Stardew Valley vs. Fields of Mistria? Everybody Wins

Control Resonant is technically a sequel to 2019’s Control. But developer Remedy has (as they often do) opted to stretch the definition of sequel as far as possible, converting the third-person shooter series into an open-world action game. Shockingly, it works… once you get your sea-legs. Plus, we talk about how the release of Gears of War: E-DAY falls in the shadow of the brutal layoffs and changes at Xbox. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Fire Emblem: Fortune’s Weave is the biggest exclusive for the Nintendo Switch 2 — quite literally. A completionist run of the new tactics RPG could take you 200 hours. For some fans, the epic length will be a decadent pleasure. For others, like Plante, it’s a threat. To guide us through the huge adventure, longtime Fire Emblem-lovers Griffin and Frush share what works and doesn’t. Meanwhile, Plante wonders if the current list of exclusives has made the Switch 2 a worthwhile upgrade. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Most of the time, we chat about games we enjoy. So many games debut every week, and picking promising new ones is relatively easy. But every so often, a game with high expectations ends up being a colossal disappointment. Wolverine, we’re sad to say, is one of those games. And yet, we’re making lemonade from lemons. Because all of Wolverine’s flaws make for a good conversation about what we expect (and hope for) from video games. Especially ones that cost so much. Speaking of expensive stuff: Frush shares hands-on impressions with the Steam Frame.  Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

The last time Capcom made a new Onimusha game, George W. Bush was President. But Onimusha: The Way of the Sword would have you believe the series never missed a beat. This week, Ron Funches joins the guys to talk about the ways this new entry blends Devil May Cry and Dark Souls tropes into something fresh and surprisingly welcoming!  Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

The Blood of Dawnwalker proves the old adage, “The worse the name, the better the game.” The debut from Rebel Wolves, a studio composed in part of CD Projekt Red veterans, is a grim fantasy RPG set in the Carpathian mountains in the thick of the Black Plague. It looks and feel at first like the The Witcher series, though give it a few hours, and you’ll see this isn’t reheated leftover. It’s got vampires and time management and bears too powerful to be bitten by a bloodsucker! To talk about this gem, we’re joined by Fire Escape Cast’s Mary Kish! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Blood Dungeon is a spectacular evolution of the Vampire Survivors formula. Developer Messhof plops the auto-shooting, upgrade-building bullet-heaven genre into something a bit more strategic and conscious of your time. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the art looks, at first blush, like Spelunky by way of a child’s sketchbook. In the back half of the episode, we chat about what to call these games, and then pick some of our favorites. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Fields of Mistria has finally hit 1.0 after a couple of years in Early Access on Steam. Does the “official” release rise to the level of Stardew Valley? Or is this anime-inspired small town simulator doing something different? And is 1.0 just a new beginning? We discuss all of that and the hot new handheld! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Big Walk is the game everyone wanted during the pandemic. Not-so-coincidentally, that’s when the project began development. The multiplayer open-world adventure is developer House House’s follow-up to Untitled Goose Game. But where Goose Game hinged on you pestering NPCs to solve puzzles, Big Walk tasks you with pestering and supporting your friends. Or to put it succinctly: Big Walk is a game about communication. Though, as we explain, it’s an experience that requires some careful scheduling. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

Beast of Reincarnation is the new game from Game Freak, the studio that creates every mainline Pokémon game. But friends, this is nothing like Pokémon. The action-RPG calls to mind series like Dark Souls and Onimusha. Is it… good? Guest Ron Funches joins to help us find out. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!

The guys are back again to talk about the magic and wonder of Splatoon Raiders, a game that finally made us all agree that Splatoon is really kinda awesome. We've also got some reader mail to dive into and whether we can actually find someone who inverts their horizontal axis. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!