The Besties Chris Plante, Griffin McElroy, Justin McElroy, Russ Frushtick
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- Freizeit
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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?
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Falling in to the Fallout TV Show
Duck and cover! This week, The Besties discuss the first two episodes of the excellent Fallout TV series. Then, they talk through the ways the Fallout approach could alter the trajectory of video game adaptations. Plus: a bunch of great listener recommendations!
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Chicken Soup for the Gamers' Soul
This week, The Besties share their favorite “rainy day” games! These are the games we dig out when we’re feeling blue and need something that provides a quick dose of comfort. Turns out our list is quite long! In the back half, we do the rare Besties spoilercast with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — a.k.a. one of 2024’s best games.
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Pepper Grinder and Princess Peach, Together at Last
This week we've got a game inspired by the SNES era and a game that probably shouldn't have come out at all. We'll also find out just what Justin thinks about Dragon's Dogma 2, and what's going on with the Stardew Valley 1.6 update.
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Arise with Dragon's Dogma 2
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best game of the year? Or is it the buggiest? It might be the most divisive! This week, The Besties talk about the wildly ambitious (and difficult to run on most hardware) fantasy RPG from Capcom. Plus, we take a deep dive into the reader mail pool. Did we mention we keep all the letters in a pool, Scrooge McDuck-style? Because we do.
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Rise of the Ronin is Assassin's Creed with Killer Combat
Team Ninja has been busy!
In the past five years, the studio released Dead or Alive 6, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Nioh 2, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Their latest game, Rise of the Ronin, compiles everything they learned into their most ambitious project: a sprawling open-world samurai adventure set in a recreation of mid-19th century Japan.
Rise of the Ronin takes the “something for everyone” approach, blending the exploration and loot systems of recent Assassin’s Creed games with the quick-reflex sword fighting of the studio’s Nioh series. This video game smoothie is quite delicious — if you can stomach the occasional funky chunk of game mechanics.
In the back half, we talk about our favorite under-appreciated open-world games. -
Unicorn Overlord and a God of War-like You Never Heard Of
This week, the squad puts on their armor, grabs their swords, and mounts their gallant steads to charge into Unicorn Overlord. The tactics RPG is the latest game from Vanillaware, the developer of niche masterpieces like Odin Sphere and 13 Sentinels. In the back half, Justin introduce the team to Banishers, a game that blends Witcher and God of War. How did we not hear about this one until now? And how often does a game depict a healthy marriage like this one?!
Customer Reviews
Woop
Lotsa fun!
Best comfort podcast
And also, best video game update podcast. Listen, its 4 guys talking about their favorite games. It has allowed me to find actual games I would enjoy, not just the blockbusters hitting the metaphorical shelves (RIP blockbuster). They’re kind, and thoughtful, and genuinely hilarious, and also I listen to all of their other shows, and also yeah, on that note of “only play the first 20%” criticism, they have to play 1-2 new games a week! I understand how that can be frustrating when you love a game, but it also does provide a service to people who are in the same boat, with limited time, looking for games they can really get sucked into immediately.
I live in constant fear that they will end this podcast again. Please listen. It’s really good. Also I would pay for it to not have ads. So. Thanks for finding me stuff like Dredge.
Hilarious and compelling video game reviews
This podcast is basically four nerdy-but-cool dads who are veterans in game reviewing talk about the coolest games on the market. They recognise their privilege and reflect on past mistakes. They goof a lot but never shy away from a hot take. As a nonbinary afab person, I really appreciate their commentary. If you’re looking for a chill, fun listen that will teach you about good game design and keep you up to date on the latest gaming news, look no farther!