Waypoint Radio

We're back on our bullshit, again! If there was one other genre (aside from Soulsbornes) that we had to talk about here at Waypoint Radio, it is of course the Immersive Sim. An we would be remiss if didn't bring back Danielle to talk about the best Immersive Sims of the last decade! Join Austin, Cado, Danielle, Patrick, and Rob as they drill down into genre definitions, defining moments, and the future of the genre.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It wouldn't be a year that ends in r without the Waypoint Radio crew talking about the latest game by one of their favorite developers, From Soft. Just one thing, given our tendency for 5 star runtimes Patrick has imposed a rule: we only have 30 minutes to hash out which Souls like is our favorite of the decade! Join in as Austin, Patrick, Cado, and Rob discuss the highs and lows of FromSoft's games, and finally find out why Austin likes Dark Souls 2.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

FIWe're back to continue our recap of the best and worst of 2019. We recorded this episode well before any of us had even a twinkle of a list in our eyes. By this point you've probably read our personal lists, so here's a time capsule back to when we were just figuring things out. Just know that this 5 star runtime was brought to you by us being fully on our bullshit, and maybe drinking a little beer.Discussed: Life is Strange 2 8:21, Total War: Three Kingdoms 10:14, FI 2019 29:24, Fire Emblem: Three Houses 47:39, Control 1:03:10, Daemon X Machina 1:23:22, Destiny 2: Shadowkeep 1:44:02, Ghost Recon: Breakpoint 1:47:03, Indivisible 1:52:05, The Outer Worlds1:57:37, The Outer Worlds Spoilers 1:58:45, Death Stranding 2:10:20, Pokemon Sword and Shield 2:18:50, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 2:21:00, Phoenix Point 2:33:10, Mechwarrior 5 2:35:01  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

2019, the year that felt as long as a decade. The Waypoint Radio crew is getting ready to drop their individual Game of the Year lists, but first, they have to remember what even came out this year. Join Austin, Cado, Patrick and Rob as they go over the years best games the most disappointing releases. We talked about games so long, we had to make it two podcasts!Discussed: Resident Evil 2 5:06, Outer Wilds 16:47, Kingdom Hearts III 33:06, Anthem 36:58, Greedfall 45:40, The Waypoint Tech Corner 51:42, Sekirio: Shadows Die Twice 1:01:25, Metro Exodus 1:19:, Ace Combat 7 1:23:09, Apex Legends 1:24:00, Slay the Spire 1:27:47, Eliza 1:28:56, Telling Lies 1:45:29  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

If Hideo Kojima needed two hours at the end of Death Stranding to explain the game through cutscenes, what chance do poor old Rob and Heather Alexandra, visiting from Kotaku, have to unpack the game's layers of strange brilliance, tacky sensibilities, and clunky self-importance? No chance at all, but that doesn't stop them from trying to work through their reactions to the game and many of the moments they were keeping under wraps to avoid spoilers. Now, in this spoiler cast, they are ready to run amok like a Beached Thing emerging from the Chiral ooze.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're kicking of our end of year podcasts with a new format! We asked for your questions that could be answered in 90 seconds or less, and you delivered! Listen in as Austin, Cado, Patrick, and Rob answer everything from favorite holiday drinks, to best indie game of the decade, to a lightning round mark of mastery makeup exam, all in under two minutes! Happy Holidays!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The holiday season is fast approaching, and so today we have a grab bag of a joint Waypoint Radio/Waypoints episode! Rob starts us off with a detailed description of his delicious looking deep dish pizza, and his kinda sad looking but still delicious NYC style one. Patrick has a an addendum to our GOTY podcasts with late entry A Short Hike, a delightful game he might describe as "Animal Crossing, but you don't do anything that you would normally do in Animal Crossing." We go over the winners and announcements from The Game Awards. Austin presents us with the MMO Minute before Rob has to get something off his chest about The Mandalorian.Discussed: A Short Hike 23:14, Devotion 46:22, The Game Awards part 1 1:04:55, The MMO Minute presented by Austin Walker 1:19:38, The Game Awards part 2 1:23:47, The Mandalorian 1:46:21, The Clone Wars 1:55:30  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's the day before The Game Awards. Or, rather, it's the day before the game awards as I'm writing this. You're reading this the day after The Game Awards, which means this is our The Game Awards podcast with predictions and discussion that we recorded before the awards happen! Were we right about Green Day? Did our favorite games win any awards? Well only you know the answer to that. You and well, us in the future from now. Oh also Austin can finally talk about Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries. Rob and Cado ask him about his time at the wheel of a BattleMech while Patrick takes a nap.Discussed: Mechwarrior 5: Mercenaries 3:50, The Game Awards 1:02:10  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're deep into GOTY season, so we've been hitting the podcast recordings hard. Listen in as we casually drop references for podcasts that won't release for another three weeks, discuss the new Master Sword item that totally changes Super Mario Maker 2, and take a quick dip in the question bucket to bathe in the glory that is Waluigi.Discussed: Super Mario Maker 2 2:04, Life is Strange 2 29:20, Final Fantasy XIV 32:54, New Bioshock Game 43:09, Question Bucket 1:04:49  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rob Zacny interviews Paradox Chief Business Development Officer, Shams Jorjani. He's the last of Paradox's old corporate leadership, and has seen the company through a variety of high and low moments, helping to put out fires when needed, most notably during the acquisition of White Wolf when it was under scrutiny for their mishandling of queer history in a Vampire: The Masquerade source book. They also discuss worker compensation and mobility at Paradox, the focus on long term growth over quarterly profits, and why he's stuck it out at the same place for so long.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Waypoint crew is (mostly) back from break, and gearing up for the end of the year. Cado "finished" Pokemon Sword, and found the campaign's focus underwhelming, even if structurally this might be the most immersive Pokemon game to date. Patrick is excited about the new Mario Maker 2 update that was suddenly announced Monday, even if he wishes Nintendo had been more forthright about their roadmap for that game. Austin has some killer Final Fantasy XIV music to shout out, and then takes the crew on a casual lap of the question bucket.Discussed: Pokemon Sword 10:46, Super Mario Maker 2 20:44, Spelunky 2 27:02, Souls Franchise 42:01, The Outer Worlds 47:33, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 1:03:10, Streaming Services that aren't Stadia 1:26:12  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We're on break but that doesn't mean the #content needs to stop! Cado is playing Pokemon Sword and questioning the sentience of Pokemon when they're in The Box (spoiler: they remember everything). Patrick finished Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order, and the crew takes a dive into the Star Wars canon, old and new. Rob has been playing the board game Gloomhaven, or rather, a version of it with... let's call it a house rule. After the break we dive deep into the Question Bucket to talk about who keeps it real the most (Rob, probably), cooking Turkey (why bother?), and how much Austin cares about Shenmue 3.Discussed: Pokemon Sword and Shield 4:47, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 21:47, Resident Evil 2 52:38, Gloomhaven 54:16, Question Bucket part 1- 1:01:55, Half Life: Alyx 1:27:45, Question Bucket part 2- 1:42:35  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It’s Monday, and you know what that means. 'MECHS! We have a special BattleTech double episode for y’all today. First up, Rob sat down with Harebrained Scheme's Mitch Gitelman to talk about BattleTech lore and the ins and outs of trying to run an inclusive and diverse games company. After the break, Austin and Rob chat about Heavy Metal, the new BattleTech expansion that adds new 'Mech specific abilities, weapons, crew events, and more.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

It's been two years but he's finally back. Manveer Heir, who came on Waypoint Radio in 2017 to talk about his time working on Mass Effect: Andromeda, has returned to the podcast studio with Rashad Redic, an industry veteran whose worked on games such as Fallout 3 and Skyrim. Together they make up two thirds of Brass Lion, a new entertainment studio with goal to tell the stories of underrepresented and marginalized groups in their own voices, from their own perspective. Austin sat down to chat with them about their first game, Corner Wolves, their experiences in the industry, building a new startup, and the best hip-hop artists of all time.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Spoilers for Afterparty from approximately 1:12:08 ~ 1:25:24It's fall, time for sweaters, hot chocolate, and anime. Austin and Cado went to AnimeNYC, and they're back to report from the anime front lines. Patrick has been playing the new anime console, Google Stadia, and feels that the tech is more interesting than the experience. After the break, Rob takes us to hell in Afterparty, from the developers behind Oxenfree. Then Cado wraps back around to more anime with Pokemon Sword and Shield, when he explains what an EV is, and says the words "Egg Move." The crew takes a quick detour into a mini Waypoints episode to close it out. Stick around after the outro for Football Takes!Discussed: My Hero One's Justice 2 6:26, One Punch Man: Hero Nobody Knows 8:02, Google Stadia 12:46, Afterparty 57:38, Spoilers for Afterparty 1:12:08, Pokemon Sword and Shield 1:25:24, Waypoints - 2:03:25  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We hear people like extra long pods for the weekend, so we’ve delivered! Austin and Patrick take us on their journey to reconnect with the Force in Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order. Does a Lightsaber give off heat? Is this finally the game that Star Wars fans have been waiting for? After the break, Rob guides us to the front lines of Unity of Command 2, a strategy game that managed to improve on the perfection of it's prequel. Patrick can't talk Stadia yet, so he takes us through the wild Stadia AMA, where an employee actually said "I will personally deliver this to your house." We run down the announcements for XO19, including Dontnod's new game Tell Me Why, which will have a trans protagonist. And Cado talks through #gamefreaklied, and the many different reasons the outlash to Pokemon Sword and Shield have been so vitriolic.Discussed: Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 6:21, Unity of Command 2 1:03:12, Guildlings 1:22:27, Takeshi and Hiroshi 1:25:45, Stadia 1:28:44, XO19 1:35:49, Pokemon Sword and Shield 2:13:14

Spoilers for Kingdom Hearts III from approximately 1:14:22 to 1:15:10We’re in the eye of the storm, we've had one weekend of relative quiet before another crop of new games drop. For now though, Austin is living his best deliveryman life in Death Stranding. Rob is feeling cold on Need for Speed Heat, a racing game with less than stellar racing but a plot so wild he’s gotta to see it through. Patrick is feeling the burn with Ring Fit Adventure, especially in his deltoids (those overhead presses are no joke!) Cado is catching up by playing … Nier: Automata, a game he should’ve finished two years ago, and Outer Wilds, a game he wished he’d picked up sooner, and both games that will make you feel sad.Discussed: Ring Fit Adventure 4:48, Need for Speed Heat 17:02, Death Stranding 46:50, Nier: Automata 1:08:48, Outer Wilds 1:15:10, The Outer Worlds 1:21:40, Pokemon Sword and Shield 1:28:20, Stadia 1:34:41, Radio Commander 1:40:01  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Waypoints returns as Austin, Patrick, Rob, and Cado discuss their need for more time off in light of an interesting analysis by the People's Policy Project. Why do US workers do so much more work every year than most of their peers? Looking beyond vacation time and holidays, what emerges is a series of socio-economic problems that too few people can get help for, from retirement to sick leave to family leave. And why do companies, who are so often worried about productivity, ignore studies that show working less hours in a week leads to more productivity? After the break, the gang tries to figure out what to make of Kamala Harris' proposed 10-hour school day. Is the right solution for the wrong problem? Does this proposal lean too heavily on private funding? And might some of the solutions we spoke to in the first half of the podcast target the root of this problem, rather than the symptom?  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The fall games season is still chugging along, but this week we're caught in a zone between embargo zones. Patrick is using this time to get fit with Ring Fit Adventure, the new Pilates exercise game from Nintendo. Austin is still on that Final Fantasy XIV grind, and has an ...appetizing story about a certain three headed dog, while Cado took a small FFXIV break to catch up on Nier: Automata. After the break, the crew dives back into The Outer Worlds and the ways the TTRPG origins of the genre have evolved and changed. Austin dipped into S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat, and met some guy named Tuna.Discussed: Ring Fit Adventure 15:05, Final Fantasy XIV 33:07, Nier: Automata 52:06, The Outer Worlds 56:24, S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat 1:21:01, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order 1:29:42, Blizzcon 1:47:45  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The Embargo Zone has been cleared (partially). We can finally talk about Death Stranding, the first game from Kojima Productions, Hideo Kojima's new studio. And to do it, we have Motherboard's own Emanuel Maiberg and Matthew Gault joining us. Austin and Cado have questions, and Rob, Patrick, Emanuel, and Matt have... some answers? There's BTs, BBs, Likes on Ladders, and a plethora of stories of Rob fucking up. We dive deep into the mechanics of the game before getting into early game spoilers at the 36 minute mark. After the break (around 1:20:05) we answer your questions on Death Stranding!  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.