Waypoint Radio

E3 is apparently happening, but some of the biggest companies aren’t attending, an unannounced Titanfall game got canceled, and 343 Industries is apparently starting from scratch. But don’t worry, we cut through the doom and gloom to bring you a special interview with John Johanas, director of the colorful upbeat rhythm action game Hi Fi Rush, about making music games and how Zwan (??) ended up on the soundtrack. After the break, Ren is checking out Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder, Rob’s back on the boats with Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnought, and Patrick and Rob reflect on playing both versions of Dead Space.Who's Gonna Be at E3 01:48, What's going on with Halo? 14:04, Titanfall Single Player Game Canceled 23:53, HI-Fi Rush Developer Interview 28:35, Nadir: A Grimdark Deckbuilder 56:36, Ultimate Admiral Deradnought 01:01:41, Dead Space Remake 01:01:41, Outro and Announcements 01:44:12 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Winter’s usually slow, but not now—we’ve got games! Ren’s checking out Freelancer, a chaotic roguelike mode added to the Hitman world, and Rob is returning to his established love of tall ships with Ultimate Admiral: Dreadnoughts. Cado’s checked out a preview for the Like a Dragon: Ishin remake and might just need to play the rest of the Yakuza games. After the break, Patrick dives into the latest, surprisingly divergent episode of The Last of Us, and Cado’s playing A Space for the Unbound, a slice-of-life magical realist game set in a small town in Indonesia that’s equal parts charming and foreboding. Then, in the question bucket, we ponder how deep Patrick is willing to go to live the Kirkland Signature lifestyle.Discussed: Hitman:Freelancer 0:37, Like a Dragon: Ishin 8:52, Ultimate Admiral Dreadnoughts 21:06, Season: A Letter to the Future 44:28, The Last of Us EP. 3 47:54, A Space for the Unbound 1:08:03, The Question Bucket 1:26:04 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today’s episode is extra meaty, in more ways than one, with Rob and Patrick discussing how good it feels to turn a space zombie into chunks in the Dead Space remake. Then, Ren has stories from the end of the world in Season, an emotional game about memories. Later, we reflect on the Xbox Developer Direct, which gave us new looks at Redfall, and dropped Patrick’s early GOTY contender, Hi-Fi Rush. Then, we dip in the bucket and consider what a Patrick/Rivers Cuomo interview would be like.Discussed: Dead Space Remake 2:40, Proletariat Union Vote 1:04:38, Season 1:11:02, Spoilers for the Opening of Season 1:36:54, Xbox Developer Showcase 1:50:00, Hi-Fi Rush 2:00:12, The Question Bucket 2:21:14 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob’s got contractors coming, and we discuss solutions for his too-much-everything problem. Patrick’s finished A Plague Tale: Requiem, and what starts as a wrap up delves into needing to spoil the ending in every way possible. Then, we have a special interview from Patrick, where he talked to several devs behind the Dead Space remake about their history with horror and what defines “violence” in Dead Space. After the break, we dive into the question bucket to figure out what each person’s magically-enlarged mount would be.Discussed: Marvel’s Midnight Suns 28:17, A Plague Tale: Requiem 30:48, Spoilers for A Plague Tale: Requiem 33:11, Rainworld 49:43, Interview with Dead Space remake devs 1:06:20, The Question Bucket 1:36:05 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Bears are not back—they’re actually eliminated from the playoffs and have the first pick in the draft. But Rob, Patrick, and the Sports! podcast have returned with the NFL playoffs in full swing to discuss the tragedy of Damar Hamlin, what we misunderstand about football’s relationship to violence, the joy of watching aging men fail to be elite athletes, and more. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another round of layoffs has hit tech and gaming companies, the largest being Microsoft firing 10,000 employees this week. We discuss the cycles of yearly cuts in both games and tech and the underlying systems and practices that fuel the seemingly unending churn of labor being undervalued and peoples lives being upended. After the break, Rob’s disappointed to find that life on the high seas is a bit too monotonous in Sailing Era, we briefly tip our hats to the end of Stadia, and answer the question on everybody’s mind: does good steampunk exist?Microsoft Layoffs 3:42. Sailing Era 58:37, High on Life 1:21:58, Stadia 1:29:22, 1:40:51 The Question Bucket Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waypoint is going back to the fridge for more olive, and in this case olives are minutes of Andrei Tarkovsky movies! Ren's choice is Nostalghia, which has been called one of Tarkovsky's most personal films. Join us as we discuss time, memory, and the strange physics of carrying a lit candle across bodies of water. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s 2023, which means we’re finally doing the Last Podcast of 2022! Last year, we asked listeners for Game of the Year Categories and y’all responded in droves…but our top ten list podcast went a little long. (C’mon, that never happens!) Learn which games we went goblin mode for, our favorite under 10 hours, what everyone’s favorite little guy in the margins of Pentiment was, the games we swear we’ll get back to in 2023 (but won’t), and much more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on waypoint! Rob's back and better than ever (for now), and so of course we get to hear about how much COVID sucks. Speaking of things sucking, Ren leads us on a look at Wizards of the Coast updating their Open Gaming License, the agreement that allowed games like Pathfinder to exist when D&D 4th edition shit the bed, which Wizards is basically threatening to undo in a 1.1 update. Patrick got early access to the first episode of HBO's The Last of Us, and has the scoop on how the already "cinematic" game translates to the small screen. Then we dive into the question bucket to discuss eating pizza off a plate. Like while it's still on there. Like just chomping down on the pizza while it's still on the plate.26:34 Wizards Updates the OGL, 57:28 Pathfinder Wrath of the Righteous, 01:11:27 The Last of Us TV, 1:33:53 God of War Ragnarok, 1:38:20 The Question Bucket Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We’re emerging from our holiday cocoons! Join Patrick, Ren, and Cado as they talk through the holidays and the things they did (or wished they did). Then, a special interview from Rob: last time Josh Sawyer was on to talk Pentiment, Rob found out they had the same college professor. Now, we’ve invited that professor, Dr. Edmund Kern, alongside Dr. Winston Black, Josh’s classmate who consulted on Pentiment. They talk about applying their knowledge to consulting on the game, how medieval peasants are just like us, and the ways people figured out how to talk about “heretical” subjects without getting got.Discussed: Fire Emblem Engage 28:23, Chained Echos 44:06, Signalis 53:02, The Calisto Protocol 51:41, 1:01:44 Interview with Dr. Edmund Kern, Dr. Winston Black, and Josh Sawyer, 2:10:43 The Question Bucket Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2022 is over, so what better way to send the longest year in history with the longest podcast of the year! Rob, Ren, Patrick, and Cado have gathered around their podcast mics to hash out their favorite games of 2022! Did Cado number their list? Who put Elden Ring the highest? How many narrative bangers are on Ren’s list? Listen to find out the answers to these questions and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a re-release of a Waypoint After Dark episode from the early days of Waypoint+. You can get ad free pods and more exclusives at Waypointplus.comJoin Austin, Rob, and Patrick as they celebrate a successful first week of Waypoint Plus and answer all your questions about the service, their upcoming E3 plans, and more! Please note: This episode was recorded live on twitch.tv/waypoint, and was edited by Austin while Cado is on vacation, so please excuse any audio weirdness! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As was foretold in ages long past, four tarnished have gathered around a lost grace to finally talk about how busted Moonveil is. Austin Walker joins Ren, Patrick, and Cado for this special Elden Ring spoiler cast, where we talk about what was arguably one of 2022’s biggest games, and we don’t just mean map size. We talk through our headcanons, favorite ashes, narrative stylings, and more! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This is a re-release of our exclusive Waypoint+ podcast, Waypoint After Dark. You can subscribe to Waypoint + at www.waypointplus.comWelcome dear listener to the first episode in our new series: Waypoint After Dark. Tonight we're joined by Rob Zacny, Austin Walker, and Patrick Klepek as they explain how we got here, reminisce over the past 5 years at Waypoint, and talk through that one time they almost launched a subscription service before this. Then they find a few choice quora questions to really get the mental juices flowing. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the holiday season and we here at Waypoint are giving y’all our first gift! We’ve had the chance to interview Robert Ashley, creator of one of the seminal video game podcasts: A Life Well Wasted. After nearly a decade, he’s releasing a new episode and we’re here to ask how it feels to return to a project after so long, how the podcast got started in the first place, and how being online has changed since the podcast started. Before we dive in though, Ren’s got new updates on her Dwarf Fortress fort, Patrick’s not feeling particularly high on High on Life, and Rob’s wishing there were maybe a little more strategy in Triangle Strategy. 26:44 Dwarf Fortress, 34:57 High on Life, 44:08 Cyberpunk 2077, Triangle Strategy 45:04, Interview with Robert Ashley 53:59, The Question Bucket 2:10:49 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week the FTC surprised everyone when they actually took action towards stopping the Microsoft/Activision merger. So much so that Rob had to reach out to an expert to get into the nitty gritty about what this really means. He interviewed Matt Stoller, author of “Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy,” and they discussed the history of monopolies in the US, and how Microsoft history weighs heavily on the FTC’s decision. But first, Ren has stories to tell from her time playing way too much Dwarf Fortress, including a late breaking story of a young dwarf that just loves to carry gems around. Patrick’s wrapped on Immortality, and while he’s had a great time with the game, he does wonder if it wouldn’t have benefited from something akin to Return to Monkey Island’s hint system. After the break, we dip into the question bucket to hear more pronunciation goofs, and our worst, potentially job-losing gaming habits. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s finally here, the biggest release of 2022, a game decades in the making: Dwarf Fortress is finally released! Cado’s been checking the game out and is finding it much easier to parse after trying once back in 2008. Then we break the news that much to our surprise the FTC has actually filed a lawsuit to block the Microsoft/Activision merger. After the break, we check in with Patrick’s end of year sprint as he’s finishing Metal Hellsinger and starting Immortality. Then we dip into the question bucket to hear all about everyone’s personal “pseudonym” type mispronunciations.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick and Cado welcome Ren back to the land of the living this week as she’s finally destroyed all the Covid in her body. Which is great timing because they both needed someone to explain the recent drama between Nintendo, licensed and unlicensed Smash Bros tournaments and one particularly over zealous CEO. Then Ren tells us of her time exploding heads with magic abilities in Warhammer 40k: Darktide. After the break, Cado and Ren chat about finishing SIgnalis, a game that seems destined for Patrick’s “Best 2022 game I played in 2023” slot. Then we revisit the world of Pillars of Eternity, the 2015 game that Ren fell into in the depths of being sick.Fortnite 11:03, Super Smash Bros. Tournament Drama 15:46, ActiBlizzard Union vote in Albany 27:07, Warhammer 40k: Darktide 34:50, Signalis 49:17, Patrick's end of year dilemma 59:00, Pillars of Eternity 1:03:41, The Question Bucket 1:11:31 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Oh, boy. What change a few weeks—and injuries— can bring, like the Chicago Bears briefly having one of the most exciting quarterbacks in football, before bookmarking tankathon.com. Rob and Patrick convene through microphones over a season that feels increasingly over, while breaking down that other sport they call football and the United States’ surprise entry into the next round of the World Cup. We try to answer important questions, such as: What is offsides? Why are they spraying mist at that dude’s injured butt? We’re experts, after all. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suddenly it’s December! While we plan our end of year content, the Waypoint crew is catching up with and putting to rest a few final releases before it’s time to finish off our year in the content mines. Cado’s been playing Pokemon Violet and has found the charm far outweighs the technical issues. Rob and Cado were pleasantly surprised by Need for Speed: Unbound, who’s art direction and push-your-luck mechanics have made a solid first impression. After the break, Patrick and Rob have been checking out The Calisto Protocol, a spiritual successor to the Dead Space franchise that has some odd quirks to its melee combat system. Then the crew takes a dip in the question bucket and wonders, what is the daddiest of dad games?Discussed: Pokemon Scarlet and Violet 3:22, The Game Awards Announcements Leak 28:11, Need for Speed Unbound 31:05, The Calisto Protocol 53:54, Marvel’s Midnight Suns 1:46:17, The Question Bucket 1:49:39 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.