Words About Games

Time Stamps: 0:00:00 - Intro 0:20:36 - Housekeeping 0:23:14 - Xbox shutting down four Bethesda studios 1:19:15 - Indie Game of the Week - Compound Fracture (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1460210/Compound_Fracture/) 1:22:58 - this was not my fault 1:24:19 - Perfect Dark Reboot Is Allegedly In Bad Shape 1:26:45 - Nintendo announce the Switch 2 1:41:55 - PlayStation Cancels Helldivers 2 Mandatory PSN Sign-In Requirement Following Player Uproar 1:52:27 - Amy's taking a break from Dragon's Dogma II 1:54:13 - Moody has been playing older, comfort games 1:58:26 - Vitz pitches a banger new mode for Gran Turismo 7 2:03:18 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head We're raising money for Special Effect! Donate to help an awesome cause and help us hit milestones that will turn into awesome livestreams (and eventually awesome YouTube videos): https://justgiving.com/page/wagspecialeffect2024 Check out our Indie Game of the Week Steam curator page to see all of our previous selections: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7857031/ Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow! Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:09:59 - Free Palestine

0:22:46 - Video games

0:24:02 - Housekeeping

0:26:45 - Todd Howard thinks Starfield was divisive because it was too different from past Bethesda games

0:37:00 - Xbox Series S parity is an anchor holding back games

0:42:24 - Amy pitches her version of the Indiana Jones game trailer for the Xbox Summer Showcase

0:45:18 - Good faith criticism is fun, but enjoy what you enjoy

0:47:52 - Activision Blizzard boosts Microsoft earnings, but Xbox console sales plummet

1:02:32 - Why does Call of Duty need a separate showcase this Summer?

1:05:41 - Indie Game of the Week - Beyond Galaxyland (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1543710/Beyond_Galaxyland/)

1:12:06 - ID@Xbox April 2024 thoughts

1:33:14 - EA Japan Exec Criticises Japanese Ratings Board For Allowing Stellar Blade Uncensored But Banning Dead Space

1:38:51 - Square Enix abandons £112m of in-development projects in an effort to improve quality

1:51:39 - GAME is selling a £200 Fallout TV show backpack

1:55:59 - Enemy Density, Player Frustration & World Building: A Dragon's Dogma 2 Subtweet

2:00:51 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

We're raising money for Special Effect! Donate to help an awesome cause and help us hit milestones that will turn into awesome livestreams (and eventually awesome YouTube videos): https://justgiving.com/page/wagspecialeffect2024

Check out our Indie Game of the Week Steam curator page to see all of our previous selections: https://store.steampowered.com/curator/7857031/

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Apologies for Moody's slideshow-like appearance, Discord decided to play a cruel trick on him this week I suppose

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:14:00 - We're raising money for Special Effect!

0:23:39 - Sony mulling Paramount buyout - reports

0:33:55 - Sony Says Stellar Blade Art Referencing Racist Language Was Unintentional, Will be Patched Out

0:44:21 - Bethesda remembers Starfield exists, promises more "soon"

0:55:59 - Indie Game of the Week - Sunset Hills (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1791590/Sunset_Hills/)

1:00:13 - Tribeca Game Festival line-up announced

1:06:14 - Dragon's Dogma 2

1:25:58 - Vitz Patel's Monthly Gran Turismo 7 Report

1:31:16 - Amy & Moody finished watching Fallout

1:37:16 - FALLOUT SPOILERS START HERE

1:58:19 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head Begins

Graphics & Intro by Vitz Patel

We're raising money for Special Effect! Donate to help an awesome cause and help us hit milestones that will turn into awesome livestreams (and eventually awesome YouTube videos): https://justgiving.com/page/wagspecialeffect2024

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

We're raising money for Special Effect! Donate to help an awesome cause and help us hit milestones that will turn into awesome livestreams (and eventually awesome YouTube videos): https://justgiving.com/page/wagspecialeffect2024

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:24 - We are raising money for Special Effect!

0:20:24 - Former Blizzard boss reckons you should be able to tip developers 'another $10 or $20' on top of $70 games

0:33:34 - Our thoughts on the Fallout TV show

0:49:10 - Balatro

1:00:30 - Indie Game of the Week - Tiny Tires (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2433790/Tiny_Tires/)

1:04:22 - Keanu Reeves Joins ‘Sonic 3’ as Shadow

1:09:57 - Jabba isn't just in the season pass of Star Wars: Outlaws

1:17:08 - Maybe it's the "sales expectations" and "$70 games" that are the problems

1:23:06 - IGN are hiring a video producer, just after firing a video producer

1:29:01 - UK studio Kwalee is making layoffs to create room for new hires

1:32:35 - GTA 6, BioShock publisher Take-Two to lay off hundreds and cut projects

1:36:57 - Our Nintendo Indie World showcase thoughts

1:49:46 - The Walking Dead publisher crowdfunding big-budget Invincible game

1:57:37 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:0:00:00 - Intro0:18:25 - Hellblade II Dev Says People Want Shorter Games0:33:15 - Life is Strange devs Deck Nine accused of crunch, sexism and abusive behaviour amid allegedly toxic culture0:57:37 - Are we going to watch Fallout (the TV show)?1:02:54 - Indie Game of the Week - inKONBINI: One Store. Many Stories (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2723430/inKONBINI_One_Store_Many_Stories/)1:07:03 - Amy bought Final Fantasy IX on PS11:09:37 - EA has reportedly closed its UK-based QA team1:16:47 - Xbox sets up a game preservation team and wants "the biggest technical leap ever" for its next-gen system1:31:38 - Final Fantasy VII Rebirth email survey sent to people who have played the game asks players if they have played the game1:35:12 - GAME staff discovered zero hours contracts move via mass Microsoft Teams calls1:50:24 - Open Roads review1:57:25 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow! Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:12 - Is Xbox Game Pass still worth the money?

0:54:01 - Should you even play games day one?

1:06:13 - Indie Game of the Week - Jump Ship (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1757300/Jump_Ship/)

1:10:01 - Why are younger generations embracing the retro game revival?

1:29:36 - Hidetaka Miyazaki's advice for challenging game design: 'Trust players'

1:37:31 - Capcom fans ask for new Dino Crisis and Mega Man games as sequel survey continues

1:44:01 - Why are we suddenly so obsessed with tracking player count numbers?

1:51:51 - Pokemon's $300 Venasaur Statue Uses Solar Beam To Light Up Your Room

1:53:45 - Stellar Blade Director Recommends Eve Wears As Much Clothing As Possible

2:03:01 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:11 - Xbox boss Phil Spencer "concerned" over layoffs due to lack of industry growth

0:43:59 - Everyone got mad about Dragon's Dogma 2 microtransactions

0:54:06 - Jim Ryan (booo)

0:59:21 - Moody is almost halfway to being a game industry veteran

1:09:46 - Indie Game of the Week - Blue Prince (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1569580/Blue_Prince/)

1:14:13 - Princess Peach Showtime Review

1:28:31 - Vitz's Monthly Gran Turismo Newsletter

1:32:58 - Amy's official complaint about the GDC Vault

1:34:47 - Game companies need to stand up to harassment campaigns (and so do we)

1:52:47 - Take-Two has purchased Gearbox from Embracer Group for US $460 million

1:59:19 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:51 - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth Review (spoiler free)

1:00:49 - Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth (and FF7 Disc 1) spoilers start here

1:26:00 - Indie Game of the Week - Everdeep Aurora (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2251400/Everdeep_Aurora/)

1:28:14 - Venba wins Grand Prize at the 2024 Independent Games Festival Awards

1:31:27 - IGN laying off three people without consulting newly formed Creators Guild union

1:35:07 - Skydance shows first trailer for Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra

1:40:33 - PlayStation veteran Connie Booth joins EA

1:43:20 - At the Game Developers Conference, the Games Industry Really Needed a Good Scream

1:47:00 - Are game studios suddenly abandoning Black developers?

1:55:00 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:19:30 - Akira Toriyama, Creator of Dragon Ball and Manga Pioneer, Dies at 68

0:25:54 - Activision QA workers form the largest US video game union yet

0:32:10 - Monster Hunter: World tops 25M sales to cement record-breaker status at Capcom

0:39:05 - What begins as a discussion about how good the Wii U was descends into carnage

0:54:54 - Indie Game of the Week - Nobody Wants To Die (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1939970/Nobody_Wants_to_Die/)

0:57:53 - For some Helldivers 2 players, the fascist role-play has gone too far

1:19:43 - Frost Fatales 2024 Reaches a New Frame Fatales Donation Record!

1:22:16 - Moody is done with Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

1:35:08 - Warner Bros. is now erasing games as it plans to delist Adult Swim-published titles

1:43:28 - PlayStation-backed studio Deviation Games is shutting down

1:53:54 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:04:11 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:16:01 - Amy's funny story of when she bought her Nintendo Wii

0:24:28 - Bring back Goat format in Yu-Gi-Oh: Master Duel

0:32:24 - Moody finally played D&D for the first time

0:37:38 - Survivor’s Guilt and the games industry layoffs

0:45:02 - Xbox Partner Showcase thoughts (and burning out on all the games showcases)

1:03:12 - Indie Game of the Week - Abyss X Zero (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2872300/ABYSS_X_ZERO/)

1:07:17 - World's First Museum Of Video Game Art Is Being Built In Japan

1:09:33 - Capcom is increasing its starting salary in Japan by more than 25%

1:16:19 - Short review embargos don’t mean games will be bad

1:26:16 - Amy tries to explain the ridiculous Sweet Baby Inc conspiracy theory to Moody

1:39:02 - Helldivers 2 director says there's no need to "compare" it with Halo - "just let gamers enjoy both"

1:43:01 - Ghost of Tsushima is coming to PC in May

1:45:17 - Don't rush the games you play

1:51:15 - Is this console generation (PS5/Xbox Series) going to be a disappointment?

2:05:11 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:07:47 - Amy found some old game consoles

0:17:55 - It has been a ruinous year for video games

1:00:30 - Indie Game of the Week - Slash Quest (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2718010/Slash_Quest/)

1:04:06 - Pacific Drive

1:22:24 - Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.43

1:29:52 - Amy finished her first Pokemon game (Violet)

1:39:30 - Pokemon Presents 2024 thoughts

1:44:41 - Remedy Entertainment buys Control series rights from 505 Games for €17m

1:57:31 - Alan Wake 2 speedrunner stops speedrun to do some dancing

1:58:34 - Sweet Home, The Movie That Inspired Resident Evil, Just Got Remastered (and it's on YouTube!)

2:07:53 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:06:20 - Amy is a Pokemon nerd now

0:17:37 - Amy's latest video essay is out now

0:25:00 - Moody's final thoughts on Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

0:31:53 - Nintendo Direct Partner Showcase thoughts

0:41:35 - Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree trailer thoughts

0:51:41 - Moody wants to talk about the Borderlands movie trailer

0:57:23 - Indie Game of the Week - Arco (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2366970/Arco/)

0:59:54 - IGN Creator's Guild union officially recognised

1:01:07 - DICE Awards 2024 reactions

1:25:57 - The Helldivers devs are pretty cool

1:32:03 - Elden Ring boss discusses Bloodborne remake, benefits of waiting for new hardware

1:35:44 - We need to talk about Embracer CEO Lars Wingefors

1:44:14 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

We delayed recording and releasing this podcast because we heard from our sources that Xbox was going to be a dead brand on Thursday, but then that didn't happen so Amy and Moody review the new Like A Dragon game.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:08:50 - Amy has a new video essay coming out soon

0:11:24 - Amy has been salvaging her old game consoles & games

0:21:33 - Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth Review

0:59:39 - Indie Game of the Week - Steam Next Fest Special Edition (Links in description)

1:10:10 - Xbox Business Update turns out to be basically nothing major, gamers still riot

1:37:38 - Discworld rerelease "may happen" but depends on "King Charles", developer says

1:41:29 - Gamers took a break from losing their minds over Xbox to argue about yellow paint

1:47:28 - Composer Yoko Shimomura and game designer Fawzi Mesmar honored at GDCA 2024

1:49:03 - Things seem to be going really well between Konami and Bloober regarding Silent Hill 2

1:52:35 - Sony Interactive Entertainment will not release “any new major existing franchise titles” before March 31, 2025

1:57:36 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Steam Next Fest games and links:

Coffee Caravan

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2649080/Coffee_Caravan/

Diceomancer

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2649080/Coffee_Caravan/

Cabernet

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401410/Cabernet/

Hollowbody

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2123640/Hollowbody/

Duck Detective: The Secret Salami

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2637990/Duck_Detective_The_Secret_Salami/

Berserk Boy

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1561340/Berserk_Boy/

Kind Words 2: Lo-Fi City Pop

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2118120/Kind_Words_2_lofi_city_pop/

Monomyth

https://store.steampowered.com/app/908360/Monomyth/

Realm of Ink

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2597080/Realm_of_Ink/

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:05:20 - Amy's kinda funny Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth story

0:13:06 - Amy needs help with gamer maths

0:16:35 - Trophy hunting

0:26:40 - Let’s talk about Grounded II: Making The Last of Us Part II

0:50:20 - Rumour: A New PlayStation Handheld Console Reportedly in the Works

0:58:52 - Indie Game of the Week - Isles of Sea and Sky (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1233070/Isles_of_Sea_and_Sky/)

1:04:01 - What do you even say about the Xbox discourse?

1:32:18 - 95% of studios aren't working on live service games, and y'all need to read news stories and not just headlines

1:35:56 - IGN employees are forming a union

1:41:31 - Capcom survey asks players if they want to see sequels or remakes of lapsed series

1:50:06 - Our Final Fantasy VII Rebirth State of Play thoughts

2:08:36 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:42 - State of Play thoughts

0:48:01 - Silent Hill: The Short Message

0:56:51 - The Last of Us Part 2 Remaster

1:02:47 - Is Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth more or less bannanas than the rest of the Yakuza games?

1:06:32 - Indie Game of the Week - Grunn (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2720950/Grunn/)

1:10:06 - Spec Ops: The Line has been delisted and that sucks

1:14:15 - Tencent CEO thinks its gaming business achieved nothing last year, for some reason

1:17:29 - The Internet lost its mind over Suicide Squad: Kill The Justice League

1:40:22 - Microsoft's made more than $7billion, probably didn't need to fire almost 2,000 people

1:50:33 - Our favourite indie game showcase Day of the Devs has gone independent

1:54:44 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:19:49 - Are AAA games sustainable?

0:45:47 - 5,900+ layoffs have been announced so far in 2024

1:03:27 - Indie Game of the Week - Little Problems: A Cozy Detective Game (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2653470/Little_Problems_A_Cozy_Detective_Game/)

1:05:09 - Awesome Games Done Quick 2024 was a great celebration of gaming, raised more than $2.5million for charity

1:11:48 - Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown

1:20:10 - Turnip Boy Robs A Bank

1:24:34 - Gran Turismo 7 Update 1.42

1:28:43 - The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

1:33:38 - The Last of Us: Part II Remastered

1:34:33 - Vitz tries to explain Palworld to Amy & Moody

1:53:52 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Surprise!

In a bonus episode we get the gang back together to draft our 2024 Fantasy Game Critic league.

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

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Amy & Vitz are joined by special guest Sadie Flayeh to talk about some of the games that impacted them throughout their lives.

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:11:37 - The Fight Tearing Apart The Game Awards (https://www.wired.com/story/the-game-awards-israel-palestine-open-letter-future-class/)

0:16:15 - What if we didn't glorify and monetise the Insomniac leaks?

0:18:15 - Game of the Year 2023 - Introduction

0:20:31 - Game of the Year 2023 - Building Our Long List

0:29:25 - Game of the Year 2023 - Trimming The List

1:15:13 - Game of the Year 2023 - Building Our Top 10

1:55:57 - Cooling Down

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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This episode has a ton of technical issues. Discord kept freezing. I apologise, we did our best to talk around it.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:54 - Achievement/Trophy Hunting

0:24:48 - The games of 2024

1:26:36 - Predictions and general chat about 2024

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Check out the Words About Games Diaries blog at wordsaboutgames.net

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:30 - The existential horror of the YouTube algorithm

0:22:54 - Doctor Who

0:31:32 - A Highland Song

0:45:06 - American Arcadia

0:49:46 - Sea of Stars

0:59:05 - The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom

1:02:25 - Indie Game of the Week - Wild Bastards (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1660840/Wild_Bastards/)

1:06:25 - GTA6 officially revealed

1:12:55 - Dragon Age: Dreadwolf exists!

1:17:07 - Sony is being sued for UK PlayStation store pricing

1:19:58 - Sony removes users purchased movies & TV series

1:23:19 - Bethesda responds to negative user reviews on Steam

1:31:07 - Nintendo Live event followed after staff threatened

1:33:35 - E3 is officially dead

1:47:03 - Bungie is at risk of full Sony takeover, morale in the studio has plummeted

2:00:02 - Spider-Man 2 vs Baldur's Gate social media discourse is ridiculous

2:09:45 - Fantasy critic check-in

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:06:46 - The Game Awards was a terrible "celebration of video games"

1:04:33 - The award winners

1:31:17 - The trailers

2:07:14 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head - The final results

2:14:08 - Fantasy Critic check-in

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:39 - Backlogs & Burnout

1:08:43 - Indie Game of the Week - Selfloss (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1086620/Selfloss/)

1:10:48 - Chants of Sennaar & In Stars And Time

1:15:43 - Fight, Magic, Items

1:17:58 - TV shows

1:29:21 - A dev reckons Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is launching next year

1:32:05 - YouTuber recreates Legend of Zelda as a Studio Ghibli style film

1:34:08 - Gamers(TM) lose their minds over an LGBTQ+ flag in Suicide Squad gameplay footage

1:39:43 - Atlus are raising their average annual salary by fifteen percent

1:44:38 - Black Myth: Wukong devs accused of enabling a sexist culture at studio

1:52:29 - Gender discrimination lawsuit against Pokemon Go developer Niantic is going ahead

2:06:31 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:10:03 - Fantasy Critic Check-In (it all comes down to A Highland Song)

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:13:14 - Games Amy wants to play & the insidiousness of "missing" games

0:33:22 - Did the technical limitations of older games help creativity?

1:03:24 - Indie Game of the Week - Tiny Glade (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2198150/Tiny_Glade/)

1:07:18 - Slay The Princess

1:19:21 - Thirsty Suitors

1:32:45 - Baldur's Gate 3

1:44:24 - Getting ready for Final Fantasy VII: Rebirth

1:54:20 - Coccoon

2:01:08 - The final run to our Game of the Year discussion

2:06:49 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:10:14 - Fantasy Critic Check-In (the Amy vs Vitz titanic clash)

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:19:04 - The Game Awards nominations have been announced

1:02:45 - Genocide is bad, actually

1:06:31 - Indie Game of the Week - Excuse Me Sir (https://airdorf.itch.io/excuse-me-sir)

1:09:00 - What if we were in charge of the Game Awards

2:02:55 - WAP lore

2:03:52 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:29:41 - Predicting Game of the Year

0:59:24 - Indie Game of the Week - Grifford Academy (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2445780/Grifford_Academy/)

1:04:23 - Silent Hill: Ascension

1:20:18 - Mario Kart 8 Deluxe - Booster Course Pack (Final Wave)

1:28:38 - New Mass Effect 5 teaser revealed for N7 Day

1:42:20 - PlayStation has delayed half of its live service games

1:51:41 - Warner Bros. is focusing on turning its biggest franchises into live service games

1:55:43 - Xbox employees to lose free Xbox Game Pass Ultimate benefit

1:58:54 - Nintendo is helping retirees in Japan tear it up in Mario Kart

2:02:30 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:22:04 - Alan Wake 2 excitement

0:24:10 - Spider-Man 2

0:36:00 - Trophy hunting & backlogs

0:42:03 - "Best looking" games

0:56:16 - Indie "Game" of the Week - Cry Club Studios (https://cryclubstudios.crd.co)

1:00:28 - Talking about YouTube ads

1:04:15 - Xbox Partner Showcase

1:13:30 - Capcom is selling lots of games

1:16:50 - Starfield is driving Game Pass subs

1:24:36 - Buy the Games for Gaza Bundle on itch.io (https://itch.io/b/2120/games-for-gaza)

1:27:16 - Spider-Man 2 is the fastest selling PS Studio game ever

1:29:43 - Fallout TV show premieres next April

1:32:19 - Final Fantasy Rebirth reckons OG FF7 is difficult to get into

1:38:17 - Nintendo accounts will ease transition to Switch successor

1:43:41 - What's happening next week?

1:50:30 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:22 - Moody has discovered 24/7 chill gaming streams

0:25:57 - Microsoft has finally bought Activision Blizzard

0:44:31 - Persona 5 Royal

0:54:31 - Assassin's Creed Mirage

1:08:32 - Indie Game of the Week - Born of Bread (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1555140/Born_of_Bread/)

1:12:39 - moody's time to shine???

1:13:15 - Pete Hines is retiring from Bethesda

1:18:21 - Super Mario Bros. (1993) Is Getting A New Worldwide Release In 4K

1:20:21 - Cities: Skylines 2 performance has "not achieved the benchmark we targeted", Paradox admits ahead of launch

1:32:23 - Report: 53% of devs say toxic behavior has worsened in past year

1:41:37 - EGX Comes Under Fire For Sexism, Security Concerns

1:54:03 - Streamer's Shiba Inu to become first dog speedrunner at AGDQ 2024

1:57:00 - What's happening next week?

2:07:32 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:57 - There are too many games, and we're playing none of them

0:36:15 - James Corden hosted an Activision Blizzard town hall

0:40:39 - Disney reportedly looking to acquire major publisher like EA

0:54:19 - Indie Game of the Week - The Drifter (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1170570/The_Drifter/)

1:02:12 - Unity CEO John Riccitiello 'retiring' from company weeks after pricing controversy

1:12:14 - Redfall's Steam Player Count Is Dropping Into Single Figures

1:30:17 - Telltale Games lays off staff in response to "current market conditions"

1:39:17 - Ubisoft says it's "on the right path" following sexual harassment allegations

1:45:28 - CD Projekt Red, Avalanche Studios developers unionise

1:53:17 - What's happening next week?

1:59:51 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:10:27 - Amy's been playing Final Fantasy X

0:19:13 - Is 2023 The Horniest Year of Gaming So Far?

0:43:43 - Forza Motorsport Impressions

0:54:58 - Under The Waves Impressions

0:59:00 - Cocoon Review

1:05:47 - Indie Game of the Week - Core Decay (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1260940/Core_Decay/)

1:08:30 - zoidberg

1:11:47 -Bramble: The Mountain King wins Best Independent Game at NYX Game Awards 2023

1:14:19 - Vitz watched the Gran Turismo movie

1:21:58 - Stop trying to “fix” women’s faces in video games you fucking melts

1:29:00 - Hatoful Boyfriend creator alleges Epic never paid her royalties

1:33:33 - Significant job losses likely at Worms publisher Team17

1:47:38 - Report: Naughty Dog lays off "dozens" of contract developers

1:58:05 - Ex-BioWare employees sue studio over "shortchanged" severance

2:03:12 - Keywords Studios' unionised Dragon Age QA team laid off

2:10:42 - What's happening next week?

2:13:06 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:20:32 - Starfield Review

0:56:35 - Algorithms

1:01:38 - Indie Game of the Week - Garden Buddies (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2429090/GardenBuddies/)

1:05:40 - SAG-AFTRA members vote overwhelmingly in favour of authorising a video game strike

1:10:35 - Jim Ryan announces retirement

1:20:54 - Capcom exec thinks game prices are too low

1:29:46 - Hundreds more layoffs hit industry despite massive year

1:43:07 - Nintendo Switch 2 hardware details revealed in Activision court filing

1:54:07 - What's happening next week?

2:03:56 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:15:43 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Vitz everywhere @VitzPatel

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:25:58 - Xbox suffers biggest leak in gaming history

1:08:56 - Indie Game of the Week - This Bed We Made (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1243850/This_Bed_We_Made/)

1:12:11 - NexusMods Bans Starfield Pronoun Removal Mod

1:14:41 - State of Play highlights

1:18:43 - Starfield has hit 10million players

1:21:16 - The Division 3 has been announced

1:24:41 - Square Enix will "upgrade" old properties to triple-A games to boost portfolio

1:31:40 - Unity apologises for “confusion” around runtime fee

1:37:37 - Final Fantasy 7: Rebirth exclusivity

1:40:11 - Embracer layoffs continue

1:48:00 - Ubisoft Montreal's mandatory return-to-office order reportedly leaves staff in "turmoil"

2:01:05 - What's happening next week?

2:03:00 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:13:12 - Amy played Bramble: The Mountain King

0:17:08 - Goodbye Volcano High review

0:33:49 - The Expanse episode 4 thoughts

0:37:21 - Nintendo Direct thoughts

0:48:24 - Indie Game of the Week - Chessarama (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1831830/Chessarama/)

0:51:44 - 'An astonishing scumbag move': Indie developers react to surprise Unity engine pricing changes

1:25:31 - Forza Motorsport includes a blind driving assist mode

1:29:43 - Reports suggest Embracer Group is looking to sell Gearbox Software

1:35:18 - Report: Square Enix suffering from mismanagement, "ad hoc dev process"

1:52:40 - What's happening next week?

2:02:35 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:24:12 - The Internet Is Having Totally Normal Reactions To Starfield

0:53:41 - Indie Game of the Week - Holstin (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2235430/Holstin/)

1:01:43 - E3 2024 reportedly in doubt

1:05:52 - Nintendo reportedly show off “Switch 2” behind closed doors at Gamescom

1:09:36 - Tears of the Kingdom producer Eiji Aonuma says no plans for DLC, sequel

1:17:59 - SAG-AFTRA game actors could go on strike

1:22:52 - Skull & Bones has lost its third creative director

1:28:38 - IATSE survey: Developers feel their jobs are unsustainable

1:38:55 - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 has a new developer, 2024 release window

1:42:54 - Alone In The Dark reboot delayed to January 2024

1:48:35 - Baldur’s Gate 3 Creative Director pushes back against the game being “a standard” for games

2:01:29 - What's happening next week?

2:06:33 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:22:08 - Baldur's Gate 3 Review

0:59:53 - Indie Game of the Week - Bye Sweet Carole (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2428980/Bye_Sweet_Carole/)

1:03:01 - Words About Books

1:09:22 - Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew dev is shutting down

1:18:34 - Elder Scrolls 6 is now in early development

1:21:14 - Saints Row developer Volition closing down with immediate effect

1:30:58 - Weirdos Online Already Worried That Starfield Will Be "Woke"

1:39:45 - Lae'zel From Baldur's Gate 3 Sparks Debate On How We Treat Female Characters

1:52:13 - BioWare lays off senior writing staff as part of its recent job cuts

2:00:48 - What's happening next week?

2:04:41 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:12:35 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

0:23:19 - Let’s Chat About Starfield’s Title Screen (But Not Really)

0:38:41 - sexy times in baldurs gate (part 1)

0:44:49 - moodys ominous countdown

0:47:28 - Indie Game of the Week - Beecarbonize (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2486750/Beecarbonize/)

0:49:14 - sexy times in baldurs gate (part 2)

0:51:47 - Moody learned what save scumming is for the first time this week

0:58:58 - Gamescom 2023 thoughts

1:19:28 - Baldur’s Gate 3 coming to Xbox Series X/S this year

1:32:24 - Bioware is laying off 50 people to become “more agile” and “focused”

1:47:35 - Next God of War seemingly in development at Santa Monica Studios

1:50:11 - Mario’s voice actor is stepping back from role

1:52:35 - NBA 2K24 is adding a second $20 season pass

1:56:19 - Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines 2 could release in October

1:58:51 - What's happening next week

2:11:15 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky and Instagram @itsmeamykate .

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:36 - Baldur’s Gate 3 & Industry Standards

1:05:03 - Indie Game of the Week - Fruitbus (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2484130/Fruitbus/)

1:07:18 - how the turn tables

1:08:18 - Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical review

1:22:23 - The Expanse episode 2 thoughts

1:28:28 - glitter o'clock

1:29:30 - Exoprimal might include Dino Crisis content in the future

1:33:33 - Starfield has gone gold

1:36:52 - The Pokemon Company is having conversations about game quality, won’t slow down release schedule

1:44:34 - Let’s Build A Zoo is getting an aquarium expansion

1:47:29 - STALKER 2: Heart of Chornobyl releases this December, according to distributor

1:50:26 - Overwatch 2 is now the “worst game of all time” according to Steam reviews

1:54:23 - Shadow Gambit: The Cursed Crew and The Cosmic Wheel Sisterhood look cool & are reviewing really well

1:56:40 - What's happening next week?

2:03:50 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Bluesky & Instagram @itsmeamykate

Follow Moody on Bluesky @dafyddmoody

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:19 - Venba Review (Spoiler Warning)

0:49:48 - Indie Game of the Week - Samurai Unicorn (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2494020/Samurai_Unicorn/)

0:51:48 - Phil Spencer played Bramble (and Amy hasn't yet)

0:56:48 - Baldur’s Gate 3 is apparently too woke for Internet losers

1:17:36 - A couple of non-woke fun facts about Baldur’s Gate 3

1:27:01 - This week’s Pokemon Presents showcase allegedly used fan made music without permission

1:31:20 - Red Dead Redemption is coming to Nintendo Switch & PlayStation 4

1:36:07 - Final Fantasy 16 did not meet Square Enix’s sales expectations

1:41:13 - Metal Gear series has now sold over 60 million copies

1:44:20 - Sony has internally delayed several first-party games out of the current fiscal year

1:48:03 - Hideki Kamiya believes Japanese developers should be proud of the term “JRPG”

1:59:14 - What's happening next week?

2:00:40 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow our special guest Vitz @vitzpatel everywhere on social media

Follow Amy Kate on Blueksy and Instagram @itsmeamykate

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:26:06 - Body of Mine puts users in a virtual body of a different gender

0:42:20 - Viewfinder Review

0:57:34 - Indie Game of the Week - Pocket Wheels (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1129360/Pocket_Wheels/)

1:01:50 - The Witcher producer blames Americans and social media for Netflix series' simplified plot

1:20:06 - PlayStation 5 has passed 40m units sold

1:25:06 - A few months after announcing layoffs, Take Two pays its top two execs $72million

1:27:45 - Nintendo had a record quarter thanks to Tears of the Kingdom

1:32:28 - Nintendo Switch successor reportedly not coming until at least late 2024

1:36:48 - Microsoft will have a massive presence at Gamescom

1:40:30 - Final Fantasy 14 is coming to Xbox

1:43:07 - Resident Evil 2 Remake is now the best selling game in the series

1:46:03 - Larian says Baldur’s Gate 3 won’t set standards for RPG’s

1:49:23 - What are all of Moody's Displate posters?

1:50:42 - What's happening next week?

1:56:38 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody discuss a follow up report about Zenimax's lack of support for its LGBTQ+ community, review embargos, Amy's first ever Pokemon team and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - uh oh

0:01:22 - Intro

0:21:00 - Report: Zenimax Is Doing "Nothing" To Combat Anti-LGBTQ+ Bigotry In ESO

0:50:43 - The Expanse: A Telltale Series Episode 1 Review

1:05:41 - Indie Game of the Week - Luto (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1729740/Luto/)

1:10:46 - Twenty Minutes Till Dawn Impressions

1:16:34 - Video game mental health charity Safe in Our World launches interactive journal to help users track their mental health

1:20:20 - The Baldur’s Gate 3 review embargo is absurd

1:35:14 - Star Wars: Outlaws won’t be “a 300 hour unfinishable epic”

1:43:52 - Dolphin Emulator abandons Steam release plans after Nintendo legal threat

1:48:11 - Sea of Stars is launching Day 1 on PS Plus

1:53:36 - Video game historian finds $10,000 arcade cabinet on the street

1:57:10 - Moody reviews Amy's first ever Pokemon team

2:07:20 - What's happening next week?

2:09:10 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram

@reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody are joined by Joe Medforce to talk the horrific allegations from an ex-Zenimax Online trans employee and Joe's upcoming independent feature film Blood Disco (which you can support at the links below).

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:24:24 - Elder Scrolls Online Studio Allegedly Held Healthcare “Hostage” To Get Rid Of Trans Employee

0:53:58 - Scarlet Deer Inn - https://store.steampowered.com/app/1553260/Scarlet_Deer_Inn/

0:58:00 - Dave The Diver Review

1:11:37 - Major Nelson is leaving Microsoft after two decades

1:18:36 - Microsoft is replacing Xbox Live Gold with Game Pass Core

1:29:56 - Microsoft-Activision deal deadline extended

1:35:37 - PlayStation Access controller launches this December

1:43:35 - Bungie is abandoning the Destiny subreddit due to abuse

1:47:07 - What's happening next week?

1:55:28 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:05:19 - Dance To Your Death

SUPPORT BLOOD DISCO:

blooddisco.com

ko-fi.com/blooddisco

Follow Joe Medforce on all the socials @JoeMedforce

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

It was a slow news week, so Amy & Moody discuss the amazing Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, before talking about a grab bag of gaming new stories.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:09:50 - Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is pretty amazing

0:30:45 - This week's episode is weird

0:31:38 - The Last of Us nominated for 24 Emmys

0:40:12 - Capcom is “discussing” remakes of unnumbered Resident Evil titles (like Code Veronica)

0:46:19 - Square Enix is considering remastering more of its back catalogue

0:56:02 - 87% of classic games are unavailable

1:05:54 - Indie Game of the Week - Frogue (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1936990/FROGUE/)

1:08:54 - Dutch government to ban loot boxes

1:14:05 - Microsoft’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard moves closer to completion

1:28:52 - Sega of America workers successfully vote to form a union

1:31:25 - Sega says pay-to-earn blockchain games are boring, announces one anyway

1:34:55 - EA reveals new studio Cliffhanger Games, working on a Black Panther title

1:40:05 - A petition for South Korean ratings board to change a game rating led to an investigation that uncovered massive corruption

1:43:20 - ID@Xbox’s Chris Charla believes there’s less need to separate AAA games and indie games

1:52:53 - Peter Molyneux teases his next game, which has an idea that’s “never been seen in a game”

1:54:18 - Apple reportedly scaling down Vision Pro headset production

1:56:39 - What's happening next week? (with streaming & video essay updates)

2:11:28 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter or Bluesky @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:21:10 - Final Fantasy XVI

0:42:35 - Aliens: Dark Descent

0:55:08 - AEW: Fight Forever

1:05:16 - Indie Game of the Week - Abandonware: The Horror Collection (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1813470/Abandonware__The_Horror_Collection/)

1:10:06 - Skullgirls is getting review bombed because the devs removed Nazi stuff & underage sexualization

1:15:41 - NoClip is attempting to preserve a massive chunk of gaming history

1:23:25 - Microsoft reckons a PS5 Slim is releasing later this year

1:29:04 - Perfect Dark development tells a depressingly familiar story

1:55:10 - Annapurna Interactive Showcase 2023

2:01:03 - What's happening next week?

2:07:57 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:14:25 - Our Favourite Games of 2023 So Far

0:45:17 - Our Most Anticipated Games For The Rest of 2023

1:11:33 - Guerilla Games has included a tribute to Lance Reddick in Horizon: Forbidden West update

1:14:03 - Pokemon earbuds!

1:16:33 - Activision Blizzard Acquisition Lawsuit Revelations

1:43:47 - E3 2024 and 2025 may have been cancelled?

1:48:32 - Among Us is getting an animated show

1:51:33 - Sonic Superstars is too fast to have online multiplayer

1:53:58 - What's happening next week?

1:55:41 - OpenCritic head-to-head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

This week Amy and Moody talks about development cycles, live service games, the woman (singular) who was apparently due to appear at Summer Game Fest, and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:22 - Xbox Game Studios chief says people need to realise games now take 4-6 years to make

0:30:52 - PlayStation's live service ambitions

0:45:34 - Amy’s 13 Favourite Steam Next Fest Demos (In 20 Words Or Less)

1:07:53 - Goodbye Volcano High is the Tribeca Games Spotlight 2023 winner

1:10:52 - Nintendo Direct thoughts

1:23:28 - Geoff Keighley says woman was due to appear on Summer Game Fest stage

1:35:20 - Hundreds Of PlayStation Fans Sign Petition To Make Starfield PS5 Exclusive

1:39:25 - Respawn worked on Titanfall 3 "in earnest" for 10 months before shifting focus to Apex Legends

1:45:02 - Microsoft is hiking the price of Xbox Series X and Xbox Game Pass

1:50:57 - What's happening next week?

1:56:26 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

2:02:50 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

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Amy and Moody watched like 200 video game trailers and they have lots of thoughts and more than a few favourites.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:09:35 - What did we think of Summer Game Fest?

0:22:21 - What did we think of the Xbox Showcase?

0:36:11 - What did we think of the Starfield Direct?

0:42:25 - What did we think of the other showcases (Day of the Devs, Wholesome Direct, etc)

1:05:30 - What the hell was the PC Gaming Show this year?

1:10:39 - The games we are most excited about from the Summer showcases

1:58:02 - What's happening next week?

2:05:10 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy and Moody talk about their expectations, hopes and dreams for the Summer of Gaming (E3).

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:16 - Summer of Gaming rundown

0:23:36 - What are we most excited for?

0:29:48 - Expectations

0:47:33 - Hopes

1:01:03 - Dreams

1:22:02 - Wildcard

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

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Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy and Moody talk about the shitheel running Activision Blizzard, Moody reviews Like A Dragon Ishin, they both review Planet of Lana & Star Trek: Resurgence, and more!

Also Discord crashed at one point but I think I covered it quite well.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:17:41 - Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick blames scandals on "a very aggressive labor movement"

0:30:51 - Activision Blizzard substantiated more than two dozen misconduct incidents by employees last year

0:44:45 - Redfall suffered unclear direction during development, new report suggests

1:03:07 - ‘Last of Us’ Multiplayer Video Game Faces Setbacks at Sony

1:12:04 - Indie Game of the Week - Bits And Bops (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1929290/Bits__Bops/)

1:15:35 - Planet of Lana Review

1:30:23 - Like A Dragon Ishin Review

1:40:44 - Star Trek: Resurgence Review

2:00:59 - What's Happening Next Week

2:04:16 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy & Moody talk about this week's PlayStation Showcase, how Amy got mad at some discourse she saw on social media, the status of the KOTOR Remake, and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:07 - PlayStation Showcase Reactions

1:10:43 - Indie Game of the Week - Videoverse (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2079180/VIDEOVERSE/)

1:13:44 - moody takes control

1:14:54 - Fanboys :/

1:28:18 - Embracer CEO Has "No Further Comments" On KOTOR Remake

1:32:22 - $2 billion partnership deal falls through for Embracer Group

1:36:13 - Dead Island 2 exceeds internal expectations after topping 2 million sales

1:38:58 - I seduced Joe Biden easily in Steam's newest dating sim, then he said I was too old for him

1:42:04 - Japanese authorities make their first arrest over video game spoilers

1:45:29 - What's happening next week?

1:48:47 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod

Amy has played a lot of Tears of the Kingdom (as have a lot of people) and she wants to tell Moody about it this week. Also discussed - Overwatch 2's PvE changes, more about the Activision Blizzard acquisition, and more.

Time Stamps:

0:00:00 - Intro

0:18:16 - Amy's Tears of the Kingdom initial thoughts

0:33:06 - Tears of the Kingdom has sold 10m copies in 3 days

0:44:39 - Lack of accessibility options in TOTK is disappointing

0:51:22 - Indie Game of the Week - Cabernet (https://store.steampowered.com/app/2401410/Cabernet/)

0:56:13 - moody can't drink successfully

0:57:43 - Overwatch 2 Fans Are Furious Over Dramatic PvE Changes

1:05:10 - Chancellor says UK regulator must "understand wider responsibilities" after Microsoft Activision deal block

1:16:27 - Microsoft CEO Refuses To Rule Out Pulling Activision Games From The UK

1:21:31 - Riot's $100 million gender discrimination settlement granted final approval

1:26:52 - Sony obliged to refund players' money for FIFA FUT packs, after Austrian loot box ruling goes unchallenged

1:35:06 - What's happening next week?

1:48:29 - OpenCritic Head-To-Head

1:55:30 - Fantasy Critic Check-In

Want to hang out with us while we play games? Head over to twitch.tv/wordsaboutgames and drop us a follow!

Support our work on Ko-Fi - ko-fi.com/wordsaboutgames

Follow Amy Kate on Twitter @jerobolod or over on Instagram @reallyjerobolod