4Player Podcast

After a week off from recording due to unforeseen circumstances, we are back with a vengeance! We are bursting at the seams with new (and mostly exciting) games to talk about! Brad gives us the skinny on the latest Yakuza titled: Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name, and Nick recaps his time with Jusant; a touching and impassioned homage to classics like Ico. Chris Davis fills the group in on his latest... video game life choices which includes playing all the way through RoboCop: Rogue City and Redfall. Nick also takes a deep dive into The Talos Principle II which easily earns a place among puzzle game classics like The Witness and even Portal. Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic Impressions - Like a Dragon Gaiden: The Man Who Erased his Name (15:20) Impressions - Jusant (30:00) Impressions - RoboCop: Rogue City (43:00) Impressions - The Talos Principle 2 (1:05:30) Impressions - Redfall (1:24:00) 4Player Minute (1:43:00)

This week, we have the pleasure of delving into TWO quality games that couldn't be more different! Brad looks back on his time with Super Marios Bros Wonder and applauds it's accomplishments while pondering it's place in 2D Mario history. In the 2nd segment, Nick and Chris Davis dive into Alan Wake 2; a long-awaited sequel that brought the best out of Remedy thanks to it's ambitious, open-ended design and it's dramatic pivot into the horror genre. Of course, it's not all rainbows and lollipops. We discuss Konami's baffling decision to lead the Silent Hill reboot with Silent Hill Ascension; a perplexing and somewhat embarrassing experiment that nobody asked for. Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic Discussion Silent Hill Ascension and the reboot of Silent Hill (22:56) Impressions - Super Mario Bros Wonder (33:50) Impressions - Alan Wake II (58:50) 4Player Minute - (1:34:44)

Another week, another huge release for 2023. We spend MOST of the first segment this week talking about Insomniac's Spider-Man 2; a bold, polished sequel that delivers on almost every front. As it happens, it almost over-delivers with it's new wing-suit mechanics. After that, we ponder the current state of Insomniac and hypothesize about their upcoming Wolverine game. In the second segment, Brad gives us the rundown on two new indie releases worthy of your time and attention: Killer Frequency (Happy Halloween!) and Laika: Aged Through Blood - a game that feels like Trials HD and Castlevania had a brutally challenging baby... Housekeeping / Fantasy Critic Impressions - Spider-Man 2 (12:55) Discussion - The state of Insomniac and the potential directions for 'Wolverine' (50:40) Impressions - Killer Frequency (1:09:20) Impressions - Laika: Aged Through Blood (1:19:35) 4Player Minute - (1:29:30)

It's a strange week. We find ourselves in the midst of spooky season as we await the imminent release of some of the years biggest games. After some Halloween banter, we delve into the latest developments surrounding Naughty Dog's troubled Last of Us multiplayer project and the announcement of the new PS5 Slim. In the second segment, Brad finally has an opportunity to talk about the demo for Star Ocean: The Second Story R; An impressive remake of a PS1 classic that also calls more attention to the weird choices Square Enix is making. Nick and Chris Davis talk about the double edged sword that is Assassins Creed Mirage and then brad makes a compelling case for El Paso Elsewhere. Housekeeping - Please take our listener survey (link below) News - The Last of Us Factions 2 is in trouble - (35:15) News - Sony announces PS5 Slim - (42:45) Impressions - Star Ocean: The Second Story R (Demo) - (49:20) Impressions - Assassin's Creed Mirage - (1:02:10) Impressions - El Paso Elsewhere - (1:27:00) 4Player Minute - (1:43:10) Link Dump: Take our short listener survey Follow the 4Player 2023 Fantasy Critic League

It may be a skeleton crew this week but this industry slows down for nobody; Especially in 2023! We take an unexpected detour into Assassin's Creed territory up front but then go on to revisit Armored Core VI. Nick gushes over Cocoon; A game which may be struggling to find it's audience in such a crowded release season but is undoubtedly one of the best puzzle games of the year. A Starfield discussion goes sideways for Nick and Chris delivers his verdict on Telltale's The Expanse now that the full season has wrapped. Also, it's been an absolutely terrible week for game developers... Tangent - Assassin's Creed Mirage is Out Impressions - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Impressions - Cocoon Impressions - The Expanse Impressions - Payday 3 4Player Minute

Microsoft can't seem to catch a break. The Activision aquisition led to another massive document leak which gives us some insight into Bethesda's future lineup including new entries in the DOOM and Dishonored franchises and some rather shocking assessments about the value of certain games when it comes to Game Pass. We also react to the new gameplay footage for Dragons Dogma 2 and Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth which dropped this week at the Tokyo Game Show. Of course, the 2023 onslaught of cool games continues as we talk about the likes of Mortal Kombat 1, Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew (Mimimi's final game), and the new Separate Ways DLC for Resident Evil 4! News - Huge Microsoft Leak News - Reactions to new 'Dragons Dogma 2' and 'Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth' gameplay Impressions - Resident Evil 4: Separate Ways Impressions - Mortal Kombat 1 Impressions - Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew 4Player Minute

It has been a whirlwind week in the world of video games but more importantly, we are sporting new podcasting uniforms; In case there was any doubt that our nerdiness knew no bounds. Of course, we dip our toes in the big Unity debacle that has taken the industry by storm this week and we discuss a major departure from Respawn / EA. It is also a historic day in which a Nintendo Direct and Sony State of Play were held on the same day so we run through the highlights. In the second segment, Brad talks Pseudoregalia and we take our first stab at Starfield impressions which, thus far, is proving to be a bit of a mixed bag. Nick and Chris delve deeper into Sea of Stars and we discuss our time playing The Texas Chainsaw Massacre last week. New Uniforms! News - Unity fucked up big time News - Stig Asmussen leaves EA / Respawn News - Nintendo Direct / Sony State of Play recaps Impressions - Pseudoregalia Impressions - Starfield Impressions - Sea of Stars Impressions - The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 4Player Minute

It's a good news, bad news week. The good news is that Starfield reviews have landed and while they aren't blowing Baldur's Gate 3 out of the water, they do seem to indicate that it's not a disaster! On the other hand, the industry suffered several unexpected studio closures this week. Mimimi announced Shadow Gambit would be their last game and Embracer group shut down Volition. With that said, the year of great gaming continues! We dig into Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon and Blasphemous 2; Two games that faithfully continue their respective franchises while opting to play it safe. Chris also gives us his very early thoughts on Sea of Stars which is on it's way to becoming one of the best reviewed RPG's of the year... outside of Baldur's Gate 3 of course. Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update News - Starfield Reviews are HERE News - Mimimi & Volition Studio Closures Impressions - Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon Impressions - Blasphemous 2 Impressions - Sea of Stars 4Player Minute

We take a break this week from the onslaught of current games to delve once again into the world of "what if?" Inspired the release of 'Bomb Rush Cyberfunk' - an indie spiritual successor to 'Jet Set Radio' - we discuss our Top 3 games or franchises that we wish would be reborn as an indie spiritual successor. The possibilities are endless but our answers range from classics like Mega Man Legends to cult hits like Manhunt. These may never come to pass but anything could happen and it's always fun to imagine. Want to share your thoughts or leave a comment on this episode? Visit the official posting for this episode on 4PlayerNetwork.com!

The show name says it all. We live in a post Baldur's Gate 3 world and despite our best efforts at staying on topic, we feel the pull of this massive game in almost every segment. We take our 2nd dive into the game and talk about the impact it has had on the industry and more specifically, the impending release of Starfield which has officially gone gold! We also spend a few minutes talking predictions about next week's Opening Night Live presentation at Gamescom. Chris Davis shares his experience with the recent Payday 3 beta and Brad talks about Blasphemous which he has finally played now that the sequel looms on the horizon. Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update News - Starfield has gone gold News - Gamescom is next week; What do we expect? Impressions - Baldur's Gate 3 Impressions - Payday 3 Impressions - Blasphemous 4Player Minute

It's been a couple weeks since our last recording but the world has changed. Baldur's Gate 3 is out and it's already giving Tears of the Kingdom a run for it's money as one of the year's most critically acclaimed releases. We spend the entire 2nd segment diving into this undeniably dense but absurdly rewarding RPG. But first, we discuss the announcement of the Final Fantasy XIV: Dawntrail expansion and Rockstar's incredibly disappointing Red Dead Redemption announcement. Chris Davis "prepared a statement" about Dead Island 2 and Nick highlights My Friendly Neighborhood which feels like Five Night's at Freddy's and Resident Evil 1 had a baby. Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update News - Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail expansion announced News - Rockstar announced a PORT of Red Dead Redemption on old hardware News - GTA6 might be coming next fiscal year Impressions - Dead Island 2 Impressions - My Friendly Neighborhood Impressions - Baldur's Gate 3 4Player Minute

If you like your video games extra video-gamey, we've got a great episode for you this week. After our Fantasy Critic update touches on the rumored Red Dead Redemption remake (remaster?), we deliver our impressions of some of the most vibrant games to release this year! Pikmin 4 is the most accessible entry in the series to date but it comes at a cost. Viewfinder is an impressive technical achievement that doesn't quite reach the heights of the games that inspired it. Gravity Circuit is a rock-solid homage to classic Mega Man that has struggled to find it's audience. Finally, as Brad put it, Exoprimal is "Everything, everywhere, all at once... with a Battle Pass." Don't be fooled, all of the games mentioned this week reinforce 2023's killer lineup. Housekeeping + Fantasy Critic Update Impressions - Pikmin 4 Impressions - Viewfinder Impressions - Gravity Circuit Impressions - Exoprimal 4Player Minute

With a few members out this week, we figured it would the perfect time to revisit our Fantasy Critic league, discuss the year so far, and look ahead at the games that have been drafted to predict how the remainder of the year might come together. Carlos even joins us to shine a light on his roster thus far and discuss some of the big question marks for the year such as Hollow Knight Silksong, Routine, and Counter Strike 2. Throughout the discussion, we review each of our rosters and dive deep on a lot of BIG games set to release in the fall and beyond including Spider-Man 2, Alan Wake 2, Baldur's Gate 3, and a whole lot more! Catch up with Carlos Fantasy Critic Recap - A look at all of our current rosters A look ahead at the year to come 4Player Minute

The week has been slow for headlines and Fantasy Critic but that gives us more time to gush over Dave the Diver and vent our frustrations with Final Fantasy XVI. We discuss a small update from IO Interactive regarding a new studio and what it means for their upcoming 007 project and then discuss the validity of the rumors surrounding an impending Red Dead Redemption remake. Beyond that, the gaps are filled with plenty of tangents including bear sex in Baldur's Gate 3 and the impending release of Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning which has Nick chomping at the bit. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - IO Interactive announce Opening of a new Studio News - Rumors circulate regarding a Red Dead Redemption remake coming 2023 Impressions - Dave the Diver Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI 4Player Minute

Nintendo has spoken and Krispy agrees... the people are ready for an amazing 2D Mario game! We dig into all the big announcements from Nintendo's summer showcase including Super Mario Bros Wonder, a remake of Super Mario RPG, and a new Princess Peach platformer! Annapurna also brought it with their latest showcase thanks to the announcement of an internally developed Blade Runner game. In the second segment, we take our first dive into the meat and potatoes of Final Fantasy XVI, Chris makes a strong case for playing Aliens: Dark Descent, and Nick gives his initial thoughts on Trepang2, an indie successor to the original FEAR. Oh... and Brad found his new drug in Halls of Torment, a successor to last year's mega-indie, Vampire Survivors. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - Nintendo Direct Recap News - Annapurna Interactive Showcase Recap Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI Impressions - Aliens: Dark Descent Impressions - Trepang2 Impressions - Halls of Torment 4Player Minute

We follow up last week's Xbox Showcase predictions game with the results and then recap all of the big announcements including updates on Fable, Avowed, Hellblade II, and more! Of course, we also discuss all of the exciting details that came pouring out of the big Starfield Direct which now has us appropriately hyped. In the second segment, we finally discuss our dissenting(?) opinions of Diablo IV and then take a close look at the big Final Fantasy XVI demo which now has us pretty optimistic ahead of it's launch next week. Chris Davis uses his 4Player Minute to give us a detailed breakdown of the rather bleak news about Embracer Group which seems to be faced with studio closures and game cancellations. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - XBox Showcase Predictions Results & Recap News - Ubisoft Showcase Recap Impressions - Diablo IV Impressions - Final Fantasy XVI (Demo) 4Player Minute - Includes a detailed breakdown of the Embracer Group debacle

It's June so Keigh-3 is in the air. The big Summer Game Fest showcase happened this week so we run down the list of all the big announcements including a new Prince of Persia game, Mortal Kombat 1 and Alan Wake II gameplay debuts, and the re-reveal of Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth! After that, we take a new, points-driven, prediction segment for a test-drive ahead of the upcoming Xbox Showcase. In the second segment, Nick praises Amnesia: The Bunker as a new high bar for the series (and maybe even the genre) and Nolan introduces a clever new 1v1 (or 2v2) card-based FPS called Friends vs. Friends. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - Summer Game Fest Recap Xbox Showcase Predictions Game Impressions - Amnesia: The Bunker Impressions - Friends vs. Friends 4Player Minute

Nolan returns to the "studio" after 2 months of relative silence to talk Zelda and reveal that he picked up and moved across the country! Not only that but he gets a chance to chime in on the recent Playstation Showcase and join us for an important conversation about the state of The Last of Us multiplayer project which is apparently struggling to live up to Sony's expectations. Konami shed some light on Silent Hill Ascension which is interesting but concerning if they intend for this to be the first impression for Silent Hill's big resurgence. In the second segment, Nick talks impressions of Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun (a Warhammer boomer shooter!) and the newly released remake of System Shock. Housekeeping Nolan Updates + Playstation Showcase Fantasy Critic Update News - The Last of Us Multiplayer Development Woes News - Konami Reveals more about Silent Hill Ascension Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom Impressions - Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun Impressions - System Shock (2023 Remake)

It's another big week in gaming. In fact, we spend almost the entirety of the first segment discussing the news and announcements out of this week's big Playstation Showcase! Strangely enough, that first-party showcase ended up being more of a third-party showcase but we still got big news including a release date for Alan Wake II, a debut of Dragon's Dogma II, and a lot more! In the second segment, we talk Planet of Lana, Humanity, and we dig a little deeper into The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News: Playstation Showcase Impressions: Planet of Lana Impressions: Humanity Impressions: The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Nick is back from vacation and full of Coronavirus. Fortunately, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom has been keeping him (and the rest of the crew) plenty busy. Before we delve into the biggest game of the year though, there is some important business to discuss... because Chris Davis was right and Mortal Kombat 1(12?) is real! We break down the biggest Fantasy Critic twist thus far and talk about what we expect from this new entry. Sony also announced their official 2023 Summer showcase for next week so we spend a few minutes talking predictions. Of course, the rest of the show is ZELDA ZELDA ZELDA. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News: Mortal Kombat 1 Revealed (Release in September) News: Playstation Showcase Announced for May 24th Impressions - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

Recorded in the final hours of a pre-Tears of the Kingdom world and with Nick out on vacation, Chris Davis, Krispy, and Brad sit down to clear out their game dockets so that Zelda madness can consume them. Krispy and Brad give their impressions of Darkest Dungeon 2, a daring departure from the original's enjoyably challenging formula, followed by updated impressions of Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. And there's no way we couldn't talk about the Mortal Kombat news and how that affects our Fantasy Critic league! Topics:Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update (5/11/23) News of the Week Impressions - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor Impressions - Darkest Dungeon 2

The Star Wars gods have shined upon us this year by giving us one of the best Star Wars games to date and allowing our recording date to coincide with May the 4th (be with you). Nick is joined by Krispy and Chris Davis to take a deep dive into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor - Respawn's bold new sequel to Fallen Order. Despite the rough launch on PC, our Console experiences have been more than enough to secure this one as a highlight in a year already bursting at the seams with quality games. It's not all sunshine and rainbows though; Star Wars may be great but Arkane Austin had a disastrous launch for Redfall which is on track to be the worst reviewed game of the year. We take a look at the circumstances that led to this unforunate outcome and discuss what it means for Microsoft and Arkane going forward. Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - Redfall has a Disastrous Launch Impressions - Star Wars Jedi: Survivor

With the recent developments involving Microsoft's attempt to swallow Activision / Blizzard and Tango Gameworks continuing to rack up wins amidst apparent losses, there is plenty of news to chew on this week. In the second segment, we get our first taste of Street Fighter VI thanks to the new demo and Brad finally has a chance to share his thoughts on TWO grid based tactics games - Advanced Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp and Wartales. Nick and Chris also share their thoughts on the Burning Shores DLC for Horizon: Forbidden West; a DLC that is equal parts impressive and perplexing... Guerilla somehow decided to deny PS4 players the opportunity to play this chapter in favor of some bold new "cloud" tech... Housekeeping Fantasy Critic Update News - UK blocks Microsoft's acquisition of Activision / Blizzard News - Remedy provides development update on all projects News - Microsoft to Expand Tango Gameworks amidst rumors of Hi-Fi Rush failure Impressions - Street Fighter VI (Demo) Impressions - Horizon Forbidden West: Burning Shores Impressions - Advanced Wars 1 + 2: Re-Boot Camp Impressions - Wartales

It's not often that we focus our attention on the specifics of game development. With that in mind, our latest bonus episode is inspired by Brad's recent love affair with "PsychOdyssey" the exceptional Docuseries that chronicled the development of Psychonauts 2 at Double Fine! That's right, we run through our personal Top 3 lists of the games that we wish would inspire a similar DEEP dive. Answers range from bizarre (Blaseball) to fascinating (Fable) and everything in between.

After a rather unexpected tangent involving coffee creamer, we kick the show off this week with the Playstation handheld that is rumored to be in development. It's been a light news week but we find plenty to chew on thanks to some additional developments related to the future of Resident Evil. Nolan makes his return this week so he and Nick talk about their time with DREDGE; A Lovecraftian fishing game that is sure to be a standout Indie game for the year. Brad finally talks about Wild Hearts - game that has challenged his Monster Hunter programming but is shaping up to be a worthy relative to the beloved hunting franchise.

We brought the SPICE this week. Brad opens the show with a dramatic trade proposal during our weekly Fantasy Critic update and the wheels finally came off E3 2023 which has now been cancelled. We discuss the fate of the industry institution and then switch gears to talk about something a bit more positive... Nintendo gave us a brief glimpse of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and the game looks amazing. After the break, we take our first deep dive into the Resident Evil 4 remake and Nick goes to bat for Horizon: Call of the Mountain which, despite struggling hardware sales, manages to be a powerful VR experience.

It has been quite the week in the games industry and it's got everybody feelin spicy! We've got a bevy of big point updates for our Fantasy Critic and some big headlines including a rumored release window for Spider-Man 2 and the acquisition of Night Dive Studios by Atari! But all of that pales in comparison to the dust kicked up by the recent Redfall preview coverage which continues to be one of the most divisive but compelling games on the horizon. In the second segment, we manage to find conflict in Tchia despite it being the most wholesome and delightful games of the year thus far. Krispy takes us on a journey through the Diablo IV beta and Chris Davis claims that Exoprimal could be a potential sleeper hit for the year after his time with the beta.

It's a week full of noteworthy demos. In impressions we talk about our first hands-on impressions of the new Resident Evil 4 demo and our expectations for how the obvious changes will be applied across the full release. Brad also talks about the surprisingly charming demo of Bayonetta Origins: Cereza and the Lost Demon. Before all that though, we deliver another Fantasy Critic update, run through the Naughty Dog heavy headlines for the week, and deliver some final thoughts on The Last of Us now that the first season has run it's course on HBO.

We're mixing things up a bit by introducing an updated "News" segment and swapping the placement of the weekly discussion topic and impressions. With that in mind, we deliver a spicy update to our ongoing Fantasy Critic adventure and run down the juiciest headlines from the past week including an Elden Ring DLC announcement, Suicide Squad delayed, and the details regarding the upcoming XBox & Starfield showcases. We then turn our attention to a hot topic surging through the industry and our discord: the legacy of the term "JRPG" and the potential harm it is doing to the industry. In the 2nd segment, Brad talks Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty and Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania. Chris Davis discusses his playthrough of Metroid Prime Remastered which also happens to be his 1st time playing the game.

Our first surprise twist of the year has landed... Mortal Kombat 12 is real! Proving once and for all that Chris Davis was right! In other news, Nick is smitten over Atomic Heart and is convinced that it is destined to be his 2023 underdog. Brad breaks down Theatrhythm Final Bar Line and explains how it compares to other entries in the series and other music & rhythm games in general. The group also delves into Like a Dragon: Ishin which is the latest entry in the recently rebranded Yakuza series. In the second segment, Nick gives his early impressions of the Playstation VR 2 headset and it's only true launch title, Horizon: Call of the Mountain.

In our first Top 3 list of the year, we discuss the games that got away. The games that we booted up, enjoyed, and then never completed despite enjoying them thoroughly. Sometimes a game gets moved to the back burner and is forgotten despite our intentions to the contrary. To make things interesting, we treated this as a committment to return to the games on our list in 2023 in an effort to right these wrongs.

This week we dig into two big events at opposite ends of the industry. On one hand, Nintendo just had one of their biggest Nintendo Direct events in recent memory so with that in mind, we devoted the first segment to breaking down all the big announcements including the release date for Pikmin 4, Metroid Prime Remastered (another Shadow Drop!), and the next big trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom! In the second segment, we highlight a handful of games that are currently available as demos for Steam Next Fest including System Shock, Planet of Lana, Shadows of Doubt, and more!

Thanks to a literal act of god, we are once again down to 3 people this week but the release of the Dead Space remake ensured that there is plenty to dissect. We dive deep into this remake and try our best to figure out it's legacy in comparison to other high-profile remakes. We also discuss the future of Dead Space under the EA Motive banner if this proves to be a success. Brad delivers a hefty Fire Emblem Engage update and Chris emphasizes how good Hi-Fi Rush is following it's surprise release last week. In the second segment, we discuss the recent culling of GAAS (Games as a Service) games and some major industry shakeups at 343 Industries which calls the future of Halo into question.

Amidst travel and hardware issues, a smaller group convened this week to discuss one of the first big gaming weeks of 2023! Brad uses this opportunity to express some positivity for Fire Emblem Engage and explain some common misconceptions about the series. Chris Davis shares his early impressions of Forspoken which seems poised to be one of the first misfires (or at the very least, divisive releases) of the year. But the biggest news of the week comes in the form of a surprise shadow drop from Tango Gameworks! Hi-Fi Rush is a stylish new action game that uses music and rhythm to great effect. It also happens to be the first big surprise of the year.

While we have plenty of actual video games to discuss this week, the recent premiere of 'The Last of Us' on HBO steals the spotlight this week. The show is off to a strong start so we take a minute (or 30) to talk about that first impression and the potential that it holds in the coming weeks (or even years). In the first segment though, we check in with Krispy as he continues to play Tunic (one of our 2022 game of the year contenders) and Chris Davis explains his split feelings on Generation Zero, an open-world FPS that came out in 2018. Nick discusses The Forest and delivers an important update to his Chained Echoes impressions from last week.

With our 'Game of the Year' content behind us, we finally have some time to talk about the games we've been playing in the background for the past few weeks. Nolan introduces Dark and Darker which is currently in development but undergoing Alpha playtests; Despite it's early nature, it seems to have serious potential. Nick finally has a chance to talk about Chained Echoes after weeks of digging into this beautiful throwback to retro JRPGs. On top of that, he finally tore through Chernobylite, a game that has been on his backlog for years. Brad dishes on Citizen Sleeper - a game that could have easily been a GOTY contender had he played it in 2022. In the 2nd segment, we talk shady draft trades and ask the question: When is a game too big to fail critically? Will Starfield fall into the same trap as Cyberpunk 2077?

2023 is going to be a ton of fun here at 4Player! In lieu of our usual "preview show" format, we have opted to create a "Fantasy Critic" league! This works a lot like fantasy football but publishers (players) draft games and points are dictated by their OpenCritic scores. In this episode, Carlos joins us for the initial draft and we take turns filling out the slots in our lineup! The league will consist of 12 games total per person but only 8 are selected in this initial draft. We will re-convene after E3 season to bid on our remaining 4 slots and fill out the rest of our teams. We will also provide monthly updates on the last podcast of every month so we can check in and see where we all stand as these games release.

Another year comes to a close but it's been great! As always, we cap off the year with our annual awards show which gives us a chance to honor a whole bunch of games in over 14 categories! We trimmed some of the fat this year and introduced some new wrinkles which we think make for a leaner (even if it is nearly 4-hours), better show! We hope some of you find the inspiration you need to try some of the games featured on this episode and of course, we hope you will join us in 2023 for another year with a LOT to talk about! Categories: Biggest Regret Best Looking Game Best New Gameplay Experience Best World/Level Design (that isn't Elden Ring) Best New Enemy/Boss Fight Best New Character Best Storytelling Best Video Game Moment Biggest Surprise Biggest Disappointment Stubborn Award Spotlight Award Asterisk Award Number 11 Best Soundtrack

The end of 2022 is looming. In fact, this is our last "regular" show of the year. Krispy and Brad have good things to say about Midnight Suns with some... caveats. Nick and Chris finally have a chance to talk about the divisive nature of The Callisto Protocol and it's potential as a franchise. Chris talks about his time with Potionomics and we catch up with Ed who finished Xenoblade Chronicles 3 and has started up Sifu. In the 2nd segment we talk very early (and potentially misguided) impressions from the Forspoken demo and then we discuss all of the exciting announcements from The Game Awards!

Brace yourselves. Nolan played 50+ hours of Pokemon Scarlet and he's here to tell us why it is both "the best" and "the worst" pokemon game ever made! Brad highlights ASTLIBRA: Revision, a crunchy new action RPG that - as Brad says - "Brings the meat." Nick talks Evil West (not to be confused with Weird West, Blood West, or Hard West) and the group digs a little deeper into the divisive nature of God of War Ragnarok. We also introduce the newly revamped community segment to discuss the Topic of the Week: Is it possible for Nintendo to screw up The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom?

With the launch of God of War Ragnarok, 2022 finally has one of it's biggest AAA releases of the year. With that in mind, we kick things off with the most important questions... Why doesn't Kratos just go somewhere else? Once the big questions are answered, we delve into the nitty gritty to find out how we're feeling about it thus far. Nick provides a quick update (and PSA) on Signalis and talks about his playthrough of the long awaited Somerville. Brad talks about Tactics Ogre Reborn which is an odd duck in that it is the 2nd complete remake of Tactics Ogre; A classic grid-based strategy RPG that launched in the late 90s. All of this is of course against the backdrop of Twitter loudly and swiftly burning to the ground.

For ages, The Steam "wishlist" has given us a way to show interest in a game without committing to it in the moment. Everyone's approach to managing that list is different. On this episode, we comb through our ever-expanding wishlists to pick 3 games that never quite make the cut regardless of how low the price goes or how often they go on sale. To make things interesting, we each commit to buying one of our list by the end of the episode! Listeners will also get bonus tangents regarding fast-food orders and dinosaur fluids (yes you read that right).

Krispy returns to the show this week to finally dive deep into Gotham Knights and the take away is not as grim as you might expect! Meanwhile, Brad has dabbled in Bayonetta 3 but is impressed enough by the approach that he is eager to see what else the game has to offer. Nick showers Signalis in praise for walking a fine line between faithful love-letter and refreshing iteration while Chris Davis has less than great things to say about the Shadows of Rose DLC for Resident Evil Village. We also cover the new PSVR2 launch details and Nibellions sudden retirement from Twitter and the gaming industry at large.

Rats. There's lots of them this week. Thousands of them! Nick and Chris discuss the impressive technological and design leap made in Asobo's A Plague Tale: Requiem - a game that Chris Davis is convinced will sit atop his Game of the Year list this year. Brad acknowledges the charm and skill on display in Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope but laments what could have been if Nintendo had decided to pursue other Rabbids crossovers. Nolan charms the group with Bone's Cafe - another delightful (and morbid) indie gem that combines necromancy with the pressures of Overcooked. In the second segment, the group discusses the announcement of a Witcher remake and Nick rattles off a list of impressive horrors games from his most recent stream including In Sound Mind, Mother, Love Sam, and more!

It's been 3 weeks since our last podcast recording but the industry hasn't slowed down to wait for us! The news segment this week is bursting at the seams with big headlines like the return of Silent Hill, our first real look at the remake of Resident Evil 4, and the unfortunate drama unfolding between Platinum Games and the original Bayonetta voice actress, Hellena Taylor. But before we get there, we have loads of new games to talk about. Things get weird (and squishy) when talks about Scorn, Nolan laments the troubled launch of Deathverse: Let it Die, and Krispy is losing time in Mount and Blade II: Bannerlord. Nick also revels in the bliss that is Cultic: Chapter One; the "Boomer Shooter" that he has been searching for all year.

Circumstances force us to record a "shorter" show this week but make no mistake... there is a lot to dig into. Brad shares some insightful but hilarious anecdotes about his family time with 'Disney Dreamlight Valley,' and Nick talks up 'Prodeus' which manages to deliver the goods as a classic "Boomer Shooter" while also making some bizarre design choices. Nolan finds more digging goodness in 'Dome Keeper' and Chris Davis brings another inspired "Boomer Shooter" to the mix with 'Fashion Police Squad.' In the news, we delve into the first teaser trailer for HBO's 'The Last of Us' and discuss Google's decision to call it quits on Stadia.

Thanks to the Tokyo Game Show, it's another jam packed week in the world of video games! We take a (really) deep dive into the surprise demo of 'Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty,' Nick shows his support for 'SteelRising,' and Chris Davis talks about the demo of 'Valkyrie Elysium'. Brad and Nolan finally get a chance to talk about 'TinyKin' which seems poised to be one of the chillest and most enjoyable indie games of the year! In the news, Brad finally has his chance to talk about the newly announced remasters of Suikoden 1 & 2 and we of course delve into the massive (and unfortunate) Grand Theft Auto 6 leak at Rockstar.

In this jam packed episode, we do our best to recap the boat-load of news that made headlines in the past week. Ubisoft laid out their plans for the next 4 Assassin's Creed titles, Disney announced Amy Hennig's new Marvel game, and Nintendo and Sony both hosted Direct events featuring tons of announcements. In impressions, Nick discusses the controversial but impressive remake of 'The Last of Us,' Chris Davis discusses 'The Ascent,' and Krispy delivers his analysis of 'Immortality' in true Krispy fashion. It's such a jam packed show that we didn't even have time for feedback or community questions (sorry!). Regardless, it's an exciting time for video games and that's always welcome news.

Sam Barlow throws Brad and Nolan for a loop this week with the bizarre but undeniably impressive new game, 'Immortality.' It throws you into the deep end with no guidance and countless things to click on and discover... including boobs! Nick backs up Chris Davis with his assessment of 'Sifu' which somehow manages to be brutal and refreshing in equal measure. In the news, we talk about a frightening new precedent in the tech industry and Ubisoft's planned unveiling for the future of Assassin's Creed.

It's hard to believe but Geoff Keihley now produces THREE huge gaming events every year! This week, we discuss the highlights (or lack thereof?) from 'Gamescom ONL' (Opening Night Live) including: Dune Awakening, Hogwart's Legacy, Tales from the Borderlands, The Expanse, Dead Island 2, and more! In the first segment though, Krispy discusses his enjoyment of the new "Saint's Row" despite middling reception from critics. Nick highlights the demo for 'Conscript' which channels classic Survival Horror by way of WW1 and shares his initial thoughts after finally trying 'Telling Lies.' Brad discusses an unfortunately named gemmie called 'Crystal Project.'