Co-op Mood Sally Tamarkin, Shane Vaiskauskas

An important announcement about the future of Co-op Mood. It doesn't involve GameStop, but it does involve work and family.

On this episode Shane and Sally talk about the announcement that Ubisoft is working on an open world Star Wars game and what the marriage of Ubi and a beloved franchise could look like. Then they dive into part one of their discussion on the action-adventure platformer, Raji: An Ancient Epic, the debut game from Nodding Heads Games, based in Pune, India, from the beauty of the hand-painted textures to the joy of hacking and slashing your way through beautiful environments with the blessings of the gods. They also talk about what they’re playing right now, which includes The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
Things we talked about: What we want from Ubisoft Massive’s open world Star Wars game
-What Shane’s excited about: Star Wars: Doctor Aphra
-What Sally’s excited about: The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

On this episode Shane and Sally talk about their New Year’s gaming resolutions, and how they plan (hope?) to play games in 2021. Then they jump into part two of their discussion of io Interactive’s Hitman 2. They discuss being on rails in an open world, lateral thinking (murder) puzzles, and the agony and the ecstasy of mission stories. Of course, they also talk about what they’re playing right now, which includes League, Spider-Man Miles Morales, Breath of the Wild, and Night’s Black Agents: Solo Ops (the TTRPG).
-What Shane’s excited about: Peaky Blinders (Netflix) 
-What Sally’s excited about: Vikings (Prime Video)

On this episode Shane and Sally kick things off by talking about the clusterfuck that is CD Projekt’s release of Cyberpunk 2077. Then they dive into part one of their two-part conversation about io Interactive’s Hitman 2. They discuss the gameplay loop, level design, and the pleasure of snappy gunplay and Jason Bourne-ing your way through the world. They also talked about games they’re playing right now, including League, Breath of the Wild, and Immortals Fenyx Rising.
 
Things we talked about:
-Cyberpunk Game Maker Faces Hostile Staff After Failed Launch
-How the Simulation of a Hitman Level Works
-What Shane’s excited about: The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix) 
-What Sally’s excited about: Humans (Prime Video)

On this episode Shane and Sally discussed a recent WaPo story about how video game developers are creatively approaching difficulty settings in their games and the exciting things that are possible when devs think intentionally about playability and accessibility. Then they dove deep into their final impressions of the horny roguelike dungeon-crawler Hades, including what they liked and didn’t like, and when roguelikes should just be JPRGs or visual novels. They also talked about the games they’re playing right now, including League, Twin Mirror, and Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter.
 
Things we talked about: 
-The uneasiness of ‘easy modes’ prompts creative approaches from game developers
-“Stop the Madness” episode of the podcast Spawn On Me with Kahlief Adams
-Hitman 2, the game we’re playing next
 
-What Shane’s excited about: Happiest Season (Hulu)
-What Sally’s excited about: The Expanse novels

On this episode Shane and Sally talk “Project 007,” the upcoming James Bond video game by IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman games. Then they talk about about the gameplay and aesthetic of the horny roguelike dungeon-crawler, Hades. They also talk about games they’re playing right now, including League (season 11 patch), Breath of the Wild, and Watch Dogs: Legion. 
 
Things we talked about: 
-Hitman developer IO Interactive is making a James Bond game
-Hades: The Team from Supergiant Games & Hades Discuss the Game, Reactions & More 
 
-What Shane’s excited about: Tehran (the Israeli espionage thriller on Apple+)
-What Sally’s excited about: The Crown (Netflix)