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 • 4.6K 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
4.6K Ratings

4.6K Ratings

Jill Lloyd Flanagan ,

Good and great

I decided I love the besties again in spite of their bad Zelda ranking, I wish they would spend more time talking about weird indie games but they do a really impressive job talking about them a bit so it’s a good podcast. That’s one thing though that makes this stand head and shoulders above other gaming podcasts that I’m aware of is they spend a lot of time highlighting indie games and not just ones that are like big hits

MOVEApparel ,

Funny, sweet buds. Informed, enjoyable reviews.

Even as a more casual, few-hours-a-week kind of gamer, I really enjoy how in-depth they go with their reviews of a single game each week. The focus on one title means you get a fleshed out idea of whether or not you'd enjoy the game their discussing. They do all of this without it feeling like a slog of a long game review like so many other game reviews are. Thanks for being so kind to each other and bringing your joy to us, the listeners.

mczackus ,

It’s a good podcast

Hey! Listen to this one! They know what they’re talking about, unless they don’t

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