TruVillain: All right. Welcome to Lost My Save, a PC podcast. This is episode two. We made it. We did it. The final episode of this podcast. We did it. It's over. Kainitsu: We did it. Our project's gone, guys. Thank you so much for being big fans. TruVillain: It's over. I'm just kidding. Hopefully there'll be many. I am your host, True Villain, and I'm of course joined by Kainitsu, my good friend. How are you? I'm alright. I'm alright. You know, a little more a little more comfortable, you know, this time around. Not as nervous because we did it once before. Kainitsu: Okay. Yeah? Right. TruVillain: I did go back and listen, you know, of course, to the Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: first one. I can't wait until I don't have to do that anymore. Like it becomes it becomes you know, kind of second nature and you just kinda you can trust the quality to at least be like a seven out of ten. Whereas now you're kinda trying to keep it above a five. So Kainitsu: Right. I just want to be above average. TruVillain: Yeah. But I mean there were a lot of lessons, you know, we we we talked about after the show, you know. I Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: I learned not to, you know, breathe like Darth Vader, you know, into the mic. You know, so that's that's just what it is. And Kainitsu: Amen. You know, growing pains, it's starting something new, you know, gotta TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: gotta find out how to do it. TruVillain: Well, to be fair, we also learned that Kainitsu's Japanese for Interrupt Joe Ass. So I always wondered. But you know, we we Kainitsu: Hmm, now we know. TruVillain: we we learned lessons, you know. Hopefully hopefully we keep improving. the one thing that I did kind of regret and it was it was an intentional choice, is I didn't really like introduce the show very well. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: I kinda decided to go with like a business as usual approach for the first episode. Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: But I kinda I kinda wanna do that right now, you know, where I kinda just discuss just kind of the nature of the show, the plan for it going forward, stuff like that before we kinda get started. it is a PC centric gaming podcast. but we do talk about the console stuff too. We both have consoles. I mean and and GTA six is coming and you know, you you're gonna have to play that on a console. but I listen to a lot of podcasts and I listened to some gaming ones and when I looked around me the podcast kind of all fell into like three categories. There was the Playstation podcast and then there was a way more Xbox podcasts than I think have any right to exist. And then there were kind of your general just kinda general all arounder gamer podcasts, which those are kind of just Playstation podcasts as well. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: They kinda focus on console stuff. So I kind of thought, you know, it might be give us kind of a unique angle of, you know, hey, we're both primarily PC gamers. Kind of approach it from there. You don't hear a lot of podcasts talking about games like fucking Rimworld and Paradox games and things like that, you know. and kind of bring that, you know, and kind of make sure that we include, you know, Steam news, PC news, stuff like that. So that was kind of my vision for it. And so that's kind of what we're gonna kinda go forward doing. Like I said, we will talk about console stuff when it's relevant, either when it's relevant to the PC space or when it's just so big that like, you know, you can't ignore it. For instance, like we will probably rarely talk about Nintendo on here, but if they announce a new console, you know, it's pretty big news, you you may as well mention it, right? and so yeah, I mean, I don't know if you had anything to add to that or Kainitsu: yeah, no, I mean, yeah, we're gonna be mostly focusing on PC, like you said. it's gonna be primarily what we're gonna be focusing on to talk about hardware and performances and different things that we're playing on PC itself as well. But again, obviously, like you said, certain things we'll have to talk about just 'cause just part of the gaming world and industry. TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: especially like right now, like it just just feels like we're just making an Xbox podcast talking about Xbox every TruVillain: Yeah yeah. Kainitsu: day. So TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, and so and as far as like scheduling like the mechanics of it, right now we're probably the audio's going live on Monday. right now that's Apple Podcasts and Spotify. we're gonna be on YouTube if not this episode, the next episode, whenever I get some of the stuff around that kind of figured out a little bit more. And that version will probably go live on Tuesday just because it'll take a little bit more doing. The audio's Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: a little more automatic. So that's the plan for now. we don't have it up right now. We'll probably wait a few episodes, but we will get kind of a Patreon going if people want to support us on there. And then we'll kind of maybe do some stuff with early episodes and bonus episodes and and and things of that nature. But that's that's that's when we're real professionals. So right now we're kind of just focusing on the quality, you know, getting that in order, not not breathing into the mics, you know, not not interrupting true villain at every turn, you know. We're just, you know, We're just figuring it out as we go. so yeah, so anything to add to that aspect of it or you know, we we think we good? Kainitsu: No, I mean we're just gonna be continuing to work on production and then yeah, like I said, get a get a quality up to what we feel like is, you know, what we want it to be at and then go from there. TruVillain: Yeah, I checked and we had like fourteen viewers. Two of those was probably us, you know. So we'll call Kainitsu: Not nice. Right? TruVillain: it twelve, which is that's twelve more than I thought on just a purely audio. So if you're if Kainitsu: Eight, right? TruVillain: you're one of those and you're here from episode one, we are thrilled to have you. We are absolutely Kainitsu: Yes, thank you. TruVillain: thrilled. Thank thanks. Thank you. And without further ado, we'll get on with the show. which starts with what we have been playing. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: So, Kai, I have you have two things here. I'm I'm gonna ask you to save the second one for the later segment 'cause I think Kainitsu: Right. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: it'll fit in better there. But tell me tell me about Jedi Survivor. How are you getting on with that? Kainitsu: well, I'm enjoying it way more than Fallen Order, to say the least. it's yeah, and it's just objectively a better game all around in so many ways. TruVillain: Hell yeah. Kainitsu: I'm still not too far into it just due to scheduling and everything and not many chances to to play that and also was working on something else that I'm gonna talk about later, because of foreshadowing. But yeah, no, Jedi Survivor it's been good. It's been good so far. Like it I don't I don't know how about you felt when you played Jedi Survivor for the first time, but like it this just feels more like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: a Star Wars game or story. It feels like there's way more weight to it all. the TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: writing's way better. I feel like it's way better acted so far, better direction with everything. again the the battle mechanics are way better. It feels I feel more like a Jedi finally. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: and then but like right off the bat. But it gets makes more sense in the first one that you're not like, I'm a space wizard right away because well the whole part of that story was like my connection's broken and he's trying to reconnect with it and all that and that. But now TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: there's that, but like it's it's just like, yeah, no, like Cal's got like a a ruggedness to him now. TruVillain: I'll tell you it is, man. It's it's losing the poncho. It's losing Kainitsu: Ha ha. TruVillain: the poncho. It's it's what you have to do. That poncho was holding him back. It was keeping him in puberty and he's finally become a man. A Jedi man. Kainitsu: Once once I lost out poncho, I didn't have to hold back anymore. Now I'm somber and I just know how the whole galaxy works. Ugh, it's dark. TruVillain: Yeah, I mean it it's everything you want a sequel to be, man. Like it's you Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: know, it it's the first game feels like that kind of proof of concept. They went from Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: making Titanfall to this weird Jedi game and Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: but yeah, Jedi Survivor immediately, straight away feels feels so much better. Kainitsu: Well didn't they go wait, didn't they go from Titanfall to Apex Legends and then serve then fell in order? 'Cause it was kind of in development TruVillain: I think they had a team kinda working, I think in tandem with some of it. I'm Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: not sure to be perfectly honest with you, but I I think this one was just kinda b I think they just have a Jedi Survivor team that they kinda spun Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: off and I think they're working on a game. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: actually they did some work on a game we're gonna talk about later as well. So yeah, so they they kinda I guess they just stay busy on some Star Wars stuff. Kainitsu: Hey, I mean, I I was very skeptical whenever Fallen Order came out and I like, Yeah, but people are like, it's respawn. I'm like, I never really played their game, so like cool. Like I'm glad that people like them as a developer and everything, but I've never personally experienced their stuff, so I can't say if it's gonna be good or not without TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: knowing them from their prior work. But yeah, no, Fallen Order was definitely a a good stepping stone to what they wanted to build towards. And again, it just feels like there's way more direction for it, a better vision for what they wanted to do. and again, just navigation itself, like movement feels way better on top of all of that. yeah. So again, not too far. I also see where they're kind of going with this because I didn't know this going into it. I know it was I didn't know it was like a semi open world kind of thing they were doing. TruVillain: Mm. Yeah. Yeah, it's it's like Kainitsu: So that's that's pretty cool. TruVillain: it's yeah, it's like well, it's like open zone, right? It's Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: it's very it's like God of War. I don't if you ever played the new God of War games, it's Kainitsu: Mm. Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: it's almost the exact same thing. Which is kinda big open explorable Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: space or I think it's a couple of them, obviously. Kainitsu: Def definitely with Ragnarok. I didn't get too far in Ragnarok, but there were a lot of s more sprawling spaces in that one to get around in the first God of War re like the reboot of it, that was it wasn't like super linear, but like the the lake was pretty vast. and that was like one TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: big giant zone. Whereas TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Ragnarok was a lot like were larger zones as well, but they're like, you know, more separated. Like, you know, TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Geographically I guess. but yeah, no, but but yeah. Jedi Survivor though, yeah. I I'm happy with it. It it also feels good just to know, have something that's Star Wars and not fucking be ass. TruVillain: It's it is pretty rare, but although Star Wars and not be an ass is gonna be a theme of this show, actually. And what apparently is also Yeah, Kainitsu: well some more foreshadowing. TruVillain: yeah, apparently something else is gonna be a fucking theme of this show is fireworks, dude. They are shooting fireworks out there right fucking now. I just heard them. What the fuck? Kainitsu: Really? TruVillain: I heard pew pew Dude, it's Kainitsu: We gotta celebrate our independence all month. It's independence month, not just day. TruVillain: It is net currently five twenty seven in the afternoon. Like, it's not even nighttime. Kainitsu: It is it is July twenty sixth, twenty twenty six. TruVillain: It it is twenty two days past the day of our independence. And you motherfuckers are out there shooting fireworks. Probably a car's driving by. Kainitsu: You're not a real American if you don't celebrate all month. Yeah, yeah. I got TruVillain: I haven't shot a fucking firework in probably twelve years. It's been a long time. Kainitsu: Dude. it's yeah, actually for me it's probably about the same. TruVillain: Like I'm not actually I'm not against fireworks or anything. This is a fucking tangent now, but I just like there's a time and place. You know? And I Kainitsu: Hmm. TruVillain: find them kind I find them boring. I don't really find them too Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: inter I mean, when we were kids we would shoot them at each other and get Roman candles and pretend to be wizards and shit. That shit's fun. But like as a grown at yeah, as a grown Kainitsu: yeah. Yeah, ball yeah. R bottle rocket wars. Yeah. TruVillain: ass dude, I mean what do you you know, what are we doing out here, man? Like And they go on to watch and people who videotape are always weird Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: to me. It's like you're never gonna watch that video again. Why are you videoing Kainitsu: Yeah, that's that's that's like TruVillain: the fireworks? Kainitsu: that's a thing. Like, man, I'm so glad you all are going to record this thing you're never ever ever going to watch ever again. TruVillain: Yeah. You're not sitting there on a Monday and you're like, Man, let me let me go watch that that that video of them fireworks, you know, like Kainitsu: Yep, I'm gonna I'm gonna pull it up with the laser show I saw. TruVillain: Yeah, and here you don't even got a video because you can just step outside on any given fucking Tuesday and fucking see some. Anyway, moving on. anything else on Jedi Survivor, sir? Are you Kainitsu: no, I'm just I'm just happy to see where this game has gone and what they're doing with this pr technically TruVillain: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: new IP and everything. I feel like Cal Kestis is now a better character. he was kinda like I don't know. Like in Fallen Order, it wasn't he was a bad character, but like I don't know, d yeah. TruVillain: He's a bit undeveloped, I think. Like he was kinda kinda one d one dimensional, right? Mm. And this one he's a little bit more. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. I said, I I need a I need a to to get better to so by my bath my master's death wasn't in vain. Like that's basically what's is his story arc TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: for the most part. Like and I gotta find this thing so I can TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: find four sensitive children and all of that. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: So but yeah. yeah, he again just TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: yeah, just he he himself just feels more rugged. I mean, like obviously he's been through some shit like early on that's TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: very heavily you know, foreshadowed and narrow on all of that. because I was I was actually just thinking, like, man, it's gonna be like, you know, any other Star Wars, like, well, now we're we got the crew in the first one. They're now all together in the next one, guys. get up in that ship. Let's fucking go do some Star Wars shit. no, TruVillain: We got the whole crew. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: man. Like I'm like, okay, that's on a really like just a really somber starts in a somber note, man. Like just dour. Like, and I was like, okay, that's TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah, that's my ca that's my shit. Kainitsu: that's that okay. I'm like, okay, one, that's just Really good storytelling because it it kind of sets it up to make it feel like like, it's gonna be like this buddy buddy action type thing movie where you're all gonna be like, yay, we're good guys, we're gonna get out of this because we're the good guys. No, no. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Nope. Kainitsu: they had some balls. They had they had some balls with this. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: and people, people be dead. They died. Like TruVillain: Mm. Yeah, it's kinda like the Starlight Mass Effect two, right? Where you're like, hmm the Normandy gets blown up straight away and you're like, Yeah. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Right. that's a really, really good cold open, by the way. Yeah. TruVillain: Yeah. You're like, God damn. Kainitsu: I was like, what what just what just happened? How am I supposed to play TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: the game? TruVillain: Yeah. We don't we don't got no ship. Like he hit the planet. Kainitsu: I don't there's no there's no shepherd. Like, how can I play the game and not be Shepherd and be like, The the Reapers? you better about hear about the Reapers though. The Reapers are coming. TruVillain: That would be wild if like Mass Effect 2 was like Shepherd dies straight away and you have to play as like a volus, like in a like a he all the weight of the world on his shoulder. You remember what the volus, like the little short fat dudes? You play as one of those? That'd be hilarious. I'm glad they didn't do that. But yeah, I liked I like Jedi Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah, yeah. That'd be funny. Like Paul TruVillain: Survivor pretty well. Like said on the last episode, they do that weird like, you know, point A to point B and then a fucking series of mazes that Kainitsu: Yeah. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: work in on themselves like Kainitsu: Yeah. That that's still a thing. cause TruVillain: It exhausts me as the game goes on. But mm hmm. Kainitsu: like, dude, I just I man, I really wanted to get through the internet and I'm like, I don't want to go all the way around like so they bring this up and then they bring it up as a point, but like, so you know, stuff like that necessarily not a bad thing. Like, I do like some Metroidvania games. I don't like all of them, obviously, but the ones that are TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: good I do enjoy. and it's fun to like be able to go and like backtrack and figure out, like, so This is the thing I saw over there, so now I can go over here and like that's that's fun to figure it out and do and backtrack and all that. But the but yeah, following order was just kind of yeah, it was a bit of a slog every now and then. And and when they want to do the same thing in the like, I guess, focus points that they want to do. Yeah, it's it's it's it's a bit rough. I also am enjoying the customization this time around a lot more. One, TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: I can pick my lightsaber color right away and not just have three. TruVillain: Hell yeah. Kainitsu: You know? 'cause I I actually did buy the deluxe editions, but they were on sale. So like I didn't feel bad about TruVillain: Okay. Okay. Kainitsu: it. 'Cause like I'm getting the whole game and only paid like only paid like four bucks for Fallen TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: Order and like twenty five for Survivor. So not a bad TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: deal. Again, I'm I hate that I had to buy a deluxe edition, but I didn't pay seventy dollars for it. I didn't pay eighty dollars for it. I didn't pay a hundred dollars for it. GTA six. Anyway, TruVillain: Damn. Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: Yeah, you're catching strays. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Don't gonna call shit out, bro. But yeah, yeah, no, but I did that. So yeah, I already had some customization options. Like I kinda have like a a Han Solo thing going on right now, the way I have him dressed. which TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: is kinda cool. I also like that you're able to customize BD one a lot more because one thing that I I will say I didn't say about in the in the first well I'll talk about the first game. Is BD one is actually a nice design. Like obviously they wanted a like a cute little robot pal, like they did with you TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: know R2D2 and BD one. Cause you want to sell toys. That's what Star Wars was great TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: for, you know, definitely fucking George Lucas. I think he still owns the toys rights to Star Wars, TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: which is crazy. Like that was like the smartest thing that men ever did. Yeah. TruVillain: It was very, very big foresight, yeah. Kainitsu: Like they're like people like, well, we got the movie rights. That doesn't matter. Whatever, bitch. And after that, like. No one ever wants to give up Toys Rights to any IP they make now because of Star Wars. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Like George Lucas played the long game right there. Anyway. TruVillain: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: but yeah, BD one's design, I do like it 'cause it it is very akin and I think pretty inspired by Short Circuit. Johnny Five and Short Circuit. I don't know if you ever watched those movies at some point in your life. TruVillain: You just said a lot of words that meant a lot of nothing to me. Like Kainitsu: I'm so old. TruVillain: I don't I couldn't even guess at what you're talking about. Kainitsu: Okay, so there are TruVillain: That's when them Jetsons was on TV. Kainitsu: man, the Flintstones. I sure did love the Flintstones getting getting advertised to by Winston cigarettes. TruVillain: Yes, back when back when they used to advertise them cigarettes. And they had candy cigarettes too, little little kid the Kainitsu: Well well the well Right, right, well TruVillain: little lid ends on them. man. Kainitsu: Yeah, but well well that's the thing is with the whole Flintstones things, it actually wasn't necessarily supposed to be like, you know, a children's cartoon. It supposed to be for like adults as well. It was supposed to be like a an a a a a sitcom but animated. And that's why there's some like there's laugh tracks in that, because it's an animation. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: but anyway, so you can look it up if you want to. there's some movies from the eighties called Short Circuit and Short Circuit Two. And the first one is a very interesting sci-fi movie where there are these robots and they're being made by a company basically try to sell it to the military, and they're basically just gonna be some murder bots. And TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: they have some pretty interesting designs, and then one of the characters or one of robots gets hit by lightning and it changes like his programming in the circuitry and or fries the circuitry a certain way. And so instead of him being like, you know, a drone robot. and doing whatever they say to do, he becomes more sentient and actually is like like wanting to learn and stuff around the world. And what's TruVillain: yeah, I'm looking at this. He does kinda he does kinda look like B D One a little bit. He also looks a lot like that like what is that Disney movie? Wally? Is that Kainitsu: Yeah. Hmm. Wally. It's also like some Wally inspiration in there too. But Wally was also inspired by Short Circuit. So so by Transit of Property, TruVillain: Mm. Yeah, this does look very Wally ish. Kainitsu: you you kinda knew what he looked like. Eighties. Yeah. Eighty f like that TruVillain: When was this movie made? Eighty-five? Damn, definitely. You can tell. Kainitsu: was for the first one and I think the second one, Short Circuit Two, came out like eighty nine or like like ninety one, ninety two, something like that. That was like late eighties, early nineties for the second one. Yeah. TruVillain: Hm. It's kind of a kind of a long turnaround. nineteen eighty eight. No, it was only three years later. Kainitsu: well never mind then I was wrong. But well well I said late eighties. I just said eighty nine, not eighty eight. But yeah, anyway. I I was in the ballpark. TruVillain: You were still wrong. Kainitsu: But anyway, yeah, so I I like that there he kinda has that, you know, that design, like again, Wally for all you youngins out there. Or and then short circuit two for us old heads. yeah, probably I mean most people know what Wally is, but either way, that TruVillain: Mm. I was about to say Wally's probably the better reference to go with for for the rest of us. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: was my first reference in my head when I started thinking about I'm like, yeah, that's like like kind of like some some some Johnny Five. Anyway, if you've never seen those movies, you should check out. They're actually still pretty good to watch. Anyway. but yeah, I like that. The customization is like much better for yourself. Again, it's cool that you get that you know, a lot more customization available for your light servers right away. And I do like that you're able to fully dual wield in this one. I just wish that you had access to all three stances. And I don't like you only choose between two. that's something that doesn't irk me, but I'm like, TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: why can't I have all three? But I get it because the way they have it set up the D pad and everything, but it's like, but why can't I like have one hold down on left or right and then I don't know. TruVillain: Yeah, ki kinda. I'm the motherfucker though. I like I like the idea of you being forced to pick one Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: and not and not having access to the other ones. Because to me, Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: like that's more interesting when when games Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: do that 'cause it for and also it's more lore accurate, right? Like I mean again Kainitsu: Yeah, true. TruVillain: these these Star Wars stories, not just this game, but these mov like these these side stories and stuff like that that all take place, you know, in in between the events of the f Empire Strikes Back and the you know they Kainitsu: Best Star Wars movie, by the way. TruVillain: like the power creep is unreal. It's like you have this dude Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Yeah. TruVillain: in a cave somewhere wielding three different lightsaber disciplines. Double dub then no one had seen a double bladed lightsaber. Like it's just like in years and this Kainitsu: Until actually episode one. TruVillain: dude yeah, this dude is wielding that dual wielding and single wielding, fucking Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: doing all this crazy flippy fucking jumpy shit and it's it's wild. Kainitsu: Mm and meanwhile you had Luke Skywalker trying to become a Jedi. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. The the chosen one out here fucking just like struggling to lift a X Wing up, you know, like it yeah, I don't know. I g yeah. Kainitsu: The second chosen one. That still is actually a pretty powerful scene. Like, man, it's pretty cool. Couldn't TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: do it. Then Yoda's like, bitch, watch this. But yeah, so there's there's TruVillain: This you watch. Kainitsu: that that's one thing I was getting also like the exploration with going like, TruVillain: Bitch you are. Kainitsu: go all the way around to do this, and we're gonna kinda give you a little foreshadow or a little guide, like, hey, you're gonna get over here soon, but hey, you're about to go to a straight path, but hey, you fell. And I TruVillain: Mm. Yeah. Kainitsu: I do like the difficulty in this one as well. I'm playing on normal, which I think is Jedi Night or something like that. I don't know the creepy fucking title for it. But it was in the middle, so it's normal. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: it's not too terribly challenging. It can be at some parts. again, I'm not too far. I'm still basically at the very first or second planet, because it's cool that they showed you like that really a c a a big contrast of Coruscant. as well at the very beginning of this game. because that was pretty cool. Because again, you didn't really see Coruscant in the original movies, but you did see them in the prequels. And it was like all nice, pristine, like, the future city of the the best thing is gonna be to come if you do it this way or whatever. And yeah, man, no, like Coruscant in in Jedi Survivor, fucking dude, it's dark. It's a dark place to be, which is pretty cool to see that contrast. I'm like, the years that came after it. So seeing like again, having a contrast, like, this is what it used to look like and now it's this. So but yeah, sorry if I'm just kinda rambling. I'm just kinda like thinking of talking points as they come. but yeah. I did en I'm enjoying the game so far. the only real difficult thing I've come across so far is one of those giant fucking frog beasts. I forgot what they're called. But you ran into them on the first planet Bugano or second, I guess actually, in Fallen Order. there's like a I guess a boss I found. and yeah, he's pretty difficult because he comes out with his attacks a lot faster than than I'm like trying or thought he would, and he hits super hard. So that sucks. and and it's kind of cool they also bought brought back the battle droids. and not at the same time. And even even Cal like makes a reference, like he's like, man, I forgot how much these things talk. And it and it's not like They talk like, I'm a robot, I'm gonna do robot things. They give like, you know, kind of like TruVillain: Hey, hey, hold on just a second. And we are back. some little technical difficulties here. my focus Kainitsu: Love it. TruVillain: right does this yeah, it does this thing where it just randomly starts buzzing really loudly. Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: And the only thing to do for it is unplug it and plug it back in, which usually fixes it, but this program we're using will not let you reselect the mic if you do that. So you have to you have to Kainitsu: As you're recording. TruVillain: yeah, you have to pause the recording and you have to keep going. So we are back and Kainitsu: Yeah. Yes. TruVillain: was there anything You wanted to finish up on Jedi Survivor before we get into kind of what I was doing or Kainitsu: I was just making a point about the the battle droids was yeah, so again, yeah, it's cool that they kinda brought them back, but not at the same time 'cause TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: like again, Cal makes a a reference saying, like, man, I forgot how much these things talk, and like I said, I was saying a minute ago, yeah. They they talk a lot, but not like I'm a robot, but like they have weird little personalities. It was the same thing in the prequels too. So like it's kind of funny, but the same time it sucks, but it feels good moleculum down, so At least you get some catharsis out of it. Right? Yep, you get TruVillain: Mm. Roger, Roger. Yeah. Kainitsu: that, but like way more speak, dude. Like they're very like, he TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: he's jumping around. Why is he jumping around so much? TruVillain: I prefer my evil robots be scary and evil and not like funny, you know, and and talking, quipping, you know. You walk up Kainitsu: I just wanted to be a death machine. Listen here, human. TruVillain: you you walk up to fight and they're like knock knock and you're like Kainitsu: Ha ha. TruVillain: God damn it. Like Kainitsu: Well, are you a Jedi? Dunno, don't use a lightsaber on me. Pchew pachew Saying that as they shoot their gun. TruVillain: Yeah. Well yeah, well that's that's that's Jedi Survivor like that. I like that game a lot. I won't ever replay it again, but I if they make a third one I'll play it. And if I remember right, Kainitsu: Mm. Yeah, I I can see that. TruVillain: the way that game ended, there probably will be a third one, I think. I don't I don't yeah. Kainitsu: Hmm. Okay. Well, if there is, I'll be looking more forward to it, I guess, because I'm actually enjoying this one so far, but again, still TruVillain: Mhm. Yeah. Kainitsu: super leader into TruVillain: Mm. I think there was some kind of leak or something where they at leak they were working on one, I think. So Kainitsu: Hm. Okay. But it would it wouldn't surprise me. TruVillain: But alrighty. Yeah. Yeah, me either. I mean it's a big moneymaker. It does very well for them. It's one of the few Star Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Right. TruVillain: Wars things that has goodwill behind it as well, so Kainitsu: Right, yeah. It's gotta get a reputation from respawn 'cause they've they've done done a decent job, so TruVillain: But foreshadowing, that might change soon in a couple of weeks. Anyway, Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: on to me and what I've been playing. So I've still been kind of plucking away at Midnight Suns. It it's kind of reached that that state where it's gotten a little repetitive. It's gotten a little just like doing this, it's not really hooking me. So basically what that means it's just kinda got relegated to the Steam Deck. That's like my before bed Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Okay. TruVillain: game now. where basically I don't I'm not like sitting at my computer playing it. And Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Okay, okay. TruVillain: but it's still, you know, it's I just think the the Abbey stuff kinda just wears thin over time. Like the Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: 'cause the relationships aren't really that interesting, you know, it's this Marvel stuff. So, you know, there's not really any romances to be had. There's not really any kinda like real tension to be had, you know, Blade's gonna be suspicious of Morbius, but they're still gonna work together in the end, you know, Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: kind of thing. And so you kinda just it's kinda your brain just kinda goes off when you're kinda just clicking through the conversations. And so you're it's not engaging as much. And Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the turn based stuff is still pretty good, but that as well I kinda wish it was just more con a little bit more complicated. Because it just I don't know, again, it's all just Again, your brain just turns off a little bit. And in Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: ways that like XCOM it didn't. Because XCOM you were in you were locked in because the the the tactics were really good, the strategy layer was really good, building your base, the story, the research, like all that stuff was very interesting. and here it's it's not so much. But it is Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: a great before bed Steam Deck game because you're just laying in bed, you're like, all I'm gonna go Lay in bed, I'm gonna get like three battles in, have a few conversations, and go the fuck to sleep. And so it's been good for that. I'm not as as hot on it as I was last week when I first started it. So when you first start it, like I said, you're you're kinda like locked into it. But again, I I do think a lot of it does start to kind of wear thin a little too quickly. Well, I'll say too quickly, I'm like thirty hours into it, so I don't it's Kainitsu: Well, from what you told me about this developer and like how they made their other games, they're usually pretty lengthy. Like I understand like you could spend like 120 hours in XCOM two easily depending on how you're TruVillain: yeah. Kainitsu: trying to do everything. TruVillain: Yeah, depending on you could spend like eight hundred hours in this game because it has infinite Kainitsu: Jesus. TruVillain: well, it has infinite like side mission spawns. So if you did side missions Kainitsu: okay. TruVillain: the whole fucking time, you could just do it, I don't know why you would, but if you just really love that combat system, but Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: but yeah, I'm I'm I don't know. It's fine. And it's it's a Steam Deck game now. So Kainitsu: All right. Well, at least it it it gave you a surprise. What I think what's happened is that your your brain recognized the game loop and it's not fun anymore. And and it sucks whenever that happens with a game that you're really enjoying. TruVillain: Yeah, it's my Mm hmm. Yeah, well it's the problem I have with a lot of like the kind of more modern open world games these days is Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: once you realize like once you do all six of the side activities and you realize like, this is gonna be the next eighty hours of this game, you're like, Kainitsu: Mm. Mm. TruVillain: fuck. God damn it. And y I immediately lose. That's why I was unable to get through Ghosts of Tsushima. Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: I was unable to get through Ghost of Yote. I was unable to get through Spider Man two. Like basically all the Sony games. Re recent Sony games. Where it's like, man, what's the story here is not compelling enough to pull me through, you know, forty hours of just the same fucking shit over and over again. My brain just disengages with it 'cause it's not there's no kind of sandbox element to it to kind of pull you through it. And so Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: And in Midnight Suns there kinda is, and that's the turn based tactics, but even that's on the weaker side compared to an XCOM. Or like other tactics games. I mean XCOM's the one that gets thrown around a lot, but I mean there's all kinds of tact I would say even the tactics in Baldur's Gate three are more interesting, you know? and Divinity Original Sin two has better tactics. Kainitsu: Well Barz Baldur's Gate 3 is a really fun game. There's a lot of cool stuff you can just do in that game. Like, man, you can just like you TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: can just carry around fucking barrels that explode like, hey, guess what? I'm gonna throw this out and blow this guy up. Or I can push this person into a hole. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, the the tactics. Yeah, it's not even primarily a tactics game, but it the tactics sandbox is more interesting than kinda what's on offer here. So I Kainitsu: Yeah. Mm-hmm. okay, gotcha. TruVillain: don't know. I it's on the Steam Deck. It may even fall off of that. You know what I mean? Kainitsu: no. TruVillain: we'll see kinda how it progresses, which is a shame. It may just be one of those where you you're not really meant to marathon it, maybe ha prelude to later in the show. And Kainitsu: All the foreshadowing. TruVillain: Dude, I am foreshadowing like I'm foreshadowing like a motherfucker today, bro. Dude, Kainitsu: Do you do you guys wanna know what I'm gonna talk about? Not right now. TruVillain: I listened to last episode and I said not enough foreshadowing. You know, like we need more, all right? I have a fever and the only Kainitsu: We need more of it, okay? It's like TruVillain: cure is more foreshadowing, all right? Kainitsu: I I I need more foreshadowing. TruVillain: Yeah. Have you ever seen that SNL sketch with Christopher Walken and the Yeah, Cowbell, more cowbell. I need more cowbell. Kainitsu: I need I need more I need more cowbell. More cowbell. TruVillain: Yeah, I can't do neither of us are doing the accent well, but it's Yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, I I can't do a CRISPR Watkins. I try. TruVillain: The foreshadowing was my fucking cowbell. Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: But we'll so maybe maybe it's more meant to be I leave it for a while and come back to it, some bite-sized chunks. I don't know. but so in the wake of that or in the absence of that, I've kind of been struggling because I have about a month Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: before some shit I'm really excited for comes out that I need to fill with something, some kind of single player something, right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Right. TruVillain: and I don't know what that's going to be. So I remembered that there is a new expansion for Stolaris. if you don't know what Stolaris is at this point, especially listening to a PC podcast, I don't really know. what you've done at this point. The game's been out since twenty sixteen. But in case you don't know, it is probably the best space strategy game like going right now. It's a four X game. It's you can build basically any the empire of your dreams, right? Like anything you want, pretty much. You can you can be you can even be Space Walmart if you want, right? Like you can set up a mega corporation. I don't know if you ever seen the show Angel. Like the Buffy spin off, but there's you can basically be Kainitsu: no, no. TruVillain: like space Wolferman Hart, which Wolfram and Hart was this it was like a demonic law firm where they were like always Kainitsu: Okay, okay. TruVillain: like doing demonic sacrifices and shit and you know, running the world from behind the scenes. You could you could do that. You can do you know, you can be the Empire of some facsimile of from Star Wars. Anything you want really. and they have a new expansion out called Nomads. shout Kainitsu: Mm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: out to your dog. But yeah. His dog's name is Nomad. But we Kainitsu: Yeah, his name's Nat. TruVillain: but so basically what what this is kind of fulfilling is the the kind of planetless kind of clan where you can you just you have like these arc ships that travel around, you know, think about the Korians from Mass Effect or even Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: kinda the Battle stars from Battlestar Galactica, like that kind of thing. and so I've been messing around with that past couple of days and it's pretty fun. it is kind of just what it's advertised. You have There's four new origins, which origins in this game are kind of the whole setup for your culture and your faction. So and they kinda give you so for instance, there's an origin where your people come or they're well they're on a planet that's about to explode. And so when you start the when you start the scenario out, you know, the planet's about gonna explode in some number of years and so you gotta plan around that, get everyone off the planet, or stay and try to make it work, you know, stop it. So There's all kind of origins. And in this one, I just kinda went with kind of the kind of bog standard you know, you've you've you've left the the planet and you're in the space and blah blah blah. And so what I've kind of set it up is my people are kind of they kind of fled a dying Earth you know, from the corporations basically burning it to the fucking ground and so Earth is fucked. And where we took off and w arch shi we fought our way to some arch ships, got on it, and and now we're basically mm space pirates and Yeah, Kainitsu: Hell yeah. TruVillain: and Reavers and things like that. And so it's been pretty fun. it's it's not quite I again, y you gotta play these things multiple times 'cause they're so fucking deep. It's not quite as expansive as I was kinda hoping, but I may just be missing something. But it's been fun. You kinda raid supply lines, you kinda go in You can set up little secret pirate bases that raid people. you set up these little stations everywhere that and these little trade lines and stuff and and you know, just kinda run this kind of this real mobile kind of shadow empire. And it is weird not having like your own like planets in space because I'm sitting here in the area I started in that no one owns and then these borders start encroaching on me. I'm like, fuck, I need to fight these borders back, but it's like, wait. I don't have borders, you know? But you still kinda have this concept of free space because the thing Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: is is once those borders come in, they can decide they don't want you there and try to like kick you out or fight you Kainitsu: okay, gotcha. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: and stuff like that. So you kinda have this weird new respect for like free space that has no borders. Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: and so it's pretty cool, it's pretty fun. I've already like, kinda conquered two people or two factions, but you don't really conquer because again you don't you don't have borders or anything. You kinda I you basically fight them and they're like, Give me money now and that's what they do is just they just Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Yeah. TruVillain: give me resources now and supply my my growing fleet. and there is like a there's a crisis condition for this origin too, and what crisis is crisis? Crisis I how do Kainitsu: Crises? TruVillain: you crises. I went to college for an English degree, by the way. Kainitsu: It's showing very well right now. TruVillain: yeah. you What those are is they're basically in game states where you know, some some faction becomes like super powerful or like the Reapers show up or something like Kainitsu: Mm. okay. TruVillain: that. And so you can kinda become that. And this I don't know what Kainitsu: Hmm. TruVillain: it is specifically for these nomadic empires, but they have one that you can kinda build towards which Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: is fun. So But it's you know, it it's it's great. I mean it's still Aris. It's again it's been out since twenty sixteen. It has like five hundred dollars worth of DLC. yeah. Kainitsu: That's so much stuff. TruVillain: But it's really good if you haven't tried Kainitsu: That's ten years of stuff though. TruVillain: Yeah, if you haven't tried it, I mean the game itself goes on sale for like nine dollars all the time and they have an expansion pass, like a subscription. And so it's like nine bucks a month. And what you do, you get that, you get the nine dollar one, you get this expansion pass, and you see if you like it. Just play it. If you're like, fuck, I can see myself playing this a lot, go ahead and just start buying the DLC, you know, maybe a little bit at a time, but buy it. And now they do roll it in like over they have 'cause I I think they rolled three expansions into like the base game. Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: yeah, so but it's good. I it's i it's more when you play these types of games, Age of Wonders four, Stellaris, these paradox games, they're kind of like storyteller simulators. They're they are strategy games, but you really need to go into with the mindset. That's what I love about of if you're just role playing, right? And that means like you're not min maxing. You're you're sometimes choosing options that aren't advantageous to you because you're you're role playing a faction. In fact, some of those origins they tell you, hey, this is this is you're at a disadvantage here, you know. You're Kainitsu: Hm. Okay. TruVillain: you're starting out on a exploding planet, you know. Or on a shattered halo ring, 'cause that's the thing. You can build halo rings as well and live on them. it's pretty cool. And although that used to be a very like OP way to play actually, the Halo Ring, just 'cause it was like super self sufficient or whatever. But but yeah, that's fun. It's kind of been tiding me over until I can figure out like a a good single player. Yeah, I I've been thinking about James Bond playing Kainitsu: Hmm. TruVillain: that 'cause I d I never did play it. Kainitsu: Well the the was it James Bond first slide over the yeah, yeah. TruVillain: First light on the new one, yeah. but i again with with kind of the the moving stuff and then, you know, stuff coming out, 'cause Dawnwalker's coming and I would you Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: know I d I don't know. I I may just play strategy games until then, like things I can kinda just not really commit to too Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: much, you know, and kinda have a good time and then stop like at a moment's notice if I need to. 'Cause I mean there's still like Vicky three stuff I could do. I I have a game called Terra Invicta that r came out. fairly recently and that's kind of a it's not a paradox game but it's kinda similar and Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: and but I I I haven't really put any time in it at all. So I I may just do that until Dawnwalker comes out and then or Blood of Dawnwalker. Is it Blood of? Yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah. this it it's yeah, it's blood of Don Walker. I had a friend and I No, there isn't. You feel like there should be. Like a friend and I were how it it dude it it had TruVillain: Yeah, I didn't know if there was like a the in there or not, but yeah, it's it's such a bad name. It's such a it's such a unnecessary name, bro. Like just name it Donwalker. That's all just Kainitsu: It has TruVillain: name it or name it the Donwalker. Name it the Donwalker Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: and it's just leave it at that. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Simple and it, you know, sounds sounds mysterious. But it's like, yeah, dude, like it definitely has placeholder vibes for a title. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: but yeah, again, a friend of mine were talking about, he's like, dude, it sounds like that just you need to have the the in there. I if we put a put a the in there, the title will be perfect. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, it's just I don't know, man. But I'm super excited for it, regardless of the fucking stupid ass name. Kainitsu: I yeah, I wish it were better like in like if they were just like in the Don Walker or Don Walker, like TruVillain: Mm. Yeah. Yeah. So I Kainitsu: anyway, I am excited about that. TruVillain: mm. Yeah, so I'll probably just do I'll keep doing Paradox games, probably. I'm still I don't mention it on the show just 'cause it's one of those little background games. I do still play Destiny with with the boys from work. So Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Gotcha, gotcha. TruVillain: we we keep plucking away at that still. Again, you just play kinda like Borderlands a little bit. Just get on, run some Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: run some dungeons, you know, just fuck around. It's pretty fun. Mm hmm. Yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, I I bought the the the when it was on sale 'cause it was like you've got everything for twenty five dollars without it. It's like a hundred and seventy or some shit. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, you should Yeah, we should hit it up sometime for sure. Help you get leveled Kainitsu: Yeah man. I played TruVillain: and stuff. Kainitsu: yeah, I played the the first you know, intro training mission and I'm like, Okay, it's it's destiny TruVillain: Yeah. yeah, yeah. It's it's it's Destiny. But it turns out Destiny's pretty good if you Kainitsu: I mean TruVillain: if you if you go in for like the right things, right? If you want a a cohesive story that's gonna make any kind of fucking sense, absolutely not. Kainitsu: That's not happening. TruVillain: but if you wanna you wanna shoot some bad guys, run some dungeons, do a lot of fucking stupid ass jumping puzzles that g have you throwing your fucking controller at the fucking wall because they expect you to be fucking just like rain man and just know that The actual jumping shit is around the corner. You can't see it. You have to blindly jump and then jump over. my fucking god. Anyway. Yeah. Kainitsu: Leap of faith everywhere, that's how you live life. TruVillain: If all that sounds good, then Destiny's great. It's great. And one of the guys we play with, he he always wants to do the the most masochistic ass fucking missions, dude. Like Kainitsu: no. TruVillain: they the the worst ones. And you're like, dude, why are we doing this, man? Like it's Ugh, man, but But yeah, so it it's kind of kind of again just wandering around the backlog for me, killing some time until Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: until Blood of Dawnwalker comes out. And yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, I'll probably playing Survivor and possibly the other thing I'm gonna be talking a little bit later on with another topic. Ooh, foreshadowing, aren't you happy? TruVillain: Mm. yeah. Man, we are getting so much of that fucking cowbell right now, let me tell you. It is yeah. It is really Kainitsu: We're we're getting we're so professional guys with their for their foreshadowing. TruVillain: doing it for me. Mm-hmm. Alright, well, if if there's nothing else to talk on these these games we've been playing, we should move on to the news, which isn't as depressing this time. There's there's little sprinkles of d depressing, little toasters Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: in the bathtub, if you will. but Kainitsu: Some close calls, if you will. TruVillain: yeah, some some yeah, but you know, it's it's actually mostly either neutral or kind of good. Kainitsu: There there's some there's some good sprinkled out, but it's mostly like Well, this is what it is, but it's not bad, but it's like not great. TruVillain: Yeah, it's just this this thing is occurring. And Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: you may or may not feel some positive nature about it. So Kainitsu: It may not make you feel the warm and fuzzies, but it's giving you some kind of feels. TruVillain: Alright, well without further ado, the first item here in here I kinda wanted to check in with Steam again as always. and it's not really looking so good for them on the Steam Deck. Steam Deck sales are down eighty-two percent. Following them price increases, following Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. TruVillain: the thousand dollar Steam Deck, it's really dropped down. Now some of that is also I think material constraint because they're not readily available anymore. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: They kind of release them in kind of bespoke batches. and so that could be a part of it as well. It's also supply constrained, but Kainitsu: Yeah. then there's so many other factors like again supplies constraint. Again, there's nothing really domestically made for a lot of the parts they're needing in chips and stuff, and then there's tariffs and all this other dumb shit. So yeah, there's a TruVillain: Yeah. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: lot that's that's causing things to be way more expensive. we can actually kind of tie this in with some valve news as well. Recently it was found out that cause Valps, you know, trying to working on a new a new index, I guess, or a new VR headset. And Snapdragon processors have just gone up two hundred more dollars for the thing that they're gonna use for the thing they're making. TruVillain: Mm, I didn't hear about that. Yeah. I haven't yeah, I haven't heard of Snapdragon in a minute. I guess they kinda been silently just in the background Kainitsu: Right? Mm-hmm. TruVillain: powering stuff. Kainitsu: Yeah, it doesn't make a whole lot of news these days. I guess it's just like, yeah, it's just just this is what goes in mobile stuff. TruVillain: Hmm. Yeah, they kinda the Android side of things all just kinda like settled on that, I guess. As Kainitsu: Mm. Right. TruVillain: the Yeah, yeah, it's it's rough, man. I I hate to see it, dude, because the my Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: favorite thing that I've bought in like the past probably five years has been the Steam Deck. I bought it in January of this year, actually. It I d I waited a long time to pull the trigger on it and it's it was great. And and when I bought it, I felt the vision. I was like, all right. You know, the Steam Machine is gonna come out. We're gonna have that on the TV, you know, and then and then a Steam Deck Two is gonna come out because the Steam Deck is a little underpowered. St Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you know. I mean it it's it's good enough for now, but like there's stuff on it I don't even if it runs, I don't wanna play it at thirty frames a second necessarily. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: I can do forty or forty five on the Steam Deck. That actually works pretty well. For most stuff, but and most things, to be fair, you can get it to run at forty frames, forty five, Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: pretty well with minimal compromises Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: for the most part. on you know, if you're playing Cyberpunk, I mean, what what are Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: you doing? You know, playing that on the Steam Deck. You can, but it's gonna be thirty. Kainitsu: I love moving at twelve frames per second. TruVillain: Yeah. Well it's you can g they have a Steam Deck mode on there that's verified. Yeah, it's thirty but it's you're getting thirty, and sometimes twenty Kainitsu: do they? Okay. Okay, okay, that's cool. Hmm. TruVillain: five and it's gonna look a little assy, you know. Kainitsu: Yeah, and then you don't want to experience that game like that. Again, I experienced and played that game when it was a broken fucking mess when it first released. My God, that was the most broken game I've ever played through and finished because I was like, I just want to see where this train wreck is going. And and some of it I did enjoy. TruVillain: Mm. Yeah, I would never play Yeah. I'd never play it on a Steam Deck for sure. Just 'cause it's not Kainitsu: No, co of course not. TruVillain: one of those games. It's not a Steam Deck game, but but yeah, I do wish it had a little more umph, you know, a little more power in Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: there and I was really looking forward to the to this now, yes I know that you can get, you know, the Rogue Ally X and but the Steam Deck is so good. Like those two touch pads make all the fucking difference. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: and it's Steam. It's all integrated. It's like buying an Apple, like an iPhone. You know, it's all kind of it's all integrated. You Kainitsu: Yeah. It's in the ecosystem. TruVillain: Yeah. And it it's it's built for a purpose. The verified stuff, you know how it runs. You can easily look up a million videos about how something runs and get a good idea of it. It's just it's great and this whole world situation that we're in is is kind of Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: murdering Valve's entire hardware initiative, which is to me the most exciting hardware initiative that's Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: happened in a very long time. Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. everyone was like, my god, here comes here comes Papa Papa Gabe Newell gonna be saving gaming for us once again. Nope. he did the best he could. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm I thought so. I I I too shouted the name of Papa to the skies as fireworks exploded around my fucking house. It lit up the sky. Kainitsu: And it lit up the sky and I said, Papa Game Duel. TruVillain: Papa Gabe. Papa you've come. Kainitsu: Please, please TruVillain: You you you've come to bring the PC games to my living room, Papa. Kainitsu: Give me the ecosystem I've always wanted. TruVillain: I can finally play my PC on my two thousand dollar Samsung TV. Thank you. Kainitsu: Now look I was so good. TruVillain: Yeah, so but I just I hate to see it being being just murdered, you know, just just decimated as it Kainitsu: Yeah. I be I mean just TruVillain: as it's just picking up steam. And Kainitsu: It it is but it's not just it's just this valve, man. It's just it it's a harsh time to be a nerd in this world right now. when it comes to my many things and like being a nerd. TruVillain: All the movies from the eighties would tell you it was always a harsh time to be a nerd, you know? So I know, I know, yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: I'm talking about like just like more like for technological wise, like computers and playing games and shit like that. But i even still, yeah, I mean it's like There could there are actually some cool things that can be possibly made and then they got plans and stuff, but it's not gonna be really good for consumer pricing. if you want TruVillain: No. Kainitsu: that, it's gonna cost you more than what you want to pay for, more likely, TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: or ever thought of paying for things of said nature. Like again, whoever thought we would see console generations where the console gets more expensive as it gets older. Like TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah, it's yeah. It's fucking insane. Kainitsu: Dude, eight hundred dollars for a fucking Xbox? TruVillain: Yeah. Yep. Yeah, I bought my yeah, Kainitsu: What the f what the fuck is going on with this world? TruVillain: I bought my PS five Pro for seven hundred dollars. For yeah, for GTS it's Kainitsu: that was the cheap price, man. It's like nine hundred now. TruVillain: it's nine hundred now, yeah. And I'm glad I did. I got I got Kainitsu: Thousand thousand dollars for a PSP. TruVillain: in there and got it, yeah. on the positive side of the Steam news though is some people have been kind of I won't say hacking, but tinkering around with the Steam Machine. And they've gotten FSR four running on it, which FSR four is going to officially be running on it at some point, as well Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: as the Steam Deck. As well. They're and as far as I'm aware anyway. And and it's the results are actually fantastic. They actually really improve the the performance of the machine a a lot, apparently, yeah. So Kainitsu: Really? Hmm. TruVillain: apparently it really takes this thing from being kinda mid to way less mid, you know? Like it's Kainitsu: Okay. Okay. TruVillain: it's still not obviously not, you know, exceptional. But you Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: can actually get some stuff running at a decent frame rate with like a good level of detail now at decent resolutions with the upscaling. 'Cause apparently FSR four is a huge like step up from FSR three, which was dog shit. Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah, TruVillain: And Kainitsu: it kinda seems to be like the the the theme. the third TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: time's a charm No, not for upscaling apparently, dude. Like d yeah, yeah. DLS S three TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, it's Kainitsu: wasn't that great, but four is apparently much better. TruVillain: Four's apparently really good and apparently it like I said it just makes the steam machine like soar, like really kinda come into its own, yeah. So yeah, looking forward Kainitsu: Really? Hmm. Well, that sounds promising. TruVillain: to that for the twenty people that actually get one. so yeah. Or ev or we're allowed Kainitsu: The five people that actually bought this thing, and to all the scalpers out there. TruVillain: to, yeah. Yeah. Enjoy your FSR four. Thank you. Kainitsu: Mm mm. TruVillain: So moving on, to doer news again, Marathon's game director leaves and as foreshadowed earlier, and amidst a new PVE game mode being released, which was supposed to kind of bring a lot of players in, and it did, it it like tripled the player count for like two days. And then and then it it sunk right back down. Yeah, it's it's pretty bad. So Kainitsu: Yeah. That didn't last long. Yeah. Yeah. I got some some stats here for that. So whenever that that came out for you know the the new mode they came out and everything. So it peaked at nine thousand five hundred and forty nine players for twenty four hours. And then it dropped back down to seventy three hundred. That's still much higher than it was before, but TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Now that was then that was earlier in the week. This is now Sunday. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: This is a new week. TruVillain: Did you look did you give the stuff for currently? Kainitsu: Now I'm looking at it right I'm gonna pull it up. That'll be fun TruVillain: Okay. Kainitsu: little little surprise for everybody. I don't know what it looks like right TruVillain: Yeah. It's like Kainitsu: now. TruVillain: yeah, I think it was like six thousand when I looked last time. That's that's horrible. Like it's four ma Kainitsu: really. That's not horrible. I mean it's better than it was before. TruVillain: yeah, I mean it it's reached a low of of nineteen like nineteen fifty, so Kainitsu: Yeah, so better than that. yeah, he's at it's it's like almost six thousand, five thousand nine hundred and seventy one right now. The last twenty four TruVillain: Yeah. On a weekend. Yeah. Kainitsu: twenty four hour peak was seventy three hundred. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: so yeah, marathon not doing doing so hot. So TruVillain: Yeah, I'm I'm seeing a lot where the director leaving, Joe Ziegler, Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: is is kinda just it does kinda look like he just got, you know, it's just a job move, you know, he's got Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: a better job or whatever. But if Marathon was healthy, popping off, making a lot of money, bonuses were kicking it, yeah, he'd be Kainitsu: Staying around. We staying around. Yeah. TruVillain: 'Cause he came from like Valorant. They brought him in from from Kainitsu: Mm, okay, okay. TruVillain: Val like, yeah, he was one of the the heads on Valorant and well I do think it is like it doesn't spell like shit the game's shutting down 'cause Sony seems like, for whatever reason, they wanna stick with this thing. Yeah. They're like Kainitsu: Well, I mean, they spent three three three billion dollars for it, so TruVillain: we we gonna squeeze some blood out of this. Kainitsu: We're gonna get some money back. TruVillain: it's something. Yeah, and I I love Marathon. Like I like I said in in my little solo rant the other episode, I Kainitsu: I last week, yeah. TruVillain: love this game. I I was so dubious of this game 'cause I was an arc I liked Arc Arc Raiders a lot. And I was like, man, Marathon looks like a trend chasing just piece Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: of shit, knockoff, we have Arc Raiders at home. And then I Kainitsu: Had some some fortnight vibes coming from it. TruVillain: Yeah, and then I played the the beta thing they had and I was like, hm. There's something to this Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: You know? And it was it's really good. It's a really good game. And it just wrong place, wrong time, too late to the game. They also shot themselves in the foot early on with the art theft stuff, which that was pretty that was Kainitsu: Yeah that mm-hmm. TruVillain: pretty unforgivable. That I almost didn't buy the game just based on that, but Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: But they got it under control. They got rid of the art director, I think. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: And and so I like, alright, well, we'll give it a shot. Not and again, that game is it's so good. The art style, the the vibes, the fucking just everything about it is is it's really good, but it's it's I haven't played season two. I didn't play this P V E shit because I just I've I've uninstalled it, actually, you know. I don't know if I said that last episode, but I have. Yeah. I I think there's no point it's dying. It's on life support. It's not Yeah. Kainitsu: No, no you didn't. Yeah. Yep. You you you see the writing on the wall like the lead just left. He obviously like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: Bungie gonna be not doing great, going somewhere else. Thank you. Give me better TruVillain: Bro, they had a free weekend. Or it's like a free five days. And it got up Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: it got up to like forty thousand again and then just plummeted again. And that was after they like Yeah, that was after it like, yeah. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. wow. Yeah. I mean it's like, I gotta pay for this shit now. Nope. Like so that's the thing. If it was a free to play game, dude, I think it'd be faring much better. but they wanted to try to pull what they did, I guess, with Destiny TruVillain: Maybe, yeah. Kainitsu: and seeing how, you know, possibly the success of Helldivers being like a live service game and all that, so TruVillain: Well well it it's Sony, right? I don't think that's I think if it was up to Bungie, that it would have probably been free by now. But Sony likes they they they like that premium. Again, remember this is the same company that said we're gonna charge you forty dollars for Concord, right? forty dollars for Kainitsu: Mm, yeah. TruVillain: Helldivers. Forty dollars is Sony's way of making a free to play game and still feeling like they're doing a premium like last you know, we're the we're the HBO of gaming. Even s even even our live service games, they they forty dollars. Right? We and we gonna give you like two skins with that, you know, because you you paying forty dollars for the premium experience. That's all we can do. Kainitsu: It it is the is the best we can do for ya there, you know. that two those two skins are gonna go real far, make you look so cool in there, you know, when forty dollars are such a good deal. You you know about them for dollars. Gonna do set sixty is a good TruVillain: Pray to God we don't do sixty. Kainitsu: good deal, but you know, we're still gonna make you pay all this other fucking money. TruVillain: Pray to pray to God we don't we don't do seventy. Yeah, so I mean it it's it's their way of of doing the doing the fucking the premium thing. Kainitsu: It Yeah. TruVillain: Again if it was if it was Bungie, I genuinely believe this game would be free Kainitsu: They're TruVillain: by now. Kainitsu: Yeah, they're they're they're thinking it's still like you know, two thousand sixteen and it's like, you know, fucking Overwatch time where you spent forty dollars for that game and then you spent money on your loot boxes and shit and everyone's like, it's Michael Transmax, it was not that bad. TruVillain: Well to be to be fair, I mean, they did it with Helldivers and but but Kainitsu: No, they did. TruVillain: but but like Helldivers is exceptional. Like it's a it's a unique Kainitsu: Right. It's a good game for first and foremost, you know. TruVillain: Yeah, it's a unique which I mean I would argue Marathon is too. But like Helldivers, like it's it's unique it it and it had a better marketing side. Like it just Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the whole it didn't have all the controversy. It also is kind of in a genre of its own, really. I mean Kainitsu: Ahead. Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: it Marathon was directly competing with Arc Raiders, a already beloved game. I mean it Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. And Tarkov. TruVillain: just it should have been it should have launched free to play. Kainitsu: Yeah, it it should have. It should not have like a forty dollar price tag on there. But but then yeah. TruVillain: And I think that and I think honestly people have moved on. Like I I think if they made it free again, which it'll probably go into PS plus first. It'll Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: be that. They'll probably do that and be like, Well, we're not giving it to you for free. It's still premium, but it's potty a subscription. It's pot of Kainitsu: Still gotta give us ten dollars. Come on now. TruVillain: the subscription now. And you know and then then their last ditch effort will be it's free to play. It'll come with some Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: big update and they'll you know, we'll see what it do. Kainitsu: Yeah, who knows? I mean, again, this wasn't necessarily supposed to be like Bungie's next big thing. It was supposed to be a smaller project to kind of have on on you know on the back end while doing this other thing, but then they add two other projects that just they just just got canceled, they just went to the wayside, they're just not existing anymore. so mm-hmm. TruVillain: Yeah, I wasn't I'm not too familiar with the other projects 'cause I know they were moving off Destiny for this and so I kinda got Kainitsu: Yes. TruVillain: the idea that this was the next big thing, but if they had something else that was cancelled, that kinda changes it, I guess. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah, that that was part of the story for yeah, and so it wasn't even supposed to be this thing. It could have chance there could have possibly it could have been you know a free to play to to begin with, but then you know, they didn't get you know, those other two games failed to wayside, like I So they're like, well, we can at try to get some money back for you spending some of our time and money to be developed something. We need to recoup the three billion dollars we spent on. So it yeah, that's a lot for any company, man. Like TruVillain: Three billion for a bungee is fucking insane. Listen, I'm yeah Kainitsu: and yeah, Bungie, like maybe Bungie when they're like peak, you know, after Halo, after Halo reached Bungie. And if they didn't make Destiny, like TruVillain: Microsoft paid seven for Bethesda. And Bethesda, mind you, came with id, Arcane, machine games and Xenimax Studios online. Yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah. Oz. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's basically yeah, yeah, basically everything underneath Cinemax, yeah. TruVillain: Seven billion and for almost half that they paid they just got just got bungee. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. And then they paid for the one. Just the one. And it's like not even like really good bungee, in my opinion. Like it's like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: it's modern bungee. You know? TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: So I I you I mean, you know what? I mean, it it's kinda nice this TruVillain: Well, you say that, but again, I love Marathon. Like I think Marathon's awesome. Like I think it's a great game. I think Destiny is fine. Kainitsu: It's okay for what it is, you know. TruVillain: Yeah, for what it is. I but yeah, Marathon's awesome. I just Kainitsu: It again, if it didn't have the controversy with the whole like art direction and stuff and like them basically stealing art from an old independent artist, which is just fucking crazy. Like even like even even it even TruVillain: That was wild. Especially Kainitsu: Nintendo's been caught and guilty of that shit. It's like, come on, guys, you're like you get paid. You have all this money for artists and stuff. Just make shit, dude. Like what or if you're going to give hey, say, hey, this TruVillain: Especially when you Kainitsu: person, can we do this? We'll give you some royalties or something, because it's pretty cool. Like, d do that would have been different. It'd been like, hey, we found this cool stuff. I went and reached out to the person and we gave this person like a X amount of money for it or giving them royalties of how well this does, that would be a really cool story. But no, they just straight up stole it. TruVillain: Yeah. I mean, especially when you are coming from Destiny, which has some Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: of the best art direction that I've ever seen in a game. Like that's one thing I'll say about Destiny, dude. Destiny looks it's fantastic. Like it looks Kainitsu: It it's pretty good. Like, you know, it it TruVillain: so good. And you the you you're plagiarizing after Destiny? Like did you fire the guy who did all of that? Like like Kainitsu: Well right. Maybe, probably. TruVillain: there are moments in Destiny where you just stop and you're just like, Ooh. Mm Kainitsu: Okay, okay. I haven't gotten that far to to to have that experience, so Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: This is beautiful. Yeah, yeah, no, see yeah, no. When you're not when you're first starting out, but when you do some of those dude, I'm telling you, there's some art in there where you're just like, Whoa. Like you're just like, this is so good. You know, and the music is fantastic. Like, from an artistic direction direction, Destiny 2 is one of like I mean, it's in it's in a class of its own in some ways, right? That's using their own engine, so you Kainitsu: Okay, okay. That's a that's a s that's a very strong opinion. TruVillain: Yeah, you you you avoid a lot of the, you know, Unreal Engine five stuff. 'Cause you know, it's their little I don't know what engine. Yeah. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Their own engine, yeah. TruVillain: I don't know what it's called, but they're using it. and it looks phenomenal. It looks really good. Now, Kainitsu: Hell yeah. TruVillain: again, it's not realistic, but artistically speaking, it's yeah, it's Kainitsu: It's stylized, which is good. TruVillain: again, you just stop s 'cause they do a really good job of of this thing is small and this thing is massive and you feel that, you know. Kainitsu: scaling. Yeah. TruVillain: Yeah. And so you walk you like you walk in and this massive fucking planet sized ship fucking flies over your head and stops and you're Kainitsu: Hell yeah. TruVillain: like, What the fuck? Yeah, it's it's really good. And so for them to go from that to plagiarizing fucking logos like Kainitsu: And textures and stuff. TruVillain: Yeah, it's it's kinda fucking wild. And I mean and they said it was like Kainitsu: Yeah, that's pretty insane. TruVillain: placeholder stuff, but bro, it was in the game. It was in the fucking game. Yeah. Kainitsu: It was in the it was in the files, like TruVillain: Come on now. Like even if even if I grant you that, it's unfucking acceptable. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Right? Like, as someone who is written a novel, if someone used my novel somehow as a placeholder text in a like a I don't know, in a fucking journal entry or something and it just released dude, I'd be fucking pissed. I'd go I we I would be outside of Bungie's front door, like with rocks. Like well it well Kainitsu: What are you doing with my stuff, Mother? TruVillain: Well, it would be like, well, it was just placeholder. It's like, why in the fuck? Yeah, why Kainitsu: But that's my work out there, dude. TruVillain: in the fuck do you have pieces of my work Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: in your game as even as a placeholder? Keep Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: my shit out of your shit. Like, what the fuck? You know, like you know what I mean? It's like Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: we have AI now for that shit, if you wanna use placeholder fucking art. Kainitsu: True. Yeah. TruVillain: don't use my stuff. And Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: that that whole thing was just Kainitsu: Yeah, it it soured people on it a lot. And then again, like the the announcement didn't look too great. Like again, TruVillain: Yeah. And it should have. Quite frankly. Kainitsu: the cinematic trailer they did to like kind of introduce you to the world about Marathon and everything, because again, it's like an old ass game that nobody fucking remembers except a handful of people who were like my age. yeah, cause TruVillain: Yep. The same people that remember that robot movie you were talking about earlier. Kainitsu: right? I'm so old here. but TruVillain: Ha ha ha. Kainitsu: but Yeah, no, so like it was so funny, like how our experiences with a friend of mine, seeing their what they saw first for Marathon. I saw the gameplay first. And I was like, Man, what is this Fortnite shit? And then my friend of mine TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: watched the cinematic trailer first. And he was like, dude, this looks fucking awesome. What are you talking about? What Fortnite, dude, this has a really cool style to it. And I was like, TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: wait a minute, hold on. And I asked him, I like, okay. So I went and saw that. And after the fact, I was like, shit. Okay, yeah, this is really cool. Very heavily stylized. It's very mysterious. There's like this kind of like looper thing going on, you know, in their like synthetic bodies and they're like TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: try to like try and get some assemblance of who they were again for memory loss and all that from like being basically reincarnated so many times of being pretty much a basically clone or like a a like an android or something. that's pretty cool. yeah, so if If that happened and it didn't see like this weird Fortnite shit can kind of comparison, because the gameplay didn't do very good justified or did very good justice when it was first announced. And then they did the whole thing with, you know, stealing art and it wasn't like just once, it was like a couple of times. So yeah, TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: people just like, I don't want to support this. and I don't blame them, you know. TruVillain: Yeah. And let me yeah, let me be perfectly clear, like while I'm sad that the game is dying, I'm not on the train of people who are like, It doesn't deserve this, you know? Like how dare you not support this? Like I I get why it's dying and and Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: it probably deserves it. But that doesn't mean it's not g yeah, it doesn't Kainitsu: A little bit. Yeah. Well TruVillain: mean I don't love the fuck out of it and think it's a great game, but it's just mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: And I played it with you a a little bit, like like an hour or two, and I was like, Okay, you I could see see why you're liking this and then I actually was enjoying it a bit more than Arc Raiders, because Arc Raiders the progression in that's like it's very slow and grueling. TruVillain: Yeah, Rc Raiders I played way too much Arc Raiders for a while and I got everything that you could get and was like, Alright, I'm done. I'm Kainitsu: Gotcha, okay. TruVillain: not going But Arc Raiders is a much more like it is see, Marathon's harder in some ways. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: But like Arc Raiders is is more grueling because you have the blueprint side of things and the crafting Kainitsu: Hm. Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: side of things. And so you stand to lose a lot more in Arc Raiders than you do Marathon. Marathon when you Kainitsu: Whenever you die. Yeah. TruVillain: wipe, you're like, I lost that gun. I can probably get it back, you know, Kainitsu: Right, right. TruVillain: really quick. Arc Raiders, it's like fuck, I lost that fucking mythic blueprint, holy shit, and it's a Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: fucking one percent drop from a boss and and you're spending all night that you grinding for it and it's yeah, Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: it's It's whereas marathons Kainitsu: Ooh, yeah. TruVillain: it's more it's more of an arena shooter that they kinda turned into like ik an extraction. Yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: An extraction shooter. Gotcha. Okay. That's fair. That's a fair comparison, I guess, because you can like the whenever you're not around people in in Marathon, yeah, it's very, very reassurey, you know. again, TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: the AI is actually pretty good and decent. the TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: factions were kinda cool. I only got to go th do the one and it's very far in it. Again, I just played played a little bit of it. They're they're really good, actually. Like it it's TruVillain: The faction intro videos were awesome. Yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: it's very s very cyberpunky. TruVillain: Mm, they were very and very ar very artsy, you know, very like Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: like indie movie artsy, you know, they're very s very good. Kainitsu: Mm. It ha has a l has a lot of eighties vibes to it. And speaking of those TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: eighties vibes, my God, that UI is ugly as sin. TruVillain: Dude, yeah, the UI is bad. It's they were and they and they are so Yeah. Kainitsu: It looks so bad. It's like DOS, and DOS never looks good. TruVillain: Then they're so arrogant about it too. Like, Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the the secret sauce is like, dude, that that's a terrible. Like I don't I do not Yeah. Kainitsu: It's what makes the good this makes the game good, right? This is what we're showing the with the style and what we're going for. TruVillain: Everyone I've told about that game, like, especially when the free weekend was happening, I'm like, bro, get on, but just so you know. Alright. Just so you know. It's gonna look like someone fucking vomited on your screen. All right. Y once you get past it, the game's great, but this is terrible. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: It's wretched. It's eye searingly bad. And they never they never really changed it. They did some stuff for the icons and stuff, but it wasn't enough. I don't Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: know what they've done. I mean, I didn't play any of season two yet. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Or I say yet, I'm not going to. I I've I've buried it in my heart. I've I've Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: said goodbye forever. We're done. Unless there's like a massive like kinda like Destiny now, 'cause there's like a hundred thousand players on Destiny right now. Like yeah, unless there's this massive resurgence Kainitsu: Right. That's like not supported anymore. TruVillain: where it's like, shit, maybe it's time to go place a marathon. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: I think I'm done with it, so yeah, I don't Kainitsu: Yeah, I don't blame you, sir. and TruVillain: know. They may have fixed the the the UI, I d I don't Kainitsu: The UA by now, who knows? TruVillain: know, but yeah. I doubt it. 'Cause they they were real they're real proud of it for some god awful reason. Kainitsu: They were. Again, I I get where they were going for, 'cause again, it's they kinda had like this whole they want to like for this whole like, you know, retro eighties fill for it and everything, 'cause again, technically, TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: like by the story terms, like they did like Leaverth in the eighties or what whatever. but yeah, I do too. But it was TruVillain: Yeah, and I typically love shit like that, but not when it's so fucking ugly. Kainitsu: so flat and in your face, like it's like TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: and the color scheme is bad. Like if the pal the colour palette was better, it might not be as as awful, but like It's just like, we got this b this bright blue and neon green, isn't that awesome? No. I thought that was cool when I was thirteen, but no. TruVillain: It's not even just the colors, it's it's how it's presented, but I don't know. I could could rant about marathon all fucking night, and so we Kainitsu: Yeah, true. Yeah, yeah. This is a marathon podcast now. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah. Anyway, on to some some other dour news. the split gate dev has layoffs weeks after their new game launches. what was their name? Ten forty seven? Isn't that their ten forty seven? Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah, Ten Forty City games. and the game they recently came out. Yeah. TruVillain: Yeah, their new game is called Impulse with a E. Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: First off, terrible fucking name. and I I Kainitsu: Yep. Not great. TruVillain: have thoughts on this that may be maybe unpopular, I'm not sure, so I'm gonna let Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you go on your thoughts on this before I just pop the fuck off about it. But 'cause I've done a lot of thinking about this this studio and their games and yeah. Kainitsu: you're good man. I I Okay. Yeah. So I haven't really kept up with them like once I mean Splick A2. Yeah, Split K2 broke my heart. It broke my heart, man. TruVillain: 'Cause I know you love split gate, right? Yeah, you love some split gate. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: after the thing the guy wanted to do that, okay, so he I feel like it's a little unfair of what he did with the whole like make FPS games great again thing. Like, okay, so it's stupid, TruVillain: That's so fucking stupid. Kainitsu: all right? I get it, and it's it's topical and it's like kind of political. And I can see why people wouldn't like it because of the reference it's making, but it's just making something silly. And it might like kind of a mocking thing if we look deep into it enough. But it wasn't that bad of a thing to like like he's not like out there like spewing out, you know, the the ideals of that movement, you know. so it was just a joke. But the other stuff he did say like on on, you know, on on stage about Current FPS games and like, well, we're gonna be so much better than them because we're like old school games. These new games just fucking suck and blah blah blah blah blah. It's like, man, don't be like like throwing shade the whole time, you know? Like this is in the fucking like nineties. You know, with like game TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: game advertisements and stuff and like you know, fighting for that space and like do them like just growing growing up in the nineties was a wild time as a child for advertising and everything TruVillain: He's Kainitsu: and like god, my fragile little mind. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: but I it I mean people my age just hate hate ads and it's because of the 90s and in the in the in the TruVillain: Ha ha. Kainitsu: 2000s. I I I guarantee you. They they did have some good ads, but but the but TruVillain: I think those were the best ads. Like th those old fucking PlayStation ads, like Kainitsu: they were so it was just it was we were advertised so heavily and it was non stopping you in the life. Like every time you turn around in the corner, it's like, hey, here's this thing. TruVillain: Now it's just pharmaceutical ads. It's just Kainitsu: Yeah. I mean that's how you get the money these days. You don't make you don't make commercials anymore for TV 'cause you just put that online. TruVillain: Anyway. Kainitsu: But yeah, I lost my train of thought there. so yeah anyway, so yeah, I didn't ha I haven't looked up about anything about impulse or anything. I understand they actually went with a paid game this time around. Like one of those like it's actually a pretty you know Yeah, TruVillain: That's like twenty bucks. Kainitsu: it was it's it was a good entry level game for for twenty dollars just to play, but I don't know much of what they were going for. It's like a third person shooter this time around, is that right? Still first person? Okay. TruVillain: No, I think it's still first person. But yeah, it's it's supposed to be it the it's split gate was on like the Halo, oops. On the on the Halo hype, this was Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: this was the Titanfall hype, you know, like it was supposed to be the nostalgia for that. Yeah, 'cause they have like Titans Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: and and little robots. I think they work a little differently. Let's see, let me look this up on here. Kainitsu: Hm. Okay. TruVillain: Impulse. Kainitsu: Yeah, like I said, man, I I after TruVillain: Let me r let me read you the description. Is a fast paced six V six movement shooter. Wall run, grapple, hollow jump, pilot mechs, and paint your way through freeholds, vertical streets. Outmove Kainitsu: Paint. TruVillain: your opponent to get outgunned. And paint is a Kainitsu: It's a fucking splatoon fucking painting? TruVillain: No, it's like a it's like a anagram. It's like P A I N T yeah. Kainitsu: okay. Okay, so like kinda like 'cause 'cause kinda like sprays in Overwatch or like Counter Strike. TruVillain: Yeah. Well, I don't know. I think it's like a system. I think it's like a sis I d it's presented I don't know. But it doesn't matter. Yeah. Kainitsu: It doesn't really matter, it's fucking dying. TruVillain: Yeah. Let me look at the while you're finishing your thoughts. Let me look at the player count currently. Kainitsu: but yeah, but yeah, like after after after all of that and again he didn't do himself any favors trying to s you know, promote Splitgate 2 with the last thing I talked about on stage and just basically being a hater. Nobody wants that. Just talk about your game and how cool it is and like what you did. and after it was just like, Okay, this is not gonna get any better. The player accounts just it's just it's just dropping off so fast. I'm just playing against the tryhards now and it's kinda not fun anymore. So yeah. TruVillain: Do you wanna do you wanna take a guess how many players this game has? Like just a little guess? Kainitsu: God, TruVillain: Current and peak. Take a guess at peak and current. Kainitsu: Peak nineteen hundred, current four hundred. TruVillain: Okay, you were a little unoptimistic. It was twenty eight hundred or twenty eight Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: sixty and and right now is eight fifty two. Which is still pretty bad, but I mean not as bad as you were. Kainitsu: Mmm Yeah. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: It's still pretty bad. Like that max peak, man, that's not good TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: for something you want to try to get to have people pay for. TruVillain: No. Yeah. Kainitsu: That's wasn't there like a free weekend to afford or something? TruVillain: no idea. I haven't really been following it too much. I just saw the the headline this week and I Kainitsu: I have neither. Again, like TruVillain: I know this is a a dev and and that you you follow so I was like let me throw it on the let me throw it on this news for car Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. I I've Yeah, I I haven't really followed him for a minute. And then then on top of that, like, so they did try to like reboot Splitgate two to be like, it's arena reloaded be it's like split gate one now. And it's like, dude, what you were doing was good, just just you all you had to do is just like, you know, improve on that, but now you just They went backwards a lot for me, unfortunately. So I'm I I hate to hear it about this studio because they did a really cool thing with split gate one and I like the idea of it being like portal with Halo and it felt like a Halo game with portal. It definitely did. That was a really good combination of like how you played and stuff. And it like awesome, just you know, like sitting at portals for yourself and like putting a portal someone someone behind you and just like shooting through it and they don't know what's going on and you're just like having a good time. And it yeah, man, like Splitgate Two was a good experience for when it was a thing. I'm sad for it to go. I'm sad that impulse isn't doing well for them. I don't know why they decided to go to direction to make like a Titanfall knockoff. I guess 'cause like there there hasn't been anything from that franchise or IP for a while. But I mean, in all honesty, man, people will still play Titanfall two online on the PC. So TruVillain: Well, so I have my theories. 'Cause again I I've thought about this 'cause we've talked about Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Split Gate and I think it speaks to like other companies that try to do like the nostalgia chasing thing. i i they just don't understand like why the thing they don't understand why the things that they're like ripping off of were popular and like had the staying power. Right? Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: When you look at split gate Or even this game, Impulse. Like number one, like terrible, terrible names. I mean split gate's okay. Impulse is terrible, right? Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: But but then when you look a layer below that, it looks just so painfully generic. Like everything about the Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: game is super generic, right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Let's take split gate to Halo, right? Halo has a campaign, it has a world, it has a lore. When you're Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: playing those Halo maps in multiplayer. Most of the time you're like you're recognizing things from the campaign. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: You know, you're you're s like we're on that fucking covenant ship that was in that one you know, there there's a lore behind it. Titanfall Kainitsu: Right. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: two, the game they're currently ripping off of. Again, has a campaign, it has a world, it has a lore. Even if it didn't have a campaign, if you strip the campaign away, those maps, those characters, the guns, they all have like a story. They have something that people can kind of grapple onto, right? Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: even Fortnite has that, right? Fortnite has like a lore in the you you're you're running on those maps, like Kainitsu: Technically it does, yeah. TruVillain: yeah, season to season, like there's a lore that that people get they get attached to it, right? They have Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: a and they also these games also have a unique art style. You show me a frame from any one of these games, I can tell you, that's Halo. I can tell you which Halo it is. that's Titanfall. Right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: That's even Call of Duty. has this. Call of Duty tried to eliminate their campaign in a black ops game, right? Like and people fucking that game did terribly. You wouldn't think it would. Most people don't play the campaign, but they they like no Kainitsu: people hated it. Mm-hmm. A lot of people do actually. TruVillain: they like knowing it's there because it it just ties the world together, right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Splitgate has none of that. Like I when I was playing Splitgate 2, like it was the most generic feeling, you know, it's supposed to be like, it's a futuristic sports thing, but they didn't even lean Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: into that. Kainitsu: not very well. TruVillain: If you're doing sports, have teams. Have like Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: like a a whole like little storyline between like all right, you know, and you could do that for your seasons where you like four teams and you pick a team you wanna be on and Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you're fighting and there's like leaderboards and there's event like you gotta give people something to grapple on to and hold on to and 'cause otherwise it's just like generic Walmart shooter game. When I again I'm a sucker for fucking skins, bro, but like when I was playing Splitgate, I like, I don't even want to buy a skin for this. I like this this is so just Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: it it doesn't inspire anything inside of me. Like it felt really good to play, but you need more than that, right? Like you you can't just make something that feels good to play. It also has to you know and and then you look at Marathon, which has everything I just described, and it's still failing, you know? Kainitsu: Mm, mm. TruVillain: And so when you don't even have that part of it, I mean you're gonna be sitting here at eight hundred players on your brand new game like Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: you are now. Kainitsu: Yeah. And I mean, you're not having a good track record either with, you know, your last attempt at the game previous game, which was Split Gate 2, which you did a beta test and you're like, that it's good enough. Here it is. It's the actual release now. And then TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: you're like, well, we need to reboot it because it wasn't good before because everybody wanted the first game and now it's the first game again it nobody went back to play it. TruVillain: Yeah. Well and and I don't even think that like anything that you said like before even really matters. 'Cause I look at like Randy Pitchford and Borderlands, right? Like Borderlands Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: is one of the best selling games of all time every time it comes out. And Randy Pitchford says and does some of the stupidest shit. He even calls consumers fucking idiots, you know. But Kainitsu: Ooh, yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Borderlands still sells. Why? Because of all the things I just described, right? It has it has Kainitsu: Right, right. TruVillain: like that it, you know, and And ten forty seven, I mean oops, their heart's in the right place, I think, but th they don't understand. Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: Like they don't whoever's leading that studio, they don't understand why people love the things that they love. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: Right? You you have to have some kind of connection to the world and they don't give you worlds. I haven't played Impulse. Maybe Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: they do a better job, but looking at these screenshots, it looks just like Split Gate, but with some Titanfall flair to it, right? Like Kainitsu: Yeah, I haven't seen anything about it. And I mean, yeah, and no, I do agree with you as well with like Splitgate 2, like it just has like, man, a lot of the character and like designs and stuff, like it just has like generic graphics for our monitor vibes to it, dude. It's like, I wanna see how cool our monitors look. Look at this this totally generic thingy, it's not a real game, but it looks cool, right? Like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: they all look the same on all those fucking on all those fucking box arts and stuff, dude. TruVillain: Yeah, it just it just looks like shooter the game. It kinda looks like Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: I mean, even Impulse I mean it just it looks like the test game you make while you're Kainitsu: Yeah TruVillain: working on like the actual assets, you know, like the proof of concept game. Kainitsu: Right, right. So there were there was one battle pass that they like early on and and I actually did it and unlocked everything and and the the skin from that was actually pretty cool. but that was like the only one and there are other ones you could buy in packs, but they just they're asking too much for And it's like, I don't really want these, especially at that price, you know? TruVillain: Yeah, you just you have to give pe and it's not just how it looks, again, you have to Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: give people something they can grab onto, like in the lore Kainitsu: Right, right. TruVillain: in the world. You don't have to have a campaign, but Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you gotta do a damn good because Overwatch doesn't have a campaign, right? But like that that game is steeped in lore. Like Kainitsu: No, it was supposed to with two, but Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the characters, like you get really invested in the characters, like, Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: you know, i y it feels like you're in a world of of things happening and stuff. And that game does very well. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: Very fucking well. And it's just now, there are exceptions, mostly in like the mobile w space, you know, like these like fucking soulless ass fucking you know, fucking games that just suck money from you that people play. But for the most Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: part when you look at all the top games, right, like top shooters and and things of that nature, and and especially the th again, the things that they're trying to pull from. Like guys, we're we're bringing that back. No the fuck you're not. And stop like having the arrogance to think that you are, right? Like yes, these games shoot very well. Like play when I played Splitgate, it's like yeah, this is a great feeling game. Th when I pull the trigger, it feels good to go bam in the head. You know? Like when I aim down sights, it feels good. Does it feel bungee halo good? No. But it feels it feels good enough, right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the grenade throw, a little off, but it felt good, but it's not enough. That's that's Kainitsu: Mm mm. No. TruVillain: that's the baseline, right? Your your game baseline has to feel Call of Duty feels good to shoot in. Am I gonna play that shit? Probably not. But like the the baseline has to be feel good. Right? You need you need that extra, especially in today's like competitive ass Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: market for, you know Kainitsu: Contingent grabs and wants you everyone wants to be forever games and all of that. Especially like, you TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: know, yeah. TruVillain: Yeah. You gotta you gotta be compelling beyond like, guys, it's an arena shooter. Let's go. Kainitsu: Don't you remember those? Those were good, but then it's like Doom did it, but yeah, but Doom also has like again steeped in lore and has rich history. And then like these people took like the old Doom formula and brought it to a modern day, but still made it feel fresh and new in some ways and it was fun. and they made it TruVillain: Well, and their multiplayer failed tragically as well, you know, like Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: ev even having all that, you're not guaranteed success. Right? Like Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Yeah, I don't think the multiplayer was really popular in either twenty sixteen Doom or Eternal. I don't know shit about Dark Ages. I fell off that game release. TruVillain: I don't think dark I think they completely got rid of it for Dark Ages. Kainitsu: Yeah, it doesn't surprise me 'cause like, man, that mm that's a that's a d TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: a discussion for some other time. Anyway. TruVillain: Yeah. Well and it's it's the same it's the same thing but behind like these companies that wanna make like the next esports game and they go into Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Yeah. TruVillain: it with that they go into it from this is gonna be an esports game, not this Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: is gonna be a good game that people are gonna wanna play professionally. You just don't Yeah. Yeah, Kainitsu: And then people like it competitively enough to be an esports game. TruVillain: you just you just don't understand the things and and Kainitsu: Mm-mm. TruVillain: I hope that, you know, I mean it's kinda crazy they've had this many like swings at the at the ball here, but Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: Maybe they'll maybe on the the fourth swing they'll they'll get that, hopefully, because Yeah. Yeah, ten forty seven, if you're Yeah, I Kainitsu: Well, maybe they'll hear this podcast and hear the words of villain. All the mighty wisdom of villain. And TruVillain: know listen, I know I came off an asshole, but sometimes tough love is Kainitsu: But I want you to do good. TruVillain: yeah, you know, sometimes sometimes sometimes daddy's gotta gotta sit ya down. Gotta Kainitsu: Gotta have you had that tough love. TruVillain: yeah, gotta gotta sit ya down and and let you know some life lessons. Kainitsu: But yeah, no, I'm I'm sad to hear about the studio because I didn't really like what they were doing early on. As of now, I don't know as much if I like it or not. Again, I did not even know they were working on a game that you had to pay for. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: I hope that they're able to do something later on that actually is successful for them to be continue to be a studio, but it sounds like they're on the last leg, which it's always sad to hear. TruVillain: Yeah, I mean you don't g you usually don't even get one. They they've got three, you know? They got three shots at it and Yeah. You just gotta figure it out, man. Like there Kainitsu: They got three. Get three. And it's usually three year out. Somehow here they're still still a thing. Yeah. TruVillain: was there was a magic in every single time you heard stand by for Titanfall, you know, and then the fucking slams into the ground and you're just like, Ugh you know. It's Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Right, right. TruVillain: it was it was just fucking beautiful every time. Kainitsu: Right. Well you can like you said you have that you can you have that lore behind it, like even even with with Helldivers 2, it doesn't have a campaign, but it's like steeped in this like nostalgic TruVillain: Mm-hmm. No. Yeah. Kainitsu: and like funny for democracy, you know, like Starship Trooper shit, you know? and it's done so well that TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, and you have all the Yeah. Kainitsu: way. TruVillain: Mm and you have all the you know, the little dialogue in the background and you know, happening all it's it's yeah. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. For democracy! TruVillain: And it's like with Splitgate it like we're gonna do it's a futuristic sport, but they didn't they didn't do anything with teams, they didn't do anything with seasons. Instead they were like, Kainitsu: Mm mm. Yeah. TruVillain: here's a battle royale It's like what? Kainitsu: Right? Yeah, cool. Nobody was asking for that, man. Nobody wants these anymore. TruVillain: Yeah, it's like, bro, just it's sad to see. 'Cause again the heart's Kainitsu: Yeah, they're just it just yeah. TruVillain: in the right place. Like I said, if by some small impossible chance a developer from that studio's listening to this, you know, I don't mean to be mean, but like Your heart's in the right place and I respect it, but you just gotta you gotta understand the essence of Kainitsu: Can I find a thing? TruVillain: what people love about these things. It's like when not we're getting this started, episode two. It's like when Larian sat down and made Baldur's Gate 3. They you when you play that game, you know that they just understood the essence. I don't know why I'm making a choking with my hands. I don't know why I've been doing this, but they understand the essence. Kainitsu: Don't listen to me Still get TruVillain: Of what made Baldur's Kainitsu: it. TruVillain: Gate one and two just fucking magical for Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: people, like you know, and and you just you gotta understand it and they just don't seem to, so that's all I have to say on the matter. I'll let you finish this one off, but Kainitsu: Yeah, then that's yeah. And and and here's the thing, even that it can even go to be said not just for like, you know, these companies just trying to do like, I'm gonna chase nostalgia vibes and make you feel good about that. 'Cause again, it depends. So like again, I I'm I'm a sucker for a lot of like like the old retro looking new modern ending games. 'Cause I TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: I mean I grew up with a time in that era where that was the norm for a lot of video games, especially the three D era when everything was like new and they're trying to figure it out. but Those things again, yeah, they have they have like a good style, they have weight behind them, they have a good nice world and environments, you know, got atmosphere, all of that. So yeah, and they're tapping into that nostalgia feeling for well, people like me, but it's new enough to where it's like, Okay, this is really interesting on its own. It's not just like, Hey, look at this old thing that was like an old video game, you know? TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: and yeah, I I hate it that they're just kinda trade I mean, just Chasing trends that's never good for anything. And that's that can be said the same for like again, e again, huge publishers and developers do the exact same thing. And you're like, I want we want the X Fortnite, blah blah blah. We want the big money makers thing. Like them chasing those kind of trends doesn't work. But even when if they do like their own remasters or remakes, you know. Square. Anyway, TruVillain: Jesus Christ. For you audio listeners, he looked deep into the eyes of the camera when he said that. Kainitsu: yeah, like even even if if the people who are doing the remake themselves and underst are supposed TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: to understand what made their original vision and game good and magical for the people that that loved it for the first time around and to pay money for like a new modern version of it. even they pick it up sometimes, man. Like it just that's a hard thing to tap into. But when you do it right and if they can do it right, it works really well because then you get this nostalgia factor, then you get like, you know, it's a it's a cascade other things, you know, like you know, younger generations didn't know about this other thing that was just before it, but they saw this new thing that's really awesome. So they go back and try the old thing, you know? It's like it opens the doors for people for going back and trying old games, whenever a remaster remake is done that well, in my opinion. So, like, yeah, like if it's nailed right, like Capcom. I know I bring up Capcom a couple of times and you're probably gonna hear me sing praises of Capcom. I know you're not a big Capcom fam, but again, with Resident Evil 2 remake, not so much three. But in the Resident Evil 4 remake, those are really done well. with their you know the Resident Evil engine and everything and all of that. They again it still feels like those games, but especially high when they're doing bringing it to making into like a more modern Resident Evil game. yeah, it all felt good. They understood the project, they know what they wanted to get to, they knew the audience that they wanted to bring back and to make it to where new people would come into it. possibly, you know. So yeah. If you do stuff like that, well, does really good. But man, yeah, if you're just trying to get TruVillain: It is. Kainitsu: that nest nostalgic and pull those heart strings, man, it's not gonna work. Not that that that alone. TruVillain: It is absolutely crazy that you ended that rant right there. Because it's almost like we fucking planned this out because our next Kainitsu: Ha ha. TruVillain: topic is the Halo Campaign Evolved remake. Yeah. Yep, the the reception to it. so it's almost like we planned this out and Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you know, we didn't. so anyway, it is kinda in people's hands, for the early access if you bought Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: the seventy dollar yeah, seventy dollar version of this game. You got a few skins with it and you got the early access and it seems like it's mostly a positive mostly a positive experience for a lot of people. It's doing pretty well. Let me look at the mm yeah. Kainitsu: we'll have to look at some things. So starting out, and I was really surprised to actually see these numbers for a you know, paying for early access for a game, especially, you know, fucking Halo One remake. but the other day TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: early on in the week, whenever it actually went launched and was available for people who paid seventy dollars to get ac early access, it was fifteen thousand players at that time. this was like TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: Wanna say late on a Wednesday evening or something like that. so I was surprised about that. we went and checked it as well, the other night and it w actually went up for the peak to nineteen thousand. And you're still having around that fifteen thousand player TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: count early access. But those reviews on Steam are mixed. but it's mostly due to performance issues is why it's down so low. But now Yeah, it's mostly positive now. TruVillain: Hmm. Yeah, it's hold on. Say something again real quick. You cut out. I don't know if it's Kainitsu: hello. TruVillain: Okay. Okay, I think we're good. Okay. I there's something it kind of was a little static y there and then it cut down. Kainitsu: no. TruVillain: Yeah, it yeah, I'm it's fine now. I'm looking at the Metacritic as we speak. There's quite a disparage Kainitsu: Okay. Mm-hmm. Really? TruVillain: disparity, I bet here. Yeah. The Xbox Metacritic is eighty-four, the PS5 is eighty-two, the PC is seventy-seven. Kainitsu: But that's probably because of performance problems though for the PC. what? Really? That's not user? TruVillain: Yeah, and those are those are those are critics reviews. Let's see, I'm I'm a I'm a look here. I didn't look at this before. I was kind of under s Kainitsu: shit. TruVillain: no, yeah, that's all critics. Let's see, look at some of the low ones. Yeah, seventy Kainitsu: That's that's that's crazy to hear 'cause usually they're not that harsh, man, 'cause they like to get that access. TruVillain: if you haven't yeah, it says if you haven't played Halo before, Halo is a pretty decent place to start. A faithful, comprehensive remake. I'm not saying anything like bad. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Okay, here's a sixty. overall Halo campaign evolved is absolutely fine. It is largely inoffensive. It just feels like something of a missed opportunity. So Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: it feels like even on the low end the the the opinion is that's it's Halo One, you know. That's it is what it is. Which I Kainitsu: It's fine. TruVillain: mean I I think it's yeah, I think that's what it was advertised Kainitsu: It's serviceable. TruVillain: as, right? Like if you Yeah. And so I mean it seems to be doing well. It seems it's sitting about where I thought it would. Where it's Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: not like, you know, it's like whoa, it's getting a ninety on Metacritic 'cause it'cause 'cause it's it is dated to a to a certain extent, I'm sure. I haven't Kainitsu: Right, right. Hmm. Right. TruVillain: played it. I I w you know. Kainitsu: I haven't either, but I mean, there are some modern you know, FPS mechanics too, obviously, so TruVillain: Mm. I will say, like, with me being in this like you know, like I said earlier, this kinda not having anything to play, so I might just play strategy games, I'll probably get Game Pass on Tuesday and play start give this a shot, yeah. Kainitsu: Check it out. Ooh. Hmm? TruVillain: I mean that's just seems like to be the way, you know, just kinda see see what's up with it. Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: but it it seems to be doing mostly well. a l again like you were saying Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: I think on Steam a lot of the negative reviews they Microsoft is so fucking stupid, man. Like they th it wasn't launching, the early access wasn't launching for a lot of people and Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: they were like locked out of it and it's just like, what are you doing, man? Like how do you not have Kainitsu: jeez, okay. Yeah, like after TruVillain: this figured out? Kainitsu: Well, I mean it makes sense from what you heard about the studio. So it's not too surprising, I guess. TruVillain: Yeah, I guess. Yeah, but I mean I feel like that's like back end stuff, right? Like I don't I mean I I have no idea, honestly, maybe the studio does have control over that. They they are so Kainitsu: St well still, you know. If if the if that studio is that that mismanaged, it doesn't surprise when they botched a PC fucking launch. I mean that's pretty common. TruVillain: they're so mismanaged the the the i back end engineer stuff in Microsoft HQ got fucked. I love it. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Yeah, no, but actually a I as of right now though, the early access numbers are starting to drop. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: it's ten thousand three hundred and three players right now with the early access. I'm pretty sure once it releases on Tuesday. Yeah, Tuesday the twenty eighth, those numbers are gonna go up when you know people didn't pay the extra money to play TruVillain: Yeah, I Kainitsu: early. TruVillain: I kinda feel like that's really good though, right? Because if you think Kainitsu: Yeah, I know. Yeah. TruVillain: about it, you do have early access on Game Pass, right? If you buy like Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: the little I think if you buy the little twenty dollar upgrade, you can still get it on Game Pass. So there's probably Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: an a good number of people playing it on Game Pass right now for the cheap. Kainitsu: Right. Gotcha, gotcha. TruVillain: and on top of it you know, I would actually probably say in a weird alternate universe kind of way, but it's this universe. The bulk of the players are probably on PlayStation. Like, you know what I mean? Like it's that's probably it's Kainitsu: Maybe, yeah, yeah. That doesn't TruVillain: yeah, I mean there's a big hype around it. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: so y at least on the console, I mean, in general, 'cause I mean it is a console game, like first and foremost. So I don't know, kinda feel like ten to fifteen K is pretty good for like a pre release, like seventy dollar version of the game. I I have seen people yeah, Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, surprisingly good numbers actually. TruVillain: I have seen people online clowning on the numbers, like, look, it's God of War got this and this and it's like dude, this this is yeah, this Kainitsu: Okay, cool. Let's go to war, bro. TruVillain: is pre release. It's on a subscription service as well. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: And so I mean I think it's doing pretty well on, you know, in Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. TruVillain: terms of players. sales, you know, sales kinda matter more, I would say, but yeah. Kainitsu: We won't know. Yeah, we won't know what just yet, you know. TruVillain: But yeah, I mean review wise, I mean it's sitting kind of in the mid eighties, I think, for most people. It's kinda what you expect as well. Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. And that's that's actually I guess, you know, like yeah, I've I watched some gameplay and a a bit of a review from someone I usually, you know, respect their their opinion on a lot of stuff because we basically grew up around the same time and we have a lot of same similar tastes in games. And yeah, I mean it it's Halo. It's it's Halo Campan evolved. It's kind of TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: camp combat evolved. It is just just some Halo. It is Halo. it also TruVillain: It's just that. Yeah. It's just some some meat and potatoes. Kainitsu: suffers for s yep, yep. so it suffers from some you know, Unreal Engine Five shit. Like it's you can tell it's an Unreal Engine ass game. in certain sectors, apparently. And in some places it doesn't look as bad, you know, 'cause they got some really cool lighting and stuff going on. also they, you know, because TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: of like how they actually stayed pretty true apparently to how the the levels were laid out and, you know, designed and everything from the original game. So that's kind of cool, but at the same time they're also just kinda empty. so there's actually a little TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: bit more stuff going on in the newer version. That's kinda cool. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: another thing that's kinda cool other than you can actually sprint like in a modern FPS. and of course you don't have the health bar system anymore. It's just like the re you know, just a recharge of your shield like, you know, they've been done forever. No. I may but might be an option for it when you play through like a setting for it, but what I at the TruVillain: thought they did add the health bar system in there, but I may have I thought I saw a review that said that. Yeah, it could be, Kainitsu: gameplay footage I saw is just a reloading just r you know regenerating shield basically TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: how it was in halo two onward. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: 'cause it and and by lower is the Mark IV suit. That's what was the difference. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: but yeah. Yeah, and another cool thing that they did apparently is they you know, brought in more weapons throughout the years of Halo, not just what was in the original Halo, you know, games from like two and three and f and and reach and four. Just 'cause like it's like the history of Halo of weapons, but they're not everything, but the ones that are there apparently feels like they're, you know, they're supposed to be there, which is cool. you get you get you get the energy sword in campaign our campaign evolved, which is kinda cool, I guess, but TruVillain: Okay, so there is a health bar system, but it does work differently. So Kainitsu: is there? Okay. TruVillain: it's basically a second shield. So it says here your health bar now regenerates automatically over time alongside your energy shields, though your health recharges much more slowly than your shields do, and the health packs are gone. Yeah, yeah, I don't like that. If you're gonna I don't know. Kainitsu: Mm. Okay, okay. So they kinda halfway did it. All right. It's still a regeneration system. Yeah. Might must do I mean, honestly, how it was like the very first campaign evolved or or combat evolved, dude, like that was kind of a hardcore, like old school shooting game, man. Like if you didn't like go kill yourself, you're you were gonna die pretty easily. Like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: you you had to like manage yourself and like know where to get the pickups and stuff, you know, like you gotta remember shit. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: but yeah, That's cool, I guess, about you know, the weapons and everything, awesome. but yeah, I mean it's it's Halo. And I apparently like the new three missions that they do, that's like I was thinking they were gonna make it kinda like part of the campaign, but they try to guess keep that pure and didn't add that into the campaign. So these are just side things for you to do if you want to. And apparently TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: like kinda like some prequel stuff too. I don't know. I don't really care. TruVillain: Yeah, it's like prequel. Yeah, three of them they take place before and they kinda like set up well, they set Kainitsu: Everything for the for the current game or for the original game. TruVillain: up like Johnson and and Chiefs kind of relationship. apparently Kainitsu: okay okay. TruVillain: they roll in like Halo Two stuff from in here, like characters Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: and stuff to kinda like set them up better for the second game or Kainitsu: Hm, okay. TruVillain: whatever. I would be way more excited and I've seen this opinion a few times. I'd be way more excited about this if it was Halo one through three. Like just in a single pack. You know what mean? Because Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. That would be that'd be pretty cool, like condense the story but like give it make it a very epic journey, you know? altogether. Okay, yeah. TruVillain: Well no, you just have the three games that you've done you've done this campaign evolve to. And I think they should have done that. Especially if you're not gonna do the multiplayer suite, you should have done three campaigns. Like these campaigns are ten hours long. You could have made a 30 hour game, right? Kainitsu: Yeah. That mm-hmm. TruVillain: especially seeing as you have nothing else to show for the last five years since Infinite came out. Infinite came out Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: in f five years ago. And I'm not doing that rant again from Kainitsu: Two thousand one or twenty one, yeah. TruVillain: last week, but you know, you could have you they could have done it. And they could Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: have packaged it. It could have been a $70 package. All three campaigns. Dude, I would have been fucking through the roof for this fucking shit. As it Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: stands, again, I'm probably gonna begrudgingly subscribe to Game Pass on Tuesday and and fuck around in it. Yeah, just to fuck Kainitsu: Just to try it out. Gotcha. TruVillain: around in it. I may see if one of my friends wants to co op it with me or something. And just do that. So you Kainitsu: Okay. Okay. Gotcha. I TruVillain: could be that friend. Kainitsu: I could. I'm really unsure, but if you wanna wanna do a for a talking point, sure. Let's burn some money. I mean I we'd be honest. TruVillain: I'm definitely gonna be eyeballing what else is on Game Pass while I'm subscribe. Kainitsu: You might as well. I mean, right? But I mean, to be honest, there's a chance we'll probably like enjoy it. Cause again, if it feels like Halo, I mean, it's fun. Like, and if that's good, that's TruVillain: I'm sure it's fine, yeah. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: cool. Apparently they didn't make it feel like Halo, which is what you want from a Halo game. But I don't know, man. Like I'm just just I'm just tired. I'm tired of I'm tired of being disappointed all the time from this shit, dude. Like, All these like legacy TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: IPs and stuff, like they're just there's they're just failing, dude. TruVillain: Hmm. Well again, if this was a more comprehensive package, if they had either done the full game with the multiplayer or Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: all three campaigns, no multiplayer. Like I think this would have been a much different package, to be honest with you. But Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. TruVillain: I mean it is what it is. Kainitsu: It's kinda hard to to to compete with Master Chief Collection, which is cheaper and actually has a multiplayer function for every single TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: game. TruVillain: Yeah. Well, see it's not an it's not an I wouldn't really say this is an underwhelming thing. It's just a very whelming product. You know what I mean? Like it's not is you're not excited about yeah, you're not excited, Kainitsu: Mm. It it's like it's just enough. Like I'm a little satiated. TruVillain: yeah. But you're not like disappointed either. You're like, yeah, I mean there it is. That's yeah. That there that Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. This could have been like a thirty dollar game. I don't I don't feel good about paying fifty. TruVillain: there's that there's halo. That that's that that's that halo. Kainitsu: That th there's been some Halo. I remember playing that. TruVillain: I played a lot when I was a a wee lad, a small child. you know. Kainitsu: made a lot of halo throughout my my teenage years. TruVillain: So Xbox is bringing backwards compatibility to the Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: the personal computer. Kainitsu: Which is a pretty wild and very unexpected at least announcement to me. I didn't know they had something like this in the works. TruVillain: I I didn't know they had it in the works, but I kind of assumed I think because if you're gonna if you're gonna move everyone to what is basically a PC, Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you know, from the console, it seems to be their plan. I don't know with Asha Sharma in these days, like how that's going, but the original plan was to kinda make the next Xbox basically a PC and kinda like Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah, yeah. TruVillain: nudge people, just kinda push in that direction. Kainitsu: They were gonna try to do the steam machine before Valve did it, but then Valve did it first. So TruVillain: Yeah, and if you're gonna do that, you kinda have to do something like this, Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: right? Where you have some kind of backwards compatibility, Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: which is what this is. It's not a port, it's not a remake, remaster, it is literally Kainitsu: Mm mm. TruVillain: just like this is just the game running, maybe with Kainitsu: it TruVillain: a few little upgrades. But you you we we foreshadowed Kainitsu: Ooh. TruVillain: that you'd be talking about, you playing one of these games. So go ahead. Kainitsu: Yeah. Yeah. So TruVillain: Tell us what it is. Kainitsu: first off with the four games I heard that were announced to be ported. Only one made sense and the other three were like, What? So first off, I bought Conquer Live and Reloaded. it was really funny not too long ago. I was I was like, you what, man, I wish I wish Conquer Live and Reloaded was on on like get ported to the PC or something and they would do some other cool things to kinda make it a little bit more of a better experience. Maybe give some, you know, quality of life improvements with some controls and stuff, and then, you know, maybe Take out a lot of the censorship they did for this game. Because what's really weird, so if no one has under or has ever heard of Conquer's Bad Fur Day, or you don't know what it is, it was made by Rare. and everybody's familiar with Rare when it comes to like Donkey Kong Country. Okay. TruVillain: Alright, hold up just a second. Alright, breaks over. Anyway, continue with Conquers Bad Kainitsu: Man, that was a TruVillain: Fur Day. Kainitsu: yeah, so Conquer's Bad Fur Day, again, if no one's ever heard of it or are or familiar with that or Conquer Live and Reloaded. Conquer's Bad Fur Day was a very weird anomaly because it was made TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: by Rare. and it was a mature rated game, which isn't too unheard of for 64, but weren't very common. But it was a pretty naughty game for for a Nintendo product. And and for like a a second party developer like like Rare Rare. And it it was supposed to be like another like collect a thon, no happy, ooh, it's a rare game. Those would be happy little squirrel going around doing cool little squirrel things and he's Conqueror and he was first introduced actually in Didi Kong Racing as one of the racers. and yeah, so none of that got changed. Like I don't know what they like it's a very interesting story for I forgot how they decided to pivot into this direction, but like the lead decided to go, hey, you know what? Let's just go ahead and redo all of this game because they already had like some gameplay footage and like of like Alpha Work. And it was supposed to have like some also like Hunker was gonna have like some interesting AI of like recognizing objects and stuff like looking around and stuff like that. They kinda demoed that at at a at E3, I think, one year. But yeah, then all of sudden They pivoted really hard and it's just now it is a 3D platformer, but not a a collectathon like they've been doing. It's a little different, a little bit more story driven, and just very silly and very gross. Cause it was the 90s, you see. And gross out humor was TruVillain: Ha ha ha ha. Kainitsu: the thing. that like literally there's there's a there's like an there's an opera song with the great mighty poo. And it's literally just a piece of shit talking about Shit. It's really funny. Yeah. Yeah. TruVillain: well. That's very south part. Yeah. Kainitsu: so yeah. So there was all of that and they made it very, very topical at the time. There's like there's like even a fucking like Matrix reference in it. And this was like ninety nine and that was already getting old at that point with matrix references, you know? So TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: yeah, so they did that and it was a very interesting game. It was really funny for a lot of people who got that game as children when they weren't supposed to because their parents just didn't pay attention to the warning label on it. Like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: it got to where it was actually self published by Rare and was for the sixty four. Nintendo like like distant themselves with it because it was so like vulgar and and stuff like that. and when they came out with the live and really remote version, which is basically a remake of Hunker's Bad for TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: a Day, it was gonna be the new it was like it was the first thing that rare get to put out on Xbox after they were acquired by Microsoft. and it was good, but for some reason they actually censored that game way more with with the language than they did in the original. And that was on a 64. And this was Xbox. Like what? TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: We we had people saying fuck all the fucking time because it's Xbox baby. Mature. Whoa, it's an adult console. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: Yeah, so that was a weird take. But anyway, yeah, so with the experience of with now that roundabout rambly story I dude. yeah, so it It is a little bit of a letdown with how they went about this. So it is not recompiled or anything. It is emulated. Very hard. It's it is in emulation. Straight up. That's how they're doing it. you do have some some like you know, visual enhancements and stuff that you can do. It's not very many. It doesn't even support widescreen, like it is TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: in four by three resolution. These games are gonna be in four by three resolution. So get ready to see some black bars and a full screen and it's TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, yep. Feels like an emulator. So but it's cool. I'm glad that they that it's available because now I have the game on PC. I wish I was able to buy it through Steam, but no, I had to buy it through fucking Xbox app. But it TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: was only ten dollars. it's a fair price, I feel like. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: but it feels a little fat-assed because It it support, but I will say this as well. It actually works really, really well with my PS5 controller. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. wow. Kainitsu: I'm not even using an Xbox controller to play this game. I'm playing I'm using a PS5 and it works really well. I I didn't even know it was gonna recognize it, and it did. TruVillain: Yeah. Huh. Kainitsu: So Lister was that it PS5 controller support, so that's cool. TruVillain: Yeah. That's pretty cool. Kainitsu: but for as for the other games, Lynx I can kind of understand. And again, it's a very obscure game, like I don't think there very many people even Remember that game. I'm pretty sure you don't know what that a game is. TruVillain: I think I've heard of it. I mean, you know, it's it's one of those you hear the occasional person like talk Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: about, you know, r fondly of like, remember remember old blinks, you know, remember how at the sweeping time? Kainitsu: Right. Well, it it definitely had you know, some some ad spots and and some gaming magazines. I think TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: Game Inform like the main one where they had like a an interview about it and stuff. And it was like it was weird hearing about this guy talking about it in in a GameStop and everything, and he's like, it's the first four D game and I'm like, What the fuck are you talking about? You sound stupid. Like and and but TruVillain: We go into the fourth dimension boys. Kainitsu: I was like a twelve year old stupid kid. I didn't understand he meant like, you know, there was like some some space some space space time manipulation with and that's what it was. Like it it incorporates time, with with the game. But I was like, you could have just said it's like, you know, Prince of Purchase, Santa Time. That's that has some time manipulation, had a time mechanic to it. We could like, you know, rewind and try to do things over. No yeah, I get it. I get it. I get it. But but yeah, no, I TruVillain: Well, they got they gotta sell games, man, not you know they Kainitsu: was like, but but yeah, it it blinks is yeah, it is a three D platformer that incorporates a time mechanic. And yeah, it's weird that they decided to let that be one of the ones they chose to do first, but kind of cool because it is a game that not many people probably ever heard of, but I actually am thinking about possibly getting just to just to experience it. TruVillain: It's probably just a it's probably just a rights thing to be honest with you. Or they have like a they Kainitsu: Possibly. TruVillain: probably just have a list that they're knocking down. you know. Or maybe they have a bunch that they've done and these are the ones that just kind of are more ready to go. It's yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. More likely, because I mean, yeah. Mm-hmm. Just gonna do a trickle it out and see how test of waters. Possibly. But then the other two are kind of like, mm. So Crimson Skies. Okay, sure, I can get that. A lot of people played Crimson Skies on Xbox when it first released. It was one of the very few s I think, launch titles for the Xbox. apparently campaign was really bad, but was fun playing online with people. So Okay, cool. I guess that's I guess why they get that. That was another thing too. if you're hoping to have any like Xbox Live functionality with these games, now it's not there. It's that it's not gonna work, obviously. Those servers don't exist anymore. Nope, they do not work. TruVillain: They don't work. They don't work. Kainitsu: I did test it and it does not. on live and reloaded, because that was another thing what made Conquer Live and Reloaded because it was supposed to like help you know promote Xbox Live and all of that. So they did a multiplayer function for it because everything had to have multiplayer And o mid two thousands and onward forever cause then every double over is like, it's only multiplayer games going forward, but most games that do well are in game of the year like single player games. but anyway, but yeah, the last game f Fusion Frenzy and not fusion spelt with an S, TruVillain: Fusion frenzy. Kainitsu: Fusion spelt with a Z. 'Cause it's cool TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: and it's the early two thousands you see. Yeah. I've never heard of that game. I didn't know I don't know what the fuck it is, but apparently it's it TruVillain: You know, Fusion Frenzy's the one game out of this I actually have played. Yeah. Kainitsu: Really? Okay. TruVillain: Very briefly. if I remember right, you're like in a ball and like rolling around and I don't it Yeah, it's like one of those Kainitsu: Yeah, it it's it's like a party multiplayer game, you know. TruVillain: it's one of those like distant childhood memories, like Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: Like when you're like four and you're like at the store with your aunt while she's buying cigarettes and like every so often like you take a nap on the couch twenty years later and you wake up, what was that? And you don't know if it like a dream or not, you know. It's it's it's one of those games you're like, Hmm, I feel like I Kainitsu: Was that was just a blink? TruVillain: played this. Kainitsu: Right, right. Gotcha. Yeah, I had don't remember anything about it, you know, and I did have an Xbox and you know, and and all that, but yeah, I don't remember that TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: shit at all. weird to bring it back, but cool, I guess. game preservation or something. So TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: I am excited to see what they go further with and what other games they're going to release. one thing I would love to see would be Ninja God in Black to be released on PC. But I'm also wondering how that's gonna work out too, because it's there it's get that might be in a weird limbo. So from what Xbox said that if you own any of these games that are released on you know, Xbox Live or Xbox app right now, for being ported. If you own them on any other platform or within the Xbox ecosystem, you just own them automatically. But it's not going to be for any, you know, Xbox original game for PC, obviously, because again, you know, licensing and rights and all of that. So, but TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: it'd be cool to see. But the thing is what I'm saying, let's like Ninja Got Black's in this weird, like kind of gray area that's gonna how it's gonna be going forward. and if they do actually put it on you know, on there to be to be a thing, which would be make me very happy. Is that you can buy Ninja Gaiden Black through the Microsoft store, but it can only play on an Xbox but not on PC, but you can buy it on your PC. TruVillain: That's some like games for Windows Live shit. Like Kainitsu: It's like it's like, dude, like your guys are so close. Why can't I why can't I I again I can understand some licensing things, but just work with fucking Team Ninja and be like, hey, here's a little bit of royalties. Let us do this 'cause it'll probably be good for you too. But TruVillain: Yeah. Well that shit's tough. I mean, I don't know. I Kainitsu: I know, yeah, yeah. TruVillain: riots are just the eternal like killer of of of fun. Kainitsu: yeah, especially like so many things. Like that's that's w probably one reason why Metagrosid four was never ported to anything else. One, 'cause it was a nightmare for it to be made apparently, because the PS3 was just fucking Frankenstein and nobody knew how to fucking develop for that thing. It was very hard. and just how like it worked with all the pressers and everything, you couldn't port it to anything else. And two, yeah, there were some licensing scenes in there with not just like music, but fucking Apple, dude. Like like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: Snake ran around with a fucking iPod. Not not even an iPod touch, a regular ass fucking iPod. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I oddly I have zero interest in any of this. Like I don't know. Like there's you move you move out, you move on. I mean, I I played Kainitsu: They're not in like original Xbox games you might want to see, you know? Okay. TruVillain: a lot of OG Xbox. I had a OG Xbox, you know, it was my first like Kainitsu: All right. TruVillain: yeah, I I loved Morrow Wind. Knights of the Old Republic is one of my favorite games of all time. Yeah, yeah, and that's that's my point. Like there's not Kainitsu: Yeah, but those are games you can actually get on PC, so on Steam actually. TruVillain: Yeah, there's not really much. And and and stuff from that time really needs to be remade, a lot of it. Because that kind of early that Kainitsu: Some of it does, yeah. TruVillain: kind of like early three D era, where Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: they were still kind of figuring a lot of stuff out. I mean, 'cause you go back Morrowind was one of my favorite games as a child. Go play Morrowind now. It's terrible. Like it is it is Kainitsu: It does not hold up. TruVillain: just yeah, it is bad. I know there's listen, all of the Morrowind apologists out there, I hear you. I love that game. I think that game is phenomenal. That game is ass. Like it's it is not aged well. Like your sword goes up and down and and it and Kainitsu: Awesome. TruVillain: every time it goes up and down, there's a per sa a hit percentage. So you can just sit there waffling on the enemy. Like just up and down, up and down. Like you can hit them you Kainitsu: Cool. No connection. Mm. TruVillain: can hit them eight times and hit them no times. now from Kainitsu: Gotcha. I hate I hate games like that. TruVillain: a design perspective There are things that recent Bethesda games have lost that Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: they should bring back. But that doesn't mean the game itself is you know, it holds up. Kainitsu: Good. TruVillain: It does not. Kotor, as much as that is one of my favorite games of all time, it doesn't really hold up. Like it's good, it's getting well, maybe it's getting remade. We'll see. there's a rumor Kainitsu: Hm. Yeah, that's been TruVillain: I was I was gonna put that in the news. Actually there's another rumor, but I don't wanna I don't wanna hurt myself anymore. Kainitsu: think the last I heard about that is that a p I think Sabre picked it up or something. Anyway. Yeah. Which that's kind of a hopeful I hope that's still a thing. Anyway. TruVillain: Yeah, Sabre's doing it. yeah, it it's it's a whole thing. Yeah, listen man, I've been led along with this shit like even Kainitsu: Yeah, I get it, man. At least you're closer to getting that than me getting fucking bloodborne on PC. TruVillain: Maybe. But yeah. So I don't know. I mean it's good for the people that that care about it. It seems like it is just kind of a straight straight port job because it's it is Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: back and I think they're marketing it well. I have seen a lot of people upset with like kind of the quad but it's like that it's backwards Kainitsu: Aga yeah. TruVillain: compatibility. It's not it's a port. It's a emulated port. It's yeah, Kainitsu: Right. Well yeah, it's emulation basically, yeah. TruVillain: it's so that they can it's so that they can shove you off the Xbox platform. They may not still be trying to do that. anymore with Sharma, Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: but this is a initiative that was probably put into place like at least as as l early as last year, right? Like, you know, they've been working on it, so Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Possibly. But I don't I don't I don't I don't know, man. they they are they are in that beta testing right now for like streaming games with ads. So that kind of feels like they might be trying to nudge you off the old console there. TruVillain: Well, I mean you would probably use your console to do that, right? I mean Kainitsu: You could, but it's also it sounds like it's gonna be like I you know, it could be like browser based or it's like, we have this machine and it can Yeah. Yeah, TruVillain: Yeah, yeah, you can probably do it in the browser, yeah, stuff like that, but Kainitsu: and I man mm 'cause like Amazon's doing something similar now with their Luna app 'cause it's not working. Amazon keeps failing and I hate that they make so much money. Fuck you, Jeff Bezos. and they just get to just just Fuck up and fail upwards and it doesn't matter because Gog Dad gets too much fucking money. So yeah, man, like they're just failing hard in the gaming sector. The only thing that actually works kind of good for them still is Twitch. And even that's a dumpster fire in a lot of ways. Mm-hmm. Yeah, doing server for for yeah. That that people that is the most used servers in the world, actually, are Amazon servers. TruVillain: Well that and their servers too. You know, their servers get used in a lot of yeah. Same with Microsoft. Hmm. Kainitsu: but yeah, TruVillain: But yeah. Kainitsu: no, they're doing that now where they're incorporating Luna with Prime Video to allow TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: you to stream games through Prime Video. Like it's gonna ha it has its own section for gaming to allow you to do it. Yeah. Yeah, they've TruVillain: Yeah, well say Netflix has been doing that for a little bit now, yeah. Kainitsu: been trying trying to like dip their toes in that too, which I haven't tried. I don't know how good it is, but it just sounds like bad. And I don't want it to be the Systopium future, like you're not gonna own any of it anymore, guys. You're just gonna Pay us a subscription and that's it. Have a good day. TruVillain: Well, I've I've heard some some trains of thought on it, based on like the cost because it costs companies a lot of money for people to stream games. Like one of the cost one of the cost Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. yeah. Yeah. TruVillain: analysis I've seen, so they would actually rather you have your own hardware and do Kainitsu: Well we TruVillain: it yourself and use your electricity, your processing power and all that. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Well, make yeah, because it it takes so much bandwidth. And then, you know, like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: like server farms and everything and computing farms to allow people to do that and not just like a couple of people at a time, like thousands of people, you know, tens of thousands, maybe TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: hundreds of thousands, depending on on how well you're doing with that said service. But yeah, that's not gonna work. It it it does not math. It's not gonna, it's never gonna be a thing. It's it's the technology is not there. It hasn't been there. Sony's tried it. Google's tried it. So many people tried it. It doesn't work. The only company that kind of made it work was back in the 90s and that was Sega with the Sega channel. And even that didn't like catch on because it's only available in certain parts of the world. TruVillain: Yeah, stuff. I th I think it's just at least for now, from what I'm seeing, I hope and hopefully it's just kind of a a low cost option for people who don't give a fuck, you know. Like Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: if you you want some latency gameplay, you can watch some ads and and go go play a Kainitsu: Maybe. TruVillain: game for free. Maybe buy maybe you'll buy some microtransactions while you're there too. For your for your fucking Kainitsu: Just just buy a couple of things here and there. You don't you're not gonna own anything, bitch, but you know. Thanks. TruVillain: fucking 800 millisecond laggy. I mean some of that's apparently pretty good. Like GeForce now is apparently Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: very good. Kainitsu: Is it okay. TruVillain: f for streaming yeah, but you gotta like rent space and it's it's Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: it's pretty like yeah, you're not even guaranteed to be able to play, you know. Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: I I don't know. I don't wanna speak on it too much 'cause it's been a while since I've actually looked into it. That stuff might have got a lot better. But from what I understand, Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: like G Force now is pretty damn good for that kind of thing. Yeah. Some of that some of that stuff's Kainitsu: For streaming stuff? Okay. Well I I've never tried to do TruVillain: gotten pretty good with the latency and stuff, depending Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: on of course depending on your internet and how close you are to data centers and Kainitsu: Right. Mm. TruVillain: All that other stuff. So I don't know. We'll kinda just Kainitsu: Gotcha. TruVillain: see where that goes, I suppose. Kainitsu: Yeah, but as for anything else, the last tidbit we can say about, you know, the whole backwards compatibility for you know Xbox original games on for PC is that TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: there are some data miners that are obviously gonna go in there and see what they can find in the files because it's finally on the PC. Let's see what they're doing and find out what's going on. So yeah, again, like I said earlier, it's definitely emulation that they're doing for all of this. but TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: it is an interesting thing they're doing with it is because it's like the ZEO three. Emulation system that's actually an Xbox 360 emulator that's used on like current modern, you know, like Series TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: X and Series S Xboxes to play 360 games, but it also is emulating backwards compatibility for Xbox games, Xbox original games. So if this does well enough, we could possibly see, you know, some some Xbox 360 games that have never been ported over anywhere to show start TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: showing up on PC if it goes well enough. TruVillain: Yeah, that that stuff could be cool. I definitely maybe might be a little bit more interested. But I mean, so many of the things that I either am or would play like already have PC versions or remasters or remakes Kainitsu: Well, some things don't. Like TruVillain: or Kainitsu: ha Fable Two is as much as I loathe the ending of that game and I don't like how they move they like they moved away from having stats with you know armor and what you're wearing and they just have a bunch of fucking doofy looking clothes. Like I don't wanna be some Victorian era dude running around. I wanna be a fucking knight going and murdering shit. But TruVillain: Well, we have a fable game for you, man. It comes on this February, bro. Like, you know. We have a fable game for you, man. It's called Fable. Kainitsu: Opinions about that. But anyway, Falob Fable 2 though, I have wanted to own on PC 'cause for the most part, that game is really good. It's fun. It's just the ending sucks and I just I don't I'm sad that there isn't really much of an armor system, which I miss that it it made it too simplistic. It took away a lot of the RPG elements to it. you know. For me anyway, so but but it would be nice to own on on on PC. I actually tried to emulate it on a three sixty emulator not too long ago on my machine and it Let's just say that that isn't s st the pre pool we're trying to make that emulator. It's still a lot a lot to do. A lot of work to go. Yeah, man. TruVillain: That's crazy that stuff is so complicated. I don't wanna dive too far down that rabbit hole today, but yeah, I d I've always looked at the whole emulation thing and Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: it just seems like this whole like this arcane like a bunch of fucking wizards in their fucking basements, like Kainitsu: Okay. TruVillain: conjuring fucking darkness into the PC and trying to like fucking run Animal Crossing. Yeah, the Wii U version of Animal Crossing Kainitsu: I will figure out this algorithm, and I'm going to reverse engineer. TruVillain: to Yeah, on their fucking PC when it's like, bro, Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: just go just go get a fucking Wii U. I don't what to tell you, like they're like ten dollars now out of a van. Kainitsu: Well, it's just it's just the architecture. It it's just a it's just it's just the architecture though for consoles. It's just it it's just they have to do so much stuff that make things work a certain way and allow people to develop for them and all of that, or to work with just that one thing to make it think it's something else on an actual computer, it takes a lot to going in and understanding like, you know, the programming language and all of it that for their operating system and all of that. It's just a lot. You also have to try to get a hold of the BIOS and everything too, man. Like, it's a lot to figure out. But whenever they do, it's pretty cool. Like, I'm like, it just just again, it there's they haven't cracked 360 emulation. PS3 emulation has actually been good now for about three years, and that took forever. They just now figured out, which actually is kind of early on, but PS4 emulation is actually at a good point right now. you can play Bloodborne on your PC if you want to, and it For ways I can't tell you how, but you can download a P a PS4 emulator and play Bloodboard at sixty FPS. And it's pretty cool. I but I wish I could own it actually on a platform, but that's the only way I can experience it on PC. So TruVillain: Yeah, yeah, I don't know. I'm yeah, I'm I'm I'm of the mind. I don't know. I've just something just never clicked in in me to to do the whole emulation thing. It's like if it's not out on the thing, I'll just get the thing if I wanna play the thing. which you know, hey, Kainitsu: Well dude, I mean, should check it out sometime. TruVillain: big big respect to the the people that Yeah, yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: figure that shit out, dude? Yeah, man. And especially big props to the people who keep on fucking up Nintendo, 'cause man, like it TruVillain: Watch why watch what you say. I don't want to get the podcast taken down. Episode two, you know? Big Daddy Nintendo rolling through with their their team of country lawyers coming in here like Yusa. I did not know Kainitsu: No, I'm just saying that like They're always listening. We're gonna get out here with our litigious behavior, sir, and we're gonna come out here and loyal up. You better loy up, sir. TruVillain: Kanitsu was Japanese for suyo ass off. Kainitsu: My name means many things in this episode, apparently. I apparently don't shut up enough, and then TruVillain: We'll never we'll never be able to Kainitsu: now I'm fucking, you know, gonna fuck you up as a lawyer. So Yeah, no, no, it's just that it was really funny that whenever the Wii U came out, it didn't really change much of the architect architecture for that. It was just pretty much the same architecture for the Wii. so that didn't take long for them to do. and then The switch it'd take long for them to do an emulator for that either. It's been shut down for Yuzu and all of that. Then there was another one that tried to go after that and it got shut down pretty quick too. But I it it's not gonna surprise me if a switch to emulator shows up somewhere. But yeah, it's crazy how people figured that stuff out, man. And props to them. It's cool. I appreciate it because then there's sometimes I use an emulator for different things just to try it out. Cause again, I can't play American Solid 4 on anything, don't own a PS3. So I guess I'm gonna emulate it and it works pretty good on my PC. So TruVillain: Well I do have that that collection coming, so with four in it. Yep. Kainitsu: That is true. And and and Middle Sod Four is finally gonna be available on newer platforms. I'm actually TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: curious to see if they were able to keep the Apple rights in there or actually I think they they changed that stuff out because even even one of the characters, he uses a MacBook for everything in his scenes and stuff, so TruVillain: Hmm. Fantastic. Well, the next piece of news is actually my news. It's not actually news, really. It kinda is, but it's it So there's a game coming called Star Wars Zero Company. And I remember seeing the trailer for this at one of the I feel like it was one of the Summer Games Fest shows. It was one of those shows. It might Kainitsu: Okay. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: have might have been a Xbox show or something. Yeah. Kainitsu: One of those game events that nothing really happens, but sometimes cool stuff happens. TruVillain: Yeah, and you saw it and it was kinda like yeah, it was kinda just squeezed in there as like this like you know, and you saw it's like, that's a turn based Star Wars game and because Star Wars is so fucking ass, as we've said many times at this point, you Kainitsu: Yeah. TruVillain: just kinda think, hm. I I I wonder, I'm sure that'll come and go and really don't really care too much about it. But I w I saw a video and was kinda reading a article about this game and It's got it's got some XCOM two talent, some of those leads Kainitsu: Okay, okay. TruVillain: in there making it. It's got a very XCOM two y kind of design where permadeath is a thing. yeah, it's got it's got kind of a yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: okay. For a Star Wars game? All right. TruVillain: Yeah. Any anyone can die just like an XCOM. the you know, it's got a pretty pretty lengthy story. You got kind of your base mechanics, it's got a pretty deep ass turn based system. Kainitsu: Mm-hmm, mm-hmm. TruVillain: Kind of a customizable character in kind of the same vein of like Marvel Midnight Suns. the the writing is supposed to be kind of kind of darker and I mean it it's really shaping up to be r like right up my fucking alley. And I'm actually kind of it's one of like my most excited games now. Kainitsu: Okay, okay. Well hell yeah. TruVillain: I just wanted to kind of bring it to the attention, you know. now the big issue with this game is it comes out like three days before Blood of Dawn. Kainitsu: that's some poor timing. TruVillain: I know. I know. So I would have to make a a decision. Now, fortunately, it's two months between these games and Grand Theft Auto Six and so it's possible that I can squeeze both of them in. but I'll definitely be depending on how long Blood of Don Walker takes, I'll definitely be squeezing this one in if I can. So Kainitsu: you you might be able to. So I read a little bit actually the campaign for that game. I haven't looked too much more into it, but it's gonna be actually shaping up to be around a 30 to 40 campaign, 40 hour campaign for yourself with this TruVillain: Okay. Kainitsu: this particular game. And the same is actually gonna be the same for Bottom Dawnwalker as well. Both actually, yeah. Yeah. They're both gonna be like pretty, pretty Yeah, yeah. So TruVillain: I thought you were talking about Don Walker. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, I know that yeah, I know it's your company, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: they're gonna be both pretty straightforward. Also part of that with Blood of Dawnwalker is just gonna be like the day and night time mechanic and like how TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: it works for you to do the story. You like basically have like thirty days for the like the main story to do the thing or fail pretty much. So it has a lot of repla playability. And I guess you have different ways. Yeah, you also have different ways of like, you know, tackling situations. But anyway, yes. those are both going to be reasonably timed for you. So they shouldn't to suck up too much of your time and be able to do allow you to go something else kinda quick. TruVillain: Yeah, I yeah. Unless I get done with the one I wanna replay this immediately. but we'll see. I it is very unfortunate though that they come out right like Blood of Dawnwalker went gold like last week. It's like put it out. Just release it. Just release it today. You know, just just throw Yeah. You don't have to. You don't have to. You gain no game games have been pushed up before. Games have been pushed up before. Kainitsu: But we have a date. We gotta go by the date. Yeah, you do. You gotta think the hype of the date. They have. They have. They have. TruVillain: A few times and they've been Kainitsu: I mean TruVillain: delayed. If you can delay it, you can release it early. Kainitsu: I mean, in all honesty, it actually TruVillain: I got to say. Kainitsu: would be kind of wiser for them to do it a bit sooner or maybe after Blood of Don Walker. I don't know how like much they're gonna like suck up each other's cells but you know, I mean, when it comes down to it, the world'd be huff hard and tough out there, man. People gotta choose. TruVillain: Well, these Yeah, well these turn based tactics games, they don't they don't always do so well unless they're like Kainitsu: True, true, true. TruVillain: exceptional. But we'll see. I I hope it it's good and I hope it Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: does well if it's good and I will definitely be playing it. And I just wanted to kinda kinda bring it 'cause it was it was news to me that this game Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: was set to be as good as it is, 'cause it kinda just looked like, there's a little Star Wars little baby's first tactics game, you know, a little Little Star Wars, you know, you you're a little little baby, you want you want a little little Jedi, you know, a little Yeah. And then as Kainitsu: Little baby Star Wars tactics game. TruVillain: I'm reading on it I'm like, This this game's kinda hardcore. Like permadeath, relationships. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Named Kainitsu: Hell yeah, hell yeah. Yeah, well yeah, no that it then that's that's pretty hardcore just for a Star Wars game like these days, man. Like I was actually surprised TruVillain: characters. 'Cause they have like named characters and then they have like kind of faceless soldiers, I think. Kind Kainitsu: Hmm. Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: of like 'cause in XCOM Everyone was a named character 'cause you named you know, and and that was Kainitsu: Okay, okay. TruVillain: the whole thing with And then this one it kinda has a mix of that I think where like Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: you have like clone troopers and shit that I think you could probably name, hopefully. If they don't let me name it, I'll be disappointed. But then you have like, you know, you have your your core cast of people. there's and apparently there's only one Jedi in the game. They're like, Yeah, there's only one that you can play, so so be careful. Kainitsu: Well, I guess that makes sense, you know, kind of like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: where where it takes place in the lore of you know, TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: of Star Wars. So I mean I'm this is supposed to be kind of like in between or like during the Clone Wars, right? All right, yeah, yeah. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: Yes, you're playing through a like a as a company of, I guess, stormtroopers. TruVillain: Yeah, I didn't I didn't read too much on the story just because I kinda just let that shit be kind of a surprise. I was more on with games like this, I'm more about like the mechanics, you know. The story is kinda kinda just there Kainitsu: Mm. Gotcha. Secondary. TruVillain: to guide it. 'Cause like XCOM two story is it's it's an alien invasion story. We lost the war, you know, we're fighting back. And there there are interesting things about it, but it's mostly there to guide the tactics. But it is it is interesting enough, right? and I kinda feel the same about this, you know. So Kainitsu: Gotcha, gotcha. Okay. TruVillain: but yeah, look forward to that. if that sounds interesting. Kainitsu: Well hell yeah man. Well I hope it I hope it does well. hope it leaves up to the pedigree of the people that, you know, are making it for ya. It could be. It could be the worst thing in TruVillain: Yeah, I mean it could be ass, you know, and we'll see. Yeah. Kainitsu: the world. TruVillain: But I d i it everything's lining up for it, so and they definitely are saying the right things about it, so mm. Kainitsu: Okay, okay. Well good to hear, man. Well TruVillain: and I forgot to make good on some of that juicy foreshadowing. the other company that was working on this is the respawn, the Jedi Survivor people. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: shit. Really? Okay, okay. TruVillain: Yeah, that's they're they're adding some some help to the development of this game as well. Yeah. I'm not sure specifically what, but yeah. Well, they have Kainitsu: Ha what they're they're gonna be attributing to that? That's interesting. 'Cause those look like TruVillain: some pretty they have some pretty high level like cutscenes and And, you know, things like that. So it it's a pr it's a pr Kainitsu: okay, yeah. I gotcha. Okay. TruVillain: for a tactics game. It's a real pretty game too, like, you Kainitsu: Mm. TruVillain: know, so so yeah, they're they're helping out with this one as well. So I mean it's it's Kainitsu: nice. TruVillain: got some it's got some all star talent and potential and things behind it. So I'm very excited for that, yeah. Kainitsu: Well hell yeah. I again I hope it's a good thing. Let's let it be a good thing. We need good things in the gaming industry right now. TruVillain: Mhm. We need good things. Holy shit. speaking of good things, the new Witcher Three expansion is gonna be shown off August twenty fifth. it is called Songs of the Past, as it was announced, and it's apparently about as long as Blood and Wine, which is the Yeah, Kainitsu: Holy shit, really? TruVillain: yeah, the exp the like fifty hour expansion that everyone loved so much. So Kainitsu: Yeah, I mean Blood and Wine was was really good. Just the the story was fun and again was a great contrast in just like the Witcher Three World, Wild Hunt, very TruVillain: Vampires. Kainitsu: sad, dreary, dark, always rainy dark. And then you pull it with Blood and Wine and it's like just vibrant and colorful, and it's like, whoa, that this game is beautiful. and it's TruVillain: Hm. Kainitsu: very stylized. It's kinda like walking into a painting in some ways. but yeah, That is very interesting. I'm I'm very, very curious to see what they got cooking up with this because TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: I mean, makes sense. They have to have something in between what they're doing for the Witcher Five. for which you're four, sorry. TruVillain: Which are four. Kainitsu: Not five. Witcher four. so yeah, they need something. TruVillain: Well I don't know man. I mean I feel like they've kind of earned a break a little bit with all the cyberpunk shit that they did, you know? Like I kind of feel like if they've Kainitsu: Yeah, but I mean, they're still probably trying to recoup from that too some. Because you like you said before about it, like a lot of people probably bought Cyberpunk when it was you know five dollars. 'Cause they did that a couple of times. TruVillain: no, they've made they've from what I understand, they've they've made their money. Like they've they've done really Kainitsu: Have they? Okay. TruVillain: well. Yeah, they've done very well with Cyberpunk, yeah, for themselves. But yeah, they I'm not complaining, yeah, yeah. Kainitsu: Well, either way, I mean, it it we should give them something in between, like, hey, I know you guys are wanting me with this other project, you know? TruVillain: I will definitely be playing this. Now, the question is, am I just gonna play this or am I gonna be a fucking psychopath and just do replay Kainitsu: Play the whole game. TruVillain: The Witcher 3, you know, like for the third time? That's the question. Kainitsu: That's mm-hmm. That's a dude, that's a big task. I've I've wanted to try and go back and play that game again. I can't. Like it is such a phenomenal TruVillain: Mm. I Kainitsu: game and it is so good. And I dumped TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: like a hundred and twenty-five hours in that game that I never thought I would. I only bought it because I got a new graphics card and I wanted to test it. I was like, this is a pretty TruVillain: That's hilarious. Kainitsu: heavy game. Let's see that. That's $25 for all this shit. Why does it not like it? I can refund it after two hours. I'm like, holy crap, this game is fucking awesome. TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: So yeah, dude, like I I enjoyed my time with that game. And there was and like what's so great about that game, which everybody knows I'm a broken record, blah blah blah. Like TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: side quests felt like main story quests. Like you're it was such high quality with everything that went through in that game, you know? and yeah, if they can keep that high of quality and pedigree for this new expansion, okay, you can have some money. TruVillain: And we're back. Another unknown technical issue, so I know. I know. But at least we're pro enough now. Yeah. Kainitsu: professionals were such professionals you never thought you would see such professionals. TruVillain: Where I'm not having to carry the whole fucking show. Or you in this case, 'cause it's been my fucking shit that's been messing up this time. So Yeah. Kainitsu: Yeah, for once I'm not having problems with my equipment. It's actually playing nice to me. TruVillain: Yeah. But just to finish up on that, I mean I'm I'm definitely gonna be playing it. I d I I Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. TruVillain: hope that they do a thing where it kinda like It feels like a standalone thing 'cause I really as much as I'd love to we replay The Witcher Three, I don't I don't need to. I've done it twice. I did it when it first came out. And I Kainitsu: Right. Mm-hmm. TruVillain: did it a second time with both expansions. I kinda just want to play this and enjoy it, so yeah. Mm hmm. Yeah. Kainitsu: just be done with it. Now I I don't blame you. Like do like a new game plus and just go straight to that and and enjoy the new thing. Like I I I I I hope it c well I mean to be honest, like I mean Heart of Stone and you know you know Blood and Wine, they g I mean they were like their own standalone thing in all honesty. Like it was very separated from the main story. Now so if Heart of Stone used the same, you know, world obviously, 'cause it was you went to my bottle of familiar places where you've been to and all that. But it was a really, really good story and it had nothing to do with what was going on with the main stuff. So and then of course with Blood and Wine, it's an entirely new map that was the same size of fucking Witcher Two. So so yeah. but yeah, I I like it to be a a standalone thing too, 'cause like man again, Witcher Three, I had a good time with you, man, but that is one game I don't want to spend another hundred hours in, so TruVillain: It's me bro, it's funny you only spent a hundred hours. I s I spent like four hundred. But yeah. Yeah. Kainitsu: I spent 125 actually. Good God. But you also played through it twice. That that makes sense. TruVillain: Mm hmm. Yeah, but I mean that's No, Kainitsu: And did you do everything both times? Cause I that was me doing TruVillain: I played it differently, right? So like I mean I did I mean I did everything, but yeah, I I some things it cuts off, you know, if you do certain things and Kainitsu: Right. TruVillain: and I mean I didn't the second time around I didn't do like all the contracts or anything. I kinda like I when I was like a high school kid and had all the time in the world, I played things to completion. Like I wouldn't Kainitsu: Right, right. TruVillain: but these days I kinda like especially with a role playing game, I kinda I just role play. It's like, well this character doesn't give a fuck about this. Why would I do this? And so Kainitsu: Right, right. TruVillain: it and it has a good effect of leaving me shit for future playthroughs, right? Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: 'Cause it's like, Well, I didn't do this one last time. so yeah. Yeah, so that's basically what I did, you know, both Kainitsu: Right. Gives you some repla replayability, yeah. Yeah. Gotcha. TruVillain: times. Which is kinda like, Yeah, Gerald don't give a fuck about this. Why do I care? Kainitsu: I wanted to do as much as I could. There are definitely things I was like, that's just stupid open world shit. I'm not fucking doing that dumb shit. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: But I, yeah, I did, I did both both DLCs, both expansions. TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: I did all the things. I did all the contracts. I I did a really cool achievement and I didn't even know it was gonna be a thing, but I was able to reason with all of the other like different life forms and stuff like you know that the the the doppelganger and the succubus TruVillain: Mm. Kainitsu: and the the the godling and stuff like I did all those things the right way and let them be a thing and it was cool. I was like, that's awesome. I I did something I don't I don't know how many other people did it. I guess I don't think it was very that rare. I well actually that time I don't think they actually showed rarity with steam achievements. But either way, that was a pretty cool thing that happened. I didn't know that was gonna be a thing. So yeah. I hope I hope it's good. I want it to be good I want it to be a standalone thing. I don't want to necessarily have like 100, 200 hours, 30, 40 hour experience. Cool. I'll be done with that. TruVillain: Well, I got the orphans eat eaten. So on that note, that's all we have for the show on on the news. We we made it through the another thick, chonky bit of news. when the when the week yeah, Kainitsu: It was all a lot. It was a stacked episode. TruVillain: when the week starts, you're like, Man, I don't think there's gonna be any. You know, you get to Tuesday, Wednesday, you're like, there's nothing, but then but Saturday comes, you're like, fuck. I gotta Kainitsu: Yep. Yeah. TruVillain: cut stuff. I'm always cutting stuff. yeah. Kainitsu: It's it's funny, it's just like, sh seems like a really slow week. Then Xbox comes in. And then s just a bunch of other crazy shit happens. We're gonna we're gonna be talking it Xbox Xbox for forever. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, this is the Xbox fucking podcast, yeah. Mm-hmm, mm hmm. Kainitsu: Fucking stop doing big things, Xbox. Give everybody TruVillain: Maybe they'll stop. Kainitsu: a stop the culling just for a second. I know you gotta change things fast, but slow down a little. TruVillain: Yeah. Yeah, and you know, like I said, when I'm putting the document together at Saturday, it's it's it's Cut City, it's like, man, we can't put that in. They had a few things in here we just didn't we didn't even get to, so but that's how it goes. I try to hit the high points though. Kainitsu: Yeah, yeah. Mm. Like mm hmm. Yeah, it just wasn't gonna fit yeah, or just yeah, but me mm. We we wanna get the most relevant, most you know most entertaining, or interesting, and possibly most to talk about, obviously. Unless it's just a lot of small stuff, then we're gonna do kind of like, well, here's a lot of small stories here for you. but yeah. I don't have too much to add. I'm I'm glad for all of you sticking around listening. Appreciate TruVillain: Yeah. Kainitsu: ya. TruVillain: Yeah, if you're here through this whole fucking episode, we appreciate you. If you're here from last episode through this whole episode, hell yeah. That's Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. Even more thanks. TruVillain: what's up. That's what's up. And and it's only gonna get better, I assure you. Kainitsu: That's right. TruVillain: Or at the very worst, it's gonna stay the same. It's not gonna get worse though. It's not gonna g Kainitsu: We won't go below our subpar average. TruVillain: We won't go down. We'll either keep sh straight or we'll go up, you know? It's yeah. Kainitsu: We'll stay the same. We'll we'll be a stale relationship. You're you you get what you get, you're right? Yeah, just be happy you TruVillain: You get what you get. Kainitsu: get what you get. TruVillain: But what you get is ho hopefully okay. So Mr Kinditsu, can you tell people where they might find you? Kainitsu: yeah, I'm on most platforms. you just search by Kenitsu, you'll find me. except for TikTok, I'm Kenitsu01. Someone took my name, TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: but I wasn't fast on that because I was like, I'm never gonna use that shit, but then I did. And I should have done it sooner. Anyway, I am still not doing any personal projects just yet. I want to try to start doing that again. I'm not sure when it's gonna TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: happen. I have a project I want to end, but my video editor is being ass and not playing nice with my graphics card. And I don't want to redo that entire entire project TruVillain: Ha ha ha. Kainitsu: 'cause it's so long and so much of my personal time has gone into it. I just want to finish TruVillain: Mm-hmm. Kainitsu: it. And once I finally do that, I feel like I can move on to some other things I've wanted to do. So hopefully I'll do that sometime in the near future again, but I'm I'm a married man now. So I you know I got TruVillain: Hell yeah. Kainitsu: got a lot to deal with. and then just work and then planning out some other things for myself from the future. So it's just good. Hopefully I can find some time to do that too, along with this. TruVillain: Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Well I am a true villain. and on X I'm the true villain. It's very important to put that the there 'cause I do have at the top of my feed a posted thread where you may go and put any question you can think of for us to a answer here. I mean it can be video game related, it can not be, you know, hey, whatever you wanna ask. if you wanna ask Kainitsu what Kainitsu really actually means, you can put it there. Maybe maybe he'll answer. Kainitsu: You'll never know. TruVillain: on Twitch I am just true villain. I haven't still haven't got back to stream. I probably won't until the end of the month, to Kainitsu: Mm-hmm. TruVillain: be honest, once I get some some of my ducks in a row with some personal stuff I got. Kainitsu: Y y yeah, I don't I don't blame you, man. There's a lot going on for you. TruVillain: Yeah, but after that, I mean, you know, I I'm definitely gonna get back to it. Especially I to be honest, Blood of Dawnwalker probably just gonna stream it off the rib. That'll probably Kainitsu: Hell yeah. Hell yeah. Mm-hmm. Come back strong. Mm-hmm. It looks good. It does look good. TruVillain: use that to kinda kick off, you know, just kinda kick it back off with a with a with a good ass RP hopefully a good ass RPG. it looks fantastic. So but without further ado, that is all we got for you this fine evening. So goodbye. Kainitsu: Later guys.