Waypoint Radio

This week on Waypoint Radio we're getting political. Patrick, Cado, and Austin are all playing Fire Emblem: Three Houses, and we get into who picked the right house. Who's to say whether a monarchy or a ruling class is better? Rob's got some ideas that seem to be backed by historical knowledge, but Cado thinks it's Sophie's choice, honestly. We also discuss the messy tutorialization: why does it explain a combat mechanic during downtime? What's with all of these unexplained mechanics? Why do they turn off the enemy's attack range after the first mission? Then Austin and Cado talk about the games and panels they saw as last weekend's Game Devs of Color Expo. Come for the surreal RPGs, stay for the rubber fish controler. Rob's computer then breaks so the rest of the crew discuss the wild story of how Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 was translated by fans over the span of 20 years. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's anime day here at Waypoint Radio, as Austin is here to lead Patrick and Cado through his time with Fire Emblem: Three Houses. We then dive into the Joy Con Drift situation and Switch Model Number discourse. Patrick is playing super quick Mario Maker levels and checking out (the totally anime) Wolfenstein Youngblood, and we try our best to find Evangelion Mac n Cheese. Does it exist? (if it does please send to @a_cado_appears on twitter!) Discussed: Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Joy Con drift, Super Mario Maker 2, Nowhere Prophet, Griftlands, Wolfenstein Youngblood, Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

​Content Warning for this episode: discussion of suicide throughout.Evangelion is a messy series. For all the craft and care put into the characters and arcs in the first half of the show, which was uneven in it's treatment of women even then, the back end has higher peaks and even lower valleys. And while lore dumps and twists are being deployed it's Evangelion's female characters that end up with the brunt of the low points. For as shocking as the reveal is that Rei was a series of clones all along, tied to it is the unfortunate flattening of Ritsuko's character, to a woman motivated solely by her relationship to a man. We see this same story played out with her mother, and this repeated cycle implies some greater hidden truth to the actions these characters have taken. Instead of allowing these characters to have a sense of agency they're locked into repeating the same mistakes, because "that's just how women are." We discuss this uneven treatment, the overly dramatic lore dumps, and that shower scene in this episode of Waypoints.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a hot one as Rob, Danielle, and Cado are doing their best to cope. Rob's apartment is starting to ferment, Danielle's breaking legs, and Cado has been hiding at the movies but they've also made time for games. Danielle and Rob have both spent more time with Night Call and how you build a good mystery, while Cado is increasingly frustrated by the worldbuilding of Nowhere Prophet. Rob, meanwhile, tried to learn Coimbra, a complicated Euro-style boardgame, while slowly overheating.Discussed: Night Call, Nowhere Prophet, Fireball Island, Coimbra Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With Austin still away on vacation, Patrick, Rob, and Cado decided to dive in to the question bucket and fish out the weirdest questions we've been sent. Little did we know that we'd be faced with questions that shake the very foundations of our beliefs. We question the nature of order and chaos, the ethics of jumping off of a Yoshi to save yourself, and wonder out loud what ever happened to Need for Speed? And finally, we enter into that eternal debate, one that's been asked and answered for as long as podcasts existed: Knife or Bat? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning: Discussion of suicide from around 1:48:00 through 1:52:00 and 1:59:00 through 2:04:00Neon Genesis Evangelion is often touted as a "thinking person's anime." Despite it's unevenness, it does tend to stay away from a monster of the week narrative and will often devote entire episodes to the mental states of it's main characters. What sometimes gets conflated with this fact is that all of this deep introspection lands or has narrative weight every single time it happens. At its best the show weaves​ plot and themes effortlessly, but sometimes just asking existential questions isn't enough to hand wave the ways characters have acted or been treated throughout the show. Can an existential line of questioning feel earned even if it ignores previous character growth? Does it cheapen earlier plot points when thematic elements begin overpower literal narrative? We tackle these questions and more as we discuss Episodes 20-21 on this week's Waypoints. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There's a certain feeling that seems specific to modern Fire Emblem games, a sense of pride when you go into battle with your carefully leveled squad. You've come to know these characters intimately, watched their relationships with each other mature, and come to think of them as family. However, amongst the expansive cast of characters in Fire Emblem: Awakening, one particular character sticks out for having a great arc, and that's Donnel. A farm boy wearing a pot on his head, he starts out so weak most people might ditch him for some of the game's heartier characters. The people that stick with him though get to watch their good good farm boy grow up to be an absolute killing machine​. His arc becomes the best example of the way you come to feel pride for these characters, and Fire Emblem: Three Houses​, is doubling down on this feeling with its totally new structure. We discuss the new Fire Emblem game, the noir narrative game ​Night Call,​ and new deckbuilding roguelike ​Nowhere Prophet​ on this episode of Waypoint Radio.​Discussed: Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Night Call, Steamworld Quest, Super Mario Maker 2, Nowhere Prophet Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you remember when we said “wouldn’t it be cool if game franchises got traded every year?” Well, two community members (@RevRyeBread and @regresssion) decided to write a short fantasy draft game that we’re gonna play! Tune in as Austin, Patrick, Rob, and Cado choose their platforms and vie to fill out their rosters with the best gaming franchises. There’s drama, tension, and lots of dubious math! Stick around after the game as Austin and Cado do a nearly frame by frame breakdown of the new Gundam Battle: GUNPLA WARFARE trailer.Played: bit.ly/videogamedraft Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've returned this week revitalized by a new batch of episodes that, it turns out, we actually liked! The Waypoint Radio crew discusses the existential and physical horror of episodes 14-19 and ask, what is an Eva? Is it just a big Human? Is Gendo the original Wife guy? Why does their teacher just keep talking about the Second Impact? What are the Dead Sea Scrolls, and who is the Human Instrumentality Council? We discuss all this and more on this episode of Waypoints! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It was a long weekend and that means we were all staring at our phones: Which is alright, because it turns out those have games on them now. Cado briefs us on the Capcom card game Teppen, the, uh, DOTA Autochess DOTA Underlords, and Austin is terrified of what an upcoming Gundam-builidng gacha game will do to his credit score. Back on consoles and PC, Patrick is disappointed by Sea of Solitude, while Rob offers high praise for F1 2019 and dire warning about Total War: Three Kingdoms: Do not pursue Lu Bu.Discussed: Teppen, DOTA Underlords, Sea of Solitude, F1 2019, Total War: Three Kingdoms, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Lucah: Born of a Dream Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning: discussion of the sexualization of children, sexual violence, and child pornography.There is a long running trope of fan service in anime, where by characters (almost always women) are sexualized by the "camera" for the enjoyment of the (largely male) audience. Often it's deployed in irrespective of whatever plot point is happening at that moment, purely to titillate. ​Evangelion ​is no exception, however, it complicates it's own usage by attempting to explore the burgeoning sexuality of it's teenaged characters. But there's a notable difference between sexualizing characters for the viewer and characters having sexual thoughts. We discuss the messy way that episodes 8-13 deal with these issues and more on this week's Waypoints. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The crew is at the top of their game in this episode about, um, NBA free agency, James Dolan's band, how FFXIV broke Austin, and the latest season of Riverdale. But also there are video games! We talk about them too! We talk about Mario Maker 2, and have some question about that boot that Mario uses (but Patrick doesn't). Rob talks about F1 2019 and its interesting but too-sparse narrative, before getting sidetracked by describing the plot of Draft Day. Cado's great too. Anyway, that's life under capitalism!Discussed: FFXIV: A Realm Reborn, Super Mario Maker 2, F1 2019, Hardcore Mecha Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've got a long one today (partially to make up for Monday's short episode? Who could say!?) Danielle starts us off with her impressions of The Sinking City, Frogwares' new detective game set in a Lovecraftian flooded town. She and Austin discuss the game's racial politics and how they shift the lens through which Lovecraft wrote his original works, while Rob draws a through line from this game to the works of Dashiell Hammet. Then Patrick stares at a wall and groans about the existence of Mario Maker 2, a game he claims is canceled because "Dan Ryckert still exists." He then goes on to admit that he's become that which he hates and has actually made a level in the new game, and he liked it. We check back in on Rob's campaign in Steel Division 2 before Cado whisks us to the magical world of Wizards Unite, which turns out to look a lot like the world of Pokemon Go, which looks a lot like Brooklyn. Stick around to the end to hear us live react to what has to be one of the wildest commercials any of us have ever seen.Discussed: The Sinking City, Mario Maker 2, Steel Division 2, Wizards Unite, Hardcore Mecha Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Neon Genesis Evangelion is finally streaming, and with it comes our long promised rewatch of the series. On this episode we discuss the first seven episodes, from the different translations, to it's cinematic story-telling, from it's use of sexist anime tropes, to the deep exploration of its character's psyches. Danielle, Rob, and Patrick give their first time impressions while Cado and Austin shoot knowing glances back and forth. It's a long one, so strap in!Episodes Discussed: 1: Angel Attack, 2: Unfamiliar Ceiling, 3: The Silent Phone, 4: Rain, After Running Away, 5: Rei, Beyond the Heart, 6: Showdown in Tokyo-3, 7: The Works Of Man Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ah summer. A time for beaches, BBQs, and new game announcements... but not a whole ton of new games. Austin spent a weekend deep in TTRPG land, so it's up to Rob and Cado to talk about the games that have come out this week. We're fully into the summer lull, but Cado decided to take a vacation to the frigid new region in Monster Hunter World: Iceborne's beta. Rob's back from vacation, and he brought a few billion friends with him as he dives into the new single player campaign for They Are Billions. They also takes us through the early hours of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, which may lean too heavily on it's roots, and the campaign of Steel Division 2, which feels different enough from the first game that Rob is questioning whether it's interesting or exasperating.Discussed: Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, They Are Billions, Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night, Steel Division 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We had so many E3 questions we decided to split our recording on Tuesday into two podcasts so we could do a real deep dive into what you wanted to know about this year's show. We dig into how inspiration can take many forms in game development, games that have purposefully tackled political issues in the past, our personal histories with E3, and what the future of the expo might hold. Patrick checks back in with more info on Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, and shares a few anecdotes from his interview with the developers. Austin googles what Fall Guys is, and digs into the political readings of being able to recruit literally anyone in Watch Dogs: Legion.Discussed: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne, Mafia III, Watch Dogs 2, Spec Ops: The Line, Fall Guys, Watch Dogs: Legion, Blair Witch Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With the Netflix release of Neon Genesis Evangelion around the corner, we're rereleasing our conversation on the landmark series' first two episodes from Waypoints 10. The team examines the first two episodes, with Rob, Patrick, and Danielle giving their first ever impressions of the series, struck by it's narrative structure and striking visuals. Then Austin leads them through a discussion of the show's predecessors, it's troubled production, and complicated readings. We will be back next week with a new episode of Waypoints discussing more episodes! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With E3 2019 behind us, the crew at Waypoint Radio turn their attention to what really matters: The games we played going to and coming from E3 2019. We dig into Cadence of Hyrule: Crypt of the NecroDancer Ft. The Legend of Zelda, SteamWorld Quest, Slay the Spire, BattleTech: Urban Warfare and more! Plus, we begin to answer your questions about E3... but you'll have to tune in later in the week for the REAL deep dive into ol' Question Bucket.Games Discussed: PiXXL Cube, Dicey Dungeons, Slay the Spire, SteamWorld Quest, Cadence of Hyrule, Breath of the Wild, BattleTech: Urban Warfare, Atral Chain, Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Daemon X Machina Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twas the night after E3And all through the houseNot a producer was stirringNo clicks of a mouse.The mics had been packedIn the pelican with care,But podding must happenEven if Cado's not thereRob saw some VampiresThat filled him with dreadWhile Natalie had images Of Gooigi in her headAustin saw Linkin his little green capAnd Patrick was a Sharkthat mostly attackedAnd now E3 is overIt’s been quite a sight!Merry Gamer Christmas to all,And to all a good night.Discussed: Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, Luigi’s Mansion 3, The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Pokemon Sword and Shield, Marvels Ultimate Alliance 3, Maneater, E3, Control, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Cyberpunk 2077, Blair Witch, Monster Hunter: World Iceborne Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're nearly at the finish line. Day two of E3 2019 is in the books, and so is our podcast. Join Austin, Patrick, Cado, and Rob as they discuss how Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (aka Star Souls??) is actually rad, why we still don't know what to make of Marvel's Avengers even after watching someone play it, and more! Those more things include hands-on with Final Fantasy 7 Remake, and impressions of Dying Light 2, Age of Empires II, Outer Worlds, and Psychonauts 2. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We have finally left the negative zone—E3 has officially started. Join Patrick, Cado, Austin, Rob, and The Joyous Gamer herself, Natalie, for a VERY LONG discussion about our first stay at the show. We start with Nintendo’s E3 announcements, including the surprise reveal of a sequel to Breath of the Wild, and what it means for Zelda’s role in the series. From there, a bunch of heavy hitters: Cyberpunk 2077, DOOM Eternal, Empire of Sin, Vampire Bloodlines 2, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint, Borderlands 3, and so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With just about all of the major conferences behind us, E3 2019 is now in full swing. Join the Waypoint Radio crew as they describe their hands on experiences with Ubisofts' Watch Dogs Legion and Roller Champions, plus their thoughts on Final Fantasy 7 Remake, Marvel's Avengers, and everything else from the Square-Enix's big event. What else was there at Square Enix's big event? Who could say. I'm writing this description at 2:14 AM, and you'll have to join us on this audio journey to find out. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microsoft and Bethesda brought a ton to show during their press conferences last night. But no story felt more important (in the broad view) than Microsoft's continued support of Xbox Game Pass, the company's subscription based service. With the announcement of the company's new service featuring a catalog of games especially curated for the PC, Game Pass has become a hard-to-deny value. In our second E3 2019 episode of Waypoint Radio, we dig deep into the service, plus chat about Cyberpunk 2077, ​​Outer Worlds​, ​Doom: Eternal​, ​Keanu Reeves, and so much more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's Gamer Christmas Eve as Austin, Patrick, Cado, and Rob talk about the big E3 news that's already broken before E3 has even begun. The gang discuss the Google Stadia announcement and how it could transform game development and economics. They also dig into Destiny 2's upcoming expansion, Shadowkeep, and whether this is the kind of story and atmosphere that Destiny is capable of evoking. Other big changes are coming to Destiny as well, so the crew discusses the game's upcoming transition to free-to-play and what that could mean for the game's direction. Finally, there's leaks! Or are they spoilers? Can you spoil a game announcement, and should anyone care? Maybe not, and yet undeniably, at least a couple of us do. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob may be back from vacation but he's definitely not all there on this loopy Waypoints. Patrick has gone back to Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla and found an underappreciated gem whose perceived flaws may have resulted in an inferior sequel. Danielle can buy the giant monsters, but not the depiction of affordable family housing in San Francisco. Rob has the giggles, but maybe that's just because Bon Appetit's Youtube series are so funny. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dread it, run from it, E3 still arrives. Despite quickly deleting any email referencing the “electronic entertainment expo” in our inboxes, apparently that won’t stop gaming’s biggest event from happening, so we might as well yell into a microphone about it. Austin, Cado, and Patrick use the press conference schedule for next week to talk about expectations, rumors, and surprises set for next week. And yes, we spend a lot of time wondering about the new From Software game. We also touch on a few games we’ve been playing, including Gato Roboto, Slay the Spire, and a VR game where you’re, uh, a kayak assassin? Seriously. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As time marches inexorably on, the seasons change, and so we must change with them. In the spirit of growth that the summer brings, we are joined by Joel Fowler, Waypoint's former publisher, on his final day at VICE, to say good bye and talk about how awesome Bitterblack Isle from Dragon's Dogma is. Austin's been exploring space and time in Outer Wilds, while Danielle and Patrick have both been exploring space and death in Void Bastards. Cado updates us on the world of Pokémon (turns out it's full of shirts and sleep apps). We talk Mario Maker, Call of Duty, Death Stranding, and take two breaks. This episode is huge honestly, it's almost as if companies are getting a bunch of news out in anticipation of something!Discussed: Outer Wilds, Void Bastards, Mario Maker 2, This 'Mario Maker' Level Has Been Played 2.6 Million Times and Never Beaten, The Speedrunner Who Wasn’t: How a Community Dealt with an Elaborate Cheater,Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Pokémon Shirts, Pokémon Sleep, Death Stranding, Draugan, Oculus Quest, Virtual Virtual Reality, Hollow Knight, Mobile Suit Gundam, Life is Strange 2: Episode 3, KIDS, Ape Out Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Austin is out this week due to a Dental Procedure, which leaves Patrick, Rob, Cado, and Danielle to come to terms with their own oral hygiene. Does anyone go to the dentist enough? How long is too long between visits? Excuse me did Rob just say the word "decade?" The crew then shift to the lighter topic of horror games; Danielle has been playing the sea based Layers of Fear 2 and Patrick brings us the space station thriller Observation. Rob learns the horrors of "accidentally" declaring yourself emperor in Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Cado scratched his deck building game itch with the beta for Nowhere Prophet. We round out the horror show as we discuss Dante Douglas's new piece on Brigitte's riot police skin in Overwatch and the myriad problems that come with it.Discussed: Total War: Three Kingdoms (and Rob's review), Layers of Fear 2, Observation, Team Sonic Racing, Nowhere Prophet, Stop Turning Overwatch Characters Into Cops Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

​This episode contains spoilers for all of Game of Thrones!So. Game of Thrones is finally over. Through ups and downs, good seasons and bad, it seemed like the entire world was watching. And when something has that much attention, even the smallest change gets noticed. This week on Waypoints, Austin brings us an article on how the final seasons of Game of Thrones shifted storytelling styles, and we discuss how those changes manifested in a season that has a lot of people scratching their heads if they're not outright disappointed. He's also brought an article asking what happens to website traffic when a cultural phenomenon ends, and why so many sites, regardless of focus, ran articles on Game of Thrones. Rob then brings us an amazing interview with Magic Johnson on why he spectacularly quit his job with the Lakers, and the crew discusses why he can just up and do that. Discussed: The Real Reason Fans Hate the Last Season of Game of Thrones, What Time Does the Game of Thrones Traffic End?, Magic Johnson says Lakers GM was 'backstabbing', Home Movies Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Austin returns from the world of “Los Angeles” to...not talk about any of the video games he played—well, except one! He’s joined by Rob, Cado, and Patrick to wonder why more people aren’t playing the new and excellent season of Life Is Strange, what to make of Microsoft and Sony partnering on cloud gaming, an update on Rob’s conquests in Total War: Three Kingdoms, and Patrick with some first impressions of the latest game from the developers of Stories Untold, a game where players, more or less, become the HAL 9000. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Motherboard’s Emanuel “I Should Honestly Get Paid For My Viral Tweets” Maiberg joins Patrick, Cado, and Rob us for a wide-ranging episode of Waypoint Radio, in which we discuss our uncanny ability to never hear about Homestuck despite being extremely online, the best way to tell a debt collector to screw off, what Patrick has to fear from Super Mario Maker 2, and the games that we’ve been playing, including Rage 2, Project Hospital, A Plague Tale: Innocence, and Total War: Three Kingdoms. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, Rob, Danielle, and Patrick welcome Motherboard's Jason Koebler discuss the strange and somewhat hard-to-credit tale of a young teenage boy who was lured into the alt-right via online communities, and how his mother helped him escape. It touches on the nature of online radicalization, the way young white kids can recast themselves as a persecuted class, and how that process can be stopped. Then, Danielle explains the wonder that is the Jason X plot, and Rob has read an essay on how the most common tools for teaching and learning may also be some of the worst.Discussed: What Happened After My 13 Year Old Son Joined the Alt-Right, Jason X, Why Books Don't Work Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoiler Warning for Detective Pikachu from around 39 minutes to 43 minutes in.With Austin away, it’s time to whip this long podcast into shape by, uh, spending two hours with Rob, Patrick, and Cado discussing the disappointing Rage 2 and the questionable ethics of spoiling Final Fantasy VII in 2019? Naturally. In the strategy corner, Rob explains his best attempts to destroy an empire in Imperator: Rome, while Cado updates us on why Destiny Is Good Again, and Patrick explains the “charm” of A Plague Tale: Innocence, a game where you use rats to eat your enemies alive. OH. ALSO. DETECTIVE. PIKACHU. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s not true until you record a podcast about it, but yes: Natalie is leaving Waypoint. To send her off, we decided to, uh, talk about the latest Ghost Recon game for an hour?? After “doing our jobs” in which we “talk about video games,” the question bucket is opened for Austin, Natalie, Rob, Danielle, Cado, and Patrick, in which they answer everything from “What character, real or fictional, should become a keyblade master?” to “What boat are you?” Goodbye, Natalie. You’ll be missed. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Waypoint Radio crew have a few announcements! Read more about the website changes here: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/3k3b9k/waypoint-is-joining-the-new-vicecom Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a little more than a month since the release of the latest FromSoft game, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. Given how often we reference Souls games already, are you REALLY surprised we dedicated a few hours to a full-on spoilercast with Austin, Patrick, Cado, and Joel? At this point, nearly everyone (good luck Patrick!) has finished the game, which gives us a chance to reflect on the journey, and where Sekiro fits in FromSoftware’s catalog. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Spoilers for Avengers: Endgame throughout, and for Game of Thrones Season 8 Episode 3 at 1 hour and 52 minutes in.When Austin and Rob weren’t looking, Patrick, Natalie, and Cado pulled off their own time time heist, smuggling themselves into the podcast room to spend nearly three hours talking about the epic conclusion to Marvel’s Infinity Saga, Avengers: Endgame. And because we couldn’t help ourselves, we also had to discuss the latest Game of Thrones episode, “The Long Night.” Oh, and beware: the night is dark (too dark, honestly!) and full of spoilers!!! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today's podcast starts off course and then, somehow, takes an even more unexpected turn. Natalie brings us a live update fresh from her 6:30 AM showing of Avengers: Endgame and last week's Tribeca Film Festival Death Stranding panel. Rob whisks us way to the ancient world with Imperator: Rome. Then Austin and Patrick pause the podcast so that they can report a breaking story: the news that employees at Riot Games are threatening to walk out in protest of recently reported policies at the League of Legends developer. With that handled, the podcast returns for discussion of organized labor, classic gaming guilds, and, of course, everyone's favorite soda.Discussed: Avengers: Endgame (No Spoilers, don't worry), Hideo Kojima, Norman Reedus, Death Stranding, Imperator: Rome, Riot Games, League of Legends Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything is interconnected, really.Frasier. St. Elsewhere. Friends. The Apocalyptic zombie-infested wasteland ofDays Gone. Wait, really? Maybe. We spend a solid hour of Waypoint Radio talking about Sony Bend’s first big game, on which many large hopes and dreams were hung, but the finished product just doesn’t deliver. Elsewhere (but not St. Elsewhere), we touch on the missed marks of Katana Zero, the delightful puzzling of Boxboy + Boxgirl, and some campy workplace hell in Yuppie Psycho. Then we go in on Mortal Kombat 11, which holds up the Kombat name in many ways—with a delightfully wacky story and characters, a wild time-traveling ending for Jax—and disappoints in some others, with the casting of famed TERF Ronda Rousey and rumors of unsound labor practices at the studio. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Content Warning for discussion of drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, homicide, and deathSometimes a new TV show launches and everyone likes it and wants to talk about it. Sometimes, it's even launched by your own company! This week we've been riveted by VICELAND's Dark Side of the Ring, a documentary series that revisits some of the more sobering, troubling stories in the history of pro wrestling. Sometimes they're stories about what happens in the ring, sometimes they're about what happens well outside of it, but we're fascinated by the ways that the performance of pro wrestling ends up impacting on the personal realities of its participants. We also end up talking about this review of George Packer's Richard Holbrooke bio, and what it reveals about centrist foreign policy, or the lack of it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next week, we're launching Save Point 2019: a marathon gaming stream to benefit the Trans Lifeline. We interviewed Trans Lifeline's Executive Director, Elena Rose Vera, as she detail's the organization's mission and struggles. All donations to Save Point 2019 will be going directly to Trans Lifeline. Find out more: https://bit.ly/2Xz3xHM Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even though Austin and Natalie have been playing a bunch of Dragon’s Dogma, Patrick and Cado somehow restrain them from spending an entire episode talking about a game from 2012 and also discuss the early details Sony revealed about the PlayStation 5, the rise of GamerGate politicians, the addition of Persona 5’s Joker to Smash, names.com, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The gang finally discusses Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and its themes around race, class, values, and the weight of heroism. Does the movie lean on humor to the point of detracting from important character arcs? Does it miss an opportunity with Uncle Aaron's character? Is Jake Johnson's Peter B. Parker akin to the treatment the character received in Insomniac's Spider-Man for PS4? Next, Austin's been getting irate about this story of what happened when the IRS launched a special initiative to pursue payments from wealthy people who were wrongly exploiting loopholes in the tax code, and how those efforts were sabotaged. Finally, the gang is not sure what to make of Bernie Sanders' appearance on a Fox News town hall, but find some things worth discussing about the effort. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waypoint's Austin Walker sits down with Evan Husney, producer and co-creator of Dark Side of the Ring, VICELAND's new docu-series that digs into the human stories behind six tragedies of wrestling history. Evan previously worked with Waypoint on documentaries like our behind-the-scenes look at Superhypercube and our Waypoint Presents episode on Magic: The Gathering. Today, he talks to Austin about the inspiration and process behind the new show, and the remarkable response it's received so far. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On today’s episode of Waypoint Radio, we are joined by rapper Open Mike Eagle, fresh off his tour with fellow-musician and nerd Sammus. Austin, Natalie, and Cado catch up with Mike about his latest ventures in television, including his new show, “The New Negros​,” which premieres this Friday, April 19th, 11PM ET, on Comedy Central. We talk everything from wrestling, being online, and Dark Souls, to things like burnout and Overwatch. Mike even gives us his hot take on The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Lots of games have things in common with one another, but it’s not typically because they all share a mixture of themes related to colonialism and racism. And yet, that’s what happened with the XCOM-meets-Indiana Jones tactics game Pathway, the Lovecraft (but without ignoring the racism) adventure game The Sunken City, and the game about raising a cute bird that’s actually about destroying your oppressors, Falcon Age. Somehow, in all of this, we also manage to record live reactions to the new Star Wars trailer. It’s been a week. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's another episode of Waypoints where we find ourselves considering the strange expectations and position of a star athlete at different points in their career. First, we talk about the tell-all article at The Bleacher Report on the falling out between prodigiously talented Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his former coach, Mike McCarthy. Then, we have to ask ourselves, "Is Magic Johnson living the dream?" Finally, Austin discusses Kofi Kingston's WWE title belt, and its many meanings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This podcast contains spoilers for Kingdom Hearts IIIAt the start of this weird project, we asked a simple question: Why do you love Kingdom Hearts? Hundreds of you wrote in with answers that ranged from the humorous (it’s fun to watch Mickey run around with a key sword) to the serious (it was part of understanding their own identity). As we close out this season of Lore Reasons, we wanted to revisit those letters, answer a bunch of questions you sent in, and contemplate the future of Lore Reasons. No, we haven’t announced our next target of confusion, but maybe you can help? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We've returned from our trip to Boston only to find an olympic swimming pool filled with discourse waiting for us. So, what else could we do but dive right in? Rob, Austin, and Patrick try to untangle their own feelings on difficulty and accessiblity in games, pushing at the boundaries of those terms until they find something that feels more representative and less reductive than the shorthand we've all been using in this conversation. They also bring more stories from the PAX East show floor, including more games about resisting Nazis, saving the earth, and... fighting in giant robots.Discussed: Sekiro, Dark Souls, Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Civilization, Thrustmaster Racing Wheel & Pedals, Through the Darkest of Times, We Are The Caretakers, Man of Medan, Rad, Hardcore Mecha, What the Golf, El Hijo, Photographs Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What do a women's college basketball star, the prison abolition movement, and ​The Occupation​ all have in common? Uhhhhh... it's Thursday, and they're all topics on Waypoints! First, Danielle was both fascinated and repelled by this profile of Oregon basketball star Sabrina Ionescu, whose sheer willpower, toughness, and intelligence have made her an all-time great in college basketball. But in focusing on Ionescu's drive and compulsion to greatness, do we also end up celebrating bad stereotypes about the nature of achievement and excellence? Next, Patrick has been listening to the second season of the Justice in America podcast, and in its finale is struck by the radical ways we can, and should, reimagine our systems of criminal justice. Finally, the gang are taking a closer look at White Paper Games' ​The Occupation​, and trying to figure out if it has a political perspective, or if its mixed metaphors only give it the appearance of political meaning. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.