Speaker 1: Hello, everybody, Welcome back to the fire Escape cast. I
I'm back. Mary's back. This is Mike. That's Mary. It's
episode five or something. Dan's not here. Uh, Firescape has
not been together in like three episodes.
Speaker 2: It's be crazy. Our schedules have been nutso and also
crazy dramas going on.
Speaker 1: Yeah, Dan, Dan Dan Okay. Dan's like, Hey, don't talk
about me when I'm not there. Don't talk about this
or that. It's like Dan, I wasn't going to not.
Speaker 2: I don't give a shit about you, Dan not.
Speaker 1: Everybody's cruising subreddits wondering what's up with Dan Reikert. Sometimes
I just live my life. I don't think about you,
and maybe I didn't want to talk about you anyways.
On the episode Dan anyway to replace Dan new cast
member because Dan's off saving the world or whatever he's doing.
He says he's doing Kylie Fadams have spawn on me
your second time on the show.
Speaker 3: Yeah, thank you so much for having me and screwed in.
Speaker 2: You're welcome, You're you know, you're so welcome here. We
just love having you. Yeah. We talked to Dan earlier
this week. He's in good spirits but is definitely so
busy right now, it's a really good time for us
to bring in a ringer and caught. You have a
lot of experience in the games industry. You've been on
this podcast before. We know you. We love you. Literally
I could throw a rock from my house and hit yours,
and I do every day.
Speaker 1: Please do please have bothlanders.
Speaker 2: Hit in my house, likely cause rocks. I just love
that you and I have so much in common, and
we're both local Portlanders and you've been playing a lot
of games. You're perfect have on dude. Thank you for
taking the time.
Speaker 3: Always, anytime you want me to rock, I'm always down.
Anytime you have rocks. The rocks that you got, that's
the one that Daalo has are so much better.
Speaker 2: Yeah, my rocks are real rocks, real real rocks.
Speaker 1: Matt cubrics are cony is that's what the police say.
Speaker 2: They say. I tried to show them the Jalo music
video and they said, ah, you've been early real rocks
at people again to jail with you.
Speaker 3: Oh, but I'm so hyped to be with y'all. So
it's been a minute, and it's been a while.
Speaker 1: And it was episode twenty two.
Speaker 3: Was your only appearance.
Speaker 1: What episode. The one was February Valentine's Day twenty twenty two,
like three years ago.
Speaker 3: No, given have love to come hang out with y'all.
That's some good stuff.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that is important considering you just had your anniversary congratulations.
Speaker 3: Thirteen years in the books, being so special.
Speaker 2: I can't believe that's such a long freaking time. Either
that means that you've just had like the most magical
relationship for so long. You found each other super early,
or we're all old and I would just suit damn it.
Speaker 1: I was.
Speaker 2: It's so great that you guys found each other as babies,
but we are young.
Speaker 3: It is as wild to be married for thirteen years, especially,
and again when you find someone later, you know, in
your mid twenties late early thirties, it is weird because
then you're like, yo, we're middle aged, and I'm like,
oh shit, like yeah we are.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I'm and my wife when I was thirty one,
thirty two good age one. Yeah, I was yeah thirty
about that. Yeah, but oh my god, I've only got
a year and three quarters married.
Speaker 2: Yea A co give Mike some advice for his marriage
to be a last door, a marriage.
Speaker 3: Fight a lot. Oh nice fight a lot, but fight,
but fight reasonably. I would love fight, would love, but fight.
Fight in the ways that you have an understanding of
the middle ground. You can find middle around in the
beginning and in the middle of a fight. You will
last day a long time, okay, and always say the thing,
say the thing is.
Speaker 2: Say the thing. I think that's realistic. You know. I
know so many people who are like, I've been dating
someone for three or four months. It's amazing. We never fight.
We love each other so much, and I'm like, bitch,
that's not a relationship. A relationship is when you actually
have differences and you're expressing them honestly to each other.
If you've never fought with your partner, someone isn't being honest.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's true. The other thing I would share with
you is something we got in couples therapy. It's a
sticky note. It's a posted note that we have on
our collective desks, on each of our desks, and it
says you chose this. It is a phrase that we
live by in the Adams household because whenever we get down,
whatever we're mad, whenever you put too much on our plates,
we look at that list and we say, you chose this,
and that removes all that ability to be like, I'm
going to cry about the thing. I I'm not going
to cry about that thing. You chose.
Speaker 1: You made your bed, I chose you, you chose me, beautiful. Yeah,
what it mean? I thought you met you? This is
your fault.
Speaker 3: No, no, no, no, no, it's it's it's like.
Speaker 2: From your perspective in some ways.
Speaker 1: Yes, I went real dark with it. Well that's good.
Wait was the anniversary like a few days ago?
Speaker 3: Yeah, a couple of days ago, right at the end
of April.
Speaker 2: So yeah, nice, that makes me happy. I think that's
a really cool win, uh, and a victory for love everywhere.
And I just also love your like pragmatic view of everything.
It's it's just, I don't know. I think it's very
You're realist, and that's why it's good. This week I
saw Sinners, which everybody is talking about is quite a
hot topic, and I was curious if either of you
have seen it.
Speaker 3: I have so it the other day.
Speaker 1: Did either of you like it? It was it good?
It was decent, decent. I like I love Creed, I
love when I liked black Pants to some extent, I
like when Coogler and Michael B. Jordan worked together. So
I was excited for this and I still want to
see it.
Speaker 3: The thing that pushed me over the edge to go
see I mean, I was gonna go see it anyway,
but seeing Mary say this movie, this movie was horny
as hell, I was like, yeo, I'm.
Speaker 1: Gonna go see what turned you over?
Speaker 3: That was the thing I was like. I was like,
Thisten is horny. I was like, yeah, I'm going.
Speaker 2: I tweet. So I didn't know nothing about it. I
haven't seen a trailer, nothing, I knew nothing. And but
there's all this discourse online about it of people just
being like, oh, you gotta see it's crazy, like check
out you know these actors and like how they delivered
this line blah blah blah blah. And I was like, well,
there's so much discourse, it must be interesting. And so
I tweeted gonna see Sinners tonight, and all the responses
were like like, let me know what you think. And
so I saw it again. I don't know anything about it,
and I will not spoil it for anyone who hasn't
seen it yet, so like, don't worry about that. But
I saw it in a theater bull to the brim.
I mean there was maybe two seats free, which is crazy.
You just don't see that type of cinematic experience in
today's age. But it was filled and these people were
hankering for a good experience. When somebody told a joke,
the auditorium laughed. When the bad guy did something, the
auditorium went oo. And like at the very end, there's
this kind of like a very poignant ending that would
maybe result in everyone getting being happy, and the whole auditorium,
I swear to God, applauded. This is not the end
when the credits rolled. This is like when a very
important thing happens and everyone just went, oh may. It
was a very visceral experience to have so many people
like screaming and laughing and h and getting into it.
But the crazy thing that I remembered from watching it
was there's a lot of sexual tension throughout the entire film.
Like in almost every scene that I saw, I was like,
are these people fucking or are they gonna fuck? Or
did they fuck? And in every scene I was like, Oh,
they did. And it's just littered throughout the performance. And
so when it was done, we were all kind of
like discussing what we liked and disliked. I had some
things I didn't like about it, so I would say,
this is like a perfect film. I had some critiques
of it, but I walked away and I was like,
I was entertained and that movie was so horny. And
that's like literally what I tweet. I said, the movie
is like horny as hell. Everybody was fucking in that film,
and I mean I kind of liked it. I don't
go to I just finished off forty hour work week.
I didn't go to not watch people fuck. I want
to see it. And so it was really cool how
much that was a part of the experience of the film.
Was just like, yeah, we're we're we're gonna be doing
it multiple times.
Speaker 1: Yeah, who who's it's Michael b Jordan Haley Steinfeld. Uh, yes,
she's Uh, that's I unfortunately know her mainly as Josh
Buffalo Bill's quarterbacks friends. Oh.
Speaker 2: I don't know actors' names very well, but I will
say that's like a weakness of mine. I like never
can be like, oh, this person was in these other
three films. I don't fucking know that shit. But the
casting was well done. The acting is very good. I
never really questioned whether or not someone was right for
that role. Every time, I was like, oh, amazing casting.
There's this like Irish guy in it. I mean, unbelievably
perfect cast for who this person is and how they behave.
And yeah, I mean I just I was really thrilled
with the choices that the actors made to make you
feel like you could believe them and their stories. And
it is a supernatural story, so it takes a bit
of believing for you to kind of buy into what's
happening to these people. But man, I walked away and
I was very satisfied. I just thought it was like
the exposition was a little long. It takes like an
hour for like shit to go down, and it's just
like that's a long time.
Speaker 3: Yeah. It does a lot of suspension of disbelief and
you have to really buy into, like you said, the
ideas of what it's trying to do. But it's a
really solid vampire movie. Like I think, you know, if
you look at it in that sense and you know,
take your brain out of your head for a little bit, Uh,
it works. It works.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's any one was in it who's that.
Speaker 1: Who like Buddy Guy like famous like like blues guitarists
from that like started blues in the Midwest.
Speaker 3: Almost.
Speaker 1: That's I didn't know he was in movies.
Speaker 2: That's interesting.
Speaker 3: Dolroy Lindo was in that movie. He's a classic actor
in so many different ways he's and he was fantastic
as well. I think, you know, Ryan Kugler does a
thing that when I left, the thing that my wife
and I were talking about was, you know, do you
like Ryan Kugler movies? And I think he does a
really fantastic job of learning what a summer blockbuster film
is and galvanizing zeitgeist and culture around something. He does
that extremely extremely well, Like, even if his movies are
not necessarily amazing and great in all the ways, he
does that every time people come out to go see
his movies. And that's what matters for for you know,
cinema matters for for black art, matters for a bunch
of things. And he's nailing that part for sure.
Speaker 2: And they got people talking. I just don't see people
talking about a film like this. And one of the
things that it does prompt me to talk about it.
The reason I'm bringing it up on this podcast because
I see movies all the time and I usually don't
bring them up, but like, this isn't a Hollywood traditional
blockbuster film, and outside of like Marvel, you just don't
see people talking about a film when it comes out
like this, Like everybody's talking about it became this like
cultural event where everyone, you guys, remember when like Barbenheimer
happened and everyone was like, you gotta see Barbin like
it was. I don't think it's as big as that,
but it was a big moment culturally for everyone to
be like, you really should see this film. It's quite
interesting and it's doing interesting things, and everybody's talking about it,
and I'm so grateful that it's not a Marvel or
superhero film. Yeah, all of the advertisements leading up to
the film, you know, all the trailers and the teasers, Marvel, Marvel,
Fantastic for some other fuck guy, I'm just I'm just
tired of I'm so burnt out on that type of work.
A part of me tweeting and talking about it is
I'm doing my part because I don't want that to
be the only type of movie that we culturally talk
about at the cinema. Anymore like let us evolve and
have other types of experiences that are very good at
the movies.
Speaker 3: It was it was really interesting to come off of
two week two weekends basically where I was in, you know,
big crowded spaces with people right like went to Wrestle
Media the week before and then seeing Sinners the week
weekend afterwards, and it was really nice to have that
communal moment again, right where the thing of like being
in a room hetting people react to things and seeing
their real time reaction as opposed to everything that we
usually get a chance to see on online. I miss
that so much, like those parts of things that I
really think went away for a couple of years, and
now they're starting to really come back when you have
those culturals like geist moments, which is again, like you said,
super super dope. I love when those things happen. Great.
Speaker 1: Did these crowds at the theaters where they like and
it sounds like they were into Sinners, Mary, But like,
were were they generally kind of I? I? I asked,
because the last few times I've gone to the movies,
it's so hit or miss as to whether I'm gonna
get just a shitty crowd that's just like talking over
the movie and not to the movie.
Speaker 2: Or singing with it.
Speaker 1: By god, yeah, but like even even then, it's still
they're interacting with the movies. So many times people just
talk over I don't know if these were good, exactly
good crowds or not.
Speaker 2: It's hard to describe. Because I completely agree with you.
I actually hate talkers during films. I hate people who
are distracting during films. I don't like that shit. And
I uh, this is also a polarizing opinion, but I
often do not like musicals, and I don't see musicals
in theaters because I don't want to fucking see some
fan person who can't rein it in get excited and
saying or even make noise. I find that really irritating.
So an individual making noise very angry, do not like it,
very upset about it. Now, if there is a moment
in a film that prompts everybody collectively, you know, the group,
to get or to applaud, I am with that, because
now you're just in a giant experience with a bunch
of people. I don't know what was in the water
this night, I do not know what happened. I do
think that was a part of it. It was set
in the tone for sure, but there were multiple times
and there's this one character who just happens to have
a lot of comedic timing bits. It's kind of their thing.
They're like a drinker in their character is a heavy drinker,
and so they're kind of notorious for saying funny things
with really good timing because they're like slurred and a
little behind. And every time this character had one of
their funny little lines, the whole audience just erupted and
laughter at the same time. And that got me into it.
I was along for the wave of these people reacting
to this really good characters one liners and again this
kind of there is a very finale moment to this
film that is very satisfying, and I just couldn't believe
that everybody stood up and clapped and we're like, yeah,
get him, and it was just so funny, like to
watch people collectively have that response. So I liked it
for this specifically, But if an individual is like look
behind you, I fucking hate that. I don't like an individual,
but I do like the collective consensus of joy fear
and like they're banging, which happened.
Speaker 1: Yeah, the I think it was top Gun. Maverick was
the first movie in a while that had done that.
Or the crowd. Yeah, during his time the time trial scene,
like the whole crowd was going nuts cheering for it.
That's fun when the crowd's like super into it. I'm
I mean, just like I I sometimes I am the
person in the group who doesn't mind telling. Like a
group who's talking over the movie amongst themselves loudly. I
will squash that quick. I don't know, I turn around
and say, shut the fuck up, like this is ky
You've been gone from New York too long. This is.
Speaker 3: Like Portland crowds are very very now.
Speaker 1: I don't shush. I'm not shushing. I'm I will be
as direct with you as I think. No, I feel
like strishing, just being past aggressive and making it worse.
I want to just go for it.
Speaker 3: Well, that's why I love you, because because New York,
New York vibes is opposed to Portland vibe in terms
of watching movies like this. Yeah, yeah, so different.
Speaker 1: I feel like you're also more likely in New York
to get people who talk over it. Just it's just
I don't know where people and like they don't care.
Speaker 3: So I don't know, but.
Speaker 2: Everybody is collectively rude. I saw, I appreciate that. I
think that.
Speaker 1: I also in general saying we're still like a well
mannered city generally speaking. This was like a group of
NYU students who, yeah, I know exactly what you mean. Yeah, yeah,
So that's why I was like, Okay, I can tell
it's a bunch of like nineteen year olds chatting and
taking flash photos of the interest screen to alien romulus.
Speaker 3: And critiquing it for their next class in their next
the movie that.
Speaker 1: They're basically yeah, so yeah, sorry, Mary, you're saying.
Speaker 2: No, I was to say, I saw, I know better
than to do this, because, as I have mentioned, I'm
really not a big musical person because I don't like
people bothering me. But I saw, uh what I called
the Wicked. No, actually, you guys, I'm a hater.
Speaker 1: The main girls like Wicked.
Speaker 2: Everybody loves Wicked. We're gonna lose. I don't know. I
don't know if there's any listeners out here that's like
obsessed with Wicked. I don't give us shit about that film,
and I don't care that she's popular. I don't care
about any of that shit.
Speaker 3: I know.
Speaker 1: I don't like it.
Speaker 2: I just think, I think. I think most musicals are
like really exhausting because they're always like I'm angry about
this thing that happened to me, and it's like you're
just describing your feelings. Songs are not an excuse for
you to break the fourth wall and literally tell the
audience how you feel. That is lazy writing. And I
don't give a shit if you sang it. It's just
not very good. I saw Mean Girls. It's true, I
tell you feel.
Speaker 1: I don't care for it, and Shakespeare.
Speaker 2: I don't care for it. I go out of my
way and I have seen I was raised with a
lot of musicals. My dad took me to musicals, and
I'm great for that experience, but I I just I
just find them exhausting, especially in a theater. Anyway, I
went against my better judgment and I saw Mean Girls
the musical. I loved Mean Girls, and I like, I
couldn't help myself, and I was like, maybe it'll be good.
I did not care for it. And additive to this
like experience of them constantly singing their feelings, which I hate,
the couple in front of me were hardcore making out
the whole film.
Speaker 1: In movies, in the in the movie, he was right
in front of.
Speaker 2: You to be petting, and they were making lip noises
like during the songs. So I was like trying to watch.
Speaker 1: Oh god, what theater was it, what's the address? What
movie are they going to? Ing?
Speaker 2: I could not I could not get out. I couldn't
avoid it. I was like trying to like lean around,
and there was too many people, so I couldn't get
out of the way. And they took a break like
halfway through, and then three quarters the way through, they
like went even hard, and I think they were touching
each other and stuff, because they were like they was
petting and stuff.
Speaker 1: At one point, the guys like.
Speaker 2: It was getting hot and heavy, and just like you
were saying. I had decided whether or not I should
glare at them or be like and I finally just
leaned in and I said, guys, I know you guys
want to fuck. I just need to finish ten more
minutes of this film. If you could just rein it
in and then go home and do this, that would
be so awesome. And they they kind of looked.
Speaker 3: At me, don't be makeup.
Speaker 2: My experience sit in the back where all the people fuck.
I understand people who want to bang in a movie theater.
I was also sixteen.
Speaker 3: I want to go to the back reasonably.
Speaker 2: They were like four rows in.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Wait, what did they say?
Speaker 2: Don't look at me like I'm a horny peples, like
I'm like some kind of like I have all the
respect in the world for people who want to bang,
but don't do it in front of my eyes at
the movie theater. That's unfair.
Speaker 1: What did they say to you when you said that?
Speaker 2: They just think they were shocked that I had done that.
And they held hands and they looked at the movie
for like the last ten minutes. It was awkward. I
mean I didn't try to fight them or anything. I
wasn't like really rude about it. I just said, like, guys,
come on, like rein it in, like go home and
bang in like ten minutes. I just I just got
to finish this stupid movie.
Speaker 3: A random condom just floats into the air.
Speaker 2: I would not be prize like they were. They were
probably very kids upset with me that I had like
ruined their intimacy, but like you are in a packed
crowded theater, like do a very quiet over the pants
hand job like everyone else, Like, there's no reason for
you to be that in my face about it.
Speaker 3: It could have been their conjugal visit.
Speaker 2: Who knows, I dare you lay that on me? And
you go to and you go to see mean girls the.
Speaker 3: Music hall that maybe maybe that's their kink. Maybe that's
the thing that gets them to where they need to get.
Speaker 2: To back to jail.
Speaker 3: Do not pass go, do not collect hundred dollars.
Speaker 2: I want to hear it.
Speaker 1: Mary tells just like snitches on them to the parole
officer outside and not realizing he's their parole officer.
Speaker 2: We're all over each other. I missed the third act. Yeah,
I think.
Speaker 1: You just didn't enjoy it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I saw all home Run. I didn't see fucking
anything about the movie anyway. Weird baby, they are weird,
and I liked. I do like a communal experience, So
if people are interested in still seeing centers, I do
recommend a theater experience because I don't know if you
will have the same theatrical experience that I did. But
I found that the crowd hyped me the fuck up
for that event and I left being like, what what
is going on today? Everybody was into like all of
those scenes and like all the craziness that happened. Everybody
was in it was. It was wild. So yeah, see
it in the theater if you can.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I got a I saw in theaters.
Speaker 2: That was the last time movies also horny.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I know you didn't love it, Mary, I liked.
Speaker 3: It a lot.
Speaker 2: I was also a hater. And the fact that I
actually did like the color correcting, I just I didn't
care for Lily rose depth performance. You always hate you agree, Yeah,
I do hate women, which you did? You like it?
I'm just curious, like you liked her performance.
Speaker 1: We talked about this because then you're like, she's gonna
knock over that bookshelf, and then she knocked over the bookshelf.
I like other co hosts on the show, remember when
we talk about stuff and it adds to the show.
I remember when you said you don't like Lily Depp
Rose Rose Depp, there's two solids in your name. I
just noticed stick to one Lily Rose. That's fair her
like her convulsions could be seen as overacting, but I
would argue that character needed to I don't know. It
doesn't matter. Maybe maybe I did like.
Speaker 2: For the record, I didn't say I didn't like the film.
I liked the film. I just found her exhausting.
Speaker 1: That crowd was awesome because they were quiet. Alien Romulus
was not. And I also just didn't love Alien Romulus.
We were like ships in the night on both those movies.
Speaker 2: I was obsessed with Romulus. Catt did you see either
of these films. I'm just curious that we can have
a tie breaker here because I was with Romulus and
I was like mid on nosfatu.
Speaker 3: I will I have not seen thou. I was okay
on Romulus.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I said, middle of the series, I thank you.
Speaker 3: Yeah. It did a couple of things. Again, it was
like suspensions of disbelief kind of things of just like you.
Speaker 1: Know, you could have fixed that, yeah, Ai, Yeah, you know.
Speaker 3: You could have fixed that, like.
Speaker 2: Dare you ship this movie?
Speaker 3: Yeahs, Like this thing is telling you not to do
this thing, You're still going to do it like all
humans do in movies like that.
Speaker 2: So there was decisions made in Romulus that I cannot
condone and I cannot justify and I cannot be like, no,
there's reasons they made that terrible to like, I can't
defend it. I was just thoroughly entertained from beginning to
end of that film. The whole time I was like, Oh,
I can't believe shit was happening. I felt like it
was like pure cinema, especially the ending, which was just
like psychotic for me. I just it was such a
good ride. So that's kind of why I defend it,
even though I do think there are a shoes with it.
Speaker 3: Absolutely is there that you're really excited to see that's
coming out very soon?
Speaker 1: Yeah? What is that shit? Clearly I'm not that excited
if I don't remember that.
Speaker 2: Weapons baby, Uh, Mike, I wonder if you know what
I'm talking about.
Speaker 1: But like this, yes, oh that's the Barbarian director. That's
exactly what I was gonna say.
Speaker 2: Talk the imagery of this film looks insane.
Speaker 1: And it's the director of Barbarian, which is fucking awesome.
Speaker 2: Children walking around with their hands at the sides or terrifying.
Speaker 1: The woman who I don't know if either of you
watched the show The Americans, the woman who plays the
CIA director's daughter, the teenager. She's in it, and I
like her acting a lot, but I just saw the
first trailer last night. I was like, this looks like, yeah,
it's pretty arresting imagery just in the trailer, and then
I saw it's like from the director of Barbarian. I'm
like saying no more, and I like turned. I was
watching basketball and I saw like went to the other games.
I didn't want to see any more of the trailer
because I knew how good Barbarian was.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you don't want the trailer of Weapons shows too much.
In fact, I would recommend anyone who's like, what is this?
What is this weapons? Every one time an I don't
look at the trailer, don't because I actually think it
gives a way too much. I don't like what they've done.
I think us describing that children are running out of
their house with their hands like oddly placed at their sides.
Speaker 1: House or Patrick, I don't know.
Speaker 2: Yeah, there's like something fucked about the run that is
just not natural. That's all I think I want you
to know about it. I also heard a rumor, and
I'm curious if this is true, that Jordan Peel wanted
the rights to this film very badly but he lost them,
and I heard this is a rumor that he fired
his whole team when they couldn't get the rights to it,
And that's like indicative of how it's how good it
is because Jordan Peel was like, I have to fucking
produce this film and he did get it.
Speaker 3: Ooh that's interesting, Yeah that would be I mean he's
he got him you got that movie.
Speaker 2: I know, not confirmed though, we don't know, uh if
that's true.
Speaker 1: I just true.
Speaker 2: I read that on the internet and said, oh, that's true.
That's so cool. And it didn't work. So you've hooklined
and synkered me if you made up that misinformation? Is
that the movie you were going to say too that
you're excited.
Speaker 3: About weapons and Final Destination? Of course?
Speaker 1: Oh? Yeah, yeah, you sick.
Speaker 2: Oh I love that? Did you or were you like
a big fan of Final Destination when because I think
the first one came out when we were like teens,
probably this was like a classic for our age of
high school uh horror movies.
Speaker 3: That was that was one of the movies that kept
me into the loving of gory movies.
Speaker 1: Space sure, it's so good. Hype for that my favorite,
I think my favorite, one of my favorite deaths in
the entire franchise is when the dude is like bench
pressing and the two like swords the and just slice
them was like who put real swords on? Like I
think their their their mascot was like the Sultan's or something,
so it's too like like what do you do curve
like sabers? So then they fall into slice and like
who put those up there? And then I think that
was the same movie with the Tanning Booth. I think
that was all three.
Speaker 2: Oh that's brutal.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I remember seeing that was the first one that
I went back.
Speaker 3: So good.
Speaker 2: They have really good ideas for their deaths, and I
think something that Final Destination does really good is misdirections.
Usually in that type of film, you think you know
how people are gonna die and it shifts at the
last minute. There's something in the trailer, so I don't
think I'm giving this away, but there's something in the
trailer where there's like glass gets stuck in the ice,
like somebody breaks a glass and some a piece of
glass is in the ice. So people are scooping ice
into drinks and everyone's like, fuck, someone's gonna drink that
glass and like it'll kill them or whatever. But I
think it's always a cheat. It always is like actually
that starts a domino effect that causes someone to die.
It's never what you think it's going to be. I
think that's really specially about it.
Speaker 1: You think they're gonna drink a glass glass and instead
like the bar just explodes, something else happens.
Speaker 2: It always is the way, all of a sudden, there's
like I think it was two. I think two is
a really awesome premise, which is all the cars in
traffic and there's a huge car accident.
Speaker 3: Oh so good. It's such a classic scene too.
Speaker 2: It's a really good scene. And there's all these this
is past the statute of limitation, so I'll say this
death in uh final destination too. But there's all these
logs on a truck in front of someone, And to
this day I have a lot of people who are like,
I ain't driving mine that log, like I've seen final destinations,
Like I'm passing this shit.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: But in the film, the logs obviously like fall off
the truck and they are killing some people.
Speaker 1: I know that.
Speaker 2: Like one of the logs goes like right through someone's head.
But in one of them, as the person skits to
a stop, all these sharp sticks go through the windshield
and they stop right here, and she's like, oh my god,
my god, my god. And she's like undoing her seat
belt and as she's like getting out, I think like
the air bag goes off, and like, yeah, she gets it.
And so I think it's really funny how the how
that film toys with your emotion. So I totally respect
that that's something you want to see. It's there's so
many of them now. There's a reason they called it
Bloodlines and not Final Destination six or whatever number we're
on now, because it's probably not as interesting. But that
series is good.
Speaker 3: Good, It's so good, so so good. I love that
thing with my whole heart.
Speaker 2: With my whole heart. I can't wait to see how
that whole family died.
Speaker 1: You know, we know another movie has good depths That
m night Shyamalan.
Speaker 2: And let me tell you, fucker don't allow this.
Speaker 1: One of the best B movies ever made, called The
Happening by a visionary of a visionary. Yeah, I think
I think in uh, in the seventy five years, we're
going to look back and think he was good. Yeah,
I won't be around, he'll be will this generation's children
will be like, oh he was, It'll be like it'll
be like the ingmar Bergmann of.
Speaker 2: I think it's so unfair to say that he's underappreciated
in our time, because he's so over appreciated that he
keeps being able to make stinkers and people keep giving
him money. That's how over index.
Speaker 1: We are on himself.
Speaker 2: Because he's so rich, because he's.
Speaker 1: So this need to make the happening, and you're sitting
here besmirching his good name.
Speaker 2: I could have had those jet skis.
Speaker 1: I jet to make the beach.
Speaker 2: I would have prefer the waterbed beach the beach, no beach,
no thank you. I think he like lost his way.
But I mean sometimes I just think, in general, with
how much everybody is now watching movies on a streaming
services instead of cinema, we're accepting these not as satisfying,
not as well written, not as well thought through movies
that we're just saying like this is this is fine
because you're gonna passively watch this while you like look
at your phone anyway, so ship it.
Speaker 3: It's fun because go ahead.
Speaker 1: Good Because I'm not Shamalan's written the best movies that
are made.
Speaker 3: But Anyway, it's funny because it's now turned on its head,
where now folks who are really good actors are now
doing kind of shitty movies. Yes, Peter Dinklitch is not
going to be The Toxic Adventure, which is also like, again,
the spectrum of where we've gotten to is all weird now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, the pendulum swingeth.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's wild. I was like, what he's going to
be who? Okay, do it? I want to see what
it's going to be like, because that's a really weird
transition to doing something that was pretty profound in the
last movie that he was in, uh, to doing yeah,
to doing the Toxic Adventure, which is crazy.
Speaker 2: I think that's really interesting and I've seen that as well.
I'm trying to think of like, uh, I think Apple
had like a couple of movies that are they're fine,
They're not great, but they're like fine, but they have
a list actors in them, and they're just maybe they're
just decent action movies, but they're not exceptionally well done
or written or anything, but the acting is good, and
so I'm like, hey, at least I'm getting really good
acting out of this like subpar experience.
Speaker 1: Well, then the Marvel verse keeps pulling everybody in fucking
Florence Pughs and Thunderbolts. Now she's better than that. I like,
but I'm just so over I'm sure as a massive paycheck.
I saw trailers for Thunderbolts, not like a nonpurpose again.
I was watching like a Warriors game or something, and
it popped up. I immediately the trailer. Maybe want to
see it less than if I like. The trailer actively
pushed me away even more because it's just David Harbor
like yelling the whole time about how they're the Thunderbolts.
I really want nothing to do with that realm.
Speaker 2: They can't hook me. I don't care how many Florence
Pews you have. And I do love her. I think
she's a great actress, and I also think she seems
like a solid person. It shouldn't be that connected to
the character that they play, but I think she's just
like a rad person and I do support her work.
You can't make me get in there. I'm not going.
I'm not going to see this shit anymore. I abstain
because I want us to make something else collectively as
a society.
Speaker 1: This is things, This is the rebels of the market.
Speaker 2: They all try this.
Speaker 1: I know it's suicide.
Speaker 2: I just like pretending you're the corporate person and I'm
not keep trying to sell it to me.
Speaker 1: These are It opens with a stunt that Florence performed herself.
Speaker 2: Oh okay, who gives a shit. I feel like they
try and do this to me all the time with
Tom Cruise, and They'll be like, he was really hanging
on that plane, and I'm like, who.
Speaker 1: Old movies are actually fucking awesome. I will are awesome.
Speaker 2: It is a bit I do. It's not the selling
point that you think it is.
Speaker 1: Oh see them, because he did the stunts the movies.
Speaker 2: That's what I'm saying. The movie is incredible. I'm not
spying the movie is not incredible. What I'm saying is
that people are always like he did the Sun himself,
and I'm like, I don't care if it's him or
if it's a guy that kind of looks like him
that put on a wig. It's irrelevant to me.
Speaker 3: If he did a Final Destination movie, then that would
be smart.
Speaker 1: If Glass stunts, yes, if he.
Speaker 2: Ate Glass in the ice, I'd be like, Okay, you
got me, Tom Cruise that's cool. I I don't think
that it's important that they do their own stunts or
that the sun is real, and well, unless you can't.
Speaker 1: You know either. But we were doing a bit about
Florence Pugh and Thunderbolts and you just went off on
a tangent.
Speaker 2: Oh fuck, all right, tell me more.
Speaker 1: DoD David Harbor made waves with his performance and Stranger
Things three seasons on Netflix. I think now he's bringing
his talents to the Marvel Cinematic universe. This is your
chance to see him unfiltered. This isn't no, this isn't
a children's show.
Speaker 2: Uh huh, this isn't your mom, your mom's Marvel.
Speaker 1: This isn't your mom Stranger Things, this is the Thunderbolts.
Speaker 2: They're raw dogging it for two and a half hours.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I was just having sex with Florence Pugh for
two hours.
Speaker 3: I still I really wouldn't want to see that.
Speaker 1: It would be nice to not have to have AI made.
Speaker 3: I don't want that at all.
Speaker 2: I don't want that.
Speaker 1: Okay, okay, David Beckham and Florence Peugh, But hey, no,
the real David Beckham No, not really? Yeah? What what
what about David Beckham. No, okay, I'm David David. No, David, Uh.
Speaker 2: You could not be a Hollywood producer.
Speaker 3: That's instant money.
Speaker 1: Name another David.
Speaker 2: We don't talk about anymore. David hasself.
Speaker 3: David Hasselhoff needs his return, he needs to come back
into the limelight, get his money.
Speaker 1: There's an episode of It's Always Sunny in which they're
trying to write an m Night shyamalan aesque movie and
they talk about how they love when movies bring back,
like uh, actors that have faded into the background, and
their idea is Dolph Lungern, but I think David Hasselhoff
works as well, right, And then the movie becomes about
how he can smell crime before it happens, and that
just comes two hours of porn. We're just actually remaking
the movie from that episode. Write a movie, a terrible
hump film.
Speaker 3: I'm just saying, it's terrible, terrible, thank you.
Speaker 2: We are like those characters, though, because if we were
to make a film, Mike, you would absolutely make sure
that there were so many sexianes that they were like
way too gratuitous. It would be like unnecessarily gratuitous, and
you'd be like, we gotta have it. This is gonna
be the best fourteen minute sexy and you've ever seen.
Speaker 1: Oh I got it? Censitimd Bowie and Florence Pugh. No,
he's dead. What David Lynch, He's dead too fine?
Speaker 2: Oh why is it? David? No, he's on a celebrity
list in.
Speaker 1: The d David Swimmer and Florence Pew. Oh God yeah,
Oh David Hyde Pierce. That'd be good. Lightermann, Eh Batista,
Davitista in Florence Peugh.
Speaker 3: Maybe it would at least be sexy because at least
David Batista has has had his like you know, grown
man turn.
Speaker 1: Oh David David Fincher directing a movie in which Florence
Pew and Dave Chappelle go at it all right? Sorry
telling me you not go see that? Talk about blockbusters
and capturing the zeitgeist. Have Ryan Kugler direct it. David
Fincher plays himself writing a movie about Dave. Who did
I just say? Florence Swimmer Dave David Swimmer love story?
What else is new with spawn on me? I saw
I saw GDC like a month ago at this point.
Oh good, yeah, I ran into him. That was the
first time in a bit, How are things going on
on your end?
Speaker 3: Things are good? Things are good. I mean it's it's
always busy, always running around like a mad man trying
to get things done and you know, trying to figure
out what the next steps are going to wind up being.
And you know, we're now in year eleven of the show,
which is which is crazy to say out loud, but
it's again, it's like the greadest parts of doing all
of this for this long is like you forget that
just being public in this way is a thing that
you are again like choosing to do. But also it
feels like not only an obligation to yourself to continue
to do like the quality parts of it, you know,
if you care about the work, but also just like
you get a chance to like touch people's lives in
some small way. And that that part, to me is
I never lose that part of understanding where all of
this kind of lives. So, you know, for as much
as I get frustrated by some of the prospects of
the way all the media works now and people having
the attention spans of dirt and all that kind of stuff,
it still feels nice to be able to have a
thing that you own, that you have a voice with
and you can kind of share your your thoughts, feelings
and ideas with the rest of the world. And you know,
people across the world can hear my silly voice in
their phones and weird stuff. So it's great. I love it.
It keeps me going in a lot of different ways,
and I just enjoy the pro of getting it done
and talking about dope stuff with good people. So that's
always it.
Speaker 1: Do you feel the need to or do you ever
like take social media breaks or do you feel like
you can't because you're like doing a self run thing. Uh?
Speaker 3: Well, the hard part is I usually my nine to
five job is usually a part of that space. I'm
usually either a community commany manageer work or social media
management work. So I'm constantly trying to poke at things.
The thing that I'm learning or the thing that has
become the hardest part of doing this work, and that
is I used to be able to distill. You know,
if you're doing your job well as a community manager
or a social media manager, you're trying to always like,
look at this guy, see what the energy is of
the internet, and then distill the pieces of the nuggets
of interesting in it. And the hard part now is
finding so much less of the interesting in it. And
I think that part has been the most difficult part
because that's also a fuel for me in smaller me
is like I'm wanting to be a part of these
kind of cultural conversations and be a part of the discussion.
But when you're looking at stuff and you're like, now
this is stupid, Like that's dumb, that doesn't that doesn't
mean anything. Well, that's not news, or that's not important. No,
that's not interesting, it winds up changing the way you
kind of think about making content. But but I'm I'm
perpetually on. I need to take breaks, but I don't,
and that's that's not a good time.
Speaker 1: It's tough to step away. I kind of truly have now.
I'm still I.
Speaker 2: Don't see you on much at all anymore.
Speaker 1: I get all of my I mean, I I use
I think at a certain point it's almost like a
privilege to be able to step away, because a lot
of young people up and coming have no choice but
to get their name out there through social media, which
I think all three of us have done it are
still sort of doing in a way you know, like
it's I just at a certain point didn't have to
and I was like, I'm gonna take advantage of it.
But but yeah, no, for it's also building up this
thing that you run yourself. That's a whole different story.
A lot of respect for it. I'm not I don't
know if I could do it be tough, but you know,
like to your point, the rewards are it sounds like
the rewards outweigh the negatives of the stuff you have
to put in.
Speaker 3: I think it keeps me. It keeps me. I'm not
gonna say young, because that feels weird, like I just
got a Social Security check. But it's like it keeps
me in a space of trying to understand things, like
I still have a level of curiosity about all of this,
and I think the foundational love of the industry and
hearing how all of these things that you get a
chance to play are made every day, or you know,
you know through interviews and things that I get a
chance to do, and you know, getting a chance to
host things and all that kind of stuff, like that's
the part that really is the coolest bit. It's like
I get a chance to understand things in a way
and not just like push them in accord and it's
like I know it. You know, Like going to GDC
every year is the thing I love. It's one of
my favorite conferences to go to because every year I
learned something new about the way games are made. And
it's the past time that I continue to take up
most of my time. It's the hobby that has given
me my job, most of my jobs with some of
my work. That's the reason why people know me at all.
So it's like to not understand why and how these
things are made feels like a disservice to the people
who get a chance to do it. And you know,
it's taken a decade plus to kind of get into
a space where people will understand what I'm trying to do.
But I think in the grand scheme that's the kind
of foundation of all of it. Is like I want
to be smarter about and give props and and love
to the people who are doing this stuff because they
could be doing anything else on the planet. Like this
is not something that you wake up every morning You're like,
I want to make games and get cuss out. It's
not it like you get a chance to give people
joy I'm like, that's a rare thing. Oh yeah, I'll
try to try to poke at that.
Speaker 2: I think it's important too, because games are haven't been
in existence in society as long as film. It's often
compared to film, but we have such deep and intricate
takes and thoughts based on film. Why they've done the
things that they've done culturally? How is it relevant? What
is the director or writer trying to say? And often
when we try to do that about games, everyone's.
Speaker 3: Like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa whoah?
Speaker 2: The important thing is is it fun? And it's like, yes,
of course.
Speaker 1: That's does that it's funny.
Speaker 2: How important this.
Speaker 1: Cast we can talk like that. I wonder what's the
difference with this cast that from usual that stops us
from talking. I don't know, I'm just curious what that
who might be doing that and our normal cast? Sorry,
very continue, you're I love it now. You are the
true hater of this podcast. I hate musicals.
Speaker 2: Mike hates the other members of this cast.
Speaker 1: I mean Dan, oh, that's cod Swallow. It just tell
me whether it's fun.
Speaker 2: That's how he talks like a nineteen thirties Yeah. I
think that Dan is though His opinion is very valued
in many ways though, because he represents so many people
who are like, no, but literally tell me if I
would enjoy playing it, and that that is a conversation
to had in games, we do want to talk about that,
and we are literally about to talk about like ten
games and whether or not we enjoyed playing them. But
to not discuss why this game exists or you know, foundationally,
what they were thinking about when they were making it
is a disservice to games because you will have trouble
evolving the medium if you're not dissecting why something might
be good or fun to play. Not having those conversations
can often have you in a repetitive state where everyone's
just saying, well, everybody liked Overwatch, so we made Overwatch,
and it's like, okay, that's you know, everyone said Overwatch
was fun, so we made Overwatch too, and it's just like,
all right, well, that's that's not very exciting. And that's
exactly what we'll continue to happen, is we'll just like
replicate games to make original games. People start really talk
about the nuances of what they liked about a game,
and people pull that out, and that's how we evolves
as an industry. So I think it's extremely important what
you do, and I think it's often overlooked or sometimes
sometimes even like Chied it as like something that is
not necessary. It's most important of like whether or not
you liked it, but your ability to explain why is
extremely valuable to both developers, publishers, the entire industry. So
I don't really care if some people are like, I
don't need to know that stuff.
Speaker 1: It's like you do you just I still do it
just behind the scenes. Now, Yeah, I think I think
correctly to developers one thousand percent.
Speaker 3: I think a lot of folks who are doing this
kind of work, you know. It's the reason why short
form work doesn't. Short form content doesn't really work for
what I do. Mmmm it can you know what I mean?
Like you can chunk out and bite size things.
Speaker 2: And you can't siskel An Eebert two thumbs.
Speaker 3: Up a game, right, you know, And I'm like, but
that doesn't do anything for anybody else who's really thinking
about this in a much broader way. Like one of
the best compliments I get from books behind the scenes
is that they are like, you're really thoughtful in the
way that you kind of analyze the way you're you know,
you're playing these games and paying attention to it. And
when you and especially from developers who are like that,
you know, when we do interviews, are like, that was
a really good question. That is like the the best
thing you can say to someone who's doing the work
that I do is like, you've just asked me a
really good question. Let me think about that. And I
think we're in a space where people don't think about
anything really take that extra step to really like dig
into the minutia of what does it mean and how
do you feel and why does that matter? And you know,
you made the analog to to movies, and I think
a question that gets asked in that space is what
is the director or what is the writer's intent? Yeah,
and we remove that from games in a really weird way,
you know what I mean, Like, we don't it. It
goes back to is it fun? But I'm like, no,
there are reasons why these systems are in place, and
why you play a thing in a certain way, and
why the game is made in a certain you know, aspect,
and how the game director and the writers and everybody
else that decided to make these specific decisions when they
go in the games comes out, and I'm like, well,
why is that not important? It's absolutely important. We should
talk about those things. So long long answer to a
short question, but those are all the things that are,
you know, in my brain when when I put out
an episode to do this kind of work.
Speaker 1: It's also timely in a way because two sites that
did focus on whether it's like the you know, more
social which can be long form kind of content of
Giant Bomb and uh, Polygon got Polygon got sold to
a publisher that infamously is like farming clickbait shit with
all of their sites, and you know, I, well, I
guess we'll talk more about Giant Bomb and fandom and
whatnot next episode. I don't want to put words in
Dan's mouth, but I don't think they're I don't think
there are zero parallels with what's going on there. So
it's always good when like spawn on me or min
Max or kind of funny keep that kind of conversation going.
Speaker 3: It's hard independent media is the line, right?
Speaker 1: Sure?
Speaker 2: That is the line That is literally what Grub said.
And while I agree with Mike like we can kind
of get into the nuances it when we have Dan.
I think that we all have games media background and
we all understand that world very well. I mean, we
were so ingrained at GameSpot, Mike, you hug and have
a lot of experience at Polygon. Like we have the
right to say, the best way for you to support
is to support independent media. Find voices that you like
and you enjoy, and support them independently. That is the
move right now. It's where the industry is going. And
it's also just the best way to keep these voices around.
So find people and support them.
Speaker 3: Can I add one more thing to that really quick?
Speaker 1: Yes.
Speaker 3: The thing that I keep going back to that I
think is that's in that statement which you beautifully shared.
We are subject matter experts, and I think people forget
that and I don't. That's not a high brow, pinky
up kind of kind of conversation, right, that's not. And
there is a big difference in you know, when people
ask me all the time, we're like, how can I
do what you do? I was like, I don't do
anything special. I was at my kitchen table in Brooklyn
when I started this thing ten years ago. Well you
have to do is bush your ass and try to
figure out stuff, right, you can do that work. But
throughout the ten years plus of me doing this work,
I have learned things about the systems. I've learned things
about the industry. I learned things about the business, and
all those things all of us on this podcast and
the ones that we just talked about, all those folks
have spent the time cutting their teeth on information that
they understood because they were told those things from people
who were experts in their fields. So like there is
a gap between the folks who were just jumping on
YouTube and throwing up nonsense and the people who have
been doing that work for a very long time. So
I think, you know, we have to also, you know,
in a world where information is kind of looked down
upon and misinformation is given a platform. That's a part
of the understanding of independent media as well too, is
like some people have actually spent time trying to understand
shit and being able to distill it in a way
that you can understand it so that you can continue
to give that to other people. So I just think
that's important. Like, again, it's not trying to separate people
in saying that you can't do this or you're you're
an outsider to the space. Anyone can do this, but
you should give props to the people who have been
paying attention, who have been really doing that work for
a long time and know it with the back of
their hand, so it makes sense.
Speaker 1: I will hardly agree in that spirit. Do you too
want to talk about video games?
Speaker 2: Yes? I do?
Speaker 1: Hell ye, okay, Mary. I finally played Blueprints. It was
a way I will say, last four weeks, I have
not played many video games whatsoever at all. In fact, well, no,
that's not true. I have any new video games. I
took my the test for the class I was taking
last night, so I'm finally have more time for games.
For a bit, I played more Assassin's Creed. I still
really like Shadows, I will say the more I play it,
so the world's still impressing me. Different biomes are unfolding.
I still think it's at its best when you are
hunting down those like the when it's in the revenge plot.
It's like the spaghetti western set in Japan. I've got Yasuke,
so I'm enjoying now the dual protagonist thing. Syndicate was
one of my favorite games in the series because of
that as well. I also still think like it can
be pretty repetitive, like you have to kind of meet
the game halfway and making each of these castle assaults
fun in your own way as opposed to just like
relying on the game to throw various objectives at you.
I don't think it's that kind of game, unfortunately, but
I'm still enjoying it. It's definitely one of my favorite
games in the series. I don't know top I don't
know if it's top five, but it's up there for me.
But I played reference. I know you and Dan were
very hot on it, and I will say I'm still early.
I would say in game, I'm only like day six. Yes,
I really have not seen much. I thought it would
grab me harder right away than it did. Again, full
fully acknowledging six days is nothing in game, but I
see how foundation is laid to do some clever stuff.
I I think, I like, I like how managing the
currencies and like, oh do I want a chapel if
that's going to open this up? But also you have
to pay the coin to go in, which.
Speaker 2: Is an evil chapel.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's a nod to like tithing, which is funny,
or the cloisters is also just like like I enjoy
the more I play the game, I'm enjoying how how
I want to build the house. The blueprint with the
rooms I'm given is starting to either coalesce nicely or
clash in an interesting way with the currencies I have
available what I think my goal is, and the game
I think is already starting to show promise in how
it's challenging that goal and saying you might have a plan.
It's everybody's got a plan until you get punched in
the face, Like everybody has a plan until you get
three closets and pantries in a row all of a
sudden you have to alter your approach because you're running
out of space. On this side of the blueprint, I
the game, it's I haven't had that moment yet, like
where there's games that are clearly really intelligently made where
you have that moment you see through the matrix, like
the Eureka. I haven't hit that moment like I hit
when I realized Outer Wild is one of the best
games ever made. I haven't hit that moment yet that
I hit where like with The Witness, I saw what
was sort of going on overall.
Speaker 2: I'm sure Witness is such a good comparison.
Speaker 1: I just think I don't know. I know the kind
of games you and Dan really get all in on,
and I usually those same games hook me right away.
And I think I've put in ninety minutes two hours
and I thought it would already happen. But I'm not
that that's enough to push me away. I'm going to
keep that's nice.
Speaker 2: Thing in a little bit more time. And I will say, also,
like to your point, you know that I like bought
Bolotro for my dad and it was like a high
point for me that my dad instantly was like, I'm
obsessed with this. This is such a good game. I
can't believe it. Thank you so much for buying this
for me. Well, I visited my father recently and I
actually installed blueprints on his machines that we could play
it together, and he fell off and he was like,
I don't get it. I don't really like what do
you mean I have to choose a blueprint? And I
was like, oh my god, this game isn't like universally
except it was like the first time where I was like,
you don't like it. It isn't for everybody, And I
think I think Dan and I almost have been over
selling it as this like monolithic like everyone else to
play this game. I don't actually think this is for
everyone because it's heavy puzzler, and I do think a
lot of the intricate mysteries take a long time to
develop and for you to get that Eureka moment. I
do think that for the people that I have shared
this with, it is one of those unique games where
I had someone I had, Joshaw text me and be like,
oh my god, I just found a really cool puzzle,
Like I just I just found it. And I was like, ooh,
tell me more. And he was like explaining it to me,
and I was like, oh, that sounds so interesting, and
I'm like a little I'm like a little schoolgirl like
listening to him because it was there the whole time,
very witness right where you're like, oh, I've been in it,
and so like I don't think you've had that moment yet,
and that's okay. I think I think you probably need
like five six more hours before maybe something like that
happens to you. But it is.
Speaker 1: We recommend it hard, and like I said, two hours
might as well be nothing. So like I I'm looking for.
I also, I'm looking forward to what you were saying.
And sometimes you go into a room and it's got
a solution to a puzzle from a room you on
lock like hours later. That's the yeah stuff that I love.
So I'm looking forward to that.
Speaker 2: And that's cruel too if you don't get it now. Ka,
I know you're also playing Blueprints. Can you tell us
a little bit of like how far you're into the game.
Speaker 3: I'm probably about the same length in as Mike. I
think the the thing that I'm trying to figure out
is I'm big on games that respect your time, but
also games that have to kind of cook a bit
to get to where it needs to. And I'm not
it's not hitting me yet. It's probably the same things
like I have to go back and go play more
of it and sit with it and do that kind
of stuff. But as soon as you also told me
like you should probably journal to make this thing, I'm like, God,
I'm out. Yeah, I'm like, I'm like, nah, it's okay,
that's all right. You have me writing things down and nah,
that's okay.
Speaker 1: I'm I'm a sucker for stuff like that. But my
wife texted me when I was in LA a few
days ago. She wanted to try it. I was like,
it's blueprints, you're building a mansion. She, being an architect,
was like, this sounds rad I'm gonna try it. She
texted me, She's like. The first screen was then recommending
that I have a notebook handy. I was like, is
that a bad thing? And I discovered that she does
not like that when a game tells me yeah. So
I was like, I was like, okay, fair enough, then
I will not recommend the return of the Oberdin to you,
because that would be uh no, be colossal. But yeah,
I'm fine with that. I don't mind doing that. I've
usually got one close regardless. But like, yeah, I think
I just I don't know. I was expecting like something
way up front, just knowing like the kind of game,
specifically like Dan Dan. Games need to really hook Dan quickly,
so I assumed it would hook me quickly, which is
not to say I can like to cospoint. I can
let this cook for a bit, and I look forward
to seeing some of the coore stuff, because I've already
seen glimmers of some really clever stuff happening. I need
to really sit down and again, I have not played
much in the last month of anything, so I need
to like now that I have time, you know, like
I will have coffee one morning and put a few
hours and I'm sure I'll like more of it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I hope, So I hope, I hope.
Speaker 1: I hope.
Speaker 2: You were both able to put in maybe five or
six hours before you make your final call. I do
think that's about the amount of time it took for
me to find my first deep puzzle and get like
really excited about the fact that I solved it. It
actually happened to me quite early in my playthrough. But
there's a room with a dartboard, and I was kind
of able to figure that out without any tutorials, without
any you know, no one. I didn't read it in
a book or anything. I just was like, this is
odd and played with it, figured out the rules and
solved it. And I remember just saying out loud like
that made me feel really good. I mean feel really
good that without any dialogue, without any instruction, I figured
it out. And that game does that throughout the entire experience.
You will just be walking in a hallway and you'll
be like, isn't that odd? And it is odd and
it's intentional, and it's guiding you towards something that you
will figure out on your own, because you're smart enough,
and you will figure it out. And then maybe later
on you'll come across like a notebook or a piece
like a piece of paper from someone and it'll be like,
this is how you solve the thing in the dark board,
and you'll be like, bitch, I don't need that. I
already solved that with my brain. And so the game
does handhold you if you need it, and it also
lets you solve those things completely independently with your own noodle.
And so I respect the game respects you. It respects
your intelligence, and it doesn't handhold you and tell you
this is what we want you to do and this
is how we want you to do it. Everything you find,
you will decide whether or not you have what you
need to solve it or if you'll come back to
it later. So I think a game respects the player
very much. I did roll credits on it. I can't
remember if I missed last episode. I was just saying, like,
I forget if I like said that I rolled credits,
But I did roll credits on Blueprints and I'm really
proud of that. I will admit that, while there are
many mysteries waiting for me, I am just not as
eager to continue picking it up because I have other
games that are appealing to me right now. And one
of the things about rolling credits is that, even though
that doesn't necessarily mean it's the end of the game,
to me, psychologically, it does. Once I saw credits, I
was like, I did it. I'm so smart, I'm good,
I'm really amazing. Goodbye. And I've picked it up once
since I rolled credits because I got bigger fish to fry.
I'm like, I'm playing other things now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's so funny to hear you talk about the
psychological connection to rolling credits, because I'm the same way.
I'm like, oh, I know, like Assassin's Screed. When I
wrote credits on that, I was like, all right, I'm good,
but I knew I had stuff left on the board. Sure,
am I going to go back to that right now?
I was like, no, I have too many other things
to play right now.
Speaker 2: And I rolled credits. I got all the serotonin. It's
all in there. I already got it. I squeezed this.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I still know people who really cannot leave a
game until it's completed, like done, and I'm.
Speaker 2: So glad I got platinum. Platinum.
Speaker 1: It out very very very rarely I need to do that.
But like, I don't know, Yeah, there's so much else
to play, like Claire Obscure Expedition thirty three.
Speaker 2: Everybody's talking about this. I'm so loud.
Speaker 1: I'm gonna play Blueprints More first, But yeah, I also
want to play this game because it seems very up
my alley. I think you're playing it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I finished it my review. It's already out super good.
That game is so ridiculously good. Like I said in
our in our review, it's the strongest debut I've seen
from a studio in a decade.
Speaker 1: Like Yeah, so to lay the to lay out the premise,
open world, turn based combat correct in a in a
setting in which, uh, there is a system like to
call the population a like one age group genera is
a generation or an age group is just I don't
know if it's random is selected to just get wiped out.
Speaker 3: The paintress, who is the main kind of protagonist in
the story or a main batty in the story. Every
year she she paints a number on this big obelisks
and then the in the far ground of the city
that you're in, and every year that number goes down.
In the year now is number thirty three. So everyone
who is now that age just gets ethered and.
Speaker 2: Gone like like snapped or shirt.
Speaker 3: Basically basically like that, like they turn into into pretty
petals of rose. Is wow, flyaway? Uh, And yeah, that's
the premise is like your expedition crew is going out
to stop.
Speaker 1: Oh, Expedition thirty three. Okay, gotcha, yep, yep, yep.
Speaker 3: There have been there have been many before you, and
none of them have made it through. That's very cool.
Speaker 2: That's a really cool premotion, very gripping. Tell us a
little bit about some of the things that you've enjoyed
about this game, because it is being very well reviewed
and everybody is talking about it, and you were saying, it's, uh,
one of the best, you know launches for a studio
tell us like some of your highlights.
Speaker 3: Yeah, sand Full Interactive. They just nailed it. Like thirty
folks made this game, and it's and it's crazy to
see just the breath and depth of just the visual
fatality is stunning. Every every you know, new direction that
you look on look at is gorgeous. The combat. As
a person who doesn't like turn based combat, I'm I'm
a big, like, don't care about g RPGs in turn
based combat person, but this had me hooked because of
just like the intricacies of the characters and how you
kind of build your team and you know, all of
those and the story is really is really interesting. I
love what they tried to do with that space, you know,
with this kind of idea of loss and understanding, Like
you know, you have these moments where you're kind of
collecting your people and moving on and going to try
to do something grand and grandiose. It's really cool. And
the music in this game is just stupidly good. It's
so good, it is so fantastic, Like it has it
running in the back of my brain all the time.
So yeah, it was one of my favorite experiences that
I've had in at least five years. It is a
very very strong game, and it has a ton of
stuff to do, Like I think the idea of you know,
talking about rolling credits. I played that thing and finished
it in probably like thirty hours, and it is probably
another thirty hours that you can continue to play that
game and find new things. I'm seeing people online right
now who are playing and finding bosses that I didn't
even play in my in my full play through, and
I was like, what, where the hell did this come from?
I didn't see this. None of these things came came
came past me. It's really good. It's a must play
kind of game for sure.
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, you think you think it like would speak
to people who don't. I mean, you said it, you're
not usually into j RPGs, but like.
Speaker 2: Turn based is that as usually an anti me thing?
Speaker 1: Is the turn based combat good enough to like like
it does? Are you just kind of weathering the storm
with it because it's okay? Or is it good enough
that you're like this, I don't. This is phenomenal.
Speaker 3: It's it's phenomenal. I mean, I think the the if
you're not a turn based combat person, I think what
it does really well is and it's hard because I
think a lot of people when you hear turn based combat,
you don't think of it being intricate and you don't
think it being super difficult, but it gives you abilities
to you know, dodge and parry, and it winds up
feeling almost like a rhythm game, which is which is
cool because it's not like the usual just like hit
a button, attack, defend, heal yourself kind of thing, heal
your crew. You're finding these moments where you're learning and
doing pattern recognition and playing with you know, with headphones
is really important. At least it was for me, because
there are audible cues that connect to the visual things
you're seeing on the screen, and that will give you
the ability to kind of understand, oh, I need to
parry here, or I understand that pattern after going through
this fight a couple of times in dying and being like, oh,
how can I do this or that I can get
those moves out and understand the next thing that's coming
into the pattern. And the patterns change. They don't stayed static.
They for some of the characters and some of the enemies,
they do, but they wind up changing sometimes mid fight
or they'll do a little bit like you know, an
attack that happens at one will happen at like one
point two, and that changes the way you have to
then think about the next attack that's coming your way.
It's just really well done. This is really smartly, smartly
put together, and I think for people who are having
those moments where they're like I when it clicks, it
clicks in a real way. You're like, oh, I understand
now how to do it, and so much so that
sometimes when you know you're going through a moment and
you give yourself a pause so like go to the bathroom, whatever,
it'll throw off all the momentum and vibe and not
vibe but like the the the uh, the rhythm that
you were kind of getting into. You wind up losing
that groove and that sometimes it kills you to die.
So it's those moments that that came together for me
and I was like, oh man, I just want more
of this. Every time I played, I was like waking
up excited to go play this thing everything.
Speaker 2: Wow, that's such a good experience when you like can't
escape it, or like yeah, I've had that where like
that feeling where you're like I got a pee, but
like I'm in the zone and you know a game
that makes you not want to go to the bathroom.
Speaker 1: Or it makes you shit your pants even better.
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, that's a ten out of ten when.
Speaker 1: Nice, Yeah, I can't wait, I I love I think
I'm the especially on fire. Skip cast. I'm the biggest
JRPG fan by farm, so I was very excited for
that just because I heard it's a good JRPG. But
if it has you know, like the layers on top
of it are even more exciting for me. And I think,
play more blueprints, keep putting time in Assassin's Creed when
I when I find it, but I think that'll be
my next big like Deep Dive.
Speaker 2: I really want to play it too. I haven't had
time because I've been playing. I've been I've been prioritizing
other games. But everybody is talking about Expedition thirty three
and it's getting like glowing reviews, so it's really cool
to see that it is worth the hype. I literally
have it installed, and I think I'm going to spend
this weekend on it because you're like convincing me that
it's worth it.
Speaker 3: I'm dying to hear your thoughts, both of your thoughts.
When you get a chance to start playing it.
Speaker 2: It's Oh, I'm really glad you're on this though, because
we wouldn't have had anyone to cover it, and everybody's
talking about it, so like, I'm really glad. I think
it's sometimes I think it's wasted on me. Like Mike said, like,
I'm just not the JRPG turn based person on this
pot Mike is. So if anyone's really let us down,
that's Mike, not me.
Speaker 1: I passed up video games for fucking wine studying for
a month. What kind of fucking what do you have
to show for it? I think I'm almost positive passive
test I find out a month.
Speaker 3: You can tell me if things have a taste of rubbery.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I want to know.
Speaker 1: I will you like that?
Speaker 3: I know, don't don't give me give me a bottle
of that ship that tastes like tires.
Speaker 1: Oh that's freasling or barolo sometimes hell I uh. I'll
save this mainly for when Dan's back because I want
to hear him like a thrash me. I'm actually sure.
I find it's funny because I think a couple of
years ago on this show, I said I wouldn't mind
being a somi A. I actually like it's funny to me.
Now I officially am. I'm doing a part time Congratulations.
Speaker 2: I think that's great play to save this so that
Dan going to you. But I'm never.
Speaker 1: Telling Dan where I work. It'll be it's easy enough.
I think you come in.
Speaker 2: With a monocle and like a mustache.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the place I'm working, he'd be kicked out.
It's not like that. It's a pretty down right place
despite the trappings around it. It's a French focused place.
But we've got a lot. No, it's super fun. I'm
enjoying it. But yeah, I'll uh. That's why I have
not been playing many games the last uh, this whole
year really because I've been studying for the test. The
tests and so many thing are sort of related because
they knew I was studying for that. But I'll find
out like a month what my score on the test was.
But I'm like, unless I sincerely fucked up like the
entry on the test that I definitely passed.
Speaker 3: You a snob When you see other people drink wine,
you're like, oh.
Speaker 2: God, yes, job, you don't.
Speaker 3: You don't swish and spit.
Speaker 1: I would get I would not. I would be fired
from this job in Meetia if I was a snob.
The whole point is like, if you if it makes
you enjoy it more, then do your thing. I can
recommend what I think will amplify it the most for you,
which is not putting ice in the white wine or
a sparkling wine. But if it makes you enjoy it more,
then I'm not going to stop you, especially for if
you're paying X for a bottle, it's your bottle. It's
no longer mine. I'm just gonna help you pour it
and I'll recommend it. But yeah, if you ever have
any questions, let me know, I'll do my best to answer.
Speaker 3: Well, I'm gonna bug you, actually, because many many questions.
Not now, but I'll bug you. I'll bug you something.
Speaker 1: Let's do it now. I've got all the time in
the world. Let's go. Mary's gonna lie.
Speaker 2: Do not have all the time in the world. The
game section, not the wine section.
Speaker 1: Why I barely played in the game? Stop trying to host.
This is my show, Mary up of Midnight. She does
this when I'm like on Tangents and I'm like, Mary,
talk about South of Midnight right now, because I said, so.
Speaker 2: Okay, now that's a host. I'm playing some of midnighting.
Speaker 1: This is the new skills I'm getting.
Speaker 2: I'm actually very stressed, but I respect it. I like
being told what to do. Sometimes is for me, Okay,
South of Midnight is kind of like Sinners the game.
Speaker 1: Oh, you talked about this on last at the two
episodes ago. You said you were excited for it.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I am. I was excited for it. I have
some pros and some cons to it. I'm gonna give
my honest review of it. I do think it's really
interesting and I think it's a fantastical setting. Much like Sinners.
It is supernatural in the Deep South, and because of that,
it gives you an awesome atmosphere to play in. The
music is so good. It really is like Southern music
with vocals that there's like lyrics that match kind of
what's happening in the environment that makes you feel like
you can partake in what's happening that The music is
just I think music is actually the best part. I
think it's just really beautiful to listen to. I heard
I found myself humming the songs while I was making
after playing for a couple hours one night, so it
does stick with you. I also think the storytelling is
quite good. Again, so supernatural setting. You're a girl in
the Deep South and you're you've lost your mother and
so you're looking for her. But then all of a sudden,
as you're looking for her. It kind of feels like
Alice in Wonderland. Things start changing around you. There's big
like I saw a peach like the size of a house,
and I was like, Okay, something weird is going on.
You start meeting larger than life characters. You meet this
like giant catfish, and one of the very first things
you're tasked with doing is is letting them go and
getting them out of their they're like stuck in a tree.
But what I really appreciated about this section of the
game is how storytelling is interwoven throughout each part of
releasing this catfish, and so you're you're learning really tough
things that have happened that have caused rifts in the area.
I'm not going to remember all the terminology. They have
a lot of weird terminology that I don't care about.
I don't think it's super important that I've had memorized.
But essentially, if trauma has occurred in the history of
this space, it creates rifts that you have to untangle,
and you are like a weaver or something that can
untangle these rifts. You are unique in the space to
be able to do that. And I have a bottle
in my in my back pocket for some reason. And
when I see a trauma, either have to fight the
trauma physically, which is like a combat situation, which I'll
get to in a second, or I take up my
blue bottle and I kind of suck up this trauma,
and in doing that, I have to watch the traumatic
thing that occurred, and some of it is really sad.
Speaker 1: It is really sad trauma.
Speaker 2: I think so in many ways. And oh no, I
think that's like a very funny response, and I think
it's fair and probably one of the criticisms that some
people will have, which is that this game is a
bit heavy and for someone like me who like plays
games to relax and have fun, I was like, ooh,
this is a really sad story and this is like
hard for me to process and listen to. But I
do think it's important and I think it's worth playing.
And I think there are a lot of people out
there that love intricate or valuable characters and storytelling, and
you often can't have that without sadness. And so in
that case, I think this game achieves something quite great,
which it makes you care about the people that you're
playing and the stories that you come across from the
people that you're interacting with. But it can be heavy,
and I don't think that all people will enjoy a
heavy and sometimes sad story. But I absolutely enjoyed the
releasing of the Catfish story. And when I finished that
area of the game and I had released this Catfish,
I streamed this game and I remember saying to my
chat like, what an awesome experience that was. I hope
the whole game is like this. I've loved climbing this
tree and figuring this out. The music was like one
hundred percent right along there with me and carried me
along to finishing this section of the game. Unfortunately, that
isn't the whole part of the game. There's also combat
in this game, and I do think I have to
be very honest with you, just that is the weakest
part of this game. Is so weak that I actually
changed the difficulty settings for combat to easy so that
I can quickly get through them, because it is not good.
The ideas that you have. I want to say, four
special t moves. There are these like I don't know,
dark presences. They float, they have sharp talents, who gives
a shit, and they try and fight you. You have
to combat them back. Combat is x or xx or
xxx or xxxxx. It really sucks. Okay, Yes, there are
specialty moves, so I will give them that, right, Like,
there's like a special T move where you can grab
one of these ethereal beings and bring them closer to you.
There's one that makes them like immobile for two seconds
or something like that. There's another one that shoots out
a wave of air and kind of gets them away
from you. So you do have specialty moves that helps
pix up combat. It's just not enough for me, and
I found it like exhausting, and these guys have way
too much health for how uninteresting they are. And there's
like three different enemy types in this game. So like
at some point I was like, I don't want to
spend five minutes beating these bad guys, and so I
changed my difficulty, setting it easy. I just destroy them
like the golden god that I am, and I get
back to the good good, which is actually playing this game. Cad,
did you play this game? I feel like you're either
agreeing with me or oh.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I finish. Yeah, it's fantastic. Everything that you're saying,
keep going.
Speaker 2: Okay, I was really curious what you think. I've really
liked this game. My general thought is like super glad
that I've played it. I don't know how far I am,
but I've heard this game is around ten hours. It
is not a long experience, and I've played it for
two streams now and I stream for about three three
and a half hours, so I have to be very
close to the end. I think at this point I
am enjoying it. My intention is to finish this game.
I think that the story is well done. Oh, I
think the acting is very good. It's so funny. I
keep like comparing it to Sinners, but like, just like Sinners,
the acting in this game is very good. It is
the whoever they picked to play the lead actress like
she nailed it. She has the mannerisms on point. She
makes me laugh out loud with her reactions of whether
or not she wants to do something. Sometimes like she'll
go in a house and it's gross and she'll be like,
I don't want to do all this. I appreciate that
they had unique talking for her for like lots of
situations that she's in. It makes it feel alive. She
feels very human, she feels very real. To me, and
it also has like a what Remains of Edith Finch
thing going on with the wish to say you walk
through houses and you can see they put a lot
of energy into like picture frames and items that belong
to the people that lived there, and you get to
experience their lives through the items that they left behind.
I appreciate that. I know that they made a design
choice to put a a lot of humanity into the spaces,
and I love looking through old people's houses. So it
was really I liked I Do, I Go, I Go
A state sailing. I love it. I love it. It's
like one of the things I enjoy doing. But much
like what Remains of Eda Finch, finding an item and
being like, oh, this person was really into tennis and
they actually were like a champion and here's their trophy
and here's like that is very fun and enjoyable for me,
and it helps balance the other aspects of this game,
which is just like heavy, heavy storytelling, whimsical. Oh and
there's also there's all this game is doing a lot,
to be honest with you, but there's also uh, just
jumping and running from like bad guys in these like
long sequences of like you know you're being it's a
chase sequence akin to like maybe like ory maybe, and
you're just trying to get away from it and running
fast and learning all of your different moves to get
away from them. I've liked all of that stuff. The
only thing I really didn't like was the combat. Ca
what were your thoughts?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you you nailed all all the things that I
would share. I think the combat is the weakest part.
It's also funny to hear that you don't like musicals,
because I kind offer I kind of think about this
game as a musical.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think that's true. Maybe this broke me.
Speaker 3: Yeah, it's so funny because I was like, oh yeah
when I when I described it to the folks in
the review, it was like, this feels like a musical
in a weird way. But I loved I love the
connected to what remains of Edith's Bench because that was
the game. I've been trying to find an analog to
what I think this game is, and I think those
storytelling parts of like this is a Grimm's tale in
a lot of different ways. It's it's not a very happy,
go lucky thing. But I think they nailed all those
parts I think, you know, like you said, the actress
and actors are really fantastic, especially towards the back half
of the game, for sure. And I'm excited to see
what you think about the end because I think that
part is going to be really fun to sear. How
how you kind of came to it. So, yeah, you
nailed it. Definitely one of the best games of this year.
Speaker 2: I think it's very good. I hope more people pick
it up and play it. I think it's very powerful.
And I also will just say because I saw it
online and I know I we keep comparing it, but
I mean, I just have to say, if you saw
Sinners and you were like I like Centers, you'd probably
like South of Midnight, And if you played South of Midnight,
you'd probably like Sinners because it's it's shocking how there
are similar vibes in each piece and they nail the
environment like you feel like you're there, and it's really
it's a really fun space to be in. So yeah,
I love it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, really good.
Speaker 1: I saw that you have played Marathon. Did you go
to that event a couple of weeks ago?
Speaker 3: No, bunch of you're supposed to send me you know, I'm
just playing. Let me play it, put me on. I
want to do fun stuff. Marathon is really good. I
like it a lot.
Speaker 1: So you haven't pled it. It just was like a remote thing.
Speaker 3: The alpha.
Speaker 1: Oh gotcha, Okay, that makes sense. Gotcha.
Speaker 3: I'm probably thirty hours on that alpha already h with
with what I think a couple more days left of it.
Speaker 1: Cha.
Speaker 3: And I know a lot of people have been talking
about the you know, what's the extraction shoot just bays
look like? And you know, is Bungee actually doing something
different here? And I think, you know, the biggest conversation
that has been around the aesthetic and you know, do
you have anything really to do? And I think from
my time with it, the biggest hurdle for them is
kind of explaining the extraction shooter loop to people. I
think people have experience with it with games like Tarkov,
but a lot of those folks are you know, if
you're not a console person, you know you've been playing
that game because it's only on PC. And this is
the first game that I've seen so far that is
really be done that work extremely well. The moment to
moment fights are good. Bungee's ability to kind of make
an aesthetic really pop off the screen is there, and
I think they have They have some tweaking to do,
and they have some work to do to explain what
this world is going to be, because I feel like
a lot of Destiny fans that the world building for
them is what keeps them there and the gun play
is really just you know, what Bungee has been known for.
But man, I'm rooting for them, you know, as a
person who worked in a game that didn't make it,
I'm like, please make it. I really want this game
to do well because I think they have something special.
And I've had some fun moments in this game where
you just get out right to the last moment and
you've gotten some decent loot and you're like, I'm about
to die, but I also got out, and that's the
kind of just for it. It's like, it feels really good
so far. I'm hoping people dig it.
Speaker 1: Not that I don't mean to excuse it if it does,
I haven't played it. If it does, indeed, have like
a light loop right now, but like, I don't know
if people like Destiny when it first launched was similar,
people like this is kind of bare bones I also
don't fully get what they're going for here. Yeah, to
your point, it's like, similarly, Destiny had to sort of
teach people what a shooter MMO could be. I'm trying
to think if there are any ones before that in
two thousand and thirteen.
Speaker 3: Maybe, like what's the one that Rep Ford works on?
Speaker 1: Warframe was a bit different in the sense that like
that was still Yeah, I guess so like Warframes started
in twenty twelve. I've put a more than a thousand
hours into that game. It's just like it's still that
was like third person like just weird enough on its
own that I don't know that. Yeah, like a lot
of people, well a lot of people had played it,
but now a ton of people play it. But yeah,
coming off Halo, they had to say like, hey, here's
what an MMO shooter is. I feel like they're in
a similar situation here, where it's like, hey, if you
haven't played you know, Escape from Tarkov or even like
The Hunt Showdown to a certain extent, games like that,
then you might not fully get what we're going for here.
But I would also say in today's market, it's way
harder to launch with the share bones game because launch
is so important. Now you see condor, you see so
many What was that one that Jaeger made that was
more about the cheaters took it over? But oh yeah,
launch is just important. Even in like early access alpha beta.
You really can't screw up launch, you're unless you're like
no Man Sky and that's such a unicorn that came back.
You really don't have the luxury of kind of fixing
things the way that they could with Destiny. But yeah,
I'm rooting for them as well. I have not played yet.
I really want to because I think I think the
idea is cool of like launching down to a planet
from what I understand in the premise, and then the
extraction is to come back up that just that loop alone.
Speaker 2: Something sounds really fun. Yeah, this is a game I'm rooting.
Speaker 1: For too, Like Hell Divers was like very very extraction
light as well. Yeah, but yeah, they're they're doing some
something different with Marathon. So yeah, like I said, rooting
for them, Mary, what else did you play that you
are excited about? Do you play?
Speaker 2: To really briefly touch on one and I'm going to
spend more time talking about the other one real quick.
I played Wild Keepers Rising, which is another one of
those Vampire Survivor style games, but I actually think it's
doing something different and interesting. Yeah, Auto Battle. The reason
I really like it is because you're building a deck.
So what's cool about it is is you're a person
who is collecting animals, and the animals are the ones
that are auto fighting on your behalf. So as you're
walking through the world, you'll be like, oh, and the
names of these creatures are so fucked like they're so weird,
Like they'll call them like, uh, just something so strange,
like like Toothy Magoo, and he'll he'll be like this
monster with huge chompers, and you'll be like, what the
fuck is this character? They look disgusting. They all look uh,
they've given whoever was the art designer of this is
a psycho. They made them look so ugly, but the
art style is nice. I'm just saying, these these creatures
are gross with intention, and they're the ones that fight
on your behalf. So you choose Toothy McGee because he
bites and he has a faster at hack and so
he's really good for like fast attack sequences, and each
animal has their own aults. I think that is really
fun that you essentially are like, ooh, I need an AoE,
so I will choose this creature because it shoots bullets
all around in a circular direction. And I really want
this one that looks like a Kirby because it shits
life and that is a true creature that you can
get in this game, and it shits little hearts, and
so I'm like, if I have a build that's like
really weak and I'm constantly gonna die, I always get
this Kurby so that I can constantly be eating it
shit and like stay alive. I laughed a lot playing
this game. I think it has like a good sense
of humor to it. I think it's a funny game.
But I also really enjoyed building a deck of animals
that could like do AoE shoot fire. One of them
is a spider and it has lots of babies. You're
building like a deck of like maybe they're all weak,
but you've like twenty creatures on the board, all destroying stuff.
It's all auto combat, so it's really fun and loose,
and like if you liked Vampire Survivors, I actually really
recommend wild Keepers Rising. We've seen so many dupes of
Vampire Rising, and there's just a little bit too many
for you to probably parse and process. Wildkeepers Rising is unique.
I thought it was very fun and is an indie game,
so it's got some of that indie game charm to it.
Like I had like a couple glitches through it, But
I mean, I really thought this was a fun take
on this genre. And I laughed out loud multiple times
playing this game. So I encourage you to give it
a whirl.
Speaker 3: Shit Life. I want them on the back of it.
Speaker 1: Life shit Life eat bricks.
Speaker 2: And I was following it.
Speaker 1: Mary, you have four minutes to tell me what you
think of Drive Beyond Horizons. Wow, I love timing you.
Speaker 2: Okay. Drive Beyond Horizons is a car building game where
you start with a car that is not complete and
you have to find the major components of a car
and then drive it. And your goal is to drive
fifty kilometers and then something happens. You're in the desert.
So I was like, crap, Okay, I put in my engine,
I put in my radiator, I put in my car battery.
I turned the engine and yay, it worked, and so
I drove. Unfortunately, I didn't put enough water in the radiator,
so my car broke down. Every time you drive, you
go past maybe a gas station, and I would look
for things like water or petrol. There's a lot of
funny mechanics in this game that really do work. For example,
one time I was out of water and so I
peed in the radiator and it was forty percent water
and sixty percent piss and my car ran. It ran great,
and so can like you can like use your own
pee as radiator water. I drank petrol and got really sick. Like,
there's a lot of fun mechanics with it. It's also
co op, so you can find other people. And I
think this is actually the clutch of this game is
like the three of us could go and play in
this world. We all of hunger and water meters. You
have to eat and drink, and you need to pee
to stay alive. But we also all need to get
in this caravan and drive, baby drive, and so like
your car breaks down, you pop tires, you gotta find
this shit. There are zombies in this world. There's a
lot of stuff that I don't want to tell you
about because I think it's fun to explore and find out.
But like one of the funniest things that happened to
me was like I was finally in a good spot
where like my radiator was working and my car was
in good condition, and I was driving really fast and
I saw a ramp on the edge of the street
and I was just like, I did this ramp and
I fucking busted the shit out of my car because
I like didn't land it properly and I lost two tires,
and like my fucking radiator flew out of the car,
and I was.
Speaker 1: Like, it's worth it sounds like more bizarre Pacific Drive.
Speaker 2: Yes, I mean a lot of people were comparing it
to Pacific Drive, and I do think that there are
value adds to Pacific Drive, which I think was also
very supernatural and alleged like role play, as this person
this game is. This game is for dumb dumbs, Like
this game is like meant for you to be stupid.
It's playful, it's funny, like the devs were on something
when they did this. There are jokes everywhere. There's phone
booth sometimes they ring and when you answer them, something
funny will happen. They have slot machines in this game,
and if you win, something funny happens. They made this
game fun and it's very fun to play with like
one or two other people. So if you're looking for
like an evening to play with your with your buds
and you just want to like dick around in a world,
play Drive Beyond Horizons. This is a funny game. I
actually do think that this is going to be like
up and coming for streamers and stuff like that, just
like random shit happens in this game. I played this
game for like three hours by myself. I had a
fun time. I played this game for four hours with
other people, had a fucking blast. Like that's where the
magic is in this game. But I think it's fun
either way. But yeah, I don't want to give away
all the surprises because weird random stuff happening is what's
funny about this game. But you know you got to
like go to gas stations, find a cannabeans, eat it,
you know, find it, soda, drink it, you know, try
and get on the roof, find all the secrets. You
can build a fucking monster car. You can find v
eight engines, you can find vans, you can repay them.
Speaker 1: That's four minutes.
Speaker 2: Dick, I did it.
Speaker 3: You did it. That was good.
Speaker 2: A good job, thank you.
Speaker 1: I rest my sound fun. I want to check that out.
I added the long list of games I have not
played yet this year.
Speaker 2: All right, yeah, that'd be a game for us to play.
Speaker 1: You guys want to do some emails or any email?
Speaker 2: Uh yeah, unless uh call wants to run any of
these rematch or Tower Born.
Speaker 1: Favorite ar Craadors. Why do I? Yeah?
Speaker 3: Another three three? Tower Born is the favorite?
Speaker 2: Tell me why?
Speaker 3: Very very good from stoic people who made Banner Banner Saga.
But it's a four player co op looter.
Speaker 1: Oh shit, I love Banersaga. The trilogy was awesome. I
Replayedansaga last year.
Speaker 3: Yep, very good, very very good.
Speaker 2: Oh maybe we'll assign this to to Mike.
Speaker 3: I'll we should all play it.
Speaker 1: Mary send me that it's not in the run of show.
That's why I didn't see it.
Speaker 2: It's literally in the run of show. You are out
of your mind.
Speaker 1: Oh I didn't there's two on the second page. Sorry.
Speaker 2: Wow, the host is really not good at looking at
second page.
Speaker 1: I was doing emails, okay, Wan do emails okay? As usual.
You can write into fire Escape Cast at gmail dot com.
Any questions, comments, concerns. We had a pretty full inbox,
but Dan did the thing when Mary and I aren't
there to rein him in. He picked like eight emails,
so please send in more. He keeps doing that for
whatever reason. He doesn't fully grasp how we tend to
run things, even though we're on episode hundred and six. Now.
He'll figure it out at some point. But I have
a question here from Hillary and Virginia. Mary, do you
want to read this one? Sure?
Speaker 2: Hey, fire Escape, Escape Ease. What are your favorite movies
that you will never watch again. I recently watched Grave
of the Firefly Wolf. I saw on the email that
was like my reaction to saying that you just wolf,
and I sobbed at the end. It's easily one of
the best movies I've ever seen, and I can't stop
thinking about it. However, I have no intention of ever
watching it again. It's just too gut wrenching. Much love Hillary, Hillary,
that is so fair. I would never watch that movie again,
and I do recommend people watch it once, but god,
I would never watch it. But I watch ghibli movies
like watch the same ones like once a year.
Speaker 1: Yeah, some of them are less not as heavy as
the others for sure. Like some of my favorite movies
are by Andre Tarkowski. I always mix them up with Taikowski.
Tarkowski he did Stalker at the original Stalker, he did
the original Solaris, he did Mirror. Most of his movies
which I love. I saw Stalker for the third time.
That's the one I can rewatch. His other ones I
cannot ever see rewatching. They're so heavy. They some of
them are made to like demand your attention for very
long periods of time on one shot. I like when
directors do that. His are like some of them are
specifically designed to test your like endurance. And if this
sounds extremely high, brown kind of up its own ass.
It very it much is. But like some of the
most gorgeous movies I've ever seen, I cannot imagine ever
seeing Mirror again. I think my biggest movie in this
vein is come and see either of you seen that.
I will not. It's like, I don't know that I
could ever bring myself to watch that again. But it
is made to be like a truly and everybody. But
what's the saying Frans Woa Rufou, I think was saying,
like there's no such thing as an anti war movie.
Every movie about war, whether it's trying to or not,
will end up glorifying war somehow. Come and See is
like one of the movies that I would say it's
like generally accepted to be actually successful in the anti
war sense. But yeah, it's like a Soviet movie. Who
directed it? Fuck Elim? Let me look it up really
quick because I want to give credit. But just truly
horrifying movie about like a child basically seeing terrible shit
during World War two and Germans occupied. Yeah, yeah, no, no,
no it's not I think it's Belarus. It's it's really
not great. But like i'd say, not objectively, but like
I still would call it an incredible movie. Alim Klimov
directed it. Just I'm not even recommending it. I don't.
I think if you have the fortitude to watch this,
I think it's like wonderfully crafted movie. But it is
an anti war movie in every sense, so like I
I hesitate to recommend it. It makes Shindler's List seem
like fucking the Hangover, like it's it's it's rough. I'm
never gonna watch it again, but I'm glad. I'm glad
in a in a sense I'm glad I watched it. Yeah,
I don't mean no disrespects.
Speaker 3: No, No, that's an incredible comparison. That's a good for
like what that thing is?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, sorry anyway any others.
Speaker 2: But I mean, if you are ever, like, very briefly
describe a film that is brutal, I would, I mean, unfortunately,
you've made me not ever want.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I don't blame you. I I never want
to watch it again. But it's uh, it's undeniably powerful.
Speaker 2: Often important films are movies that you just can't bring
yourself to watch again. And that is that, that is
something like I have respect for that. I just I
just can't. My heart, my baby heart can't take it. Kyle, like,
what's yeah, what what is yours?
Speaker 3: I'm a weirdo. I don't have any like I can't
think of any movies that I wouldn't weird of. I'm
awa and I also watch really terrible things, like I
watch stuff that you're not supposed to watch, like the
Poughkeepsie tapes or.
Speaker 2: Pie Oh, I see you've like you Yeah, is absolute
terror and horror. So nothing breaks you anymore?
Speaker 3: Thing breaks me? Nothing on it?
Speaker 2: Oh yeah, on like a real nice Christmas morning. You're like,
let's watch Requiem for a Dream, honey.
Speaker 3: Yeah, yeah, the movie that everyone's like I want to have.
I've actually never seen it. I need to go watch it.
What I've never seen it.
Speaker 2: I wonder if it will break you.
Speaker 3: None of none of these will break I've watched. I've
watched stuff that you should not watch. Yeah, I mean
so like, my my floor is very very just like,
what what are you gonna show me that I haven't
seen before? That is that is going to do some
really like I'll go watch The Human Centipede for fun,
like break? I can't believe that. I'm weird.
Speaker 2: Did you watch that again? Have you seen a human.
Speaker 3: I've seen everyone. I've seen every every part of the
I love horror. I love Gore movies.
Speaker 1: I love Gore.
Speaker 2: Too, but like, Human Centipede is disgusting.
Speaker 3: It's gross, it's terrible, but it's it's so fantastic.
Speaker 2: What's that other one that's like I would? I said
when I left it, I was I don't never watch
that movie again. I think it's called like the Interview
or something like that.
Speaker 3: It's one of those pie Pie is a really interesting one. Yeah,
Pee like the number pie. Oh yeah, that's a really
weird one. Uh tapes is a pie? Uh yeah. Like
there's a ton of just like terrible, awful, really bad
things for your brain that I watch all the time.
Speaker 2: I like horror movies and even like like gross.
Speaker 1: Sorry, I'm just imagining someone taking their like back in
twenty twelve, taking their kid to see Life of Pie,
but on accident Pie, it would just be funny. Okay
it was two thousand, oh, Pie was way before nineteen ninety.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's when they could make the real sick Oh
ship because like nobody was really observing it and they
were just they were just making nasty, dirty ass ship
even had.
Speaker 3: Red trailers back then. I don't even think I have those, Yeah,
that kind of stuff. So is the movie that I
wouldn't rewatch if I.
Speaker 2: Find that fascinating, And I'd love to have you on
again and really test this theory. Like it's just wild
to me that there's no movie where you're like, I
ain't watching that again. That is I've I've left so
many gory horror because I I am an avid horror person.
The one thing that gets to me is usually torture.
I just don't like watching someone be tortured for like
too long. It's just draining on me, Like emotionally watching
like someone get like cut up and stuff. I'm like
get him, Like I I can let a lot of
stuff go, but there's certain things where I'm just like,
oh God, so draining. I don't want to watch it.
Speaker 3: I root for the root for the people who were
doing the bad thing.
Speaker 1: Absolute will channeling that does.
Speaker 3: She's a she's a social worker worker. She walked in
on me playing Mortal Kombat and that's how we had
our first conversation about all of those things.
Speaker 1: Were you doing fatality? Yeah?
Speaker 3: And I was like, is this a thing that you like?
Speaker 1: And everything in my training is telling you that.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 1: No, I think I think it's all useful for confronting fear, uh,
certain impulses in a healthy way.
Speaker 2: I can't believe you're so desensitized. This is like the
best fun fact is that you would like.
Speaker 1: I never thought you were watching like I'm super chill
and not like you know, like I.
Speaker 2: Know, it's always the ones you don't expect. Everyone w
always say he's so nice. I've always I've always liked
him watching people get their bones broken multiple times and you're.
Speaker 1: Like, tapes. Was I remember watching part of that?
Speaker 3: Yeah, that's a that's a like when you're like, oh,
these are the movie like when they had the these
are the movies. You should watch it in the dark
and don't let anybody. Yeah yeah, yeah, like bring it
to me, give it to me.
Speaker 1: All right.
Speaker 2: I'll keep that in mind for your next Present's.
Speaker 1: Still a bonus series where we watch the most fucked
movies imaginable with ca and people can do a watch along.
Speaker 2: Yes, smile the whole time.
Speaker 1: It's just me and K the whole time, like not
even say anything, just staring at the screen, just like
I'm critiquing.
Speaker 3: I'm like, the the bones don't break that way. You
have to hate this part, yeah, part, and then the
gushing wasn't really good enough?
Speaker 1: Here this is how I did it.
Speaker 3: Yeah, look at my basement.
Speaker 1: Yea. I swear to god, I could be a good
serial killer, really be serial killers. They will team up happened, No,
I think serial killers are too narcissistic to team up
with another one.
Speaker 3: I mean, well, look at it this way, we can
we can be killers. You're already a psalm. I call
the show psalm. It's easy oh perfect.
Speaker 1: Wow, easy, and then we start. We start on each
coast and work our way to the Midwest and meet
up in Chica.
Speaker 2: Psychopath.
Speaker 1: We have a contest to see who.
Speaker 2: Enough for me. I don't really want to murders in
the podcast and.
Speaker 3: Then your engine and drive.
Speaker 2: Yeah, now that's just yeah, that's where I shine.
Speaker 1: Serial killing. Serial killing, I maintain is a victimless crime,
and that's how I justify.
Speaker 3: Its never killed anyone.
Speaker 1: Yeah, true, Yeah, you did.
Speaker 2: This crazy hot take.
Speaker 3: It's true. He never killed anyone.
Speaker 2: Then a contraption that bent their mouth open.
Speaker 1: They gave it their vices or they weren't able to
escape there every prison they created.
Speaker 3: The reason I love Jigsaw is my favorite horror guy
is because he doesn't kill anyone. They all kill themselves.
Speaker 1: Mm hmm. Another movie where people kill themselves. The Happening
by m Night Shyamalan. Stop it all right, sorry.
Speaker 3: You want to kill yourself? Is anything? But I'm not
sure very true.
Speaker 1: His movie is the Happening movies.
Speaker 2: Watch watch all of m Night Shyamalan's films again.
Speaker 1: Ka the will O bonus, we got him, he won't
do it ship.
Speaker 3: You know what you might have found it.
Speaker 2: Some of them won't watch that happening again. Damn in
your fucking face, Mike the beach, someone get tortured, shelted a.
Speaker 3: Thousand, then watching Out the m Night Movie.
Speaker 1: Still a bonus video where we watch.
Speaker 3: The water you can kiss my ass.
Speaker 1: That's It's one of those I don't like so bad.
All right, Well, thank you Hillary for the email. Uh
that's our emails for the week. Sorry, I have a
we're recording. I have a heart out today. Usually we
have like hours to kill. But ca, thank you so
much for coming on. Uh, spawn on me stuff before
we plug, more spawn on me stuff before we leave.
Anything fun you got going on?
Speaker 3: Yeah, you can check out more of the show every
week on Spotify all podcast platforms. We're trying to move
to doing more video, so YouTube and Spotify you can
go check out more stuff there. We're debuting a new
show with me and Paris Lily very soon.
Speaker 2: I love you guys cooking what are you doing?
Speaker 3: No cooking. We're calling it the Positivity Pedlar Show, so
we're going to be talking about all the other things
that are non gaming. It'll be debuting very soon on
Patreon and then Yeah, I'm trying to get the spawnies
together and making that happen this year. So if you
have some money and you want to do a dope
a war show, come talk to me, Come hang out Mary,
what about you?
Speaker 2: I stream on Twitch every Monday. I usually stream the
games that we talk about. So that was pretty fun,
so you can catch me there.
Speaker 1: That's about it cool, and then we have the it's
bi weekly for us and also bi weekly for next Lander.
Vinnie and I have been playing Total War Warhammer three,
two co op campaigns. They're going well. They're very fun.
Vinnie definitely did not get fucked up in one of them.
That was a bottle episode. It was just it was
like a hallucination. We're categorizing as but you can subscribe
here for the one where we play as good people
saving the world. You could subscribe to next Lander for
the one where we play as evil people destroying it.
It's been super fun. That's our show. It's episode one,
oero five six. It's a bunch. We six been hosting Mike.
We'll be back in a couple of weeks. See if
all three of the normal cast members are here. If not,
it's always fun to see who we get to sub in.
Cos and super fun hanging out.
Speaker 2: Thank you for doing this, Cod appreciate it.
Speaker 3: I'll tell you. But well, we got to get rid
of day. I'm down.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Oh we me and you know how to get
rid of people, so uh well we'll figure that out
and uh and we'll be back in a couple of weeks.
Thanks for joining. Everybody see them.
Speaker 2: Thanks everybody.
Speaker 1: Bye,