The Besties are back! This week they're discussing Respawn's Star Wars game, Jedi: Fallen Order, and diving into the weird world of deep cut Star Wars lore, from Yaddle to jizz (literally the official term for the genre of music in the cantina scene) . Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!...
Wondering what the best games of 2018 were? Join Justin McElroy, Griffin McElory, Chris Plante and Russ Frushtick as they venture forth and discuss the cream of the crop. Will it be the last Besties episode ever? Yes! Maybe! I don't know! We just hope you enjoy it. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!...
Hello Besties fans! First off, we love all of you! Secondly, we wanted to let you know that we'll be shifting back to just having The Besties as an end-of-year special. You can hear all about it in the episode, but this was the solution we were able to make work with everyone's schedules. While we know you'll miss hearing from us each month, know that we'll do our absolute best to make the end-of-year episode a true banger. But before that, please enjoy this episode where we discuss the very bes...
There were a ton of games trying to beat the Q1 deadline, but as The Besties soon learned, some of those titles may have needed a little more time in the oven. Or maybe they were beyond hope? Who’s to say? Not us, we have no idea. Listen, we don’t know what we’re talking about, OK? We thought you knew. Games Discussed: Deep Town, Alto’s Odyssey, Vermintide 2, FarCry 5, Ni No Kuni 2, Sea of Thieves, Fortnite Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more epi...
February is the month of love and we’ve got a crop of games that ... well, we like them. Maybe not like like them, but we regular like them a great deal. Games discussed: Lemon drinks, Almost a Hero, Monster Hunter World, Slay the Spire, Bayonetta 2, Membrane, The Fall Part 2: Unbound, Xbox One X Backwards Compatibility, Into the Breach, Owlboy. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episod...
Games discussed: Iconoclasts, SOS, Sea of Thieves, Celeste, Subnautica, Monster Hunter World, Shadow of the Colossus. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
In defiance of reason, good taste and the laws of both god and man, your pals The Besties sat down and recorded a two-hour-and-forty-five-minute battle royale to decide the best game of 2017. Get comfy, get hydrated. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!...
Since they waited so ding dang long to record their November and because December is a crummy month for releases, The Besties have combined both months into one big (OK, so it’s regular-length) episode. Enjoy! Games discussed: Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp, Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild DLC, Solitairica, Call of Duty: WW2, Star Wars: Battlefront 2, Hearthstone: Kobolds and Catacombs, Getting Over It with Bennett Foddy, Universal Paperclips, Destiny 2: Curse of Osiris, Battle Chef Brigade, E...
There may be be a bigger month for video game releases in recent memory, but we sure can’t think of one. Join us for a whirlwind tour of October 2017, capped off by an only slightly predictable finale. Games discussed: Assassin’s Creed Origins, Animal Crossing Pocket Camp, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, The Evil Within 2, Wolfenstein 2: The New Colossus, Super Mario Odyssey. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebe...
September was one of the most jam-packed months of 2017 until ... well, next month. But worry not, dear listener. The Besties are here to filter out all the disgusting chaff and leave you with a heaping plate of gaming wheat. Delicious, delicious wheat. Games discussed: SteamWorld Dig 2, Danganronpa 3, Heat Signature, Divinity: Original Sin 2, SNES Classic, Metroid: Samus Returns, Cuphead, Golf Story, Destiny 2. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want mor...
We know, we know, it’s late, and it’s really, really hard not to just talk about Destiny 2, but you know what? We don’t. Because we’re true professionals with a vague recollection of games that came out before Destiny 2. Games discussed: Everybody’s Golf, Absolver, Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, Nidhogg 2, Agents of Mayhem, Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle, Sonic Mania, Tacoma, Lone Echo. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan . Want more episodes? Join us at patreo...
It’s a hot one After a slow June, things have picked back up considerably for July. We’ve got a ton of great games to talk about and, most excitingly, one of Russ’ classic characters makes an extremely unexpected return. Games discussed: Destiny 2 Beta, Hidden My Game By Mom, Flipping Legend, Vostok Inc., Mass Effect Andromeda, Miitopia, The End is Nigh, Splatoon 2, Pyre. Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3 Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discus...
It’s gotten a little slow, but we’re still here OK, things have slowed down for game releases in June. How slow? Well, one of our games was released in May. But, we’re still here picking the best games of the month, just for you. Games discussed: Final Fantasy 14, Nier: Automata, Wolfenstein: The New Blood, Caveblazers, Cave Story +, Arms, The Surge. Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3" Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fa...
April showers bring good games We’re back with another surprisingly great month of games. This May brings us a few out-of-nowhere surprises and a couple of big releases. A happy May to us all! Games discussed: Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Card Thief, Nier Automata, The Surge, PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Injustice 2, Dead Cells, Prey. Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3" Subscribe? Sure, you can subscribe. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan ...
It’s only APRIL? Remember when good games only came out after Madden? That’s out the window. It’s been a stunner of a year already for game releases, and the streak continues in April with everything from JRPG/dating games to idle games. Join the Besties as they pick the month’s best. Games discussed: Puyo Puyo Tetris, Office Space: Idle Profits, Flinthook, Kubb, Nier: Automata, The Sexy Brutale, Persona 5, What Remains of Edith Finch, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe. Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3" ...
You probably guessed it already Just because you almost certainly know what game we picked as the best of March 2017, doesn’t mean you can’t listen and enjoy hearing about all the games that aren’t the best game of March 2017. It’s about the journey, folks. Not the destination. GAMES DISCUSSED: Mass Effect Andromeda, 1-2 Switch, Robo Recall, Nier Automata, Typeshift, Everything, Snipperclips, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3" Subscribe? Sure, you can...
At least the games have been good in 2017! Though we still don’t have a great explanation as to why, the first ever Polygon podcast has returned on a monthly basis. Join The Besties (Russ Frushtick, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy and Chris Plante) as they nonsensically attempt to pick the “best” game released in January 2017. GAMES DISCUSSED: Dandy Dungeon, Chess (again), Fire Emblem Heroes, For Honor, Nioh, Horizon: Zero Dawn Theme song by Ian Dorsch Download MP3" Subscribe? Sure, you can subs...
Yes, they’re back. OK? Though we still don’t have a great explanation as to why, the first ever Polygon podcast has returned on a monthly basis. Join The Besties (Russ Frushtick, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy and Chris Plante) as they nonsensically attempt to pick the “best” game released in January 2017. GAMES DISCUSSED: Dragon Quest Builders, Chess, Hatsune Miku: Project DIVA Future Tone, Final Fantasy XV, Gravity Rush 2, Resident Evil 7, Yakuza 0 and Astroneer. Also, the Nintendo Switch. Th...
Yes, it's true, we've returned for yet another round of nobody's favorite video game podcast, The Besties. Join your hosts Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, Russ Frushtick and Griffin McElroy as they pick the year's best game with a methodology that ranges from "non-sensical" to "utterly, destructively haphazard." Please enjoy this year's edition before The Besties are once again enveloped by fog and trapped in oblivion for 12 calendar months. 0:07 -- Honorable Mentions 0:24 -- Round 1 Hyper Light D...
Last year, we published a post called "The Final Besties Ever." We're sorry that we lied about that, but we're even sorrier for those of you who made it happen by constantly demanding that we do it. We can't imagine what dark hole is embedded in your heart that you require one of the most universally maligned video game podcasts in history in order for your year to be complete, but that's your cross to bear. True story: If Russ Frushtick's audio sounds odd during this episode, it's because he li...
This is it. The Besties have been on hiatus — which intimates a brief pause in an otherwise regular schedule, so let's call it a "temporary cancellation" — for a few months now, but we've gathered the crew back together for one last hurrah. We're going to talk about video games for a very, very long time, y'all. In this four-hour series finale, we're pitting 2014's best games against one another in unyielding combat to the death. (This isn't Polygon's official Game of the Year lineup, though — t...
It's fair to say that July 2014 will not go down as the most active month in video game history. There were so few major releases this July that we decided the best way to cope was to go into the deep, dark past. Each Bestie was asked to select one game from their childhood that they love. The rule, though, was that at least two of the remaining three Besties had to have not played that game, so some of us would be playing them with fresh eyes. It was an enlightening experience. Despite coming u...
Remember last month when a surprise cloud of quality games rained down upon us, soaking us in the joys of kart racing and nazi shooting? Those warm rains of spring have passed and what remains is the scorched, dry earth of summer. Sure, a couple of nice games appeared, like oases ready to quench our thirst. But after completing Shovel Knight and Valiant Hearts we returned to our slog, counting the days till the fall deluge. How have you been passing the summer drought? 5:00 - 1001 Spikes 22:00 -...
What a peculiar May. Typically, I think of spring as a dumping ground, the soft, warm land where publishers unceremoniously bury games that failed to meet internal creative expectations or sales projections. The past few years have changed that, partly because publishers have learned to tie a AAA game's release to the incoming hype of E3, and partly because many games are released each year that every month is all but guaranteed to have one stand out. There were a lot of games this month that de...
The ides of March were nothing compared to this! Yes, April is upon us and it seems many game companies are just holding their collective breath in order to make it all the way to May, which happens to be so packed with video games that we can't even deal. April is another story. Knowing that it was going to be a dry month, we held off on Dark Souls 2 until its far-superior PC version came out. Kinda cheating, but hey, who's counting? And besides, there are still a few legitimately April release...
I hope you enjoyed March. The month full of big game releases may be the last of its kind for the foreseeable future. Looking at the calendar, we won't see four weeks so full of hyped AAA and indie games until fall. That's why we chose to withhold Dark Souls 2 from this month's Besties. We can discuss its release on PC next month. April, after all, looks slim by comparison. Anyway, let's live in the now! This month we have four good games, a bag full of reader favorites and some big news involvi...
February came and went. The shortest month of the year was practically a wasteland in terms of major game releases. The standout AAA game, Thief, left many of us feeling robbed. And Fable's anniversary wasn't quite worth celebrating. Then again, maybe we were just looking for fun in all the wrong places. Bravely Default, The Last of Us' DLC and Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze all got lavished with praise by our reviews team. And hey, I'm always happy to shout my love for Earth Defense Force...
The Besties are back! At the end of 2013, the fate of the show was unclear. We were unsure what the podcast would look like in 2014. But after hearing positive feedback from many of our listeners, we buckled down and came up with a new format. We really like it; we hope you do, too. This year, we will record one extended episode at the end of each month, discussing the best games of the previous 30 or so days. With the new format, we can ensure all four hosts have had time to play the selected g...
In the words of 2 Unlimited, "Y'all ready for this?" The Besties return to finish the fight. Eight games emerged from last week's battle royal, but only one has the grit to claim the title of Besty. Will it be Gone Home? Or Towerfall? Or maybe Zelda? What about The Last of Us, people seemed to like that game, right? The tension is killing me and I already know who takes the title! Stay tuned. We'll notify the winner of the bracket contest shortly! Theme song by Ian Dorsch Get the show: Download ...
The time has come! Just like last year, The Besties have come together to celebrate the holidays and decide, once and for all, which game will be crowned the very best of 2013. We narrowed it down to 16 games (four of which came direct from the audience) and pit them against one another in ultimate combat. Who will win? Who will lose? Only one way to find out! (By the way, Part 2 will go live next Monday, December 30. Soon after that, we'll notify the winner of the bracket contest.) Theme song b...
