Waypoint Radio

Episode 500 is here with a surprise: Waypoint+ now offers ad-free versions of the podcast! Then, Ren talks through an exciting EVO 2022, and how Bridget in Guilty Gear Strive mirrors a shift in the broader fighting game community. After the break, Patrick checks in with Cult of the Lamb, a charming roguelike with surprising sim elements, such as getting to brainwash people! For evil! Then, Rob tries to explain the madness of canceling a Planet Fitness subscription, while totally justifying some additional racing wheel accessory purchases.Discussed: Intro and special Announcement 0:19, EVO 2022 8:03, Bridget Comes to Guilty Gear Strive 31:20, Cult of the Lamb 47:45, Alone in the Dark (2008) 1:00:16, Rob Time 1:14:38, Question Bucket 1:36:07 Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cado's back! They've brought stories of mountains, horseback rides, and funnel cakes. But first, we discuss the lawsuits Bungie is bringing against users who have harassed its employees. After the break, Ren has been checking out an overhaul mod for 2018's Battletech called Battletech Advanced 3062, which adds infantry, vehicles, and more 'Mechs to the already great tactics game, and Patrick is checking in with the Live a Live Remaster, the first official western release of the cult classic game that holds up to its cult status.Message @Patrick KlepekDiscussed: Bungie Sues Harassers 4:45, Cado's Vacation 33:48, Pokemon Direct 44:03, Citizen Sleeper DLC 51:33, BattleTech Advanced 3062 1:04:04, Live a Live 1:33:41, South of the Circle 1:48:17, The Question Bucket 2:01:23, Outro and Announcements 2:06:34 Our GDPR privacy policy was updated on August 8, 2022. Visit acast.com/privacy for more information.

Special guest Trone L. Dowd from the Vice News team joins the Waypoint crew today to talk about balancing news writing with games writing, wrestling, and the games he’s been playing! As of this recording Cado is still out, which means the crew is gonna take a chance to totally blow up their opinion of a game (MultiVersus)  without letting them defend themselves! But that’s ok, because they have control of the podcast description and can say that maybe they had come off a little bit strong in their original assessment but hey, at least Ren admits that Cado’s read of the floaty nature of the game is sound! (Thanks Ren!). Back in the non-Cado land, Trone talks about Diablo Immortal’s monetization in relation to the industry’s ability to self regulate, Ren checks in with Xenoblade Chronicles 3, and Patrick is back to his Neon White grind.Discussed: MultiVersus 2:07, Bear and Breakfast 23:47, Diablo Immortal 40:32, Neon White 1:01:32, Rob’s New Racing Game Purchase 1:05:25, WWE 2K22 1:11:29, Xenoblade Chronic

We have the first details on 'Grand Theft Auto VI,' and consider what it means for a (supposedly) kinder, gentler Rockstar Games to make a GTA game. This gets us thinking about the unfolding madness in VR Chat, how it relates to Rockstar's own metaverse in Grand Theft Auto Online, and that wild Oculus Quest price hike. Elsewhere, Ren's getting headbutted by bears in Caves of Qud, and Rob has discovered a level of racing sim that may even be too much for him. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

With Cado exploring the Colorado wilderness, everyone else gathers around to hear stories of Patrick...stalking his neighborhood for a chance to look into other people's garages? Huh. Elsewhere, we discuss Stray breaking its containment field and being discovered by a huge audience that's going to think all video games are about cats, Ren channels Danielle Riendeau and digs into the latest Into the Breach update, and Rob is, somehow, talking about the Civil War again. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Patrick returns! He's brought a tidy little knapsack of news, from new unionization efforts at Activision-Blizzard, Unity’s CEO putting his foot in his mouth (again), and Minecraft coming out anti-NFT. We circle back to Stray and talk more about its particular form of platforming, Ren is forced to pay Mario a 50-cent fee to use her 3DS again, and the question bucket forces us to ask a very weird question: is the conclusion of the O.J. Simpson trial a spoiler?Discussed: News 11:16, Stray 47:48, Klonoa Phantasy Reverie Series 1:08:07, Moss Book 2 1:17:06, Shin Megami Tensei Soul Hackers 1:21:13, The Question Bucket 1:34:07 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Meow! Meow meow mrrrow. Meow mmeow *hiisss*. Mrow mrow Stray, mew meow meow meow. Rob meow meow Gran Turismo 7 meow meow. Meow, meow meow meow The Question Bucket. Discussed: Stray 1:02, Gran Turismo 7, The Question Bucket 1:04:35 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The release schedule is slow so we're taking a big old shlorp from the question bucket! Acast destroyed my description and now we're streaming so that's all for now, enjoy the podcast!Discussed: Gwent Rogue Mage 1:05, Inscryption Kaycee's Mod 14:23, Company of Heroes 3 26:38, The Question Bucket 57:26, Outro and Announcements 1:56:57 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Content Warning - Racial Slurs and Threat of Rape in a movie clip at 2:51:39In memory of James Caan, Rob asked Nextlander's Alex Navarro to record a new segment discussing the late actor's career, from his defining role in The Godfather to his many turns as a tough-guy character actor. Then, listen along to the first ever episode of our Waypoint+ show Mannhunting, where special guests Dia Lacina and Alex Navarro join Rob as they work through the filmography of director Michael Mann, starting with the 1981 film Thief. You can subscribe to Waypoint + for more Mannhunting at waypointplus.com See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're serving up a heaping scoop of everyone's favorite summer snack, podcast-cream! Ren and Cado have been deep in the food-court automation mines in Last Call BBS, the final game from Zachtronics, which is an excellent tribute to a specific age of computing and trying to pass on the nostalgia you feel for that time to a person who might've never experienced it. But first, we discuss the resurrection of E3 and what a Reed Pop owned show might look like. Then Patrick takes us on his unexpected journey into the world of online claw machines.Discussed: E3 is Dead, Long Live E3 5:53, Last Call BBS 19:28, Clawee 41:47, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Shredder's Revenge 58:54, Question Bucket 1:10:47, Outro and Announcements 1:21:27. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week we're discussing Patrick's article talking to Call of Duty Developers after a mass shooting, managing a Motorsport franchise (it's hard!) and the new tricks they taught an old Meat Dog in Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak. Then we receive some good news and unveil a new Rob power in the Question Bucket.Discussed: COD Game Devs reactions in the wake of a mass shooting 1:04, Motorsport Manager 49:13, Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak 1:19:42, Neon White 36:50, The Question Bucket 1:58:46 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We open this week's episode by discussing the overturning of Roe v Wade, and where we're finding places to take action and find respite in the face of the ever mounting attack on basic human rights. Afterwards we dive into some of the games we've been playing recently, from Cado's speedrunning uhhh.... optimization in Neon White, to Ren's brush with a hot new genre called "a deckbuilding roguelike" in Gordian Quest. Stick around after for a quick dip into the question bucket!Discussed: Roe v Wade 4:10, The Quarry/Until Dawn 31:21, Neon White 47:21, Gordian Quest 1:02:53, ID @ Xbox Demos 1:21: 04, Raid World 1:35:34, Question Bucket 1:38:35 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Not-E3 continues this week with the Steam Next Fest! Patrick and Cado checked out a bunch of different demos on stream, so they go over what they played and what their impressions are. Then, special Dragon's Dogma Correspondent Austin Walker joins to talk about the announcement of Dragon's Dogma II, and go over a bit of the ten-year road to this new game. After the break, Ren checks in with Dread Delusion, a Morrowind and King's Field-inspired open world RPG with a striking visual style, and Rob's checking in with the alternate-history Steelrising to explore the question "What if Louis XIV had an army of automatons to protect him during the French Revolution?Discussed: Steam Next Fest 04:59, Metal: Hellsinger 08:26, Beneath Oresa 16:49, Signalis 24:52, Nine Sols 25:41, Moonscars 26:51, Deadlink 28:06, Melatonin 28:44. Stalcraft 30:04, The Dragon's Dogma Zone 34:49, Landlord of the Woods 51:34, Dread Delusion 54:34, Starship Troopers: Terran Command 1:03:06, Steelrising 1:05:00, Question Bucket 1:08:57, Outro

Gamer's Christmas is upon us, in a new but not wholly unfamiliar form. Rob, Ren, Patrick, and Cado all gather round the traditional gamer's yule monitor to discuss the announcements of this year's not-quite-E3-but-basically-E3 season. But first, Patrick has a tale to tell, a story of wheeling, dealing, and high stakes email ignoring as he finds himself in the middle of a veritable Deals whirlwind that might have knocked a Sonos speaker off of a truck. After the break we have a special section from our stream with Nextlander's Alex Navarro and Brad Shoemaker, who joined us to talk over the Xbox/Bethesda showcase!Discussed: Patrick's Sonos Saga 1:29, Summer Game Fest 12:24, Nextlander x Waypoint Discuss the Xbox Showcase 1:16:12, Outro and Announcements 1:49:44 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

CW: Discussion of Suicide at approximately 1:31:42It's been a banner year not just for narrative games, but for games with themes surrounding labor, surviving under late capitalism, and the self, from Norco, to Citizen Sleeper, to Hardspace Shipbreaker. It should come as no surprise that today we're talking about the Apple TV+ show Severance, which slots neatly and expertly into these same themes. Come for Patrick’s Sonos-buying update, stay for our Spoiler-Lite impressions, and then get ready to deep dive in our Spoiler-Full discussion of this excellently constructed dark comedy about separating your work life from the rest of your life—literally.Discussed: Patrick's Sonos Update 01:06, Severance Spoiler-Lite Discussion 26:20, Severance - Spoilercast 59:08, CW Discussion of Suicide 1:31:42-1:33:11, Outro and Announcements 2:17:53 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

This week, Patrick has a very Dad weekend, Ren tries out sucking blood in V Rising, and we have an extended discussion around free to play monetization around Diablo Immortal. Then after the break, Patrick, Ren, and Cado go full spoiler mode to talk about Citizen Sleeper, a table top RPG inspired narrative game that got it's hooks in all of us with it's unique and fascinating systemic depiction of surviving with a disabled body under capitalism, and the ways community can be built in places you might not expect them to flourish.Discussed: Patrick's Dad Weekend 3:43, V Rising 14:14, Diablo Immortal 30:38, Citizen Sleeper Spoilercast 48:48, Outro and Announcements 1:56:56 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We've got a particularly Waypoint episode for y'all today, from scamming the rich out of their money for the greater good in Card Shark, to talking about recent grad student unionizations, to talking about learning on the job in Hardspace Shipbreaker. Of course, it wouldn't be a podcast these days without a bit of an update from Rob on his home appliances, luckily y'all have sent in plenty emails to help him on this journey.Discussed: Card Shark 2:17, School Debt and Unionizing Grad Students 16:33, Hardspace Shipbreaker 31:08, Appliance update 50:21, Elden Ring 1:15:27, Question Bucket 1:26:11, Outro and Announcements 1:31:39 See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rob's been having some bad luck with home appliances recently, and as unfortunate as that is at least it makes for some good Content(tm). Before we get to that though, Rob, Patrick, Ren, and Cado discuss the current wave of unionization efforts across the US, including the ones beginning to crop up in the video game industry. Then, Patrick and Ren have been checking out the thematically resonant Hardspace Shipbreaker, a game about dismantling ships for scrap under contract for a corporation, and has some great writing and pointed criticism of labor practices and physical labor under late stage capitalism. After the break, well, we deal with a break, the potential breakdown of yet another large home appliance in Rob's house. Then, Rob tries to distract us from this tragedy with tales of his campaign in Daemonhunters, which is... almost certainly on the start of a death spiral. Then we enter the Cado Corner, where they talk about Multiversus, the Warner Bros. attempt at a platform fighter that doesn't feel part

This week we're bringing you our thoughts on Halo, the Paramount + TV show based on the immensely popular Halo video game franchise. Join as Patrick, Rob, Ren, and Cado discuss the ways this show landed in very different ways for each of them, why it probably shouldn't have been about Master Chief, and how more interesting characters are pushed to the side because of that choice. Then we answer listener questions like "does Cortana still have a dump truck in this" and "what would you do on a date with Master Chief." See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Rob has invited Leyla and Soren Johnson, CEO and Design Director at Mohawk Games respectively, onto Waypoint Radio this week to chat about their time in game dev- from Soren's time at Firaxis as lead designer on Civilization IV and Leyla's time in the State Department to transitioning into running their own studio and creating games alongside a dedicated fanbase in early access. They also chat about their 4X game Old World and it's new expansion Heroes of the Aegean, and trying their best to design from different historical perspectives that people might not expect. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.