The Besties
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416 episodes
This week, The Besties bring a crop of games that hadn't received the time and attention they deserve: Children of Morta, Core Keeper, Grapple Dogs: Cosmic Canines. Plus, Griffin shares his favorite exercise games, and Justin talks at length about a TV show that might not be real. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Everybody on the crew agrees that Astrobot is a top contender for Game of the Year. But one member believes that the Sony exclusive is the best platformer of all time. Yes, even better than every Mario game. In this episode, The Besties discuss Sony’s humongous win of the week and its inexplicable own goal — the PS5 Pro. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week, The Besties travel to a galaxy far, far away to play Star Wars: Outlaws. The crew also talks about some delightful new indies, including Bloodless and Fields of Mistria. Plus, CHIMP CRAZY?! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Black Myth Wukong is a sequel to the 16th-century Chinese novel Journey to the West. It’s also a AAA action game with a spectacular opening that channel’s the scale of Asura’s Wrath. You remember Asura’s Wrath, right? In this episode, the crew discusses the game, the book, and many adaptations. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Tactical Breach Wizards looks like XCOM, plays like FTL, and has writing as good if not better than most RPGs. Rarely are all four Besties this hyped for the same game, but here we are! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
The Operator is a spy game set entirely on the desktop computer of a government employee. We call this sort of game a UI RPG. We talk about other entries in this growing genre and then open the mailbag to answer some particularly excellent questions. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
What makes a video game funny? This week, The Besties try World of Goo 2, the sequel to one of the original silly indie games. In the back half, they wax poetic on Thank Goodness You’re Here, the most comically British game… ever? Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
SteamWorld Heist 2 is one of the year’s best surprises. The turn-based tactics shooter builds on its 2015 predecessor in practically every way, transforming into a rich mishmash of story, adventuring, and thrilling shootouts. In the back half, The Besties make progress on emptying the mailbag with a lengthy AMA. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week, Nintendo challenges the Besties to become elite speedrunners. Can they beat Mario in minutes? Will they transform into a morph ball in mere seconds? Nintendo World Championships: NES Edition helps the crew test the limits of their skills. Plus, Dungeons of Hinterberg blends Persona hangout session with Zelda’s dungeon-crawling combat. NOTE: This episode of the Besties was recorded before the announcement of the SAG-AFTRA strike against major video game publishers. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
We have talked about dozens of awesome games in 2024, yet we still missed several tasty delights. This week, the Besties take solo journeys across the world of gaming and return with some fascinating discoveries. Want a remake of a ‘90s classic? Or an FPS about sneakers? Have we got the games for you! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
We stand at the midpoint of 2024. Behind us, we see a towering pile of video games. We reach into the stack and pull something loose. It’s Balatro! We grab another game from the rubble! Like a Dragon! Together, the Besties retrieve the best games of the year from this mess and bring only the best! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Nintendo’s final year of Switch has been a bizarre mishmash of remakes and spinoffs. Luigi’s Mansion 2 continues that trend, updating the 2013 3DS jaunt for a 2024 audience. Can a decade-old game meet the expectations of Luigi’s Mansion 3 fans? And what other 3DS games should Nintendo update next? Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Can the game of the year be a DLC expansion? This week, The Besties discuss Elden Ring: The Shadow of the Erdtree, the highly anticipated addition to one of the greatest games of all time. Is it too hard? How is it different from the original game? Can The Besties get gud? In the back half, what do we want from FromSoftware moving forward? Listen to find out! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Nintendo can't be stopped! With the Nintendo Switch 2 coming in 2025, we expected 2024 to be a slow year for the iconic game publisher. We were wrong. We open the show with a long convo about the big announcements, including a Zelda game starring Zelda. In the back half, The Besties hop into Destiny 2 one last time to try the last major update, The Final Shape. The MMO FPS launched in 2017 -- the same year Nintendo announced Metroid Prime 4. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Hundreds of games were shown during the Summer Game Fest. The Besties spotlight some of their favorites, while discussing the strange and messy state of the video game industry in 2024. Is SGF the E3 replacement of our dreams? How should we feel about Xbox’s big moment? Are small games the future? We attempt to provide some answers! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month! Use code BESTIES at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/besties https://www.google.com/url?q=https://incogni.com/besties&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1716227026307843&usg=AOvVaw13q_l8SRSvO-jTF_oOM9V-
Prince of Persia is back — again! For the second time this year, Ubisoft has released a new Prince of Persia game that shifts the series to a new genre. Rogue Prince of Persia is, as the name suggests, a roguelike. Built by the team that steered Dead Cells through its later updates, Rogue Prince of Persia builds on that game’s formula in clever ways. But! In a market full of killer games in this genre, where does this new one stand? Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week’s special guest is Mario! Or as some people say, Merry-O. The most popular plumber on our podcast returns with a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. This might shock you, but Griffin is in love. What about the rest of the crew? In the back half, the Besties share their best guesses for Summer Game Fest. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Here’s a short list of indie games released in May: Crow Country, Animal Well, Arctic Eggs, 1000xResist, Skald, Hades 2, Indika, and the list goes on. We’ve already discussed some of those games. We'll discuss more in the future. Today, the game we’ve fished from the Great Indie Game Flood of 2024 is Lorelei and the Laser Eyes, the latest puzzling adventure from Simogo. Bring your notepad! It’s time to crack the case! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month! Use code BESTIES at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/besties https://www.google.com/url?q=https://incogni.com/besties&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1716227026307843&usg=AOvVaw13q_l8SRSvO-jTF_oOM9V-
The Besties went through HELL to record this episode. With Griffin and Justin out, Frushtick and Plante prepared to record with a special guest. But after Plante spilled water all over his recording set up, Frushtick was left to talk about Hades 2 as the sole Besty. Fortunately, he had back up. Into the Aether's Brendon Bigley joined the show for the podcast crossover event of the year! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
The gang has a spoiler-free discussion of one of the most intriguing games of the year, Animal Well. Will Griffin's life ever be the same? Probably not! We also dive into some of the horrendous studio closures happening this week. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month! Use code BESTIES at the link below to get an exclusive 60% off an annual Incogni plan: https://incogni.com/besties https://www.google.com/url?q=https://incogni.com/besties&sa=D&source=editors&ust=1715107257712625&usg=AOvVaw1XHPTjMGH4OcCkIuxPTWS6
What if you combined Dark Souls and Diablo, then added a pinch of city-building mechanics and survivor elements? You’d get No Rest for the Wicked from Moon Studios, the team best known for the Ori games. It’s ambitious and bound to inspire conversations — even in its Early Access stage. In the back half, Plante updates the team on 2024’s best nun simulator: Indika! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Special guest Lucy James (GameSpot, Giant Bomb, Frames Per Second Podcast) joins Frushtick and Plante to discuss Another Crab’s Treasure. Have you ever wondered what it would have looked like had Rare made a Souls-like in the early ‘00s? Now you have an answer! Plus, the crew shares updates on other games they’ve been playing, from Stellar Blade to TopSpin 2K25. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Duck and cover! This week, The Besties discuss the first two episodes of the excellent Fallout TV series. Then, they talk through the ways the Fallout approach could alter the trajectory of video game adaptations. Plus: a bunch of great listener recommendations! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week, The Besties share their favorite “rainy day” games! These are the games we dig out when we’re feeling blue and need something that provides a quick dose of comfort. Turns out our list is quite long! In the back half, we do the rare Besties spoilercast with Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth — a.k.a. one of 2024’s best games. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week we've got a game inspired by the SNES era and a game that probably shouldn't have come out at all. We'll also find out just what Justin thinks about Dragon's Dogma 2, and what's going on with the Stardew Valley 1.6 update. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Dragon’s Dogma 2 is the best game of the year? Or is it the buggiest? It might be the most divisive! This week, The Besties talk about the wildly ambitious (and difficult to run on most hardware) fantasy RPG from Capcom. Plus, we take a deep dive into the reader mail pool. Did we mention we keep all the letters in a pool, Scrooge McDuck-style? Because we do. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
Team Ninja has been busy! In the past five years, the studio released Dead or Alive 6, Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3, Nioh 2, Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin, and Wo Long: Fallen Dynasty. Their latest game, Rise of the Ronin, compiles everything they learned into their most ambitious project: a sprawling open-world samurai adventure set in a recreation of mid-19th century Japan. Rise of the Ronin takes the “something for everyone” approach, blending the exploration and loot systems of recent Assassin’s Creed games with the quick-reflex sword fighting of the studio’s Nioh series. This video game smoothie is quite delicious — if you can stomach the occasional funky chunk of game mechanics. In the back half, we talk about our favorite under-appreciated open-world games. Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week, the squad puts on their armor, grabs their swords, and mounts their gallant steads to charge into Unicorn Overlord. The tactics RPG is the latest game from Vanillaware, the developer of niche masterpieces like Odin Sphere and 13 Sentinels. In the back half, Justin introduce the team to Banishers, a game that blends Witcher and God of War. How did we not hear about this one until now? And how often does a game depict a healthy marriage like this one?! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
The Besties take a trip into the not-so-distant future of video games, digging into a batch of awesome demos from Steam Next Fest. Whether you want to live the life of anime-style Duke Nukem or an alternate reality 19th century nun, you will be satisfied! Get the full list of games (and other stuff) discussed at www.besties.fan http://www.besties.fan/. Want more episodes? Join us at patreon.com/thebesties http://patreon.com/thebesties for three bonus episodes each month!
This week, we're evangelizing for two indie games that have completely consumed every moment of our free time: The rock and stone-fueled auto-shooter Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor, and the poker deckbuilder Balatro! We're going to go back to playing those, now. Enjoy the episode. Also discussed: Final Fantasy VII Rebirth, Helldivers 2, Riders of Justice, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Frieren: Beyond Journey's End, Elden Ring Subscribe to our newsletter at besties.fan!
