As this is the first year that both E3 and the First Byte Podcast are happening at the same time, I thought it would be fun and … maybe slightly frantic to pick five titles out of the entire line-up of announcements that tickle my fancy.
11 Jun 2021
Episode 11 - Dystopian Vancouver Sets a Brilliant Stage for Breathtaking Anthropomorphic Noir
After a vast spance of longing, Backbone was released on PC this week, and while I could have pulled back on the reigns of excitement prior to leaping in, I didn’t, and yet it still lived up to my desires and expectations. And blew them away in many cases.
Engrossing, the tendrils of art in its best form -- which can be described as vaguely Any art that “does it for you” -- is something that can live with you for long periods of time. Especially when it is something like a Video Game in which you are asked to spend a lot of time with said art.
4 Jun 2021
Episode 10 - Adventures in a Tiny World Drenched in Style and Story
From the same team that brought us amazing and fun video games like Creature in the Well, Manifest 99, and Island Time, comes Stonefly -- a game about tiny beings, building bug-like mechs to battle crawlers, collect resources, and explore their world. And I cannot begin to express how astounding and wonderful this little minuscule universe is.
The story, characters, dialog, and journey through Stonefly is simply described in one simple word; unforgettable.
It is the birth-child of lo-fi study beats, mesmerizingly beautiful wallpaper, and the stories you tell your kids while you’re tucking them in at night.
28 May 2021
Episode 9 - The Odyssey Promise and the Curious Case of the Stakeholders
Elite Dangerous is the most polarizing gaming experience I may have ever fallen in to. Odyssey as an expansion is equal parts stunning, and an abomination without clear explanation.
Resulting in a playground that causes awe, and actual gameplay that breeds expletives. There is … SO MUCH … wrong with Elite Dangerous Odyssey, in terms of actual function, that this launch will be remembered as a joke in the near future.
21 May 2021
Episode 8 - One Final Ride with Bend Studio's Days Gone
Bend Studio's Days Gone comes to PC more than two years after its debut and exclusive launch on PlayStation 4 consoles.
Now, with little hope that a sequel is in the works, an entirely new audience can twist the throttle on one of my favorite open-world zombie games ever made.
15 May 2021
Episode 7 - An Ode to the Greatest Sci-Fi RPG Trilogy of All Time
Mass Effect, as a series, means a lot to me.
It means a lot to plenty of people.
Fundamentally changing the modern video game role-playing systems -- gameplay mechanics still in heavy use today -- Mass Effect introduced an entirely new audience of geeks and gamers alike, into RPG fans. And, it took my incessant need to write and tell stories into its arms, and force-fed it. It evolved me. Stranding my recently-sober, high school in the rearview, teenage self on the beach and said “you’ll be damned if you play another game with a soggy story and characters, and feel any sort of satisfaction.”
7 May 2021
Episode 6 - Frantic Anxiety and the Art of Photographing Pocket-Monsters
So the question remains … why on Earth is Pokemon Snap so much fun! Even now. Twenty-two years after the launch of the original, New Pokemon Snap for the Nintendo Switch is essentially the most satisfying and panic-inducing frantic first-person-camera-shooter known to humankind.
Never have I felt more anxiety, hands riddled with panic, at the thought of missing the perfect moments in these pocket-monster lives, strewn about the track I ride along like a living amusement park ride, without the uncanny valley animatronics.
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1 May 2021
Episode 5 - The Unraveling of a Forgotten Purpose with It Takes Two
It Takes Two is the latest game from the cooperative-focused studio out of Stockholm, Sweden, and it goes a long way to infuse trust and dependability between yourself and whomever you decide to play with.
The Hazelight co-op journey is always a feat of inundation, making who you play them with practically more important than the how or why you take part in them. For their previous title -- a bro-op game featuring two convicts escaping from prison -- I played alongside my forever cooperator, my brother. It was fitting, wonderful, and our hyena-like giggling only paused long enough to concentrate in awe through the bigger, more cinematic moments.
For It Takes Two -- a game about two adults, parents, who have decided to get a divorce, only to be turned into dolls by their daughter, set to face trials that are led by a relationship self-help book in order to challenge their partnership -- I played it with my partner. My significant, insanely uplifting future wife.
23 Apr 2021
Episode 4 - Sea of Thieves Remains a Breath of Fresh Air in 2021
It was simple in concept, true in its vision, but Rare was fully aware that they have something special on their hands. It felt like my mum’s macaroni and cheese. There’s nothing fancy about it, it is not an intricate meal, but god damn does it not taste fundamentally amazing and satisfies every time.
Sea of Thieves in the year 2021 feels like a breath of fresh air, and it is mostly due to that same flavor the game had at launch four years ago.
16 Apr 2021
Episode 3 - Narita Boy and the Rose-tinted Side-scroller
Media and entertainment that is awash with nostalgic vibes and “in-jokes” has become a major portion of our yearly consumption, but Narita Boy manages to raise that retro vibe on top of a truly fantastic and wonderful universe and environment.
Caution, there are some spicy takes regarding art and a look at what begets truly distinguishable pieces of media within this podcast episode. God speed.
9 Apr 2021
Episode 2 - Outriders Has All That Special Sauce
Despite a tough launch weekend, Outriders provides far more to the fanbase than is necessary.
2 Apr 2021
Episode 1 - Monster Hunter: Rise Feels Like Going Home For The Holidays
Chomp into the newest addition to Capcom's Monster Hunter franchise.
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