Ep. 35: Look at Those Friends

(Note: This episode contains a detailed discussion of Adios, and at points veers into spoiler territory. The Adios talk begins at the 20-minute mark and lasts until 1:17:00, with some direct references to the ending at about 1:15:00.) The need for feed in Jurassic World: Evolution A deep-dive into Adios: is there enough game in this game? Skye wants to do chores harder Skye also wants to milk a goat Adam talks himself into liking Adios even more than he already did Tearin' stuff up with Turnip Boy, who is a dick Sometimes the curtains are blue Trading minigames and their acceptability Scarlet Nexus, cosmetics, and anime (*so much anime*) Trails 'n Tales The !FALcast game of 2021 (which was timely when we recorded this) (Look time just got away from me, OK) (I've been playing a lot of Trails of Cold Steel) (It's really good btw)

What's the grossest food word? Adam's very real, very intense problem with yogurt Back 4 Blood: it's current, it's gurgly, and we like it! (but we gripe about it anyway) (and first we talk about Evolve for a while, because of course) Weird magical cards, and the guy who helps you with them B4B's lonely, arbitrary hub area And just when you think it's over, BAM: 30 minutes on Metroid Samus Returns crams too much Metroid into Metroid But how about that cutting-edge 3DS tech? The one (and only one) not-so-great thing about Hollow Knight Skye, of all people, refuses to let the podcast die

oh hey check it out it's the !FALcast again Matt's Pinball Journey Skye wants a good, clean, brisk episode (and does not get it) Matt would have us all Stop Believin' Dwerve: tower defense in motion, with spider flowers The suspicious motives of the chef in Lady and the Tramp Tribes of Midgard = Don't Starve Diablo (with microtransactions) The tutorial that refuses to teach Fortnite to Fall Guys: when every game expects you to play forever We played No Man's Sky (aka The Space Game) alone, together YOU'LL PLAY DRAGON QUEST V AND LIKE IT Everyone look at this fun picture my kid drew Finding the game you want to play in the game you're playing Wait, Graveyard Keeper Dude is *married*? Enjoyment vs. engagement Fishing (Ridiculous and otherwise) Seriously though, why won't they let me talk about Ys 9, it's *so good*

-Amorous olds -I rehash the plot of FF4 for some reason -"To be a true paladin, you must not fight now!" *fights* -This episode's hot take: After Years was bad -The merits/demerits of random encounters -Cosmic Star Heroine and its beautiful pacing -Eagle Island: it's bird-themed! -The tragic servitude of Pokemon (with a brief detour into monkey personhood) -Matt really likes Mega Man 11 -Air Man, Crash Man, Metal Man, Bubble Man, Wood Man, Heat Man, Flash Man, Quick Man -Skye continues to not like roguelikes/play video games -Hardspace: Shipbreaker and watching people perform manual labor -Darren P. vs. Darren C. -The mundane joys of House Flipper -Surprisingly, ASMR doesn't work on Skye -ok then there's a weird little ASMR cul-de-sac for a while -Left 4 Dead is basically Destiny (?) -Matt assuages my palpable fear that he wouldn't like The Outer Wilds -You guys I *love* The Outer Wilds (AND SO DOES MY KID!) -Skye worries it might actually be *too* good

Crunch and the ends (not really) justifying the means Van Goff The delightful million-thing cleanquest of Horace Matt the Save Piggybacker ruined rental games, possibly childhoods Can you walk on time? (Also no) Boy this time-walking thing sure overstays its welcome Skye threatens to quit the podcast because of the time-walking thing because literally of course he does Reference as game design in Evoland The perfect medley of Retro Game Challenge Do you know the KACHO? Check out Skye's Last of Us 2 video and a bunch of other stuff at his YouTube channel, you see Skye this is what friends do they support each other

"Woman Stuff" is not the title of this episode We love Overcooked! We hate Operation Raccoon City! (Also Games for Windows Live is haunted or something) Experiencing the joy of failure and yelling at wheelchair-bound raccoons Dumb pretentious nonsense about "speaking the language of video games," and it's not even Skye saying it! Steam remote play worked! ...at the TIME I LOVE SAYONARA WILD HEARTS ...no seriously though I really really love Sayonara Wild Hearts Gris' beautiful representation of grief, and us forgetting how many stages of grief exist (Also you trundle around as a stone block with a little head on top) Let's throw a Swery game in here for good measure because why not The open beta of West of Dead that no longer exists is cool (West of Dead is cool)

OK *now* we're gonna talk about Warsaw The brevity of Warsaw (see?) vs. the cruelty of Darkest Dungeon But whither base building? Chimera Squad as XCOM Junior What does it mean to be at full health? The ramifications of sternum injuries Gameplay systems: Less is more (except when less is less) XCOM's fake accuracy percentages continue to remain fake No seriously though get a load of these two gaslighting bastards acting like probability isn't a thing PROBABILITY IS A THING

Oops Wonder what Matt thinks of Death’s Gambit? Oh well, suppose we’ll never know Is potato salad a salad? (Or, failing that, a video game?) Skye only got into the podcast game to pad his resume He also maintains to-do lists of games instead of playing them The incomprehensible narrative, anime oversaturation, interminable barks and … Continue reading Ep. 35: Look at Those Friends →

RetroAchievements.org offers a great excuse to play old games The 7th Saga is hard to recommend but easy to love (honestly it’s pretty rough going) Jurassic World Evolution and the art of the Ungame Guarding the gate at Silent Hill/pushing the Mushroom Kingdom back down a Brooklyn drain Control: Brilliant with just a hint of … Continue reading Ep. 34: A Weeping Fridge →

*Note: This episode contains GREAT BIG HUGE GIANT SPOILERS for Dying Light: The Following, Lost, The Dark Tower series, and Dragon Quest: Your Story. The spoiler-y stuff starts 8 minutes in and ends at about 43 minutes.* The frustrations of reaching a destination that negates the journey Chasing diamonds right off a cliff in Dying … Continue reading Ep. 33: I Hate This Episode →