Merry Christmas, podcasters, listeners. Hello,
you fucking maggots. There it is. I've got a
ginger monkey in the pod room. It's your favourite
depressed ginger. Oh, he's here. Me. You know
what he's got. That was fizzy. Can of the white
stuff. Oh, God, mummy. Bit of ASMR for everyone.
Anything to keep it going. people's going on
this podcast got all in my beard big one straight
into it game of the year awards the actual game
of the year awards not the joystick ones this
is the real game of the year awards have you
seen much on it not at all I've only seen the
joystick ones that Claire Obscura got well that's
fantastic because allow me to go through the
categories so game of the year the winner of
that Claire Obscure Expedition 33. Not surprised.
Expected and earned. Best Game Direction Claire
Obscure Expedition 33. Of course. Best Narrative
Claire Obscure Expedition 33. Is it going to
be across the board is it? Best Art Direction
Claire Obscure Expedition 33. We've then got
Best Performance is Jennifer English in Claire
Obscure Expedition 33. Wasn't that the best independent
game Claire Obscure Expedition 33 best debut
indie game Claire Obscure Expedition 33 yeah
I was going to say that Jennifer English has
done well for herself because she was in Baldur's
Gate as Shadow Hearts can you guess what the
best RPG was Claire Obscure it was it was Claire
Obscure Expedition 33 let me take a guess yeah
yeah that was so they so they won the majority
of stuff we've then got let's have a look is
there anything else left? There is. Best score
and music. Okay. Oh, no, sorry. That's Claire
of Europe. Not Claire of Europe? Sorry, I missed
that one out. Best audio designs, Battlefield
6, which is quite cool. I actually, when me and
Ash went through and picked our choices, I actually
picked Battlefield 6 for sound design because
when you play it with a headset on, it's just
so crisp. That surround sound effect, yeah. Yeah,
it's so nice. Innovation in Accessibility, Doom,
The Dark Ages. Yes, I can understand that one.
Games for Impact, South of Midnight. Won that.
Best Ongoing Game, which I'm happy about, is
No Man's Sky. Still. Still. Still. And that went
up against Final Fantasy... What's XIV? XIV...
14. 14. Fortnite, Helldivers 2 and Marvel Rivals.
So I feel like out of that, Bunch, No Man's Sky.
When did Clear Obscura come out? It was quite
the middle of the year. I know that, but in terms
of month. Clear Obscura. So it came out in...
April, late April. Okay. Yeah, it's a decent
one. Because I think sometimes games, if they're
out longer, have got the benefit of the fact
that they're much loved through the year versus
a game that comes out now and you go, right,
well, you've got bad competition. I think the
thing with... Because people threw that argument
out there and said exactly that. It came out
earlier on, so it's going to be more popular.
I do genuinely believe that... Game of the Year's
Shadow of the Earth Tree, again. Yeah. The thing
is that I believe that the awards that Claire
Obscura has won, wholeheartedly deserves have
you played it you would love it I know you I'm
a little bit on the fence with it because I know
I probably would enjoy it but I feel like I probably
would get tired of it quick if that makes sense
I don't think you would I don't fucking French
though I don't think you would I really don't
because the story is incredible and the the combat
is so satisfying but the the builds that you
can create are so crazy so you you you're not
stuck it's turn -based isn't it it's all turn
-based the whole thing is turn -based but i'm
i'm a man that doesn't like that type of game
or at least i didn't think that i would um and
yeah incredible game like i say the the story
is just so fucking good so good um and the exploration
and all that It's meant to all the little mini
side games and quirks. Don't give me another
big game. I can't handle it. It's so fucking
worth it. I've got so many. It's so worth it.
If you haven't played it, I really, really, really
recommend it. It's one of those types of games
where I feel like in 10 years' time, you'll mention
Claire Obscure Expedition 33 to someone if they're
new to gaming or they haven't heard it, and they'll
go, what is that? that just sounds weird and
you'll sit there and you go oh boy oh boy much
like if you go to someone that's never played
a Souls like and you go Dark Souls 2 Dark Souls
3 Bloodborne and people go what's the hype about
them it's probably it's probably how I feel with
maybe like the Silent Hill franchise I've never
played it or like Crisis Fucking Crysis, man.
Yeah. I've never played it. I haven't played
it. That's a throwback. But I know that it's
meant to be incredible, but I haven't touched
it. I played a little bit of Crysis 3, but Crysis
was a computer slash console breaker back in
the day. It's one of them. Claire Obscure is
one of those niche games that isn't niche at
the same time, but it is because it is so fucking
niche. It's a really... different type of game
that I'm used to playing. I bet it's really expensive,
aren't they? And it's so fucking good. So good.
Where is it? Where is Steve on my phone? Oh,
well, you want to fucking see how much it's going
to set you back? It's probably fairly pricey
at the minute, I imagine. Probably. There'll
be a Game of the Year edition. I'm happy at the
fact that it's an indie game as well. I'm even
more happy that the development team are ex -Ubisoft
employees. I love that. Ex -Ubisoft and they've
just gone and absolutely wiped the floor. I just
pulled up Steam now and they've got the game
awards there and it's annoying because scrolling
down you go the 2025 winner is obviously Battlefield
6. Guess what? It's the second game on the list.
I don't know what the nominations aspect of this
is, but it's obviously Steam's kind of version
of it. Yeah. The second game to come up on is
Last of Us Part II Remastered. Of course it is.
Of course it fucking is. Of course it is. Yeah,
I don't really know what the criteria for them
is. Claire Obscure is £33 .59 at the moment.
That's not actually offensive. Reduced from 41.
Yeah, because it wasn't a full price. A full
super release. Yeah, because it almost couldn't
be. There we go. It was pretty much a straight
away. It almost couldn't be because you're a
small, very, very small indie developer. Sandfall
Interactive. That's creating a game, like I say,
isn't the typical... There you go, 97. Well,
overwhelmingly positive, 97%. Yeah. Those 80
,000 reviews. Nearly 82 ,000 reviews. Yeah. 25
,000 overwhelmingly positive recent reviews.
It's... I can't... Here we go. Claire Obscure
feels like one of those games that shouldn't
exist but somehow does because a bunch of passionate
weirdos decided, yeah, why not? The dev story
alone is wild. A French dude who speedruns Sekiro
gets tired of his job at Ubisoft and just quits
to make his dream game. He calls his old university
buddy who ends up becoming the lead tech. He
finds a musician on SoundCloud who makes the
entire OST. He finds a girl on Reddit who agrees
to voice the demo for free and she eventually
becomes the lead writer. They then hire like
30 fresh grads who are all in over their heads
but clearly giving it everything they've got
and member. Number 33, a dog, literally credited
as the happiness manager in the end credits.
And the crazy part is the game actually turned
out great, stylish, unique, full of heart, exactly
the kind of thing you get when people make something
because they want to, not because some exec told
them to. Claire Obscure is a win for gamers and
a big, beautiful middle finger to AAA companies
that fill their games with garbage and microtransactions.
I stand by every single word in that review and
they've got 60 hours. on record so they're within
their right to say that sort of stuff that it's
it's there seems to be a running everyone likes
a David and Goliath story and everyone always
goes for David you always want to back the underdog
everyone does I do it in my own games I do it
in life you always you never want to go with
the fucking big big teams with the big developers
because no one's putting out anything good Well,
even then, I think this year there's been some
real decent stuff. And then if you see what's
meant to be coming out next year, yeah, we've
had some woeful years. The tide seems to be turning.
We're actually getting some half -decent shit
coming through, especially next year. There's
some really cool stuff that's been announced.
But there's nothing better than an indie game,
an indie developer. absolutely fucking wiping
the floor with everyone. Larian Studios did it.
I know that they're a big indie company, but
they're still indie. You know what I mean? And
then now you've got Claire Obscure. Most of my
favourite games in the last couple of years have
been indie games. Yeah. And I love that because
they deserve that. And it's... Well, the last
game I was playing was the indie game. I played
Dispatch 3. from top to bottom yeah yeah the
new generation of telltale games yeah yeah it's
technically indie even though it's got big backing
but that's a very small they were like what was
it they sold their three year margin in like
two weeks yeah Yeah, because it's like what this,
Claire Obscura is a win for gamers and blah,
blah, blah. Big middle fingers, AAA companies
that fill their games. And then, yeah, exactly
the kind of thing you get when people make something
because they want to, not because some exec told
them to. And I've said that on the podcast multiple
times in that when you get people who make something,
and this is in regards to anything, when anyone
does something that they love doing, it's almost
always better than someone who's being forced
to do it. If you're really good at something,
but you don't like it and you're being forced
to do it. It's funny you say that. I look forward
and see your one ring desk lamp thing. Cause
that's like, someone said that about Lord of
the Rings and said, why is that the last big
major, like fantastic trilogy? Because I loved
making it. Because it was a passion project.
Yeah. It wasn't about anything else. It wasn't
about the money. They were taking risks. They
were following law. Most of the games that are
incredible now are games that are like that.
You're in such a cluttered market that you have
to come up with something unique. Let's have
another extraction shooter. Yeah, fucking hell.
I understand something like Ark Raiders. Mega,
mega popular. Mega popular. But it's different.
It's enjoyable. Something like Call of Duty.
I mean, it's almost soulless and boring. Even
Battlefield 6 to a point. I haven't played Battlefield
6 for fucking... I didn't even bother. For a
long, long time. That's nothing against the game,
but I'm just... It's the type of game I should
love because it brings me back mad nostalgia
to when I was a kid. Or not even a kid, but when
I was much younger and playing like Bad Company
2 with my best mates from then. And that would
be like every night. Again and again. All weekend
long. Whatever, whatever. And the fun we had
in that. And then you come some years later and
you go, you haven't touched one since Battlefield
3. Didn't touch the fucking future one. Didn't
touch 4. Barely touched the World War 1 one.
Battlefield 1. Not really that. And even now,
you go, oh, six has come out. You go, I'm not
interested. I think it's because... Not interested,
but it doesn't bring back the same... I think
it's because we're just not in the multiplayer
scene. Yeah, it doesn't bring back that nostalgia
anymore. First -person shooter. It's a very good
game. I really do enjoy it, but chances of me
playing it again are quite slim because I'm more
interested in other things, but it is... That's
why I like this badge. When I decided to play
that however long ago, probably a month ago.
And it was the only annoying part of it was it
was episodic. So it was X amount of episodes
were out and then you had to wait a week for
the next one to come out. Yeah, but I kind of
like that as well. That was nice because it strung
it out a little bit. Yeah. But it was easy to
pick up and not like... Overwhelmingly positive
with 91 ,500 reviews. Excellent. So long as it's
a different style again because it's, you know...
like interactive novel but there's a mini game
aspect to multiple parts of it superhero workplace
comedy where choices matter manage a dysfunctional
team of misfit heroes and strategize who to send
to emergencies around the city all while balancing
office politics personal relationships and your
own quest to become a hero all episodes out now
it looks good it looks enjoyable and and but
this this is what i'm saying in in those those
little indie Well, they've come from much like
Claire Obscura's lots come from Ubisoft. A lot
of the people who've made Dispatch ad hoc, they're
all Telltale. And obviously where Telltale, I
don't really know why the reason for their downfall
was, but the quality of their work wasn't as
good gradually because they were picking different
topics. But where there was a lot of layoff,
obviously they've turned around and gone, okay,
well, should we make our own company then? And
then take... If you like things like Invincible
on Amazon or if you're into the comics, there's
a similar sort of ness of that to it. The art
style is kind of similar. But again, it's another
indie group that have made a fantastic game and
everyone was screaming out going, oh, season
two, please. I just find it mad that you've got
small indie companies where everything's on the
line for these people. Everything. They have
virtually no money, majority of the time, and
rely on crowdfunding. It's funny you say that,
because I think Larian now, after making Baldur's
Gate, and their original game, Divinity Series,
Original Sin, and Original Sin 2, were kickstarted.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And now, number three has just
been announced. With a cool -ass fucking trailer
of a geyser being melted alive. Yeah. Bloody
and gory. That gives us a little bit. If I thought
about it as I was just watching it, because I
hadn't seen it while we were at work, but I saw
it just now, and it made me think of a throwback
to the second game. There is a moment where there
is an aspect that is very much like that. So
they're kind of interesting to see a little bit
of a tie -in, which is obviously relevant. That
was good. Which is obviously relevant. And it's
weird because I can't really remember what the
fuck Divinity was meant to be about. Obviously,
I've never played either of them. But it's nice
to see that they're not milking the cash cow
that is Baldur's Gate. And going back to... The
irony of it is, you know, Sven, the managing
director of Larian, turned around and said their
next game would be like a little palate cleanser.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. And it's actually, no, let's
bring us back to our original IP and try and
make it bigger than Baldur's Gate. Yeah, I think
it'll be very, very good. I just don't want another
four years worth of early access. As much as
that will be good. I don't know if I can handle...
Back to what I was saying in that for indie developers,
it's so risky. And I've spoken about it before
where I say that almost... That almost encourages
the risk taking because you go, right, we've
got very little resources here, but we need to
make something that people are going to be engaged
with and want to spend money on. So therefore,
we need to take the risk. We need to make something
crazy. I think if they put their heart on the
line and then it works out. is a better return
than trying to play it safe and make something
that's very similar to everything else. And a
lot of the times it doesn't work out, but for
the few times that it does, it's usually incredible.
I feel like that's the way it's been more and
more recently. You get like fad games where you
go, well, like Lethal Company, you play that
for a little bit, or like Repo, or Among Us,
all those kind of games that have got hype for
a bit, but then even then, they stand out for
a little while. They stand out long enough for
the developer to get their flowers, to make the
money that they wanted to make, to enable them
to carry on and build a career out of it. The
point I'm trying to make is you have all these
AAA studios. Yeah, why the fuck can't these big
names do it? Why can't they see that? Because
it's not the developers that are the problem.
I don't believe it's the developers that are
the problem most of the time because they have
a passion for gaming. Making games isn't easy.
There's a lot of blood, sweat and tears that
goes into it and countless hours to get a game
to where the games that we play are. I think
it's just corporate greed, but I don't understand
why corporate greed can't understand what the
market wants. Will that change though? I don't
know. But then there's part of me that thinks
it would change because we're, not to say we're
the generation, but we're in that. heavy period
of the old guard and the people that don't understand
that kind of thing who are the big men in money
you know the big directors and the you you man
donald trump and all that lot that you know the
70 year olds in power all that lot that you know
the big wigs in the office that I've got to be
the older generation that don't understand video
games but understand money. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Money, money, money. That gradually as we phase
them out and they're replaced by people like,
you know, our age. Neil Druckmann. A little bit
older, like, you know, that they've actually
got a love and a passion for making the games
that they would see it as, oh, we can be happy
with not making as much money so long as we make
a good product. Yeah, which is... IE fucking
old Gaben. From fucking Steam. But in turn, you
end up making a fucking fortune. How much money
did Baldur's Gate fucking make? Let me Google
that. Silly amounts. How much money? I read something
the other day saying that I forget what group
it was. I don't know if it was Ubisoft. I don't
know if it was EA. But they were saying that
the average employee was making like $150 ,000.
And the guy in charge of it was making 200 %
more than them. Standard, of course. And you
didn't think, just cut that fucker out. And then
you go, right, reinvest that money in making
a game fucking worthwhile. So this isn't even
the fucking... It isn't even the sum total of
it. No. So it says Baldur's Gate 3 was a massive
financial success. generating over $650 million
in in -2023 revenue from Steam alone, becoming
the platform's top -grossing new release, with
Larian Studios supporting €427 million in total
revenue and €249 million in pre -tax profit for
the year. Hasbro also received around €90 million
from the game's licensing deal, but this was
just in... uh 2023 yeah across all platforms
because because obviously you've got playstation
you've got xbox you've got so um hasn't released
uh exact total revenue that's 2023 uh blah blah
and roughly 15 million copies sold by late 2024
with some speculating figures might approach
or cross one billion dollars in total earnings
across all platforms by early 2024 so i feel
like you could quite comfortably say they've
made over a billion dollars from from boulders
so you sit there and you go all right okay again
i know they're a big indie company but they're
still technically an indie company and you go
okay they've they've taken that leap done what
they've done and you've made over a billion dollars
and we'll continue to make money on that So it's
like, why as an exec would you sit there and
go, well, why not? We need to make the risks.
You look at the position that EA's in. Shit.
Ubisoft. Shit. Even Insomniac to a point. Waff.
That's the next interesting part. That was what
I was trying to figure out. Because Baldur's
Gate 3, Larian is the developer and the publisher.
In both parts. So that saved them a lot of faff.
Yeah, a lot of aggro. Because it's always publishers.
You've got all these big, big hitters where it
is. What fucking Bethesda? They're not doing
anything. Bioware. Yeah. Or to be fair, there
was that latest announcement for Star Wars that
you sent me earlier. Yeah, yeah, yeah. lead director
on it casey hudson he is uh he did the mass effect
and we did the mass effect trilogy and he did
the last old republic stuff so there's some promise
he's promising i don't have the license yeah
that but it would just be interesting to know
if it follows that same pattern where it gets
hindered by big wigs or publishers and turning
around and going, oh, we've got to pump this
game out or we've got to include fucking something
that's going to gimp it. Not to say it'd be like
microtransactions because I don't know how you
do that in a single player game. Must be done.
But yeah, there is ways of doing that rather
than just being like, here's your product, sir.
Enjoy that. There's also the acquisition from
Netflix of Warner Brothers and I was talking
to Can't keep getting away with it. I was talking
to the wow lot about it so Leon, John, Connor
and sort of saying obviously Warner Brothers
has their own gaming department which is quite
large and Netflix Give us the fucking Nemesis
system. Well Netflix have said that they're not
particularly interested in it as a money maker
so that alludes to the fact that they're willing
to sell it off. We'll sell off parts of it. And
yeah, the Nemesis system was the thing that we
were talking about because obviously Warner Brothers
owns that. And if they're now owned by Netflix,
that means Netflix now owns the Nemesis system,
which means if they're not interested in gaming,
they can sell that fucker off. Sell it off and
get rid of the fucking patent on it. Get rid
of it. Whoever buys that, just fucking tear the
patent up. Just go, no. we ain't we ain't or
just let own the own it and then just allow everyone
to use it yeah so you want to use to put money
anyway you want to use the system you fucking
crack on you use the system bro and then alongside
fucking ea losing the licensing rights to star
wars let's make a star wars game with the nemesis
system in it why not why the fuck would you imagine
let's do something like that now we've got the
fucking creative freedom to to make something
quite fucking mega that would be tasty of course
it would who's not doing that why would you not
do that if you own if you have the money for
it if you're a AAA developer and you're going
what's the next big thing that we can do oh I
know everyone's screaming for a decent Star Wars
game and everyone's screaming for the Nemesis
system which has now just become available let's
buy that cunt and let's make a Star Wars game
With that system in it. Oh. Give it to me. What
a thing to do. What a thing to do. Sell it all
off. Sell it off. Give it to me. What else was
on the game awards? You had... Big yawns. Best
community support, Baldur's Gate 3. Yeah, they're
still... I think they're gradually wrapping that
up now. Best mobile game... Yumamusumi. Pretty
derby. I don't know. Fuck mobile gaming. Destiny
Rising was up though. Oh yeah. Roman. Best VR
slash AR game. The Midnight Walk. We're not interested
in VR. Best action game. Hades 2. That's cool.
I can see that. You can get with that. Not my
style of game. Best action slash adventure game.
Hollow Knight Silksong. I'm all game for that.
They beat some heavy hitters. Death Stranding
2, Ghost of Yotai, Indiana Jones, and Split Fiction.
I've not really heard much of anything on Ghost
of Yotai. It's very good. Yeah. It's such a weird
one because I know it dropped, but it's been
like, personally, between all of our lot and
whatever else. Well, Mark's platinum did. And
he said that it was extremely good, better than
Ghost of Tsushima. I feel like it's one of those
where it was just expected that it's going to
be good, and it is good. So there's not really
much negativity surrounding it, so therefore
you don't really hear much about it. But it's
also not an online game. It's not multiplayer.
So you're not going to get much of the like with
Artgraders where you see it every fucking five
minutes. You're not going to get the same clips
and interactions that you're going to get from
a single -player AAA game. especially with so
much other shit going on because Ghost of Yotai
released it the same month with like four other
games so there was so much shit wasn't it like
in within like four days or something yeah you
had I can fucking scroll back onto the calendar
for it so it was October wasn't it so you had
Ghost of Yotai you then had Battlefield 6 you
then had that was probably what I was thinking
what else did you have The Outer Worlds 2. Little
Nightmares 3. It's already fucking December.
Nearly mid -December. This was all in the space
of fucking one month. The month prior to that,
I'm pretty sure there was also another game that
came out. I can't remember what it was. It's
been quite a heavy end of the year. It was heavy.
And that's what I'm saying. Ghost of Yotai, very
good game. I think there was just so much shit.
I think it was because you had Battlefield 6
come out literally the day after. So that obviously
just overwhelmed all forms of social media. But
Ghost of Yotai is meant to be very, very good.
You've got Little Nightmares 3 is also a game
that I want to play as well because I really
like 1 and 2. Look at the popular searches. I
don't know why Black Desert's on there. Black
Desert's always fucking... Well, it's free. That
would explain why. What else have we got? Yeah,
best multiplayer game, Ark Raiders. Yeah. I was
surprised that... Went up against Battlefield
6, Elden Ring, Night Rain, Peak, and then Split
Fiction. That's what that went against. Ark Raiders
is big, man. It's fucking, it's big. Ash did
say it was going to pick up. Yeah, he called
it that it was going to be mega and I believe
that it will remain being mega. Not my cup of
tea. I'm not a massive fan of extractions. What
I am a massive fan of, though, is seeing all
the people cry about being killed. Because it's
a fucking extraction shooter. What the fuck do
you expect? That's the whole point of it. If
you take away the PvP aspect from an extraction
shooter, it's not an extraction shooter. It takes
away everything about it. And I can only speak
of it from playing the Dark Zone in The Division,
which is the genesis of Extraction Shooters in
that that heart -pounding fucking fear and anxiety
of killing people. You can't trust your fellow
man. Yeah, getting their loot and then trying
to extract. And then someone else is extracting.
But the fact that... what you've got in art graders
where everyone's sort of banding together and
looking after each other you didn't have that
in the dark zone that wasn't a thing it was everyone
was killing everyone that was it if you was if
you was at the extraction zone and there was
someone else there you had to fucking watch because
chances are you was about to get into a gunfight
it would always happen and it was incredible
i loved it and i hated it at the same time but
that is that is the bread and butter to to an
extraction shooter it's like playing fucking
cod zombies without the zombies what am i doing
then I'm just running around a building with
a gun. Like, what is the fucking point? Please
get rid of the PVP. No, fuck off. Yeah, that
would drastically change the dynamic of... Don't
even add a PVE mode in. Don't add it because
it's PVP. It's P -V -E -V -P. Yeah. So keep it
that way. Because people were calling. I think
there was a fucking petition for it as well where
they wanted a PVE mode. No, don't do it. You
had Fortnite that got rid of the build and had
a no -build mode. Took off great. Perfect. You
don't need to bow down and get rid of the PvP
aspect of it. If you don't like it, don't fucking
play it. But that's also why free loadouts are
a thing. Because people are also saying they
should bring in insurance that you can buy for
your loadouts. Number one, you've got one aspect
because you've got a little slot you can put
something in and it keeps it. But also... That's
risky business because that ends up being like,
oh, I'll pay for the insurance and then that'll
be like a thing that ends up being a microtransaction.
Yeah, and it's bullshit. It's why you have a
free loadout. You don't want your gear getting
stolen. Get a free loadout. This is how I would
play it. I would be doing free loadouts and camping
by the extraction. I'm going to kill you at the
end and take your shit and then I'm going to
log back into another game with another free
loadout and I don't give a fuck if I die. That's
how I'm going to play. It's like playing DayZ.
crying that you get shot in the head yeah that's
the whole point of it and it sucks it's like
playing Elden Ring and complaining that the game's
hard yeah it's supposed to be I think that's
one of the reasons I couldn't play that kind
of game I'd be pissed I'd hate it Because I know
it would proper sour me to be like, oh yeah,
I've done really well for this amount of time.
And then I've killed you at the end. Yeah, someone's
either done me over dirty or just something fucks
up. I would hate it. And then that would be me
putting my fist through the computer screen.
I'd absolutely hate it. But at the same time,
I don't get on well with the gameplay loop. I'm
like that with Battle Royales. I've said multiple
times. Once I get a win, that's it. It's completed
for me. I don't like that kind of grind. I've
done what I need to do. be the same with an extraction
shooter if i get a load of kills and then i extract
okay cool now what yeah i don't now what i'm
done that's for me i mean that's very shallow
but that's just how i operate um well it's a
little bit like the hell divers loop that eventually
you're like exactly that i've done i've done
as much as i can do and as much as it is fun
there's not much more to it than i've got to
do this much in this amount of time i've got
to get got to get out at the end of it I was
obsessed with it the other month obsessed for
about two weeks yeah every day I was playing
it I was like this is sick I love this like this
this feels so good and then just stopped just
madness for your wow grind you're happy for all
that but yeah yeah yeah but when it comes to
like a game that's also grindy or you know hey
look fucking I did Dying Light the Beast I grinded
through that and I enjoyed it, but at the same
time, I hated it. But then The Outer Worlds 2,
which I've literally just completed the other
day, that was 57 hours, is what I put into that.
And absolutely incredible. How many hours did
I spend on the original? Fucking loved Outer
Worlds 2. That's another game. Did you enjoy
the first one? I definitely did, but I definitely
had moments where I was like, this is getting...
repetitive maybe so the second one is way way
better in terms of repetitiveness nah there ain't
any there really isn't the guns are way better
the combat is fucking is way better the characters
are better the story is better the environment's
better really really fucking fun game and the
random perks that you can get the flaws did I
not have this on seems to suggest that I didn't
have this on maybe I got it on GOG when it first
came out maybe maybe because Outer Worlds 2 is
completely separate to Outer Worlds 1 story is
completely different you don't need to play I
enjoyed it because it's again it's like it's
an obsidian game but I don't I think there was
moments where I was just like oh this is feeling
maybe a little bit empty I definitely played
it I think it might have been just like the ending
got me as a bit like oh is that kind of it well
there's different endings on this one yeah and
I won't spoil anything but I believe I have to
google it because I haven't actually looked it
up but I think the ending that I got was the
good ending like the typical like it's too many
fucking games leader ending too many games and
I haven't got enough time yeah well this is the
thing because Outer Worlds 2 I put all of my
time into it I was like any game in time I need
to play Outer Worlds 2 because I really enjoy
this game and I want to finish it I actually
I think I think there was only maybe like three
missions like side missions that were just collectible
stuff that I had left over so I fucking did pretty
much everything that's what does me that's what
gives me the not the the fear but that gives
me the hesitation to pick up gaming is picking
up big games and that's mostly what I want to
play is big games you go like Ragnarok yeah you
go I want to play that I've got it I've been
meaning to play it for however long and again
wouldn't get a PlayStation because why would
I buy a PlayStation for like exclusives waiting
for it to come to PC got it on sale or whatever
and it's just sat there because I go I know this
is a big game And I know there's a lot of side
shit. And the side shit is the problem that I've
got the completionist run in my brain, which
won't let me just go like, just do the main story
and avoid the rest. It'll be, no, you're in an
area, you need to do everything. Well, that's
exactly how I work. And with Dying Light the
Beast, I didn't do any of that because I just
wanted to get it done. Whereas Outer Worlds 2,
I did everything. and enjoyed everything. At
no point did I feel like I was doing a side mission.
I was doing a slog. And one of the great things
about it is even though you've got your main
story, you're free to go and explore entire zones
without having to do the main story. And then
what you find is that throughout the main story
or various missions, they'll ask you to go and
do stuff and either collect certain things or
go and find out certain information, liberate
whatever. And you've already done it. And it
seamlessly goes, oh, you've already done this,
blah, blah, blah. So you're not really locked
behind anything. One of the things that I really
enjoyed about it wasn't necessarily the combat.
The combat was probably the thing that I least,
not enjoyed, but the thing that I was least bothered
about. The bit that I really loved was the dialogue.
Yeah. And the choices that you can pick. Because
obviously you've got all those perks that you
get to pick from. I specialised in hacking, engineering
and lockpicking was my main things. And guns.
But guns was less than the other three. I can't
really remember how the first game was. I think
it was very... But then that's an Obsidian thing
where... Because, you know, Fallout New Vegas
and they're quite good with branching dialogue
trays. Yeah, very, very fun. Because... I had
a play style of I was able to pickpocket a lot
of pickpocket people, which meant gaining access,
like needing key cards to get into certain areas
and shit like that. I was able to pickpocket
the people to obtain that rather than having
to go through the dialogue. And then I was able
to open most doors and most chests and hack most
terminals. And so I was able to access areas.
easier or quicker that you wouldn't be able to
and then with the dialogue options there was
just a wealth of things I spent the majority
of the game in dialogue yeah Because there's
so many conversations to have, but it was engaging
because it's like, right, well, if you had this
skill or this bit of information or if you had
done this, then you could have gone down this
route and blah, blah, blah. Nine times out of
ten, I had an option that I could go with that
would change the course of the conversation.
maybe it's because we play D &D more or if I'm
just getting more into those types of games where
I'm getting more patient with it. I remember
you being like, I don't know if I've got the
creativity and the imagination for D &D. And
you go like... And I do, I do. You've got to
trust yourself with it. But I feel like that's
why I enjoyed Outer Worlds 2 so much because
I was like, towards the end, there were some
bits of dialogue where I was... I was slightly
skipping stuff, but I was reading it all before
I was skipping it because I was like, I read
this quicker than you're speaking it. But that
was part of the game that I really, really enjoyed
was those dialogue options where it was like,
what's going to happen when I talk to this person?
Do I have the necessary skills to like, how is
my character going to be able to... Handle these
situations. Yeah, what am I going to be able
to do? And that made it really enjoyable. That's
a good sign of a good RPG. Yeah. How I make this
character makes it relevant to how I can go forward.
Yeah. It just kind of ties into D &D because
you go, well, you're a barbarian. You're not
going to be good at speaking to people. Yeah.
But even like the companions. So there's six
companions. I did all of the companion quests,
every single one of them, because I was invested
in their stories. But I knew that they were good.
because when i was going to various different
planets and doing different missions and stuff
like that i was i knew which companions i wanted
to bring with me because i knew what they were
like as characters so i knew how they would react
with a certain dialogue and the politics on this
certain planet and the situation i'd find myself
in um it which for me sort of like light bulb
moment where i was like no that i know this is
a good game for me because i'm understanding
everything that's going on here I know what is
happening with these characters and everything
for me great for people like Ash probably not
so great probably wouldn't enjoy it well the
interesting thing because I thought Ash used
to like Fallout because he used to say that he
really enjoyed it but I don't know if I misconstrued
it or got it wrong and thought of someone else
when he was like oh I'm not really that big on
Fallout no I think Ash really likes Fallout but
then it was like oh he didn't enjoy Outer Worlds
yeah he just didn't like Outer Worlds which because
it's Fallout but it's not Fallout at the same
time it is it's own standalone it's different
arguably I prefer Outer Worlds to Fallout but
it's difficult having just played them would
I then go back to the likes of Fallout and go
no this is fucking sick because I've now got
that much like when you go from playing D &D
To then go, all right, well, maybe I'll get invested
in Boulder's Gate or vice versa. Because now
I've dipped my toes in an aspect of it. Would
I really enjoy it? I think you would enjoy some
of it. I think where they're a little bit older
and a little bit clankier. I don't even know.
I played them. I played Fallout 3, Fallout 4,
New Vegas. I've played them. Even 76. So I've
completed them all. It's just I was a lot younger
when I did that. So I obviously have a completely
different outlook and mindset. when playing these
games, but also the same as you, I don't want
to invest the time. I've done Dying Light. I've
done Outworld. Big game scare me a little bit.
Let me recede back to World of Warcraft, which
is what I'm doing. Let me go back to the comfort.
That's why Dispatch was good for me because the
episodes were like an hour and a half, maybe
two hours. And there's only like eight of them.
Yeah. It was like, oh, I can, I ended up getting
through like four in a night. And I did it all
on the Steam Deck. I didn't even have to go upstairs
and fucking sit down. I could just literally
sit on the Steam Deck, lay on the sofa and play
it. And I was proper invested. Versus if I want
to play God of War, if I want to play Ghost of
Yotai, or if I want to play anything else, it's
going to be... It's just those comfort games.
I'm going to have to commit to this as much as
I want to. But it's those comfort games that
are also very engaging and very fun to play.
I had that with Hi -Fi Rush. Finish that on the
steam deck. I've said it to Ash. I said it's
why Rogue Trader kind of died off for me. As
much as I was playing a lot of it, I got to a
point and we joked and said, because there's
bits that are full narrated dialogue and then
sometimes there's not. So you can be just like,
oh, I'm just listening. And then there's a bit
where you go, it all stops. And then you have
to lean forward and you have to read the whole
thing and walls of text. And you go. I'm tired.
It's late in the day. I'm tired. I've had a busy
one at work or a busy week and you go, yeah.
And it's also a game that's got 4 ,000 options
that you go, this is a bit much. Yeah, it's just
madness. It's absolute madness. That's why, yeah,
you need those. It's gone are the days of having
the time and the brain capacity to just crack
through these big 60, 70 -hour games, even 100
-hour games and just keep... chugging along at
them because you go I can't I can't keep doing
this I can't do it it's just a lot it's a lot
like I say there's so many games so many games
Ghost of Yotar Little Nightmares fucking there's
all sorts I haven't even touched Night Rain I
won't touch Night Rain I just know that I won't
Night Rain's not for me but there's there's just
so many games where you think I just don't have
the capacity to it's like I haven't played Elden
Ring oh which is mad and then you just go like
which is madness like I've played the Souls games
didn't play Bloodborne because I didn't have
a Playstation yeah but I was just like I know
There is massive aspects of Elden Ring that would
appeal to me, but I'm just like... It's such
a big game. I'm just like, I can't. That's too
much. It's such a big and lonely game. Yeah.
You have to be in the right mindset to be able
to play Elden Ring, and I feel like you're not
in that mindset at the moment. That won't come
to me. You're not there right now. That's one
I'm never going to... That would be just like,
I'm never going to touch that. Yeah. I love it.
It's a beautiful game. Incredible game. One of
the goats. But there's so much other stuff. It's
such a big game. It's such a big game. And for
a completionist, it's even worse because you
don't know what the fuck's going on. There are
no quests as such. You're finding shit, which
in turn makes you want to explore every aspect
of it. But everything's difficult. It's not a
game for the faint -hearted. I'm surprised I
managed to fucking do it six times. I really
am. Six times I managed to do that game. I don't
know what the fuck happened there, but I think
it's just that adrenaline, that dopamine hit
of killing those bosses. I need to do this. His
health bar's gone down, so that means he can
die. I don't care if I'm massively out -geared
for it. I can do this. Yeah, madness. Well, that's
it. We can fuck off. Oh, my God. Fuck off. Cheers
for listening, everyone. Roman, you fucking forgot
stuff in my van. Of course you did. Squirrel
boy. Who wrote? Who wrote?