AggroChat: Tales of the Aggronaut Podcast: Recent Episodes

Mark "Belghast" Temple

The podcast is a conversational look at video games, primarily focusing on the Online and Multiplayer PC genres. Join Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Ashgar, Kodra, and Tam as they discuss current news and trip down memory lane.

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Hey Folks! We have the full crew this week, and Kodra and Thalen have made their way into Dune Awakening, so we talk a bit more about that game. Bel asks what the dumbest thing we have done in a video game to make currency. Ash is back in Guild Wars 2 and attempting to catch up on the story. Kodra and Tam share their thoughts about the Microsoft PuzzleHunt event and contrast it with the MIT Mystery Hunt. Bel shares his early experiences with the Mercenaries of Trarthus as the Secrets of the Atlas expansion kicks off in Path of Exile. Grace talks a bit about Be My Horde as it lets you play a Necromancer, raising an army in a Vampire-Survivors-like game. Finally, we talk a bit about Deltarune actually getting a proper release and Toby Fox accepting money for the game.

Topics Discussed:

  • Kodra and Thalen Join Dune
  • Dumb Things for Money
  • Guild Wars 2 Catch Up
  • Microsoft PuzzleHunt
  • Path of Exile: Secrets of the Atlas

  • Fun With Mercenaries

  • Be My Horde

  • Deltarune Purchasable

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week, but still end up filling up more than our normal slot full of nonsense. There is a big sale going on right now for Guild Wars 2, and if you have ever thought about checking it out, now is the time. The Nintendo Switch 2 was released, and we are all pretty happy with it so far, and was at least a MASSIVE upgrade over the OG launch Switch. We talk a bit about the Summer Games Fest… which we only found out this week was not plural… thanks to LRR. Tam and Bel have been playing the Dune headstart, and it is a wild gaming experience. Tam talks a short bit about TMNT Splintered Fate and Bel gives a heads up that Path of Exile 3.26 is coming next week.

Topics Discussed:

  • Big Guild Wars 2 Sale
  • Nintendo Switch 2
  • Summer Game(s) Fest
  • Dune: Awakening
  • Ninja Turtles: Splintered Fate
  • Path of Exile 3.26 Next Week

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are down a Thalen this week, but that is mostly because he was up visiting Bel Town, so Bel talks a bit about that. Kodra discusses how playing a lot of Blue Prince has ruined his brain for every other game… especially Cyberpunk 2077. It is Path of Exile 3.26 Spoiler Season, and Bel talks about some of the quality of life changes coming. Tam shares his experiences with Skin Deep and why it may not be the “sandbox stealth” game that it is purported to be. Kodra and Tam talk about their experiences playing Lorelei and the Laser Eyes “Co-Op” without official support for that. The early looter shooter Defiance makes a return, and Bel talks about that, and then Tam shares the realization that given enough time, you massively improve almost anything that you try… in his case, painting miniatures.

Topics Discussed:

  • Blue Prince Rewires Brain
  • Path of Exile 3.26 Spoiler Season
  • Skin Deep
  • Fuga: Melodies of Steel 3
  • Lorelei and the Laser Eyes “Co-Op”
  • Defiance Returns
  • Painting Realization

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week and start off with what seems like a reasonable list of topics… that we immediately have to bump half of because the night ran long. Thalen starts off with a bit of a rebuttal to our Eurovision topic as he shares his thoughts about Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente. From there, we talk about the death of Marathon and potentially Bungie as things keep getting worse for that game and its studio. Speaking of angry crowds… we also talk a bit about the self-own of Star Citizen’s recent round of pay-to-win allegations. Steam OS is officially available for devices that are not the Steam Deck, and we share our thoughts about an eventual future where we are running this on desktops. Somewhere in the midst of the show, we have this entire unintended conversation about how making PVP work for non-PVPers would mean needing to make losing feel enjoyable. Finally, Tam shares his thoughts about what he has played of Dune Awakening so far, and it is probably enough to rope several of us into trying the game on release.

Topics Discussed

  • Space Opera
  • The Marathon Debacle
  • The Potential Death of Bungie
  • Star Citizen Self-Own
  • Steam OS Broad Release
  • PVP for Non-PVPers
  • Dune: Awakening

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks, but we had a lot to talk about. Bel and Grace have been watching Eurovision for several years at this point… and talk about some nonsense that went on during the Saturday show that was amazing. From there, Ash shares his broadening love of Taiko Drum games and tries to figure out a way to play them at home. Bel talks a bit about recent Last Epoch updates that have added quite a bit of quality of life to the game. Enshrouded got the Thralls of Twilight update that has massively improved some of the game visuals as well as added quite a bit more gameplay. Dwarven Realms is going through Chaos Week right now, and Grace has been playing the brand new Necromancer. Several of us have spent time playing Slormancer, and it is a phenomenal and easy to get into ARPG with a pretty delightful art style. Right now, Steam is doing Creature Collector Fest, and Ash talks about trying out several demos. Finally, Bel has returned to Guild Wars 2 and dragged Ammo along for the nonsense. He talks about finishing up his fifth Legendary Weapon and setting his sights on the way more daunting Vision Legendary journey.

Topics Discussed:

  • Real Winner of Eurovision
  • Taiko Drum Games
  • Last Epoch Quality of Life Patches
  • Enshrouded - Thralls of Twilight
  • Dwarven Realms Necromancer
  • Slormancer
  • Creature Collection Demos
  • Voiding Bound
  • Synth Beasts
  • Yaoling Mythical Journey

  • Aethermancer

  • Guild Wars 2

  • Fifth Legendary What Now?

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy Mother’s Day to all the Mothers out there who might be listening to our show. We are down an Ash and a Grace and have an under-the-weather Kodra, but push on. We start off with Bel asking the question: What is the bare minimum required for something to be called a crossover in a game? Kodra shares his thoughts about his playthrough of Cyberpunk 2077 and how it gives the impression of time pressure, but that there really is not any. This branches off into a whole discussion about imaginary time pressure and actual hard clocks in games. Weirdly, this also then branches off into a discussion about how “sexytime” is handled in games. In a more pure gaming experience, Tam shares his thoughts about the wildly successful Burrows and Badgets. Bel talks about rolling a Gauntlet character in the Sir Gog led Path of Exile league and hitting a hard stop in Act 8. Finally, we talk a bit about Dune Awakening and then attempt to explain the Dune universe to Kodra.

Topics Discussed:

  • What Constitutes a Crossover in a Video Game?

  • Diablo IV x Berserk Collaboration

  • Cyberpunk 2077 and the implication of time pressure.

  • Actual Time Pressure vs Imagined

  • Sexytime in Gaming

  • Burrows and Badgers
  • Sir Gog’s Soft Gauntlet in Path of Exile
  • Dune: Awakening Beta Hopes
  • Explaining Dune to Kodra

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off with almost no topics on the docket and then fill up a full show as we are rolling. Bel saw Thunderbolts and shares that it might be the best Marvel movie he has seen since Guardians 3. From there, Tam dives into Clair Obscur: Expedition 33, an aggressively French take on the JRPG genre that is insanely good. Grace shares their experiences with Conquest Dark, a new Vampire-Survivors-like that they have been playing. Bel gets sucked back into Path of Exile for Pohx League 2.0 where every map has two random additional bosses. Tam shares some early thoughts about South of Midnight, and Ash shares their recent experiences with Samurai Bringer and Metal Bringer. Kodra discusses some of the recent Chess drama, as Dr Lupo very clearly cheated in the recent PogChamps Tournament. Finally, Tam discusses his recent return to Infinity in edition 5.

Topics Discussed:

  • Thunderbolts Movie Great
  • Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
  • Conquest Dark
  • Path of Exile
  • Pohx League 2.0

  • Atlas Invasion

  • South of Midnight

  • Samurai Bringer
  • Metal Bringer
  • Chess Drama
  • Infinity: N5

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks! We are down a Tam this week and went into this with no topics on the docket… and still managed to pull together a full-length episode. We talk a bit about our experiences attempting to preorder the Nintendo Switch 2, and what a massive cluster that was. From there, we talk a bit about the worst-kept gaming secret, the Oblivion remaster, and how magical this product is. Magic: The Gathering has seemingly lost its mind, and we talk a bit about the Omenpaths thing and how poorly ideated it is. Finally, Last Epoch is still a heck of a lot of fun, and we talk about some of the experiences, especially around playing with other folks.

Topics Discussed:

  • Nintendo Switch 2 Pre-Order Mayhem
  • Oblivion Remaster
  • Magic the Omenpaths Nonsense
  • Last Epoch is Still Great

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy Easter to all of our listeners, since this happens to be dropping on the actual holiday. We talk a bit this week about how we recorded last week on the eleventh anniversary of this show… without realizing it until far too late to discuss. We start off the show talking about the second season of Last Epoch and the Tombs of the Erased expansion. This expansion is largely focused on the endgame, and for the last year, they have apparently been cooking because it is amazing. After that, Thalen discusses his playthrough of Lorelei and the Laser Eyes and how it reminds him of 7th Guest… but reasonable. We wrap up the show with some more discussion of Blue Prince, and that apparently no one has seemingly solved the game yet in the broader community.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch Tombs of the Erased
  • This Season is amazing

  • Endgame Changes

  • Lorelei and the Laser Eyes

  • Blue Prince is Still Unsolved

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We were out last week but, as such, came back with a stacked list of topics to discuss. We start off talking about Path of Exile II and the bad launch patch for Dawn of the Hunt. We also talk about the interview between Zizaran and the Devs and the resulting updates. We then dive into some discussion about an amazing-looking season for Tombs of the Erased in Last Epoch coming next week and all of the new features. Kodra and Tam share their experiences with Blue Prince, which is a puzzle exploration game that highly suggests you keep track of some real-world notes. Bel discusses his thoughts on the Minecraft Movie and how it splits the line between brilliance and trash and ends up providing a pretty great time. Ash has restarted Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX, and Thalen talks about the Hugo Award Nominations. Sudokucon has happened, and Kodra shares how the event went. We also have a brief revisiting of Xenoblade Chronicles X, which Ammo and Ash are still playing through.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile II League Issues
  • Last Epoch Tombs of the Erased
  • Blue Prince
  • Minecraft Movie
  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX
  • Hugo Award Nominations
  • Sudokucon
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace this week, but push on with several topics. This week, Path of Exile II revealed the Dawn of the Hunt league, and we talked a bit about how it did not really resolve some of the problems we had with the game. Bel also talks a bit about pushing up his third level 100 in the Legacy of Phrecia Event. We then discuss the very last Switch based Nintendo Direct because next week we are getting one announcing the Switch 2. Bel shares his experience playing the aggressively British fallout-like called Atomfall, Tam shares his initial thoughts about Assassin’s Creed Shadows, and Kodra shares his struggles with more competitive Chess. Finally, we have a bit of a revisit of Xenoblade Chronicles X.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile II - Dawn of the Hunt Reveal
  • Bel Gets Third level 100 in Legacy of Phrecia Event
  • Last Switch Nintendo Direct
  • Atomfall
  • Assassin’s Creed Shadows
  • Kodra’s Chess Struggles
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We were out last week because Bel’s world was burning and all of the smoke was killing his lungs. This week we start off with a discussion about the Eleventh Hour Games and Grinding Gear Games situation as GGG pulls a Blizzard and ambushes the Last Epoch Season 2 launch. From there we talk about the chill tea shop gameplay of Wanderstop, telling us that sometimes it is a good idea to stop and relax for a bit. Tam and Kodra played through Wanderstop and talked about how it has evolved the already great co-op gameplay of It Takes Two with a much better story. Ash and Ammo talk about diving into Xenoblade Chronicles X as it just was re-released on Nintendo Switch. Bel talks a bit about Gunlocked which attempts to be the Vampire Survivors of Bullethell Shooters… and fails in interesting ways that will hopefully be addressed in the sequel. Bel also shares his initial thoughts from the Titans Quest II playtest, and Tam shares his thoughts about what he is seeing about Dune Awakening.

Topics Discussed:

  • The EHG/GGG Situation
  • The ambush scheduling of Path of Exile II

  • The reschedule of Last Epoch Season 2

  • Wanderstop

  • Split Fiction
  • Xenoblade Chronicles X
  • Gunlocked / Boons and Burdens
  • Titan Quest II
  • Dune Awakening

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down an Ash this week and start the show down a Kodra who slips in while we record. This week we talk about the press tour for Last Epoch Season 2 and some of the new information that came out on a podcast with Raxxanterax and Zizaran. From there we talk about the fatal wound that is the upcoming Season 8 in Diablo IV because Season 7 was apparently too fun and Blizzard cannot stomach that. Tam shares his experiences with Megamek an archaic way of playing Battletech Tabletop online. From there we dive into our further experiences with Monster Hunter Wilds as Bel has finished all of the story content and the majority of folks have hit the credit roll that transitions to High Rank play. Kodra shares some thoughts about Finspan and also engaging with Chess.com as a way to learn better chess play.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch is Cooking

  • More Season 2 Reveals

  • Diablo IV Enshitification

  • Incoming Bad Season

  • Megamek

  • Oldest School Battletech

  • Monster Hunter Wilds

  • Finspan
  • Chess.com

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down our West Coast contingent this week but carried forth with a relatively short show. Bel talks a bit about the Anti Sanctum Alliance and how it seems to have actually made an impact at least in the pricing of Sanctum Tomes in the Legacy of Phrecia event. From there Thalen shares his experiences with The Roottrees Are Dead, which is a logic puzzle spiritual successor to games like Return of the Obra Dinn. We move on to talking a bit about Monster Hunter Wilds and our early experiences so far. We’ve needed some Palico shenanigans to help us cope with our present dystopia. Last week we got a new feature trailer for the upcoming Last Epoch Cycle 2 coming April 2nd. We spend a bit of time talking about what has been revealed for the new features and how it appears like the long wait has been worth it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile
  • Legacy of Phrecia

  • Impact of the Anti-Sanctum Alliance

  • The Roottrees Are Dead

  • Monster Hunter Wilds
  • Last Epoch Cycle 2 Trailer

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We have the entire crew this week. We start off the show with Bel explaining to Kodra the weird faction war currently happening in the Path of Exile Reddit. Bel also talks about his experiences so far with the Legacy of Phrecia event. From there we talk a bit more about Avowed now that Tam has had a chance to play it. Kodra shares his experiences with Civilization VII talking about how wildly different of a Civ game it is. From there he also talks a bit about Pigment and his ambitions to speedrun it. Ash shares his thoughts about Dynasty Warriors Origins and Tam discusses a Steam recommendation find, Deliver At All Costs.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile
  • Reddit Faction Wars

  • Legacy of Phrecia

  • Avowed

  • Civilization VII
  • Pigment
  • Dynasty Warriors Origins
  • Deliver At All Costs

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Grace and Kodra but get back an Ammo. We start off with a topic that got bumped from last week about how much of a difference music makes in games. Specifically, we talk a bit about Star Citizen getting music but also talk about how important good audio queues are. From there Bel shares his early experiences with Avowed a game by Obsidian that is very much Elder Scrolls if you removed the awkward simulationist tendencies. Ash and Bel talk a bit about the upcoming Legacy of Phrecia event in Path of Exile now that all Nineteen Ascendancies have been fully spoiled. We also talked a bit about the upcoming release of Monster Hunter Wilds and Ammo offering custom Palico commissions. Ash touches on Soulstone Survivors a bit and then we close out the show with a discussion about the Dungeon Crawler Carl series of books and why Bel and Thalen love them so much.

Topics Discussed:

  • Music Makes a Difference
  • Star Citizen: Fight for Pyro

  • Audio Queues in Games

  • Avowed

  • Path of Exile Legacy of Phrecia Event

  • All 19 Ascendancies Now Revealed

  • Monster Hunter Wilds

  • Soulstone Survivors
  • Dungeon Crawler Carl

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down an Ammo which throws Ash off a bit. We start off with a discussion about the changes to the death system and multiplayer in Windblown. From there we talk about the most recent updates to Utopia Must Fall. Citizen Sleeper 2 has been released and Tam shares some of his early thoughts. Dwarven Realms Season 3 is going on and the game continues to get more polished over time. Bel and Grace talk about the Lunar Awakening event and how it represents this perfect example of why Blizzard’s Design Ethos makes the game less fun. Path of Exile has an upcoming Phrecia event with 19 new Ascendancies and we talk about the four that have been spoiled so far. Grace talks about Spirit Swap which is Lo-Fi Beats to Match Three To. Kodra has had a bit of a revival of Ultimate Chicken Horse in his house as his son gets super into it. Grace shares her early experiences with Deep Rock Galactic Survivor and we bid farewell to Kodra’s cat Willow.

Topics Discussed:

  • Windblown Death System Updates
  • Utopia Must Fall Update
  • Citizen Sleeper 2
  • Dwarven Realms Season 3
  • Diablo IV Lunar Awakening Event

  • Blizzard Design Ethos Issues

  • Path of Exile 3.25.5 Phrecia Event Spoilers

  • Spirit Swap
  • Ultimate Chicken Horse
  • Deep Rock Galactic Survivor
  • Goodbye Willow

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we started with a single topic… and by the time we were finished ended up having to bump half of the assembled topics to next week in order to keep the runtime down. We start off with Bel talking about the bad news for Path of Exile players, and how there is no new league around the corner. He also talks a bit about getting sucked into the private league that Pohx created which has capped out at 20,000 players. From there Grace talks a bit about playing Heroes of Hammerwatch II and enjoying that. Kodra shares his thoughts about the Diablo IV Campaign thus far as he still is effectively in the first act. Grace and Ash share their experiences with Coridden a more narrative-driven action roleplaying game. Finally, Kodra and Tam talk about their experiences playing Battletech and how Kodra is coming around to the idea of playing games for fun, rather than simply optimizing the strategy for winning.

Topics Discussed

  • Path of Exile League Months Away

  • Pohx League

  • Heroes of Hammerwatch II

  • Kodra’s Diablo 4 Thoughts
  • Coridden
  • Battletech - A Game of Awesome Moments

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down a Tam this week but start off the show talking a bit about our various mental states with the happenings going on out in the world. From there Grace talks about Rusty’s Retirement a delightful idle game that has a lot of the same functionality as Stardew Valley but runs in a small window at the bottom of your monitor. From there we talk about Diablo IV Season 7 and how it is quite possibly the best D4 season ever… that no one is really giving much fanfare. We talk a bit about how the streamers have seemingly abandoned the game. Kodra shares with us the process of resolving combat in the Battletech tabletop game from the 80s… giving Thalen and Bel flashbacks in a bad way. Finally, Ash has been playing Sonic Frontiers and talks about it actually being a really good open-world Sonic game.

Topics Discussed

  • Screaming Goats
  • Rusty’s Retirement
  • Diablo IV Season 7

  • Season of Witchcraft

  • Battletech is obtuse

  • Resolving Combat

  • Sonic Frontiers

  • Actually Good

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Welcome to our actual first show of the year since we did Games of the Year shows for the last two weeks. We start off with being shocked that the Nintendo Switch 2 leaks and rumors were actually real. From there we talk about the Path of Exile II Patch 0.1.1 information, Elon Musk’s being panned by the community and his subsequent Meltdown, and the frustrations of playing multiplayer. We also weave in a bit of discussion about Last Epoch as several of us are playing that again. Tam and Kodra spent some time playing Elden Ring using the Multiplayer mod. Tam also talks a bit about 1000xRESIST, and Ash shares some of his recent experiences playing Grim Dawn and preparing for the expansion this year.

Topics Discussed:

  • Nintendo Switch 2 Announcement
  • Path of Exile II
  • Patch 0.1.1 Info
  • Elon’s Meltdown

  • Multiplayer Frustrations

  • Last Epoch

  • Elden Ring Multiplayer Mod
  • 1000xRESIST
  • Grim Dawn
  • Upcoming Expansion

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a long show because we wound up cramming a few games that we missed in the first show into this list. We round out our yearly tradition with the second part of our Games of the Year show. I am once again so glad that we decided a few years ago to start doing these on multiple nights because this year would have been a four-hour-long epic marathon of recording.

Games Discussed:

  • Space Marine 2
  • Path of Exile II
  • Metaphor Refantazio
  • Kunitsu-Gami
  • Games Finally Leaving Early Access

  • Caves of Qud

  • Middara

  • Gundam Breaker 4
  • Dwarven Realms
  • Nova Drift
  • UFO 50
  • Warhammer 40k Franchise
  • Tactical Breach Wizards
  • Path of Exile Settlers of Kalguur League
  • Enshrouded
  • Warcraft Pandaria Remix
  • Rabbit And Steel
  • Helldivers 2
  • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth
  • Last Epoch

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again when we pull together our list of favorite games from 2024. In theory, we each get three primary choices and an almost unlimited number of honorable mentions… which causes us to divide the show into two packed episodes. In this case, we have 36 games on the list divided into two shows of roughly 18 games.

Games Discussed:

  • Unicorn Overlord
  • Pesticides Not Required
  • Minishoot Adventures
  • Little Kitty Big City
  • PC Releases
  • Horizon Forbidden West
  • Final Fantasy XVI

  • Ghost of Tsushima

  • Secrets of Grindea

  • Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred
  • Beatmania IIDX Infinitas
  • Zenless Zone Zero
  • Visions of Mana
  • Star Wars Outlaws
  • Rogue Trader
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
  • Zelda Echoes of Wisdom
  • Peglin
  • Guild Wars 2 Janthir Wilds
  • FFXIV Dawntrail
  • Dragon Age Veilguard

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are back this week and only actually down one person which seems great for the holiday season. This week we start off talking about Toad’s Item Factory which is a multiperson minigame in Super Mario Party Jamboree and Kodra talks about his experiences playing it with his kiddo. From there Tam shares his experiences with Nine Sols, which is in theory a game he should like but is not quite there. Several of us have made it to the Path of Exile II Endgame and as such we discuss some of the issues with it, the most glaring being the whole One Portal Problem. Kodra has started playing Warhammer 40,000 Martyr which is honestly prompting Bel to reinstall and check it out again. Finally, Tam talks a bit about the major changes that have gone into Star Citizen with the opening of a whole other star system with the Pyro update.

Topics Discussed:

  • Super Mario Party Jamboree

  • Toad’s Item Factory

  • Nine Sols

  • Path of Exile II Endgame

  • Our Issues

  • Warhammer 40k Martyr

  • Star Citizen 4.0: Pyro

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we start off with some discussion of the Video Game Trailer show… which really should just call itself that because the “Awards” thing feels like an afterthought at this point. Bel is excited for Witcher 4 and Dispatch, and Ash’s favorite game of all time is finally getting a Sequel. We also are curious what sort of game Intergalactic is going to end up being and sure hope it is not a soulslike. From there Bel talks about softening his thoughts about Path of Exile II as he is probably a day out of getting to maps. Kodra and Tam however have become significantly less charitable than last week. We also talk a bit about Caves of Qud which has actually launched now. Then Ammo and Tam share their glowing praise of the new Indiana Jones game from Machine Games. While it technically is a stealth game, it is also a fascist punching simulator with quirky oneliners which is also great.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Game Awards 2024
  • Lots of Trailers, Few Awards

  • The Death of ESports

  • Path of Exile II - One Week In

  • Caves of Qud
  • Indiana Jones and the Great Circle

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we end up mostly talking about the early access launch for Path of Exile II. This truly was a feat of cloud engineering as the Grinding Gear Games team delayed for a few hours to prepare for the onslaught of over a million players… then the game just worked pretty much flawlessly until some minor issues on Saturday. It is hard to explain how big of a feat this is, especially considering the struggles that Last Epoch had with unexpected success, for a game that has never had more than 300k peak concurrency to scale up this fast is massive. When it comes to the actual game… Bel is not having a great time as Warrior, but everyone else seems to be greatly enjoying themselves. We talk about the good bits, and the bad bits. From there Bel talks a bit about the OnlyFangs Hardcore WoW Event, and then Ash and Kodra share their experiences with Atlyss.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile II Early Access Launch
  • Feat of Cloud Engineering

  • Everyone Loves it But Bel

  • OnlyFangs Hardcore World of Warcraft Event

  • Atlyss

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We had a show where we were not certain we were going to record… and then suddenly essentially had everyone but Ashgar. Bel has been revisiting Starfield and talks about what a weirdly offputting game it is. From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Dungeon Clawler which is essentially Peglin but with a Claw machine instead of Pachinko. Kodra has ventured forth into Veilguard and finds the pacing and structure a bit odd, so we talk about that and how it contrasts from the only Dragon Age game he has ever played, Origins. Tam talks about all of the stuff that has been going on this year in Star Citizen and how the free-fly event is less spectacular than previous outings. Tam also shares his experiences with Stars Reach Alpha and how he is not entirely certain what that game is trying to be.

Topics Discussed:

  • Starfield is Offputting
  • Dungeon Clawler
  • Veilguard Structure
  • Star Citizen’s 2024
  • Stars Reach Alpha

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This is ACTUALLY episode 501 and we have the entire crew. We start off talking about the Settle folks surviving what was effectively a category one hurricane and living without power for around 48 hours. From there Bel talks about finishing Dragon Age Veilguard and how the game has learned lessons from the Mass Effect 3 ending.Grace talks about their experiences with Enshrouded and starting the game from scratch. Thalen talks a bit about I am the Future and Ash shares his revisiting of N++ playing it co-op with friends. Lastly, we dive into the Path of Exile II Reveal Stream and all of the announcements surrounding the upcoming release of POE2 Early Access.

Topics Discussed:

  • Surviving Seattle’s Collapse
  • Dragon Age Veilguard Stuck the Landing
  • Enshrouded Updates
  • I Am Future
  • N++ Co-Op
  • Path of Exile II Full Reveal Stream

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we talk about Episode 500 and the ramifications of recording that many shows. From there Ash talks a bit about Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone and Beatmania SImulator on his further descent into rhythm gaming. From there we talk a bit about Beastieball's early access as it steps ever closer to the full release. Dragonquest 3 HD-2D is out and we talk a bit about the changes to the game. A bunch of us got more keys to hand out for Soulframe and as a result way more folks have had a chance to play it. So we talk some more about how weird of a game it really is. Lastly, Tam shares with us that there is in fact a happy ending to the Rogue Trader CRPG… just not in the way you might think.

Topics Discussed:

  • Episode 500
  • Unnamed Sound Voltex Clone
  • Beatmania Simulator
  • Beastieball Early Access
  • Dragonquest 3 HD-2D
  • Soulframe is Wierd
  • Rogue Trader Happy Ending

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are all reeling a bit from the past week, but we start off things with the joyful return of Ammo from her trip to Japan. She spends a bit of time talking about all the arcade hopping and wonderful food that she found along the way. From there we dive into the furious growth of Pokemon TCG Pocket and how it has swept through our friend group. Ash talks about his experiences with Monster Hunter Wilds Beta and Bel shares his own comfort gaming in the form of the weird Path of Exile Necro Settlers Event League. Bel also talks a bit about playing the Brighter Shores Early Access, and how it has some core design problems that will keep him from playing for very long. Kodra talks a bit about GeekGirlCon where we realize… that he has in fact been talking about it every year since the very first year in 2016. Our podcast… is old. He also talks a bit about his role in the upcoming SudokuCon Stream and some of the nonsense he is going to be doing combining two of his loves: Sudoku, and Celeste.

Topics Discussed:

  • Ammo Returns from Japan
  • Pokemon TCG Pocket
  • Monster Hunter Wilds Beta
  • Path of Exile
  • POE2 Delay

  • Necro Settlers League

  • Brighter Shores Early Access

  • GeekGirlCon 2024
  • SudokuCon Upcoming Stream

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back after a week off last week due to too many being out. When we do one of those weeks missed we have a truly stupid number of topics to discuss, and this week is no exception. We start off talking a little bit about Xenoblade Chronicles X getting a Switch release date, and Utopia Must Fall the game that you get when you make Missile Command a Roguelike. Related we also talk a bit about Nodebuster which is going for a somewhat similar thing. Bel and Grace talk about their experiences with Wayfinder, a game that completely changed its business model from freemium cash grab to buy the box. Tam talks about an interesting situation of being in a deeply collaborative “competition” and how cool those moments are. Ash shares his thoughts about Windblown the new co-op ARPG from the folks behind Dead Cells. Tam shares his thoughts about I Am Your Beast and Kodra in a bit more detail about Tactical Breach Wizards. Bel talks about his recent adventures in Return of Reckoning, a fan-run Warhammer Online server that itself has been up and running for a decade now after the official game closed down in 2013.

Topics Discussed:

  • Xenoblade Chronicles X Switch Announcement
  • Utopia Must Fall
  • Nodebuster
  • Wayfinder
  • Competitions that Aren’t
  • Windblown
  • I Am Your Beast
  • Tactical Breach Wizards
  • Warhammer Return of Reckoning

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we start off with Ash’s early thoughts about Metaphor: ReFantazio. From there Grace and Bel decide to share some of the great things going on in Diablo IV after last week’s story bashfest. Kodra is Cursed and cannot upgrade hardware without it for some reason going completely off the rails. From there he talks about Mechwarrior 5: Clans where we are in fact the baddies. Tam shares his thoughts on Kingdom Eighties where kids on bikes try and save their hometown. Kodra has hit the credit roll for Zelda Echoes of Wisdom and shares some of his final thoughts. Tam talks about playing through Adios a game so good that he dealt with it not having an inverted control scheme.

Topics Discussed:

  • Metaphor: ReFantazio
  • Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Endgame
  • Kodra is Cursed
  • MechWarrior 5: Clans
  • Kingdom Eighties
  • Legend of Zelda Echoes of Wisdom Credit Roll
  • Adios

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks! This week we had one topic dangling from the previous week so we started out with some discussion about Ravenswatch and their interesting take on the action roguelike genre. From there Bel and Grace share their thoughts about Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred and how Blizzard largely missed the mark with the story, but that the game is in a pretty good mechanical state otherwise. From there Tam shares his experiences with the new Rogue Trader CRPG DLC Void Shadows. Then we wrap things up by talking about UFO 50 a game about a video console from an alternate reality… and how interesting some of the takes on 8-bit gaming are. We also talked a bit about the creativity of that era and how it had not really returned until the Indie explosion enabled by Steam.

Topics Discussed:

  • Ravenswatch
  • Diablo IV Vessel of Hatred Expansion
  • What they did wrong

  • What they got right

  • Rogue Trade Void Shadows DLC

  • UFO 50
  • Misremembering Games from the 80s

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start the show with a quick discussion about Path of Exile, and how we are now two months into a League, a position where things would normally be dead… and that the Currency Exchange is still hopping. This leads to a secondary discussion about Kodra’s woes as he attempts to do the Merchant Guild thing in the Last Epoch. From there Bel talks about Witchfire with its Hexen meets Destiny meets Hades PVE extraction shooter gameplay. Bel also got an invite to Soulframe Preludes the next game from Warframe maker Digital Extremes and shares some of his early impressions. From there we dive into the Magic the Gathering Commander situation with controversial card bannings, death threats, and Wizards of the Coast yoinking control of the format away from the players. Tam shares his thoughts about playing Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast and Thalen his early thoughts about playing Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile

  • Currency Exchange in a Dead League

  • Last Epoch

  • Woes of Merchants Guild

  • Witchfire

  • Soulframe Preludes
  • The MTG Commander Situation
  • Yazeba’s Bed and Breakfast
  • Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we continue to chip away at the massive list of topics from our time off. We start off the show with an adorable Frog version of Vampire Survivors meets Stardew Valley called Pesticide Not Required. From there we talk a bit about Pokemon Go and what it is like playing it with your kids. Ash continues his dive into rhythm games via the Round1 Arcade, this time with Beatmania. Space Marine 2 has been released and a bunch of the folks on the podcast have been playing Multiplayer Co-Op and have some thoughts. Kodra has been playing Tactical Breach Wizards and shares his thoughts about it, and we have some very early preliminary thoughts about the brand-new Zelda game Echoes of Wisdom. Finally, Bel talks a bit about returning to Minecraft during his recent convalescence and how that game feels like chicken soup in gaming form.

Topics Discussed:

  • Pesticide Not Required

  • Vampire Survivors meets Cute Frog Farming Game

  • Pokemon Go With Kids

  • More Rhythm Games
  • Beatmania

  • Round1 Is Great

  • Space Marine 2

  • Tactical Breach Wizards
  • Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom
  • Bel Returns to Minecraft
  • Sick Time Comfort Gaming

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Apologies for taking a few weeks off but Covid kicked Belghast’s butt and he is the person who records, edits, and posts the show. This week we had a mountain of topics to get through and got nowhere close to hitting them all. Last Epoch has their very poorly named cycle reset going on, in which they added some pretty freaking cool new features like Loot Lizards, Stash Priority system, and the Imperial Undead event. We talk a lot about the game and then dive into a whole discussion on seasonal models and what works and does not work for them. We also tangent off into a discussion about the Clue movie from the 80s for some reason… so look forward to that. From there we talk a bit about Dwarven Realms as it gets closer to the full release of the game. Ash, Kodra, and Tam talk a bit about their experiences playing the ISS Vanguard living world physical board game. Thalen kicks off a discussion about Astro Bot and how it is essentially the mascot game Sony has always needed. Ash shares his experiences with Gundam Breaker 4 and Tam a bit about playing Hades 2 as a research project. Packed show with roughly half of the topics getting bumped to next week.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch Cycle Reset
  • Loot Lizards
  • Stash Tab Priority System

  • Imperial Undead Event

  • Dwarven Realms

  • ISS Vanguard
  • VHS Board Games
  • 1980s Clue Movie
  • Astro Bot
  • Gundam Breaker 4
  • Hades 2 Early Access

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down a handful of folks but continue pushing forward. We start off with talking about a world where Arcades did not die out… aka Japan and what the 2020 Covid crisis did to them. This leads to a discussion about playing DDR and similar rhythm games at home. From there Bel talks about the upcoming update to Last Epoch where they are doing a mid cycle reset and some of the reasons why this is happening. Ammo talks about her experiences returning to Guild Wars 2 and Bel shares his frustrations about how obtuse the achievement system is when it comes to trying to find the major unlocks and legendary crafts. Bel also questions whether or not Twitch Drops work, to which Kodra refutes with his personal experience. Lastly, we talk a bit about Visions of Mana the fifth official game in the Mana Series.

Topics Discussed:

  • 2020 and Japanese Arcades

  • Playing DDR At Home

  • Guild Wars 2

  • Ammo’s return to the game

  • Obtuse System Unlocks

  • Do Twitch Drops Work?

  • Visions of Mana

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We actually finally get around to having the Age of Sigmar discussion, and more specifically talk at length about Warhammer Fantasy and the new Spearhead game mode which feels a bit like a Magic the Gathering Format. From there Kodra talks about his recent experience attending the Dragonflight Convention in the Seattle Area for the first time. Related to that he talks about his experiences playing Starfinder 2.0. Tam has made it further into Fallout London and shares some more thoughts about it, and Bel dives into his non-spoiler thoughts about the Janthir Wilds expansion for Guild Wars 2. Lastly Kodra talks a bit more about Mice and Mystics.

Topics Discussed:

  • Age of Sigmar 4.0

  • Spearhead Format

  • Dragonflight Con

  • Starfinder 2
  • Fallout London
  • Guild Wars 2 Janthir Wilds

  • Early Thoughts

  • Mice and Mystics

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! After taking a week off from it, we are returning to our Dawntrail full spoiler show. This week we say hi to Tam and Kodra… before they boop out of the show given that neither has actually played FFXIV recently. We pick up where we left off with the coronation of the new Dawn Servant and then dive into all of the “things” that happen after that. We also talk a bit about the story surrounding the first raid of the expansion in the Arcadion.

Topics Discussed:

  • Dawn Servant Coronation
  • Visiting Texico
  • Some Things Happen
  • Some Even Weirder Things Happen
  • The Arcadion

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are taking a break from the Dawntrail topic because Ammo was not available. As a result we dive into a normal topic load starting with Grace talking about their experience playing Diablo IV Season 5. From there we dive into a mega topic of Kodra and his recent trip to GenCon. He talks about True Dungeon, Various Assorted LARPs, and some of the cool stuff from the convention floor. We also dive into a discussion about how a convention reforms its reputation as being the D&D convention into something more open and welcoming. From there we realize that the Age of Sigmar topic is going to get bumped again… but end up also having a bit of a pre-discussion. Finally, we wrap things up with the charming indie game Thank Goodness You’re Here.

Topics Discussed:

  • Diablo IV Season 5

  • Season of Infernal Hordes

  • Adventures in Gencon

  • True Dungeon
  • Various LARPs

  • How does a convention reform its reputation?

  • Age of Sigmar Pre-Discussion

  • The topic that keeps getting bumped

  • Thank Goodness You’re Here

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Thalen

Hey Folks! For years we have had this tradition of recording a full spoiler show once all of the folks who are actively playing Final Fantasy XIV have completed the content. We knew this would be an epic undertaking given that we never got around to recording a post-Endwalker show. This is absolutely going to at a minimum be two shows… maybe three depending upon how well the next show goes. We used to record these epic five hour long shows that I edited down into chunks… but have thankfully since wised up to just splitting them between several weeks. This week we cover everything that happens after the Endwalker MSQ credit roll until just before the halfway point of Dawntrail. Be warned, this is a full spoiler discussion as we recount the tale and talk about various details in depth along the way.

Topics Discussed:

  • Post Endwalker Content
  • Estinien is Bad with Money
  • Once More to the Thirteenth
  • An Unlikely Mentorship
  • The Journey of the Dawnservant

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we dive into the brand new Path of Exile league as we assist the Settlers of Kalguur. We talk about our experiences with the exceptionally detailed league mechanic so far. Tam contrasts his experience with this league with his experience playing Last Epoch. We talk a bit about our league starts and how the progress is going in both games. From there we talk a bit about the Fallout London total conversion mod for Fallout 4. Lastly we talk a little bit about Zenless Zone Zero the latest hoyoverse title.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile
  • Settlers of Kalguur League
  • Shipping Mechanics

  • League Starts

  • Last Epoch

  • Fallout London for Fallout 4
  • Zenless Zone Zero

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks! I am going to give you fair warning… this is a very Path of Exile episode. We pushed that topic to the very end of the show but once you hit it… it is pretty much an hour of talk about the upcoming Settlers of Kalguur League. We start off the show with some discussion about Last Epoch and the most recent market crash that banned exploiters… but left all the gold in the bloated market economy. From there we dive into Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and talk about the new Arcadion Raid. We then talk a bit more about Bel and Grace’s adventures in alting as they finish ARR and start into Heavensward. Finally we do a dive into the massive meta breaking changes coming with the Settlers of Kalgurr league in Path of Exile which drops on the 26th.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch

  • Market Crash

  • Final Fantasy XIV

  • Arcadion Raid
  • Further Alt Adventures

  • Starting Heavensward Again

  • Path of Exile

  • Settlers of Kalguur
  • The Patch Notes

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back in fighting form with the entire crew. We start off discussing SGDQ or Summer Games Done Quick a massive speedrunning community event. From there we talk a bit about the Path of Exile 3.25 Settlers of Kalgur spoilers and some of the changes that are being made. Then we roll into Last Epoch Cycle 2 which has so many amazing gameplay and polish improvements. Lastly Bel and Grace talk about their nonsense mission to replay all of the FFXIV content and some of the experiences from running old content with perfect understanding of where the game story is going. Bel has traditionally played a Lalafell and Grace a pretty dedicated Roegadamme… and they have dared each other to swap races. Last night after the show that happened and the show card shows the end results. Lastly, Bel talks a bit about Blaugust which is coming up in a few weeks.

Topics Discussed:

  • SGDQ
  • Path of Exile 3.25 Spoilers
  • Last Epoch Cycle 2
  • So many improvements

  • Amazingly polished experience

  • Revisiting FFXIV A Realm Reborn

  • Redoing Old Content with Full Understanding of the 10-Year Story Arc
  • The Fantasia Dare

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Last night we recorded a show in which we attempted to thread the most delicate needle. Ammo, Bel, Grace, and Thalen have all finished the Dawntrail MSQ and only really want to talk about that. Tam however has not even started it, nor has he finished any of the post-Endwalker content. So we play this game of minesweeper where we attempt to talk about our thoughts and feelings about Dawntrail… without actually revealing any meaningful information about the expansion. Bel and Grace also talk about their experiences restarting the game with fresh alts on Kraken a brand new server where everyone is a sprout. It’s hopefully a fun show and one where we don’t actually spoil anything. Though we are absolutely looking forward to our full spoiler show at some point in hopefully the near future.

Topics Discussed:

  • Talking about Dawntrail without Talking about Dawntrail
  • Rerolling fresh alts on Kraken.

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back to a full crew this week. We start off with a discussion about Fallen Aces which leads into a larger discussion of games that feel like spiritual successors to other games. From there we talk about Kodra’s experiences with Origins and taking his kiddo to at least part of it. We revisit the Nintendo Direct discussion from last week with a few things that Kodra specifically wanted to talk about. Tam has returned to Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis and how it now has way more content than someone can actually do. We wrap up the show with some initial discussion of Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail which feels like a love letter to South America.

Topics Discussed:

  • Fallen Aces
  • Spiritual Successor Games
  • Origins with a Kid
  • Nintendo Direct Revisited

  • MIO

  • Phantasy Star Online 2 New Genesis

  • Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail
  • Our Initial Non-Spoiler Thoughts

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are down essentially half our folks and as a result we have a bit shorter show than our normal fare. We start off with some discussion about Grace’s return to Final Fantasy XIV and how Bel “influenced” them into coming back. From there we talk a bit about Four Job Fiesta and how the White Mage start is REALLY rough. We dive into Nova Drift and talk about its roguelike take on Asteroids or Geometry Wars. Tam talks about his love of arcade racers and talks about playing the 2012 Need for Speed: Most Wanted and then Ash and Bel try and sell him on Forza Horizon. Tam also talks about What the Car… which is also loosely a “car game” but not really. Then we try and wrap up the show and suddenly remember that a Nintendo Direct happened and talk about some of the games showed off.

Topics Discussed:

  • Bel Lures Grace back to FFXIV

  • Speedrunning a Post Expansion

  • Four Job Fiesta in Final Fantasy V

  • White Mage Start is Awful

  • Nova Drift

  • Need for Speed: Most Wanted
  • What the Car
  • Nintendo Direct

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra

Hey Folks! We are down a few folks who are travelling this week. Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there. We start off with Bel talking about the recent controversies surrounding New World Aeternum and the general marketing self-own of that announcement and seemingly ignoring the current player base. We roll into a discussion about Steam Next Fest and a few games we have played, namely: Flintlock, Dungeon Clawler, and Beastie Ball. From there we talk a bit about Guild Wars 2 releasing information about the new spear attacks for three more jobs and how fun some of the general off meta weapons can be. Bel talks about getting his confidence back and tanking once more for the first time in a few years in Final Fantasy XIV. Ash and Kodra talk about their recent experiences playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as a Tabletop Roleplaying Game. Finally, we talk a bit about the influx of monster collection games including some more discussion about Beastie Ball.

Topics Discussed:

  • New World Aeternum

  • Marketing Self-Own

  • Steam Next Fest

  • Flintlock Siege at Dawn
  • Dungeon Clawler

  • Beastie Ball

  • Guild Wars 2

  • More Spears Released

  • Fun with Off Meta Weapons

  • Final Fantasy XIV

  • Bel Got His Groove Back

  • PokeRole

  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon as TTRPG

  • Monster Collection Games

  • More Beastie Ball

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Bel crash lands the introduction by completely managing to skip over Thalen. We have a pretty packed show as several things got bumped from the previous show. We start off the show with some discussion of Luck Be A Landlord, a game that was compared to Balatro. From there we talk a bit about Summer Games Fest, admittedly in a disjointed manner while also talking about the Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail Media Tour Embargo lifting. Bel has now wrapped up the Post Endwalker content ans is significantly more excited for Dawntrail. Grace talks about the Alan Wake II DLC and her experiences so far with Number One Fan. Tam talks about Star Trek Resurgence. Collectively we talk about some One Shot TTRPG Ideas, and Kodra shares some thoughts about Dropout TV. Finally we talk a bit about Kodra’s experiences with the Kitsune Tails Demo on Steam.

Topics Discussed:

  • Luck Be A Landlord
  • Summer Games Fest
  • FFXIV Dawntrail Media Tour

  • Bel Wraps up Post-Endwalker

  • Alan Wake II DLC

  • Number One Fan

  • Star Trek Resurgence

  • RPG One Shots
  • Dropout TV
  • Kitsune Tails Demo

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Apologies for another missed show last week but Bel very narrowly missed some Twisty Weather. This week we start off the show with a discussion of Grace’s recent experiences in Diablo IV and how the game has changed for the better. From there we talk about Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail and how a number of us are on the fence about playing it. Ammo shares her thoughts about the expansion. Bel talks about his recent experience with Pandaria Remix and how it has jarred him out of his stupor when it comes to forming groups and playing with other human beings. Bel also shares some of the recent happenings with the Frogger incident. Tam discusses his dive into Warhammer Orks and how they are maybe the best that game has to offer in the vibes department. We close out the show with some discussion about a weirdly good Random PVP mode in AFK Journey.

Topics Discussed:

  • Grace’s experiences with Diablo IV
  • AmmosArt Explains FFXIV Dawntrail
  • World of Warcraft Pandaria Remix

  • The Frogger Incident

  • Orks are the best of Warhammer

  • Random PVP Mode in AFK Journey

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off the show talking about some of the recent updates to Pathfinder adding a number of player background options including build your own animal race. Kodra talks about his experience finishing up Animal Well, and Ash talks about playing a game that mimics raiding in Final Fantasy XIV called Rabbit & Steel. Bel shares his thoughts so far about Diablo IV Season 4, where they gave up on whatever the original vision was and just made the ARPG people expected them to make. This ends up in a side conversation about how breaking an implied promise and removing content from your game is very hard to pull off. We talk about still being bitter about Cataclysm and Destiny 2.

Topics Discussed:

  • Pathfinder Animal Options
  • Animal Well Finished
  • Rabbit & Steel

  • FFXIV Bullethell Raid Simulator

  • Diablo 4 Season 4

  • They decided to make the game folks wanted

  • Changing Content is REALLY hard

  • Cataclysm Blowing up the World
  • Destiny Deleting Content

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Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We have a pretty big show which is surprising given we are down a few folks. Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there who might be listening to this show. We start talking about Bluey Surprise! Episode, and then dive into Kodra’s thoughts about Guild Wars 2 Season 1. Bel talks a bit about why the Fallout series works but the Witcher series did not after the first season. Grace talks about Wylde Flowers a witchy queer farming sim and Thalen his experiences with Little Kitty Big City. Kodra shares his thoughts about the platformer Metroidvania Animal Well and Tam about the massive changes with Star Citizen 3.23. Lastly, Bel talks a bit about beating “The Feared” in Path of Exile on a non-bossing character.

Topics Discussed:

  • Bluey the “Surprise!” episode
  • Guild Wars 2 Living Season 1
  • Why Fallout Series Works by Witcher Does Not
  • Wylde Flowers
  • Little Kitty Big City
  • Animal Well
  • Star Citizen 3.23
  • Virtual Tabletops
  • Bel Beats “The Feared”

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Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a “Smol” show at least when it comes to cast. Last week we had to take that off because Bel was in “duck and cover” mode do to the storm system tearing through the center of the country and producing over one hundred Tornados. This week we had a bunch of folks with other commitments leaving it with just Bel, Kodra, and Tam. We talk a bit about the Helldivers Review Bomb, Angry Tarkov Players, and a now-fixed outrageous bug in Path of Exile that allowed for 18 linking a skill. From there we dive into some of Tam’s recent experiences in trying to get Fallout New Vegas up and running and how like Bel said a few weeks back… the games really still hold up well once you get past the technical limitations. Kodra gives a bit of a round-up of Metroidvania titles that he has been playing recently and then talks a bit about considering Strawberry Jam “done” after beating the Expert Lobby Yellows.

Topics Discussed

  • Helldivers Review Bomb
  • Path of Exile Ridiculous Socket Bug
  • The Effort of installing Fallout New Vegas
  • Older Fallout Games Still Hold Up
  • Fallout New California TCM
  • Metroidvania Roundup
  • Ender Lilies: Quietus of the Knights
  • Tales of Kenzera: ZAU

  • TEVI

  • Celeste Strawberry Jam

  • Expert Lobby Yellows Completed

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We had a bit of a cursed show… Tam lost power and was essentially knocked out of the rest of the show and then Ash disconnects as well and takes a bit to get back in. We push through however as we always do. Bel talks about returning to Fallout 76 and all of the cool changes that have been put in since he last played. Thalen talks about Open Source Star Control 2 aka Free Stars. Ash continues his journey into Roguelikes talking about Anomaly Collapse and Inkbound. Thalen and Kodra share their thoughts about The Sign, the latest episode of Bluey, and Grace shares their thoughts about AFK Journey. Finally, Bel talks a bit about the recent market crash in the Path of Exile Necropolis league, making many chase items more accessible.

Topics Discussed:

  • Steamdeck Modification Adventures
  • Returning to Fallout 76
  • Open Source Star Control

  • Free Stars: The Ur-Quan Masters

  • Roguelike Rundown Redux

  • Anomaly Collapse

  • Inkbound

  • The Sign Bluey Episode

  • AFK Journey
  • Necropolis Market Crash

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! On April 13th of 2014, we recorded the very first episode of AggroChat so last night the stars aligned just perfectly for us to be recording on our ten-year anniversary. We start the show by discussing a few different AFK games, namely Gnorp Apologue and AFK Journey. From there Bel talks a bit about the new Fallout TV Series and how it nails the setting and tone of the game. Kodra and Thalen talk a bit about the latest Bluey episode Ghostbasket. Kodra and Tam discuss their experiences playing together in Helldivers 2 and then Kodra and Bel talk some more about the Path of Exile Necropolis League.

Topics Discussed:

  • The 10th Anniversary of AggroChat
  • The Gnorp Apologue
  • AFK Journey
  • Fallout TV Series
  • Bluey Ghostbasket Episode
  • Helldivers 2
  • Path of Exile

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Kodra and a Grace but carry on with a short list of topics. First, we talk some more about playing Secrets of Grindea in its final form. Tam has ventured forth into Helldivers 2 and talks a bit about what makes the gameplay so infectious. Thalen introduces us further into Chants of Sennaar a game that he has decided is the spiritual successor to Loom. Bel is amazed at what a difference a few percentages make as Necropolis League in Path of Exile was saved by a very early patch. Finally Tam talks about the current event taking place in Star Citizen.

Topics Discussed:

  • Secrets of Grindea
  • Helldivers 2
  • Chants of Sennaar
  • Necropolis League Saved
  • Star Citizen’s Current Event

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Featuring: AmmosArt, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Since this episode will be coming out on Easter, Happy Easter to all who celebrate. Last night we talked about Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs for that more approachable Gloomhaven experience. We took a trip over to the Switch and discussed Mario vs Donkey Kong and Princess Peach Showtime. Bel talks a bit about his experiences with World of Warcraft Plunderstorm. Then we dive into a discussion about the Hugo Award Nominees and how hopefully 2024 will be a more reasonable year. This week the Necropolis League started in Path of Exile and Bel and Kodra talk a bit about their experiences with the league mechanic. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of Age of Sigmar 4.0.

Topics Discussed:

  • GloomHaven: Buttons & Bugs
  • Mario vs Donkey Kong
  • Princess Peach Showtime
  • World of Warcraft Plunderstorm
  • Hugo Award Nominees for Best Game
  • Path of Exile Necropolis League
  • Age of Sigmar 4.0

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Thalen, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! Grace has returned to Stardew Valley and we spent some time discussing some recent changes… including the mayo meme. From there we talk a bit about Balatro as folks have had a chance to dive into it. Tam talks about his experiences with Pacific Drive and its unique blend of Car Survival games. This week was the full reveal stream for Path of Exile Necropolis League and we spent a bit of time talking through some of the significant game system changes. Finally, we end the show talking about some Last Epoch and the experiences that folks are still having with the game including a bit of a dive down the rabbit hole that is Spellblade.

Topics Discussed:

  • Stardew Valley

  • Drinkable Mayonnaise Meme

  • Balatro

  • Pacific Drive
  • Path of Exile

  • Necropolis League Reveals

  • Last Epoch

  • Tam and the Spellblade

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks we’re back! Sorry for the week off but we return with a full docket of topics. We start off with some more discussion of Last Epoch and how everyone is still enjoying the game. Bel dinged 100 for the first time and we talked a bit about buildcraft and approachability. From there Bel talks about Dwarven Realms an ARPG of a sort that has gained traction this week amongst some of the streamers that is just “big dumb fun”. From there Ash goes down a list of Roguelikes that he has been enjoying lately namely Astral Ascent, Spiritfall, and Balatro. Tam revisits his topic surrounding the ambitious process of remaking Final Fantasy VII and his thoughts after having played a good deal of the second part. Finally, Bel uses volatile reversal and brings us back to the topic of Last Epoch and namely the impact it seems to be having on the ARPG genre as a whole.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch
  • Bel Dings 100
  • Buildcraft Discussion

  • Approachability

  • Dwarven Realms

  • So Dumb So Good

  • Roguelike Lightning Round

  • Astral Ascent
  • Spiritfall

  • Balatro

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake Thoughts

  • Entirely remaking a classic

  • The Impact of Last Epoch

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are back with the whole crew. We start off the show talking about how Secrets of Grindea, a game that we did an early gameclub show about… has FINALLY launched out of Early Access. From there we talk about Last Epoch some more as Kodra was out last week and has much to say about explosions. We also discussed building different characters and how the game rewards them. Bel attempts a Tier list but gets shut down as he is the only one who still prefers Path of Exile. Finally, Tam and Ammo share their early thoughts about Final Fantasy VII Rebirth.

Topics Discussed:

  • Secrets of Grindea Launched
  • Last Epoch
  • Kodra Returns and Has Thoughts
  • The joy of building new characters

  • Bel’s Tier Ranking Gets Shut Down

  • Final Fantasy VII Rebirth

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back after taking a break last week due to the limited number of folks available. This week we start off with a topic that has bounced around a bit on our docket. Namely, we marvel at just how balanced City of Heroes/City of Villians is and what a pinnacle of system design it really is. Bel spent a bit of time playing Nightingale now that is available in early access, and talks about the mess of a game that it is. Finally, we dive into our primary topic this week and talk about the Last Epoch 1.0 launch and how phenomenal the game feels right now despite all of the server-side woes.

Topics Discussed

  • City of Heroes/City of Villains

  • How is the design so balanced?

  • Nightingale

  • Not a Bad Game, but Not a Great One Either

  • Last Epoch

  • The 1.0 Launch Woes
  • The Massive Graphical Overhaul
  • Why we love the game
  • Accessible Design Matters

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we have a sick Bel that is trying to hold on during the show and a very long-distance Kodra, but it all works out in the end. We start off with some discussion about Marvel reprinting the Godzilla comic run that has been out of print for decades. From there Bel and Grace talk a bit about some recent experiences with Enshrouded and playing it multiplayer. Bel also talks a bit about the endgame and its strengths and weaknesses. From there we talk quite a bit about Last Epoch and the reveal of the Falconer and the upcoming 1.0 release. We discuss our plans for the first “cycle” and how we seem to all be favoring the magic find faction. Lastly, we get into a discussion about how the spoiler-averse culture that we find ourselves in makes it very hard to discuss narrative games.

Topics Discussed:

  • Godzilla Marvel Comic
  • Enshrouded
  • Some Multiplayer Gameplay

  • Discussing the strengths and weaknesses

  • Last Epoch

  • Falconer Reveal

  • Looking forward to 1.0

  • Spoiler Aversion

  • How it is hard to discuss narrative games

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It has been a few weeks since we recorded a normal show and I think we had a bunch of conversation in us waiting to get out. As a result, we recorded a bit longer than we should have but that is okay! We talk about Celeste 64 and that sort of gameplay translates to a very Mario 64 inspired game. From there Kodra shares his experiences with Songs of Conquest a game that is very much a nostalgic continuation of the Heroes of Might and Magic Series. Bel and Kodra talk about their experiences with the other new survival early access game Enshrouded and how it is shockingly complete, and really just needs polish. From there we dive into the main topic of the show where we discuss City of Heroes and how it is this perfect snapshot of the best of MMORPGs before World of Warcraft changed everything. Finally, Bel actually completes his four voidstones in Path of Exile and talks about what a difference a dedicated bosser makes.

Topics Discussed:

  • Celeste 64
  • Songs of Conquest
  • Enshrouded
  • When Crowd Control Mattered
  • City of Heroes
  • The World before Warcraft

  • No Daily Chores is Refreshing

  • What a Difference a Bosser Makes

  • Bel Kills POE Bosses

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half. This week we dive into the second half of the show covering the final eleven games. These are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year. A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

  • I Was a Teenage Exocoloist
  • Super Mario RPG Remake
  • Boltgun
  • Star Ocrean 2nd Story R
  • Jedi Survivor
  • City of Heroes
  • Everspace 2
  • Alan Wake II
  • Super Mario Wonder
  • Honkai Star Rail
  • Baldur’s Gate III

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again, time for our yearly Games of the Year show. Last year we learned that it was far better to record two weeks in a row instead of creating a marathon three-plus hour long show and cutting it in half. So this week I bring you the first part covering fourteen games and for those who have not listened to one of these before… these are games that were important to us this year and may or may not have actually been released this calendar year. A lot of them were, but I just wanted to set the expectations.

This year we did not have a lot of overlap, which is to be expected given that the seven of us have some wildly different tastes. It was a big year and I am sure there are a lot of games that you think might need to be on this list that we did not choose. Hopefully, you enjoy our thoughts all the same.

Games Discussed:

  • Risk of Rain Returns
  • Risk of Rain 2
  • Celeste: Strawberry Jam
  • Last Epoch
  • Path of Exile
  • System Shock
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3 Future Redeemed
  • Hi-Fi Rush
  • Dredge
  • Dave the Diver
  • Armored Core VI
  • New World
  • Fire Emblem Engage
  • Final Fantasy XVI

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Hopefully, everyone is staying warm this week with the big cold snap hitting the center of the country and more specifically impacting Bel and Thalen. This week we start off talking about the Rogue Trader CRPG and how it is doing a pretty solid job of moving the bar forward. From there we talk a bit about the upcoming Granblue Fantasy Action RPG and how we have been waiting for it since 2017. In shocking news, we talk about the City of Heroes Homecoming server and how it is officially licensed and we believe it is the first fan run emulator server project to achieve that status.

Last Epoch is nearing its official 1.0 launch and with it a bunch more information about the Trade system came out this week so we dive into it for a bit and contrast it with our experiences from Path of Exile. Peglin has released a bunch of updates and we talk a bit more about that phenomenal puzzle combat game. Thalen shares some information about how Dungeons and Dragons Online is apparently just giving away a ton of content and selling a bunch of mission packs for cheap on top of it. Tam finishes out the show talking about how it has taken him the better part of a year but he finally understands Star Trek Online.

Topics Discussed:

  • Rogue Trader CRPG
  • Granblue Fantasy Relink
  • City of Heroes
  • Last Epoch and Trade System
  • More Peglin!
  • DDO Giving Content Away
  • Understanding Star Trek Online

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy New Year! We are back after the holiday break and are delaying our Games of the Year Show until a bit later in the month. This week we talk about the Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover, Super Mario RPG and Thalen’s child plotting an interesting course through the game, and a return to Monster Hunter World. With Bobby Kotick leaving ActiBlizz, Bel has stepped back into World of Warcraft and talks a bit about his thoughts so far and the inspirations taken from Guild Wars 2. From there we talk a bit about missing trade league despite how much of a capitalist nightmare it is and how it makes the players focus entirely on short-term gains. Bel talks a bit about how he has shifted his Chieftain into Righteous Fire and how it is a reasonable replacement for RF Juggernaut. Finally, some breaking news while we are recording… we talk a bit about the new FFXIV job Pictomancer, and the new limited job Beastmaster.

Topics Discussed:

  • Dave the Diver Dredge Crossover
  • Super Mario RPG Remake
  • Monster Hunter World
  • World of Warcraft after 3 Years Away

  • Influences from Guild Wars 2

  • Path of Exile

  • The line goes up, and financialization of everything in another inflation league
  • Righteous Fire Chieftain

  • Missing Trade League

  • Final Fantasy XIV

  • New Dawntrail News
  • Pictomancer

  • Beastmaster

  • OrcaCon

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This is potentially our last show of the year because the next few weeks and the holidays within them… are going to make it very hard to gather a quorum. This week we are going to be brutally honest and tell you that if you have no interest in Path of Exile, then this might be a show for your to skip. While we have a very brief conversation about Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Kodra saving the day and being the big kid rescuing a stranded party, the show is mostly diving into the “Bel League” private league thusfar. So yeah we talk about Path of Exile for an hour and a half and if that is not your thing, then that is totally cool.

Topics Discussed

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

---- Making Memories, Saving Wiped Teams

Path of Exile

-- Affliction League One Week In

-- How Our Builds are Going

-- What happens when you follow a bait build

---- How much better the game would be with free respecs

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back with everyone and it is weird how long it has been since we have done a full seven-person show! Tonight we discuss the Game Awards and some of the negative reception surrounding it. We talked for a bit about the Monarch television show and the larger Legacy Pictures Monsterverse. Tam talks about The Exit 8 and the liminal weirdness of an ever-shifting train station. Then we dive into the Path of Exile Affliction League and more specifically our private “Bel League” and how that has been going so far.

Topics Discussed

– The Game Awards 2023

– Monarch and the Legacy Pictures Monsterverse

– The Exit 8

– Path of Exile

-- Bel League

-- Progress so far

-- Affliction League Mechanic

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Featuring: Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down basically the front half of the alphabet for this show, but the remaining four of us end up recording a deceptively long episode. Path of Exile revealed the details of the Affliction League and we had an awful lot to say about that. We talk through one of the biggest meta-shakeups in the game’s history. Bel also picks a fight with Kodra apparently when he called Guild Wars 2 more of an ARPG than an MMO. It all resolves peacefully however as we realize those judgments are based on different points of reference. We close out the show with Tam talking about some of the interesting choices being forced in Star Citizen.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile
  • Affliction League
  • Meta Shake-Up
  • Death of Righteous Fire
  • Ultimatum Returns

  • Goodbye Metamorph

  • Guild Wars 2 as ARPG

  • Kodra wants to fight Bel

  • Different points of reference

  • Star Citizen

  • Forcing Interesting Choices

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Hey Folks! This week we start off with a topic about in game events, and how wildly different they can be between various games. Specifically this topic was inspired by the Star Citizen IAE 2953 event but we give into many different game events. Ash gets around to playing Armored Core 6 and talks about how awful the intro to the game is. Bel laments how sometimes maybe being a more Open World experience makes a game worse. Specifically this is inspired by Jedi Survivor and how it is a much less tight game than Fallen Order. Shocking to no one we dive into another Path of Exile topic and more specifically how Kodra and Bel completed some dumb Trial of the Ancestors achievements. Bel has finished Alan Wake II and gives the game another hard plug and then talks a bit about how Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is really good.

Topics Discussed:

  • In Game Festival Events
  • Star Citizen IAE 2953
  • Final Fantasy events

  • Other Game Holidays

  • Armored Core 6

  • Why is the intro so awful?

  • Sometimes Open World Makes Games Worse

  • Jedi Survivor

  • Muddied Waters

  • Path of Exile

  • Doing Dumb things with Totems
  • Lament of why Multiplayer is needlessly punishing

  • Kodra knocking out achievements

  • Alan Wake II - After Credit Roll

  • Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure is good

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off with a topic that has been bumped for time a few weeks in row as we discuss how complex video games can stick the landing with their denouement. Bel has been playing Alan Wake 2 and talks about how Remedy finally has achieved seamless integration of FMV and rendered gameplay. We talked a bit about Risk of Rain 2 and the buildcraft surrounding the game. Kodra has officially gone further in Path of Exile than the rest of us and talks about his adventures in bossing. We wrap up the show discussing how Path of Exile does a poor job of telling its story in spite of actually having a very good one compared to other ARPGs.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Ending Payoffs for Complex Games

  • How to stick the landing

  • Alan Wake 2 is Great

  • Risk of Rain 2 Buildcraft
  • Kodra Kills Against the Bosses
  • ARPGs attempting to tell stories

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off the show with a bit of a reprisal from last week. Namely, Grace and Bel thought that all of the announcements at BlizzCon were universally good, but it seems that at least for some WoW Pundits they were a bit disappointed. Ash talks about the remake of Risk of Rain called Risk of Rain Returns and how it improves upon the original. We talk about the Blast from the Past League in Path of Exile and how Lake of Kalandra is getting a bit of a redemption arc. From there we talk some more about Cities Skylines 2 and Bel opines that he just really wants a prettier version of Simcity 2000. Tam talks a bit about BOKURA a multiplayer puzzle game where both players are seemingly wildly different things, but need to solve puzzles together. Bel talks a bit about the death of the Draft Booster and what the changes surrounding the “Play Booster” mean for Magic the Gathering. Finally, we wrap up with a few very short topics, and Bel talks about how good Bookshops & Bonedust the sequel to Legends & Lattes was.

Topics Discussed

  • WoW Pundits and War Within
  • Risk of Rain Returns
  • Path of Exile

  • Blast from the Past League

  • Cities Skylines 2

  • BOKURA
  • Magic the Gathering

  • Death of the Draft Booster

  • Bookshops and Bonedust is Great

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down essentially our entire Seattle contingency for assorted reasons that I don’t believe are actually connected. So we carry forward with our Central and Eastern Timezone folks and talk a bit about BlizzCon and how there was a wildly different energy surrounding the event. It feels like a new chapter for Blizzard is opening that may or may not have anything to do with the Microsoft acquisition. From there we talk a bit about the Krangled event and how bizarre it is to play with a randomized passive tree. Bel talks about the situation at Bungie and the general sense of dire straights for the Destiny franchise. Bel also talks a bit about easing back into Final Fantasy XIV and catching up on the post-Endwalker content. He has also been playing New World a bit and going through the expansion content while leveling to 65 and farming some new gear. Finally, we drive off into a discussion about the books that we have been reading and float the idea of a “Books of the Year” show similar to our “Games of the Year” show we often do.

Topics Discussed:

  • BlizzCon 2023
  • Overwatch
  • Diablo
  • World of Warcraft
  • Three Expansion Cycle
  • The War Within Features

  • A New Feeling Blizzard

  • Path of Exile

  • Krangled Event is Strange
  • Like Bad Sealed Magic
  • Bel League Discussion

  • Kodra is Super Serious

  • The Bungie Situation

  • Easing back into FFXIV
  • New World Expansion
  • Book Talk

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are back but still down several members of our crew. This week we start off with some discussion about Diablo IV Season 2 and whether or not the game is good now. From there we talk a lot about the events of the Star Citizen CitizenCon. Super Mario Wonder has come out and we talk about the experiences with the game so far. Tam talks a bit about Endless Dungeon and how it might actually be fun in multiplayer. Kodra shares some news about an upcoming SudokuCon Fundraiser stream he is going to be part of this week. Finally, we talk a bit about Cities: Skylines 2 and the changes it brings to the genre.

Topics Discussed:

  • Diablo IV is Good Now?

  • Season of Blood Review

  • CitizenCon

  • Did you hold the line?

  • Super Mario Wonder

  • Endless Dungeon
  • SudokuCon Fundraiser Stream
  • Cities: Skylines 2

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we start off the show with some discussion about the most recent Honkai Star Rail patch and how it does a Pokemans. From there we dive into the Stellaris offshoot Star Trek Infinite and how it is more than just a reskin. This leads into a long winding conversation about how games feel wildly different once you tweak a few variables. All of that takes a brief detour into how frustrating it is that the Sea of Thieves PVE mode has some limitations. Bel goes into a bit of a rant about how all live service releases are awful until they have a year or two under their belt and how “the vision” show be burned to a crisp. We talked a bit about the Microsoft Deal for ActiBlizz finally closing and the possibility of World of Warcraft for Gamepass. Finally, we get moored in a discussion of Path of Exile as we always seem to lately and talk a bit about Kodra clearing his first two voidstones.

Topics Discussed:

  • Honkai Star Rail does a Pokemans
  • Star Trek Infinite

  • How it is more than just a reskin of Stellaris

  • How Games Change when you Tweak a few Variables

  • Frustrations of Sea of Thieves PVE limitations
  • Microsoft Deal Finalized

  • World of Warcraft on Gamepass When?

  • Path of Exile

  • Kodra Clears Gets some Voidstones

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We are down a Grace and a Thalen this weekend so we floundered a bit on the topics we were going to talk about. While we questioned if we had enough for a show, we still wound up going over by about fourteen minutes. We start off with some discussion about GeekGirlCon 2023 which all of our Seattle contingency attended this weekend. From there Bel talks a bit about a new Switch device that he picked up called the CRKD Nitro Deck that makes the Switch a bit beefer and feel like a Steam Deck. Tam has been diving back into Cyberpunk 2077 with the release of the 2.0 update and Phantom Libery expansion. Finally, we wind around to Path of Exile that Ash, Kodra, and Bel are still deeply engaged with this league. We talk a bit more about the birth of the “Bel League” private league concept.

Topics Discussed

  • GeekGirlCon 2023
  • CRKD Nitro Deck
  • Cyberpunk 2077 2.0
  • Path of Exile
  • Bel League Gaining Traction
  • Random Path of Exile nonsense

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

I promise no books were burned during the making of this episode. We start off the show with a discussion about Warhammer Fantasy and more specifically the latest rendition of Cities of Sigmar. Tam talks about how Warhammer finally makes humans in a fantasy setting interesting. From there Bel talks about his weekend adventure in the Toucan Treasure League, a private Path of Exile league where everything drops scoured and you start with 25% resistance in the hole. This leads to a discussion about how overpowered the new Guardian is, and Kodra’s adventures with Hex Blast Mines. Kodra talks about the forming of a Sudoku Convention and how he is helping to organize it. Finally, we wrap up with some discussion about what is keeping Tam interested in Armored Core 6 even though he has beaten it several times in a row now.

Topics Discussed:

  • Warhammer Fantasy

  • Cities of Sigmar

  • Path of Exile

  • Toucan Treasure League
  • Law of the Wilds
  • Overpowered Guardian Ascendancy

  • Hexblast Miner

  • Sudoku-Con

  • Armored Core 6
  • What is keeping Tam engaged?

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start the show by discussing Diablo 3 Season 29, and how it Visions of Enmity are shockingly good. We praise the Arrrchivists who have somehow managed to make Marvel Heroes private servers a reality… just currently feature-limited. Kodra and Ash talk about their experiences recently with the Furvana seaside Furry Convention. Tam begins a discussion about narrative structures and how New Game Plus functions in different games. Kodra talks about a brand new skip method in Mario 64 and how it essentially branched out of a long-running meme in the speed-running community. He also talks about playing the Mice and Mystics board game with his kiddo. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of the newly announced Bluey Video Game.

Topics Discussed

  • Diablo 3 Season 29

  • Visions of Enmity

  • Marvel Heroes Returns… Sorta

  • Furvana
  • Comparing Narrative Structures and New Game Plus
  • Don’t let your memes be dreams

  • Mario 64 new skip

  • Mice and Mystics

  • Bluey the Video Game

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Sorry we missed last week but we were down over half of our show members. This week Bel faceplants the intro and is urged by the entire crew to keep going. We start off with some discussion about the Honkai Star Rail Swarm Disaster event and a bit of idle gameplay with Chillquarium. From there we dive into some Path of Exile talk as Kodra is now beginning become infected with our madness. He presents the Magic the Gathering draft analogy and we discuss using that as a way of learning Path of Exile as a whole. We talk a bit about Unity's corporate failure speedrun by burning off absolutely every bit of their goodwill with some dumb service changes. From there we talk about a game with a very long and contorted name that promises to give you access to all those weird mobile game ads that don’t actually exist. Lastly, we talk a little bit about the return of Wizardry and how it is the birthplace of the modern JRPG.

Topics Discussed

  • Honkai Star Rail

  • Swarm Disaster

  • Chillquarium

  • Path of Exile
  • The Magic the Gathering Analogy

  • Guardian SRS is Amazing

  • Unity Speedrunning Corporate Failure

  • YEAH! YOU WANT “THOSE GAMES,” RIGHT? SO HERE YOU GO! NOW, LET’S SEE YOU CLEAR THEM!
  • Does Twitch Viewership Matter to Game Success?
  • Wizardry Returns

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start this week with the fact that Bel cannot distinguish a 6 from an 8 when looking at it from the corner of his eye. We dive into a discussion of Goodbye Volcano High that Kodra has been playing. From there we talk a bit about what is happening at PAX West this year and this leads into a discussion of all of the games. We talk a bit about some of our first impressions of Starfield in as spoiler-free a manner as we can. Finally, Tam talks about rolling the credits on Armored Core 6 and his final thoughts.

Topics Discussed:

  • Bel Can’t Read
  • Goodbye Volcano High
  • PAX West 2023
  • So Many New Games
  • Starfield First Impressions
  • Rolling the Credits on Armored Core 6

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we start off the show with some continued Path of Exile Trials of the Ancestor league discussion. From there we talk briefly about the new Guild Wars 2 expansion. Tam has spent some time playing Pseudoregalia and has thoughts about that, which leads into a discussion about our impressions of game generations shifting over time. Tam also spends some time playing Banished Vault and has some things to say about it. This week Armored Core 6 launched and we talk a bit about a Giant Robot game from a developer who has become mostly known for Dark Souls. Finally, we close things out with some more nonsense related to the Path of Exile league.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile

  • Trials of the Ancestor League - First Week

  • Guild Wars 2 Secrets of the Obscure

  • Weaponmastery system

  • Pseudoregalia

  • How our perception of games changes over time.
  • Armored Core 6
  • Further Path of Exile League Nonsense

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Sorry, we were out last week but we ended up with too few folks to feel like it was worth recording a show. This week we are back and talk about the launch of the Trial of the Ancestors League in Path of Exile. Grace talks a bit about their adventures in Genshin Impact and exploring the realm of the Hydro Archon. Kodra gets featured again on Cracking the Cryptic with a Sudoku and then talks about his adventures at GenCon. Finally, we wrap up the show with an attempt at a spoiler-free discussion of Baldur’s Gate 3.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile
  • Trial of the Ancestors
  • League Start So Far

  • Grace goes SSF

  • Genshin Impact

  • Visiting the Hydro Archon

  • Cracking the Cryptic

  • Kodra was featured again

  • Kodra’s GenCon Adventures

  • Some Spoiler-Free Baldur’s Gate 3 Discussion

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

We have a pretty small group this week as we are down a Kodra, Ammo, and Thalen for various assorted reasons. We start off the show with Tam talking about Viewfinder a bit which winds its way to Bel talking about the coin pusher indie Clockwork Owl. Grace has been playing a lot of XVI and we talk about the Giant Kaiju Battles that take place when two Eikons fight. Bel got into the Palia beta this week and he talks a bit about what feels like Stardew Valley the MMO. Many of us stopped playing whatever we were playing this week with the launch of Baldur’s Gate III, so we spend a bit talking about that game in largely general terms. This leads to a discussion of JRPGs and CRPGs and how they are generally telling stories in very different ways. We close out with a few topics and Bel shares that he no longer has concerns about Path of Exile II.

Topics Discussed

  • Viewfinder
  • Clockwork Owl
  • FFXVI Giant Kaiju Battles
  • Palia Beta
  • Baldurs Gate III
  • JRPGs vs CRPGS/WRPGS
  • Path of Exile II Updates

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start off the show with Ash talking about playing through Wandersong. From there Thalen talks about his experience with Lost Words, and Tam dives into a discussion about how Far Cry does a shockingly good job with its cultural experience. From there we talk about Final Fantasy XIV Fan Fest and the announcement for the Dawntrail Expansion. Then we talk a bit about the news coming out of ExileCon with Path of Exile II. We also talk a bit about the changes coming to the first game with 3.22 and the Trail of the Ancestors League. Finally, we wrap things up with a discussion about Dave the Diver again and how it is this weird showcase for how to make a good mobile game… even though it isn’t one.

Topics Discussed:

  • Wandersong
  • Lost Words
  • Far Cry 6

  • How it gets culture right

  • Final Fantasy XIV Dawntrail

  • WOL Goes on Vacation

  • Path of Exile II

  • Path of Exile 3.22

  • Trial of the Ancestors

  • Dave the Diver

  • Good Mobile Game

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we have the entire crew and can finally talk some more about Nimona and how much we love this movie. From there Bel talks about the Diablo 4 Season 1 Patch, and how it might be the worst live service patch ever. We get that everyone is tired of talking about this game but the hits keep coming. This week Honkai Star Rail released the next batch of stories with its 1.2 patch, and we talk about some of the events and ramifications. Thalen was gone last week because he spent nearly an entire weekend playing one game of Twilight Imperium so we talk a bit about that. Thalen also talks a bit about playing Kabuto Sumo and how it is very kid friendly. Finally, we wrap things up with Kodra talking about using the Steam Deck as a second monitor in his streaming rig.

Topics Discussed:

  • Nimona is Great

  • You Should Watch It Again

  • Diablo 4 Season 1

  • Maybe the Worst Live Service Patch

  • Maybe as bad as the Champions Online Day One Patch

  • Honkai Star Rail

  • Immortality Ends 1.2 Patch

  • Twilight Imperium

  • Do you have a free weekend?

  • Kabuto Sumo

  • Steamdeck Streaming Rig

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This week we are down a Thalen which bumps a topic that we bumped last week, but whatever we have more! Bel starts off the show with a discussion about Blaugust coming soon and how the changes in the social media landscape are introducing it to more people. From there we talk about the One of One Ring search being over, which dives into a discussion about whether or not the Sol Ring being an auto-include is good or not. Kodra has been using the SteamDeck as a primary travel computer and this works shockingly well. We talk about the weird game that is Dave the Diver and then branch off into a discussion about whether or not Pizza Tower is actually good. Tam shares some nostalgia for revisiting the Battlezone ‘98 Remaster and how it is a type of RTS that never really had its day. Finally, Kodra and Ash share some of their progress in Four Job Fiesta as it is nearing the end of that event.

Topics Discussed:

  • Blaugust is Coming
  • 2 Million Dollar Card Found
  • Debate about Magic the Gathering “Auto Includes”
  • SteamDeck as a Primary Machine
  • Dave the Diver
  • Pizza Tower is Good?
  • Battlezone ‘98
  • Four Job Fiesta

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Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We are down Ash and Ammo but carry on with what we originally thought would be a short show. The curse of saying that means that without a doubt we end up going over. We start off talking about Tam’s new toy, the PlayDate Console, and some of the interesting design choices it presents. From there Bel talks about the Diablo 4 reveal trailer and the weak reception. This leads to a larger discussion about issues with Blizzard as a whole and how everything somewhat feels like short-sighted decision-making. Bel and Tam talk about Trinity Fusion a game that feels like a halfway point between Deadcells and Hades that Bel stumbled upon through Mastodon. We dive into a large topic about how games end up shackled by specific traditions and how they have limited various designs. Then we get into a few shorter topics like Gamepad.Club is a lovely community if you are looking for a place to land on Mastodon. Then we all give you a plea to watch Nimona. We are likely going to talk about that movie in a full spoiler sense next week.

Topics Discussed

  • The PlayDate Console

  • Interesting Design Ideas

  • Diablo 4 Season 1 Reveal

  • Weak Reception

  • Problems at Blizzard in General

  • Trinity Fusion

  • Deadcells meets Hades

  • Shackled by Tradition

  • Join Gamepad.club
  • Watch Nimona

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we are down an Ash but have the triumphant return of Kodra from Origins. This week we talk about the self-DDoS of Twitter and Kodra chimes in on the return of P-Speed to a new Super Mario Game. From there we talk a bit about the newly announced Guild Wars 2 expansion Secrets of the Obscure. Kodra gives us a bit of a run down on his experiences at Origins and how he has finally played in the most ubiquitous LARP Vampire the Masquerade. We are somewhat incredulous as for several of us… that is the ONLY LARP we have ever participated in. Grace gets bit by the Honkai Star Rail bug finally and talks a bit about their experiences. Nimona is out and we talk a bit about the steps it took to get to this point as well as a bit about the mixed bag that is The Little Mermaid live-action film. Finally, we wrap things up with a quick topic about Microprose actually still existing in some form and gobbling up former properties like getting back the license to Falcon.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Twitpocalypse
  • P-Speed Returns
  • Guild Wars 2

  • Secrets of the Obscure

  • Origins Convention

  • Vampire LARP
  • Honkai Star Rail
  • Nimona Is Out
  • The Little Mermaid Live Action
  • Microprose exists and gets Falcon back

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We started with what I thought was a pretty short show, but as we continued on… new topics kept showing up in the dock. We start off with some talk about the most recent Nintendo Direct, then fade into some initial impressions of Final Fantasy XVI. Bel talks about a problem with the Diablo VI community where new players not already engaged with ARPG communities are deeply confused by how seasons work. From there we talk a bit about the ever-increasing prize bounty around the MTG One Ring. Tam shares some of his experiences with the new Warhammer 40k 10th Edition and the shocking return of Lion El’Jonson. Thalen talks a bit about the new Fallout 76 season and we dive into a discussion about Steam Next Fest and how large it has become. Bel revisits the topic of Last Epoch and Spriggan builds since Grace is back this week, and they share some of their thoughts about Genshin Impact.

Topics Discussed

  • Nintendo Direct News
  • Final Fantasy XVI Initial Thoughts
  • ARPG Seasons Confusing New Players
  • The Hunt for the One Ring Continues
  • Warhammer 40,000 10th Edition
  • The Return of Lion El’Jonson
  • Fallout 76 New Season
  • Steam Next Fest
  • Last Epoch
  • Genshin Impact

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AggroChat #438 - Teenage Exocolonist Blues

Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we start off with a carryover topic from last week and talk a bit about Star Wars Shatterpoint. From there Ash tells us about the Furry Child Soldier game… better known as Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2. Bel talks a bit about the Overwatch 2 PVE content that is being sold for $15 after the original PVE expansion was canceled. He also talks a bit about the concerns brewing about a proper cash shop opening in World of Warcraft. Tam tells us about this delightful-sounding game called I Was a Teenage Exocolonist before Bel brings down the show with talk of the current Corporate Internet Apocalypse. We talk a bit about the Reddit Blackout and Streamers abandoning Twitch. Finally, Bel and Ash talk a bit about how nonsensically good the Spriggan that Grace told us about is in Last Epoch.

Topics Discussed:

  • Star Wars Shatterpoint
  • Fuga: Melodies of Steel 2
  • Overwatch 2 $15 PVE Pass
  • WoW Cashshop Concerns
  • I Was a Teenage Exocolonist
  • Streamer Contract Paid More than LeBron James
  • Streamers Abandoning Twitch
  • The Reddit Blackout
  • Corporate Internet is Burning
  • Last Epoch Spriggan is Nonsense

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start the show with the dangers of bowling in a fursuit and then dive straight into the Not-E3 shows. The entire crew has finally watched the Dungeon and Dragons movie so we talk a bit about how damned good it was. Tam and Bel talk about Knights of the Old Republic 2 and how maybe not all of the content in the restored patch should have been restored. Thalen talks about how faithful of a remaster System Shock is and how Nightdive is doing great work. Bel talks a bit about his experiences with Diablo 4 Endgame and how it is not that great. Tam talks about playing Wizorb on the Steam Deck and Bel talks a bit about the Honkai Star Rail patch. Finally, Kodra finishes the show with some talk about Co-Op games that allow players to share the cognitive load of problem-solving.

Topics Discussed:

  • Not-E3 Shows
  • Dungeons and Dragons Movie Finally
  • Knights of the Old Republic 2 and the restored content
  • System Shock
  • Diablo 4 Honeymoon Over
  • Wizorb was Great
  • Honkai Star Rail Patch
  • Sharing Cognitive Load in Co-Op Games

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We skipped a week due to the Memorial Day Holiday, and while we had a bunch of built-up topics… we oddly recorded a relatively short show. We start off this week with some discussion about what happens when you date Cthulhu in Sucker for Love. Then we talk a bit about the 80s and Marvel essentially making comics for anyone that would pay them… and the limbo state of several of those properties in theory finally being resolved. Last Epoch released a major update with 0.9.1 and we talk about the things that were added to the game. Bel talks a bit about his experiences with the launch of Diablo IV and the drama surrounding the world's first hardcore race. This leads its way into a diatribe about the icky Live Service Future we find ourselves in. From there we talk a bit about Honkai Star Rail and how Bel talking the game up… caused Grace to relapse into Genshin Impact. Kodra talks about discovering Etrian Odyssey HD and a bit of a rundown of some of the good things that came out of Summer Games Done Quick.

Topics Discussed

  • Sucker for Love
  • Marvel and Hasbro Made Up
  • Last Epoch 0.9.1
  • Diablo IV Launch
  • Race to 100 Drama

  • Bel’s Begrudging Enjoyment

  • The Live Service Future

  • Genshin Impact
  • Honkai Star Rail
  • Etrian Odyssey HD
  • SGDQ

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we start off the show with what is quite possibly the least nonsensical intro that bends around and becomes a Happy Birthday message to Solaria… which by the time this releases will be one day belated. Tonight we talk about the Overwatch PVE Mode debacle and this expands out into a larger discussion of the downfall of Blizzard Entertainment. From there we talk about Amazon making a new Lord of the Rings Game and some snark towards LOTRO. Grace discusses exploring what is ultimately a very Free to Play Racing Game called Asphalt 9. We talk a bit about the Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype week of teasers and that Bel has officially given up on killing Maven in Path of Exile. Bel and Grace talk a bit about a Southeast Asian-Inspired Diablo-style ARPG game that looks like it is straight out of the 16-bit era of games called Ghostlore. Finally, we wrap things up with some discussion of the Star Citizen 3.19 patch and Invictus Launch Week, and the New Player Experience.

Topics Discussed:

  • Happy Birthday, Solaria!
  • Overwatch 2 PVE Mode Debacle
  • The Downfall of Blizzard
  • Amazon snarks about LOTRO
  • Extremely F2P Racing
  • Last Epoch 0.9.1 Pre-Patch Hype Week
  • Bel Gives up on Maven
  • Ghostlore ARPG
  • Star Citizen 3.19 Invictus Launch Week
  • New Player Experience

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Featuring: Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Happy Mother's Day to all the mothers out there in the AggroChat family, and also solace to those who have lost theirs along the way. Tonight we start off the show with Bel and Grace complaining about the results of Eurovision and how both Finland and Austria “got robbed”. From there Bel talks about playing some Diablo IV this weekend and how there have been some minor improvements from the last open beta test. Kodra dives into some spicy takes about Breath of the Wild and how maybe he just isn’t into that game at all, and how it makes him sad about approaching Tears of the Kingdom. Grace gives an update on Burning Shores' discussion and how she accidentally played it on the hardest mode. Tam talks about Ixion some more and how it is weird to have boss fights in a city builder. Kodra talks about some of his recent experiences with This Means Warp and trying out multiplayer. Finally, we dive into a discussion spurred on by the fact that Thalen has been playing Final Fantasy IV Pixel Remaster on the Switch.

Topics Discussed:

  • Complaining about Eurovision
  • Diablo 4 Slightly Improved
  • Spicy Breath of the Wild Takes
  • Burning Shores Follow-Up
  • Borrowed Power In Games
  • Ixion: a Citybuilder Boss Fight
  • This Means Warp Multiplayer
  • Final Fantasy IV is Great

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! This week we have Ammo back and talk about Honkai Star Rail or at least our early impressions. Grace talks a bit about Horizon Forbidden West and the Burning Shores expansion. We discuss a better FTL in This Means Warp, and that Vampire Survivors has released a DLC. Kodra and Ash talk about how if everyone dies but the Tank, you can still win with Middara and this leads to some random discussion of MMORPG. Tam is the only one of us who has experienced any Redfall so we talk a bit about it and the community reactions. Lastly we sort of slide into a discussion about Guild Wars 2 without really meaning to.

Topics Discussed:

  • Honkai Star Rail
  • Horizon Forbidden West Burning Shores
  • This Means Warp
  • Vampire Survivors DLC
  • If Everyone but the Tank is Dead It’s Still a Win.

  • More fun with Middara

  • Redfall Irresponsible Speculation

  • Accidentally some Guild Wars 2 Discussion

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This show was one of those times when random discussions that we did not plan happened. Firstly we had a bit of an impromptu discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons movie which also led to some non-movie discussion. From there Bel talks about his life as a Path of Exile Vendor as he has become increasingly immersed in the trade market as a seller. Tam and Bel talk quite a bit about Jedi Survivor and how it is a more open game and might even draw some connections to Breath of the Wild. Kodra talks about Lone Fungus and Ash about Everspace 2. From there we fall into some unplanned discussions about how games seem to be moving away from Holiday Season release schedules, and then we get off on this tangent about the Gameboy.

Topics Discussed:

  • Dungeons and Dragons
  • Bel’s Life as a Path of Exile Vendor
  • Star Wars: Jedi Survivor
  • Lone Fungus
  • Everspace 2
  • Games Moving Away from Holiday Releases
  • Arguing about the Gameboy

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We start the show with some extemporaneous discussion about Bel and his Three-Legged Backyard Feral Calico Cat… and how she ran away for a month and is now back. From there we talk a bit about Last Epoch finally managing to nail down hotbar management for transformation skills. Bel talks a bit about how free-to-play games have ruined things and that there are folks balking at the $35 price tag of Last Epoch. Ash and Bel are still playing a lot of Path of Exile and Bel talks about rolling into his second build of the league featuring Toxic Rain Pathfinder. Tam talks about mods for Half-Life Alyx that allows you to play the game without VR. From there we talk about Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter and how everyone seems to be shocked at how well it has done. We talk a bit about Gunfire Reborn and how good of a game it is to play with friends. We also talk a bit about the Stellaris Co-Op Beta and how it functions. Finally, we wrap up with a bit of discussion about the Dungeons and Dragons Movie.

Topics Discussed:

  • Feral Backyard Calico is Back!
  • Last Epoch Transform Improvements
  • Free to Play Ruined Things
  • Path of Exile

  • Toxic Rain Pathfinder is Comfy

  • Half-Life Alyx Without VR

  • Battletech: Mercenaries Kickstarter
  • Gunfire Reborn is Great
  • Stellaris Co-Op
  • Dungeons and Dragons Movie

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start the show with some discussion about Path of Exile launching the new Crucible league… and how the seasonal mechanic is sort of awful but the gameplay state is great. Grace talks about a game hand designed for them called Dredge. Tam talks a bit about another city builder of a sort called Ixion that causes some rough choices. We talk a bit about the Super Mario Bros movie and how it is way better than we expected. Because Nintendo makes screwed-up decisions we talk about hacking the 3DS to use an unofficial storefront. Ash talks about some disappointment about the first drop in the Battle Network Legacy Collection. Kodra talks a bit about the series finale for Owl House and playing Burgle Bros board game. Finally, Bel talks a bit about some of the books he has been reading.

Topics Discussed:

  • Path of Exile

  • Crucible League Start

  • Dredge

  • Ixion
  • Super Mario Bros Movie
  • Hacking the 3DS
  • Battle Network Legacy Collection
  • Owl House Series Finale
  • Burgle Bros
  • Book Updates

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Good Morning Friends! Lairs Day has come and gone, but for those of us recording the show… it was still happening and as a result, we talk a bit about that. From there we talk about the repeated death of E3 and why maybe they should just call it quits going forward. Thalen talks about the apparent fact that Crunchyroll is known for killing games. Bel and Kodra talk a bit about the Zelda Direct and how apparently Tears of the Kingdom is going to be even more sandboxy. Super Adventure Festival is going on in Guild Wars 2 and we talk about the quirky new Fashion Wars event happening in Lion’s Arch as well as the test release of World 3 of the Super Adventure Box. This past week the Crucible League announcement stream took place and the patch notes were released… frustrating a good number of players. From there Tam talks about Terra Nill an ecological world-building sim. Finally, we wrap up the show with some talk about the books we have been reading. Thalen talks about the Broken Earth series and Bel talks about Legends and Lattes and the Bloodsworn series.

Topics Discussed

  • Happy Liars Day
  • E3 Cancelled for Lack of Interest
  • Crunchy Roll Kills Games
  • Zelda Direct
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Super Adventure Festival 2023
  • Super Adventure Box World 3

  • Fashion Wars

  • Path of Exile

  • Crucible League Announcement

  • Questionable Changes

  • Terra Nill

  • Some Book Talk
  • Broken Earth Series
  • Legends and Lattes
  • Bloodsworn Series
  • The Shadow of the Gods
  • The Hunger of the Gods

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! Tonight we are down three folks and contemplated not recording at all… eventually deciding on the recording to save ourselves from a mega show. The original intent was to record a fairly short show, but ultimately we ended up chatting away for the full time regardless. Tonight we talk about Diablo IV again and some of our frustrations. This weekend Grace got to play the game in the Open Beta so we start out with their opinions and devolve from there. After that Tam talks a bit about his experiences with Triangle Strategy. Finally, we talk about Adepticon and all of the news coming out of it for new miniature gaming releases.

Topics Discussed:

  • Diablo IV
  • Grace’s Opinions

  • More Frustrations

  • Triangle Strategy

  • Awful Name Great Game

  • Adepticon Reveals

  • Warhammer 40k
  • Infinity
  • Ral Partha Nostalgia

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Featuring: Ammosart, Grace, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week Bel talks about his experiences playing Diablo IV Beta and how it is nothing as he expected and mostly Diablo the MMORPG. From there Bel and Grace talk about their experiences playing Last Epoch multiplayer doing the endgame activity called Monoliths. Tam talks about Star Citizen 3.18 recovering from its server woes and how fleshed out the new racing league feature is. Kodra talks about how much he enjoys games that are themselves effectively a tutorial. We’ve talked about Battletech by Harebrained Schemes quite a bit but we dive into an update about the current state of mods. Then we end up going off the deep end into a discussion about the 90s internet and the things that are now lost to the sands of time.

Topics Discussed:

  • Diablo IV Beta

  • Bel Has Concerns

  • Last Epoch Endgame with Friends

  • Bel and Grace Play Monoliths Together

  • Star Citizen 3.18 Recovers

  • Racing League

  • Tutorials in Games and Tutorials as Games

  • Battletech with Mods
  • Remembering the 90s Internet

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Good Morning Folks! We start off the show with some random talk about Rick Astley and the history of Rickrolling. From there Bel talks about getting a Commander tag and going for the obvious best choice… that Catmander. Kodra talks about beating Axiom Verge and his struggles with M.A.S.S. Builder not quite being detailed enough. From there we talk about the launch of the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch and the struggles of instant 8X growth. We talk a bit about the challenge of a game launch and scaling servers without overbooking capacity. Then we finish out with some discussion from Tam about the Star Citizen 3.18 patch and its own server capacity issues.

Featuring:

  • Superfluous Rickrolling
  • Bel is a Catmander in GW2
  • Axiom Verge
  • M.A.S.S. Builder
  • Last Epoch
  • Servers Hugged to Death

  • Various Discussions of the new patch

  • Server Scaling and Massive Updates

  • Star Citizen 3.18
  • Persistent Entity Streaming

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we start off with some light discussion about Guild Wars 2 and more specifically the new patch that dropped on the 28th including a brand new map called Gyala Delve. We talk briefly about wrapping up Diablo 3 Season 28 and looking forward to the Last Epoch Multiplayer patch landing next Thursday. We talk a bit about Microsoft getting to subpoena Sony for records about their practice of paying companies to keep games from GamePass. We also talk about the practice of corporate write-downs and how Wizards of the Coast and Funko have gotten caught throwing massive amounts of product in landfills recently. From there we have a sort of rapid-fire discussion of a bunch of mech names, namely Mechwarrior Online, the upcoming Armored Core game, and Mass Builder.

Topics Discussed:

  • Guild Wars 2

  • Gyala Delve Content Drop

  • Diablo 3 Season 28 Finished

  • Last Epoch Multiplayer Patch on 3/9
  • Phantom Brigade
  • Beating Wagon World
  • Microsoft gets to Supoena Sony
  • Wizards and Funko Land Fill Disposals
  • Mechwarrior Online
  • Armored Core
  • Mass Builder

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week we accidentally recorded an hour-and-a-half-long show. I guess this is what happens when you punt a bunch of topics to another week because we were missing the folks attached to said topics. We start off with the discussion about Theatrhythm Final Bar Line that we hinted at last week. From there we talk about Media from our Childhood that is not cursed… aka The Princess Bride. From there Tam talks about his further Steam Deck adventures with Eastward and What The Golf. Bel talks about his experience buckling down and getting his Skyscale in Guild Wars 2. We talk briefly about the Valve Honeypot catching over 40,000 DOTA cheaters, and Kodra talks about playing Troll Mario Maker levels, more specifically Super Wagon World. From there we go down this nostalgic trip about pulling dungeons and the puzzles that they used to present and our niche desire for randomized dungeon runs in MMORPGs.

Topics Discussed:

  • Theatrhythm Final Bar Line
  • Princess Bride and Kids

  • Media from our Childhood Still Valid for Modern Standards

  • Eastward

  • What the Golf
  • Bel Gets a Skyscale in Guild Wars 2
  • Tam is Experiencing Good Crabs Again
  • Diablo 3 Season 28
  • The Altar

  • Bel’s Rough Start

  • Valve Crafts a Cheater Honeypot

  • Over 40,000 Bans for DOTA

  • Super Wagon World

  • Troll Levels for Mario Maker

  • Xenoblade III is a Pulling Puzzle

  • Nostalgic Trip Down Memory Lane about Pulling Dungeons
  • Niche Desire for Randomized Dungeon Crawls

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, and Kodra

Tonight we have a bit of a short show as we had to punt several topics to next week since Tam and Thalen were out. Bel talks about his recent adventures since the beginning of the year with the Library system and the Libby App. From there Ash shares his experience using Character Questionnaires to drive character development in a tabletop pen-and-paper game. Kodra talks about streaming a day of Celeste Strawberry Jam and his experiences playing the game with a pillowcase on his head. Bel talks about what happens when a large Mastodon instance closes and over 17,000 folks have to relocate at once. Bel also talks about his experiences helping to administrate Gamepad.club. Finally, we talk about times when games decided to break their world or remove large chunks of content and why it didn’t work.

Topics Discussed

  • Adventures with the Library System
  • Bel gets a Library Card
  • The Libby App
  • Gideon the Ninth / Harrow the Ninth
  • The Last Watch

  • Catching up with Dresden

  • Character Questionnaires are Amazing

  • Using a Questionaire to help build character development in tabletop games.

  • Celeste Strawberry Jam

  • Beginner Lobby

  • Kodra plays with a Pillowcase on their Head

  • The Death of an Instance

  • What happens when a large Mastodon Instance closes

  • Bel helping admin Gamepad.club

  • Breaking the World Does Not Work

  • Guild Wars 2 Living World Season 1
  • World of Warcraft Cataclysm
  • Evequest 1 to Everquest 2
  • Destiny 2 Removing Content
  • FFXIV ARR did Work However

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! This week Bel has been playing Last Epoch quite a bit of late and has roped both Grace and Tam into it. We talk a bit about how the game has improved over time and how it compares to Diablo III and Path of Exile. From there Thalen and Tam talk a bit about their further experiences with Lord of the Rings Online. Kodra talks about his adventures in watching a live stage production of Bluey, and we talk a bit about the show in general. Tam shares his thoughts on Hi-Fi Rush and dives into a topic about the oddities of Steam Deck Compatibility.

Topics Discussed:

  • Last Epoch
  • Multiplayer Beta
  • Class Design

  • Comparisons with other ARPGs

  • Lord of the Rings Online

  • Bluey Big Play

  • The show in general

  • Hi-Fi Rush

  • Steam Deck Incompatibilities

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start off the show with a discussion that has been kicking around our list for a while, where Tam discusses the shared DNS of a Good Stealth Game and a Good Metroidvania. From there Kodra has had time to play Forspoken and talks about his experiences after last week's show. We dive into a discussion about the news coming out that no one seems to be signing up for E3 and once again we question if there really is a place for that show in the public consciousness. Lastly, we talk about some of the games that are supposed to be released this year and try and determine which we actually think are.

Topics Discussed

  • Shared DNA of Stealth games and Good Metroidvanias
  • More talk of Forspoken
  • Nobody is Going to E3
  • Games we doubt are releasing in 2023

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We start off the show with some updates about Wizards of the Coast and the OGL debacle that they are so rapidly trying to walk back. Are we going to forgive and forget or is the damage done? From there we talk a bit about Fire Emblem Engage and how it is quite different from previous Fire Emblem outings. Tam does his best to combat the bad press and shares with us his thoughts about Forspoken, and how it is actually a really good game.

From there we dive down a rabbit hole that is revisiting Lord of the Rings Online. We talk about how it has held up through the years and the interesting way that it is continuing to expand now that they have finished the main story arc of the books. We also talk a bit about what an interesting place the Landroval server is specifically.

Topics Discussed

  • Open Gaming License Update
  • Wizards Furiously Backpedals

  • What this means for the Movie

  • Fire Emblem Engage

  • Forspoken

  • Bad Press not Warranted

  • Lord of the Rings Online

  • New Content
  • Old MMORPG Sensibilities
  • Landroval Server

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Folks… after a year of trying to win the housing lottery in FFXIV, Belghast finally gets a house and in the same lot number that we used to have an FC House in Mists. From there Kodra talks about the tabletop game Middara and how it contains one of the best tutorials for a game that he has seen. One of the negative side effects of recording massive two-part games of the year show is there are hot topics that end up getting thrown on the back burner. From there we finally talk about the situation happening with Wizards of the Coast, the Open Gaming License, and the entire community abandoning ship. We talk a bit about Fog Sudoku and Kodra explains what exactly it is. From there we finish out the night talking about Marvel Midnight Suns and how in some ways it is a perfect game, and in other ways, it completely misses the point.

Topics Discussed

  • Housing Windfall in FFXIV
  • Middara is a Great Tutorial
  • Wizards of the Coast Burning
  • Self Own of 2023
  • Misunderstanding their Community

  • The rise of ORC and fall of OGL

  • Fog Sudoku

  • Marvel Midnight Suns

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! Welcome back to the second part of our yearly “Games of the Year Show”. I have to admit I greatly enjoy this process and probably this year more than many in the past. We had a wildly diverse set of games that the seven of us collectively chose this year. Over the course of these two shows, we talk about twenty-six different games. Often times there are a few big games that most of us played and put on our list, but this year we all had a pretty wild variety of choices.

I also feel like we have set a standard going forward, that we no longer will we do this nonsense where we record for four or five hours and then split it in half. Recording two normal shows seemed to feel much better and produce a better discussion. Hopefully, our listeners will agree. In this show, we tackle the second half of the list and burn through fourteen more games.

Topics Discussed

  • Fire Emblem Warriors Three Hopes
  • Peglin
  • Stepmaniax
  • Unsighted
  • Mindcrack for Celeste
  • Vampire Survivors
  • Stray
  • New World Brimstone Sands
  • Pokemon Legends Arceus
  • Tunic
  • Ooblets
  • Xenoblade Chronicles 3
  • Citizen Sleeper
  • Horizon Forbidden West

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! It is that time again for our multi-part episode as we talk about the games that were important to us specifically during 2022. A bit of a reminder for anyone who has not heard one of these shows before, we are not necessarily only talking about games that were released in 2022. If we were late playing a game but it was extremely important to us, it might still get the nod here.

Something that is working slightly differently this year is generally speaking we record a marathon show that runs about 3-4 Hours and then I crudely carves it up into multiple shows. However, what happens is we have one show that is full of short topics and another show that has all of the long discussions. This year I sorted the list so we got a blend of single honorable mention picks and meaty multi-member picks in the same show. We are also recording it two weeks apart so none of us have to deal with the late night that this show always brought on.Hopefully, the changes lead to a better listening experience. So in this episode, we are going to talk about the first half of our games of the year, and next week we will continue with the rest.Topics Discussed:

  • Digimon Survive
  • Pokemon Scarlet and Violet
  • TMNT Shedder’s Revenge
  • Trials of Mana
  • Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons
  • Elden Ring
  • Fallout 76
  • Star Ocean: The Divine Force
  • Wordle
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Cult of the Lamb
  • Path of Exile

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! The gang is all back at the same time… just in time to take a break effectively until after the new year. Because of how the holidays fall this year, we will not be recording shows for the next few weeks and returning after that with our usually two-part Games of the Year show.

This week we talk about more Twitter Madness and the time when a journalist misread the now-banned JoinMastodon account and created a fictitious person named John Mastodon that runs Mastodon. From there we talk about Tam’s epic journey in trying to find some way to comfortably use a push-to-talk key while playing games on a controller. We talk a bit about a few 2D games on the Steam Deck specifically Ghost Song and Salt and Sanctuary. After that, we talk about our progress in the Path of Exile Forbidden Sanctum league and just how much madness is associated with learning that game in general. Finally, we talk about playing Justin Roiland’s High On Life, a game about talky gunfriends.

Topics Discussed:

  • John Mastodon
  • 5 Year Epic Search for a Foot Pedal
  • Ghost Song
  • Salt and Sanctuary
  • Path of Exile
  • Forbidden Sanctuary Progress

  • The Madness of this Game

  • High on Life

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Tonight we start off with a bit of a correction from last week and I explain how I am no longer involved with Mstdn.games and why you maybe shouldn’t be either. We talk about Thalen’s trip to Japan and his adventures in Super Nintendo World among other things. From there we talk about a significant upgrade to Peglin and some of the quality of life improvements. Thalen talks about roaming around the Nuka World Tour in Fallout 76. We talk about The Game Trailer show aka The Game Awards and some of the things that caught our attention. It is a new Path of Exile league and we talk about our builds and the Forbidden Sanctum mechanic. Finally, Bel goes down a rabbit hole talking about folks who seem to only play Nintendo First Party titles.

Topics Discussed:

  • Correction from Last Week

  • Maybe Don’t Migrate to Mstdn.Games

  • Thalen’s Adventures in Japan

  • Massive Peglin Update
  • Nuka World Tour in Fallout 76
  • The Game Award Show

  • Our most notable trailers

  • Path of Exile

  • Forbidden Sanctum League

  • Our Builds

  • Attachment to First Party Titles

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We have our Grace back from moving but we are still down a Thalen and now an Ashgar. Tonight we start off with some discussion about Warhammer 40,000 Darktide and how it draws from roots like Left4Dead. Grace and Bel talk about their recent foray into Undecember which seems to be a happy middle ground between Diablo 3 and Path of Exile. Grace also talks about playing the Slime Rancher 2 Early Access and tending to adorable squishy faces. Bel talks about the impending launch of Mstdn.Games which is an attempt to fill a niche of missing Video Game devoted Mastodon Servers. Bel talks a bit about the New World server migration and how Themiscyra is no more and we have become Heliopolis. From there we dive into a discussion about screenshot capturing in games and specific “photo modes”. We talk about the Folding Ideas video essay called “Why It’s Rude to Suck at Warcraft” and this week's news that Blizzard is essentially done in China as their relationship with Net Ease disintegrates.

Topics Discussed

  • Warhammer 40k Darktide
  • Undecember
  • Slime Rancher 2
  • Launching Mstdn.Games
  • New World Migrations

  • Themiscyra becomes Heliopolis

  • Screenshots and Photo Modes

  • Why It’s Rude to Suck at Warcraft
  • Blizzard is Done in China

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

Hey Folks! We have a bit of a short show, maybe the shortest we have recorded in a long time. We start off with our recurring topic of Elon Musk and the Corporate Collapse Speedrun of Twitter. From there we dive into some preliminary discussion of Pokemon Scarlet and Violet. Last week during the show Kodra and Ash spent the entire time playing with a Hollow Knight Randomizer and we talk a bit about that process. From there we dive into the Intergalactic Aerospace Expo of 2952 in Star Citizen. Tam shares a few hardware topics about his new Flight Stick setup and migrating over to an Ultrawide display. Finally, Bel talks a little bit about his adventures in New World and hitting 200 in Armorsmithing.

Topics Discussed

  • Corporate Collapse Speedrun Week 4
  • Vox Populi, Vox Dei

  • Twitter is down to a few hundred employees

  • Pokemon Scarlet and Violet

  • Hollow Knight Randomizer Shenanigans
  • Star Citizen
  • Intergalactic Aerospace Expo 2952

  • Big Events in Games

  • Fun with Flight Sticks

  • Ultrawide vs 4k

  • Continuing to enjoy 1440p

  • New World Leveling Updates

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

In this show, we start off as we have the last several weeks with a discussion about the Corporate Collapse Speedrun that is Muskrat and Twitter. We don’t want to talk about it… but each week brand new levels of stupid nonsense keep happening. Bel talks about his mission to document “camps” and gear drops in New World and how he is having to unlearn some of his “Roleplaying Server” biases. Tam talks a bit about Battletech, Mechwarrior, and the mods that are currently available for both. Kodra talks a bit about being “Sudoku Famous” and having a puzzle featured on Cracking the Cryptic. Ash talks about revisiting Tactics Ogre Reborn now that it is actually on a platform he currently can play on. Tam talks about the Star Citizen Intergalactic Aerospace Expo coming up this week and some of the progress made for open worlds and race tracks. Finally, Bel makes a plea that if you are not watching Andor… you should get on that because it might be the best Star Wars to date.

Topics Discussed

  • Corporate Collapse Speedrun Week 3
  • Fun with Corporate Account Impersonation

  • Real-World Stock Price Consequences

  • New World Loot Drop Camps

  • Documenting Easy 590 Weapons

  • Unlearning Roleplaying Server Bias

  • Battletech, Mechwarrior, and Mod Support

  • Sudoku with Bases

  • Kodra was featured on Cracking the Cryptic

  • Tactics Ogre Reborn

  • Star Citizen: IAE
  • Watch Andor Please

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Tamrielo

This week was one of those shows when I was not entirely certain we had enough material. Yet in spite of that… we once again ran over our intended hour-long recording time. We start off the show with Ash engaging in some Bel-like mechanical nonsense and attempting to repurpose a dedicated dance pad into something more universal. From there we dive into some discussion about what is going on at Twitter this week and how it feels like somewhere between a guild falling apart and the closing of an MMORPG. Kodra talks about Overhaul… which is a roguelike Sudoku. He completely lost Bel when he got to the Sudoku part. From there we dive into a discussion about how weird and frustrating it can be to come back to a game after being gone for a very long time, and how none of them really do a great job of re-onboarding you.

Topics Discussed

  • Beethoven Virus

  • Adapting a dedicated dance pad to general purposes

  • Twitter and the Thanos Snap

  • Speedrunning the Death of a Company
  • Feels like playing a dying MMORPG

  • Mastodon doesn’t want to be the next Twitter

  • Overhaul

  • The Roguelike Sudoku

  • Returning to Games

  • Games Do a Bad Job of Re-Onboarding Returners

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have a bit of a weird show, where we start off talking about the nonsense happening over on Twitter with the Muskrat purchase of the company going through. Bel talks a bit about social media alternatives and how the administrators on the Fediverse/Mastodon instances are straining a bit under the load. From there we talk a bit about the community being angry at Magic, and Bel’s adventures in buying the cheapest Wish dot com proxies he could find. We continue to talk about New World and how Themiscyra is now open for business again. There are a number of interesting changes on the PTR and we talk through those. Finally, we land on Fallout 76, the game the other half of the show has been enjoying. The crew playing makes their way into The Pitt expedition and talks a bit about that experience.

Topics Discussed

  • Twitter Nonsense
  • Muskrat Buys Dumpster Fire

  • Fediverse Admins are Tired

  • Magic Debacle Continued

  • Bel’s Adventures in Cheap Proxies
  • Secret Lair Frustrations

  • Magic Vegas Frustrations

  • New World

  • Themiscyra Open for Business
  • Gathering still the best
  • Weird level-band problems

  • Upcoming changes

  • Fallout 76

  • Entering The Pitt

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

This week we had a full house with everyone on the podcast. With the way life has been lately this has been a rare treasure. We start off with some talk about Grace’s experiences in Torchlight Infinite and Kaichu. Ash talks a bit about Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom and how the entire Wonder Boy series is nonsense. Thalen shares his thoughts about the launch of Marvel Snap. Kodra talks a bit about Mario and Rabbids Spark of Hope and how wrong it is that the Rabbids can now talk. From there we dive into the New World Re-Roll and how in spite of our best intentions we still could not get everyone on the same damned server. Finally we wrap up with a little bit of talk about the not-MyLittlePony fighting game called Them’s Fightin Herds.

Topics Discussed

  • Torchlight Infinite
  • Kaichu
  • Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
  • Marvel Snap
  • Mario and Rabbids Spark of Hope
  • New World Re-roll

  • Fatal Flaw

  • Them’s Fightin Herds

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We start with a topic we did not get to last week and talk about the modern Digimon Card game. From there we talk about Fallout 76 and Thalen beginning the game, along with the various improvements that have happened over the years. We talk very briefly and very spoiler free about how good She-Hulk was. Kodra talks a bit about Taiji and its more approachable and less pretentious version of The Witness. Bel talks a bit about the Torchlight Infinite Open Beta and how you can actually use keybinds now. Ash talks about the card game roguelike Roguebook, and while Richard Garfield was involved it is nothing like Magic. Tam talks about how good the Leagues of Votann are and then dives into a topic about finding his white whale and how dumb limited availability items are.

Topics Discussed

  • Digimon Card Game
  • Fallout 76
  • She-Hulk was Phenomenal
  • Taiji
  • Torchlight Infinite is Playable
  • Roguebook
  • Squats are Back
  • Limited-Availability is Dumb

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Featuring: Ammosart, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

We talk about the controversy burning through the Magic the Gathering community of Wizards selling random boosters of unplayable proxies for $250 a pop. We talk a bit about how this has triggered condemnation from players and the finance community. From there Grace talks a bit about the Halloween event going on in Ooblets and the costumes you can earn by playing. Kodra talks about how maybe Mario Odyssey is a bridge too far regarding control scheme complexity for speed run tactics. We finally have a date for the New World Brimstone Sands patch release and we talk a bit about our plans, and how Amazon is seemingly bungling things again by not having the “Fresh Start” servers ready until November. We talk a little bit about video game redemption stories and how the tales of FFXIV and No Man’s Sky are seemingly way more common than they used to be. Finally, we dive into a discussion about Horror Films brought on by Bel’s recent series of top ten lists by sub-genre.

Topics Discussed

  • Magic the Gathering Money Grab
  • 30th Anniversary Proxy Set

  • $1000 for 60 cards

  • Ooblets Halloween Event

  • Mario Odyssey Control Scheme Complexity
  • New World Brimstone Sands on 10/18
  • Our reroll plans

  • Bungling Fresh Start Servers

  • Video Game Redemption Stories

  • An Ode to Horror Films
  • Bel’s Top Ten Lists
  • Science Fiction and Horror

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Featuring: Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen

We have one of our smallest shows in a really long time as we are down an Ammosart, Grace, Tamirleo, and lose Kodra about halfway through the show. This leads to a bit of an odd feeling show. Tonight we burn through a bunch of small topics starting with congrats to ChainChompBraden who beat a Mario Maker 1 map they built seven years ago… and have been grinding away on for thousands of hours. From there we talk about the Donkey Kong Adventures DLC for Mario and Rabbids. We talk about what appears to be the endless spoiler season of magic these days as Warhammer 40k, Dominaria United, Unfinity, and Brothers War fade into each other. We talk a bit about Rhythm games and while not inspired by Trombone Champ we talk a bit about that game as well. Bel talks about the early woes with Torchlight Infinite and how they appear to be buying legitimacy by hiring David Brevik as a consultant. Finally, we talk about what appears to be the second death of G4 Television.

Topics Discussed

  • Congratz to ChainChompBraden
  • Goodbye Stadia

  • The Future of Cloud Gaming

  • Mario and Rabbids Donkey Kong Adventures

  • Endless Magic the Gathering Spoiler Season
  • Rhythm Games

  • Trombone Champ

  • Torchlight Infinite

  • Buying Legitimacy

  • David Brevik Consultancy

  • The Second Death of G4

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks! We were expecting to be down both a Grace and a Tam but at the very last minute, Tam was available. We talked a bit about the new Return to Monkey Island game and how it is educating us on important anchor facts. From there we talk about one of the longest-to-deliver Kickstarter called Two Guys Spaceventure, which styles itself as a new Space Quest game but largely fails at delivering. From there we talk about the card games of Richard Garfield and what his initial design intent was versus how the games actually play. From there we talk a bit about Star Ocean: The Divine Force which has released a demo this week. We talked a bit about the announcement of the 4000 Series Nvidia cards and the 70% price increase that comes with them. We talked about how Twitch seems to be eating itself and the onslaught of folks shifting to YouTube after changes in revenue splits. Finally, Bel talks about getting a Steam Deck and how he has already caused his device to get into a boot loop. We talk a bit about how the hardware works so well for being a completely hands-off console for Tam but also allowing Bel to tinker endlessly with his setup.

Topics Discussed

  • Return to Monkey Island
  • Two Guys Spaceventure
  • As Garfield Intended
  • Pokemon
  • Magic the Gathering

  • Richard Garfield’s Intent

  • Star Ocean: The Divine Force Demo

  • Nvidia Price Hike
  • Don’t buy a 4000 Series Card

  • AMD Price Drops

  • Twitch Eats Itself

  • The migration to YouTube

  • Bricking the Steam Deck

  • Bel gets a Deck and Fiddles with it
  • Logitech G Cloud doesn’t make sense

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We start off the show with a hearty congratulations to Tam who will likely be out for a few weeks because he is in dad mode with a very “smol hume”. From there we talk a bit about the Fall of Babylon… or at least Babylon’s Fall and the game we never understood why it was a thing officially shuttering in February. It has been a very Not-E3 week as all major players had a significant presence at the Tokyo Game Show. More specifically we talk a lot about everything that came out of the Nintendo Direct. It is time for the Nightmare Tower in Guild Wars 2 as Season 1 Episode 4 drops, leaving we believe only one more episode to go before the story hole has officially been patched. Bel talks at length about his adventures on the New World PTR and more specifically some of the massive changes to how crafting works. From there we dive into a discussion about Path of Exile and how it isn’t really a “chill” game. When the game is good it is great, but when it is bad it is atrocious. As always though when we complain about games it comes from a place of love, because if we don’t really care… we just don’t talk about it.

Topics Discussed

  • Babylon’s Fall Shutdown
  • Tokyo Game Show
  • Nintendo Direct
  • New World PTR
  • Path of Exile Frustrations

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, and Thalen

Tonight we attempt to record a show that is only an hour in length but fail again overshooting by about fifteen minutes. We are down a Tam because life happens, and Kodra had to travel to Ash’s house to get internet… but we get a shot out the door regardless. We start off with a quick recap on the experience of starting Ooblets from scratch, then dive into a discussion about the next Shovel Knight game from a different studio. Ash talks a bit about his experiences with PAX West and we discuss games that evoke the style of a specific era in console games. This dives into a whole discussion about our console gaming experiences throughout the years. Bel talks a bit about the upcoming patch to New World and how it is completely changing the starting game experience for the better.

From there we dive into a discussion about Path of Exile and how spending some in-game currency on a build can make a massive difference. We talk about narrowing down the hunt for Atlas completion as Grace and Bel get close to wrapping that up. Then we dive into a side topic about how easy it is just to write off bad performance when maybe it is something you did to cause it. Essentially running Path of Exile on a mechanical drive makes a massive difference, and you really should use a high-quality SSD.

Topics Discussed

  • Ooblets
  • Shovel Knight Dig
  • PAX West
  • Retro Styled Games
  • New World Revitalization
  • Path of Exile
  • Spending lots of currency on a build

  • Closing in on Atlas Completion

  • Dealing with Bad Performance

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Featuring:  Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Folks!  What happens when we have a few weeks worth of Path of Exile discussion bottled up?  Well, apparently we record a two hour long show!  Bel was completely oblivious to how long we were recording in spite of the entire crew trying to warn him.  First, we have a few quick topics about Return to Oz and the launch of Ooblets on all platforms including Nintendo Switch.  From there we dive into a long discussion about our thoughts relating to Path of Exile as a whole and how the Lake of Kalandra league has gone.  We have different points of entry from those of us who have been grinding away at maps, and those who have yet to finish the campaign.  We also attempt to scare Kodra who thinks he has seen a lot of systems so far…  but has yet to unlock half of them.

Topics Discussed

  • Return to Oz
  • Ooblets Launch
  • Path of Exile
  • Lake of Kalandra League

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we come back with a normal show after our Questions and Answer session for episode 400. We were originally going to talk about the Path of Exile Kalandra League, but due to some technical difficulties Grace was unable to attend and we bumped that topic for another week. We start off with a few new titles that Tam has been playing, namely Eastward and Rollerdrome. The second of which most of us thought was going to be some new esports title, not a single player rollerderby shooter. From there we talk about the shocking news of the PS5 price going up specifically in Japan but also in every other market that is not the United States and the ramifications that might have. From there we pick up the Gaming Futurism topic from the 400th episode and dive into how Tam thinks the future is mobile. Then at the very end of the show we somehow ended up talking about World of Warcraft, and I am not entirely certain I can trace that journey.

Topics Discussed

  • Eastward
  • Rollerdrome
  • Sony PS5 Price hike and Japanese market
  • Epic Exclusivity and the Black Hole of their Storefront
  • Gaming Futurism
  • Accidental World of Warcraft topic

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight is a bit of an odd show because it is in fact our 400th episode of AggroChat. If you had told me in April of 2015 that we would still be doing the show in 2022… I probably would have given you some side-eye. However here we are and for the most part, AggroChat has above all other things… been a time that the seven of us hang out every single week both in the lead-up to the show and events that often spawn after the show. Last week after the show we kicked around the idea of doing something special, which ended up materializing into a Question and Answer session.

Huge thanks to our listeners who gave us some questions on the spur of the moment. The complete lack of planning… absolutely fits the overall theme of AggroChat as a show. We had a lot of fun answering the questions so who knows… maybe we will do another one of these at 500 or 600.

Topics Discussed

  • Listener Submitted Questions

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Sometimes a big week happens where there is a collision of events leading us to all want to talk about a game. We welcome Kodra back from GenCon 2022 and he talks about his experiences namely the LARPs he participated in and this leads to a discussion of Warmachine 4.0. From there we spend some time talking about the Path of Exile 3.19 Lake of Kalandra league reveal stream and the changes it is ushering in. Bel and Ammo talk a bit about Tower of Fantasy which seems to be a universally better version of Genshin Impact set in a science fiction borderlands/wildstar-like universe. Finally, we wrap things up with some talk about Cult of the Lamb where you sacrifice your friends for fun and profit.

Topics Discussed

  • GenCon 2022

  • LARPs

  • Warmachine 4.0

  • What is going on?

  • Path of Exile

  • 3.19 Lake of Kalandra Stream

  • Tower of Fantasy

  • Cult of the Lamb

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are down a Kodra because he is off enjoying GenCon. If you see a spot on Fred from Scooby Doo in GenCon photos, that would probably be him. We start with a topic that was purposefully bumped from last week because the ramifications were not specific yet. Essentially Star Citizen did a progress wipe and maybe got it wrong with a rounding error causing players to end up with way more money than they had before. From there we talk about the Festival of the Four Winds in Guild Wars 2 and some purposefully non-spoiler Sandman discussion. Bel talks a bit about trying out Kingdom Come Deliverance and how their attempt at a clever combat system blows but can largely be fixed with mods. From there we dive into a weird topic against gatekeeping and the joy of seeing people discovering Kate Bush. Then we dive into a Blizzard section as we talk about the cancellation of WoW Mobile, grouping issues in Diablo Immortal, and just general issues with Blizzard. Finally, we wrap things up with a little discussion about Xenoblade 3.

Topics Discussed:

  • Star Citizen 3.17.2
  • Wipes
  • Stipends
  • Content Drop

  • Problems

  • Guild Wars 2

  • Festival of the Four Winds

  • No Spoiler Sandman

  • Kingdom Come Deliverance

  • Fixing it with Mods

  • A Case Against Gatekeeping

  • The Return of Kate Bush

  • WoW Mobile Cancelled

  • Exploring the potential whys

  • Diablo Immortal Grouping Problems

  • 100k Whale can’t get a group

  • Blizzard Woes

  • Xenoblade 3 Rocks

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are back and instead of Bel being sick this time we have Kodra who sounds awful. First up we start with a discussion about Tam’s experiences with the Steam Deck and how it is a phenomenal device. From there we talk about Tam dropping down to 1440p high framerate after spending time running at 4K and how he has been a better experience. Ash talks about Digimon Survive finally released and his experiences with the game. Bel gets into Dragonflight Alpha for World of Warcraft and talks about his first few weeks. From there we talk about some of the early experiences with Multiversus and the high-quality smash bros style gameplay. Kodra talks about the upcoming Kickstarter for Nara: Facing Fire. Tam talks about Anno: Mutationem and its interesting take on Cyberpunk and that it is not at all connected to the Anno Series. Finally, we wrap up with some discussion of the recent Ocarina of Time TAS play for Summer Games Done Quick.

Featured Topics

  • Steam Deck Ownership
  • Downgrading to 1440p
  • Digimon Survive Released
  • Dragonflight Alpha
  • Multiversus
  • Nara: Facing Fire
  • Anno: Mutationem
  • SGDQ Ocarina of Time TAS

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We are back! Bel was sick last week from an unknown illness that is very likely, not Covid and as such we did not record. Tonight we had a wealth of topics and in the end, made it through very few of them. We start off by talking about one of Ash’s comfort games Okami and his recent experiences playing through it on the PlayStation 4. From there we talk about Stray and how Bel and Grace have deeply mixed feelings about it and Tam loved it. Since it is always fun to dunk on NFT projects, we talk about Microsoft decimating NFTWorld by declaring that there will be no NFT projects associated with Minecraft. While this is a bit of an old topic we talk about the return of E3 and how Reed Pop will be running the show in 2023. We also talk about what this might mean for a shift in the show from being largely industry-focused to more fan service. Finally, a number of us have reached the end game of Path of Exile and we talk about those experiences.

Topics Discussed

  • Okami
  • Stray
  • NFTWorld Burns
  • Reed Pop and E3
  • Path of Exile Endgame

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have a show where we are mostly discovering games that have been out for a very long time. We start off with Rimworld and Tam’s adventures in this story generation engine. From there we talk about Wolfstride and how it is a very 90s anime representation of a video game. From there Tam talks a bit about the Star Citizen Guide program that links someone needing help with a live person to help them, and how recent changes have made that system work strangely. Finally, we dive into Path of Exile and how the rabbit hole has widened and captured most of us. We talk about confronting the passive tree and the weird edge case builds it can support along with some early multiplayer experiences. We also talk a bit about how important it is for games to support a controller and a mouse and keyboard to meet the players where they are most comfortable. Finally, we dive a bit into the microtransactions within Path of Exile and their general acceptance.

Topics Discussed

  • Rimworld Adventures
  • Wolfstride

  • Very 90s Anime Game

  • Star Citizen’s Guide System

  • Echos of Everquest Guide System

  • Path of Exile

  • The rabbit hole widens
  • Multiplayer experiences
  • Controller Support in ARPGs
  • Acceptance of MTX

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

We did not record a show last week because the news of our country was a bit too fresh for most of us to talk about video games. Now another week has passed and the wound has begun to scab over a bit. Tonight we start down a Thalen and Grace but eventually pick up a Thalen as we go. We talk about Summer Games Done Quick and have an aside about Wiley Wars coming to the Switch. From there folks talk about Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge and trying to play it six-player on a console that does not support that. From there Bel talks about falling back into Diablo III and finishing out Season 26… while also playing a horrible ideas class that is really bad at boosting friends. From there Bel talks about his recent experience diving down the Path of Exile rabbit hole. Guild Wars 2 made many changes that were not well received by the most hardcore players, but we largely think they are a good thing and talk about that. Finally, we wrap up with a quick discussion about Outriders Worldslayer and how it is still a very bleak game, but also a great mechanical experience if you can get past that.

Topics Discussed

  • Summer Games Done Quick

  • Wiley Wars on Switch

  • Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

  • Diablo III Season 26
  • Bad Ideas Build

  • Being a Bad Carry

  • Path of Exile

  • Bel Goes Down this Rabbit Hole

  • Guild Wars 2 Massive Changes

  • Outriders Worldslayer
  • Still a Bleak Game

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight was a weird show. Firstly we are recording this show on Belghast’s Birthday, which in our almost 400 episodes I am not sure we have actually recorded on one of our Birthdays before. We set out with the mission of recording a show about the “Not E3” festivities that have been going on but get sidetracked as one does. Instead, we go down a path of talking about Diablo Immortal once again, but from the standpoint of how exactly one should be funding game development. Clearly, the NetEase and Blizzard team chose violence, but how exactly does one fund modern game development costs when the market has shown that if the price trickles up from $60… folks freak out. From there we do eventually return to talking about Sony, Microsoft, and whatever Geoff Keighly is running that now serves as the replacement for E3.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel’s Birthday
  • Diablo Immortal Again
  • Funding Games Ethically
  • Gamepass Model
  • Microsoft Show
  • Silksong
  • Valheim Cross Play between Gamepass and Steam
  • Star Citizen, Starfield, and the era of Space Games
  • Redfall
  • The Gamesir X2 controller reprised

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, and Thalen

Tonight’s show is a bit of a strange one. We had a bunch of absences and at the start of the show, it was just Ammo, Bel, and Thalen. Then as we recorded a wild Ash and Kodra appear, but this does have the effect of causing a few topics to be rehashed. We start talking about the nonsense that Bel is doing where he attempts to fix the episode gap on YouTube and re-releases the original 73 episodes. We dive into Guild Wars 2 and specifically the Living World Season 1 and the current Dragon Bash event. Bel reprises the topic of Diablo Immortal this week and talks about having gotten to level 56 and all of the many monetization traps in that game. Then Thalen talks about his experiences playing Talos Principle and Stanley Parable. Kodra appears and we reprise the Guild Wars 2 topics a bit before Bel dives into a discussion about the universally good changes coming to New World.

Topics Discussed

  • Re-releasing Original AggroChat Episodes
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Living World Season 1 Chapter 2

  • Dragon Bash

  • Diablo Immortal

  • The Grind
  • Lootbox Bait and Switch

  • $450 Gem

  • Talos Principle

  • Stanley Parable
  • Guild Wars 2 Revisited
  • New World Upcoming Changes

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen Tonight we go back to our normal format and open up talking about Kodra teaching Eli how to play some Pokemon TCG, and how the last time several of us played that game was during the Wizards of the Coast era. From there Grace and Bel talk about Gunfire Reborn, a game where you play anthropomorphic animals with guns in a roguelike… that occasionally features lizards as weapons. Bel talks about his experiences playing Diablo Immortal and we talk a bit about its very predatory monetization scheme. Tam talks about his experiences attempting to get into the very obtuse X4 series and obligatory comparisons to Star Citizen. We talk briefly about Star Trek Strange New Worlds and how it is a pretty good onramp to the Trek franchise. This also ends up in a bit of a brief discussion about the new Kenobi miniseries of Disney Plus.

Topics Discussed

  • Pokemon TCG with Youngsters
  • Gunfire Reborn
  • Diablo Immortal
  • Predatory Monetization
  • X4: Foundations
  • Star Citizen
  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
  • Kenobi Miniseries

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we sit down to record the first “Aggrochat Game Club show”-like experience that we have done in a really long time. A few weeks back a copy of Citizen Sleeper showed up in our steam libraries courtesy of Tam, and after several played it… we set forth to eventually have a single show where we talked about it at length. The major benefit of this is that for the most part, it is a relatively short game, and also has a wide myriad of possible outcomes. This led to some interestingly varied experiences including one where Bel just played the game wrong entirely and made it out on the other side with a good ending. This is a full spoiler show about Citizen Sleeper so I highly suggest if you have not played the game… that you might do so and come back later.

Topics Discussed

  • Citizen Sleeper

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we are down a Grace and a Kodra but carry on with the long list of topics left over from last week. We start the show with a discussion of Trek to Yomi and how it is the video game form of a samurai movie. Bel revisits New World and talks about all of the improvements, and how it is very unlikely to change anything population-wise. Folks played Necromunda in person using the 2018 rules set and share their experiences. Bel talks a bit about his rabbit hole from last week of looking at just how far off Kickstarter estimated delivery dates are for Video Games. Finally, we talk some more about Star Citizen and the 3.17 patch, along with some long-time daydreaming about a world where Tam gets to ferry us around the galaxy going on delves through abandoned space hulks.

Topics Discussed

  • Trek to Yomi
  • New World Improvements
  • Necromunda
  • Kickstarter Nonsense Estimates
  • Star Citizen 3.17
  • Always Pay Your Sheep in PVP

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Last week was mothers day and travel and such led to us not being able to record a show. As is often the case we ended up with a long list of topics and not enough time to address them all. First, we talk about the curious intersection of Pachinko and Roguelikes and more specifically Peglin and Roundgaurd… and its pinball-focused cousin Yoku’s Island Express. Thalen shares with us the joy of the Squirrelgirl Podcast. We talk a bit about the odd but obvious cross-over event between EVE Online and Microsoft Excel. We dive a bit into Guild Wars 2 and talk about how apparently Bel is actually doing PVP now, not just WvW. We also congratulate Kodra on getting his Skyscale mount and talk a bit about the long grinds. From there Thalen discusses the DIE Pen and Paper system. From there we talk a bit about the recent streamer bans for running addons and the whole debacle causing rifts in the community. Lastly, we talk a bit about bringing back the AggroChat Game of the Month… sorta… because we are going to all play Citizen Sleeper and then record a show about it.

Topics Discussed

  • The intersection of Pachinko and Roguelikes
  • Peglin
  • Roundguard

  • Yoku’s Island Express

  • Squirrel Girl Podcast

  • EVE Online and Excel Crossover
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Someone replaced Bel and is doing PVP

  • Kodra gets a Skyscale

  • DIE the Pen and Paper Game

  • Final Fantasy XIV Addon Debacle
  • AggroChat Game of the Month Returning Sorta
  • Citizen Sleeper Show Soon

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Tonight we start off with an apology about missing last week due to severe weather. We did the thing where we accidentally talked about things we should have talked about on the show… and roll straight into a discussion about Drizzlewood and Living World Season 5. From there we talk a bit about the World of Warcraft Dragonflight announcement. This dives into a topic about how the failed state of Warcraft has helped so many games that are not Final Fantasy XIV and the odd thriving condition of legacy games. We talk a bit about Flowstone Saga and vampire Survivors. Then we dive into what ends up being a full spoiler discussion of Outriders that starts with some discussion about the expansion coming in June. We attempt to wrap things up with the Stanley Parable, but get into an offshoot at the end of the show about Marvel shows.

Topics Discussed

  • Guild Wars 2
  • Drizzlewood is Great

  • Chapter 5 of Living World 5 is NOT

  • World of Warcraft Dragonflight

  • WoW Failing Helped Everyone Out

  • Talk about various MMORPGs that are thriving right now

  • Flowstone Saga

  • Vampire Survivors

  • More Weird Additions

  • Outriders Worldslayer

  • FULL Outriders Spoilers

  • The Stanley Parable Ultra Deluxe

  • Impromptu Marvel Discussion

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we talk about Bel and his dumb luck that seems to follow him from game to game. More specifically we talk about three exceedingly rare things that took place in short order after he came back to Guild Wars 2. From there we talk a bit about the community and how awesome they are. We also talk a bit about wrapping up Path of Fire and Living World Season 4. From there we talk about Wobbledogs, which comes from of grand tradition of griefing each other with games… but this time in a good way. Finally we talk a bit about Kirby and the Forgotten Land and more specifically Ultimate Cup Z.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel’s Dumb Luck
  • Guild Wars 2
  • Path of Fire Wrap Up
  • Living World Season 4 Wrap Up
  • Fun with Mounts

  • The Great Community

  • Wobbledogs

  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Ultimate Cup Z

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have the very first live show in three weeks. As a result a bunch of stuff happened in the meantime. We talk about some early experiences with Tunic, and then get into some discussion about Liars Day news turned true. League of Votann is a thing and represents the return of “Squats” or Space Dwarves to Warhammer 40,000. We also talk a bit about how the meta is currently collapsing because of the overpowered nature of Harlequins. From there we talk about the shocking return of Colossal Cave Adventure and Monkey Island. We talk a bit about the experiences with Kirby and the Forgotten Land, then dive into some discussion about Guild Wars 2 and the return of Super Adventure Box and Living World Season 1.

Topics Discussed

  • Tunic
  • Squats are Back

  • League of Votann

  • 40,000 Meta Collapse

  • Harlequin Problem

  • Colossal Cave Adventure

  • Monkey Island
  • Kirby and the Forgotten Land
  • Super Adventure Box
  • Living World Season 1
  • Gloomhaven Digital

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Friends! It is finally that time where we record our big full spoiler show for Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker expansion. It has become tradition to record one of these when all of our crew have played through the expansion and yesterday afternoon Kodra finally finished it. We also ended up recording for far longer than we have EVER recorded for one of these shows. We started about an hour early and still finished up two hours late for a grand total of around four hours of podcast to edit.

The end result is that we are chopping this down into three separate shows which is a first for us. We have a storied history of double episodes but never a triple. This week we have the final of this sequence. Hopefully you enjoy the show, and if Final Fantasy XIV is not your jam then I guess we will see you hopefully in a couple weeks for more live shows.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Friends! It is finally that time where we record our big full spoiler show for Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker expansion. It has become tradition to record one of these when all of our crew have played through the expansion and yesterday afternoon Kodra finally finished it. We also ended up recording for far longer than we have EVER recorded for one of these shows. We started about an hour early and still finished up two hours late for a grand total of around four hours of podcast to edit.

The end result is that we are chopping this down into three separate shows which is a first for us. We have a storied history of double episodes but never a triple. This week we have part two of this sequence. Hopefully you enjoy the show, and if Final Fantasy XIV is not your jam then I guess we will see you hopefully in a couple weeks for more live shows.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Grace, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Hey Friends! It is finally that time where we record our big full spoiler show for Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker expansion. It has become tradition to record one of these when all of our crew have played through the expansion and yesterday afternoon Kodra finally finished it. We also ended up recording for far longer than we have EVER recorded for one of these shows. We started about an hour early and still finished up two hours late for a grand total of around four hours of podcast to edit.

The end result is that we are chopping this down into three separate shows which is a first for us. We have a storied history of double episodes but never a triple. Hopefully you enjoy the show, and if Final Fantasy XIV is not your jam then I guess we will see you hopefully in four weeks?

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we have a bit of an odd show to usher in sleep theft weekend. First we talk about Bel’s descent into madness… that is getting super engaged in Guild Wars 2. He spent the last week chain running World Bosses and talks about how freaking fun that is. From there we talk about some of the long grind systems and how there are multiple paths for different playstyles to reach the same ultimate goal. From there we dust off a topic that has been sitting on the list for a long while, that was originally inspired by Warhammer 40,000 but applies to a lot of different games. Largely we discuss how the most hardcore players represent the smallest portion of the community, but also are the ones that set the pace that everyone else is forced to live up to. This covers a wide swath of topics from Magic the Gathering to MMO Chain Pulling to even the death of New World. It is one wild ride of a show.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel’s further descent into Guild Wars 2
  • The Joy of Chain Running World Bosses

  • The Good Long Grinds

  • Catering to the minority in games

  • How the most competitive players set the rules of the community
  • Warhammer 40,000
  • FFXIV and MMO Chain Pulling
  • Magic the Gathering
  • Netdecking

  • Missing Jank Magic

  • Destiny 2

  • Death of Skill Based Matchmaking

  • New World and how catering to a minority is killing game

  • Missing the innocence of being able to be bad

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Featuring: Ammosart, Ashgar, Belghast, Kodra, Tamrielo, and Thalen

Tonight we start off talking about the weird game Babylon’s Fall and how it potentially had the worst launch ever of a big budget looter style game. With a steam launch of concurrent users in the neighborhood of 350 players… we talk about what went wrong. From there we discuss Warhammer 40,000 and the release of new Craftworld army lists. So in a weird turn of events… Bel apparently likes Guild Wars 2 now? He finally lands on a class that feels the way he wanted Warrior to feel… and it is apparently a caster. We also talk a bit about End of Dragons expansion and how well Cantha appears to be received. From there we dive into a topic that is sure to anger many listers about what it means for Open World gaming to be done “Right”. This mainly involves a discussion of Breath of the Wild, Elden Ring, Horizon series, and even some discussion of things like open world Assassin’s Creed games.

Topics Discussed

  • Babylon’s Fall

  • Worst Looter Start Yet

  • Warhammer 40,000

  • Craftworlds

  • Aspects are Finally Good Again

  • Bel Apparently likes GW2

  • Necromancer is Caster Tank

  • End of Dragons

  • Fun in Cantha

  • Open World Done Right

  • Breath of the Wild
  • Elden Ring
  • Horizon Series

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Tonight we have a blend of new topics and bumped topics starting with discussion of recent plays of Chicory, and how the musical soundtrack is phenomenal. Ash talks a bit about how maybe there are games with too much complexity… more specifically Xenoblade 2. From there Kodra talks about his first major VR game experience with Psychonauts Rhombus of Ruin. We contemplate what the heck a Disco Elysium TV Show might look like. Tam talks about his experiences with the latest Total Warhammer game. Finally we finish the show with a long discussion about Elden Ring and how maybe most of the game reviews are a little biased.

Topics Discussed

  • Chicory is Great
  • Xenoblade 2
  • Psychonauts Rhombus of Ruin
  • Disco Elysium TV Show
  • Total Warhammer III
  • Elden Ring
    • Problems with Game Reviews

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Tonight we talk about how constructed Kamigawa is a challenge and how effectively there are only so many viable decks that you can build. From there we talk about Vampire Saviors a game that Bel griefed Ashgar with and he has been playing at length. Grace discovers Chronicon, a game that we would consider the perfect diablo clone… if it had reasonable graphics. Finally we dive into a long discussion about our earlier feelings about Horizon Forbidden West, a game that has in large part consumed most of the cast since its release on Friday. There is a weird diatribe about dpads and the importance of a good one as well as a quick blurb about how Psychonauts does not maybe hold up as well from a representation of mental health aspect.

Topics Discussed

  • Kamigawa is Hard
  • Vampire Saviors
  • Chronicon
  • Horizon Forbidden West

  • Initial Thoughts

  • Diatribe about DPads

  • Psychonauts Holds up Less Well

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We start off with a quick update on Elden Ring and how From Software is working on fixing the exploit prior to launch. From there we spent quite a bit of time talking about the Nintendo Direct that happened last week and the interesting and wildly unexpected things that came out of it. We talk a bit about the Lost Ark launch and how only one of us is actually playing it. From there we talk some more about Control and how Grace has beat the main campaign now and Tam is working his way through it. Bel talks about his fixation on Remedy games and playing Alan Wake and Quantum break. Kodra talks about replaying Psychonauts 1 in order to prepare for the sequel. Finally we dive into a topic about how games can make it a net positive to see other players in the open world.

Topics Discussed

  • Updates about Elden Ring
  • Nintendo Direct News
  • Lost Ark Launch
  • Control
  • Quantum Break
  • Bouncing off Prey 2017
  • Psychonauts 1
  • In Game Events
  • How to make seeing other players a good thing

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One of the things about AggroChat is we very often rarely get into a game when it is new, which leads to us putting several titles on our games of the year list that are several years old. This week Belghast finally got around to playing Control and is now trying to hook everyone else on it. From there we talk a bit about the cyberpunk state of Guild Wars 2 End of Dragons and how Cantha is now a high tech kingdom. Keeping the cyberpunk theme going we talk about Kamigawa Neon Dynasty. Ash talks a bit about Trials of Mana and their New Game Plus system that allows you to easily see how the OTHER party would have finished the game. From here we roll into a discussion about the most recent controversy going on with Star Citizen. Then we wrap things up with a few quick topics like how Elden Ring might have a serious security vulnerability. Then Kodra talks for a bit about Kaizo Mario and how maybe things aren’t as difficult as folks seem to think they are. Topics Discussed * Control * Jade Cyberpunk Cantha * Neon Cyberpunk Kamigawa * Trials of Mana New Game Plus * Transparency in Game Dev + Aka Star Citizen Recent Controversy

  • Elden Ring potential exploits
  • Celeste.smc and Kaizo Mario

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Hey Folks! Tonight we dive into a few topics that we did not have time for last week. First off Grace shares their adventures in Wytchwood, a game largely about crafting interesting potions. From there we talk briefly about first impressions with a wildly different Pokemon game, Arceus. From there we talk a bit about Chorus which dives into a longer topic about games that try different things without fully committing to them. This brings forth a long discussion about minigames and breaking up the rhythm of a game without doing it poorly. Kodra talks a bit about Celeste.smc which is a version of Celeste playable on the Super Nintendo. Then we wrap things up with a quick discussion about God of War on the PC and Bel’s thoughts in playing through it.

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Tonight we are trying to get back into the swing of regularly recording shows. It was a bit of an odd week because no one saw Microsoft acquiring Activision Blizzard King before it was announced. We talk about this a bit, and Game Pass… then Bel shares a whole bunch of games that he has been playing from Game Pass. We also talk a bit about a game called OneShot that Kodra has been spending some time playing.

Topics Discussed

  • Microsoft Buys ActiBlizz
  • Game Pass
  • Nobody Saves the World
  • New Super Lucky’s Tale
  • Oneshot
  • Old School Adventure Games
  • Wadjet Eye Games
  • Interactive Fiction
  • The Gunk
  • Forza Horizon 5
    • Car MMOs

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Hey folks it is that time again, time for the Games of the Year show. As is often the case we ended up with way too many things to talk about and could in no way fit them into a single show. As a result this week I bring you the continuation of last week's show as we run through the second batch of games. We covered twelve games in the first show and we cover the last seven games in this show. As you can tell when we go further into the list more active discussion happens as there is a bit more overlap in the titles.

Without further waffling, I bring you the second round of discussion.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy VII Remake - Intergrade
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
  • Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  • Valheim
  • Wildermyth
  • Ratchet and Clank Rift Apart
  • Final Fantasy XIV / Endwalker

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Hey folks it is that time again, time for the Games of the Year show. As is often the case we ended up with way too many things to talk about and could in no way fit them into a single show. As a result I will bring you part one this week and next week it will conclude with part two. We have nineteen games to discuss this year, which means we left some ten honorable mentions on the cutting room floor just because there was nowhere near enough time. This is probably the most diverse list of games that we have compiled because as a group there was not a whole lot of overlap in the titles we played this year.

Without further waffling I bring you the first round of discussion.

Topics Discussed:

  • How we Choose Games
  • Ghost of Tsushima - Director’s Cut
  • Cozy Grove
  • Boyfriend Dungeon
  • Celeste
  • Chicory a Colorful Tale
  • Deathloop
  • Deltarune
  • Haven
  • Psychonaut 2
  • Subnautica Below Zero
  • Tales of Arise
  • Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries

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Hey Folks! Sorry for no show last week but Bel was not able to record. If you follow him on social media you might have an idea of the weekend he had. Additionally we should probably talk about how this is going to be our last show of the year. Time and space has conspired to make it so our recording days for the next two weeks are Christmas Day and New Years Day which yeah… are not going to be days we record on. So instead we will see you again in the new year with our traditional “Games of the Year” show.

Tonight however we start off by talking about how generally hard it is to actually play Final Fantasy XIV. From there Bel talks about the Bungie 30th anniversary event and what he has been doing instead of FFXIV since he finished the MSQ. From there we talk a bit about Warframe and how the beginning of a new year tends to be when Ash revisits the game. We talk briefly about the Game Awards 2021 and how Tunic finally has a release date. Tam talks about his experiences playing Summoner in FFXIV Endwalker. We then talk about crossing the uncanny valley with the Matrix Awakens Unreal 5 Tech Demo. Finally we wrap things up talking about how freaking cool the Neon Kamigawa Lands are and how probably hard it will be to get our hands on them.

Topics Discussed

  • Not Being able to play FFXIV Endwalker
    • Ceasing Sale of Product
  • Bungie 30th Anniversary Event in Destiny 2
  • Warframe
  • Game Awards 2021
    • Tunic Release Date
    • FFXIV Winning Awards
  • Summoner in FFXIV
  • Matrix Awakens Unreal 5 Tech Demo
  • Neon Kamigawa Lands

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Tonight we start the show with a discussion of the Endwalker Head Start… which may or may not have started depending on if you can make it through the queues. We talk about our early struggles with the game and some general impressions in a fully non-spoilers way. From there Kodra talks about his process of learning how to speedrun Celeste. A topic that has been on our list for awhile is a discussion about Homebrew and House Rules and why this exist or when they go wrong. Ash talks a bit about Fuga: Melodies of Steel and how it appears to be a passion project for CyberConnect2. We wrap up with a discussion of New World’s latest patch on PTR and how they are making it impossible to avoid the Watermark Grind.

Topics Discussed

  • Endwalker Early Access
    • Nearly 400% increase in Steam over Shadowbringers
    • Five Hour Queues
    • Early Impressions
  • Learning to Speedrun Celeste
  • Homebrewing
    • When Designers Get it Wrong
    • House Rules and Negotiation
    • Enhancing Fun
  • Fuga: Melodies of Steel
  • New World December Update
    • Killing Value of High End Crafting
    • Forcing the Watermark Grind

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Hey Folks! Tonight we are down Grace and Ammo but push on with our ever growing list of topics. We start with some discussion about the Stellaris expansion where you can become the Crisis at the end of the game featuring some interesting asymmetrical gameplay. From there Bel talks a bit about the current failed state of New World and the degenerative gameplay of “pay for dungeon runs”. From there we talk about the importance of numbers and whether or not we as players should actually see them. We wrap things up with a discussion about Game Dev and how what is meant by a beta has changed over the years, specifically with the “very alpha” Star Citizen.

Topics Discussed

  • Stellaris
    • Becoming the Crisis
    • Aquatic Races
  • New World
    • Failed State of the Game
    • Buying a Seat in a Dungeon Run
    • Patch 1.1 Lost the game over 200k players
  • The Importance of Numbers
    • When you want to see them
    • When you maybe don’t
  • Game Dev
    • Star Citizen
    • Betas and Alphas
    • Gamer brain vs Dev brain
  • Kodra Streaming Speed Runs
  • Bel Revisiting Cyberpunk 2077

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Tonight we are down a few people for various reasons and Bel is hanging on by a thread because he managed to schedule his Covid booster on Friday. We start off with a discussion of the Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker delay and how in theory we would have all been playing the game in another world. In news we never thought we would cover, Fallen Earth has come back from the dead and is actually better than any of our memories. From there we discuss Guardians of the Galaxy, that game we all thought would be another Avengers Flop but has apparently turned out to be pretty dang good. Bel talks a bit about the Outriders New Horizon patch and the changes it made ot the game including a full transmog system. Finally Tam discusses his experiences with Star Citizen and how it is way more of a fleshed out game than he ever expected at this point. Additionally we talk about the free trial that is going on right now.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Delay
  • Fallen Earth rises from the grave
    • Better than our memories
  • Guardians of the Galaxy
    • Not another Avengers Failure
    • Fjording the Uncanny Valley
  • Outriders New Horizon
    • Balance Improvements
    • Cosmetic Transmog System
  • Star Citizen in 2021
    • Free Trial Period

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Our general policy of just winging it has bit us in the butt several times in a row. Belghast solved the fading in and fading out thing, but this apparently introduced a whole new issue. As a result the audio levels are all over the chart for this episode from barely audible to booming loud. This left us with the challenge of trying to determine if it was even worth releasing at all. After some cleaning up the show is in a more manageable state but be warned… It is not good. As a result we are going to have to reinstitute our previous policy of doing a soundcheck before diving into the show.

Tonight Bel talks a lot about his experiences in the end game of New World. After that we talk a bit about Sable and a pilgrimage to find which mask represents you in the world. Thalen shares with us DIE a comic and board game about what would have happened if the Dungeon and Dragons Cartoon kids were sucked back into that world again. Finally we talk a bit about the emotional rollercoaster that is Unpacking.

Topics Discussed

  • New World
    • Being Level 60
    • Syndicate Losing our PVPers
    • The Priest Camp
    • The Zerg
  • Sable
    • Which Mask Represents You?
  • DIE
    • Zumanji meets D&D Cartoon
    • Board Game
  • Unpacking
    • Emotional and Literal Baggage

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Last week we brought you the Epilogue show for the patch content following the release of Shadowbringers that brings that core story to a close. This week we dive into the content following that, namely patches 5.4, 5.5, and 5.55 that serve as the prologue to the events that we will be experiencing starting November 19th with the release of Endwalker. I feel like we probably know less about what is going to happen going into this expansion than we have previously, but we talk about what takes place and what we do know about the future. We also talk a bit about our mixed feelings regarding specifically the villains that we are going into this expansion with.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV Shadowbringers
    • Patch 5.4 - Futures Rewritten
    • Patch 5.5 - Death Unto Dawn - Part 1
    • Patch 5.55 - Death Unto Dawn - Part 2
    • Discussion of the Endwalker Media Tour

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About a month ago we were being nostalgic about that time when we used to do a spoiler show for a Final Fantasy XIV expansion, and then do a final show talking about all of the content that releases after the expansion and leading into the next. We had a few folks that were not caught up and we set a date in time of wanting to record this show on the 30th, just ahead of the Endwalker release mania. Last night we recorded this show and quickly realized there was no way that we were going to cram it all into a single episode. So as a result I bring you the Shadowbringers Epilogue show today covering patches 5.1, 5.2, and the wrap up of the Shadowbringers related story in 5.3.

Next week we will bring out the Endwalker Prologue show because really the 5.4, 5.5, and 5.55 content is teeing up the beginning of the next expansion more than resolving anything related to Shadowbringers. I hope you as listeners enjoy both of these shows and it should go without saying that these are going to be full spoiler episodes as we cover everything we can remember that happened in each of the patches.

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Tonight without really meaning to, we recorded an entire show that is nothing but New World topics. Firstly we talk about Belghast and Eliyon being the first in the company to hit level 60 and some of the realities of doing max level content. We talk about how Minda is now a famous server because of a dramatic event that took place as the last Covenant guild on the server threw the fight for Mourningdale. From there we talk a bit about the general economic woes of the game and how everything is either massively valuable or utterly worthless.

Topics Discussed

  • Paizo Unionization Recognized
  • Hitting 60 in New World
  • Jade and the Great Territory Throw
  • New World Economy Woes
  • Comparisons with Everquest

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Tonight apparently there is something funky going on with Bel’s Mic and he fades in and out at weird times. First off we talk a bit about Paizo and their efforts to Unionize. Bel talks a bit about having reached level 80 in all of his battle jobs in Final Fantasy XIV. From there we talk about Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous, Unsighted, and revisit Wildermyth. We talk a bit about what happens when you make cataclysms happen 100 years earlier in Stellaris. Then we finish things out with some New World updates.

Topics Discussed

  • Paizo Unionization Efforts
  • Bel Finishes FFXIV Battle Jobs
  • Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous
  • Unsighted
  • Wildermyth
    • Ballad of Brey and Royhen
  • Stellaris
    • Adventures in Turning Up the Crisis
  • New World Updates

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Tonight we return to some discussion about New World and how the promised server moves don’t seem like they are going to work out as we thought. The end result is the server queues are gone from Minda but we have a handful of people isolated on servers in a different region. We talk about some of Kodra’s woes in attempting to run PVP Faction missions solo. From there we talk a bit about Tabletop Simulator and some of the interesting ways it allows you to play board games virtually during the pandemic. We talk a bit about Tales of Arise and some of the issues it has with not really explaining clearly where a player should go next. We wrap things up with some discussion of Kodra finally beating Celeste and moving on to the modded version of the game including Glyph.

Topics Discussed:

  • New World
    • Awful Server Move Strategy
    • Issues with Solo PVP
    • Good Systems
  • Tabletop Simulator
    • Virtual Miniature Gaming
    • Magic Commander/EDH
    • Playtesting
  • Tales of Arise
  • Beating Celeste
    • Moving on to Modded Celeste

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Tonight we are back after taking last week off for Tam’s wedding.  We also record an exceptionally long show because we got into the topic…  and were not watching the clock terribly closely.  So it clocks in at around an hour and forty minutes of talking about Amazon’s New World release and all of the good and bad that comes with that.  While this makes for an interesting show…  it makes for some pretty boring show notes.

Topics Discussed

  • New World Launch
  • Infrastructure Woes
  • Great Game Though
  • Server Transfers

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This evening we are down a Grace and went through a whole carnival of tech issues before the show, and as such were delated getting started. Bel starts the show off talking about finding a batch of WoW Screenshots he thought were lost, and it turns out that no… he likely deleted them on purpose due to the cavalcade of raid drama documented. The Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 66 was a seven-hour-long presentation talking bout the new job skills and various other system changes. We spend a good chunk of the night talking through some of the changes including the complete revamp of the Summoner class. From there we talk about Deathloop as Tam shares some of his thoughts about the game while Bel talks about almost refunding due to any sort of a single-player save system. Finally, we share the news that there will be no AggroChat next week due to reasons that involve most of the show’s cast.

Topics Discussed

  • Hard Drive of Horrors
  • Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter 66
    • Job Actions Trailer
    • The New Summoner
    • Thoughts for Endwalker
  • Deathloop
    • Proving we do like Jazz
    • Interesting Take on Genre
    • Bel Bemoans Lack of Saves
  • No Show Next Week

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Tonight we start the show off with Kodra talking bout Celeste and making it past the Farewell segment of the game. We talk about the conclusion of the Epic versus Apple lawsuit and how it is pretty bad for both companies, but especially bad for Epic. From there we talk about our impressions of the games shown off at what would have been the Sony E3 show if that happened. This leads into a discussion of Tam recently trying out Avengers and how it is still not a good game after all this time. We talk for a bit about Pathfinder Secrets of Magic book and martial spellcasters in general. Finally, we have a bit of a discussion between Thalen and Kodra about Super Mario Maker with children.

Topics Discussed

  • Celeste
    • Farewell to Farewell
  • Epic versus Apple Conclusion
    • Bad for both
    • Ruling against Epic
  • Sony Playstation Play Showcase 2021
  • Avengers is Still Bad
  • Secrets of Magic
  • Super Mario Maker with Kids

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Tonight we are surprised to have with us Kodra and his five-day-old daughter. Gotta get that podcasting started early. This evening Ash and Tam talk about attending Pax Prime during a Pandemic and the oddities that come with that. After that, we dive into a topic that we somewhat previewed at the end of last week’s show, but Magic the Gathering goes to some really odd places in 2022. It seems that Wizards of the Coast is finally taking advantage of the fact that they exist in a game setting that can travel to all sorts of dimensions. Bel talks for a bit about his adventures with the Gamesir X2 controller that turns an Android phone into something resembling a Nintendo Switch. Finally, we talk about how the mechanics of “Real-time with pause” is generally awful and talk about some of the games that would have been made better with a proper turn-based mode. Lastly, a quick topic as Kodra talks a bit about the 2.3 updates for VVVVVV and how he hopes to try speedrunning some other modes.

Topics Discussed

  • Attending PAX During Pandemic
    • Interesting games
  • Magic in 2022
    • Cyberpunk Kamigawa
    • Art Deco Gangland
    • Street Fighter
    • Fortnite
  • Gamesir X2 Android Controller
    • PS5 Remote Play
    • Xbox Game Pass
    • Steam
  • Real-Time with Pause Sucks
    • Pathfinder
    • Pillars of Eternity
    • Dragon Age: Origins
  • VVVVVV 2.3 Released
    • Kodra can speed run more modes

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Tonight we talk about several things that Blizzard claimed were impossible, making their way into the 9.1.5 patch. Is this fan service or an act of desperation in trying to stem the hemorrhaging of players? From there we talk about how other games have done a better job of making sure that players’ feedback was heard and understood. Thalen talks about the release of Psychonauts 2 and how it has been a long time coming. Kodra discusses the frustrations of the game featuring callbacks to a virtual-reality-only game that very few players have been able to experience. From there we talk about Marvel Crisis Protocol, a skirmish scale miniatures game as well as the revolving door of miniature games that have come and gone from game stores. Finally, we preview a topic for next week, as we talk about all of the weird places that Magic the Gathering is going to go this coming year.

Topics Discussed

  • Blizzard Eats Crow
    • Undoing Covenant Restrictions
    • Undoing Conduit Energy
    • Fanservice Racial Changes
    • Too little too late
    • Why we still can’t play Blizzard games
  • Psychonauts 2
    • Connections to previous games
    • Collectable platformers
  • Marvel Crisis Protocol
    • Marvel Skirmish Miniatures
    • Coming and going of Miniature games

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Tonight we start off with the travails of Belghast attempting to heal things on Scholar. Kodra chimes in with his own experiences in the same class. Bel talks a bit about getting to the bottom of the weird obsession that seems to be taking place with hitting +99/+99 aetherpool as fast as humanly possible in Palace of the Dead. This leads to some discussions of WoW mindsets showing up in FFXIV players. Bel and Ammo talk a bit about The Diadem and super chill leveling gatherers. We talk at length about Wildermyth and how it does an excellent job of replicating the tabletop RPG experience in a digital interface. Finally, we talk a bit about Art Software and Ash’s explorations of what works for him with Ammo and Bel chiming in a bit towards the end.

Topics Discussed:

  • Bel Trying to Heal Stuff
  • Gotta get 99/99 Fast
    • WoW Mentalities in FFXIV
  • The Diadem
  • Wildermyth
  • Adventures in Art Software

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Tonight we start the show with some discussion of copyright trolls trying to prove how broken our system is by copyrighting a Magic the Gathering deck. From there Grace talks about her experiences with the Kickstarter Kitfox game Boyfriend Dungeon. We revisit The Ascent as Bel, Grace, and Thalen have now played the game and relate their experiences of how it is not really Diablo but also really enjoyable. Ashgar and Kodra share their experiences of playing Bullet <3 in co-op and the challenges it presents. Bel talks a bit about the most recent controversy in FFXIV of people freaking out about Cruise Chaser not being a PVP mount and instead sold on the store. We talk a bit about Moonfire Faire and the bear friend mount. Finally, we wrap things up with a discussion of Katana Zero and Kodra’s experience playing it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Copyrighting your Magic Deck
  • Boyfriend Dungeon
    • The Joys of Smooching Swords
  • The Ascent
    • Grace, Bel, and Thalen have played now
  • Bullet <3 Co-Op
  • Cruise Chaser Controversy
  • FFXIV Moonfire Faire
  • Katana Zero

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Tonight we start off with Bel confessing his love for a class that he never expected to like in FFXIV, the Dancer. From there we talk a bit about FFXIV in general and how weird the Bozjan Front is. Tam shares with us a game that is actually way more in the wheelhouse of Bel, Grace, and Thalen and is effectively Cyberpunk-themed Diablo. The Ascent is a game that was shown at E3 and actually the final product is pretty great. A topic that has been hanging on the list for a while is some discussion of Civilization 6 multiplayer and contrasting it to previous versions of the game. More specifically Kodra shares his experiences playing with asymmetrical difficult levels. We talk a bit about MTG Arena leaning into its computer game nature and doing some things that absolutely would break paper magic. Finally, we talk some about the board game Bullet Heart.

Topics Discussed

  • Final Fantasy XIV
    • Dancer
    • Bozjan Southern Front
  • The Ascent
    • Cyberpunk Diablo
  • Civilization 6 Multiplayer
    • Assymetrical Difficult Settings
  • Magic Arena
    • Historic Horizons
  • Bullet Heart

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Tonight we had the whole gang back and start the show talking about how Bel was apparently replaced by a totally different person as he both healed a few dungeons and ran raid content in FFXIV as a mage class. From there we talk a bit about Blaugust which is starting the day this show releases. The rest of the show is sort of a rapid-fire remembering of games that had dropped off our radar over the years or that we just plain forgot about. We talk about MMORPGs gone by, games that had DLC releases, or just games that we started but never actually got back around to playing. We dive a bit into Genshin Impact and the most recent content release as well as apparently the ability to play your pc/mobile account on the PlayStation 5. Lastly we finish the show with a discussion of Ghostrunner, a movement puzzle platformer game featuring a deep cyberpunk aesthetic.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel Heals and Does Castery Things in FFXIV
  • Blaugust 2021 is Here
  • Great Games that dropped off our radar
    • Games we forgot about
    • Games we have returned to
    • Games that got good when we weren’t looking
  • Genshin Impact
  • Ghostrunner

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Hey Friends, it is time for a bit of real talk before I get into the podcast show notes. We had a discussion last night about whether or not we should talk about the horrific Blizzard situation on the show. I’ve made my comments pretty clear on my blog, but it also sorta felt gross and weird to engage in a conversation without anyone other than cisgender men. Real-world emergencies deprived us of both Ammo and Grace last night, and I hope both of those situations got better. It might come up again in the coming weeks but only if everyone on the show is up for talking about it.

As far as the topics we did discuss we talked a bit about Monster Hunter Stories 2 on the Nintendo Switch and how I apparently completely misunderstand the genre of that game. Tam talks a bit about returning to Star Trek Online years later and the pattern of play that the game has fallen into. We also go down a list of games that have quietly been holding on with a steady player base but get very little fanfare. Kodra talks about his experience streaming Celeste and invites everyone to participate in those streams. We close out the show with a discussion about Cyberpunk 2077 because Tam decided to give it a shot and Bel feels at least partially vindicated. It is a mixed bag of a game but an extremely interesting one.

Topics Discussed:

  • Monster Hunter Stories 2
  • Star Trek Online
  • Quietly Successful MMORPGs
  • More FFXIV Discussion
  • Kodra Streams Celeste
    • Speed runs
  • Cyberpunk 2077
    • Horrible Representation and Great Representation
    • Easy to bounce early
    • Extremely detailed and interesting game

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This year has probably had more missing shows than pretty much any to date. Last week storms blew through and Belghast lost internet for a good chunk of the night so we did not record. This week however we recorded a slightly longer than average show as a result. We start with Bel and Grace exploring Rune II and how it is a flawed game but also enjoyable. Tam shares his experience of playing Final Fantasy 7 Intergrade and the adventures of Yuffie. This bleeds into a discussion about Yakuza Like a Dragon and how Final Fantasy is going realtime and Yakuza is seemingly going to menu-driven combat. Kodra and Thalen share their experiences playing the new Forgotten Realms-themed Magic the Gathering set. Then we dive into a discussion about Final Fantasy XIV since a large number of us are active once again.

Topics Discussed

  • Rune II
  • Final Fantasy VII Intergrade
  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon
  • Adventures in the Forgotten Realms
  • Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter
    • Returning to the game
    • Systems within Systems
    • Bel Breaking his Tanking Block
  • Final Fantasy XI Nonsense

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Hey Friends! We made it to 350 episodes! Which seems like a big number but as Thalen puts it… it is a new record over last week's new record. We break into a brief discussion about the era of big box games which brings us into a discussion of the era of pack in “feelies” From there Bel talks about his return to Final Fantasy XIV and the forming of the Super Dungeon Friends community. We also talk about the weird events this weekend happening on Cactuar the server we all play on. We talk about the Co-Op game It Takes Two and the platformer Iconoclasts. We also talk a bit about D&D Dark Alliance and Mario Golf Super Rush.

Topics Discussed

  • Big Box PC Game Era
    • We Miss Feelies
  • Returning to FFXIV
    • Super Dungeon Friends
    • Weird Weekend on Cactuar
  • It Takes Two
  • Iconoclasts
  • D&D Dark Alliance
  • Mario Golf Super Rush

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Tonight we start the show missing several people and then Kodra sneaks in while recording and claims to have been there all along. We start out with a discussion of the Windows 11 announcement and the odd requirements it seems are going to be required to upgrade into it. From there we talk about Grace’s adventures with Subnautica: Below Zero which I legitimately thought was an expansion pack and not a whole new game. Bel talks about the trend of WoW personalities switching to Final Fantasy XIV and the videos associated with them. We talk a bit about MMORPG Tycoon 2 and Lum’s delightful tweet thread making us want to play it. Bel talks about his nonsense setup and how Sony Remote Play is so much better with a PS5… and how TMACDev REPL4Y is even better than that. Finally we close out the show with some talk about Ratchet and Clank and Kodra’s observations given this is his first game in that series.

Topics Discussed

  • Windows 11 Announcement
    • Leaked Build
    • Scalping TPM Modules
  • Subnautica: Below Zero
    • What a difference a story makes
  • WoW personalities playing FFXIV
    • The “quitting wow for ffxiv” video trend
    • What has lead to this point
    • Medieval Marty
  • Lum plays MMORPG Tycoon 2
    • Make bad MMOs for fun and profit
  • Sony Remote Play
    • Better on PS5
    • TMACDev REPL4Y
  • Ratchet and Clank Observations

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Be warned, if anything sounds weird… Bel is recording from a new gaming rig which seems to have brought back the whine for now. Hopefully he can resolve that in the coming weeks. We start the show talking about Mechwarrior 5 and the recent Mercs expansion. We also talk about how it has essentially destroyed the mod that folks were running to get around inconsistencies in the base game. This has lead to some mixed opinions among the AggroChat crew. From there we talk briefly about The Outer Wilds and Biomutant before settling into a longer conversation about Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis. Finally we wrap things up with a discussion about Ratchet and Clank and how Tam and Kodra are not as fluent in this universe.

Topics Discussed:

  • Mechwarrior 5
    • Mercs DLC Update
    • The end of Modding
  • The Outer Wilds
  • Biomutant
  • Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis
  • Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart

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Hey Friends! We are back again because Bel's life has calmed down a little bit, or at least enough to be able to reasonably make our normal recording slot. Tonight we have a whole stack of things to talk about and not enough show to fit it into. So first up we talk about R-Type Final 2 which has been bouncing for a few shows and how it is very true to the PS2 original game. From there Grace talks about her recent experience finishing Subnautica and starting the Below Zero sequel. From there we talk a bit about E3 2021 so far and most specifically further information coming out about Elden Ring. This is another Dark Souls game that is not called Dark Souls. Bel also talks a bit about how weird it is that UbiSoft is working on an Avatar game... aka the big blue people and not the great sorta-anime series. Ash talks about his experience with Chicory and we talk a bit about what it is like to survive Snowpiercer the City Sim in Frostpunk.

Topics Discussed * R-Type Final 2 * Subnautica and Below Zero * E3 2021 * + Wholesome Games Direct + UbiSoft Forward + Devolver Digital Forwarder + Gearbox Showcase + Elden Ring + Avatar Open World Game * Chicory A Colorful Tale * Frostpunk

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Tonight we have a second show in a row, which given the state of Bel right now is pretty miraculous. We are down a Kodra for assorted reasons but we have one of our shows where we have only the thinnest of topics and make a show out of them. Bel talks about experiencing how polarizing Army of the Dead is apparently as we discuss the expectations of genre films. From there we talk about Diablo games on the phone and more Mass Effect discussion. We clear the deck of the topics we have had for a while as we go through the limits of accessibility, scaling content and how rough catch up in games can be at time.

Topics Discussed

  • Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead
  • Phone Diablo Games
    • Raziel
    • Anima
    • Foam Diablo?
  • Mass Effect 2
    • Hover Tank Bad
  • The Limits of Accessibility
  • Scaling Group Content
  • Catch Up Mechanics

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Tonight we prove that we totally do exist and you get to listen to a very tired Bel. Bel gives a slight explanation of why we did not record the last two weeks and why nothing is certain in the coming weeks either. We talk a bit about how we are in this weird new era of “Must See TV” which is a phrase that only us “olds” will know but Disney is absolutely creating destination television again. From there we talk about the Mass Effect Legendary re-release and how Bel is coming to love Jennifer Hale’s Shepard. We talk a bit about the news coming out for FFXIV Endwalker and how Dark Knights are no longer the TRUE edgelords. Finally we talk a bit about PSO2 New Genesis Beta.

Topics Discussed

  • New Era of Must See TV
  • Mass Effect Legendary Edition
  • Demon’s Soul Remake
  • FFXIV Stuffs
    • Bring on the Edgiest Lords
  • PSO2 New Genesis Beta

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Hey Folks! Tonight we are back with what ended up being a pretty topic heavy show. Pretty sure Grace is recovering this week after the stress of last week and having to be first in the host announcement order. Genshin Impact has added player housing and Ammo talks about the “Serenitea Pot” which is confusing as hell to listen to if you have no clue what is being said. From there Kodra and Thalen talk about their experiences with little ones and Pokemon Snap. Bel talks about Returnal a game that is a mishmash of Hades, Nier, Metroidvania and a little bit of Dark Souls thrown in for good measure. From there we talk about Star Trek Discovery and a broader discussion about various Trek shows. Finally Kodra shares some of his experiences pugging content in Elder Scrolls Online.

Topics Discussed:

  • Ash is a Furry
  • Housing in Genshin Impact
  • Pokemon Snap
  • Returnal on PS5
  • Star Trek Discovery
  • Pugging in Elder Scrolls Online

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Hey friends, we are down a few of our normal crew but pushing forward with the regularly scheduled nonsense. We briefly revisit Outriders and talk about the expeditions and how generally bummed we are that the theme is so bleak because the gameplay is really good. Outriders lead Tam to start playing Mass Effect Andromeda and maybe just maybe he will be able to talk about the story at some point since Bel has been waiting for this moment for years. Bungie disappoints Destiny players by rolling out a shallow money grab instead of a transmog system and Bel talks about this. Thalen talks about how Humble Bundle is also maybe awful now and IGN decided it wasn’t about charity anymore. Kodra talks about the wild Strixhaven limited environment and how it has been reintroducing elements that have been missing from magic for a decade. Finally we talk about virtual tabletops and more specifically Talespire but the larger question of what a virtual tabletop environment needs to have.

Topics Discussed:

  • Outriders Revisited
  • Tam and Kodra finally play Mass Effect Andromeda
  • Bungie ruins Transmog
  • Humble Bundle maybe awful now
  • Strixhaven’s Wild Limited Environment
  • Talespire Virtual Tabletop
    • Making a better Virtual Tabletop
    • Rogue-likes for Tabletop Adventures

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Tonight we have a show that is pretty much dominated by a discussion about Outriders. Tam and Bel both attempt to avoid any outright spoilers but I feel like I still need to issue a warning. This game has some deeply disturbing themes and we talk about these. While we attempt to do so as gingerly as possible, I feel like I still need to provide a content warning to our listeners. From there we talk about Stellaris and the third release of the game and how apparently it changes everything. We also talk about Paradox and the history of long tailed support for games.

Topics Discussed

  • Outriders
    • Bleak Story
    • Endgame
    • Innovative Design
  • Stellaris
    • Third Edition
    • Reinventing the Game
    • Paradox Long Support

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Tonight we start off with a brief reprise of last week's Diablo 3 Season 23 topic. Because of the changes to followers this is pretty much the easiest season yet to complete in full. We talk briefly about the Diablo 2 technical alpha going on and how it is mostly just D2 but prettier. Grace talks about her experiences with Cozy Grove which is effectively Animal Crossing but Ghost Bears. Tam and Thalen talk about their experiences with Super Adventure Box in Guild Was 2. Bel talks a bit about Games Preservation and more specifically the release of a demo copy of the long rumored Castlevania Resurrection. Finally we go down a topic path that has been sitting on our list for awhile and talk about directed gameplay versus guided gameplay.

Topics Discussed

  • Easiest Diablo 3 Season Ever
    • Overpowered Followers
    • Diablo 2 Technical Alpha
  • Cozy Grove
    • Animal Crossing but Ghost Bears
  • Super Adventure Box
    • A Platformer Kodra Doesn’t Love
  • Games Preservation
    • Castlevania Resurrection
    • Nintendo PlayStation
    • Missing Content from different industries
  • Freeform versus Guided Gameplay
    • Bel Wants out of the Car
    • Directed Gameplay in Sandboxes

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Tonight once again a discussion happened off air and we sorta reprise this a bit at the beginning of the show as we talk streaming services. From there we talk about Dorf Romantik and how it doesn’t include any Dwarves at all but is still awesome. From there we talk about Deep Rock Galactic which we are pretty sure is a Dwarf game. Kodra and Bel talk about Magic the Gathering Arena on the Phone with the recent launch of the iOS version. Tam talks about his experiences with the Outriders launch. Bel and Grace talk about the launch of Diablo 3 Season 23 and the joy of emanate with follower equipment. Finally we wrap with some discussion about Warhammer Fantasy and the High Elves army.

Topics Discussed:

  • Streaming Services
  • Dorf Romantik
  • Deep Rock Galactic
  • Magic the Gathering Arena
    • Iphone Launch
    • Android Experience
  • Outriders
    • Rough Launch
    • Good Game
  • Diablo 3 Season 23
    • Fully Equippable Followers
  • Warhammer Fantasy
    • High Elves

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Hey Folks! We missed last week because Bel was knocked a little bit down after his second Covid-19 Vaccination, but all is well and we are back this week. We end up running quite a little bit over on this show. We start talking about the unrealistic expectations of gamers and the nonsensical $10,000 MMO Kickstarter. We talk about what the Disney Plus Marvel One Shot series are doing and how we have never quite seen this sort of thing before. We talk relatively spoiler free about Falcon and Winter Soldier, and then say goodbye to Duck Tales. From there we talk about Elder Scrolls Online and the semi-spontaneous return to the game and all of the content we have been playing.

Topics Discussed:

  • The $10,000 MMO
    • DreamWorld
    • Discussion about unrealistic expectations in gaming
  • Disney Plus Marvel Shows
    • Television version of a “Event Book”
    • Falcon and the Winter Soldier
    • Expectations for Star Wars Oneshots
  • Goodbye Duck Tales
  • Elder Scrolls
    • Returning to the Game
    • Jesters Festival
    • Extreme Amount of Content
    • Oddities of Guild Traders
    • Dark Anchor Leveling Nonsense

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Tonight we recorded a relatively short show since we knew Sunday we would be losing an hour of time as we “spring forward”. Tonight we have a handful of topics that have been floating around our list for a while. Firstly we talk about folks being shocked that Roblox is apparently valued at 38 billion dollars during the initial public offering. We talk about the concept of invisible games, or the games that media and gamers just aren’t talking about but are massive. From there we talk about the importance of judgement free difficulty settings. Tam talks a bit about exploring No Man’s Sky in Virtual Reality and how the game has changed over time. Finally as we wrap up we talk about just how phenomenal WandaVision was and how all of you should go out and watch it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Games that Games Media Don’t Talk About
    • Why Roblox is worth 38 billion dollars
    • Dungeon Fighter Online
    • Mobile Games
  • Games Need Difficulty Settings
    • Challenges playing with Kids
    • Judgement Free Difficulty Settings
    • Accessibility Needs
  • No Man’s Sky in VR
    • Valheim in Space?
  • Watch WandaVision
    • No spoilers just talking about it being good

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Tonight we have a bit of an odd show at the end of a painfully long week. We talk about Outriders some more and how odd it is that they are patching the demo and being completely transparent about it. Since more folks have played it there are some fresh impressions to go along with that. This breaks out into a broader discussion of live service games and the looter shooter genre. From here we sorta make a trip down into comfort gaming and revisiting old familiar stories as a way of regulating mood. Tam and Kodra talk about how they are wired a little differently and their version of this is playing some sort of game where they can enter a flow state and find peace and calm in the challenge.

Topics Discussed

  • Outriders Patching the Demo
    • More thoughts about the game
    • Concerns about the setting
  • Broad Discussion about Live Service Games
    • What makes success
    • Are regular story drops achievable?
  • Comfort Gaming
    • Revisiting a story in a time of need
    • Tam and Kodra wired differently
      • Flow state games
    • Using media to regulate moods

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Tonight we start off with one of those discussions that almost happened before we started recording. Tam has reached the point where he was ready to tangle with the fourth boss in Valheim, which disturbingly spawns right above where most of us have made our home. Tam tells the tale of this battle and the heavy losses that were incurred. From there we talk about Haven which is a co-op JRP style game featuring the relationships and interactions of an established couple. Finally we wrap things up with some discussion of the Outriders demo and how Bel is excited about it and Ash is tentatively excited as well due to is similarities to Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer.

Topics Discussed

  • More Fun in Valheim
    • Tam vs Moder vs Kodra vs Sol
  • Haven
    • Charming game with realistic coupling
  • Outriders Demo
    • Cover Mechanics are a Lie
    • Fun Aggressive Gameplay
    • Unintentionally Racist Character Creator
    • Mass Effect 3 Multiplayer Comparisons

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Tonight we start off some discussion about the unseasonable weather that has caused a few of us to experience negative 15 fahrenheit days. From there we discuss BlizzConline and how we went into it with extremely lowered expectations. We discuss the things that were announced namely Diablo 4 new class and Burning Crusade Classic. From there we venture forth into a discussion about Valheim a game that Bel has played for awhile but failed to recruit other players into until Tam and Kodra did this thing. The entire AggroChat crew seems to have reached a critical mass and is exploring this norse land of mystery. Finally we briefly talk about WandaVision and how weird the show must be if you don’t at least have a summary understanding of the characters.

Topics Discussed

  • Thawing Out from Hell Freezing Over
  • BlizzConline
    • Anduin is the Arthas?
    • Diablo 4 Rogue
    • Diablo 2 Remastered
    • Burning Crusade Classic
    • Lost Vikings Returns
    • Diablo Immortal
      • Mobile Game Woes
  • Valheim
    • Survival Done Better
    • Low Fidelity but Gorgeous
    • Building a City
    • Adventures and Shenanigans
    • Bel Ruins Everything
  • WandaVision
    • Zero Spoilers - What is this like if you don’t already know the characters?

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We assure you that we are in fact not a cat… but maybe some of us are cats. Tonight we start the show off with a discussion that probably should have happened last week but completely missed the list. Final Fantasy XIV announced its next expansion and in Endwalker we are going to the Moon. We talk about this. This sorta leads its way into a discussion about Guild Wars 2 and drop in drop out grouping. We also talk a bit about how Google seems to slowly be killing Stadia but shuttering the studio that was supposed to be making first party games. Last we talk about Eli and hitting his first 12 sads out of 10 RPG ending…. which is fitting given Kodra’s propensity for finding those games.

Topics Discussed

  • FFXIV Endwalker
    • Sage healers
    • Possibly a Scythe melee class
    • Issues attaching to game
  • Guild Wars 2
    • Drop in Drop Out Group Play
  • The Death of Stadia
    • Google kills first party studio
    • Leaning into selling service to Game Studios
  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
    • Eli’s first 12 sads out of 10 ending
    • Harrowing tale of Cookie and Bookworm

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Tonight we are down an Ashgar but start off the show with some discussion about Bel’s adventures in Hardcore Minecraft. Grace also had never played Minecraft prior to this week and she shares her initial thoughts and just how much cultural knowledge about the game had seeped in from other sources. A topic that didn’t happen last week but we talk about how Gabe Newell and Elon Musk want to put computers in our brains. Tam shares his experiences with that Death based Puzzle game Hitman 3. Kodra talks about his son and Let’s Go Pikachu and this leads to some discussion about Pokemon Snap. Finally we have a lightning round of quick topics including that the Dark Angels are good, a preface for next week's discussion about Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker, Diablo 4 not releasing in 2021 and Doctor Snuggles a Nickelodeon show we deleted from our memory banks.

Topics Discussed

  • Hardcore Minecraft
    • Life After Death
    • Grace plays Minecraft for First Time
    • Horrific Machines
  • Gabe Newell and Elon Musk want Computers in our Heads
    • Addiction to the cutting edge
    • The cost of technology adoption
  • Hitman 3
    • A puzzle but someone dies
  • Let’s Go Pikachu
    • Pokemon Snap
  • Quick Topics
    • Dark Angels Surprisingly Good
    • Final Fantasy XIV Endwalker
    • No Diablo 4 in 2021
    • Doctor Snuggles

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This evening's show is a bit of an odd one, but we are living in very interesting times within other interesting times. We start off with some discussion about choosing a game controller with a good D-Pad and how most just use 4 independent microswitches these days. This leads into a discussion about Celeste and Kodra attempting B-Sides. From there we talk about Crying Suns which effectively feels like a more mature version of FTL. Then we deep dive into why Games are extremely important and what happens when “Players” start applying the same system breaking logic to the real world. What we witnessed with the GameStop stock is precisely what gamers do best, evaluating a system, findings its weaknesses, and then exploiting the hell out of them for fun and profit. This leads to one of the stranger conversations we have had but one that is nonetheless interesting.

Topics Discussed

  • Controllers with good D-Pads
    • Missing Retail for Testing Controllers
  • Celeste 3rd Anniversary
    • B-Sides
    • Classic 2
  • Crying Suns
    • FTL 2.0ish
  • Why Games are Important
    • GameStop Stock
    • Applying Game Breaking Principles to Real Life
    • Trolling the Stock Market
  • Changing Demands and Goals
    • The Fall of industries like Diamonds
    • The Rise of Electric Cars

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Tonight we talk about a few things that have been on the list for awhile along with some new fresh topics. First off Kodra talks to us about Nerts and the world of competitive solitaire. From there Bel talks about how Dragon Age Inquisition has won him over and how he thinks that it might be the best Dragon Age game so far. Ash talks about Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity and how it also might be the best Warriors game to date. Thalen shares with us Nick Knacks on the PopArena YouTube Channel and its exploration of classic Nickelodeon television. We also debate what we consider our Golden Age of Nick. We dust off a topic that has been on the list for awhile where we talk about whether or not it is the time for World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy XIV to go Free to Play. This leads into a general discussion of MMO mechanics over the years and lends its way to some talk about Guild Wars 2.

Topics Discussed

  • Nerts - Competitive Solitaire
  • Dragon Age Inquisition
    • Maybe the best Dragon Age
  • Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity
    • Maybe the best Warriors Game
  • Nickelodeon Nostalgia
    • Nick Knacks on PopArena Channel
    • What was the Golden Age
  • Should WoW and FFXIV Go Free to Play
    • Benefits of Free to Play
    • MMO Game Design Discussion
  • Guild Wars 2 Discussion

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Tonight we have a bunch of toppings that have been hanging around on the list for awhile. We talk a bit about the announcement that Riot is making an MMORPG and our general thoughts about that. Bel talks about the need for Attract Screens in game and this leads into a discussion about Tutorialization in games. From there we venture forth into how exactly you teach a non-gamer how to play games and if games are too complicated right now. Bel talks a bit about how much he misses F-Zero and why Mario Kart actually won the battle of the racing game that Nintendo cares about. From there we talk about the vast array of experiments Nintendo is doing right now surrounding Mario. Bel talks about revisiting Jedi Fallen Order and we wrap things up with a discussion about struggling to find a good tabletop cyberpunk game.

Topics Discussed

  • Riot is Making an MMO
  • Game Attract Screens
  • Teaching Game Mechanics
  • Gaming for Non Gamers
  • Pining for F-Zero
  • Why Mario Kart Won
  • Mario Experimentation
    • Mario Legos
    • Mario Kart Live
    • Super Nintendo World
  • Revisiting Jedi Fallen Order
    • Mouse and Keyboard
  • Finding a Cyberpunk Tabletop Game
    • Genesys
    • Shadowrun
    • Cyberpunk
    • Storyteller games

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Tonight we continue our tradition of recording the Games of the Year show. Each year we pick three games that were the most significant for us during the previous calendar year. Additionally we throw in some honorable mentions, and then a list gets compiled of those choices and roughly sorted into games with the least overlap to the games with the most picks. This year we surprisingly have a game that every single member of the podcast chose as either a pick or an honorable mention. We talk about nineteen games in total.

Topics Discussed

  • Games of the Year Picks
    • 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
    • Cryptic Sudoku
    • Cyberpunk 2077
    • Death Stranding
    • Half Life: Alyx
    • Ooblets
    • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team DX
    • Ring Fit Adventures
    • Animal Crossing: New Horizon
    • Crusader Kings 3
    • Final Fantasy VII Remake
    • Ghost of Tsushima
    • Phantasy Star Online 2
    • Yakuza: Like a Dragon
    • Genshin Impact
    • Hades
  • Honorable Mentions
    • Horizon Zero Dawn
    • Disco Elysium
    • Guild Wars 2

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Tonight we start the show with discussion about Mechwarrior 5 and the multiplayer sessions that have been happening among AggroChat folks. We also talk a bit about the extremely confusing world of intellectual property when it comes to this game. From there we revisit the topic of why forcing a stealth mission is a bad idea when you are not expecting it. Grace talks about a short game she discovered called Space Court where you preside over a Court in Space. Tam talks about getting the Valve Index and finally maybe finding the killer app in the form of Half-Life Alyx. From there we dive into a discussion about the games that we have missed during 2020 and didn’t have time to play, which segues into a discussion about Bel giving Dragon Age Inquisition another shot and how maybe Kodra would like the games that are not the first one.

Topics Discussed:

  • Mechwarrior 5: Multiplayer
  • Why Forced Stealth Missions are Bad
    • Revisiting the Topic
  • Space Court
  • VR and the Valve Index
  • Half-Life: Alyx
  • Games we Missed Playing this Year
  • Trying Dragon Age Inquisition Again

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Tonight we start the show talking about Monster Sanctuary a blend of Pokemon and Metroidvania. From there we talk about the periscope through which we view the media and how it can be wildly different for two people who are in regular communication. We talk about the problems with Cyberpunk 2077 and then Bel shares his experience playing through the campaign and finishing the game. From there we talk about the Nintendo Direct and more specifically the games Cyber Shadow and Calico. Lastly Bel talks a bit about his down cycle with World of Warcraft and how he is lacking the drive to keep playing.

Topics Discussed:

  • Monster Sanctuary
  • Media Landscape Periscopes
  • Cyberpunk 2077 Issues
  • Cyberpunk 2077 Gameplay
  • Nintendo Direct
    • Cyber Shadow
    • Calico
  • WoW Malaise

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Tonight we had most of the crew and started off with a topic that had been bumped. We talk for a bit about Yakuza: Like a Dragon and how it is a bit of a fresh start for that series. From there we have a somewhat impromptu discussion about Watch Dogs Legion and the thoughts Tam and Bel had while playing it. From there we discuss Spider-Man: Miles Morales and some of the thoughts Tam had specifically about the integration of Puerto Rican culture into that game. From there we dive into another discussion about the PlayStation 5 since Tam finally got his last week. We wrap things up with some discussion about The Game Awards and the big Disney Investor call and all of the things that were announced in both.

Topics Discussed

  • Yakuza: Like a Dragon
  • Watch Dogs Legion
  • Spider-Man Miles Morales
  • Tam and the PlayStation 5
  • The Game Awards 2020
  • Disney Investor Call
    • Star Wars
    • Marvel

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Tonight a sequence of scheduling conflicts happened and we wound up with what felt like a fairly classic show given we were down to the cast members from the early years of this podcast. We start the show with a bit of a micro topic as Bel talks about the nonsense he is doing called Catfriend Television where he uploads security camera footage of the neighborhood cats to youtube. From there we talk about the severe drought of PlayStation 5 units, the battle with the scalpers and Tam maybe finally joining the ranks of those who managed to snag one. Bel talks about the problem happening right now with the Shadowlands expansion in WoW with folks mass abandoning heroics because they didn’t get the thing they were chasing to drop. Finally we talk a bit about Lancer a pen and paper RPG that Ashgar has wanted to play for quite some time and finally managed to run a game.

Topics Discussed

  • Catfriend Television
  • PS5 Stock Misery
  • World of Warcraft Shadowlands
    • A Heroic Problem
  • Lancer RPG Session
    • Bad Idea Mechs

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Tonight we sit down to record a show… with multiple topics but wind up only actually talking about one. Shadowlands, the latest World of Warcraft expansion released this past week and Bel and Grace have been playing it. We take a dive into all things afterlife as we talk about the vague sense of not being quite certain if we like it or not. There might be some minor story spoilers so please be warned. For the most part we limit revelations to the things that are talked about in the Afterlives series of videos, but Bel has finished the main story quest and Grace is about halfway through. We share our feelings about what appears to be Blizzard trying to create a Final Fantasy XIV expansion.

Topics Discussed

  • World of Warcraft
    • Shadowlands Expansion
    • Deep Dive into the Cosmology

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Tonight we are down an Ashgar but work our way through a series of topics from the list. First up Bel can in fact confirm that the PlayStation 5 exists and talks about his early experiences. From we talk a bit about Bugsnax and how it is this weird Muppet Pokemon game that also has deeply disturbing Bioshock style undertones going on. Tam talks a bit about puzzle shooter Superliminal and Kodra talks about What Remains of Edith Finch. We talk a bit about parkour ninja game Ghostrunner and Bel shares some of the recent changes to Destiny 2. Finally we wrap up with some extemporaneous viewing suggestions… Duck Tales, Animaniacs, Mandalorian and the Ashens series of movies.

Topics Discussed:

  • The PlayStation 5
    • Thoughts on the Controller
  • Bugsnax
  • Superliminal
  • What Remains of Edith Finch
  • Ghostrunner
  • Destiny 2 Updates
  • What Makes Compelling Worldbuilding
  • Viewing Suggestions
    • Duck Tales
    • Animaniacs
    • Mandalorian
    • Ashens Movies
      • Ashens and the Quest for the GameChild
      • Ashens and the Polybius Heist

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Tonight we start off the show with a brief discussion of the console releases this week and how none of us actually managed to get one yet. Bel has one that is still shipping and Tam has had zero luck even getting to that point in the process. Bel talks a bit about Destiny 2 Beyond Light and how it is a solid expansion but cannot make up for three years of content that was removed from the game. The “sunset” has had some pretty negative impact on the game and even Bungie agrees that they maybe went too far. We talk a bit about the first major Genshin Impact patch and how it added way more content than we were expecting. Finally we dive into a discussion about games and hobbies and seeking out a place for creative expression. We also talk about the differences between creating something that is physical and tangible that you can hold in your hand versus something that takes place solely online.

Topics Discussed

  • Console Releases
    • Sams Doesn’t Understand Preorders
  • Destiny 2 Beyond Light
    • Good Expansion
    • Bad Idea removing so much content
  • Genshin Impact Patch 1.1
    • City Reputations
    • Way More Content than Expected
  • Games and Hobbies
    • Creative Expression
    • Creating Tangible Things

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Huge apologies for last week, but we realized entirely too late that our show recording would in fact fall on Halloween and we would be down to like two people. As a result we took the week off and now return with one of those shows that just has a random assemblage of topics. We talk a little bit about N7 Day actually having announcements and the impending re-release of the Mass Effect Trilogy that is likely to disappoint. We talk about the Star Wars Christmas special and the plans to make a brand new version which will as a result immediately become the best version. We talk a very brief bit about the Mandalorian in a relatively spoiler free manner. Bel talks a bit about the new guidance from Blizzard making key broadcasting software a bannable offense and putting an end to a specific kind of multi-boxing. Tam talks about Knights and Bikes as it is this mashup of Night in the Woods and Castle Crashers. We talk about the early days of the internet and Hypnospace Outlaw that attempts to revisit a twisted version of that. From there we end up on this side topic about GameFaqs and the early days of printing off long form Ascii guides. We wrap up with some talk about Disco Elysium and playing Mario Kart when there are skill gaps.

Topics Discussed

  • Happy N7 Day
    • Mass Effect Trilogy re-release
  • Star Wars Christmas Special
  • The Mandalorian Season Two
  • Blizzard Bans Key Broadcasting Software
    • Partial End of Multi-Boxing
  • Knights and Bikes
  • Hypnospace Outlaw
  • Early Internet and GameFaqs
  • Disco Elysium
  • Mario Kart Multiplayer with Skill Gaps

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Tonight we are down several folks because of various reasons. Grace and Tam are both travelling and Ammo was off celebrating her birthday. As a result we go forward with one of the smaller casts we have had in awhile. Tonight we talk a bit about Genshin Impact and the recent Resin adjustments that have been announced. Bel talks about his experiences with the World of Warcraft Exile’s Reach new player starter island. This goes a bit into the awkward fit that it causes combined with the level squish that came in with the Shadowlands pre-patch. We then get into a discussion about games that support asymmetrical difficulty or what is generally referred to as a “handicapping system”. We talk about how this can maybe make it easier to play games with your young children that can’t quite manipulate the moves that well yet. Kodra and Thalen share their progress with Ring Fit and we delve into a discussion about the recent D&D 5th Edition games that have entered early access. Finally we talk a little bit about Spiritfarer and the charming life of being a friendly grim reaper.

Topics Discussed:

  • Genshin Impact
    • Adjustments to the Resin System
  • World of Warcraft
    • Exile’s Reach Starter Island
    • Impacts of the Level Squish
  • Asymmetrical Difficulty
    • Handicap systems
    • Pokken Tournament
  • Ring Fit Progress
  • 5th Edition D&D Early Access
    • Solasta
    • Baldur’s Gate III
  • Spiritfarer

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Sometimes a show happens without us really realizing it. That was absolutely the case for this evening's show because we had what felt like a very limited number of topics that filled up the full hour. We start off the show with some further discussion of Genshin Impact. Last week we thought we had been pushed up against a wall, but it turns out that was just the foothills leading up to the sheer cliff that is being resin locked on progress. From there we talk about random video game cravings and the games that we either return to periodically or consider comfort gaming. We wrap things up with a discussion of the games that we are looking forward to on the horizon be it literally like with Horizon Zero Dawn Forbidden West or the release of the new console generation. Whatever the case it seems like we have a very packed November ahead of us.

Topics Discussed

  • Genshin Impact
    • The limiting factors of Resin
    • Limited Progress
  • Random Game Cravings
    • We talk about comfort gaming
    • We also talk about out of the blue game cravings
  • What we are looking forward to next
    • Release of the next generation of consoles
    • Horizon Zero Dawn 2
    • The Packed November

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Earlier this afternoon a large chunk of the AggroChat crew spent a few hours playing Among Us, a two year old game that is now suddenly the most popular thing on the planet. So of course we lead off the show talking a bit about that experience and how we are making tentative plans to do this as a regular thing. Maybe at some point we should even offer it up as a stream. From there Bel talks about a bumped topic from last week and the delay of the World of Warcraft Shadowlands expansion to an undetermined time in the future. The pre-patch starts this coming week which means the expansion likely lands in November. However we discuss some of the core problems this expansion cycle has had and the frustrations the players have brought up. This leads to a further discussion of Genshin Impact and how much Bel has been playing it. This time Thalen also was able to chime in as he recently started and had some general thoughts to share. Finally we wrap things up with a discussion about how Games Workshop once again should really stop being afraid of the internet and how their actions are just going to lead folks to pirate copies of their products.

Topics Discussed

  • Among Us
    • Playing with AggroChat and Friends
    • Repeat Impostor Problem
  • Shadowlands Delay
    • Problems with Expansion
    • Problems with BFA
    • Problems with MMORPGs in General
  • Genshin Impact
    • Bel Plays a Nonsense Amount
    • Thalen has thoughts from playing
    • Switch Version needs to Hurry
  • Games Workshop Fears Internet
    • Removing Digital Copies of Books
      • Will Lead to Pirate PDF copies
      • 3D Printing Models
    • Ways that Corvis Belli does this better

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Tonight we have an extra long show, because we tried to limit it down to three topics… but still had too much to say to fit within the normal allotted hour. This week we also have bonus friend Nephsys as we talk about Genshin Impact and how it came seemingly out of nowhere and conquered many of our lives. From there we talk about Star Wars Squadrons and how it seems to be the Star Wars Starfighter game that Tam had been waiting for. Finally we wrap up with some more discussion of Hades as many escape attempts have been made. This time around we talk about more specific strategy and player experiences.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Importance of Inverted Y
  • Genshin Impact
    • How is this game this good?
  • Star Wars Squadrons
    • Tam gets his Star Wars Flight Sim on
    • Not Arcade Enough for Bel
  • Hades
    • Many Escapes This Week
    • The marvels of Design

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Tonight we have a show that basically is Bel carpet bombing the trello with current events topics. First up we talk about the acquisition of Zenimax by Microsoft and our thoughts about that. From there we discuss the wildly tinfoil hat theory that Microsoft is going to acquire Sega next. We also talk about how poorly the Xbox One performed in Japan and how it seems Microsoft is attempting to fix that with their TGS 2020 showing. Kodra talks about playing Pokken with his son and how it is a fighting game that allows you to look awesome without frustrations. We end up spinning off a side discussion about Fighting games in general and how they expect you to learn the characters. Ashgar talks about Monster Hunter Rise and how the main line Monster Hunter series seems to be borrowing heavily from Monster Hunter World… also Doggos. Finally we talk briefly about the flaws in the RTX 3080 design, at least in some of the add-in board partner cards attempts to save money.

Topics Discussed:

  • Microsoft Acquisition of Zenimax
    • Rumors of a Sega Acquisition
    • Xbox Series Sold Out in Japan
    • TGS 2020 Microsoft Show
  • Dreamhaven founded by Mike Morhaime
    • Spotty track record of Blizzard Spinoffs
    • Irvine Area Studios
  • Pokken with your child
    • Fighting games are bad at teaching fighting games
    • Fighting game story modes
  • Zendikar Rising Commander
    • Extreme Value but likely not a permanent change
  • Monster Hunter Rise Announcement
    • Hunting with Doggos
  • Flaws in the RTX 3080 third party cards
    • Why we should maybe wait a bit

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Ring Fit Adventure released just shy of a year ago at this point, and it is only now finally reliably available in stores. As a result of several of us finally getting our hands on it we talk a little bit about the experience of using it. From there we talk about the PS5 Price Reveal and pre-order debacle. This moves into discussing the RTX 3080 launch as well and the application of bots from Bounce Alerts snagging most of the stock in both cases. Hades from Supergiant games has finally officially released and and we talking about the game that was described by Tam as an “Escape Room”. From there Tam talks about finding gold in the Steam suggestion queue in Swords n Magic n Stuff. Finally we talk a bit more about Final Fantasy XVI and speculate on when we might actually get to see it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Ring Fit Adventure
    • Tricking us into exercise
  • The PlayStation 5 Price Reveal
    • Pre-Order Debacle
    • RTX 3080 Pre-Order Debacle
    • Bounce Alerts Bots
    • Trolling Ebay Flippers
  • Hades
    • Rogue-Lite Games
  • Swords ‘n Magic and Stuff
    • Bad Name, Solid Game
    • Bel Want’s Minecraft Meets Sims
  • Final Fantasy XVI
    • Similarities to Vagrant Story
    • Return to Fantasy

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Tonight we had some technical difficulties and as a result got to a bit of a late start… which caused us to lose track of the timing. As a result we recorded a pretty long show, but I think it was one of our better discussions. We start with Kodra explaining why he is the fiercest four year old you know and talking about Crusader Kings III some more. From there Bel talks about effectively being done with Avengers and why it has driven him to deep dive into the Ms Marvel comic series. From there we discuss the Sportscardification of Magic the Gathering and the crashes of Comic Books and Sports Cards and why it feels real similar to the state of premium collector focused products. Thalen talks about breaking down ships for fun and profit in Hardspace: Shipbreaker. We talk about when Quick Time Events feel good rather than something to be avoided, and then dive into the cognitive overhead of trying to return to a game after a long absence. Finally we talk about the Games as a Subscription model and how it may or may not change the game industry. Specifically we talk about the dueling business models of the Xbox Series S/X and the PlayStation 5.

Topics Discussed

  • Crusader Kings III
    • The struggles of succession
  • Marvel Avengers
    • Being mentally done with the grind for now
  • Marvel Comics Unlimited
    • How Marvel Made me Deep Dive into Ms Marvel
  • Hardspace: Shipbreaker
  • The good at bad of Quick Time Events
    • God of War
    • Ghost of Tsushima
    • Shinmue
  • Returning to Games
    • The struggle of trying to pick something back after leaving for awhile
    • Games left unfinished
    • Reminders in Games
  • Games as a Subscription Model
    • Microsoft vs Sony Business Models
    • The overwhelming value to players.
    • What does this do for publishers?

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Tonight we start the show off with a bit of a retraction. Bel has found out that a lot of the weird mouse and camera interactions seem to have been caused by running RTX Voice while playing Avengers. As a result Bel talks about his experiences playing Avengers and how the story really shines but the gameplay is adequate but not as smooth as it could be. From there we talk about using things for alternate purposes, primarily how good cosmetic items work for hobbies. We talk a little bit about the phenomena that is Fall Guys and both how charming it is and how bizarrely it has lit the streaming world on fire. Finally we wrap up with a long discussion about Crusader Kings III and the story generator that it is.

Topics Discussed:

  • Avengers Release is Not Bad
    • Issues with RTX Voice
  • Repurposing Items
    • Cosmetic Items for Hobby and Crafting
  • Guys Falling
    • Cute Beans Fall Down
    • Streaming Success
  • Crusader Kings III
    • Story Generation
    • Cannibalism for Fun and Profit

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Tonight we are back after having a week off due to scheduling. Bel is super excited to talk about Amazon’s New World, which finally leaves NDA. He goes into a deep dive of his experiences so far with the assorted systems of the game. From there we have a reasonable segue into a discussion about Guild Wars 2 and getting used to the WvW pvp system. We also talk a bit about other games like Final Fantasy XIV and how it handles PVP. We have a random aside where Bel talks about how he tends to avoid using mounts in Open World games, and finally Ash talks about how he has come to peace with the Blue Mage in FFXIV.

Topics Discussed:

  • Amazon’s New World
    • Deep Dive into Systems
  • Guild Wars 2 WvW System
    • Final Fantasy XIV PVP modes
  • Frog Fractions ???
    • When a DLC is a new game
  • Bel Ignores Mounts in Open World Games
    • Ghosts of Tsushima
    • Horizon Zero Dawn
  • Making Peace with the Blue Mage
    • How Ash Learns to Accept the Systems

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Bel spent a few hours playing the Avengers Beta and has some things to say about it. There are what he feels to be fundamental problems with the game that are not likely fixable before the September 4th launch. Kodra gives some recommendations for a few Sudoku games that allow you to play some of those interesting edge case games. We pick up a conversation from last week and talked about Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition and more directly the update cycle for physical games and how it doesn’t exactly work. Warframe announced a major change at Virtual TennoCon and we talk about the Helminth and how it is going to shake up the meta. Finally Bel talks quickly about the Tony Hawk Pro Skater Warehouse Demo and how the game feels exceptionally good.

Topics Discussed

  • Avengers Beta is Bad
  • Good Sudoku and Miracle Sudoku
  • Warhammer 40,000 9th Edition
    • The Physical Game Update Cycle
  • Warframe Helminth
    • Gotta Collect Em All
  • Tony Hawk Pro Skater Warehouse Demo is Good

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Due to improper planning and the fact that last week was Belghast’s wedding anniversary so we called it for the evening. Tonight we are back and with a proper show chock full of goodness. Actually just prior to the show Tam carpet bombed the trello with like two dozen topics, so we will probably be in business for several weeks. Kodra participated in the very first GenCon Online and has lots of things to talk about regarding it. During the middle of this discussion we break into a side tangent about how we feel like Shadowrun would work well using the World of Darkness Storyteller system. Grace and Bel revisit Horizon Zero Dawn on the PC and talk about how much better the game feels with a mouse and keyboard. Ash talks about playing Gundam EX vs Maxiboost ON and this leads to a side discussion about Gundam Breaker. Bel talks about finishing Death Stranding and how emotionally connected he was to the characters in the game. Finally we dive into a discussion about games and companion apps and how a lot of tabletop gaming and the company fear of the internet shoots them in the foot.

Topics Discussed:

  • GenCon Online
    • Shadowrun should be a Storyteller Game
  • Horizon Zero Dawn on PC
    • So much better with mouse
  • Gundam EX vs Maxiboost ON
    • Gundam Breaker
  • Death Stranding
    • Emotional Feels
  • Rise of the Companion App
    • Fear of the Internet

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Bel starts the show off with a discussion about the challenges of playing classic games on modern televisions and how his journey has led him down a rabbit hole that ended up with the Retro Freak. From there we talk about what happens when the expectations of gamers leads to toxic expectations. Namely this came into scope over the last few weeks with the reaction to two recent Nintendo Directs. From there we drive into a discussion about making your own goals in a game and how Tam has found that effective in Guild Wars 2. This leads to a discussion about when games bribe you to behave a certain way. Finally we close the show out with Kodra talking about making meta events happen, and oftentimes folks are willing to flock to a zone if you manage to do all the early phases.

Topics Discussed

  • Retro Games on a Modern Television
    • The Retro Freak
  • When Expectations Turn Toxic
    • Nintendo Fans Are Extreme
    • Gamer Identity
  • Guild Wars 2
    • Making Your Own Goals
    • Games Bribing You
    • Making Metas Happen

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This evening we record an entire show where we basically talk about three games. The first of these is Ooblets which came out this week in early access and how it is a blending of Animal Crossing, Stardew Valley, Pokemon and a Card Battler. From there we talk about Ghosts of Tsushima and how it presents Samurai gameplay in a new high fidelity light. Additionally we talk a bit about Kurosawa mode which offers you a unique black and white/film grain way of playing the game. Finally Bel talks about his adventures being a post apocalyptic fedex driver in a world seemingly run on twitter likes… aka Death Stranding. He talks a bit about the odd social aspect of the game where other players can only have a possible positive impact without ever causing any negatives.

Topics Discussed

  • Ooblets
    • Early Access
    • Dance Battles
  • Ghosts of Tsushima
    • Ghost Mode
    • Samurai Mode
    • Kurosawa Immersion Mode
  • Death Stranding
    • Beautiful World
    • Interesting Social Mechanics

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Tonight Belghast completely botches the intro to the show and has to record a second one, and it is absolutely not like the rest of the crew let this slide calmly. We start the show talking about Cross Code and how it is now available on consoles, and was quite possibly the best roleplaying game of 2018. Bel dives into a discussion about how connection based matchmaking is destroying any joy that can be found in crucible. This leads into a whole discussion about the best sorts of matchmaking we have played under and also a long discussion about how peer to peer connections are problematic. We talk about the concept of what if we could choose the length of a game before starting it. This also leads to a discussion of how more games need clearly identified difficulty settings and allow players to understand the ramifications of that choice. From there we dive into a discussion about how it is oftentimes hard to find information that is more or less considered to be common knowledge in a given community.

Topics Discussed

  • CrossCode on Consoles
  • Skill Based Matchmaking vs Connection Based Matchmaking
    • How to Ruin and Iron Banner
  • Peer to Peer Connections are Problematic
  • Variable Length Games
  • Why We Need to Stop Caring about how others play games
  • The challenge of finding gaming ancestral knowledge

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This is one of those shows when we had a long list of things to talk about, but we just sorta started on one topic and it developed a mind of its own. First up we talk about Bel and his insane grinding nature when it comes to the Four Job Fiesta. From there we reprise a topic that got bumped last night and talk about the unique nature of Guild Wars 1 almost trading card game like skill based system. From there we dive into a discussion about the changes that were made with Guild Wars 2, and how they may have taken some wrong advice from the data at the time. This dives into a discussion of what makes up a role in a game and how exactly games tend to message that. We go through a whole series of leaps and wind up in a discussion about how freedom to change your build feels really good in games like Guild Wars 2 and Diablo 3. It even descends into a discussion about what exactly makes up the nature of a “Character” in a game, and if it should just be a cosmetic choice and everything of importance be account bound.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel and grinding in Final Fantasy V
  • Guild Wars 1 Card Based Spells
  • Guild Wars 2 and Abolition of Roles
  • Taking the Wrong Queue from Data
    • People who like only Tanking or Healing
  • The Secret World - When a game has wrong choices
  • What makes a Role a Role
    • And how is it messaged?
  • Freedom of Choice is Really Important
  • What makes a Character a Character?

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Tonight we have an assorted topic type show, but the main discussion ends up centering around games and game value. What makes one game feel like a valuable experience and another game just seems like a waste of time. We talk a bit about the Phantasy Star Online 2 America Day holiday and how they have a really strange impression of our country. Kodra talks about his adventures in the deeply edge case Sudoku. We also have a discussion about when the right time to group is in a game versus largely solo play. In the middle of all of this there are several references to Guild Wars 2 and Destiny 2 for reasons.

Topics Discussed

  • Phantasy Star Online 2 “America Day”
  • When to play a game with friends
    • What point do you transition from solo to group play
  • Kodra’s adventures in edgecase Sudoku.
  • What makes up game value
    • Getting the most out of a game
    • The length of AAA Games
  • Side Discussion about Guild Wars 2
  • Side Discussion about Destiny 2

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Tonight we start off with a discussion about Destiny and unintentionally the storyline a bit as Darkness has finally arrived. Bel talks about the degenerate gameplay of the AFK Forge and how it more or less brought the game to a halt. We also talk about the gear sunset as Bungie tries to do MTG Standard but for Destiny. From there we talk about Guild Wars 2 and how Tam thinks it is the best mount system. Bel and Grace disagree, but we continue from there about some general discussion about the game and more specifically the Dragon mount grind. Lastly we wrap up with a quick discussion of the EA Play 2020 event, Star Wars Squadrons, Cross Play for All Platforms and that EA is probably still evil in spite of them really wanting us not to think that.

Topics Discussed

  • Destiny 2
    • The Darkness is Here
    • Degenerate AFK Forge
    • Weapon Sunset
      • MTG Standard for Destiny
  • Guild Wars 2
    • Ideas about Flight
      • Tam’s Soliloquy of Love
      • Bel and Grace’s disagreement
    • The Dragon Mount Grind
    • General Guild Wars 2 Discussion
  • EA Play 2020
    • Sweet Star Wars Game
    • Cross Play For All
    • Probably Still Evil

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This show has a wide variety of topics that don’t really connect up. Bel starts with talking about how easy it was to reinstall steam after losing a hard drive, and how impossible it has been to install either Origin or Epic Game Store as they appear to be in a state of limbo, both installed and not uninstallable at the same time. Grace talks about her recent adventures in figuring out what she wants to play on her brand new Switch without peer pressure of playing a specific title. This goes into a side topic about Pinball games and also a side topic about a missing style of Arcade Racing games. We dive into a topic of virtual tabletops and iTabletop specifically as well as a run down of the various options we have tried over the years. Finally we land on some discussion of Not-E3 and the wide variety of shows surrounding it the biggest being the PS5 reveal.

Topics Discussed

  • Why Steam is Best Storefront
    • Limbo of Origin and Epic Game Store when a hard drive dies
  • Pressure Free Switch Exploration
    • Grace gets a Switch
  • Talking about Pinball Games
  • Talking about the missing style of Racing Games
  • iTabletop and Virtual Tabletops
  • Not-E3
    • Talking about some of the wide variety of shows happening this year without E3
  • Sony PS5 Reveal Show

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Tonight we start off with a discussion of Dungeon Defenders Awakened and how it is a less complete version of the original game. We talk about whether or not this is going to be a good idea for the long run. From there Bel talks about his experiences with Minecraft Dungeons and how it generally feels like an unfinished and unbalanced mess. From there we talk about how PSO2 has a lot of interesting systems and some decent tutorials, but does not do a great job of leading players to them. Lastly we have a discussion about a return to Guild Wars 2 and experiencing how much better they are at telling its story.

Topics Discussed

  • The Death of a Hard Drive
  • Dungeon Defenders Returns
  • Minecraft Dungeons
    • Unfinished Feeling and Grindy
  • PSO2 Bad Presentation of Good Tutorials
  • Guild Wars 2
    • How they learned to tell a story

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Tonight we welcome our good friend Nephsys along for this ride because she more or less got kidnapped into the podcasting channel. We start the show with some discussion about being back in Final Fantasy XIV and the current event where they bribe us to do unpopular content. One of those content types is Rival Wings, and Bel talks about how it is PVP that he actually enjoys. From there we break into a discussion inspired by a conversation that happened while watching the cutscenes of Praetorium, which is what games would you like to forget so you could experience them fresh again for the very first time? We talk for a bit about the afterglow of watching your friends get into something that you really liked. Finally we nestle into the main topic of the week which is the somewhat awkward North American PC launch of Phantasy Star Online 2.

Topics Discussed

  • Mogrocks for Mounts in FFXIV
    • Rival Wings is Fun
  • Forgetting a Game to Play it Fresh again
    • The Afterglow of Friends Experiencing Games
  • Phantasy Star Online 2 NA PC Launch
    • The systems within systems
    • Figuring things out

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Tonight we sit down to record our three hundredth episode, and more or less are doing it the old fashioned way. We had no notes and ownly a loose outline in Bel’s head and what ends up happening is one of the most enjoyable shows we have ever recorded. We for the most part explain the long and contorted origins of AggroChat and how we wound up recording a podcast. We’ve told bits and pieces of this tale before, but never in one entire sequence also talking about when various cast members joined the crew. There are several points where we get derailed along the way, but I guess that is also par for the course.

Topics Discussed

  • The Origins of AggroChat
  • When Various Cast Members Joined
  • Our Most Listened Episode
  • A Bunch of Others Stuff
  • None of us Took Good Notes

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Tonight we start off with what has become a regular side topic of us talking about our lives dealing with the pandemic. From there we dive into Cloudpunk a game about a digital dog and delivering packages in a blade runner landscape. Bel dives into a discussion about how Modern Consoles are effectively turning into Gaming PCs and the weirdness of cross generational purchases for Microsoft games. Bel also waxes nostalgic about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and how he is greatly looking forward to the upcoming remaster of 1+2 coming this September. We end up getting off on a side jaunt into Elder Scrolls games, and then transition into a talk about Sodoku. Finally we talk some about the announcement of a brand new Paper Mario game and the new footage available for Ghosts of Tsushima.

Featured Topics

  • Life in the Pandemic
  • Cloudpunk
  • Modern Consoles are just PCs
    • Cross Generational Games
    • Ease of Use of Consoles
  • Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2
  • Apparently an Elder Scrolls aside
  • Sudoku and Puzzle Games
  • A New Paper Mario
  • Ghosts of Tsushima

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We start the show with what has disturbingly become a tradition for us as we talk about what life is like in this weird time we happen to be living. For some of us I believe it is week eleven and for others week nine, but really what exactly is the passage of time anyway. The first topic is a bump from last week as Tam talks about discovering Rampage the Board Game, otherwise known as Terror in Meeple City in its most modern incarnation. This leads down a rabbit hole of talking about classic monster movies and many agreeing that the correct place to start is with the OG Godzilla from 1954. From there Bel dives into a topic from the Aggronaut blog, of if grinding is actually fun. This leads to a whole other discussion of how each of us appear to have a vastly different description of what that even means. For Kodra it means grinding his face off over and over against hard content, but for Grace and Bel it largely means repetition of largely mindless content. Tam on the other hand has to have a purpose and his brain has to be engaged. Finally we talk about the integration of PVP into otherwise PVE games and why developers seem to be stuck on that concept. This leads to some discussion of a recent outing in Sea of Thieves when Tam finally gets people interested enough to try it, but they get griefed over and over by some jerk ruining an otherwise enjoyable experience.

Topics Discussed

  • Rampage the Board Game
    • Terror in Meeple City
    • Classic Monster Movies
    • Mechagodzilla
  • Is Grinding Fun?
    • World of Warcraft
    • Farming Content
    • Phantasy Star Online 2
    • Grinding Hard Content
      • Hollow Knight
  • Do PVP and PVE Mix Well?
    • No
    • Why Devs are Obsessed with It
    • Why its a Bad Idea
    • Why Sea of Thieves ruined the experience

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Tonight we start off the show with a special announcement. Cat Context was effectively the podcast that inspired Bel to go out and try and do the same thing with some of his friends. After a three year absence, this week we get a brand new Cat Context episode that can be found hosted on Aggronaut.com. Today Kodra is going to be playing some Hollow Knight randomizer since there are a bunch of new updates and he has been given an entire day for gaming. From there we get into a topic that has been skipped a few times due to the potential length regarding easing into a learning curve and how Infinity is trying this with Code Zero. Bel segues into a discussion about what happens when the servers go offline and a game goes dark and the concern that there will be an entire generation of games that are eternally lost. Finally we wrap things up with some talk about the Mario Maker 2 Final Update and the interesting things that level builders are doing with it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Cat Context Podcast
  • Hollow Knight Randomizer Updates
    • https://www.twitch.tv/kodra22
  • Easing into the Learning Curve
    • Infinity Code Zero
    • Magic the Gathering
    • Warhammer 40k
    • Timeless Games
  • Lost Generation of Games
    • What happens when a game permanently goes offline
    • The age of private servers
  • Mario Maker 2 Final Update
    • Fun with World Maker
    • What makes a quintessential Mario game

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We welcome Grace back after a few weeks away and talk a bit about life in pandemia. Bel talks about the introduction of RTX Voice and its nonsense ability to filter out background noise from your microphone. Kodra and Thalen talk a bit about gaming with youngsters focusing on Mario Kart and Katamari or “The Ball Game”. Ash talks a bit about how bad the storytelling is in Phantasy Star Online 2. We shift over to some talk about flying in Eorzea and some general talk about alting in Final Fantasy XIV. Finally we wrap up with Sea of Thieves as Tam has been recently exploring this title and how PVP apparently doesn’t matter as much as it once did.

Topics Discussed:

  • Life in Pandemia Updates
  • RTX Voice
  • Games with 3 Year Olds
    • Mario Kart
    • Katamari
  • PSO2’s Terrible Storytelling
  • Flying in Eorzea
    • Alting in FFXIV
  • Sea of Thieves

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This is the first show of our seventh year of AggroChat, because we are apparently bad at tracking time and said nothing about our anniversary last week. We start off with another “Bel was dumb” story as he ventured forth to battle the boxpocalpyse. From there we wind around a bit through a few topics and land on another exploration of levels in video games as a concept being a bad idea. We talk about a bunch of ways that games do this and how some have figured out meaningful horizontal progression. Next up we talk about the effective death of Kotaku with the departure of Jason Schreier and this leads to a larger discussion about the odd place that “video game journalism” finds itself in and the rigors of trying to fill content for the 24 hour news cycle. We go down the rabbit hole that is Star Wars Galaxies crafting system and contrast it against a few other approaches like that of the original Everquest II system. Finally some brief discussion as Tam finds Beat Saber and the shockingly good work out it ends up being.

Topics Discussed

  • Bel and the Boxpocalypse
  • We’ve outgrown the concept of levels
    • WoW’s leveling buff
    • Marking progression horizontally
  • The Death of Kotaku
    • The challenges of gaming content creation
  • The Brilliant Madness of Star Wars Galaxies crafting
  • Beat Saber

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Tonight we are back, and we start off with an apology that logistics did not work out last week to get the band together. We start off with some discussion of the Stellaris group that has been playing as a weekly game night thing. From there Bel talks about his sojourn back into World of Warcraft Retail and his new practice of naming his Hunter pets after people. Ashgar talks about his recent experiences with Phantasy Star Online 2 and how both him and Tam bought a SADBox to play it. From there we dig into the meat of the show as we give a global spoiler warning that we are going to be talking about plot points in Final Fantasy VII. We tried to stay away from any specific plot points from the Remake, but the original is discussed an awful lot. Finally we wrap things up with some brief talk about the new PS5 Controller design and how we all generally like it.

Topics Discussed:

  • Stellaris Group Play
  • World of Warcraft Retail
    • Naming Pets after People
  • Phantasy Star Online 2
    • SADbox for everyone
  • Final Fantasy VII Remake
    • Misremembering The Game
  • PS5 Controller
    • Fully On Board With This

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Tonight we have special guest Nephsys who was hanging out with us on voice chat before the show and we didn’t want to lock her out in the cold when we all popped into the podcasting channel. This week was one of those weeks when we did not think we had much to talk about, but ultimately filled a show anyways. Up first is some discussion of Stellaris and the weekly pick up game that appears to be happening in lieu of in person board game night. There is much discussion about the vast changes that happened over the course of the games lifespan. From there we talk a bit about a love letter to Mega Man Battle Network that is called One Step from Eden. Then after that discussion Bel completely loses his place in the list of topics and goes off into an impromptu discussion of Animal Crossing thinking he needs to fill air time. Finally he sorts things out again and returns to some talk about Dragalia Lost and its recent updates before closing out the show.

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Just a heads up, Bel had a bit of technical difficulty and the humm that he has been trying to isolate and get rid of is way worse than normal. He has however ordered some expensive usb power isolation nonsense that is hopefully going to help with this in the coming weeks. Tonight we are still living in Pandemia so we talk a brief bit about that. From there Bel talks a bit about Doom Eternal and the tweaks it has made to the formula of Doom 2016. Kodra has now beaten Ori and the Will of the Wisps and is now sad as a result. We talk about the Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo and how we are generally excited for the upcoming game. While on the topic of demos we talk about the newly released Trials of Mana demo and how Ash and Bel are really looking forward to this game. We finish out the show with a discussion about Animal Crossing New Horizon and how apparently it is a cultural phenomenon already and we are mostly on board with doing nonsense for Tom Nook.

Topics Discussed

  • Life in Pandemia Updates
  • Doom Eternal
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps Beaten
  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo
  • Trials of Mana Remake Demo
  • Animal Crossing New Horizon
    • Unattended Fruit Trade Island
    • Charming Nonsense for Tom Nook

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This evening we thought we would start the show with a discussion of what life has been like for each of us in the time of Covid19. We’ve all sorta been juggling trying to maintain a relatively normal life while still remaining safe and sound. As part of this discussion we talk about the various things getting cancelled, like E3 and wondering if this is the end of that show as a whole. Kodra and Ash talk about their adventures in Ori and the Will of the Wisps and how maybe it is on par with Hollow Knight. Bel talks a bit about his problem with Destiny Seasons and how expiring content keeps him from wanting to engage. Kodra discusses his recent journey into Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and Dicey Dungeons. Finally Bel talks about how he has reached an end with his sojourn into Spiders games with Bound by Flame being the one that he just can’t bring himself to play.

Topics Discussed

  • Life in the time of Covid19
    • What day to day life is like so far
  • Goodbye to E3
  • Ori and the Will of the Wisps
  • The Destiny Seasonal Problem
  • Kodra and Pokemon Mystery Dungeon
  • Dicey Dungeons
  • Mars War Logs
  • Bound by Flame

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Another week of sick Bel trying to get through a show without going into a coughing fit and more or less succeeding. Tonight we talk about The Touryst a wonderful but misspelled visual puzzle exploration game for the Nintendo Switch. From there Bel talks about a poorly named game called Atom RPG that he stumbled across which plays like you remember Fallout 1 and 2 playing. Ash talks about playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX and his enjoyment of the game in spite of the poor reviews. Tam talks about a project that he is taking on to convert the Star Wars roleplaying systems to Pathfinder 2.0. Bel talks a bit about the Halo Combat Evolved shadow drop and a really brief discussion about Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Touryst
  • Atom RPG
  • Pokemon Mystery Dungeon DX
  • Star Wars Conversion
    • Porting to Pathfinder 2.0
  • Halo Combat Evolved Shadow Drop
  • Final Fantasy 7 Remake Demo

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Tonight we are down a bunch of people and Bel is sick so we have a bit of a chill show with a handful of topics. First up Bel talks a bit about his recent experience with the various Everquest Emulator server options. First he explores Project 1999 or the most old school and legit of projects allowing you to see just how brutal the game used to be. Realizing that was not for him he however explores EZ Everquest a server that takes a complete opposite approach and in theory turns the game into a Raiding RTS. From there we talk a bit about the impending localized release of Phantasy Star Online 2. Kodra experiences Sayonara Wild Hearts which we have talked a bit about before in the past. We get into a length discussion about the Pathfinder Game Mastery Guide which is effectively Dungeon Master School, teaching you the elements other than what it is like to follow a predescribed module. Bel gets into a discussion of the various streaming options and how GeForce Now differs from them, and the frustrations about Bethesda and Blizzard pulling out. This leads into a discussion about who is going to be the next Bioware, Bethesda or Blizzard… and we talk a bit about Larian and CD Project Red.

Topics Discussed

  • Everquest Emulator Servers
    • Project 1999
    • EZ Everquest
  • Phantasy Star Online 2
  • Sayonara Wild Hearts
  • Pathfinder Game Mastery Guide
    • Dungeon Master School
  • GeForce Now and other game streaming
    • Bethesda and Bioware Pulling Out
  • Who is the next Blizzard or Bioware?
    • Larian Studios
    • CD Project Red

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First off big thanks to @devoradordeflan for letting me use their artwork to illustrate the first topic on today's show card. We kick off with a discussion about something that is bringing me life, aka the Doom Eternal community and the Animal Crossing community creating artwork highlighting the apparent friendship between Doom Guy and Isabelle. From there we go into a topic about Learning vs Memorization in games and we discuss Rogue-Likes, Bullet Hell Shooters and Platformers as some examples. We talk a bit about the pacing of Fire Emblem and how Kodra keeps comparing it to Persona 5. Kodra also has played a lot of Bloodstained and doesn’t really get the hype and as such we talk about the bad port that is the Switch version and how maybe he just likes Hollow Knight better. Ash starts a topic about 504 the Board Game Generator and Kodra talks about how it is effectively a career worth of ideas left on the cutting room floor. Finally we talk a bit about how great the server emulator communities are with Bel talking about his recent journey back into City of Heroes and talk with his similar sojourn into Star Wars Galaxies.

Topics Discussed

  • Isabelle and Doomguy Friendship
    • Unity Between Two Fanbases
  • Learning vs Memorization
    • Rogue-Likes
    • Bullet Hell Shooters
    • Platformers
  • Pacing in Fire Emblem
    • Comparisons with Persona 5
  • Bloodstained
    • The Bad Switch Port
    • Comparisons to Hollow Knight
    • Talking about past Casltevania
  • 504
    • Board Game Generator
  • Emulator Server Communities
    • City of Heroes Homecoming
    • Star Wars Galaxies Legends
    • Everquest 1999

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After having to miss last week we had more topics than realistically could fit into a show and only actually made it through three of them. The first is the launch of Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem and how maybe early access isn’t actually a game launch in certain circumstances. We talk about the myriad problems with the online components of the game and the struggles with an indie trying to buy server capacity for high volume bursty connections. Thankfully there is an offline mode which allows us to talk a bit about why the game is worth the struggle. From there we talk about the impending Final Fantasy XIV 5.2 patch and the most recent live letter previewing features coming up for the game. Lastly we talk about returning to an alternate future where the NGE didn’t kill Star Wars Galaxies as Tam convinces Belghast to play Star Wars Legends.

Topics Discussed:

  • Wolcen: Lords of Mayhem
    • High Capacity Launches are Hard for Indies
    • Going from 1000 to 65,000 concurrent users in a day
    • The solid underlying single player experience
  • Final Fantasy XIV Live Letter
    • 5.2 Patch
    • Catching up
    • Free Company Leveling Up
  • Star Wars Galaxies
    • Star Wars Legends Server
    • Piloting Rebel Starships
    • Tam talks Bel into Playing
    • NGE and Combat Update

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Tonight we talk a bit about some technical difficulties that almost prevented us from recording the show.  As a result if anything sounds weird we are on a different server, and will likely be on yet another different server next week.  Grace was able to join us so we finally get to talk about Paper Diablo aka Book of Demons. Throughout the weekend I saw the strangest comments over our staff slack channel about a game called What the Golf and Tamrielo finally explains what the hell is up with that.  Kodra and Tam talk a bit about the close of Kentucky Route Zero. Bel talks about diving further into Spiders games and playing Technomancer and how once again their ambition outstrips their technical prowess. Ash talks about CrossCode and we wrap things up with a random topic about the perils of opening a Game Store.

Topics Discussed

  • Book of Demons
  • What the Golf
  • Kentucky Route Zero
  • The Technomancer
  • CrossCode
  • Perils of Opening a Game Shop

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Tonight we start the show by letting you off the hook and explaining a reference that originally I was just going to make the show title without explaining. Bel has been playing an obsessive amount of Greedfall and it is the sort of experience that the deeper he gets into the game the more his opinion of it improves. Tam has been playing Elsinore a game where you recast Hamlet with the goal of trying to get Ophelia to survive. In many ways he says this is the game that he wished Return of the Obra Dinn had been. Bel talks about TemTem the not-Pokemon MMORPG which will likely give the storied franchise a run for its money because it is really well done. Kodra takes our advice and explores Into the Breach and has an “Oh Crap It’s 2 am, how did that happen” moment. Finally Bel is astonished that Theros Beyond Death brings back Underworld Dreams at Uncommon rarity.

Topics Discussed:

  • The Mighty Ferrite Bead
    • What it does do
    • What it cannot do
  • Greedfall
    • Improving Opinion
    • Games that Sucker Punch You
  • Elsinore
    • Obra Dinn with Better Story
  • TemTem
    • As close to a Pokemon MMORPG you can get without being sued
    • Legitimate Competition for Pokemon
  • Into the Breach
    • Oh Crap It’s 2 am
  • Theros Beyond Death
    • Underworld Dreams is Uncommon?

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Tonight we start off with a discussion about Awesome Games Done Quick 2020 which just concluded and raised a little over 3 million dollars for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. From there we talk about Pax South 2020 and the interesting things Ashgar has encountered while being there. Bel goes into a diatribe about the Witcher games not doing a great job of explaining the cast of characters. 2020 is a year of game delays so far and we talk about a few of them and why we are mostly okay with them. We then close out with a long discussion about Fire Emblem: Three Houses which leads its way into a discussion about Tactics versus Strategy.

Featured Topics

  • Awesome Games Done Quick - January 2020
  • Pax South 2020
    • Indie Games
    • Small Publishers
    • Tabletop Gaming
  • The Witcher Problem
    • Related to the Destiny Problem
  • 2020 The Year of Delays
    • Wishing it meant no crunch time
  • Fire Emblem: Three Houses
    • Tactics vs Strategy
    • Perfect Information vs Learned Insight

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As we work on our “Games of the Decade” show, one of the things that kept coming up was whether or not to put tabletop games on the list.  After some back and forth we decided that really the tabletop show was a show of its own, because this decade changed the status quo significantly.  There is a certain amount of hyperbole in the show title, but in truth this is the decade when D&D and Settlers of Catan started being sold at Walmart and Target, and you can’t get much more mainstream than that.  We talk about the meteoric explosion of tabletop gaming and some of the factors we feel potentially triggered it. It was a wildly meandering show and we found it impossible to come up with a bullet point list of what we discussed.  We almost completely missed miniature wargaming, which may end up being its own show at some point.

Topics Discussed

  • Pen and paper
  • Board games
  • Card games
  • Pop culture references

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It is that time again, time for another games of the year show.  As is usually the case we fire up a google form and have each member of the AggroChat cast pick their top 5 picks for the year.  This then gets collated into the final list that we talked about during the show. This time around we had thirteen different titles to talk about, with the highest voted title getting 5 different votes from staff members.  Since we have talked at length about most of these games, the resulting discussion ends up being more a trip down memory lane than a deep dive.

Topics Discussed:

  • 2019 Games of the Year Show
    • Trials of Mana
    • Anthem
    • The Outer Worlds
    • Devil May Cry 5
    • Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice
    • World of Warcraft Classic
    • Greedfall
    • Fire Emblem: Three Houses
    • Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night
    • Jedi Fallen Order
    • Untitled Goose Game
    • Baba Is You
    • Final Fantasy XIV: Shadowbringers

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Bel is back but still sick and hoping his voice holds! Tonight we have a short reprise of the Star Wars Rise of the Skywalker discussion from last week since Bel didn’t get to participate. This tiptoes around being spoiler so your mileage may vary. From there we talk about A Short Hike a charming game about meeting animal friends while trying to get mobile phone reception. Tam talks about his experience with the Battlefront 2 campaign mode and a bit of him replaying SWTOR campaigns. Bel talks about Video Games being ported to the small screen and how they are more “inspired by” than accurate. The Witcher however has a shot for shot recreation of a battle from the first game and we dive into that. Bel also has been playing a ton of Witcher 3 and is completely enthralled with the game now. Kodra talks about his experience with Slay the Spire and then we talk some more Pokemon Sword and Shield.

Topics Discussed

  • Star Wars Discussion Reprised
  • A Short Hike
    • Animal Crossing With a Point
  • Star Wars Battlefront 2 Campaign
  • Revisiting SWTOR Campaigns
  • Video Games Adapted to Screen
    • Witcher Shot for Shot Recreation
  • Revisiting Witcher 3
  • Slay the Spire
  • Pokemon Sword and Shield
    • Merits of Shift vs Set

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Tonight we are down several folks including Belghast, so as a result Tamrielo is filling in with the role of leading the festivities.  There is some confusion and this show is announced as 281 only to realize after recording that it is in fact 280. Tonight the AggroChat crew talks about their feelings regarding the final movie in the Star Wars Skywalker Saga.  The opinions run the gambit from enjoyed it quite a bit to absolutely hated the experience and this leads to a pretty balanced discussion about the movie that the future of Star Wars.

Topics Discussed:

  • Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

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Tonight we kick off the show talking about the first week of Destiny 2 Season of Dawn and all of the new content that appeared.  From there we talk about the big shadow drop of Warframe Empyrean and the ability to crew giant spaceships. We spend the rest of the show talking about various things that were announced during the fifth Game Awards.  It was a two hour long commercial that confirmed that once again Microsoft is terrible at naming things.

Topics Discussed:

  • Destiny 2
    • Season of Dawn
  • Warframe
    • Empyrean
    • High Space Piracy
  • The Game Awards 2019

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Tonight we start the show with Bel talking about Darksiders Genesis and how it doesn’t really fit into the Diablo mold.  Bel also talks about his recent experience with the vastly different Wolcen as it nears entering early access. We talk about the large free update to Mario Maker 2 that among other things introduces the Master Sword powerup.  We discuss the Turn Based mod for Pathfinder Kingmaker which leads into a discussion about Turn Based and the Pause/Action RPGs. Tam talks about his recent journey into Star Trek Online and Ash talks about One Step from Eden. Finally Bel and Thalen talk a bit about the upcoming Season of Dawn in Destiny 2 and the end of the Season of Undying.

Topics Discussed

  • Darksiders Genesis
  • Wolcen Post Alpha
  • Mario Maker 2 Update 2
    • Link In Mario Maker
  • Turn Based Pathfinder Kingmaker
    • Turn based vs Action/Pause RPGs
  • Star Trek Online
  • One Step from Eden
  • Destiny 2 Season of Dawn

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Tonight we have a show with a running theme about launches of varying degrees of success. We get the memes out of our system about the Cybertruck and how Bel would absolutely drive one. We talk about the concerning launch of the Google Stadia and the challenges of cloud gaming in general. We talk about the announcement of Half Life Alyx… and how we all became way less interesting when we heard it was VR. We talk about the launch of Pokemon Sword and Shield and how Ash is frustrated about the lack of the eternal PokeDex, but otherwise it is a solid game. Grace and Bel talk about the rocky start to Diablo 3 Season 19 and the various bugs that they are encountering. Bel and Thalen talk about the Vex Offensive entering the Final Assault in Destiny 2, and how players were expecting it to be something different. Finally Bel talks a little bit about returning to and playing a bit of the Anthem Cataclysm events.

Topics Discussed

  • Cybertruck
    • Object Still Loading
  • Google Stadia
    • Challenges of Cloud Gaming
    • Unknown Market
    • XCloud / Playstation Now / Parsec
  • Half Life Alyx
    • Half Life 1 ½
    • The Failure of VR
  • Pokemon Sword and Shield
  • Diablo 3 Season 19 Issues
  • Destiny 2 Vex Offensive Final Assault
    • Fans Expected Fatebringer 2.0
  • Anthem Redux