Gametalk Gametalk

Episode 165

June is always a festive month for games announcements, and this year is no different. Today, we discuss Summer Games Fest 2024 and Ubisoft Forward, and offer our impressions on all the games shown. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Civilization VI, Monster Hunter Rise). This episode was recorded in June 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - LEGO Horizon Adventures, Harry Potter: Quidditch Champions, Cuffbust, No More Room In Hell 2
8:53 - Civilization VII
15:07 - DRAGON BALL: Sparking! ZERO
21:03 - Batman: Arkham Shadow, Monster Hunter Wilds, Metaphor: ReFantazio
29:47 - Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Rita's Rewind, Phantom Blade Zero, The Fist Descendant, Slitterhead, Skate
36:09 - Dune: Awakening, Cairn, Wanderstop, Sonic X Shadow Generations, Kingdom Come: Deliverance II, Palworld
47:33 - Neva, Black Myth: Wukong, Killer Bean, Kunitsu-Gami: Path of the Goddess and Final SGF Thoughts
55:41 - Star Wars Outlaws, Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time Remake, Assassin's Creed Shadows
1:04:11 - Everything Else at Ubisoft Forward
1:13:52 - Civilization VI
1:20:58 - Monster Hunter Rise

Episode 164

In the midst of the summer games frenzy, Xbox delivers what could be their most impressive showcase ever. Today, we discuss this historic Xbox showcase and all of the games that were shown. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Enshrouded, Alan Wake 2: Night Springs). This episode was recorded in June 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - Overall Impressions of The Xbox Showcase
3:46 - Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Doom: The Dark Ages
12:52 - State of Decay 3, Dragon Age: The The Veilguard
23:09 - Starfield: Shattered Space, Fallout 76: Skyline Valley, Clair Obscur: Expedition 33
30:20 - South of Midnight, World of Warcraft: The War Within
35:02 - Metal Gear Solid Δ: Snake Eater, Sea of Thieves, Flintock: The Siege of Dawn, Age of Mythology: Retold
40:07 - Perfect Dark, Diablo IV: Vessel of Hatred, Fable
48:13 - Fragpunk, Winter Burrow, Mixtape, Microsoft Flight Simulator
52:25 - Life is Strange: Double Exposure, Indiana Jones and The Great Circle
59:41 - Mecha Break, Wuchang: Fallen Feathers, Avowed, Atomfall, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chornobyl
1:05:26 - Gears of War: E-Day and Final Thoughts on Xbox
1:11:24 - Enshrouded
1:16:19 - Alan Wake 2: Night Springs

Episode 163

Summer is just around the corner, and that means "E3" season is here! While E3 may be gone, the Summer Games Fest lives as its spiritual successor; and Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all have games to show as well. In today's episode, we discuss last week's PlayStation State of Play and make predictions for the upcoming Nintendo, Microsoft, and Summer Games Fest showcases! As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Monster Hunter Rise, Assassin's Creed III, Destiny 2). This episode was recorded in June 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - Concord First Gameplay Trailer
6:27 - God of War Ragnarok PC and FSR 3.1
12:46 - Discussing State of Play Games
28:26 - Monster Hunter Wilds First Gameplay Trailer
36:31 - Astro Bot Announced
45:43 - Xbox Showcase Predictions
56:37 - Nintendo Showcase Predictions
1:04:19 - Summer Games Fest 2024 Predictions
1:13:13 - Monster Hunter Rise
1:18:47 - Assassin's Creed III
1:29:04 - Destiny 2

Episode 162

Game design is challenging, doubly so when designing a game for both casual and competitive play. Today, we discuss games that balance both competitive and casual play, our experiences with competitive games, and how we think the player bases of these games impact design decisions. We also give our thoughts on the newly released Hellblade II, and what its release could mean for Microsoft and Ninja Theory. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Assassin's Creed Odyssey, Monster Hunter World: Iceborne). This episode was recorded in May 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - Competitive vs Casual Game Design
18:09 - Balancing PVE and PVP
23:13 - Our Experiences With Competitive Gaming
29:58 - Speedrunning
34:05 - Balancing High-Level and Low-Level Play
41:44 - Senua's Saga: Hellblade II
1:09:27 - Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
1:23:43 - Assassin's Creed Odyssey
1:36:02 - Monster Hunter World: Iceborne

Episode 161

As we get older, retro games are something we grow increasingly fond of. But is it entirely due to nostalgia, or do retro games still have merits when compared to modern releases? Today, we discuss our love of retro games, and what goes into collecting and playing older titles. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (TerraTech, Hades). This episode was recorded in May 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Check us out on Instagram, Tiktok, and Twitter at @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - Retro Gaming
16:46 - Retro Artstyles
25:49 - Retro Hardware, Collecting Games, and Emulation
31:59 - Preservation Issues with Modern Games
37:03 - Retro Games and Things Modern Games Lack
55:26 - TerraTech
1:01:00 - Hades

Episode 160

Developing a full game solo is a herculean feat of engineering and artistry. Today, we discuss notable games that were developed by one person and what goes into creating a game alone. We also talk about the newly released Animal Well at length, in both spoiler-free and spoiler-filled contexts. As always, we conclude with the games we're playing (V Rising, Animal Well). This episode was recorded in May 2024. Royalty free music from BenSound.

Questions or comments? Tweet @PodcastGametalk
Or chat us up in Discord - discord.gg/JZCj5Qn

Timestamps:
0:00 - Games Developed By One Person
22:32 - Marketing Small Games and Animal Well Pre-release Talk
29:40 - V Rising
33:53 - Animal Well Spoiler-free Impressions
50:11 - SPOILERS - Animal Well Deep Dive
1:16:50 - Concluding Thoughts on Animal Well (Light Spoilers)