Hitpoint Pals

Episode 20: Making our post-E3 return, the Hitpoint Pals recap their favorite announcements from the showcase including Watch Dogs: Legion, Cyberpunk 2077, and Psychonauts 2. We then take a look at the decision by EA to sell Nazi character cosmetics in Battlefield V, and the dangers of normalizing Nazis as "just German soldiers." We look at the games Call of Duty: WW2, Hearts of Iron IV, and the Wolfenstein series and discuss how each of these games portrays the Axis powers, and how the cartooning of Nazis in media detracts from the atrocities of World War II, and the events leading up to the war that allowed those atrocities to happen. Show Notes: How games whitewash Nazism, and the responsibility developers have to history How Call of Duty: WW2 handles swastikas and female soldiers What Happens When Wolfenstein Comes Back at the Same Time Nazis Do? Games Have Always Tried to Whitewash Nazis as Just 'German Soldiers' Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter!   --- Send in a v

Episode 19: Following an exciting week of pre-E3 announcements, we gathered to unpack the week's news and then dive right into a special conversation about queerness in video games. Will and I do our best to follow along as Rebekah guides us through a discussion about the way that games are already queer, and tries to show us how the mere act of playing a game is a queer experience. By the end of the discussion, Will and I feel like we're college freshmen who have stumbled into a 400 level gender studies course, but it's an enlightening conversation nonetheless. Finally, we briefly preview the E3 conferences on the horizon, and prepare for the reveals, surprises, and disappointments in the days to come. News discussed: Google Stadia launches this November with $130 Founder's Edition (Engadget) Baldur’s Gate III is finally official, coming to PC and Stadia (Ars Technica) E3 Schedule (GamesRadar) Games discussed: Ashen, Dungeons & Dragons, Kingdom Come: Deliverance, Crusader Kings: II, The Elder Scroll

Episode 18: First things first, everyone saw Godzilla: King of the Monsters this weekend, so before we can get anything done we have to get our thoughts on big monster movie out of the way. Then it's a full fledged Kojimian nightmare as we remark on the latest Death Stranding trailer, our histories with Kojima games, and our hopes and skepticism about the upcoming "strand game." But then things get real dark. First we discuss the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare trailer and presentation summaries. Activision's "reboot" of the most loved Call of Duty game will feature brand new commentary on the realities of war while still making shooting guns feel cool. Then our conversation unravels into a larger criticism of imperialism, military grandstanding, international diplomacy, the corrupt loop of the military industrial complex, and straight up war crimes. But we wrap up on a lighter note with the games we've been playing, including Travis' adventures in The Outer Wilds, Caleb's revisit to Dead Space, Rebekah's Civili

Episode 17: Will gives his his thoughts and praise for Total War: Three Kingdoms, and fills us in on the perils of hiring a high maintenance character like Lu Bu. Travis gives Life is Strange 2 some attention, and Rebekah's guilt about colonizing Zimbabwe in Civilization VI leads to a larger discussion about morality in strategy games. Then we move on to the news that Playdate is launching a handheld gaming platform with a crank, as well as the acquisition of another studio by THQ Nordic, who it turns out owns a lot more properties than we thought. Finally, we read some breaking news about the commissioner of the Overwatch League leaving Blizzard to join Epic Games, and discuss the staying power of Fortnite as well as a Kotaku article about shady business practices in esports. News discussed: Playdate Will be a Tiny Handheld Gaming System with a Crank THQ Nordic Aquires Yet Another Studio, has 80 Games in Development Overwatch League commissioner Nanzer to join Epic Games Games discussed: Total War: Thr

You want a good girl, but you need the bad podcast.  After eight seasons of highs and lows, HBO put a bow on Game of Thrones, a pop culture phenomenon that transcended genre to become a cornerstone of water cooler discussions. Despite its unavoidably nerdy status as a sword and sorcery story, the world fell in love with David Benioff and Dan Weiss's small screen adaptation of George R. R. Martin's sprawling novels, and episode upon episode became a must watch event as viewers tuned in following weeks (Tyrion's trial) or sometimes years (Jon Snow's death) of unresolved cliffhanger tension for relief in the knowledge of what happened next. Would Rob Stark succeed in the northern campaign? Would Daenerys ever cross the narrow sea? Over nine years we watched all the big pieces fall into place as Game of Thrones brought its saga to a close, although in a condensed fashion that left most fans feeling left out in the snow. Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter!  --- Send in a voice

Episode 16: Paradox's newest grand strategy title Imperator: Rome blends the best parts of Crusader Kings and Europa Universals, but the final product feels too heavily distilled to remain engaging over long gameplay sessions. We talk about how Paradox games generally launch feature lite, and what we're hoping to see added to Imperator: Rome in the future. Speaking of wanting new features, we also recap news stories about labor conditions in the games industry, against the backdrop of competitive multiplayer gamers' demands for constant balancing and new features, and how post-launch content now feels like a necessity rather than a bonus feature, even across the single player games market. In pop culture talk, we give our spoiler-lite impressions of Detective Pikachu, and look back on the controversial fifth episode of Season 8 of Game of Thrones.  News discussed:  CD Projekt Red Pledges To Be 'More Humane' To Its Workers  Ubisoft has Three Unannounced AAA Titles Coming 2019  Games dis

Episode 15: Reflections on The Elder Scrolls spark a discussion on how games treat race, and from there we dive into a rabbit hole that begins with a deep lore reading of the exclusively mono-racial identities in Tamriel, and ends with a sharp rebuke of Gamergate culture and the practice of labeling diversity as politics. We share some of our experiences as biracial Asian Americans who have all, at some point, been asked, "What are you?" Somehow we also manage to mention the reveal of Ghost Recon: Breakpoint and how a focus on survival could help steer the series back towards its tactical roots.  Show notes:  Mysterious Asians: How The Elder Scrolls Fails its Asian Players Ghost Recon: Breakpoint reveal (video) 'I'd Have These Extremely Graphic Dreams': What It's Like To Work On Ultra-Violent Games Like Mortal Kombat 11  How an Augmented Reality Game Escalated into Real-World Spy Warfare  Games discussed: Rimworld, The Enigma Box, Battle Brothers, Mordhau, Ghost Recon: Wildlands Keep

Episode 14: James Marsden's police car says "Green Hills." Then he yells, "SFPD!" Which is it, James Marsden? We look back on the first trailer for the upcoming Sonic the Hedgehog film, the criticism it received, and the surprising announcement by director Jeff Fowler that changes "will happen." We also touch on new hardware entering the VR market as well as some Borderlands 3 impressions, before chatting about the games we've been playing. But the moment we've all been waiting for, the Battle of Winterfell, came and went, leaving us with numerous questions. We cap this episode of the podcast with a solid hour of cathartic talk about The Night King, proprietary video players, and the themes of A Song of Ice and Fire.  News discussed:  Sonic the Hedgehog movie trailer and redesign  Valve Index is $999; Oculus Rift S, Quest release May 21  Borderlands 3 gameplay reveal  Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford says game has no microtransactions, does have microtransactions  Games discus

Episode 13: Rebekah and Cam join the podcast and fill us in on the D&D campaigns that they are currently running. In games we've been playing, we discuss the pensive farming game The Stillness in the Wind and the meditative city puzzler ISLANDERS. Plus, Travis enters the modern era of Assassin's Creed games with Assassin's Creed: Origins, and the leap of quality it brings to the series. Finally, Cam looks into the Satanic Panic that arose in the 80's, aimed at Dungeons and Dragons, and the wild story of a missing D&D player, a shady private investigator, and a pre-celebrity Tom Hanks. Games discussed: Where the Goats Are, The Stillness of the Wind, ISLANDERS, Assassin's Creed: Origins  Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

Episode 12: Caleb discusses two games he has been playing on stream, Spec Ops: The Line, a military shooter that makes you feel bad about yourself, and The Darkness II, an action shooter where you're an antihero with Venom inside you. We also take a look at a story about a secret server for City of Heroes operating in the dark for an exclusive group of players secretly for six years, and the backlash the group has been receiving following the revelation of this server to the world. News: A Secret Server for the Dead MMO 'City of Heroes' Has Players in an Uproar (Motherboard) Games discussed: Spec Ops: The Line, The Darkness II, City of Heroes Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.  Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

Episode 11: That disturbance in the force you felt was the Star Wars Episode XI trailer debuting. Equally as exciting was our first look at Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. We gathered around our mics for a special Star Wars edition of Hitpoint Pals. Games discussed: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, The Force Unleashed, Knights of the Old Republic, Game of Thrones - a Telltale Series. Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.  Keep up with the show and send us your questions on Twitter! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

Episode 10: In games we played this week, Travis discusses the final episode of The Walking Dead: The Final Season and its sendoff to the series and Telltale Games as a whole. Amy starts a zoo in Zoo Tycoon 2, and takes us into the world of kinky Sims 3. Caleb continues his Dark Souls journey, and William revisits wholesome mouse RPG Ghost of a Tale. Then we try our hand at breaking down the biggest stories from the week, starting with an internet debate over a Forbes article about Sekiro, and whether the game should have an "easy" mode. Borderlands 3 is launching as an Epic Store exclusive, and Kotaku publishes an in-depth report on the troubled development of Anthem, shining a new but all too familiar light on the troubling workplace norms of game development at some studios. Lastly, we discuss the new trailer for the Todd Phillips "Joker" film. News discussed: Should Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice have an easy mode? (Forbes, Kotaku) Borderlands 3 is a 6-month Epic Store exclusive (PC Gamer) How Bioware's An

Travis's first impressions of The Elder Scrolls: Blades early access release, plus William and Caleb have been playing the Dark Souls series. We also recap the week in gaming news, starting with Gearbox's reveal of Borderlands 3, then Sony's VR-heavy "State of Play" announcements, the Apple Arcade subscription platform for mobile games, and Daedalic is working on Gollum game. Plus, beloved Skyrim content creator Shirley Curry, the 82-year-old "Skyrim grandma," gets honored by Bethesda as an NPC in The Elder Scrolls VI. News discussed: Playstation "State of Play" recap (GameSpot) Gearbox announces Borderlands 3, Borderlands GOTY (Polygon) Apple announces "Apple Arcade" mobile games subscription service (Forbes) The Lord of the Rings: Gollum (VentureBeat) "Skyrim Grandma" to be NPC in Elder Scrolls VI (Kotaku) Games discussed: House of the Dying Sun, Dark Souls Remastered, Ape Out, The Elder Scrolls: Blades, Bayonetta, Dark Souls II Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherfor

This past week, two important things happened. The first was Google's Stadia announcement - a new platform to compete with Xbox, Playstation, Twitch, and God. The second was hamster discourse which resulted in Amy getting blocked by Chrissy Teigen on Twitter. We also talk about some games? News discussed: Google announces Stadia, a games streaming service (Kotaku) Epic Games Store says they will eventually stop paying for exclusives (PC Gamer) hamster thing with Chrissy Teigen I guess (Mashable) Games discussed: Zoo Tycoon 2, Cities: Skylines, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.  Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, Amy Rutherford, and Caleb Warwick.  Keep up with the show on Twitter!  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

It finally happened. The Master Chief Collection, coming to PC. After celebrating the great news we touch on rumors about a new streaming service by Google, and developer Turtle Rock Studios announces a Left 4 Dead follow-up. We wrap up with spoiler-free thoughts on Captain Marvel. News discussed: Halo: The Master Chief Collection is coming to PC! (The Verge) Rumored Google streaming console may debut at GDC (Ars Technica) Left 4 Dead creators Turtle Rock Studios announced a new co-op zombie game, Back 4 Blood. (PC Gamer) Games discussed: Monster Hunter World, Titanfall 2, Halo series, Dark Souls, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Hitpoint Pals is co-hosted by Travis Lien, William Suitt, and Caleb Warwick. Keep up with the show on Twitter! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

We try to process the leaked Sonic the Hedgehog design. What's up with his eyes? Why do we not deserve good things? Xbox teases a Tuesday announcement regarding the Master Chief Collection and we hope it's a PC release. Travis revisits the mobile game series Infinity Blade, which was removed from the app store by Epic. And Tori gives us a rundown of the Netflix series Umbrella Academy, with no spoilers!  Keep up with the Podcast! We're on Twitter at @HitpointPals.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

We round up the latest on upcoming games including Pokemon Sun/Moon, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, Vermintide 2: Winds of Magic, and spooky sea-crawler Barotrauma. Then we dive into the week's top stories: THQ Nordic hosts a Q&A on a platform known as a hive for illegal activities, more info on the next generation of Xbox console(s), and the massive mod project Skyrim Together lands in hot water after modders accuse the project of stealing code. We wrap up with a recap of games we've been playing, including a not so positive reflection on Far Cry 5. All this and more, on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals. To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

Anthem is the latest rocky launch for a series of high profile "games as a service" style games, we take a critical look at how this has changed the way games are released and consumed. Also, Xbox game pass may bring games to the Nintendo Switch, via a new streaming service. And Amy Rutherford joins us to delve into Sims lore and the upcoming Sims 4 expansion Strangerville. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals. To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

It's Nintendo Direct week and Link has awoken once again. Plus, Blizzard reveals their true colors. Also, the Overwatch League returns and with it, GOATS. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals. To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message

Nostalgia for the days when Star Wars games were good, and a new report lends even more credibility to the Oculus Rift S coming soon. Plus, Apex Legends impressions, and the Hitpoint Pals wander into cult-occupied Montana. All this and more on this week's episode of Hitpoint Pals. To support us on Anchor: https://anchor.fm/hpp --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/hpp/message