Chamberlain and Chance

There a ways to play the old game, ways that we endorse but will not fully explain. To that end, Alex is playing the old Ratchet and Clank games on modern hardware and feeling like a kid again. Chance is *gasp* enjoying the PS5 version of Avowed, but not enough keep him from feeling like a kid again in Overwatch, as Tracer is (temporarily) good again. Chamberlain was never a child, does not know what it feels like to be one, and has instead been playing middling games like Crisol and High on Life 2.

Hooray for an unexpected Sony State of Play! We aren't sure how the original God of War trilogy can me remade in the present day, either, but it is fun to think about. Also this week, Chance kills and gets killed by a cat with a jet pack. Alex gets cats killed in Mewgenics. And Chamberlain decides that realistic-ish military shooters give him the ick after playing Battlefield 6.

In a shocking turn of events, Chamberlain has seen a movie in the theater and lived to tell the tale. Hamnet may have gone mostly over his head, but at least an attempt was made. Alex takes his turn at indie metroidvanias with Guns of Fury. And Chance turns to Star Wars Outlaws to sooth his dissatisfaction with Horizon Forbidden West (which he turned to because Blizzard nerfed Tracer again). Plus a whole lot of Path of Exile II got played, so numbers went up and monster went boom.

In an odd moment of agreement, Chamberlain and Chance agree that MIO: Memories in Orbit is not a good game. The only difference being that it took Chance less then two hours to come to the decision while it took Chamberlain close to 20 and a nearly broken controller. Alex is one of 500 people who played and loved Pinball Spire. And Chance did NOT play nothing but Sliksong this week, opting to revisit Horizon Forbidden West, a better looking (and better playing) game than Assassin's Creed Shadows.

Welcome to the podcast that has not lost 95% of its market value and is therefore significantly more successful than Ubisoft. This week: Chamberlain runs into a boomer shooter that is both a little too boomer and a little too shooter in Forgive Me Father 2. Alex puts his min maxing stamp on Path of Exile 2 and takes a short tour of Hogwarts Legacy. And Chance doesn't play Silksong for just enough time to download and then delete several older games.

It's January, which means not much new to play and even less news. Alex found Victory Heat Rally, a tight kart racer with a very anime aesthetic. Chamberlain finished Madragora (his favorite metroidvania of last year) and is being brutalized by cthulu beasties in Forgive Me Father 2. And Chance has officially done all there is to do in Silksong and has the platinum trophy to prove it.

Happy New Year! We played some games while we were gone, some of them even new. Chance learned a new character in Overwatch 2 and made several more runs at Silksong. Chamberlain finished Ghost of Yotei, a game he likens to the most comforting comfort food available. And Alex discovered a tiny part of himself that loves video-pinball and promptly gave that part his wallet.

It's time for the only game of the year list that matters: completely unsponsored and horribly biased. This time around we learn that Chance was forcibly sent to French immersion school as a child and has never gotten over it, Chamberlain actually has feelings and Alex has more patience and affection for puzzles than should be possible. It's been a good year for games. Enjoy our picks!

Yes, like it or not, it's a real holiday. We may not agree, heck, we don't even last to the end of the show, but there will at least be some cool trailers (Control 2?!). As far as what we have been doing, Alex is so busy being an exceptional husband that all he has time for is Stardew Valley with his wife. Chance takes a chance on Stalker 2 and is not immediately disgusted. And Chamberlain has played Borderland 4 for so long that its terribleness has worn away and now he is just shooting rippers in the head and enjoying it.Best of the year next week!

One of us is trying to play new things. Chamberlain finished up Possessor(s) before moving on to Borderlands 4, which is somehow worse than Alex described but still digital crack. Chance tried Expedition 33, again, and dropped it, again, before playing more Silksong, again. And Alex played Dispatch, again, before playing Silksong, again.There may be clues to game of the year recipients in the above paragraph.

Alex has returned, riding the Dispatch hype train. Heck, he was conducting it and tries very hard to pull everyone else on board. Chance almost gets on, as he is almost done with his most recent Fallout 4 playthrough. And Chamberlain doesn't even see the train. He is busy with another lower end metroidvania. This time it is Possessor(s), which he admits he is playing just because no one else is.

Chamberlain has finished Outer Worlds 2 and is reasonably pleased with it. It's no Avowed, but it scratched an itch, mostly because there were 20 points invested in guns. He also tried Bloodlines 2 so that you don't have to (and you shouldn't). And Chance was so stung by his buggy experience with Outer Worlds 2 that he retreated all the way back to Fallout 4 and will not return until his gauss rifle wielding smooth talker rules the wasteland.

In the rarest of occurrences, all three of our heroes are playing (or at least played) the same game at the same time: Outer Worlds 2. Played because Chance ran in to a game ending bug, started over, and was just not 'immersed' enough to continue. Neither Alex nor Chamberlain are saying that this is the greatest game of all time, but it is entertaining in spite of its problems. Basically, they will tolerate mediocre combat if it means pitting space scientologist/communist soviet era Russians against late stage capitalism gone mad Americans against the nerdiest nerds to ever nerd.There's charm here, trust us.

Chance. Chance doesn't love ninjas, at least not enough to play Ninja Gaiden 4. He bought it, but running through mediocre looking environments killing things at a firm 60 FPS was not good enough for him. It was more than good enough for Chamberlain, who loved it and highly recommends it as a very forgiving 'hard' game. All three have started Outer Worlds 2, but Alex has played it the most, because he loves Obsidian more than ninjas and ponied up for the early release. Side note: Chamberlain does not love ninjas enough to put of with Double Dragon Revive. No one loves ninjas that much,

Sorry to say, no Alex today. We that remain will do our best.Chamberlain hates what he thought he would like, tolerates but eventually abandons what he thought he would hate, gets emotionally involved with a 4 legged lighthouse, then settles in with Ninja Gaiden 4, a game so difficult he can only play it sober. And Chance can't find a place to be comfortable, stating at least two play throughs of Resident Evil 4, one of Baldur's Gate 3 and even a multiplayer session of Ghost of Tsushima before giving up and just watching movies. 2025 may have peaked.

Both Chance and Alex have played their games of the year and are planning on coasting the rest of the way to 2026. Chance finished up Ghost of Yotei, which was excellent if a bit short on content, and then moved on to Absolum, a brawler that Chamberlain was interested in until Chance brought up comparisons to Hades. Alex did all there was to do in Silksong, leaving nothing to do but finally (FINALLY) play South Park The Separate But Whole. And Chamberlain played Metal Gear Solid Delta, a remake of a very old game, before learning about love, death and demons in Sorry, We're Closed.

Yes, there is still Silksong talk this week. Alex has moved to within spitting distance of the end, having bested Skarrsinger Karmelita at the expense of a controller and strained fingers. Chance is celebrating Ghost of Yotei day and encourages all others to forsake their current worship practices for this new, improved version. Who doesn't want their god to feature global ray tracing at 60 FPS. And Chamberlain fixes the ending of Mafia The Old Country before insisting that everyone else is wrong about Silent Hill f being any better than a swift kick in the fellas.

Yes, there is still a lot of Silksong to talk about. Chance has finished it twice, having failed to distract himself with Dying Light: The Beast. He actually can't stop and it is becoming concerning. Alex finished, and has some less than nice things to say about, Borderlands 4. He, too, then, was sucked back into the bug orbit. And Chamberlain played Silksong for four hours, got angry, then retreated to linear action game Mafia: The Old Country, because it was more familiar and much, much more forgiving (in spite of all the revenge murders).

It's a spoiler episode! Silksong spoilers, because Chance has finished it, Alex has started it and Chamberlain is scared of it! Borderlands 4 spoilers, because Alex can't get enough of Randy Pitchford's nonsense! And Lost Soul Aside spoilers, because Chamberlain is a gaming hipster who only plays things that no one else has heard of!

Silksong has actually, honestly, really and truly come out and only Chance has put any time into it. No spoilers this week! Alex has Silksong downloaded (fighting Windows and Steam issues all the way) and will be playing it shortly, having put some time into the first Yakuza Like a Dragon to fill the preceding hours. And Chamberlain has Silksong installed but will not be playing it for at least a week and a half. But he did play RoboCop Rogue City Unfinished Business and some of Mortal Kombat 1, both of which were mediocre!*sigh*

The Silksong counter is now at seven days. Chance and Alex are passing the hours by replaying Hollow Knight, with Alex wrapping the whole thing up in a new personal best time. Alex also found ALL of the Lego games on sale and is revisiting his childhood. And Chamberlain, who is so far removed from his childhood that he has forgotten it entirely, surrenders himself to one of his worst vices: a "new" Earth Defense Force game.

Spoiler! Hollow Knight Silksong has a release date! This is the happiest that Alex has been in six years. Also, we may not be recording in two weeks when it comes out, for science. Chance watched a ton of movies and has been inventing quests for himself in Tears of the Kingdom, this time at 60 FPS. And Chamberlain played a lot of things. The good (Ninja Gaiden Ragebound), the bad (Among Ashes) and the boring (Shadow Labyrinth).

The education of Chamberlain continues. This week: immersive sims are a thing that he has already played and he didn't even know it. Path of Exile II, which he has been enjoying, is not one. Alex has relapsed into XCOM II, which is excellent, but is not an immersive sim. And Chance has finished Donkey Kong Bananza and is struggling internally between Zelda Tears of the Kingdom and Assassin's Creed Shadows, neither of which are immersive sims.

It is time for Chamberlain against the world (again). He tried Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and he hated it. A lot. No one else feels this way. He also threw money at Path of Exile 2 which is most enjoyable, when the sound works. Alex declares Final Fantasy XIII the worst Final Fantasy and Chance betrays not just some but ALL of his principles buy purchasing a Switch 2 and *gasp* enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza.

Chance has officially hit the credits of Death Stranding 2 and has almost nothing but nice things to say about it. It is hard to argue with shirtless hand to hand guitar battles. Alex is catching up on the Final Fantasy games that he never played. This week it is XIII, a game that still looks good and whose writing is still bad. And Chamberlain has returned to his gaming comfort zone: 7/10 games with obvious flaws and a lot of heart. Karma is a walking sim crossed with Orwell by way of Inception and Somber Echoes is a metroidvania with a good map, and sometimes that is all that is required.

Only one of your three heroes is not suffering from the annual summer games drought. Chance is still enjoying Death Stranding 2 and promises there is so much more to it than Tomorrow's feet. Alex took Chamberlain's lack of love for Metaphor personally and is playing it again to feel confident in his own opinions. And Chamberlain has gone all the way back to Hollow Knight, which is awesome, and whose map he still hates with more passion than is appropriate.

There is still only one new release of note, Death Stranding 2, and Chance is still all about it. Yes, Kojima still has somewhat cringey takes on the fairer sex, but the menus are awesome and walking from one place to another never gets old. Alex is working through his Steam backlog, this week sampling Chrono Cross and Mortal Kombat 11. And Chamberlain hates everything. He hated I Am Your Beast and he didn't exactly love Metaphor.

Alex spent some time outside, doing outside things, and this has stirred within him a desire to throw and hit balls with wooden sticks, also know as Super Mega Baseball 4. Chamberlain has to settle for Symphony of the Night at home, also known as Chronicles of the Wolf. And Chance has decided that walking around in real life is not enough and that it can only be improved by Kojima.

No Alex this week, but fear not! To make up for this Chamberlain played MindsEye to completion. All of it. So you don't have to (please don't). Chance also takes one on the chin this week by confirming that the Lollipop Chainsaw remaster is bad should feel bad about existing. Good games soon, we promise!

It happens every year: the doldrums. Yes, 'not E3' is over, but trailers of games that aren't coming out for years does little to sate the needs of the addict. Alex tried Lies of P, tried being the operative term. At least Steam allows refunds. Chamberlain is wasting his time with a mediocre console port of Titan Quest. And Chance is doing the unthinkable: watching movies. And playing Overwatch.

Welcome to the Zatoichi podcast! Chance is now at least half way through his quest of watching every single Zatoichi movie and he still loves them. Chamberlain is still on his quest to play nothing but games no one has heard of, this time uncovering an absolute gem in Crypt Custodian. And Alex has completed the impossible quest of finishing a co-op run of Baldur's Gate 3 with his wife AND remaining married at the end.Spoilers: no one bought a Switch 2, because why bother, and no one played Elden Ring Nighteign for similar reasons. Stands must be taken. Sometimes.

Chamberlain and Chance have finished Doom The Dark Age. Chance's opinion has softened. Yes, it is too easy but it was fun for the entire time. Chamberlain wants to work for his demon kills and was generally nonplussed, but hey, it was on Game Pass. Also this week, Alex revisits Red Dead Redemption 2 on his new PC and has a much better time with it that he did seven years ago.

Id has once again attempted to reinvent the wheel with Doom The Dark Age instead of just making a sequel to Doom 2016. Neither Chamberlain nor Chance are thrilled with it, but at least Chance is happy with the Star Wars Outlaws DLC and Chamberlain got a nice artsy 2D platformer in Neva. And Alex has done the impossible and kept his marriage whole through most of a co-op playthrough of Baldur's Gate 3.

Chamberlain and Alex both love and have pretty much finished Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. Yes, it can be a bit on the difficult side at times, but turn based RPGs are so scarce that an excellent one coming out of nowhere is to be celebrated. Celebrated with lots and lots of spoilers! Chance did not like it, because he does not like turn based RPGs, and instead watched a whole bunch of movies while screwing up his Overwatch placement matches.

Truly, our cups runneth over. Clair Obscur Expedition 33 has come out to universal critical acclaim. Alex agrees, and contrary to his usual MO, Chamberlain also has qualified nice things to say, qualified because his heart still belongs to South of Midnight. Alex has also unlocked the 'wife plays games with me' achievement in multi-player Baldur's Gate 3. And Chance has finally taken a break from Assassin's Creed Shadows for the one cause that is possibly more noble than running around feudal Japan, stabbing dudes: killing nazis!

Chance has tried to leave feudal Japan, unsuccessfully. He is on playthrough two of Assassin's Creed Shadows after revisiting Ghost of Tsushima just long enough to see that it doesn't look as good. Chamberlain cannot believe that the same people who made We Happy Few just release South of Midnight, a game he loves in spite of its flaws. And Alex sticks by his strange statement that Blue Prince is an excellent puzzle game and not just something that put Chamberlain to sleep.

The Switch 2 has a release date and a price, sooner and more expensive than most people expected. There is probably an "Alex was right" moment in here somewhere. Also this week, Chance continues to make Chamberlain feel bad for giving up on Assassin's Creed Shadows so quickly. Alex tries and fails to just play a little bit of Elden Ring. And Chamberlain has experience the joys and tragedies of a fine British apocalypse in Atomfall.

Opinions on Assassin's Creed Shadows differ wildly this week. One of us declares it the best game in the series and the other dropped it after five hours. The third person was Alex, who dodged the entire argument by continuing on with Kingdom Come Deliverance II. Also this week: Iron Meat, helicoptering and figuring out who gets the dog after the breakup, Chamberlain or Ubisoft.

Chance continues on his Kingdom Come Deliverance II missionary venture, finally drawing Alex into its web. Now he too is brewing potions, forging weapons, failing speech checks, and he swears that he is having a good time doing it. Assassin's Creed Shadows has briefly stolen Chance's attention, but who knows for how long. And Chamberlain continues to play game that no one else has even heard of. This week: Valfaris Mecha Therion. That is not a typo.

Chance continues to live in Kingdom Come Deliverance II, molding his Henry into the sneakiest, sexiest, deadliest, most well spoken bloke that world has every seen. If he isn't king by the time he is done something is wrong. Chamberlain and Alex have slid into indies and AA titles. Chamberlain finds reasons to overlook Unknown 9's obvious flaws while Alex types his time way to success in Cryptmaster and fills the rest of his days with Brotato.

Chamberlain and Alex have both finished Avowed, so massive spoiler warning. They both had a great time but one did a better job teaching morals and values to a young immortal being than the other. Alex has also finished what there is of Hades II, declaring it a more than worthy sequel. And Chance is still living in Kingdom Come Deliverance II. Literally living there. He has forwarded his mail and spends most of his time out back in the alchemy shed.

Chamberlain has joined the 'Avowed is good' parade with Alex, calling it the arcade racing game of first person open world RPGs, which coming from him is a compliment. Alex is approaching the end of said game because because not everything needs to be over 100 hours long. And Chance has taken the exact opposite approach to playing digital pretend with Kingdom Come Deliverance II, a game whose moment to moment gameplay Chamberlain compares to the horse testicles in Red Dead Redemption II.

Alex is officially part of the problem: he has paid for early access to Avowed and after around two hours declares exactly what he always wanted. Chamberlain bounces off of everything before fighting with a new TV and Chance plays through Sekiro again and again, honing his skills, preparing for Elden Ring Nightreign.

Only Chamberlain is playing something new, suffering through the new normal of obnoxiously difficult metroidvania bosses, courtesy Ender Magnolia. It's not as mean as Grime, but it's close. Chance has rediscovered Sekiro and is somehow better at it now than when he finished it the first time. And Alex finished the final Skyrim DLC over a decade after release. It's about time.

Sexy vampires or corpse-like monsters? Goth or weeb? New mediocre games or ten plus year old masterpieces? These questions and more answered this week! Chamberlain tries to remember the name of Ender Magnolia shortly after buying it, Chance gloats over his domination of Sekiro and Alex is still finding quests in Skyrim that he swears weren't there before.

It's movie week, at least for one of us. Chance has seen Nosferatu and declared it the finest vampire movie OF ALL TIME. Make sure to address your comments appropriately. Alex continues to dominate late stage Stardew Valley with his wife. And Chamberlain make apologies for being 50 plus hours into Dragon Age The Veilguard, still not liking the combat, but not wanting to put it down.

It is still catch up time. Chamberlain has come almost full circle on Dragon Age The Veilguard. It's still a dumb name and the combat is still not great, but everything is slowly growing on, like a mold that writes middling dialogue. Alex has hooked his Steam Deck up to a TV and re-discovered couch co-op, playing Stardew Valley with his wife (the most romantic things I have ever heard of) and Chance revisited old friends before killing them in Elden Ring.

Welcome to 2025! Yes, we are still doing this. Chamberlain has doubts about his game of the year 2024 list after finishing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, then has doubts about Alex's taste after putting time into Dragon Age The Veilguard. Chance decides that Alex is the arbiter of all things good and that Chamberlain is always wrong after roughly ten playthroughs of the Resident Evil 4 remake and quitting Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth after 10 hours. And Alex consumes more co-op games on his Steam deck than than he knew existed.

The only game of the year list that matters! And with no Spider-Man released this year (the only games to have every swept these prestigious awards) what can you expect? No spoilers, but there is wealth involved. And a tree. And haptic feedback. Also this week, Alex splurges on the Steam sale and plays Oddworld Stranger's Wrath, Chamberlain loves Ys X but does not love Indiana Jones and The Great Circle and Chance finally comes around on the Resident Evil 4 remake.

We apologize for the interruption during the early part of the episode, new Elden Ring DLC was announced and both Alex and Chance needed to change their pants. Yes, Alex is back, and spent a lot of time in Elder Scrolls Oblivion, of all things. Chance downloaded several dozen games on to his PS5 Pro and still just play more Star Wars Outlaws and Chamberlain just might have a crush on Karja from Ys X. And Adol, but who doesn't love Adol.

We took a week off for some silly American holiday, came back all rested and ready, and Alex is busy again. We miss him so. Chance, who always plays the most recent games, finally found Hogwarts Legacy cheap enough to warrant an attempt and is pleasantly surprised. It's not the deepest game in the world but Hogsmeade is cool and bashing goblins to bits never really get old. Likewise, Chamberlain has settled into Ys X, a comfort food game that looks two generations old, plays one generation old, but is so unrelentingly positive that all is forgiven, just like the last game.