WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:11.679 Welcome back to the Game Informer Show, a weekly podcast 2 00:00:11.759 --> 00:00:15.039 covering the video game industry. Join us every Friday for 3 00:00:15.080 --> 00:00:19.280 a discussion about the latest gaming news, reviews, and exclusive reveals, 4 00:00:19.519 --> 00:00:23.359 alongside Game Informer staff and special guests from around the industry. 5 00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:26.559 I'm one of your hosts today, Alex van Aiken. Today 6 00:00:26.600 --> 00:00:30.320 I'm joined by Charles Hart. How you doing, Charles, Hello, 7 00:00:30.600 --> 00:00:34.640 I'm good. I just got my head shaved for charity. Yeah, 8 00:00:34.679 --> 00:00:37.439 you guys raised what one hundred thousand dollars one hundred 9 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:39.439 and one thousand dollars. Ever at min max, it's. 10 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:42.560 Actually one hundred and two thousand dollars. If you can play. 11 00:00:42.359 --> 00:00:44.240 Wow, it just keeps going up. 12 00:00:44.439 --> 00:00:46.039 It was, Yeah, it was pretty It was pretty crazy. 13 00:00:46.079 --> 00:00:48.920 It was pretty crazy. And at the end someone donated 14 00:00:48.960 --> 00:00:51.439 two thousand dollars for me to shave my head to 15 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:54.719 look like a monkey mask that we had named Butterman. 16 00:00:56.039 --> 00:00:57.960 Got it. That's a lot of that's a lot of 17 00:00:58.240 --> 00:00:59.079 stuff it was. 18 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:01.439 There's a lot of stream lore. You had to be 19 00:01:01.439 --> 00:01:03.719 watching the whole time to understand. But it was a 20 00:01:03.719 --> 00:01:05.879 really good bit. And then afterwards I got to shave 21 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:07.120 my head all the way so I didn't have to 22 00:01:07.120 --> 00:01:09.719 look like this weird mask the whole time, which was cool. 23 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.120 Well, I'm glad to have you here, Charles, even if 24 00:01:14.159 --> 00:01:20.560 you have no hair anymore. We're also joined by Marcus Stewart. 25 00:01:20.640 --> 00:01:21.599 How you doing, Marcus? 26 00:01:21.799 --> 00:01:23.480 I'm glad I still have my hair so that you 27 00:01:23.480 --> 00:01:24.079 still like me. 28 00:01:25.159 --> 00:01:25.400 Yeah. 29 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:28.120 I didn't realize it's how you judged people, It's how 30 00:01:28.159 --> 00:01:29.079 you picked your friends. 31 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:31.680 But you know, no, I am known to judge. Why 32 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:33.319 do you think I wear a hat every week on 33 00:01:33.319 --> 00:01:34.120 this video call? 34 00:01:34.200 --> 00:01:35.719 Okay, I thought it was like an Ello cool J 35 00:01:36.280 --> 00:01:37.760 kind of thing you always work. 36 00:01:38.319 --> 00:01:40.439 It's actually not that bad. But you know I do. 37 00:01:40.560 --> 00:01:43.280 I do. I'm a hat wearer. I collect them. I 38 00:01:43.359 --> 00:01:49.120 like them. Hey, fellow hat gang, Wesley LeBlanc, how you doing? 39 00:01:49.159 --> 00:01:52.040 Wes doing pretty good? Got a hat and a lot 40 00:01:52.040 --> 00:01:52.920 of hair, A hat. 41 00:01:54.560 --> 00:01:55.799 Best of both worlds. 42 00:01:55.840 --> 00:01:59.079 There, You're not a hatfish. 43 00:01:57.840 --> 00:02:00.799 No, no, hatfish. 44 00:02:00.920 --> 00:02:03.959 That's what they're calling it, and I don't like it. 45 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:09.479 I just want to say, let's get into the show proper. 46 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:12.199 We got weird energy this week. This is the third 47 00:02:12.199 --> 00:02:15.240 time we've recorded this intro because I'm I think we're 48 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:19.599 all on one. But yeah, it's gonna be a great episode. 49 00:02:19.639 --> 00:02:22.599 We're gonna be talking about the outer worlds too. West's 50 00:02:22.599 --> 00:02:25.560 gonna be getting into his review of that. Charles's gonna 51 00:02:25.560 --> 00:02:27.879 be talking about the first couple of episodes of Dispatch, 52 00:02:28.319 --> 00:02:32.879 which is a very cool game featuring Aaron Paul and 53 00:02:32.960 --> 00:02:36.840 a lot of other great talent. Ninja Guiding four Marcus 54 00:02:36.879 --> 00:02:39.120 is gonna be diving into, and then towards the end, 55 00:02:39.159 --> 00:02:41.639 I will get into some of my impressions from the 56 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:44.800 first season of Battlefield six. I got a preview event 57 00:02:44.800 --> 00:02:48.199 that I went to last night actually and played two 58 00:02:48.319 --> 00:02:51.280 new maps that I really enjoyed, and got some hands 59 00:02:51.319 --> 00:02:54.759 on with a new weapon. And then after that, after 60 00:02:54.840 --> 00:02:56.759 all of that, we're gonna be wrapping up the show. 61 00:02:57.319 --> 00:03:02.400 Charles interviewed Samantha bay Art and they play Carlock from 62 00:03:02.520 --> 00:03:05.479 Balder's Gate three, so you should definitely stay tuned. They 63 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:07.800 also play a character and Dispatch, is that correct? 64 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:10.759 You know they play Cider in Absolum, so they play 65 00:03:10.800 --> 00:03:12.080 one absolute character. 66 00:03:12.199 --> 00:03:12.919 I apologize. 67 00:03:13.560 --> 00:03:16.960 I apologize, honestly, no one knowing them, knowing how these 68 00:03:17.039 --> 00:03:19.280 voice actors get around, I wouldn't be surprised if they 69 00:03:19.360 --> 00:03:21.240 also have some kind of role of Dispatch or. 70 00:03:21.719 --> 00:03:24.199 Yeah, yeah, I feel like, you know, when you get 71 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:27.199 to the caliber of Samantha bay Art and like the 72 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:29.960 ben Stars and all those folks, I'm like, oh, I 73 00:03:30.000 --> 00:03:31.479 just expect you to be in every new game that 74 00:03:31.479 --> 00:03:33.639 we're talking about on the show this week. So my 75 00:03:33.759 --> 00:03:37.400 my mistake. But Absolum, that's a that's a game I 76 00:03:37.400 --> 00:03:39.240 still need to get to before an inter of your talks. 77 00:03:39.400 --> 00:03:44.199 Freaking It's freaking good. That's my review out of ten freak. 78 00:03:45.719 --> 00:03:49.000 Fan. If you're a fan of Absolom or Balder's Gate three, 79 00:03:49.439 --> 00:03:52.280 I think you'll really enjoy this conversation with Samantha bay Art. 80 00:03:52.400 --> 00:03:56.599 That car that Charles had, it's called you Carl's Heart. 81 00:03:57.120 --> 00:03:58.240 WHOA No, I like that? 82 00:03:59.159 --> 00:04:02.599 Yeah yeah, the shaved head version of Yes this is. 83 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:05.560 My new yeah uh. 84 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.840 And before we dive into the show proper, I just 85 00:04:07.840 --> 00:04:11.159 did want to give a shout out to a good 86 00:04:11.159 --> 00:04:16.399 friend of ours and former graphic designer Jen She runs 87 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:22.759 a handmade dice jewelry company called Yannier Uh, and she 88 00:04:23.079 --> 00:04:28.959 just launched a modular RPG dice jewelry set on Kickstarter. 89 00:04:29.160 --> 00:04:32.560 It's called the Monolith Collection. The whole idea is that 90 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:34.680 you know her jewelry for a long time, has had 91 00:04:34.720 --> 00:04:37.879 a lot of demand, just kind of really ramping up 92 00:04:37.920 --> 00:04:40.519 to be able to meet demand finally in a like 93 00:04:40.680 --> 00:04:43.639 really big way. And then also, uh, there's like really 94 00:04:43.680 --> 00:04:49.680 cool earrings and dice chain necklaces. Actually have in my 95 00:04:51.759 --> 00:04:53.879 my drawer. I have an older set. This isn't what's 96 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:56.480 on Kickstarter, but just to say show you that I 97 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:02.920 am a fan. She makes these beautiful Oh yeah, that's it. 98 00:05:03.240 --> 00:05:07.120 Yeah for audio listeners, like a gold chain with was 99 00:05:07.120 --> 00:05:08.439 like green green dice. 100 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.839 Yeah, pinky green greens. Yeah, like kind of a lavender 101 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:14.519 at green. Anyways, I've been a fan for a while. 102 00:05:14.560 --> 00:05:19.079 We're friends. Big disclaimer, she used to work here. Big disclaimer. 103 00:05:19.399 --> 00:05:22.800 But if you're interested in modular dice jewelry should go 104 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.720 check out the kickstarter. She blew through her goal. I 105 00:05:25.759 --> 00:05:31.519 think she's at like sixteen hundred percent over over her 106 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:34.120 her starting goal, and there's a bunch of really cool 107 00:05:34.120 --> 00:05:37.279 stretch goals, so like it's a very popular and you 108 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:38.680 know six I also, do. 109 00:05:38.720 --> 00:05:42.439 You mean sixteen hundred percent? That's the right number? Yeah, 110 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:45.920 sixteen times that that's crazy. Shout out. 111 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:48.680 That's so much. 112 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.720 I actually worked on this Kickstarter. I've been working with 113 00:05:53.560 --> 00:05:56.639 jen for a few months now on photography and videography 114 00:05:56.720 --> 00:05:59.160 that you see as part of like the big rollout, 115 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.680 So yeah, go check it out. If anything, if you 116 00:06:02.800 --> 00:06:06.480 maybe you know RPG, dice jewelry, don't your thing, should 117 00:06:06.480 --> 00:06:08.920 go check it out, look at my cool photos and 118 00:06:08.920 --> 00:06:10.759 then share it with a friend who might be interested. 119 00:06:11.879 --> 00:06:14.800 But yeah, check it out. The Monolith collection on Kickstarter 120 00:06:15.720 --> 00:06:20.680 by Yanier. That's why a ni are really cool stuff. 121 00:06:20.680 --> 00:06:27.240 There's earrings, eyeglass jewelry like glasses, chains and necklaces, and 122 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:30.399 they're all swappable so you don't have to keep rebuying 123 00:06:31.480 --> 00:06:33.879 different chains and stuff. You can actually just change out 124 00:06:33.920 --> 00:06:37.560 the pendent, which is really cool. So yeah, go check 125 00:06:37.600 --> 00:06:39.600 that out. I wanted to shout that out. There'll be 126 00:06:39.639 --> 00:06:43.079 a link in the in the podcast description if you 127 00:06:43.120 --> 00:06:44.800 want to quick an easy way to go do that. 128 00:06:45.560 --> 00:06:48.000 But all that out of the way, let's get into 129 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:51.839 the show proper. Wes gonna kick it off with you 130 00:06:52.680 --> 00:06:57.000 diving into the outer worlds too. I have played probably 131 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:00.720 five hours and I'm really enjoying it. You have beaten 132 00:07:00.759 --> 00:07:05.040 the game, however, yes, what did you think I gave? 133 00:07:05.319 --> 00:07:07.319 I'll just do my score right off the top, I 134 00:07:07.360 --> 00:07:09.680 gave it an eight point seventy five out of ten, 135 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.000 which is a very good score, one of my highest 136 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.279 scores of the year. I'm gonna read the first paragraph 137 00:07:15.399 --> 00:07:17.160 of my review because there's a lot to talk about 138 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:19.600 in this game. It's a you know, it's a traditional 139 00:07:19.600 --> 00:07:21.959 Western RPG, but I feel like my first paragraph kind 140 00:07:21.959 --> 00:07:24.040 of sets the tone for where I'm going when I 141 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:24.839 talk about this game. 142 00:07:25.319 --> 00:07:27.079 Yeah, he thought he thought he cooked on that intro. 143 00:07:28.000 --> 00:07:31.800 Actually, that was the editing note that I left him. 144 00:07:32.279 --> 00:07:33.519 Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah. 145 00:07:34.639 --> 00:07:34.759 Uh. 146 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:37.519 The Outer World's two doesn't drastically change the already great 147 00:07:37.519 --> 00:07:40.680 formula developer Obsidian Entertainment created with The Outer Worlds more 148 00:07:40.720 --> 00:07:43.759 than half a decade ago. Instead, this expansive sequel follows 149 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:46.160 in the footsteps of many other great RPG follow ups, 150 00:07:46.160 --> 00:07:48.720 with more places to explore, more loot defined, and crucially, 151 00:07:49.079 --> 00:07:51.279 plenty of new ways to directly influence and shape your 152 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:54.319 own adventure in space that its main narrative is anti climactic. 153 00:07:54.399 --> 00:07:56.519 I'm left amazed by how much Obsidian was able to 154 00:07:56.519 --> 00:07:59.360 cram into this thirty hour odyssey with side content that 155 00:07:59.639 --> 00:08:01.839 we've seamlessly in and out of the Golden Path in 156 00:08:01.879 --> 00:08:05.560 a level of reflexivity other RPGs often try and fail 157 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:11.519 to achieve. So yeah, basically, this is not an RPG 158 00:08:11.680 --> 00:08:14.519 that breaks the mold of Western RPGs. Like, if you 159 00:08:14.600 --> 00:08:18.079 know the type of RPGs that studios like Bethesda and 160 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:21.160 BioWare and even Obsidian have been making for decades, now, 161 00:08:21.959 --> 00:08:26.240 that's what this is. But all that said, they attacked 162 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:31.360 this sequel to the twenty nineteen Outer Worlds very smartly. 163 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:34.679 They pretty much improved on every single aspect. I don't 164 00:08:34.679 --> 00:08:38.919 think there's anything left untouched here other than maybe the 165 00:08:38.960 --> 00:08:43.960 main narrative. I think I wasn't super high on the 166 00:08:44.039 --> 00:08:46.720 finale and like how it wraps up the entire narrative, 167 00:08:46.919 --> 00:08:50.360 Like I really enjoyed the main story throughout my adventure, 168 00:08:50.399 --> 00:08:51.720 but then when I finished it, I was kind of 169 00:08:51.759 --> 00:08:54.559 just like, oh, Okay, yeah, I guess that's I guess 170 00:08:54.559 --> 00:08:57.879 we're done with that now. But that's okay because the 171 00:08:57.919 --> 00:09:00.759 side content that I played along the way felt it 172 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:03.919 was so good and well crafted and felt so seamless 173 00:09:03.919 --> 00:09:05.840 that it kind of felt like the main narrative, which 174 00:09:05.919 --> 00:09:09.480 kind of boosts the entire package up. I am that's 175 00:09:09.919 --> 00:09:13.559 thoroughly impressed with how Obsidian handled the side quests and 176 00:09:13.600 --> 00:09:15.639 the companion quest in this game. I think that they 177 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:20.080 feel quite integral to the main story, especially in the 178 00:09:20.120 --> 00:09:23.039 sense that it's an Obsidian game. What you learn and 179 00:09:23.080 --> 00:09:24.919 what you do is going to impact a lot of 180 00:09:24.919 --> 00:09:27.440 your story, and that goes for the side content. I 181 00:09:27.480 --> 00:09:30.879 was learning a lot of things, getting key information, key items, 182 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:35.600 key objects, meeting key people that actually directly affected the 183 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:37.519 main quest that I would do after. And I think 184 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:42.399 Obsidian very smartly introduces the side quests at the perfect time. 185 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.960 So if you're a very diligent player and you receive 186 00:09:45.960 --> 00:09:48.759 a side quest, I highly recommend going and doing that 187 00:09:48.840 --> 00:09:51.200 side quest because there's a good chance it will influence 188 00:09:51.320 --> 00:09:54.480 and effect the main part of your mission coming up next. 189 00:09:56.039 --> 00:09:56.600 That's awesome. 190 00:09:56.759 --> 00:09:59.639 Outside of narrative, it feels a million times better. I 191 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:01.679 think anbody that's played the Outer Worlds One knows that, 192 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:05.480 Like it wasn't the best feeling RPG, it's it's strength words, storytelling, 193 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.799 and the fun world. Gunplay kind of sucked. Every gun 194 00:10:08.799 --> 00:10:12.120 felt the same. This is like a proper first person 195 00:10:12.120 --> 00:10:15.360 shooter feeling game. Every gun feels different. It feels really 196 00:10:15.399 --> 00:10:18.960 really good. You know, It's not like a. I'm not 197 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:20.679 saying this is like a call do You're a Destiny 198 00:10:20.679 --> 00:10:23.120 type of feel, but like, as far as first person 199 00:10:23.600 --> 00:10:26.440 shooting RPGs go, I think it's probably one of my 200 00:10:26.440 --> 00:10:29.240 favorite blow Starfield out of the water. That's not that 201 00:10:29.320 --> 00:10:31.720 this is like needs to be compared to Starfield. 202 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:38.200 But I mean there's there's some natural you know, yeah yeah, 203 00:10:38.519 --> 00:10:39.840 dna ye. 204 00:10:42.679 --> 00:10:45.080 A game like this where people are like the gun 205 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:47.080 play is actually good. Though, I feel like that's always 206 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:49.879 the caveat of like I like Fallout but or I 207 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:51.919 like the Outer Worlds one. But so it's really cool 208 00:10:51.960 --> 00:10:54.320 that that's a thing of like you'll just like you won't, 209 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:55.919 you won't feel the need to rely on like the 210 00:10:55.960 --> 00:10:57.200 time dilation stuff. 211 00:10:57.559 --> 00:11:00.320 Yeah, Fallout has that because of they know that the 212 00:11:00.360 --> 00:11:03.519 shooting sucks, and they did the time dilation because a 213 00:11:03.559 --> 00:11:06.559 similar I think through line from New Vegas is like, yeah, 214 00:11:06.559 --> 00:11:08.519 our shooting is not the best. Let's let players slow 215 00:11:08.559 --> 00:11:11.080 it down so they can get the key week spots 216 00:11:11.080 --> 00:11:14.360 they need to hit. To that end, I honestly didn't 217 00:11:14.360 --> 00:11:18.559 really use time dilation that much. I think it has barely. 218 00:11:20.039 --> 00:11:20.320 So far. 219 00:11:20.519 --> 00:11:21.279 It has its use. 220 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:23.360 I guess if you want to slow down combat if 221 00:11:23.360 --> 00:11:26.320 you feel the need to. There's a couple like puzzle instances, 222 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:28.600 like trying to get through a spinning blade, for example, 223 00:11:29.840 --> 00:11:33.039 but I rarely used it in combat. I don't know. 224 00:11:33.080 --> 00:11:34.519 I just didn't feel the need to that the gum 225 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:38.840 play it felt good enough where I was like confident 226 00:11:38.840 --> 00:11:40.480 in using my weapons in my arsenal. 227 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:45.080 I do like to hear that they integrate it into 228 00:11:46.159 --> 00:11:49.360 environmental puzzles. That's cool, don't It gives it another reason 229 00:11:49.399 --> 00:11:49.799 to use it. 230 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:52.879 Don't get too excited. It's like a handful of times 231 00:11:53.240 --> 00:11:55.600 I did it pretty late in the game and I 232 00:11:55.639 --> 00:11:58.000 was like, oh, yeah, that's I forgot that. The time 233 00:11:58.039 --> 00:12:00.559 dilation slows things down and you can use it this way. 234 00:12:01.399 --> 00:12:04.000 There's not really many puzzles happening in this game or anything. 235 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:06.679 The points where there are puzzles is where you're going 236 00:12:06.720 --> 00:12:10.399 to use your gadgets. Most okay, gadgets I didn't really 237 00:12:10.440 --> 00:12:14.200 touch out on my review because it's like kind of nitpicky, 238 00:12:14.240 --> 00:12:17.240 I guess, but like they're fine. I didn't really feel 239 00:12:17.279 --> 00:12:18.720 the need to use them too often. 240 00:12:20.159 --> 00:12:22.480 Are you talking gadgets like grenades and that's. 241 00:12:22.440 --> 00:12:27.639 No like the on your weapon. Also, time dilations of gadgets. 242 00:12:29.000 --> 00:12:32.879 Yeah, there's one that melts bodies discovery. 243 00:12:32.919 --> 00:12:36.240 Yeah, I have those. I didn't realize that's what those 244 00:12:36.240 --> 00:12:36.679 are called. 245 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:38.840 Yeah, No, I use grenades a bunch. I actually really 246 00:12:38.879 --> 00:12:41.559 like there's a large amount of grenades. I want to say, 247 00:12:41.559 --> 00:12:44.320 like a dozen different types, and I really enjoyed using 248 00:12:44.360 --> 00:12:44.879 all of those. 249 00:12:46.480 --> 00:12:49.080 Something else that your kind of character build by the way, Oh. 250 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.159 Yeah, goodoint. She probably jumped into that. So everybody starts 251 00:12:52.159 --> 00:12:54.440 as an Earth Directorate, which you're basically is is a 252 00:12:54.440 --> 00:12:57.600 space cop a more humorous like buzz light your type 253 00:12:57.600 --> 00:13:01.600 of space cop. You can change your background into, like 254 00:13:01.639 --> 00:13:04.960 how you became an Earth Directorate agent. Mine was more 255 00:13:05.000 --> 00:13:07.000 of just like a gambler who was using it to 256 00:13:07.000 --> 00:13:09.679 find another way to get more money. But I know 257 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:12.960 that you can be like a reformed prisoner who is 258 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:17.039 like making up time sentence for crimes by being an 259 00:13:17.080 --> 00:13:18.080 Earth Director and you can be. 260 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.679 So I was an archaeologist and yeah when we did 261 00:13:20.679 --> 00:13:22.840 the cover story build, yeah. 262 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:25.879 I was rusted about. So I'm just like ended up here. 263 00:13:25.960 --> 00:13:28.759 That's what I chose in the cover story. Trip was 264 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:30.679 just like I have no idea how I got here, 265 00:13:30.720 --> 00:13:34.240 But we're gonna roll with it, and yeah, there's a 266 00:13:34.519 --> 00:13:36.080 you get to pick some perks and stuff like that. 267 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:38.080 I kind of played it as a I don't want 268 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.840 to call it straight shooter, Like mechanically I was not 269 00:13:40.879 --> 00:13:42.360 a straight shooter, but I was kind of like a 270 00:13:43.080 --> 00:13:46.720 cool guy who would do anything for money and wasn't 271 00:13:46.759 --> 00:13:49.919 really concerned with morals too much if somebody was paying me. 272 00:13:50.159 --> 00:13:52.480 And I actually thought the game like really responded to 273 00:13:52.519 --> 00:13:55.279 that in an interesting way, and I get the sense 274 00:13:55.320 --> 00:13:57.639 that it would respond to you in a lot of 275 00:13:57.679 --> 00:14:00.799 interesting ways. For the cover story, I did played very dumb, 276 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:03.559 like there's an actual dumb trait or perk or whatever. 277 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.639 That's what I'm playing right now. And I don't know 278 00:14:06.600 --> 00:14:09.039 if I was really hot on it the first few hours, 279 00:14:09.080 --> 00:14:11.519 and now I'm like, maybe I wanted to play like 280 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.240 a real character. Yeah, I'm kind of playing like a 281 00:14:14.279 --> 00:14:18.039 Tim Robinson esque character. Like one of my companions gets 282 00:14:18.039 --> 00:14:21.720 their arm blown off early in the game, and my 283 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:25.080 guys like typical rookie can't like you know that kind 284 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:29.120 of thing. Like, yeah, but I don't know how. I mean, 285 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:31.639 I'm getting a lot of dialogue options for dumb that 286 00:14:31.679 --> 00:14:35.039 are like really funny. Yeah, yeah, me laugh. 287 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:37.919 You can just treat the game like a comedy, I mean, 288 00:14:38.080 --> 00:14:39.919 even more so than it kind of already is. 289 00:14:40.000 --> 00:14:44.360 But yeah, I think Marcus am I remembering wrong was 290 00:14:44.399 --> 00:14:45.840 dumb one of the ones where they were like, it's 291 00:14:45.960 --> 00:14:47.960 very funny, but it might be better for a different 292 00:14:47.960 --> 00:14:49.320 play like a second play through. 293 00:14:49.960 --> 00:14:51.879 Yeah, like that in one with like some of the 294 00:14:51.919 --> 00:14:55.039 perks and flaws, or the flaw specifically like not that 295 00:14:55.200 --> 00:14:57.759 you know, you play however you want. But they kind 296 00:14:57.799 --> 00:14:59.480 of looked at it the way I always looked at 297 00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:01.559 the dumb tray of like this is a second play through, 298 00:15:01.679 --> 00:15:04.039 Like my first play through will be like a little 299 00:15:04.039 --> 00:15:06.919 closer to serious, and then next time just who cares? 300 00:15:07.679 --> 00:15:12.639 Yeah, yeah, I'm thinking about rerolling honestly and kind of 301 00:15:12.679 --> 00:15:16.919 playing a more straight laced character or or either a 302 00:15:17.000 --> 00:15:20.559 renegade or like a smart person like yeah there are 303 00:15:21.080 --> 00:15:22.480 not just like somebody that's dumb. 304 00:15:22.759 --> 00:15:26.080 Something I like that the dialogue does, is which I 305 00:15:26.120 --> 00:15:27.919 talk about in my review, is it kind of teases 306 00:15:27.960 --> 00:15:30.919 out the other ways that something could have gone. So 307 00:15:31.000 --> 00:15:33.240 like I might not have an option available, but I 308 00:15:33.279 --> 00:15:35.919 can still look and see what's required for that option. 309 00:15:36.039 --> 00:15:39.080 So often I'm like, oh, this this plotline, I would 310 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:43.039 have been coasting if I was a reformed prisoner or whatever. 311 00:15:43.200 --> 00:15:46.360 Or I actually didn't see anything for dumb, which is 312 00:15:46.440 --> 00:15:48.759 kind of funny because that means dumb is not going 313 00:15:48.759 --> 00:15:51.799 to help you at all throughout the game, but there's plenty. 314 00:15:51.519 --> 00:15:55.000 Of it actively hurts you. I think, Yeah, select, I 315 00:15:55.039 --> 00:15:57.720 had to select like five different skills that I'm completely 316 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:01.240 locked out of. I but then I chose brilliant as 317 00:16:01.279 --> 00:16:05.519 one of my positives, so then I could I couldn't maximize. 318 00:16:06.639 --> 00:16:10.879 I think I could pick three traits to like specialize 319 00:16:10.919 --> 00:16:13.200 in at the start and get ahead start on, but 320 00:16:13.320 --> 00:16:15.200 I was locked out of five because I was dumb. 321 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:17.799 So I'm just like really into a couple of topics. 322 00:16:18.080 --> 00:16:19.879 I think they described. 323 00:16:19.399 --> 00:16:22.200 That during the cover story West as like you would 324 00:16:22.240 --> 00:16:25.679 be a brilliant like a savant basically of like you're 325 00:16:25.879 --> 00:16:29.559 you're overall like an idiot, but like in very specific 326 00:16:29.559 --> 00:16:31.720 ways you are just like a genius. 327 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:36.159 Uh yeah, yeah, I'm gonna enjoying. I do enjoy that 328 00:16:36.159 --> 00:16:38.200 part because like, my guy's really good at engineering. 329 00:16:39.799 --> 00:16:41.440 He's like, I don't ask me, like, don't ask me 330 00:16:41.440 --> 00:16:43.559 to talk, but I can I can solve your he's really. 331 00:16:43.480 --> 00:16:47.519 Good at engineering and medical, but anything else is like it's. 332 00:16:47.360 --> 00:16:49.679 Like you gave Albert Einstein a gun and you're like, 333 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:51.480 go see in the world, and he's like, well, if 334 00:16:51.480 --> 00:16:55.039 anyone knows any questions about relativity, I can answer that, 335 00:16:55.120 --> 00:16:56.840 but I don't know how this thing works at all. 336 00:16:57.600 --> 00:17:02.159 Yeah, yeah, you mentioned flaws. Flaws is probably the thing 337 00:17:02.200 --> 00:17:05.400 I'm most hot on coming out of this review. I 338 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:07.920 adore the flaws system. I know it was in the 339 00:17:07.920 --> 00:17:10.559 first game, but I think the flaws here and two 340 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:15.119 are so much fun and funny enough. During our cover 341 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:16.839 story they were like, flaws are really good for other 342 00:17:16.880 --> 00:17:19.079 playthroughs because they can harm you. But I ended the 343 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:21.440 game with I think nine flaws, which is kind of 344 00:17:21.480 --> 00:17:23.319 a lot. But I just really enjoyed the way it 345 00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:26.359 was like shaping my character, and it made me feel 346 00:17:27.480 --> 00:17:30.240 really seen in a way I've never really felt in 347 00:17:30.279 --> 00:17:33.599 an RPG. I feel like typically RPGs react based on 348 00:17:34.200 --> 00:17:37.319 your dialogue choices, or like in Balder's Gate, like, oh, 349 00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:39.839 I'm blowing up this person, so now they're not gonna 350 00:17:39.839 --> 00:17:41.359 be able to join my party because I blew them 351 00:17:41.440 --> 00:17:44.079 up with barrels of fire, and it's like that's really cool, 352 00:17:44.079 --> 00:17:46.920 but that's how a lot of RPGs react. I think 353 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:50.279 Flaws feels very meta in the sense that it's almost 354 00:17:50.279 --> 00:17:53.359 like someone at Obsidian is watching me, because I'm the 355 00:17:53.400 --> 00:17:55.799 type of person in any game I play where when 356 00:17:55.839 --> 00:17:58.519 I'm out of combat or even mid combat, I reload 357 00:17:58.640 --> 00:18:01.519 like I'm always loading. I never reached the bottom of 358 00:18:01.519 --> 00:18:03.920 a clip. I like to top off all of my clips, 359 00:18:04.480 --> 00:18:07.079 and pretty soon into the game it was like, hey, 360 00:18:07.799 --> 00:18:10.160 here's a flaw that you can accept. We notice you 361 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:12.680 really like reloading, so we're going to give you this 362 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.440 flaw and it will increase the magazine size of every 363 00:18:15.480 --> 00:18:18.559 weapon you ever get. But if you ever let a 364 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:21.000 clip reach zero, you're gonna have an eight second of 365 00:18:21.400 --> 00:18:24.960 an extreme damage nerve, which I really liked because sometimes 366 00:18:25.039 --> 00:18:26.880 I was nerved and I was like, ah, dang it. 367 00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:30.400 But other times, often I'm just having these extra large clips, 368 00:18:30.400 --> 00:18:34.559 and I really like that the game is constantly watching 369 00:18:34.599 --> 00:18:37.119 how I'm playing and reacting to it. And sometimes it 370 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:39.319 feels almost like I'm being called out. And those are 371 00:18:39.359 --> 00:18:41.319 the flaws where I would deny them, and I'd be like, no, 372 00:18:41.400 --> 00:18:44.039 I decline this flaw. I do not want this get 373 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:47.680 out of my face, Obsidian, but I think you would 374 00:18:47.720 --> 00:18:52.000 have declined as an example kleptomaniac. So this is a 375 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:55.799 very This is a very BioShock esque game. I know 376 00:18:55.839 --> 00:18:57.960 games did it before BioShock, but it reminds me of BioShock. 377 00:18:57.960 --> 00:19:00.839 Where you enter a room, you kill the enemy. There 378 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.720 are eight hundred items to pick up in the room. 379 00:19:03.759 --> 00:19:06.200 You can pick up bottles of alcohol, you can pick 380 00:19:06.240 --> 00:19:09.279 up medicine, you can pick up food, ammo grenades, there's 381 00:19:09.599 --> 00:19:13.000 drawers just search, there's cabinets to search everything like I have, 382 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:15.160 I would defeat enemies in a room. And then if 383 00:19:15.160 --> 00:19:17.799 you watch my screen, it's like my guy just looking 384 00:19:17.839 --> 00:19:20.240 down and me just bashing square to open everything. I'm 385 00:19:20.240 --> 00:19:21.960 like square square, square, square square to take it all, 386 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:25.200 take it all. And eventually it was like you're a kleptomaniac, 387 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.400 you get like if you sell things to vendors, you 388 00:19:29.440 --> 00:19:31.640 get a lot more money and their prices are lowered. 389 00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:35.799 But the flaw part of it was if you see something, 390 00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:39.640 you have to take it, which is not good when 391 00:19:39.640 --> 00:19:41.880 you go to places where you don't. I'm trying not 392 00:19:41.880 --> 00:19:43.799 to spoil because there's certain locations I can't talk about 393 00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:45.759 but like you go to places where you don't want enemies, 394 00:19:46.160 --> 00:19:49.119 and if you steal, you will have enemies. And if 395 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:50.640 you like literally, if you look at an item and 396 00:19:50.640 --> 00:19:52.839 it pops up on your screen and it'll say like steal, 397 00:19:52.880 --> 00:19:54.440 the game will do it for you. And I was like, 398 00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:56.640 I'm not. I know that I like to take things. 399 00:19:56.839 --> 00:20:00.160 I will take things on my own time Obsidian, And 400 00:20:00.200 --> 00:20:02.240 there's a ton of flaws, even like, literally in the 401 00:20:02.319 --> 00:20:04.799 last five minutes of the game, I received a flaw, 402 00:20:05.079 --> 00:20:07.559 which was hilarious because the game's over, but I was like, oh, wow, 403 00:20:07.599 --> 00:20:09.279 you really are watching me all the way up into 404 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:11.759 the final moments, and I really appreciated that. It was 405 00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:15.400 the most It's why I talk so much about reactivity 406 00:20:15.400 --> 00:20:18.480 in the review, because it just felt so reactive to 407 00:20:18.519 --> 00:20:20.759 what I was doing. Because it's it's doing all the 408 00:20:20.880 --> 00:20:24.359 usual RPG things. The dialogue choices to shape how you're 409 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:26.160 doing things. Oh do you want to sneak through this 410 00:20:26.240 --> 00:20:28.920 place or do you want to go guns blazing? Did 411 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:30.720 you find the item to open this door or do 412 00:20:30.759 --> 00:20:32.200 you need to go through a shaft? Like none of 413 00:20:32.240 --> 00:20:35.160 that felt particularly new, though I do like having those 414 00:20:35.200 --> 00:20:38.440 options in combat. It was the flaws that felt different 415 00:20:38.559 --> 00:20:43.279 and felt like my playthrough will be wildly different from 416 00:20:43.440 --> 00:20:45.839 any of your guys's playthroughs, especially as someone who took 417 00:20:45.920 --> 00:20:50.759 nine flaws I probably received. I probably saw fifteen to 418 00:20:50.799 --> 00:20:53.559 twenty total and took nine of them. And it's funny 419 00:20:53.599 --> 00:20:55.319 because you'll get flaws where the game is like, we 420 00:20:55.359 --> 00:20:56.960 really do not it straight up says we do not 421 00:20:57.000 --> 00:21:01.200 recommend this on your first playthrough because they're just that drastic. 422 00:21:01.680 --> 00:21:03.839 And I think that's something that's super exciting as someone 423 00:21:03.839 --> 00:21:07.559 who doesn't typically replay games, just because with our jobs, 424 00:21:07.599 --> 00:21:09.279 you know, it's kind of hard to take the time 425 00:21:09.319 --> 00:21:11.240 to replay stuff. But this was one where I was like, 426 00:21:11.240 --> 00:21:13.799 I could see just how different I can make a 427 00:21:13.839 --> 00:21:17.480 playthrough between flaws, between my background and skills and perk selected, 428 00:21:17.480 --> 00:21:19.440 and I think that's really really cool. 429 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:21.839 You know, I've decided I'm going to stick it out 430 00:21:21.880 --> 00:21:27.000 with my dumb character. Yeah, and not only that, I'm 431 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:29.640 going to accept every flaw that it's given to me. 432 00:21:29.960 --> 00:21:32.759 That is that is the play That's the exact playthrough 433 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:34.480 I had in mind when I beat the game. I 434 00:21:34.519 --> 00:21:36.960 was like, if I do another one, I'm taking every 435 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:38.559 flaw And I think dumb is the way to go. 436 00:21:38.920 --> 00:21:41.200 I think that would be a legitimate blast. And there's 437 00:21:41.480 --> 00:21:45.200 there's a lot of dialogue where the game kind of 438 00:21:45.240 --> 00:21:47.200 warns you ahead of time. I skipped pretty much every 439 00:21:47.240 --> 00:21:49.359 boss in the game because I dialogued my way through it, 440 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:53.240 which the bosses are fun, but I really liked the 441 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:56.000 idea of trying to like use my speech and my 442 00:21:57.319 --> 00:22:00.119 I kind of focused my skills on speech and and 443 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:05.200 being a leader and non mechanical stuff stuff that works 444 00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:07.279 in dialogue. So it was fun trying to see how 445 00:22:07.319 --> 00:22:10.079 far I could take the game, where I even didn't 446 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:14.519 like the final boss. I almost stopped like the fight. 447 00:22:14.960 --> 00:22:16.720 Eventually I did not, and I kind of wanted to 448 00:22:17.759 --> 00:22:20.319 actually like have combat for the final fight, but I 449 00:22:20.359 --> 00:22:22.200 saw the way forward where I could have skipped the 450 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:24.920 final boss fight, which I think is really cool. But 451 00:22:24.960 --> 00:22:27.880 it's cool because the game will say, it'll kind of 452 00:22:27.880 --> 00:22:29.880 tee you up. Maybe one of your companions or someone 453 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:32.759 else you're talking to will say, you might be able 454 00:22:32.759 --> 00:22:34.680 to talk this person down, but if not, just know 455 00:22:34.720 --> 00:22:36.680 that we're going to have to kill them type of thing. 456 00:22:37.279 --> 00:22:40.039 And you have companions like Asa, who's part of a 457 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:44.039 cult she loves killing like everything, she just wants to 458 00:22:44.119 --> 00:22:47.240 murder people. Every time a dialogue choice pops up, she's 459 00:22:47.359 --> 00:22:48.839 right there and she's like, well, we could just kill 460 00:22:48.880 --> 00:22:51.440 them and skip all this. And then you have someone 461 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.200 like Niles, who is very he's an Earth director and 462 00:22:54.279 --> 00:22:59.440 agent too, and he really like respects you and the 463 00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:01.759 ideals of the Earth Director, and he's like, we should 464 00:23:01.799 --> 00:23:03.799 talk them out. We shouldn't kill them. We need to 465 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:07.440 bring them justice, give them a proper trial. And so like, 466 00:23:07.599 --> 00:23:10.599 going into dialogue, I was aware whether or not I 467 00:23:10.640 --> 00:23:13.039 could come out on top without shooting, and often I 468 00:23:13.079 --> 00:23:15.559 was able to. And you, really, I'm doing like ten 469 00:23:15.640 --> 00:23:18.759 to twelve dialogue choices and like having an actual discussion 470 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.759 with this person on the ethics of what they're doing 471 00:23:20.759 --> 00:23:22.759 and why I think they should stop. And it was 472 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:27.039 just really cool to see how responsive the game was. 473 00:23:27.240 --> 00:23:30.279 I was very surprised that, I think, other than the 474 00:23:30.359 --> 00:23:32.839 last fight, I only fought one boss. All the other 475 00:23:32.839 --> 00:23:36.680 ones I talked down out of their position. And it 476 00:23:36.680 --> 00:23:39.400 even goes beyond that, like you if you kill a boss, 477 00:23:39.519 --> 00:23:42.480 that comes up later. If I didn't kill a boss, 478 00:23:42.799 --> 00:23:46.160 they wouldn't necessarily appear later, But like me choosing not 479 00:23:46.240 --> 00:23:49.640 to kill them would have an effect later. The game 480 00:23:49.720 --> 00:23:53.720 was often reacting and bringing back past decisions and stuff 481 00:23:54.319 --> 00:23:57.359 that I made, which I think is really cool. 482 00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:58.279 It's awesome. 483 00:23:58.839 --> 00:24:01.200 Yeah, And I know Obsidian's known for that. That's kind 484 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.799 of like their bread and butter. That's why people love 485 00:24:02.880 --> 00:24:05.400 New Vegas so much. And I know Outer Worlds one 486 00:24:05.440 --> 00:24:06.680 did a lot of that. I just think that this 487 00:24:06.759 --> 00:24:09.240 is probably the most in depth and the farthest they've 488 00:24:09.279 --> 00:24:12.799 taken that system without breaking out of the mold of 489 00:24:12.880 --> 00:24:16.480 Western RPG. I think maybe their next game, like they 490 00:24:16.519 --> 00:24:18.640 could take their work they've done here and create like 491 00:24:18.680 --> 00:24:23.880 a new RPG type that doesn't feel so typical Obsidian, 492 00:24:23.920 --> 00:24:26.880 I guess, but this really feels like they've taken that 493 00:24:26.920 --> 00:24:30.119 Western RPG formula that's so popular here and stretched it 494 00:24:30.160 --> 00:24:33.480 to like the maximum limits and the best way. 495 00:24:34.160 --> 00:24:38.079 Yeah. Yeah, random question, did you do you like this 496 00:24:38.119 --> 00:24:39.799 game more than a vow? Did you play about? 497 00:24:40.440 --> 00:24:44.119 I have played some avowed, and I guess that gives 498 00:24:44.160 --> 00:24:45.640 my answer because I mean, I had to play this 499 00:24:45.720 --> 00:24:50.400 game for work, but this was a work game that 500 00:24:50.480 --> 00:24:53.079 I wanted to play, Like when I was working, I 501 00:24:53.119 --> 00:24:54.880 was playing it. When I would get off work, I'd 502 00:24:54.920 --> 00:24:56.720 be like, talk to my wife, we would, you know, 503 00:24:56.759 --> 00:24:59.880 hang out with our kid. Kid goes down and I'm like, hey, 504 00:25:00.279 --> 00:25:01.960 I'm going to play Out of Worlds two for five 505 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:02.559 hours tonight. 506 00:25:02.640 --> 00:25:03.079 Is that okay? 507 00:25:03.160 --> 00:25:04.799 And She's like, yes, I will read a book next 508 00:25:04.799 --> 00:25:07.599 to you. Whereas sometimes I'm reviewing a game and I'm like, 509 00:25:07.720 --> 00:25:11.440 I'm only doing this during work hours. Yeah, I do not, 510 00:25:11.920 --> 00:25:15.160 this is work, whereas avowed I did not. I have 511 00:25:15.279 --> 00:25:18.440 not gone back to finish I liked about, but I 512 00:25:18.440 --> 00:25:21.400 do think Outer World's two is probably the Obsidian game 513 00:25:21.440 --> 00:25:24.519 of the year for me, which is wild to say they've. 514 00:25:27.240 --> 00:25:29.440 We should we should have had as our category for 515 00:25:29.480 --> 00:25:31.839 go to the best OFSIDI the best Obsidian game. 516 00:25:32.440 --> 00:25:37.400 That reminds me. At the end of your cover story, Marcus, 517 00:25:37.559 --> 00:25:40.880 you said, and I'm curious. I know Marcus wrote this, 518 00:25:41.079 --> 00:25:44.200 but Wes, I'm curious if you how you think it 519 00:25:44.279 --> 00:25:50.039 resolves it. He says, quote I enjoyed roaming the game's 520 00:25:50.079 --> 00:25:53.279 opening hours, and I'm eager to see how my actions, good, 521 00:25:53.319 --> 00:25:57.359 baden everything in between shape this role playing adventure. Obsidian 522 00:25:57.400 --> 00:26:00.680 has enjoyed a twenty twenty five. Few studios can boast 523 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:03.880 from the well received avowed in February to the strong 524 00:26:03.920 --> 00:26:07.640 early access launch of Grounded two in July. If the 525 00:26:07.640 --> 00:26:10.240 Outer World's two sticks to the landing, it will have accomplished 526 00:26:10.279 --> 00:26:12.799 one hell of a hat trick. West. Do you feel 527 00:26:12.799 --> 00:26:14.359 like they have kind of done that? 528 00:26:14.880 --> 00:26:15.119 Oh? 529 00:26:15.319 --> 00:26:20.160 Absolutely, I think. I mean it's it's unheard of, right. 530 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:24.839 I don't know if any studio that has released three 531 00:26:24.960 --> 00:26:26.400 games at least in triple A. 532 00:26:26.480 --> 00:26:26.839 I know. 533 00:26:28.480 --> 00:26:32.079 Thelavier Studio releases, Uh, Lavier and Nelson releases like one 534 00:26:32.160 --> 00:26:32.880 hundred games. 535 00:26:32.720 --> 00:26:33.240 A year. 536 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:37.200 One as we were talking, Actually. 537 00:26:37.359 --> 00:26:45.240 Yeah, right, But to release three baseline good games like 538 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:48.599 About and Outer World's two great Grounded is not really 539 00:26:48.599 --> 00:26:50.960 my style. So I know people like Grounded to what 540 00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:54.599 its early acxis, and that's I'm not big into survival games. Like, 541 00:26:54.839 --> 00:26:57.720 to release three games on this caliber is a is 542 00:26:57.759 --> 00:27:00.240 a feat for them to be at least good, I 543 00:27:00.240 --> 00:27:04.640 think is pretty unheard of. I think the closest I 544 00:27:04.680 --> 00:27:07.799 can think of is like maybe Insomniac over at PlayStation, 545 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:11.359 but they don't do multi release years. I just feel 546 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:15.680 like they have a kidence that's very commendable and uh, 547 00:27:16.759 --> 00:27:17.559 kind of unheard of. 548 00:27:18.359 --> 00:27:21.039 Yeah, And granted this is sort of like accidental, like 549 00:27:21.119 --> 00:27:22.920 because the Valve was supposed to come out last year 550 00:27:22.920 --> 00:27:25.559 and got delayed, so they didn't plan to release three 551 00:27:25.599 --> 00:27:28.279 games in one year. But you know, yeah, the point 552 00:27:28.319 --> 00:27:31.000 still stands that it's remarkable that all three of them 553 00:27:31.079 --> 00:27:32.799 seem to have stuck the landing. 554 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:37.960 I bet if there was a studio that would contest it. 555 00:27:38.039 --> 00:27:40.319 I feel like there's like a twenty thirteen or twenty 556 00:27:40.359 --> 00:27:45.480 fourteen that maybe Ubisoft could say, like if we get 557 00:27:45.519 --> 00:27:48.359 like a like a Black Flag and a Far Cry, 558 00:27:48.839 --> 00:27:53.240 Raymon Legends Raymond, that's only that's the only one I 559 00:27:53.279 --> 00:27:55.960 can think of, And that's also like, yeah, it's a 560 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:57.599 long it's been a long time since. 561 00:27:57.720 --> 00:27:59.400 Yeah, I think twenty thirteen they would have just had 562 00:27:59.480 --> 00:28:03.400 Raymn Legend and Assassin's Creed. Yeah, black Flag was that year. 563 00:28:03.440 --> 00:28:06.720 I think Far Cry it would have been four, and 564 00:28:06.759 --> 00:28:07.799 I think that was a year after. 565 00:28:08.119 --> 00:28:12.319 I think you're right, yeah, because it was on. 566 00:28:11.359 --> 00:28:14.759 Yeah, but the year after it was also Unity and 567 00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:17.440 Rogue in the same week because of the next Gen, 568 00:28:18.000 --> 00:28:20.240 so that's a three year game too. But even then 569 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:22.319 you'd be. 570 00:28:21.759 --> 00:28:26.440 Those two games and then yeah, Assassin's Creed games in 571 00:28:26.480 --> 00:28:28.359 my opinion, but and. 572 00:28:28.319 --> 00:28:31.799 Plus we learned with Obsidian, like they're very sequestered in 573 00:28:31.839 --> 00:28:33.799 their teams. Like the Outer World's two team has been 574 00:28:33.799 --> 00:28:37.279 working on out of World two for years. It wasn't like, uh, 575 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:39.480 they were all working on a vowed or grounded that 576 00:28:39.880 --> 00:28:40.880 game dropped and now they all. 577 00:28:40.839 --> 00:28:44.240 Switched all separate yeah, separate game directors. 578 00:28:44.599 --> 00:28:47.319 Yeah. I don't know how many people work at Obsidian. 579 00:28:48.039 --> 00:28:52.599 We we asked studios and yeah, it's become like a 580 00:28:52.640 --> 00:28:54.920 thing to like hide for some reason lately. 581 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.480 My theory is that studios that do that don't want 582 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:02.519 the pup then number to be public because it's easier 583 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:06.640 to track likes and I don't know, layoffs and that 584 00:29:06.720 --> 00:29:08.640 kind of thing. I don't know. Maybe that's cynical. Take 585 00:29:09.359 --> 00:29:13.839 it's because that they have a lot of They also 586 00:29:13.880 --> 00:29:16.400 have like a lot of contractors, I bet so maybe 587 00:29:16.880 --> 00:29:18.640 they want to make sure that they're including them when 588 00:29:18.680 --> 00:29:20.759 they when they quote that and they don't have the number. 589 00:29:21.279 --> 00:29:25.079 You know, there's a lot of reasons. I think neither 590 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:25.640 here nor there. 591 00:29:25.720 --> 00:29:27.519 Yeah, but I don't think it's like an Obsidian thing 592 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:29.359 they're trying to it's probably no. 593 00:29:29.400 --> 00:29:32.599 I've noticed it's a trend. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've noticed 594 00:29:32.599 --> 00:29:35.480 it elsewhere in the last couple of years, several other 595 00:29:35.519 --> 00:29:40.319 places for sure. But yeah, man, I can't wait to 596 00:29:40.440 --> 00:29:43.240 play more of this game. Hearing that you can do 597 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:45.160 so much with speech as well. 598 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:46.440 Is really cool. 599 00:29:46.799 --> 00:29:49.920 Yeah, you can. It goes pretty far. I think, honestly, 600 00:29:49.960 --> 00:29:52.079 if the if the main narrative had wrapped up, it's 601 00:29:52.079 --> 00:29:54.440 a shame because I was really all in on that 602 00:29:54.519 --> 00:29:59.119 main storyline up until basically kind of like the finale, 603 00:29:59.319 --> 00:30:04.160 and the finale is bad. It just feels so here 604 00:30:04.279 --> 00:30:07.319 or there in a game where there's so much density 605 00:30:07.400 --> 00:30:09.720 and everything you do, and then all of a sudden 606 00:30:09.759 --> 00:30:11.279 you get to the end and it's like A or 607 00:30:11.319 --> 00:30:13.599 B type of thing, and it's not like that black 608 00:30:13.680 --> 00:30:17.279 or white, but it just felt very like this game 609 00:30:17.359 --> 00:30:19.799 is so wide and you can do so much in between, 610 00:30:19.960 --> 00:30:21.799 and then all of a sudden, the finale it's just like, 611 00:30:22.640 --> 00:30:25.960 all right, a little binary kind of Yeah. I don't 612 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:27.839 want to say it's like an A or B decision, 613 00:30:27.839 --> 00:30:30.839 but it did. It did just feel kind of and 614 00:30:30.880 --> 00:30:34.000 I guess this is something games always struggle with, like 615 00:30:34.319 --> 00:30:37.920 they have to reach the same ending essentially, Like I mean, 616 00:30:38.319 --> 00:30:41.359 not every game can be a Balder's Gate three although 617 00:30:41.359 --> 00:30:45.599 I wish a lot of games were, but like they 618 00:30:45.599 --> 00:30:47.119 have an ending in mind, and it can go a 619 00:30:47.160 --> 00:30:49.319 couple different ways, but like, ultimately you're gonna go to 620 00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:53.200 this final location, for example, and watch the events play 621 00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:54.519 out there, And I kind of just wish that it 622 00:30:54.559 --> 00:30:57.720 had some more reactivity and flexibility that the rest of 623 00:30:57.759 --> 00:31:02.799 the game had it If they had nailed the yeah, 624 00:31:02.839 --> 00:31:05.799 this would have been like probably the RPG of the 625 00:31:05.880 --> 00:31:08.319 year for me, which is crazy because it's a fantastic 626 00:31:08.400 --> 00:31:12.039 year for RPGs. I think there's a couple other things 627 00:31:12.079 --> 00:31:13.599 I should touch on real quick that were kind of 628 00:31:13.640 --> 00:31:17.640 hit or missed. Companion quests. I think people still might 629 00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:21.400 like Outer World's one companions more. I think Out of 630 00:31:21.440 --> 00:31:26.599 Worlds to have some strong companions. But what you're saying, yes, yeah, exactly, 631 00:31:27.960 --> 00:31:30.519 some of these some of these companions don't really open 632 00:31:30.599 --> 00:31:33.519 up until, like you get them all pretty early, and 633 00:31:33.559 --> 00:31:35.599 they each have like a couple companion quests to round 634 00:31:35.599 --> 00:31:38.599 out their story and fully upgrade them. I didn't like 635 00:31:38.680 --> 00:31:40.960 two of them didn't get any companion quest until I 636 00:31:41.000 --> 00:31:43.880 was on the Final Planet basically, and I was at 637 00:31:43.880 --> 00:31:45.519 that point, you're kind of locked in on who you 638 00:31:45.720 --> 00:31:48.079 like to take with you, and I did their quest 639 00:31:48.160 --> 00:31:49.680 just to see where they went, but I had no 640 00:31:49.759 --> 00:31:52.960 interest in like actually learning about them because I'm barreling 641 00:31:52.960 --> 00:31:56.039 towards the finale and oh, now you bring this up. 642 00:31:56.039 --> 00:31:58.119 Now we got to go do this stuff, like do 643 00:31:58.160 --> 00:32:01.920 you not understand what we're doing here? Still cool though, 644 00:32:02.000 --> 00:32:04.000 and I think that they are very useful in combat. 645 00:32:04.000 --> 00:32:06.440 I died a lot in combat because I wasn't using 646 00:32:06.480 --> 00:32:10.839 my companion abilities, which uh, I guess I didn't expect it. 647 00:32:10.839 --> 00:32:13.359 But they play a pretty heavy role in combat and survival. 648 00:32:13.839 --> 00:32:17.839 They can really, for lack of something that's not a cliche, 649 00:32:17.880 --> 00:32:21.160 like change the tides of combat for you. And then 650 00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:24.359 there's a few bugs that I had. Reviewing games in 651 00:32:24.400 --> 00:32:26.799 twenty twenty five is always weird because like there's always 652 00:32:26.799 --> 00:32:29.480 a day one patch. Sometimes you don't even want to 653 00:32:29.480 --> 00:32:31.000 mention bugs because they're going to be fixed, but I'm 654 00:32:31.000 --> 00:32:32.839 going to mention them here just because they kind of 655 00:32:32.960 --> 00:32:35.440 were pretty persistent for me. I could never use up 656 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:39.480 on the dpad in the menus the first time I 657 00:32:39.480 --> 00:32:41.759 opened a menu, so I'd have to like open a menu, 658 00:32:41.839 --> 00:32:43.839 close it, open it, and then use up. Not a 659 00:32:43.839 --> 00:32:46.880 big deal, but PS five PS five. 660 00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:52.279 Pro I haven't had that. Yeah, yeah, it was a small. 661 00:32:53.240 --> 00:32:54.640 Yeah, it was a small bug. And I was like, 662 00:32:54.680 --> 00:32:56.640 I don't think this is a big deal, but just 663 00:32:56.640 --> 00:32:58.000 mentioning it, and then I had to reload to save 664 00:32:58.079 --> 00:33:01.160 a couple of times. Funny enough, the ending, I had 665 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:06.799 a bug where I couldn't get the ending I wanted 666 00:33:06.839 --> 00:33:09.359 to because the prompt would not appear, like it was 667 00:33:09.400 --> 00:33:12.559 telling me do this, and the prompt wouldn't appear, And 668 00:33:12.599 --> 00:33:14.480 so to fix it, I had to go pick an 669 00:33:14.599 --> 00:33:17.640 ending I didn't want and then kind of follow this 670 00:33:17.759 --> 00:33:20.279 like just kidding route to get to where I wanted 671 00:33:20.319 --> 00:33:22.200 to go. It was very weird and it was like 672 00:33:22.359 --> 00:33:24.920 the It kind of rubbed me a little sour because 673 00:33:24.920 --> 00:33:26.599 it was right at the end, and I'm like, no, 674 00:33:26.799 --> 00:33:28.119 I thought this was a bug that was going to 675 00:33:28.240 --> 00:33:31.440 end the game for me. Shout out to Obsidian for 676 00:33:31.720 --> 00:33:35.000 helping me get to the ending I wanted. But yeah, 677 00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:36.720 there's just a couple of things you might run into. 678 00:33:36.799 --> 00:33:41.920 I think it's the least jinky Western rpg from Xbox 679 00:33:41.960 --> 00:33:45.079 I've played. Like Obsidian during our cover story was very 680 00:33:45.079 --> 00:33:47.640 open about like jink, like it's part of their DNA 681 00:33:47.759 --> 00:33:50.759 and if you know Bethesda Games, if you know Obsidian Games, like, 682 00:33:50.799 --> 00:33:53.160 it's kind of just par for the course. Not much 683 00:33:53.160 --> 00:33:54.799 of that here at all. Really, this feels like a 684 00:33:54.880 --> 00:33:58.039 very polished product on PS five pro It's I there 685 00:33:58.039 --> 00:33:59.680 was a mode I used that was a smooth sixty 686 00:33:59.839 --> 00:34:03.960 f yes with an upbres resolution, gorgeous. Game did not 687 00:34:03.960 --> 00:34:08.760 feel jinky at all, and yeah, felt great, played great, 688 00:34:08.800 --> 00:34:12.159 looks great. I know some people don't like the art 689 00:34:12.199 --> 00:34:15.039 style as much, which is something I'm learning as we 690 00:34:15.119 --> 00:34:18.840 post coverage from our cover story trip. I guess people 691 00:34:18.840 --> 00:34:20.840 don't really love the art style too much. It is 692 00:34:20.840 --> 00:34:23.719 pretty outlandish, but I like it. Not a reason to 693 00:34:23.719 --> 00:34:24.880 not play the game, though. If you don't like the 694 00:34:24.960 --> 00:34:27.039 art style, There's so much happening here that I think 695 00:34:27.079 --> 00:34:30.280 anybody who likes RPG should check it out. But yeah, 696 00:34:30.320 --> 00:34:34.639 eight point seventy five out of ten Obsidians my favorite 697 00:34:34.639 --> 00:34:37.599 Obsidian game yet easily love it. 698 00:34:38.519 --> 00:34:42.199 I will say, not the best steam Deck game, some 699 00:34:42.280 --> 00:34:47.960 of the anteriors. I did the tutorial area on steam Deck, 700 00:34:48.000 --> 00:34:49.920 and then I did some open world on steam Deck, 701 00:34:50.440 --> 00:34:53.760 and once you get to the open world stuff, steam 702 00:34:53.800 --> 00:34:59.559 Deck kind of falls apart, unfortunately. Verified It's like. 703 00:35:01.400 --> 00:35:06.119 We noticed you like playing speed that games, so. 704 00:35:04.880 --> 00:35:08.679 Yeah, bummer. But it's definitely one of those things that 705 00:35:08.679 --> 00:35:11.599 I'm like, maybe maybe I think about getting one of 706 00:35:11.599 --> 00:35:13.239 those Xbox Allies. 707 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:17.239 A little bit better. 708 00:35:18.239 --> 00:35:21.440 I mean, I could also play a lot of things 709 00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:27.000 with windows, so I'm like, oh man, yeah, yeah, well cool. 710 00:35:27.039 --> 00:35:32.599 That is our discussion on the outer worlds too, Charles. 711 00:35:32.800 --> 00:35:36.840 Speaking of kind of narrative games and choices, You've been 712 00:35:36.880 --> 00:35:41.239 playing Dispatch, which is a game about you playing a 713 00:35:41.400 --> 00:35:47.559 dispatcher who sends heroes, rehabilitated heroes to crime scenes to 714 00:35:47.840 --> 00:35:49.320 like help people. Is that correct? 715 00:35:49.719 --> 00:35:53.119 Yes, Yeah, so Dispatch is it's from ad Hoc Studio, 716 00:35:53.320 --> 00:35:57.480 which is some people that used to work at Telltale 717 00:35:57.840 --> 00:36:00.840 and they have basically they've basically made a new Telltale game. 718 00:36:01.119 --> 00:36:03.800 I don't know what Telltale they like left and came back. 719 00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:06.000 I honestly didn't really keep track of all the. 720 00:36:05.960 --> 00:36:07.840 Ins and out they're making The Wolf among Us two 721 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:12.599 somewhere anyways. 722 00:36:12.679 --> 00:36:15.159 Yeah, so this is this is like the first first 723 00:36:15.199 --> 00:36:16.840 one of these types of games that we've had in 724 00:36:16.880 --> 00:36:20.480 a really long time. And yeah, I've done I've done 725 00:36:20.480 --> 00:36:25.079 the first four episodes and it's very good. It's like 726 00:36:25.960 --> 00:36:29.599 the acting is very good, the script is very good, 727 00:36:29.639 --> 00:36:32.480 the animation is gorgeous. It's the way it works is 728 00:36:32.599 --> 00:36:37.360 you're essentially watching an animated, an adult animated superhero show. 729 00:36:37.760 --> 00:36:40.679 So I think like an Invincible or like an animated 730 00:36:40.800 --> 00:36:42.239 The Boys or something, right. 731 00:36:42.079 --> 00:36:44.519 Which is how this game started originally, right like it 732 00:36:44.599 --> 00:36:47.440 was gonna be like a animated show. 733 00:36:47.880 --> 00:36:50.400 They wouldn't They wouldn't tell me what streaming that I did. 734 00:36:50.559 --> 00:36:53.559 I did a feature on them a couple issues back. 735 00:36:53.639 --> 00:36:55.639 They wouldn't tell me what streaming service it was. My 736 00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:58.480 guess is it was Netflix, because Netflix had a bunch 737 00:36:58.480 --> 00:37:01.599 of like choice based narrative of stuff on there for 738 00:37:01.639 --> 00:37:05.559 a minute. But they were just making a superhero workplace 739 00:37:05.679 --> 00:37:08.360 comedy where you could like pick different dialogue options and 740 00:37:08.360 --> 00:37:10.159 it's going to be interactive. And then when that fell 741 00:37:10.199 --> 00:37:12.519 through because of COVID, I think they had to just pivoted. 742 00:37:12.519 --> 00:37:17.159 They're like, we'll just make another game, and yeah, you're 743 00:37:17.239 --> 00:37:21.559 essentially watching the show. And then as moments where dialogue 744 00:37:21.599 --> 00:37:23.519 choices come up, you'll see them pop up on screen, 745 00:37:23.840 --> 00:37:26.159 and then there's a little timer that's counting down and 746 00:37:26.199 --> 00:37:30.320 you'll get to press whatever dialogue option. But it's extremely seamless, 747 00:37:30.360 --> 00:37:33.559 to the point where my partner was she was sitting 748 00:37:33.599 --> 00:37:35.440 on the couch next to me and she's playing Haiti's 749 00:37:35.440 --> 00:37:37.679 two I think on switch to and wasn't looking up 750 00:37:37.679 --> 00:37:41.159 at the screen and didn't understand that I She was like, 751 00:37:41.199 --> 00:37:43.039 this is a really long cut scene. It's weird that 752 00:37:43.039 --> 00:37:45.440 you haven't gotten to play the game yet, but it's 753 00:37:45.480 --> 00:37:48.280 so smooth and seamless that like you just wouldn't even 754 00:37:48.320 --> 00:37:50.039 know that you're playing a game, and all the dialogue 755 00:37:50.039 --> 00:37:54.599 options are very natural. It comes very easily. Also, I said, 756 00:37:54.719 --> 00:37:58.079 I said Invincible in the Boys it is adult. There's like, uh, 757 00:37:58.679 --> 00:38:00.800 this is two for two in games. I wasn't expecting 758 00:38:00.800 --> 00:38:02.920 to have nudity that have more nudity than you'd think 759 00:38:02.960 --> 00:38:05.440 they have, the first one being Baby Steps. Of course, 760 00:38:05.480 --> 00:38:07.679 this one's not as extreme as Baby Steps, but like 761 00:38:08.719 --> 00:38:11.480 one of the opening sequences, there's like a super villain 762 00:38:11.519 --> 00:38:16.159 who's like kind of naked and there's a lot of 763 00:38:16.159 --> 00:38:18.480 swearing and there's blood and it's I I don't know, 764 00:38:18.719 --> 00:38:21.920 I like it. I think it's a it's kind of. 765 00:38:22.480 --> 00:38:24.039 Like Charles likes nudity. 766 00:38:24.559 --> 00:38:27.719 Yeah, Nudity Games twenty five. 767 00:38:28.239 --> 00:38:30.320 In terms of the violence does any does it even 768 00:38:30.360 --> 00:38:32.760 approach invincible, because I feel like that's kind of in 769 00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:33.719 its own class. 770 00:38:34.039 --> 00:38:37.159 No, it's it's not. It's not gory. It's just as okay, 771 00:38:37.239 --> 00:38:40.800 I would say. I also, the parts I've seen so 772 00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:45.719 far haven't been extremely combat heavy. I was just also 773 00:38:45.800 --> 00:38:48.400 due to the nature of the game. But it's it's 774 00:38:48.519 --> 00:38:53.360 very much I don't know, yeah, yeah, uh the So 775 00:38:53.480 --> 00:38:55.119 that's part of the game is you're watching these things, 776 00:38:55.199 --> 00:38:58.960 you're interacting. A main character is Robert Robertson. He was 777 00:38:58.960 --> 00:39:00.599 a hero named Meccha Man and just kind of like 778 00:39:00.599 --> 00:39:03.559 an Ironman type guy. But his suit gets destroyed and 779 00:39:03.679 --> 00:39:06.760 he like, he's not a billionaire like Tony Stark would be. 780 00:39:06.760 --> 00:39:08.800 He doesn't like run a company. He's just is Mecamn 781 00:39:08.880 --> 00:39:11.400 like full time. So when his suit gets fully destroyed, 782 00:39:11.440 --> 00:39:13.920 he's like, I don't have any money. I can't remake 783 00:39:13.960 --> 00:39:18.679 the suit. And he gets contacted by SDM, which is 784 00:39:18.679 --> 00:39:20.679 a superhero dispatch network, and they're like, hey, if you 785 00:39:20.719 --> 00:39:23.079 come work for us, we have a bunch of like 786 00:39:23.119 --> 00:39:25.719 former heroes that like can't do work anymore. They work 787 00:39:25.719 --> 00:39:28.119 in our office. We might be able to fund a 788 00:39:28.159 --> 00:39:30.239 new Meca Man suit because you're like good for the 789 00:39:30.280 --> 00:39:34.159 world or whatever, And so then part of the game 790 00:39:34.159 --> 00:39:36.320 plays that interact the story element. The other part is 791 00:39:36.320 --> 00:39:40.159 this like interesting kind of strategy game. So you have 792 00:39:40.239 --> 00:39:42.880 like a map of your like section of the city, 793 00:39:43.159 --> 00:39:45.360 and you'll see little events pop up around the map. 794 00:39:45.679 --> 00:39:49.159 And you have a roster of different super villains turned 795 00:39:49.199 --> 00:39:52.639 heroes that are basically getting like rehabilitated in society and 796 00:39:52.639 --> 00:39:55.000 this is like their chance to like have a stable 797 00:39:55.079 --> 00:39:58.400 job and maybe do hero work at some point. And 798 00:39:58.440 --> 00:40:00.079 they each have like different stats, so you can and 799 00:40:00.119 --> 00:40:01.599 be like, well, this person's really good at speech, but 800 00:40:01.679 --> 00:40:04.280 this person's really good fighting. And the instances that come 801 00:40:04.360 --> 00:40:06.000 up are very varied, so it'll be like, you know, 802 00:40:06.039 --> 00:40:08.760 there's a robbery, and it'll give you little keywords of 803 00:40:08.800 --> 00:40:11.000 like the bandage is fast, so you're like, okay, I'm 804 00:40:11.000 --> 00:40:13.360 gonna do someone has high mobility, but also be stupid 805 00:40:13.360 --> 00:40:15.519 things of like there's a cat stuck in a tree, 806 00:40:15.599 --> 00:40:17.440 someone needs to coax it down. I'm like, all right, 807 00:40:17.440 --> 00:40:19.360 that would be a speech thing. Or someone needs to 808 00:40:19.360 --> 00:40:21.480 figure out how to get these cars at a gridlock. Okay, 809 00:40:21.480 --> 00:40:25.039 that would be like an intelligence thing. And each have 810 00:40:25.079 --> 00:40:32.599 different like modifiers and abilities like one of them Sonar's 811 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:35.119 he's he's a literal batman. He's like got like a 812 00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:37.320 human body with like the head of a bat and 813 00:40:37.320 --> 00:40:40.280 he has like a normal form and like a feral form. 814 00:40:41.000 --> 00:40:44.280 So every time you send him out, his charisma and 815 00:40:44.400 --> 00:40:48.880 intelligent swap with his like combat and health. So it 816 00:40:48.920 --> 00:40:51.119 goes back and forth depending on what it is. So 817 00:40:51.159 --> 00:40:53.039 when you're leveling him up, you can just put all 818 00:40:53.039 --> 00:40:55.239 his points into one of those stats and then if 819 00:40:55.280 --> 00:40:57.079 the relevant thing comes up, you're like, well, he's really 820 00:40:57.119 --> 00:40:59.039 good at this stuff. Just you have to hope he's 821 00:40:59.039 --> 00:41:02.400 in the right form. And Yeah, so that that part 822 00:41:02.440 --> 00:41:04.199 of the game, I was like, I was in it 823 00:41:04.239 --> 00:41:06.360 for the story, isn't it for the acting performances. I 824 00:41:06.440 --> 00:41:08.880 was like surprised by how fun. I also thought the 825 00:41:08.920 --> 00:41:10.920 game was in just like strategy element. 826 00:41:12.599 --> 00:41:13.119 That's cool. 827 00:41:13.239 --> 00:41:17.639 Yeah, it's very seamless. I played the demo Steam Next 828 00:41:17.679 --> 00:41:20.159 Fester this year. Something that I really enjoyed that you've 829 00:41:20.199 --> 00:41:23.960 kind of touched on is how seamless it is. It's 830 00:41:24.000 --> 00:41:26.400 not like a Telltale game where they'd be like, what 831 00:41:26.440 --> 00:41:29.360 should we do and then they give you time and 832 00:41:29.400 --> 00:41:31.960 everyone's just kind of paused. Like I don't know how 833 00:41:31.960 --> 00:41:33.960 they did it, but like when you pick the dialogue option, 834 00:41:34.079 --> 00:41:36.639 you can't see the seams of oh they're swapping in 835 00:41:36.719 --> 00:41:41.599 this cut scene or this vo like it seems it's 836 00:41:41.679 --> 00:41:44.800 really really impressive. I you mentioned Invincibler. I wish I 837 00:41:44.840 --> 00:41:46.920 wish Invincible looked as good as this game. This game 838 00:41:47.960 --> 00:41:50.679 the animation is so pretty, it's awesome. 839 00:41:51.480 --> 00:41:54.159 Like we talk about games with good writing, and there's 840 00:41:54.559 --> 00:41:58.239 uh as as people who play a lot of games, 841 00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:00.920 we do have a sense of of like this game 842 00:42:00.960 --> 00:42:03.639 has good writing, and that's often like for a game, 843 00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:05.960 like we're thinking of writing in terms of how you're 844 00:42:06.000 --> 00:42:08.280 interacting with stuff or I don't know, there's all these 845 00:42:08.280 --> 00:42:10.559 like caveats you have to have. Dispatch is a very 846 00:42:10.599 --> 00:42:13.480 well written thing, Like it's it's as good as a 847 00:42:13.519 --> 00:42:17.400 good TV show would be, Like this should be if 848 00:42:17.400 --> 00:42:18.960 this was a show, I would be like this should 849 00:42:19.000 --> 00:42:22.159 be nominated for Emmy's Like it's just really really good writing. 850 00:42:22.280 --> 00:42:25.760 And then when you when you're selecting stuff, also I 851 00:42:25.760 --> 00:42:31.320 should mention it it's you feel your choices really have consequences. 852 00:42:31.320 --> 00:42:33.400 They have I have like really tangible effects that I've 853 00:42:33.400 --> 00:42:36.000 done and I can't talk about all the things, especially 854 00:42:36.039 --> 00:42:38.239 in like chapters three and four, which I can say 855 00:42:38.280 --> 00:42:40.679 I've played but they don't want to spoil it all obviously, 856 00:42:41.599 --> 00:42:43.880 But there's stuff where like I'm making the decision here 857 00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:47.800 and it's it's not like I wasn't on the podcast 858 00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:50.159 last week talk about blood Lines Too, but I reviewed 859 00:42:50.199 --> 00:42:52.039 that and that was a game that, like for everything 860 00:42:52.039 --> 00:42:54.400 Wes was saying about Outer Worlds two's reactivity, I was like, 861 00:42:54.440 --> 00:42:57.559 there's not there's a very non reactive game in blood 862 00:42:57.559 --> 00:43:01.760 Lines Too. Dispatch is very react and stuff comes back 863 00:43:01.800 --> 00:43:05.039 in ways that you're not expecting. When you make these 864 00:43:05.039 --> 00:43:08.599 big decisions, they're treated as big decisions, they're built up appropriately, 865 00:43:08.679 --> 00:43:11.000 and then when you make the choice, I will say, 866 00:43:11.119 --> 00:43:13.360 it does slow down with like bigger stuff where it's like, 867 00:43:13.679 --> 00:43:15.719 all right, it's your call, man, and then you'll have 868 00:43:15.760 --> 00:43:18.000 a longer timer when it's like, you know, there's gonna 869 00:43:18.000 --> 00:43:21.000 be a thing that has a lot of consequences. Yeah, 870 00:43:21.039 --> 00:43:24.480 but yeah, I'm already like four episodes in already thinking 871 00:43:24.559 --> 00:43:27.559 like wow, I kind of already want to start a 872 00:43:27.559 --> 00:43:29.760 new save file and just do the opposite choices of 873 00:43:29.760 --> 00:43:31.360 a lot of the stuff I made because it's not. 874 00:43:32.000 --> 00:43:35.039 It's not necessarily like and there is stuff where like 875 00:43:35.039 --> 00:43:37.119 I can be a nice person or a bad person, 876 00:43:37.239 --> 00:43:38.719 or like I can be a jerk or whatever, but 877 00:43:38.760 --> 00:43:40.159 there's a lot of other stuff where it's like I'm 878 00:43:40.239 --> 00:43:42.840 kind of just making an arbitrary decision of like which 879 00:43:42.920 --> 00:43:45.039 person I like here, which decision I want to make here? 880 00:43:45.079 --> 00:43:47.519 And I could have easily gone the other way. 881 00:43:48.519 --> 00:43:51.360 How many episodes in total? Is it five? Six? 882 00:43:51.400 --> 00:43:55.840 There'll be eight episodes total, eight, and it'll be we're 883 00:43:55.840 --> 00:43:58.400 getting two every week. So two came out day of 884 00:43:58.400 --> 00:44:01.519 recording on Wednesday, the twenty second, and then there's two 885 00:44:01.559 --> 00:44:03.440 more on the twenty ninth, two more the week after that, 886 00:44:03.480 --> 00:44:05.760 and then the last two episodes come out on November twelfth. 887 00:44:06.159 --> 00:44:07.679 How how long is an episode? 888 00:44:07.679 --> 00:44:07.760 Like? 889 00:44:07.920 --> 00:44:09.920 Is it like TV length? Like an hour? 890 00:44:10.800 --> 00:44:10.960 Uh? 891 00:44:11.039 --> 00:44:13.920 Yeah, it's probably about an hour. I think it's it 892 00:44:13.920 --> 00:44:15.920 could be a little bit longer depending on how long 893 00:44:15.960 --> 00:44:19.280 you're like pausing in menus during like the strategy stuff. 894 00:44:19.360 --> 00:44:22.000 But yeah, it's about now, so pretty similar to like 895 00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:24.480 an older Telltale game, you know, yeah, like those are 896 00:44:24.480 --> 00:44:26.320 about the same, you know, one to two hours. 897 00:44:26.519 --> 00:44:26.880 Yeah. 898 00:44:26.920 --> 00:44:29.199 How do you feel about the episodic because I feel 899 00:44:29.199 --> 00:44:32.360 like a lot of devs that did that kind of 900 00:44:32.559 --> 00:44:34.519 we still get episodic, but it's like you can have 901 00:44:34.559 --> 00:44:36.559 all the episodes at once, so you get the structure, 902 00:44:36.599 --> 00:44:39.119 but you don't have to wait. They are very purposefully 903 00:44:39.119 --> 00:44:41.639 being like, no, we want you to wait every week. 904 00:44:41.639 --> 00:44:42.719 How do you feel about that? 905 00:44:43.920 --> 00:44:49.079 I I generally I don't really like it. I think 906 00:44:49.119 --> 00:44:51.119 I think the way they structure in episodes is really 907 00:44:51.119 --> 00:44:54.039 good and smart, like I like I especially like being 908 00:44:54.119 --> 00:44:56.199 like at the end of the episode, you kind of 909 00:44:56.199 --> 00:44:57.840 get a recap of all the choices you've made and 910 00:44:57.880 --> 00:45:00.199 how they are relative to other people's choices. I do 911 00:45:00.320 --> 00:45:03.039 like that, and I like that there's clean spots where 912 00:45:03.079 --> 00:45:04.239 you can just be like I'm gonna be done for 913 00:45:04.199 --> 00:45:07.119 a day, or I'll just play an episode today, but 914 00:45:07.320 --> 00:45:10.400 I'm not. It's it's also hard for us because we 915 00:45:10.480 --> 00:45:12.760 play a lot of games, like for work. It's really 916 00:45:12.760 --> 00:45:15.280 hard for me to play a little bit of something 917 00:45:15.360 --> 00:45:17.159 and then be told to come back every week for 918 00:45:18.239 --> 00:45:21.880 a month or so. But I think it's to each 919 00:45:21.920 --> 00:45:23.679 their own. That's kind of how I feel about a 920 00:45:23.719 --> 00:45:26.039 lot of TV these days. Of like if a show 921 00:45:26.079 --> 00:45:27.760 comes out and it's just the first episode, I'll usually 922 00:45:27.760 --> 00:45:29.599 watch the first episode and then kind of forget about 923 00:45:29.599 --> 00:45:31.920 it because I'm getting into other routines of stuff. 924 00:45:31.960 --> 00:45:35.639 But yeah, it sounds like Dispatches. If you weren't reviewing 925 00:45:35.639 --> 00:45:38.000 it for work, you'd still probably return each week. 926 00:45:38.079 --> 00:45:41.360 You think, Oh yeah, I think quality wise, it's definitely 927 00:45:41.360 --> 00:45:43.239 worth returning for. But I did get to the end 928 00:45:43.239 --> 00:45:47.960 of episode four and I was like, dang it. 929 00:45:46.000 --> 00:45:48.000 What's like to do the whole thing? 930 00:45:48.719 --> 00:45:51.159 What's the I guess without spoiling much, like, what's the 931 00:45:51.239 --> 00:45:53.960 overarching like what is the narrative building towards because in 932 00:45:53.960 --> 00:45:55.320 the demo I didn't get a sense of that. It 933 00:45:55.400 --> 00:45:58.719 was just guy down on his luck. Here's your new job, 934 00:45:59.639 --> 00:46:01.800 Like where where are they? What are what are they? 935 00:46:01.840 --> 00:46:02.719 Where are they going with that? 936 00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:10.199 So it's uh, the main thing I would say is 937 00:46:10.239 --> 00:46:12.519 there wait, sorry, I'll pause for a second. Are you 938 00:46:12.519 --> 00:46:14.840 guys still there? It's like really freezing up on my end. 939 00:46:16.480 --> 00:46:20.119 Yeah, yeah, weird. 940 00:46:21.800 --> 00:46:24.119 Clapping for It's like it's weird. 941 00:46:24.639 --> 00:46:27.079 It doesn't like it's either any individual person. It's like 942 00:46:27.119 --> 00:46:27.880 it's just discord. 943 00:46:28.039 --> 00:46:41.719 Yeah you guys, discord. Yeah, everybody keep recording. Yeah, mm hmmm, 944 00:46:42.440 --> 00:46:45.039 let's keep recording and everybody disconnect and reconnect. 945 00:46:48.280 --> 00:46:49.199 Disconnect now. 946 00:46:51.480 --> 00:47:02.239 Yep, h okay, that seems to have worked. 947 00:47:03.119 --> 00:47:05.559 Yep. Everybody's still recording. 948 00:47:05.840 --> 00:47:08.599 Yep, yes, okay, cook much better. 949 00:47:09.679 --> 00:47:10.639 Yeah that's weird. 950 00:47:11.880 --> 00:47:14.679 Okay. Yeah, So, uh what is it building towards? I 951 00:47:14.679 --> 00:47:16.559 would say there's there's a few. 952 00:47:16.840 --> 00:47:19.039 One do you think I need to reask that? Do 953 00:47:19.119 --> 00:47:20.679 you know if that park got fucked up? 954 00:47:21.360 --> 00:47:24.599 I think I think it because it's our individual recordings. 955 00:47:24.599 --> 00:47:27.519 It's probably fine because you I think you finished it properly. 956 00:47:27.559 --> 00:47:28.639 I was just waiting for everything above. 957 00:47:28.920 --> 00:47:29.079 Yep. 958 00:47:29.159 --> 00:47:30.880 Sorry, yeah, no, you're fine. 959 00:47:31.440 --> 00:47:34.800 Uh yeah. So so there's there's a few thread lines 960 00:47:34.800 --> 00:47:38.199 that's building up. One is there's like, uh, depending on 961 00:47:38.199 --> 00:47:39.639 how you want to play it, there is kind of 962 00:47:39.679 --> 00:47:43.039 like a romance thing that's kind of foreshadowed in the 963 00:47:43.119 --> 00:47:46.400 very beginning. There's some options there, like it's not necessarily 964 00:47:46.480 --> 00:47:49.880 like you're locked into one person. And then there's obviously 965 00:47:49.880 --> 00:47:53.320 the overarching thing of you're trying to get your suit back. 966 00:47:53.440 --> 00:47:56.800 So there is like progressive stuff of like he's trying 967 00:47:56.800 --> 00:47:58.800 out new stuff, he's got a guy that's helping him 968 00:47:58.800 --> 00:48:01.559 with things, and you're seeing like the progress of that 969 00:48:01.960 --> 00:48:03.599 and they haven't said it, and this is not a 970 00:48:03.599 --> 00:48:05.880 spoiler from a later episode that we haven't gotten because 971 00:48:05.880 --> 00:48:11.280 I haven't seen it yet. But Shroud is like the guy. Uh, 972 00:48:11.719 --> 00:48:16.960 he's like the big bad essentially. I imagine we're fate we're 973 00:48:17.039 --> 00:48:19.320 ending up towards some confrontation with him. Also, because I 974 00:48:19.320 --> 00:48:20.760 don't think i've heard him talk yet, and I know 975 00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:22.840 he's voiced by Matt Mercer, and I'm like, we're not 976 00:48:22.840 --> 00:48:25.880 gonna have Matt Mercer voice this guy and not give 977 00:48:25.920 --> 00:48:26.639 him any lines. 978 00:48:27.079 --> 00:48:31.119 I thought you meant Shroud, uh Streamer or whatever. I 979 00:48:31.119 --> 00:48:33.920 don't know. I know that name because this game does 980 00:48:34.039 --> 00:48:38.960 have like names like that in thescast, and I was like, Oh, 981 00:48:39.039 --> 00:48:42.280 that's cool that that guy is gonna be the big 982 00:48:42.320 --> 00:48:44.480 bad I guess, but Matt Mercer makes a lot more sense. 983 00:48:44.559 --> 00:48:48.480 Yeah, I will say to that. To that extent, I 984 00:48:48.559 --> 00:48:51.199 did interview a bunch of people from the cast. We'll 985 00:48:51.199 --> 00:48:54.159 have clips going up this week. I have a piece 986 00:48:54.159 --> 00:48:56.280 that went up. I interviewed Aaron Paul about the game 987 00:48:56.320 --> 00:49:00.119 that was really interesting. But it's yeah, it's weird, Like 988 00:49:00.159 --> 00:49:02.199 you've got like your class like Laura Bailey's in the game. 989 00:49:02.280 --> 00:49:03.960 You're like, yeah, of course, Laura Bailey will be in 990 00:49:03.960 --> 00:49:06.920 the game. Travis Willingham, who's married to Laura Bailey, also 991 00:49:06.960 --> 00:49:09.519 in the game. Matt Mercer. Of course, these are all 992 00:49:09.519 --> 00:49:11.519 critical role of people that do like every voice acting 993 00:49:11.519 --> 00:49:14.280 gig you'd imagine. And then there's like Jack Septic guy 994 00:49:14.400 --> 00:49:17.800 is just one of the guys. Uh, moist critical is 995 00:49:17.840 --> 00:49:22.000 just one of the guys. Thought squad on a musician? 996 00:49:23.679 --> 00:49:24.159 What was that? 997 00:49:24.760 --> 00:49:27.039 A lot of peers, fan of games, A lot of peers. 998 00:49:27.039 --> 00:49:30.639 Yes, uh, and yes, it's just just a lot of 999 00:49:30.679 --> 00:49:33.440 a lot of people. And Uh, it's a thing I 1000 00:49:33.440 --> 00:49:36.480 think when I saw the lineup of the credits, Uh, 1001 00:49:36.760 --> 00:49:39.920 kind of kind of feels like stunt casting to an extent, 1002 00:49:40.159 --> 00:49:42.400 where which is to say, like we're casting someone for 1003 00:49:42.440 --> 00:49:45.000 the name or their persona rather than like their performance. 1004 00:49:45.400 --> 00:49:47.920 But there's not like I know who Jack Sceptic guy plays, 1005 00:49:47.920 --> 00:49:50.920 because the guy is like very irish. There's not a 1006 00:49:50.920 --> 00:49:53.840 moment in this where it's like that's just Jack Septic 1007 00:49:53.840 --> 00:49:56.960 guy humor. They're just they just wanted to make references 1008 00:49:57.000 --> 00:49:58.760 to his stuff. It's like, no, he's just one of 1009 00:49:58.760 --> 00:50:01.559 the casts. And they all do really good jobs. And 1010 00:50:01.599 --> 00:50:03.760 it's also very natural sounding dialogue. So it's I think 1011 00:50:03.800 --> 00:50:06.480 it's very easy for someone that's like maybe not had 1012 00:50:06.519 --> 00:50:09.079 a ton of voice acting experience to come in read 1013 00:50:09.119 --> 00:50:10.599 the lines and make it sound natural. 1014 00:50:11.440 --> 00:50:15.920 Yeah. Yeah, And I remember you asked them about the 1015 00:50:16.039 --> 00:50:19.320 like stunt casting and a specifically Jack Septic guy and 1016 00:50:19.360 --> 00:50:23.079 it wasn't wasn't somebody like during COVID. I just put 1017 00:50:23.159 --> 00:50:25.320 him on background a lot while I was working and 1018 00:50:25.440 --> 00:50:27.719 I was like writing this character, and sure enough I 1019 00:50:27.760 --> 00:50:29.639 needed an Irish voice and Jack Septic work. 1020 00:50:30.320 --> 00:50:32.880 It was that was that was her mooice critical where 1021 00:50:32.880 --> 00:50:35.320 they like hit his streams on a lot and they're like, 1022 00:50:35.400 --> 00:50:37.440 I just feel like his voice would fit for this character. 1023 00:50:37.639 --> 00:50:40.000 They did, also, to their credit, say that like they 1024 00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:41.880 didn't just cast everyone they reached out to. I think 1025 00:50:41.880 --> 00:50:44.440 they reached out to people that probably didn't give good 1026 00:50:44.440 --> 00:50:47.320 auditions or they didn't they didn't like the vibe. 1027 00:50:47.079 --> 00:50:51.159 For Yeah, they didn't call me back, so they watched. 1028 00:50:50.880 --> 00:50:51.960 A lot of super replay. 1029 00:50:53.400 --> 00:50:53.440 No. 1030 00:50:53.639 --> 00:50:55.960 The Another one was a thought Squad who's like a 1031 00:50:56.000 --> 00:50:58.760 musician I hadn't heard of. She's the rapper and they 1032 00:50:58.920 --> 00:51:00.679 found some more videos and like it, and in the 1033 00:51:00.800 --> 00:51:03.199 my interview with her, something I really liked is. I 1034 00:51:03.559 --> 00:51:05.239 asked people, I was like, what is there anything about 1035 00:51:05.280 --> 00:51:07.960 dispatch or ad hocs, recording process the You're like, I 1036 00:51:07.960 --> 00:51:11.880 wish more games were like this, and thought Squad was like, yeah, honestly, 1037 00:51:11.920 --> 00:51:14.679 it's really cool that they like reached out to us 1038 00:51:14.679 --> 00:51:16.880 and they like genuinely gave us a chance. There's not 1039 00:51:16.920 --> 00:51:20.199 a reason they wouldn't they they could have just casted 1040 00:51:20.239 --> 00:51:22.079 it normally, and instead they're like, we think this person 1041 00:51:22.079 --> 00:51:24.119 would be a good fit for the role, and then 1042 00:51:24.239 --> 00:51:26.079 gave them like a really good chance. And now they're 1043 00:51:26.119 --> 00:51:28.159 like I thought Squad's like, yeah, I had never done 1044 00:51:28.159 --> 00:51:29.880 a video game before. I'm not a huge gamer. I'm 1045 00:51:29.880 --> 00:51:32.119 in this space now, and that's just like cool. And 1046 00:51:32.159 --> 00:51:34.079 it's cool that it worked out too that it's not like, oh, 1047 00:51:34.119 --> 00:51:35.760 they're giving them a try. It's like, no, that's a 1048 00:51:36.440 --> 00:51:39.800 that's a real character. They're doing good, they're earnest good performance. 1049 00:51:40.199 --> 00:51:41.400 So yeah, that's awesome. 1050 00:51:41.519 --> 00:51:47.320 Awesome. Uh well, Marcus, we're gonna send it over to you. 1051 00:51:47.320 --> 00:51:50.719 You reviewed Ninja Guide in four for us, and I'm 1052 00:51:50.760 --> 00:51:53.039 really curious. I mean, we've had a lot of previews 1053 00:51:53.079 --> 00:51:55.239 for this game, you know, we've of course it was 1054 00:51:55.280 --> 00:51:58.800 on our cover story. Shay's talked about it a fair 1055 00:51:58.840 --> 00:52:01.800 amount on the show with us uh and that as 1056 00:52:01.800 --> 00:52:03.960 of you. But like you have beaten the game, now 1057 00:52:04.119 --> 00:52:07.840 you've reviewed it, I'm very curious what what your thoughts are. 1058 00:52:08.199 --> 00:52:12.840 Hey, were you Hyabusa's back baby? Sort of, he's there, 1059 00:52:12.840 --> 00:52:15.039 he's in the background. He's not he's not the star 1060 00:52:15.119 --> 00:52:19.320 of this game. They got a new guy at the Helm. 1061 00:52:19.360 --> 00:52:25.280 His name's Yakimo. He's a really, uh cool looking ninja kid. 1062 00:52:25.840 --> 00:52:29.199 He speaks like this a lot, like he's got a 1063 00:52:29.199 --> 00:52:32.000 little bit of like a teenage Christian Bale batman kind 1064 00:52:32.000 --> 00:52:35.360 of performance going on. Yeah, and uh, and he's kind 1065 00:52:35.360 --> 00:52:39.039 of a he kind of is a representation of sort 1066 00:52:39.039 --> 00:52:40.519 of like the different direction of the game in general, 1067 00:52:40.559 --> 00:52:43.679 because one, this is not developed by Team Ninja. This 1068 00:52:43.760 --> 00:52:47.360 is Platinum Games Latin, hen you might know from other 1069 00:52:47.519 --> 00:52:50.559 great action series like ban Ata and Metal Gear Rising 1070 00:52:50.760 --> 00:52:57.159 and whatnot. Vanquish, I'm glad that you said, Vanquish. We're 1071 00:52:57.159 --> 00:53:04.400 gonna ignore wood West said, but yes, this game is 1072 00:53:04.599 --> 00:53:08.679 a lot of fun. I'm a Ninja Guiden fan, especially 1073 00:53:08.679 --> 00:53:11.719 to three D Ninja Guiden games that started in the 1074 00:53:11.760 --> 00:53:15.880 two thousands, and I'm also a big Platinum Games fan, 1075 00:53:15.920 --> 00:53:18.920 so this was like a like hearing this collaboration between 1076 00:53:18.920 --> 00:53:22.000 Team Ninja Platinum Games, this was like, Oh, this is 1077 00:53:22.119 --> 00:53:25.960 video game Christmas for style of actions sikos like myself, 1078 00:53:26.400 --> 00:53:28.719 And I'm happy to report that it has worked out 1079 00:53:28.840 --> 00:53:31.920 because this game is so much fun and it's also 1080 00:53:31.960 --> 00:53:35.280 a little wild that maybe the best compliment I can 1081 00:53:35.320 --> 00:53:39.280 give is that if you're a die hard three D 1082 00:53:39.440 --> 00:53:43.159 Ninja Guiden fan, I would bet you wouldn't tell that 1083 00:53:43.239 --> 00:53:47.239 this was a different developer at the helm because Platinum 1084 00:53:47.400 --> 00:53:50.519 and granted had guidance from Team Ninja. But this feels 1085 00:53:50.719 --> 00:53:53.599 like a proper Ninja guiding game like that doesn't feel 1086 00:53:53.679 --> 00:53:57.360 necessarily like a Platinum game pretending to be Ninja Guiden. 1087 00:53:57.519 --> 00:54:00.440 Like the physics and just like the tight control that 1088 00:54:00.559 --> 00:54:02.480 made the three D Ninja Guy game so good, like 1089 00:54:02.519 --> 00:54:05.880 all of that is here, as well as the brutal 1090 00:54:05.920 --> 00:54:10.599 difficulty that the series is rather infamous for, like the 1091 00:54:10.639 --> 00:54:12.519 three D Ninja guid in Games into two thousand, Like 1092 00:54:12.559 --> 00:54:15.239 those were the souls likes before souls likes became a thing, 1093 00:54:15.320 --> 00:54:18.599 Like those were if you wanted to have gamer creds, 1094 00:54:18.639 --> 00:54:21.400 so to speak, you talked about like, oh I beat 1095 00:54:21.559 --> 00:54:23.920 Ninja guy in one and two or and I like 1096 00:54:23.960 --> 00:54:26.639 one hundred percent of it in whatever, and yeah, no problem, 1097 00:54:26.679 --> 00:54:29.519 Like that was like legit impressive at the time, and 1098 00:54:29.559 --> 00:54:32.159 this game is challenging. It's tough. It's like, you know, 1099 00:54:32.760 --> 00:54:35.280 the average grunt enemy can tear you to pieces unless 1100 00:54:35.280 --> 00:54:37.480 you're on your game, and that's what makes it so 1101 00:54:37.559 --> 00:54:41.159 much fun. So it's sort of like the general like 1102 00:54:41.239 --> 00:54:44.039 plot premise is that you're playing this new ninja Yakama 1103 00:54:44.079 --> 00:54:46.079 who's part of the Raven Clan, which is like an 1104 00:54:46.920 --> 00:54:49.039 it's part of the Higabusa clan, but it's sort of 1105 00:54:49.079 --> 00:54:52.400 like a like a more secretive kind yeah, like kind 1106 00:54:52.400 --> 00:54:55.039 of like they're like the Black Ops branch of the 1107 00:54:55.320 --> 00:54:58.000 high Abusa Clan, where like nobody knows about them that 1108 00:54:58.519 --> 00:55:01.320 and they kind of just do sort of like shady 1109 00:55:01.440 --> 00:55:04.480 wetwork kind of missions, like the stuff that, yeah, the 1110 00:55:04.519 --> 00:55:07.760 proper Hyabusa clan would never kind of touch. They're like, yeah, 1111 00:55:07.840 --> 00:55:10.440 you know, we'll do some like political assassinations or whatnot 1112 00:55:10.519 --> 00:55:13.719 if you pay us enough. Basically, you know, regardless of 1113 00:55:13.719 --> 00:55:16.280 whether or not it's morally ethical or not. And so 1114 00:55:16.480 --> 00:55:20.400 Yakimo's sort of like seen as like the rising star 1115 00:55:20.679 --> 00:55:24.079 in this clan, and he's on a mission to kill 1116 00:55:24.119 --> 00:55:28.159 this priestess who is housing the dormant spirit of the 1117 00:55:28.239 --> 00:55:31.719 Dark Dragon, which is the recurring antagonist in the Ninja 1118 00:55:31.719 --> 00:55:34.800 Guiding games that Reuhyabusa has defeated countless times but has 1119 00:55:34.840 --> 00:55:38.320 never truly killed. He's kind of like Dracula in Castlevania, 1120 00:55:38.320 --> 00:55:41.760 where like sooner or later he's gonna come back. So 1121 00:55:41.960 --> 00:55:45.800 Yakimo following sort of this prophecy of the Raven clan, like, oh, 1122 00:55:45.800 --> 00:55:47.719 you got to kill the priestess and that'll take care 1123 00:55:47.719 --> 00:55:49.800 of it. And you get to the priestess who winds 1124 00:55:49.840 --> 00:55:53.519 up being this very very surprisingly kind of like bubbly 1125 00:55:53.760 --> 00:55:59.400 and charismatic and very like like flirty and teased like teases. 1126 00:55:59.440 --> 00:56:03.239 Yakamo kind of says like, hey, you know that prophecy, 1127 00:56:03.280 --> 00:56:05.679 it's actually not really what you think it is. What 1128 00:56:05.719 --> 00:56:08.920 you should really do is let me go. And also 1129 00:56:08.960 --> 00:56:11.480 we need to release the dragon because then you can 1130 00:56:11.559 --> 00:56:14.320 purify it and that will end it for good because 1131 00:56:14.400 --> 00:56:16.079 killing me, he's just gonna come back again, and like 1132 00:56:16.119 --> 00:56:20.280 another priestess, so why why even keep doing that? And 1133 00:56:20.360 --> 00:56:23.199 their relationship and kind of one of my biggest criticism 1134 00:56:23.239 --> 00:56:25.639 of the game is the story Ninja got In games. 1135 00:56:25.639 --> 00:56:27.840 I've never had good stories in my opinion, they're just 1136 00:56:28.360 --> 00:56:32.599 they are just like anime action bs and I. 1137 00:56:33.239 --> 00:56:37.599 Like smashing you know, action figures together. Yeah, it's kind 1138 00:56:37.639 --> 00:56:39.000 of the storyline. 1139 00:56:39.159 --> 00:56:41.199 It's like, Oh, I got my cool, hot ninja boy 1140 00:56:41.199 --> 00:56:43.760 and my hot priestest girl and they're gonna go on 1141 00:56:43.800 --> 00:56:46.639 an adventure to kill a dragon. And that's my excuse 1142 00:56:46.639 --> 00:56:49.599 for why I'm gonna like murder like twelve hundred other 1143 00:56:50.039 --> 00:56:54.159 people basically, and that's pretty much all it needs to be, honestly, 1144 00:56:54.320 --> 00:56:58.159 Like the fact that like there's there's no chemistry between 1145 00:56:58.199 --> 00:57:00.039 these two, like they kind of almost have like like 1146 00:57:00.159 --> 00:57:03.159 a cloud Earth kind of relationship of like, oh, the 1147 00:57:03.239 --> 00:57:06.320 gruff guy with the really kind of like nice flirty 1148 00:57:06.320 --> 00:57:09.239 girl that's kind of trying to penetrate his shell. But 1149 00:57:09.280 --> 00:57:12.360 it's even like it's nowhere near as explored because one 1150 00:57:12.400 --> 00:57:14.920 you almost spend most of your time communicating with her 1151 00:57:15.000 --> 00:57:17.960 over your comms, like she's not physically with Yakimo for 1152 00:57:18.039 --> 00:57:22.599 most of the adventure, but there's moments where there is 1153 00:57:22.639 --> 00:57:26.760 like there is a hilariously just like unearned sense of 1154 00:57:26.840 --> 00:57:29.280 like ore tease of a romance between the two where 1155 00:57:29.280 --> 00:57:32.639 you're like, why are we doing this? Like they haven't 1156 00:57:32.639 --> 00:57:35.480 even come close to like they merely know each other, 1157 00:57:35.519 --> 00:57:38.000 but it feels like obligatory, like whoa, these guys have 1158 00:57:38.079 --> 00:57:39.840 to kind of have something, and it's like no, no, 1159 00:57:39.880 --> 00:57:40.280 they don't. 1160 00:57:40.880 --> 00:57:43.519 Oh, Marcus, I just want to let you know what 1161 00:57:43.599 --> 00:57:46.280 you have brought on yourself. You said the words, there's 1162 00:57:46.320 --> 00:57:49.119 not much chemistry between the two of them, like Cloud 1163 00:57:49.159 --> 00:57:52.159 and Earth. There is a lot of people on the 1164 00:57:52.159 --> 00:57:53.480 internet that would. 1165 00:57:53.360 --> 00:57:54.760 Disagree with you. 1166 00:57:56.679 --> 00:57:57.280 Chemistry. 1167 00:57:57.639 --> 00:58:00.599 You're correct, they don't. It's it's all about on TIFA. 1168 00:58:00.639 --> 00:58:02.159 But I just wanted to warn you for the comments 1169 00:58:02.159 --> 00:58:03.119 that was surely becoming. 1170 00:58:03.239 --> 00:58:06.079 Okay, this is just excuse for West to come out 1171 00:58:06.119 --> 00:58:07.079 as a TIFA stand. 1172 00:58:08.840 --> 00:58:10.599 It depends on you who you took on that date 1173 00:58:10.800 --> 00:58:14.480 during the Golden Saucer. You know, maybe you can disagree there, 1174 00:58:14.519 --> 00:58:20.079 but but yes, all of that is irrelevant almost because 1175 00:58:20.119 --> 00:58:22.199 the action in this game is so damn good. So 1176 00:58:22.320 --> 00:58:25.039 Yakimo's got four different weapons that you gain. They're all 1177 00:58:25.119 --> 00:58:27.800 kind of like demonic arms. He's got like his starting 1178 00:58:27.880 --> 00:58:31.039 kind of dual katanas you get the staff. He has 1179 00:58:31.079 --> 00:58:36.519 these like this sort of like a rapier that transforms 1180 00:58:36.559 --> 00:58:39.400 into a drill when you use these Blood Raven attacks, 1181 00:58:39.440 --> 00:58:41.159 which is like a new mechanic for Ninja Guide, and 1182 00:58:41.199 --> 00:58:44.679 where if you hold the left trigger while you are attacking, 1183 00:58:44.800 --> 00:58:47.800 and as long as you have enough of a meter field, 1184 00:58:48.079 --> 00:58:51.119 you'll basically do like stronger variations of your normal attack, 1185 00:58:51.239 --> 00:58:54.960 Like they're a little slower, but they transformed the weapon 1186 00:58:54.960 --> 00:58:57.079 into a sort of like almost a demonic version of 1187 00:58:57.119 --> 00:58:59.039 yourself to where like, oh, a Blood Raven attack with 1188 00:58:59.079 --> 00:59:02.440 your swords makes the sword like extra long and like 1189 00:59:02.599 --> 00:59:04.840 crimson red, and you'll just like deal a ton of 1190 00:59:04.880 --> 00:59:08.559 damage to more enemies at once. I mentioned like the 1191 00:59:08.559 --> 00:59:10.639 the rapier can turn into this drill that you can 1192 00:59:10.719 --> 00:59:12.400 just like toss guys in the air and then just 1193 00:59:12.480 --> 00:59:16.599 drill them apart. Like the staff turns into a big 1194 00:59:16.639 --> 00:59:20.079 hammer that you can smash dudes apart with, and like 1195 00:59:20.119 --> 00:59:23.360 there's a the enemies have certain attacks and defenses that 1196 00:59:23.400 --> 00:59:26.360 can only be broken by using the Blood Raven attacks. 1197 00:59:26.719 --> 00:59:30.039 So like the gameplay is already pretty fast paced and 1198 00:59:30.079 --> 00:59:34.199 a lot about like within like nanoseconds trying to react 1199 00:59:34.360 --> 00:59:37.679 to all these attacks coming after you, but the blood 1200 00:59:37.760 --> 00:59:40.320 Raven attacks kind of make you study the enemies even 1201 00:59:40.360 --> 00:59:41.960 more because now you're trying to watch, like, Okay, this 1202 00:59:42.000 --> 00:59:43.760 guy's eyes are glowing red and he's got like a 1203 00:59:43.760 --> 00:59:46.239 little glow. I can only break through that by using 1204 00:59:46.239 --> 00:59:48.239 my blood Raven attack that I have to weave into 1205 00:59:48.280 --> 00:59:51.280 this combo string that I'm already doing right now to 1206 00:59:51.400 --> 00:59:53.440 like stun him, and then you can go in there 1207 00:59:53.480 --> 00:59:55.840 and deal with with more damage and it feels awesome 1208 00:59:56.400 --> 00:59:59.960 like this game, Like the best thing about this style 1209 01:00:00.159 --> 01:00:02.679 is action genre when it's done right, is that it 1210 01:00:02.679 --> 01:00:04.880 makes you feel like the coolest guy that has ever 1211 01:00:04.920 --> 01:00:09.280 picked up a controller. Like everything you do, you're just like, man, 1212 01:00:09.679 --> 01:00:11.400 no one looks as cool as me. Did you see 1213 01:00:11.400 --> 01:00:13.400 that like ten hit combo that I popped the guy 1214 01:00:13.440 --> 01:00:16.159 in the air, juggled them, then did a Zuma drop 1215 01:00:16.199 --> 01:00:19.000 where it's just like a spinning pile driver basically like 1216 01:00:19.199 --> 01:00:21.480 no one else could have done that, And like all 1217 01:00:21.559 --> 01:00:23.679 the moves are easy to execute but also still have 1218 01:00:23.760 --> 01:00:28.400 enough like kind of like technical aspect to them, because 1219 01:00:28.400 --> 01:00:30.519 it's kind of like fighting game inputs, but it's all 1220 01:00:30.559 --> 01:00:33.639 like simple fighting game inputs, So just like, oh up, 1221 01:00:33.679 --> 01:00:36.760 doown X does this one attack or quarter like they 1222 01:00:36.800 --> 01:00:40.000 have quarter circles like you do, Like quarter circle, X 1223 01:00:40.039 --> 01:00:42.039 will do like this spinning move that just like he'll 1224 01:00:42.079 --> 01:00:44.239 like spin around and hit like a bunch of enemies 1225 01:00:44.239 --> 01:00:46.639 within a radius, and then like your standard like you know, 1226 01:00:46.760 --> 01:00:51.719 like XX triangle whatever. They have like a nice challenge 1227 01:00:51.800 --> 01:00:54.880 room that they present you constantly when you buy new moves, 1228 01:00:54.920 --> 01:00:56.800 so you can kind of try out everything. But I 1229 01:00:56.800 --> 01:01:02.199 also recommend not feeling obligated to unlock every new move 1230 01:01:02.239 --> 01:01:04.920 every time you have the opportunity to do so. I 1231 01:01:04.960 --> 01:01:08.400 think it is smart to sort of like acclimate yourself 1232 01:01:08.400 --> 01:01:10.159 with what you have, because you have a lot to 1233 01:01:10.159 --> 01:01:12.320 work with at the start, and they throw a lot 1234 01:01:12.360 --> 01:01:15.280 at you very quickly to where I think our video 1235 01:01:15.320 --> 01:01:17.199 game mind's kind of like, oh, I should have this now, 1236 01:01:17.280 --> 01:01:20.239 But then that's like another new input you need to use, 1237 01:01:20.360 --> 01:01:22.159 and it's easy to just unlock a bunch of stuff 1238 01:01:22.159 --> 01:01:24.079 in succession and forget that you even have it at 1239 01:01:24.159 --> 01:01:27.440 your disposal. So I could if I could offer a 1240 01:01:27.480 --> 01:01:32.199 pro tip to players, like just leave stuff available until 1241 01:01:32.239 --> 01:01:35.119 you think you're ready to start adding to your arsenal, 1242 01:01:35.119 --> 01:01:36.760 and I think you will have a better time, and 1243 01:01:36.800 --> 01:01:40.519 will also find yourself using the different maneuvers because the 1244 01:01:40.559 --> 01:01:44.199 game rewards kind of like smart implementation of your combos 1245 01:01:44.239 --> 01:01:46.719 and different maneuvers. Because like I said, the game's hard, 1246 01:01:46.719 --> 01:01:49.639 and they throw a lot of enemies at you. The 1247 01:01:49.760 --> 01:01:53.400 enemy variety I think is a little I say, say 1248 01:01:53.400 --> 01:01:55.599 a week, but it could be better. Like I think 1249 01:01:55.639 --> 01:01:58.239 a lot of the encounters kind of as you move 1250 01:01:58.280 --> 01:02:01.880 throughout the different worlds though, throw like a decent selection, 1251 01:02:02.000 --> 01:02:04.199 but then it kind of remains that selection until you 1252 01:02:04.239 --> 01:02:07.960 reach the next brand new area and y. And because 1253 01:02:07.960 --> 01:02:10.960 the encounters can drag sometimes, which is with my other 1254 01:02:11.079 --> 01:02:13.719 kind of criticism, like as fun as the combat is, 1255 01:02:14.480 --> 01:02:18.280 like you, you will be tired playing this game, Like 1256 01:02:18.320 --> 01:02:21.119 your hands will hurt. And I'm speaking from experience, and 1257 01:02:21.159 --> 01:02:22.800 it's one of those times where I almost felt old 1258 01:02:22.840 --> 01:02:24.679 of like, oh my god, please tell them I'm not 1259 01:02:24.719 --> 01:02:27.000 aging out of this genre. But there were plenty of 1260 01:02:27.119 --> 01:02:31.079 combat encounters where I've like, you know, playing ten fights straight, 1261 01:02:31.440 --> 01:02:34.719 and because of how like on on the ball you 1262 01:02:34.760 --> 01:02:36.400 need to be and how quickly you need to get 1263 01:02:36.400 --> 01:02:38.960 these inputs in to keep up with everything around you, 1264 01:02:38.960 --> 01:02:40.559 you will put the controller down and be like, oh 1265 01:02:40.639 --> 01:02:43.159 my kind of almost achy, like if it was a 1266 01:02:43.159 --> 01:02:45.079 cartoon character. I feel like smoke what coming out of 1267 01:02:45.119 --> 01:02:48.880 my hands when I finished playing like a really long 1268 01:02:48.920 --> 01:02:52.480 combat encounter. But like I mentioned before, like it all 1269 01:02:52.559 --> 01:02:57.119 feels super good and it's so fun to play outside 1270 01:02:57.119 --> 01:03:00.960 of battles. This is a very it's a throwbacky in 1271 01:03:00.960 --> 01:03:04.400 the sense of like I think like Soul's likes have 1272 01:03:04.480 --> 01:03:08.079 almost become the de facto action game at this point 1273 01:03:08.639 --> 01:03:13.119 to and where players expect kind of like maybe medior 1274 01:03:13.159 --> 01:03:16.800 exploration outside of battles, whereas this is very much like 1275 01:03:16.880 --> 01:03:19.440 old school in Ninja Guided and kind of what stylish 1276 01:03:19.480 --> 01:03:22.239 action games used to be of. You're just moving straight 1277 01:03:22.440 --> 01:03:26.639 down largely linear corridors, and then occasionally you'll find like 1278 01:03:26.679 --> 01:03:29.679 an alternate path that'll lead you to like a secret 1279 01:03:30.199 --> 01:03:33.960 or a challenge room, or one of the very very 1280 01:03:34.000 --> 01:03:37.159 boilerplate simple side quests that you can do, which it 1281 01:03:37.400 --> 01:03:39.360 all boil down to, hey, can you kill like five 1282 01:03:39.360 --> 01:03:44.079 of these enemies over here? And so it's like refreshing 1283 01:03:44.079 --> 01:03:46.119 in that sense. But I think if you're looking for 1284 01:03:46.199 --> 01:03:48.480 maybe something a little bit more robust, that could be 1285 01:03:49.239 --> 01:03:51.079 maybe a little bit of a disappointment, And I think 1286 01:03:51.079 --> 01:03:55.440 it just comes into like maybe your many your age, 1287 01:03:55.440 --> 01:03:57.360 even like depending on when you got into action games. 1288 01:03:57.440 --> 01:03:59.880 They don't really make action games like this anymore. Yeah, 1289 01:04:01.239 --> 01:04:04.119 and but I like I enjoyed it as an as 1290 01:04:04.159 --> 01:04:05.000 an old person. 1291 01:04:08.000 --> 01:04:11.599 Like it's been what like fifteen years since the last 1292 01:04:11.599 --> 01:04:12.519 one or something. 1293 01:04:12.360 --> 01:04:15.159 Since Ninja Guiden three. Yes, not since the last Ninja 1294 01:04:15.199 --> 01:04:17.360 Guiding games. I mean we got Rage Bound this year 1295 01:04:17.400 --> 01:04:19.760 and then The Black Remastered, but this is the first 1296 01:04:19.800 --> 01:04:23.400 like mainline number game since three, which was twenty twelve. 1297 01:04:24.159 --> 01:04:29.159 Does it feel kind of like an old Ninja Guiden 1298 01:04:29.280 --> 01:04:31.639 but like for twenty twenty five or do you think 1299 01:04:31.639 --> 01:04:33.840 that it feels more in line with like it could 1300 01:04:33.840 --> 01:04:36.719 have come out a couple of years after three, uh 1301 01:04:36.880 --> 01:04:37.840 and fit right in. 1302 01:04:39.280 --> 01:04:42.079 Hmmm, that's an interesting question. I I don't know if 1303 01:04:42.119 --> 01:04:44.480 this game is doing anything that I mean, if we're 1304 01:04:44.519 --> 01:04:47.480 talking strictly technology, I mean, this game runs it like 1305 01:04:47.519 --> 01:04:50.440 I think one if you have the display to do it, 1306 01:04:50.480 --> 01:04:53.280 which is you know, insane. I mean it runs out 1307 01:04:53.280 --> 01:04:56.039 of Smooth sixty on Xbox Series X, which is where 1308 01:04:56.039 --> 01:04:58.480 I reviewed it. So like maybe in terms of the performance, 1309 01:04:58.519 --> 01:05:00.320 I don't think you could get like this is good 1310 01:05:00.320 --> 01:05:02.119 looking game I don't know if that's I feel like 1311 01:05:02.159 --> 01:05:03.960 that might be lost in some of the discussions too, 1312 01:05:04.000 --> 01:05:06.840 is how good this game looks Like the environments look good, 1313 01:05:06.880 --> 01:05:09.599 the like it never stutters or like they're throwing so 1314 01:05:09.719 --> 01:05:12.679 much at you, and it maintains that silky smooth just 1315 01:05:12.800 --> 01:05:16.639 like fast paces. So and I think that does help 1316 01:05:16.679 --> 01:05:19.400 with kind of selling the action. So I don't I 1317 01:05:19.440 --> 01:05:21.960 think that aspect you couldn't have achieved, you know, into 1318 01:05:21.960 --> 01:05:24.320 twenty tens. But in terms of the mechanics, I mean, 1319 01:05:24.320 --> 01:05:28.000 there's nothing crazy about the mechanics, even though there's new 1320 01:05:28.039 --> 01:05:30.519 stuff that couldn't have been done before. But I also 1321 01:05:30.559 --> 01:05:32.880 don't think that's like a knock against it. I think 1322 01:05:32.920 --> 01:05:36.119 that's sort of like something that maybe like I don't 1323 01:05:36.119 --> 01:05:38.800 know who brought like the new ideas, like if it 1324 01:05:38.840 --> 01:05:41.800 was all Platinum or if it was Team Ninja and 1325 01:05:41.840 --> 01:05:44.719 Platinum together. So I don't want to pin it on like, oh, 1326 01:05:44.840 --> 01:05:47.480 this would have happened if Platinum had stepped in, you know, 1327 01:05:47.719 --> 01:05:51.400 because I don't. I don't really know. But it is 1328 01:05:51.519 --> 01:05:55.719 like it's something that feels like it could come out today, 1329 01:05:56.199 --> 01:05:57.840 but in the ways that I kind of mentioned earlier, 1330 01:05:57.840 --> 01:05:59.800 like it also feels like a throwback to like the 1331 01:06:00.000 --> 01:06:06.199 stylist action Heyday in a good way. Yeah, Like it's 1332 01:06:06.280 --> 01:06:10.639 fun the other the thing that disappoints me most about it, though, 1333 01:06:10.679 --> 01:06:14.440 and it's funny because it's almost sort of like there's 1334 01:06:14.440 --> 01:06:18.039 something serendipitous about this. So this is the fourth numbered 1335 01:06:18.119 --> 01:06:23.519 Ninja Guiden game that is headed by Platinum. Platinum has 1336 01:06:23.800 --> 01:06:27.679 lineage to Devil May Cry because you know, there was 1337 01:06:27.719 --> 01:06:29.920 developers that left Platinum that worked on the Devil mc 1338 01:06:29.960 --> 01:06:33.000 Cry games. The fourth Devil May Cry game also started 1339 01:06:33.000 --> 01:06:38.360 to do protagonists, but also had Dante playable, but they 1340 01:06:38.519 --> 01:06:41.119 it's funny how both Ninja Gayden For and Dil May 1341 01:06:41.159 --> 01:06:46.559 Cry for handle the returning staple protagonists in the same 1342 01:06:46.880 --> 01:06:51.599 bad way. Because Ninja Guiden four you play is for 1343 01:06:51.719 --> 01:06:55.360 you eventually, but it's only for a handful of missions. 1344 01:06:55.360 --> 01:06:58.119 In the latter have and all of his missions are 1345 01:06:58.320 --> 01:07:02.159 just him going through the same stages you played through 1346 01:07:02.360 --> 01:07:06.440 as Yakimo. They're like shorter variations of It sucks, but 1347 01:07:06.519 --> 01:07:09.480 it is like the same content and you even refight 1348 01:07:09.639 --> 01:07:14.079 the same bosses. And even though there is a narrative 1349 01:07:14.199 --> 01:07:17.639 explanation for it that like makes sense, but it still 1350 01:07:17.719 --> 01:07:21.039 doesn't make it, you know, any more exciting that like, 1351 01:07:21.079 --> 01:07:24.519 oh that I already killed this admittedly really cool boss, 1352 01:07:24.559 --> 01:07:27.920 but like you're just doing it again as Rio Hyabusa, 1353 01:07:27.920 --> 01:07:31.559 who does play differently than Yakimo. And yeah, I've gotten 1354 01:07:31.599 --> 01:07:33.920 flat for saying this, but Ryu is fun to use 1355 01:07:33.920 --> 01:07:35.480 in this game, but I think Yaka is the most 1356 01:07:35.519 --> 01:07:38.199 more fun, just because Yakomo has like the four different 1357 01:07:38.199 --> 01:07:40.960 weapons you can cycle through, whereas Reu just has the 1358 01:07:41.039 --> 01:07:44.119 Dragon sword and his Nimpo magic fun in his own way. 1359 01:07:44.159 --> 01:07:46.519 But I just liked having the options of cycling through 1360 01:07:46.559 --> 01:07:49.679 so many different weapons and creating these crazy combo strings 1361 01:07:49.679 --> 01:07:52.599 with Yakimo actually can't really do with Reu, but yeah, 1362 01:07:52.639 --> 01:07:55.480 it was. It was crazy how much this reminded me 1363 01:07:55.519 --> 01:07:57.639 of Double Bay Cry for in the second half of Like, oh, 1364 01:07:57.679 --> 01:08:00.840 you're running through this again as the series fab protagonist, 1365 01:08:00.880 --> 01:08:03.000 but in the most boring way possible. 1366 01:08:03.639 --> 01:08:06.639 Also, like who cares if there's narrative reason for it? 1367 01:08:06.679 --> 01:08:08.400 If the narrative isn't good. 1368 01:08:09.760 --> 01:08:13.840 That's like, oh, I understand why this is happening, but 1369 01:08:13.920 --> 01:08:19.159 I still wish it wasn't happening. Yeah, So yeah, that's 1370 01:08:19.520 --> 01:08:21.760 I think maybe that's probably the biggest bummer is just 1371 01:08:21.920 --> 01:08:23.800 the reuse stuff, because like hearing that he was also 1372 01:08:23.800 --> 01:08:27.920 playable was really exciting. And I think the fights against Reu, 1373 01:08:28.000 --> 01:08:29.760 because you fight him a couple of times, like those 1374 01:08:29.760 --> 01:08:31.840 are fun because it's like the you know, like, oh, 1375 01:08:31.880 --> 01:08:33.680 I'm fighting the guy that I've been in the last 1376 01:08:33.720 --> 01:08:36.279 three games. I know what he can do, but also 1377 01:08:36.439 --> 01:08:38.359 I get to know what it feels like to be 1378 01:08:38.439 --> 01:08:40.159 on the other side of his sword because oh my god, 1379 01:08:40.199 --> 01:08:42.399 he's super hard because he should be because he's the 1380 01:08:42.439 --> 01:08:46.239 super ninja. So like the fights against him are more 1381 01:08:46.279 --> 01:08:49.159 fun than actually playing through him, which is a bummer, 1382 01:08:49.399 --> 01:08:53.560 but overall fun game. I love Ninja Gayding four. I 1383 01:08:53.560 --> 01:08:56.159 think it's you know, it's a nice return to form 1384 01:08:56.159 --> 01:08:59.479 after a Ninja guydon three you know famously was not 1385 01:09:00.119 --> 01:09:02.560 very good and even with the Razor's Edge sort of 1386 01:09:02.600 --> 01:09:05.880 like band aid that they did, it was still the 1387 01:09:05.920 --> 01:09:08.199 worst of the three or at the time three ninja 1388 01:09:08.239 --> 01:09:11.159 guy in games. Yeah, but you know, it's nice that, 1389 01:09:11.399 --> 01:09:13.279 you know, or finally the series is back and it's 1390 01:09:13.279 --> 01:09:16.720 finally kind of like back on a on better footing. 1391 01:09:16.760 --> 01:09:18.680 And I hope we get like more games with Yakomo 1392 01:09:18.720 --> 01:09:21.279 because it certainly seems like they have kind of laid 1393 01:09:21.319 --> 01:09:25.600 the runway for a series starring him. 1394 01:09:26.279 --> 01:09:29.479 Yeah, well, thanks for kind of running that down. I 1395 01:09:29.520 --> 01:09:32.560 think I don't know if I don't know if this 1396 01:09:32.760 --> 01:09:39.039 is I'm also not a character action guy, so I 1397 01:09:39.079 --> 01:09:41.720 don't know if I'm gonna if I'm gonna swing this one. 1398 01:09:41.800 --> 01:09:42.199 I don't know. 1399 01:09:42.359 --> 01:09:44.119 Do you feel like you've gotten what you needed out 1400 01:09:44.159 --> 01:09:46.760 of it just watching the footage, Like, do you feel 1401 01:09:46.760 --> 01:09:48.640 like you need to play it because of how hard 1402 01:09:48.640 --> 01:09:51.279 it is and it's it's pretty demanding, Like you're like, 1403 01:09:51.359 --> 01:09:53.279 it's fun to just look at it and admire, But 1404 01:09:53.600 --> 01:09:55.159 I don't know if I need to be the person 1405 01:09:55.239 --> 01:09:55.680 doing that. 1406 01:09:56.600 --> 01:09:58.880 Yeah, it definitely strikes me as like one of those 1407 01:09:58.920 --> 01:10:01.399 games that I could pull up on Twitch and just 1408 01:10:01.399 --> 01:10:04.439 like enjoying the background and like, oh, dang, that's a 1409 01:10:04.439 --> 01:10:06.640 cool fight, you know that kind of thing. But I 1410 01:10:06.680 --> 01:10:09.079 don't necessarily need to need to check it out myself. 1411 01:10:09.600 --> 01:10:11.960 But I am happy for the Ninja Giden fans out 1412 01:10:11.960 --> 01:10:16.079 there that there's like, finally, you know, a good one 1413 01:10:16.119 --> 01:10:18.560 of those again to go and play. Yeah, and kind 1414 01:10:18.600 --> 01:10:20.439 of there's you know, flaws. 1415 01:10:20.159 --> 01:10:22.239 And like the last I'm pretty sure this is the 1416 01:10:22.319 --> 01:10:24.840 last year of the Ninja game, right, I don't think. 1417 01:10:24.680 --> 01:10:27.880 There's anything else after this, and yeah. 1418 01:10:27.560 --> 01:10:29.840 So I think it kind of compleats like the streak 1419 01:10:29.880 --> 01:10:31.680 of Like all of them are good. I think we 1420 01:10:31.720 --> 01:10:32.479 can all agree. 1421 01:10:33.800 --> 01:10:36.840 Yeah, yeah, I think my favorite one has been Schanobi 1422 01:10:37.000 --> 01:10:40.680 Art of Vengeance out of out of what's come out 1423 01:10:40.760 --> 01:10:43.680 or actually no, probably rage Bound, Ninja Guiden, rage Bound, 1424 01:10:43.720 --> 01:10:48.880 It's probably is really good. Yeah, if you're gonna play 1425 01:10:48.880 --> 01:10:53.279 one Ninja guiding game, I feel like, what do you think? 1426 01:10:53.399 --> 01:10:53.960 I feel like. 1427 01:10:54.359 --> 01:10:56.079 There's so much it's hard because they're so. 1428 01:10:56.079 --> 01:10:58.239 They are so different. Yeah, they are, I think. 1429 01:10:58.279 --> 01:10:59.840 I mean, if you're a Ninja Guyden fan, you should 1430 01:10:59.840 --> 01:11:02.079 play both because you're you're eating real good this year, 1431 01:11:02.199 --> 01:11:05.199 and even the Ninja Guy in two Black from January 1432 01:11:05.279 --> 01:11:07.600 if you have a great remaster of a very good 1433 01:11:07.680 --> 01:11:11.279 Ninja Guy in game. I don't know, Wes, I feel 1434 01:11:11.279 --> 01:11:13.000 like we're gonna have to have that conversation. I mean 1435 01:11:13.039 --> 01:11:13.199 I have. 1436 01:11:13.359 --> 01:11:14.279 I think it's I. 1437 01:11:14.279 --> 01:11:17.079 Feel like playing Ninja God in four and then you 1438 01:11:17.119 --> 01:11:19.960 decide either Rage Bound or Shanoby, because Shanoby and Rage 1439 01:11:19.960 --> 01:11:22.800 Bound are kind of doing the same thing in the 1440 01:11:22.800 --> 01:11:26.399 sense that they're like two D action games, whereas yeah, 1441 01:11:26.520 --> 01:11:30.279 rage Bound is so different from four other than like 1442 01:11:30.640 --> 01:11:34.000 the fact that you're going to hear similar names and 1443 01:11:34.039 --> 01:11:35.319 it's demons and. 1444 01:11:35.239 --> 01:11:37.359 You also fight Reu Hai Busa at different points in 1445 01:11:37.399 --> 01:11:37.880 both ka. 1446 01:11:40.760 --> 01:11:43.520 Well, I think that's gonna do it for that topic. 1447 01:11:43.720 --> 01:11:47.439 Going to transition to our last topic before the interview 1448 01:11:47.479 --> 01:11:51.479 with Samantha bay Art, I got a chance to go 1449 01:11:52.319 --> 01:11:57.039 hands on with the season one content for Battlefield six. 1450 01:11:57.439 --> 01:12:00.720 Uh So I got to check out like I got 1451 01:12:00.720 --> 01:12:02.680 to check out a new sniper, which was really cool, 1452 01:12:02.880 --> 01:12:05.760 but like the main I think the main draw for me, 1453 01:12:05.800 --> 01:12:09.479 at least with two new maps. One is Blackwell Fields 1454 01:12:10.760 --> 01:12:14.600 and one is Golden State. And Blackwell Fields is like 1455 01:12:15.399 --> 01:12:19.520 very battlefield map, like you know, you're driving over and 1456 01:12:19.600 --> 01:12:22.199 like if you hit like oil rigs, they'll like shoot 1457 01:12:22.199 --> 01:12:24.279 oil into the air and like there's a lot of 1458 01:12:24.359 --> 01:12:27.920 stuff on fire, and you know, it's very very battlefield. 1459 01:12:27.960 --> 01:12:31.199 And then Golden State is in this like idyllic you know, 1460 01:12:31.560 --> 01:12:36.239 California neighborhood that's like really green and lush and like suburban. 1461 01:12:36.560 --> 01:12:39.439 Yeah, they also both sound like Pearl Jam songs to 1462 01:12:39.479 --> 01:12:40.359 me for some reason. 1463 01:12:42.279 --> 01:12:46.000 That's funny. Yeah, they do, and I'm I really enjoy 1464 01:12:46.079 --> 01:12:50.920 both maps. Actually, you know, sometimes DLC maps in in 1465 01:12:51.039 --> 01:12:52.840 shooter games, they can be hit or missed. You know. 1466 01:12:52.880 --> 01:12:57.439 It's like, especially when they launched so closely after after 1467 01:12:57.479 --> 01:12:59.760 the main game, is like, oh, these weren't included in 1468 01:13:00.399 --> 01:13:02.319 you know, it was a choice to include these later 1469 01:13:02.359 --> 01:13:06.039 on rather than with like the base the base launch maps, 1470 01:13:06.840 --> 01:13:08.960 and that could be good or bad sometimes depending on 1471 01:13:09.000 --> 01:13:13.640 like confidence levels. But I think that this one, this 1472 01:13:13.840 --> 01:13:17.239 drop of maps is really solid and is going to 1473 01:13:17.319 --> 01:13:21.880 serve as like incentive to keep playing Battlefield six. I 1474 01:13:21.880 --> 01:13:23.800 think these maps and stuff are dropping. It's at the 1475 01:13:24.000 --> 01:13:27.600 twenty six the twenty eighth of October, so it's next week. 1476 01:13:27.640 --> 01:13:32.359 I think it's the twenty eighth on Tuesday. And yeah, 1477 01:13:32.399 --> 01:13:37.119 but I'm really enjoying them. I think, you know, I 1478 01:13:37.159 --> 01:13:40.239 have realized, like, as I've played Battlefield six more and more, 1479 01:13:40.359 --> 01:13:44.680 I think I'm a tank guy. I I you know, 1480 01:13:44.800 --> 01:13:47.960 I in the past, she always was like kind of infantry. 1481 01:13:48.159 --> 01:13:51.479 I was sniper, you know, And now that I'm like 1482 01:13:51.479 --> 01:13:55.439 playing Battlefield six, I'm realizing that, like, man, maybe I'm 1483 01:13:55.439 --> 01:13:58.640 the vehicle guy, but not not the choppers, not the jets. 1484 01:13:58.880 --> 01:14:00.920 Maybe I'm just like, you know, oh. 1485 01:14:00.840 --> 01:14:03.680 I'm a chopper guy, even though I have no right 1486 01:14:03.720 --> 01:14:06.439 to be. I I crash it every time I've ever 1487 01:14:06.479 --> 01:14:07.399 gotten into one. 1488 01:14:07.800 --> 01:14:09.560 But I still, yeah, and that's why I'm not a chopper. 1489 01:14:11.840 --> 01:14:15.760 What's really funny is the Golden State map. You can 1490 01:14:15.840 --> 01:14:19.039 drive golf carts around and so you'll just see like 1491 01:14:19.760 --> 01:14:28.920 helicopters crash into golf carts and it's really good. Yeah, exactly. Yeah, 1492 01:14:28.960 --> 01:14:32.880 the flow of the maps are really really great too. Yeah. 1493 01:14:33.000 --> 01:14:36.199 I'm really just enjoying Battlefield six. It's it's for sure 1494 01:14:36.359 --> 01:14:39.279 gonna be on my top ten somewhere. It's really kind 1495 01:14:39.279 --> 01:14:43.000 of doing it for me. And you know, as they 1496 01:14:43.000 --> 01:14:46.079 continue to roll out, there's also more modes coming that 1497 01:14:46.159 --> 01:14:48.279 I actually didn't get a chance to check out yet. 1498 01:14:49.359 --> 01:14:54.039 Can you do private like matches like team on team stuff? 1499 01:14:56.920 --> 01:15:01.319 Maybe through portal Battlefield Portal, but uh, there isn't like 1500 01:15:01.399 --> 01:15:05.199 a easy like custom game straight from the menu or 1501 01:15:05.239 --> 01:15:06.399 it's just you and your friends. 1502 01:15:06.680 --> 01:15:09.159 I was gonna say, like we should do like team 1503 01:15:09.239 --> 01:15:12.920 GI against another outlet, like our squad, another squad. 1504 01:15:13.159 --> 01:15:14.640 Yeah, we would have to have like. 1505 01:15:15.359 --> 01:15:16.800 H I don't know if I don't know if the 1506 01:15:16.840 --> 01:15:18.359 game allowed that, but it's just it's just. 1507 01:15:18.560 --> 01:15:20.840 We have to have like thirty two verse thirty two. 1508 01:15:22.199 --> 01:15:24.359 You can't like four or five on five or does 1509 01:15:24.359 --> 01:15:24.960 it have to be. 1510 01:15:25.119 --> 01:15:27.359 The maps are I mean, we can do the infantry 1511 01:15:27.399 --> 01:15:30.520 only maps, but if you're playing battle you want to 1512 01:15:30.560 --> 01:15:30.760 do like. 1513 01:15:30.840 --> 01:15:33.600 Yeah, we'll get a bunch of XGI thirty two for 1514 01:15:34.000 --> 01:15:37.279 game and four place like it's thirty two other people 1515 01:15:37.319 --> 01:15:38.880 from a different outlet and it's easy. 1516 01:15:39.479 --> 01:15:39.880 Uh. 1517 01:15:39.920 --> 01:15:42.359 Well, be sure to follow the guys here. Follow Charles 1518 01:15:42.439 --> 01:15:45.760 at Chuck Duck three six five, Follow Marcus at Marcus 1519 01:15:45.760 --> 01:15:48.479 Stewart seven. Wesley you can follow him at West of 1520 01:15:48.560 --> 01:15:53.640 LeBlanc on Blue Sky or at a Underscore am Underscore 1521 01:15:53.720 --> 01:15:57.479 Wesley on other places like Instagram, and you can follow 1522 01:15:57.520 --> 01:16:00.199 me at It's van Aken. You'll find me on all 1523 01:16:00.199 --> 01:16:03.199 the places that you can find me with that name. 1524 01:16:04.039 --> 01:16:05.800 If you can't find me there, it's because I chose 1525 01:16:05.880 --> 01:16:10.640 not to be there. Yeah, yeah, free. Will be sure 1526 01:16:10.680 --> 01:16:12.479 to share the show with a friend if you don't mind, 1527 01:16:12.800 --> 01:16:18.279 and of course pick up a game Informer magazine subscription. 1528 01:16:18.439 --> 01:16:23.079 We just announced that Dragon Quest seven Reimagined is our 1529 01:16:23.159 --> 01:16:29.119 next cover story, and it's fans are good. It was 1530 01:16:29.439 --> 01:16:38.800 fucking cool. Yeah. Wes and I were walking around Japan. Yeah, 1531 01:16:38.840 --> 01:16:42.560 I don't know why. Yeah, yeah, I've learned Wes is 1532 01:16:42.600 --> 01:16:45.319 really good at them, and I was like, you know, 1533 01:16:45.960 --> 01:16:48.840 trying to be considerate in public places in Tokyo, where 1534 01:16:48.880 --> 01:16:53.960 like Americans are very annoying in places like that, and 1535 01:16:54.319 --> 01:16:58.199 I'm just like cracking up because Wes is whispering sayous 1536 01:16:58.239 --> 01:17:00.399 way and it's just than me. 1537 01:17:01.920 --> 01:17:04.000 That's why they love us tourists over there. 1538 01:17:04.720 --> 01:17:08.399 Yeah. Yeah, all right, We'll enjoy the interview everybody, and 1539 01:17:08.479 --> 01:17:11.000 thank you Samantha Bayart for joining the show as well. 1540 01:17:11.479 --> 01:17:13.840 All right, we'll see you next week. Enjoy the interview. 1541 01:17:14.039 --> 01:17:17.439 Bye bye, Welcome back to the Game of Former show. 1542 01:17:17.680 --> 01:17:19.479 I am your host right now, Charles Hart, and I'm 1543 01:17:19.600 --> 01:17:22.720 joined by the one, the only, Samantha bay Art. How 1544 01:17:22.800 --> 01:17:25.439 is it going, Samantha, I'm good. 1545 01:17:25.600 --> 01:17:25.960 How are you? 1546 01:17:26.600 --> 01:17:27.159 I'm great. 1547 01:17:27.239 --> 01:17:30.319 Well, our audience is probably familiar with you, but I 1548 01:17:30.359 --> 01:17:33.640 thought it'd be fun to do a little trivia icebreaker 1549 01:17:34.039 --> 01:17:36.159 where I'm gonna set up some questions. They'll get a 1550 01:17:36.159 --> 01:17:38.039 minute to answer in their heads, and then you'll tell 1551 01:17:38.039 --> 01:17:40.960 me what the actual answer is, assuming you remember the role. 1552 01:17:41.000 --> 01:17:42.399 So you say the best of my ability. 1553 01:17:42.479 --> 01:17:45.920 Yes, yes, in this little segment I've been Soft launching 1554 01:17:46.039 --> 01:17:53.800 called g I auDA No, okay great. Uh so this 1555 01:17:53.880 --> 01:17:57.359 breakthrough role also earned them a Breakthrough BAFT Award in 1556 01:17:57.399 --> 01:17:58.199 twenty twenty three. 1557 01:17:58.359 --> 01:18:04.680 What game was that, four Samantha. 1558 01:18:05.600 --> 01:18:08.199 It wasn't an award, It's like an honorary thing. I 1559 01:18:08.239 --> 01:18:09.239 want to be very clear. 1560 01:18:09.640 --> 01:18:10.760 That's fair. That's fair, that's fair. 1561 01:18:11.399 --> 01:18:14.399 It was for a game called The Excavation of Hobbes. 1562 01:18:14.439 --> 01:18:19.119 Barrow Beautiful Smith is also the and correct me if 1563 01:18:19.119 --> 01:18:20.399 I'm wrong on any of these. By the way, this 1564 01:18:20.399 --> 01:18:22.439 is all Internet source stuff. You're that you're the first hands. 1565 01:18:22.760 --> 01:18:24.439 Yes, Google A. 1566 01:18:27.439 --> 01:18:30.239 Smytha is the voice of a player character in a 1567 01:18:30.520 --> 01:18:33.800 from Soft game. Which one is it? I'll give you 1568 01:18:33.840 --> 01:18:39.600 a hint. It is not secure. Nothing not. I don't 1569 01:18:39.640 --> 01:18:41.239 think anyone's going to guess it was just like. 1570 01:18:41.399 --> 01:18:42.960 I don't think I'm going to guess it either. I 1571 01:18:43.000 --> 01:18:43.640 have no idea. 1572 01:18:44.359 --> 01:18:48.680 Oh, Demon Souls is that from Soft? 1573 01:18:49.279 --> 01:18:52.399 Yeah, I've got on my CV, I've got Sony and 1574 01:18:52.840 --> 01:18:53.399 Blue Point. 1575 01:18:53.800 --> 01:18:55.760 I guess it's a remaster. 1576 01:18:56.119 --> 01:19:00.600 So it was localization, all right, So I didn't get 1577 01:19:00.640 --> 01:19:02.560 from software on my contract sorry. 1578 01:19:02.720 --> 01:19:05.960 So far, of the of the five questions, I, as 1579 01:19:06.000 --> 01:19:08.239 the trivia writer, have gotten two of them wrong. Let's 1580 01:19:08.239 --> 01:19:10.199 see if I can go five for five. 1581 01:19:10.720 --> 01:19:13.039 But you can write this wrong. I believe in you, Charles. 1582 01:19:13.039 --> 01:19:17.159 Well, we'll see. Gina Lestrade a scrappy street orphan is 1583 01:19:17.159 --> 01:19:21.800 another Cemantha Barrick performance. Which visual courtroom no Which courtroom 1584 01:19:21.920 --> 01:19:23.520 visual novel? Does she appear in? 1585 01:19:23.600 --> 01:19:23.680 Me? 1586 01:19:23.720 --> 01:19:26.000 And I messed up my own question. Dang it again? 1587 01:19:26.079 --> 01:19:26.560 Do it again? 1588 01:19:27.560 --> 01:19:28.159 Say what it is. 1589 01:19:28.319 --> 01:19:29.720 I'll give up on that one. The next one would 1590 01:19:29.720 --> 01:19:30.000 be good. 1591 01:19:31.439 --> 01:19:36.560 That is the Attorney Chronicles, Yes, which I went, He's guilty, 1592 01:19:36.680 --> 01:19:38.560 you ana, And that was kind of it. 1593 01:19:38.880 --> 01:19:40.600 But yeah, I was going to add. 1594 01:19:40.920 --> 01:19:42.600 Something to people, so I'll take it. 1595 01:19:43.720 --> 01:19:45.920 Have you played the game I have? 1596 01:19:46.000 --> 01:19:47.439 But I haven't got to my bit yet? 1597 01:19:47.600 --> 01:19:49.760 Okay, yeah, yeah, which makes sense, super. 1598 01:19:49.560 --> 01:19:50.960 Chill, and I need to have the time to just 1599 01:19:51.000 --> 01:19:54.159 sit and read a lot. But yeah, it's really entertaining. 1600 01:19:54.560 --> 01:19:57.119 It's not normally sort of game I play, so I 1601 01:19:57.159 --> 01:19:59.039 actually really enjoyed what I've played so far. 1602 01:19:59.319 --> 01:20:01.359 Yeah, yeah, yeah, okay. 1603 01:20:01.520 --> 01:20:05.119 Question four. They are also appear as in Absalom, which 1604 01:20:05.159 --> 01:20:08.319 is a beat them up roguelike that came out recently. 1605 01:20:08.840 --> 01:20:10.239 What characters do they play there? 1606 01:20:12.720 --> 01:20:19.880 TikTok TikTok, TikTok in absolom, I play cider. Cider wonderful 1607 01:20:20.000 --> 01:20:23.079 has a telescopic arm, and that is one of the 1608 01:20:23.079 --> 01:20:23.760 best things ever. 1609 01:20:24.279 --> 01:20:28.399 Cider is like, well, we'll talk, we'll talk about before 1610 01:20:28.399 --> 01:20:31.720 I got a And then finally, which beloved Samantha Barrett 1611 01:20:31.800 --> 01:20:34.840 character got them nominated for a Bathta and later appeared 1612 01:20:34.840 --> 01:20:37.399 in a game in former packing poster. 1613 01:20:40.520 --> 01:20:46.239 Samantha, I assume that's Karlac. Oh good, I got that right. 1614 01:20:46.319 --> 01:20:48.760 I haven't seen the poster before. Now, very cool. 1615 01:20:49.479 --> 01:20:51.079 I think it's a It might also be on the 1616 01:20:51.119 --> 01:20:53.680 inside spread of that issue. I'd have to double check. 1617 01:20:54.279 --> 01:20:55.319 We're very excited about that. 1618 01:20:55.640 --> 01:20:57.880 So okay, thank you, thank you for thank you for 1619 01:20:57.960 --> 01:20:59.319 joining Bingham Sitting through that. 1620 01:20:59.319 --> 01:21:01.640 That was I remember some of these roles. 1621 01:21:02.399 --> 01:21:05.880 Yeah, and apparently it's g I I Charles ont to 1622 01:21:05.960 --> 01:21:06.319 know better. 1623 01:21:06.880 --> 01:21:11.359 Uh, it's great. I was being picky, thank you. 1624 01:21:11.399 --> 01:21:12.840 Oh no, you should and you should be picky. You 1625 01:21:12.840 --> 01:21:14.960 should be picky because then someone someone takes a random 1626 01:21:14.960 --> 01:21:16.399 podcast clip and they're like, well this. 1627 01:21:16.399 --> 01:21:20.560 Is that's actually very true, that's fair them after apparently 1628 01:21:20.640 --> 01:21:23.039 for that's that didn't happen. 1629 01:21:25.520 --> 01:21:30.039 All right, Well, just like chilling, what games, if anything 1630 01:21:30.039 --> 01:21:30.840 have you been playing lately? 1631 01:21:30.960 --> 01:21:31.359 Is anything? 1632 01:21:33.920 --> 01:21:34.520 Absolutely? 1633 01:21:34.800 --> 01:21:37.680 Because I like to see what the work, how the 1634 01:21:37.680 --> 01:21:40.840 work I've done fits into the larger efforts of everybody 1635 01:21:41.000 --> 01:21:45.600 that's contributed. So absolute, good fun, very addictive because you know, 1636 01:21:45.640 --> 01:21:48.239 it's like that Roaguelike Arcade kind of beat them up 1637 01:21:48.279 --> 01:21:52.000 thing going on and fading Echo as well, has just 1638 01:21:52.039 --> 01:21:54.640 come out of alpha play testing. 1639 01:21:55.640 --> 01:21:57.239 We'll talk about that, don't you worry. 1640 01:21:57.720 --> 01:22:00.279 But they've got no nd A policy so I can 1641 01:22:00.279 --> 01:22:02.560 talk about In fact, it's the little character here she 1642 01:22:02.640 --> 01:22:05.520 turns into water now and it's a little fiery character 1643 01:22:05.560 --> 01:22:06.520 and a watery character. 1644 01:22:06.560 --> 01:22:07.800 So that's fun. I'm going to work on the other 1645 01:22:07.840 --> 01:22:10.159 two elements in time. It's a whole thing. 1646 01:22:10.199 --> 01:22:13.359 It's like a concept album. Yeah, really cool French studio 1647 01:22:13.359 --> 01:22:16.119 called New Tales, and we're hoping it'll be out early 1648 01:22:16.199 --> 01:22:19.000 next year. It should be out before GTA six, otherwise 1649 01:22:19.000 --> 01:22:21.720 we're going to be in trouble, so let's hope. But 1650 01:22:21.840 --> 01:22:25.199 we've also got Laura Bailey and Matt Mercer in it 1651 01:22:25.199 --> 01:22:28.119 is supporting Roles and Jasmine bulla if you know your 1652 01:22:28.119 --> 01:22:31.760 TTRPGs is writing it and acting in it too, So 1653 01:22:33.079 --> 01:22:35.479 it's based on a TTRPG actually before it was a 1654 01:22:35.560 --> 01:22:39.880 video game. So unpublished so far, but I guess if 1655 01:22:39.880 --> 01:22:41.920 it does well, we'll actually get to see it because 1656 01:22:41.920 --> 01:22:44.159 apparently in this game you can see about five percent 1657 01:22:44.159 --> 01:22:44.600 of echo. 1658 01:22:45.119 --> 01:22:46.600 There's much more to be discovered. 1659 01:22:46.920 --> 01:22:49.079 Well that's so exciting. Well, now I'm excited about this game. 1660 01:22:49.119 --> 01:22:51.119 I don't even know about how how long have you 1661 01:22:51.159 --> 01:22:53.279 been working on that project? Like how long? 1662 01:22:53.439 --> 01:22:53.600 I know. 1663 01:22:53.640 --> 01:22:55.560 It's a weird thing when you work on a game, 1664 01:22:55.600 --> 01:22:58.680 because you'll like record your stuff and then some amount 1665 01:22:58.680 --> 01:23:00.079 of time might pass and then there'll be. 1666 01:23:00.119 --> 01:23:03.680 Yeah, what actors love to do is count it from 1667 01:23:03.720 --> 01:23:05.960 the day they signed the contract, and then it sounds 1668 01:23:06.000 --> 01:23:07.640 like they work solidly for years on it, and that's 1669 01:23:07.720 --> 01:23:09.720 not the truth, right, it will be unless like it's 1670 01:23:09.880 --> 01:23:12.279 it will be quite obvious if they have, but it's unusual. 1671 01:23:12.359 --> 01:23:13.880 Yeah, you're right. It is a sort of on and 1672 01:23:13.880 --> 01:23:14.239 off thing. 1673 01:23:14.640 --> 01:23:16.840 So I think it was about six months ago we 1674 01:23:16.880 --> 01:23:21.119 signed contracts, but he only started doing the recordings like 1675 01:23:21.199 --> 01:23:23.079 last month because we wanted to get them out for 1676 01:23:23.159 --> 01:23:25.479 this play test. And I've got a couple more sessions 1677 01:23:25.520 --> 01:23:28.439 coming up as well, So yeah, I did two sessions. 1678 01:23:28.560 --> 01:23:32.039 Essentially is the answer a bit a session being four 1679 01:23:32.079 --> 01:23:34.079 hours long, so you can have lots of fun trying 1680 01:23:34.119 --> 01:23:35.920 to work out lengths of time on things. 1681 01:23:36.239 --> 01:23:37.199 I don't like this whole. 1682 01:23:37.479 --> 01:23:39.640 Yeah, I spent two years on the project because it 1683 01:23:39.680 --> 01:23:42.560 insinuates that you were on some sort of salary. I 1684 01:23:42.600 --> 01:23:45.399 wish that was a thing we got in games. 1685 01:23:45.119 --> 01:23:45.560 But it's not. 1686 01:23:46.279 --> 01:23:49.479 Yeah, what kind of role does your character play in 1687 01:23:49.520 --> 01:23:49.920 this game? 1688 01:23:51.199 --> 01:23:57.000 So she's the main player character. It's action adventure, very 1689 01:23:57.159 --> 01:24:00.920 bright anime style. They're calling it a desert pun and 1690 01:24:01.319 --> 01:24:03.960 she lives in a place that's very short on resources, 1691 01:24:04.119 --> 01:24:09.000 and very quickly it becomes multiverse, and every different universe 1692 01:24:09.319 --> 01:24:10.439 looks completely different. 1693 01:24:10.640 --> 01:24:13.479 So as she steps in, everything changes around her. She changes. 1694 01:24:13.640 --> 01:24:16.720 She can change into water, and what's lovely about the 1695 01:24:16.760 --> 01:24:20.680 gameplay is it's elemental and it's really fluid and responsive. 1696 01:24:20.960 --> 01:24:22.119 So if the water. 1697 01:24:21.920 --> 01:24:25.479 Blob comes into contact with lava, then she turns into 1698 01:24:25.520 --> 01:24:28.079 steam if she come and she can use that to 1699 01:24:28.119 --> 01:24:31.640 petrify enemies and you know, weaken them with different substances. 1700 01:24:31.720 --> 01:24:34.359 So she might run into what we call waste in 1701 01:24:34.399 --> 01:24:37.720 the game, she can jump higher and it's puzzle solving 1702 01:24:37.760 --> 01:24:40.800 as well. It's really pretty, it's really dynamic and fun. 1703 01:24:41.199 --> 01:24:46.520 Trailers pretty informative, and the what's their Instagram handle is 1704 01:24:47.159 --> 01:24:49.760 Fading Echo Game and they post loads of behind the 1705 01:24:49.800 --> 01:24:51.239 scenes staff as I have been. 1706 01:24:51.119 --> 01:24:53.479 As well as well as gameplay and all that. You 1707 01:24:53.800 --> 01:24:54.439 can check it out. 1708 01:24:54.479 --> 01:24:58.520 It's really cool, awesome with this character compared to like, 1709 01:24:58.960 --> 01:25:01.039 there's always the thing I'm curious about actors. Do you 1710 01:25:01.039 --> 01:25:03.239 feel like you have there's a type of character or 1711 01:25:03.279 --> 01:25:05.319 a personality or something about it where you're like, that's 1712 01:25:05.319 --> 01:25:08.000 a character I want to play, or do you like 1713 01:25:08.319 --> 01:25:10.000 doing a lot of very different stuff. 1714 01:25:11.079 --> 01:25:12.640 Yeah, I've been saying to folks that I'm in my 1715 01:25:12.920 --> 01:25:16.239 nineteen nineties Gary Oldman era, which is a very cool 1716 01:25:16.279 --> 01:25:16.720 era to be. 1717 01:25:16.800 --> 01:25:18.239 It's my favorite Gary Oldman era. 1718 01:25:18.520 --> 01:25:20.119 It's kind of why I got into acting, because he 1719 01:25:20.239 --> 01:25:22.640 just got to do everything back then and that's what 1720 01:25:23.079 --> 01:25:26.159 he got to transform as a more character actor. 1721 01:25:26.159 --> 01:25:27.359 But he was playing leading roles. 1722 01:25:27.399 --> 01:25:29.680 And that's kind of what's happening because if I were 1723 01:25:29.720 --> 01:25:31.800 to be typecast, like if you look at my whole 1724 01:25:31.800 --> 01:25:34.239 career theater and audio as. 1725 01:25:34.159 --> 01:25:36.079 Well, it would not be Karlak, right, that'd be the 1726 01:25:36.159 --> 01:25:36.600 last thing. 1727 01:25:36.880 --> 01:25:40.960 So that's quite interesting when that does happen, people think 1728 01:25:40.960 --> 01:25:43.279 that's what I want to play, but maybe badasses, you know. 1729 01:25:43.319 --> 01:25:47.079 I grew up on Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley and 1730 01:25:47.880 --> 01:25:50.520 Shep you know, and those are those sort of roles, 1731 01:25:50.560 --> 01:25:53.640 and particularly in video games, because the main player characters 1732 01:25:53.640 --> 01:25:55.760 are going to be action based most of the time, 1733 01:25:56.039 --> 01:25:58.720 not always, but most of the time, then it lends 1734 01:25:58.760 --> 01:25:59.319 itself to that. 1735 01:25:59.520 --> 01:26:00.720 So it's it's an arena. 1736 01:26:00.800 --> 01:26:04.399 I really enjoy it the sort of roles I've appreciated 1737 01:26:04.439 --> 01:26:06.880 growing up and as an adult as well, and it's 1738 01:26:06.880 --> 01:26:07.840 just a joy to play them. 1739 01:26:07.920 --> 01:26:10.119 But they're all very different from each other. Yeah, that's 1740 01:26:10.119 --> 01:26:10.520 for sure. 1741 01:26:11.199 --> 01:26:14.239 Yeah, yeah, yeah, Well I want to talk about Absolom 1742 01:26:14.239 --> 01:26:17.119 real quick. I've also been playing it obviously, like a lot. 1743 01:26:17.680 --> 01:26:19.760 I've been playing it with I was playing it and 1744 01:26:19.800 --> 01:26:21.560 I liked it. I said this just before this's on 1745 01:26:21.640 --> 01:26:23.039 podcast listeners to to those, but I was playing it. 1746 01:26:23.119 --> 01:26:25.159 I liked it, and then I played it with my brother. 1747 01:26:25.279 --> 01:26:26.920 We did like co Op for the first time, and 1748 01:26:26.960 --> 01:26:28.920 I loved it. I was like, oh, this is like 1749 01:26:29.680 --> 01:26:32.680 it like scratched an itch and my brother. He's two 1750 01:26:32.720 --> 01:26:35.399 years younger than me. I live in Ohio. He just 1751 01:26:35.439 --> 01:26:38.159 moved to New York, so I like don't get to 1752 01:26:38.159 --> 01:26:40.279 see him very often. But it's like it was a 1753 01:26:40.359 --> 01:26:42.359 nice thing of like we see each other and we're like, oh, 1754 01:26:42.399 --> 01:26:44.159 this is our this is our jam, this is our 1755 01:26:44.199 --> 01:26:45.600 type of thing. So I'm excited to see him for 1756 01:26:45.600 --> 01:26:50.920 Thanksgiving and play more. When you record a game like this, 1757 01:26:51.000 --> 01:26:54.119 it has like an interesting kind of narrative structure. It's 1758 01:26:54.199 --> 01:26:56.760 kind of it reacts to what you choose, and it's 1759 01:26:56.920 --> 01:27:00.119 I mean a lot of games do that, but when 1760 01:27:00.159 --> 01:27:03.359 you're recording this, like, do you remember how long the 1761 01:27:03.399 --> 01:27:05.560 sessions took? Was it hard to keep track of because 1762 01:27:05.560 --> 01:27:08.880 they're very very segmented chunks as opposed to like doing 1763 01:27:08.920 --> 01:27:11.520 like a long cut scene at multiple times. 1764 01:27:12.560 --> 01:27:14.720 Yeah, So I think all in all it was two sessions, 1765 01:27:14.840 --> 01:27:16.079 and I think it was under a. 1766 01:27:16.159 --> 01:27:18.600 Te Wow fast, what we do? 1767 01:27:18.680 --> 01:27:20.279 You know, I've been saying to folks like, if you 1768 01:27:20.319 --> 01:27:23.920 can you understand what session musician does, right, They train 1769 01:27:24.000 --> 01:27:26.000 outside of the studio, They do all their work outside 1770 01:27:26.000 --> 01:27:28.159 the studio, coming and they knock it out in two takes. 1771 01:27:28.600 --> 01:27:29.680 That is exactly what we do. 1772 01:27:30.479 --> 01:27:33.680 And particularly if mo caaps involved, it becomes a lot 1773 01:27:33.760 --> 01:27:37.119 longer of a process because that's a different beast. But 1774 01:27:37.199 --> 01:27:39.399 for voice only and particularly for you know, a game 1775 01:27:39.439 --> 01:27:41.680 that's going to be mainly barks. Let's be honest, this 1776 01:27:41.720 --> 01:27:44.720 has more narrative than I'm used to do in that genre, 1777 01:27:44.760 --> 01:27:47.479 which is really cool because I think people enjoy it 1778 01:27:47.520 --> 01:27:49.159 and that's become a thing. I think the borders gate 1779 01:27:49.199 --> 01:27:50.840 they might have something to do with that as well. 1780 01:27:51.000 --> 01:27:53.760 Then Claire obscure and people just really want that storyline. 1781 01:27:53.960 --> 01:27:58.279 So it's probably a longer amount of time I spent 1782 01:27:58.279 --> 01:27:59.880 on it than I would have done a few years ago, 1783 01:28:00.039 --> 01:28:00.720 if that makes sense. 1784 01:28:00.760 --> 01:28:02.520 It might have been just one session a few. 1785 01:28:02.399 --> 01:28:06.119 Years ago, so you know, I make an effort to 1786 01:28:06.760 --> 01:28:09.000 try and remember because I have to recall six months 1787 01:28:09.079 --> 01:28:10.520 later a year later for interviews. 1788 01:28:10.640 --> 01:28:12.159 But otherwise it's in one ear out the other. 1789 01:28:12.319 --> 01:28:14.720 But luckily most of the time, by the time you're 1790 01:28:14.760 --> 01:28:17.319 coming in, they've got the animation down, which obviously helps 1791 01:28:17.319 --> 01:28:20.880 with the characterization of vocalizations, so I could see how 1792 01:28:20.960 --> 01:28:26.079 cool Cider was, and you know, with either hitting people 1793 01:28:26.199 --> 01:28:28.199 or being hit or you know, then we've got like 1794 01:28:28.520 --> 01:28:31.520 their general attitude and they're very you know, laid back 1795 01:28:31.560 --> 01:28:34.239 and sarcastic and all the cool stuff you get in 1796 01:28:34.239 --> 01:28:37.960 trouble with in real life. Yeah, I just I thought 1797 01:28:38.079 --> 01:28:41.479 they were fantastic. And then yeah, Carl, I love Carl. 1798 01:28:41.560 --> 01:28:44.119 I met the act who plays Carl, Trev Fleming, not 1799 01:28:44.239 --> 01:28:48.000 so long ago, lovely northern Irish guy, and I haven't 1800 01:28:48.039 --> 01:28:50.359 met the other two actors yet, but that's the nature 1801 01:28:50.399 --> 01:28:52.359 of it. It may well be like bumped into each 1802 01:28:52.399 --> 01:28:54.439 other and not realized it. It's probably one of those. 1803 01:28:54.680 --> 01:28:58.399 But yeah, really cool and one of those. You know, 1804 01:28:58.600 --> 01:29:00.159 I've got a lot of things going on so and 1805 01:29:00.239 --> 01:29:02.840 projects I can't talk about right now, but you know, 1806 01:29:03.119 --> 01:29:05.840 you knock these indies out and then one of them 1807 01:29:05.880 --> 01:29:08.600 just lands like absolutely, you know, just overnight there was 1808 01:29:08.640 --> 01:29:10.640 some interest in me talking about that. So that's been 1809 01:29:10.920 --> 01:29:13.000 awesome because I'm obviously proud of all the work I do. 1810 01:29:13.039 --> 01:29:15.640 I think it's all very well written. So it's just 1811 01:29:15.680 --> 01:29:18.079 really cool when something of a genre that you're not 1812 01:29:18.199 --> 01:29:20.239 expected to be and maybe pops up. 1813 01:29:21.359 --> 01:29:21.600 Yeah. 1814 01:29:21.720 --> 01:29:25.960 Yeah, I just talked to some of the actors that 1815 01:29:25.960 --> 01:29:29.279 were in Dispatch last week and I was asking them. 1816 01:29:29.479 --> 01:29:30.880 I was like, you finally every hands on the game's 1817 01:29:30.920 --> 01:29:33.600 belongs time recording it. Are you like looking for paths 1818 01:29:33.640 --> 01:29:36.039 to see like certain lines that you said, and they 1819 01:29:36.039 --> 01:29:38.960 were like, no, shade of the writing, it's really good. 1820 01:29:39.079 --> 01:29:41.560 I don't remember saying any of this because they're so 1821 01:29:41.600 --> 01:29:41.960 long ago. 1822 01:29:42.199 --> 01:29:43.960 Yeah, because we'll say it twice in the room and 1823 01:29:44.000 --> 01:29:47.079 then it's done. Yeah, you don't learn it. 1824 01:29:47.600 --> 01:29:49.800 If you're lucky, you get the whole script beforehand, but 1825 01:29:49.840 --> 01:29:51.760 it will be out of order, and it's only when 1826 01:29:51.760 --> 01:29:53.439 you're in the room with the team that you can 1827 01:29:53.560 --> 01:29:59.039 ascertain context and motivation and that's what will stick that 1828 01:29:59.079 --> 01:30:00.880 would stick it in your brain. But again, you're just 1829 01:30:00.960 --> 01:30:03.439 doing it very quickly in the studio, so totally understand 1830 01:30:03.479 --> 01:30:05.119 when actives don't remember what they've said. 1831 01:30:05.640 --> 01:30:08.319 Yeah, well, when you're when you're playing it, well, first 1832 01:30:08.359 --> 01:30:10.159 of all, are you playing as Cider? Are you playing 1833 01:30:10.159 --> 01:30:10.760 as your own? 1834 01:30:11.159 --> 01:30:13.600 I've played the demo so far, so I have. Yeah, 1835 01:30:13.640 --> 01:30:15.199 of course, I mean that's the first thing I did. 1836 01:30:16.359 --> 01:30:18.319 I do okay, I did okay, But of course you've 1837 01:30:18.319 --> 01:30:20.640 got a fine sider. So I was playing with Carl 1838 01:30:20.840 --> 01:30:23.640 and I was like, bye, I'm here now. 1839 01:30:23.520 --> 01:30:26.960 It's all good. I like it. I like a little 1840 01:30:27.039 --> 01:30:28.319 fast skippy character. 1841 01:30:28.359 --> 01:30:30.800 Actually, so I please, I would love to play yeah 1842 01:30:30.800 --> 01:30:34.039 with someone else playing Carl because I think they compliment 1843 01:30:34.079 --> 01:30:34.800 each other really well. 1844 01:30:34.800 --> 01:30:36.600 So should just picking people up chucking. 1845 01:30:36.439 --> 01:30:37.399 That was That was me and my brother. 1846 01:30:37.399 --> 01:30:38.119 That was our combo. 1847 01:30:38.439 --> 01:30:39.319 Very good, sweet. 1848 01:30:39.800 --> 01:30:40.000 Yeah. 1849 01:30:40.640 --> 01:30:43.079 Do you as you're playing it, is it jogging any 1850 01:30:43.119 --> 01:30:46.600 memory for you of like, oh I remember saying It's. 1851 01:30:46.479 --> 01:30:49.039 Not there's nothing that's come up. Did I say that 1852 01:30:49.199 --> 01:30:51.159 or anything like that? Because that happens in Border's Gate. 1853 01:30:51.279 --> 01:30:54.840 Sometimes people are still discovering lines that, you know, maybe 1854 01:30:54.840 --> 01:30:57.520 on slightly unpopular pars like an Evil Karlac, Like I 1855 01:30:57.560 --> 01:30:59.520 can't remember a lot of that because people choose not 1856 01:30:59.560 --> 01:31:00.359 to play a lot like that. 1857 01:31:00.600 --> 01:31:02.399 But I think something like this that was done in 1858 01:31:02.439 --> 01:31:03.039 two sessions. 1859 01:31:03.079 --> 01:31:04.960 Yeah, it's not gonna maybe a year or two down 1860 01:31:05.000 --> 01:31:09.039 the line when it's really gone. 1861 01:31:09.800 --> 01:31:11.119 Well, that's exciting, it's great. 1862 01:31:12.239 --> 01:31:14.439 And yeah, I guess the other thing, so you you're 1863 01:31:14.560 --> 01:31:17.279 you're playing as yourself and that's not weird. You're like, 1864 01:31:17.319 --> 01:31:17.960 I want to do that. 1865 01:31:17.960 --> 01:31:19.399 That's the only way I'll play a video. 1866 01:31:19.560 --> 01:31:21.199 The first time I did that was because I did 1867 01:31:21.199 --> 01:31:22.840 localization on Demon Souls. 1868 01:31:23.920 --> 01:31:25.399 I'm the main character in a video. 1869 01:31:25.560 --> 01:31:27.239 Game. So that was that was something else, but of course, 1870 01:31:27.239 --> 01:31:29.199 it being a soul's game, it was incredibly punishing. I 1871 01:31:29.239 --> 01:31:31.840 think I did the first area just as a point 1872 01:31:31.840 --> 01:31:35.439 of pride. Yeah, I decided to move on with my life. 1873 01:31:35.720 --> 01:31:38.760 But no, that was it was it was, It was wild. 1874 01:31:38.880 --> 01:31:41.880 It's a lot easier than watching myself on film, that's 1875 01:31:41.920 --> 01:31:45.439 for sure. This is okay, another layer detached. Yeah, I 1876 01:31:45.479 --> 01:31:47.640 could just about bear to listen to myself. 1877 01:31:47.680 --> 01:31:47.800 Now. 1878 01:31:47.840 --> 01:31:51.960 It's taken decades, but watching myself is still a hurdle 1879 01:31:52.439 --> 01:31:52.720 for me. 1880 01:31:52.800 --> 01:31:56.039 Yeah, I'm not the podcast editor, and I'm really happy. 1881 01:31:56.039 --> 01:31:57.800 I'm really happy that I don't have to do that. 1882 01:31:58.359 --> 01:32:01.960 Yeah, yeah, that's what not editing my in show as well. 1883 01:32:03.279 --> 01:32:06.560 Yeah, definitely okay, And then I do want to talk 1884 01:32:06.560 --> 01:32:08.520 about Karlac a little bit and you so this is 1885 01:32:08.520 --> 01:32:11.319 actually a thing you mentioned, like the evil path of Carlac. 1886 01:32:11.840 --> 01:32:14.840 This is my big this is my big theory specific 1887 01:32:14.840 --> 01:32:18.199 to video acing question that I have. So, Carlac is 1888 01:32:18.199 --> 01:32:21.319 a character, but when you have someone that is influenced 1889 01:32:21.319 --> 01:32:23.800 by so many choices for her story, uh, there's like 1890 01:32:23.840 --> 01:32:27.439 a bunch of different like infinite versions of Karlac basically 1891 01:32:27.479 --> 01:32:32.239 that can exist in Balderskate. I just wanted to ask 1892 01:32:32.279 --> 01:32:35.800 you about your You had a version of Karlac in 1893 01:32:35.800 --> 01:32:38.760 your head before people saw her, like when you were 1894 01:32:38.760 --> 01:32:43.000 performing as her. But then also anyone that plays the 1895 01:32:43.039 --> 01:32:45.079 game has a version of Karlac that they play through. 1896 01:32:45.239 --> 01:32:47.319 And then there's also like a third version that is 1897 01:32:47.359 --> 01:32:50.000 like the fandom kind of aggregated version of Karlac that 1898 01:32:50.000 --> 01:32:52.119 we're like, this is the kind of like Sarah Carlac. 1899 01:32:53.199 --> 01:32:55.680 Do you have a version in your head that's like 1900 01:32:57.039 --> 01:33:00.279 if I think of Carlac as a character, this is 1901 01:33:00.359 --> 01:33:01.760 kind of how she is, and this is how she'd 1902 01:33:01.760 --> 01:33:04.359 behave in These are her traits or are you like 1903 01:33:04.560 --> 01:33:07.560 carlak is is the matrix? Is all of these things 1904 01:33:07.560 --> 01:33:07.960 at once? 1905 01:33:09.319 --> 01:33:12.000 How do you think of karlak Is absolutely the matrix 1906 01:33:13.319 --> 01:33:15.479 the way I see it is again, it's like doing 1907 01:33:16.920 --> 01:33:19.199 a new piece of writing for theater in that when 1908 01:33:19.239 --> 01:33:22.960 it's still being set, you have infinite possibilities and something 1909 01:33:23.000 --> 01:33:25.840 that came out of rehearsal may end in may end 1910 01:33:25.920 --> 01:33:29.960 up in the play, and you know, every night technically 1911 01:33:30.000 --> 01:33:31.960 is the same, but your partner is always going to 1912 01:33:32.000 --> 01:33:35.079 do something slightly different that then you have to respond. 1913 01:33:34.680 --> 01:33:38.399 To and truthfully, so it's that sort of it's that layer. 1914 01:33:38.680 --> 01:33:41.319 But then you've got the live D and D games 1915 01:33:41.359 --> 01:33:42.920 that we played with Wizards of the Coast. 1916 01:33:43.079 --> 01:33:45.039 There is a version of Karlak that I play that. 1917 01:33:45.079 --> 01:33:49.760 Is for sure opportunistic, wants a pint, wants to smash things, 1918 01:33:49.880 --> 01:33:53.479 just pure barbar like Viking barbarian kind of thing going on. 1919 01:33:53.520 --> 01:33:56.760 That's the idea behind it. And that's like just the 1920 01:33:56.800 --> 01:34:00.399 most you know, a joyful idiot. That's the most fun 1921 01:34:00.439 --> 01:34:02.640 way to play her. She's not, I guess she can 1922 01:34:02.680 --> 01:34:06.560 be very moralistic in the game dependent, you know, early on, Yeah, 1923 01:34:06.720 --> 01:34:09.399 I think if if you're a dark urge and you 1924 01:34:09.560 --> 01:34:11.800 romance her, there's a bit later on where you can 1925 01:34:11.880 --> 01:34:13.760 really like tell her what you've done. And earlier on 1926 01:34:13.800 --> 01:34:15.279 in the game she'd leave, she'd be like, I didn't 1927 01:34:15.319 --> 01:34:17.239 sign up for this, this is evil, But like later 1928 01:34:17.319 --> 01:34:19.960 on she goes full on ride or die. 1929 01:34:20.079 --> 01:34:21.279 She's like, we've all. 1930 01:34:21.079 --> 01:34:25.039 Done things we regret. It's fine, don't worry. It really 1931 01:34:25.079 --> 01:34:25.840 is something else. 1932 01:34:26.079 --> 01:34:29.159 And that's in every that is in everyone's darker romance 1933 01:34:29.199 --> 01:34:34.520 Carlac playthrough. So I think, you know, I'm obsessed with cults. 1934 01:34:34.920 --> 01:34:38.399 I'm really interested because it's the idea that in the 1935 01:34:38.399 --> 01:34:40.359 way that people are about true crime, because I think 1936 01:34:40.359 --> 01:34:42.319 people have says the true crime are like, oh, this 1937 01:34:42.359 --> 01:34:44.279 is how I behave, this is how I wouldn't get murdered. 1938 01:34:44.439 --> 01:34:46.640 So I think my obsession is like, this is how 1939 01:34:46.680 --> 01:34:49.359 I wouldn't get indoctrinated. And I think that's very much 1940 01:34:49.560 --> 01:34:52.239 Strue Baldos gay as if you had the wrong influences 1941 01:34:52.279 --> 01:34:55.159 around you, maybe you'd make different choices, or if you 1942 01:34:55.239 --> 01:34:57.880 never had the opportunity to redeem yourself, maybe you'd make 1943 01:34:57.920 --> 01:35:01.199 other choices. So that's how I justify the matrix version 1944 01:35:01.640 --> 01:35:04.239 of It's very high stakes. They could die them or 1945 01:35:04.239 --> 01:35:06.840 they got tadpoles in their heads, so it's all very 1946 01:35:06.880 --> 01:35:08.600 you know, it could go either way, I feel, So 1947 01:35:08.880 --> 01:35:09.960 that's how I justify it. 1948 01:35:10.439 --> 01:35:11.239 Yeah, No, I love that. 1949 01:35:11.239 --> 01:35:14.079 That makes a lot of sense. I I I'm not 1950 01:35:14.119 --> 01:35:15.520 an actor, so a lot of a lot of my 1951 01:35:15.640 --> 01:35:21.159 questions for actors are either I feel like you you 1952 01:35:21.239 --> 01:35:23.199 had a full understanding of that, and I'm still trying 1953 01:35:23.199 --> 01:35:25.720 to wrap my head around playing like nine characters all 1954 01:35:25.760 --> 01:35:27.479 the same, not nine, but just a bunch of versions 1955 01:35:27.520 --> 01:35:29.319 of them, which I appreciate. 1956 01:35:29.319 --> 01:35:29.960 I think that's cool. 1957 01:35:31.359 --> 01:35:34.800 Do you as an actor, I think is it safe 1958 01:35:34.800 --> 01:35:37.399 to say Karlak is like your most famous character that 1959 01:35:37.399 --> 01:35:37.960 you've played. 1960 01:35:38.199 --> 01:35:38.840 Absolutely? 1961 01:35:38.880 --> 01:35:46.760 Yeah, I would assume. Do you have instances where I 1962 01:35:46.760 --> 01:35:48.680 don't know parasocial is the right word, but where people 1963 01:35:48.760 --> 01:35:51.439 people come to you and they expect Carlac and you're like, 1964 01:35:51.520 --> 01:35:52.880 I'm a separate person from that. 1965 01:35:54.359 --> 01:35:59.600 Mainly streaming, if I appear on the string Lak, it's not. 1966 01:36:00.159 --> 01:36:04.920 Sorry. My lot a pretty cool about it, at least 1967 01:36:04.920 --> 01:36:07.039 to my face. Maybe that's what it is. To my face. 1968 01:36:07.119 --> 01:36:10.119 Most people are cool, and you've got to remember that. 1969 01:36:10.439 --> 01:36:13.600 To the wider world out there, I am anonymous, which 1970 01:36:13.640 --> 01:36:14.199 is wonderful. 1971 01:36:14.760 --> 01:36:16.760 In the con spaces, they're going to know me. 1972 01:36:17.640 --> 01:36:20.920 And I had the loveliest time walking around Pax East 1973 01:36:21.399 --> 01:36:22.960 earlier this year because people. 1974 01:36:22.720 --> 01:36:24.319 Would go are you and Okay, yeah, yeah, do you 1975 01:36:24.319 --> 01:36:24.920 want a selfie? 1976 01:36:25.000 --> 01:36:25.439 Yeah? 1977 01:36:25.479 --> 01:36:28.199 And then they move on and it's great, and that's 1978 01:36:28.199 --> 01:36:29.399 really nice. They just leave me to it. 1979 01:36:29.479 --> 01:36:29.600 You know. 1980 01:36:29.640 --> 01:36:31.520 I'm just walking around in my thing, playing my games, 1981 01:36:31.520 --> 01:36:33.479 and I feel part of the community that I've I've 1982 01:36:33.479 --> 01:36:36.159 always wanted to be part of because I've always played games, 1983 01:36:36.199 --> 01:36:38.319 but I could never afford to go to expos, certainly 1984 01:36:38.319 --> 01:36:40.600 not ones in other countries, so it's real life. I'm 1985 01:36:40.600 --> 01:36:42.439 doing a lot of catching up at the moment with that, 1986 01:36:42.479 --> 01:36:45.920 and people are really cool and they have welcomed me 1987 01:36:45.920 --> 01:36:48.159 into that community, so I'm very grateful for that. 1988 01:36:48.319 --> 01:36:50.359 Yeah, yeah, that's wonderful. 1989 01:36:50.439 --> 01:36:53.000 And I've also I've seen some of your actual place stuff, 1990 01:36:53.000 --> 01:36:54.479 which I also think is very fine in. 1991 01:36:54.439 --> 01:36:56.960 Those kind of Carlac places Karlak. 1992 01:36:57.039 --> 01:37:01.319 Yeah, I did that as a memory job because in 1993 01:37:01.359 --> 01:37:03.840 my head it's all very fragmented, as you can imagine, 1994 01:37:03.840 --> 01:37:06.159 and then to actually see it in some sort of order, 1995 01:37:07.079 --> 01:37:09.920 it sort of helped me remember what I actually did 1996 01:37:09.920 --> 01:37:10.439 on the game. 1997 01:37:10.600 --> 01:37:13.840 Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, Okay, I do want to double 1998 01:37:13.880 --> 01:37:16.279 back to fitting Echo because I'm just curious about this 1999 01:37:16.479 --> 01:37:21.079 project as the concept. How did you initially get acquainted 2000 01:37:21.119 --> 01:37:21.399 with it? 2001 01:37:21.479 --> 01:37:22.520 Who approached you first? 2002 01:37:23.479 --> 01:37:27.399 They just emailed my agent with an offer, which doesn't happen. 2003 01:37:27.399 --> 01:37:29.119 Would you like to play lead role in this cool 2004 01:37:29.159 --> 01:37:32.359 indie game that looks like this. It's got some actors 2005 01:37:32.399 --> 01:37:35.760 from a critical role in it, you know, if you're interested. 2006 01:37:36.920 --> 01:37:39.560 And I was waiting for someone to say psych it's 2007 01:37:39.640 --> 01:37:40.079 a joke. 2008 01:37:40.239 --> 01:37:41.960 Of course, we're not kidding. So yeah, it was a 2009 01:37:42.119 --> 01:37:42.600 straight up. 2010 01:37:42.560 --> 01:37:47.840 Offer to my agent, and then the creative directors, Sylvan 2011 01:37:48.119 --> 01:37:52.439 and Manu from from Newtails, took us out for lunch 2012 01:37:52.479 --> 01:37:54.399 and pitched and it was like Bybo was there and 2013 01:37:54.439 --> 01:37:55.600 he said, do you want to be the lead role 2014 01:37:55.640 --> 01:37:58.960 in an indie game? And New Tales are former Blizzard devs. 2015 01:37:58.960 --> 01:38:00.640 They're based out in Leon, so I know they can 2016 01:38:00.680 --> 01:38:03.680 make a game, and they seem to have this very 2017 01:38:03.720 --> 01:38:06.119 open door policy. It's very transparent, there's no nda. I 2018 01:38:06.119 --> 01:38:08.119 can talk anything you want to know. I can talk 2019 01:38:08.119 --> 01:38:11.119 about I just personally would avoid spoilers as a storyteller, 2020 01:38:11.239 --> 01:38:13.319 just not going to tell you like that. But a 2021 01:38:13.319 --> 01:38:15.960 lot of what I know is now public information because 2022 01:38:16.000 --> 01:38:19.439 you know they've they've put that right out there. Yeah, 2023 01:38:19.439 --> 01:38:22.399 they're just they're just really lovely people and they've you know, 2024 01:38:22.439 --> 01:38:24.479 they showed me your own roadmap. If it does well, 2025 01:38:24.520 --> 01:38:26.399 what's what we're going to do next in that? And 2026 01:38:26.399 --> 01:38:27.159 I'm not used to that. 2027 01:38:27.199 --> 01:38:27.439 I got. 2028 01:38:27.520 --> 01:38:30.119 I got a one hour briefing before we went into 2029 01:38:30.159 --> 01:38:32.600 the studio, which is just as well because again, if 2030 01:38:32.640 --> 01:38:35.159 you're just seeing little peep Pole at the word of 2031 01:38:35.399 --> 01:38:37.199 the World of Echo, I kind of need to know 2032 01:38:37.560 --> 01:38:39.680 most of it before I go in otherwise I'm going 2033 01:38:39.760 --> 01:38:43.000 to spend time and money in the studio asking about it. 2034 01:38:43.079 --> 01:38:45.279 But that is that is the reality for nineteen nine 2035 01:38:45.319 --> 01:38:48.199 percent of games, particularly as you start heading into Triple A's, 2036 01:38:48.600 --> 01:38:50.279 they give you less and less information, which is a 2037 01:38:50.279 --> 01:38:52.560 shame because we can't do our best work when we 2038 01:38:52.560 --> 01:38:56.520 don't know what genre is that really helps, you know, Yeah, 2039 01:38:56.560 --> 01:38:59.479 So I've really the part of the reason I'm talking 2040 01:38:59.520 --> 01:39:01.600 about the first for that's what I want more of 2041 01:39:01.640 --> 01:39:03.319 in the industry. But second of all, Yeah, if there's 2042 01:39:03.319 --> 01:39:05.399 someone on the edge of like asking a boss, can 2043 01:39:05.439 --> 01:39:08.039 we just be a bit more open about this, then yes, please. 2044 01:39:09.119 --> 01:39:11.760 All I really said is what's out there, who's involved 2045 01:39:11.800 --> 01:39:13.640 in what it looks like in the genre and all 2046 01:39:13.680 --> 01:39:15.920 of that, and that's it really. 2047 01:39:16.520 --> 01:39:18.479 Yeah, And it's fresh in your mind right now too, 2048 01:39:18.479 --> 01:39:21.199 because you're like mid st Yeah. 2049 01:39:21.319 --> 01:39:23.279 I think we did a live stream yesterday with the 2050 01:39:23.319 --> 01:39:26.279 Irish Video Game Orchestra I've presented with before and they 2051 01:39:26.279 --> 01:39:28.600 had a little playthrough and we talked through it and 2052 01:39:28.680 --> 01:39:30.600 some of the Fading Echo team turned up to have 2053 01:39:30.600 --> 01:39:32.479 a chat. And I mean, again, I don't know that 2054 01:39:32.479 --> 01:39:35.079 I had a chat with Anna Sorrento, who's the head 2055 01:39:35.079 --> 01:39:38.600 of animation, showing me this character long before I went in, 2056 01:39:38.760 --> 01:39:40.720 so you know, the idea of how I was going 2057 01:39:40.800 --> 01:39:43.359 to voice her is just percolating through my brain for 2058 01:39:43.359 --> 01:39:45.319 a couple of weeks before we actually record it. So again, 2059 01:39:45.399 --> 01:39:46.960 when I go in the studio, I've got all these 2060 01:39:46.960 --> 01:39:50.079 strong choices that have been made, and we save a 2061 01:39:50.079 --> 01:39:53.079 lot of time and we can have more fun experimenting 2062 01:39:53.159 --> 01:39:54.479 than just finding that character. 2063 01:39:55.680 --> 01:39:57.680 Yeah, wonderful, awesome. 2064 01:39:58.319 --> 01:40:01.800 Uh well, I think that's a more or less wrap 2065 01:40:01.920 --> 01:40:04.399 up what I had planned. Was there anything else you 2066 01:40:04.399 --> 01:40:06.479 want to talk about? Anything recent you're excited about. This 2067 01:40:06.520 --> 01:40:08.880 could be some of your planing, some you're watching some 2068 01:40:09.039 --> 01:40:09.720 on the horizon. 2069 01:40:12.079 --> 01:40:14.239 So there's a demo for a game called War of 2070 01:40:14.279 --> 01:40:17.399 the Western Deep. It's a point and click adventure game. 2071 01:40:17.520 --> 01:40:24.039 It's stunning. Imagine Don Bluth traveled back from the nineteen 2072 01:40:24.039 --> 01:40:25.439 eighties and made a video game. 2073 01:40:25.520 --> 01:40:26.520 It's hand animated. 2074 01:40:28.000 --> 01:40:30.199 I played, The main character is stun it honestly like, 2075 01:40:30.319 --> 01:40:31.239 have check it out later. 2076 01:40:31.520 --> 01:40:36.119 The it's like whoa yeah demo, whoa yeah yeah. 2077 01:40:36.239 --> 01:40:39.640 And there's a lot more to be recorded. But because 2078 01:40:39.640 --> 01:40:41.560 it's hand animated, it's going to take some times. We're 2079 01:40:41.600 --> 01:40:44.359 thinking twenty seven if I'm still alive. 2080 01:40:45.920 --> 01:40:47.840 That's a real yeah, it's a real. 2081 01:40:47.960 --> 01:40:50.720 Yeah. I'm just I can't think past this one. So yeah, 2082 01:40:50.720 --> 01:40:54.159 that's something else, so that's playable. And then there's my 2083 01:40:54.199 --> 01:40:56.359 own series that takes a Village, which should be coming 2084 01:40:56.399 --> 01:40:58.439 to you November through December. 2085 01:40:58.800 --> 01:41:00.359 So we've got our first few guests on that. 2086 01:41:00.479 --> 01:41:03.359 I don't know if you know it, but it's a 2087 01:41:03.479 --> 01:41:05.880 lie what used to be a live twitch chat show. 2088 01:41:06.680 --> 01:41:08.000 And the reason I put it that it's not a 2089 01:41:08.000 --> 01:41:11.640 podcast because it's not audio only, but the whole point 2090 01:41:11.680 --> 01:41:13.760 is to shine a spotlight on people who make our games. 2091 01:41:14.119 --> 01:41:15.720 So obviously there's going to be a lot of actors 2092 01:41:15.720 --> 01:41:17.680 because I know the actors, but we've also got other 2093 01:41:17.760 --> 01:41:23.479 roles like producers, directors, lead artists, composers, all these people 2094 01:41:23.479 --> 01:41:25.560 that you don't normally see apart. 2095 01:41:25.319 --> 01:41:26.479 From their name in the credits. 2096 01:41:26.520 --> 01:41:28.439 I mean, for some of them, really prolific people, is 2097 01:41:28.479 --> 01:41:31.520 their first interview in their career. That's all on YouTube 2098 01:41:31.560 --> 01:41:32.800 if you want to take if you want to check 2099 01:41:32.800 --> 01:41:34.600 it out, And there's a second series coming with some 2100 01:41:34.600 --> 01:41:37.520 production values, not just me crying in my room because 2101 01:41:37.520 --> 01:41:40.359 I'm operating everything myself, which was you know, you know good. 2102 01:41:40.439 --> 01:41:43.079 It's good to have ambition, but it wasn't the easiest time. 2103 01:41:43.479 --> 01:41:45.600 So that's now been done in the studio. We still 2104 01:41:45.600 --> 01:41:48.840 take audience questions, but it's not live. But I'm really 2105 01:41:48.840 --> 01:41:52.239 looking forward to that coming out because we've got some caukers. 2106 01:41:53.560 --> 01:41:54.680 Sorry what was that last word. 2107 01:41:54.960 --> 01:41:57.399 Caukers, Absolute caukers of guests. 2108 01:41:57.399 --> 01:42:00.680 So we've got Abby Baker Sealine and if you know him, 2109 01:42:00.720 --> 01:42:06.039 but he was tell Ye studio head and played to. 2110 01:42:06.000 --> 01:42:06.800 The main role in that. 2111 01:42:06.960 --> 01:42:09.680 And by accident I managed to get to other people 2112 01:42:09.680 --> 01:42:11.680 who'd worked and it's a Corey Brothers and who wrote on. 2113 01:42:11.640 --> 01:42:16.600 It and JJ Merrill in the Village. 2114 01:42:16.640 --> 01:42:20.239 So their long form interviews at about an hour long, 2115 01:42:20.560 --> 01:42:22.079 in which you get to know about the whole careers 2116 01:42:22.119 --> 01:42:23.920 as well as some of the game starle how they 2117 01:42:23.960 --> 01:42:26.600 came to be in games, and then a bit more 2118 01:42:26.600 --> 01:42:28.520 on the career, and then we have some real deep 2119 01:42:28.560 --> 01:42:30.760 cut questions from the audience because they'll know them in 2120 01:42:30.760 --> 01:42:31.720 a different way than I do. 2121 01:42:32.279 --> 01:42:34.920 Yeah, that's awesome. I yeah, I know you're pitching to 2122 01:42:34.960 --> 01:42:38.119 the audience. You've saw you sold me personally completely I'm like, wow, 2123 01:42:38.159 --> 01:42:38.840 this is so cool. 2124 01:42:40.159 --> 01:42:42.159 Yeah, it's it's great, and it's it's got themes of 2125 01:42:42.239 --> 01:42:45.319 you know, coadvocacy and community collaboration, all the good stuff 2126 01:42:45.319 --> 01:42:48.119 which you can take into your own industries. The messages 2127 01:42:48.319 --> 01:42:50.279 have the real people around you. You're going to need 2128 01:42:50.319 --> 01:42:53.520 them as much as it is about like this industry 2129 01:42:53.520 --> 01:42:55.640 can be hostile on the on the business side, on 2130 01:42:55.680 --> 01:42:58.159 the money side, in terms of the devs, the creatives 2131 01:42:58.199 --> 01:42:59.439 you make it it's it's. 2132 01:42:59.720 --> 01:43:01.119 Really lovely space to be in. 2133 01:43:01.680 --> 01:43:03.520 Yeah, and it's a celebration of that as well as 2134 01:43:03.560 --> 01:43:05.279 the individual Yes. 2135 01:43:06.079 --> 01:43:08.760 Great, Well, thank you so much for joining us. 2136 01:43:09.640 --> 01:43:11.039 And I'll say it. 2137 01:43:10.840 --> 01:43:14.920 Right to the outro, Thanks so much for tuning into 2138 01:43:14.960 --> 01:43:17.159 this episode of the Game Informer Show. As always, can 2139 01:43:17.239 --> 01:43:20.359 go to Gaminformer dot com slash subscribe to subscribe to 2140 01:43:20.640 --> 01:43:23.800 our magazine. We've got the Outer World's two issues should 2141 01:43:23.800 --> 01:43:25.680 be shipping out now people hopefully get that soon. We 2142 01:43:25.720 --> 01:43:28.000 just announced our next cover, which is Dragon Quest seven 2143 01:43:28.319 --> 01:43:31.840 Reimagine And as always to get a physical subscription anywhere 2144 01:43:31.840 --> 01:43:33.479 in the US can get this issue shipped straight to 2145 01:43:33.560 --> 01:43:35.760 your door, or if it's digital, that's anywhere in the 2146 01:43:35.760 --> 01:43:37.720 world and it will get you a digital copy of 2147 01:43:37.760 --> 01:43:40.279 the magazine or earlier than the physical copy, as well 2148 01:43:40.279 --> 01:43:43.399 as access to all of our paywald articles on the site. 2149 01:43:43.479 --> 01:43:45.560 And of course it helps us here a Game Informer, 2150 01:43:46.359 --> 01:43:48.600 stay in business and it's the best way to support us. 2151 01:43:48.600 --> 01:43:51.039 To go to gameformer dot com slash subscribe. Thanks so 2152 01:43:51.119 --> 01:43:53.319 much for watching Slash listening, and we'll see you guys 2153 01:43:53.319 --> 01:43:53.760 next week.