Episode 11: Alleged Games of 2023

In this episode we talk about some of the games coming out in 2023. We try to cover a wide range of games and really touch on the games that we're excited for!

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Transcript

00:00:08:27 - 00:00:09:03
Lauren
Hi

00:00:10:12 - 00:00:15:29
Lauren
Hello everyone. Welcome back to another episode of I Don't Believe In Side Quests. I'm Lauren.

00:00:16:29 - 00:00:17:18
Gabe
I'm Gabe.

00:00:18:20 - 00:00:54:06
Lauren
And we are super excited to be back here chit chatting about what we've been up to and really talking about a whole bunch of games that are coming out for 2023. I'm exhausted because I was over in Montana all weekend for my best friend's bachelorette, so we were eating good and drinking a lot and we were in the hot springs down there, which is really, really nice and soothing and it was a really good time.

00:00:54:11 - 00:01:00:06
Lauren
And I got back at like 7 p.m. last night and I was just a zombie today.

00:01:00:28 - 00:01:11:02
Gabe
Yeah. I was wondering if we were going to record today because I know you had The Bachelorette and now you're like, I don't know, I'm going to feel and I was like, Okay...

00:01:11:24 - 00:01:16:10
Lauren
Barely alive, but I am alive. And that's what's important because...

00:01:16:10 - 00:01:17:00
Gabe
You're a survivor

00:01:17:08 - 00:01:39:26
Lauren
Montana got hit with a big storm this weekend. So like when we were flying in, there was like a snow advisory and Bozeman got more snow than they've gotten in a long time, like just really, really quickly. So it wasn't like the most snow they've ever had but it was the most that they got quickly. They got like two feet on Friday.

00:01:40:11 - 00:02:05:02
Lauren
And so some of the girls couldn't make it because of the snow. Some of the girls couldn't make it because they were sick. So anyway, so it was a smaller crowd than we were anticipating, but it was really, really fun because one of our other college roommates flew over with me. And so the three of us hadn't been together since her wedding.

00:02:05:04 - 00:02:18:11
Lauren
And now this is the third of us getting married. So it was really cute and just good to spend a lot of time with her and a lot of time together as the three of us that we just haven't had in a really long time.

00:02:19:12 - 00:02:21:18
Gabe
Yeah. So that's awesome.

00:02:21:18 - 00:02:22:06
Lauren
Yeah :)

00:02:22:06 - 00:02:44:07
Gabe
I, yeah, I know you had fun and, and I was like, well, do I say or do I not say it? I've just been in a depressive episode, but that's okay. It'll be what it'll be. But yeah, it is what it is. I don't I don't wanna talk about it,I don't wanna talk about it. I changed my mind. Yeah, it's fine.

00:02:44:13 - 00:03:05:03
Gabe
It is. It is what it is. But it does, it does feel good that we've been like like having this regularity that we have been trying to record every week, even if it's maybe not always on the day we're supposed to do it. It has you know, it has been happening. Yeah, I'll be honest. I don't know how this is going to go.

00:03:05:15 - 00:03:23:10
Gabe
And I was telling you before, the first time we did this, I tried to list as many games as possible because there's so many games that come out in a year. And I. I don't know if this is true, but when I was doing all of this, it looked like there was way more games this year than there was last year.

00:03:23:10 - 00:03:49:21
Gabe
And I was like, oh, okay. So I, I tried to choose the top games or maybe more well-known games, which I felt really bad about because then I was like, I don't want anyone to feel left out, but I don't know, let's see. I think a lot of them I don't want to say they're more my interest, but I think maybe I have a more varied tastes than you.

00:03:49:21 - 00:04:18:22
Gabe
I think maybe sometimes I'll play a wider range, so. Well, we'll see. But I, I, I think there's quite a few in here that you'll be like, oh, okay. Yeah. And you know, obviously it is ahem March going April. So we did miss three months of games. So I kind of tried to just choose what I've heard about what I remember looking forward to in the highlights.

00:04:18:22 - 00:04:49:06
Gabe
Some of these I've played, some of these I haven't. So Forspoken was the first one, this one came out in January. And we, ironically, talked about... maybe not ironically, but we talked about this in our first episode because this is first come out last year. Um, obviously it didn't, it got pushed back, I don't know or really remember why. It follows a New Yorker transported to the beautiful and cruel land of Athia.

00:04:49:06 - 00:05:04:20
Gabe
Unfortunately, as promising as it looked, it did when I was looking kind of at it seemed like it got mixed reviews and people saying that maybe it wasn't worth how much they were asking for it. I mean, it was. What is it? Yeah.

00:05:04:20 - 00:05:05:22
Lauren
What were people saying??

00:05:05:22 - 00:05:10:16
Gabe
$70 base price. I mean we can go on look at the steam reviews. This is one of the first things...

00:05:10:28 - 00:05:11:15
Lauren
I love a good steam review

00:05:11:15 - 00:05:44:08
Gabe
I ever looked at that. Luminous Productions made a game so (blank) bad their entire studio got dissolved. Ooh that's harsh. Mediocre game, premium price, mediocre graphics, mediocre story, mediocre gameplay, mediocre animations. Um, I think the biggest thing I just remember reading about it was like it wasn't worth what they asking for it. And I remember, I think it had a lot of hype too and so when

00:05:44:08 - 00:05:57:12
Gabe
It just doesn't meet up to that. And you're acting like you're well, I guess it is a triple-A game, but you know what I mean. You're asking for that triple-A price. Yeah, just asking. Asking for it.

00:05:58:02 - 00:05:58:24
Lauren
Interesting.

00:05:59:25 - 00:06:25:17
Gabe
Yes. I don't have the trailer for this one, but there also is the dead space remake, which I heard good things about. I haven't had a chance to look at it and I haven't myself played the original dead space. I've watched people play it, but that was also something that came out. This one I haven't heard people talk about, but it felt, I don't know, it kind of gave me the I'm.

00:06:25:26 - 00:06:26:12
Lauren
Sorry, which.

00:06:26:12 - 00:07:02:18
Gabe
Game is. Oh, oh, sorry. This is Season: A Letter to the Future. And it gave me Greece, I think is what it was called. So it's not the same play style per se as Greece, but like it just had the really beautiful visuals and it seemed like a story that would really move you. Hmm. It's a it's an open world visual novel, and you play as a character, leaving home for the first time on a bicycle to collect memories before a mysterious cataclysm washes everything away.

00:07:02:29 - 00:07:10:17
Gabe
I mean, as you can see, I think the art style looks beautiful. Really beautiful. Yeah. Color. The colors are so vibrant.

00:07:10:17 - 00:07:12:01
Lauren
Yeah.

00:07:12:01 - 00:07:39:19
Gabe
Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yes. So this is one I want to go back for, which is why I want to touch on it. Even though. Mm hmm. Mm. I haven't. I didn't see anybody play this, which I'm really shook by. Um, um, yeah. It's just. I felt like there would be a moving, moving story, like something that would stick with you, which is why it gave me the kind of Greece.

00:07:40:09 - 00:07:54:27
Gabe
I think that's what that game was called. I don't know what I wanted to touch on as well, because, you know, we're trying to add some variety is a game called Wild Hearts and this is a monster hunter.

00:07:55:10 - 00:08:00:10
Lauren
Fresh, chaotic, and breathless?? Was that they called it.

00:08:00:10 - 00:08:01:17
Gabe
Yes, yes. Yes.

00:08:02:03 - 00:08:17:07
Gabe
So it's not it's not the Monster Hunter series itself, but it is a game very much like that. And I did see actually a lot of people play this when it came out. Like, I just I felt like this was one worth noting because I did see a ton of people play it like a ton of streamers play it.

00:08:17:07 - 00:09:00:06
Gabe
When it came out, I enjoyed the Monster Hunter games I played - it's not necessarily the kind of game for me. Like, I enjoy it to an extent, but it's not something I want to sink hours upon hours into, if that makes sense. So I just thought that was worth noting. Another big when I saw a ton of people playing was this one called Atomic Heart and um, when I heard it first described to me is that it's a very BioShock esque kind of game and I really loved BioShock like so much.

00:09:01:23 - 00:09:27:19
Gabe
I think the biggest hit to this game is you don't get to be a big daddy. My favorite thing in the BioShock series, the second one where you get to be a big dad, totally made it for me. But this looked very intriguing. Yeah, to me, it's Russian. Mm hmm. Um, like. Like that kind of atmosphere and stuff and language.

00:09:28:15 - 00:09:51:13
Gabe
The thing coming out of your hand really freaks me out, though. I don't know about that one. Things that are in your body that aren't supposed to be there. I don't like. I don't like it freaks me out. But, I mean, the graphics looked really good. Um, ahh.

00:09:51:13 - 00:09:52:05
Lauren
Lot of blood...

00:09:52:06 - 00:10:19:27
Gabe
I can't look at the hand. A lot of blood, I mean. Yes, but it's the, you know, the BioShock where you have some horror, some puzzles, some mysteries, some you know, that the piece, you know, you're obviously blasting and and all that. Right. If it if it could give to me what BioShock did, I would be - I'd be in love.

00:10:19:27 - 00:10:39:05
Gabe
Obviously, I had to bring out Sons of the Forest. I don't know if I talked about it on here, but I loved The Forest. Probably my top ten games. I played the the first one of this when it first came out and like through all of its iterations and I mean, I, I loved it so much, I think.

00:10:39:29 - 00:10:43:01
Lauren
Have you played Sons of the Forest? Have you gotten that?

00:10:43:02 - 00:11:17:19
Gabe
I've gotten halfway through it. About halfway through a tragic it so far. I think it's good. I think they really improved on a lot of things. The forest had oh I'm like crafting how you build they have some really interesting new mechanics for hm um and I, I found this, I found this story or like the lore that they have.

00:11:17:19 - 00:11:36:18
Gabe
Interesting. So far, I don't know how much it's going to add or change because this is way further along than when The Forest first came out. Like The Forest as it came out to like when it finally was fully done. It huge differences. So I don't know how much they're going to change. I know there's an ending to it.

00:11:37:03 - 00:12:10:25
Gabe
So we'll see. I I'm not fully convinced yet. I mostly I'm devastated that we don't get to play as Timmy, who was the son in the first forest because, you know, to canon, he lives and spoiler alert to canon in The Forest forest he lives he survived so as Sons of the Forest why would we not play as the son from the original forest.

00:12:10:25 - 00:12:11:27
Gabe
I'm just saying.

00:12:11:27 - 00:12:17:29
Lauren
Yeah, that's what we had predicted right in our Yes discussions previously.

00:12:17:29 - 00:12:20:05
Gabe
Yes. Did you ever play The Forest?

00:12:20:05 - 00:12:21:10
Lauren
I haven't.

00:12:22:06 - 00:12:35:15
Lauren
We've talked about the two of us playing it, but I haven't gotten it because I'm not going to play it by myself. So either I have to have my husband play with me or I'll play with you or something.

00:12:35:16 - 00:12:36:10
Gabe
That's fair.

00:12:36:10 - 00:12:37:03
Lauren
I need support.

00:12:37:03 - 00:12:55:07
Gabe
I would play it again. Or if he wants to play too, I totally play it again. I think it's a great game. I think it brought it brought something new to the survival genre when, you know, back when it came out and I think it was good.

00:12:55:07 - 00:13:00:26
Gabe
I originally didn't have a trailer up for it, but I suppose I could bring it up, Kerbal Space Program 2.

00:13:00:27 - 00:13:26:07
Gabe
Now I really know nothing about it at all or about the first one, but I'm pretty sure the people who loved it, loved it and like were highly anticipating the second one. It's a space flight simulation game and so it's not like out, out, it's launched, it's early access. And so I thought it was still worth noting, but like

00:13:26:07 - 00:13:27:26
Lauren
It's so cute!

00:13:27:26 - 00:13:30:15
Gabe
Exactly. Like, look at that. Oops, sorry.

00:13:30:27 - 00:13:36:19
Lauren
Angry little alien guys and they look like Muppets.

00:13:36:19 - 00:13:38:24
Gabe
Oh, they do. They do.

00:13:39:23 - 00:13:44:07
Lauren
They have got just these enormous helmets. Okay? They're kind of like Muppet minions.

00:13:44:22 - 00:14:04:21
Gabe
You know, like little minions. Yes, yes, yeah. I love them minions so much, I. I'm not sure if it's the kind... I don't know if how much they mean simulation or what they mean by like that. if it's like a management game or how exactly it works.

00:14:04:29 - 00:14:06:00
Lauren
Looks like you build?

00:14:06:00 - 00:14:08:28
Lauren
but yeah. Yeah.

00:14:09:03 - 00:14:19:03
Lauren
So maybe you have to just, like, keep improving your spaceships until you can actually get out to space and then have to like ferry stuff.

00:14:19:03 - 00:14:20:23
Gabe
and go to a different planet?

00:14:20:23 - 00:14:22:23
Lauren
Just trying to think of which Muppet.

00:14:23:29 - 00:14:24:17
Gabe
Kermit.

00:14:25:13 - 00:14:32:08
Lauren
I mean just because they're green. Yeah, but I think I feel like there's another...

00:14:32:08 - 00:14:57:00
Gabe
their faces kind of remind me of. He has such a small head though, so I don't know if this is quite accurate because like the little small head and the red hair, but he doesn't he I don't think he talks or like he they're not English. I think I did picture him in my head. I know he's got a there's a YouTube video of him singing that Ode to Joy in like harmonizing.

00:14:57:17 - 00:15:00:22
Gabe
Mm hmm. I don't know which one is so.

00:15:00:22 - 00:15:11:08
Lauren
And I just had to go through the list of Muppets. It'll come to me. Oh, like Pepé the Prawn. Is that what you mean?

00:15:12:06 - 00:15:16:06
Gabe
Is it? Pepe, let me Google.

00:15:16:06 - 00:15:22:09
Lauren
The one who's not a shrimp.

00:15:22:09 - 00:15:42:05
Gabe
Yes. Yeah, he has. He he sings. He does the ode to joy. That is like me, me, me, me, me, me. Tell me I'm wrong! Is that not what you were kind of picturing with Minions?

00:15:42:14 - 00:15:49:07
Lauren
Yeah, no, you're not wrong, because I was scrolling through the list and I was like, Pepe. Ooh, Pepe. And then it, like, clicked in that that's.

00:15:49:11 - 00:15:50:20
Gabe
His that he doesn't.

00:15:50:27 - 00:15:55:11
Lauren
You know, he has an accent.

00:15:55:11 - 00:15:59:03
Gabe
I actually have no idea if he speaks English, but everything that I've seen him and.

00:15:59:03 - 00:15:59:18
Lauren
He does.

00:15:59:19 - 00:16:01:26
Gabe
He like remember he doesn't. So I don't know.

00:16:01:27 - 00:16:06:02
Lauren
He's kind of like a Cajun French accent.

00:16:07:00 - 00:16:07:09
Gabe
Okay.

00:16:07:14 - 00:16:09:22
Lauren
Kind of what he does

00:16:09:22 - 00:16:19:06
Gabe
Now I feel like I'm like a menace, isn't it? Oh, no, no, he's not. He's. I'm picturing that's not who did Ode to Joy. It's Beaker who did Ode to Joy, it was Beaker

00:16:19:06 - 00:16:20:13
Lauren
Oh yes yes yes

00:16:21:27 - 00:17:09:19
Gabe
Yes. Pepe, who I was picturing. Right? Yeah. We don't have to listen to it. The one who does the ode to Joy. Okay, okay, okay. Okay. Wo Long fallen dynasty. Another souls like game. But this one is in a dark fantasy version of China's Three Kingdoms, period. I know it's almost like set itself apart from other souls like games by having a more breakneck combat combat speed, so like a lot faster, which was kind of an interesting to me because I felt like Dark Soul Games did have fast combat because I mean, everything is bigger and stronger than you and you're trying not to die to it and killed as fast as possible without, like, one shot

00:17:09:19 - 00:17:31:26
Gabe
dying. Yeah, but I don't know. Souls like games are not my cup of tea. The thought of, like, bajillion of times trying to fight a boss just to kill at once just seems miserable to me.

00:17:32:02 - 00:18:09:07
Lauren
Mike was telling me there are some sort of statistics for Elden ring that talk about that more people have attempted to fight the final boss or more people have died fighting the final boss than died fighting the first boss in the games. So like more people are like making it all the way through the game and just like attempting, attempting, attempting more than whoever started it, like barely started the game, which I think that's very funny.

00:18:09:07 - 00:18:24:13
Gabe
I like I have nothing against those people who do it. I respect it. I respect it, I just can't, I can't do it, especially when it's a single player game and you're just being miserable by yourself. That's awful.

00:18:24:13 - 00:18:52:15
Lauren
Well, and that's what happened with Elden Ring is that Mike enjoys it. He has a good time with it. But yeah, he wanted to finish the game so that he could actually focus on what he actually enjoyed doing. So he just, like, ran straight through this storyline just so he could be like, I already finished it and now he can just kind of ignore the story and the bosses and whatever and just, like, go and pounce around the dungeons.

00:18:53:24 - 00:19:18:14
Gabe
Oh, fun. That's. That's fair. I, I think that was like, uh, I don't know, I'm trying to say a unique thing about Elden Ring, though, because, like, actual true Dark Souls games. I don't know if you can necessarily do that. You maybe. I'm not sure. I'm not an expert in Dark Souls games and I'm not going to pretend I'm not.

00:19:18:14 - 00:19:50:19
Gabe
So I'm just going to I mean, I'm not going to pretend I am. Yeah. I'm not going to pretend I'm not an expert. But anyways, Sun Haven, I've been streaming this game. This also came out early March, obviously Stardew Valley kind of game. It is set in a like a more medieval kind of time period from my understanding is definitely more fantastical than stardew you and you can see, you can be more than human.

00:19:50:27 - 00:19:51:12
Gabe
You can be.

00:19:52:23 - 00:19:54:27
Lauren
And there's more combat.

00:19:54:27 - 00:20:08:10
Gabe
Kitties, Krakens... Yeah, it's very more RPG than Stardew. You don't even have to farm. I mean, technically in Stardew You don't have to farm. But also like, let's be real, you kind of have to farm.

00:20:09:01 - 00:20:27:20
Lauren
Yeah, there are a lot of achievements which launch into other things is that will not launch if you do not grow a singular parsnip or whatever or whatever. Yes, but yeah, you can be in love and similar to Stardew, you have like town events.

00:20:29:04 - 00:20:40:10
Gabe
Yes, yes, yeah, yeah. There's the love the like. Yeah, the love interest and all of that. The family. And pretty sure you can have a child. I don't know for sure.

00:20:40:15 - 00:20:56:19
Lauren
Do they have it on switch? I feel like switch would be the move for this one. For me, I don't have Stardew on the switch, but I feel like this one, I feel like that would be a good switch game. Don't ask me why.

00:20:57:02 - 00:21:15:22
Gabe
I've played it on the PC. I don't know maybe. I know a lot of people like playing Stardew on the switch because you can play on the switch, right? Crazy. Yeah. Yeah, you can. I don't know. I've been really enjoying it. I think the story is really interesting. There's dragons in it. So, you know, that just immediately bumps it up.

00:21:15:22 - 00:21:44:19
Gabe
Five. Mm hmm. I find it a little more enjoyable than Stardew, because there is more of the RPG, there's more story and lore. Well, it's not that Stardew lacked on lore, but the lore wasn't just like, as easily accessible as that makes sense. Like, there's tons of hidden stuff and Easter eggs and all that. And I don't know, I feel like this has a lot of more readily available lore.

00:21:44:19 - 00:21:54:24
Gabe
And then you do have the, the story and actual progression and not just trying to do the community center to Yeah. Progress further.

00:21:54:24 - 00:21:57:01
Lauren
Yeah I wouldn't say that lore

00:21:57:01 - 00:22:02:09
Lauren
was a Stardew priority, if that makes sense.

00:22:02:09 - 00:22:03:05
Gabe
Yeah. So yes.

00:22:03:27 - 00:22:09:06
Lauren
It's fun that there's, you know, other games out there that do really focus in on the story.

00:22:10:06 - 00:22:20:00
Gabe
Yes. And that that was a hard thing for me because that's the stuff that really interests me, and keeps me like you're saying, coming back to a game.

00:22:20:00 - 00:22:38:04
Gabe
I had a friend who played this. This is Deceive Inc or incorporated. It's a new multiplayer game. Yes. Yes. And my friend's husband played it and he posted in our family, I'm not actually family in there.

00:22:38:04 - 00:23:09:06
Gabe
I'm a family from another family, the designated sister from another Mr. who's allowed in the family discord about it. And I thought it looked interesting? You go undercover as the world's greatest spies. You can disguise as anyone, deploy an arsenal of high tech gadgets on or neutralize the competition and I'm not entirely sure how it works. I think you go on missions and you're trying to, you know, grab whatever and get out alive.

00:23:09:06 - 00:23:11:23
Gabe
I assuming you're going against other players.

00:23:11:25 - 00:23:14:03
Lauren
Other spies, it looks like, right?

00:23:14:03 - 00:23:29:20
Gabe
Like other teams. I don't even know if you're... okay 3v3 team battles, well that answers that. 3v3. What an interesting number. Feel like you're either 2v2 or four... three's such a...

00:23:29:20 - 00:23:39:05
Lauren
well, they probably don't. I mean, it's a good market for people having more than, you know, four friends. Three friends.

00:23:40:16 - 00:23:53:10
Gabe
Right? I suppose that's true. I wonder I'm wondering if you can like play with randoms, though. I guarantee you surely you can get random people on your team like it doesn't have to just be your friend.

00:23:53:18 - 00:23:54:17
Lauren
That would be my guess.

00:23:54:25 - 00:24:17:17
Gabe
I guess. Otherwise, I guess you better start making friends. It looks. I don't know. It looked interesting. Yeah, I don't know if I'll play it, but he recommended it. Oh, okay. Another one I had to bring up and I didn't get a saying was the long awaited RE four remake came out this past weekend. I think like last week, late last week.

00:24:17:17 - 00:24:38:02
Gabe
And I've actually heard such good things about it from people and that like it was really a good improvement. On what the game was. And I, I'm actually so excited. I like the RE games. I haven't played all of them, but I've watched at the very least all of them. So I'm excited to play this one.

00:24:38:12 - 00:25:03:28
Lauren
Yeah, Mike and I are really excited to play it because we've played through the entire Resident Evil series. We haven't played 1, but we've played all the other ones because as part of our date nights, we started out playing Resident Evil eight when it came out, and then we did seven, and then we did it two, three, four. Five, six.

00:25:03:28 - 00:25:26:04
Gabe
So you didn't play zero. Mm. That was an interesting one. It's a good one. It's supposed to... It came out not right away, right? The first one came out and then I don't I think it was after maybe two, they made this one and this one is like a four hour one. Oh. Or like what led to or something?

00:25:26:11 - 00:25:35:16
Gabe
I don't know. I started playing that. It's interesting. That's definitely Old Resident Evil, but it's good. They're all good. They're all good. I like all of them.

00:25:35:26 - 00:25:54:14
Lauren
We really liked the Resident Evil two remake, so we're excited to see what, four lead? How like what they change and how they adjust it because I don't know, Four didn't seem too like out of date for me, right?

00:25:54:22 - 00:25:55:00
Gabe
Yeah.

00:25:55:00 - 00:26:23:22
Lauren
And I feel like eight had a lot of similarities to four where they... It wasn't, you know the same plot, it was a very different plot. But I really felt like they took what made Resident Evil four good and they used those and applied those to this much bigger, wilder, different storyline. So I'm really interested to see how they kind of say, Oh, great, okay.

00:26:23:22 - 00:26:35:07
Lauren
So this is what made eight. Great. Now let's use some of the improved stuff and then put them back into the four story. I don't know. I'm interested to see what they've done with it.

00:26:35:20 - 00:26:45:10
Gabe
The next is Ravenbound, a new single player that takes place in a dangerous fantasy world inspired by Scandinavian folklore. That is all I needed to hear.

00:26:45:11 - 00:27:01:04
Lauren
Scandinavian folklore is the scariest folklore, I don't...I don't...like there is... everything about Scandinavian folklore is scary. I don't know.

00:27:01:04 - 00:27:28:00
Gabe
That's so funny I'm sorry, I'm not laughing at you. I've just like I've never had never heard anything like that before, but I love that. Scandinavian. That's funny. That's funny. I, I can see where you're saying that. I could see where you may be coming from. I, I love that for you.

00:27:28:03 - 00:27:51:17
Lauren
I mean, it's dark so much of the time. It's dark and cold. And so they sit around fires like coming up with all sorts of spooky tree creatures and scary creatures that are creeping around in the dark and eating people and whatever. Like there's very few stories from Scandanavian folklore, like other than like Loki or any of those other kind of mischief-ey pieces?

00:27:52:11 - 00:27:53:10
Gabe
The gods,

00:27:53:10 - 00:27:53:21
Lauren
right?

00:27:54:02 - 00:27:54:21
Gabe
The gods.

00:27:55:01 - 00:28:20:09
Lauren
Right. Okay. Well, some of some of the gods, some of the gods are also spooky. But I mean, all of their monsters are like on a different level of just spine tingling versus, you know, I don't know. Yeah. Because they used so much of the environments for their and not necessarily just like animals around them.

00:28:20:09 - 00:28:20:13
Gabe
Right

00:28:20:14 - 00:28:21:27
Lauren
I don't know.

00:28:21:27 - 00:28:52:06
Gabe
I just I think that's funny because I think usually I hear like Asian folklore is really scary and and like their movies, they don't do horror like they do. They're Japanese. But I definitely see what you're saying and I think, um, like the ambiance of that kind of stuff is like what you're saying, darker and colder because I mean, it's up north, it's way up north there.

00:28:53:03 - 00:28:57:11
Gabe
It's very much like it is here. So maybe that's why it's a little less.

00:28:58:19 - 00:28:59:06
Lauren
I feel like a lot of...

00:28:59:09 - 00:29:02:27
Gabe
Lot less scary, but like, desensitized to me. Go ahead.

00:29:02:27 - 00:29:18:25
Lauren
Yeah, I feel like a lot of Asian horror is a lot of either like psychological, like ghosts. So it's a lot of like human on human fighting.

00:29:18:25 - 00:29:46:14
Lauren
Like ghost of a human or whatever. So it's a lot of like, you know, fighting against your psyche in a way which is absolutely, very, very scary. But the Scandinavian just been like, Ah, look at this dark world around you while we spend so much of our time in like the dark and the gloom. And here are all the ways we have devised for it to kill you.

00:29:47:04 - 00:29:55:15
Gabe
The Scandinavian folklore sets up your psyche to then be taken over.

00:29:55:15 - 00:30:08:13
Lauren
You look out and you're like, Ooh, that's spooky. I'm going to stay inside. And then all of a sudden you start going, Oh no, now I'm left myself. Yeah. So it just spirals you right down.

00:30:08:13 - 00:30:12:27
Gabe
I love that. I love that. Well,

00:30:12:27 - 00:30:17:28
Lauren
It looks very good, Ravenbound looks very good. It looks very scary, but it looks good.

00:30:19:14 - 00:30:30:04
Gabe
I don't even think it's listed under horror is the best part. It does say here "fear everything and nothing, for death brings you closer to victory in this challenging open world action. Roguelike."

00:30:30:08 - 00:30:32:09
Lauren
It starts with "fear everything" okay?

00:30:32:12 - 00:30:56:18
Gabe
And I know that's where I was like, Wait... I'm going to go back for it. At some point it has to come out. Yeah, March 30th. We're going to go right on to the next one and pretend that we were never, ever worried for a second about Scandinavian folklore. Because how could you be when you have Minecraft Legends?

00:30:56:20 - 00:31:26:03
Gabe
Okay, now we're in April, I... Minecraft Legends. So I played Minecraft Dungeons back in 2020 when that came out. And it was it was something it was an experience for better or for worse. I I'm afraid to say too much because, one, it was not necessarily my type of game, which is fine. So I don't want to be biased in that sense.

00:31:26:13 - 00:31:53:06
Gabe
But also I've played it with my abusive ex at the time, so I also don't know if that tainted some of it. But this when I was watching the trailer and kind of what they were talking the game, my game play is supposed to be like it was reminding me of the Minecraft dungeons. I think it's supposed to be an updated, upgraded version, like a different story and all of that.

00:31:53:06 - 00:32:21:24
Gabe
But you know that like an improved point. Yeah. On Minecraft dungeons and the like they're trying to add story to Minecraft, but it's like it's like I don't want to call it a dungeon crawler, but this kind of. Hmm. Yeah, it looks super pretty, though. You got the little fairies. It's. It's something. I think it's going to be something.

00:32:21:27 - 00:32:25:15
Gabe
For better or for worse. I think this is also going to be a game that's going to be something.

00:32:25:22 - 00:32:35:15
Lauren
I mean, Minecraft is so good at visuals and just the look of everything is always going to be incredible.

00:32:36:27 - 00:33:10:28
Gabe
True. That's true. But from a gameplay, I think it looks better than Dungeons did by just like watching this game play right now, I think the visuals look better, like an improvement. Yeah. I don't know. It'll be interesting to see how it plays. Yeah. Um, I don't have a thing for this one, and I don't remember why, but Dead Island 2 is supposed to be coming out.

00:33:11:12 - 00:33:35:10
Gabe
It's been an eight year long development, but it is supposed to be coming out, so. Oh, that's right. That aliens and zombie game, the zombie apocalypse experience, co-op multiplayer. It's not, like it's open world. So it's not like Back for Blood or Left for Dead or any of those. But it's is it is a zombie game.

00:33:35:10 - 00:33:36:26
Lauren
Interesting

00:33:36:26 - 00:33:40:29
Gabe
so I had assumed that Dead Island 2, or... it is also a zombie game.

00:33:41:19 - 00:33:48:16
Lauren
And are you seeing a trend of zombie games in 2023?

00:33:48:16 - 00:33:55:19
Gabe
Ye yes. Yes. Because I think there's already been some zombie games with zombie survival games. I've come out and stuff. So yeah, probably.

00:33:55:19 - 00:34:02:25
Lauren
Definitely survival games I feel like is definitely a trend in games.

00:34:04:08 - 00:34:30:18
Gabe
Yes, I would agree. The other one that's coming out in April that I apparently wrote down was Star Wars Jedi Survivor, which is the sequel to Jedi Fallen Order. So now in May, we have RedFall, which is one of the two highly anticipated Bethesda games. It's an open world vampire shooter. Oh, and now you can play with up to three friends.

00:34:31:03 - 00:34:48:27
Gabe
I don't even remember watching anything about it. I might not have. I might have just said, this is too much for me. Who have cut out... Town of Red Fall is under siege by a legion of vampires who have cut the island off from the outside world, trapped with a handfull of survivors, slay alone or squad up in an open world FPS.

00:34:50:18 - 00:34:58:02
Lauren
So co-op survival, is that kind of where where we're all trending.

00:34:59:02 - 00:35:04:00
Gabe
I suppose? It looks kind of like more cartoony graphic of like left for dead and that kind of stuff. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:35:04:18 - 00:35:10:05
Lauren
Well in that case, probably my husband will play it.

00:35:10:05 - 00:35:37:27
Gabe
Tell me it's not giving you those kind of vibes like you're doing the campaign kinda of story where you're going through each mission to get to the ultimate goal. I can't remember if it was this one, but I think it was this one. Well starfield we'll get to is the other highly anticipated Bethesda game, but these are like I believe it had huge amounts of like on steam wish lists if that makes sense.

00:35:37:27 - 00:35:59:20
Gabe
All right. Moving on, I think to one of probably the most highly anticipated game of May, although I guess it's hard to say because of Redfall - Legend of Zelda, Tears of the Kingdom, the sequel to Breath of the Wild. Um, there's nothing really, really like there's not a whole lot known about it, except you get to be in the sky.

00:35:59:20 - 00:36:24:19
Gabe
I do know that there's sky stuff. And this is the sequel. Yeah, but I think they did the same thing with Breath of the Wild, where they kept a ton close to their chests until it came out. I assume it's also open world like Breath of the Wild, which I actually really enjoyed about that, having completely open world Zelda game was pretty crazy.

00:36:24:19 - 00:36:39:13
Lauren
I mean, with that sort of franchise, you don't need to promote very much you can just say, Hey, this is coming out and everyone's going to buy it. You don't need to tempt to them into it by coming up with good marketing.

00:36:40:11 - 00:37:05:15
Gabe
Especially as the sequel was not a new Zelda game. I mean, this is a new Zelda game. Yeah, but you know what I mean. Like, it's not a totally new world or like, you know, so and the Breath of the Wild, the so I think loved and well received. So yeah, I mean, everyone's been waiting for this one. There's also the System Shock remake.

00:37:05:24 - 00:37:34:25
Gabe
I have nothing for this and I feel bad about it because System Shock was a game that really defined the first person action adventure genre, I think, and I know it was an inspiration for games like BioShock and I think even like Deus Ex and stuff like that. So that is also coming out in May. We have another Amnesia game, which I think personally is really exciting.

00:37:35:12 - 00:37:59:22
Gabe
I enjoyed the last one. Amnesia, Rebirth. Well, I've enjoyed all of the amnesia games, but I think the last one was kind of like a mixed bag for people. If I remember, I could be wrong on that. This one's going to be a first person horror game set in a desolate World War 1 bunker facing the oppressing terror stuck in the dark corridors, search for and use the tools and weapons at your disposal.

00:37:59:22 - 00:38:05:08
Gabe
But keeping the lights on at all costs. Overcome fear, persevere and make your way out alive. Hmm.

00:38:06:27 - 00:38:10:28
Lauren
So sequ- Sequels.

00:38:10:28 - 00:38:18:24
Gabe
Well, it's not a sequel per say, because the amnesia games aren't necessarily like.

00:38:19:20 - 00:38:21:21
Lauren
But like franchise extenders.

00:38:22:21 - 00:38:24:01
Gabe
Yes, yes. Franchise.

00:38:24:01 - 00:38:27:21
Lauren
Would you say that's another year? Yeah.

00:38:28:06 - 00:38:29:03
Gabe
And I don't think so.

00:38:29:03 - 00:38:38:05
Lauren
I'm wondering if that's just like people not wanting to invest in something new theory or wanting to

00:38:38:05 - 00:39:07:29
Gabe
Well part of it is COVID. We're finally getting like even still games that were delayed and delayed and delayed because of COVID from like the initial effects of COVID and the after effects of COVID because there's quite a few games in here that were supposed to come out last year but didn't. And I think we talked a lot last year how there is a ton of games that were like, Oh yeah, 2023, we want to polish it up more.

00:39:08:12 - 00:39:31:19
Gabe
So I think that's part of it. And then like you probably already had games that were supposed to come out in this year anyways, this franchise extenders, but then like you have all the other ones that got delayed because my next game is also literally a franchise extenders that is the - oh no it's not, it's not, there's one more between it but we can just say this one first.

00:39:31:19 - 00:40:01:07
Gabe
It's the outlast trials which I mean, even if you've never played it, how can you not know about Outlast or that series? I mean, I remember when I first came out, that was where people had started to become desensitized, I think, to some horror games, that was like a bone chiller, but This one is a multiplayer game. It is outlast multiplayer.

00:40:03:05 - 00:40:28:00
Gabe
You go through the trials or you can go, alone or in teams and it said in the thing "if you survive long enough and complete the therapy, Markoff will happily let you leave. But will you be the same?" So I don't know if that means that there is actually some story. When I watched the demo, I watched John Wolfe (I love him for horror) play the demo.

00:40:28:17 - 00:40:44:29
Gabe
There seemed to actually be some kind of story to it. So there I'm wondering if there is a definitive amount of trials to do. I don't know if I think if I remember right. You play up to three friends. I think you can go in as many as groups of four.

00:40:45:09 - 00:40:56:10
Lauren
So like kind of a multiple endings kind of thing where you can either escape or if you just last through all the trials or something. Oh, is there no escape?

00:40:56:15 - 00:41:24:09
Gabe
I don't think I would I don't think I would say that. So, okay, I'm trying to like I'm picturing the demo in my head. So you have obviously, I don't know if the game is going to be this, but the demo seemed like the beginning of the game. Right. So you you start off alone solo and you like go through this intro and (sorry I smacked my mic) and being introduced into why you're in the building you're in.

00:41:25:00 - 00:41:53:13
Gabe
And the building is like the funhouse of Dr. Markoff. I think he's a doctor. He's a fake doctor. He's running all these different experiments on people, and you're supposed to be one of them who's going to get experimented on. And I believe you do get experimented on and like you, before you start your first trial, I think you've had something done to you.

00:41:53:13 - 00:42:14:05
Gabe
I think it's your eyes are before you even enter. I think they do something to your eyes. I don't know. So you can see in the dark. Actually, if I remember it right, I could be wrong anyways. And then you have like a home base and I think you can kind of like contracts and like upgrades and stuff your home base or something like that.

00:42:14:05 - 00:42:38:25
Gabe
But you have like a home area and that's where you could look through the missions available to you or like the trials, the trials available to you. And I think you get rewards from the trials, but I think trials also progressed the story because I think there is an overall story. And so then I think you based off of how many or what trials you do or something like that, you could maybe skip that as my understanding.

00:42:38:25 - 00:42:41:15
Lauren
Gotcha.

00:42:41:15 - 00:43:05:24
Gabe
Okay. I don't know. That's that's all I know. That's what I know. Okay. I have to reorder myself. Okay. The one in between this one, I went back and forth about adding and then I decided I was going to do it. It's called Atlas Fallen. The name, I don't know anything about it. I've never seen anything about it.

00:43:05:24 - 00:43:27:19
Gabe
But I heard the name and it made me think of the book series into a movie as Atlas. I know Atlas now. Is it Atlas Fallen now? I don't know. I'll come back to it. It'll come back to me. Atlas Shrugged. That's what I'm thinking about. It made me think about Atlas Shrugged so that I was curious and I had to look at it.

00:43:28:29 - 00:43:52:02
Gabe
It's a ri- Okay. What did it say? Rise from the dust and glide the sands of a timeless land filled with ancient dangers, mysteries and fragments of the past, hunt legendary monsters with powerful Sanofi's weapons and abilities and spectacular superpowered combat. I thought the graphics looked really interesting and beautiful. We can't hear the trailer narration, unfortunate. Thats also where I was like,

00:43:52:02 - 00:44:00:07
Gabe
Oh, I kind of like this. Hmm. Sometimes I'm a freak. Sometimes a trailer narration just gets me, for better or for worse.

00:44:00:23 - 00:44:04:23
Lauren
Hey, if they do a good job in marketing, then...

00:44:04:23 - 00:44:05:14
Gabe
that's true.

00:44:05:14 - 00:44:30:00
Gabe
And it gave me Titan Quest vibes. I don't know if you know it, but it's a it's a older game. Okay. This is supposed to come out last year, if I remember Lord of the Rings, Gollum. I know we talked about it last year. So I assume you're supposed to come out later. I think last year and I, I was like, oh, man, when I saw it, I totally forgot about it.

00:44:30:13 - 00:44:35:21
Gabe
Now, last year, I don't think we knew what Gollum looked like and highkey Gollum looks all kinds of freaky in this.

00:44:36:27 - 00:44:39:09
Lauren
As opposed to not...? like.

00:44:39:21 - 00:44:45:11
Gabe
Well, no but like he does. He does. But it just wasn't what I was expecting.

00:44:46:04 - 00:44:47:03
Lauren
It's a little bit of a baby Gollum, I guess?

00:44:47:03 - 00:45:03:21
Gabe
If that makes sense. I think we knew he. Yeah, I guess I don't know, I don't know what it was but what he suddenly turned around there. When I first watched this trailer, I wasn't ready for it.

00:45:03:21 - 00:45:05:18
Lauren
The rest of the game looks stunning.

00:45:06:19 - 00:45:08:12
Gabe
Yes, yes. The graphics.

00:45:08:12 - 00:45:09:05
Lauren
Characters are.

00:45:09:05 - 00:45:10:07
Gabe
Really hopeful for this one.

00:45:10:07 - 00:45:19:27
Lauren
They're very scary. But rest of the visuals are beautiful.

00:45:19:27 - 00:45:38:12
Gabe
I think this is so much more than even what we were able to see last year, and it looks so much better than, I think, even what we knew. Mm hmm. Last year. I it's going to be a story driven action adventure. You get to take on a perilous journey as Gollum chasing the only thing that is precious to him.

00:45:38:24 - 00:46:00:09
Gabe
Gollum is skillful and cunning, but also torn by his split personality. One mind, two egos. You decide. But I'm so excited. Like I got even more excited after watching all of these trailers. And he's a character with the psyche that I've always thought was really fascinating and would be interesting to explore.

00:46:00:19 - 00:46:06:25
Lauren
Yeah. Okay, so I'm getting kind of like Tomb Raider.

00:46:06:25 - 00:46:07:02
Gabe
Yeah like parkour

00:46:07:19 - 00:46:09:00
Lauren
mechanics vibes.

00:46:09:24 - 00:46:11:04
Gabe
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.

00:46:12:14 - 00:46:16:19
Lauren
Yes, I'm excited. All right. We're going to both play this and we'll both report back.

00:46:17:00 - 00:46:41:08
Gabe
Another one that I've has written down and I have nothing now, Street Fighter six, if I remember right. I do think this is also supposed to come out last year and didn't, um, I don't have anything up available for Diablo four, but I am really excited for this. I probably talked about this before. I probably beaten the horse dead, but I did play the like the test play back at BlizzCon 2019.

00:46:41:17 - 00:47:07:21
Gabe
And this is something I've waited for this and Overwatch 2. When we got those sneak peeks, I was like, Dude, I can't wait. And I've never played a Diablo game before and I've heard a lot of good things about them. So I'm excited. Director Luis Barriga I feel like I said all right. Described as gothic, medieval and a bleak and shattered hellscape, bereft of hope and beset by demons.

00:47:07:21 - 00:47:33:15
Gabe
From my understanding, the story is centered around Lilith, and that's mostly just what I know. The beta, actually, the open beta, if you preordered, was just this past weekend and I unfortunately did not get a chance to play it because I had other things I had to do, which I'm really sad about. But yes, it looked, I think like people were liking it and hopeful.

00:47:33:18 - 00:47:58:17
Gabe
So we'll see. We will see. Oh, I don't even have the final fantasy or whatever, whatever. You know, it's fine. Final Fantasy is also coming out in June. I heard this one was going to be a little different from the previous one and it's going to trade the open world for a more area based design. And you're going to be playing as Clive Rosfield through real time.

00:47:58:17 - 00:48:10:16
Gabe
Fast paced combat will continue and companion characters are controlled by A.I.. I don't know anything about the Final Fantasy series. Like I've seen bits and pieces of people play it, but it's never been something I've gotten into.

00:48:11:00 - 00:48:14:01
Lauren
I cannot believe they're on number 16. But yes.

00:48:15:15 - 00:48:39:24
Gabe
I also think that too every time I see another one come out, I'm like, wait, there's wait, there's more. That's so of toxic, I'm sorry. Aliens, dark descent. When I saw that name, I thought it was going to be a sequel to like Aliens Isolation or that kind of stuff. It's not, but it is in the Aliens Universe.

00:48:39:24 - 00:48:50:10
Lauren
I love Alien. That was my favorite horror movie. So anytime there's Alien involved - like we have board games for Alien, like we love Alien.

00:48:51:12 - 00:49:13:07
Gabe
I like Predator better than Alien who like or like I love the entire franchise as a whole. And I don't, I'm like, I'm not saying I think Predator is better than Alien. It's more of like I'm more attracted to Predator just with Predator Versus Alien. When the predators take - when he takes in the lady. And like marks her like, Yeah, you can be a predator now.

00:49:13:07 - 00:49:16:11
Gabe
I was like, as a child, I was like, I wish I was me okay.

00:49:17:23 - 00:49:31:21
Lauren
So my ranking is 1. Alien, 2. Alien Versus Predator, 3. Predator. And that's not like saying I dislike Predator. I'm just saying alien versus predator. I love that movie, so much

00:49:31:21 - 00:49:33:18
Gabe
I do love that one too

00:49:33:18 - 00:49:42:04
Lauren
It's just the wildest thing and I just have a good time. So every time I watch a Predator movie, I'm always like, We're going to be friends with them. Where are the aliens?

00:49:42:04 - 00:49:43:03
Gabe
exactly! exactly

00:49:43:27 - 00:50:09:01
Gabe
Hey, I'm like, Yeah, we'll be friends. And if the aliens. Yeah, they're they're also good. I mean, Sigourney Weaver, Arnold Schwarzenegger, you can't go wrong. To go back to the game... This is a squad based single player action game. Lead your soldiers in real time to stop a new and terrifying kind of xenomorph outbreak on Moon Lethe.

00:50:09:12 - 00:50:15:11
Gabe
It's a RTS, I don't know. That's not really my cup of tea.

00:50:15:12 - 00:50:16:27
Lauren
I'll try it out. And let you know.

00:50:17:29 - 00:50:26:19
Gabe
I just like to say maybe sometimes I'll try it. But if you'll take the bullet, I won't get too upset. All right, you come back to me.

00:50:26:23 - 00:50:33:15
Lauren
I'll take it. Or. And or maybe Mike and I will play it for date night, and I'll have him play in.

00:50:33:15 - 00:50:36:18
Gabe
Oh, I like that. I think that is the.

00:50:36:22 - 00:50:38:10
Lauren
That's the move because I think he does.

00:50:38:10 - 00:50:39:03
Gabe
I think that's a move.

00:50:39:03 - 00:50:40:19
Lauren
I think he likes RTS'. Yes.

00:50:42:01 - 00:51:07:02
Gabe
I wouldn't be surprised. Based off of what I know about Mike, I could definitely see him enjoying that type of game. So be like, Yo, babe, for June, I got you. Hmm hmm hmm hmm. This, I think, might be more up your alley. Maybe, not trying to generalize you or anything. A Story of seasons, a wonderful life. Put down roots on your new farm in the peaceful town of Forgotten Valley.

00:51:07:12 - 00:51:28:18
Gabe
Bring life to the land by cultivating crops and raising animals. Find love among the town's friendly folk and make lasting memories with a family of your very own. I don't know if all stories of seasons games are like this. I would assume so, but I know there's a bunch of them based off of. When I typed this into Steam and a bajillion came up. It looked good?

00:51:28:26 - 00:51:29:25
Gabe
It looked interesting.

00:51:29:25 - 00:51:40:20
Lauren
Yeah, I'd be interested to know what kind of sets it apart from some of the other games of this style...genre?

00:51:41:07 - 00:51:45:24
Gabe
Style genre. Yeah, I'd say graphics for one...well...

00:51:45:24 - 00:51:48:07
Lauren
Graphics are a little bit more Pokemon. Yeah.

00:51:49:06 - 00:52:10:21
Gabe
Yeah, yeah. Is giving me those kind of vibes or a little bit of like, um. Portia Hmm. Mm hmm. To kind of. I figured maybe one day you try this one and you let me know as I have tried Sun Haven, like I felt like, you know, I took the bullet for Sun Haven.

00:52:11:23 - 00:52:13:09
Lauren
Oh, yeah, had to be pushed

00:52:13:09 - 00:52:15:06
Gabe
I took the bullet, it was really hard

00:52:15:06 - 00:52:16:16
Lauren
all the way over there, dragged kicking and screaming

00:52:16:16 - 00:52:44:14
Gabe
Twister my arm. Yes. So, you know, you you got this one, Chief, I believe. All right, I'm over it. We're done. I had to include this one solely for the trailer, but also, I mean, there wasn't a whole lot it looked like in July, the next half of the year. There isn't a whole lot of set things. There's a lot of like what's supposed to come out this year.

00:52:45:00 - 00:53:09:20
Gabe
So we're into July. Pikmin 4. the extent of me knowing who Pikmin is is that he's a character. I'm pretty sure you can play in Super Smash Bros. You - when you see it, I think you'll recognize. But at least I hope that's what this is. Wait, I think, you know. No, I think it is. I don't know.

00:53:10:17 - 00:53:19:08
Gabe
Most of what I know is just the first home console. Pikmin game in a decade. It's a switch game. It's Nintendo, it's that universe.

00:53:20:02 - 00:53:46:04
Lauren
Yeah, I know that. There was like a phone app game, kind of not similar to Pokémon Go, but similar. Where you walk around and you like collect Pikmin little sprout guys and like you can plant flowers as you walk around. So it was, but it was definitely like a walk around and kind of interact with your environment in a way.

00:53:46:26 - 00:53:57:27
Lauren
So that was really my introduction to Pikmin. I'm very excited because this has a dog. You watch the trailer, they've got this very cute dog that.

00:53:59:01 - 00:54:03:29
Gabe
He looks like he becomes one of your friends, oh he's like your mount, you get to ride him!

00:54:03:29 - 00:54:06:22
Lauren
And he looks like a bee, but he's a dog.

00:54:06:22 - 00:54:08:29
Gabe
Does kind of look like a me. He's so.

00:54:08:29 - 00:54:12:03
Lauren
Cute.

00:54:12:03 - 00:54:12:25
Gabe
He's chunky.

00:54:12:25 - 00:54:19:06
Lauren
And I believe that from what Mike was telling me, that's new for the Pikmin games

00:54:19:06 - 00:54:43:28
Gabe
The dog? Oh okay. Something fresh and exciting. Mm mm. This one. I don't even know where I found this on which of the things I saw is a list of what was coming in July and I have no idea what it is. I've never heard of Disney Illusion Island. I, I, because I think this is another game. Like, I think they've done this before.

00:54:43:28 - 00:55:00:12
Gabe
I don't know, it's a switch game. You could play with up to three friends and you could be making Minnie, Donald or Goofy. When they show the gameplay in a second. It gave me kind of like warrior vibes, you know, like that kind of game style. Here we go. Tell me I'm wrong.

00:55:00:12 - 00:55:10:28
Lauren
Yeah. On a platform jumping. And. Interesting. I'm shocked that there was a game after doing Dreamlike Valley so recently.

00:55:12:13 - 00:55:17:07
Gabe
Well, I think they're like different companies all within probably Disney.

00:55:17:17 - 00:55:24:09
Lauren
Yeah, yeah. I mean, it's definitely different teams of switch. Can you not do Disney Dreamlight Valley on the switch?

00:55:25:21 - 00:55:29:25
Gabe
I think you can, but I think it was like a hard focused PC game.

00:55:30:01 - 00:55:50:09
Lauren
That's true, because it is such a weird world. But I feel like anyway, Mike had never heard of Disney Dreamlight Valley until like two days ago. Tragic when he saw that my sister was playing it, it like showed up on his little steam of like and he was so excited. He was just like, Oh, Lauren, did you know there's a game called Disney Dreamlight Valley?

00:55:50:09 - 00:55:53:25
Lauren
And I was like... yeah, honey, where have you been????

00:55:53:27 - 00:55:57:02
Gabe
I don't live under a rock, so. Yes, yes, I do.

00:55:57:10 - 00:56:02:25
Lauren
It just cracked me up. Like, what do you mean??

00:56:02:25 - 00:56:33:17
Gabe
What do you mean by that? I love that. All right. Are you ready to move on to August? Mm. Okay. I'm so ashamed that I didn't know this was a this was a thing coming in August. Apparently, they're making a Texas Chainsaw Massacre game. I think it's supposed to be like DBD kind of thing. Yeah. And the description was "4 victims attempt to escape from the three members of the family: leatherface, the hitchhiker and the cook."

00:56:34:05 - 00:56:38:05
Lauren
So it kinda - the trailer. Kind of looks like. Yeah, kind of.

00:56:39:00 - 00:56:41:26
Gabe
Uh, DBD!

00:56:41:26 - 00:56:55:07
Lauren
Dead By daylight. Plus Resident Evil seven, where they're, like, in the house fighting off the family and are just in a lot of enclosed spaces and have to hide and whatever.

00:56:55:26 - 00:57:01:29
Gabe
Well, I was just saying dead by daylight in the sense of like that style of gameplay.

00:57:02:03 - 00:57:02:14
Lauren
Right

00:57:02:18 - 00:57:25:01
Gabe
Right. The four survivors, the one killer trying to hide. And I mean the other style of games like that. You're not necessarily starting generators like in dead by daylight, but like you're trying to do one objective to get out before you're taken out. All right. Next, yes, we go from super dark to this one: Sea of Stars.

00:57:25:25 - 00:57:43:24
Gabe
It's a turn based RPG inspired by the classics. It tells the story of two children of the solstice who will combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse magic, the only force capable of fending off the monstrous creations of the evil alchemist known as the flesh monsters. Super cute pixels. Yeah. So

00:57:43:24 - 00:58:00:11
Lauren
Art style... Is this the same company that does Octopath Traveler because it looks similar. Like the graphics.

00:58:00:14 - 00:58:02:00
Gabe
Sabotage studio?

00:58:02:04 - 00:58:02:24
Lauren
No idea.

00:58:04:03 - 00:58:26:06
Gabe
I don't know. I just thought it was super cute and I might actually play it. I, I at first was just, I saw the names and I had seen it and I was like, ohho, the sea you say, oh, well, let me just take a gander. Do I get to be a pirate, a space pirate? No. But

00:58:26:06 - 00:58:29:02
Lauren
Ooh it's first launched as a project on Kickstarter.

00:58:30:18 - 00:58:37:13
Gabe
Oh. Oh, I love that. There's also a Dragon. I saw that too. And I was like, Wow.

00:58:37:15 - 00:58:41:29
Lauren
Dragon, "Sea of" in the title. Yeah. I mean, this is designed for you

00:58:42:06 - 00:59:08:03
Gabe
I meannnn, I, need I say more? Like you do get to be on a ship. I'm just saying I'm just saying. War Hospital - "Be the ray of hope among the darkness of war. Manage your British World War One field hospital in a 3D isometric RTS where you lead the medical corps instead of soldiers. Fight for life, soul and humanity in a world that rejected them in a unique

00:59:08:03 - 00:59:17:03
Gabe
society's survival game." I don't really know how much of like management games you kind of play. But

00:59:17:03 - 00:59:21:20
Lauren
I like management games. I don't like war games.

00:59:21:20 - 00:59:25:19
Gabe
Well, that's war and management all in one. Except you're not fighting the war.

00:59:26:18 - 00:59:27:26
Lauren
You're trying to save lives.

00:59:27:26 - 00:59:46:15
Gabe
But not like the war. You're fighting the war to save lives. Yes. Starfield September. The only game I have written down for September. This is also one of the most anticipated Bethesda games. We did talk about this last year because I think it was supposed to come out last year

00:59:46:15 - 00:59:47:01
Lauren
Sure was.

00:59:48:00 - 00:59:53:15
Gabe
It was and the guy had described it as Skyrim in space.

00:59:54:04 - 01:00:00:26
Gabe
And I remember saying that because I knew Sweetie liked Sky or Lauren likes Skyrim as much as I like Skyrim.

01:00:00:26 - 01:00:07:11
Lauren
Oh yeah, I'm going to be a Starfield streamer for like a month and a half solid.

01:00:07:11 - 01:00:33:09
Gabe
I believe it. I believe it because there's a lot. So I don't have the story of it written down. I have more of like what we know about it now. There is supposed to be like a deeper character creator, more so than Skyrim at the very least, I think. And you're going to be sent out into the many worlds where there are factions to join, companion characters to recruit and quests to complete.

01:00:34:00 - 01:00:57:06
Gabe
It's supposed to be Bethesda's biggest game yet, with over a thousand planets to explore and a main questline that runs roughly 20% longer than any previous one of their games is. I am... I wasn't this way last year, but this year I'm a little hesitant to have my hopes so high for it with how games have been lately and stuff.

01:00:57:27 - 01:01:00:11
Gabe
And I. I don't know.

01:01:00:23 - 01:01:01:14
Lauren
Do you...

01:01:01:14 - 01:01:03:16
Gabe
I'm excited though, because I really love Skyrim.

01:01:03:17 - 01:01:06:17
Lauren
Are we making a prediction that it will come out in September.

01:01:07:24 - 01:01:31:14
Gabe
Oh, I think, yeah, well I think it will actually for sure come out this year. September 6th is when it's supposed to come out. Um, okay. I think there's way more out about it now than there was back when I first talked about it. So I think so. Okay. I'm just not sure if I should be as hopeful for it.

01:01:31:27 - 01:01:43:07
Gabe
I don't know. It looks so beautiful, though. And if it if it gives any of the Skyrim kind of vibes like you know what I mean I, I'll be so excited.

01:01:44:04 - 01:02:03:08
Lauren
Yeah. I'll just be excited to like truly no matter how it is, it's going to be fun. Like even if it's not like fully up to like all that their promises, like it's still going to be fun to play and yeah, it'll be fun.

01:02:05:05 - 01:02:10:27
Gabe
The "A Thousand Worlds" gives me the no man's sky vibes. So

01:02:10:27 - 01:02:12:17
Lauren
That's exactly what I was thinking.

01:02:12:26 - 01:02:22:17
Gabe
I read that I was like, Oh, do you know how big of a promise that is? Because right now we can show you what's happened in the past.

01:02:22:22 - 01:02:27:11
Lauren
Like a thousand worlds feels too many, you know?

01:02:27:11 - 01:02:31:01
Gabe
How can you really have a thousand unique worlds like and

01:02:31:01 - 01:02:32:12
Gabe
like to build that all out

01:02:32:18 - 01:02:34:07
Gabe
and to put love into each and every one

01:02:34:13 - 01:02:38:19
Lauren
Absolutely to put love in each one of them. Yeah. I fully agree what you just said.

01:02:40:07 - 01:02:48:28
Gabe
I just think is so unrealistic that you can fully fleshed out that many worlds like you would have to have so many people on staff. And even then I just.

01:02:50:03 - 01:02:54:18
Lauren
I'm not going to be able to visit a thousand worlds, you know, like, so.

01:02:54:18 - 01:02:58:16
Gabe
You're becoming a Starfield streamer and you have your whole life now to do that.

01:02:58:16 - 01:03:07:04
Lauren
I know. Man, am I going to have to visit a thousand worlds? I'm going to do it.

01:03:07:04 - 01:03:13:24
Gabe
Okay. I don't think you're actually going to have to do that because I'm real with you. I think you're going to be ok.

01:03:13:24 - 01:03:18:00
Lauren
Hey, you said the storyline is going to be 20% longer than any other game they've done.

01:03:18:11 - 01:03:51:08
Gabe
That, that they've done, yeah, that they've done. But so I mean if they're thinking like if we're talking main story, right. Mm. Skyrim was what 50 hours, 60 hours probably. So I'm thinking, we're saying main story is going to take 100 hours. I swear I'm going to guess like like 80 to 100 hours. We'll see. That's a that's a tall order I think.

01:03:51:13 - 01:03:53:05
Lauren
Yeah.

01:03:53:05 - 01:04:04:11
Gabe
That's a lot of that makes me be like is it really that long or did they add fluff? Is there busywork? Is there obnoxious stuff to make it?

01:04:04:11 - 01:04:07:16
Lauren
How long does it take you to fly from world to world?

01:04:07:29 - 01:04:32:03
Gabe
In 2 hours, real time, like I you know what I mean? So, yeah, yeah. Okay. So we have to keep going. I still have way too many tabs and we have like 15 minutes to 10:00. We're stressing me out. All right, October. I only had one for it as well. We had no anime games yet. Like real anime games.

01:04:32:03 - 01:04:54:23
Gabe
And I was like, Yeah, well, we had Final Fantasy, but I don't know if you want to say thats anime, anyway, whatever. We went there the fully Sword Art Online last recollection, we went full anime and drove seamless action packed real time battles using a combination of sword skills, sacred arts and your favorite sword art online characters. All right.

01:04:54:23 - 01:05:11:03
Gabe
In November, the only game I had for this: The Day Before. this game is set in a zombie filled post pandemic America. It's supposed to make survival gameplay with indepth combat and animal crossing inspired base building. How they get that in there? I don't know. But hold on for you.

01:05:11:03 - 01:05:15:01
Lauren
Animal Crossing inspired base building...?

01:05:17:00 - 01:05:17:19
Gabe
I don't know.

01:05:17:25 - 01:05:23:25
Lauren
But it's gonna be a zombie survival game. That looks more like fallout...

01:05:24:10 - 01:05:30:09
Gabe
I have no idea what that meant because what kind of base building do we do in animal crossing? But that's where I was like...what???

01:05:31:28 - 01:05:43:29
Lauren
Well, I mean, I can understand the like, you know, putting together your island and making it really, like, designed and pretty, but like, I don't know if I would compare.

01:05:45:18 - 01:06:11:12
Lauren
I'm... that's... Fascinating. Yeah, I, I feel like there are plenty of other games that allow you to base build and, you know, like as a fallout, like you can do a lot of customizable things in a lot of different games. So fascinated by the Animal Crossing comparison.

01:06:11:12 - 01:06:34:11
Gabe
I have no idea. I've I've no idea. All this is what I do now. Okay. If we ignore that part, I think this is a game that's kind of in my...oh I said wheelhouse earlier. Yeah, I'm always looking for a good survival game. I love zombies in my survival games. I'll never say no to that.

01:06:34:11 - 01:07:03:07
Gabe
It gives, it gives me. DayZ, Miscreated, that kind of stuff, kind of vibes especially. Yeah, like huge DayZ vibes, especially for like the looting system and all that. Moving on. We have to keep going. There's no time to dally, not even for this. All right. These are ones that don't have - I have nothing for December. These don't have a specific date, but they had to be talked about.

01:07:03:24 - 01:07:33:14
Gabe
Hollow Knight Silksong. The sequel to one of the best Metroidvania games of all time in my personal opinion. You get to play as the enemy-turned-ally Hornet in its a "ph" so I'm going to assume Pharloom. In a serious world far from the kingdom of the original game. All right this is embarrassing. I've never played Hollow Knight, I keep meaning to it's on my list of something I'm going to get to... I watched it?

01:07:35:24 - 01:07:37:01
Lauren
It's so beautiful.

01:07:37:12 - 01:07:37:28
Gabe
It yeah.

01:07:38:03 - 01:07:41:09
Lauren
I haven't played it either. I know it's really hard.

01:07:42:03 - 01:08:07:09
Gabe
So yes that is some kind where I'm like, I know I have to be in the right state of mind to be able to do that. Mm hmm. Skull and Bones has gone - has gone through many iterations, but it's supposed to be an open sea adventure without a structure campaign. This is from the Assassin's Creed, just so you know.

01:08:08:15 - 01:08:38:10
Gabe
Okay. Yes yes yes yes. "Players captain customizable pirate ships, on which they can take on contracts, gather resources and do battle with merchants or other players." This came after Assassin's Creed, Black Flag, was that the pirate one? I think. Or like like this is where they came from. And like wanting to have that. The Expanse: A Telltale Series. A choice, you know as they all are, "A choice based narrative adventure."

01:08:38:21 - 01:09:00:26
Gabe
However, this one is set in the world of the acclaimed TV series The Expanse. I watched this when this first came out. This is a very beloved series of my dad. Super good sci fi series would recommend. If you love sci fi, you're supposed to play as XO. I think I should know this because she's in this show too.

01:09:00:26 - 01:09:02:28
Gabe
Camina Drummer, Camina?

01:09:03:01 - 01:09:03:10
Lauren
Yeah.

01:09:03:26 - 01:09:26:12
Gabe
Amidst a mutiny aboard the Artemis spaceship. It looks really good. I think they've done really good with The Walking Dead, so I'm not too worried about this. I think it'll be good. Alan Wake 2. Alan Wake, I think was a very, really popular game. I've heard a lot about it. I've had tons of recommendations to play in the stream.

01:09:26:12 - 01:09:47:21
Gabe
It This is supposed to be Remedy's first Survival Horror Game. Lead writer Sam Lake said to expect "psychological, layered, deep mystery to dive into". The next one to talk about is Arc 2, we just have to bring it up because the Vin Diesel is in it anyways.

01:09:47:21 - 01:09:49:06
Lauren
...Vin Diesel is in it????

01:09:49:06 - 01:09:49:10
Gabe
Yeah.

01:09:49:10 - 01:10:16:20
Gabe
So this builds on the survival gameplay from Arc. When I was reading this is they said "with soulslike third person melee combat" don't know what they... I don't know and it has... so Ark doesn't really have a story, it has all the different maps and stuff you can play through. But this one has an expanded story led by the man himself, Vin Diesel.

01:10:18:11 - 01:10:27:12
Gabe
There will be mobility improvements from the last one with the ability to mantle free, climb, slide and swing. Look, I'm not. Look, I wasn't joking.

01:10:27:12 - 01:10:27:26
Lauren
It's very Vin Diesel!

01:10:27:26 - 01:10:56:15
Gabe
No it is Vin Diesel! It actually is as a cartoon in the game. I am. I actually him too. Like, not him just saying yes but like him, I think he's been my understanding, working closely with the project? Had to bring that one up, had to bring it in. Assassin's Creed: Mirage. So another Assassin's Creed, they will be removing the RPG in this one.

01:10:56:15 - 01:11:14:13
Gabe
They're going to be removing the RPG elements introduced in the more modern Assassin's Creed games, are turning back to the series three original design pillars: stealth, parkour, and assassinations. The story is set in the ninth century Baghdad, which is 20 years before the events in Valhalla, which was the last.

01:11:14:13 - 01:11:15:09
Lauren
Interesting.

01:11:15:28 - 01:11:35:11
Gabe
Assassins Creed. Okay, this was also talked about in our last one, and I think we should also acknowledge that it might not come out so. Stalker 2: Heart of Chernobyl. Bless this game. Honest to God, bless this game. It has had a long road. It's been canceled, re revealed, delayed twice. But now 13 years later, it is hopefully finally here.

01:11:36:28 - 01:11:57:26
Gabe
It was supposed to come out last year, however, when Russia began invading Ukraine, many of the development team left to join the Ukrainian defense forces. The rest, I don't remember. But they had been moved. They'd been evacuated out of Ukraine and moved. So we had like half the teams still trying to work on stuff. Maybe not exactly half, but you know what I mean?

01:11:58:11 - 01:12:29:05
Gabe
And half was helping with this or with, you know, defending Ukraine stuff. It's supposed to be a unique blend of immersive sim and horror. I'm really excited for it. I really hope it does well. I'm going to play it, I'm sure, when it comes out, though. So keeping it on the list, keeping it on the radar. The Wolf Among Us 2, was supposed to come out this year in the moment when I was writing this.

01:12:29:05 - 01:12:40:11
Gabe
And then like I found an article, like a super recent within a couple days that was like, nope, it's getting delayed to 2024. So, sad, sad times.

01:12:40:24 - 01:12:49:21
Lauren
This gives me time to play the first one because I've started it and I haven't made it very far. So I can finish that up.

01:12:50:07 - 01:12:57:15
Gabe
Same! You have time though. You have at least a year. So I yeah, I'm going to be doing that too.

01:12:57:15 - 01:13:14:24
Gabe
I saw this. I saw this. You probably have no idea what it is. And I nope. I cried. I cried. They are making a remake of Lollipop Chainsaw. I have the trailer for the first game. I can't.

01:13:16:14 - 01:13:21:11
Gabe
This game is something. This game is something else. That's all I have to say. Just wait.

01:13:21:24 - 01:13:28:25
Lauren
Okay. So it's a WB cartoon where a cheerleader

01:13:28:25 - 01:13:30:17
Gabe
and zombies!

01:13:31:00 - 01:13:31:15
Lauren
has a chainsaw and is fighting zombies.

01:13:31:24 - 01:13:36:12
Lauren
And it's a very cartoony and ridiculous.

01:13:37:21 - 01:13:58:03
Gabe
And the best part, you have your boyfriend's chopped off head around your waist the whole time because we're pretty much right at the beginning. You cut his head off because he started he started the zombie or actually someone else might have cut it off. I don't really remember. All I know is I loved this so much when I was younger.

01:13:58:05 - 01:14:22:06
Gabe
Wow. Yes. So good. It's it's quite something. So for the remake, it's a mix of new stuff and old stuff there. But they're hoping to bring the cult classic out of limbo and make it so people can play again. They to have a more realistic approach to graphics. And there would be a mix of new and old music.

01:14:23:21 - 01:14:26:12
Lauren
I don't want realistic graphics. It was perfect.

01:14:26:21 - 01:14:51:09
Gabe
Well, no like, okay, so I saw they had just released. Right, I think her name was Juliette, is going to look like and it wasn't as you could see, I'd been googling it, like it wasn't anything crazy it just a little more smoothed over that they show it. I don't remember where I saw it. I don't even know if that was it.

01:14:51:14 - 01:15:05:20
Gabe
All I know is I remember when I looked at it, it didn't look too drastic, but it cheerleader, zombie fighter with the chainsaw. Need I say more? Do you need anything else?

01:15:06:07 - 01:15:23:23
Lauren
I sure don't. And then she, like, loves rainbows and hearts and is just like a girly girl. And then so it's a little like Harley Quinn feel. Yes. Yeah. She's just, like, very girly and cutesy and whatever, but also is just like hee murder.

01:15:24:22 - 01:15:55:17
Gabe
Like, you're dead <3 :) though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. It it I it was making me thinking about it again. I was thinking about or I might have in the second Harley Quinn movie or the Harley Quinn Birds of Prey or something like that. And you like see her thoughts and how like you get the, like cartoon and the weird colors and you're like, Oh, okay, let's see.

01:15:56:20 - 01:16:39:26
Gabe
I dunno, I loved this game and it felt so embarrassing that this became my maybe most exciting game of the year. Even though I'm so excited for all these other games that I might be able to replay this again was like, Oh, I get to be a cheerleader and cut zombies again. Let's go. Lords of the Fallen "an all new dark fantasy action RPG. As one of the favored" soulslike if you didn't notice, "as one of the fabled dark crusaders embark on an epic quest to overthrow a dear the demon God", yeah, another souls like game but the trailer intrigues me and it is supposedly co-op.

01:16:40:08 - 01:16:53:14
Gabe
Um, I think it looked more co-op than any other kind of souls like game I'd seen before, but I'm not sure to the extent of it because I feel like those games are typically not meant for

01:16:53:14 - 01:16:54:21
Lauren
Other than Elden Ring of course.

01:16:54:21 - 01:17:02:25
Gabe
Yeah, excluding that. But I don't know. We'll see. I don't think it's quite. I don't know. I'm not sure.

01:17:02:25 - 01:17:30:03
Gabe
I'm sure this is it doesn't have a set date. So it looks good. Graphics look good, it looks clean if you like that kind of stuff. And the last one! Oxenfree 2: Last Signals. I super loved the first one, so I love that they're getting a second one. This is set to take place five years after the events of Oxen Free Riley returns her hometown of Camp Carmena.

01:17:30:07 - 01:17:36:16
Gabe
I think to investigate mysterious radio signals. What she finds is more than what she bargained for.

01:17:37:08 - 01:17:39:18
Lauren
I have Oxenfree, I have not played it.

01:17:39:18 - 01:17:42:07
Gabe
So I would recommend.

01:17:43:00 - 01:17:43:10
Lauren
Yeah.

01:17:43:21 - 01:18:08:06
Gabe
I would recommend it. It was a great game. It was unique. I think it was a unique game, a unique experience. So I think it'll be interesting to see what the second one brings. This isn't even like a drop in the ocean of how many games are coming out in 2023. This was as condensed I could make it with.

01:18:08:22 - 01:18:19:07
Gabe
I tried to go for a wider range of games, but games that maybe, I don't know, I did my best. What I get this is your moment. You want to do the spotlight?

01:18:20:00 - 01:18:54:09
Lauren
I do. I do. So we mentioned in the last episode that we were going to start doing some spotlights on female game developers or other just women in the industry. And we mentioned Kim Swift. So Kim Swift is an American video game designer. She is best known for her work at Valve with Portal. She also worked on Left for Dead among a variety of other games, and she was listed as one of the 30 under 30 influential figures in the video game industry.

01:18:54:27 - 01:19:34:04
Lauren
Basically when she was in college and she went to college at a like technical kind of very gaming technical i.t college that's actually right in my backyard basically. So I was excited about that. But when she was still in college, she and a couple of her classmates created a puzzle game which they called Nabacular Drop, and they showed it off to Valve which is based out of Seattle and were offered jobs basically because Valve was like, this is very, very cool.

01:19:34:04 - 01:20:05:03
Lauren
And so she led team that turned that game into Portal and has, obviously she was very instrumental in developing Portal 2 and Portal is one of the 14 games selected by the Museum of Modern Art for inclusion in their permanent collection. She, Mental Floss described her as one of the most recognized women in the industry. Wired called her an artist that will push the medium forward.

01:20:05:03 - 01:20:29:24
Lauren
She has joined a variety of different big companies. You know, she joined Amazon in 2014 where she was a senior designer. We're not sure what she was working on. It's like a big secret. But she was there for a while and then joined EA to work on Star Wars. Star Wars Battlefront two. She hosted the 20th Game Developers Choice Award ceremony in 2020.

01:20:30:07 - 01:21:06:09
Lauren
She is currently with Xbox Game Studios, where she's the senior director of Cloud Gaming. As we mentioned in the last episode, she, one of her famous quotes is "I work on toys. Don't take that away from me. I like that I make toys." So she very much is she appreciates the art in games, but she's really focused on like the fun which is, you know, coming up with Portal where it's all about creating that jump between space and there is a story involved, but also just really just testing boundaries.

01:21:06:27 - 01:21:35:06
Lauren
And so she a couple other quotes are "Players are going to want to go toward the light opposed to the dark that's hardwired into us as human beings because we don't want to get eaten by the bad thing in the dark." Yeah. Scandinavian folklore and we're going to where it's light out and we can see. "And so just taking advantage of the fact that we're animals basically and manipulating that kind of behind the scenes to get players to go where, you want them to it's actually kind of a fun game to play."

01:21:35:21 - 01:21:58:10
Lauren
And so she just enjoys the kind of psychology behind creating the puzzles. Another quote is "You get a really good endorphin rush from the satisfaction of feeling smart, like I had this problem and I'm going to solve it. And I think that's almost with everything you have a problem in front of you, and if you can solve it and figure it out, it just makes you feel really smart and really clever.

01:21:58:19 - 01:22:25:16
Lauren
After people play our game, I want them to feel clever." so I just I think that mentality is just so interesting and exciting and it's why she has risen so far so fast is because of that sense of like play and interest and willing to figure out ways to push the boundaries or to explore more and test and excite the player.

01:22:26:26 - 01:22:57:02
Gabe
When I was when I was in engineering, the teachers I had that had that kind of mentality always inspired me to do more, to reach for more and to go, you know, to do more, to go beyond what I thought I could do. And like, I loved Portal so much, Portal and Portal 2 incredible games, very unique. As much as I feel like there's been some games that tried to mimic it, they just can't like it.

01:22:57:02 - 01:23:21:20
Gabe
Just it. Mm hmm. I don't even know. I feel like it's its own, it could be its own genre, it's its own thing. And yeah, I think she's really inspiring and it's as awesome. I love those quotes that you pulled. Any other thoughts about the games? I'm sorry, it was rushed. I just know we try to. I don't know. There's so much I want to talk about.

01:23:22:22 - 01:23:45:28
Gabe
I'm glad we got to cover through all of them, even if some were more rushed than others. I feel like I feel like we have a lot of big hits, a lot of good games coming out this year. I'm actually really hopeful for games of 2023. Oh, I kind of feel like last year was a bit of a dud, to be honest.

01:23:46:09 - 01:23:53:00
Gabe
Maybe not a dud, but I just feel like there's a lot of games that dropped the ball, maybe so. I'm hopeful for this year.

01:23:53:00 - 01:23:58:07
Lauren
That is like because 2020 and 2021 were what they were.

01:23:58:07 - 01:23:59:05
Gabe
Yeah, I agree.

01:24:00:07 - 01:24:32:08
Lauren
It's likely that less work got done as companies, you know, laid people off or tried to adjust with having people working from home and tried to, you know, restructure what was going on and people were moving teams or moving companies. And so the stability was not great, which it doesn't surprise me that they were not as functional or capable as they otherwise might have been.

01:24:32:25 - 01:25:14:05
Gabe
Mm hmm. Yeah. The Pandemic was - is something. I was... It'll be interesting to see where we are in a few years like this is just. Yes. Shout out again to you, Kim Swift. Keep doing what you're doing. Keep keeping something for us women to look up to, especially as women in the gaming industry. It's not always it's not always easy out here, especially as a female who plays FPS games with my friends and like some of some of the s*** we deal with pardon my language but there's no other word for it.

01:25:14:12 - 01:25:50:21
Gabe
I hope you guys enjoy it. I hope you I hope we touched on some games that maybe you would be interested in and want to check out. Maybe we brought some games to your attention that you might not have heard about otherwise and want to check out. Yes, you can find me at nenyaadamas on YouTube. Twitter, Instagram, Twitch and you can find Lauren as sweetie_potat on YouTube, Twitter and Twitch are maybe not next up so but hopefully soon we'll be bringing back the Tea Tea Party.

01:25:50:21 - 01:25:57:16
Gabe
So if you have any tea local or whatever to share with us, you can email us at no sidequests at gmail.com.

01:25:58:01 - 01:26:06:04
Lauren
And tea and or your favorite sidequest from games that you love.

01:26:07:02 - 01:26:21:00
Gabe
Yes, yes. And don't be afraid to share like what games you're looking forward to or if there's games that we missed. And yeah. Hope you guys have a good one. We'll catch you in the next episode. Bye!

01:26:21:20 - 01:26:29:25
Lauren
Byeeee!