Turns out the reports of its death weren’t exaggerated, as the ESA announced that E3 2023 was officially canceled mere minutes after we stopped our original podcast recording. Rob and Cado are flying solo this episode and certainly thought it was gonna be a short one, but it seems that the Five Star Runtimes ethos has a full grasp on both of them. Cado’s been living their best hacker life in DROP - System Breach, a fast paced puzzle game that manages to get stellar “hacker feel” out of a control...
Mar 31, 2023•2 hr 43 min
Rob's back from his vacation, and he returns a changed man. He's taken advantage of his position as King of Executive Function to make some Extremely Key Hardware Upgrades while no one was around to judge him. Ren checked out the City Enviroment builder Terra Nil where you're tasked with reversing the effects of climate collapse. After the break, Patrick's checking in with T'chia, an indie Breath-of-the-Wild-like with a really interesting possession mechanic, and Rob's continued to be on one in ...
Mar 28, 2023•1 hr 42 min
Counter Strike 2 is real, proving that Valve can at least count to 2. Patrick has a delightful interview with lead Storyteller developer Daniel Benmergui, then Ren finally lets the rest of the Waypoint crew know what Redfall is like to play. Then we take a quick dip in the bucket and learn that most of today's crew is clumsy as hell. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 24, 2023•2 hr 23 min
Cado’s back from moving hell, with a broken phone and sore arms. We also take a moment to remember Lance Reddick. who passed last week, and his roles in TV and games that touched us. Then, Ren and Patrick recount their time with the beta for Exoprimal , where you don an exosuit and kill a crapload of dinosaurs. Oh, and Patrick’s been click-click-clicking around the Diablo IV beta, as well. Finally, we check in with the latest game to hurt Ren’s brain, Post Void , a lil’ Destiny 2 , and Bayonetta...
Mar 21, 2023•1 hr 56 min
Rob and Patrick are joined by Phoenix Labs' Bob Colayco to discuss Lakers fandom vs. Bulls fandom, the Bubble Championship, the Bulls late-season run for the playoffs, and of course, the latest instalment of the Green Bay Packers' performance of Hamlet, starring Aaron Rodgers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Mar 20, 2023•1 hr 52 min
Rob has a bad case of senioritis as he hosts one last podcast before his vacation. He's got big plans for this break, such as getting caught up on Resident Evil 2 and 3 so that he can fully appreciate the masterpiece Patrick describes now that he has played more of the remake. Ren discusses what happened with Bleak Faith's stolen Elden Ring animations. The gang talks about level design signposting, asset rips, platform capitalism, and of course, Rob's exposure to Roblox. Hosted on Acast. See aca...
Mar 17, 2023•1 hr 58 min
My Turn returns to the well of beautifully shot, dreamlike psychological horror with Robert Egger's The Lighthouse . The film follows two lighthouse keepers, played by Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe, as they descend into madness while tending a remote lighthouse. The film, and our hosts, ponder the role of masculinity, labor, and eldritch horror in The Lighthouse 's nuanced depiction of the two worst men you can imagine. Following a brief question bucket, Cado picks our next movie, and Patric...
Mar 15, 2023•1 hr 51 min
Rob, Ren, and Patrick discuss the season finale of The Last of Us and unpack the rushed feeling that characterized the second half of the season. But first, Patrick has gone back to Resident Evil 4 and could not be happier to be back there. Plus, Rob discusses arctic survival game The Pale Beyond and Ren discusses action roguelike Mortal Sin, which has terrific art and a great feel to its combat. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Mar 14, 2023•1 hr 37 min
Patrick has been lured back into the deep embrace of Destiny 2 , and in true Destiny fashion, has become one with the cheese. We wrap up our coverage of the Lightfall campaign and discuss difficulty spikes, community expectations, and where Patrick might swing to next on his Destiny journey. But first, Ren’s bringing us a new take on Sekiro-like combat with Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty . Then Patrick checks in on Dead Cell ’s new Castlevania DLC. After the break, Rob’s curious about some of the annou...
Mar 10, 2023•2 hr 6 min
With Rob still out, Patrick and Ren discuss the latest episode of The Last of Us , and whether the level-like structure of the adaptation, nearing its finale, is causing problems. Elsewhere, Cado's played King of the Castle , a new party game that pits your friends against each other for some goofy Game of Thrones-style machinations, and Ren explains a very weird Olympics “esport” situation. Before a big dip into The Question Bucket, Patrick and Cado briefly swing back into the later half of Des...
Mar 07, 2023•1 hr 44 min
A new Destiny expansion means our resident Destiny “expert” (aka Cado) is unleashed, but wait…is that a grappling hook? (Patrick’s been playing it, too.) But first, Ren’s checking out a tactical roguelike called The Last Spell , where you defend a town trying to cast the, uh, last spell. After the break, we wade into the JRPG discourse, and Patrick has beaten Hi-Fi Rush and embraced Zwan. Then, we head into the question bucket to decide if a listener will become more like Rob (computer in living...
Mar 03, 2023•2 hr 9 min
It’s a big week for Waypoint, with two games primed to be favorites. The mech-centric Phantom Brigade is dropping, so Ren checked in with the latest early access build before 1.0. Patrick’s played a bit of Kirby’s Return to Dreamland Deluxe …and yep, it’s a Kirby game! Cado’s shuffling cards and playing poker in Aces and Adventures , where the Aces (game mechanics) are neat, but the Adventures leave much to be desired. Then, the crew talks about the last two episodes of The Last of Us , and spec...
Feb 28, 2023•2 hr 33 min
With the Super Bowl in the rearview mirror (sorry, Austin!), Rob and Patrick turn towards the next great sporting event: the XFL! It’s mostly an excuse to talk about surprisingly controversial beer snakes, before discussing sports’ relationship with long COVID, confusing Manchester City with Manchester United, and ponder several listener questions, including the whether a former Columbus Blue Jacket mascot, Boomer, looks too much like a penis. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more info...
Feb 25, 2023•1 hr 52 min
A specter is haunting Waypoint Radio—the specter of BioShock Infinite . That game’s influences are all over Atomic Heart , whose Russian origins (and sex robots) are its own discourse. After the break, we touch base on the ongoing Activision Blizzard acquisition, and the surprising raises across some of Japan’s larger gaming companies. Elsewhere, Rob’s reviewed Company of Heroes 3 , and Patrick is happy to report Metroid Prime still whips. Then, a developer writes in to clear up why a studio wou...
Feb 24, 2023•2 hr 13 min
Happy new VR headset to all who celebrate, though mostly Patrick, who’s reviewed Sony’s PlayStation VR2. Elsewhere, Rob’s murdering and tending gardens in Like a Dragon: Ishin , Ren’s checking back in with the perhaps too brutal Darkest Dungeon 2 , and all of us were happy for the big boy to show up in the latest episode of The Last of Us . Before we jet, Patrick weighs in on beating Dead Space , and we revisit pranks in The Question Bucket. Discussed: PSVR 2 1:39, Like a Dragon: Ishin! 31:26, D...
Feb 16, 2023•2 hr 1 min
Patrick’s gone, time for 5-star runtimes about tactics, cover and concealment mechanics, and a game taking up Rob’s time, Broken Arrow . Then, Cado and Ren are having the cyber-noir time of their lives Shadows of Doubt , a detective game mashing up procedural generation with voxels. Later, Rob and Patrick have a joint conversation with the creative directors of the original Dead Space and its new remake. After the break, Ren takes us to the magical world of Wild Hearts , Koei-Tecmo’s attempt at ...
Feb 14, 2023•3 hr 9 min
Austin Walker joins Rob and Patrick to preview the upcoming Super Bowl and the ways it could go catastrophically wrong for Austin, ponder how many buffalo wings are too many buffalo wings, and discover Austin’s history with the Eagles is more complicated than family. And because we can’t help ourselves, we end up chatting a bit about the recent media layoffs, Waypoint+, and Waypoint’s Ongoing Game of the Year, Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 11, 2023•1 hr 19 min
A Nintendo Direct made just for us?! Beyond a lengthy breakdown of the new Zelda trailer, we talk at length about the coverage of Hogwarts Legacy and the notion of accountability. After the break, Rob’s spending his “bachelor” time catching up on The Last of Us , so we spoil the first four episodes, discussing violence as storytelling and the endless delight of Pedro Pascal. Finally, a quick lightning round of our favorite Steam Next Fest games! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more in...
Feb 10, 2023•2 hr 20 min
My Turn has proved unpredictable, so it’s only natural that Patrick ended this cycle on The Green Knight, the 2021 film starring Dev Patel as pre-knighthood Gawain of the mythical roundtable of Camelot. The Green Knight is rife with actions turned into symbolism, otherworldly visuals, and a sense that magic and nature are one in the same. And ext time, it’s YOUR turn. Stay tuned for a poll! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Feb 08, 2023•1 hr 34 min
Rob’s parking garage is falling apart thanks to a cold snap, but still found another way to experience weather in Against the Storm , a roguelite city builder with beaver people. Ren’s checked out Your Only Move is Hustle , a turn-based fighting game that plays like an old stickfight animation, and Patrick’s bopping beats in Rhythm Sprout. Naturally, Rob’s found yet another way to talk tanks, thanks to The Great War: Western Front. After the break, we take a dive into the question bucket to talk...
Feb 07, 2023•2 hr 14 min
E3 is apparently happening, but some of the biggest companies aren’t attending, an unannounced Titanfall game got canceled, and 343 Industries is apparently starting from scratch. But don’t worry, we cut through the doom and gloom to bring you a special interview with John Johanas, director of the colorful upbeat rhythm action game Hi Fi Rush , about making music games and how Zwan (??) ended up on the soundtrack. After the break, Ren is checking out Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder , Rob’s back on...
Feb 03, 2023•2 hr 12 min
Winter’s usually slow, but not now—we’ve got games! Ren’s checking out Freelancer , a chaotic roguelike mode added to the Hitman world, and Rob is returning to his established love of tall ships with Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts . Cado’s checked out a preview for the Like a Dragon: Ishin remake and might just need to play the rest of the Yakuza games. After the break, Patrick dives into the latest, surprisingly divergent episode of The Last of Us , and Cado’s playing A Space for the Unbound , ...
Jan 31, 2023•2 hr 3 min
Today’s episode is extra meaty, in more ways than one, with Rob and Patrick discussing how good it feels to turn a space zombie into chunks in the Dead Space remake. Then, Ren has stories from the end of the world in Season , an emotional game about memories. Later, we reflect on the Xbox Developer Direct, which gave us new looks at Redfall , and dropped Patrick’s early GOTY contender, Hi-Fi Rush . Then, we dip in the bucket and consider what a Patrick/Rivers Cuomo interview would be like. Discu...
Jan 27, 2023•2 hr 51 min
Rob’s got contractors coming, and we discuss solutions for his too-much-everything problem. Patrick’s finished A Plague Tale: Requiem, and what starts as a wrap up delves into needing to spoil the ending in every way possible. Then, we have a special interview from Patrick, where he talked to several devs behind the Dead Space remake about their history with horror and what defines “violence” in Dead Space. After the break, we dive into the question bucket to figure out what each person’s magica...
Jan 24, 2023•2 hr 19 min
The Bears are not back—they’re actually eliminated from the playoffs and have the first pick in the draft. But Rob, Patrick, and the Sports! podcast have returned with the NFL playoffs in full swing to discuss the tragedy of Damar Hamlin, what we misunderstand about football’s relationship to violence, the joy of watching aging men fail to be elite athletes, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 21, 2023•2 hr 12 min
Another round of layoffs has hit tech and gaming companies, the largest being Microsoft firing 10,000 employees this week. We discuss the cycles of yearly cuts in both games and tech and the underlying systems and practices that fuel the seemingly unending churn of labor being undervalued and peoples lives being upended. After the break, Rob’s disappointed to find that life on the high seas is a bit too monotonous in Sailing Era, we briefly tip our hats to the end of Stadia, and answer the quest...
Jan 20, 2023•2 hr 17 min
Waypoint is going back to the fridge for more olive, and in this case olives are minutes of Andrei Tarkovsky movies! Ren's choice is Nostalghia, which has been called one of Tarkovsky's most personal films. Join us as we discuss time, memory, and the strange physics of carrying a lit candle across bodies of water. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Jan 18, 2023•1 hr 40 min
It’s 2023, which means we’re finally doing the Last Podcast of 2022! Last year, we asked listeners for Game of the Year Categories and y’all responded in droves…but our top ten list podcast went a little long. (C’mon, that never happens!) Learn which games we went goblin mode for, our favorite under 10 hours, what everyone’s favorite little guy in the margins of Pentiment was, the games we swear we’ll get back to in 2023 (but won’t), and much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
Jan 13, 2023•1 hr 55 min
This week on waypoint! Rob's back and better than ever (for now), and so of course we get to hear about how much COVID sucks. Speaking of things sucking, Ren leads us on a look at Wizards of the Coast updating their Open Gaming License, the agreement that allowed games like Pathfinder to exist when D&D 4th edition shit the bed, which Wizards is basically threatening to undo in a 1.1 update. Patrick got early access to the first episode of HBO's The Last of Us, and has the scoop on how the al...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 56 min
We’re emerging from our holiday cocoons! Join Patrick, Ren, and Cado as they talk through the holidays and the things they did (or wished they did). Then, a special interview from Rob: last time Josh Sawyer was on to talk Pentiment, Rob found out they had the same college professor. Now, we’ve invited that professor, Dr. Edmund Kern, alongside Dr. Winston Black, Josh’s classmate who consulted on Pentiment. They talk about applying their knowledge to consulting on the game, how medieval peasants ...
Jan 06, 2023•2 hr 27 min
