The Besties

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?

IT BEGINS. Well, it ends. Okay, actually, both. This week, we're taking our top 16 games of the year and pitting them against one another in arbitrary combat until only eight remain. Next week, we'll get things sorted down to a nice, tidy ranking of the five best games of the year. Join us! But like, get comfortable, because this is going to take a while.

Need for Speed: Unbound deserved a better launch than this. After a decade of middling entries, EA has returned NFS responsibilities to the exceptional racing developer Criterion Games. The team has produced a street racing game that blends Forza Horizon with the thrills of the Midnight Club games. And it just looks cool! Frush also got Prodeus off his backlog. It’s a solid retro FPS, ideal for playing on a portable like the Switch or the Steamdeck. Plus, we talk through the Besties 2022 bracket!

This week, we're joined by beloved Besties guest host Ron Funches as we discuss the gory extravaganza called Warhammer 40K: Darktide. Is Left 4 Dead still fun when it's in space and there's religion and cyberskulls and stuff? Let's find out!Also discussed: Elden Ring, OlliOlli World, Astronite, Need for Speed Unbound, Marvel Snap, Evil West, WCW Matches from 1991-1992.

Marvel's Midnight Suns is a tactics game from XCOM developer Firaxis, only instead of shooting aliens a hundred times from behind cover, you play cards to beat ass with your best friend, Blade. This is, objectively, a very good idea, but how well does the rest of the game hold up? Also, what's on our backlog as we approach the GOTY proceedings? Also discussed: Dave the Diver, Pentiment, What the Bat, Binding of Isaac, Andor, Soccer Story, Peglin, Tiny Rogues

The Resties Required Reading List strikes again! Our goal is to curate a "must-play" list of 25 games released between 1980 to 2020. Think of it like Video Games 101. This week, we've selected games from 2010-2014. Join us as we revisit the early days of our careers covering video games! Visit @thebestiespod on Twitter to see a full list of games from this week's episode. Previous picks -- 1985-89: Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, SimCity. 1995-99: Super Mario 64, Pokemon Red and Blue, Final Fantasy 7, Starcraft. 2005-09: Resident Evil 4, Wii Sports, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare;

It's one of the biggest releases of the year and Justin paid his daughter, Charlie McElroy, to play it for him. Yes, it's Pokémon time once again and we're diving into Scarlet and Violet. We've also got way more to say about Pentiment.Also discussed: Andor, Fargo Season 4, Spy x Family and Warhammer: Darktide.

Sonic Frontiers, the open-world iteration of Sega's fast rodent simulator, is kind of a mess. But is it the fun kind of mess, like when a can of spray cheese explodes in your car, and it's gross and everywhere, but man it'll be a great story later? Let's talk about it, and also a random assortment of other new releases! Also discussed: McPixel 3, Somerville, Pentiment, GOTY Award Nominees, Reservation Dogs, Andor

We are being bombarded by awesome games. This week, we brought two must-try adventures. The first, Somerville, is the spiritual sequel to indie mega-hits Limbo and Inside. The second is Dave the Diver, a game we hadn't heard about until scuba fishing/sushi serving/business management sim skyrocketed up the Steam Charts. The quirky cocktail is one of the most memorable roleplaying experiences in a long, long time. This episode's lineup may be the closest we've come to "you will find something to love, guaranteed." Hope y'all enjoy!

How do you follow up a certified club banger like 2018's God of War? Join us as we discuss Sony Santa Monica's daunting sequel and its unsurprising breakout star. (Spoiler: It's Richard Schiff.) Also discussed: Signalis, Dave the Diver, Marvel Snap, Binding of Isaac

Bayonetta is back after a long sabbatical, and now there's like a million of her. Is that too many Bayonettas? Is such a thing possible? Let's find out as we share our thoughts on Bayonetta 3! Also discussed: Signalis, Marvel Snap, Idle Acorns, Binding of Isaac, Banshees of Inisherin

The Resties grab their axes, string their bows, and open their hearts to sad dads in this special, spoiler-free preview of the first 4-6 hours of God of War Ragnarok. Does Kratos' latest adventure recreate the magic of the original or take any big risks? Frush also has an update on Mewgenics, the long-in-development project from the creator of Binding of Isaac. Plus, some post-Halloween horror movie treats to watch while you feast on candy. Also discussed: Nightmare Before Christmas, Paranorman, The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, Children of the Corn, Slumber Party Massacre, Halloween, Blair Witch Project, The Strangers, Psycho, Bride of Frankenstein, Young Frankenstein, House of Wax, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Ginger Snaps, and Ghoulies.

Mario and Rabbids, two distinguished IPs operating on identical levels of critical acclaim, have been squished together once again in the turn-based stratgizer, Sparks of Hope. Join us as we examine their japes, and also get really into a Marvel-based TCG. 2022's just full of surprises. Also discussed: God of War: Ragnarok, Resident Evil 8 DLC, Case of the Golden Idol, The Hidden, Willie's Wonderland, Dangerous Game: The Legacy Murders

Look, we were gonna do Arkham Knights this week, but realized nobody wanted to hear an hour long dunkfest - join us as we pivot to talking about a bunch of good games, instead! With just a liiiiittle dunking for good measure.Games discussed: Case of the Golden Idol, EverCrawl, Binding of Isaac, I Was A Teenage Exocolonist, Deadeye Deepfake Simulacrum, No Man's Sky

A Plague Tale: Requiem is an exceptionally beautiful, technologically modern video game built with a blueprint from a different era. The Resties discuss the comfort and frustration of Xbox 360-era video game design, the power of graphics, and what makes a great tutorial. Then they empty out the remainder of the mailbag, talking about the future of games, media, and games media. Discussed on this episode: A Plague Tale: Requiem, No Man's Sky, The Invisible Man, House of the Dragon.

With the impending multiplatform launch of Persona 5 Royal and its portable predecessors, we decided to sit down and discuss all the highs and lows of Atlus's super-social RPG franchise. Also, what's the best way to quit playing a game? Let's find out!Also discussed: Binding of Isaac: Repentance, In Memoriam series, At Dead of Night, Neon White, Rogue Legacy 2, Tunic, Sniper Elite 5

This week, we're playing Obsidian's miniaturized survival sim Grounded, and mostly talking about stripping Rick Moranis of his science license. Also, ROCK AND STONE! By which we mean: We're also talking about Deep Rock Galactic, now that we've all actually played it!Also discussed: Binding of Isaac, RogueJack, Mars First Logistics, Near Dark, Q: The Winged Serpent