In the rarest of occurrences, all three of our heroes are playing (or at least played) the same game at the same time: Outer Worlds 2. Played because Chance ran in to a game ending bug, started over, and was just not 'immersed' enough to continue. Neither Alex nor Chamberlain are saying that this is the greatest game of all time, but it is entertaining in spite of its problems. Basically, they will tolerate mediocre combat if it means pitting space scientologist/communist soviet era Russians against late stage capitalism gone mad Americans against the nerdiest nerds to ever nerd.
There's charm here, trust us.
Chance. Chance doesn't love ninjas, at least not enough to play Ninja Gaiden 4. He bought it, but running through mediocre looking environments killing things at a firm 60 FPS was not good enough for him. It was more than good enough for Chamberlain, who loved it and highly recommends it as a very forgiving 'hard' game. All three have started Outer Worlds 2, but Alex has played it the most, because he loves Obsidian more than ninjas and ponied up for the early release.
Side note: Chamberlain does not love ninjas enough to put of with Double Dragon Revive. No one loves ninjas that much,
Sorry to say, no Alex today. We that remain will do our best.
Chamberlain hates what he thought he would like, tolerates but eventually abandons what he thought he would hate, gets emotionally involved with a 4 legged lighthouse, then settles in with Ninja Gaiden 4, a game so difficult he can only play it sober. And Chance can't find a place to be comfortable, stating at least two play throughs of Resident Evil 4, one of Baldur's Gate 3 and even a multiplayer session of Ghost of Tsushima before giving up and just watching movies. 2025 may have peaked.
Both Chance and Alex have played their games of the year and are planning on coasting the rest of the way to 2026. Chance finished up Ghost of Yotei, which was excellent if a bit short on content, and then moved on to Absolum, a brawler that Chamberlain was interested in until Chance brought up comparisons to Hades. Alex did all there was to do in Silksong, leaving nothing to do but finally (FINALLY) play South Park The Separate But Whole. And Chamberlain played Metal Gear Solid Delta, a remake of a very old game, before learning about love, death and demons in Sorry, We're Closed.
Yes, there is still Silksong talk this week. Alex has moved to within spitting distance of the end, having bested Skarrsinger Karmelita at the expense of a controller and strained fingers. Chance is celebrating Ghost of Yotei day and encourages all others to forsake their current worship practices for this new, improved version. Who doesn't want their god to feature global ray tracing at 60 FPS. And Chamberlain fixes the ending of Mafia The Old Country before insisting that everyone else is wrong about Silent Hill f being any better than a swift kick in the fellas.
Yes, there is still a lot of Silksong to talk about. Chance has finished it twice, having failed to distract himself with Dying Light: The Beast. He actually can't stop and it is becoming concerning. Alex finished, and has some less than nice things to say about, Borderlands 4. He, too, then, was sucked back into the bug orbit. And Chamberlain played Silksong for four hours, got angry, then retreated to linear action game Mafia: The Old Country, because it was more familiar and much, much more forgiving (in spite of all the revenge murders).
It's a spoiler episode! Silksong spoilers, because Chance has finished it, Alex has started it and Chamberlain is scared of it! Borderlands 4 spoilers, because Alex can't get enough of Randy Pitchford's nonsense! And Lost Soul Aside spoilers, because Chamberlain is a gaming hipster who only plays things that no one else has heard of!
Silksong has actually, honestly, really and truly come out and only Chance has put any time into it. No spoilers this week! Alex has Silksong downloaded (fighting Windows and Steam issues all the way) and will be playing it shortly, having put some time into the first Yakuza Like a Dragon to fill the preceding hours. And Chamberlain has Silksong installed but will not be playing it for at least a week and a half. But he did play RoboCop Rogue City Unfinished Business and some of Mortal Kombat 1, both of which were mediocre!
*sigh*
The Silksong counter is now at seven days. Chance and Alex are passing the hours by replaying Hollow Knight, with Alex wrapping the whole thing up in a new personal best time. Alex also found ALL of the Lego games on sale and is revisiting his childhood. And Chamberlain, who is so far removed from his childhood that he has forgotten it entirely, surrenders himself to one of his worst vices: a "new" Earth Defense Force game.
Spoiler! Hollow Knight Silksong has a release date! This is the happiest that Alex has been in six years. Also, we may not be recording in two weeks when it comes out, for science. Chance watched a ton of movies and has been inventing quests for himself in Tears of the Kingdom, this time at 60 FPS. And Chamberlain played a lot of things. The good (Ninja Gaiden Ragebound), the bad (Among Ashes) and the boring (Shadow Labyrinth).
The education of Chamberlain continues. This week: immersive sims are a thing that he has already played and he didn't even know it. Path of Exile II, which he has been enjoying, is not one. Alex has relapsed into XCOM II, which is excellent, but is not an immersive sim. And Chance has finished Donkey Kong Bananza and is struggling internally between Zelda Tears of the Kingdom and Assassin's Creed Shadows, neither of which are immersive sims.
It is time for Chamberlain against the world (again). He tried Kingdom Come Deliverance 2 and he hated it. A lot. No one else feels this way. He also threw money at Path of Exile 2 which is most enjoyable, when the sound works. Alex declares Final Fantasy XIII the worst Final Fantasy and Chance betrays not just some but ALL of his principles buy purchasing a Switch 2 and *gasp* enjoying Donkey Kong Bananza.
Chance has officially hit the credits of Death Stranding 2 and has almost nothing but nice things to say about it. It is hard to argue with shirtless hand to hand guitar battles. Alex is catching up on the Final Fantasy games that he never played. This week it is XIII, a game that still looks good and whose writing is still bad. And Chamberlain has returned to his gaming comfort zone: 7/10 games with obvious flaws and a lot of heart. Karma is a walking sim crossed with Orwell by way of Inception and Somber Echoes is a metroidvania with a good map, and sometimes that is all that is required.
Only one of your three heroes is not suffering from the annual summer games drought. Chance is still enjoying Death Stranding 2 and promises there is so much more to it than Tomorrow's feet. Alex took Chamberlain's lack of love for Metaphor personally and is playing it again to feel confident in his own opinions. And Chamberlain has gone all the way back to Hollow Knight, which is awesome, and whose map he still hates with more passion than is appropriate.
There is still only one new release of note, Death Stranding 2, and Chance is still all about it. Yes, Kojima still has somewhat cringey takes on the fairer sex, but the menus are awesome and walking from one place to another never gets old. Alex is working through his Steam backlog, this week sampling Chrono Cross and Mortal Kombat 11. And Chamberlain hates everything. He hated I Am Your Beast and he didn't exactly love Metaphor.
Alex spent some time outside, doing outside things, and this has stirred within him a desire to throw and hit balls with wooden sticks, also know as Super Mega Baseball 4. Chamberlain has to settle for Symphony of the Night at home, also known as Chronicles of the Wolf. And Chance has decided that walking around in real life is not enough and that it can only be improved by Kojima.
No Alex this week, but fear not! To make up for this Chamberlain played MindsEye to completion. All of it. So you don't have to (please don't). Chance also takes one on the chin this week by confirming that the Lollipop Chainsaw remaster is bad should feel bad about existing.
Good games soon, we promise!
It happens every year: the doldrums. Yes, 'not E3' is over, but trailers of games that aren't coming out for years does little to sate the needs of the addict. Alex tried Lies of P, tried being the operative term. At least Steam allows refunds. Chamberlain is wasting his time with a mediocre console port of Titan Quest. And Chance is doing the unthinkable: watching movies. And playing Overwatch.
Welcome to the Zatoichi podcast! Chance is now at least half way through his quest of watching every single Zatoichi movie and he still loves them. Chamberlain is still on his quest to play nothing but games no one has heard of, this time uncovering an absolute gem in Crypt Custodian. And Alex has completed the impossible quest of finishing a co-op run of Baldur's Gate 3 with his wife AND remaining married at the end.
Spoilers: no one bought a Switch 2, because why bother, and no one played Elden Ring Nighteign for similar reasons. Stands must be taken. Sometimes.
Chamberlain and Chance have finished Doom The Dark Age. Chance's opinion has softened. Yes, it is too easy but it was fun for the entire time. Chamberlain wants to work for his demon kills and was generally nonplussed, but hey, it was on Game Pass. Also this week, Alex revisits Red Dead Redemption 2 on his new PC and has a much better time with it that he did seven years ago.