It’s like the saying goes: if there’s a long running wrestling franchise with a deep customization options that leads to people making deformed Kirbys, Austin will be there. Patrick, Danielle, and and Rob are there to help him through this, as we discuss Edmund McMillen’s new platformer, The End is Nigh, and Rob’s latest scheming in Subterfuge.
Over the weekend, popular YouTube creator VideoGameDunkey, known for his funny and biting videos about games, published a 9-minute critique about games criticism. Dunkey pointed his criticism at huge websites like IGN and Kotaku, lamenting review scores, the race to be first, a disconnect between a website's voice and an individual reviewer's opinion, and more. This prompted a lengthy discussion between Austin, Patrick, Rob, and Danielle, before we touched upon Rob's revenge fantasies in Subterfuge and Danielle's time with Hollow Knight.
Though gaming might not be moving at the same pace as earlier in the year, there's plenty to talk about. After Austin and Patrick provide an update on our (lack of) chicken dinner in PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, he discusses his time with the updated Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, while Patrick laments his inability to jump properly in the Crash Bandicoot remaster. Plus, Rob reveals the fascinating subtlety of pitching in MLB The Show 17, and Danielle updates us on Breath of the Wild's DLC.
Welcome to the second episode of Waypoint 101, our semi-regular podcast where we, as a group, play through an older game, something we've always wanted to get around to or something worth another visit. Our first series has tackled Sega's Binary Domain, an underrated sci-fi shooter with a story that takes some surprisingly dark turns. We talked about the game's first three chapter last month, and we've returned to discuss the game's conclusion. Join Patrick, Austin, and Rob as we discuss our favorite topic: sad robots.
Austin, Patrick and Danielle convene to talk about new Breath of the Wild DLC, PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, and high-level play in the games we just can't quit. Then, they take a dip in the question bucket and get ready for the weekend.
After a few days off, Patrick has returned to Waypoint Radio with Rob and Austin. (Danielle is taking some well-earned rest.) Naturally, the conversation turns to "accidental" fraud, the secret motivations to play golf, and, eventually, video games. We muse over Forza Motorsport 7's 100GB download, games reinventing themselves after release, and more.
Rob, Austin, and Danielle sat down to take on indie horror games, the many incarnations of Sherlock Holmes, and... imaginary Pokemon. Then, we take a question bucket inquiry from long ago—all the way back in December 2016.
Austin and Patrick are out recovering from E3, so Rob and myself were joined by our excellent summer intern, Natalie Watson to dissect the most memorable aspects of E3 2017. We touched on the difficult politics of The Last Night and Far Cry 5, the excitement and energy of Ubisoft and Bethesda’s press events, and the most off-the-rails parts of the Coliseum, and we took a nice dip into the question bucket.
We made it to the final night of E3, and we all survived! Join Patrick, Danika, Rob, and Austin for a discussion of Nintendo, our interview with Reggie Fils-Aime and the company’s treatment of fan work, Monster Hunter, Marvel Vs. Capcom: Infinite, Middle Earth: Shadow of War, and much, much more.
We did it, folks! We made it through Waypoint’s very first E3, and we couldn’t have done it without you.
For day two (or five?) of E3—ok, let’s just call it Wednesday night—Austin, Danika, Rob, and Patrick sat down to talk about all the games they saw, played, or got pitched on during a wild and woolly day on the show floor. They take on the wild scale of Beyond Good and Evil 2, the difficulties of The Last Night, the sheer iciness of Frostpunk, and much, much more.
Also, there is a mysterious Red Door. It’s scary.
Danika welcomes Steve Gaynor of Fullbright—the studio behind Gone Home and the upcoming Tacoma—onto the show to talk E3 excitement, fans, and setting games in space.
Austin and Patrick discuss their adventures in Sony's E3 booth, with talk of Knack, Detroit: Become Human, Spider-Man, and much more.
Patrick and Austin report from the show floor/parking lot, with tales of Devolver Digital's finest wares at the show. They talk Absolver, Minute and more as they attempt to keep all glasses on faces for the duration of the show.
Austin, Danika, Rob and Patrick have survived the first "official" day of E3, and they have a 2-hour episode to show for it! They talked about the E3 show floor (and how it's overflowing with people this year), Call of Duty: WWII, Talos Principle VR, Absolver, and few other things!
As proof that E3 2017 is in full swing, Austin, Rob, and Patrick have gotten hands on time with Assassin’s Creed: Origins, Crackdown 3, Sea of Thieves—and they’re here to let you know what games will make you say “Yo.” Also: impressions from the Sony press briefing, theories about Keyser Soze and the templars, and an angry rant about an unfortunate encounter with bright lights.
Patrick, Rob, and Austin are burning the midnight oil so that they can dish out their thoughts on Bethesda's E3 2017 press conference. They chat about Doom VFR, Fallout 4 (VR), Dishonored: Death of the Outsider, Wolfenstein: The New Colossus, The Evil Within and more!
Danika, Patrick, Rob, and Austin have gathered in beautiful Los Angeles, California to drop hot takes and turn cold shoulders to the best and worst of E3. Today, they tackle the EA and Microsoft press conferences. Come for the excitement about exosuits & actually good zombie games, stay for the bad shoutcasting and milkshake ducks.
It's just about E3 time! And that means that the usual Waypoint crew of Austin, Patrick, Rob and Danielle are filled with hope, excitement, and just a touch of terror for the upcoming mega-show. We talk about what we're hoping to see from the big publishers, what we will probably see, and what would get us to do a standing ovation in the middle of the show floor, then we go to a special, E3-shaped Question Bucket to answer your burning queries.
Gotta admit, this episode might have gotten away from us a little bit. You've been warned, as Patrick, Austin, Rob, and Danielle have a long discussion about Goatsegate (don't ask), the surprisingly neat shooter Tormenter X Punisher, our thoughts on the state of independent developers' relationship with E3, and a trip into The Question Bucket to discuss best writing practices.
The moment Rob started talking about his experience with BattleTech, a new strategy game from the folks behind the recent excellent Shadowrun games, it was all over. Get ready for robot talk. Over in The Question Bucket, a listener asks about our various experiences with being a critic, and how we draw the line on when criticism gets too personal.
Waypoint 101 is our new, semi-regular podcast where Waypoint editors play through an old game, maybe one we've always wanted to get around to, and discuss it. Unlike Waypoint Radio, this is meant to be a deep dive, with everyone participating having spent time with the game. To kick things off, we're playing through Binary Domain, a Gears of War-style sci-fi shooter from Sega in 2012.
The first podcast covers the game's first three chapters. The second will cover the remaining three. (E3 planning is throwing off our schedule. We'll figure out the kinks for the second installment. And, yes, you'll help us pick the next game!)
For Episode 69 of Waypoint Radio, Senior Editor Rob Zacny and Managing Editor Danielle Riendeau invited special guest Tim Barnes (our intrepid producer!) to come from behind the mics and sit center stage with us. Patrick is off at a wedding and Austin was ill, so, we decided to do a special, all bucket episode, pouring into your deepest inquiries.
Patrick is off in Montreal, but nothing can stop the sick-but-persevering Editor in Chief Austin Walker from talking about Far Cry 5, coinciding with the game's big reveal today. He's joined by Managing Editor Danielle Riendeau and her Rime-talk, and Senior Editor Rob Zacny, who had wild stories of Endless Space 2 and the Horatio, a species of people with an excellent backstory.
You're going to be shocked that Austin and Patrick found a way to talk about Spelunky again, but it's for a good cause: we're in love with the Castlevania-inspired roguelike Dead Cells. Elsewhere, Danielle explains how she spent 48 hours finishing Prey, and Rob introduces us to the complicated galactic politics of Endless Space 2. Our brief dip into The Question Bucket has us musing about how playing games in a similar genre can help us understand what makes them tick.