Chamberlain and Chance

Except for Brotherhood of Steel, but we won't talk about that.

The Fallout love fest continues, with Chance and Alex making impassioned cases to Chamberlain that he should obtain a Prime subscription. He will not. He will instead continue on with the flawed but affable Banishers. Alex has deserted Dragons Dogma 2 for Fallout New Vegas (along with just about everybody else) and Chance is still killing every cyclops that crosses his path.

Alex has fallen victim to Chance's hype over Dragons Dogma 2, purchased it, and proclaimed it 'ok.' Chance is appalled and is taking revenge by continuing to enjoy the game he was already enjoying, only now out of spite, which makes everything better. Alex has also declared the Fallout series worth your time and done so without the spoilers that Chamberlain lives for. And Chamberlain has started Banishers, the best ghost busting anything to come out for a long damn time.

Chance has finished up Dragons Dogma 2 and immediately turned around and starting playing it again, something that not even Spider-Man 2 managed to illicit. It's that good. Alex started playing Citizen Sleeper, remember a better game, and finally finished I Was a Teenage Exocolonist instead. And Chamberlain played a bunch of little games while in recovery from FFVII Rebirth, including the best walking sim in a while, Return to Grace. Oh, and he bought Belatro, so that is how he lives now.

(yes, the title is an HTML joke based on the episode number, nerd)

Alex continues to reject all things new in favor of games that run great on the Steam deck. This week it is Days Gone, that other open world zombie game. You know, the one with the bikers. Chamberlain was going to come prepared with a full game breakdown of Final Fantasy VII Rebirth but came up one hit shy on the final boss, triggering a very small tantrum followed by a nap. And Chance has space in his heart for Dragons Dogma II, proving that the destination is irrelevant as long as you have fun getting there.

Despite there being literally too many new games to play Alex has decided to dive way, way back into his backlog and sample a game he missed the first time around: Devil May Cry 2. He makes no promise of finishing it, but he did try to make Dante do things. Chance tries to enjoy Unicorn Overload, fails, and runs back to Elden Ring. And Chamberlain still has not finished Final Fantasy VII Rebirth. It's weird, he still loves it, and there are a few mild spoilers.

While not technically a holiday (at least in the western hemisphere) the release of a new Final Fantasy game is almost always cause for celebration. Or usually. Or sometimes. Okay, once in a while a good Final Fantasy game comes out. Final Fantasy VII Rebirth is one of the good ones and Chamberlain is thrilled. Also this week, Alex puts an incredible amount of time into Balatro and Chance has maxed out another character in Elden Ring while preparing for the expansion, stopped playing her, and may very well do this again several times.

You would never guess why, but two thirds of the podcast is playing Elden Ring again. Alex has joined the Balatro card cult, and he is playing Elden Ring. Chance continues to do his part to spread democracy throughout the known universe, and he is playing Elden Ring. And Chamberlain finished up Prince of Persia The Lost Crown, and he has never nor will he ever play Elden Ring.

Important work is done this week. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex each pick their top four games OF ALL TIME. Each brings their own criteria for selection and no one names more than four games. No one at all. Also this week, Chamberlain continues to shill for Ubisoft, swearing up and down that Prince of Persia The Lost Crown is actually good. Alex finishes up Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, understanding as much as humanly possible without have played all the previous Yakuza games. And Chance tries to play Helldivers 2 but ends up playing Elden Ring instead.

OF ALL TIME.

Chance is doing his part, killing giant insects with democracy. He promises that it is exactly as good as you have heard. Alex crowns Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth one of the three best JRPGs he has ever played (without encouraging debate on what the other two are). And Chamberlain looks past the amazing environments of Avatar and finds that there just isn't anything to do.

In an unprecedented turn of events, all three of us play (relatively) new games! Alex in not skipping the cut scenes in Like A Dragon Infinite Wealth, loving the good natured Japanese mafia and all the good that they do. Chance is mourning the tragedy that is Suicide Squad, specifically that it is only when you are pushing buttons that it gets boring. And Chamberlain visited Pandora in the new Avatar game for about two hours before the siren's song that is Tekken 8 proved too strong. We tried!

It wasn't really a soulslike, but Chamberlain is still proud of himself for finishing The Last Faith. He is less proud of himself for buying Tekken 8, not because it was a bad game, but he is not looking forward to patching the drywall again. Chance finished The Last of Us Part II, and it is just as if not more emotionally draining as the first time, leading to a swift uninstall. And Alex to the financially responsible route and is replaying Dark Souls III again, this time with his eyes closed.

Chamberlain continues to play new(ish) things, finishing up El Paso, Elsewhere, a game everyone slept and missed out on, and The Last Faith, another overly difficult metroidvania. Chance plays a new version of something old, finding a new appreciation for The Last of Us 2. And Alex plays an older new version of something old, revisiting Persona 4 Golden. Because he still loves Chie.

What's indy as all get out, ugly as your favorite tiktok dog and a blatant homage to Max Payne? El Paso, Elsewhere, and Chamberlain is absolutely in love. Chance refuses to sully his eyes with games built of so few polygons so he is playing Baldur's Gate 3, again, and Cyberpunk 2033, again. And Alex lost his save file for Inscryption, then instead of getting mad about it, played the whole thing a second time.

Also, it's cold everywhere, and we wish it would stop doing that.

It's the first episode of the year! In which Chamberlain meets two games half way and enjoys them in spite of their obvious weaknesses. Chance buys Baldur's Gate III for the second time and starts a new character in Cyberpunk for the 100th and Alex does something absolutely unthinkable: he finishes an Assassin's Creed game.

There is nothing left to do in 2023 but catch up on missed games and worry about how few games are slated for 2024. Chamberlain got into the Skull & Bones closed beta and can confirm that it is indeed a game that can be played. He also enjoyed the free Valhalla expansion to God of War Ragnarök more than expected and Super Mario Wonder about the correct amount. Chance is still grinding away in Diablo 4 for gear he doesn't want and/or need and is frankly annoyed by his own persistence. And Alex just might finish an Assassin's Creed game (that came out several year ago).

Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Yes, this is another game of the year list show. Ours is better. Why? No sponsorships, no external money at all, and very few, if any, fucks given. No Keighley, no Kojima, Alan Wake 2 gets nothing and Spider-Man 2 does not get ignored. It is also less then half the length of the Game Awards, so much more respectful of your time.

You heard us.

(Recorded during the first hour of The Game Awards, so be prepared for random outbursts, mostly by Chamberlain)

Different things satisfy different people. The Grand Theft Auto 6 trailer more than sated Chance's and Alex's desire for open world, booty filled ultra-violence but Chamberlain was left out in the cold. Chamberlain finds happiness in a game that could have easily come out ten years ago: Stray Blade. Alex and Chance are playing Diablo 4, but for different reasons, but what Chance really wants to play is Overwatch 2.

FYI, buffing Tracer literally broke the game on PS5.

With a week off there is much to talk about and unfortunately Alex is not here this week. Instead of making the world a better place, Chamberlain finished up Assassin's Creed Mirage, the first Ass Creed game in ages that had an actual ending. He also died an obscene number of times getting to the end of Ghostrunner 2, yet still says he had a good time. Chance beat people up in Overwatch, watched a ton of movies, and betrayed everything he stands for by purchasing Diablo 4. Microsoft own Blizzard now, so this is okay. Or something.

Based on Chance's recommendation, Chamberlain watched one episode of Blue Eye Samurai. Alex watched all of it. You can predict how this discussion will go. This does not meet Chamberlain's complaint quota, so he also says a few choice things about Assassin's Creed Mirage. Chance travels far, far away, back into Star Wars Jedi Survivor and Alex fruitlessly mashes X, trying to get to the good parts of Like A Dragon: Ishin!

This week, good Overwatch games stir Chance's creative juices, leaving time for little more than plays of the game and more Spider-Man 2. Chamberlain remembers that, once upon a time, he liked Star Trek, and he liked Telltale Games, and those past proclivities (on top of having nothing else to play) made Star Trek Resurgence inescapable. And Alex tries not to be jealous of the new Steam Deck. How much better would Skyrim look on it, really?

Also, listen to Chance and go watch Blue Eye Samurai.

There is a spider shaped hole in all of our hearts and the only thing that can fill it are spoilers. Spoilers of Spider-Man! GET ME SPOILERS OF SPIDER-MAN, PARKER!

Ahem.

Against their better judgement both Chance and Alex purchased Alen Wake II. While neither can understand the reviews, at least one of them is enjoying it enough to finish it. Chance embraces, or at acknowledges, his inner child with Super Mario Wonder and Chamberlain settles into the Lovercraft flavored boomer shooter, Forgive Me Father.

Spider-Man 2 is out, meaning that 2023 has officially peaked and it is all downhill from here. Everyone has played it, Chance and Alex have finished it, and Chamberlain took time out from the new AAA hotness to spite finish Blasphemous 2. Seriously, just go back and play the first one.

Mild Spider-Spoilers throughout. Serious Spider-Spoilers next week!

Good news everyone! The soundalikes for Chamberlain and Chance have arrived and they are indistinguishable from the real thing. Without Alex here to defend it, Chance is able to lay into The Fall of the House of Usher, saying it is so slow a burn that it actually goes out before the end. He also returns to Hyperlight Drifter and Dead Space after suffering through a few hours of Callisto Protocol. Chamberlain finishes up Ad Infinitum, a noble first effort from Hekate whose tech fails what could have been a pretty good game. Also, in spite of the impending release of Spider-Man 2, he starts up Blasphemous 2, a game that is just fine if you forget the first one existed.

SEE! Chamberlain bounce off of another souls-like and then settle for a pale imitation of an excellent game! FEEL! Alex forget enough about Elden Ring to fall in love all over again, then mess up his build in the first 15 minutes! HEAR! Chance enjoying a Dairy Queen blizzard before disparaging Phantom Liberty and talking about a whole bunch of good movies!

It doesn't happen often. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex all consumed the same piece of media, at the same time, and feel roughly the same way about it. Castlevania Nocturne came out, and in a vacuum, it is quite good. Not as good as the first series, but still better than most of the other anime lurking in the dark corners of Netflix. Also this week, Quantic Dream still doesn't know how people work, Ubisoft can't make a good open world racing game, Alex still likes Remnant 2 and Chance is getting preemptively worried about the Sombra rework.

We missed a week, so prepare for a double episode! Or 1.5 times, whichever comes first. It is Starfield spoiler season. Chamberlain has yet to finish it, but has suffered through more than enough crashes to have something important to say. Alex has finished it, and started a new game plus, but has left the universe for the friendly confines of Dogtown. Chance has forgiven the nerfing of his favorite build and found new ways to dice chooms. Cyberpunk is as good or better than it has ever been.

And the good games don't stop! Spider-Man 2 is in three weeks!

Chance is sick this week, something that can only be explained by him not playing Starfield. Alex is not sick because new game plus mode is so good the endorphins rushing through his system prevent infection (I assume this is a thing). Chamberlain is not sick because the hourly crashes of the console version have increased his cardiac fitness ten fold. What Chance has done is ruin PC players good time in Overwatch 2 and returned to guiding noobs through Stormveil. Gods work indeed, but terrestrialwork.

There can be no excuse for what Alex has done. He paid to play a game, a big, important game, early. For shame. This was of course Starfield, a game that Chamberlain is also enjoying. A game that Chance is very much not enjoying, as he has chosen a very specific hill to die on and will not be purchasing it on PC, much less purchasing a new piece of hardware just to play it on his television. He will instead install and then uninstall a myriad of other games, looking to fill the Bethesda shaped hole in all of us, a problem could be easily remedied with a large stack of money and the desertion of personal ethics. And he would never do that.

Chamberlain and Chance have both at least sampled Armored Cored VI, and neither liked it, just for different reasons. Chamberlain's critique is limited to 'THE FIRST BOSS IS TOO HARD,' but have faith that Chance will have a more nuanced response. Chance has also finally had enough Baldur's Gate 3, as has Alex, who is attempting to not pay for Starfield early access by playing Fallout 4 and pretending it takes places in space. And Chamberlain promises, for realsies, that Immortals of Aveum is an entertaining game. Not great, maybe acceptable, but a good time all the way through.

Once upon a time this was the Overwatch podcast. For a little while recently it was the Diablo IV podcast. For now, and for the foreseeable future, around two thirds of this podcast will be the Baldur's Gate III podcast. So crushed was Chance by the inevitable demise of his tall, red waifu that he started over, this time with a monk. Then he started over again when his save file began to act up. Alex has finally made it to the second act after several intentionally aborted attempts. And Chamberlain plays whatever is on sale, some of it good (Grim Dawn) and some of it bad (Necromunda Hired Gun). Is Starfield out yet?

Alex and Chance continue to do the impossible: they are having fun playing a videogame. This in spite of Chance knowing that his chosen romance in Baldur's Gate III will either literally explode or literally go to hell. Not much of a choice but they will enjoy the time they have. And Alex has decided that moving on from Act I is for chumps, opting to roll up a new character and start fresh. Chamberlain has wandered aimlessly through a morass of bad games, finally landing on Everspace 2, and even that is only because sitting in a chair, doing nothing for hours before bed is just kind of sad.

Chamberlain finished Final Fantasy XVI, cannot recommend it, and is immediately overshadowed by how much Chance and Alex love Baldur's Gate 3. It is almost cute how hard they, along with the other 630,000 concurrent Steam players, have fallen for it. Be forewarned: there is going to be a lot of D&D themed horniness in the ensuing weeks, centered around very tall tiefling barbarians and goth paladins.

Side note - some unfixable audio issues this week around some of us not being able to hear the rest of us. We made due. Hopefully it is not too annoying.

Check the temperature in hell because Chance is playing a PC game. On purpose. And enjoying it. After bouncing off of Remnant II he was seduced by Baldur's Gate 3. Amazingly, this infatuation has blossomed past a video card driver update into full blown love for his gnomish bard and the seven foot tall red woman he intends to seduce. Chamberlain, on the other hand, is playing a roll playing game with zero player agency or choice, but giant monster fights, pointless but amusing spectacle and unnecessarily cringey nude scenes. He makes no apologies for enjoying Final Fantasy XVI but can't recommend that anyone else play the game.

Both Alex and Chamberlain have finished their time with Diablo 4 and moved on to other things. No real complaints about the game, just not worth devoting one's life to. Alex has chosen Revenant 2, along with the rest of the Steam community, and has succeeded in wooing Chance along for the ride. Chamberlain opted for Final Fantasy XVI and have convinced no one else that it is a reasonable use of leisure time. Chance continues to love and hate Overwatch 2, but he has also watched a ton of movies, heartily recommending both They Cloned Tyrone and not giving Blizzard any more money.

We regret to inform you that A. Alex is missing this week, and B. Chamberlain is still playing Diablo 4 and Chance is still playing Cyberpunk. But there is so much else to talk about! Chamberlain calls into question the isometric viewpoint. Chance gets a cat. Chamberlain laments wielding the same bow for the last ten plus hours. Chance expresses interest in Baldur's Gate 3 while fiercely maintaining that he does not have a bear fetish. And, for some reason, they end up doing the Tom Hardy Bane voice.

All perfectly normal things to talk about.

Blizzard has a firmer than usual grasp on our luxury time. Alex, who is good at Diablo, is on his second or third character, efficiently cruising through nightmare dungeons in world tier 3 with his undead entourage. Chamberlain, who is bad at Diablo, is playing it like an Assassin's Creed game, delving every dungeon and visiting every icon he comes across, accumulating aspects that he will never use. Chance tries to avoid Blizzard but still played a bunch of Overwatch 2, this time on PC servers full of players unprepared for healer POTGs.

Alex returns to us in spite of canceled flights, full New York hotels and old racist Spaniards and brings with him tales of Diablo 4. Chamberlain has also failed to resist Lilith's call and is chasing along, about 50 levels behind, with his beginner level Rogue, screaming 'look at me, I'm a big boy now!' Chance, on the other hand, has principles. He is playing Cyberpunk 2077 in preparation for this upcoming DLC, killing dozens of chooms before the first victim hits the floor.

He is also playing Overwatch 2, so you know, principles.

Alex is away on very important (drinking) business which leaves only two options for this episode: bitching or reminiscing. Never wanting to let you down, Chamberlain and Chance do their best to bring you both. Chance continues his new Cyberpunk 2077 run, crushed by the fact that inflation has invaded the game world and the good motorcycle now costs significantly more than it did at launch. And Chamberlain finishes up a reasonable indie boomer shooter in Boltgun before wading through Planet of Lana in one sitting.

Ok, Microsoft didn't actually win, but they did put on a better not-E3 show than either Sony or Ubisoft did. Starfield looks like an actual game now! Forza has a date! Chamberlain is still the only one who will ever own an XBox Series X! Speaking of selling out, Alex bought Diablo 4 and assures everyone that it is very good and that he doesn't feel at all bad about where his money and time went. Chance has replaced Tears of the Kingdom with Cyberpunk 2077 and is preparing for the expansion. And Chamberlain did penance for both real and imagined crimes by playing as much Gollum as he could stand.

One of us finished Tears of the Kingdom but you will need to wait to the end of the episode to find out who it was, what he thought about it, and just how moving it was. In the meantime, Chamberlain endorses Street Fighter 6 but has even more to say about Bramble. Alex fights the good fight (of not giving Blizzard any more money) and gets Diablo 3 running on the Steam Deck, and Chance makes new additions to Chance's hate mail bag.

Spoiler warnings for Tears of the Kingdom and Bramble.

Last week Chamberlain took a long, hard look at his life, his free time, and what may or may be making him miserable. Then he stopped playing Tears of the Kingdom, picked up several little games that no one else had heard of, and he felt better about everything. Gamer hipster, indeed. Chance continues to have the audacity to enjoy a very well crafted game, playing through epic quests of his own making, loving all of his time in Hyrule. At least he is still mad at Overwatch 2. And Alex jumps through economic hoops to get Borderlands 3 to run on the steam deck.

Sony had a thing. It was mediocre when compared to old E3 offerings, missing both the surprise announcements and arrogant pomp that used to be the norm. There was a lot of Spider-Man 2, which looked great, but we already knew that. Chance and Chamberlain continue to play Tears of the Kingdom, just in very different ways and at different levels of enjoyment. Chance is having grand adventures and Chamberlain swings wildly between board and annoyed. And Alex wisely eschews the entire argument by replaying Dragon Quest 11.

Tears of the Kingdom has arrived and one of our heroes is not exactly pleased with it. He is frankly fed up with what sees as a double standard, that Nintendo is allowed to make 'fugly' games while Sony and Microsoft are not. You get no points for guessing which of them feels this way. Also this week, Alex has finished Jedi Survivor, Chance is called a very strange name in Chance's hatemail bag, and it is Chamberlain. He is the defective one, send the angry tweets to him.

No Zelda yet, what are our heroes to do? Chamberlain was (and is) in a disagreeable mood, so he took his frustrations out on Afterimage by dropping it and then Redfall by hating it before finding surprising solace in a several years old PC RPG that was just barely ported to console. Bards Tale IV is good. Who knew? Chance and Alex are as steady as ever and just as surprised as anyone else that EA has managed to release two single player games, in the same year, and they are both good. First it was the Dead Space remake, and now Jedi Survivor. It seems that they are 'listening to people' and 'giving them what they want.'

Surprising: Chance has played two good games in a row that are not Overwatch. This time it is Star Wars Jedi Survivor, a game made better by developers listening to the complaints about the first game.

Not surprising: Redfall is bad and Arkane should feel bad.

Surprising: Chamberlain had minor complaints about an otherwise good Metroidvania, Afterimage, and they were patched while he was playing the game.

Not surprising: Alex could teach a literal class on how to play Borderlands 3. For college credit. It would be an AP class with a hefty GPA requirement for admission.

Dead Island 2 came out and it's good? No really, Chamberlain and Chance agree that Dead Island 2 is a silly, gory, albeit shallow experience that is far better than either expected from a game that spent more time in development than most Fornite players have spend being alive. Chamberlain is also very late to the party with Roguebook, the sequel to Slay the Spire that never actually happened. Alex still loves Octopath Traveler 2 and refuses to remove the cat girl from his party. And Chance finally admits that he might be okay at Overwatch. That is what daily playing since the first game's release will get you.

Some people play games because they are enjoying them. Octopath Traveler II is what Alex has been looking for from Square Enix for many years. He has only scratched the surface of its content and is looking forward to the long haul. Some people play games as an almost meditative experience. Chance has returned to Red Dead Redemption 2 just for the hunting and experiences profound tranquility while landing head shots on supports in Overwatch 2. And some people, some lonely, angry people, are motivated by hate and spite. Chamberlain is angry with Chained Echoes. So angry that he is going to finish it just so he can be angry with the rest of it.

Welcome to the space between releases, during which we fill time in just about any way we can. Chamberlain did something very strange: he returned to a game that he felt he did not give a fair chance the first time around. Chained Echoes was abandoned after a scant twenty minutes several months ago. This time he has made it much further, though Alex does promise that in becomes far too pleased with itself eventually. Alex himself is playing Octopath Traveler 2, skipping all of the dialogue and cut scenes, happily subsisting on the turn based combat alone. And Chance tried Dredge, found it boring, still played most of in, then retired to Overwatch 2, finding the new support character very enjoyable. To shoot. In the head.

Why submit yourself to the horrors of fishing or being near water when Dredge is happy to give you the same feelings of existential dread in digital form? Alex has braved this angling nightmare and lived to tell the tale. Chamberlain is still not done with the Resident Evil 4 remake, but he has seen more than enough to complain about. And Chance thought about playing many different things. He thought about it. He actually played Elden Ring and Overwatch, but he is NOT buying the next battle pass, but only because the Tracer Akira slide is not in it.

Only two games to talk about this week: Resident Evil 4 Remake and the Diablo IV open beta. Alex made good on his promise to notplay it, leaving that duty to Chamberlain and Chance. They liked and disliked it for the same reason: it feels more accusable but shallower, perfect for Chamberlain's drive by gaming style but not the long term relationship that Chance was looking for. Alex loved the RE4 remake, having already finished it and and made it half way through a second time. Chamberlain and Chance are a little more lukewarm, complaining of its general (intentional) clunkiness. Oh well, there will always be more games.

Chance's Stormveil angel is still on the loose, doing strange things like 'good deeds' and 'helping people.' His only foils are the ravenous PvP players, terrible people who do nothing but terrible things and were (and are) terribly disrespectful to their parents. He doesn't like them very much. Alex bounced around trying to avoid pre-ordering Diablo IV, and was successful, until Chance reminded him of the free beta this weekend. And Chamberlain continues his run of enjoying games that are just fine. This time it was Scars Above, a budget title by a small developer that no one has heard of. Calling a game AA is not an insult. It never was.

Have you heard of Grime? Grime is hard. Grime is mean. Grime is seriously disempowering. Somehow, some way, Chamberlain finished it, and now he is going to complain about it. Alex is almost done with his Mass Effect run (and yes, there is a debate over Liara, Tali and Garrus as the perfect romance option) and Chance is still waiting for the Resident Evil 4 remake, passing the time by ruining people's days with Tracer.

The Resident Evil 4 remake clock is at about two weeks. Everyone copes differently. Chamberlain bounces off of games that he knew he wouldn't like, the settles directly into Stockholm Syndrome with Grime, a Metroidvania that is far, far more difficult that it needs to be. Alex plays Mass Effect, again, and still believes that Mass Effect 2 is on the short list of all time great games. And Chance pulls out the Stormveil angel, once again doing good deeds in harsh world of Elden Ring.

And of course Betty White is a white mage. You need to listen to the end for the rest of class assignments.  

We try new things this week! Chamberlain leaves the house and watches a movie. Granted, the movie was Cocaine Bear, a title almost comically focused on his need for a short run time and frenetic pacing, but it was still an enjoyable evening. A much better time than Atomic Heart was, and it didn't sell any personal information to foreign regimes. Alex read a book! A real life, physical book that exists! He also started another play through of Dark Souls 3, his skills freshly sharpened by Hi-Fi Rush. And Chance played more Breath of the Wild, which isn't new, but he did finish every single temple, even the bad ones, which is definitely a first.

Chance is in search of mellow gaming experiences, or at least a counterpoint to the constant raging dumpster fire that is Overwatch matchmaking. This week the Breath of the Wild replay continues, in which he completes tasks that Chamberlain didn't even know existed. Add to that Sable, or Breath of the Wild with 100% less combat and 100% more hover bikes. Alex finds his chill at the end of Hi-Fi Rush and in his once every four years or so replay of DMC - Devil May Cry. And Chamberlain has no chill whatsoever, finishing up the Dead Space remake and moving on to Shadow Warrior 3, because he simply did not have enough dick jokes in his life.

It is a tale of two open worlds this week. Alex, thanks to the once in a blue moon occurrence of a first party Nintendo title going on sale, is finally playing Breath of the Wild. He is having a fine, almost meditative time with it. In contrast, Chamberlain played about five hours of Forspoken, because someone had to, and had very little if any fun with it. At least he had a remake of a PSP JRPG to fall back on. Chance is also playing Breath of the Wild, for the fifth or sixth time (he has lost count), eagerly awaiting the opportunity to give Nintendo an extra $10 for the sequel.  

This week, Chamberlain tried to do a nice thing. He tried to buy Chance a game that he really liked, Hi Fi Rush, so that Chance would give it a try. Things did not go as planned. Instead of shooting robots to the beat of life he shot noobs in Overwatch and werewolves in Resident Evil VII. Alex did play Hi Fi Rush, and liked what he played, but the call of another Persona 5 playthrough was too strong. Chamberlain revisited the Xbox 360 era with Evil West, a game that feels like an escapee from a time of no DLC, linear shooters, and excessive violence.

Only good games this week! Chance and Alex have enjoyed the return of space horror, proving that the only thing that can top Dead Space is, well, better Dead Space. Aesthetic issues with the final suit aside, it is everything that a remake should be, raising the bar for even the upcoming Resident Evil 4 remake. Chamberlain choice bright and bouncy over dark and slimy, playing through Hi-Fi Rush. This is the happiest he has been about a game in a long time. His enthusiasm is almost hard to believe.  

Much to everyone's surprise and relief, it looks like EA as not screwed up the Dead Space remake. More on that next week, but Chance and Alex have already put down their hard earned money. Content with the opposite experience, Chamberlain played The Calisto Protocol, and in spite of it looking pretty good and the combat not being as bad as you have heard, the game is boring, and not scary, and he does not recommend it. Chance got a head start on horror remakes by playing Resident Evil 2 remake again, and it was a good time in spite of there not being an infinite ammo magnum. And Alex is playing Persona 5. Again. Because he bought it. Again. For the third time.

Chamberlain meant to have a first hand report on The Calisto Protocol this week. He got as far as installing it before opting for an over priced remake of an old PS2 game: Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance II. It's still good, especially if you can't see very well. Chance played, and walked away from, Horizon Forbidden West. Last time it was for Elden Ring, this time is because the game is just easy to walk away from. And Alex can confirm that The Last Of Us on HBO is worth your time even if playing The Last Of Us 2 for a second time isn't.

We welcome 2023 with a special, bonus sized episode! There is much to catch up on: Chance joined Chamberlain in appreciating the mediocrity of Gotham Knights before taking no pleasure at all in Psychonauts 2. Alex will forgive him. Eventually. Chamberlain took a tour of little games with High on Life (it turns out you can have too many dick jokes), Sword of the Vagrant and Astro Aqua Kitty. And Alex shied away from Midnight Suns for Chained Echoes. 

Truly, the great void of the interwebs has it out for us. We will attempt to defy the hive mind again next week.

Not to be outdone by Geoff Keighley and his insufferable fashion choices (and the show's lackluster security), Chamberlain, Chance and Alex bring your their picks for the best games of 2022. No ads, no trailers, no WORLD PREMIERS, just three guys who play a lot of video games gushing about their favorites. And then Chance talks about Overwatch.

An early congratulations to Alex who is getting married next week! In honor of his nuptials, and Christmas, we will me taking next week off.

Apologies for a slightly distracted episode. The Game Awards are on as we speakand Chamberlain is having a very difficult time dividing his attention. He turned his nose up at Bayonetta 3 this week (for not being as good as God of War, among other glaring issues) and has wrapped himself up in Eastward, a game that could not be more A Link to the Past if it tried. Alex is slowing learning Midnight Suns, the best Marvel anything to arrive in, well, quite some time, so long as you have the stomach for crushing defeat. And Chance has played Overwatch and edited Overwatch videos. And he has done it well, as new entries in Chance's hate mail bag without a doubt prove.

Happy Game Awards! 

Caution listeners! This week is full of God of War Ragnarök spoilers! Nothing is off limits, so if you have not played it yet (and you have a way to do so) what have you been doing these last three weeks? The days after finishing a potential game of the year are always difficult to fill. Chamberlain chose violence, specifically, violence in very bad games. He played Gungrave G.O.R.E., enjoyed it, and is making no apologies. Alex had the audacity to play another very good, albeit entirely different game: Pentiment. Apparently he likes to read. And Chance? He played Overwatch 2. Even better, he beat up PC players, so Chance's hate mail bag make a triumphant return.

Attention listeners! This is week two of our God of War Ragnarök coverage, meaning open spoilers for approximately the first twenty hours of the game. Ye be warned! Non spoiler reactions are as follows: it's still really good, perhaps one of the best games of the year. Kratos continues to develop, Atreus gives him teenage level sass and (redacted's) vocal performance has actually improved. 

Also, Alex is not here, curse his internet.

Welcome to Ragnarök, or Fimbulwinter, or the time of year that AAA games emerge to dominate leisure time and pocket books alike. You know, not quite the end times but still not great, like late stage capitalism. But Chamberlain and Chance have the cure, and that cure is hitting things with an axe until they stop moving, then hitting them once more for good measure. Spoilers for God of War Ragnarök will be limited to the first three or so hours of the game this week, but next week all bets will most likely be off.

Fans will do desperate things to pass the time while waiting. God of War Ragnarök arrives in less than a week. Since sleeping for weeks on end is not an option, Chamberlain played New Tales from the Borderlands to save anyone else the trouble. Believe it or not, it is worse than you have read. Alex found I Was a Teenage Exocolonist, something nice and new for his Steam Deck. And Chance played Overwatch 2, which means it is time for the triumphant return of Chance's hate mail bag.

Everyone knows that the internet is for lists and arguing. Chamberlain, Chance and Alex bring their top four horror games to the fight, but there are no fisticuffs. No, there is a surprising amount of agreement that you need to hear to believe. Also this week: Chamberlain is bad at Overwatch, Alex is passable at Final Fantasy XII and Chance is unnervingly good at Darkest Dungeon 2. 

Chamberlain is beside himself with anticipation. Konami and Capcom made announcements, one day apart, on the Silent Hill and Resident Evil franchises. On top of that, he is playing two good games at the same time: Black Book and Plague Tale: Requiem. Men do not deserve such bounty. Chance has settled into the new Overwatch grind: enjoying the gameplay and being disappointed with everything else. This will go on, without interruption, for years. And Alex is nearly finished with his second trip through Psychonauts 2, yet another gem in the crown of his Steam Deck.

Week three of the Steam Deck and Alex is still in love. He takes it work, hides it under his desk, playing games from his library of shame at any and every opportunity. Hot tip: Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn't work, Cyberpunk does and Ubisoft titles are to be avoided. Week 1.5 of Overwatch 2 and all of Chance's problems have been solved right up until they nerfed Zenyatta. He's not salty, he just plays Darkest Dungeon 2 to relax. And Chamberlain has successfully filled one week of his time with Valkyrie Elysium, a full priced game that should have been released at 50% off. 

Overwatch 2 has been out for two days. If you have the patience of a saint, or Chance, then you just might have played it. Chance has played three matches since release and had the play of the game in two of them, so if nothing else his skill has not been diminished by Blizzard's wanton buffoonery. Chamberlain refuses to wait in a virtual line to play a game he is bad at so instead he finished up Soulstice, which was not bad, if you don't mind a game that feels fresh out of the PS2 era. And Alex is still in love with his Steam Deck. This is the one, he tells us, his feelings will never fade. He wants to be with it forever, or until the next iteration of the hardware, whichever comes first.

Chance has been passing his pre-Overwatch 2 hours with a series of difficult games, highlighted by Tunic, a game that is just as cute as it is punishing, and Darkest Dungeon 2, a game whose developers take pleasure in finding new ways to torment players. Chamberlain is not very good at videogames. He played Prodeus on medium, had a wonderful time, and is button mashing his way through Soulstice because pushing a button and watching a monster die is fun. Alex wins the prize for content of the week with his review of his new Steam Deck. Spoiler: he is in love.

Apologies in advance. Chamberlain and Chance are quitepowerful, almost mystically so, but they could not prevent storms in Alex's vicinity from stealing his internets prior to the completion of this episode. Enjoy your time with him while you can, as he is still enjoying his time with Yakuza Like a Dragon. Chamberlain finished Soul Hackers 2 (spoilers inside!) and is disappointed by how not insane the ending was. He also hates Steal Rising, but it is a souls-like, so no surprise there. And Chance can finally talk about No Place or Bravery, since the embargo is passed, but his experience ended in game breaking bugs, so there is not much to say. Overwatch 2 in about two weeks! Start preparing yourself for that episode now, it will be intense. In a good way. We hope.   

It is true that there is very little new to play at the moment, but there were certainly a lot of videos of games that we will play in the future. Hopefully. Nintendo, Sony, Ubisoft and Capcom of all companies released a ton of information. If you love farming sims, Nintendo is there for you, along with some Zelda game. Ubisoft is making *gasp* more Assassins' Creed games and Capcom is, for the first time ever, doing exactly what players want. Chamberlain is still chipping away at Soul Hackers 2, Chance is still playing Overwatch and Alex had more important things to do.

Chamberlain is excited! Someone on the internet, this time is was Crystal Dynamic, said the words 'Legacy of Kain.' This is more than enough to create false hope that will be surely be crushed. He knows this, does not care, and is hiding in Soul Hackers 2 to avoid any further questions. Alex remains firmly ensconced in Destiny 2. The fine, fine Bungie magic is too strong to let him go. And Chance once again makes the mistake of trying a game Chamberlain liked. Someday he will learn. 

Many months ago Alex fell in love with Inscryption. Chamberlain played it and did not, because he often times dislikes good things. Chance promised that, should Inscryption ever come out on console, he would purchase it. Once again, Alex was right. Chamberlain was at least smart enough to stop playing Saints Row, so he has that going for him. And Alex has combined Yakuza Like a Dragon with a stationary bike, somehow making both more enjoyable.

GamesCom Live has come and gone, and if you were smart you did not watch it, opting for the trailers that were conveniently uploaded shortly thereafter. In them we learned that Dead Island 2 is a real game, that The Callisto Protocol may not be everything we hoped and that Where Winds Meet will directly support the Chinese government, but what are you going to do, not play it? Chamberlain is back and is playing Saints Row, on purpose, out of penance. Alex's Destiny 2 relapse is in full swing and Chance formed new opinions about the worst part of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Good lord, this is two days late. Just push it out and maybe no one will notice. They certainly won't be aware of Chamberlain's absence, as Chance and Alex are more than up to the task of filling in his usual contribution. Complain about something, be old, whine a bit, and done. Episode in the can. No if only someone else had access to the  podcast host...

Did you know it was possible to be entertained without pushing buttons? Chance spent most of his weekend exploring this strange, voyeuristic world with Prey, Sandman and Final Boss before returning to the fold of controllers with Red Dead Redemption 2 and Overwatch. Alex spent money on Destiny 2 and that means he is damn well going to play it and Chamberlain spent all of his free time watching people be much better at fighting games that he ever was on a larger stage than he will ever inhabit. Yes, he is jealous. 

Apologies in advance for this meandering episode, there is just not that much to talk about in the game world right now. Chance is still replaying Red Dead Redemption 2 and thinks that maybe, just maybe, he was a little too mean to it the first time around. Chamberlain got into a drunken fight with Live a Live, kicked it to the curb, and instead is playing a 21 year old game. And Alex spent money on Destiny 2, something that he is not ashamed for now but certainly will be in the very near future. Also, apologies to jtisallbusiness for getting his name wrong, but not for poking fun at him for spending $100,000 on Diablo Immortal. 

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex talk about cats! Not Stray, we covered that last week, this is the story of a stray cat and his misadventures. Far less importantly, games were played. Alex is doing God's work with his PS5 by finally playing through Spider-Man Miles Morales. Chance started a new character in Elden Ring, swearing it would be different this time, but she just ended up as a dual wielding death dealer againso he rode of into clearer pastures by starting Red Dead Redemption 2 again. And Chamberlain played four different games that no one else is playing, and he only has mean things to say about two or three of them.

This week we learn that pressing circle to meow, when coupled with an interesting if well worn post-humanity story, is more than enough to keep Chamberlain invested in a game. The cat shenanigans of Stray are not enough for Chance. He requires more to be amused, like sticking people with pulse bombs in a new game, or sticking people with pulse bombs in an old game. And Alex doesn't have the time to get to a casino so he is putting hours into Tiny Tina's Wonderlands, a digital slot machine with impossible odds but some clever writing. 

No one is immune to the relapse. Alex is back and has returned to Elden Ring, playing a build that he had previously called boring. Chance took a few moments away from the Overwatch 2 beta and put some time into God of War to make sure that he was still in the mood for Ragnarök, and he most certainly is. And Chamberlain spent money that was originally intended for video game accessories on luxury cardboard rectangles. Come back next week to see if it many any difference.

We have all been waiting for news on God of War Ragnarök, and we got it, sort of: a release date and 30 seconds of trailer. Chance was so upset by this that he had a bad day in the Overwatch 2 beta before realizing that changing the frame rate settings made things unplayable for him. Chamberlain was so upset by this that we walked away from a mediocre survival horror game with an archaic save mechanic and is playing Crash Bandicoot 4 on purpose.And Alex was so upset by this that he didn't even show up today.

It's Cuphead day, a day celebrated only by Chamberlain! Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course has arrived and has wasted no time reminding Chamberlain that he is not actually good at videogames, he just plays a lot of them. Alex is still lost in No Man's Sky, as it offers a cosmic respite from the dumpster fire of current events. And Chance is wreaking havoc in the Overwatch 2 beta, just not with Tracer, as she has been nerfed to an almost unfair degree. Also, don't send inappropriate anatomy picks to anyone. No one wants to see that. Seriously.  

Chamberlain and Chance have both played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder's revenge! One of them appreciated the shallow, kiddy pool approach and reveled in the nostalgia of arcade days long past. The other was disgusted by its lack of depth and character progression, giving up before finishing. Basically Chamberlain enjoyed the game for what it was and Chance disliked the game for what it wasn't (and now you know how writes these). Alex has once again jumped back into No Man's Sky, this time enjoying space farming. Who can blame him. It's the dead season, got to find your fun where you can.

You aren't going to believe this (I almost didn't) but Chance did not play Elden Ring this past week. This does not mean that he is never going to play Elden Ring again, but he did flit about between a whole bunch of other titles, ending up on Grand Theft Auto V, of all things. Alex uses the almighty power of his PS5 to play Touchlight II again and Chamberlain finds himself in the uncomfortable position of defending Bethesda and the footage of Starflied they showed at Microsoft's presser. It does not go well for him.

Chamberlain, Chance and Alex decide to collectively ignore terrible rumors about a very important game that is still VERY MUCH COMING OUT IN 2022 and instead go over the blasé mediocrity that was this year's Summer Game Fest - the not quite the Keighley's but still lots of world premiers, only mostly games that no one cares about. And Callisto Protocol, because holy cow, that looks really good. Other than that, Chance is still (still!) playing Elden Ring, Alex is playing Torchlight 2 to keep from going mad over how terrible Diablo Immortal is, and Chamberlain has found a metroidvania that might as well be a new Hollow Knight, just not as good looking. Or playing. It is not the Hollow Knight sequel needs, but it is the one he deserves. 

You can blame Time Warner for our missed week (ask Alex, he will be back next time). Lots to catch up on, especially the Sony State of Play. Callisto Protocol is coming out this year! Street Fighter 6 really exists and actually looks good! Stray is coming out in a few weeks! PSVR2 fails to impress! The first salvo of not-E3 season has been fired and it was a good one.

Oh, and Chance is still playing Elden Ring.

Apologies to all his fans, but Alex is not here this week. He is busy making, as the kids say, fat stacks. Instead you have two old men talking about games! How enthralling. Chance is still playing Elden Ring, making a reputation for himself as a savior and helper. And Chamberlain finished up Rogue Legacy 2, the new LEGO Star Wars and Trek to Yomi. Two of these were actually good, the third he makes silly excuses for.

What you have here is the rarest of Chamberlain Chance and Alex episodes. It is a episode to be treasured, put up on a shelf, and listened to only on the most special of occasions. To do so more often would not diminish its specialness, but it would make just about anything else you do in life much less enjoyable. Appreciate the majesty of Alex having the intro.

Fear not! After a week's forced hiatus Chamberlain, Chance and Alex have returned! Chance is no longer playing Elden Ring, he is living Elden Ring, having taken up residence in a specific area and assisting any and all who summon him. Bonus internet points to any listener who gets him in to a game. Alex has returned to Mass Effect Andromeda and is playing it the way it was meant to be played: at max setting on new hardware, skipping almost all of the dialogue. And Chamberlain is playing the least roguish rouge-like he could find, Rouge Legacy 2, and is honestly having a good time with it. Because it is not very difficult.

Chamberlain here. It is with all seriousness that I must place a trigger warning on the first twenty or so minutes of this week's episode. Not for us being crude, or using bad language or me having bad opinions, because those things all do happen and we are unironically proud of all of them. No, real life intrudes on my friend Chance, and Alex and I wish him the best, but it might be a bit rough to hear. 

Don't worry, they are still playing Elden Ring, still loving it, and I try to convince them that Ghostwire Tokyo is worth approximately 66% of its asking price, so there are still shenanigans to be had.

Chance would like to make it VERY CLEAR that he did not noy enjoy invading other players' games in Elden Ring. He killed them, honorably of course, just to see how it felt. It felt hollow, so he returned to the hero role. Alex has gotten past the boring part of Tiny Tina's Wonderland, the game, and found the best part, the endgame. And Chamberlain is still having a difficult time dealing with Tiny Tina's constant positivity and the yelling. So much yelling.

Chamberlain returns and work has been done, at least work in video games, which totally counts as work. Grid Legends, Kentucky Route Zero, the excellent Young Souls and the Tiny Tina vehicle that really is just Borderlands with the thinnest possible coat of fantasy spread on top. Sorry Alex, it's just Borderlands again. Chance is here, because he is the rock of this podcast, and he is still finding tiny things to love about Elden Ring. He has become a secretive hero in the game, appearing when he is summoned, taking care of business while dual wielding two handed swords, and then slipping off into the night. He is Batman. Or Darkman. Something like that.

The title is a true statement that cannot be refuted. This does not necessarily mean that everyone loves Tiny Tina, but they should. Also this week, Chamberlain is missing (he was in Nashville and avoided the Grand Old Opry for reasons), Chance and Alex play a little more Elden Ring and no one gets slapped. Sorry to dash your hopes on that one. 

Chamberlain returns! In his absence he finished Horizon Forbidden West, which he doesn't spoil anything about, and played Infernax, a nifty little indie that is the perfect after dinner mint to sixty plus hours of machine slaying. Chance and Alex? They are still playing Elden Ring, but they both made time in their schedule to watch Turning Red, so that is some new media to discuss. Chance played some Overwatch and Alex is thinking about playing the new Tiny Tina game, so progress, right?

Chance and Alex love Elden Ring so much that they decide to marry it. Invitations will be sent out. Gifts will be registered for. A hall will be rented. And once the guests arrive and the music begins to play Elden Ring will leave them at the alter, crushing their dreams, with nothing but a 'git gud' as it passes the church doors. They will of course pursue it, but only to get back the deposit on the DJ, which they will spend on gifts to woo Elden Ring to return. And it will.

It will.