369 episodes

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

The Besties Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Russ Frushtick

    • Leisure
    • 4.9 • 411 Ratings

It's Game of the Year meets King of the Hill as four of Earth's best friends – Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Chris Plante, and Russ Frushtick – rank and review their favorite video games. Because shouldn't the world's best friends pick the world's best games?

    2023 Indies You Might Have Missed

    2023 Indies You Might Have Missed

    On this extra special episode of The Besties, the gang brings forth some truly excellent games from smaller devs that may have passed you by.

    Games discussed: Kingdom Eighties, Jusant, Lunacid, Backpack Hero, among others. We've also got some great suggestions from the readers! For the full list, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan.

    Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan!

    • 1 hr 3 min
    The lost hour of Half-Life [Resties]

    The lost hour of Half-Life [Resties]

    To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Half-Life, Valve updated the original game, released a documentary, and ran a brief PR victory lap. The standout achievement of the anniversary is the excavation of Half-Life Uplink, the original demo that crammed all of the game's big ideas into a 30-60 gauntlet of action. It's the antithesis of Half-Life's artful, but slow start. And it rules. In the back half of the episode, Frushtick and Plante talk about their surprising enjoyment of the Meta Quest 3. But does it have enough games? Get links to everything discussed on this week's episode by subscribing to our newsletter at Besties.fan!

    • 49 min
    Super Mario RPG's Super Faithful Remake (feat. Felicia Day)

    Super Mario RPG's Super Faithful Remake (feat. Felicia Day)

    Nearly 30 years ago, Nintendo and Square teamed up for one of the wildest collabs in gaming history: A turn-based RPG adventure featuring everyone's favorite blue collar jumping man. How well does the remake, now on Nintendo Switch, fare? Well, that's what we're talking about today with our pal, Felicia Day.

    Also discussed: Third Eye, Scavengers Reign, Heroes vs. Hordes, Teardown, The National Museum of American History, Vampire Survivors, Naheulbeuk's Dungeon Master, Suika Game

    Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan!

    • 52 min
    You'll Never See Persona 5 Tactica Comin'

    You'll Never See Persona 5 Tactica Comin'

    Persona 5 has been reborn! For like the millionth time. For this iteration, we've got the XCOM-meets-JRPG fusion of Persona 5 Tactica. Let's find out how great these two great flavors taste together!

    Also discussed: Final Fantasy XIV, Pokeclicker, Good Omens Season 2, Halls of Torment, Our Flag Means Death Season 2, GUBBINS, A Haunting in Venice, Napoleon

    Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan!

    • 55 min
    Two new games to play with friends! [Resties]

    Two new games to play with friends! [Resties]

    It's the time of the year when families gather together to eat turkey, watch football, and play video games. With perfect timing, two new local (and online) multiplayer treats just appears on digital store shelves. We open the episode with Alien Hominid Invasion, a sequel of sorts to the beloved '00s Flash game Alien Hominid. For the B-segment, we bounce around KarmaZoo, a winning co-op game that allows for up to 10 players -- and features a special local multiplayer mode! Plus, we open the reader mail bag and share a classic Ghibli movies and a bold Ghibli adaptation.

    • 48 min
    Eating Snakes and Frogs with Metal Gear Solid 3

    Eating Snakes and Frogs with Metal Gear Solid 3

    Our retrospective series on Hideo Kojima's oftentimes inscrutable spy thriller franchise continues today, as we discuss the highs and lows of jungle espionage in Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater. How does this pre-sequel hold up almost 20 years after its original release? Let's find out, together!

    Also discussed: Alan Wake 2, Super Mario Maker 2, Warcraft Rumble, Chants of Senaar, Rogue: Genesia, Like a Dragon: Gaiden

    Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan!

    • 1 hr 1 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
411 Ratings

411 Ratings

Windecks ,

Book Club for Video Games

Funny, informative and relevant. Perhaps what I like most about this podcast is that the hosts have different opinions about video games from each other and are able to articulate those opinions in ways that make me want to broaden my gaming diet.

whizbanger82 ,

One Of The All-Time Greats

The Besties is not just a great podcast about video games, it’s a fun parasocial hang with four genuinely funny and smart people who love video games. This show and Triple Click are pretty much all the video game discourse I need. Put it in your earholes!

SpennyVass ,

I get to play vicariously.

So I don’t play a lot of games. Just not enough time in the day. And when I do have time, I’m too lazy! But with these guys I get to learn about new games and what they’re like in such a fun way. I’m a casual PlayStation gamer so most of the games they talk about don’t even come out on my console, which is fine because they tell me just enough about the games.

I will also say I LOVE Resties, especially the required reading series. It’s like a cool history lesson of interesting games!

As someone who came from MBMBAM having Russ and Chris in the mix is such a fun twist. Always look forward to new episodes!

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