WEBVTT
00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.620
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode seven
00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:06.219
of digital downtime. It's your boy Gilly here,
00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.880
as always. A lot to talk about this week. Probably
00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:13.080
gonna focus on early attendance for game of the
00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:16.600
year. And 2025 has been swinging out the gates,
00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:18.940
game after game after game. It's been kind of
00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.420
hard to keep up. But there's a few titles in
00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:24.460
particular I wanna focus on. One is Split Fiction,
00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:26.280
which I played with my homie Ricky. Shout out
00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.719
to my boy Ricky. Phenomenal game. Two is expedition
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.640
33, which has just been doing great commercially
00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:38.280
a team of 30 people Critically really well received.
00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.479
I think it's the highest rated user Metacritic
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.560
game of all time which speaks volumes Also, we're
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:47.060
discussing Blueprints, which is a rogue -like
00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:49.820
puzzle game, which I haven't got my hands on
00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:52.740
yet, but I've been hearing crazy things. So we're
00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.039
going to discuss these three games in particular,
00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.119
see how they stand in the overall end of year
00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.619
Game of the Year rankings. Furthermore, we'll
00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.320
also be discussing the Switch 2. I know my last
00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:06.519
episode was highly dedicated to it, and I was
00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:08.260
proven wrong because pre -orders have been going
00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:10.439
crazy. So we'll talk a little bit more about
00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:13.099
the demand and hype for the Nintendo Switch 2.
00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:16.349
Followed all by that. Of course, they're gonna
00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:19.129
be our have you played this segment and this
00:01:19.129 --> 00:01:22.930
week's? Segment we'll be looking at a game Which
00:01:22.930 --> 00:01:26.670
recently got remastered in shadow dropped. So
00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:29.689
if you had been living under a rock Believing
00:01:29.689 --> 00:01:32.109
got remastered. So that's the game. We'll be
00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:33.950
talking about on this week's have you played
00:01:33.950 --> 00:02:07.519
this? Stay tuned So right out the gate, let's
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.280
talk about split fiction. Like I said, I played
00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:10.979
the entire game with my buddy Ricky, shout out
00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:14.599
Ricky. We started the game about on a Monday
00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.479
and then we ended up finishing it by Sunday.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.759
Granted, you know, we both work full -time jobs,
00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:24.259
live in different time zones, et cetera. The
00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:25.900
point I'm trying to make is the game was just
00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:31.250
that fucking good. I'm always amazed by hazelite
00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:34.430
because I always wonder okay, how is Joseph fairs
00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:37.830
gonna top himself from last time, right? And
00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:40.289
to be fair, I've played every Joseph fairs game
00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:44.129
in history. So before even hazelite was established
00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:50.449
as a studio Joseph fairs worked on What's the
00:02:50.449 --> 00:02:52.509
game called I don't want to butcher it brother
00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:55.650
of two tails Brothers a tale of two sons. Sorry,
00:02:55.750 --> 00:02:57.349
which was released by starbreed studios back
00:02:57.349 --> 00:03:01.639
in 2013 So I even played that game and I thought
00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:05.479
it was pretty good It's like video game in an
00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.439
art form to the highest degree Heavy narrative
00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.580
short game gameplay wasn't fully fine -tuned
00:03:13.580 --> 00:03:18.000
but Still still a great experience that could
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.360
be played solo You didn't need like it was a
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.419
co -op game, but it was played solo if that makes
00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:26.669
sense And then you get to Hayes late studios,
00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:28.789
and I don't know what else has to be said about
00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:32.129
Hayes late 2018 a way out. I played with my buddy
00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:36.310
Damien shout out Damien 2021 it takes to also
00:03:36.310 --> 00:03:38.330
played with Damien and then now in 2025 split
00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:42.409
fiction played with Ricky The way out was phenomenal
00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:46.969
You know to do trying to get out of jail three
00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:49.969
years later it takes who comes out focus on a
00:03:49.969 --> 00:03:52.580
married couple with troubles I thought that was
00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:56.240
a huge level up in terms of scope, gameplay direction,
00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.120
storytelling, just overall cohesiveness of the
00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:02.099
game. Just a big step up from a way out to It
00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:05.979
Takes Two. Now you bring us to modern day, Split
00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:09.580
Fiction 2025. And once again, Joseph Fares and
00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:12.759
Hayes Light Studio find a way to level up because
00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.020
the level up from It Takes Two to Split Fiction
00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:20.889
is crazy. I'm talking... Just from sheer creativity,
00:04:21.389 --> 00:04:28.250
it's outstanding. Scope is gigantic, level design,
00:04:28.709 --> 00:04:32.610
gameplay design. At first, we're a bit iffy on
00:04:32.610 --> 00:04:35.689
the narrative, but how the narrative flushes
00:04:35.689 --> 00:04:39.089
out into the gameplay design choices, the amount
00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:44.069
of variety in the game. The game is more challenging.
00:04:44.329 --> 00:04:47.560
It's definitely a gamer's gamer. So I've been
00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:49.199
kind of joking around some people at work and
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.160
other places like if you're trying to play this
00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.980
with your Non -gaming kind of partner You guys
00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:57.019
might be in hell for the hell of a time because
00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:58.379
there are certain parts where Ricky and I got
00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:02.339
stuck for a little bit but the point is man,
00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:07.100
it's just I Don't even know where to start right
00:05:07.100 --> 00:05:11.040
so quick synopsis the game follows two authors
00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:16.139
Mio and Zoe They go to some publishing company
00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:22.240
to get their stories published Instead he puts
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.399
them in this kind of machine What's his name
00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.459
Raider Raider publishing? He kind of puts them
00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:31.259
in this machine to steal their creative ideas.
00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:33.720
However, they end up in prison in the same bubble
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:38.220
so then Their work of arts their minds their
00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.819
creativity kind of overlap and that's what you
00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:44.149
see throughout the game So Mio is more sci -fi
00:05:44.149 --> 00:05:49.149
stories Zoe is more fantasy stories And the way
00:05:49.149 --> 00:05:51.310
they interlock they kind of interchange with
00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:53.610
each other. So let's say if you're on a sci -fi
00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:58.370
level Then there's a there's a wide array of
00:05:58.370 --> 00:06:01.290
these side stories that pop up And I would like
00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:04.029
to say please please please do all the side stories.
00:06:04.029 --> 00:06:07.129
I think there's 12 or 13 The side stories in
00:06:07.129 --> 00:06:11.040
this game are fucking phenomenal, man You're
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.300
talking about sheer creativity. Like the side
00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.060
stories alone is something I would just replay,
00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:20.779
I think, because there are side stories of like,
00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:23.680
there's like an XSX, you know, snowboarding inspired
00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:28.180
level. There's one, you know, where you have
00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:29.800
this game, where you have this bomb that you're
00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.040
trying to get rid of in this game show. There's
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:35.100
one where you're just pigs. Like it's just, the
00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:38.069
side stories are so crazy. but back to my original
00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:39.870
point, let's say if you're in Mio's sci -fi world
00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.709
then the side stories would be fantasy and then
00:06:42.709 --> 00:06:44.850
if you're in Zoe's fantasy world then the side
00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:50.370
stories will be sci -fi so there's always constant
00:06:50.370 --> 00:06:54.050
rotation and then neither sci -fi or fantasy
00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:56.250
setting ever really kind of feels still because
00:06:56.250 --> 00:06:58.810
you're going in between between them so much
00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:04.089
and they do a really good job of it but yeah
00:07:05.229 --> 00:07:08.170
This game is specifically meant for just multiplayer.
00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.149
So whether you do that spud screen, I'm sure
00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:12.490
in person like it's what's going to be kind of
00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:15.769
funny. Um, but yeah, split screen or online,
00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:21.370
um, to become trapped in their own stories. Um,
00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:23.310
there's just so much, man, there's just so much
00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:27.569
going on here. Um, have you on the platforming,
00:07:27.569 --> 00:07:33.050
um, 3d and 2d. So be prepared for that. And then
00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:36.230
each stage is kind of. They introduce different
00:07:36.230 --> 00:07:41.310
unique gameplay mechanics. So like, you might
00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:43.569
have dragons in one and another, you know, one
00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:46.750
might be a machine and the other person kind
00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:49.110
of has like a gravitational pull. Like there's
00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:51.509
some sort of unique gameplay mechanic, right?
00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:55.490
So more particularly the dragon stage. Yeah,
00:07:55.490 --> 00:07:57.610
like you can be commanding dragons and other
00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:00.230
one there, you know, you're wielding laser swords.
00:08:01.290 --> 00:08:02.990
And then the abilities differ for each character.
00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:07.410
So then it forces collaboration and utilizing
00:08:07.410 --> 00:08:09.529
each other's respective abilities to progress,
00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:12.290
which is great. And then like I mentioned, the
00:08:12.290 --> 00:08:15.089
side stories are awesome. There's about one or
00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:18.949
two that are kind of missable. We missed one,
00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:22.509
not to go back to do it. But besides that, for
00:08:22.509 --> 00:08:24.269
the most part, they're pretty much in your face.
00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:27.509
The side stories are kind of unfinished ideas,
00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:30.430
and mostly written by Zoe and Mio when they're
00:08:30.430 --> 00:08:33.769
younger. And then I like the main story, they're
00:08:33.769 --> 00:08:36.950
also accompanied with some sort of gameplay mechanic.
00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:43.429
But man, the game is awesome. I don't know what
00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:46.730
else to say about it. If you like video games
00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:48.470
period, if you like platforming, if you like
00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.549
co -op, if you like, you just got to play it.
00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:54.730
And I think all the success for the team is great.
00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:56.490
I think it's sitting at what? Like a 90 plus
00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:00.190
on Metacritic. Sold 2 million units in the first
00:09:00.190 --> 00:09:05.309
week. Just praises all around there's not many
00:09:05.309 --> 00:09:10.730
games so Objectively speaking there's no real
00:09:10.730 --> 00:09:12.509
10 out of 10 in the world right, but there are
00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:15.269
personal 10 out of 10 because Using the game
00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:18.750
is so great now Is there still flaws in this
00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.409
game? Of course like there's Objectively again,
00:09:21.409 --> 00:09:23.769
there's nothing that's perfect, but I don't remember
00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:25.889
the last time I personally gave a game a 10 out
00:09:25.889 --> 00:09:29.769
of 10 It's been a long time In recent times,
00:09:29.929 --> 00:09:33.129
Bellatra is up there. Elden Ring is up there.
00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:36.470
I did like Phantom Liberty, like the DLC for
00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:39.789
Cyberpunk. But I don't think like they're all
00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:43.610
like in the nine plus area, right? But Speed
00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.230
of Fiction gets a 10 from me. And Ricky agreed.
00:09:46.269 --> 00:09:49.789
So it gets a 10 from the both of us. So find
00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:52.049
someone to play with. You might need an actual
00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:56.690
gaming buddy for this one. Please play it. Like
00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.809
I said, the narrative takes a bit to kind of
00:09:59.809 --> 00:10:03.929
get going. But what's so cool about it is because
00:10:03.929 --> 00:10:05.710
it's like each other's subconscious and their
00:10:05.710 --> 00:10:09.649
ideas, they're, Zoe and Mio's like their real
00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:12.830
life struggles as individuals, like outside of
00:10:12.830 --> 00:10:16.649
just like outside of their, you know, ideas as
00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:21.649
authors come so to life in these worlds. And
00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:23.490
you know, you know what they say about art is
00:10:23.490 --> 00:10:26.019
like you always You always put a part of yourself
00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.299
in the art, right? Whether that's developers
00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:31.080
putting into video games or musicians putting
00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.779
in their art, authors in their books, directors
00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:36.100
in their movies, etc. There's a little bit of
00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:38.820
view that gets put into your work. So when you
00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:41.080
start going through more of these worlds, especially
00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:42.600
the side stories, right? Because they're developed
00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.100
at a younger age, they're unfinished. You see
00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:48.419
more and more of Zoey and Mio and you see their
00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:51.259
personal traumas and how they come into play
00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:53.940
in these... crazy crazy fictional narratives
00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.480
they've made and how they help each other out
00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.220
to overcome them so it actually is really cool
00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:05.440
um and the idea of the game is so cool and how
00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.759
successful it's been um there's gonna be a film
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.600
adaptation uh which really they could have done
00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:12.940
for any hazelight game they could have done it
00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:18.110
for a way out or it takes two um so sydney Sydney
00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:21.049
Sweeney will be starring in the movie also serving
00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:24.990
as an executive producer Her role hasn't been
00:11:24.990 --> 00:11:27.190
disclosed yet, but if I would have to guess she's
00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:31.509
probably gonna play Zoe So then that just leaves
00:11:31.509 --> 00:11:36.409
Another female lead to play Mio. So we'll see
00:11:36.409 --> 00:11:40.330
who that ends up being It's directed by John
00:11:40.330 --> 00:11:44.490
too he did crazy rich Asians and most recently
00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:49.299
wicked so Yeah, hopefully it's in good hands,
00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.659
but I just wanted to add to how popular the game
00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:59.200
is and how Crazy it is creative creatively So
00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.500
I know it's gonna be a busy year There's still
00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:04.080
a lot of games coming out and I know switch 2
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:05.519
is gonna have a lot of games coming out rocks
00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.879
right so Coming out with what we assume is GTA
00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:12.429
6 this year in the fall time But Split Fiction
00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:15.129
right now is my current game of the year and
00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:19.649
regardless it should be a nominee because...
00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:24.690
Wow. 10 out of 10. Heard it first from Gilly,
00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:34.830
digital downtime. So now switching focus to another
00:12:34.830 --> 00:12:38.669
game that just recently came out on April 24th.
00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:44.309
Claire obscure expedition 33 I'll probably just
00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:46.309
be referring to the game as expedition 33 because
00:12:46.309 --> 00:12:48.850
it's easier than Claire obscure expedition 33
00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:53.669
They showed this game last year And you can correct
00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:56.289
me if I'm wrong I do recall seeing this game
00:12:56.289 --> 00:12:59.250
last year at the Xbox showcase last summer in
00:12:59.250 --> 00:13:04.110
2024. I thought to myself, okay There might be
00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:07.740
something here, right? It's a French studio,
00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:12.179
but takes a lot of influence from JRPGs. Like
00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:14.720
at first look, people labeled it as a French
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.399
persona, which is by not any means bad criticism
00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:23.179
or bad comparison. If anything, a lot of people
00:13:23.179 --> 00:13:27.100
in RPG were really excited. I even saw some memes,
00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:29.220
you know, some people refer to it as a JRPG,
00:13:29.299 --> 00:13:31.399
you know, like instead of JRPG, like, you know,
00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:34.500
like the French. Anyways. i don't know if that
00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:38.980
hits or not but but now that the game is out
00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:41.340
as i mentioned the opener i think it's the highest
00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:47.419
rated metacritic game by users um it's the highest
00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:51.620
rated game of the year so far even critically
00:13:51.620 --> 00:13:54.559
surpassing split fiction which is kind of kind
00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.960
of od and then also i'm really proud to announce
00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.100
that the studio has sold one million units within
00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:09.009
three days of release So I have not yet to play
00:14:09.009 --> 00:14:13.429
it. The reason being is because Oblivion remastered
00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:16.289
Shadow Drops three days prior to this game's
00:14:16.289 --> 00:14:18.330
release, which we'll talk about a bit more later.
00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:21.370
But Oblivion is probably going to take up a huge
00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:24.590
chunk of my time. But whenever I feel bored,
00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:26.970
which is who knows, probably never. But whenever
00:14:26.970 --> 00:14:29.840
I get through a lot of it, Because I was looking
00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:31.820
at the achievements for Oblivion and it's really
00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.360
just doing the main story, you know, all the
00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.820
guilds, Shivering Isles. Should never have played
00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:40.080
originally, but again, we'll talk about that
00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:42.799
later. Expedition 33 is definitely next on the
00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.100
list. Again, my buddy Ricky, who I played Switch
00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:48.340
Fiction with, was mentioning so far that the
00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:51.340
game is phenomenal. Like I said, the ratings
00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:54.320
and the reviews, both from critics and gamers,
00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:57.460
both speak volumes and they sold one million
00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.279
units. Which in the first three days of release,
00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:04.019
which is awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome news
00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:09.220
And What makes me excited about this title and
00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:12.639
also being a potential game of the year is that
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:17.659
a lot of people turn down turn based RPGs You
00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:22.340
just have to do it, right? You know a good example
00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:24.720
is mother 3 if you ever get your hands on it
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:26.679
I like the way paper Mario thousand year door
00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:32.240
did it Obviously I've not had the opportunity
00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:34.360
to play other persona games yet about persona
00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.220
5 I think did a really good job on it. That's
00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.679
what kind of helped me Get through the game because
00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.100
I was like, okay, it's kind of a cool turn -based
00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:44.340
system So anytime I see a turn -based game and
00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:46.220
this much love it makes me think okay They must
00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:48.860
have done something unique with it, right? And
00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:52.059
they do There's some real -time aspects such
00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:53.879
as quick time events and timing based actions
00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:58.490
both in offense and defense And then when you're
00:15:58.490 --> 00:16:00.450
in defensive state all attacks need to be dodged
00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:06.230
or parried, right? so Yeah, I mean like I said
00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.610
took a big inspiration from Final Fantasy persona
00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:14.730
The team is only 30 people so I mean If 30 people
00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:17.389
can create a game this beautiful this unique
00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:20.470
I think the game runs on unreal engine 5 just
00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.899
like the oblivion remaster which have more realistic
00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:27.259
lighting, the adaptation of the lumen features,
00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:32.580
right? And yeah, it just looks crazy, right?
00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.500
It's in this dark fantasy, like belly. I'm gonna
00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:44.220
probably fuck this up. The belly epoque, epoque
00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:46.500
era, which is pretty much like the beautiful
00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:50.940
era in French slash European history. kind of
00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:55.940
in the late 80s I think, early 1900s. This era
00:16:55.940 --> 00:17:00.620
is kind of symbolized by optimism, enlightenment,
00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:04.279
nationalism, peace, you know, huge technological,
00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:07.640
scientific, cultural innovations. So I'm kind
00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.099
of excited to see all that pan out in this game.
00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:16.059
But yes, Exhibition 33 I think is gonna be another
00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:19.089
strong contender. for Game of the Year, potentially
00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:22.069
Game of the Year. I mean, you guys will hear
00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.630
it when I play and get through it. So I'm very,
00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:32.509
very excited for that. And then thirdly, speaking
00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.869
of this early Game of the Year discussion, we
00:17:34.869 --> 00:17:38.130
have Blueprints, which was released on April
00:17:38.130 --> 00:17:42.210
10th, 2025, developed by Dogobomb and published
00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:47.950
by Raw Fury. It's a roguelike puzzle game from
00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:54.190
my understanding. You pretty much are in a mansion
00:17:54.190 --> 00:17:58.089
with ever -shifting rooms, ad -hoc construction
00:17:58.089 --> 00:18:00.930
of mansion rooms, through the drafting of randomized
00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:03.829
cards, and the goal here is to reach the hidden
00:18:03.829 --> 00:18:09.430
46th room. Filling to reach it will reset the
00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:11.970
run like any good roguelike and randomize the
00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:16.680
rooms again. according to the developers they
00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.140
were influenced by maze uh solve the world's
00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:24.680
most challenging puzzle uh the book and other
00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.119
puzzle books along with tabletop games that featured
00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.240
drafting so to all my engineers engineer techs
00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:35.819
out there again um the game received a high high
00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:40.750
praise a critical acclaim all around At the time
00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:42.410
it was released it was the highest rated game
00:18:42.410 --> 00:18:46.670
for 2025 based on Metacritic averages Which got
00:18:46.670 --> 00:18:49.869
surpassed by Expedition 33 But now we're talking
00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:52.029
about three games in a row here, Split Fiction,
00:18:52.170 --> 00:18:58.230
Blue Prince Expedition 33 just crazy loved I'm
00:18:58.230 --> 00:19:01.170
looking at Eurogamer's five -star review and
00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:07.250
the reviewer Christian Donlin mentions out That
00:19:07.250 --> 00:19:09.769
the game keeping a secret hidden releasing them
00:19:09.769 --> 00:19:13.210
slowly is the most impressive aspect It's the
00:19:13.210 --> 00:19:15.329
pleasure of finding hidden aspects of things
00:19:15.329 --> 00:19:17.769
you thought you understood in full The pleasure
00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:19.450
of coming back to something you thought was simple
00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:23.710
and finding that it's not simple at all To me
00:19:23.710 --> 00:19:28.250
What the what that kind of translates to is There's
00:19:28.250 --> 00:19:30.349
something there that keeps drawing you back in
00:19:30.349 --> 00:19:32.470
and like any fantastic rogue like that's what
00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:37.170
you really need Like I said recently from like
00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:39.230
uh, my cousin gifted me blotch with christmas
00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:43.390
so from like christmas to like What is it now?
00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:45.609
I think probably like february march. I was just
00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:48.009
hooked on blotcho man Like most of my time was
00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:50.269
just playing blotcho or marvel rivals, right?
00:19:51.329 --> 00:19:54.150
I love blotcho because it just gets you so hooked.
00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:59.329
Um Same thing with other uh hades was similar
00:19:59.329 --> 00:20:01.950
the same way for me, uh, the narrative piece
00:20:01.950 --> 00:20:05.549
got me so hooked in the gameplay loop Like I
00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:07.089
said, really good roguelikes just have a way
00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:09.950
of doing something. Balotra wasn't the story,
00:20:09.950 --> 00:20:12.430
but it was just a gameplay loop, which in Hades
00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:17.730
is both. And then so here it's this, because
00:20:17.730 --> 00:20:21.589
it's just so unique, right? Like a puzzle roguelike,
00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:25.690
the unsolving mysteries and having your piece
00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:27.750
brain together, having your brain piece together
00:20:27.750 --> 00:20:30.349
everything, kind of have some familiarity with
00:20:30.349 --> 00:20:32.549
the more runs you do. Kind of seems like the
00:20:32.549 --> 00:20:36.440
sweet spot for this game. A lot of people saying
00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:40.640
it's the best puzzle game since Portal You know
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:45.740
40 plus craftable floor plans Again a really
00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.160
good roguelike just needs an addicting gameplay
00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:50.680
loop. I think that's what they did here again
00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:53.799
I haven't had my time to play yet But I will
00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:58.660
but I did Just as you know, just just to have
00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:01.440
shine some light I did want to mention all three
00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:02.980
of these games because I do think all three of
00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:05.579
them will be Huge huge huge contenders for game
00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:09.240
of the year. So again split fiction Completely
00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:12.619
ran through go play it now 10 out of 10 And I
00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.500
can safely say just based on what I've seen in
00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:15.900
the gaming community and my other colleagues
00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:18.539
and peers You know not just critics reviews because
00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:21.140
you know, you never know But based on personal
00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:24.440
colleague peer reviews and steam and everything
00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:28.339
else Expedition 33 and blueprints also both are
00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:33.450
worth it. I also wanted to mention For my homies
00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.410
gaming on a budget or just looking to you know,
00:21:35.450 --> 00:21:40.150
not spend Expedition 33 and blueprints are also
00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:45.750
both available on Game Pass So just FYI Which
00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:49.589
is great if that's what you want to do, but yeah,
00:21:50.410 --> 00:21:53.970
man It's just so many games. Maybe once I stop
00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:55.650
being addicted to oblivion, maybe blueprints
00:21:55.650 --> 00:21:57.529
is next But I think it will be Expedition 33
00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:01.980
and then blueprints So rest assured Before the
00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:05.839
years over I promise I will get through These
00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:07.819
two games already got this perfection, but I
00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:09.299
will get through expedition 33 and blueprints
00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:15.380
as well and can form a more of an opinion But
00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:18.359
as of now I'm safe to say that These three can
00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:19.759
definitely be game of the year contenders for
00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:22.319
sure And as this speaks to the volume of gaming,
00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:27.240
you know, we're only in April. So Yeah, yeah,
00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.630
but the more I'm looking at blueprints Yeah,
00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:32.269
a lot of people saying best puzzle games are
00:22:32.269 --> 00:22:35.569
the Portal, Portal 2, or the Chalice Principle.
00:22:35.849 --> 00:22:37.789
Countless mansion layouts, dozens of rooms to
00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:42.130
discover and utilize. A lot of lore to absorb.
00:22:43.589 --> 00:22:45.769
And it's the first game from the studio, which
00:22:45.769 --> 00:22:50.990
is great. So, yeah. Make sure you check out all
00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:55.369
three. Moving on from this potential early game
00:22:55.369 --> 00:22:59.380
of the year 2025 discussion. we'll be moving
00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:02.839
shifting gears into Nintendo Switch 2 quickly
00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:04.960
once again. I won't take up as much time as I
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.880
did you know like last week's dedicated episode
00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.019
but I want to touch base on it a bit so stay
00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:18.680
tuned. So last week's episode I talked about
00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.200
the Switch 2 and its pricing and how you guys
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:25.819
felt about it and then I realized once I released
00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:29.460
that episode News broke out that the prices won't
00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:32.740
be changing due to all the tariff fiasco. The
00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:35.660
prices for the consoles remain locked in, but
00:23:35.660 --> 00:23:38.660
the prices for accessories shot up. So that's
00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:42.500
kind of how Nintendo combated that. So I did
00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:45.000
want to make point of that in case someone was
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.039
like, hey man, like you didn't mention it last
00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.319
time. Yeah, it's last time. By the time I recorded
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.910
it, by the time I released the episode. News
00:23:53.910 --> 00:23:56.069
broke about the tear. I was like that same day
00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.730
or the next day. I don't quite recall but I'm
00:23:58.730 --> 00:24:00.289
almost like, okay shoot I'll mention it next
00:24:00.289 --> 00:24:04.109
time so price stays the same but the accessories
00:24:04.109 --> 00:24:07.809
went up um And man like I just like to bitch
00:24:07.809 --> 00:24:10.089
and moan but the canadian dollar is so trash
00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:12.930
for all for all those for all of you that didn't
00:24:12.930 --> 00:24:17.190
know I am canadian and man, it's They finally
00:24:17.190 --> 00:24:18.950
got the game pressing out there. I think it's
00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:23.140
like 100 bucks for donkey kong bonanza 109 at
00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:27.099
110 for Mario car 110 for the switch Pro 2 controller
00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.819
I mean if you convert it from the USD pricing
00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:34.400
it adds up, but just absolutely crazy But what
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.420
I did want to touch on about Nintendo switch
00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:40.559
to real quick here Is that despite all the bitching
00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.619
and complaining about the pricing? Worldwide
00:24:43.619 --> 00:24:46.680
like I said intend you know people are going
00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:48.859
to Nintendo tree houses and being like drop the
00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:52.609
price drop the price drop the price The pre -orders
00:24:52.609 --> 00:24:55.470
have been going nuts, so the pre -orders did
00:24:55.470 --> 00:25:00.690
go live recently I'm trying to recall what they
00:25:00.690 --> 00:25:09.029
did So apologies with me The pre -order started
00:25:09.029 --> 00:25:15.789
on April 24th and all over the USA Canada UK
00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:21.599
It went crazy The pre -order has been crazy.
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.900
So I just wanted to come on here and admit that
00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.440
I was wrong. Um, people bitch and complain about
00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:30.240
things. I bitch and complain about things, especially
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.980
when it comes to pricing, but it doesn't matter.
00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.640
Um, so in Canada, particularly, um, Nintendo
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:38.339
Switch 2, like I said, pre -orders went live
00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:41.720
on April 24th and they seemed even more challenging
00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.839
to obtain than the PS5. So I'm looking at an
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:47.710
article here from mobilesirup .com. I know it's
00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:50.130
a funny name, but usually they give up -to -date
00:25:50.130 --> 00:25:54.069
gaming tech news, etc. about Canada. That's why
00:25:54.069 --> 00:25:57.930
it's called Mobile Syrup. And they're stating
00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:01.569
that Switch 2 was more hard to obtain than the
00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:05.269
PS5. Talking about huge retailers, Walmart, Best
00:26:05.269 --> 00:26:09.789
Buy, GameStop, London Drugs, Costco. Pretty much
00:26:09.789 --> 00:26:12.609
everywhere sold out of Nintendo's console within
00:26:12.609 --> 00:26:16.130
minutes. Article mentions while multiple mobile
00:26:16.130 --> 00:26:18.470
syrup staffers couldn't pre -order it, could
00:26:18.470 --> 00:26:20.869
pre -order it, this particular writer failed
00:26:20.869 --> 00:26:23.450
at every turn. I couldn't manage to get to the
00:26:23.450 --> 00:26:25.650
console from midnight to catch pre -orders at
00:26:25.650 --> 00:26:27.470
Walmart to waking up at 9am to make sure I was
00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:30.349
ready for the best by launch. Still might have
00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:33.269
a chance with Amazon as the e -commerce company
00:26:33.269 --> 00:26:36.789
sends out invites to those who sign up. There
00:26:36.789 --> 00:26:38.589
will be multiple pre -order rounds but I failed
00:26:38.589 --> 00:26:41.490
on the first attempt. and then asking the question,
00:26:41.509 --> 00:26:44.950
were you more successful? So long story short,
00:26:45.309 --> 00:26:49.210
I was proven wrong. People don't care. In Canada,
00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:52.289
particularly, the Switch 2 launches on June 5th
00:26:52.289 --> 00:26:57.390
at a price point of $629 .99, so $630. In a bundle
00:26:57.390 --> 00:26:59.289
that includes a digital copy of Mario Kart World,
00:26:59.410 --> 00:27:05.349
it's $699 .99, $700. So you'd obviously want
00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:07.589
to opt for the bundle. since we're getting the
00:27:07.589 --> 00:27:10.910
game for $70 instead of the ridiculous $110 I
00:27:10.910 --> 00:27:15.069
mentioned earlier. But again, it's ridiculous
00:27:15.069 --> 00:27:19.910
just because our... It's just our dollar sucks.
00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:24.269
Brings me to another question regarding Nintendo
00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:26.289
Switch 2 pre -order fast going just to hype in
00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:30.789
general. It's okay if you didn't pre -order Switch
00:27:30.789 --> 00:27:34.250
2. I think it's my opinion on it. I dug up a
00:27:34.250 --> 00:27:37.809
CNET article. Kind of wanted a reference here
00:27:37.809 --> 00:27:41.150
FOMO. You guys don't know what FOMO is stands
00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:44.509
for fear of missing out FOMO for gaming, you
00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:48.869
know any new tech all that stuff is hard Anytime
00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:51.730
a new console drops exciting trust me I know
00:27:51.730 --> 00:27:55.029
Let's hold out for now, you know, it is what
00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:58.230
it is period went out in minutes Obviously things
00:27:58.230 --> 00:28:01.349
will change over time. It's unclear when or how
00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:06.490
And also there's this unknown variable of How
00:28:06.490 --> 00:28:08.430
the constant terror fluctuations might do for
00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:10.470
future gaming console pricing and demand, right?
00:28:10.609 --> 00:28:13.049
So now you got to throw that into the loop But
00:28:13.049 --> 00:28:17.390
the thing is it will change over time It's okay
00:28:17.390 --> 00:28:20.769
that you didn't pre -order it, right? As good
00:28:20.769 --> 00:28:23.230
as the Switch 2 looks and as fun as Mario Kart
00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:28.490
and Hungry Kong seem to be It's okay, right?
00:28:29.829 --> 00:28:36.839
It's okay Things will get better You don't need
00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:39.900
it right away, but if you do you just got to
00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:44.660
be a super persistent Patient gamer. I don't
00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:49.339
know what else to say, right? But it's okay the
00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:51.779
senior article mentions that they got their hands
00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:56.299
on the switch to for a bit You know and I quote
00:28:56.299 --> 00:28:58.599
after playing several of the switch to additions
00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:00.819
I'll switch games for a bit. I noticed better
00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:06.019
frames and graphics resolution but nothing groundbreaking
00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:07.680
right obviously you'd prefer to play the switch
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.140
2 editions but the experience they mentioned
00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:14.259
reminded them a bit of the ps5 pro versus the
00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:17.039
ps5 version of the game so take that how you
00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:20.859
will if you have a larger tv or something you'll
00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:23.119
likely appreciate the difference a bit more the
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:24.960
bigger switch 2 screen shows off games in higher
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.339
sdp with hdr but you could play on the older
00:29:28.339 --> 00:29:33.950
switch and be fine Switch to obviously other
00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:40.750
than the video powered GPU So and the thing is
00:29:40.750 --> 00:29:42.710
Even if you miss out, there's still some games
00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:45.289
coming on the switch, right? Mario Kart world
00:29:45.289 --> 00:29:47.549
and Donkey Kong bananas are switched to exclusives
00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:51.089
However, Metroid Prime 4 Metroid Prime 4 and
00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:53.410
Pokemon Legends Z A will also be playable on
00:29:53.410 --> 00:29:54.789
the switch. Obviously, they're not gonna run
00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:59.450
as good but Just to give you guys some hope,
00:29:59.450 --> 00:30:03.049
right? If you look at Nintendo's previous game
00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:06.150
history the company often supported previous
00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:08.289
consoles for a good couple years after the release
00:30:08.289 --> 00:30:13.490
anyways. So I kind of predict maybe 2026 or something
00:30:13.490 --> 00:30:17.849
along those lines where Switch 2 will start becoming
00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:21.430
the go -to for most big games or maybe even into
00:30:21.430 --> 00:30:25.490
early 2027 right? And if you looked at when the
00:30:25.490 --> 00:30:27.589
switch dropped, the Breath of the Wild was still
00:30:27.589 --> 00:30:29.930
released on Wii U, et cetera like that. So there's
00:30:29.930 --> 00:30:32.829
a good history of supporting the OG console.
00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:36.109
So I get it. First of all, I want to say I was
00:30:36.109 --> 00:30:37.809
wrong. The pricing did not change pre -orders
00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:41.349
or hype. Two, it's okay that you didn't get it.
00:30:41.509 --> 00:30:44.849
Battle the FOMO, okay? I know it's hard, but
00:30:44.849 --> 00:30:50.380
yeah. I also realized that the Switch was a completely
00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:52.819
brand new experience. It was portable, docked
00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:58.180
on your TV, all this new stuff before. Switch
00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:00.059
2 is mostly the same proposition value, just
00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:03.480
a little bit nicer, right? There's some new features,
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:07.819
like the game chat, new Joy -Cons, the mouse
00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:11.240
functionality. But there isn't, you know, Nintendo
00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:14.680
always pulls out this crazy ass revolutionary
00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.930
gimmick, you know? Gamecube to the Wii, motion
00:31:17.930 --> 00:31:20.410
controls, Wii to the Wii U, screen to the gamepad,
00:31:20.410 --> 00:31:23.690
you know Wii to Nintendo, Switch, you know, it's
00:31:23.690 --> 00:31:27.009
a hybrid console, but here's There's no game
00:31:27.009 --> 00:31:28.690
breaking. Like I said, there's some new things
00:31:28.690 --> 00:31:31.990
game chat, um controllers as a mouse, new joycons,
00:31:32.730 --> 00:31:37.069
but the camera yada yada yada, but You're not
00:31:37.069 --> 00:31:38.970
missing on something like completely brand new,
00:31:38.970 --> 00:31:41.970
which is okay Um, and then like I said, it's
00:31:41.970 --> 00:31:44.109
fine to wait, uh, but now the biggest question
00:31:44.109 --> 00:31:48.430
mark will be the tariffs, right? best Nintendo
00:31:48.430 --> 00:31:50.630
console in a long while and worth upgrading to
00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:52.390
it seems like and that's what kind of what the
00:31:52.390 --> 00:31:57.410
unanimous opinion is across the board however
00:31:57.410 --> 00:32:01.390
the wild card remains a question of effect terrace
00:32:01.390 --> 00:32:03.470
will have on future console pricing right will
00:32:03.470 --> 00:32:06.730
it fluctuate obviously as gamers we do not hope
00:32:06.730 --> 00:32:09.069
but even though Nintendo locked in the console
00:32:09.069 --> 00:32:11.710
prices the price of Nintendo switch 2 accessories
00:32:11.710 --> 00:32:14.279
has already gone up I'm due to all the chaos
00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:17.500
and the tariff policies and will they jump up
00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:21.420
again? Who knows? In general the state of pricing
00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:23.480
consumer electronics is still an unknown zone
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.099
But in the meantime, like I said, you can still
00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:28.339
have a lot of fun on your current switch and
00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:30.779
even more on the new feature with Metroid Prime
00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:35.160
4 and the New Pokemon like I said, obviously
00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.680
not gonna perform as well as the Switch 2 But
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.720
there's still some things to look forward to.
00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:42.039
I know personally I still have a lot of games
00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:46.000
I need to play I've played a lot of, you know,
00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:51.019
Zelda's, I love Splatoon, Mario Kart, Mario RPG
00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:53.440
Remake, a few other games, but I still have to
00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:57.059
work through Mario Wonder, I did start it. So,
00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:58.819
I've got to do that. I'm still going to play
00:32:58.819 --> 00:33:01.319
some Xenoblade games, which is a big time consumer
00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.880
as well. The point is, if you're really excited
00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:06.500
for the Switch 2, look back at the Switch's library,
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:08.019
see what you missed out on, because trust me,
00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:16.059
there is a lot there. Moving on to this week's
00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:20.859
have you played this segment I had to talk about
00:33:20.859 --> 00:33:24.460
it If you haven't played Elder Scrolls for oblivion
00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:28.200
now is the perfect time I Mentioned it several
00:33:28.200 --> 00:33:29.559
times already throughout this episode because
00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:34.819
I just couldn't resist man Oblivion remastered
00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:38.420
essentially almost just a remake visually Shadow
00:33:38.420 --> 00:33:42.700
dropped Tuesday, I believe I'm trying to get
00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:45.990
the exact date Shadow drop Tuesday or Wednesday,
00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:54.450
I think the 23rd But as I did it Listen man,
00:33:54.470 --> 00:33:56.369
I have a lot of bias when it comes to oblivion.
00:33:56.390 --> 00:33:58.049
So maybe I'm not the right person to be talking
00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:00.490
about this But if you haven't played else rules
00:34:00.490 --> 00:34:05.210
for oblivion go player right now Like I mentioned
00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.130
last week far cry 3 well the special place in
00:34:08.130 --> 00:34:10.170
my heart in terms of what I did for open worlds
00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:13.099
Oblivion is just a no -brainer man what it did
00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:16.179
for just this heartbeat Western RPGs in general
00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:23.380
and just RPG genre as a whole Quick story back
00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:27.360
when I got my Xbox 360 in 2006 We also moved
00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:29.000
to an acreage at that time an acreage is like,
00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:31.599
you know a farm essentially more or less so but
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:35.460
fuck nowhere So when my uncle got me the 360
00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:39.329
my best friend at that time Gifts to me the collectors
00:34:39.329 --> 00:34:44.489
edition of oblivion in like a little book a sick,
00:34:44.510 --> 00:34:50.269
right? To or be Because I didn't have a high
00:34:50.269 --> 00:34:54.030
-speed internet Oblivion was a perfect game to
00:34:54.030 --> 00:34:56.449
gift me because I didn't realize it'd be like
00:34:56.449 --> 00:35:00.130
the only game I'd be playing for a year That's
00:35:00.130 --> 00:35:03.909
how good oblivion is I still have my PS2 at the
00:35:03.909 --> 00:35:05.550
time, so obviously the PS2 is still getting supported
00:35:05.550 --> 00:35:09.090
heavily into 06 even 07. A lot of games to play
00:35:09.090 --> 00:35:13.269
there as well. PS2 is the GOAT. But in terms
00:35:13.269 --> 00:35:16.150
of 360, yeah, Oblivion was the only game I won
00:35:16.150 --> 00:35:19.309
to for about a year. Within the summer of 2007,
00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:23.090
we finally got, which I don't even think would
00:35:23.090 --> 00:35:24.829
be considered high -speed internet nowadays,
00:35:25.230 --> 00:35:27.650
but finally got high -speed internet, which I
00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:32.610
think it was like 5 up and 5 download. Five megabytes
00:35:32.610 --> 00:35:35.190
per second, ladies and gentlemen. So I don't,
00:35:35.210 --> 00:35:37.349
like I said, I don't think that'd even be considered
00:35:37.349 --> 00:35:42.210
a high speed internet anymore. But it was enough
00:35:42.210 --> 00:35:44.590
to play Xbox Live. And that's when I started
00:35:44.590 --> 00:35:47.969
playing Saints Row online. Then I started playing
00:35:47.969 --> 00:35:52.010
Gears of War 1 online. And then that fall of
00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:54.510
that year, 2007, it was kind of raps, because
00:35:54.510 --> 00:35:56.909
then COD 4 came out, Halo 3 came out. Yeah, it
00:35:56.909 --> 00:36:02.420
was just, it was raps, man. What a time. Oblivion
00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:06.780
for one whole year man and The remastered so
00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:12.039
far I put in about four and a half hours I've
00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:15.880
already crashed once my game my main quest already
00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:20.800
got glitched I've seen a whole lot of other jankiness
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:23.719
already in four and a half hours and I wouldn't
00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:27.019
have it other way so If you've never played oblivion
00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:29.820
before Now's the perfect time with the remaster
00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:33.500
Like I just mentioned it's literally the same
00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.940
exact game because I think the gameplay engine
00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:40.000
still on that creation engine or whatever engine
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:43.239
they used back in 06 it's still on that same
00:36:43.239 --> 00:36:46.440
engine so I know there's been some gameplay adjustments
00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:49.039
or refinements obviously right to the animations
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.219
and thank God the leveling system is a bit altered
00:36:52.219 --> 00:36:55.599
the UI is cleaner stuff like that But in terms
00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:59.079
of bugs, glitches, jankiness, it's all there.
00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:00.960
Voiceline bloopers and all, like everything,
00:37:02.139 --> 00:37:05.360
all the classic Bethesda bug junk bullshit is
00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.119
there. Untouched, just with the fresh coat of
00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:12.380
paint on. And like I said, I'm biased. The nostalgia
00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:15.960
hits like a ton of bricks. Like I said, it's
00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:20.920
the only game I had on the 360. Now, not to get
00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:22.900
that twisted, I did play other games on the 360
00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:26.260
because guess what folks back then in 06, 07,
00:37:26.380 --> 00:37:29.039
you still had a wonderful retail outlet called
00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:32.440
Blockbuster. Other ones such as Movie Gallery
00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.639
and other local mom and pop shops that focused
00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:39.179
on movie slash video game rental. So I did run
00:37:39.179 --> 00:37:41.019
games with 360 to the size of a living, but it's
00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:44.280
still the only game I owned. I remember. Oh,
00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:47.190
here's another one. that's uh more low key if
00:37:47.190 --> 00:37:50.730
anyone ever played the outfit on the 360 not
00:37:50.730 --> 00:37:54.110
the early game um i remember playing the outfit
00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:55.949
i remember renting gears of war and because i
00:37:55.949 --> 00:37:58.309
didn't have a high speed another time i just
00:37:58.309 --> 00:38:00.190
rented it to play the campaign with my buddy
00:38:00.190 --> 00:38:02.889
like buddy from middle school who did the co
00:38:02.889 --> 00:38:05.409
-op um so believe it was still the only game
00:38:05.409 --> 00:38:08.289
i had and then i rented same throw for a bit
00:38:08.289 --> 00:38:11.230
i couldn't beat it in that time frame that i
00:38:11.230 --> 00:38:13.889
had for it um then when i got high speed internet
00:38:16.599 --> 00:38:19.980
Who told me I think I was just looking around
00:38:19.980 --> 00:38:21.480
like what's the best online games and people
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:23.059
were telling me Saints Row and Gears of War 1
00:38:23.059 --> 00:38:25.519
And I was like, oh I did play those but I and
00:38:25.519 --> 00:38:28.460
then so I got them Gears of War is a little cheaper
00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:31.820
because I think that release winter 2006 long
00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:34.119
story short anyways I did play other games but
00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:37.099
oblivion was in fact the only game I owned for
00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:40.960
a year 100 % on the 3060 But that kind of just
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.800
does the sheer amount of content in the game
00:38:45.179 --> 00:38:48.360
So, um, if you're kind of hesitant in Bethesda
00:38:48.360 --> 00:38:51.239
with all the bugs and jankiness, still there.
00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:55.480
So sad, so bad. But, um, with the fresh coat
00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:58.320
of paint on, like, man, some of the kids, like
00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.880
the, like the Khajiits look so different now,
00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:04.599
man. You know? Um, it's the best time to play
00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:09.440
it. And like, uh, blueprints in Expedition 33,
00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:13.500
of course Microsoft owns Bethesda, so. It's also
00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:14.840
available on the Game Pass if you're looking
00:39:14.840 --> 00:39:18.639
to shave some bucks. But I think it's $50 USD
00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:22.360
on the regular Xbox Store, Steam, PlayStation,
00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:27.739
wherever you find games. $66, I think, in Canada.
00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:31.760
But I bought my copy off Fanatical. So a huge
00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:34.780
shout out to Fanatical .com. I was able to sign
00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:37.119
the game for $55 Canadian, which is pretty good,
00:39:37.159 --> 00:39:40.199
saved like $12. So I think the deal is still
00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:41.340
going on. So if you're looking to buy a little
00:39:41.340 --> 00:39:43.460
bit cheaper, you can go out there. I think they
00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:46.860
also have deals on Expedition 33 and Blueprints
00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:49.860
as well. And unlike other, you know, like, you
00:39:49.860 --> 00:39:51.940
know, I use CD Keys and stuff in the past before.
00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:54.000
But unlike CD Keys, I think Fanatical is like
00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:56.780
more of like a humble bundle kind of deal where
00:39:56.780 --> 00:40:00.219
like they're legit third party, you know, they
00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:01.800
actually work with publisher devs. So don't feel
00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:03.960
bad for buying it off there. If it's not, choose
00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:07.170
a better deal. But yeah on this week's have you
00:40:07.170 --> 00:40:09.349
played this if you haven't played oblivion, you
00:40:09.349 --> 00:40:10.989
just got to do it man There's just one of those
00:40:10.989 --> 00:40:14.949
one of those games That's so immersive had so
00:40:14.949 --> 00:40:17.989
much charm But it'll rope you in right away.
00:40:17.989 --> 00:40:23.489
Trust me. The world is just so So immersive like
00:40:23.489 --> 00:40:24.710
there's no other way to put it. The world is
00:40:24.710 --> 00:40:27.250
just so detailed There's so much charm to the
00:40:27.250 --> 00:40:31.170
characters. The quest design is unreal I often
00:40:31.170 --> 00:40:33.250
told people man, like when I saw how big Skyrim
00:40:33.250 --> 00:40:35.920
got and how big it continued to get over the
00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:37.340
years like obviously i played the shit out of
00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:40.059
sky when it first released on 360 i see it re
00:40:40.059 --> 00:40:42.639
-released so many times so many copies it sold
00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:45.760
too much of a meme it became um like how it crossed
00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:47.980
over into mainstream media pop culture i was
00:40:47.980 --> 00:40:50.400
like man this is the type of recognition oblivion
00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:53.920
should have got because oblivion to me you know
00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:57.099
obviously how should i put this if there's big
00:40:57.099 --> 00:40:59.059
morrowind fans i apologize because it's not a
00:40:59.059 --> 00:41:01.099
game i've played and again it's just too outdated
00:41:01.099 --> 00:41:06.730
now If they ever remastered, quote unquote, Morrowind
00:41:06.730 --> 00:41:08.389
the same way they did Oblivion, I would definitely
00:41:08.389 --> 00:41:10.110
check it out because people always tell me Morrowind
00:41:10.110 --> 00:41:12.710
is their favorite other schools. Flash Bethesda
00:41:12.710 --> 00:41:15.989
developed game. But for me, it's Oblivion. And
00:41:15.989 --> 00:41:17.889
I'll still stand on that rock. I'll take Oblivion
00:41:17.889 --> 00:41:20.610
or Skyrim any day. Both phenomenal. But like
00:41:20.610 --> 00:41:25.030
I said, Oblivion's just the charm to the characters.
00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:27.670
Like I said, the quest design, the main story
00:41:27.670 --> 00:41:31.730
is more intriguing. The side stories and the
00:41:31.730 --> 00:41:35.489
side question of Oblivion are just wild. The
00:41:35.489 --> 00:41:37.030
Dark Brotherhood is probably the best version
00:41:37.030 --> 00:41:38.809
of Dark Brotherhood in Elder Scrolls history
00:41:38.809 --> 00:41:44.070
in comparison to Skyrim. And then on top of the
00:41:44.070 --> 00:41:49.230
Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, and
00:41:49.230 --> 00:41:50.650
Dark Brotherhood that you would find in Skyrim
00:41:50.650 --> 00:41:53.929
as well. With also the arena in Oblivion, which
00:41:53.929 --> 00:41:56.429
is probably what I'm kind of focusing on at the
00:41:56.429 --> 00:41:58.679
moment. Because I picked a warrior class. So
00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:01.320
if you picked like a big melee kind of class,
00:42:01.320 --> 00:42:05.360
I would suggest Maybe doing the arena first in
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:08.039
Imperial City Because like it'll help get you,
00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:10.159
you know blade slash blunt up your heavy armor
00:42:10.159 --> 00:42:13.000
light armor, whatever the case might be And plus
00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:17.639
this is sick man. I love gladiator I love that
00:42:17.639 --> 00:42:20.760
whole Coliseum Rome vibe, you know, just the
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:23.280
concept of there just like rising from just like
00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:27.980
rags to riches essentially like back in the day
00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:29.639
so it's just sick that you can just be like this
00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.000
peasant little fighter and work your way up in
00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.119
the ranks um super cool man um i always love
00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:37.599
the arena oblivion so be able to do it again
00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:41.760
with the fresh coat of paint um so i'm just uh
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:43.639
i'm just recognizing the arena more because that
00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.400
wasn't prevalent in Skyrim um i also like the
00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:48.559
lock picking system lock picking system better
00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:50.800
in oblivion which might kind of be a hot take
00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:55.110
but um The thing is, you know, if you're itching,
00:42:55.750 --> 00:42:57.070
I know everyone's still playing for Elder Scrolls
00:42:57.070 --> 00:43:00.210
6. And if you just played Oblivion, I mean, if
00:43:00.210 --> 00:43:03.309
you played Skyrim too many times, right now is
00:43:03.309 --> 00:43:06.070
the time to play Oblivion. Like I said, 50 USD
00:43:06.070 --> 00:43:09.869
or game fast, fresh coat of paint. And a lot
00:43:09.869 --> 00:43:11.230
of the younger generation, like, I mean, when
00:43:11.230 --> 00:43:14.309
I played Oblivion, I was only 12, 13. So if you're
00:43:14.309 --> 00:43:17.210
ever younger and only really know Skyrim, I mean,
00:43:17.210 --> 00:43:18.389
essentially you're just getting in the Elder
00:43:18.389 --> 00:43:22.130
Scrolls game, which looks better. Then scrap
00:43:22.130 --> 00:43:24.210
because of the fresh coat of paint unreal engine
00:43:24.210 --> 00:43:27.809
5 My only critiques is unreal engine 5 is kind
00:43:27.809 --> 00:43:31.469
of shoddy I'll see the mix of games look beautiful.
00:43:31.469 --> 00:43:33.150
But performance wise it's still you know, the
00:43:33.150 --> 00:43:34.889
obviously the engine is still needs to be ironed
00:43:34.889 --> 00:43:39.489
out But yeah, it wouldn't be a pathetic game
00:43:39.489 --> 00:43:43.449
without but bugs glitches jankiness crashes stutters
00:43:43.449 --> 00:43:45.630
blah blah blah, but with a fresh coat of paint
00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:47.409
man It's just so worth it man. I'm telling you
00:43:47.409 --> 00:43:51.659
like Yeah, there's just so much content in the
00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:52.980
game. It's just something else. It's beautiful.
00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:56.059
It's beautiful So that's my little have you played
00:43:56.059 --> 00:43:58.699
this for this? This week's episode clearly you
00:43:58.699 --> 00:44:01.159
can tell I love oblivion. It's honestly my favorite
00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:04.019
games all the time I don't mention I know last
00:44:04.019 --> 00:44:06.219
week when I mentioned far cry 3, you know being
00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:10.539
kind of a premier Ubisoft game like Oblivion
00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:12.940
is just that premier game in general like it's
00:44:12.940 --> 00:44:14.900
it's easily my favorite, but that's a developed
00:44:14.900 --> 00:44:20.570
game I think my favorite Game from this whole,
00:44:20.630 --> 00:44:22.250
you know, it was developed by obsidian actually
00:44:22.250 --> 00:44:24.409
was fallout new vegas fallout new vegas is crazy.
00:44:24.409 --> 00:44:28.090
That's another game Nothing, but high praise
00:44:28.090 --> 00:44:32.150
for But that was developed by obsidian published
00:44:32.150 --> 00:44:35.369
by bethesda, but if looking at the best bethesda
00:44:35.369 --> 00:44:40.349
developed game Oblivion I think it's better than
00:44:40.349 --> 00:44:42.570
skyrim. I think it's better than fallout 3 fallout
00:44:42.570 --> 00:44:46.510
1 2 I Do I do it's my it's my favorite. It's
00:44:46.510 --> 00:44:48.389
my favorite, but there's a developed game. Okay
00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:52.480
So Yeah, that's this week's have you played this
00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:54.500
if you have a play to believe in go play it now
00:44:54.500 --> 00:45:03.440
best time best time Ladies and gentlemen, that
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:08.659
was episode 7 of digital downtime We talked about
00:45:08.659 --> 00:45:11.019
potential game of the year nominees with fiction
00:45:11.019 --> 00:45:15.960
expedition 33 blueprints all three which I've
00:45:15.960 --> 00:45:19.440
heard or it seems like Obviously, I ran through
00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:21.960
split fiction about the other two all three are
00:45:21.960 --> 00:45:25.179
with every time so go play all three Whichever
00:45:25.179 --> 00:45:28.139
one you want to play first go for it But it doesn't
00:45:28.139 --> 00:45:31.480
do in addition to those three oblivion remastered
00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:35.820
also well, which clearly tell my bias for That
00:45:35.820 --> 00:45:39.699
means that's four games Go play all four men.
00:45:39.699 --> 00:45:41.659
No, it's what a time to be alive as a gaming
00:45:41.659 --> 00:45:46.309
friend We discussed a Nintendo switch to Pre
00:45:46.309 --> 00:45:48.369
-orders been crazy or regardless of pricing.
00:45:48.369 --> 00:45:52.030
So I was indeed wrong However, if you if you
00:45:52.030 --> 00:45:56.090
don't quite snatch it yet, it's okay Don't let
00:45:56.090 --> 00:45:59.750
the formal consume you don't let the formal haunt
00:45:59.750 --> 00:46:03.909
you Those there's still some great stuff coming
00:46:03.909 --> 00:46:06.070
out of the switch like the new Pokemon and Metroid
00:46:06.070 --> 00:46:09.170
Prime 4 and Like I said Nintendo usually supports
00:46:09.170 --> 00:46:10.969
their consoles well, so I'm sure that the original
00:46:10.969 --> 00:46:13.130
switch will still be getting supported well way
00:46:13.130 --> 00:46:19.440
into 2026 As always, if you enjoy the podcast,
00:46:19.760 --> 00:46:23.099
please recommend it to your friends. Word amount
00:46:23.099 --> 00:46:26.440
is usually huge for these kinds of things. Please
00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:28.239
leave a review on whatever platform you're listening
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:32.500
to, whether that's Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Thumbs
00:46:32.500 --> 00:46:35.880
Up, Amazon, whatever it might be. Reviews help
00:46:35.880 --> 00:46:38.380
out a ton with visibility. So please, please,
00:46:38.380 --> 00:46:41.739
please leave a review. What are your thoughts?
00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:43.500
Have you played all the games I've mentioned?
00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.579
Are you planning to play them? Is there something
00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:47.400
we're missing out from potential game of the
00:46:47.400 --> 00:46:51.500
year discussion? Please let me know And then
00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:53.860
until next week Sayonara
00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:03.620
Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to episode seven
00:00:03.620 --> 00:00:06.219
of digital downtime. It's your boy Gilly here,
00:00:06.240 --> 00:00:09.880
as always. A lot to talk about this week. Probably
00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:13.080
gonna focus on early attendance for game of the
00:00:13.080 --> 00:00:16.600
year. And 2025 has been swinging out the gates,
00:00:16.820 --> 00:00:18.940
game after game after game. It's been kind of
00:00:18.940 --> 00:00:21.420
hard to keep up. But there's a few titles in
00:00:21.420 --> 00:00:24.460
particular I wanna focus on. One is Split Fiction,
00:00:24.739 --> 00:00:26.280
which I played with my homie Ricky. Shout out
00:00:26.280 --> 00:00:30.719
to my boy Ricky. Phenomenal game. Two is expedition
00:00:30.719 --> 00:00:34.640
33, which has just been doing great commercially
00:00:34.640 --> 00:00:38.280
a team of 30 people Critically really well received.
00:00:38.280 --> 00:00:41.479
I think it's the highest rated user Metacritic
00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.560
game of all time which speaks volumes Also, we're
00:00:44.560 --> 00:00:47.060
discussing Blueprints, which is a rogue -like
00:00:47.060 --> 00:00:49.820
puzzle game, which I haven't got my hands on
00:00:49.820 --> 00:00:52.740
yet, but I've been hearing crazy things. So we're
00:00:52.740 --> 00:00:55.039
going to discuss these three games in particular,
00:00:55.359 --> 00:00:58.119
see how they stand in the overall end of year
00:00:58.119 --> 00:01:00.619
Game of the Year rankings. Furthermore, we'll
00:01:00.619 --> 00:01:03.320
also be discussing the Switch 2. I know my last
00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:06.519
episode was highly dedicated to it, and I was
00:01:06.519 --> 00:01:08.260
proven wrong because pre -orders have been going
00:01:08.260 --> 00:01:10.439
crazy. So we'll talk a little bit more about
00:01:10.439 --> 00:01:13.099
the demand and hype for the Nintendo Switch 2.
00:01:14.010 --> 00:01:16.349
Followed all by that. Of course, they're gonna
00:01:16.349 --> 00:01:19.129
be our have you played this segment and this
00:01:19.129 --> 00:01:22.930
week's? Segment we'll be looking at a game Which
00:01:22.930 --> 00:01:26.670
recently got remastered in shadow dropped. So
00:01:26.670 --> 00:01:29.689
if you had been living under a rock Believing
00:01:29.689 --> 00:01:32.109
got remastered. So that's the game. We'll be
00:01:32.109 --> 00:01:33.950
talking about on this week's have you played
00:01:33.950 --> 00:02:07.519
this? Stay tuned So right out the gate, let's
00:02:07.519 --> 00:02:09.280
talk about split fiction. Like I said, I played
00:02:09.280 --> 00:02:10.979
the entire game with my buddy Ricky, shout out
00:02:10.979 --> 00:02:14.599
Ricky. We started the game about on a Monday
00:02:14.599 --> 00:02:17.479
and then we ended up finishing it by Sunday.
00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:21.759
Granted, you know, we both work full -time jobs,
00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:24.259
live in different time zones, et cetera. The
00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:25.900
point I'm trying to make is the game was just
00:02:25.900 --> 00:02:31.250
that fucking good. I'm always amazed by hazelite
00:02:31.250 --> 00:02:34.430
because I always wonder okay, how is Joseph fairs
00:02:34.430 --> 00:02:37.830
gonna top himself from last time, right? And
00:02:37.830 --> 00:02:40.289
to be fair, I've played every Joseph fairs game
00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:44.129
in history. So before even hazelite was established
00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:50.449
as a studio Joseph fairs worked on What's the
00:02:50.449 --> 00:02:52.509
game called I don't want to butcher it brother
00:02:52.509 --> 00:02:55.650
of two tails Brothers a tale of two sons. Sorry,
00:02:55.750 --> 00:02:57.349
which was released by starbreed studios back
00:02:57.349 --> 00:03:01.639
in 2013 So I even played that game and I thought
00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:05.479
it was pretty good It's like video game in an
00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.439
art form to the highest degree Heavy narrative
00:03:09.439 --> 00:03:13.580
short game gameplay wasn't fully fine -tuned
00:03:13.580 --> 00:03:18.000
but Still still a great experience that could
00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:21.360
be played solo You didn't need like it was a
00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.419
co -op game, but it was played solo if that makes
00:03:23.419 --> 00:03:26.669
sense And then you get to Hayes late studios,
00:03:26.689 --> 00:03:28.789
and I don't know what else has to be said about
00:03:28.789 --> 00:03:32.129
Hayes late 2018 a way out. I played with my buddy
00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:36.310
Damien shout out Damien 2021 it takes to also
00:03:36.310 --> 00:03:38.330
played with Damien and then now in 2025 split
00:03:38.330 --> 00:03:42.409
fiction played with Ricky The way out was phenomenal
00:03:42.409 --> 00:03:46.969
You know to do trying to get out of jail three
00:03:46.969 --> 00:03:49.969
years later it takes who comes out focus on a
00:03:49.969 --> 00:03:52.580
married couple with troubles I thought that was
00:03:52.580 --> 00:03:56.240
a huge level up in terms of scope, gameplay direction,
00:03:57.419 --> 00:04:00.120
storytelling, just overall cohesiveness of the
00:04:00.120 --> 00:04:02.099
game. Just a big step up from a way out to It
00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:05.979
Takes Two. Now you bring us to modern day, Split
00:04:05.979 --> 00:04:09.580
Fiction 2025. And once again, Joseph Fares and
00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:12.759
Hayes Light Studio find a way to level up because
00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:15.020
the level up from It Takes Two to Split Fiction
00:04:15.020 --> 00:04:20.889
is crazy. I'm talking... Just from sheer creativity,
00:04:21.389 --> 00:04:28.250
it's outstanding. Scope is gigantic, level design,
00:04:28.709 --> 00:04:32.610
gameplay design. At first, we're a bit iffy on
00:04:32.610 --> 00:04:35.689
the narrative, but how the narrative flushes
00:04:35.689 --> 00:04:39.089
out into the gameplay design choices, the amount
00:04:39.089 --> 00:04:44.069
of variety in the game. The game is more challenging.
00:04:44.329 --> 00:04:47.560
It's definitely a gamer's gamer. So I've been
00:04:47.560 --> 00:04:49.199
kind of joking around some people at work and
00:04:49.199 --> 00:04:51.160
other places like if you're trying to play this
00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.980
with your Non -gaming kind of partner You guys
00:04:54.980 --> 00:04:57.019
might be in hell for the hell of a time because
00:04:57.019 --> 00:04:58.379
there are certain parts where Ricky and I got
00:04:58.379 --> 00:05:02.339
stuck for a little bit but the point is man,
00:05:02.360 --> 00:05:07.100
it's just I Don't even know where to start right
00:05:07.100 --> 00:05:11.040
so quick synopsis the game follows two authors
00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:16.139
Mio and Zoe They go to some publishing company
00:05:16.139 --> 00:05:22.240
to get their stories published Instead he puts
00:05:22.240 --> 00:05:25.399
them in this kind of machine What's his name
00:05:25.399 --> 00:05:28.459
Raider Raider publishing? He kind of puts them
00:05:28.459 --> 00:05:31.259
in this machine to steal their creative ideas.
00:05:31.740 --> 00:05:33.720
However, they end up in prison in the same bubble
00:05:33.720 --> 00:05:38.220
so then Their work of arts their minds their
00:05:38.220 --> 00:05:40.819
creativity kind of overlap and that's what you
00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:44.149
see throughout the game So Mio is more sci -fi
00:05:44.149 --> 00:05:49.149
stories Zoe is more fantasy stories And the way
00:05:49.149 --> 00:05:51.310
they interlock they kind of interchange with
00:05:51.310 --> 00:05:53.610
each other. So let's say if you're on a sci -fi
00:05:53.610 --> 00:05:58.370
level Then there's a there's a wide array of
00:05:58.370 --> 00:06:01.290
these side stories that pop up And I would like
00:06:01.290 --> 00:06:04.029
to say please please please do all the side stories.
00:06:04.029 --> 00:06:07.129
I think there's 12 or 13 The side stories in
00:06:07.129 --> 00:06:11.040
this game are fucking phenomenal, man You're
00:06:11.040 --> 00:06:14.300
talking about sheer creativity. Like the side
00:06:14.300 --> 00:06:16.060
stories alone is something I would just replay,
00:06:16.300 --> 00:06:20.779
I think, because there are side stories of like,
00:06:20.819 --> 00:06:23.680
there's like an XSX, you know, snowboarding inspired
00:06:23.680 --> 00:06:28.180
level. There's one, you know, where you have
00:06:28.180 --> 00:06:29.800
this game, where you have this bomb that you're
00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.040
trying to get rid of in this game show. There's
00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:35.100
one where you're just pigs. Like it's just, the
00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:38.069
side stories are so crazy. but back to my original
00:06:38.069 --> 00:06:39.870
point, let's say if you're in Mio's sci -fi world
00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.709
then the side stories would be fantasy and then
00:06:42.709 --> 00:06:44.850
if you're in Zoe's fantasy world then the side
00:06:44.850 --> 00:06:50.370
stories will be sci -fi so there's always constant
00:06:50.370 --> 00:06:54.050
rotation and then neither sci -fi or fantasy
00:06:54.050 --> 00:06:56.250
setting ever really kind of feels still because
00:06:56.250 --> 00:06:58.810
you're going in between between them so much
00:06:58.810 --> 00:07:04.089
and they do a really good job of it but yeah
00:07:05.229 --> 00:07:08.170
This game is specifically meant for just multiplayer.
00:07:08.170 --> 00:07:10.149
So whether you do that spud screen, I'm sure
00:07:10.149 --> 00:07:12.490
in person like it's what's going to be kind of
00:07:12.490 --> 00:07:15.769
funny. Um, but yeah, split screen or online,
00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:21.370
um, to become trapped in their own stories. Um,
00:07:21.649 --> 00:07:23.310
there's just so much, man, there's just so much
00:07:23.310 --> 00:07:27.569
going on here. Um, have you on the platforming,
00:07:27.569 --> 00:07:33.050
um, 3d and 2d. So be prepared for that. And then
00:07:33.050 --> 00:07:36.230
each stage is kind of. They introduce different
00:07:36.230 --> 00:07:41.310
unique gameplay mechanics. So like, you might
00:07:41.310 --> 00:07:43.569
have dragons in one and another, you know, one
00:07:43.569 --> 00:07:46.750
might be a machine and the other person kind
00:07:46.750 --> 00:07:49.110
of has like a gravitational pull. Like there's
00:07:49.110 --> 00:07:51.509
some sort of unique gameplay mechanic, right?
00:07:52.550 --> 00:07:55.490
So more particularly the dragon stage. Yeah,
00:07:55.490 --> 00:07:57.610
like you can be commanding dragons and other
00:07:57.610 --> 00:08:00.230
one there, you know, you're wielding laser swords.
00:08:01.290 --> 00:08:02.990
And then the abilities differ for each character.
00:08:03.550 --> 00:08:07.410
So then it forces collaboration and utilizing
00:08:07.410 --> 00:08:09.529
each other's respective abilities to progress,
00:08:09.829 --> 00:08:12.290
which is great. And then like I mentioned, the
00:08:12.290 --> 00:08:15.089
side stories are awesome. There's about one or
00:08:15.089 --> 00:08:18.949
two that are kind of missable. We missed one,
00:08:19.050 --> 00:08:22.509
not to go back to do it. But besides that, for
00:08:22.509 --> 00:08:24.269
the most part, they're pretty much in your face.
00:08:25.290 --> 00:08:27.509
The side stories are kind of unfinished ideas,
00:08:28.589 --> 00:08:30.430
and mostly written by Zoe and Mio when they're
00:08:30.430 --> 00:08:33.769
younger. And then I like the main story, they're
00:08:33.769 --> 00:08:36.950
also accompanied with some sort of gameplay mechanic.
00:08:38.370 --> 00:08:43.429
But man, the game is awesome. I don't know what
00:08:43.429 --> 00:08:46.730
else to say about it. If you like video games
00:08:46.730 --> 00:08:48.470
period, if you like platforming, if you like
00:08:48.470 --> 00:08:51.549
co -op, if you like, you just got to play it.
00:08:51.850 --> 00:08:54.730
And I think all the success for the team is great.
00:08:54.750 --> 00:08:56.490
I think it's sitting at what? Like a 90 plus
00:08:56.490 --> 00:09:00.190
on Metacritic. Sold 2 million units in the first
00:09:00.190 --> 00:09:05.309
week. Just praises all around there's not many
00:09:05.309 --> 00:09:10.730
games so Objectively speaking there's no real
00:09:10.730 --> 00:09:12.509
10 out of 10 in the world right, but there are
00:09:12.509 --> 00:09:15.269
personal 10 out of 10 because Using the game
00:09:15.269 --> 00:09:18.750
is so great now Is there still flaws in this
00:09:18.750 --> 00:09:21.409
game? Of course like there's Objectively again,
00:09:21.409 --> 00:09:23.769
there's nothing that's perfect, but I don't remember
00:09:23.769 --> 00:09:25.889
the last time I personally gave a game a 10 out
00:09:25.889 --> 00:09:29.769
of 10 It's been a long time In recent times,
00:09:29.929 --> 00:09:33.129
Bellatra is up there. Elden Ring is up there.
00:09:34.149 --> 00:09:36.470
I did like Phantom Liberty, like the DLC for
00:09:36.470 --> 00:09:39.789
Cyberpunk. But I don't think like they're all
00:09:39.789 --> 00:09:43.610
like in the nine plus area, right? But Speed
00:09:43.610 --> 00:09:46.230
of Fiction gets a 10 from me. And Ricky agreed.
00:09:46.269 --> 00:09:49.789
So it gets a 10 from the both of us. So find
00:09:49.789 --> 00:09:52.049
someone to play with. You might need an actual
00:09:52.049 --> 00:09:56.690
gaming buddy for this one. Please play it. Like
00:09:56.690 --> 00:09:59.809
I said, the narrative takes a bit to kind of
00:09:59.809 --> 00:10:03.929
get going. But what's so cool about it is because
00:10:03.929 --> 00:10:05.710
it's like each other's subconscious and their
00:10:05.710 --> 00:10:09.649
ideas, they're, Zoe and Mio's like their real
00:10:09.649 --> 00:10:12.830
life struggles as individuals, like outside of
00:10:12.830 --> 00:10:16.649
just like outside of their, you know, ideas as
00:10:16.649 --> 00:10:21.649
authors come so to life in these worlds. And
00:10:21.649 --> 00:10:23.490
you know, you know what they say about art is
00:10:23.490 --> 00:10:26.019
like you always You always put a part of yourself
00:10:26.019 --> 00:10:28.299
in the art, right? Whether that's developers
00:10:28.299 --> 00:10:31.080
putting into video games or musicians putting
00:10:31.080 --> 00:10:33.779
in their art, authors in their books, directors
00:10:33.779 --> 00:10:36.100
in their movies, etc. There's a little bit of
00:10:36.100 --> 00:10:38.820
view that gets put into your work. So when you
00:10:38.820 --> 00:10:41.080
start going through more of these worlds, especially
00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:42.600
the side stories, right? Because they're developed
00:10:42.600 --> 00:10:45.100
at a younger age, they're unfinished. You see
00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:48.419
more and more of Zoey and Mio and you see their
00:10:48.419 --> 00:10:51.259
personal traumas and how they come into play
00:10:51.259 --> 00:10:53.940
in these... crazy crazy fictional narratives
00:10:53.940 --> 00:10:56.480
they've made and how they help each other out
00:10:56.480 --> 00:10:59.220
to overcome them so it actually is really cool
00:10:59.220 --> 00:11:05.440
um and the idea of the game is so cool and how
00:11:05.440 --> 00:11:07.759
successful it's been um there's gonna be a film
00:11:07.759 --> 00:11:10.600
adaptation uh which really they could have done
00:11:10.600 --> 00:11:12.940
for any hazelight game they could have done it
00:11:12.940 --> 00:11:18.110
for a way out or it takes two um so sydney Sydney
00:11:18.110 --> 00:11:21.049
Sweeney will be starring in the movie also serving
00:11:21.049 --> 00:11:24.990
as an executive producer Her role hasn't been
00:11:24.990 --> 00:11:27.190
disclosed yet, but if I would have to guess she's
00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:31.509
probably gonna play Zoe So then that just leaves
00:11:31.509 --> 00:11:36.409
Another female lead to play Mio. So we'll see
00:11:36.409 --> 00:11:40.330
who that ends up being It's directed by John
00:11:40.330 --> 00:11:44.490
too he did crazy rich Asians and most recently
00:11:44.490 --> 00:11:49.299
wicked so Yeah, hopefully it's in good hands,
00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:52.659
but I just wanted to add to how popular the game
00:11:52.659 --> 00:11:59.200
is and how Crazy it is creative creatively So
00:11:59.200 --> 00:12:02.500
I know it's gonna be a busy year There's still
00:12:02.500 --> 00:12:04.080
a lot of games coming out and I know switch 2
00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:05.519
is gonna have a lot of games coming out rocks
00:12:05.519 --> 00:12:08.879
right so Coming out with what we assume is GTA
00:12:08.879 --> 00:12:12.429
6 this year in the fall time But Split Fiction
00:12:12.429 --> 00:12:15.129
right now is my current game of the year and
00:12:15.129 --> 00:12:19.649
regardless it should be a nominee because...
00:12:19.649 --> 00:12:24.690
Wow. 10 out of 10. Heard it first from Gilly,
00:12:24.809 --> 00:12:34.830
digital downtime. So now switching focus to another
00:12:34.830 --> 00:12:38.669
game that just recently came out on April 24th.
00:12:39.970 --> 00:12:44.309
Claire obscure expedition 33 I'll probably just
00:12:44.309 --> 00:12:46.309
be referring to the game as expedition 33 because
00:12:46.309 --> 00:12:48.850
it's easier than Claire obscure expedition 33
00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:53.669
They showed this game last year And you can correct
00:12:53.669 --> 00:12:56.289
me if I'm wrong I do recall seeing this game
00:12:56.289 --> 00:12:59.250
last year at the Xbox showcase last summer in
00:12:59.250 --> 00:13:04.110
2024. I thought to myself, okay There might be
00:13:04.110 --> 00:13:07.740
something here, right? It's a French studio,
00:13:07.779 --> 00:13:12.179
but takes a lot of influence from JRPGs. Like
00:13:12.179 --> 00:13:14.720
at first look, people labeled it as a French
00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:19.399
persona, which is by not any means bad criticism
00:13:19.399 --> 00:13:23.179
or bad comparison. If anything, a lot of people
00:13:23.179 --> 00:13:27.100
in RPG were really excited. I even saw some memes,
00:13:27.240 --> 00:13:29.220
you know, some people refer to it as a JRPG,
00:13:29.299 --> 00:13:31.399
you know, like instead of JRPG, like, you know,
00:13:31.419 --> 00:13:34.500
like the French. Anyways. i don't know if that
00:13:34.500 --> 00:13:38.980
hits or not but but now that the game is out
00:13:38.980 --> 00:13:41.340
as i mentioned the opener i think it's the highest
00:13:41.340 --> 00:13:47.419
rated metacritic game by users um it's the highest
00:13:47.419 --> 00:13:51.620
rated game of the year so far even critically
00:13:51.620 --> 00:13:54.559
surpassing split fiction which is kind of kind
00:13:54.559 --> 00:13:58.960
of od and then also i'm really proud to announce
00:13:58.960 --> 00:14:02.100
that the studio has sold one million units within
00:14:02.100 --> 00:14:09.009
three days of release So I have not yet to play
00:14:09.009 --> 00:14:13.429
it. The reason being is because Oblivion remastered
00:14:13.429 --> 00:14:16.289
Shadow Drops three days prior to this game's
00:14:16.289 --> 00:14:18.330
release, which we'll talk about a bit more later.
00:14:19.789 --> 00:14:21.370
But Oblivion is probably going to take up a huge
00:14:21.370 --> 00:14:24.590
chunk of my time. But whenever I feel bored,
00:14:24.669 --> 00:14:26.970
which is who knows, probably never. But whenever
00:14:26.970 --> 00:14:29.840
I get through a lot of it, Because I was looking
00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:31.820
at the achievements for Oblivion and it's really
00:14:31.820 --> 00:14:34.360
just doing the main story, you know, all the
00:14:34.360 --> 00:14:37.820
guilds, Shivering Isles. Should never have played
00:14:37.820 --> 00:14:40.080
originally, but again, we'll talk about that
00:14:40.080 --> 00:14:42.799
later. Expedition 33 is definitely next on the
00:14:42.799 --> 00:14:46.100
list. Again, my buddy Ricky, who I played Switch
00:14:46.100 --> 00:14:48.340
Fiction with, was mentioning so far that the
00:14:48.340 --> 00:14:51.340
game is phenomenal. Like I said, the ratings
00:14:51.340 --> 00:14:54.320
and the reviews, both from critics and gamers,
00:14:54.580 --> 00:14:57.460
both speak volumes and they sold one million
00:14:57.460 --> 00:15:00.279
units. Which in the first three days of release,
00:15:00.440 --> 00:15:04.019
which is awesome. Awesome. Awesome. Awesome news
00:15:04.019 --> 00:15:09.220
And What makes me excited about this title and
00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:12.639
also being a potential game of the year is that
00:15:12.639 --> 00:15:17.659
a lot of people turn down turn based RPGs You
00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:22.340
just have to do it, right? You know a good example
00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:24.720
is mother 3 if you ever get your hands on it
00:15:24.720 --> 00:15:26.679
I like the way paper Mario thousand year door
00:15:26.679 --> 00:15:32.240
did it Obviously I've not had the opportunity
00:15:32.240 --> 00:15:34.360
to play other persona games yet about persona
00:15:34.360 --> 00:15:36.220
5 I think did a really good job on it. That's
00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.679
what kind of helped me Get through the game because
00:15:38.679 --> 00:15:40.100
I was like, okay, it's kind of a cool turn -based
00:15:40.100 --> 00:15:44.340
system So anytime I see a turn -based game and
00:15:44.340 --> 00:15:46.220
this much love it makes me think okay They must
00:15:46.220 --> 00:15:48.860
have done something unique with it, right? And
00:15:48.860 --> 00:15:52.059
they do There's some real -time aspects such
00:15:52.059 --> 00:15:53.879
as quick time events and timing based actions
00:15:53.879 --> 00:15:58.490
both in offense and defense And then when you're
00:15:58.490 --> 00:16:00.450
in defensive state all attacks need to be dodged
00:16:00.450 --> 00:16:06.230
or parried, right? so Yeah, I mean like I said
00:16:06.230 --> 00:16:08.610
took a big inspiration from Final Fantasy persona
00:16:08.610 --> 00:16:14.730
The team is only 30 people so I mean If 30 people
00:16:14.730 --> 00:16:17.389
can create a game this beautiful this unique
00:16:17.389 --> 00:16:20.470
I think the game runs on unreal engine 5 just
00:16:20.470 --> 00:16:23.899
like the oblivion remaster which have more realistic
00:16:23.899 --> 00:16:27.259
lighting, the adaptation of the lumen features,
00:16:27.259 --> 00:16:32.580
right? And yeah, it just looks crazy, right?
00:16:33.159 --> 00:16:36.500
It's in this dark fantasy, like belly. I'm gonna
00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:44.220
probably fuck this up. The belly epoque, epoque
00:16:44.220 --> 00:16:46.500
era, which is pretty much like the beautiful
00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:50.940
era in French slash European history. kind of
00:16:50.940 --> 00:16:55.940
in the late 80s I think, early 1900s. This era
00:16:55.940 --> 00:17:00.620
is kind of symbolized by optimism, enlightenment,
00:17:02.039 --> 00:17:04.279
nationalism, peace, you know, huge technological,
00:17:04.539 --> 00:17:07.640
scientific, cultural innovations. So I'm kind
00:17:07.640 --> 00:17:11.099
of excited to see all that pan out in this game.
00:17:13.019 --> 00:17:16.059
But yes, Exhibition 33 I think is gonna be another
00:17:16.059 --> 00:17:19.089
strong contender. for Game of the Year, potentially
00:17:19.089 --> 00:17:22.069
Game of the Year. I mean, you guys will hear
00:17:22.069 --> 00:17:24.630
it when I play and get through it. So I'm very,
00:17:24.630 --> 00:17:32.509
very excited for that. And then thirdly, speaking
00:17:32.509 --> 00:17:34.869
of this early Game of the Year discussion, we
00:17:34.869 --> 00:17:38.130
have Blueprints, which was released on April
00:17:38.130 --> 00:17:42.210
10th, 2025, developed by Dogobomb and published
00:17:42.210 --> 00:17:47.950
by Raw Fury. It's a roguelike puzzle game from
00:17:47.950 --> 00:17:54.190
my understanding. You pretty much are in a mansion
00:17:54.190 --> 00:17:58.089
with ever -shifting rooms, ad -hoc construction
00:17:58.089 --> 00:18:00.930
of mansion rooms, through the drafting of randomized
00:18:00.930 --> 00:18:03.829
cards, and the goal here is to reach the hidden
00:18:03.829 --> 00:18:09.430
46th room. Filling to reach it will reset the
00:18:09.430 --> 00:18:11.970
run like any good roguelike and randomize the
00:18:11.970 --> 00:18:16.680
rooms again. according to the developers they
00:18:16.680 --> 00:18:21.140
were influenced by maze uh solve the world's
00:18:21.140 --> 00:18:24.680
most challenging puzzle uh the book and other
00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.119
puzzle books along with tabletop games that featured
00:18:27.119 --> 00:18:30.240
drafting so to all my engineers engineer techs
00:18:30.240 --> 00:18:35.819
out there again um the game received a high high
00:18:35.819 --> 00:18:40.750
praise a critical acclaim all around At the time
00:18:40.750 --> 00:18:42.410
it was released it was the highest rated game
00:18:42.410 --> 00:18:46.670
for 2025 based on Metacritic averages Which got
00:18:46.670 --> 00:18:49.869
surpassed by Expedition 33 But now we're talking
00:18:49.869 --> 00:18:52.029
about three games in a row here, Split Fiction,
00:18:52.170 --> 00:18:58.230
Blue Prince Expedition 33 just crazy loved I'm
00:18:58.230 --> 00:19:01.170
looking at Eurogamer's five -star review and
00:19:01.170 --> 00:19:07.250
the reviewer Christian Donlin mentions out That
00:19:07.250 --> 00:19:09.769
the game keeping a secret hidden releasing them
00:19:09.769 --> 00:19:13.210
slowly is the most impressive aspect It's the
00:19:13.210 --> 00:19:15.329
pleasure of finding hidden aspects of things
00:19:15.329 --> 00:19:17.769
you thought you understood in full The pleasure
00:19:17.769 --> 00:19:19.450
of coming back to something you thought was simple
00:19:19.450 --> 00:19:23.710
and finding that it's not simple at all To me
00:19:23.710 --> 00:19:28.250
What the what that kind of translates to is There's
00:19:28.250 --> 00:19:30.349
something there that keeps drawing you back in
00:19:30.349 --> 00:19:32.470
and like any fantastic rogue like that's what
00:19:32.470 --> 00:19:37.170
you really need Like I said recently from like
00:19:37.170 --> 00:19:39.230
uh, my cousin gifted me blotch with christmas
00:19:39.230 --> 00:19:43.390
so from like christmas to like What is it now?
00:19:43.569 --> 00:19:45.609
I think probably like february march. I was just
00:19:45.609 --> 00:19:48.009
hooked on blotcho man Like most of my time was
00:19:48.009 --> 00:19:50.269
just playing blotcho or marvel rivals, right?
00:19:51.329 --> 00:19:54.150
I love blotcho because it just gets you so hooked.
00:19:55.769 --> 00:19:59.329
Um Same thing with other uh hades was similar
00:19:59.329 --> 00:20:01.950
the same way for me, uh, the narrative piece
00:20:01.950 --> 00:20:05.549
got me so hooked in the gameplay loop Like I
00:20:05.549 --> 00:20:07.089
said, really good roguelikes just have a way
00:20:07.089 --> 00:20:09.950
of doing something. Balotra wasn't the story,
00:20:09.950 --> 00:20:12.430
but it was just a gameplay loop, which in Hades
00:20:12.430 --> 00:20:17.730
is both. And then so here it's this, because
00:20:17.730 --> 00:20:21.589
it's just so unique, right? Like a puzzle roguelike,
00:20:22.170 --> 00:20:25.690
the unsolving mysteries and having your piece
00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:27.750
brain together, having your brain piece together
00:20:27.750 --> 00:20:30.349
everything, kind of have some familiarity with
00:20:30.349 --> 00:20:32.549
the more runs you do. Kind of seems like the
00:20:32.549 --> 00:20:36.440
sweet spot for this game. A lot of people saying
00:20:36.440 --> 00:20:40.640
it's the best puzzle game since Portal You know
00:20:40.640 --> 00:20:45.740
40 plus craftable floor plans Again a really
00:20:45.740 --> 00:20:48.160
good roguelike just needs an addicting gameplay
00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:50.680
loop. I think that's what they did here again
00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:53.799
I haven't had my time to play yet But I will
00:20:53.799 --> 00:20:58.660
but I did Just as you know, just just to have
00:20:58.660 --> 00:21:01.440
shine some light I did want to mention all three
00:21:01.440 --> 00:21:02.980
of these games because I do think all three of
00:21:02.980 --> 00:21:05.579
them will be Huge huge huge contenders for game
00:21:05.579 --> 00:21:09.240
of the year. So again split fiction Completely
00:21:09.240 --> 00:21:12.619
ran through go play it now 10 out of 10 And I
00:21:12.619 --> 00:21:14.500
can safely say just based on what I've seen in
00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:15.900
the gaming community and my other colleagues
00:21:15.900 --> 00:21:18.539
and peers You know not just critics reviews because
00:21:18.539 --> 00:21:21.140
you know, you never know But based on personal
00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:24.440
colleague peer reviews and steam and everything
00:21:24.440 --> 00:21:28.339
else Expedition 33 and blueprints also both are
00:21:28.339 --> 00:21:33.450
worth it. I also wanted to mention For my homies
00:21:33.450 --> 00:21:35.410
gaming on a budget or just looking to you know,
00:21:35.450 --> 00:21:40.150
not spend Expedition 33 and blueprints are also
00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:45.750
both available on Game Pass So just FYI Which
00:21:45.750 --> 00:21:49.589
is great if that's what you want to do, but yeah,
00:21:50.410 --> 00:21:53.970
man It's just so many games. Maybe once I stop
00:21:53.970 --> 00:21:55.650
being addicted to oblivion, maybe blueprints
00:21:55.650 --> 00:21:57.529
is next But I think it will be Expedition 33
00:21:57.529 --> 00:22:01.980
and then blueprints So rest assured Before the
00:22:01.980 --> 00:22:05.839
years over I promise I will get through These
00:22:05.839 --> 00:22:07.819
two games already got this perfection, but I
00:22:07.819 --> 00:22:09.299
will get through expedition 33 and blueprints
00:22:09.299 --> 00:22:15.380
as well and can form a more of an opinion But
00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:18.359
as of now I'm safe to say that These three can
00:22:18.359 --> 00:22:19.759
definitely be game of the year contenders for
00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:22.319
sure And as this speaks to the volume of gaming,
00:22:22.319 --> 00:22:27.240
you know, we're only in April. So Yeah, yeah,
00:22:27.480 --> 00:22:30.630
but the more I'm looking at blueprints Yeah,
00:22:30.650 --> 00:22:32.269
a lot of people saying best puzzle games are
00:22:32.269 --> 00:22:35.569
the Portal, Portal 2, or the Chalice Principle.
00:22:35.849 --> 00:22:37.789
Countless mansion layouts, dozens of rooms to
00:22:37.789 --> 00:22:42.130
discover and utilize. A lot of lore to absorb.
00:22:43.589 --> 00:22:45.769
And it's the first game from the studio, which
00:22:45.769 --> 00:22:50.990
is great. So, yeah. Make sure you check out all
00:22:50.990 --> 00:22:55.369
three. Moving on from this potential early game
00:22:55.369 --> 00:22:59.380
of the year 2025 discussion. we'll be moving
00:22:59.380 --> 00:23:02.839
shifting gears into Nintendo Switch 2 quickly
00:23:02.839 --> 00:23:04.960
once again. I won't take up as much time as I
00:23:04.960 --> 00:23:06.880
did you know like last week's dedicated episode
00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:09.019
but I want to touch base on it a bit so stay
00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:18.680
tuned. So last week's episode I talked about
00:23:18.680 --> 00:23:21.200
the Switch 2 and its pricing and how you guys
00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:25.819
felt about it and then I realized once I released
00:23:25.819 --> 00:23:29.460
that episode News broke out that the prices won't
00:23:29.460 --> 00:23:32.740
be changing due to all the tariff fiasco. The
00:23:32.740 --> 00:23:35.660
prices for the consoles remain locked in, but
00:23:35.660 --> 00:23:38.660
the prices for accessories shot up. So that's
00:23:38.660 --> 00:23:42.500
kind of how Nintendo combated that. So I did
00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:45.000
want to make point of that in case someone was
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:47.039
like, hey man, like you didn't mention it last
00:23:47.039 --> 00:23:50.319
time. Yeah, it's last time. By the time I recorded
00:23:50.319 --> 00:23:53.910
it, by the time I released the episode. News
00:23:53.910 --> 00:23:56.069
broke about the tear. I was like that same day
00:23:56.069 --> 00:23:58.730
or the next day. I don't quite recall but I'm
00:23:58.730 --> 00:24:00.289
almost like, okay shoot I'll mention it next
00:24:00.289 --> 00:24:04.109
time so price stays the same but the accessories
00:24:04.109 --> 00:24:07.809
went up um And man like I just like to bitch
00:24:07.809 --> 00:24:10.089
and moan but the canadian dollar is so trash
00:24:10.089 --> 00:24:12.930
for all for all those for all of you that didn't
00:24:12.930 --> 00:24:17.190
know I am canadian and man, it's They finally
00:24:17.190 --> 00:24:18.950
got the game pressing out there. I think it's
00:24:18.950 --> 00:24:23.140
like 100 bucks for donkey kong bonanza 109 at
00:24:23.140 --> 00:24:27.099
110 for Mario car 110 for the switch Pro 2 controller
00:24:27.099 --> 00:24:29.819
I mean if you convert it from the USD pricing
00:24:29.819 --> 00:24:34.400
it adds up, but just absolutely crazy But what
00:24:34.400 --> 00:24:36.420
I did want to touch on about Nintendo switch
00:24:36.420 --> 00:24:40.559
to real quick here Is that despite all the bitching
00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:43.619
and complaining about the pricing? Worldwide
00:24:43.619 --> 00:24:46.680
like I said intend you know people are going
00:24:46.680 --> 00:24:48.859
to Nintendo tree houses and being like drop the
00:24:48.859 --> 00:24:52.609
price drop the price drop the price The pre -orders
00:24:52.609 --> 00:24:55.470
have been going nuts, so the pre -orders did
00:24:55.470 --> 00:25:00.690
go live recently I'm trying to recall what they
00:25:00.690 --> 00:25:09.029
did So apologies with me The pre -order started
00:25:09.029 --> 00:25:15.789
on April 24th and all over the USA Canada UK
00:25:15.789 --> 00:25:21.599
It went crazy The pre -order has been crazy.
00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.900
So I just wanted to come on here and admit that
00:25:23.900 --> 00:25:27.440
I was wrong. Um, people bitch and complain about
00:25:27.440 --> 00:25:30.240
things. I bitch and complain about things, especially
00:25:30.240 --> 00:25:32.980
when it comes to pricing, but it doesn't matter.
00:25:33.579 --> 00:25:36.640
Um, so in Canada, particularly, um, Nintendo
00:25:36.640 --> 00:25:38.339
Switch 2, like I said, pre -orders went live
00:25:38.339 --> 00:25:41.720
on April 24th and they seemed even more challenging
00:25:41.720 --> 00:25:43.839
to obtain than the PS5. So I'm looking at an
00:25:43.839 --> 00:25:47.710
article here from mobilesirup .com. I know it's
00:25:47.710 --> 00:25:50.130
a funny name, but usually they give up -to -date
00:25:50.130 --> 00:25:54.069
gaming tech news, etc. about Canada. That's why
00:25:54.069 --> 00:25:57.930
it's called Mobile Syrup. And they're stating
00:25:57.930 --> 00:26:01.569
that Switch 2 was more hard to obtain than the
00:26:01.569 --> 00:26:05.269
PS5. Talking about huge retailers, Walmart, Best
00:26:05.269 --> 00:26:09.789
Buy, GameStop, London Drugs, Costco. Pretty much
00:26:09.789 --> 00:26:12.609
everywhere sold out of Nintendo's console within
00:26:12.609 --> 00:26:16.130
minutes. Article mentions while multiple mobile
00:26:16.130 --> 00:26:18.470
syrup staffers couldn't pre -order it, could
00:26:18.470 --> 00:26:20.869
pre -order it, this particular writer failed
00:26:20.869 --> 00:26:23.450
at every turn. I couldn't manage to get to the
00:26:23.450 --> 00:26:25.650
console from midnight to catch pre -orders at
00:26:25.650 --> 00:26:27.470
Walmart to waking up at 9am to make sure I was
00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:30.349
ready for the best by launch. Still might have
00:26:30.349 --> 00:26:33.269
a chance with Amazon as the e -commerce company
00:26:33.269 --> 00:26:36.789
sends out invites to those who sign up. There
00:26:36.789 --> 00:26:38.589
will be multiple pre -order rounds but I failed
00:26:38.589 --> 00:26:41.490
on the first attempt. and then asking the question,
00:26:41.509 --> 00:26:44.950
were you more successful? So long story short,
00:26:45.309 --> 00:26:49.210
I was proven wrong. People don't care. In Canada,
00:26:49.609 --> 00:26:52.289
particularly, the Switch 2 launches on June 5th
00:26:52.289 --> 00:26:57.390
at a price point of $629 .99, so $630. In a bundle
00:26:57.390 --> 00:26:59.289
that includes a digital copy of Mario Kart World,
00:26:59.410 --> 00:27:05.349
it's $699 .99, $700. So you'd obviously want
00:27:05.349 --> 00:27:07.589
to opt for the bundle. since we're getting the
00:27:07.589 --> 00:27:10.910
game for $70 instead of the ridiculous $110 I
00:27:10.910 --> 00:27:15.069
mentioned earlier. But again, it's ridiculous
00:27:15.069 --> 00:27:19.910
just because our... It's just our dollar sucks.
00:27:22.190 --> 00:27:24.269
Brings me to another question regarding Nintendo
00:27:24.269 --> 00:27:26.289
Switch 2 pre -order fast going just to hype in
00:27:26.289 --> 00:27:30.789
general. It's okay if you didn't pre -order Switch
00:27:30.789 --> 00:27:34.250
2. I think it's my opinion on it. I dug up a
00:27:34.250 --> 00:27:37.809
CNET article. Kind of wanted a reference here
00:27:37.809 --> 00:27:41.150
FOMO. You guys don't know what FOMO is stands
00:27:41.150 --> 00:27:44.509
for fear of missing out FOMO for gaming, you
00:27:44.509 --> 00:27:48.869
know any new tech all that stuff is hard Anytime
00:27:48.869 --> 00:27:51.730
a new console drops exciting trust me I know
00:27:51.730 --> 00:27:55.029
Let's hold out for now, you know, it is what
00:27:55.029 --> 00:27:58.230
it is period went out in minutes Obviously things
00:27:58.230 --> 00:28:01.349
will change over time. It's unclear when or how
00:28:02.789 --> 00:28:06.490
And also there's this unknown variable of How
00:28:06.490 --> 00:28:08.430
the constant terror fluctuations might do for
00:28:08.430 --> 00:28:10.470
future gaming console pricing and demand, right?
00:28:10.609 --> 00:28:13.049
So now you got to throw that into the loop But
00:28:13.049 --> 00:28:17.390
the thing is it will change over time It's okay
00:28:17.390 --> 00:28:20.769
that you didn't pre -order it, right? As good
00:28:20.769 --> 00:28:23.230
as the Switch 2 looks and as fun as Mario Kart
00:28:23.230 --> 00:28:28.490
and Hungry Kong seem to be It's okay, right?
00:28:29.829 --> 00:28:36.839
It's okay Things will get better You don't need
00:28:36.839 --> 00:28:39.900
it right away, but if you do you just got to
00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:44.660
be a super persistent Patient gamer. I don't
00:28:44.660 --> 00:28:49.339
know what else to say, right? But it's okay the
00:28:49.339 --> 00:28:51.779
senior article mentions that they got their hands
00:28:51.779 --> 00:28:56.299
on the switch to for a bit You know and I quote
00:28:56.299 --> 00:28:58.599
after playing several of the switch to additions
00:28:58.599 --> 00:29:00.819
I'll switch games for a bit. I noticed better
00:29:00.819 --> 00:29:06.019
frames and graphics resolution but nothing groundbreaking
00:29:06.019 --> 00:29:07.680
right obviously you'd prefer to play the switch
00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:11.140
2 editions but the experience they mentioned
00:29:11.140 --> 00:29:14.259
reminded them a bit of the ps5 pro versus the
00:29:14.259 --> 00:29:17.039
ps5 version of the game so take that how you
00:29:17.039 --> 00:29:20.859
will if you have a larger tv or something you'll
00:29:20.859 --> 00:29:23.119
likely appreciate the difference a bit more the
00:29:23.119 --> 00:29:24.960
bigger switch 2 screen shows off games in higher
00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:28.339
sdp with hdr but you could play on the older
00:29:28.339 --> 00:29:33.950
switch and be fine Switch to obviously other
00:29:33.950 --> 00:29:40.750
than the video powered GPU So and the thing is
00:29:40.750 --> 00:29:42.710
Even if you miss out, there's still some games
00:29:42.710 --> 00:29:45.289
coming on the switch, right? Mario Kart world
00:29:45.289 --> 00:29:47.549
and Donkey Kong bananas are switched to exclusives
00:29:47.549 --> 00:29:51.089
However, Metroid Prime 4 Metroid Prime 4 and
00:29:51.089 --> 00:29:53.410
Pokemon Legends Z A will also be playable on
00:29:53.410 --> 00:29:54.789
the switch. Obviously, they're not gonna run
00:29:54.789 --> 00:29:59.450
as good but Just to give you guys some hope,
00:29:59.450 --> 00:30:03.049
right? If you look at Nintendo's previous game
00:30:03.049 --> 00:30:06.150
history the company often supported previous
00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:08.289
consoles for a good couple years after the release
00:30:08.289 --> 00:30:13.490
anyways. So I kind of predict maybe 2026 or something
00:30:13.490 --> 00:30:17.849
along those lines where Switch 2 will start becoming
00:30:17.849 --> 00:30:21.430
the go -to for most big games or maybe even into
00:30:21.430 --> 00:30:25.490
early 2027 right? And if you looked at when the
00:30:25.490 --> 00:30:27.589
switch dropped, the Breath of the Wild was still
00:30:27.589 --> 00:30:29.930
released on Wii U, et cetera like that. So there's
00:30:29.930 --> 00:30:32.829
a good history of supporting the OG console.
00:30:32.990 --> 00:30:36.109
So I get it. First of all, I want to say I was
00:30:36.109 --> 00:30:37.809
wrong. The pricing did not change pre -orders
00:30:37.809 --> 00:30:41.349
or hype. Two, it's okay that you didn't get it.
00:30:41.509 --> 00:30:44.849
Battle the FOMO, okay? I know it's hard, but
00:30:44.849 --> 00:30:50.380
yeah. I also realized that the Switch was a completely
00:30:50.380 --> 00:30:52.819
brand new experience. It was portable, docked
00:30:52.819 --> 00:30:58.180
on your TV, all this new stuff before. Switch
00:30:58.180 --> 00:31:00.059
2 is mostly the same proposition value, just
00:31:00.059 --> 00:31:03.480
a little bit nicer, right? There's some new features,
00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:07.819
like the game chat, new Joy -Cons, the mouse
00:31:07.819 --> 00:31:11.240
functionality. But there isn't, you know, Nintendo
00:31:11.240 --> 00:31:14.680
always pulls out this crazy ass revolutionary
00:31:14.680 --> 00:31:17.930
gimmick, you know? Gamecube to the Wii, motion
00:31:17.930 --> 00:31:20.410
controls, Wii to the Wii U, screen to the gamepad,
00:31:20.410 --> 00:31:23.690
you know Wii to Nintendo, Switch, you know, it's
00:31:23.690 --> 00:31:27.009
a hybrid console, but here's There's no game
00:31:27.009 --> 00:31:28.690
breaking. Like I said, there's some new things
00:31:28.690 --> 00:31:31.990
game chat, um controllers as a mouse, new joycons,
00:31:32.730 --> 00:31:37.069
but the camera yada yada yada, but You're not
00:31:37.069 --> 00:31:38.970
missing on something like completely brand new,
00:31:38.970 --> 00:31:41.970
which is okay Um, and then like I said, it's
00:31:41.970 --> 00:31:44.109
fine to wait, uh, but now the biggest question
00:31:44.109 --> 00:31:48.430
mark will be the tariffs, right? best Nintendo
00:31:48.430 --> 00:31:50.630
console in a long while and worth upgrading to
00:31:50.630 --> 00:31:52.390
it seems like and that's what kind of what the
00:31:52.390 --> 00:31:57.410
unanimous opinion is across the board however
00:31:57.410 --> 00:32:01.390
the wild card remains a question of effect terrace
00:32:01.390 --> 00:32:03.470
will have on future console pricing right will
00:32:03.470 --> 00:32:06.730
it fluctuate obviously as gamers we do not hope
00:32:06.730 --> 00:32:09.069
but even though Nintendo locked in the console
00:32:09.069 --> 00:32:11.710
prices the price of Nintendo switch 2 accessories
00:32:11.710 --> 00:32:14.279
has already gone up I'm due to all the chaos
00:32:14.279 --> 00:32:17.500
and the tariff policies and will they jump up
00:32:17.500 --> 00:32:21.420
again? Who knows? In general the state of pricing
00:32:21.420 --> 00:32:23.480
consumer electronics is still an unknown zone
00:32:23.480 --> 00:32:26.099
But in the meantime, like I said, you can still
00:32:26.099 --> 00:32:28.339
have a lot of fun on your current switch and
00:32:28.339 --> 00:32:30.779
even more on the new feature with Metroid Prime
00:32:30.779 --> 00:32:35.160
4 and the New Pokemon like I said, obviously
00:32:35.160 --> 00:32:37.680
not gonna perform as well as the Switch 2 But
00:32:37.680 --> 00:32:39.720
there's still some things to look forward to.
00:32:39.900 --> 00:32:42.039
I know personally I still have a lot of games
00:32:42.039 --> 00:32:46.000
I need to play I've played a lot of, you know,
00:32:46.579 --> 00:32:51.019
Zelda's, I love Splatoon, Mario Kart, Mario RPG
00:32:51.019 --> 00:32:53.440
Remake, a few other games, but I still have to
00:32:53.440 --> 00:32:57.059
work through Mario Wonder, I did start it. So,
00:32:57.220 --> 00:32:58.819
I've got to do that. I'm still going to play
00:32:58.819 --> 00:33:01.319
some Xenoblade games, which is a big time consumer
00:33:01.319 --> 00:33:03.880
as well. The point is, if you're really excited
00:33:03.880 --> 00:33:06.500
for the Switch 2, look back at the Switch's library,
00:33:06.640 --> 00:33:08.019
see what you missed out on, because trust me,
00:33:08.660 --> 00:33:16.059
there is a lot there. Moving on to this week's
00:33:16.059 --> 00:33:20.859
have you played this segment I had to talk about
00:33:20.859 --> 00:33:24.460
it If you haven't played Elder Scrolls for oblivion
00:33:24.460 --> 00:33:28.200
now is the perfect time I Mentioned it several
00:33:28.200 --> 00:33:29.559
times already throughout this episode because
00:33:29.559 --> 00:33:34.819
I just couldn't resist man Oblivion remastered
00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:38.420
essentially almost just a remake visually Shadow
00:33:38.420 --> 00:33:42.700
dropped Tuesday, I believe I'm trying to get
00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:45.990
the exact date Shadow drop Tuesday or Wednesday,
00:33:45.990 --> 00:33:54.450
I think the 23rd But as I did it Listen man,
00:33:54.470 --> 00:33:56.369
I have a lot of bias when it comes to oblivion.
00:33:56.390 --> 00:33:58.049
So maybe I'm not the right person to be talking
00:33:58.049 --> 00:34:00.490
about this But if you haven't played else rules
00:34:00.490 --> 00:34:05.210
for oblivion go player right now Like I mentioned
00:34:05.210 --> 00:34:08.130
last week far cry 3 well the special place in
00:34:08.130 --> 00:34:10.170
my heart in terms of what I did for open worlds
00:34:11.239 --> 00:34:13.099
Oblivion is just a no -brainer man what it did
00:34:13.099 --> 00:34:16.179
for just this heartbeat Western RPGs in general
00:34:16.179 --> 00:34:23.380
and just RPG genre as a whole Quick story back
00:34:23.380 --> 00:34:27.360
when I got my Xbox 360 in 2006 We also moved
00:34:27.360 --> 00:34:29.000
to an acreage at that time an acreage is like,
00:34:29.099 --> 00:34:31.599
you know a farm essentially more or less so but
00:34:31.599 --> 00:34:35.460
fuck nowhere So when my uncle got me the 360
00:34:35.460 --> 00:34:39.329
my best friend at that time Gifts to me the collectors
00:34:39.329 --> 00:34:44.489
edition of oblivion in like a little book a sick,
00:34:44.510 --> 00:34:50.269
right? To or be Because I didn't have a high
00:34:50.269 --> 00:34:54.030
-speed internet Oblivion was a perfect game to
00:34:54.030 --> 00:34:56.449
gift me because I didn't realize it'd be like
00:34:56.449 --> 00:35:00.130
the only game I'd be playing for a year That's
00:35:00.130 --> 00:35:03.909
how good oblivion is I still have my PS2 at the
00:35:03.909 --> 00:35:05.550
time, so obviously the PS2 is still getting supported
00:35:05.550 --> 00:35:09.090
heavily into 06 even 07. A lot of games to play
00:35:09.090 --> 00:35:13.269
there as well. PS2 is the GOAT. But in terms
00:35:13.269 --> 00:35:16.150
of 360, yeah, Oblivion was the only game I won
00:35:16.150 --> 00:35:19.309
to for about a year. Within the summer of 2007,
00:35:19.570 --> 00:35:23.090
we finally got, which I don't even think would
00:35:23.090 --> 00:35:24.829
be considered high -speed internet nowadays,
00:35:25.230 --> 00:35:27.650
but finally got high -speed internet, which I
00:35:27.650 --> 00:35:32.610
think it was like 5 up and 5 download. Five megabytes
00:35:32.610 --> 00:35:35.190
per second, ladies and gentlemen. So I don't,
00:35:35.210 --> 00:35:37.349
like I said, I don't think that'd even be considered
00:35:37.349 --> 00:35:42.210
a high speed internet anymore. But it was enough
00:35:42.210 --> 00:35:44.590
to play Xbox Live. And that's when I started
00:35:44.590 --> 00:35:47.969
playing Saints Row online. Then I started playing
00:35:47.969 --> 00:35:52.010
Gears of War 1 online. And then that fall of
00:35:52.010 --> 00:35:54.510
that year, 2007, it was kind of raps, because
00:35:54.510 --> 00:35:56.909
then COD 4 came out, Halo 3 came out. Yeah, it
00:35:56.909 --> 00:36:02.420
was just, it was raps, man. What a time. Oblivion
00:36:02.420 --> 00:36:06.780
for one whole year man and The remastered so
00:36:06.780 --> 00:36:12.039
far I put in about four and a half hours I've
00:36:12.039 --> 00:36:15.880
already crashed once my game my main quest already
00:36:15.880 --> 00:36:20.800
got glitched I've seen a whole lot of other jankiness
00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:23.719
already in four and a half hours and I wouldn't
00:36:23.719 --> 00:36:27.019
have it other way so If you've never played oblivion
00:36:27.019 --> 00:36:29.820
before Now's the perfect time with the remaster
00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:33.500
Like I just mentioned it's literally the same
00:36:33.500 --> 00:36:35.940
exact game because I think the gameplay engine
00:36:35.940 --> 00:36:40.000
still on that creation engine or whatever engine
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:43.239
they used back in 06 it's still on that same
00:36:43.239 --> 00:36:46.440
engine so I know there's been some gameplay adjustments
00:36:46.440 --> 00:36:49.039
or refinements obviously right to the animations
00:36:49.039 --> 00:36:52.219
and thank God the leveling system is a bit altered
00:36:52.219 --> 00:36:55.599
the UI is cleaner stuff like that But in terms
00:36:55.599 --> 00:36:59.079
of bugs, glitches, jankiness, it's all there.
00:36:59.280 --> 00:37:00.960
Voiceline bloopers and all, like everything,
00:37:02.139 --> 00:37:05.360
all the classic Bethesda bug junk bullshit is
00:37:05.360 --> 00:37:09.119
there. Untouched, just with the fresh coat of
00:37:09.119 --> 00:37:12.380
paint on. And like I said, I'm biased. The nostalgia
00:37:12.380 --> 00:37:15.960
hits like a ton of bricks. Like I said, it's
00:37:15.960 --> 00:37:20.920
the only game I had on the 360. Now, not to get
00:37:20.920 --> 00:37:22.900
that twisted, I did play other games on the 360
00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:26.260
because guess what folks back then in 06, 07,
00:37:26.380 --> 00:37:29.039
you still had a wonderful retail outlet called
00:37:29.039 --> 00:37:32.440
Blockbuster. Other ones such as Movie Gallery
00:37:32.440 --> 00:37:35.639
and other local mom and pop shops that focused
00:37:35.639 --> 00:37:39.179
on movie slash video game rental. So I did run
00:37:39.179 --> 00:37:41.019
games with 360 to the size of a living, but it's
00:37:41.019 --> 00:37:44.280
still the only game I owned. I remember. Oh,
00:37:44.340 --> 00:37:47.190
here's another one. that's uh more low key if
00:37:47.190 --> 00:37:50.730
anyone ever played the outfit on the 360 not
00:37:50.730 --> 00:37:54.110
the early game um i remember playing the outfit
00:37:54.110 --> 00:37:55.949
i remember renting gears of war and because i
00:37:55.949 --> 00:37:58.309
didn't have a high speed another time i just
00:37:58.309 --> 00:38:00.190
rented it to play the campaign with my buddy
00:38:00.190 --> 00:38:02.889
like buddy from middle school who did the co
00:38:02.889 --> 00:38:05.409
-op um so believe it was still the only game
00:38:05.409 --> 00:38:08.289
i had and then i rented same throw for a bit
00:38:08.289 --> 00:38:11.230
i couldn't beat it in that time frame that i
00:38:11.230 --> 00:38:13.889
had for it um then when i got high speed internet
00:38:16.599 --> 00:38:19.980
Who told me I think I was just looking around
00:38:19.980 --> 00:38:21.480
like what's the best online games and people
00:38:21.480 --> 00:38:23.059
were telling me Saints Row and Gears of War 1
00:38:23.059 --> 00:38:25.519
And I was like, oh I did play those but I and
00:38:25.519 --> 00:38:28.460
then so I got them Gears of War is a little cheaper
00:38:28.460 --> 00:38:31.820
because I think that release winter 2006 long
00:38:31.820 --> 00:38:34.119
story short anyways I did play other games but
00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:37.099
oblivion was in fact the only game I owned for
00:38:37.099 --> 00:38:40.960
a year 100 % on the 3060 But that kind of just
00:38:40.960 --> 00:38:43.800
does the sheer amount of content in the game
00:38:45.179 --> 00:38:48.360
So, um, if you're kind of hesitant in Bethesda
00:38:48.360 --> 00:38:51.239
with all the bugs and jankiness, still there.
00:38:51.880 --> 00:38:55.480
So sad, so bad. But, um, with the fresh coat
00:38:55.480 --> 00:38:58.320
of paint on, like, man, some of the kids, like
00:38:58.320 --> 00:39:00.880
the, like the Khajiits look so different now,
00:39:01.260 --> 00:39:04.599
man. You know? Um, it's the best time to play
00:39:04.599 --> 00:39:09.440
it. And like, uh, blueprints in Expedition 33,
00:39:09.900 --> 00:39:13.500
of course Microsoft owns Bethesda, so. It's also
00:39:13.500 --> 00:39:14.840
available on the Game Pass if you're looking
00:39:14.840 --> 00:39:18.639
to shave some bucks. But I think it's $50 USD
00:39:18.639 --> 00:39:22.360
on the regular Xbox Store, Steam, PlayStation,
00:39:22.699 --> 00:39:27.739
wherever you find games. $66, I think, in Canada.
00:39:28.840 --> 00:39:31.760
But I bought my copy off Fanatical. So a huge
00:39:31.760 --> 00:39:34.780
shout out to Fanatical .com. I was able to sign
00:39:34.780 --> 00:39:37.119
the game for $55 Canadian, which is pretty good,
00:39:37.159 --> 00:39:40.199
saved like $12. So I think the deal is still
00:39:40.199 --> 00:39:41.340
going on. So if you're looking to buy a little
00:39:41.340 --> 00:39:43.460
bit cheaper, you can go out there. I think they
00:39:43.460 --> 00:39:46.860
also have deals on Expedition 33 and Blueprints
00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:49.860
as well. And unlike other, you know, like, you
00:39:49.860 --> 00:39:51.940
know, I use CD Keys and stuff in the past before.
00:39:52.360 --> 00:39:54.000
But unlike CD Keys, I think Fanatical is like
00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:56.780
more of like a humble bundle kind of deal where
00:39:56.780 --> 00:40:00.219
like they're legit third party, you know, they
00:40:00.219 --> 00:40:01.800
actually work with publisher devs. So don't feel
00:40:01.800 --> 00:40:03.960
bad for buying it off there. If it's not, choose
00:40:03.960 --> 00:40:07.170
a better deal. But yeah on this week's have you
00:40:07.170 --> 00:40:09.349
played this if you haven't played oblivion, you
00:40:09.349 --> 00:40:10.989
just got to do it man There's just one of those
00:40:10.989 --> 00:40:14.949
one of those games That's so immersive had so
00:40:14.949 --> 00:40:17.989
much charm But it'll rope you in right away.
00:40:17.989 --> 00:40:23.489
Trust me. The world is just so So immersive like
00:40:23.489 --> 00:40:24.710
there's no other way to put it. The world is
00:40:24.710 --> 00:40:27.250
just so detailed There's so much charm to the
00:40:27.250 --> 00:40:31.170
characters. The quest design is unreal I often
00:40:31.170 --> 00:40:33.250
told people man, like when I saw how big Skyrim
00:40:33.250 --> 00:40:35.920
got and how big it continued to get over the
00:40:35.920 --> 00:40:37.340
years like obviously i played the shit out of
00:40:37.340 --> 00:40:40.059
sky when it first released on 360 i see it re
00:40:40.059 --> 00:40:42.639
-released so many times so many copies it sold
00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:45.760
too much of a meme it became um like how it crossed
00:40:45.760 --> 00:40:47.980
over into mainstream media pop culture i was
00:40:47.980 --> 00:40:50.400
like man this is the type of recognition oblivion
00:40:50.400 --> 00:40:53.920
should have got because oblivion to me you know
00:40:53.920 --> 00:40:57.099
obviously how should i put this if there's big
00:40:57.099 --> 00:40:59.059
morrowind fans i apologize because it's not a
00:40:59.059 --> 00:41:01.099
game i've played and again it's just too outdated
00:41:01.099 --> 00:41:06.730
now If they ever remastered, quote unquote, Morrowind
00:41:06.730 --> 00:41:08.389
the same way they did Oblivion, I would definitely
00:41:08.389 --> 00:41:10.110
check it out because people always tell me Morrowind
00:41:10.110 --> 00:41:12.710
is their favorite other schools. Flash Bethesda
00:41:12.710 --> 00:41:15.989
developed game. But for me, it's Oblivion. And
00:41:15.989 --> 00:41:17.889
I'll still stand on that rock. I'll take Oblivion
00:41:17.889 --> 00:41:20.610
or Skyrim any day. Both phenomenal. But like
00:41:20.610 --> 00:41:25.030
I said, Oblivion's just the charm to the characters.
00:41:25.610 --> 00:41:27.670
Like I said, the quest design, the main story
00:41:27.670 --> 00:41:31.730
is more intriguing. The side stories and the
00:41:31.730 --> 00:41:35.489
side question of Oblivion are just wild. The
00:41:35.489 --> 00:41:37.030
Dark Brotherhood is probably the best version
00:41:37.030 --> 00:41:38.809
of Dark Brotherhood in Elder Scrolls history
00:41:38.809 --> 00:41:44.070
in comparison to Skyrim. And then on top of the
00:41:44.070 --> 00:41:49.230
Fighters Guild, Mages Guild, Thieves Guild, and
00:41:49.230 --> 00:41:50.650
Dark Brotherhood that you would find in Skyrim
00:41:50.650 --> 00:41:53.929
as well. With also the arena in Oblivion, which
00:41:53.929 --> 00:41:56.429
is probably what I'm kind of focusing on at the
00:41:56.429 --> 00:41:58.679
moment. Because I picked a warrior class. So
00:41:58.679 --> 00:42:01.320
if you picked like a big melee kind of class,
00:42:01.320 --> 00:42:05.360
I would suggest Maybe doing the arena first in
00:42:05.360 --> 00:42:08.039
Imperial City Because like it'll help get you,
00:42:08.119 --> 00:42:10.159
you know blade slash blunt up your heavy armor
00:42:10.159 --> 00:42:13.000
light armor, whatever the case might be And plus
00:42:13.000 --> 00:42:17.639
this is sick man. I love gladiator I love that
00:42:17.639 --> 00:42:20.760
whole Coliseum Rome vibe, you know, just the
00:42:20.760 --> 00:42:23.280
concept of there just like rising from just like
00:42:23.280 --> 00:42:27.980
rags to riches essentially like back in the day
00:42:27.980 --> 00:42:29.639
so it's just sick that you can just be like this
00:42:29.639 --> 00:42:32.000
peasant little fighter and work your way up in
00:42:32.000 --> 00:42:36.119
the ranks um super cool man um i always love
00:42:36.119 --> 00:42:37.599
the arena oblivion so be able to do it again
00:42:37.599 --> 00:42:41.760
with the fresh coat of paint um so i'm just uh
00:42:41.760 --> 00:42:43.639
i'm just recognizing the arena more because that
00:42:43.639 --> 00:42:46.400
wasn't prevalent in Skyrim um i also like the
00:42:46.400 --> 00:42:48.559
lock picking system lock picking system better
00:42:48.559 --> 00:42:50.800
in oblivion which might kind of be a hot take
00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:55.110
but um The thing is, you know, if you're itching,
00:42:55.750 --> 00:42:57.070
I know everyone's still playing for Elder Scrolls
00:42:57.070 --> 00:43:00.210
6. And if you just played Oblivion, I mean, if
00:43:00.210 --> 00:43:03.309
you played Skyrim too many times, right now is
00:43:03.309 --> 00:43:06.070
the time to play Oblivion. Like I said, 50 USD
00:43:06.070 --> 00:43:09.869
or game fast, fresh coat of paint. And a lot
00:43:09.869 --> 00:43:11.230
of the younger generation, like, I mean, when
00:43:11.230 --> 00:43:14.309
I played Oblivion, I was only 12, 13. So if you're
00:43:14.309 --> 00:43:17.210
ever younger and only really know Skyrim, I mean,
00:43:17.210 --> 00:43:18.389
essentially you're just getting in the Elder
00:43:18.389 --> 00:43:22.130
Scrolls game, which looks better. Then scrap
00:43:22.130 --> 00:43:24.210
because of the fresh coat of paint unreal engine
00:43:24.210 --> 00:43:27.809
5 My only critiques is unreal engine 5 is kind
00:43:27.809 --> 00:43:31.469
of shoddy I'll see the mix of games look beautiful.
00:43:31.469 --> 00:43:33.150
But performance wise it's still you know, the
00:43:33.150 --> 00:43:34.889
obviously the engine is still needs to be ironed
00:43:34.889 --> 00:43:39.489
out But yeah, it wouldn't be a pathetic game
00:43:39.489 --> 00:43:43.449
without but bugs glitches jankiness crashes stutters
00:43:43.449 --> 00:43:45.630
blah blah blah, but with a fresh coat of paint
00:43:45.630 --> 00:43:47.409
man It's just so worth it man. I'm telling you
00:43:47.409 --> 00:43:51.659
like Yeah, there's just so much content in the
00:43:51.659 --> 00:43:52.980
game. It's just something else. It's beautiful.
00:43:53.079 --> 00:43:56.059
It's beautiful So that's my little have you played
00:43:56.059 --> 00:43:58.699
this for this? This week's episode clearly you
00:43:58.699 --> 00:44:01.159
can tell I love oblivion. It's honestly my favorite
00:44:01.159 --> 00:44:04.019
games all the time I don't mention I know last
00:44:04.019 --> 00:44:06.219
week when I mentioned far cry 3, you know being
00:44:06.219 --> 00:44:10.539
kind of a premier Ubisoft game like Oblivion
00:44:10.539 --> 00:44:12.940
is just that premier game in general like it's
00:44:12.940 --> 00:44:14.900
it's easily my favorite, but that's a developed
00:44:14.900 --> 00:44:20.570
game I think my favorite Game from this whole,
00:44:20.630 --> 00:44:22.250
you know, it was developed by obsidian actually
00:44:22.250 --> 00:44:24.409
was fallout new vegas fallout new vegas is crazy.
00:44:24.409 --> 00:44:28.090
That's another game Nothing, but high praise
00:44:28.090 --> 00:44:32.150
for But that was developed by obsidian published
00:44:32.150 --> 00:44:35.369
by bethesda, but if looking at the best bethesda
00:44:35.369 --> 00:44:40.349
developed game Oblivion I think it's better than
00:44:40.349 --> 00:44:42.570
skyrim. I think it's better than fallout 3 fallout
00:44:42.570 --> 00:44:46.510
1 2 I Do I do it's my it's my favorite. It's
00:44:46.510 --> 00:44:48.389
my favorite, but there's a developed game. Okay
00:44:50.039 --> 00:44:52.480
So Yeah, that's this week's have you played this
00:44:52.480 --> 00:44:54.500
if you have a play to believe in go play it now
00:44:54.500 --> 00:45:03.440
best time best time Ladies and gentlemen, that
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:08.659
was episode 7 of digital downtime We talked about
00:45:08.659 --> 00:45:11.019
potential game of the year nominees with fiction
00:45:11.019 --> 00:45:15.960
expedition 33 blueprints all three which I've
00:45:15.960 --> 00:45:19.440
heard or it seems like Obviously, I ran through
00:45:19.440 --> 00:45:21.960
split fiction about the other two all three are
00:45:21.960 --> 00:45:25.179
with every time so go play all three Whichever
00:45:25.179 --> 00:45:28.139
one you want to play first go for it But it doesn't
00:45:28.139 --> 00:45:31.480
do in addition to those three oblivion remastered
00:45:31.480 --> 00:45:35.820
also well, which clearly tell my bias for That
00:45:35.820 --> 00:45:39.699
means that's four games Go play all four men.
00:45:39.699 --> 00:45:41.659
No, it's what a time to be alive as a gaming
00:45:41.659 --> 00:45:46.309
friend We discussed a Nintendo switch to Pre
00:45:46.309 --> 00:45:48.369
-orders been crazy or regardless of pricing.
00:45:48.369 --> 00:45:52.030
So I was indeed wrong However, if you if you
00:45:52.030 --> 00:45:56.090
don't quite snatch it yet, it's okay Don't let
00:45:56.090 --> 00:45:59.750
the formal consume you don't let the formal haunt
00:45:59.750 --> 00:46:03.909
you Those there's still some great stuff coming
00:46:03.909 --> 00:46:06.070
out of the switch like the new Pokemon and Metroid
00:46:06.070 --> 00:46:09.170
Prime 4 and Like I said Nintendo usually supports
00:46:09.170 --> 00:46:10.969
their consoles well, so I'm sure that the original
00:46:10.969 --> 00:46:13.130
switch will still be getting supported well way
00:46:13.130 --> 00:46:19.440
into 2026 As always, if you enjoy the podcast,
00:46:19.760 --> 00:46:23.099
please recommend it to your friends. Word amount
00:46:23.099 --> 00:46:26.440
is usually huge for these kinds of things. Please
00:46:26.440 --> 00:46:28.239
leave a review on whatever platform you're listening
00:46:28.239 --> 00:46:32.500
to, whether that's Spotify, Apple, YouTube, Thumbs
00:46:32.500 --> 00:46:35.880
Up, Amazon, whatever it might be. Reviews help
00:46:35.880 --> 00:46:38.380
out a ton with visibility. So please, please,
00:46:38.380 --> 00:46:41.739
please leave a review. What are your thoughts?
00:46:41.820 --> 00:46:43.500
Have you played all the games I've mentioned?
00:46:43.599 --> 00:46:45.579
Are you planning to play them? Is there something
00:46:45.579 --> 00:46:47.400
we're missing out from potential game of the
00:46:47.400 --> 00:46:51.500
year discussion? Please let me know And then
00:46:51.500 --> 00:46:53.860
until next week Sayonara