like eight eyes in it and six e's and I'm party always comes to mind. So it's like just terribly pronounced, difficult to understand, too many lettered names.

There's so many steaks with naming a human, you.

Know, no, you don't want it to rhyme with anything bad, Like you can't name them jars. Yeah, totally, we read the same mind, Yeah, but with the like pets.

And stuff too, like you know, the breed and stuff like that. So like, you know, we knew, like Gizmo, he was going to be a cavalier, and he was a cavalier, and it's like we look at him like to this day, I'll look at.

Him like, yeah, nailed it with Gizmo. That is a gizmo right there, Gizmo.

But like with a person, you don't know if they're going to be like a Navy seal or like a Dungeons and Dragons guy, you know, so it's like you gotta you can't really predict it.

Well, I think you have to have a malleable name that allows them to decide what they are. And I think like one of the as a non parents, so I will preface with that one of the toughest lessons most parents have to learn is that you do not get to decide the fate of your kid. Like they are going to be things that maybe you didn't want them to be. Maybe you really want them.

To be a football star, and that's what my mom wanted.

They're a big stinky nerd that can't public speak to save their life. And Dan is like a name that could be a track star, but it could also be a bookworm.

It could be both.

And so I like to think of names as like malleable casings for whatever your child ends up being, because the truth is is that, like a good parent doesn't really have to do anything but love their child. So like it's just should be like something that stretches and bends to like whatever that kid ends up being.

Yeah, let the personality and the person be the thing that stands out, and like let the name just be you know, just standard name, you know.

Yeah, I don't name them Alfred. They've got one job for the rest of their life, oh Butler? Yeah? Or like what's another one, Jeeves or Jeeves, Jeeves a better one? Yeah, what's Cinderella.

That's gonna be a real tough life. She's really stuck.

Zenya. If you do have a kid named Zenya, send them.

The countdown.

This is Brick, that's Crunch, this is Velveta, Trough and Trough.

I think, Mike, you should have kids just so you can work out these names.

What the fuck is Brick's gonna be a He's gonna be a sex worker and you know, more power to him.

But he's gonna be a Borderlands character?

Oh yeah, he was? Yeah, Velveta is gonna be like the the press secretary for a weird president in the future. Blizz, Yeah, Blizz, Blizz is going to be on He's going to try to reincarnate American Gladiator.

Is there a name that, if you hear you instantly have a like, oh, they must suck the connotation with it.

I think that's kind of the quest. Oh, like what is mine?

The one that comes to my mind is Todd.

Oh yeah, Todd. Todd's Todd's big.

You hear it Todd? And I don't really know Todd.

Guy, but like I still associate the name with with that, Yeah, we with who? I still associate the name with douchebags?

Okay, yeah, yeah, I just don't really know any like Todd Howard.

A couple of times he seems fine, I guess, but that's the only like Todd I actually know xactly.

But Andrew Brittany.

Sorry for all the Brittany's out there, But like I've met a lot of Britney's and Ashley's, and so I think, like when I meet another Britney or Ashley, I'm like, oh my gosh, it's like one more like I don't need any more Britney's or Ashley's.

I got too many. I got too many of those in my life. I like the name Sarah. I don't know why.

I just I think that's.

Niece calm name. I have so many Megans in my family.

Yeah, means a lot of mics.

It's overused. Mic is overused.

It's not bad, it's just I wouldn't name a kid something that, like, I feel like, is so common. Another reference is there's ones where you can look up the most popular baby names from like the last years, and they're very consistent. Let me see what the most popular baby names are. The most popular baby names Twine Hunter.

There, I've met a lot of young Hunters.

So fucking popular. Okay, baby girls, excuse me, Olivia, am I like those? Amelia Charlotte, You're gonna get lost in the ocean, Mia, Sophia, Isabella. Yeah, Eva, Sophia very calm, like a feather fell, you know.

And here's the men's Liam Noah all like Liam Theodore.

That one's adorable. James, Henry Matteo Potos real good.

I would name him Matteo. I like.

Like Henry.

You can do both, yeah, Hank or Henry is great.

Hank I like, I like.

I don't like Liam.

I likely I grew up. You know what. You know what name I like is Dylan.

Is a nice name.

I don't like one Dylan and he just sucks this hockey player idiot. Yeah, Wayne, it's Backlar's kid, I mean. But yeah, you know.

What about Wayne?

I like Wayne. I have positive connotations with Wayne, Wayne Knight, Wayne's world.

Wayne Newton Gratzky.

What about Dibbs? Like I got Dibbs, but is.

Also Backlar's kid. It's his acronym name initials is what you say.

While we're on the topic, let's talk about the fucking name Bakolar. What the fuck were they thinking?

It fucked up?

Its fucking Jeff a true tragedyy.

And also, what's with a fucking number of Jeffs.

There's a lot of Jeffs in the occasional goff. Yeah, there's so many Jeffs. My my, my main childhood bully was the Jeff.

So I do have it there to a game form, there's there there were two porking Mark.

And Acervic three well Markiva was Jeff them Yeah.

Right to differentiate them because there were three.

We had a lot of andies. We had a lot of Matts with birds. We had Cado with Miller. Yeah, yeah, Matt. Matt was a popular one for sure.

Matt is a nice, sturdy name.

Matt, Matt.

Matt could be anything. That's one of time when I was talking about like a malleable name and Matt could be anything. They could be a scientist, they could be uh, a private dancer, they could be whoever they want. Yeah, welcome to the stage. Matt.

Matt not a stage name.

I don't know.

I guess I don't know what guys stripper names.

Are are the Matt you know, there is you just the end of it. It's like like the thing is at dude stripper at you know, with lady stripper. It's always like ambrosia or cinnamon or something. Matt.

You juice up the last name. It's like Matt fatty dong dong, you know.

Like you just you just like tack it all got a new gamer dig Yeah, yeah, this is bricks fat fat ding dong.

Oh my god, the KD race on on brick chomp dick. Oh my god, what a KD. He's so good. Well, yeah, hopefully we helped clear some stuff up for January. So you know, what's the name of your kidd Brick? So thank you, Christian Crunch. What was the other one, Crench Christian? Okay, well, if you want to keep the father's name, Crench Christianaw, it's okay. No initials, Yeah, that would be bad.

Rusty clown classic. Oh God, set them up for a

Yes yes, yes, yes, yes, yes yes yes yes yes, yes, yes yes yes.

I think Dan is currently leading the group, with injuries having occurred during the podcast and sometimes because of the podcast. Betting odds, whom of the three of you is the most likely to be injured next?

Dan, What the fun is up with your fingers?

Yeah? What ship?

It's been for a year and a half?

Wait, cut them? No you.

This is slicing with a veggie slicer.

It's crazy.

It's still fucked up. I think Dan betting odds probably he's definitely. You're also cooking a lot more so, like you're no.

No, no, no, no, I'm off that now, why are.

You off cooking? I was very proud of that momentum.

Because it was good.

No, it was nice, but it's like it was a thing where it's like I was trying to do it for health purposes and stuff, but it's like even chicken breast and veggies and stuff you used on oils, using all this stuff, so like it takes a ten more time, and then the calories do super duper add up, so it's like, even I'm eating healthier stuff, it's still like Okay, yeah, oh, I've gained a ton of weight in the last time.

Injury and not running.

What are you back on.

Eating wise?

Yeah, if you're not cooking, how are you surviving breakfast?

I'm back on oats. I'm doing like a delivery overnight.

I can't get cut on those. Oh okay, so you're not making them, They're being delivered to your door.

It's super uggin easy. It's great.

And then for lunch, I do peanut butter sandwich, no sides or anything. Sometimes a turkey sandwich or cheese.

Yeah, can't cut can't cut yourself on peanut.

Butter and jelly, Nope, Nope.

And then I'll usually for like a snag or something before dinner, I'll do like a string cheese or something like that. And then dinner, I've got another like meal service thing that like most of their things are like under five hundred calories. And it's like here's a chicken, here's a veggie, here's you know, it's just very just basic protein, fiber veggie.

You know.

So it's microwave stuff. So it's not like fancy or anything. But it's like, you know, yeah, I.

Have to admit something to you.

I for the last well, I'm not gonna admit, I'm gonna brag for the last six weeks, I have chosen to do nothing but meal plans. I still go out to eat, like we'll want it's a week for a little treat. But my lunches are a smoothie service that are sent to my door and they're frozen. And my

Sure, yeah, you can make you do oven, you can do skial with that.

I don't overeat and I've I've lost six pounds.

Congress and all pound six weeks. And also it's just such an easier like you know, we're busy people, and it's just so easy.

To be all hollow night hours.

Yeah, this is not an ad or anything, but I am curious. You should discord me or tell me, you.

Know, I'm not ashamed of it. Yeah, I've been doing a factor. I've been doing Factor.

Factor is good. I've done a lot of because it because it's.

It's uh, it has the calorie conscious ones, and so I just keep everything around five hundred ish or less if I do that. Plus, the smoothies are daily harvest, which are like two hundred to three hundred calories. I mean, like my basically my meals are less than a thousand, which gives me lots of room for snacks and drinking, which is important to me.

So I found a way. I found a way to figure it out. Or like if I eat these meals under like these calories, then I can have three drinks and a snack.

I think we have the exact same things we're looking for with this stuff, and like yeahy and stuff like that. There are numerous different ones, and you know, like factor coc unity of like both those a lot. I'm doing a new one now called clean Eats that's really good. And yeah, so it's like I've looked into daily harvest, Like I'm just very into that hole. Just like make this easy for me, but also make it not terrible for me health wise.

So sometimes it's sad, but most of the time, I'm like, this is convenient. I can game, I heat up my food, and I eat it and it becomes more like fuel.

It's not something I.

Realized on to see it. It's sad.

Really, it's just like, you know, if this leads to better quality life and better health stuff and everything like.

That, that's been my experience.

Yeah, I had a physical like last week and like shocking, my fucking cholesterol is super high. So it's like you need to really, you know, get that stuff in.

Well, what do you have to cut out? If you're already doing all this stuff, what else do you cut now? I mean, I do just candy give your cholesterol.

I don't need a lot of candy right now unless something like around it. I just don't have candy in the house. But like I have fast food and plenty, you know, at least once a week. I would say, you know, I'm I socialize a lot too, so it's like, okay, I'm out at this thing. And we're going to go to this bar pub place before the wrestling show, and I'm going to get We're gonna get a bunch of appetizers and s like that type of stuff. And I drink, you know, maybe three nights a week or so. So

Yeah, I just want I don't want to just throw a little meal to heat.

And then my rule, I don't know if you follow this, Like my rule is, I don't eat it out of like the plastic bin they send it in, because I'm like, that's a TV dinner. I put it on a I put it on a plate, and I eat it at a table like a person.

No, no, yeah, put in a dishwasher. It's a hole to do, you gotta, sir. I just folded together like a paper plate and just pour it into my gullet and swallow it like a duck. Yeah yeah, yeah, the doughnuts and hell.

Yeah yeah great.

Oh that's so convenient. Now I can go back to gaming, he says.

Honestly, like food, sometimes it's just like this is taking too long. I just need to, like get through this rotary beats the last couple of weeks.

Yeah, it's like like five hundred thous.

Collect literally, Like.

I will frequently have like fifteen minutes between a show going off the air and uh like having to go into a meeting, and so I have these like little peanut butter packets and awesome, I'm just like scarfing down peanut butter packets.

I don't even do that, but Justin's are delicious. The dark. Have you had the peanut butter cups? Yeah? Yeah, those are the dark chop. Awesome.

It's like two hundred calories. It gives you enough to just gonna keep you awake for the next thing.

You know.

I agree. I am the same, especially on like live streaming days, where like I have to live stream as a part of my job.

I'm like, when am I supposed to eat? We usually stream at noon, I am. I will go downstairs and make a bowl of cereal and I will eat cereals like whatever I can fucking scrounge up. It's usually sad, but it's like I have to eat something or my blood sugar will be too low.

Yeah, these are like I'm sure these don't sound like major like complaints or anything. And I understand that, but it's like you do have to think about it where it's like on a BombCast day my time, we will get into a call at like ten forty five am, so you know, I'll wake up at like seven, have a little breakfast. Okay, but Dow podcasts, so we got to, you know, have like a little something that like you know, ten ten thirty totally can we do a three hour podcast?

Like I usually work through lunch.

I agree, That's why I actually like the smoothies. So again, no promo, just like saying like the smoothies are a convenient way because I can eat them while I type, and I can also eat them while I walk my dog. And I love that shit because I walk every day too, but I walk with my dog at noon when you know, as as long as I'm not live streaming and So what I do is I make a smoothie and then I walk my dog with my smoothie. And that's a really nice system for me. It's really it works really well,

I don't live like that anymore. I'm happier with my smoothie sys.

So I also don't ever want to eat on camera. Really well, I guess I do it when I'm doing like personal streams like Giant Bomb.

I love when people lunch.

When I we would play Resident Evil and I would come come in with hummus and carrots.

I love when that dude chased me with a chainsaw. And I also hear Mary's mouth noises. It's the best.

Maybe your running person is me eating food running at you.

Oh my god, Maybe you're right, Mike, it's time to

Get Dan's going to be the next person to be injured because you're already injured. I actually don't get injured very often. I just don't do dangerous sh it anymore.

I do have a scooter either.

Dan doesn't either. We filled his bat up with mac and cheese and it's just happening.

Nothing. Self injured all the time. Mike. Between the two of us, we're both pretty safe.

But I think it's possible that I could get murked yelling at someone in a bar, so I would say Dan than me.

Then you agreed. I think I'm safe. Okay, knock on?

Would if Mike's the first to die, that's gonna be crazy.

It's going to be an explosion. I always say that would be like a snake eater boss, You're gonna yell your name and explode. That'd be fucking sick sick uh

He asks me for my smut recommendations anymore.

Fantasy fantasy, Fucker's Dwarf.

Dix or Big, the.

Conch in the Big Hole.

The Big Hole, and the class quest for the clip, the mythical clip.

It's about a wrestler.

Crunch must take the ring to the g spot, which might not exist in the fabled land of female orgasms. Thanks everybody. That's Firescape cast at gmail dot com. Please get those questions in for next episode. Again, we restocked on our merch site at fourth Wall look up fourth Wall fire Escape Cast. We restocked on the stainless steel water bottles the white ones. That's at Firescape Merch dot com. I think we might have to re up that site.

Gime bomb dot com.

I think I am next up on Blake Clubs, So as soon as Mike finishes up his game, I have to play whatever the fuck they're send me, so that should be on Wednesdays going forward. But yeah, check out time bomb dot com or our YouTube channels and all that good stuff.

What is Mike playing for black Club right now? Speaking?

Virtual hide Light for the Sega Saturn, which does not look like a game for me at all.

Okay, hmm, Mary, what do you have going on?

I will be streaming one more time, but I do leave for Tokyo Game Show, So.

These two boys will be taking over in the next episode. Who knows who will be on. It could be anyone because I will be.

I want to talk about Yota. I want to talk about Yota for sure. Next episode.

Well, you got to get someone on who loves the Yota.

Yep, we both will be talking about next episode. Jake's coming to my neck of the woods in a few days. That'll be fun.

Happy birthday, Mike, Thank you.

How old how old do you think I am?

Twenty four, thirty six.

Mary's closer.

I'm actual answer, maybe thirty three.

Yeah, that's your final answer.

I almost hit thirty two, probably thirty thirty four, thirty four. I was like, you're a baby, okay.

Okay, yeah, I mean I don't think thirty four makes me a baby. I started, I'd like, I, what are you going to turn?

Like twelve?

I try not to complain, but I think, like I hit thirty three and I actually started feeling some aging and I was reading. I was reading an article like apparently malebodies specifically do most of their aging when you hit thirty two thirty three, and all of a sudden, it happens a lot at once, and I'm feeling it.

I know it's a cliche, but it's like, yeah, there's the reason.

I'm just like surrounded by constantly fiddling with things to fucking make everything feel better.

Yeah, to no avail.

Really there is like I'm looking forward to the endless battle of attrition that leads to nothing.

Everybody's different, Yeah, mine was like around thirty five. I was like, oh my, my metabolism is different. I cannot eat cheese fries, the way I used to.

I just can't anymore.

Drinking, eating, drinking, all of that stuff is becomes a lot different, which is.

Why like getting into wine is nice because I think, like to truly enjoy it the way I want to. It does just kind of by definition, encourage moderation. But like on those rare occasions when I'm not moderating that next day and or and change, my body is is not built like it was when I was twenty two, which is.

Probably don't worry, it gets better, don't worry.

Great, I can't wear over yea wait, I'll be spin it on that pole before you know it.

Get older.

It is fun though, like because all your friends are getting older too, so it's like everyone's just kind of like you can all talk about it. Yeah, joining the club slowly, yeah yeah, and then we're all just gonna it's gonna get worse until we die.

And then I'll be on the pole at the fuck fuck club. My favorite chef.

That's what we're having our meetup.

Helly, Yeah, here he comes. What was my poll guy name?

Brick Tension, Gronk mccallahan, Oh, Fatty Chubb Chub or something like that.

Oh yeah, there's something about a dick and chubb. I guess fat slim cock, slimcock.

It's a terrible and all the women are like, do even notice what's down there?

Single fucking big boy with a pencil dick mean anything?

Somebody's into it?

Oh hell yeah, you know what I mean? Yeah, more power to them. Why did someone write fine Time, way way way at the bottom of our Masters show run of show no idea where that could possibly be fine time?

This is when we were coming up with wine magazin seen names. Oh I remember that podcast names Wine Time.

Okay, that's gross. All right, Well, thank you boy for joining us. That was episode sixty seven. We're looking forward to June. It's gonna be here. It's gonna be a good summer this summer, so we'll see you the next episode. Thanks for joining. Appreciate it.

Bye bye,