4player Podcast

With Nolan officially out on paternity leave (congratulations!), we press forward into the wacky world of video games once again! We re-visit Dragon Age: The Veilguard to discuss how the game is progressing and examine Nick & Brad's drastically different playstyles. Chris Davis expresses his enjoyment of Life is Strange: Double Exposure after the first three episodes but braces himself for the tides to shift (if the reviews are to be believed). Brad also brings back the UFO50 minute with two new games from the collection and hypes up I am your Beast, the next game from the developer of El Paso Elsewhere! Oh... and we also dig a little bit into the controversary surrounding The Game Awards GOTY nominations. Nolan's big news! (1:38) Impressions - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (10:30) Impressions - Life is Strange: Double Exposure (36:30) Impressions - I am your Beast (59:30) The UFO 50 Minute (1:09:00) News - The Game Awards Announces their GOTY Nominees (1:19:45) 4Player Minute (1:39:00)

Time to get back on the podcasting horse... It IS Brad's week to shine as there is a new Dragon Age game AND some major Castlevania content to discuss so he is firing on all cylinders! We take our first deep dive into Dragon Age: The Veilguard and find that Bioware has managed to put together a polished, fun, and addicting game despite having an undeniable resemblance to modern God of War. In the second segment, Brad goes full nerd while discussing the crazy new Castlevania DLC for Vampire Survivors and Chris Davis revisits Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 now that he has spent some time with the co-op campaign. Impressions - Dragon Age: The Veilguard (5:15) Impressions - Vampire Survivors Castlevania DLC (1:04:00) Impressions - Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 (1:22:40) 4Player Minute (1:36:00)

The stars have aligned on this very Hallowed Eve; Blessing this episode with a bevy of sweet horror games to talk about! Krispy continues to tackle his backlog of life-changing games and talks about his time with Signalis! Brad brings two new indie-horror games to the table with The Closing Shift and Tormenture; Both of which defy expectation but in completely different ways. Nick discusses his first night of playing The Outlast Trials with the community and delivers his early impressions of this year's reboot of Alone in the Dark (RIP Pieces Interactive). Of course, we also talk a little about the critical reception of Dragon Age: The Veilguard and the looming Beta of Monster Hunter Wilds! News - Dragon Age: The Veilgaurd Reviews are Out! (10:30) Impressions - Signalis (19:40) Impressions - The Closing Shift (37:10) Impressions - Tormenture (46:40) Impressions - The Outlast Trials (1:08:00) Impressions - Alone in the Dark (1:24:45) 4Player Minute (1:42:10)

We're running a little late this week but we have a lot to talk about! After a little detour to talk horror films and general spooky season stuff, Krispy takes us back to 2019 now that he has finally played (and loved!) Death Stranding: Director's Cut! It's a fun discussion that puts a lot of us in the mood to revisit the game ahead of the looming sequel. Brad gives his first impressions of the Silent Hill 2 Remake now that he's played a significant chunk of it and Chris Davis shares some thoughts on his time with the story campaign of Mech Warrior 5: Clans. Of course, we've got another does of UFO 50 highlights and some Fantasy Critic talk mixed in there for good measure. Halloween Season Chatter (2:40) Impressions - Death Stranding: Director's Cut (17:55) Impressions - Mech Warrior 5 Clans (48:45) Impressions - UFO 50 (1:05:10) Impressions - Silent Hill 2 Remake (1:15:00) 4Player Minute (1:49:30)

The surprises keep on coming. Not only did Creative Assembly announce the development of Alien Isolation 2, but Bloober Team's remake of Silent Hill 2 AND the new IP, Metaphor ReFantazio released to stellar reviews! Nick digs deep into Silent Hill 2 Remake and praises it as a faithful and worthwhile adaptation of one of the best horror games ever made. While Metaphor ReFantazio has not officially released, a lengthy prologue demo that carries over to the full game gives us a detailed look at what to expect from the next game from the Persona team! Brad also highlights two more games from UFO 50 and highlights a spooky horror game making the rounds this Halloween season called Ten Bells. News - Creative Assembly Announced Alien Isolation 2 (13:55) Impressions - Silent Hill 2 Remake (19:05) Impressions - UFO 50 (45:00) Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (57:05) Impressions - Metaphor ReFantazio (1:14:35) Impressions - Ten Bells (1:33:50) 4Player Minute (1:46:00)

I was so tempted to name this show the "Piss Filter" show but alas, it is Chris Davis' birthday so this episode is named in his honor! How did Chris Davis spend the days leading up to his birthday? By playing through two 20-year old games (read: bonafide classics!): Resident Evil 3: Nemesis and Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater! Brad and Nolan deliver some early impressions of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom and then highlight 4 seperate games from UFO 50 that have their hooks in deep! There has also been some intense developments with our ongoing Fantasy Critic league so stay tuned! Banter - Spooky season has begun (7:18) Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom (21:08) Impressions - UFO50 (47:20) Impressions - Resident Evil 3 / Metal Gear Solid 3 Double Feature (1:22:30) Fantasy Critic Update (1:29:45) 4Player Minute (1:38:30)

After a week off to play Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies together (seriously, check it out), we return to the podcast studio to talk about the latest and greatest in the gaming industry. First up, Sony debuted a new State of Play presentation which, among other things, revealed Ghost of Yotei to the world (the long awaited sequel to Ghost of Tsushima). After a few minor technical hiccups, we get back on track with impressions of UFO 50; an impressive collection of (50) games designed and built around the specs for a imaginary piece of retro gaming hardware! Krispy and Nick gush over Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 and Chris Davis finally got his hands on Dead Rising Deluxe Remastered! Of course, Warhammer also has Krispy spiraling towards an inevitable (and expensive) future in the tabletop space. Impressions - Dale & Dawson Stationery Supplies (2:00) News - Highlights from the Playstation State of Play (15:08) Impressions - UFO50 (31:05) Impressions - Warhammer 40K: Space Marine 2 (1:01:30) Impressi

Sony manages to be the talk of the town this week in more ways than one... First, we delve into the ridiculous Playstation 5 Pro announcement: a $700 system with NO DISC DRIVE and NO STAND included. Luckily, Astro Bot also released this week and has easily won the hearts of all of us who have played. Brad talks about new indie hotness, Shogun Showdown, and Krispy finally has his opportunity to talk about his extensive time with Star Wars Outlaws; a game he is thoroughly enjoying! Of course, this also leads to bewildering discussions about "Space Jizz" (you read that right) and eventually, more of Chris Davis's hilarious homebuilding shenanigans. News - Sony unveils the Playstation 5 Pro system and it is absurd (2:30) Impressions - Astro Bot (28:00) Impressions - Shogun Showdown (57:25) Impressions - Star Wars Outlaws (1:04:45) Fantasy Critic Update (1:32:40) 4Player Minute (1:40:00)

What a wild (and not great) week it has been in the world of video games! Sony shut down Concord less than two weeks after it launched to middling critical reception and tragic concurrent player counts. On top of that, Hideaki Itsuno - the famed designer behind classics like Power Stone, Devil May Cry, and Dragon's Dogma - announced that he is leaving Capcom after 3 decades. Despite all of the doom and gloom, new and exciting games continue to trickle out. Nick gives us his early impressions of Star Wars Outlaws which has been competing heavily with Black Myth Wukong for his time. Nolan walks us through his experience with the Quest 3 VR headset over the weekend and Brad talks about a cool new "Mesoamerican Fantasy RPG" called Arco. During the 4Player Minute, Chris Davis stuns with a shocking revelation about... Mattress shopping? News - Sony shuts down Concord less than 2 weeks after release (2:50) News - Hideaki Itsuno leaves Capcom (13:05) Impressions - Star Wars Outlaws (19:10) Impressions - Meta Quest 3

After recapping the latest (and Silksong-less) Nintendo Direct presentation, Nolan shares some exciting news with the community and ultimately opens the door for one of the most bizarre conversations we've had since "Zip-Whip-Pee." Nick digs deep into the rewarding and addicting systems of Black Myth: Wukong while also scoffing at the most ridiculous requests ever put to paper in a video game embargo (one which we are happily not beholden to). Brad and Krispy go onto to rave about Tactical Breach Wizards; The next game from the developer of Gunpoint which some describe as "a DnD campaign gone horribly right." Krispy also dabbled in the early access builds for Abiotic Factor and Deadlock. News - Recap of Nintendo Direct (1:40) Nolan's Special Announcement (24:25) Impressions - Black Myth: Wukong (37:00) Impressions - Tactical Breach Wizards (58:35) Impressions - Abiotic Factor (1:21:34) Fantasy Critic Update (1:43:50) 4Player Minute (1:52:30)

We have good news and bad news. The good news is that Krafton swooped in and SAVED Tango Gameworks from closure AND acquired the rights to Hi-Fi Rush so a sequel is all but confirmed. The bad news is that Gamescom kicked off with a rather disappointing Opening Night Live AND Silksong remains as elusive as ever. Regardless, there are some announcements that caught our attention such as Dying Light: The Beast, Blur's new anthology tv series for Amazon Prime called Secret Level, and the reveal of Mafia: The Old Country. After we discuss the highlights (and lowlights) of the show, Brad gives his thoughts on Steamworld Heist 2 and Thrasher! News - Krafton Acquires Tango Gameworks along with Rights to Hi-Fi Rush (10:34) News - Highlights from Gamescom ONL (16:20) Impressions - Steamworld Heist 2 (50:35) Impressions - Thrasher (59:45) 4Player Minute (1:19:30)

The bad news keeps on comin. This week, Bungie was hit with a significant round of layoffs and even an internal project cancellation which has called the future of Destiny and the studio into question. Not to be outdone, Gamestop suddenly and unexpectedly shut down Game Informer magazine; A shocking turn of events for a company that has relied on the publication to prop up their business for many years. On a less depressing note, Brad talks about World of Goo 2 which, despite the long gap between releases, manages to end up just as great and just as flawed as it's predecessor. Chris turned off his brain to play Earth Defense Force 6 and Brad did something similar with a hilarious little game called Thank Goodness You're Here. News - Bungie hit with layoffs / cancellations (8:25) News - Gamestop abruptly shuts down Game Informer (18:00) Impressions - World of Goo 2 (25:55) Impressions - Earth Defense Force 6 (43:20) Impressions - Thank Goodness You're Here (56:55) Impressions - CONSCRIPT (1:13:00) 4Player Min

It's release week for Deadpool & Wolverine and Comic-Con so movie-talk does manage to worm it's way in at the top of the show! After that, Nick talks about a delicious new survival-horror game, CONSCRIPT, which captures the overwhelmingly bleak backdrop of World War 1 through a top-down Resident Evil lens. Brad takes a deeper dive into Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure now that the full game is out (and FREE on Netflix apparently!) and Krispy talks about his time with Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail which has hit a proverbial reset button on the story with this latest expansion. Sony dropped the price of the PSVR2 finally and Chris Davis revisits Pacific Drive and talks late game developments. Movie Talk (1:45) Impressions - CONSCRIPT (17:05) Impressions - Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure (31:50) Impressions - Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail (51:20) News - Sony drops the price of the PSVR2 dramatically (1:09:07) Impressions - Pacific Drive (1:13:04) 4Player Minute (1:28:10)

July might feel like a bit of a lull in the world of video games but there is plenty of fun to be found if dig a little deeper. Brad has now spent a good chunk of time with the full release of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. As it turns out, despite some rough edges, the game is... pretty darn cool! Chris Davis played through the first full episode of Fallen Aces; A retro FPS mixed with lite immersive sim elements that leans into comic books and classic detective stories to deliver something fresh! Finally, Nick also found himself playing a game focused around a detective but with a very different wrapper. Nobody Wants to Die is a futuristic, cyberpunk adjacent detective thriller running in Unreal Engine 5 (herefore referred to as a "Triple I" game)! Movie Talk (6:40) Impressions - Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess (13:35) Impressions - Fallen Aces (40:55) Impressions - Nobody Wants to Die (1:06:30) 4Player Minute (1:31:20)

The calm before the storm. We take a breather this week to talk movies and do some much needed 2024 catchup! Brad finished up Final Fantasy VII Rebirth and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth and expresses some concerns over the recent demo of Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess. Nick and Chris Davis talk Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree and Nolan takes us on virtual migration to (the) New York City where he and Bernadette attended a major Pokemon Go event this past weekend. Chris Davis reveals that he played Resident Evil 1 this past weekend... for the very first time and Nick highlights an exciting new indie Survival Horror game called Holstin which blends classic Resident Evil with more modern entries like Resident Evil 4! Movie Talk (3:30) Impressions - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (27:40) 2024 Catchup - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth / Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth (40:35) Pokemon Go Event with Nolan (50:10)  Impressions - Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess Demo (1:05:00) Impressions - Holstin Demo (1:19:40)

With the year half in the bag, we take some time to talk about what lies ahead in the second half of the year. With zero overlap, we each highlight 3 games that we are excited to play in the coming months. The discussion takes us to some expected and unexpected places; From Star Wars: Outlaws to The Plucky Squire to... Dead Rising Deluxe Remaster (?!). Of course, we fill in some of the gaps with help from the community. Needless to say, 2024 has been an impressive year thus far and the best appears to be in our future.

Believe it or not, this week marks our 800th official episode! It's an episode full of impressions, drama, and even a couple pacts / agreements that may surprise you. We talk the long awaited Shadow of the Erdtree expansion for Elden Ring to find out if the game really is too hard or if they design was elevated to support the increased challenge! Brad talks about a couple new demos from Steam Next Fest including Arranger: An Role-Puzzling Adventure and Dungeons of Hinterberg, and Chris Davis' continue to talk up his time with Rise of the Ronin. Nick played through Still Wakes the Deep; a game with some serious vibes that can't help but paint a bleak picture for the team's next high-profile project. Things get a little tense during the Fantasy Critic update but it culminates in one of the most interesting trades / agreements we've made thus far. Off-Topic: Fast food shenanigans (3:00) Impressions - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree (9:15) Impressions - Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure - Demo (30:10) Impres

Nintendo came out swinging this week with a new Direct presentation full of surprises! We recap the highlights which include the reveal of Mario & Luigi Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, and of course, the re-reveal of Metroid Prime 4 Beyond! Nolan shines a spotlight on a demo for a fun new deck-builder called Dice & Fold and Brad talks about Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser; a game he delved back into in the immediate aftermath of the Dragon Age: The Veilguard reveal last week. Recap - Nintendo Direct ft Mario & Luigi Brothership, The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, Metroid Prime 4, and more! (3:35) Impressions - Dice & Fold Demo (44:45) Impressions - Dragon Age Inquisition: Trespasser DLC (56:45) Impressions - Quick mentions from Chris Davis - Alan Wake 2: Nightsprings DLC, Indivisible, Rise of Ronin (1:15:20) Fantasy Critic Updates (1:34:48) 4Player Minute (1:45:35)

It's a big week. Krispy has finally blessed us with Destiny 2 footage to coincide with the recent release of Destiny 2: The Final Shape! Not only that, Krispy takes us on a journey through the history of Destiny which has culminated in one of the game's most exciting and successful expansions! Brad talks about his experience with the demo for The Alters; an upcoming game from 11-Bit Studios which seems to combine survival gameplay with an intriguing narrative that involves cloning. In the 2nd half of the show, we recap the highs and lows of this year's Summer Game Fest including the re-reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard (formerly Dreadwolf), Perfect Dark, Star Wars Outlaws, and more! Impressions - Destiny 2: The Final Shape (8:30) Impressions - The Alters Demo (45:40) Reactions to the Re-Reveal of Dragon Age: The Veilguard (1:03:44) Recap - Summer Game Fest (1:25:50) 4Player Minute (2:14:50)

It's that special time of year once again... where the mess of showcases and preview events run amock without the comfort and organization of E3. Chaos aside... it's still an exciting time for anyone looking to know what the future of gaming has in store. With that in mind, we run through a long list of Summer Game Fest predictions put together by Chris Davis and discuss the highlights from last week's Playstation State of Play and Silent Hill Transmission events. But before we get to all that, Nick and Nolan talk about a hot up-and-coming new Metroidvania called Nine Sols and Brad shares his thoughts on a charming new arcade shooter called Minishoot Adventures! Housekeeping (1:40) Impressions - Nine Sols (6:15) Impressions - Minishoot Advenures (30:45) Recap - Playstation State of Play and Silent Hill Transmission Highlights (44:30) Summer Game Fest Season Predictions (1:13:30) 4Player Minute (2:09:00)