CoD on Gamepass feels like a big roll of the dice for Xbox | Friends Per Second #46

I have started watching so I was telling Jake that uh How It's Made in its entirety is all on hvv Max now is the show called How It's Made in its entirety or are you watching a show called How It's Made but you're watching it in its entirety the latter cuz there's like 20 something seasons of just watching how things made F Boomers Rejoice me rejo that's right but no I've started like I need to I've kind of realized that I need some kind of wind down TV so I've also started to watch um uh history documentaries nice you are definitely aging before our eyes patiently the snake GI old snake gift no but I was telling Jake um because did you know Caligula is not actually called kig that's not his name what's he called he's called like G was it gas Caesar Augustus Germanic oh yeah yeah sure you know what cular means no means like small boots like little booties small little booties small boobs boots small boots oh okay right I heard boots or boobs and I'm like small boobs all right fair enough no okay no so does he so he has small feet no I can't remember why like you know probably should have held that piece of information when when he was a kid and he was going around and all the legion saw him and he had the small shoes and they just called him like little shoes they called the presumptive emperor little they made fun of him legioner made fun of the presump maybe it was with lovealls move maybe it was with love you know I have like a little uh nickname when you were a kid yes my grandfather called me moon face uh because I had a big round face and I still kind of do so the mo Luna thank you very much non sir that's what I got called so that's great that's brutal I had Jake The Snake which was cool but then Jake from State Farm came out and now everybody to this day I'm at Starbucks like Jake from State shut up you're a creative genius I've never heard they R it on your they ride it on the cup like oh that's happened and I like just it's fine you know what people are trying to be light not everybody's a comedian they're trying so it's fine but Jake The Snake was way cooler that is cool unless unless they think you they're saying it in a in a negative way no it's the wrestler Jake the Snake Roberts that was oh I didn't know that yeah what was the snake gang from Fallout what were they called tunnel snakes tunnel snakes tunnel snakes yeah tunnel snakes rule they tunnel snakes rule yeah they actually did unironically rule though so like much respect to them like what whatever happened to them rest in peace uh because it couldn't have been anything good so yeah I was baldilocks so oh o that's brutal yeah my sister's is this because you had no hair yeah also really the the the double whammy of the fact that my sister's blonde so she's Goldilocks and I was baldilocks oh that's pretty brutal that's like o yeah that's going to give you some complexes like multiple complexes well British people are pretty like pretty brutal right they really they've got did you see that thing where like um Prince William or whatever was named like 24th sexiest man in the UK he was top 10 he was top right top 10 I saw this tweet that was like does the word sexy mean something different in the the UK like chips versus fries or something like how are we using this word at this point uh hang on I'm was it like Pi Borg on there as well as being like number 40 or something Jeremy Clarkson was named number one I mean yeah okay what do you say to that list what do you say to that list at that point I mean clearly they're going for something that's not really that same definition as everybody else you know what I mean I mean okay I'm sorry I didn't realize that it was a poll that was conducted by married dating site ilicit encounters oh so one of this is like that time when we host when we like cited a survey from like casino.com or whatever that was top favorite protagonist in video games from casino.com or something oh my God so we really deserve what we get when we sight sources like that I'm sorry baly Lux that's okay yeah I will never call you that again it's you know what let's work that into the thumbnail Eric and the title I can laugh about it now but a few years ago I did have alipa which is not a laughing matter well no I no it's not a laughing matter but I have to cope through humor and um I had like stress induced alipa and when I had like this little thing of hair like a a bunch of hair missing at the back I was like no one tell my dad cuz I don't want to be baldilocks ever again no for sure it's okay it's all back it's good good brutal very [Music] nice anyway hi everyone welcome to uh friends per second I was trying to think of some episode 47 46 46 um yeah we getting ready for summer game Fest we're all going to be out in LA in person again another one mhm it's a really stacked I haven't really spoken about this on my own channel yet but it's a really stacked couple of days like I have four straight days essentially backtack bookings oh yeah of um mainly Hands-On like there's some showcases and like one or two hands-off demos but like mainly it's just playable stuff and it's a lot more than last year actually I'm not sure if you guys feel this way was able to fit everything I had to turn away quite not quite a bit of stuff but definitely some stuff that I would have liked to have had room for so I'm not sure what that means as an overall indicator of Industry success or health versus the fact that well now that everyone knows that summer games exist Publishers are on board with it there's no E3 lingering in the background potentially whatever Publishers are like okay summer gam is what it is and they've kind of gotten ready for it in advance and they're ready for it and so there's quite a bit and I definitely expect that you'll see yeah there's some cool surprises coming I could say that already um and I'm really excited about quite a few things that we're going to get to play so yeah be rad yeah I don't have as much hands on time as you guys because I'm doing obviously gam spot commitments things Giant Bomb stuff yeah at one point someone from our work was like hey can you go on this podcast during summer game Fest and I was like no nope no I can't but thank you for asking um but I'm I'm getting to talk to some fun people I'm getting to the games that I'm booked in to see I'm very very excited about they uh but the thing is is that like my hosting stuff is up up until the Sunday night so everything I've got to basically try and cram everything in on the Monday which is you know the last day of a convention is famously the best day of the convention to go see everything because um no one's tired and everyone is still also the presenters don't give a [ __ ] at that point they're like yeah whatever here's a controller you're like what do I do they like listen just figure it out okay just don't break it I just want to go can I can I film this screen as I play they're like do whatever you like it's fine like I just want to see day of the devs that's my my big thing that's always my favorite stuff every year so for people who don't what what is Day of the devs so day of the devs is now it's now it's a nonprofit uh it was founded by um double fine and im8 bit and it's basically a um they get a bunch of Indie dabs to submit games that are then vetted and then they are put on in showcases where people can like go and actually play them there is like they do like um in San Francisco cuz that's where double find is from they like rent out a theater they just did one at MoMA over GDC and they have these big cool showcases like in person during the day that people can go to and then at nighttime they did like this cool show on stage which is awesome but like typically that my favorite thing from every summer game Fest has been a day of the devs it's just the it's like where the the weird cool stuff yeah is for sure yep yep yep so if you don't have that appointment I would yeah I gotta get on that recommend that you do I'm excited for summer game Fest just because it feels different than E3 at least for me it's like the workload is there but it's like the way everything is laid out it's very different it feels like a college campus where you're like walking around with your backpack and everybody's got their backpacks you see people you know but like there's room to like stop and have a cup of coffee and like you know check up on your notes and like get your [ __ ] together or film or something and it's it's cool I didn't realize um God yeah and it's also like I didn't realize it like was an extra day because I think in my head it's like oh it's just Friday to Sunday but yeah now it goes up until the Monday yeah the whole thing is expanding like it's like another day I think it's like a bigger space I don't know for sure but yeah it's like I mean that cool campus where they have it it's sort of like they I don't know like they're unlocking a bit every year like it just kind of gradually it it yeah you're right it is like the base upgrades over time uh Jeff K's leveling it up um yeah no I look it's a really great time and yeah right I think that point about pace is really good because I think you know E3 is this crazy or was I should say rest in peace it's just insane event two massive Halls everyone is there there's a billion bookings L just it's it's so it's so much right and I think that also comes through in your coverage which feels quite breathless you know because it's like you just have so much to turn through it's really hard to like sit with things and kind of just like really play something cuz you're on the floor playing things at E3 but there's like so much like this cacophony of noise around you all the time and there's 50 people behind you it's just hard to kind of like sit there and really sit with a game and play it and you know just give it your full attention whereas yeah Summer Games is smaller it's more intimate it's less crazy and so it does I find result in better Hands-On sessions and I've always I've liked it for that reason um plus embargos as well like I think for people out there listening too there's going to be like almost staggered like there's going to be things that we play at Summer Games Fest that we can immediately be like this was cool but then a lot of games have embargos so it's like everybody can go to the event play these things come back prepare coverage talking points stuff like that that results in better coverage like it really does because we can actually think about it rather than just like bluring out the first scene that comes into our brain and you know then clicking publish so yeah like doing show Floor video what what's up guys it's me Jake here at E3 2016 I I miss I'm currently walking from Hall one to Hall two and it's uh I'm on minute 25 of that Journey you know I'm nearly at the end like [ __ ] hallway God that I'm going to interject actually because the the user question that I picked out I thought was going to like end this segment but I think it's actually going to be quite additive um so remember contact a friends.com this is from Eevee fall hello Eevee fall um hi I think you guys are cool and I admire you guys a bunch um we just have to get to know us better that's all we'll set you straight don't worry about it um cool is not the right word I would say listening you'll see um the three of you are my favorites when it comes to games industry stuff from reviews to tastes so it's pretty awesome that you podcast together for the fun of gaming and games IND do stuff and even sometimes talk about cool nerdy stuff that isn't gaming um then Eevee puts in like a really nice like compliment for all of us and thank you but it's it's long so I'm going to cut it but it's really nice thank you thank you eie appreciate it anyway my question is as people engaging in the space of gaming media do you guys feel like you miss E3 or rather those really cool press conference events personally it was a personal dream of mine to one day go to E3 but sadly as it fell apart and more companies instead opted to do video directs and such while I still like watching the live streams I miss those cool press conference moments that would give you chills because of a really cool reveal or gate of a trailer or gameplay or even just the the way they presented things to a live audience like having keano come out um for cyber Punk yeah I mean look I've definitely said this multiple times but like E3 was amazing incredible uh it will be there's so much cynicism towards it but I really believe every year that goes past it will be remembered more and more fondly people like oh I wish we could go back to that like 10 years from now uh the nostalgic goggles will be very strong um but having been there multiple times it was incredible it was also a life goal of mine to go to E3 I remember watching it when I was a kid and I just dreamed about the opportunity and when I finally got to go it would just felt unreal and it delivered on every one of my expectations you it's not one of those things where you get there and you're like it's all right I guess get there and you're like [ __ ] man this is better than I could have imagined it's incredible I never want to leave except you do want to leave because you're exhausted but um yeah it was amazing and not just the the showcases which were wonderful and it was so good especially the Sony ones no one put on a show like Sony at those events with this big old theater Hall and like live like chire in front of you just so much [ __ ] it was incredible um and so yeah we don't have that anymore which is a bummer and I definitely miss it and I will never be convinced that E3 that that Summer Games first is a downgrade like sorry I will never be convinced Summer Games first is not a downgrade it's nice in its own way don't get me wrong uh definitely some different for sure but net net if you were to ask me like which gun head which's it got to be I'm like E3 every time baby no question at all like whats in all E3 was um amazing you know and I it would be it's it's a shame that it's gone for sure yeah it really had the I mean E3 had the sexiness you know it had like the glitz it had the excitement it had all that it had the the legendary status and it's like as much as we had a lot of those moments those memorable moments where you have chills and oo that big announcement when they did that and the curtain came up or whatever those are great but equally I it was kind of fun to like laugh at the cheesy stuff I mean there's always like the cringe compilations and stuff like that right right but I don't know it was kind of funny like it was always funny to see like both ends of the top end of the gaming industry where it's like we're spending all this money look how cool this is and then it's like we're spending all this money look how out of touch and Goofy we are you know yeah respect to that I miss it a lot that's the thing I like I like E3 and summer game Fest for like very different reasons I like summer game Fest because it is more chill it is I I prefer to work that show like just in in terms of uh yeah it's still packed and you're still busy and everything but it's not you know pulling all nigh's E3 style because everyone was rushing to do the same thing and get the same thing out but like E3 had like cuz I went I think eight times was very very lucky I went a lot and it was while just the scale of it just how big those booths were and you know 2K would always have like a massive um statue that they would make bespoke and then wheel it out all around the world and Nintendo would theme their booth and then Nintendo booths were crazy Nintendo booths were always they were like half of a the half of the one of the exhibition Halls was like Nintendo the zelder one felt like prototype Nintendo World like it was honestly was so ridiculous and I remember seeing like the lines for that as well to people to play breath of the wild the line stretch for like 3 hours because the demo that you could play was like the entirety of um the plateau and they wouldn't kick you off like you could just keep playing so people were on there for so long one of the cool things about working at Gamespot during that time is cuz we had a booth which meant that we got to go in during load out because we had exhibitor badges that's cool and so going in the day before and seeing everything cuz they would cover it in like plastic and they would cover Christmas presents yeah they would cover it in like garbage bags to make sure that like um uh logos didn't leak or a game reveal didn't leak but I remember going in early and I was at the Nintendo booth and um we were right next to it and some very kind Nintendo employees let us go in and play stuff a little early and so that's cool it was really nice Doug Bowser himself yeah hooked you up but that's the thing like I I met that's how I met mamoto he he was in the corridor at E3 I just like Fast him just handing out random high fives to people he's like hey I'm Moto what's up everyone yep yep yep you get one you get one how how you doing that's how it goes it really was like I went knowing nobody I went covering everything as a single person I've went running an entire team I've like done all of the different angles of e3 and like I've done it broke I've done it with literally no money and me at E3 being like I'm so hungry I got to find an or derve somewhere uh so it's like a very interesting like spot in career career Milestone but I agree with Ralph where it's like it is going to be looked back as like man that was a thing you that was a thing we had whether you were there or whether you watching it on like G4 or whatever your equivalent was or YouTube it was it was cool it was video game Christmas you remember like taking off work for it well that's I mean that's the thing like I was in the UK so it meant like staying up super super late to watch everything yeah but no I I I like the way that summer game first is growing though and it's not trying to chump off too much every year it is still a manageable show yeah it's got some good [ __ ] I'm excited for this year and I'm interested to see if like because obviously Jeff has been involved in E3 I wonder if he would let it get to the the size and scope of E3 or if he will keep it that more like confined experience but just you know gradually let more and more people in I think the one thing that E3 had the like definitely missing at this point like talking to some friends of mine who are in like the business side of things it's like E3 was this business Hub and summer game first doesn't really offer the same like there is no real networking thing for B2B I could definitely see Jeff adding that I don't see him adding like a consumer component because the logistical Challenge and the scaling up of that is so gigantic and the risk involved but if you were to have like a day like a whole area devoted to networking and like a networking program and whatever else like a definitely see that happening cuz like Jeff's Savvy business dude like he knows how to work those angles and I think that would definitely make a lot of sense for him and his style um but do I see him doing consumer stuff no which I think is a bit of a shame but at the same time like there's other consumer stuff right there there's Gamescom you know which is cool and there's paxes you know which are always great um remember when PlayStation had one well nintend I never Nintendo are about to do one in Sydney actually in uh the end of SE end of August September dude if that's the one that was at um Pax West last year the same awesome okay well I'm going I'm excited so that's is that happening um it was so fun pumped yeah yeah yeah so it's kind of like and I mean Xbox had FanFest stuff too and it's like yeah I kind of like that you know you are taking your destiny into your own hands a little bit there when it comes to especially if you're a platform holder but I do miss just being able to like oh I'll go to Nintendo and I'll go to PlayStation and you know those were good they were the best of times they were the blurst of times stupid monkey stupid monkey yep what is that from The Simpsons from The Simpsons the typ the monkeys and the typewriters oh God right that's deep in my brain it's there maybe I'll start watching The Simpsons again instead of my oh that's a good idea to be honest the Conan era well that's the thing cuz every time um when all the Conan stuff was going around yeah everyone was just posting like great Simpsons clips and I would just watch them like Yeah The Planet of the Apes musical bit which I saw doing the rounds on Twitter the best oh God did you guys see the new one yet did you guys see the new uh no I'm so excited to watch it I actually have I've watched number one and two but I haven't watched three so I want to do like the whole thing hell yeah I want to talk about movies more later in the podcast we can furiosa chats oh yeah cuz I'm going to see it tomorrow but I we won't spoil anything CH for you guys yeah cool cool absolutely but eeve thank you for your question um I guess like in terms of this week's episode we've got summer game like there's a bunch of different stuff going on it's kind of like a grab bag of news because there isn't really one big thing dominating the headlines unless something happens after we've recorded this we're recording this on Tuesday no one do anything PlayStation will have their showcase TVD and not that if that's going to be a big deal or not but we'll see yep um what else is got like card is officially coming a Game Pass woke up this morning we I feel like we were just talking about like is it going to I don't know what's going to happen and here we are the next episode it's official I'm like really stunned I never would have guessed that they well not guessed obviously but like I I would have bet big money against them doing this so if anyone hasn't heard the news yes the new Cod is Black Ops 6 and it's going to be on Game Pass day one like it's just that's it that's that's what they're doing the thing that everyone was like will they or won't they it's like they're doing it um and I would have bet very big money against this because there's just a lot of Revenue that you sacrifice when you do this uh but I maybe it's not because they see it as hey people are going to sign up for Game Pass and they're going to forget about it and rather than giving us you know 60 or 70 upfront dollars we'll get that money over s months I guess plus the microtransactions that will happen when you get that install base up and yada yada yada I don't know you know what it feels like sorry I'm sorry to inter you know what that feels like to me that feels like trying to build like a like an online following by just doing giveaways where it's like you get them numbers up my God you get the numbers up but do you build a holistic real genuine Community I don't know oh my God that is like you're saying that to a group like to a YouTuber as well like CU I know that that is how YouTube YouTubers used to build their careers exactly way they used to build their channels on the basis of amaz gift card giveaway make sure you leave a comment below blah blah blah right you're right actually it kind of does okay it's probably a bit harsh but I think I know what you're saying in that the general vicinity yeah it does it does it does it it for me personally it feels like a bit of a rle like a last roll of the dice with game pass because we've heard about how much it's sort of plateaued over the last little while like it's kind of been two years really flat and obviously Microsoft's first party offering on that has not been great and you can't really predict the third party offering either like you can't reliably put your game pass money down and know exactly what's coming each month it's it's almost like a lucky dip even on aend like P world I'm sure that took them by surprise too they were like oh yeah we have we have that on this yes that's right so too right like manal Lords yes Mana Lords is also on there and that still sold 2 million units by the way which is like insane that it's it's done that well but yeah I mean this feels like they really want to get Game Pass growing this there's no more powerful growth Vector for Game Pass than this video game other than putting Grand Theft Auto 6 on there on day one which obviously is not going to happen um but there would be no single better way to grow Game Pass and to really test what are the limits of its growth potential than to put this video game on there so I mean I wouldn't have guessed that they' do it but they doing it and okay let's that's an interesting experiment let me just to see how that goes you did a good job of explaining kind of like what I was feeling but didn't have the intelligence to explain I know you mean I know exactly what you mean it's like well they have tried everything they've built up they've added value to the subscription like older games just a bunch of games uh they did the big you know quote unquote exclusive Blockbusters for Game Pass like a Starfield now this is the biggest thing that they can do you're right the only other thing Grand Theft Auto 6 but that's like not happening so yeah yeah this is interesting to see how this works I hope that Black Ops 6 is weird like the first one because then that would make this all even funnier where it's like we put this weird trippy FPS on here I don't know if it's going to be but yeah I mean c no cod's a juggernaut right but like yeah what realistically what's the split between PC PlayStation and and Xbox players I'm going to guess and this is total guess but I'm going to guess at this point it's like 60% PlayStation 20% Xbox 20% PC that's a total like guess I have no idea but like that feels about right given the overall Contours of the marketing of like game sales especially Cod which is a console game like it's it's definitely a console game uh and the Cod Community moved over to PlayStation last generation after like Sony basically like stitched that with all its exclusive deals and whatever so I would not be but there's still that hold over on Xbox who played on Xbox you know like that American audience who are really into it yes and so I definitely feel if anything it's maybe it's like 60% PlayStation 30% Xbox 10% PC you know because it's again it's just not a PC game maybe War Zone's different to that I don't know like not sure um but yeah so I think your question is is obviously along the lines of what are they actually sacrificing because you're still going to get all those PlayStation sales of course they're still going to buy it at 60% let's say um and then you're still going to get your some of your Xbox and your PC people who are going to pay for it regardless let's say you know like let's say 50% of those consumers um pay for it still so maybe you're given up 20% of your overall Revenue base and you're trading that for the potential of that ongoing revenue and building up game pass over time maybe that's the broad math again total especially because there's one coming out the year after that year after that all right we miss the year wey to we did a weird gamble for one year so let's see what happens yeah I'm just so interested to see how it plays out for them because it does just feel like this yeah this this grab to get people on Game Pass and like I'm really really intrigued to see how it plays out because it does feel like it feels really weird like it makes all the sense in the world for them because they own like cod but I don't know could you imagine if Diablo 4 and obviously that release came after the acquisition or before the acquisition but it's like if Diablo 4 just launched on Game Pass like it it eventually went there right but like it eventually went there yes exactly day one like it just and that was huge that was huge for for for game well I don't know how big it was for Game Pass growth but it was definitely a very big shot in the arm for Diablo you know like Game Pass immediately became the most played Diablo 4 platform you well Microsoft I should say like Microsoft platform well did you see the the Dead Island thing from the embrace news it's like um I'll have to figure out I'll have to find out the actual like numbers but it was like 8 million through but like six or seven of those million more on Game Pass or something oh sure I understand it's a game for it like I used to think that game pass game was like a very derogatory term and I I don't know if is it still but like there are games that now I feel where I'm like it's worth just kind of downloading and playing for a few hours and seeing what's up up yeah yeah and that's for me personally I've always looked at Game Pass and I've always it's always set uncomfortably to me that new brand new games would arrive Day One on Game Pass right I've really like like don't get me wrong it's very good for the consumer for sure but I've always wondered like H is that how this should be like is that actually going to be the best end result for the overall sustainability of game development and and Studios and whatever else I don't know for me I think these Services should be really great back catalog places where after a game's been out for a year plus then they go on there and that's how you can play your back catalog cool but the brand new stuff I don't know I I don't like that idea I know they're trying to condition consumers towards this future yeah like but like you look at Spotify right now like the music industry is not better off because of Spotify you know it's just it's it's not um I will always bring up Netflix and the gy man and how much money they spent on that massive movie that I watched and it evaporated from my brain and everybody's brain instantly I watched the J I watched it so I watched the JLo Atlas movie Her character's name is atlas and the movie is so forgettable that I couldn't remember what it was called to put it in letter box to log it it's so great it's shocking that film is but anyway but like that's the thing you can make movies and TV shows as content because the costs for them are like from to okay the cost of making a AAA video game at this point is insane versus you can still make a TV show and or a movie with a fairly with a significantly reduced budget versus making a tripa game obviously if you're making a j James Cameron movie that's still huge right but you can put together a small TV production or a small movie or whatever at a reasonable budget but there's just a lot of content churn on those platforms like you're not it's that old line of like they're not really it's not art it's content and I think video games are kind of immune from it becoming that because of the prohibitive cost of of game development but I do worry that consumers expecting all this stuff day one for $10 it's just not really sustainable given the cost of that development so like I don't know I I I've always just it's always sat uncomfortably for me and I'm like it must be sustainable on some level right because Game Pass is profitable that's what we're being told we're not we're not told it's making a loss but how much are developers sacrificing in order to prop up that model I don't know the answers to that right interestingly Edmund a member of my my team um he we he reached out to about a dozen game makers to ask them like how is you know how are you feeling about publishing your games on Xbox and one of the things that came back from a few of those developers was the idea that it's not worth putting your game and they're smaller game makers by the way double A and Indie and they're like it's not worth putting your game on Xbox unless you have a Game Pass deal because con Xbox consumers are essentially condition now to expect their games on game pass so if you're going to Port your game to Xbox and expect to make your money back from sales alone it's probably not going to happen it's not worth it um so again look at how Xbox Microsoft has conditioned those consumers and sure it's a smaller sample size maybe other developers disagree with that and that's fair enough but the ones that Edmund spoke to that's what came back interestingly if you're interested to read that whole thing that's on the patreon right now I'm not spooking the patreon it's free to everyone by the way it's not behind the payroll so just go and grab it if you like but really fascinating insight about how Game Pass has shaped consumer Behavior specific to the Xbox platform to the point where developers don't want to Port a game unless they get that game pass deal to lock in their revenue I wonder what else because you would get I assume a lumpsum for signing a game with Game Pass um but I wonder what else what are the benefits being a part of that like I was reading the um if you don't read the game discovero newsletter is fantastic I was reading um the manl Lords one earlier today and he was basically saying that like it was the most wishlisted game on Steam and then they signed with the publisher super late because um guy who made it who made the game was just like I don't want to be replying to press emails I don't want to be emailing out keys I don't want to be doing tags on Steam and so like he signed with the publisher specifically so that they could take all that busy work I do wonder if being part of the Xbox like Game Pass deal does kind of give you a leg up in terms of discoverability obviously you get the here the games come to Game Pass like blast and stuff but I wonder if they also kind of help you out in a little way like in terms of visibility because that catalog as with all catalogs like Netflix PlayStation plus every single catalog now is an absolute disaster there is too much stuff it's not curated very well and so I wonder if you have a pal at Xbox who's like okay I'll give you placement on front page yeah I mean that's a good point I mean well at the very at the very least you get a shout out when you get added to the list if you're if you're game you they have like that image of all of the games that are coming in that that drop and you get that upfront profiling I think for games that are multiplayer focused it's a huge leg up because a lot of the barriers to entry for a game like back for blood for example which was not day one game pass as I recall God I forgot about out Riders was out rers was right and so it's a co-op shooter and you want to play that with your friends and so that kind of really makes a lot of sense for game pass because yeah then your friends might be willing to like like spend 10 bucks and have a crack at something just CZ rather than having to spend $70 on it you know so I definitely see that providing a lot of amplification opportunity on that on that front um other than that yeah I I don't know I mean most of the developers that I've heard from speak positively about that's the thing M musicians [ __ ] hate Spotify they rag on it endlessly they hate it right but game developers don't really complain about game pass that much or Publishers don't complain about it that much like they might say the margins have been shrunk a little lately or whatever but they don't really winge about it I found I don't see a lot of negative sentiment so my guess is on balance they view it positively you know I wonder if that that depends on how big you scale too though like if you are an indie and this is kind of like a guaranteed success because you are getting that lumpsum you're getting like visibility and whatever but I think if you get pass like I wouldn't necessarily like I wouldn't call outriders a success like they did that game is actually profitable to this point like all these years later so um so it's more like a scalable issue in terms of whether Game Pass is worth it for you as a developer yeah and then of course there's there's the outliers where you have like a breakout hit and it doesn't you know I found myself just as a consumer just enjoying Game Pass more when I see a game going viral or like some creative indie game and I go oh and then I look and I go oh it's on Game Pass nice incing me like giving me that little kick out the door to like really go and play it cuz it's right there is there so you know how on uh streaming services like I don't want to have to scroll through every single one to see if um the movie that I want to watch is on there there was an app called just watch you just type in what you want to watch it tells you where it's streaming do we have that for PlayStation sounds like a good business idea good bus idea right yeah but but what I I do think it's kind of interesting that we've had these services for a while now but okay from the developers that Edmund spoke to or whatever they sort of said audiences are being conditioned to only to want their games from Game Pass okay Sony though has their ps+ and extra tiers and whatever else uh Ubisoft have their subscription platform as does EA trying to think as any other I think they're the only ones kind of has one didn't that's e EA's in Game Pass ultimate it is only when like the the games become like have been out for a while it goes into their second tier and the second tier is in Game Pass yes and was Ubisoft Plus in there too I actually think it might be at this point yes I think but I think it's the same deal where they have like a premium tier whatever but my point overall is that like with the music industry all of us would have like a Spotify account right all of us listen to music on Spotify that's how we do it that's how we get all our music and everyone I think that is how the entire industry has moved over to that it doesn't really feel quite the same with video games and I don't feel like it's it's not tending toward that either I don't know I just feel like the video game ownership idea is still has been surprisingly resilient but I can see it for casual audiences absolutely uh almost in like again to bring it back to movies where now a lot of people who go to movies here and there now only go when Avengers 4 is in theaters that's it and I see you know especially talking about how you heard from developers where their players are conditioned to have stuff on Game Pass so I I almost like can see a future just knowing some casual players where $70 is already a tough sell for a game so I see a lot of them only going out when it's like oh okay new Madden or oh Grand Theft Auto like something that they know like the heavy hitter that they plunk down for right so I I could see like like the the larger you know that the one that we don't talk about a lot like the Casual people that kind of going that way yeah I guess so it's definitely possible I I think as well there's like also a different um mindset around like sales cuz like video games can be really heavily discounted really often and so that a lot of people just wait for sale and then they will grab a game for five bucks and it's like okay cool versus like a movie you don't if you see a movie for sell at five bucks in a bin you don't really care like you know because you just don't really buy physical movies anymore I Do by the way I love them but most people don't you know and um I was going to say we've been conditioned to devalue movies in a different way though because it'll be out in theaters and then I can wait three weeks to a month and it'll be I know it's so bad you can watch it on Tik Tok yeah in 90 different clips someone uploaded the entirety of challenges to Twitter the other day like the whole fil and I was like I remember June got uploaded June 2 got uploaded the exact same way with some really good that was when the the the gift game began I was like finally we're here I'm going to watch megalopolis via Instagram vide on the subway apparently it's so bad I can't wait awesome can't wait I want to know if they're going to do the person the IRL person B in every theater he about this Ral no what is this so the movie you can explain it you can explain it better there's a point in the film where is it Adam driver's character I don't know talks to a person and then at the screenings they've been having they had an actual person come out and stand in front of the screen and look up at Adam Driver like no way yeah I hope it's like an AMC employee this is like that's some hide kajima [ __ ] Francis for coper smoking too much weed in his trailer being like you know it would be a good idea he didn't he sell his Winery he sold the uh the video did he did he sold like everything I think he sold everything yeah Kevin cner did it too to make like a cowboy movie he's making like four of them yeah that's right exactly after like making a decade's worth of cowboy shows now he's making cowboy movies I want to make my own all right that's it that's it anyway the point is Game Pass uh I don't know it's it's such a complex Beast no no one can really predict how it's going to go uh again I would never have predicted that game that Cod would be on Game Pass day one but it is and so you know it's it's things are happening I I don't know if it's going to be net good or net bad for the industry right I just I but my overall concern is that if you are conditioning audiences to not want to buy these extremely expensive games uh or you expecting them to get it for like 10 bucks brand new on day one I'm like that doesn't sound quite right you know and then I think you might end up just getting like Netflix and Atlas JLo's Atlas is really where it's at you know what I mean yeah but maybe we'll get you know the one good thing that Netflix has given us is a really good variety of really trashy TV shows like love is blind and that Viral hit like every once in a while something will pop up and it's like what is this crazy thing on Netflix Tiger King sure yeah exactly Tiger King he comforted Us in the the Deep depths of covid-19 God that was like the first thing to drop it was like God bless him for that he seems like a good guy right I don't I didn't finish seem pretty wholesome that was my impression from him so no isn't he like in jail for being like a criminal murderer man or something I don't really remember you remember the whole point of it is how much of a piece of [ __ ] this guy is and that [ __ ] Carol what was that name Carol B he's like that [ __ ] Carol Baskin just cross the league raging on oh God it was so funny though like can't believe that was like Anyway speaking of speak of Game Pass um obviously last episode we had Dom Matthews from Ninja Theory want to talk about hellblade to we'll talk about hellblade when it comes to the what we've been playing but I mean there was a little bit of scuttlebutt about how long it is and I feel like that's strange because they did outright say how long it was going to be before the game came out yeah but I feel like the chat wasn't really about how long the game is because I think that's some there is but like you Twitter mate you are not see no no no listen I'm on Twitter of course but I mean that's the lwh hanging fruit like no no I've always been doob scrolling Twitter cuz like you have to keep up with it to to see the news right so like you can ignore that stuff cuz you're like okay obviously whatever the argument that game too short is too simplistic an argument but the argument that like okay you've got this 5H hour game but what have you done with it like what have you actually provided in that 5 hour hours that was the more interesting conversation and I have not played hellblade 2 so I cannot comment however I have watched a number of reviews from people that I trust and respect and many of them basically kind of said that like they did not use that 5 hours particularly well so I don't know like cuz I haven't played have both of you played it an hour okay so you've pressed you've done the press forward part I pushed forward a lot in that for for now okay okay I want to finish it because I really enjoy the first hellblade and I was really excited for this game it looks incredible like I'm genuinely kind of astounded at how good it looks at sometimes but the momentto moment gameplay what I am doing and how I am interacting with the game is feels it's not ideal it's not compelling to me it's not giving me a satisfying Loop of I I'm interested to see how combat goes cuz they said they completely we rebuilt combat and I was like I don't know he did Jake's face says it all it's I just mashing one button and then occasionally blocking and parrying even rather than blocking but um yeah I don't know I'm the thing is like hellblade for me was always about the story and I'm interested to see how it's gone from a very introspective sen oh no Jake's no I I think there's still something that people can take away from the story that's what I because I think ultimately like you can't judge game based on obviously what it's trying to do you can kind of like I respect what they it's trying to do but ultimately it's in the execution and I really respect the way that Ninja Theory have been trying to talk about mental health and have um the experience of psychosis and how they try to be very um authentic when it's come to putting that into the game and I respect them a hell of a lot for that but if the rest of it's not great oh I don't know for me the the whole 5H hour thing or whatever for me I I finish in like 5 and a half hours it's it's a it's a pacing thing for me it it went down feeling like and I ultimately like I was glad I played it and I'd still recommend people who play the first one play it you know there's not too much time investment so give it a shot you might like the story but for me it was a matter of pacing and how the game felt like all of the lower points from the original game where the moment where you're really not doing much you're just walking you're listening to a little something you're in a cave that to me felt like a significant portion of this game and I it it was like the way it was structured it was like halfway through I'm like oh this is the part where you're in a cave you know every game every movie there's a part where the character's in the cave it goes on a little too long but here it went on too long and it was like a significant like third of the game and I was like oh so it it the way it all kind of panned out it led to me loving 5H hour games but with this one feeling distinctly like unfulfilled from the story not quite hitting me but also from a lack of uh my input my agency in anything CU I love a walking simulator type game I love I've defended games where you barely do anything in them but here it just it was not enough it was less than the first game and that was not what I was looking for I went in looking for not for hellblade 2 to become open world or like this big RPG or anything like that but to give me a little more agency find exciting new ways to kind of keep things going forward and uh it didn't quite do that so was there anything other than the visuals that you felt as though this game Advanced and was an improvement on the first game uh having no um no not for me personally no yeah and I think a number of the reviewers that I follow and Trust actually say exactly the same thing they're like there's no part of this that is any better so I wonder like how that happens because you've got a studio before this that you know made hellblade which for its time was you know quite I wouldn't say Cutting Edge but like you know it was very competent for what it was doing and it had some very strong ideas that presented very strongly and got a great reception from people and then that studio was acquired by Microsoft and and you know listening to the interview with dom last week and he's talking about how like all these extra resources they had and all this extra time doing motion capture stuff and you get the feeling that this studio kind of scaled up significantly and had a lot more resources at their disposal where do you think they would have how how does that how do you reconcile that like how do you reconcile this studio being bigger having more money and more time to work on this game but then ending up with a product that feels like it's a step backwards versus the previous offering it had to have gone into some production stuff because in in in the original game you fought faceless creatures and in this game you square off against a couple of like real dudes and especially like right at the start like after you're going through the beach in that early part you fight like a guy that looks like a real guy and he emotes he will shout at you he will look at you his animations will transition beautifully if he's like pointing at you and taunting at you and then you swing at him you'll see him pivot a lot of that stuff is like pretty stunning and that's kind of the only like thing I took away where that was the only moment where I was like Wow [ __ ] has been stepped up you know I didn't see it from an environment like layout design visually um combat yeah combat's a whole other thing man if we're going to go into it it's more visceral uh but it's it's it's lessened so you're only fighting enemies oneon-one now that was in the first one too right so the first one there' be a couple of guys and usually you get audio cues where it was like look out guy to your left behind you now you're only ever squaring off oneon-one which kind of is good because it helps that deliberate nature of a combat that the game has it's about strike Parry strike Parry back and forth but uh it led to it being kind of predictable in how the game would transition to you like you'd kill one guy okay A little thing will happen like an enemy will reach out from out of frame and push you and then all of a sudden you're facing another way and you're fighting another person and after a while that got so like predictable and rinse and repeat it was it was kind of a a disappointment and it was weird the only thing I really liked that they added to the combat is more projectiles more enemies throw things at you in the first game only a boss I believe threw things at you but now dudes will have little like throwing axes that they'll throw at you and you can do like the Aragorn like cling like with the with the with the arrow and it's it's very cool to pull off but uh yeah little moments like that photo photo mode and some moments in the story that I I I thought were pretty cool I just I didn't get a big takeaway like I did with the first one ultimately that that's it long long rambling way of saying not as good as the first I also was never I don't know the first one for me I was like that was great I don't need another one the game left off on being like we can tell more stories but I was like man this is a really good open shut thing so with this one it's a senua who has already gone through hell and back and learned about herself and like jumped in this point in her life so they try and do a little more of that but then also they introduce other characters a lot of other characters for a short game and for me they didn't really have quite enough time to really flesh out all of those characters and why they're important and why they're coming on the journey with you it almost feels like you meet one person you complete their thing and then it's like okay come along for the ride but like what did they really bring that's where I just felt what I and to go back to when I say unfulfilled I really just feel like the game needed more time like it just I could have used like you know another two hours or so just to really flush things out cuz it ended and I didn't take away too much from it I I think other people might I don't know but for me it didn't do you think it that ending was abrupt because of like production challenges they like we need to ship this we just got to cut out like could you see that there was like loose threads that weren't tied up or are you we just like no this is the ending they imagined and it just wasn't very good like the sbras the ending comes a little quick but it does try to say something it does do a whole a whole thing uh but yeah some of the characters those like Ensemble characters that come with you I I just wish two of them I was like why were you here what were you doing like you know and it felt like they had a little more so yep yep yeah I I think okay this is an awkward point to make so just bear with me okay right so okay like we have no idea how video games are made right as people who just about them all day we have so little CL we have the vaguest of ideas right to me and I think a video game like hellblade is really emblematic of or really highlights to be my own ignorance CU I'm like you know like I look at something like the these massive games that are put together uh o expansive open world games or whatever else and and they have Team sizes vary obviously for sure but they take like five or six years to put together and that's that but then you've got something like hellblade which is like 100 people worked on this for 6 years and it's a roughly 5H hour game that from the sounds of it doesn't really seem to advance mechanically over the first one uh you know it's a very linear experience you don't need to account for the player doing lots of different things it's not physics driven or anything like that it's a very sort of very scripted very linear very narrative driven um mechanically simple game that runs for 5 hours and so my broad point and and that's not to say like what have Ninja Theory been doing all this time because that's not the point like I've definitely been around the block enough times to know my own ignorance in this part but this is part of my own ignorance that I'm talking about here it's kind of like well what have they been doing but also and then but what have fromsoft been doing and what have you know like spiders the developers who made Greed for those was them right it was spiders yeah it was spiders what what were they doing when they made their games and like what does it take to put together a game and what is like the reasonable amount of output you'd expect in terms of like I don't know I don't even I kind I don't even know how to talk about units in this is it hours played is it number of levels created per week or what I don't know does my point make sense it's kind of like cuz I I see I guess the reason I'm raising this is because a lot of people do say like what the [ __ ] have Ninja Theory been doing for five years with this is all they've they've made and I'm like well there has to be an answer to that question but the truth is I don't know the answer to that question I don't believe that Ninja Theory was sitting around on their ass doing nothing for 5 years is but I can also I also can't answer that question because of my own ignorance of like not understanding how games are fully made does my point make sense at all I hope I'm making some broad sense yeah so I have no idea what it could be other than that it's like different engine uh new advancements in motion capture technology I'm interested to have I would be interested to have that conversation in good faith like so tell us Dom who you met last week like okay so you worked on this game for five years like how how was that 5 years spent uh like tell us what it actually means to make a game like this and why it takes 5 years to to do that versus I don't know whatever else that we play that's you know three times as long with like four times the amount of content in averted commas um made by a similar team of people but then I don't know do you what I'm saying no I do and I also wonder I mean we didn't really talk about it with dom but like I also wonder what the impact of tamim leaving was because he wrote and directed the first game yeah and so was there a meaningful shift and like you know when he left Ninja Theory they had to kind of plug the gaps in there maybe that's why the story is not hitting as hard or whatever and it's like obviously not buying into the order stuff at all you know games made by hundred hundreds of people 100 people in this case but like you know how does that impact production how does that impact what your original plan was the original goal of the game was versus what ultimately was released yeah for sure for sure yeah no I definitely plan to play it at some point um I want to reiterate too like I because I spent a lot of time like rambling about like what I don't like but ultimately I was still it it was interesting how well it just got right back into it like I was like okay I'm once again in cenu with shoes I have the the 3D audio I have the same atmosphere it feels cool to be back in this world so it provided that for me those like 5 hours of like being back in the world of a game I really loved um and you know again some people might find the story or really CIS Arc and it's hard to talk about it without spoiling things but like they might find that a little bit more satisfying than I personally did I don't know I'm I'm fed up of Greek gods I want I want Viking and Norse gods back baby and all that's cuz there aren't many games based oning nor Gods I mean there's not many of those there real shortage of them of course of them are there any Viking games coming out anytime soon uh I don't think so valheim 2 is that a thing yet valheim 1 is not even out yet let's be real we're still waiting on what valheim one to finish up so cre Vala and God of War there could be more and hellblade 2017 hell blade and that's it and there's like a billion indie games based on it as well so all right we got one more thing in the news grab bag that we're going to get to but first a word from our [Music] sponsor have you guys been rocking the the raycon lately or what hell yeah I got them right here these earbuds have been kicking can I say ass can I say kicking ass you're allowed to say ass am I ass say ass though not not ass ass say ass yeah come on say ass well raycon has been kicking ass because they're providing quality Sound Performance features at about half the price of other premium wireless audio Brands and now their everyday earbuds are updated with a new design uh case is a little sleeker it's got a quick charge function multi-point connectivity so if like you want to like have somebody else get in on the action uh it's got active noise cancellations something that the previous model really needed definitely that's a big upgrade yeah I mean I found it still blocked out a fair amount of noise in general but yeah active noise cancelling is a really nice step up for sure I just like having a pair of these good to go because uh they have water resistance they're like sweat resistance stuff like that they're pretty durable uh I wore them this weekend while I was cleaning out my gutters that is probably the most boring thing I've said on this podcast but as I cleaned out my gutters one of the raycons popped out landed in the gutter filled with water and leaves brush that sucker right off po her right in no problem wow well this is going to sound like [ __ ] like but it's true though but the rayons actually don't pop out of my ears and that's actually why I wear them because my ear shape is weird and I have giant ears that everything else like other earbuds just fall out of like I literally can't wear the Apple ones for example cuz they just do not work in my ears um these have all the little gel tips so you can choose which one to get that but even like I found that even with ones that do have selectable gel tips it's like the shape of the actual earbud just doesn't fit but these ones the way they like tuck in the just really solid and they just never fall out for me and that's actually one of the main reasons that I use my Recons as much as I do and I have a couple of pairs as well cuz I have like one in my gym bag and I have like one laying around my house uh and CU they're they're not that expensive it's easy to get more than one set without feeling like you're you know just being irresponsible yeah um because yeah I never like being without a set of earbuds like when I'm out when I'm wherever like I just want to have that with me cuz I kind of need music in my ears to do anything like if I just have room sounds like the sounds of people around me I'm like no I can't think I can't function I have to block it out can't handle the sounds of life just exactly so if you head over to by raycon.com slfs toay you can get 15% off your raycon order plus free shipping um that's right you'll get 15% off and free shipping at by raycon.com friends that's by ron.com thank you again to rayon for sponsoring this episode and I don't know if I can say this legally but the voice that tells you connected power on I I have a crush on her so she's my friendman yeah move step aside [Music] scarjo and I guess the other big thing that happened over the last couple of weeks is that uh gamer network has found its buyer in IGN so read pop the company behind shows like PA MCM ComicCon in the UK um owned a network of video game media websites so Euro gamer Rock Paper Shotgun vg247 under contract uh VGC they did they did own games bears and channels like outside extra and outside Xbox digital Foundry uh they sold that portfolio to IGN um and so it's kind of it's a weird one for me because I know a lot of people at those sites like I'm from the UK and you know Euro gamer was like the publication like back when we used to have the games media Awards don't ask uh they would win like every award every year they would consistently produce like the most thought-provoking stuff like I really enjoyed their criticism um and then yeah similarly with you know places like vg247 and Rock Paper Shotgun If You're owner PC and you're not reading Rock Paper Shotgun what are you doing um and so it feels very weird because it's you know it's the games Media consolidation thing and obviously there have been layoffs already so um like the Editor in Chief of uh gamesindustry.biz Brandon Sinclair uh Alice from Rock Paper Shotgun and numerous other people have all kind of lost their jobs in this process it seems like everyone outside of of the UK they said right um but there's someone else was saying that and I wonder if that's because they don't need to provide any kind of notice because the UK has specific laws about having to provide notice to staff and I wonder if then 60 days from now when that notice period might expire or whatever they haven't served notice to those people yet so I guess that's not happening but it just seems odd that they would be able to ask those people immediately yeah that's that sucks so yeah and so yeah I mean that was a lot of a lot of angry quote I mean imagine where because I think it was Chris ding over at games industry. Bay like wrote the article and that had like over a thousand or something quote tweets about people being really kind of angry at the news Al so it's another story in a line of like you know the the traditional game industry the written word struggling online and uh that's a that's like if you're listening and you're like well what does this mean for me that that's what it means it's less we like just the on trend of less things to read less people writing these things I one of the things that is getting me about it is that like all of those websites in their own way would publish weird stuff and like especially like rock paper shotgun and they would encourage the weirdness and like all of those people who work there and hopefully still will continue to work there had you know like someone like Chris donlin for example as a legend and for good reason and um if you've never read any features by Chris Don you should definitely go he's done some fantastic stuff over the years um I don't know it's just kind of like horrible to think of the potential snuffing out of those voices because can those Publications exist the way that they do Under the banner of IGN which is something completely different and like that's no shade to IGN at all I've got a lot of friends there I use IGN like every day they do some incredible work but some of the features that they like I can't see some of the things jelling with IGN I also don't see like is it an SEO play are they going to get folded in all oneup to increase the footprint of IGN like in that territory it's weird I guess and kind of sad and part of me is like the games industry um like oh here's the Silver Lining at least a lot of the people still have their jobs like to hold on to some element of like good news about it but in the reality of for now for now and yeah the reality of everything is that everything is shrinking and it's sad and things are changing and I don't necessarily like I definitely have a lot of thoughts on this go for it I got I got mine out uh but I think all of this is very bad uh and I think people like oh I don't read websites anyway it's like okay cool I think many people still do and I think that the power of certain websites and certain writers is still very important uh and I don't and that's not just limited to investigative reporting by the way like you have your Shri and you have your um Rebecca Valentine whatever and like there's this handful of people who do investigative reporting which is super rare because there's no money in it as in there's no money in for Publishers to like to fund that work right because that article is still only going to get X number of clicks when if Jason Tri wrote a guide for Elden ring he would be making Bloomberg a lot more money you know what I mean like that is just the economics of this business at this point and that's a very bad place for this industry to be but when these Publications are focused on ad Revenue that is where they're going to go right um and so you are going to have with this Cons with this with this sort of consolidation fewer Publications hiring fewer Riders and training and Training Up fewer Riders and I think this is it it's not and when I say writers I don't just mean like people who write I mean just people who cover games and cuz what I learned a long time ago is that like it takes time to get good at this job you know it actually does cuz I was so [ __ ] at it when I started and you think you're good cuz you're like hey I'm getting some clicks I'm getting some subscribers I'm I'm a natural Talent you're like no you're not you're [ __ ] garbage you know what I mean and it's only when you actually practice at this that you actually start to understand what this is and you're like oh okay and it's only now like six or seven years in that I feel like okay I'm actually a pretty good at this at this point you know like I know what I'm doing I know how to do this pretty well not to P myself on the back too much but I think I do an okay job at what I do and I feel like I've only really hit that equilibrium in the last little while because I've had this chance to essentially like train myself up you know what I mean because there hasn't been a structure around me to teach me how to do this better and to get better faster and these Publications are that place to do that right because independent content creation is a really lonely existence and everyone needs to figure out these same lessons themselves over time there's no one to teach or train you or Mentor you or anything like that right so having these like Publications that can bring people in and train them up about how to cover games well is important and I know what everyone and I know lot lots of people have criticisms about games media that's totally fine by the way I'm not here to say that all games Med media is inherently good or you know beyond criticism of course not absolutely just the same way that YouTubers are not all good and Beyond criticism the same way that I'm not all good and Beyond whatever you know what I'm saying right um but the point is that having these places where you can hire people and train them is good and at the same time like these people get paid peanuts people who work in games media get paid no money at all I don't think people actually understand how little like Freelancers are getting you know like I speak to some Freelancers who are reviewing games for $75 the entire review it's like they've worked for 25 hours to make to play this game and write up this review and they get paid $75 many of the reviews that you read online are unpaid they're just people on the grind who want to like you know try and get their name out there and they work for free and that is a fact like go and speak to many many freelance writers about the amount of free work that they've had to do to like get get like one toe in the door you know what I mean and that whole model doesn't work already and it works even less when you only have like a handful of Publications out there you know making any kind of opportunity possible right um and then I think there's just the whole risk of AI That's coming along and like the AI is just going to sweep the legs out from what's left that IGN is fine cuz they're going to be they're big and they've got momentum whatever else but your smaller Publications who are relying on X Y and Z AI is just going to come and crunch them because you won't need to actually click on that link anymore you just will get the answer that you want in search it's just and that's the stated goal of every search platform right now Google actually call it like Google Zero that is there this is not some byproduct thing that they might arrive at this is like that is what we are aiming at and then what does that mean for the sites that create that content they will die except for the really big ones like IGN who will survive or whatever right so yeah it sucks uh it's disappointing but it is just how it's how it's going and the only way that we can really like get better is if we yeah try and do it ourselves that's the truth like we need to like as in we content creators media people like forming their own collectives you see see it with second wind and you see it with no clip and you see it with you know a handful of other independent platforms um you know and it's like that's how it needs to be because we can't rely on these corporations to do this well or to make it sustainable or anything like that like it has to be funded by made possible by um these small outfits um yeah some sort of Independence and it's important for two ways because if you think Independence you you oh it's easy if like you're an established writer you have a voice you go out there you put up a patreon bing bong boom it doesn't always work like that not every writer has built an audience like that but they are still valuable they are still valid and like that's the stuff that I think still needs to get scooped up and I think that's the thing that people realize like need to like you said Ralph like get like fall into something uh independent because I personally like I value so much uh long reads like big long like history of how this game was made this X game blah blah blah blah blah those come fewer and far between they're also hard to find and uh I would miss that and I think that those types of things can live somewhere else independently specifically because yeah uh the corporations just don't like yes I know not everybody's going to read like Metal Gear Solid made me discover my sexuality or something like not everybody's going to read that piece but I think those are still interesting it's just that the corporations don't know how to monetize and make money from these things so I don't want to see an internet where it's just and guides writers do God's work but I don't want to see a world where it's like just guides writers because it's the last thing that is profitable for these companies that can't figure out anything else there has to be something else I I totally agree and and there's also of and I think another blind a lot of people say oh we just rely on you know YouTube and Tik Tok and streamers and it's and that's all we need and it's like okay first of all those people are not equipped to do investigative reporting generally speaking some of them are most of them aren't um because the the resources required to do that is so vast your average YouTuber whoever does not have the resources to do that um but secondly there's certain types of content that don't work that only really work in the written form you know like there's like for like if like an interview with a developer and I'm not talking about interviewing hiio kajima about death stranding 2 cuz that's immediately newsworthy but you know like having a a conversation with a a developer a smaller developer about a smaller game that they're putting out and you know you have that kind of conversation it's not worth its own video per se you know but like maybe there's a few grabs in there that are worth reporting on in a story and it leads to some bigger conversations you know um and yeah those sorts of like those deep dives into x y and z you know Metal Gear sexuality meril doing situps in the cell kind of thing you know what I mean that could work as a video sure but like could also just be a really great written piece that's you know like 12 paragraphs long and it's punchy and you can't do 12 paragraphs on you in a YouTube video because the algorithm won't serve it and it will in fact punish you for doing it cuz YouTube is like no your video is not long enough you have not put enough ads in this video this is a bad video we're going to down rank this in Search and we're going to punish your channel for it as well but the written form is just like yeah here's 12 paragraphs we're done you know what I'm saying so it's I think it's vital that this space continues to exist and um yeah I definitely yeah I really hope that it finds a way to to to to survive you know because it would be it would really be like I don't hate IGN by the way I got nothing against IGN on balance I like I appreciate most of what they do you know but it's just the idea that they would own everything sucks the whole consolidation it's like yeah happing everywhere yeah let's do it over here too no way yeah so that that part sucks it's not good for the industry overall it's not good in video games development publishing it's it's not good in games media uh so I'm again it I'm again it what yeah I'm again it what is that against it yes it's against it it's like old timey youve never heard this it's literally from The Simpsons as well so where in the simps hang on somewhere in there someone in the comment section will back me up on this okay I'm again I saw this I saw this one tweet that was like this week about Australian accent it was like uh Australian murder shows I like oh no there's been a murder The Way It Was Written was like damn it that's exactly how we sound how did you Australian accent and the newers oh God my God yes we will talk about that for sure for sure well before we gloom and doom I I do want to just end on if you do like reading stuff do seek out those voices seek out those writers follow them on Twitter or or whatever or just bookmark their writer page uh because yeah reading stuff is still good in 20 years we're not even going to have to read anymore so read while you can just the chip will read for us in our brains but no also like Subs like support directly support like become a patron if you can afford it obviously to Second Wind and to no clip and to and to whoever ever else that you think is putting out good stuff if you can sling them a little bit of cash to keep them going then do that because that's actually the only way this continues to work you know what I mean um so yeah definitely if if you're in a position to be able to support that kind of like coverage then definitely support it it's it's it's a good thing especially if you care about how games are made or anything like that because you can like you'll only have in the future if if there's no anything you only are going to have the Publishers telling the story of how a game was made and that's the sanitized corporate version where we learn nothing the Publishers literally own the media Outlets like like the Saudi Savvy investment fund literally like bought or like setting up a gaming vertical inside of Rolling Stone this week it's like that's a game publisher and they're now owning a section of the media like that's that seems incorrect when Bob it's like when it's absolutely incorrect it's like when Bobby cotk thought about buying Kaku you know what I mean that's a thing that actually happened uh and it's yeah but it's I guarantee you'll see more of it it's why not like why wouldn't these Publications like these massive entities with too much cash to burn in the game Space why wouldn't they start buying up media Outlets so they can start seeding the message you know what I mean why wouldn't they do that well didn't fan wasn't fan B owned by 10 cent and then that imploded was that actually owned by them yeah it was you're right cool y exactly exactly you know so uh we should buy him I got like I got bucks websites let's do it I got some I got some old comic books I can sell there you go um yeah support the ones I like video games industry memo game discover co uh I know that uh VGC Andy was like if we did a patreon what would you want from it VGC is my go to every day VGC is good um I'll definitely sub to this like I'm like I do game file game file great I do second wind I do no clip and obviously forunate enough to be people make games I don't I but like always really like their output um and like obviously I'm fortunate enough to be in that position where I could do that um and but I that always feels like money very well spent to me because I really appreciate those people and what they do and yeah and if Andy from VGC was to set up his own thing for sure because they do some of the best reporting in the business for sureh well yeah yeah should we go have a use the question as a little palette do it this one's from Graham hey FPS the quote given the opportunity Gamers will optimize the fun out of a game is one that I think about often I was thinking about it as I was finishing up a long overdue playthrough of control I noticed by the end I was playing a particular way I was not deviating from it but I didn't care because the strategies worked for me and I was having a great time however I do wonder if I would have enjoyed combat more if the game forced me to try other play Styles out which do you prefer finding a play style that works for you in sticking with it consistently experimenting with what the game has to offer or having the game forc to exper force you to experiment with its systems have a great morning day SL night depends on the game question the obvious answer is oh no I want to be consistently challenged so I can learn the nuances and see the ins and outs of this entire game but some games just have a really good [ __ ] sword and you're like this is my sword for the rest of the game it has electricity you know me replaying Elden ring right now uh within 2 hours I got the is it the meteorite thing which is like s the S scaling with in and The Blood Hound Fang and I'm just like well theer theer at least mid game mid to late game weapons for me now why not why shouldn't I why shouldn't I I don't treat myself like I went into this play I'm pretty sure I said it on here I went into this playthrough being like Oh I'm going to do a guts build like a strength build I'm going to have the big sword Fu choosing the cheesiest [ __ ] ever like this game is so easy now because no cuz I went and killed that sad defenseless Dragon uh over in K I got my 80,000 Souls Souls of course he just robs through everything then yeah I don't know I I I don't think I'm good at maybe this is why breath of the wild and tears of the Kingdom didn't click for me because I am not an experiment gamer I like it when things just work for me and some maybe yeah I think I'm I think I just find a thing and and because then because then I get the satisfaction of being good at it because of practice because I'm not experimenting so I'm sticking with the same thing yeah I I find I think it really again it depends like for example looters are really naturally they naturally lead to that style of play because the game itself is not very objective focused it's really just about the play right and so therefore it's like well today I'm going to run this build which does this [ __ ] and then tomorrow I'm going to run a different one cuz why not like I'm just here to grind so I may as well spice it up a little bit right see that pisses me off that's like that's busy work for me going in and swapping stuff out that feels I well then I I I agree with you however certain games get to the point where they've got load out systems that are very intuitive and that allow you to do that you know certainly Destiny has that the division had it uh Diablo 3 never I don't think Diablo 3 ever got a loadout system4 definitely doesn't I can't remember if correct me if I'm in the comments let me know if it actually did um yeah so I agree with you I don't want to do the annoying [ __ ] I hate that right but when you remove that barrier to me I think it opens up a lot of the game and Destiny 2 is definitely a much better game now because of its load out system because it has eight slots and you can switch between them immediately it's very comprehensive really is great you know um I would say at the same time if I'm in an objectives focused game I kind of need the game to push me to that different style of play as an example like the last of us the last of us has this really cool combat that does heaps of cool [ __ ] right you see all those videos from like Sunny legend or whatever he's just tearing [ __ ] up you're like who you can do that I didn't even know that mve was in the game like whatever cuz me I'm just like sneak sneak sneak throw a thing run up that's it that's that's all that's the only way I play right because the game never asks me to do anything different and so I have all these tools at my disposal that I feel like are wasted because I'm just focused on the objective and I and there's nothing that really forces me to deviate from that you know so I that part I it doesn't work for me but then like a rogue life for example with Hades and Hades has all these different weapons and sure some of them I think are better than others but it has this thing where every new run one of the weapons is kind of supercharged and you get bonus currency for playing with that weapon and I'm like yes that is exactly it I don't like using that weapon but I'm going to use it because you've incentivized me to do so and then I use it and I'm like actually you know what this weapon's pretty good I like this and at that point more of the game has opened up for me and i' because I've been forced to experiment so yeah I um I definitely do not tend towards this stuff naturally outside of looters but yeah when it exists uh I'm really glad for it and I get pissed off when games don't have this sort of stuff cuz I'm like you didn't ask me to change it up it's your fault you know what I mean like I think it's the onus is on the game to make me change my behavior which I know is not the right attitude I think but that's how I personally view it for sure no it's the same thing with when you play games where it's like you you the game's designed like sandboxy to find your own fun or make your own fun like I'm not good at that yeah I need imagination a push absolutely yeah and games that can figure out how to nudge the player without like the gentle nudge is good the shove is annoying where it's like oh I don't want to do that that weapon sucks or this is you're not making this fun you're punishing me rather than incentivizing me or I feel like I'm sacrificing too much if I don't go with what you want but if you just give me like a gentle nudge I'm like all right that's enough I'll I'll I'll play along let's go you know so trying question yeah great question I can't remember which game it was I was playing recently but like there was an AI character with me that kept just yelling at me to change my play style and I was like no Stop N shut shut up shut up what have we been playing Ralph what haven't we been playing what haven't we been playing we've had a good um we've had a good little period haven't we MH um he wants to go first oh I'll go first briefly with Destiny while we're sort of that on that track okay so I went to bungle HQ uh and let you they let me in uh they were very nice actually and I caught up with some U bungee developers I hadn't seen in a while which is really great to see them um um I was there for two full days playing the final shape and we saw a lot of it like usually you go to these sort of events and it's pretty quick you know like a few like a a morning play block and then an afternoon play block and they really like just give you little taste of stuff and lots of PowerPoint presentation before n they were like yo just sit down not quite but basically just sit down and play for two days that was kind of it like it was pretty impressive they showed us I would say at least 60% of the campaign like of the campaign missions that are about to drop they showed us the whole new Patrol destination that's like that we can we're going to spend a lot of time on they showed us the new strike that we can play through um they showed us well we got to play around with some PVP basically all of the not all but a huge chunk of the new exotic items that are arriving and new weapons uh the new subass like we really saw this expansion um so it was a really good session from that from that what the new Patrol section like uh it's really different to anything else cuz it's actually a solo destination so the patrol zones are usually dynamically matchmade so you'll see just random people come in whatever but this one by default you load in on your own and this this gigantic area full of activities that are kind of tuned specifically for one person or maybe two or three because you can invite like a fire team in with you if you like um and that has allowed Bungie to make a whole set of new activities that they haven't done before to tune them very precisely um it was a really interesting space that felt great to play in um and I think that was a real high point of what I experienced Prismatic is the major thing it's the new sub class available in the thing uh this is all getting in the weeds for non- Destiny players but imagine uh like you know there's builds there's like classes in different games Prismatic is essentially a class type that combines elements from all of the others and it's very interesting and very flexible with how it can be used um it's really really fun it's they've done a really great job with it and I'm very um optimistic for what that means for the future of you know the next little the next little chapter of the game right the next 12 months I don't know um and yeah outside of that I yeah I wasn't super taken with like the mission design or story stuff to be honest though you that wasn't really hdden with me and I saw similar commentary from Destiny uh from Destin from IGN Destin reviewing or previewing Destiny uh he said something similar and I I think I'm kind of on the same page for me but it's too early to judge the story until you see the whole thing like it's just it's not can't really do that um yeah look it's more Destiny which goes without saying but I know you guys always have a passing interest and you're always like should I start playing Destiny I'm like when when it was the witch Queen I was like hell yeah man yeah like there this is this is pretty like they definitely cooked with this expansion and it's too early to say whether this will be the same because I've only previewed it um but right now I don't know I didn't see those things jumping out at me that would be like oh a new player should start playing Destiny right now I suspect this will probably make existing players really happy but I don't know about um new players I I I guess not and also this is the other thing and I said this in my in my preview but like we don't know what's next for Destiny we know that there are some like acts coming which are kind of these smaller content drops in in the future but we don't know if there's another expansion next year we don't know if they're going to you know hold off and not do another expansion for 2 years cuz they need to put all their resources behind the launch of marathon which we assume will be their next major release we don't know if they're secretly working on Destiny 3 which is you know what people are assuming but we don't know so it's hard to ask people to stop playing this game right now cuz you don't know what's next it's like you know what's next for World of Warcraft they just told you that there's like a three episode Saga coming for that game and you could decide to like all right cool I'm going to I'm going to invest in that I'm going to that's a thing I'm going to invest my time and energy into cuz I know that there's this future and it's going to build and whatever else but this though you're like I don't know is Destiny 2 going away after this and all the things that I've grinded for are just going to go away and when they launch a destiny 3 in 3 or 4 years time we don't know so it does make it a tricky proposition when you consider whether or not it's time to like start playing Destiny for the first time so what about people what about like lapsed players yeah I mean look I think laps players it's a good from what I've seen it seems like a good offering because laps players will already have some familiarity with elements of the sub classes that feed into Prismatic and also they would have played some story like they'll know the story elements as well and they're like hey kad's back I love that guy you know whatever and also it's kind of a closure of a 10e saga and maybe you only experienced a few beats along the way but you at least have some connection to the characters and the world and the story and you're like cool so for laps players I I do think that but then does that become a thing where these laps players become fully re-engaged in Destiny long term again it's hard to imagine that or ask them to do that when Budgy can't give them any concrete answers as to what their intentions are for this franchise um so yeah I can't believe it's out next week by the way when this goes out when this goes out it's this is probably going to go out on like Saturday maybe Friday or Saturday at that point the expansion launches like 4 days after that it's so crazy we're in June can you believe we are in June that's J by the way um so I am what you me it's crazy man I just the year has flown so fast tell me about it um anyway that's Destiny that's Destiny uh it's it's actually as soon as I uploaded the video it's so funny whenever I upload these videos I just get like a lot of dislikes for no reason and for no reason other than people are like we don't want to hear you talk about this [ __ ] game shut the [ __ ] up you know what I mean like it's like all right that's why I just have learned to weather those dislikes at this point it's just how it goes so yeah oh that's me that's you uh Jake you've been playing Rogue Prince of Persia yeah he's he's gone Rogue believe he's gone Rogue uh it's it's legit it is very early access though uh but it is cells who cells red out yeah with Early Access for a time and it was these guys weren't the ones that shipped dead cells 1.0 okay yeah yeah so this that was a that was a different studio so that first Studio shipped 1.0 was motion twin and then a year after dead cells launched they um hand it over to evil empire this studio so this studio has done the postlaunch support know that thank you for clarifying I'm bad at this um it's it's good uh it's it's not a it's I wouldn't say it's a full game it's two bosses and then you get hit with like a hey you get hit with like a splash screen like thanks for playing give us feedback there's still more to come uh but for the be for the Baseline here I think it's fun it's got that slick responsive movement quick dashes down Dodges so it plays kind of like a dead cells but your wall running and that adds a whole different dimension believe it or not you wouldn't think it would be cuz you think wall running and it's like oh that's just how I get over Cliffs or jumps uh but it adds a whole extra Dimension because now you're looking in the background of the level design being like is that a wall is that a wall in that can I and the wall running is directional so you can go up down left right so it's like a scramble and and it really opens up a lot of extra so my favorite thing about these types of games is how quickly you can move through an environment how you can master that Dash down up boom so the wall running kind of adds a good little extra element to that plus the Prince of Persia like Flippy D on poles and you know climbing down ropes and stuff like that so it's got the Prince of Persia flavor with dead cells spice combat uh doing out of abilities I just want to see more more enemy types more abilities the randomization to the levels I like I I wanted more from that as well yeah I agree with you but I think it's a really good start the music is banging the art style is music the music's like really good so I've been listening to the OST like all week it's so fantastic like it's it's got a base that like hits It's got like good beats to it I was like damn Prince of Persia is purple or like pink oh color the the environments are beautiful I I'm really into this and I I finished the second boss I hit that wall and I went o oh wow I I almost wish I didn't jump in yet just because I want more right now so I'm glad I got a taste but I I really wish I could have kept going because I I like it that much it gave me the same dopamine Rush the addiction that these types of games do but with that Prince of Persia Vibe so I was as a Prince of Persia person I'm I'm happy so far H yeah I agree I mean I think it is genuinely Early Access and I think that's kind of weird to say but we've had two games recently that launched into Early Access but they feel so polished and content Rich namely Hades 2 and no rest for the wicked and so I think consumers might be thinking ah this is what all all Early Access games it's like it's like no that is not the case Early Access usually means Early Access like this is nowhere near Dan we've got a big journey ahead of us that's how this feels um and I'm okay with that like I really am really okay with this is actually the very first Early Access game that um Ubisoft has ever release wow H and it's actually Early Access as opposed to it being broken and unfinished Early Access in allbit name uh so it's also on Steam with no you play anything love it I mean I I yeah because I did a video on earlier this week and I had this like all these bullet points about like why this is good like yeah on Steam Early Access it's a third party public it's a third party deal so it's like Ubisoft have lent out their IP to us to a small Studio to do something with and I wish more Publishers would do that like you don't always need to own the studios that are working on your IP like Sony could just partner with some Little Indie team to make a 2d God of War [ __ ] Rog like why couldn't we get that that would be sick do that you know what I mean you don't need to own the studio that's making that game it's okay to work with other Studios uh so I really like a lot of how Ubisoft are putting this out to Market to be honest it's cool it's it's nice and it does help that it's a good game I really have enjoyed it kind of runs on Steam deck for the most part I had some issues but it was playable I was going to ask yeah it's really good for that did you like the bosses uh uh I think this combat is the weakest aspect the thing is combat in that game is dependent not upon throughput and damage it's dependent upon positioning and movement and like using other enemies or choosing to not engage in combat whereas the bosses is kind of just like sitting there hitting the boss a lot and that is what the game is the worst at and so the bosses I don't think are satisfying from that angle right so hopefully they can flesh out those encounters a little more or have some different styles of Boss encounters that lean more into the game strength but for me I didn't really care that much I was like I enjoyed everything else so much it was just a minor gripe almost you know um but I I do find it very interesting how different it was from dead cells because it kind of looks like it and it's got some structural elements that are very similar but the core feel of it in combat and traversal is is very much its own thing um and it takes time to realize that cuz it's subtle you know the way the combat works yeah it's not about big damage or big powerups like it really is about like mastering your positioning and mastering knockbacks and environmental damage and all that sort of stuff so until you start until you're awake to that stuff you're sort of like ah what is this but then when you get it you're like ah this is nice yeah when it clicks too and you realize like oh it's not taking the easy way out to kick enemies into pits you're supposed to do that and and then with all the abilities like all the all the little modifiers you get are all mostly tied to doing a backflip over an enemy or kicking an enemy into a wall it encourages that stuff yeah so I think those subtleties take time to see and feel because again you just think ah it's the studio that made dead cells oh I unlock uh weapons by collecting oozers this is dead cells all over again it and that's partly true but there's more than enough here that makes it stand on its own two feet um so yeah I'm like you I wouldn't recommend you pick this up right now I think uh there's like a good 10 to 20 hours of gameplay here depending on how you want to play it and how much you want to unlock if you want to do everything that's available unlock every single thing and really just play the [ __ ] out of it you could stretch it to 20 hours I think it's going to be closer to 15 I put about 10 to 12 in it and I unlocked about 2/3 of what's available felt very happy with that time and really excited to return to it when it's a 1.0 access release which I don't think is going to be anytime soon like if I was to guess where this is at I might even go as far as to say it's like mid to late next year before it hits 1.0 at the earliest like maybe end of next year seems safest uh whereas with Hades I'm like hey you could probably just add you know a little bit onto this and ship it tomorrow even though they said it's going to be 2025 so yeah damn it's I think I'll wait a little bit more I think I I'm I don't know there's just so much going on right now maybe maybe over the summer with your Elden ring playthrough yeah El ring playz about 15 15 hours in um so I usually have an Elden Ring character every time I make a character in a video game I call him Jeff but then I like from um 21 Jump Street like my name Jeff my name Jeff yep kind of I think that is I think that is where I started doing it from but then I had then I had a realization the other day when I was uh booting up Elden ring that I personally know five people named Jeff okay with Jay's and and one G and I was like are you counting I work with two backlar grub ghostman uh Jeff uh key and um Jeff Rubes yeah Jeff Rubes so five Jeffs and I was like nice all lovely Jeffs and I was like but that means I can't have characters named Jeff anymore so now I have a character named Craig like CRA which like the American way of saying oh no Craig sorry so c c r EEG the American way of saying Craig right I only I only know say it that why do they say it that way I know one Craig IRL shout out to Craig um but I don't know any Craigs Craig Craig I know a Greg what up they make fun of they make fun of us for the way we pronounce June you guys [ __ ] Craig how do you how do you say Craig Craig Craig yeah that makes sense yeah it does it does make sense it really does got the A and the i in there yeah anyway so I'm like 15 hours into my Elden ring uh play through um but I've been playing a lot of smaller games so I finished little kitty big city sorry little kitty big city I was going to say that you said that perfectly I'm going to make fun of the way you say stuff nowes cat die at the end little kitty Big City Ralph God damn it you and I are supposed to team up against Jake I have my limits okay I have my limits right I put a little kitty big city in uh one sitting it's a it's a it's cat game it's cute it's um I saw a lot of people compare it to uh game because it is you are just a little cat knocking things over and it's cat's being a jerk cat's being a jerk basically you are in some kind of building in what looks to be like a Japanese City and you fall and then you have to find fish that'll give you the strength to be able to climb and then it's kind of this small little city The Dark Knight [Music] Rises molded by it anyway um I can't do a main voice uh and so you basically there's a bunch of different areas to go to Wacky little characters to meet um there is a I think it's a what do you call it a raccoon who has kind of invented like Quantum tunneling between between this is just Rockets well B basically she created um fast travel around but she like messes around with I don't know physics it's a it's a really cute sweet game I finished it in like two three hours it's like there's not really that much to kind of talk about it where it's like it has a sense of humor you are going around collecting these fish there are good puzzles um you know for example one time you run into a duck who has lost all of his duck Lings and you have to go find them so typical fetch Quest but all of the ducklings are in different predicaments and you have to interact with the environments like one of them is in one of them is in a grocery store but when you get spotted in there the grocer will come pick you up and throw you outside cuz you're a cat you're not supposed to in there so there's kind of some elements of like trying to get around that finding different roots in I'm not saying that in like a oh it's an immersive Sim kind of way but there are like different ways to solve the puzzles um and it's just it's just cute it was just a very nice experience did it in one sitting bam I did start to play I haven't got very far yet but I started to play Paper Trail which is the game oh yeah nice where you are folding sort of origami and it changes the way the map looks great it's really cute I wonder how long I'm going to be into the conceit of the folding the paper though sure cuz it's not like you know you don't come out with a little origami crane at the end of it there's only a certain number of ways you can fold a piece of paper um but so far it's a very cute and like I like how tactile it is but I wish I I could probably remap this I need to look at it but the default settings are that the right thumb stick is the one that you select the page corner with and that does not feel natural to me I wish it was the left but I'm sure I can remap that the other game that I played I'm I'm I'm running through them cuz I've got so play I'm like I'm very this is great this is very different to I just played lots of Destiny it's the same as the last 10 years if if you're looking for again another fun two hour I can beat this game um in one sitting game and I tweeted out that this was the perfect game to play over the holiday weekend played duck detective the secret salami this does look very cool it's I loved it no I uh so you play as the duck detective you get called in your private detective but it's it's really funny because they kind of play into those Noir tropes where you're you're in your your me your Mucky bedroom and you can't afford rent money because you spent it all on bread and you've got an ex-wife called Anna like Anna no I'm sorry I said I'd be better um and you get called to a bus depot like a bus terminal um or like a bus the office I guess that runs the bus company because someone has been stealing lunches and um you have to go around you have to interview people kindergarten call you go and interview people you kind of examine them and you kind of pick up so for example the receptionist that you meet you know she's got like a K-pop thing and you're like you deduce that she's a K-pop fan and you the thing is is like some of the stuff you pick up on people you do have to remember for the whole game and then each character again a wacky wacky assortment of characters what's my cat doing she's freaking out with a a box somewhere um but it just it felt like a puzzle where there was one puzzle that was a real head scratcher and it took me ages to get it but the rest of them were like softly challenging but not to the point where I ever felt discouraged or I wanted to stop playing the game I had a blast start to finish is the dialogue like Noir not all of it it's mostly that duck detective okay but it's very very funny in between um the loading screens they have like fake duck facts so it's like did you know uh 90% of ducks never pay their taxes or something like it's just really stupid humor that I I like this he's like drift out he looks cool as hell oh he has a really good name as well I forget what it was but it was a proper like Noir duck name sure so that's that's a puzzle game with soft challenges that you're not going to bang your head up against the wall the other game I'm playing that I'm actually currently obsessed with sorry sorry audio real puzzle game here she's holding up notes pages of notes like David seven level of notes pictures I am I got sent a custom book for this actually oh you did I I got sent the custom notebook this oh my like stuff in it yeah so what's the game by the way Lucy so this is Laurel ey and the laser eyes um is it simogo the team behind SAR wild Hearts yeah it's a game I did not actually play oh okay I like that one but this one was in I think a Nintendo Direct or something fairly recently and I didn't know anything about it but Kurt at work at game sparker and deina gave it a nine out of 10 and I talked to him about it and he was like obsessed with it and he showed me his notebook um it is a puzzle game where jelly I swear to god stop scratching my PC um my C [Music] um stop it that's my headphones anyway so you play character you just kind of turn up at this hotel the hotel letus Y which is hotel last year in German those six years of German coming in strong they always they always make a little appearance don't they those years those years every now and then pop in wait till wait till we're in Germany for Gamescom they really you're going to be asking me to order all be and I'll I'll do it I'll just be like I'll have a snitel thanks and I'm covered for the week so you uh you rock up at this hotel and you just have a note and it just says find the man at the hotel and that's kind of all you're given but your character has a photographic memory so every time you see something in the environment like a poster or a note you remember it she's going to turn my PC off so I'm that'll be pretty funny I know I'm like terrified she keeps she keeps like going up to the PC and using the Clause oh well now she's here um and then the my but the button is right there so I feel like she's going to turn it off anyway she's up on the desk Now to turn up to this hotel don't know who anyone is you just have to find the man and you have a photographic memory everything you see you kind of remember and then you just get solved you just get I'm tell I'm explaining this terribly you get a bunch of puzzles and so everything in the hotel is kind of locked off to you but as you start to dis discover puzzles and figure out how they work you gradually unlock access to more of the hotel there is a man I'm I also don't want to spoil stuff because some of the story stuff is really cool and just really lends itself to the whole experience because it's eerie but it's not scary you're going around and there's just like it's like a weird find the truth kind of thing going on and so I'm I'm jumping into that that hole and like kind of going down the rabbit hole with it uh the puzzles though so basically when you when you boot up the game uh and you kind of go into your the the Mind pacy bit with all the notes and stuff and you read the manual it's like this game expects you to know things like the 24-hour clock uh it says stuff like basic algebra Greek uh uh Roman Roman numerals and stuff and so there is a library that you can find at the very beginning of the game and it actually has book refreshes on all of those so I genuinely like took pictures with my phone that ex has like uh what do you call it can you send me that Greek Greek yeah can I send you this I'll bring it with me to La thank you it's got like uh yeah the star signs it's got um like Greek lettering it's got all that [ __ ] so yeah so there was this mysterious man and a bunch of puzzles to solve and some of them are deceptively like I was again banging my head against the wolf ages and then I was like oh I'm so stupid and it has this perfect balance of making me feel like an idiot and then making me feel like an absolute genius The Vibes are incredible it's not overwhelming in I mean like you kind of wander around and you kind of just take note of like oh okay there's a clock in here and that clock is kind of weird or you know one of the one of the first things that I was doing that were really satisfying to do just from even like a game field perspective but also because it was an easy puzzle to give me confidence is use there's a some kind of magician called Lorenzo and he has all these posters that have been shredded and just left around the hotel and that you can move the pieces back together and kind of get them back um into their normal State and so so you know I started doing a bunch of those then I found something that unlocked like five different puzzles for me and I was like oh my God I'm so into this I spent like three hours just in one go uh at the weekend glass of wine my notebook I feel like um you know the bit in It's Always Sunny where he's like there is no Carol in HR I feel like that's where I'm going to get with this game it's just like I love a puzzle game and it's really good sure please sounds fantastic it s it sounds like it has cuz I've spoken to a bunch of people about it as well sounds like it has strong game of the year like sleepy Game of the Year energy where it's just it's it's on every list as like the number four entry before you get to like I don't know whatever uh it just yeah really sounds awesome style and I don't want to delve too much into the characters or any or like this the stuff that I've seen and I'm starting to unlock because I think the discovery of that is so fun like I was sitting there I was texting Kurt um the whole whole time and I was like oh [ __ ] found this thing I found this thing and he was like oh you're just getting started so I'm like I want to preserve that for other people if you like puzzle games I really strongly recommend it it's great like if you like if you're the type of person like me if you enjoy doing your connections your pmos like scratch the brain a little bit that's great can you play it on Steam deck or would it be annoying to do so I think it would be I haven't done it on Steam deck I've been playing on PC but you can you can play it with one hand okay because there's only movement and then any face button I believe uh opens up your kind of like your menu because also they have other things where it's like you have to go to the toilet um if there's coffee machines and if you are sufficiently caffeinated you can run rather than just walk and so there are little systems in there but they are not that um too intense to deal with like I I completely forget that my character needs to pick I might actually see weird yeah because I don't know but then I found a toilet survival games making you need to drink I haven't heard of video games making you need to pee that's yeah and there's um there's a temperature gauge as well and I haven't figured out that part yeah either but then everything that you find when you get up to a high mountain you got to wear thick clothing and then when you get into that's it that's how it works but it's you're just you're just in the hotel and that's the thing I love you know the shining is one of my favorite books and movies of all time if you stick me in a creepy Hotel you're there there that's it you should have gone to the uh Star Wars Hotel while that was still open oh I didn't have a spare $6,000 should have just for two um make it a PR a press junket I think they did do a press junk I think someone from our entertainment team actually went sick um back in the day but I have not Star Wars Star Wars out to shout out to you're not in Star Wars oh boy it's okay it's okay to be not into Star Wars we all used to be into Star Wars but now we're like it's very complicated that's the thing I I just kind of appreciated the movies that I saw as a kid I enjoyed the force awakens like Jedi surviv a lot I just I can't get on board with Mand the I I watched the like the first Mandan Boba Fett what the hell is the new one called Obi-Wan Obi-Wan acolyte Andor is meant to be I haven't watched Andor but that's meant to be the good one that is the good one but that's the thing I feel like Star Wars fans have lied to me about what's good ones before we will continue to lie Yeah Yeah well yeah and so I feel the same about Marvel at at this point where it's like just just tell me what is actually you know like the core stuff that I have to get on board with if it's a cool story that doesn't have over Reliance on [ __ ] Darth Vader and whatever then I'm more into it but Darth Vader is cool yeah he is cool actually but he's a bit overused now I suppose uh I actually watched Loki season 2 recently finally yeah that's Propet television actually nobody [ __ ] I told everybody to watch it nobody cares it's so good ex except Jonathan Mages is so bad in it he is so absurdly bad cuz he plays like like a version of himself from like the 1860s or whatever is like an in like a like a like a charlatan invent inventor type but he has the say again it's Forest like Oh I'm a bumbly guy totally but like in such a bad way that it's just awful it's so bad he's so ter cuz in ly season 1 he's so badass and just like he has this presence and he just crushes it but he doesn't have character actor chops or whatever and it's just it's a train wreck in every scene um and but even even despite that it was still a really great show and like I was I've been putting it on I've had it like downloaded on my iPad forever cuz I'm like I need to watch this one next time I travel blah blah blah then I finally just smashed out when I went to Seattle I just smashed out all six episodes in a row and I'm like damn all right yeah that was good it was clever and well written and the production values were there and the performances were all great and it stuck the landing and and it was cool and I was like all right this is um this is a great this is a great production and it's done now that there's no season 3 planned and that's great as well it's nice to know that things end you know um so yeah it was a really nice Capstone to that MCU cuz I think that was still was Loki season 1 Post endgame it was wasn't it it definitely was it was like so that was that and that was the one of the first ones actually was that and W Division and one Division I really liked except for the back end and Loki season one I loved and then yeah season two was even better so I'm um yeah I was really glad I watched it yeah they didn't go overboard with it with season 2 it felt like they did what needed for the story like it it wasn't super huge it took place in a very short period of time with a very limited pool of characters and it just finished that story and it was good it was a little existential it was interesting it was great it was it was I was I I do recommend that one loose I reckon you should watch if you have to watch anything watch L and I think you it also would appeal to you in a way cuz it's like it's like it's it's clever and thoughtful and a bit quirky and like it's definitely not your standard MCU just CG nonsense kind of thing like it's it's doing some other more playful things that are a good entry point to people who don't just mindlessly consume Marvel I count myself as among those people who mindlessly consume Marvel so yeah and Owen Wilson Owen Wilson is great in it yeah he is actually he's he's a he's a real Factor isn't he like he's just just nice to see him there doing his very chilled out things that's good very sweet yeah okay it's I'll put it on my list for you sure good but you know I am watching 20 seasons of How It's Made well that's obviously goes that saying that's the priority sounds like a you problem yeah last night I learned how ice buckets so the I learned how pain dries oh God uh has anyone been playing anything else or we we're straight into Show and Tell I guess I want to hear about Hades yeah I also Hades Hades Hades is uh so I put about 10 hours into that again on the flight so the flight there was Loki and the flight back was just non-stop Hades actually on my steam deck and um I wish I had more to say about it but all I can say is that it's consistently excellent that it feels like more Hades I I for me I think it feels a little too similar in a way that I'm not like ex truly excited to step back into it um where I'm like oh man they've really done some stuff here it's like hell yeah it's just like okay cool this is definitely out there I'm excited to eventually play it when the time comes uh as in I'm looking forward to playing it when the time comes but so much of it felt so familiar that I am not like really loving it like the first game you right and I and I kind of feel this way when I when super giant announced they were making Hades 2o I was like oh okay all right you know like I really felt like you've just nailed it with Hades one you could probably incrementally improve which it seems like that's what they've done here but I would kind of be really interested in you guys making a whole new thing you know which is a thing we will come back to when we talk about furiosa but uh in Broad Strokes it's good I like it I don't think you need to jump in and play it right now because if the memory of Hades one is still fresh in your mind and it probably is fresh for all of us then you're going to step back into this it's going to feel very familiar and then you'll play it and then you're going to have to come back to it again for when the one . happens I think you better excuse me you better off just waiting for that 1.0 release more time will have elapsed since Hades 1 um maybe you'll be a bit hungrier for it then the entire content offering will be available you'll go through it all in you know 20 to 40 hours however long you spend with it and you'll feel good about it but yes I do wish super giant had made something different because I don't necessarily think we needed another the Hades game yeah yeah I don't think we did to be honest and I don't that I haven't seen that commentary anywhere else like I think most people are like yeah this is rules it's super good it's great it's fantastic because Austin reviewed it for the channel um and Austin really loved it and he really loved its incremental improvements and feels like theyve more than justify themselves as their own offering and what have you fair enough but as I was playing it I was like all right cool um I played my 10 hours park it come back at 1.0 but it's not uh not like I'm Des to return to it I'll put it this way I really enjoyed I enjoyed Rogue Prince of Persia more than Hades 2 even though I would say Hades 2 is a better video game with more content and far more polish and whatever else but Rogue Prince of Persia just in terms of its raw combat felt different and new and different and I'm like I haven't experienced this before it feels a little bit like dead cells but there's a lot that's different so much so that I felt like oh cool great this is nice whereas with Hades too much of it is similar to me and so I'm like cool this is all very well made nice but you know still feels like Hades that make sense yeah that can happen sometimes I I didn't um I liked Hades but I didn't like fall in love with it as much as a lot of other people did and so I haven't uh gone into Hades 2 just yet I was actually waiting maybe for flight because it just feels like a good flight game so maybe to see if if Hades too change my mind it runs like black magic on the steam deck by the way like lock 90 FPS it's just incredible um and it's just so smooth and technically Flawless and the benefit of it is that they obviously it's you know the same engine and same assets and or similar assets and whatever else there's a huge amount of technical momentum that they've got from the previous game they just carry over and they've also taken their time with it and so it's incredibly polished and it feels wonderful to play like you really you pick it up and you know you're playing a really beautifully made lovingly crafted game that you know from a team of absolute professionals and perfectionists uh and so there's a lot of there's a lot of comfort in that as well for sure lovely well time for show and tell then which is where we talk about something that is not a video game uh you are you are you both picking the same thing we should pick different things yeah well Jake I'll go to you first then you've seen oh unless unless hang on who wants to talk about it because you've both seen the same thing I I I can talk about something else okay all right I feel like such a school teacher there I'm so sorry no it's fine okay everyone get F we're happy to be managed Lucy that's fine yeah um make sure you got your bud okay uh Jake what have you seen furiosa a Mad Max Saga how is it I'm going tomorrow so are you saying IMAX all I know about the plans is I'm going tomorrow I'm not sure fair enough I will see I think we're going to the place where there is a night XX so I will I will inquire cool it's a good time at the movies totally uh I am obsessed with Fury Road I have been since it first released and it's very hard not to compare to it it's a different type of movie it it wants to tell a different type of story structured a different way but I can't help but compare it and I think Fury Road is just way way better uh this movie actually disappointed me in some ways I felt like some of action some of the music some of that punchiness just wasn't quite there uh but I still liked the lore the World building the expansion stuff I didn't necessarily need it from Fury Road I like how Fury Road just kind of trickled it in and let weirdos like me find the comic books and Listen to George Miller interviews and stuff and fill in the blanks but here it gives you a lot of that my problem is that I think for me going in is like I was already kind of exposed to that world more I sought it out more I played the video game like two three times so I had kind of already gotten a taste of like oh Gas Town bullet Farm cool I'm already like in so now to have a movie that just kind of like you know shows the little ins and outs of these factions it didn't it didn't like absolutely blow me away I still think like compared to a lot of other action movies I've seen lately like it's awesome it's still centered around weird Freaks and crazy set pieces and perverts and goons and like all this weird [ __ ] in the desert down here yeah that's apparently and now we really know that it's in Australia made sure of that like it's [ __ ] Australia um uh Chris Hemsworth is entertaining to watch he is a interesting Mad Max villain because he's got that like you know thing where you look at you're like what's going on with this guy what's his deal and you can never really pin him down um he's kind of like ineffective in a lot of ways but he's like handsome and buff and crazy but he doesn't really do anything and it was kind of interesting um with a big fake nose big fake nose and also an accent he's got like a Nas like old timey Australian accent is that am I like it sounds very like he kind of just has a Australian exit you guys sound like that he just yep it sounds like he's playing it up like he sounds like an older a little bit a little bit like he's leaning into a little bit but he's not that far off it was Charming though I liked it he's not like mates like he's not doing these ones but he's definitely got a just a like a probably like if the Australian accent is neutral five he's probably like sitting at the 6.57 Mark he's not sitting at the hand up like 10 out of 10 Mark that's for sure okay good um he was he was cool though I I I like the biker gang thing okay what you don't yeah see I actually think he was like no that's it and because I think Orton Joe is less a character and more of vehicle for intent you know like Morton Joe is just like just stares at things and kind of just makes things happen right and he just wants a son and and he's going to go and find furiosa that's it whereas this guy is an actual character in the sense that he's got like foibles and he's got a lot more dialogue and you know like he's more fleshed out but he's also just way more confused and yeah and I know like there's definitely two ways to read his character which is I guess we don't want to spoil it too much cuz LC has yet but there's different ways to interpret his character and he can either seem really messy and confused on purpose or it's maybe just like well you didn't really specify exactly how we should receive him like I don't know as an audience what they want me to feel about this guy really vain but he never felt threatening oh interesting yes and in a world of such threatening figures it just seems implausible that he would be able to maintain his position in that Society it didn't last long I mean well we won't spoil it again so um but yeah the whole thing just felt so I don't know I don't know that it needed to be made um no you say that like mad like you say that it it's cool to see bullet farm and uh and gas town and in a way I feel like it's not cool to see those things I do agree less is usually more mhm yes I think one of the some of the Gen genus of Fury Road was just like here's some stuff that we're going to talk about but never show or if we show this random shot of something we're never going to explain it dtil guys exactly now if INF furiosa doesn't deal with the stilts guys right but it does deal with some other things that in the same way it explains that thing and it shows you things that you just just lived in your imagination before and in a way I think it kind of no this is probably going to be very popular take but I think furiosa makes Fury Road Less right because now I have an image of my in my mind of what those things are when they talk about them Fury Road I think was and still is perfect it's just perfect like there is not an ounce of fat on it it is every single character the dialogue the the casting like the their place in the universe just everything is so [ __ ] Flawless what what would you change about that film nothing and whereas this one it's kind of like ah this this this a bit of a problem the villain thing and the plot and the it's just messy and I had a good time don't get me wrong because the other thing people say is like oh it's a very different film and I'm like is it a very different film I don't think that it is I think just because it has a bit more plot and some more dialogue it's still ultimately based upon like four or five big long action sequences that are just less impressive than Fury roads yeah so I actually don't think this is a vastly different film and I think it's been positioned as that but I don't I don't I don't think that it is I just think it's a more messy version of Fury Road that didn't really need to be made yeah like I do think it it I so I think it is different in terms of we have scenes and it's not spoiling anything but like we have scenes of like these characters from the previous movies hashing out and like talking we're going to make a deal you do this I do that and I like just didn't really need that I wasn't very interested and it makes some of those characters having those conversations less mysterious correct now they're just like a thing yeah cuz there was this Primal there was this Primal energy that ran through Fury Road where like only strength and action and outcome mattered right whereas in this one it introduces you to like political powers and and conniving mischi and which is fine I guess but there was just such beautiful Simplicity and Fury Road and it's so much more muddled here without providing any payoff like if you were going to go down this road but no pun intender and then like nail it I'd be like all right cool you've shown me a different side of this universe that's so much more interesting whereas really you just kind of showed me some stuff that I had to imagine but now I've seen it and the way you showed it to me didn't really work for me personally you know what I mean so um yeah and her like companion the other like petorian prian Jack yo he's just mad Max he's just he's just mad Max but it's just anyway you'll won't spoil this but like I'll be I'll be in the Discord when I come out tomorrow night totally but again that's such a perfect example of like what's the deal with you man like why are you in this movie at this point and like what's what's going on here and I don't know and look I know there's all sorts of different counters to this and perspect this is just my personal perspective how I responded to it and um it really has made I've been obsessed with finding the 3 hours I need to sit down and watch Fury Road again I'm desperate to watch that film again because in a weird way furiosa left my brain kind of going and then I just want Fury Road to like set me straight and then one I going to watch f Road I'm going be like thank you okay that's how it should be I'm okay now you know what I mean like does make me feel that way the energy it was like nothing in it had so a lot of it like some of the scenes I'm like okay like I feel like we had a scene like that in in Fury Road but a little better like it didn't have the energy the the scene the The Fury Road like uh War rig versus the dirt bikes and they're cocking pistols and the music is like pumping there's no point in furiosa that made me feel like that and be like yeah let's go yeah cuz they have another warri scene it's so much smaller SC the war scene is likeing massive of [ __ ] and he just like Jesus Christ man how did you do this and this one you're like oh they fly now so that was the other thing the visuals the visuals were rough for me I was going to ask about like green screen and oh yes some of it where he's like he's like driving and like ramming the gate and it's just like it's so green screen it's so fake that it looks almost comical there was one time did you see the girls walking down the staircase one time and she was like glitching on the staircase like she was like kind of almost like she was like a hologram like kind of it looked like bad like North Korean Photoshop Wiggly bendy CGI like that like anytime somebody would peel away or do a jump on a dirt bike like you they'd like be like a wiggly CGI person and I'm like oh I agree and like the first film did have CG for sure but this one just had a lot more and it was noticeable and it looked kind of amateur amateurish at times and it definitely took me out in a way um Lord of the Rings versus The Hobbit oh yeah oh absolutely for sure and I think that's a good parallel really cuz we didn't need The Hobbit no uh but we got it but this that was also a lot more cynical cuz they're like ah let's make three movies out of this when it should have been if you made one Hobbit movie maybe two it's like okay cool but you really took the pis three this is not like this is not cynical he clearly just wanted to make this story furios is better than oh for sure for sure for sure but but it's the same idea of like did we need this I don't think so uh and it's imposs yeah I just I don't think this was trying to be different enough from Fury Road if he really wanted to make a different type of film I would have been really interested to see that but I don't I think this is the same film again or too similar and you cannot improve on Perfection because Fury Road is actually perfect like actually I hope he's got one more in him babe me theer me too what is he 80 he's 80 now 7980 I think yeah yeah that's it maybe you'll uh you reck kajima will make uh the Mad Max game that Miller was he saw that he probably called him immediately yeah did I'll do it [ __ ] Mad Max game came out the same day is he got like that's unfair and I wonder it' be a cool piece of content it would be a cool piece of content I tell you what someone should do someone with some reach so like call up George Miller and like go and take like play the game with him sit down with him and explain to him why it's actually a good game and then he could be like oh okay well I didn't because clearly he doesn't know what a video game is like because and he was mouthing off but the background to this is like he put out a statement or a little quote being like ah the madmax game you know didn't turn out quite as well as we would have liked you know what I mean but there's a bunch of people that really hold a candle for that game Jake included so all of this is saying Jake you should call George Miller and offer to show him that game and why it's good and that would be a cool piece of content how do I say hello in Australian we already established this Jake at the very beginning of the segment we did the G mate just do that and you're in okay love yeah yeah that's furiosa I will with my opinions on it next episode excited yeah okay well I'm going to talk about Interview with the Vampire have I told you guys about this show before it's the show right it's the show it's not the M it's not the movie no they are making a show of it it's on its second season and it is phenomenal oh like all right it's on AMC which is probably why no one is talking about it or watches it sure um because it's not the walking dead so I can't remember why I started watching it when it first came out but I watched it it was like one of those rare shows that I would watch weekly and I became obsessed with it it is retelling of Rice's interview the vampire cuz they were trying to make the an rice connected Universe I think it is still part of it because they had ac they had the they had the The Witches of uh Whatchamacallit with Alexandra Daario I didn't watch that one because let's face it as is very she's very attractive but she is not to hot vampires that's where I landed um it is do you remember greyworm in in um so he plays Lou and um an Australian actor named Sam Reed who plays lat and when I tell you that this this show does doesn't have the right to be this good like the way that it's written it is written firmly tongue and cheek it is sexy it is funny and I think when it comes to playing a character like lat who is Camp over the top seductive dangerous like that is a Mad Mix of things that a character has to embody like sexy alluring the most dang essentially well let's let's not get into asarian versus L because I genuinely think like fandom Wars have been fought on that but to be able to play a character that embodies all of that is so difficult without coming off is super super cheesy and the guy who plays lat just does it effortlessly and like he genuinely as a viewer you are kind of where Louis is and every time he's on screen you are just like glued to this character so season one is all about you know like finding Claudia turning her their life in New Orleans season two is they have oh charge the battery pack for my camera that is plugged in oh my God I'll keep talking that's fine um that's right just to placeholder Lucy image over there stew fine nice one um so uh season two is they are in Europe oh there we go and they um and we are with well amand and the the de vampir and they're in Paris and it's like post post warart Tor Europe and it's you know getting involved in the coven and not and you know like vampires have their own rules their own laws and these two American vampires getting involved with the Europeans it's just really good I like I love it so so so much and I it's you know that joke in arrest of development when arrest of development was getting canceled and they do the voiceover where it's please tell your friends about this show that's me with interview the ampire because I do not want it to get cancelled and I don't I'm not saying that like it's I don't think it's indicated that that's going to happen but it's like it's just really good I tell all my friends like if you like period dramas if you just like weirdly cuz I this season of Bridgeton is not doing it for me and this is absolutely like just a way more enthralling period piece obviously about vampires so yeah because it's got vampires in it it's got vampires in it but it's great in terms of like you know the Queen of the Damned movie was an experience the old Interview with the Vampire movie was great but very you know kind of dated now and then queen of Queen of the Damned was I mean Aaliyah God Rest her soul she carried carried but it bizar um this is like in terms of an adaptation that really understands the source material but also firmly understands the fandom around the source material I think it's doing a lot and I really really enjoy it um and it's on AMC and I I I'm paying $9 a month just to watch this damn show so oh my God you have to pay for AMC yeah I would have thought AMC is just a free Channel what the [ __ ] you pay for that [ __ ] but I'm also watching Mad Men as well so it's like oh nice okay fair enough fair enough okay fair enough um so that's me uh right about you um oh okay um okay brief shout out watch poor poor things yeah very good film I loved it but I don't want to I don't want to have don't want to talk about it too much but I will say Mark Ruffalo in it is unbelievable like I had no idea he was that funny and talented as an actor actually hilarious he just completely crushes in that movie like she won best actress for that role and I can get it but at the same time I was like did he get a nomination for that I feel like he deserves some recognition because he was just that good in every scene um and so that was cool but uh a little bit offbeat uh I read a comic book I read um something called Batman 89 oh oh yeah you read the whole thing I read the whole thing yeah I the TR um it's first of all I think it's actually okay so the background to Batman 89 is they like imagine you know the the movies from like you know Michael Keat and Batman movies they take the faces and the setting and the costumes in the Batmobile or whatever and then they continue that story on right uh it's written by different people I believe don't quote me on that but it's basically like let's take the artifacts of Batman 89 and continue that story in the modern era in a comic book right uh correct me if I'm wrong about any of that J you might but it continue some of the concepts that they were going to do like Harvey Dent is that Harvey becomes two face like Sam ham Batman Batman Returns oh he wrote that and he also wrote this Batman 89 book one I believe okay cool great so there you go it's a continuation uh and I really enjoyed it I really did but it doesn't feel remotely like Batman 89 no um totally different in terms of its tone and themes cuz it's a very politically driven story about like like politics and race economics in the city of Gotham it's very well written I actually really liked that story a lot and I was like damn okay yeah this is tapping into some cool ideas about like corruption in the city and you know like race relations and all sorts of things I was like all right I'm into this storyline I'm down for it but at the same time I was also like okay but this is not actually what Batman 89 was remotely like it was this kind of Carnival show Almost of like ridiculous silly characters and it was Gothic and weird and whatever so it was I met it with the mixed reception because again I was glad for that story and because I don't read a lot of Batman and I was actually really glad to have read this Batman because I liked its redition of Gotham and it's all its powerful forces and what it was doing with the characters but I was also felt a little bit jig cuz I was like oh but that's not really what 89 was like at all I would have lik to have seen some of that do you know what I mean did you read it Jake have you ever finished it but uh I like the art I really like the art Fant I like how like there were so many like little references and Easter eggs like trickled throughout it sure yeah it's it's something I would finish but yeah I'm kind of with you yeah exactly so um but it's cool though it's like in trade paperback now I got the hard cover there's also a it's really short yeah there's also like a new um there's a run at the moment like Batman 89 echo which I think is like maybe focused on Catwoman I think I'm not sure um so I'll grab that as well but I've just had a really nice time reading it and it's really as I said really short very easy to get through um so I do recommend checking it out but like it's just going with the right expectations about that sort of thing and yeah that's it that's my show and tell outside of fura lovely well that's another episode of the prince P second podcast uh thank you uh for joining us if you've been watching or listening if you would like to go if you liked the show and you want to rate it five stars on iTunes or Spotify that would be great we'd appreciate it that would be lovely Uber drivers be like five stars please star here B you like would you like EXA would you like some mints I'm good thank you charges are right there okay thanks man oh I went I went in one of those like Posh Ubers the other day you know you can set it so it's like you can set your the black ones yeah you can set your um um your temperature and you can also say if you want the driver to speak to you or not and I was like I don't like I don't like that that's not the fancy ones that's default does that too nuh-uh not over here does it in Australia it is yeah wow it is yeah Fancy Pants over in Australia damn no I've never I've never had it unless you get like an Uber black over here um but then I was I was too awkward to say don't talk to me even though I I don't talk even though the app you want like be rude that's so funny but anyway uh if we'll be back again in a couple weeks from La inperson episode we willest it's going to be a big show we're excited about it so um yes please look forward to it please be excited some please look yeah exactly that's right you can find me on Twitter at least James games Ralph I'm around broken man I'm I'm around you'll find me it's all good yeah same I'm out there you're you're around follow me on Twitter I don't care I'm still pushing I'm pushing for my Visa man I got prove that I'm a big dealway Jake take us home folks we'll see you at summer game Fest tie your shoes and go to bed [Music] d [Music]

Channel: Skill Up

Views: 148,046

Keywords: skill up, skill, up, gameplay, games, guide, lucy james, jake baldino, friends per second, podcast, last of us 2, gaming podcast, fallout tv show, fallout, fallout 4, fallout 3, fallout new vegas, fallout 1, fallout 2, fallout tv, fallout amazon, interview, lucas pope, mars after midnight, alanah pearce, playdate, playdate console, xbox, playstation, nintendo, gamepass, cod, cod 6, cod bo6, cod bo6 gamepass, black ops 6, call of duty gamepass

Id: Cm24PAjAbBc

Length: 147min 28sec (8848 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 01 2024