The Besties

After glancing off the subject our last couple of episodes, we're finally ready to dive deep into Capcom's latest rejuvenation of their classic survival horror franchise, Resident Evil 4 Remake. Also, how buckwild does Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom look?!Also discussed: Octopath Traveler 2, Dredge, Psychodyssey

This week, we're joined by GameSpot's Tamoor Hussain to discuss the second installment in the Metal Gear Solid series. How well does the game's AI-controlled vision of the future match up with our own reality two decades later? Also, what's Raiden's whole deal? Like, what's he even DOING here? Also discussed: Diablo IV beta, You Must Build a Boat, Destiny 2, Octopath Traveler 2, ForeTales, There is No Game: Wrong Dimension, Dark Souls 3, Resident Evil 4 Remake, Dredge

A few weeks ago, game developer Double Fine surprise-dropped a 22-hour documentary about the seven-year creation of Psychnoauts 2. At least that's the premise on paper. In reality, the stunning TV-length doc is a fearless look inside the day-to-day life of a video game studio -- warts and all. The documentarians, employed by Double Fine, have unprecedented access to practically every person and room . Frush and Plante talk about the series, called Double Fine PsychOdyssey, along with The Last of Us TV adaptation. Plus, a delightful new retro gaming book is a perfect gift for video game newcomers.

In lieu of some big blockbuster release to discuss this week, we've decided to once again firmly grip the handles of the grab bag and upend it all over the dang place.Games n' stuff discussed include: Dead Cells: Return to Castlevania, Destiny 2: Lightfall, Patch Quest, Sea of Thieves, Pizza Tower, Chained Echoes, Octopath Traveler 2

The boys gather to discuss an interesting Souls-like from the Ninja Gaiden team in Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty, and Justin attempts to reignite his passions for the world of Destiny with the latest expansion, Lightfall.Also discussed: Better Call Saul, Johnny Mnemonic, and a smidge of Fortnite for good measure.  

The Super Mario Bros. Movie hits theaters next month, but before you see Chris Pratt's rendition of the plumber, why not revisit the original Mario movie? Yes, it's time to watch the all-but-lost 1993 cult classic, starring Bob Hoskins as Mario Mario, John Leguizamo as Luigi Mario, and Dennis Hopper as Bowser. Considering the difficulty of finding a copy of Nintendo's wild first foray into film, our recap and breakdown may be the closest you come to a trip to Rocky Morton and Annabel Jankel's Blade Runner-inspired version of the Mushroom Kingdom.

Sometimes, in our hour of greatest need, a hero comes down like a shining beam of light from the heavens to save us. Sometimes, that hero is pink and round, and eats like a million owls and rabbits and stuff, like Kirby does in Kirby's Return to Dream Land.Also discussed: Pokemon Sleep, Destiny 2: Lightfall, Bloody Hell, Paranormasight

We continue our dive into the great and stealthy works of Solid Snake this week, as we've recently played Metal Gear Solid: Ghost Babel on the Game Boy Color. Does it hold up? We should probably stop asking that question of these things.Also discussed: Atomic Heart, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Destiny 2, Physical: 100, Analogue Pocket

The Yakuza series has a new name. "Like a Dragon" is a literal translation of the original Japanese title Ryu Ga Gotoku. Returning to where things started fits the latest release: a remaster of Like a Dragon: Ishin, an action-heavy spin-off set in the Late Edo. The historical setting and standalone story make Ishin a compelling starting point for a series we love. For the back half of the episode, Frush and Plante share their recommendations for listeners preparing to dive into the Game Boy and GBA games now available on Nintendo Switch Online.

Just one week after our episode about surprise game releases, Nintendo went ahead and stealth-dropped a remastered version of the classic GameCube Space Pirate-slaying Simulator, Metroid Prime. But is it still fun after almost 20 years and an intensive graphical spit shine? I mean, yeah, we said as much in the title.Also discussed: PSVR2, Forward: Escape the Fold, 20 Minutes Until Dawn, Knotwords, Dick Tracy 

Nothing's better than when you don't know that a game exists, and then POOF! It's just right there on the homepage of whatever digital games distributor you use to get new games. Even better? When it's super fun, like Tango Gameworks' rhythm-based beat-em-up, Hi-Fi Rush!Also discussed: Forward: Escape the Fold, Yakuza: Like a Dragon, Physical: 100, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, DJ Hero, Season, Letterkenny, 20 Minutes Until Dawn

We expected 2023 to be an incredible year for video games with Zelda and Starfield on the calendar. However, we didn't expect to have so many great games by early February. This week, we talk about Hitman's incredible "Freelancer" DLC and the meditative experience collection game Season. Plus, Nuclear Blaze and our favorite language-learning app: Busuu.

Join us as we revisit the USG Ishimura, the pride of Earth's planet-cracking operations and, also, the extremely monster-infested setting of EA's remake of their classic survival horror title Dead Space. Does it still hold up some 15 years after its initial release? (Spoiler alert: Yes. Yes it does.)Also discussed: Zelda: Ocarina of Time, Mario 64, Half-Life, Fable, Burnout 3: Takedown, Metal Gear Solid, Metroid Prime, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, Freelancer, Time's Ours, You Pod to Win the Game, My Perfect Console, Teardown, Vampire Survivors, Paul T. Goldman, The Traitors, Yakuza: Like a Dragon

Intelligent Systems' long-running series of strategy-RPGs gets even longer this week with the release of Fire Emblem Engage! Join us as we discuss the evolved tactics in this new installment, as well as the ethics of trapping ghost soldiers in Cracker Jack prize rings.Also discussed: IGF Award Nominees, Pocket Card Jockey: Ride On, Futureport 82, &Juliet

Today we're trying a new format called Better Know a Dungeon (a.k.a. Isn't It Levely). We pick an iconic stage or dungeon and perform an autopsy, revealing what makes it magical. For our experiment, we've selected Elden Ring's Stormveil Castle. For the back half, we help you pick which Persona to play, now that Persona 3, Persona 4, and Persona 5 are widely available. 

To kind-of-celebrate the almost-25th anniversary of Metal Gear Solid, we went back and played a couple different versions of the game to see how well Hideo Kojima's super spy thriller holds up. And hey, how's the pilot episode of HBO's adaptation of The Last of Us? Also discussed: Sea of Thieves, Traitors, Neon White, Industry, The Shout

This week, we're joined by GameSpot's Lucy James as we discuss Squanch Games' joke-packed first-person shooter High on Life. How many full-belly chuckles did we experience during our time alien bounty hunting? Also, can J.B. Smoove do voices in every game? Also discussed: Disco Elysium, 100 Ft. Robot Golf, Towerfall, Overcooked, Portal 2, The Stanley Parable, Prey, Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, The Past Within, Outpath: First Journey, Dragon Quest IXNote: The day after we recorded this episode and just hours before it went live, NBC News reported that Justin Roiland, the head of High on Life developer Squanch Games, is facing charges of domestic battery and false imprisonment.After a lot of debate, we decided to still publish the episode as is because we thought it wouldn’t be fair to the other people at Squanch Games, to our guest for this episode Lucy James, and to our listeners, to just not publish the episode.When our discussion doesn’t mention this alleged, abhorrent behavior, we wanted you to understand

Welcome to the second-annual Resties Video Game Predictions episode! Each January, Frushtick and Plante make six bold predictions for the upcoming year in video games. We also revisit the previous year's prediction and announce a winner. (The year's champion gets a new, soon to-be-revealed anime statue.) Will Tom Cruise appear in video games? Could cloud gaming go mainstream? Is this the year of AAA mega-hits?Listen to the episode and find out!

With last year's best games played and adjudicated, we look forward to some of our most anticipated releases of 2023. Sure, you got your Zeldas and your Starfields, but there's way more coming down the pipeline — some of which are out pretty soon!Games discussed: Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Starfield, Final Fantasy XVI, Diablo 4, Star Wars: Jedi Survivor, Hollow Knight: Silksong, Atomic Heart, Judas, Suicide Squad, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Pragmata, STALKER 2, Fire Emblem Engage, Armored Core 6, Redfall, Alan Wake 2, The Wolf Among Us 2, Playdead's New Game

We continue the ritual of making the ritual slightly different every year, when we bring the final eight down to the final four, and then introduce another contender before we rank the final five. And at last we’ll have the answer to the burning question: what’s the second-best game of 2022?