Get Played - Animal Well

Episode Date: May 20, 2024

Matt, Heather and Nick discuss the new indie Metroidvania secret exploration game Animal Well. They don't spoil anything but they talk about how it plays, the overall vibe, and some mechanics. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram @getplayedpod.Music by Ben Prunty benpruntymusic.com.Art by Duck Brigade duckbrigade.com.Check out our Anime watch-along podcast Get Anime'd and our complete Get Played, How Did This Get Played? and Premium DLC back catalogue only on patreon.com/getplayed. Join us on our Discord server here: https://discord.gg/getplayedWanna leave us a voicemail? Call 616-2-PLAYED (616-275-2933) or write us an email at [e-mail] Advertise on Get Played via Gumball.fmSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This is a head gum podcast. Hey guys. Hey Matt. What's up? Hi Matt. Well, you ready to do this? I'm having a huge day. Yeah, I'm having a really huge day.

Oh, well, okay. Great. What's going on? I found all these eggs. Uh, say more. I'm'm I'm sorry I was expecting like a Sentence to follow. Yeah, I don't I have a single word question. What I? Wives, okay, I've been walking around and I found all these different types of Interesting eggs, and I'm really I'm really excited about it like an Easter egg hunt sort of thing? Like what, was this an event?

No, just like, they're just kind of like around. That's not really, it's Easter's, you know, well, way in the past at this point. Yeah, I know what time of year it is. I'm just like trying to wrap my head around this. You've just been like pilfering eggs from like Bird's Nest? Or have you been stealing from supermarkets? No, they're just, they're just around.

I've just been fine, I've been like walking around, minding my own business, and then I go like a new way that I haven't been and then there's an egg there and I pick it up and I keep it and then now it's my egg. Just because I wanna make sure that there's not a miscommunication here happening. Yeah.

What do you mean by an egg? Yeah. Can you describe what an egg is to you? An egg, okay, like a travel egg. Didn't clarify anything. Yeah, that that's made almost like it took information from me. Oh, yes. What about like a great egg, for example, like something like that?

You like like egg, like a like has we understand it like a thing you eat for breakfast like an egg. We all know what eggs are. OK, I so I have that as a baseline. It's what I understand an egg to be. But these are specific types of eggs. Yeah, and they're all different and unique. Like I have a future egg as well. A future egg, so like an egg that doesn't

matter. They're so OK. So you. I've been walking around. I've been picking up eggs. This is a big deal to me. OK. A big deal. This is the biggest thing I got going on. What are you doing with the eggs? Are you doing any? are you cooking them? I don't know, I'm keeping them. Keeping them. I'm on hold, sorry, everyone just hang on. Hi, this is LA Department of Health. I want to initiate the process of a 5150 involuntary hold on a loved one.

Yeah, my understanding is but the county law allows for a 72-hour psychiatric hospitalization Of someone I think is who's potentially a danger to themselves or to others Yeah, it's the name is a Matthew Appadaka Okay, yeah, you can you can call me back on this number. Okay. Thanks. Tell us more about these eggs Matt Okay, so I found a jade egg Oh, that's great. I started thinking you guys actually don't even really care about the eggs that much We love the eggs we love you. Nick, how long did they say?

How long do we gotta keep him talking? Three and a half hours. Oh my god. We toss discs to distract dogs and collect secret eggs as we dip into indie solo dev hit Animal Well this week on Get Played, your one-stop show for good games, bad games, and all the games in between. It's time to get played. I'm your host, Heather Ann Campbell, along with my fellow host, Nick Weiger. That's me, Nick Weiger, and I'm here with our third host, Matt Appadaka.

Hello, everyone. Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the premier video game podcast, where this week we are talking about a fairly zeitgeisty title that everybody was abuzz about just a few weeks ago. And that's Animal Well. Or as I like to say, Animal. Well... Mmm, interesting. We'll get into it. I had a feeling this game was not going to be your cup of tea, but just knowing your tastes and- I haven't said that yet. I haven't said that yet.

I haven't said that yet. This game came out on May 9th. So we are relatively on top of it by our record and release standards. This episode will come out just a week and a half after its initial release. And we've all dug into it a little bit. We're gonna talk about that in just one second.

I do wanna give everyone a heads up because, you know, we do the we play you play on occasion where we spend an entire episode talking at length about one game, deep diving into it. We are not doing that about Animal Well. That is not what this format is, because we're not going to, you know, we haven't. I don't think any of us have finished it. I certainly haven't finished it. No. And there's also just so much to talk about, so much to discover.

And we just felt like this game was so new, we didn't really want to go full on into spoiler country. So that's not what this is. But we are going to do that next week, Monday, May 27th, about Fallout the TV series. We're going to talk through season one of this really well-received adaptation and we're going to share our thoughts at length. Not a game, but hey, it's a game show. Not a game show in the sense of like,

who wants to be a millionaire, but you know what I mean. This is within the realm of the kind of things we cover. Look for that. We play of the TV series next week. Once we start covering game shows, it's over. It's like you just know that we're like, OK, we're tapped. We're now we're we're we're dissecting the gameplay on a an episode of Wheel of Fortune. That's right.

Although some of those it's it's interesting because there have been some decent at home adaptations of those. There's interesting because there have been some decent at home adaptations of those. There's also like, there's that, there was a release of, I can't remember, I think it was the, I think it was like a Game Boy adaptation of Deal or No Deal. And there was no randomizer. So there was like one solution for it. And so basically once you knew where the goal,

like which cases had the money, you just like knew how to win every time. I can't remember what release that was, but it was like a- That sucks. Yeah, had notoriously flawed implementation. I love playing Jeopardy video games because depending on when they were released,

you're locked into trivia that is almost like time capsules. Yes. Because the stuff that was important in, say, 2006's Wii release of Jeopardy! is and that's a estimate it might have been. Twenty two thousand nine two thousand ten I don't know. Certainly not two thousand six now that I think about it because the we wasn't out yet but anyway point being that like if you play like a 90s Jeopardy game it'll be like. It'll be like, this bill by Bill Clinton, and you'll be like, okay, nobody fucking knows what that is anymore.

Just as much as now it'll be like, the ACA is known as this, when not being called the ACA. Like in 10, 15 years, people will be like, what the fuck is an ACA? So I love- That also happens- Timelock Jeopardy. That happens with like, with trivia. like trivial pursuit gets time locked pretty easily

too because things just change. So I remember seeing a card that was like, which one of these actors did not play Batman? And it was like George Clooney, Michael Keaton, Christian Bale and Ben Affleck. And Ben Affleck hadn't been Batman at the time of the game probably coming out. And then within a few years, that card is obsolete because there's not an answer. They should just avoid the Batman franchise in any sort of like exclusionary trivia.

Because basically every major actor at some point is gonna play Batman and or the Joker. Yeah. That's just how it works. You should put somebody who has passed away and that's going to feel crass. That's a safe way to do it. But you know, that's the way that you're going to keep that card in motion, you know? Yes.

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and responsible gaming resources. graph kings dot com slash get 50 for eligibility terms and responsible gaming resources All right, let's uh, let's talk about some video games though not game shows it's time for what are you playing? What are you playing in and out out this week, boys. In and out. It's good to see you. Good to see you as well. Hey, Resident Evil Merchant, my understanding is that people were pretty happy to have you on the podcast at length, you know. I don't want to necessarily encourage this behavior of you sticking around every time, but, you know, once in a while. Just know that you're appreciated by the listenership. Wait, what do you mean by once in a while. Just just just know that you're appreciated by the by the listenership.

What do you mean by once in a while? That seems like too often as well. Yeah, maybe maybe once. I would say maybe once. And so you did it. So we're in a while. How long is a while to you guys? Like for me, that's tricky because we know that time is relative.

How long it takes to get the burger after you order it. Yeah, I guess I should have been more. I think probably, you know, it can be a once every other year sort of thing. And how long are your years? See, this is what I was getting into because we've talked about their calendar is different. Yeah.

Why don't you just like wait for us to tell you when we want you back? We'll invite you. We'll let you know. We'll give you a heads up. That won't work for me. Okay, now we're making demands? That won't work for you? No, but I promise I'll take a long pause because I've got a lot of offers in after last week.

Oh, that's great. Yeah. Wow, how exciting. It's real exciting. Because I got a lot of offers in after last week. Wow, how exciting. It's real exciting. This is a town of movers and shakers. That's great. If you can't say what kind of offers, that's okay. I'm guessing some more prominent podcasts. Like maybe we might be hearing the Resident Evil Mer merchant popping into Marin or something. They asked me to host the event.

That precedes the World Monetary Fund Conference. Interesting. So I'm considering that I got to get an agent. Well, yeah, you are, you know, hey, you do your business is business so talking with all those global movers and shakers you might be right at home people I know in the biz say that you don't really need an agent you just need a really good manager oh is that true you know it might depend on where you're at in the business maybe if you're further along you might not necessarily need an agent you know does it famously didn't have an agent or manager. He just had a lawyer.

Same with- And probably the good advice of his lovely wife, Mavis, as well. Yeah, that would probably, she was kind of a, you know, a work in his council for him. Gee, Mavis, what do you think? Should I host a Tonight Show this year? This is that politician you guys are always talking about,

right? You know honestly of all of T of NBC personalities that became politicians maybe I maybe America would have been better off if Leno had been the guy to do it. Maybe that would have been the right choice for everyone. If the if the race was determined by Biggest Jin, he certainly would have a hearty lead as far as I'm concerned. He should get a bandana. Anyway, so yeah, I got his places to go. I got a meeting to get to. My question to you is, Matt Abedaka, Nick Weigar, what are you praying? Wow. So that was actually both of us. Which one of us should go first?

Me perhaps, because I was named first. Yeah. Let me grab something real quick. Matt Apataka just got up. He crossed the room. We're doing this one, we're doing this record remotely because my little puppy broke her toenails.

So I gotta keep an eye on her. But Matt got up, he crossed the room, he got something off his coffee table, and he brought it back to the microphone. What is it? You know, what I'm holding in my hand right here is it's like a relic of an older age, a different time. A media format.

He's got like a stone dildo, like a caveman's. I haven't even figured out what this thing is for. He's got like a stone dildo like a caveman's I haven't even figured out what this thing is for Uh, you know this is like a forgotten media format that I decided I was going to support and um I'm holding in my hand a hard copy of a game informer magazine Wow now game informer has had a print volume for many years, of course. I think it's been around for 30 years, Game Informer.

But for a long time was, I guess, paywalled behind Game Stops. Like, whatever it's called, GameStop Pro or something, you can only get a physical issue mailed to you through GameStop Pro. Yeah, when you signed up for whatever their, and that, whatever that their club program has, has had, I think, a few different names.

But yes, they would always offer you that, or it would just be included as part of it. A printer plus digital. I think you used to be able to buy it in stores as a single issue as well. But there had for a long time had not been a way to get the magazine sent to your home otherwise. But they recently just put out a standalone subscription and I subscribed for a year, 10 issues

for a year, and on the cover of this magazine right here we have Star Wars Outlaws, the new Star Wars game that's coming up, and I gotta say flipping through a magazine, underrated, and a lot of fun. Lots of really great stuff in here. There's a profile on Bellatro that I was digging into just earlier today. And it's, yeah, titled, How a Solo Developer Played His Cards Right to Create Bellatro. So that's really fun.

And that's basically all I've got going on right now, as far as gaming, because I did put down Rebirth. I'm itching to get back into it though, but I've been playing this game non-stop I just haven't been able to stop playing it since we decided we were gonna do it so like I Only have this to talk about I have about 17.7 hours of animal well to speak Okay, you're well ahead of me. Yeah for me

Heather what are you playing? Look, I only have space in my life for one podcast game and one non-podcast game every week. As a result, my time with Fortnite has been truncated by my continued playing of Hades. Wow, I love it. Are you playing Hades or Hades 2 in early access? Hades, Hades.

Okay, great. Playing old Hades. And I'm loving it here on second watch. I don't know where I am in the game. I'm not tracking anything. It's a perfect little sit down, play a level, get up, go back to work, unless you happen to be on a good run.

And I'm so fucking terrified of like putting my Switch on sleep and then like unsleeping my Switch and being in the middle of combat and dying. I do wish that there was some kind of, um, I dunno, I, I wish there was like some mechanic that would allow you to not like, if you don't have 30 minutes, 45 minutes to do a full run on Hades, I wish there was some way that you could be like, okay guys, I have to go back to work.

Can we just like freeze the arrows in midair? But also if that mechanic existed, it would destroy the quality of the game, because you'd be able to do that at any time and look at stuff and like plan an escape. So there's no real solution to what I'm asking. I just wish that conceptually it existed. Um, well, you can, but I mean, like you could like clear a room and then have

that be your stopping point, right? Like you could, and then pause the game and then resume there where things were. Thank you, Nick. Thank you. That solves the problem. I've never considered it. That's it. That's the, that's the, thank you. That's it.

That's the, that's the, thank you. That's it. That's the solution. So yeah, playing Hades did manage to get a few rounds of Fortnite in with our discord players and listeners this week. Always a blast. Thank you boys and girls and non-binary people.

It was a it was a good good week of my very infrequent Fortnite runs. And then the rest of the week, I was playing this week's game. So, Nick, let me let me wait. Before we get off of Hades, because I, you know, I'm curious. You're as someone who's kind of a,'s kind of a latecomer to this game. I know you played it some initially, but you're back on the horse now,

and now it's really clicking for you. Do you have a sense of why it's working for you, this go round and related question? Do you have a favorite weapon you've connected with? Arrows, bow and arrow, my favorite. The thing that's different is I looked back at what we were doing when we first got Hades. And I waited for the Switch release

and the Switch release was the month that we were playing Balan Wonderworld. Wow. So the reason I didn't have the space for Hades was because I had to play Balan Wonderworld for us. And that is what happened. That's why I bounced off it last time because I played a game so repugnant

that it put me off of all games other than the sort of like physical toil of playing Balan Wonderworld when we had to do it. Yeah, that was a rough playthrough. I just I opened up the Steam store to look at some Balan Wonderworld reviews while you were talking. And the top negative comment is that Eugene Naka deserved a life in prison. I forgot to say, say too that I

Have also gone back to Hades one That's like what I've been doing on my steam deck when I'm not playing animal well by the way steam deck Back in action as far as I'm concerned good to know I get one of these I gotta get one of these bad boys They're all led now, but I know I'll probably love it. They're all led. Yeah, I know they're all led Heather you asked me what I was playing before I interrupted you and I will answer your question I have been messing around with buckshot roulette Now this is something of a meme game. Maybe I did but this was this came out in April But it wasn't really on my radar

And then I heard some people talking about it and I've been messing around with it. It is developed by a solo dev, Mike Klubnicka, and published by Critical Reflex. This game is nasty. It is a first person Russian roulette game with a pump action shotgun. No. So.

And on top of that, you are, so the way it works is that you are going into, you're playing Russian roulette against a character called the dealer who has just like this really nasty a character design. He's got like these long teeth, these big eyes, this giant bloated head. He looks kind of like a, like a really fucked up Jack Skellington. And it also has this intentionally abrasive rust palette for the art, these grimy, low-res, unfiltered textures. It takes place in the back room of a club.

So there's like this, the club, you have to like, you start in a bathroom, you walk through part of a nightclub and then you get in this back room, we're gonna play Russian roulette against this mysterious figure. And then there's all this like clunky dawn of computing tech. It's everything that, everything that exists, like, you know, it just makes it feel kind of cool, but also like just unpleasant and unnerving.

So here's the thing. I think it's, I think it's really cool. And I think it's really like like like fascinating for what it does and this clearly comes from just like such a specific like there's such a specific idea behind this and and I do love that about it. I'm getting old and that's part of why I'm like the feeling of shooting myself in the face with a shotgun I find to be unpleasant So especially the way the game works, because you'll- You really have changed. Yeah.

Yeah. You're seeing from your first person perspective, you're seeing like the barrel of the gun tremble, like your character's like scared to pull the trigger. And then if it doesn't, if it isn't a blank, if you actually fire around, you know, you get the harsh sound effect on the flash light and then like a hard cut to black, like a little too quickly cutting to black.

So it actually feels like death. Like it's really, really effective. And then if you still have life left, you'll be brought back with a defibrillator. So you're feeling and seeing that in first person. I imagine if this game was in VR, I might end up in the ER. I might pass out, because it's really intense. But it's fun because it really is just like a game about math and so much of it is, so in addition to,

like you'll have all the shells that'll be laid out. And so it'll be like, for instance, there'll be there four live shells and two blanks. And so in addition to that, as the rounds go on, and once you get in the double or nothing mode, which is a mode you unlock for finishing the game, there are all these items that let you affect, you have some insight into what the outcome might be

and also potentially juice the odds a little bit. So for instance, you have handcuffs that will will or I'll start with a magnifying glass. The magnifying glass just lets you see what the next round is and you can see if it is a blank or if it is a live round. And if it's a live round, you want to turn it on the dealer. If it's a blank, you can turn it on yourself safely and get yourself an extra turn. There's also handcuffs that let you handcuff your opponent so that you can take two turns in a row. There's a saw you can use to saw off the shotgun so that a shell deals double damage for one round.

So if you know something is a live round or have an idea of of even without mathematical certainty, if you know there are two live rounds in the gun and one blank, well, I've got a two thirds chance of this being a live round, maybe I'll take a chance and then that will do double damage if you saw it off. There's also beer, which is just like, and cigarettes, which are just like, you know,

again, just add to the general gnarliness of it. And then, you know, in the other mode, there's like in the double or nothing, there's like adrenaline. There's like expired medicine. There's a burner cell phone that you can use to get insight into what the rounds are. So but it really is is just like predicting probabilities and and kind of metaphorically counting cards. Here you're counting shells.

And OK, I know that there are there's a three out of six chance of this thing. How many shells have been have been expended? How many live rounds are potentially left? Who should I shoot the this this unholy entity or myself? It's it's a trip. It's it's intense, but I think it's really cool. And you know what? It's $3. Just like $3. $3. I bought a coffee today that was more than $3. Wow. Yeah. So I don't know. Like for a game that you get a few hours of fun out of and it's got a multiplayer

coming mode that's in development. I don't know. I think I thought it was. I think it's really cool. And I understand why it's it's had a lot of success at the Steam store. And again, it's something of a meme because again, it is just so gnarly and just conceptually a game where you actually simulate Russian roulette in first person with a shotgun is just just so just such an intense specific idea. The other thing that this does that it has is like is just such an intense, specific idea. The other thing that this does, that it has is like, it does present a bunch of like comedy opportunities,

you know, that just unintentional stuff that you'll come across. So for instance, like, you'll like, you think you know what a round is and you'll fuck it up. So you like saw off a shotgun and chug a beer and then blast yourself in the face. Like, you know, by accident, those moments are fun. So anyway, that's Buckshot Roulette.

And that's what I've been playing. In addition to Animal Well, which we're going to talk about now. Animal Well was released. Unless anyone has anything else. Nope. No. Ranch, you playing anything? Yeah, I'm playing Fortnite as always. Ranch is playing Fortnite. Ranch, I'm playing for tonight as always Ranch is playing Fortnite. Ranch who's your skin these days? Right now my default skin is this generic anime girl named Yuki I think. Got it. She's got a little white hoodie

Fun. We've got the same haircut. Classic. Classic Ranch. I've been playing as Kylo Ren because it's Star Wars Star Wars time in Fortnite and every time I kill somebody I shout into the mic, what girl? And it's super fun. Animal Well was released on May 9th for PC, PS5 and Switch. It is a Metroidvania slash, I hear some people using the term search action for this genre, so it's not Metroid and Castlevania specific. Search action. Yeah, like a search sort of exploration platformer where you explore as a tiny blob moving through a cryptic underground environment

populated by both friendly and aggressive animals. It is developed by Shared Memory, AKA solo dev Billy Basso. Billy worked as a programmer at Larger Studios for 10 years, spent seven years developing this. And Billy has some PlayStation blog entries describing the development process and they're really interesting reads. He built his own engine and tool set. He seems to really,

really have a strong grasp over the technical side of things. And this game is doing some really technically impressive stuff, but also is really artful and creative. And it is published by Big Mode, which is video game Dunkey's label. And it's a cool thing that the Dunkey is doing with his platform and cloud and resources, is spotlighting a cool game like this. Anyway, as I said earlier, we're not going to veer into spoiler country

for this particular Animal Well discussion. I think we might, if you want to know absolutely nothing about this game, obviously, then this is, you're listening to the wrong podcast. But I think we are going to keep things pretty peripheral. And certainly some of the secrets and some of the really, really deep lore of this game is pretty buried and pretty inscrutable. And so it's probably stuff that we haven't even been exposed to yet. But I'm absolutely loving this game.

I just think it rips so hard. It is it is just such an impressive achievement and has such an incredible sense of environmental discovery. It's gorgeous. It has an excellent soundtrack. It is extremely playable. There are thoughtful environmental touches throughout. I too like Animal Well.

Here's what I don't like. If you guys like this fucking game so much, why haven't you played Cave Story? What's happening? Oh shit wait hold on No, this is fair because the other game the other game along the other metroidvania That's a big blind spot for me is is a hollow night Which I know if I actually played through all of Hollow Knight that would be one of my all-time favorite games I mean my brother loves it. I played some of it, and I just bounced off of it It was one of those things where it just kind of hit me at a time where I was playing other stuff. But yeah,

I should get back on that and I should finally play through Cave Story. I don't know how much Cave Story specifically was an inspiration for this one, but certainly aesthetically it seems to share some DNA. I'm interested in Cave Story. This right here, this animal well is extremely, extremely my shit. I mean, I don't, I can't spoil, I don't think anything that I actually have done in the game is considered spoiler because I've been,

while I've been surprised by everything that I've done so far, nothing I will say, I think has been like, oh my God. Like I haven't really like, I don't know, my jaw hasn't hit the floor or anything like that. But I'm really, really enjoying it. I am like, I'm just, I'm trying to find nooks and crannies, right, like nooks and crannies with this little guy,

that's really, really fun to do. But the, I end up feeling like a genius with some of these solutions. So yeah, that's part of what I think the game does so well. Like, so we were talking, a big part of this is finding secret eggs. I mean, those are kind of the secret MacGuffin that you'll find throughout.

And when you find one of those, it's so satisfying and makes you feel smart. Even though that things are laid out for you, like it's like a path is laid for you, you feel smart for having discovered what the game wants you to discover. Yes. And that's just like like, I don't know, it's just really, really well crafted

in terms of how it's presented. Because there really is no onboarding at all. No, I was gonna say the game is so obtuse that when I found an egg, I was like, okay. Because you find all sorts of shit and you're just like putting it in your inventory. There's no like, one of the items that you find all sorts of shit And you and you're just like putting it in your inventory There's no like it one of the items that you find I was like okay This completely changes the way that you like navigate the world is

This the point of the game was to find this thing But then you find but but hearing you guys go on about how important the eggs were I'm like I don't even know How many eggs I've found. Well here's the thing I don't know if the eggs are important I know that I'm finding them. The eggs are the eggs are important at least in the sense of it's it's a marker for how much of the game you fully discovered.

Yeah let me let me let me read a little bit from Basso's aforementioned blog This kind of talks about the higher level design approach Reading reading quoting here I am consciously designing the game to have multiple layers The first layer is the base game with all the required areas needed to see the ending This is going to be a very rewarding experience on its own and I estimate it will take most players about 10-15 hours to complete the game without any hints. The second layer includes optional items and areas that a dedicated player will find to 100% of the game. I expect many people will be able to complete this layer with only the

occasional search online for a couple hints here and there. This is where most games stop. The third layer will include far more obscure puzzles whose existence will be unknown to most. I suspect the internet will need to collaborate a bit to solve these or they might not solve them. Then finally, the fourth layer will be secrets that only I know. I'm throwing down the gauntlet

and challenging the internet to discover everything. I will be sure to make an announcement confirming my defeat if and when this happens." Wow! Yeah, so there's a lot going on here. So this game is made by a super villain. Because, yeah, I clicked something in Animal Well, and there's a machine has appeared in Los Angeles.

Yeah, I just shut the power off of a small residential area. The thing that I'll say, yeah, I'm finding this, I'm finding stuff in the game. I'm finding stuff in my inventory. I have some things that I don't. I still have spaces and I feel like where I'm at in the game, I'm close to wrapping it up. In the, I'm in the first, I'm in the, maybe not the first layer. I guess I'm in the first layer of where things,

where I could be playing the game. I'm finding a lot of stuff, but I just, like, I'm not, and maybe Nick, you feel this way too. I don't know what's going on. I just know that I'm having a good time and that I'm using my brain, I feel like in ways that I don't get to use it that much, where like I'll find something and be like, what the fuck is this?

I don't know, I don't know, I'll come back. I guess I'll have to come back. Then I'll get the thing that I know that I need. Oh wait, I think I saw, I remember this this way. I'll go back and then be like, oh cool, now I'm progressing because I have a new thing. And now I'm going in this direction. That's like the joy of Metroidvanias in general.

Yes. Yeah. Yeah, but what this game does specifically is there's so much lateral thinking involved and there are solutions that are just obtuse enough where it's not like an obvious like, oh, there's a little hook for, there's a little ring for a grappling hook.

Okay, I got the grappling hook. Now I can go back and swing over that ring. Right. It's a little bit less, or sometimes significantly more complex and obscure than that. And so when you do discover it, again, it has more of that sense of, you know,

a lot of it is getting over functional fixedness too. One early thing is, so there's a frisbee you get, which is maybe the first item, it's a very early item you get. I do not have this frisbee. Okay, so the frisbee is a thing that... But I have other things. Yeah, you can explore this game in different ways.

So like, I think I came across one later item earlier than another item, which I think I was supposed to get. Like, I think you can sequence break a little bit there. For sure. But the frisbee, you can use it, and it obviously seems to function as a projectile, like a boomerang, but when you figure out that you can jump on top of it, and then it will function as like a magic carpet,

you can ride it on its trajectory. Now you have a new way of traversal, and that's not a thing that's told to you. Like a lot of games would be, most games would have a tutorial that would show you how to do this, or that would force you to do this. This is just the thing you end up discovering. And there's another item that has another layer to it,

another use to it that comes even later that I found even more satisfying in terms of like, oh shit, I was not expecting that to work. And when it did work, it paid off really well. We're having to talk really vaguely here, I think, because again, so much of the fun of this game is discovering things. But maybe we should take a step back

and talk about just like what this game is for someone who hasn't played it and maybe hasn't seen these screenshots or videos. Frisbee, you say, frisbee. Yeah. It would be labeled a disc, I think. It's a disc, yeah. I definitely have not gotten a frisbee.

I have been using a different device to traverse areas that I guess maybe I'm not supposed to be traversing the way that I'm traversing them. I think, no, I think you can, though. And I was stunned at the difficulty because of it. I was like, wow, is this a, this is a fucking wall that you hit at the difficulty because of it. I was like, wow, is this a,

this is a fucking wall that you hit where you have to be able to time this this way. And now I'm like- Are you using the, is it, I'll just add, is it the bubble, the thing that generates bubbles? That yeah, so you're jumping on top of that and you can kind of do a thing where you can, you know, if you time it right.

Yes, you can, you can jump and dispense another one so you can kind of jump from bubble to bubble to increase your elevation. Yeah, there are some situations where you do this, but there are other items you can use which let you scale things or get over gaps. Okay, because I've been gently using that bubble gun in between, say, spiky sections, and it was as precise as, say, spiky sections, and it was as precise as, say,

the infamous Ninja Turtles damn sequence. Where I was like, ah, this is hard as shit. Well, and this is something, I mean, gosh. It's hard to know what is in a spoiler, because in most, this game, I think I think it will zoom out in a second. This game, I think the interesting thing about it is it does things that you don't think you could do in most games. Like if there's a spiky section, I'm not going to ever think

I could probably break these spikes. I'm like, oh, those are the spikes. That's where the spikes are. But then, you know, you're futzing with buttons and you accidentally break one, you go, oh, they can break? And then now you know that. Yeah, or you stumble upon another creature doing that, like a penguin walking through it, and you're like, oh shit, I didn't realize

that was a possibility. So yeah, there is cool shit like that in the way it's revealed is. And then again, that subsequently opens up areas that you previously thought were closed off. Yeah, all that is really well done. So basically what this game is, is a, as I talked about earlier,

it's a Metroidvania, you're a little blob, you're a tiny little guy, you're pretty helpless, you don't have any sort of attack, you can just basically move and jump and then you get some various items that help you navigate and interact with the environment in different ways. But you know, you don't really have an extensive move set and you're pretty fragile, you only have a few hearts, there are definitely a lot of enemies that can just eat you or one shot you.

So you know, it's you're not like a powerful entity and so much of the game is just going from room to room. So it is, it is Metrovania style, but it is like room-based, it is screen-based. So you get to a location and the camera is fixed. And then you have that one screen, this one kind of play area to mess around with and to solve. It's not like a continuous scrolling sort of thing

for the most part. And it also has a retro look to it. It is a 2D game, pixel art game, but it doesn't look like anything specific. And on top of that, and I talked about the blog earlier and Basso gets into some of this, it also has just like some awesome lighting and particle effects and animation and physics

that would just not be possible on older hardware. It is like a thoroughly modern game that looks like very retro, but again, isn't retro to anything specific. For instance, just like just one thing and part of why this game like looks so distinct and so cool, every sprite has a normal map. So like it takes light directionally,

like a 3D object, which is just like an incredibly laborious thing to implement and not a thing that these games generally do. It's gorgeous. Yeah, it looks so cool. It's, you know, in your early areas, you've got a lot of like blue and green, and then the color palette gradually changes

as you explore farther and farther into the cave that this story takes place in, this cave story that you're sort of unveiling. I didn't do anything. I didn't do anything. I'm look, I booted it up. I played a couple of screens and I was like, oh, I don't know that this one will be for me. But then I jumped and tapped a lantern that I thought was part of the background.

And the lantern made a very satisfying little chime of like tinkling glass and the chain swung a little bit and the light cast its fluorescence across the ground in different ways. And I was like, oh, that's pleasurable. And that was enough to get me to keep playing the game because this isn't at least where I am. You can't fucking shoot or kill anything.

So it's not like my kind of game. Right. Yes. There's definitely things that you have to fight. I think later than where I am, or at least escape from. But also I should say, the way I played this game, and I wanna be upfront about it, I got that bubble thing before I got any other item. That was my first item.

Interesting, I'm trying to remember if that was the second or third thing I got. That was my fourth item. And so I think we're all going kind of kind of out of order. I had to get here and we'll maybe offline at Matt in terms of what you got, because I got something pretty recently that I won't spoil here, but I won't mention it because it was so delightful when I got it. And when I saw how it was used and how it solved puzzles, I was like, this is so

this is just so dang clever. I think I got the same thing today. Yeah.. I was like, this is so this is just so dang clever. I think I got the same thing today. Yeah. And I was like, I think this is the best game. This is like this is this is this is this is this is this is I was profoundly tickled when I got this item and when I got to mess around with it. There's one item that I do that I don't like. And I like how it works sometimes, but I don't like. And I like how it works sometimes, but I don't like that you can't really control it

the way you'd like to control it, I think. But that's all I'll say about it. But I love the little guy, can I say? I love his little foot pattern. Yeah, good little guy. I like the way he sounds when he goes up a ladder. So this is a... And Heather was talking about the little twinkle

that you hear when you impact a light source. It's, yeah, it has a really sparse sound design, but it's really effective. It's super atmospheric. There is a, there is basically no scoring. Like a lot of it just kind of takes place without any sort of ambient music. But when you do hit it, like, you know,

it punctuates a few things, particularly when you get to one of the checkpoints, which are telephones. I just, I know the thing, this game is just profoundly weird, which I think is a big part of it. Like you're a little blob, and then you're in this weird subterranean, you know, animal empire,

but then there's like rotary phones you'll find. And those are your save points. It's also, when you use the phone, it brings up a floppy disk. And the floppy disk is how you know that you've saved. There are sound piece, there's sound cues or pieces of sound effect in this that are clearly pulled from or adapted

from a Super NES library and they are specific cues and I can't place them, but it makes the game, which has a retro aesthetic, also specifically pinch a nostalgia button in my brain. I don't know. It's it's a special little game. I'm loving it. Yeah, I mean, I think it's just going to be one of maybe

we're maybe we're we're being hyperbolic in the moment here, but I think it's just so so dazzling and so much care and thought has gone into it that I think it will be one of the games that people remember from this year. Maybe it'll be the game that people remember from this year. But it also speaks to a big part of what I like about video games in general is just like,

and why indie games are just so, feel like the vanguard of art right now is because an individual creator can obviously requiring an immense amount of talent and and work ethic to do one of these but an individual creator like Basso can just can just make something and can make something that's entirely their own is entirely their voice and is entirely their creation in a way that you know with with some other media you can't really accomplish the same thing I just saw a movie I loved called it's by the director Jane Schoenberg and shown Brun I apologize and probably mangling their name but it is called I saw the TV glow. And it is such as the

said from such a specific authorial voice. But it is so rare that you can do that with like film these days that someone has like the that especially someone who does not necessarily have a proven track record can be like is given the creative freedom and the and the resources to be able to make something to be able to, you know, make a film that's that's that's their own thing. But with games, because, you know, one person can do it, you end up with things like this, like Animal Well or Stardew Valley that are just like, holy, like one person's vision. And it's just it, it's really impressive. Cave Story.

And Cave Story, Heather. You know what, I'll play Cave Story. I will, I'll play it after this. Hey! I added it to my cart, okay? Hey! I own it. Oh, guys! I have owned Cave Story for over a decade.

Oh my God. I just have never played it. Is Cave Story the same as Cave Story Plus? Yes, okay. Cave Story was free back in the day. You shouldn't have to pay for any bit of it. I don't know how we talk. Yeah, but if you could throw the dev some cash, I think that's fine.

Yes. And I did with subsequent purchases of the game and then adaptations of the game. Eventually bought it for the Sega Genesis. Wow. It's so strange when you have, I'm wondering if anyone else has games like that in genres they love.

I already mentioned Hollow Knight and the obviously cave story. Like Metroidvanias includes some of my favorite games. I mean Castlevania, Symphony of the Night, Super Metroid, were both like shortlisted for me on my, when we were doing our best games of all time, our favorite games. I mean, Castlevania, Simp of the Night, Super Metroid were both like shortlisted for me on my when we're doing our best games of all time or favorite games of all time. Yeah.

You know, the Ori games, Ori and the Blind Forest and Will the Whist. Love the first one. Love those games. Obviously, I'm loving this one. Just so many of those games I've played over time, the entire Metroid franchise and just I never got around to it it to some of these other ones. It's weird. I don't know.

Do you all have any games like that? You have anything like like, oh, this is this one. This this one JRPG, I just like that everyone says is great that I never get around to this one fighting game or this one Tony Hawk skateboarding game that I never played. I did never play Tony Hawk's pro skater or Tony Hawk's ride. I never got the skateboarding peripheral. Oh, yes. I sort of knew that would be a disaster.

But I don't know. Like, I mean, I I'm sort of new to this genre. Like, I think when I probably played my actual first Metroid when I got my analog pocket a couple years ago or something. You kind of binged the series though, right? You went through a bunch of them. I went through Zero Mission and I got through Sum of Fusion and I played almost all of Dread.

I have no stranger to them really, but I had not really ever finished one. And then I did finish Ori and the Blind Forest. I bounced off of the second one for some reason, but there's the new, that new Prince of Persia game, The Lost Crown, that is a metroidania, and I'm really, it's really, really good. I just kind of bounced off of it, because Rebirth came out.

But like this is a, it's kind of different, because it because rebirth came out but like this is a it's kind of different because it's just like I'm Just walking around doing stuff. I'm like Figuring out how to get around like that's the game. It's not really like You know, it's not like you're Samus and you get like a new beam or something, right? Like you get like a like you get a frisbee. You're not you're going soft on beams now, are now are you no here's the thing the only thing they can make this game better is if there was a beam in here I'll never go soft on these my friends the beam guy I know yeah I look every game can be improved with the beam whether you like it or not that's just how it is but I I'm enjoying the lack of combat kind of

because I am just sort of like it's a there's a different thing going on here. This is I know that Heather doesn't love puzzles really, but I do feel like the puzzles in this game are are designed for you to figure them out. So they're not too they're difficult. But once you have an understanding of how you can play the game, they kind of solve themselves in some ways. There's one, you know, since we've talked about the frisbee, I'll talk about the frisbee for a

second. There's one puzzle where like you just didn't I just didn't think you could do something like this in a game like this. Because you know, not every surface has resistance, I guess is the phrase that I or the word that I'm trying to use here. So like if you were to throw a frisbee in a game, it would go past most things unless it would hit a wall, right? But you can use a frisbee to hit a switch, right? In one direction only. It's not gonna activate it both ways. But if you're in between two switches and you throw the frisbee and you get out of the way You've created a loop where the switches turn on and off with the frisbee and I figure when I figured that out It's an obvious solution, but when I figured it out, I was like this game wanted me to know to do this

That's really thank you game I figured this out. You're helping me get to where I need to go to the next thing. And then that was a very satisfying thing to figure out and to learn. And those switches are making platforms and walls appear and disappear so that you're setting it up so now you have like a, like,

oh, how do I get through this area? Oh, I've got these. Now I just have to time out these jumps and time out this maneuvering. And there's a bunch of things like that, but yeah, there are multiple puzzles I've got these, now I just have to time out these jumps and time out this maneuvering. And there's a bunch of things like that, but yeah, there are multiple puzzles I've gotten through. I've solved and been like, oh man, that rules. That's just had such a sense of satisfaction,

not just with myself for, again, feeling smart for doing it, but just admiration at the design of it. What I appreciate about that puzzle that you're describing is that there is not one solution to it. I, what I appreciate about that puzzle that you're describing is that there is not one solution to it. Because I got this bubble gun thing first, bubble gun has been my solution for every puzzle. And the timing of the platforms is like, you can't turn on the switches with the bubble gun. of the platforms is like,

you can't turn on the switches with the bubble gun, but you can create your own platforms with the bubble gun. So there's more than like, there are puzzles also that I found when I backtracked where I was like, oh, clearly I was supposed to do this first, but now that I was like, oh, clearly I was supposed to do this first, but now that I have the bubble gun, I can just skip this part by making a bubble bridge. And it's bubble, this, to a woman with a bubble gun,

the whole world is screws. Is that the? Yeah, that's roughly it. Yeah. So what, the thing that normally frustrates me in these games is that there's typically only one solution. And there are platforming puzzles per se that you do have to engage like you would

a Mario platforming section. Like fans you have to activate or whatever. But so far, it feels to me like the game is a little bit forgiving with intended solution and improvised solution. And that is less of a put off for me. Maybe there's still some things where it'll be like, oh I've got to fucking thread this needle through this bird's fucking face

in order to unlock a segment of a Brit. Like, if I get to that, then I'll be frustrated. But so far, Bubble Gun solving a lot of issues. I got an achievement for getting around. I got an achievement for getting around in a different way. So I think there's like a reward for sometimes figuring out how to do something the wrong way. Yeah. Yeah.

Wait, what are you guys playing? Are you playing on Steam? I'm playing on my Steam deck. I'm playing on PC, yeah. I'm playing on Switch, so I'm not getting achievements for whatever the fuck I'm doing. Fucking Nintendo. You gotta make everything so hard.

But my achievements would be- People like achievements, give us some achievements. What are we doing here? My achievements would be, I guess you. Give us some achievements. What are we doing here? My achievements would be... I guess you used the bubble gun for this too. I'll tell you, I mean, without saying too much, I haven't felt like this in a long time with the game. I've been really enjoying it and really loving it.

I got to a section where I stomped my feet earlier when I was playing. I was so mad. I had a tantrum because I was like, I'm in a spot and I don't know, maybe Nick knows what I'm talking about or like, can figure out where I am in the game. There's like a section where I have to do something for like a long time and I know how to do it and I know that I can do it and I've done it I think 30 times. Like I just haven't done it yet but I know how to do it and I know that I can do it and I've done it I think 30 times like I just haven't done it yet, but I know that I'm capable of doing it and I was doing this earlier and I was like So this game is kind of like Dark Souls kind of we're like not really but this one section

I was like this game is making is giving I sound like somebody who's only ever played one video game. This is kind of like Dark Souls. But it kind of has that sort of like, I don't know, the punishment is the reward, because the reward is you get to try it again. And then you get the feeling of knowing that you can do it and that you will do it. And I do love that, unlike other types of,

these types of games, these Metroidvanias, your character in other games gets more powerful and stronger. Yes. And you basically only ever have four hearts, as far as I know, so far. I still only have four. Yeah, it doesn't seem like your character's power level really increases. I mean, maybe something will happen in a late game that I haven't gotten to yet

Or maybe there's this is one of the other layers that that I haven't quite explored But yeah, I and so you're pretty fragile, but that that's part of the fun I think is that your well bubble your character is in peril. Yeah, you're a Exactly, and it makes it makes sense. It matches the You know matches the visual, a character of the protagonist, the player character. But things like that, you'll go up to a dog that's like four times your size

and the dog will just put you in his mouth and use you as a chew toy, or that a frog will just eat you whole with his tongue. Things like that. It's just like you have like actual, you're an actual peril. You're a teeny tiny guy. And and and so this world is very scary to you. But I do like that that big that a part of it is like circumventing these things

as opposed to killing them. Like, it's not like a combat focus game in the sense of like, I'm going to kill this thing and then pick up whatever loot it drops. It's like, OK, I've got to figure out a way to distract these things. So for instance, like you can throw a dog a frisbee and the dog will chew on the frisbee and I'll distract them for a second.

But even better, if you can find two platforms, two walls that are facing each other, you can throw a frisbee that goes back and forth between those two walls and then the dog will be, for an indefinite length of time, the dog will be detained because he will be distracted trying to jump up and bite at the frisbee that's sailing over his head. Yes. And so like like shit like that is really cool when you discover it organically. I'm talking about a lot of frisbee stuff, but again, because, you know, I don't want to get too deep into it.

But like, I just like it's there are so many solutions that feel like it's, you know, it's not like the game is just telling me what to do. And to Matt's point about like the difficulty, I don't think this is a particularly difficult game. I think it's not like a precision platformer. As we mentioned, there isn't any combat really. It's but there are some things that are like maybe a little bit, you know, you just have to do is you have to sequence correctly or you have to do a few things in a row. And I could see if there was going to be a thing that could make people bounce off

of it, it would maybe be things like, you know, the phones that I mentioned that are your checkpoints are sometimes a little bit sparse. This is a pretty minor criticism, but it sometimes feels like you go through some one major thing and, you know, so if you do fail at one thing, you've got to redo a bunch of different tasks.

And I don't mind that sort of gauntlet design. I love having to run through a bunch of different things and do them all correctly, but there are some times where that can feel maybe a little bit tedious. that sort of gauntlet design. I love having to run through a bunch of different things and do them all correctly. But there are some times where that can feel maybe a little bit tedious. Yeah, I expect to see a telephone when I do something that I consider difficult.

And when it's not there, I'm like, oh, fuck. And then you press pause and it's like 20 minutes since your last save. And you're like, fuck. So yeah, that's tough. That's tough. And I do I do like, you know, it's we're talking about it in an obtuse way. But the game is obtuse, right?

But like I I sort of like not knowing like to what end am I doing something? Like there's something that I've repeatedly done in the game that I'm like, I have no idea what this is for. And I have no I have no idea why I'm doing something. Like there's something that I've repeatedly done in the game that I'm like, I have no idea what this is for and I have no idea why I'm doing this, but every time I can do it, I'm very excited that I did do it and we'll find out what it's for at some point, I suppose. But if there's no reason for it either,

I'll be still happy that I did do it. It's kind of like, think that the mystery is satisfying Whereas it doesn't just feel like it's like, you know being too coy or up its own ass or anything It's it's satisfying in the way that like a good horror game Or you know, it's like kind of like mysterious andereal, even though this game's not scary, but it has that same sort of feel of Silent Hill 2, of like, I never know exactly what's going on. You can kind of just sort of make a bunch of inferences

and you can make some connections, but I like not really knowing, you know what I mean? You don't need clear answers for everything. You don't need an NPC explaining exactly what's happening at every time, you know? No. That being said, the plot of Silent Hill 2 is Pyramid Head wants to kiss you.

That's it. That's all that you need to know about that game. I do think that this game is missing Pyramid Head also. I think if there's Pyramid Head in this game and beams, this would be maybe my favorite game. But since those two things aren't in there, I guess I'm just going to have to consider it a very, very good game. That's kind of a blanket statement for all of gaming though, right? That could apply to anything in the medium. Yeah. Yeah. You

know, if, if man, they put Kingdom Hearts in or or they put Pyramid Head and Kingdom Hearts. I'm back, I'm back, baby. Were you ever out? No, here's the thing. No, no. We're so back. I'm back in a way that I have always been. Here I am. I guess we should talk about the control, because this is another thing is this game feels so fucking good It is so responsive. It's so fluid the physics are so great. It's just you know when there are platforming elements

they're really really satisfying and and just it has a Just sort of a kinetic feeling to its motion That's just like I I don't know, I'm playing with an Xbox controller on BC, I think it plays fantastic. Yeah, it recommends a controller when you start it up. As the Switch practitioner in the group, I wanna say it is not as precise as I want it to be.

Because you have the analog stick is got a very strange amount of travel and the buttons are tiny. So if you're defaulting to the standard switch layout, it's a little, I want it to be on a super NES controller. I want it to be on a different controller.. I want it to be on a, I want it to be on a different controller and yes, I can do that with the Switch, but I will, the default control scheme on a Switch,

little bit too floaty. I'm using the D-pad on my Xbox. How about you, Matt? I've been, I've tried to retrain myself to use the D-pad because the stick, while it does work, D pad is the way to go for this, I think. For sure. I do like the way it uses vibration as well.

Like the, I don't know, every little bump, and that's in a lot of games, and obviously on the DualSense controller, there's haptic feedback and stuff But for some reason the the little bit of vibration you get when you bump something or when you jump and you land Or when you climb up a little ladder, and it just goes like it's a little tiny vibration feels really good It's like it's it's it's a lot of fun. They use it really well in this game, or he uses it Billy The one guy that made it did a good job with the vibration I

Can never make a video game. I don't think I could ever do it and I would simply never try as well But the fact that you know somebody could make a video game And it be this good and they made it by themselves is really interesting is a concept Well and also just like it's all the this is another thing I love about it just being coming from from one, you know, artistic vision from from an auteur is just like the the myriad skill set it requires to do something like this, like to be able to to create pixel art that's appealing and animate it.

And, you know, again, build an engine from scratch, do all of the coding, do all the design and the writing and the music, like doing all those disciplines converging and when someone does it and then every aspect hits it just, it feels miraculous. It's just such an impressive artistic achievement. Yeah, I love it. It's a fucking triumph, I love it. It's a fucking triumph. I love it.

Yeah, it feels impossible that anybody could make this, and yet somebody has, and it's good. Yeah. Also, I've been thinking about your question earlier, Nick, that I didn't answer, and it was Final Fantasy III. Oh, interesting. Haven't played Final Fantasy III. Oh, you haven't?

No. I've played a Final Fantasy game, Heather Ann Campbell hasn't played. That's true. That's interesting. It's true. That's really interesting to consider for a second, isn't that? I've played it twice. Yeah, it is.

I've played it on the 3DS Wow, I know. And I've played it in the Pixel version. I know, I know. Gonna lord this over you forever. Hmm. That's okay. This is gonna be my cave story.

You should play Final Fantasy 3. It's pretty good. I'm sure, I know it it is I meant to play it You know, I've put hundreds and hundreds of hour into Tony Hawk's San Diego legends I think if that game existed, it would be my possibly my favorite video would be my possibly my favorite video game. As a long as a lifelong Southern Californian, if a video game had San Diego in the title, I'd be like, let's fucking go.

Any other thoughts on this game? I can't wait to see what else the fuck is going on with it, because I know that I know that I don't know and that's kind Of propelling me through it too is that I'm sort of like I know that there's something that I don't know what's going on I know there's something I'm missing and I can't wait to Discover it on my own because the the sense of discovery that this game Has is just it's I don't know. I haven't played a game like this in a long time. It's making me feel like I love video games. It's great. It's just a really great game.

Yeah, it's not just like a like a beautifully made like an extremely well-designed like like Metroidvania, you know, search action game. It feels like it's elevating the genre like it's trying something different. Like it's it's going to, you know, insight changes to to games of this nature. It is interesting that it has this like retro. It's you pointed this out earlier. It's retro to not a specific era, right. But it has a pixel art design.

And then it still has stuff in it. That's like, I don't think I've ever seen anything that looks like this. Like, that's pretty cool. Like, I don't know, to to seen anything that looks like this. Like that's pretty cool. Like I don't know. To see something that looks old but is new and has new ideas and new things in it is great. And hats off. Hats off to Animal Well. Really, really. What a game. Yeah. Yeah, it's like shooting a silent black and white film with like a digital camera.

You know what I mean? It's like, it's like, this is a, this is a way of doing something that feels old, but also like feels new at once. That's not a perfect comparison, but that's the kind of thing. I'd say the Netflix series Ripley is, you know, it's shot in that gorgeous high contrast black and white looks retro, but is performed with modern sensibilities and is extraordinary. Did you guys know I'm a Ripley? I'm not surprised at all, but I don't know what- What do you mean?

That's kinda how I got everything I have, I Ripley'd a guy. Imagine seeing Nick Weigert and being like, this is the life I wanna take over. Yeah, I kinda Ripleyley the guy Imagine seeing Nick Weigand being like this is the life. I want to take over Yeah, I can rip lead the wrong guy But also this is how you're living like you're like you're still this kind of guy. It's yeah Didn't have very high aspirations as a Ripley this guy eats Until he seems like he's in pain

His existence until he seems like he's in pain. I'm gonna take his existence. I'll do that. Anyway, Animal Well, it's a masterpiece, it's a triumph. Everyone who loves games should play it. And hey, maybe if you're someone who doesn't play that many games, this is the kind of one you might want to check out. It's really, really spectacular. All right, it's time for the question block.

All right, this first one, also, these are all sourced from our Discord, discord.gg slash get played. I would assume if you're listening to this show and you're on Discord, you're already in there. But if you're not, come join us. We're having a lot of fun in there. This first one is from Beanie Sanders, and Beanie Sanders writes.

Hello, Beanie. Hi, Beanie. Hi, Beanie Sanders. Have you been messing with emulators like Delta now that they're allowed on iOS? I've been enjoying playing DS games with touch screen support and some Pokemon ROM hacks. Side question, as a resident Poke maniac, has Matt ever played a ROM hack?

I'll answer both these questions right away. One, I've never played a ROM hack. Be interested in doing that. I have one that I've been meaning to play on my Animal Pocket that is basically a remake of Pokemon Yellow, but in the Pokemon Fire Red and Pokemon like Ruby sprites. But it's an exact remake of Pokemon Yellow. I'd be interested in checking that out. And I have checked out Delta on my phone.

But the thing about games on my phone is that I don't really do that. I can't really play games on my phone in that way. I like my phone kind of to be my phone. But what about you guys? Have you looked into that at all? I downloaded Chrono Trigger, which is always my first game that I download whenever there's an emulator released, I think.

And same, I haven't been, so I haven't been dragging my, what is it, the backbone? I haven't been dragging my backbone around with me. And so it's not exciting to touch a screen when there used to be buttons. So I haven't been doing it. But I did see somebody who had modded a backbone with a 3D printer so that the phone sat vertically

in the backbone and they were playing DS games on it. And I was like, that's pretty nice. It's pretty nice. That's interesting. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it's, Beanie, Beanie mentioned they were playing DS games specifically with the touch input and that seems like, oh, I could maybe see myself doing that.

For the most part, I try not to have games on my phone because I'm just trying to be off my phone, you know, on my phone as little as I need to. But like when I have had games that I've liked on my phone, you know, on my phone as little as I need to. But like when I have had games that I've liked on my phone, they have been ones built around phone input. Anything that involves any sort of controller, it's just like, it's cumbersome, you've got to have an extra device. And also, you're playing games in a very different way than when you play on like a console or even a handheld. You're much more likely to be interrupted and have to use your device for something else.

So, yeah, I mean, like it's kind of a I'd be curious what DS games actually work well with just a touch screen, because that does seem like it like I could see something like maybe like a pick cross or something working well. But for the most part, yeah, I can't see myself doing something that would be any sort of longer commitment. Yeah. Yes. Or be or require any sort of like precision from from a controller or from a backbone. Right. Thanks for the question, Beanie. This next one is from intro course and intro course rights.

Is there a console or peripheral form factor you want to return? I've picked up my 3ds non-excel version I love everything about how it feels to play the DS light was also one of my favorites with foldable tech becoming more common I would be happy for it to return to gaming I do love something that you could pocket. The Switch is portable, right? But it's not how portable is it if you have to put it in like a backpack or a larger bag. You can't just put it in your pocket. The question is specifically about foldable.

It was just form factor that you'd like to return. Got it. I think, yeah, I wish that the, I wish you didn't have to have a secondary, clamshell devices are great because they protect the screen right the Gameboy SP Was great because you could click it closed and toss it in a bag And if your keys scratched up the exterior of the Gameboy that was fine Like the screen is the part that you want to be flawless, so that's why foldable stuff and foldable tech is so attractive. Um, that being said,

I do wish that there was a, um, digital memory card, like the VMU that you could, like if I could take a little tiny game from my PS five with me, not with like the full portal, but like if there was like some kind of like, I love accessories so much. And I wish that there was just like tiny mini games that I could like, keep on a chain, like like a key chain and play on the go. That then would affect my game when I got home would be pretty fucking rad. I was looking at because I have a bunch of little devices, of course.

Right. But I have those. They released a Mario and a Zelda game and watch that just has like three games on it. That's like three Mario games and like three Zelda games on each. And I was like, it would be so sick to mod this to be like a retro emulator that just has like a very small, cause it's so thin, it's like, it's about, I mean, it's about like this much of my phone.

It's like not very big. It just has a, it's a very thick. About three quarters of your phone. Yeah, and something about it, like only having like the two buttons, A and B and a D pad, and like that's it and it's thin. That was like, that could just be on my person at all times. That's a home run.

But I was looking into this and everyone's like, okay, so I have my soldering iron and I have this raspberry pie. I was like, I'm not doing any of this. I can't that's so that's above my pay grade I can't I can't do that But I wish there was something like that that was thin and honestly, I just need a Gameboy advanced micro This is what I need. That's exactly what I want And I just I just need that because then I'll then I'll have everything I ever ever want as a snazzy device Yeah, I mean I was thinking that the the

When we're thinking about like it like a form factor We'd want to return I was thinking specifically about the Gameboy Advance SP the one Heather mentioned earlier the foldable one That was that's probably the handheld. I put the most got the most use out of actually I don't know if that's true. I might have played more DS, but I got the most use out of. Actually, I don't know if that's true. I might've played more DS, but I do like, that I do end up feeling, sometimes having nostalgia for a stylus.

I like using a stylus. Yeah, the stylus is cool. Styluses are fun, and it's like a different sort of experience than using a touchscreen, and also feels distinct from using your phone, which is, again, the experience I wanna get away from. Yeah, but I think like the, you know,

the Nintendo 3, the new Nintendo 3DS XL, I think it was, whatever the most recent, the biggest, most, you know, like it had the most outrageously like large screen. I really liked that one. I really liked how it felt. I think there's also something just for, we seem to have settled with handhelds on the controllers are gonna flank the screen,

but I kinda like the Game Boy approach and the Game Boy Advance SP approach of like the controls are below the screen. Like, I don't know, it feels kind of retro and maybe a little bit cumbersome and maybe a little bit less ergonomic But I don't know I like that at times. That's what's so great about the analog pocket is that it just really like Got that got that perfectly

The stylist made me remember the the ninja Gaiden DS game that you had to hold sideways like a book Did you all right ever play that? Rocked and I was like and then the that game also came with a sword stylist to hold sideways like a book. Did you ever play that? Yeah, I know what you're talking about. It rocked. And then that game also came with a sword stylus. So you got to use a sword and then you got to slash people in the game with the sword. That was really, really cool. So foldable, SP, Game Boy Advance SP is like the number one.

Like we want that. We just want that form of fact. Give me a Switch SP and that's all I want. I guess maybe. Also any sort of orb, I just wanna hold like orbs. You wanna hold an orb? Yeah, I like holding orbs. Like I like wrapping my hands around something.

Kind of like the, this isn't the exact experience, but kind of like the Xbox controller, the original Xbox controller, the Duke, that huge thing, kind of feels like you're holding something Kind of massive. I don't know. I like that. There goes Nick with his orbs again He loves orbs this guy Another unlucky one writes, okay, if we accept that Evangelion is the pinnacle of an anime experience,

what do each of you see as the pinnacle of a gaming experience? And this is more for Matt and Heather because I assume Nick will say Baldur's Gate 3. Baldur's Gate 3 is my answer. I also kind of do think it's Baldur's Gate 3. I think that is like the most, in some ways, it is the most video game a video game can be Another submission I have and maybe this is because this is the only game I've played in the last Few months Final Fantasy 7. I think Final Fantasy 7 is such a video game, you know Disco Elysium. Disco Elysium is a good option as well. Good answer

Disco Elysium is a good option as well. Great answer. And then after Disco Elysium, Street Fighter III, and then after Street Fighter III, The Last of Us with factions. Wow. That's pretty good. Those are some good games. Yeah, I might say, you know, I might add an addition to Baldur's Gate III, which is my actual answer, but I might say some I we were talking about Hades earlier.

I think Hades is a pretty good candidate. Hey, this is the video game as video game. This is so it's it's one of those polished games I've ever played. It has a great story, incredible art, incredible music and sound design, great voice acting. And it plays fantastically. And it's another game that uses the medium, what's unique about the medium, the interactivity,

and the cycle of failure and death and rebirth as part of how it uniquely tells its story. So yeah, that's another one. But that's a great question. Also fucking Tetris, it's Tetris a great question also fucking Tetris It's it's Tetris Tetris and I know me saying this is gonna seem like a meme But I'm king the Kingdom Hearts 2 and finally Surveillance rights which now mundane RPG feature would you like to most have in real life?

Examples saving fast travel large portable inventory. Very punny usernames in our Discord. A lot of a lot of cut ups in there. A lot of a lot of jokers. Yeah, a lot of pundits, if you will. Nick, some of them should be punished. Nick, like some of the people who submitted questions belong in a punitentiary. Nick, we're having fun.

The question was, what video game thing would I like in the real life? Yeah, I Think specifically to our be like modern RPG modern RPG conveniences Nick had all three of those out the dome by the way I got it for just pointed out Nick was able to do those puns immediately very very scared Yeah, degree of difficulty the so So the things I would say is, the one that I think is just coming, I think we're just gonna have an AR mini-map in the future. And I also think that we are going to have

AR NPC character names over people. In the same way that, do you remember when we used to remember birthdays? Probably, maybe we are younger listeners, maybe don't even remember a time we needed to remember someone's birthday. But now it's just a part of someone's social media profile. And so it's not a thing you have to remember.

I really think we will reach a point in the future where we don't remember names of friends and loved ones, where we're so used to just having that in front of us that it doesn't become something that gets into our brain. It's like, and yeah. Nick, I love this. I haven't considered it. I think it's gonna happen. And I love it. Yeah. Because we're just gonna turn off that part of our brain. It's like, and yeah. Nick, I love this. I haven't considered it. And I love it. Yeah. Because we're just going to

we're just going to turn off that part of our memory. We're not going to since since we don't need it. It's wasted energy. Yeah. So it'll be a thing like like all the internet's down. I can't remember anyone's names. And there'll be a whole thing. I love it. You saying remembering people's birthdays reminded me that I still I've been dealing with this for I think 10 years and I don't know how to deal with it.

Like I don't know how to make it not so. I've tried a million different things. I like synced my Facebook to like one calendar one time. Oh God. And now I just have every person I've ever, every single day I get an alert on my phone. Same fucking thing. It's so and so's birthday and I'm like, I haven't talked to this person in 10 single day I get an alert on my phone. It's so and so's birthday.

And I'm like, I haven't talked to this person in 10 years. I don't know this person anymore. Same thing, same thing. And I don't know how to delete it. And I feel like I've Googled. I'm not a boomer about this. I've looked for solutions to delete these birthdays. The problem is that it deletes all birthdays. I'm like yeah, no I want like

Someone's birthdays. I want like right local birthdays I don't need to know the name the birthday of somebody that was that went to my elementary school. No My calendar is eight birthdays at the top of every day, and I'm like yeah Insane and I don't know what to leave my calendar I think I wish give up just become a new guy Yeah, I just become a new guy to replace someone So the question was travel is my yeah, I forgot it's a great answer Because of where we live Los Angeles and additionally, because if I could fast travel

to say Amsterdam, I would go there every weekend. Like I would maybe live there and work in Los Angeles if you could just fast travel back and forth. Like what a life that would be. Are you thinking about fast travel as the experience is fast to you, but in game when you fast travel, real time does pass, right?

So like, Depends on the fast travel. It's fast travel, but it's still Depends on the game. Depends on the game. Depends on the game. Cause some games, it's just instant, you know, you go to a different part of the map.

Yes. Yeah. And if it was that time had passed, then no. But if I could just fast travel to, I mean, like if I could fast travel to Japan, I would be there the moment we stopped recording. I might even do it while we were recording. Yeah, I can hang up and yeah. Fast travel is like the only it's like like kind of the only option I feel like. It's like, it's such a good, it's such a good thing.

Yeah, it'd be useful. It'd be constantly useful. I'll give another answer, which is, if I have the raw ingredients and know a recipe, that I can just like make any dish in like five seconds with one little looping animation. That's good. Like I get to a campfire and I have a skillet,

you know, and I have a, whatever, I have a porterhouse and I have a potato and I have some broccolini and I have some butter. I can make myself a steak dinner right then and there. And there'll be a, you know, like the best steak dinner I've ever eaten. That feels like that would be really handy. I also make me resistant to cold for some reason.

I was going to say, I have two, I have two ideas. I know that solo leveling should sort of showed this as a negative. I do think I would like a skill tree and a way that I can add things to certain attributes. Maybe I'd balance them all out or I'd make some, dependent on what I was doing, make myself strong or whatever.

But another one I like is that I would like to just drink a generic potion and then heal whatever is wrong. Be pretty good. Yeah, for sure. You know what I mean? Like, I'm a little sick. I would like to immediately not be sick. I'm going to drink this blue potion and I'm not sick anymore, period. Yep.

Yep. Yeah, or your wounds heal. That'd be really handy. That'd be good. Got so many wounds these days. God, I'm just riddled with wounds. You find yourself, I find, I can get it, at least I'm getting older. I just find, keep, like, I was like, how the, what the fuck did I cut myself? When did that. You find yourself, I find, I can get it, at least I'm getting older, I just find, keep,

like I was just like, how the, what the fuck did I cut myself? When did that happen? You know what I mean? And then it just takes like a week to heal. I don't know. I'd maybe sleep with one eye open, buddy. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha That's this week's get played our producers Rachel Chen ranch yard underscore underscore sard our music is by Ben Prunty Ben Prunty music Comm and our art is by Duck Brigade design Duck Brigade comm and hey check out our patreon patreon.com Slash get played where you can find our entire pre headgum back catalog of plus ad free main feed

Episodes as well as our exclusive patreon show get animated Hey, we covered the aforementioned Evangelion, the aforementioned solo leveling, and we're doing something different this week. That's right. We're in the final weeks of get, of anima-hem. And what that is, if you haven't heard, is we're watching a random anime

and a random episode from that anime, and we don't know what it's gonna be before we watch. We watch it, it gets selected, we watch it, we react, sometimes it's pretty good and sometimes yikes. But it's a lot of fun either way so tune in at patreon.com slash get played and who knows what we'll watch next? Yeah, we've covered an anime about a Yakuza who learns to love theater in prison. We covered one about girls camping.

No, we've covered a really boring one. Who knows what's gonna happen? That's right. Who knows? patreon.com slash get played for all of that. Guys, I think this week the game itself got played. Wow. Because we played it and we liked it. We certainly did and we loved it. Animal Well got played. Animal Well got played.

In a good way. Yes, in a good way of course. In a good way. Yeah, in a good way. Also Heather got played for not, of course. In a good way. Yeah, in a good way. Also, Heather got played for not finding the frisbee. What the fuck? What? That was a hate gum podcast.