Fire Escape Cast #122 (Part 2) - GAME OF THE YEAR

All right, next category is cool.

Dude to the Year TENDERUC categories or nominees are Joe Musashi of Shinobi, Samoa Joe from Pirate, Yakisak.

Kinako from Silent Hell, f Indiana, Jones from Indiana, Jones.

Apsu from Ghost of Yota.

Pizza Chef from Death Stranding.

To King of All Cosmos of Once Upon a Katamari Fame, Donkey Kong Samus, sight Seeing Mario, what is that Mariachi wa Luigi.

Cruister from Arc Raiders.

Oh yes, sure, sight seeing Mario. Mario is like backwards hat, sunglasses, Mario sunshine beach shirt shorts, probably from from Mario kart World. They all have these different like like you just see this Dude's like, man, that's a cool Mario. Mario's never ever, ever been cool.

Mario. Mario is not a cool character. I'm looking up, which one do you want? Thank you?

I okay, I think he's very cool and I'm going to pull up the thing and you need to describe this man.

I think he's very cool.

Look, how fucking cool that man? He's a cool dude. Flip flops, he's smoking? Why is there? Yeah? No exciting Mario is fantastic. And then I will also pull up a mariachi just so you can see that, which is kind of exactly what you would expect him look like. Uh that this is just a good mariaci. And also like his idle animation. He's like doing this like snapping thing, like just a very cool variant of Wallaway, got.

Like sort of Deadlos Martost kind of vibe going on fantastic.

Yes, cooler, that's tough. Samoa Joe is in Pirate Yakaz and I not play this game, but I've seen Joe in there, and that's the thing I just want. Samoa Joe is maybe just the coolest dude. I could still take him, but he's he is. I know you guys aren't wrestling people. Just trust me when I say Samoa Joe kicks ass. He loves games.

Uh.

I cannot say enough about this man. And I want to see him do more video game stuff. He's in Twisted Metal Pyriocisan.

Now.

Loving games hasn't made me cool? Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?

Judge?

Can we put Judge Jake on cool?

No?

No, no, it's already a crammed category. Crammed I want to keep is rooster the gun salesman. No, it's the rooster. Oh, the chicken, the cowboy hat whatever, chicken, rooster whatever? Which is which is a chicken? Boysters are chicken?

Yeah? Okay, okay, but you can give him the cowboy hat. Yeah, and he just I love also to that a pair. Currently, you just never see him. He's not like modeled in the game, which as you get back, he's like, you found a bunch of shit for you.

Oh yeah, he's doing a job.

Run a nice guy.

Yeah yeah, oh you see him in the UI. Yeah, he's like and he like does you know he shakes it? But not in the game.

You're not like down.

The Yeah, the hideout is like florified menus. Yes, my chickens are fucking cool too. Have you been to Key West?

They're cool.

If you put a cowboy hair one of them, that makes them even cooler. That sounds it's a cool, dude.

I want to like someone, I don't.

I don't want to cut, so I don't know how helpful this Isn't you have to if anybody has an obvious cut, go for it. I just I think is a really good character. Yeah, that's awesome bad ass, great badass.

Along those lines, Tinico is so so fucking cool because they are putting her in some of the most absurdly scary, terrifying situations that I've ever seen, and in no point is she just like this sobbing mess. She's just like cool. I guess I gotta hit this person with a board with a nail in it, Like, let's go. Oh, this person is an action hero wrapped in the body of a schoolgirl. I'm like obsessed with her. I think they did such a good job with making her the protagonist.

She is an incredible character.

I don't want to I don't want to spoil anything, and it depends on interpretations.

But there's one interpretation where I'm like, maybe she's not so.

Cool though, you know, but that's what makes her nuanced and interesting and silent. Hill is actually about that the protagonists have a history of like being like sometimes complicated and shitty, but like that's what makes them like in the moment, you're just like, damn, this person's really going through hell and high water for what they believe in good to make.

A character like I've never really seen written in a game before in a way they've it's very very well written character with some very cool moments.

I I'm with Mary where I think I'd fight for her too, at least for now. Now, I want to offer two cuts. One King of All Cosmos. I think I added him. He's like I just always found him to be a very just cool, funny, flamboyant, just like loud character.

Visually appealing.

Yeah, it's just very cool.

Yeah, I just think he's hilarious. I mean, there's nothing really in one spin acateemory that makes him that much different than any other Kadmary games. So I think we cut that, and then Indiana Jones. It's just like, look, Indiana Jones has been Indiana Jones since nineteen eighty four. He's always been cool.

There's nothing in the Great Circle that like I would say he's less cool in this because it's not. It's not actually Harrison Fort you know, like he's still cool because he's Indiana Jones.

But like it's, oh, yeah, we should.

I don't know if we ever mentioned last year we did our game of the year at a time when we can all get together. Yes, the two major games that came out that we promised we would talk about didn't say necessarily, we promised we'd love them. Where Indiana Jones, The Great Circle and Stalker Too hard of Chernobyl. So that's why Indiana Jones is on here because we wanted to make sure we touched on them.

But I think we cut that and can go all Cosmos. I'll make the argument for Samos here. Like Samus, I think she's always just looked incredible. It's like like one of the coolest designs ever. But also in this game, it's funny because like some people hate the fact that there's like extra characters and stuff added here, but like these other characters when they meet Samus, they're always just like kind of fan It's like, oh my god's fucking Samos.

I was sold on having her in this list when I got Violin just stopped on the bike and the way she just stands there, and I'm like, Osh, so fucking cool.

Yeah, like Alzheimer, that's cool. The veal is incredible. Yeah, yeah, I want to keep her.

I can't keep both of your cool Nintendo boys.

Both of them A lot of Yeah, favorite bro, all right, I will I want to.

I want to say, I think this is a strategic choice by you to have like four of something from the same game. That way you have to get one of her men from the same good person from sacrificing one when you magically put in multiple there's two from Favorite.

I love WALLOWEGI sight seeing Mario. He's got sunglasses. He just looks cooler. Yeah, but flip flops are just never, They're so rarely Mario pulls it off.

I don't think so. I think he looks he's more gonna go wrong. Uh Joe from Shinobi is like it's a cool ninja. Like I mean, like there's a lot of cool ninjas and video games.

Dude, cool fucking ninja's way Cooler's cooler? Your fighting for uh Mario more than a ninja.

I don't know if I'll fight for Mario more than Atsu because Atsu is like God, I just love Like, you know, you'll encounter like three cocky dudes just like like a non story thing and it's like, oh, who are these three assholes, like you know, riding horses around you walking.

I guess I'm gonna get my bounty, you're gonna kill you, and she'll.

Just like walk up like pull a stord out, say something cool, and you just slaughter them.

She shuts their head off, she plays the fun pulls a guitar out, plays a guitar, and a wolf shows up. She kills you. She wipes your blood on this like like.

This is the word scary ass masks and stuff like she's so I.

Said this during Oh man, this is more of a like a later in the episode, but like I said this when we talked about the game in the first episode after embargo, the game kind of encourages you to embrace how bad ass she is. You get a mask from all of the major characters you kill, So when I started doing I was like, you get a lot

My recognize it and I don't even know address it, but it's like, hey, you know where this came from.

Yeah, she's cool. And then like, I also appreciate that the sucker punch. I think she can get a bit one note if you're just playing a lot of the side stuff, but the main storyline when you get into I think they introduce characters that play really good foils to her in a way that she's like, uh, maybe I was just kind of killing way too many people

I just think you're just extremely killing people.

Yeah, I get she has she's up there, she's got reasons to be pissed off after.

Talking about these really fucking rad people.

I think that the rooster is out all right, But yeah.

Rooster wins to these women.

Okay, I guess we got them.

That Rooster always gives me my stuff.

I'm an ally, so I gotta pick a woman.

I guess fucking Atsu, fucking Hinko and sam Is just have to win now or else I'm an.

Idiot, problematic. I think about it.

Has anyone seen the Rooster's tweets?

You milkshake rooster God? Uh all right, let's cut Donkey Kong is always cool.

Where was he January?

DK doesn't know who the president is?

This guy is fine? Is he the coolest?

There's nothing in Bonanza that makes him cooler than I've just I've always thought Donkey Kong was just a cool dude I'd like to hang out with. I still feel that way. He's admirable. Like his entire goal is to get bananas. Just loves bananas. If you do, if you hung out with Donkey Kong, I think he slams some nanners dead. What do you think? I just think he would be a positive presence to be around. He's just like grunting and giving thumbs up and stuff.

And like I just like the whole as punch of beer he'sching.

If he hasn't ha beer, I would like I would peer pressure Donkey Kong and getting drunk with me. He would punch a hole to China if he would drank enough beers from here, hanging off like Polly arrested to walk the line, like duy, he's got up.

He's got one of the construction hats with beer like it's just some ouda pills funneling into his mouth the whole way through the core.

He's great, but he's always been great. Nothing special.

This here so for pirate yakus, I have a question, is this is this Samoa Joe's coolest.

Because it's because it's Samoa Joe. That's it.

Like, I can't.

I don't have an argument here. I haven't played the game.

I also want to raise the point I fear for us if we cut him. If he ever sees this, I'm just joking.

Take him.

I'm afraid of that guy. Guys, guys, as long as you're in my presence, you're safe.

Even do an the room as the situation, I'll let.

You guys know what the plan A, B, and C is for escaping. No, I understand cutting. I have some sort of fake sumo suit that I just bounce off him.

Hopefully Joe will take pity on you once you've pissed yourself.

Yeah, we can cut what you want me to.

Fuck, Maybe we cut him since none of us have played the game he's in. Yes, probably a good Joe for being very cool.

Wow, a very impressive cool dude of the Year that he made it as far as he did without us.

Playing Pizza chef. Uh yeah, pizza Chef it's it's just one of those wacky codem moments where it's like, oh what, he's so.

Wacky Coachima, Oh my god, can you go back up to most up its own ass and increase the font of Kojima?

Have you seen the pizza chef fight.

No, it is a super choreographed, impressive fun fight where you're in a pizza kitchen, rolling over counters and stuff. They're on pizza at each other and like it's a it's just a cool scene.

Uh.

And he's one who teaches you pizza dough and everything.

Kojima stumbled across that TikToker who does all the fancy like pizza do flips in his backyard and punched the messtuff. He's like, I'm gonna put that in my game, even though it doesn't make sense.

No, everything the logic is sound. With everything he has ever done, we can cut him.

We got one more to cut?

Well, can't being morow because I'm not an l I I.

Mean I think I think it should, I really do.

I want to be clear, this is not about like, this is not a gender battle. One of these is obviously not fucking as cool as you're out of your mind.

Well, I didn't play it, so can't be that.

That's not my fault that you don't game enough.

There is something that happens in side. I won't say what is, but there's singing having sound hill f that is way more badass. That does more than anyone on this list.

Have you seen Sight Seeing Mario?

Yes?

Yeah, because you google for us.

I don't think Hanako should just stay. I'm I'm fighting for Hanako to win over. I am not kidding. She is the most badass protagonist. She is so fucking cool. The way she keeps her calm and collective under the most extreme conditions should be studied. And they make it believable. She's not just this like numb person who's going through this. She's suffering, but she fucking gets her shit together and stabs people through the pain. It's unbelievable what she goes through.

And like there is a scene that is just like it is.

Yeah, it's something else, like I haven't seen it in a game before Hyperbolic, but like there's a moment in that game where it turns and I'm like, oh, I can't They're not doing this, They're not doing this, And then they do it, and I'm like, whoa.

Okay, okay, don't take your word for it. So are we cutting Samus or sight seeing Mario? It's kind of up to you. Oh no, oh no, Sophie's choice. Really, in the same way that we cut Donkey Kong for just being kind of a He's always been Donkey Kong and always been really cool. Samus is incredibly cool in Mentored Prime four. The motorcycle does.

Bring it up a little bit. But isn't Sicy Morrow just like a uh like character character aesthetic?

How dare you?

I have yes, it is.

We can cut them. Sorry, they gave him sunglasses in Hawaiian Jesus.

He had to fight so hard for this ship.

Mary, I.

Think you should say Mike and I for this Wow.

Know, you guys should all be added to Loserville. You guys are all worthless. This is an obvious list that we had to fight through a lot of crap for. I had to argue multiple times for.

I don't know you lift, uh so, who's the who's the coolest dude? Though? Oh?

I think is just sill left. But you guys seem passionate about it. To me, it's over Samus. But actually I've only played Ghostota here.

That's true. I I haven't played samos I haven't had time to play Metroid Prime for but I have played Ghost of You Taie. I do think Osu is such a badass. It is because of the experiences I've had with and not Go that I think that Silent Hill have f takes the cake for me. This might have to go to a judge because I think they're both incredible.

I can't you've played all three? Yeah, you you should be the one to pick.

Oh shit, he's really so bongo wow.

Okay, I had faith.

I had faith in this. I didn't have to jerry mander anything. It's just natural.

Can I.

Quick? Is the right time?

Now what we read through?

Or I'll do nominees and then I'll okay, so cool.

Due to the year, runner ups are Samus and oughts to, but the coolest dude of the year is Hinoko from Simon hill F.

It's true. I also think this is a good time Dan to just re up what we're doing here.

Yes, everyone, if you're just joining us, I am Dan Reicher, This is Mary Kish, this is Mike Maharty, and this is cool. Judge Jake Decker. We are fire Escape Cast. If you have never heard us, check us out on your podcast platform of choice. And uh, we are a video game podcast. We've known each other for a long time. We were together kind of like I guess game spots weirdly though, like.

Games media for a decade. And now we talk about games in our off hours and we are discussing Game of the Year deliberations, including very specific categories for games that we just think deserve mentions. We have nominees, we have honorable mentions, and we have awards, and we are in the thick of it.

Yes, we are probably at least maybe over halfway through now.

Hopefully we are.

I think we still have some more.

Hours here to go, but yes, we are working through our categories right now. And our next category is dumb Thing of the Year parentheses good here.

Nominees are the couch Gag from Simpson's Fortnite, Leapers and Arc Raiders.

Monaco's foot Fetish in Expedition thirty three, Smoking in RV, Thereat Canon and Peak Lollipop in Peak the.

Gummy Room from Kirby Air Riders. I'm sure do you want to take the next one too, Hygante from Kirby Air Riders, the Zebra Song and DK Bonanza. I think Dan should just do this splash of death straining. These are yours, all right, the coffin board and destranding too, the die Hard Man Dance and death randing too, the pizza Chef fight and death randing to cut that nobody likes pizza chef here, guitar battle and desth Randing two. All right, so this is a good dumb thing, all right.

They were.

Yeah. So I'm gonna say these three death randing two things and I will just let you. I will graciously allow you to just have one of them. Say, okay, the coffin board. There are coffins and dest ranting two. They're like cool future coffins. They're like, you know, sleek and cool and you know, uh, and you can surf on them. You can basically tie them to you and like surf down mountains and kind of like snowboard through areas and stuff. You can also like shove bodies in

Do I die Hardman?

Is the he became the president. He had the mask

I don't think how part of the game is that it's sixty hours.

Okay, that's why I didn't see it, because I I played like thirty yes, and then even beyond that, it's you and Higgs Troy Baker's character of the villain. The final battle is like, you know, Kajima always ends these things. It's like it's a couple, you know, your shirt lists on top of a middle gear fighting in the flames and stuff like that. This one, it's it's this climactic battle,

You know, it doubles as a like an underground incinerator in tar pits as well. Yeah, because which I would argue that's not good for the game design, but it's still.

Cool because yeah, body will create a mechanics.

Yeah.

I think his repentance for Dan making us listen to four things that he knew couldn't get through so he could get one through, we should cut all of them.

That's exactly what he was doing.

This is your strategy. You're doing it again, and I would like you to be punished for it. You get none. Thank you, good day.

I love how I don't even know what my strategy is and you do. You're giving me too much credit for my thought process. I would say, I, for my own sake, let's keep Coffin board for now. But Guitar Battle and die hard Man sounds stupid. That sounds like that sounds like I don't know what to do with this game. They need to fight each other with guitar now. They said it loud. That sounds cool, But like I

I just like that a lot.

You know, whether it's James Cameron Orde or Evan Geli and Joseph. Only when it's ones.

I like ye or your box. You love that?

Is that your favorite thing?

Yeah?

Yeah, it's not for everyone. I mean it'd be cool if we keep coughin board for a little bit. Okay, My argument was coffin board is just cool.

It's not dumb.

Why it should not coffin pretty dumb?

Like you say it out.

Loud though, and it sounds like the coolest fucking thing ever.

Imagine fucking or like snowboarding down of fucking your great grandn.

That's her, that's her dying wish. I want to Darby Ellen, once you go down.

A black diamond with me and inside the comin strapped your grandma's casket, you just smashed into a tree. I gotta get down. It's what you wanted some good. You know, I'm torn.

Let's just get it from now. You can cut the other ones because I'm generous, very thoughtful, Dave, what is this?

I don't know? Tables the table, the table seems to be squeaking. I've noticed it too, bathroom.

I'm good, all right. Do you guys know the Zebra song Bonanza?

I do.

It's fantastic, Like I love all the bespoke songs. When you do a bonanza, bullshit, that's the best one by far.

I like that.

Good dumb. Tell me about Gigante and Caurber writers.

Who is it?

Kante? Mike's nodding, And you guys haven't played a lot of caremeerers.

I know you have. I've played a d an amount and I'm the stone. Right. They're all just little things, right, the machines, the machines, Yeah, these little things that they stand on.

They're very cute. Yeah.

Uh. There's legendary ones too, right, And these legendary ones are a little bigger. Giante takes up the entire.

Stage on City Trial, and it just is it a thing that you can just pick from the like the machines, So you have to unlock it and you have to collect all the parts, and if you do, it just levels all the buildings in City Trial.

It's broken. It doesn't make sense, it shouldn't be there, but it is a to your point, like it seems like like zac Rab was like, I just want to put this in the game because I think it's kind of cool. It's unbalanced, it's it's ridiculous, but it just takes up the entire stage. Whenever you do a spin, it's incredibly slow, but you can see all the people you knock out, and then if you get it, the default city trial ending is everyone against you who's got it.

It's pretty cool. And this is the thing that you earn in why city Trial. So it's not a thing. It's not like a vehicle. You unlock and you can pick it whenever.

Right, you do have to unlock it in a different mode, but once you've unlocked it, then it'll appear in City Trial.

But you can't pick it as your man. Okay, So it is it is very random based doesn't happen every run. Honestly, that's like I like broken things like that. It's so stupid, that sounds the scale of it is ridiculous. I'm on board. With that, that's like we have the gummy Room. I loved it.

That was when I kind of.

Realized what Kirby aer Writers was because like I never played the game game really man, was what the fuck is this? And it just seems like chaos. And then when I like went into the Gummy Room, I just realized as just like, oh, no, one's telling them, no, just just I don't know. It's a roomflow you look at fucking gummies and you can zoom in on them and you have a sword and a magnet or whatever. Yeah, I would I would say if we're picking a Kirby

I think if we want Kirby a writers thing, I would fight for over down the room.

Okay yeah, uh okay, Mary, we're all killing our babies here. We did some curve, we added some destinanding, which peak thing.

I mean, I think they're both good in different ways. They're both absurdly stupid. That cannon and peak is meant to help you launch each other to an area that you would not have been able to climb to. But you can't really tell where your destination is going to be until you put someone in it and send them pack in very funny to launch someone into a mountain and hope that they get to the area they're meant to get to without dying.

Is there like a dotted line or a radical or something, or do you just kind of like point and shoot.

It's a point and shoot situation, and so you're kind of like it just like reminds me. This thing reminds me of like a real cannon where you're like, someone's got to get in there, and one of your friends has to be like, it'll be me, And you get in this cannon and just hope that you fucking make your destination. If they don't, we all laugh. If you do, we all cheer. It results in these epic cheers or laughter of whatever ends up happening. So I think it's

This is the perfect.

Opportunity to take a lollipop, a gurree up and climb that way. You can maybe put a rope down for everybody else. But the second you're ten seconds is up, you go into a sugar crash and you pass out. And so it's very funny because you'll you might actually succeed and get to the part that you're trying to get to. When you pass out, you can roll off the edge. It's just very funny, like lick a lollipop and then be like, I'm I can do it, and you get to the top and then you fall off.

It so it sounds like a three suit, like a Laurel and Hardy bit or something of just like the physical comedy, Just like I'm gonna put someone in a cannon and see what the fuck happens. It's almost certainly gonna be stupid. Like I think that sounds incredible. Lollipop sounds great too, but cannon sounds better.

They're both so so stupid and so funny. But yeah, I would have to go with the canon. Smoking an RV there yet is so stupid, but it does actually give you a It gives you like a boost of stamina as well. I think ultimately what it is is it's aesthetic. It's very funny to be in an RV with your peers. You're looking around and one person's driving, maybe someone's flipping burgers, and somebody's doing nothing, but everybody's smoking a fucking.

Sick and it's just really chugging some lung beers.

And there's beers. It's it's unnecessary. I don't know what the developers were thinking, because you could tell they had to make very stern decisions of what they had time and energy to code into this game. There's moose in this game that don't walk. They're just ping images, like like you can tell when they ran out of budget and we're like, we're out of time. But they put a lot of energy into these six They put a lot of energy.

Into you beer.

It's just you're just these like pudgy dudes an RV and like that does seem like such a natural, like yeah, that fits here, This is great.

They're so silly and unnecessary, and I think it's I think it's exemplary of this category.

It is so.

Stupid and it is. It is a funny thing, and they added a mechanic to it so it actually has a value. When you smoke the cigarette, you get like a boost of energy and you can do something if you need to. But ultimately it's.

For cool factor. I got something that I'll mention, but I will also cut right afterwards. But like Simpsons, Fortnite I loved so much. But like, as far as the gags and stuff like that, I was trying to think of, Like there's a million little ones and references where it's like, oh you see the rake on the ground, I know what we're gonna do there. Oh you see the phone at mose Bar Okay, I see. It's like and there's so much people like us that just love Simpsons and stuff.

I'm glad that they were able to capitalize on.

It so well. Yeah, And I think the reason the couch gag was maybe the best version of it with Fortnite is because like Fortnite is already this insane thing where it's like every ip that's ever existed is in there, and then you put the super iconic thing like if you go in the Evergreen Terrace portion of the map, you go down there, you can go into the Simpsons house,

This is like kind of money.

Is it?

Does it hang with the others? You're the fun guy, right what? No, don't show me your feet, Mike.

Don't you want to represent this one because you are are a little freak boy.

I'm a freak boy, but that with feet.

Didn't you add this one?

No, Jake, did I think, look at us who looks like a foot freak?

Then judge dot com order, Okay, so we're cutting that. I didn't add it. Hm.

I like they really are the hottest appendage. They look every foot looks exact same. That's not people love it. No, they don't look the same. I mean human does the ones Some are like probably missing toes or have like dirty anyway. I I love the zebra song. I don't know. I think they're stronger examples of good dumb things this year.

Yep, Okay, I think we have to make an argument for leapers. I haven't heard it again, Yes, yes, I can do this.

Have you seen those things jump?

Yes?

And it's not just that they jumped, It is that you try to kill them and then everything else starts jumping when you like the amount of times that you go to kill them and it's like, oh, they're still going. They just they just throw all their weight at something and if it's a wall, they'll hit the wall.

The the the animations are like very good and they just kind of tumble and fall and they look so stupid when they do this, there's just limbs flying everywhere, but they're also like scary as hell. Yeah, I think they're real dumb just because of how their limbs are flying everywhere, they're bashing against things. I think it should be here, but there's some stiff competition. This is a strong five here. Ooh boy.

I think I think this category should be like the thing that is dumb and funny but also like has like it's actually like it's not just a gag. It is a thing that actually kind of plays into the game. And I think most of these, like definitely the cannon jigonte, I mean the coffin board, it's actually a really good way getting around the leapers are they're actually really good

Like then it's not essential or necessary. It is very dumb and it is good, but I don't think it's as good as these others, so I'm willing to cut it. I will say right now, I have said this before, but I think it is the noble and honorable thing to do to also cut death stranding to stop you from doing the thing that you always do. What's that You just shove a bunch of shit down our throats and hope that one gets through.

I think the coffin board is cool though, it's really cool. I guess that was the strategy. It worked because I love the coffin board.

Yeah, he got you.

It wasn't like considered. That's one of the things I love that. No, it's not. I'd like a lot in that game. But I want to cut smoking.

It maybe cut leapers.

I think, I think leapers. I think it's I think it's cool to be anti tobacco. That's a good point, which one is saving lives.

You're literally surfing around on an already dead body, where smoking is creating more of them that could trigger a foid out. Yeah, but it's not cool year, it's dumb thing of the year. You're right, it's dumb good, all right, and we're taking smoking out. We can take smoking, okay, So then what is.

The dumbest thing of the year? Good, dumb good. Honestly, Mary makes a good point for Cannon. It sounds like me. It does sound like it actually seems like a thing where if it goes well, it could be a game changer, right for that run. Well, the death that sounds amazing. All of these are like Giganta sounds incredible to but that canon that seems like what this category is?

I just al't want to say, like when you have like four people and somebody because these are you know, prop gen of what item you get. When someone's like there's a canon, everyone goes oh because you don't know if it's good or bad yet, Like you know it's sick, but like it could be the death of the entire run. That's how risky it is. It's so funny.

I like you're just like the idea of launching someone up and they're like, oh, yeah they died. Yeah, yeah, I would vote for Cannon. Okay, are we agreed?

Yeah?

I think so? All right, dumb thing of the year. Good. The runner ups are coffin Board Death Stating two, Gagonte Kirby aer Ride, and Cannon.

In Peak is the winner. That's a good category.

That was good. So I believe we are No, we're not. We're in our last category No.

Two, three, four, five, six, seven. We got eight more.

I think we need to start burning through some of these.

We'll see some of them be longer than others. Definitely, Oh my god. Yeah, well okay, well, next one is Dumb Thing of the Year Bad.

So this is a thing that is stupid, just like the last category and bad.

But we don't like it, right, Yeah, we like the other dumb things. We don't like these dumb things.

The nominees are meanbout sound effects and metroid weird campaign choices in Black Ops.

Seven, Everything About Mine's I.

Diehard Man Dance, The Xbox Rock Ally Lost Soul Aside Tower Dominion's aesthetic.

Online lobbies in the Wheelchair Basketball.

Game, Everything Mario Party Jam.

I'm sorry weird, and I think it's mine, that says Randy Pitchford. I want to say to cut the Xbox Rock. Xbox Rock ally has major problems.

Uh we.

Mostly tied to windows and everything. I will say, despite its problems and its frustrations, it is like the one I travel with. Like I am traveling with it, Like like it runs things very well now that I've got, like the full screen experience and all that. Like it's a powerful handheld. I like the the ergonomics of it and everything. It's the windows stuff sucks. I hate that she locked in a loop of not being able to log in.

Yeah. Oh, I've had so many different problems with it.

But like the fact that I am still like putting it in my bag when I travel and stuff, and like, I fucking love my Steam Deck, but there are certain games and stuff that like will run better on the Xbox Rock ally, and like I'm not even using the Xbox parts of it. I'm like loading up Steam. I love steaming, you know. I'm it's basically a little more

I would say we can cut Towered tom Innion sesthetic. I think it is bad. It's really dumb. I'd love that game. I don't think it's dumping. I don't think it contends with a lot of the stuff here. That was just the one I added because that is the biggest knock.

I have a guess.

I guess to add to that, then, I would say weird campaign choices in Black Ops seven because I actually played, I just saw videos of it and I was like that looks dumb, and then just moved on with it.

It doesn't seem like a great campaign anyway. But also the fact that yeah, me and Kayla like loaded up and we're like, let's check it out, and its like we both right away. We're like, there's just a million little things from like all these characters have health bars and sell built for like multiplayer and eight days. It's got like a loot system. It just doesn't feel like, like I like the traditional Call of Duty campaigns. This felt like just a weird hodgepodge DLC mode that like just did not.

It did not feel good at it dumb.

It's just kind of bad.

It just sucks.

Yeah, like everything about Black AP seven just seemed like a total misstep. I'll just say the Mario Party Jamboree thing is insane. It's like one of those things it's like way too expensive. It's like an add on version or switch to edition upgrade of Mario Party Jambrie, which is not a great Mario Party game anyway. Uh, and it's just like separated into like, oh, you can play like the old Mario Party Jamboree, but it doesn't have

Uh.

It's it's it's almost hard to describe how confusing is. We tried to stream it a couple of times, and like, none of the new stuff they add of it is like super substantial or good or anything. And it's just it's so confusing that like I don't even think it's worth talking about. I just think it sucks. Like again, Lego Party, That's that's what I go to right now. Mario Party jambri and Switch to is bad. Uh.

I like throughout Lost Soulicide because I was like, that was a really dumb game. I don't know if you saw much of this game, but it was absolutely like I think it was a Sony published game as well.

That was just kind of like what what or so Sony help fund?

I don't know.

It's a very strange game, but I didn't.

Really play it. I just watched footage of it and I was like, yeah, that looks bad.

What's bad?

Mine's hot? What's going on there? I mean, is that even like dumb? Or is that just like a catastrophic failure?

Yeah?

I think it's it's like a dumb is Like I think a dumb is like, oh what a dumb thing like Mine's Eye was a massive waste of time and resources and and I'm sure talent that worked at the studio, which is bad leadership. Just the final game seemed soulless and terrible, and then what there was like recent stuff to where I think this goes into like larger like labor and layoff stuff, which isn't really what this category

Well.

Also on the viola right, you can listen to a song or it's like some music. I don't think I got that. I just literally would like scan specific amibos, but that's what I heard. Maybe that's the bike one or something. But like the old ones are just like, oh, it's the like you got an item sound that you could hear in a menu, or you can just play the Metroid game and hear the Metroid sound.

Dumb.

It's insane. It's just so stupid. But yeah, uh, die Hard van Dance, you saw that and did not like.

It, right, I thought it was really dumb. Yeah.

I described it to Ben Hanson and it was like, oh, this seems like the bad kaJama. So maybe it's just me that likes it. So keep it on here. Then I looked at Jake for that because he didn't like it.

This is dumb thing that they're bad. Yeah, dumb Kajima, bad Kajamia.

Yeah, but I'm saying I think he thinks it's bad. He did not like the Yeah, do you think it hangs on this category? Uh?

I mean, what's the deal with online lobs? Oh god?

We tried to fucking play this game on Giant Bomb and it was like, okay, I think it was me grab Manati. It's a three on three wheelchair basketball game. It's like, all right, we'll go on, We'll Dragon Drag, Extrive, Drag Extra Yeah. Yeah uh. And you get thrown into a lobby with it's like twelve people or something, and I think they're trying to do like a pickup game type thing for like the online lobbies, but like, we

I don't even think you need to say Drag X drive. Nintendo Multiplayer is like always notoriously so fucking ass.

And Internet Yeah, yes, but Kirby Air Riders had the best implementation of Nintendo Online Multiplayer genuinely mind blowing really, which doesn't say a lot considering, yes, how bad they are normally, but kind of a tangent. But like, I don't know if i'd just say Nintendo Online because that's a different thing.

Well, then they messed up here again, I agree, I would say that's worse than it sounds like you like die hardman, so I would take that off if you like it.

I like it a lot, and it's not that. Yeah, I liked it a lot. Yeah, I mean yeah, I'm okay with these.

All right, And then Randy Wentz done.

Yeah, Randy pit first again, it's done Bad Thing of the Year. It's Randy Pitchford of Gearbox. Yeah, that guy just needs to stop doing everything he's doing. Stop talking.

Next, the category is best Remake and Remaster.

All right. Nominees are Eller Scrolls for Oblivion Medal, Your Sawid three, Delta, Sneak.

Eater, Tony Hawk, pro Skater three and.

Four, Charles in the Sky First Chapter, Final Fancy Tactics, The Ivilis Chronicles, Zelda, Breath of.

The Wild, and Tears of the Kingdom.

Switch to first question. Anyone played Tactics, Yeah, okay, it's on my list. I love Tactics. I just haven't played it yet want to make sure somebody has so.

I didn't plead the original, so it's hard for me to like say, but it seems like people are pretty happy with it. Yeah, by getting Yeah, I don't know that I would go back to the what do I have it on? It was on PSP. I played the game for the first time, a PSP classic or whatever you want to call it, and.

Then I went to PS three for the War the Lions one.

Yeah, I can't foresee going back to it in any other way now that I played this one.

Okay, these are all really good. Boy. I know the Tony Hawk four stuff bothered some people that were big on the like more open original game. I don't know. I don't know where you guys are right with Like Tony Hawk.

I played a lot of three plus four.

It didn't bug me, but didn't bugged me either, you know, and it felt incredible, Like the important part of those games is the feel of it. That's why Tony Hawk HDU sucked, But like this was killer. I loved it. I love Delta Oblivion. Is anyone going to go to back for Oblivion if we're looking for seft to cut? So I played a lot of Oblivion remastered.

I think that's a weird one because I think there are very special things that they kept from the original that make the remaster feel just as weird and out of place and kind of awkward in.

A way that I really appreciate. But I also, god, I don't know.

I don't even know how to talk about that, to be honest, Like I I I think it could probably go out of how I feel because it is they like added sprint and like made the graphics better, but it is still the same Jankie game, which I love. But they're like weird things that I'm like, oh, you could have done this too, and it would just been a little smooth, a little more interesting, Like you could have just taken a tiny risk here.

I think you can take out Zelda too.

I was gonna say, I don't.

I mean, I just don't think it did anything that in fucking groundbreaking.

The important thing with those is the performance, and it is like I did play through, like I'm probably gonna finish it, but I finished three of the four shrines and Breath the Wild again, and you know, it's my favorite game ever, and it just plays so much better. But as far as like adding things, I mean there was like the fucking Zelda notes, bullshit app stuff or whatever like that. Better things on this list, Yeah, totally. I am very glad that those remasters not even they're

But from what I understand and kind of like the sentiment I've heard is that this is kind of how people wish they remade the Final Fantasy seven. Like it's very true to that original, but at the same time, they redid the entire art style, they redid the combat, they brought it up, they brought it up to like sort of a modern audience, you know, in a way

Are we thinking that Metal Year and Tony Hawk are locks and we have to decide between Trails and Tactics. Yes, sure, yeah, I guess I would look to Jake for that. Then, oh God is ere in the same spot with both those games.

It seems your favorite child.

I feel like I didn't play enough of Tactics to do you feel pretty strongly about Tacticals.

Like Tactics, I think Tactics is very well received, But the most important opinion is this table.

Yeah, no, I mean I love.

Final Fantasy Tactics was one of my favorite games of the few hours I played of Ivolis Chronicles. Again, it's just so much more convenient to play, and also I think they it was a pretty faithful job they did. I didn't play Trials in the Sky though.

I will also say I think a great remake or remaster is like, you know, taking some of the biggest and best games of all time and making them more accessible to modern audiences. And I think nobody's going to deny that medal year solid Tony Hawk, Final Fantasy Tactics. These are like pillars. I'll be honest, I don't know what the fuck Trails in the Sky is sure, so like, I don't know if that's as necessary you know, maybe that's just me. I don't know what it is, but yeah,

I have to give you credit for this as well. This is like your expertise, and I have seen the before and afters. It looks really good. They did a great job, so I wouldn't be mad if this one. I think this is a totally fair argument, unless anyone has like a strong argument for someone else.

I will say I started up Metal Gear Solid Delta and I was like, played this game before, not that long ago, don't need to play this, and like all deaf for it. I played five minutes and I was like, I'm good, don't don't need to play it. I think that's unfair. You know I probably should have played more before I say more, but I do think like there is an argument that this doesn't necessarily need kind of like the same thing I was thinking with Oblivion, where it's like, does this really need it?

I mean, you can say that about Tony Hawk too, Like, you know, I played Tony Hawk First Skater three several times a year, like since it came out, even like recently, and it didn't need it. But I like the fact that it is just available and looks better for modern audiences, easily playable and modern hardware and stuff like. I just think these are very important games to like be easily playable in twenty twenty five and beyond.

I think it has to go to the judge. Oh shit, sorry, Bud, give us that sweet, sweet beat.

That'll give me time to think. Way for the bongos. Uh, it's going to Final Fantasy Tactics.

He's the judge. He's the judge. He gets to make these calls.

I I mean, but I also love Final Fantasy Tactics, So I'm not like mad.

I'm just happy.

I'm like mantle gear a Tony Hawk tough ship. Next category, it's not poop a k A most okay. Game of the Year nominees are Assassin's Creed Shadows, Mafia the Old.

Country, Nintendo Switch to Welcome.

Tour, Mario Kart World, and Borderlands. For I want to say one thing. I don't think any of us played Mafia the Old Country, so I don't know that it's fair that it's even here.

I did, Oh you did, that's why finished?

Oh weird? Have you ever met this man?

Your friend?

Supposedly, I don't follow his work.

Oh my god.

Wow.

I think Assassin's Creed Shadows should also not be on this list.

It's pretty good.

I think it's pretty good. I think it's unfair. I understand we're having.

A bit of a lull, but I think Assassin's Creed.

I think it did good for an Assassin's Creed, and I think it gets it's I think it should get its due, and I think it should be.

Off this list.

I feel like Dan has something to say.

I do.

Oh the way you were looking, I was like, I'm just drunk. It's still mad about that metal years. Yeah, I was thinking, like I can feel this. It's gonna be either Mario Kart World and Intend to Switch to Welcome Tour. I think Mario Kart World gets too much shit. I will agree it's not the top two Mario Karts ever, but it's not this huge disappointment. I think some people pointed as I would, Okay, I guess it is. It's okay.

Know, it's barely a game.

I kind of liked it.

I'm definitely more forgiving a welcome Tour. I kind of liked it.

I liked it, yeah too, because it was a very weird thing and like Nintendo was like telling you about all the features of their system in like mini games and it.

Very Nintendo way. Yeah. Yeah, there were many games like we want to show you very specifics about how like Rumble Motors.

Were four K with like one one that was awesome.

There were some clever stuff in there, for sure. Actually, you know what I like, I like to switch to Welcome Tour take it off here. I'm for that. I guess I don't know you did. You didn't play it, there's no way.

Yeah no, I'm gonna say then because we're already at our SMS. Mario Kart was just okay.

The way you described it sounded okay. I actually I think it's I had. I liked quite a bit about Borderlands for wow. I think my thing with Mario Kart World is like, man, they were cooking for so long. We had Mario Kart eight for like ten years before that came out, and it's just kind of like, all.

Right, there's an open world and there, and there's the to be fair, there is the cool like wall writing stuff, but what percentage of players actually they don't and the open world stuff is not as much of a game. Like when I saw that first trailer for World, I was like, this is the game changer, this is the killer app, and like it's a very good game. But yeah, after like a ten year wait and everything, like what could they possibly do with the next Mario card and

Uh. Nomin Or runner ups are Borderlands four, Mafi The Old Country, but the winner is Mario Kart World. Great all right, next category, all right A fan favorite the most fucked Fucker. Shout out to Deadlock, who came up with this the only podcast I listened to. And nominees are Fox Mask from Silent Hill, F.

The Birthing Monster from Silent Hill, F The Banana Thieves from Lego Party, Mulgren from The Midnight Walk, Libra from Eldon Ring Night Rain, All Three, All the Act Three Bosses in Silk Song, Bush from megabonk Fred from Look Outside, Higgs from Death Stranding two.

ORNI dude in Haities two?

Do we is this dionics is that he's the guy with the lead that always wants to fuck It.

Describes a lot of them, though, doesn't you guys know Matt Riddle. He looks like Matt Riddle.

He's the guy who's like, one, Hey, what's up?

Do you want to have some? Diis? I think, yeah, you want to have some? And the cow from or just Cow from Mario Kark.

Is it possible, Judge Yake, for you to replace this category text with images from some of these characters, because I think it's important that might be.

I know, I don't want to push it, but but also for the audio.

Some of my arguments are so based on the visual design of these characters that either all of the people in the audience are gonna have to google them or you're gonna have to put up a quick image.

You know, so many people will listen on audio that I think, like, if you do want to see, I'd say google, but.

I would say, do your breast to describe. I would say, like, you know some of the more fucked up ones. Okay, well, I to start out, I would say a birthing monster I think deserves it over Fox Mass from Silent Hill left totally.

Yeah, I think I put fox Mass on there.

I put fox Mass sounds like there's got to be something in here. And then I saw you added birthing monster. I was like, oh, yeah, that's the one.

The birthing monster is what it sounds like. It is like literally giving birth. I think it's a classic Silent Hill. It's indicative of horrors of birth. Of children. It's crying, it's slithering, it's vile, it's bulbous, it's pussy. It's really fucking upsetting, and it does lock you in a space with it with a key. There's no way out, and if you kill it, it just comes back. You can't actually kill it, Like I think this is a puzzle where you have to solve it with this, with this

I mean, I never even saw the video everyone saw in Junior High of actual birth, and like everyone acted like that was horrifying. So I don't even know that looks like I'm sure this is worse than that. Right, it's not as bad, but the real is like it probably we don't.

Like I can't even imagine birth, and I think it does.

It? Really?

Why did you say that with a safe cadence like I like holes like Mary kishive, we don't want it.

I think it's a very clear horror for so many people, and yeah, absolutely vile. I think it. I think personally it should remained.

There's something on here that doesn't belong.

Now.

To be fair, I've only played this once, but the Banana Thieves and Lego Party.

Were coming cool dudes.

I thought they were in that. Hey, hey, Mike, why don't you describe what they fucking do? What is there one thing they do? The Banana Thieves and Lego party.

They pull up in like the penultimate round, in a banana shaped boat with like sixteen mufflers and they're dressed like bananas, matching the boat with sunglasses, and they've got night at the Roxbury era cell phones the size of like fucking the like the key cards in GoldenEye. Then when someone rolls up and pays them seventy five Lego studs, they steal it from.

Damn they Then they don't just steal it for me do? They then call in.

A fleet of balloon riding monkeys in the sky, one monkey of which has a similar cell phone, is like, yeah, we got a boss, and they all just drop onto the person that you put the hit on. Yeah. So it was me like eight times with like a fleet of monkeys falling on me, And like I think, because like Lego's staying true to the property, They're like, well, it has to just be the monkey figs that we

Like no, and a bunch of the monkeys just kind.

Of fall and pile on this person steal whatever you tell them to steal, whether it's the gold brick more often than not, I would imagine, or some studs. Then they just basically like Fulton Recovery system back up into the sky, and the banana dudes like, all right, peace out, and then he goes to the next place to make it.

Give you the gold brick that the monkeys fucked you for.

Cool, Yes, cool dudes.

In case that was not clear, it just in general does not. Yeah, it was not.

The monkeys piling on them had more than a hint of some uh salacious behavior.

Yeah, if you're under a pile of monkeys that are all just like shaking, and yeah, it's really fucked up stressed.

And then so in order to so like to Jake's point, like the banana thieves are actually pretty fucking cool. And then oh and then they have the audacity to show up to the awards ceremony in the last place.

The monkeys are like yeah, yeah.

Yeah, we know what we did. Yeah, they're they're so fucking cool. They should have been in Cool Dudes, they are badass.

I don't think they would have beat out.

I think it's funny. I think it depends on who's hiring them. I don't think they belong here.

I don't either. They should have been a ghost of Yotakil Tree unlocked to get the banana themes and ghost of that's like mon and then you just they just descend on every like outpost and just wreck the Samurai.

Cool.

Yeah, you're playing the guitar like. I'll be honest, if they didn't just fuck me into the last place today, I'd be like, God, this is the coolest thing I've ever heard.

I know they gotta goers dance.

Fucker were coming force. I agree.

I think I put in the molegrim. Anyone who has played The Midnight Walk. If you haven't, here's my short sales pitch.

This is a uh I want to look up mom, because you told us to get.

Everyone Google mole Grim the Midnight Walk. It's listed in the upper left corner so you can see how to spell it.

This is like a.

Claymation style game. You're in first person, you're running from I want to say it looks like a slithering shit. It looks like a gray slug with sharp teeth.

You know what it looks like to me is it looks like you know, in the eighties they would make these shitty horror movies and stuff, but it was all like practical effects would be like the Monsters stuff. It looks like a thing made of like rubber, and.

Like, yeah, that thing looks it's like someone's thumb that was decomposing and then a grow a nose and teeth, eyes.

It doesn't look like it should be alive. But it is hunting you. And a huge component of this game, and the reason I added it isn't just the way it looks, but it also like it's hunting you, and so you have to hide under these peaks in the game, and when you hide, even if you hide, if it saw you, it chases you and sticks its head in the hole to look for you and having it like look really close, it gets really into the camera looking over and around you. Very upsetting. It's a terrifying boss.

Obviously this sounds like, this sounds great for this category.

Yeah, he's nasty, so he's a good it's good. He is a good person for this category. I think I don't know if he's a person. He's a good little slug.

I think we got a couple of potential cuts here. One I don't love. I have not seen all the Act three bosses and soilks on I'm sure they all suck ass in terms of just like this is just a huge pain in the ass to kill, but like a huge blumpanglers, like a whole axe bosses into one thing. I don't know. This seems like we got some strong options here.

Put this in there. I don't remember placing this. I do think that the bosses and Silk Song are really agro and they're very difficult. But even like the main girl that you fight at the very end, what's her name and a.

Song?

Yeah, she's got all the clouds around her, and she's tiny and white, and she's got this tiny.

Spin or needle or pointy or something point. She's really tough, jade fire.

She's brutal, and she's not even the toughest. I just think like you're getting to a point where it's really stressful. I don't actually think that she's a fucked fucker, though, because that descriptor is for someone who looks that's for someone who looks vile. I'm so thirsty. Wait, are we at a beer?

No?

No, get something else.

Anyway, I don't think she belongs. So let's take out the Act three bosses.

Wait, hold on? I put that there.

I was like, did you do Act three? Did you complete Act three?

I didn't complete Act three?

Actory is fucking brutal.

That is almost the reason I stopped playing that game.

But it's gonna come up.

To that Act three.

I'm looking into it. I don't think that they're fuckers.

I think they are all fuckers except for one.

There's one boss that isn't and there's a very touching story as to why that boss is there and I and I liked it. But all the other ones Buckings. Have you done Coral Tower? Yes, I just finished hated that ship.

Yeah, that one's really really tough, and there's a really tough run back for it as well. So every time you lose, there's like a five minute journey to get back to the boy.

It's just arena arena, arena arena, and then.

The I know, but the end reward.

I'm venting a little because that Act three almost broke me. Like that almost broke me.

I almost wish I didn't play through Act three because of how whoa much like how brutal that third act was something I ended like I got credits on two, which I did, and then it's like I did the.

First kind of like went down. I was like, I got so many other games playing now, I've been playing like sixty hours of Soak Song and maybe I'll come back to Act three and like, so my thoughts on such song are very positive.

I've heard stuffing that're still very positive. But Act three was such a and they like I don't want to spoil things. They like do things to the world that also make it more of a pain to traverse in a way that I also did not like to. Act three for me was just I was just I felt like I was banging my head against the keyboard the

What characters?

Anyway?

I just need to get that off my chest.

Okay, No, I'm like fair, but it's a fair thing to bring You're talking about in the end of Act two, not at all what I was talking about.

It's just I'm not talking about that either.

Yeah, those those bosses are absolutely.

This is a fair point. I don't think they belong in this category.

I don't.

I I will cut Higgs from Death Training two. Uh, this is stiff competition. This is Troy Baker's character, the main bad guy from desth training two. He's just a weird joker, guitar player, guy that like wants to end the world. And uh, he always got a tragic backstory or something. It's it's not the deepest character. He's fucked up, for sure. He has a guitar. He says, to win fire a bunch. Uh, there's better stuff in this category. Okay, cow,

It's fucked up.

That sounds cool.

I don't know if he's.

I would sounds like a cow having a good time.

I don't trust him.

I think cows deserve to be able to live better lives.

It's pretty cool.

That seems awesome that you lost cred.

All right, that's pretty cool, Cad.

While you guys are, while you guys are googling Google Fred from look outside. This is important that I explained that this is a character that you meet. When you meet him, he says, I'm a painter and there are people trying to hurt me. You need to know I am the real Fred. Kill all the other Freds. The next thing you do, I don't think that's that's a Listen. I'm listening.

I'm trying to Fred.

So the next thing you need to know is is you open a freezer and in the freezer is a decapitated head of Fred on like an alien body. And the head says, I am Fred. The person you just talked to is not Fred. That person is an impostor. They cut my head off, they put me in here. I am the real Fred. And you have to you have to help me kill that guy immediately and protect me.

Yeah.

There's there's Wriglyfred. There's tumor Fred. There's bright Fred. There's shadow Fred Fred who bites toxic Fred, godhead Fred, faceless Fred.

Look at this, I this seems incredible.

It's actually very different.

He is.

And it's also very the thing because the whole point of what this is setting up is somebody's lying to you and you, as the character, get to decide who the real Fred is. I think this is one of the more brilliant things that happens. And Look Outside, which anyone who doesn't know, is a game where you it's kind of like a point and click adventury thing, but you're you have to solve a horror. This is a

I mean Mary. Between Fred and Mulgrum, I mean these are two like slam dunks.

I know they are both slam dunks and I think, like take the cow off. I can't. Yeah, I can't. I'm glad you didn't ask me. I think they both belong on him.

Look awesome. Yeah, uh, Mike, I'm with you. On the bush from Megabank, that's fucked up. Do you want to tell about the bush?

Yeah? So, uh, First, the first forest level in Megabank, on a tier one, you can come across a bush that has googly eyes that's kind of like tracking you, and then you can press X on it to like, uh, what does it? Investigate the bush and then all of a sudden, two feet in a snipe rifle pop out of it starts yeah, and you see bush and then he starts chasing you. In the first tier, it's uh, you see red laser sites track you down and take out like half your health with each shot that he makes.

Like that is like the soul of a fucked fucker, where it's like you just think, it's like, oh, what's this bush? I can hit X on this, And there's so many things in that game where it's like, oh, it's a pot, No, I got some gems. It's like, oh, here's the thing. Oh I got a nice thing, and it's like a bush, I can hit X on it. And then it's like hunting with a sniper. Every world has one.

There's the Bandit in the Desert, and I forget the third one, and they're all really difficult if you do them too early. You really need to know what you're doing, or you need to be confident you're at the right level. But Bush is the first one, and then it's very funny that you can then unlock Bush as a character later on. Yeah, he's a he's a fucker. It was like we can probably cut horny, like this is a very strong category. Now we got some real contenders. The horny dude in Hades two.

Every time I get to his area and I was like, I'm just walking to this weird fu hotel, Like, yeah, man, I just want to whatever you give me, I just want to clean. And you know, I think Dionysius, it's the guy with a leaf on his dick and he's just like drunk and it's like some some weird going on. Yeah, yeah, I think there's so much like weird to cow people dancing around and stuff.

Tell me about Libra, Yeah, well I was gonna offer that one up as a as a cup. But Libra, I think has kind of become notorious in Night Rain for being a bit of a fucked fucker. Uh. He does this thing when you do an ever dark run where he summons a bunch of random people who come and fight against you and just he's a pain in yass. But I don't think he's as fucked as some of these other ones. Yeah, we got some This is a crazy categories here, and yeah, I think it's because it's

They're all miserable.

Yeah, we got the bush. I kind of like the idea keeping bush because it's a different flavor of fucked. The rest of these guys, I agree, so out of the like just horrific hr Geiger, you know, crafty and whatever. Like, Can we which one of those can we cut?

Yeah?

I think either Birthing Monster or Mulgram probably this. I like what I've seen in a way that i've seen Silent will be sucked up before.

I'm gonna I'm gonna do something out of character, and I'm gonna say the Birthing Monster can go because I expect this ship from Silent Hill. They they have consistently made horrible, disgusting monsters, and they've also played with like children birth before and other Silent Hills. This wasn't outrageously.

Related to correct.

This wasn't something where I was like, I can't believe it. I've never seen a Fred before where they have ten characters that are all pretending to be Fred, but only one of them is Fred and the others are monsters that have consumed his soul. I've never seen a Mulgrim, which is like some kind of weird toilet slug that's found its way out and is trying to also eat you. These are very stressful character designs that deserve more.

I think I think your description of Fred was what sold me on that, and he's different, and I would recommend you know, Mike looked it up and like Mary said, like looking at it is helpful look up Fred from Look Outside.

The well play Look Outside. I mean, ultimately, like the reason we do this Game of the Year showcase and we talked to you about all these games is because they're all worth playing. There's a lot of reasons to play all the games that are nominated. For various reasons, people probably won't I think naturally want to play or like expect to play Look Outside. This is an indie ass indie game. It might not it might not take all of your boxes, but if you're interested in scary games,

A safe room. Like no, that's cool, Okay, it's very cool.

So it's designed to scare the shit out of you, and they do an excellent job. So if you like to be scared, check out.

Horror earth Bound or Horror Mother three.

Yeah, Nightmare Fuel.

I'm told that sounds cool as hell.

Okay, well we've got it.

Then.

The most fucked fucker runner ups are Bush, Megabank, Mulgram, Midnight Walk, and the winner is Fred from Lookoutside.

All right, have some heavy hitters this here for that one that's cool to have.

Look Outside win anything that's awesome. I'm really excited you told me. Yeah, yeah, all right.

Next up?

Next up is Best Game to Look At.

Oh, this is a vision. This is like not just visual fidelity, every artistic style, direction, color, you name it. So it's just like we keep these really vague and kind of generic intentionally to be like, what would.

You like looking at?

Yeah? Yeah.

And the nominees this year are Ghost of.

Jota, Silent Hill, Kingdom Come, Deliverance Too, Death Stranding two, Shanobi, Art of Vengeance, Keeper, Sectory, Sort Of a Sea, The Midnight Walk, Claire Obscure Expedition thirty three, Metroid Prime.

Four, Luminous Ares.

Ooh man, I'm looking for easy cuts and it's not even that easy, I know.

I mean, I'm gonna I'm gonna offer up a couple. I think that Keeper is really cool. I'm going to offer it for a couple of reasons. It's a really neat looking artistic style. I think it looks good. It did not play great for me on a Steam deck. It like they didn't obviously like make sure that it played on a lot of different consoles, and I think that's a bummer. So I think that is a cut for me, just because if.

You want it to play good, it has to play I have another potentially controversial cut. I think there's some really cool environments in Clare Obscure. I don't think it's the best looking game. I think it's actually pretty rough around the edges. I don't think.

Fidelity wise, it's necessarily the mostly pushing the I love the design so much that you're just that weird, you know, swirly Eiffel Tower, and like the design of like the guest rolls and a bunch of these characters, even like the actual main party and everything. I think they all k cool.

You know, the first major area, you're basically in like a coral reef, but it's not underwater, almost like it's really it looks awesome.

Yeah, like your hair is floating like you're underwater, but you're running like you're not underwater. I thought that was cool.

And part of the reason I've never really clicked with turn based RPGs and stuff is I feel like so many of them are so tropy, and like, all right, I got a big sore and there's a fucking castle, and it came whatever, I don't give a shit this Like, I've never really seen a game where the characters and environments looked quite like this, and that is kind of why I was willing to go outside of my usual comfort Ja. Yeah you can. Also you can.

You can have characters in with berets and baguettes slung over their shoulders, So that's cool, it is.

Yeah, we're gonna have to make some cuts, I think, like, can we if no one is opposed, let's take out Keeper.

That game is so beautiful, though artistically I think it's we can't keep them all so far ahead of a lot of these games.

All right, all right, tell me, Judge, I need you to throw some stuff out.

Then things throw out? Well, uh, okay, Lumin's a rise Luminous. That game. It's a great puzzle game. But part of Luminus has always been the sights and sounds and it's just beautiful shifting. But like if you've played the tetrisffect again, Luminis kind of did that before Tetris effect. We're just kind of shifting you never knew, like, oh this time it's apples and broccoli, and now it's shifting into like it's taxis and ice, and you know, it's just the

Uh.

I don't think it's gonna hang with some of the other ones here, but it is a beautiful game and the music's fantastic.

I don't think it's gonna make it okay. I think we can cut personally secretory. I think it's a really clean, vibrant looking game, but it is.

Really Wars beautiful. Yeah, yeah, not in this category.

It's what I want. It's exactly what I want that game to look like. It's readable, I know what I'm doing effect.

Even Luminous Arise on most or like even Geometry a Wars was like they did that.

I wouldn't change the thing about the way that game looks, but like there's every one's doing more interesting things with Yeah, what about Metro Prime four. I think you even said that in your head it kind of looks like metrics and maybe Yeah, it's just I'm a mark for you know that metroc Prime Nostologia. But like everything is just so clean. It's it's the best looking Nintendo game like ever. It's just that design is.

What is that?

It's not a really good argument, damn, just out of nowhere. We're talking about ghost of your time. We're talking about like these are like games are so sunningly beautiful, and you're like, of all the other Metroids, which are a bunch of stinkers, this one looks pretty like I'm just saying, like none of them are known for their art style.

Metro Yes, beautiful fucking sies. What are you talking about?

This entire category is about pushing art to its limit. That's really not what Metroid is known for.

The I disagree with that, but I do think with metro print, like the desert in metrod Prime for.

It's empty, the deserts are I will I will say the design of Samus and just nostalgia goes a long way. You need a shovel, dug. Nostalgia goes a long way with it. It I've been thinking a lot about my thoughts the Metro Prime four A lot.

Is the most up it's can we put Dan up? I've been thinking a lot about my thoughts on this game.

This. I feel like Dan's being kind of obnoxious.

Right now and you won't acknowledge, Like it's not that Metroid. Metroid is a beautiful game. I'm not saying it's not. I'm just saying, like we're talking about category, Like this category is like about incredible visual aesthetic. These are like really pushing it. It has that Metroid Prime four pushed the boundaries of visual aesthetics to a new level.

Everyone's talking about beautiful aesthetic.

Played this game.

I've looked at it, which is what you need to do to vote for this.

Category best game to look at? You know this ethereally space adventure. The design of a samusis suon in these alien worlds, everything, the Vault Forge, the way, like I said, these environments look fucking incredible. Like Metroid is a beautiful game has always been a beautiful game, going back to the nes Sites sounds, Metroid is very much known for that, and I think Metroid Prime four is one right there.

I just feel like you're looking at a bunch of tunnels and doors.

Oh is it time? Yes, he just said.

I've been thinking about my thoughts about this game a lot lately.

Mary has an, I have a Christmas gift for you.

Oh what are we doing? She had something for you?

Can you?

I want to be careful with our setup, but is it possible?

What is this?

That camera closer?

Oh my god?

This just so that we can make sure that the audience.

Yeah, Mary said, like, let me know when Dan's being the most obnoxious. This is my Wendy's moment.

Yeah, Dan, I made you something. I made this for you based on who you are. To me, mean, I really appreciate it if when you show this gift, because it takes time for you to reveal it, that the audience gets to enjoy it too. So I'd like you to like kind of show it like this is that Okay, not the New Yorker.

That's just the reveal.

It's not the New Yorker, Okay.

Okay, it's just uh this here, I got it. What the just au kf b R three nine two but okay, looks a lot like it. It's the Fire Escapes, Pad mh. I appreciate the reference.

You're reference game of the year.

It's the Clues. Okay, all right, I don't have any problems yet.

That's weird.

Oh, it's a lot of time involved to make this.

Oh my, keep going. You can't fake that.

That's just a marker on a paper.

I spent three months on this.

Good what's on the page for.

The audio listener? If you've seen mcgruber, it's pretty much a one to one so far of the KFPR three. I'm too Pad of just shining all Jack working, no play. It's just my name a million times over? Uh in a notepad?

Oh my god.

Da, it's a it's look, there's no description I can do.

That's gonna do this justice? Right now?

You should find the video version. This is on a notebook paper with actual marker.

There's the way you fake this. I can feel the marker ink. Let's get that close, Mike.

You want to describe that? Yeah, it's it's Mary hanging from a like what looks like a trellis pooping on Dan or Mike Manatti from way above. It's a pretty good drawing me.

It's a red steno. It's the exact same notebook that he made in the book.

You said, like when Dan's being like very Dan, I ironically love this. I know I told you that. I'm like, if you think this is going to deflate his ego, no, why I am putting this in there was like my yearbooks.

And that this is this is as soon as you said, I've been thinking a lot about my thoughts on this day.

I've been thinking a lot about you and how much I hate I also love you.

This is fantastic.

This is incredible practice.

Yeah ship stuck my hands suck, Yeah sucks all right, probably, ok right, this is incredible.

Okay do we really cut my red pranport defend me?

I didn't play it yet.

Oh. I think that series is I think that series is purposely kind of dark, and I think when that series uses color, it's with the intention and I think it's no. Yeah, but I don't need to defend you. We don't have to cut it yet. But like looking at this list, I already know what my winner is. I'm just trying to find the other cuts to get there. All thrown out there. I think like Kingdom Come Deliverance is a very beautiful game and it relies on realism in a way to create its world, and I think

I want to cut Shanobi. I think that art style is killer. I think certain things like these super attacks where the dragon comes in there, like there's some of that just hand around art style is incredible. But there's a lot of areas too, in environments that are just like, I don't know, here's a big kind of like factory area. Here's just like you know, some of the like it doesn't really stand out. I think it it looks great. It's a stacked category.

It's stacked. I think we should talk about death stranding too.

I mean, I think out of all these that's probably the most like, holy shit, photorealistic fidelity type, you know, like that is. But it also it's not like it's boring realistic. It is very surreal, otherworldly, you know. It's.

Yeah, there's pars in that game, like a there's the uh when the what the characters when they were walking toward the first plate gate. Oh yeah, all those characters. Oh yeah, the costume design, the like, the depth. But even right at the beginning when you start off, I don't seek out photorealism in games. I actually think, like, I'm kind of not against it, but it really does not do much for me. But early on in that

But like and look, I know, photo realism, like some people might find it boring or whatever, but like if you just talking about like people looking like people in looking like these actors, the facial animations and things like that, Like the capture technology is like it's in a league of its own, you know. I think there's something to be said for that.

I'd say, uh, just to kind of changeups, I think. I think Silent Hill Left probably doesn't hang. I think that is a very beautiful game, and the way it uses color is impressive, But they're also like like early on you're just kind of going through the very monotone town and it's like, I know it's intentional.

Yeah, it's foggy, it's a it's a dream like nightmare.

I don't think it hangs.

As much as I do like the direction and art style of it, I think like it's a it's.

A category all I will concede. I think if we're at this point, I think we have to rea talk about Claire obscure. Yeah, I would like someone has to be an advocate for this game at this point.

I also say, right now, I think the heavy hitters are I think Ghost of Yota. I think that's training two. To me, those are the two. I didn't play sort of the Sea, but from what I saw it looks it looks awesome, but it looks awesome in the way that like Journey or you know, the other games from this developer ab Zoo like have looked they're stunning.

I think it's a stunning design. I think we've seen that style before. I do love the sand and the addition of like sea creatures with the sand, it looks amazing. It's funny like as we keep talking about the stuff though, like I'm maybe more inclined to keep Keeper than I am sort Of the Sea. And that's just at where we're at with this conversation. But like, there are games I'm going to fight for and I'm not sure if I would fight for sort of the Sea. It's beautiful, though.

You know.

AI, and just like the way that artists are making games, this game is handmade. It's it's incredible that they've constructed this the way that they have, and all the characters they look ridiculous, and they've done such a good job creating original, disgusting characters. So at this point, at some point it's subjective and I have to let.

It go up. I'll say, uh, I think Expedition thirty three is beautiful, but looking at the rest of this list, I don't know if it's gonna hang. I think the environmental Artist, Yeah, yeah, I'll be willing to like again, this is very stacked.

I also, I mean Keeper, I know I fought for it, but looking at like Ghosts of Yota, I mean i'd say Keeper over Death Stranding, but I would too, But I mean Midnight Walk, I think is one that I wouldn't want.

To Yeah to me, it's Yota des stranding in Midnight Walk, Michael, I.

Think The thing with Keeper though, is like every single frame or shot in that game I think you could print and put on your wall and it would look incredibly like it doesn't it doesn't look like a video game in a video game way. They did this very cool watercolor style that just gives so much depth and layer to that game in a way like I don't think I've seen a game with that style. Uh, And like you know, as I just said, like I would

Dots on someone's face, just zoom in on someone's cheek doesn't mean that it's an amazing just the.

Technical stuff like what Mike was saying about, like that that playgate thing with like all the like cult is going in and.

I will say, like the first time in Death Straining when you go into that like alternate reality and you fight that one guy and there's.

All the maybe the most stunning looking things. This is the best game to look at. I first saw that section when I was at that preview event Japan. Let it sit there, and it's the ferris wheel and the like.

Yeah that parts.

They lots more tree stuff.

You know.

I'm so glad you brought that up because when I was at that preview event, you know, there were like thirty people playing the game, all on different things in the same room, and you know, I'm getting up to use the bathroom stuff. I had food poisoning, I was shipping my brains out, Etcagma production really, oh my god, I chat so much there. Well, no, I need to know that. That's crucial and it's crazy. So on one of my nineteen ships.

Because you were a production, how much consistency.

I would get out toilets and I would walk and just taking my time, and uh so people were getting ahead of it. And you saw this Ferriss wheel scene and then you actually ship your pants as five chili dogs.

Oh my god, the chili dogs don't eat it. Give ahead a little more.

So as soon as I'm walking to the bathroom and like I would just out of the corner of my eye see all these different stations and I would just see these like spinning pinwheel like with all the light and they were putting on we had bass ps fives at that, and I was like, what the fuck is that. I would like be trying to look away, but I was like, that is a stunning looking sequence, and then I got to it, and holy shit, Like I do think that that Neil section with the fireworks and everything

I would say like that was the moment where I was like, oh, like they like you don't even see that stuff on PC, like like it's just tremendous.

Yeah, well, Judge, I think this has to go to you. I don't think I'm willing.

To cut that stranding Midnight.

I think I think as much as I love Keeper and Mary, that was like the first one you brought up.

I think I think that's I'll take it.

I think that's fair. I want to start this by saying I believe very firmly that the winner here is Ghost. I agree, and I think it is incredible in so many ways. I don't think we should have to argue for it. If we're all in alignment, it is so unbelievable we don't have.

To argue, but I think we do need to give it credit of things where's like there's obviously the fidelities is stuff, like it's a beautiful looking game, Like the environment's incredible the way that like, oh, the snowy area, this kind of umninal area. But then even the little things like you know, how many fucking maps have we looked at in open world games? And you look at the map here and just all the kind of like you know, paint lines and stuff and just kind of

Again, like every like Sword hillt you get like even if it's not like the style you're going for without too, it's so like just looks incredible with the threads around the hilt. But like I don't like every single environment I was in the scale the lighting, the color, like use of color is up there, like Assassin's Creed Origins.

There's the late title card when you're riding the horse and you just see the mountain in the background. Stuff, Like it's rare than I'm like taking a back.

Feel like kill Bill meets Glorious Bastards meets in the mood for Love. It feels like wankr WHI was involve with every shot of that and the fact that you're controlling the camera and they still manage to make every single site line that beautiful is.

And it's a part of the design. When you choose your next mission, it's done through the flower petals in the wind, Like how nice is that? It's not an arrow, it's the wind going through the reeds that you're running through on your horse, like hot damn.

Like a lot of that they did that in Sushima, you know, the winds and everything. But like I think they just took everything and just up a notch. They really did with something like the cinematic quality of this, Like I mean the Sushma was very influenced by Kersawa and I'm different movies and stuff, but like, I think the cinematic influence is much more obvious in the direction of this one.

Yeah, and like a lot of the quests know exactly how good looking the world is. It's like it's not go to this place, it's there's a very there's an orange tree somewhere in this area, go find it, and then you stumble upon it. I forget what kind of tree it is. It's not the Ginkgo trees, but it's like, yeah, it's gorgeous. And then you're finding these like ice statues

I think that game looks incredible.

Yeah.

I think it's the winner, all right. I already bowlded it good best game to look at.

Runner ups are Midnight Walking, Death Straining too, but the winner is Ghost of Vote yep.

Nice. Next category is category.

Is best game to listen to? Second to last before we get the Game of the Crista. Nominies are South of Midnight, Keeper, Sectory, Luminous or Eyes Stranding two, Hollow Night, Silk Song, Metroid Prime four, Beyond Doom, The Dark Ages, Claire Obscular, Arc Raiders.

Uh, I'll cut Death Stranding.

I do well the game that you've put in every category that's crazy, and.

I've cut a lot too.

I just think like I always am annoyed whenever it's a movie or game or something, and I feel like the soundtrack is like, oh, it's the creator being like, check out my eclectic taste.

You know.

It's like it's I hated Baby Driver. It's like, yeah, we get it, Edgar Wright, like, oh yeah, we've we've heard the music. It's just annoying to me. It's people trying to be I just don't like Baby Driver.

As a movie.

But I mean, I think all the music and deest randing makes sense for what's happening. But it's just like, all right, we get it today. I follow your Instagram, I get it.

You know, Keeper is better to look at than sound.

Yeah, yeah, I agree.

I think there's respectfully cool tracks.

But like, like, let's be real here, they can all be winners.

Sectory kicks ass. I mean it might as well be Jountry Warst music to me, you know, which is good for whatever.

It's not the winner, and I think we have to start like being a bit more our creators. The sound design is incredible. Is this really like our best game to listen to?

All?

Well?

Actually? So? I think the thing about our creators though, is that the sound design implies how you play that game. Like, the sound design is so important to that game in my opinion. You can hear where there's gun, yeah, like like the guns sound differently, so you know what people are using away you. You can hear the robots. You know it's robots.

You're gonna have to do it.

So I think, like maybe it doesn't sound pretty as like some of these other games, but I think like the actual usefulness of the sound design, I think is something that a lot of games don't quite get to that level. So the proximity chat genuinely sounds like there's an echo to it when you or in certain sized buildings. That's like it does actually kind of reverberate around bigger rooms, and then when they're in small hallways, it sounds like it's right there.

Like I think, oh, high boss.

I think a good example is like Battlefield has incredible sound design, but it's like not all that useful and you're actually playing it, you know, it's just like.

A bunch of like just cacocophony. You know, it's just a bunch of shit happening.

But in our graders, it's like it's very intentional and like every sound means something, and I think that's pretty cool.

Yeah, not the game that I want to listen to.

Metrod Trime Pour has all of the good Metroid sounds that you want to hear, and it has like a couple like all Timer tracks like that. The Pury Green track is incredible, but overall, I don't think it's going to hang.

It's just shocking that you, like, did you nominate those?

I don't know.

I may have you did this in Death Stranding too, I assume, but not Hades Too, which is like to listen too, has fucking music in it.

It has a boss.

Dedicated to music.

Oh, the sirens would be here, like like why we do what we do?

I don't remember any video games such a.

Music oriented video game, but you didn't nominate I don't remember game music South of Midnight is stunning and is set to musical tracks. So everything, the story, all the boss fights, they're all set to musical tracks. It is incredibly well done and it does deserve a nod. I would cut other things before I cut it. I think Doom love me some metal music, and I think it is really good metal music, but I don't think it's actually the best metal music I've ever heard.

I think this is the weakest of the Doom sound.

I agree.

Then the Luminous the music is a big part of the game, but I think Jacob Geller said something about how a lot of it sounds like songs that would be like Royalty Free on like a Netflix reality show or something like that. That yeah, and it's like I think I'm the PSP and every like. It works for the game and everything, but like, I cannot imagine listening to any luminous music outside of the context of luminis. I think we can cut it, Okay, does Hollow nine have good music.

Hollan Nite does have good music. I think it's within the context of it. It's hilarious. I think if if we had nominated other games, I would have been like holy shit, Like this game, like the music is so essential to the gameplay. I don't think that's true with Hollow Night, but I think it's incredible for world building an atmosphere.

You know a game I should nominate for this is Ball x Pit.

They've got some really fucking good songs, and that especially the Desert got stuck in my head for like six days.

There is good music in there. I think it's like, I think we're we're at the point though, where I think we've started making some like serious cuts, and I think if we're gonna fight really hard for our greaders, I would keep that over, but I won't lose Clare Obscure, which I think is just phenomenal and probably the winner, and South of Midnight, which I think put this game is about the music. The music is core to the game, and then the game mechanics work around the music.

That is so cool. I mean we didn't like the musicself of Midnight. It was like too on the note literal.

Yeah, Like when you're climbing the tree and it's like singing to you about climbing the tree, It's like, Yep, that's what I'm doing.

There's a body in that tree though.

Yeah, you know, I get why people like it, and I do think it. I think the music is self is good, but the way it's set to the game I couldn't do. But music is so core to that game, I'll take it.

We're also at a point with Ease three where we're arguing we are direction and music.

It's got really good soundcheck score and also the sound direction is good too for a turn based arpag like the noises when you're actually like connecting with the boss.

And it was just like to listen to like great voice acting.

Yeah, yeah, the voice actors unbelievably good.

Except for Ben Star.

It's okay, it's amazing.

They're also about this, Okay, best game to listen to. Runner ups are Arc Raiders in South of Midnight and the winner is verb Obscure Expedition thirty three Spill some Ink.

This is the final one, alright, the final top before before we take a break and then Top ten. Okay, yeah, here it is Dumbass of the Year.

Parentheses positive or negative here nowadays are Nate from Baby Steps, Miles Mackenzie from Metroid Prime four.

Void Kong from Donkey Kong Bonanza.

Dora of Hades two, doll Man deast Randing two, Tropio.

Hollow Night, Silk Song, Oh, Yachtslee from Avowed, the guest roles from Expedition thirty three and Mike, you want to take this one?

Randy Pitchford.

I boy, they're good ones here. I think do Main is just a cool dude. Yeah, I think we cut doll Man.

Dumb Man's fine.

You've seen that cigarette swim dance thing he does. Yeah, it's incredible and it's this old head stupid but so much.

Yes, yeah, uh hmm. Yachtsley is more just insufferable than a dumb ass. I just like Yachtsley is someone if she was my neighbor, I would move. Yeah, that's a good way to describe.

I don't know.

Yeah, I don't know. I get that's the dart in the bull's eye. I yeah, she's not great.

It sucks. Oh god. The gest rolls are so fucking good. I think they embody kind of down. There's such little fucking ships and they're like good, but they're such there there.

They're so quick to talk.

Ship even though they're like a quarter of your size, Like you come, are you fact?

Those? He's really good at this, He's like, this is a dumb ass.

Good I gotta leaves really good, unbelievably.

Yeah, they're so fun. I love that. The same vein as Yachtley the fucking ghost from Haities two. Dora, I think again inferable. I don't think it's a dumb ass. She's just like, you're just I just hate talking to you. She's a I'm trying to think. I feel like they go a bit too like Manic Pixie dream Girl with her. It's just too gen z. Just uh, I hate you and now I'm sweet, Like you know, I just hate that ship. But like, I don't spoil it, but what

She's an explorer.

I don't know Dora.

Like God, I don't want to spoil it because people haven't done it, but but like immediately met this character and I was like, Okay, they are doing this thing.

It's this this character in mythology or whatever. And it's just like, Okay, Dora.

Saw it.

You saw it coming, yes, And to the point where I was like, that's such low hanging for but maybe it's.

There's a box involved. Oh but I was like, okay, okay, yeah, I just she sucks. Boy, void Kong is a dumb ass.

Uh.

I think he's really funny. I think he's the way but he's a dumb ass.

And it's also the way he's got stakes all over the world that you then destroy and he's Yeah.

Also it's so fucking funny. Again, we're spoiling this game of the year. But the fact that like he's built is like, I'm the bad guy in this game. I Void Kong and then like there the King k Rules comes like fuck you. Yeah, it's like you fucking suck. He's just plugging up holes all over the world. Yeah,

It's just like he's totally You have.

To feel strongly about these or either direction or they have to go.

I think I think Trobio is very good. Trobo's awesome.

He's a dumb ass.

Yeah, just a super cocky sings his own name and like, yeah, he's great.

I think he's kind of built this aura and he has a stage and there's all this text about him. I actually think Trobio is perfect for this list, so I think he should stay Nate. I don't feel super strongly about Nate positive or negative. But he is a dumb ass.

That's the thing he is. Like, he is so purely a dumb ass.

Turns down a map, turns down help, doesn't want to.

Just lives and just fucking sits around his dirty pajamas, and you know, it's like, yeah, you just you suck your dumb ass, you know, Like I don't know, but it's not like positive or negative. It's just like dumb. This is just a dumb dude, dude, you know. Yeah, it's like some of these other are lovable dumb asses or you're so fucking dumb. Uh it's notable. You know, who are you thinking with that? Hmm, Nate, like removing Uh Yeah, I just don't. I don't think it's positive

He does suckle. We gotta cut. I want to keep Trobio. I feel strongly about that.

I think the gestrels are hard. I think this is a tough one.

This is tough.

We got Void Kong, Trobio, the guest rolls and Randy Pitchford of Gearbox, the human man that exists gestrols. After you beat, after you beat the first suck up a top, they're like.

Oh my god, we fucked up. We didn't build it correctly. That's like they're literally good dumbasses. They're so fucking funny, they're they they're just basically like cooler. What are the things the seeds you get from Breath of the Wild, Oh rack, they're like co rocks but funny.

I will say, Randy already won in one dumb thing of the year bad. I think we can cut Randy. Yeah, congrats to Adam uh and so it's void contrivial guest of God Mike, I think.

We need to do another gestrial impression to really steal the deal.

All right, guests, tell us we should win.

Because we are the prom defenders of our village and we don't need the sucker pophy.

Well, defend our own bad and our honor.

Argue with your stupid paintings and your stupid endings and.

Multiple endings to this game. I don't care about that. We will fuck you up, Gestro.

Yeah, all right, the mass of the year runner ups are a void Kong Trovio. But the winner is the guest. The gest rolls from expision thirty.

Yeah, it's time to figure out the top ten games of twenty twenty five. We have a blank Google oc in front of us. We are fire Escape. We are Dan, Mike, Mary and Jake. And this is it. After twenty four categories, it is down to this. What are you laughing at him? I was trying to move the pages. It wouldn't move. No, because we don't have anything below this. Wait, we got

Wait when we do like a lot of circle that when one person isn't naming six games?

Uh, okay, I'm not gonna just go out of order a bit.

I'll say.

Blueprints haities two. Okay, let's leg it in time, Jesus go faster, faster, faster.

Wait haities two.

Okay.

Also, I have to fix the fonk because you're ready, Judge, he looks like a damned fool. He looks like a audio listener. He's got a damn donkey congo. All right, talking to Amy stuff Expedition thirty three.

I'm gonna put Silent Hill left, okay, Uh Monster Trained two, Ghost of a Yota.

Thinking and chewing and chewing Shnoby Art of Vengeance?

Yeah yeah, hello night silk song.

Uh ar rats. If you're gonna do Shnoby, I will see Megabank sectory.

Randy Pitchford, you can skip. I'm thinking the art of Vengeance.

All I'm going to do oh for.

Game of the Year, all right, Bud.

I felt hollo, okay.

Oh.

I'm difficult and I make people's lives more meaningful. So I'm wasted on my gun argument my.

Impressions to help me get through my bad arguments.

These we beats are metaphor for religion, not religious. Uh do we have here?

Uh?

You already said Hayes two. I think of my Now I'm getting into my like five to tens battlefield six.

Donkey Kong Bonanza, thank you Peak.

Really? Yeah?

Yeah, it doesn't feel good, does it? Sens Man and Donkey Kong had.

Negative aura.

You know what I'm muting you?

Uh night Rain.

Mm hmm.

At some point, yeah, start looking because at some point if you're just saying games, we're wasting if.

Not ventured outside my list, I haven't. I'm trying to now. I'm just trying to remember, like that's training too. Oh yeah, that's training to metroids. Not on there yet either, assuming you want there?

Said, Yeah, our creators is on there by.

Mm hmmm. Did we get our graders? Yeah, we got our creators. I think all of my favorites are here.

I think the ones where I know they can they have a chance are on there.

Checking mine, I think most of my big ones around. We got Blue Princy the first one. Yeah, hm hmm. That seems pretty strong.

Let me how things cropping.

Out and make sure yeah speak now or forever hold your piece. We have Shinobi.

Okay, so we have nineteen right now? Avowed I loved it.

You would have to argue for it.

I'll look at my kind of loose list right now.

If it's not on your top ten I don't want you to say that's.

Something I don't even know right now. It's at my like loose sixteen.

Don't put it on there.

Okay, Okay, you know what I mean. For struggling, then find something. Maybe that's a good sign, a like a sign that we Yeah.

I mean like Luminous is like close to my top ten, but I know i'd be the only one and it's not even definitely on my top ten. So Mark, our World's not gonna make it. You were saying Fortnite should make it. Oh, the out Foxies came out earlier this year.

Oh, we did talk.

About that was really that was a really good one for the Fox. Yeah.

I don't think Papastrella will make it. I don't think Guns of Fury will make it.

Keepper, do you guys want Keeper?

I don't think it's gonna make it.

Yeah, But I mean, like, do you still like, do you still think it's it could get like number ten?

I don't think it will get top ten.

Okay, that is how I feel.

I like that game. I I like that game. I do not think it's ten. I don't think Doom is top ten. I don't think will World is top ten. Midnight Walk is not top ten. There's a lot that I like, Man, I know, it's a great year. This is a good We're being tough because it was these are these are hot contendees and I just don't think we're probably going to get them in and I want to respect everybody's.

It's the best year since we started doing this podcast. Like I look back at my top tens of every year and usually like they're they're years where it's like the one, two, and three I feel strongly about. In the rest it's like, yeah, that was fine. This is the first time I've ever wanted to do a top twenty list for Giant Bond the font so.

People can see all the games on here because people are.

Like, yeah, I'm struggling with that because it's going to.

Be tough to.

Yeah, maybe go half a size for now and then uh I think it's on Dora. Yeah no, I'm scrolling.

I'm running out of funians. I'm worried.

Sixteen more cookies.

Oh my god, We're so blessed. Give her the crunchiest food.

I love it. It's the best thing I've ever Oh my god, I can right here. I don't need to hear.

That's fine, it's not true. It's pretty small, but they're all there. We do have twenty here.

I think that's probably a good place to start to start, you know, chopping this.

Down a little.

I'll be realistic. Lego Party is probably gonna be in my top ten.

Yeah, bless you for even trying.

No, I'm not even trying. I'm cutting it up literally the first cut. Yeah, is that where we're doing. We're trying to find ten to cut. We need, we need to just cut. I know Lego Party is not gonna make it.

Let us not make strong arguments for white here. We know that's gonna make it.

Battlefield six, I've had some great times of that. I think it is a really really strong course correction for the series. I don't think I'm gonna get into the top ten here as a group, but I've had tons of fun with that game.

This year.

You've been sitting on the fence because you liked three and four or even like Battlefield one and been wanting to go back. This is the time all all offer up Night Rain. That is a game that I played the hell of, but the hell out of, but I think it's just me. I'll offer up out Foxies because it came out in like.

Two hang on, I don't not yet. I am very impressed with what I saw of Ooh today and I definitely want to play it. I just don't know in such a stacked year if that's a realistic top ten, especially when you know most not played it before today.

I would ask Jake because I recency bias and the fact I've never played. I just watched Mary play it today, Like, do you think you would? Do you think you would have ammunition for it to be the top ten. I think it's a brilliantly designed game. I don't think we cut it yet, but I think it's probably like if there's some impassioned arguments for other games, then I think it's I.

Would like to hear an impassioned argument for DK Bonanza. I'm not saying it's not good.

Yeah, let's hear it.

He's dressed like, yeah, I couldn't finish it because than.

You thought d K Banansa was boring. No, that's not what he burnt out because you were trying to get every single thing. Yeah, that's not that's not myself in I got I got halfway through, and I was like, I can't play this game anymore.

Oh, we got a Kayla my sister in the chat saying she does not see Dynasty Warriors origins. Is that a did we make a mistake? Sorry, I don't think Yeah, yeah, we already locked it in. Yeah weird.

I didn't think we'd have to argue to get I will say Bananza is definitely my top ten.

Yeah, it's definitely definitely in my top ten. Yes, I don't think we need that. That's not on the cutting board yet. Cutting board? Is that the free yes, chopping chopping dropping block chef? Yeah sure, yeah yeah, if you're making myself one, Yeah, this is gonna be tough.

Ooh uh peak.

I think that that has a lot of merit to be on this top ten for how much work it did this year in terms of games to play with friends, I think it was one of this is for us. I just want to say, like culturally, this is like a very important game that was significant in terms of sales consistent players, Like people played this game because it's funny, it's entertaining, and it's goddamn good. And I played it a lot. I played this almost every weekend for like

Let's do this the stuff we've crossed out, Let's go ahead and move it down into another zone there and get it off the even start section. Yeah, another area.

Man, after we do this, I would be curious to hear everyone's like top three, because I think that's kind of bad, wildly different. This is the least certain I've been about my top five, like maybe since we started doing the podcast. It's just gonna come down to who I'm most annoyed with, and then it's joking.

I think Monster Trend two is a tremendously designed game. I feel like no one here like is against it or anything like that. But did who here like really dove in and played a ton of it? Mike, Yeah, and like every faction, I played maybe ten hours of it, and I thought it was very very good. It thinks I don't. I really don't like the art style of that game. I don't either, Yeah, but it is a very smart game, great game. It's one of my favorite deck builders.

And I'm not even a deck builder person, but like as a ROGUELI, as a deck builder, as a atagy game, I think it's incredibly smart. I think it's it definitely is. That's one of the games on this list I thought the most about when I wasn't playing it. I the knocks against it. I think they tried way too hard to force story into it. There's like cut scenes between the stuff, which I did not need. They did not

Do you think it makes top ten? It's very It's definitely my top ten, But I mean the group how big this list is right now?

Yeah, but I can't like I'm probably number two in terms of liking it. I think it's stay in there, but like I'm going to keep it in there. I want to keep it in there just because like only we played it's it's against.

I think like, we have to talk about the group here. Not enough of us have played Metroid Prime for this to be a hot contender.

I realized that, Yeah, I like Metroid Prime.

I haven't finished it, but it is my like number ten, and I could see it moving up, but right now having not right now it's in.

My top three. Oh wow, I mean I fucking love it. I mean there's a chance that I made my number one and I cut it. Yeah, I mean there's a chance Prime for is my number one? Was your one wasn't? I mean most days it is. But I mean yeah, Like Jake, I feel like you're the one who's playing it the most, Like you're actively playing it here. I think it's very good. Like I'm super into it and I cannot wait to play more.

In the interest of progress, can we put Monster Trained two at like top runner up just so? I like, No, I could potentially get it back in if I don't hear better arguments on the line, because I really fucking love that game.

But I don't think.

I don't see any others here that we're gonna obviously cut as a group right now.

I want to argue something here as cool as elements of Arc Raiders are wow is the game and stuff because like as an extraction shooter. An extractor shooter. Again, I'm not an expert in the genre, but it's all about the loot and everything. Honestly, every time I get back and I'm in the menus, I'm just looking at four hundred wires and rubber parts and plastic parts, and I'm just trying to like clear out my inventory and fucking sell into one of five fucking different shopkeepers.

Like, I don't think the loot stuff is exciting at all. You know what also is not that great? And this third person shooter is the shooting that's fine. No, it's not good. The drones and like hell divers or hell divers too, Hell divers too, I think is we're talking about, Like third person shooter became my bar.

I don't think the shooting is good in Arc Raiders is good. I tolerate it because I love playing with the people I'm playing with. I like it, but I but I am with you in that.

Like my least favorite part of that game is when I get back to base and I'm like, oh, my inventory is full, and now I have to like but that's extrac shures I would say, but like, going beyond that, I would say, the UI here actually has numerous problems where it's like not nearly that easy to be able to junk stuff as a group things around and.

Remember and which fucking shopkeeper and everything. It's just like it's a messy thing for a game that is so much about your you know, the loot and what you have, and we need to sell and we need a craft and everything. It's like it's laborious to do any of that.

The way I've described this game though, is like the highs are so fucking high and the lows are pretty low. But like I think Battlefield is like, you know, it's consistent. We already cut it, but it's a battlefield consistently fun. But I've never been like like I don't remember anything I've done in Battlefield, but I remember these moments and arc.

Raders more than I remember yeah, like.

Moments really extraction Shooter, and it has like evolved the genre tremendously, and I think it's it is so important to gaming when we're talking about like the evolution of what we want games to be and like what they can be, Like it is a very important game. I think we have to like put that into account when we're if we're reordering things, you can make it lower. But I would put that above Death Stranding too.

Oh yeah, fuck yeah, I would one person that go ahead and do it.

I played I think forty hours of that game. I like that game quite a bit. I still think at its heart it is a fine triple A open world game with really cool tools, a.

Fine open world triple A game. It is like Horizon, same engine. It's that boring game Death Stranding two.

Is I'm going, I'm sneaking around with mediocre stealth around these bases, and then when like it opens up, it's fine shooting over the shoulder. And then I'm like, there's really cool tools. They clearly had a lot of good micro ideas, but overall, like you're immediately getting like I immediately felt like I Horizon Forbidden West's outposts. It's so much more interesting than Horizon's ever been.

Yeah, but I'm also doing the like Calculus now of Like, Okay, I fucking loved us Training too. It's high up on my list. I don't feel like any of you love this game. Nobody here beat it, so I.

Like it a lot. It's almost, But.

I just I'm wondering how realistic it is for me to.

Get it on time. Guys' you've you've read my brilliant thesis about my turnaround with director's cut for the first game. Yes for two it I genuinely don't feel like anybody. Kojima himself was like thinking does this actually fit in this game? And we can stand him all day. I love his ship. Some of my favorite games time Medle

I love gimmicks. I know, I don't want to very clear, and I.

Like it's it's so I if my problem is I think if any other studio tried to, like have this doll that was doing around synchronized swimming and water, we'd be like, this is fucking stupid, it doesn't make sense.

But because his kogim, we like, I love this, it's the best thing. Like this game's real good, but it fits in that world. I mean, if.

I really don't think it fits in this world, I don't think. I don't think this world has an identity. I think the first game had a clear, cogent, mysterious, powerful identity.

And two is just a collection.

It's it feels like the whiteboard in the first pre production meeting and they're like, great, now go make this.

God, I feel like two is better than one in every conceivable way.

That's that.

Bananas, that's it's every what possible thing is better in one than two.

It feels like like an actual game that people got together to make that made sense in any way. Stranding first game compared to two. I'm gonna strive running a coffin, and then I'm gonna fucking dip people into tar, and then I'm gonna use a rocket launcher. Have you played Death Straanding one? Yes, I've played it a lot, and it has way more fucking like, actual purposeful design behind it.

You're just using different.

Tools to do it.

Wow, I agree, That's what I'm saying. Like I could go into a whole thing, but I don't think it's worth it, because I I don't think there's anything I could possibly say right now.

Des Straining one twice. The first time I didn't love it, but I still played through it. The second time, I

Des Straining one where it was very like divisive, and Destrating two felt like he like, like that felt very fake.

It was like, Okay, well, too many people like it. So my boy Nicholas winning refin half his moves fucking sucks. So I want more than pretty drive, right, Yeah, I like Pusher Trilogy in Valhalla, but like, I really do like that game again.

I I it's almost like a number ten for me. But it's right on the cusp. I don't look. I don't think it's making our top ten. I'm not willing to have it to be cut yet.

I think two of us have had any passionate argument against it. I don't think Mary's gonna fight for it. You don't know.

Moving on. I think it should be below Monster Hunter Monster Train too, and I think we just see how we feel.

Can we test the little alt shift up? Down?

Does that work down yet? Down?

Oh?

That's a good set, and then put it up?

Yeah?

No no no no no no no no no no no no no not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet.

Mm hmm.

Let me ask this, Jake, where would generally Oh be on your top ten? Pretty well, it's both destining for sure. I know is pretty high on mine.

Yeah, yeah, you got there fifteen and I think that's fair.

I'm destrating two is pretty high on mine. Mike likes it a decent amount. I think Ooh seems very cool. I like what I've seen.

I want to play it, but what I saw of Oo today felt like more of a more of a well designed game than Destraating.

Two, which I like despite it.

Write a review about Destraating Two directors and it's sick and then way back and will annoy Mary by saying it was the best game that came out that year.

It'll get its time.

The Sun Silent Hell f Jake, I asked you if I should play that, and you told me that it's great.

But the gameplay itself sucks. The gameplay is not great, like that is something that it's hard to get around.

And I've heard arguments like, oh, it's intentional, you know, like gameplay is bad for reason, you know, and.

I got to play that ship. Silent Hill fans are something else.

Oh yeah, they are to be fair, and I'm sure I'm sure there's some in the chat and they're not happy. But like I, I do think the story, the themes, the direction, all that really elevates that game, like so far beyond its gameplay. And I don't think the gameplay is terrible, like it's it's not awful, it's not unplayable, but it is not like it you want to say you played it too. Don't put this all on me.

I actually think the gameplay is pretty pretty good, and I've been I enjoyed the puzzle design and that is quite good. I think it puts you in these tremendously terrify find situations. And you know, we're at this point we have to start putting it on a list, right, like how high is it? And I think it's too high?

Yeah, we kind of finessing a little.

What I would like us to start thinking about is what's in your top ten? Right Like Donkey Kong Bananza is not in our top ten, I would well get used to it.

Donkey Cong Bananza absolutely deserves to be in our tops, like, no, my top four games.

We're doing this is what we're talking Bananza like six spaces.

I think it's above our creators.

Yes, yes, of course, I think that's fair.

Yeah, you're so measured. You're measured, and.

I think Silent Hill. But but are we pushing out Megabank or Sectory there.

We talked about it.

We're just trying to trim it down and then we're gonna rank.

I'm just talking about moving ship around.

Okay, Okay, that's what I was asking. I didn't I don't have any strong.

I think Ghost of Yota has to be talked about.

Is gonna be very high I think I think is one of the best games that came out this year. Like, uh, do you want to talk about it now or I I'm I.

Think there's gonna be a conversation about Yota later. I think for Surete will be like high up on our list. I don't think we need to I think now we need to focus on the ones that might be on the bubble.

That's what is not that.

I don't think Okay, Shanobi is on the bubble. Second Sectory is on the bubble.

Sectory. I will say, I think Sectory is a great game, well crafted. I love a lot what they're doing, combining that like Geometry Wars with Vampire Survivors with just generally like that Tetris effect.

You don't really see the I've heard several people bring U vampires vivers.

I don't really see that just because you're you're killing enemies and you're collecting the Yeah. Yeah, I'm not saying it's heavily inspired. I'm just saying it's a I mean, it's correct. Yeah, but I guess oh Ship, sorry, one game that's not on here, Well, I guess ball x Pit.

Is anybody gonna also? I really that was one of the first year I.

Think it's good, but I actually would fight for Sectory or Megabonk. And we're getting to the point where like it's not gonna get it. I don't think it's gonna make It has too.

Many big flaws. I think the building to cut it. But I don't feel was in my top five to.

But but if you were to ask me, like which one should hit in the top ten, I would I would fight for Sectoria, megabunk more.

I think recency bias, I think I think. I think recency bias is heavily affecting Sectory. I agree to I don't think we're gonna talk about Sectory.

In six months. At the moment, I don't know. I don't think.

Is that game is such recency bias. I think it's great. I think it's well made. I think it's visually stunning, But I truly don't see all Like all of house Mark's games, I think the best house Mark game that I've ever played was probably what was their second game.

Awesome is Sick.

I would like to make a case for why Peaks should be in our top ten.

I think I'm not against top ten.

I think Peaks should be in top ten and Sectory should be out.

I'm fine with sure.

Okay, Well, I was gonna say, if we're going to cut Sectory because of like recently, I think is the shot.

Well, who was on fifteen? Babe, Like, it's already over for you, but it's not out yet. No, no, no, no, no, no, you're this is false, hope. Anything that's not in top ten is basically out.

Because we haven't ordered it. We just got to cut it down in ten and then we.

Are No, girl, it's over. Who's over? I understand what you're saying, but like, no, keep We're We're at the point where we're like fine tuning. What's a bubble for top ten? We're bubbling top ten, and I'm saying we should be switching. Okay, Peak in Sectory.

Brandy Pittford gave me this Shock List winner of this year, super do like a half one for me.

I gotta get up earlier than anybody. Thank you.

Mike Manadi. I know you're watching all these great time bomb shot classes.

We used to have.

Heard he hates smugs.

He well, no, he's turned around the mugs, shotglasses are next.

I just don't see us cutting many things from the top ten outside of Arc Raiders right now. I think that game is awesome, but I really don't know that.

In Shnobi, I would cut our graders before Shanobi. Wow, all right, I'd cut them both. Just do you want to swap those?

All right?

No, not swap those. Put Peak in Arc Raiders spot.

I would put Peak in our grader's spot because I'm a psychopath.

It okay, cheersing, yep, all right, let's get down to it. Wait up in like five hours. Okay, oh, Monster Trento gonna make it.

Maybe we're passive, just keep that.

Yeah we're not. We're there my mind.

These below are just like potential, like ammunition to.

Only pay attention to top ten. If you're not going to fight tooth and nail for it to be in the top ten, you're you're wasting air. If you're not saying right now, Metroid Prime four has to be in the top ten, it's better than Shnoby.

But that's like, that's where we're at. I got moved out because none of us have played it. Really, but that's not you that can supersede us.

I know, make the argument I.

Would put Metroid over Sho me too. Yeah, and I fucking love Shnoby. That's Metro Prime four number ten right now.

I like Shnoby, but I haven't played Metroid, but like I really like Shnoby's I don't. I don't like this.

I played them both extensive, beat both of them, like near one hundred percent completion. I do think Metrod Prime four is significantly better.

Taking a photo, make sure there's no Shenanigans volunteering, because I.

M Snowby's like might be like six or seven for I'm cutting Metric, I'm cutting a monster train. I don't think it's okay, bag Baby God dest Raining and Metrid Prime four.

It's just.

M I'd fight for Metroid Prime four. I think it's a losing battle for me with Death Training two. I just don't think I'm gonna it's over. I don't think it's doable. I'll be realistic. I yeah, you can get it.

It's like making it sound like it's a sacrifice. It's already dead.

Yes, I'm just I'm just being realistic. Yeah, it's not gonna make.

It great, thank you. I think Schnoby. I think it's a Shnobi is still in. I'm a little bombed to lose Shob. I loved it.

I don't necessarily want to lose it yet.

Yeah, but you're fighting for Metroid above it.

Yeah. Oh but that wouldn't as we were saying, that would knock it down. Well, I don't think is gonna make it. It's not I don't.

It's not like it's awesome. I played a little bit, so we only have to cut one.

Oh my, there's my any thoughts.

No, never Okay, there's games like I'll die over, and there's games that I'm okay with, But I am apprehensive to make any glaring changes. At this point, I actually think we have it.

I mean, I don't really care about Silent Hill. Do you want to cut it? Cute? No?

I think Silent Hill f is really important and I think it's where it belongs. I don't think it's going on.

It's fun to play. It's all just trying to be deep in whatever. It just seems boreal. If that was the case, it would have been it would have won up its own ass. But it didn't. Probably good whatever.

Five Metroid Prime is hanging on by a thread. I actually really like the Metroid series, and I'm looking forward to playing this, and I've heard things that are really good about it, really mixed things.

About it, so it's I mean, I've already played more Metroid Prime than I did Shnoby. Not that I didn't like Shnoby, but I just was like school. But there's also some like I don't know, I love Metroid Yeah, I think.

Some Again I said earlier, the environments in Shnoby are just some of them are uninspired. Some of them are awesome. There's like that city with all the like Sega retro dreamcasts and shit everywhere, but like, ah, some of the level design didn't really do it for me. The combat is stellar, It's like some of the best two D combat ever. But some of the environments, I'd say, actually most environments, yeah, kind of wrote I could I could see I I'd rather see silent. He'll get knocked off.

Right?

I mean, we need to one and then we can figure out orders wants to make a strong choice.

I would prefer but I didn't play. I don't think I have a.

Call here in this eleven.

I've got like, like six I feel extremely strong about, so I'm I don't know that I weigh in on like the ten eleven if it's between Shnoby or I like Schanoby a lot, but not enough to I feel.

Very strongly about ten of these eleven.

To judge.

Oh god, fuck, uh Shnoby's getting cut.

Wow, that hurts.

That hurts.

I love it.

It punched above. It's wait. I mean, it wasn't ever the biggest franchise or anything, and then it came out.

It's like a holy good for doing well.

And I don't even really care about the old Chenobey games. I never had him on Genesis. It's like this one was so fucking good it was undeniable. But yeah, that's a tough year. I think we have a perfect top ten already.

You don't say crazy things yet.

Look at this, it's already perfect. We have some things to move.

Oh no, it's not perfect. Actually I just saw here that I I mean, what'll stand for having just you know, made the rolling to cut Schenobi. I think Metroid's good at ten. I don't think we put it up. I think we honestly happy to get it on there. You feel strong enough about it. I feel like it's a Prime ten because we haven't played it, But like Prime, I like what I've played. It's very high on your list.

I think.

I think Ken say, I think that's as far as she goes.

You know what. I would be happy for that and blathering us up with Whiskey to get his games in. I think not to go for the jugular, but Blueprints can get knocked down. It will get knocked I don't Blueprints is not gonna be our game of the year.

Wow, why don't we stop at the other end of the spectrum. I think megabonk is where it should.

Be same, same, maybe above Silent Hill. Oh I see, Okay, Dan, I want to point out something. Yeah, you're we just got a game that only you have really played onto number ten for me?

Yeah, why don't you shut the fuck up?

Those who have played Silent Hill left and they've given passionate arguments for it.

I know I'm just being a stinker. It's a one game on here I haven't played, and I don't care about I can tell what is like the most egregious ranking here to like each of us right now. I mean, obviously Blueprints is number one.

I can see a case for Blueprints is number one, and I'm not going to, like fight tooth and nail keep it at number one over other things, so I'm gonna save ammunition.

I think Mega Bonk should be above Peak.

I don't think that's the case. I think Mega Bonk has done extremely well for the game that it is, which is a Vampire Survivor clone that has added some things and made it really delightfully.

Member was my number one game.

It's Risk of Rain two.

I want to point out like it's it's it's definitely a mashup, though.

I think it's incredible. I'm just saying like, I think it's where it belongs. I think it's really good. I think Peak was extraordinarily innovative. I think it capitalized on something that UH gamers in our audience was like really excited to watch and play. I put so many hours into this game with my friends, and can we talk about like guttural belly laughs. This is the game that did that for me. This is the game I didn't

I have a question, and I I'm really not trying to go anywhere with this. It's actually just more curious is that game was it dependent on the people you were playing with? I guess any multiplayer game is obviously if you're playing with people you don't like, you're not gonna like it.

But like, is the game people I hate?

Right? Is the game itself really really good?

Or is it just a good avenue for you hanging out with people who are just like really fucking funny and fun to hang out with.

Yeah, and that doesn't mean it's not. That doesn't disqualify it, because again Arc Raiders, that's why I loved it.

I mean I don't think it's I think to your point right as well, because we're like talking about like how fucking brilliant was it? I think Pete kind of feels like one of those game dev games where they made it in a couple of weekends, where like, isn't this great they.

Worked?

I don't think this is like some impeccably designed game. I think it works extra extraordinarily well for what it's intending to do, which is allow people to like come together and play for a weekend. I think that it's designed impeccably for its purpose. So when we're talking about like and this, this is just kind of going to like what our top ten really is. But like Megabonk is designed impeccably for someone who's like won't play a game. But I want to take it too seriously. I don't

Is where I'm at with it.

Like I'm not fighting for Peak to get higher. I'm just saying like, when I think of Megabonk, I think of like, Damn, I had a lot of like nice casual nights watching TV and also playing this game, And when I think of Peak, I was like, how many amazing weekends did I have? Finding people to play this with and having really glorious weekends with it was very meaningful to me to play this game and to find this game, and I think it was really brilliantly constructed.

Games were the rest of the night for sure. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I wouldn't move it. I do feel like the legs on a lot of these friends slop games. When you look at like the history, the short history of this genre, there's they really don't have legs as fun as they are. You know, you play Lethal Company a few times, you play Fast and Phobia a few times, you play Repo a few.

Times, megabonk in ten years and be like what people.

I think people will talk about Megabonk longer than they talk about Peak.

I don't think they will.

I think Peak is the exception to that, because like I still play Peak. Peak is one of the few friends slot games I still play because I think it's mechanics are so much fun and even if like they're not people you like that you're playing with, like there is that like there's more mechanics that come into play when you're playing with multiple people that I think make it worth it. Like, you know, if we had Repo in here, I'd be like, yeah, Repo, Like Repo is very funny, but I'm.

Not going to play more. But Peak I still come back to it is one of the best ones of those, Yeah, if not maybe the best.

Yeah, people talk about this genre, they're to bring up Peak. Is this like pinnacle of Like this was a pivotal moment. I don't think Megabonk was this pivotal moment. I think it was just an excellent addition to an already established genre.

I think it was the first one to take the vampire survivor's type auto shooter thing to like three D and do it really really well the way it did.

He Yeah, I think it did.

No, Peak is really it's really good.

Yeah. I mean I haven't played enough Mega Bank to say, but I like Peak a lot. So yeah, I mean I'm fine with Mega Bonk at nine.

Like I'm fine with Megabonk at nine.

Yeah. A lot of these do kind of look like generally where they should be.

I mean, let me ask you to uh, And I don't mean to keep gunning for this, it's just because it's the only game I haven't the only game on this list I really haven't played.

And that's do you think Silent Hill f is in the right spot? Like, genuinely, do you think it's top five?

If it is? Like you've you have you very impassionate arguments about it, And that's why I was like, all right, cool, it sounds rad and I've been texting Jake about like I need to play it, And it's a genuine question. It's not like I'm not trying to be disingenuous. No, I mean, god, I think it is better than Ghosts of Viote, which is a weird comparison to make because they are two very different games. But I think the themes and the characters and the ideas that Silent Hill goes for is something.

That I've not really seen in a game before.

Like, well, that's obviously I don't want to spoil things, but like you're speaking very vaguely and I kind of need more. Yeah, I know you don't want to spoil anything. That's because there is a moment in like what what kind of themes are they touching on really well that no other game has.

Are you worried about spoiling mic or the audience, the audience. I mean, I think maybe we could give like maybe a three minute save zone here if you want to fast forward or mute the twitch stream or something like that. Do you think this is the game of the year, This is when you spoil stuff a little bit or just as as like I okay, I I think it can go down. But I think, like I really like Ghost of Fiote. I was surprised how much I like

I think I think Silon Hill f is like swinging for something that fuck yeah, how do I say that? Without do you do? You? Do? You want to add something like I trust you too? Like that I know you're talking about like I trust your taste in the game.

I just I feel like the.

Way I'm describing it too makes it sound like it's very up its own ass. But there is a sequence in this game that is like I've never seen in a game before, and.

They do something that is disturbing beyond so many levels. But I think it works. I think I want to hear that I think you have to.

Maybe go into it.

A lot because it's right now, number before, I feel like I've just been here.

But I think if I I think you have, if I explain it, fuck, I don't want I don't want to ruin it because we have the spoiler tag. People are people are assuming we were talking spoilers right now anyway, it's God, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So the whole kind of premise around that is that there is a lot I'm not making a good case, so I'm too drunk to like make a case for this. No, that's fine. I know it's tough because like you don't want to spoil it, and like also, I'm sure the build up is like a huge part of what makes it good. But I think a lot of what makes

Uh.

I think the moment in particular that I think about constantly is, uh, God, she fucking saws her own arm off and it's just this like fucking insane, like.

Oh god with James Franco in the movie. Yeah exactly, Yeah.

Yeah God.

I hate that I said that because I don't know how many people have played that game.

But but there's that. I I.

We can leave it alone for now, and then maybe we do. I think it can drop down, Mary, do you think it dropped down?

I think it can drop down, But I think I think, like I would have problems with it being We're at the point where I'm gonna start saying other game names and I want you to understand that you're gonna be like what, I love it, but it's like, sure, no, I know. I don't think it can be below Donkey Kong. I think it it is extremely powerful what it's doing, and it's using game mechanics and design and story in a way that is important and it needs to be.

I wouldn't if you swapped it with Hallow Night.

I would be okay with that. I figured, I'm amazed that you offered that.

I like Hollow Night a lot.

I let me be clear. I like Hollow Night silks On quite a bit. I just don't think it's the best game of the year.

I didn't think that it was going to make it to best game of the Year. But I do think that it's under where it should be. It's an incredible game, but I didn't expect it to win.

But it's a it's a weird year where I usually we'd start at the bottom of the top ten and kind of like whittle things away and then get but like it's almost like.

I don't want to put Donkey Kong above Silent Hill. So Donkey Kong is a weird franchise and that like obviously everyone's always loved the character. He's been a mainstay and everything, but they definitely have never found a way to move him into three D in a meaningful way. Sixty four they tried, you know about that. It's the cases is not good and he's like they've gone back

D platformers, to me, is a genre that just requires precision and like intentionality, and the fact that you can actually like burrow through the world and mess with a level design, or at least the aim of the level design is incredible. I don't only we have not had something like that. I don't think anybody's ever going to try that again for good reason. But the level design

But I like don Kong Bananza a lot.

For me, it would be higher, But I don't know what you mean by that though, because you keep saying higher, But like we're out a point, we have.

To start saying what I said. I just said for me, it would be higher, but I'm fine with where it is.

Sure, Sure, I think then maybe it's more for like Dan like well'ing to me. What I'm saying to you is like, no one's saying it's not an excellent game, but at this point we're saying, like, uh, it has to challenge another game for its spot. And I don't see any game that I would swap with Donkey Kong Finanza.

What are the things that like thematically and everything? It sounds like Silent Hill. There's some interesting characters and the themes and everything. But like what, like people have been saying that it's about Silent Hill since you know the first one and definitely the second one, Like is it really doing anything? Like what is it doing that other Silent Hills have not been given credit for decades ago?

Well, I mean, I think it's reinventing a genre that already established itself, but it's doing it in such a way where often when we're talking about these games and Donkey Kong falls into this, so it's like a really nice comparison where you're like, well, to do anything new for this, for this character or for this world, and it's like, actually, yes it did, and it might be one of the best absolutely in its series. I think

That's what you mentioned, reinventing the genre. You said Silent Hill reinvented the genre, and like, that's what I was saying with d K Bonanza is all that stuff of decades of three platforming, And I do think it was doing a lot of things too, like you know, do things that three platforms have not done before. So I would challenge, like, what is it would you call Silent Hill f in terms of genre a survival horror game?

It's survival horror. And I also think, like, uh, in terms of narrative design, I think it's doing something with girls that it hasn't done before. A lot of times when we're talking about like the history of Silent Hill, there's like a lot of male protagonists that are dealing with like the horrors of things that they've done in the past. It's very refreshing to seeing it done with this protagonist.

But that's the franchise, right, I want to boil. You said it was reinventing the genre. So would you say the genre of Silent Hill F is survival horror? Yes, So what would you say Silent Hill F is doing to reinvent the survival horror genre?

I mean, to Mary's point, I think it's all narrative, Like I don't think. I don't think the gameplay itself reinvents it. But like I mean, the red pills, Like what they did with that I think is pretty What are the red pills? So we're just spoil whatever because I feel like we're getting you need specifics to sell me on these platitudes. Red pills heal you. And they are presented to you at the beginning, and you know about these red pills and you take the right and

Like I just like that seems Donkey Kong would never do that because it's too deep and Donkey Kong is just like about this story in the world. But what I'm saying is, you guys are ragging on a game for trying something else, don't do anything besides breaking the world.

I'm not ragging not doing anything besides breaking the world. That's a pretty big thing for It's worthy of.

The top ten, but I'm saying it's limiting how far it really.

I want to be clear, I am not ragging on Silent Hill, lef. I'm just saying, if you say it reinvents the genre, I need to hear how.

I know.

That's why I don't hear, because like that that's a big thing to say, yes, and I need to hear you. We may just kid okay. I would say like Silent Hill left deserves to be of Ghost of Yota.

I like Ghost of Yotae a lot Donkey Kong Bonanza that is an argument that I am open to. I think Bonanza is amazing, but like Ghost of Yota for me is junk food. Like it is a game that, like I played fifty hours of that game. I still plan on finishing it, but it is a game that like did not compel me the way that Silent Hill has or even Donkey Kong, you know.

And that is where I think I will. I would be okay with Silent Hill being above Ghost of Yota, because I do feel that way about Yote as much as like we, I think all love that game a lot. Yeah, but like you kind of hinted that here, like I haven't beaten it yet. I've had it since three weeks before it came out or whatever, and every time I play it, I'm enjoying it. It's a popcorn movie. It is like, oh that that kill felt great, you know.

Night, and I do want to point out because I feel like we talk about addictive games a lot. Sectory is one of the games that's designed to be addictive and make you want to play when it's not a way. I just want to push back against the fact that that necessarily makes a game better. But I'm fine with what you're saying. I'm fine with Yota dropping. I love Yota, but I think, like, just yeah, I don't know I dropping.

I would see the argument of putting Silent Hill above Yota easier than I could see putting Silent Hill above DK Bonanza. Yeah, what if we went.

So what if we swapped Bonanza and Yote right now? Isn't that what we're all kind of sad of saying? Have you played DK Bananza? No, I'm not.

Impressed by arguments either. I'm really not.

You said it reinvented a genre, and then we asked You're.

Like, you're some about Silent Hill, ealth, I'm talking to you about Bonanza. Tell me why Bonanza should be more?

Thing about it?

Yeah?

About how it breaks the world.

Yes, it breaks the entire genre. Say like, it really invents the three D platformer genre, and I just gave an argument for how it did that you couldn't give an argument for how.

You need to back up how Silent Will have reinvents survival horror.

You you actually haven't convinced me with your Bonanza argument. And you keep saying because you're saying an argument that it worked, but you're just talking. You actually didn't convince me. I'm not convinced that Donkey Kong Bonanza did what you said it did.

But I feel like we went at length about it. We talked a lot about a lot.

There was a lot of talking, and I just did not feel that it actually did what you said it did.

I guess it's just kind of wall it can't like I guess that's one tactic for tonight.

You make platforms, you destroy them, You move up, you move down.

But like.

What else, Like that's it, that's it, you move around a lot.

We went in depth on it, and we still need to hear how Silent Hill reinvented the genre.

Silent Hill f is using story in a way. It has a protagonist that hasn't been explored in a way that has been like very profound. It is using mechanics to push the player.

To like.

How has the protagonist been explored in a way that no other game has.

I don't think there's a lot of other young female protagonists in a horror genre that have been as strong as this character.

That's like why she.

Kind of won Biggest Dude of the Year is because she she's extremely powerful and she's quite fearless in what she's doing. But like, I don't want to get too I think I think it's a fallacy, like focused too much on on on her as like the reason that it should be.

What it is.

I think what I'm saying is that, like every decision you make in Silent Hill has a very dramatic effect that you don't find until the end of the game. Every choice that you're making is impactful and important, and you don't recognize the value of that until actually new game plus, Like that's when you realize that the decisions that you're making were very impactful. I don't know, I think, I mean, I think we're in a bit of a standstill. I'm not convinced that Donkey Kong Bonanza is this like

What we t for like three episodes about how you should play Donkey Kong.

No in discord, we said, hey, if anyone really needs to play a game, to make sure it's discussed in Sectory.

We had not talked about. It came in really hot. We had not talked about on the show any of the listeners who listened to every.

Episode, not like it's gonna be in it, Like it wasn't up there.

We talked a lot about dk Bananza on the episodes. I feel like we're just rewriting fire Escape episode history now.

And like dk Bananza came out months and months ago, and like Sectory were like came in hot and we hadn't played it or talked about it. So it was like, hey, we should try to get this in beforehand.

With I'm fairly happy with this ranking so honest. So it goes left DK Bananza. But I will say, Mike, you better finish Donkey Kung Bonanza if you're fighting this hard for.

It, because it's incredibly strong ending. That's what I've heard.

But the middle section is I'm so over it, Like I fired it up, and I was like, Okay, I'm going to get through the Hamburger level, and I'm like, I can't do this, And I had to sell on Hamburger like it's I think it's a very good game, but like it did not compel me the way that it was that I hoped.

I mean, I'm certainly not going to say like narratively like no, he likes bananas, you know, Like, I'm just it was narrative. Obviously s Hill, it clearly has it. But I wish the Odyssey team made another Mario platformer.

I mean I do too, but yeah, yeah, same, No. I I honestly have no problems with the entire ranking person.

I mean, okay, I'm okay with like five down, and I think we got to talk about the top four. Yeah, how you feeling about the five down?

Are you talking about five to ten?

Sorry?

I think five to ten looks good.

I can accept.

I hate to say it, but I don't think we're getting Silent Hill any higher.

Mary, I don't think it's getting any higher.

I had a shit argument and I just spoiled parts of the game.

And then I'll like, I'll see what the fuck you guys are talking about and I'll be like, yeah, they were, they were getting at some stuff. I just.

Yeah, I found it very refreshing. I'll say that. That's the last thing I'll say. The fact that it's above Ghosts of Yota is like incredibly high praise. Yeah, Yota is my top in my top three of the year's top five for me. Yeah, that's not saying we can't fuck with five through ten, but like, I mean, I think we can move on.

I think we can't fuck with five through ten. I think you can fuck with four through one. I think like if if you're really pushing for DK at that level, that's the fucking highest it ever goes. I'm dead fucking serious, and I'm like almost irritated about it. The fact that it got this high is insane. Like picking at these games, it's it's like, it's like we can, we can maneuver these things, But like, how is K fucking top four?

As long as you're threatening us, like bring a better argument next time that you want.

To really, oh, it's not verticality, Like that's not that's.

Middle.

Does it even stick the ending? You don't know?

Extremely from what I've heard, it does stick.

The hour is like it was some of the strongest in the entire push in the middle section is because I want to see the ending.

Is incredible of that game.

I heard it's like Inception Levels.

It's so fucking good.

Yes, so fourth through one this will be I think Blueprints is going to be really nice.

I think Blueprints is number four A.

I'm with you.

It is awesome. Everyone I've ever talked to, including me, like even the ones who loved the game so much, they all kind of petered out at certain points, like wow, there's more after the credits. This is almost maybe too much of this game. I think it may be overstated to welcome a little bit. I think it is number four, and I think it's ordering the other three.

I'm in agreement that it should go down. I think Blueprints is really brilliant with its design. I think there is a point where I get a little frustrated about the test of my time and its value. This will probably come up with multiple games in our top four of like how much does it value your time? But in these other games, even if you lose or if you have struggles, you're learning tactics, you're learning strategy, you're learning gameplay. Sometimes in Blueprints, RNG is what it is,

That sucks.

Yeah, as much as I love that game, it's again I mention it, I don't know what my number one of the year is. Blueprints was a contender. There's times later on after I'd found what room forty nine or whatever, it was like it was like, I really like a lot of what this game is doing. It's making me think on different levels about the actual overall world. It's making me kind of question how big it is, how precise it can get. I love how there's puzzles within

I think there's a high that I got trying to hit credits, right, Like getting to that end room was exhilarating, and the moment where all the pieces fell into place and I had enough keys and I had the gems and the luck of the draw the RNG was working for me, and I got to the end and I was like, this is one of the best moments I think I've ever experienced in games. It felt so good, and then I got to the end and they were like there's more, and I was like amazing. But I

It feels like in the first Star Wars, if like they blew up the death Star and then it's like, yeah, you want to watch like Luke hang out for a while. Not really, it seemed pretty cool and the death start Blue left you know like it could probably ended there.

Yeah, because I guess compared to like Hollow Night, which once you quote unquote hit credits, like after that, there's a fuck ton that's still really compelling. It's it's there. The structure does not carry through for Blueprints, I'm fine with that moving anywhere. I think I think I do think it's top five.

I think it's top five.

Bonanza.

I think Blueprints is top, Michael do something. I think Blueprints is. I love him.

I was with you, I was riding with you for Bonanza.

I think five is much.

We're gonna get fair enough, fair enough.

Let sleeping dogs lie.

I'm fine, I'm fine. Just sleeping dogs also a good game. Let's put it on with a second. Mary was giving me eyes in a way that I think she might actually kill me.

So let's relay.

Okay, to calm down, astagonize it. He's sleeping, Okay, Okay's perfect.

No, I'm not sure. I think we do need to have an honest conversation about Hades Too. I think it is extremely good. I don't know if it's gody for me. I think that Hades Too is incredibly additive to what Hades did, But I always just kind of feel like I'm playing Hades. Yes, it is. It is a better version of Hades, but I I sometimes like revert back to how I felt playing Hades and how incredible that

It's giving us more of what we loved, Like Haites one was our game of the year and whatever year that was, and this is definitely more Hades and in the hub world is like, oh, we're planting things and then like all the incantations like building out the bar and the fishing area and all of this sudden and the challenges. There's a lot more Hades here. I do think it's better than one in every way. I agree,

I also want to put this out there. Last year, our Game of the Year was in many ways more Breath of the Wild. I obviously I'm being reductive there. I think Tiers of the Kingdom did many big things that didn't What was last year's Tears of the Kingdom was two years ago? Oh my god, so two years ago it was Tiers of the Kingdom. I think it's like how meaningfully did it build on Hades and or like was what how it built on it? Just enough to make it feel impactful again, I love tasting too.

I just kind of skipped it all on both. It seems pretty similar to me.

Yeah, uh but yeah, I mean I don't know that I said all that just to say like, yeah, I think you can go down.

It's the thing I'm thinking about a lot now as I'm trying to figure out my personal top ten is like I don't maybe Hades two is my number one. I mean just as a game, as a rogue light, like, I still think it's like this is the standard bearer in the genre. You know, it's one of my favorite genres. If it's not my favorite genre, Hell, this podcast, I feel like, what between Returnal and Hades?

And yeah, we didn't even talk about it. Yeah, Hades was such a brilliant It was such a which a brilliant game for its genre, and we all knew it. We knew at the moment we laid eyes on it, we knew when we were talking what it was. And I don't feel that way this year, where I'm like, yep, it's just unquestionable. And this one I question like was it so monumental? Was the impact higher? Did it add so much more? Of course, it's a fucking slam dunk of a game.

It's Hades.

Yeah, it's fucking Haites. We all loved that game. But at this level you have to start asking yourself, like was the was the additions so much more? Impactful than what Expedition thirty three did.

You're right, because you know, Hades won was a revelation like that was the first game of that type, of that caliber we had really played. And this is while I do think objectively better than the first game, in every way it's almost a Breath of the Wild tiers the Kingdom situation. I do think that Tears the Kingdom in so many ways on paper is better than Breath

Have the same shock value that Expedition thirty three had because no one was fucking expecting that. No one was expecting that when you built these characters and experience these stories that you could you could have this world building, or you could the way that you have uh a design in a turn based game where you actually have to be on your toes and be ready with quick time events, but not in an annoying way and an actual fun way that makes sense.

Well, but they've done that in a lot of games going by, like Paper Mario and Mario Vigini and stuff and like, but I do think this is my favorite version of that of like having that like interaction in

That game overall the fact that and like I love RPGs where each character feels like they came from a different game. This one is kind of like this is the front runner for that.

Maybe you don't like the character that I didn't like, and I thought that was really fascinating.

Like you have to learn.

It's like you get a new character and you're getting with someone with a double sided size, what's her name?

The third character mile.

You get cl and you're like, fuck, this is like at first it was a lot. You're like, she feels like she came from a different game. Like where the moves are different, building up the car like the Tarot cards when you figure it out.

Yeah, that's what I'm saying. That's I'm saying.

She's my favorite character though, because like once like you have to the fact that they have these different characters who are all very very a metrical in their design, and yet they can each contribute so strongly to the combat is incredible. It feels almost like a strategy game in which the factions are very asymmetrical and I'm learning each of them. It feels like a different game each

Dialogue and I'm like, I don't give a ship.

I one shot at that, dude. One of my biggest ship bron One of my biggest pet peeves in modern games where I would argue, like the games that are the most successful are the ones where developers are willing to let you break a blatro returnal haities like Octopath.

Thirty three is like, I you've earned it.

There were several buss Yes, you've earned it. You thought about it, like there's time. There was days I was shower burn like ten times. There's days I was there's days I was showering. I'm like, oh my god, I could make him so fucking powerful. And then like you do it against a boss and they're like, yeah, I guess we gave you these tools and we set these rules out and you fucking smoked them in like three hits,

And I think there's so many ways, like with each character you mentioned like being like from a different game and everything with all their different systems, like that could have so easily been overwhelming, Like I could I could totally imagine a world where this game was like every time I get a new character giving me way too much of a tutorial and me being overwhelmed, me like

Would you're jumbling too. You're building up the sun and moon energy or something. Then you're spending spending that on the cards that also the moon. You build up the moon and burn.

The Yeah, yeah it's been it's been a while, but like I remember like being at first like this seems like a lot, but then you just like do a few fights and it's like, oh, I think I'm starting to get it. And like even if you don't fully get it, you can still just kind of do attacks

Be bored or whatever.

And every time I did, like I was seeking out fights in this game because of all these systems and the real time stuff in those fights and everything, Like I felt engaged all the time, and these systems were fun to play with and everything, and that is like, I honestly don't think I've ever enjoyed a turn based RPG more than this one.

I've never liked a turn based RPG in my life, and I think you and I are probably similar on this. The dialogue, the characters, oh, like, spare me. This was the first time where I was like, maybe I don't need to like learn everybody's fucking backstory and understand everything to appreciate the fact that these people are dying every year, lower and lower and they're trying to save their very skins.

I really.

I loved that character and that kind of gutted me a lot. Rebuilding and finding someone that I was like half okay with but he wasn't the character I wanted. Took a lot of rebuilding of trust for me to to grow and adapt to a new person. This entire game is like going back to like how we're talking about Silent Hill f This game is a lot about

We're not the most like story heavy podcast, but some one's accused us of this. We talked about people love the fucking Haiti story. We were talking about skipping through to whatever. I this is a turn based RBG, and I loved the story. I cared about the characters, the choice at the end you reference like it, like all these characters were so well written, so well acted, Like I actually was invested in what was going on here. I'm watching the alternate endings and stuff like that, like

I feel like multiple endings in the vast majority of video games that have them come down to like, oh, who do you want to live or die? Or who do you?

Oh? Like do you want to like Jedia this game?

I don't think it's like the most well written story of any medium ever told. However, I appreciate that, like the ending is more it's more complicated than just like who lives or who dies?

It's like who's good and bad?

It's asking you, like, do you do you think it's more important that someone has an illusion and they're happy or if they know the truth and it might fucking hurt them. Grow.

So it's actually asking.

It's not like I know there's people who are like, oh, anybody who picks this sending is objectively a bad person, like fuck it all the bad one, the one where because they're like, oh, if you pick this one, you effectively murder mile right, like yeah.

Wave male like going to the real world or whatever, the blue pill red pill thing. No, no, no, no, the opposite, if you maintain the painting the illusion you staying the one where he's playing the piano and you're a bad person.

Yeah, And I was like, you just know, you're just like, who the fuck? Maybe we're in a painting right now, is my Like like it's matrix like blue and red Pill. But I just like appreciate that it's not just like a dumb like, oh, do you want to side with this this sort of hot villain or.

Do you want to side with this Like listen, there there's a bunch of hot characters.

Yeah.

I mean, I agree with you, though, Like it's so much harder to recognize this.

Character a while to figure out because I had to go stuff what elaborate, I had to jail.

I hope we're not. I hope we're not.

On the.

If you're saying it, I'm not sorry.

I think it's important to respect morally gray characters and nuanced storytelling that are they good or bad? Do you want them to live or die? The choice that you're given at the end of this game is important because neither of them are morally correct, and it is up into interpretation, and that is the fucking point, because the point is for us to discuss those things and decide what is meaningful to you. I actually believe that when

I don't think I fully understood the maintain.

And you guys maintained and I don't think I don't think that you were wrong or right. I think the point is is that we got a really good discussion about why we chose them the way we did, and whether or not we regretted it or changed your mind. That is brilliant game design. It's brilliant game design to make you make that choice and make you question your own choice. And this game should probably be number one.

Yea, yeah, yeah, I stepped away for a bit though, like haities two Hollow Night, do we want to like figure out we didn't talk a lot about HOLLI Night.

I feel like this is the right believable talk about Hollo Night.

I feel like we need to ignore the fact that, like the internet was on fire over like dumb discourse again some good difficult Oh that's I know. I'm just saying every time, That's what I'm saying. So it's like I don't play it.

But I think what's interesting though, is like you and I were talking about the argument of like time wasted time, if you're like frustrated with your time, if you feel like you're lost your time.

We talked because when Plant was on, we talked about we were talking about baby steps, and then we're like, I guess we could talk the same about hollowits R.

And I think you can actually make that argument for blueprints as well. The point is is like sometimes you like make a run in blueprints and you don't get the rang that you wanted and you waste it, and that's frustrating. It's very frustrating to like work very hard and very be very smart but not get what you want because the game didn't work out. It's equally very frustrating in Hollow Night to beat your head against a wall with a boss that's very difficult, and they've made it.

It is one of the best metro adveniers of all time, definitely, like among the great grades, the super Metroids and Sympony the Knights. It's incredible, but it's not perfect for reasons we talked about, and like, I do think some of the complaints about the runbacks and stuff like that, and the difficulty, like, sure, I get it, and those peoples are pretty high for a lot of those bosses, But what you were just saying about, like when you get that win, you're not thinking about like, no, they did

After it released, I was like, the peaks are so high and so impactful that I forgive all the very very many little things I don't like about the game.

It I think I mentioned this every game of the year.

It's like it comes down to, like, do you value consistent greatness or do you value higher peaks? So like it's The Sopranos versus The Wire. For me, it's like, I think The Wire is a is consistently a great show, whereast The Sopranos has some real low valleys, but the peaks are so high.

It's like, do you which do you value?

Yeah, I feel like Hades two is more consistently a very good game than Hollow Night.

However, Hollow Night's peaks are way the fuck up there. You wouldn't put All the Night above.

No, I think we're talking.

It's that's I'm saying, like, what do you value more? I I personally think haities. I think the order is correct right now. Again, I think Hollow Knight like my.

Knee jerk is that Hades is better than Hollow Nite. But like there's an argument.

I think there is a world in which these are both. These are both sequels to incredible fucking games that are genre breaking. The world talks about them. We all love the originals. I think that Hollow Knight adds more Silk Song adds more to that world than Hades two adds to Haiti.

Oh, Silk Song is way more.

It's a bigger world. They add more to the game design, they add more to the mechanics, push the level. The level design is better, the boss fights are more incredible.

I think.

They push it a step further.

I think Hades where I'm at. I think Hades two is a better game. I think Hallownite Silk Song is a better like on the continuum of like Hollow Night, the first game and the sequel.

Hallow Night takes bigger swings, you know.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think I I as much as I like detest many parts of Silk Song, and I think like people ignore them, I also like I'm right there when people are like, yeah, these were some of the best moments ever, I'm like, yeah, it's it's really, really fucking good. I still think this order is correct, but I'm not gonna I'm not gonna like throw a fit if Hallownight goes up. Yeah.

I do think the closest thing is Hades and Hollowite, Like that could go either way, I think, but I think the rift is exactly where it should be.

Yeah, I'm not I don't think I'm arguing for much of anything, and I don't think I would like fight tooth and nail. I will make a final case that I think I think Hades to a lot of people have generally said, and even this crew has generally said that Hades two is just like Hella more Haites. It's so good and it's so smooth. I think Hollow Knight built upon a solid ray foundation. I think it. I

I will say, uh, with Hades two. The entire time I played that game, I was just like, I am loving this, I'm having a good time. It was kind of like it was a hum that was like very high up here. I felt great the whole time. Yeah, Callow Knight was the thing where it's like I would be like I was yelling, you know. It's it's the way I haven't done since Eldin Ring where I am just like, god fucking down with these bosses and like

I love it.

I love your emotion I have. I have strong guttural reactions to Hunter's March. There are these times in Hunter March where you get past the section of platforming and you say, oh, surely there's a bench.

Pre oh my god.

You get into the bench and then the thing like yeah, that's like sends forts some dark souls one ship, and I'm like I I literally like went out to the living room, like Amanda's like, are you still playing Hollow Night, I was like, no, I'm never playing that game again.

And then like that night, of course, after playing fucking.

Bilewater, youah so hard to get up there and you sit in the fucking chair and then just falls.

It's I that's good.

The emotions that it elicits from you is so much higher than the emotions I had in Hades two. Did I say yes? I liked Hades two all the time ever since I played eighty two. I was like, I like this, this is good. But did I ever scream at the top of my lungs. Did I ever like say to myself, you're the fucking best, or like maybe you should give up? I felt the highs and lows of every gamer when I played that. I think I

I really really don't like the idea of runbacks, like I think. I think that team Cherry is so often moving the goalposts in that game that I feel like I know what the goal is and then they're like Nope, that's not what it was. You had idea, and that can be powerful. Like then all of a sudden you're like, I got to the bench and the falls through. It

That.

Again, in hindsight, I forgive a lot of little things that I was like, oh man, I don't even like how that there was not a compelling area to explore from a three D platforming or exploration perspective. I think a lot of times like I feel like I've heard people glaze Team Sherry a bit and I'm like, I

I do think the EKG thing, I think that is more interesting than the hut Oh you know so, I honestly, after this conversation, I could see Silk Song going to two. Yes, I I'm fine with that.

I think that's a more I don't like it more than Expedition thirty three, and no like, nope, nope.

I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that I can get Silk Song to go to eat but which.

There's a world. But if you want to talk to you about Bonanza being number one, let it go. Going to bed in the morning, this is when I check out.

Silks Song is is my goady and there's a lot of reasons for it, and I agree with you. It's not perfect, but I think I think the feelings that it elicited in me is why I fight so hard for it. It is incredible that it is that it has made me feel the way I feel when I play it angry, scared, sad, alone, joyous, triumphant. Its highs are absolutely unstoppable. I feel stronger when I play when I'm like, oh, what game am I going to play again?

Yeah, I'm not gonna think to your point, like I you know, as much as I hated Act Through, not hated act Through Silk Song, but I as frustrated as I was. The second I finished that, I was like, well, I'm gonna play again on switch and like immediately grab

I think I'm not saying that's bad. I think it's a place for that.

It's the Airplane game, like right, Like that's what I want to melt ours. I appreciate this Silk Song is kind of like fuck that we want you engaged every step of the way, whether it's good or bad. I want you to actually like come to this. We don't want it to be like merely addictive and compelling in an immediate sense. We want this to actually be a range of emotions. And I love that.

That's yeah.

I do feel like games are gonna keep going the former way for a while, and I appear appreciate that Silk Songs like now we're gonna swim against the tide on this one, and we're gonna like whatever people. People are gonna hate us as we clearly seen, like fucking people have a lot of problems with the challenge level of this.

Game, but it is a challenging game, and I think like that can be debatable of like it's it's it's merit when you're beating your head against a wall, Like is that is that how you want to spend your time? That's like the biggest detriment I hear against it, which is like, man, I like just don't want to go against a boss for four hours. I respect that there's so much time you can spend in this game up leveling your character, just getting beads that you can spend

Buy a water boss, and once I put on this ship where it's like I can hang out in the poison water and be fine. I can just be a little shit hanging out in the poison and like a little in the poison. Yeah.

Once you learn like there's areas where you can prevent poison or fire damage. There's an area where, like you can put on an armor that prevents fire damage, and it's just like you, I understand the frustration of that area. You can get past that once you learn the different things that you need to get past it.

I think an cockering of time level shit like going to death mountainy out the red tunic, yours?

Yeah, doctor, go run anyway.

I don't think it's probably gonna get any higher.

So yeah, I think would you want to like I like this ranking. I like this a lot.

I could make a case. I my I've said it already. My personal game of the year is Silk Song. I think it is the best game of this year. I think that it will be very difficult to get it above Expedition thirty three. I also think Claire Obscure is phenomenal, and I'm not angry with it being at number one. I'm okay with this. I am okay with this. I got no problems with it. If you want me to make a case, i'll try. I don't think it's happening. I think it's done very well. I'm not angry about it.

I like this. I like Banana Blueprints. No no, no, that's when I would leave THEA.

I think we could try switch. We could probably switch MEGABONK and Donkey Kong Bonanza.

I like this.

You know this is our list? I think our list? Yeah, can we read them? No one, Let's start with you with ten and then go to Marry so she could say, you said, I say blueprints, So that's my number. Ten is Metroid Prime.

Four, Number nine is MEGABONK.

Number eight is Peak, Number seven is Ghost of Yota. Number six is Silent Hill.

F Number five is Bonanza.

I'm sorry, what's it's full name?

Please?

DK Bonanza, Donkey Kongress, is government care about it?

Number four Blue Prince Sorry. Number three is hades to Sorry. I thought Mary would be on that. Mary say it, Blue Prince, No, No, No. Number two is Going Smooth, Hollow Night, Silk Song, and number one Jake Clare Obscure Expedition threty three nice. I also want to point out the poetic beauty of the fact that we have a role playing game at number one for Fire.

That's crazy.

I think I know.