Gaming Trend Podcast

This week, the crew discusses what makes a game qualify for Game of the Year? Baldur's Gate 3, Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Street Fighter 6, Resident Evil 4 Remake are all games that are much different than each other and have gained massive respect from their respective fanbases. But what puts games like this in that GOTY stratosphere? 00:00:00 What makes a game qualify for GOTY? 00:13:35 Blasphemous 2 impressions 00:31:17 Battlebit is fantastic, but can it last?

This week, it's all Starfield. David reviewed Starfield so that is all we talk about. We ask if Starfield saves Xbox and go deeper into David's thoughts on his review and experience. 00:00:00 Does Starfield save Xbox? 00:06:11 Starfield review discussion

This week, the tabletop crew returns to celebrate GenCon 2023 and the best 6 games they saw at GenCon. 00:00:00 Disney's Lorcana dominates GenCon 2023 00:09:49 Call of Duty: The Board Game is surprisingly impressive 00:19:32 Why does Call of Duty: The Board Game have a Kickstarter? 00:21:35 Why Call of Duty: The Board Game didn't gain mass interest 00:26:09 Luthier looks awesome 00:36:47 Castles by the Sea came out of nowhere 00:40:18 Galactic Cruise takes strategy to excellent heights 00:49:56:01 Queen by Midnight is simply awesome 00:58:34 The coolest Lorcana card

This week, Anthony talks about how he’s disappointed and burned out with Diablo IV Season 1. Noah played Tower of Fantasy and thinks it a substandard Genshin Impact clone. Jackson Lustberg joins the show again to talk about Dredge, the first game he's given a 100/100. Jackson also has new arguments against live-services. 00:00:00 Diablo IV Season 1 is disappointing 00:14:56 Are live-services the cause of broken games? 00:42:04 Tower of Fantasy is just a substandard Genshin Impact clone 00:53:01 Dredge review

This week, Baldur's Gate 3 is the talk of the games industry. It's breaking records, it's attracting people who don't play, and Ron Burke thinks it’s a Game of the Year nominee. David and Ron talk about Atlas Fallen and believe it’s a good time despite narrative flaws. Anthony and Ron discuss Palia and its deficiencies as an MMO and use of dated mechanics. Anthony talks about his time going hands on with Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising. He thinks it’s a big improvement. The crew also discusses if Toad's top is a hat or hair. 00:00:00 Baldur's Gate 3 review 00:16:37 Is that Toad's hat or hair? 00:23:30 Palia doesn't impress as an MMO during closed beta 00:36:11 Atlas Fallen review 00:50:08 Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising preview

This week, David played the whimsical and family friendly Disney Illusion Island and thinks it’s a top 10 platformer of all time. Anthony believes Street Fighter 6’s World Tour sets the standard for every future fighting game, and Noah digs up Inscryption from his backlog and finds it surprisingly enjoyable. 00:00:00 Intro 00:07:37 Street Fighter 6 World Tour is the standard for all fighting games 00:23:27 Nintendo Switch 2 Rumors 00:42:56 Inscryption 00:57:16 Disney Illusion Island 01:09:40 David's Top 10 Platformers 01:21:54 Is Starfield lacking hype and marketing?

Gen Con 2023 is here. Gaming Trend's tabletop division talks about their most anticipated games for Gen Con. 00:00:00 Intro 00:11:42 Call of Duty: The Board Game 00:27:48 Bonsai 00:34:02 Star Wars Unlimited 00:46:13 Special Shoutouts 00:53:11 Lorcana 01:08:35 Life of the Amazonia

This week, Noah reviewed Exoprimal and thinks it's underwhelming. David talks about how Six Days In Fallujah made him feel despair and intimidated. Anthony discusses how Granblue Fantasy: Versus would have reached its potential if it weren't for its unnecessary mechanics. They also discuss the challenges of developer communication in live-service games, react to the Spider-Man 2 trailer, and Xbox Live's change to Xbox Game Pass Core. 00:00 Intro 17:57 Exoprimal review-in-progress 35:04 Six Days In Fallujah is about constantly feeling dread 51:11 Granblue Fantasy: Versus includes too many useless mechanics 01:02:52 Xbox and PlayStation agree on a Call of Duty deal 01:21:16 Spider-Man 2 story trailer reactions 01:33:13 Xbox Live is now Xbox Game Pass Core

This week, A Space for the Unbound blows Anthony away and it tops his best games of 2023 list over Diablo IV and Hi-Fi Rush so far. David Burdette enjoyed Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, completely inspired by classic DOOM. Noah Rigsby flew to New York to preview two Team 17 games: Classified: France '44 and Moving Out 2, both impressed him. Newcomer Dominique' McClain brought VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out!, a Punch-Out! parody that brings in Leisure Suit Larry vibes. Microsoft won against the FTC and their merger can proceed without interference in the U.S. The crew discusses their feelings on the matter. Timestamps 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:18 VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! review 00:16:24 Classified: France '44 preview 00:30:30 Microsoft vs FTC verdict and feelings 00:42:37 Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun brings classic DOOM to Warhammer 00:52:32 Moving Out 2 preview 01:05:19 A Space for the Unbound review

Jackson Lustberg joins the crew this week to talk about Gylt, the former Google Stadia exclusive, released from purgatory to launch on every major platform. Anthony discusses the derivative roguelike Lone Ruin, while dealing with internet issues. David played the laundromat/arcade business simulator Arcade Paradise. They also slide into a discussion about the merits of live-service. For news, The Division 2 community is split over whether or not Ubisoft's punishments for bug exploiters is justified and if Xbox should cancel the Perfect Dark reboot after a report surfaced that The Initiative hasn't made it very far in development after 2+ years. Timestamps: 00:00:00 Intro 00:07:06 Lone Ruin 00:17:25 Arcade Paradise 00:27:24 The Division 2 News 00:44:11 Perfect Dark Reboot News 01:01:52 Battlebit/Live-service discussion 01:27:27 Gylt

IGN's Travis Northup, aka TieGuyTravis, joins to discuss the impact of live-service games and if they are at the breaking point. Live-services have been positive to game development, but they have also been detrimental to many projects. Yet more and more developers look to create them. Will they stay or will they go? We discuss Redfall's pivot from live-service, Sony's massive live-service undertaking 12 games in four years, and Overwatch 2's PvE blunder.

This week in the Gaming Trend Podcast, Steam Next Fest takes over. Anthony played several demos, while David missed his opportunities thanks to life. But David more than makes up for it by talking about a game he's been waiting sitting on since Summer Game Fest: Wildcard Football. It's a new arcade-style football game. David is over the Microsoft-Activision acquisition but lots of juicy details dripped from the courts that couldn't be ignored. They also talk about the biggest announcement out of the Nintendo Direct: Super Mario Bros. Wonder. 00:00:00 Intro 00:05:58 Sea of Stars demo feels faithful to SNES RPG's 00:17:37 Gate Zero demo needs more prayer in its proof of concept 00:35:44 Synced demo is likely best only in co-op 00:49:21 Juicy details from Microsoft-Activision acquisition trial 01:10:50 Wildcard Football looks to bring back NFL Bltiz-style football 01:23:15 Super Mario Bros. Wonder announcement 01:33:33 Lies of P demo almost turns a Soulsborne detractor into a believer 01:42:49 Stunt Derby demo

This week on the Gaming Trend Podcast, David Burdette discusses his love for Final Fantasy 16 even though he is not a JRPG fan or that this Final Fantasy does not seem to resemble others. Anthony Shelton finally gets to express his thoughts on Diablo 4 and clarifies his thoughts on his video that was obliterated by the Diablo community. Noah Rigsby has a 180 on XDefiant. The crew also discusses big stories that haven't been able to discuss since Summer Game Fest. Anthony and Noah go off on the $15 story missions coming to Overwatch 2 in Season 6. Anthony and David believe the optics are horrible, while Noah thinks the content will be good but doesn't think they should charge. They also discuss Diablo 4's strange decision to make players create a new character every season. Microsoft will increase the price of Xbox Game Pass in the US by $2 for Game Pass Ultimate and $1 for the console version. Is that too much?

This week, Joe Morgan from Geeks Under Grace joins the show to talk about Advance Wars 1+2: Reboot Camp. David Burdette and Noah Rigsby gush over Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom and convince Anthony Shelton even more that it might be better than Breath of the Wild. They talk about Overwatch 2's PvE cancelation, and give their predictions for what will be in the PlayStation Showcase by drafting their picks. Visit https://www.geeksundergrace.com/ to learn about specifics of what content is in media.

This week, Corvo Rohwer joins to talk about Bramble: The Mountain King, Anthony played Star Wars Jedi: Survivor, and David decided to play Prey after suffering through Redfall. The crew also plays "Say It Out Loud."

This week the crew gets into Redfall and their perspectives on the disappointing Arkane game. Noah Rigsby gave everyone reprieve by talking about Ravenlock, and they got back to talking Phil Spencer's apology about Redfall and his mistakes with Xbox.

This week, the David dives deep into Star Wars Jedi: Survivor without spoiling anything. Noah gives his take on Horizon: Burning Shores. Anthony gushes over the Street Fighter 6 demo, criticizes the Crash Team Rumble open beta, and finds fun in Overwatch's new community map, Talantis.

This week, editor Jackson Lustberg joins the show to talk about Crime Boss: Rockay City, they finally get to show XDefiant, David played some of Season 3 of Call of Duty, and Anthony checked out the Sifu Arena update.

This week, David Burdette was able to review the 2023 version of Sherlock Holmes The Awakened and talks about how impressed he was. Anthony finally got to playing Fire Emblem Engage after laying down Destiny 2: Lightfall for good, and the crew talked about the cancellation of E3 2023.

This week, Anthony answers everything on the Diablo 4 beta after spending a tremendous amount of time on it and enjoying it. Noah and Anthony also debate the latest Overwatch 2 Catch-A-Mari event, and all of them delve into their hesitancies with the latest Redfall previews from IGN and GameSpot.