Game of the Year 2025: Day 3

Hey, everybody's Day three of Giant Bomb's Game of the Year twenty twenty five. I'm your host, jan at Choa and we're recording at main Gear shouts out to main Gear, joining me co captain of the ship as always.

Give me the year, Give me the year, give me the your, give me the.

Year, give me the your, give me thee, give me the year. He looks good, Terble Shawn Sean McDowell.

Magic comes Demas is happening.

It's happening. It's stuck in his memory, just like it's stuck in his memories.

Chuck Zimmer Hell from Tom Tom Tom Tucker. That's it's borderline problematic. Every time you say speaking about borderline problematic, I'm gonna put him up ahead. Now he's a bad boy of games media boy my like benaughty.

Whoa, that was so mumble, Jerry of you throw me off like that?

Oh my gosh.

I'll be the rumble teaser to your mumble Jerry.

It's mungo, Jerry, get it right. I always say mumble. I didn't want to correct you. Our own favorite.

Uh, the coolest of cats, the Prince of Cats Jeff Beckler.

Hey, uh, no one will like this.

That's actually the new motto of the website. Get on that.

I'm changing the logo. It's a universally bad idea. No one will like it, right, and he's our own god. What's the old Lady cat o? Dan riker Beclaurio was hell last night. I grew up with Kayla watching the Cats VHS NonStop, and then I thought I was out of the Cats period of my life, and then uh, it was just in the Airbnb everywhere the whole movie. Cool and we have our own monk Oo Strap behind the ones and twos. Will Crosby's helping us out? Can we hear in the hour a hiss?

There we go? Fantastic.

We have another full day of cat tegories to get there, starting with For some reason, I put this up as

We have best cat from Cats, brought to you by cats, brought to you by cats. I'm gonna just fire them off real quick.

Grizabella, rum Tum Tucker, Mister Mistopheles, Mamba Arena that is the sexy Taylor Swift cat, as well as Monko Strap, Victoria Demeter Jemima, Growl, Tiger, Cavity, Rumpels, Teaser, Mungo, Jerry, Skimble Shanks, Gus the Theater Cat, Jenny Dots, Ny Dots, that's the that's the Wilson one one, Cassandra, Cora, Copat, Alonzo, Jelly, Lorum, Electra, Tantomile, Amidas and Mater d Oh the stars are stars are here? Yeah. Uh, I'm gonna say we just bowled three of them now, Okay, Skims Bolder for sure.

Yeah, I'm a big fan of Skimble Shanks. He wears his overalls like all the way up to his cat nipples.

Oh he's the tap dancing one.

Yes, yes, he has the power of tap dance.

He defeated of the railway train who was stupid face cat who just had the stupid face the whole time.

To yas Alonzo, I think that's that's Alonzo alright, not him, you talk about the main one, because I think that's monkey strapped, Like at the at the end where they're all staring at character strap.

Can we bold ship rum Tum tugger, Hey, can you believe?

At a comic com party I went to where Jason Durler was performing. He didn't respond well, when I yelled cats weird. I like mister Mestopheles. I don't like him in this movie. No, they turn him too a bit of a he's got a nerd. Yeah, it's like a shy nerd. Just bold Taylor Swift jan I both want.

To came with.

This movie finally made Taylor Swift attractive.

Oh no, what does that say about me?

There was a moment where it did get quiet in the living room and everyone was just walking.

For shoot, wow macavity, uh cavity. I don't like it when he takes his clothes off. Yeah, he real naked.

Every time he what is it? What does he say, Mike, He's like ineffable. He goes ineffable and then he closed the book and then a bunch of people.

Disappeared to the one time he just says this date though, would he tell ports set Away?

I do like the name Mungo Jerry, Yes, I don't. I don't either, All right, well, okay he was wrong.

Mungo Jerry and Rumple Teaser are the lens that are like going there.

They're the du.

My parents told me I'm not allowed to say those words.

Yeah, so uh oh you guys said I couldn't say Skimble Shanks, And I said, I got a.

Skimble Shanks pass.

And you know what I told him when they gave me that, I said, Skimble Thanks?

We is it gust or gust the theater?

All right by Sir Ian McKellen. I'm gonna say, let's give it to the Sexy Taylor swift cat. Okay, yeah, guy backler, do you want to read the category? Yeah?

Of course best cat from Cats runners up, rum Tum tugger, uh, Skimble Skanks. And you don't have a pass, you can't Bombloa, which is the Sexy Taylor's.

Official cat of Giants Giant bomb Arena.

Yeah, where's that era on her tour in Cats?

Yes, that's crazy, Mike. Mike is like, if this happened a year later, she would not be in this sure. Yeah, she also didn't perform it during the eras tour. Weird weird oversight.

All right, Well that unpleasantness is behind us.

Okay, Hey are you okay? Yeah? What's up?

Mike check we're talking about this volume. Okay, we're going.

Yeah, you know where about it? Skimble shanks of it?

Rough tub dumber, I don't know.

Alright, alright, alright, uh remember everyone, we are all friends here.

We should have put steaks on.

I very much want to play final Sentence that sounds.

That's the one where the typing Royal.

I think we should do that. I I love typing stuff. I think I'm pretty good at it, and I would like to do a Battle Royal with that. But I've not played it. Has anyone here played it?

No.

I watched a lot of the Next Lander play and they were using their minds. It was so funny.

Yeah, every time you get error and like gives you like the the red text and they're like ship like every time, it's funny.

Okay, we gotta do that soon. Majorna, Is that the one where Dan was running around just saying I enjoyed.

That was a good time.

So I'm gonna I'm gonna take out sentence. I want to say same was guilty of sock. That's been one that's on my list for a while. It looks very interesting to me. But is that it's the judge courtroom socket. Yeah, it seems interesting.

I said, we played r V there yet I was I didn't really.

Get it, So that'supposed that's like laser targeted at me.

I like the Friends slop.

I like moving a vehicle through treacherous terrain and it didn't it didn't quite have it.

And smoking cigarette and smoking cigarettes.

God, yeah, you were outside. We need to try it again because I was talking to like Mary Kiss and she like adores it and she loves friends slops.

I wonder we just had a bad early run with it. Probably we were also we did have tech issues. We did, Yeah, we had tech issues. We had some other problems. I bet you know it's in early access. I bet it's changing pretty rapidly. We need to try it again, but based on what we played, let's cross it off.

I'm gonna say it's because I wasn't there yeah, right, we didn't have the sloppiest of our friends though. Please. Yeah, I see Remap has been playing it a lot and they're having a bunch of fun. I didn't think it was the best one of these, but I do appreciate that Mosquito Gang had the Mosquito cover of Daddy Yankees Gasolina.

I forgot where the other one was a ull Star Gasolina.

Yeah, how did it?

Was it like Mosquito buzzing?

Yeah, it's crazy, Okay, I love that, but it did kind of seem unfair because if you were the human, it was very difficult to actually win the round.

Like maybe we would have learned more if you like, played even more, But with these front slop games, I think you kind of want to figure it out a bit sooner than that you just wanted to work.

Yeah, let's cut ones that we didn't really because we did at least play that one. There's some here that, like, I feel like we definitely didn't stream. Did anyone tell me about Battle Paddle.

Paddle Yeah, that was when you guys all and me and bacalar oh right, and it was just man and yeah. So it's a game about two people in a canoe paddling and one person does one side, the other person does the other side, and you're on like these very narrow platforms and you sort of have to like like drift into them, but you have to work together, and we're just kind of yelling like and then sometimes we got if compatible.

Yes, there were moments where like the places we were meant to platform on our raft were invisible.

Yeah, yeah, and we'd like kind of like figure it out, and it's like we kind of like were using landmarks and stuff. I had a pretty good time with it, But I'm gonna let you make the call on this. Do you think it's gonna have a chance to get in the top three?

I don't know.

Maybe.

I mean it's like I thought it was miraculous how we didn't rip each other's heads off.

Yeah, I did want to rage quit like yeah, but.

Yeah, yeah we got there. I don't know, what do you think, Chuck.

I like when they yell.

It's it's a good time. It might have a difficult time. I don't know it could be in the top three, actually, because I see two for sure that I went on. Yeah, but we'll see about.

The kissed me off. It wasn't the best game now.

It was a fun stream, but yeah, the game itself.

I think Mike said, you want to be able to figure out right away. I think that's a key part of Friends. It's like you want to like instantly, like Peak gets the top of the mountain. Yep, yep, Okay, we get it all right, I'm cutting it now.

As funny as Majorina was stream, I don't know how much of a game there was there that you found out at least that's fine, okay, but.

I mean it's still Friends Lobby. We can cross it off, you're right, yeah, I mean, like.

Out of these ones in the bottom here, I would say, like, keep digging. I enjoyed a lot. And that's one where the monkeys farther than each other's mounts. It was at the end of the world.

It's funny because there's also a game about digging a hole, and that's a single player game, and I liked them turning it into more of a multiplayer thing. Here, it was pretty poorly balanced that it was so fun that clearly kind of sort of didn't matter. You know, you had the teleporters, right, and that's like okay, checkpoints, yeah, yeah, the checkpoints like that's like breaking the purity of a

Well let's say, okay, is it crazy to say that? I think Repo and Peak are pretty obviously locks. So we're looking it down there, like which one of paddle Paddle paddle supermarket simulator? And do we want We.

Haven't talked about supermarket simularity. And that was a blast, great time. I remember having three of us and Nikki. That was a really fun time. Dan leading the way because you know, it's in his blood and everything. And then I'm like the hilarity of putting me and Nikky on the cash resters and Nikki acting acting like cashier is trying to like figure out how to pass the time when it's like, well there's no customers, Hey, how you doing over there? Like we try to make our own fun.

Yeah, And all the tools you can do to like, you know, you can edit the sign, you can put up like JPEGs I was putting up on the walls and stuff like that was really fun.

At the moment where you all bought the DLC and I didn't, so I literally couldn't enter the same mocking you moment here.

I'm just on the outside, Love me. I died when that happened. That was the funniest thing this year.

God, boy, I think Supermarket says, out of those three.

Yeah, I'm I think I'm okay with that. Pad Pedal was was fun, but Supermarket was like fully fulfills the idea of friends. Stop giving everyone something to do. Yeah, right, paddle paddle paddle. That max is out of two.

Right, Okay, you have to have more friends than that.

Yeah, no, I think I agree, all right, so I'm going to cut paddle, paddle, paddle and keep digging. Yeah. What was that other game we checked out this year that was kind of like a GTA like and we had.

The weird one one. Yeah, that's fun, not a good game, all right, It's important that we remember for best momentary sequence when those monkeys farther than each other's mouth.

Of course like that. Yeah, so our top three as right now we have Repo, Peak and Supermarket Simulator.

Boy, I think Peak is hard to be here. Peak did when you yesterday or multiplayer.

We don't even think about REPO for that. So still, I mean, I will say that I like Repo's deployment of like the talking heads and like the most.

The Terrence and Philip heads.

God, I remember Nikki and Sean hiding underneath a bed.

Yeah, and Grub too. Yeah, we we had the under the bed meeting.

Yes, under the bed meeting.

Yeah.

I think I think that actually might put REPO ahead as the friends slop game is the lean so hard into that, But maybe the gameplay itself isn't as interesting as it is. Just like Lethal Company, you know, get valuable items into the conferences do.

Happen to you?

Right?

Okay, so you're right.

The structure of like what the game is asking of you is very simple and similar to the other games.

It's not even just that similar. Since that I've always thought that concept is a little similar. I think that's what makes Peak the fun multiplayer game is the teamwork. But this leans so hard until, like you said, like the flapping heads and the text of speech and like.

That that anything can happen.

Like you, you don't know what the next haunted haunted objects is going to do to you. As good as your voice right, changes your voice, your controls get fucked up. You're figuring out, like what the the music b They're like, why am I moving on my own?

And then someone else has to look at you and realize, oh, dude, you're spinning with the meloria.

You turned into a like an irritating stick or whatever.

And then yes, and then we found that like one doll in the room and we were all like what do we do here? And like I think you attacked or like you came in the room and like tried to pick it up and it attacked you, like.

There's a little duck or something. And then we all like scattered. Yeah it was.

And there was cool moments like when we played it. Uh did we play it twice? I think in the first time, when like everyone else had died, I'm like on my own, try to survive. And I found that like giant box that would give over the edge of you guys were like I watched later because you were all talking on the other side like he's not good, do it? He doesn't he wait too And then I managed to get into the car and Gary went back. I think that also like leans into the friend slop of it.

All absolutely.

Peak's also really good for that kind of stuff.

If it does it again mixed up too, Like you know, I love this stuff in Repo where it's changing your voice and all that stuff. But like you know, Peak has those things too, where these items and it sounds like they keep adding things to thing you can eat and I don't know what it's gonna do to me. When Kayla was just eating random mushrooms and got fucked up, you know, like, yeah.

Right, I think that's the fun thing too. When you die and you're the ghost, you can still talk to people. It's really funny.

Yeah, you get knocked out and someone has to carry you up the mountains.

Yeah, yeah, I was gonna say, I remember when Kayla is eating a bunch of mushrooms, Dance stayed behind to check up on her, and I thought, well, I should stay with these two. And then somehow Kayla came back to life, and then I died, and when Kayla was just carrying and yelling at my dead body, like okay,

In such a pillar of friend slop. Is that prox chat and like its great and repo, but also when you're like yelling down you know, canyons and mountains and stuff, that is funnier for.

Proxy another room, you know.

Yeah, yeah, I mean the prox change and repos, like the the enemies can hear you and stuff like that.

But I still think you're right there in Peak, just the disc distance.

Someone just from like a whisper to like, wait, who is that?

Yeah?

That I feel like it was always you and Kayla Jan just sort of being like yeah, she's just acting like she would in real life.

You wandering around.

And she be yelling you do.

I guess my head right now is kind of ad repos maybe quantity, and then Peak is quality, you know, like the most friends slop versus the best. Yeah, it does it does say best right there, So I think Peak is the better game.

All right, it's probably Peak. Well, congratulations to Peaks. I'll drop, I'll play with either one of these games at the drop of it.

I want to play these now. Yeah, we should just get all the video game LUP sites on it.

Yeah. Day four Game of the Year will be within Peak. Yeah this is Peak.

Second award, that's true.

Second award.

Uh So, congratulations to Peak and the runners up, Repo and Supermarket Simulator. Moving on to the next category, we're

Actually, yeah, it was pretty easy. I think I can do it again.

I was watching Dan edit his review for Terminator two D no Fate. You should check it out on giant bomb dot com. I was watching him do it, and I was like, I need to fix that. I need to fix that. I need to fix that. But he was he was being such a good sport. Good job Dan, Yeah, great job Dan. New website user.

Yeah, it's actually Lex Luddy. Yeah, give the youth something.

I guess I'm youth. You are thank you, Dan, You are you all right?

All right?

Moving on to the next category, gang we have speaking of youth. This is exactly speak of youth. It's going

So I have a thought out of the gate and what my thought is kind of mulling over this list for like, I don't know the second time I'm getting eyes on this here. I have a theory of why I think the winner should be a certain game? Can I do that right now? I think the winner should be Mortal Kombat Legacy here, And here's why boomers are no better defined by their incessant desire to be presented with historical information in documentary form. Allah the History Channel, Allah,

Of the year.

I have been eating up.

Then a game that literally really like basically puts you in a lazy boy, put slippers on your feet, gives you a cigar. And it's just like, I'll just sit down, Grandpa, I want you to watch a movie about your favorite Mortal combats.

Yeah.

Yeah, And like Grub and I talking about it, like it just blew our minds that like it had the moment that ed Boone had the idea for the spear during the moap stuff.

Like getting to like getting you see that moment happen on it, Like they had the camera pointed right at him as he came up with the idea. Yeah, And it's just unbelievable that history has now been preserved.

It is catnip for a certain type of persons, several of us in this room.

Yeah, let's well that's not going anywhere. Well, we'll share it. Yeah, I'm you know what. I will preemptively though, I will bowld it talking about maybe cut stuff like grub.

I think you and I specifically like you can replately should be for us, and I think neither of us hate it. That's right, but also neither of us have really like gotten into Yuka lately at any point. Yeah, it's every time I've tried. It's not sun it for me.

Is this a real Mastery? Is kind of a remake. It's a remaster with some extra edits. Yeah.

Yeah, it's the three D platformer one, which actually the two D one is the better one.

It looks better.

And I was like, okay, I'm finally going to get into this, and I did a little stream of it and it's just like, okay. I never really went back to it. It's just not super grabbing me. I would say we cut that, okay.

And I didn't get a chance to play Time Gal HD remaster. I threw it on there with the hopes that I would. I'm not so we can cut that unless anyway.

Oh, I mean it's really cool.

That was Timegal.

It's so it's like an anime version of Dragon's Layer. Yeah, to be one of the best of those kinds of games. Can I ask that we chop Shanobi Art of Vengeance from this list because I think Boomers would hate that game.

So as somebody who like does love the old Chenobi games, it doesn't really play very much like the old Chino.

It's got the juice, it feels amazing. It's a very sm game, and I just I don't think it hits with Boomer.

Yeah, as as kind of the champion of that game, I like, I agree, because I think it feels so modern that's almost like, you know, shed the like Boomers of.

The old positively a game which is yeah, it's too good to be there. It's yeah, it just doesn't feel like a Boomer game. I agree.

One I would like to go to bat War. On this list that I think should be bolded is Final Fantasy Tactics The Even Chronicle.

See interesting, I was gonna I was about to nominate that to get cut chuck. Wow, Yeah, this is common friction. No, no, no,

I think for a lot of like the people that did play it at that time, I think they would be like, good, another reason to play that game again, which I think is kind of like maybe the definition of this category. But I don't know, does anyone like feel like they have a good grasp of what we mean when we say Boomer game of the year because it's like, oh, great, another reason to go back to this game I played my entire life.

Or it can be the spirit of something that right right retro inspired I think is maybe for that or a really good remake I think, yeah, a lot of lead paint in its bloodstream.

Right right, No, I'm kind of with you, Chuck. I I definitely thought more of like not the I guess a bit of a not a negative conversation, not like these are bad games, but they certainly serve the Boomers. Yeah, and boomer is never.

You know, start being a more specific older auds.

Yeah, I was.

I was gonna say Boomers never used to sort of like, you know, praise a person.

For everything we just mentioned. I'm nominating a cut in Doom the Dark Gages because I also think did any of us really play that.

Tired out?

I did too, And it's also like, yeah, it's boomering the fact that Doom is an old series, but like it feels new enough to like, I don't think it do the same thing with Borderlands four. Honestly, it's a slightly less lame version of Borderlines three.

Did anyone spend more time in Borderlands four? Put a few hours into a total, but it crashed on me a bunch and I gave up.

Well, it sounds like you're not a real gamer with a real PC.

That's right, wait premium, Yeah, you're not a premium gamer. Sorry mang gear didn't give me a piece. Shots out to the main gearer dot com slash.

Time use meinger dot com slash sham bam.

Okay, can you guys need to give me more money so I could buy a PC from Yah?

I think we need to call them beating right.

Now, Unionized Sean if we do want to.

Ninja Guide and Rage Bound is is very much trying to be a direct sort of successor to those Ninja guiding games while giving the fresh code of paint. Is like, hey, let's really amp up the platforming action. It does a really good job at that, you know, so a few other things going on, while also being very old school and its presentation one of my favorite games of the year, Like, it's definitely like top ten, top fifteen range.

I don't know if it nic throwback, which kind of feels yeah, it might feel absolutely.

I would like to see it stick around a little bit longer because I feel like, unlike Shanobe, it really is trying to be the rest of Religion game in a year where we had two other more modern Ninja Guidance Mike, you really like Dragon Questshdye.

I've only played one. I've played through one then took a break from Metroids.

I don't started two yet, but you know, it's very similar to what happened with gianon Quest three, where it's like it's like a good mix of being that original game, but then they do add a lot of you kind of have small changes and especially like little story be thought that the game is suddenly superfilled with storm. You know, the original game is very bare bones. It's only one v one fights. You're still one person. He could fight many mosters. So like, even as it's being monerized, it

All Right, Tetris Forever came out in twenty twenty four. Well that's a boomer thing thing I did.

Wow, the merit boom boomers can't handle looking at Tetris Forever too long.

I would like to cut Oblivion remastered. I think they did a wonderful job. They kept in the flubbed voice lines, and it's got a lot of its old charm. But I don't know if it like grabbed anybody in there.

I mean I really wanted to spend more time with that. I was having a good time. Uh I do, I do. I think it's pretty good for this category, other than the fact that it had some bad tech issues launched.

Yeah, well does I mean it's you know, it's a Pathiestic game. Yeah, the test game, and it's an unreal Engine game. So yep, we can, we can. Okay, we got it.

Uh. I really like to pro Skater three plus four like that. I want too, Yeah, I want to keep that out.

That's the game I think of where I'm like, I was pretty excited for and that all the boomers in my life were like, this is going to church. I'm so yeah, yeah, yeah exactly.

Even like the change your stuff for which has been discussion, Yeah, I am like ninety percent fine with them. There's like a little bit like turning Zoo from like an actual level of goals into more of a competition level was maybe a little lame, sure, but otherwise I'm like, no, I think I'd rather play the t HPS four levels like that, and Tony pro Skater three, three and three just so freaking good.

Gosh, gosh, goshy. I think another thing that this category makes me think of is that it taps into your muscle memory, yes, of playing the original game, and that's what the ox per Skater three plus four does.

I feel fine bold in it?

Ye, baby, I I.

I what's earthy On cool? Earthly On is a user Kaushiro his studio where he works.

He's like designer and does the music and then uh, he works with one other person that does all the coding. It is a new side scrolling space shooter, but that can They released it for the Genesis as well, and.

It's really really good shoot Genesis the game.

The game itself is a Genesis rom that on Steam using an emulator, play it and then they have physical copies coming later, like and all that stuff.

Is extremely boomer and it's such a boomer genre too, yeah right, yeah, and it's it's really fun to play. It's one of those ones where it's like you sit down, you can play it, finish it in an afternoon, but then you know, you can go back to it and there's a lot more to like learn and master. Uh but yeah, it's just it's also just you know, a solid sho that has all this accoutrement around it that kind of puts it over the top for.

Being a boomer game.

I let's keep it for now.

Yeah, for sure, Herotic and Hecsan. I think they did a really good job. I learned that I like Heretic and maybe I don't like Hexan that much.

Okay, what I like.

I like the playing those games a bunch of though, Mike, I don't kind of feel like it'd be you and me to sign to keep it.

I love these as well, and I love what they inspired. In terms of games that directly reference these, I'm trying to think, like amid Evil, for example, that those are better boomer games than these games.

They and they did a few things.

They also did Outlaws this year, which I spent a little bit of time with, and I like that.

They also did System Shock like Anniversary Edition, which is really good.

Yeah, they always do good stuff non off.

It's as good as their power sleeveg Zoomed from a course of years back.

Yeah, I mean, I I do.

They did a really good job and they added some nice quality of life stuff to the game. It sounds like y'all are still high ones again. It's just like, there's some there's some heavy hitters at this point. Now, does Marvel Cosmic Invasion Do I really like it?

I like it too.

I like the combat a bunch. Can I give it give out its case for being a boomer game? Yes? Please.

So it's the things that it is inspired by are like obviously like a lot of old comics, types of old comic like series. I guess that it's taken a lot of stuff from but also the Beat Him Up, the arcade Beat Him Up, which is like a mount rushmore of boomer arcade games from that era. And then it's also taken stuff from Marvel versus cap Come and it's like, yep, the boomer fighting game that like now like looms over so many other games that have any

Well maybe I was just fishing for someone else to fight for it, and he did, Greb.

I think it's I think we got to keep it for now at least.

Yeah, I'm surprised to hear that from you. Guys. I thought I thought people were a little mid on it, but well, I'll say I did it. Love it. I like it.

I just like it.

Yeah, love it. I don't.

I don't love it. I like it.

And it's a good time with friends who especially I got family members who are big into Marvel, and Marvel beat them up specifically, and playing it with them was great. It's not as good as some other like obviously absolutely sure of the year. This is not as good as Streets to Rage four, but it's it's good enough, and then everything else kind of puts it over the top of being like, oh, it's worth the money we're spending time.

Yeah, the familiarity with Marvel definitely will help the casual person or relapse the game or get back into it.

Yeah, they should have hadded psight clubs. So huh, Mike, they might hurt it in the end. It might hurt in the end. Golden Tea, I mean it's very boy but also.

On so Golden Tea is another one of those collections that is from the people that did Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection and Tetris Forever.

It's not it's just not as good because the games aren't as good.

All right, Golden, Is this the one where if you have a trackball mouse, you can flip it over and you can spend it one so smart? That's hard?

Who has a try Mills?

Yeah? Yeah, Somewhere.

I did just realize Terminator two D No Fate would absolutely be a boomer game. I mean, it's based on a boomer movie and several different genres. But if you see my review on jihme bum dot com, I gave it two point five out of five stars point five. That's very brave of you, Dan. I'm I consider myself brave for that. It is good at some of the stuff it's doing, but ultimately it.

Is very very short. I brought up the thirty dollars price.

Point being a huge downside, but I don't think at any price it would necessarily be top three here. But definitely a boomer game, and I like that.

I love the Katamari games, but I've never really thought of Kamari as a specifically boomer series. I think, like actually very timeless. I mean, I just bought an Apple Arcade game this year that is also excellent, and I kind of feel that the formula just holds up as just this fun, esoteric thing, and I don't think of it in the same way I think of the rest of the game. So even though I love Rolling Live and Once Upon Acatemory, I don't think either of them fit in this category.

I'm with you, can I can? I fight for something that I'm glad we didn't cross out yet, Final Fantasy Tactics. I think the argument of it's too good of a remaster is not good enough for me. I think this game might be the best playing game in this list, aside from Shnoby Shnoby Art event. This is just like I mean, the full voice acting, shouts out to Bens Starry, the way they touch us up. It has that beautiful like two d HD look to it, just like a really lovingly crafted remaster.

And this is an old game, y'all. It is.

It is truly a boomer game. It is just one of the best games on the list. It's like, say, great remaster and it still has a retro feel to it.

Like I think, you know, in my personal top ten list, I think this is in there somewhere for me.

So yeah, I love this. I'm so glad they did this, and they did it right.

Well, so are we.

Got it cut it uh earth on, Like God, it feels right for this cat, so right for it.

It's so it's like, gosh, it's so Boomery to me. Impressed it that they made a new game.

That is that Boomer. I think we can save it for now Ninja Guide and Rage Bound. Do we see it hanging out?

It's it's a great game and it's very boomer so like I, I would still like to see it stick around more than like Marvel Cosmic Invasion. I don't know if it's.

It's similar to Marble for me, but I'm trying to like I probably do. I'm now hovering around Heretic and Hecks.

I think you get right. It's good.

But I think other Nightdive joints, like the stuff on Quake and Doom and Power Sleeve has been more.

Oh yeah, never played Quake. We got to fix that. I would like to try quick. I've never played the original Doom either. WHOA, Okay, I really like Marvel Cosmic Invasion. But with the other Boomer games that we have highlighted not hanging, will it stay?

Yeah? Like I said, I probably am the biggest sort of pusher for that, and I.

Will says a guy.

I'm with you here because it features Cosmic ghost Rider, Yeah, my favorite character.

I think really cool basically.

Yeah, yeah, we can. We can cut it. Okay, I'm sorry, that's okay. You guys have sold me on it some more, though, so I'm gonna go try that.

It's a very big it's absolutely worth playing.

Yes.

Does it max out at like four players? Yeah, and then everybody gets too, so we should be that. Yes, we should do. It's a good time.

Yeah, you can.

You can cut drying quests and like in Cosmic Convension, when the character dies, they're just all crumpled on the ground, right and you just leave them.

Is that that game?

Yeah, but you can get them back if you eat a big turkey, a big purple turkey.

It's it's like the pizza in the tmn T one. He'll both your characters. Yeah, yeah, okay. I feel like the thing that is on the verge of getting cut is it either Ninja Guide and Rage Bound or Earthy On. I'll I'll say, as someone who's been talking Ninja Guiden, I feel like Earthy On fits the category better. Boomer.

It's so boomer and it's a great game.

Yeah, it goes over the top to be boomer like. It's like it's a quarter selling point. I respect how boomery it is.

Yeah, it makes me.

It makes me feel old when I play it in a way that I like.

Like, I mean the fact like releasing it on Genesis is one thing, but that means like user Cacurra had to go back and use the Yamaha like soundship and stuff to make music again, the thing that made him famous in the first place. It's cool, Like it's a whole cool concept.

Yeah, it really is.

So we have three bolded right now, but we still have two more that could be bolded to stay as part of the conversation. That is Ninja Guide and Rage Bound and Final Fantasy Tactics. Between these two, I would definitely lean towards Tactics. Yeah, I do too.

Yeah, I would give it up for Fantasy as well.

Okay, and I you know I love Ninja Guide and Ragement. So we have four bolded right now, too many, and we need to cut one of them. But once again, let's go through those. We have Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection, Final Fantasy Tactics, the Evilies Chronicles, Earthy On and then Tony OK's pro Skater three plus four. Thinking of Tony Hawk as a boomer game kind of makes me upset. Yeah, but I mean it is.

It's a different kind of like yeah, getting.

No, no, no, no, I fully agree that I'm old as ship. Now no, you're well you're not.

But I think you. I think your instincts make a good point.

A car from twenty five years ago would be a classic car now, I guess.

But but you know, if we're going by that logic, boomers are seventy five years old, right, like, so.

Yeah, we know how we're using.

Oh yeah, I think Tony Hawk is like it's kind of yeah, just is it too young? I think it's too new. Like I showed my kid that and he's like this rules like a boomer game.

He shouldn't like damn thoughts.

I'm a key thing about motal Kmbat. I mean literally, like two days ago the airport, I was watching those documentaries and I was watching the old you know, TV commercial with everyone running through the streets screaming Mortal Kombat, and it was like.

Mortal Kommet's a museum that you go to on your like it's a museum that an old person.

And we'd be remiss like not talking about that collections like problems, and it does have like this thought the greatest emulation. It has input leg problems, some worse on other platforms. I think it's it's because I think in the boomer perspective, you almost don't care as much about that stuff because you do.

Just that was awesome.

It was mostly on one platform, it was it was the biggest one. Yeah, the PlayStation had the issues, but like I think they're working on them and stuff. On the other platforms, it's like especially PC, it's it's fine.

Yeah, Like just watching that stuff and playing the individual like versions of the Sega and the super versions of Mortal Kombat one and remembering like, oh, and I'm in my house, I've got you know, the blood cote and stuff. Then I go over to Larry's house and he's got the like stupid sweat Super Nintendo version. Like remembering those we heard fights about, Like it really brought me back to like, you know, first and second grade.

I think it's maybe the game out less where I can't see younger people really getting into that one, but boomers would love it.

I mean, you had a hard time getting into when we were playing it.

Well, yeah, because I've literally never played the old Mortal Kombats for extent period like a couple of times. That arcade and trouble make it the absolute winner.

Let me say this about a couple here. Profit The Tactics features the voice talents of Ben Star, who's very young and hip h Tonyx pro Skater three plus four features Jack Black.

Who.

It does have Bammar Jerra and there was like a push to get Bammar Jaron and then that comes exclusively from boomers.

I've never heard a kid bring up John Tobias.

Yes, listen, we're still talking about cutting one, Like yeah, yeah, yeah, that's.

What you have to I want to say something painful. Yeah, you guys are talking about earth on I can't imagine what you're talking about. I appreciate the cartridge, but I need to see this touch just picture.

Have you ever seen like thunder Force or just any sixteen scrolling spaceship that and like it really is that one?

That hell fund gradious?

Yeah?

Yeah, like it's it's almost my favorite one on the list, to be honest, personally, because I think it's just it's again, it's this new game which I think. There's this game Saya Genesis game It people do that and it's kind of gimmicky. This one is really well done.

This is from one of the guys, is Tony Hawk.

T yep, Tony Hawk is too new. I think that's Tony It's a quarter century old.

What I'll say though about Tony Oks per Skater is that it like feels like it's too swaggy in comparison.

I think it's It might go back to Sean saying that one of the games was was timeless. Is Tony Oks pro Skater more of a timeless game than these other ones where it's like Tactics is.

Definitely as we talk about how Tactics story still yeah, right.

Skateboarding is still very cool.

I think.

Exactly.

I think Tactics is also pretty timeless. Like this is just the new RPG that, like, you know, RPG fans would play.

I don't think anyone would bad. And I let me put this one.

We're talking these timeless games that are still really fun to play. I play Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection and I love it so much just because I remember being obsessed with that. I cannot imagine a young fighting game player combat too.

You know, Mortal Kombat's safe, and I think safe.

We're talking about either cutting Tony Hawks or Final Fantasy Tony Hawks.

Got I think I'm doing that all right. I think that's that must be where we're at the alter respect.

It's not even one in two the older ones.

They add a new levels, how dare they? The thing I do want to just add last minute about tactics, and it's probably not going to win this category, but out of all the h D two D stuff, I think I like this the most because I I really want to like Octopath Traveler. I really want to like Project Triangle Strategy whatever it's called.

Off the time, is this even HD two it's I think it's like a very light version of very light.

I mean it kind of was always that, Its right, That's probably why you like it is a three D game.

They kind of nailed it from the jump and then and yeah that was mostly it. But there's something so novel about hearing that there's a new Genesis game coming out on cartridges. Yeah that is cool. Yeah.

I The thing about Mortal Kombat Legacy Collection is bouncing back and forth between the museum and the games where It's like you are in the museum and you're seeing the documentary and they taught they'd say something about the game, and I want to go play that right now.

Then there's a button right there. It's like, just go play the game.

And bouncing back and forth between those two states is like they nail that stuff.

And it's like that's like for our age grub specifically, like Atari fifty is fascinating and it was put together so love time.

I love thee the Greatest Generation right, that's too old, right.

It was like, oh, this is specifically for me.

Yeah, when we were having that little tournament here in this room, like you mentioned, Chuck Son, you did feel like being at a friend's sleepover and is passing the control around and that does feel very boomery. I got my cheeks clapped playing that. It was I was having a blast. It was so fun.

It was amazing, like remembering that smoke combo that I used to do as a ten year old, and it just immediately like I hope this still works, and it did. It was this bizarrely good feeling.

I can I make a real pitch for Mortal Kombat being the winner here. This is the last game my mom could beat me at a.

Literal boom boom.

Yeah, I think I think it's Mortal Combat.

Yeah.

I really liked the idea of Earthy On winning this and even I think it's probably Mortal Kombat. It's just the perfect idea of this whole concept of letting of getting all this information and having real editors and journalists go in and explore a topic and say, here, I know what people are going to be interesting because I'm also one of those boomers, and just putting it all together in such a sleek package, and it's it's awesome.

It's really we should have listened to Backlar from the top and some time yet.

Have more time to go back to the cats category.

No, just went well.

If people do like that Mortal Kombat game, though, play Atari fifty. It's great. It really is a fantastic documentary as well.

All right, best Boomer game of the Year runners up Earthly On, Final Fantasy Tactics, The Evilies Chronicles, and Winning is Mortal Combat Legacy Collection. Congratulations? Oh sorry, sorry Sirry Yeah, definitely, no, those are gay. How are we feeling? We we think we could go do another category.

I think it would be good to toss a bricky break, bricky bricky.

Let's get bricked up.

Everybody see on the other side of this, I don't have to pee. You never do a right dog. It's

Yeah, dude, I'm ready.

No, crump, you look like you are in a den of iniquity right now.

I don't know what that means, and I don't know what you want. It's not like I have a home studio, Jan, Yes you do.

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Oh yeah, I guess I have a fan on. Well, it's hot, I'm not going to turn that off. Let me just hit this right here. Is that any better?

Jan?

Much better? We can clean up your shot with auto frame and video noise removal and Grub. You can even make it look like you were paying attention using the eye contact.

Tool so I could still watch my stories.

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Jan, I'm not.

Even looking at the camera at all right now, Grub, stop stop looking at me.

I haven't looked at you forever.

Everyone, I think.

I want to take this opportunity to congratulate Jeff grab On holding a screwdriver. We're all very proud of him.

He's been really weird with like potentially violent props lately.

Screwdrivers have always scared me, uh Jen, and he's one on one. Do you guys not watch.

A lot of stuff. They're so sharp.

It's so sharp, and uh yeah, I'm not going to touch the tip.

But thank you, Jan for everything you've done for me.

I'm using coupons now because of you. Wow. That means the world to me. There we go.

You didn't know about coupons. I know about them.

I thought you were one of these coupons.

I was afraid of them, scared of being Oh, you're still not paying the uh listed retail price for things or whatever.

No, I'm financially cavalier with mr uh excuse me, it's ghost dog.

Please, He's sorry. All right, all right, gang.

Well that's enough heartwarming things for now, because our next

Disappointment of the Year.

God, I feel Backlars. He's just emanating right now. He rubbed Xbox l I, x Mario, Kart World, Wants Hunter, Wilds, Mug Sizes five G, Everybody's Hot Shot, Golf to a T, Mafia, The Old Country, FBC, Firebreak, hyper Light Breaker, Super Mario Party, TM, Jamboree Dash, Nintendo Switch TM two Edition plus Jamboree TV, Drag and Drive, Metroid Prime four, and then they switched to.

Oh I want to customer Mike Manatti.

The mugs are not too small.

Thank you, great size mug.

Yeah, it turned off of a very normal size.

Go fuck yourself perfect.

If you have a Cure Egg that has a large setting, you just need another mug.

Wow, Mike for you. I'm not even going to cross it out. I'm going to delete it. Whoa, there we go.

I want to offer a cross out here in backlar. We'll see how you feel about it. So the rock Xbox ally x we uh. We did a kind of first look at it when it first came out of video, and it's maybe the least flattering hardware profile you could possibly see the original video when nothing worked at all. But now that it's I do have it working. I do hate the window cross it off. I'm already convinced.

Can we replace it with the Windows Full Screen Experience instead? Ooh, good call, because that's the that's the app that they came up with to make all these windows hands.

Dan, you're still not actually using this.

I just loaded them to Steam like every once in a while, like during Simpsons Fortnite. I used it for like efic store stuff. So it's nice to have all those store fronts stuff I just do Steam ninety eight percent of the time. And me being the dumb bitch I am.

I totally bought into Microsoft being like we care about this, We're going to get this right. And I think the Windows full Screen experience is disappointed still.

Is the Windows full Screen experience only on the rock No, they put they started, it's going to be on the Lenovo leadon go To is gonna have it, And I.

Don't think it's rolled out to anything else. It's supposed to be everywhere. That's just supposed to be a like Steam Big Picture Mode. It's supposed to be like that in the Xbox app and on handhelds.

I think that, Yeah, the software is what we're just.

Yeah, that's hardware is like I like the heart, Like when I traveled here, I brought That's the main thing I've been bringing it. Yeah, Yeah, it's solid.

The thing I would complain about, and I think this is not exclusive to portables, is if you are using like Bluetooth controllers, there's just still like lag and it's like some of that stuff is like not the best.

There's gonna be so many variables, yeah, like there's.

Because you're just there are all these different you know computers, right, you have.

The audio kinda cutting out. I was watching the Mortal Combat legacy collection stuff in my AirPod kind of getting crack late.

Like there's you know, ironically, could still be a Windows that.

The rock, And I think it's a it's a it's a bit of a misnomer to like associate all of those Windows shortcomings with just the rock.

So that's that's a Windows.

Experience. Oh my god, it is hot hot doukie.

And it just it solved zero the problems it was it was portrayed to be solving of, like here's gonna be the one experience you can go into and every like it's gonna be like a steam deck and everything will be like updated here and handled here, and like no, you still have to navigate through windows sometimes.

And it's compounded by the I feel like maybe saying the lie is like too harsh, but like this incredibly disingenuous idea that like they somehow are standing behind this thing and like.

It's like always they know the problem and they don't know how to solve it.

Yeah.

I think the bigger problem is they had a plan, because they talked about this with some like journalists and stuff. They had a plan, and the plan is good, and they outline technically how it would happen, you know, like reducing ram usage of Windows by not having the desktop and stuff. They just fucked up the plants and that's the disappointing execution.

So gross, how bad that experience is, and it should not go unpunished everyone being forced to deal with it.

In my home when I built a computer for my kid recently, and I'm like, all right, so you gotta go to Windows, Like I thought Windows was bad because she uses the original Roger Ally and I'm like, look, let me just do it this Windows.

Taking you told me not to take candy from.

It had that same entergy like you told me not to do this.

So yeah, Windows full screen?

How dare you crust out the ally x there?

Yeah?

Did anybody even really have any hopes for Drag Extra Drive?

No?

No, it's like and yet it's somehow still very disappointing. It's worse than you would expect exactly.

That's what makes it uniquely disappointed.

Maybe maybe the can is not big enough there.

I like that winter this is the one that like, oh, we're all excited for it, and then like they had the.

Cat, the bar was low for dragon and drive and then it's somehow still fell under it.

If you're gonna make a game where you're representing like part of the population, like.

We talk about that, so nothing to do with a wheelchairs nails happened.

Wheels nail the details, like show some respect to like what you're trying to do, spend the time on it to get it right.

Like cyborgs they like and Nintendo won't call them wheelchairs is a base war situation. I wish it was a base war situation.

Every day in my life. I wish it was a base wars.

I thought they were just cyborgs like bolted into the.

Game, like about like wheelchair basketball and like mean to people in wheelchairs.

Isn't that called murder ball?

Right right?

I thought the sport was called I don't know. I think we could cut to a t. I don't think it's the biggest disappointment of the year.

I was pretty disappointed by it. I mean, like I love Katamari lot and it's like all the trailers and everything's like, oh, this looks like I love this concept and everything, and very quickly it was like, oh, this is not the game I'm looking for.

I wound up like beating it and it was just I think I was looking for more zaniness like a Kato Mari would present and then what was his other game after Kato Mario? We know boy, something similar to that, but this was like kind of like a lighthearted bromp. It wasn't anything. It also has a fantastic title sequence. Sure it just like I kind of got bored. Yeah, a lot to the gameplay. Yeah, yeah, so I based off of some other things, especially after hearing I'll talk about windows for a minute.

I didn't play Mafia. I mean to who put it on here?

I don't know.

I think maybe just like the energy of the group did. I talked to Vinnie about this game for a long time. He really likes I enjoyed something. You like it and I like it.

And it's a narrative, linear, straightforward game. And I'm typically it's not like, oh, that's for poison into me, but usually they have to do a little something to win me over. This one did in terms of just having the right presentation, great great performances, and it doesn't get in its own way.

It has good pacing. It also has Italian vision. It has Italian vision.

Yeah, yeah, you can like, what do you see.

See there's a Canoli over there, man COTTI see the oil waves in the air.

Yeah yeah, yeah yeah. Trail Mafia the Old Country for me is like a Sleeperhead of the Year.

That's cool. I'm going to play.

That's it's a friend of the website mask Matt Piscatel Game of the Year.

I see I've not got He's not sad me his top ten list. I think that's to be the case. We'll see, we'll see what he says. All right, that'll be on giant bomb dot com this weekend.

And Mafia is about Italian?

Did you know the Godfather was Italian?

I do know that, Yes, okay, all.

Right, I don't think about it while I'm watching it, but if you ask me, gun in my head to be like, yeah, it's Italian Mafia.

Yeah okay, nice Sopranos. Was that Italian? Yes, okay, I'm going to get ahead of this. This is our list.

This is Giant Bombs, and I know it's I am maybe the outlier on Metroid Prime four being so hot on him when I do want to want to get of it because and you sure you want to do this right now? I dan standing.

So I played pickup hockey once a week with a bunch of guys I've been playing with for for a while, and you know a lot of them are like first name basis guys. I just you know, I go. I'm there like maybe twice a month. I try. I just try and go when I when I just need conditioning. You know, there's a dude there who uh was a

Had this guy played it?

Finished it? He did?

Ye?

So you know I instantly deflected and blamed it all on you. I'm kidding, I' kidding.

I stand by it.

I just thought that should color the kind of situation that that that we're going to hear.

So I understand I believe, like grub Imnati, for sure, there is that chasms, very big of disappointment. But for me, I was not disappointed at all. I know Sean, You've you've got your criticisms, but it's a little disappointing.

Yeah, it's not like it's not the most I've played a lot of.

Yeah, so for disappointment of the year. I think that's why I'm surprised you want to go to it right away. I'm not, well, sure, I don't. I don't know if that's happening right now. I don't think it's the most disappointing thing, but it it did disappoint me a little bit because, like, like the guy said, who do expect more? We expect so much of Metroid and we'll let them down a lot because it wasn't what they were expecting

That makes sense. It was still a little disappointing to me.

Yeah, I think that's the thing, right, Like everyone knows the development turbulence, right, everyone knows the past and how we got.

Here, even accounting for that, right.

Yeah, And still I'm not saying it's the most disappointing, but it might be a bold.

It's not going anywhere, okay, not right now? Yeah right now, you know I.

Saw him be in it, But like that is because I'm I'm kind of slowing down immensely. It's like I'm almost pushing myself a little bit. It's I'm not liking it less and less the further I get in. That whole Lava area was dog shit.

It was nothing but.

Just like linear, go to a room, fight things, no platforming, no puzzle solving, no exploration. I don't even I don't even know if it can call this game in metro Vana.

At this point we did say that this game is not sure, okay.

Right, and I just, like, you know, I was fine, like okay, yeah, so you know you have like this desert connecting these like five all their small biomes. As long as all those were like many Metroid maps would have been fine, but like most of them are just very like incredibly linear. Each room has like two exits. The way you came in, the way you go out.

None of them are that interesting or new.

The one new interesting thing I gotten the viola is fun, but you know, like very early on you get that charge shot, you kind of move around. That's neat Basically nothing else as interesting as that after like being in it for ten hours.

Wait, when you put it that way, it sounds kind of diappointing.

I do think that's the divide here though, because at the same time everything Mike was say, I'm like, well, yeah, it's that's that's Prime.

Yeah.

The Magma area is a very interesting. Neither is Magmare Caverns.

Yeah.

I mean, give me a moment, Magmore caverns.

You know what you do, You break a block and then you roll across the lava you see something cool. But that's linear lit more action driven. I think a lot of that is what Prime is and what differentiates it from I disagree.

I think that Metro Prime one did a better job of at least baking it one did one. You know, I don't even care about the comparisons anymore. Metro Prime four is a pretty bad game. It doesn't it doesn't have like even like comparing it to itself. The gameplay, the mechanics are so fun, so good, like moving the character around, aiming, shooting, going into morphball, getting on the motorcycle.

And I do think that's where we mean the male way to put it that way, because that is what's disappointing for me, as well as the fact that it's not it's not giving you the vibes as much. It feels so like if there is a delineation, it feels so Prime and not enough Metroid that I think that's where the disappointment for me comes from.

I guess I just never really thought of Prime the way you are, Like, yeah, Prime one, I play through multiple times that a game is always so pretty open to me, it feels like it does leave room for exploration.

I just did Prime two, and.

The same thing I was exploring constantly. I was getting lost sometimes I didn't know where to go next, and that felt really good. Like Prime three is the one that I played half of and I kind of off, probably because I wasn't liking those aspects of it. And you know, it didn't really occur to me that this was going to double down on Prime threes. What I kind of thought were perceived as maybe misdirections for the series.

About the series. I think there's a couple of easy cuts so we can keep things moving. Hyper Light Breaker, anyone play it. I know that a couple of people were fans of Drifter.

Yeah, I like Drifter, and then I never gotten around a Breaker specifically because people were saying it was pretty disappointing.

So I'm just gonna go ahead and cut that.

I all cut or offer up Mario Party because even as like the resident Mario Party guy, I don't trust these like you know, when Nintendo announced this, you know, Jane, we played that.

They couple of fun. It's the one thing they let me play with.

This.

I didn't love the original Jamboree. And also just when they do these convoluted oh Nintendo Switch two Edition plus this thing, it's just like, eh, it's rarely substantial, except like like Bowser's theory, which is like insanely good.

But I think we should keep it because we all thought we'd be able to play with a camera stuff.

Yeah, that's so this is where it's at for me, where it's like the camera stuff in the main Mario Party that they added. That was great, that's fun, and that's what I wanted. So it met my expectations on that level. And then they were like, we look at the Jamboree TV thing. Yeah, and we all got excited about the possibility of doing that exact same thing together online with each other.

And that's local only with no obvious good reason whatsoever.

Indirect contradiction to a support article that online is why I think this is just bad.

I don't even know. This is a disappointment because like it didn't ever sound great. Yeah, I kind of I get what you're saying.

Like the original game, then I was excited about it, but I was more excited about the cameras in the main game, and that works.

There's not much of a castle.

I think, of everything on this list, this is the one that's most likely to disappoint a child.

That's true.

Yeah, but them kids also, they can like a lot of kids are gonna be playing see you know, like look to your left.

The kids hate Mario Party anyways, they cannot are you fucking talking about now?

The kids think they like it until they start playing it, and then it's like a meltdown.

They're yes, they absolutely they cannot handle Mario party. They always have a bad time because they lose to adults and they don't like it.

This is one of those you know, it was ultimately a minor update, Like, yes, it was a paid update. That's one of those like add on things that they do to like playing to switch to it.

Was like twenty books. I didn't get excited by this. You know, why would there be a chasm? You know, like it's.

Yeah, I think the cast marguments kind of gets me. Yeah, sure's you.

Guys really feel like even though I just dumped on much you prime four bit, you think the switch to has been disappointed?

I added to a list and I just I wanted to talk through this because I'm pretty disappointed by a switch to actually because when I actually step back and think of it as the switch to, what really does it have? Thank you Dan? Like in terms of you think of the two the new system, and I know we've moved into a position where like the PS five is kind of a PS four pro pro sure now right exactly, but you do still get those exclusive experiences

Yeah, and I understand that, but like the better performance thing that is a very big deal to me. Like I like, I bet Bonanza on Switch one would have been pretty rough for yeah, most of us to even be able to handle. I use my switch to every day. Still, I don't know, and I even if it is the first party of stuff, and yeah, the first party stuff.

Right, that's not a Switch two game. Oh right, Right, we haven't talked about Mario Kart yet.

But even just like, this is a great place where I played Eighties two and Silk Song, and I know it was a better experience there than I would have had on my Switch one. There's like a general state of consoles now we talked about, right, like, the aren't as exciting as they used to be, and that is a bit of a bummer for sure.

Yeah, in my head, it's like to talk about my personal chasm for this. My expectation was this is basically going to be a switch Pro, and it was a Switch Pro, and it's a very good switch Pro. I think I think you're allowed to have, Like, I think the expectation that a follow up console needs to kind of meet a higher bar is correct, and it's I think unfortunate that we're not there anymore. But again that's how I feel, and I've sort of made peace with that.

Have such a better processor and stuff, like they could do similar things, they just chose not to. I know that that's kind of Nintendo's deal, but it feels almost more like a like a business thing of like, well, why not just keep putting out Switch one version so that we can then just have enhanced for like.

The hardcore that's inherently disappointing. Let I say, I think so I'm going to admit this. I think I'm the biggest Switch one hater in the room. Wow. Wow. I did not enjoy that system. It made me mad. It made me mad to hold it and use it. I didn't like how the.

Games, Yeah, it made me mad, it really did, especially like I love Pokemon games.

It's the only place to play them.

They played like dog shit and Nintendo maybe like piracy wouldn't have been such an issue last generation if you made good hardware and they did the Switch to I like it. I like playing it. Finally, I like going and playing my old games that I bought, and they finally like play the way they feel like they're supposed to play.

Oh, this does feel like exactly what happened here is they made a system to address people like you, yes, and people like Sean who loves the Switch and was like, I want to feel that way again.

They didn't have anything for that. Yeah. I was listening to Sean talk about the Switch one like and I was like, wow, we're different customers. So they nailed my demographic with the Switch too. I'm very happy with I.

Guess if where we're saying is that I'm the only one who really was disappointed, then yeah, I guess.

I definitely from the beginning was like, this thing's just fine.

Yeah, and I think that you guys are not in any way wrong. No, no, no, I get it. They should have made it more exciting.

Yeah. I kept saying, there's oh, there's nothing to play on this, there's just nothing to play on this.

Play Warrior World on it now? Yeahmulations at great.

Yeah that's pretty good and awesome. Right now. Brain is broken, But I'm aligned with you. Greb that I feel like it is just it feels like a pro And I think that's just what I've been thinking of this whole time.

And I think the reality is and that not that that's a matter for the category, And the reality is this was the switch Pro and they just sort of spruced it up over time.

The expensive switch pro.

Yea, that's why they did it, so they could charge more money for it. Put the two on it. I'm cutting it FBC firebreak. I had fun when I was playing with you guys. I don't think it was the biggest disappointment of the year.

I didn't have fun, but I don't know how much fun I was expecting to have.

It's a miss, for sure. It's a miss. Yeah, it's like a whiff for sure. But that sticky note monster, we fought that was cool. There were ideas.

Some of the ideas were too much, like I can't belily how complicated they made. Some of the objectives like let's forget works because like fight the zombies.

Yeah, people get that.

This is like collect the notes and then go to the furnace room and put the canisters onto the zip line and then shoot them down there. It was kind of good into the thing.

Was too much. I don't think we would have known to do all of that. I hadn't already played that, right, Yeah that's what it was.

Yeah, it just was confusing, and there's like it wasn't fun.

When enemies showed up.

I was like, oh, right, there's another asshole with a flamethrower here.

Now.

I this this studio has such a strong design vision and the vibe and the look of their games is like amazing, and then they made this and it just falls so short of control in Alan Wake, and yeah, it's super disappointed me. I I was like, I want this to be the next game I'm playing with my friends every week.

It felt like a weird pivot, right.

Yeah, And it just didn't happen, And it did feel like a lazy thing they were doing between other things. I think that's what it like for me. It's like, why it's not so disappointed.

It's like this was a new team, or it was a new team created within the team, new director, and it was like them trying something else off to the side. So it's like Remedy is still over there making the Remedy games, and then they're going to try some new stuff over here. I mean it's like, okay, I can forgive and forget that four.

Loop will be here before you know it everyone. And that's right. The four player four loop is a programming thing where I'm just saying, oh, it's clever, ye.

G on the list.

Are I don't know, maybe I misunderstood the assignment.

I mean, I like, you're right, five G's not as bad.

It's not. I mean it's not selling network right, No, it's technology. I'm on T Mobile and it's not been that bad. Yeah. I was gonna say, do you get ultra wide band because.

All the time I think, yeah, I'm just constantly disappointed with it.

I guess is really strong in my home.

For me, it's like, oh, it's working the way that it was actually promised to a certain.

Yeah, maybe it's regional. I feel like because I went through an internet issue this year, did Chuck have something to do with it?

Jerry Still, I'm sorry for hearing your complaints and trying to help you. I will do it, like I said, Jerry Still, he's saying that Chuck was the disappointed I was telling you back, you know, get the tinfoil, put it on your head. Protect yourself from you.

It didn't work, no, And I think it just made me sort of like relitigate, like how disappointed I am and stuff like that, because I wanted to seek out five G as a home internet solution and it just wasn't cutting it. And I'm just like, nothing works, nothing works. I'm not impressed with anything.

Five G is like sort of a.

Idol for all of technology being disappointed right now, Like I could become.

Like the sort of punch line slash scapegoat for all these things. But I'm just like I you know, when I was young and you have these like fantasies of the future where you're like, oh, man, it doesn't matter because all this ship's going to be like this.

Two years ago when it's like man, the new iPhone's got all this new stuff in it, and now it's just like there's nothing, and I.

I don't know, like I'm just consistently unimpressed with with that kind of because like I was like, oh, you know what, I can't I can't have a fiber solution where I live just because of reasons, and five G would work for what we do right for our our kind of work. When it's not there it's just not.

Maybe that's your disappointment is where you live.

Maybe it's New Jersey.

No, it's not even that. It's not New Jersey. It's my street, if you can believe it. But yeah, I just it's yeah, I just I'm I want to be impressed by something and I've just not been.

Well, you know what, let's keep it on, you could take it off. It's just a do you want to lock anything? Because nothing has been bolded. We cross out fire brick see Dragon Drive. Let's not hold anything yet.

Dragon Drive should probably go.

I want to take off everybody's golf because it's like that game is not good. But also it's not like we were all like, oh, circle the date on your calendar. It's the hot Shots, Like I like hot Shots.

It's a good golf game, and we knew we knew it was a new developer, so we kind of had a pretty good idea that it wasn't going to be what it should be.

Yeah, So it's not like it came out and we were like oh no, it's like we did a stream and we're like, man, this isn't that great, you know.

Mike Manatti, can you tell me a story about Monster Hunter Wilds.

Well, it's funny going into this year, I believe I said my two most anticipated games were Metroit.

Prime four and Monster Hunter. I'm sorry.

It turns out like this has been one of my favorite years. Like so many games I love, I just thought the ones I thought they would be.

I'll start world.

This is weird because it like it does leave a good impression because like it seems really neat at first, these giant monsters, you're fighting them, there's all these systems, you're playing with your friends in this world is so big. But then there's like all these weird problems, like that their engine, the Ari engine, just is running really poorly with this game. Even like a pretty nice PC. This game just felt so heavy. It felt like it was

It just was like it was dragging me, like while I was trying to, like I really wanted to get into it engagement, Like you're talking about slowing me down for.

Yeah, to both of Mike's points, the big ones there, like you can't expect someone to anytime you give someone the argument, oh it gets so good after you're like fifty hours. Now, I can never be the argument because most people are going to put in like five hours maybe and then decide if they like it or not, and then really they're gonna play the main story. Like I know, Master Hunter's identity is that you play for hundreds of hours and it's almost an MMO style experience

Yeah, because it's so safe.

You never feel like you're in danger in the way that you should with a hunting game. And also yeah, with the performance, Like I'm like, man, I know I got this was back when I head a thirty sixty TI in my machineam. I know it's a lower end, slightly older card, but even on low settings like seven twenty P, I'm struggling to get like forty to fifty fps. Like, man, this engine was not designed to have games like this.

I was really excited when I went to Japan last year to check this out. But I did notice as I was like playing through the slice of the game that they made for me, that I blasted straight through it, and I thought like, oh, I don't think I'm like that good at games, and specifically Monster Hunter. I've kind of like it's been a slog sometimes for me. And then they looked at me and we're like, you could you could run it back if you want, you want

Yeah, yeah, that's the thing.

Yeah, so that you know, they want us to see as much as possible. And then when the game finally came out, I assumed like, Okay, there's gonna be a little bit tougher, and then I breezed through that initial first cup hours like it was nothing. And you're Sean, You're right. I think when I think of Monster Hunter, I think of tension, and I think that was sorely missing in this game. I still think it's very pretty

Right, And it's so clear that they want you to get to the post game because that's what everyone talks up about Monster Hunter. But I don't think making the main story so easy that you breathe through it is the way to go. I think make a really interesting main story so that people get hooked and then they stick around for the post game hunts.

Or just make the main game more like the postgame then if that's what you wanted, I felt like, right, did that a little bit? Is mostly going to the hunting board and picking hunts, Like that's that's what I want to do, almost from the get go.

Yeah, I think Master was just on a natural upward trajectory. I don't think they need to try to escalate that.

Yeah, they tried like that, that's my understanding race that they tried to make it more appealing to a broader audience and shaped off some of that tension. Something Edges does that does that carry over to the post game at all? Like is the post game like immaculate as always or is even that.

Because Christian at the Place game he defends it a lot, but I think he said people are often unhappy with the post game, mostly because.

Not enough to do content right.

All the Monster Hunter fans I know are like, yeah, it's still good, but like I'd honestly rather go back and do hunts and one of the older ones because those hunts are still good.

Rise has definitely picked up in popularity because our wild's disappointed so many generations.

Ultimate is like people are rediscovering that game because they're like, oh, this is the sickost stuff and like I want that more hardcore master experience.

They get a bit more physical.

I think that they are streamlining the wrong things because it's still a big pain to like figure out exactly how to put my friends every time right right, and like it's just like even some of the menus and systems like the UI, like streamind some of this stuff because this stuff still kind of sucks.

Yeah, like fighting monsters that part felt good. Yeah, uh, I guess it should stick around. Let's stick it around. We are at four, right, so we don't have to cut one, and we haven't talked about and we haven't talked about Mario.

Can I suggest that we cut the Windows Full Screen Experience because I expected the point?

No, because I didn't.

I mean I was, they just the way they talked about it, like when I complained early on about like okay, I'm having my Steam Deck, let's try this Roger ally and getting in the Windows Experience and being like, oh my god, this is so miserable. Having to go to these three different apps just to update this thing so I could play a game, and having to enter a password and the keyboard disappearing and having to find some work round the Windows accessibility settings to bring up the

Cool and just yeah yeah and be like okay, so they get it.

They know what they are hearing me bitch about this thing, and they're gonna do something about it and uh and having them come out and be like this is what we're doing and having all of the same problems. Yeah, all of the same problems are still there. So it's like, what do they do? They just sopped a new code of paint on this thing and called it a day. It's so extremely frustrating to me.

Jan can you change something for me? Because I was like, it is technically just called false screening experience, but I was like, okay, what's now and do they attach to it? Is the Xbox false screen sperience, and I'm like, okay, so that makes it even that really solidifies what's disappointing about for me and Grubb, because this is like if we're saying the Xbox Alix is good hardware, which is it? Which it is because it's just an ally x Yeah,

I got a good idea for discipline of the year. Why don't you just put Xbox?

Actually, yeah, I mean that's true too, but I think but at least that all that, But that's just been a chronic disappointment, especially the Yeah, the thing that really just kills me, like the full screen. That whole idea is like you are still having to like whack a mole with Windows trying to make its way back into your field of vision, Like it just they just can't help themselves, Like Windows is too aggressive and too intrusive.

It comes with it comes with teams.

Preenstall say, I ran all the bloat where you know, uh you know, you know, I ran how to run all the things I usually run on a new PC on this thing, it's it's insane, Like, oh, do you want copilot to you know, piss you off? No, I don't, it's in It's it's mind blowing.

They have co pilot for gaming.

Now, that's a good example of why, like, if we went broader, I would actually say, like Windows is a disappointment, but it's also Windows has been disappointing for a long time Microsoft, I guess, but yeah, exactly, and those are both like I feel so general, I think this is a good space.

I like I like X full screen experience down there.

All right, Mario Kart World, let's talk about this one, because yeah, we have the follow up to Mario Kart A Deluxe specifically was always going to be an impossible task. So maybe it's not actually as disappointing, but I do think it is just a letdown in general, because so many things about this game are find not even bad, just they're so okay, fine, and some people say just straight up bad. Like the way they integrated the courses together. The road trip thing doesn't really work a lot of

Yeah, it's like and I know, I'm like not the biggest Mario Kart guy. Anyways, it's like most of the game, My god, this is fine. This is what I usually get out of Mario Kart. But yeah, like doing the open world stuff with the free roaming or doing it for the Knockout Tour, it makes sense. The weird way they just kind of absolutely hamphisted it into the actual circuits or race like it feels like one you like, you do one race, then you travel to another course

That's such a good first impression too. That first track you play, it's like, okay, three laps and then we're gonna do like a transitional one to another track, and then maybe we'll do that again. And no, the majority of is you play on like one track and then you do a lot of linear going as straight line with a couple of curves.

Yeah, Like at that revealment in New York and they showed I guess it was that direct.

It was the big switch to revealed direct.

They showed that trailer and I was like, oh my god, this is like I didn't know what they could do to make Deluxe, you know, an eight bigger and better, and like this is everything, all these characters, these costumes, you must have the open the promise of an open world and everything like now paradise, but Mario karts exactly, and like, to be fair, I still really like Mario Kart World. I think it is a very good cart racer. But yeah, compared to eight Deluxe, and if we're talking disappointment,

Not that this should play in necessarily, but it's also eighty dollars high. And they're like, we have the confidence to charge eighty dollars for this one, and they're doing it because it's Mario Kart, yes, but also everyone's like, oh eighty dollars game, you're.

Bad delivered.

From.

Based off of hearing everyone talk so far, I think our three might be Xbox Full Screen Experience, Monster Hunter, Wilds and Metroid Prime four. I think that sounds right. The World gave you guys some joy in the way of these other Prime give me a lot of joint I would shut.

Yeah, I didn't pay an, I didn't play any of Wilds. But I really hate Mario Kart World. I think it sucks. So that's that's the thing.

It seems like we were all to some degree let down by Mario Kart World.

When that Metroid it's not between that metrics because I think the majority of us are let down by Prime.

You know, I'm usually staying with you on Metro Dan even I'm like, nah, I think Jan got I think.

Was a bigger disappoinment was World or Wild.

I was again, I don't have any expectations for worlds, so Wild this was a bigger appointment to me.

I think it's like, like for World, it was that the idea that this open world could be this big, single player fun thing to do between the times when I'm playing online with my friends, which mostly is still pretty fun playing online with friends, especially Knockout Tour, the courses are a little bit disappointing when you're playing traditional Mario Kart, but then it's like you go to that open world and it really is kind of nothing. For

I don't know.

I thought there would at least be like fun Nintendo East. I remember early on was a vitality that picked me up in my head, was like, Oh, there's gonna be all these fun just Pintendo magic sprinkled all over this island.

Yeah.

I remember at that event, Dan, we not only like the vitell ufo thing, but then us like looking at the princess coins in the world and just being like, what is.

This nothing really?

And then yeah, oh you can grind. Maybe you can grind to get to somewhere specific or special. And then it just doesn't result. It just doesn't deliver on that problem.

Metroprime four, I want to I want to pitch for keeping on this list and maybe winning it in a way I think you'll appreciate and understand, this game should have been the consensus game of the year winner for this group of people.

We don't know, but you should.

Be in a situation where all your friends agree with you about this game and they don't.

Presume we haven't gotten there. That has to be disappointing, right, I mean.

Yeah, yeah, Like we have maybe four of the biggest metro fans in the industry right here, and like three cores of us were disappointed commenting and master Hunt real quick. It actually does have a similar problem to Mario Kart

I think we are either way.

Yeah, I'm not super Yeah, it could be either, so we can do Mario Kart World.

Okay, this will really quiet down the people who think that were intend.

All right, So R three as of right now is Xbox full screen experience MARKRT World and Metroid Prime four.

I have rarely been as disappointed in a game as I was when I went into a Metroid Prime four area for like the fourth or fifth area, maybe like fourth area, and I'm like, it's the same exact sort of setup. There is a safe spot right at the beginning, and maybe there's one right before the boss, and it's like everything in between there is just sort of some maybe there's some puzzles, there is just sort of nothing beyond that, no branches, and they just kind of did

In the game. How's this gonna lose? How is it not going to be the most.

How hard is Dan gonna fight?

I mean, look, it's pretty clear you're allowed to fight. You just also it is our list, and like, I like the game a lot, but the level of disappointment from a lot of fans of the series is huge here.

So like I'm not going to be ridiculous, Like, you know, I really respect your review. I read that and like I was giving you feedback on it and stuff, and I totally get why it hits with you, but yeah, I'm thinking about thinking about the group.

Well and simultaneously, like you know, to almost fight for its staying on.

Here.

Everything I'm hearing you guys say about it, I don't disagree with, like, you know, Greb, you just you know there's a safe spot here, you know, Mina saying no, there's two doors, Like it's like, yeah, I mean, yeah, you're not saying anything wrong here.

Yeah. We we sort of have the hues range of opinions on this game possible, I think, and we are all basically saying the same thing about it. It's just a question of did this bother? I think we two out of five, three out of five, four out of five, five out of yea, here, where's the one out of five?

Come on? Jan I thought it was really boring. I like, I kind of was really upset that, like I didn't wait for maybe getting a code and I paid for it, and I'm like, this is what you'll really like. I don't know if I could trust you guys anymore. Have you played bet your Primary Master? I did.

I did because you guys told me I should check it out, and I checked it out. I was like this ship fucking bangs. Yeah, it looks great. Betrod Prime four also looks great, looks looks amazing. Yeah, credible feeling sound. And then I'm just like, this is it, man? Why didn't this bother me?

You're saying it is true. I just don't understand why didn't bother me?

I think of it of like, how long was this in development? Hell for?

I love your kids, I get home. I don't know.

I just think about like the fan expectations and sometimes it's unrealistic, which you can actually deliver on. But then I think of other games that have come out this year that have smashed expectations. Silent Hill f for like the sound Hill freaks out there. That's a great game. Yeah, and Betrod Prime four just like uh and Dan again, I read your review, well written review. I see where you're coming from for it. But then me as like a person that's not a fan of the series, I'm just bored.

I was really surprised because I did like that first hour I played.

In New York. I think it makes a good first impression.

You know, it makes it a real good first impression. And then I almost to yeah, and that that was upsetting and I don't. Yeah, I don't think it's it never recovered from that initial first impression, never meant it.

I think I would have enjoyed it more.

I feel like if it wanted to be what that first hour was and it was kind of more Halo E action game, I might have almost like been along for the ride a little bit more than this.

But it kind of like was wearing.

The clothes of Metroid Prime one, which is well, not really feeling like it at all.

And the full screen experience is inexcusable. But I think to someone else's point, it's like, yeah, but like again, it's not falling me twice.

Yeah, situation that we're with Windows and Microsoft.

Where Metroid Prime four is just getting hit in the face with a brick.

Right, what is it beyond? It's beyond nothing, dude.

I mean four is beyond three numerically, is.

Just like beyond the concerns of Metroids themselves, because.

I think it's supposed to be a cheeky take on the psychic powers, but also they have been teleported to a new world and so they are literally beyond anything that they've experienced before, which is cheeky bosso whatever. Yeah, I mean really like echoes, like, all right, she has a little bit of echo location. I guess what whatever?

Right, Like the past dark Stamus is an echo of her pin ball?

What does that mean about the ending?

I haven't gone there.

It sounds like everyone hates that. Everyone hates that. I was like, oh, how did I get the bad ending? I thought I got.

Most of them? I think metro games have bad end more close.

Yeah, the good ending.

I'll say this, well, like saying anything about the ending, the good ending is the same ending.

She takes her helmet off. That's insane.

It's a bad game of the year. We can spoil these things, Mikey can cover your ears. Can we just say what's so terrible about this?

Yeah?

Yeah, I mean I want to experience that's fine.

Did he beat it? Oh yeah? Yeah.

So it's like you fight this boss fight, which is not my favorite part of the game. There's like three tiered boss fight thing. Yeah, and then you got your whole team. We've talked about the crew and Miles and never one that you put together and everything, and they

Now that I've sat on this for a while, that is the moment right there. That's what made me hate the ending. The entire ending sequence from like gathering green crystals until the end. That's the part of the game that makes Samus feel not like Samus, because Samus would not leave them behind. She would figure out a way to fuck up Silux and bring the crew that she's bonded with home.

Well that's why I thought it was a bad ending where it's like, oh, clearly there's a good ending where it's like you rescue everyone.

Yeah, I mean you.

Start you start asking around and it's like, wait, what no one else got so she left the homies?

Hang, yes, I got ninety items, and it's like they all just like I'm died and whatever. I will be surprised if like.

There's some DLC or they do something, but whatever, it doesn't matter. This is the ending. That's a worse crime. If that's what.

You're right, that's worse what happens.

So bad ending is the ending. Good ending is she takes off her helmet. One hundred percent is Silex's backstory, which you get flashes of throughout the ending. You get the full cut scene, right, and it's not like it's not anything. We all, yeah, it's good. It's a bad ending. That's what brought it down from like, oh, I'm really really liking this game to huh, this is the moment that isn't very metroid to me because it feels antithetical to everything that they built up with Samson's character.

And it's like, to no end, there's no exactly like what am I supposed to be on this.

It felt like they were also trying to say like oh no, no, Sam's cold bounty hunter. You know, she left him behind, she she remembers the memories, but like I'm saying like yeah, yeah.

Yeah, yeah, so just we're all very much in agreement about them, all right, can I tell him to Yeah, it's on that and Prime Force our winner. How long do you think he would have kept his fingers in his ears? If we didn't, he would he had been suspicious his fingers.

Lovely discussion, Gang, I think because of the strong feelings, I think Prime For is the winner.

I'm not even gonna argue that. Yeah for Disappointment of the Year runners up the Xbox Full Screen Experience, Mark Cartt World, and winning this category is Metroid Prime For. I feel like it's more of like, oh, all right, Gang, we have three more categories. We feel like, let's we want to tackle another one. Yeah, it's the break I think up. Yeah, really, all right, this is spelled co

Yeah, Giant last nominee on this list is Giant Bomb.

Metro Prime winning would be such a schizophrenic, Yeah.

I for reasons that Sean kind of brought up earlier about Katamari. It's like it never really felt like it.

I mean, if it had kind of a lull you know constant.

Yeah, they remasters and re roll on switch and stuff like that, but it's like there have been ways to play decent Katemaris, Like I think this is the best one since the first two, but.

Like something I've come back, but not much.

Yeah, I mean not compared to like some of the other ones here.

Yeah, I think.

A strong one. I wonder if it's bold worthy because like.

I don't think can I can I say what I think you're gonna say, yea yea Konami.

No, Well that's an interesting one too. Ninja Guiden. I none of the three Ninja Guiden games that came out this year I think are going to be I'm like, yeah, to remake Rage Bound and four. I don't think any of those three games are going to be like on my top ten, but like they're all pretty solid.

And also we.

Went from like not any Ninja Guiden happening for a long time to three good Ninja Guiden games just there, like and rage Bound could make like the bottom rage the best of the three, I think. Yeah, I mean, it's like it's crazy that Ninja Guiden is so back.

Yeah, that aggregate's impressive year for that. It's like Conversely, Shuanoby, it had been a long time, sin should no be So maybe it's it's I think, yeah, the.

Reason that you said that you didn't think it was a boomer game. I kind of feel that way too, because it doesn't feel like a nostalgic game.

Just feels like a new good side scrow with a attach.

And that's exactly why I think Shanoby needs to be bolded, because nobody gave a shit about Shova.

Thanks Ohio. Shanoby has some bad games there. They tried to bring it back, but finally, finally they gave it to Lizard Cube and it slaps. They knew the assignment, they figured it out.

I think it's exactly that because it's like this is a game series that could have just disappeared and it would have been like no one would have been really been.

Making noise, like we get it, you're not going to go back to Shanoby.

It's relevant now. I think that's a big part of the comeback is like bringing back this ip that didn't really matter outside like historical context, and you could just give this to anyone, have them play a little bit like I tried to get you guys to and you did, and you're like, oh, this game's got the juice. You can just do that to anyone who plays games and they'll immediately get oh, this game got the juice.

Wouldn't It's not best throwback because it doesn't feel like I was saying, it fuels new. I guess that counts as a comeback because it came back and I think reinvent itself exactly.

Yeah, that makes sense.

Okay, grub Can we strike Bubbsy from this list? Because I actually think a year of Bubbs next year because that game previous, like when we play a little bit of.

That, I was like, is this the perfect collection? Did happen next year? But for d is next year is perfect collection of conflict of interest?

Should get conflict of interest? I think Giant Palm should win this.

I'm credited in the Bubbs Games of Special Thanks that our friends positive about striking it positive.

I didn't know you were intentionally doing that. You intentionally to that.

I didn't want to step on Yeah, don't step up his pause come on with Konami. Uh congavert.

I was just trying to remember the ten seconds you said positive.

Simon the metal gear solid delta, right and then last year the Silent Hill, which.

I guess is part of the momentum very much forgotten here though Deliver It All Costs was fun. I like, original game's back.

Yeah, And I know this is again like starting like we did have sold Hill two last year, but it feels like the momentum is keeping up right now. And this was even a bigger year than that. I mean, you know, your solids back on the menu in a meaningful way outside of just collections. So yeah, I mean, Konami, they're back. I'd be comfortable bolding it for now, so it sticks around.

I mean, it's just like they were so out in terms of making the kinds of games I was interesting, right, and they they were making a lot of money. That's the thing that made it look because like they were making a lot of money making their new and some other stuff, and it was like would be like, they're pretty profitable. And it's like since doing this, they started

No, they're back. Yes, I feel like this is my tinfoil hat on But I feel like they've pivoted back to games because they fucked up Yu Gi Oh in such a terrible way the actual card games and has been dog shit for the past fifteen years.

They both know.

That was that was. It wasn't the best. I'm gonna put them back. I'm gonna put chuck but like, I don't know, I always prefer the Ugo card game, and like it has become obscenely convoluted, and also all the other TCGs have kind of eight Konami's lunch with that. So I'm happy to see them back in games. Metroid Prime we just talked a lot about it.

Seems to indicate it would not be the best.

Okay, Metroy Prime four, Metroid is fine. I'm I can't believe I'm saying this. Metroy Prime four may have just killed Metroy Prime.

Another one of Prime. We gotta find out what happens to that crew.

Well, the fucking They'll go back to pinball the way it should be.

I would kill for a Prime.

I'm probably the Luminous guy.

Yeah, oh yeah, Betrayals not my favorite people, Luminous.

I am very happy to have it back. But it was basically one really good game, the PSP launch game, and it's great. It's a modern hardware now, it's got you know, new uh you know the visuals and sound, which is a big part of what Luminis is. But outside of the burst mechanic, which is a cool addition, it is largely just it's Luminous as you remember it from the PSP launch.

Uh.

You know. It's back back style is very similar to Tetris effects exactly.

It's like, I'm so happy it exists, but I don't.

Know, it's not a down and out against all odds kind of.

Compared to Ninja. Like these are killer killer comebacks. I'm very happy for Luminous rise. It's great.

I think there are bigger comeback stories than this.

Let's talk about Giant Bum a pretty big comeback store. But honestly, we've been here for years, right, so we've been like like, I don't call it come don't call it come back. You know you saved some stuff.

Here, Okay, okay, let me say something and then I think we can cut it. Okay, way new to this. We true did this.

Mike was saying, also, yeah, well, I.

Mean no, no, it doesn't work. Put me on the list.

Now, there was a moment, there was a moment there where.

You have a.

Yeah, I can speak to this like there was a moment there where it did not seem good. No, it did not seem like the plane was going to actually be able to lift up again. And I feel like that qualifies it as maybe some sort of like honorary award.

Now, yeah, I think.

Jane, you're a damn miracle worker, a wordsmith, and you've done the right thing. Tell everyone what you did.

So I changed the category two Giant Bomb presents best Comeback.

It does beg the question who's presenting the rest of the categories?

Especially?

Can I say, like as someone so I was in the audience right in April and then May started working with you guys and consulting on stuff in April, just the absolute pit in my stomach that I had.

When you know, okay, cool, you know like this was.

My this was my selfisher, this was my content, main squeeze. I enjoyed the shows and I was having a great time and then it was just kind of felt like everything was crumbling, falling apart, so like, way to fucking go this fucking I'm.

Proud of us. Yes, yes, I remember being in the lobby of uh I forget which hotel, but the main packs East one, and then so many people seeing me sitting there alone, I think, wanting to console me. And it's very thankful for that, of course, it's thankful for all the support, but just sitting on the egg that like, no, just just wait a couple of hours, just waiting a couple hang out.

The reaction in the room when we announced it one of the most moving things I've ever been.

A part of. Yeah, yeah, very magical moment. Not as magical as being a Disney World Yeah, of.

Course, it's a weird trip.

One day, I'm going to go back to Disney World and sit where you sat when we told you.

Put the Gingerbread house there for Christmas, which I thought was fine.

That's great statue, Yeah.

That share.

Oh yeah, Disney loves when you just bring your own plaques.

Cot Grandma, So our top three since we eliminated ourselves, graciously.

Should we make a giant bomb? Dot Com presents the website. Oh come back, there you go. The website is back, and that DeLine the rest of the represents this is a giant bomb.

Perfect don't want spam.

Yeah, of course, of course, so our three that we have bolded our Konami, Ninja, Guiden and Shinobi.

Yeah, it shout outs to the Ninja Games.

But there is something about Konami which has like a think well thought that that was just yeah.

Just the health club and stuff.

I remember like an E three and like the late twenty tens where they used to have a huge, huge booth and like South or West Hall and then it was like upstairs down the hall down at east Side Tributary Hall and there was one tiny little like Konami thing next to a door, and be like, oh, they're fucking toast And that was almost ten years ago, and god.

Damn, they're they're back. I remember one of my first and I guess only E three appointments was oh, yeah, you're gonna go check out ECONOMI game.

Oh sick cool?

And it was a shitty Olympics for the switch that barely worked with any of the motion controls. Yeah, out of that moment, like man, we were done.

We're at the point now where like Mike, I feel like I say, I see you a lot of like Sega so bad, CAPCOMs so bad, because we're big fans of those companies and their games and Konami. I don't think it's crazy to say that they are with those guys now, like Omi is so back, especially things.

To Capcom for showing them the way exactly.

Like they they were up until I feel like, even you know, less than a year ago, the joke of the internet, like even if you do have stuff like Silent Hell to remake, it was still like, but you know, they're not going.

To do that again.

And now we're like when Kanamia announces something, man, we're we excited about.

And they were like and it's like the comeback is especially important because they were once like the Pinnacle.

Like they were so important to.

Yes, like so many games, so many like and like their music was some of the best you can get on, like the ne e s and stuff like that. They were crucial and to have them go away, it's like, man, there's that's a bad sign for video games.

Yeah, it's it's the fact that we're thinking about them in that way, even if they haven't had like a super huge output to like point out business, this is this the fact that has been quality and now we are like, yeah, they're so back the way they used to be.

In a way, it's kind of realistic to like now get excited about the possibility of like, hey, are you gonna do contra in Castlevania games.

They did do a contra game recently that was really bad Contra out.

Yeah, I feel like that that was I mean I covered that a g B East So that was pre pandemic. So it has been a little bit, so I think there was another new one or whatever.

I think we're all waiting to see what they do with Castle Vania for sure. Yeah, definitely.

So I am gonna say, sounds like Konami is the winner here, alright.

I'm putting a star.

Giant Bomb dot Com especially presents best Comeback runners up being Shnobi, Ninja Gaiden in the Ultimate Winner Konami. Congratulations.

So the first time a nominee has become part of the category.

What happens you know, hey, we can't say that. I think after this the year of the Ninja.

Yeah, yeah, different ninja.

All right, Ninjas, you got fifteen days left you can't.

I don't even get it.

What do you mean?

I'll show you a reel that we made of mine.

Right, we're talking to speaking.

We have two more categories. I think we can get through the next one and then we should take a break. Can beat coffee No, okay. Next category is best rogue. Okay.

Sear their ad sectory and then remove sectory. Sectary is a pretty light rogue deleted or just strike through strike. It doesn't get to the rogue elements fast enough.

It looks it does. The thing is you don't notice them because they're so inconsequentially. Yeah, even when you get all of them, it's like, okay, you like hit randomize on it.

It's like.

Randomized, let's see what happens. Like I got a deck of cards. I like now, but there's sixteen cards you have. You have to have eight attached to unlock the other eight. It's really I think it's just an onboarding thing, and they're using this sort of very light structure of rogue light to get you onboarded in a kind of painless.

In the most technical sense, I guess it's a rogue light, but it's definitely not yeah, rogue light.

I feel like you've said that roguelikes and especially rogue lights, are a sort of like the I guess roguelikes would be the one that is more so like the follow up to the arcade experience and like figuring out how to have that at home without feeling cheap or anything like that. But I do think yeah, with Sectory, it's kind of just kind of just is an arcade game that happens to have some of those rogue light mechanics.

I want to cut Nubbi's number factory.

I want to talk it up a little bit.

That looks so cool. I really like it. The style is like very fun. It reminds me of like early or late nineteen nineties websites.

Right, It reminds me of when I was making a Monkey Island fan site on angel Fire.

You know, that is the least surprising thing he's ever said. I want to cut it because when I think of all the other roguelikes here, I want to keep going back to them, and after like having a really successful run at Nubby's Number Factory and having like a very good run. I haven't revisited it.

I was the same way.

I really liked it, but it was a more of a one and done as opposed to some of these other ones that, like I saw credits right.

I don't know if this will be a controversial take, but I would say let's cut Ballpit. I think the core gameplay is really fun and satisfying. I do think the stuff in between is just not something I look forward to. I think a great roguelike is something like like a Hades two, when you go back to the hub and everything, It's like, okay, well, let's see my

I go back.

I'm like, I guess I'll fucking put these fields here and watch the ball man's back and forth a little bit before you know, it's like that stuff in between is not fun.

I'm so glad we are united in this, Dan, because I've seen so many people say you just got to get over it.

I like Ballpit a ton. Okay, this was my November game. I played this November.

Jesus.

I loved the I liked the whole gameplay ball Pit. The upgrades were really good. Like a point you can break two of the characters in and their powers combined, the way you're melting the balls coming up with these new combos. I liked the mid stuff. I get a little bit while you guys wanted to brace. I'm a little surprised that you dislike it so much. It's just you just put the things there and you bounce with people against that.

I think the reason I dislike it is because like to go back to almost like the best or most disappointment category.

I thought that was such a cool idea that.

Like almost like a city builder type thing in between this arcade, you know, schmub type thing, Like I thought that sounded so cool, and for it to be just kind of this thing where it's like, you know, I'll kind of set this up and I need the ball back, like there's there isn't a layer of depth or strategy that I wanted from that.

That's not a huge but I think it just I think it makes those kind of usual you just kept basically spend currency and get them up grades in these games a bit more interesting in that, and it's another way to play on the whole, you know, kind of arcanoid bouncing balls off of things ideas, And it becomes even more interesting when you get into it because it does matter how these things are placed, Like one building is going to increase the experience game for any character's

I think it's almost too generous to call it arcanoid like because an arcanoid you're at least moving the thing at the bottom.

So that part, yeah, But like the gameplay part, so I get what am I saying, though, I will say to add a voice to this though that I am with Dan on it where I think it's more of just like, ay, that's not what we want for the cool.

Down in between the more Arcadie experiences. Because I do hear a lot of people say what Mike's saying of like it's an interesting new way to do that. It just really didn't hit with me either, and I actually I don't love the core gameplay a Ballpit either, Like the just moving the guy and the balls are bouncing.

Stuff that is kind of fun.

But at a certain point you kind of just are moving the guy back and forth, and I don't feel like there's a ton of strategy to the gameplay in the way that other roguelikes sometimes do, like even Vampire Survivors, like, oh, I'm going to carve a path this way through the enemies. There's not as much of the ball pay I was.

With you to like the Vampire Survivors things like, oh, this is more than Vampire Survivors.

Dog, you know, Vampire Survivors is ten times the rug.

Yeah, I mean I definitely got to the point where I was really thinking about what upgrades, which character powers I was paying with. But you know, I have other games on as I care more about than Ballpit, So like, if I'm the only one who's a big fan, let's just keep it. I think you can stick around for not that was dog Witch. Yeah, let me let me talk about dog Witch a little bit.

I don't, I don't. It's not going to win this or get bolded. But dog Witch is this game where you play as a dog in a witch hat with a wand what do they call it? The dog and you go through rounds of combat trying to get to your wizard master and beat his ass.

Cool.

It's adorable. The art style is incredibly unique and slick. It feels really fun to play. It goes and it's just like really snappy. It's very whimsical. You summon like familiars and they can be like gargoyles that turn things to stone, or like fucking bees, like just happy looking bees that will sting things. It's an adorable game.

It's great.

I wish it was longer. I wish I had more there because the bones are so good. I just I love these style games. It really is like it fits in with like a Monster Train or a Slave the Spire, but it's like whimsical and goofy and fun. It really is super it's great. Heck Mouse is the developer. They haven't made too many games. This is if they do stuff like this, and they can make something like longer, more robust. I'm so excited. Yeah, it doesn't hang with

It's very sad. More dogs and games less cats and movies.

Put more of them in the movie Cats and we'll be oh, oh yeah.

Yeah, I'm gonna say we're gonna lock down haities. Yeah, it's gonna be the best of all time. Okay. Can I also pitch that we lock blueprints and if we don't, yeah, they might be the most rogue of these. Yeah, Dan, I know you were the biggest megaboonk fans and planet. I'm not saying we cut it, but do you think it has a case to be bolded? I mean, is its case exactly the case that Vampire Survivors had?

Yeah, that's a good question. We have a cool skeleton in it, though, as a cool skeleton skateboards. I mean, it does feel different than Vampire Survivors. It's incredibly similar in the way, like the weapons and things like that. Come together and like the challenge list and stuff like that,

It is.

Boy, I like it almost as much as Vampire Survivors and Vampire Survivors is maybe like my second Paver Rogue like all time. So I don't know, I've I've been playing it for months and I still enjoy it every time I load it up. But I mean, if no one else hot on it.

Crossout ball Pit first, Yeah, I want a hero set out for him and knows I'm his friend.

Oh, I think Mikey Megabunk is like right outside for me.

I would go with Absolom first for the third since we have Hades two and blue prints already.

That but I like to make a bonk a ton when I was playing.

Yeah, here's what I want to bring up, and I feel like might get the short end here to consider how good it is. Monster Train two. Yeah, I played. There's like, you know, five factions or they might have added some like five decks whatever, and I played through and beat it with like two or three of them. It is very good, and it's it's my favorite of those kind of like card Battlers Slay the Spire types

It's a bit more complicate to slay Aspire in a way that I almost just find more complicated than adding depth to it. I don't love the way the game will looks like.

I don't.

Yeah, the art sounds not for me super fun, but like I think I see the three that are gonna be bordered, and it's not as good as those.

I think I maybe maybe I played the most of this Monster Trained two and I found it to be less legible than a lot of other games in its class and clunkier to engage with. I still really had a great time with it. I agree with you, Mike. I don't like the look of it. I don't like the art, and I hate that argument against like Slay the Spire because I'm likes.

That kind of like the charms cheap flash game look work.

You know, it feels very It feels like a mobile gotcha game, even though it's not a mobile gotcha game.

That's so true, Like you solve this puzzle those it looks like the side of a van sometimes. Yeah, people are going to be mad at us about this appeion. I really like it. Yeah, we really chuck. I did not like Star Vaders at all. Yeah, tell me more. Whenever I get inundated and the Internet tells me you're going to love this game. It has tiles in it. This has tiles in it. I don't like the tiles. I don't like the feel of them. The overall gameplay I think is a little clunky and which too slow

Yeah, and I just.

Promised something similar to Mega Man Battle Network and this was not it. Yeah.

I only checked out the demo, but I echo with Jan had to say about all the uh.

Did anyone else play we Can Cross That? Did anyonet to play else play White Knuckle is White Knuckle. So White Knuckle is a climbing game, and you start at the very bottom of this like climb sewer pit thing and you're just you're just hands and you're like jumping and grabbing things. It's called white knuckle because like the longer you hold onto something and it's like supporting your weight, your hand will change color and if you let it

It looks too scary. Really climbing games all like ben at Foddy.

Yeah, really cool game. I don't think it hangs with the list.

Okay, we could probably get rid of number now because we haven't talked about Absolute yet.

But boy, it's good. It's a real good shouts out to nubbies Number Factory, though very small team, and just it's fun. It's I think everyone should check it out if you haven't, if you've ever been a fan of PEG, Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

I get excited every time I think about how, like grub you and I are still working on Absolute the test runs right, Yeah, yeah.

I'm going to tack any moment now.

Yeah, I'm I'm excited to get back and play Morbid.

Yeah, And I mean I think you're right there the way you said it, Like the rogue light stuff unlocks the potential of these kinds of games to make a build, and the builds can be kind of overpowered sometimes are crazy or not like or like kind of break stuff a little bit because it's going to be one run and if it's if you get it on a run, you had good luck, and now you have all this all these awesome abilities you wouldn't have otherwise, And you kind of can't make a traditional beat them up that

I'm just gonna like try to build my guy in switch away to bro.

I'm always popping off my ultimates because I know there's always going to be more on the ground for me to pick up to do more, and just thinking about it that way, it's like, oh, there's some extra depth here, specifically specifically because they knew how to handle the genre that they've attached to beat them up.

And how smart is the map too, where it's out branching branch Arek's like you will see these objectives. It's like, oh over here, Oh, we got to feed a few more enemies to this furnace. Alse there's a key hidden in the swamp up here, Like which way do we want to go? And like what a great way to introduce, Like, well we got to do another run. Now, we got let's go up that way because yeah, we did this down here, I wonder what that unlocks up here. We

It's like, you know, stuff that is interesting in there to do, right, Like it's set up like a Hades like that.

And outside of like maybe one run where I think I tried the frog or whatever, like, we've been the same two characters and they are so fun and it's like, you know, we see that cider character, so it's like I want to explore that too. And at the same time, it's not like I think there's gonna be people who are turned off by roguelikes in general.

I would be like this and like other Obviously there's been other ones where it's like so easy to recommend, like Hades and stuff like that. It's really easy to recommend this one because none of that, Like this is a game you were going to replay anyhow. It's a beat them up. You're gonna kind of start from the beginning a lot though. That's just kind of how you play those kinds of games, and all of it's just sort of additive. It doesn't like make you feel like, oh,

And that's the thing that like in this genre, I think Chuck when describing Monster Train mentioned like legibility as far as like there's a lot of okay, so what and what is persistent and what it is not like you know, it can murky with a lot of games in this genre. With this one, it's so obvious and it's so it's like, oh, this is the currency, come back, Okay, I can upgrade that. Now I can you know, ten percent more health whatever, I unlock this super tack it all.

Do we not?

Like?

It's uh, I really think it's one of the best rogue Lades I've ever played. And then there's Blueprints.

Yeah, oh god, I fucking thinking about Blueprints generational talent.

Have you ever seen the whiplat like the audience turn on something so quick?

Like I get people like like Sean who like, this is just not my thing. I get that.

I'm surprised by the people who are like I find this game frustrating even though it should be my thing, because I think the bad luck places into it too much.

I just never had that.

Is that The argument a lot of people is that, well, sometimes the luck just kills your run, and I'm like, well, you probably are still doing other things in that run, always going to get to door forty seven or forty six or feel like you're close to it, but you're figuring out other puzzles, you're unlocking new rooms, you.

Went to the garage.

I can believe here. I never had what I thought was a wasted run in the game.

Out of our remaining three here with Hades two, Absolomon Blueprints and Blueprints has no combat. You'd never see another person right other.

Than you through photo combating with the numbers, like you have to be like play it as a probabilistic problem of like I begin to understand those chances of me getting these things, so I need to maximize my chances.

That's all it is. You're fighting the map. But like I think I felt the most of a rush and like anxiety playing through blueprints because I'm going from run to run, and then like once you start unlocking more knowledge or you visit like the Fortune Teller and uh Alzara, and then it's like, okay, there's more of this lord that I got unlocked, or you just make it to whatever the objective of your run is, Like it just

Know, I didn't do a ton of the post game stuff necessarily, but like I don't feel bad about that, Like I think just being gaming in credits is a perfectly good off ramp. You know, maybe something I go back to that stuff, I'm amst more interested if I go back to like really work on doing a Day.

One run, which I see people do and it's like, oh yeah. And it's like, just to be clear, there are so much after.

Getting time, the lore, which I think is really good, that could just be more background stuff right away, like you can engage with it or not, becomes more important I think in the post game for actually figuring out what's going on.

I think for me, it's uh.

With when we got Hades one, that was sort of like unlocking the roguelike genre for people being like, we are going to give you a narrative to hold, to hold your hand to, like every time you come back, you're gonna talk to these characters and that will literally progress. They understand you're in a loop and they're going to talk to you in that way, and they're going to keep you in here to kind of give you a safe thing to hold on to to get you used

Just insane, Like you know, there's so much of this but Roguelike. The fact that they were able to do Missed but Roguelike and worked incredibly game for us, Mike, it'smaffling how well it works.

I think what's so unique about this one too, it's not just that combination, but just that what you're getting between runs. Sure, you can like set yourself up to get more gems or more money, but you're getting the knowledge and that's what's really helping you get better at this game.

So many wastes of the end to you use different parts of your novel.

And I think that probably frustrates people that that's the way you progress that like honestly, yeah, having a notebook open and so Dan anecdote involving you. So you you had a copy of this game before it came out, and I remember you wade into a tech issue. You're like, oh, lost on my progress, and I was like, I was kind of devastated for you. I was like, I was excited about this game. I was like, oh, fuck, he's gonna have like so our opinion of this and like

The sake of accuracy, the creator of the game did send me a custom made save file where he got back how many coins I had and my coin, so like there was a little help there, but like also it was not for not like even if he had not done that, like it would not have been hard to get back. It's like, oh, now I know this room does this or this puzzles here, like he helped me with like the coin limit stuff that you can't just do through knowledge, But yeah, I would have got back very quickly.

And when you told me that, I was like, Oh, that's what this game is. It's like you can just like take everything you know and just like it's not a wild Yeah.

That's why I'm so torn on this category here with these you know, we got Hades two, I have Solomon blueprints. I adore all these games, and I think there is a real argument you can make for Hades two being the best rogue light of all time.

So that's the thing. We haven't actually talked about Hades two yet, and I kind of wanted to get this in there, just like at the top, because I don't have as much to say as the rest of your eyes on all these games because I don't really like roguelikes and rogue lights that much. You know, when you guys talk about the really big ones that really hit with you, guys, I try them out and some hit, like you know, Vampire Survivors, Blatro and stuff. Most don't. It's just not my thing.

But Hades two, after I didn't like Hades one because you know anything from zagarais not being a super likable character of me to just a lot of the roguelike trappings that I don't really get into. Hades two is such a friendly game, is so welcoming to people like me that they want to get in the door of this stuff while still having all the roguelikes stuff.

I love Hades too. Like it went like, I don't like roguelikes, I don't like Haities one. Hades two is in my top ten. I think it's a fantastic game, and it sounds like it still appeals to you guys in the way that.

I like to definitely in my top ten. It's funny because when I was playing it, I was kind of like, this might be one of my favorite games ever for some reason, Like, but like, once I was done with it, I don't. I'm not thinking about it quite as much.

I think one of the reasons for that it's it is so friendly, which I think is a ninety nine percent positive, But it's it doesn't there's.

Not a lot of friction tension.

It's it's less of the sickoshit that, which is what you guys kind of get into something like that.

It's just it's just so easy to play that it goes down like like a very easy meal. But that's not gonna be hard to digest it.

And that's part of why I was saying that I was torn on it is like I think you can make the argument that it is the best rogue light of all time. But also it's in the way that like, Okay, I think like Tears the Kingdom is many in many ways a better game than Break a while, but it's impossible to kind of replicate that first film. So like something like blue Prints this year sticks with me more because it's like I've never played anything like this. This

Yeah, play a lot of Hades won, And maybe there's a bit of I have played a lot of Hades now.

Yeah, it's a little bit of Like maybe Fatigue Hates two might be above Blueprints on my top ten.

I don't.

I haven't decided yet, but like, I think Blueprints was a bigger and more important roguelike experience.

You hear that we didn't know you exactly. We did not know this game was prob there is. So I'm a big board game guy. I think you guys know that.

But there's this board game called Betrayal at House on the Hill, right, and it's a cooperative game. You and your buddies are exploring like a haunted house.

Right. But the way the gameplay is is you don't set up the board ahead of time. You have tiles, and you're laying the tiles out and then going into the room. Something happens. Then you're doing the same and you could choose which direction, which room you go into. And I was like, holy fuck, they did this in a video game and it's missed and it's roguelike and it rules so hard. I think what they've done here, the elements that they've pulled in Blueprints so stellar. I

Yeah, I mean I'll keep playing Hades two and doing more runs than I probably won't do more blue Prints just because the nature of the game is like, well, I have the knowledge, I got to where I want to be, you know, like I don't necessarily want to go further in the end game. But Blueprints is I think a more notable game this year. Yeah, and in this genre yeaheah not. I feel like it's between these

Also, it just became apparent to me after doing Monday Mornings Missed with Mitch, how much stuff, how much myst has inspired other games. Y, Yeah.

That's one of my big goals of doing It's like, I don't think many people know that Myst was an important game anymore.

All Right, I'm gonna put a star next to Blue Prince. Yeah, here's your crown, little guy. The best roguelike runners up Haities two, Absolom Runners up with blue Prints as the winner. We're gonna go to Blue King Gang.

We're gonna go take a bricky break.

Is wearing a blue hoody Oh, we're the Blue Princes. Because the next category and the final category for day three Giant Bombs Game of the Year is best Moment or It.

Might include spoilers. It will include spoilers.

So if you want listening now, just keep listening, just run it.

All those Matroid people are gonna be fine. Mike, Oh good, I'm really worried about that.

We'll see after this. Holy smokes Gang, we are at the final category for day three of Giant Bomb's Game of the Year twenty twenty five, shouts out once again to where dear friends over at main Gear for letting us use the space. We promise we're keeping it clean. We promise where to God if there's any candy rappers or bagel seeds anywhere, it wasn't us, It was not gang.

Wait what yeh?

There we go, rescuing that truck with friends in roadcraft and then driving all the trucks into water roadcraft deflate, defeating the band breaker Baby Steps, Mommy, Baby Steps. Jeff Grubb murdering Dan Ryker with a confetti cannon spaghetifying that guy in mind's eye not getting hit in a boss fight from Sectory, getting married and living life in Anne Roger approaching Rainbow Road in Mario Kart World, Mike and Dan monkey fart into Grub's monkey face at the end

Could I ask you right now to pick your favorite desk stranding moments.

Yeah.

First of all, let's kill pizza chef, because I think you guys just assassinated me with the bringing up that if it was in Deadpool or something, i'd hate it.

I was like, oh my god, I feel like this loll so random.

I believe yeah moment.

He's so right. Yeah yeah, and take it off. Yeah I love it, But you're.

Right death training. I don't think any of these are gonna make it right, like I'm the desk randing guy. Maybe Domain Dance.

I know people like that. I really like this training too. I love some of these sequences.

Then let me Okay, if I'm give the fireworks going off, that's the one. Conflagration is that so I want to take off die Hardman dance. I like that just because it's just I don't even want to explain it. It's I know people don't like it. It's not gonna hang.

Uh.

Conflagration is the one that I described when I was at the preview event.

That's like most style, Like there's so much.

It's the coolest looking thing I think I've ever seen in a video game.

It's stunning, like to look at.

Yeah, when I was walking the bathroom of the preve event when I wasn't there yet and I would just cashed out of the corner of my ID be like, what is happening on those screens?

I had never seen anything like that.

For those that don't know, it's like one of the Neil segments where it's like it's basically the equivalent of the Magemicals and segments from the first game, where it's like all kind of this alternate, weird spirit dimension and it's like a data DA lists more taste celebration in the streets, but there's all these spirits and husks of people kind of walking aimlessly and amidst all the streets and buildings and stuff, there are like Ferris wheels covered

It's like trying to explain HDR to people. That's what the sequence is, like if it feels next gen, yeah, and.

It's there's five everywhere, and as you're working your way through all these kind of fire tunnels and everything, and then it culminates in this boss fight against Neil, which is like if you've seen the trailer where he used to straight up Solid Snake with the bandana and stuff.

Have this big shootout and like like a graveyard or looks like ruins or something.

The thing where it's like the when their faces get lit up. It's showing like the skeletons, yes, the Caribbean Yes.

And for all the stuff that is Kajima just being Kajima in the ways that like, I think a lot of people are annoyed by, like the Diehard Man dance for example, like that's look, I like his wackiness and stuff. I can see how people would see like, Okay, this is stupid and he's just doing this. This is loss so random. I think this Conflagration episode is him. Maybe it is like most Powerful.

When you showed to me in the quick Look. It is the thing where I was like, oh, Coach was still got this one.

He's like he's like the style is just like gripping off of this and even on like a technical level, it's amazing.

Yeah, and then you know this The sequence is followed by Metal Gear Solid essentially because it turns into a classic Metal Gear Solid sniper fight and I'm like, oh, yeah, here's a video game. I was really enjoying that. Yeah. Oh I was going up and getting his face with the sault rifles and stuff. I didn't know dog he was supposed to like be running, You're supposed to run around on the roofs and like sniper him in these I didn't even find a sniper, right. I felt so

I called him twice and both times it was like, we're getting up in his face, even some like c QC type stuff and soult rifles.

Yeah in that way too, you know. Yeah, yeah, so we know, Dan, you play all these games like that, But.

I honestly didn't know that was supposed to be a snipers you did other people play that way apparently, Dan?

If I was you, my favorite moment from the game would have been when they all sang happy birthday to me.

That's pretty good, weird, that didn't suppress me. You like, I played on my actual birthday and didn't know that was in the game, and oh, that's really cool.

I think we should cut Jeff Grabb murdering Dan rekerd with a Yeah, reliability not a good moment. We do not encourage violence in the workplace, despite not having an HR department, or we know that's bad.

I'll say. Since I didn't get permanently injured, I'm glad it happened.

It was very funny, impostly. Yeah, it was worth it. I wouldn't change a thing. I would.

It was a solid five seconds where I thought I was like disfigured. Yeah anymore you want to put a damper on the whole weekend? Yeah it was.

It was one of those things where like I thought I witnessed something horrific.

Yeah, faces of Death. Yeah, we traumatized. Poor John Carson and Jesse Vittelli sitting.

On the couch.

Jesse didn't even Mississippi.

Needed to cope with his emotions.

John bomb is bad.

Apparently, right. Yeah.

Yeah, my kazoo by vape those just not even good.

Everything about that you were you were zigs there and everything about that. Oh my god.

It was crazy.

How really that happened?

I can't even here.

It was the first thing uncross it off. It's something also cut spaghettifying the guy in mind because that's the only interesting thing that.

Game in a war. Yeah, that's right.

It was like really fun to like we did it like twenty times and we just kept doing it and we got some really good ones in there.

It was a fun moment. But let's cross that off.

I would cross off a Soilk song double Jump. It is a tremendous feeling, but like, hey, we felt that for decades.

You know, it's a bit different here because yeah, for you know, we talked last year about Prince of Persia, how like, oh, you got that double jump really late, and that felt awesome.

Here it's even a little bit later.

But the build up to it is you're going up this mountain and it's you know, the most difficult platforming challenge probably in the whole game, at least to that point.

So it's really making you earn that double jump.

You have to prove to the game that you're good with the dashes and the pogoing and that silk spear thing and all this effort to get up there, and you're kind of wondering the whole time.

Boy, it better be something good up here. I don't because it's not like I don't even know if it's critical, pap.

It's not like when it's knees or something you need you do I need double jump?

Right?

Then you get up there and like when you realize, like, oh, I there is a double jump in this game, because at that point you're just like maybe there isn't, and you get it.

Ah, God, it felt really cool. To me, Yeah, I think for me it is the lead up to it, like just how challenging that was. And you know, the whole game's got incredible presence and style and presentation, but it's really good in that moment. Yeah, it's it was up there for me. I don't know if it's going to be. There's so much on this list it'll be hard.

But I'm with Mike on this. I want to keep a little bit longer.

Sure if for no one of the reason, we haven't had a ton of silks long representation in the categories, So can we.

Cut you know, reaching the peak in Hades two? I mean, I think every time we bring up Hades two, it's the same thing where it's like, this is a tremendous game, but it's all just fairy like, Okay, we've done here before, you know it.

You know, Hades one, Zagarias can never actually hang on the surface, right sorry sports For Hades one, he can go speak to his you know, mother and everything. And then in Hades two, you know you kind of feel like, oh, we're not actually going to get Nope, you actually get to go out into like the peak of Olympus and

Yeah, but I think it's a cool moment to when Zeus actually helps you in that fight. I was like, yeah, yeah, I think I like the Typhoon fight more than I like the Cronos fight. Even yeah, I would agree, Yeah, but you know, maybe doesn't quite hang. I'm better at the patterns in the Typhoon fight that I am in the I'm the opposite.

I'm so garbage at the Typhoon fight.

Super Cronos fight is definitely harder though.

Yeah, And also I feel like we did kind of give hades to his flowers last year when Nicky and I wouldn't shut up about going up wait for the one point.

Oh yeah, fun, Jeff, do you want to pick like, like, maybe you're more favorite of the baby steps things here? Uh yeah, they're pretty fast Scout de feeding the Man Breaker and this one just says mommy right.

So okay, So Man Breaker is that really challenging section where they put stairs right next to it and instead if you're an asshole to yourself. You can instead go up the very challenging rock face where every step is precarious and if you fall down, you fall down for a thirty seconds because you're so high up and you have to start over defeeding. That was you know, it's one of those things I'll never ever forget. It was

It's crazy how much this game wound up having to say.

Crazy yes.

And it's like, to me, it's like that puts it above because it's doing it without putting in your face, without having to have a bunch of writing. All of the cut scenes are just improv comedy scenes. All of the emotion comes from the interplay between this playing a.

Couple of a key moments, watching you beat Man Breaker was really great, and then when you go to the cabin door and talk to the guy and you're sorry, what's the main characters name again?

Uh, Nate, that's right, and he like finally asks and admits that he needs help, yes, and stuff like that I was like, Oh, I get this guy.

Yeah, that's and that's like the culmination of like that starts with with Mommy, where it's like you finally get the door and like he's beginning to recognize it's okay for me to just ask for help, and then he goes there and then like they are basically like a couple after that, him and the main donkey dick guy. It's it's very very cute and sweet and got powerful game. So yeah, you can cut out bringing the man breaker and keep mind before me.

That's good. I'm a little bit torn because I u with Expedition thirty three specifically, I found Gustav's death to be very unexpected in such a surprise that they really committed to and stuck to.

They just replaced him with someone that looks a lot like yeah.

Yeah, And I think like the more that I've been like marinating on Claire Obscure as a whole, I think for me personally, and this doesn't have I just want to mention it. It doesn't have to be added to the list. Is the final fight and your decision of whether or not to fight my l or fight verso, and you'll get a different ending depending on which one.

I thought it was very powerful.

And then just like after having a gigantic battle where your kaiju mommy comes in to help you fight your dad, and then now like that was a very tough, long drawn out battle that now this just feels like a beleaguered, tired, and weary fight between two siblings. I thought was just one of the best things for me. I kind of want that moment to be on here instead of death. I really liked the ending. I felt kind of alone ending.

I don't if I want to have that conversation yet about the end.

And just remind me of some remembering this correctly. Verso was her brother that died in the fire in the real world, and she kind of kept him alive by kind of like.

Right, yeah.

Basically the final thing is like Mayo was like I want to stay yeah, right yeah, versus like you need to go because I want to die in fantasy or.

Confront round, and I thought it was like a really powerful conversation about yes, like processing your grief and like stop living in this fantasy, but also like a conversation about removing someone else's agency and not just one person, right, and many many people that you've met and befriended and gotten close to. I'm like, oh, that's a great moment.

So I don't like the ending ending of this game, but I actually like the fight and everything surrounding it a lot, for the reasons Erye just mentioned. I think it is a fantastic moment of like actually asking the player to consider the ratifications of what they're about to do here, and I like that.

You know, it doesn't really result in like the very traditional good ending or bad ending there at there's a lot of debate about it, like maybe they're both bad, maybe one's kind of okay, it's it's it's interesting, like I don't know, you know, there's a bit more thinking than these games usually give you.

Right, Okay, And you know, I don't want to take anything away from Gustav's death.

Shocking moment, but I think this is a better moment.

Yeah, another shocking moment. I just want to mention is like when you get to the beach and Renoir just cuts everyone down, and you're like, yeah, it's kind a fucking game.

I mean, the case's got a lot of cool moments. Yeah, just like every battle is kind of a cool game. Is there any other thing we feel like we could I didn't even cut I don't grab the sectory. That is a killer feeling when you beat a boss fight without dying, because goddamn it, those some of those boss fights, if it's not the worm, I'm probably gonna die once or twice.

You know.

Yeah, that's the only one I can like reve right, So that that's.

Like when I got to a point where I was going through one of those other bosses where it's like there's so much happening and there's so much around you and three phases and it's also a bullet hell, and they then they throw the thing on top of you. Of here's a yellow line drawing you to that if the next thing, if you hit that, you kill this

Uh, I've had it.

I've had it similar things before. It's worth calling out.

Here, But yeah, we can cross it off Room forty six of Blueprints.

That was a great feeling. It felt really good.

But it's ultimately a crossing the finish line moment, right, I don't know if it's well in a game that has a lot of crossing the finish that moment.

Yeah, you know there's a lot of the a one it is, but like I.

Think you'll feel like there's like some moments in blue Prints where it's like you discover like what the levers do or how to open one of those the secret doors that that are like in some of those rooms and stuff like the garden key.

It's the electricity and right, yes, there's a million of them.

Yeah, there's some moment and maybe there's just so much that it's hard to keep spread. I feel like with Blueprints, like a lot of it is just like the own everyone's individual experience more than like a collective one thing that happens. Yeah, I think that's probably right, Okay, cutting.

It, I think so, I just want to say, with like Room forty six, it's not so much that moment of those doors, like getting all through those doors open or the doors you need and then being able to get in there.

It's that particular run where you get that.

Yeah, there's several elements to all the knowledge. You've got your fucking levers, you know, your route, Like that feels fucking good.

But I totally the fountain. Yeah, yeah, Mike, you know what I'm talking about with this, right, I know what you're talking about. I've never played this. Well the hell are you talking about?

Here's the spoilers, but yeah, like you know she's a werewolf, right, Well, because the girl you're playing as she kind of goes between two realms, this real world and the spiritual world. At some point during the spiritual world, she just kind of becomes part of this ritual where.

She cuts off her face and her arm, brands.

Herself as because she cuts off her own arm.

It's this graphic, horrifying thing that the game earns really well, and it just fits so well. But it's this graphic, horrifying scene and then they attach a wolf arm on it instead, right, and then you know, half the game takes place in that. So now in that part of the game, you kind of have this almost power fantasy because you.

Are very strong.

Now you don't have to worry about the weapon durability, this new move set, it's your arm. Yeah, and it's oh my gosh, it was like just for you know, it's like it was kind of like a squeamish like, oh my god, they're going this far thing then, but you know, again, it was built up really well.

It was a big payoffs, and they don't really they they show you just enough to feel terrible, right, but not you know, not full divinity yeah.

Once in a while.

And I don't know, I feel like, especially the way that they've been framing, uh, your player character, she's portrayed as very frail, not just in like the universe of Silent Hill, but like in her own personal life and she doesn't have too much agency and then to then suddenly in this spirit world make her a badass wolf lady. It's especially powerful Jesus.

So what happens in some unleashed.

What happens is his own arm. Yeah, it's more graphic than funny. What shadowed us?

I know, wat it's funny because.

Ninja Got In four was a Sonic game. Also, yes, Grinding Sonic, Big year for Sonic.

Like man.

Grub, I know you love to roll around in the mud.

Yeah, I mean, look, this is the kind of ship that I love in games where it's like we come up with our own problem that we made ourselves, and and then we all have to deal with the fact that we're humans and have different desires.

Like Dan wants to be a stinker, and it's like.

Okay, yeah, what that's why we had to put your time out for him. And then and then you came out because you promised you would help, and then you did.

And then we all were working because a truck tipped over and you actually knocked it over on purpose, but you still like, I'm gonna fix it.

And we all like had to like work together to upright this thing in a really muddy spot. So it was very difficult.

And by the time we got upright was time down the stream, and we were all very excited and they were like, let's just go driving the water. This is a great culmination. Uh, it's it sounds like it's gonna have a hard time hanging here.

But I man, I love this kind of yeah, good moment, solid moment. I'm going to cut it.

Speaking of what you like our games. Monkey farts huh yo, man, Yeah, Look, that's just humor. That's just that's just humor.

And we have now for two days been saying that Dan is the deadpool.

Is Dan're pretty good? Would you have a drug dealing roommate that is also a blind lady?

I've had half of that equation after college experience. I mean, look, we had a brilliant idea, and the game gave a the tools to do it, and we nailed it on the first try. And it's the funniest thing I could have imagined. It was keep digging, keep digging. And we got to the yeah, the bunker with a button to end the world and nuclear war, and we realized there's a moat where you turn around and you fart, and

I think Grub, we had you do the howl yeah, stop before we press this button, fart in my face.

Yeah, and we both turn around and fart do his monkey mouth, and it worked perfectly and it's the funniest thing that could happen.

It was Yeah again, I love this kind of stuff. Let's we got it, beautiful moment. Rainbow Road is very good at Mario car I'm not quite sure if like.

It is very specifically. I'm talking about here the approach to because we just talked about how Mario kartt World does a very sloppy job of like having the big highways and everything trying to connect the various tracks and stuff. But the final cup is very good because it is all culminating and you going to Rainbow Road. So it's about the drive downhill and going through different terrains and like going on the water and stuff at the end. At the end, it's a starry night and all the

I like it.

Probably even more than the Rainbow Road Track itself. And that's why I thought of it for this category, because I think the approach is very good. I don't know if it's keeping up with some of the rest of these on here, but I thought it was a great a mark.

I think we can keep it on for now, all right, tell me about being someone's step mom step mom?

Yeah, And I don't know if I feel like we're gonna go and through all these ones of like these are our own player created agency this. Yeah, and I would be like that tho. These are equally importantly these kinds of things in games. They're not like, oh, it's a story thing written by the game, so we got to give it more reverence. This stuff is more important to me, actually, but I still generally agree.

Yeah, And I also would like to give Kala is she wanted to fuck your mom's mom, so she would be your mom's stepmom.

Changes the dynamic.

I want to misrepresent Kayala. That's okay, just calling people chicken ass bitches.

Yeah, she's going front on your ass. Yes, juicy bitch holds tart, Yeah, juicy bitch. I feel like this is the year so many people have gotten to see the joy and what I have, Like i've known herly hear me out, what if this is the soft three for this.

Something like this, this one, I'd like the underbed meeting as well and stuff like that, but uh, this one we were It really revealed to me like the possibility of our graders.

Of oh, yeah, you don't have to have this. There is no social contract here.

Get away with what you can get away with, and that means send in a.

Crazy person to a point where the other two people on their team are like, we cannot control her.

I'm part of that three, and I'm trim to be a voice of reason with you. She didn't records the voice of reason.

I think it's a good representation of all these like make your own fun, mone the tools the game gives you.

Yeah, yeah, And it was like okay, and then made me realize it's like, oh that this is the way the game is meant to be played. It gives you these possibility and she she's not thinking about on that act the level.

She's just being herself.

Yeah, and we're like this is beautiful, and it legitimately scared away every team became a fall.

So in the Trio mode, when and that was the time where in the trio mode everyone was shoot on site.

It was hot, spicy fighting, and everyone's like, fuck that I'm not dealing with this, lady.

Unrelated, unrelated, Maybe we need to get onto a GT online role playing serve. I'm yes. I think it's also important that not just highlighting these written story bits, but like our own moments and sequences that we developed for ourselves. And I feel like Klys screaming off a group. I mean, let's keep it because personally.

Will's clip that he cut of where we're like, okay, everybody be cool. There's people and said everybody be cool.

It just goes no.

I think, especially if this represents sort of like those uneasy truces and social attractions in our careers.

I like it on the list. Yeah, god uh.

Hold it.

I think because we like that one so much. Maye we cut the underbed meeting. I mean that that was very funny too. It was very funny. It was very good, Like I was there and then you two just like showed up and it's like it was the view on camera?

Was that so everyone home got to see that as well?

It was just so this is why you're doing not here bed meeting bed, meaning let's get stragic, and.

We're just kind of like vaguely hearing something happened to Tam. Maybe check later, it's like, oh, he's just dead.

It's also a gameplay mechanic.

If you're under the bed and you're speaking quietly, the monsters won't know your characters.

Are literally whispering like that.

Yeah, and then the little heads are still flapping.

It's just it's like that game at its best, for sure, But we can cut it, okay, doll man dance?

Is that that?

Dan?

I think I think we could probably let it go, because I do think Conflagration is so much better. But the way he's just like, hey, Sam, can I show you something? And it's like this spotlight set, like this pop star shows up and it's all these dollvid like danceing.

He's like, what the fuck is? That sold me on the game, honest.

But the thing is, it's it's like even better than that because it's not like it prompts you for that moment. It's just like when you go back and he usually has like six or seven Fuck, I didn't mean to do that. You know, he'll have a bunch of things to say, and one of them is just like, oh, I saw you have a Horizon Dreamer on your bipod whatever. It's like, oh, that's one of my favorite songs. And that's when you have that moment of like hang on, okay,

It's great moment.

The conflagration is incredible choreography.

Yeaheah amazing. You can like change the lighting of the scene and like.

Yeah, you spend the camera and you see Sam just like yeah, it's.

Like, hey, why'd you spend so much time on this? I'm not mad confused. I just want to quickly bring up and Roger and I think we should cut it because these are all just like gigantic, huge moments, but this specific moment is getting married and living life with Roger. Dan, You're the only one that's play this. So the main player character, her father suffers from dementia. Then it's very apparent that she may also be suffering from dementia as well.

But it is very sweet too that like you do see like okay, well you see her face kind of age, and you realize that you are like an old couple now looking back on these things, and you know realizing that she's been struggling with this, you know, from a young age, and Roger being like, oh, here's our wedding picture and I remember, you know, you were so worried about remembering the bows and everything. We had to practice

Ye.

Hey, lots of games about grief this year. Huh yeah, it's not like maybe we're all collectively going through something. Maybe tell me about King Carol. That was such a great review.

So I almost like I want to see, like how much of this sequence guys stregat on the list, because like, really it's like k roll through the End is what I would want to talk about here. The reveal of Donkey Kong Bonanza. They came up with this new group, the New Kongs, you know, the Void Company and Shitheads.

They're great, you know, I love them, but they're just little shitheads.

Yeah kind of, they're they're kind of a little stinkery, especially the main guy. But the reveal is that, like, you know, the mcguffe you're trying to get to is it the.

Thing the Gold Finals?

Yeah, but but you're trying to get to like the Golden Banana or whatever banandium rude thank you, and you get to it and you're like, oh, well, this is it, this is the thing.

This looks a little weird. What is this?

And then like you bust it open and it's King k Rule's belly and he pops out and it's like, oh, it was me the whole time.

And at first I'm like, well, this is weird. Why did they do that?

And then you realize everything up until then was because of k Rule one of his like failed plans. Then you know his failed schemes, and that's why everyone's in this situation. It all comes together and then it culminates and you going to like New Donk City and so it ties into Odyssey while also you know, tying it into Donkey Kong Country and everything like that. It is kind of the developers sort of winking eyeing of like, now you thought we were going to get rid of

People with the new art style and gameplay and everything. It's like the look of k Rules.

Like it's funny because like when you're like playing the game, even when that first show happened, there's some people are like, why do skeletons kind of look like crocodiles? And you kind of talk yourself out of it as you're playing the game because there's not that much does show up is this awesome surprise. What I'm about too is, you know, the boss fights in that game up to that point, they're all kind of easy and they're very short. That King k Rule boss fight, like both versions of it,

It's also like there's incredible spectacle throughout this whole shit

It all hits and you see that or hear that in the music, which is you know a little bit of like remixing some old tracks and some new music as well. It really feels like bringing the new and the old together the.

Best music of the year.

Chuck.

Yeah, right, what's happening in that one phase the boss fight? Isn't it like a pillar of bananas or something shooting up and you're fighting or something like that.

That's how you get to Yeah, that's how you get to Newtong City.

Yeah, well our wishes to get to the top and to have a bunch of bananas, so you just get a drill of bananas drilling you up to the surface.

Very cool.

It's great set pieces in those files. I was like getting to the what I thought was the end. I was like, oh, like this is kind of kind of like drab or whatever, and then he appears that whole final sequences like the yeah, phenomenal.

Yeah, I do you know, I know I've said some crap atrop for I do really like that moment when you go.

To volt Forge for the first time. Yeah, really cool area.

Do you think it hangs down?

I think I think It's one of the more notable parts of that game, but it's also not my favorite moment in that game, as much as I love it feels like a very Metroid prime moment of going you know, entering in and going up an elevator and this driving guitar, this gretty heavy guitar is playing it. It's like, oh, this almost feels heavier than they've already gone before, and you know, it leads up to getting viola and everything.

The tension and the unease, the very like dread of it all, you know, the the Metroid fusion scary parts, bringing that into prime the way that they have in the past before, and then like went on thoughts, guess what, everything comes to life and you're in the middle of it now you gotta fight your way out. I mean, that's an even better moment. I don't think either one makes it.

None of it sounds disappointing, though.

Weird this guy. So I've cut that ge. We still have a lot. I've moved everything to the tippy top of the list.

There's a couple I haven't even talked about we talk about ed come with a Spear, talk about it from the list kind is so fucking cool to documentary not game playing matter.

We need to point out. It's just like to me, like I know, like I'm not like some evil level competitive fighting guy, but like moral combat to me is like the king of you know, fighting series. And like, if there is one iconic move in the history of that series, and I would say fighting games in general, scorpion spear, right, that is one that is like transcended you know, fighting games or even video games. People that don't play video games know about get over here and

Old at booon bee. Oh you know what would be fucking sweet?

What if you have like a spear and like seeing him mind to like get throw it down and like pull it back and just seeing that moment caught on tape and then released publicly all these years later. To me, that was just like, holy shit, I can't believe this footage exists. I'm so glad this got out. Probably not gonna hang with the others, but like, oh, that was so awesome. That's maybe like my favorite piece of like video game behind the scenes documentary footage I've ever seen.

I do very much get what you're saying. I think I'm kind of witch chucked, though, like in my head at least, that's like the best moment of nineteen ninety is kind of like.

How, no, I know what you're trying to say.

I get what you're saying, but no, that's not how I felt when that. When I experienced it, it felt it it connected me back to the nineteen nineties. But to see it today and something I had never seen before, this is magic.

It was magic.

It was Oh my god, I can't believe that in twenty twenty five we get to see this moment happen with all of the context of all the time that has passed since then, and how timeless and important that move and that these games have become.

It is, it's transceiding.

And if you're more talking about like the experience of witnessing this eavelement, yeah, I get what you Yeah.

And it was the build up because I would imagine most people watch all this documentary stuff in the kind of the linear you know, timeline and seeing the elements that made Mortal Combat Mortal Combat like fall into place. Like at first like, okay, we got these cool characters. Oh we're doing these digitized actors. Oh what if we did fatalities were at the end you could just like kill them with the cool thing. And then midway said, yeah,

As as a parlay if you will, I added scorpions spear presents best moment or sequts. Okay, all right, I can accept this, all right, so thank you, Ed Boone.

I think you can cut Rainbow Road as well, because I just think Donkey Kong has the better Nintendo, asked Nintendo Moment.

Yeah, we haven't talked about keep up yet. I think we should keep cutting a couple things, Mike. For as much as I like Silent Hill F I think it is on my top ten, I think compared to some of this other stuff, we could cut. Okay, uh, may remaining here.

I stand by cutting the double Jump. I know it's good, it's it's one of the best one of those. But I do think it's a similar feeling that a lot of games, and I do still I do I prefer the Prince of Persia one over the.

Okay, all right, cutting that?

Can we can we expand the Donkey Kongman to just be like the ending and people that I mean, it's everything that we talked about.

I mean, but King k Role is part of the ending, I know, but.

I just want to be like when we're shouting out very specifically, we mean, like the ending sequence of bonanza.

Yeah, keep king.

Maybe yeah, keep King King.

There's somewhere King k Rule presents the King k Rule ending sequence. Okay, it works, all right? At talk about keep up? Yeah.

Yeah, So we've mentioned.

Before Chase is a very important member in dispatch, specifically in Robert's life older brother figure hadn't seen each other in a while because of just the way Robert's life went, and then chase his life as a superhero, not quite panning out the way he did because he didn't realize his super speed also dramatically aged him so to in an order in order to preserve his own lifespan, he had to retire from being a superhero. And then in a very tense sequence.

The superherome was track Star Star speed Star, one of the stars Stars.

And then to get the what is it called the the energy the pulse, in Visigal kind of goes a wall and decides to infiltrate uh shroud warehouse. It wasn't a Shroud's warehouse. It was a warehouse where it was at the time. But like all right, the people who got.

After the explosion of them game.

Yeh, infiltrate that in order to help Robert out. It's later revealed some other ulterior motives, but that's besides the point. And at this point, depending on how you play the game, I guess it doesn't matter. But in Visigal and Robert have developed a kinship and for some people maybe a little bit more but obviously there's that care with Robert and in Visigal, and because in Visigal's powers is that she just turns invisible, not a lot of offense in

Warning Robert about ins Yes, because he does not like her. He is very critical.

Yes, Yes, he is that friend that will he think he thinks she has the maturity of a sixteen year old.

Yes, and he is right, he's not wrong. But he's just like, hey, this bad egg. Yes, fuck her, I want you to stay away from her.

Yes, he is that friend. He is that homie that tells you get your head out of your ass, look look around, because this person is not good for you.

Dog.

But Robert just so in his own head for whatever purposes. So as a player, we all think in Visaguel is screwed in this moment, Croud is going to get her, either kill her or take her as a hostage. And then you just look to your side, as Robert, you look away from the monitor and you just hear Chase say keep up yep, and he's in his like pose as track Star before away and then he just speeds away.

It's it's it's the whole thing with Chase's character of like he is modeling the behavior of I'm gonna be honest about my opinion about these people. I'm gonna tell you when someone sucks, if they suck, and I'm not gonna hold back ever, and I'm gonna I'm gonna also I'm gonna be capable of holding these feelings. And then when the time comes when they're in trouble, who gives a shit about any of that.

I'm a superhero. I'm gonna do the right thing.

Yes, And it's like, oh, that these are the things that Robert will have to continue to struggle with and has struggled with, and it's maybe failed a couple of times as you as you've made these choices in the story, and it kind of it's like a reminder of like you you can hold these opposing ideas, but at the end of the day, what are you?

Are you a hero?

Then do the right thing when we're faced with that in that moment, it's really good and like I was like, as it was happening, I'm predicting, like he's probably gonna go do this. And the reason that like, when it happens, it's not like oh I predicted that. What Oh they ruined the twist. It's like, no, thematically, it was the right choice for the story. And it's a hit even harder because I'm like, Okay, they get what they're doing here. They really understand how to write these characters.

And like I love Robert's dialogue there at the animals, just like, oh fuck oshit, where are my keys? I gotta go yeah and check in on him. It's the moment so I binge played all of Dispatch after every episode was out. It's the moment that made me say, I wish I would have done Sweet to Week because they leave you on a cliffhanger with that. That was the end of that week's episodes, Like you do find

I mean, we can make a whole moment of sequence out of this with his return, Yeah, I mean because that that's completing that sequence that.

I mean with him and Bond Blazer and like how that yeah.

Cheap in the near death at all for you though, I don't know, so, I don't think so.

Yeah, I don't think so, because it's also there's also sacrifice there. Blonde Blazer is giving her power as a super it's not like the next first and seconds him, and it's like that she does.

Expect to get it back, at least in my playthrough.

They're going to figure it out, right, Well, well, yeah, Well what she's saying is like, because I think there's sort of the vibe of this is maybe even only temporary. We'll see what happens. I think if there is a dispatch, that's probably what they'll get into. Yeah, season two. But it's just the fact that's like everyone is giving up something because they want to make the people in their lives they really respect. Yeah, they want to keep everyone happy and keep the team together.

So I assume you don't want to bold that one.

I don't disagree. I feel like if that was on a TV show, everybody would have been talking about it. Also, Jeffrey Wright's performance like across the Board specifically that like wow, maybe bold the Kayla one as our yeah Maybematically they're almost the same.

How many do we have to cut?

At this point, I'm pretty serious about getting Mommy on there into the top three.

You sell me, I'll back you up on this.

So it's like a question, So you finished the Man Breaker and that's this whole ordeal, and then does it give you a moment till you said there's like she puts you on top of another cliff, right, does it give you a moment where you think like, oh fuck, now I have to do this?

Or is it just kind of like a cut scene.

So it's like when you get up there, first you talk to the guy who built the stairs and then says like basically like you you won't be able to do the Man Breaker, just take the stairs and you

Yeah.

So, like I guess just to understand the moment more like, is there a moment where you think you're going to have to do something and then she helps you.

No, it's not about that, No, No, it's it's about like I mean, she does help you get up a cliff you would be able to up otherwise. Like it's presented as like this kind of rock face, but it's really just like I've rejected help so much up to this point. I see, and the character has done it as well. I'm doing it when I did The Man Breaker. The character Nate every situation is and he's surrounded by

I am not.

I understand what you need. I understand how alone you feel, and I'm going to just give you what you need right now, and then I'm gonna set you down and let you go. And it's it's it's again very powerful, and I think that is eventually what gives him the confidence of like, oh, I do have some value. When he goes up to the door and finally asks, hey, can I come inside?

I'm cold?

Can I come sit by your fire? That like that hits the even harder because of.

That, He's like, can I use your toilet? Yeah? Your toilet?

He has to the whole.

I am wondering, actually if the Kayla Art Greaters thing hangs with some of these other moments.

I mean, so it's so good, but yeah, I'm I'm trying to get both these on. So yeah, here's what we.

Do, Kayla.

Yeah, okay, we're doing good workouts out. Kayla shouts out to Kayla. What a wild card? Huh oh yeah yeah, yeah, weirder than Dan wo Yeah I said.

It, weirder than Mintion not weird.

I don't know King k rules whole ending sequence.

Well, I see this is probably my favorite one on here, and I'm like, I'm weird because I don't think I can sell it as well as I can say it was really cool and fun.

I mean I would, I would keep it on there, but I think that you're right about some of these other ones.

Oh no, that's my second favorite as well, So like I'm behind this one as well.

I'd i'd rather than the versal versus myl fight, which is the other one like I could speak to, but I love that. I think Expedition thirty three is kind of just riding moment to moment to moments, so even that one doesn't necessarily hang out insanely. I just kind of think of that game as.

Right, Yeah, when I think of Sorry Chuck, when I think of like Expedition thirty three, like it still kind of is hard to think about like a specific moment, and like this was a struggle to just pick this moment in itself because like we don't even start with this, right,

Guy, we don't have the best narrative or story or whatever character or category if we did this year, do you guys think Expedition thirty, Oh my god, yeah it did.

It was a mirror in that.

It's right when I ever give a shit about a very fantastical jail. Some of the story, like a moment.

Ago, remember the story.

I liked the character. I think it was a fact.

I mean story like one of my favorite maybe my favorite god well like French people. Honestly, the fact that it made me care about that and love this game. I cannot believe.

Fantasy.

I was going to bring up about k Rule if I have a critique there. I think that sequence goes on a little too long.

It's long.

It's fun though, and it does escalate.

I think it's better than it like honestly going too short, and a lot of times that's better because you like leave one and more and stuff. But in this case, it's like I didn't think they were going to do it, and then they did it, and I wanted to spend as much time in there as possible, like with all these things, but I mean, you're not You're also not wrong.

I do think though, that they just they stuck the landing like they did Donkey Bonanza is basically a playable Pixar movie the way that the characters interact, and I think they earn that ending sequence. I think that it is that big culmination. You know, there's almost like a musical moment stuff because this music music themed, and I just think every part of it is very fun.

So it sounds like R three maybe Mommy baby steps King Kroll ending sequence and then keep up.

I would say, Okay, out of the three that are kind of on the possible chopping block here Destraining two, Claire Obscure, and King Carol, I have played and loved all three of those games, I do love that conflagration sequence a ton. I mean it is kind of like everything I love about Kajima distilled into one kind of short chapter. Looking at this thing kind of like jaw on the floor, It's like, oh, this is the coolest thing I've ever seen in a video game.

That scene is the game I want death Stranding two to be like I want, I want that that scene is like Middle Gear at its coolest. It is, it is Kajima at his best boy. I mean, it's the best sequence in both dest Training games by a mile.

I think I'll just toss my opinion on it out there, though you guys haven't sold me on it in the way that the Mommy sequence and Baby Steps sold me on.

I think the thing is more than anything else. This needs to kind of be seen and heard, like the Mommy thing is a story based on conceptual and and and then the message of it. This is purely audio visual, tone vibe.

And you're not You're still not selling me on it.

When I saw it, I was I did like get it and was into it. But it's like, is it is it?

It's is it just a spectacle? Like I'm not that, yeah, just spectacles dismissive? Is it the spectacle which did blow me away? And then the tone was there so well?

I mean I didn't even know how to check it's not just ado, you know. My My question is for the bonanza folks, does the King k Rule ending sequence? Does that really only play if you're super familiar with everything versus conflagration, which could be I don't know, but I don't care.

The thing is like, oh, people who are only into Nintendo. That's hundreds of millions of people on Earth.

But also I'm a huge Nintendo guy and nostalgia for Donkey Haong and everything. I would definitely take de Tranding over the KK roll thing.

We could split the difference, eliminate them both and put the French people in. I actually like that, and I like both of those. But and I was fighting for conflagration, but I think that's a fair I cut chucks French. M Nope, German. Have we have we shot down Dan a lot during Game of the Year? My question, two, Yes, we have. I thought about that too.

Part of me is like, maybe I need a left Dan, get one.

You know what, Dan, I'll erase both of these people. Who oh that too much between the two. You can't kill I know what not happening.

I'm I can't be ridiculous.

I mean probably not hanging around.

It's it's the one I would cut right now.

I would kind of to a revoir. Hey, that's what the French say, Yeah, still need one more here?

That's rough, that's rough, And to reiterate just and I realize I'm alone on baby steps now, and I appreciate everyone said I want a lot of you over, but I want to like it's like a top two sort of like most impactful moment in game for me. It's the only really other time I've felt that way is uh Octo Dead and the time when I was thinking about becoming a dad and feeling like an imposter and.

Stuff like that. It's like, oh, that great. That's affected me to this day. This will be something I carry with me for no. The way you talked about it, Grub is like, you know, I feel like you and I are like cut from similar cloths. And then sometimes for someone to you just extend a level of generosity, no questions asked, is like get more. It's so human, like everyone just wants to go back to the mother, right.