[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What if you want to do to build a business, having a website is generally going to be very helpful, and there's no better place to build a website than Squarespace.


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[Assistant] Squarespace offers intuitive but powerful website creation tools. Never made a website before? Then Squarespace is for you, letting you customize their beautiful templates in no time.


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[Assistant] Already feel pretty comfortable with web creation tools and what more advanced functionality? Well, Squarespace is for you too, with features like SEO, plugins for numerous payment platforms, a schedule tool allowing clients to book appointments, as well as detailed analytics allowing you to track how your website is performing.


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[Assistant] Since 2003, Squarespace has been helping people turn their dreams into reality. So if there's a passion that you'd like to make a career, then check out Squarespace for free by visiting squarespace.com. And when you're ready to get serious, use offer code SKILLUP at checkout for 10% off your purchase of a domain name. Thanks Squarespace for sponsoring the video and thank you for watching it.


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[Assistant] So both of you actually. In real life, when people ask what you do,


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[Assistant] What do you say and how do you say it?


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[Assistant] Okay, let's say there's a total civilian. Like total- Uber driver? They got-


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[Assistant] Totally, yup. Uber driver, the doctor at the surgery, the fucking, the bank teller, the person who's, you know, wrapping your meat at the butcher, that sort of thing. Like, what do you say? They go, oh, what do you do for work? Go.


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[Assistant] Yeah, right. Has anyone, wait, has anyone ever given you any sass and been like, uh, uh, video games? That's not a real job.


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[Assistant] Alright, alright Jake, when, when you sit, you're at a, you're at a barbecue, and some dude, he, he works, uh, construction, or he, he works in a bank, and he's holding a beer, and he's like, so, what do you do, buddy?


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[Assistant] Most people I find are quite interested and they really like have this look on their face like, huh, okay, that's interesting. And they kind of like have some follow up questions that are like, so what does that involve? And like, do people just watch you play games? Oh, that's the big one. What's up with that? Do you actually play the game?


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[Assistant] Roger Ebert? Did you ever watch him? But like, dumb. But that's a douchebaggy? I love Roger Ebert by the way. Uhm, yeaah, no. Uhm, yeaah, I think there is some of that as well. Like, you have to explain that you're not playing games or whatever. And you're not making Mr. Beast style shit. Like, you're just talking about video games and


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[Assistant] Talk into like an older audience as well. I think that's the other slice of this because people expect that you're just like playing Minecraft and yelling at kids and I'm like, nah, adults play games too and they're the ones that listen to me. Like my audience is older and they're like, oh, that's cool.


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[Assistant] So yeah, it's a conversation that I've gotten better at over time. It's taken like practice to figure out how to do that.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I agree. I agree for sure. Yeah.


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[Assistant] And then like, uh, speak to parents.


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[Assistant] No, actually. And that's, the truth is that I've only ever just been into video games forever, ever since like they dot. And so, did I have a phase? Did you have like silly hair?


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[Assistant] I would say I had a phase of just being like a dick when I was a teenager. Like I was definitely a massive dick for sure.


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[Assistant] Yeah, no, like, no, I was never like really into, I don't know, I'm in the rowing club and thinking, what?


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[Assistant] Blade. I never had like a, I never had like an edgy, I never had a skater boy phase. I never had like a serious sports jock phase. I never had like a, oh, I'm all about music or art. I never had a phase like that. I was just like.


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[Assistant] Yeah, yeah. She was just, she was like, you're grown up to be a real asshole. That's what she said to me when I was like 13 or 14 or some shit. And I'm like, damn, I think she's right. You know what I mean? So she's no longer, she's no longer with us now, but I always remember that conversation. That was quite instructive.


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[Assistant] So, uh, yeaah, no other, no other phases of that I would say. That was, that was me.


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[Assistant] I mean, like, cause I had four brothers, so like, that's all we did, right? So five boys with a Nintendo 64, four control boys, all gaming all the time. And so that was basically like, yeah, you didn't have like a gamer identity, but you definitely had within the family unit, which is like what you did.


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[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I think similar, like I had to change schools like midway through.


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[Assistant] And yeah, like I didn't, school's not good for me. Like I just, I think that was also like my dick hash, my dickish phase and like, I just wasn't able to find a groove and.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I just kind of floated around and just kind of waited for school to be done. Do you know what I mean? Like it was just something I got through rather than a place that I really thrived and like, yeah, I'm not


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[Assistant] Yeah, school was not fun. I didn't love school. University was sick. I loved university. University was like, I finally met my people and I found a groove and I like had a great time.


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[Assistant] That's when I felt like I actually became a proper person. But uhm, yeah, school was just like this thing that you just, I just had to get through. So yeah, it was not, it was not fun.


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[Assistant] What a show whose line is it? Man, like how do you consistently just be that funny as a person? I don't understand. Or that whole, that whole group of people, that whole troop, unbelievable. Every single time I turned, I tuned in, I was like, it is impossible that these people can be this funny, this consistently


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[Assistant] Like, at the drop of a hat. Just staggering.


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[Assistant] I don't know man, but every time I watched it, cause I would never like sit down to watch it. As in like, I would never like organize myself. Oh, I know it's on at this time. It was the kind of thing I was just flicking through. And every time you land on it, you're like, yeah, sick, let's watch this. And every time I was like, God damn man, this is insane.


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[Assistant] If it's timed at the same time as like summer games or something, then sure, let's do it. We get lucky, so.


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[Assistant] Yes, it was when my parents gave me a Nintendo Entertainment System when I was four years old and I cracked it open and I saw Mario on the screen for the first time. That was absolutely, that's it. And so like see it into my memory as like a thing. And I was just like, I remember the house, I remember the TV, I remember the box, I remember the light gun for...


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[Assistant] Duck Hunt, but I just remember so vividly seeing Mario on that screen at that age, and it was like, that's it. That was, that was it for me forever after that, so.


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[Assistant] Yeah, but also what the other memory that I have of similar to that is I remember seeing Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast for the first time and my brain just being like,


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[Assistant] What the fuck? What the? How is this possible? This can't be real. What the? Do you know what I mean? Like literally felt my brain like recalibrate to make sense of the images that I was seeing on screen. I think something similar happened with Mario 64 the first time I saw that, where I was like, how?


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[Assistant] Alright, so this episode is brought to you by Incogni, but I have an admission. I don't really know what Incogni is. I've heard a little bit about it, but I don't actually know. But I know that you guys have used it recently, and I kind of want to know, like, what's the deal? So, what is the deal? What is Incogni?


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[Assistant] Okay, I will actually check that out because I've never used a service like that and after like what?


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[Assistant] 20 plus years of being on the internet. I'm sure my data is everywhere. So yeah, I'll, I'll, I'll check that out.


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[Assistant] I have been for months actually, like no joke, legitimately ever since AG1 first sponsored us, like I've still been hitting it. They've like, not every day, but most days, I think. Uh, and yeah, I still love it. I still, I still feel.


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[Assistant] Do you guys ever do this? Okay, okay, wait, serious question. Do you ever have crunched up corn chips within your burrito?


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[Assistant] It's nice. It's got a really nice scoop with it. Uh, plus also has little travel kits as well. So when you're on the road, like they have little travel sachets they can take, you can take with it, uh, which is great. But yeah, I mean, look, obviously I'm like looking at new year's resolutions. I'm thinking about what I'm going to do next year. I'm going to try and get my shit together a little bit more. But one thing I will just continue to do is take AG1 because I've really enjoyed it this year and I'm going to stick with it.


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[Assistant] So we all really like AG1, we think it's great, uhm, and we're really glad to have them as a part on the channel. And of course, there's a special deal available.


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[Assistant] Uh, you can start every day this season with a gift to yourself. Try AG1 and get a free one year supply of vitamin.


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[Assistant] The hottest video game character. Jake, go.


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[Assistant] Uh. And don't cop out with some shitty answer like, oh, Jack, he's so hot. No, no, no. Give us the good stuff, man. Come on, tell us.


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[Assistant] Ooh, okay. Interesting, interesting second choice. Yeaah. No, Garrus is good, I get it. No, I think, you're right, there's some serious, there's a thing there for sure. Yeaah. No matter what, we all felt it when we played.


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[Assistant] I agree, I think, I agree with Tifa, but I also agree, close second, Jill Valentine, Resident Evil 3 Remake.


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[Assistant] Hard to top man. Very hard. Hard to top. When she gets onto that train and she does that look back, you're like, damn man, Capcom knew what they were doing right here, you know? They knew what they were doing. For sure. For sure. Geralt's a good choice though as well, I like it.


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[Assistant] The Jill, the Jill, the Jill. Yeah, I think that's it. I think she's like, she's like, she's like number two, for sure.


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[Assistant] Did you guys see that? Did you guys see that TikTok?


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[Assistant] And this, and this TikTok's like, you know, Jack Reacher is a show you should talk to your dad about because it's about a very large man. And the moral of the story is that no matter how big a problem is, Jack Reacher is larger than that problem. It's very, very good.


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[Assistant] No. No, because he did the soundtrack for that and it's sick.


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[Assistant] I don't know, like yeaah, I'm, I'm, I don't know, like a big mix. I don't, I, like soundtracks from back in the day, I don't know, that was really like listening to many game soundtracks a while ago.


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[Assistant] Yeah, I think the Skyrim soundtrack for years has been a real go-to. Uh, that is really some incredible music just to have on in the background.


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's an all-timer. I think the near-automata soundtrack, uhm, is unbelievable. Hauntingly good. Yes, I think that Final Fantasy XIV's music is


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[Assistant] It's the volume of it, as in like the amount of it is insanity. Like it's incredible that one person or a team, obviously, but led by one person is able to make this much music that is that good is out of control.


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[Assistant] Uhm, out of wild soundtrack because that game means so much to me every time I put it on I like get taken back to what it felt like to play that game for the very first time.


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[Assistant] But one soundtrack that I think is probably really overlooked, I would say, is the Sable soundtrack.


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[Assistant] Yes, and they did a soundtrack to Sable and it's so excellent. Like it is.


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[Assistant] Definitely been one of my most listened to soundtracks ever since it, it hit. Uhm, but I go, soundtracks in that genre really speak to me, like the Gris soundtrack is also excellent, as is the Journey soundtrack. Uhm, that kind of space just really works for me, but I think in particular the Sable 1 really is like surprisingly great. So.


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[Assistant] Yeah, that's, uh, those are some of my go-tos, I think.


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[Assistant] People tell me all the time in my comment section, they're like, hey, I always listen to you to go to sleep. I'm like, that's not very nice.


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[Assistant] Leave your auto-play on. Whatever works for you, it's fine. So, go with God. That's right. You're my blessing.


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[Assistant] Uh, yes, I will absolutely read that one at the top.


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[Assistant] Hey guys, I've been meaning to ask you some questions for a while. So I have a couple for you. Number one, most people play games to chill out from work or life, et cetera. What do people that play games for a living do in this situation?


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[Assistant] I hope Jake is making crochet robocop suit ready for Halloween next year. Uh, and the second question is how big is a game journalist pile of shame and what are each of you going to play, uh, next from it?


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[Assistant] That's from, he says, love the show. That's from Mr. Pabs.


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[Assistant] I am really, like, I've been trying to do some reading, I've been trying, but I just, it's hard because, I don't know, I just...


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[Assistant] I used to do a lot more reading when I was younger. These days I really struggle to get into it, but I kind of force myself.


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[Assistant] And so I'm reading like Ursula Gwynn at the moment, you know, just like trying to, cause I've never read like the Earthsea book. So I'm like, do that now. They're on my list. Yeah, I know. Well, I mean, I, I think I read the first one when I was younger, but after that, none of them. So I was like, I'm going to try and do that.


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[Assistant] It's like, it's consuming more, but at the same time, it's like, I'm trying to not just watch Marvel films and all that sort of like content that's on streaming stuff. Like I'm going back and doing like a full rewatch of Tarantino right now. And I'm like, damn man, this is fantastic.


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[Assistant] I don't know, like I, yeah, that's uhm, and I'm like, cause I have like a 4k, like I don't buy physical games, because games get sent to me via code, uhm, and there's just like, that's, then I'd just be buying them twice, and I'm not a collector per se, but I am


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[Assistant] But I am buying like 4k movies these days because I really like value the additional quality that you get out of a good 4k like version.


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[Assistant] Um, and it's like this thing and I get in the mail and I'm like, cool, I'm going to set time aside in my life to watch that. And then I go and do it. And I feel really good that I've done it. Cause I'm like, cool. I've given myself, my brain, something other than video games and Reddit. Go me, you know?


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[Assistant] And so that I've really enjoyed a lot and I definitely plan to do some more of that next year. I think that'll probably be like...


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[Assistant] Just to be clear, this job does not afford you much time off. Uh, and like, for example, the month of February, I know that I will have zero time to do anything, like, you know, cause it's just, there's too many fucking video games coming out, right?


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[Assistant] But during the holidays and when I do have the downtime, like, yeah, I'm going to try and get some good, get some good cinema under my belt. Cause every time I do it, I feel really glad that I invested that time.


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[Assistant] Yeah, it gets bigger every year, like I have my, I have, cause I maintain it like actually very carefully and it's just keeps piling up and up and up and there's, and I've definitely resigned myself to the idea that I'm never going to conquer it. What do you mean you maintain it?


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[Assistant] Like I actually have physical lists of my pile of shame. This is not some abstract concept. I have lists.


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[Assistant] of the years that I've gone through. Cause I'm like so meticulous with how I've managed my schedule. Cause my life is so ridiculous. I'm like, unless I really know what I'm doing, then I'm fucked, right? And so then it's really becomes very clear to me at the end of the year. I'm like, well, which game did I miss that I really wanted to cover? And so like this year, for example, I can look back on my pile of shame.


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[Assistant] Being like, uh, I've got it right here and it's got stuff on there like.


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[Assistant] Forespoken, for example, which I really want to experience for myself, despite like all of the stuff around it. I'm like, I would like to play that game.


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[Assistant] Uhm, Dave the Diver, I put like 10 hours into it but didn't finish it, same thing with Dredge. Chance of Senar, I've started but didn't finish, same with Cocoon. Uh, haven't even booted up Sea of Stars. Uh, Armored Core is probably like the top of my list where I really wanna get back to that and actually


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[Assistant] And then there's also like the Yakuza games, like I'd love to do the whole Yakuza series and catch up so that I can love it like everybody else does and get excited about the next one and be able to play it.


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[Assistant] Armored Core is absolutely next. That is the thing. Like as soon as I clock off for the year, I'm like booting up Armored Core whenever I get like some spare time. So yeah, that's definitely very high on my list.


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[Assistant] Oh shit. Oh my god. Oh my god. You're just going in totally blind, right?


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[Assistant] You should, and just, just to have like a record of it as well, like the first playthrough that you do, it's like, it's amazing, honestly.


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[Assistant] There's nothing, there's literally no other video game like it. That's not hyperbole. Anyone that has played it will tell you exactly the same thing. We are all chasing the same high that we got out of that game and you can't get it anywhere else. It's so fucking annoying because it's just, it's like that. So. Should I get the DLC?


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[Assistant] Yes, I don't know how to play the DLC after. So I would actually really recommend doing the base playthrough first and then doing the DLC after that.


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[Assistant] Because for reasons that I won't share. Okay. But I do recommend it. Cause you can just, you can start the DLC whenever you like. From the very first moment you take off, you can do that DLC. But I do think it is best savored to the end.


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[Assistant] Uhm, but yeaah, that's very exciting. I'd really love to see you do that. I'm like, I just, sometimes I just cruise Twitch directory just to see if anyone's playing out a while just so I could like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Feel like live vicariously through them again for a moment and to be like, Oh, I remember this bit. I can't wait till they figure this shit out. You know what I mean? So yeah, man, only video games. They're the only one, they're the only thing that can do just that thing that Outer Wilds did. Like it's crazy.


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[Assistant] For real, like relaxing, cause we come back and then it's all on straight away, like, then we come back and there's, you know, there's like, I'm looking at the schedule, Prince of Persia.


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[Assistant] There's gonna be, uh, enshrouded in early access, uh, Tekken, Like A Dragon, Infinite Wealth, There's The Last Of Us, The Last Of Us Again, that's a great way to kick off the year's discourse by revisiting The Last Of Us. And then February is wild, like completely out of control.


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[Assistant] Disconnect, reset, recharge, uhm, and yeaah, get ready for.


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[Assistant] Yeah, we, we talk about that sort of stuff, like, it'd be cool to do some, like a, like a panel somewhere one day. That'd be fun, I think, in an event.


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[Assistant] T-shirt cannon, that's right. We'll do like a, we'll do like a, uh, like a meetup or something. But yeah, definitely. Podcasts are really nice.


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[Assistant] I think the regularity is really good as well because, you know, it's like,


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[Assistant] A lot happens at a fortnight and then we get the chance to talk about it together.


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[Assistant] Um, and I really like that cause it never feels like work. And I think if we were doing this like every week, it might start to feel like work. Cause like, what are we talking about this week? And I dunno. Whereas every two weeks it's like, yeah, cool. Got so much I want to talk about, so much I want to share. It's always fun. So, um, yeah, I too am looking forward to more of it next year.


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[Assistant] Shit, the books also kind of were, which was a bad part of it. Like I really enjoyed those books. Then I watched the movies and I was like, these are terrible. Why are, why are they so bad compared to the books? And I read one of the books and I was like, oh no, they're the same.


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[Assistant] I think it's worth checking out. Jake, I don't know if you've played it. Have you played Spiderman in it?


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[Assistant] Yeah, it's, it's actually, it's worth installing and playing a Spider-Man just to see, I don't know if he's still in there, but like see their take on the swinging mechanics, which are pretty good. They're really quite good.


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[Assistant] I mean, they've got a trillion dollars and all the developers in North Carolina or wherever the hell they have. Yeah.


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[Assistant] It was when, uh, an hour before my, uh, one of my law exams, I believe it was my taught law exam. I was in the university. I get everywhere I go. I get there an hour early because I'm like so anxious about being late to stuff. Basically, I can tell you this. I go everywhere mad early.


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[Assistant] Most of them are like, hey, if you, if you, uh, you know, reveal this information, we're going to be very upset. However, if you're able to develop this information on your own or are told by a third party, et cetera, et cetera, that's what I'm looking for to make sure it's in there. That's generally what I'm looking for. And there's usually some language about like, uh, kind of like recompense and that kind of stuff, but it's usually just like, Hey, we're going to be.


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[Assistant] It was a interview or an examination of Pete Hines and they were like, um, going through and kind of like poking holes in why things are exclusive and the history of Bethesda's exclusivity and that kind of stuff and like trying to figure out why they make games like that and trying to, you know,


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[Assistant] Yeah, Rebecca Valentine was on the ground, was like, uh, they're playing you in the courtroom? Like, fantastic, hopefully I can use that for my visa.


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[Assistant] The Luminos one is kind of interesting. Well, I think that we're seeing how vital it is to be able to double dip on your.


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[Assistant] In Final Fantasy, like you can see there's elements that have carried over. The interesting thing with Last of Us currently is all that effort put into Last of Us part two hasn't reappeared anywhere else yet.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, I imagine it's going to in some fashion appear in whatever that multiplayer game is or whatever their next game is, is going to be very similar. So these, these like, the weird thing is like these bets are getting much, much bigger and


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[Assistant] Almost in every way, it feels like there's going to be some sort of implosion or there's going to be some sort of negative kind of, not negative, but like.


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[Assistant] It could be treated as negative kind of repercussion of it where games, they stop making, taking major risks from game to game. And then you get one major game, that's something completely different. And then you get various iterations on that game or like reused assets of that game. It kind of reminds me of like Crash Team Rumble, where it's like we played Crash Team Rumble the other day and we were like.


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[Assistant] They are just using these assets in a new way and it's like fair play. It's, it's, it's interesting, but like that's, that's on a game that probably doesn't cost as much as either a full spoken or the last of us part two cost to make. So.


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[Assistant] I just see that happening way and way more in the future. So I think that's something we probably should start getting used to.


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[Assistant] There's a business to be had in that, like one-off tournaments for games that you wouldn't ordinarily like assume would have a tournament. Like, oh, we're going to do a Def Jam Fight for New York tournament. It's going to be one day. It's going to be weirdly super produced and it's going to be DJed


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, Funkmaster Flex is gonna be there. A few of the actual Def Jam artists will be there and you can pay your way in, have a concert, play the game and be done. I bet you could.


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[Assistant] Oh my God. They weren't, they weren't like gamer centers like that in, in London a lot. Like remember Trocadero's, they changed like one of the bad sides of it into, I was working at HMV at that time and they turned it into like an e-sports cafe and it did pretty well, but yeah, I don't know about that, but that would be cool.


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[Assistant] I think this is interesting. I felt like I was intrigued by this whole thing to begin with. Cause it is one, there's like arguments to be made for both sides, right? Like you could say, oh, Microsoft is doing this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, to be competitive, which is true. And at the same time, it does have an, you could make the argument that it is almost anti-consumer. And despite the kind of, uh, protestations of like Phil Spencer, who's like, I'm going to make sure that it's cool for ages.


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[Assistant] There is still probably somewhere a piece of paper that says we're going to be cool for 10 years, but after that, fuck them all, which is.


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[Assistant] Likely at the same time, you know, you get Jim Ryan and Sony being like, we feel this is X, Y, and Z is bad for the industry, but, and that makes it seem quite altruistic and like we care about the industry.


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[Assistant] So ultimately they are just two corporations fighting. Let them fight either way at the end of the day. Like it's going to be the same outcome. These corporations will keep getting money and growing and that kind of stuff. The thing that really frustrates me and has been frustrating as someone who's been like watching it and reporting it is how this whole situation has


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just supercharged the fanboy wars lately, which is just, it's been infuriating and like I've been, I've never been more embarrassed to be someone who's been interested in video games than I have been in the last few days or last few weeks with this stuff happening. One, because of the way that reporters are being treated by.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A channel that I was like live, what's here, it was one of two channels, I hit it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I was listening to it while walking around. It's actually like in Westfield was buying some shoes and I was listening at the same time. And also like it's so patently clear that no one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whoever's on the stream would go, Oh, they got him. They got him. He's just said, look at this exhibit. You don't know what's going to happen. And like clockwork and then they'll be like, Oh, what he's saying is this. And then the crony would be like, yeah, I know. I know he's got him. He's got him. And then the flip side and Xbox person will be like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Doing the same thing and it's just like, oh God, I wish this industry fans were a little more, they could put their egos aside and just be like, we don't understand this. We're just going to try and figure this out with you guys. And that's been like the most infuriating part of it. And I think that's really what pushed me to the point where I'm like, let them fight and just let me be over with. Cause I'm, I'm tired of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The weirdos in this industry being so prevalent and attacking people who are just trying to report what's happening.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then everyone's like, Oh God, yeah, they're completely right. It shouldn't be exclusive. And like the hypocrisy there is like, they built a business on exclusives. Like all they do is make exclusives and like they buy up, they bought Bungie and they're going to make games that are exclusive with them. Like, so it's just like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's clearly a move that's being made here on Microsoft's part that they're making because they feel they are quite significantly behind as opposed to being like we're on top and now we're going to just start punching below us to make sure no one can come anywhere near us, which is what Sony often feels like they're doing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I've definitely thought a lot about that in the last few days. I think there's also a lot of worry on the Sony side about, so Xbox is definitely in third place. And in terms of like the games that they can make and, and put out there, they're not on par, not on par, but like they're not as high profile and as frequent as PlayStation is, but.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I feel like the edge that Xbox has is their technology and their proliferation, which they are, I think they're like head and shoulders above Sony and Nintendo. I think that's a genuine worry for Sony and it's something that is probably a major factor in trying to stop this because it doesn't really matter if, if you know,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is much about a lot of like, we want to make sure that they're not taking stuff away as much as it is like, we're concerned that they are reshaping the landscape around us and by the time they're done, we will be in a much worse position.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, it was Wii U, but I can't remember if it was a 3D one. A 3DS one after that, sorry.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I just remember, technically, uh, Super Mario, New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe, which was a Switch version of the Wii U version. Right. And it has new stuff in it too, right? Yeah. It had extra content, so I guess that's the last 2D one. Okay, right.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's awesome. Um, also Super Mario RPG is a pretty big deal for that. Yeah. I never played the original. Oh man. It's a, it is an all-timer. It is like fucking amazing. I think it holds up really, really well as well. But like the original version. Oh, it's just like a, it's, it's the same kind of like weird


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess it's more normal now, but at that time it was a level of creativity applied to that franchise that was unexpected in a new, I guess in a major way. Like the format was either side-scroller or like platformer or racing game. And there was a few things in between, but I think Super Mario RPG is one of the ones where it started to really


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Establish Mario as a kind of, uh, all purpose franchise and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, uh, by then or from then we had like sports titles, but Super Mario RPG for it's like writing and humor and, and actually like RPG mechanics and world building that kind of stuff. It was really, it's really, really beloved. Um, and yeah, it's, I think it holds up greater. I don't know if you played the other kind of like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Paper Mario like Bowser's Inside Story is one of my favorite ones where it's just like, I love that game so much, but like, yeaah, it's a beloved game and


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The fact that they're bringing it back and they're not just doing it like, hey, we put the sprites through one of these fucking filters and now everything's so much easier. They clearly know how beloved this game is and they are


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a classic, but it is a cult classic, so I'm hoping that this will be a good opportunity for a lot of people to play it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly, it's so rad, I love them. The other thing that I think isn't getting a lot of attention that could be really interesting is Penny's big breakaway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which is that platformer that was shown very briefly, but it's done by the Sonic Mania crew.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Oh, the yo-yo looking character. It looks like links with a yo-yo, which is unfortunate way, but like, I think it's Christian Whitehead and the team there. Um, but like obviously, yeah. And private division publishing it, but obviously like the Sonic Mania team.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yes. Maybe ever. So like that's pretty exciting.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't think it's an identity crisis at all. Like I think this is exactly what they intended because it's exactly what they needed. And maybe this is speculative, but I think this is their come to Jesus or


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Come to Genova moment where it's like they, they reached the point where they understood. It goes back to like the cost of making games for me. I feel like that they understood that they can no longer make Final Fantasy games in the mainline franchise on the scale and with the, the core expectations of what they have been.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, any longer whilst also putting them in a genre that doesn't have the broadest, uh, attraction. Um, and I understand that they, that's kind of like the heart of what they.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So boring, but like they usually have some element of like story or narrative or character building that I'm like, okay, that'll do. I think the itemization is terrible. I think like the, the world is empty and barren in a lot of ways.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think all that stuff is now contained in the offshoot which is a remake, which is the Final Fantasy 7 remakes. I wouldn't be surprised, although I wouldn't


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A bit of a nightmare because I love that game to death, but it is a clusterfuck of a game. Like it is, it is mad.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And same with like nine and maybe even like tens the next one they remake because they can build that hybrid system.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] On the market, they always have been, whether that's in actual gameplay or like FMV cutscenes or whatever it may be, they were always ahead of the pack. And if they still want to do that stuff.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They can't do it in a gameplay format that has fallen out of favor in a major way. And I feel like that's kind of it where they're at now.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I kind of do just want it to be an RPG, which is the weird thing. Like I also feel like it's definitely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For everything I said, and I think it's a new version, I feel like it's also not a good execution on what this could have been as you said. Like I feel like this is, this is the, I feel like this is the first step to a better Final Fantasy, a new version of Final Fantasy. Which is a shame because you'd expect a team of that caliber to


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Let's not forget the last game, the last mainline entry was salvaging a version of a different game versus, um, and like, uh, you know, business unit three is, they're the MMO team that has been kind of tasked to put in. So I feel like not to, you know, discredit their abilities, but also it feels like a kind of.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] MMO in a lot of ways. And I think that's why we're at, I just don't see the confidence.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Maybe the next one, if they're given another chance at it or another team that takes that foundation, we'll have that stuff that we're missing where it's like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A few more characters that are memorable, you know, actual good writing in the, in the main quest, the story quest, uh, side quest story. And then the, I, I hit up Michael Haim who reviewed it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I miss a lot from it and the hope is like either


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This serves as a framework for another team to come along and be like, this is what we're going to inject that stuff back in. Or this serves as a good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is one game where I have been using the dual sense edge and it's been very, very effective for me. It's so good. Like having the charge attacks on the paddles has been a game changer for me. It's huge.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a really, I feel like the acting is excellent, I think, for the most part. And also, like, the one of the things I will give props to, it's not written like a Final Fantasy game, like a traditional Final Fantasy. It's closer to the MMO, I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It is, it is, I get it. I'm saying nothing. I will say, as a Kingdom Hearts like, I have reviewed that game, I love Kingdom Hearts, the writing is


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was going to say, I think there needs to be a distinguish, a kind of like a distinction made between expectation and context, which is kind of key in a lot of ways, but it's also kind of subtle. I feel like in your review, there is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are times when you're definitely talking about your expectations, but there are also just as many times where you're talking about the context. And when it comes to the context of Final Fantasy as a franchise,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I feel like it's important to have that because if it's just like, I wanted this game to be like this, then it's bad. But if you're like, I would have liked to seen this because it's part of the franchise in a meaningful way. And beyond that, it's part of the genre.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a lot of ways, I feel like also if it didn't try to do some of the things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] If it's got item unlocks and all the items are shit, then you have gone halfway to the point of saying we're doing this RPG thing, thus any further criticism by extension of that mechanic and its execution.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Is valid as is bringing in the context of how it's executed within the franchise prior to it and also within the genre as a whole.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And one other thing that I was gonna briefly like mention is like we're in the media we're constantly like I've seen it happen a lot and even I'm someone who does it a lot and I try and enforce it in my reviews is like don't backseat game design. Like don't try and tell developers how to make the game by saying you should have done this instead.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] However, I feel like that's not a hard and fast rule because if, if, if you're just not telling, if you're not providing feedback, what is the point of a review to a degree, right? A review partially for us is like, we want to tell, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] We want to explore how we feel about it. We want to clue people in on, you know, who might be buying it on whether they should or not. But there is also a small element of, we're also kind of talking to the developers, right? Like there is a dialogue there. I write my reviews in a way that I hope that the reviewers, the people that make the game,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love that idea by the way. I thought that was a fucking great idea. Especially cause like you press a button and toggle will do stuff. Like why don't you do the same thing and keep the interaction simple and just assign them to a button and have that ability. Cause you are just doing shortcut abilities, right? Two button presses. You're good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. At some point, like when you're writing review, do you have to go back to every single other review? I think it's a pretty silly way to approach it, but also like, it doesn't account for like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So many different factors that I would disagree and say that, yeaah, the, the, the kind of, some of the side quests in Final Fantasy VII Remake.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They aren't as exciting on paper, but how they're used in the broader scope of the game is quite a bit more effective than the way they are used in Final Fantasy 16. In Final Fantasy 16 they almost feel inserted and they don't have much of an impact on


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Clive as a person, they have some small kind of nuggets of information that help you understand stuff about, you know, dominance or, or, you know, the world around you. Whereas I feel like a lot of, even the most throwaway quests in Final Fantasy 7, they, they kind of very slowly, uhm, break down the wall around Clive.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And like he, he is doing these menial tasks, but it's almost written in a way that it acknowledges these tasks are menial. And eventually you get to the point where you realize that these people, there's that point where everyone goes, oh, you're that guy who's doing all these menial tasks for everyone. You're cool. I like you. Thanks for doing that. And you're like, oh shit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This gruff kind of like person who's built a wall around himself by doing this nonsense has started to build a community around himself. There's nothing like that for Clive in, in 16. He's just doing these tasks for the sake of doing them. It's busy work.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And maybe you get, you get renowned, I guess, but like, I don't, I don't feel, I don't feel it has as much of a meaningful impact on Clive as a character. Towards the end, I've heard it does build into something.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There were points where as I was going along, I like, there's that one where you help those kids and they've all, you know, in, in final fantasy seven remake, and then you come back an hour later and they've all got cardboard buster swords on and you're like, Oh, I had a noticeable impact on these kids.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's nothing quite like that. There's like, oh, you're that guy who saved me when my chocobos were under attack. It's like, all right, man, I don't remember that myself, but I have taken care of it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But yeaah, I, I just feel like it's, you can't be consistent. Things change and, you know, our, our reads on things change different. And we as people, you know, our tolerance for certain things can also change. Like, I might be, I might be okay with, uh, Final Fantasy VII boring side quests back then, but now I'm just like, I, I,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've had too much of this. The world has like changed in a way where there's too much of these like time wasting quests. So I'm going to be a little more harsher towards them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I would take the remake approach. That's my preferred approach as an evil. I like, I prefer my favorite Final Fantasy games are obviously going to be the older stand in place, like turn based games. But if there's a needs to be an evolution of them, I like where Final Fantasy seven remake goes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, I feel like I would, I would prefer if this character action style game was an offshoot rather than the main games, but you know, I'm not in charge.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You think ready people are mad at you? Damn.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, lads on tour. Like a lot of the Final Fantasy, part of it is like what I love about it is the cringe, but like clearly they've, like the inspiration has taken and also they've got like some incredible localization with Koji Fox and crew. So like, I feel like.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I love the idea of a bunch of Jorys being triggered by Final Fantasy 16 because of a Biker Grove reference.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] My one, my one, eh, I have thought long and hard about this for way too long. I've mentioned it. It'll be Remedy Games Presents Supernatural. I think they would make it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] They would make an incredible co-op shooter.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like with, uh, like this, the weird supernatural elements of a remedy game, but with actual like occult shit and it's kind of gears of worry where you've got these two brothers. One's really good at shooting. The other one's really good at like magic and shit like that. And it's, it's just a story about them. I think they would do an amazing job with that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's a detective who has like Michael Jackson mannerisms. So like he'll moonwalk into a crime scene and do a little spin and then I'm sold. He's like, he's so good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, it's going, there's more vibrancy and like buzz around Street Fighter than there has been in a long time. Uh, Street Fighter V was like a game that came out and there wasn't a lot of like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, and this feels like it's, it's, it's a complete like 180 on that and it's.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There's like a buzz around the entire game and people are figuring things out and there's an excitement for more content. There's people who I've never seen talk about or play fighting games being like, I've got Street Fighter. I'm playing Street Fighter. It's fantastic. And we were in LA and people were like bringing Steam decks and switch, not switches, hitboxes and, and like-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's like, it's, it's like, and that just speaks and it's happening because it's a fantastic game. It's got like open ended systems. It's got way more room for creativity. It's actually got a cast of characters that is.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I genuinely like him. He's like a nice guy. Yeah. They've like reworked. He doesn't look as much like a douche, but he's still got that cocky mannerism and he's, he feels like he's a leading man now. He'll, he'll never replace Ryu or Ken, but like they at least are making a good case for him. And I know people who are like main Luke now instead of being just disgusted by his hair and his attitude.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, his weird Popeye arms are weird, like, the five from the 355 logo, like tattooed across his chest. And he looked like a Jake Paul wannabe. And it was awful. Um, but yeah, like the systems are like, now he looks way better. He looks, he looks like he looks like the kind of guy that you wouldn't be upset having a conversation with.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, but yeaah, like the systems are really well thought out and satisfying. Uhm, people are like really spending a lot of time figuring out characters and finding hidden depths of them.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I don't know if I care, man. Um, but like I'm eager for the new DLC characters to drop. Um, I want to play more. I've sadly not played as much as I want to just because of traveling and summer games first and reviews and that kind of stuff, but I'm just dying to sit down and spend loads of time with it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 100% once I think I need to actually like start building my habit again, cause uhm, but I know that once I sit down and Final Fantasy has been taking a lot of my time as is Diablo and those are games that like I start playing to kind of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For the review purposes and then Diablo came in and I had to move to that and then I moved to Final Fantasy and then Summer Games Fest and then we were away for a while. So now I'm just waiting for like the calm.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To hit again so I can jump in and it will definitely become my daily driver in the same way Destiny is for you. Street Fighter has always been my daily driver.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's great. There's a, there's a lightness and almost like a fun approachability to Street Fighter 6 that wasn't there in Street Fighter 5 because it's harder to feel good playing it. Street Fighter 5 you had to like to really.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You very quickly, certainly more than Street Fighter V, you start to gain a sense, you start to feel a sense of clarity in what you're doing and you notice, oh, I'm doing this and thus this is happening. And when I do that, it results in the other player doing this. So you start to learn how to play that game much faster than you would Street Fighter V.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It kind of reminds me of almost, I don't want to make the comparison, but like it's kind of like Smash, where like you pick it up and you're like, if I press up on the stick, this uppercut comes out and it does this. And although Street Fighter VI definitely has those modern control schemes,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's not what I mean. It's like you press a button and you know, oh, this is going to happen. And then it kind of, it's very good about rapidly building your confidence in the game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Um, in your ability to play the game or at the very least in your ability to have fun, because oftentimes you, I saw a lot of people play the game. They won't win, but they have enough fun during the process of the fight that they still like. I didn't win, but I had a good time doing it. I want to do it again.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I feel like that's a key kind of major factor in why it's being treated and being received so well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah. Have you tried putting it on a steam deck?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was surprised at how well it runs on there. Obviously you do need to have an internet connection.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So like, that was one of the major downsides of taking it to summer games first. It was like, I'm only really playing it. Stop smiling, Lucy. I'm only really playing it at my hotel. When I told her I've got my Steam Deck of Diablo, she's like, uh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, I think Ralph mentioned this earlier, but Marvel vs. Capcom 2, that came out, uhm, this day, many, many years ago, a masterpiece of a video game.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] One of the best fighting games of all time. I would say probably the best video game soundtrack ever created. Yes, I think you're quite right. And the best thing about that soundtrack is you can put it over any game and it improves that game. So I used to do these stream, which were Hades jukebox streams, which is like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Turn the music down in Hades and let stream, uh, whoever's watching the chat select what music it was. And whenever I put on Marvel versus Capcom 2, people will be like, this is fucking awesome. So I would just play Hades through the Marvel versus Capcom soundtrack and it would work so good.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, responsible for many memes, one of the best fighting games ever created.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I like, if you, if you just go to Google and type in Bengus, B-E-N-G-U-S, that's the artist behind that style. The amount of times that I just like, just go to Google images and look at Bengus' work. It's just so fucking good. Oh my God.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Why people are so hung up on it. I actively like the Batmobile as a presence. I think the worst it gets is when it forces you to do the racetrack stuff, but otherwise I think it's incredibly well implemented.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, you can find me on gamespot.com, Twitch, Tomohach, Twitter, Tomohach, and various other places.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is how fast dudes can become best friends memes. This guy's just talking about getting trophies in games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can't read that. He's Al Pacino. Figure it out. But, uh, what's his name? Uh, Cage was just like, he loved it. He was just up there. He was just inhaling the moment. He has full like the facial expressions and the eyebrows. Oh yeah. All of it, man. It was amazing. He looks fantastic.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Full guys. Full guys is really good. Full guys does work quite well.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, they wouldn't, they would, they only were doing walk-up bookings. So I was like super busy and whatever.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, yeah, that's true. No, but the, uh, twisted metal clip was not, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, well, I was actually, cause Gerard, you were at the YouTube theater. No, I didn't. I know. I was, the three of us had seats.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like even when Nick Cage was like, that was a big moment, sure. But in general, I just felt like... Smaller audience, I guess? I guess, but like, I felt like there was more energy in the Ubisoft room today than there was in the YouTube theater. Well, for what it's worth, we did...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, uh, just to rattle off a quick list, cause I've got it here in front of me. Uhm, Jeff had, in terms of bigger stuff, there was obviously the Dead by Daylight reveal. There was Prince of Persia, which we will come back to. Mortal Kombat, we got a big look at that. Uhm, how you feeling about Mortal Kombat? Cool. Yeah?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's actually the one time you've done a half decent train actually. That's good. That's when I'm quick. That's right. I, uh, the Jax, Jax when he does one, like a successful attack as he's walking off the stage, he's like, yeah, that's right. Yeah. I love it. So, uh, I love that as well. It was really nice. I actually played that for like maybe 45 minutes. Yeah, me too. Played it with Susie actually, Sphere Hunter.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Basically dumpstered her for 45 minutes straight. That was, that was a good time. So shout out to Susie on the podcast. Thank you very much. She literally walked out and he just started telling people he's like, she walked in so confident. That's right. And then the night before that she was bullying me all night long. So I felt vindicated.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Wow. It's like apparently there's only cosmetics and you pull weapons. It's like gacha kind of thing to pull weapons for monetization. So, I mean, I'm sure that like, you know, you'll have to spend some money if you want to get weapons that will get you through it at a decent pace. Otherwise you'll be grinding or be really slow. I don't know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, they were also, they said specifically they're all up in like True Detective. Like that was a huge inspiration for them and that is unmistakable through this.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I did get to say that actually. Uhm, I, I think I'm...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Look, cause I'm not an Armored Core fan in the sense that I have not played the other games like as in the original games back in the day. But I'm obviously a FromSoft fan and really trust who they are and what they do. Watch this demo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it was pretty clear that this is not a game that demos super well because, you know, it's some mechs flying around a big gigantic factory and there's some combat that they're just kind of, they're shooting some rockets or whatever and swinging a big


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Whatever. And it's over pretty quickly. And that's really it. And I mean like, that honestly was what we saw. You know, and the factory, imagine the factories from Neautometer.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But larger, right? Way larger. In fact, the verticality of the game is actually quite intriguing because you are moving around these massive mega factories and repositioning yourself is a thing, right? But which, stylistically, these are very simple environments that you're looking at.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and yeah, you fight these little clusters of enemies and they die pretty quickly because I guess the person playing knows what they're doing. And then there was a boss, which funnily enough, the boss died so fast that the presenters had to apologize and said, oh, uh, that's actually meant to be more of a challenge.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, so look, I think obviously it's just, I don't personally think it's a game that demos super well. Maybe other people saw it and were like, well, this is incredible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But uhm, it just, you know, it just was its thing. It's its arm and core, right? I'm really looking forward to playing it. Cause everyone that I've spoken to that's played it and understands it more deeply is like, no man, there's a lot more going on at the hood. And I'm like, yeah, of course there is. It's FromSoft. Like that's how they roll, right? So uhm, yeah, definitely keen to see more.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Again, just seeing gameplay of this game, I think a lot of people are going to be like, what? That's it? You know what I mean? That's the impression that I expect quite a few people to have.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm really keen for that reason. I really want to learn about this part of their like history and their design philosophy. And so I'm actually really excited for this for sure.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So, uh, look, I enjoyed it, I think. I mean, I sort of walk away from it being like, well,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it could blossom into something really cool, but from what I played, it was quite simple in most aspects. It was very much just like, yeah, there's your three colors. And obviously we were early in the game for sure. And that's why I'm hoping it gets bigger and better.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, just something about it wasn't quite clicking for me, where I was like, hell yeah man, I can't wait to play more of this. It was very much like, oh okay, this is another game that's coming, I think it could be cool, but yeah, it's still kind of wait and see. I get that. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I think, uh, like the story stuff I found a little bit grating. I wasn't loving it. It just seemed a bit much. It was almost like, it was almost like the call of duty. It was almost like the call of duty hurrah, but like applied to a fantasy setting. Like it was that and I, it was a weird mismatch. And, uh, and,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I was doing Messicky Board and to switch between the red, blue and green, which are your three weapons, you need to cycle them like you did in Redfall, right? However, I learned after the demo that there is a, there is the ability to map them so you can actually just put them on one, two and three, switch more easily, whatever. They said they're still going back and forth on final controls.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, so look, I'm keeping an open mind. I think this would be fun, but it feels like one of those games that doesn't feel like essential.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's coming out in July and it's lucky, I think it's lucky that it's coming out in July because there's not a lot coming out then, right? Whereas if this is coming out in like August or September, I reckon this would get totally buried because a lot of people would just be like, no, no time for that, whatever else. So I'm going to play that smart in July.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So again, yeaah, exactly, you know? Uh, so look, I wish it well. I hope it all comes together. Cause again, I totally agree. I love EA's single player portfolio. I think they're doing fantastic stuff. I think their sports portfolio is still a total dumpster fire. But on the single player side, keep it coming. Like they really have done great work on that, I think.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The problem with that is, the one problem with Phosight is that it's only coming to PlayStation.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, well that's my understanding, because when he listed platforms at the end, he said it's coming to PlayStation, and I was like, that's it? Because I was like, this is a really smart play from Square, considering that Platoon is only on Switch. And if you can also bring it to Xbox and PC, then like, that's a big deal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was, it was, but then they, that was like, that was like a whole marketing pitch. No one expected for us to go big. That was a real, but this one, you look at it, you're like, well, it's a strategic play to fill a gap created by the fact that Splatoon is only on Switch. But then it's like, well, why would you not put it on the other platforms?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] For sure. And I think that's something that I've seen because...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I've seen coverage since and it's been like, you know, this fixes.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's cause they don't want to get into a situation where, yeah, where players feel like, oh, you promised me a complete reworking of all the core game systems. And it's mostly the same now. It's like, it's not that, like there are some really chunky things here, a reworking of the talent tree and the cop system is being overhauled.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's how we end up here. Uh, but no, no, I, I agree. I'm, I'm the same, you know, and obviously it's, it's, it's become less unpopular, I think to say that you like cyberpunk.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, you know, I like Cyberpunk when it was the absolute nadir of its popularity. Uh, and I've always liked it. And so, yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's been great to see that game go through that journey and get better. Obviously it should have been blah blah blah. All the things that we have to say when we talk about Cyberpunk, yadda yadda yadda. Sure. But the point is that like that game still meant a lot to a lot of people for the things that it was rather than the things that it wasn't.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and that I definitely fall into that category. And so I was really excited to see this and yeah, I played the demo as well and had a really fantastic time and I'm really excited for it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yep, yep. But no, it's looking really good and uh, they wouldn't, I also, one thing I really pressed them on was like, how long is this gonna take your average player? And they really didn't want to.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, well, I think this is the thing. They say, oh, it's, they said something to me like, oh, it's commensurate with the previous expansions that we have done. We feel it's the same. They didn't say length. They were just saying like, we want those expansions to really mean something and deliver value and whatever. And we feel as though it's in the same sort of territory as.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Cyberpunk is like 25 hours or so versus The Witcher is like 50 or 60 hours. So if you line those numbers up, I would expect this expansion to come in at around about


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I agree. It was, it's been a bit of a bummer to see how much of a, like, the hostile reception that Prince of Persia has been getting, I think, because, you know, everyone's like, this sucks. And it's like, well, speaking to people all throughout the week who played it, they were all like, no, actually this rules. This is like the best thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Well, we really appreciate you making the time because this man is in very caught demand right now. Obviously the press tour is huge. You're a few weeks from.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So wait, when you said that you are a lifelong gamer, and obviously, clearly, when was the very first game that you played?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Why, why, why Final Fantasy though? Like what does it mean to you? Like why do you love it so much?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wanna ask before you go, does this change your career focus because you obviously have been an actor, or are still an actor I should say, and now you've done this thing, are you thinking, well maybe now I'm a video game voice actor and that's what I'm gonna do? Or is it like, well actually that's just one thing that I do on top of other things.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wanna be best friends with him. He's a rad dude, hardcore gamer man, living every one of his dreams. Imagine manifesting your dreams to that degree. Impossible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean like, I don't know, like it's, it's, it's, cause I was really going in there expecting lots of gameplay after that tweet from Aaron Greenberg. I will say there was no


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He's right. I was a bit annoyed about that fact that he tweeted out that because the spirit of his tweet was very much like, yeah, man, you're going to see lots of gameplay and everything. It's games, games, games. The reality was actually it's cut seeds rendered in engine and it's like, okay, well now we know that means it's fucking nothing. Thank you for teaching us. So you're getting shit for that. For what?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, yeah, that's interesting. Tab's telling us that people are trying to correct him saying that, uh, that they're saying, well, they showed some gameplay. It's like, come on, they did not really show gameplay. You know, there was quite a few of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Exactly. Starfield gameplay. There was a lot of that and that was fantastic. Lots of Starfield gameplay.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, yes, exactly. So I'm totally there with you, and so it's, it's, that's the second time this game has been revealed almost. And it's like, cool, alright, fair enough, but we don't know anything more than that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Of course, absolutely sure. But it does feel like this is 2025, you know, it doesn't feel like it's anytime soon and we don't know what it is. And it's, that's literally it. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I agree, I agree. The same goes for like the next two games after that because then we had that. The compulsion games game that we had. South of midnight or midnight of south of midnight, yes. South of midnight. Which again, no idea what it is. Looks really nice, great art style. Looks pretty. No gameplay but definitely.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The game director literally did say in the presentation, it's like a car pg. Yes. And that's what everyone and everyone in the presentation chuckled.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I never played Pillars either. That's one thing that I'm actually quite keen on. Being able to like, be immersed in that lore, cause it's so developed and so fleshed out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then this one comes in and it's very colorful and it's kind of like, okay, what's happened in this intervening period, you know? Uh, and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, the whole, the whole thing presents quite differently than what I imagined it would be. It does feel more like the out, like a fantasy version of outer worlds more than obsidians take on Elder Scrolls, if that makes sense.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So uhm, which I'm keen for though in the sense because like I trust Obsidian, like they make cool games. I even liked Outer Worlds, which a lot of people really don't like that game. Uh, and I'm, I like their writing style. I like what they do with RPG. So I'm keen to check it out. It's, it's sold me. So yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that really looked quite incredible. The UI in that game alone, incredible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I know, right? Yeah, totally. But uhm, but they've got Capcom and they've got Sega and it's like cool, that's a really great start. And I think it's only a good thing.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, that's the game. The first trailer was very much like, look at this action, this spectacle. I really liked just seeing this emotional scene and how that's being rendered in a video game. I love that performance. I was really drawn into that to be honest, but yeah, I do agree it was a bit long.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's also, that's true, that's coming out at the end of the year. So yeaah, and the, uh, the like a dragon, the infinite wealth is out sometime next year. Uh, and did you see that just salt game? I'm about that. So for me,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm just trying to put some French spin on it because it looks like it's a French word. It could just be like, it could just be Jussent. Jussent. Jussent. So you know.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you guys see the IGN article where they're like, Oh, if, if Bethesda does manage to release this at a locked 30 FPS, this will be the most, the highest frame rate, most stable game they've ever released.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think it's hard, it's always so hard to talk about framerate because the reality is it depends. Like that's it. Like that's it. It depends. Like you look at a game like Redfall and you're like, sorry. Big update for Redfall today. Big update?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There is a way to get that game running at 60 FPS. In fact, it is going to happen because the developers have promised it. They just couldn't get it done in the timeline, right?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then you look at the, at Tears of the Kingdom and you're like, that thing is running on a fucking calculator and it's doing the most advanced mathematics that any human mind can conceive. It's doing it all real time, all the time. And that game runs at generally around 30 FPS and that's a fucking miracle. You know what I mean? So I think it depends every time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Personally with Starfield, I would have liked it to have been 60, but obviously they're focusing on their world. There's a lot of objects in a Bethesda game. That's a big focus for them. They even talked about the fact that you can pick everything up. Sure. They're going for visual fidelity. They're going for the size of their worlds. Like I get it. And I'm like, it would have been nice if it was 60.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But, I don't think it's the end of the world that it's 30.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, I mean, well that, we already run it 60 on consoles. Oh, sorry, on PC, but the mining community can't get it on.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get it running at 60 on, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, but it'll, it should look, if it doesn't run native 60 on PC, like then that's going to be diabolical. Like the PC community will lose anything on day one. Oh, absolutely. If it doesn't, if you can't get that game running at 60 FPS through settings and high-end hardware, then that will be a fucking scandal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, but I think cause again, that's where it all starts to depend. Cause it's not, cause it's not just the resolution of 4k. It's like the number of things that are going on in this game at once. It's quite vast. And again, you compare it to something like Redfall, a much simpler game in terms of the number of things that are happening at any moment. And it's like, well, so that's why it's tricky to talk about. And that's why I'm not like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I wouldn't, I'm not losing my shit over 30 fps on a console starfield, you know what I mean?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So uhm, but look, I will say as well that I was just really blown away by that presentation. Like I genuinely was.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I was ambivalent towards Starfield. I'm like, I think it's going to be fine. I've always said that, but I'm like, wait a second. Maybe this could be really fucking cool. You know, like I really was just, they nailed that. Um, and I'm actually really excited for Starfield now, which I never would have anticipated. I would have said, but yeah, man, they did it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you see the comparison shots of like the old cowboy town versus the new one? I swear to God, Phil Spencer must've just come in there in the last two months with like a money hose and just spray this game with all the money.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That's all the marketing they need to do. It's so funny that every year we've seen that, but we don't know that it actually means that a new Just Dance is out. So they were just like, oh, they're just having fun. Good on them. That's great.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That game doesn't exist. That's it, man. That's what it is now. They just repurposed it. It does not exist.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I agree, in fact when I did my video I was basically like, I just feel like


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, and so I was very much like, let's just wait and see what this game finally is because I guarantee you that the final product won't be that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Nice. Like I was expecting Far Cry Pandora. It obviously is that. And it looks really pretty.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, seems sweet. Do you guys wanna throw up?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Are you getting, are you getting the uhm, cause the Uniclo are re-releasing the Metal Gear Solid shirts.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I didn't dress up at all. Cause I was out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, my friends are posting pictures of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Walking down streets where every single person had loads of ma- like decorations and-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] chocolate and the kids were all dressed up and uh, Greg, uh, Miller, my old roommate, they went to one where someone had a cotton candy making machine and were just giving, giving kids and I was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When I went, when I went trick or treating as a kid, my mom cut three holes in a bin bag and sent me out as a witch, okay?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] He was so good. There's a point, I watched the video back, and I didn't realize that you can hear him go, like, such a funny fish.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, no, it was so fun, but also I think one of the things I'm also very glad for, like super glad to be there, highlight a bunch of indies and obviously raise a lot of money, but we got to hang out with time on Monday and just chill out.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And have like a really nice lunch and just go to the beach. Hell yeaah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Get fucked. No, no, no. I mean, genuinely, uh, my first ever Game Awards, I think, in 2018 or 2019, I wore this beautiful dress, right? It had, like, it was backless. It had this gorgeous, sticky-out train thing. It looked incredible. Man was wearing jorts. No shade to jorts, but it was like, commit to a theme. Commit to something. You can't just have the open dress code. You can't give that to gamers, because they'll just turn up in jorts.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] 8-10% of the whole studio.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was very classy. Like, he could've really ripped them a new one and he was, he, what, like, hats off to that guy, like, holy shit.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's a part of my routine now. Like I wake up, I go and I have my AG1 and it feels really nice that one of the first things I do in the morning is do something good for myself. And like you said, if it tastes good, it kind of sets my day off on the right path.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I remember when Alan Wake came out, and it was just like, ugh. Like, this guy's not a typical video game protagonist. First of all, it's called Alan, and second of all, he's a writer, but the gameplay mechanic was so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Interesting, even though I guess by, you know, mid to end of the game, you're kind of overusing it. And then if you dug into the story, it was just so...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Weird. And there were all these breadcrumbs and then the balls on remedy for ending with, it's not a lake, it's an ocean. And then going, yep, well, gonna have to wait 13 years to understand what that means.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But even with the gameplay of this one of like, their first dab at doing survival horror, implementing things like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Either, uhm, interweaving narratives.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think I had the best possible experience, cause also, the clocks are changing, so it's been dark at, you know, 6pm everyday here, which has been fantastic, I've just been playing in the dark.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I liked it on Alan's side.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I liked what they were doing with encouraging you to go and find Alex Casey lunchboxes and stuff.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] But it felt like the economy was a little not in my favour compared to finding words of power.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Sure. Also, I think it's really funny. So, uh, Gerard, the way that you upgrade on Alan's side is, uh, there are these, uh, arrows in the environment. And if you shine your torch on them, that kind of points to basically this big scroll.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, God, word of aid or something, but word of lamp killed me every time.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When, uh, Control came out, we did audio logs with them, uh, about the Ashtray maze. And I think there was a bit that we actually had to cut.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Which was talking about, you know, they were trying, they were getting more finished stuff in there, and so Arty, uh, there's a whole scene, I think it's as you're going to the Ashtray Maze or something, when you're in the foundation of the Oldest House, and he's talking about, you hear sound effects from a sauna?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So all the pieces are coming together, uhm, for Alamed 2. You've got Epic as a, as a publisher. What was that relationship like? Was there ever like any pressure to maybe change from Northlight to using Unreal? Uhm, have they been supportive of the project the whole way?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And Sam, obviously you are in the game. Uh, what was it like writing?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's very funny that you guys kept saying you don't have to have played Alan Wake or Control.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] To really get Alan Wake 2, but I feel like you really get Alan Wake 2 if you have played the other games.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, how conscious were you of making Alame to connect to everything else? Like, was the Remedy Connected universe always the goal, or was it something that over the course of the past decade or so you've just kind of fallen into?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I guess final question, uhm, you know, the response to Alamay 2 has been kind of incredible.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, what are you guys like feeling about it now that it's out there in the world and you're seeing, you know, the review scores and fans react to it?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] That was awesome. Like it was so fun and it was just such a fun mix of


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, things that you could, like donation incentives, like Gerard almost died on hot sauce overdose and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uhm, people wishlisting and donating and going to check out demos and stuff and yeaah, I had a lovely weekend.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, and I got to- I got to wax people, there was- people were smashing watermelons with baseball bats as well, there was, uhm, like-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You could play a bunch of cool games too, like having, you know, folks with dialing in and people were in the couch and yea, it was really cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I haven't felt that way about a game since playing like Rocket League for the first time. It was just like being in the room and the energy with people. Uhm, I think that my favorite-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I didn't realize, uh, we were talking about it on the GameSpot podcast this week too, and we watched the trailer and I didn't realize that the mechs looked like kind of Lego guys too.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, but there was so many different- there was such a variety in the experiences cause there was-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You know, that one, which is very high octane, working together as teammates. And then there was something like Farewell North, which is very emotional. It's kind of about, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This, this girl, you know, and her relationship with her mother and she's gone to Scotland and she's with her dog and her dog, and basically the color palette is really muted and very sad and she's, she's very emotional and the dog is, you know, solving puzzles and try to cheer her up.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And bringing colour back into the world, which is really beautiful. And then there was horror stuff like Desktop Explorer, which was basically


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A Windows 95 desktop, but someone's left you messages and you have to solve puzzles. Oh, I've seen this actually. It was super cool. That is cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I loved playing that one because it was, it was, they were, the devs were there and I was like trying to solve the puzzles. I was like, hmm, I don't know how to get this one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Unhide file folders that have been hidden in the operating system. And yeah, that was really cool.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I felt like they went on too long. Like a phase too long.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The symbiotes towards the end got really annoying, I thought.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was like, you know, you finally get to see what happens to the people who have to pick up the pieces.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you see, they patched in today, uh, the Daredevil law firm sign? I don't know if they accidentally left it out or if it's some kind of...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It would be, it would be so cool for DLC. You just, you know, you hear him call someone bub and then, you know, that's all I need.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Did you see that thing today? So that Daredevil game that they were working on 20 years ago or something that never got released. A dev just released the whole thing, or at least what they had. What? Really? Yea, today I think, or yesterday they just released it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I'm getting my Lisa's a switch for Christmas with this. Nice. Yeah.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Basically, years ago they did this skit and it is-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So it's about, uhm, their love of the Wii Shop and how it updates every Wednesday, and then they go like...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] What if, what if we write a song using the games as lyrics and then they sing the song and the first line is, Super Mario RPG. And then it genuinely, it, when it hit the GameSpot office, it was like,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You could see who opened the link because everyone was just watching it. And then sometimes I'd walk past people and they would just be watching it.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Where me, you and Tam were staying in the same hotel and we were walking back from the bar and we walked past.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So like, Batmaps in Persona 5, I guess?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you said earlier they kind of made it a little easier. Is there still that challenge there if you want it? Is there other difficulty modifiers?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Flight back then. Aww, that's not really fun.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I think 12 just had an anniversary as well. I saw some people tweeting about it. No, I was writing it for, uh, I don't know if I can announce that I'm a part of this thing yet, but I did, uh, I wrote a thing about it. Anyway.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It was fun and I had to, and I wanted to replay it and revisit it and...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] So you just have like one job board and now you've got 12 different ones in this one.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And they, like a bunch of other changes, like they re-recorded the score, they changed, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Some of the spells, I think, uh, like some of the abilities are impacted in slightly different ways, but it's also like the HD remaster. Um, and it has, yeah, it's just...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's kind of incredible how well it holds up. In my head, I think it was a lot less streamlined, uh, and then I was replaying it and I was like, actually damn, this gets to the meat of it very, very quickly.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] You've got pretty much your whole party within the first few hours and then because of the gambit system and the way that


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Controlled fun. Uh, you, I don't know if you've ever played it or not, if you haven't, very quickly, it's you, uhm, you basically program your teammates.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And so you could, you know, for example, ally health under 30% heal.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And then it just becomes this great thing where you basically


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Set up all of your plans, you go into some combat, you just see the, see it all come together really well. You can also play it on obviously like double speed. And so it's just so satisfying.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Just to watch it all come together. The story's great, uh, obviously a lot of people make comparisons to Star Wars and there's definitely a lot of things in there that are very, very reminiscent of Star Wars, but I think it is definitely its own.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Beast? It's the Final Fantasy that- It was my first ever Final Fantasy, actually. Kingdom Hearts doesn't count.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It definitely does not. It does not count. It does not count. It does not count. That was my first, you know, a light introduction and then 12 was my first Final Fantasy. And I've just, I've just been really enjoying playing it. Uh, I have the, the Roger ally, um, the Rog ally, uh, thank you to- Oh.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] No, we're all getting high handheld. Uh, thank you to Microsoft, they provided that one for a review. Uhm, or just, you know, coverage, I guess, and so I have to disclose, obviously, when I got it. Uhm, and honestly, it's, it runs really...


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] In a year where every game seems to be a 10 out of 10.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] It's just, and like, there's been so much pressure, obviously, in our line of work to play everything, and like, as we're kind of coming to the tail end of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Spending some time revisiting a classic and revisiting a game that I know that I loved even though I didn't remember it that well has been a very nice, uhm, a nice way to kind of cap off a review.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Like big, big launch window. And I've got a big flight next week, so that's, you know, 11 hours there. So.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Boot it up with British, uh, with English voice acting. Change that within like five minutes. I couldn't. Really?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] When you're listening to it, it's one of those ones where you feel like they weren't in the same room, or at least like the voice direction's not good, cause stuff just doesn't run into things neatly. Uhm, and then I just think the Japanese voice acting is special.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] There are those weird creatures, like Miguelo's one, are they the Bagaan?


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] I can't- B-A-G-A-A-N I think it is? Where the-


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Creature things, and they are not in any other mainline thing other than tactics and 14 and 12. Like then you wouldn't see them in like a 15 for example.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, the Western release was, you know what? The Western release was March 2020. So it was, this is one of the last things we filmed in the office before we went away for, uh, for lockdown. But, uh, this week,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Least in Japan, 2019, it was Persona 5 Royal. Wow.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] This is a very inside baseball observation. Uh, I had that code, like, at least a month before embargo.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And I just rinsed it at work, I did


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] A bunch of the coverage, there was a few of us playing and so all of like the tips stuff we had plenty of time to do.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Yeah, I mean, Persona 5, one of my favorite games of all time. And I marked it as a 9 because towards the end, the boss rush is, I don't think it's very well handled at all. There's obviously some stuff to do with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, the gay characters, and there's weird stuff with Ann, and it doesn't necessarily land, um, I didn't think at the time anyway, particularly, uh, well, they actually did update and change some of that.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Uh, in Royal, where they fleshed out a bunch of stuff, they added, uh, a whole new semester, uh, new character with, um,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Also fleshing out another character like Goro Akechi, who


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] His role in Persona 5 I think is great, but the way that they took him and changed him and added to his character and his role in Royal was fantastic. They also added, you know, new gameplay mechanics, new music. They took


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Everything that was so fantastic about 5, they streamlined a lot of it, like the first 10 hours of Persona 5, very, very handholdy. Very handholdy.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] And it's also, there was, in terms of the way that the game dealt with


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] SP, which is what you use to use your Persona abilities.


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] The game would do it in such a way that it wasn't easy to recoup that if you didn't have the correct, uhm,


[User] Please transcribe this text

[Assistant] Items? Yeah, and so it meant that it was kind of like stifling your progress a little bit because you're very dependent on if you had enough of those ability points and then in Royal they changed that in the game's economy so you would just blitz through palaces and then you had way more time to do the social stuff