Waypoint Radio

While recovering from stuffing ourselves, we figured we’d stuff your ears with an extra long podcast! Patrick spent the break disappointed by Somerville, a game with an interesting opening but less intriguing gameplay. Rob’s getting down in the muck with WRC Generations, the final game before the license goes to Codemasters. Then, Rob interviewed Obsidian’s CEO Feargus Urquhart about the studio’s rocky past, transition into Microsoft, and burnout. Then, we close out with a Thanksgiving-sized dip into the Question Bucket.Discussed: Sommerville 17:01, Midnight Suns 26:36, WRC Generations 32:09, FTC to possibly block Activision - Microsoft Merger 42:50, Interview with Feargus Urquhart 56:27, The Question Bucket 1:55:31 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s Cado’s turn, and what better way to follow up a movie about American liberalism than with a movie about the American film industry! We follow the Channing Tatum thread from White House Down to the Coen brother’s 2016 film-epic comedy Hail, Caesar! Join the Waypoint crew as they discuss this sprawling comedy about communism, faith, and a declining empire wrapped in a series of film pastiches from the Golden Age of the American Studio system. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The creators behind Waypoint favorite XCOM are turning their tactics expertise towards the Marvel universe—except now, it’s got cards. Of course, we jumped at the chance to check out the game early and interview game director Jake Solomon. Join Patrick and Rob as they interview Jake and get a (surprisingly honest!) answer to why XCOM + superheroes didn’t work, and discuss everything from making the move to card mechanics, to why of all the storylines and comic events Marvel has done, they chose the obscure “Midnight Sons.” Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The podcast opens with a question: what did Rob actually vote for after voting against Big Liquor in the midterms? Elections have consequences. After catching up on the news—Control 2, Blizzard dropping out of China, the increasingly messy Doom situation, and Pokémon’s tech issues—Rob and Patrick discuss first impressions of the superhero tactics game, Marvel’s Midnight Suns. Elsewhere, Ren “Master Chief” Price has been surprisingly charmed by Warzone 2.0, and in the Question Bucket, we go dumpster diving. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

One podcast, extra large, coming right up! It’s Pentiment release week and we’ve got a hankering for some 16th century murder mysteries! First up Rob talks to Obsidian’s Josh Sawyer and Adam Brennecke about working at Obsidian, dealing with crunch, and of course Pentiment. Then Rob and Ren go deep on their experience with the game so far, and just how deep they’ve been hooked. Patrick and Cado join in for a dip in the Question Bucket that has us imagining a different world, one where maybe open world design didn’t follow its current trajectory. Finally, Patrick and Rob couldn’t wait until next week, so enjoy a mini-Sports! Update as the Bears are, maybe, possibly, actually back.Discussed: Interview with Josh Sawyer and Adam Brennecke 1:23, Pentiment 36:35, Question Bucket 1:38:44, Sports! 2:05:29 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Patrick and Rob return to the world of sports, where we finally have an answer to the eternal question: are the Bears back? Beyond trying to grapple with the existential crisis that is seemingly having a real quarterback, they introduce a new segment, Sports 101, in which they answer sports questions for non-sports people, marvel at the unraveling of the Indianapolis Colts, and answer questions like: how’s it feel to watch Aaron Rodgers suck? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Motherboard’s Matthew Gault joins the Waypoint crew for a lengthy breakdown of God of War Ragnarök, after Patrick and Matthew have spent 15 hours looking for answers on how to right the wrongs of the past in Midgard. Elsewhere, Ren’s spent time with a beautifully violent game (Ghost Song) and a beautifully hard game (The Iron Oath). Towards the end, we process the latest developments at Disco Elysium studio ZA/UM, and Rob pours one out for the end of The Project CARS franchise, Then a very quick dip into the Question Bucket. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week: It’s Rob’s turn and he’s taken us from the dystopia of Escape from New York to the future that liberals want, White House Down. An intensely late aughts movie in its liberal worldview, it somehow manages to find enough charm and humor to pull most of the Waypoint crew to its side. What can we say, Channing Tatum is just too darn cute! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It's a fall full of gaming sequels and we've been playing them! First up, Ren's checking out Bayonetta 3, which builds on the mechanics of Astral Chain for better and for worse. Patrick's checking out Sonic Frontiers, and has found a surprisingly interesting game, even if it isn't a particularly good one. After the break, Rob's been bitten by the golf bug, and is also playing a game from this decade by checking out PGA Tour 2k23. He’s also got a newfound respect for the Sniper Elite series after diving into Sniper Elite V. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob’s back this week to learn why he was canceled last week, and also to report that his household has been Marvel Snap’d like the rest of us. Ren takes us through Activision’s efforts to union bust, then Patrick updates us on Microsoft’s attempt to buy Activision. After the break, Patrick has been playing God of War: Ragnarok and asking just how “Dad” is Kratos? Then we dive into the question bucket for some new and exciting forms of backlog shaming.Discussed: PSVR 2 News 3:47, Activision Union Busting 16:12, Microsoft Acquisition of Activision 34:31, Marvel Snap 43:46, God of War: Ragnarok 1:02:17, The Question Bucket 1:45:52 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The air is crisp and everyone’s in costumes, which means we’ve decided our video game podcast should talk about Halloween III: Season of the Witch. (Seriously!) Ren’s celebrating spooky season with two horror games—the original Silent Hill and Saturnalia—and you’ll be surprised which has the more awkward control scheme, while Patrick’s been checking out Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope, which is spooky because the rabbids wear the clothes of Mario characters. Then, we dive into the Question Bucket to discuss free food vs free clothes for life, tell a few more excellent ghost stories, and talk about Patrick’s haunted PS5.Discussed: Marvel Snap 12:50, Hellena Taylor Charities 22:48, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch 22:17, Silent Hill 44:01, Saturnalia 55:41. Mario + Rabbids Sparks of Hope 1:13:24, Rimworld 1:20:26, The Question Bucket 1:32:18 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s the Pod before Halloween and we’re getting SPOOKY! Gasp in horror at Patrick and Cado playing Marvel Snap, the new card game from some ex-Hearthstone devs. Scream at the thought of The Witcher’s Sex Cards being included in the remake that was just announced. Then shiver down to your bones as we talk about a litany of spooky games including Signalis, Scorn, and Vampire the Masquerade: Swan Song!Discussed: Marvel Snap 1:08, The Witcher 1 Remake 22:08, Rocksteady Games Co-Founders Suddenly Leave 37:38, Signalis 43:50, Scorn 56:55. Vampire the Masquerade: Swan Song 1:02:45, Potionomics 1:24:07, The Question Bucket 1:38:14 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We streamed for three days and raised $80,000 for charity, and somehow still have games to talk about! First, we catch up with news we missed, including the controversy surrounding Bayonetta 3’s voice actors and the new Silent Hill games, expensive figures, and what it means to remake a classic video game. After the break, Patrick was a good games journalist and actually played several early hours of God of War Ragnarök, while Rob ignored his copy of Victoria 3 to…play the original X-COM? Then, we dive into a ghost-filled Question Bucket! Stay after the outro for a quick Sports! check in, where Patrick and Rob continue to suffer for their Bear fandom.Discussed: Victoria 3 6:51, Mobile Suit Gundam Battle Operation: Code Fairy 22:49, Silent Hill Announcements 28:44, Bayonetta 3 Voice Acting Dispute 47:46, God of War: Ragnarok 1:02:37, X-COM: UFO Defense 1:12:56, The Question Bucket 1:30:58, The SPORTS! Mini Check in 1:42:18 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode was recorded during Save Point 2022. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

You picked it so we watched it! It’s time for the Waypoint crew to head back into the oeuvre of John Carpenter in his pre-The Thing era with Escape from New York! Join us as we talk about the seemingly unending ways this movie influenced games, its oddly flat characters, and wonder where Kurt Russell’s snake tattoo might end. You also will not guess which movie Rob picked next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rob’s back! And he’s brought a bunch of cleaning anxieties with him! Luckily the video game news cycle has the perfect way to distract us all from our own anxieties with more bizarre phone requirements for a different Activision-Blizzard title, the conclusion of Nintendo’s union busting case, and a game on Stadia that will die along with Stadia because it can’t exist anywhere else. After the break, Ren and Cado tell tall tales of their space pirating adventures in Mauraders, Patrick’s doing puzzles and dealing with a rat plague (again) in A Plague Tale: Requiem, and we get a new trail to follow in the mystery of “Rob’s Mysterious Childhood Coffee Cake.”Discussed: Rob's Long Weekend 01:54, Phone Requirements hit Modern Warfare 20:50, Nintendo Union Busting 27:57, Stadia Game Dying with Stadia 33:24, Marauders 38:59, Card Cowboy 58:10, A Plague Tale: Requiem 1:06:53, The Question Bucket Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

While Rob’s spending time with family, we’re sneaking in a fun announcement: Save Point is back next week, baby! But first, we discussed the Mario trailer, and Cado did an incredible thing: went to an event to play a video game! Unfortunately, so far, Forspoken left a lot to be desired. Elsewhere, Patrick has wrapped up (and loved) Return to Monkey Island. After the break, Ren’s vibing to Season, a game where you document the final moments of a doomed world, and both Ren and Cado basically lost a weekend inside a dice hole to Slice and Dice.Discussed: Mario Movie Trailer 5:07, Save Point 2022 14:27, Crisis Core Remaster 17:45, Forspoken 27:18, Return to Monkey Island 47:06, Season 51:23, Slice and Dice 1:01:42, The Question Bucket 1:14:37 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Record a sports podcast, they said. Record a sports podcast with a good friend, they argued. Record a sports podcast when it’s clear you might be the worst team in football, they roared. And so, Rob, Patrick and Sports! continue forth by reassessing the Chicago Bears, dunking on longtime grifter Brett Favre, what Tua Tagovailoa’s concussion(s) say about a naturally violent sport, and let you all pitch us on what should be our next sports obsession. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Overwatch 2 is out, and launch day woes aside, Blizzard somehow ended up with headlines suggesting they hate poor people. Elsewhere, Patrick, Cado, and Ren all played demos from the Steam Next Fest and talked about their favorites, and after the break, Cado laments the booster pack economy of Moonbreaker, a tactical miniatures game from the Subnautica devs. A dip into the Question Bucket gets us to consider the existential dread of IKEA.Discussed: Overwatch 2 Launch Day 5:19, CD Project Red Announces Witcher Sequels 23:07, Our Favorite Steam Next Fest Demos 34:25, Moonbreaker 1:01:00, The Question Bucket 1:19:10 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s been a busy week for gaming news, from shakeups at ZA/UM, the studio behind Disco Elysium, to rumors of a Horizon Zero Dawn remake, and the acquisition by Fandom of various websites, including Giant Bomb and GameFAQs. After the break, Rob realizes he might’ve have made a mistake the first time he played Isonso, Patrick is enjoying working through trauma via dream dodgeball in Desta, and Ren is praying that more indie horror devs let vibes carry them instead of chases and puzzles in The Fridge is Red. Then, a quick dip in the Question Bucket has us contemplating what we’d do with infinite baked goods.Discussed: ZA/UM 0:39, Fandom Acquisitions 12:06, Horizon Zero Dawn Remake 23:06, Pokemon Unite 34:00, Isonzo 43:18, Desta 55:22, The Question Bucket 1:13:32, Outro and Announcements 1:52:49 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.