4player Podcast

The past year has been anything but normal but we press on as usual with our annual awards show. Unlike in years past, we are eliminating runner-ups and honorable mentions in favor of a coordinated effort that eliminates any overlap between our choices. That means more games are honored in each category! In part 2, we discuss the following categories: Best Multiplayer Experience Best Comfort Food Most Out of our Comfort Zone Best Game Nobody Played This episode includes a short sample from Nolan's favorite soundtrack of the year: Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout

The past year has been anything but normal but we press on as usual with our annual awards show. Unlike in years past, we are eliminating runner-ups and honorable mentions in favor of a coordinated effort that eliminates any overlap between our choices. That means more games are honored in each category! In part 1, we discuss the following categories: Best New Gameplay Experience Best Sequel Best Game Feel Most Addictive This episode includes a short sample from Brad's favorite soundtrack of the year: Creaks  Part 2 will be available on Tuesday, January 19th. 

What could be more fitting than inviting utter chaos on our 666th episode (HAIL SATAN) of the show? David joins us this week and brings the crew count up to 6! We dive deep into Immortals: Fenyx Rising to talk about why it's not as great as Breath of the Wild and why that doesn't really matter. Nolan and Chris Davis share their experience with the Back 4 Blood Alpha which brings Left 4 Dead back into relevancy in 2021. Nick talks about his introduction to modern Hitman and why he now feels more optimistic about IO Interactive making a James Bond game. Disclaimer - I hope it goes without saying but... we do not worship Satan. 

It's finally here. The end of 2020. It's been a wreck of a year for the most part despite being quite good for the world of video games. But what better way to put it behind us than to look to the future. Working closely with out community in Discord, we put together a comprehensive list of games slated for release in 2021 (and beyond) that you might want to keep an eye on. In fact, the list is over 140 games long! However, we each kick things off with our personal Top 3!

2020 May be almost over but it's still willing to claim one more victim. Cyberpunk 2077 has unfortunately had a somewhat... disastrous launch (the game was pulled from digital storefronts just moments before this recording). Despite all that, we have sunk up to 30 hours into a game that is, for all intents and purposes, incomplete. Nick recommends Tell Me Why from the creators of Life is Strange and Brad has found a lot to enjoy in Ubisoft's Immortals: Fenyx Rising. Disclaimer: Due to an unforseen audio hiccup, the audio in the 1st segment may not sound as clean. Chris Davis's audio is garbled at the very beginning and a tad uneven due to some post production edits that needed to be made. Additionally, we ended up having to rip the audio from Twitch for the 1st segment so some of the Subscriber notification sounds may have found there way into the audio. We apologize for the dip in quality this week.

4Player OG David returns to the hot seat this week and with him comes his unique brand of chaos... and impressions of a bizarre but intriguing game called 'Zanki Zero.' Nick and Nolan take a deeper dive into Assassin's Creed Valhalla to try and pinpont what makes this game more enjoyable than it's predecessors. Brad expounds upon why Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity might be worth your time and Chris Davis goes full Chris Davis on Project Wingman (a love letter to Ace Combat). Viewer questions also goes to some truly unexpected places. You have been warned.

This week's episode is jam packed full of new games to talk about; It's an absolute Playstation 5 bonanza! Now that the system has been out for a week, we take a closer look at Bugsnax (obviously), Sackboy: A Big Adventure and Spider-Man Miles Morales. Nick and Nolan share their EARLY impressions of Assassin's Creed Valhalla which is clearly going to be another divisive monster of a game. Nolan surprises with The Pathless and Chris Davis is already almost through the remake of Demon's Souls. We also discuss the exciting news that IO Interactive is making a James Bond game and a BIG leak from Capcom.

Even amidst the mess that is 2020, there are glimmers of hope. The next generation of console gaming has started and we have our first hands-on impressions of the Playstation 5. Nolan talks about his time with Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Nick shares tales of his time with Visage; a game that both terrifies and captivates. Furthermore, Krispy and Nick take a deeper dive into Ghost of Tsushima Legends now that it has been out for a few weeks. 

After taking a week off of podcasting to play Phasmophobia together, we finally have a chance to talk at length about what makes the game such a hit. Brad and Nick talk about the latest entry in The Dark Pictures anthology, Little Hope, and Nolan surprises us with an inspired indie survival game with adorable husky dogs called The Red Lantern. Nick also delivers his impressions of Watch Dogs Legion which doesn't revolutionize the genre but certainly takes a stab at some interesting mechanical ideas. 

Try as we might, we couldn't resist the pull of Genshin Impact. We take our first look at this Gacha sensation to see how it really compares to (and differentiates itself from) Breath of the Wild. Kris gives us his thoughts on Ghost of Tsushima Legends, the new muiltiplayer update that launched this week, and Nick discusses the scare tactics of Amnesia Rebirth.

In this (long overdue) episode of the Revival Club, we dig into the underdog of Rockstar's catalog: Bully. Released in 2006, this game established a cult following over the years thanks to it's charm, humor, and departure from Rockstar's standard M-rated subject matter. Together, with two community guests (Finding 404 & MrGreenTos), we discuss what makes this game special and why it remains one of Rockstar's biggest IPs this side of Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead Redemption. 

With new hardware just a few weeks away, Sony has finally pulled back the curtain on it's new Playstation 5 UX (User Experience). We extract what we can from the virtual tour but there are still many questions left unanswered. In impressions, Brad talks about his time with 'Crash Bandicoot 4: It's About Time' and Ed introduces 'Wildfire,' a game that harkens back to 'Mark of the Ninja.' Nick also discusses his new found love of 'Mortal Shell,' the latest (and perhaps truest) love-letter to the original Dark Souls on the market.

We never would have guessed that EA would manage to crank out not one, but TWO impressive Star Wars games in a row. Krispy returns to the fold this week to talk about 'Star Wars Squadrons' and how it has managed to surprise and delight against the odds. The group also dives even deeper into 'Hades', Nick highlights 'Lost in Vivo' courtesy of Carlos' recommendation, and Chris Davis revisits '13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim' now that he has sunk a considerable amount of time into it. In the 2nd segment, it's been a slow news week so we use that extra air time to catch up on supporter questions.

October has arrived but before we dive into a slew of horror games, we take a closer look at 3 recent releases spanning 3 very different genres. Brad gives us his initial impressions of a visual novel and the latest game from Vanillaware, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim. Nolan finally has his hands on Spelunky 2 and Nick played through Mafia: Definitive Edition, a ground-up remake of the original. We discuss the sudden announcement of Luna, Amazon's new Stadia competitor and we have some fun trying to decide which fictional post-apocalypse we would prefer to be stuck in.

Nearly 20 years later, Super Mario Sunshine has returned as part of the Super Mario 3D All Stars Collection to remind us that the famous plumber has a dark side. Luckily, Ed joins us this week to ensure us that Super Mario Galaxy is still a delight and to gush over Hades, the latest game from Supergiant, with Brad. But despite all that, Brad assures the group that the best platformer on the market right now is the remake of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 1 & 2. Oh... and Microsoft bought Zenimax for $7.5 Billion! We hash out what that means for the industry and for big franchises like Elder Scrolls and Fallout.

With only two months remaining until the launch of next-gen hardware, we take a deep dive into the launch strategies and lineups for both Microsoft and Sony. Of course, with that comes the unexpected chaos that unfolded around the pre-orders of the Playstation 5. We each bring a game to the table this week as well including our first look at Among Us, Spellbreak, and Terminator: Resistance. Nick chimes in on Paper Mario: The Origami King and Brad brings an indie gem called There is No Game: Wrong Dimension.

With Y2K Month at an end, we finally have a chance to talk about some of the big games and announcements that took place in August. Nolan gives us the rundown on Fall Guys, Brad pimps Wasteland 3, and we take a closer look at an exciting indie title called Undermine! In the news, we share our thoughts on the Suicide Squad and Gotham Knights news plus the big announcements from Nintendo on Mario's 35th anniversary!

It may be the end of Y2K Month but we still have a ton of nostalgia lined up. In our final episode of the month devoted to the games of the year 2000, we all find something to be excited about. Between the five of us, we revisit The Misadventures of Tron Bonne, Parasite Eve 2, Star Trek Voyager: Elite Force, Dino Crisis 2, and more! Brad even found a new passion for Valkyrie Profile and a new found appreciation for The Legend of Dragoon! 

With very little in the way of new releases to focus on in August, we have turned our eyes to the games that came out in the year 2000! All month long, we are playing and discussing nothing but games celebrating their 20th anniversary in the year of our lord, 2020. On this episode, we gush over Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, the original Deus Ex, and Perfect Dark! Brad hate-plays Shenmue and visits a classic entry in the Tales series, Tales of Eternia! There's also a healthy dose of Paper Mario in there for good measure. 

After weeks of intense discourse and controversy surrounding the release of 'The Last of Us: Part II,' the time has finally come for us to dive deep into spoiler-territory. We dedicated this entire episode to dissecting the biggest game of the year. There is a ton to discuss and we do our best to cover it all. We bridge the gap between both games and deliver our personal insights into the themes, characters, and events that make this game so impactful.