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ASMR Segment
0:01:25 Bayonetta 3
0:01:50 Doom Eternal Impressions - Both Hosts
0:03:00 Rock'n'Roll McDonalds
0:05:10 Le White Burger Royale
0:09:50 PGA Tour 2021 Impressions - Phil Fogg
0:10:50 Chicken'n'Cheese w/ Sweet'n'Sour
0:12:40 Vegan Cultural Appropriation
News
0:15:06 Valve's Steamdeck
First Impressions - Phil
0:21:25 Sky: Children of Light - Phil Fogg on Switch
0:23:05 Cheeseburger in Lockdown Paradise
0:42:15 Little Prince Season Impressions - Tom Towers
0:49:15 How Big is Sky?
0:49:45 What's the Hook?
First Impressions - Tom and Phil (Explicit)
0:57:42 The First Tree - PC
0:57:56 But first, Amazon Prime Games
1:04:16 In defense of the makers of this game
Trademark Banter
1:05:30 A Plague's Tale Sequel and Watermelon Gatorade & Soda Stream
1:09:45 Lockdown Land and the Steamdeck vs. Switch OLED
First Impressions - Tom and Phil
01:14:13 Before I Forget - PC
01:21:17 Spoilers from here
First Impressions - Tom
01:26:26 Yakuza: Like a Dragon & Judgement News
Final Impressions - Tom and Phil
01:41:22 Not Tonight - PC and Switch
Outro
01:58:45 What's going on on gameunder.net?
Transcript
WEBVTT
00:00:07.240 --> 00:00:12.820
Tom: Hello and welcome to Episode 136 of The Game Under Podcast.
00:00:13.060 --> 00:00:32.360
Tom: And I've received a little bit of feedback from several people, literally several people on Sky Children of Light that I know, who have for some reason listened to The Game Under Podcast, making up perhaps 50% of our total audience at the moment.
00:00:33.320 --> 00:00:34.960
Phil: Good feedback or bad feedback?
00:00:35.180 --> 00:00:43.000
Tom: Good feedback and of particular note to these people was the ASMR Dorito eating segment.
00:00:43.020 --> 00:00:57.040
Tom: So we're going to open the show with me serving, not just eating, but serving with bag noises and rustling of paper and so forth, some McDonald's items and I will then be eating them on air.
00:00:57.400 --> 00:01:16.000
Tom: And unlike the Endless Backlog Podcast, who basically began, arguably, this trend in games podcasts or Giant Bomb, eating on air, we have had the foresight to refer to this as deliberate segments rather than slovenly unprofessional behaviour.
00:01:16.860 --> 00:01:24.220
Tom: So I think though we did not literally start the trend here, we are taking it to new heights, I believe.
00:01:25.300 --> 00:01:26.240
Phil: As we always do.
00:01:26.260 --> 00:01:29.560
Phil: I was going to ask you about the Endless Podcast.
00:01:29.580 --> 00:01:34.140
Phil: What's more likely to occur first, the Smugcast 3 or Bayonetta 3?
00:01:35.060 --> 00:01:42.560
Tom: I think Smugcast 3 because I have actually been playing small segments of Doom Eternal.
00:01:44.600 --> 00:01:45.840
Tom: What's wrong with Doom Eternal?
00:01:47.020 --> 00:01:48.820
Phil: You just keep rustling away there.
00:01:49.140 --> 00:01:55.920
Tom: Well, actually, the opening has been a little bit disappointing and has not caught my attention like the original did.
00:01:58.340 --> 00:02:05.260
Tom: Which I will give a sneak preview of the upcoming Smugcast at some point, although I do believe it will improve.
00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:25.300
Tom: But the fact that they take away your dodge and other abilities like that from the just insane stuff you were doing by the end of Doom the original remake really makes for a slightly less interesting and awkward opening and the music just does not have the same impact as it did in the original.
00:02:26.280 --> 00:02:30.820
Phil: Well, I had a particular problem with it and that was because I had to download the entire game.
00:02:30.880 --> 00:02:38.880
Phil: Remember I talked about that, how I had to, well maybe it was off air, but I had to download the whole game and it was ridiculous.
00:02:38.900 --> 00:02:40.260
Phil: It was like 80 gigabytes.
00:02:40.840 --> 00:02:45.220
Phil: Then I had to create a Bethesda account on top of a Microsoft account to log in to play it.
00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:50.740
Phil: Then of course by the time I had done all that, I had to update it with another 6 gig update.
00:02:51.780 --> 00:02:54.200
Phil: I didn't particularly find the gameplay to be that enjoyable.
00:02:54.220 --> 00:02:58.120
Phil: I know what they were trying to go for, they were trying to make a thinking man's shooter.
00:02:59.220 --> 00:03:03.360
Phil: But back to this McDonald's, is this why the show started 4 hours late?
00:03:03.380 --> 00:03:06.100
Phil: You had to go to McDonald's during lockdown in your region.
00:03:08.460 --> 00:03:16.800
Tom: The queue was massive due to lockdown because people's lockdown exercises consists of 2 hours of waiting in a McDonald's queue, I believe.
00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:25.880
Phil: And we've got to explain that here in this country, during lockdown you're allowed to leave, one person from the household is allowed to leave once a day for essential travel.
00:03:26.220 --> 00:03:31.800
Phil: And so you have used your household's essential travel for this podcast, which I appreciate.
00:03:32.160 --> 00:03:34.100
Phil: So you went to McDonald's and what did you get?
00:03:34.940 --> 00:03:40.400
Tom: Well, I bought chicken nuggets with sweet and sour sauce.
00:03:40.460 --> 00:03:48.000
Tom: A three-piece and zero pieces of chicken nuggets arrived, but there is sweet and sour sauce.
00:03:49.340 --> 00:03:50.060
Phil: So no nuggets?
00:03:50.580 --> 00:03:53.540
Tom: So no nuggets, but sweet and sour sauce for the nuggets.
00:03:55.060 --> 00:04:02.300
Tom: I'm also trying for the first time a chicken and cheese burger with the addition of bacon.
00:04:02.420 --> 00:04:07.260
Tom: And I normally do not like McDonald's chicken burgers or McDonald's bacon.
00:04:08.620 --> 00:04:10.640
Tom: So this could be an interesting experience.
00:04:11.660 --> 00:04:22.480
Tom: And I also got a cheeseburger with extra pickles, extra sauce of both types, no onions and bacon for some reason as well.
00:04:22.500 --> 00:04:30.440
Phil: Yeah, and so we're going to rename the podcast The Leaving Las Vegas Podcast, starring McDonald's, featuring McDonald's foods.
00:04:30.460 --> 00:04:31.200
Phil: What are you doing?
00:04:31.260 --> 00:04:32.460
Phil: Are you trying to kill yourself?
00:04:33.060 --> 00:04:34.240
Tom: Recording on a toilet.
00:04:34.680 --> 00:04:35.680
Phil: You're trying to kill yourself?
00:04:36.840 --> 00:04:43.220
Tom: Well, I have the metabolism that most people dream of, in which I can eat large quantities of...
00:04:45.320 --> 00:04:46.460
Phil: Undigestible food.
00:04:46.820 --> 00:04:58.060
Tom: Undigestible food and not put on any weight, which most people dream of, but they probably do not dream of having such a metabolism if they spent many years underweight.
00:04:58.580 --> 00:05:01.340
Tom: So I would not in fact recommend this metabolism to people.
00:05:01.540 --> 00:05:02.280
Phil: In keeping with...
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:04.800
Phil: I share that same metabolism, I just choose not to eat.
00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:07.520
Phil: So in keeping...
00:05:08.340 --> 00:05:12.460
Phil: Why are you breaking away from the vegan food that we've been featuring on the podcast?
00:05:12.480 --> 00:05:15.820
Phil: They do have a vegan burger at McDonald's, I believe, called The White Burger.
00:05:17.480 --> 00:05:18.660
Phil: Did you see The White Burger?
00:05:20.120 --> 00:05:20.920
Tom: No, I did not.
00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:23.140
Phil: That's interesting.
00:05:23.260 --> 00:05:25.180
Phil: So no meatless burgers?
00:05:25.420 --> 00:05:27.500
Tom: Next time I may need to try The White Burger.
00:05:29.140 --> 00:05:32.480
Phil: I'm just checking up that it's called The White Burger and that's not something I dreamt.
00:05:34.160 --> 00:05:35.580
Tom: It sounds like something you dreamt.
00:05:36.260 --> 00:05:38.240
Phil: Well, they had the black and white burgers.
00:05:38.260 --> 00:05:40.480
Phil: I remember they had the black burgers they released in Japan.
00:05:41.280 --> 00:05:43.100
Tom: I see a bun variety.
00:05:44.340 --> 00:05:44.940
Phil: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:05:44.960 --> 00:05:45.380
Phil: That's it.
00:05:46.880 --> 00:05:48.860
Tom: Their buns are already white bread, though.
00:05:49.480 --> 00:05:51.080
Phil: They are, typically.
00:05:51.880 --> 00:05:53.140
Phil: Okay, go ahead.
00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:53.620
Phil: Eat your...
00:05:53.740 --> 00:05:54.980
Phil: What are we eating first?
00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:55.800
Phil: Are you licking up the...
00:05:55.820 --> 00:05:59.460
Tom: We're going to take a bite of the chicken and cheese burger.
00:06:00.980 --> 00:06:04.500
Tom: Which I have high expectations for the cheese part of it.
00:06:05.120 --> 00:06:09.720
Phil: Was it creatively spelt, indicating that it's not actually cheese or chicken?
00:06:10.620 --> 00:06:14.140
Tom: No, I think it was chicken, then n, and then cheese.
00:06:14.180 --> 00:06:18.620
Tom: So it was not chick, apostrophe n, apostrophe cheese, unfortunately.
00:06:18.640 --> 00:06:20.840
Phil: Yeah, because then the chicken could be pretty much anything.
00:06:21.920 --> 00:06:24.440
Tom: I mean, it already is, who knows what.
00:06:25.160 --> 00:06:26.920
Phil: I'm going to suggest it's gluten or soy protein.
00:06:31.860 --> 00:06:32.640
Tom: It's not bad.
00:06:33.760 --> 00:06:35.760
Phil: It's not chicken stuffed with cheese, is it?
00:06:36.620 --> 00:06:42.140
Tom: No, it is a cheese sauce as well as half a slice of cheese.
00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:58.020
Tom: I can confirm that the chicken is essentially tasteless, which I think is a good quality in McDonald's chicken, because if McDonald's chicken tastes of something, it's probably not going to taste of anything good.
00:06:59.160 --> 00:07:10.340
Tom: And there is a slight pepper flavour to the fried coating, which goes nicely with the also essentially flavourless cheese sauce.
00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:22.460
Tom: So I think for a chicken burger from McDonald's with a cheese sauce, what you're looking for is a lack of flavour, I believe, or at least I am anyway.
00:07:24.020 --> 00:07:26.120
Tom: So I would say that is a success.
00:07:26.140 --> 00:07:26.980
Phil: Mission accomplished.
00:07:27.240 --> 00:07:27.620
Tom: Yes.
00:07:28.020 --> 00:07:32.240
Tom: I will now take a bite of it, including some of the bacon.
00:07:32.260 --> 00:07:34.860
Phil: Before you do that, I've got to say, what would you call their...
00:07:35.060 --> 00:07:36.880
Phil: I'm obviously not writing.
00:07:37.200 --> 00:07:40.180
Phil: It's not the white burger, but what would you call a...
00:07:40.300 --> 00:07:43.320
Phil: If you had to come up with a meat-free burger for McDonald's, what would you call it?
00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:52.300
Tom: Probably you wouldn't need to change the name, because I think it's up for debate how much meat they generally contain in the first place.
00:07:52.320 --> 00:07:52.620
Tom: Isn't it?
00:07:53.480 --> 00:07:54.120
Phil: Yeah, that's true.
00:07:54.260 --> 00:07:59.220
Phil: But I think actually what they're actually calling it is actually the best name.
00:07:59.240 --> 00:08:01.080
Phil: I can't think of anything better, which is rare.
00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:02.300
Phil: McPlant.
00:08:03.600 --> 00:08:04.580
Tom: McPlant, yes.
00:08:05.220 --> 00:08:06.360
Phil: That's brilliant.
00:08:09.100 --> 00:08:11.680
Tom: I will now take this second bite, including the bacon.
00:08:11.700 --> 00:08:12.420
Phil: Okay, here it goes.
00:08:16.180 --> 00:08:17.240
Tom: McDonald's bacon?
00:08:18.020 --> 00:08:19.840
Tom: I think this is actually a very good slice.
00:08:20.240 --> 00:08:26.640
Tom: There is a slight salty and sweet bacon-like flavour to it.
00:08:27.960 --> 00:08:33.000
Tom: And looking at it, it does not consist of 90% fat.
00:08:34.200 --> 00:08:36.540
Tom: So that's an above average slice of bacon.
00:08:36.560 --> 00:08:52.340
Tom: I would recommend adding it to this chicken and cheese burger, as you then also, in addition to the slightly peppery flavour of the coating of the chicken, have a slightly meat-based flavour to it as well.
00:08:53.680 --> 00:09:00.800
Tom: Which the saltiness also, I think, draws out a very slight sort of milky flavour of the cheese.
00:09:01.820 --> 00:09:05.260
Tom: So it is a worthy addition to the burger that I would recommend.
00:09:06.960 --> 00:09:10.640
Phil: There's a quiet grace and dignity to your review of the bacon at McDonald's.
00:09:10.760 --> 00:09:11.400
Phil: I'll say that.
00:09:13.900 --> 00:09:16.700
Phil: So I've got to say, how much did all of this cost?
00:09:17.420 --> 00:09:20.300
Phil: Like, I'm guessing that you dropped 30 bucks on this meal.
00:09:20.940 --> 00:09:29.560
Tom: Well, with the addition of the bacon to the McChicken and Cheese Burger, I think it was, the burger was $5.75.
00:09:31.900 --> 00:09:39.280
Tom: I think the total price was $28, but my sister also bought medium chips and a fillet of fish.
00:09:40.680 --> 00:09:43.700
Phil: Goodness gracious, you're going for the Noah Ark special.
00:09:44.620 --> 00:09:45.920
Phil: You're killing all the animals.
00:09:46.380 --> 00:09:47.040
Tom: That's right.
00:09:49.400 --> 00:09:52.600
Phil: I should say about $28 while you get your next food item ready.
00:09:52.840 --> 00:09:57.500
Phil: I was sitting down to buy something, and there were three games that were $28.
00:09:57.520 --> 00:10:05.040
Phil: It was The Last of Us 2, PGA Tour 2021, and another game I can't remember.
00:10:05.480 --> 00:10:11.520
Phil: And so I went with PGA Tour 2021 because I thought, you know, 28 bucks for the Switch.
00:10:11.760 --> 00:10:12.620
Phil: I figured this is good.
00:10:12.640 --> 00:10:15.040
Phil: I need a current-gen golf game.
00:10:15.560 --> 00:10:16.440
Phil: Absolutely horrible.
00:10:17.080 --> 00:10:21.340
Phil: I played Links on the original Xbox, and it had better graphics.
00:10:21.920 --> 00:10:25.700
Phil: And besides that, it requires online only.
00:10:27.020 --> 00:10:28.280
Tom: Well, it is a modern game.
00:10:28.420 --> 00:10:30.020
Phil: Yeah, but it's a Switch.
00:10:30.040 --> 00:10:33.020
Phil: You want to play portably, and the Switch doesn't have a SIM card or anything.
00:10:33.040 --> 00:10:40.700
Phil: And then the career mode was limited, extremely limited to basically a training session.
00:10:41.760 --> 00:10:43.120
Phil: It was just absolutely terrible.
00:10:43.120 --> 00:10:43.880
Phil: I sold it back.
00:10:43.880 --> 00:10:46.800
Phil: I think I sold it back on eBay for like 20 bucks.
00:10:47.300 --> 00:10:51.520
Phil: So I would have been better off doing your Noah's Ark experience at McDonald's.
00:10:52.160 --> 00:10:53.060
Tom: I think you would have.
00:10:53.080 --> 00:10:58.040
Tom: And there is actually one last thing that I have to do with this chicken and cheese burger.
00:10:58.600 --> 00:11:02.800
Tom: And that is make use of the sweet and sour sauce.
00:11:03.620 --> 00:11:06.740
Tom: And dip the burger in the sweet and sour sauce.
00:11:07.560 --> 00:11:12.120
Tom: And the area which I will dip in will contain all the components of the burger.
00:11:12.300 --> 00:11:18.680
Tom: The half a slice of cheese, the bacon, the cheese sauce, the McChicken and the bun.
00:11:19.600 --> 00:11:24.320
Phil: And for our English as a second language listeners, we will use the word agglomeration.
00:11:24.520 --> 00:11:25.520
Phil: You can go look that up.
00:11:26.500 --> 00:11:29.020
Phil: What Tom is doing is an agglomeration.
00:11:35.479 --> 00:11:37.439
Phil: Hopefully, there's a defibrillator nearby.
00:11:38.479 --> 00:11:40.959
Phil: Otherwise, it's gonna be the shortest episode we've ever recorded.
00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:43.299
Tom: I have to say that works quite well.
00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:59.479
Tom: Again, with most McDonald's burgers in general, the addition of flavors of things like sauces as opposed to meat or cheese or the bun, usually is a great addition.
00:11:59.599 --> 00:12:07.379
Tom: And you do end, the first thing you note is the, I wouldn't say sourness of the sauce, but the sweetness.
00:12:07.399 --> 00:12:08.879
Tom: It is very sugary sauce.
00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:16.379
Tom: And as you were chewing and that sort of melts away, you end up getting a little bit of the taste of the bacon.
00:12:17.139 --> 00:12:31.419
Tom: And the aftertaste at the end is sort of a combination of the pepperiness of the coating of the patty, the sweet sort of saltiness of the bacon combined with the sauce.
00:12:31.439 --> 00:12:34.279
Tom: It's almost like maple syrup on bacon.
00:12:35.059 --> 00:12:39.719
Tom: So I do think that that is a worthy addition to the burger.
00:12:40.119 --> 00:12:44.299
Phil: Too bad they couldn't come up with a better name though, like McPlant.
00:12:44.799 --> 00:12:47.899
Phil: Vegan food is full of these great names.
00:12:47.919 --> 00:12:50.379
Phil: Like there's a fake bacon called Faken.
00:12:50.399 --> 00:12:51.819
Tom: Faken Bacon.
00:12:51.979 --> 00:12:52.779
Phil: Faken Bacon.
00:12:53.199 --> 00:12:56.439
Phil: You've got chili non-carn.
00:12:57.619 --> 00:12:59.259
Phil: You know, there's plenty of examples of that.
00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:16.979
Phil: I've got to say, as a long time vegan, I'm feeling my culture's being appropriated because I went to a little small country town the other day at a petrol station and they were advertising a vegan drumstick ice cream, which I think you've reviewed on the show before.
00:13:17.299 --> 00:13:18.079
Tom: I believe I have.
00:13:18.179 --> 00:13:22.119
Phil: They were advertising their eight different varieties of vegan meat pies.
00:13:23.299 --> 00:13:33.119
Phil: And then they had a meal deal that had the two things with an alcohol-free Heineken for $20.
00:13:33.919 --> 00:13:37.879
Tom: Is alcohol-free items some form of veganism I'm aware of?
00:13:37.899 --> 00:13:38.519
Phil: Well, it's not.
00:13:38.539 --> 00:13:40.999
Phil: It's just they're taking all this fakeness to an extreme.
00:13:41.019 --> 00:13:49.039
Phil: I mean, you could eat your fake vegan meat pie, have your fake vegan drumstick, wash it down with a fake Heineken.
00:13:49.979 --> 00:13:51.979
Phil: And Heineken's a bad enough beer to start with.
00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:55.279
Phil: But it's like, you know, this is a small country town.
00:13:55.659 --> 00:13:59.659
Phil: It used to be, to be a vegan used to be a lot of sacrifice, man.
00:13:59.679 --> 00:14:04.159
Phil: It used to mean making your own tofu, buying soybeans, you know.
00:14:05.319 --> 00:14:06.279
Phil: Growing dreads.
00:14:06.299 --> 00:14:07.539
Phil: It took a lot of work.
00:14:08.639 --> 00:14:14.699
Phil: And now, you know, you can just become a vegan and eat out of a gas station.
00:14:15.499 --> 00:14:18.319
Phil: Or go to a McDonald's, I guess, where they've got the McPlant.
00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:21.559
Tom: I'm looking forward to Barnaby Joyce growing some dreadlocks.
00:14:24.759 --> 00:14:25.199
Phil: All right.
00:14:25.219 --> 00:14:28.079
Phil: Well, is that the rest of the ASMR?
00:14:28.099 --> 00:14:29.739
Phil: Is that the end of the ASMR section?
00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:32.259
Tom: We may return to the cheeseburger later on.
00:14:32.319 --> 00:14:43.679
Tom: But this whole preamble was in fact part of I promised that we would have to return to your totally absurd statement that Chinese soft power is identical to American.
00:14:44.899 --> 00:14:52.659
Tom: And I think that I have in my meal proven the just total absurdity of that statement.
00:14:52.679 --> 00:14:54.679
Tom: And I think I can rest my case there.
00:14:54.679 --> 00:15:00.539
Phil: Well, I could just as easily go to a Chinese restaurant and eat some Mugu Gai Pan next episode.
00:15:02.179 --> 00:15:04.179
Tom: But you couldn't go to a Chinese McDonald's.
00:15:04.779 --> 00:15:05.399
Phil: That's true.
00:15:05.519 --> 00:15:06.079
Phil: I couldn't.
00:15:07.119 --> 00:15:07.599
Phil: All right.
00:15:07.999 --> 00:15:09.159
Phil: So what are we going to talk about?
00:15:09.179 --> 00:15:13.219
Phil: I think probably the number one story right now is Steamdeck.
00:15:13.699 --> 00:15:16.739
Phil: Steam has had a few forays into hardware.
00:15:16.759 --> 00:15:17.939
Phil: Do we wish to name them here?
00:15:19.339 --> 00:15:21.459
Phil: They had the steam controller.
00:15:22.379 --> 00:15:23.559
Tom: There's the steam box.
00:15:23.579 --> 00:15:24.059
Phil: Fail.
00:15:24.339 --> 00:15:24.639
Phil: Right.
00:15:25.159 --> 00:15:25.419
Tom: Yep.
00:15:25.559 --> 00:15:26.579
Tom: Was there anything else?
00:15:27.179 --> 00:15:34.719
Phil: Well, they've they've obviously had a very successful release with the with their VR gear, their partnership with HTC.
00:15:35.619 --> 00:15:37.879
Phil: So they've they've righted the ship significantly.
00:15:37.899 --> 00:15:44.979
Phil: I mean, their VR is considered, you know, among the best in that, you know, that range, that price range up there.
00:15:45.519 --> 00:15:55.579
Phil: So they've announced basically what looks like a a Nintendo Switch that basically you can play your Steam library on.
00:15:55.599 --> 00:16:01.499
Phil: And it uses a Linux kernel, I guess, or something, or some sort of translation program called Proton.
00:16:02.159 --> 00:16:03.939
Phil: So it's not a Windows based device.
00:16:04.439 --> 00:16:06.079
Phil: That's kind of intriguing to me.
00:16:07.399 --> 00:16:12.759
Phil: Comes in three different flavors, most of them having to do with memory size and storage.
00:16:13.599 --> 00:16:15.859
Phil: But the graphics are the same on all three models.
00:16:16.319 --> 00:16:21.659
Phil: 64 gig of storage, 256 gig and 512 gig of storage.
00:16:22.319 --> 00:16:26.619
Tom: And we should add that you can install Windows on the device if you so choose.
00:16:26.739 --> 00:16:27.339
Phil: Absolutely.
00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:29.739
Phil: Yep, it's a completely open box.
00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:34.999
Phil: I don't know how you'd go about licensing the Windows that you'd install on a device, but I guess it's really just a PC.
00:16:35.479 --> 00:16:36.979
Phil: So that answers that.
00:16:38.319 --> 00:16:39.259
Phil: Ranging everywhere from...
00:16:39.279 --> 00:16:42.919
Tom: Obviously, you would license it with a $2 code from eBay.
00:16:42.939 --> 00:16:43.459
Phil: That's right.
00:16:44.539 --> 00:16:51.439
Phil: And pricing, it's $400 US to $650 US, depending on the storage you want.
00:16:51.539 --> 00:16:56.719
Phil: You know, there's other things that come with those tiers, like carrying cases and other things like that.
00:16:58.419 --> 00:17:02.119
Phil: Visually, I mean, from the appearance, it looks very comfortable.
00:17:02.139 --> 00:17:02.839
Phil: It looks good.
00:17:02.859 --> 00:17:03.779
Phil: It looks substantial.
00:17:04.319 --> 00:17:07.819
Phil: Sounds like a win to me.
00:17:08.839 --> 00:17:11.279
Tom: Well, it is huge when you say it looks substantial.
00:17:11.299 --> 00:17:12.659
Tom: It's 30 centimetres.
00:17:12.899 --> 00:17:16.819
Phil: Yeah, which is not that much bigger than a Switch.
00:17:17.259 --> 00:17:19.979
Phil: You know, it's really not that much bigger than a Switch.
00:17:20.179 --> 00:17:21.319
Phil: And, you know, it's got some...
00:17:21.339 --> 00:17:22.959
Tom: Isn't a Switch around 20 centimetres?
00:17:23.359 --> 00:17:24.399
Phil: No, no, no.
00:17:24.679 --> 00:17:25.119
Phil: Oh, no.
00:17:25.939 --> 00:17:26.479
Phil: No, no, no.
00:17:26.539 --> 00:17:30.779
Phil: I don't know how big it is, but it's, you know, it's comparable.
00:17:30.839 --> 00:17:34.479
Phil: It's not like you're going to be holding this thing and it's like, oh, my God, how big is this, you know?
00:17:36.239 --> 00:17:42.019
Phil: Both of them have a 7-inch screen, if that sort of gives you ideas to the size of the total console.
00:17:44.219 --> 00:17:48.379
Phil: But, and obviously it doesn't have removable Joy-Cons on the side.
00:17:48.499 --> 00:17:49.159
Phil: They're fixed.
00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:56.779
Phil: So just as the Switch kind of copied the Nvidia Shield and is powered by Nvidia, this is kind of the PC version.
00:17:57.099 --> 00:18:00.879
Phil: Again, it's kind of a return basically or continuation of that kind of technology.
00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:03.599
Phil: Looks very attractive to me.
00:18:03.619 --> 00:18:05.739
Phil: It's unfortunately not available in our region.
00:18:05.999 --> 00:18:07.739
Phil: And I blame the ACCC for that.
00:18:08.719 --> 00:18:10.559
Tom: And I will have to correct you there.
00:18:10.579 --> 00:18:15.639
Tom: The Switch Lite, which I assume is the same dimensions.
00:18:15.679 --> 00:18:16.239
Phil: Yeah.
00:18:16.259 --> 00:18:18.079
Tom: So that's, is it actually smaller?
00:18:18.099 --> 00:18:20.279
Phil: I think it is smaller than the main one.
00:18:20.779 --> 00:18:29.019
Tom: I thought the Lite naming was from the fact that it does not have a dock.
00:18:29.639 --> 00:18:31.159
Tom: As opposed to it being smaller.
00:18:31.179 --> 00:18:31.939
Phil: It didn't have a dock.
00:18:32.099 --> 00:18:35.259
Phil: The Joy-Cons aren't removable and it was slightly cheaper.
00:18:37.939 --> 00:18:39.819
Phil: Though it had better storage and battery life.
00:18:40.379 --> 00:18:40.799
Tom: I see.
00:18:41.219 --> 00:18:48.699
Tom: It is in fact just over one inch shorter in the width than the Switch.
00:18:48.719 --> 00:18:51.199
Tom: So how many centimeters is an inch?
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:52.239
Phil: 12 inches.
00:18:52.719 --> 00:18:54.059
Phil: So 12 inches is...
00:18:54.079 --> 00:18:54.659
Phil: Oh, I'm sorry.
00:18:54.679 --> 00:18:57.219
Phil: An inch is two and a half centimeters.
00:18:57.239 --> 00:18:58.839
Phil: 12 inches is 30 centimeters.
00:19:00.059 --> 00:19:09.339
Tom: So the Switch is 9.4 inches, which is around, I believe, 23 centimeters?
00:19:10.199 --> 00:19:13.479
Phil: About 24 centimeters, yeah.
00:19:13.499 --> 00:19:16.939
Tom: So 6 centimeters is a reasonable increase in size.
00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:21.939
Phil: Yeah, yeah, that's still less than my little finger.
00:19:22.899 --> 00:19:24.179
Tom: And we know what that implies.
00:19:26.579 --> 00:19:28.379
Tom: You have a very long middle finger, obviously.
00:19:28.399 --> 00:19:29.119
Phil: Yeah, that's right.
00:19:29.159 --> 00:19:30.019
Phil: A very long one.
00:19:30.039 --> 00:19:31.519
Phil: I'm using both of them right now, actually.
00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:37.839
Tom: Which is very lucky for you because it compensates for your ordinary problems elsewhere.
00:19:37.939 --> 00:19:38.799
Phil: Yeah, that's right.
00:19:39.739 --> 00:19:41.499
Phil: Look, this is a very compelling thing to me.
00:19:41.519 --> 00:19:42.979
Phil: I would have pre-ordered one yesterday.
00:19:43.179 --> 00:19:44.239
Phil: Like I said, I blame the ACCC.
00:19:44.719 --> 00:19:50.319
Phil: They successfully sued Steam for their return policies breaking Australian law.
00:19:51.419 --> 00:19:54.279
Phil: You can look up that story at gameunder.net.
00:19:55.299 --> 00:20:02.759
Tom: I don't know if you really can blame them though because they also did not really do a release for the Steam Controller either.
00:20:04.259 --> 00:20:05.399
Tom: Nor the...
00:20:05.979 --> 00:20:06.639
Phil: Steam Link.
00:20:06.919 --> 00:20:07.639
Tom: Steam Link.
00:20:07.659 --> 00:20:07.939
Phil: Yeah.
00:20:08.039 --> 00:20:12.539
Tom: And I don't think the VAL index has officially been released in Australia either.
00:20:13.799 --> 00:20:15.999
Tom: So I think this is entirely on Valve.
00:20:16.179 --> 00:20:16.619
Phil: Okay.
00:20:17.759 --> 00:20:19.879
Phil: Which I'm happy to throw under the bus.
00:20:19.899 --> 00:20:20.819
Phil: They haven't been a great company.
00:20:20.839 --> 00:20:26.279
Phil: But I tell you what, this would make me Steam loyal in terms of my PC purchases.
00:20:28.099 --> 00:20:39.119
Phil: Because with the prospect of being able to play them portably, or on my TV, because it is going to have a dock at some time in the future.
00:20:39.499 --> 00:20:45.479
Phil: Or they said if you don't want to wait for our dock, you can just use USB-C and HDMI and do it yourself.
00:20:45.599 --> 00:20:50.519
Phil: So, would you lukewarm about this?
00:20:50.539 --> 00:20:52.359
Phil: Would you get this thing?
00:20:53.619 --> 00:21:12.699
Tom: Well, given that I have a computer, it's relatively redundant to me because there is of course the relatively unusable Steam Link functionality that you can use on any device, like an iPad or whatever else.
00:21:14.159 --> 00:21:25.479
Tom: And if I were to be getting a similar console to that, the Switch would obviously be the first choice by far due to the Nintendo games on it.
00:21:26.119 --> 00:21:30.159
Phil: And Sky, also on Switch, in HD.
00:21:30.999 --> 00:21:31.799
Tom: It is indeed.
00:21:32.219 --> 00:21:34.059
Tom: And I believe you have even played it.
00:21:34.159 --> 00:21:34.659
Phil: Yeah, I have.
00:21:36.379 --> 00:21:41.439
Tom: We are yet to play together, though, because you have failed to work out how to add me.
00:21:41.679 --> 00:21:42.639
Phil: I have failed to...
00:21:43.159 --> 00:22:00.939
Phil: Well, basically, it's asking me for my Nintendo username and password, which basically shoots me in the foot every time I try to buy anything on the Nintendo Switch as well, because I can't remember it, so every time I have to do it, I have to change my password, which means going to the PC, and it's a big old rig in my roll.
00:22:02.059 --> 00:22:07.219
Tom: Did you look in settings to see if there was an option to create a link for people to add you?
00:22:08.359 --> 00:22:13.479
Tom: Because I don't think you need to have linked your account to your Sky account before you can do that.
00:22:14.279 --> 00:22:32.639
Phil: Because what I did was I also downloaded it on my Android phone, and tried to do something with that as well, because the Switch model does give you a QR code, as they're now called, to scan from your Android device so that you can link your account.
00:22:32.659 --> 00:22:33.619
Phil: So that's what I'm trying to do.
00:22:33.639 --> 00:22:46.559
Phil: I'm trying to link the Android Sky instance with my Switch one, so that when I am a more active player and I'm playing it, it's my experience I can build while I'm on the go as well.
00:22:46.879 --> 00:22:54.239
Tom: And you should be able to easily make a barcode for other people to add you on the Android phone.
00:22:55.779 --> 00:22:56.119
Phil: Yeah, yeah.
00:22:56.139 --> 00:22:57.079
Phil: Well, I will figure it out.
00:22:57.099 --> 00:22:59.219
Phil: I'll figure it out this week, no doubt.
00:23:00.579 --> 00:23:03.299
Phil: Do we want to talk about my impressions of Sky right now?
00:23:03.739 --> 00:23:04.579
Phil: Would make sense, I guess.
00:23:04.599 --> 00:23:05.039
Tom: Surely we do.
00:23:05.099 --> 00:23:05.439
Tom: Yeah.
00:23:06.039 --> 00:23:15.299
Tom: But first, I will take a bite of this cheeseburger the moment everyone has been waiting for with baited breath.
00:23:16.739 --> 00:23:32.679
Tom: And I should give my final thoughts on the chicken cheeseburger as many of you do not comment on, I think, the arguably the most important factors of a meal, particularly fast food like this.
00:23:32.899 --> 00:23:37.179
Tom: And that was indeed actually surprisingly filling.
00:23:37.379 --> 00:23:43.499
Tom: I do not feel any need to eat this cheeseburger after having eaten that, but I'm going to anyway.
00:23:44.439 --> 00:23:51.879
Tom: And being so high in fat and sugar and salt, it has also given me an immediate energy boost.
00:23:52.399 --> 00:23:56.199
Tom: And I will be spending that energy on eating this cheeseburger.
00:23:57.519 --> 00:24:04.559
Tom: But overall, I would say that is a pretty successful chicken burger, especially for McDonald's.
00:24:04.719 --> 00:24:12.199
Tom: And what you would be looking for, for a $5 burger to keep you going throughout the day.
00:24:13.159 --> 00:24:16.739
Phil: So again, homeless people, you need to just get together $5 a day.
00:24:16.759 --> 00:24:17.839
Phil: Come on, how hard is it?
00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:20.359
Tom: Exactly.
00:24:21.139 --> 00:24:22.879
Phil: You know, just go to McDonald's.
00:24:23.879 --> 00:24:24.779
Tom: Problem solved.
00:24:24.799 --> 00:24:25.639
Phil: You'll be loving it.
00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:28.739
Phil: It's good that we finally got a sponsor.
00:24:28.759 --> 00:24:29.459
Phil: I've got to say that.
00:24:30.679 --> 00:24:32.879
Phil: I'm not quite sure the ASMR is worth it though.
00:24:34.479 --> 00:24:35.299
Tom: So here we go.
00:24:36.799 --> 00:24:42.939
Tom: The Bacon Cheese Extra Sauce and Extra Pickle Burger.
00:24:56.117 --> 00:25:06.457
Tom: And to their credit, there is essentially an entire layer of pickles across the full breadth of the patty and cheese.
00:25:06.497 --> 00:25:10.117
Phil: And by pickles, you mean like the sliced gherkins, right?
00:25:10.137 --> 00:25:12.337
Phil: Not pickled, like chopped up pickle relish?
00:25:13.357 --> 00:25:17.137
Tom: Correct, this isn't kimchi, unfortunately.
00:25:17.997 --> 00:25:18.877
Tom: That would be interesting.
00:25:19.637 --> 00:25:30.277
Tom: But yes, the bacon, due to the copious amount of sauce, as well as the pickles, I don't think you can really taste it that much.
00:25:32.277 --> 00:25:34.217
Tom: Though it is there in the aftertaste.
00:25:35.157 --> 00:25:55.117
Tom: And I would recommend always adding extra sauce to a cheeseburger, because otherwise you are likely to end up with a tiny dollop of mustard in the centre of the top bun, and maybe a streak of ketchup across the middle.
00:25:56.177 --> 00:26:00.197
Tom: So I would say that's another successful McDonald's item today.
00:26:00.217 --> 00:26:06.937
Phil: Not very successful, because when I release my next Brickpot album, I'm gonna call it There in the Aftertaste.
00:26:08.077 --> 00:26:09.017
Phil: That's wonderful.
00:26:10.537 --> 00:26:11.257
Phil: That's great.
00:26:11.277 --> 00:26:15.297
Phil: That's gonna be my Oasis song type album, There in the Aftertaste.
00:26:15.917 --> 00:26:17.077
Tom: I'm looking forward to it.
00:26:17.097 --> 00:26:18.837
Tom: That will be our new theme song, I hope.
00:26:18.857 --> 00:26:19.877
Phil: Yeah, could be.
00:26:20.977 --> 00:26:23.797
Tom: Could also be the title of this episode.
00:26:23.817 --> 00:26:24.397
Phil: Yeah, could be.
00:26:24.457 --> 00:26:24.977
Phil: Could be.
00:26:26.497 --> 00:26:28.577
Phil: Look, I've been playing my Switch a lot.
00:26:28.717 --> 00:26:34.337
Phil: I've been playing, just back to children, well, that's what it's called, right?
00:26:34.357 --> 00:26:37.057
Phil: Sky Children of Light.
00:26:37.077 --> 00:26:41.737
Phil: The game by That Game Company, Genova Chens Endeavor.
00:26:41.797 --> 00:26:53.157
Phil: And as we talked about, I guess it hasn't quite been two years that since this game, Sky Children of Light, came out on first iPhone and then Android.
00:26:54.017 --> 00:26:54.317
Phil: And now-
00:26:54.337 --> 00:27:02.217
Tom: I think it may just have got to two years because there is, I believe, currently a birthday celebration going on in game.
00:27:02.357 --> 00:27:05.457
Phil: Okay, and some sort of new season as well has been advertised.
00:27:05.917 --> 00:27:07.217
Tom: Yes, the Little Prince.
00:27:07.557 --> 00:27:11.357
Phil: Yeah, yeah, so it's, well, we've got to say it's been released on Switch.
00:27:11.377 --> 00:27:14.117
Phil: And I've been talking about how I can't wait for it to be released on Switch.
00:27:14.497 --> 00:27:19.097
Phil: So when Tom called me when this was first announced about 1 a.m.
00:27:19.117 --> 00:27:21.997
Phil: in the morning and said, hey, it's being released on Switch.
00:27:22.037 --> 00:27:24.537
Phil: I really appreciated getting that information.
00:27:25.517 --> 00:27:27.057
Phil: And I told him that I will be waiting.
00:27:27.317 --> 00:27:29.617
Phil: I will go get a physical copy because that's how I roll.
00:27:29.697 --> 00:27:31.117
Phil: I want a physical copy of the game.
00:27:32.037 --> 00:27:34.337
Phil: And he said, yeah, not going to happen probably.
00:27:35.677 --> 00:27:42.157
Phil: When I found out that it was free to play, obviously there's not going to be a physical copy.
00:27:42.357 --> 00:27:43.637
Phil: Maybe they will release one.
00:27:43.917 --> 00:27:46.197
Phil: They do that sometimes down here in Australia.
00:27:46.197 --> 00:27:51.337
Tom: But you can buy a $120 umbrella that is based on an umbrella in the game.
00:27:52.257 --> 00:27:53.677
Phil: Is it an umbrella or a parasol?
00:27:54.717 --> 00:27:55.937
Tom: It is an umbrella.
00:27:57.357 --> 00:27:59.137
Phil: So it's free to play.
00:27:59.597 --> 00:28:01.057
Phil: And so I downloaded it.
00:28:01.257 --> 00:28:03.637
Phil: It was quite a reasonable download.
00:28:03.657 --> 00:28:04.557
Phil: I'm happy to report.
00:28:04.937 --> 00:28:09.497
Phil: And one of the outstanding things about this Switch release is that it is in HD.
00:28:09.957 --> 00:28:12.697
Phil: So it looks absolutely beautiful when you dock the Switch.
00:28:13.737 --> 00:28:16.097
Phil: Has wonderful frame rate.
00:28:16.277 --> 00:28:17.957
Phil: I couldn't complain about that at all.
00:28:18.557 --> 00:28:26.737
Phil: And it is like it has the appearance of a, of not a big budget game, but a well published game.
00:28:26.797 --> 00:28:32.657
Phil: Like a game that's got a lot of thought put into it in terms of its craftsmanship.
00:28:33.117 --> 00:28:41.157
Phil: If you didn't know, you would think it was something that that game company had made for, you know, Sony, when it was under Sony's patronage.
00:28:42.877 --> 00:28:48.977
Tom: It's very much like I would say an indie, PS3 era look to it.
00:28:49.057 --> 00:28:49.757
Phil: Yeah, yeah.
00:28:49.777 --> 00:28:52.337
Phil: And in fact, you know, there's a lot in the game.
00:28:52.357 --> 00:29:01.937
Phil: The first impression of the game is that this is a very much a lot like Journey in its aesthetic and its tone.
00:29:02.837 --> 00:29:08.677
Phil: And many of the game play elements like, you know, surfing on the sand, you know, is there.
00:29:08.697 --> 00:29:17.857
Phil: And it's obviously also incorporated elements of flight that was a feature of the earlier games like Flow and Flower more particularly.
00:29:19.657 --> 00:29:22.437
Tom: Well, flight was also in Journey as well.
00:29:22.617 --> 00:29:23.977
Phil: Okay, I'd forgotten that.
00:29:24.637 --> 00:29:30.137
Tom: Yes, but not to the same degree as in Sky at all.
00:29:30.817 --> 00:29:35.457
Tom: And with a greater focus on gliding than flying, although it was indeed possible to fly.
00:29:36.177 --> 00:29:46.377
Phil: I think if you look at the body of work that that game company has put together, the one thing that is very evident is that they ascribe to incrementalism.
00:29:47.217 --> 00:29:53.017
Phil: Everything they make builds on the next thing that they make that builds up to the next thing that they make.
00:29:53.197 --> 00:29:58.617
Phil: And this is very much evolution of Journey.
00:29:58.697 --> 00:30:03.977
Phil: Journey was very limited in terms of its online component.
00:30:04.897 --> 00:30:12.817
Phil: The thing that was quite revolutionary about that was that you could be playing and not really know that the other party was online.
00:30:14.457 --> 00:30:20.637
Phil: So I was very impressed with the game throughout.
00:30:20.657 --> 00:30:26.117
Phil: There's no but coming here.
00:30:26.137 --> 00:30:38.697
Phil: Not a lot of the game is explained, and obviously, because it doesn't come with an instruction manual, because nothing comes with an instruction manual, there's not a lot of hand holding in terms of getting you up to speed as to what to do.
00:30:39.137 --> 00:30:45.197
Phil: Though things become very clear, like you see a candle, so you just keep pressing buttons until you figure out how to light it.
00:30:46.297 --> 00:30:47.237
Phil: And that does something.
00:30:47.477 --> 00:30:50.217
Phil: That you're releasing the spirits of children, I believe.
00:30:51.937 --> 00:30:54.897
Phil: Of a long gone civilisation.
00:30:55.657 --> 00:31:00.037
Tom: Well, you eventually do that to begin with, you're reliving their memories, I believe.
00:31:00.777 --> 00:31:01.117
Phil: Yes.
00:31:01.737 --> 00:31:05.157
Tom: And you do then release them at the end of the level though, that is correct.
00:31:05.177 --> 00:31:05.417
Phil: Right.
00:31:05.437 --> 00:31:05.657
Tom: Yes.
00:31:06.457 --> 00:31:15.297
Phil: The stages, it basically is like a 3D platformer in that you're exploring a very large 3D environment and finding things.
00:31:15.477 --> 00:31:18.337
Phil: So I wouldn't say it's a collectathon.
00:31:18.517 --> 00:31:22.977
Phil: It's not as bad as say Donkey Kong 64, for example.
00:31:23.897 --> 00:31:30.457
Phil: But to someone who's looking for the game in the game, you know, you're looking at, okay, well, what am I doing?
00:31:30.637 --> 00:31:37.417
Phil: And just as in Journey, they'll use the camera to indicate the direction that you're supposed to be going at the very start.
00:31:38.377 --> 00:31:43.017
Phil: And then from there on, you basically go your own way to figure it out.
00:31:43.037 --> 00:31:45.697
Phil: And as you go, you realize, oh, I can do this, I can do that.
00:31:45.697 --> 00:31:50.557
Phil: They give you these micro stories, I'd say, not really side stories or side missions.
00:31:50.577 --> 00:31:52.597
Phil: They're like these very small-
00:31:52.617 --> 00:31:53.297
Tom: Little vignettes.
00:31:53.317 --> 00:31:54.377
Phil: Yes, exactly.
00:31:56.437 --> 00:32:05.977
Phil: And it does harken a little bit back to The Last Guardian, the work of the fellow who did Ico.
00:32:07.217 --> 00:32:10.357
Phil: You can see the influence of that in this game.
00:32:10.377 --> 00:32:11.577
Tom: I think of Ico as well.
00:32:12.317 --> 00:32:13.317
Phil: Yeah, very much.
00:32:13.717 --> 00:32:14.777
Phil: And you can see the influences there.
00:32:14.797 --> 00:32:20.457
Tom: And earlier fan art for it, there was also a lot of influence of Shadow of the Colossus.
00:32:21.377 --> 00:32:31.957
Tom: And in one of the later levels and the finale level, you can certainly see that that still carried over a little bit into the final game as well.
00:32:33.017 --> 00:32:47.077
Phil: I'd say that the best part of the game is its tone because there's a lightness in play, but it's balanced by a solemnity of the environment and what you're doing.
00:32:49.197 --> 00:32:58.077
Phil: There seem, I mean, it's almost funereal in terms of your role in the environment, and you do seem very alone.
00:32:58.297 --> 00:33:03.557
Phil: And that's where kind of the twist comes in is because you're not alone.
00:33:03.957 --> 00:33:10.537
Phil: So, you know, this is an MMO in all forms.
00:33:12.977 --> 00:33:14.017
Phil: In terms of the...
00:33:14.257 --> 00:33:16.317
Tom: Have you made any friends in the game yet?
00:33:16.337 --> 00:33:19.857
Phil: Well, I'll get to that, but I just want to dwell for a moment on the lightness of it.
00:33:19.917 --> 00:33:28.997
Phil: And the lightness is attributed not only to, well, the use of light, which is wonderful in the graphics, but also the controls.
00:33:29.217 --> 00:33:31.377
Phil: I mean, the controls are top notch.
00:33:31.377 --> 00:33:37.157
Phil: They're first party Nintendo, first party Sony, tight.
00:33:37.497 --> 00:33:40.217
Phil: Like, it's just really well done.
00:33:40.257 --> 00:33:52.457
Phil: Every movement that you do, if you are walking in a direction and then you immediately want to turn in the other direction, the animation is great because it doesn't just turn you around.
00:33:52.577 --> 00:33:59.257
Phil: It's almost got this leaning tower kind of physics to the character's body and the way that he moves.
00:33:59.277 --> 00:34:01.557
Phil: It just seems so natural and real.
00:34:03.237 --> 00:34:07.177
Phil: And as I said, just the controls are so tight in a good positive way.
00:34:07.777 --> 00:34:10.617
Phil: They do everything that you think should be...
00:34:12.117 --> 00:34:21.117
Phil: Everything works the way that you would expect it should, except for the flight, but it fortunately does give you the ability to invert.
00:34:21.857 --> 00:34:24.617
Phil: So, and the controls...
00:34:24.637 --> 00:34:27.137
Tom: You mean in terms of what direction you're turning?
00:34:29.437 --> 00:34:31.997
Phil: I'm from the old school in terms of flight sims.
00:34:32.337 --> 00:34:36.397
Phil: If you push up on a controller, that should make you go down in flight.
00:34:36.457 --> 00:34:38.657
Phil: If you pull back on a controller, you should go up.
00:34:38.677 --> 00:34:44.697
Phil: So that's the only thing that I changed in the customizable controls, which I was very, very glad to see.
00:34:44.717 --> 00:34:51.357
Phil: You can change the camera and all of the controls on an XY basis or an inverted basis.
00:34:51.377 --> 00:34:53.317
Phil: So yeah, I was very happy with that.
00:34:53.337 --> 00:34:53.517
Phil: Now...
00:34:55.357 --> 00:35:12.997
Tom: Just on the controls, it's interesting you should be so impressed by them because a lot of the people on the game I know who are now trying the Switch version, about, I would say, 75% of them have found the controls a little bit more awkward than the phone controls.
00:35:13.277 --> 00:35:15.317
Phil: Oh, I could not imagine playing this on the phone.
00:35:15.337 --> 00:35:20.337
Phil: Now, I did play it on the phone, and it was terrible to me.
00:35:20.337 --> 00:35:20.937
Phil: It was shocking.
00:35:21.737 --> 00:35:25.497
Tom: Did you have the two finger setting on rather than one?
00:35:25.557 --> 00:35:25.837
Phil: No.
00:35:26.657 --> 00:35:28.697
Tom: Okay, well then it is essentially unplayable.
00:35:29.777 --> 00:35:34.657
Tom: But you need it to essentially simulate two analogue sticks for it to work.
00:35:34.897 --> 00:35:37.017
Phil: Okay, that makes a lot more sense.
00:35:37.217 --> 00:35:37.577
Tom: Yes.
00:35:38.097 --> 00:35:49.417
Phil: And, you know, I found it wonderful, absolutely wonderful on the Switch, and I played it both in the handheld mode and docked with a pro controller, because, you know, I am a professional gamer.
00:35:50.897 --> 00:35:52.777
Phil: They don't just sell those at stores, you know.
00:35:54.257 --> 00:35:57.797
Phil: And the graphics, you know, the control was great on both.
00:35:58.117 --> 00:36:01.877
Phil: So as a free game, thoroughly recommended.
00:36:03.197 --> 00:36:15.137
Phil: As the game is a challenging one to kind of understand as to what it is that you're supposed to be doing, that's kind of the fun of the game at the start.
00:36:15.417 --> 00:36:17.217
Phil: The fun of the game is finding the game.
00:36:17.857 --> 00:36:18.117
Tom: Yep.
00:36:18.577 --> 00:36:24.857
Phil: And that sense of wonder that, you know, people experience with Zelda Breath of the Wild on the Switch.
00:36:26.077 --> 00:36:29.717
Phil: Obviously, there is a much more obvious thing as what you should be doing.
00:36:29.737 --> 00:36:32.497
Phil: You know, you have a sword, you have a shield and all that sort of thing.
00:36:34.217 --> 00:36:38.797
Phil: The difficulty that I had with this was the other players.
00:36:39.557 --> 00:36:46.377
Phil: So other players will appear in a transparent ghost-like fashion until you make contact with them.
00:36:47.077 --> 00:36:58.677
Phil: And maybe because I was playing on the first day of the Switch, it seemed to be inundated with people who didn't, who seemed to be a couple of steps behind me in terms of knowing what it is that they were doing.
00:37:00.497 --> 00:37:07.857
Phil: Or users from other platforms that had no interest in interacting with noobs.
00:37:08.077 --> 00:37:20.997
Phil: So you'd either go up to someone to make a friend with them, and they either didn't know how to make a friend with you because they'd just started playing on the Switch, or they'd just basically go, no, you know, no, I'm not, you know, go away sort of thing.
00:37:21.017 --> 00:37:23.257
Phil: They'd be gesturing, no, go away, I don't want a friend.
00:37:24.937 --> 00:37:55.117
Phil: And I've got to say that's probably the highest jarring, you know, that's why I stopped playing after a few hours of play because I kind of, there was two things, there was that, which you can address in a minute, and then the other was, they take you back to a hub world, and it was really hard for me to determine which lands I had quite beaten and didn't need to go back into and which ones I did need to go into, like which gates or which worlds I had to go into.
00:37:55.137 --> 00:37:58.577
Tom: Well, at the beginning, aren't, don't you unlock them successively?
00:37:59.277 --> 00:38:00.857
Phil: No, no, they, it's...
00:38:00.877 --> 00:38:02.737
Tom: So they're all open to begin with.
00:38:03.017 --> 00:38:06.897
Phil: I don't know if they're all open, but let's just say there's four or five that are open to me right now.
00:38:07.817 --> 00:38:09.257
Phil: And I would have much...
00:38:09.277 --> 00:38:12.097
Tom: Because there have been many changes to it over the years.
00:38:12.297 --> 00:38:18.577
Phil: Yeah, I would have much preferred to have been a linear progression until I was really comfortable with what I was doing.
00:38:19.137 --> 00:38:20.877
Tom: That's how it was when I started playing.
00:38:20.897 --> 00:38:22.617
Phil: Yeah, because I found myself...
00:38:22.857 --> 00:38:34.257
Tom: In addition to that, another change there which will alter your experience of first playing is originally the people, other players were already lit up.
00:38:34.377 --> 00:38:41.157
Tom: You could see what they actually looked like to begin with without having to light their candle as you need to do now.
00:38:41.937 --> 00:38:48.697
Tom: So, it was quite a different beginner experience when the game was first released.
00:38:48.917 --> 00:38:50.897
Phil: Yep, yep.
00:38:50.917 --> 00:38:55.557
Phil: But that's pretty much all I have to say about this game.
00:38:56.577 --> 00:39:05.557
Phil: At this point, I've got to figure out how to tie my two accounts together and then how to get a friend, like yourself, to play with.
00:39:07.077 --> 00:39:13.497
Phil: I don't really understand the etiquette of the friendship either and that's probably another issue.
00:39:13.557 --> 00:39:15.857
Phil: Like, am I supposed to be friending everyone I see?
00:39:16.897 --> 00:39:19.377
Tom: No, you can if you want.
00:39:19.397 --> 00:39:19.877
Tom: Try that.
00:39:20.357 --> 00:39:22.937
Tom: And a lot of new players do do that.
00:39:23.597 --> 00:39:30.297
Tom: And usually experienced players either do not mind or if they do, they'll just simply ignore you.
00:39:31.477 --> 00:39:41.977
Tom: So I don't think that that would cause too many problems except that it uses in-game currency, which as you continue will become more important, so you may not want to do that.
00:39:44.777 --> 00:39:57.817
Tom: But the general etiquette would be just simply if someone, if you want to go up to someone, go up to them, light their candle and just follow them around the level helping them out in whatever they're doing.
00:39:58.877 --> 00:40:01.597
Tom: And after that, you could then add them, I would suggest.
00:40:02.217 --> 00:40:02.477
Phil: Yep.
00:40:03.257 --> 00:40:03.497
Phil: Yep.
00:40:04.197 --> 00:40:09.537
Phil: So again, it's always difficult when you have a pre-existing game come to a new platform.
00:40:10.197 --> 00:40:11.057
Phil: Yep.
00:40:11.417 --> 00:40:12.337
Phil: In the different ranges.
00:40:12.357 --> 00:40:18.237
Phil: So what has the introduction of the Switch platform meant for long-term players of the game?
00:40:18.837 --> 00:40:26.077
Tom: Well, just before that, I have to say it's also quite interesting that you have had people gesturing to you to go away.
00:40:26.977 --> 00:40:28.837
Tom: That's, I think, an impressive achievement.
00:40:32.017 --> 00:40:33.317
Tom: I wouldn't say that would be normal.
00:40:34.657 --> 00:40:36.297
Phil: But I haven't done anything offensive.
00:40:37.337 --> 00:40:38.157
Tom: Maybe you have.
00:40:38.197 --> 00:40:39.097
Tom: Maybe you have.
00:40:41.237 --> 00:40:41.657
Phil: All right.
00:40:41.897 --> 00:40:47.077
Phil: Well, I mean, so tell me about what's the community reaction been to all these noobs washing in?
00:40:47.097 --> 00:40:47.557
Tom: Yes, yes.
00:40:47.797 --> 00:41:00.717
Tom: Well, there hasn't really been any sort of reaction to noobs washing in, because that has happened already when it was released on Android and also when it was released officially on the Chinese market.
00:41:01.677 --> 00:41:05.637
Tom: And there were already a huge number of Chinese players before that, though, of course.
00:41:07.617 --> 00:41:20.457
Tom: But I think the main reaction of people has just simply been a jealousy that they cannot get the Switch exclusive items, I would say.
00:41:20.877 --> 00:41:20.997
Tom: Yeah.
00:41:23.897 --> 00:41:35.257
Tom: Which beta players, such as myself, did get on the Android and iOS anyway, but only on the actual beta servers rather than the main game.
00:41:35.437 --> 00:41:38.757
Phil: Did you have any idea what the wider reception to this game has been?
00:41:38.957 --> 00:41:46.457
Phil: I've only heard one outlet talk about it, and they basically talked about it the same way I talked about it, which was respectfully, but a little bit confused.
00:41:47.517 --> 00:42:12.277
Tom: Yep, I think that probably is the general reaction to it, and then you sometimes get on larger outlets stuff written by people who have played it a lot and are very much enjoying it, but the general press reaction has been basically, this looks like Journey, how wonderful, and then that's it.
00:42:12.357 --> 00:42:14.177
Phil: If you have nothing else to say about...
00:42:15.717 --> 00:42:18.157
Tom: Well, we do have to talk about the Little Prince season.
00:42:18.177 --> 00:42:18.797
Phil: Okay, yep.
00:42:19.457 --> 00:42:27.197
Tom: Which is, I would say, probably the best season since the...
00:42:28.577 --> 00:42:29.077
Phil: Beatles?
00:42:30.137 --> 00:42:31.417
Tom: No, not since the Beatles.
00:42:31.437 --> 00:42:32.057
Phil: Slice Bread.
00:42:32.857 --> 00:42:34.017
Tom: Not since Slice Bread.
00:42:34.577 --> 00:42:39.637
Tom: Since I think it was maybe the third or fourth season, I'm not entirely sure.
00:42:39.657 --> 00:42:40.817
Phil: How many seasons are they up to?
00:42:41.677 --> 00:42:45.357
Tom: This is like the 10th or 11th or 8th or 9th at least.
00:42:45.377 --> 00:42:45.957
Tom: Jeez.
00:42:46.437 --> 00:42:47.457
Tom: There have been a lot of them.
00:42:47.477 --> 00:42:48.857
Phil: Well, explain what a season is.
00:42:48.877 --> 00:42:50.977
Phil: Is it like an expansion pack or is it just...
00:42:50.997 --> 00:42:59.837
Tom: Yes, a season is basically an expansion pack that introduces a new story line and also a new area to explore as well.
00:43:00.877 --> 00:43:11.697
Tom: And after the first few seasons, which they put quite far apart, they've since started doing the seasons more often, thus why we're up to so many seasons.
00:43:12.097 --> 00:43:22.497
Tom: And the rhythm of release has basically been they will release a season that they put a lot of effort into, then they'll release a full season, then they'll release another season they put a lot of effort into.
00:43:22.517 --> 00:43:24.157
Tom: And this is following that.
00:43:25.697 --> 00:43:27.817
Phil: So they do what we do with this podcast.
00:43:28.297 --> 00:43:32.137
Tom: Correct, except in one of them, they do put in a lot of effort.
00:43:32.177 --> 00:43:33.577
Phil: But keep listening, people.
00:43:33.597 --> 00:43:34.277
Phil: This is the good one.
00:43:34.317 --> 00:43:35.417
Phil: This is the good one.
00:43:36.377 --> 00:43:42.137
Tom: Which reminds me, I have to try dipping the cheeseburger in the sweet and sour sauce.
00:43:42.157 --> 00:43:42.777
Phil: Yeah, that's right.
00:43:42.797 --> 00:43:44.377
Phil: We've given them too much game content.
00:43:44.397 --> 00:43:45.237
Phil: It's time to...
00:43:45.257 --> 00:43:47.317
Tom: So we have to take a short break to do this.
00:43:47.337 --> 00:43:51.377
Phil: Should we talk about religion politics or something like that as well?
00:43:52.517 --> 00:43:56.477
Tom: Well, we were talking about Chinese imperialism earlier, I believe.
00:43:56.497 --> 00:43:56.977
Phil: Yeah, I know.
00:43:56.977 --> 00:43:58.757
Phil: If I said that the Chinese imperialism...
00:43:58.777 --> 00:44:04.037
Tom: And yet again, you failed to come up with a response to my argument.
00:44:04.057 --> 00:44:05.497
Phil: That's because I agree with you.
00:44:05.517 --> 00:44:07.137
Phil: I've had time to come around, man.
00:44:07.137 --> 00:44:07.537
Tom: Excellent.
00:44:07.557 --> 00:44:09.817
Phil: It's been 10 weeks since we recorded or something.
00:44:10.657 --> 00:44:14.257
Tom: And you spent every moment thinking about it and researching the topic.
00:44:14.317 --> 00:44:15.637
Phil: And going, yeah, you know what?
00:44:15.717 --> 00:44:16.557
Phil: Tom is right.
00:44:19.457 --> 00:44:19.977
Tom: Here we go.
00:44:20.557 --> 00:44:22.477
Tom: The moment you've all been waiting for.
00:44:22.497 --> 00:44:29.897
Tom: I was dunking the bacon cheeseburger with extra pickles, mustard and ketchup into the sweet and sour sauce.
00:44:30.377 --> 00:44:31.517
Phil: I thought you'd already done this.
00:44:32.737 --> 00:44:35.137
Tom: No, I did that with the chicken and cheeseburger.
00:44:35.137 --> 00:44:37.817
Phil: It's like a Tadurken is what you're doing here.
00:44:39.157 --> 00:44:40.157
Phil: There's another one to look up.
00:44:43.197 --> 00:44:43.777
Phil: Turducken.
00:44:50.896 --> 00:44:52.296
Tom: Again, I think that works really well.
00:44:52.816 --> 00:45:05.596
Tom: The first effect is, I think through one's associated memories, the extra sweetness actually brings out the flavour of the bacon and makes it more noticeable and prominent.
00:45:07.916 --> 00:45:22.556
Tom: Then afterwards, once the sweetness of the sweet and sour sauce has faded a little, you get the extreme salty kick of all of that mustard and ketchup and the pickles just amplifying the flavour.
00:45:22.576 --> 00:45:30.376
Tom: So I would highly recommend dipping your customised cheeseburger into sweet and sour sauce.
00:45:32.736 --> 00:45:33.376
Phil: Very good.
00:45:35.256 --> 00:45:36.916
Tom: Now, back to Sky, unfortunately.
00:45:36.936 --> 00:45:39.056
Phil: Well, is there going to be any more ASMR in the show?
00:45:40.576 --> 00:45:43.936
Tom: I'll just finish eating in the background while you're speaking.
00:45:44.116 --> 00:45:49.396
Tom: I will obviously give my final thoughts on the energy and fillingness of the cheeseburger eventually though.
00:45:49.416 --> 00:45:54.636
Phil: Okay, well, I feel like I can't be left out of this segment, so I'm about to do my own ASMR.
00:45:57.116 --> 00:45:58.136
Phil: And there you have it.
00:45:58.716 --> 00:45:59.576
Tom: What are you drinking?
00:46:00.256 --> 00:46:01.936
Tom: Is it alcohol-free Heineken?
00:46:02.076 --> 00:46:02.876
Phil: Yes, it is.
00:46:03.236 --> 00:46:04.076
Phil: How could you doubt?
00:46:04.556 --> 00:46:05.616
Phil: Another new sponsor.
00:46:06.316 --> 00:46:10.336
Phil: No, it's James Squire Hop Thief American Pale Ale Special 10th Edition.
00:46:11.576 --> 00:46:13.236
Tom: That's very disappointing, I have to say.
00:46:13.256 --> 00:46:14.876
Phil: 5.3% alcohol in volume.
00:46:17.236 --> 00:46:19.196
Tom: I was hoping for the alcohol-free Heineken.
00:46:19.436 --> 00:46:24.236
Phil: No, well, you know, not until they're responsible, I drink that swill.
00:46:24.816 --> 00:46:28.916
Phil: So you were talking, you had something else, you were talking about The Little Prince expansion pack.
00:46:28.936 --> 00:46:30.176
Tom: Yeah, The Little Prince season.
00:46:30.716 --> 00:46:33.456
Tom: So the prior season was essentially a filler season.
00:46:33.476 --> 00:46:36.356
Tom: The one before that was one of their best seasons.
00:46:36.816 --> 00:46:45.816
Tom: That was the one about a skater, which unfortunately they totally screwed up the release of with a million glitches and other problems.
00:46:45.836 --> 00:46:46.956
Phil: I heard about that.
00:46:46.976 --> 00:46:55.876
Phil: And then there was the unlicensed use of Tony Hawk's image, which got them into some trouble.
00:46:55.956 --> 00:46:58.576
Tom: As well as Avril Lavigne's Skater Girl.
00:46:58.956 --> 00:46:59.936
Phil: Oh, yeah, very good.
00:47:00.336 --> 00:47:02.976
Tom: So it was a double, double failure.
00:47:03.196 --> 00:47:09.416
Tom: They totally missed the mark there, unfortunately, which was which was a great disappointment because the season itself was so good.
00:47:10.636 --> 00:47:25.176
Tom: But now at a proper season, this is the first season they've done that is explicitly referencing another intellectual property, I believe is the politically correct term.
00:47:26.736 --> 00:47:38.996
Tom: And The Little Prince is a natural fit for Sky, as you described the aesthetic and narrative of Sky earlier on.
00:47:39.016 --> 00:47:40.876
Tom: You can see how it is a very natural fit.
00:47:41.496 --> 00:48:18.316
Tom: And the way that they tell the story of The Little Prince is very interesting because there is no voice acting in Sky, but there are cut scenes and the dialogue is communicated just with text from The Little Prince as you meet him throughout the world and the story of the characters that he meets are in the new area and are communicated by reliving the memories of spirits and again using the in-game dialogue as if you're talking to other players, which works really well for two reasons.
00:48:18.476 --> 00:48:26.216
Tom: One, it does not at all interfere with the immersion and it's an interesting effect that it is the same way you communicate to other players.
00:48:27.336 --> 00:48:47.696
Tom: I think adding to the immersion and additionally a lot of the dialogue is some of it, a few snippets of it are almost verbatim and the rest is very close to the dialogue in the stories, although they did change the alcoholic to someone drinking dark water or something to that effect.
00:48:51.076 --> 00:49:13.876
Tom: But obviously, The Little Prince is a really rich writing, so it just worked perfectly being communicated in that way and I think a lot better than most adaptations of The Little Prince that do it in a more ostentatious and overstated manner where you do not need to with a book that is that well written.
00:49:15.496 --> 00:49:16.556
Phil: Two questions for you.
00:49:18.756 --> 00:49:19.996
Phil: How big is this game?
00:49:21.476 --> 00:49:22.336
Phil: It's huge, right?
00:49:22.356 --> 00:49:23.676
Phil: I mean, the 10th season.
00:49:24.996 --> 00:49:27.596
Tom: Yes, well, you can't do the previous seasons.
00:49:28.656 --> 00:49:31.616
Phil: No, I mean in terms of popularity.
00:49:32.376 --> 00:49:33.716
Tom: Oh, in terms of popularity.
00:49:34.016 --> 00:49:54.096
Tom: Well, it must be relatively successful because it is still going with as much support as it originally did and the number of other players has not diminished and has generally just increased with each platform release and each new region that comes along.
00:49:54.116 --> 00:49:55.496
Phil: You've been playing it for two years.
00:49:55.516 --> 00:49:56.236
Phil: What's the hook?
00:49:57.296 --> 00:50:01.976
Tom: I've been playing it since it was first released and the hook is two things, I would say.
00:50:02.316 --> 00:50:19.056
Tom: One, the aesthetic remains just, it has so much depth to it that it is endlessly enjoyable to continue collecting candles and doing that sort of thing as an aesthetic relaxing experience.
00:50:20.976 --> 00:50:43.776
Tom: But it becomes a whole other thing that is much more engrossive as it is in any sort of MMO where due to the way that you meet people in the game and usually go around with them for a period of time before actually talking to them or if you talk to them immediately, you're probably meeting them directly through friends you already have on the game.
00:50:44.596 --> 00:51:06.996
Tom: And the way in which you help one another out in the game creates an extremely unique and enjoyable community of other players to be doing what is essentially an extremely repetitive MMORPG style grinding experience.
00:51:06.996 --> 00:51:22.436
Tom: Once you have got all the spirits and gone through all the stories in the game, it then essentially becomes all about collecting candles outside of the seasons where you get a snippet of what the original experience was like.
00:51:22.816 --> 00:51:34.296
Tom: But due to the way they handle the social interaction in the game, it is a totally unique social experience that isn't really like any other sort of MMO out there.
00:51:34.916 --> 00:51:38.716
Phil: One of the issues I had with the game was how do I communicate with these people?
00:51:38.736 --> 00:51:44.256
Phil: And you were saying, well, half the listeners of this podcast now come from Sky and that they're telling you that they like the ASMR.
00:51:44.536 --> 00:51:47.996
Phil: I can't imagine how you did that with a series of chirps and gestures.
00:51:49.456 --> 00:51:52.056
Tom: Well, chirps and gestures are perfect for ASMR.
00:51:53.136 --> 00:51:55.596
Phil: Tell me how do you communicate with these people then?
00:51:56.996 --> 00:52:05.336
Tom: Well, you communicate them with in-game text once you have befriended them and unlocked chat or added them via a QR code.
00:52:05.396 --> 00:52:17.156
Phil: Okay, see, that was one of the issues that I had with this that I think would be way better in a touch environment was, and unfortunately they don't utilise the touchscreen on the Switch, which is baffling to me.
00:52:18.356 --> 00:52:27.716
Phil: I can tell that really good players at this are able to switch between gestures effortlessly and rapidly, which for a new player is really intimidating.
00:52:27.736 --> 00:52:31.156
Phil: And fortunately, they only give you a few gestures and you unlock them slowly.
00:52:32.256 --> 00:52:36.376
Phil: But like I wanted to talk to someone and I was like, oh, I should be using this gesture.
00:52:36.396 --> 00:52:37.716
Phil: And then I got lost in the menu.
00:52:37.736 --> 00:52:40.116
Phil: And by the time I find the gesture, I want to do it.
00:52:40.576 --> 00:52:43.016
Phil: You know, it's like seven seconds later.
00:52:43.736 --> 00:52:43.996
Tom: Yeah.
00:52:44.736 --> 00:52:45.096
Phil: And that's...
00:52:45.116 --> 00:52:46.276
Tom: Well, do you have bow?
00:52:46.696 --> 00:52:47.056
Phil: Yes.
00:52:47.856 --> 00:52:48.156
Tom: Yes.
00:52:48.176 --> 00:52:54.436
Tom: Well, I should add the correct etiquette when meeting anyone is after you light their candle, you bow to them.
00:52:55.196 --> 00:52:57.396
Phil: Oh, see, that's why people tell me to go away.
00:52:58.016 --> 00:52:58.396
Tom: Yes.
00:52:58.796 --> 00:53:00.216
Phil: I've been f**king them in the arse.
00:53:02.116 --> 00:53:02.836
Phil: Oh, jeez.
00:53:03.316 --> 00:53:04.496
Phil: I feel like an idiot now.
00:53:04.516 --> 00:53:08.056
Tom: That's how we greet each other in Australia, by the way, for our international listeners.
00:53:08.836 --> 00:53:09.976
Phil: It's a cultural thing.
00:53:12.756 --> 00:53:15.056
Phil: Well, so this is the best season since season three.
00:53:16.236 --> 00:53:26.376
Tom: Yes, or whatever the season which featured before the season was actually released, some people figured out how to get to the area.
00:53:27.356 --> 00:53:38.236
Tom: And the reason the season was so enjoyable, the season itself was really good because it had one of the best new areas in terms of how it evolved as you were playing.
00:53:38.256 --> 00:53:43.616
Tom: There was a crashed airship and you were essentially repairing the airship.
00:53:44.016 --> 00:53:51.896
Tom: And as you repaired it over time, the area would grow with plants and flowers and things like that.
00:53:51.916 --> 00:53:54.896
Tom: And it had a great sense of progression to it and was really beautiful.
00:53:54.916 --> 00:54:07.196
Tom: But the greatest appeal of it was that when someone figured out how to get there early, you would have one or two friends who either knew how to get there or knew someone else who did.
00:54:07.756 --> 00:54:09.856
Tom: And you would walk to them and you would go there.
00:54:10.236 --> 00:54:15.956
Tom: And there were mushrooms that were high up in the sky or underground.
00:54:16.356 --> 00:54:31.116
Tom: And the underground ones, you had to glitch through the ground into an underwater area where to reach the mushrooms, you would have to set up tables in the air and fly between the tables.
00:54:31.176 --> 00:54:35.336
Tom: And it was really awkward and difficult, probably the hardest thing in the game.
00:54:36.316 --> 00:54:54.356
Tom: And doing this extreme challenge to collect these mushrooms as each one gave you a candle, which was not a potentially generally intended design feature, was just this hilarious and enjoyable experience.
00:54:55.576 --> 00:54:58.456
Tom: So this is probably the best season since then.
00:54:59.576 --> 00:55:06.176
Tom: And it's deliberately good for its story and aesthetic.
00:55:06.216 --> 00:55:19.816
Tom: And it probably is the best one in terms of that, and just beating the skating season for me in terms of the narrative and aesthetic of the area.
00:55:20.056 --> 00:55:28.356
Tom: And also just put the other one third, the mushroom picking season, if not for the mushroom picking season, which makes it by far the greatest.
00:55:28.796 --> 00:55:33.176
Phil: We could probably talk about this game forever, but we've got a list of games as long as my arm.
00:55:33.476 --> 00:55:35.136
Phil: Is there anything else you want to say about Sky?
00:55:36.356 --> 00:55:36.916
Tom: Not really.
00:55:36.916 --> 00:55:52.436
Tom: And I would just add the final thing again, demonstrating the fascinating and totally different tone to the community of it, because if you're holding hands with another player, they recharge your flying energy, you will get people who will...
00:55:54.336 --> 00:55:54.936
Tom: I mean, sorry.
00:55:55.056 --> 00:55:58.016
Tom: You can just go around with friends, never flying.
00:55:58.036 --> 00:56:04.436
Tom: Basically, my playing of the game usually consists of if I'm eating and doing nothing else.
00:56:04.456 --> 00:56:09.596
Tom: And so I will just follow a friend around, talking to them essentially, rather than actually ever flying.
00:56:09.596 --> 00:56:31.336
Tom: Me running around in the game is very rare these days, but because it helps other people and the slower way in which you meet people, things like that, which people would have a huge problem with in other MMORPGs, if you did not actually then go out and farm for X amount of time yourself with them just sitting around doing nothing.
00:56:31.936 --> 00:56:33.676
Tom: That isn't an issue in Sky.
00:56:33.696 --> 00:56:34.956
Phil: Yeah, try that in Call of Duty.
00:56:35.596 --> 00:56:35.936
Tom: Yes.
00:56:36.416 --> 00:56:37.656
Phil: See how long you'll last.
00:56:38.936 --> 00:56:39.316
Tom: Exactly.
00:56:39.336 --> 00:56:41.936
Phil: I mean, it's okay to you, I'm just gonna sit here and eat, all right?
00:56:43.696 --> 00:56:53.576
Tom: Well, in MMORPGs, there are similar things where if you go into a dungeon with someone, without killing anything, if you're in their party, you'll get a certain amount of their XP.
00:56:54.276 --> 00:57:06.476
Tom: So you will often have a situation where people will just sit around chatting or being AFK there, but there's usually much greater expectation that you will also then need to do the same thing for other people.
00:57:06.896 --> 00:57:12.376
Tom: Whereas here, because you are still helping out by recharging people, that isn't really an issue.
00:57:12.396 --> 00:57:15.536
Tom: And also because you, to begin with, know the people better.
00:57:15.556 --> 00:57:17.496
Phil: So you're basically a lithium battery.
00:57:18.296 --> 00:57:19.656
Tom: Exactly, exactly.
00:57:20.676 --> 00:57:22.736
Tom: I am regenerative breaking, essentially.
00:57:22.736 --> 00:57:30.216
Phil: There was a game we both played called The First Tree, which is a journey ripoff, which is the only reason I mention it here.
00:57:31.876 --> 00:57:37.136
Phil: And like I was reading through my notes and my notes, and you're gonna have to excuse the French here.
00:57:37.836 --> 00:57:42.956
Phil: I wrote, you have one job in your journey ripoff, get the fucking character animation right.
00:57:43.536 --> 00:57:45.836
Phil: You failed, you failed comically.
00:57:46.016 --> 00:57:46.896
Phil: Now fuck off.
00:57:48.416 --> 00:57:50.296
Phil: That was my review of The First Tree.
00:57:51.076 --> 00:57:52.896
Phil: The First Tree, is it available free?
00:57:52.916 --> 00:57:54.056
Phil: We got it somewhere, didn't we?
00:57:54.076 --> 00:57:56.556
Tom: I think it was free on Epic Games Store.
00:57:56.636 --> 00:57:57.556
Phil: Okay, okay.
00:57:57.576 --> 00:58:02.296
Phil: And I may have got it through the Amazon Prime game service, which I'll just plug right now.
00:58:02.696 --> 00:58:06.676
Phil: If you have Amazon Prime, they have a game service that comes with Prime.
00:58:06.696 --> 00:58:08.236
Phil: You don't have to pay any extra money.
00:58:08.256 --> 00:58:09.676
Phil: And basically it's free games.
00:58:10.176 --> 00:58:18.356
Phil: It's bare bones as it can be, but it has notable games and indie ones and new games every week.
00:58:18.956 --> 00:58:33.876
Phil: Just to give you an idea as to some of the games, there's some Telltale series games on there, like Batman and Enemy Within, Monkey Island Special Edition, Yakuza Island Express, Before I Forget, which is another game that we both played.
00:58:34.116 --> 00:58:35.256
Phil: I'm not saying Before I Forget.
00:58:35.276 --> 00:58:36.676
Phil: Before I Forget is the name of the game.
00:58:37.656 --> 00:58:41.456
Phil: The Escapists, Moving Out, I mean, there's tons of free games on there.
00:58:42.236 --> 00:58:51.136
Phil: And if you're Bombslinger from Team17, and if you are an Amazon Prime subscriber already, it's free.
00:58:51.196 --> 00:58:54.016
Phil: I mean, all you have to do is download the platform for it.
00:58:55.776 --> 00:58:59.636
Phil: And I've found some great games as a part of it.
00:58:59.676 --> 00:59:01.816
Phil: So do you have a Prime subscription?
00:59:02.756 --> 00:59:05.276
Tom: I do currently and I played Before I Forget.
00:59:06.836 --> 00:59:07.396
Phil: What did you play?
00:59:08.556 --> 00:59:09.296
Tom: Before I Forget.
00:59:09.316 --> 00:59:09.876
Phil: Yeah, I know.
00:59:09.896 --> 00:59:11.016
Phil: Just tell us the name of the game, man.
00:59:13.076 --> 00:59:15.076
Tom: The First Tree, which we were talking about a moment ago.
00:59:15.096 --> 00:59:15.436
Phil: Oh, that's right.
00:59:15.456 --> 00:59:16.396
Tom: I'm surprised you forgot already.
00:59:16.416 --> 00:59:18.176
Phil: That's right.
00:59:18.196 --> 00:59:20.516
Phil: The First Tree, I describe it as a journey ripoff.
00:59:20.996 --> 00:59:21.296
Tom: Yes.
00:59:21.696 --> 00:59:30.376
Phil: With a really bad voiceover about a guy who's coming to terms with something or other and doing it by remembering his teenage years.
00:59:30.976 --> 00:59:35.016
Tom: It is so funny because he's talking to his partner.
00:59:35.036 --> 00:59:36.556
Phil: That's right.
00:59:36.976 --> 00:59:47.196
Tom: And he's bearing his heart to her on the problems he had with his father and growing up in an isolated, remote Alaskan community.
00:59:47.816 --> 00:59:53.816
Tom: And at some point, towards the end of the discussion, he's just like, okay, that's enough.
00:59:53.856 --> 00:59:55.136
Tom: I'm so exhausted.
00:59:55.576 --> 00:59:57.296
Tom: I've just bared my heart to you.
00:59:57.516 --> 00:59:58.596
Tom: I have to go to sleep now.
00:59:58.616 --> 01:00:00.616
Tom: And she's like, fuck you, motherfucker.
01:00:00.856 --> 01:00:05.456
Tom: You are finishing this fucking story before you go to sleep, you little shit.
01:00:09.356 --> 01:00:10.516
Phil: It is so bad.
01:00:10.836 --> 01:00:11.656
Phil: The writing.
01:00:11.676 --> 01:00:12.356
Tom: It's so funny.
01:00:12.376 --> 01:00:12.716
Phil: The writing.
01:00:12.736 --> 01:00:15.816
Tom: And he was like, yes, thank you for looking out for me like that.
01:00:16.236 --> 01:00:26.036
Tom: I'm sorry, but if someone fucking said that to me, they would be very lucky to get away with not being punched in the face or something.
01:00:26.376 --> 01:00:41.776
Tom: If I've just spent 50 hours on this long fucking heart-rending story and I can't go on due to physical exhaustion and this fucking piece of shit tells me, you fucking keep going, you ass.
01:00:42.696 --> 01:00:43.536
Tom: What the fuck?
01:00:44.036 --> 01:00:44.756
Tom: Oh my God.
01:00:45.436 --> 01:00:48.116
Phil: The animation, you're a dog or a wolf.
01:00:48.196 --> 01:00:49.616
Phil: I can't even remember this horror.
01:00:49.636 --> 01:00:50.616
Tom: You're a fox, I believe.
01:00:50.976 --> 01:00:51.716
Phil: Are you a fox?
01:00:52.996 --> 01:00:53.636
Tom: Yes.
01:00:53.636 --> 01:00:55.176
Phil: So a cross between a dog and a wolf.
01:00:56.196 --> 01:01:02.016
Phil: You're a fox, and like there's this, if you get a ripoff journey, get the character animation right.
01:01:02.036 --> 01:01:15.256
Phil: And you go to double jump, and basically the dog just basically, Jesus poses, and flies through the air, and then lands like a popsicle before he reanimates.
01:01:15.776 --> 01:01:16.856
Phil: It is so bad.
01:01:17.156 --> 01:01:21.356
Phil: This game is comically bad, and you need to play it, everyone out there.
01:01:21.436 --> 01:01:22.596
Tom: I absolutely loved it.
01:01:23.496 --> 01:01:37.396
Tom: And I have to say, it is simultaneously, I think aesthetically, one of the greatest experiences I've had, and one of the worst, with the, and narratively as well, was actually quite enjoyable in some ways.
01:01:37.616 --> 01:01:57.416
Tom: But forget the hilarity of the animation, the colors of the world were really unique, and also the, almost vortex, what was the outcast style way of doing pixels and building a world called?
01:01:57.436 --> 01:01:58.016
Phil: Outcast?
01:01:58.036 --> 01:01:58.276
Tom: Yes.
01:01:59.456 --> 01:02:00.256
Phil: What's Outcast?
01:02:01.256 --> 01:02:06.916
Tom: That was a PC game, and I'll look it up, just to confirm, I'm getting the name correct, but I think I am.
01:02:07.716 --> 01:02:08.016
Tom: That-
01:02:08.496 --> 01:02:12.076
Phil: Keeping in mind that I played The First Tree probably three weeks ago and didn't remember it.
01:02:12.096 --> 01:02:22.396
Tom: Yes, yes, Outcast, that is the correct name, made by originally, I think, fresh 3D perhaps.
01:02:23.316 --> 01:02:32.416
Tom: Anyway, it had a unique way of pixelating the world, which resulted in really smooth 3D surfaces for the time.
01:02:32.716 --> 01:02:34.956
Tom: It came out in 1999.
01:02:35.176 --> 01:02:51.636
Tom: Look it up and you would not be able to predict what it looks like, because it looks essentially like a N64 game, but with HD smoothness and much more detail in the curved surfaces.
01:02:52.496 --> 01:03:00.256
Tom: So it was a fascinating way of designing things and there are visual similarities here in the way trees and things like that look.
01:03:00.496 --> 01:03:13.296
Tom: Anyway, the basic point is the world looked very much like Picasso landscapes of the brief period in his career where he painted anything that wasn't utter shite.
01:03:13.856 --> 01:03:17.796
Tom: So it was a really fascinating and unique aesthetic experience.
01:03:18.396 --> 01:03:29.556
Tom: And the story of the fox, if you remove the story of the people and you're not too bothered by the hilarious animation was to me endearing enough that it kept my attention to the end.
01:03:29.876 --> 01:03:50.076
Tom: And it ends with you leaving a message for other players and you getting a message from other players on the theme of the game, which I thought again, worked in the context of the fox story quite nicely because it was left as a message for her children who she cannot communicate with because they're all dead essentially.
01:03:50.076 --> 01:03:54.176
Tom: So to me, it was just a totally fascinating experience.
01:03:54.196 --> 01:03:56.556
Tom: That was one, absolutely hilarious.
01:03:56.856 --> 01:04:10.696
Tom: And two, had some genuinely unique and good stuff about it while also being a ripoff of Journey and also featuring one of the funniest, stupidest stories tacked on to the top of it for some unknown reason.
01:04:11.916 --> 01:04:13.836
Phil: I think it's only like an hour long as well.
01:04:14.316 --> 01:04:15.316
Tom: Yeah, it's really short.
01:04:15.336 --> 01:04:20.256
Phil: Yeah, I just got to say, like it, you know, this was obviously someone's creative dream.
01:04:20.276 --> 01:04:23.736
Phil: They, you know, they did something that I've never done, which is publish a video game.
01:04:23.756 --> 01:04:24.336
Phil: That's great.
01:04:24.816 --> 01:04:31.536
Phil: You've talked about how great itch is because it means everyone can publish their own game and their own story, which is great.
01:04:31.556 --> 01:04:38.696
Phil: I mean, anyone can publish their own game and own story, but if you're going to self-publish, you open yourself up for this kind of criticism.
01:04:38.756 --> 01:04:39.556
Phil: And I'm sorry.
01:04:39.676 --> 01:04:45.096
Phil: I mean, there was some things about it that was very good and that didn't crash, I don't think.
01:04:46.616 --> 01:04:57.296
Phil: And it was short and it was obviously heartfelt, but you know, when you self-publish, you're not going to get the kind of polish that you're going to get from other games.
01:04:57.296 --> 01:04:58.496
Phil: And some...
01:04:58.516 --> 01:05:03.016
Tom: Well, that's totally false because there are self-published games where that is the case.
01:05:03.036 --> 01:05:03.476
Phil: No, I know.
01:05:03.616 --> 01:05:10.036
Phil: I was going to say though, and sometimes that lack of polish is actually the brilliance of that game.
01:05:10.056 --> 01:05:10.576
Tom: That's right.
01:05:10.596 --> 01:05:10.776
Phil: Yeah.
01:05:10.796 --> 01:05:11.336
Tom: That is true.
01:05:12.276 --> 01:05:17.716
Tom: And you will not get lack of polish that is good in larger things for the most part.
01:05:17.856 --> 01:05:23.556
Tom: But that, no, you do actually sometimes get that in rare occasions, like the Order 1886.
01:05:23.736 --> 01:05:25.436
Phil: Yeah, or Saints Row, for example.
01:05:26.076 --> 01:05:29.016
Tom: So it does happen in published games as well.
01:05:29.536 --> 01:05:31.416
Tom: And yes, Saints Row, another great example.
01:05:31.436 --> 01:05:35.116
Phil: Does that Plague Tale game have a similar kind of thing or not?
01:05:36.176 --> 01:05:37.656
Tom: No, Plague Tale is quite polished.
01:05:37.676 --> 01:05:38.036
Phil: Okay.
01:05:38.076 --> 01:05:45.756
Phil: And that was given away free on Game Pass and on Sony's equivalent service about a month ago.
01:05:45.776 --> 01:05:49.716
Phil: And what was your reaction when you found out there was going to be a sequel?
01:05:51.636 --> 01:05:54.156
Tom: Well, this is me finding out that there's going to be a sequel.
01:05:54.176 --> 01:05:57.036
Phil: Well, this is from the studio that did a Plague Tale, right?
01:05:57.056 --> 01:05:57.656
Phil: That's what it's called.
01:05:58.956 --> 01:06:00.176
Tom: That is indeed what it is called.
01:06:00.316 --> 01:06:06.696
Phil: And it's a kind of a, I'm going to say like a B-game type third person action adventure.
01:06:07.396 --> 01:06:09.876
Tom: We would have referred to it in the past as a mid-tier.
01:06:09.896 --> 01:06:10.276
Phil: Yeah.
01:06:10.756 --> 01:06:11.256
Phil: Exactly.
01:06:11.496 --> 01:06:17.716
Phil: And this same team went on to do Microsoft's Flight Simulator, which has been massively...
01:06:17.736 --> 01:06:21.576
Tom: You can see the influence of a plague tale.
01:06:22.116 --> 01:06:24.356
Phil: It's gone on to be massively successful.
01:06:24.376 --> 01:06:32.956
Phil: And then as a result, Microsoft, I think now owns the studio, is part of their buy-up of half the unowned independent developers.
01:06:32.976 --> 01:06:34.556
Tom: That's good to hear for games, pass owners.
01:06:34.576 --> 01:06:34.816
Phil: Yeah.
01:06:35.236 --> 01:06:40.936
Phil: And they've earned the ability to make a sequel, which has to be a dream come true.
01:06:40.956 --> 01:06:44.096
Phil: Just ask the guys that made The Order 1886.
01:06:44.716 --> 01:06:46.456
Phil: So yeah, they're making a sequel, Tom.
01:06:47.116 --> 01:06:47.696
Tom: I'm excited.
01:06:50.896 --> 01:06:51.116
Phil: Yeah.
01:06:51.136 --> 01:06:56.196
Phil: And so just to take away, yeah, okay, obviously, we're being highly critical of this game because it is comically bad.
01:06:56.516 --> 01:07:00.456
Phil: I do feel a little bit bad about that if the creator was listening to this podcast.
01:07:01.196 --> 01:07:05.376
Tom: But it was also actually really well received and a lot of people love it.
01:07:05.396 --> 01:07:05.696
Phil: Good.
01:07:06.276 --> 01:07:07.536
Phil: I'm glad for that.
01:07:08.216 --> 01:07:17.636
Tom: Even on the show, as I said, apart from it as a ridiculous experience, I genuinely did enjoy the Fox side of the narrative.
01:07:17.656 --> 01:07:18.236
Phil: Oh, me too.
01:07:18.336 --> 01:07:22.136
Tom: And loved the aesthetic of the world design.
01:07:22.136 --> 01:07:26.036
Phil: Yeah, and I didn't like the aesthetic as much, but I did love the Fox stuff.
01:07:26.056 --> 01:07:30.836
Phil: And I think probably what pulled it down was the hokey dialogue.
01:07:32.036 --> 01:07:35.196
Phil: It was obviously what pulled it down and made it comically bad.
01:07:35.216 --> 01:07:35.776
Tom: Absolutely.
01:07:36.676 --> 01:07:50.476
Phil: Other games that we've both played, like Not Tonight and Hot Shot Racing, we might get to, but I've also been playing Yakuza Like a Dragon, which has been in the news this week as well, and Pac-Man 99 as well.
01:07:50.656 --> 01:07:54.776
Phil: But was there a game that you wanted to play or do you want me to yak on for a while?
01:07:56.256 --> 01:07:58.396
Tom: Well, I have just finished the cheeseburger.
01:07:59.076 --> 01:08:00.396
Phil: Oh, I haven't heard about that game.
01:08:00.876 --> 01:08:01.416
Phil: Who published it?
01:08:01.436 --> 01:08:02.396
Tom: And the chips as well.
01:08:02.916 --> 01:08:10.236
Tom: And I should add, I've been washing this down with a Gatorade watermelon flavoured Gatorade.
01:08:10.256 --> 01:08:14.596
Tom: Can you guess what colour the liquid in this Gatorade watermelon is?
01:08:14.616 --> 01:08:18.136
Phil: Well, a watermelon consists of four colours, white, black, red and green.
01:08:18.156 --> 01:08:22.716
Phil: So I'm going to suggest that it is pinkish red.
01:08:24.236 --> 01:08:25.116
Tom: You would be wrong.
01:08:25.116 --> 01:08:26.536
Tom: It is transparent.
01:08:28.156 --> 01:08:28.476
Phil: What?
01:08:29.376 --> 01:08:29.936
Phil: No colour.
01:08:30.996 --> 01:08:31.496
Tom: That's right.
01:08:31.516 --> 01:08:33.616
Tom: It is a colourless, transparent liquid.
01:08:33.636 --> 01:08:41.116
Phil: Well, I respect that because I'm a big fan of colourless beverages, because then you don't have to brush your teeth.
01:08:42.356 --> 01:08:45.816
Tom: So while he has great health advice on diet...
01:08:46.896 --> 01:08:48.396
Phil: Well, unless it's sugary, then of course...
01:08:48.416 --> 01:08:51.256
Tom: I wouldn't recommend you follow his dental hygiene practices.
01:08:51.276 --> 01:08:57.416
Phil: If it's sugary, obviously you have to brush your teeth, but I was assuming that everyone drinks sugar-free beverages.
01:08:58.456 --> 01:09:01.756
Tom: Well, you should also brush your teeth if it is at all acidic as well.
01:09:01.776 --> 01:09:03.676
Tom: Or if it is carbonated.
01:09:03.696 --> 01:09:04.336
Phil: Citric acid.
01:09:04.836 --> 01:09:06.056
Phil: What's wrong with carbonation?
01:09:06.916 --> 01:09:09.716
Tom: Well, carbonation is actually one of the worst things for the teeth.
01:09:09.736 --> 01:09:11.936
Phil: You know, I got a soda stream a few months ago.
01:09:11.936 --> 01:09:13.516
Phil: I'm in love with my soda stream.
01:09:15.176 --> 01:09:17.516
Tom: Have you been making colourless or colour drinks with it?
01:09:17.536 --> 01:09:19.416
Phil: Bit of column A, bit of column B.
01:09:19.436 --> 01:09:21.416
Phil: I'm actually blending a lot of flavours.
01:09:21.436 --> 01:09:23.896
Phil: So I'll get Pepsi Max and I'll blend it with Fanta.
01:09:24.476 --> 01:09:26.416
Phil: So I'm making this like orange cola.
01:09:26.516 --> 01:09:27.376
Phil: It's delicious.
01:09:28.156 --> 01:09:30.416
Phil: And then I'll put some Mountain Dew in there as well.
01:09:30.436 --> 01:09:33.196
Phil: There's a Mountain Dew, they sell Mountain Dew juice as well.
01:09:33.216 --> 01:09:35.016
Phil: So I'll do a Mountain Dew, Fanta.
01:09:35.096 --> 01:09:39.036
Tom: We'll obviously have to have a live on-air taste test of that when you first try that.
01:09:39.056 --> 01:09:43.276
Phil: Yeah, I could send it to you, but I probably wouldn't have any bubbles by the time it got to Lockdown Land.
01:09:44.236 --> 01:09:45.916
Phil: Hey, Lockdown Land, that's a good one.
01:09:45.936 --> 01:09:49.516
Phil: Nintendo Switch.
01:09:49.536 --> 01:09:51.636
Tom: Another potential title for the episode.
01:09:52.016 --> 01:09:55.156
Phil: Oh, the other thing about the release of the Steamdeck, I listened to it.
01:09:55.176 --> 01:09:57.356
Tom: Lockdown Land, you've got your Britpop song.
01:09:57.376 --> 01:09:58.776
Phil: I got my Britpop, Brit.
01:09:58.796 --> 01:10:01.176
Tom: Now you've got your British Scar song, Lockdown Land.
01:10:06.676 --> 01:10:13.676
Phil: The funny thing about the reception to the Steamdeck, the funniest reaction to the release of the Steamdeck is coming from Nintendo.
01:10:13.976 --> 01:10:25.436
Phil: Like if you want a good old laugh, listen to a Nintendo themed podcast, Nintendo Voice Channel on IGN, because they're talking about everything through the context of, oh, is this a threat to Nintendo?
01:10:25.796 --> 01:10:28.136
Phil: Nintendo has sold 85 million switches.
01:10:28.196 --> 01:10:29.196
Phil: I'm not exaggerating.
01:10:29.376 --> 01:10:31.336
Phil: This is not a threat to Nintendo.
01:10:31.356 --> 01:10:34.756
Phil: This is two completely different markets, two different audiences.
01:10:35.796 --> 01:10:44.076
Phil: And they're talking about this like, oh, they announced this on the day that Nintendo announced their OLED, or the day after, you know.
01:10:44.096 --> 01:10:46.776
Phil: And it's like, oh yeah, that's what Valve did.
01:10:46.796 --> 01:10:50.816
Phil: They waited till Nintendo released news about their Switch OLED.
01:10:51.316 --> 01:11:01.576
Phil: Then in a day, they developed the Steamdeck to show Nintendo that Nintendo should have put out a Nintendo Switch Plus or a Super Switch.
01:11:02.156 --> 01:11:05.676
Tom: Well, they may indeed have been waiting until that announcement occurred.
01:11:06.896 --> 01:11:11.396
Tom: So that it didn't get washed under the rug with coverage of that.
01:11:11.416 --> 01:11:14.896
Phil: Yeah, I think the Steamdeck thing would have been notable regardless.
01:11:14.916 --> 01:11:20.116
Phil: But like Nintendo Switch is hitting it out of the park, I don't get the criticism of the OLED.
01:11:21.016 --> 01:11:24.616
Phil: The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X is just complete.
01:11:24.636 --> 01:11:29.696
Tom: The criticism is that for some unknown reason, people thought there would be a 4K Switch.
01:11:30.076 --> 01:11:33.816
Phil: And I heard the best argument as to why there wouldn't, but I'm not gonna go into that here.
01:11:35.396 --> 01:12:01.536
Tom: Well, the reason why there wouldn't be very simply is why on earth would Nintendo, whose strategy since the Wii has been to not only release lower powered consoles than its rivals, but keep them within the same sort of power range without major changes to the SKUs of their consoles that they release.
01:12:01.896 --> 01:12:16.916
Tom: So if they were to release a 4K Switch, that would be like releasing the PS4 Pro or whatever the Xbox equivalent to that was called, which has not been their strategy whatsoever.
01:12:16.936 --> 01:12:29.076
Tom: This is in line more so with what they've done with the iterations on the DS and so on and so forth, which is clearly where a lot of their design and release strategy for the Switch has come from.
01:12:29.076 --> 01:12:46.836
Phil: Right, and plus the whole, with the best argument I've heard is that because of the component shortages due to COVID in China, if they keep the hardware the same that powers it and everything else, those are orders that they put in years ago.
01:12:47.596 --> 01:12:51.456
Phil: They've got existing supply agreements with those people that produce it.
01:12:52.256 --> 01:12:54.536
Phil: Changing out the OLED screens neither here nor there.
01:12:55.096 --> 01:12:59.536
Phil: It's basically just filling up the same hole, putting a better kickstand on it.
01:12:59.976 --> 01:13:00.956
Phil: It's neither here nor there.
01:13:00.976 --> 01:13:04.636
Phil: That's not a component that's gonna be difficult to fabricate.
01:13:05.056 --> 01:13:16.196
Phil: But if they had done an upgrade of their power, they'd have to look at every single component pretty much of the hardware and then go out and re-contract in a very different post-COVID environment.
01:13:16.636 --> 01:13:18.856
Phil: And it would have just driven up the cost ridiculously.
01:13:19.016 --> 01:13:20.156
Phil: It seems practical.
01:13:20.176 --> 01:13:33.836
Phil: And while they've sold 85 million switches, why rock the boat when their, quote, competition, Sony, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series, are completely invisible and non-existent in the marketplace?
01:13:34.996 --> 01:13:42.396
Tom: Which is why I would argue that the main reason for them not doing a 4K switch is why would they in the first place?
01:13:42.416 --> 01:13:43.836
Phil: Exactly, yeah, exactly.
01:13:43.856 --> 01:13:58.236
Phil: And hey, you know, if you haven't bought a switch yet, the news of the OLED with the greater storage capacity as well and better battery life, you know, for 50 bucks more, it's a no-brainer.
01:13:59.176 --> 01:14:01.756
Phil: But for existing switch owners, is it a reason to upgrade?
01:14:02.456 --> 01:14:03.816
Phil: Not unless your current one's broken.
01:14:04.456 --> 01:14:10.156
Phil: So anyway, the Furore has been hilarious to me, or rather sadly typical.
01:14:12.356 --> 01:14:17.936
Phil: With that, I guess we should probably go on to an old standby of the game, and that's Yakuza.
01:14:18.576 --> 01:14:21.416
Phil: I've been playing Yakuza Like a Dragon religiously.
01:14:22.096 --> 01:14:22.756
Phil: For the last few...
01:14:22.776 --> 01:14:25.076
Tom: What does it mean to play a game like a dragon?
01:14:25.776 --> 01:14:32.016
Phil: Well, I've been playing Yakuza, colon, like a dragon, end quote, name of game.
01:14:32.036 --> 01:14:35.096
Tom: You know, I'm gonna interrupt you there, because...
01:14:35.116 --> 01:14:36.976
Tom: Ha ha ha ha!
01:14:37.896 --> 01:14:41.776
Tom: That just reminded me that we forgot about Before I Forget.
01:14:42.916 --> 01:14:43.476
Phil: Forget what?
01:14:44.436 --> 01:14:44.976
Tom: Exactly.
01:14:44.996 --> 01:14:51.736
Tom: So we just need to quickly cover that before we get to your new way of playing games, which I believe is like a dragon.
01:14:52.196 --> 01:14:54.416
Phil: I've been drinking this beer like a dragon too, so...
01:14:54.436 --> 01:15:01.116
Phil: Hey, Before I Forget is available as a part of the Amazon Prime game service, not a sponsor.
01:15:02.236 --> 01:15:05.816
Phil: On the PC, it was released in 2020, and it got some...
01:15:05.836 --> 01:15:07.236
Tom: Please get in touch with us, Amazon.
01:15:07.256 --> 01:15:14.656
Tom: I think, as you can tell from our McDonald's and Mountain Dew and Dorito coverage, we are excellent at promoting things.
01:15:14.676 --> 01:15:15.856
Phil: Not to mention SodaStream.
01:15:17.376 --> 01:15:28.636
Phil: But Before I Forget is the name of the game that was released on PC in 2020 by a company called Threefold Studios, which I can't see that they've made much before.
01:15:30.176 --> 01:15:33.196
Tom: Nor after, but they are working on a project currently.
01:15:33.216 --> 01:15:34.276
Phil: I'm sure they are.
01:15:34.576 --> 01:15:44.756
Phil: It was critically acclaimed, or at least won some awards over in Euroland, which is probably where they're from, Threefold Studios, made mostly by two people when I reviewed the credits.
01:15:45.216 --> 01:15:50.116
Phil: And it's a game about early onset dementia.
01:15:50.136 --> 01:16:04.716
Phil: So the Eurogamer did a story about this Before I Forget game, which is pretty good called Before I Forget how Two Strangers made one of 2020's most moving games, which is hilarious to me.
01:16:05.776 --> 01:16:07.076
Phil: But it's still worth a read.
01:16:07.236 --> 01:16:09.856
Tom: For a start, she could barely move in the game.
01:16:10.576 --> 01:16:20.596
Phil: Well, in the game, basically, you're playing it from a first person perspective in a very pleasant but small house in England, presumably London.
01:16:21.816 --> 01:16:29.516
Phil: And you are an academic, and you've been married to another academic, both of whom were highly successful in their fields.
01:16:30.176 --> 01:16:42.936
Phil: And you essentially walk around in a PT-style way, remembering things and then basically blacking out sort of because you've got early onset dementia.
01:16:43.616 --> 01:16:53.416
Phil: And through all of this, you're telling a story, and as you remember things, as you pick up things, it will paint or illuminate things in each room.
01:16:55.176 --> 01:17:02.156
Phil: And then there's sort of a mystery as well that's going on because there's notes around the place that you don't remember writing to yourself.
01:17:02.156 --> 01:17:18.676
Phil: Sort of in a memento, the movie style with Guy Pearce, you're kind of trying to remember certain things, so you're not quite sure if this person you're referring to is a nasty person or what's going on in your notes.
01:17:19.456 --> 01:17:24.136
Phil: Does that pretty much sum up or just give a basic intro to the game?
01:17:24.476 --> 01:17:24.976
Tom: It does.
01:17:24.996 --> 01:17:26.856
Tom: I like the comparisons there as well.
01:17:27.116 --> 01:17:28.816
Tom: PT and memento.
01:17:29.936 --> 01:17:40.316
Phil: Yes, and I also found it evocative of a game, The Path from the Tale of Tales studio that we both love, The Makers of Sunset.
01:17:40.336 --> 01:17:41.076
Tom: Yes.
01:17:42.176 --> 01:17:47.516
Phil: The Path, for whatever reason, this game evoked the path to me, and I think it did to you as well.
01:17:49.576 --> 01:17:53.096
Tom: Is The Path the graveyard one, or the Little Red Riding Hood one?
01:17:53.876 --> 01:17:59.616
Phil: The Path is the walking through a forest one, is how I remember it.
01:18:00.276 --> 01:18:02.776
Tom: I think that's the Little Red Riding Hood one.
01:18:03.616 --> 01:18:03.956
Tom: Yes.
01:18:06.496 --> 01:18:26.376
Phil: Comically, the only other thing I have to say about this game is comically at the end of this game, they reveal how your partner died, and I'm not going to spoil it here, but I was like, going how the dialogue has gone in this game, please don't use a sound effect.
01:18:27.716 --> 01:18:31.636
Phil: And then they used the most obvious sound effect.
01:18:33.016 --> 01:18:42.616
Phil: And I could see it, it was like a car crash in slow motion, and I'm not spoiling anything here, but it was like watching an accident in slow motion.
01:18:42.636 --> 01:18:43.796
Phil: You could see it coming.
01:18:44.116 --> 01:18:47.756
Phil: You're like, Oh God, please no, they're not going to do that, are they?
01:18:48.556 --> 01:18:49.296
Phil: Then they did it.
01:18:50.676 --> 01:18:58.176
Phil: And it completely knocked the legs out from under any seriousness that the game had.
01:18:58.196 --> 01:19:07.896
Phil: And it was kind of crazy because, you know, whatever you think of the game, they had got to the end, they'd got to the crescendo, and it is a very short game.
01:19:09.576 --> 01:19:25.996
Phil: And then just to have it, you know, what we talk about and what everyone talks about is that when you have a stage show or a musical, you want the crowd, you want to end with a banger so that when the crowd's walking out of the lobby, they're humming the song, you know, the last song that they heard.
01:19:26.516 --> 01:19:38.276
Phil: You want that audience catharsis where everything, you know, you went on a ride and at the end, everything pulled together and you're like, yeah, yeah, before I forget, I'm going to tell my friends about it.
01:19:39.056 --> 01:19:41.996
Phil: But they ended up with this comically bad folly work.
01:19:42.956 --> 01:19:44.116
Phil: It was just so bad.
01:19:44.756 --> 01:19:56.516
Tom: Anyway, I think, I think, Gargan's description of it is, and I'm not saying I agree with it on this game, but I think it's going to be that it doesn't matter how good the trip is if you arrive at Shit Mountain.
01:19:58.376 --> 01:19:59.476
Phil: I have heard him say that.
01:20:01.856 --> 01:20:02.436
Phil: That's funny.
01:20:02.896 --> 01:20:06.596
Phil: So did you add anything here about Before I Forget the game?
01:20:07.256 --> 01:20:30.076
Tom: Well, we are going to have to get in to spoiler territory, but before that, I would just say the thing I found most interesting and perhaps most ineffective about it was it is about early onset dementia and someone losing their memories and not being able to make sense of things due to not having memories.
01:20:30.336 --> 01:20:41.736
Tom: But the structure of the narrative is that as you're going along, you learn more and more of her memories and more of what's going on is revealed.
01:20:42.056 --> 01:20:48.576
Tom: So I thought that made it perhaps not very effective at the thing it was trying to depict.
01:20:49.616 --> 01:20:52.956
Tom: And that would probably be my biggest issue with the game.
01:20:52.976 --> 01:21:05.216
Phil: Maybe if in the game you, as a mechanic, took a B12 pill like every day and so you finally beat onset dementia and then you come out of it and you're, you know.
01:21:05.296 --> 01:21:06.796
Tom: You have to solve Sudoku puns.
01:21:06.916 --> 01:21:08.256
Tom: Yeah.
01:21:09.156 --> 01:21:11.396
Phil: No, play Brain Age on a virtual DS.
01:21:14.796 --> 01:21:19.236
Tom: Just lower your Brain Age until she gets to the car sound effect.
01:21:19.816 --> 01:21:23.856
Phil: Again, you wanted to spoil some things or?
01:21:24.656 --> 01:21:27.316
Tom: Yes, we have to get into spoiler territory.
01:21:27.356 --> 01:21:28.736
Phil: Is this game worth spoiling?
01:21:29.976 --> 01:21:55.336
Tom: I think it is, I think it is because there's one other interesting thing about it other than the, I think rather large failure that it is a game about early onset dementia and the entire story and the conclusion of the story is with her working out her memories, where I would suggest that the problem with memory loss and dementia would be the fact that you can't do that.
01:21:56.796 --> 01:22:42.396
Tom: So the other interesting direction I think it could have gone in is rather than her husband, and we're now into spoilers, rather than her husband dying in a comical sound effect complete car crash, having left her with the subtext being due to her dementia, which I think would have been probably a lot more impactful and too much more societally interesting because a large number of divorces are indeed often caused by, specifically a woman's significant health problem or disability.
01:22:43.256 --> 01:22:55.156
Tom: So it could have gone in a much more interesting direction, not just in how the story was told where it's essentially the reverse of the thing, but I also think it could have gone in a more interesting direction in terms of the actual plot as well.
01:22:55.176 --> 01:22:55.716
Phil: Yeah, that's true.
01:22:55.736 --> 01:23:03.096
Phil: In terms of representation, I have to say, the character that you're playing is a woman of Indian heritage.
01:23:03.116 --> 01:23:06.356
Phil: So, you know, I mean, that's not usual in a video game.
01:23:06.356 --> 01:23:13.016
Phil: So I don't know if that reflects the background of the people that made the game and is therefore somewhat lazy.
01:23:14.236 --> 01:23:15.656
Phil: But, you know, it was worth noting.
01:23:15.656 --> 01:23:17.696
Phil: I mean, diversity is generally a good thing.
01:23:19.076 --> 01:23:19.396
Tom: Sure.
01:23:20.496 --> 01:23:25.116
Tom: And actually, the most interesting parts in the narrative, I thought, though, again, they didn't...
01:23:25.716 --> 01:23:55.676
Tom: And this part did perhaps potentially go to some of the dementia stuff, were the flashbacks to her experiences with her aunt, I think, in getting her into astrology, with that getting in the way potentially of her attempting to work out practical, immediate things and more important, not more important, but other important memories that she was trying to find to help her figure out what was going on in the present.
01:23:55.696 --> 01:23:59.596
Tom: So that was one area where I think they did succeed in an interesting way.
01:23:59.616 --> 01:24:11.156
Phil: Absolutely, and if the game had been longer or better budgeted or whatever, better resourced, maybe there would have been more of that, where you could see other people in your life making similar type of contributions.
01:24:11.176 --> 01:24:13.196
Phil: But I thought that was pretty good, actually.
01:24:13.216 --> 01:24:16.656
Phil: I appreciated that little juncture.
01:24:17.596 --> 01:24:23.916
Tom: And one other, I think, successful depiction of it was the seizure in the hall.
01:24:24.396 --> 01:24:26.036
Phil: Right, yeah, that was good, too.
01:24:26.216 --> 01:24:27.696
Phil: So, one of the...
01:24:28.256 --> 01:24:30.216
Tom: It does do some things quite interesting.
01:24:30.236 --> 01:24:43.916
Phil: One of the mechanics of this, just to explain this to the listener, is that you'll open a door and you'll go into a room and it looks like a closet, but then when you come out of the room, it's not a closet, and so you're kind of getting lost in your own home as well, which helps contribute.
01:24:44.036 --> 01:24:45.276
Tom: Absent seizures.
01:24:45.396 --> 01:24:51.116
Phil: Which helps contribute to that disorienting, capturing what must be...
01:24:52.216 --> 01:25:03.576
Phil: I've had various disorienting experiences in my life, albeit very few, very, very few, and yeah, I thought they captured that quite well, almost to the point of inducing nausea.
01:25:04.476 --> 01:25:15.076
Tom: And also, there was also, I've forgotten the technical term, but the seizure that was always in the hall, which was a carpet that was highly patterned.
01:25:15.096 --> 01:25:21.716
Tom: You couldn't see the carpet, but there was just this black hole type thing in the hall that you couldn't pass, which was also very well done.
01:25:21.736 --> 01:25:28.596
Phil: I thought that was a representation of a mobile phone dead spot that you couldn't get reception in that part of the house.
01:25:28.756 --> 01:25:30.676
Tom: You couldn't get a GPS in the house there.
01:25:30.696 --> 01:25:34.156
Phil: That's why you had to avoid it, because otherwise your calls would come out.
01:25:34.176 --> 01:25:35.976
Phil: Okay, I see your interpretation too.
01:25:37.596 --> 01:25:38.676
Phil: So yeah, I mean, it's obviously...
01:25:38.816 --> 01:25:40.676
Tom: My interpretation is the correct one.
01:25:41.096 --> 01:25:43.276
Tom: That is a fact that that's what that was.
01:25:43.336 --> 01:25:54.796
Phil: Okay, so like, you know, I was pretty flipped in my description of this game earlier, probably because we just came off the Like a Tree or game or whatever it was called, My First Tree, but...
01:25:55.236 --> 01:25:57.856
Tom: I think it's because you were still in Dragon energy mode.
01:25:57.856 --> 01:25:59.576
Phil: I was still playing like a dragon.
01:26:00.676 --> 01:26:10.816
Phil: But yeah, this game does do some good things and some memorable things and it's certainly worth playing and it's free on Epic Games, so at least it was at some point.
01:26:10.836 --> 01:26:13.556
Phil: You'd probably pick it up somewhere else on Niche or something like that as well.
01:26:13.636 --> 01:26:15.456
Tom: I think it was free on Amazon Prime.
01:26:15.476 --> 01:26:16.856
Tom: Oh, that's right.
01:26:16.876 --> 01:26:17.976
Phil: I had it on Amazon Prime.
01:26:17.996 --> 01:26:18.196
Phil: Yes.
01:26:18.616 --> 01:26:18.876
Tom: Yep.
01:26:20.096 --> 01:26:24.976
Tom: But I think it's time for you to finally release your Dragon energy.
01:26:24.996 --> 01:26:27.976
Phil: Okay, I'm going to release the Dragon.
01:26:28.556 --> 01:26:29.696
Phil: Yakuza Like a Dragon.
01:26:29.696 --> 01:26:35.556
Phil: We used to have a Yakuza Killzone Minute where I would talk about my favorite game, Tom would talk about his favorite game.
01:26:36.216 --> 01:26:53.816
Phil: Who would have thought that many years past that Killzone would have been limited to just four games, and Yakuza, again, another instance of cultural appropriation as more and more gamers flocked to the license, just becomes basically everything that Sega does.
01:26:54.996 --> 01:27:05.116
Phil: So that's kind of weird, but I guess in some way you won because the guy behind the Killzone studio is now running the Sony Worldwide Games Division.
01:27:06.956 --> 01:27:07.556
Phil: Hans would...
01:27:07.576 --> 01:27:10.236
Tom: I think it's also quite predictable as well because...
01:27:10.256 --> 01:27:13.916
Phil: Because he's German, and they always climb to the highest ranks.
01:27:16.856 --> 01:27:19.956
Tom: Except in Imperialism, where they always fail, unfortunately.
01:27:19.976 --> 01:27:20.976
Phil: I don't know if he is German.
01:27:20.996 --> 01:27:21.856
Phil: We're talking, of course, about...
01:27:21.876 --> 01:27:22.376
Phil: What's his name?
01:27:22.396 --> 01:27:22.796
Phil: Helmut?
01:27:24.756 --> 01:27:25.876
Tom: Helmut, are we?
01:27:26.096 --> 01:27:27.096
Tom: Helmut Marco?
01:27:30.116 --> 01:27:38.876
Phil: Look, you find out his real name, but he's running Sony's worldwide gaming studios now, and he was the guy behind the Killzone guerrilla games.
01:27:39.416 --> 01:27:48.616
Phil: And he's had a few missteps, but, you know, obviously Sony is still doing well with their strategy, but possibly not as well as Sega is doing with Yakuza.
01:27:49.416 --> 01:27:57.816
Phil: The whole Yakuza Zero, followed by the Yakuza Kiwami remakes of the series, have been wildly successful and popular.
01:27:59.116 --> 01:28:09.416
Phil: And of course, they've made Judgment, which was the first, you know, quote original game in many years, Judgment Eyes, as it was released in Japan.
01:28:10.756 --> 01:28:24.996
Phil: And it's been in the news this week because basically Sega announced some time ago that Yakuza Like a Dragon, which is an RPG, a turn-based RPG, is going to be the way Yakuza is from now on.
01:28:25.016 --> 01:28:30.216
Phil: It's no longer going to be a street brawler game, as it has been.
01:28:30.756 --> 01:28:38.116
Phil: And that they basically are going to continue their Yakuza gameplay as a brawler with the Judgment Eye series.
01:28:39.636 --> 01:28:40.376
Phil: But this week...
01:28:40.896 --> 01:28:43.436
Tom: What was the gameplay in The First Judgment?
01:28:44.356 --> 01:28:47.076
Phil: In The First Judgment, it was basically Yakuza.
01:28:47.136 --> 01:28:48.956
Phil: And, you know, obviously they used...
01:28:49.056 --> 01:28:54.536
Phil: It's still set in Kamuroko, and it has all of the same art assets and everything else.
01:28:54.996 --> 01:28:55.796
Phil: You basically...
01:28:56.116 --> 01:29:01.736
Phil: It has added elements, but at its sole, it is basically a traditional Yakuza game.
01:29:03.316 --> 01:29:07.156
Phil: So, but they've announced that Yakuza Like a Dragon is now going to be Yakuza.
01:29:07.176 --> 01:29:08.936
Phil: That is all that it's going to be.
01:29:09.956 --> 01:29:16.096
Phil: So obviously I came to it late because I was skeptical about how this would work.
01:29:16.156 --> 01:29:21.256
Phil: But Like a Dragon is a direct reference to Dragon Warrior or Dragon Quest, rather.
01:29:23.556 --> 01:29:24.236
Phil: And it started...
01:29:24.296 --> 01:29:24.656
Tom: Is it?
01:29:25.996 --> 01:29:26.736
Tom: How does that work?
01:29:26.756 --> 01:29:28.636
Phil: Well, it started out as an April Fools joke.
01:29:28.656 --> 01:29:35.256
Phil: They basically said that they were going to turn Yakuza into a turn-based RPG.
01:29:36.116 --> 01:29:36.616
Tom: I see.
01:29:36.776 --> 01:29:39.156
Phil: But then everyone was like, yeah, that sounds like a great idea.
01:29:39.156 --> 01:29:47.116
Phil: And in Yakuza Zero and Kiwami, they've made these overt references to Drakuei, as it's called in Japan, Dragon Quest.
01:29:48.416 --> 01:29:50.376
Phil: And basically, it's Yakuza.
01:29:50.516 --> 01:29:57.956
Phil: It's got enduring characters with loyalties to authority that aren't earned.
01:29:57.976 --> 01:29:59.696
Phil: Essentially, it's another orphan story.
01:30:02.276 --> 01:30:08.416
Phil: So it's like Yakuza in every other way, except when you get into battle, instead of brawling, it's now a turn-based RPG.
01:30:08.476 --> 01:30:09.336
Phil: You've got a team.
01:30:10.396 --> 01:30:11.496
Phil: They can cast spells.
01:30:11.836 --> 01:30:13.896
Phil: They can heal each other.
01:30:15.036 --> 01:30:17.296
Phil: You fight, then the other team fights.
01:30:17.776 --> 01:30:19.996
Phil: It's a turn-based RPG.
01:30:21.796 --> 01:30:22.836
Phil: And it's spectacular.
01:30:22.916 --> 01:30:24.956
Phil: I mean, they've done an outstanding job with it.
01:30:24.976 --> 01:30:29.156
Phil: It's actually very, very good and enjoyable.
01:30:31.156 --> 01:30:33.476
Phil: And it's been ridiculously successful.
01:30:37.196 --> 01:30:55.516
Phil: So as has their PC conversion of the Kiwami games and everything else, so basically they wanted to bring judgment to PC, but the lead actor in that game, he's represented by a talent agency, and the talent agency is saying, no, that wasn't a part of the original contract.
01:30:55.536 --> 01:30:58.376
Phil: You can't release judgment on PC.
01:31:00.876 --> 01:31:04.336
Phil: And as a result, Sega has turned around and said, well, we're not going to release judgment.
01:31:04.616 --> 01:31:14.056
Phil: I mean, we'll do the current judgment game, we'll release it for the consoles, but after that, it's not going to be financially viable for us unless we can release it on the PC.
01:31:14.656 --> 01:31:21.956
Phil: So what's not known is how much of this is posturing and negotiation.
01:31:24.456 --> 01:31:38.236
Phil: The talent agency for the lead actor in the game, because it's not just his voice, but also his likeness that is used, they're known to be very controlling and protective and anti-internet, whatever that means, or anti-PC.
01:31:38.256 --> 01:31:43.556
Phil: And obviously PC in Japan has a different connotation to what it does in the Western world.
01:31:44.176 --> 01:31:50.336
Phil: Most PC games in Japan have a darker side, more sexually oriented.
01:31:51.716 --> 01:32:03.616
Phil: They might be trying to protect their talent because they don't want people to rip out the character model and make him nude and do a David Cage type thing with him.
01:32:03.636 --> 01:32:04.916
Phil: They might be very protective of him.
01:32:04.956 --> 01:32:10.116
Phil: If they didn't cover a PC release in the original contract, then they're entitled to protect their client.
01:32:11.796 --> 01:32:13.476
Phil: Why Sega would say...
01:32:13.496 --> 01:32:18.276
Tom: To put it simply, as part of their PC-ness, they're very anti-PC.
01:32:18.496 --> 01:32:19.376
Phil: That's right.
01:32:19.396 --> 01:32:27.996
Phil: I don't know if Sega is saying this, that we're not going to release any more judgements as a negotiating chip, because obviously they could just change the lead character.
01:32:29.116 --> 01:32:39.996
Phil: The lead actor that plays the character in Japan is very famous and well known, and obviously his role has contributed to the success of the game.
01:32:40.716 --> 01:32:46.336
Phil: But ultimately, the game's success can survive without that guy.
01:32:47.216 --> 01:32:55.156
Phil: This is really just Sega screaming desperately to try and release these games on PC, because it's such good revenue for them.
01:32:56.396 --> 01:33:13.736
Phil: I'm not blaming either side, but after they've said that Yakuza from now on is going to be a turn-based RPG and that Judgment is going to be the brawler, that was pretty much how Sega was setting things up so that everyone could have their cake and eat it too.
01:33:15.176 --> 01:33:17.936
Phil: But any other questions about Yakuza Like a Dragon?
01:33:19.816 --> 01:33:22.836
Tom: Well, isn't it a bit disappointing that it is an RPG though?
01:33:22.856 --> 01:33:43.396
Tom: Because while Yakuza was always compared to Grand Theft Auto and sometimes indeed to RPGs, it was a totally unique mix of beat-em-up RPG, sort of open world in the one package that was actually unlike any other game.
01:33:43.396 --> 01:33:53.936
Tom: If you do change the combat to turn-based RPG style combat, is that not perhaps making it a little less unique and interesting?
01:33:53.976 --> 01:33:56.476
Phil: I'd say it's making it more unique and interesting.
01:33:56.496 --> 01:33:58.396
Phil: And I was skeptical when I came into this.
01:33:58.396 --> 01:34:01.936
Phil: I was very skeptical when I came into this, which is why I delayed buying it.
01:34:03.996 --> 01:34:09.796
Phil: But in every other way, up until you get into a battle, this is a Yakuza game.
01:34:10.256 --> 01:34:10.716
Phil: Nothing has changed.
01:34:10.736 --> 01:34:11.576
Phil: Nothing has changed.
01:34:11.696 --> 01:34:14.596
Phil: Everything is exactly the same as a previous Yakuza game.
01:34:15.656 --> 01:34:19.376
Phil: Only an evolution of, you know, like every game got better.
01:34:20.016 --> 01:34:22.236
Phil: It's only when you go into battle that it's turn-based.
01:34:22.596 --> 01:34:23.936
Phil: And if...
01:34:23.976 --> 01:34:32.536
Tom: But when you do go into battle, is one of the unique and interesting things, because that aspect of it is the world exploration structure of an RPG.
01:34:32.736 --> 01:34:35.336
Tom: Yet when you get into a battle, it is not an RPG.
01:34:35.356 --> 01:34:39.616
Phil: But the world exploration is less RPG and more...
01:34:39.636 --> 01:34:41.476
Phil: I don't even know what it is.
01:34:43.596 --> 01:34:55.436
Phil: In the battle, because I'm an experienced player of Yakuza, like actually that was the most boring part of the game for me, because I just basically go in there and I knew all of the combos, and I'd press the combos and get out of it.
01:34:55.456 --> 01:35:12.196
Phil: So for me, changing it up and making it be not just you versus the world, but to have four different characters, each with different strengths and weaknesses, and then looking at the enemies uniquely, because the enemies are also not just there to be beaten up.
01:35:12.236 --> 01:35:15.276
Phil: I mean, they're all different as well, just like in an RPG.
01:35:15.296 --> 01:35:20.456
Phil: So it actually increases the interest in battle.
01:35:21.876 --> 01:35:29.436
Phil: For someone who basically treated the battles before as something that had to be gotten through, because they weren't a challenge at all.
01:35:30.256 --> 01:35:44.616
Phil: So one interesting thing that they have, which has probably become commonplace in turn-based RPGs, is basically you press L2 to turn the battle onto auto.
01:35:45.416 --> 01:35:56.676
Phil: So if you come up against enemies that are lower ranked than you, and you know it's going to be a pretty perfunctory thing, you can just press L2 and they'll go through the battle for you.
01:35:57.096 --> 01:36:08.796
Phil: Which sounds completely boring, but in this multi-screen environment in which we all live, it's kind of a welcome respite where you can just sort of do something else for a little while.
01:36:08.916 --> 01:36:13.096
Phil: Which, this is crazy, we're playing video games as a distraction from the real world.
01:36:13.096 --> 01:36:15.876
Phil: So you shouldn't want to jump back into the real world for a little while.
01:36:16.636 --> 01:36:26.376
Phil: So possibly the best thing about the auto battle is when you're in a big battle and then you get down to the last guy and you're like, okay, you know, I don't need to think about this.
01:36:26.396 --> 01:36:29.676
Phil: You can just press L2 and have a drink or something.
01:36:30.556 --> 01:36:32.816
Phil: Or grab some food or something and then come back to it.
01:36:33.916 --> 01:36:36.176
Phil: But yeah, I mean, Like a Dragon is great.
01:36:36.196 --> 01:36:37.116
Phil: It's a good experience.
01:36:38.376 --> 01:36:39.856
Phil: I think I'm about 19 hours in.
01:36:39.876 --> 01:36:41.996
Phil: I'm not sure how long this game is going to be.
01:36:42.376 --> 01:36:47.796
Phil: I think I'm on chapter five or six and it's probably going to be 22 chapters like most Yakuza games are.
01:36:49.036 --> 01:36:49.816
Phil: But overall...
01:36:49.836 --> 01:36:51.676
Tom: It'll be long if it's like the other ones.
01:36:52.156 --> 01:36:53.736
Phil: Yes, yeah, exactly.
01:36:54.696 --> 01:36:57.776
Phil: So, but yeah, positive experience and people are loving it.
01:36:58.416 --> 01:37:01.376
Phil: It's been a great entry point for people who have never played the game before.
01:37:02.316 --> 01:37:02.616
Tom: Um...
01:37:03.816 --> 01:37:11.176
Phil: Yeah, so again, I'm feeling my culture being appropriated again, uh, with another thing taken away from me.
01:37:13.256 --> 01:37:49.396
Tom: I think it's quite interesting the whole, um, PC fiasco one gets the sense that it has been massively successful on PC just judging by the number of people in my friend list anyway and other people that I know who have played it on PC, who did not previously play it on console, even if they had a Sony console, so it's interesting seeing that that is probably the case, that it has been as, probably equally successful in terms of sales on PC as it has been on the console.
01:37:50.196 --> 01:37:55.196
Phil: Yeah, I think on the consoles too, because they do have a current gen, that i.e.
01:37:55.336 --> 01:38:04.496
Phil: Xbox series or PlayStation 5 version, there's not a lot of games to buy, so it's succeeded there a little bit as well.
01:38:06.416 --> 01:38:18.536
Phil: I'm playing it on the PlayStation 4, I've got to say it's probably a step back from Yakuza Kiwami and Yakuza Zero in terms of its load time and appearance, probably because it was being optimized for the current gen.
01:38:20.096 --> 01:38:26.996
Phil: But it doesn't bother me, I mean it's still miles ahead of where Yakuza used to be in those elements.
01:38:30.476 --> 01:38:39.616
Phil: So, an unequivocal must buy, I would say, if you like the Yakuza world and you have time to play an RPG.
01:38:40.536 --> 01:38:44.636
Phil: I'd love to play it on the Switch, I'd love to have the flexibility of playing it on a portable platform.
01:38:47.376 --> 01:38:48.556
Phil: it's not available on Switch.
01:38:50.916 --> 01:38:52.196
Tom: nor will it apparently be...
01:38:52.276 --> 01:38:55.536
Tom: Wait, no, it is on Steam, isn't it?
01:38:55.556 --> 01:38:57.296
Tom: So you could play it on Steamdeck.
01:38:57.316 --> 01:39:00.316
Phil: Yeah, I could, but again, not being sold in Australia.
01:39:00.816 --> 01:39:01.676
Phil: I want to go back to that.
01:39:01.876 --> 01:39:13.656
Phil: Just to give you an idea of what the price could be, the stupid Atari VCS, which is a horrible, horrible reinvention of the Atari, retails in the States for like $450.
01:39:13.876 --> 01:39:15.656
Phil: Down here, it's close to $900.
01:39:16.656 --> 01:39:18.036
Phil: Because it hasn't been released here.
01:39:18.336 --> 01:39:20.596
Phil: It's just like being imported and sold.
01:39:21.616 --> 01:39:27.316
Phil: So that's, I mean, look, I want a Steamdeck, but I don't want to pay $1200 for one.
01:39:27.576 --> 01:39:27.956
Phil: You know?
01:39:29.336 --> 01:39:32.956
Tom: I think the Valve Index, for example, is something like $3,000 here.
01:39:33.076 --> 01:39:34.136
Tom: If you want to get one from eBay.
01:39:34.156 --> 01:39:34.856
Phil: That's crazy.
01:39:36.316 --> 01:39:42.516
Phil: I mean, it's, you know, people spend whatever you want to spend, but like, would I spend $800 on it?
01:39:42.896 --> 01:39:43.756
Phil: Yeah, no problem.
01:39:44.236 --> 01:39:46.896
Phil: But I'm not going to spend $1,200 on like the top one.
01:39:47.536 --> 01:39:50.136
Phil: Yeah, it's going to be...
01:39:50.156 --> 01:39:59.636
Phil: And I've got to say this to people that the difference is, is that, well, I've got a PC that's capable of playing all this, so why would I want a handheld?
01:40:00.816 --> 01:40:07.516
Phil: Just because of the environment in which I live, I can't sit down in front of a computer for two hours and play a video game.
01:40:08.616 --> 01:40:11.776
Phil: Particularly when I've been at work for 10 hours sitting in front of a PC.
01:40:11.796 --> 01:40:14.556
Phil: The last thing I want to do is come home and sit in front of another PC.
01:40:15.876 --> 01:40:23.836
Phil: And I like the idea of it being console-ized because it doesn't have all the distractions that my PC is delivering up to me.
01:40:25.576 --> 01:40:30.516
Phil: I'm not going to be getting instant messages and emails and tempted to read the news and stuff like that.
01:40:30.536 --> 01:40:32.276
Phil: I'll just be concentrated on playing.
01:40:32.856 --> 01:40:35.316
Phil: But that is the last thing I'll say about the Steamdeck.
01:40:36.856 --> 01:40:41.236
Phil: I think there's another game we both want to play about, and what's it called?
01:40:41.416 --> 01:40:46.976
Tom: I would add, though, you should try Steam Link with your phone or something like that.
01:40:47.736 --> 01:40:50.996
Phil: I have tried Steam Link and playing on the Android itself.
01:40:51.896 --> 01:40:54.896
Phil: It's just a matter of how do I do that and get it on the TV.
01:40:55.436 --> 01:41:03.016
Phil: But keep in mind, you know, in a shared home, a TV is not my exclusive domain.
01:41:03.216 --> 01:41:14.976
Phil: So that's one of the benefits of these portable platforms, is that, you know, something else can be on the TV, but I could still be with my family, you know, playing on a portable device.
01:41:15.676 --> 01:41:16.036
Phil: So...
01:41:17.216 --> 01:41:19.656
Phil: But what was the name of the other game that we wanted to play?
01:41:20.316 --> 01:41:21.156
Tom: Not Tonight.
01:41:21.296 --> 01:41:22.516
Phil: Oh, you don't want to do it tonight?
01:41:24.256 --> 01:41:24.596
Tom: Yes.
01:41:25.396 --> 01:41:26.556
Phil: But what was the name of the game?
01:41:27.576 --> 01:41:28.896
Tom: I think it was Not Tonight.
01:41:28.996 --> 01:41:33.196
Phil: I get that you're short on time, and, you know, we have done this podcast in a long time.
01:41:33.216 --> 01:41:35.396
Phil: But before I forget, what was the name of the game?
01:41:37.396 --> 01:41:42.256
Tom: If you would have saved a little bit more Dragon energy, you might have been able to get it.
01:41:42.276 --> 01:41:42.756
Phil: That's true.
01:41:43.696 --> 01:41:44.556
Tom: Sadly, you didn't.
01:41:45.076 --> 01:41:51.556
Phil: Well, the final thing we'll be talking about tonight is a game developed by Panic Bam Pub.
01:41:54.896 --> 01:41:56.596
Phil: The developer is Panic Bam.
01:41:56.616 --> 01:41:57.876
Phil: The publisher is no more.
01:41:57.896 --> 01:41:59.696
Tom: I think it's Panic Bam, isn't it?
01:42:01.436 --> 01:42:01.816
Tom: Yes.
01:42:03.776 --> 01:42:05.356
Phil: The publisher is no more Robots.
01:42:06.496 --> 01:42:09.416
Phil: No more Robots is a really good publisher, I should say.
01:42:09.476 --> 01:42:11.256
Phil: And the name of the game is not tonight.
01:42:12.096 --> 01:42:17.116
Phil: No more Robots published, Hypnospace Outlaw and New Lexico.
01:42:17.136 --> 01:42:19.496
Phil: New Lexico is a dirt bike game.
01:42:20.736 --> 01:42:22.276
Phil: They're a real up and coming publisher.
01:42:22.296 --> 01:42:23.936
Phil: They're kind of a devolver junior.
01:42:23.996 --> 01:42:29.476
Phil: I see them because they're developing these edgy, but very well made games.
01:42:29.676 --> 01:42:37.056
Phil: Like New Lexico is apparently great, and Hypnospace Outlaw I played for some time, but burnt out on.
01:42:37.836 --> 01:42:44.996
Phil: But Not Tonight is basically a work simulator, which is very close in many ways to Papers, Please.
01:42:45.516 --> 01:42:48.616
Phil: And has some overt references to Papers, Please.
01:42:50.716 --> 01:42:52.616
Phil: And you're basically working...
01:42:53.296 --> 01:42:58.116
Phil: It was funny because you had sent me a code for this to play on Steam.
01:42:59.216 --> 01:43:03.996
Phil: And it's the opening screen basically has a...
01:43:05.996 --> 01:43:06.716
Phil: What do you call it?
01:43:06.736 --> 01:43:09.936
Phil: A Ferris wheel that's knocked over.
01:43:11.136 --> 01:43:16.436
Phil: And it's very clearly Britain, because you can see the pickle building in the background and Big Ben and all that sort of thing.
01:43:16.476 --> 01:43:25.316
Phil: And I went, oh, this is going to be about Brexit, because I saw the Ferris wheel as being like the Eurostar symbol, and something's gone wrong in a rye in Britain.
01:43:25.356 --> 01:43:26.496
Phil: It's going to be about Brexit.
01:43:27.596 --> 01:43:30.156
Phil: And then it is about Brexit.
01:43:30.596 --> 01:43:40.176
Phil: You're living in a post-Brexit world where nationalism is the default philosophy.
01:43:40.716 --> 01:43:54.916
Phil: And basically, even though you get to select a character at the very start of the game, and I think all of the characters are essentially people who have been misidentified as foreigners, even though they were born in England.
01:43:55.756 --> 01:43:56.236
Tom: Correct.
01:43:56.256 --> 01:44:02.996
Phil: But due to some clerical error or administration error, you've been identified as being French or whatever.
01:44:04.456 --> 01:44:11.596
Phil: And you have to basically prove your worth by taking on a menial job and living in a slum.
01:44:11.736 --> 01:44:12.536
Tom: As a bouncer.
01:44:12.636 --> 01:44:14.056
Phil: Yep, as a bouncer.
01:44:15.556 --> 01:44:19.156
Phil: And taking on a menial job in a slum.
01:44:21.036 --> 01:44:24.536
Phil: And that's essentially the game.
01:44:25.156 --> 01:44:28.056
Phil: It's a nice little pixel art type game.
01:44:28.916 --> 01:44:30.096
Phil: I loved it so much.
01:44:30.176 --> 01:44:33.676
Phil: I thought this was the best work simulator since Papers, Please.
01:44:33.736 --> 01:44:35.676
Phil: And possibly even slightly better than it.
01:44:35.976 --> 01:44:39.356
Phil: Initially, I thought that I went and bought it on the Switch.
01:44:39.816 --> 01:44:42.916
Phil: Even though I had started playing it on the PC.
01:44:44.756 --> 01:44:46.476
Phil: And then replayed a great amount of it.
01:44:46.756 --> 01:44:49.836
Phil: And basically played the bulk of this on the Switch.
01:44:52.316 --> 01:44:55.436
Tom: And just one other thing on the character creation.
01:44:56.776 --> 01:45:00.396
Tom: The game has an extremely good sense of humour throughout.
01:45:01.016 --> 01:45:11.056
Tom: And one of the things you can choose for your character when you're creating your character, which is all very rudimentary, that one of the great aspects of it is you can choose the voice.
01:45:11.816 --> 01:45:17.116
Tom: And the speech in the game consists of wah-wah-wah, wah-wah-wah, sort of gibberish.
01:45:17.136 --> 01:45:19.396
Phil: Simlish is what most gamers refer to it as.
01:45:19.736 --> 01:45:20.796
Tom: Yes, yes.
01:45:21.436 --> 01:45:32.676
Tom: And just selecting the voice, which ranges from an extremely deep voice to a very high pitched voice, really adds to the humour if you select a ridiculous voice.
01:45:32.856 --> 01:45:42.376
Tom: Probably one that doesn't necessarily fit your character, although I essentially made my character into Neil from The Young Ones.
01:45:42.816 --> 01:45:43.396
Phil: Brilliant.
01:45:44.796 --> 01:45:45.376
Tom: Exactly.
01:45:45.396 --> 01:45:48.576
Tom: Anyway, so...
01:45:51.196 --> 01:45:53.936
Phil: Look, the bits and pieces of this game is absolutely brilliant.
01:45:53.956 --> 01:45:55.916
Phil: You're right, the humour is spot on.
01:45:55.936 --> 01:45:57.496
Phil: The sound effects are amazing.
01:45:57.976 --> 01:46:09.696
Phil: They capture so much of what we think Britain is like that I hope this was made by British people, and that my perception of what Britain is like matches up to this game.
01:46:10.856 --> 01:46:16.356
Phil: You know, obviously like any sort of politically themed game, it's a bit on the nose.
01:46:17.136 --> 01:46:18.596
Phil: You know, there's a lot of...
01:46:19.516 --> 01:46:20.276
Phil: Brexit or...
01:46:20.716 --> 01:46:24.356
Phil: If you're a Brexit or a Remainer, you know, one way or the other, it doesn't matter.
01:46:24.376 --> 01:46:26.576
Phil: The game carries it with very good humour.
01:46:27.816 --> 01:46:34.096
Phil: Sometimes it's a bit heavy handed, but that's what satire is.
01:46:34.356 --> 01:46:36.016
Phil: So basically, you play as a bouncer.
01:46:36.736 --> 01:47:06.856
Tom: And I would just add, actually, to me, the most interesting thing about the game was that it was very un-heavy handed compared to most things on this sort of subject in any other medium, full stop, where it is about essentially ultra-nationalism, where you're playing as a bouncer who is refusing entry to people into bars on things based on where they are from and whether their papers are in order.
01:47:06.876 --> 01:47:07.576
Phil: What they're wearing.
01:47:07.596 --> 01:47:08.516
Tom: And that sort of thing.
01:47:08.756 --> 01:47:09.116
Tom: What's that?
01:47:09.136 --> 01:47:09.896
Phil: What they're wearing.
01:47:10.516 --> 01:47:11.596
Tom: Yep, what's they're wearing.
01:47:11.616 --> 01:47:28.976
Tom: All this sort of stuff, which is actually the opposite of on the nose and heavy handed, because the depiction of most things like that would be, for example, papers please, where you're working at a border and making decisions based on those things.
01:47:28.976 --> 01:47:41.036
Tom: So it's self evident that this is a major obnoxious thing you're doing that has a seriously bad effect on people's lives based on arbitrary measures.
01:47:42.036 --> 01:47:57.616
Tom: By having that occurring at a bar and in a banal, totally normal sort of context is more relevant to the majority of people's lives living under such a sort of system.
01:47:58.376 --> 01:48:13.336
Tom: And I think really makes the whole thing much more interesting and compared to, again, in any medium, is a much more thought provoking and interesting depiction of that sort of arrangement in a society.
01:48:14.276 --> 01:48:20.016
Phil: I would have to say this is the best satirical game.
01:48:20.036 --> 01:48:21.296
Phil: There's probably a better way to say that.
01:48:21.316 --> 01:48:25.496
Phil: But this is the best game based on satire that I've ever seen in my life.
01:48:25.656 --> 01:48:30.436
Phil: And probably the worst is Grand Theft Auto 3 and that series.
01:48:31.136 --> 01:48:34.376
Tom: I think every Grand Theft Auto is horrendous satire.
01:48:34.616 --> 01:48:37.436
Phil: This is a very eloquent game.
01:48:38.416 --> 01:48:40.596
Phil: Very subtle in many, many ways.
01:48:40.896 --> 01:49:17.716
Phil: And the passion that it has for capturing certain environments down to the music, the fashion, the accents of the various people that come to the bars, whether you're at an upper class bar or not, you know, the TOFs that come in, the type of licenses that they have, the kind of privileges that they have, the VIP list, you know, and it's not just skewering, not just the British, but Russians and other cultures and peoples as well, you know, people from Jamaica and such.
01:49:17.736 --> 01:49:29.876
Phil: But it is a very finely tuned game in terms of its appreciation, and I just, I mean, I'm in awe of that component of it, but then when you get to the play mechanic as well.
01:49:30.616 --> 01:49:45.616
Tom: And I would also add there as well, your interactions as a foreign barman, sorry, bouncer with the bosses, depending on what the bosses are like, is also equally fascinating social commentary as well.
01:49:45.636 --> 01:49:47.256
Phil: Yeah, it's just great.
01:49:47.356 --> 01:49:48.136
Phil: It is great.
01:49:49.636 --> 01:49:52.236
Phil: The mechanics of the gameplay are also equally great.
01:49:52.236 --> 01:49:56.756
Phil: I mean, there's a lot of fun to be had with what you're doing, and I really can't fault it.
01:49:58.036 --> 01:50:03.836
Phil: There's a good rhythm to it, and it does get really, really complicated.
01:50:03.856 --> 01:50:27.716
Phil: I mean, like, by the end of it, you've got to keep track of, like, seven or eight different details, whether it be, you know, holograms on licenses or what flags the countries are that you're supposed to be banning from the bar, or what logos they have, or then you have to start body scanning people for weaponry and other contraband, but you also have to get a certain number of people in every night.
01:50:27.736 --> 01:50:31.996
Phil: That's the economic, you know, thing that you're facing.
01:50:32.236 --> 01:50:37.456
Phil: You've got to let a certain number of people in, but you've certain type of people you've got to keep out as well.
01:50:38.136 --> 01:50:43.196
Phil: And if you're not playing the game right, and you're not making enough money, you can die in this game.
01:50:43.296 --> 01:50:45.356
Phil: I mean, you literally can die in the game.
01:50:46.716 --> 01:50:59.056
Phil: Because if you don't buy the stuff, if you're working too hard, and you neglect to eat, or get proper heating for your apartment, or a refrigerator, or the proper bed, you can actually physically die in the game.
01:51:00.416 --> 01:51:03.436
Phil: Which is how I, you know, died early on in the game.
01:51:03.456 --> 01:51:04.336
Phil: I was taken aback.
01:51:04.356 --> 01:51:04.996
Phil: I was like, what?
01:51:06.216 --> 01:51:12.476
Phil: Because I was just working endlessly, like, day after day after day, to earn enough money so I could pay my bills.
01:51:12.576 --> 01:51:14.216
Phil: Because that's the other pressure that's on you.
01:51:14.596 --> 01:51:19.516
Phil: If you don't pay your bills, you don't seem to be a fit citizen, and can be deported.
01:51:20.296 --> 01:51:22.556
Phil: There's just so many threads to this game.
01:51:23.316 --> 01:51:26.236
Phil: And the name of the game we're talking about, again, is Not Tonight.
01:51:28.556 --> 01:51:40.556
Tom: And we should also add then, later on, in addition to that, where you're interacting with resistance members, you then also have to be deliberately breaking certain rules as well.
01:51:41.076 --> 01:51:47.136
Tom: So it becomes a massive amount of things to be juggling all at once by the end of the game.
01:51:47.156 --> 01:51:55.056
Phil: Oh yeah, you're juggling your physical health, you're helping out the resistance, because if you don't, you're going to get, you know, outed.
01:51:55.896 --> 01:52:01.596
Phil: Ultimately, you're getting promoted from a bouncer up into a border patrol person.
01:52:03.116 --> 01:52:06.856
Tom: And you're also potentially selling drugs to make money as well.
01:52:07.116 --> 01:52:08.036
Phil: And the stakes get...
01:52:08.356 --> 01:52:09.376
Tom: And taking bribes.
01:52:09.396 --> 01:52:11.336
Phil: The stakes keep getting higher and higher.
01:52:11.356 --> 01:52:12.996
Phil: And then of course there are regulars.
01:52:13.016 --> 01:52:18.496
Phil: There are people that you bump into who are underage trying to get into the bar time and time again.
01:52:18.516 --> 01:52:20.196
Phil: Do you let them through?
01:52:20.216 --> 01:52:30.456
Phil: You know, you're allowed a certain amount of errors every night, and then it comes down to, well, do I spend one of my errors by letting this character through because I want to see how the story progresses?
01:52:31.576 --> 01:52:33.736
Phil: It's just a wonderfully nuanced...
01:52:33.936 --> 01:52:48.776
Tom: And in addition to that, you get a multiplier on what you're paid for meeting your targets, both on VIP lists and just the number, amount of people you let in, and things like that, as well as in not making errors.
01:52:48.936 --> 01:53:01.216
Tom: And by the end of the game, to be having enough money to do particularly well, you will have to be repeatedly hitting those targets to be getting the money multiplier.
01:53:01.516 --> 01:53:13.236
Tom: Because you also need to not just be buying stuff for your flat, et cetera, to keep healthy, you also need to be decorating it and buying certain clothing for the sake of your reputation as well.
01:53:13.476 --> 01:53:23.416
Phil: I've got to say, also, I would play predominantly on the Switch, and on the Switch, there's actually some control shortcuts that make the game more efficient.
01:53:24.036 --> 01:53:29.716
Phil: Whereas in the game on the PC, you had to drag stuff around with the mouse, so I'm sure there's some shortcuts for that as well.
01:53:30.576 --> 01:53:40.836
Phil: On the Switch, they made it really easy using the trigger buttons and other things to streamline how you could review documents and scan objects and all the rest of it.
01:53:40.856 --> 01:53:56.696
Phil: And I would recommend it for the Switch, but for the one issue that I had with the game, and that is that ultimately this game is so perfect, nuanced, detailed, sensitive, technically great.
01:53:56.916 --> 01:53:58.536
Phil: The music in this game is great.
01:53:58.556 --> 01:54:00.196
Phil: The voice work in this game is great.
01:54:01.636 --> 01:54:06.016
Phil: But unfortunately for me, I found that the game was way too long.
01:54:06.576 --> 01:54:10.036
Phil: I was constantly looking for the end of this game.
01:54:11.236 --> 01:54:12.396
Phil: The playing is perfect.
01:54:12.416 --> 01:54:15.556
Phil: Everything about it is perfect, but the pacing and the length is not.
01:54:16.036 --> 01:54:17.936
Phil: And at least it was for me.
01:54:18.996 --> 01:54:31.456
Phil: And ultimately for me on the Switch, I came to a game ending issue and had a corrupted save and couldn't get to the end of the game.
01:54:32.916 --> 01:54:38.776
Phil: So they basically autosaved a corrupt save for me and then I couldn't get past that point.
01:54:40.376 --> 01:54:46.196
Phil: So I did have that one technical issue by playing it on the Switch, but I would say that that's probably an exception.
01:54:47.956 --> 01:54:51.596
Phil: I wouldn't discourage people from trying it on the Switch just because of that.
01:54:51.816 --> 01:54:54.716
Phil: There must have been something unique about that.
01:54:55.696 --> 01:54:57.976
Phil: But how did you find the length of this game?
01:55:00.236 --> 01:55:14.896
Tom: Just on the save issue thing there, it is also a little bit awkward how these saves work, if I remember correctly, because if you want to rewind to a certain point, you then also have to create a new save slot, if I remember correctly.
01:55:14.896 --> 01:55:17.936
Phil: And you do have to start the whole day over.
01:55:17.956 --> 01:55:22.916
Phil: You can't just save periodically and then pick up.
01:55:24.036 --> 01:55:34.696
Phil: Of course, on the Switch, you can just suspend play and come back to it later, but that's never a good thing to rely on, especially if Nintendo deems that your Switch is due for an update.
01:55:35.716 --> 01:55:43.276
Phil: So yeah, the save is one of the downfalls of the game, which is unfortunate because in every other way, it's pretty good.
01:55:44.476 --> 01:55:46.776
Phil: But again, what did you think about the pacing and length?
01:55:47.796 --> 01:56:31.836
Tom: In terms of the pacing and length, to me, the middle, there was a bit of a lag in it before they started introducing much more complicated mechanics and you having to take track of several mutually contradicting objectives at each level, that section of the game lagged a bit to me, but by the time I was into the last couple of chapters or last few chapters, it didn't feel too long to me just because the gameplay was so enjoyable in a tactile sense, but there was so much going on that achieving things was supremely satisfying, but I did not really mind that it went on for a long time at all.
01:56:32.416 --> 01:56:42.656
Tom: So I think there was a lull in the middle of it for me, but towards the end, I was probably enjoying it more than at any other point in the game in terms of gameplay.
01:56:42.676 --> 01:56:43.236
Phil: Oh, definitely.
01:56:43.256 --> 01:56:45.196
Phil: I mean, the gameplay does improve as it goes.
01:56:45.216 --> 01:56:57.456
Phil: I just think there was probably five pubs that you worked your way through before they revealed the next evolution in what you were doing, and that probably could have been like three pubs.
01:56:57.476 --> 01:56:59.336
Phil: I think two would have been not enough.
01:57:00.296 --> 01:57:09.196
Tom: Or rather than cutting down on the number of pubs, there are quite a few occasions where there are days on which nothing relevant happens to the narrative.
01:57:09.256 --> 01:57:10.236
Phil: That's right, yeah.
01:57:10.536 --> 01:57:14.316
Tom: So it could have been perhaps cut down in that sense a little bit.
01:57:14.336 --> 01:57:17.396
Phil: Yep, and there's plenty of customization in this game.
01:57:17.736 --> 01:57:20.556
Phil: You can customize your apartment, your character, the clothes.
01:57:20.876 --> 01:57:27.176
Phil: There's all sorts of upgrades that you can do to keep you entertained along the way.
01:57:27.196 --> 01:57:30.616
Phil: But yeah, that's pretty much all I've got to say about this game.
01:57:32.096 --> 01:57:33.976
Phil: But certainly one you would recommend.
01:57:35.296 --> 01:57:35.916
Tom: Absolutely.
01:57:36.636 --> 01:57:51.156
Tom: As I said, it is one of the most interesting handlings of that sort of topic and one of the most thought provoking in a way that you don't get in other mediums, but rings absolutely true.
01:57:51.876 --> 01:58:10.836
Tom: Just get to take a easy example of this is, if you take, for example, something like segregation, whether it's apartheid or in America, there is, of course, terrorism against the populace in which people are being killed and tortured and that sort of thing.
01:58:11.056 --> 01:58:21.836
Tom: But for the vast majority of people experiencing life like that, it is in just simple things like trying to get into a bar and that sort of thing.
01:58:22.356 --> 01:58:32.596
Tom: So I think handling the topic in that way was absolutely fascinating and extraordinarily rare to find in any medium.
01:58:33.016 --> 01:58:34.496
Phil: So the name of the game is Not Tonight.
01:58:34.516 --> 01:58:38.256
Phil: I don't know what platforms it's available on, but I do know for sure it's on PC and Switch.
01:58:38.976 --> 01:58:41.596
Phil: And I'd certainly recommend you give it a try as well.
01:58:45.356 --> 01:59:00.576
Phil: Okay, so with that, we're going to close it out here, but I've got to say before we go, and we've saved plenty for the next episode, there's been quite a bit of a few shows, a few bit of content that you put up there since our last episode.
01:59:00.596 --> 01:59:05.096
Phil: You've got your review of the book Ready Player One, which was-
01:59:05.456 --> 01:59:07.376
Tom: Did we have that before the last episode?
01:59:07.456 --> 01:59:12.736
Phil: You're right, but you did talk about Cloudpunk, City of Ghosts, you did a review of that.
01:59:13.976 --> 01:59:22.536
Tom: I did indeed, and it's also somewhat of a review of Cyberpunk simultaneously as well, and Cyberpunk in general.
01:59:23.976 --> 01:59:28.656
Phil: Certainly worth a read, so that was the Cloudpunk City of Ghosts review at gameunder.net.
01:59:28.916 --> 01:59:33.156
Phil: You can just basically go to the front page and scroll down there or go straight to the review section.
01:59:34.356 --> 01:59:36.936
Phil: Then you also did a review of...
01:59:39.236 --> 01:59:40.436
Phil: My mouse is freaking out.
01:59:43.056 --> 01:59:54.956
Phil: You also did a review of Omno demo, Omno of the demo impressions, and it looks a lot like to me like a Cubivore meets No Man's Sky, meets...
01:59:55.616 --> 01:59:59.076
Phil: I don't know what, meets Viva Piñata.
02:00:00.716 --> 02:00:08.736
Tom: Graphically, that is definitely what it is like, but in terms of gameplay, it is actually based on the very brief demo anyway.
02:00:10.536 --> 02:00:18.616
Tom: Something in the line of probably just a 3D platformer, but with some action adventure twists to it.
02:00:18.796 --> 02:00:22.196
Phil: So there's no mating element like Viva Piñata or Cubivore?
02:00:22.356 --> 02:00:24.176
Tom: No, not so far, unfortunately.
02:00:24.196 --> 02:00:26.676
Phil: Okay, maybe that's to come.
02:00:27.056 --> 02:00:28.756
Phil: And then finally, you reviewed...
02:00:28.816 --> 02:00:29.996
Phil: Is that pronounced Inglot?
02:00:31.576 --> 02:00:33.096
Tom: I have no idea how it's pronounced.
02:00:33.116 --> 02:00:34.496
Phil: I would say it's Inglot.
02:00:35.336 --> 02:00:37.616
Tom: Yeah, that's how I pronounce it as well.
02:00:38.596 --> 02:00:39.616
Phil: Very interesting.
02:00:39.996 --> 02:00:41.836
Tom: I do not know how it is pronounced.
02:00:41.856 --> 02:00:49.836
Tom: The game is, however, Danish, but I think the person who made it is Swedish, but now working in Denmark.
02:00:50.576 --> 02:00:52.296
Phil: Is it a shooter?
02:00:52.556 --> 02:00:55.616
Phil: Like an old school shooter style thing?
02:00:56.656 --> 02:01:02.156
Tom: It is also a platformer, but in this case a 2D platformer.
02:01:02.296 --> 02:01:26.696
Tom: It works in a very unique way, where instead of moving through a level in which you jump over gaps between platforms, you are jumping from what are essentially bubbles to other bubbles using momentum and a dash mechanic, as well as bouncing off various walls or dashing off some of them.
02:01:26.716 --> 02:01:35.136
Tom: It is a completely unique experience that is surprisingly deep in terms of gameplay.
02:01:35.156 --> 02:01:48.956
Tom: There are some bonus levels in there that are really difficult and show off some of the interesting and crazy things you can do when you figure out how the mechanics work.
02:01:48.976 --> 02:01:54.216
Tom: Aesthetically, it is visually and in terms of sound, incredible.
02:01:55.636 --> 02:02:03.796
Tom: You can tell that just by looking at the screenshots to some degree, but as you're moving through the level, little things change throughout.
02:02:04.196 --> 02:02:08.916
Tom: To get the full impression of how great it looks, it is well worth playing.
02:02:08.936 --> 02:02:12.796
Tom: The sound is described as being algorithmic music.
02:02:13.736 --> 02:02:32.436
Tom: It does alter as you're going along and interacting with things in the game, but I would suggest that that is probably a bit of marketing hype there because it doesn't necessarily alter too much compared to games like Diad or even stuff like Euphoria.
02:02:32.616 --> 02:02:34.656
Phil: So is it like progressive prog rock?
02:02:36.056 --> 02:02:44.336
Tom: No, it is electronica, but when you get to a bubble or you move quickly and things like that, things in the music will change.
02:02:44.556 --> 02:02:48.596
Phil: I've been listening to prog rock lately and I think that would match the aesthetic of that game.
02:02:48.696 --> 02:02:50.696
Phil: It looks absolutely captivating.
02:02:50.716 --> 02:02:55.656
Phil: Again, the name of the game is Inglot, spelled Y-N-G-L-E-T.
02:02:55.676 --> 02:02:57.116
Phil: It's available on PC.
02:02:57.876 --> 02:03:09.456
Tom: So given that it is Danish and it is the world map weirdly and parts of the levels have references to places in Denmark, maybe it would actually be Yinglet.
02:03:09.776 --> 02:03:10.696
Phil: Yinglet, okay.
02:03:11.236 --> 02:03:13.116
Phil: Y-N-G-L-E-T.
02:03:13.176 --> 02:03:16.316
Phil: I mean, on the basis of the artwork itself, it's certainly worth a look.
02:03:17.296 --> 02:03:21.096
Phil: With that, we'll close out episode 136 of The Game Under Podcast.
02:03:21.116 --> 02:03:21.636
Phil: I have been...
02:03:21.656 --> 02:03:23.676
Phil: I realise I haven't introduced myself.
02:03:24.296 --> 02:03:30.396
Phil: This mysterious voice you've been hearing is that of Phil Fogg, and I've been joined by my co-host, Mr.
02:03:30.416 --> 02:03:31.176
Phil: Tom Towers.
02:03:31.896 --> 02:03:37.096
Tom: World renowned food critic, and I don't think I gave my final impressions of the cheeseburger, did I?
02:03:37.116 --> 02:03:37.296
Phil: No.
02:03:37.496 --> 02:03:39.076
Phil: We'll have to save that for next time.
02:03:39.576 --> 02:03:40.236
Tom: No, we won't.
02:03:40.256 --> 02:03:41.196
Tom: We will have to quickly...
02:03:41.336 --> 02:03:43.756
Tom: We can't do this to our loyal listeners.
02:03:43.856 --> 02:03:44.876
Phil: Oh, yes, we can.
02:03:45.716 --> 02:03:46.456
Tom: No, we can't.
02:03:47.016 --> 02:03:56.456
Tom: It was indeed a surprisingly satisfying meal, full of energy as you would expect from something so fatty and salty.
02:03:57.516 --> 02:04:02.556
Tom: And I was originally going to make potentially a pizza after this, but I don't think I will be now.
Phil: So your soul and your stomach is satisfied.
Phil: Correct.
Phil: With this healthy meal from McDonald's.
Phil: I know if I were in your shoes, I'm loving it.
Tom: I am indeed.
Phil: Do do do do do. (Hums the McDonalds Theme)